Ashes to Crown

Chapter 54: Chapter 18: Admonition

Ah Le was not at home. Chu Zhao had assigned her to keep watch outside, so the moment Chu Ke left the house, Ah Le followed.

But with her mistress backing her, Ah Le was no longer timid and afraid of causing trouble. She even dared to order the other maids around.

There were two young maids, sent over by the Jiang Family just to fill the roster. Ah Le gave them a few coins as a reward and instructed them to keep an eye on the gate.

When the young ladies came through the main gate, a young maid who had been squatting by the second gate—under the pretense of helping a stewardess sweep—immediately sprinted off to inform Chu Zhao.

"It’s Miss Qi and the others." The young maid recognized the visitors and had carefully noted where they were headed. She asked Chu Zhao eagerly, "They’re all with Miss Ah Tang. Miss Ah Zhao, do you want to go over?"

It had always been like this before: Chu Zhao would fixate on Chu Tang, desperate to tag along and play with her and the other girls.

Chu Zhao smiled and grabbed a handful of candied fruit for the young maid. "I’m not going, but you can help me by keeping an eye on what they’re up to."

Miss Ah Zhao had become so generous lately. The young maid accepted the treat and happily ran off. Besides, Miss Ah Zhao had hit Miss Liang, and the First Master’s whole family had gone to apologize. But then Miss Ah Zhao had gone to inform the Second Master, and when she returned, not only did she not have to apologize to the Liang Family, she even went to their house and gave them a piece of her mind. The Liang Family didn’t dare say a single word in response.

The First Master and his wife were always saying that the Second Master was a criminal who brought disaster upon the family. But after seeing this, it was clear the Second Master was the truly formidable one.

’A formidable father meant a formidable daughter. Of course, she was willing to work for the formidable Miss Ah Zhao.’

With the young maids running errands for her, Chu Zhao already knew the purpose of Chu Tang’s smiling maid by the time she arrived.

"Everyone is playing in the garden," the maid said. "Miss Ah Tang sent me especially to inform you that if Miss Ah Zhao would also like to go, you should ask the Master and Madam for permission and then head to the garden for a stroll."

Chu Zhao said, "Oh," and stood up, just as they had hoped. "I don’t need to tell my uncle and aunt I’m going to the garden. My uncle may have grounded me, but surely it’s fine as long as I don’t leave the family estate?"

With that, she strode out the door.

"Miss Ah Zhao," the maid called out, feigning anxiety. "Then allow this servant to go and ask for permission on your behalf."

Chu Zhao paid her no mind, not caring whether the maid was going to ask for permission or tattle on her. She headed straight for the garden.

The maids in the garden were all watching, reporting Chu Zhao’s progress to Chu Tang and the others. "Miss Ah Zhao is on her way." "Miss Ah Zhao has reached the stone bridge." "Miss Ah Zhao just snapped off a piece of bamboo—"

’What’s she doing with a piece of bamboo? Using it as a weapon?’ The girls grew a little uneasy. Fortunately, the maids soon sent another message: Miss Ah Zhao had used the bamboo to poke at the fish in the stream before tossing it aside.

The girls breathed a sigh of relief.

"How vile," Qi Leyun said indignantly. "What did those poor fish ever do to her?"

As the girls tried to mask their anxiety by pretending to calmly play music, chess, and paint, Chu Zhao finally sauntered into view.

They stared at the girl before them. She wore a simple, well-worn cyan dress, her dark hair was tied up high, revealing a long, slender neck. A faint smile played on her lips, but her eyes were piercingly cold. She seemed like a stranger. None of them could quite recall what Chu Zhao used to look like. ’Then again, who ever cared what she looked like?’

In the lakeside pavilion, the girls were a mix of sitting and standing. The music from the zither ceased, and a sudden silence fell.

"What are you all playing?" Chu Zhao asked. Without waiting for a reply, she sat down in an empty chair and scanned her surroundings.

’Ten years ago, ten years from now... it was all the same. Girls passed the time playing music, chess, and painting, always striving to be demure and tranquil, their every movement as picturesque as a painting.’

’The imperial concubines in the palace were just the same. No matter where Xiao Xun went, he could appreciate beautiful music. There was always a consort ready to play chess with him, and every palace was adorned with paintings of landscapes, birds, insects, and people.’

’Among them, she hadn’t stood out at all.’

’No matter how hard she tried, she could never compare to these women who had been meticulously trained in these arts from a young age. Xiao Xun couldn’t even be bothered to look at her, let alone her supposed talents.’

’She couldn’t even find any joy in them for herself; after all, she had only learned them to entertain someone else.’

Her casual posture and somewhat grim expression snapped the girls back to their senses. ’She’s definitely here to cause trouble!’

Qi Leyun snorted. "What? Are you going to blame us for not including you?"

Chu Zhao snorted back. "Of course not. I don’t even like these games."

Her words stunned them once more. ’The old Chu Zhao never would have said she didn’t like them. She’d just fawn over us, saying how much she loved it, how she wanted to learn, begging, ’Sisters, please teach me—’’

’So, has she just given up completely now?’

"That’s right. If you never liked it in the first place, why did you insist on tagging along with us?" Qi Leyun said. "You were the one who wasn’t having fun, and then you’d turn around and blame us for neglecting and bullying you."

Chu Zhao smiled as she looked at the girl. She couldn’t quite recall who this one was.

"And you are?" she asked.

