The festive red lanterns swayed in the warm breeze as Li Qu rushed out of the room, crouched beside the large water jar that was used for daily water-drawing in the corner of the wall, scooped up water from it, and began rinsing her mouth.
But the moment the water touched her lips, her stomach churned violently, and she vomited all over the ground.
She couldn’t tell whether the bitter liquid in her mouth was bile or something else; she could only rinse again and again with clean water.
The nimble summer wind, carrying waves of heat, frolicked with the lanterns, as if mocking Li Qu’s fanciful hopes—mocking how she had schemed for six years to hide, yet was still wantonly defiled by a man who held power above all else.
Footsteps passed by her. Li Qu gripped the water ladle tightly and quietly waited for the owner of those footsteps to leave.
It was fine. She had endured six years; one or two more days meant nothing.
After tomorrow, she would have the identity and the reason to leave the Zhou residence.
In the future, her little brother would be born, her second sister Li Rong would marry, and with money and leisure, her life would grow easier and easier.
She would forget what had happened.
Yes, she would forget.
She scooped up a ladle of water and poured it over her head, pretending that hot tears had not already spilled from her eyes.
Only when the footsteps gradually faded did she feel fresh air entering her chest.
But she had barely taken half a breath when Nanny Xu appeared before her and said respectfully, “Consort, Fanghua Garden has been made ready. Please make your way there, Consort.”
She looked at Nanny Xu in disbelief, feeling as though the woman were playing the most enormous joke on her.
“Consort!”
Ever since the year she turned ten, when the Heir of Prince Yan, Xiao Cong, suddenly kissed her cheek, she had racked her brains to avoid the path of becoming a concubine.
Building her eldest sister’s reputation, helping her impoverished brother-in-law prepare for the imperial examinations, begging Xiao Cong to arrange an official post for him—step by step, she had been fleeing the “grace” of concubinage that those in power deigned to bestow upon her.
What a rotten thing a concubine was!
A cheap commodity bought and sold!
A body with no will of its own!
Just because she was of humble birth with a face like a flower, she was supposed to become a concubine to a man of power and noble standing?
On what grounds!
“I am of free status! Free status!”
Li Qu’s insistence sounded pale and feeble in the sultry summer night.
Yet the look in her eyes left Nanny Xu stunned.
Being a concubine to Third Master Zhou was worlds apart from being a concubine to an ordinary man!
The woman’s face was covered in water, but her gaze was so resolute, so clear, so unyielding.
The kind that would rather break than bend.
After a long moment, Nanny Xu recovered her voice: “Consort, even when the Heir of Prince Yan, Xiao Cong, sees Third Master, he must bow and address him as ‘uncle.’
Wan County lies along the Yangtze. For the Zhou family, changing a county magistrate is merely a matter of a single word.”
Li Qu’s breath caught in her chest.
Just as she had once held the Chang mother and son in the palm of her hand, the Zhou family now held her—effortlessly.
Li Qu refused to accept it.
Hoping for some point of breakthrough, she glanced around, only then discovering that servants knelt all over the courtyard, with Mother Chang and her son positioned especially close to Li Qu.
As if sensing Li Qu’s gaze, Mother Chang looked up, then abruptly kowtowed to her.
“Today is the Consort’s joyous day. Our congratulations to the Consort. Please accept this humble gift.”
With that, she drew from her bosom a red envelope wrapped in red cloth.
Li Qu forcefully suppressed the fury and resentment boiling in her chest at having her efforts come to nothing, forcing herself to stay calm.
—”Why won’t you be willing to become Third Master’s concubine?”
—”He doesn’t deserve it!”
—”Whether he deserves it or not is not for you to decide.”
That was it. Zhou Jin had overheard what she said to Chang San.
She forced herself to stay calm, slowly loosening her fingers around the water ladle.
Even horses stumble, and even people slip up.
Li Qu consoled herself.
The mistake had already been made; next time she would be careful with her words and actions.
Beyond that, she needed to find a way to make amends.
The Zhou family rose through military service, producing brilliant sons generation after generation.
Three hundred years on, nearly as old as the dynasty itself, they were a genuine aristocratic house.
The eldest master of this branch of the Zhou family had entered officialdom through the proper imperial examinations and was now a first-rank capital official with real power in his hands.
He had three sons: the third was a idle young nobleman, the eldest had entered office through hereditary privilege, and the second also held an official post.
Second Master was a talent for business—the wealth of the Zhou family was something Li Qu had heard of even back in Yan territory.
Third Master Zhou Jin was the one she knew best.
He had previously served as a third-rank Chief Supervising Commissioner and had nearly married a princess, before being transferred laterally to Shanxi to fight bandits. When Li Qu first arrived at the Zhou residence, she had heard that Zhou Jin had earned merit for pacifying the bandits and was due an imperial reward.
For some reason, he had now returned to Hezhou, the Zhou family’s home base, to serve as Pacification Commissioner.
From any angle, the Zhou family was a colossus that neither she nor her brother-in-law could hope to move.
