If you have money — and a fair amount of it — do not leave it anywhere others might guess. You must hide it well, so that should some mishap arise, no one can drain you from the bottom of the pot, and you may still retrieve it yourself whenever you need.

That household was bound to fall into chaos sooner or later. She simply hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

Yun Pan had assumed Liu Yanqiao would keep up her pretense for a while longer. Before this, during the mourning period for A’Niang, she had been in the residence every day, and Liu Yanqiao couldn’t do much to her. But now that she had gone out to attend the Fanhua Banquet and happened to encounter the earthquake, Liu Shi had been given the perfect opening to make something grand of it.

Even without the earthquake, some other scheme would have been waiting for her.

Qin Dan received the wooden case from the hands of the presiding officer at the Registry and Inspection Bureau,^① settled the storage fee separately, gave a bow, and only then withdrew from the building.

The anxiety and gloom of before had at last lifted. Qin Dan carried the case out to where Yun Pan was waiting beyond the door and said, with mingled joy and grief: “Thank goodness, my lady, that you thought things through so carefully. If you had left all your savings in the residence, you wouldn’t have been able to retrieve a single coin now.”

With money, one’s heart no longer panics. It provides something to lean upon and the quiet to consider what comes next.

Yun Pan pulled open the drawer of the case and looked inside. It held a thick stack of silver drafts and currency notes, along with the title deeds to several properties that had been the late county princess’s ancestral holdings. There was no need to worry about a livelihood. She let out a sigh. “It’s fortunate I took precautions against her early on. Otherwise we might well have starved.”

But what to do next? Qin Dan said: “Drifting about outside is no solution. It’s nearly dark, and if we spend the night out of doors, we won’t be able to clear our names no matter how many mouths we have. My lady, let us report this to the authorities. With the prefect as our witness, you can prove your innocence.”

But Yun Pan shook her head. “Involving the officials and causing a commotion — and after just having had an engagement broken off — even if I go back, my reputation will never fully recover. That is precisely Liu Shi’s calculation.”

Qin Dan knew this well enough, yet what way forward was there to make a living? She thought for a moment and said: “Then let’s simply go to the capital. We’ll find Master and explain everything in full. Master is still your own father — surely some measure of fatherly feeling will move him.”

Yun Pan looked at her and smiled bitterly. “Don’t you know Father’s nature — sometimes clear-headed, sometimes utterly muddled? The moment Liu Shi sheds a few tears before him, he will forget everything and turn around to help her demean me.”

On reflection, that was indeed how things stood. Yet every road was blocked, and even a considerable fortune was of no use.

“A young lady from a respectable family cannot set up her own household,” Qin Dan said, her eyes reddening, her voice choked. “She always needs someone to speak on her behalf. The late Madam, before she passed, entrusted me again and again to look after you well. As long as you are settled happily, I would die content. But now it has come to this — you cannot return home. I have failed the Madam’s charge. It is my fault for not protecting you properly.”

Yun Pan very much wanted to weep too, but weeping was no solution either. She considered for a moment and said: “Let’s go to the capital.”

Qin Dan gave a start. “Are you still thinking of going to find Master?”

No, Yun Pan said. “To the capital — to find my maternal aunt.”

Yun Pan’s maternal aunt and the county princess were born of the same mother. She had married Duke Shuguo Xiang Junjie. Duke Shuguo had earned merit by coming to the aid of the imperial house in years past, and though illness and injury had kept him off the battlefield in recent years, he remained highly trusted and employed by the Emperor in the capital. Last year, when A’Niang had fallen ill and died, her aunt had come personally to pay her respects at the funeral. At that time she had been deeply reluctant to part from Yun Pan and had said to her many times over: “You are the flesh of your A’Niang’s body — as good as your aunt’s own daughter. If ever anything troubles you in the future, remember there is your aunt. Come to the capital and find me.”

At the time, Yun Pan had been grateful, but taken those words as no more than polite courtesy. Each person had her own way of living; it would never truly come to the point of having to depend on her aunt. Yet now, looking at the sorry state of things, it had actually come true. She found it humiliating when she thought about it. But aside from this, she had no other recourse. Even if, by some chance, her aunt would not take her in, she could more easily make arrangements for herself in the capital. Too many people in Youzhou knew her background. Now that she had lost her name and standing, who could say what intentions others might harbor?

Her mind was made up. This was the plan. The most urgent matter was to find a carriage. Looking at the sky, rain was still falling, the cloud layer pressing down overhead like a lid. At a time like this, money might not be enough to get things done.

