Hui Cun turned her head and gave Yun Pan a wink. She had gone from furious indignation to eager anticipation of her counterattack — and the whole shift had taken only a few hours.

Most remarkable of all was that she had persuaded Xu Xiangning to stand on the same side as herself, just waiting for the right moment to strike back at the Geng household and each achieve their own goal.

Looking at it from the inside, Hui Cun had in fact taken the stance of a detached observer who delighted in watching a scene unfold. Once the matter of the pregnant bedchamber maid became a full-blown scandal, Geng Fangzhi’s chances of marrying any woman of true standing in the capital were finished for this lifetime. If he truly elevated a bedchamber maid to a proper wife, he would be a laughingstock for the rest of his days — enough idle gossip to keep people talking for ten or twenty years.

Xu Xiangning, for her part, had limited vision, but having served beside the Elder Madam for many years, she had learned the Elder Madam’s way of doing things.

Boldness was essential — daring to dream and daring to act. From the moment she had disregarded Geng Fangzhi’s wishes and conceived his child, she had possessed the ambition to reach the top. Now, stirred up by Hui Cun, her desires swelled boundlessly. After all, the child in her belly was her greatest leverage — wielding it like an emperor commanding his vassals, she too now had the determination to become the true mistress of the Geng household.

The meal was eaten well and eaten to fullness, and she even had the leisure to praise the cooks at the Duke’s household.

Hui Cun smiled. “Once you become the proper wife, you will enter the circle of capital noblewomen. Have you heard of the Golden Pheasant Banquet? We are all regular guests at Commandery Princess Qingyuan’s table. As long as you form connections with those noblewomen and noble daughters, gifts from their household kitchens will come frequently. The capital’s best cooks — there are far more than just those in our household — many have been brought from all over the country at great expense to take charge of the kitchen.”

Yun Pan listened to Hui Cun holding forth and couldn’t help wanting to laugh, but fearful of losing her dignity, she turned away and discreetly dabbed at her nose.

Xu Xiangning seemed to have a genuine desire to confide in Hui Cun, and no longer harbored any grudge for being locked in the firewood room overnight. She said softly: “Commandery Princess, if I ever do have success one day, I will never forget the Commandery Princess’s kindness.”

Hui Cun nodded approvingly. “Rest for a little while longer — when the time comes, I’ll send someone to bring you out.”

Xu Xiangning agreed, and watched the two of them, sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law, depart before turning back to settle onto her stool.

The young maidservant beside her said hesitantly: “Miss, somehow I feel this Commandery Princess Kaiyang does not have good intentions.”

Xu Xiangning gave a short, knowing laugh. “She is simply using me to break off the engagement — that suits me perfectly. I also hope they don’t marry. This is my last opportunity. If I don’t want to be a kept woman on the outside, I must fight with everything I have. I wanted to make trouble before, but I didn’t have the courage. Now that the princess is taking the lead, why would I not ride this wind and force the third young master to make a decision?”

In the end, each had their own purpose, and the two were cooperating with complete sincerity. When it reached the fifth double-hour, word came from the front that everything had been prepared and requested that Miss Xiangning set out. Xu Xiangning took a deep breath, moved her heavy body, and followed the lead maidservant toward the front courtyard. Just as she entered the yard, she saw the betrothal gifts — bright and elaborate, tray upon tray arranged neatly — with even a wild goose placed at the very front.

She hesitated and walked forward alongside the gifts. The Commandery Princess Kaiyang and the Duchess stood at the door, along with a matron of distinguished and graceful appearance who must be the Princess Consort of Liang.

The Princess Consort glanced briefly at her face and said simply: “It is about time — let us go.”

And so they set out in imposing procession toward the Geng household. Passersby on the road were astonished and curious. Some whispered among themselves: “Wasn’t the Weiguo Duke married to his proper wife already? Where are they sending betrothal gifts now?”

Before the words had even finished, the young manservant walking at the very front rang his bronze gong and called out in a loud voice: “A household of public virtue and strict discipline — the third son of the Geng family has gotten his bedchamber maid with child. The Commandery Princess has the grace to step aside and, returning the betrothal gifts, relinquishes all claim. Let all passersby spread the word widely.”

A resounding clang that made one’s skull nearly vibrate. The enormous procession moved slowly along the Imperial Avenue. Ordinarily the two households were not more than a quarter-hour apart, but today the walk stretched to a full half-hour.

