Episode 2

It had never crossed First Madam Wu’s mind that this was how she would meet her future daughter-in-law.

Song Caitang had a handkerchief in her hand, and inside the handkerchief was the corpse’s…rotting skin? And she even brought her nose closer to smell it!

This scene was simply too shocking. Her heart nearly stopped beating even before she had the chance to be happy that her future daughter-in-law was no longer an idiot.

Then again, what was that message from her earlier? Those mocking words! Was she exceptionally bold after sleeping in this accursed place?

First Madam Wu had been in this business for more than half her life, and she had never shown any fear, so she wasn’t going to give in now. She scoffed and said, “Miss Song, those are some bold demands. You want 10,000 pieces of silver as your dowry? I could get a princess for that kind of money! Why would I want you?”

Song Caitang was done inspecting the body. She took her time to straighten her clothes out and turned around, “First Madam Wu can afford a dowry of 10,000 silver pieces and get a princess?”

First Madam Wu couldn’t help but pause for a moment when she looked at Song Caitang’s face. Her own judgment had been simply incredible.

Song Caitang was slim in the right places, and her skin was especially good. Her skin was fair, smooth and seemed to glow from within. Her nose was high, her eyes were the perfect almond shape, and her eyebrows and side hair made her look confident as well as intelligent. Before this, the clot in her head made her eyes dull and her expression silly. Now that her eyes were filled with life again, she looked completely different.

She was sweet, gentle, poised, yet energetic. Few women had such looks. But anyone with such traits was definitely a great candidate for a wife!

This was exactly the sort of wife her son needed!

First Madam Wu was pleased with the way Song Caitang looked, so she decided to tolerate the sarcastic tone and funny ideas that Song Caitang had toward her.

A daughter-in-law with some temper is good, she told herself. If she doesn’t have any temper, how was she going to deal with everyday matters? How was she supposed to take care of the home?

“Miss Song, you’ve indeed just come to your senses, so you know nothing about the Wu family.” First Madam Wu’s voice calmed down, and she smoothed her clothes out. Once Yinxing had found a chair, she sat down slowly. “It’s just 10,000 pieces. We’ll be able to get it together by making a few transfers and adjustments.”

“Oh…” Song Caitang put the handkerchief in her hands down and repeated what she said earlier, “First Madam Wu can afford a dowry of 10,000 silver pieces and get a princess.”

First Madam Wu smiled faintly. “Of course.”

The more she looked at Song Caitang, the more pleased she felt. If this young lady wanted to bargain for a little more dowry, she was willing to give it to her as long as her demands weren’t unreasonable.

Song Caitang raised an eyebrow. Her black eyes seemed to gleam brightly. “You can afford a princess, so why don’t you just go get one? Why bother taking an idiot like me? Isn’t that a loss on your part?”

“Why, you….!” First Madam Wu now realized that this young woman was purposely trying to trap her with her own words.

Of course, her humble family couldn’t really get a princess to marry into the family! She was just exaggerating things!

But she had really said that after all. She couldn’t take it back now.

“How could a young lady like you keep talking about money like this? Where are your manners?”

“If you don’t have any money, just say so. There’s no need to try and change the topic.”

“Who said I don’t have money!” First Madam Wu inhaled sharply. If she allowed this conversation to go on, this girl was going to talk about princesses again!

This girl was really clever and really bold too.

She stared straight at Song Caitang and took a deep breath to suppress her anger. She adjusted the bangle on her wrist and said, “Whether I have money or not doesn’t matter. Your aunt is the one who agreed to this marriage. It’s bad enough that your maid doesn’t seem to understand the rules. If you don’t know either…do you need me to teach you?”

This time, Song Caitang shook her head and didn’t argue back.

Just when First Madam Wu was pleased with her reaction, Song Caitang started speaking again.

“I hear First Madam Wu is from the capital city?”

“That’s right.”

First Madam Wu felt her heart swell with pride when Song Caitang mentioned this. Luanze had their fair share of rich people, but they were mostly merchants, and few had high social status. She was originally from the capital city and the daughter of a well-to-do and influential family. Everyone was deferential toward her.

She combed the sides of her hair down and said, “You young ladies are always so curious about such things. But that’s not difficult to learn. Once you’ve married into the family, I’ll be happy to talk to you about life in the capital. I’ll teach you the rules of high society, and when I have the time, I can even bring you to—”

“I suppose you must be very familiar with the laws laid down by the authorities.”

Song Caitang didn’t seem to be listening to what she was saying and cut her off halfway.

First Madam Wu’s expression fell. “Of course.”

“Fifteen years ago, in the tenth year of the current emperor’s reign, the emperor sent a decree to every prefecture, province, and county, which included one law that says: There are specific and strict laws about charging criminals and suing civilians that must be followed. Similarly, the dead have to be inspected, and a report submitted to the authorities. Their bodies can only be buried after the authorities have agreed that no further investigation is required.”

First Madam Wu’s pupils constricted, and she began to feel wary. Why was Song Caitang talking about this?

“But First Madam, your family is so rich that you can pull 10,000 pieces of silver together without much problem. And you’ve only become rich in the last 15 years or so, right?”

First Madam Wu clutched the handkerchief in her hands tightly.

“I’ve never heard of any family that can specialize in just the undertaker business and become rich. The Wu family, however, has really broadened my horizons…” Song Caitang’s eyes widened, and her gaze was steely. “The Wu family has become incredibly wealthy from being undertakers. Your houses keep increasing in size. You’ve been able to send your children to school and run their businesses. The families connected to you by marriage enjoy equally high social status. And now you’re saying forking out 10,000 pieces of silver is just a simple matter.”

