“You’ve arrived so early, Sister Xin.”
Seeing that Xin An had come ahead of time, Yan Wenhui smiled teasingly. “I thought I was setting out quite early myself and would surely be the first to arrive. But it turns out not only did Sister Yan and Sister Qiu get out of the carriage before me, even you were here earlier.”
Xin An had risen early just to await their arrival, and now she smiled in return. “Ever since that evening at the night market when I parted from you, Sister Yan, I’ve been thinking about your invitation. Knowing we’d be watching a performance today, I woke up especially early—felt like I could grow wings and fly straight here.”
Yan Wenhui turned to the others with a laugh. “See? Didn’t I say she’s a bright and charming one? Was there a word of falsehood in that?”
The other two ladies laughed as well, and Qiu Wenyuan urged, “Well then, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Still smiling, Yan Wenhui made the introductions. “Sister Li’s father is the Duke of Zhen Guo, stationed long-term at the frontier. Her husband’s family is the Prince of Cheng’s household—she’s the Princess Consort in waiting.”
Xin An quickly offered a proper salute, to which Li Yuyan gave a slight nod. “No need for such formality.”
Yan Wenhui continued with the next introduction. “Sister Qiu’s father is the Minister of Revenue, and her husband’s family is the household of Grand Scholar Han. Most call her Young Madam Han, but for you, it’s fine to just call her Sister Qiu.”
“Sister Qiu, it’s a pleasure.”
“And to you as well, Sister Xin,” Qiu Wenyuan replied warmly. She had a lively temperament. “Before we came, Sister Yan said you were not only beautiful but had a lovely glow about you—and that when you smile, it makes people like you at once.”
“Now that I’ve seen it for myself, she wasn’t lying.”
The ladies all laughed. Yan Wenhui invited everyone to take their seats. Li Yuyan and Yan Wenhui sat in the honored positions side by side, where the view was best. Qiu Wenyuan sat to Li Yuyan’s lower right, and Xin An sat to Yan Wenhui’s lower left—close enough for conversation, with an unobstructed view of the stage.
As the tea was poured with a gentle chime, Xin An found herself a little sentimental. In her previous life, she had indeed known the future Princess Consort of the Prince of Cheng’s household. That was Li Yuyan, who would eventually become the Prince’s principal wife. The Prince of Cheng was an imperial uncle, and Tang Rong had schemed endlessly to win his favor. Xin An had worked just as hard to curry favor with this very woman—serving tea and running errands—yet never once did she earn so much as a glance.
And now, here she was, sitting beside her, sipping tea and watching a performance like old acquaintances. The contrast stirred something deep within her.
As for Qiu Wenyuan, Xin An had known of her too—a lady of the Han household, whose temperament, as she recalled, was not the easiest to get along with.
At this moment, Qiu Wenyuan kept glancing her way, as if there was something on her mind but she didn’t know how to say it. Xin An met her gaze with a smile. “Sister Qiu, is there something you’d like to ask?”
Qiu Wenyuan gave an embarrassed chuckle. “I do want to ask, but I’m afraid it might offend you.”
Xin An offered gently, “You want to know how I ended up marrying the second young master of the Marquis household when I was originally engaged to the heir, don’t you?”
It was, after all, the only thing worth anyone’s curiosity.
Qiu Wenyuan nodded repeatedly. “Am I being terribly blunt?”
Xin An shook her head with a light laugh. “If it were me, I’d be curious too.”
Qiu Wenyuan leaned forward with the air of someone ready for a juicy tale. Even Li Yuyan turned to look at Xin An, clearly intrigued.
Xin An sighed. “It’s a long story, really…”
“Ah—”
“Ai ya, just tell us already! You’re killing me here.”
At that time, Qiu Wenyuan was still a young lady whose innocence hadn’t yet been worn down by life. She was impatient to hear the story. Xin An said, “The two bridal chambers arranged by the marquis household were right next to each other—just separated by a wall. On the day of the wedding, there were so many people, so much going on… it was all a blur. Somehow, I ended up in the wrong room.”
