After listening to Situ Sheng’s words, Chu Linlang suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She glanced at the cracked water vat where the silver had been carelessly tossed, then looked at the large pile of silver in her hands, and shook her head helplessly: “My lord, you… how can you store silver like this!”

Though she loved money, she believed in earning it properly. Even if she happened upon a foolish employer, she could not take advantage of him so blatantly.

Situ Sheng, however, seemed unconcerned and said with perfect composure: “Guanqi and I don’t have large daily expenses, and we don’t like carrying silver on our persons. Even if a thief came, they wouldn’t think to look here.”

Chu Linlang had been an official’s wife. She understood well that an official’s salary was limited, so most officials, if they wished to maintain a comfortable and dignified life without relying on ancestral property, would need to accumulate silver to purchase land and shops — that was how money begets money!

Who on earth throws money into a water vat? As if it were a treasure bowl that generates its own wealth?

Thinking this, she sighed as she collected the silver. In her hands, it was certainly better off than being crammed inside that broken vat!

With the monthly salary settled, Situ Sheng proceeded to arrange a room for the female household manager.

Originally, Chu Linlang had intended to squeeze into the side room together with the two maidservants.

But Situ Sheng said that in the grand households of the capital, household managers were all slick, worldly types who lived even more comfortably than their masters.

When going out, the managers of every residence competed with one another — comparing their attire, their monthly salaries, their prestige and ceremony!

Though she was new to this line of work, there was no need for her to be a model of frugality among the household managers of the capital.

The master was generous and magnanimous — why should she suffer needlessly? And so, Situ Sheng actually selected a large room to be tidied up for Linlang’s use.

Chu Linlang knew that Situ Sheng, for his own convenience, had made his bedroom in the study as well. This large room was, in fact, the original master bedroom of the residence.

When Situ Sheng married and started a family in the future, this would be the bridal chamber for their wedding night.

With the title of household manager, living in the master’s bedchamber — wasn’t that far too presumptuous?

But Situ Sheng said he wasn’t using it anyway, and it would be a shame to waste the fine sunlight that filled the room.

As they spoke, he had already picked up a hammer and, together with Guanqi, helped Chu Linlang fix up the room so that the newly arrived female manager could settle in comfortably and pleasantly.

When someone showed such respect for a person of lower station, it would seem too affected for Chu Linlang to keep being polite.

So, while those two — master and manservant — were repairing the roof beams, Chu Linlang simply took Xia He out to buy vegetables, intending to give her generous and open-handed employer a proper meal as a reward.

After Chu Linlang left, Guanqi lowered his voice and said to Situ Sheng: “My lord, are you really keeping her? Aren’t you afraid that she might…”

Situ Sheng cast his eyes downward, driving in the nails. After a pause, he said: “She knows about my past in Jiangkou. Keeping her within the residence is always better than having her on the outside.”

Hearing this, Guanqi found it somewhat reasonable. If this woman were to reveal the lord’s background, she could inevitably be exploited by those with ill intentions. Keeping her close at hand would make it more convenient to deal with her should the need arise to eliminate a potential threat.

Yet Guanqi also felt that the master was being too soft-hearted with this troublesome woman. If they wanted to control her, there were a thousand ways to do it — why give her all that silver and let her run the household?

He was about to say more, but sounds of stir-frying drifted from the kitchen, along with wave after wave of enticing aromas.

Guanqi silently swallowed his saliva, and suddenly felt that keeping Chu Linlang around for the time being wasn’t so bad. Though this woman had been troublesome and fierce when they were young, the food she cooked now… was truly delicious!

And so it was that the residence of the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review — which had seemed utterly devoid of human life — began from that day onward to emit the warm smoke of human habitation.

Days filled with hot meals three times daily moved Guanqi nearly to tears of gratitude as he ate. The only thing was that the newly arrived female manager had clearly taken a chicken feather as an authority token and genuinely considered herself the manager of the entire household!

When Guanqi finished eating and, following his old habits, tossed his bowl into the basin and prepared to go back to his room to sleep, Chu Linlang stood before him with a stern face and hands on her hips, demanding that he wash all the bowls and sweep the courtyard before resting.

