Hu Shi had been emboldened by her own pregnant belly, and it was in a moment of heated anger that she had said those words.

Yet she never could have imagined that Xie Shi, who was equally heavy with child, would actually raise her hand and strike her.

She dared not strike back, and could only dodge while calling out for her husband to save her.

But that cry for help only made things worse — at the word “husband,” Xie Youran’s fury ignited. She demanded to know which man here was her “husband.” Who did this concubine think she was, carrying on as though she were the first wife?

In the scuffle, Hu Shi missed a step and was shoved down the stairs by Xie Youran.

The fall was severe. Hu Shi felt an unbearable pain in her abdomen, and the fright sent Zhao Shi scrambling to summon a physician. But before the physician even arrived, there was blood — and the poor child she carried was gone just like that.

When the physician told Zhao Shi it had been a fully formed baby boy, she wept with outrage — her Zhou family’s firstborn grandson, taken away by that vicious woman.

Zhou Sui’an was equally furious. He raised his hand and slapped Xie Shi across the face, then grabbed her and marched toward the general’s residence to demand justice, crying out which family’s legitimate wife had ever so brazenly conspired to harm a concubine carrying a child!

For a time the whole household was in utter uproar, and it wasn’t until Xie Youran clutched her own belly and cried out in pain that the chaos finally subsided.

Under ordinary circumstances, Hu Shi would have had no choice but to swallow this bitter grievance. But as luck would have it, just two days later, Hu Shi’s parents traveled all the way from their distant home to visit their daughter in the capital — only to find her lying wan and listless on her sickbed, her face the color of wax.

When they heard the full account and understood what kind of life their daughter had been living in the Zhou household, Hu Shi’s father — a schoolteacher — was instantly enraged.

Right then and there he threatened to write a formal complaint to the magistrate, accusing the Zhou family of cruelly mistreating a concubine! He also declared he would write a public notice and post it at the very gates of the Ministry of Finance!

It was no wonder the old couple was furious. When the matchmaker had spoken of the Zhou family, she had painted them as nothing but wonderful. And Zhao Shi herself had come bearing gifts of silver and betrothal offerings, swearing on her life that any child her daughter bore upon entering the household would be considered a legitimate heir to the Zhou family’s estate.

They had thought such terms were rare to come by, and besides, they needed money to scrape together a bride price for their son — and so they had suffered the indignity of agreeing to this arrangement for their daughter’s sake.

The Hu family may have been poor, but they would not stand by while their daughter was treated this way.

With all this causing such a scene, Zhou Sui’an was the first to crack. Zhao Shi, for the sake of her son’s official prospects, wanted to smooth the matter over quietly. In the end it was Xie Youran, who was clearly in the wrong, who went to her mother and produced a large sum of silver to compensate the Hu family — and only then was the lawsuit put to rest.

But Hu Shi no longer wished to endure the misery of the Zhou household, and she made ready to leave with her parents.

Her father intended to arrange another match for her. Once she had recovered her strength, she would remarry.

This time, even if she married a widower or a farmer, she would not stay another day in this paper-thin façade of a household to be humiliated!

When Hu Shi was leaving, she happened to run into Chu Linlang, and the two shared a moment of heartfelt emotion and tears. In the end, Hu Shi said: “Chu Niangzi, you are a person of great fortune. Heaven took pity on you and let you escape from the Zhou family!”

Chu Linlang heard this and smiled with quiet resignation. She could only offer a few words of comfort in return: “You too are a person of good fortune. Your days ahead will be better…”

With that, Hu Shi climbed into the donkey cart and, together with her parents, departed from Jicui Lane.

Chu Linlang let out a soft sigh and turned to walk toward the lane next door.

Xie Youran’s maid had just happened to see the two of them talking. Not only had she hidden behind the door to eavesdrop, she had quietly followed Chu Linlang for a while afterward — and only after watching Chu Linlang enter the gate of the tutor’s home did she turn back and report to Xie Youran that Chu Linlang had gone into the home of that bearded Tutor Liao in the neighboring lane.

Xie Youran was in remarkably good spirits today!

Although she had earlier gotten into a terrible row with Zhou Sui’an and had paid Hu Shi a substantial sum of silver, she had ultimately driven out a thorn in her side — and no longer had to worry about the child in her belly being ranked beneath some concubine’s son.

When she thought of it that way, spending the silver was simply buying herself some peace and quiet.

