Though the division of the dowry had been settled in principle, the actual written agreement and formal handover consumed the better part of an hour, dragged out by Concubine Su’s endless obstructions — one moment demanding a reckoning over whether a set of jade jewelry belonged to the household’s communal property or to Madam Meng personally, the next insisting that every single trunk and chest be opened and inspected. She made trouble without cease until even the Old Madam lost patience, and only then was everything finally transferred and concluded.

Ye Qinglan had her maid Chun Ming put the documents away safely, then brought her personal serving woman into the side chamber to find A’Cuo, Lingbo, and Yanyan waiting there. But the moment she stepped inside, Lin Niangzi pulled A’Cuo down into a full kneel before her.

“We thank you, Miss.” Lin Niangzi wept as she bowed. “Thank you, cousin Miss, for saving our young miss’s life. Madam watches over us from beyond, and she will surely bless you with good fortune and a long life.”

“Please, get up.” Ye Qinglan quickly helped them to their feet. Seeing that A’Cuo’s eyes were red as well, she smiled and touched the girl’s cheek gently, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You gave yourself quite a fright, didn’t you? It is all over now — everything has been resolved. No more crying.”

Lin Niangzi could only go on weeping.

“When Madam was on her last breath, this was the one thing she could not set her heart at rest about. She held my hand and said that if even half could be preserved, she would thank heaven and earth. Who could have imagined that cousin Miss would preserve seven tenths — no wonder Madam always said, of all the noble young ladies in the capital, none could compare to cousin Miss. In looks, in learning, in character and propriety, she would be the finest of all the Flower Festival Banquets — if only fate had not been so unkind, and delayed her until now…”

She clutched Ye Qinglan’s hand and wept, growing a little overwrought. Ye Lingbo was quick to react and stepped forward to draw her away, saying with a cold smile: “And the Meng family calls itself a distinguished household — raising a concubine like that, more shameless than the worst kind of street riffraff.”

“She has the Old Madam pressing down on her from above, and Master Meng is a faithless man. She has to fight for her own children’s futures. In a deep household like this, with no one to rely on — it is no wonder she seems so consumed by greed. She is merely a concubine struggling to survive. She is pitiable enough in her own way.” Ye Qinglan said mildly.

Her nature was generous, with the magnanimity of a true gentleman, and so she found reason to understand and excuse nearly everyone. Ye Lingbo was not at all the same — she had a sharp and cutting temperament, and hearing this, she neither believed it nor found it worthy of sympathy, only saying with disdain: “I don’t care what her reasons are. That face of hers was disgusting. All right, let us go. Is everything packed? Let’s not linger in this place a moment longer. And they call themselves a scholarly household — clawing at each other like mad roosters over a dowry. What a disagreeable business.”

Yanyan had been half-dozing through it all, but at that she blearily sat up: “Are we leaving? Without eating? I’ve been waiting and I’m starving.”

Ye Lingbo immediately flicked her on the forehead. “Dream on — the Meng family are so stingy they’d sooner make you pay them for the meal. It would be a wonder if they sent you off without charging you something. All right, all right, let’s go. A’Cuo, surely you’re not still reluctant to leave this place? If you are, we’ll just leave you behind.”

“Lingbo.” Ye Qinglan gave her a look of mild reproach. “A’Cuo startles easily — stop frightening her.”

A’Cuo’s eyes were still red, but her voice was firm: “I’m not frightened. I want to go with Elder Sister Qinglan.”

Ye Lingbo broke into a smile at that: “At least you know what’s good for you. All right, no more looking like you’re about to burst into tears — pack up your things and come with us. We’ll be just in time to get home for lunch.”

True to her word, she immediately set about directing the maids and serving women, organizing the trunks and luggage. The Meng household had already had everything packed — worried that Lin Niangzi might secretly slip extra things in for A’Cuo’s benefit, they had seen to it themselves. There was not much: everything fit into two carriages, and with the Ye family’s own carriage added, it was all loaded up.

