Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Little Junior Sister, Pale as Moonlight

“Madam, please look, what do you think this is?”

In the rear residence of the county office, Magistrate Liu held a delicate wooden box, eager to impress and flatter his wife.

The box was refined but not ostentatious, elegant yet free from vulgarity, its sky-blue hue opening to reveal four porcelain bottles, each about the width of a thumb, resting quietly atop pale silk.

“Is this the Nine Flowers Jade Dew that’s been causing such a stir in town lately?” Madam Liu had clearly heard of its famed fragrance. “I’ve heard each bottle alone sells for five taels of silver! So rare you can’t even buy one off the shelves—it’s truly coveted… Where did you get it, husband? Don’t let a small indulgence ruin your good name.”

“This Nine Flowers Jade Dew was delivered personally by Steward Song. You can use it without worry, Madam.” Liu Rui had now taken full control of the county office, his former feigned indifference swept away. “You said yourself, anything sent from the Sunlit Villa may be accepted by our household.”

She placed the exquisite box on the table and played with the complete set—plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum scents—unscrewing each stopper to inhale their subtle fragrance.

“This is indeed a wonderful thing, enchanting without being vulgar, alluring yet pure—a true blessing for women.” Madam Liu spoke with uncommon refinement and wit. “‘Who pities the blossom for its lasting beauty, as spring dew persists till autumn wind’—what a splendid verse, perfectly suited to this Nine Flowers Jade Dew. Do you know where it comes from, husband?”

Liu Rui laughed heartily, a little smug, as if showing off before his wife was a remarkable feat. “I asked Steward Song especially. Those lines were written by Zhao Caidong, the one who created the Nine Flowers Jade Dew. Who would have thought, Zhao Caidong is a kindred spirit!”

In truth, Zhao Hengyi had plucked those lines from his memory, vaguely recalling them from the Three Hundred Tang Poems.

Unexpectedly, he gained a reputation for literary talent.

Liu Rui was a member of the once-renowned Egret Poetry Society, and both he and his wife loved poetry deeply. To Liu Rui, those two lines were more delightful than the Jade Dew itself.

He had already resolved in his heart to write to his friends in the poetry society, to see who might complete the rest of the poem.

Egret Poetry Society was famous among scholars near Jiangling Prefecture—only those with real talent could join.

From this, it was clear that Magistrate Liu, who had spent nearly a year in Sunlit County feigning ignorance, was far from an ordinary scholar in wit and learning.

Liu Rui’s appointment as magistrate of Sunlit County was, in fact, a demotion.

He had once studied under the great scholar Yu Qingdong. After passing the imperial exams, he might have earned a prestigious post at the Hanlin Academy, but Yu Qingdong became entangled in a secret court case during the current emperor’s accession. Attacked by petty officials, Yu was imprisoned.

Yu had many students, but only Liu Rui and his senior Zhang Qicheng, who hadn’t yet secured an official post, dared risk offending the new emperor to rescue their teacher.

Alas, the two brothers were too insignificant, and before they could save Yu, he fell ill and died in prison.

The details of that case and those involved remain a mystery to them to this day.

The Yu family was confiscated, and the pair sacrificed their careers only to save Yu Qingdong’s sole daughter, Yu Min.

Grateful and with nowhere else to go, Yu Min changed her name and married Liu Rui.

As the daughter of a disgraced official, Yu Min’s name and identity could not withstand scrutiny, so she could not be a proper wife—only a concubine—thus she accompanied Liu Rui to Sunlit County.

In the Great Yan Kingdom, officials could not bring their wives to their posts, but concubines were exempt.

So, though Madam Liu could only be a concubine, she could remain by her husband’s side day and night. Perhaps, as the proverb says, a blessing in disguise.

“This Nine Flowers Jade Dew is rare indeed, especially a complete set of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. To use it ourselves would be wasteful. Just as well, when Senior Brother Zhang remarried and took a concubine, we were strapped and couldn’t send a proper gift. Why not have someone deliver this Jade Dew to him, so we might make up for our lack?”

She referred to Senior Brother Zhang Qicheng, who had helped Liu Rui rescue their teacher. When Madam Liu chose her husband, Zhang was too old to catch her eye—thus, Liu Rui benefited.

“Why mention that old rascal?”

The bond between the brothers, once deep, was now fraught with grudges, though they still looked out for each other. “Don’t get me started on his new concubine! She’s seven or eight parts like you. He shamelessly imagines I don’t know what sly intentions he harbors!”

Madam Liu, or rather Yu Min, was Yu Qingdong’s late-born daughter—his only child, cherished and well-educated, carried everywhere and never harshly treated. The students rarely avoided her, and she was the ‘white moonlight’ of their hearts.

“Why dwell on it? It’s only coincidence.”

Madam Liu understood Zhang’s thoughts—such matters couldn’t be spoken openly. “We must still appreciate Senior Brother’s kindness. Were it not for him wringing three feet of sky from his post, how could he have raised the silver to secure your appointment? Otherwise, we’d still be trapped in the capital, living in fear.”

She spoke truly. For their teacher’s sake, Zhang was implicated and demoted from the capital to a provincial post.

Liu Rui and his wife remained in the capital, unable to leave due to Yu Min’s sensitive identity, and lived in hardship.

Zhang Qicheng, never wealthy, stirred up public anger to scrape together enough silver for Liu Rui’s posting, making it possible for him to take his little junior sister and become magistrate of Sunlit County.

As for Zhang himself, his office was stripped away—he was left destitute.

“I remember that scoundrel’s good deeds. I’ll find a way to restore him.”

Though Liu Rui’s words remained sharp, his tone softened. “The Earl of Sunlit hails from the mighty Marquis Wei’s household, and is respected in the military. In three or five years, he’ll surely return to the capital. When that time comes, I’ll swallow my pride and make things right for Zhang, no matter the cost.”

“Calm yourself, husband. You have plans in mind, and Senior Brother is happy enough with lovely wives and concubines—he can afford to wait.”

After years together, Madam Liu knew well how to soothe her husband’s temper; a few gentle words and Magistrate Liu was as merry as if bewitched.

Still, he pondered how he might secure another set of Nine Flowers Jade Dew for his wife.