Chapter 1

The man I pointed to was Xue Shao, a distant relative staying with the Xie family.

“Distant” hardly covered it. His great-aunt was the old Marquis Xie’s favored concubine. They scarcely counted as relatives at all.

But the old lady had borne the Xie family two sons and a daughter. She had earned some consideration, so the old marquis had ordered that Xue Shao be allowed to stay.

Xue Shao lived a miserable life in the Marquis of Jing’an’s household.

To the sons and daughters of great families, a concubine’s relative was little better than a servant. The young masters mocked him regularly, and even influential household servants dared to make his life difficult.

My father might hold only a seventh-rank office, but the Jiang family was unquestionably one of Yizhou’s great clans.

If marrying Xie Qingwei meant marrying up, then marrying Xue Shao meant stooping to a poor family indeed.

Even Xie Qingwei stared.

His calm, assured expression faltered. He followed my pointing finger and looked for a long time, but found no other young man of the Xie family nearby.

“…Xue Shao?”

“Yes.”

I lowered my hand and assumed a shy, bashful look. “You may not know this, Master Xie, but ever since I saw Master Xue at last year’s flower-viewing banquet, I have been unable to forget him.”

“He wasn’t at the flower-viewing banquet.”

My smile did not change. “Then it was the polo match, or the Lantern Festival, or the marchioness’s birthday banquet. In any case, I haven’t forgotten him.”

Xie Qingwei’s gaze darkened.

“You don’t want to marry me.”

I lowered my eyes meekly. “Zhiyu knows her charms are modest. I would not dare aspire to someone of your standing.”

Xie Qingwei watched me for a while, then gave a cold laugh.

He was, after all, a young man of a great family. He could not bring himself to say something vicious in public, nor could he easily confront me about my former attentions.

I was a clever, cautious woman.

All I had ever done was cast him meaningful glances.

I had left neither witnesses nor evidence.

“Very well. Since Miss Jiang wishes it, of course I must help her achieve happiness. I shall inform my mother at once, so that she can approach the Jiang family on Xue Shao’s behalf.”

He fixed his eyes on me. His customary composure seemed to have deserted him as he enunciated each word.

“I only hope you won’t regret it.”

Well.

I did regret it a little.

I regretted not getting out sooner.

Why couldn’t those visions of the future have arrived a few days earlier? They had to appear after I accepted the invitation and came to Jianfu Temple. Everyone knew this gathering was intended to find wives for the Xie sons.

If I couldn’t point to someone I loved here, I would offend Xie Qingwei’s mother, the Princess Royal of Anning.

She was no good-tempered woman. One had only to look at the son she had raised: outwardly gracious and noble, inwardly petty, incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, and ready to mistreat his wife for his concubine.

Of course, I had offended her anyway.

But to people of her station, my marrying beneath me to Xue Shao, that half-servant, was already an enormous punishment.

I hadn’t even reached home.

The news that the princess would ask the Jiang family for my hand on Xue Shao’s behalf had spread throughout Shengdu.

When I walked in, I found Father, Mother, and my elder brother clinging to one another and crying.

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes.

Look at them. An entire family of useless people!

If I didn’t pull myself together and make an advantageous marriage, Uncle’s family would tear those three apart and devour them!

I had just managed to swallow the urge to curse and was about to enter when a slender figure came running up.

“Ha! Jiang Zhiyu! I heard! You failed to marry up, and now you have to marry Xue Shao, that half-servant!”

Jiang Xianyu clapped her hands in delight.

“You should have listened to me ages ago and taken the civil service examinations with me. Then—”

Without so much as looking at her, I frowned at the servants hurrying after her.

“Are you all dead? You can’t even keep watch over one person!”

The serving women apologized and, with practiced ease, covered Jiang Xianyu’s mouth with a handkerchief and dragged her away.

Watching her muffled protests and her attempts to kick me only made me more irritated.

Someone had taken possession of my younger sister Jiang Xianyu.

Six months ago, she had woken up a different person. Every other word was freedom or equality. She wanted to make something of herself, break off her engagement, disguise herself as a man to take the examinations, become a female official, and serve a female emperor.

Mother fainted on the spot. Ever since the empress died and power returned to the Li family, the court had issued manuals of female virtue and conduct to regulate women’s words and actions. A female official? Merely boasting of that ambition could cost you your head!

Mother was unconscious. Father could only ask what we should do. My brother was the most useful member of the family: he at least knew to shut the door before looking at me in terror.

“Zhiyu, what are we going to do?”

I stared at Jiang Xianyu, biting my lip almost hard enough to break the skin before forcing out the words. “What else can we do? She’s mad! Lock her in her room and guard her day and night. No one is to approach her except maids and serving women bound to us for life!”

And so I had kept Jiang Xianyu locked up for six months.

In the visions…I hadn’t learned what became of her, or of Father, Mother, and my brother. Had my own sister ever returned?

I pushed those thoughts aside, entered the hall, and sat in the principal seat.

One glance frightened all three of them into stopping their tears.

They nudged one another until Mother finally stepped forward. “Zhiyu, darling, do…do you really want to marry Xue Shao?”

I nodded.

“Heavens!” My brother started crying again. “My beautiful, accomplished, brilliant sister has to marry a…a…”

He could not bring himself to utter an insult like “half-servant.”

But he thought Xue Shao nowhere near good enough for me.

His tears fell in great drops.

Mother immediately began wiping her eyes too.

Father, his own tears still wet on his face, tried to look brave. “Never mind. I’ll go to the palace and petition His Majesty at once…”

“Will His Majesty see you?”

A seventh-rank official like Father might see the emperor only a few times in a year.

“Enough. Stop crying.”

I smiled. “Xue Shao may be trapped in the shallows for now, but his day is coming.”