The crux of the matter was Zhou Jin.
Zhou Jin was born into the Zhou family, the son the Old Madam had in her later years. Born in Rome itself, he had sailed smoothly through life, and had probably never once been made to lose face.
Li Qu knew she had misspoken and was in the wrong, and resolved that when she saw Zhou Jin, she would apologize and make amends, humbling herself.
Men in high positions, proud and self-satisfied, fought for nothing more than their pride.
If she sincerely admitted her fault and returned both face and dignity to him—and she was, after all, just a lowly woman—the odds that he would show mercy were high.
Besides, Zhou Jin kept no beauties in his household and had little taste for women, so she need not fear he would be tempted by her looks.
Following behind Nanny Xu, she rehearsed her speech thoroughly in her mind. But when she arrived at Fanghua Court, Zhou Jin was not there.
“I would like to see Third Master. Could you pass along a message, Nanny?”
Nanny Xu shook her head. “Concubine, this is where you will be living from now on.”
“This place is close to Jinxiu Hall. Third Master will be staying at the residence for some time on this visit. When he remembers you, he will naturally summon you to attend him.”
“And if I wish to see him?”
Nanny Xu wore a knowing expression.
Just as she thought—no woman could escape her master’s charm.
“Third Master dislikes sweets in summer. That iced bowl you made for the Old Madam last time—use less sugar, and Third Master will likely enjoy it.”
“I’ll go make it right now.”
Seeing the concubine’s burning enthusiasm, and thinking that she was skilled at winning favor and that Third Master had only just tasted a woman’s company—perhaps he was thinking of her too—Nanny Xu let her go.
In Jinxiu Hall, Zhou Jin, fresh from a cold bath, was reading letters at his desk. When Huaiqiu relayed that Concubine Li had sent over an iced bowl, and thinking of his body that had only just known a woman’s touch and was not yet fully relieved, he said, “Let her in.”
When Li Qu entered, she saw Zhou Jin in his inner garments, draped in a crabapple-red robe, lounging back against his chair and staring at her. Her scalp instantly prickled.
Suppressing the turmoil of emotions inside her, she bowed to him and presented the iced bowl. “This can relieve summer heat, but one should not indulge too much. Please taste it, Third Master.”
Zhou Jin glanced at the iced bowl Li Qu had set down beside her hand, then shifted his gaze back to her. There seemed to be mockery in his eyes, though his tone was flat. “I’m worthy of it?”
Having dealt with the Heir of Prince Yan for eight years, Li Qu knew well the nature of men in power. She knew that what she had to do now was kneel and beg forgiveness.
So without hesitation she knelt and admitted her fault: “This humble woman spoke recklessly before. I beg you, in your great magnanimity, to spare me this once.
I will set up a longevity tablet for you and serve you day and night, without ever slackening.”
Zhou Jin picked up the iced bowl.
A woman who could earn a single word of praise from her mother—only lacking in birth—was indeed beautiful enough.
From her face down to the tips of her hair, she was so exquisite she didn’t look like a daughter ordinary commoners could have raised.
Now she knelt on the ground, hands flat against the floor, upper body prostrate, her garments draping downward, accentuating her slender willow waist and full, peach-like hips.
Li Qu heard the sound of the spoon clinking against the porcelain bowl, and quietly breathed a long sigh of relief.
Straightening up, she glanced at the man eating his ice bowl, chose her words carefully, and spoke with great caution: “This humble girl’s origins are lowly. Even to serve you without name or status would be this humble girl climbing far above her station.”
Stating her position.
“But this humble girl is shallow in experience and coarse in manner. Standing at your side would only sully your jade-like elegance.”
Explaining that the two of them were unsuited—because of her own inferior quality.
“Previously, this humble girl caused the Old Madam harm to her health. That was this humble girl’s recklessness.”
Admitting her fault.
“Fortunately, the Old Madam is kind-hearted, and has already given me a small punishment as a warning, sparing this humble girl. I beg you to be magnanimous as well, and not hold it against me.”
Asking for forgiveness.
Zhou Jin showed no trace of emotion, only eating his ice bowl in small spoonfuls. He seemed quite satisfied with the ice bowl she had made.
Li Qu swallowed, then continued: “When this humble girl leaves Jinxiu Hall shortly, she will go kowtow before the Old Madam’s door and beg forgiveness.”
“This humble girl possesses a beauty-preservation recipe for women, and is willing to present it to the Old Madam, to help her preserve her youth and keep her bloom from fading.”
“Furthermore, having heard that Third Master suffers in the summer heat, this humble girl is willing to offer the ice bowl recipe, to ease Third Master’s troubles.”
Offering the sincerity of her repentance.
Gritting her teeth, Li Qu spoke again: “Third Master, you are a dragon among men. That this humble girl had the fortune to pour your tea and warm your feet is a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes.”
“However, to be honest, this humble girl’s heart already belongs to another…”
The ice bowl was hurled onto the desk with a crisp clatter, making Li Qu tremble all over, her voice cut off abruptly.