On a bitter winter’s day, Chu Linlang had been curled up inside the carriage for a full hour, her legs stiff and numb. Before leaving home, her maid Xia He had thoughtfully tucked two hand warmers into her sleeves and covered her with a blanket. Yet after sitting so long, her blood no longer flowed smoothly, and her legs tingled with pins and needles.
She sighed, pulled out an old tortoise shell from her bosom, and gently shook it. The rattling of the copper coins inside calmed her heart somewhat. Just as she put the shell away and tried to stretch her legs, a maid outside lowered her voice: “Madam, the Zhang family’s carriage is coming!”
At once, Chu Linlang ignored the stabbing pain in her legs. She grabbed two packets of tea, rose without even waiting for her maid’s support, and leapt down from the carriage. Raising her voice toward the slowly approaching vehicle, she called: “Is that Madam Lin of the Zhang household?”
The coachman reined in the horses. The curtain lifted slightly, revealing a forty‑year‑old woman who looked her up and down.
After a fresh snowfall, the young woman in a crimson cloak stood smiling by the snowdrift, cheeks rosy like a plum blossom in winter—truly dazzling to the eye.
Chu Linlang’s brows relaxed into a sweet smile. She lifted the tea packets in her hand: “What a coincidence! I just stepped down to buy tea, and immediately recognized your carriage.”
Madam Lin glanced at her as if at a pest, sneering: “Coincidence indeed. I told my coachman to avoid passing your Zhou residence, yet here we meet! Buying tea so early? The wife of the magistrate must have quite the craving.”
Chu Linlang pretended not to hear the mockery. She crunched through the snow, stretched out her arm, and offered a packet of tea warmly: “I remember you love ripe Pu’er. I just received a shipment from Yunnan, aged three years. Please, taste it.”
Madam Lin did not take it. Her disdain deepened: “I wouldn’t dare. My husband is but a minor officer, hardly as grand as your Lord Zhou, the magistrate.”
Just days earlier, Zhou Sui’an—the magistrate of Lianzhou and Chu Linlang’s husband—had quarreled violently with Zhang Xian, the officer overseeing the frontier troops, at the prefect’s banquet.
Drunk and reckless, Zhou Sui’an had slapped Zhang Xian twice across the face in front of all their colleagues. The blows sent Zhang Xian sprawling, leaving the onlookers gasping.
Everyone whispered: this young magistrate must be born under the sign of the tiger—so rash, so arrogant!
Everyone in Lianzhou knew that Zhang Xian was soon to travel to the capital to report directly to the Emperor. His post was crucial, like the Kitchen God reporting to Heaven. Even the prefect treated him with lavish respect. Yet Zhou Sui’an, newly appointed, had pursued a grain‑smuggling case that implicated Zhang Xian’s brother‑in‑law. Their feud had simmered, and in drunken anger, Zhou Sui’an struck him, ruining his own prospects.
Now the whole prefecture awaited Zhang Xian’s revenge in the capital. The Zhou family was not entirely foolish, but no one expected Chu Linlang to rush forward to try to mend her husband’s mess.
Madam Lin, well aware of the scandal, looked at Chu Linlang with scorn. “To curry favor with a packet of tea—how petty!”
She dropped the curtain: “Our Zhang family can afford tea. No need for your concern. Coachman, why are you waiting? Drive on!”
But just as the horses stirred, Chu Linlang suddenly lifted her skirts and sprang into the carriage like a cat.
The servants were stunned. Madam Lin recoiled, startled—this delicate woman, usually so proper, now behaving wildly.
Before she could call for help, Chu Linlang seized her wrist. For a moment, Madam Lin saw a fierce glint in her eyes, almost masculine, and instinctively shielded her face.
Yet Chu Linlang did not strike. Instead, she leaned close and whispered:
“Men may quarrel, but why should it spoil the harmony between us women? I have always regarded you as an elder sister. Your brother is like my own. Why let a moment’s anger ruin his future?”
Madam Lin narrowed her eyes, shook off her hand, and hissed: “What do you mean?”
Chu Linlang lowered her voice gravely: “Your brother, the grain officer, is too lenient. His subordinates have been skimming large amounts of supplies. With the Emperor intent on reform, if this is investigated, how can he escape blame?”
Madam Lin scoffed inwardly. If Zhou Sui’an truly had evidence, he would have acted already. Surely this woman was bluffing.
But then Chu Linlang drew out a paper and handed it over: “This account book was anonymously delivered to my husband’s desk. I secretly copied one page for you. Isn’t this your brother’s seal?”
Madam Lin’s heart clenched. She knew her brother’s misdeeds. The seal and date were unmistakable. Just as she tried to study it further, Chu Linlang calmly withdrew the paper and tucked it back into her sleeve.
She sighed: “I cannot give it to you. I must return it. You know my husband’s temper—newly appointed, eager to prove himself. He found your brother’s trail and wanted to inform Lord Zhang. But Lord Zhang misunderstood, thinking he was slandering him. That is why they quarreled. In truth, my husband respects Lord Zhang. He only fears your brother has been misled. His drunken outburst came from this dilemma.”
Madam Lin’s mind raced. Her brother had once claimed some ledgers were lost in a fire. Did Zhou Sui’an truly hold evidence? If exposed now, with imperial inspectors prowling nearby, disaster would be certain.
Looking at Chu Linlang’s earnest face, Madam Lin softened. She clasped her hand: “Sister, what can I say? My husband’s temper is foul, and you have suffered. But these accounts… could they be forged?”
Chu Linlang gripped her hand firmly: “Whether true or false, we women must preserve peace. If you say they are false, then I will find a way to make them false. Only, do not let Lord Zhang spread word yet. Give me time.”
Madam Lin was astonished by her boldness, even moved by her reckless sincerity.
When Chu Linlang finally stepped down from the carriage, Madam Lin smiled warmly, sending her off like a dear sister.
Chu Linlang said plainly: “We are family. Please help mediate with Lord Zhang. We are all colleagues in the same prefecture. If we have been inconsiderate, I beg your forgiveness.”
Madam Lin adjusted her cloak and replied: “Brothers may quarrel behind closed doors, but we must not let outsiders laugh at us.”
The two women parted with apparent harmony.
Back in her own carriage, Chu Linlang’s maid Xia He whispered nervously:
“Madam… forging an official seal is no small crime.”
For the paper Chu Linlang had shown was no secret document at all—the seal had been carved from a radish by a craftsman at her command.
Chu Linlang sneezed, smirked, and said coldly: “I did not use it to accuse anyone. What crime is that? And who would dare report me—Zhang Xian, or Madam Lin?”
She added: “Remember, the prefecture’s granary once burned, destroying several ledgers. Madam Lin’s brother searched frantically for a month before confirming they were gone. My forged account is his hidden fear. Do you think he dares confront my husband openly to prove it false?”