Now that her mother-in-law had laid everything bare, Madam Chang Hu finally felt embarrassed. She straightened her posture and fell silent. Nanny Chang shot her another glare, then slowly continued: “When my short-lived wretch of a son passed away, it was Ye’er who sent people to escort us — it was only thanks to that protection that we dared bring the coffin back to our hometown and put Nian’s father to rest in the earth where he belonged.”

Her voice broke as she spoke, and her eyes reddened. Minglan quickly offered comfort: “Nanny, please don’t grieve — your health is what matters most. Elder Sister Chang and the children still depend on you.” Chang Yan and Chang Nian also came forward from either side to offer a few words of consolation.

“Look at me — I’ve quite embarrassed myself in front of Madam.” Nanny Chang collected herself and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, smiling ruefully.

At this moment, Nanny Hua arrived, leading Rong Jie’er along with her.

“Rong Jie’er, look who has come!” Minglan smiled. “Come now — greet Nanny.”

Rong Jie’er was dressed in a sheer jacket of pale red, pearlescent silk satin, which made her small face appear as tender and pale as fresh soft tofu. She took in the Chang family — scanning from Nanny Chang to the Chang siblings — then gave a respectful bow and said in a low voice, “Greetings, Nanny.”

Nanny Chang’s expression was complex — something between pity and a trace of aversion — her eyes shifting back and forth several times before she finally said: “You…you’ve grown so much. You look fair-complexioned and well, too. This is very good.”

Rong Jie’er looked up at Minglan, opened her mouth, and then said nothing after all.

Nanny Chang looked at Minglan and said plainly: “It is Rong Jie’er’s great good fortune to have encountered Madam. She has a very stubborn temperament — Madam need not take it too much to heart. Simply teach what ought to be taught and say what ought to be said.”

Minglan nodded but said nothing, and simply directed Rong Jie’er to go sit to one side. Nanny Chang watched her for a moment, then turned back to Minglan and said with a smile, “We have been talking for quite a while now, and I haven’t even thought to ask — how is Madam getting on? And how is Ye’er?”

In Nanny Chang’s face Minglan could see a truly deep and heartfelt concern, and she was moved by it. She answered warmly: “All is well. I am still learning my way as I begin to manage the household — there is a great deal to pick up. As for the master — he is kept busy with official matters, but he is in good spirits.”

Nanny Chang heard the sincerity in Minglan’s words and her wrinkled face crinkled up into a smile. “That is good — that is so good. I have always said that Ye’er was destined for great things. One day he would certainly bring honor to his ancestors!”

Minglan’s gaze drifted to the younger ones seated further down the room. She saw that Chang Yan had taken a seat beside Rong Jie’er and was speaking to her quietly, while Chang Nian sat with perfect composure, listening attentively to the adults’ conversation. Minglan smiled and asked, “We have been talking for quite some time — I haven’t yet asked about Miss Yan and Young Master Nian. What do they occupy themselves with these days?”

Nanny Chang glanced at her grandchildren and smiled. “Yan is only a girl — she can read a few characters and do some needlework, and in time she’ll marry into a decent family, and that will be that. But my Nian — he is studying now.”

Minglan turned her eyes toward Chang Nian. Seeing the adults had turned the conversation to him, Chang Nian rose to his feet and stood attentively. Minglan studied this young boy, then asked by way of testing him with a light-hearted smile: “‘To make the will sincere is to allow no self-deception — as in detesting a bad smell or loving beautiful colors.’ From where does this come?”

Chang Nian seemed slightly surprised. He glanced at Minglan, then a grave expression settled over his youthful features. “What is meant by making the will sincere is to allow no self-deception — to detest what is foul as one detests a bad smell, and to love what is good as one loves beautiful colors. This is called genuine self-satisfaction. It comes from the Great Learning.”

“What does it mean?” Minglan asked again.

Chang Nian answered fluently: “By sincerity of will, we mean not only being sincere in our dealings with others, but also being sincere with ourselves — to find foul things as genuinely repellent as a bad smell and beautiful things as genuinely pleasing as lovely colors, and only then does true honesty exist.” The boy’s voice still carried the lilt of childhood, but his bearing was bright and open, his words substantive and clear.

