Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The wedding had been rushed through. There was no auspicious date, no bridal sedan, and no groom to greet me.

After taking care of the last odds and ends at home, I tucked the remaining five taels of silver into my clothes and entered Qin Mansion alone through the side gate.

To show my gratitude for Young Madam’s appreciation of me, I even picked a handful of wild chrysanthemums along the way.

Young Madam held the flowers and smiled rather stiffly.

“Miss Zhou, I heard you even beat your stepmother at home?”

I had meant to say, “Nothing of the sort.” Instead, my tongue slipped, and what came out was, “Only because it was convenient.”

Young Madam’s hand froze around mine on the spot.

For the sake of those fifty taels, I hurried to explain. “Young Madam, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not the sort of person who refuses to listen to reason.”

She let out a breath. “That’s good.”

I did not dare tell her that I usually reasoned with people while hitting them.

Everyone in Yunzhou City knew that I, Zhou Maoyun, was beautiful.

But I was even more famous for being vicious and ruthless.

I had always thought I would never marry in this lifetime.

After all, my family’s reputation had long since rotted through.

A father who drank himself senseless, a younger brother who gambled, a stepmother who ran a brothel, and me, the shrew.

Whenever people in Yunzhou City mentioned my family, they jokingly called us the House of Five Poisons.

If my younger brother had not injured someone and been thrown in jail, and if my stepmother had not been planning to sell me to a brothel,

I would never have sold myself as a concubine for fifty taels of silver.

I was still wearing the same clothes from that morning, the cuffs torn to shreds from the fight.

Seeing how down on my luck I looked, Young Madam’s eyes filled with a trace of pity, and she immediately said she would have someone make clothes for me.

While saying, “Oh, no, that wouldn’t do, that wouldn’t do,” I swiftly rattled off my measurements.

She looked caught between laughter and tears, and only said the household had a tailor who would measure me properly later.

Fine, then.

Rich families really were different. Even their clothes were custom-made.

Unlike me. I would have been satisfied with anything ready-made.

The old maid arrived late, dawdling into the courtyard only when it was almost mealtime.

The first thing she did upon entering was not to pay her respects.

Instead, she arched her brows and looked me up and down.

“Tsk. That face is far too seductive. Isn’t Eldest Young Madam afraid this little vixen will steal Eldest Young Master’s soul away?”

“With those skinny little arms and legs, I doubt she’s any good for bearing children.”

“If you’re going to find a concubine, you ought to find someone honest and well-behaved.”

Since the old maid called her Eldest Young Madam, I guessed there was also a Second Branch in the mansion.

Young Madam’s expression turned a little ugly, but she merely smiled.

Young Madam truly was easy to talk to. Unlike me. By then, my fists were already starting to itch.

But I reminded myself firmly that I had come here to be a concubine.

I suppressed my displeasure, lowered my head, and let the old maid scrutinize me.

Seeing that neither of us spoke, she seemed to grow even more smug.

“Eldest Young Madam, why not send this girl away? I have a niece on my mother’s side. She’s round and full, blessed-looking, and when it comes to serving people, she knows exactly what she’s doing.”

Her gaze swept over Young Madam’s stomach.

“She’s fertile, too. She’s already had three children before. You won’t need to worry about the family line in the future.”

“How about I bring her to the mansion tomorrow for you to have a look?”

I understood then. This insolent servant did not take Young Madam seriously at all.

And she wanted to snatch away my fifty taels of silver.

That would not do. Once silver entered my pocket, there was no reason it should ever come back out.

I turned and hooked my arm through Young Madam’s, then asked with a beaming smile, “Young Madam, who is this? Such an impressive bearing. She doesn’t look like a servant of the household at all. Why, she looks more like your mother-in-law!”

As soon as I said that, the old maid’s expression darkened.

She forced a smile. “Oh, how could that be? I was only saying a word or two. Let’s take the measurements now. This old woman is busy.”

I chimed in, “I can tell. Those who know better would say you’re busy. Those who don’t would say you have no sense of propriety and don’t even know to bow when you see your mistress!”

The old maid shot me a glare, then turned and gave Young Madam a perfunctory curtsy.

After that, she made a few random gestures around my body, then gave a strange, sarcastic snort. “She’s only a concubine, after all.”

With that, she twisted around and left.

Her words did remind me of something.

What proper wife could tolerate such a sharp-tongued concubine?

I looked at Young Madam, trying my best to appear sweet and obedient.

But she pulled me down to sit and began telling me about the household.

Her husband was the eldest son of the prefectural magistrate’s family, a status that counted as quite respectable in Yunzhou City.

Yet there was not the slightest joy on her face. She only said her husband was not favored by his mother.

The elders in the family all favored the youngest son more.

Then she introduced herself. She was the third daughter in her family, with the given name Huining, and her maiden family was a well-known wealthy household in the city.

A marriage between an official family and a merchant family meant she was bound to be looked down upon.

No wonder the maids and old women in this courtyard all looked at people down their noses.

But none of that had anything to do with me.

I carefully flattered her, saying things like this was a match made in heaven and that she was blessed.

She looked at me for a long while, then suddenly said, “Miss Zhou, what I value about you is your straightforward nature. You may be brave and be yourself.”

Me: ?

Be brave and be myself?

I rolled up my sleeves and headed for the door. Young Madam called after me and asked what I was doing.

I said, “I’ve been sick of that old hag for ages…”