As for children — if it was a daughter, she would simply keep trying. She was not like that Chu Linlang, barren and unable to produce a child. She would certainly bear a son to carry on the Zhou family line.

She was in this cheerful frame of mind when she heard that Chu Linlang had gone to Tutor Liao’s home in the neighboring lane.

Xie Youran let out a cold laugh: “And here I thought she had such refined taste! First she tried to seduce her employer, Lord Situ, and when that failed she turned around and started flirting shamelessly with a tutor at the women’s academy! A cast-off wife, scheming and scraping by, hunting for men everywhere she turns! Though I suppose an old man with a great big beard is easier to get her claws into — the only question is whether that tutor would even want a hen that can’t lay eggs! A tutor and a female student… truly shameless!”

Having said all this, Xie Youran happily went about tidying and adorning herself — her mother was taking her to a tea banquet shortly.

Had there been more time, she would have loved to block that tutor’s door and give that Chu woman — who went around seducing men left and right — a thorough humiliation to her face!

But she also didn’t want to tip her hand too early. It would be best to wait until the affair was at its most heated, then let Zhou Sui’an see for himself what shameful thing his former wife — whom he seemed to think could ascend to the heavens — was getting up to!

Meanwhile, as for that barren hen paying a visit to Tutor Liao: she knocked for quite some time, and for a long while no one came to open the door.

Just as Chu Linlang was wondering whether the tutor might be out, the door finally swung open.

Chu Linlang looked up and couldn’t help drawing a breath.

She didn’t know if it was because he hadn’t had to teach classes lately, but the tutor seemed to have been… flourishing.

Where before his hair had been somewhat casual and disheveled, occasionally tilting to one side, it now sat properly upright at the very center of his head, the comb’s teeth marks still freshly visible. And his once-wild beard was not merely combed into order — it appeared to have been trimmed and shaped as well, smooth and lustrous, like a round, inverted little mountain.

Moreover… Tutor Liao seemed to be in no shortage of fine clothing. The robe he wore, its sash hastily tied in the wrong order, was of superior quality in both color and cut.

It seemed the tutor had been in the middle of changing clothes when he heard the knocking and had quickly dressed before coming to the door.

Looking at this now-dashing and tidily put-together tutor, Chu Linlang hesitantly asked: “Tutor, are you… going out for drinks?”

Liao Jingxuan glanced past her shoulder and replied with a composed smile: “Drinks? The physician has me on a restricted diet these days — I can’t even eat mutton or other heating foods.”

As he spoke, Liao Jingxuan remained standing in the doorway, making no move to invite her in.

But Chu Linlang had come today to deliver clothing. Since she hadn’t known his measurements, she had guessed from his build — judging that he was only slightly shorter than Situ Sheng — and had made two garments as a trial. Whether they fit properly would require the tutor to try them on, so she had to come in person.

So she asked without much ceremony: “Tutor, are you not going to invite me in to sit?”

At that, Liao Jingxuan glanced back into the house, then, as if suddenly remembering himself, opened the door and stepped aside to let her in.

When Chu Linlang sat down in the small parlor, she noticed that the table was lined with several boxes of expensive tonics.

She couldn’t resist teasing: “Tutor, you have a distinguished guest paying you a visit? Whoever it is, they’re quite generous!”

Liao Jingxuan’s neatly groomed beard gave a little twitch as he let out a dry laugh: “A colleague came by to check on my injury and brought along some tonics…”

Chu Linlang didn’t even need to think twice to sense that Tutor Liao was lying.

He had previously worked at the Ministry of Works and had since taken on additional duties at the academy — both of them clean and thankless positions, utterly without profit or reward. He had always been poor as a church mouse.

What rich colleague from a Ministry of Works office would send ginseng worth fifty taels of silver a root?

And what’s more, this colleague appeared to have also gifted the tutor a set of finely made garments.

But these were the tutor’s private affairs, and Chu Linlang naturally had no intention of piercing the veil of his secrets. She simply smiled and explained that she had come on Lord Situ’s behalf to deliver a few garments she had made for him — the fabric wasn’t of the most refined quality, but she hoped he would accept them with good grace.

While they were talking, Chu Linlang turned her head idly to one side — and in a single glance caught sight of a pair of embroidered shoes flashing quickly past the curtain of the inner room next door.

There was someone in there. And it was a woman.

