“Xuan Yue,” she called gently.

Chen Xuan Yue turned to look at her, his gaze bewildered.

After a while, he shrank to Gu Jin Chao’s side, tugged at her arm, and whispered, “Auntie, is little brother awake…”

Gu Jin Chao saw his foolish smile and thought she must have been mistaken.

Just then, Chang Suo cried again, and the wet nurse went to hold him for feeding. Soon she brought the child out. The baby wore a sleeveless tan-colored Lu silk jacket and open-crotch pants, with chubby limbs like lotus roots, looking extremely adorable. Having just been fed, he was lying in the wet nurse’s arms, moving his tiny hands that resembled pink dough.

Chen Xuan Yue immediately went over to see his little brother, holding his hand to play with him.

Even though little Chang Suo was too young and showed little response to being teased, he still tirelessly accompanied him. When little Chang Suo suddenly grabbed his hand, a childish smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. The child’s features were gradually becoming more defined, his skin even fairer and more delicate. His facial features possessed a kind of elegant nobility—how could anyone see him as foolish?

But Gu Jin Chao’s doubts grew stronger. She had suspected before that Chen Xuan Yue might be pretending to be foolish. At that time, she had comforted herself that if he was pretending, so be it—he must have his reasons. But if he was hiding something from her without telling her, and she couldn’t figure out what it was, what if it concerned his safety or some secret of the Chen family? What should she do then? She felt Chen Xuan Yue should tell her. A ten-year-old child shouldn’t have to pretend so painstakingly.

Gu Jin Chao took an account book from the table, casually opened it, dipped her brush in ink to write, and smiled as she beckoned Chen Xuan Yue over: “Xuan Yue, little brother should go to sleep now… Would you like Auntie to test your knowledge of characters?”

Chen Xuan Yue hesitantly responded with an “Oh,” and obediently sat beside Gu Jin Chao.

But upon seeing the page open in the account book, his whole body went cold.

At the bottom of the account book, Gu Jin Chao had written only a few words: “Auntie will not harm you.”

Gu Jin Chao felt his small body stiffen, then closed the account book, sighing inwardly that it was just as she had expected. She had probably been deceived by this small child. Such acting ability—how deep and meticulous must his scheming be? This patience and strategy surpassed anyone else in the Chen family of his generation. Thinking about it now, everything seemed too coincidental. Even when Chen Xuan Yue escaped from the Second Household, how did he happen to hide in the Eight Trigrams Pavilion near Muxi Hall?

That was because, throughout the entire household, only Gu Jin Chao dared to confront Madam Qin, and for the sake of exposing Madam Qin, she would certainly help him. Besides her, no one else in the Chen family would help him. His feigned complaint to Old Madam Chen about being beaten was also meant to exploit the situation and truly frighten Madam Qin away. Even the dependency on her that Chen Xuan Yue had shown during this process was quite possibly aimed at finding himself a protector. Although Gu Jin Chao was not a particularly benevolent person, she would certainly not abandon a child who depended on her!

Under Madam Qin’s oppression, unable to resist, he could only devise such an escape plan, which was truly desperate.

Gu Jin Chao felt a chill in her heart, but also admiration for this child’s ability to endure humiliation for a greater purpose.

She stroked Chen Xuan Yue’s head and said softly, “Xuan Yue, Auntie doesn’t know what you’re thinking. But Auntie treats you well, not because she wants to use you to suppress Second Sister-in-law. How Auntie treats you, you surely can feel. If you have anything to say, you might as well tell Auntie… Even if I can’t help you, your Third Uncle can.”

Chen Xuan Yue lowered his eyelids, his delicate little face appearing even more solemn, with a maturity that was uncharacteristic of him.

His voice, however, sounded very helpless: “Auntie, the paper crane flew… I have to go back to the tutor’s class this afternoon. I’ll come back to play tomorrow.”

He slid off the luohan bed, grabbed his toys, and ran toward the door.

The paper crane flew? What did that mean?

Gu Jin Chao had put the paper crane that Chen Xuan Yue made for Chang Suo into a sachet and hung it at the head of the child’s small bed in the warm room.

Could there be something strange about that paper crane?

Gu Jin Chao thought for a moment, then asked Cai Fu to go to the warm room to untie the sachet. She opened it and took out the paper crane. The paper crane was made with Chengxin Hall paper, which was thicker than ordinary Xuan paper. She turned it over repeatedly but couldn’t see anything unusual… The paper crane flew?

Gu Jin Chao tried to imitate Chen Xuan Yue by pulling the tail of the paper crane to move its head, making it appear to fly.

All the maids and older women in the room found it strange to see the Third Madam engaging in such childish behavior.

But Chang Suo was attracted by this object and stared intently, following his mother’s movements.

With this flying motion, she indeed discovered something: under the wings of the paper crane, several small characters were faintly visible. When read together, they said, “Ten years of bitter struggle day and night, now feeling the gratitude for rescue and nurture.”

Gu Jin Chao’s heart trembled. She unfolded the paper crane, but the characters became too jumbled to make sense. Only by following Chen Xuan Yue’s instructions could she see the true meaning of this poem.

…Had he wanted to tell her all along? She just hadn’t paid attention!

Gu Jin Chao couldn’t help but smile. This child was truly too clever; if one wasn’t careful, one would be deceived by him. Having her look at the paper crane first was probably because he feared she would blame him for concealing the truth!

Chang Suo lay alone on the luohan bed, kicking his little legs. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he burst into tears with a loud “Wah.” Gu Jin Chao picked up Chang Suo and comforted him in her arms, but her mind was still on Chen Xuan Yue’s situation. Now that Madam Qin no longer posed a threat to him, why was he still being so cautious?

