Having credited Shen Qingluo’s merits, they now sought to press her grievances.
“Did you truly send someone to fetch Ah Luo?” Shen Zheng asked his wife.
The Marchioness, guilty at heart, faltered and claimed the servants had been lazy and went too late.
“You oversee the inner quarters—if the servants dare neglect their mistress, then they need not remain in the Marquis household at all.” Shen Zheng’s anger flared.
The one sent to fetch her was Feicui, the Marchioness’s own dowry maid. To expel her over such a trifle, the Marchioness was unwilling. “My lord, it was my fault. There will be no next time. Let her be flogged a few boards to vent Ah Luo’s anger?”
Knowing his wife labored hard managing the household, Shen Zheng had no real wish to dismiss her people. “A beating to remember the lesson will suffice.”
His gaze fell on his eldest daughter’s thin frame. He told his wife, “A’h Luo is far too slender. Have the cooks prepare more of the dishes she likes.”
The Marchioness dared not refuse.
“Banyue Pavilion is remote, unlike Ah Yi’s Zhaixing Pavilion. I recall the western rooms of Zhaixing Pavilion are still vacant. Why not let Ah Luo move there, so the sisters may grow closer?” Shen Zheng looked to his wife.
The Marchioness was unwilling in her heart—every tree and stone of the Zhaixing Pavilion had been arranged for her younger daughter.
She dared not openly refuse, so she turned to Shen Qingluo: “Ah Luo, would you rather live with your sister, or have Mother redecorate Banyue Pavilion for you?”
“Mother, I’m used to living in Banyue Pavilion,” Shen Qingluo replied.
The Marchioness breathed a sigh of relief.
Shen Qingyi twisted her hands, then lifted a smile, speaking in a tone of regret: “I would dearly love to live with Elder Sister.”
“Is that so?” Shen Qingluo knew her sister’s temperament best—falsehoods spoken as truth, cloaking herself in lofty airs.
Caught off guard by the retort, Shen Qingyi’s smile froze for an instant. She quickly looped her arm through her sister’s and coaxed: “Of course it’s true. When we were little, I loved chasing after Elder Sister.”
That part was true—though Shen Qingluo had borne many punishments on her behalf.
At five years old, while they were writing in the study, Shen Qingyi spilled ink across Shen Zheng’s military texts. Later, when questioned, she pointed at Shen Qingluo with innocent eyes and said: “It was Elder Sister who accidentally overturned the inkstone.”
Shen Zheng was stern, and Shen Qingluo feared her father. Her weak attempt at explanation only convinced him she was the culprit. The ruler fell upon her small palms, leaving streaks of red welts. The pain was not searing, yet Shen Qingluo remembered it to this day. She withdrew her arm, putting distance between herself and Shen Qingyi, and said lightly:
“We’ve grown up now. I don’t remember what happened when we were children.”
It was not the gratitude Shen Qingyi had expected. She grew vexed—for all her life, everyone in the household had flattered her; daughters of the second and third branches, whether legitimate or concubine-born, all sought her favor. How dare Shen Qingluo disdain her?
At the dining table, no one spoke; they only watched the spectacle.
The Marquis household had been too tranquil for too long. With someone stirring the waters, many were glad to see it. All the more since this eldest daughter of the main branch was not one to be trifled with. Silent and unyielding, she had already seized the advantage.
Shen Qingluo sensed the many gazes upon her. She was hungry, so she simply ate in earnest. When the meal ended, she returned to Banyue Pavilion.
In the moonlight, Nanny Bai waited anxiously at the courtyard gate, pacing back and forth. Shen Qingluo called softly: “Nanny, I’m back.”
Nanny Bai’s tense face instantly relaxed. She grasped Shen Qingluo’s hand—cold as ice—and was startled: “How could you come back from Baique Temple chilled like this?”
Not seeing Douzi anywhere, she asked: “That boy—this old servant told him to watch over the young lady. He must have gone off to play.”
