“I’ll go with you to take a look.” Lady Shi had been on edge the entire time, so she brought her maid along and followed the First Madam Meng out of the sitting room.

The man standing at the doorway wore a military uniform, his hair cropped short, his eyes carrying a concealed, sharp gleam.

First Madam Meng had never seen this man before. Her instincts told her he was not one of Meng Xiangyang’s subordinates.

“Who are you?” First Madam Meng had barely stepped forward when two soldiers immediately blocked her path with their rifles, their expressions unfriendly.

“Oh, Madam Meng.” The short-haired man ran a hand over his cropped hair. “I’m Cheng Qian, a subordinate of Captain Liu Yin.”

Both First Madam Meng and Lady Shi knew that Liu Yin was the Marshal’s head of the security detail, and that Cheng Qian was Liu Yin’s subordinate — which meant the men surrounding the compound were the Marshal’s people.

The moment both women realized this, their hearts gave a sharp lurch.

Seeing the alarm and fear on their faces, Cheng Qian smiled. “Ladies, Minister Meng will be back very shortly. Please remain calm and wait a little longer.”

Lady Shi steeled herself and asked, “Where is my brother? What have you come here to do?”

“In response to your question, Madam — Minister Meng is currently outside the city. As for why we are here, naturally it is to protect the safety of Minister Meng’s family and prevent any unforeseen incidents.”

Cheng Qian spoke with great courtesy, but neither First Madam Meng nor Lady Shi was foolish. This so-called protection was, in truth, a form of house arrest.

When the two women returned to the sitting room, several of the concubines rushed forward all at once, each clamoring to ask what had happened. First Madam Meng found the noise around her utterly maddening, and she let out a sharp shout: “What is all this screaming about? The compound is surrounded by soldiers — keep it up, and I’ll have the lot of you thrown outside.”

The Fourth Concubine wiped her tears. “Are the soldiers outside not the Master’s men?”

First Madam Meng rubbed her temples in irritation. Meng Xiangyang had taken four concubines, each one younger and more beautiful than the last. She had long since decided that as long as Meng Xiangyang was satisfied, he could do as he pleased — after all, the entire inner household was firmly under her control.

What she had not anticipated was that these four concubines would prove to be utterly useless one and all. In ordinary times they were perfectly capable of pouting and jostling for favor, but in a moment of true crisis, they did nothing but cause trouble.

“Enough. Not another word.” Lady Shi could bear it no longer. She said sharply, “All of you, stop pestering First Sister-in-Law and go back to your own courtyards.”

The concubines were reluctant to leave. At a time like this, no one could sleep.

They waited another hour like this. Then, without warning, a commotion erupted outside. The several ladies immediately rushed out.

A group of men came barging through the main gate, carrying a stretcher between them — and the man lying on the stretcher was Meng Xiangyang.

“Master!”

“Brother!”

Both women cried out and rushed forward.

Meng Xiangyang lay with his eyes tightly shut, his face a deathly pale, having clearly fallen into unconsciousness.

“What — what has happened?” First Madam Meng was frantic.

No one answered her question. These soldiers were plainly not Meng Xiangyang’s men. They had carelessly set the stretcher down at the foot of the steps outside the sitting room entrance and simply walked away without a second glance.

While First Madam Meng and Lady Shi were tending to Meng Xiangyang, the soldiers quickly rounded up every servant in the compound, herding them all together into one place.

“What do you think you’re doing?” First Madam Meng, no longer paying attention to Meng Xiangyang, hurried over to stop them. “What are you doing — are you planning to ransack the house?”

Cheng Qian still wore that same smiling expression. He blocked First Madam Meng with his body and said, “Madam Meng, I apologize, but the Marshal has given his orders: the Meng Mansion is not to retain a single servant from this day forward, and the members of the Meng family are not permitted to step outside the compound gates.”

As First Madam Meng stared in stunned disbelief, Cheng Qian gestured toward the compound walls on all sides. “Barbed wire will be installed around the perimeter shortly. Dedicated guards will be posted around the clock. Madam Meng, please take care of yourself.”

“Whose orders are these?”

“The Marshal’s orders, of course.” Cheng Qian looked coldly at First Madam Meng, whose face had gone gray and haggard. “Madam Meng, perhaps you have not yet heard — Meng Xiangyang conspired to raise an armed rebellion and has been apprehended on the spot. However, out of consideration for two generations of the Meng family’s loyal service to the Shi family, the Marshal has spared Meng Xiangyang’s life. He will be confined to his home henceforth, forbidden to leave for the remainder of his days. From this point forward, only members of the Meng family may reside within this compound. All servants are to be dismissed. The household’s daily necessities will be delivered regularly by designated personnel — there is no need for Madam to worry.”

“How can this be?” First Madam Meng staggered back several steps, nearly losing her footing.

“And what about me?” Lady Shi had never imagined the Meng family would come to such an end. Meng Xiangyang’s so-called rebellion had apparently been entirely within the Marshal’s calculations all along — he had barely begun to rebel before he had already lost.

“Ah, yes.” Cheng Qian took an envelope from one of his subordinates and casually handed it to Lady Shi. “This is a divorce agreement personally signed by the Marshal. In consideration of the hardships Lady Shi has endured on behalf of the Shi family, and of the fact that she has borne two sons and a daughter, the Marshal will not make things unduly difficult for her. From this day forward, Madam, you will live out the remainder of your days here.”

Upon hearing this, Lady Shi’s vision went dark, and she collapsed.

But every servant had been gathered together in one place, and with no one to catch her, Lady Shi fell. Cheng Qian watched expressionlessly as she hit the stone steps, the back of her head striking with enough force to draw blood.

