In her village, taking advantage of girls was condemned. Men like him were shamed or driven out. But Zhu City wasn’t the village. She recalled what Yao and Shao Qing had said: The ones in charge of justice were often the source of injustice.
They were right.
“Two days ago you left my home with a man who was not in my employ, and then you came back without him. Who was he?” Magistrate Bu asked. He was too close. Close enough that Zhi Lan could count the silken stitches that made up the bamboo embroidered on his robe.
“You must be mistaken, my lord,” Zhi Lan said, sticking to her story. Her palms grew clammy. “I left alone.”
“Did you know lying to a magistrate is a punishable offense?” Magistrate Bu said in a low, soft voice, his sour breath washing over her face. “Fifty strikes of a bamboo rod and five years of hard labor.”
Zhi Lan trembled in spite of herself.
He closed a heavy hand around her shoulder and squeezed, his hard fingers digging into her flesh. “A beauty like you should never suffer such a fate,” he crooned. “You deserve to be dripping in gold and jade, sleeping in silk sheets. I can give you that. Only if you tell me who you are protecting. Whatever he can give you, I can give you ten thousand times over.”
She was reminded of the nobleman who had propositioned her all those years ago, of his leering face, his pretty promises, and unbidden touches.
Zhi Lan wished to scream, to withdraw and condemn him for such advances. But this man was the magistrate of the city. She was merely a farm girl at his mercy.
To protect herself in one way was to endanger herself in another.
Once again, Zhi Lan was faced with a smart choice and a principled choice. She could save herself and Master Dan by accepting the magistrate’s offer. She’d be gaining a lavish future. Her family would benefit.
Or she could refuse him and suffer the consequences. She knew herself too well for the decision to be difficult.
“I don’t like gold or jade, my lord,” Zhi Lan said quietly. She met the magistrate’s eyes, hoping he saw her defiance and not her fear. “As for silk? I only wish for the kind to paint on.”
Magistrate Bu’s face hardened, his lips drawing back in a snarl. His hold on Zhi Lan tightened, his thumb digging into her collarbone with bruising force. “I’ll teach you a lesson, you—”
“Husband.” A soft yet commanding voice interrupted his threat. “You were not at breakfast.”
Lady Bu swept in, dressed in regal blue, her face serene. Her steps were purposeful as she stopped beside Zhi Lan and greeted Magistrate Bu with a bow.
“Wife,” the magistrate growled, letting go of Zhi Lan’s shoulder. She sucked in a uneven breath.
Lady Bu straightened. The lady stood nearly a full head taller than Zhi Lan, meeting the magistrate eye to eye. “I’m afraid I must take Miss Nong from you. She has agreed to accompany me out for the day.”
He sneered. “Get some maidservant or other. I’m talking to her.”
“I am visiting my father today,” Lady Bu said. The magistrate stiffened at this. “I have told him of the painters we’ve acquired recently. He wants to meet them.”
Magistrate Bu threw down his arms, his sleeves snapping behind him. With a poisonous glare, he said, “Give Magistrate Li my regards.”
Lady Bu and Zhi Lan walked out of the parlor in silence.
Tears blurred Zhi Lan’s vision and she swiped them away. She felt angry and helpless and terrified all at once.
“You were very brave,” Lady Bu finally said, her voice gentler now that she was no longer speaking to her husband.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, my lady,” Zhi Lan stammered. It wouldn’t be polite to speak of such things out loud.
Lady Bu stopped beside a rock sculpture, regarding her silently. Zhi Lan wondered if the lady blamed her for seducing her husband. But her next words were not about the magistrate at all.
“Tell me about the young man you left with that morning. Who is he really?”
Zhi Lan looked up, her mouth growing dry. She couldn’t be sure whether she could fully trust Lady Bu. What if she were trying to get information from her on the magistrate’s behalf?
“I will not tell my husband,” the lady said, sensing Zhi Lan’s hesitation. “I have no wish to help him. I’m only...curious.”
Lady Bu’s eyes were pleading, though Zhi Lan couldn’t imagine why. Still, there was an earnestness to her face and she had been nothing but kind so far.
