Outside, rain was pouring in torrents, drumming down on the rooftops and eaves in a roar — it seemed as though the entire covered walkway was trembling.

Nanny Kong supported Liu Shi as they made their way toward the front hall. For reasons she couldn’t explain, the whole way there she kept catching sight of servants and maids peering around corners and craning their necks. Liu Shi felt increasingly unsettled, and so she paused before stepping into the upper chamber and turned to ask the matron standing at the door: “Is the Master at home?”

Nanny Jiao gave a derisive snort: “How very amusing you are, Yiniang — when the Lady summons you, does it absolutely require the Master of the house to be present? Just who do you think you are?”

This aggressively domineering manner made Liu Shi, who had spent a full year with her head held high, deeply uncomfortable. She frowned: “I am the concubine of this household. I’ve committed no crime against the law. What right do you have to coerce me like this?”

Nanny Jiao didn’t even spare her a glance: “At least you still know you’re a concubine. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten who you were entirely — you seemed to think you were running this marquisate like a shopkeeper.” She arrived at the hall entrance, lifted her chin, and said: “Go on in, Yiniang. As they say, even the plainest bride must face her in-laws sooner or later — did you not already come face to face at the general’s residence? You showed not a trace of fear then.”

The other nanny gave her another shove: “Yiniang, please move a little faster — don’t keep the Lady waiting.”

Liu Shi staggered slightly and at last entered the upper chamber. Going in, she saw Jin Shengyu seated in the place of honor. The sky outside was grey and murky — deep inside the room the light was dim and heavy. She sat before the great three-paneled screen painted with the image of a river in early snow, watching with idle, detached eyes as Liu Shi walked in, then let her eyelids droop and lowered her head to sip her tea.

No one enjoys facing a woman like this — someone so supremely poised and imperiously composed — even if she is the head wife who has yet to formally pass through the door. But Liu Shi also knew how to read the situation. She had already given great offense during their last encounter, and yet had not managed to ruin this marriage — which only showed how heartless Jiang Heng was, forcing her to face this present humiliation. She had been unfortunate in who she had trusted, but life had to go on. She would simply have to grit her teeth, thicken her face, and no matter what, get through the surface pleasantries first — everything else could be dealt with later.

So she immediately arranged her expression into a smile, went forward to pour Jin Shengyu a cup of fragrant tea, and said gently: “You have been exhausting yourself all this time preparing the new residence, Lady. I am a useless woman — though anxious inside, I have not been able to help you in the slightest. Now that the marquisate is complete, I am living here with my children and I feel deeply uneasy about it. Going forward, if the Lady has any tasks to assign, please command me as you see fit. Though my abilities are limited, I would like to be of some help in easing the Lady’s burdens.”

She truly was born to be a concubine — she had a natural gift for a fawning, accommodating manner. Jin Shengyu looked at her with cold contempt: “You are far too modest. I have never once seen someone with your kind of capable hands who could call themselves without ability.”

The direct humiliation landed squarely. Liu Shi was naturally furious inside, but kept up her composed exterior — going so far as to lower her head and squeeze out two tears, sobbing softly: “The Lady must still resent me for what happened before. At the time, I was truly in dire straits and had lost all judgment — that is why I went rushing over to the general’s residence as I did. If I were to bare my heart honestly, the Lady too is a woman. Women understand women’s hearts best. I have been with the Master for so many years, and there are three children…”

She kept invoking the children with every breath she drew, which only deepened Jin Shengyu’s disgust. So before she could finish her words, Jin Shengyu cut her off.

“There are thousands upon thousands of women in the world — it doesn’t follow that women necessarily understand one another. People’s origins differ, their perspectives differ, their methods and conduct differ. If I were in your position, my first principle would be to understand my own standing clearly, and I would never dare to presume I was the household’s family member and go stirring up trouble at the gates of a powerful and prominent family. Furthermore, you are forever bringing up the children — this habit is quite unbecoming. The children born to a concubine do not belong to you — not a single one of them. Surely you know this. The previous Lady had legitimate children of her own and had no interest in your three. But I am different. At my age, with my lap still empty, I am in precisely the right position to receive several children to raise and guide. From this point forward, you need not concern yourself with their affairs — I will personally arrange for people to instruct them in propriety and deportment. Though they are of concubine birth, they are nonetheless the Marquis’s own bloodline, and they cannot be allowed to grow up as unrefined as you — to invite the ridicule of outsiders in the future.”

