The sound of wailing could be heard all the way from the front courtyard to the back garden.
At the Eastern far end of the compound, beneath a canopy of apricot blossoms, Su Lin reclined on a bamboo chair with all the enthusiasm of a cat at noon. A pot of jasmine tea steamed gently beside her; the scent mixed with the sweetness of spring. Her maid Chun Tao knelt nearby, fanning the embers of a small brazier.
The cry came again, accompanied by the faint crash of porcelain.
Chun Tao winced. " That's Second Miss again, isn't it?"
Su Lin did not even lift her eyelids. "Mm."
"Poor thing, she's been crying for an hour straight now."
"Really? Then she must be thirsty by now," Su Lin murmured.
Chun Tao "..."
Following the cries. It was not long when the whole Su residence was ablaze with gossip of what had transpired.
Rumour had it that the Patriarch of the General's residence, General Shen Liang, the Emperor's Iron Wolf, who had been widowed for seven years, with twin sons and a reputation that could freeze summer wine was bestowed marriage by the Emperor. The lady to be wedded to the General would be coming from their Su family.
Of course with all the tantrum a certain someone had been throwing, the whole Su manor had an inkling of who was to be wedded to the General.
Her ever talking maid Chun Tao whispered, unable to hide her excitement. "Madam Su said it's an imperial blessing!"
"Blessing for whom?" Su Lin asked lazily.
"The Second Miss, of course!"
Su Lin hummed, still not opening her eyes. "I see."
China Tao shifted uneasily, reducing her voice to a whisper. "Miss, they say the general's mansion is haunted. His first wife died within a year of marriage, and he hasn't smiled since."
"Oh!" Su Lin reacted, reaching for her cup. "No unnecessary conversations in such a ghostly household then."
"Miss!"
Su Lin smiled faintly over the rim of her cup, pretending to feign being scared. "A haunted home. How dreadful. "
Chun Tao stared at the sky, used to her missus antics. Her miss would rather change directions and pretend she didn't see you than offer greetings. Ever met someone who got tired just from making a conversation? Yap! That was her missus!
....
Moments later, the garden gate flew open with theatrical force.
Su Mei appeared, her red silk handkerchief held tightly in her hand, looking aggrieved with tears on her face. Her cheeks glowed like spring peaches; obviously her misery was rehearsed.
"Sister Lin!" She cried, rushing forward. "I am ruined, my life is ruined!"
Su Lin lifted a brow but did not rise. "Are you dying?"
"Worse! They've betrothed me to the Wolf!"
"Who?"
"General Shen Liang!"She wailed. "That cold-faced monster! They say he once executed a rebel when he was having breakfast, he licked clean the blood that had smeared on his food, when asked he said he couldn't waste the food the people toil hard to farm!"
Su Lin tapped her teacup, thinking. Thinking of the people, how charming.
Aloud she said only, "Mm."
Su Mei's tears increased seeing that Su Lin wasn't moved. "How can you be so calm? I'll be miserable! You know I already have a beloved."
"Then don't marry him," Su Lin said simply.
"Su Mei blinked, taken aback. "I can't! The Emperor decreed it! We cannot refuse the Emperor's decree!"
Su Lin's tone was as serene as the pond beside them. "Then marry him."
"You..!" Su Mei pointed, speechless. "You have no heart!"
"I do, else I'd be long dead." Su Lin corrected.
Chun Tao choked on a laugh.
Su Mei composed herself. She could not leave until her goal was accomplished. Lowering her voice to sound full of grievances.
"Sigh, being a concubine daughter really has its perks. You've always had it easy, Lin-jie. Be it your etiquette studies, no one ever forces you to do anything no matter your poor performance, Father never even once reprimanded you. You can just waste away without anyone expecting anything from you. You are never needed to attend banquets, do you know how tiresome they are to prepare for and they never seem to end. I really envy you..."
"Is she insulting me in a sugar coated way?" Su Lin really was confused, but she couldn't be bothered to think so much.
Su Lin finally fully opened her eyes. "Is that so?"
"Yes!" Su Mei sniffled. "If only there was another girl in our household of marriageable age, sigh, all our sisters are married except us, if not perhaps one of them would have taken my place. I'd even be wiling to give my private stash to her! Sigh...unfortunately you also don't seem interested in marrying, do you sister?"
Su Lin looked at her long enough to make Su Mei think she would refuse. Then she smiled, slow and feline.
"If that would make you happy, Sister, I don't mind."
Su Mei froze. "You, you wouldn't!"
"Why not? The general won't talk much. His estate is far from the city. His children have nannies. Sounds just about right for me."
"Right for you? You call that right?!" Su Mei had an inkling that she had hopped into a hole that had long been dug for her with no way out.
"I do." Came Su Lin's lazy reply.
"You hate responsibility the most!"
"And?"
Su Mei's mouth opened and closed. "You're serious. "
"Entirely."
Su Mei faltered, then forced a nervous laugh. "You're joking, of course. You'd never survive a general's manor. You don't have any skill."
"Then go find one that has skills, or better yet you are the most skillfull young Miss here, you are the perfect match no wonder the Emperor chose you."
The silence that followed was almost comical.
Su Mei stood up abruptly, fanning her face. "If you insist, I'll tell Mother you volunteered. You mustn't regret this later!"
Su Mei almost missed a step to the reply of her statement from Su Lin.
"Don't forget the silver sister." Su Lin casually said twirling the tea.
...
When Su Mei walked away, her tears almost dried up instantly.
Her maid followed behind her.
"Second Miss, should we really let Eldest Miss take your place?"
Su Mei smiled delicately, though her eyes were full of poison.
"Let her. When she marries instead of me everyone will pity me for my generosity. When that cold brute makes her life miserable, everyone will feel like I escaped a calamity by a sheer of luck brought about by my kind heart."
In her heart she gloated. A concubine daughter marrying a general? Humph! She should thank me!
Neither sisters knew that it was all the Emperor's ploy to clip the general's wings. Fearing General Shen's growing fame, his Majesty had hand-picked a small, powerless family for the match. In the peoples eyes it would seem like the Emperor wanted to give the general someone to bring warmth in his life since he was getting married to a younger woman. But in truth it was a strategy. Fearing the general's mother would choose a woman from an influential aristocratic family making him even more powerful, the Emperor had to act before the General's mother.
.....
Back in the Apricot courtyard, Chun Tao hovered anxiously around Su Lin making her dizzy.
"Miss...are you truly willing to marry him?"
Su Lin stretched like a cat in sunlight.
"Willing? No. Accepting? Yes."
"But he's a terrifying General!"
"Good."
"Good?!"
Su Lin's smile deepened. "Terrifying men are too busy to nag their wives."
Chun Tao groaned. "Miss, you are impossible."
Chun Tao whispered, "Miss..you agreed too easily this is unlike you at all."
Su Lin lifted her cup. "I'm doing sisterly charity. Besides.." She took a long, slow sip, "a general's wife whose husband is always at the border? That sounds restful no?"
Chun Tao hesitated. "But...he has two sons."
Su Lins tone was airy. "Children don't like boring people. They'll ignore me soon enough."
The maid could only stare at her mistresses calm, self-satisfied expression and think privately that no one in this world was better at turning misfortune into opportunity.
That evening, seating alone beneath the blossoms, she started making a list on a slip of parchment.
Tea leaves. Pillow. Candied plums.