When the time finally came to depart, the Old Madam made a show of noble family propriety after all, sending a serving woman to bid them stay — a senior attendant who delivered her message with all proper courtesy: “The Ancestress has already ordered the kitchen to prepare a banquet. Would the young misses honor us by staying for the midday meal?”

It was a polite formality, and Ye Qinglan replied in kind: “The Old Madam is too gracious — ordinarily one ought not to refuse. But we have matters at home still to attend to, so we must not impose further. We shall send A’Cuo to pay her respects another day and take her leave of the Old Madam properly.”

Another day — which of course meant not today. She was every inch the noble young lady, her courtesies flawless and impenetrable.

While Ye Qinglan was still pleasantly deflecting, Ye Lingbo had already ushered A’Cuo into the carriage and was calling from inside: “Sister, let us go — all this business with relatives can wait for another day. Getting home in time for our own lunch is what matters.”

One sister all smiles and grace, the other blunt and unyielding — between the two of them, they closed the chapter on the Meng family’s affairs entirely. The carriage passed through three sets of gates, and A’Cuo — who had never once left the Meng household since arriving in the capital — could not help feeling a little uneasy, her hands tightly clutching her handkerchief. Ye Lingbo noticed and was amused, nudging Ye Qinglan to look. Ye Qinglan gave her a reproachful glance, then reached over and took A’Cuo’s hands in her own, offering her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry.” Ye Lingbo finally relented and tried to comfort A’Cuo properly: “You have only just escaped from a fire pit and landed in a nest of blessings. With my sister here, you will never need to worry about anything — all you need to do is attend this year’s Flower Festival Banquets. Since Auntie entrusted you to us on her deathbed, we will treat you as a true sister. From now on, you and Yanyan are the same. But I will say the difficult thing upfront: our family’s sisters must be of one heart and mind. And the Ye household is no paradise — our mother is gone, and the household is managed by our stepmother. We three sisters have always been our own little family, looking out for each other, trusting each other with our lives. If you are going to join us, I will need your genuine sincerity in return. Do not go to the Flower Festival Banquets, see the rivalries and the scheming among the young ladies there, and come home having picked up those habits and turned cold to us. If that happens, I will not forgive you.”

“Lingbo.” Ye Qinglan saw the speech growing more and more forbidding and quickly cut in: “A’Cuo has only just come to our home today — saying all this will frighten her.”

But Ye Lingbo had always been utterly unrestrained, and besides, Ye Qinglan had a habit of indulging her two younger sisters and possessed an endlessly good temper, so Lingbo had no fear of her at all, and continued on: “I am setting the rules first and letting the affection come after, so there will be no misunderstandings later that damage what we have built. A’Cuo is a clever girl — she will understand.”

A’Cuo was indeed clever; though she appeared fragile, she said quietly: “I understand. Elder Sister Lingbo is saying this to me because she already considers me one of her own.”

Ye Lingbo broke into a genuine smile at that and reached out to ruffle her hair: “Good girl. The moment I saw you I could tell you were sharp — I was only afraid you might be the brooding type, the sort to keep things to yourself rather than tell us. I wanted to lay everything out for you plainly so you could see clearly. All right, that is enough frightening you for one day. Come, let me introduce you to my maids — this is Xiao Liu’er, and this is Yang Hua. Xiao Liu’er stays with me, and Yang Hua manages the household; her mother is our family’s head housekeeper, Yang Niangzi. If you ever need anything, just ask her.”

A’Cuo was quick-witted and pleasant-natured, and immediately said: “Sister Liu’er, Sister Hua.”

She had already met Qinglan’s maid Chun Ming, but Chun Ming was not in this carriage — only these two were, which told her they must be people of some importance. They said Qinglan was gentle and Lingbo was formidable — it was no surprise that her maids were formidable too.

