Xu Lingyi then tested Xu Siyu on several more questions, which he answered fluently.

The look of gratification in Xu Lingyi’s eyes deepened. He gave a few words of instruction along the lines of “apply yourself to your studies.”

Xu Siyu acknowledged each one in turn.

Eleventh Miss took the opportunity to observe the expressions on Qin Yiniang and Qiao Lianfang’s faces.

The former watched the father and son with a simple, good-natured smile. The latter sat with downcast eyes and rigid posture, her manner seeming rather stiff.

She then thought of the fawning Wen Yiniang… and the quietly watchful self.

Suddenly she found the whole scene rather absurd.

It appeared lively and full of animation, yet everyone harbored their own thoughts.

The thought flashed through her mind, and she could not help glancing over at Xu Lingyi.

In the bright lamplight, his profile — expression intent — held the quiet restraint and steadiness of a mature man.

To speak plainly, Xu Lingyi was a rarely seen handsome man. His features were striking, his bearing composed, and he inspired a sense of security — the feeling that here was someone willing to shoulder anything. Surely this had something to do with why she had not been averse to him from the very beginning. A man of such distinction, with an enviable status and position — if she had been Qiao Lianfang’s age, she too would have been moved, wouldn’t she?

She was letting her thoughts wander, and her gaze drifted involuntarily toward Qiao Lianfang.

Then she felt a gaze like a sharp blade — keen and suffused with cold — directed straight at her.

Eleventh Miss suddenly realized: Qiao Lianfang had been watching her all along!

Yet before she could look up to meet it, Qiao Lianfang had already resumed her demure pose, eyes downcast and posture correct, not a trace visible of the look she had been directing at Eleventh Miss.

Eleventh Miss could not help but laugh bitterly to herself.

Everything had come to pass just as Yuan Niang had wished…

She gave a quiet sigh deep in her heart, then heard Xu Lingyi saying to Xu Siyu: “…It’s getting late. You should also go back and rest properly. You still have lessons tomorrow.”

Xu Siyu, Qin Yiniang, and Qiao Lianfang all rose to their feet.

Eleventh Miss glanced at Hupo.

Hupo immediately tiptoed over to lift the door curtain for them.

“…I will not keep Father and Mother from their rest. I take my leave.” Xu Siyu bowed respectfully to both Xu Lingyi and Eleventh Miss.

Qin Yiniang also said briefly: “Your servant takes her leave.”

Eleventh Miss inclined her head and said softly: “Take care on the way.”

Qiao Lianfang said nothing, and simply withdrew along with Xu Siyu and Qin Yiniang.

Hupo saw the three of them to the door.

Xu Lingyi’s mood had clearly improved considerably from before. He had Eleventh Miss call for Chun Mo and Xia Yi to attend to his bath: “…There is morning court tomorrow.”

Eleventh Miss was rather taken aback.

Had he not been said to have the foot ailment?

She had assumed Xu Lingyi would be resting at home for some time!

But she said nothing.

When one has not yet fully trusted another, one is always selective in what one shares. Xu Lingyi was this way with her — and she herself was the same way with Hupo and Dongqing.

She smiled and said “yes,” called for Chun Mo and Xia Yi, then went herself to the eastern side chamber, where she had Binju help her remove the hairpins and ornaments from her head: “…They were all gifts from the Grand Madam — be careful not to damage any of them!”

Before coming to the Xu household, she had redistributed the duties among her maids.

Hupo had been formally appointed as the head attendant. Dongqing was responsible for managing the maids, matrons, and maidservants on night duty in her chambers. Binju was in charge of jewels, clothing, monthly allowances, and trousseau items. Zhuxiang handled food and laundry — both of which required dealing with people from the Xu household. Zhuxiang spoke little but was sharp-minded, and was best suited for this.

Binju looked at those hairpins and ornaments with a face full of smiles — the Grand Madam truly was good to Madam.

She carefully removed the hairpins from Eleventh Miss’s hair one by one.

