In the far eastern courtyard of the Prime Minister's Residence, Qian Shu Yin is sitting in the exorbitantly decorated parlor, her long, slender fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of freshly brewed chrysanthemum tea tight enough to smash the fragile porcelain. Her lips are pressed into a straight, thin line, her eyebrows knitted together in barely concealed anger as she looks at the elderly servant kneeling at her feet.
"What do you mean, that ungrateful brat defied my order?"
"This lowly servants humbly begs for Madame's forgiveness for failing to keep the Fourth Miss confined to her courtyard. That girl has always been so timid and obedient, this lowly servant does not understand how her personality could have changed so drastically after recovering from a fever."
"Could she be possessed by some evil spirit?" Xin Gui Fang, one of the two shu wives of the first household, ponders loudly, a hint of concern flashing across her face. If their household is truly haunted by some malicious entity, they would have to get rid of it before word reaches the Emperor's ears, or she could forget about marrying her daughter off to the Third Prince. It would already be hard enough to achieve this match, seeing as Fang Yue Lan, though widely known throughout the capital as a peerless beauty, is just a shu daughter of the Prime Minister.
Someone as esteemed and noble as Prince Ping will no doubt prefer a higher-born woman as his wangfei. Rumor has it that the Emperor intents to name him Crown Prince. Aiming for the title of future Empress of the Great Xian Empire might be a tad overambitious for a mere shu daughter, but knowing her Lan'er, she won't be so easily discouraged.
"We should call for a priest," the Prime Minister's second shu wife, Shen Jia Yi, agrees. The gentle-hearted woman seems thoroughly scared at the prospect of an evil spirit taking hold of a household member's body. Her little son has just started to receive tutoring. Though a part of her pities the unfortunate fate of the Fourth Miss, she can't allow this spirit to taint her son's bright future. Zhi'er has a hard enough time competing with the outstanding academic merits of the Prime Minister's di son. Fang Mu Yang is the apple of his parents' eyes and said to have a bright future laid out in front of him.
Seeing as the imperial exams are just around the corner, he is currently studying day and night with little breaks, determined not to embarrass his father in court and in front of His Imperial Majesty by achieving anything less than stellar results. With that evil spirit in the house, however, one does never know what could go wrong.
Qian Shu Yin tilts her head in contemplation. As the educated second daughter of the Imperial Preceptor Qian Fu Gui, she is less inclined to believe in the existence of malevolent spirits than the superstitious shu wives of the first household. On the other hand though, the Fourth Miss' sudden personality change is quite suspicious indeed. Who could fault her for wanting to be certain and call in a priest to exorcise the evil entity corrupting that unlucky girl?
"Zhang Momo," The Madame turns towards the servant still kneeling at her feet. "Go to the nearest Buddhist Temple and tell the priest that our Fourth Miss is possessed by an evil spirit. We need someone to exorcise it as fast as possible."
The Momo's lips curve up in barely concealed satisfaction and glee as she bows her head in submission. "Of course, Madame. This lowly servant will leave right away."
"Now this little brat will be taught a lesson she won't forget that easily," the elderly woman thinks as she leaves the parlor. "It's unlikely she will survive this."
"What are we going to do in the meantime?" Xin Gui Fang inquires. "We can't let that girl run around the residence freely. My Lan'er and Chen'er can't be implicated!"
"Of course you can only think about your own children in a situation like this!" Qian Shu Yin scoffs. "What about Yang'er? He is to take the imperial exam in less than a fortnight. And Ling'er has yet to celebrate her Ji Li! If word gets out that she might have been infected by an evil spirit, who will want to marry her in the future?"
She doesn't tell them that she has already spoken to her sister, the Imperial Noble Consort Qian Shu Qing, about a potential marriage arrangement between Yue Ling and the Third Prince. Of course she is aware of the fact that Xin Gui Fang and her daughter have hopes of gaining so a match for themselves, but that is unthinkable. A noble person of status like Prince Ping would never take a shu daughter as a di wife! His wangfei and future Empress of Xian can only be Fang Yue Ling, no one else.
She is the granddaughter of the Imperial Preceptor, the di daughter of the Prime Minister and the beloved niece of the Emperor's trusted guifei who has been prepared for that role ever since she was a little girl.