Chu Linlang drew in a silent breath. She suddenly felt as though she were sitting on three catties of iron nails, so uncomfortable with embarrassment she could barely stay in her seat.

In a flash of understanding she realized — she had unwittingly become the most ill-timed of visitors, intruding upon the tutor’s private time with a lady guest.

Once she understood the situation, of course she had to take her cue and make her departure quickly.

But as Chu Linlang was leaving, she couldn’t help a flicker of curiosity — just who was this guest who had come to check on his injury?

Could it be that before long she might be gaining a teacher’s wife?

This future teacher’s wife had nimble hands indeed — she had styled the tutor’s hair so well, and even groomed his beard. If they married soon, their fellow student Miss Tao wouldn’t have to suffer the affront to her eyes of a slovenly tutor every class session…

Of course, she also had to play her part as someone with good sense. Since this woman had stayed out of sight rather than meet her, it meant the matter had not yet been made public. She would simply wait for whenever Tutor Liao chose to announce the joyful news.

But curiosity is a very human thing, and Chu Linlang was genuinely eager to catch a glimpse of this future teacher’s wife sooner rather than later.

After leaving the lane, she pulled Xia He along and ducked around a street corner to watch.

Before long, she saw two women emerge in hurried steps — both wrapped in black hooded cloaks from head to foot, covered so completely that not a feature was visible.

The two appeared to be mistress and maid; one supported the other as they stepped into a plain blue carriage hired from a carriage house and departed in great haste.

Though she couldn’t make out any faces, when she thought of the clothing she had delivered to the tutor, and the tonics — none of it had the air of an ordinary household.

Chu Linlang felt certain that this woman was no one from a humble background.

But since she hadn’t been able to tell anything definitive, she had no intention of digging further or prying into the tutor’s secrets.

—

A day later, when Miss Tao invited Chu Linlang to the Duke’s residence to admire the flowers, the two chatted for a while before Tao Yashu asked, with an air of casual indifference: “I haven’t been to the academy in some time — I wonder, has Tutor Liao’s injury improved?”

Chu Linlang thought of yesterday’s awkward visit and gave a small sigh. “He seems to be doing all right. He’ll be returning to the Ministry of Works in a day or two. After this, he likely won’t be able to come teach at the academy anymore.”

Tao Yashu refilled Chu Linlang’s teacup and asked, as if it were nothing: “How do you know? Did you go to check on the tutor?”

Chu Linlang nodded. Tao Yashu couldn’t help lifting her gaze with a certain meaningful look, and she asked Chu Linlang, in rather roundabout terms, why she had gone to visit Tutor Liao.

Chu Linlang laughed and widened her eyes: “Why are you asking such a strange question? I only went on behalf of my former employer, Lord Situ, to help look after someone who was injured. He is my tutor — isn’t it what a student ought to do, to lend a hand to one’s teacher? Besides, the tutor may well already have someone dear to his heart, so don’t go saying anything careless!”

Tao Yashu’s expression shifted slightly with surprise. “The tutor is going to marry? …Which family’s daughter?”

Chu Linlang threw up her hands: “How would I know? I didn’t see the person’s face…”

Seeing that Tao Yashu was about to press further, she could only wave her off: “Please stop asking. Never mind that I didn’t see anything — even if I had, I couldn’t go around spreading it and ruining someone’s reputation!”

Tao Yashu relaxed into a smile and asked no more. But as a gesture of goodwill in return, she shared something with Chu Linlang in kind.

It was this: the Empress Dowager might be summoning Chu Linlang into the palace.

Chu Linlang was startled to hear it and quickly asked what on earth this was about.

Because of the incident at the oasis — the dangerous ordeal they had survived — Yixiu had taken her own life to preserve her honor.

Word had it that after his daughter’s death, Yun, the National Uncle, seemed to have finally found his backbone. He had been going to the Court of Judicial Review day after day, causing a scene and demanding that the chief justice investigate the case of the river bandits to the very last detail!

At such a sensitive juncture, why would the Empress Dowager wish to see an obscure little merchant woman like her?

Tao Yashu reassured her: “The Empress Dowager heard someone recount that harrowing ordeal at the oasis — she’s been hearing the tale told over and over, embellished each time. She was told that you were the first to sense the danger and urged everyone to take refuge on the oasis, and so she wishes to see this person for herself.”