It seemed she would have to wait until tomorrow to ask him.

…

After summer arrived, various regions experienced floods and droughts, and disaster reports arrived in the capital like snowflakes. During the regular court session, Minister of Works Fan Hui presented a memorial about the flooding in Fengyang, where the Huai River had overflowed, affecting both the Huai and Ji regions. Fengyang had many imperial tombs, and Huai and Yang were key transport routes for the Grand Canal. Such disasters needed to be addressed promptly. Third Master Chen had spent the entire day in cabinet discussions. While managing floods and dredging was the responsibility of the Ministry of Works, comforting and providing relief to disaster victims was inevitably a matter for the Ministry of Revenue. Upon returning from the cabinet, he also consulted with two vice ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, first allocating 300,000 taels of snowflake-patterned silver and 50,000 shi of grain to be transported to Fengyang.

By the time he returned home, it was very late.

Third Master Chen alighted from his carriage, and Chen Yi took the cloak he removed.

After continuously hearing about the disaster and fearing that epidemics might break out amid the calamity, with residents along both banks of the Huai River now displaced, Third Master Chen also appeared somewhat weary.

He returned too late; Jin Chao was already asleep in bed. Chen Yan Yun looked at her, then went to the warm room to see the child. Night watchwoman Madam Zou, seeing Third Master Chen approach, hurriedly stood up and bowed. Chen Yan Yun waved his hand for her to sit down. The child was covered with a thin blanket, his small fists curled beside his head, sleeping soundly. He asked in a low voice, “How was the young master today?”

Madam Zou replied, “The young master fed well and slept well. In the afternoon, Madam held the young master to play for a while. The young master was very tired and has been sleeping until now…” As she spoke, she hastily raised her head, glanced at him, and quickly lowered her head again. She thought to herself that the Third Master was truly handsome and elegant, steady and scholarly, yet with an extraordinary bearing that made people unable to look directly at him.

Third Master Chen gave a sound of acknowledgment and returned to the inner chamber.

Gu Jin Chao had already been quietly awakened by Cai Fu and was sitting on the bed waiting for him to come.

“You should have kept sleeping. Why did you wake up?” Third Master Chen walked to her side and frowned when he saw she was awake. “Who called you to get up?”

“When it was the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) and you still hadn’t returned, I went to bed first. It’s so late now, you should have rested in the duty room at the cabinet instead of coming back…” Gu Jin Chao sat up to help him unfasten his court dress—the rhinoceros leather belt, the decorative insignia, and the ties of his right-lapelled robe.

Her hand was immediately pressed by Third Master Chen. He bent down to look into her eyes and said in a low, helpless tone, “Jin Chao, do you remember that we cannot share a bed for three months…”

Gu Jin Chao’s face reddened—where was his mind going? She was only helping him undress. “I’m just helping you change your clothes, knowing you must be tired. Isn’t that how I’ve always served you?”

“I know you didn’t mean that,” Chen Yan Yun smiled, seeming to want to say more but stopping himself.

He had abstained for half a year now, and even the occasional intimate moments had never led to him truly taking her. If she teased him further, it would be hard to say what might happen.

He straightened up and undid the ties himself, removing his court dress. Gu Jin Chao withdrew her hand and no longer helped him. In the candlelight, she noticed his tall stature, his firm and slender arms… She turned her face away and asked, “You’re returning so late. Is there some major issue?”

“Fengyang is flooded. There are many imperial tombs there, and it also affects the Grand Canal transport. So the disaster cannot be delayed. What’s more, Sizhou is at the confluence of the Yellow and Huai Rivers, and the flood waters are so turbulent that they’re extremely difficult to control…” Third Master Chen explained to her, then, thinking she might not be interested in these matters, asked her, “You started managing affairs today. How did it go? Did anyone give you a hard time?”

He lay down beside Gu Jin Chao, his body warm all over. Gu Jin Chao had always liked warmth, so she carefully extended her arm to hold his waist again, smiling and shaking her head: “How could people trained by Second Sister-in-law give me a hard time! There wasn’t much else to do; it will take a few days before I can fully take over…”

She was already drowsy and yawned as she rested her head against his shoulder. He gently held her in his arms: “If you want to sleep, then sleep quickly. I also need to rise early tomorrow.”

Gu Jin Chao looked up to see Third Master Chen’s chin and softly said to him, “Next time, if it’s too late, you shouldn’t come back!”

Not hearing Third Master Chen’s response, she repeated herself. After a long while, she felt him kiss her forehead and make a sound of acknowledgment. When he became still, Gu Jin Chao realized she hadn’t told him about Fourth Master Chen’s visit.

She didn’t want Fourth Master Chen to help her through the Yongchang Trading Company.

…

The next day, when she went to pay respects to Old Madam Chen, Old Madam Chen asked about the household management.

Gu Jin Chao smiled and answered, “…The two managers are very capable, and one can see Second Sister-in-law’s dedication.”

Madam Qin, sitting beside Old Madam Chen, massaging her wrists, smiled politely upon hearing this: “Although I promoted them, it’s because they are not foolish. If they were foolish, no amount of training would make them useful… If they do anything unsatisfactory, the Third Sister-in-law should just tell me!”

Old Madam Chen said gently, “Your Second Sister-in-law has managed for so many years and has plenty of experience. Feel free to ask her questions.”

A maid brought in breakfast: a dish of stir-fried pea shoots, crisp and tender pickles, yellow pancakes, and a bowl of white porridge. Old Madam Chen’s breakfast had always been very light. Gu Jin Chao attended to Old Madam Chen as she had her breakfast, then returned to Muxi Hall to wait for Chen Xuan Yue to come.