He stayed at Concubine Zhao’s quarters almost every day. Whenever anything new and delicious, or any interesting toy, appeared in the household, he always gave it to Concubine Zhao and Shen Wanyong first.
During the day, Shen Wanyong saw me and smiled so broadly that her earrings swung.
“See? So what if you’re the legitimate daughter? Whoever has Father’s heart is the one who gets to live in luxury and enjoy respect.”
“Your old granny is useless. Just you wait—you’ll grow up to be a little good-for-nothing just like her.”
She expected me to be so miserable I’d want to cry, but my expression didn’t change. I said calmly:
“Sister, have you ever thought about how only actors sing folk songs like that?”
“Concubine Zhao may have you singing folk songs to win favor now, but later she could humiliate you even worse.”
Shen Wanyong’s expression changed.
But a moment later, she burst out laughing. “You’re just jealous of me. Just wait—things will be even harder for you from now on.”
With that, she turned and left.
But the truth was, I hadn’t lied to her.
In my previous life, Concubine Zhao had treated me the same way.
She taught me to sing and dance, and made me perform all sorts of skills in front of Father.
At the time, there were only Madam and Concubine Zhao in the household. Madam had fallen out of favor, and those things were enough for Concubine Zhao to keep Father’s attention.
But later, Father took another young beauty into the household, and those things were no longer enough.
Concubine Zhao had to step up her schemes.
She drugged me, making me vomit and suffer diarrhea.
She smeared lard on the floor where I practiced dancing, deliberately making me slip.
Whenever I fell ill, she would go to Father in tears, begging him to visit me and using that to keep him close.
Those years were nothing short of a nightmare for me.
Watching Concubine Zhao, I saw all too clearly that if you rely on a man’s love, you’ll spend your whole life fighting other women for it.
Fight long enough, and one day you’ll lose.
Madam, on the other hand, never fought—and she never lost.
In that room, cold as a snow cave, estate managers and shopkeepers came and went in a steady stream. Every one of them treated her with respect, never daring to be careless.
The maids, matrons, pages, and household guards were even more orderly and loyal to her.
In this new life, I wanted to become a mistress of the household like her.
And so Shen Wanyong continued learning to sing and dance for Concubine Zhao, entertaining others.
As for me, I studied bookkeeping and household management under Madam, and then made another request.
“Madam, I want to learn swordsmanship.”
Madam was taken aback.
There really was a treasured sword in her room.
From the servants’ words, I pieced together Madam’s past.
She had once been a general’s daughter. At fifteen, she took up a treasured sword, braved the rebel forces, and delivered a letter to her father and elder brother, who were trapped inside a city.
But later, her father died in battle, and after her elder brother married, he hastily married her off to my father, a fifth-rank civil official.
The past gathered dust, and the treasured sword quietly grew dusty too.
In my previous life, Wanyong was very afraid of that sword.
But I found myself longing for it.
“Please teach me swordsmanship, Madam!”
I looked at Madam. She showed no emotion, which only made me more anxious.
I didn’t know whether that treasured sword was a source of pride or pain for her.
After a long while, Madam turned away coldly, leaving me with only her back.
Just as I was growing dejected, thinking this was her refusal, Madam called out from a distance:
“Go to the courtyard.”
“Show me your horse stance.”
05.
From that day on, I trained in swordsmanship under Madam.
I trained in the bitter cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer.
Spring passed and winter came; before I knew it, I had grown into a young woman.
That day, I practiced swordsmanship by the lake.
My blade flashed among the peach branches. In no time, every blossom-laden branch had fallen, each cut perfectly level.
I knew I had mastered it.
A cheer suddenly rose behind me. I hurriedly turned and discovered a group of people had appeared behind a rock without my noticing.
They were a group of young masters and ladies out on a spring outing.
Among them was my elder sister, Shen Wanyong.
It had to be said: Shen Wanyong truly stood out among the sheltered young ladies. Today she wore a peach-pink silk dress and was lovelier than the peach blossoms. The young masters surrounded her, showering her with compliments.
This was something she had never experienced in my previous life.
But just as she was growing giddy with delight, those young masters noticed me practicing my sword by the lake.
The young master at the head of the group exclaimed, “Long ago, the beauty Lady Gongsun stirred the four corners of the land with a single sword dance.”
“To see such a beauty today is to witness something even greater than Lady Gongsun!”
As soon as he said that, the other young masters all chimed in.
No one paid any more attention to Shen Wanyong beside them.
Shen Wanyong stared at me, her gaze so dark it seemed ready to drip.
That day, I came back from sword practice and hurried to bathe. I had barely started when I heard a commotion outside the door.