What does Fang Yue Lan have to show for herself, other than her beauty? Her mother is a simple merchant's daughter who has been lucky enough to captivate and seduce the Prime Minister with dirty tricks. These two girls are not comparable by any mortal measure.
"And here you go again with your precious Yang'er!" Xin Gui Fang complains. "Have you forgotten that Chen'er is preparing for the same exams? Exactly who is to bring glory and merit to the family by achieving top scholar status is yet to be decided."
"Oh please!" Qian Shu Yin exclaims while rolling her eyes in an unladylike manner that would have gotten her a strict beating from her mother if the latter could see her right now. "Don't insult my Yang'er by comparing him to this disgrace of a son! Everyone knows that boy is a good for nothing, dumb as a brick and only good at spending the family's hard-earned fortune on cheap drinks and whores from even cheaper brothels!"
"Who gave you the right to insult my son like that? You might be His Excellency's oh so noble di wife, but Chen'er is still his so-"
"Yue Zhen has come to greet mother."
The two women have been so immersed in their verbal fight that neither of them noticed the pale-faced girl that has entered the parlor until she opens her mouth to speak, effectively shutting them up.
The Fourth Miss has come all on her own; that is the first thing Qian Shu Yin notices. There is no sign of the shy little maid that usually follows her around, causing her suspicion to rise to new heights. What exactly is this troublesome brat up to?
Fang Yue Zhen's face is the epitome of neutrality as she bends her frail-looking body into a respectful bow. Without that timid act of hers and that innocent look that usually adorns her soft features, she suddenly looks a lot less like her evil seductress of a deceased mother, who always used to act coy and shy around His Excellency to gain his favor and manipulate him. But Qian Shu Yin isn't that easily fooled. That girl is still the biological daughter of Xie Shao Shang. Who knows what other tricks she has up her sleeves.
"Yue Zhen, how fortunate of you to show up here just when we were talking about you," Xin Gui Fang sneers as she looks over the girl with an expression of utter contempt written all over her face. "Servants! Grab her and lock her up in her courtyard until the priest arrives!"
Qian Shu Yin narrows her eyes at the shu wife in discontentment. Who exactly gave her the right to act as though she is in charge here? His Excellency is certainly spoiling her too much.
A confused expression settles on Fang Yue Zhen's face as two maidservants approach her, eager to follow the second Madame's orders.
"Yue Zhen does not understand what she might have done wrong. She hopes mother can clear her name for her."
Qian Shu Yin observes the girl with squinted eyes. She is back to her obedient Fourth Miss-act. Well, if she thinks this will help her out of this situation, she is sorely mistaken!
"What you have done wrong, you clearly know; defying your elders' orders, mistreating the servants. As Madame of the household I would be well within my rights to ground you until the Empress Dowager's Flower Banquet next month."
She then turns to the two servants still waiting for further instructions. "The Fourth Miss is still weak after recovering from the fever and needs some rest. Accompany her back to her courtyard and make sure she can fully recuperate."
The two servants go to grab the Fourth Miss's arms to drag her back, but the girl dodges them and instead, leaves the parlor on her own - without making any fuss. Qian Shu Yin expected her to put up more of a fight, but well, this shall work in her favor as well.
"Don't you think you are being a bit too harsh to the poor girl?" Shen Jia Yi asks, her perfectly almond-shaped eyes following the Fourth Miss as she walks back to her courtyard, accompanied by the two maidservants Qian Shu Yin has instructed. "She just recovered from her fever and still came to pay her respects. Perhaps Fang jie has been wrong about the evil spirit."
Xin Gui Fang scoffs dismissively. "Yi mei, you clearly don't know the first thing about evil spirits. That coy, obedient act is all part of their game. Of course it'll want us to believe it isn't there, so we don't exorcise it. Haven't you seen that look in her eyes? She is most definitely possessed. Zhi'er just started to receive tutoring. I am sure meimei wouldn't want his bright future to be implicated due to some misplaced sympathy for that wretched, motherless girl."
Shen Jia Yi opens her mouth, as if to say something, but then changes her mind and closes it again, her head lowered in submission. If it comes down to choosing between the unfortunate Fourth Miss and her own flesh and blood, surely no one can fault her for choosing the latter. That poor girl can only blame her fate for being cruel. With any luck, she might survive this incident. Her reputation, however, will forever be scarred, if word gets out to the public. In the future it will be difficult for her to marry into a good family.