Having heard every word, Liu Shi stood there at a total loss.

She had imagined a thousand different ways this confrontation might go on the way over — all of them variations of Jin Shi making things difficult for her. Yet she had never, in a thousand imaginings, anticipated that she would set her sights on the children.

Liu Shi’s smile had grown difficult to sustain. She said awkwardly: “That the Lady sees fit to take them under her care is their good fortune. Only, those children have been with me for so long — I fear they may not please the Lady when they are brought before her.”

Jin Shengyu said it didn’t matter: “Children, managed with a firm hand, will turn out well.” She then studied Liu Shi’s face carefully and smiled: “What is this expression? It seems you are not entirely willing.”

She was being called out directly. Liu Shi was naturally seething inside, but maintained her outer composure — even managing to bow her head and squeeze out two more tears. She whispered: “The Lady must still think of me with resentment from before. I truly was in desperate straits at the time, and lost all good sense — that is why I acted so rashly and went to the general’s residence. If I could lay my heart open for you to see, the Lady is also a woman, and women understand each other’s hearts best. I have accompanied the Master for so many years, and there are three children…”

“The world has thousands upon thousands of people, and it does not follow that women necessarily understand one another. People’s origins differ, their perspectives differ, their ways of handling matters differ. If I were in your place, the very first thing I would do is make the nature of my own standing crystal clear. I would never dare to presume I was the household’s family member and go stirring up trouble at the gates of some great and illustrious house. Moreover, you are forever invoking the children — this is a very poor habit. Not a single child born to a concubine belongs to that concubine — you surely cannot be unaware of this. The previous Lady had a legitimate daughter of noble birth and had no use for your three. I, however, am different. At my age, with my lap still empty, I am in precisely the right position to take in a few children to raise and guide. From this day forward, you need not involve yourself in their affairs — I shall personally arrange for people to teach them proper behavior and etiquette. Although they are of concubine birth, they are still the Marquis’s own flesh and blood. They cannot be allowed to grow up as unrefined as you — inviting the mockery of outsiders in the future.” She paused a moment, then added with a smile: “Or perhaps among your three children, there is some remarkable talent who will help you escape your bonded status and make you a titled noblewoman one day?”

Liu Shi’s face went iron-grey in an instant. Those words about bonded status struck at the thing she could least endure. Not a single day in all these years had passed without her regretting it — regretting that wretched moment of muddled thinking when she had agreed to let the young mistress make her put her handprint on that document. Once that seal was stamped, it had been easy enough to press down, but to take it back — that was utterly impossible.

She had spent enormous effort during the earthquake, ransacking Yun Pan’s courtyard, but found nothing. She had told herself the document had been dissolved in the rain or rotted away in the water — that it simply no longer existed. But now, hearing the tone in Jin Shi’s voice, a fear that she had thought buried began to stir awake again. She began to suspect that Yun Pan still possessed that document — and might even have handed it over to Jin Shi.

The thought set off a ringing chaos in her mind. This vulnerability was her fatal weakness. The past year had passed in such comfortable tranquility that she had nearly forgotten the despair of being subject to fate.

She was in a panic, yet could not afford to lose composure before Jin Shi and hand over her soft underbelly to be seized and used against her still further. She would have to hold firm, to gamble that Jin Shi had nothing on her — and so she forced herself to maintain a smile and said: “The Lady is teasing me. After so many years of serving at the Master’s side, how could I possibly carry the name of bonded status?”

Jin Shengyu smiled: “Do you think I’m kept in the dark? A bondservant concubine running the household of a founding marquisate — this has been the great curiosity of all of Youzhou. You may have spent a couple of days playing the person of high station, but you cannot forget the roots you come from. I genuinely do not know how many heads of cattle’s courage you possess, to have had the audacity to urge the Marquis to formally elevate your rank.”