An elderly noblewoman spending her years in comfortable retirement deep in the inner palace, thoroughly bored in her daily life, would often summon folk performers and street entertainers to come inside the palace walls for amusement.

The Empress Dowager’s wish to see Chu Linlang was, in all likelihood, born of nothing more than simple curiosity.

She had heard from various noblewomen about how Chu Linlang had remained calm in the face of danger and led the rescue of everyone present, and had mentioned in passing to Hua Shi that she would like to have this Chu Niangzi brought before her sometime when the opportunity arose.

Tao Yashu and her mother had both been there as companions when the Empress Dowager said this, and had heard it firsthand — so she had come to give Chu Linlang advance notice, so that she could be prepared and know how to conduct herself.

The Empress Dowager was, by all accounts, a fairly gentle and easygoing person. As long as Chu Linlang prepared carefully and kept herself composed, there shouldn’t be any serious mishaps.

Back when Chu Linlang had been married to Zhou Sui’an, she had occasionally allowed herself the idle dream of becoming a titled lady — but she had always known, more or less, that such a dream was beyond her reach.

She had never, in her wildest imaginings, thought that at this point in her life, and at her current station, she might actually have occasion to enter the palace and be received by the Empress Dowager.

But she knew nothing of palace etiquette. In such a short time, where on earth was she supposed to find a reliable matron who could teach her court protocol?

Tao Yashu broke into a gentle smile: “With me here, what do you need a court etiquette matron for?”

And with that, she handed Chu Linlang a detailed written guide she had clearly prepared in advance. Then, step by step, she taught Chu Linlang the ritual of kowtowing and paying obeisance as required upon entering the palace.

Beneath the pavilion among the flowering terrace, two young women laughed and chatted as one performed the bow and the other made corrections — a scene of easy, radiant charm.

With such a fine teacher to guide her, Chu Linlang naturally made swift progress.

Once she had grasped the essentials, she smiled and thanked Tao Yashu warmly for her guidance, and after chatting a little while longer, she took her leave of the Duke’s residence.

As Tao Yashu walked with her toward the front gates of the Duke’s residence, they passed by the lakeside, where Tao Yashu’s mother and the Fourth Aunt of the Tao family were leisurely feeding the fish and chatting by the water’s edge.

Beside the Fourth Aunt stood the wife of General Xie Sheng — Su Shi — along with several other wives, all talking and laughing with easy familiarity, clearly on very close terms.

It had long been said that Su Shi and Tao Huiru were intimate friends from their girlhood days, and seeing them now, it was clear that was no exaggeration.

Yet when Su Shi caught sight of Chu Linlang appearing at the Duke’s residence, her expression visibly stiffened for just a moment.

After Chu Linlang had passed by and left, Su Shi turned her head and asked in low astonishment: “She… what is she doing at the Duke’s residence?”

Tao Huiru smiled pleasantly: “She is a classmate of my niece Yashu’s from the women’s academy. She most likely came to discuss their studies.”

Su Shi furrowed her brow: “With her background… isn’t it unsuitable for Miss Tao to associate with her so closely?”

Hearing this, Tao Huiru shifted her gaze toward her sister-in-law.

Tao Yashu’s mother, Wu Shi, shook her head helplessly: “My daughter has always had a stubborn streak. She was already feeling somewhat downcast before because she couldn’t attend the women’s academy. Now that she’s soon to enter the palace, I wanted her to have a chance to see some of her close classmates, so naturally I agreed to it. This Chu Niangzi may not come from a distinguished background, but she is a decent person, and Madam Hua thinks highly of her — and besides, the Empress Dowager has even summoned her into the palace!”

At that, Wu Shi caught herself and fell silent, suddenly recalling a complication — this Chu Niangzi, hadn’t she been the former wife of the Xie family’s younger son-in-law?

Realizing this, Wu Shi hastily stopped speaking. Without looking at Su Shi, she turned and struck up a cheerful conversation with the other wives, drifting away to another part of the garden.

After all, her daughter’s social circle was none of the Xie family’s concern, and the Xie family’s entanglements and grievances had nothing to do with the Tao family.

As for Su Shi — hearing all this, she felt a quiet, inward jolt of surprise, and her expression grew somewhat sullen and displeased.

