Shen Shiqing, she actually sat with her legs crossed!
Xie Feng’an’s concubines were all startled by this posture, not understanding why the second young mistress seemed to act like a man, even more unrestrained than Second Young Master Xie himself.
“Since you’ve come to my territory, I’ll make some things clear to you in advance. Don’t come crying to me with grievances after receiving my punishment.”
Zhao Su Rui couldn’t be bothered with lengthy explanations with them, laying down the rules right from the start.
“First, this courtyard is too shallow—your crying irritates me. From now on, no tears are allowed within this Zhuangzi. Anyone who dares to cry will be thrown into the pond outside.
“Second, I don’t care what you’ve done before out of jealousy or what grudges you’ve formed. Now that you’re here, you’ll follow my rules. All past matters are wiped clean. If any trouble arises again, I won’t ask who’s right or wrong, nor who did it—all four of you will be punished together with caning right here.”
Cui Jin-Niang kept her head lowered, appearing obedient, yet she couldn’t help wanting to look up. She knew these words were directed at her—Shen Shiqing knew she often stirred up trouble among them to profit from the chaos, and was warning her that any future conflicts among the four would be blamed solely on her.
After giving these instructions, Zhao Su Rui didn’t care what Cui Jin-Niang thought. It had always been others who tried to guess his thoughts—he never bothered with what others might think.
“Third, everyone inside and outside this courtyard must follow my orders. My three senior maids each have their duties—you just stay put and behave.”
“Young Mistress, from what you’re saying, it sounds like you’re imprisoning us in this Zhuangzi. Then what can you offer us? When can we return to the Marquis residence? When can we see our children?” The one who spoke up suddenly was Xia He, standing with a peach-colored handkerchief in hand and her arms akimbo, looking completely fearless. “We’ve all been banished to this Zhuangzi, so I won’t stand on ceremony with you about status. The Ning’an Marquis residence has already prepared red silk, waiting for the Second Young Master to remarry. Except for that seductress Su Yao’er, we’ve all been cast out. Don’t put on airs as the formal wife in front of me—I’ve at least borne the Second Young Master a son and a daughter. There’s some hope when my son grows up. What about you? If you have a way to let me see my children, I’ll naturally submit to you. I’ll kowtow a hundred times a day to apologize for past offenses. But if you just want to bully us to show your authority, you’ve picked the wrong target!”
Sitting sideways with legs crossed, Zhao Su Rui ate a walnut kernel and laughed:
“When you came here, those women escorting the carts robbed you of many belongings, didn’t they?”
Xia He was immediately rendered speechless.
Even the guard dogs at the Ning’an Marquis residence knew that Second Young Master Xie was preparing to welcome a new wife. These concubines who had been sent away had reached the end of their prospects. Along the way, their bundles and valuables had been repeatedly opened and plundered, even their clothes being stripped off them.
Xia He had a strong personality, and her family was similar. Because Xia He had climbed up by attaching herself to the Second Young Master and bearing children, the Xia family always acted as half-in-laws of the residence, naturally offending many people. Once Xia He fell from favor, those women naturally took the opportunity to kick her while she was down, being particularly rough with her during the looting. The wound on Xia He’s earlobe was from when her silver earrings were torn away.
At that moment, Pei Feng and A Chi entered carrying several large bundles with the help of two young maidservants.
“Young Mistress, all the confiscated items are here.”
The bundles fell to the floor, revealing neatly folded clothing inside.
Pei Feng handed a small ledger to her mistress: “As you instructed, everything has been categorized and recorded. We thoroughly investigated the origin of each item, so if anything is missing, we can identify who wasn’t truthful.”
After flipping through it casually, Zhao Su Rui nodded in satisfaction.
“These are your stolen possessions that I’ve had retrieved for you. The money will be temporarily confiscated, but you may take back your clothes and jewelry. If you behave yourselves, your monthly allowances will be restored starting next month.”
Who would have thought that the young mistress, who had always been aloof and immersed in painting—never bothering with their petty jealousies or internal power struggles—would now be speaking of money and jewelry?
The concubines knelt on the ground gathering their belongings, stealing glances at “Shen Shiqing,” only to meet eyes filled with chilling indifference.
Gone was the former gentleness and vulnerability, replaced by an intimidating aura that promised prosperity to the compliant and ruin to the defiant.
An Nian-Nian, who had been standing behind Xia He, felt her legs weaken slightly, a chill running down her spine.
Having served under the old countess, she possessed more reliable information than the others. Just days ago, the Count’s estate had clearly sent matrons to deal with the young mistress at this manor. Yet not only was the young mistress unharmed, she had taken complete control of the manor. Where were those matrons? The escorts who brought them should have returned to Yanjing by now, but with their belongings here, what had become of the Count’s matrons?
Her hands trembling as she clutched her clothes, she stood sideways, not daring to utter another word.
“If I can retrieve your belongings, I can certainly retrieve other things as well.”
Zhao Su Rui looked at Xia He, who had been quite defiant earlier, swinging her crossed leg casually:
“Understood?”
“Yes, Young Mistress.” The women, each with their own thoughts, bowed their heads to “Shen Shiqing.”
Intimidating a few insignificant concubines wasn’t just unsatisfying for Zhao Su Rui—it was downright tedious. Though this didn’t prevent him from consuming two bowls of astragalus porridge, one plate of steamed chicken, one of steamed eggs, one of stir-fried pork with dried radish, and three cabbage and meat dumplings that evening.
