My Heart for You, My Lady - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Chief,”

One-Eye, the Second Chief sidled over, rubbing his hands together with a sly grin.

“This woman… oh, no, this lady-where did you snatch her from? With that bearing of hers, she doesn’t look like someone from an ordinary family.”

My father scratched his head, looking a little guilty.

“Ahem. I was supposed to be snatching that corrupt official’s concubine. But halfway there, I ran into this woman’s carriage being chased down by soldiers. I figured the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so I saved her while I was at it… I mean, snatched her back while I was at it.”

The woman finally spoke.

Her voice was a little hoarse, yet exceptionally pleasant to the ear, like spring water in a mountain stream striking stone.

“Chief Yan, by ‘while you were at it,’ do you mean you robbed me and my carriage together?”

My father’s face reddened, and he stiffened his neck.

“Enough nonsense! Once you’re in my den, you’re one of mine! From today on, you’re my daughter’s mother and the Bandit Chief’s Wife of Cangwu Mountain!”

The woman’s brows lifted slightly, and her gaze fell on me again.

I shrank my neck in. I felt like her eyes were sharper than my father’s blade.

But she was so pretty. I liked her.

So I still mustered my courage, took a step forward, tugged on her sleeve, and called out timidly, “Mother…”

Her body went rigid.

The air around us seemed to freeze.

Only after a long while did her tense shoulders slowly relax.

She lowered her head and looked at my grimy little paw clutching her spotless white sleeve. Her brows furrowed so faintly it was almost imperceptible, but she did not shake me off.

“My surname is Shen,” she said lightly. “Given name Yi.”

At that moment, I still had no idea what kind of towering waves the name Shen Yi had once stirred up in the literary world and imperial court of Great Liang.

All I knew was that I had a mother now.

Chapter Three

Shen Yi became my stepmother.

But she was different from other stepmothers.

In storybooks, stepmothers were either sweet-faced and vicious-hearted, feeding poison to their stepdaughters, or meek and timid, bullied by their stepdaughters.

Shen Yi was neither.

She… she had come to be worshipped like an ancestor.

On her second day in the mountain stronghold, she laid down rules for my father.

That morning, my father was bare-chested, one foot planted on a bench as he drank porridge, slurping so loudly the rafters shook.

Shen Yi walked in wearing that white dress of hers, now washed spotless, and carrying a bowl of plain porridge. She did not speak. She simply stood there quietly, watching my father.

My father grew uneasy under her stare. Silently, he lowered his foot. Then, just as silently, he pulled his clothes together. In the end, unable to stand it any longer, he asked in a muffled voice, “What are you looking at?”

Shen Yi set down her bowl of porridge, took a sheet of paper from her sleeve, and slapped it onto the table.

“Three Rules.”

My father’s ox-like eyes widened. “What the hell is that?”

“First, within the stronghold, anyone improperly dressed may not enter the Hall of Righteous Assembly.”

“Second, though you may be bandits, you must not commit vile acts. Anyone who rapes, abducts, or plunders women and children shall be killed.”

“Third…”

Shen Yi pointed at me.

“Xiaoman is already seven. She can no longer be left to run wild like a little savage. From today onward, she will study with me, learn to read and write, and learn propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame.”

The Hall of Righteous Assembly exploded into uproar.

“Study? Chief, we’re bandits! What’s the point of studying? Are we going to take the imperial exam and become top scholars?”

“Exactly! I don’t know a single character, and haven’t I lived just fine?”

“This woman sure has a lot of demands. Big Brother, if you ask me, just scare her a little and be done with it!”

My father’s expression shifted between dark and darker.

He looked at the paper covered in writing, then looked at me, who was hiding behind a pillar and sneaking peeks.

I was picking shreds of meat out from between my teeth with one finger, my face full of confusion.

My father sighed.

“All of you, shut up!”

He roared and pointed at the group of brothers.

“Look at the sorry state of you lot! Not one of you can read a damn word. Even writing a letter home means begging some sour-faced scholar down the mountain to do it! If Xiaoman grows up the same way, she’ll be blind with her eyes open. She won’t even be able to marry out!”

He turned to look at Shen Yi, his gaze complicated.

“Fine. We’ll do as you say. But on one condition: you’re one of this stronghold’s people now. If you dare tip off the authorities, my blade won’t care who you are.”

Shen Yi’s expression remained calm. She picked up her bowl of porridge and took a sip.

“Rest assured, Chief. I am now a wanted criminal of the court. I fear officials even more than you do.”

A wanted criminal?

My father froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

“Good! What a fine wanted criminal! So we’re on the same road after all! Come, drink this bowl of wine, and we’ll be one family!”

Shen Yi did not take the bowl of wine. She merely said lightly, “Drinking at breakfast harms the liver. Xiaoman, come with me.”

And just like that, Shen Yi hauled me away.

My days of suffering had begun.