Jiang Heng was truly a man who acted the moment the wind shifted. At the time, Yun Pan had just risen from her afternoon nap when someone at the door relayed the message that Marquis Jiang had arrived. She was taken aback and exchanged a glance with Qin Dan, puzzling over why her father would visit at this hour.

Regardless of his reason, now that he had come to the door, there was no cause to refuse him. She told Qin Dan and Nanny Yao to go and receive him, bring him to the reception hall, offer him tea, and then she changed her clothes and went to meet him herself.

While Ming Ke was dressing Yun Pan’s hair, Nanny Pan and Nanny Wei stood to the side and murmured softly, “My Lady, could it be that the Master has heard we have returned?”

Yun Pan shook her head. “Father is not so well-informed. He has likely been instigated again by someone and has come to me for ideas.” As she spoke, she adjusted the hairpin flower at her bun and turned to instruct the two nannies, “I will go in first and hear what Father has to say. Wait outside, and if necessary, I will summon you in.”

The two nannies acknowledged her and followed behind as she walked toward the front courtyard. They stopped at the small corner gate outside the reception hall and peered in, catching a faint glimpse of Jiang Heng’s figure. For a moment, they felt a surge of sorrow — especially Nanny Pan, who had entered the Marquis’s residence as part of the late County Princess’s dowager household. Who could have imagined that after the County Princess passed, Jiang Heng would utterly fall apart, held in the palm of a concubine’s hand, nearly allowing even his own legitimate daughter to come to harm?

Yun Pan kept her expression composed as she entered, smiled, and said, “Father, what brings you here? I have been occupied lately and haven’t been able to visit you. How have you been? Is everything at home nearly arranged?”

Jiang Heng let out a sigh. “It’s all being handled by the servants — no need for a grand affair, so it hasn’t taken much trouble.” He examined her complexion and, seeing her in fine spirits, felt a weight lift from his heart. He asked, “How have you been lately? Just yesterday I asked Ji Fu, and he said you had been busy with the opening of your new shop a couple of days ago and had worn yourself out. Has everything settled down now?”

Yun Pan said yes. “I’ve handed things over to those below me to manage — I don’t have to do it all myself, which is much less of a burden.” She took the tea the maidservant offered and personally brought it to her father, asking as she did, “Father, I imagine you’ve come today for something important? If you’ve come to see the Duke, I’m afraid you’ve missed him — he left for the army camp at noon and hasn’t returned yet.”

Jiang Heng said no. “I haven’t come to see him. I came specifically to find you…” He paused, weighed his words, and said, “Bai Bai, Xue Pan has come of age to discuss a marriage match. Keep your eyes open and see if there’s a good family, and help negotiate for her.”

The moment Yun Pan heard this, she knew Liu Shi was behind it, stirring things up again. She found it deeply distasteful that the woman could not let things rest, and she felt real disappointment in her father.

But filial duty came first — she could not rebuke him outright. She sat down to the side, smiled, and said, “Second Sister is still so young. She hasn’t even come of age yet. Why the rush to discuss a marriage?”

Jiang Heng sighed. “It’s because of the second daughter of the Jin family making a show of authority that time — she struck your second sister, and I fear there will be ill feeling between them in the future. It would be better to arrange a match for Xue Pan sooner, so the two of them have less entanglement.”

Yun Pan heard this out and said nothing. Jiang Heng waited a good while without receiving a reply, and curiously turned his head to look at her. She sat upright with a solemn expression on her face, and his heart gave a sudden lurch. He asked blankly, “What is it?”

Only then did she furrow her brow. “Father, is this meant to be a warning shot against Aunt Jin? Now that she has entered the household, all the concubine-born children fall under her name. Their marriages should properly be decided entirely by her. If I, a daughter already married out, were to meddle at will, not only would Father have no way to explain himself to her, I would also come across as someone who doesn’t understand propriety.”

Jiang Heng hesitated. Truth be told, he had already felt uncertain on his way here, not sure whether coming was even the right thing to do. Hearing Yun Pan say this, he fell back another half step. Yet the rift between Jin Shengyu and Xue Pan was plainly already there — if nothing was done, life in the future would likely remain unsettled. So he said, “It’s not that I don’t understand the reasoning…”

Yun Pan cut him off. “Father, since you understand, then do not do things that will wound Aunt Jin’s heart. She is at the very stage of establishing her authority. If Xue Pan, on the strength of having been betrothed, puffs out her chest and challenges her, how would you have her face that situation? A daughter who has already been promised — should she still be disciplined or not? Father, your ears are sometimes far too susceptible to persuasion — and that is no good thing. Aunt Jin has a chivalrous heart. Earlier, when there was a shortfall in setting up the Marquis’s residence, she put up her own personal savings to fill the gap. What other person would be willing to pour money in before even crossing the threshold? A person of such noble character, Father — do not let her slip away. Not to put too fine a point on it, the younger brothers and sisters in the household lack discipline, and it would do them good to be well managed by Aunt Jin. Xue Pan will eventually go to live with her husband’s family even if she is matched. Just look at that spoiled temperament of hers — what family would dare take her? And even if some family did accept her, with quarrels every three days and rows every five, how much energy can Father possibly spare each day mediating for her? Think it over carefully.”