Liu Shi’s face turned completely green. She was still trying to form a rebuttal, mouth just beginning to open, when Jin Shengyu raised a hand to stop her.

“Opening the residence in the capital has incurred a deficit — there is now a very large sum owed to creditors outside, who are pressing urgently for repayment in the coming days. But at the moment I do not have a single coin to my name, which is why I’ve had to cut back even on meat for the servants’ meals. The Marquis, for his part, has always been indifferent to practical affairs, so someone has to manage this. You handed over the account ledgers a few days ago, but what was still missing were the household slaves’ registration documents and the land deeds and property titles for the Dangshan estates. I won’t mince words with you today: if it truly comes to it and there is no way to manage, I shall have no choice but to sell people. I happen to have a registration document in my hands right now — take a look and tell me: should this person be sold, or should they not?”

With that, she cast a glance at Nanny Cen beside her. Nanny Cen immediately opened the box she was holding, and inside, lying flat and neatly, was a slave registration document. At the top was an elaborate declaration of voluntary submission to bondage, and at the bottom was a bright red handprint — alongside the three characters: Liu Yanqiao.

Liu Shi’s composure shattered. She cried out in a sharp voice: “You cannot sell me! I have been in this household for more than ten years — if not merit, then at least I have toiled and suffered. These past ten or more years I have poured tea and served the Master, and I have borne three children…”

“And yet you are still a bondservant. Bondservants and base persons are ranked in law with livestock — it is written plainly in the legal codes. Do you dare defy the law?” Jin Shengyu rose to her feet. Tall by nature, she was able to look down on Liu Shi from a position of superiority, regarding her with contemptuous disdain: “Even livestock in a pen produces offspring. Have you ever seen a single beast that could not fetch money? Out of consideration for the fact that you have borne three children, let me find you a somewhat decent buyer — I won’t sell you to a brothel. I’ll find an appropriate butcher, so you can spend your days watching pigs and sheep being slaughtered. Consider it a fitting lesson.”

A great roll of thunder crashed outside. Liu Shi spun around in alarm and looked toward the door: “I demand to see the Master!”

Jin Shengyu gave a scornful laugh: “The Marquis has gone to keep an appointment with the Regional Fiscal Commissioner — he cannot return for the moment. Naturally I chose to deal with you while he is away from home. And you still want to see him? What are you thinking?” She then raised her voice and called for Nanny Jiao: “Send someone out to find a broker. Tell him that our household has a bondservant concubine to be sold, and have him come to assess her.”

Liu Shi saw she was serious and immediately panicked: “I know you are taking revenge for personal reasons — this document was entered into between myself and the young mistress. What does it have to do with you?”

This earned her a cold look from Jin Shengyu: “The young mistress is no longer with us — would you have me make her die again?”

Liu Shi cried and raged without pause. At their last confrontation in the general’s residence, she had come off worse because she hadn’t brought enough people of her own. Now she was in her own household — yet as much as she raged and thrashed, all those people who had once trailed behind her with flattery and fawning had turned into cowering turtles the moment it counted. Not a single one dared step forward to support her.

She suddenly felt the premonition of total collapse. And indeed — one document was enough to crush a person. She could only despise Yun Pan, hating her so fiercely she could have bitten off a piece of that girl’s flesh. That girl had said nothing, done nothing that seemed conspicuous — and yet she had been rotten to the very bone.

“I have three children — every son and daughter of this marquisate was born by me. I want to see who dares to sell me!”

She was still screaming. Jin Shengyu had grown impatient watching her perform her dramatics, and gave orders to the assembled matrons: “Bind her, so the buyer can get a proper look.”

Binding people was a particular skill of the matrons from the general’s household — Liu Shi had already experienced it firsthand. When they lunged at her, she fought back like a madwoman, screaming and struggling: “Get away! Get away!” — temporarily keeping them at bay.

But how long could a cornered person resist, with no way out? Just as she was losing heart, Xue Pan and Yu Pan came bursting through the door. Xue Pan, with all the imperious manner of her mother, cried out in the heat of the moment: “I’d like to see who dares lay a hand on my A’Niang!”

