Chapter One: Something Happens

In a small room cluttered with broken tables and tattered mats, a woman and a child knelt facing each other.

“Mother! Mother! I promise I’ll listen to you from now on, I’m scared!”

The boy clutched at the rope looped around his neck, trembling, tears and snot streaming down his small face. At only six years old, he had no understanding of the conflicts among adults—he only knew that his usually distant mother was now terrifying.

“My child, don’t blame me for being cruel. It’s your father who no longer wants us.

He’s about to marry a noblewoman from a powerful family. The two of us would only be a burden to him and hinder his future!”

The young woman’s face was ashen, her eyes blank as she muttered to herself. She knew that by causing such a scene, all ties with the man were irreparably severed.

Without him, she was left with nothing. Just as others had said, she was shameless, a worthless woman clinging to a man who no longer cared—she might as well end it all.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gazed at the innocence on her child’s face, her heart a tangled mess of regret—chief among it, the remorse for having brought him into the world only for him to suffer.

Her tears soaked her collar as she murmured words the boy could not comprehend, tightening and loosening the rope over and over, unable to bring herself to carry it through.

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head and everything went black...

It was unclear how much time had passed before the door was flung open with a crash and a woman shrieked, “Someone come quickly! Lady An has harmed the young master!”

*****

The Great Liang.

In June, the capital was suffocating beneath a wave of heat. A torrential rain was about to break, and the entire city was swathed in oppressive, stifling clouds.

East Fourth Alley, Shun’an Ward, West City.

In the shadow of a narrow lane, several women dressed as servants stood in small clusters. Though each held an embroidered handkerchief, pretending to discuss its embroidery, their darting eyes were all fixed on the tightly closed gates not far away.

The tense silence was suddenly broken by the sound of hurried footsteps from outside the alley.

A man in his early twenties, wearing a scholar’s robe and with refined features, rushed over with a young attendant in tow. Seeing the gathering of nosy neighbors by his door, his face darkened and his steps faltered.

The young attendant tugged at his sleeve and whispered, “Master, let’s not waste words with these women who gossip all day. Second Madam is waiting for you inside to make a decision!”

The servant was being overly cautious. With a disaster unfolding at home, he hardly had time to spar with a gaggle of busybodies who made it their business to spy for their mistresses.

These people were simply waiting to see his family’s misfortune!

An—she must have lost her mind, suddenly appearing in the capital only to plunge him into such trouble.

Just thinking of the rumors that would soon sweep the city and the ridicule from his fellow scholars made Tang Yushu seethe with rage.

Two months ago, his aunt had broached the subject of a marriage proposal—the daughter of the Sun family.

He was new to the capital and unfamiliar with these wealthy clans, only knowing that the Suns, though rich and related to a higher-ranked family, were merchants, running a few shops and estates.

Tang Yushu prided himself on being above such things; to marry a merchant’s daughter as his principal wife was something he resented. Each time his aunt pressed him, he brushed her off, thinking that when the capital’s custom of ‘snatching scholars off the list’ came around, perhaps a true noblewoman would throw her embroidered ball to him—there would be no need to consider a merchant’s daughter.

So he had paid little heed to his aunt’s words, intending to wait until he passed the spring civil service exam and earned his degree, then seek a marriage among the city’s elite.

But with only a few months left until the exam, An had made a public scene, causing a scandal that would engulf the city.

No doubt the academy was already buzzing with gossip, and the Sun family would soon come to demand an explanation. What if their daughter insisted on marrying him now?

Suppressing his anger, Tang Yushu entered the house, forgoing the main hall and slipping instead toward the side courtyard.

Just as he stepped onto the stone path, he saw two people approach from the moon gate.

“Aunt,” he greeted respectfully, halting his steps.

The woman emerging was in her forties, hair pinned with gold, her powdered, gaunt face etched with fury. Even the hand she placed on her maid’s arm trembled slightly.

At the sight of Tang Yushu, she immediately cried, “Sanlang, I only wanted to arrange a proper marriage for you out of kindness.

Now…oh! Just listen to what’s happening—those who know say it’s only a servant’s mischief, but those who don’t might think the Tang family is incapable of running its household.”

Tang Yushu’s face was full of shame. “I have failed in my duty and brought trouble to you, Aunt.”

Seeing his humble demeanor, his aunt Liu softened her tone and sighed, “An truly needs to be taught a lesson. This is the capital, not the little country village you’re used to.

Her outburst has not only tarnished the Tang family’s good name, but may also ruin your prospects and marriage! Who knows how angry Master Sun will be about his daughter—you must think carefully about what answer to give them!”

Tang Yushu’s complexion, already poor, could no longer maintain its calm. He said grimly, “It was that wretched woman An who caused this disaster. I shall give the Sun family a proper explanation.”

Liu was satisfied by this answer, pressing a handkerchief to her brow. “Ah, this whole affair has set my head aching again.

Strictly speaking, I shouldn’t meddle in your family’s private matters, but since our two families are related, and your uncle sees you have no elder to guide you at home, he asks me daily to look after you.”

Tang Yushu pursed his lips. This house belonged to his distant cousin Tang Pinshan. Though they shared a surname, they were hardly close kin, yet Tang Pinshan had agreed to let him stay for his studies without hesitation.

Precisely because he was beholden to them, whenever Aunt Liu hinted at the Sun family’s proposal, he found it difficult to refuse outright.

As they spoke, a little maid of seven or eight came running from the back courtyard, shouting, “It’s terrifying! Terrifying!”

But as soon as she spotted Liu and Tang Yushu standing outside, she stopped dead in her tracks.

The maid by Liu’s side scolded, “You silly thing, what are you screaming about? Don’t you see Madam and Third Master are here?”

The little maid, pale and trembling, stammered with tears in her eyes, “Sister Yuan, I’m not making it up. I just heard someone say that Lady An strangled Young Master Mu, then bashed her own head and bled all over the floor… it sounded so scary.”

Tang Yushu’s face darkened. Earlier, a servant had fetched him from the academy, only saying that An had been weeping and laughing in the street, pulling people aside to ask where the Sun family lived.

What madness was she up to now?

“How is Mu? Where is that woman now?”

Tang Yushu felt his last shred of self-control slipping.

Frightened by his harsh tone, the little maid pointed toward the back courtyard. “The young master is fine; Second Madam has already locked Lady An in her own back room!”

Tang Yushu spun on his heel and rushed to the back room in the corner.

Behind him, Aunt Liu feigned a few steps in pursuit before stopping, dabbing at her brow with her handkerchief, her voice calm. “Yuan, remember to reward that little maid with a plate of fruit.”