The Genius Concubine-Born Daughter - Chapter 2

When she had finished her speech, I asked, “Then tell me this: why can a legitimate daughter marry into a powerful house while a concubine-born daughter cannot?”

“Who says she can’t? A concubine-born daughter can marry into a powerful house too!”

She looked at me in anguish. “You understood none of that? Where is your spirit of resistance? Why aren’t you following the plot?”

She was working herself up again.

By then, I was certain this girl was nothing like my original daughter.

“Very well.” I finally sighed. “If that is what you want, I’ll help you.”

“No need.” She waved a hand. “All you have to do is lie back and wait to enjoy your blessings. I’m the god of this world, remember?”

“A god?” I glared at her. “Don’t forget that you wrote only one chapter. Anything you never wrote does not count.”

She froze, as if the thought had never occurred to her.

Confidence soon returned. “But I designed all the characters. I know every one of you inside and out.”

“Wrong.” I shook my head. “One of the people involved is telling you now: you understand neither us nor this world.”

“Impossible!”

She slapped the table and shot to her feet.

I gave a cold laugh. “You said I was thrown out? In truth, Madam Gu personally brought a physician to see me the next day and said she had no idea what madness had possessed her.

“You said your elder sister pushed you into the pond? She came crying to apologize afterward and pressed her favorite bracelet into your hands.

“There.” I pointed at her wrist. “That one.”

I fixed her with a stare. “Did you write those things too? Were they part of your design?”

She was astonished. Then she shook her head.

I spoke slowly. “A legitimate daughter is not legitimate because of who her father is. It is because of who her mother is—who her maternal grandfather and grandmother are, who her uncles, aunts, and their spouses are.

“If that were not so, why would a powerful family seek the legitimate daughter when all the girls share the same father and residence? Because the word legitimate sounds respectable? They are marrying the web of alliances rooted in her mother’s clan. Do you think they’re buying cabbages?

“Even if you truly ruined your sister’s marriage and your father somehow lost his senses badly enough to send you in her place, do you imagine an entire clan raised in noble circles would fail to recognize its own granddaughter, niece, or cousin? Whom exactly are you looking down on?”

I took a sip of tea. “Do you think everyone here is either a fool or blind?”

She had no answer.

After a long while, seeming finally to accept reality, she murmured, “So I was the clown all along.”

To be honest, I had seen many strange things in this household.

Some people believed in Buddha. Some believed in fate. Some invited Daoist masters home to inspect their feng shui.

I never involved myself. So long as people did not go mad or hurt anyone, they could think whatever they pleased.

But now I had no choice.

Whether this daughter of mine had truly transmigrated or truly gone insane, she had said in terror that she would die if she failed to marry into a powerful family. I had to help her live.

I asked, “If you know how to write books, does that mean you’ve studied?”

Sniffling, she said, “Guaranteed. I scored 628 on the gaokao.”

Seeing my blank face, she explained, “Roughly… like studying at the Imperial Academy and passing the provincial level of the civil examinations.”

Impressive indeed.

An idea stirred in my mind.

I patted her shoulder. “If you want to live, do as I say.”

“Let’s hear it.” She managed to sound composed.

I said slowly, “First, I am very pleased that you are educated.

“Second, are you aware that you have a younger brother?”

Without thinking, she replied, “Yes. Concubine-born, unfavored, no prospects.”

“I once wanted nothing more than to save money steadily, buy a little property for you two one day, and let us live ordinary lives.”

She nodded. “I get it. Lying flat.”

“Precisely.

“But because of you, I can no longer lie flat. So the pressure now falls on you—no, on your brother.”

Her eyes shifted. “How so?”

“As you know, women in this age cannot study for official examinations.”

“Right.”

“Then your brother must follow the civil-service path. Once he earns scholarly honors, your value as his elder sister will rise with his. Since you have studied…”

She backed away two steps. “You want me to tiger—no, teach him?”

“Exactly. How perceptive.” I gave her my most loving look.

“Why don’t you teach him yourself?”

“I’m lazy—no, I don’t know how.”

Her mouth fell open. “But university students charge for tutoring.”

“Charge?” I looked at her. “Which matters more, money or your life?”

She swallowed. “My life.”

I nodded. “Your life is now tied to your brother’s studies.”

She made one last attempt to escape. “But I don’t understand the examinations. I can’t write policy essays or eight-legged compositions.”

“His tutor will teach those. You understand methods. You need only supervise and guide him.”

Her face went pale. “But I’ve never taught a child…”

“Aren’t you a novelist?” I drawled.

“Imagine you are writing a new book. I’ve even thought of the title for you: After Transmigrating into a Book, I Help My Little Brother Become the Top Graduate.

“What do you think?”

She blinked.

The next moment, she slapped her thigh. “You mean… you want me to create a whole new genre—tiger-brother fiction?”

I nodded. “Exactly.”

“Deal!” she said at once.