Cui Yunchu smiled. "You just said everyone is treated equally. What father prepared for me, he will certainly prepare for Yunfeng too, but Yunfeng has what her mother left her, and I do not."
After saying this, her smile faded slightly. "However, I am a daughter born of a concubine, so no one should compare me with her."
Nor should they.
Her melancholy lasted only a moment. Cui Yunchu quickly cheered up; she was no longer the petty, dramatic girl from her past life.
So what if she was a concubine's daughter? If anyone dared to laugh at her, she would strike back decisively. She was a daughter of the Cui family, she had backing, and she feared no one.
"A good life is something you fight for yourself." A dowry could also be earned by her own hands.
Cui Yunchu packed those pieces of jewelry into the chest like treasures and had Xing'er put them away.
The days were long, and she could slowly earn more.
When the moon rose above the willow branches, Cui Yunchu lay on her bed, pondering the palace banquet tomorrow, and unknowingly fell asleep.
Early the next morning, while still dreaming, she was fished out of the covers by Xing'er.
A pomegranate-red long dress paired with matching hairpins and dangling ornaments had been coordinated by Xing'er the night before. A pair of red coral earrings hung from her delicate ears.
Cui Yunchu was already delicate and beautiful. Now, paired with such makeup, she looked even more radiant. Looking at the young lady in the bronze mirror, Xing'er could not help but say, "Miss, today you look like a peony fairy, no, even thirty percent more beautiful than one."
Cui Yunchu's mood to admire herself instantly cooled. She cast a glance at Xing'er. "Use your brain. Today is the palace banquet. Aside from the Empress, who else can be compared to a peony?"
The peony was the king of flowers; only the Empress could be likened to it.
Xing'er stuck out her tongue. "You are right to scold me, Miss. This servant knows her mistake. I will definitely speak and act cautiously today."
Cui Yunchu gave a faint hum of acknowledgment.
Through the bronze mirror, she looked at Xing'er and Nanny Zhang standing behind her.
Thinking of the maids beside Tang Qingwan, they were all capable people, and then looking at her own two hidden dragons and crouching phoenixes.
No wonder she was played like a helpless chick by Tang Qingwan in her past life. Between the master and her two servants, they could not even cobble together a single working brain.
"Miss, it is getting late. It is time to go to Old Madam Cui's place."
Cui Yunchu responded, ultimately taking a dangling hairpin from her hair and placing it on the table. "For this kind of occasion, it is better not to be too flashy."
Otherwise, she would easily become a target.
After all, the Cui family was not what it used to be.
Xing'er said, "Miss is naturally beautiful. Even if you wear nothing, you would still be dazzling."
Cui Yunchu stood up and walked out, her voice floating back slowly, "You have used all that half-ounce of brain on your mouth. It is not even as big as a single hole in the sieve of Tang Qingwan's maid's schemes."
"..."
Xing'er rubbed her nose and quickly hurried to keep up.
Nanny Zhang escorted them all the way to the door, opening her mouth to say something. Cui Yunchu said, "Keep your mouth shut."
Nanny Zhang immediately pressed her lips tightly together.
Cui Yunchu warned, "You better behave and keep that mouth of yours sewn shut. If you do, I will still give you a place to enjoy your old age in peace. Otherwise..."
Cui Yunchu raised her hand and made a slicing motion across her neck.
Terrified, Nanny Zhang's face turned pale. "M-Miss, this old servant just wanted to say that there are many rules at the palace banquet, so please be careful. This old servant will wait for your return in the manor."
"Mm, I am craving flower cake."
The flower cake made by her concubine mother was exceptional, and later this craft was passed down to Nanny Zhang.
Although it could not compare to her concubine mother's, it was taught by the departed, so it ultimately shared some similarities.
"Yes, yes, yes, this old servant will make it for Miss." Nanny Zhang's eyes grew slightly moist.
"Alright, go back." Cui Yunchu waved her hand and took Xing'er to the Pine Crane Garden.
"Eldest Sister." On the covered corridor, a woman's voice rang out crisply.
