“You want me to go in your place to meet Young Master Pei?”
Sunlight streamed through the lattice window of the carriage, casting a pale glow on Shen Youran’s frightened little face. She drew a sharp breath and waved her hands repeatedly, “How could I possibly do that? No, no, it’s impossible…”
“This plan will work, just listen to me,” Shen Yunshu grasped her sister’s flailing hands, gently pressing down the panicked girl, and spoke slowly, “We already look alike. In a moment, I’ll put heavier makeup on you. You’ll be on the bridge, he’ll be below, at least thirty feet away. That Young Master Pei from the Pei family won’t be able to tell. Besides, he’s about to return to Lingzhou for his official post and won’t be back for half a year. It’s just this one meeting—he won’t remember too clearly…”
Shen Youran was still anxious. “But what if he comes up on the bridge and tries to speak to me…”
“He won’t,” Shen Yunshu comforted her. “My looks, virtue, and character have already been approved by Old Madam Pei. Since Young Master Pei agreed to come today, it means he’s already heard all about me from Old Madam Pei. Today, he only needs to see what I look like…”
“But isn’t Young Master Pei supposed to stay in the capital for a few more days? If we can’t meet today, we can explain to him and reschedule after your face heals. It’s not too late to meet then, right?”
“If I back out at the last minute today, even if I have a good reason, the Pei family might overthink it. If they think I’m being deliberately difficult, this marriage will hang in the balance,” Shen Yunshu replied. “Besides, I don’t know when he’ll return to Lingzhou. If he leaves before my face recovers, I won’t have another chance to see him for half a year…”
“Why can’t you wait half a year?” Only now did Shen Youran realize—her eldest sister had been in the capital for two years, and previously never showed any urgency to get married. But two months ago, she suddenly told their father she was of age, and soon after, won the favor of Old Madam Pei at the Pei family’s celebration, leading to today’s arranged meeting.
So urgent, as if being chased by something.
In truth, Shen Yunshu’s hurry to settle her marriage did have its reasons, but those reasons were difficult to share—even her father and sister couldn’t know.
So, faced with Shen Youran’s questions, Shen Yunshu could only dodge the topic, instead coaxing softly, “If you agree to help me, I won’t make you practice calligraphy or embroidery this morning.”
She always knew how to handle her own sister.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, she saw the pair of almond-shaped eyes on that fair little face widen in surprise.
Clearly, she was tempted.
So Shen Yunshu continued enticing her: “And no qin practice or flower arranging this afternoon, either.”
Shen Youran’s almond eyes swirled, and she bargained, “And tonight’s tea ceremony lessons…”
Shen Yunshu agreed instantly, “You won’t have to study.”
Rarely did her elder sister allow her to slack off. Shen Youran thought for a moment—it was just standing on a bridge in exchange for a whole day of leisure. It was a good deal.
“Then let’s agree—if the meeting doesn’t go well, you can’t blame me.”
“Don’t worry. If it doesn’t work, I’ll think of something else.” Seeing her sister finally agree, Shen Yunshu took out peach blossom powder from her makeup box and, while calmly applying makeup, considered how best to paint her sister’s face to resemble her own.
Though Shen Yunshu seldom wore makeup, she was skilled at painting, especially miniature portraits, and knew how to use light and shadow to alter facial contours. Their eyebrows and eyes were already similar, so she didn’t need to add much there.
Observing that her sister’s cheeks were rounder and her chin less delicate than her own, she mixed a little indigo powder with the creamy peach blossom powder, brushing it onto the sides of her cheeks and chin, then swept a touch along the sides of the nose and between the eyes…
Willow branches brushed the carriage roof as it came to a stop not far from the Rainbow Bridge. By then, Shen Youran’s makeup was finished. Shen Yunshu told the driver to get down, then closed the curtain tightly.
The sisters exchanged clothes, and Shen Yunshu took the rose-colored jade and tourmaline flower hairpin and dangling pearl earrings from her own hair and ears, adorning her sister with them. Satisfied with her handiwork, she handed her the mirror.
“Look, how is it?”
Shen Youran took the mirror, and upon seeing her reflection, couldn’t help exclaiming, “It’s really alike!”
At first glance, she looked exactly like her sister, but the longer you looked, the less similar they seemed.
Shen Yunshu lifted the bamboo curtain and glanced outside. At the other end of Rainbow Bridge, beneath the emerald willows, stood a tall, elegant figure, dressed in brocade robes, hair tied with a jade crown. She couldn’t see his face, but she recognized the maid beside him—Old Madam Pei’s attendant.
That must be the Pei family’s eldest son.
The old maid looked up and said something to Young Master Pei. He turned his head to listen, and Shen Yunshu glimpsed a profile with a straight nose and refined, cold features.
Birdsong trilled from the branches, crisp as silver bells. Shen Yunshu’s heart fluttered—she was very satisfied with Young Master Pei’s appearance.
She pulled Shen Youran’s hand and pointed out Young Master Pei’s position, urging her to get out.
Now that the moment had come, Shen Youran still couldn’t help feeling uneasy, but a promise was a promise. She lifted her skirt and alighted from the carriage, imitating her sister’s usual way of walking, head held high, calm and unhurried, as she stepped onto Rainbow Bridge.
