“Third Sister is showing favoritism.” Shi Ting voiced his complaint from the side. “Not a word of concern about my bridal gifts — and yet here you are, already asking after Yan Qing’s trousseau.”

“Your bridal gifts are being handled by First Madam and Mother. Why would I need to worry about that?”

Yan Qing laughed softly. “Third Sister, don’t mind him — he’s just looking for attention.”

“Yes, exactly. Let’s ignore him.”

Shi Ting gave a resigned sigh. “Third Sister, she isn’t even married into the family yet, and you’re already taking her side. In the future, the two of you will be united against me.”

Listening to the three of them banter, Shi Guang felt utterly out of place. When he looked at Yan Qing — her eyes curved with laughter, glancing occasionally toward Shi Ting with an unmistakable warmth — the sight lodged itself like a thorn.

He thought of the cool, guarded expression she always wore when she looked at him. The easy happiness of this moment was deeply unsettling to behold. That smile, he thought — it should have been his.

“Here I am, talking away and forgetting all about lunch.” Shi Xin said: “Neither of you has eaten either, I presume? The kitchen has just finished preparing the meal — come, let’s all sit down together.”

Liu Huan was not at home. At the table sat only the three Shi siblings and Yan Qing.

“Third Sister, you’re only about a month away from your due date now, aren’t you?” Yan Qing noted that Shi Xin’s belly had grown considerably and that she now relied on her maid’s support to walk.

“That’s right.” Shi Xin touched her abdomen with a happy smile. “Around the end of December — the doctor has just taken my pulse.”

Then she turned to Shi Guang: “Second Brother, you and your wife should pick up the pace as well. First Madam has been counting the days until she can hold a grandchild.”

At the mention of Yan Qin, a wave of revulsion moved through Shi Guang. He glanced toward Yan Qing involuntarily.

Yan Qing met his gaze without flinching, her expression calm and open: “Brother-in-law, how is my Fifth Sister? She hasn’t returned to the family home since the wedding, and we’ve had no news of her. We heard she had been unwell recently — has she recovered?”

The word “brother-in-law” came out warmly, yet carried an unmistakable distance. Those two clear syllables sent a tide of emotion crashing through Shi Guang, leaving an unsettling ache in their wake.

“Yan Qin is doing well. No need to worry.”

“That’s a relief.”

Yan Qing turned back to Shi Ting and spoke to him in quiet, easy tones. At one point, something made her laugh — she raised a hand to cover her smile — and the delight in her eyes was open and unguarded. To Shi Guang, watching from across the table, the sight was deeply painful.

The servants began bringing dishes to the table one after another. Shi Guang noticed a steamed sea bass among them — knowing it was Yan Qing’s favorite, he lifted his chopsticks to transfer a piece from the choicest, most bone-free section toward her bowl. But Shi Ting was already a step ahead.

He lifted the fish into his own bowl first, removed two fine bones with careful precision, and then transferred it to Yan Qing.

Shi Xin laughed: “Yan Qing, this is the first time I’ve ever seen Xingzhi be so attentive. Thanks to you, I’ve glimpsed a side of him I never knew existed.”

Yan Qing looked a little flustered and quickly placed a piece of fish in Shi Xin’s bowl: “Third Sister, please have some fish.”

“Weizhi, don’t just sit there — eat.” Shi Xin gestured toward the fish dish. “We’re family — no need to stand on ceremony.”

Shi Guang managed a strained smile. “Of course.”

After the meal, Shi Guang rose and excused himself quickly. Had he known today that Yan Qing and Shi Ting would be here, he would never have set foot inside the Liu Mansion.

That feeling stayed with him all the way back to his own quarters, where a shadow still hung over his face.

“Second Young Master, who has made you unhappy?” Qiu Cao hurried forward to greet him, helping him out of his coat.

Shi Guang sank into a chair and poured himself a cup of tea, drinking it down in one go.

Perhaps what one cannot have always seems most desirable. If he had never seen Yan Qing again, she might have gradually faded from his mind — but having encountered her today, he found she was more beautiful than before, more elegant, more captivating than ever. Her every smile, her every expression was seared into his memory, and with the passage of time, rather than fading, the images only grew sharper.

Looking now at Qiu Cao standing before him — her face caked in powder and rouge, her expression all fawning servility — the contrast was stark beyond measure.

“Second Young Master, the First Madam came by earlier.”

Shi Guang’s tone was cool: “What did Mother come here for?”

“It seems the Second Young Mistress committed another offense. She is currently kneeling in the Citang as punishment.”

As for Yan Qin being punished every few days — Shi Guang had long since stopped caring. As far as he was concerned, that woman could wither away in her own courtyard for all it mattered.

“What did she do this time?”

Qiu Cao seemed to hesitate, swallowing her words back and forth before finally venturing: “Second Young Master, please promise you won’t be angry first.”

“Just say it. Stop stalling.”

“Yes, yes.” Qiu Cao said, a little aggrieved: “I only just found out today why the Second Young Mistress was so unwilling to marry the Second Young Master.”

“Why?”

“Because when the Second Young Mistress was still a daughter of the Yan Family, she was secretly in love with the Seventh Young Master.”

“The seventh?”

Qiu Cao said: “The Second Young Mistress really doesn’t know what’s good for her. The Second Young Master is so far above the Seventh Young Master in both power and standing — she simply doesn’t know her own fortune.”

“She was in love with the seventh?” Shi Guang frowned. “Was what she did today also related to him?”

“The Second Young Mistress went and lingered outside the Seventh Young Master’s courtyard gate first thing this morning — and even tried to force her way in past the attendant’s protests.”

“What did she go to find him for?”

