“As for the new head of household, does anyone have a nomination?” Luo Liulang called out.

Before the words had finished echoing, a voice in the clan answered, “Liulang is fit to be the new head!”

“Quite right — Liulang is the eldest son of Luo Shichuan’s elder brother. Had it not been for his youth at the time, the position of family head would naturally have gone to him. His taking up the position now is a return to proper order.”

“Indeed — Liulang has a commendable reputation for his management of the merchant convoys. He has a genuine talent for commerce.”

“Liulang is virtuous and capable — he has the bearing of a family head.”

“If Liulang were to succeed as head, it would be a blessing for our Luo clan!”

“I nominate Liulang.”

“Seconded.”

“Seconded.”

In an instant, the whole mourning hall was swept up in excitement, as if Luo Liulang leading the Luo clan to glory were already a foregone conclusion.

Still, Lin Sui’an noted that those supporting Luo Liulang made up about two-thirds of the clan members. The remaining third had not openly declared themselves.

“Absurd!” Meng Man suddenly wrenched free of the servants who held him, his eyes crimson as he shouted, “The merchant convoys under Luo Liulang’s name have run at a loss for three consecutive years! He even attempted to falsify the accounts to deceive the master! The master had already intended to take back the convoys in his name. If the Luo family head position is handed to him, the entire Luo clan is finished!”

At these words, the expressions of the undeclared third shifted:

“Luo Liulang, is what Meng Man says true?”

“Integrity is the lifeblood of commerce — falsifying accounts is a cardinal sin for any merchant!”

“If you truly falsified accounts, the Luo family absolutely cannot be placed in your hands.”

“Such conduct would destroy the very foundation of the Luo clan!”

Luo Liulang glanced sideways at Meng Man. “It was you who falsified the accounts to frame me.”

Meng Man: “What?”

Luo Liulang gave a cold snort and bowed to the assembled clan members. “You are all Luo clan kinsmen — the same blood flows in our veins. How would I ever harm a fellow clansman? As you’ve all seen clearly these past years, Luo Shichuan would sooner employ outsiders like Meng Man than entrust the business to his own kin. At this rate, all of the Luo family’s assets would eventually be pilfered by these outsiders!”

“You slander me!” Meng Man lunged forward and was slammed back down by the servants, disheveled and livid.

“I anticipated that once the master died unexpectedly, this man would turn on us and move to seize the Luo clan’s property — so I sent the ledgers from the convoys in my name to County Lieutenant Zhang in advance.” Luo Liulang continued. “Whether my accounts are genuine or falsified, County Lieutenant Zhang will give me a fair judgment.”

That last declaration changed the expressions of the undeclared clan members again; the looks they sent toward Meng Man took on several shades of resentment.

“He came prepared,” Mu Zhong murmured. “Luo Liulang’s wife died last year and he remarried — his new wife is a distant maternal cousin of County Lieutenant Zhang’s clan.”

Lin Sui’an: “And the clan members don’t know this?”

Mu Zhong: “What do you think?”

Of course they knew. Lin Sui’an was almost certain that the very reason they had nominated Luo Liulang as family head was precisely because they knew of that connection. As for whether the accounts were genuine or falsified — what did it matter? Those already backing Luo Liulang had clearly agreed on this plan beforehand. And the fence-sitters would bend whichever way the wind blew from County Lieutenant Zhang — they’d fall in line with Luo Liulang soon enough.

Luo Kou’s body shook like a leaf in a sieve. She forced herself to raise her head and let her tear-blurred gaze sweep over one Luo clan member after another, shaking her head and murmuring, “Why… why…”

Lin Sui’an: “Crying won’t help. Neither will dying.”

Luo Kou looked abruptly at Lin Sui’an. Lin Sui’an still did not look at her, eyes fixed on the Luo clan members ahead. “You’re not dead yet, and they already look like this. If you die, they’ll only drink your blood and gnaw your flesh — then trample your bones and Luo Shichuan’s to dust for good measure.”

What had just struck Lin Sui’an was something Luo Liulang himself had said. He kept emphasizing that Luo Kou’s character made her unfit to be family head — yet he never once mentioned that she was unqualified because she was a woman. Which meant women in this world held inheritance rights as well.

Lin Sui’an recalled what she had seen in the Eastern Market earlier: quite a few female shopkeepers, and when she entered the foreign-girl tavern, the proprietor had not batted an eye at a woman walking in alone. Clearly, women’s standing in this world was considerably higher than in the feudal dynasties she was familiar with.