Minglan raised an eyebrow, offered no comment, and asked again: “To observe a village through the lens of a village; to observe a state through the lens of a state — from where does this come?”

Chang Nian smiled, revealing two endearing little tiger teeth, and recited in a clear, resonant voice: “A skilled planter plants so that none can uproot what he has planted; a skilled embracer embraces so that none can loosen what he has clasped, and so his descendants carry on the ancestral sacrifices without ceasing. Cultivate it in oneself, and its virtue will be genuine. Cultivate it in the family, and its virtue will be more than enough. Cultivate it in the village, and its virtue will endure. Cultivate it in the state, and its virtue will be abundant. Cultivate it throughout all under heaven, and its virtue will encompass all. Therefore observe oneself through oneself, observe a family through one’s own family, observe a village through one’s own village, observe a state through one’s own state, observe all under heaven through all under heaven. How do I know this to be so about all under heaven? Through this. This passage comes from the Tao Te Ching.”

And then, without waiting for Minglan to ask again, Chang Nian proceeded to explain: “By extending virtue outward from oneself to one’s family, from one’s family to one’s village, from one’s village to one’s state, and thence to all under heaven, moral virtue can expand without limit. And by using oneself to observe others, using one’s own family to observe other families, and using one’s own nation to observe other nations, the affairs of the entire world beneath heaven can all be known.”

This time Minglan smiled — and inside, she was quietly astonished.

To offer a simple analogy: in the scope of the imperial examinations, the Four Books and Five Classics were akin to compulsory core subjects. The broader canon of classical texts beyond that — works like the Tao Te Ching — belonged to the realm of elective study. It was quite unexpected that this young boy, having received his education in the countryside, should already have such solid grounding in them. Minglan recalled that when she herself had studied this particular passage, her notes and annotations had filled an entire dense page — yet this boy had captured it in just a few brief sentences, his interpretation concise and his expression lucid and clear. It was no small thing.

Minglan turned and looked deeply at Nanny Chang. The clear admiration and quiet astonishment in Minglan’s eyes made Nanny Chang feel thoroughly gratified, and she gazed at her grandson with pride and joy, her face luminous with happiness.

“Where does Nian currently attend school?” Minglan asked.

Nanny Chang sighed. “When we were still in our hometown, he followed a village-level licentiate for a few days of schooling. After we came to the capital, with no one knowing us here, he has been attending a private school run by a teacher in the outskirts. But for the most part, Nian studies largely on his own.” Judging from the expressions of both grandmother and grandson, this Teacher Liu was evidently not held in very high regard.

Minglan bowed her head in thought. Studying was indeed a matter of natural aptitude — and she meant no disrespect to her own family, but the scholarly atmosphere in the Sheng household could be said to be quite fine. Not only did all the men in the family hold official titles, but their father also drove them with a whip and a shout behind them at all times. Yet in all honesty, Changdong’s scholarship fell short of this Chang Nian before her now.

Chang Nian was younger than Changdong, yet in his conduct and speech he was upright and luminous, showing no intimidation before those of high rank and no envy or resentment when set in the midst of wealth and splendor — only carrying with him an open-hearted appreciation, taking pleasure in what he saw with unaffected ease, neither subservient nor arrogant, with the bearing of a gentleman of ancient times.

Only now did Minglan begin to understand why Nanny Chang conducted herself as she did.

If Chang Nian were to sit for the imperial examinations and enter official life in the future, he could not afford any deficiency in his status — for that would be a vulnerability easily exploited by enemies in the officialdom. His grandmother could have served as a wet nurse, but she could not have entered bondservant status. It was possible that Nanny Chang had made this calculation for her only son’s sake all those years ago.

Truly — the love of every parent beneath heaven is boundless.

Seeing that Minglan had remained with her head bowed in silence for some time, Nanny Chang ventured to probe, “Madam comes from a family of scholarly tradition, and I have heard that Madam’s brothers are all excellent in their learning…” Minglan raised her head and smiled. “A family of scholarly tradition would be too grand a description — but it is true that Father values learning deeply. My youngest brother at home is about the same age as Nian, and is studying now as well.”

