The courtyard’s north and south sides were covered with trellises of lushly growing banyan vines, their greenery obscuring most of Xie Miao’er’s view. Through the gaps between the leaves, she could barely make out the figure of the young man.
He paused in front of the trellis, turned around, and shouted toward the small courtyard’s entrance:
”A small rod deserves acceptance, a large rod deserves avoidance. If Father scolds me, so be it—does he intend to scold Confucius himself too?”
A gust of wind swept through, causing the verdant leaves to sway. By chance, Xie Miao’er caught a glimpse of the young man’s profile.
His posture was upright, his brows and eyes brimming with heroic spirit, and the shape of his nose was exceptionally fine. Since he had not yet reached the age to wear a crown, his hair was simply tied up with a headband. Strands that weren’t gathered properly hung unevenly—some long, falling casually over his forehead, and others short, sticking out in all directions like the fur of a flustered Pekingese.
The sheer vitality of the youth almost knocked Xie Miao’er off her feet.
A man, presumably the young man’s father, chased after him.
”Lu Huaihai! Don’t think that just because your wings have hardened, I can’t discipline you anymore!”
The absurd guess turned out to be true. Xie Miao’er gasped sharply. Seeing General Lu, whose name would one day go down in history, she was overwhelmed with emotions she couldn’t put into words.
Amidst the dramatic turn of events, she didn’t even have time to process what she was feeling before the two started arguing again.
Xie Miao’er hid behind the doorframe, trying to catch what they were saying.
She failed.
Lu Huaihai’s father, Lu Paizhang, was so furious he was jumping up and down, spouting nothing but dialect or slang that Xie Miao’er couldn’t understand.
After being scolded by his father for a long time, the young man didn’t seem the least bit anxious. He even had the leisure to pluck at the green leaves, replying lazily:
”Is there any sense in a father barging into his son’s concubine’s courtyard to seize him?”
What he said was downright cheeky—cheeky yet, annoyingly, not without logic.
It was indeed necessary to avoid suspicion between unrelated men and women of different generations. Otherwise, wouldn’t it turn into something indecent? His father really couldn’t afford to completely disregard his reputation by storming into his son’s concubine’s residence to catch him!
This statement was devastating. Even Madam Su, his mother, who had been trying to defend him, fell silent.
Lu Paizhang, the father, was so enraged by these words that he staggered backward.
An elderly servant behind him quickly stepped forward to steady him, but Lu Paizhang brushed everyone aside with a wave of his hand. Standing at the threshold of the small courtyard, he pointed at Lu Huaihai’s nose and launched into another tirade.
This time, even though Xie Miao’er, hiding in the background, couldn’t understand the exact words, she could tell from the tone that not a single kind thing was being said.
Lu Huaihai, just seventeen and full of youthful vigor, couldn’t tolerate this. Naturally, he retaliated.
Pretending to brush grass blades off his robe sleeve, he snapped back:
”Father, just leave already. Do you even intend to meddle in which concubine I choose to sleep with?”
With such a promising son, Lu Paizhang’s face turned an ominous shade of green. He stomped on the stone tiles beneath his feet in fury, then spun around and flung the club he had been holding at Madam Su.
”This fine son of yours—you deal with him yourself!”
Lu Paizhang stormed off, sleeves billowing, while Lu Huaihai lowered his eyes, staring at his shoes without saying a word.
The raucous scene that had everyone’s ears ringing suddenly quieted. Madam Su lingered at the courtyard gate for a long moment, then shot a deep, meaningful glance at Lu Huaihai before leaving as well.
The wooden club left behind rolled along the path with a clattering sound. Frustrated, Lu Huaihai kicked it hard.
This club, often used by servants for beating clothes during washing, must have been randomly grabbed by his father.
The club was narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, and with that kick, it spun and rolled further until it ended up behind the trellis.
Right at Xie Miao’er’s feet.
Lu Huaihai, feeling agitated, glanced back inadvertently, only to realize there was a young girl hiding by the doorframe.
The girl was quite pretty—her eyes were proper eyes, and her nose was a proper nose—but her expression? Why did she look so… dazed?
And she was holding a pillow?
