Chapter 5 – Marriage Proposal

Spring was in full bloom in Xi Jing, and many people were out flying kites. The flowers were in full color, the willows were green, and the atmosphere was vibrant with the exuberance of youth.

In the dilapidated house in the south courtyard, Cui Ti knelt on a prayer mat, devoutly praying for Pei Xuan’s well-being, unaware that on the other side of the wall, she had become the subject of gossip.

“The eldest daughter of the Xining Count isn’t dead; she’s still alive and she’s blind!”

“Even the chancellor’s wife praised this blind girl?”

“What virtues or abilities does a blind girl have to deserve Madam Pei’s praise?”

“This doesn’t match what I’ve heard,” a vegetable vendor chimed in during a lull. “I heard that the one Madam Pei truly praised was the third miss of the Count’s residence.”

“Yes, yes, we also heard that she praised third miss Cui.”

The two groups started arguing.

Someone, unable to tolerate the bickering, waved a hand dismissively and said, “Stop arguing. The point is that she praised a Cui family’s daughter. Does it matter if it was the eldest or the youngest?”

People paused, then realized: Yes, it didn’t matter which one; it was a Cui family’s daughter either way.

Once the chancellor’s wife gave her praise, the daughters of the Xining Count’s residence rose in status. Ladies from various families came to the Cui residence, hoping to find a beautiful and virtuous bride for their sons.

Outsiders saw this as a great fortune, but the Xining Count didn’t share their enthusiasm. He frowned, feeling gloomy. “Were those rumors spread by your people?”

The Countess of Xining chided him for being a killjoy. “I was just going with the flow. Why not take advantage of a good thing that comes our way? Besides, I didn’t lie. Madam Pei did praise a Cui family’s daughter. I just muddied the waters a bit.

“As their mother, shouldn’t I think about Dai’er’s marriage prospects? You, as their father, don’t even consider it.

“Look, now that the rumors are out, we have more marriage proposals, don’t we?”

There were indeed more proposals, but there were also more people who knew he had a blind daughter.

The Xining Count was deeply troubled, but his wife was busy selecting future sons-in-law and had no time to pay him any mind.

Each person was busy with their own affairs, and no one really thought about the eldest daughter still living in the dilapidated house.

Well, almost no one.

Cui Dai stormed into the small courtyard, fuming. “Cui Ti, how dare you sneak off to meet someone in secret on my birthday? A mat placed by the wall and a person falling over it—turns out it was the chancellor’s legitimate son? I find that hard to believe!”

That day, Cui Dai had been deeply upset. The once pampered and adored girl was snubbed by the chancellor’s wife, while her mother basked in the reflected glory brought by Cui Ti, attracting many noblewomen interested in marriage alliances.

It was a great humiliation that she couldn’t bear.

“Cui Ti! Get out here!”

Bai Ge came out holding a broom. “Third Miss?”

“Where’s Cui Ti?”

Cui Dai had brought three or five stout women with her, and the situation looked dire. Bai Ge stood guard at the door, wary. “Miss is praying.”

“Praying? For whom? I bet she’s cursing me to die!”

“Third Miss! You shouldn’t say such things!”

“Do you think it’s your place to speak?” Cui Dai, looking for someone to vent her anger on, sneered coldly. “Rip her mouth apart. Let’s see if she dares to talk back again.”

“No, please, Third Miss—”

“Wait!”

Leaning on a green bamboo staff, Cui Ti groped her way out. Dressed in a simple cloth skirt with her hair adorned with wildflowers, she looked graceful and delicate.

Being a few years older, her figure had developed more than the fourteen-year-old Cui Dai’s, which only made Cui Dai angrier. She was convinced that Cui Ti had used her looks to seduce Pei Xuan.

Her mother had made it very clear: in Xi Jing, among the nobility, the Pei family’s legitimate son was the pinnacle.

