The wind and snow intensified during the night, and the persimmon tree behind the house had its branches bent low under the weight of the snow.
Inside the room, fragrant mist curled up from the Gold-inlaid Chilong Incense Burner. The person in bed slept uneasily, clutching the corner of the quilt, her lashes trembling constantly.
“…How could you be so cheap? There are plenty of good men in this world. Why did you have to seduce your brother-in-law? He is your sister’s husband. Were you really that desperate?”
“You actually used caring for your sister as an excuse to climb into your brother-in-law’s bed. How can you be so shameless?”
“Shen Shuangyue, the Shen family has no such shameless daughter as you!”
“Shen Shuangyue, why don’t you just go die!”
The rain poured down. She knelt in the rain, her clothes in disarray, while everyone looked down on her from above, watching her humiliation.
She begged over and over again, repeating “I didn’t do it” again and again, but no one believed her. Everyone pointed at her and cursed her, wishing she would just die.
She drove a hairpin into the side of her neck and nearly lost her life—it was her sister who stopped her hand.
“A-Yue, your sister believes you. Your sister believes you never did those things, but your sister cannot go on living.”
“Your sister begs you—please marry into the Count’s household. Please live on in my place, protect the Shen family’s reputation and Yi-ge’er for me. Your sister begs you…”
…
“Madam! Madam!”
Shen Shuangyue opened her eyes, her head covered in cold sweat, and met Jinque’s panicked, anxious face. Somewhat dazed, she asked in a hoarse voice, “What is it?”
“Madam, something has happened to the Sun family!”
Jinque lifted the bed curtains and said urgently, “Vice Minister Sun is implicated in embezzling the salt tax. The Imperial City Department has arrested him.”
Shen Shuangyue’s muddled mind jolted awake instantly. “What did you say?”
Jinque said, “It’s true. Last night the Imperial City Department suddenly moved—Marquis Dingyuan personally led the arrest. Everyone in the Sun family has been thrown into prison, even the Second Young Miss.”
“The Count has already rushed to the Imperial City Department, and the Eldest Young Miss has returned as well. Things are in an uproar outside right now. The Old Madam wants you to come over.”
Shen Shuangyue rose quickly. “Hurry, help me change.”
Today was supposed to be Xie Yujiao’s third-day return visit to her family home. Everything in the household had been prepared, but no one expected the Sun family to suddenly be thrown into prison.
Shen Shuangyue hastily made herself presentable and, holding her hand warmer, headed to the Old Madam’s Yu’anzhai, asking along the way, “Has the Count sent back any word?”
Jinque said in a low voice, “Not yet. But Madam, that salt tax case has been under investigation for so long, and Vice Minister Sun was never troubled before. Could this just be a misunderstanding?”
Yet Shen Shuangyue’s heart sank. Sun Yiping might only be Vice Minister of Revenue, but the current Minister of Revenue was about to retire, making him virtually guaranteed to be the next Minister. Without solid evidence, how could his entire family have been imprisoned so directly?
Moreover, she had always felt there was something off about the Sun family.
Sun Yiping came from an ordinary background, entering the court only after passing the imperial examinations. The Sun family had no substantial property, yet his wife, daughters, and relatives spent money with extraordinary extravagance. In their few previous encounters, it was clear that his children squandered money like dirt.
At court, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had long been locked in a struggle for power, and the princes below had all come of age. The Ministry of Revenue was fat meat that everyone was watching.
When the two families first began discussing the marriage, she had subtly warned the Old Madam that the Sun family’s eldest son was not a good match. But the Old Madam had only believed she was jealous of Xie Yujiao’s marriage and wanted to sabotage the Count household’s good fortune.
Xie Yujiao, terrified that someone might steal her chance to marry into the future Ministry household, had secretly met with the eldest son of the Sun family even before the marriage was settled—so by now, the marriage was as good as fixed whether it was formally agreed or not.
If the Sun family’s embezzlement was confirmed this time, it might well implicate their household. She didn’t care what happened to the Xie family, but if Count Qing’an’s Residence got into trouble, what would become of Yi-ge’er?
She had promised her sister she would keep him safe.
Shen Shuangyue stopped in her tracks. “Jinque, don’t come with me to Yu’anzhai.”
“Go to my chests and take out that set of hair ornaments with the Mandarin Ducks with Jade Flower Branch Pattern, and take them to the Duke of Su’s Manor to see the Duchess. Tell her that I heard Seventh Miss Zheng is about to have her Ji-ji Ceremony, and I’m sending this as a congratulatory gift.”
Half a year ago, she had unexpectedly saved the Duchess of Su, and no one knew of it. The Duke of Su held a special position at court, so if she sent a gift for his daughter now, the Duchess would naturally understand her meaning.
The Sun and Xie families were only related by marriage, and Xie Yujiao had been married in for barely three days. If the Duke of Su offered even a few words on their behalf, then as long as the Xie family was themselves untainted, the matter would not touch them.
Jinque frowned. “But Miss, those ornaments are your favorite.”
“No matter how much I like them, they’re only dead objects.”
