Chapter 2

The second branch had acted quickly because they feared Huo Jingxiu might change his mind.

Once they'd dragged our reputation through the mud, the Huo family would have no choice but to propose to theirs.

Despicable, but effective.

Unfortunately for them, they'd forgotten something.

I had lived once already. I held far more than they could ever see.

That afternoon, I had Lu Yufu's personal maid, Xiaocui, brought in.

The moment she entered, she fell to her knees, trembling.

"Madam, I truly know nothing about my young lady's affairs!"

I stroked the jade bracelet on my wrist.

"Did you prepare the clothes she wore when she fell into the water today?"

She nodded.

"The ties were specially made, weren't they? They loosened when wet and came undone with the slightest pull. Was that her own idea, or did someone teach her?"

Xiaocui went white.

"You have an elder brother working under the second branch's steward. Last month, he withdrew a hundred taels of silver from the accounts in their name. They don't know yet, do they?"

She jerked her head up, her eyes full of terror.

"M-Madam, spare me! I'll tell you everything!"

"Speak clearly. I can overlook what you and your brother did before."

Weeping and sniffling, she knocked her forehead against the floor several times. I obtained the confession I wanted.

She also revealed something from years ago.

Lu Yufu's birth mother had used the very same trick: an "accidental fall" into the water, into the second master's arms, and from there into the household as a favored concubine.

Like mother, like daughter.

I dried the ink and tucked the confession into my sleeve.

Not yet. I would wait for the right moment.

The next day, the second branch made its move.

The second master went personally to the Huo residence to see Huo Jingxiu, hinting that his daughter must be given proper status.

That same day, Huo Jingxiu came to our gate with a visiting card, asking for me by name.

I sent back a message.

"The senior branch has no betrothal with the Huo family anymore. If the general has come about the second branch, he should use the west gate and speak to the second master."

His card was returned untouched.

I heard he stood outside for an hour, his face livid.

When Shu'er learned of it, she grew uneasy.

"Mother, if he really marries Lu Yufu, he'll become the second branch's prized son-in-law. Our branch..."

I stopped her.

"Do you think he values them? He came today because he couldn't bear it."

"He was used to holding his future in-laws in the palm of his hand. Suddenly, they don't care about him. Naturally, he's unhappy."

She seemed only half to understand.

I took her hand, drew the repeating-crossbow design she'd made that night from my sleeve, and spread it before her.

"Forget those men. I've found you a shop on the artisans' street in the east of the city. I'll take you there tomorrow."

"Your grandfather left behind a group of old craftsmen. They're still there. From now on, concentrate on making your crossbows. I'll stand behind you."

Her eyes lit up.

"Mother, you want me to open a shop?"

"What? Afraid people will laugh?"

She shook her head hard, her eyes alive in a way I'd never seen.

"Mother, I want to go."

Night wind stirred the window lattice. From the corridor, I looked toward the second branch.

Those two women must be beside themselves with joy, busy having wedding clothes made.

Go on. Marry him.

What you'd worked so hard to steal, I would make you return on your knees.

03

Huo Jingxiu's mother arrived with lavish gifts and went straight to the Old Madam.

By the time I reached the Hall of Prosperity and Longevity, laughter filled it.

Madam Huo sat in the guest's place, several bolts of cloth and a jewelry box beside her.

The Old Madam presided, her face relaxed in a rare smile.

"Qingrong, you're here."

She beckoned.

"We were just speaking of you. Jingxiu is a good boy. He says the marriage can still be discussed."

"He was at fault over Yufu too. But he's held her before everyone, and the second branch is waiting for an answer. He proposes marrying both girls as principal wives, neither ranked above the other."

I stopped and looked at Madam Huo.

She hurried to her feet and took my hand warmly.

"Madam Lu, I know you're angry. But Jingxiu has won great victories. Who in the capital doesn't show him respect?"

"What happened was abrupt. I've come especially to apologize. Please give the young people a way to save face."

"Shu'er will be the Huo family's legitimate eldest daughter-in-law, and Yufu an equal-ranking co-wife. The sisters can work together. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

I withdrew my hand and stepped back.

"Madam Huo, the document has been torn. There is no betrothal between our families."

"If you've come about the second branch, follow their arrangements. The senior branch will not participate."

Her smile stiffened.

The Old Madam struck her cane.

"Qingrong, don't be ungrateful! The Huo family is honoring us by reconsidering!"

I remained respectful, but left no room for retreat.

"Mother, Shu'er's dignity was trampled the moment Huo Jingxiu held Lu Yufu before everyone."

"If I marry her to him now, to share a husband with another woman, how is she supposed to live?"

Madam Huo couldn't maintain her expression.

