Chapter 49 – An Old Acquaintance

The vast expanse of Guiming Lake shimmered under the sunlight, and a large boat was anchored by the shore.

Bai Tang, Raoliang, and Haozhong flanked Young Madam Pei, supporting her as they walked toward the boat. Behind them, eight guards in tight-sleeved uniforms followed closely.

The daughter of the Minister of Rites couldn’t help but purse her lips when she saw them. She whispered to Cui Dai, who was beside her, “Look at the grand entrance your sister is making.”

Cui Dai, holding a persian cat and absentmindedly stroking its head, replied, “The Young Madam Pei can’t compare to us.”

The Pei Family’s high social status and Pei Xuan’s bright future made Cui Ti, though nominally blind, the envy of many. Despite the number of people present, none could claim a higher status than Young Madam Pei.

“Hmph, look how pleased she is with herself.”

Many young women in Xi Jing admired Pei Xuan, including the daughter of the Minister of Rites. Thus, even before Cui Ti approached, her malice was barely concealed.

Cui Dai whispered a few comforting words, which seemed to improve Miss Zhao’s impression of her. “As sisters, I find you much better than your older sister.”

Cui Dai was adept at such flattering remarks. If they were in private, she might have used this to open a conversation. However, with so many noblewomen present, she had to maintain the appearance of sisterly affection, despite her jealousy of Cui Ti.

Seeing her silent, Miss Zhao’s eyes darted around, and she barely suppressed a scoff of “coward.”

Guiming Lake, one of the eight scenic spots of Xi Jing.

Every summer, the lake attracted countless visitors. If one was lucky enough to encounter an Imperial Prince on a leisure outing, exchanging glances across the water could be a shortcut to rising in status.

The current Second Prince’s Consort had entered the royal family this way. Her fortune made many envious, which is why Dou Qingyue’s invitation drew a large crowd.

Miss Zhao from the Zhao Family, unable to endure the boredom inside, insisted on dragging Cui Dai outside for some fresh air. However, it was clear her true intention was to intimidate Cui Ti.

It was well known that Young Madam Pei was born blind.

Zhao Furong let go of Cui Dai’s hand and hurried over. “Oh! Young Madam Pei has finally graced us with her presence? I thought we, from humble families, would have to wait forever to see you. Be careful with your steps, Young Madam. If you were to fall, wouldn’t Imperial Lecturer Pei come after us with a vengeance?”

Her words were sharp and sarcastic. Before Cui Ti could respond, Zhao Furong continued, “Look at your useless servants. They can’t even help you walk properly. What’s the point of having them?”

She ordered her maid to take over.

Seeing this, Bai Tang stood tall, ready for a confrontation. “What do you think you’re doing? Stay away from our Young Madam!”

Recognizing the Minister’s daughter, Haozhong smiled and said, “Miss Zhao, we appreciate your kind intentions, but our Young Madam is well taken care of.”

With a gentle gesture, she deflected Zhao Furong’s aggressive demeanor.

Zhao Furong sneered, looking Haozhong up and down. “Where did this dog come from, barking at me?”

“…”

Cui Dai had bullied her eldest sister, Cui Ti, for years but never with the brazen boldness of Zhao Furong.

Say what you will, Zhao Furong certainly had the guts.

One should respect the owner before hitting the dog, but Zhao Furong showed no regard for Cui Ti.

A tense silence fell over the group. Haozhong’s face turned pale, her lips pressed tightly together. The guards behind her gripped the hilts of their swords.

Zhao Furong, puffed up with arrogance, looked at Cui Ti with a provocative glint in her eye.

In her previous lifetime, Cui Ti had dealt with such farces many times, and she had grown tired of them. This time, she decided not to avoid the confrontation with subtlety.

Calm and composed, she said, “She was raised by my mother-in-law and is not an ordinary servant. Miss Zhao, you should apologize to my Haozhong. Only then will my mother-in-law not pursue your offense.”

The saying “three days apart, and one must look at someone with new eyes” perfectly described Cui Ti.

Cui Dai had never seen her eldest sister so confidently assert her authority.

Was this really her blind sister?

Zhao Furong was taken aback, her expression constantly changing.

Disliking Cui Ti was one thing, but to be publicly accused of indirectly insulting Madam Pei was another matter entirely.

Everyone in Xi Jing knew how much Chancellor Pei respected his wife, not to mention Madam Pei’s powerful family background.

