Xiao Yunzhu grew up amid her mother’s love and hatred, and in the boundless weight of self‑reproach—she had known hesitation, loss, terror, sorrow, self‑abandonment, and despair.
She still cherishes the memory of her father and two elder brothers yet she also felt that spring, summer, autumn, and winter were all Heaven’s gifts—flowers and leaves, fruits, great birds and fleeting mayflies, the myriad forms of human life, each with its own brilliance. The wind, blossoms, snow, and moon; the shifting skies and waxing and waning of the moon—none should be missed. And so, each day she carried joy in her heart.
After dining with Old Madam He and chatting for a while, Xiao Yunzhu returned to Guanhu Cottage, her temporary residence. It had once been her mother’s dwelling.
On the way, she happened upon Madam Jiang, the principal wife of the He household and mother of He Baoyan—her future mother‑in‑law.
Xiao Yunzhu bowed respectfully: “Greetings, Eldest Aunt.”
Madam Jiang reached out with a token gesture, speaking gently: “Yunzhu, no need for such formality.”
Xiao Yunzhu replied, “Courtesy must not be neglected.”
Madam Jiang asked, “Are you comfortable with the food and lodging?”
Xiao Yunzhu answered, “I am, thank you for asking, Aunt.”
Madam Jiang said, “If anything is amiss, come to me directly.”
Xiao Yunzhu: “Yes.”
This aunt and future mother‑in‑law had always treated her with polite distance—not like family, but more like an outsider. After a few words of courtesy, Madam Jiang said blandly, “I’m busy now, so I won’t keep you. When you have time, come sit with me.”
Xiao Yunzhu bowed again: “Yes, thank you, Aunt.” She stepped aside and watched Madam Jiang depart.
It was said that this marriage with He Baoyan had been secured only after Madam Jiang repeatedly pleaded, even swearing that she would treat Xiao Yunzhu as her own daughter. Only then had her parents agreed. Her nurse, Nanny Chen, had described Madam Jiang’s efforts as shameless begging.
But Madam Jiang’s luck turned. Not long after the betrothal was settled, Xiao Yunzhu’s father and brothers met with tragedy, and the noble title passed to the Xiao family’s second branch. Now, this marriage must have felt to Madam Jiang like a hot potato—neither easy to swallow nor to cast aside. She could not propose breaking the engagement herself, for it had been her own doing to secure it. To withdraw now would be a slap in her own face, and others would mock her as cruel, calculating, and faithless. Even if she could endure such scorn, she could not ignore the damage it would do to her son He Baoyan’s reputation.
Thinking of Madam Jiang’s frustration, Xiao Yunzhu suddenly felt like laughing. She pressed her lips together and walked on.
Behind her, Madam Jiang’s confidante Qiao Xiu glanced back, sighing with a complicated expression: “What a pity.”
Miss Xiao, the Sixth Young Lady, was learned and gracious, her beauty like that of a celestial maiden. Standing beside the Third Young Master, they looked like a pair from a painted scroll—perfectly matched. But without father or brothers, she was left with nothing but the empty title of “daughter of the late Marquis Xingyuan.”
Madam Jiang’s face hardened with resentment. “That is her misfortune.”
Every mention of this matter stoked her anger. The Xiao family had been the wife clan she had carefully chosen for her only son. While Marquis Xingyuan lived, he treasured Xiao Yunzhu like the apple of his eye and would surely have supported his future son‑in‑law. For that, Madam Jiang had humbled herself, spoken every sweet word, and bent low to secure this marriage for her son.
She had thought that with the Xiao family’s support, He Baoyan’s career path would be smooth. Yet scarcely had the betrothal been settled when the Marquis Xingyuan and his sons were gone. Who could she turn to for justice?
The second branch of the Xiao family, who inherited the title, had several daughters of their own. They cared little for Xiao Yunzhu, and even less for her future husband. There was no chance they would lend him aid.
Her precious He Baoyan now seemed destined to be dragged down by Xiao Yunzhu for a lifetime.
She prided herself on being shrewd and capable, yet she had dug such a pit for her son. Among sisters and familiar ladies, many secretly laughed at her—busy for nothing, cleverness turned to folly. In the stillness of the night, she regretted it so bitterly that she wanted to slap herself.
And she blamed her sister‑in‑law too. Why hadn’t she borne another son? In the end, the second branch of the Xiao family reaped the benefit.
Still, the rice was not yet cooked; perhaps there was room to salvage matters.
Back at Guanhu Cottage, Lǜ Mei asked in puzzlement, “Miss, why didn’t you tell the old madam about Third Young Master and Chen Chunsi?”
The old madam loved her dearly and would surely take her side.
Xiao Yunzhu said, “It would do no good.”
What use was scolding He Baoyan and driving Chen Chunsi away? His heart would still hold her, their ties would linger, and he would resent Xiao Yunzhu for breaking apart lovers.
Before she even married in, she would be branded a jealous shrew. Not worth it. In truth, for her grandmother’s sake, she had been very tolerant of He Baoyan. As long as he behaved passably, without grave offense, she asked for little. But everything has its limit. Now he had crossed the line, daring to trample on her head. She was no longer sure she could endure it.
More importantly: “Do you think Eldest Aunt knows of this?”
Qing Zhi thought aloud: “She should know.”
Xiao Yunzhu smiled. “Your reason?”
Qing Zhi said, “Though Madam Jiang has four sons under her name, only the Third Young Master is her own. She guards him closely, watching every maid in his quarters. How could she not know of his secret affair with Chen Chunsi?”
Xiao Yunzhu laughed softly. “Well said.”
Not to be outdone, Lǜ Mei boldly guessed, “Perhaps Chen Chunsi dared to seduce the Third Young Master because Madam Jiang arranged it!”
Xiao Yunzhu: “And the purpose?”
Lǜ Mei, indignant: “To give you a slap in the face, to make trouble, so that after marriage you’ll have no peace, too busy suffering to meddle in household affairs—reduced to a bullied little daughter‑in‑law!”
It was common enough for mothers‑in‑law to try to suppress noble daughters‑in‑law. But Madam Jiang’s method was base.
And foolish too—since Xiao Yunzhu’s grandmother, Old Madam He was still alive, if Madam Jiang thought to flaunt her authority as mother‑in‑law, she was dreaming.
Xiao Yunzhu raised her brows and praised, “Lǜ Mei, how clever you are!”
Lǜ Mei blushed. “Miss is teasing me… Did I say something wrong?”
Though younger, Xiao Yunzhu sometimes liked to treat her like a child.
Xiao Yunzhu said, “Not wrong. But that may only be her second purpose.”
Lǜ Mei: “Then what is the first?”
Xiao Yunzhu said calmly, “To break the betrothal.”
Lǜ Mei and Qing Zhi were stunned. After a while, Lǜ Mei stammered, “But… but the engagement has been set for years. All the relatives know. How could it… how could it be broken?”
Xiao Yunzhu: “Even the Yellow River can change course. What in this world is unchanging? If she wishes to withdraw, she will find her reasons.”
When the betrothal was made, Xiao Yunzhu had been the cherished daughter of a marquis’s household, with father and brothers alive. Now she had no father, no brothers, no title. Her aunt no longer valued her. Perhaps even her uncle did not.
Qing Zhi said in disbelief, “But it was she who begged for this match!”
As a house‑born maid, she had heard her parents speak of how Madam Jiang had humbled herself, so earnest that the marquis and his wife were moved to agree. Words once spoken, water once poured—could they be taken back?
Xiao Yunzhu: “That is why she cannot openly withdraw. Instead, she uses this affair to force me to retreat.”
Then let it be broken. As if she cared!