In the same small Western Market, Qian Lanniang was in a hurry.
Her home was in the northwest area, quite far from Hongyan House, near the spice shops.
She got off work later than Xia Hua, carrying only a shopping bag from the store.
She was about an inch taller than Yu Chun, clearly well-nourished since childhood, from a good family.
Elm seeds drifted along the roadside as she walked quickly. Her cloud-patterned brocade shoes stepped lightly on the bluestone pavement. Her upper garment was embroidered with silver-thread Persian-style paired bird motifs, shimmering faintly as she moved. Below, she wore a turmeric-dyed skirt, a rich goose-yellow that spread like golden clouds at dusk—one of the newest styles in Chang’an.
Her hair was styled in a half-formed Jinghong bun, adorned with a small golden comb. A fresh velvet peony decorated her temple. A butterfly ornament rested on her forehead, rouge tinted her cheeks, her lips were painted, and moon-shaped earrings swayed by her ears. A nine-ring gold belt cinched her waist, with a string of keys hanging from it. A pair of white jade bracelets chimed softly on her wrists.
“Lady Qian, heading home? Give our regards to Constable Lu! Fresh flatbread—want one?”
The evening breeze stirred the budding willow branches as a street vendor greeted her.
“Who knows which brothel that damned man has died in!” Qian Lanniang shouted angrily, sounding more aggrieved than the opera singer nearby.
She turned into a tavern without paying. The attendant at the door pretended not to see her.
She stopped a snack-selling boy. “Running around like a headless chicken—bump into me and I’ll break your legs!”
She grabbed a handful of ginkgo nuts from his tray, cracking and spitting them out.
“This food’s been sitting for days—if it kills someone, you’ll pay with your life!”
“Lady Qian, I wouldn’t dare cheat you. You’re too quick—here, these were just roasted today.” The boy quickly wrapped a packet of almonds for her.
“Good, you know your place!”
She ate and spat as she moved toward the stage to watch the opera.
“Look—” a worker in the tavern nudged Yu Xiao, “look at that woman down there—”
Yu Xiao glanced over. “She looks ordinary.”
There were many women in the tavern—long-faced, sharp-eyed, thin-lipped, standing stiffly. He didn’t understand what he was supposed to see.
“Not her face—her hands!”
“A thief—” Yu Xiao moved to act.
“Hey!” His companion covered his mouth. “Keep it down! That’s Constable Lu’s wife. Be careful—her whole village does this. For others it’s survival—for her it’s a hobby. Don’t offend her. She’s among the worst troublemakers!”
“No one does anything?”
“There is. But no one can catch her. Even if they do, she turns it around, and people end up beaten instead. She only targets common folk—who can deal with her?”
The attendant chuckled. “Once, before the war, she let her eight-year-old son relieve himself in front of Wang’s shop. The shop owner cursed her as a ‘country bumpkin,’ and she smashed the entire store. Even when it went to court, she got away with it.”
“Incredible,” Yu Xiao muttered. “Even princesses don’t live as freely as she does.”
“The powerful don’t bother with her, and the weak can’t afford to. Why provoke her?”
Yu Xiao frowned. “With so many wealthy merchants here, why would Constable Lu marry someone like that?”
“They say a fortune teller declared she had a strong fate—able to bear both dragon and phoenix.”
“Did she really have twins?”
“No—just a daughter born on New Year’s Day and a son born on the Dragon Raising Head Festival.”
Yu Xiao rolled his eyes. “Unbelievable.”
“Not really. Her whole extended family is gone now—only she and her gambling brother remain. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so arrogant.”
None of this mattered to Qian Lanniang.
After wandering around, she bought a roast chicken, grabbed a stack of flatbreads, picked up a jar of sweets, and headed home at dusk.
Her home was a standard courtyard house, about two mu in size, with main rooms, side wings, and a small garden growing grapes.
“Come get your food!” she shouted upon entering.
“Useless brats!” she cursed when no one responded.
She set the food in the kitchen. Eggshells with leftover residue had bred maggots on the stove. Dust covered everything except the cooking area.
She didn’t find anything wrong with it.
In the east wing, her fifteen-year-old daughter was reading a storybook.
“Not eating? I bought roast chicken today!”
She dumped items from her bag—jade pendants, silver trinkets, ornaments, copper coins—
“Damn!” she threw a pendant down. “Fake! Not even worth selling!”
“Can’t you ever stop? Father will argue again when he gets back.”
“That useless man? He only dares scold his family! Your brother was insulted!”
“Do what you want. I’m going out to eat with Ah Yu.”
“Find someone more capable next time!”
“Then you should’ve made me prettier!”
The daughter left.
Qian Lanniang didn’t argue. She was satisfied with her daughter’s match.
Unlike fools like Yu Chun, who believed everything others said, she didn’t dream unrealistically.
She fed her son, then restlessly visited her brother before returning home to find her husband.
“You dead man—off with some fox spirit again?”
“Shut up if you can’t speak properly!” Constable Lu slammed his blade down.
“I knew it—marrying you was useless!”
He stared at her coldly. “What do you want?”
If she wasn’t satisfied, she would make the house unbearable.
“It’s about that Cao fellow’s wife from the funeral shop area. She accused me of cheating her and framed me. I won’t retaliate—but you can’t keep helping her after she’s humiliated me.”
His gaze turned icy.
“Father,” the daughter said, “Mother losing face means we lose face too.”
He sighed. “In times like these, no one can protect anyone. Cao Jie has gone home—don’t expect help.”
“That’s right,” Qian Lanniang said smugly. “Only with you can I live properly.”
The night grew deeper. The stars blinked once, then fell silent again.