Linxi Town was a prosperous town known far and wide. Surrounded by forests and waterways, even during the driest years of famine, the town’s rivers never once ran dry.
In the late years of the previous dynasty, the county magistrate joined forces with the magistrates of sixteen surrounding prefectures and counties to build irrigation canals. These canals nourished tens of thousands of miles of barren land, and the local people were led to reclaim wasteland and dig channels. The people gradually grew wealthier, and those locals who had caught the good times now owned several acres of fertile farmland each, more or less.
Since everyone was doing well, the number of great landlords had dwindled considerably. Most were small landowners with a hundred acres or so, law-abiding and kind-hearted by nature.
“Peaceful and harmonious on ordinary days…”
On the wide, bustling street, a middle-aged man in a plain blue cloth robe hunched his shoulders, enthusiastically recounting the historical heritage of their Linxi Town to the person beside him, singing praises of their beautiful mountains and gracious people.
Suddenly, a stream of curses cut through the air, interrupting his self-promotion.
“You Song family, get the hell out here right now! You damned bastards! Others may fear you, but I sure as hell don’t! If you’ve got the guts to hit people, then you’ve got the guts to come out! My Jiaojiao is about to be betrothed, and you’ve gone and bruised her face…”
Town Mayor Lin’s smile froze on his face. Listening to the filth spilling from those lips, he didn’t even dare turn his head to look at the expression of the richly dressed young gentleman beside him.
Linxi Town was dominated by the Lin family. You could toss a stone at random down any street, and it would hit a Lin family member.
Mayor Lin had served as town mayor for over twenty years. When it came to his own clan, he could identify everyone from the ninety-year-old great-grandfathers down to the two-year-old toddlers—he could even tell you which family each of the yellow dogs roaming the streets belonged to. Let alone the fact that the woman cursing over there was none other than his third brother’s wife, Meihua.
His own sister-in-law, at that.
This sister-in-law came from a well-off family and had done favors for the Lin clan. After marrying in, she’d grown quite domineering. Apart from a few elders and capable figures in the clan, she looked down on everyone else, throwing her weight around town as she pleased.
On ordinary days, that was one thing. But now she was making a scene in front of outsiders.
Mayor Lin’s face stiffened as he awkwardly tried to salvage the town’s reputation: “With so many people in town, a few minor squabbles are unavoidable. Women can be such an eyesore. Why don’t you come with me to the academy first, Mr. Song?”
The Mr. Song he addressed was dressed in pristine white robes, his paper fan snapping shut as he smiled with rakish charm: “A young lady’s face is of utmost importance. I think this elder sister’s distress is quite understandable. Why don’t we first see what this is all about? If there’s any wrongdoing, surely you, Mayor, can render a fair judgment?”
Mayor Lin smiled with great difficulty. He appreciated the sentiment, but the truth of the matter was—family knew family. He couldn’t rightly say what was really going on inside.
But Mr. Song was a renowned teacher from the capital, here to scout promising talents to bring back to his academy. Mayor Lin’s eldest grandson was currently studying and about to sit for the county examination. He was hoping Mr. Song might offer some guidance, so naturally he wouldn’t go against the man’s wishes.
Mayor Lin could only stand there with a burning face, listening to his third sister-in-law rant from “my mother” and “my father” all the way to “shit” and “crap,” his old face flushed crimson.
Mr. Song, meanwhile, kept his composure, smiling elegantly and listening with great interest.
Meihua had no idea her troublemaking had been witnessed by her husband’s elder brother. Not that she would have cared even if she knew. Her family was wealthy, and she had five children to her name. As long as she didn’t commit some major offense, no one could do a thing to her.
She ate well and lived leisurely, her skin fair with a rosy glow. Her youngest child was still nursing, leaving her chest full and round, swaying gently as she spoke and moved. So even as she stood beneath the red-lacquered door with gold trim, brows flying and mouth wide open, fierce and overbearing, more than a few gazes couldn’t help but wander.
Mr. Song was no exception. Standing there looking at this elder sister who still possessed considerable charm despite her age, he sighed inwardly—this little town truly had beautiful waters and beautiful women, each with their own appeal.
His thoughts drifting, he recalled his backyard that hadn’t changed in two years. His mind stirred—once this mission was successfully completed…
Meihua didn’t give him time to finish his thought. She impatiently reached out and pounded on the door, her voice loud and piercing, striking the heart like a gong.
“Niu Tielan! You’ve got the guts to raise a daughter, now show the guts to open the door! Open up! If you don’t open it soon, I’ll break it down!”
The sound shattered Mr. Song’s reverie.