Very good. The situation was better than she’d feared.

“Back where I come from, we have a saying: endure, strike hard, or leave. Which do you choose?” Lin Sui’an knew her expression must have been alarmingly cold just then, but she also knew that if she couldn’t wake Luo Kou up in this moment, the girl might never find her footing again.

Luo Kou’s tears ran down her lashes and fell, and she bit hard into her lip until the pale skin showed the faintest trace of red beneath her teeth.

“I—”

“County Lieutenant Zhang arriving! County Lieutenant Zhu arriving—!” At the worst possible moment, a shout came from the doorway.

Zhu Dachang shepherded Li Nili and several constables in, clustering around a blue-robed official who strode into the mourning hall. The gathered mourners and Luo clan members hastily paid their respects, calling out “Greetings to County Lieutenant Zhang, greetings to County Lieutenant Zhu.”

Zhu Dachang seemed not to understand the situation. He threw Mu Zhong a look; Mu Zhong frowned and shook his head, warning him not to speak out of turn.

County Lieutenant Zhang was around the same age as Zhu Dachang, with a rather haughty air. He paid his respects, performed the ritual courtesies, then unhurriedly moved to the matter at hand. He produced a scroll of account ledgers. “Zhang has examined it carefully. The accounts Luo Liulang submitted are clear and meticulous, with every entry verifiable. They are not falsified.”

The mourning hall broke into an uproar.

“Meng Man — you, an outsider bearing someone else’s surname, harboring sinister intentions against the Luo clan’s own flesh and blood — what exactly are you plotting?!” Luo Liulang bellowed.

The Luo clan members fell over themselves to turn on Meng Man:

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s after the Luo family’s ancestral fortune!”

“The master favored him his entire life — and this is what he gets for it. He was clearly deceived!”

“How did someone like this end up in charge of the merchant convoys? The Luo clan is in grave danger!”

“Throw him out!”

“Throw him out!”

“Throw him out!”

In a torrent of furious shouting, Meng Man was pinned to the floor by four servants, eyes stretched to their limits, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Zhu Dachang’s face showed reluctance. Mu Zhong glanced at Lin Sui’an — and was somewhat surprised to find her expression flat and unmoved. Though he had known Lin Sui’an only a short time, he had seen her throw herself into the fight in the foreign-girl tavern to save everyone, and just moments ago she had rushed forward to catch Luo Kou before she could slam into the coffin. He had taken her for someone who could not stand aside.

Yet the look on her face now…

Mu Zhong noticed that Luo Kou had grabbed Lin Sui’an’s sleeve. Lin Sui’an, still wearing that same flat expression, said, “This is an internal Luo family matter. Outsiders should not interfere.”

Luo Kou’s tears streamed down. “Save my brother…”

Lin Sui’an shook her head. “I can’t.”

The four servants dragged Meng Man toward the door. Meng Man dug his fingers into the floorboards; his nails tore and split, leaving ten lines of blood behind. “I won’t leave — I am the master’s son, I am a child of the Luo clan! No one will drive me from the Luo family!”

The onlookers couldn’t bear to watch any longer. The Luo clan members stood in silence as it unfolded. Luo Liulang and County Lieutenant Zhang exchanged a glance and allowed themselves a smile.

Luo Kou wept so hard her whole body shook. “Sister Lin… I beg you…”

Lin Sui’an simply closed her eyes.

Mu Zhong could endure no more and was about to step in when a sharp cry rang out. Luo Kou rushed forward and threw herself over Meng Man, wailing in a broken voice, “My brother is not that kind of person! You slander my brother, you steal the position of family head — my father, watching from beyond, will not forgive you!”

“Luo Kou has been conspiring with outsiders to harm the Luo clan — throw her out too!” Luo Liulang shrieked.

Four more burly servants rushed forward to drag Luo Kou away. Mu Zhong lurched forward in alarm — but in that same instant, a fierce wind swept past his eyes. A shadow flashed across his line of sight. The next moment, a burst of dark light flared, and all eight servants were launched into the air, flying several zhang before crashing into the ranks of the Luo clan members, sending up a wave of startled screams.

Mu Zhong sucked in a sharp breath. Lin Sui’an stood in front of Luo Kou, posture straight, gaze keen. She had not even drawn her blade — with nothing but the scabbard, she had sent all eight servants flying in a single instant.

The smiles on Luo Liulang’s and County Lieutenant Zhang’s faces had not had time to fade when terror overtook them. Both faces wore the bizarre combination of half-delight and half-shock, which was, in its way, almost comical.