“Ladies, I have delivered my instructions. Please take care of yourselves.” Cheng Qian smiled, though his eyes held no warmth. He turned and raised a hand. “Take them all away.”

“You cannot do this.” First Madam Meng threw herself forward in desperation, only to be stopped directly by a guard, who shoved her hard and sent her tumbling to the ground.

“You — how dare you treat me like this! Do you know who I am?” When the Meng family was at the height of its power, who in Shun Cheng hadn’t fallen over themselves to curry favor with Madam Meng? She had always been a woman accustomed to having the final say, a formidable presence who tolerated no defiance. To be shoved to the ground by a minor guard was a humiliation beyond anything she had ever suffered.

The young guard glanced at her sidelong, paid her no further attention, and walked away.

“You — you —” When had First Madam Meng ever endured such indignity? Yet by the time her senses returned to her, she understood that all was lost.

These guards had come in haste and departed in haste — they had arrived bringing Meng Xiangyang, and they left taking away every last servant in the Meng Mansion.

Faced with the suddenly vast and empty courtyard, First Madam Meng sat on the ground and wept bitterly.

The concubines, too, were experiencing such a scene for the first time. Though these people had not taken the Meng family’s wealth, from this day forward they would be confined within this compound forever — not quite imprisonment, yet no different from it in any meaningful way.

What good was money now? Everything they ate and used would henceforth be delivered by others. Even if what came was rough cloth and cold leftovers, they would have no choice but to accept it.

The concubines, as this realization sank in, also sat down and began to weep aloud.

The Second and Third Concubines were worst off of all. At least Meng Xiangyang was still alive; they had effectively become living widows.

For a time, the Meng compound was filled with nothing but the rising and falling sounds of women weeping — a scene of utter desolation.

Meng Xiangyang regained consciousness from his stupor to the sound of these interweaving cries, and for a moment he thought he had died and they were mourning him.

“Someone — someone come —” Meng Xiangyang lay on the stretcher at the foot of the steps, his voice feeble as he raised one hand. “Someone, come quickly.”

First Madam Meng paid him no mind, still wiping her tears. Only Lady Shi came to him, the traces of dried tears still visible on her face. “Brother, there is no one left — every servant in this household has been taken away. From now on, it is only us.”

“Taken away?” Meng Xiangyang was momentarily stunned. When comprehension dawned, he let out a groan of anguish like a trapped beast. “The Marshal refuses to kill me, yet leaves me no better off than dead.”

“Brother, the game is lost. We must accept the outcome.” Lady Shi endured the pain at the back of her head and spoke in a low voice to comfort him.

“Ah Qiu, it is I who have brought ruin upon you.” A sheen of moisture rose in Meng Xiangyang’s eyes. “I have brought ruin upon you.”

Lady Shi, hearing this, began to weep once more.

She could have remained at the Shi Mansion as its undisputed mistress, commanding the entire household. Now she was confined to this patch of earth. Thinking of the bleak and lightless days that lay ahead, she felt that death would be preferable to life.

“Ah Qiu, you still have Weizhi. He is a filial son — he will not abandon you.” Meng Xiangyang gripped Lady Shi’s hand, his voice choked with emotion. “I deserve every bit of what has befallen me, but you are innocent. As long as Weizhi is willing to help you, you will surely find a way out.”

At the mention of Shi Guang, a faint glimmer of hope kindled in Lady Shi’s heart.

He was different from Meng Xiangyang — she had a son who bore the Shi name. Even if the Marshal had no regard left for her as his wife, he would surely not keep her imprisoned forever, if only for the sake of that son.

At that very moment, Shi Guang was kneeling before the door of the Marshal’s private study, his back ramrod-straight. He had been kneeling since the early hours before dawn, and now the morning light was beginning to spread gradually across the horizon.

The Marshal pushed open the study door and looked down at him with a frown. “If you have come to plead on Meng Qiu’s behalf, there is no need to speak.”

“Marshal, though my mother has made her share of mistakes, she took no part in the Meng family’s affairs. She is innocent in this.” Shi Guang raised his head, his eyes full of entreaty as he looked up at the Marshal.

The Marshal gave a cold snort. “If she had no knowledge of Meng Xiangyang’s plan to rebel, why would she have run off to hide at the Meng Mansion? From that moment, she had already abandoned her identity as the mistress of the Shi household and chosen to stand with my enemy. Had she not gone to the Meng Mansion and instead remained here at home, I would not have made the decision I made today. She has brought this upon herself.”

“Marshal —”

“Enough.” The Marshal turned his cold gaze upon him. “In this matter — did you have any knowledge of it?”

Shi Guang’s heart contracted sharply. He immediately defended himself. “Marshal, I had absolutely no knowledge of this matter. I ask the Marshal to judge clearly.”

“I hope that is so.” The Marshal swept him with a measured look.

“I bear the surname Shi. I am a son of the Shi family. How could I possibly assist another man in rebellion?” Shi Guang was inwardly frantic. He had always known that if Meng Xiangyang’s rebellion failed, it would inevitably implicate him. The Marshal was a suspicious man — it was only natural that suspicion would fall on him.

“Shi Guang, remember this — you bear the surname Shi. You are a son of the Shi family. Think carefully before you act in any matter.” The Marshal’s tone was severe and carried a heavy warning.

Shi Guang quickly bowed his head. “Shi Guang will bear the Marshal’s counsel in mind.”

“Rise. There is no point in pleading for Meng Qiu any further. I will not make any exception.” The Marshal finished speaking and walked straight past Shi Guang.

Shi Guang stood rooted to the spot, the fist hanging at his side unconsciously clenching tight.

—