Guanqi glared at her, and she gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, threatening to dock his monthly wages.

Guanqi immediately looked toward his master, hoping he would speak up for him. But to his surprise, Situ Sheng walked off to the study with his hands behind his back, wearing the air of someone who left all household matters entirely to the female manager.

Dongxue couldn’t stand Guanqi’s attitude of putting on even more airs than the master himself. Seeing him refuse to comply, she raised her eyebrows and chided him from the side: “When eating, your chopsticks reach out even more eagerly than the master’s! Yet over just washing a few bowls, you push back and drag your feet! From which slave trader did the lord buy such a precious young master? This is truly the first time I’ve ever seen — those few dirty bowls somehow managing to grow mold in this cold weather!”

Stung by the mockery, Guanqi flushed with indignation and retorted: “These past few days, I’ve been keeping night watch with the lord. When things get busy, I can’t even get home — I’ve gone several days without a full night’s sleep. Of course I want to rest when I get a chance! Besides, before you all arrived, there was no need to light the stove, so there was never any bowl-washing to do. I just forgot for a moment…”

Chu Linlang looked at the dark circles under his eyes, then thought about the recent situation in the city, and knew he wasn’t lying.

So she generously waved her hand and let him go rest. After all, Guanqi stayed by Situ Sheng’s side and dealt with thieves and dangerous criminals. If he lacked proper rest and something went wrong, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

Unfortunately, Guanqi had been shamed by Dongxue’s words and was too embarrassed to rest. Not only did he wash the bowls, he also split firewood.

Afterward, Guanqi went to Situ Sheng to complain, saying that Chu Linlang was too fierce and that perhaps they should just deal with her sooner rather than later.

But Situ Sheng said coolly: “The other day, you washed and tore my favorite robe to shreds. What she said was perfectly right — your wages should indeed be docked!”

Guanqi scratched his head, let out an awkward laugh, and hurried out of the study.

And Situ Sheng continued to lie in the reclining chair in the study, reading. As he raised his hand, the embroidery on his cuff naturally caught his eye.

The robe he wore was the very one Guanqi had ruined in the wash.

But where the cuff had been damaged, someone with skillful hands had added a border trim of matching fabric. At the same time, soft blue thread had been used to embroider a ring of water ripple patterns. The flowing, wave-like lines added a certain understated elegance to the worn, faded cuff.

That day, when Chu Linlang had stood at the alley entrance pretending to wait for him, the garment she had been sewing with her hands was this very one.

Similar water ripple patterns like these — he had actually seen them before on Zhou Sui’an’s collar and sleeves.

And now, these gentle ripples had wound their way to his wrist — fine, dense, winding endlessly…

—

Speaking of the Zhou family: on the day of the repudiation of the wife, things had ended in a smashing of the house.

Zhao Shi felt that An Shi had been underhanded in her dealings — she had promised to preserve two of the shops, yet in the end had sold the Zhou family’s interests to placate that shrewish Chu Linlang!

So after Chu Linlang left, Zhao Shi flew into a rage at Madam An.

This Aunt An had never thought much of the Zhou family to begin with. Now that she had finally frightened Chu Linlang away, pocketed the Xie family’s silver, and had no further need to keep up pretenses with the Zhou mother and son, she simply smiled and congratulated the Zhou family on clearing away the obstacle — they could finally proceed with the marriage into the Xie family. Then she slapped her bottom and walked out.

That day she had been berated to her face by Chu Linlang and was nursing resentment in her heart. She kept thinking about who she might find to deal with that woman and silence her once and for all.

As for Zhou Sui’an, he was as stricken as if he had lost his parents. He felt as though his heart was like the debris of a ruined hall — hollow and broken.

Leaving the main hall, Zhou Sui’an saw that his younger sister was holding Yuan’er’s hand, staring at him with quiet, reproachful eyes.

Over these recent days, Aunt An had repeatedly come to stir up trouble, and Zhou Lingxiu had finally understood why her sister-in-law had left home in the middle of the night some time ago.