But when night fell, he found himself unable to sleep.
It certainly wasn’t because he had overeaten in Shen Shiqing’s body!
Lying in bed, the mighty and battle-hardened Zhaode Emperor tossed and turned, faint weeping echoing in his mind.
Before entering this useless Shen San Fei’s body, Zhao Su Rui had only witnessed groups of women wailing twice.
And both occasions were hardly pleasant.
The first was his elder brother’s funeral—the Crown Prince.
The second was his father’s funeral—the late Emperor Ruizong.
Burying his head in the blankets, Zhao Su Rui felt restless.
It seemed that whenever he closed his eyes, his vision would be flooded with overwhelming white, countless people weeping as if the mountains were crumbling and the earth splitting, draining all color from the world.
Hearing her mistress was still awake, Tu Nan, who was on night duty, approached:
“Young Mistress, shall I light some Tranquility Incense for you?”
Zhao Su Rui didn’t speak, merely hugging the blankets and uttering a noncommittal “Hmm.”
A smile graced Tu Nan’s lips. A year older than her young mistress, she had always regarded the girl as a younger sister. Seeing the young lady become even more delicate and willful after her injury only evoked tenderness in Tu Nan’s heart. Unlike the eloquent A Chi, she could only comfort her mistress through her skillful hands.
Peeking from beneath the quilt with just her eyes showing, she watched as Shen Shiqing’s maid placed incense pellets into the burner, then used charcoal from the brazier to coax forth a delicate thread of fragrant smoke.
“Young mistress, look!” With a graceful turn of Tu Nan’s hand, the white porcelain incense burner twirled in her palm, the wisp of smoke weaving into a faint, layered blossom-like pattern before gradually dissipating into the cool autumn night air.
Zhao Su Rui took a deep breath and asked curiously, “What is this incense made of?”
“This is the Tranquility Incense you previously blended using cinnamon, chrysanthemum, orange peel, clove, sandalwood, and rhubarb.”
Not a single valuable ingredient, Zhao Su Rui thought disdainfully, rolling her eyes internally.
As Tu Nan spoke, she shaped the smoke with her hands into a white crane spreading its wings in flight.
Zhao Su Rui watched intently. As strands of sweet, warm yet not cloying fragrance slowly enveloped her, her headache seemed to ease. Turning over, her final thought before drifting to sleep was: “Though Shen San Fei is useless, she’s trained her maids well, and the things they create… are even better.”
When she awoke, dawn had yet to break. Zhao Su Rui stared at the pale blue bed curtains and sighed before sitting up.
Waking up to find herself transformed into the Shen family’s useless young mistress who was being forced to leave her marital home—this was truly no dream.
“Young mistress, several concubines have come to pay their respects.”
“I won’t see them.”
Unwilling to burden her head with trivial hair ornaments, Zhao Su Rui had A Chi simply secure her hair in a simple bun using the white jade and silver hairpin.
Glancing at Shen Shiqing’s delicate, timid face in the mirror, Zhao Su Rui turned away in disgust and waved her hand:
“Tell them to stay in the rear quarters and not bother me unless necessary.”
“Yes, young mistress.”
Just as she finished speaking, the door opened and Tu Nan entered carrying a large tray:
“Young mistress, you mentioned craving braised pork knuckle last night. I’ve used stewed knuckle meat as a topping—would you like to try this noodle dish?”
Zhao Su Rui glanced at the soy-braised meat arranged beside the plain noodles and several appetizing side dishes, immediately feeling considerably more content.
Staying at Shen Shiqing’s place for a few days meant she could temporarily avoid being forced by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to eat those bitter dishes made with sow thistle, dandelion, perilla leaves, and wild chives.
The founding emperor of the Great Yong Dynasty had risen from humble origins. To ensure his descendants never forgot their roots, he established numerous regulations regarding daily life and diet, including one that required all emperors and princes to eat the same meals prepared daily by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices as the ministry officials. Breakfast invariably included wild vegetable side dishes—noncompliance was not an option, as refusal would be recorded in the imperial diaries.
Zhao Su Rui remembered being enfeoffed as Prince Zhao of Qin at twelve and moving out of the palace at thirteen, primarily because she couldn’t bear watching her emperor father and crown prince elder brother gloomily eating wild vegetables. Yet barely four years later, when the palace lost its wild vegetable eaters, she had to return to fill the vacancy.
Now, she had temporarily escaped that fate.
Devouring noodles generously topped with large slices of braised pork knuckle, Zhao Su Rui thought of Shen San Fei currently eating wild vegetables in the palace—making the meat in her mouth taste even more delicious.
Shen San Fei, oh Shen San Fei, I’ve managed your household servants and concubines for you, and even had to clean up after your lustful husband and useless father-in-law. Having you eat some wild vegetables on my behalf is practically letting you off easy.
“We’ve detained both groups of people they sent. Ning’an Lord Manor should send more. Pei Feng and Tu Nan, assign some clever ones to guard the main routes. Report immediately if you spot any approaching forces. Also, gather a hundred capable farmhands and guards, ready at all times. Whoever comes, ensure none return.”
“Yes, miss.”
Zhao Su Rui waited on high alert for one day, then another, but Ning’an Lord Manor never sent anyone.
Just as he was puzzling over it, Liu Shi hurriedly sought him out.
“Little A Qing, your lord has provoked the emperor’s wrath and is now in prison!”