First in talent, first in character, first in appearance, first in family background. And on top of all that, as the chancellor’s legitimate and only son, he was destined for a bright future, bound to rise in rank, with unlimited prospects.

Moreover, he had everything one could wish for.

Such a person would inevitably be favored by His Majesty sooner or later.

Cui Dai’s eyes were filled with undisguised malice. “You came at the right time. Your dog offended me, and now I want to beat her to death. Do you object?”

“Bai Ge, come here.”

With her mouth stuffed with a rag, Bai Ge could only mumble inaudibly. Her body struggled but couldn’t break free, and her face turned red.

Two stout maids held her down on either side, one of them delivering a harsh kick to her leg, forcing her to kneel before Cui Dai.

Cui Ti gripped her bamboo staff tightly, her lips pressed together, and her thin shoulders trembled slightly.

Cui Dai, overconfident, sneered, “I advise you to stop dreaming of soaring high. A sparrow will always be a sparrow, never a phoenix. Think about it, you’re a blind girl. What could the Pei Family’s legitimate son want from you? Your blindness? Or the fact that you’re unloved by your parents, a jinx who brings bad luck?”

“I am not.”

“If I say you are, then you are! You’re a jinx! Look at your maid, so pitiful. Serving you since childhood, she never has enough to eat or wear, always bullied by the other servants. Now I want to beat her to death. What will you do? What can you do?”

The bamboo staff struck the ground with a thud-thud sound. Bai Ge bit her lip in humiliation, breaking the skin.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to see her miss groping her way over to defend her.

She shook her head desperately, struggling.

Cui Dai watched, wide-eyed, as Cui Ti slowly moved forward, swinging the bamboo staff tentatively.

The staff hit the right shoulder of a malicious servant. The first strike was soft, but the subsequent ones were filled with fierce determination. The servant cried out in pain, prompting even more determined strikes.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Bai Ge scrambled to her feet and punched the face of the servant who had been oppressing her.

The situation turned chaotic. Cui Dai stared in disbelief; she hadn’t expected a blind girl to fight back so fiercely.

“Beat them! Beat them to death, and I’ll take responsibility!”

With Cui Dai backing them, the servants joined forces, attacking both the frail maid and the blind girl. It was a chaotic scene.

After a while, having vented her anger, Cui Dai glanced at the rabbit cage, now empty. Frustrated that she couldn’t inflict more pain on Cui Ti, she turned and left in a huff.

“Miss, Miss, are you alright?” Bai Ge, bruised and battered, crawled over to check on her miss.

Cui Ti was drenched in sweat, her hair slightly damp. Clutching the bamboo staff tightly, she refused to let go, using it to protect both herself and Bai Ge.

Panting heavily, her wooden hairpin had fallen to the ground, her hair hanging down, obscuring half of her face.

Bai Ge, trembling, gently brushed her hair aside. Seeing that Cui Ti’s face was unhurt, she sighed in relief and sat down, grinning foolishly. “Miss, we did great. I saw you hitting them with the bamboo. Thanks to your strike, I was able to scratch her face.”

She chuckled, her voice filled with schadenfreude. “It’ll take at least half a month for that wound to heal.”

The spring breeze blew through the courtyard. Bai Ge looked around at the small yard that had endured so much—

The swing set she had painstakingly built for her miss was destroyed, the flowers and vegetables planted in the yard trampled.

Her eyes reddened, and she sniffed, speaking softly, “Miss, they’re gone. We didn’t lose the fight; at least we fought back. In the past, I wouldn’t have dared to even think of that.”

Bai Ge was silent for a moment, then seriously looked at her beautiful and pitiable miss and sincerely smiled. “Miss, you are truly brave.”

She tried to pry open Cui Ti’s hand, which stubbornly refused to let go, revealing the red marks left by her nails and the embroidered shoes that had been trampled. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Next time, let’s not fight with them, okay?”

Cui Ti suddenly raised her head, her voice dry. “Do you also think I’m useless?”

