On a rainy night, Dad lost a bet and tried to sell my little sister.
After that, he disappeared.
The neighbors all said the gambling addict Shen San had run off to escape his debts.
Only the three of us, my mother, my sister, and I, knew what lay buried beneath the wildflowers that had suddenly flourished in the backyard.
Later, our lecherous uncle came calling. He disappeared too.
The soil in the vegetable patch had been freshly turned.
At the dinner table, the three of us looked at one another. There were no tears in our eyes, only a cold understanding.
My mother said, “This family can't keep falling apart.”
My sister wiped down her slingshot. “We need money and power.”
I set down my bowl. “Then we'll earn it, take it, and climb over everyone else's heads to the top.”
From that day on, there were no men in our family, only three ruthless women bound together by the same secret.
We outmaneuvered our relatives and fought our way up, climbing from a rundown hut all the way to the capital.
Years later, I held power over the court, my mother had been granted the highest noble rank, and my sister had become the most feared young woman in the capital.
We sipped tea in a pavilion beneath the moon.
My mother suddenly said, “The rain was really heavy that year.”
My sister smiled. “Brother, your hands are so steady.”
I drained my cup, as if drinking down all the unspeakable things we had been through.
As for the backyard... What lay buried there wasn't our crime, but the first stepping-stone on our climb to the top.
