CH 11

Red Acasia Bracelet

In the Xining Mansion, when Cui Dai learned that she was going to move back to the Baishao Courtyard, she lost her temper and complained to her personal maid, “You are talking nonsense! I have lived here for my whole life, so obviously my mother will not move me back!.”

Cui Dai was still not convinced and remained suspicious, causing the maid to become increasingly embarrassed and said, "Miss Dai, this is indeed what the Madam ordered. How can this maid lie to you?.”

"Forgive me, you don't have the guts to lie to me," Cui Dai replied sullenly.

After all, her personal maid is someone her mother trusts, still she had her suspicion, "My mother only said that I should move back to the Baishao Court, and nothing else?.”

Hearing that, the maid hesitated to speak.

"This..." She said with difficulty: "The girl in the south courtyard is going to get married. The one who she is marrying is the prime minister's son and the number one scholar. According to Madam, it is not convenient for her to live in the dilapidated small courtyard.”

"I disagree!"

"What can you do even if you disagree?," Mrs. Xining came, accompanied by her servants.

"Mother?.”

Seeing her, Cui Dai seemed to see a ray of hope. She approached her mother slowly, reaching out to hold her arm with a gentle touch. "Mother," she pleaded, "didn't you say that this courtyard was a good place for me to live. I've been here for so long, why must I move just because that blind woman is getting married?.”

"It's complicated. Not only is she your eldest sister, but also the future lady, and the daughter-in-law of the prime minister's family. She has to live in the best courtyard in the mansion, otherwise the prime minister will be dissatisfied if he finds out."

"So, you want to move me because the Prime Minister would be unhappy? What kind of reason is that?" Cui Dai asked with a hint of defiance.

Mrs. Xining looked at her daughter, sighed and explained, "If the prime minister were to become displeased, it wouldn't only be you who would have to move, but our entire Cui family would have to relocate as well."

Cui Dai was dumbfounded: "Is it really that serious?.”

"Yes. So be patient.”

She calmed down her delicate little daughter with one word, and the servants living in the north courtyard saw that their mistress had to move, so they lowered their heads and began to work.

Cui Dai sat on a swing, feeling jealous and overwhelmed. She had known that her sister's marriage was a big deal, but she had never imagined it would be this grand. 

She clasped her handkerchief tightly, "Mother, do we have to support her in the future?.”

Mrs. Xining was silent.

Her daughter, before her marriage, was still a daughter, but after tying the knot, she would become the young wife of the Pei family. With a bright and talented future ahead of him, who knew how far Pei Xuan could go?

And with his father being the prime minister, there was no doubt that his son would also be highly accomplished.

"No.”

"This just adds to the never-ending list of my troubles in life," Cui Dai whined to her mother, throwing a tantrum. "I shouldn't have to move!"

"Okay, okay, you know if you marry, it does not matter if the family needs to be more prestigious than the Pei’s.”

Cui Dai was complaining, Mrs. Xining was also feeling a bit troubled but didn't have time to comfort her, as she tidied up the yard and took her daughter back to the Baishao Courtyard, making sure that the two groups of people would not fight.

"Mistress, we have arrived at the Chenxiang Courtyard.”

Childhood memories entered her mind, and when she came back to this place again, Cui Ti couldn't be in a good mood, nor could she be in a bad mood, it was always a sad place, no matter how beautiful or big it was, since she couldn't see.

Bai Ge helped her to enter the door of a room, "Mistress, be careful on the steps."

Cui Dai refused to move her belongings, and Cui Ti didn't want to live in a house that reminded her of that bully. Mrs. Xining made sure to change the entire decor of the courtyard to make it comfortable for her daughter. It was the least she could do.

March was approaching, and Cui Ti had moved from her dilapidated home in the south courtyard to the elegant Chenxiang Courtyard, where she could live in peace and wait for her marriage. 

Eager to escape the constant flattery and attention, she retreated to the study room to collect her thoughts.

