Even so, no one in the Zhan family dared say anything bad to my face.
I’d known for a long time that they were unhappy with me, but hearing Madam Trần say those things now only fanned the flames of my anger.
“Madam,” I said, no longer calling her Mother. Her expression immediately darkened. “It seems you’ve forgotten that my dowry is worth more than all the Zhan family’s assets combined. Instead of worrying about what will become of Vân Thư and me, you’d be better off figuring out how to manage the Zhan family accounts properly.”
“No wonder you’re the daughter of a noble house—you certainly have no qualms about what you say.” Madam Tưởng stood nearby, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Vũ Đường, don’t blame your aunt for speaking frankly. We’ve always believed that a woman should follow her husband wherever he goes. Besides, Lăng Tiêu didn’t bring that girl into the family for your sake. How can you have so little magnanimity as the mistress of the household?”
“Aunt, you don’t understand me, but I don’t blame you. Everyone knows your husband has more than a dozen concubines in his household. You must enjoy living without him around. Otherwise, how could you say something like that?”
“You!” Madam Tưởng slammed the table and pointed at me with a trembling finger. I wasn’t the least bit afraid; I calmly met her gaze.
Madam Trần stepped between us, took my hand, and said earnestly, “Vũ Đường, we’re saying this because we want what’s best for you. You may be the daughter of a noble house, but I have to say something unpleasant. With your temperament, Lăng Tiêu is the only man in the entire capital who could put up with you. If you really divorce him, where will you find another man like that?”
I pulled my hand away without the slightest gentleness and turned to look at my maid, Thược Dược. She immediately understood.
Thược Dược stepped in front of the two women and said respectfully:
“Ladies, my mistress needs to rest, so I’m afraid she can’t continue your conversation. Please return home.”
Thược Dược’s actions infuriated them both.
Madam Tưởng pointed at me and shouted:
“Tô Vũ Đường! You haven’t divorced Lăng Tiêu yet. You’re still a daughter-in-law of our Zhan family! How dare you throw us out? We’re your elders, after all!
Besides, I’ve met that Miss Phương. She’s nothing like you. Have you never considered that you might be the problem? Lăng Tiêu changed because of you! You refuse to examine yourself and instead turn around and blame everyone else!
You’re a woman who can’t bear children, who couldn’t give the Zhan family a single son. What’s wrong with Lăng Tiêu seeking another woman?”
Looking at Madam Tưởng, so furious she’d lost all reason, I suddenly remembered how coldly the Zhan family treated me after I gave birth to Vân Thư and was told I could never conceive again.
Only Chiến Lăng Tiêu had been happy. He’d held Vân Thư and said:
“It’s all right. From now on, we can give all our love to Vân Thư.”
No one in the Zhan family ever brought it up again.
But who could have imagined they’d now use it as a sword to stab me with? They’d forgotten one thing.
I couldn’t give the Zhan family a son, but had they forgotten that it was because I’d saved Madam Tưởng’s son when he fell from a great height?
I had nothing left to say about such heartlessness.
“That’s right! I can’t give the Zhan family another son. But have you forgotten that it’s because I saved your son?
And another thing: I, Tô Vũ Đường, will never put up with anything for the sake of a man. I’ll be just fine without Chiến Lăng Tiêu.
If you care so much about having sons, then hurry up and persuade Chiến Lăng Tiêu to divorce me. He and Phương Thanh can have children— as many as they want. He’s still young, so let them give the Zhan family a few more sons!”
At the sight of my cold expression, Madam Tưởng laughed mockingly and sneered:
“There’s no one left in your birth family. Do you really think you’re still the noble young lady you used to be?
Once you leave the Zhan family, who would want someone like you?
No wonder Lăng Tiêu fell for someone else. Even I, a woman, find you tiresome to look at. Who would ever marry you? You’ll probably end up abandoned again.
The House of the Marquis of Yongzhong has stood for generations. Who knows, you might bring it all down with your bad luck…”
“Ah!”
Before she could finish, I strode forward, grabbed her by the hair, and slapped her hard across the face.
“Who gave you the nerve? How dare you speak ill of my House of the Marquis of Yongzhong?”
Then I kicked her, sending her sprawling to the ground.
07.
I came from a military family, and though I hadn’t practiced martial arts in years, I hadn’t lost any of my strength. Madam Tưởng fainted on the spot.
When I saw her pass out, I went over and kept beating her until she came to. Her shrill screams and my curses rang throughout the courtyard.
Madam Trần had initially been frozen with fear, but when she saw what was happening, she hurried over to stop me.
