Chapter 8 — Incense Smoke in the Qi Manor

But he passed away before he could formally enter the civil service. While he was indeed forced to suspend his examinations for three years due to the mourning period, an additional two years of study would have surely improved his rank. It would not have harmed his future prospects to resign and mourn his father.

As I finished speaking, he fell silent for a long moment, then let out a self-deprecating laugh.

So that was it. My father was just like me; he lay bedridden for a long time, slowly fading away until he finally perished. And when my father died, I had not yet entered the ranks of officialdom. So, the head wife was actually thinking of my career prospects all along!

He laughed incessantly, his voice growing louder and more ragged with every breath, until he finally collapsed against the quilt, seized by a violent, hacking cough.

Was this medicine given to me by you? Was my father’s terminal illness also your doing?

I did not answer him. He pressed on, his voice trembling. When did you first conceive the intent to kill me? Was it when I took in concubines? When I personally oversaw the care of those concubines to ensure they became pregnant? Or perhaps, when I secretly allowed Concubine Jiang to forgo her morning greetings to you?

I remained silent. The incense burner on the table behind me curled with wisps of white smoke, drifting lazily into the air. Once this incense burned to ash, the servants would naturally clear it away. No one would ever think to inspect what had been added to the mixture. I gave a cold, thin smile, my fingernails tapping lightly against the golden beast-shaped lid of the burner.

Look at this smoke, I whispered. Does it not resemble the day you poisoned Shen Nhu?

His expression shifted violently, and he stared at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. I turned and walked away. His body had already been hollowed out from within; regardless of whether he drank the medicine I sent him from this point on, he would not live much longer. By the time Jing enters the imperial examinations, he will certainly be dead.

13

Several years passed in the blink of an eye. After Qi Wen Kai died, Jing followed the rites and observed a three-year period of mourning, during which he suspended his studies. Once the mourning concluded, Jing smoothly passed the provincial examinations. He did not merely secure the rank of a scholar; he captured the top position of the provincial graduate. When the news of Jing’s success reached the Qi manor, the estate erupted in celebration once again. People swarmed me with praises, declaring that Jing would surely go on to pass the palace examinations, perhaps even sweeping the top honors in the upcoming metropolitan and palace trials to become our dynasty's first triple-top scholar! I merely smiled, offering no reply. Achieving the triple crown was a lofty ambition, but Jing had whispered to me in confidence that a second-rank placement was well within his reach. In our dynasty, those who do not hold the title of doctor cannot enter the Imperial Academy, and those who do not enter the Imperial Academy cannot join the Cabinet. Jing’s future was firmly secured.

After finishing the social obligations of receiving guests and well-wishers, I retreated alone to the garden. My mother-in-law had grown frail with age, Shen Nhu had long since been married off to a good family, and Jing was busy paying respects to his mentors. I dismissed my maidservants, choosing to sit by myself in the winding corridor of the garden, staring blankly at the flora.

I had seen through the schemes of Qi Wen Kai, forcing him to recuperate in his private courtyard while I cultivated my son into a man of status, ensuring my own peace in my later years. In this life, it seemed I had won once again.

Dusk was beginning to descend, and the walls surrounding the Qi manor appeared impossibly high. In my previous life, I had eliminated Shen Nhu, foolishly believing I had broken the stalemate of my existence. In this life, I swore that I would never again dirty my hands for a man such as him. I protected Shen Nhu and unraveled the knots of my resentment. Yet, to escape this gilded cage, I found that my only recourse was to eliminate Qi Wen Kai. He was not innocent, but my hands were stained with blood nonetheless.

The sun dipped lower, casting the long, jagged shadows of the high walls across the ground. The trees and flowers were swallowed by the gloom, seemingly vanishing into the encroaching night. There were no more trees in the garden, only me. The deadlock could be broken, yet the captive remained unable to escape. But what, in the end, is it that truly imprisons me?

[End]