The window was opened in the study room, and the bright light came in, shining on her fair face, and the maids on both of her sides looked at her coldly, but they didn’t dare look down on her from the bottom of their hearts.

Chunhua and Biyue are the dowry maids chosen by Mrs. Xining for Cui Ti, but she was often angry at these two in her previous life.

Bai Ge quarreled with them more than once, and the time where both had enough was when they disturbed Pei Xuan, who sent them to the sewing villa without saying a word, and left them to fend for themselves.

If you are sent to the sewing villa, you probably won't live long due to work exhaustion. 

Cui Ti does not plan to bring the two into the Pei family mansion again.

This is the golden opportunity God gave her and to lead a happy life with Pei Xuan and she didn't want the slightest imperfection to be brought into her and Pei Xuan's new home.

"Mistress, close the window, the birds are flying in."

As she was sitting in the study, a bird with beautiful feathers landed on her shoulder, and Cui Ti smiled, "Bai Ge is enough as my dowry maid. You two can go back to the Xining mansion and find another position."

Chunhua and Biyue were shocked to hear this and knelt down, tears streaming down their faces, "Lady, what have we done wrong?"

"I'm not your lady. I can't handle both of you, so don't cry," Cui Ti replied.

"Lady, forgive us!.”

The two maids pleaded for forgiveness, but Cui Ti knew she was actually saving their lives by releasing them.

She was aware that they had tried to seduce Pei Xuan in order to improve their social standing, but Pei Xuan tolerated the maids' presumptuous actions time and time again for Cui Ti’s sake, until he couldn't bear it anymore, and thus sent them away.

This time, she didn't want Pei Xuan to suffer any more grievances because of her.

"I still don't want you guys. If you don't leave, I'll go and tell my mother."

Cui Ti walked towards the door with a bamboo stick, as Chunhua's eyes were red with anxiety, and she grabbed her wrist with one hand, fiercely saying: "You can't do that!.”

The force was so strong that Cui Ti nearly stumbled. Just then, Bai Ge entered the room and, upon witnessing the scene, shouted in fury, "How dare you! Disrespecting the mistress like this, how foolish can you be!.” 

Chunhua's actions caused Biyue to turn pale and plead, "Lady, please don't send us away."

Bai Ge stepped forward, examining the red marks on Cui Ti's wrist left by Chunhua's grip. Enraged, she kicked Chunhua and snapped, "My mistress is now the number one lady of the city. How could you dare to bully her?" 

Then, her voice rose to a roar, as she exclaimed, "I can't take this anymore! I went for a walk to clear my mind, but now I return to find you trying to attack my mistress!.”

For the first time in her life, Bai Ge screamed with ferocity and let her frustrations be known, and Cui Ti allowed it. 

Unlike in Cui Ti’s past life, where Chunhua smashed a vase over Bai Ge's head, in this life Bai Ge kicked her.

Mrs. Xining arrived at the scene after hearing the commotion. Upon witnessing the red marks on Cui Ti's wrist, her expression turned stiff and she asked, "What happened?.”

Cui Ti raised her wrist, showcasing the circle of red bruises, and Madam Xining's face changed, "Who did this?.”

Chunhua, the culprit, knelt on the ground shivering. 

Mrs. Xining’s expression was stiff, and she said angrily, "Come on! Let’s go!.”

The once first-class dowry maid was demoted to the lowest servant in the mansion within a matter of minutes.

Once this happened, the maidservants in the entire mansion no longer dared to make fun of Cui Ti.

Today is different from the past. Her status had risen to a level they could never have imagined.

Because of what happened, Mrs. Xining wanted to put more people around Cui Ti, but Cui Ti gently stopped her.

Instead of bringing irrelevant people into the mansion to cause chaos, it is better to just bring Bai Ge with her.

Compared with the Xining Mansion, which made her feel indifferent and unfamiliar, Cui Ti felt more suitable for life in the Pei Mansion.

