I leaned back on the chair I had been sitting in to listen to Lianyu's past, though I knew it would be a sad one.
She slowly closed and opened her eyes as if trying to control something inside her. After a sudden cough, she finally began telling her story.
"I was born the daughter of a wealthy merchant. He had a wife and a few concubines. Unfortunately, I was the daughter of a concubine, not the wife, so my 'father' never really cared and tossed me to my mother, a woman who cared more about gaining power and status than looking after her child.
"I was taught dancing, singing, and chess, all to impress potential suitors, and perhaps to gain the attention of my own father. The merchant's wife didn't like me, no, she hated me, as I was a reminder that her husband's concubine had a child before she did. She would fight with my mother day and night, degrade me in every way, and instruct the maids to give us less food to starve us."
"My parents did not care for me. One had waited his whole life to ignore his daughter until she was married off. The other cared only about the wealthy marriages and suitors I could attract if I was carved to perfection. So one neglected me, while the other criticized me."
Lianyu paused for a few more coughs, it was getting worrisome, but she quickly continued before I could say anything.
"However, it would be wrong to say my whole childhood was filled with sorrow. I had one happiness: a bird. One night, after my mother slapped me for making a mistake in the dance I performed for my suitors, I heard a knock on my window."
"It was a mesmerizing, sage-colored parrot. It had been hurt and was crying. I knew my mother would punish me if she found out I was wasting time caring for it, but I couldn't be cruel enough to leave a helpless bird. So I held it in my arms as it tried to flap its broken wings."
"I tended to the bird in secret. Every night, I wrapped its wings with a thin cloth and gently brushed its feathers. Though his wings never healed, my affection for him never faded."
"My marriage days were approaching. Both my parents began bringing men from affluent families every day. Each left the house disappointed that their daughter could not impress them. It was intentional, I knew every step of my dance, every note of the song, every move to win at chess. But I didn't perform. I didn't want to be married off and taken far from my parrot."
"He started to talk. Maybe he didn't know what the words meant, but his 'you can do it!' and 'yay!' helped me more than anyone else ever did."
"Eventually, my current husband saw me back then. After much persuasion from my parents, he agreed to marry me. I was furious. Was I destined to be married off? Was my life forever to be torn apart by others?"
"I decided to flee, taking my parrot, the only joy in my life, with me. I thought I could survive. I was wrong. I was caught that same night and locked in my room."
"But there was still some happiness to the marriage. My husband let me keep the parrot in a cage. He thought it would be a symbol of status, as few people kept birds as pets. So I was locked again, this time in another's home, except now, I had my beloved bird."
Lianyu began coughing again. I felt concerned, and so did Ariya and Yichen. We offered her hot water, which she drank down, before we could tell her to rest as she continued.
"I named my bird Yuniao for his color, though I should've named him TaoTao, the way he chattered day and night!"
"As for the marriage, it was happy at first. I was not a concubine like my mother had been. He gave me attention. But alas, it didn't last long."
"I had always wanted a child, a daughter, maybe, so I could care for her the way I should've been cared for. Or a son, who'd be playful and talk like my beloved parrot. But I had none. I was deemed infertile by the doctor."
"I should have known, after years of miscarriages and false hopes. I was finally declared worthless. 'What use is a wife who can't bear children?' people whispered. I soon lost my husband's attention. Though still his wife, he rarely visited me, and his focus shifted to his other concubines."
"Soon after, my parrot also died. Yuniao was old; it would've been foolish to think he'd live much longer. But after learning I could never have a child, after losing the bird I had raised like one, I felt betrayed. What use is a life that cannot give life? What use is a life that can never find happiness?"
I took Lianyu's hand and hugged her. I didn't know how to console someone, but that felt right. Yichen and Ariya stood by her side, patting her shoulders as she wept and coughed against mine.
"Do not pity me," Lianyu said firmly, as we all stared at her. "I have lived a fortunate life, more than the poor who eat dirt to survive."
I felt nothing but awe for this noblewoman.
"Indeed, the poor never find happiness, but you also-" Ariya tried to speak before he got interrupted by Lianyu.
"I have found a family in the three of you. I am happy now. Don't pity me, especially you, Meilina."
I did not pity Lianyu. In fact, I was jealous of her. Even after all she had endured, she held her head high. Tragedy after tragedy, yet she did not falter.
Our lives were similar, just like mine and Ariya's. Our parents pressured us, forced us, abused us.
All I could hope was that Yichen's past was not like ours.
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Chapter Eight: "And now, years later, in a quiet moment he didn't mean to share, Yichen speaks of the boy he used to be, and the brother who gave him everything just to disappear."