Chapter 3 — The General's Path

If the Lady of the Marquis offered me even a single morsel of food, she would lock herself in her room and starve in protest. If she allowed me to choose fabric first, she would immediately order her servants to bring her entire share to my chambers. Before long, whenever I entered the main hall, the laughter at the table would die instantly. Snow-White Shen would lower her gaze, appearing wounded, and retreat from the gathering. To mend the rift between us, the Lady of the Marquis felt compelled to treat Snow-White Shen with exponentially greater affection. When we were alone, she would take my hands, her eyes clouded with profound exhaustion:

"Jade-Nut, we have spoiled Snow-White until she is fragile, and her heart is far too sensitive. You are not like her; you do not take these small slights to heart, so please, for your mother’s sake, be the one to yield. After all, she is the one who truly suffered in the tragedy of our mistaken lineage."

From that point on, I lost the right to choose for myself. Then came the matter of the marriage negotiations. The mother of Lee Thai, the Princess of the Southern Commandery—who also holds the rank of a reigning Imperial Princess—placed immense importance on tradition and the purity of bloodlines. Upon learning that Snow-White Shen was not of the Marquis’s true bloodline, she immediately demanded that the marriage agreement be reconsidered. The Lady of the Marquis turned deathly pale at these words. Terrified of offending the Princess yet equally desperate to shield Snow-White Shen from any heartache, she did not hesitate to use the most vitriolic language to shatter my reputation, forcing the Princess to reconsider her stance. She claimed:

"My foster daughter, Jade-Nut, was never entered into the family records. Having lacked proper guidance since childhood, her behavior is truly boorish and insufferable. Since she came under my care, I have attempted to instruct her in literature, etiquette, and domestic management, yet she has mastered none of them. I intended to discipline her with a firm hand, but she lacks respect for her elders and remains stubbornly unrepentant despite my repeated efforts."

The Lady of the Marquis cast a sidelong glance at Snow-White Shen before continuing:

"Even if it is not Snow-White, if another daughter of the Shen household were to catch the Princess’s eye, it would be the highest honor for our entire estate. It is an old saying that family shame should not be aired in public, and it is not that I lack the desire to protect the honor of Jade-Nut. It is simply that she is entirely incapable of bearing a heavy responsibility. If we were to marry a girl as reckless and ignorant of the world as she into your noble house, I fear she would only bring disaster. Not only would it implicate the entire Marquis clan, but it would also leave the Southern Commandery’s house in deep disgrace."

The Princess was, as expected, unsettled by these remarks, and the marriage was placed on hold. Later, during the banquet celebrating my coming-of-age ceremony, Snow-White Shen drugged my wine. She had intended for a dissolute cousin from her own biological family to compromise my virtue, yet somehow, the plan went awry. When Snow-White Shen led the guests to burst into the room to catch me in a scandal, the person lying in bed beside me was none other than Lee Thai.

As my heart raced in the chaos, a sudden splash echoed from nearby. Back in the days of my youth in the Qi Province, I had made my living as a pearl diver, and my swimming skills were unparalleled. Guided by instinct, I raced toward the sound. Only after I had hauled the figure onto the bank did I recognize the drenched face: it was the Princess of the Southern Commandery, my mother-in-law from my previous life. She coughed up water, gasping for breath as I supported her on the grass. When she finally looked up at me, she was stunned for a moment, then she broke into a laugh.

"You little slip of a girl, you possess quite a bit of strength."

The bonds between people are sometimes as inexplicable as they are sudden. It was the same in my past life. The first time she saw me, her eyes had lit up with a warmth I had never witnessed within the Marquis’s estate—a pure, unadulterated fondness. She had never liked Snow-White Shen, despite the girl being adored by everyone else. Instead, she felt an immediate affinity for someone as "crude" and "clumsy" as I, and she had advocated for the marriage match herself. The only tragedy of my previous life was that she had slipped and fallen into the water at the Temple of Sweet Dew. The servants had wasted too much time calling for help, and although she was revived, the accident left her with a lingering illness. Shortly after I married into the royal house, she passed away. In this life, through my gentle urging, she had reluctantly agreed to stay at the temple to recuperate for a few extra days. Remembering how she had favored me from our very first meeting in the past, I did not rush to leave. On the final day, she pulled me before the abbess and declared:

"The mistress tells me your destiny is exceptionally noble; you are a lucky star capable of protecting this house and preserving its legacy. Perhaps there is a karmic bond between us that transcends this life. From the moment I saw you, my heart was captured. Would you be willing to become my adopted daughter?"

Seeing my look of utter shock, she laughed and added, "When I gave birth to that cold, stubborn boy of mine, I damaged my own constitution. One of my greatest regrets has always been the inability to have a daughter—a 'little cotton-padded jacket' to comfort me and care for me in my twilight years. If you refuse me, I fear this ailment of the heart will never heal."

How could I possibly refuse her after such words? In the days that followed, I tended to her daily needs with devotion. We walked together, soaked in the sun, and practiced restorative breathing exercises. She, in turn, raised me as if I were her own blood, guiding me with wisdom and maternal grace.