Blessings Upon the Cousin Miss

When she was fourteen, the Huai River flooded. Her father "died in the service of the court," and three days later, her mother followed him. The official records called it an accident. She didn't believe them. At seventeen, she carried half a volume of flood records to the capital and took refuge with her uncle's family, becoming the Shen household's cousin. First, she would break off her engagement. Then she would reopen the case. The people in the household pitied her for being alone and mocked her for being poor, saying a cousin like her could do little more than tell fortunes and collect fees. She said little, only keeping accounts: if someone owed her, she remembered; if someone shortchanged her, she remembered that too. From Listening Rain Pavilion to Feng'an Palace, from old bookstalls to the Three Judicial Offices, she added up the details of the "flash flood" from four years ago, one entry at a time, until the case was back before the court. Someone asked if she was afraid. She said, "You have to keep accounts one entry at a time, and live each day one day at a time." The Fifth Prince kept track of the days for her, from the lamp in the eastern courtyard, which stayed lit until the crabapples bloomed.