Su Luoyun inwardly gave a cold laugh. This woman had blocked every avenue of response. If she were to make a scene with her father over being sent back to the countryside, she would be the one deemed unreasonable.

In truth, she had long anticipated that Ding Shi would be unable to tolerate her presence in the household. If it truly came to that, she feared she would have to trouble her uncle to come and break down the door again. But that could only serve as a temporary measure — it offered no guarantee for the long term.

She only wondered whether the contingency she had put in place earlier was progressing as she had imagined…

Just as the standoff held, a maidservant of Ding Pei’s came hurrying in to report: “The Master has returned — and he is looking for the eldest young miss!”

This was Su Hongmeng’s first day at his new post, and knowing his nature, he would certainly have scattered silver freely to treat his colleagues to a banquet. Ding Pei had not expected him to return so quickly.

She had no mind to spare for Su Luoyun now, and hastily rose to go and receive her husband.

But her husband came in a great hurry, drenched in sweat. Even as he pulled at the fastenings of his official robe, he stepped past the advancing Ding Pei and called into the room: “Luoyun — are you in there?”

When Xiangcao helped Luoyun come out, Su Hongmeng could not even wait for his daughter to pay her respects, and asked urgently: “I must ask you — where did the scented balm you gave to Miss Lu of the Lu family come from?”

Instead of answering, Luoyun asked in return: “What is the matter? Is there something wrong with that fragrance?”

Su Hongmeng was beside himself with irritation. Something wrong? Everything was wrong!

Today had been Su Hongmeng’s first day carrying out his official duties. He should have been winning people over on all sides and conducting himself with the full art of social cultivation. But before the seat at the bureau had even grown warm beneath him, he was summoned away by people from the Prince Consort’s residence.

It transpired that when Miss Lu of the Lu family had accompanied her mother to Princess Yuyang’s residence to take the princess’s measurements, the princess had happened to catch the scent lingering on Miss Lu’s person.

Princess Yuyang was devoted to fragrances to the point of obsession and had a passion for collecting scents of all kinds — yet she had never encountered anything so fresh and singular as this. Upon inquiry, Miss Lu said it had come from the household of Su Hongmeng, who served in the fragrance repository, and that the celebrated Shouwei Zhai in the capital was also a business of his family.

Miss Lu’s intention had been a kind one — she felt she was making a golden advertisement for the Su family.

Sure enough, the princess, upon hearing this, concluded that it must be a new fragrance recently blended by the Su family’s shop — no wonder she had never encountered it before.

The Prince Consort’s residence purchased a considerable portion of its fragrant goods from Shouwei Zhai, and by long-established custom, whenever a new fragrance appeared, it was always sent first to the princess’s residence for her to try ahead of anyone else.

To think that Shouwei Zhai had been so lacking in etiquette this time — the princess was displeased, and let slip a complaint or two to her household steward.

The steward’s entire purpose was to handle exactly these sorts of minor domestic grievances. Seeing that the mistress was unhappy with Shouwei Zhai’s breach of protocol, he immediately dispatched someone to deliver a sharp rebuke to Su Hongmeng — and to have him quickly send over a portion of the fragrance, lest the princess think of it again and cause trouble for the household staff.

Su Hongmeng was thoroughly bewildered by the scolding: Shouwei Zhai had not produced a single new fragrance in several years!

He hastily saw off the messenger from the Prince Consort’s residence, then got back into his carriage and went to the Lu household to ask Miss Lu which fragrance exactly the princess was asking for. Miss Lu, equally puzzled, handed him the scented balm, explaining that it had been a gift to her from Su Luoyun.

Su Hongmeng brought it to his nose — the scent was clean and sweet, redolent with a fruity fragrance, the various aromatics blended together with natural ease. He could not at once distinguish which ingredients had been used, and small wonder that the princess could not put it from her mind once she had caught a whiff of it.

But… this was not a fragrance from Shouwei Zhai!

And so Su Hongmeng had no choice but to rush home without pause and ask his eldest daughter where she had obtained this scented balm that had set the whole household into chaos.

After listening to her father recount the whole affair, Luoyun said slowly: “It is a fragrance I blended myself, on a whim. To think that it could earn the princess’s favor — truly, I am overwhelmed with the honor…”

Su Hongmeng had spent the entire afternoon doing nothing but receiving shocks. Only when he heard Luoyun say she had blended it herself did the half-suspended dread in his heart finally settle completely.

