A Tale of Golden Heiress: Lady Wanjin - Chapter 5

The two took their seats.

Auntie Cui glanced left at Hongmei, then right at Lu Ping, hesitating as if wanting to speak but holding back.

Wen Wan said, “Auntie, if you have something to say, speak frankly.”

“Eldest Miss,” Auntie Cui began, then paused for a long moment, as if struggling to find the words.

Finally, she steeled herself, “Eldest Miss, I… I wish to… I’ve written a letter of release from concubinhood and would like you to sign it. The master is gravely ill now, and I… I simply can’t…”

At this point, tears streamed down Auntie Cui’s face, “Though I share some affection with the master, I’m not as capable as Auntie Liu. I never bore him a son or daughter. Once the master passes, I’ll have no place left in the Wen family. As they say, ‘A wise bird chooses its branch to perch on.’ Besides, I’m only twenty-five or twenty-six—if I remarry… it wouldn’t be difficult.”

Hongmei, disgusted by Auntie Cui’s ingratitude, spat out angrily, “The master treated you well! That year, you collapsed sick on the street, ignored by everyone. It was the master who picked you up and gave you a bowl of hot soup! Without him, you’d have frozen or starved to death! Now that fortune has turned and the master is ill, you’re already plotting for your own future!”

Auntie Cui flushed red and defended herself, “But I’ve served the master for four or five years! I repaid his kindness with my body—what more do you want from me?”

“A drop of kindness should be repaid with a flood of gratitude, let alone the master saving your life! You shouldn’t abandon the Wen family at a time like this!”

“Should a single meal bind me for eternity? What kind of bargain is that?”

Hongmei, unable to contain her anger, retorted, “What about Auntie Liu? She’s a concubine just like you—why isn’t she as ungrateful as you?”

“Auntie Liu begged and cried to become the master’s concubine—they were in love! Now she manages the household and has Second Miss. Her life is no different from a proper wife’s! How can I compare to her? I’m only twenty-five. If I remarry… I could still bear children. Must I waste my best years in this household just because of one meal from the Wens? And once the master passes, not just me or you—even you, Eldest Miss—”

Auntie Cui turned tearful eyes to Wen Wan, “Even you, Eldest Miss… might be sold to a brothel.”

Though Auntie Cui’s words were exaggerated, women in the Great Chen Dynasty held low status, and families often seized assets from heirless households. For a wealthy, enviable family like the Wens, once the patriarch fell, the clan would stop at nothing to turn family property into clan property.

The Great Chen Legal Code on inheritance began with this clause,

“Those without heirs are considered extinct households.”

And “heirs” referred only to sons.

Legally, once Old Master Wen died, the Wen family would be officially classified as an extinct household, and the clan could lawfully seize and sell all his property.

This was also why Wen Wan was in such a hurry to find a son-in-law.

She could hardly restrain herself from rushing into the streets right then to snatch a man back for marriage.

Then, she could eliminate the father and keep the child.

At least that way, she would have a legal footing.

Just as Hongmei was about to argue further—nearly blurting out Wen Wan’s plan to take in a son-in-law—Wen Wan swiftly cut her off.

The young lady’s voice was soft, devoid of reproach or accusation, carrying instead a trace of pity, “As I recall… Auntie Cui only ended up in Ping County after her family was confiscated and exiled, wasn’t it?”

Auntie Cui bit her lip lightly, her voice hoarse as she replied, “Yes.”

Then, she lowered her head in shame.

If she hadn’t been driven to desperation, why would she ever choose to betray loyalty and virtue?
But with the Wen family on the brink of collapse, what could a mere concubine like her do except scheme for her own survival?

She knew securing a release from concubinehood wouldn’t be easy, so she had braced herself for Wen Wan’s scolding and condemnation.

“You have no one left. Where will you go after leaving the Wen family?”

“I… I have a cousin in Bozhou. Her family owns several hundred acres of fertile land and a few shops. A few days ago, she wrote to me, saying that if I went there, she’d find me work in one of the stores.”

Hongmei nearly jumped out of her skin. “Oh ho! So now Auntie Cui suddenly has a cousin out of nowhere, when she’s always claimed to have no kin left? What’s next—will your dead father rise from the grave too? Or were you just waiting for the master to fall ill so you could line up your next man?”

Tears gushed from Auntie Cui’s eyes as she dabbed at them with a handkerchief, “Eldest Miss, I swear on heaven and earth, we only reconnected recently. You know how it was—after my father’s crimes, the women in our family were sold off to the far corners of the land. I only learned about this cousin in Bozhou a year ago. It wasn’t until the master’s condition became hopeless that I… I… wrote to her, seeking a way out.”

“It’s fine.” Wen Wan’s indifferent response made Hongmei nearly burst with frustration.

Hongmei had been sold to the Wen family at five or six, bound by a lifetime contract with no ties to the outside world—of course, her loyalty was absolute.

Wen Wan shot Hongmei a calming look, and Lu Ping quickly pulled her aside, pressing a hand on the fuming maid, “You—you! The young mistress has her own plans. Why are you, a mere maid, so worked up?”

Hongmei was so agitated that tears streamed down her face, “How can I not be worked up? Didn’t you see it yourself? Just two days ago, the Wen clan elders brought a dozen young men and surrounded our courtyard, nearly forcing their way in to loot the place! If not for Auntie Liu calling in her brothers from her maternal family, our home would’ve been seized as clan property! And at such a critical time, Auntie Cui has the nerve to demand her freedom—what kind of heartless, gutless creature does that?!”

Lu Ping didn’t know how to comfort her and could only shoot a pleading look at Wen Wan.

But Wen Wan paid no mind, her gaze fixed on Auntie Cui below.

Auntie Cui’s slender frame seemed almost too delicate for her robes, her eyes red from weeping. Whether out of guilt or shame, she didn’t retaliate even when Hongmei berated her outright—she merely turned her face away, silently shedding tears.

Wen Wan let out a soft sigh, her sleeves rustling slightly as she stepped forward to stand before Auntie Cui.

She reached out to help the woman up, then patted the back of her hand in a gesture of reassurance, “It’s good that you have somewhere to go. Bring me the release letter—I’ll sign and seal it for you.”

Auntie Cui stared at her in disbelief.

She had thought that obtaining this document today would inevitably cost her dearly—perhaps even strip her to the bone.

So how… how could the young mistress agree so easily?

Wen Wan instructed Lu Ping to fetch Old Master Wen’s seal, then turned her gaze to the stunned concubine.

Auntie Cui couldn’t help but look back.

The afternoon sunlight fell upon the young lady’s fair, unblemished face, deepening the shadows in her eyes.

“A woman living for herself is nothing to be ashamed of. We only get this one life—it’s better to betray anyone else than to betray oneself.”

Yes.

Memories of her years battling cancer resurfaced.

Her younger sister had broken off an engagement for her sake.

Her parents had aged decades overnight, their hair turning white from worry.

In their eyes and hearts, it was as if she had become their entire world.

How badly she had wanted to tell them: Don’t do this for me.

What she truly wished was for them not to let her become chains around their lives.

Hongmei’s lips parted as if to speak, but her mind seemed struck by a sudden, heavy blow, her throat instantly tangled in invisible threads.

“Hongmei, go to Auntie Liu and draw twenty taels of silver for Auntie Cui.”

Hongmei snapped out of her daze with a delayed response, murmuring a low acknowledgment before lowering her head and walking out.