Ch. 25: Aunt

The sooty scent of charred willow felt comforting as the maid, Lan Ming, carved gentle crescents onto Ning Cailing's face, the elegant brow shape enhancing the oval face that resembled a freshly peeled egg. The bronze mirror before her could not reflect her true near translucent pallor, but the light from the window before her bounced off her smooth cheeks lightly dusted a blushing pink perfect for the incoming spring. Lan Ming let out an appreciative sigh before she could stop herself.

"Young Miss, your beauty is second to no other noble girl in the capital. Prince Jing be beside himself with joy to attain the hand of the most eligible maiden in the empire!" Lan Ming's words were sweet, but the last sentence suddenly hit a nerve dimming Ning Cailing's peaceful beauty.

A muscle ticked in her jaw as she recalled the man's cynical words covered in barbs.

"You may become my wife, Ning Cailing, but I will never be with you, never love in the way you desire. But don't worry, you'll get everything the wife of Prince Jing deserves. After all, how could I bear to disappoint the intentions of the Duke of Gao Mansion?"

"Don't mention him," Ning Cailing murmured, her quiet voice uncharacteristically sharp. Lan Ming jolted, her steady hands nearly dropped the thin brush she was drawing on the brows with. A minuscule amount of black powder fell onto pale pink silk jacket, the cross collar embroidered with blooming camellias which were newly in season. The neck was lined with cinnamon-colored squirrel fur as the weather was still cold and beautifully contrasted the lighter clothes.

"Young Miss, in my excitement I misspoke. Please forgive me." Deft hands brushed the stain away with a fresh handkerchief before Lan Ming dropped into a curtsey with her eyes tilted towards the floor. Ning Cailing felt briefly annoyed at her maid's overreaction at her small comment but waved away Lan Ming's apology, drawing her servant girl's hands into her own.

"Lan Ming, you worry too much. Look, isn't the stain completely gone?" she asked sweetly, patting the back of her maid's hands that were nearly as white and smooth as her own.

Nurse Kong, Ning Cailing's former wet nurse, hurried into such a scene, her anxiousness ruining the newly established harmony. Both girl and servant turned to look at Nurse Kong, the older woman around her mother's age huffing slightly but minding her manners as she dropped into a bow.

"Greeting, Young Miss," Nurse Kong said deferentially, making her way to the vanity in Ning Cailing's boudoir.

"What is it, Nurse Kong? Was Old Madam Zhao's birthday banquet suddenly canceled?" Ning Cailing asked. The finely dressed young miss simultaneously took the chance to extricate her hands from Lan Ming's and peruse the simple, yet exquisite jewelry displayed on the high-quality rosewood table.

"Not at all, Young Miss. Just now, I heard that Old Madam is beside herself with happiness she cried and scared all the Madams who were waiting on her."

"Grandmother cried?" Ning Cailing tried to picture the elderly woman whose mouth was always set in a straight, hard line unless she was with her grandchildren. She abruptly stood up, ready to rush into the cold to her grandmother's courtyard.

"Do not worry, there is nothing the matter with her health or wellbeing. She simply received a letter from Young Madam Shen for the first time since misfortune met the Shen family."

It took a moment for Ning Cailing to equate the foreign name to the identity, but when she did, a gasp escaped her rosy lips.

"Paternal Aunt? She wrote a letter to Grandmother? I thought that-" Ning Cailing trailed off, feeling it wouldn't be proper for her to voice what she had thought.

Old Madam's only daughter, Ning Zhiling, had married into a then prominent official family that had been implicated by a distant familial branch in a failed coup during the previous emperor's reign. The emperor's might had been swift, decimating the entire branch that had done the crime and exiling the entire Shen family from the capital. After that, Ning Cailing did not know the story of her blood-related aunt although she had always assumed the worst as it was said that her paternal aunt was pregnant at the time.

Seeing that it wouldn't be proper for an unmarried woman to speak further, Nurse Kong gracefully carried on, "The contents of the letter haven't been fully disclosed, but it seems that she is returning to Duke of Gao Mansion with her daughter."

"Her daughter?" Ning Cailing pointed at twin hairpins topped with a rare Southern sea pearl the size of her pinky nail. Lan Ming tucked them into her long, sweeping hairstyle, creating a refreshing appearance that was as humble as her personality yet didn't understate the grandeur of her noble family heritage.

"Yes, Young Miss. When you had just been born, we received news that Madam Shen was pregnant. Shortly after, the calamity happened," Nurse Kong sighed at the unlucky fate.

Ning Cailing reflected on the little information she knew about the aunt she had never met, her freshly drawn brows drawing together as a thought occurred to her.

"Wasn't First Aunt said to be a beauty?" she blurted out before she could help herself.

A voice came Lan Xue posted at the bedroom door. "Young Miss, First Madam's maid is here to tell you that the carriages are ready."

"En," Ning Cailing obediently replied, rising from the chair in one motion and taking Lan Ming's arm as she stepped over the threshold of her courtyard.

Maneuvering through the numerous outdoor halls and walkways of her prestigious family, Ning Cailing offhandedly wondered where her aunt and her cousin would reside when they arrived. The first sprigs of green were beginning to poke through the white blanket that covered the mansion and the city, a signal for the incoming change in seasons. Her gentle, preoccupied expression as she finally wandered to the outer gate where her aunts, sisters, and cousins waited brought the first smile to Madam Chu's flinty demeanor.

As one of the two titled women of Duke of Gao Mansion, and the only one attending Old Madam Zhao's banquet, Madam Chu was dressed more resplendently than Second Madam and Third Madam. The muted maroon colors featured threads of gold in its detailed embroidery, allowing the silk outerwear to complement Madam Chu's slightly wheaty skin from years growing up near the southern border before her military family moved their home to the capital.

