Minglan had been sitting quietly beside the old woman for quite some time when Physician Lin came into the room with a furrowed brow. Minglan turned slightly and dried the corners of her eyes before looking up. “Physician Lin, you have been so troubled — why don’t you rest a little longer?”

Physician Lin had managed an hour or so of sleep in the side chamber and was considerably more alert. He cupped his hands respectfully toward Minglan. “You are too kind, Madam. The old woman has yet to regain consciousness, and old Lin cannot sleep easy.” Seeing the deep worry on Minglan’s face, he offered some comfort. “Madam, please put your mind somewhat at ease. After my needlework last night, the old woman’s pulse has steadied.”

Minglan said, “Still, the sooner she wakes, the better.” She knew little of medicine but understood well enough that such a long stretch of unconsciousness was deeply troubling.

Physician Lin said, “Quite right. Once she wakes, we can begin proper treatment — administering medicine and applying moxibustion will be far easier.”

The two exchanged a few more words before Nanny Fang coaxed Minglan away to have breakfast. She listlessly ate half a bowl of purple rice congee and took a few bites of the fragrant ham and lotus leaf dumplings before setting down her chopsticks. By then the daylight had fully brightened. Luzhi came in from outside with hurried steps, her face bearing a look of joy. “Madam, they have all arrived.” Nanny Liu followed behind with her head lowered. Minglan offered words of praise: “Nanny Liu, thank you for your trouble.”

Nanny Liu’s complexion was somewhat pale. Seeing there was no one else nearby, she said in a low voice, “Kang Yiniang went into the room on her own. The people she brought with her have already been detained; Xiaotao is keeping watch over them.”

Minglan said, “The ones who came with the Yiniang — they are likely all her most trusted attendants.”

Nanny Liu looked up, a flash of admiration crossing her eyes. “Madam has surmised correctly. There were four serving women in total, with six household guards at the gatehouse. Among the four, two of the serving women were originally Kang Yiniang’s personal maidservants, and two were her most trusted senior household managers.” She paused. “However…” The two sisters had spent so many days intermingled that not only was Kang Yiniang intimately familiar with the Sheng household’s affairs — the people around Wang Shi were equally well-acquainted with the affairs of the Kang household.

Minglan asked, “Is there something amiss? Please speak, Nanny.”

Having gone this far, if Kang Yiniang did not fall, she who had lured the woman here would suffer for it too. Nanny Liu said, “There is one woman called Nanny Qi — she was Kang Yiniang’s wet nurse when she was small, sent over from the Wang family as an accompanying servant.”

Minglan raised an eyebrow. “She did not come today?”

Nanny Liu nodded, then added, “Nanny Qi is getting on in years, yet she has always been the person closest to the Yiniang’s heart.” Her meaning was clear: if Kang Yiniang had done anything in secret, even if no one else knew, Nanny Qi certainly would. She added, “But Nanny Qi has always been extremely careful and cautious — she may be difficult to lure out.”

Minglan stood and paced a few steps about the room. Then she bent down and murmured something into Nanny Liu’s ear. Nanny Liu was startled and exclaimed in astonishment, “Indeed — both of them are… How did you know that, Madam?” Minglan lowered her head and thought for a moment, then whispered another series of quiet instructions into Nanny Liu’s ear.

Nanny Liu paused. “Madam, why don’t you…” She stopped herself. Having been quick-witted and experienced in service for many years, she needed only a moment’s thought to understand completely.

Minglan smiled. “Nanny Liu is a clever woman. If you handle this for me, I will most certainly reward you handsomely.”

Nanny Liu’s forehead broke into a sweat. She bit down on her resolve and said, “I will go at once.”

Minglan waved her hand with a smile. “There is no need to hurry. Nanny, go have something to eat first, and catch your breath. In a little while, I will ask Elder Tuhu to go with you — you need only show your face; everything else will be taken care of.”

Nanny Liu agreed and went off. Minglan then sent for Tulong.

Tulong was in his early forties, with a short, stocky build and a prosperous, good-natured appearance — a complete contrast to the menacing Tuhu. Yet he was steady and capable. After Minglan gave him careful instructions, he laughed heartily. “Madam, rest easy — what difficulty is there in this?”

Minglan sighed. “To ask a man of Elder Tuhu’s caliber to carry out such a minor ruse is truly borne of necessity.”

Tulong said seriously, “What is Madam saying? The Marquis pulled our brothers from a heap of the dead. Today we have wives and children, a home and a livelihood — the ability to live in comfort and ease — all of it is owed entirely to the Marquis’s great grace. Madam, please sit back and watch with ease.”