She had barely finished speaking when she received a hard slap across the face from Jin Shengyu: “Your A’Niang? Who are you calling A’Niang? Wretched creature, debasing yourself!”

Xue Pan had been pampered and coddled since childhood and had never been struck before. She didn’t know what she was up against. Young, hot-blooded, and furious, she actually looked as if she meant to stand her ground against Jin Shengyu.

The matrons from the general’s household were not to be trifled with. Seeing she was about to make trouble, one of them grabbed her and pinned her in place, delivering a vicious kick to the back of her knees that sent her crashing down to kneel. The matron smiled pleasantly all the while: “Young miss, do be careful. The Madam is your proper mother. Calling anyone else A’Niang and A’Niang like that without any care is a loss of dignity to yourself — it gives the servants something to laugh about.”

Both Liu Shi and Xue Pan were being restrained in the hall. Liu Shi had to look after herself while worrying for Xue Pan — she wept and cried out all at once, not knowing what to do.

Jin Shengyu cast a contemptuous glance at the two of them, then, noticing the frightened and agitated Yu Pan, said with an odd sort of interest: “And why are you not creating a scene with the others? Don’t tell me you are not Liu Shi’s daughter?”

Yu Pan burst into tears, weeping as she said: “Please calm your anger, Mother. Yiniang and Elder Sister have been foolish and have offended you — I bow in apology on their behalf. We have only just moved to the capital, and now, with the household barely established, there is already talk of selling people. It would not look well if word got out… Mother, please have mercy and spare Yiniang this once. If the Master truly finds out when he returns, it would put you in a difficult position as well.”

Jin Shengyu looked at this girl and found her to be of considerably better sense than the elder one — an entirely different sort from that impetuous fool. So the tone in which she spoke to her softened somewhat, and she turned and settled back into her armchair: “For a mistress to deal with her bondservant concubines is perfectly natural and proper — even if your father returned, he would have no grounds to interfere in what I handle. You probably don’t yet know the full extent of your concubine-mother’s conduct — she helped herself to a good many thousands of silver from the public accounts. Today I summoned a broker to sell her, and she is to leave wearing not a single piece of clothing that belongs to this household and carrying not one item of its furnishings. I want to see what use all that money she skimmed will be to her.” She then shifted her gaze to Xue Pan: “Listen to me carefully. If you call her your mother, then you too are of bonded status. When the broker comes, you are welcome to go along with her. You are your father’s flesh and blood, but you are not mine. If you understand your proper place and comport yourself accordingly, there is still a position for you in this household. But if you create trouble and show no regard for your superiors, then get out. Did not your concubine-mother do exactly the same to your eldest sister? It is your misfortune that you don’t have the luck of meeting a Weiguo Duke, and no kind-hearted maternal aunt to take you in. As for those uncles and aunts of yours — the first thing they’d likely do is sell you off. Think on that carefully.”

At that moment, footsteps sounded from outside. Another flash of lightning lit the sky, and Nanny Jiao led a man in a brown garment and stopped him on the veranda, announcing in a loud voice: “Madam, the broker has been brought.”

Liu Shi turned and clutched Xue Pan, speaking in desperation: “I won’t submit to this. No one is going to sell me… if you push me to it, I’ll dash my head against the wall and die right here. I’m not leaving this household — this is my home! A home I have lived in for more than ten years!”

Jin Shengyu spat dismissively: “Someone of bonded status has no home.” She turned to the broker: “Have a look at this older one — what is she worth?”

The broker was well-accustomed to seeing the wives and concubines of great households clash. Moments like these were the best for turning a profit. He gave Liu Shi a careful once-over: “She has some looks to her, but she’s getting on in years, and hard to sell on. Five taels of silver at most — and that is only because she appears never to have done rough labor. Otherwise, for goods of this sort, we usually take them for two or three taels.” Then those eyes rolled over to Xue Pan beside her, and he made a sound of interest: “Now this one is something else. Madam, what about her? Would you like to sell them both? If this one can be taken along as well, I’ll give you twenty taels for the pair — all in hard silver, not a copper coin owed.”