“Miss Wanyong’s hairpin is missing. Search carefully.”
I wiped the water from my dripping hair and went out, running straight into Shen Wanyong, who was leading a crowd of maids and household guards toward me.
I said coldly, “What are you acting up about now?”
She looked at me and said gently to everyone around us, “I know my younger sister Ninh Nhi wouldn’t steal from me.”
“But to avoid any suspicion, I have no choice but to search her room.”
The servants took her order, rushed into my room, and turned it upside down.
A short while later, someone came running out with a hairpin. “Eldest Miss, we found it—in Second Miss’s dressing table.”
Just then, my father happened to return from a social engagement outside.
Hearing the commotion, he couldn’t help coming in. “What’s going on?”
As soon as he entered, Shen Wanyong began to cry.
“Younger sister, I know you’re jealous because Father loves my mother and me more, and gives us the good food and pretty things. But you still shouldn’t steal my hairpin.”
“It’s my mother’s family heirloom. When she heard it was missing today, she was so upset she fainted, and she still hasn’t woken up…”
“Father, please give my mother justice!”
06.
In the ancestral hall, several servants escorted me inside.
My father sat high on the seat of honor, with Concubine Zhao beside him and Shen Wanyong sobbing uncontrollably.
For some reason, seeing the two of them crying in exactly the same way struck me as so funny that I couldn’t help laughing out loud.
My father flew into a rage. “What are you laughing at? You stole something and you still have the nerve to laugh?! Having a daughter like you is a disgrace to the Shen family’s good name. Today, I’ll beat you to death with a rod!”
I raised my head and looked coldly at the man who was related to me by blood.
I had no doubt he really would beat me to death.
The Shen family couldn’t very well beat their legitimate daughter to death, but the truth was, I wasn’t Madam’s biological daughter either. My mother had only been a bedchamber maid.
Besides, Madam had always treated me coolly. She never showed any affection for me in public.
Concubine Zhao wept and gasped for breath, clutching her chest. “Lord Shen, you know this hairpin is a keepsake my mother left me. It’s an antique from the previous dynasty’s palace—priceless.”
“Honestly, no matter how precious an object might be, if Miss Ning likes it, your humble servant would gladly give it to her with both hands.”
“But why did she have to steal it? If word gets out, the Shen family daughters’ reputations will be ruined. What will happen to Dung’er’s marriage prospects?”
As soon as Concubine Zhao finished speaking, she seemed about to faint. Shen Wanyong hurried to support her and comfort her.
My father looked at me for a long while before saying coldly, “Someone, bring out the family punishment rod!”
According to the family rules, theft was punishable by thirty strokes of the heavy rod.
One blow could tear the flesh from your back. Thirty blows—and even if you survived, you’d be crippled for the rest of your life.
Just as the danger reached its peak, a cold voice suddenly came from outside the door:
“Let’s see who dares.”
Madam stepped inside.
She always went to bed early; she should have been asleep by now.
I hadn’t expected her to come.
Madam came to stand beside me and stared coldly at my father. “My lord, even the authorities must distinguish right from wrong when passing judgment. They can’t take one side and start handing out punishment.”
My father’s face turned ashen.
Concubine Zhao immediately began to cry. “What is there to distinguish? The evidence was clearly found in Miss Ning’s room. Is Madam going to protect her just because she raised her?”
Concubine Zhao wasn’t afraid of Madam.
For years, my father had favored his concubine and slighted his wife. Concubine Zhao had always believed she was the most esteemed woman in the household.
As for my mother, she was nothing more than a useless wife, unloved by her husband and content to keep to herself in a corner.
So even when the two of them crossed paths, she wasn’t afraid.
But then Madam, who usually dressed plainly and said little, suddenly turned to look at Concubine Zhao.
In that instant, an undeniable authority radiated from her. “Kneel.”
Concubine Zhao was stunned.
Madam spoke each word distinctly. “You good-for-nothing. Take your daughter and kneel down together.”
Concubine Zhao looked to my father for help. “Lord Shen, I…”
But my father said nothing. His face had gone pale as he stared behind Madam.
A dozen or so tall men stood there. They hadn’t entered the room; they simply stood in silence outside it, each as immovable as an iron tower.
They were a company of household guards, men Madam had brought with her from her family’s general’s residence when she married.
I saw them too.
I’d always thought of them as ordinary servants. I called them Uncle Liu and Uncle Li, and they’d grin and answer me, sometimes even buying me sesame candy.
Now they were all wearing armor, standing silent. Every one of them was a seasoned warrior who had followed the old general into battle and shed blood.
My father’s hand trembled.