General Dou was raised by Madam Pei herself, almost like a mother. Insulting a servant could be overlooked, but insulting Madam Pei was not just arrogance—it was sheer foolishness.

If General Dou found out, she might very well take a knife to the Zhao Family to “greet” her father.

Cui Ti’s ruthless maneuver left Zhao Furong in a difficult position. Asking the legitimate daughter of the Minister to apologize to a servant was a significant blow to her pride.

She glanced behind her, anxiously wondering why Dou Qingyue, the host of today’s gathering, hadn’t yet appeared to help her out of this predicament.

“Miss Zhao,” Cui Ti gently urged.

Under the combined pressure of the Pei Family and the Dou Family, Zhao Furong’s spine bent slightly as she reluctantly offered an apology.

Her attempt to assert dominance had backfired, leaving her humiliated by Cui Ti.

Just as her begrudging apology fell, Dou Qingyue descended from the deck with a group of young women eager to watch the drama unfold. “What’s going on here? My cousin’s wife is here; why are you all still outside?”

“Nothing much, just a little joke with Miss Zhao,” Cui Ti replied.

“A little joke?!”

Zhao Furong’s head snapped up: You trampled on my dignity, and now you call it a ‘little joke’?

Given the circumstances, she couldn’t rashly ask if Haozhong was indeed raised by Madam Pei. Asking would make her seem foolish, but not asking meant swallowing her pride.

Facing Cui Ti, she realized the extent of her cunning. Despite her delicate appearance, Cui Ti was anything but weak. Zhao Furong’s eyes flicked toward Cui Dai, as if to say, Do you really think you can bully her?

Cui Dai feigned ignorance, her shock at Cui Ti’s transformation barely concealed. This was not the same woman she knew.

Cui Ti’s deft handling of Zhao Furong with just a few words was a stark contrast to the timid and gentle demeanor Dou Qingyue remembered. In her previous life, Dou Qingyue had often ridiculed her blind cousin’s wife, but this time…

Dou Qingyue eyed Cui Ti suspiciously, inviting everyone inside with a laugh.

The guards accompanying the Pei Family remained on guard outside.

Inside the large boat, the atmosphere was lively with music and dance. Though Cui Ti couldn’t see, she sat quietly, surrounded by the sounds of merriment.

“Bring the wine!” Dou Qingyue commanded, prompting the servants to bustle about, filling the guests’ cups.

In Xi Jing, noblewomen often drank at social gatherings, favoring smooth and mellow wines such as peach blossom wine, pear blossom wine, and sweet and tangy fruit brews.

As the wine filled her cup, Cui Ti suddenly thought of Pei Xuan, who loved drinking. Raised as a gentleman, Pei Xuan was a refined and charming alcoholic. Not even Song Zizhen and Zheng Wuji together could outdrink her.

Once, during a banquet at home, Pei Xuan engaged in a drinking and poetry duel with the two men, astonishing her friends with her drinking capacity and poetic talent. They were so impressed that they didn’t dare invite her for a drink for an entire month.

Frustrated by this, Pei Xuan resorted to drinking alone at home.

Cui Ti’s own drinking tolerance developed during those times. However, in this new lifetime, without Pei Xuan by her side and lacking the same practice, Cui Ti didn’t enjoy drinking. Alcohol had a way of loosening inhibitions, and she only felt comfortable showing her inebriated state to Pei Xuan.

Holding her small cup but not drinking, Dou Qingyue raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Cui Ti, I toast to you.”

The sickly Miss Dou took the lead and drank first. Cui Ti couldn’t remain seated without reciprocating. She used her wide sleeves to discreetly take a small sip.

“It’s rare for us all to gather here. With such fine wine and food, how can we not have some poetry? Let’s play a game: whoever loses must drink three cups as a penalty. Shall we?”

“Agreed!” the crowd responded enthusiastically.

Dou Qingyue asked, “What do you think, Cui Ti?”

The course of events this lifetime was starkly different from the previous one. Curious about Cui Ti’s true nature, Dou Qingyue agreed, “Sure.”

Cui Dai smirked inwardly. How dare someone who barely knows a few characters boast? Today, I’ll watch closely as Cui Ti makes a fool of herself!

Bai Tang nervously tugged at her miss’s sleeve. Cui Ti smiled and reassured her, “Don’t worry.”

