The Lord’s Manor was completely silent. Li Rong had finally lost interest in teaching that enormous parrot to speak, and began drilling his fleet in the swimming pool at home. The enemy fleet commanded by Madam He was always beaten by him until they were completely routed.

“My dear Young Master, with all those battle-hardened killers in the household at your disposal, you insist on having this old woman who can’t read a single character serve as fleet commander. You’re the tiger son of a military family—how could this old woman possibly defeat you?”

“Father says that fleet warfare is still completely unexplored territory, and wants me to practice more. Inland river tactics have little use on the great sea. The most important factor determining combat power is sturdy ships and powerful artillery—whoever has the bigger ships and more crossbow cannons on their ships has the advantage. Father wants me to start from the most basic level, and you’re the most basic person in the manor. If I don’t find you, who should I find?”

Li Rong looked up innocently at the gnashing Madam He. Humiliated and enraged, the Madam spat at Li Rong from far across the pool. No one likes being looked down upon, especially not Madam He who had raised Li Rong from childhood.

Seeing Madam He storm off with a flick of her sleeves, Li Rong pretended to sigh, used a long bamboo pole to fish out the ships one by one, had the servants beside him wipe them clean, and then walked into the house with his hands behind his back like a little adult.

The pearl-diving woman followed Lingdang everywhere, never leaving her side. The two of them actually got along harmoniously, talking and laughing. Only tigers can counsel lions, so only women can counsel women. Yun Ye had recently been frantically busy with fleet matters and had no time to deal with the grief-stricken pearl diver. With nothing to do, Lingdang had volunteered to take on this task.

Yun Ye initially disagreed, worried that Lingdang would be harmed. Who knew that Lingdang would instead pat her chest and say to leave everything to her—her husband was busy with important matters, and she could help her husband with small matters.

The effect was surprisingly good. No matter what, the pearl-diving woman was still a woman. In front of men she might be able to display an uncaring facade, but seeing the beautiful Lingdang made her feel somewhat ashamed of herself. Although she wasn’t ugly either, her body had been deformed from making a living, which made her feel uncomfortable.

Little Lingdang greatly envied the pearl diver’s long, slender legs. Her own legs weren’t long enough. She also said the pearl diver’s skin was really too good, pointing at a red pimple on her own chin and complaining about it for a full half hour. She asked the pearl diver how she maintained such good skin—was there a secret?

When the pearl diver said she regularly applied beeswax, which was why she looked this way, little Lingdang immediately became so excited she trembled. She dragged the pearl diver to the marketplace to buy beeswax in bulk, planning to apply it all over her body. Since they were already on the street, they naturally had to browse the shops. They entered every kind of establishment—even the shop selling salted fish had to be visited with covered noses to ask about prices. This was one of Lingdang’s few hobbies.

Yongzhou also had many shops specializing in selling ready-made clothing. This was all learned from Chang’an. It was said that in Chang’an now, very few people cut cloth and made their own clothes anymore—they all went to shops like these to buy. Clothes of every price range were available, some even more economical than making them yourself. This was said to be the benefit of large-scale manufacturing.

No woman doesn’t love new clothes, and the pearl-diving woman was no exception. Seeing the colorful garments, she couldn’t help but take a few extra glances. As long as her gaze lingered on a garment slightly longer, little Lingdang would immediately have the female shopkeeper take it down. Soon the maidservant’s arms were full, causing the pearl diver to keep looking back. Lingdang was pregnant and couldn’t wear these clothes. Could they all be bought for me?

“Oh my, Madam is truly blessed! Looking at your belly, in at most one more month you’ll have a young master born. Your belly is pointed, so it must be a young master inside—this old woman’s eyes are sharp!”

After congratulating her, the female shopkeeper deliberately looked at Lingdang’s chest, brought her mouth close to Lingdang’s ear, and whispered a few words. Lingdang’s face flushed completely red as her eyes widened and she said: “Really?”

“Naturally it’s true. They’re all the finest forged items. The lining is made from the best willow branches, fire-treated for shape—most flattering to one’s figure. Rest assured, they’re all made by women’s hands—stinking men aren’t even allowed to look. After Madam gives birth, you’ll need them, and this young lady can use them too. This is a craft passed down from Yuezhou.”

The pearl diver was still hesitating when Lingdang, the maidservant, and the female shopkeeper pushed her into a separate room. A full hour later she emerged, but that ragged hemp cloth outfit had long since disappeared. She had changed into a beautiful blue skirt, her hair was piled high, and her chest had been stuffed with something that made it very prominent. Still unsatisfied, Lingdang pulled a hairpin from her own head and inserted it into the pearl diver’s hair, immediately drawing praise from the maidservant and shopkeeper.

“Good heavens! A great beauty has been buried alive! Madam has such good judgment—just for this discernment of yours, everything you purchase in this small shop today, this old woman will give you twenty percent off. Not to make a sale, but hoping you’ll come often to look around and guide this small shop.” The female shopkeeper could tell Lingdang was no ordinary woman and immediately lavished praise.

