In the nascent days of autumn, wild geese from the far north drew a black, wavering line across the distant sky, migrating toward the warmer southern lands. The lush summer foliage in the courtyard had already begun to surrender to the cold, and even the colorful carp in the ornamental pond seemed to move with a sluggish chill.
The young girl’s raven hair was meticulously styled in a delu bun, secured with an exquisite coral hairpin. She was dressed in a rich deep-red double-patterned cloud and goose outfit embroidered with fine thread, which elegantly accentuated her slight, graceful figure.
Bailu gently draped an embroidered cloak over Shen Miao’s shoulders. “Young Lady’s illness hasn’t fully dissipated. Please be careful not to catch a chill.”
Shen Miao quietly shook her head.
She was still small, shorter than her cousins Shen Yue and Shen Qing. With her round face and a reputation for being inherently timid, she appeared several years younger than her actual age, seeming no older than eleven or twelve.
But today, she was subtly, profoundly different.
Shuangjiang, watching from the side, felt a strange dissonance. The young girl’s skin was fair, her frame delicate, but without a trace of a smile, her expression was neither cold nor merely foolish—it was detached. She looked toward the sky with an air of immense nostalgia. Though she stood as she always had, an unfamiliar sense of gravity now clung to her, a unique temperament that hinted at a touch of grace and even majesty, as if she had acquired it overnight.
Shuangjiang shook her head to clear the absurd notions from her mind and smiled at Shen Miao. “What is Young Lady gazing at?”
Since finishing her morning meal, Shen Miao had been standing in the courtyard, her thoughts fixed on the heavens.
“I was just wondering if these wild geese, flying from the northern lands to the southern countries, also pass over the northwestern desert,” Shen Miao said softly.
The northwestern desert was where General Shen Xin, her father, was stationed along with her mother and elder brother. According to the family letter sent last month, while the capital was only beginning to cool, the northwest had already seen withered grass and early snow.
“Young Lady must be missing the Master and Mistress,” Shuangjiang smiled. “When the Master returns at year’s end, he’ll be delighted to see how much Young Lady has grown.”
Shen Miao offered a smile, though a hint of bitterness twisted at the corners of her mouth. A general who could only return to the capital once a year would first be confronted with the shame of his daughter shamelessly pursuing a husband, even threatening death to force a marriage. How delighted could he truly be?
Moreover, the man she had been desperate to marry was merely a schemer who intended to exploit the Shen family’s military power in his struggle for the throne. The succession fight was chaotic, and the Shen family had originally desired neutrality, yet they were dragged in by her blind obsession, ultimately leading to the destruction of her entire family.
Shen Miao briefly closed her eyes. In just half a year, too many things could happen. Since her coming-of-age ceremony, her marriage had become a weapon that the East Courtyard could wield at any time. It seemed that following this year’s ceremony, the East Courtyard would shed its disguise like a starved beast, cornering her step-by-step into a dead end with no return.
“Young Lady? Young Lady?” Seeing her mistress’s unusual expression and the whitened knuckles gripping her cloak, Bailu called softly.
Shen Miao collected herself just as Guyu ran over. “Young Lady, someone from Rongjing Hall has come to hasten us.”
Rongjing Hall was the residence of Old Madam Shen. Early that morning, the Old Madam had sent her maid to check on Shen Miao. Having confirmed Shen Miao was well, the maid announced that once she felt better, she should come pay her respects. In reality, everyone knew whether it was a respectful visit or an interrogation that awaited her.
Shen Miao smiled faintly, tightened her cloak, and said, “Let’s go.”
In the Shen mansion, the East and West Courtyards were sharply divided. When the old General Shen was alive, he often practiced martial arts in an empty courtyard in the west. After his death, Shen Gui and Shen Wan both pursued careers as civil officials, leaving only Shen Xin to inherit the old general’s military mantle. That empty western courtyard, along with the west wing, was thus allocated to Shen Xin’s family. The East Courtyard was sprawling, housing the families of the First and Second Branches, as well as Old Madam Shen.
In truth, compared to the east, the West Courtyard was more remote, received less sunlight, and was barely half the size of the eastern complex, with nothing particularly noteworthy. Only Shen Xin was delighted, feeling as if he had gained a great bargain by securing the space. Both Shen Xin and his wife hailed from military families, their tastes similarly simple—white walls and black tiles, exceedingly plain, unlike the delicate, contrived elegance of the east.
Shen Miao had once been deeply dissatisfied with her West Courtyard, envying the elegant charm of the East, and had privately blamed Shen Xin for it. Looking back now, she could only laugh at her ignorance.