Watching Tulong depart, Minglan set down half her worry, then led Luzhi in a slow walk toward Wang Shi’s courtyard.

In summers past, the Sheng household’s mornings had always been lively — those in charge of purchasing had returned from outside with fresh vegetables, fish, and meat; wisps of pale, curling smoke drifted above several kitchens, and maidservants would then carry baskets and boxes, large and small, off to deliver breakfast to each of the masters. The rougher serving women, having finished sweeping the gardens, were heading to the servants’ kitchen to collect their food, chatting and laughing — while Danju would be squinting and dragging Yinxing out of bed.

But today, the entire household was cold and still, without a single serving woman in sight. The servants were all sharp enough to see that every door had been sealed, the escorts from the marquis’s household were ruthless in how they enforced order, and the head steward Laifu had come on the Master’s behalf to announce that no one was to stir without cause. With the old woman having fallen suddenly ill on top of everything else, each person kept their own quiet misgivings to themselves — but no one dared be the one to step out and ask questions.

Arriving at the main courtyard, she found several maidservants huddled nervously at the entrance. At the sight of Minglan, they all straightened up in silence, not daring to speak. One of Wang Shi’s senior maidservants said quietly, “The Sixth Young Mistress has come. The Yiniang also arrived just now and told us to wait outside — she and the Mistress have things to discuss.”

Minglan said, “You are all sensible. If they told you to wait outside, there is a reason for it. Do not let curiosity get the better of you — creeping up to listen in on your mistresses’ conversation will only bring harm to yourselves.”

All the maidservants nodded eagerly, then quickly stepped aside. They had only heard that Nanny Qian had been beaten to within an inch of her life — and the reason was precisely that she had been caught eavesdropping on the Master’s conversation.

Minglan continued inside, passing through a short covered walkway. She was still several steps from the main room when she heard the sound of fierce quarreling and shouting from within: “…You’re saying it’s true?! I am your own younger sister — and you have harmed me like this…!”

Minglan smiled faintly and walked straight ahead without breaking stride. She stopped beside the doorframe and angled herself slightly to peer inside. She saw Wang Shi, her face flushed a deep, furious purple, gripping Kang Yiniang by the collar and shouting at her, while Kang Yiniang tried to pry her hands loose with a grin. “What is dear sister panicking about? Did your elder sister not do this for your own good? That old hypocrite refuses to die — she presses down on you, sister — when would you ever be able to stand tall?”

The veins on Wang Shi’s forehead were bulging, and she shouted in hysterics, “Does elder sister have a black heart?! That is a human life! No matter how many faults the old woman has, how could you plot against a person’s life?!”

Kang Yiniang forcefully shook off her hands. “Look at you pretending to be dutiful now — if you felt that way, why did you agree in the first place?”

“I only wanted her to fall ill for a while! And then later I could have raised Quan’er myself in peace — wouldn’t that have been a life of family warmth?!”

“Isn’t giving someone harmful medicine just harming them?” Kang Yiniang said coldly. “You’d better hurry and bury this matter. Once that old hypocrite breathes her last, no one will know, no one will suspect — and afterward, who in this household would dare give you grief?!”

Wang Shi panted, “…And what about my Quan’er — you knew perfectly well that he was in the old woman’s quarters too! If those pastries reached him as well, did you want to kill my grandson?!”

Kang Yiniang said, “Didn’t you tell me that the old woman worries Quan’er won’t eat, so she doesn’t let him have pastries?”

Wang Shi stared blankly ahead. “Can you ever guarantee such things? You put something this potent in those pastries — what if the boy had eaten one?”

Kang Yiniang laughed, swaying left and right, and reached out to steady Wang Shi while coaxing her. “Oh, you’re right — it was elder sister’s fault. I didn’t think carefully enough about the child. But Quan’er is perfectly fine, isn’t he? Which only shows that Heaven itself is watching over dear sister!”

Wang Shi said through clenched teeth, “So it was deliberate on your part all along! Fine, fine, fine — now I know what you really are…”

Kang Yiniang, seeing the hatred in Wang Shi’s eyes, instantly let her expression turn cold, and her tone took on a note of threat. “You have long harbored wicked intentions toward your mother-in-law — so spare me the performance now! Now that things have come to this, are you seriously thinking of letting this spill out?! I am telling you: don’t invite more trouble. I can wash my hands of all of this completely — but you can’t run from it!”

Wang Shi glowered at her for a long moment, then collapsed back into her chair with a defeated look. “…At this point, neither of us can run.”

