Escorted by a Ke family servant, Alice Lu stepped through the grand gates of the residence, leaving Olivia Yin waiting outside.
Upon entering, she was greeted by a terrace ablaze with blooming peonies. The Ke family garden was vast, its air heavy with fragrance; one could scarcely take a step without brushing against blossoms.
Alice Lu lowered her gaze.
Emma Lu had always been allergic to pollen—mere proximity to fresh flowers would bring rashes to her skin. In the Lu household, there had never been a single bloom. Yet Emma, who so loved flowers, had filled porcelain vases with ones her mother had made from scraps of silk and cloth, bringing color to what life denied her.
The Ke family, it seemed, suffered no such constraint. Everywhere flowers bloomed in riotous beauty, petals flaunting their splendor beneath the sun.
In the main hall sat an elderly woman upon a rosewood chair. Her face was long and narrow, the corners of her eyes sharp and drooping; her thin lips glistened with rouge. She wore a gown of lychee-red silk embroidered with curling vines of grapes, and from her ears hung heavy golden gourd-shaped pendants. Her finery spoke of wealth—yet her countenance held the edge of disdain.
Alice Lu bowed gracefully. "Your servant, Chloe Wang, pays her respects to Madam."
The Dowager Madam Ke remained silent, her gaze sweeping over Alice Lu from head to toe.
Before her stood a young woman dressed in a faded hemp gown, its color worn to pale brown, a discreet patch mended at the elbow. She looked poor, almost pitiable. The dowager's eyes caught on the white veil covering her face; her brows knit. "Why the veil?"
"On our journey to the capital, I fell ill," Alice Lu answered softly. "My face still bears a rash. I would not offend your eyes, Madam."
The dowager caught sight of the red marks along her neck and, with a flick of her hand, said curtly, "Then stand farther away."
Alice Lu obediently took two steps back.
Beside the old lady, Nanny Li smiled ingratiatingly as she kneaded her mistress's shoulders. "And where are you from, Miss Yingying?"
"I am from Su'nan," Alice Lu replied calmly.
"Su'nan?" The dowager's gaze sharpened. "The Lu family had no kin there that I recall."
"My cousin Emma's mother was my late mother's aunt," Alice Lu said with perfect composure. "I was taken to Su'nan as a child when my parents went there for my father's work. My mother was frail, my father's illness sudden; my aunt once promised to treat me as her own daughter, and if ever hardship befell me, I was to seek help in Changwu County." Her voice faltered just slightly, the hint of sorrow artfully placed. "Now my parents are gone. When I finally reached Changwu, I learned my aunt had already passed away…"
Relief flickered across the dowager's eyes. As Nanny Li had guessed, this Chloe Wang was nothing more than a destitute girl come to beg for money. Her tone turned brisk. "If you've come seeking the late Madam Lu, you should know she's long been deceased. There's no one by that name here anymore. And besides," her lips curved in a mockery of a smile, "you claim such closeness, yet in all her years here she never mentioned you. Who's to say your story is true?"
Alice Lu's voice was light, untroubled. "Madam may send someone to Changwu County to inquire. The neighbors there can attest to my story."
The old lady's face stiffened, and Nanny Li hastened to interject. "Miss, even if you wish to rely on the past, the late Madam has gone, and the young master has since taken a new wife. Their bond as husband and wife has ended. For an unmarried girl to linger here—it would not be proper. Such talk could harm your reputation."
Her words carried the tone of gentle persuasion, confident that no maiden would risk her virtue for a few coins.
But Alice Lu's gaze flickered faintly.
A new wife…
It had been only a year since Emma Lu's death, and Matthew Ke had already remarried.
Her fingers clenched within her sleeves, but her voice remained serene. "I would not dare overstep. I have no wish to stay under your roof. I told the gatekeeper already—my purpose is merely to retrieve my cousin's dowry."
The room fell silent.
After a moment, the dowager spoke slowly, her voice low and cold. "What did you say?"
As though oblivious to the storm gathering in the woman's eyes, Alice Lu continued gently, "My late aunt once promised to raise me as her own, so I am half of the Lu family by right. Since the young master has remarried and his tie to my cousin is severed, and since she bore no children, her dowry should, by custom, return to her family. I am merely here to collect it on their behalf."
Her tone was soft, measured, but the words struck like oil on flame. "Surely, Madam, a house as grand as the Ke family would not begrudge so modest a sum?"
The Dowager Madam's face darkened. With a crack of her palm on the table, she snapped, "Dowry? What dowry? That pitiful girl brought nothing with her! A scholar's daughter marrying into my family was already a stroke of fortune for her. Were it not for my son's foolish fondness, would I ever have allowed such a match? A disgrace! A temptress with a fox's face—if not for—"
Nanny Li coughed pointedly, and the old lady bit back her words. Her eyes narrowed. "You claim to be her kin, yet do you even know what sort of woman she was?"
Alice Lu met her gaze in silence.
"She was faithless," the dowager spat. "Once she entered my household, she forgot all propriety. She dared to flirt openly with a young master from the Qi residence—yes, that very Daniel Qi. A shameless creature, thinking herself fit for a nobleman's eye! When he spurned her, she ran home in disgrace and—" the old woman's voice rose to a shriek, "—threw herself into the pond! Brought ruin and ridicule upon my household!"
Her rage mounted. "And that brother of hers—another wretch! Caught by the magistrate for theft and debauchery. A family of liars and criminals, every one of them. Serves them right to die!"
She jabbed a finger toward the window, her voice trembling with fury. "Do you see that peony terrace outside? She polluted my pond's waters with her death! I spent a fortune to have it filled in and replaced with flowers. A pity for those fine red lotuses…" Her gaze snapped back to Alice Lu, sharp as glass. "You want her dowry? Go dig it from your sister's grave! She came to us with nothing, and we fed and clothed her out of mercy. Take me to court if you like! Let's see whether the magistrate believes the word of your wretched kin—or of the Ke family!"
Her chest heaved; Nanny Li rushed forward to steady her, pressing a cup of fragrant tea to her lips. After several breaths, the dowager rasped, "What are you waiting for? Get out! Or do you plan to loiter here and shame yourself further?"
Alice Lu bowed her head. "I understand, Madam."
She turned and walked toward the door.
The commotion must have drawn attention, for just as she reached the threshold, a young woman entered. Her features were pretty but sharp, her powdered face unnaturally pale beneath delicately arched brows. Dressed in a jade-blue skirt, she carried herself with the boldness of one newly favored. Her eyes flicked over Alice Lu with suspicion before she turned to the old lady. "Mother, who is this?"
Mother.
The word struck like a chord. Alice Lu's heart stilled. The Dowager Madam had but one son—Matthew Ke. This, then, was his new wife.
The old lady coughed lightly. "No one of consequence. A distant relation."
Alice Lu's gaze lingered for a fleeting moment on the jeweled flower pin in the woman's hair, then slid away. Without another word, she stepped out of the hall and did not look back.
Outside the gates, Olivia Yin was pacing anxiously. Seeing Alice Lu emerge, she hurried forward. "My lady—what happened?"
Alice Lu did not answer. "We're leaving," she said simply.
Perplexed but obedient, Olivia Yin cast one last glance at the Ke residence before following her mistress away in haste.
Once they had passed through the alley beneath Fengle Pavilion, Alice Lu halted suddenly. With one swift motion, she tore away her white veil, revealing the rash still marring her face.
"Miss," Olivia Yin murmured, studying her expression, "shall we ask around a bit more?"
"There's no need," Alice Lu replied, her voice cold as steel.
"My sister," she said, her eyes darkening, "was murdered."