The Injustice of This Marriage
The main gate of the Marquis Zhongyong's estate was surrounded by onlookers and the officers of the Jingzhao Prefecture, and the doors were shut fast.
Jin Dexiao slipped past the crowd, ordered a servant to park his carriage at the side gate, and entered the house with a face like thunder. No sooner had he stepped into the courtyard than he heard Lady Zhang inside, shrieking at the servants, calling them utterly useless. The veins stood out on Jin Dexiao's forehead. He flung back the hem of his robe and strode inside.
"My lord!"
Nanny Wu bowed quickly and deeply at the sight of him.
Jin Dexiao advanced with rapid steps, seized the whip Lady Zhang was wielding at the maids, and struck her across the cheek with his other hand. Lady Zhongyong toppled forward, sprawling across the step-table.
"You ignorant, vicious woman—useless in every way! You've brought disaster upon this house, and still you carry on like a madwoman here!"
The female servants, Nanny Wu included, all dropped to their knees in fright and prostrated themselves, not daring to lift their heads.
Lady Zhang, clutching her slapped cheek, turned wide-eyed toward Jin Dexiao, who was seething with barely contained fury. She had been about to erupt in kind, but then she remembered the officers waiting outside the estate gates to drag her away, and she scrambled desperately to her knees before him.
"My lord! My lord, save this wretched creature! The Duke of Zhenguo's estate means to destroy me. Only yesterday, when I visited, I heard those women's contracts of servitude were in Bai Jinxiu's hands—but today, suddenly, those maids have become free commoners! The Duke's estate intends to kill me. My lord, you must help me!"
Jin Dexiao's brow knotted sharply. The words seemed to jolt his reason back into place. After a moment's thought, he asked in a dark, cold voice:
"So you're telling me that, as of yesterday, those maids' contracts were still in Bai Jinxiu's possession?"
"Certainly! If this wretched creature is lying, may my body be torn to shreds! My lord, my lord—ask Nanny Wu yourself!"
Lady Zhang clutched at Jin Dexiao's leg, weeping without a shred of dignity.
Nanny Wu, who had been trembling, bowed low and heavily.
"My lord, yesterday, when the young master was leaving the estate, this servant accompanied the lady to the Duke's estate in hopes of persuading him and bringing the Eldest and Second Madams back with us. But the Third Young Lady of the Bai family told us that the reason the Eldest and Second Madams had been struck by the stones of the Marquis estate's young ladies was to pave the way for the young master to leave the estate. The Eldest Lady of the Bai family said that all five maids' contracts of servitude were in the Eldest and Second Madams' hands, and demanded to know what human trafficker, devoid of any contract, would sell people outright. Every word is the truth."
The Duke of Zhenguo's estate... Jin Dexiao ground his teeth. Chilled by the sharpness in his eyes, Nanny Wu did not dare raise her head.
Jin Dexiao closed his eyes. It felt as though the last of the wine's fumes had fled him.
"Go with the Jingzhao Prefecture officers for now. I will look into this and make certain you suffer no injustice. But if you dig in your heels and refuse to go, this affair will swallow up the entire estate—your son included."
At Jin Dexiao's words, Lady Zhang went white as a sheet and collapsed onto the floor.
The Marquis Zhongyong's estate descended into utter chaos.
* * *
That evening, the agency matron whom Bai Jinchi had left at the Marquis estate brought word to the Duke of Zhenguo's estate: Lady Zhongyong had been taken into custody.
It was the ending she had expected, so Bai Jingyan took no particular pleasure in it.
Just before Bai Jingyan retired for the night, Chun Tao came in hesitantly. It was about Yin Shuang, the maid she had secretly assigned to trail Chunyan—Yin Shuang had reported that Chunyan had met with a servant today outside the palace walls.
"The moment that servant left the estate, Yin Shuang—that silly girl—went chasing after him without a thought, and when she saw him whispering with a servant of the Liang King's estate at their back gate, she knocked him flat with one punch without a word, carried him back on her back, and just now handed him over to Guard Nuo. Then she came all the way to the entrance of Qinghui Courtyard, declaring she'd earned a merit, and boldly demanded pine nut candies."
Chun Tao wore a look of helpless exasperation.
Bai Jingyan, seated before her mirror, had been simmering with fury—but at Chun Tao's words, laughter burst out of her instead.