“That’s not necessary. You work hard at your business—earning a couple of copper coins isn’t easy. My husband won’t allow me to take advantage of others. Whatever it should cost, that’s what it costs. No need to be polite.”

Hearing the Madam say this, the little maidservant immediately chimed in: “How ridiculous! My Madam doesn’t lack your little discount at all. As long as your goods are good and catch my Madam’s eye, what does money matter? What my family lacks least is money. Humph, that Yuezhou you just mentioned—my master built it all. In this Yongzhou city, my master also has the final say.”

The female shopkeeper hastily bowed and apologized. This was a truly wealthy household—offering a discount would draw rebuke. She had learned something new. The pearl diver also discovered for the first time that there was another way to live in this world.

By the time they returned home, the two had become good friends. Lingdang’s belly was large and she couldn’t sit comfortably, so she reclined on a soft couch and said: “Little sister, don’t resent my husband. He comes from a military background, so his temperament is inevitably somewhat rough. He’s absolutely a good person—you should know that. You committed an offense. When you took me hostage, my husband said he would exterminate your entire clan. That wasn’t to frighten you—my husband really could do it. You were too reckless, barging in without even asking clearly.”

“But it turned out well—you came to my household. If you had gone to the Prince’s manor across the way, you would have only had a dead end. I’ve seen your younger sister—she really is living well. She doesn’t want you to appear before her, so don’t appear. You’ve carried this big burden for so many years—haven’t you carried it enough? Now is the time to think about yourself.”

“I’m one year older than you. I used to be a palace maid. Back then I liked my husband. He was kind and also very clever—almost the cleverest person in the world. He often appeared in my dreams. I thought I had no chance to marry him in this lifetime, so I could only pray to meet him again in the next life. But Heaven is just so understanding—after a thousand twists and turns, I finally married my husband. Now I’m living very comfortably, and my husband dotes on me greatly.”

“You can too. Your younger sister doesn’t need you, but others need you. There’s always someone somewhere waiting for you. You haven’t yet tasted such wonderful feelings—why abuse yourself? The days ahead are long.”

The pearl-diving woman was silent for a long time, tears falling plop, plop onto the ground. Sobbing and sniffling, she told Lingdang her entire history. When Lingdang heard the sad parts, she couldn’t help but shed tears as well.

When Yun Ye returned home, the pearl-diving woman he saw had already changed greatly. Although she was still somewhat cold, being able to come back to life was very good. Yun Ye couldn’t help but find little Lingdang’s methods very peculiar.

Seeing little Lingdang applying beeswax to her body, he knew this was the pearl diver’s idea: “Don’t randomly apply all sorts of things to your body. You’re pregnant now—you must be very careful. Applying wax to your body will clog your pores and make you more prone to illness. Listen to me.”

“Ruhua wouldn’t deceive me. She said she’s been applying beeswax since childhood, which is why her skin is so good.” In matters like this, little Lingdang was as stubborn as if she’d become a different person, just like when she was young and loved delicacies—very difficult to correct.

“Ruhua? Who gave that name? A perfectly good girl—why call her Ruhua? Her younger sister isn’t called Furong, is she?” Yun Ye was very uncomfortable with these two names.

“Of course not! Her younger sister is called Ruyu. Their parents hoped the sisters would grow up ‘beautiful as flowers and jade’—and indeed, the names suit them. Only your concubine is pitiful, called Lingdang all her life, without even a formal name.” Whenever she mentioned her parents, Lingdang’s emotions became low.

“Nonsense! That was before you married. ‘When married, follow the husband’—don’t you know? You’re now called Yun Lingdang—what a beautiful name! A bell in the clouds—when the bell rings, that’s a fairy descending to earth. You were born prepared for me. Don’t believe me? Go look at your official document—it says Yun Lingdang right there. I gave it to you—haven’t you ever looked at it?”

“Your concubine has an official document? Oh right, when we married you gave me a certificate. Could that be the thing?” The confused Lingdang, seeing her husband glaring at her, hurriedly ran to her little chest and rummaged through it, finally finding from the very bottom a pale yellow certificate sealed with brocade. After opening it, she excitedly shouted: “Damn that Nanny Chen! You’re just a Ninth Rank female official? Back then you said I was lazy and greedy and could only be a palace maid for life. Now I’m a Seventh Rank Madam! I’m going to have you beaten with boards right now, you Ninth Rank ugly old woman!”

Wind rose outside the window. Yun Ye knew he couldn’t stay in Yongzhou much longer. The trade winds had risen—time to go to sea. As soon as the fleet finished training, they would follow these trade winds, setting sail from Lingnan and charging into that unknown azure ocean.

“Husband, tomorrow can I show this certificate to Ruhua? I want her to know I’m a genuine Madam.”

“Naturally you can. This is your official document. You could even put it on a chain and wear it on your chest. This thing is meant for bringing glory to ancestors. My Lingdang is a Seventh Rank Imperial Consort. I pay my respects to Madam!”

Yun Ye jokingly cupped his hands. Lingdang imitated the important figures in the palace, waving her hand and saying: “You may rise…” After saying this, she burst into laughter. Yun Ye quickly supported her—he didn’t dare let her end up like Niu Gao.