Shi Ting clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at a hibiscus tree across from him. “This engagement will not go through.”

“You’re that certain? I’ve heard a few things about Shi Guang — it seems he also has feelings for Yan Qing. He even took her out to dinner once.”

“Oh, that time Yan Qing made him buy ten lobsters?” At the mention of that incident, Shi Ting couldn’t help but curl his lips — as if it were something to be exceedingly proud of.

Shi Xin shook her head helplessly. “But what if Shi Guang insists on not breaking off the engagement? That’s your brother’s betrothal. If you try to take her outright, you’ll hand people something to use against you, and you won’t get past the Commander either.”

“I won’t need to make a move.” Shi Ting’s gaze was deep and measured. “Someone else will handle it.”

~

In the garden of the Shi household, there was a large banyan tree, and from its branches hung a swing. Someone had placed an infant in a basket and hung it from the swing — a gentle push, and the baby in the basket would burst into delighted giggles.

Shi Madam Meng Qiu watched the child with a face full of tenderness, cooing and making faces to amuse it from time to time.

Beside Shi Madam sat a young woman dressed in fine and elegant clothing. She wore a half-sleeve qipao with a raised floral pattern, her appearance dignified and refined. Her shoulder-length hair was permed in soft waves, and two pieces of jade earrings peeked in and out of sight.

“Mother, from the time Qing’er was born until now, this is your first time meeting him.” This young woman was Shi Ting’s fourth sister, Shi Yuan, who had married far away into Xi Nan and rarely returned to Bei Di to visit family.

Shi Madam said, “Qing’er takes after you — that round, chubby little face is just so endearing. If your father could see him, he’d certainly be delighted too.”

“Father isn’t in Shun Cheng right now, and he probably won’t be back for half a month.” Shi Yuan said with regret. “Big Brother is so consumed by official matters that his feet barely touch the ground, and Second Brother too — I’ve only managed to see him in passing twice.”

“Your big brother and second brother have important matters to attend to — of course they don’t have time to keep company with us women.”

“Mother, I heard that Father verbally promised Second Brother a marriage contract, and the other party is actually a cripple. Is that true?”

Shi Madam nodded. “She’s the Sixth Miss of the Yan household, the medicine merchants — as a child she fell ill, which left her legs disabled.”

“Father really… Second Brother is exceptional in both civil and military arts, truly one in ten thousand — how could he be made to marry a disabled woman? Won’t that be a laughingstock for everyone?” Shi Yuan said with frustration. “When I get back, I’ll write Father a letter and persuade him to change his mind.”

“Your father’s word is law — once spoken, it cannot be taken back. Unless the Yan family withdraws on their own initiative, or that Sixth Miss commits some grave transgression, no one can stop this match.”

As they spoke, Shi Guang’s concubine Qiu Cao came to pay her respects to Shi Madam. Seeing that Shi Yuan was also present, Qiu Cao immediately stepped forward to greet her.

Qiu Cao had risen from the position of a maidservant. Even before Shi Guang had formally wed, he had already elevated her to the rank of concubine, and she attended to him daily at his side.

Though Qiu Cao’s current standing was not high and her background was humble, should Shi Guang one day inherit the Commander’s position, Qiu Cao would become the Commander’s concubine — a status no one would dare look down upon. And so the household servants still treated her with great deference and respect.

As they talked, the baby in the swing suddenly let out a loud cry. Both Shi Madam and Shi Yuan took turns holding him to soothe him, but to no avail.

Qiu Cao said, “Perhaps I may try?”

No one knew what trick Qiu Cao used, but the moment the baby was in her arms, he stopped crying — and even broke into a little smile for her.

Shi Madam said delightedly, “Don’t just busy yourself holding other people’s children — you and Shi Guang should have one of your own soon.”

Qiu Cao’s face bloomed with shy joy. “Yes, Madam.”

“Any child born would be a concubine’s son.” Shi Yuan seemed displeased. “When has Father ever looked properly at the seventh one?”

