Chapter 1 — The Dowry Without a Name

The entire household whispered that Su Lien was a woman who never contended or fought for anything. Yet, on the third day of my fever, she had consumed the very last bowl of stewed bird’s nest that my mother had sent from home. The kitchen staff relayed the message that she had coughed twice during the night, and the Marquis had commanded that she be given priority for all nourishment. With half a mouthful of bitter medicinal broth still lingering on my tongue, I only asked, “Does bird’s nest cure a cough?”

Thanh Hoa replied, “The physician says it does not.”

“Is it an essential additive for the medicine?”

“It is not that, either.”

“Then stop it.”

01

Thanh Hoa stood stunned. “Stop whose portion, my lady?”

“Su Lien’s.”

I swallowed the bitter draught, my tongue numbed by the intensity of the herbs. “Continue to provide her with her daily meals and the decoctions as prescribed, and add a bowl of snow fungus soup if you must. But the bird’s nest is to be locked away in my private storeroom.”

If she lacks medicine, I shall not hinder her. But if she lacks my personal belongings, that is a different matter. Thanh Hoa had barely been gone for a quarter of an hour when Su Lien arrived. She moved with such haste that the kitchen staff could hardly have had time to wash the empty porcelain bowl. She was draped in a pale moonlight-white cloak, the corners of her eyes rimmed with red, followed by two maidservants carrying that very empty bowl.

“My Lady, I was unaware that the bird’s nest was sent by your own family.”

I nodded. “You are aware now.”

“Had I known sooner, I would have rather coughed until I died than consume even a single drop of your nourishment.”

“Don’t.” I raised a hand slightly. “To die of a cough over a bowl of bird’s nest would make it sound as if our Marquis’s estate doesn't even know how to boil pear broth.”

The look of contrition on Su Lien’s face faltered for a heartbeat, then her eyes welled up with tears once more. “But the food has already been consumed; I truly cannot return it to you.”

“Since it is already consumed, there is no need to return it.” I leaned back against the soft pillows. My fever made my entire body ache, and I was too weary to trade empty pleasantries with her. “Just ensure you do not drink it again in the future.”

The room fell into a heavy silence. Su Lien’s hands, clutching her handkerchief, tightened. “Does the Lady find my presence in this house too much of a burden?”

“Not at all.”

“Then why have you suddenly halted the daily allowance for the Listening Rain Pavilion?”

I looked at her steadily. “Because that was never the allowance for the Listening Rain Pavilion; it was my personal bird’s nest.”

The maidservant behind her could no longer contain herself. “The young lady has a delicate constitution, and the Marquis only cherishes her well-being. As the mistress of the house, why must you make things so difficult for her over a mere morsel of food?”

“What is your monthly wage?” I asked.

The maid was taken aback. “Two... two taels of silver.”

“And what is the cost of a bowl of bird’s nest?”

She fell silent. I nodded. “It seems it is not merely a ‘morsel of food’ after all.”

The maid gripped the edge of the tray until her knuckles turned white. “This servant did not mean that, my lady.”

“Then what did you mean? If you cherish your young mistress so dearly, you may use your own wages to purchase it for her. To demand that I provide it—you certainly are skilled at using others' silver to perform acts of kindness.”

The maid collapsed to her knees with a loud thud. Su Lien rushed to support her, tears streaming down her face. “My lady, please do not blame her; it is all my fault. I should not have consumed it, nor should I have caused the Marquis such distress because of myself.”

“She does not cause me distress.” I corrected her patiently. “She consumed my bird’s nest, so I stopped the supply. The matter is resolved; why would the Marquis be distressed?”

Su Lien’s weeping halted. From outside the door, the voice of Ta Hoai Can cut through the air. “It is merely a bowl of bird’s nest—must you make such an uproar that everyone knows of it?”

He strode into the room, not even having changed from his court robes. I had been ill for three days, yet this was the first time he had stepped into my room. It turned out that my fever was not enough to summon him, but Su Lien lacking a single bowl of bird’s nest was. Ta Hoai Can looked at Su Lien first. Seeing her tears, his brows furrowed instantly.

