“You can’t just not marry!” Lady Xiao Lin exclaimed, as if she’d heard something outrageous, earnestly advising, “With your looks, if you’re lucky, you could enter a noble or marquis household. Even being a concubine would be better than suffering out there. If you mourn for three years, who would want you then?”
Though she was loath to admit it, her elder sister’s daughter was undeniably beautiful. Even after being tormented in the Mirror Division, her beauty remained undiminished, now tinged with a delicate fragility that evoked pity.
Back then, her elder sister had won over her with that face, and Lady Xiao Lin knew men’s hearts well. If those noble lords saw Ji Chan, many would surely take an interest.
Lady Xiao Lin never hid her ambition to climb the social ladder. If her daughter didn’t resemble her husband so much, with rather plain looks, she would have already paved the way for her.
Now, with her daughter fixated on that Xue Mingtang, her only hope rested on this niece.
Lady Xiao Lin felt she was being quite considerate, offering a mutually beneficial arrangement, but Achan remained unmoved.
After listening to Lady Xiao Lin paint a rosy picture of her future, Achan finally said, “Thank you for your kindness, Aunt, but my mother repeatedly warned me to marry only as a proper wife and never to degrade myself.”
Lady Xiao Lin’s face darkened, and she snorted unhappily, “You really don’t know what’s good for you. With your current status, even a scholar’s family would look down on you, and you still dream of being a proper wife? It’s all your mother’s fault, raising you to be so stubborn.”
She launched into a tirade, listing her grievances against the late Lady Lin, as if pouring out years of pent-up resentment.
Achan sat quietly, neither arguing nor agreeing.
At that moment, a maid announced from outside, “Madam, the eldest young master is here.”
Hearing her son’s arrival, Lady Xiao Lin showed no joy, instead frowning, “He’s not studying at the academy. Why is he here?”
It wasn’t her fault for being cold toward him. Before the New Year, she discovered her eldest son had been absent for several nights. After questioning his personal servant, she learned that her beloved son, on whom she pinned great hopes, had been lured to a gambling den.
When she tracked him down, he’d already racked up over a thousand taels of debt. She had to send a maid back to the residence to fetch money to pay it off, or they wouldn’t have let him leave.
When she told her husband, he beat their son severely, threatening to disown him if he gambled again.
Lady Xiao Lin was furious too and added a few harsh words. In response, her son pushed her, nearly causing her to fall.
Because of this, she now found her eldest son particularly irksome.
Zhao Wensheng, entering from outside, overheard his mother and smiled, “I heard Mother’s been craving river fish lately. On my way to the academy, I saw a vendor selling live fish, so I bought his entire stock and came back.”
Indeed, as her son said, during the first three months of her pregnancy, she’d suffered severe morning sickness, vomiting everything she ate. Now, six months along, she craved the fishy taste.
Unfortunately, fresh fish were scarce this season, and she hadn’t been satisfied.
Knowing her son was thinking of her, Lady Xiao Lin’s frown eased, and she chided, “No wonder you reek of fish. You’re thoughtful, I’ll give you that.”
She gently rubbed her swollen belly, “This little brother of yours must love fish. Unlike you, when I was pregnant with you, I craved sweets.”
“I don’t like sweets,” Zhao Wensheng muttered, then noticed the plainly dressed Ji Chan with her delicate features, a spark of admiration in his eyes. “This young lady is…”
“What young lady? That’s your cousin Ji from your aunt’s family.”
“Oh, Cousin. Why haven’t I seen you at our house before?” Zhao Wensheng’s gaze lingered on Achan.
“Enough. Don’t pry into your cousin’s affairs.”
Lady Xiao Lin didn’t want her son getting too close to Ji Chan. If he took a liking to her niece, would they have to arrange a marriage between cousins?
She absolutely couldn’t allow the current Ji Chan to enter the Zhao family.
Zhao Wensheng stole a few more glances at Achan before reluctantly looking away.
Seeing this, Lady Xiao Lin’s face grew stern. “It’s time you returned to the academy. Don’t let your teacher report you to your father.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And your father said your talents are lacking, so you need to work harder than others. If I hear you’ve been fooling around again, I’ll have your father send you back to our hometown.”
Zhao Wensheng lowered his head, mumbling listlessly, “I wouldn’t dare.”
As he turned, Achan clearly saw anger in her cousin’s eyes.
After Zhao Wensheng left, Lady Xiao Lin’s attention returned to Achan. Determined to see her married, she listed the benefits of marriage from every angle, using herself as an example.
Lady Xiao Lin always felt that, aside from her less-than-ideal children, her married life was excellent. Her husband was utterly devoted, with no concubines or mistresses, far better than her elder sister, who hadn’t even known her husband kept a lover.