The Geng household had of course already received word. Before the procession of returned gifts had even arrived, the people inside the house were rushing out in alarm to intercept them.

The Geng family’s mistress, frantic and at a complete loss, brought her household servants forward to block the way with outstretched arms, calling out loudly: “What is the meaning of this — the formal procession is practically upon us, and you create this scene. Are you not afraid of people laughing at you?”

The Princess Consort heard this, lifted the carriage curtain at the door, said nothing else, and turned to the manservant with the gong: “The Geng family’s mistress apparently does not yet understand — strike hard and call it out loudly, so that the Geng family’s mistress and everyone present can hear, and understand exactly what the meaning is.”

The manservant shouted “At your command!” and struck the gong with such force that one’s very soul nearly shook loose, then cried out shrilly at the Geng family’s mistress, who was covering her ears: “A household of public virtue and strict discipline — the third son of the Geng family has gotten his bedchamber maid with child. The Commandery Princess has the grace to step aside and, returning the betrothal gifts, relinquishes all claim. Let all passersby spread the word widely.”

The Geng family’s mistress was momentarily dumbstruck, then stomped her foot. “Where does this rumor come from! Please, Princess Consort — do not be taken in by false accusations from villainous people, deliberately slandering our family’s third son.”

But before the words had even finished, the maidservants supporting the carriage at the rear pushed open the door, revealing a weeping, red-eyed pregnant woman inside.

The Princess Consort gave a soft laugh and said without any rush: “Madam need not be so quick to deny — first look at the person in the carriage, and tell me whether she is or is not your son’s bedchamber maid.”

A crowd gathered to watch. The Geng family’s mistress now panicked in earnest. The two daughters-in-law who had come along looked at each other, equally without any idea what to do.

The Princess Consort was a person of high rank, not given to sharp speech and harsh words — she still maintained her composed bearing, and said unhurriedly: “Originally our household had already made a concession. In consideration of the good relations between the two families, when we learned that your son still kept a bedchamber maid, we chose not to pursue it, requiring only that she be sent away, and the betrothal could still continue. Yet what did your family do? Not only did you fail to send her far away — you settled her on a country estate to carry a pregnancy. Let us not speak of our Princess Consort’s household and our imperially bestowed Commandery Princess. Even a girl from an ordinary family — which one of them would be willing to walk through the door and immediately become a kind mother to an infant born before the wedding?”

The Geng family’s mistress could see she was losing ground and turned to rebuke the senior maidservants beside her in a low voice: “What are you all standing there for? Go quickly and see what is keeping the master and the young masters!”

Meanwhile she plastered on a smile toward the Princess Consort. “There must be some misunderstanding that has worked the Princess Consort into such a temper. Please, the Princess Consort ought to calm herself — we are all families of standing, why must we quarrel here in front of everyone? Better to come inside first and discuss this properly…”

The Princess Consort smiled in return. “Was it not the Madam who came out to block our way? I had originally intended to discuss this privately…”

The Geng family’s mistress froze, inwardly cursing the Princess Consort for turning things around on her so adeptly, yet unable to show open hostility. She smiled a smile more miserable than tears, pointed at the manservant with the gong, and said: “Princess Consort, you came all this way making such a spectacle — that is hardly the manner of someone who wished to discuss things privately.”

The Princess Consort regarded her with perfect patience. “Please try to consider my position, Madam. Our Commandery Princess has been made to suffer such a humiliation — surely we could not break off the engagement quietly, only to let people who don’t know the story say that an imperial princess is difficult to please and is calling off the betrothal for no reason. The world says that those of high and powerful families must always be in the right, yet they do not know that it is precisely families like ours who suffer the most injustice. The old Prince departed early, the Duke is young — inevitably there are people who will take advantage of us, thinking us widows and children without backing. If I continue to muddle along in ignorance, then the Commandery Princess’s reputation will be entirely ruined in your hands.”

These words were well-reasoned and well-founded, and even the onlookers began to point at the Geng family and murmur.

Someone laughed quietly: “A household of this supposed distinction — we all thought their rules would be as strict as Heaven’s law. Who would have thought they also keep bedchamber maids, and got one pregnant before the wedding too.”

Someone else made a pointed remark: “The sons of such families need their diversions — you people there… you mock men for going to pleasure houses, and now for keeping a bedchamber maid you mock them all over again. Make up your minds!”