He had originally worried that the scented balm might be something Luoyun had purchased elsewhere — if that were the case, would it not mean some rising newcomer had appeared who could rival Shouwei Zhai?

But since it was Su Luoyun herself who had blended it, things were much simpler.

He said at once: “Since the princess likes it, you shall write out the formula for Old Feng at Shouwei Zhai — have him blend a batch and send it to the princess’s residence.”

Hearing her father’s words, Su Luoyun rose unhurriedly, gave him a proper bow, and said: “Your daughter is unfilial, and begs to be excused from complying.”

Su Hongmeng had been jolted about all afternoon and was thoroughly worn out. He had simply wanted to give his instructions and then change out of his robes and lie down for a rest. He had not expected his eldest daughter to suddenly blurt out something so utterly outrageous, and shot upright in fury: “What sort of nonsense is this? Am I asking you for your mother’s dowry? And you dare refuse me?”

Nanny Tian hastily stepped in to smooth things over: “Master, please calm your anger. The eldest young miss only just heard that Madam intends to send her back to the countryside and will not allow this old servant or Xiangcao to accompany her — she is upset, and spoke out of turn in a moment of distress.”

Su Hongmeng was taken aback, suddenly recalling the arrangement he and Ding Shi had discussed — he simply had not expected Ding Shi to bring it up with his eldest daughter this soon, nor that Ding Pei had intended to replace the servants at Luoyun’s side as well…

What shortsighted thinking! Did she think life was going too smoothly? What was the point of telling the little ancestor this so early?

“You — is this truly how you spoke to Luoyun?” Su Hongmeng found himself in something of an awkward position, and could only turn to fix Ding Pei with a pointed stare, hoping she would be quick-witted enough to defuse the situation.

Ding Pei understood perfectly well, but as the mistress of the household, how could she so easily take back what she had already said?

So she pretended not to notice the look Su Hongmeng was squeezing her way, and said with a pleasant smile: “Child, was it not simply that the conversation drifted in that direction? Princess Yuyang is the Emperor’s most cherished daughter — she wants this scented balm, and you would withhold it from your father? Do you mean to bring disaster down upon the whole family?”

But Su Luoyun’s expression remained cool and composed: “The reason I blended this fragrance in the first place was my own wishful thinking. I had been thinking that Shouwei Zhai has been selling the same few fragrances my mother blended during her lifetime for all these years now — the noble patrons must long since have grown tired of them. If I could be of some help to my father, it would also be a way of fulfilling my duty as a daughter. I never imagined I would count myself as one of the Su family, only to find that there are those who resent a blind woman for being an eyesore in this household. If that is how things stand, I need not press my warmth against a cold wall — I shall simply find a temple and take vows, so that I am no longer being ferried back and forth like cargo, exhausting everyone’s patience. And as for the affairs of this mortal world — they are none of a monastic’s concern.”

These words sounded like a child throwing a tantrum. But Su Hongmeng had experience with this little ancestor’s temperament — ordinarily she was fine enough, but once her temper rose, she feared neither heaven nor earth, and was capable of turning everything upside down. She did not possess even half her mother’s gentle virtue. If she truly declared in spite that she was entering a monastery, and the princess then came down upon the Su family, it would indeed have nothing whatsoever to do with this little nun of theirs.

What Luoyun said also made sense. The business at Shouwei Zhai had indeed been somewhat declining these past two years. Hu Shi had been a master at blending fragrances — yet he had never noticed that Luoyun possessed such skill as well. This truly gave him, her father, a new impression of her.

If Luoyun truly had the abilities of the late Hu Shi, she was nothing short of a fortune-bringing treasure for the Su family — he could not keep her close enough!

“Preposterous! Would I let the apple of Su Hongmeng’s eye shave her head and enter a monastery? Your mother was probably worried you were missing home, and only mentioned it in passing. Are you not still here in the Su household? Without my approval, not a soul can send you away!”

Ding Pei’s expression on hearing this was thoroughly mortified. She said nothing, silently fingering the lid of her teacup.