"My good daughter," Madam Chu tugged Cailing close, admiring her beautiful daughter. Ning Cailing's fresh appearance outshone that of Ning Cairong and Ning Caixin, the twin daughters of the third branch. Ning Caixin, whose hair was decked out with the fine jewelry Old Madam had given them all during the new year, suddenly felt that the bright colors and jewels she had worn to deliberately outshine Ning Cailing was all for naught.

"Second sister, Third sister," Ning Cailing greeted her younger sisters, her pleated skirt barely moving as she dropped an elegant curtsey.

"First sister," they replied with similar slight bows, although Ning Caixin's was far more curt and her expression was pinched. To Third Madam's embarrassment, Ning Caixin did not linger any longer, rushing onto her carriage with an unpleasant aura around her.

Third Madam, who had the misfortune of being married to the only shu born son of the former Duke of Gao, was accustomed to humbling her position in the populous titled family, donning a navy dress that was so dark it looked black and minimal jewelry. Quickly apologizing to First Madam and Second Madam for her daughter's behavior, she followed Ning Caixin in, prompting everyone to climb into their respective carriages.

As the wife of the Duke of Gao himself, Madam Chu and Ning Cailing's carriage was the most spacious, the curtains keeping any cold air out as a warm brazier kept the interior as toasty as their own rooms in the mansion.

"Mother," Ning Cailing whined childishly as she was prone to whenever she was alone with her mother.

"Ling'er," Madam Chu patted Ning Cailing's hand lovingly, the warmth that can only be found in a mother's eyes overflowing. "I was just with Old Madam. It seems that your aunt and your cousin will be returning home in a few weeks."

"That quick?"

"En. It seems that the temple that your aunt had stayed at, Yonghe Temple, was met with mischief and burnt to the ground. She took it as a sign that it was time for her to return to her maternal home," Madam Chu answered, faint disapproval evident in her voice.

Although she was raised more freely in the south near the military her father headed, Madam Chu was still taught the proprieties of women and believed that married women were like spilled water, never to return to their maiden home.

Ning Cailing, ever the mediator, puckered her face at her mother. "Mother, look at your face. If something happened to my husband would you chase me into the streets?"

Looking at her cute daughter, who had grown up so quickly yet was still so youthful and kind, Madam Chu allowed some of her disapproval to dissipate.

"Prince Jing wouldn't dare with your family behind you. He is just a junwang, the son of the previous emperor's brother. If he dares, just tell Mother and I will have him straightened out for you."

"Mother, that wouldn't be proper," Ning Cailing sighed, thinking of the obstinate resistance in those dark eyes. "He would hate me."

"How could any man hate you?" Madam Chu chuckled, unknowing of the turmoils in her daughter's heart. "You are the niece of the empress, grandniece of one of the empress dowagers, and the di daughter of a first rank family. You are beautiful, well versed in the four arts, and have a kind heart. Once Prince Jing gets to know you, he will know how fortunate he is to have you."

Ning Cailing found herself nodding to her mother's words. In her short life where she had only known good things and tried her best to be good to others, it was certain that one day Prince Jing would be moved by her sincere heart. After all, since they had first met when they were young, Ning Cailing had only had that man in her heart.

With thoughts of love and marriage bubbling in her mind, the glow of her face seemed even more emphasized as she disembarked from the carriage with the help of Lan Ming. The noble girls spying near the entrance felt their breath get taken away by the sight of the most beautiful woman in the capital, who resembled a fairy more than a human.

Madam Zhao, who waited within the entrance to greet guests, felt her face bloom into a wide, pandering smile as she saw how her family's banquet had been visited by the Ning family's women. Now it seemed that all the work she had done in preparation wasn't for naught. However, even without the Ning family, as the first banquet of the year for the birthday of a third-ranked noblewoman, many distinguished guests were drawn from their warm manors to the festivities.

The customary greetings were exchanged, with Ning Caixin exchanging her scowl for a smile as her last name drew girls fluttering around her like butterflies. It wasn't until she turned to see that Ning Cailing was surrounded by more important guests, like the daughter of Imperial Censor Feng and a junzhu, that she felt her flatterers were too low status for herself.

Ning Cairong, the quietest of the three sisters and Ning Caixin's lackey as the least admirable of the marriageable Ning girls, was accustomed to quelling Ning Ruoxin's firecracker temper. She hastily grabbed her older twin's hand as if she wished for accompaniment to find a seat.

"Second sister," Ning Cairong warned under her breath near Ning Caixin's ear as she dragged them both towards their meek mother. It seemed it had come time to pay greetings and birthday wishes to Old Madam Zhao, who was inside to avoid the cold. "Don't embarrass yourself. Do you or do you not want First Aunt's help for a good marriage?"

Ning Caixin viciously smirked, the expression marring her lovely face so much Ning Cairong maneuvered her body so it couldn't be seen by others. "How much would it help? Look at Zhao Suiyan. Her older sister who she followed around like a loyal dog until now, isn't her only option a 4th ranked official family with no prospects?"

"Shhh!" Ning Cairong hissed as a nearby head nearly turned around. She smiled disarmingly at the madam who was looking at them, her babyish features cute but no where near as charming as Ning Caixin and Ning Cailing.

They approached their mother, who was stood behind First Madam and Ning Cailing as they were announced in by a maid. The older ladies who were chatting inside looked up eagerly as the Ning family ladies approached and gave greetings. As usual, approving eyes fell upon Ning Cailing as praises fell from their lips about her beauty and marriage later that year. But more interestingly, standing proudly beside her grandmother in a warm peach outfit and currying favor with the visiting noble guests was none other than Zhao Suiyan.