Chapter 2

Having made up my mind, I said to Mother, “If you’re entrusting them to me, I must act as their mother. Your little grandson is precious to you. If he does something wrong, may I smack him?”

Mother nodded at once. “Of course. I’d be more worried if you refused to discipline him and spoiled him rotten.”

That was more like it.

“And Yun? May I scold her?”

“No problem.”

Mother was being quite reasonable.

Finally, I asked, “And my brother-in-law? I’ve never liked him. May I beat him up?”

Mother wiped her brow. “You’ll have to ask your mother-in-law about that. I didn’t give birth to him, after all…”

“…”

At last I said seriously, “Mother, do you trust me?”

She looked deep into my eyes. “You are my child, and your grandfather raised you. You’re clever and brave, and you have a strong sense of justice. If I can’t trust you, there’s no one left I can trust!”

That was all I needed to hear.

And so, accompanied by the people I had brought from Jiayu Pass and a lavish dowry, I married into the Earl of Jinyang’s household with a grand procession, just as everyone wished.

A second wife rarely arrived with a dowry and an entourage like mine. The earl’s family had sharp eyes; they immediately understood that my standing in my natal family was no lower than my sister’s had been.

On our wedding night, I intended to make things clear to Zhao Yuhua.

We would share a household, raise the children, and otherwise leave each other alone.

Instead, he did not return until the moon was high. Several servants half carried him into the room, stumbling drunk. He lay down and went straight to sleep.

My maids exchanged looks. “How can our new master… behave like this?”

No ceremonial wedding wine, no consummation on the wedding night—it was disgraceful.

Besides, he was hardly some inexperienced boy. How could he have been made drunk so easily?

In the end, he simply didn’t think his new wife mattered enough.

Perhaps he didn’t want me to conceive too soon, either… lest it affect the two children my sister had left behind.

Since we wanted the same thing, I saw no reason to make trouble for him. I waved a hand, had my people change his clothes, and dumped him on the couch.

When Zhao Yuhua finally woke the next morning, I was already dressed and groomed. A roomful of maids was waiting for him.

Seeing neither grievance nor resentment on my composed face, he looked a little surprised. “Last night, the Marquis of Zhongshan and the others kept making me drink…”

I interrupted his feeble excuse. “Husband, it’s time to pay our respects at the ancestral hall.”

He saw my cool expression and the chill in my eyes. After a brief pause, he said, “Very well. I’ll get ready.”

Once he was properly dressed, he led me to the Zhao ancestral hall.

Neither of us spoke another word along the way.

My sister’s former maids had told me about him. Zhao Yuhua was exacting, composed, and sparing with words. He believed in leaving things unsaid and commanded considerable authority at home.

My sister had always needed to take special care to guess what he wanted.

If she guessed correctly, he would show his approval. If she guessed wrong, he did not shout or lose his temper. He simply treated her coldly and left her to work out her mistake.

During their years together, she had always attended to him with painstaking care.

This time, he had deliberately got drunk on our wedding night. Had I shown gentle, magnanimous understanding, he would surely have rewarded me with a pleasant face.

But I hadn’t, so in his eyes I was a woman insufficiently virtuous or submissive.

These conceited scholar-officials all had their private methods for training a wife. Unfortunately for him, I had no interest in playing along.