He frowned.
On his way back, he had heard that his grandmother had inexplicably bought him a concubine, which was already strange enough.
The elderly Mistress of the Lu family had been mentally unwell for years. When she wasn’t having an episode, she was relatively lucid, but when she did, chaos would ensue.
If she had brought home a fool…
Well, Lu Huaihai’s speculation wasn’t entirely off the mark because Xie Miao’er was indeed dumbfounded.
From their long argument, she had only managed to catch two things:
First, Lu Huaihai had been chased and beaten by his father for going to a brothel.
Second, Lu Huaihai had taunted his father about wanting to sleep with his concubine, which had driven his father away in anger.
Xie Miao’er’s head buzzed, and she couldn’t even spare the effort to wonder how the Lu Huaihai, who would later be recorded in history as a battle-hardened general with no wives or concubines, could already be frequenting brothels at such a young age.
Because the second thing was far more alarming.
In this shabby little courtyard, she was the only woman, and the fragmented memories in her mind told her that the concubine Lu Huaihai had shouted about wanting to sleep with was none other than herself.
Noticing Lu Huaihai’s inquisitive gaze, Xie Miao’er snapped out of her daze. “I… you are…”
Lu Huaihai’s heart eased.
She seemed fine—clear in speech and not actually a fool—just frightened by him.
Even a street shrew’s quarrels couldn’t match the chaos of his family’s drama. How could a delicate girl who had just arrived not be terrified?
He chuckled self-deprecatingly. Thinking back on the outrageous things he had said earlier, he felt a pang of guilt. He explained to Xie Miao’er, “I am Lu Huaihai. It was my grandmother who brought you into the residence. I apologize for the nonsense I just said—it was spoken in the heat of an argument with my family and was not intended to offend you.”
The moment she heard “I am Lu Huaihai,” Xie Miao’er froze entirely.
Seeing her stand motionless, Lu Huaihai assumed his apology wasn’t sincere enough. So, he straightened up, clasped his hands, and gave her a formal bow.
He stepped closer, and Xie Miao’er hurriedly took two steps back.
This courtyard was small, and with those two steps, her head nearly hit the cabinet behind her. Meanwhile, Lu Huaihai, standing just beyond the trellis, was already quite close. When he bent slightly and lowered his head, his loose hair almost brushed against her eyes.
Xie Miao’er took a deep breath, terrified that the boy in front of her might hear her pounding heartbeat.
She didn’t know what to say and finally muttered softly, “It’s fine…”
Lu Huaihai didn’t seem particularly adept at handling one-on-one interactions with girls either. Scratching the back of his head, he said, “Rest well. I won’t disturb you anymore.”
Then, like a gust of wind, he was gone.
Not through the main door—he climbed over the courtyard’s northern wall.
His movements were so practiced it was clear he was no stranger to climbing walls.
Xie Miao’er locked herself in the bedroom.
Heaven had thrust her into such a predicament, and she needed time to sort out her situation.
The sun shifted slowly from its zenith.
During this time, a housekeeper came by, bringing along two servant girls, one older and one younger. The housekeeper explained that since she had entered the household, she should be provided for, and these two girls would be serving her from now on. Xie Miao’er agreed and instructed them to tidy up the other rooms in the courtyard.
Xie Miao’er sat leaning against the window, the red paint on its frame peeling away. She was lost in thought for a long time.
In the past, she had secretly sent Xing You out to the book market to buy storybooks—tales of gods, ghosts, scholars, and maidens. She never took them seriously, but she had read many of them for fun.
In those storybooks, there were often tales of women dissatisfied with their current lives, returning to the past or traveling to another dynasty to live anew.
Xie Miao’er thought her current experience must be something similar.
The owner of this body was also named Xie Miao’er. She bore an 80% resemblance to her in appearance, was born on the same day, March 25, and her parents had treated her well. Her family even owned a textile workshop, making them modestly well-off.
When Miao’er was ten, her mother passed away due to childbirth complications after giving birth to a younger brother. Her father grieved for months and remarried the following year to care for the young boy. Though the stepmother couldn’t compare to her birth mother, she treated Miao’er with kindness. That year, the stepmother also gave the Xie family a baby girl.