He clearly thought of something, shivering despite the scorching heat. The rakish charm faded from his face. He discreetly rubbed his arms, and his interest in the commotion over there evaporated. He was about to steer things back to business when—
“Creak—”
The tightly shut door swung open.
A young woman in a willow-patterned green dress stepped out. Her skin was as fair and smooth as jade, with willow-leaf brows, apricot-shaped eyes, a delicate nose, and moist lips. Her steps were graceful, her figure slender—she seemed to have stepped straight out of a painting, rendering everything around her dull and colorless. One wanted to gaze upon her, yet dared not commit any hint of profanation.
She looked at the cursing woman at her doorstep, her brows lightly furrowed. Her left hand rested gently on the arm of the young maidservant beside her as she lifted her foot over the threshold. As she moved, her light robes swayed, and her wrists were pale and slender, as if the slightest pressure would snap them. Paired with her pallid complexion, she stirred an involuntary sense of tender pity in all who saw her.
Right or wrong, no explanation was needed—the onlookers had already made their judgment.
Meihua watched as the gazes that had been fixed on her shifted away, then returned as looks of condemnation. Her anger blazed even hotter—she wished she could slap that fox spirit right across the face.
Think about it—ever since she was little, Meihua had always had a crowd trailing behind her wherever she went. Even after marrying into town, she was still the most eye-catching one, basking in glory wherever she went, the great beauty in everyone’s eyes.
Unfortunately, that life hadn’t lasted two years before that wretched woman moved in next door. Relying on a pretty face, she’d charmed her way into getting registered with the clan, stolen her spotlight, and then had the audacity to reject her brother. And now she’d hurt her child.
Old grudges and new grievances piled up together.
Meihua shouted at the top of her lungs: “Niu Tielan, so you finally came out! Look at what your precious Song Jin has done! Look at my Jiaojiao—she’s supposed to start betrothal talks next month, and now her face is ruined like this! If you don’t give me an explanation, this isn’t over!”
The woman—Niu Tielan—furrowed her brows. Amidst Meihua’s cursing, she shifted her gaze to the victim, Jiaojiao, standing to the side.
Unlike her plump, fair-skinned mother, Jiaojiao took after her father—her skin was somewhat dark, and she was thin and wiry. She wasn’t particularly pretty, but she was still an unmarried young girl, about to turn fifteen, right at the critical age for finding a match. Having a scar on her face was a serious matter.
Although Niu Tielan disliked Meihua, who was always picking fights, she had no ill feelings toward the young girl. She looked over with some concern, fell silent for a moment, then widened her eyes to examine her carefully.
She looked left and right, up and down, and finally spotted it on Lin Jiaojiao’s round face—more precisely, just below the tip of her chin—a scrape the size of a fingernail.
If Lin Jiaojiao hadn’t been straining to lift her short neck as high as possible, it truly wouldn’t have been visible.
Niu Tielan was at a loss for words.
Given how unreliable her little rascal had been her whole life, when she’d first been called out, she’d felt a twinge of guilt and worry. But now…
“My health has never been good, and I caught a chill a couple days ago. My eyes aren’t seeing too clearly either. Song Jin went into the mountains early this morning to find me some herbs. I was just thinking she’d been behaving more sensibly lately, but I never expected…” Niu Tielan covered her mouth and coughed lightly, looking frail as she sighed, then turned a concerned gaze to Lin Jiaojiao.
“Jiaojiao, come here and let your auntie take a good look. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be—I really can’t see clearly from this far away.”
Mr. Song, who had come to watch the commotion, couldn’t help but laugh.
Indeed—all that fuss over such a tiny wound. If anyone had come any later, it would have already healed.
But Meihua didn’t see it that way. Her daughter was going to marry into a prominent family—never mind fingernail-sized, even a sesame-seed-sized mark wouldn’t do. She pulled her daughter forward and said angrily:
“Open your dog eyes and take a good look! A wound this big—how is Jiaojiao supposed to enter betrothal talks now? Our family already has an agreement with the Zhang family in the county seat. What if this affects the marriage? I’m not asking for much—just a tael or two of silver for her to recuperate, a bottle of Scar-Removal Ointment, and have your Song Jin come apologize. Then I’ll reluctantly forgive you.”
Mr. Song was no pampered young master who knew nothing of the world—he’d come up from hard times. At this, he raised an eyebrow.
Never mind that one tael of silver could buy three or four fat chickens—as for that Scar-Removal Ointment, if it was the one he was thinking of, it was always in short supply despite high demand. Even the young ladies in the capital had to queue up to buy it.
A palm-sized box for a little brat would cost five or six taels of silver—enough to feed an ordinary family for a whole year.
This woman really had some nerve asking for that.
