For a moment, the room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Jiang Zhaohua slowly turned her head, casting an incredulous look at Third Miss.
Fifth Younger Sister, innocent in her childishness, remained oblivious to the tense atmosphere and continued asking, "Did your concubine teach you to prepare it this way?"
Both of Fifth Younger Sister's dowry gifts had been prepared by her concubine, who had instructed her along the way—"Second Miss is entering the palace, her status is different now. The dowry gift you give Second Sister should be two parts heavier than the one for Eldest Sister."
So Fifth Younger Sister assumed that Third Sister's concubine must have taught her the same.
But why were their concubines' teachings so different?
The two dowry gifts she had prepared differed only slightly…
Yet the two gifts Third Sister had prepared were worlds apart!
At Fifth Younger Sister's words, the color drained from Jiang Zhaohua's face. She stared at Third Younger Sister in disbelief. "You gave the jewel-inlaid screen to Jiang Yunshu?"
Jiang Zhaohua knew about that screen!
It was Third Younger Sister's most treasured possession—a gift from their mother after she had tirelessly nursed her during an illness.
Jiang Zhaohua had always admired it too, and Third Younger Sister, noticing this, had offered it to her many times. But Jiang Zhaohua had firmly refused each time.
Third Younger Sister had once joked, "Then I'll give it to Eldest Sister as a dowry gift when she marries. That way, she won’t be able to refuse."
But now… but now!
Third Younger Sister had actually given that precious jewel-inlaid screen to Jiang Yunshu as a dowry gift!
As for the gift meant for her… Jiang Zhaohua slowly shifted her gaze to the agate bracelets lying in the box…
She wanted nothing more than to sweep her sleeve in fury, smashing those dull, lifeless bracelets to the ground!
Shattering them into pieces!
Jiang Zhaohua fixed her eyes on Third Younger Sister, waiting for an explanation.
But Third Younger Sister no longer showed the cautious deference she once had. She merely smiled carelessly at Jiang Zhaohua and said nothing.
Jiang Zhaohua’s chest tightened with anger.
She repeated silently to herself—she was marrying the future prime minister, while Jiang Yunshu was marrying a dying man—until she gradually calmed down.
She had never imagined Third Younger Sister could be so calculating!
She would regret this one day!
"I’ll accept the dowry gifts. I’m busy now, so I won’t keep you any longer." With that, Jiang Zhaohua shooed her three younger sisters away.
Third Younger Sister turned and left without a second glance.
Fifth Younger Sister, bewildered, looked to Fourth Elder Sister.
Fourth Miss took Fifth Younger Sister’s hand, offered a few polite words to Jiang Zhaohua, and then departed.
With her sisters gone, the maids and bridal attendants in the room dared not speak.
A heavy silence settled in, devoid of any festive cheer.
There was still a long wait before the wedding hour.
Only now did Jiang Zhaohua realize that by choosing to marry on the same day Jiang Yunshu entered the palace, she had doomed herself to always coming second.
Her sisters had gone to Jiang Yunshu’s courtyard first to present their dowry gifts, then to hers.
Her wedding procession would have to wait… until the imperial entourage had escorted Jiang Yunshu away. Only then could she follow behind, watching from a distance as Jiang Yunshu’s bridal sedan departed.
Jiang Yunshu’s procession was immeasurably grander than hers.
The bridal sedan, the phoenix crown, the embroidered robes—Jiang Yunshu’s were all of imperial consort standards, while hers were merely those of a marquis’s daughter!
In every way, she was overshadowed by her lowborn sister!
Jiang Zhaohua had never tasted such bitterness before.
For over a decade in the marquis’s household, she had stood above her half-sister, considering it only natural.
In her past life, though she had fallen into the mud while her half-sister soared, she had never witnessed it firsthand!
Separated by high walls, everything had been relayed to her through servants’ whispers.
She had never seen her half-sister’s glory with her own eyes.
But today, Jiang Zhaohua saw it.
All the guests in the manor were celebrating Jiang Yunshu. The imperial procession was magnificent beyond compare… For the first time, Jiang Yunshu was the radiant center of attention, while she was relegated to a mere footnote.
She regretted sharing a wedding day with Jiang Yunshu.
Fine. Let her half-sister have this one day of glory!
She wasn’t so petty as to begrudge her lowborn sister her final moment in the sun.
Jiang Yunshu reclined lazily in the sedan chair, stealing yet another nap.
The imperial bridal sedan was truly luxurious—spacious and lined with soft silk, like a modern-day luxury car!
The imperial wedding rites were also exhaustively elaborate. She had risen before dawn, and now, well into the afternoon, she was still in the sedan chair.
It was tiring, but Jiang Yunshu always looked on the bright side.
Today, she was experiencing a Great Qi Dynasty royal wedding in full immersion—ceremony at its finest!
As the sedan swayed gently, Jiang Yunshu pressed a hand to her chest. Beneath the layers of her wedding robes lay a hidden peace knot.
A gift from Concubine Qiao before her departure.
Today, as she left home, her sisters had come with dowry gifts, her father and stepmother had seen her off.
But Concubine Qiao—the mother she had claimed for herself in this ancient world—had been confined to her small courtyard, unable to see her in bridal splendor.
Jiang Yunshu’s nose stung as she touched the peace knot.
In this lifetime, she and Concubine Qiao would likely never meet again.
She could only pray they both lived out their days in peace.
Jiang Yunshu’s procession had departed early, but the palace was far. Jiang Zhaohua’s procession left late, but the Duan residence was near.
At dusk, the sky blazed with hues of red and purple.
A gust of wind scattered the clouds, splitting them in two—one half like a phoenix taking flight, the other like a twisted little worm.
Children on the street pointed and laughed at the sight.
At that very moment—
Jiang Yunshu’s bridal sedan passed through the gilded palace gates.
Jiang Zhaohua’s bridal sedan entered the humble wooden gate of the Duan household.