He was, at that, enrolled in the famed Hai family private academy — with a full roster of licentiates, licentiates by purchase, and Presented Scholars, even including the occasional retired official or visiting distinguished scholar who would come to stay and teach on a rotating basis. Little Changdong came home every time with his eyes rolling round and round in dizzy spirals like incense coils.

Nanny Chang said in a trembling voice: “If Madam could help find him a good teacher, this old woman would be endlessly grateful!”

In ancient times, education was not widespread, and there were no private tutoring advertisements plastered all over lampposts in every direction. If one did not have insider connections, it was genuinely difficult to know which teacher was truly good. Take Master Zhuang, for instance — he had the manner of a complete recluse, living on an alley so obscure it had no house number. Sheng Hong had exhausted himself to the bone just to track him down, and then spent another heroic effort to persuade him to go all the way to Dengzhou.

Minglan thought for a moment, then gave a small nod. “I can ask my eldest brother to have a look around. But it will ultimately depend on Nian’s own destiny and merit.”

She had already understood what Nanny Chang was asking, and she did not find it distasteful at all. Even in the modern era, parents would stop at nothing to get their children into a good school.

Nanny Chang’s fingers trembled with excitement. She opened and closed her mouth, deeply moved. Minglan smiled gently and said, “Let us do it this way — I will give Nian a topic, and he shall write an essay, which I will then send to my elder brother for him to look over. He can assess the situation and take it from there. How does that sound?”

Nanny Chang hesitated. “Right now? Would it not be better for him to go home and write it at leisure?”

Young Chang Nian spoke up urgently before she could finish: “It is perfectly fine — I am willing to write it now.”

Minglan gave him a small smile, thought for a brief moment, and said: “When knowledge is extended, the will becomes sincere; when the will is sincere, the mind is rectified; when the mind is rectified, the self is cultivated; when the self is cultivated, the family is regulated; when the family is regulated, the state is rightly governed; when the state is rightly governed, all under heaven is at peace. Will half an hour be enough?”

A faint flush of color rose over Chang Nian’s dark complexion. He bowed deeply in a respectful salute: “Your student receives his task.”

Minglan was in very good spirits. Having spent so long in this era that belittled women, she had almost begun to doubt her own intelligence. She raised her voice slightly: “Danju — take Nian to my writing desk and see that he has ink and brush.”

Danju smiled, stepped forward, and led the boy away.

An impromptu examination like this tested not only penmanship and foundational knowledge, but also composure under pressure. If, under such circumstances, the essay Chang Nian produced could still earn Changbai’s approval, then he was truly a promising talent worth cultivating. To bring her family household an additional student of ability and potential was hardly a bad thing — and who knew, perhaps in the officialdom someday he might even be a helpful ally.

And even if it did not work out, finding him a proper academy more suitable than a country private school should present no great difficulty.

After this, Nanny Chang could no longer sit still, craning her neck repeatedly toward the doorway. Madam Chang Hu did not dare speak, and the moment she opened her mouth was immediately silenced by a fierce glare from Nanny Chang — while Nanny Chang herself was speaking incoherently, her words making no clear sense, obviously not in a composed state at all.

Minglan was in no hurry to keep up conversation with them, and simply chatted leisurely, making vague exchanges — when at long last Gu Tingye arrived.

Gu Tingye had not even changed out of his court robes, striding directly into the side hall in great sweeping steps. The moment his tall, upright frame appeared in the doorway, Nanny Chang shot to her feet, her voice brimming with joy: “Ye’er!”

“Nanny, please sit!” Gu Tingye moved with the powerful stride of a dragon, crossing the hall in a few swift steps, and settled Nanny Chang back into her seat. Minglan quickly vacated her own place to let Gu Tingye and Nanny Chang sit closer together, while she herself moved to a seat on the other side.

Madam Chang Hu brought her daughter and Rong Jie’er with her to pay their respects to Gu Tingye. After rising from the bow, Chang Yan stole a blushing glance at the man — but Gu Tingye appeared displeased, giving Madam Chang Hu only a brief, cool nod before looking away entirely and devoting himself to conversation with Nanny Chang.

