He Ziming glared coldly. “Do not speak so harshly. This is not imprisonment. I am ill and require you to attend me. When you come to your senses, my illness will be cured—and only then may you return to the Jiang household.”
Madam Lu, eager to press the matter, smiled. “Even if you refuse, it does not matter. Your father and I will write to the Jiang family ourselves, consenting to your husband’s marriage. Princess, please accept it!”
How could a woman possibly resist both her husband’s family and her own natal family? If both sides agreed, no matter her unwillingness, she would have to submit.
With a wave of Madam Lu’s hand, the servant women advanced toward He Fangting.
But Bai Wei and Qing Hao pulled the silver hairpins from their heads and stepped forward to block them. These hairpins were not only ornaments but could serve as weapons.
When Marquis He and his wife were alive, they had worried for their granddaughter’s safety. Thus, her close maids and attendants had been specially trained in basic martial skills.
Qing Hao shouted, “The Princess is of imperial blood. To lay hands on her is rebellion!”
Bai Wei added, “Such rebels would be beheaded and their nine clans exterminated!”
The servant women faltered, shoving one another, none daring to move closer. Unspoken, such words might be ignored. But once spoken aloud, who could remain unafraid? Though tempted by rich rewards, their ties to their clans were too strong.
Madam Lu slammed the table in fury. “This is family law! State law does not apply here. Do it!”
But the servants dared not move. Everyone knew family law could not override state law—never the reverse.
He Ziming, meanwhile, grew suspicious. Why was his eldest daughter so calm, sipping tea leisurely, showing no fear?
He asked, “Fangting, what are you thinking?”
He Fangting set down her cup and sighed. “I am thinking—after Father’s line is expelled from the clan, where will you settle?”
He Ziming froze. “…Expelled from the clan?”
He Fangting replied, “My being confined for a few days, or Jiang Zhixiu marrying Xie Meiying—these are trifles. But Father’s line being expelled from the He clan—that would be the true calamity.”
He Ziming’s face turned ashen. “Do not speak such nonsense! Why would I be expelled?”
Madam Lu was shaken, staring nervously at He Fangting. From experience, she knew that what He Fangting said often came true.
He Fangting sighed twice more, then said, “Has Father forgotten? I also bear the He name. The He family of Changning Marquis, descended from the founding emperor, has fought north and south for centuries, pillars of Great Zhao, a noble house of generations. How could the He clan tolerate their daughter being humiliated by her husband taking another wife? Once my uncle learns you approved this, he will surely rage and expel you from the clan!”
At her words, He Ziming felt a chill spread through his body. To be expelled from the clan meant utter ruin—reputation destroyed, career ended, no place left in the world. And his elder brother was fierce and decisive, intolerant of the slightest offense. He truly might do it.
He had been careless, thinking only of office, forgetting this consequence. The old scars on his back and hips, from when his brother had once enforced family law upon him, began to ache faintly again.
Madam Lu froze for a long while before murmuring, “It’s not simply taking another wife—it’s *jiantiao* (dual succession)!”
He Fangting smiled lightly. “When Uncle asks, Madam may explain it that way.”
Madam Lu shook her head in panic. “No, no, I wouldn’t dare!”
She knew perfectly well: no matter how prettily one dressed it up, *jiantiao* was still just another marriage. Her husband feared his elder brother; she feared him even more. Yet unwillingness stirred in her heart, and she stammered, “But… if it had nothing to do with your father, if it were your own choice?”
He Fangting replied, “In Uncle’s eyes, it’s all the same. Father failed to defend me, failed to defend the He family’s honor—that alone is a grave crime.”
He Ziming wanted to retort that this was nonsense, but the words stuck in his throat. For indeed, his elder brother would think exactly that way.
Seeing his expression, Madam Lu fell into despair and could not speak further. It seemed Yunshan Academy would never belong to her two children after all.
He Fangting laughed inwardly at these two paper tigers—she hadn’t even exerted herself, and already they had collapsed. Her elegant phoenix eyes swept over the maidservants still lingering in the hall and the guards outside the door.
He Ziming barked, “What are you standing around for? Withdraw!”
The servants hurriedly dispersed.
He Fangting glanced toward the courtyard and said with a smile, “It grows late. I should be going.”
He Ziming’s voice shook with anger, yet he was powerless against her. He spat, “I won’t see you off!”
At the doorway, He Fangting suddenly turned back. “Where is the deed Jiang Zhixiu wrote? Hand it to me!”
She did not want it to seek justice, but because she feared her father’s careless keeping might let it slip out. If that document were exposed, the world would know how heartless and shameless her father and husband were—joining hands to scheme against her, to sell her off. What kind of men were these, fit to be called father or husband?
She cared little for the ridicule they would face. But she could not ignore the He family’s century-old reputation, nor the future of her two children.
Thus, the deed was safer in her own keeping. In her father’s hands, she could not rest easy.
He Ziming glared at her for several breaths, then pulled the paper from his sleeve and flung it at her feet.
Qing Hao bent to pick it up and tucked it away carefully.
He Fangting ignored her father’s impotent rage. With grave composure, she said, “Even if there were no danger of expulsion from the clan, you should never have agreed. If Jiang Zhixiu truly takes two wives under *jiantiao*, it is not only trampling my face—it is trampling the He family’s face.”
“Think of Fangyan. One day she will marry. If her husband also seeks *jiantiao*, or takes a co-wife, or installs a favored concubine—how will you oppose it then? And what of Liwen and Lizhang? With a sister who tolerated such humiliation, what noble family would dare marry their daughters to them? Do you not fear others will follow the same example?”
“As for studies and official careers—say no more. Since Jiang Zhixiu intends to elevate another branch, how could he ever allow my father or brothers to shine? He will only suppress them! I have spoken all I can. Reflect on it carefully.”