Early that morning, after finishing breakfast, Qin Yao went to her brother’s study, dutifully took out the Classic of the Way and Virtue, and was just settling herself to begin the day’s transcription when she was informed that Miss Wang and Miss Liu had arrived.

The hand holding her brush paused. She looked up toward the door in surprise — it was barely past early morning. Why had Wang Yingning and the others come so soon?

Puzzled as she was, she still quickly sent for them to be welcomed into her own small courtyard.

The two of them entered. Wang Yingning had not even opened her mouth before Liu Bingyu asked Qin Yao to dismiss the servants, then told her: “Something extraordinary has happened! Word has it that last night, the Wei Duke actually came forward of his own accord to request an imperial marriage decree for Feng Chuyue on Second Young Master Xia’s behalf — and the Emperor has already agreed!”

Qin Yao’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “Truly?”

Liu Bingyu gave a vigorous nod. “The Wei Duke’s household hasn’t made any attempt to keep it quiet. By now it has spread all through the palace and the city. Apparently Princess Derong has also said she wants to make the wedding date as early as possible — ideally before the eleventh month. And this very morning, the matchmakers have already been sent to the Feng household to deliver the formal betrothal gifts.”

“That quickly?” It took Qin Yao some time to process news of this magnitude. She sat in a bit of a daze for quite a while, not knowing what to make of it — unable to tell what had come to pass that had finally made the Wei Duke’s household back down.

Wang Yingning confirmed it: “My elder brother is currently in the Ministry of Rites. Word is that the Wei Duke has already requested officials from the Ministry to begin handling the formal marriage procedures for Second Young Master Xia — at the latest by the eleventh month, Feng Chuyue will be brought into the household.”

“Why so quickly?” Qin Yao was still a little stunned. Given that the Wei Duke’s household was so opposed to Feng Chuyue, even if they had agreed to accept her, she would have expected them to drag their feet as long as possible.

Wang Yingning’s face colored. She lowered her eyes and offered no answer.

Liu Bingyu, however, said in a conspiratorial tone: “Yesterday I secretly listened in on my mother and Madam Wang talking, and I finally managed to put it together. My mother said that since the Wei Duke’s household has already decided to accept Feng Chuyue, naturally the sooner the better — because it’s possible that Miss Feng is already with child. If her stomach becomes visible before she enters the household, the Wei Duke’s household would lose their dignity completely.”

Evidently worried that Qin Yao might not understand, she explained earnestly: “By ‘with child’ I mean having a baby. My wet nurse told me. She said when two people do that shameful thing together, the result is a baby.”

Wang Yingning could not listen to any more of this. She covered her face with her sleeve and gave a light reprimand: “Listen to what you’re saying. What kind of talk is that for a young lady from a respectable family?”

Liu Bingyu secretly stuck her tongue out at Qin Yao, not daring to say anything more.

Qin Yao, thinking of everything she had observed in Feng Chuyue since they had first met, found herself at a loss for what to say in response.

After a long moment, she let out a sigh, her feelings complicated and mixed.

Several more days passed. Then Princess Kangping came of age, and the Emperor and Consort Yi held a banquet in honor of the occasion, inviting all the officials of the court. The Qu family’s rank was by no means among those eligible to be invited — and yet the palace had sent someone specifically to extend an invitation to the Qu family.

Qin Yao had initially thought to plead illness and decline, but the palace messenger who came to deliver the summons said with a smile that Consort Yi had long heard word of Miss Qu’s remarkable talent and beauty, and had regretted not having a proper look at her during their last meeting at the academy — so this time she sincerely hoped Miss Qu would honor her with her presence.

Hearing these words, the Qu family dared not hesitate any further. Qu Chen Shi immediately dressed Qin Yao up with great care and brought her daughter along to attend the banquet.

Once inside the palace, the attendants escorted the Cloud Obscured Academy students to the Yong’an Hall to witness the ceremony conferring Kangping’s coming-of-age rites.

Feng Chuyue was at last present again this time — though her complexion was truly wretched. She had grown visibly thinner, and though she had applied powder, the faint shadows beneath her eyes were still discernible, and her skin had a yellowish undertone.

Kangping guarded her closely and protectively. Whenever anyone so much as let their gaze linger on Feng Chuyue with an unkind expression, Kangping would shoot back a look like a drawn blade.

The method proved remarkably effective — after two such exchanges, no one dared look at Feng Chuyue at any length.

Once the ceremony was complete, the young women were just making to withdraw when Consort Yi suddenly appeared. She asked which one was Qin Yao, had her brought forward, and examined her carefully, then praised her in warm and generous terms and presented her with a pair of red jade bracelets as a gift.

The gift was strange in its timing and far too valuable in its nature. Not only all the others present, but even Qin Yao herself, could not quite make sense of it.

Since it was a gift from Consort Yi, Qin Yao could not very well hesitate or decline. She knelt and kowtowed a few times, then accepted it without further ceremony.

As she withdrew, she finally dared to lift her head and glance upward — and discovered standing behind Consort Yi a female official with a face of exceptional, delicate loveliness, soft and almost fragile in appearance, the kind that moved others to tender concern at a mere glance.

Qin Yao recognized her, and inwardly called out in surprise: Qin Yuan?

She could not help looking more closely. It had been quite a long while since she had seen her — not since Qin Cheng’s death. She noticed that Qin Yuan’s bearing seemed calmer than it had been before, with less of that former timidity and somewhat more of a quality born of experience. She could not say whether it was cause for gladness or worry.

Qin Yuan was watching Consort Yi’s every movement with quiet attention, clearly ready at any moment to respond to any need. Noticing Qin Yao’s gaze, she flashed back a quick, warm smile, then immediately returned her focus to Consort Yi.

