Uncle Shen’s house was located at the border between the inner and outer city.
If one took the “long carriage” that traveled between the two parts of Bianjing, the journey took about half an hour—not particularly far.
Since the imperial palace was situated slightly north, Bianjing developed the saying “the north is noble, the south is common.”
However, as the city’s population flourished and land prices skyrocketed, many wealthy merchants began buying large estates in the south and moving out of the inner city.
Uncle Shen was one of them.
Like Shen Miao’s father, he owned a shop in the inner city, with a front-store, back-residence layout.
However, in the outer city, he had a larger property with two courtyards and nine rooms.
Moreover, Uncle Shen also owned fifty mu (about 8 acres) of farmland in the countryside.
He chose to live in the outer city for convenience—so he could collect rent from his tenants and buy grain from rural suppliers.
After all, he ran a grain shop.
Since they were heading out, Shen Miao dressed up a little.
She changed into an apricot-colored narrow-sleeved blouse embroidered with plum blossoms, paired with a blue ruqun (skirt).
The fabric was simple cotton, and this outfit had been made back when the original Shen Miao had first married into the Rong family in Jinling.
However, she had spent her married life doing household chores, usually wearing short jackets, so this outfit had hardly been worn and still looked new.
She rummaged through her trunk and found her last remaining silver hairpin, carved in the shape of plum branches, and used it to secure her hair in a bun.
Then, she wrapped an apricot-colored head scarf around it.
Other than that, she wore no jewelry at all.
When she stepped out, Ji Ge stared at her in silence for a long time.
Shen Miao asked, “What are you looking at?”
He simply shook his head and smiled, “Sister is beautiful. Father always bragged to the neighbors that you were the prettiest young lady within ten miles. It annoyed the uncles and aunts who had daughters, but they couldn’t argue against it.”
Shen Miao was not one to be modest—instead, she curved her lips proudly and said, “Well, of course!”
The original Shen Miao had indeed been beautiful.
She wasn’t the type to stun people at first glance; rather, her soft, delicate features carried a subtle charm, like a misty Jiangnan alleyway or the fresh budding branches of spring—elegant, gentle, and unforgettable.
Hearing this, Xiang Jie also looked up at her.
Shen Miao took her little hand, smiled, and said, “Our Xiang Jie is beautiful too! One day, you’ll be even prettier than your sister!”
Xiang Jie puffed up her chest, copying Shen Miao’s earlier tone, and said, “Well, of course!”
Ji Ge, walking behind them, smiled at their playful exchange.
But when his gaze fell on the silver hairpin in Shen Miao’s hair, the smile on his face faded into melancholy.
That hairpin had once been part of an entire set, given to Shen Miao as a wedding dowry from their mother.
If he remembered correctly, the set should have included:
A main hairpin.
A pair of side hairpins.
A pair of long hairpins.
A heart-shaped ornamental pin.
A decorative center pin.
A pair of side-comb hair ornaments.
A pair of earrings.
A pair of bracelets.
A pair of rings.
Floral forehead decorations.
Several small ornamental hairpins and hair sticks.
And yet, now Sister only had a single silver hairpin left.
For three years, he had once resented her.
But looking at her now, perhaps she had suffered too.
Otherwise, she never would have abandoned him and Xiang Jie.
She had once been so gentle and kind, yet in the Rong family, she must have been bullied so badly that her personality had completely changed.
Ji Ge had initially felt estranged from his sister’s return.
She looked the same, but her personality was entirely different—now, she was sharp, resilient, and unrestrained, with no trace of hesitation or fear in her eyes.
But at this moment, he understood—his sister must have endured immense hardship.
Without realizing it, Ji Ge clenched his fists.
He only loosened his grip when Shen Miao turned back and called to him, “Ji Ge, why are you lagging behind? Hurry up, or the long carriage will leave, and we’ll have to walk!”
“Oh!”
Ji Ge quickly caught up with his sister and little sister.
In his heart, he silently made a vow:
From tomorrow on, he would work harder to help his sister.
Even if he couldn’t return to school, he had to find a way to make money.
One day, he would buy back an entire set of jewelry for his sister—
The most expensive and beautiful one from the best gold and silver shop!
It was late spring, and the afternoon sun cast a warm glow.
Not too hot, not too cold.
Shen Miao, holding a child in each hand, walked toward the livestock market near Niúmǎ Háng (Cattle & Horse Lane), where several “long carriages” were parked.
These carriages, pulled by horses or oxen, were available for hire.
Each had a covered roof and padded seats, accommodating six to ten passengers.
The fare was two wen per adult and one wen per child.
These were essentially “shared horse-drawn carriages”, the ancient equivalent of public transportation, bought by Bianjing merchants and operated for city residents.
Shen Miao paid three wen for herself and Ji Ge.
Since Xiang Jie was still small and could sit on her lap, she persuaded the driver to waive her fare.
Once the carriage was full, the driver would ask each passenger where they needed to be dropped off and make stops accordingly.
To Shen Miao, this was basically an ancient version of a bus—except, it was a bit expensive.
After all, one wen had far more purchasing power than a modern-day coin.
While waiting for the carriage to fill up, Shen Miao noticed a young vendor selling pears on the roadside.
She bought a small basket of pears for three wen, receiving over ten round, greenish pears.
Ji Ge glanced at her in confusion, looking puzzled.
The whole way here, he had been feeling nervous.
He feared that once they arrived, Aunt would be difficult to deal with—her words were like sharp knives.
Yet Sister, supposedly going there to argue, had the leisure to buy pears?!
Shen Miao didn’t explain; she merely smiled.