The Geng family’s mistress felt her head was about to explode. The two daughters-in-law had in their hearts been secretly pleased about all this — having a princess enter the household would have ranked above them in status — so when this happened, they were quietly delighted. Of course they couldn’t show any delight, so they put on expressions of sorrow, spoke words agreeable to whoever stood before them, and murmured things like: “Mother, let’s make the best of this” and “Princess Consort, please don’t be upset.”

“I am not upset — on the contrary, I am grateful it was discovered early, which saved my own daughter’s life. Otherwise, my refined and gentle Commandery Princess, arriving at your household, I do not know in what manner she might have been ground down.” She glanced back at Xu Xiangning. “And this bedchamber maid is quite pitiable as well — she is carrying your family’s child, and since she has gone to such lengths, it is only right to give her a name and a proper standing. Simply sending her to an estate in the countryside — if your future mistress were to refuse to accept her, would that not leave her a kept woman on the outside forever?”

These words touched Xu Xiangning’s most tender place. She descended from the carriage, dabbing at her tears as she spoke to the Geng family’s mistress: “Madam, yesterday I somehow ended up in their hands — they only said they were sent by the third young master to bring me back, and I didn’t think much about it, so I followed them here. I…”

Was this not an unintentional confession, admitted in front of all these people?

The Geng family’s mistress glared at her, wishing she could wither her with a look. The two daughters-in-law saw that things could not be contained, and said in a vague, uncommitted manner: “In truth, this is not such a great matter. Men — having a bedchamber maid or two is only natural.”

Yun Pan had been standing to the side this whole time. With her mother-in-law managing the negotiations with the other party, it was not her place to interrupt. But seeing the two Geng daughters-in-law speaking in such an irresponsible manner, she smiled coolly and stepped in: “Not every man in the world is like this. Our household does not have this family manner, so when we encounter something like this, we are quite genuinely enlightened. Now that I hear the two of you say so, thinking it over carefully, it seems it is we who have a narrow view of the world.”

A Duchess who could confidently say, before all the women of the capital, that she had never encountered a young gentleman with a bedchamber maid — that was a position one truly had the standing to hold.

But then, turning it around in her mind, the ugly affairs of her own maiden family were perhaps not more honorable than anyone else’s. The wife of the Geng family’s eldest son smiled. “The Duchess speaks so — yet Duke Jiang, in his earlier years… was he not also young once?”

At this, even Hui Cun in the carriage could not remain seated. She stepped down from the carriage, ready to confront them directly, but was intercepted by Yun Pan. Even with this pointed mockery aimed squarely at her, she showed not the slightest anger. She replied calmly: “My late father’s youthful years held no bedchamber maids — he and my mother were a devoted and respectful couple throughout, until my mother’s passing. Now, in observance of propriety, he has taken a new wife, who manages the household affairs with perfect order… Or is it that someone finds fault with my father remarrying? The lady might as well say who it is, and I shall seek that person out for a discussion.”

The eldest Geng daughter-in-law had meant to bring up the matter of concubines holding sway over the household in order to silence her, but instead she had neatly deflected it to the matter of the marriage to Jin Shengyu. Just the Weiguo Duke’s household alone was already hard enough to deal with — and if Jin Shengyu were provoked on top of it, that notorious woman would show up at the door to screech and berate them, and the situation would escalate badly.

The eldest Geng daughter-in-law went awkward and silent, stepping aside. But Yun Pan felt a pang of bitterness in her own heart: because of her father’s reckless behavior, in others’ mouths it became a ready-made weapon to use against her. People live in this world trapped by its rules and norms — a daughter cannot sever the ties of her maiden family and survive on her own. When one falls, all fall; when one rises, all rise. This was precisely why. She was increasingly grateful she had intervened to help her father when she did. If the Marquis’s household had been allowed to continue in its disorderly way, she could marry a Duke and still drown in the spittle of public opinion.

The senior maidservant who had accompanied the Princess Consort played the role of the peacemaker and guided Xu Xiangning forward, presenting her to the Geng family: “This poor young lady — and she’s carrying the proper blood of your household. Please hurry and bring her in, so she’s not left standing too long and worn out.”

The Geng family’s mistress was in an impossible position, face alternating between green and white, as the crowd looked on.

Xu Xiangning, taking her cue at precisely the right moment, wept loudly. She cared nothing for the current plight of the household mistress standing before her — she cared only whether she could use this opportunity to claim the proper standing she deserved.

