Chapter 7: The Melancholy and Charming Girl is Deeply Trapped

Once the matter was settled, A-Wu followed Lady Cui back to their courtyard. Rong Wu walked behind her and said, "Sixth Sister, you have been ill for many days and have fallen behind on your studies. I have made a list of what the teacher has covered during this time for you. Take it back and look through it first; if there is anything you don't understand, come and ask me or Fourth Sister."

"Thank you, Fifth Sister." A-Wu took the list from Rong Wu's hands and thanked her once more.

A few days later, Lady Cui prepared A-Wu's writing tools and inkstones, and sent Zi Yan and Zi Shan to serve her well as she headed to the academy.

The academy for the daughters of the Duke's Mansion was located in the Yuxiu Pavilion within the gardens, and the instructor was Bai Suxin. This woman was also an extraordinary person; she had been renowned for her talent since childhood and had even vowed to remain unmarried for life, unwilling to bow her head or play the fool for stinking men. Speaking of which, she was considered a distant relative of the Duke's Mansion.

For the sake of her granddaughter Rong Wu, who also possessed fame for her talent from a young age, the Old Madam had gone to great lengths to request Bai Suxin to serve as the instructor.

A-Wu found her seat behind Rong Si and Rong Wu. Resting her chin on her hand, she stared blankly out the window at the green wall covered in wisteria, thinking of her mother, the Princess, who loved fragrant herbs and loathed flowers.

A-Wu missed her.

Bai Suxin entered gracefully, dressed in a green robe with a sheer silk shawl draped around her. She gave a slight nod toward Rong Wu before sitting behind her desk. Her back was straight, and she did not even cast a glance toward A-Wu; it seemed she held this student in quite low regard.

When ordinary families hired female teachers, they mostly taught the *Four Books for Women* and the *Classic of Filial Piety*. Because of Bai Suxin's temperament, she naturally disdained the common rhetoric of "the woman's righteousness lies in her weakness and submissiveness." Today, she was teaching the *Mencius*, which was quite profound.

Never mind girls of this age; even boys were only just reading the *Great Learning*, or at most the *Analects*. Among the Four Books, the *Mencius* follows the *Analects*. For a child like A-Wu, who had only recently begun her basic education, studying the *Analects* was already a struggle, let alone the *Mencius*.

However, Bai Suxin treated Rong Wu as an exception, having moved on to the *Mencius* quite early, regardless of whether the others could keep up with the pace.

For half an hour, Teacher Bai first lectured on the "King Hui of Liang" chapter, reciting: "Only after weighing can one know the importance of lightness and heaviness; only after measuring can one know the length and shortness..." Teacher Bai paused between sentences, leading the three girls through several readings before breaking down the text sentence by sentence. Finally, she called on Rong Wu to share her understanding. As for Rong Si and A-Wu, they were merely foils.

Observing from the side, A-Wu saw that twelve-year-old Rong Si was also lost in a fog during the lesson, finding it quite difficult. After struggling to listen for a while, she began to drift off, whereas only Rong Wu was truly listening.

After assigning homework, Teacher Bai dismissed Rong Si and A-Wu, leaving only Rong Wu to study with her.

Because people of this era valued talent, even daughters of noble households were expected to compete in scholarship. Thus, the arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting were essential subjects for every young lady, and the Duke of Anguo's Mansion was no exception.

Consequently, Rong Si took A-Wu along to Tinglan Isle by the water, where the guqin lessons were held. However, as Rong Si left the Yuxiu Pavilion, she couldn't help but look back. Seeing Rong Si's raised chin and envious gaze, A-Wu thought she had misjudged this concubine-born Fourth Lady; she seemed to possess great ambition, but she feared that a lack of self-awareness would only exhaust both herself and others.

The guqin instructor was said to be a former teacher from the Music Bureau, surnamed Gu and named Yu.

His fingerwork was so dazzlingly fast it was admirable. A-Wu also loved the guqin; in her past life, she had collected many ancient scores. When her health was slightly better, she enjoyed playing the zither to express her emotions, and when she was ill, she would listen to music to distract herself and find peace. However, because her body was frail, she was not skilled in the art of playing, though her ability to listen and critique could truly be called that of a master.

