The Third Sister#

In seclusion for a hundred springs, Truth and falsehood, the mountain brings. Rosy face turns into grey hair, Love stories seldom end fair.

The third daughter of the Zhu family, graceful in demeanor and gentle in nature, loved reading and writing. Observing that her younger sisters were still naive, and her two elder sisters were extremely busy, she focused on needlework and became the best weaver in the family.

The fabric shop run by the second sister outside used weaving patterns designed by the third sister. The weavers in the cave were also trained by her. Due to her gentle and kind-hearted nature, she often found it difficult to command the yaoguais. Thus, the fifth sister became her best assistant. While the third sister taught with the weaving patterns in hand, the fifth sister followed with a punishing ruler. If any weaver was particularly unruly, the straightforward fifth sister would report them to the second sister, who would then seal the offender in a cocoon to be used as food.

Because the eldest and second sisters were often preoccupied with various affairs, the fifth sister had been following the third sister since childhood. The third sister was very quiet, so the fifth sister became her lively counterpart. The two sisters bickered and quarreled, but it made the days pass more easily.

Among the books the third sister often read were those strange mortal anecdote. She always found them fascinating and longed to experience those romantic scenes depicted. However, she was too wise to fall for any romantic scholar, knowing that most yaoguais in those stories met tragic ends.