“Ye’er looks so much more vigorous now!” Nanny Chang patted Gu Tingye’s sleeve, looking him over from head to toe, her eyes glistening with moisture. She nodded again and again. “Good, good, so good — this is how it should be. Now that you are married, from this day on you are a grown man — you must live well!”

Gu Tingye smiled, utterly brazen: “But of course.”

“This boy!” Nanny Chang gave him a reproving look, then turned to Minglan with a laugh. “Just look at him — now that he has a new bride he likes, this old woman is an eyesore to him! Never mind, never mind — I had best hurry up and take my leave.”

“That won’t do at all — Nian is still detained at my writing desk. Would Nanny abandon her own grandson?” Minglan said with a teasing smile.

Nanny Chang pretended to look vexed. “Well, I have no way out then!”

The room broke into laughter — Madam Chang Hu, her daughter, and the maids all laughing along together. Gu Tingye looked at his wife with a puzzled expression, and Minglan explained to him quietly: “I could see that Nian had a good grounding in his studies, so I asked him to write an essay for me, which I will send to my elder brother to look over and see if he can find a suitable teacher for him.”

Gu Tingye laughed heartily, turned to Nanny Chang, and said: “You see — isn’t my wife worth having?”

Minglan was thoroughly embarrassed, her face going faintly pink. Nanny Chang pointed at Gu Tingye and laughed and scolded at the same time: “You shameless creature! Does your wife being good need you to say it?!”

The room was filled with laughter and merriment. Nanny Chang, keeping one eye on her heedless daughter-in-law who was clearly about to open her mouth again, quickly said to Minglan: “This is the first time any of them have been here. Why not have someone take them for a stroll in the garden? You and I can have a proper talk.”

Minglan glanced at Gu Tingye, then nodded. “That is a fine idea. Wangui’s wife has a quick and pleasant tongue — shall we have her accompany Elder Sister Chang and Miss Yan on a walk through the garden? As for Rong Jie’er, if she would like to join them, she is welcome to go along.”

Madam Chang Hu very much wanted to say more, but under the threatening glare of her mother-in-law, she could only take her daughter and Rong Jie’er and leave the hall.

Once the others had gone, Nanny Chang grew quiet. She asked Gu Tingye with great care about his health, then addressed Minglan with a good many earnest instructions: “Ah — from now on, Ye’er is entirely in your hands to look after. He is like an unbridled horse with no bit in his mouth — when his temper flares, he has no care for his own body at all. There are several wounds on his back and shoulders — Madam, please keep a close watch. He must take his medicine when it is time, apply his salve when needed, and tend to those injuries properly.”

Gu Tingye interjected with a smile: “Nanny, you are saying this again — those are old wounds from heaven knows how long ago. The Emperor long since called in the imperial physicians to examine me, and by now they are nearly all healed. It is nothing to worry about.”

“Nonsense,” said Nanny Chang, eyes sharp. “In the depths of winter a few years ago, the cold seeped into those old wounds and the pain had you breaking out in cold sweats. I rubbed you down with ginger and medicinal oil day after day — it was more than half a month before it improved. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the ache once the wound has closed!”

Minglan quietly thought back — there were indeed several sword and spear scars on Gu Tingye’s shoulders and back, one of them in particular, running from the left shoulder down across his back, that was quite alarming to look at. She made a mental note to have a good batch of tiger bone ointment and medicinal oil prepared when she had the chance.

Gu Tingye noticed Minglan’s expression — that look of someone about to fetch paper and brush to write everything down this instant — and felt both amused and moved. He said, “Wasn’t it that you mentioned wanting to visit the farm estates?”

“Yes.” Spending every day poring over account books was mere armchair theorizing. Minglan had several farm estates in her hands, and though the incoming and outgoing accounts were recorded clearly, she had never set eyes on the places in person and always felt a nagging unease.

“I’ll go with you — we’ll visit all the farm estates in one round,” said Gu Tingye, his expression easy, his tone cheerful. “Nanny, would you like to come along?” But Nanny Chang laughed and declined outright: “Only you pampered fine folk care so much for farmland and estates. We have only just moved into the city from the countryside — mountain streams and forests, we have had quite enough of them by now.”

Minglan was both surprised and delighted. “What? Do you have time off?”

