Li Jing arrived in front of the study door. Merry voices greeted her ears. Sounds of the harmonious family having a great time with each other's company seeped through the seams of the wall. Li Jing glanced beyond the open window beside her. Clear and bright blue sky, trees softly swaying with the gentle morning breeze, and birds chirping happily.
Li Jing smiled. Ahh, what a great day to start destroying a happy family.
She knocked.
"Come in."
Li Jing entered. She donned the signature look of the original host. Meek and submissive.
The happy banter ceased as her family composed of her father, step-mother, step-sister, and soon-to-be brother-in-law looked up from the couch.
"Li Jing jiejie, you're here! I thought you weren't coming. You made us all wait." A beautiful woman in her early twenties jumped at her hug her. Her face was radiant and open. Her frame slender and lovely, you wouldn't detect any duality if you don't look closely.
Li Jing smiled softly at this woman's word. What a good meimei indeed.
"Yiyi meimei," Li Jing raised her hand. Guo Yiyi flinched when she saw the outstretched hand, it looked like a terrifying white snake poised to strike her, and instinctively took a step back before she could stop herself. Guo Yiyi covered her small bump.
Li Jing smiled more softly and caressed her step-sister's hair. "You shouldn't say those words so casually. What if Father misunderstood me again and call me unfilial? Wouldn't it look like you are deliberately sowing discord between us father and daughter? I was late because I injured my knee from kneeling in the Ancestral Hall for three days without any meals, walking is a bit taxing and I don't have much energy when I haven't had a drop of water and food in the past three days."
Guo Yiyi stared at her, mouth agape. "That…Jiejie…"
"No need to explain anything, Yiyi meimei. Your Jiejie understands, although the maid that was tasked to bring in my meals was one of your maids, it does not mean it was to your instruction, right? Those servants sometimes act on their own without their Miss's command. But, meimei, this kind of servant cannot be kept, if they can't do their jobs properly then they should be fired."
An awkward silence descended through the spacious room.
Guo Yiyi was shocked as she had not expected this weak sister of hers to attack her relentlessly.
That was the first time Li Jing, this woman, countered her words. She would just take it all without refuting in the past. Where was that weak, ignorant woman now?
A peal of forced laughter boomed inside the room. Then an arm extended across Li Jing's shoulder. A strong scent of floral perfume assailed her nose making her eyes water.
"Oh, this silly child. Of course, Yiyi would never do that to her beloved older sister. Surely, it was that damned servant's idea. Don't worry, Mother will reprimand her." Tang Ruyi said it like how a mother cares for her child.
As a step-mother with a deep resentment towards the original Li Jing, she had to commend her high-class acting. Li Jing thought that Guo Yiyi should learn from her mother. Unlike her daughter seething on the side, no malice leaked from Tang Ruyi's face, it was all contained in her eyes.
"Reprimand?! Is that all you could think of?" Li Jing's estranged father, Guo Chen Xiao, who had been a silent spectator all this time bellowed.
"D- Dear?"
"I say, fire her! Fire that woman. Who in their right mind would dare attack the hand that feeds them? Only ingrates would!"
Li Jing wasn't sure if it was because of this father's new-found parental concern for his child's security or was it just an act to make himself firm and just in front of his future son-in-law"
But then, the sad truth remains that he still punished her daughter to kneel for three days in a cold place without checking in on her wellbeing.
"But dear-"
Guo Chen Xiao waved his hand dismissively.
"I've made up my mind. See to it that that damned servant is out of this estate in an hour." He said, his voice bearing weight and finality.
All Tang Ruyi could do is bow her head like a submissive wife, "Yes, dear."
"But mother-" Guo Yiyi hadn't finished her words before Tang Ruyi pinned her with a knowing glance.
Like a spoiled kid who was told no by her parents, Guo Yiyi returned to her fiancé's side pale-faced and listless.
Watching this entertaining spectacle made Li Jing's smile deepen. Li Jing had just dealt a huge blow against the mother-daughter pair. That servant who was supposed to give her food was Li Yiyi's old nanny. The pair entrusts all dirty works to this nanny and that old one was close to them. The food with-holding was their idea to torment her but look how it turned out now? It felt like Li Jing had cut one of their limbs.
