Xiang Xu had seemingly never learned to refuse others. Hearing Mei Fen say this, he naturally agreed at once: “I happen to be free this afternoon. If Si Si wants to go out, let us get ready — I will come to fetch you shortly.”
Yun Pan felt rather helpless. Her intention had been to coax Mei Fen out; she had never meant to go strolling herself. She tugged at Mei Fen’s hand and implored: “Won’t A’Jie come along? I would be so lonely going alone.”
Mei Fen could see her purpose and played the fool all the same. “How is that lonely? You will still have Elder Brother with you. Elder Brother passes the market fair every day on his way to the Imperial Academy — tell him what you want to buy, he knows which shops are where.”
Yun Pan furrowed her brow. “But I want A’Jie’s company.”
Mei Fen let herself be lightly swayed, like a reflection rippling in water, but stood firm: “I won’t go — the sun is fierce outside, it would be so unpleasant…” She turned and offered: “Let Elder Brother go with you. Didn’t you say you want to make the Guanghan Incense? The household probably has no more osmanthus flowers — you can buy some while you are out.”
Xiang Xu listened to their back-and-forth for some time and had by then roughly understood: Yun Pan was most likely acting on their mother’s instructions, intending to coax Mei Fen out of the house. So he added a casual word of persuasion: “You could just sit inside the carriage — whatever you want, I will buy for you outside. You won’t even be in the sun.”
But Mei Fen’s patience seemed nearly at its end. She had been smiling at first; now she simply let her expression drop, turned her back, and muttered: “I don’t want to go — why must you insist on dragging me along?”
Seeing that she was on the verge of losing her temper, Yun Pan did not dare press further, and withdrew her hand in disappointment. “Very well — since A’Jie won’t go, I shall just stay in the room and read.”
Mei Fen probably felt embarrassed; her earlier attitude had made things awkward for Yun Pan. She quickly smoothed things over: “Don’t be upset with me, Younger Sister — it is truly that I dread meeting strangers; I am not genuinely unwilling to keep you company. You have come to the capital, you shouldn’t be cooped up in the courtyard like me — you ought to go out and have a look around.”
So she understood all the reasoning perfectly — she simply could not bring herself to cross that threshold.
Xiang Xu knew her affliction well. He turned to Yun Pan instead: “The market fair in the capital is very lively — you will regret missing it. The Seventy-Two Towers has all kinds of food, and the sweets are especially famous. Let me treat you to the honeyed crisp apple blossom dessert.”
There are many things in this world one can take lightly — good food is not among them. At those words, Yun Pan no longer hesitated. She turned to smile at Mei Fen: “Then I shall go try it first, and if it is good, I will bring some back for A’Jie.”
With that she left Zilanyard in high spirits, hailing Xiang Xu at the courtyard gate: “Elder Brother, wait just a moment — I will go change my clothes and be right back.”
It was the season just before summer. The garden trees were lush and verdant; only the area before the courtyard gate was swept clean. Broad daylight poured down and steeped her in a honey jar. She squinted, tilting her face up toward him — her cheeks clear and lovely, with a child-like, guileless quality.
Xiang Xu’s heart gave a slight stumble. Strange as it felt, he kept his expression unruffled and nodded. She and her maid went off hand in hand with a cheerful spring in their step toward Yipouxue. He watched her walk into the deep heart of spring; a girl’s liveliness is the most beautiful poem — in this mellow and fragrant season, it dyed the sky clear and made the grass and trees deep and lush.
He drew a deep breath and smiled with pleasure. He turned to look at the garden scenery; buried in his studies all year, he seemed to have missed a great deal of intoxicating scenery…
Meanwhile, Yun Pan and Qin Dan dashed into the courtyard like a gust of wind. Madam Ming had assigned her two personal maids — one called Ming Ke, one called Ruo Lan. They had been spreading and drying thread incense on the covered walkway; hearing the two come rushing in, they exclaimed and laughed: “Our little mistress, what is happening — so excited?”
Yun Pan said: “Elder Brother is taking me to the market fair.” She spun into the alcove behind the screen, untying the embroidered ribbons at her collar, and called back to Ming Ke: “Quickly, fetch me something to change into. I was making incense earlier — got a bit of honey on my skirt, there is still a stain.”
Ming Ke hurried to comply, taking from the cabinet a set of oriole-yellow gauze wide-sleeved jacket to wear, lined with a clear-mountain-hued skirt jacket and a hundred-pleated skirt inside. As she helped Yun Pan change, she said: “The mistress dresses too plainly every day — it is a rare outing, do wear something bright.”