Shen Shuangyue’s eyes were cold. Yi-ge’er had not yet grown up to inherit the title—neither the Count’s Residence nor Xie Huaizhi could afford any mishap. “Hurry along. Once you’ve seen the Duchess, say nothing more. Deliver the gift and come straight back.”
After watching Jinque leave, Shen Shuangyue sighed softly before continuing on toward Yu’anzhai.
Yu’anzhai lay in the eastern part of the residence, while Shuangxu Courtyard was in the northwest corner. Every day, Shen Shuangyue’s walk to pay her respects took nearly half a stick of incense’s time. The snow was still falling outside, and even her thickened cloak couldn’t keep out the chill. Her head, having caught cold the night before, throbbed faintly.
Clutching her hand warmer, she had just rounded the corridor when, before even reaching Yu’anzhai, she ran straight into Xie Huaizhi, whose expression was grim.
“Count.”
Xie Huaizhi looked at the woman bowing before him. She seemed as meek as ever, as if nothing had happened the night before. He unconsciously relaxed, his gaze sweeping over the neck hidden by her collar—then, in an instant, looked away.
“I was just looking for you.”
Shen Shuangyue rose. “Is it about the Sun family matter?”
“You’ve heard?”
“I’ve heard a little, but not in detail. I heard the Count went to the Imperial City Department—how did it go?”
At the words “Imperial City Department,” Xie Huaizhi’s face darkened abruptly. “The Imperial City Department was acting on His Majesty’s decree. There is no room for maneuver in the Sun family’s affair. Marquis Dingyuan has already found solid evidence—Sun Yiping cannot escape implication in the salt tax embezzlement.”
“Then Yujiao…”
“Yujiao has been thrown into prison as well. I tried to see her and was turned away. The Imperial City Department said that until the Sun family’s case is concluded, no one may visit her.”
Shen Shuangyue’s brow furrowed tightly. “But Yujiao is a new bride.”
“A new bride is still one of them,” Xie Huaizhi said grimly. “The Imperial City Department arrested the Sun family household according to law. She completed the marriage rites with Sun Qing.”
The matter was, in truth, ambiguous.
If the Imperial City Department were willing to be lenient, Xie Yujiao would naturally be innocent; but if they pressed the matter strictly, she did indeed count as a member of the Sun family.
They had all once been noble officials of the court, and in such matters most would have turned a blind eye. But unfortunately, the one making the arrests was Pei Yu.
Pei Yu had originally been a criminal slave, of the lowest and most humble origins, before he joined the army and clawed his way up through bloodshed to a high position.
A year ago, the barbarian tribes invaded the border, and the Ye Dynasty’s armies suffered a crushing defeat. The commanding general fled, and the border city was on the verge of falling. It was Pei Yu who turned the tide, leading troops in a surprise attack on the barbarians’ rear camp and capturing their eldest prince alive, forcing them to withdraw and thus saving the border city.
Overnight, his achievements towered to the heavens. Upon returning to the capital, the Emperor bestowed upon him the title of Marquis Dingyuan.
Emperor Jing valued him exceptionally highly and placed the Imperial City Department in his hands. Pei Yu supervised the court on Emperor Jing’s behalf, purging corrupt officials and eliminating those with disloyal ambitions. In barely half a year after returning to the capital, countless court officials had died at his hands.
That man’s temperament was unpredictable, and he was exceptionally cold and unfeeling.
If he refused to let go, Xie Yujiao would have no hope of escaping.
Xie Huaizhi grew angry whenever he recalled being turned away at the gates of the Imperial City Department.
“The evidence against the Sun family is conclusive. They’re only being held in prison for now because the salt tax case hasn’t been fully investigated. That Pei Yu is a mad dog—I’m afraid he’ll turn and bite the Xie family.”
“The salt tax case has festered for a long time. Since the Sun family was one of the masterminds, our marriage alliance with them was already bound to draw suspicion. Now that the Imperial City Department is conducting a strict investigation, any connection with the Sun family will become evidence of guilt.”
Xie Huaizhi said, “You manage the household affairs. I’ve come to retrieve the Sun family’s betrothal gifts, along with the other things they sent over earlier.”
Hearing this, Shen Shuangyue understood his meaning. When the Count’s household had first arranged the marriage alliance with the Sun family, the betrothal gifts they sent were exceptionally lavish. At the time, everyone had assumed it showed how much the Sun family valued Xie Yujiao—but now those gifts had become a scalding hot potato.
Now that the Sun family had been convicted, and since the Xie family had no involvement in the salt tax case, Xie Huaizhi wanted to proactively sever all ties by delivering the Sun family’s “ill-gotten goods” to the Imperial City Department.
Xie Huaizhi said, “This is urgent. We’ll retrieve them now.”
Shen Shuangyue dared not delay, and quickly led Xie Huaizhi to the storeroom. But the moment she mentioned retrieving the Sun family’s betrothal gifts, the steward’s face instantly went pale.
“Madam, weren’t the Sun family’s betrothal gifts already taken away by your people?”