The question made Qi Leyun’s eyes go wide with anger. ’What is she playing at? Chu Tang told us long ago that Chu Zhao had written down all of our names to memorize them. She was constantly calling us ’sister this’ and ’sister that.’ And now she’s pretending she doesn’t know me?’

"I am Qi Leyun," she snapped, dropping all pretense of politeness. "My father is a Commander in the Sikong Mansion. I’ve said bad things about your father, too. So why don’t you come and hit me!"

Chu Zhao was amused. ’The spitefulness of young girls is different from that of imperial consorts,’ she thought. ’Looking back, it’s almost comical.’

And then she remembered this Qi Leyun. ’Commander Qi’s family was terribly unlucky. During the riots in the Capital City, some thugs casually tossed a torch at their house. It just so happened to land in the woodshed, starting a massive fire. The entire family perished.’

’This fierce, vibrant girl right in front of me... turned into a charred corpse.’

"You want me to hit you—" Chu Zhao began.

Qi Leyun tensed up, and the other girls couldn’t help but brace themselves.

Chu Tang rose to her feet but said nothing, ready to intervene the moment a fight broke out.

But Chu Zhao didn’t lunge forward. Instead, she leaned back against her chair, her expression languid.

"—But why stop at you? All of you have said things, haven’t you?" she continued. "If I started hitting people, I’d never be able to get to all of you. That’s why I only hit Miss Liang. It was a warning. Just don’t do it again."

The girls were stunned. Qi Leyun stared blankly for a moment, then her anger flared even brighter.

"Chu Zhao, and now you’re acting all magnanimous," she yelled. "So you think you were justified in hitting someone? What’s wrong with saying bad things about your father? Those aren’t just ’bad things,’ they’re facts! Did your father not release those bandits? Was he not disrespectful to His Majesty?"

Chu Zhao was silent for a moment before nodding. "Yes. My father did do those things."

"Since he did it, you can’t stop people from talking about it!" Qi Leyun sneered.

The other girls, recovering their composure, began chiming in with disdainful looks and sneers, dredging up stories from that year.

"Your father once struck my second uncle. They were both Colonels, and it was just because my uncle wouldn’t let your father leave his post without permission."

"And remember when your father sent soldiers to seize the official complaint filed against him? He had it burned right in the middle of the street for everyone to see."

Chu Tang let out a soft sigh. "Why must we do this? It’s all in the past. And you, Ah Zhao... by making such a fuss and forcing everyone to rehash these things over and over, who is it that’s truly humiliating Second Uncle?"

Hearing this, Chu Zhao still didn’t lunge at anyone. She remained seated, reached out, and plucked a string on the nearby zither. A sharp TWANG cut through the girls’ chatter.

"But His Majesty never held my father accountable for any of this," Chu Zhao said. "And the court never punished him. Therefore, he is not a criminal."

Qi Leyun sneered. "That’s only because His Majesty is magnanimous and merciful. But officials and common citizens don’t have to be so forgiving of such vile behavior. If your father did it, people are allowed to talk about it. What are you going to do? Silence the entire world?"

Chu Zhao stood up.

Qi Leyun instinctively took a step back, and the other girls flinched.

"Everything you’ve said is correct. But as far as I’m concerned, unless the court and His Majesty declare him guilty, my father is innocent. And I will not stand by and do nothing while you humiliate him." Chu Zhao still didn’t charge at them; she simply began to walk over slowly. "Say whatever you like behind my back. I don’t care. But do not say it to my face. Do not let me hear it. Because if you insult my father and I fail to teach you a lesson, I would be an unfilial daughter. It is natural to protect and shield one’s own family. My hitting you would be perfectly justified."

As she spoke, she closed the distance to Qi Leyun.

Qi Leyun stood rigidly, not daring to retreat another step—any further and she would fall out of the pavilion.

"I only came here today to tell you all this." Chu Zhao reached out and patted Qi Leyun on the shoulder. "From now on, don’t seek me out. Don’t show your faces in front of me again. Let’s stay out of each other’s way."

’This damn girl! We haven’t even said anything, and she’s the one telling *us* to stay away from *her*?’ Qi Leyun glared and gritted her teeth.

Chu Zhao, however, didn’t spare her another glance. Instead, she looked at Chu Tang.

"Ah Tang," she said, gesturing around them. "Our family’s garden is beautiful, isn’t it?"

’What is she getting at? Is she trying to forbid the other girls from visiting?’ Chu Tang latched onto the word "our." ’This estate doesn’t belong to Chu Zhao alone.’ She smiled and replied, "Of course it’s beautiful."

Chu Zhao said, "For such a beautiful garden to have remained in the hands of the Chu Family after all these years... why do you think that is?"

’Of course the Chu Family’s garden belongs to the Chu Family. What does she mean, ’why’?’ Chu Tang froze, taken aback.

Chu Zhao said no more. She walked out of the pavilion, casually snapping off a willow switch as she went. She swung it back and forth, humming a little tune to herself.

The girls watched her retreating figure, swaying as gently as the willow branch in her hand. As Chu Zhao’s humming echoed in their ears, they found themselves at a loss for words.

One girl stared after her, dumbfounded. "She’s humming the piece I was just playing," she couldn’t help but murmur.

’That piece is incredibly difficult. I practiced for so long just to show it off today.’

And yet, listening to Chu Zhao’s melodious humming, they could hear that she didn’t miss a single note. She sounded even more practiced than the girl herself.

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