Chapter 1

My father died when I was little, and I was sold into a marquis's household.

A cup of tampered wine was how I became the heir's wife.

That disastrous incident became a scandal everyone knew.

At first, the Old Madam meant to dispose of me as an apology to his betrothed.

But the heir, so pure and gracious, was famous for his kindness. He couldn't bear to let me die because of him.

He broke his engagement and married a maid like me instead.

For years, he treated me coldly.

In bed, he tormented me, venting all his resentment.

Only on my deathbed did Tan Yin, who'd shared my room when we were maids, take my hand with a guilty expression.

"Thanks to you, the heir and I could spend our lives together."

So that cup of wine had been the heir's scheme for the woman he loved.

Innocent and caught in the middle, I'd borne her disgrace for a lifetime.

Reborn at the moment it all went wrong, I drew Tan Yin aside.

"The heir is drunk. He's asked for you by name."

"I'll answer the Old Madam's summons for you."

We were all maids in the heir's courtyard, but Tan Yin was different.

She was his personal attendant, especially favored.

And today, he'd returned from a banquet visibly drunk and specifically requested that she alone attend him.

"But..."

She looked troubled.

"The Old Madam sent for me."

"You know she doesn't like me. If I don't go, there'll be trouble."

The Old Madam disliked Tan Yin.

I'd once heard her tell Matron Liu, "Look at her. Does she seem like a girl from a respectable family? Even as a maid, she doesn't know her place."

Unfortunately, the heir liked her. The Old Madam couldn't sway him.

He was betrothed to the chancellor's only daughter, said to be a formidable woman herself.

The marquis's household had strict rules: a man could marry only one wife. No concubines, much less bedchamber maids.

The heir, Shen Que, had made his name young and had a brilliant future.

Naturally, the Old Madam watched him closely, fearing some ill-intentioned person might tarnish his reputation.

Every maid in his courtyard had been summoned for questioning.

Beautiful, alluring Tan Yin, his closest attendant, was summoned most often.

Every few days.

Only when she was called away did the other maids get a chance to serve him.

The household treated its servants well.

Shen Que was renowned for virtue, with a heart as merciful as a bodhisattva's.

He rewarded the maids who'd attended him for any length of time.

I often saw Tan Yin emerge from his room with money. At the very least, she would receive a plate of pastries from Yufangzhai.

For a single piece of pastry...

When Tan Yin was summoned away and Shen Que called for someone, I rushed in.

He lay on the bed, calling over and over:

"Tan Yin."

I'd never encountered anything like it. I stood at the door, head lowered.

"Sister Tan Yin has been summoned by the Old Madam."

He narrowed his eyes and propped himself up.

I don't know whether he saw clearly who I was. He merely beckoned.

"Come here."

The heir was famous as a living saint.

I had no defenses against him. I stepped forward.

Before I even reached him, he pulled me behind the curtains.

Every great house has secrets it keeps from outsiders.

Yet what happened between Shen Que and me became known everywhere.

The household forbade concubines. He wasn't even married.

And now this disgrace.

The Old Madam slammed the table.

"I watched you grow up. I thought you were honest. That's why I placed you beside the heir."

Bitterly disappointed, she resolved to dispose of me.

Fortunately, Shen Que pleaded for me.

"Someone put a vile drug in my wine while I was out. That's what caused this terrible mistake."

"If Grandmother intends to kill an innocent person for my fault, you might as well punish me too."

Unable to move him, and wishing to preserve the household's good name, she actually agreed that he could break his engagement and marry me.

Outsiders praised the family's integrity and the heir's goodness.

They saved all their curses for me.

"What a venomous woman! She'd do anything to climb."

"The heir was too kind, so she deceived him. Who knows whether she put that filthy drug in his wine herself?"

"A sparrow turning into a phoenix. The poor heir. Such a fine man, ruined by her."

Even after years of marriage, he remained cold to me.

Because he'd broken that engagement, men at court obstructed him. He was never entrusted with important work.

Whenever things went wrong, he took it out on me, tormenting me through long nights.

"If it hadn't been for you, would I be in this position?"

He said it so often that I came to blame myself. I always thought I'd harmed him.

So I gritted my teeth and endured every humiliation.

In decades as husband and wife, I argued with him over only one thing.

Even after our marriage, Tan Yin remained his most favored maid.

He observed the family rules and never spoke of taking a concubine.

But within the household, her authority had long surpassed mine, the heir's wife.

Even the Old Madam couldn't bear to watch.

When he came to pay his respects, she offered a few reminders.

"Whatever else may be true, Yun He is your lawful wife."

"Letting a maid outrank her and manage the inner household—won't people laugh if they hear?"

I stood beside her with my head bowed, afraid to speak.

Even faced with his elder's advice, Shen Que's expression didn't change.

"Tan Yin manages the household very well. There have been no mistakes."

"As for my wife..."

His gaze brushed over me. His brows drew together.

Perhaps he thought I'd complained to his grandmother.

"She knows nothing about management. Don't make things difficult for her."

My heart ached. I lowered my head further.

The Old Madam continued defending me.

"What she doesn't know, she can learn."

"You taught Tan Yin. If you can teach a maid, why can't you teach your own wife?"

When he didn't want to do something, he could find a thousand excuses.

The Old Madam sighed.

"If you won't teach her, I will."

"A maid running the household. What sort of order is that?"

When I'd first become his wife, she had still resented me. She wouldn't even see me for morning and evening respects.

I'd persisted, going every day without fail.

When she was ill, I nursed her myself and stayed at her side.

Now she taught me everything she knew about managing the household.

I studied earnestly.

Late into the lamplight, forgetting food and sleep.

When she thought I'd learned enough, she again raised the question with Shen Que.

I'd expected a refusal. To my surprise, he readily agreed.

"Tan Yin is about to visit her family. Once she's gone, let my wife manage things."

When the household keys passed to me, I dared not relax.

I carefully put the accounts in order each day and brought them to the Old Madam.

She laughed at my foolishness and told me to show them to Shen Que instead.

I'd always done as I was told.

He was busy with official duties. I waited outside his study until he'd finished.

He examined the accounts for two days.

On the third, he said, "You needn't bring these to me anymore."

I thought I'd done something wrong again.

But he looked up and gave me a rare smile.

"Grandmother taught you herself. Of course I trust you."

My anxious heart slowly settled.

I gathered the ledgers to leave.

He called after me.

"It's late. I'll walk back with you."

I thought I must have misheard.

But he was already standing.

A maid carried a lantern ahead.

I watched the tips of my shoes as we walked side by side.