Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

Early in the morning, Xiu Luan came running over to find Liu Ye'er. These past few days, Xiu Luan and Liu Ye'er had been inseparable. Liu Lian never scolded her, nor did she earnestly advise her, nor did she coldly mock her. After all, Xiu Luan was just a little girl yearning for friendship, burdened by her mother and unable to find a close friend. Liu Ye'er yawned, refusing to get up. Last night, they had been cooling off in the pavilion, telling ghost stories until midnight. Xiu Luan, with her disheveled hair, kept shaking Liu Ye'er's arm, and Liu Lian had no choice but to get up. Liu Lian had lived in an orphanage as a child and worked in the catering industry after growing up, never having grown her hair long. That's how people are; what they can't have always seems more alluring. When scrolling through her phone, she loved watching videos of people braiding various styles. She suddenly felt the urge to show off her skills—Xiu Luan's hair was truly beautiful—and this little rascal had finally found a friend, coming to cling to her every day. Liu Lian's lack of practical experience meant her braiding skills were nothing to braid, but her novel styles were something Xiu Luan didn't mind. After much effort, Xiu Luan finished washing and grooming. She went to her second brother's courtyard, pulled Fu Hui out of bed, and the two of them fussed over the little girl for a while. Then they ordered several maids to undo their braids and wait. The maids were both excited and nervous, pushing and shoving each other, and sitting down to let the third young lady practice. It's truly a mystery what good deeds this head of hers had done in its past life to win the favor of the eldest young lady.

Xiu Luan was incredibly skillful. After watching Liu Ye'er demonstrate a few times, she quickly got the hang of it and soon her hair looked quite professional. The first maid was unhappy and grumbled that she needed to have her hair redone. Xiu Luan patiently redid it for her, and the maid was so delighted that she hugged the bronze mirror and admired herself intently. All day long, the maids were extremely excited and didn't slack off. After finishing their work, they all rushed to get hot water to wash their hair. Xiu Luan was also very happy; she had rarely felt so happy in her life!

The old lady of the Liu family watched coldly, saying nothing. Mrs. Liu was furious; her pampered daughter was actually combing the hair of a young maid—it was utterly disgraceful. Therefore, when the maids appeared furtively with their wet hair, Mrs. Liu simply ordered them dragged away and beaten!

The beaten maidservant wailed and howled, quickly alerting the back courtyard. Xiu Luan, furious, jumped up and down, wanting to rush out to confront her mother, but the old lady quickly stopped her, and Liu Ye'er caught her and carried her back. Xiu Luan, no longer caring about maintaining a facade, buried her face in the old lady's shoulder and cried uncontrollably. Liu Ye'er had always thought this silly girl didn't realize her unpopularity was due to her mother's influence, but it turned out that wasn't the case! The little girl was actually incredibly clever. Although Feng Xian and Madam Du disliked this younger sister-in-law, they could only offer comfort out of politeness. Fu Hui, unaware of the situation, also started crying. Liu Lian picked her up and carried her to the courtyard, gently comforting her. The wet nurse followed, whispering, "Miss Huo, let me take Miss out for a walk." She then took Fu Hui back, lowering her voice, "Seventh Miss, don't go. It'll look bad if you leave, and it won't look good for your eldest sister either. Wait a while before going back in; after all, you're an outsider." She then gave a slight curtsy and left with the child. Liu Lian nodded.

After waiting a while, guessing that the person inside had calmed down, Liulian went to the small kitchen to scoop up a ladle of warm water, went into the room, and said to Xiu Luan, who was sobbing, "Sister Luan, wash your face!"

Fengxian then scolded her, "Why did you lead your younger sister to do such a mess! You're so old, all you do is cause trouble!"

"Alright!" The old lady's voice was unusually stern. "What are you saying? I think the ideas Seventh Miss came up with are quite clever! Xiu Luan has learned a skill, so why is she going to use it on this old woman instead of the little maid? You, Liang'er, go get a few packets of pastries and a packet of rock sugar each, and go check on the little maid! You can't just... Humph!"

Fengxian glanced at Liangjie, who merely raised an eyebrow before the two sisters-in-law took their leave. In this era, white sugar was a precious commodity, and rock sugar even more so; it was a presentable gift for visiting relatives. The old lady was clearly slapping the madam in the face! Liangjie almost burst out laughing, but Fengxian gave her a sidelong glance.

Xiu Luan washed her face and sat sullenly on the kang (a heated brick bed). The old lady of the Liu family looked at her granddaughter, feeling sorry for her, and spoke up, "Luan'er, your mother has a bad temper. You mustn't distance yourself from her because of a few maids. Your mother is afraid you'll become too close to them and lose your dignity!" Xiu Luan didn't dare say anything defiant, afraid of angering her grandmother. Unlike her brothers, she couldn't act recklessly in front of her grandmother without fear of upsetting her. Xiu Luan and her grandmother were actually estranged, although she knew her grandmother loved her.

Old Mrs. Liu was a strong woman. Her husband died early, leaving her with only one son, Mr. Liu, and two daughters born to concubines. The marriage between the Liu and Xu families had been arranged long ago. Mr. Liu was in charge of external affairs, while Old Mrs. Liu managed the household, making the Liu family as well-run as an ironclad fortress. The first wife, Xu, was an honest woman who had given birth to several children, devoting herself entirely to them. She had two daughters and a son. The two daughters were exceptionally well-mannered, showing none of the shrewdness or calculating nature often associated with women from merchant families. They were both reasonable and understanding, and after marriage, they brought honor to their parents. Just as the family was thriving, the unfortunate wife tragically died. The second wife was nowhere near as good as the first. Apart from a pretty face, there was nothing to praise about her. What a mess she had made of such a good girl! It was truly a mistake to let her raise this child. Unfortunately, there's no going back.

The old lady stopped her chaotic thoughts and changed the subject: "Tomorrow I'll take you to the countryside to pick mulberries, and when we get back we'll dry them and make some mulberry jam, okay?" Xiu Luan quickly forced a smile and agreed. The old lady's heart sank. She had hoped Xiu Luan would treat her like her grandmother, acting spoiled and affectionate, instead of being so polite and understanding. Too distant!