She had just heard the commotion at the front hall but felt too ashamed to appear before her sister-in-law, and could only pull Yuan’er away to the back courtyard to comfort her.

As a younger sister, it wasn’t her place to reproach her elder brother. But Yuan’er showed no such restraint — she pointed at Zhou Sui’an and said: “You bullied Mother! You’re a terrible villain!”

Zhou Sui’an’s face went rigid under his daughter’s accusation. He could only snap sternly: “Insolence! I am your father! Remember this: Chu Linlang is no longer your mother!”

Yuan’er burst into tears and ran off. Zhou Lingxiu, furious, stamped her foot and declared: “The way I see it, everyone in this household is worth less than a child!”

But Zhou Sui’an felt only bitterness in his heart: it wasn’t as if *he* had abandoned Chu Linlang — that woman had been the one to abandon this home! Was she trying to manipulate him by making herself indispensable? What pure delusion! Things had come to this point, and he needed to get on with living his own life.

Once he brought Xie Shi through the door, his promotion order would come through as well. Once he rose in rank and title, he would make people see what she had truly given up!

Taking advantage of the day off, he simply applied for two more days of leave. It was only on the third day that he forced himself to rouse his spirits and report for duty at the Ministry of Finance.

His rank was not high enough to require attending morning court with the Ministry’s head officials. Each morning he arrived at the office, he needed only to process the documents and wait for the superior officials to return from court to give their approvals.

Today was the same. While waiting for the superior to review documents, Zhou Sui’an seized the opportunity to ask again whether there had been any news about the vacancy the official had previously mentioned, and when he might be promoted to fill it.

The Director of the Ministry of Finance looked at him and sighed with meaningful resignation: “Director Zhou, as the ancients wisely said — harmony at home is the foundation of prosperity in all endeavors! Your abilities were recommended by the Sixth Prince himself, so that is beyond question. However, the vacancies at the Ministry of Finance have always been watched by countless eyes. If your personal conduct is found wanting, even if I have the intention of pushing you forward, others will pull you back down!”

Zhou Sui’an was startled to hear this, and quickly asked what the superior meant.

The Director of the Ministry of Finance waved his hand and simply asked Zhou Sui’an whether it was true that he had repudiated his wife.

Zhou Sui’an had never expected his personal affairs to reach his superior’s ears. He could only stiffen his face and nod.

The Director shook his head and sighed: “As they say — a wife who has shared your hardships must not be cast aside! Director Zhou, you have been foolish!”

The two of them were old acquaintances, both having come up from Jizhou. For a matter like this, Situ Sheng could simply have come and spoken with him directly — so why had he made it so public, delivering the message in front of so many people, through a superior?

The Director looked up at him, stroking his beard, and said: “Since this is a family matter, why has your divorced wife brought a complaint to the Court of Judicial Review? When Deputy Minister Situ of the Court of Judicial Review came down from court today, he spoke in front of several colleagues and asked me to pass word to you, Director Zhou, that when you have the time, you should come to the Court of Judicial Review to be questioned!”

—

Xie Sheng, upon hearing this, immediately understood and went over and gave the still-dazed Zhou Sui’an a punch, telling him to quickly write out the mutual separation papers.

Upon hearing this, Xie Sheng hastily said: “Lord Situ need not take seriously the words of that foolish woman from the An family about coercion. What ability does she have! Allow me to severely reprimand my wife’s younger sister afterward…”

But Situ Sheng said the Sixth Prince’s consort had agreed to compensate Chu Linlang a sum of silver — this was something he himself had known nothing about!

So now the family’s scandal had spread everywhere. Wouldn’t everyone within the Ministry of Finance come to know of his wife repudiation?

His daughter’s belly wouldn’t wait, and though Xie Sheng was dissatisfied with Zhou Sui’an’s personal conduct, it takes two to make a quarrel — his own daughter was no innocent party either.

Situ Sheng had still given Xie Sheng some face by not saying more in front of the others. He took advantage of the dispersal after morning court to go with the old General Xie back to the Xie residence, where over a cup of fragrant tea, he unhurriedly recounted the course of events surrounding the Zhou family’s repudiation.