On the second morning after the wedding, when they went to pay their respects to the Grand Madam, she had given Eleventh Miss a carved red lacquer box decorated with birds and flowers. It had been very heavy to the touch, and she had immediately sensed the contents were precious. Since Third Madam had been present, she had at once handed it to Binju to put away. On the day of the return visit to her parents’ home, she had opened it and found it full of exceedingly rare gemstone-inlaid jewelry. One must show honor to one’s maternal family while at the in-laws’, and honor the in-laws’ family while at one’s maternal home — much like looking after one’s subordinates in front of superiors, while defending a superior’s dignity in front of subordinates. She had immediately changed into the jewelry the Grand Madam had given her.

A look of faint satisfaction had appeared in Xu Lingyi’s eyes.

Eleventh Miss spoke quietly to Binju: “Put everything away with care — not a single piece must be lost.”

They were said to have been given to her, yet she could neither sell them nor have them recast. It was more accurate to say they were on loan to her. Losing borrowed items was never a good thing…

Binju smiled: “Madam need not worry. I will be most careful. The Grand Madam gave them especially — if they were lost, it would wound all of the Grand Madam’s good intentions.”

While the two were still talking, Hupo came in.

Binju fell silent at once, deftly finished tidying everything away, and withdrew.

Hupo directed the junior maids to bring in hot water, and attended to Eleventh Miss’s bath.

Soaking in the pine wood tub scattered with rose water, breathing in the elegant pine wood fragrance and the rich scent of roses, she felt as though she had stepped into the embrace of nature itself, and was filled with a wonderful freshness. She drew in a long, deep breath and felt all the day’s fatigue simply dissolve.

This, too, was one of the advantages of having married Xu Lingyi — when the trousseau was being prepared, the Xu household had sent powders and rouge to be used on the wedding day, among which were two bottles of fragrant water: one rose, one jasmine.

Perhaps one of these days she would ask if there were other fragrances — or perhaps she could try distilling some herself. Did not the Xu household’s rear garden have an abundance of flowers? The Lijing Pavilion in particular was said to be ablaze with color all four seasons, a riot of blooms. She thought of the flowers and plants she had seen the first time she visited the Grand Madam’s courtyard. The Xu household surely had a dedicated greenhouse, and servants who were skilled in cultivation…

Thinking of this, she felt a little eager to try.

Like all young women, Eleventh Miss was very fond of flowers and plants. Even in her former busy working life, she had still grown a gardenia on her balcony.

Tomorrow, Xu Lingyi would not be home, would he? This was a perfect opportunity to take a look at the surroundings and then make the home more to her liking. Filling every surface with jade and stone ornaments was opulent enough, yet always felt a little rigid.

Still, since they were both living here together, it was better to mention it to Xu Lingyi in advance.

Though she thought this, Eleventh Miss had a faint sense that Xu Lingyi would not fuss over her about such things.

Was this not yet another advantage of having married Xu Lingyi?

Eleventh Miss could not help but let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh.

Was it not said that a marriage had to be tended by both parties? With how she was approaching things, did this count as tending her marriage? Somehow it felt less like tending her marriage and more like tending her own freedom…

In that moment, her spirits were better than they had been in a very long time.

“Hupo, have you noticed anything?” Eleventh Miss asked with a smile.

Hupo, seeing Eleventh Miss in such good spirits, hesitated for a moment nonetheless.

“What is it?” Eleventh Miss asked her.

“After leaving here, Qiao Yiniang went straight back to her courtyard. Qin Yiniang sent Second Young Master to the door first, then returned to her own courtyard.” Hupo mused, “However, not long after Qin Yiniang returned, a maid from Wen Yiniang’s side came over to Qin Yiniang’s quarters carrying some items.”

That Wen Yiniang — truly not a moment’s peace!

Feeling the water had grown a little cold, Eleventh Miss rose and dried herself. Hupo attended to her as she dressed.

“The courtyard we live in is actually divided into eastern and western side courtyards.”

Eleventh Miss did not immediately follow.