Consort Yi then called Feng Chuyue forward as well. She gave her a brief, cool glance, and also gifted her a pair of red jade bracelets — though her manner was noticeably more distant.

Then came Xia Yan. With Xia Yan, who was to be her future daughter-in-law, Consort Yi naturally found everything pleasing no matter how she looked. Though the gift was again a pair of red jade bracelets, her words and bearing toward her were marked by genuine warmth.

Xia Yan was still recovering from her illness. She seemed to find even speaking an effort, and her smile was stiff and uncertain. Consort Yi assumed she had simply not yet recovered her health, added a few words of gentle concern, and then let her withdraw.

After the feast was concluded, the assembled guests received the Emperor’s address. The Emperor smiled and said: “Though this one is the Son of Heaven, I share the same worries as any parent in the realm — I cannot escape the business of fretting over my children’s marriages. Fearful that they will be treated unkindly, yet also fearing that the other party will feel coerced, and call me a man who uses imperial power to force an ugly child upon them. And so this one has deliberated and delayed, only to find that by now several of my children have no matches settled at all — every time this thought comes to mind, I find my head aching.”

All the officials immediately grasped that the Emperor was about to bestow imperial betrothal decrees, and seeing his evident good humor, they all smiled and offered words of assent, saying the Emperor was clearly being modest — every one of his Imperial Princes and Princesses was of outstanding character and bearing, and even without the standing of the imperial family, none of them would ever have difficulty in the matter of marriage.

The Emperor smiled. “You ministers naturally say whatever sounds pleasing. But I also know my own children are not without their qualities. What father or mother wishes to see a child suffer? And so the first requirement in the matter of my children’s marriages is that they themselves must be willing — if they are not, then even if they are forced together, there is every chance they will quarrel endlessly and come to resent one another.”

The ministers all agreed.

The Emperor was quiet for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully and sighed: “Speaking of which — the palace has not seen a new addition for quite some years. At times this one also feels the loneliness of it. Like any of you, I long for children and grandchildren gathered about, and to enjoy the joys of family. And so — now that these few matters of my children’s marriages have been settled — I have wasted no time in setting wedding dates for them all. My hope is that they will start their families early.”

The meaning could not have been clearer. Congratulations immediately rose from the assembled officials in a warm chorus.

The Emperor smoothed his beard, smiled, and turned to Eunuch Mi. “Read out this one’s decrees.”

Eunuch Mi responded with a beaming smile, unrolled the imperial decree, and began to read. The first decree was the betrothal of the Seventh Imperial Prince to Lady Yishu.

The second was the betrothal of Princess Kangping to Feng Jizhou.

Qin Yao thought she had misheard — Jizhou was Feng Baiyu’s courtesy name. Did that mean Feng Baiyu was to wed Princess Kangping? But the Emperor had only just spoken of requiring that both parties be willing — when had Feng Baiyu and Kangping ever found feelings for each other?

But before she could think about it further, the third betrothal decree was already being read aloud: “Whereas the daughter of Qu Runcheng, the present Superintendent of the Imperial Astrologer’s Office, has been found to be a young woman of respectful conduct, refined and brilliant of reputation — and whereas Lin Weijin, the eldest son of Prince Lan, is a man of noble character unmarked by arrogance, of modest excellence that grows all the brighter — both now of the proper age and matched most fittingly as heaven and earth have arranged — so as to bring about the highest felicity of two souls well-suited, the young Qu is hereby bestowed as his wife. The formal ceremony conferring the title of Young Lord’s Consort shall follow in due course. All rites and procedures shall be overseen jointly by the Ministry of Rites and the Director of the Directorate of Astronomy, with the wedding to be held on the sixth day of the tenth month.”

The moment this decree was read, a countless number of gazes swung toward Qin Yao simultaneously. She bowed her head in embarrassment, her face burning.

Palace attendants who had been waiting nearby stepped forward and guided Qin Yao toward the imperial presence to receive the decree.

As she walked forward, Qin Yao discovered that Lin Xiao had long since been kneeling in place — dressed in robes of dark jade green with a belt of gold and jade, his entire appearance one of the highest distinction, as though he had known this was coming and had prepared accordingly.

As he caught her approach in his peripheral vision, an involuntary trace of a smile stole to the corners of his mouth.

Whether it was only in her imagination, Qin Yao felt that Lin Xiao appeared more exceptionally handsome than he had at any moment before. She could not help but feel her heart beating faster than usual and did not dare look at him too long. She quickly knelt and kowtowed.

The Emperor examined Qin Yao carefully, then smiled. “Truly a matching pair — this one is thoroughly pleased with this match. Weijin has good taste. Your imperial great-uncle gives you both the warmest congratulations.”

The two of them received the decree and withdrew.

The fourth decree was the betrothal of Xia Di and Feng Chuyue. Before the reading had even properly begun, Xia Yan, who stood nearby, seemed to reach the very limit of what she could endure — she went limp and began to fall backward, and it was only the quick reaction of the maidservant behind her, who let out a cry and caught her, that kept her from collapse. Qin Yao turned to look, and saw Xia Yan’s face had gone white as paper, her chest rising and falling rapidly — it was unmistakably not pretense.

But before she could dwell on that, Qu Chen Shi had already been guided to her side by a palace attendant.

There was the faintest glisten of tears in Qu Chen Shi’s eyes, though her expression was one of unbridled happiness. She kept her voice very low and took Qin Yao’s hand. “Everything is perfect — except that the wedding date is a little soon. Come tomorrow, I am afraid your mother will have no more idle days to spare.”

Lin Xiao, from where he stood at a distance, had his eyes fixed on Qin Yao — seeing her sweet smile, seeing the happiness she could not quite contain in every tiny expression and gesture. And in his own eyes, without his realizing it, a layer of warmth and quiet joy settled in like light.