As expected, both maids were bright and perceptive. Yang Hua was the quieter of the two and only replied with a single word: “You are too kind, Miss.” Xiao Liu’er was as quick-eyed and sharp as her mistress, and laughed: “Goodness, not at all — cousin Miss can call me Xiao Liu’er, just like our own young miss does.”

Having greeted A’Cuo, Xiao Liu’er went on to offer a review of the Meng household’s conduct: “Eldest Miss, the Meng family were quite reasonable today, all things considered. Our young miss had said that if they tried to take the Madam’s dowry outright, she would have to resort to ‘extraordinary measures!’ Fortunately it never came to that — they had the good sense to back down.”

Ye Qinglan laughed at that: “What ‘extraordinary measures’?”

Ye Lingbo waved a hand to stop Xiao Liu’er from elaborating and changed the subject: “Of course they had the good sense to back down. They would not have dared to do otherwise. They were afraid of jeopardizing Meng Yun Cui’s prospects at this year’s Flower Festival Banquets. You have not yet heard, have you — this year’s banquets will have a number of very notable guests in attendance.”

She spoke in her characteristic layered fashion, vivid but veiled, saying one thing while concealing another beneath. A’Cuo caught something in her manner — the way she seemed to be watching Qinglan’s expression when she mentioned these “notable guests,” though perhaps it was only her imagination.

Xiao Liu’er, however, did not grasp that layer at all, and immediately chimed in: “The young miss must mean the return of the Northern Garrison army to the capital for their conferment of honors. Word has it that a group of young officers who have distinguished themselves in battle are coming back — some of them are to be ennobled as marquises! This year’s Flower Festival Banquets will be extraordinarily rich in outstanding young men, the likes of which come along perhaps once in a decade, and that is precisely why the Meng family was so afraid of missing them this year…”

She had not finished her sentence when Ye Lingbo pinched her sharply. Xiao Liu’er understood at once, snapped her mouth shut, and her eyes moved involuntarily toward Ye Qinglan.

A’Cuo did not understand the full significance of what had been said, but seeing how tense Xiao Liu’er suddenly was, she knew there must be something beneath the surface, and she too found herself quietly studying Ye Qinglan.

Ye Qinglan’s expression, however, was utterly composed. She simply gazed quietly out through the mica pane of the carriage window. The pale winter sunlight fell softly across her face — smooth and luminous as jade. She was twenty-three, an age that would have raised eyebrows among the capital’s unmarried young ladies, yet there was not a trace of agitation about her; only a quality of stillness, like a carved bodhisattva in a temple, as though she had made peace with everything.

Such a flower-like age, yet such a removed and serene composure — it felt like an ill omen somehow. A’Cuo had witnessed the last days of her own adoptive mother and understood all too well that this kind of seeing-through-everything was not a good sign.

A hush fell over the carriage. Everyone grew quiet. A’Cuo did not dare break the silence. As Lingbo had said, she was the brooding sort — and she had taken in both Qinglan’s tranquility and Lingbo’s worry, storing them away in her heart.

But she had forgotten that there was still one more young miss in the carriage.

“The Northern Garrison army is back — does that mean Elder Brother Cui Jingyu will be coming back too!” Yanyan suddenly sat up straight, her face lighting up with delight. “Then he and Elder Sister Qinglan’s matter…”

She did not finish the sentence — Ye Lingbo had already given her a vicious pinch. One could see just how sheltered these two elder sisters had kept her all her life, leaving her almost entirely guileless. She had been pinched, and she still had not caught on — only complained: “Why are you pinching me? I was telling the truth. Why won’t you let me say it?”

Ye Lingbo was so furious she was practically seething, and pinched her several more times for good measure. Yanyan yelped and scrambled to hide behind Ye Qinglan: “Sister, look at her — she hit me again…”

“I ought to pinch you to death. You really are as dense as a pig.” Ye Lingbo was so incensed she tried to reach around Ye Qinglan to get at her.

