Chapter 7
Edward Quan ·
He looked full of compassion for the world.
As though I were the coldhearted one.
“So you use my money to be generous?”
My voice chilled to the bone.
“Don’t forget, Xiao Jingyan.”
“More than half this residence’s present prestige rests on my lavish dowry.”
“The rest comes from favors your father grants out of respect for mine.”
“Every tael you spend carries the Shen family’s influence!”
“What right have you to use it to support corrupt officials’ relatives?”
He had no reply.
His face went green, then white.
“I…”
“From today.”
I gave him no chance to explain.
“All payments outside the household stop immediately.”
“I approve every purchase personally.”
“The repair money for that residence?”
“Cut off.”
I meant to sever his funds entirely.
At last, I truly angered him.
He seized my wrist so hard he almost crushed the bone.
“Don’t go too far!”
“Too far?”
I shook him off and stepped back, putting space between us.
“I’m taking back what belongs to me.”
“You’re the one who went too far.”
His gaze was complicated.
Anger.
Shock.
And a distress I had never seen in him.
“You’re forcing me.”
Each word was strained.
A warning.
Almost a plea.
I looked coldly at him.
“You forced me first.”
Just then, Liu Ruyue rushed in crying.
“Cousin!”
“I heard Sister checked the books…”
“Is it… because of me?”
Seeing the tension between us, she cried harder.
Almost immediately, he turned to support her.
His voice held a weariness I had never heard.
“It’s all right.”
“This has nothing to do with you.”
How ironic.
He always had the energy to soothe her.
He couldn’t spare me an explanation.
I turned away, leaving their devotion behind.
At the door, I stopped without looking back.
“A reminder, Xiao Jingyan.”
“Every item in my dowry is registered with the Imperial Household Department and protected by imperial law.”
“Touch it, and you defy imperial authority.”
“Look after yourself.”
5
He plainly ignored my warning.
Or, more accurately, Liu Ruyue’s tears outweighed imperial law.
The next day, I heard she was ill.
Vomiting, diarrhea.
A fever that wouldn’t subside.
Several physicians said her pulse was weak and floating, her illness caused by anger and excessive worry.
Xiao Jingyan stayed beside her all night.
He never changed his clothes.
Servants began looking at me with reproach.
To them, I was the harsh official who had driven her into a corner.
I couldn’t be bothered with it.
I continued enforcing my rules.
I cut household spending by seventy percent.
No unnecessary rouge, perfumes, silks, delicacies, or costly tonics.
I reduced Liu Ruyue’s courtyard allowance to an ordinary manager’s.
She wanted red bird’s nest.
The kitchen had none.
She wanted South Sea pearls ground to powder.
The storeroom couldn’t find any.
Complaints filled the residence.
At last, Xiao Jingyan couldn’t bear it.
He stormed into my courtyard again.
Dark circles marked his eyes.