In front of Situ Sheng, Xie Sheng gave full vent to his feelings — both fresh grievances and old resentments — and thoroughly disparaged Zhou Sui’an along with his mother.

All those years of reading the sages’ books finally took effect before an audience. Standing before Lord Situ and his future father-in-law, he was like a man stripped of the trousers covering his shame — his cheeks flushed a deep purple-red with humiliation, and he seemed entirely dazed and disoriented.

For a moment he could not make sense of it: he, a respected Fifth-rank Bureau Director of the Ministry of Finance, in the prime of his career — how had he ended up in such an infuriating and embarrassing predicament?

Xie Sheng, watching Zhou Sui’an’s inability to squeeze out a single word for a long while, was furious enough for his eyelids to twitch uncontrollably. He thought: what on earth did his daughter see in this fool? And yet she had been so set on marrying him that she would have died before giving him up!

Gritting his teeth, he finally made up his mind to lay it all bare. With a look of shame on his face, he disclosed the affair between his daughter and Zhou Sui’an.

He had no other choice — he would have to step in on their behalf and clean up the mess these children had left behind.

The frustrating thing was that Lord Situ kept pressing, seemingly at a loss, asking why, if it was the Zhou family who had repudiated the wife, it was the Xie family who had come forward to manage things, and even offered to compensate with silver.

He first expressed to Lord Situ that this whole matter had been a misunderstanding. If that Chu Linlang was unwilling to leave the Zhou family, he would rather force his daughter into a convent than dare to steal another person’s marriage.

Moreover, things had come to this point, and Lord Situ had personally come to question him. If he were to deliberately conceal things further, wouldn’t that be throwing away the face being offered to him?

For one brief moment, a figure flashed through his mind — a man who had accompanied Chu Linlang on the night of the fog, walking by her side…

That Aunt An was the sort who liked to take credit and seek reward. A few days prior she had come to the Xie residence, extolling her own merits in playing both sides to the skies. She was also skilled at glossing over the crucial points, saying nothing of the Zhou family’s repudiation of the wife. She only said that under her patient and earnest counsel, Chu Linlang had willingly and gladly dissolved her marriage with Zhou Sui’an, and would soon leave the capital, where she would no longer be an embarrassment to the Xie family’s reputation.

After hearing all this, Situ Sheng smiled politely at the two officials and took his leave, turning to prepare his departure.

In the Xie family’s eyes, the matter had long since been settled and done with.

But Situ Sheng smiled with deep meaning and spoke: “If the Zhou family had been sensible about it, they wouldn’t have stirred up such a storm across the whole city. That unfortunate woman has now taken shelter in my residence as a household manager. She is a woman with dignity, and in public she too has a reputation to maintain. If in the future people were to gossip and say that her conduct had been improper, that she was cast out by her husband’s family — wouldn’t that also tarnish my own reputation? Everyone values their face, yet not everyone is deserving of it…”

Zhou Sui’an finally gathered his wits and lowered his voice: “My lord’s kind act of taking in Chu Linlang — I am grateful for it. However, propriety between men and women must be observed. My lord has not yet taken a wife, and for an unmarried woman to remain for long at your residence — that seems improper. Moreover, she entered the Zhou family and lived the life of the mistress of the household and has no skills suited to the role of a servant. I ask my lord to show consideration and make arrangements for her to leave the residence at an early date. At that point, I will…”

That shrew Chu Linlang! Was she not satisfied with having brought enough disgrace upon the Xie and Zhou families, and deliberately ran to the Court of Judicial Review to humiliate them further?

Since Zhou Sui’an had already separated from his former wife, he might as well just shut his eyes and marry his daughter off.

There was clearly something more to this — and Lord Situ had come prepared, with nothing about it being casual inquiry. Before Situ Sheng could say anything that would cause irreparable loss of face, General Xie invited Lord Situ back to the Xie residence to ask in private what was truly going on.

And so today, when Situ Sheng came down from court and loudly inquired before all the assembled officials about the matter of Director Zhou Sui’an repudiating his wife, Xie Sheng had also been standing nearby and heard it — both of them momentarily taken aback.