Achan listened to her aunt’s boasting and offered a few polite compliments.
But then she heard, “Look at you, knowing nothing, without even a trade to support yourself, yet wanting to mourn your mother for three years. You’ll probably starve within a month.”
Achan reflected that Ji Chan indeed had no skills to make a living, as no one had expected she’d need them.
As for Achan herself, she did have one skill.
It wasn’t something she deliberately learned. The year she was separated from her parents, she had grabbed a book from her mother’s table, a book on incense-making.
When she missed her parents, she read it, and over time, she memorized it.
“Aunt needn’t worry. Achan has learned incense-making and can use it to support herself.”
“You can make incense? Why didn’t your mother ever mention it?” Lady Xiao Lin looked skeptical.
“I only learned it to pass the time. Mother didn’t know.”
“Anyone can make claims. Whether you can support yourself depends on your skill. If you’re so capable, make a calming incense tomorrow, and I’ll try it.”
Achan gently declined, “Aunt is pregnant now. It’s best not to use incense.”
She could make incense safe for pregnant women, but human hearts were unpredictable. If something happened to Lady Xiao Lin and someone blamed her, it would bring trouble she didn’t want.
“Then make an insect-repelling incense.”
Achan laughed, “Aunt, there are no insects this season.”
Lady Xiao Lin grew impatient. “I ask you to make incense, and you make excuses. Are you lying to me?”
Achan sighed. She rarely met someone as self-centered and impatient as Lady Xiao Lin.
“Since Aunt insists, Achan will prepare an insect-repelling incense for you to see tomorrow.”
“Fine, I’ll be waiting at home.” Yawning, Lady Xiao Lin signaled for Sun Mama to help her lie down.
Seeing this, Achan rose to take her leave.
Lady Xiao Lin waved her hand, instructing Sun Mama to escort Achan out after covering herself with a blanket.
Achan stepped outside and waited briefly before Sun Mama emerged, smiling.
Sun Mama escorted Achan to the Zhao residence’s gate. Seeing no one around, she slipped two banknotes from her sleeve and pressed them into Achan’s hands.
Achan stared at the two hundred-tael notes, stunned. “What’s this for, Sun Mama?”
Sun Mama smiled, “Madam had me prepare this. She said she doesn’t want you to think your aunt doesn’t care. Use the money to buy some clothes, and the rest for incense materials. If your skills are good, there’ll be more benefits later.”
Achan didn’t hesitate long before accepting the money, saying, “Please thank Aunt for me, Sun Mama. I’ll visit again tomorrow.”
“Alright, take care, Miss.”
Achan walked down the street, still thinking about Lady Xiao Lin.
Her aunt was hard to describe. Call her good, and her scheming was blatant, her ambition and selfishness barely concealed.
Call her bad, and yet, in the entire capital, among those connected to Ji Chan’s maternal Lin family, only this concubine-born daughter had inquired about Ji Chan’s whereabouts and sent her money.
Perhaps Lady Xiao Lin gave her money for incense materials to add another “selling point” for her niece, but when someone was down and out, having anyone care enough to help was rare.
Unlike Achan, who had traveled from the Northern Wilderness to the capital, with no one caring whether she lived or died.
Standing on the bustling street, Achan suddenly felt profoundly alone.
The passersby around her, some smiling, others hurrying, all had homes to return to after their busy day. She had none.
It wasn’t until someone accidentally bumped into her that Achan snapped out of her melancholy.
Human life was so short, and she had much to do. There was no time to dwell on people and pasts that no longer concerned her.
Demons could waste time, but humans could only look forward.
For now, she needed to exchange some silver and go to the West Market to buy common incense materials. Though many recipes in that book weren’t for ordinary use, she knew some standard ones.
Achan first went to a money changer, exchanging for twenty taels of loose silver and four twenty-tael banknotes.
For an ordinary family, twenty taels could last a long time. She strolled through the West Market, buying a pile of common incense materials for less than five taels.
As she was leaving, she spotted an uncarved black wooden stump at a woodcarving stall.
The vendor said it was fifty-year-old willow wood, which turned black shortly after being cut. Though willow wood was average, the color was rare, and he’d sell it for at least one tael.
Achan hesitated but bought the stump. Willow grown in an extremely yin environment might not be useful now, but it could be later.
The vendor offered no delivery, so Achan hired someone in the market to transport it. The mover said the stump was heavy and Changping Lane was far, requiring a cart and ten wen.
Achan haggled, finding it pricey, when a group of Mirror Division guards suddenly stormed into the West Market.
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