Those with talent are generally proud. Gu Yu had skin like jade, a beautiful countenance, and a charming grace. Looking at that perfectly poised chin, his aura was even a notch higher than Bai Suxin's.

When Rong Wu hurried over, Gu Yu gave her a displeased glance before speaking: "Today, we shall teach a new piece, 'Autumn Rhyme of the Han Palace'." Without waiting to see how the students reacted, he began to play the zither himself.

His fingers flew, and the music flowed like a stream. Once the piece was finished, seeing the bewildered expressions on Rong Si and A-Wu's faces, and noting that Rong Wu could only manage the first few melodies, he swept them with a look of disdain. "Forget it, forget it. I shall play it once more."

A-Wu found it quite amusing. Gu Yu's guqin skills were superb—his technique was proficient and his rhythm perfect—but he truly did not know how to teach students.

However, after listening twice, A-Wu had learned it. Gu Yu let them practice on their own. Rong Si was in a frantic mess, having already played three wrong notes in a single breath, and Rong Wu did not seem to have improved much either. Only A-Wu, without even needing to look at the score, played with ease. As the notes flowed into the ears like drifting clouds and flowing water, the three onlookers cast surprised glances her way. A-Wu quickly played three wrong notes and began to act flustered.

Only then did the three cease their surprise. In the end, Gu Yu looked at A-Wu and nodded; although she had been frantic and made mistakes toward the end, her opening was quite good, even slightly better than Rong Wu's.

When class ended, Rong Si shot a sidelong glance at A-Wu and said disdainfully, "Such trivial skills, only you would care so much about them."

Although the arts were all considered subjects, and "Zither" came first in the list, people of this era valued literary talent most. Playing a fine guqin was not as eye-catching as composing a fine poem, and since zither playing often carried the suspicion of being mere entertainment, it was considered the least important of the four arts.

The afternoon was packed with calligraphy, painting, and needlework lessons. A-Wu sighed, thinking that being a talented woman was indeed not easy. In her past life, because of her poor health, her talents were pursued based on her interest; learning was a bonus, and not learning was simply due to her high status. Now, it felt like being forced to perform against her will.

As several days passed, A-Wu appeared mediocre in all her subjects, though there was a slight upward trend, so her gradual progress would not surprise anyone. Looking at Rong Wu, she was clearly much more outstanding in scholarship, but in needlework, she could not match Rong Si; they were like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each excelling in her own way.

On the second day, because Rong Jin—the aunt who had married into the Marquis of Jing'an's household as the Heir's wife—returned to the mansion with her two children, the Old Madam specially permitted the three young ladies of the house to skip school that day.

"A-Wan, come here and let me look at you." As soon as Rong Jin saw Rong Wu, she eagerly took her hand and looked her up and down. "You look even more delicate and bright than the last time I saw you. Just yesterday, the Old Lady at the Marquis's household was asking about you." Rong Wu and Rong Jin were biological sisters, so they were naturally closer than others.

When Rong Si saw Rong Jin, she stepped forward with a smile and called out sweetly, "Eldest Sister." Rong Jin gave a half-hearted response and continued her conversation with Rong Wu.

As for A-Wu, Rong Jin only spared her a glance, thinking to herself what a pity that such a beautiful face had fallen to the Third Branch. Only the two children stole glances at A-Wu, whispering, "She is so pretty."

A-Wu stood quietly without a word, a perfectly measured smile on her lips, appearing neither lonely due to being ignored nor jealous of others' liveliness.

With this demeanor, even those who desperately wanted to ignore her could not help but keep looking her way. She stood with such grace that one could not help but think of the phrase, "The little lotus has just shown its tip, and the dragonfly has already landed upon it." Being naturally exquisite with a face that carried a hint of baby fat, she was lovely no matter how one looked at her.

Even if Rong Jin did not like her, she could not bring herself to feel loathing.

"The Old Lady of the Marquis's household celebrates her birthday on the tenth. Mother, please make sure to bring A-Wan along early." After saying this, Rong Jin turned to the Second Madam and said, "Second Aunt, please come early as well." Then, with a somewhat perfunctory tone, she told Lady Cui, "Come early."

Regardless of Rong Jin's attitude, A-Wu was extremely happy, thinking that she would finally be able to step out of the inner gates of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion, and perhaps even encounter acquaintances or old friends from her past life.