Li Jing smirked. No matter how dependable you are or how strong the bond is, if you are no longer of use then you are expendable. The nanny had already served her purpose. It was time to clean up. She was sure this is what Tang Ruyi is thinking right now.
Guo Chen Xiao motioned for everybody to sit. The sofa was formed into a typical u-shaped pattern where Guo Chen Xiao sat at the helm. Tang Ruyi sat on his right side and the sofa to the left was occupied by Guo Yiyi and Zhang Yong. Li Jing sat beside Tang Ruyi.
Guo Chen Xiao cleared his throat before facing her, "Li Jing, Guo Yiyi, and Zhang Yong's wedding will be a month from now. Your sister wants you to be her Maid of Honor."
Li Jing reached for a cup of tea from the center table like she didn't hear her father at all. She inhaled the faint aroma of good quality tea and slowly sip it, savoring its superb taste and warmth. She did all this with her family's eyes on her.
Her father coughed twice to get her attention, "Li Jing, you will be your sister's Maid of Honor."
Li Jing saw her shadow quivered on the floor but continued to sip her tea as if none bothered her. The mother-daughter duo looked at her with perplexed expression while her father stared at her as though she had grown another head. When had this meek daughter of his become like this?
Zhang Yong glanced at his ex-fiancé from the corner of his eye, a complicated look entered his eyes.
"Li Jing!" Guo Chen Xiao's voice furiously thundered. Everyone jumped from their seats.
Guo Chen Xiao wasn't a small man so his voice wasn't small at all. being a Batallion Commander in the past, his voice still exudes power and attention.
"Yes, father?" Li Jing put down the tea she was sipping to give her father a gentle smile.
Guo Chen Xiao sighed, just what the hell happened to this girl? Did her mind become addled from kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days?
Remembering the past event made Guo Chen Xiao feel a bit embarrassed to punish her daughter harshly for such a minor accident.
Maybe kneeling and not eating took its toll on the poor girl. He reminded himself to be lenient in the future.
"I asked you a question. What's your response to your sister's request?" Guo Chen Xiao's voice became gentler.
Li Jing blinked, "Oh, was it a request? I thought it was a command." the look she gave her father was innocent and pure.
Everyone was at loss for words.
Guo Chen Xiao sighed, trying to summon his every ounce of patience, "I'm asking you now, Li Jing. Do you or do you not?"
Li Jing held her teacup again and gently swirled the amber liquid in it. "Father, it would be better to look for a more suitable Maid of Honor for my sister. How about Zhang Feng Yi?" She was referring to his future brother-in-law's little sister.
Guo Yiyi and Zhang Feng Yi are the best of friends, two peas in a pod. Even their personalities are so alike that Li Jing wondered if Zhang Yong has a sister complex.
Guo Yiyi shot up and shouted frantically. "No! You have to be my Maid of Honor!"
Li Jing showed a faint smile. This sister of hers is truly a handful. Only a fool would agree to such an obvious scheme. "Then pray to tell me, Rong meimei, why do you strongly insist that I be your Maid of Honor?"
Li Yiyi, with beauty but no brains got tongue-tied. "Because…"
"We move in a different circle, you have your own set of friends and I have only myself in this new and strange place. We aren't even close and in the past six months that I came back, my stay here was littered with mishaps and misunderstandings that ended with me being punished. I think it would be best to look for another candidate lest I make some sort of unintentional accidents during your wedding and ended up ruining it, I don't want to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days again, dearest meimei." The smile on Li Jing's face revealed a hint of coldness.
No one could utter a single word for a long time. They all digested every word that came out of Li Jing's mouth.
Guo Chen Xiao wasn't a fool, his rank wouldn't as high as he had now if he is. He knows what is happening inside his house but chosen to turn a blind eye to it unless their antics get out of hand and embarrass him in front of the clan.
