chapter 1

Li Jingzhou clearly had not understood a word I said. He even waved his folding fan a little more cheerfully.

A mocking smile tugged at his lips. “Are you out of your mind, my lady? You want me, the heir of the Jing’an Earl, to sing opera for Prince Qi—to take up a lowly trade?”

The beauties behind him covered their mouths and giggled, contempt glinting in their eyes.

The one in green was called Lü Qi. She stepped forward clutching her pipa, and said in a silky voice, “Young Madam, these hands of mine are meant to wait on the heir while he studies. If I were to go out and perform at a music house, wouldn’t that shame the Earl’s name?”

I said nothing. I simply watched them quietly.

I am actually a fairly good-tempered person. My one sore spot is losing money.

This marriage had cost my father a small fortune to arrange. My dowry alone had filled half the Jing’an Earl Manor’s deficits.

I had thought—buy myself the title of an earl’s consort, make doing business a little easier, and put up with a few idlers around the house.

But last night I went through the ledgers.

Good grief. This wasn’t a houseful of idlers. This was a den of money-devouring beasts.

Lü Qi’s pipa was made of rosewood and needed to be oiled with a special balm every single month.

The one in red, Hong Xiu, refused to wear anything but the finest brocade, and every dance wore out a pair of pearl-studded shoes.

And the poet—her scrap paper alone had to be specially purchased from Suzhou.

As for Li Jingzhou himself, he spent money like water. Flower-viewing banquets one day, tea-tasting parties the next. His purse was emptier than his face, and everything went on credit.

I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath.

“Someone, come.”

The thirty hulking guards I had brought from my natal family stepped forward in unison, their cudgels pounding the ground like thunder.

The laughter in the courtyard died on the spot.

Li Jingzhou was so startled his fan slipped from his fingers. “Shen Ruyi, what do you think you’re doing? Are you staging a revolt?”

I picked up the fan. What a pity—the painted face was by a master’s hand, worth a good fifty taels.

“You jest, my lord. Since I’ve married into the Earl’s manor, it’s only natural that I look after the family’s livelihood.”

I smiled pleasantly and handed the fan to the steward behind me. “Into the storehouse. Log it.”

Then I turned and pointed at the flock of ladies whose faces had gone pale.

“Starting today, this household keeps no idlers. My Shen family doesn’t, and the Jing’an Earl Manor certainly can’t afford to.”

“Lü Qi, was it?”

“I’ve already arranged things with Tianyin Pavilion, the finest music house in the capital. Base pay of two taels, and we split the tips thirty-seventy—you get seventy. After all, I’m not some black-hearted boss.”

Lü Qi’s eyes flew wide open, but before she could even cry, two matrons hoisted her up.

“Hong Xiu. The Splendid Brocade Shop south of the city needs a fitting model with a good figure. I think you’re perfect. A little tiring, but steady work.”

Hong Xiu was about to swoon, so I threw a cup of cold tea right in her face to sober her up.

That left the poet. I’d forgotten her name. She was clutching her chest, looking as if a puff of wind would carry her off.

“You can write, so you’ll copy ledgers in the accounting office. Every wrong character costs you ten wen.”

With the confidantes taken care of, I finally turned my attention back to Li Jingzhou.

He was trying to edge backward, but his escape route was already sealed.

“Ruyi…”

He swallowed hard and tried to argue. “Your husband is a scholar.”

“A scholar?”

I snorted. “You’ve failed the child-scholar exam three times. Whatever learning you had went straight to the dogs!”

Li Jingzhou’s face flushed crimson. “Well, you can’t send me out to perform! A gentleman would rather die than be humiliated!”

I nodded in understanding. “If my lord insists on keeping his dignity…”

“Then go ahead and repay the three thousand taels you owe the Drunken Immortal Tavern from last month, plus the thousand taels you put on credit at Linglang Pavilion for Miss Hong Xiu’s hair ornaments.”

I pulled a thick stack of IOUs from my sleeve and waved them under his nose.

“The creditors say that if the money isn’t paid by today, they’ll take it to the Shuntian Prefectural Court. And once word gets out that the heir refuses to repay his debts, I imagine that would be even more exciting than singing for Prince Qi.”

Li Jingzhou’s face went white. As the heir of an earl, he valued his face above all.

“I… I don’t even know how to sing!” he mumbled, finally softening.

I looked him up and down. I had to admit, my father had good taste.

Li Jingzhou might be slow-witted, but his looks were first-rate.

A face like polished jade, eyes like peach blossoms—and that innate air of decadent nobility was practically tailor-made for Prince Qi, who was a sucker for a pretty face.

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t sing,”

I said, stepping over to straighten his collar. “Prince Qi has been obsessed with *Farewell My Concubine* lately. He’s looking for a beautiful Yu Ji.”

“All His Lordship has to do is stand there and cry a few pretty tears. One night’s appearance fee would pay off half a month of your drinking debts.”

Li Jingzhou still tried to struggle, so I leaned in and whispered, “Prince Qi is generous with his money. If you make him happy, he might even reward you with a few paintings by old masters—and aren’t those your favorite?”

In the next second, his eyes lit up. Shamelessly.