chapter 1

chapter 1

Chun Tang fled the day before she was supposed to consummate her new position with the Eldest Young Master. She slipped away while supposedly shopping for rouge.

When Grand Madam heard, she smashed a Ru-ware teacup against the floor.

“Outrageous! She agreed when I chose a girl for Yi’er, and now she has run away in secret. The shameless creature has no idea what is proper!”

“Send men after her. Post a reward at the magistrate’s office. I refuse to believe one runaway slave can defy this household!”

Grand Madam had spent years praying and observing her Buddhist devotions. No one had seen her this furious in a very long time.

I stood nearby with my head bowed, too frightened even to breathe deeply. Every servant in the room trembled. Only Granny Song, Grand Madam’s trusted attendant, dared to murmur her agreement.

“Chun Tang was always flighty. Had we known, we never would have chosen her…”

“But what are we to do about the Eldest Young Master?”

Everyone knew Pei Yi had always been fond of Chun Tang. With her gone, how could the household smooth things over?

Grand Madam drew a long breath. Her fingers rolled the prayer beads as she gave a cold laugh.

“She is lowborn trash. Let her run.”

Then she pointed at me.

“Xia Zhi is prettier and better tempered. Send her to Yi’er’s rooms instead.”

The words struck me senseless.

I stared at her in disbelief. “But…”

I had already been promised to Steward Jiang.

He was young, capable, dutiful to his parents, and good-natured. He had been delighted with the match, and I wanted it too.

Yet I hesitated for only an instant before Grand Madam’s gaze sliced into me like a frozen blade.

“What? Do you intend to defy me as well?”

I gasped and dropped to my knees. With bitterness filling my chest, I had no choice but to agree.

“This servant… is willing.”

I had been born a slave of the Pei household and assigned to Grand Madam’s rooms as a child. After so many years, I had imagined I meant something to her.

Now I knew that, in her heart, I was worth less than the parrot hanging under the veranda. I was merely an attractive vase, something she could bestow on anyone she pleased.

When I returned to my room, the housekeeper ordered me to pack at once. I was to report to the Eldest Young Master’s courtyard that very night.

My mind went blank. I sat stiffly beside the bed and stared into space.

The Pei estate overflowed with wealth. Even a concubine received five taels a month, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes at every meal, and all the silk, jewelry, and ornaments she might need. If she won her master’s favor or bore him a son, her whole family benefited.

But I did not want to spend my life watching another woman’s moods and living at her mercy. I did not want my own children forbidden to call me Mother.

Marriage to Steward Jiang would not make me rich, but at least I would be his lawful wife. I could live with my back straight and my dignity intact.

Now all of it had come to nothing.

I could not understand why Chun Tang had run. She and the Eldest Young Master had seemed to adore each other. They exchanged secret glances and met privately around the estate; I had stumbled upon them more than once.

She had no status, no money, and no parents or brothers to protect her. The world outside was dangerous. How did she intend to survive?

I puzzled over it until I remembered the mad things she had said to the empty air the night before she left.

“People treasure what they can’t have.”

“Once he promises to make me his lawful wife, my mission will be complete!”

An absurd thought flashed through my mind.

Had she fled because she refused to be a concubine? Was all of this meant to force the Eldest Young Master to marry her as his lawful wife?

It was preposterous.