Chapter 10: Probing

The group moved to the dining hall, where the maids had long since laid out the meal. As this was the first breakfast after the new bride’s tea ceremony, Madam Lin had attached great importance to it; the spread was dazzling, featuring porridge, pastries, meat pies, fried dough, and various wheat-based dishes.

Everyone ate in silence. Madam Lin probed Su Qingwan relentlessly about her year away, as if she wanted to know every minute detail. Su Qingwan had her own prepared narrative, including a story she had long since fabricated about how she saved the Grand Princess. She claimed that after falling off a cliff, she was rescued by the Grand Princess and lost her memory. She served by the Grand Princess’s side and risked her life to save her during an ambush. In gratitude, the Princess had specifically requested an imperial decree of favor for her.

Madam Lin continued to ask for details in a calm, collected manner. Su Qingwan had memorized her story so well that she made no mistakes. Madam Lin looked thoughtful, while Su Qingwan wondered: was Li Xueying the only one who had killed her sister?

Madam Lin was clearly suspicious of her identity; otherwise, she wouldn't have asked so thoroughly. Yet, someone as shrewd as her, who was so intent on clinging to the Earl’s estate, had surprisingly not thought to curry favor with the Grand Princess.

Lu Yunshu, sitting beside Su Qingwan, pushed a plate of pan-fried reed cakes toward her and said softly, "Sister-in-law, you have suffered much this past year away. You look a bit thinner; you must take good care of yourself from now on."

Su Qingwan was busy pondering whether Madam Lin had been involved in the plot against her sister, so she ate the reed cake in front of her. A flicker of coldness crossed Madam Lin’s eyes. Lu Yunxiu, blunt and outspoken, blurted out, "Sister-in-law, you only ever ate steamed reed cakes and disliked the pan-fried ones. It seems you aren't so picky after a year away."

Reed cakes were made by mixing shredded reed melon and minced meat into flour, then either steamed or pan-fried, which made them particularly oily. Xie Zhaolan was from Jiangnan and loved steamed food, never touching greasy items at breakfast. Su Qingwan had been taken to the Southwest in her childhood, a remote region where the palate was heavier. No matter how much she had tried to mimic Xie Zhaolan over the past year, the sisters had been separated for over a decade; some habits and preferences would inevitably slip through.

Madam Lin cursed her daughter inwardly for being a fool and alerting the prey.

Su Qingwan said calmly, "The Grand Princess has a heavy palate, and those around her follow her preferences."

She then nonchalantly picked up another piece of reed cake. "People change."

Madam Lin was already suspicious and unlikely to believe her, so Su Qingwan decided to take the initiative. "Mother, when I returned to Meilan Garden yesterday, I discovered that the courtyard had been almost completely emptied. What is the meaning of this?"

The expressions of the Lu family members turned awkward, save for Madam Zhang, who watched the drama unfold while she ate.

Madam Lin looked somewhat uncomfortable. "After your funeral, Mother thought the things in Meilan Garden would no longer be of use, so I distributed them among the various courtyards."

She added with a smile, "See what you need for your courtyard and tell Mother; I will have it prepared for you."

Su Qingwan had not expected them to be so shameless. "Mother, there were four sets of head ornaments on the vanity. They were made by the best craftsmen Mother hired when I married; they were a token of my mother’s affection, and the jewelry box was nearly full of smaller trinkets. I can let the smaller pieces go as gifts to my younger sisters, but please return the four complete sets of head ornaments to me."

The Lu sisters looked at each other. Lu Yuntang said in a bright voice, "Sister-in-law, I’ve never heard of any complete sets of head ornaments. Eldest Aunt did send over a few gold and silver pieces, saying that you were usually plain and didn't like to dress up, so she left them for us as keepsakes."

Lu Yunshu also said, "Mother gave me a few pieces as well. Sister-in-law, I will bring them to Meilan Garden myself later."

Madam Lin and Lu Yunxiu’s faces looked terrible. The Lu family was a prominent clan in the capital, but the branch belonging to Lu Shaoqing had long since fallen into decline.

The Old Madam of the Lu family had relied on a few acres of poor farmland and shops to support her two sons’ studies for the imperial examinations. Both Lu Shaoqing and his brother had become officials after passing the exams, but they had only been back in the capital for a few years. Their salaries were nowhere near enough to support the Lu household. Before Xie Zhaolan married into the family, the Lu family’s daily expenses and social obligations were stretched to the breaking point. It was Xie Zhaolan’s massive dowry that had sustained the family’s opulent lifestyle.

Lu Yunxiu had long coveted the exquisite jewelry in Xie Zhaolan’s vanity. After Xie Zhaolan passed away, she couldn't wait to claim it as her own. Fearing gossip, Madam Lin had distributed some of the smaller pieces to the other girls, but the most precious and exquisite items had been monopolized by Lu Yunxiu.

Shamed and angry, Lu Yunxiu spoke without thinking, "They’re just some broken trinkets, why are you being so petty? If you need them, just buy more."

If it had been Xie Zhaolan, she would have endured it, but this was Su Qingwan, and she had no intention of indulging Lu Yunxiu’s temper. "These ornaments were specially prepared for me by my mother. They are my dowry and my most cherished possessions. A gentleman does not covet what others love; it sounds quite unsightly for a sister-in-law to snatch her brother’s wife’s dowry."

Lu Yunxiu’s face flushed red. She pointed angrily at Su Qingwan. "Sister-in-law used to spoil me! No matter what I took a fancy to, she would get it for me without a word. You aren't my sister-in-law!"

Su Qingwan sneered, "The hairpin you are wearing is also mine, isn't it? You know I treated you well. Just because I didn't grant your wish once, you insult me at will. Truly, 'a grain of rice breeds gratitude, a bushel breeds enmity.' Fourth Sister, you have no sense of gratitude at all."

Lu Yunxiu touched the hairpin on her head in confusion, feeling both angry and ashamed.

Madam Lin was furious and scolded sharply, "Zhaolan, that’s enough! We are all one family; why be so petty?"

"Mother, I will say it again: return my dowry. Aside from the head ornaments, there were a celadon-glazed white porcelain plum vase, a nanmu painted screen, and an enamel screen in my room. Whatever was emptied from my room, I hope to have it returned," Su Qingwan said calmly. "Since I am not dead, no one can take what is mine."

Su Qingwan stood up, bowed politely to take her leave, and added, "Fourth Sister, I hear you are currently discussing marriage. Once you are married, whatever head ornaments you want, I will find them for you."

She turned and left, with Lüzhu following closely behind.

Lu Yunxiu did not yet understand the threat in Su Qingwan’s words, but how could Madam Lin not? Her chest heaved with rage. Was this still the submissive, obedient Xie Zhaolan of the past?

She gripped her handkerchief tightly. Lu Yunxiu was still chattering, "Mother, Sister-in-law has truly gone mad, she won't even listen to you. I don't want to..."

"Return her things!" Madam Lin said coldly.

Lu Yunxiu’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Mother!"

Madam Lin, however, stared at Su Qingwan’s retreating back with a deep, dark gaze. Lu Yunshu said uneasily, "Sister-in-law has really changed a lot. She never defied Mother like this before."

Madam Zhang laughed. "No matter how gentle and respectful Zhaolan was, if she returned home to find her husband remarried and her dowry stolen, she would have a temper. In the end, it was you who chilled her heart."