The days passed as A-Wu counted them on her fingers.

On the tenth, A-Wu rose early. Uncharacteristically, she sat before the mirror for only fifteen minutes before getting up. A-Wu hurried to the main house to see Lady Cui, only to find her dressed as usual in a semi-old, misty-purple *beizi* and a white skirt embroidered with ink-colored orchids, her hair simply tied in a bun with a single jade hairpin. Although Lady Cui still possessed her charm, such casual attire was not suitable for going out.

"Is Madam not going out today?" A-Wu asked in confusion.

Lady Cui saw that A-Wu was wearing a newly made peach-pink short jacket and a high-waisted Xiangfei-colored skirt, tied with a five-colored cord and hanging white jade rings, wearing her usual gold sunflower eight-treasure long-life lock. Every part of her attire was dressed for an outing.

Lady Cui's expression darkened. With a hint of guilt, she beckoned A-Wu over and straightened the long-life lock for her. "You are thinking about the Old Lady's birthday at the Marquis of Jing'an's house today, aren't you?"

This child only had this one long-life lock that she could take out when going out; Lady Cui felt a pang of heartache.

A-Wu nodded.

Lady Cui pulled A-Wu into her arms, but she did not know how to explain her difficulties to her daughter. The noble ladies in the capital were the most status-conscious; the more noble the lady, the more status-conscious she was. How could someone of Lady Cui's status catch their eyes? Not to mention her, even if the First Madam or Second Madam went out, few would look highly upon the ladies of this declining Duke's Mansion.

Lady Cui had gone once or twice, but from then on, she had grown to dislike social outings. She spent her days at home embroidering, tailoring, and caring for her children, finding her own contentment.

But Lady Cui knew that A-Wu loved excitement. Many times, she had gone out to socialize for A-Wu's sake, but it was precisely because of the looks those noble ladies gave A-Wu that Lady Cui went out less and less.

A-Wu was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl in the entire capital of this generation, but she lacked brilliant talent and appeared humble and insignificant in every way. Having such beauty on her was almost like a mistake, as if someone like her should not be tainting such a countenance.

The way those ladies looked at A-Wu was as if they were looking at a future concubine—merely a plaything for the imperial clans and meritorious families. Rong Wuyou had not understood those looks back then, but having lived more years, Lady Cui understood them perfectly.

"Don't you often say that the Third Lady of the Marquis's house glares at you when she sees you? It doesn't matter if we don't go. How about I have the kitchen make that osmanthus fish you like today?"

A-Wu stared at Lady Cui with her large, watery eyes, clearly disappointed to the extreme. Lady Cui felt her daughter's eyes were so misty with innocence and trust that she had to turn her head away, unable to meet A-Wu's gaze.

"If she glares at me, I will just ignore her." In truth, A-Wu did not fail to understand Lady Cui's predicament. Even the hair ornaments for going out had been reduced to just one set. Those ladies, who were better at remembering clothing and accessories than faces, would naturally look down on her, mock her, and ridicule her. But A-Wu truly wanted to see her old acquaintances, even if she could only hear a few trivial tidbits about the Princess's manor.

As for meeting the Grand Princess, A-Wu did not even dare to think of it. Her mother was the most proud; a declining family like the Marquis of Jing'an would not even enter her sight, and she would never stoop to such lowliness. Furthermore, A-Wu never thought she could be recognized by the Grand Princess. Based on her understanding of the Grand Princess, she feared that the moment she spoke, the Grand Princess would think she was merely a petty person climbing the social ladder with lies, and would likely strike her down.

A-Wu's words made things even more difficult for Lady Cui. First, Lady Cui did not want to go out, and second, the Old Madam did not like A-Wu going out. A-Wu's predecessor had a humble and lowly manner and lacked any self-awareness, imitating Rong Wu in every way, which was simply a laughingstock. Her face was beautiful, but her temperament could not support it; instead, it seemed to defile her appearance, to the point that even the Old Master was somewhat displeased.

Lady Cui had never wanted to tell A-Wu such hurtful words.

"Look, I haven't prepared anything today, so it's too late to go out. Next time, Mother will take you, alright?" Lady Cui was almost pleading with A-Wu in a low voice.

A-Wu could only nod, hanging her head as she returned to her room.