As time went by, this Xie Miao’er, who shared her name and life experiences, grew more beautiful by the day.
A daughter with a pretty face could be protected by a grand tutor like Xie Taifu1 but a merchant like Xie couldn’t do the same.
At just 15 years old, Miao’er caught the attention of a scoundrel named Zhang Duan. He wasn’t anyone particularly important, but he did have an uncle who held a hereditary position as a hundred-household officer.2
But how could a commoner fight against an official? Xie’s father hoped to resolve the matter by paying him off, even selling most of their textile business. Yet Zhang Duan wouldn’t let go.
Sensing danger, Xie’s father told his second wife, Madam Zhu, to take the young son and daughter to her mother’s countryside home for safety.
That escape turned into a permanent separation.
Xie’s father, taking his eldest daughter, hid for a long time, but Zhang Duan eventually found them, bringing his men along. The scoundrel even fabricated charges against Xie’s father, using them to coerce him into handing over his daughter.
Xie’s father refused and got into a scuffle with Zhang’s men. In the chaos, he suffered a fatal head injury.
Miao’er, weeping, fled to the streets while Zhang’s thugs chased after her. With nowhere to go, she stopped a passing carriage in desperation.
Inside the carriage sat the elderly Mistress of the Lu family.
The Lu family’s matriarch had her good and bad days due to her illness. Luckily, she was lucid that day and had gone out for a stroll. She happened upon the scene and ordered her servants to stop the thugs, saving the tearful Miao’er.
As a legitimate official’s wife, Mistress Lu was not someone Zhang Duan dared provoke. He had no choice but to retreat, satisfied with having already seized the Xie family’s assets.
Under normal circumstances, this incident would have ended here—a tale of an elderly Mistress saving a maiden in distress.
But Mistress Lu suddenly had an episode.
Sitting in the carriage, she held Miao’er’s trembling hands and murmured softly:
”Why did I come out today? Oh… I remember now. I came to buy hawthorn cakes for Huaihai… Cakes… That’s right, I also came to find a concubine for Huaihai to serve him—“
With that, Mistress Lu dragged Miao’er to the yamen (local government office) and arranged for her to be registered as a concubine.
When she had an episode, no one in the Lu household dared to defy her, so they followed her wishes. Poor Miao’er, still in a daze, was made to press her fingerprint on the document, officially becoming Lu Huaihai’s concubine.
On her first night in the Lu household, Miao’er thought about her mother who had died in childbirth, her father who had been killed by villains, and her own uncertain future. The fear and exhaustion of running for her life over the past few days triggered a coughing illness. By dawn, she had passed away.
Xie Miao’er clutched her chest, overwhelmed with sorrow for the girl’s misfortune.
Who knows what stroke of fate allowed her the chance to continue living under the identity of another Xie Miao’er?
But destiny, as it was, had brought her here…
Xie Miao’er’s gaze darkened. Since she had taken over this body, it was only right for her to avenge the forced marriage and the murder of the father of the original owner.
More importantly, she had now become someone close to Lu Huaihai.
In the past, while seeking cures for her illness, Xie Miao’er had prayed to countless gods and worshipped numerous Buddhas, but her health only continued to deteriorate. At the time, she thought perhaps gods and Buddhas simply didn’t exist.
But now, Xie Miao’er suddenly felt deeply grateful to them.
Perhaps it really was the will of divine powers that allowed her to live on in another way—and even return to the time when Lu Huaihai was just seventeen.
Now she could walk freely under heaven and earth, and she could also prevent Lu Huaihai from meeting his historical fate.
It was currently the 23rd year of Changping. The Lu family, led by their current patriarch Lu Paizhang, had relocated from Yansui to Zhejiang after Lu Paizhang was reassigned as Deputy Commissioner of the Zhejiang Military Command.
The story belonging to Lu Huaihai had not yet begun. There was still time.
Thinking of this, Xie Miao’er suddenly felt a surge of motivation.
She would not let Lu Huaihai end up with the tragic fate recorded in history!
At that moment, a series of brief knocks came at the door.