“The Second Young Mistress knitted a scarf and wanted to give it to the Seventh Young Master.” Qiu Cao watched Shi Guang’s face carefully, braced for an explosion of fury at having such an enormous scandal dropped in his lap.

Contrary to expectation, however, Shi Guang showed little reaction. He simply reached for the teapot and poured himself another cup without any urgency.

“Second Young Master, please don’t be angry. The First Madam has already punished her — she won’t dare do it again.”

Shi Guang drank his tea, then stood up. “Go and prepare some food. We’re going to see the Second Young Mistress.”

“What?” Qiu Cao had braced herself for an outburst — she had never expected him to do the complete opposite and go to check on her.

“Why are you still standing there? Go and prepare it.”

With no choice, Qiu Cao went to arrange the food.

When it was ready and brought to the entrance of the Citang, Shi Guang took the tray from her hands. “You don’t need to come in.”

He pushed the door open. The Citang was wrapped in a haze of incense smoke. The ancestral tablets were enshrined in the center, and thin wisps of smoke drifted upward from the offering table in stillness and silence.

Shi Guang found Yan Qin lying on a prayer cushion, fast asleep.

“Yan Qin.” Shi Guang set the food down in front of her.

Yan Qin startled awake. When she saw it was Shi Guang, she gave a cold scoff: “What do you want? Come to poison me with this meal?”

“Let’s talk.” Shi Guang sat down on another prayer cushion across from her.

“What is there to talk about? If you find me unbearable, just hand me a letter of divorce and send me back to my family. At least then we won’t have to keep making each other miserable.”

“You’re in love with Shi Ting?”

Yan Qin blinked at the directness of it — but after making such a spectacle of herself today, she had nothing left to conceal. She lifted her chin: “That’s right. I’ve had feelings for him for a long time. If your mother hadn’t insisted on marrying me into your family, would I have ended up like this?”

“Shi Ting and Yan Qing are getting married soon. Are you aware of that?”

“Of course I am.” Yan Qin seethed at the thought, indignation rising through her. “Yan Qing, that scheming woman — always finding ways to get closer to Director Shi, and now she’s finally gotten what she wanted.”

“As long as she hasn’t actually entered the Shi household yet, the marriage isn’t final.” A cold smile played at the corners of Shi Guang’s mouth. “Tell me — what would it take to prevent Yan Qing from marrying into the family?”

“How should I know?”

“If Yan Qing were to be entangled with another man — compromised, her reputation ruined — do you think the Shi Family would still allow Shi Ting to marry her?”

Yan Qin’s eyes lit up. “Do you have a plan?”

“I have no way into the Yan household directly — but you are a daughter of the Yan Family. You have means of your own, don’t you?”

“Naturally.”

“Go back to your family home tomorrow. Find someone trustworthy to keep close watch on her every movement — report everything back to me, no matter how small. I’ll handle the rest.”

Yan Qin’s eyes shifted. “Fair enough. But why are you so set on preventing Yan Qing from marrying into the family?”

“For the same reason you love Shi Ting — I love Yan Qing, and I refuse to let her marry anyone but me.”

“Then what do I get out of it?”

“There’s no particular benefit for you — you’re already married to me, after all, and even if I divorced you, you’d have no hope of marrying Shi Ting. But I give you my word: as long as you don’t wish it, I won’t touch you. And I’ll convince Mother to stop giving you trouble — provided you don’t push things too far.”

“Is that a promise?”

“It is.”

“Fine. Deal.” Yan Qin let out a cold laugh. “I hope you don’t disappoint me.”

Shi Guang rose from the prayer cushion and brushed the dust from his clothes. “Make do for tonight — I’ll have Mother release you first thing tomorrow.”

He walked toward the door, then paused: “That scarf you knitted for Shi Ting — where is it?”

“In my room.”

“Give it to me. I’ll deliver it to Shi Ting for you.”

“Really? Then thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. We help each other.”

Shi Guang turned away, and the corner of his lips curved — a slow, cold smile.

~

By the time Yan Qing returned to the Yan Mansion, Jing Zhi and Murong had already received word. Seeing her walk in as if nothing at all had happened, both of them finally exhaled in relief.

“Jing Zhi, teach me how to knit this scarf — I’ve been waiting long enough.” Yan Qing was eager to get started. She had already bought the yarn, but the unexpected events had thrown everything off course.

Jing Zhi giggled. “Don’t rush, Miss. The rabbit fur has to be blended into the yarn first — that’s a painstaking process, and if it isn’t done right, the fur will shed and ruin the look.”

Yan Qing had spent her career handling scalpels. In the examination room, her hands were exceptionally skilled — but for a woman of her era, needlework was not something many had ever learned. She had never even held a sewing needle.

Previously, when Jing Zhi had tried to teach her to embroider bamboo, she had spent half a month managing to produce one lopsided, crooked stalk — and then the handkerchief she had embroidered it on had gone missing.

Hearing Jing Zhi explain the process now, she felt her enthusiasm deflate a little, and regretted buying the rabbit fur to work in.

“Don’t lose heart, Miss.” Jing Zhi noticed her hesitation. “Murong and I will blend the rabbit fur and the yarn together — you just do the actual knitting. That way the scarf is still made by your own hands, and Director Shi certainly won’t complain.”

“All right, let’s do it that way.” As the saying goes, don’t attempt fine craftsmanship without the proper tools. Yan Qing was not one to force herself into tasks she couldn’t manage well — if the scarf turned out to shed fur constantly, that would be quite mortifying.

“Miss, I just heard some news — Fifth Miss is coming back tomorrow.” Murong carried a basin of water in and set it on the stool.