Chapter 2

The Ye household had a sound upbringing to offer.

Father and Mother both came from distinguished scholarly families and were exceptionally kind. None of the sordid intrigues people imagined went on in our house. Father had four concubines and six children by them. If a child was being badly brought up, showed promise, or simply took Mother’s fancy, she brought them over to raise with the others.

Whatever I had growing up, my brothers and sisters received too, from clothing to their daily allowances.

Mother was Zhao’s model of a dignified household mistress: virtuous, well connected, honored with a court title, and respected by her husband. She had never considered the concubines imaginary rivals. She often told me, “A family that does good will leave blessings for its descendants.” I should look beyond petty concerns. The children of concubines bore the Ye family’s name as well.

There was only one exception: Ye Man.

Her birth mother was too unhinged.

She had exhausted everyone’s goodwill and patience.

Before coming to our residence, the concubine had been a singing girl in a brothel, known as Fanfan. Once, while Father was drinking with his colleagues, he saw someone making trouble for her and intervened.

That act landed him with a problem he could not shake off.

She drugged him and climbed into his bed. A gold hairpin he gave her casually became her treasured token of love. When she became pregnant, she came to force her way into the household, raving in front of Mother and insisting that she and Father were the ones truly in love.

Within a few months,

everyone in the house was tired of her.

Mother kindly sent nourishing tonics. She suspected poison, threw them away, and cooked for herself. When she gave birth at seven months, she blamed Mother. The baby was to be named Shuman, both characters chosen for their lovely meanings, but she stubbornly changed it and called her whatever she pleased. When my half sister was three, Mother offered to take her into the main gardens to raise her. Concubine Fan wailed and beat her chest, rolling about in an endless uproar, claiming that taking her child would be worse than killing her.

Did she really love her daughter that much?

Hardly. The girl was merely a means of competing for favor. Show Ye Man the slightest kindness, and Concubine Fan would latch onto you and drain you before letting go.

In time, Mother stopped bothering.

She assigned two matrons to teach the girl and sent their allowance every month. At least they would not lack food or clothing.

That was how Ye Man grew up.

She did not understand why everyone avoided her, or why her mother often beat her black and blue and cursed her for not being a son. She dared not mention her brothers and sisters; it only made Concubine Fan worse. She would hide at a distance and watch us play, a small, timid, humble creature who fled the instant she was discovered.

Even this substitution in marriage

had been Concubine Fan’s idea. Obsession and hatred churned in her eyes.

“That bitch turns her nose up at such a wonderful chance. Agree to it! I want you in the palace. Do whatever it takes to seduce the emperor. Become a high consort, bear him sons, and win all his favor. Then I’ll have an official title too, and stand on equal ground with that whore. Your father won’t have to keep his distance to protect me anymore.”

Her eyes shone. She gripped Ye Man’s arm so hard her nails drew blood. “You have to go. You must. I gave you your life. From now on, I’ll teach you how to dress and make yourself pleasing to men.”

…

At the thought, I eased my grip on the arm I was helping Ye Man up by.

Poor girl. Beneath her clothes, her skin was covered in wounds, yet she swallowed the pain. It was so familiar she had grown numb to it. That was no good.

I patted her shoulder.

“Manman, don’t be afraid.”

“Your big sister won’t let you go. Nor will I let our family risk deceiving the emperor. This is my trial. No one needs to face it for me. I’ll face it myself.”

Mother had spent years teaching me how to manage a household. I had punished vicious servants and traveled to the Western Regions. I was already better equipped than she was to survive danger.

I went to my parents and tucked my arms through theirs.

“Father, Mother. I know you couldn’t bear for me to suffer after our eldest sister was sent beyond the frontier to marry all those years ago. But Manman is my sister. What sort of world would it be if the younger one had to shield the elder?”

Then I coaxed them. “Besides, Father is a senior minister, and Mother has a title from the court. With you supporting me outside the palace, I’ll feel safe. I won’t be afraid of anything.”