A gentle breeze rippled the river’s surface. On the great wooden Rainbow Bridge, a graceful and refined young woman walked up and stopped at the highest point of the arch, her dark almond eyes gazing across.
Beside Pei Huaijin, the maid Jiang said at just the right moment, “Young Master, that is Miss Shen Yunshu, the eldest daughter of the Shen family. Look at her beauty—there are few in the whole capital who could compare…”
Jiang Momo had seen Shen Yunshu at a previous tea party. Amidst all the painted ladies, she was the most strikingly elegant.
Now, in her formal makeup, she was even more radiant—snowy skin and flowerlike features, standing gracefully on the vermilion bridge over the water, with tiled white walls behind and graceful willows in front. Her dress and skirt fluttered in the breeze, as if a person had stepped straight out of a painting.
Listening to Jiang Momo’s praise, Pei Huaijin was equally satisfied with the appearance of the Shen family’s eldest daughter on the bridge.
He had only arrived in the capital two days prior, busy with official reports. Last night, after returning home, his grandmother summoned him, inquired about his two and a half years in Lingzhou, and suddenly asked whether he’d met any woman he liked.
He replied that he’d been engrossed in his duties, uninterested in romance, and had no one he liked.
Grandmother asked what kind of woman he did like. Glancing at her bright, spirited eyes, he guessed her intent.
He was twenty-one this year, about to transfer back to the capital from Lingzhou—indeed, time to start a family.
He didn’t know exactly what kind of woman he preferred, but as the legitimate eldest grandson, he should marry a worthy woman. His expectations for his future wife—appearance was secondary; what mattered most was gentleness, virtue, intelligence, and diligence in managing the household. As for affection, that could be cultivated after marriage.
He told his grandmother his requirements, and she clapped her hands with a smile: “Just as well, Grandmother knows a fine girl who’s a perfect match for you…”
The “fine girl” she spoke of was none other than the eldest legitimate daughter of the Minister of Revenue, Shen Yunshu, now standing on the bridge.
Yesterday, hearing his grandmother praise the Shen family’s eldest daughter, he thought she fit all his expectations for a future wife. Now, seeing her serene beauty in person, as graceful as a lotus blossom, he found nothing to fault.
With his mind made up, he nodded slightly toward the girl on the bridge, signaling that the meeting was complete and they could each return home.
But the girl continued to stare straight at him, making no move to leave. Thinking she hadn’t looked enough, he simply stood still, allowing her to continue observing him…
On the bridge, Shen Youran leaned on the railing and leaned forward slightly, instinctively squinting to get a clearer look at her future brother-in-law.
But then she remembered—her dignified elder sister would never squint at someone like this—so she hurriedly opened her eyes wide again.
Her future brother-in-law’s face remained blurry in her sight.
Her vision was not good. When she was young, her parents divorced, and she was forced to follow her father. Missing her mother terribly, she cried so much at age four that she damaged her eyesight, and since then, she couldn’t see people or objects clearly beyond thirty feet, only a general blur.
Still, though she couldn’t make out her future brother-in-law’s features, just that refined silhouette and upright posture told her he must be quite striking.
Truly a perfect match with her elder sister—a pair of golden children, a couple made in heaven.
But… how long was this “looking” supposed to last?
Seeing the man still standing in place and not leaving, she wondered if it would be impolite for her to leave first.
As she hesitated, suddenly, a rich, tempting aroma wafted over. Turning, she saw an old man pushing a ram-horn cart across the bridge, the scent coming from the bamboo basket on his cart.
Seeing her look over, the old man grinned and called out, “Miss, would you like some huanbing?”
Huanbing were deep-fried noodles made from oiled dough, savory and crisp, crumbling at the first bite. Shen Youran often had them for breakfast before, though she never liked them much. But later, her elder sister said such fried foods made one fat and forbade her from eating them. She hadn’t had any in two years. Now, catching that aroma, she found it irresistible.
Thinking she’d done her sister a great favor today, surely it wouldn’t be too much to buy a portion of huanbing for herself.
Shen Youran was about to ask for one when she suddenly remembered that Young Master Pei was still watching her from below. Startled, she quickly composed herself and told the old man, “Not right now, thank you…”
The old man didn’t mind being refused and pushed his cart past her, leisurely heading across the bridge.
But the craving in Shen Youran’s stomach was awakened. All she wanted now was to finish the meeting quickly. Once Young Master Pei left, she could catch up with the huanbing seller before he disappeared.
So, she brought her hands together and bowed to Young Master Pei, signaling the meeting was over, then turned and walked down the bridge.
Though her exit was a bit rushed, Pei Huaijin, seeing her leave from below, did not linger either. He placed his hands behind his back and departed.
But after settling into his carriage, a sudden feeling struck him. He lifted a finger, hooked the edge of the bamboo curtain, and glanced outside.
There, he saw the girl who should have disappeared from the bridge—no longer dignified and elegant—lifting her skirts and running full speed across the arch. Her silver-red skirt trailed behind her like a flame vine, and in a blink, she caught up to the old man with the cart…