“Minh Duong, Lien Nhi has a lingering illness from the mountain floods; the physician ordered her to recuperate properly. Your own health has always been robust—why must you begrudge her this?”

“My health has always been robust?” I pulled back the edge of my quilt, revealing my wrist where silver needles still pierced the skin. “And so, lying here like this is merely a new form of exercise?”

Ta Hoai Can’s fingers clenched inside his sleeves. Su Lien quickly intervened, “My Lord, please do not blame the Lady. She is so gravely ill; it was my mistake to—”

“Indeed, it was your mistake.” I interrupted before she could finish, leaving her clutching her chest, her hands frozen mid-motion.

Ta Hoai Can’s face darkened. “Minh Duong!”

“I hear you.” I rubbed my temples, throbbing with heat. “There is no need to shout my name simply because you cannot win an argument with me. Save your strength; perhaps you can use it to go buy her some bird’s nest outside.”

“Does the Marquis’s estate not even have the means to provide such a small amount of bird’s nest?”

“If the estate can afford it, then you may settle it through the official ledger.” I looked at Thanh Hoa. “The financial office reported the accounts yesterday; how much silver remains in the public fund?”

Thanh Hoa replied immediately, “The payment for the temple renovation lumber last month has yet to be settled. We must also set aside funds for the Old Madame’s birthday banquet; there are only thirty-seven taels remaining in the ledger.”

Ta Hoai Can did not tell anyone to check the ledger again. Naturally, he knew the public funds were empty. For years, the prestige of the Marquis’s estate had rested half on the ancestral plaques and half on the dowry goods provided by my family. Since one cannot stew an ancestral plaque, they had resorted to stewing my bird’s nest.

“Must you calculate everything so precisely?” he asked.

“Yes.” I replied without hesitation. “My possessions must be accounted for.”

“A husband and wife are one body…”

“Then you may be one body with her.” I pushed the price list Thanh Hoa had just retrieved toward him. “The price per pound of the finest bird’s nest is clearly written there. You provide the payment, and I will have someone purchase it today.”

Ta Hoai Can did not accept it. Su Lien stood to the side, her tears falling even more profusely. “My Lord, do not be distressed. Since the Lady cannot tolerate me, I shall leave.”

As those words left her lips, the serving women outside the door cast glances of pity. Everyone in the household knew how understanding Su Lien was. She never argued or contended. When offered the Listening Rain Pavilion, she claimed she dared not occupy it, yet she did. When given two maidservants, she said she was not accustomed to such service, yet she never sent them back. When offered my carriage, she insisted on walking, yet later complained the jolting of a palanquin aggravated her old wounds. Truly, she never needed to contend. For whatever she desired, she needed only say she was unworthy, and someone would inevitably snatch it from my hands to give to her.

But today, with my fever, I no longer had the strength to indulge her performative modesty. I looked at Thanh Hoa. “Go prepare the carriage.”

The room went deathly still. Su Lien looked up, startled. “My Lady?”

“Did you not wish to leave?” I asked her seriously. “The weather is fine today. If you pack by noon, you can still reach the city gates before they lock this evening.”

Ta Hoai Can stepped forward. “Where do you intend for her to stay?”

“Do you not have a vacant house in the West City? There are old servants to look after the place. We can send two more serving women, and have a physician visit every five days. With food and medicine provided, no one will leave her feeling slighted.”

“That place is remote; how can a fragile woman live there?”

“Then she may stay at your own Lin Feng Courtyard.” I pointed out the window. “And you may move to the West City.”

Ta Hoai Can glanced out the window but offered no reply. At that moment, the Old Madame entered, supported by her personal attendant. She began scolding me the moment she crossed the threshold: “To drive away a lifesaver over a bite of bird’s nest—is this the breeding of the Lu family?”

“So, Mother, you also believe she cannot leave?”

“Of course she cannot!”

“Very well.” I nodded. “Then from now on, her bird’s nest will come from your private stores, Mother. The carriages will come from my husband’s allowance, and her seasonal clothing shall be provided by the two of you. I shall remain responsible for the household’s basic maintenance, but for any luxury beyond that, let the one who pities her pay for it.”

