Chapter 2 — The Proxy Sister

I am the second daughter born to a concubine of the Meng family. Behind me trail two younger sisters, all of us born to the various concubines residing within the manor. Though we carry the blood of the Meng lineage, our status is lower than that of the Western curly-haired dog pampered by Meng Cham Nguyet. We certainly cannot compare to the apple of our stepmother’s eye—the young master of the house, Meng Yu. I suspect we are not even deemed worthy of holding his shoes.

The ancestors of the Meng estate were once figures of great renown, but after generations of decline, in a capital teeming with power and nobility, our family is no longer worth mentioning. Father has pinned all his hopes on that useless son of his. My eldest sister, however, truly knew how to fight for her place. Sharp-witted and never confined by the narrow walls of the inner chambers, she was a refreshing stream amidst the stagnant, convention-bound noblewomen of the city. She organized literary salons and composed brilliant verses, some of which were set to music and carried far beyond the city gates, sparking a trend across the capital. She was loved wholeheartedly by her husband, the only one in his heart—an ideal that every married woman in the Upper Capital envied.

Yet, the very machinations she took such pride in made the three of us sisters thorns in the eyes of matchmakers, who avoided us like a plague. Mother always said that only a strong woman can carve out her own world, but being a woman is truly a heavy burden. We were imprisoned in the rear courtyards, our only value found in being married off to serve as political leverage for the men of other clans. As for us—the daughters who could not be wed—we were nothing more than discarded chess pieces of the Meng house.

It is a pity that Meng Cham Nguyet was so blinded by romantic entanglements that she failed to see the human heart behind them. The grace she believed to be boundless was merely a reward for the utility she provided to Meng Yu. Now that she is gone, I have become the sole link between the Meng family and the house of Thoi. I wagered that, no matter what, they would not find it easy to discard me. I overturned my bedding and retrieved a rod, inspecting it with care.

"A dog-beating stick," I whispered. "Specifically for beating dogs."

I concealed the rod within the layers of my skirt and knocked on the door of my stepmother’s chamber.

"Mother, it is I."

From within came a voice filled with impatience. "It is late. What business could you possibly have?"

I replied, "Regarding the marriage alliance with the Thoi estate, there are matters I still do not understand, and I have come specifically to seek your guidance."

The door was opened by Mother Trieu, the personal maid of my stepmother. I stepped inside to find Father present as well. That was fortunate; it saved me the trouble of seeking them out individually. Seeing the anger rising on their faces, I spoke immediately: "This is a grave matter. I ask that Mother dismiss the others and have them step away."

Veins pulsed on my stepmother’s forehead. She signaled the night-duty maids to withdraw.

"Say what you must, and be quick about it. If you cannot produce a sensible word, I will not show you mercy!"

I bowed in courtesy. The next second, I pulled the rod from where it was hidden against my calf. Before they could react, I swung it high and brought it down hard toward my father’s forehead.

A resounding crack echoed through the room. The fat on his face wobbled in the air before he collapsed onto the bed, dazed and unable to recover his senses for a long moment. My stepmother turned deathly pale, screaming in panic and scrambling backward.

"Someone! Come quickly!"

I swung my arm again, delivering a heavy blow to her shin. I was about to strike a second time when the maids and matrons rushed in to restrain me. The rod tumbled from my hand, rolling across the floor until Father snatched it up. He struggled to stand, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity, his hand trembling as he raised the rod—but he dared not strike me. Seeing the mocking expression on my face, his own features twisted in humiliation.

"Drag her away! Lock her in the ancestral hall to reflect on her sins. Unless you have my express command, no one is to release her!"

I lay upon the cold, hard floor of the ancestral hall, watching the lines of celestial scripture drift before my eyes.

*Oh my god! What a wicked female lead, the more I watch, the more I love her!*

*The plot has shifted; is the female lead in danger?*

I let out a long yawn. Expecting my father to actually take a life? One would have better luck waiting for a sow to climb a tree. I was now the successor directly named by Thoi Te Minh. To avoid further complications, they would have to swallow their rage like shards of broken iron. Sure enough, the next morning, a personal servant of my father arrived with a submissive air, sent to escort me out of confinement.