Kang Yiniang was greatly puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“— What it means is: now that you have fallen into my hands, do not think you can walk away clean.” Minglan stood at the doorway with a smile.

The moment she saw her, Wang Shi leaped up like a startled rabbit, trembling as she stood clutching the edge of a table, craning her neck toward the door — terrified that the fearsome man might suddenly leap out from behind Minglan.

Kang Yiniang’s face darkened. “What are you doing here?”

Minglan said in surprise, “This is my family home. My grandmother is gravely ill. Why would I not come?”

Kang Yiniang seethed inwardly and turned to Wang Shi. “Can you not manage this daughter of yours at all? Is there any way to speak to one’s elder like this?”

Wang Shi thought: never mind your airs — in a moment, you’ll be lucky to escape with your skin intact. She turned her head away and refused to speak.

With no choice, Kang Yiniang turned back and glared at Minglan. “I have things to say to your mother. I am very busy. You may go outside first.”

Minglan smiled. “I am also very busy. I need only say two things to the Yiniang and I will be done.” She let the smile drop from her face. “First — the Yiniang truly has impressive learning and has read widely. That business with the ginkgo sprout sap was most ingeniously done.”

Kang Yiniang’s expression shifted abruptly. She said in a dark tone, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Minglan paid no attention and continued. “Second — the Mistress has told everything.”

The atmosphere inside the room turned cold. Kang Yiniang turned to look at Wang Shi, who nodded with a look of defeat. Kang Yiniang turned over countless thoughts in her mind in an instant, then composed herself and put on an expression of puzzlement. “What is this child talking about — I am completely lost.”

Minglan nodded. “It doesn’t matter that the Yiniang is confused — after the interrogation, everything will be clear.”

“What interrogation? Do you dare interrogate me?” Kang Yiniang laughed with an air of contempt.

Wang Shi let out a derisive snort, her tone tinged with undisguised satisfaction at the other’s misfortune. “Do you think you can still walk out of the Sheng household’s gates today?”

Kang Yiniang’s expression changed dramatically. She stared at Minglan in disbelief. “…You dare?” Surely not?

Minglan smiled, then turned toward the door. “Are they all here? Have them come in.”

Luzhi, waiting outside, responded at once: “Yes, I will go and summon them right away.”

A moment later, two serving women walked in first; behind them, two escorts dressed as guards dragged in a figure that kept struggling and twisting. They dropped the person heavily onto the floor, then stepped back respectfully and withdrew.

Kang Yiniang’s heart pounded furiously. She fixed her gaze and looked closely — the person slowly raised their head, and it was none other than Nanny Qian.

Nanny Qian waved her bloodied, mangled hands and cried out: “Mistress! Sixth Young Mistress — please spare me! I… I have told everything already!” Catching sight of Kang Yiniang nearby, she immediately pointed at her. “It was all the Yiniang! It was her! She told me that the Mistress had no eye for people and never put me to proper use — only ever trusting Nanny Liu. She promised me silver, and business dealings — she told me to report everything that happened around the Mistress to her, down to every last needle and thread!”

As she spoke, she knocked her head to the floor repeatedly, her face a mess of blood, mucus, and tears. “Mistress, it was I who let greed cloud my mind and envied Nanny Liu. Please, in mercy for all my years of service, spare this worthless life of mine!”

Wang Shi trembled with fury from head to foot and pointed at Nanny Qian. “You treacherous creature — to think I raised and kept such an ungrateful wretch!”

Minglan waved her hand, signaling the escorts to drag Nanny Qian away, then turned back and said softly, “So, Yiniang — dare I, or do I not?”

Looking at the bloodstains left on the ground, Kang Yiniang’s own body had begun to tremble slightly.

“This is my aunt — please be gentle with her, the two of you.” Minglan gave her instructions.

The two serving women responded in unison, then stepped forward — one on the left, one on the right — and held Kang Yiniang in their grip with practiced, expert ease. Kang Yiniang was instantly unable to move.

These two women had once been condemned slaves from a princely household of the previous reign. In ordinary times they had served as assistants to the punishment mistress in the prince’s household. Later, when the rebel prince attempted a coup, and the matter came to light — he took his own life, and the entire household was convicted. Not even small fish like them escaped the net.

Such women, with neither children nor social standing, had been imprisoned for over a year, ill and weakened. Then, by an imperial edict, they were gifted to a newly risen general. Because their origins were sensitive, no one paid them much mind in ordinary times. But thanks to the kindness of the new Madam — who called a physician to treat their illnesses, fed them well and nursed them back to health, then assigned them duties and tasked them with teaching newly arrived maidservants proper conduct — their circumstances had turned around entirely. They had each found a few adopted sons and daughters along the way, and thought: to live out one’s years like this would truly be a blessing.