Jiang Heng opened his mouth, wanting to refute a word or two, but to his surprise, he could not find a single fault in anything she had said.

Left with no recourse, he sighed again. “I only worried the household would be in constant uproar and thought this was the only option.”

Yun Pan smiled. “If Father does not want constant uproar, then do nothing at all. Xue Pan’s marriage will of course need to be arranged in due time, but not now. Wait until she has reined in her temper, is dutiful and respectable toward her stepmother, and then let the stepmother come forward and take charge — that is when a suitable young man should be found. If a match is made now without any consideration, what would Aunt Jin think? If the whole household colluded to treat her as an outsider, how would the mistress of the house ever establish her authority? Our family has been in disorder for quite some time now. When the time comes to restore proper order, a wife is a wife and a concubine is a concubine. Father is a man who handles great affairs in the outer world — he is not suited to meddle in the inner quarters. The rules and proprieties of the rear courtyard are for Aunt Jin to govern. Father need only attend wholeheartedly to his official duties and navigate the social obligations of the bureaucratic world.”

This torrent of words left Jiang Heng speechless. Indeed — what manner of man spent his days mired in the affairs of women? Once again he had listened to Liu Yanqiao, and received this thorough dressing-down for it. Now that he had heard Yun Pan through, he realised he had never even grasped the intricate workings of the inner quarters. All he had wanted was to arrange a marriage for Xue Pan, and yet it had drawn out so many layers of complexity.

He also felt that Yun Pan was making a mountain out of a molehill — it was quite a simple request, and nowhere near as dire as she made it sound, as though someone were trying to set themselves up against Jin Shengyu.

So he cleared his throat and said, “The actual situation isn’t nearly as complicated as you imagine…”

“Is it not?” Yun Pan looked up at him. “Today, Father has come here — I imagine once again at Liu Shi’s instigation. She harbours schemes day and night, and she truly fears neither harming others nor herself.” She turned and instructed Qin Dan, “Please invite the two nannies in.”

Qin Dan accepted the order and went out to relay the message. Jiang Heng was puzzled and wondered who she intended to have come in, so he glanced toward the doorway. Before long, two familiar faces entered — one was a member of the County Princess’s former dowager household, and the other was Bai Bai’s wet nurse.

He couldn’t help but let out a sound of surprise and pointed at them.

“Father hasn’t seen them for quite some time, has he? Did Liu Shi perhaps say they had run off, their whereabouts unknown?” Yun Pan said, her face straight, without a trace of a smile. “In fact, Liu Shi had them sent away to a manor in Xingyuan Prefecture. I went to great lengths to bring them back.”

Nanny Pan and Nanny Wei stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Heng. “Master.”

Jiang Heng was completely dumbfounded. “Sent to Xingyuan Prefecture?”

Nanny Pan said yes. “Master, you must open your eyes and see clearly the wolf that lies at your pillow. It was we who dug out the crushed Mu Xiang from beneath the fallen beam that day. Liu Niang, to seal our mouths, sent us all the way to such a distant place and ordered the manor steward to keep watch over us, forbidding us from leaving. Otherwise, even if we had to crawl, we would crawl back to our young lady’s side.”

Jiang Heng stood frozen. Though he had vaguely suspected it was all Liu Shi’s doing, having the witness stand before him still sent a chill through him.

Yun Pan was remarkably calm, hands folded in her sleeves as she said, “Father, do not worry that I would use the two nannies to do anything to Liu Shi. They are old retainers of A’Niang and myself — I could not bear to see them adrift outside. Bringing them home has put my mind at ease. I had Father meet them today simply to give him a clear picture in his heart. As for what to do about Liu Shi, I no longer have any interest in the matter at all. She has come through all of this without any harm and apparently still has the leisure to stir Father up and come here scheming a marriage for Xue Pan.”

Jiang Heng was left speechless. “This… this…”

“I will not conceal it from Father. The two of them, mother and daughter, have never been good to me. Xue Pan — that half-sister of mine — I am very disinclined toward her. In the future, only if Aunt Jin were to entrust me with finding her a husband would I perhaps reluctantly look into it. Without Aunt Jin’s request, I will absolutely not concern myself with those younger siblings — lest I be caught off-guard and schemed against again.”

Jiang Heng was left with nothing but bewilderment. Things having reached this point, he truly had no face left to ask her to arrange Xue Pan’s marriage.

