“Lin Xixi! Did you hear me? It's the best news imaginable! His Majesty is betrothing you to Imperial Censor Chen!”
The voice of her legitimate mother, Madam Wang, was shrill and bright, like a poisoned silver hairpin stabbing straight into Lin Xixi's ear and yanking her out of a mountain of account books.
Lin Xixi, the invisible illegitimate daughter of the Lin family, was currently fretting over the abacus and account books she'd secretly hidden away. Granny Wang had skimmed another three hundred copper coins from the kitchen's purchases this month. Without even looking up, she replied automatically, “Oh, Imperial Censor Chen... who?”
The maid beside her, Xiaotao, went pale and tugged frantically at her sleeve, her voice trembling. “Miss! Imperial Censor Chen! The one who's turning sixty this year, whose household has enough concubines to make up three mahjong tables, and whose grandson is two years older than you! That, that, that old lord!”
Clatter!
The abacus in Lin Xixi's hands crashed onto her foot. She hissed in pain, but couldn't spare it a thought.
Sixty? His grandson was older than her? A second wife?!
Her vision went black. She could practically see her lovely future as a happy slacker, no, as a retiree, before it had even begun, plunging into a terrifying abyss of wives fighting, waiting on an old man, and maybe even being buried alive with him in the end!
To hell with saving money! To hell with keeping her head down! This wasn't getting married. It was fast-forwarding straight to the grave!
She jerked her head up and looked toward the doorway, where her legitimate mother was smiling with satisfaction at her outburst. The irritable soul of a modern-day office worker inside her finally exploded.
These wretched ancient customs! This wretched marriage with no regard for her rights!
She was flipping this table, once and for all!