People dread comparison. Her own daughter had stolen away Chu Linlang’s marriage — yet that marriage had turned out to be far from satisfying. The recent quarrel with the concubine, which had led to Hu Shi’s miscarriage, had cost them a great sum of silver and had damaged her daughter’s reputation once again, stirring up fresh gossip and scandal. Her elder daughter had even come to her to complain, asking whether something couldn’t be done to keep the younger one in line and stop her from bringing further shame upon the Xie family.

And yet, by comparison — this Chu Linlang, a merchant’s illegitimate daughter from out of town, with no family connections or roots here — how had she, after being cast off, managed to build such a respectable life for herself in the capital? Not only had she enrolled in the women’s academy and cultivated friendships with a circle of noblewomen, but now she was even to appear before the Empress Dowager in person.

What kind of inexplicable wonder was this? Su Shi had begun to seriously wonder whether it was Zhou Sui’an whose fate was inauspicious — perhaps he was the sort who brought misfortune to his wives!

When Su Shi was taking her leave of Tao Huiru, the latter asked, in a tone of seemingly passing interest: “This Chu Niangzi — she appears to be the former wife of your son-in-law. Yashu has insisted on keeping up this friendship with her, and I wonder what sort of character this Chu Niangzi truly is?”

Under ordinary circumstances, Su Shi would not go around speaking ill of her son-in-law’s former wife to others — but to her closest friend of many years, she could not help but vent her grievances.

“Nothing but a shrewish, strong-willed woman with a deep grudge and a vengeful heart — otherwise how could my son-in-law have found her impossible to live with? And what’s more…”

Here Su Shi hesitated slightly, but her composure had slipped, and she no longer wanted to see this Chu woman appearing at the Duke’s residence in the future — so she added offhandedly: “This woman has a reputation for being rather loose and indiscreet in her conduct. If you’re able to say a word to Miss Tao, it would be best for her to keep her distance!”

Tao Huiru showed an expression of surprise and leaned in to say quietly: “Surely not — from what I can see, she carries herself with dignity. In what way has she been loose in her behavior?”

Su Shi had only just learned from her daughter that Chu Linlang had gone alone to visit the bachelor Tutor Liao. She told the story now with added embellishment and flourish.

Tao Huiru nodded along as she listened.

As a lay Buddhist nun — dressed in her plain robes that had turned away from the red dust of worldly life — with a gentle temperament and a talent for speaking of Buddhist teachings, many wives and ladies had grown close to her. They confided in her things they would not dare say to others, and she served as a kind of solace and relief. After all, her own marriage had been so unfortunate, and she had lived in such austere self-denial for so many years — in comparison with her, even the most unhappy of circumstances could produce a measure of comfort.

Such private confidences — and Tao Huiru, a lay nun who had supposedly left the world behind — heard more of them than anyone else…

Hearing Su Shi’s words, Tao Huiru responded with sighs and nods. But inwardly she thought: she had once harbored suspicions that Chu Linlang and Situ Sheng had something between them. If things were as Su Shi described, it seemed Chu Linlang had nothing of the sort going on with Situ Sheng after all.

For reasons she could not explain, whenever Tao Huiru thought of Situ Sheng, something inside her grew taut and unsettled — she had never been able to let go of this man.

But at this moment, there was someone else occupying her thoughts even more.

At that, she turned her gaze toward her niece Tao Yashu, who had just returned after seeing her friend off.

Tao Yashu, noticing that her Fourth Aunt was standing not far away, stopped, offered a graceful bow of greeting, and then turned and went back inside with her maids.

Although, just as they had agreed at the oasis inn, both aunt and niece had since left unspoken what had happened during that fall into the water — as if the whole matter had passed like water leaving no trace —

Yet Tao Huiru knew that deep within her niece’s heart, a knot had formed that could never be undone.

Just a couple of days ago, the Duke had wanted to select from among the capable members of the younger generation of grandsons and nephews, to send some of them to the Ministry of Personnel for practical training.

Tao Huiru had asked her elder brother to help put in a good word with their father on behalf of her son Tao Zan.

Her brother had agreed readily enough at the time — but afterward changed his tune, saying that Zan was still young, and that sending him to such a critical position would risk forcing growth before its time. He suggested there would be other opportunities, and he would recommend him then.

On the day she had spoken with her brother, she had distinctly seen Tao Yashu step out of her elder brother’s study just before their conversation.

When one harbors guilt, the mind grows paranoid — a bow’s reflection mistaken for a snake. Tao Huiru couldn’t help but suspect that her niece had somehow intervened and obstructed her son’s path to advancement.