Arguing… if it turned into a full-blown brawl like a shrew rolling on the ground, even if she won, it would be a hollow victory—hurting the enemy a thousand times while harming herself eight hundred times.
Her own reputation would be ruined as well.
But if she could seize the moral high ground and win public opinion, then everything would be different.
Once on the long carriage, the bustling inner city quickly gave way to a different scene in the outer city.
Circling the inner city walls, the area was lined with massive mansion estates.
Several horse-drawn carriages and sedan chairs were parked near their side gates, where well-dressed servants lounged around, picking their teeth and gossiping.
Whenever ordinary folk wandered too close, these servants would immediately snap at them to leave.
The wheels rumbled on, crossing two moat rivers, and the scenery changed again—clusters of residential areas appeared on both sides of the streets, much like those near Jinliang Bridge.
Rows of restaurants, inns, shops, and private residences stretched out, all newer and larger than those in the inner city.
This was where Uncle Shen lived.
Shen Miao led Ji Ge and Xiang Jie off the carriage, navigating the streets from memory.
Soon, she spotted a familiar wooden sign swaying in the crowd, painted with the words “Shen Da Rice & Grain Shop”—one side embroidered with a large “Rice” and the other with “Shen Da.”
Upon seeing his uncle’s shop, Ji Ge’s face turned cold, and his shoulders tensed up.
Shen Miao gently patted his hand, reassuring him before striding forward.
The moment they stepped inside, she saw a tall counter, and behind it was a woven rattan rocking chair.
Lying in the chair was a portly man in his forties, draped in silk robes, his belly protruding, leisurely reading a book.
As he read, he would occasionally stick his fingers in his mouth, moisten them, and slowly flip the pages.
Shen Miao took a deep breath, stuffing the basket of pears into Ji Ge’s arms.
Then, she suddenly let out a wailing cry—
“UNCLE—!”
Her voice boomed like thunder, startling Ji Ge and Xiang Jie, who instinctively turned to look at her in shock.
As for Uncle Shen, who had been deeply engrossed in his book?
His entire plump body jolted in fright, and the Confucian classic in his hands flew into the air.
In his panic, he lunged to catch the book, but in doing so, knocked over his rocking chair—
“THUMP!”
He crashed to the ground belly-up, flailing in embarrassment.
“Aiyo! Aiyo! My poor backside—!”
Ji Ge inhaled deeply, forcing himself not to laugh.
Shen Miao bit her lip, desperately suppressing her amusement, struggling to maintain her pitiful act.
But Xiang Jie couldn’t hold it in—she burst into laughter on the spot, clapping her hands in delight at their uncle’s misfortune.
“Who—?!”
Uncle Shen, now red-faced with rage, scrambled up from the floor and slammed his palm against the counter.
Just as he was about to explode in anger, he suddenly froze—
“Niece? Why are you back?”
But before he could process it, Shen Miao had already pounced forward, yanking open the counter’s side gate and grabbing hold of both his fat arms, clutching them tightly as she began to wail—
“UNCLE—! Your niece has suffered so much! You have no idea—”
“I nearly DIED! I barely survived to see my family again!”
Uncle Shen winced in pain—her grip was surprisingly strong!
He tried to shake her off, but for some reason, he couldn’t break free.
By now, her loud crying had drawn a crowd—neighbors and passersby gathered at the entrance, craning their necks curiously into the shop.
Feeling increasingly alarmed, Uncle Shen shouted for help:
“Wife! Hey, dead woman, get out here—!”
Shen Miao snatched his sleeve and wiped her tears and snot all over it, sneering inwardly.
Despite being a grain merchant, Uncle Shen had spent years in private school as a child, sent by their grandfather to study in hopes of becoming a scholar.
Unfortunately, despite decades of studying, he never even passed the county-level imperial exam (Xiùcái).
Now, he pretended to be a refined intellectual, carrying around Confucian books like “The Doctrine of the Mean,” “Mencius,” and “The Book of Rites,” posing as a man of great wisdom.
But Shen Miao knew exactly how to handle these types of “mediocre men who thought too highly of themselves.”
In ancient times, scholars often lived by a principle: “A gentleman can be killed, but not humiliated.”
For men like Uncle Shen, face and reputation mattered more than life itself.
So, Shen Miao cried even louder.
And she didn’t just cry—she loudly accused him in front of the entire neighborhood:
“UNCLE! You are my only blood relative! Blood is thicker than water! My parents died tragically, and I have nowhere to seek justice! I was married far away to Jinling, so I entrusted my two young siblings to you—even leaving you in charge of our family shop!
How could you abandon them? How could you throw them out into the streets, leaving two helpless children to freeze and starve?!”
In ancient China, families lived within tightly knit clans, where relatives were expected to support each other.
If parents died, it was the duty of the uncles to take in orphaned nephews and nieces—this was an unshakable moral obligation.
Moreover, in Shen Miao’s case, her father and uncle were the only two sons in the Shen family.
If Uncle Shen had truly abandoned his brother’s children, his reputation would be utterly destroyed—people would curse his name, and even the elders would spit in his direction.
Shen Miao could have gone to the authorities.
But filing a formal complaint against an elder was considered “lowly accusing the high,” much like how a wife accusing her husband was considered disgraceful.
Even if she sued him, the law dictated that she would receive thirty lashes before her case could even be accepted.
Not to mention, failing to care for orphaned relatives wasn’t technically illegal—it was simply immoral.
The government wouldn’t bother meddling in domestic disputes.
What a terrible system!
That was why Shen Miao didn’t bother suing.
Instead, she would publicly expose Uncle Shen’s selfishness, ensuring that the whole neighborhood judged him.
And while she was at it—she was going to make sure she, Ji Ge, and Xiang Jie walked away with proper compensation.