"You can't put it that way. Jingxiu has a splendid future. How could Shu'er suffer by following him?"

I smiled.

"You're a woman too. If General Huo senior had brought home an equal-ranking co-wife and told you to call each other sisters, would you have agreed?"

I turned to the Old Madam.

"Mother, I decide the senior branch's affairs."

"The marriage is canceled. That is final."

"If the Huo family insists on an alliance, let them honorably marry the second branch's daughter. Shu'er has a better place to go."

I inclined my head to Madam Huo and left.

Behind me, the Old Madam's cane pounded the floor. Madam Huo gave an angry snort.

I didn't look back.

That evening, news came from the second branch.

Huo Jingxiu had agreed to take Lu Yufu—not as principal wife, but as a concubine.

Not even an equal-ranking co-wife.

My sister-in-law smashed several cups. Lu Yufu cried for half the night.

When I heard, I was designing Shu'er's shop by lamplight.

She looked up.

"Mother, will Lu Yufu marry him?"

"Yes."

I didn't raise my head.

"She's paid so much already. Backing out would leave her with nothing. Even as a concubine, she'll happily go."

"But before, didn't she act as though even being his principal wife didn't matter? Why now..."

I put down my brush and looked at her.

"Because she has no way back. She fell into the water before everyone, ruining her reputation. If he refuses her, her only option is a convent."

"Don't take her tears at face value. Tonight, she's not crying over her status. She's performing."

Understanding dawned on Shu'er.

"Remember this."

My expression grew serious.

"Some men are never worth fighting over. If you don't fight, they call you weak. If you do, they say you're not generous enough."

"The most satisfying answer is to make sure that one day they can't even reach your door."

I returned to my drawing.

A bright, spacious shop was taking shape on the paper.

It would be the beginning of Shu'er's own career, a place from which she could stand on her own.

A few days later, Huo Jingxiu came to collect Lu Yufu.

A pink sedan chair. A few trunks. No music, no drums, no wedding feast.

Without the two red lanterns at the gate, nobody would have known it was a wedding.

In rose-red wedding clothes beneath a veil, Lu Yufu was helped into the sedan by Xiaocui.

I stood at the side gate and watched it leave.

My sister-in-law wiped tears beside me, muttering about the Huo family's shabby treatment.

When she saw me, she immediately assumed a wounded look.

"Sister, look how Yufu's gone to them."

"Not even a proper wedding. General Huo clearly looks down on our family..."

I regarded her calmly.

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

Her expression froze. Before she could answer, I walked away.

Passing the second branch's quarters, I heard faint laughter. The second master.

He was drinking with someone, boasting that his daughter's marriage into a general's household would let his branch hold its head high in the capital.

I looked down at the path and smiled faintly.

Hold their heads high?

His son-in-law was a man capable of forcing poison down his own wife's throat.

Let him celebrate.

When that man had devoured his daughter, leaving not a bone, he would learn what it meant to be unable to lift his head.

Back in my room, I wrote to my elder brother in Jiangnan.

It was time to use the guards my mother had left me.

Certain matters needed investigating.

Huo Jingxiu's former subordinates in the northwest. His hidden properties. The whereabouts of the dowries he'd swallowed. We would uncover them all, piece by piece.

This game had only begun.

04

Once I'd rented the shop, I took Shu'er to meet the craftsmen her grandfather had left behind.

Their eyes widened at her repeating-crossbow designs.

The white-haired master at their head held the drawings in both hands as though they were an imperial edict. His lips trembled.

"D-Did you draw these, young lady?"

She nodded.

He dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"The old master always said he had a clever granddaughter. If she learned the craft, she'd be any man's equal. Now that I've seen these drawings, I can die in peace!"

Startled, Shu'er hurried to help him up.

"Please rise, Master. I'm still young. I'll need all of you to teach me."

He stood, wiped his tears, and thumped his chest.

"Rest assured. With us old fellows backing this shop, we won't let anyone surpass our workmanship!"

Watching them, I felt an indescribable ache.

If I'd put her on this path sooner in our previous life, how could she have died at Huo Jingxiu's hands?

We named it Jinggong Workshop. It specialized in improving military equipment.

At first, nobody came.

The capital's powerful families had little regard for a workshop run by a woman.

Most of the occasional visitors merely wanted something to laugh at.

I knew Shu'er needed an opportunity to prove herself.

So I braced myself and went to the Ministry of War.

The court was struggling to modernize the northwestern army's weapons.

The Northern Di had changed their cavalry tactics. The old crossbows lacked range, and the defensive line was under pressure.

The ministry offered a handsome reward: ten thousand taels of silver and an official appointment for anyone who could make effective improvements.