Mr. Song’s gaze fell on Town Mayor Lin, whose face was flushed with embarrassment, and he fell into thought.
“Xiaomei, go to miss’s room and bring out a box of Scar-Removal Ointment.” Faced with Meihua’s outrageous demands, Niu Tielan cast a brief glance to the side without saying much, simply instructing the little maid to fetch the item. Then she gave Meihua a weak smile, punctuated with occasional coughs.
“Sister Meihua, don’t be angry. The Scar-Removal Ointment will be here shortly. Song Jin doesn’t know her own strength when she does things. I’ll apologize to Jiaojiao on her behalf first. As for the silver, I’ll have her deliver it to you personally later.”
Seeing that she was being cooperative, Meihua’s anger subsided somewhat—but only somewhat.
Listen to that. Listen. A common servant girl with what kind of name—one that sounded just like hers. This woman was deliberately trying to get under her skin.
Meihua’s anger flared up again, and she pressed on with her “righteous” indignation: “Don’t think this is over just like that. Song Jin needs to apologize to Jiaojiao too. And you tell me—besides stirring up trouble, teasing cats, walking dogs, and bullying people all day, everyone’s been going easy on her because she’s young. But she can’t just keep pushing her luck forever, can she?”
Niu Tielan covered her mouth and coughed: “Sister Meihua is right.”
Meihua: “And you, as her mother, need to pay more attention. Song Jin is already this old, and she still doesn’t have a proper bone in her body. Who would dare marry her in the future? My Jiaojiao has had matchmakers lining up at the door since last year. Look at your Song Jin—she’s a whole year older, and is there a single family in town who’s even asked about her? If you don’t get worried, she’ll end up an old maid. If she ever…”
Throughout it all, Niu Tielan kept a smile on her face. But as she smiled, she covered her mouth and her breathing grew rapid. She hunched her shoulders and turned to the side, coughing hard. Her pale face flushed red, the corners of her eyes grew moist, and she looked utterly miserable.
Meihua grew even more excited: “See, see, with a body like yours, it’s no wonder you can’t manage the child. If you’d married my brother back then, things would’ve been different—how could Song Jin have turned out like this? But it’s too late for regrets now. My brother, he—”
“Meihua, shut up.”
Seeing her getting more and more outrageous, Town Mayor Lin couldn’t stand it any longer. Red-faced, he hurried over and glared at this irresponsible sister-in-law, scolding: “You’re not ashamed to say it, and I’m embarrassed to hear it. Why are you making a fuss over such a trivial matter? Can’t you see Lanhua isn’t feeling well?”
Meihua hadn’t expected Town Mayor Lin, a busy man, to be here too. She felt a moment of guilt but quickly regained her confidence, pulling Jiaojiao forward: “Second brother, look at Jiaojiao.”
Town Mayor Lin: “Look at what? She’s been pecked deeper by the big goose before. Why don’t you go settle scores with the goose? And Scar-Removal Ointment—you’d better remove that thick skin of yours first. Take your people and go home now.”
Meihua refused to back down: “Second brother, you always take the side of outsiders. I think now that second sister-in-law is gone, you’ve got old house fever—pah, you’ve taken a fancy to this fox spirit.”
Town Mayor Lin: “You, you, you—you worthless wretch!”
While the two were arguing, Niu Tielan’s face on the side was growing paler and paler, her cough deepening, a white handkerchief stained with red.
Xiaomei, who had gone inside to fetch the Scar-Removal Ointment, came out in a panic: “Madam, madam, what’s wrong? Oh no, you’re coughing up blood! Doctor, someone find a doctor!”
The scene immediately descended into chaos.
By the time calm was restored, the sky had already turned dusky.
Dim light filtered through the heavy wooden window into the room. An exquisite phoenix-and-bamboo dressing table, a large lion-and-tiger wooden chest, a swaying cloud-patterned cradle—through the thin gauze curtain, a figure flickered in and out of view, with occasional light coughs.
Niu Tielan lay in bed, her face pale, listening as the voices outside gradually died down. Her coughing also slowly subsided, until the door creaked open and a young maidservant’s cautious voice came through:
“Madam, the guests have all left.”
Hearing this, the ‘frail’ Niu Tielan sprang up like a leaping carp and nimbly got out of bed. She gathered her clothes as she clattered out the door.
Opening the door, she found the household’s maids and servants, young and old, standing to the side with heads lowered. Among them, one had an especially shifty expression, her head nearly buried to the ground.
Niu Tielan locked onto her target instantly, pointed her finger, and bared a ferocious smile, speaking word by word through clenched teeth: “Tell that little brat to get his ass back here right now.”