At dawn, Shen Qingluo finally put aside the matter of meeting Ye Huaijin and boarded a hired carriage bound for Shengjing.
Upon entering the city, she noticed Nanny Bai wringing her hands, restless and uneasy. Understanding her nerves, Shen Qingluo clasped those frail hands and spoke gently: Don’t be afraid, Nanny. The Marquis’ household is bringing me back for the silver in my purse. Even if it’s only for appearances, they’ll put on a show. We need only hold our heads high.”
She added firmly, “Besides, I am the legitimate eldest daughter of the Marquis’ family. You are my personal attendant. We must carry ourselves with dignity, so they know I am not someone to be trifled with.”
Her words replaced Nanny Bai’s anxiety with courage born of loyalty. She gripped Shen Qingluo’s hand tightly: “Rest assured, my lady. Even if it costs me my life, I will protect you.”
Suyue, listening, placed her hand atop theirs: “I too will defend my mistress to the death!”
“And I as well,” chimed in Xiao Ya, whose simple heart already sensed danger in the Marquis’ household.
But wasn’t the Marquis’ residence supposed to be the young lady’s home? Could a home truly be dangerous? To Xiao Ya, danger was nothing more than being chased with a shoe board after sneaking sweets.
By sunset, the carriage arrived at the Marquis’ estate.
The gates were grand, flanked by imposing stone lions, with a gilded plaque inscribed “Marquis Zhongyong’s Residence.” The mansion itself was an imperial gift. Yet the glory of the family’s military achievements had faded with the death of the old Marquis, Shen Wei. The current Marquis, Shen Zheng, held only a minor post as Vice Director in the Privy Council—a sixth-rank official.
Shen Qingluo gazed at the magnificent estate. With Shen Zheng’s mediocrity, living off past glory, its downfall was only a matter of time.
In her past life, she had failed to see clearly, shackled all her days by the words “family”. She poured her heart and soul into saving the crumbling Great Xia, foolishly so.
Shen Qingluo gave a self-mocking laugh just as the vermilion gates swung open. A servant boy slipped out and asked, “Who are you?”
Suyue stepped forward. “Look carefully—it’s the young lady returned.”
The boy froze, shut the door again, and footsteps echoed from within.
Moments later, the door reopened. This time it was a woman of about forty, dressed in fine brocade, silver bangles on her wrists—clearly not an ordinary servant.
Shen Qingluo recognized her: one of the dowry maids who had followed the Marchioness, a smiling tiger.
“Miss, at last you’ve arrived. The Marchioness has been waiting since morning—she’s in the hall now, eager to see you.” Nanny Qian’s tone was warm, though her eyes flicked up and down, measuring Shen Qingluo.
Shen Qingluo let her look, her own gaze unreadable. Nanny Qian’s expression shifted slightly.
Before they entered the manor, Lu Yan made to take his leave. Nanny Qian stopped him: “The Marchioness instructed that since Young Master Lu has endured the long journey, he should join us for supper.”
Lu Yan agreed, a faint, almost imperceptible smile crossing his eyes.
The vermilion gates opened wide. Nanny Qian followed Shen Qingluo at a measured distance, then glanced back as if recalling something. Her gaze lingered on Nanny Bai before she asked, “Miss, what of Nanny Wang who accompanied you to the old estate?”
Shen Qingluo did not break stride, her voice flat: “She stole from my rooms. She has already been driven out of the old estate.”
Nanny Qian’s smile stiffened. Only after they had crossed the broad front courtyard did she speak again: “The young lady did right. The Marchioness cannot abide those who betray their household.”
Yet inwardly, her heart tightened. Nanny Wang was not one to stoop to petty theft. And if she had truly been expelled from the old estate, how was it that the Marquis’s household had heard nothing of it?
Suyue could feel Nanny Qian’s probing gaze—it was a silent question about Nanny Wang. She deliberately avoided meeting it.
All along the way, servants cast curious looks, eager to see whether the young lady who had spent seven years in the countryside had turned into a rustic bumpkin.
Shen Qingluo kept her eyes forward, calm and composed.
