Who Is the Actor?

Three days later, Second Miss Li Changru could hardly wait to put on her new clothes. Her jacket of Golden Sparrow brocade shimmered with shifting shades of azure and onion green, while a phoenix amid auspicious clouds adorned her skirt. As she walked, its colors shifted, gleaming with all five hues. She looked even more radiant than usual. When she came to Hexiang Courtyard to pay her respects, everyone felt their eyes brighten at the sight.

Li Changle happened to arrive in the courtyard with the Odd-Eyed Cat in her arms. When she saw Li Changru approaching in all her dazzling finery, her face instantly darkened.

Li Weiyang had arrived before either of them and watched the scene from a distance. She couldn’t help smiling faintly. Her noble Eldest Sister prided herself most on her beauty; that was why she had always considered herself the most beautiful woman in the world, stubbornly believing that all the finest and loveliest things belonged to her. So when Li Changru wore a beautiful dress made from the brocade she had taken from Li Changle, Li Changle’s face turned livid for an instant—a far cry from the image of a kind, magnanimous fairy she usually projected.

Li Weiyang walked over to the veranda. The Old Madam loved raising birds, but her favorite was a red-feathered parrot kept by the front door. They said that when a thief once broke into the Chancellor’s residence, the talking parrot had raised the alarm and saved the Old Madam’s life. Ever since, the Old Madam had treasured it like her own life.

The parrot was in a boxwood-carved cage. When it saw Li Weiyang approach, it tilted its head and peered at her, making a series of chattering noises.

Li Weiyang smiled at Lu Zhi, the senior maid in charge of the parrot, then picked up a plum-blossom-patterned, underglaze-painted water cup with a pointed base. She gave the parrot a little water and coaxed it, “Second Miss is so beautiful! Second Miss is so beautiful!”

Lu Zhi glanced at Second Miss in the distance and nodded. “Yes, her new clothes are truly beautiful!”

The parrot flapped its wings and joined in. “So beautiful! Second Miss! So beautiful!”

Li Weiyang smiled faintly, lifted the curtain, and went inside.

Li Changle and Li Changru came over one after the other. Just as a maid was about to lift the curtain for them, Li Changle suddenly heard a flurry of wings above her. Then a cry rang out: “Second Miss is so beautiful! Second Miss is so beautiful!” The shrill, childish voice rang out in the sudden silence, painfully clear. Hearing the parrot’s cries was like having a dull knife cut into the calm Li Changle had struggled so hard to maintain...