“Madam — why has the third young master still not returned…” Xu Xiangning cried in the open air until her whole body was trembling. “I had no choice in any of this — I never intended to return to the capital at this time. Madam… Madam, you cannot turn away from me — I carry a child. If you will not take me in, then I have no way to go on living.”

Here she was giving a heartfelt and moving account of her journey thus far, while on the other side, two horsemen came galloping up from behind. They reined in before the crowd, dismounted, and pushed through the onlookers to get through. It was Geng the Military Commissioner and Geng Fangzhi.

Geng Fangzhi was stunned. He looked at Xu Xiangning, then at Hui Cun, and walked in a daze toward Hui Cun. “Commandery Princess, let me explain…”

Hui Cun turned her face coldly away.

Xu Xiangning’s heart lurched with anxiety, terrified that he would choose the Commandery Princess under these circumstances. She quickly seized him by the arm, crying and carrying on: “Third young master, I was jostled on the road all night, didn’t sleep well, didn’t eat well… Third young master, my head is spinning and my heart is pounding — don’t go…”

The wiles of concubines and lesser women were truly cut from the same cloth — Yun Pan could even detect a familiar quality in them.

Geng Fangzhi was caught between two impossible choices. He wanted to pacify Hui Cun, yet he could not shake off the woman he loved who was carrying his child. He could only stare at Hui Cun with a look of wretchedness and murmur: “Commandery Princess, please give me a chance to explain…”

Men are always like this — they both yearn for the spiritual elevation that comes from an accomplished and high-born woman, and sink without any will to resist into the bodily pleasures offered by a woman of lower character. The Commandery Princess was a famous painting hung high on a wall — everyone said the famous painting was magnificent, and a famous painting could elevate the standing of the household. Xu Xiangning was the hot-water bottle beside the bed on a winter’s night — unsuitable for any public display, but impossible to give up.

Geng the Military Commissioner was a military man. One look at this chaos, and he let out a loud shout at his own wife: “What is happening here?” The shout was in truth directed squarely at the Princess Consort’s face.

The Princess Consort gave a quiet laugh. “The Commissioner need not raise his voice like that — a strong case needs no loud words. We have come today to return the betrothal gifts to your household and, in passing, to escort back the young lady who is with child, who belongs to your esteemed household — returning her where she belongs.” As she spoke, she gestured to the maidservants beside her, and a brocade scroll was handed over. “This is your son’s marriage contract — now returned to you complete and intact. We ask that our own marriage contract be returned promptly. From this day forth, the marriage of our two households’ children is dissolved — each family goes their own way.”

The Princess Consort and her retinue turned to leave. Geng the Military Commissioner suddenly panicked and said hurriedly: “Your Highness — things have not yet come to this. It is inconvenient to speak in public — please, your Highness, allow us to move inside, and we can sit down and discuss this properly.”

The Princess Consort declined. “Your household has broken its word again and again. We are unable to keep up with such exalted standards. Your son will surely not lack for noble daughters seeking his hand in the future — the Commissioner may as well save his energy and take up negotiations with the next family.”

The Weiguo Duke’s household departed in a grand and imposing procession, leaving behind dozens of trays of brilliant gifts sitting in the middle of the road.

The Geng family’s mistress wept with anger, stamping her feet repeatedly and saying what a terrible scene this was. Geng the Military Commissioner grew increasingly vexed, and shouted sharply: “What is there to cry about! Get someone here to carry all of this back inside!”

Men never trouble themselves with these trifling affairs. He gave his son a withering glare, flicked his sleeves, and left. The two daughters-in-law, seeing this, were secretly delighted inside while putting on expressions of shared grief, and quickly consoled their mother-in-law: “Mother, please go inside first — we’ll take care of what’s left.”

So the Geng family’s mistress followed in her husband’s wake, and Geng Fangzhi stood there looking utterly defeated, staring at his bedchamber maid, and sighed. “Come on — let’s go back.”

Once inside, the sound of the Geng family’s mistress wailing in the front courtyard as though someone had died reached them all, accompanied by her voice complaining: “A fine mess — now our name is spread across the whole city. How is the third son ever going to find a wife?”

Geng the Military Commissioner sat in his armchair heaving sighs. Now came the time for getting to the root of things. He struck the armrest and said: “I told you long ago — he was so young, there was no call to give him a bedchamber maid. The whole thing was improper from the start, and now on top of that there’s a child — whose face is this embarrassing!”