But how could Bai Tang not worry? They had lived in a dilapidated house in the south courtyard, struggling just to survive. There was no opportunity for literary pursuits. Besides, how long had it been since the Young Madam started studying with the gentleman?

Bai Tang feared that Cui Ti might fall into their trap, making a fool of herself. Better to stay home than to expose herself to ridicule.

The Pei Family’s much-praised cousin miss, Bai Tang didn’t think highly of her. If she were truly good, why not challenge the Young Madam to a game of blind man’s bluff?

Instead, they played a game designed to humiliate people.

The musicians were quickly invited onto the stage.

The game they played was aligned with the refined tastes of the nobles in Xi Jing: listening to a piece of music, composing a poem that matches its mood, and then having the poems judged anonymously by the group. The person with the fewest votes would face a penalty.

Only those with a certain level of musical knowledge could create a poem that truly resonated with the piece played by the musicians.

It was a game for the cultured elite.

Cui Dai assumed Cui Ti was just putting on airs.

It wasn’t just her; the others shared the same thought.

Bullying a blind woman with no literary knowledge seemed excessive, but many attendees harbored unspoken feelings for Pei Xuan. As much as they admired Gentleman Pei, they found Young Madam Pei equally irksome.

Moreover, Cui Ti had agreed to participate herself.

No one would pass up an opportunity to bully her.

Dou Qingyue smiled slightly. “Let’s begin.”

…

As the music ended, Cui Ti sat there with her pen, lost in thought. A faint blush lingered at the corner of her eyes, as if she truly understood the melancholy and lingering emotions of the song.

She ‘looked’ in the direction of the musicians, feeling a mix of emotions.

The song’s notes evoked the bitterness of lovers unable to grow old together and the passionate entanglement of parting. The melody touched her deeply, making her curious about the musician’s own story.

As the host, Dou Qingyue had already started writing, her brush swiftly moving across the paper. Even the usually clueless Zhao Furong was blushing, furrowing her brow in concentration as she struggled to compose a poem.

Now, only the two sisters from the Cui Family remained motionless with their pens.

Bai Tang was so worried her hair might turn white, thinking: Is she too anxious to write anything? Is Young Madam going to cry?

If Cui Ti couldn’t outperform Cui Dai, she’d never hear the end of it from her.

The maids Haozhong and Raoliang, standing nearby, were equally anxious.

The large two-story boat slowly drifted toward the center of the lake.

Cui Dai began writing before Cui Ti. As the incense stick burned down, they both finished at nearly the same time.

The poems were handed to the servants and anonymized. Cui Ti was still lost in her thoughts.

“Hey? Why did the music stop?”

On the lake, a young nobleman in splendid attire heard the commotion and approached in his boat, which was at some distance from the two-story vessel.

“Young Prince, shall we go take a look?”

“Can we?”

“Why not?”

Jingcan, the Young Prince, was intrigued and snapped open his folding fan. “Alright, let’s go see.”

In Xi Jing, the gathering of prominent noblewomen assumed that the one to be embarrassed by the poem evaluation would surely be Cui Ti. To their surprise, it was Cui Dai who ended up humiliated.

As for the poem written by Cui Ti, it garnered unanimous praise. Previously, many had believed that such a remarkable poem could only have been penned by Dou Qingyue.

Who was Dou Qingyue?

A celebrated talent in Xi Jing.

And who was Cui Ti?

A blind woman, an illiterate.

Cui Dai’s face turned as red as pig liver. “This is utterly ridiculous! I don’t believe you wrote this!”

“Believe it or not, it will be judged fairly.”

Compared to Cui Dai’s furious embarrassment, Cui Ti’s calm demeanor was far more dignified.

The music was performed live, eliminating any possibility of cheating from the start. As for the astonishing poem, it could only have been written by Cui Ti under the watchful eyes of everyone present.

Cui Dai had no grounds to argue further and had to drink three cups as a penalty.

Three cups followed by another three.

They listened to a few more pieces and wrote a few more poems. With her genuine talent and learning, Cui Ti won the admiration of those present.

Bai Tang was utterly stunned. What is happening? When did my Young Madam undergo such a transformation?

Cui Ti tilted her head, listening to the praise flowing around her. Sitting in the main seat, Dou Qingyue suddenly had a moment of clarity-

So, it’s you.

You have returned as well.