Zhu Dachang covered his mouth. His eyes darted about busily; inexplicably, his expression held something like gleeful satisfaction.

The Lin Sui’an who had moments before been so coolly indifferent reached out and patted Luo Kou on the head, and offered a faint smile. She had long, arched brows and striking eyes that gave her features a sharp quality; when she said nothing and let no expression show, she kept people at arm’s length. But that smile, in this moment, unexpectedly carried a few notes of warmth and ease.

Hm?

Mu Zhong rubbed his eyes, wondering if he’d developed farsightedness before turning fifty — he’d just caught a hint of distinguished, graceful bearing from a young woman.

Wait — had she been holding back all along, letting Luo Kou find her own way to stand up?

“Who are you?!” County Lieutenant Zhang demanded furiously.

“A passerby,” Lin Sui’an said.

Luo Liulang stepped forward and whispered a few words into County Lieutenant Zhang’s ear. County Lieutenant Zhang’s expression turned strange. “You are the Lin family’s daughter who was fighting with the Luo young lady over a husband?”

A ripple of noise went through the gathered mourners.

Lin Sui’an: “Wrong. I am someone who, just like the Luo young lady, cut ties with a contemptible man. Which makes me a normal person.”

County Lieutenant Zhang: “Contem— contemptible what?”

“A contemptible man. One who scorns the poor and courts the rich, seduces and abandons, lacks all integrity, and uses his status and appearance to cheat women of their feelings and money,” Lin Sui’an said. “Is a man like that not the very dregs of humanity? — Ah, or rather, in the proper phrasing of this place: the dregs within dog filth. Abbreviated: a contemptible man.”

Someone in the crowd of mourners let out a whistle.

County Lieutenant Zhang grew agitated. “There’s no need to — that person is not an ordinary individual!”

“Does dog filth become something other than filth when gilded with gold?” Lin Sui’an asked.

County Lieutenant Zhang was at least a man of some education. Clearly he had not anticipated such crude language from Lin Sui’an, and was left with a flushed neck and a scarlet face, thoroughly outmatched.

The onlooking crowd found it all thoroughly entertaining and quite to their rough-and-ready taste, and could not help breaking into laughter.

“Young lady, what kind of contemptible man was he? Tell us, broaden our horizons!”

“Yes, yes!”

In keeping with her character, Lin Sui’an would have broadcast Su Chengxian’s name to the entire world and let everyone see what noble-clan families were really made of — but she caught Mu Zhong’s faint headshake and Zhu Dachang’s frantic waving, and swallowed the name back down.

Mu Zhong and Zhu Dachang had both helped her. She would not add to their troubles needlessly.

“One contemptible man — the name doesn’t matter. What matters is—” Lin Sui’an’s gaze swept across the Luo clan members, “these people, for personal gain, treated this contemptible man as a precious treasure, fawning and flattering. When in truth the contemptible man was the killer, they went to great lengths to excuse him and instead threw all the blame onto the victim. Such fawning and toadying truly beggars belief!”

“Crude! Absolutely crude!” Luo Liulang bellowed. “Someone drag this woman out!”

Not a single servant dared step forward. They had all seen Lin Sui’an’s skill with their own eyes — she struck fast and mercilessly, and the brothers who’d been knocked out still hadn’t woken up.

Luo Liulang grew desperate. “County Lieutenant Zhang…”

County Lieutenant Zhang glanced at Zhu Dachang. Zhu Dachang gave a nervous laugh and shook his head, muttering, “This young lady’s origins are unknown to me. My men are no match for her at all. Why don’t we call in more officers from the prefectural office?”

“With a mere young woman — you’re not embarrassing yourself? I’m the one who’d be embarrassing the county office!” County Lieutenant Zhang glared furiously at Zhu Dachang, then turned to calm Luo Liulang with a look before addressing Lin Sui’an. “This is a Luo clan internal matter. On what grounds does Lin Niangzi insert herself?”

Lin Sui’an: “County Lieutenant Zhang is not a Luo family member either.”

County Lieutenant Zhang: “Zhang is a parent-official of Nanpu County, and naturally must act on behalf of the people under his jurisdiction.”

Lin Sui’an nodded and stepped back half a pace. “Luo Kou is Luo Shichuan’s only daughter. She is not an outsider.”

Luo Liulang let out a cold snort. “As I said just now, Luo Kou brought harm on our master — she no longer deserves to stand as a Luo clan member—”

“Was it Luo Kou who killed Luo Shichuan?” Lin Sui’an’s voice suddenly sharpened, her gaze cutting out like a blade.