He looked at Yun Pan, then at the two nannies. With drooping spirits, Jiang Heng said, “Bai Bai, after your A’Niang passed, you truly suffered a great deal of hardship. Father knows…”

Yun Pan slowly shook her head. “My hardships are in the past, and I have no wish to speak of them again. Only one thing — Aunt Jin will be joining the household before long. Father, please do not listen to Liu Shi’s words anymore and cause offense to Aunt Jin. She is not the same temperament as A’Niang was. If Liu Shi dares to provoke someone of Aunt Jin’s calibre, when they come to blows in the future, Father must not regret it — because it will all have been Father’s own indulgence that caused it.”

Jiang Heng blinked. At this moment he was actually a little afraid. His mind raced — would Jin Shi come to know about this visit today? And that five hundred taels he had given Liu Shi on an impulse earlier — would Jin Shi hold that against him?

He went home in a state of distraction, still turning it over on the way. What to do — should he cover up that five-hundred-tael shortfall? But five hundred taels was no small sum, and it was embarrassing to ask someone for it. People would laugh at him for having to borrow money to pay for his own wedding. If he tried to borrow it and only ended up getting mocked, that old face of his would be thoroughly disgraced.

After much deliberation, there seemed to be no choice but to smooth out the accounts. So he sat beneath the lamp and opened the account book, licking the brush and making corrections — adding ten taels here, adding fifty taels there. Spreading the entries across several places, the missing sum was distributed around, and the accounts were made to look balanced. He felt certain Jin Shi would absolutely never detect the alteration.

In the days that followed, Jiang Heng lived quite freely and carelessly. He had drinks with colleagues twice, attended a poetry society to watch people compose couplets twice, and even received a scholar who had come to request him as a mentor. He was baffled at the time — since he had never pursued a literary path, what was there to teach? As it turned out, the man had heard he played the guqin very well and wished to study The Phoenix Seeks His Mate under him. Jiang Heng, in a fit of irritation, drove the man away.

The time before a wedding always passes quickly. Before long it was the twelfth day of the ninth month — his wedding day. The residence was decorated with lanterns and festoons. Although the celebration was not lavish, family and friends had all arrived.

He watched the sun sink little by little, and in his heart arose a nervousness resembling that of a first wedding — though unlike before, anticipation was tinged with anxiety, as he was still worrying about that account book… Surely she would not detect any inconsistencies in it?

He was later helped onto horseback amid the congratulations of his children, under their upturned gazes, and led the wedding procession toward the residence of the Loyal and Martial General. By the time the party reached the General’s residence, the auspicious hour had arrived perfectly. The bride was already prepared: holding up her ceremonial fan, she emerged with over a dozen servants and maidservants, and that grand, sweeping procession left him momentarily astounded.

Dowry goods were inanimate things, but the escort of living attendants was another matter entirely. The old General and his wife had spared no effort for their daughter’s second marriage. The maidservants they had personally selected to go into the Marquis’s residence were each one sturdier and fiercer than the last.

Jiang Heng sat atop his horse and glanced back. The women flanking the bridal sedan were like a wall of bronze and iron. He couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva — even this wedding felt filled with trepidation.

Fortunately, Jin Niang was still a gentle and considerate person. After the fan was lowered, her soft smiling eyes met his as she parted her lips and said, “The Marquis has worked hard these past days.”

Jiang Heng made a sound of acknowledgement. “Not hard at all… though it would have been right to work hard regardless.”

“Then are the household accounts managed by the Marquis, or…”

There was no “or.” Jiang Heng immediately said, “By me. I manage them myself.”

Then Jin Niang looked at him with a pleasant smile, and he knew the time had come to hand over the account book. He retrieved it from the drawer and set it before her, then pointed guiltily toward the outside. “I’ll just go thank the guests.”

Stepping out of the bridal chamber, the air outside was brisk, and his mind cleared considerably. Passing through the inner gate, ahead lay the area set up for the feast. He saw colleagues he was close with, saw his nearest kin, and that little anxiety from just before seemed to matter less.

He went over to share a cup with his son-in-law. Li Chenjian still wore that composed and restrained manner of his, with a faint smile, and said, “Congratulations to Father-in-law.”

Ah… this congratulation was, in truth, somewhat awkward to receive. Jiang Heng waved a hand and moved on to the next table.

After three rounds of wine, and being a celebratory banquet, it was different from ordinary entertaining. The bridegroom was not to be allowed to drink himself thoroughly drunk and leave the bride neglected — in general, once one had drunk to a mild warmth, the banquet could disperse.