Qin Dan said: “Perhaps we should first find somewhere to shelter. The city is in such disorder — there may not even be any inns open for business.”

But Yun Pan said that wouldn’t do. “We’re carrying these things on us. Every delay makes it worse. Let’s go and take a look at the carriage house first. If someone is willing to take the work, we’ll pay double the hire and have him drive us to the capital through the night.”

The reasoning was sound, but two young women traveling by night on their own was undeniably unsafe. Yun Pan was steeling her courage to try her luck. In any case, at this point she was at the end of her rope. No matter how bad things became, it was no more than her one life.

So they found a secluded spot and straightened each other’s clothing, so as not to betray anything unusual. If others could not fathom the depth of your circumstances, they would not dare to act rashly.

Yun Pan untied the silk band from her hair, wrapped the documents from the case in it, and had Qin Dan bind it around her waist beneath her skirt. Once everything was in order, they emerged from the corner beside the Registry and Inspection Bureau.

Fortunately, the presiding officer of the bureau had lent them an umbrella, otherwise the documents would have been soaked through by the rain. Yun Pan and Qin Dan, leaning on each other, walked out onto the main road. The Registry and Inspection Bureau was an official institution not far from the Youzhou prefectural yamen — a place of strict discipline in ordinary times, now teeming inside and out with garrison troops and untrained soldiers. The city had suffered severe disaster, and these soldiers, ordinarily kept for garrison duty and combat, had been urgently deployed for disaster relief and clearing the streets.

Two young women making their way through the chill forest of armor drew exceptional notice. Many of the untrained soldiers turned to stare in bewilderment, which naturally drew the attention of the officer in charge, who stepped forward to question them.

“You two—” A man in a helmet who wore a full beard pointed at them. “Halt!”

Yun Pan and Qin Dan stopped in their tracks and watched him stride over with great steps.

Perhaps because the young women looked gentle and soft, the rough-voiced, loud-throated officer, after a close look at them, moderated his tone. Resting his hand on the hilt of his saber, he asked: “Two young ladies — how did you end up here?”

Qin Dan glanced at Yun Pan. Beneath her sleeve her hand gripped Yun Pan’s tightly. Those who had grown up in an inner household had never had dealings with these rough soldiers — just looking at that face was enough to make one somewhat afraid.

But Qin Dan still had to protect her mistress. She quietly stepped in front of Yun Pan, gave a curtsey, and said: “Captain, my young lady and I came to the bureau to collect something.”

The officer shifted his gaze to Yun Pan, blinking his small eyes and scrutinizing her for some time. “It’s nearly dark, and your household is sending a young lady here at this hour? Is everyone at home dead?”

A bluff soldier with no regard for tact — his words were rather jarring. Yun Pan had no choice but to bow slightly and explain: “Our home suffered in the disaster. It was truly unavoidable. Please let us pass, Captain.”

But the officer furrowed his brow, sensing something was not as it seemed. Looking at their dress, they were clearly not from an ordinary family, so he asked: “Which noble household does this young lady belong to? It is so late, and there are so many refugees in the city — I can assign two soldiers to escort the young lady home.”

It seemed impossible to brush him off. Yun Pan thought for a moment, and since things had already come this far, if she could secure the help of the authorities, it would be far more reliable than going to the carriage house to hire a vehicle. She steeled herself and said: “My father is the Founding Marquis of Yong’an. My mother was the late County Princess of Yuyang. My household has suffered a change, and I came to the bureau to retrieve what was stored here. Captain, please do me a favor — send someone to escort us to the capital. Once I have seen my father, I will report this and reward the captain handsomely.”

This thoroughly stunned the rough soldier. He stared wide-eyed in astonishment. “The young lady of the Founding Marquis’s household…” He looked back over his shoulder at the yamen. “Came herself to the bureau… Your household’s disaster was really that severe?”

A mere captain was worlds apart from the Founding Marquis, and he could not presume to make such a decision on his own. After a brief moment’s thought, he said please wait a moment, young lady, then pressed his helmet down on his head and trotted off toward the distance.

Yun Pan followed the captain’s retreating figure with her eyes. In front of the badly collapsed ward-courtyard ahead, a camp had been set up. A carriage was stopped there, long-distance soldiers standing in formation all around it. It must be an official who had come personally to inspect the damage.

Qin Dan looked at her anxiously and asked: “My lady, will this work?”

Yun Pan could not be certain. It depended on what kind of official that person was. If he happened to know something of affairs in the noble circle, perhaps he could offer some assistance.

Very soon, the captain came back and gestured in the direction of the carriage. “Young lady, please follow me.”