"You said Yin Shuang is fourteen this year?"
"Yes, my lady. Fourteen. I'm impressed you remembered."
Chun Tao combed Bai Jingyan's hair with a white jade comb.
When Shen Qingzhu had first brought Yin Shuang to the estate, the girl had been only ten. She had tottered about on a frail body, slow-witted, simple-minded, and possessed of nothing but strength. Her parents, unable to feed her anymore—she ate far too much—had sold her off.
She had followed Shen Qingzhu for years now, and Bai Jingyan found herself curious just how capable the girl had become.
"Tomorrow, tell Matron Jin to bring Yin Shuang to Qinghui Courtyard. Have Chun Xing teach her the rules properly, then keep her here from now on," Bai Jingyan said.
Chun Tao hesitated, wanting to plead for Chunyan—even if only for the sake of the sisterhood they had grown up sharing.
"My lady, Chunyan..."
"Leave her be. Keep someone watching her."
"My lady."
Chun Tao set down the jade comb and knelt reverently at Bai Jingyan's side. Then, with reddened eyes, she spoke through her tears.
"I know as well as anyone that Chunyan betrayed her mistress and deserves to be beaten to death for it. But I beg you, spare Chunyan's life. It is not that this servant's heart has grown weak. Chunyan once saved my life, and I wish to repay that debt."
Bai Jingyan gazed at Chun Tao—simple-hearted, kind Chun Tao—for a long moment, then sighed and helped her to her feet.
"Very well. So long as she does nothing to harm our Bai family, I will spare her life for your sake. I only hope Chunyan knows what a heart you carry for her, and does not stray further down the wrong path. Now, dry your tears and go see Nuo Ping. Tell him to keep that servant Yin Shuang caught under close, quiet watch. He must not be discovered."
Chun Tao looked up at Bai Jingyan through glistening tears.
"Yes, my lady! Thank you!"
* * *
In his estate, where he was recuperating, the Liang King heard the news and closed his eyes, clutching at his chest as he leaned back against a plush cushion. His handsome face, with its sharply defined features, was deathly pale, drained of all color. His voice was as cold as a cave of ice.
"Have you looked properly into this Dong Zhanglan?"
"Dong Zhanglan studies under the great scholar Master Lu. He attained the rank of Solving Yuan at a remarkably young age, and many already proclaim he will sweep all three top honors in succession. Matchmakers have worn the threshold of the Dong family's gate in Dengzhou smooth with their comings and goings, but Old Taijun Dong appears to have set her heart on reserving this eldest grandson for her own granddaughter, and has refused everyone who came calling. Moreover, he keeps no concubine at all—I hear he is thoroughly untouched."
The Liang King's subordinate reported the facts as they were.
The Liang King opened his eyes. A deep chill settled into his narrow phoenix eyes. Rage surged up so suddenly that he could not restrain a light cough. The pain tore through his chest, and only after a long while of composing himself could he speak.
"Dong Ji."
Dong Ji entered, carrying bitter medicine that steamed with heat.
"Your Highness!"
"Tomorrow at dawn, take my jade tally of authority and go to the Duke of Zhenguo's estate to find Chunyan. Have her deliver the tally to Bai Jingyan. And tell Bai Jingyan this: I intend to seat her at my side as my princess consort, so she must wait for me."
The Liang King's intent was unmistakable. In doing so, he could use his standing as a prince to press upon the Dong family and prevent the marriage talk from ever surfacing. And the moment Chunyan handed over that jade tally, it would become proof that Bai Jingyan had private dealings with him—her honor would be sullied beyond repair. Besides, what family would take in a woman who could bear no children?
Dong Ji frowned.
"Your Highness, did you not say before that you would take her merely as a side consort? How could you place the Eldest Daughter of the Bai family—a woman who cannot even conceive—upon so exalted a seat as princess consort..."
"Would you dare defy my word?"
Dong Ji's blood ran cold under the Liang King's gaze. He nodded quickly, again and again, in submission.
* * *
The next day, Dong Zhanglan came calling early in the morning alongside Old Taijun Dong, their gifts loaded high—he wished to pay his respects to the Grand Princess as well.
