The Incense Trade Edict

The Shang family, a wealthy merchant clan in Huizhou Prefecture, has no sons. The family is considering adopting an heir, a cousin within the household wants to inherit everything, and rivals from outside want a piece of the pie. Shang Mingshu: Keep dreaming. The Shang family has three daughters, like three golden flowers. The eldest, Shang Wenshu, has been a whiz with the abacus since childhood. No one can skim even a single coin from the accounts under her watch. She is determined to bring a son-in-law into the family and uphold its name, keeping its vast fortune from falling into someone else’s hands. The second daughter, Shang Zishu, could recite a legendary tea classic from memory at the age of ten. Her tea-making skills have earned the admiration of scholars throughout Huizhou Prefecture. Convinced she knows the heart of the family business, she believes she alone deserves to inherit it. The youngest, Shang Mingshu, is the picture of propriety. She excels at music, chess, calligraphy, painting, cooking, and needlework. She is the daughter her father is most proud of and the sweet, well-behaved little sister in her sisters’ eyes. In truth, she wants it all, and then some! Her father is her network of powerful connections, her eldest sister is the manager she inspired, and her second sister is the advisor she flattered into place! Hmm, she’s still missing someone to run errands. Someone eagerly volunteered: “Me, me, me! Third Miss, I’ve got long legs. I can run!”