Spring: The Prince of Zhennan finally purged the court of opposing ministers and ascended to the throne. After the old Prime Minister retired to his hometown, Commander Xiao took his place. The son-in-law also began investigating the case of the late emperor and Concubine Xuan’s deaths as a special envoy. Meanwhile, construction began on the mausoleum for the Prince of Zhennan’s wife who died last year. The son-in-law says it’s built to imperial consort standards. I don’t quite understand what those standards are, but the young miss says that woman’s tomb is bigger than our entire courtyard. I wonder, sleeping there alone, won’t she be scared at night?
Summer: I thought the midwifery skills I’d crammed in recent months would finally be put to use, but I don’t understand why it wasn’t as difficult as the elders described—as soon as I approached the bedside, the young miss gave birth to the young master. Afterward, the old madam said the young miss was frightened by me, which made me feel guilty for many days. Two months later, news came from Su Sha that Miss Fu also gave birth to a boy. The young miss was very angry because the two of them had been planning their children’s marriage for a long time, but the son-in-law seemed relieved for some reason.
Autumn: Su Sha’s old emperor finally announced his abdication to the world. Feng Suige legitimately ascended to the throne of Su Sha. The young miss is very happy, and so am I. We no longer have to hear the young Miss complain about why that old man still clings to the throne even when he’s sick. Later, we heard that Miss Fu became Su Sha’s first commoner-born queen with the strong support of a wealthy merchant named Qin Yu. When the young miss received the news, she wrote to her overnight. While grinding ink, I sneaked a peek—the young miss was recording all her tactics for dealing with the son-in-law. Amitabha…
Winter: The crimes of murdering the late emperor and Concubine Xuan were confirmed. The former Holy Emperor and Empress Dowager were sentenced to death by dismemberment in the market for treason. Because the son-in-law said it was too bloody, the young miss asked me to go observe the execution on her behalf and record everything from beginning to end so I could tell her about it later.
But there were too many spectators, and I couldn’t squeeze in until the very end. I had to spend a few silver coins to ask a storyteller to make up a story for me. When I got home and was just getting to the most exciting part, the old madam, who was eavesdropping outside the window, fainted. When the old master found out, he punished the young miss and me by making us copy the books in his study—wah, there’s still half a room left, so I’ll stop writing for now.