“That’s all?” Qiu Wenyuan clearly didn’t believe it. “With that many people, no one noticed anything? Even when the groom lifted the veil—he didn’t realize?”
“It really was that strange.”
Xin An shook her head. “Tang Mo noticed the mistake, but Tang Rong was too delighted and too drunk to notice anything at all.”
Qiu Wenyuan lowered her voice. “And Tao Yiran? She was drunk too?”
“Maybe so,” Xin An replied lightly, clearly no longer dwelling on the matter. “I was heartbroken at the time. But my mother said it might just be fate. And I think Tang Mo is actually quite nice—we get along well.”
She spoke casually, but when she mentioned Tang Mo, her face lit up with a bright smile. She said to the others, “He’s got such a playful wit. Handsome too. Tall. Always smiling. My parents adore him.”
Qiu Wenyuan looked at her as though she were a fool. “How is your heart so… open?”
“Tang Rong is the heir of the marquis household. Everything in that household will one day be his. Tang Mo, he…”
She wanted to say something unkind about Tang Mo, but held back—saying it would only hurt Xin An.
But Xin An seemed utterly unbothered. Smiling, she refilled Qiu Wenyuan’s cup. “What does it matter? My father’s a salt merchant. I didn’t exactly grow up immersed in books. At home I was lazy—just thought about food and fun all day. I only learned how to balance accounts at the last minute. Let’s be honest, I hardly seem like someone destined to be a marchioness.”
“Tang Mo is perfect—he doesn’t carry the weight of managing the household, nor is he burdened by great responsibility. As for the estate, I couldn’t care less. I have my dowry. And what’s more, Tang Mo takes me out to enjoy myself.”
She beamed at them. “He’s already taken me to the night market twice. We’ve wandered all over the capital. He even brought me to see a cuju match. A few days ago, we stayed at a countryside villa on the outskirts. It’s a pity he’s gone to serve at the Northern Command now—he’d promised to take me to see acrobats next.”
Yan Wenhui laughed. “It’s rare to see newlyweds going out and about so often in their first month of marriage. Clearly Second Young Master Tang has a delightful disposition. No wonder your eyes shine when you speak of him.”
Qiu Wenyuan thought for a moment and nodded. “Now that I hear all this, it does sound quite nice. I just never had much contact with the second son of the Tang family before—I didn’t know he had such a lively spirit.”
The Tang Mo that Xin An spoke of was completely unlike the man they thought they knew. In Qiu Wenyuan’s mind, Tang Mo was like a worm crawling out of a gutter—always overshadowed by Tang Rong, always scrambling for scraps, never knowing his place. Utterly unpleasant.
Li Yuyan, who had been silent all this time, finally asked with curiosity, “And what about Tao Yiran?”
Xin An replied, “She’s… good, I suppose. But not that good either.”
“How so?”
Just then, the attendant selling paper silver flowers came by again. With just a glance from Xin An, Chunyang stepped forward and bought the entire bundle, then instructed the vendor not to return.
“The newlyweds are inseparable, like any couple at the start. But my sister-in-law is often unwell, frequently indisposed, and rarely goes out. Sometimes I won’t see her for two or three days at a stretch.”
That single remark, when considered carefully, carried a wealth of implications. Ever the curious one, Qiu Wenyuan couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you ever want to tear her apart?”
“Almost.”
Xin An said plainly, “I was so angry that day I nearly exploded. I wanted to tear down the entire marquis household, pin Tao Yiran to the ground and claw up her face. Then chop Tang Rong into pieces and feed him to the dogs.”
Qiu Wenyuan’s eyes widened. “Did you?”
“No,” Xin An said cheerfully. “Because my grandmother is kind. My mother-in-law is even kinder. And most importantly, Tang Mo is the very best.”
She told them with obvious delight, “The family even gave Tang Mo and me a countryside estate in the capital’s outskirts. It’s lovely. My grandmother-in-law gifted me many wonderful things. And my mother—well, we’re merchants. When I think about it, isn’t this a pretty good deal? I gave up Tang Rong and ended up with Tang Mo—and got all those gifts too. I call that a win.”