Volume One, Chapter Six: Returning to the Mansion

Before the deep red gates of the Shen family residence, the rapid clip-clop of horse hooves approached from afar.

A young girl dressed in a yellow gown reined in her horse at the gate. Her sleeve swept gracefully through the air before falling to the ground. She casually handed the horsewhip to the footman who came to take the horse, then briskly entered the mansion.

But as soon as she stepped through the ornate flower-adorned gate and onto the corridor, she caught sight of a figure ahead—both unfamiliar and yet strangely familiar—causing her an inexplicable hesitation, reluctant to approach.

“…Miss Manhe, why have you grown distant with me again? Did you give any thought to what I spoke of last month?”

A coarse old woman’s voice called out. Beside her stood a burly man, who laughed heartily in agreement, “Manhe, I truly like you. Just marry me. My mother can pull you out of the servant’s quarters and give you your own courtyard! Besides, Third Miss doesn’t care for you anyway. Now that the First Madam’s family is wealthy, come live with us in the main household! Be with my grandson Sun Qiang. Don’t worry about the little bit of coal you have; even if you use silver coal every day, it won’t be a problem!”

Shen Rong leaned casually against a pillar, listening.

The man leered lasciviously at the woman before him, reaching out with his grimy hand to touch her.

She lightly withdrew her hand. “Nanny, I believe I made myself clear last time.”

The man’s face twisted with displeasure as he shook the flesh on his arm and pointed at the woman avoiding him. “Mother! Look at her!”

Throwing a tantrum, he shouted, “I don’t care! I want her! Only her! I don’t like anyone else you find for me!”

The old woman’s smile faded. “Miss Manhe, you must know, marrying my son is you reaching above yourself. You’re no longer young, almost an old maid. It’s your good fortune my son even notices you.”

“Let’s be frank: you’re nothing more than the head servant brought out from the Xie family by the late Second Madam. The Second Madam has long passed away, and Third Miss doesn’t wish to see you. Don’t think you’re still the high and mighty housekeeper who always looked down on me.”

“Now you’re idle in the mansion every day,” she glanced at the silver charcoal in the woman’s basket, “If you ask me, you should be kicked out of the household. And you even have the nerve to demand your allowance.”

“Not just from you—if Third Miss came here, I wouldn’t flinch either! I’m Third Miss’s wet nurse; she listens to me like a child. When I tell her to go east, she won’t dare go west!”

At the mention of “listens to me,” Shen Rong’s brow twitched subtly.

How could she not know who truly listened to whom?

Only now did she recall who this arrogant, overbearing old woman was.

This woman, called Nanny Sun, had been Shen Rong’s wet nurse. After Madam Xie’s death in the previous life, for reasons unknown, the woman had gone to serve the First Madam Meng in the main household.

As Shen Rong’s wet nurse and a servant in the main household, Nanny Sun’s status was naturally high; she always treated Shen Rong with due respect and never breached etiquette.

But behind the scenes, her true nature was quite another matter.

Shen Rong tilted her head to look.

Beneath the corridor, standing before Nanny Sun, was a young woman just over twenty, dressed in a sky-blue embroidered jacket patterned with lotus flowers. Her face was oval, with delicate eyebrows shaped like willow leaves. Though not as striking as Shen Rong, she carried an air of dignified calm.

Neither servile nor arrogant, even when faced with provocation, she remained composed and measured. “Nanny, we are both servants. You receive this allowance, and so do I.” She glanced at the silver charcoal recently taken from her basket by Nanny Sun. “You are older, and winter is harsh. Let this silver coal be a token of respect for you.”

This was Manhe, the former head housekeeper of Shen Rong’s courtyard—the only person Shen Rong’s mother, Madam Xie, had brought out from the Xie family.

***

In the previous life, after Madam Xie passed away, Manhe was in the bloom of youth. Before her death, Madam Xie had entrusted Manhe to Shen Zheng’s care, hoping he would marry her. At the time, Shen Rong was only five years old; Madam Xie’s intentions were somewhat selfish.

However, Shen Zheng never married Manhe; he merely arranged for her to look after Shen Rong. Grieving her mother’s death, Shen Rong developed a deep resentment towards Manhe because of this.

In her youth, Shen Rong was rebellious and often mocked Manhe for once being a servant from the Xie family, tacitly allowing other servants to mistreat her. She forbade Manhe from approaching Shen Zheng’s study or courtyard and even cruelly blocked any marriage prospects Shen Zheng might have arranged for Manhe, aiming to wear her down in the back courtyard.

As Shen Rong grew older, though less childish, she still did not employ Manhe, leaving her to fend for herself in the back courtyard, being trod upon.

In that past life, Manhe married a scholar-official the year Shen Zheng’s troubles began and moved to Ye Capital with him.

It was said that she lived well.

What surprised Shen Rong was that when she was trapped in the Prince of Nanming’s mansion, struggling desperately to save her father, she received a secret letter from Manhe, telling her to find a way to come to the Shen family’s back gate three days later, promising a way to rescue her.

After reading the letter, she silently burned it.

Now, seeing Manhe in faded, worn cotton clothes of indeterminate age, Shen Rong’s lips tightened unconsciously.