As they neared Mingde Hall, laughter spilled out from within. One lively, girlish voice was all too familiar to Shen Qingluo—it belonged to her younger sister, Shen Qingyi, a year her junior. Such merriment had never existed in her lifetime.
At the doorway, Nanny Qian announced, “The young lady has arrived.”
The chatter inside abruptly ceased. The Marchioness’s voice rang out: “Quickly, let A’h Luo in.”
Douzi waited in the courtyard, while Nanny Bai and Xiao Ya followed Shen Qingluo inside, Lu Yan close behind.
The main hall was crowded—wives of the Shen family’s three branches and their children filled the seats. At the head sat Madam Wei, richly adorned, carrying herself with the air of the Marquis’s matriarch.
The Marchioness rose, her well-kept face smiling. “Ah Luo has returned. Was your journey safe?” Her tone was perfectly polite, yet distant.
In Shen Qingluo’s memory, this was already one of the rare occasions her mother showed a kind face. By rights, she should have been moved to tears.
Shen Qingluo bowed slightly and addressed her mother, “Mother,” then added, with a tone neither warm nor cold, “the journey was fine.”
“That is well,” the Marchioness replied, her gaze shifting toward the upper seat. In a commanding voice she said, “Pay your respects to your grandmother.”
The Marchioness had entered the household under Madam Wei’s arrangement. Of the three great cities of Jiangnan, Jiangling ranked foremost. The Marchioness was the daughter of Jiangling’s Assistant Magistrate, and her mother came from a distinguished collateral branch of the Lu clan.
The Marquis’s household, lacking deep roots or heritage, could never have married such a noblewoman without Madam Wei’s family connections. Thus Madam Wei became the Marquis’s benefactor, and the Marchioness, in turn, honored her everywhere, revering her as a mother.
But for Shen Qingluo to call her grandmother? Dream on.
Madam Wei smiled serenely, as though certain she would comply. In the hushed hall, Shen Qingluo’s clear voice rang out: “When did Grandfather dismiss his wife and raise a concubine to the seat of mistress?”
The room froze, every smile turned to stone. What were all their daily greetings of “Mother” worth now?
Her words tore away the veil, laying bare the Marquis’s indulgence of concubines and neglect of his wife.
The Marchioness’s brows knit tightly. From behind her stepped Shen Qingyi, dressed in a gown of rouge-red, skin fair as snow, radiant and dazzling. She bowed to Shen Qingluo, speaking with affectionate intimacy: “Sister, you do not know—Grandmother treats us with great kindness. It is thanks to her that our three younger brothers, who were still studying, were able to enter the Ye family academy and study under the great scholar, Master Zhou Xun.”
“Is that so?” Shen Qingluo smiled faintly. “Strange—I heard it was a consecrated white jade Guanyin statue, blessed by Master Yuan Kong, that opened the Ye family’s gates and persuaded Madam Ye to agree.”
Madam Wei’s eyes narrowed. How could she know that?
Shen Qingluo continued: “That white jade Guanyin was originally enshrined in the small Buddha hall. My grandmother prayed for it in her youth, and within a year she conceived my father. Its reputation for efficacy spread. You gifted it to Madam Ye, catering to her desires, but in truth you borrowed my grandmother’s fortune.”
Master Yuan Kong had long since passed away, said to have ascended as an immortal. Madam Ye’s deepest sorrow was that Ye Huaijin could not bear a son. A Guanyin statue famed for granting children was precisely what she longed for day and night.
Shen Qingluo had learned of this in her previous life, after marrying Lu Yan, when she attended a Ye family banquet and heard Madam Ye mention it casually.
Madam Wei, of course, had no idea how Shen Qingluo came by this knowledge, nor did she stop to think. She had always claimed to the Marquis’s household that it was the Wei family’s connections that secured the Ye family’s favor.
Her face flushed from green to red, eyes glaring at Shen Qingluo. “Even if that white jade Guanyin served as a stepping stone, do you know what kind of family the Ye clan is? My Wei family worked tirelessly behind the scenes.”