“All right.” Ye Qinglan only gave a quiet smile and stepped between them. “Pinching her more will not make her understand. Let it go.”

One sentence was enough to make Ye Lingbo stand down. She sank back into her seat, deflated: “Let you be a fool, then.”

Ye Qinglan gently patted Yanyan to soothe her. Yanyan immediately held up the red mark to show her, and Ye Qinglan, being unfailingly patient, blew on it softly. Then she noticed A’Cuo covertly watching her, and smiled.

“It is nothing — the two of them carry on like this all the time. Lingbo’s temper runs hot, but she rarely actually strikes anyone.” She explained with a smile, as though worried A’Cuo might get the wrong impression.

“She struck me today, all the same.” Yanyan immediately lodged her complaint. “What on earth came over her — she hit so hard.”

Ye Lingbo’s hand shot out again, and Yanyan flinched backward in a hurry.

“She hit you — and she had her reasons.” Ye Qinglan said. She glanced at A’Cuo, her expression calm and composed, and smiled: “Would A’Cuo like to know why?”

A’Cuo shook her head immediately.

She knew it could not be anything light or simple — otherwise Ye Qinglan would not be wearing an expression she had not once shown, even in the Meng household.

“Look at her, then look at yourself. You deserve to be a fool forever.” Ye Lingbo muttered at Yanyan again.

“When have I ever been a fool?” Yanyan said, unconvinced. “It is only about Elder Brother Jingyu…”

“And you say it again.” Ye Lingbo’s brow shot up.

Ye Qinglan laughed.

“All right.” She said lightly. “We have already come this far — there is no reason to keep dancing around it. A’Cuo is not an outsider in any case. Auntie did not tell her, but only to spare me embarrassment.”

Ye Lingbo’s eyes went wide in alarm, and she moved to stop her — but Ye Qinglan had already spoken with perfect calm.

“Among the officers of the Northern Garrison army returning to the capital, there is one who was once betrothed to me. I was the one who broke off the engagement. The two families have had no dealings since — it has been four years now. As for his return this time…”

“He is to be made a marquis.” Ye Lingbo said.

She would not allow anyone else to say it — she had silenced them at every turn — but now that Ye Qinglan herself had brought it up, though Lingbo’s eyes were sharp as ice, she felt compelled to add the critical detail.

Something shifted in Ye Qinglan’s expression, just barely.

“Is that so?” Her voice was very soft, like the echo of an old dream. “Then that is a fine thing indeed.”

Ye Lingbo pressed her lips together, as though swallowing something sharp that had tried to surface, or perhaps trying to push it back down.

“Of the three men being newly ennobled as marquises from the Northern Garrison army, he is the only one still unmarried. Meng Yun Cui of the Meng family, Lu Wanyang of the Lu family, Chen Mengliu of the Chen family, and several noble young ladies from the imperial clan — all of this year’s Flower Festival Banquets are converging on him.” She spoke in an even tone. “Cui Jingyu is set to become the most sought-after prize of this year’s banquets.”

Ye Qinglan looked as though she were about to smile — and then in the end, she did not.

“In that case…” She spoke those words, then went quiet for a long while, before saying suddenly: “Let us have the Eight Treasures Feast.”

“What?” Ye Lingbo did not follow, and even A’Cuo could not help asking.

Ye Qinglan smiled — as though the conversation of a moment ago had never taken place at all.

“I mean that we happen to have some very fine winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms at home right now. Bamboo shoots are delicate in flavor — not a good pairing with fish — so let us make the Lu Family Eight Treasures Feast. The name is auspicious, and it pairs beautifully with bamboo shoots and mushrooms. We can all have a warm, lively meal together and give A’Cuo a proper welcome at the same time. Would that not be lovely?”

Ye Lingbo looked as though she wanted to say something — but in the end said nothing at all. She only reached out and took Ye Qinglan’s hand in hers.

“All right,” she said.