After the Women of the Marquis’s Mansion Were Demoted to Commoners

Ming Baoqing is the eldest daughter of Marquis Ming, a nobleman who supported a failed contender for the imperial throne. When a princess seizes power, executes her brothers, and imprisons her siblings, the Marquis is forced to take his own life to avoid a more humiliating death. The imperial family, displeased with his suicide, increases the severity of the punishment. The Marquis's mansion is confiscated, and his family is demoted to commoners. The eldest son is exiled to Qixi in the Western Regions, the second son is imprisoned in the Court of the Imperial Granaries, and the women of the household—including Ming Baoqing, her three younger sisters, their stepmother Lan Panxiao, and various concubines—are expelled from the city at dawn with only the clothes on their backs.

Forced to leave Chang'an at break of dawn, the group walks through the city gates past execution grounds where bloodstains from the recent purges are still fresh. Commander Yan Guan, a Buliang Ren officer who participated in the confiscation, attempts to harass them and seize their few remaining possessions, including a valuable parrot that Ming Baoqing throws into the air to deny him. They reach a small, dilapidated courtyard estate in Qinghuai Township outside the city—a place Lan Panxiao had previously gifted to a former dowry servant. The estate is barely larger than a single courtyard in the Marquis's mansion, with overgrown weeds, broken potted plants, and only one bed. The women sleep on straw mats on the cold earthen floor, suffering from hunger and exhaustion.

Ming Baoqing, raised in luxury and never having experienced hardship, must adapt to a life of poverty. She discovers she has hidden copper coins and a roll of gold thread sewn into her clothing—savings that will last only a few days. Her maternal uncle, Cen Shitang, a mid-level official in the Imperial College, is contacted through the Cen family estate at Tianxiang Manor. Wang Shi, her aunt, offers to arrange a marriage for Ming Baoqing to a wealthy merchant's cousin in Youzhou, hoping to remove her from the capital. Ming Baoqing refuses, insisting on staying in Chang'an to remain near her imprisoned brothers and to care for her younger sisters.

As resources dwindle, Lan Panxiao attempts to survive by trading eggs for sewing supplies to embroider handkerchiefs, while Ming Baojin suggests planting vegetables. They visit a local farmer who provides seeds and advice on crop rotation, introducing them to Green-footed Sandpiper, a mud-covered boy who befriends Ming Baojin. The family begins to learn agricultural skills, marking a fundamental shift from noble leisure to peasant labor. Ming Baoqing confronts the reality that survival requires abandoning the dignity and comforts of her former life, while maintaining resolve to rebuild her family's fortunes from nothing.