By the time Alice Lu and Olivia Yin returned to the inn, dusk had already fallen.
Olivia went downstairs to fetch some hot water, while Alice sat before the long table, her gaze vacant and distant.
At the place where the table adjoined the inner room stood a wooden screen, painted with an ink-wash scene of an autumn courtyard at twilight. Alice stared at it absently, then slowly reached out her fingers to trace the clusters of blooming hibiscus on the screen.
That day, the new mistress of the Ke household had also worn a silver hibiscus hairpin in her coiffure.
The image of Emma Lu's face flickered across Alice's mind.
There had been three children in the Lu family — Emma, gentle and radiant; Alan Lu, intelligent yet stubborn; and herself, the youngest, indulged by a father who only feigned sternness.
Though the family had lived modestly, they had never truly suffered want. Emma, older by a few years, had already grown into a young beauty while Alice was still a wide-eyed child.
On one spring day, their mother had taken from her dowry chest a silver hibiscus hairpin set with gemstones, fastening it into Emma's hair. She then chose a plain jade-blue gown for her daughter, hoping that, at the spring festival by the Linfang River, her girl would be the loveliest of all.
Watching her elder sister transformed, Alice tugged at her mother's skirt and pointed at the hibiscus hairpin. "Mother, I want that one."
"This won't do," her mother laughed. "You're still too young. When my little Alice Lu grows up, I'll choose another for you."
But as the pampered youngest child, she refused to yield. "I want my sister's!"
Her father entered just in time to see her tantrum. In anger, he forbade her from attending the flower-viewing and ordered her to copy books a hundred times as punishment.
Alone at home, she wept as she wrote, until hunger gnawed at her belly. When she went to fetch a leftover pancake from the kitchen, she suddenly caught a faint, sweet fragrance.
Emma entered from outside, holding a paper-wrapped roast chicken. There was a trace of mud on her new dress, and beads of sweat glistened on her brow.
Alice blinked in surprise. "Why did you come back?"
Emma pinched her cheek. "If I hadn't, your eyes would be swollen to walnuts." She opened the parcel, tore off the largest drumstick, and brought it to her sister's lips. "Crybaby, eat this quickly."
"Didn't Mother say you were going to meet your future husband today?" Alice mumbled through a mouthful of oily chicken. In the small town of Changwu, people often used the spring festival as an occasion to seek matches for their children.
A blush rose on Emma's cheeks. "What do you know of such things?" Then, after a pause, she smiled faintly. "No husband could ever be more important than my little sister."
Alice glowed with pride at that.
Emma touched the hibiscus hairpin in her hair. "After tonight, when Mother's asleep, I'll give you this hairpin. Just keep it secret from her. Imagine, crying so hard over a trinket like this."
Her mouth full of chicken, Alice relented, her earlier obstinacy softened. The hibiscus hairpin shimmered in Emma's hair, beautiful beyond compare. "Forget it," she said at last. "You keep it for me. One day, I'll come to claim it."
Emma nearly laughed. "Then you'd best hurry, or once I'm married, you'll never get the chance."
The words left Alice oddly unsettled. She smeared her greasy hands across Emma's cheek and said with mock defiance, "Wherever you marry, I'll follow you — you're my sister, after all!"
The door creaked open.
Olivia Yin stepped in, carrying a basin of hot water.
The lingering scent of Emma's favorite lychee balm seemed still to float around Alice's nose — but when she looked up, there was only the cold, painted screen before her.
Olivia set the basin on the table, turned, and shut the door. Alice picked up a handkerchief and carefully wiped away the painted rashes from her face.
"Miss," Olivia asked cautiously, "did you truly mean what you said today — that the eldest Miss Lu was killed by the Ke family?"
Alice was silent for a moment before she replied. "When we were in Changwu, do you recall when the townsfolk said the Lu family received news of her death?"
Olivia thought. "In March."
"Exactly," Alice said calmly. "But today, the Ke family claimed that Emma died in summer."
Olivia's eyes widened in shock.
A chill flashed in Alice's gaze.
When Madam Ke had lost her temper earlier, she had let slip, 'Had she not thrown herself into the pond and tainted the feng shui of my new estate, I wouldn't have spent a fortune filling it and planting peonies instead. What a pity, those new red lotuses…'
Lotuses do not bloom in March. Even if the news had taken time to travel from the capital to Changwu, it could not have been delayed by months — especially since Emma had not even come to the capital that summer.
One of them was lying.
Alan Lu had journeyed to the capital only after hearing of Emma's death. If she had been alive then, why had the letter borne such dreadful news? Could it be that the Ke family had known her fate long before it happened?
Or perhaps the letter Alan received had never contained a death notice at all.
The truth was tangled in shadows, and Alice believed not a single word of Madam Ke's accusations. Emma, she claimed, had seduced Daniel Qi, heir to the Grand Tutor's household — yet only a year later, the Ke family had secured that same household's favor and prospered in porcelain trade. The coincidence was far too neat.
Alice must stay in the capital — to uncover what had truly happened to Emma, and why misfortune had befallen the Lu family.
And also…
To reclaim the hibiscus hairpin that now adorned the Ke family's new bride.
As she wiped the last trace of redness from her face, Olivia hesitated, then spoke softly, "But miss, before we do all that, there's something you must know."
She sighed. "We're running out of money."
Night settled, and lights bloomed within the Ke residence.
Matthew Ke lifted the bamboo curtain and stepped into the hall.
A maid attending Madam Ke smiled sweetly upon seeing him, greeting him as "Master" while pouring him tea.
Now nearing thirty, Matthew Ke was unlike most merchants — his features were refined, his bearing polished, and his honey-hued silk robe lent him an air of effortless grace. With the family's porcelain business thriving, he was a fixture of every merchant banquet, ever the object of admiration among the city's young women.
Noticing the maid's coquettish smile, Madam Ke frowned and waved the servants away. She glanced at her son, who sat cracking chestnuts, and said, "You're home late."
"Had some drinks," he replied carelessly.
"So much liquor — take care your wife doesn't make a scene again."
At the mention of his new wife, Qin, Matthew's smile faded. She was fiery and controlling, and he often found himself longing for the gentle, tender manner of his late wife.
Just as the thought of Emma Lu brushed his mind, Madam Ke said, "That cousin of Lu's came today."
He started. "Her cousin? What cousin?"
"You never heard Lu mention one?" Madam Ke's tone grew wary. She recounted the day's encounter and added, "Something about her seemed… strange. I sent someone to follow her, but she vanished."
Matthew frowned, thinking hard. "After we married, she never spoke of any cousin. Must be some swindler, come to beg."
Madam Ke's gaze darkened. "Still, I feel uneasy. What happened with Lu in the past shouldn't have involved your hand — and now it's all tangled again."
Her son's expression tightened. "Mother, you don't think there'll be trouble?"
She waved her hand dismissively. "I've already sent someone to Changwu to make inquiries — to see whether there truly is a Chloe Wang."
Her eyes fell to the teacup before her, her voice lowering to a murmur. "Even if something does arise, there are others who'll bear the weight first. What's there to fear? The Lu family alone can't stir any storm."