Mrs. Xining tried to convince her to take more servants, but Cui Ti remained unresponsive with a polite smile.

In the Baishao courtyard, now knowing that her mother was letting Cui Ti leave with only one maid, Cui Dai’s hand slapped the table.

She was planning to buy those two maids to make life difficult for Cui Ti.

Time flew by and the marriage process advanced, with the exchange of dowry gifts being the second-to-last step. 

The Pei family's dowry was abundant, putting immense pressure on Mr. and Mrs. Xining.

The Pei family valued this marriage so much that Mrs. Xining felt that she had been losing her hair for the past few days. In the end, the Xining's discussed transferring ownership of the shops originally prepared for Cui Dai to Cui Ti.

The union between two powerful families is often a highly scrutinized affair, with the prime minister expecting the bride's dowry to be substantial to avoid any embarrassment. 

Not only would the prime minister be dissatisfied, but Pei Xuan would also have a grudge.

The Xining couple, filled with guilt, have greatly increased the dowry by 10%, causing the list to grow from one feet to three feet in length, making Mrs. Xining's heart ache with every added item. 

Mr. Xining laughed at his wife, since he got a son-in-law from the prime minister's family, so why be dissatisfied? He couldn’t help but wonder how many people in Xijing are envious of him.

After accepting the dowry, there is an application period. The application period is to ask a fortune-teller to choose a good and auspicious day, and then send someone to inform the woman's family.

Although the prime minister casually set a date of May 5th for his 'son' when he proposed the marriage, in reality,  he had asked a fortune-teller which date is good.

After many procedures, March is over, and crabapple flowers bloomed in the start of April.

Pei Xuan cherished the jade Ruyi sent by Cui Ti’s family, and beamed with joy: "Mother, look at this Ruyi, isn't it beautiful?.”

Mrs. Pei gave her daughter a side glance, "When you have a wife, you already forget about your mother, besides how long have you been holding it up? This may not have been sent by Cui Ti herself.”

Internally, she was thinking, ‘Being the prime minister's son, what good things haven't you seen?.’

Pei Xuan still held the jade and couldn't put it down: "This child knows. But don’t you remember that this jade was the thank-you gift you gave them the first time you went to the mansion. Mother, do you think she likes you too?.”

This daughter of hers is hopeless.

Mrs. Pei was too lazy to watch her daughter acting foolishly in love, so she closed her eyes.

Unable to find anyone to share the joy of getting married, and unable to take the Ruyi jade to drink with Song Zizhen and Zheng Wuzhi, Pei Xuan simply went back to her room to have fun.

"I’m not sure if she’ll wear the bracelet I gave her.”

…

In the Chenxiang Courtyard.

Bai Ge glanced at her quiet and beautiful master, and said, "Mistress, that bracelet is being spoiled by you.”

Cui Ti's cheeks reddened slightly, and she self-consciously hid the red acacia bracelet beneath her sleeves while feigning ignorance, "I was just curious to see if it's durable."

"Everyone knows they are built to last," Bai Ge replied confidently.

It was only April, and Bai Ge was so relaxed that she used a cattail fan to further cool her down. Her cheerful expression made Cui Ti understand the phrase "as happy as a chicken climbing up to heaven."

Cui Ti didn't want to pay attention to it at first, but after thinking about the plump and round red beans in her wrist, she was not sure: "Am I really spoiling them?.”

This particular gift was the most valuable of all the gifts sent to her by Pei Xuan.

Bai Ge fanned herself for a moment then burst out laughing, "Mistress, the wedding is in May and it seems like you can hardly wait for that day to come."

Cui Ti blushed at the comment, "You're talking nonsense," she stammered, her hand unconsciously touching the red acacia bracelet on her wrist.

After touching it twice, she hurriedly held down her restless hand.

She couldn’t continue doing such foolish actions!

But Cui Ti squeezed the bracelet once more, her cheeks were hot, and she concluded that she loved ‘him’ very very very very very much.