Slow Passing Years - Chapter 2

“The Marquis Manor has a simple household. The Marquis needs no introduction-you naturally know of him. I am the only one who manages affairs in the residence.”

“If you marry in, there will be no need for morning and evening salutations. I have already set aside Fuyun Courtyard; it is a three-entry compound.”

The Marchioness smiled and took a sip of tea. “That courtyard faces the lake, surrounded by century-old winter plums. Bamboo is planted in the front courtyard, so it may be called warm in winter and cool in summer.”

“As for the concubine Youyun, if you want her to come pay her respects and observe the proper rules before you, then summon her. If you find it troublesome, simply live comfortably in your own courtyard.”

“The Heir Apparent dotes on this concubine to the extreme,” I said. “What mistress of the household would dare have her come and submit to such rules?”

“Without rules, nothing can be accomplished.” The Marchioness’s smile faded, her words turning solemn. “Otherwise, why would I be arranging a wife for him?”

“However much he dotes on her, it is still merely private affection. He has read so many of the classics of the sages-how could he fail to understand ritual propriety and clan law?”

I drank my tea, only smiling without a word.

“Wenxi.” The Marchioness called me by my maiden name and walked over to me; I hurriedly rose.

“With the Marquis Manor’s status, marrying a daughter from an ordinary family would be no problem, but my conscience truly could not bear it.”

“I have had enough of the filthy schemes of the inner residence, and I know even better how difficult it is for a wife if she is not cherished by her husband.”

“But the Marquis Manor bears a hereditary title, and Pei Xun has a soaring official career. Such wealth and honor are not things ordinary people can obtain.”

The Marchioness took my hand. “With glory and riches upon you, so long as you do not covet romantic love and keep an open heart, your days will not be bad.”

I looked into the Marchioness’s eyes and clearly heard the stirring in my own heart.

“That may be true, but human affections are truly hard to predict.”

I said softly, “There have always been men who favor the concubine and suppress the wife. The child is not my own. How can I secure my future interests?”

The Marchioness sighed. “I will tell you the truth. Though that concubine is said to be a music courtesan, she is in fact an official slave.”

I was astonished, my eyes widening slightly.

“Speaking of which, this concubine has some connection to you.”

“Her original surname was Shen, and she came from the Shen family of the Office of Transmission.”

No wonder. I understood at once: my previous betrothal had been to the Shen family’s second legitimate son.

In the fourth month of the year before last, the Shen family was impeached for secretly altering local military funds, angering His Majesty, and the whole clan was sentenced to exile.

The Shen men were sent to Lingnan, while the women were made official slaves.

“Pei Xun and the Shen family’s second son were bosom friends. In private, he went to the Music House to redeem the Shen family’s daughter. Who would have thought that after the hero saved the beauty, affection would grow between them?”

“The official slave registry is difficult to erase. However much my son dotes on her, he cannot overstep the law of the realm.”

“Wenxi, I know you are a clever girl,” the Marchioness said. “If that concubine wants to turn her fate around in this life, she can only pin her hopes on the child in her belly.”

“Only if the child is placed under the mistress of the household’s care and personally raised by you can the child pursue a future. She would be only too eager for this child not to acknowledge her.”

“Not your own by birth, yet closer than your own.” The Marchioness tightened her grip on my hand. “Wenxi, I have been this frank with you. You should understand my sincerity.”

I fell silent. The Marchioness was indeed sufficiently benevolent. Taking an official slave as a concubine was not a huge matter, but neither could it be considered small.

The imperial will was hard to fathom, and Pei Xun was currently in His Majesty’s favor. If someone truly intended to make an issue of this, it might well stir up trouble.

Moreover, if I truly entered the Marquis Manor in the future, having this leverage in hand would also count as something to rely on.

“Madam, though I seek only wealth and honor, not love,” I said, “once I marry over, I will still be a wife.”

“In the future, I will have to live my days with my husband no matter what.” I smiled as I spoke. “If possible, I hope to meet the Heir Apparent.”

“Good, good, good. That is only proper.” The Marchioness was overjoyed. “I knew you understood what mattered.”

Three days later, at dusk, when the willow branches brushed the fading light, I entered a private room at Tingzhu Teahouse disguised as a man.

Incense curled upward; flowing water murmured. A man stood with his hands clasped behind his back at the edge of the pool, tall and coldly austere.

A folding fan lifted the beaded curtain. Amid a crisp jingling, the man turned around. I bowed. “Heir Apparent.”