Cui Yunchu turned her head to look and saw Cui Yunfeng walking over with graceful steps.
She wore an emerald smoke-gauze cloud dress with brilliant colors, as vivid and gorgeous as the rosy clouds, highlighting the woman's graceful agility.
Cui Yunfeng looked Cui Yunchu up and down and curled her lips into a smug smile. "Good thing I had Yun'er quietly inquire about Eldest Sister's outfit for today yesterday. Otherwise, if I had picked a dress of a similar color, would I not have been outshone by Eldest Sister?"
Cui Yunchu's delicate and beautiful appearance was something Cui Yunfeng had always been rather envious of.
Even an ordinary dress could be worn by her with the tender delicacy of a weeping willow swaying in the wind.
Cui Yunchu glanced at her and snorted lightly. "You cheated." Yet her eyes were full of smiles.
She turned her head to Xing'er and said, "A maid who betrays her master. You can go serve in the Maple Garden later."
"I do not want your maid." Cui Yunfeng stepped forward, linked her arm with Cui Yunchu's, and walked forward together. "She is not clever at all."
The not-so-clever Xing'er pulled a long face, feeling a stab to her heart.
Cui Yunfeng said, "Did Eldest Sister not often do things like this in the past? I call this giving someone a taste of their own medicine."
Cui Yunchu then also recalled those absurdities of the past.
It was a fact that Cui Yunfeng and Tang Qingwan's appearances were inferior to hers.
But Prince An and the Crown Prince had a soft spot for the two of them. Cui Yunchu believed she was no worse than them, so naturally, she was unconvinced.
Between women, what is the first thing they look at? Naturally, it is the face, and then the comparison begins, just as it is when she evaluates men.
Therefore, whenever those two couples were about to meet, Cui Yunchu would have Xing'er inquire about Cui Yunfeng and Tang Qingwan's clothing. Then she would dress up in a nearly identical manner and appear before Prince An and the Crown Prince.
In an instant, she could make the two of them pale in comparison.
Who was more beautiful was clear at a glance, and anyone could immediately distinguish the most high-quality member of the opposite sex.
Tang Qingwan was fairly calm, but Cui Yunfeng would stomp her feet in anger every time.
It was not jealousy or anger, but rather feeling humiliated.
"."
Cui Yunchu fell silent.
Did she not feel humiliated herself?
Why make her recall such an unbearable past?
It was naked revenge.
"Shut up." Cui Yunchu's face turned slightly green. Cui Yunfeng, however, covered her lips and laughed softly.
"What are you two sisters chatting about to be so cheerful?" In the Pine Crane Garden, just as they lifted the bead curtain and before they even entered, Old Madam Cui's voice rang out.
Cui Yunfeng said, "Making a joke out of Eldest Sister." She was just about to mimic it for Old Madam Cui to hear when Cui Yunchu immediately covered her mouth.
"Flower boat, flower boat, where do you roam? Oh, to the North Lake you roam."
"..." Cui Yunfeng's expression changed slightly, as if someone had pressed a knife to her neck, and she instantly stopped talking.
Cui Yunchu's threat was extremely effective.
Old Madam Cui said, "What roam this and roam that, why can I not understand?"
"It is nothing, Eldest Sister is just singing a tune," Cui Yunfeng hurriedly said.
Amidst the laughter and banter, Tang Qingwan also lifted the bead curtain and entered. Compared to the sisters Cui Yunchu and Cui Yunfeng, her attire was much more dignified and elegant.
The standard outfit of a Crown Princess; the two were long accustomed to it.
Ever since she was a young maiden, she had carried herself with such formality. Lively and bright colors had almost never appeared on Tang Qingwan.
Cui Yunchu felt that being the Crown Princess actually had no benefits at all.
The rules were longer than her lifespan.
Everything had to be carefully considered. It required the skill and intellect to support the Crown Prince, while also demanding that you act like a wooden puppet devoid of personal thoughts, sorrow, or joy, always humble and magnanimous.