Yun Pan and Qin Dan had no choice but to follow him, umbrellas in hand, to the carriage.

The rain had not let up, and in the deepening dusk, lanterns had been lit at various points throughout the camp. Ram-horn lanterns hung beneath the ornate carriage canopy as well. The straight-barred carriage door stood open, and inside, the curtain had been lifted halfway up.

Yun Pan peered through the veil of rain into the carriage’s interior. Because the curtain was drawn low, she could only see a figure in red robes and a jade belt seated behind the curtain, hands resting on his knees, in the shifting lamplight. Wide sleeves trimmed with cloud-pattern borders concealed his hands, leaving only his finger joints visible — pale as silver and snow, the joints exceptionally slender and elegant. Even the inch-wide band of red gold on his left index finger appeared all the more finely wrought by comparison.

“Are you the young lady of the Yong’an Marquis’s household?” asked the man inside the carriage — yet for some reason, his voice sounded somewhat faint, carrying with it a quality of mildness.

Yun Pan said yes, gave a curtsey, and continued: “I have already explained my situation to the captain. My household has suffered a change, and I wish to go to the capital. Yet I have only one maid with me, and we cannot travel so far on our own. If a benevolent person could offer assistance, I will certainly repay the kindness.”

The man inside the carriage fell silent. After some time, the faint sound of two low coughs traveled out — it seemed he had taken ill.

Yun Pan had assumed a high official would be difficult to deal with, yet it was nothing like what she had imagined.

The man in the carriage did not even press her for the details of her circumstances, only saying: “Is the young lady going to the capital to seek out your honored father, or to find relatives?”

He had a pleasant voice — refined and elegant, like a spring welling into a clear pool, possessing a quality that set him apart from the mundane. Yun Pan had never heard such a voice before. Though she could not see his face, her mind began to sketch his features vaguely — most likely a modest and cultured gentleman, like a brilliant young scholar on the day the examination results are posted, newly placed at the top of the first rank.

He had made no effort to send her home, which told her he had some knowledge of the Founding Marquis’s household situation. Yun Pan felt helpless once more — the family’s disgrace had clearly spread throughout Youzhou, everyone knowing that the marquis’s household had no proper governance and allowed a concubine to run the house.

Since that was the case, there was no need to conceal anything. Yun Pan said: “I am going to the capital to stay with a relative.”

He had apparently anticipated this answer, for there was not the slightest surprise in his reply. He only asked which relative, then paused and added: “I ask so that I can properly arrange for someone to escort you.”

Qin Dan, on hearing this, brightened up and quietly tugged at Yun Pan’s sleeve.

Yun Pan also let out a breath of relief and answered with her hands clasped before her: “I am seeking refuge with my maternal aunt — the wife of Duke Shuguo.”

The man in the carriage asked nothing further. He called out to Captain Zhao: “Can the army spare any men to escort these two ladies to the capital?”

When a superior gives an order, however busy one might be, one finds the time to carry it out. Captain Zhao squared his shoulders, and his voice rang out like a great bell: “In reply to the Commissioner — I can assign two capable soldiers from my men to escort the young lady to the capital through the night.”

Hearing how Captain Zhao addressed him, Yun Pan now understood that this man was of the rank of prefect. Under the current official system, prefects did not need to go personally to their assigned posts — they were generally members of the imperial family or nobility who held the position from a distance. It must have been the earthquake that alarmed the court, and so he was dispatched to Youzhou to manage the disaster.

The fingers resting on his knees in the carriage tightened slightly, then lifted, and he covered his mouth with his hand to give two light coughs. “Choose two reliable men,” he said, “and see to it that the young lady is safely delivered into the hands of the wife of Duke Shuguo.”

Captain Zhao answered yes, then turned and respectfully gestured to one side. “Young lady, this way please.”

Her heart finally settled back into her chest. Yun Pan thanked him several times over and said: “The Commissioner’s kindness I will remember always.”

The man in the carriage raised his hand slightly. “There is no need for such courtesy, young lady. Your honored father and I serve at the same court — this is merely a small effort. It is over a hundred li from Youzhou to the capital, and tonight the young lady will most likely have to pass the night in the carriage. I will have someone prepare some dried provisions. It is getting late — best set out at once.”

Yun Pan was deeply grateful, and she and Qin Dan gave him another curtsey.

Having dealt with the matter, he seemed to have grown weary. He reached out to lower the curtain. As he leaned forward, the lower half of his face emerged from behind the drapery — a complexion somewhat pale, with fine lips and a refined chin.

Like a fleeting glimpse of a swan in flight — quickly gone again, hidden behind the grape-vine brocade curtain.