Geng Fangzhi knew that the marriage to the Commandery Princess was finished regardless. He looked at Xu Xiangning’s tear-blurred eyes and said defiantly to his parents: “The Commandery Princess Kaiyang is a wild and vicious woman. If the marriage is off, it’s off. So what?”

Geng the Military Commissioner was so furious he cursed loudly: “You piece of work — that’s easy for you to say. There are ten-odd days left before the wedding banquet — the invitations have already gone out. You’ve made this mess, and who are you answerable to?”

The Geng family’s mistress was thinking even further ahead, and wept: “My son, you are still young and don’t know how serious this is. The Li family has made such a commotion — now all of the capital knows that before you were even married you already had an illegitimate child on the way. Which daughter from a good family would be willing to marry you now? Your reputation, your career prospects — this time, you’ve ruined everything…” She turned her head and fixed her gaze on Xu Xiangning, grinding out a curse through her teeth: “You shameless little harlot — what did you say out there in front of everyone? Could you not keep your mouth shut even for a moment?”

Xu Xiangning was startled by her mistress’s tirade and in her alarm grabbed onto Geng Fangzhi. “Third young master, I had no choice when they had me in their hands — I was afraid they would harm the child, and afraid you would cast me off.”

Although Geng Fangzhi found her performance lacking, this was still his woman and she was carrying his child — he could not do anything to her. His mother was berating her, so naturally he had to protect her. “Mother, stop scolding — scolding does no good. There’s no undoing any of it now.”

In the midst of this uproar, the Elder Madam arrived having heard the news. Seeing her grandson’s haggard expression and Xu Xiangning’s swollen eyes from all the crying, she said at once: “What are you all arguing about? If their family doesn’t want to marry us, we don’t need to marry them either. Is the Li family’s daughter so precious? Can’t we look at the Zhang family’s, or the Wang family’s?”

The Geng family’s mistress had harbored endless resentment against this mother-in-law of hers — all of this had been caused by her. Now that her indulgence had finally brought disaster, and the old woman came in to shield them all as usual, all the old grievances and new hatreds rose together, and she decided to take the opportunity to challenge her for once and get some satisfaction.

“Mother, please just don’t get involved anymore. Looking at the Zhang family’s, the Wang family’s — people also have to be willing to marry into our family. Now go and ask anyone in the capital, and who doesn’t know that the young master keeps a bedchamber maid and has an illegitimate child on the way? Which respectable family’s daughter would be willing to come in and play mother to a child that wasn’t hers from the very first day?”

“And so what?” said the Elder Madam. “Right now it’s just at a peak of gossip. Once this period passes, let alone a proper wife — even widows and second wives will be lining up to seek him out…”

Geng the Military Commissioner finally could not endure this either, and frowned. “Mother — what are you saying?”

The Elder Madam was startled. “You also come to defy your own mother?”

Geng Fangzhi, his heart full of bitterness and frustration, said furiously: “Stop arguing. I won’t marry — not ever. Is that not enough?”

Everyone was stunned into silence by his words. The Geng family’s mistress felt the fire of long-suppressed anger flare up all at once, and struck the table. “What nonsense is this? The son I carried for ten months and brought into the world — to be pampered into a state where he will never marry in his whole life — who benefits from that?”

The Elder Madam naturally found these words disagreeable and assumed the manner of an elder. “What do you mean, speaking in such insinuations? What pampering? Who pampered whom?”

The Geng family’s mistress smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes. “Old Madam, please do not misunderstand — I’m not speaking of you. I am speaking of those people who, with loving goodwill on the outside and harm on the inside, bring ruin to a child. You are most wise and clear-sighted — how could you possibly do such crooked and underhanded things to corrupt a child? I was counting on you to manage the third son well, so that in the future he might rise to hold a peerage and high office, and grandly welcome imperial nobility as his bride. Even if his reputation is damaged now, it doesn’t matter — your face carries great weight, Old Madam. If you have your eye on some young lady from a good family, you need only go in person to present the betrothal gifts — is there anyone in the world who would fail to recognize such an honor?”

The Geng family’s mistress, a daughter-in-law who had endured long enough to become a mother-in-law in her own right, was well-practiced in the art of subtle provocation. She had long disliked her mother-in-law’s indulgent spoiling, and now that the spoiling had finally borne its disastrous fruit, she seized the moment to take her revenge with a properly satisfying challenge.