“Not exactly,” laughed Gu Tingye. “The Emperor has issued a decree today to inspect the great military drills at the western outskirts camp. I need to go ahead in the next few days to make preparations. The camp is actually closer to the estates — we can spend the nights at the estate. Didn’t you want to take the fish-scale land registers and check them against the field and household records? Take your time — once the Emperor’s inspection is over, I should be able to get two free days, and after that we can go to the western mountains to soak in the hot springs.”

Nanny Chang listened with wide eyes and laughed in wonder. “Ye’er has learned to dote on his wife! Good, good, so good — you young ones should get out and breathe a little. Spinning round like cart wheels every single day — wouldn’t that be stifling?”

Minglan could tell from the way Gu Tingye spoke — so organized and well-thought-out — that he had certainly turned this plan over in his mind several times already. Moved, she could not suppress a look of delight on her face. She gazed at Gu Tingye with a soft expression, eyes full of warmth.

Seeing this, Nanny Chang knew the couple was happy and harmonious together, and her heart was set at ease.

A small grey oilcloth carriage carried the Chang family on their way home. Outside the carriage came the calls of the old driver urging the horse along; inside, there was a lively and spirited family exchange in full swing.

“Nian,” Nanny Chang asked, unable to contain her impatience, “how do you think your essay turned out?”

Chang Nian smiled with perfect ease, showing no sign of nerves whatsoever. “The same as any other day.”

“How can that possibly do?” Nanny Chang grew agitated. “You absolutely had to write it at your very best!”

Chang Nian reassured his grandmother: “Grandmother, please don’t worry. I believe Madam Gu has a genuine intention to help me.”

Nanny Chang let out a breath and felt somewhat more settled. Madam Chang Hu, sitting across from them, could not hold back and began to grumble: “Mother, why did you go and tell them every single thing about our family? Master Gu wouldn’t have gone around blurting it out — and now instead you’ve let Madam Gu see what a laughingstock we are!”

Nanny Chang’s anger flared at once. She burst out in rebuke: “What do you know?! If we hide it now, can we hide it for an entire lifetime?”

Seeing his mother still looking unconvinced, Chang Nian gently persuaded her: “Mother, Grandmother is right. Just now, when Grandmother was speaking, the expression on Madam’s face did not look like someone hearing things for the first time.”

“Nonsense! I could see perfectly well that Madam was quite startled!” Madam Chang Hu insisted stubbornly.

Chang Nian shook his head and said again patiently: “Madam was startled, yes — but from what I could see, it did not look like she was hearing the matter for the first time. What startled her was that Grandmother had come out and said it so directly and plainly.”

“Nian is the one who sees things clearly!” Nanny Chang looked at her grandson with great pride, then turned right around and berated her daughter-in-law. “Don’t you go thinking that because Madam is young, you can get one over on her. I have heard that these days Cheng Garden is being run by Madam like an iron grate — she will know our affairs sooner or later. Better to come out and say it ourselves than to have her find out and think less of us!”

“But then…what about Yan? Didn’t you used to say that you wanted Yan to go there?” Madam Chang Hu glanced at her daughter.

At these words, Nanny Chang erupted immediately. “What kind of mother does something like that?! That sort of thing is for adults to discuss among themselves — how could you go and tell Yan? This matter is finished! Not another word from any of you, ever!”

Madam Chang Hu grew frantic. “But why?! Master Gu’s official position keeps growing higher — there’s boundless wealth and good fortune right before our eyes. Why not let Yan go now?”

Nanny Chang bellowed: “Not on your life! You have no weight to your bones at all — you are losing your mind again! My son was studying properly all along, and it was you who saw the wealth of others and let your eyes go red with envy, who talked Nian’s father into doing business, which brought ruin on the family! We have only just lived through a few peaceful days, and now your bones are itching again?!”

The Chang siblings saw their grandmother erupt in anger and both clamped their mouths shut. Madam Chang Hu was scolded into a red-faced mumble. “Mother…the children are still here.” Meaning: save a little face for her.