The previous evening, Dong Zhanglan had spoken with Old Taijun Dong at length, saying he was deeply remorseful, and had asked her to return to the Duke's estate and see whether there might still be room to discuss the marriage with Bai Jingyan.
It was not that Dong Zhanglan was swayed by mere beauty. He had seen Bai Jingyan's unblemished character, her upright bearing, her pure and lucid heart. When he thought of how, as another man's wife, she might be despised by her in-laws for failing to bear children, the image of a pearl cast into darkness—Mingzhu Antou—ache in his chest.
The Grand Princess chatted with Old Taijun Dong for a long while, then instructed Nanny Zhang to stop by Qinghui Courtyard and bring Bai Jingyan to them.
After seeing Nanny Zhang off, Chunyan's expression turned foul. As though someone owed her money, she stood at the entrance, twisting an innocent handkerchief in her hands and muttering under her breath.
"She met with them at the Dong estate yesterday—so why is that Dengzhou upstart coming to our estate again?"
Chunyan had passed word to Prince Liang the day before, but she had no way of knowing whether the message had reached him properly, or whether he had a plan in hand.
If the Eldest Lady really married off to Dengzhou, would she not lose sight of Prince Liang forever?
When Bai Jingyan emerged, changed out of her clothes, Chunyan hurried forward to support her. Bai Jingyan spoke.
"Only Chun Tao need come."
At those words, Chunyan withdrew her outstretched hands and stood to the side, her eyes burning.
Without so much as a glance at Chunyan, Bai Jingyan accepted Chun Tao's support and left Qinghui Courtyard.
Yin Shuang, who had been standing there in a daze, mindlessly eating the pine nut candies in her hand, saw Chunyan's reddened eyes. She looked down at her candies, frowned with great reluctance, and then held them out to Chunyan.
"Have a candy."
Chunyan shot Yin Shuang a contemptuous look and knocked the candies from her hand.
"Who'd be stupid enough to eat your candy?"
Seeing her pine nut candies scattered across the ground, Yin Shuang shoved Chunyan over. Sprawled on the ground, Chunyan turned her head and glared up at her with furious eyes.
"Hey!"
Yin Shuang lifted her chin as though nothing in the world could frighten her. Knowing she was no match for the girl, Chunyan got up, dusted off her clothes, and grumbled her way out.
"Fine. There's no point arguing with an idiot like you."
Once Chunyan had gone, Yin Shuang finally bent down and gathered up the pine nut candies Chun Tao's older sister had given her, one by one, blew the dust off each, and stacked them neatly again. Then she sat down beneath the eaves and ate her candies in contentment.
* * *
The Grand Princess and Old Taijun Dong were deep in conversation inside, and Dong Zhanglan, restless, had come out beneath the eaves, gazing steadily out at Zhangshou Courtyard.
The morning sun spilled across the white snow, casting a brilliant golden glow. Over that radiance, Bai Jingyan—slender and tall, her figure elegant—was walking slowly toward him. Dong Zhanglan's chest grew hot, and he descended the steps at once and raised his cupped hands in salute.
"Younger sister..."
She greeted him with a smile.
"Why are you standing out here under the eaves? Too stuffy inside?"
"I was waiting for you here."
Dong Zhanglan's ears had turned scarlet, and he bowed once more, hands cupped.
"I feared I had been discourteous to you yesterday, and came to apologize."
"It's nothing."
Bai Jingyan gave a slight nod of her head.
"And... and..."
Dong Zhanglan did not straighten. His heart pounded; his breath grew short.
"Younger sister—might we speak somewhere more private?"
Bai Jingyan turned her head to look at Chun Tao, who, taking the hint, went to stand far off to the side.
Fortunately, this was Zhangshou Courtyard, and with the maids of the courtyard watching, propriety was not being breached.
"Very well. Speak."
Only then did Dong Zhanglan rise, his face flushed.
"I know your aunt worries greatly over your marriage because you have difficulty bearing children. You are gentle and accomplished, of noble character and pure heart—a nature rivaling the finest jade and autumn frost. How could..."
How could they, on his grandmother's word alone—that you may struggle to bear children—marry you off carelessly and let you suffer such an unjust union?
Dong Zhanglan clenched his jaw and spoke with all sincerity.
"I do not wish to see dust settle upon a pearl like you. I know I am a man of no great learning, but I want to find the courage. What are your thoughts, younger sister?"