Xie Miao’er assumed it was the new maid looking for her, so she cleared her throat and said, “Come in.”
The door creaked open.
But the person who entered was not the little maid she expected—it was Lu Huaihai.
He walked into the small bedroom under the moonlight.
His sudden arrival made Xie Miao’er jump to her feet, and then…
Then she had no idea what to do next.
Her father, her brother, her brother-in-law—none of them had ever taken a concubine. She had no idea how a concubine was supposed to treat her husband.
She scolded herself silently: Ugh! After thinking about so much earlier, why can’t I even figure out where to put my hands now that I’m actually facing him? How am I supposed to save him like this?!
Her nervousness was plain to see, and Lu Huaihai, of course, noticed.
His original plan was simple: since she had been brought into the household, so be it. After all, the Lu family didn’t lack food or resources, so he’d treat her like a decorative potted plant—he wouldn’t do anything to her.
However, that afternoon, he had questioned a servant in the household and learned the full story.
It turned out that his concubine was such a pitiful figure, with her family destroyed and her loved ones gone. To make things worse, she had overheard plenty of his nonsense earlier.
She looked so delicate—he worried she might have been scared to death by his words.
And so, the same Lu Huaihai who didn’t bat an eye when his father wanted to beat him, found himself feeling a rare pang of guilt. He decided to come by to explain.
He said, “Miss Xie, I am not someone who takes advantage of others in their time of need. Don’t be afraid. Since the old Mistress rescued you, you can stay here in peace. There’s no need to tread on eggshells around me. If, in the future, you come up with a suitable plan for yourself, just let me know, and I will let you leave the household.”
To Xie Miao’er, the outside world was now even more unfamiliar than ever. Even if not for Lu Huaihai, she wouldn’t rashly leave.
Nevertheless, his words filled her heart with warmth.
But the more considerate he was, the stranger Xie Miao’er found it.
His behavior and demeanor toward her were not disrespectful; in fact, he carried himself with the elegance and restraint of a gentleman. Could someone like him really frequent brothels? And why was he so merciless in his words when facing his own father?
Suppressing the questions swirling in her mind, Xie Miao’er gave a small curtsy and said, “Thank you… Thank you, Young Master Lu.”
Since he addressed her as “Miss,” she mimicked his tone and called him “Young Master.”
Lu Huaihai noticed the clarity in her gaze, confirming that she didn’t seem frightened after all, and nodded in acknowledgment.
“Very well, I’ll take my leave then,” he said.
Not one for idle chatter, he turned to leave.
But again, it looked like he intended to climb over the wall.
Watching his retreating figure, then glancing at the door to her right, Xie Miao’er felt puzzled.
Earlier in the afternoon, she had exchanged a few words with the maid and learned that this small courtyard was part of the west wing, enclosed by walls. If he climbed over the wall, he’d be outside the estate.
It wasn’t unusual for him to sneak out during the day, but it was already late at night. Why was Lu Huaihai trying to leave again? Was he planning to go to a brothel once more?
Summoning her courage, Xie Miao’er called out to him, “Young Master Lu, it’s so late—where are you going?”
A seventeen-year-old boy, naturally, wouldn’t confess to his concubine that he was climbing the wall at this hour because his father had been so enraged earlier that he told him, “If you want to sleep with a concubine, then sleep on her bed for the rest of your life and never set foot in your own quarters again!” With no other options, Lu Huaihai was now planning to crash at a friend’s place for the night.
Lu Huaihai was still a proud young man, after all.
He kept a stern expression as he debated whether to walk away without answering or make up an excuse.
Although Xie Miao’er couldn’t guess the exact reason, she had witnessed the commotion earlier that afternoon. She could vaguely piece together that Lu Huaihai had likely fallen out with his family and didn’t want to stay in the estate.
She mustered her courage once more and suggested, “Why not… stay here for the night?”
—
Footnotes:
- Taifu(太傅) was a high-ranking official title in ancient China, often translated as “Grand Tutor” or “Imperial Tutor” in English.
- A “hundred-household officer” (百户) was a hereditary military rank in the Ming and Qing dynasties, responsible for leading a unit of 100 households. It carried some prestige but was not a high-ranking position.