A 59-year-old lonely and weak sister-in-law who has no one to rely on

  The mansion was located in a hutong in the northern part of the city, equivalent to outside the Fifth Ring Road of modern-day Beijing. It took almost an hour by horse-drawn carriage. The May weather was already somewhat sultry. I sat quietly in the carriage with Old Lady separated from me by a small lacquered tea table. The two of us sat facing each other without speaking, both feeling rather somber.

  Compared to Fang's mansion, the Xiang family's courtyard was not large, with only two rows of three rooms, a square and regular four-box courtyard. From the main gate, one entered a small yard filled with sparse flowers and grasses, with a straight path leading to the hall with four doors. The hall was connected to several side houses on either side, which was the main courtyard of the Xiang mansion. Women usually gathered in the back courtyard, so under the leadership of the servants, they passed through the side corridor and came to the ceremonial gate, where Mrs. Xiang's personal maid had already been waiting. Seeing Sun and Zu, she hurriedly bowed and led them to the small flower hall in the back courtyard.

  The backyard of the house didn't have any particularly remarkable scenery, but it was still neatly arranged. The grandmother and grandson entered the small flower hall, where Mrs. Xiang had already come out to greet them. After exchanging pleasantries, Ruoqing also came forward to pay her respects with a standard bowing gesture. Mrs. Xiang personally helped Ruoqing up and repeatedly praised her, saying: "Good child, you've become even more spirited after not seeing you for two years! Come, let your aunt take a good look at you." As she spoke, she pulled Ruoqing over to sit in the wicker chair beside her, and sat down herself. She looked Ruoqing up and down, from the delicate golden hairpins on her head to the pale green jade flower earrings on her temples, and the light blue embroidered lotus flowers on her collar and sleeves, as well as the smoke-gray embroidered willow branch long skirt, and the jade pendant around her neck with a pale green jade cicada. Ruoqing's outfit was low-key and simple, yet extremely refreshing and elegant, exuding a sense of nobility and refinement.

  The more he looked at his wife, the more satisfied he became, and his eyebrows and eyes smiled even more tightly, and he tightly grasped her soft and weak hand, "Good child, are you used to staying in Shanxi?"

  As if wanting to withdraw her own hands, but couldn't break free, she had no choice but to let Mrs. hold them like this, her face slightly flushed as she replied obediently: "At first it wasn't very habitable, especially in terms of food. Fortunately, Second Brother had someone open a small kitchen for me."

  He smiled at his wife and said, "It's obvious that General Town is still very fond of you."

  Yu Qing said with a hint of embarrassment: "Brother is indeed fond of me, but I've caused him a lot of trouble."

  "When an older brother is supposed to take care of his younger sister, what's the trouble in that? Even if it's troublesome, it's a willing trouble. Having such a lovely younger sister, I believe General Town will be delighted beyond words."

  As if smiling shyly, "I hope so."

  Then she asked Mrs. Yu about her life in Shanxi, and Ruoqing answered cleverly, making Mrs. Yu smile from start to finish, constantly urging Ruoqing to eat melons, fruits, and snacks.

  Madam later mentioned that she was delighted with the box of animal hides and snow ginseng that Ruoqing had sent her, but also scolded him a few times: "These hides are hard to come by, yet you've sent an entire box, it's too expensive. Don't ever send anything like this again. It's a waste of money."

  "Ah, it's nothing, all these were brought back by Second Brother when he had nothing to do and went hunting. They didn't cost much money anyway. I just borrowed them to decorate the place."

  "Haha, elder brother is indeed a good older brother. As for you, your appearance is already good, and you have Old Lady treating you with such kindness. Alas, my niece compared to you is truly an unfortunate one. Originally, her family's circumstances were quite good when she was young, but then both my brother and sister-in-law passed away, leaving behind only her, a lonely and helpless girl. This time, coming to rely on me, I don't know what to do."

  "Mother-in-law needn't be distressed, madam has done her best and that's all one can ask for. I'm sure our cousin will appreciate your kind intentions."

  At this time, a young girl wearing a pale blue jacket with plum blossom patterns and a dark green skirt with many pleats came in from outside the curtain, carrying a lacquer tray. She first put one plate on the round table beside the old lady and said, "Old lady, please enjoy." Then she put another plate in front of Ruqiu and gently smiled, saying, "Aunt, Fang's daughter, come and have some fruit."

  Ru Qing said thank you in a soft voice, took a piece of watermelon and started eating it. The refreshing and sweet juice made her smile and say: "So sweet. So cool."

  The young girl smiled and said: "This is a new batch of watermelon that just came out, it's very sweet. I specially washed it with well water, Fang Gongzhu can eat more if she likes."

  She pushed the crystal-made red flower plate to Ruxin's side, smiling: "Yes, if you like it, eat more. Hehe... Oh, right, I almost forgot, Qingwen, come and let me introduce you." Then she pulled over the girl's hand and said to the old lady: "This is my mother's niece. Last month, my brother and sister-in-law unfortunately both fell ill and passed away, leaving behind this poor niece. Taking pity on her being all alone, I brought her from Huzhou. Come, Qingwen, quickly come and pay respects to the old lady."

  The young girl who called Qingwen bowed to the old lady, who smiled and helped her up with both hands, looking her up and down. "You're really good-looking, how old are you this year?"

  Qing Wen blushed and said: "This year I just had my hair pinned up."

  "May I have your permission?" The old lady asked with great kindness.

  Qingwen's face was flushed with shyness, and she quickly glanced at her husband, her eyes reddening inexplicably as she choked out: "My parents have passed away, not yet."

  The old lady's face seemed to have a hint of pity, and she rubbed her hands together, let out a sigh, and said with a warm smile: "Don't be sad, child. In the future, your aunt will take care of you here, I'm sure she'll find a good family for you to marry into, and you'll have a grand wedding." Then the old lady took off a jade bangle with golden silk from her hand and handed it to Qingwen, saying: "Here, this is a gift for our meeting, take it, don't be polite."

  Qingwen first declined, then looked at the lady's expression and smiled: "The gift from Old Lady is also your good fortune, just keep it well."

  Qingwen then put away the bangle and bowed her head in respect to the old lady.

  He led her to Yu Qing and said, "Come, this is the fourth daughter of Fang's family, Yu Qing. This is my cousin from my mother's side, surname Tong, given name Qingwen."

  As if awakened from a dream, she got up, smiled and curtsied, "Good day, Miss Teng!"

  Qingwen also followed suit, "Hello, Fang young lady."

  She secretly sized up this young woman, Tong Qing, with a critical gaze: This cousin from the Tong family was indeed as her mother had said, quite good-looking, with a medium to high level of beauty, a melon-seed shaped face, willow eyebrows and almond eyes, cherry lips, except that her cheekbones were slightly high, and her forehead was narrow, but fortunately, her bangs covered it up, so it wasn't too noticeable. This cousin had a kind of softness and helplessness unique to girls from the Jiangnan region, this type of woman didn't have the dignified pride of a noble lady, but she also had a sweet and charming quality that was unique to girls from Jiangnan, her entire being exuded a weak and delicate energy.

  As Ru Qing was sizing up Tong Qingwen, the other party was also sizing her up, with a complex and uncertain light in their eyes. They gazed at the cyan gold double-ring hairpin on Ru Qing's head, as well as the pale jade pendant hanging from her chest. The hand hidden in her sleeve unconsciously clenched tightly...