On this occasion, the Madam had brought them along to the Sheng household. Having witnessed far more of the dark underbellies of inner chambers than most during their time in the prince’s household, they had made up their minds at the outset: ask nothing, say nothing, hear nothing — do their work well, repay the Marquis’s wife for her kindness, and perhaps their days going forward would grow more comfortable still.

Kang Yiniang, held on both sides, did not know what those two women were doing with their grip, but her arms went weak and numb and all struggling became useless. She could only twist her body desperately from side to side; the two women bent her arms in opposite directions, and a piercing, bone-deep pain shot through her elbows. Kang Yiniang cried out in pain, nearly in tears. Looking up, she caught sight of the cold smile at the corner of Minglan’s mouth, and in fury turned to cry out to Wang Shi: “Sister! I am your own blood sister — are you going to just let this wretched girl torture and humiliate me like this?!”

Wang Shi stood by the chair, expressionless. “The pot shouldn’t call the kettle black — and sister shouldn’t lecture her younger sister either.” She had just been on the verge of playing innocent and letting her take the blame — and now she remembered the bonds of sisterhood.

Minglan nearly laughed out loud — it was rare to hear Wang Shi say something so perfectly rhymed and richly layered in meaning.

Before Kang Yiniang could cry out again, one of the serving women quickly reached out and pressed down on her jaw. Kang Yiniang let out a muffled grunt of pain — her jaw had been dislocated. She sat with her mouth half-open, unable to cry out in a proper voice.

Watching the two serving women escort Kang Yiniang away, Minglan turned and asked, “Where has Father gone?”

Wang Shi held the armrest of the chair and slowly sat down. “The Master was very angry and went back to the study.” In fact, Sheng Hong had given her a severe dressing-down, stating plainly that if this matter could not be settled well, he would most certainly write a letter of repudiation.

“In a little while, I will have the guards blocking the main gate withdrawn,” Minglan said.

Wang Shi was alarmed. “Why withdraw them?”

“It is time to buy groceries and cook breakfast.”

Wang Shi was so thoroughly stopped up she could barely breathe. “No — what I mean is, weren’t you worried about people slipping away to pass word along?”

Minglan smiled. “I have already taken in the people I needed to take in. And the others by now should also be more or less settled. Keeping the household sealed with no one going in or out differs so obviously from our usual routine — the neighbors would surely grow suspicious if they noticed.”

Wang Shi thought about it and acknowledged this was true, falling into silence.

Minglan stepped closer to her by a few paces and said in a measured voice, “Mistress, once these gates are open, word of the old woman’s illness — and word that Kang Yiniang is here in our household — is bound to leak out.”

Wang Shi stared blankly, not quite grasping the meaning.

Minglan lowered her voice. “If the Wang family’s old matriarch learns of it early — before Kang Yiniang has been properly interrogated — then all of this can only fall on one person. If they learn of it later, once I have uncovered every detail, it can shift away half the blame.”

Wang Shi felt a surge of fear. She understood now what Minglan meant. “I… I’ll wait a few more days before telling the Wang family.”

Minglan smiled. “The Kang household’s mistress has been away all night — someone will find out eventually. We only need this one day’s secrecy to be kept. Besides…” She smiled again. “It won’t take that long.”

The meaning behind those last words, combined with the memory of Nanny Qian’s battered, broken state — sent a chill running through Wang Shi.

Minglan added, “In that case, how to keep the household’s servants quiet and their tongues in check will depend on the Mistress’s own abilities.”

From the moment she had posted escorts at the gates the previous night until now, only half a night and one early morning had passed — the servants within the household were still unaware of what had transpired. In the longer view, once rumors and whispers spread, the first to suffer would certainly be Wang Shi; the second, Sheng Hong; and after them, Changbai who was currently in official service, and the several daughters who had married out — not to mention Changfeng, who was on the verge of entering official life and would hardly escape unscathed.

Wang Shi thought of this as well. After a moment’s consideration, she said, listless and drained, “Just say the household was robbed — an inside-and-outside job — and not only were valuables stolen, but the old woman was so frightened she fell ill, which is why the Sixth Young Mistress was called in to help track down the missing items.”

Minglan was satisfied. “That is a good way to put it.” A robbery by servants was embarrassing enough, and using it to demand that all the household’s servants keep their mouths shut and refrain from gossiping would not seem overly forced.

“And then — who is the ‘inside thief’? Now that the gates are open again, there has to be some account given.” Wang Shi asked with the respectfulness one shows toward a teacher — she was, by now, quite frightened of Minglan.