A prickling sensation of being watched made Li Jing's eyes narrow. She glanced at the wide mirror on top of the fireplace. She noticed that the mirror was not hanged but instead looked like a part of the wall.
"Aiya, this girl. Your meimei just wants to be close to you A-Jing, that's why she wants you to be the Maid of Honor. Can't you, her jiejie, even grant this small request of hers?" Tang Ruyi secretly pinched her daughter's thigh.
Waterworks instantly activated, Guo Yiyi cried, fat, fake tears ran down her beautiful face. She scooted near her fiancé and leaned on his shoulder to cry pitifully, "A-Yong, my sister doesn't like me. She hates me that's why she doesn't want to be my Maid of Honor. A-Yong, what should I do? My sister hates me."
Zhang Yong patted her fiancé's back gently. He thought that crying too hard will not be good for his growing child. He looked at Li Jing pleadingly. "A-Jing, can't you grant her request just this once? It's only for a few hours at most and all you have to do is stand beside your sister during the entire ceremony."
Zhang Yong gave Guo Chen Xiao a glance conveying his need for support. Zhang Yong knows that between these two daughters of his, Guo Yiyi gets his dotting the most.
Zhang Yong felt uncomfortable. He knows Li Jing doesn't want to involve herself with her little sister's wedding. To this ex-fiancé of his, Zhang Yong had been having inappropriate thoughts since she came back.
The way her cheeks hollow out and reveal a dimple, the softness of her hand and the shine of her crystal-like eyes had been haunting his sleep for months now.
He would frequently visit the Guo mansion just to catch a glimpse of her. Often, he fails but when she does show herself, Zhang Yong instantly feels refreshed.
Guo Chen Xiao cleared his throat. "Don't be hard-headed and be your sister's Maid of Honor."
Li Jing looked at his father, a hint of chill gradually revealed on her face, "You truly care about Yiyi, don't you father? Then what about me? What would people say when they saw me beside my sister as she marries my ex-fiancé? Would they think I'm pitiful or would they think I'm thick-skinned?"
Everyone was rendered speechless.
Li Jing put down the cup of tea she held and laughed without humor, "But if that is what everyone wants then, Li Jing could only comply." She stood up and left them mulling on her words on their own.
-----
Li Jing crossed the expansive corridor on the west wing of the mansion. She passed portraits upon portraits of old Guo family members but none of them was with her or her mother's.
"Gosh, acting meek and submissive wasn't fun. Maybe I should just kill them all." She grumbled. Li Jing rolled her shoulders to relieve some ache when she saw her shadow tremble. She stared at it for quite sometime before summoning that person.
"Hua Mei."
Thick, black smoke surrounded Li Jing's shadow then Hua Mei, clad in her signature mourning clothes emerged from it.
"Milady, you are so pitiful. Your sister and step-mother are bullying you but your father is doing nothing to stop them. Maybe we should just kill them."
Li Jing's eyes sparkled, "Can we?"
Hua Mei sputtered, "Hahaha, I was just joking, Milady. But thumbs up to your great acting there, Milady. You are truly the Empress of the big screen." please forget what I said, please forget what I said.
Li Jing haughtily swished her long hair, "Stop buttering me up and tell me."
"Yes, Milady?"
"Was there an adjoining room connected to the office?"
"There is, Milady."
Li Jing crossed her arms and mulled over her words. "Was it at the back of the wide mirror above the hearth?"
"Yes, Milady."
"He was in there, wasn't he? The Soul Fragment is within him."
Hua Mei fidgeted on the spot, "Did you feel the tug on your soul, Milady?"
A trace of uncertainty spread through Li Jing's face. It was more than a tug. It felt like she was being pulled in there. A force so strong she could hardly resist dew her to that place behind the hearth, towards that person.
Li Jing shook her head and focused on the task at hand. "If that person is the bearer of the Soul Fragment then I have to get near him."
"Does Milady have a way to get near him?"
Li Jing faced Hua Mei and smiled, "No." She then took off, leaving Hua Mei dumbfounded on the spot.
Hua Mei followed her with a helpless look. "Milady…"