Chapter Six

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Just then, someone came to urge them from outside, saying it was time to set off. Xie Linxu gave her one last look and said, “Forget it. Let’s go.”

There was no time to change again, and they feared delaying the others, so the two of them left.

The Xie and Li families had been friends for generations. Today, aside from the Duke, who was still occupied at the Ministry of Personnel, and the Old Madam Xie, who had used ill health as an excuse not to come out, everyone else from the Xie family had gone along to offer their congratulations. The Xie household had two branches. The elder branch was descended from Xie Xiu, while the younger branch belonged to his younger brother, who was also the Old Madam Xie’s own son.

The Duke’s residence consisted of five courtyards in succession, with five courtyards extending from each side. The younger branch lived in a separate wing. Apart from visiting one another a few times during the festivals, the two branches had little contact on ordinary days. The Duke’s residence was simply too large; getting from one courtyard to another took considerable effort. With all that walking and so little closeness between them, the ladies and young misses, naturally indolent by disposition, could not be bothered to make the journey often.

Today, the younger branch had set out for the Li residence alongside the elder branch. Beneath the blazing sun, Jingxi was chatting companionably with the younger branch’s mistress in one carriage. The two young ladies of the younger branch were traveling with Xie Jinfei. There was also a young master in the younger branch, but he had caught a cold recently and did not come this time. His wife, however, had come along and was sharing a carriage with the pregnant Madam Huang and Jingxi.

Xie Linfu could not fit in with them either, so he had a carriage to himself. When he saw Xie Linxu and Song Xingyue arriving, he waved at them. “Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, mine is empty. Come ride with me.”

No one else seemed to notice them. Xie Linxu said nothing and entered Xie Linfu’s carriage with Song Xingyue.

When Xie Linfu saw Song Xingyue, an undisguised flash of admiration crossed his eyes. With a smile, he praised her. “Sister-in-law, you look especially radiant today.”

Before leaving, Song Xingyue and Xie Linxu had already quarreled briefly over this very matter. Hearing those words now, neither of them looked entirely natural. Song Xingyue in particular had had her good mood thoroughly ruined by Xie Linxu. Upon hearing Xie Linfu’s compliment, she merely gave a dry laugh and said, “Perhaps it is because I put on some rouge.”

Xie Linfu shook his head. “No. Perhaps it is the way this outfit suits you. I think these clothes are very beautiful. You are still young, Sister-in-law; you ought to wear bright colors like this.”

Xie Linfu had always been broad-minded and straightforward, and he was accustomed to speaking without beating around the bush.

The atmosphere seemed to grow even more awkward. Even Xie Linfu himself began to sense it. He rubbed his nose and asked somewhat guiltily, “What is it? Did I say something wrong?”

Xie Linxu finally spoke. He cast his younger brother a glance and asked, “How have your studies been lately? Bring your work to me tomorrow. I will look it over when I have time.”

Xie Linxu had come first in the palace examination as a young man, so there was no need to speak of his scholarship. Yet he was usually so busy that he had little time to keep an eye on Xie Linfu. Xie Linfu was afraid of being watched in any case. When he was little, he had asked Xie Linxu to teach him a few times, only to discover that his elder brother was even stricter than his tutor.

If he made a mistake before his tutor, he might escape with nothing worse than a few strokes of the ruler. Xie Linxu was different. When he struck his palm, he showed not the slightest mercy.

After Xie Linxu said this, Xie Linfu lost all desire to speak. He pouted, leaned against the carriage window, and said nothing more.

After roughly half an hour, they arrived at the Li residence. The eldest master of the Li family served in court as Minister of Works, while the Old Master Li was the Grand Preceptor to the Crown Prince. With the old master’s birthday falling today, a great many guests had come. It was still early in the morning, yet by the time the Xie family arrived, numerous carriages were already parked outside the gates.

Fine carriages and splendid horses streamed endlessly through the entrance.

Before the Xie family had even handed their invitation to the gatekeeper, they were smilingly ushered inside. The young gentleman standing at the gate to receive guests was Xie Linxu’s colleague at the Hanlin Academy. When he saw Xie Linxu arrive, he drew him aside for a few words of greeting.

Song Xingyue followed beside him, a graceful smile perpetually resting at the corners of her lips.

The unpleasantness that had occurred when they left that morning could not be continued once they were outside.