Before Manhe stood a woman adorned in gold and silver, a sharp mole beneath her lip adding to her cruel expression. A smirk curled one side of her mouth as she looked at Manhe with dismissive mockery.

“Not to hide it from you, the First Madam has already agreed to your marriage. Whether you marry next month or not, you will marry!”

Manhe’s eyes cooled. “My marriage is not for the First Madam to decide. I belong to Third Miss.”

“Bah!” Nanny Sun wiped the drool at her mouth’s corner. “Miss Manhe, are you foolish? The household is now managed by the First Madam and the Eldest Miss. Even Third Miss listens to the Eldest Miss. What power do you have?”

Turning her back on Shen Rong, Nanny Sun was the first to spot her approaching, excitedly shouting, “Fairy! Fairy!”

Both Nanny Sun and Manhe turned to look, their faces slightly changing.

Nanny Sun had no idea how much of her earlier words Shen Rong had overheard, but Manhe felt a chill run through her.

Third Miss was famously willful and disliked her from childhood. This month, she had only just come to the front courtyard and happened to see the quarrel. At such a sensitive moment, she would surely cause a scene, making things difficult for Manhe.

Soon, Nanny Sun’s earlier arrogance and mockery vanished without a trace. Her face was full of smiles—warm and flattering, ecstatic. “Oh, my Third Miss, you’re finally back! I just brewed some black chicken ginseng soup in the kitchen, ready to send to your courtyard!”

Shen Rong watched Nanny Sun quietly, her expression suddenly inscrutable. The simple-minded Sun Qiang was drooling at her.

Nanny Sun wiped Sun Qiang’s mouth again with her sleeve and pinched him hard, causing him to whimper and quiet down.

Her demeanor was completely different from before—what Shen Rong had long seen from her.

“Today, the First Madam was still asking about you and the Eldest Miss. In this heavy snow, they both went south of the city. The First Madam told me to keep your ginger soup warm. I’ll send it all together soon.”

“Nanny Sun, when is the head housekeeper of my courtyard getting married? How come I don’t know?” Shen Rong asked slowly.

Nanny Sun looked troubled. “That… that was arranged by the First Madam…”

“My courtyard has always been independent and not under the First Madam’s control. Since when did she have the right to arrange matters here?”

Shen Rong’s voice was cold, making Nanny Sun shudder.

“Well… Manhe is not…”

Nanny Sun had meant to say that Manhe had already been driven out of the Rongyin Pavilion by Third Miss, but upon meeting Shen Rong’s gaze, she dared not continue.

“You may have been my wet nurse once, but now you serve the First Madam. Do not interfere in matters of my courtyard! Understand?”

Manhe sensed something subtle. Shen Rong usually spared Nanny Sun some face. Though she disliked Manhe, when she saw Manhe quarreling with others, she would usually coldly reprimand her. But now, she was calling out this wet nurse.

They had not met for some time, and Third Miss was becoming increasingly unpredictable. Better to avoid the front courtyard in the future…

Unlike the inscrutable Manhe, Nanny Sun’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

She was a native of the Meng family, the First Madam’s natal house. When Madam Xie gave birth, she was recommended to serve as a wet nurse in the Meng household. To become Third Miss’s wet nurse was an instant rise in status, making it difficult for her life to be anything but comfortable thereafter.

Who would have thought that Madam Xie was so ill-fated, passing away shortly after leaving Third Miss an orphan? Feeling no future in staying with a motherless girl, she begged the Meng family to transfer her back to the main household.

Though Third Miss was distant from her, she was usually given some leniency in her duties and speech. Now, comfortably living out her days in the mansion, everyone greeted her respectfully as Nanny Sun.

“I will report everything truthfully to the First Madam,” Nanny Sun bowed deeply, her tone respectful, yet her eyes blazed with bitter resentment.

Was she using the First Madam to pressure her?

Unbeknownst to her, in her previous life, Shen Rong had become such a spineless, hypocritical villainess—yet now she dared to openly threaten her.

For some reason, a surge of anger rose within Shen Rong. She raised her foot and kicked Nanny Sun’s knee. With a thud, Nanny Sun’s bulky body collapsed to the ground, wailing in pain.

But she dared not rise.

Manhe’s composed face showed shock as well.

“Next time you dare to boss me around, get out of the Shen family,” Shen Rong said sharply, pointing southward. “I’m heading south now. Any objections?”

“I dare not!” Nanny Sun immediately knocked her head on the ground, banging it repeatedly.

Shen Rong snorted coldly and did not glance back. She walked along the corridor and left.

Manhe involuntarily turned her gaze to watch Shen Rong’s retreating figure, feeling that the once playful, carefree back now stood tall and proud. She remained lost in thought for a long time.

No sooner had Shen Rong gone than Nanny Sun’s legs gave way, and she slumped down. Nearby, Sun Qiang was so frightened he began to wail uncontrollably.

With Manhe regaining Third Miss’s favor, Nanny Sun had no choice but to abandon the pilfered goods in her hands and be shakily helped away by the still-crying Sun Qiang, not daring to utter another word.