Once dressed, she was guided to the mirror to be made up: a delicate and clever topknot was arranged, pinned with two small white jade jasmine hairpins, and finally a pretty floral ornament was pressed at the center of the brow. With this adornment, a charming beauty stood revealed.
Ruo Lan came forward to dust her face with powder. Yun Pan waved her off: “No, no — it is so hot.” She pointed to her sachet and told Qin Dan to bring it along, then hitched her skirt and walked out the courtyard gate.
Xiang Xu was pacing slowly along the little path between the two courtyards; hearing footsteps, he turned to look. She had changed her clothes, and came out through the gourd-shaped moon gate. Just then a breeze arrived; the hem of her skirt fluttered and swept, as though she might take flight into the air.
His heart lurched with sudden disquiet. He hastily averted his gaze: “Let us take the carriage I usually use — it is parked outside the main gate… I have already sent someone to let Mother know…” The more he said, the more muddled he became. In the end, at a loss with his hands and feet, he gestured helplessly: “After you, please.”
Yun Pan only sensed that he seemed a little flustered but did not think much of it. She and Qin Dan went on ahead, chatting and laughing, toward the front courtyard.
Looking back now, in the days before coming to the capital she had been consumed with worry — distressed over her father intending to elevate his concubine, afraid that Founding Marquis’s household would become a laughingstock. Now that she had separated herself from that family, she suddenly let everything go. No need to manage her reputation, no need to tread carefully around her father’s moods — her heart felt as easy as it had when her mother was alive. She felt that all the suffering of the past year had been meaningless.
They passed through a long covered gallery. The main gate was just ahead. They had walked some distance when she suddenly heard someone behind her call out, “Young miss, please stop.”
Yun Pan turned and saw a man dressed in a straight-hemmed robe, the attire of a household retainer, hurrying to catch up. He came before her, cupped his hands and bowed: “May I ask, young miss — are you the daughter of Founding Marquis’s household of Youzhou?”
Yun Pan did not know his background and hesitated, glancing at Xiang Xu. Xiang Xu returned the man’s greeting: “You are…?”
The man said with a smile: “I am the chief administrator of Duke Weiguo’s household. The day the young miss entered the capital, it was our Duke who sent escorts to protect her.”
Yun Pan understood now and immediately gave this Chief Administrator a curtsy: “I received the Duke’s assistance and have never had the opportunity to thank him properly. It is fortuitous to meet you today — please convey my thanks to the Duke on my behalf and thank him for his aid that day.”
The administrator said certainly: “I will surely relay the young miss’s words. That day was the most urgent time of the earthquake in Youzhou; the Duke sent escorts to protect you, and we did not know whether those two attendants safely delivered you. Today I came under orders to call on Duke Shuguo and his madam, and to look in on the young miss as well. Seeing that the young miss is in good health, I can now report back to our Duke.”
Yun Pan thanked him again and again. Together with Xiang Xu she saw the administrator to the gate. When that chief administrator had ridden away, Xiang Xu said: “Duke Weiguo sent someone specially to inquire — most likely he has learned that the Marquis’s household is holding funeral rites for you.”
Yun Pan sighed. “If I do not appear, Liu Yinniang’s performance must continue.”
Xiang Xu, gentle-natured as he was, found himself unable to hold back this time. He frowned: “How can there be someone in this world who cannot recognize their own flesh and blood, and believes every word their concubine says? Aunt must have suffered a great many grievances in her lifetime.”
Indeed — that kind of suffering was like a blunt blade cutting into flesh. The concubine might not dare to confront the legitimate wife openly; all the disappointment came from the head of the family. A man who shielded his concubine without question, regardless of right or wrong — how deep a wound that was for the legitimate wife. Her father seemed never to have reflected on it. This world was always thus: no matter how noble a woman’s birth, marriage meant submission to her husband. Someone like Xiang Xu, who could speak a fair word, was already a rare exception.
“Enough — let us speak no more of him.” Xiang Xu pointed toward the carriage stopped beside the gate pillar: “Let’s go.”
Qin Dan supported Yun Pan into the carriage. The carriages of noble houses were generally spacious and refined; in summer they were fitted with intricately carved open-lattice side panels, with gold-threaded bamboo curtains over the doors and windows. Sitting inside, the curtain raised partway, those outside could see only a dim impression within; but the view from inside outward was perfectly clear.