Standing beside Xie Linxu, she could vaguely see from the corner of her eye that people were looking in their direction.

There was no need to mention anything else. The two of them were so striking in appearance and bearing that it was difficult not to look twice.

Song Xingyue wore an azure high-collared robe. Her brows curved like willow leaves, her eyes held the limpid sheen of autumn waters, and her long neck and slender shoulders made her resemble a white magnolia standing tall beneath the light.

Xie Linxu wore a dark round-collared brocade robe. His figure was upright, his brilliance restrained, and a cool, austere air seemed to spread from him.

It appeared that some people were whispering about them, though precisely what they were saying was impossible to know.

The young master of the Li family exchanged only a few simple pleasantries with Xie Linxu before rolling up his sleeves and personally leading the two of them inside. At the end, he merely gave Song Xingyue a courteous smile and said nothing else.

When the matter between Xie Linxu and Song Xingyue had first come to light, the Li family had indeed been displeased. Even the Old Grand Tutor Li had grown angry with Xie Linxu. It was only after Xie Linxu repeatedly visited the old grand tutor to apologize that his anger diminished somewhat. Later, Xie Xiu stepped forward and offered the Li family a favor, and the matter was finally put to rest.

The two families simply treated it as a case of fate failing to bring them together. Since they had been unable to become in-laws, there was no one to blame.

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It was only that, while the Xie family members no longer offended the eye, Song Xingyue still did so to some extent.

She was not one of them.

Now they merely gave her a little more courtesy for Xie Linxu’s sake—for she was the wife he had brought with him.

Song Xingyue naturally noticed the distance and hostility in the Li family young master’s manner toward her, but she paid it no mind and followed Xie Linxu farther inside.

The two walked side by side toward the main hall. Along the way, Xie Linxu repeatedly encountered people greeting him, and he could only respond to each of them in turn.

By the time they reached the main hall, the ladies and gentlemen of the Li family were each occupied entertaining guests. The third young lady of the Li family, Li Huaiqin, was the first to notice Xie Linxu’s arrival.

She came forward with a smile and said to the pair, “Changzhou, Xingyue, you have arrived.”

She was a woman of refined and graceful features, dressed in a pale blue gown. Her voice was clear, and she walked neither hurriedly nor slowly, every step carrying a gentle steadiness.

Although Song Xingyue had no intention of comparing herself with Li Huaiqin, the moment she saw the other woman, she was inexplicably left with nothing but a sense of inferiority.

Today she had put on the new clothes the Old Madam Xie had made for her, hoping only to look presentable while standing beside the members of the Xie family. Yet perhaps because of what Xie Linxu had said, seeing this woman before her inevitably made her think of other things.

Had she truly been wrong to wear new clothes today?

While these thoughts were turning in her mind, Li Huaiqin had already reached them. Seeing that no one stood behind them, she asked, “Where is Auntie?”

Xie Linxu and Song Xingyue had descended from separate carriages. After getting down, Xie Linfu had gone back to find Madam Huang, and the family had simply split into two groups.

Xie Linxu replied, “They must have run into acquaintances along the way and been detained by conversation. They should still be behind us.”

Li Huaiqin and Xie Linxu had known each other since childhood. Their families had always visited one another, and the two children had grown close as a result. They had both been exceptionally handsome and beautiful, with an aloof, dazzling elegance. In the past, their engagement had inspired endless admiration and envy. Everyone had marveled at how such a perfectly matched pair could exist. When the marriage ultimately failed to take place, all that remained was regret.

Li Huaiqin, however, appeared to be clear-sighted and forthright. She had never held that only one particular man would do. Since Xie Linxu had committed such an act first, there had been no reason for the marriage to continue. The Li family had accepted the Xie family’s broken engagement with good grace, and afterward they were even able to behave as though nothing had happened, continuing their friendship with Xie Linxu as before.

Upon hearing Xie Linxu’s explanation, Li Huaiqin did not ask further. She looked toward Song Xingyue and said, “Grandfather has been speaking of wanting to see Changzhou. He is waiting for him in the inner room. Why do you not let teacher and student meet while you come with me to the ladies’席?”

Song Xingyue naturally could not say no. She had just begun to answer, “All right,” when Xie Linxu spoke first.

“Then I will go find my teacher.”

The words Song Xingyue had been about to say caught in her throat, neither rising nor falling.

