Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Over the past two years, Qi Ying and I had grown close.

Once we entered Baozhuang Pavilion, she first poured me a cup of hot tea.

As she watched me lower my head to drink, Qi Ying propped her chin in her hand and said, “With you advising me these past two years, that stepmother and younger brother of mine have been brought firmly to heel. They don’t dare stir up trouble anymore. And my father-now all he thinks about is training me, hoping I’ll be able to uphold the family name.”

Qi Ying had a firecracker temper, and her stepmother had seized on that weakness, constantly finding ways to provoke her.

Over time, everyone came to know the legitimate daughter of Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor as a spoiled, unruly disgrace.

She was always getting into screaming matches with her father, which only made him more irritated with her and less willing to see her.

Two years ago, on a rainy night, she sat alone outside the Shen Family’s gates.

Lost and bewildered, Qi Ying said, “My mother was so gravely ill, yet she still forced herself to enter the palace and beg Noble Consort to arrange my marriage to Shen Yuan’an. She was afraid that after she died, I would be mistreated at home. The Shen Family’s inner residence is peaceful, and the Marquis and his wife are kind people. If Shen Yuan’an married me, he would treat me well too. But can marriage truly become my refuge?”

Qi Ying hugged herself, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed, “Is it that when a woman escapes her father’s control, all she can do is pray for a husband’s protection? But if you live your whole life depending on someone else’s love and pity, can you ever truly find peace?”

Of course not.

Even the sages said that people must stand on their own.

Yet the books taught women to obey their fathers at home, their husbands after marriage, and their sons in old age.

Men, on the other hand, were taught that a true man was born to earn glory and stand tall beneath heaven.

So one should not listen to what those with vested interests say. One should watch what they do.

I wrote those words down and handed them to Qi Ying.

As Qi Ying read, a sharp glint gradually surfaced in her eyes.

Then I wrote again.

[Qi Ying, you must become a seed. Borrow your father’s power, take root, sprout, and grow into a towering tree that no one can shake.]

[You do not need to fight your stepmother over petty scraps. You need to make your father see your worth.]

[A person must know how to play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses. You have practiced martial arts since childhood and studied military strategy under your maternal grandmother. Everyone praises you as a born commander.]

[When your mother was young, she fought alongside your father in the northwest and won illustrious military achievements.]

[Now your father commands the Imperial Guard at the capital’s suburban barracks, and half of those troops are former northwest soldiers.]

[If you can resemble your mother even by half, you will surely receive tenfold favor.]

The Lady of Loyal and Brave Marquis was a decorated hero. Even the Emperor had once said as much.

Half of the marquisate’s title had been granted for her sake.

Though she had been gone for so many years, she remained the deputy commander in the hearts of many generals.

The old friend had passed away, but she had left behind a child who resembled her.

Never underestimate that power, and be sure to make use of those old loyalties.

Qi Ying did as I told her.

On the anniversary of her mother’s death, she wore her mother’s old armor and carried her mother’s sword.

When her father and the former northwest soldiers saw her, they froze on the spot. Many of their eyes reddened.

Qi Ying knelt on the ground and said resolutely, “Father, last night, Mother came to me in a dream. She said that when she was sixteen, she had already donned armor and gone to war, while I am still nothing but a useless scoundrel who makes trouble for Father, gives Father worry and headaches, and disappoints all my uncles. She told me to go train in the barracks, to endure some hardship, and to understand how difficult it is for Father to manage affairs outside the home.”

That day, Qi Ying’s father choked up and said, “Yingying, as long as you are willing to strive, as your father, I will naturally do everything I can to lift you up. It’s just that in the past, you were always quarreling with me. When things got heated, you even shouted that you wanted to cut ties with me. You hated me for remarrying, and hated me for having your younger brother. Sigh. We father and daughter could not even speak properly for a moment.”

When she heard the words “younger brother” again, the fire in Qi Ying’s heart no longer burned.

Because I had told her:

[You are already sixteen, but your younger brother is only five.]

[Qi Ying, grow with everything you have.]

[By the time he grows up, you will already have become a great tree he cannot shake.]

And over these two years, Qi Ying had indeed done very well.

She had gained some prestige among the Imperial Guard.

But if she wanted to inherit the title of Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor, it was far from enough.

The status men could obtain with their gender alone-

Women had to exhaust every ounce of effort merely to reach their starting line.

I looked at Qi Ying’s rough hands and sun-darkened face.

All of it was a badge of her hard work.

Qi Ying lowered her voice and said, “Li Yanqing’s family has already entered the capital. If we wait until Zhao Dongnian gets word to the Ministry of Justice first, we’ll be forced onto the back foot. Zhuzhu, when do you say we make our move?”

As she spoke, her eyes turned ruthless, and she made a slicing gesture.

“That bastard Zhao Dongnian has set his sights on my father’s military power. He actually bewitched the Empress into wanting me to marry the Crown Prince. Luckily, I was betrothed to that fool Shen Yuan’an long ago, so the Empress can hardly force the issue.”

I dipped my finger in water and wrote a few words on the table.

Qi Ying nodded. “All right. I’ll await your instructions.”

Shen Yuan’an had already finished choosing the jewelry. He arranged it in rows on the counter for me to pick from.

With great satisfaction, he said, “I’ve already thought through how to match all of these. I guarantee every outfit you own will have different jewelry to go with it, and you’ll look beautiful every single day.”

Two years had passed, but Shen Yuan’an really had not changed much.

He was still the noble young master raised amid brocade and splendor, proud and willful, living as he pleased.

When they first met, Qi Ying had cursed him as a good-for-nothing.

But I had seen the essays he wrote in the study.

With his talent and learning, perhaps he might not place first in the imperial examinations, but ranking among the top tier would be no problem.

I had also heard that he once had a martial arts master. He could draw a bow and shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away.

Yet now, whenever others mentioned Shen Yuan’an, all they knew was that he was an utter wastrel.

When had all this begun?

It must have been the day his younger sister died in the palace.

I thought of that sealed courtyard in the Shen Family residence and sighed inwardly.

Shen Yuan’an saw that I had no reaction.

He waved a hand in front of me and muttered, “Zhuzhu, are you spacing out? Or do you not like these?”

In his palm, I wrote five words.

[Let us part here.]

Shen Yuan’an froze on the spot and looked at me in panic.

Calmly, I continued writing.

[I gave the account book to Qi Ying. She needs it more than you do.]

[To you, I am already of no use.]

[Shen Yuan’an, stop acting.]