After the guests had dispersed one after another, the moon rose to the middle of the sky. Jiang Heng wiped his face and returned to the bridal chamber. Stepping inside, he found Jin Shengyu had already changed into everyday clothing and was sitting on the daybed in the outer room, with four formidable-looking matrons flanking her on both sides like the Four Heavenly Kings.

His steps suddenly felt heavy, but he put on a smile and entered gently, saying in a warm voice, “Today is our happy occasion. It is getting late — shall we retire?”

Jin Shengyu did not take up his suggestion. She raised an eyebrow and said, “We are both marrying for the second time. There is no need for the roundabout approach of a first marriage. Some things are better said clearly on the very day.” She pointed to the account book. “Marquis, there are discrepancies of several hundred taels in this ledger. What exactly is going on? I settled the outstanding accounts before I arrived and made things clear with the Marquis — I had hoped there would be no holes left for me to fill after entering this household. Did the Marquis not hear me clearly?”

Jiang Heng’s heart jumped. He hurried to look at the account book, flipping through it and calculating. “Where is there a discrepancy? It all adds up.”

Jin Shengyu casually pointed. “Twenty taels to paste window paper. Forty taels to replace three rows of roof tiles. Marquis — is it that you have never run a household, or that I have not? If the Marquis did not record the accounts wrongly, then someone is cheating the head of the household. Tell me who it is, and I will deal with them right now.”

Jiang Heng was struck dumb. He stammered, “Perhaps there was a mistake somewhere. Checking the accounts tomorrow morning is not too late. My Lady — it is nearly midnight. Let us put the accounts aside for tonight…”

But Jin Shengyu dismissed this in a single sentence. “That will not do. Whether or not these accounts can be cleared up has everything to do with whether the two of us can continue as husband and wife.”

Jiang Heng was stunned. “How… how can it be that serious… to the point where we cannot even continue as husband and wife…”

Jin Shengyu said of course. “I came here to manage the household and live a proper life — not to fill the Marquis’s holes. The Marquis is short by fifty taels today and short by five hundred taels tomorrow, and I do not have a silver mine to keep drawing from.” She sat up straight and said in a cold voice, “I may as well say this plainly to the Marquis: having divorced once, I am fully capable of divorcing a second time. If the Marquis does not believe me, he is welcome to test that. Do not say I am making things difficult on the wedding night — I am simply being direct. Better to make things clear now than to let them fester.”

She had not yet crossed the threshold before, and certain courtesies had to be observed — a gentle firmness was the proper approach. But now that she was in the door, the first thing to do on the very first night was to set the rules. Otherwise Jiang Heng would never correct his position, and he would go on trying to have it both ways — and in time, she would inevitably be dragged down to become another County Princess.

She was no one’s mother, ready to yield to him on all things and clean up after him. A man like this, if not properly managed, would only cause suffering for herself in the future. She could see clearly enough that Jiang Heng was not the sort to put one’s mind at ease — take those five hundred taels of discrepancy: the way he had tampered with the accounts was so brazen, as if he truly thought her blind and unable to see?

Jiang Heng, for his part, felt something close to despair. He had actually sensed it himself — that he could not deceive her. But he had clung to the hope that, given it was the first night of their marriage, she might still leave him a little face. Who could have known! Who could have known she would be this formidable, demanding it be settled on the spot? He had been busy the entire day and, to be honest, was rather exhausted. Yet she would not let him to bed, which left him thoroughly miserable.

“My Lady, it was no small thing for us to form this union. If Bai Bai were to hear of this, she would be worried sick on our behalf.”

Jin Shengyu remained unmoved, her face cold. “The one making her worry is not me — it is the Marquis. Today’s five hundred taels, wherever the Marquis put them — bring them back to me by the same route, and I will not hold it against you. But if the money cannot be returned, then there is no place for the Marquis to sleep in this bridal chamber tonight. Whoever the Marquis gave it to, he may go and spend the night there.”

This was intolerable. If he truly went to a concubine’s quarters on the wedding night, this marriage would be utterly ruined. Tomorrow, being stopped in the street by Jin Zhizhen and given a sound thrashing was entirely possible. Jiang Heng was caught between a rock and a hard place — his new wife could not be deceived, and he was too embarrassed to ask for the money back from Liu Shi. He stood there in the bridal chamber at an impasse and said, “My Lady, can we discuss this tomorrow?”

Jin Shengyu laughed coldly. “Has the Marquis still not understood what I said? If this account is not resolved today, I will not be your wife. At dawn I will return to the General’s residence. Let relatives and friends judge for themselves — is the Marquis Jiang a cold and heartless man, who used me to set his household in order and then turned his back on me once it was done?”

Jiang Heng was at a complete loss, sighing plaintively, “I am not that sort of person…”

“Then what more is there to say?” She turned and instructed a nanny beside her without sparing him an ounce of mercy, “Escort the Marquis out, and see him to Liu Yinniang’s quarters.”