When Qinglan left the Shen Family residence, it was already deep into the night.
Han Yueqi, as was customary, accompanied her to her carriage, and then instructed the household Niangzi to find reliable gate attendants to escort her — ever since Wei Yushan had blocked her carriage that one time, she had been a little jumpy. The Shen Family’s gate attendants were well acquainted with the capital’s Jin Wu Guards, so not only did they have nothing to fear from the curfew, they could even hold their own against the Wei Family people should they encounter them. The Wei Family, in turn, would have to think twice before causing trouble.
Qinglan was not skilled with words, and kept feeling that she had not offered much comfort. Yet Han Yueqi only smiled warmly: “What’s the big deal? It barely amounts to anything — he only summoned a singing girl at a banquet, it’s not as if he brought her home. This is their family’s usual way of things. Even Madam Shen has been through it. Don’t worry about me — I’m not so fragile.”
Qinglan had no choice but to be seen off into the carriage. As luck would have it, once they turned out onto the street, she spotted another carriage returning — one bearing the Shen Family lantern. One look was enough to know it was Shen Yunze. No doubt even he felt he had no face to show Han Yueqi, and had slipped away, only returning late in the night.
If the street had not been wide enough, Qinglan truly would not have been willing to yield the way.
Yang Niangzi, reading her mood, smiled and tried to console her: “Young Miss, don’t be so rigid about it. In the great houses of the nobility, a husband having three wives and four concubines is perfectly ordinary. Who hasn’t lived through something like this? Since Miss Han herself is fine, there’s no need for you to worry so much.”
“That’s not how I see it,” Qinglan said.
But if that wasn’t how she saw it — then what was the right way to see it? The men of this world all craved novelty. Her own father, Lord Ye, was a prime example. To remember the bonds of marriage, to respect one’s principal wife — that was already considered admirable. Who could truly remain devoted to one person for an entire lifetime?
Yet the young women at the flower-season banquets — were they not all radiant beauties, with bright eyes full of longing as they married and became someone’s wife? Had any of them entered marriage hoping to wage war against concubines or elevate kept maids? And those women who seemed to have long since seen through it all — were they not once the same kind of girls themselves? Otherwise, why was it that when they watched a play’s leading characters fall deeply in love and swear undying vows never to betray one another, their eyes still reddened?
Han Yueqi had seen through it all early on, and had chosen to comply with her family’s decision — marrying Shen Yunze, a man she had met only twice at the flower-season banquets, as long as both parties were satisfied. This showed her good sense and maturity, but it was not a reason for her husband to disregard her true feelings.
Han Yueqi was Qinglan’s closest friend, bound to her like sisters by blood. If Lingbo were betrayed in such a way, Qinglan would not be able to swallow the sourness lodged in her chest either.
Han Yueqi had grown up alongside Qinglan from childhood. She had once been a girl of fourteen or fifteen, with a heart newly opened to love. She had once been a well-born young lady of distinguished bearing at the flower-season banquets. She had once lain awake in the deep of the night whispering about the future, quietly sketching in her mind the image of the man she would one day marry. She had once been wed in magnificent ceremony — phoenix coronet, rosy clouds — placing her whole life into a single man’s hands.
Even Qinglan was less mature than she was. The Ye sisters were all, to varying degrees, more resolute — having witnessed what had become of their own mother, they were far more particular when it came to matters of the heart. Beneath Qinglan’s gentle exterior burned an extremely fierce spirit; to this day, she still held a grudge over a single line Cui Jingyu had quoted: “Laughing, he entered the tavern of the foreign beauty.”
Han Yueqi was more accommodating than she was, and her marriage had not even been founded on love. Despite having followed her mother’s lead from an early age to learn how to manage a great household — learning to handle her husband the way one soothes a playful child, learning to be gentle and serene, virtuous and graceful, preparing a kept maid for him during her pregnancy, even elevating her most trusted handmaiden to be his concubine —
Shen Yunze had betrayed her nonetheless.
—
When Shen Yunze returned this time, he was still a bit sheepish.
Han Yueqi was embroidering beneath the lamp in the Sinking Fragrance Pavilion. When she heard him enter, she did not even look up, only said: “Tong Yun, attend to the Young Master and help him change his clothes.”
Tong Yun was Han Yueqi’s personal handmaiden who had accompanied her at marriage — slender and graceful by nature. She neither possessed Han Niangzi’s skill for managing the household, nor the alertness and efficiency of Bai Rui and Lv E, one of whom handled accounts and inventory while the other oversaw the servants. She had come along as a bridal attendant expressly intended to become a kept maid, and Han Yueqi had already elevated her early on to be Shen Yunze’s concubine. Yet Tong Yun remained utterly loyal, obeying Han Yueqi in all things, no different from when she had served in Han Yueqi’s own chamber.