Luo Liulang flinched, and for some reason, caught under that look, found his mouth slipping out of his control. “N— naturally not — but if not for Luo Kou breaking off the engagement, how would the killer have been provoked into murdering the master? Luo Kou brought the wolf in through the gate — she cannot escape the blame!”

“Your meaning is: because Luo Kou once wished to marry the killer, she is an indirect accomplice?”

“Precisely.”

Lin Sui’an laughed coldly. She pointed at Luo Liulang and declared in a ringing voice, “Then you are also a killer who contributed to Luo Shichuan’s death!”

Luo Liulang stumbled. “Wh — what?!”

Lin Sui’an raised Qian Jing high and swept the scabbard across the Luo clan members one by one. “And you — and you — and you, you, you! Every single one of you is a killer!”

“Outrageous slander!”

“What impudence!”

“This village woman has gone mad!”

Lin Sui’an: “I remember it perfectly clearly. On the day the betrothal was dissolved, you went on and on calling the union between the Luo clan and that killer a wonderful match, flattering him with every word at your disposal, acting as though you wished you could marry him yourselves — if by your own logic we count that as bringing the wolf through the gate, are you not equally to blame? Are you not equally complicit? Are you not all equally indirect killers?!”

Her sharp voice cut like a blade, stripping away the Luo clan members’ pretense. Some flushed with rage, some hung their heads in shame. Luo Liulang was nearly beside himself and looked ready to leap at Lin Sui’an and tear her mouth apart — “I — we were deceived by the killer! We are also victims!”

“Luo Kou was also deceived by the killer! Luo Kou is also a victim!” The fire in Lin Sui’an’s eyes blazed red. “Her father had just died. Before the coffin is even in the ground, her own blood-kin slap her with the charge of killing her father and move to destroy her utterly. Heaven sees all, and what goes around comes around. With Luo Shichuan’s spirit watching from above — can any of you in good conscience say you’ve acted as a decent human being?!”

The words struck like a thunderclap. The mourning hall fell into absolute silence.

The watching townspeople quietly wiped their tears, and not a few shot furious glares at the Luo clan members. The clan members either burned red or went ash-white, desperately wishing the ground would open and swallow them whole.

Luo Liulang’s mouth went dry. He racked his brain for a rebuttal and came up empty.

“County Lieutenant Zhang,” Lin Sui’an turned her blazing gaze. “You speak endlessly of being a parent-official of Nanpu County, acting for the people under your jurisdiction — I ask: is Luo Kou a subject of Nanpu County?”

Every onlooker’s eyes snapped to County Lieutenant Zhang. His face twitched. He forced the words out through his teeth. “She is.”

“Then you should act on her behalf! Will you?!”

Lin Sui’an swept aside her robe and knelt, lifting her voice to declare, “I ask County Lieutenant Zhang to act for the people! Do not let the innocent be wrongfully condemned!”

Luo Kou dropped to her knees. Mu Zhong was the second to kneel. Zhu Dachang and the constables followed right after — and then the mourners inside and outside the hall, one after another, knelt in a sweep, calling out in one voice, “We ask County Lieutenant Zhang to act for the people! Do not let the innocent be wrongfully condemned!”

Their voices set the mourning hall shaking. The autumn wind stirred the spirit banners, tossing them like shadows of ghosts, as if adding their voice to the crowd’s cry.

County Lieutenant Zhang’s lips had gone green. He forced out several words from between clenched teeth. “This official will of course act for the Luo young lady!”

Luo Liulang grew frantic. “But — but what about Meng Man—”

“Will you shut your mouth!” County Lieutenant Zhang rounded on Luo Liulang with a vicious glare, then swept his sleeve and left.

The townspeople broke into a great cheer. Lin Sui’an let out a long breath and realized she was drenched in sweat.

Luo Kou and Meng Man fell into each other’s arms, sobbing. Zhu Dachang’s face was animated with excitement, calling it “the most gratifying day in all his years as an official,” and even Li Nili and the constables shared in his good spirits.

Mu Zhong crouched beside Lin Sui’an and gave a thumbs-up. “That move — turning their logic back on themselves — was brilliantly done.”

“Don’t flatter me, Sir Mu. It was only a stalling tactic.” Lin Sui’an wiped her brow and glanced at Luo Kou and Meng Man, then paused. “Sir Mu — does your earlier promise still stand?”

Mu Zhong’s eyes glinted. “What is it you want me to do?”