She knew that Su Hongmeng despised nothing more than having his path to profit obstructed. Right now the most pressing matter was to get Su Luoyun to hand over the fragrance formula — even if it meant swallowing her husband’s rebuke in silence, she had to endure it.

Su Luoyun said at an unhurried pace: “Though First Madam’s words just now were perhaps not intended to, they reminded me of something. A blind woman as I am — if one day my father is no longer here, I would truly be like a rootless weed, blown wherever the wind takes me… If I had a little more silver of my own in hand, I could be more at ease. Very well then — if Father wants the Light Pear Scented Balm, I will blend it and have Father deliver it to the princess’s residence. But… Father must agree to give me a thirty-percent share in Shouwei Zhai.”

Su Hongmeng listened as she spoke, and at first it all seemed reasonable enough — but before he knew it, his daughter had struck at the very foundation beneath him and suddenly opened her mouth to demand an outright stake in the shop. He flew into a rage at once: “Outrageous! I am still very much alive! You need not divide the family inheritance on my behalf! Not one of your younger brothers has a share — what gives you, a daughter, the face to ask for one?”

Su Luoyun slowly drew a handkerchief from inside her garment: “Father built this considerable fortune on the strength of my mother’s formulas. Yet my mother never asked for a share, and look what it got her. When my maternal grandmother’s household ran short of funds and needed a large sum of money, Father stood by with folded arms. This makes it plain: even between close kin, accounts must be kept clearly. Between father and daughter, each must keep their own ledger as well. Since I have the ability to earn money, I had better convert it into real silver sooner rather than later.”

Having his old shame thrown in his face, Su Hongmeng turned crimson with fury: “Am I supposed to be at your mercy now? Don’t think that because you’ve blended some trifling scented balm, you can hold your own father to ransom!”

Su Luoyun continued in the same mild tone: “I am only a girl, and I intend never to marry — what is wrong with arranging a little financial security for myself? I imagine my three younger brothers would have no objection either. I hear that several new fragrance shops have opened in the capital in recent years — perhaps I ought to… go and ask them about it? Since this is a fragrance that has caught the princess’s eye, before long it will be fashionable throughout the capital. There will always be someone discerning enough to pay for it.”

Ding Pei finally spoke up: “Is that not eating the hand that feeds you? Do you really think, as you are now, that you can go about selling fragrance formulas wherever you please?”

The threat in her words was unmistakable — and it served as a reminder to Su Hongmeng as well: if it came to open confrontation, locking up a blind girl was a simple enough matter. There was no need to let Su Luoyun swagger about selling formulas at will.

Prompted by Ding Pei’s timely reminder, Su Hongmeng came back to his senses and was on the verge of calling someone to administer household punishment — to beat Su Luoyun across the palms.

Nanny Tian’s heart lurched with anxiety. She felt the eldest young miss was pressing too hard, too fast. Under the Su family roof as she was, how could she push so aggressively?

But Su Luoyun simply lowered her gaze and said: “A blind woman like me — going out into the streets to sell things would be difficult. Fortunately I have already entrusted it to my uncle to handle on my behalf. He knows a wide range of people and will see to it for me.”

Su Hongmeng glared ferociously at his daughter, but his mind was turning over and over: he knew this stubborn girl well — most of the time she was manageable, but once her temper was roused, she feared nothing under heaven, and had a talent for making trouble. She had not a shred of her mother’s gentle compliance. Since she had said the formula was already with Hu Xuesong, she had clearly anticipated that things would come to a head between them.

If it were merely a formula for one scented balm, so be it — his Su family had no great need of it. But it was Princess Yuyang who had sent someone to request it…

This defiant wretch! It surely must have been her uncle who put her up to all this behind his back!

Just then, Luoyun added, with deceptive lightness: “Is Father truly so stingy? While you are still here, things are well enough — you will always look after me. But if the day comes when you are gone and I have no money of my own, and I truly become a blind old woman with neither father nor mother — in a household as grand as the Su family’s, where would there be any place for me…”

As she said this, the vacant eyes of Su Luoyun suddenly gathered with tears, and with a stifled sob she began to weep — the handkerchief she had taken out earlier finally finding its use.

Su Hongmeng had always been one to be moved by softness and unmoved by force. He had never once seen his eldest daughter cry before him in such an unguarded, unrestrained way.