The room fell into a dead silence. The beads in the Old Madame’s hands slowed to a stop. Ta Hoai Can picked up the price list, then set it back down. The serving women who had been muttering against me earlier retreated a step outside the door. I waited, but no one reached for their purse. It turned out they did not actually mind Su Lien being slighted; they only minded that, from now on, her slights would cost them their own silver.

In the end, Ta Hoai Can instructed the financial office to allocate five taels of silver. It was not a large sum—only enough for Su Lien to consume bird’s nest for half a month. When he placed the silver on the table, he did so with far more care than when he had taken an entire chest of my personal supply.

“Are you satisfied now?” he asked.

“What is there for me to be satisfied about?” I glanced at Su Lien. “She is the one who consumed the bird’s nest, it is your affection that is on display, and it is your silver that should pay for it. This is not satisfaction; this is simply putting everyone back in their proper place.”

Ta Hoai Can flicked his sleeves and turned to leave. Su Lien followed behind with her two maids. As she crossed the threshold, she looked back at me once. Her eyes darted away instantly, and she hurried after him.

02

Three days later, my fever broke. Before I could even rise from the bed to stretch my limbs, Old Madame’s attendant, Matron Ton, arrived with an invitation. The Duke of An’s estate was holding a flower-viewing banquet and had invited the female kin of the Marquis. Matron Ton smiled kindly, “The Old Madame says that since Miss Su intends to reside in the capital for some time, she must eventually meet people. You are the mistress of the house, so please prepare a few suitable outfits for her.”

“Does Miss Su not have her own clothes?”

“She has them, but they are too plain. At a banquet hosted by the Duke of An, if she wears rags, it is the Marquis’s estate that loses face.”

Always the face of the Marquis’s estate. This concept was a strange growth in this house. Usually unseen and intangible, it sprouted instantly whenever there was a need for me to part with my belongings.

“Very well,” I said. “Have the seamstress make two sets, and pay from the public funds.”

Matron Ton looked troubled. “The public funds are tight recently…”

“Then have one set made.”

“The Old Madame’s intention was that the Pho Quang silk in your own dowry would be a perfect match in color.”

I let out a soft laugh. “So the attire was already decided, and you were only here to inform me.”

Matron Ton knelt immediately. “This servant dares not.”

“Rise. There is no need to kneel every time the subject of money arises.”

I instructed Thanh Hoa to retrieve two pieces of new silk from my private storage—hues of understated elegance—and had the seamstress work through the night to finish the garments. They were not exceptionally precious, but more than sufficient for a flower-viewing banquet. When the clothes were delivered, Su Lien came to thank me in person.

“You have gone to such trouble, My Lady. But for me to wear such fine material is truly a waste.”

“Then do not wear it.”

She paused. “I only fear being too conspicuous.”

“Then wear your own clothes.”

I did not offer further advice. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes, but she lowered her gaze quickly. On the day of the banquet, she naturally did not wear the outfit I had provided. She wore an old dress that had been washed until it was faded, with only a wooden hairpin in her hair. Standing amidst a garden of silks and jewels, it was impossible for her not to stand out. Sure enough, before the banquet had even begun, someone asked, “Whose daughter is this? Why is she dressed so meagerly?”

Su Lien immediately shrank half a step behind me. “It was my own choice not to dress elegantly; it has nothing to do with the Lady.”

She added in a whisper, “I am already content to have a place to set foot in the Marquis’s estate.”

The gazes of the ladies around us shifted toward me instantly. The Duchess of An frowned. “Marquis’s Lady, is this how you treat your own lifesaver?”

Before I could open my mouth, Su Lien knelt on the floor. “My Lady, please do not blame our own Mistress; she has already been very kind to me. It is simply that I know my own lowly status and dare not dress like the noble ladies of the house.”

I lowered my head to look at her. A few days ago, she only knew how to run to my courtyard to weep. Now, she knew exactly how to choose the most crowded place to kneel.

“Rise,” I said.