Shen Shuangyue was stunned. “When did I ever take the betrothal gifts?”
The steward dropped to his knees with a thud. “A month ago, you said you were short of money and sent someone to take the Sun family’s betrothal gifts. Aside from the sacrificial meats, seafood, wine, tea, and fruits, most of the silver and jewelry was taken away.”
Shen Shuangyue snapped furiously, “What nonsense are you spouting!”
She had never touched the Sun family’s betrothal gifts. When the Sun family had first delivered them, she had immediately had them sent to the storeroom for safekeeping.
Originally, those betrothal gifts were to be taken out as part of Xie Yujiao’s dowry when she married, but Old Madame Xie complained that she wasn’t taking Xie Yujiao’s marriage seriously enough, and that the silver the Sun family sent wasn’t sufficient for the bottom-of-the-trunk savings.
So Shen Shuangyue had kept the betrothal gifts and instead spent a large sum preparing a separate dowry for Xie Yujiao. The betrothal gifts were kept in the residence as a safety net for Xie Yujiao’s future—yet now they claimed she had taken them away.
Shen Shuangyue turned her head and met Xie Huaizhi’s gaze, full of suspicion. She frowned and said, “Count, I never touched the Sun family’s things, and I don’t know what happened…”
Xie Huaizhi said, “You manage the household affairs, and you hold the keys to the storeroom. And you claim you know nothing?”
Shen Shuangyue explained, “I do manage the household affairs, but I’m not the only one with keys. Mother has a set as well—she can also access the storeroom.”
“Are you saying Mother took the Sun family’s betrothal gifts?”
“I don’t mean it that way. It’s just that no one would dare take things from the storerooms without permission. With the Sun family’s matter so urgent, and the betrothal gifts having been taken, Mother may know something about it. Why not ask her first…”
“Absolutely impossible!”
Xie Huaizhi’s voice rose sharply. “What could my household possibly lack? How could Mother ever covet the Sun family’s betrothal gifts?”
Shen Shuangyue’s head was already throbbing with pain, and hearing him speak such unreasonable nonsense stirred her anger.
“Mother may not lack anything, but do you mean to say I do?”
It was true she had a notorious reputation and had been cast off by the Shen family, but back then, out of guilt toward the Xie family, the Shens had given her a generous dowry when she married in. When had she ever been short of money?
She forced herself to keep her patience. “These years, though I have managed the household affairs, all the stewards in the storerooms belong to Mother’s courtyard. How could I possibly take so much of the Sun family’s things without alerting Yu’anzhai?”
At this, Xie Huaizhi flew into a rage. “You’re saying Mother took those things to frame you?”
“I am not.”
Shen Shuangyue thought he was being deliberately perverse. “Count, I am simply discussing the matter at hand with you. I know you despise me, but I will never admit to something I did not do. I am not the only one with keys to the storerooms. Whoever lost the goods cannot escape responsibility—and Mother is no exception…”
“Shut your mouth!”
Xie Huaizhi said harshly, “I have told you Mother could never touch the Sun family’s things. Do not slander her!”
“Am I slandering her, or is the Count acting guilty?”
Shen Shuangyue’s temple throbbed with stabbing pain, and she lost her patience. “The Sun family’s trouble is right upon us. I only want to recover the things as quickly as possible. If Mother has a clear conscience, she will naturally not fear facing me.”
“But the Count, without even asking a single question, has already decided it was me. What exactly are you afraid of? Afraid that if Mother really did take the things, it would expose you as blind to right and wrong, biased and arrogant? Or afraid you won’t be able to pin it on me…”
“Slap!”
Xie Huaizhi raised his hand and struck her. She staggered and slammed into a pillar behind her, her once-dazzling face now utterly wretched.
Blood appeared at the corner of her lip, and she looked up at him with reddened eyes.
“I see you haven’t changed one bit!”
“Who do you think I’m protecting by refusing a confrontation? When you forced your way into this family all those years ago, Mother already despised you to the utmost. These years you’ve been ruthless and vicious, and you still dare clamor for a confrontation—you even dare curse me!”
Xie Huaizhi was furious. It had been the same back then—Shen Shuangyue, with that delicate, lotus-blossom face, calling him “brother-in-law” so innocently and sweetly, clinging her way into the household under the pretense of keeping the pregnant Wanyi company. But later she had drugged him and driven her own elder sister to her death in fury.
Wanyi had died with her unborn child—and then Shen Shuangyue had married into the Count’s household.
In the years since, she had stirred up trouble after trouble—either injuring Yujiao with a fall or causing Yuyin to lose her child. Even toward Mother she was repeatedly insolent, scheming against her with self-harming tricks.
If not for the desperate plea Wanyi had made before her death, she would have long ago been beaten to death and thrown into a pond. And yet now she still dared curse him.
Meeting her reddened, mocking eyes, Xie Huaizhi felt his fury surge to his head. She was the one who had forced herself onto him, and she still had the gall to clamor.
He flung his sleeve and said coldly, “Ungrateful creature! Someone—lock Madam in the ancestral hall!”