The General's Wife - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On her third day in the residence, Song Tinglan’s courtyard went up in flames.

Clutching her fire-burned arm, she curled into my husband’s embrace, her eyes red-rimmed.

“It isn’t anyone else’s fault. I never should have entered the General’s Mansion and become an eyesore to Madam.”

Li Xun’s face darkened. He questioned me in a cold voice.

“Shuyu, do you realize what you’ve done wrong?”

I lifted my eyes and met his gaze.

“Is the general accusing me of setting fire to Miss Tinglan’s quarters?”

His thin lips parted, but when Song Tinglan hissed in pain while holding her burned arm, they pressed back into a hard, rigid line.

I understood.

“Someone, report this to the authorities!”

Song Tinglan’s sobs stopped abruptly.

Her personal nanny dropped to her knees with a thud, unable to hide her urgency.

“My young lady is already blessed beyond measure to be staying in the General’s Mansion. How could we trouble the authorities over a fire and cause the general more problems? That would push my young lady, who has already caused trouble, straight into the eye of the storm.”

“It’s only a small injury. It doesn’t matter.”

Song Tinglan clenched her sleeve, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Innocent, yet terrified.

Li Xun’s brows knitted tightly.

“You may not have set the fire, but your household management was lax. You caused a benefactor to suffer. The fault still lies with you.”

Lax household management?

At that, my voice turned cold. I called toward the doorway.

“Summon the stewards of every courtyard, tonight’s patrol guards, and the managing nanny of Wutong Courtyard. They are to come here and answer for this.”

Song Tinglan’s long lashes trembled.

I saw it clearly and said with a sneer, “Though Lady Song calls it a small injury, what has been damaged is the reputation of my inner household. Surely Lady Song will not object to my dealing with servants who failed in their duties?”

Her nanny was just about to retort when I touched the rim of my teacup and said, neither lightly nor heavily, “Murder and arson are grave crimes. We must either report it to the authorities or investigate it ourselves. One of the two must be done.”

That left her speechless.

Half a cup of tea later, the stewards from each courtyard, the patrol guards on duty that day, and the managing nanny of Wutong Courtyard, where Song Tinglan resided, all stood before me.

Song Tinglan bit her lip, her voice carrying a fragile sob.

“This is my fault. At such a late hour, with the dew so heavy, I’ve troubled everyone.”

Li Xun unfastened his own cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

“You’ve suffered a grievance. I will see justice done for you.”

Song Tinglan looked at me shyly, her triumph plain as day.

I ignored it and set down my teacup.

“The managing nanny of Wutong Courtyard failed in her duty of oversight. The night patrol was negligent and derelict in its duties. The rear courtyard steward managed affairs poorly.”

“The three of you will seal your account books at once and hand over your duties. At dawn, you will be sent to the estate to find other work.”

With one sentence, the color drained from their faces, and they fell to their knees before me with a thud.

The managing nanny was the first to open her account book.

“This old servant did not fail in her duties. Everything is recorded in the account book in my hands. This fire was suspicious. It was not a natural disaster, but man-made.”

Under Song Tinglan’s sleeve, her hand clenched tight.

This was the strict discipline and cautious procedure of an inner household-something she had never seen at the borderlands.

Li Xun’s cold gaze collided with mine. I curved my lips faintly.

“Read.”

The managing nanny spread open the record book and read in a voice clear enough for everyone to hear.

“At the first quarter of the hour of Zi, Old Woman Song claimed the young lady had a coughing illness. She dismissed the maids in the courtyard, sent people to fetch the general, prepare medicine, and boil a medicinal bath, leaving only herself alone with the young lady.”

“At the second quarter of the hour of Zi, the maid sent to find the general returned, only to be sent by her to the dispensary to fetch medicine. Not long after, the courtyard suddenly caught fire.”

“It was not that we failed to put out the fire. When a courtyard full of servants carried well water inside, the door was barred from within, and no one opened it despite repeated calls. While the flames were still small, the general had already arrived outside the door.”

“The instant the steward broke down the door, the flames abruptly rose and rushed straight for the bed. In the blink of an eye, they swept through the entire room, and Lady Song’s arm was also burned by the blaze.”

The steward also took out a record book.

“In the ruined courtyard, we found a tung oil vessel, remnants of kindling, and a water-soaked cloak.”

The patrol guard added, “The incident happened suddenly. Old Woman Song was the first to order someone to find Madam, yet she ignored the young lady’s injury. Even now, she has not once called for the residence physician.”

A self-injury scheme to throw mud on me. A counteraccusation to sow discord. A thief crying thief and borrowing another’s knife to kill.

One link after another.

That fire had burned in Lady Song’s courtyard.

But it was meant to burn down me, the Mistress of the General’s Household.

The entire room fell deathly silent.

Faced with solid evidence, Song Tinglan turned bloodless and swayed on her feet.

I looked at Li Xun.

“The General’s Mansion has produced military men for three generations. Within, we keep strict order. Without, we strike fiercely. We leave not the slightest opening for our enemies. I, Jiang Shuyu, have managed this household for three years and have never dared forget the family rules and teachings for a single day.”

I tapped lightly on the three neatly kept record books, my smile thin and cold.

“If even this is called lax household management, then I ask the general to find someone more capable.”

The moment the words fell, Song Tinglan’s body went limp. She collapsed into the armchair behind her, trembling as if she might fall apart.

“General, I…”

“It is this old servant’s fault.”

Seeing this, Mother Song seemed to throw caution to the wind. Her knees buckled, and she knelt down.