Chapter 4

The banquet was still in full swing. What had happened earlier seemed no more than a minor interruption.

Aunt and I kept busy, seeing that everything ran smoothly.

I was a general’s daughter. My father had died in battle, and my mother had taken her own life to follow him. That was how I had become an orphan.

No one dared look down on me for it.

Several noblewomen even asked whether I was betrothed, hoping to introduce their sons.

To avoid unnecessary complications, I said I was.

Xiao Che arrived just in time to hear it. The corner of his mouth lifted, and he gave me a knowing look.

In fact, what I had said wasn’t entirely untrue.

Aunt had already found someone suitable. She said that when he learned it was me, he had been very willing.

I couldn’t stay in the marquis’s household forever. If Aunt approved of him, his character was unlikely to be lacking.

We only had to meet. If neither of us found any objection, the match could be settled.

I agreed, to Aunt’s delight.

She gave me silver and told me to go into town, choose some fine cloth, and have new clothes made.

Then she studied my face, so like my father’s, with a look that said she couldn’t bear to part with me.

“Why don’t I adopt you as my daughter?” she asked earnestly. “Being your aunt never feels quite close enough.”

My parents had loved each other deeply. Perhaps because of that, my mother had sometimes neglected me. She hadn’t doted on me as much as Aunt did.

I looked up, overwhelmed by the unexpected kindness. When I recovered, I hurried to call her “Mother.”

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. She gently wiped them away and nodded.

“Yes. My good girl.”

Since Shuyao was a guest in the household, Aunt couldn’t neglect her either. She told her to come shopping with me.

“You’re a daughter of this household now,” she explained to me. “She’s our guest. Have a few outfits made for her too. Observe all the courtesies, so no one can find fault.”

I understood that she was laying the groundwork for my future, and did everything as she asked.

Wherever Shuyao went, Xiao Che was sure to follow.

I let him. After we finished shopping, I was going to meet my prospective husband. I would have been uneasy leaving Shuyao on her own anyway.