Chapter 15: The One Person Father Can’t Ignore

　　When they reached the side gate of the Zhu residence, Zhu Jingyuan was already waiting with the carriage ready.

　　As soon as Qianli Xun stepped out, she excitedly hugged Zhu Jingyuan. “It’s so great to have a brother!”

　　Zhu Jingyuan still wasn’t used to this changed sister, but he genuinely liked her. “I took the day off work to accompany you to visit our elders. We can talk in the carriage.”

　　They boarded the carriage. Kuqiao sat opposite, watching how close Miss was to the eldest young master. She thought to herself, The former miss never treated the eldest young master like this. The new miss truly shares a deep sibling bond with her brother.

　　The carriage passed through quiet streets and reached the busy market of Lin’an City. Outside, the clamor of the market drifted in.

　　Zhu Jingyuan sat with his sister clinging to his arm, thoroughly enjoying it. “Mother told me everything about last night first thing this morning. As long as father refuses, no one in the family dares to stand up for you. I hope you don’t blame mother, or your brother and sister-in-law.”

　　“How could I blame you? If anyone is to blame, it’s father for being cold-blooded.” Qianli Xun rested her head on her brother’s shoulder. “I heard that if you go against father’s wishes, he’ll enforce the family law. I wonder what the family law is. Brother, why don’t you tell me?”

　　Zhu Jingyuan said, “The men in the family receive twenty strokes of the cane, and the women are caned on the palms. Then they all have to kneel in the ancestral hall for two days without food, only water. They’re also forbidden from leaving the Zhu residence for a year.”

　　Qianli Xun let go of her brother and said angrily, “He’s truly a fascist!”

　　“Fascist? What does that mean?” Zhu Jingyuan was confused.

　　Qianli Xun explained, “It means father is cruel and heartless.”

　　Zhu Jingyuan remembered what mother said about his sister smashing the dining table with her fist last night. The former Shuzhen would never have done that, nor would she have had the strength. It seemed the sister beside him truly wasn’t the Shuzhen he once knew.

　　“Shuzhen, after you were reborn, your strength suddenly increased. I know you’re no longer the old you, but in your brother’s heart, you’ll always be my sister.”

　　Qianli Xun was very moved and leaned on her brother’s shoulder again. “You’ll always be my brother too.”

　　Zhu Jingyuan continued, “You’ve become so powerful. Your brother doesn’t have to worry about you being bullied in the future. You probably don’t know this yet, but His Majesty values scholars these days, so the whole empire holds scholars in high regard. You’re also a famous female ci poet in Lin’an. I wonder if you’ve forgotten your talent for writing poems and ci?”

　　Qianli Xun didn’t want to sadden her brother. She had memorized all of Zhu Shuzhen’s poems and ci anyway, which was enough to handle it. She sat up straight, faced Zhu Jingyuan, and said seriously, “Don’t worry, brother. Your sister’s talent for writing poems and ci is still here. Not a bit of it is lost.”

　　Kuqiao said, “Don’t worry, eldest young master. I can testify.” Kuqiao remembered the scene of Miss reciting the “Chrysanthemum” poem. She remembered vividly how Miss had written that poem. Usually, Miss wasn’t good at drinking, but that day she had a few more cups. When the drunkenness hit her, she wrote that poem. Since the current Miss could recite it, her talent for writing poems and ci must still be there. It was truly a blessing in disguise.

　　Zhu Jingyuan said, “That’s good then. As long as your talent is still there, the good name of the Poetess of Jiangnan won’t be lost.”

　　The carriage arrived at the gate of a clan uncle’s house. Zhu Jingyuan asked his sister and Kuqiao to stay in the carriage. He would handle it himself.

　　Qianli Xun and Kuqiao waited in the carriage for a while. He soon came back. He shook his head the moment he stepped in—one look at his face told them he had failed.

　　They visited five in a row, and it was the same for all of them.

　　Qianli Xun asked, “Brother, why are the uncles unwilling to speak for me?”

　　Zhu Jingyuan sighed. “It’s all because our father is the prefect of Lin’an. They can’t afford to offend him. Everyone asked as soon as they met us, ‘Does the prefect agree?’ As soon as they heard father didn’t agree, they all chickened out.”

　　Qianli Xun complained, “Brother, you’re too honest. Why not just lie? Say father agreed and sent you specifically to invite them to mediate together.”

　　“I can’t lie about this. A mutual divorce is a major life event for you. If I trick them into coming and they find out father isn’t there when they arrive, they’ll leave. You’ll lose face, and it will affect your reputation.”

　　“Brother really thought it through. There’s one more left. I’ll go with you to invite him, to show our sincerity.”

　　The last one was a clan uncle, older than Zhu Xiyan. He received the brother and sister. As soon as he heard his niece wanted a mutual divorce, he also asked about the prefect’s opinion first, then refused. He kept advising his niece to live her life properly. A woman’s reputation mattered most. Though a mutual divorce was better than being cast out, it would still tarnish her good name. Finding another match wouldn’t be easy.

　　Qianli Xun tried hard to squeeze out tears and cried, “Uncle, if your daughter married a man who beat her and brought merchant courtesans home, would you still let your daughter stay in a living hell? Waaah…”

　　The uncle saw that his niece’s words made sense. Tears streamed down her face—she looked utterly pitiful. He comforted her, “If you were my own daughter, I would definitely step forward. But your father is the prefect of Lin’an. Who dares to offend him? Let me give you a suggestion. In Lin’an City, there’s only one person who can step forward and your father wouldn’t dare say no.”

　　Qianli Xun immediately perked up. With half-real, half-fake tears, she asked, “Who is this person?”

　　Before the uncle could answer, Zhu Jingyuan immediately understood. He stood up and cupped his hands. “Thank you for the guidance, uncle. I’ll take my sister to find her right away.”

　　The uncle smiled and said, “Go ahead. As long as you and Shuzhen can persuade her, she alone can represent all the Zhu family clansmen.”

　　Although Qianli Xun didn’t quite understand who she was, since there was another solution, she was naturally happy. She bowed and bid farewell to the uncle, then followed her brother onto the carriage.

　　Once in the carriage, she couldn’t hold back anymore and asked eagerly, “Brother, who is she? She’s not even afraid of the prefect of Lin’an?”

　　Zhu Jingyuan called out to the coachman, “Back to the residence!” Then he turned to his sister. “The Old Ancestor lives in the Buddhist shrine of the residence. She’s one hundred and twenty years old—the mother of our great-great-grandfather. Our grandparents, great-grandparents, and even our great-great-grandparents have all passed away. Yet she’s still alive. Isn’t that remarkable? Given her age and seniority, she certainly doesn’t give a damn about father’s authority.”

　　The long string of tongue-twister-like titles completely confused Qianli Xun. She couldn’t figure out the relationships at all. As long as she knew the Old Ancestor could override even Zhu Shuzhen’s father, that was enough.

　　“Brother, if you and mother had thought of the Old Ancestor earlier, we wouldn’t have run around Lin’an City for nothing.”

　　“You can’t blame mother and me for not remembering her. She stays in the shrine all year round and never comes out. She doesn’t allow anyone to disturb her either. Even father rarely sees her. Over time, everyone simply forgot she was there.”

　　“She’s so old. Can she even walk?”

　　“I’m not clear either. I’ve only heard about her since I was young. I’ve never seen her.”

　　Qianli Xun started worrying again. The Old Ancestor, at one hundred and twenty years old, probably had trouble moving around. Moreover, she had never left the Buddhist shrine. How would she be willing to leave the estate for her? There was no better option now. They could only try a desperate shot in the dark.