"Mother, what happened?" Meiyan cried, tears streaming down her face. She was sitting on the bed in one of the Ouyang's guest rooms, the realisation striking her like a bolt out of the blue. She had been by the lake with the other girls and she was just about to push Zi-ning into the water like they had planned when all of a sudden everything went topsy-turvy. After the fear subsided and she managed to open her eyes again, all she saw were dozens of pairs of eyes looking down at her, judging her.
Lady Min held her daughter in her arms, patting her back to soothe her distraught nerves. "It's okay, my dear. Things will be alright," she said.
"It was her." Meiyan grabbed her mother by the shoulders, her eyes widening. "Han Zi-ning. She was the one who pushed me in."
"Are you sure?"
"It had to be her! I tripped Meisi so that she would fall over, but just when I was about to push Zi-ning in she somehow managed to turn herself so that I ended up toppling into the water instead. She must have planned this right from the beginning. She wanted to see me fall in and embarrass myself in front of everyone else!"
Meiyan burst into sobs again, burying her face in her hands. This was not what was supposed to have happened. Zi-ning was supposed to have fallen into the water and then rescued by that attendant they had planted. With that happening in front of all the other ladies, Zi-ning's chastity would have been ruined and she would no longer pose a threat to Meiyan no matter what she did. Somehow everything had gone awry.
"She'll pay for this. I won't let her get away with it," Lady Min said, gritting her teeth.
Even if it had been a real accident, Meiyan would still have pinned it on Zi-ning's shoulders because if it hadn't been for that horrid girl, they wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble in the first place. It was Zi-ning's fault for trying to steal her limelight, for trying to steal everything that belonged to her, like how Yang Yihua had stolen everything that rightfully belonged to her mother.
"But Mother, what am I going to do? Everyone saw me in that state! And the crown prince, the crown prince—" Meiyan blubbered, wiping the tears from her face. When she had opened her eyes, she had clearly seen the crown prince standing there in the crowd. He had seen her in her disheveled state, lying in the arms of another man. What would he think of her now? Would he still consider her for the position of crown princess?
Lady Min pursed her lips together, her thin brows furrowed tightly.
"I think it would be best for you to lie low for a period of time until things die down and people forget what happened. Given your beauty and talents, you'll still be able to find a good match."
Seeing the look in her mother's eyes, Meiyan knew immediately that her chances of becoming the crown prince's consort were incredibly slim. She flew into a rage, picking up a teacup and throwing it angrily against the wall.
"Meiyan!" Lady Min called out, grabbing hold of her daughter's hand. They were still in the Ouyang manor and it wouldn't do for Meiyan to lose her temper now. "Don't worry, my dear, I promise you that I'll find a way for you to marry the man of your dreams, but the crown prince..." She stroked her daughter's cheek sadly. "The queen will never allow it, not with what's happened. Even if they accept you, you'll only be a concubine and not the princess consort. You cannot be anyone's concubine, Meiyan, not even to the crown prince. I've already experienced that shame once and I will not allow you to face the same treatment."
"If I can't be the crown princess then neither can she!" Meiyan cried out hatefully.
"She won't be. She'll never surpass you, Meiyan. I'll make sure of that."
Meiyan's delicate face twisted with an ugly rage.
Even though Han Zi-ning had managed to slip away this time, she would only be lucky this once. The next time, they would make sure that she was completely ruined.
#
When Minister Han heard of Meiyan's incident at the Ouyang manor after returning home from his official duties, he was furious, but there was nothing anyone could do about it given that it appeared to be a genuine accident. Meiyan had accidentally slipped into the lake and as a result had to be rescued by one of the attendants. It was just bad luck that all this had to have happened in full view of all the other ladies of the noble families, and the crown prince himself.
The entire family had gathered in the old madam's hall after they returned from the Ouyang manor and the atmosphere in the room was gloomy. When Old Madam Sun heard of what had happened with her granddaughter, she bade a hasty farewell to the Ouyang family and brought everyone home immediately. Staying around any longer would only invite more questions and sympathetic comments and that was not something her pride was willing to tolerate.
"How could you have been so careless!" the minister bellowed, slamming his palm against the table.
Zi-ning sat quietly in her seat, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to emerge.
Meiyan had always been their father's pride and joy, since she was the daughter that earned the most praise from everyone. However, today's incident had undone all the effort he had put in to build up her good name. It was no secret that Minister Han treated his children like tools that could be used to further his political career, and daughters like them were merely to be married away to help bring greater riches to the family.
"It was an accident, my lord," Lady Min said.
"And you!" Minister Han turned towards his wife, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "How could you let something like this happen while you were there? If you had been looking after Meiyan properly, something like that would never have taken place!"
"Hao-er, stop shouting," the old madam said, rubbing her sore temples, "you're giving me a headache."
The minister pursed his lips together, the vein at his right temple pulsating vehemently. He huffed and folded his arms across his chest, fuming silently instead.
"It was unfortunate that something like that had to happen," the old lady said, shaking her head regretfully, "but what's done is done. No matter how upset we are, nothing is going to change. Meiyan, you'd best stay indoors for the time being and not go out for any engagements until this dies down. People are forgetful and once they have new gossip to talk about, they'll not remember any of this."
Meiyan bit her lower lip, nodding her head reluctantly.
"At least the trip to the Ouyang's wasn't all bad." The old madam turned and smiled fondly at Zi-ning. "The crown prince sang praises of Zi-ning's zither playing. Zi-ning, dear, since when have you taken an interest in music? But that tune you played earlier was far too grave. Young girls like yourself should learn more lighthearted and cheerful pieces. It'll highlight your youth and vibrancy much better."
"Yes, Grandmother," Zi-ning said obligingly.
Hearing about Zi-ning's performance eased Minister Han's frown a little. He looked across the hall at his second daughter, looking a little surprised by how she seemed to have changed.
"Yes, you have done well, Zi-ning. Although it wouldn't do for you to play frequently at such gatherings—people would think lightly of you if you did so." He turned to his wife. "Zi-ning and Meiyan are both coming of age soon and there will be no shortage of suitors coming to our doors. Since Meiyan needs to keep a low profile for now, you can take Zi-ning with you when you go out to meet the other ladies. It would be good for her to show her face in front of everyone so that she can have better marriage offers when the time comes."
Zi-ning had to give her father credit for how quickly his mind turned. It was no wonder he was able to climb up to the position of full minister despite having come from a relatively humble background.
There had been little by way of a father-daughter relationship between them in her past life. Back then, Minister Han had despised her existence. To him, she was a loud, obnoxious brat who often embarrassed him in public situations because of her crass behaviour. It wasn't until she married the eighth prince that he finally softened his tone towards her—because she finally proved to be of some use to him.
Likewise, he was only speaking to her kindly now because her performance at the Ouyang manor had increased her value. If Meiyan could no longer marry a prince, then he would need to turn his attentions towards the daughter who did.
Zi-ning looked across the room at Lady Min, who had merely nodded her head stiffly in response to her husband's instruction. Then, she turned her gaze towards Meiyan. Both of them had their heads bowed so that no one could see the hatred and jealousy in their eyes, but Zi-ning didn't need to see it to know it was there. She smiled.
You feel mistreated? Hurt? Han Meiyan, Min Jueying, this is only the beginning.