With Xu Shuqiao having become an official, the Xu residence had long since moved. They no longer lived in the desolate alley of the past, but had moved to a large residence closer to the Imperial Palace. When Xu Shuqiao left morning court and returned home, she could hear the thump-thump of a bamboo boards arising from the rear courtyard from a distance. Only when she grew closer did she find that her mother was using a plank of red sandalwood as a disciplining rule, bringing it down blow after blow on Xu Shuyi. Xu Shuyi, on the other hand, was sprawled atop a long bench, her moon-pale silk trousers around her knees, her rear crisscrossed with dozens of red, raised marks, her usually neatly-gathered hair in a disarray, stray strands stuck to the nape of her neck with sweat. Conducting trade to raise her two daughters had long since caused a swift and decisive temper in Mother Xu. In these past few years, she'd been most proud of her elder daughter earning the Emperor's favour,...