“No, Bai Ge doesn’t think that!”

“There won’t be a next time.”

She struggled to stand, leaning on her bamboo staff. “From now on, I’ll protect you. You are mine, and no one can bully you.”

Her words moved Bai Ge so deeply that she felt it would be worth dying for her. Overwhelmed with emotion, she hugged Cui Ti and burst into tears. “Waaah, they hurt me so much. Cui Dai is so evil!”

Cui Dai’s act of going to the south courtyard to beat people couldn’t be hidden from the family. When the Countess of Xining heard about it, she scolded her daughter, focusing on how “it would harm her reputation if word got out” and “this is a crucial time for marriage negotiations, and we can’t afford any trouble.”

Her favoritism was so blatant that even Count Xining couldn’t stand it. However, despite his disapproval, life went on as usual.

He didn’t like his eldest daughter.

Countless times that day, he thought: If only Cui Ti weren’t blind, she would have the chancellor’s wife’s praise and could be matched with a good marriage.

He sighed deeply. “Send some medicine over there. Even a tiger doesn’t eat its own cubs.”

Cui Dai fell silent.

The Countess of Xining reacted like a cat with its tail stepped on. “I gave birth to her, but do I owe her anything? Are you calling me cruel? She tormented me every day when I was pregnant with her. I almost lost my life giving birth to her. It would be fine if she were healthy, but she’s blind.

“You think having a blind daughter is shameful. I get angry just looking at her. What now, after ignoring her for eighteen years, you want to play the kind father? Did you get your head stuck in a door?”

Her relentless tirade left Count Xining fuming, his beard bristling. He decided, as usual, to stop meddling in the household affairs.

“I’m truly infuriated by your father!”

After Count Xining left, the Countess complained to her youngest daughter.

Cui Dai, delighted by the drama, had an idea. “Mother, how about we arrange a marriage for the one in the south courtyard? Marry her off early, and it will save you and Father from further arguments.”

“Arrange a marriage?”

Naturally, the marriage of children was decided by their parents, and the Countess of Xining was the one truly in charge of the household. She had never considered arranging a marriage for Cui Ti.

“Is there anyone who would want her?”

“Why not give it a try? This is a great opportunity to rid ourselves of a troublesome issue. Think about it, the Chancellor’s wife praised Cui Ti. How could other noblewomen say anything against her?

“People aren’t always born perfect. In Xi Jing, there are always sons who are blind, lame, or deaf. A match made in heaven, and no one will look down on anyone.”

This suggestion struck a chord with the Countess of Xining.

If she could manage her children’s marriages well, it was not impossible that the Cui Family could produce another high-ranking official in the capital.

That very day, the Countess of Xining, who had not set foot in the small courtyard for eighteen years, brought an elderly female portrait artist and stood before Cui Ti.

After obtaining the portrait, the Countess left without saying a word, leaving behind some healing medicine.

The hope in Bai Ge’s eyes shattered bit by bit. Heaven knew how excited she had been to see the Countess visit the small courtyard.

After all, the young miss was the Countess’s own flesh and blood, born after ten months of pregnancy. Though they were both daughters, it was expected that a mother would care equally. The youngest daughter’s rough and domineering behavior in beating her eldest sister would warrant severe punishment in any household.

But the young miss did not hear a single word of comfort, nor did she receive any explanation.

Cui Ti clutched the medicine bottle, her knuckles turning white.

“Miss, what does the Countess mean by this? Could it be-“

Bai Ge covered her mouth: Could it be that the Countess came to have the young miss’s portrait painted in order to arrange a marriage?

Cui Dai had just beaten someone, and the Countess had come right after.

Her heart pounded with unease, and the more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

The porcelain bottle fell and shattered, accompanied by Bai Ge’s cry of confusion. Cui Ti smiled faintly. “Really, she wants to arrange a marriage for me again.”