章 3: Chapter Three: Meeting Lian Xie Mei
Chapter Three: Meeting Lian Xie Mei
Yin's ploy of acting the weak and lonely Eldest Miss worked wonders on the naive Su Long. After the first time he visited, he always brought a small candy to give her after the medicine to help take the bitter taste out of her mouth. He even looked over the preparation of all her food for this period and brought it to her personally. With his careful consideration it only took four days for Lian Cai Yi to be mostly back to normal.
"I really must thank Doctor Su for how well he has taken care of me these last few days." Lian Cai Yi looked up at Su Long, eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
"It was really nothing, it's my job to take care of the Eldest Miss as the Lian Family Doctor," Doctor Su replied his ears tinged a faint pink. Su Guanting had this only son of his rather late and Su Long was only in his early twenties. Added to the fact that he spent most of his time learning and practicing medicine he had no defense against such praise.
"You really have gone above and beyond though, it's not just any doctor who would be so kind as to bring me candies to help with the bitter taste of the medicine. Please accept my most sincere thanks," Lian Cai Yi continued.
"If the Eldest Miss insists then it seems I must accept. Be careful these next few days, your body is still a bit weak," Su Long replied, scratching his ears. They seemed to be warm for some reason.
"Of course Doctor Su, I'm sure you still have much to do and I wouldn't want to keep you."
With Lian Cai Yi releasing him, Su Long left quickly, almost as if he thought something might chase him.
["Yin are you sure you aren't the devil in disguise?" Yang asked.]
["Now whatever could you mean Yang?" Yin threw back at her.]
["What could I mean! You act as if I didn't see those accidental touches as you took the medicine, those bashful glances. I wouldn't be surprised if that man is already head over heels for you and doesn't even know it!" Yang exclaimed.]
["Now Yang I am just a naive Miss who doesn't understand the ways of men and women, those were all completely accidental with no additional meaning." Yin's reply left Yang speechless, she had nothing else to say to this shameless counterpart of hers.]
["There are still twenty-one days until we can get our Spiritual Roots tested, there is a lot we have to do during this time. Do you think you would be able to meet Lian Xie Mei without punching her in the face?" Yin asked, her question completely genuine. Yang's personality appeared a lot more explosive than her own. If she got angry enough it wasn't a stretch to imagine that she would try and forcefully take over their body and pick a fight.]
[Yin could feel emotions building in Yang, but those feelings dissipated with a sigh and she said. "I trust you. Do what you need to do."]
[Yin blinked in surprise. "...Thank you." Usually Yin didn't bother telling Yang her plans until after they happened and she finally asked. This time, as thanks for Yang's trust, she would tell her the gist ahead of time.]
["If I remember correctly, in two days is the day that Lian Cai Yi would meet Lian Xie Mei for the first time. Learning that Lian Xie Mei was her half-sister, Lian Cai Yi would be filled with anger pushing Lian Xie Mei into the pond, which caused her to become sick," Yin started.]
[Yang nodded, wondering why Yin was taking the time to explain her plan to her.]
["Most people don't know who Lian Xie Mei is, or even if they do they would think she is a waste and ignore her. This will allow her to grow her strength without much interference, that's what happened in the other timeline at least. But this time, if everyone's eyes are on her, if everyone is watching her every move, will she have such an unimpeded time?"]
The original Lian Xie Mei was a weak-willed coward who was afraid to talk to anyone, from Lian Cai Yi's memories of the soul that inhabited her sister's body now she didn't seem to have much better people skills. Lian Xie Mei was some sort of special soldier in another world's military and had an unapproachable aura that made people think she was looking down on them, which made them dislike her. Lian Cai Yi would use that to her advantage making everyone spite her, so even if Lian Xie Mei didn't care, it would make anything she tried to accomplish harder. Public opinion was a powerful tool, and Lian Cai Yi as an almost Empress knew how to use it to full effect.
Two days later Lian Cai Yi told her servants that she wished to take a walk in the Manor Garden. While her courtyard had its own small garden it could not hope to live up to the splendor of the Manor Garden. The South Prime Minister was an important figure in the Sheng kingdom, and the grandeur of his manor lived up to his position. The most impressive part of it could arguably be the Manor Garden. Multiple paths zigzagged between various courtyards surrounded by trees, and various ponds filled with colorful koi dotted the landscape. The entire place gave one a feeling of serenity, and some parts of the garden were set aside specifically for Lian Cai Yi's father to cultivate in. There was even a large gathering space near the center of the garden where her father often hosted parties. It was not uncommon for these guests to get lost amongst the various winding paths without a servant to guide them.
Fortunately for Lian Cai Yi, she had grown up within the manor and her movements were not often restricted, so she had memorized the layout of all but the off-limits part of the Manor Garden. Therefore inding Lian Xie Mei was a simple task. After locating her, Lian Cai Yi pretended not to see her while she looked at some of the koi.She then caught sight of Lian Xie Mei out of the corner of her eye and paused in surprise.
She turned to her oldest servant and asked, "Mudan, who is that?"
Mudan paused for a moment. "Eldest Miss, that is Lian Xie Mei."
"Lian Xie Mei? Her family name is Lian, so why have I never heard of this person? What is her relation to me?" She asked one after the other.
"She is... she is your younger sister." Mudan answered hesitantly.
