Returning to the inn where they were staying, the sky was already nearing dusk.
Qingluan had gone downstairs to ask for hot water, leaving Lu Li sitting before the long table, lost in thought.
Standing at the junction of the long table and the inner room was a floor screen made of red sandalwood. Painted on the screen was a splash-ink landscape of the misty Jiangnan, depicting deep courtyards and gathering twilight. Lu Li stared blankly at the screen; as she watched, her gaze gradually fixed on a cluster of blooming crape myrtle branches in the corner of the painting. Subconsciously, she extended a finger to trace the outline of the painted branches.
Today, in the hair bun of the Shen family's newly wedded young mistress, there was also a silver crape myrtle flower pinned.
Lu Wan's face involuntarily floated into Lu Li's mind.
Of the three children in the Lu family, Lu Wan was gentle and radiant, Lu Ping was intelligent and stubborn, while Lu Li was the youngest. Though their father spoke harshly on the surface, he actually doted on her the most.
The family was not wealthy, but they never worried about food or clothing. Lu Wan was a few years older than Lu Li; when Lu Li was still a ignorant little girl, Lu Wan had already blossomed into a remarkable beauty.
That year, during the Spring Flower Viewing Gathering by the Liufang River, Mother took a silver and gemstone crape myrtle hairpin from her dowry box and pinned it in Lu Wan's hair. She then selected a moon-white plain long skirt for Lu Wan to wear, hoping only that her daughter would be the most beautiful one at the gathering.
Lu Li looked at her eldest sister, who looked so different from usual, tugged at her mother's skirt, and pointed at the crape myrtle hairpin on Lu Wan's head. "Mother, I want that one."
"You cannot have this one." Mother smiled and held down her hand. "You are still young and have no use for it. When our Ah Li grows up, Mother will pick something else for you."
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She was young then, and relying on her family's doting, she was fearless and persistent. "I want sister's!"
It wasn't until Father entered the room and saw her throwing such a tantrum that he became angry and punished her by forbidding her from going to the flower viewing, making her copy books a hundred times at home instead.
Alone at home, she cried and copied books. At noon, hungry and wanting to go to the kitchen for leftover snacks, she suddenly smelled a strange sweet fragrance.
Lu Wan walked in from the door, carrying an oil-paper wrapped roast goose in her hand. Her new skirt was stained with some mud from the riverbank, and her forehead glistened with sweat.
She was stunned. "Why are you back?"
Lu Wan pinched her cheek. "If I didn't come back, your eyes would be swollen like walnuts." She opened the paper package, tore off the plumpest piece of goose leg, and held it to her mouth. "Crybaby, eat quickly."
"Didn't Mother say she was going to look for a future husband for you today?" she asked indistinctly, her mouth stuffed with oil. Qinghe County was small, and neighbors mostly knew each other. People often used flower viewing gatherings to scout future sons-in-law or daughters-in-law early on.
Lu Wan's face turned red. "What do you know?" She paused, then smiled. "A husband isn't as important as my little sister."
She felt extremely smug.
Lu Wan touched the flower hairpin on her head again. "After tonight, when Mother sleeps, I will give this flower hairpin to you. You must hide it and not let Mother know. It's just a hairpin, not worth all this crying."
She was eating the roast goose, and having taken someone's gift, she felt soft-hearted. Looking at the crape myrtle hairpin on Lu Wan's head, it looked quite beautiful on her. "Forget it," she said. "You keep it safe for me for now. One day I will come and ask you for it."
Lu Wan was almost amused by her and teased, "Then you must hurry. Otherwise, once I get married, even if you want to ask for it, you won't be able to."
Hearing this, she felt inexplicably unhappy and deliberately wiped her oily hand on Lu Wan's face. "Then wherever you marry, I will follow. Anyway, you are my sister!"
"Creak—"
The door was pushed open, and Qingluan walked in carrying a water basin.
Lu Li looked up. The tip of her nose seemed to still retain the gentle scent of osmanthus honey from her eldest sister, but in a blink, only the cold screen remained before her eyes.
Qingluan placed the water basin on the table and turned to close the door. Lu Li picked up a handkerchief and slowly wiped away the painted red rash on her face.
"Miss," Qingluan asked carefully, "Today you said the First Miss was killed by the Shen family?"
Lu Li was silent for a moment before speaking. "When we were in Qinghe County, what time did the neighbors say the Lu family received the news of the death from the capital?"
Qingluan thought for a moment. "It was March."
"Correct," Lu Li said calmly. "But today, the Shen family said Lu Wan died in the summer."
Qingluan was startled, looking at Lu Li in shock.
Lu Li's gaze turned cold.
Today, the Shen family matriarch, angered by her, had slipped up and said, "If she hadn't jumped into the pool and ruined the feng shui of my new house, why would I spend so much silver to fill the pool and plant peonies? What a pity about my pool of newly bloomed red lotuses..." This immediately aroused Lu Li's suspicion.
Lotus flowers do not bloom in March. Even if the journey from the capital to Qinghe County was delayed as much as possible, it would take at most a month. It couldn't be that Lu Wan died in the summer of the previous year and the news only reached Qinghe County the following year. Moreover, that summer, Lu Wan hadn't even entered the capital yet.
Between the two pieces of news, one party must be lying.
Lu Ping went to the capital only after receiving the news of Lu Wan's death. If Lu Wan was still alive then, why do people in Qinghe County now say the letter contained news of Lu Wan's death? Did the Shen family know early on that Lu Wan would die?
Or perhaps the Shen family intended to dismiss the Lu family with the news of Lu Wan's death, not expecting the persistent Lu Ping to go to the capital alone to inquire about the news.
Or maybe the letter Lu Ping received wasn't about Lu Wan's death at all?
The truth was confusing, and Lu Li didn't believe a single word the Shen matriarch said. Lu Wan failed to seduce the young master of the Grand Tutor Wei's residence, yet the Shen family gained the favor of the Grand Tutor Wei's residence a year ago, leading to a booming porcelain business. No matter how one looked at it, it was all too coincidental.
She had to stay in the capital, stay here, and find out exactly what happened to Lu Wan and what caused the calamity