Jin Shengyu smiled coolly as she watched Liu Shi’s face drain to ash. Her heart must be in quite a state right now. More than ten years presiding over this household, calling servants and ordering maids — and now in a broker’s eyes she was nothing but goods, worth five taels sold alone, not even enough for a box of fine incense powder.

That was the truth of it in the end — a matter of dignity. With dignity intact, you are a proper human being. Stripped of dignity, you are lower than a pig or a dog — and no one cares whether you ever managed a household or what sort of respectable concubine you were.

Xue Pan had never witnessed the selling of a person before. Until now she had relied on being a young miss of the marquisate, believing Jin Shengyu would not dare do anything too extreme to her. But she had badly underestimated Jin Shengyu’s methods. She was a stepmother — the father’s face counted for nothing here. If she were truly thrown out like the way Yun Pan had been, stranded overnight, her name would be finished.

So she began shaking Liu Shi urgently: “Yiniang… Yiniang, say something! What good does it do to go silent at a time like this!”

Yu Pan had been pleading with Jin Shengyu for some time already, and she knew mere pleading would not suffice. The woman was going to spend money today, and nothing less. So Yu Pan knelt before Liu Shi and implored her: “Yiniang, money is nothing but a worldly thing. If you are truly sold away, you cannot take a single coin with you — can’t you see what is happening? What are you waiting for?”

But who could ask Liu Shi’s heart and find it unresisting?

The money she had so carefully squirreled away, not yet warm in her grasp, was about to be dug out of her hands. She was being pushed to the edge of a cliff. If she held out and claimed she had nothing, these people would not show mercy in dealing with her. The Master was not here — and even if he found them and brought them back afterward, raising her head ever again would be near impossible. And there was still Xue Pan to think of — whatever happened, she could not let the child come to harm…

At last she bowed her head. With a long, defeated sigh, she said: “I was muddled-headed before, and I did in truth set aside money from the accounts. I am now willing to hand over the full amount. I beg the Lady to show mercy.”

Jin Shengyu had been waiting precisely for this. She smiled: “You see — it is I who was driven to desperate measures, with no other choice. Were it otherwise, you are someone the Marquis holds dear — how could I ever presume to sell you? Since you are willing to relieve the household’s pressing need, that is very good. The accounts are currently short by seven or eight thousand — please produce that amount, Yiniang, so I may settle the debts with those outside.”

Liu Shi was utterly staggered: “Seven or eight thousand? Lady, I only set aside one thousand taels — and that was saved to provide a trousseau for the second and third daughters when they come of age to marry. Where would I ever get seven or eight thousand?”

Jin Shengyu knew she was still spinning falsehoods, but she had deliberately named a high figure. That is how a negotiation works — you say ten thousand, I say twenty; in the end both sides give a little, and the matter is settled.

“One thousand taels? Do you take me for a fool? After more than a year managing this household, you only skimmed one thousand? Then you fought tooth and nail to seize control of all household finances for a truly paltry return.” She paused, then smiled pleasantly again: “I am not a ruthless person. Let us do this: produce six thousand taels. If the accounts can be made to balance, we are done — the remaining debts I will not press you about.”

Liu Shi thought to herself: you call this not pressing? In truth, there were no remaining debts to press — six thousand taels meant she would have to hand over everything she had, and still owe two thousand more. She would be taking a complete loss, as devastating as if she had never had a father.

But she was in a low position with no room to throw a temper. She could only arrange an earnest expression and say from the heart: “Lady, let me speak to you plainly. After the young mistress passed on, the public accounts were indeed strained. On the Marquis’s salary and the marquisate’s stipend alone, plus the income from the estate farms and shops, we see perhaps two or three thousand taels a year. With so many mouths to feed and clothe in this household, one above and the other below these figures cancel each other out — there has never been much left over.”