And this was not even while she was Empress yet. If Tao Yashu one day entered the palace as Empress, how would she exact her revenge upon this aunt of hers?

At this thought, Tao Huiru’s gaze turned cold. She quietly ran her fingers over the string of prayer beads in her hand, then smiled at Su Shi and said: “I hear you are attending the Sixth Prince Consort’s tea gathering tomorrow, and that the Fourth Prince Consort’s wife and the others have been invited as well — might I also come along and join the fun?”

Su Shi laughed warmly and said she was most welcome, and in an instant the garden filled once more with cheerful voices and laughter — amid the lush and heady fragrance of flowers, something unknown continued to stir, like bees and butterflies taking flight in the hidden depths…

—

Two days passed, and sure enough, an imperial decree arrived from the palace — a summons for Chu Linlang to enter the palace for an audience.

Before entering the palace, Chu Linlang asked Situ Sheng whether this might be a trap. Should she feign illness and decline?

Situ Sheng thought for quite a long moment before he spoke slowly: “The Empress Dowager is getting on in years. She keeps a vegetarian diet and observes her Buddhist precepts, and is generally lenient toward those around her. If she wished to punish someone severely, she likely would not have agreed to see you in person. A decree of this kind is not easily refused — go with an easy heart, speak little and observe much, and there will be someone looking out for you.”

It seemed Situ Sheng had already made arrangements on her behalf within the palace. Chu Linlang finally relaxed.

But come to think of it, this made sense. An elderly matriarch spending her days in peaceful retirement within the palace walls — she simply wanted to see for herself the woman who had reportedly chopped at river bandits with a kitchen cleaver. Looking at her was no different, really, from watching a cat or a dog do tricks to pass the time.

As for the protocols of entering the palace — Tao Yashu had already gone over all of it with Chu Linlang. She only needed to follow the steps as she had been taught.

On the day of the audience, Chu Linlang deliberately set aside the brightly colored dresses she loved to wear — the kind that tended to assault the eye — and changed into a simple, understated long skirt before making her way to the gates of the Empress Dowager’s Heshuo Palace.

She was told that the Empress Dowager had today invited a venerable monk to recite sutras, and there was still a portion that had not yet been completed — and so Chu Linlang was asked to wait outside for the time being.

But just as Chu Linlang was waiting for the Empress Dowager’s summons, someone came to relay a message: Noble Consort Jing had heard that the Chu Niangzi who had bravely rescued those at Ronglin Women’s Academy had arrived, and wished to have her brought over for a look.

After all, whenever the Empress Dowager listened to sutras with a high monk, it always took well over an hour — this was a matter of common knowledge among the palace staff.

Hearing that Noble Consort Jing wished to see her, Chu Linlang felt her heart sink. She could not imagine why the most favored consort of the Great Jin’s imperial harem would have any leisure to spare on a woman like her.

After the eunuch finished delivering the message, he spoke in that toneless, expressionless way eunuchs had: “Noble Consort Jing requests your presence. Chu Linlang, please follow this servant.”

Chu Linlang looked to her left and right — no one had come forward to intervene.

She was no official’s wife, nor a distinguished guest whom the Empress Dowager held in high regard. To put it plainly — if something were to happen to her within Noble Consort Jing’s palace, anyone could easily brush it aside with a casual word or two before the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager might well not even remember that she had summoned a merchant woman this very day.

This Noble Consort Jing — her desire to see her was surely not out of any good intention.

In that catastrophe at the oasis, the number of deaths had not been large — but it had not been small either. And as ill luck would have it, Yixiu Junzhu was among them.

Chu Linlang’s instincts told her that Noble Consort Jing’s summons spelled far more danger than good.

Her mind spun at lightning speed, but outwardly she put on an expression of anxious deference and said: “But the Empress Dowager has summoned me — if I am not here when she calls, and she finds fault with me, what am I to do? Senior Eunuch, this is my first time entering the palace to see the Empress Dowager, and I truly dare not stray…”

The eunuch had assumed that escorting this merchant woman away would be the simplest of tasks. He had not anticipated that she would be so utterly unaware of what was good for her — a wooden-headed woman determined to kneel right here and wait it out to the bitter end.

The eunuch’s expression shifted as he said coldly: “Chu Linlang, it is your first time entering the palace, and yet you show no fear of Noble Consort Jing — what remarkable nerve you have!”