Taking advantage of the morning court session, Situ Sheng had arranged for the Director of the Ministry to relay his message to Zhou Sui’an, and then personally went to find General Xie Sheng himself.

It was fortunate that Lord Situ had given him prior warning and had not immediately summoned An Shi to face questioning in a public court hearing. Otherwise, the clean reputation he had carefully guarded his entire life might have been ruined by a woman blinded by greed for silver!

After hearing all this, Situ Sheng gave a faint smile and said that Chu Linlang had seen through the faithless man and was unwilling to settle. Under such circumstances, it would be more appropriate for Chu Linlang to issue an annulment letter declaring a complete and irrevocable severance of ties with Zhou Sui’an. However, out of consideration for Second Miss Xie’s reputation, Chu Linlang was willing to take a step back, help conceal the Xie family’s scandal, and settle for a mutual separation agreement alone.

This Aunt An had been running about so energetically because she had schemes to profit from the situation. Zhou Sui’an, who had never paid attention to the household’s daily affairs, naturally knew nothing of this corrupt and greedy business.

Yet now that Situ Sheng clearly knew of his private affair with Second Miss Xie, he was still deliberately asking him whether repudiating the wife had been appropriate.

Hearing that the woman had become the household manager of Situ Sheng’s residence, and listening to the Deputy Minister’s mild yet pointed words, Xie Sheng’s eyelids jumped incessantly, and he had a faint sense that this official knew considerably more than he had assumed.

When Xie Sheng heard Lord Situ say that a woman claiming to be a Xie family relative — the Aunt An in question — had presided over the Zhou household affairs, not only making the decision to repudiate Director Zhou’s long-suffering wife who had shared his humble beginnings, but also withholding the compensation silver that the Sixth Prince’s consort had originally promised, the old General’s face took on an expression as if he longed to follow the late General Yang to the grave as quickly as possible.

Now, pressed by Situ Sheng’s questions, Xie Sheng was full of grievances he could not voice, and could only vaguely indicate that perhaps the Sixth Prince’s consort and that woman were old acquaintances, and out of pity she had wanted to offer some silver in compensation.

And so since Lord Situ was giving face to the Xie family, he too ought to graciously accept this kindness.

The old general also stated that he had no knowledge of the Zhou family repudiating their wife and would never have dared to pressure the Zhou family into doing so.

Zhou Sui’an steeled himself and recounted his reasons for repudiating his wife, saying only that Chu Linlang was vicious and malicious, that she was not accepted by his mother, and that moreover this was a family matter — why was the official involving himself in such things?

As a result, when the three parties confronted one another, what emerged was an aunt who had withheld the agreed-upon compensation silver.

But since Lord Situ had brought the complaint to him, could he not, on account of the general’s own face, handle this matter by reducing what was large to small and what was small to nothing? After all, these were all affairs of official families — why bring it to a public court?

Such civil disputes, even if truly brought before officials, would first need to go through the local prefectural offices. There was no need at all to go to a place like the Court of Judicial Review, which handled serious criminal and penal matters.

Having said his piece, Guanqi urged on the horse, and the carriage drove swiftly away.

These past two days, that Aunt An had been coming every day, helping her elder sister Su Shi bustle about with great enthusiasm, making preparations for Second Miss Xie’s trousseau.

Now that Lord Situ was inquiring into this matter, he could have his daughter go to the Zhou family as a concubine, personally go and apologize to Chu Linlang, and as for his daughter’s fate — that would be her own doing. If Chu Linlang refused to forgive her, he would twist his daughter into a temple, abort the unfortunate child, shave her head, and would absolutely not allow her to interfere with another person’s good marriage!

He had previously been consumed by hatred toward Chu Linlang’s heartlessness, and had also wanted to fight over who had abandoned whom and save face. In a moment of recklessness, he had complied with his mother’s wishes and written out the letter of repudiation.

How could she so damage another person’s reputation and verbally coerce and threaten her, driving Chu Linlang to a dead end and forcing her to bring a complaint to the Court of Judicial Review!

Zhou Sui’an had not expected that Chu Linlang would not only go to the Court of Judicial Review to file a complaint, but that she would also become the household manager at Situ Sheng’s residence.

