The noblewomen of the capital had a place they could never speak of openly: Zhaojian Hall. Want to break off an engagement but avoid being branded ungrateful? Shen Zhaoning will confront the groom’s family at the wedding banquet and demand an accounting. A talented woman’s poems weren’t written by her? She’ll expose the imposture and bring the real poet onstage. A princess can’t speak, yet an imperial edict sends her off to marry a foreign ruler? She’ll dig up a century-old law of the Chen dynasty and make the entire court hear a silent testimony. Shen Zhaoning has four rules: tell the truth; accept no case without evidence; it’s all right to ruin someone’s reputation, but never their life; and anyone can change their mind before they speak. She thought following these rules would let her get to the bottom of things for everyone. Then a case with airtight evidence made her say the wrong thing. Overnight, 127 people in the city accused her, all proxy contracts were voided, and she was forbidden from speaking on anyone else’s behalf.
This time, the noblewomen who had once hired her to “make a scene” came to her themselves.
