Guan Xiyue couldn’t help but laugh. “Fourth Uncle, why are you staying silent? Could it be that even you, a learned man, think this is my being unfilial? Should we go to the county office and make our case?”
Guan Lao Si, usually haughty and self-important, suddenly felt all eyes on him. His face flushed like fire. He raised his index finger and pointed at Xiyue, struggling to find words. After a long pause, he stammered: “You unfilial girl! You are guilty of ‘failing in duties to grandparents and parents while they are of another household,’ a serious offense of unfilial conduct.”
Everyone else looked puzzled—this scholar’s words were hard to understand. Xiyue remained calm: “First, you sold me off as a minor concubine to cure a curse, taking a full twenty taels of silver and several bolts of cloth. Tell me, have I not repaid the debt of your care?”
This they understood clearly and nodded. For a poor family, raising a girl to fifteen cost only a few taels of silver; twenty taels more than covered it.
Xiyue continued, “When I returned last time, I said you had to hand over ten taels; otherwise, I couldn’t account for myself and would be dismissed by the Zhou family. How did you respond? You said I was like water poured out once married. Whether I lived or died, whether I was dismissed or kept, had nothing to do with your Guan family. Isn’t that right?”
They nodded again. Everyone had witnessed it: handing back ten taels felt like losing their lifeblood—there was no way they could part with it.
Seeing the Guan family turning red-faced and speechless, Xiyue pressed on: “So if it has nothing to do with your family, yet I, a girl who has been dismissed, establish my own household, and still offer to maintain ties with your family during festivals, and you are still unsatisfied? You steal from me and then call me unfilial? Fine, then today we’ll take this to the county office and let the old Guan family of Datong Village become famous in Quqing County!”
The Guan family was stunned. Even the learned Guan Lao Si couldn’t argue with her. Madam Wang, sensing the shift in power, began her specialty: stamping her feet, clapping her hands, and wailing: “Heavens! Look at this granddaughter! She’s driving us to death! Just for eating some of her rice and flour, our lives are at risk!”
Women’s tactics, unreasonable yet instinctive, had no effect on Xiyue. She raised her voice: “Chunliu, go to Old Sun’s at the village entrance—tell him I’ve hired his cart to go to the county office.”
Madam Wang’s cries stopped immediately. Old Guan’s face darkened, cursing Guan Lao San: “Look at what useless people you’ve produced—what a thankless child!”
Madam Zhang’s eyes filled with tears; Guan Lao San looked wronged but dared not retort.
Xiyue, seeing an opportunity, coaxed: “Father, Mother, why stay here taking abuse, eating the least and worst, working the hardest? If you wish, come with me, and I will care for you in your old age.”
A light sparked in Madam Zhang’s eyes. Old Guan and Madam Wang panicked—if Guan Lao San’s family left, who would do the household chores? Old Guan signaled, and Madam Wang reluctantly took the key from her waistband, unlocked the cupboard, and revealed the remaining rice, meat, and flour—quite a lot, worth at least three taels of silver. Villagers murmured in admiration.
Xiyue, satisfied, said: “If Grandfather and Grandmother still don’t understand, let Fourth Uncle explain what ‘independent household’ and ‘two families’ mean. As for my being unfilial, Fourth Uncle is welcome to discuss it with me. By the way, I’m fifteen, and I earned twenty taels and several bolts of cloth for the Guan family. Fourth Uncle, you’re eighteen, how have you been filial to our elders?”
The crowd erupted in laughter. The Guan family, though poor, supported two scholars—Guan Lao Si and the eldest grandson Guan Ziyen—who had never even passed the basic imperial exams. Scholarly in appearance but useless in work, Xiyue’s teasing made the villagers see them as inferior even to her capable young servant.
Guan Lao Si’s face burned red again, fists clenched, wishing he could strike Xiyue.
Xiyue ignored him, walking away gracefully with Chunliu.
On the way, she chatted with Chunliu: “Do you think I was being unfilial? Was my approach too extreme?”
Chunliu answered earnestly: “Not at all. A girl establishing her own household must stand strong. Besides, the Guan family didn’t show any care and even stole precious rice, flour, and meat. Sending them to the authorities wouldn’t have been excessive.”
Xiyue felt reassured. She had gained a loyal, skilled, and principled maid. In ancient times, most women were heavily influenced by family and environment, rarely developing self-awareness.
Curious, she asked about Chunliu’s background. Chunliu’s face darkened: “Our family ran an escort agency, quite well-off. I trained in martial arts with my father and uncles. On one job, we escorted a rare luminous pearl worth over a hundred taels. We were ambushed; my father and two uncles died, and my father was severely injured. But when delivering the pearl, the buyer claimed it wasn’t theirs.”
Tears streamed down Chunliu’s face: “We protected the parcel with our lives. Why wouldn’t the buyer acknowledge it?”
Xiyue, observing calmly, said: “The world is treacherous. Perhaps the person commissioning the escort originally gave a counterfeit. Perhaps the ambush led to a swap. Or maybe someone in your agency was bribed. There are many possibilities.”
Chunliu ground her teeth in frustration: “We run an escort agency—our life is already dangerous. These petty thieves dare not fight openly yet use such underhanded tricks. I was powerless. My father’s estate was gone before he died; we couldn’t even afford a proper coffin. Selling myself to pay for his funeral was my last resort.”
Xiyue was silent for a moment, thinking how harsh life could be. She offered a few words of comfort, then asked: “Do you have family left?”
Chunliu nodded: “An aunt and a little cousin. I handled my father’s funeral simply and left the remaining silver for them.”