She could only turn to Li Huaiqin and say, “Then I shall trouble Miss Li.”

“Receiving guests is my duty. How could it be trouble?”

Though Li Huaiqin and Xie Linxu were close, her relationship with Song Xingyue could only be described as ordinary. The phrase “well-matched in family and status” applied not only to marriage but also to friendship. Young masters and ladies from families like theirs usually came from comparable households. When they were children, their elders visited one another; when they grew older, they continued to gather together. Those whose families were not suitably matched might never even meet, much less become friends.

Because of what had happened in the past, Li Huaiqin was also destined not to grow close to Song Xingyue. Song Xingyue felt awkward in her presence as well. Thus, no matter how close Li Huaiqin and Xie Linxu were, she and Song Xingyue remained little more than acquaintances who exchanged polite nods.

Li Huaiqin led Song Xingyue to the ladies’席 on the western side.

When the guests saw Li Huaiqin arriving so late, someone rose and waved to her. “Come, come! Why has Third Miss arrived so late? We have been waiting ages. We could not even amuse ourselves by chatting with you. Come sit here with me.”

The speaker was an older lady.

Although Li Huaiqin’s appearance was somewhat cool and reserved, she was smooth, perceptive, and skilled at navigating social situations. After failing to marry into the Xie family, she had not married again. Many ladies now had their eyes on this excellent girl.

Hearing the teasing, Li Huaiqin stepped forward and clasped the lady’s hand. “Please, take your seat. I am still young, and I do not know what standing I have that you should welcome me so warmly. The seating has already been arranged in front, otherwise I would very much like to sit with you.”

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Hearing the refusal concealed in her words, the lady was not displeased. Instead, she laughed even more heartily. “Very well, very well. I was momentarily careless about etiquette. Go on and take your seat.”

Li Huaiqin then beckoned to Song Xingyue, who had been left by the entrance, and announced to the others, “The wife of the heir to the Duke of Dingguo has come as well.”

The scene fell into a brief, awkward silence.

Song Xingyue did not mind. Every time she appeared, things always turned out this way.

She asked Li Huaiqin, “Third Miss, where is the seat reserved for the Xie family?”

Li Huaiqin was somewhat helpless before the situation herself. She led Song Xingyue to a place near the front on the left and said, “Sit down first.”

Li Huaiqin did not remain with Song Xingyue, but went on to entertain the other guests at the table.

Before Song Xingyue stood a large rosewood table inlaid with mother-of-pearl, laden with every sort of delicacy. Bowls and dishes held crabapples and hawthorn berries to dispel the heat. Yet even faced with such an array of food, Song Xingyue merely knitted her lovely brows and appeared to have little appetite.

During the conversation, someone brought up the clothes worn by the two women.

One was dressed in azure and the other in pale blue. Both wore long robes paired with horse-face skirts, and both had a knotted sash hanging from the waist. They looked far too similar, and comparison was inevitable.

“I believe Third Miss’s outfit is one of the latest styles. It truly suits her; she looks absolutely lovely in it.”

Someone laughed. “Clearly it is the woman who sets off the clothes, not the clothes that set off the woman. Third Miss would look beautiful in anything. If she had a vulgar, petty appearance, how could she possibly carry off such an outfit?”

Hearing the pointed implication in those words, Song Xingyue lowered her head to look at herself, then raised her eyes toward Li Huaiqin. The two outfits were indeed rather similar.

Clothes.

Again, it was the clothes...

How could a single outfit give rise to so much trouble for no reason at all?

By now, Song Xingyue was beginning to resent herself for wearing such a new outfit.

Seeing the situation, the others let out a suitably mocking laugh.

Song Xingyue wanted to pretend she had heard nothing, but someone clearly had no intention of letting her off. The woman who had spoken earlier leaned forward and asked Song Xingyue, “What do you think of that, Madam Heir? Does it make sense to you?”

Anyone with eyes could hear that she was openly mocking her, and yet she did not even leave Song Xingyue the chance to play dumb.

Song Xingyue had been holding in her anger since leaving home that morning. By now, she could bear no more. She set down the teacup in her hand and looked up at the woman who had spoken.

“That makes no sense,” she said.

“What?”

Song Xingyue repeated, “I think what you said makes no sense, Madam.”

“If clothes cannot set off the person wearing them, then they might as well be cut to pieces and thrown away.”