“Nanny Qian, of course.” Minglan did not hesitate. “Not only did she steal valuables, she also eavesdropped on the masters. She can be dealt with all at once.”

At the mention of Nanny Qian, Wang Shi hesitated slightly, then looked carefully at Minglan. “That old creature is certainly deserving of death — but… after all, she has been in the household for several decades. Perhaps… spare her life? Just sentence her to hard labor.” She had spent more hours a day with Nanny Qian and Nanny Liu than with her own children and husband. When it came to actually taking a life, she went soft.

Minglan was just turning to walk out when she heard this and stopped, standing in the doorway. She turned back to look at Wang Shi, and an exceedingly strange expression crossed her face.

Wang Shi, unsettled by the look, said with some embarrassment, “If you think it unsuitable, pretend I said nothing.”

Minglan gazed at her steadily, then said slowly, “When I was small, I once asked Grandmother — given how narrow-minded, selfish, and muddled-headed the Mistress is, why did you choose her as a daughter-in-law all those years ago? Grandmother said: for all her thousand faults, there is one good quality. She is soft-hearted. There is no truly venomous or cruel streak in her nature. Even if you put a blade in her hand, she would never think to use it to take a life.”

The rest of the story remained unspoken: years ago, Wang Shi had decided that since Wei Yiniang was strong and fertile, she would let Lin Yiniang stir up trouble. Wei Yiniang, worn down and suffering, had either failed to carry a child to term or lost her health entirely — and afterward, the two Yiniangs would inevitably become mortal enemies. Wang Shi would then profit by standing between them.

When Wei Yiniang truly died, Wang Shi did feel a flicker of guilt — or at least told herself her part in it was small. Every time the Sheng household went to the temple to donate oil for the eternal lamps, she would always quietly add an extra sum on Wei Yiniang’s behalf.

“Grandmother also said: the only pity is that she is too easily swayed, too quick to trust others and be led astray. With someone as wicked-hearted as Kang Yiniang always nearby, she never felt at ease about her. She had hoped that in time, once you came to your senses and stopped associating with Kang Yiniang, she would let go of control and hand everything over to you — and let you play the role of the Mistress properly, so the whole family could live in ease.”

With those words, a wave of sorrow and grief welled up in Minglan’s chest. Her eyes grew hot. Shaking her head with sadness, she walked out.

Wang Shi sat there in a daze, her mind in turmoil. How had things come to this?

In her childhood, she had lived in a small town — not fabulously wealthy, but her uncle and aunt had cherished her like a precious jewel. If she asked for the stars in the sky, her uncle would pretend to fetch a ladder to reach them, making her laugh until she could barely breathe. On cold winter nights when she feared the chill, her aunt — afraid that the heated bottle might scald her — would tuck her small hands and feet against her own chest and belly to keep them warm while they slept.

Then, when she was just past ten years of age, her parents finally brought her home. The house was so grand and imposing, the guests coming and going all wealthy or well-connected, and there was this older sister she barely knew — so beautiful, so refined in bearing, so learned and accomplished. She had felt deeply inadequate by comparison.

In truth, she had always missed that small town nestled among green mountains and clear waters, and the uncle and aunt who had doted on her so tenderly. Her parents loved her too — but they were always so busy. The matron who attended to her had said, “Your uncle and aunt are mere merchants. Your father is a high official trusted by the Emperor; your mother is a titled court lady who can enter and exit the imperial palace. Would you rather go back to the ninth rank of society and be a merchant family’s daughter — or be a daughter of an official household of standing?”

From that moment on, she had tried hard to carry herself properly — taking her sister as her model, resolved to become a refined young lady of quality whom everyone would look up to.

But these past two years — she didn’t know what had happened. Nanny Liu urged her, Hualan urged her, her son and daughter-in-law urged her — all of it well-meaning counsel, not a word of which she could take to heart. And yet when Kang Yiniang said things that were neither fish nor fowl, sour and disagreeable, she somehow loved to hear every word.

Gradually, her heart filled up with grievance. She came to feel more and more that all the people in the world had wronged her, and she kept looking for someone to take out her anger on — as though she had fallen under a spell.

She thought of her kind and gentle uncle and aunt, such good people — how heartbroken they would be if they knew what she had become. She could still go to her daughter for comfort and understanding, but if Hualan knew what her mother had done, with what eyes would she ever look at her again? And as for Changbai… what face did she have to show her son?

How had she fallen to this? Wang Shi was overwhelmed with grief. She slumped forward over the table and wept aloud without restraint.