Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jiang Qiyue:

This was the third time I had gone to the gambling house to block Xie Shijing’s path.

Xie Shijing lounged lazily in a grand armchair, his phoenix eyes lifting slightly as he sneered, “What did your aunt-in-law promise you? That as long as I go home, she’ll have an eight-bearer bridal sedan carry you through the Xie Family’s gates?”

Back when the matriarch of the Xie Family bought me into the estate, she told me that if I could persuade this hopeless wastrel of a second young master to return home and properly study, she would not only reward me with silver, but return my indenture contract to me as well.

The courtesan keeping him company kneaded Xie Shijing’s shoulders and laughed sweetly. “You’ve made her lose face. Look, the little girl is about to cry.”

The rain was coming down harder. I had no umbrella, but I stubbornly stood at the entrance of the gambling house.

A crowd of ill-intentioned gazes swept over me from head to toe.

“Second Young Master, why not go back with the little girl? She’s so delicate, standing out there in the rain. Even we feel sorry for her.”

Xie Shijing tossed the dice onto the table without even looking at me.

“If she’s really capable, then let her stand there all night.

“Since when does some second-rate goods have the right to stand before me, Xie Shijing?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the clink of silver and dice rose amid coquettish laughter.

I was not angry. I cleared my throat and recited loudly, “One’s aspirations should be lofty. Revere the sages, cut off base desires, abandon stagnation.

“Let the common man’s ambition stand firm and clear, let compassion stir the heart…”

I was reciting the family precepts of the Shen Family, his birth mother’s clan.

At last, more and more people gathered to watch. By the time I reached the part about casting off suspicion and pettiness, the door was kicked open.

Xie Shijing came out with a dark expression and, without another word, dragged me into the carriage.

“Brother Shijing has himself a formidable little wife. There’ll be a good show to watch now.”

“That little bride looks so frail, but she has some tricks up her sleeve.”

Inside the carriage, Xie Shijing sat across from me, but he shut his eyes and refused to speak.

My clothes were soaked through. I used a handkerchief to dab the water from my forehead and arms bit by bit.

“Second Young Master, is there anything you would like to eat? I made some gorgon fruit and lily bulb congee. You can have some later while you read.”

Xie Shijing looked at me, sizing me up from head to toe, and said contemptuously, “What did she promise you? Money? Marriage into the Xie Family?

“If it’s the latter, you might as well give up. I would never take a fancy to goods like you, not even if I died.”

I was still not upset. I smiled.

“Young Master was caught in the rain, so your temper is running hot. Then I’ll pair the gorgon fruit congee with some air-dried duck breast.”

“Jiang Qiyue! Did you not hear me? I am insulting you!”

“Then I’ll add some perilla and shredded ginger to drive out the chill.” I thought for a moment, then smiled. “Would Second Young Master like anything else?”

Xie Shijing was so furious that he turned his head away and ignored me.

Xie Shijing was mistaken. I had been bought by Madame Xie, but not to be his wife.

So whether he looked down on me or not, I did not actually care.

I was the slender horse Madame Xie had bought for a hundred taels of gold.

The madam by the Qinhuai praised me as a one-of-a-kind treasure, saying I was the most outstanding of all the children.

Madame Xie looked at me, quiet and obedient, but did not understand where this so-called outstanding quality lay.

The madam told me to show both the pure, innocent charm of a naive young girl and an alluring grace that was seductive without being vulgar.

“Along these ten li of Qinhuai, you will not find another talent like her. I raised her as clean and pure as my own daughter until now. She has a natural seductive grace, but none of that powdery brothel air. Whatever sort of woman a guest likes, Qiyue will satisfy him completely.”

Seeing Madame Xie remain silent, the madam smiled and said, “I heard the eldest young master recently won merit on the battlefield. Is General Xie looking for someone to serve him in bed?”

Madame Xie shook her head. The madam asked again, “Then is it for the second young master, who is preparing to study diligently and pass the imperial exams? A charming girl to keep him company by lamplight, to understand his needs and tend to his comforts?”

Madame Xie still said nothing. She took a sip of tea.

“I want her to serve both of them.”

The madam froze.

Madame Xie, however, smiled and took my hand.

“Since you know how to tend to someone’s comforts, serve the eldest young master well. He has had no one by his side all these years. Perhaps one day he will take you as a concubine.

“The eldest young master is often away from home, but he still worries about this younger brother of his. Since you can read and write, pull the second young master out of his pile of luxuries. If you can persuade him to study properly and earn an official title, the eldest young master will thank you too.

“If the eldest young master does not take a liking to you, but you can guide the second young master back to the right path, then never mind a monetary reward-I will return your indenture contract to you as well.

“As for becoming a concubine, don’t mention it to outsiders. If he doesn’t want you, it would only be embarrassing.”

Madame Xie was a second wife. Though she was not their birth mother, she considered every matter for the sake of these two sons.

I nodded.

And so I settled in the Xie estate. The story was that I was a distant relative of Madame Xie who had fled famine in a disaster year and come to seek refuge with the Xie Family.

By then, I had already made my plan. First, I would persuade that wastrel Xie Shijing onto the proper path of study. Then, when the eldest young master Xie Shili returned from war, I would feel out his temperament and win his favor.

After all, being able to become a concubine already counted as good fortune.