Thược Dược quickly stepped in front of her and said with a smile:
“Madam, my mistress was spoiled rotten by the marquis and the empress dowager from the time she was a child. She doesn’t know her own strength. You’d best not come any closer, or she might hurt you by accident.”
Madam Trần was held back, while Madam Tưởng, under my hands, was beaten until her face swelled up like a pig’s head.
She kept cursing without pause:
“Tô… Tô Vũ Đường, how dare you hit me… I’m… I’m the great general’s aunt… Lăng Tiêu won’t let you get away with this!”
“Tô Vũ Đường! What are you doing?!”
Someone must have secretly sent for Chiến Lăng Tiêu. He appeared and shouted angrily.
I stood up, shook my wrist, and looked at him coldly:
“Are you blind? Can’t you see what I’m doing?”
“She’s my aunt! How dare you hit her! You’re getting more and more disrespectful to your elders!”
As he spoke, Chiến Lăng Tiêu stepped forward and lifted Madam Tưởng into his arms.
I crossed my arms and looked at him coolly.
“Chiến Lăng Tiêu, this is how I’ve always been. I only held back before because they were your family. But now, you mean nothing to me!”
He stared at me, stunned, seeming to want to argue further, but Madam Tưởng was badly injured in his arms.
“Tô Vũ Đường, just wait until I get back. I’ll settle this with you!”
With that, he carried Madam Tưởng away, while Madam Trần trailed behind, crying.
I thought that perhaps I’d pretended for too long, making Chiến Lăng Tiêu forget that I wasn’t someone who let a grudge go easily.
Chiến Lăng Tiêu and I were childhood sweethearts, having known each other since we were young. But he was only the son of a fifth-rank official, while I was the daughter of the Marquis of Vĩnh Trung and a princess.
Back then, I thought nothing of Chiến Lăng Tiêu. Neither his status nor his abilities could compare to mine.
I remember when Crown Prince asked me about Chiến Lăng Tiêu. I replied indifferently:
“There’s nothing special about him. His status is beneath mine, his martial skills are no match for my brother’s, and his learning can’t compare to Crown Prince’s.”
But everything changed after a hunting trip.
During the hunt, I encountered assassins from an enemy state, and they recognized who I was.
As I fled, I accidentally fell off a cliff. Fortunately, I landed in a cave on the mountainside. I was alone in that cave for an entire day and night, and Chiến Lăng Tiêu was the one who found me.
When he saw me, he pulled me into a tight embrace, patting my back again and again to comfort me. In truth, he was the one trembling all over.
As if to reassure me, and perhaps himself as well, he said:
“It’s all right now. It’s all right.”
He carried me on his back, taking one step at a time as he made his way out of the forest alone.
I could hear his heartbeat and see the look in his eyes—as if he’d lost me, then found me again.
As I drifted off on his back, I heard him choke out:
“Tô Vũ Đường, thank goodness you’re all right.”
The first seeds of a young girl’s love began to take root in that moment.
Later, when I heard that the Empress Dowager wanted to find me a suitable match, Chiến Lăng Tiêu came to see me. He was so nervous he couldn’t get a word out. Only when his nails had nearly dug into his palms did he finally speak:
“Vũ Đường, I love you. Could you please not marry someone else? I swear I’ll love only you for the rest of my life.”
His words moved me. I went home and made a scene, insisting that I marry him.
At first, my parents refused. Chiến Lăng Tiêu came to our home and swore before them that he would love only me for the rest of his life and protect me with all his might.
My mother had no choice but to go to the palace and explain things to the Empress Dowager.
When the Emperor learned what had happened, he felt that marrying into the Zhan family would be beneath my status, so he raised the family’s standing. Chiến Lăng Tiêu’s father was promoted from fifth rank to third.
On our wedding day, Chiến Lăng Tiêu took my hand, his heart brimming with joy.
Back then, I thought that he and I really would be as he’d promised: one couple for life, with his eyes forever on me alone.
I wasn’t the kind of person who would patiently sit around waiting for him to come back.
When I saw Chiến Lăng Tiêu and Phương Thanh disappear into the distance, I immediately told Thược Dược:
“Thược Dược, get the carriage ready. I’m taking Vân Thư to the palace.”
On the way, Vân Thư leaned against my leg, her eyes red-rimmed as she glanced at me hesitantly.
“Vân Thư, what do you want to say?” I asked first.
She blinked, her voice trembling slightly:
“Mother, is it because I’m a girl that Father…”