"Younger sister? But I thought my mother... during childbirth..." Lian Cai Yi's face was twisted in confusion.
"She is your younger sister by a different mother," Mudan finally clarified.
Lian Cai Yi's eyes widened in shock at the realization. She seemed to think deeply for a moment before approaching this younger sister she had never met before. "Excuse me, are you Lian Xie Mei?" she asked the figure who looked rather similar to her.
Lian Xie Mei was deep in thought, still trying to come to terms with the fact she had transmigrated to a new world. Thankfully her name was the same as her old body or it would have been a lot more difficult. The last thing she remembered was that she had been betrayed, and she lay dying with her hands clutching the very jade statue of a phoenix that was her mission target. Then she had suddenly awoken here, memories of this body flooding her mind and giving her a horrible headache.
Even though she was deep in thought she had noticed when another figure had appeared in the garden. This body didn't have memories of her directly but judging from her appearance she could only be Lian Cai Yi, the legitimate Eldest Miss. When the servants called her names, they often compared her to this Eldest Miss. When that figure started approaching her she immediately raised her guard, as the transmigration had taken a toll on this already not-healthy body. She would be able to fix it up perfectly fine in a few days with her medical skills but right now she was still vulnerable. Hearing Lian Cai Yi's question, she only responded with a slight nod.
"I see..." Lian Cai Yi said, as she pretended not to notice that Lian Xie Mei had raised her guard against her. "How do you like the Manor Garden?"
The only response from Lian Xie Mei was silence. Lian Cai Yi asked a few more arbitrary questions but the most she could get from Lian Xie Mei was a noncommittal grunt.
"Well I shall leave you to enjoy the garden." Lian Cai Yi turned around to leave after saying this knowing she wasn't going to get a response from Lian Xie Mei. Once she was out of earshot of Lian Xie Mei, she turned to her servants. "Take me to the courtyard that Lian Xie Mei is staying in."
"Yingsu knows the way," she said reluctantly and motioned for Yingsu to lead them.
Lian Xie Mei kept an eye on Lian Cai Yi as she walked away, noticing that, she seemed to whisper something to her servants, then started following one of them with purpose out of the garden. This Eldest Miss gave Lian Xie Mei a strange feeling, and making sure she wouldn't be seen, she followed after her from a distance.
Yingsu finally led Lian Cai Yi out of the way to a small run-down courtyard. Lian Cai Yi took one look at the weeds sprouting throughout the courtyard and with a deep frown she turned around and then with large steps she headed straight to her father's office.
Lian Cai Yi was never directly barred from entering Lian Geng Lim's office unless he was having a meeting with someone. However he had made it very clear that he did not like to be disturbed while working, and unless she was invited personally by him, she had never entered his office before. But this Lian Cai Yi had a new soul, two new souls in fact and neither of them had a problem interrupting whatever he was doing.
"Father!" She exclaimed loudly as she opened his door with a bang.
Lian Geng Lim's brows furrowed in displeasure, but he did not immediately speak out to discipline her. This eldest daughter of his usually did a very good job of keeping out of his way, so she wouldn't have come here if the matter weren't very important.
"Is Lian Xie Mei really my younger sister?" She asked, getting straight to the point.
Lian Geng Lim was shocked but it did not show on his face. "How did you learn about her?"
"How I learned about her existence does not matter, I know now and I think I deserve an explanation!" Lian Cai Yi shouted, anger very clear on her face.
Lian Geng Lim was annoyed. He had managed to smooth over this incident with the Emperor, but if she went complaining to the Emperor now this whole thing might blow up in his face again. He put on a face of mock sorrow and guilt. "You see your father made a mistake, a horrible drunken mistake one night and... I still feel great guilt towards your mother because of this incident."
"What happened in the past does not matter!" Lian Cai Yi's voice was still raised in anger. However the next words out of her mouth surprised Lian Geng Lim and also Lian Xie Mei who was listening from around the corner. "Have you seen her courtyard? It is run down with weeds everywhere! What about her clothes? I bet most of the servants wear better! She even looks slightly pale like she might be sick! Has Doctor Su even been told to look at her? How is any of this befitting of her station as the daughter of the South Prime Minister, concubine-born or not!"
Lian Geng Lim scrambled to think of a reason, "I did not know this was happening, looking upon her made me feel guilty for betraying your mother so I left one of the stewards in charge of her wellbeing. I will fix this immediately."
"Just fixing it isn't enough!" Lian Cai Yi wasn't finished. "All the servants that were responsible for this must be taught a lesson! We must let everyone know that they cannot get away with treating a daughter of the South Prime Minister like this!" The only servants in the manor that weren't under the direct control of Lian Geng Lim were Yingsu, Chuju, and Mudan. Her father would most likely make a big show out of firing them, then quietly slip them off to some place else to still serve him. However the large outflow of old servants and inflow of new would get people talking and that is exactly what Lian Cai Yi wanted.
Lian Geng Lim sighed, his plan was exactly what Lian Cai Yi thought. Just thinking about shuffling around all those servants started to give him a headache. "You're right, I have been negligent in this matter and I will not let it stand any longer. Do not worry, father will handle this with utmost haste."
Finally satisfied, Lian Cai Yi nodded and walked from the room. Only when she was finally back to her courtyard did she let out a smile, and she wondered how many hours it would be until everyone in the capital was talking about the change in servants in the South Prime Minister's Manor.
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