Hupo lowered her voice: “We are in the western side courtyard. There is also an eastern side courtyard. The three Yiniangs all live in the eastern side courtyard. The three courtyards are arranged one after the other. Wen Yiniang lives at the southernmost end, Qin Yiniang at the northernmost end, and Qiao Yiniang is in the middle.”

Eleventh Miss was somewhat taken aback.

She had been very busy these past two days and had had neither the time nor the opportunity to take notice of where the Yiniangs lived.

“Did they just move in, or have they been there all along?” she pondered.

“They’ve been there all along,” Hupo replied. “Apparently there was supposed to be another courtyard behind Qin Yiniang’s, but when Second Young Master was small, the Grand Madam decided to have that courtyard merged into Qin Yiniang’s, making it three courtyards in total. As a result, the front two courtyards are each single-entry, while only Qin Yiniang’s courtyard is a two-entry compound. After Second Young Master moved to the outer residence to live on his own last year, Qin Yiniang has been living there alone.”

In the eyes of others, whether it was Qin Yiniang or Qiao Lianfang, both belonged to Xu Lingyi — they were part of the same household and therefore housed in the same compound. Yet Yuan Niang had moved to the courtyard beside Xu Lingkuan’s… was it because she had been ill? Or was there some other reason?

Hupo finished drying her hair for her, and Eleventh Miss returned to the inner chamber.

Xu Lingyi had already retired to bed, and as before, had left half the bed for her.

Eleventh Miss blew out the lamp and lay down, and began silently counting sheep in her mind.

The person beside her, however, kept turning over, one side then the other, like a pancake being flipped.

This person had to reach the Noon Gate before the hour of Yin — that is, before three in the morning — and would need to rise at least an hour before that. As his wife, she would need to be up even earlier, to prepare his morning meal and help him dress… and after he left, she would still need to go and pay her respects to the Grand Madam.

“Marquis,” she called softly.

“Mm!” he replied absently.

“I cannot sleep.” Eleventh Miss rustled as she sat up. “I was thinking of reading a few pages…”

It was probably his tossing that was keeping her from sleeping well.

But he was truly feeling wretched inside.

Particularly after seeing Xu Sijie so timid and cowardly, and Xu Siyu so intelligent and composed. For some reason, his thoughts suddenly turned to the Fifth Imperial Prince who had taken his own life. Once, drunk, standing at the Wanchun Pavilion on Jing Shan, looking out over the terrace and towers below, the prince had wept: “…I surpass him in every way — yet simply because his birth is better than mine, he beats me a hundredfold, a thousandfold, can cast me down to the dust and leave me with no way back!”

Later, during the witchcraft and cursing case, everyone had known perfectly well it could not have been the Crown Prince — yet not a single imperial prince had stepped forward to say a word in the Crown Prince’s defense.

When he thought of all this, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep, a bitterness like bile in his mouth.

“I’ve been disturbing you, haven’t I,” Xu Lingyi’s voice carried a note of desolation. “Go sleep in the warm side chamber.”

Why should I be the one to go sleep in the side chamber? And not you?

Eleventh Miss could not help but mutter this to herself.

Now she had truly seen what real male privilege looked like.

“Not at all,” she said with a smile. “I very much want to sleep, but for some reason simply cannot. So I thought I’d read.”

“Probably too exhausted,” Xu Lingyi replied distractedly. He raised no objection, and so Eleventh Miss put on her outer robe, got out of bed, lit a lamp, took the copy of A Geographical Record of the Great Zhou from the low table on the large kang in the inner chamber, then burrowed back into the covers and propped herself against the large resting pillow to read.

Her silhouette happened to block the lamplight from falling directly on Xu Lingyi’s head, and he found he was not bothered by the light.

After a while, Eleventh Miss asked him: “Marquis, where are the Miao borderlands?”

“Why do you ask about that?” Xu Lingyi’s voice, perhaps because he was lying down, had shed its earlier alertness, and now carried an unguarded drowsiness. Combined with his deep, resonant tone, it gave a mellow, warm feeling.

Eleventh Miss smiled softly: “I heard you once fought a campaign there? But the book says nothing about where the Miao borderlands are.”

—