The memory of her son reignited Nanny Chang’s fury, and she continued to shout at full voice: “You ruinous creature! Nothing but an utter disgrace! In those days I was truly blind to have brought you into this family as a daughter-in-law. You had food to eat and clothes to wear — and still you had to make trouble, and got my son killed! If not for Yan and Nian, I would have thrown you out long ago — and yet you still don’t know your place! Do you think Master Gu has any regard for you?! He has long since seen through what sort of creature you are and can’t be bothered to even look at you!”

Nanny Chang, once her temper was up, cared nothing for where she was or who was watching — she would scold wherever and whenever she pleased, and now in full fervor she was more than making up for lost time. Her finger jabbed almost to the tip of Madam Chang Hu’s nose: “When I had that thought in the first place, it was because I felt sorry for Ye’er having no one to care for him, and I thought about letting Yan go and keep him company. Now Ye’er has found himself a good wife and is living well — what business is it of yours to come stirring up trouble?! This entire life of mine has been cursed with nothing but disaster — they say a life has its share of sorrows: to lose a father in youth, a husband in middle age, and a son in old age — this wretched old woman must have done nothing good in her past life to have been struck by every one of them! Now all I hope for is that Yan can marry someone decent and that Nian can make something of himself — and if you come making any more trouble, I will throw you out of the family gate this very instant! A mother like you — the children are better off without one!”

Madam Chang Hu, sprayed from head to face with her mother-in-law’s spittle, did not dare to answer back, and could only bow her head and endure it.

Chang Yan, seeing her mother scolded until she could not lift her head, could not resist speaking up: “But Grandmother — Master Gu is close to you. If I went to him as a concubine, he would treat me well!”

Nanny Chang’s eyes went wide. She grabbed her granddaughter by the ear and bellowed: “You are the very same make as your mother — just as short-sighted! Let me ask you this: in all these years, has Master Gu said ten words to you total?”

Chang Yan clutched her ear and yelped in pain, her face flushing red. “Master Gu treats me like a child and doesn’t really talk to me.”

“Pfah!” Nanny Chang gnashed her teeth. “And how old is Madam, you saw her today — about the same as you, isn’t she? Why does he not treat her like a child?! I am telling you: put it out of your head once and for all. You saw Madam today — hold a mirror up to yourself and compare. Her bearing, her learning, her looks — between the two of you, one is a phoenix in the heavens, and the other is a leech in the mud!”

Chang Yan’s eyes reddened with grievance, and she pouted. “I was only talking! If I’m not going, I’m not going!”

Nanny Chang was still not satisfied and continued to berate: “Now that your late husband’s mourning period has ended, we will find you a match when we get home. Don’t go out making a spectacle of yourself and bringing shame on the family. You and your mother have seen enough of Cheng Garden — there is no reason to go back. Stay home properly from now on, and if you dare misbehave, I will take a cane to both of you — one beating each!”

“Do you think it’s easy being a woman in a great household? Back then Old Duke of Bai was blind to it — and he sent our eldest girl into the marquis’s household. Within a few short years, she was gone!” Nanny Chang’s voice cracked with heartbreak as she again reached out to pull her granddaughter’s ear. “With a character like yours — once you went into a deep residence like that, there wouldn’t even be bone fragments left of you!”

Both mother and daughter of the Chang family were scolded into sullen silence. Nanny Chang sighed. “With this old face of mine still worth something, your younger brother’s future may yet have some hope. If Nian manages to make a success of himself, won’t you, his mother and elder sister, have something to take pride in as well? Ah…passing the imperial examinations is no easy matter. My own father used to say — a commoner with no patrons above him has to spend several extra decades of effort just to have a chance.”

“Yan — Grandmother is right, you might as well give it up,” said Chang Nian in a low voice, with the solemn steadiness of a boy who had grown up fast since losing his father. “I’ve noticed our neighbor, Elder Brother Aqing, seems to be very fond of you. Their family is doing well — they have farmland and a shop. You would not be poorly treated.” He paused, then added: “Besides, I could see plainly that Master Gu is deeply devoted to Madam. He would not look at anyone else.”

“Oh, you noticed that too?” Nanny Chang said with interest. She had always trusted this grandson who had been sensible from a young age.

Chang Nian nodded and smiled with just a touch of bashfulness: “When I handed my essay to Madam, I noticed that she had put down a half-eaten fruit on the dish — and later, Master Gu picked it up and ate it.”