“That is quite an appetite you have,” Jin Shengyu said coldly. “Only two or three thousand? Two or three thousand taels would feed a thousand peasant households for a year. You once sold wine — how much did a cup go for in those days? Yet now two or three thousand taels means nothing to you — clearly your expectations have grown quite large. Stop trying to talk your way out of this. I have no patience for a long-winded argument. Here is my offer: produce five thousand taels. If you refuse, walk out the door with the broker right now. The moment you leave, I will search your rooms — I want to see just exactly how much you have accumulated over these years.”

Liu Shi was crushed under her demands, crying out silently in misery. The savings in her chamber were certainly more than just this — there were also land deeds, jewelry, and treasury drafts. If she truly could not take even a hairpin away with her, Jin Shi would overthrow her and profit handsomely in the process.

She had grown accustomed to a comfortable life in the marquisate over the years, and absolutely could not leave. There were also those three children — without their mother, would they not simply be swallowed up by Jin Shi? Better to keep the green hills, so there would always be firewood to burn. Jin Shi may be triumphant now, but once the freshness of a new mistress wore off in the Master’s eyes, he would naturally return to her chambers in time.

The broker was growing impatient as well — looking back outside, then back at Jin Shengyu: “Marchioness, this humble broker does have other affairs to attend to…”

Jin Shengyu paid him no attention and simply watched Liu Shi with cold eyes.

Liu Shi had no recourse. She lowered her head and surrendered: “Then there is nothing for it but to hand over all the savings I have kept these years. I hope this will satisfy the Lady.”

Jin Shengyu was finally satisfied. She turned and gestured to Nanny Jiao: “Give the broker a coin for his trouble — he has come all this way in such heavy rain.”

Nanny Jiao accepted the order and led the broker away. Only then did Xue Pan and Yu Pan help Liu Shi to her feet.

Jin Shengyu looked at the three of them and said, without warmth: “I am different in nature from your previous mistress. She was a refined and gentle soul — I am not. I grew up with swords and spears in hand, and if anyone displeases me, I am perfectly capable of knocking them down until they beg for mercy. Everything that happened today was the merest trifle — a first round of exchanges between us. You are all people whom the Marquis holds close to his heart; I alone am the outsider. I will not pull my punches when it comes to setting people in their proper place — so be especially careful in my presence, and do not forget it.”

Having been thoroughly broken by this entire ordeal, Liu Shi had not a shred of spirit left in her. She could only murmur a submissive acknowledgment. As she turned to leave, she cast one final glance at the box in Nanny Cen’s hands — and ultimately said nothing, being escorted away to retrieve the money.

When Jiang Heng returned home, he found a great chest sitting in the middle of the room, overflowing with white gleaming silver, and was momentarily dumbfounded.

He looked over at Jin Shengyu sitting by the window drinking her tea, and asked in bewilderment: “Second Miss, where did all this silver come from?”

Jin Shengyu set down her kiln-glazed tea bowl and smiled: “The money that had gone missing from the public accounts — I have recovered it all for the Marquis. I had five thousand taels in hard silver drawn from the goldsmiths and money changers specially, so you could see it with your own eyes, and so you would know what sort of insatiable vermin has been living in your inner household.”

Jiang Heng was stunned: “All of this was taken from Liu Shi?”

Jin Shengyu said yes: “The Marquis need no longer feel guilty about it. The silver owed to my elder brother and sister-in-law can now be repaid as well — this matter is finished. For the next two months, I will not involve myself in affairs of the marquisate. I ask the Marquis to manage his own household discipline during that time. When the day of the formal wedding arrives, I will come once more and take over the management of the household affairs. I hope that by then, this marquisate will not have generated yet another mess for me to clean up.”

A woman may be gentle and tender, but that is not useful against a man like Jiang Heng — one must pair kindness with authority.

Jin Shengyu watched him nod again and again, and quietly weighed her impressions of him from these past days. He may be a somewhat spineless man — but compared to that previous man of hers, the one burdened by blind filial devotion, he was already far preferable. At the very least, the marquisate had no elders for her to show piety to, no overbearing mother-in-law to lord it over her. At her age and in her circumstances, she could no longer afford to be selective about the question of remarriage. As long as she could hold this great household firmly in the palm of her hand, this marriage would be no worse than a first one.