Chapter 4

When Her Ladyship’s health showed some improvement, the empress graciously allowed the Duchess of Qing to bring Lady Zhongsu into the palace to visit her.

I was horrified by how much the duchess had changed in a few short months.

Her once-black hair had turned entirely white. Her full, untroubled face was now gaunt, and the rims of her eyes were always red, as though tears never left them.

Lady Zhongsu was nowhere behind her. Instead, she was followed by a plain-looking woman dressed as a married lady, her eyes lowered meekly.

Mother and daughter embraced and wept. Not one attendant in the hall remained dry-eyed.

When their tears were spent, Her Ladyship forced a faint smile. “Has Sister-in-law not come today? Has she chosen a boy for the adoption?”

The duchess’s lips trembled. She pulled the woman, who was shaking like a leaf, to the front. “Your Ladyship’s eyes have failed you. This is your sister-in-law.”

Her Ladyship froze. The rest of us exchanged bewildered looks. Had we seen a ghost? From head to toe, this woman bore not the faintest resemblance to Lady Zhongsu!

The duchess’s eyes reddened. She seized Her Ladyship’s hand and said with grave emphasis, “This woman is the daughter of Qin Ji, a scholar of the Imperial Academy. She is Qin Suyun, the lawful wife whom my son Xue Di married with all proper rites, Lady Zhongsu herself. Your Ladyship must remember that!”

Her Ladyship’s eyes widened. Confusion gave way to sudden understanding, and then to profound anguish.

Her face went white. Her fingers convulsed around the brocade quilt beneath her as she cried hoarsely, “How dare he? How dare he seize a subject’s—”

The duchess lunged forward and covered her mouth.

She whispered in her daughter’s ear, “Do you want to die?”

“Your brother is already gone. She is only a widow secluded in the inner residence, never seen by outsiders. What does it matter who she is?”

“You still have the Fourth Prince, and I still have you. We both still have something to live for. Grit your teeth and survive!”

Tears streamed down Her Ladyship’s face. “My brother was a scholar, forced onto the battlefield to die for his country. And in the end, even the wife he loved must be… subjected to such humiliation. What justice is there in that?”

The duchess wiped away her tears and said calmly, “The weather was hot, so your brother’s body was cremated before it was brought home. One of your father’s men in the army examined it. The wound—the wound was beneath his ribs. A heavy sword had shattered the bones and punched through his body.”

She looked deeply into Her Ladyship’s eyes. “Your father says the Sumo are mounted archers. Bows are their principal weapons. They are not skilled with long swords of such weight.”

Her Ladyship’s lips quivered. She could not utter another word. A thin line of blood crept from where she had bitten through her lip.