“To the South Bridge market fair.” Xiang Xu climbed in and settled into the seat opposite, then leaned aside to instruct the young groom driving the carriage. He then told Yun Pan: “There are four market fairs in the capital; the South Bridge one is the most prosperous — restaurants and food stalls line every corner, and there are many novelties and curiosities. Once you have seen South Bridge, the other three hold little of interest.”
Yun Pan smiled and dipped her head. “Today I have taken up Elder Brother’s study time.”
Xiang Xu was an upright gentleman; when he smiled it carried a quiet self-possession. He sat properly with hands on knees, saying: “I study every day; it is also a rare thing for me to come out and stretch my legs. I say I am accompanying you to browse the market fair, but in truth it is I who want to clear my head.”
This dispelled Yun Pan’s guilt. Honestly speaking, she had not yet met a man more considerate than him; it was plain that the education of a Duke’s household was excellent.
She turned to look outside — a scene of bustling vitality. Yun Pan said with some regret: “What a pity that Elder Cousin would not budge. On such a day, riding out in a carriage would be just right.”
Speaking of his sister, Xiang Xu was equally at a loss. “I have invited her many times, hoping to take her out for a spring outing to see some scenery outside. She has refused every time. In truth, people are each their own way — if she truly will not leave the garden, so long as she lives happily, why force her?”
Xiang Xu’s forbearance came from his deep affection for his sister, but he did not understand the rivalries of the inner chambers. It was not Yun Pan’s place to comment on another family’s domestic affairs; she only said: “Aunt is very worried about her.”
Xiang Xu let out a soft breath. “It is because of the marriage to Duke Weiguo.”
This was a knot with no solution. The match was set; sooner or later there would be a wedding. Duke Weiguo’s household today sent their chief administrator to call — even if there was no intention of pressing for the wedding, it would put people on their guard. The match had been made too early; Duke Shuguo’s household was now in a bind, and Duke Weiguo’s household may not be without misgivings either. As for why the Li family was not in a hurry to hold the wedding — most likely it was because Duke Weiguo had long been of frail health.
Such a tangle of complications was a torment to think through in detail. Xiang Xu did not much want to dwell on it. Just then the carriage was passing below the Gold Beam Bridge, by Liu Tower. He called the groom to stop, jumped down himself, and said through the curtain to Yun Pan: “Liu Tower makes the best honeyed crisp apple blossom dessert. Wait here — I will go buy it for you.”
He lifted his robe hem and went toward the restaurant entrance. The steward inside spotted him from a distance and came forward with a deep bow: “Young Master has come…”
Qin Dan murmured, watching Xiang Xu’s retreating figure: “If only the mistress had such an elder brother to be her support!”
Yun Pan had no such wistfulness: “When Mother was alive, I lived just as contentedly as Elder Cousin Mei. It is only that I have come to a narrow place now — fortunately I still have Aunt looking after me; I cannot say my luck is entirely bad.”
She was not the sort to wallow in self-pity. Apart from weeping a great deal when she saw her aunt that day, she had not shed a tear over that matter since. The Marquis’s household had held the funeral — it seemed Father had not discovered that the person in the coffin was not her. In the eyes of everyone at the Marquis’s household, she was already dead. To say it did not grieve her would be false, but what use was grief? The one fortunate thing was that she still had some money; when it was no longer convenient to stay long in the Duke’s household, she could find a way to arrange for herself.
“When Elder Cousin Mei is married, let us buy a house on that stretch of street.” She pointed out the window with a smile: “Close to the market fair, convenient for buying food. The constabulary post is just ahead — constables patrol the streets all day, so there is no fear of being bullied.”
Qin Dan drooped her brows and smiled ruefully: “For the mistress to set up her own household — that is no easy matter, unless she finds a young man capable of sustaining a family.”
Just then, Xiang Xu led the restaurant steward to bring a food box to the carriage. The steward lifted the bamboo lid, took out two cups from within, and said with a smile: “These are our Liu Tower’s finest delicacy — please taste them, young miss.”
Qin Dan stepped forward to receive them and carefully placed one in Yun Pan’s hands. Ice had been packed inside, and the blue-green porcelain dish was cool to the touch. Clear golden honey — like congealed amber — lay quietly spread across the bottom of the dish; on top of it were small mountain peaks and jasmine flowers shaped from butter pastry, beautiful as a painting.
Yun Pan always approached food with reverence. She held the dish carefully, smiling with eyes curved: “The capital’s snacks are indeed more delicate than Youzhou’s — not only do they satisfy one’s appetite, they are a feast for the eyes as well.”