Shen Yunze had also been raised in gold and jade from childhood. Though he was aware that his behavior the previous day had been improper, he could not bring himself to humble himself, and so the atmosphere was a little strained. He was wearing a crane-feathered cloak of snow-purple embroidered brocade lined with fox fur. Jade clasps of the mother-and-child style had recently become fashionable in the Hanlin Academy — beautiful, certainly, accenting the thick brocade and fur of winter with a clear, clean jade tone that gave an impression of refined elegance. But jade did not lend itself well to being made into clasps, especially the mother-and-child variety, and Tong Yun, working the fastenings, said: “The Young Master’s clasp has scraped away the embroidered crane pattern again.”
“Then take it off. I’ll mend it in a moment,” Han Yueqi said, rising to examine the collar of Shen Yunze’s garment. It was late, and she had already removed her cosmetics; her complexion was luminous as jade. With her eyes cast downward, she seemed more intimate and approachable. A faint fragrance of orchids drifted from her, and her cloud-like hair cascaded over her shoulders, trailing that same gentle scent. Shen Yunze breathed it in, and something in his heart stirred with quiet remorse.
Seeing Han Yueqi sit back down to her embroidery, he found a pretext to walk over to her, and said: “Why are you still embroidering at this late hour? Don’t you worry about straining your eyes?”
“My heart is unsettled. Embroidery helps me calm down,” Han Yueqi replied, her tone even, her usual composed and dignified manner unchanged, without a trace of complaint — which only made his heart soften all the more.
Han Niangzi brought in a bowl of bird’s nest congee simmered in fresh milk. Seeing Shen Yunze seated at the table with an expression of embarrassment, she decided to add a touch more pressure, saying: “It would have been fine if the Young Master had come home early yesterday evening. What a pity — the blood swallow’s nest simmered through the night was the most nourishing, and the Young Mistress selected each piece herself. After waiting an entire night, it could only go to waste. Today we only have silver thread swallow’s nest. The Young Master mustn’t mind.”
Shen Yunze, hearing this, felt even more ashamed. He watched as Han Yueqi made no move to seize the moment to reproach him, and instead reprimanded Yang Niangzi, saying: “Don’t say unnecessary things. When the Master has social engagements, it’s perfectly normal to return late. The food is a trivial matter — the Master’s official duties are what truly matter.”
She was nothing like the sheltered, tender-natured daughters of modest families that his colleagues at the Hanlin Academy had married. Those women, in the intimacy of their chambers, at most called their husbands “my lord.” But hearing those same words from Han Yueqi now, Shen Yunze felt his heart flood with warmth.
“It was my recklessness — I should have sent word back to Niangzi,” he admitted. “And I should not have stayed out through the night, causing Niangzi to worry.”
Han Yueqi’s expression at once melted like a river welcoming spring.
“Thank you for your understanding, my lord,” she said, smiling with her eyes as she looked at Shen Yunze, and gently took his hand. “Mother always said that husband and wife are one body. No one in this world wishes for your well-being more than I do. Whatever you do, I will support you — how much more so when it concerns official matters? Only, as you are presently serving in the Hanlin Academy, it is most important to maintain an unblemished conduct. Your intentions are pure and lofty, and you may be unaware that even among colleagues there are those who scheme and maneuver against one another. You may have fallen prey to someone’s calculation. It was also my negligence — I was so absorbed in managing the household that I forgot to pay attention to you.”
Her words floated lightly, yet carried deep meaning within them. Shen Yunze had assumed she merely wished to counsel him on his conduct; he had not expected her to strike directly at the heart of the matter.
Indeed — within the Hanlin Academy, there were rivalries stirred by competition for promotions. When she put it this way, the events of the previous day suddenly seemed full of suspicious points.
Han Yueqi, seeing his expression shift with recognition, knew that he had understood. She smiled brightly.
“Though the colleagues at the Hanlin Academy are good men, they are not as pure as the friends you studied with in your youth. As it happens, you have your ten-day rest day soon, and I shall have some free time as well. I was thinking — why not hold a gathering at home? Invite your old classmates, compose poems, drink wine, discuss literature. Our household has its own theater troupe; we could have them perform Southern melodies — refined and elegant, without straying from good taste.”
Shen Yunze’s eyes brightened at once.
“You are absolutely right. It was my oversight.”
Han Yueqi smiled faintly, her fingers lightly tracing the back of Shen Yunze’s hand. The outstanding talent, the top-ranked scholar of the palace examinations, the legitimate son raised by the Shen Family like gold and jade — though he had his many imperfections, as she and Qinglan had said to each other, life was like this. How could everything be perfect? As long as all things remained within her control, it was nothing to be troubled about.
Yang Niangzi, understanding the cue, withdrew with the other handmaidens. There was still Tong Yun to attend to them as they prepared for bed — but that is another matter.