Chapter 5
Luo Jinyan had always been grateful to me and unfailingly humble in my presence.
Yet she should have been the legitimate daughter of the Liang family, living her entire life in comfort and luxury—not cast out among the streets, forced to worry about her next meal.
I took her hand and looked at the crescent-shaped birthmark on her arm.
She accompanied me into the carriage. We stopped outside the Liang residence and watched from a distance. Just then, Lady Liang emerged, her carriage magnificent, servants and maids clustering around her.
What I said next would change Luo Jinyan’s life forever.
“Do you know where we are?”
She looked at me in puzzlement and gave a little laugh. “The Liang family has flourished for generations. Seven members of the family once held marquisates at the same time. Of course I’ve heard of them. Someone as lowly as I am would simply never dare come near.”
“This is your home.”
She laughed softly, thinking I was joking.
“That richly dressed lady was the mistress of the Liang household. She is also your birth mother. The crescent-shaped mark on your arm is proof. The current legitimate son, Liang Zhiyan, occupies your place. You were exchanged after you were born. You can ask the mother you live with now to confirm all of it.”
She sat stunned. She would need time to absorb such news.
I took her back to the lane. She seemed dazed as she stepped down from the carriage, and stood outside the house for a long time without going in.
She was perceptive. The nearer she came to the truth, the more frightened she became.
After I returned home, the Liang family sent more gifts.
I ordered my maid to inventory them and put them in storage. One day, every last thing would be sent back.
When he came down from Xiangshan Temple, he placed a protective charm in my hand and told me he had prayed for it himself.
He knew perfectly well that illness was only my excuse. Instead of exposing it, he used it to play the repentant prodigal.
Knowing how much I disliked him, my mother began arranging for me to meet other prospective husbands.
One day it was a young general; the next, a minister’s son.
Our house grew lively with one small gathering after another.
My mother said the Fu family was an eminent clan, every bit the Liang family’s equal. It had produced imperial tutors and chancellors for generations, a house of scholarly distinction whose pupils were found throughout the realm. A daughter of the Fu family need not endure his mistreatment.
I had not expected him to slip away from the guests at the Countess of Changyuan’s flower-viewing banquet and corner me against a wall. Gripping my shoulders, he threatened me. “Fu Qining, haven’t I done enough? I’ve trampled my own pride to give you a way back, yet you insist on being too high and mighty to take it. What more do you want from me?”
I watched him lose control. He had not a tenth of the composure he possessed in my previous life. After only a few days, he could no longer keep up the act.
I broke free and flung off his hand. “Just because you’ve offered me a way back,” I said slowly, “must I take it?”
“When I broke our engagement and brought Lingyi home, weren’t you beside yourself? You gave me travel money because you wanted me to remember your kindness, didn’t you? Now I’ve come back. Don’t take this game of playing hard to get too far.”
“A prodigal’s return is worth nothing to me.” I slowed each word, letting the sentence fall between us.
He stared, the hand he had half raised suspended in midair. He could not understand how my devotion to him had vanished overnight.
After a long while, still holding himself rigid, he delivered his threat. “There aren’t many families who dare oppose the Liangs…”
I understood exactly what he meant.
As long as he refused to let me go, other families might not risk offending his by seeking a marriage alliance with mine.
He meant to keep me waiting indefinitely.