Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Qu Clan had once been a distinguished family of Shangjing. When the Hu-Jie swept south, great numbers of northern gentry fled to Chuzhou. Along the way, bandits picked them clean again and again until there was nothing left to squeeze from them.

If the main branch, with its deep coffers, could still barely preserve its dignity after settling in Chuzhou, then the lesser branches could hardly avoid withering and falling into ruin.

Had it not been for that, Qu Huang, a legitimate son of a branch family, would never have married me.

To cater to the tastes of the day, most men shaved their faces, powdered their skin, and cinched their waists to create an elegant, ethereal effect when their wide sleeves billowed as they walked. Qu Huang had been born outstandingly handsome, with a beauty of form and feature. When he spoke, his words were brocade and embroidery; when he sat or reclined, music was never far from his side.

Back in Shangjing, he had been praised as the “Crane of Cloud Mountain.”

For such a famed, graceful crane to fall into the hands of a woman from a lowly household, one only marginally better than a commoner, it was only natural that he would feel aggrieved.

I still remembered how he had stood in the center of that dilapidated courtyard, like pearl and jade among broken tiles.

Now, three years had passed, and the greatest change was merely that the worn, wide-sleeved robe was gone, replaced by an opulent snow-white crane-feather cloak.

He was still the same man, slender and handsome.

His bearing was still the same, refined and otherworldly.

It seemed these three years of maneuvering in the north had yielded him considerable gains.

At this moment, holding the divorce letter in my hand, I passed through the winding stone corridor, past rippling water and flowering branches. Ahead stood the husband I had never once been close to.

He stood on the stone steps. His gaze swept over my hands, cracked and covered in chilblains, and his expression darkened.

“You understand what I mean, do you not?”

“I do. There is only one thing I still do not understand.”

“What is it?”

“Though you and I have never consummated the marriage, we are still husband and wife in name and rite. If my husband is to repudiate me, does he have a reason?”

Qu Huang said impatiently, “Repudiation is repudiation. What reason do I need?”

I bent both arms and respectfully spread my chilblain-covered hands before his eyes. “My husband, your Qu household was so poor it could not afford maids or servant women, and the mistress of the house had to manage the chores herself. In the three years since I came here, not a single day has been idle.”

“Thus, my husband absolutely cannot repudiate me for laziness.”

“…”

“Second, my lord was away for years, and my mother-in-law grew ill from longing for you. She has been bedridden for three years. Every day, I have washed her, turned her over, and tended to her meals. Thus, my husband absolutely cannot repudiate me for failing to honor my elders.”

“Third, my lord left for Yebei on the very day of our wedding. Years have passed since then, yet I remain untouched. Thus, my husband absolutely cannot repudiate me for lewd jealousy or for having no children.”

Perhaps because I had mentioned his mother, Qu Huang’s expression softened slightly.

After that, a faint ripple passed through his eyes, as if he were looking at some lifeless object without the slightest warmth. “Jiang Chouyu, I never knew you had such a sharp tongue.”

I lowered my head. “I know my family status is too low. I am unworthy of my lord, and I have no face to linger in the Qu Family.”

“But I have never wronged your Qu Family for even a single day. If you issue this divorce letter, I will become an abandoned woman. In the future, remarriage may prove difficult.”

“Oh. So you are afraid it will affect your remarriage.”

Qu Huang stood where he was, lost in thought for a moment.

The summer days were long. The daylight was hazy, and by noon, the central courtyard held only the rustling wind slipping through the corridors, a sound that made one almost imagine a ringing in the ears. I watched his gaze fall away as though brushing off a speck of dust.

“Liuyao, bring paper and brush.”

He spoke to the attendant behind him.

The attendant brought writing implements. In front of me, Qu Huang began writing freely on the spot. Before long, an ink-rich petition appeared upon the paper.

Then he beckoned to me. “Come here. Press your fingerprint here.”

“I do not know what this is. How can I press my mark at random?”

Qu Huang gave a cold laugh. “Ridiculous. Do you think I would deceive you?”

I retorted straight to his face, “When your mother engaged me back then, she never said you would repudiate me someday either.”

He froze, then in the end swallowed his anger.

Seeing him silent, the attendant lifted the silk paper and read aloud, “Qu Huang of the Qu Clan took Chouyu of the Jiang family as wife in the fifteenth year of Guanyuan. Alas, our families were mismatched; there was kindness, but no love, and in the end we became a resentful pair. Today we request separation. May the lady, after this parting, comb her cicada-wing coiffure anew, beautifully sweep her moth brows, display her graceful charms, and choose a high-ranking lord as husband. Let grievances be untied and knots be loosened. Let there be no further hatred between us. Once parted, may each be free, and may each find joy.”

When he finished, the man smiled. “Madam, rest assured. My lord has changed it to a mutual separation letter.”

I nodded.

After pressing my fingerprint, I bowed to him with the proper salute of a woman. “Then I ask Qu Huang to be magnanimous. I will go to my room and pack up my dowry, so that I may prepare for remarriage.”

“Remarriage… you!”

Qu Huang closed his eyes. From the look on his face, it was as if he despised my shallowness, yet could not quite lower himself to argue with me.

“…Go quickly, and leave quickly!”