Zhou Sui’an, struck by this blow and stumbling, finally managed to regain his confused senses. His mind felt numb as he followed Xie Sheng’s instructions and, in duplicate, wrote out two mutual separation documents.

Ah — Zhou Sui’an was utterly stunned. He truly had never in a million years expected that Chu Linlang would be so ruthless as to actually run to the Court of Judicial Review to report him!

Zhou Sui’an watched the carriage disappear from view and could not suppress the confusion in his heart: why had Chu Linlang become entangled with that harsh and exacting official, Situ Sheng?

Situ Sheng paid him no attention, settled into his seat, and then spoke from behind the carriage curtain: “What does Director Zhou wish to say?”

Having accepted the wrongful complaint of the divorced wife, and having made pledges before General Li to seek justice for a common woman, Situ Sheng found a spare moment to look into the domestic affairs of the Zhou and Xie families.

And yet this Situ Sheng — utterly ignorant of human relations and social niceties!

Only he hoped that the lord, considering his own relationship with the Sixth Prince, would act on their behalf to smooth things over and prevent the scandal of the Zhou and Xie families from spreading further.

Having said all this, before he could finish, the person in the carriage interrupted him with a cold, indifferent voice: “She is no longer a woman of the Zhou family. Her livelihood henceforth is not something that need trouble the director. I first congratulate the director on your imminent marriage — may you be blessed with an heir soon…”

As for An Shi, she had presumably maintained a private acquaintance with the Zhou family’s old mistress, and the Xie family had known nothing of it.

He pledged to Situ Sheng that the silver shortfall owed to Chu Linlang would be repaid in double within two days, all delivered to Lord Situ’s residence — he absolutely would not let Chu Linlang be wronged.

Situ Sheng glanced at Zhou Sui’an, who was standing behind Xie Sheng, and said coolly: “That Chu Linlang is also an old acquaintance of the Sixth Prince’s consort. It is precisely out of reverence for the consort’s virtue that she chose to prioritize the greater good — even holding irrefutable evidence, and having suffered every manner of injustice, she was willing to step aside graciously. As long as a person has not been forced into a dead end, they will always retain good will, and parting amicably on good terms is the better path. She is now the household manager of my residence. If her family were to suffer injustice and unfair treatment, it would be equivalent to slapping my own face…”

How maddening! Were they not clearly told to put the matter to rest quietly and compensate Chu Linlang as generously as possible?

Moreover, he had previously made inquiries with the Director of the Ministry of Finance, and this Zhou Sui’an did have some accomplishments and ability. In a few months he would be due for another promotion, and could be considered a promising young talent.

No matter how hard Zhou Sui’an racked his brain, he could never have guessed that the one who had deliberately escalated this affair was not Chu Linlang — but rather that official who was utterly ignorant of human relations and social niceties, Situ Sheng himself.

It was just as he was boarding the official office’s carriage that Zhou Sui’an broke away from his future father-in-law and came running after him: “Lord Situ, please stop!”

Su Shi was overjoyed and told Xie Sheng about the matter, lavishing praise on her younger sister for handling things so neatly and having finally preserved the reputation of both families.

When Situ Sheng walked out with the still-damp mutual separation papers in hand, General Xie Sheng walked him to the door with great courtesy.

She clearly still had shops and silver to her name — why put on such a pitiful display? It was nothing more than nursing a grudge, refusing to let him have peace.

That day, Xie Sheng, no longer concerned about avoiding the appearance of impropriety, summoned his future son-in-law Zhou Sui’an to the residence as well.

When Situ Sheng then turned and quietly asked him whether the Xie family had a relative by the An surname, Xie Sheng felt a shock run straight to the top of his skull.

The Zhou family’s affairs had now been set in order. In a few days they could come and discuss the marriage with the Xie family.

Before long, Zhou Sui’an would push this laughable notion to the back of his mind.

Thinking about the fact that Situ Sheng was currently a favored official before the Emperor — if this matter were handled poorly and the Emperor somehow caught wind of something, that would be completely ruinous.

—