Her family’s courtyard, though plain, was not crude. It reflected an open-minded spirit everywhere, unlike the East Courtyard with its deceptive facade—beautiful on the outside, but utterly rotten within.
After turning down a long corridor and passing through an exquisitely manicured garden, they finally reached the entrance of Rongjing Hall.
Perhaps striving to showcase a scholarly atmosphere, Rongjing Hall was decorated with elaborate elegance. A plaque bearing the words “Bamboo Heart Elegance” hung above the entrance, complemented by delicate and lively brass door handles shaped like pines and cranes.
“Fifth Young Lady has arrived,” announced Xi’er, a maid who served Old Madam Shen.
Shen Miao stepped into Rongjing Hall.
Inside was a scene of forced domestic harmony, with almost everyone present. The Second Madam, Ren Wanyun, and the Third Madam, Chen Ruoqiu, stood below the Old Madam. Shen Qing sat beside the Old Madam, feeding her sweets, while on the other side sat Shen Yuanbai, the five-year-old son of the Second Branch, randomly grabbing sugary treats and trying to stuff them into the Old Madam’s mouth, making her laugh uncontrollably.
No one appeared to notice Shen Miao’s arrival until Shen Yue smiled and said, “Why has Fifth Sister only arrived now? Seventh Brother has almost finished all the steamed sweet milk custard.”
Shen Miao nodded slightly. “My body hasn’t fully recovered. Walking a few steps made me dizzy, so I rested along the way. That is why I’m late.”
Everyone in Rongjing Hall fell momentarily silent. Shen Yue had intended to accuse her of arrogance for being late, but Shen Miao wasn't afraid to subtly point out the Old Madam’s unreasonable demand that she come pay respects despite her poor health.
After a moment, Ren Wanyun smiled and said, “I see that Little Five is truly weak. The doctor has been called twice these past few days. Fortunately, she seems fine now.”
“Is your health better?” a hoarse, stern voice sounded, carrying a hint of barely detectable impatience.
Shen Miao looked up at Old Madam Shen.
The Old Madam had already withdrawn her smile, lifting her head with an arrogant posture. Despite being over seventy, she wore a peach-red narrow-sleeved jacket and skirt with embroidered brocade buttons, green jade turquoise buttons at the collar, and a headband embroidered with white orchids. Her silver hair was styled in an auspicious cloud bun, adorned with jade beads.
She was a woman extremely concerned with appearances. In her previous life, during Shen Miao’s maiden years, she had always thought Old Madam Shen was the epitome of a noble woman, possessing a graceful beauty that persisted into old age, which she couldn’t help but admire. Now, looking back, she found it entirely laughable.
The original wife of General Shen, Shen Xin’s mother, had been born into a truly noble family—a genuine daughter of a great house—but unfortunately died of illness in middle age. Later, while on a military campaign, General Shen had rescued a singing girl from local ruffians. With nowhere to go, she begged to become his concubine and bore him Shen Gui and Shen Wan. Eventually, she was elevated to the position of his official wife.
The singing girl had clawed her way up, becoming Madam Shen, and eventually Old Madam Shen. Her reputation and status had changed, but the petty, vulgar nature from her background in the marketplace remained. Shen Miao still remembered how, in her previous life, Old Madam Shen had forced her to marry the lame Prince of Yuzhou, merely to smooth the path for Shen Qing.
Looking at the woman before her, Shen Miao noted that Old Madam Shen had been beautiful in her youth, with a pointed face and large, bright eyes. In old age, however, she resembled a dry, triangular drum face with two eyes protruding awkwardly. Yet she stubbornly refused to accept this, insisting on applying a bright red lip color.
Truly… not dignified at all, Shen Miao casually assessed with the eyes of someone who had been an Empress in her previous life. She humbly said, “I’ve taken medicine and am much better now. Thank you for your concern, Grandmother.”
The next moment, she heard Old Madam Shen shout, "Unfilial girl, kneel at once!"
Cultural Context:
This chapter highlights the deep-seated social and cultural conflict within the Shen family, a common element in historical Chinese novels. The division between the East and West Courtyards is not merely architectural, but a symbol of class and pedigree.
The West Courtyard belongs to General Shen Xin, a military man (Wujiang), reflecting the simpler, unadorned aesthetics of the soldier class—valor over vanity. The East Courtyard, home to the civil officials (Wenguan) and the Old Madam, represents the pursuit of scholarly elegance and status.
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