Banyue Pavilion was a place of little importance in the Marquis household, cut off from news. Shen Qingluo did not know how long Nanny Bai had been waiting there. She squeezed her hand gently to reassure her: “I’m fine. The mountain winds are strong.”
Then she added: “Douzi went with the steward to the servants’ quarters. Tomorrow I’ll arrange a place for him to study.”
Nanny Bai thanked her profusely.
Hot water was prepared, and after drinking the warming medicine brewed by the maid, Shen Qingluo’s whole body felt cozy and warm.
The three of them gathered together, chatting—Xiao Ya spoke, Nanny Bai listened.
Suddenly, the candlelight on the table flickered; a shadow swept past the window. Nanny Bai started to rise, but Shen Qingluo pressed her down and shook her head.
Only when the shadow had gone and the courtyard grew quiet again did Shen Qingluo say: “I know who it was.”
Xiao Ya said: “It was Nanny Zhou.” She spoke with certainty. Shen Qingluo and Nanny Bai both turned to look at her. She blinked her wide eyes and explained: “I smelled the ointment on her body.”
A few days earlier, in the rain, Nanny Zhou had slipped on the bluestone slabs at the gate and injured her waist.
At such a distance, with the door closed and only a narrow crack in the window, Xiao Ya could still catch the scent of ointment.
Shen Qingluo and Nanny Bai found it incredible.
“If it truly was her, then she took the young lady’s silver yet pays lip service while disobeying in secret. She is not working faithfully for the young lady,” Nanny Bai said.
Shen Qingluo nodded. “I know.”
In her previous life, she had Nanny Wang by her side, so the Marchioness had not hurried to send Madam Zhou. It was only after she surrendered her silver and began managing the Marquis household’s businesses that the Marchioness claimed she was overworked and dispatched Nanny Zhou. First, to watch over her. Second, to watch over Nanny Wang.
After all, Nanny Wang had followed Shen Qingluo for more than ten years, and the Marchioness feared she might turn her allegiance.
Moreover, during today’s trip to Baique Temple, Shen Qingluo had followed the Marchioness’s words, allowing Madam Wei and her to steal the spotlight. This time, she had made both the Marchioness and Madam Wei stumble. They would not let her off so easily.
“Xiao Ya, keep an eye on Nanny Zhou these next few days,” Shen Qingluo instructed.
Xiao Ya agreed. She was young, with her thoughts written plainly on her face, so Nanny Zhou did not guard against her much.
The next morning, the Marchioness sent people to replace the furnishings in her rooms, and the entire Banyue Pavilion was transformed.
Shen Qingluo had some understanding of the Marquis household’s finances. When her grandfather was ennobled, he purchased estates and farmland. In recent years, natural disasters had been frequent, and harvests had been poor. There were also three shops—one belonging to the Shen family, and the other two part of Madam Wei’s and her mother’s dowries. All of these were managed by her mother.
The greatest expense lay in social obligations.
To maintain the Marquis household’s prestige, vast sums of silver had to be scattered. Just one banquet Shen Zheng hosted for his colleagues at Tianxiang Tower cost a hundred taels. One of her elder brothers had also grown accustomed to extravagance since childhood. The household accounts were perpetually in deficit. It would not be long before the Marchioness came seeking her again.
Indeed, after the midday meal, the Marchioness herself arrived at Banyue Pavilion, supported by Nanny Qian as she toured the rooms.
“The arrangement is quite fine,” the Marchioness remarked. Her gaze lingered deliberately on the dressing case by the window, where a large Eastern pearl lay atop.
Shen Qingluo poured tea, feigning oblivion. “Mother, have some tea.”
The tea was Lushan Yunwu, a rare delicacy. The Marchioness loved tea, and at the first whiff she knew: “This tea is not found in the Marquis household.”
Shen Qingluo instructed Nanny Bai to wrap some up for her mother to take home.
“Today I came to speak with you,” the Marchioness smiled gently. “You are the Marquis household’s legitimate daughter. You must set an example for your younger siblings. Now that you are betrothed, it is time you learned to manage affairs of the household.”
Shen Qingluo listened quietly.