“First Madam Wu, I’m really worried for you!”

Her last sentence was like a hammer coming down on First Madam Wu’s ears. It hit her so hard that she felt her heart tremble.

She stared at the sweet and innocent-looking Song Caitang in front of her.

This girl had large, pretty eyes that were clear, bright, and unwavering. It was as though they were able to reflect all the ugly things of the world.

No…that was impossible…she couldn’t possibly know any of this! She couldn’t possibly have found out! This girl was just trying to play mind games with her!

Song Caitang could see that First Madam Wu was on the brink of a nervous breakdown, but she didn’t let her off. Instead, she started walking toward the older woman.

“First Madam Wu, does it feel good to get rich off the deaths of others?”

“No…you wouldn’t know…”

Song Caitang smiled. Her eyes twinkled, and her lips were curled slightly upwards. “Is it fun buttering up to the wives of officials?”

First Madam Wu’s eyes flew open. Her breathing quickened, and she couldn’t even let a gasp out.

“Let’s see. Money to shut people up,” Song Caitang tapped a slim finger on the table. “Bribes. Burial fees. Transport and errand running fees.”

She came closer and closer with each item she named and eventually came so close that she was bending over First Madam Wu. First Madam Wu kept leaning further and further backward and stared at Song Caitang like she was a demon. “What…what are you talking about? I don’t understand!”

“Okay,” Song Caitang dusted her hands. “Let me put it in a way you can understand.”

“The emperor has made it clear that anyone, no matter where they are or who they are – as long as it’s a dead body, it has to go through a proper autopsy procedure, and reports have to be submitted. If any deaths seem suspicious, they must be investigated. The servants of wealthy and influential families…are included.”

First Madam Wu realized that Song Caitang wasn’t just clever. She was amazing. She had woken up from her idiot state for just one night, yet she could uncover this secret as though she had magic powers.

Song Caitang had not called her here to say that she was willing to marry her son. She wasn’t even asking for more money. Song Caitang was trying to extort her!

First Madam Wu closed her eyes slightly as she pushed her nails into her skin. Once she got over the pain and her initial shock, she started trying to find a way out of this.

“A servant is a servant. Once the agreement to sell themselves to a household is signed, then their lives belong to their master. If the master wants them to die, they have to die. And even if you end up killing a servant, the law states that the master will only have to pay a small fine. So, why are you talking to me about this?”

She calmly looked back up at Song Caitang again. “Besides, none of this has anything to do with me.”

“You’re right. If a master kills their servant, they won’t have to go to jail, and they don’t have to die.” Song Caitang bent herself slightly so that she could stare the shorter First Madam Wu in the eye. She smiled and said, “But it’s. Very. Shameful.”

“These days, you need a good reputation for everything. If you want to take charge of a family, if you want your sons to have a bright future, if you want your daughters to marry well, if you want your family to do well – reputation is required for all of these things.”

First Madam Wu glared so hard at Song Caitang that her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

She had certainly underestimated this young woman. This woman wasn’t a future mistress of the house that a man should marry. This was a little wolf who would definitely tear your skin off if you pushed her!

“There are people who might seem very kind and merciful, but they’re actually very vicious at home, and they torture their servants. They dare to do these things but dare not take responsibility for it, and they are afraid of being shamed for it. So, they’ve come looking for your help. To cover it up and get these bodies to the coffin home.”

“You are the First Madam of the Wu family, and you wear gold and fine jewelry, yet you are known to be ‘charitable’. All these years, you’ve been patronizing the coffin home, donating money and items, paying for coffins and funerals. You’ve even paid for the funerals of the homeless. The coffin home has gained tremendously. Of course, they’ll look out for you.”

“You just have to top up a little cash, and everything is settled easily. The authorities will not investigate, and nobody will spill the beans. Those families get to keep their good reputation, and you get your money.”

Song Caitang wagged a finger. “Yes, yes…and the better the relationship became, the more uglier, and private matters came your way…”

And that was how the Wu family became soooo rich.

The entire place fell silent. One could even hear a pin drop.

She had made herself very clear already, so Song Caitang went on with her negotiation. “I will not marry your idiot son. Settle that matter, then apologize to my head maid with some cash and some items for locking her up in here. I wouldn’t consider a few hundred pieces of silver too little, and I wouldn’t consider a few thousand pieces too much…”

“If you do that, I won’t pester you about this matter, and I won’t tell anybody else either. How about that?”

She smiled faintly at First Madam Wu and made her offer very sincerely.

But First Madam Wu had a scowl on her face as she slowly got up from her chair.

This girl had nothing on her! She wasn’t going to let a little lass trick her into giving her money!

“Song Caitang! How dare you malign me like this!”

Song Caitang’s smile faded. “Did you just say I’m maligning you?”

“You don’t have proof! You heard some rumors from somewhere and made all these things up to threaten me! Song Caitang, did you know that I could sue you in court for defamation?”

First Madam Wu spoke confidently, thinking that would frighten Song Caitang into taking her words back.

But Song Caitang was not frightened. “You want proof…”

She spun around suddenly, walked toward a table with a dead body on it, and grabbed hold of one corner of the cloth covering the body with her slim fingers.

First Madam Wu remembered the scene she saw when she first arrived, and her heart suddenly started pounding wildly. “What…what are you trying to do?!”

“Of course, I’m…” Song Caitang smiled as she pulled the cloth aside with great flourish, the cloth flying beautifully in the sunlight.

“I’m showing you proof!”