Qiu Cao lowered her head. “It is Qiu Cao who comes from a humble background…”

“That is no fault of yours.” Shi Madam said. “That Sixth Miss has been paralyzed since childhood. Even if she can fulfill a wife’s duties, she cannot bear children. If Shi Guang truly takes her as his principal wife, he will only end up raising a household of concubine-born children — not a single one with legitimate standing.”

“Mother, we cannot let Father act so willfully on his own. This will ruin Second Brother’s entire life.”

“Don’t I know it — but what can be done?”

Shi Yuan thought for a moment, and her eyes lit up. “I have a plan that can force the Yan family to withdraw from the engagement themselves.”

“You have a plan?” Shi Madam’s face immediately brightened.

“However, this plan cannot be accomplished all at once — I’ll need to return to Shan Cheng and devise it carefully.” Shan Cheng was located in Xi Nan, the place where Shi Yuan had married into. “When the time comes, Mother must work together with me, and we shall surely succeed.”

“In that case, you should set out for Shan Cheng soon — there’s no room for delay in this matter.”

“Understood, Mother.” Shi Yuan took the baby back from Qiu Cao’s arms and pressed a kiss to his soft, fair cheek. “Qing’er, be good.”

“Qiu Cao, stop standing there.” Shi Madam spoke with great earnestness. “If you can bear a son soon, I will take him into my own quarters to raise — even as a concubine-born child, no one will dare look down on him.”

Qiu Cao was overjoyed at the news and immediately knelt to thank Shi Madam. “Thank you, Madam. Qiu Cao will serve Second Young Master with all her heart and strive to carry on the Shi family line as early as possible.”

Even if she could never rise to the position of the principal wife, with a child of her own as a foundation, no one in this household would ever dare look down on her again.

~

By the end of the seventh month, the heat in Shun Cheng had grown increasingly fierce.

Wealthy households used kerosene-powered electric fans — these fans required no electricity, as pouring in kerosene was enough to set the blades spinning.

Some also bought blocks of ice to cool their homes, but ice was expensive, and only officials and people of rank could afford it.

Yan Qing had a kerosene-powered fan that Yan Laoye had brought back from abroad. The fan was made entirely of brass with four blades. It didn’t spin particularly fast, but it was more than enough to provide a cooling breeze.

“Miss, these characters you’ve written look almost exactly like Director Shi’s.” Jing Zhi picked up the brushwork Yan Qing had just finished and blew gently on the ink.

Over the past month, Yan Qing had practiced her calligraphy every single day. Her method was simple — she would place a thin, semi-transparent sheet of paper over Shi Ting’s characters and trace each stroke carefully. After a month of this, the results were beginning to take shape.

“Send this piece to Father to have a look.” Yan Laoye knew she had been practicing and would come by every few days to check on her progress.

“The master has been very busy lately.” Jing Zhi said. “I heard he went off again to negotiate a business deal. This time it’s a big one — if it goes through, it would bring in half a year’s income for the whole household.”

Yan Qing smiled. “How do you know all this so clearly?”

“The First Madam told the Fifth Miss, and the Fifth Miss let it spread until everyone in the whole household knew.”

“Miss, you haven’t gone out in days — wouldn’t you like to take a walk?” Murong carried in a basin of ice. “There’s a market on Chang’an Street today. It’ll be lively.”

“I don’t feel like going.” Yan Qing disliked the heat.

“The market has lots of street food.” Murong deployed her trump card.

Upon hearing that, Yan Qing finally set down the brush in her hand. “Then let’s go have a look.”

She stayed indoors all day long, and it was clearly the two maids who were going stir-crazy. When told they could go out to the market, even the scorching heat outside couldn’t dim their excitement.

Jing Zhi held an umbrella over Yan Qing’s head, glancing around curiously in every direction.

The market was bustling and lively — vendors selling fruits and vegetables, shops selling clothes and shoes, and stalls offering chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs.

Murong bought a skewer of chicken pieces and some pan-fried rice cakes from a street stall, and the mistress and her maids enjoyed them with great relish.

At a stall selling old books, Yan Qing spotted a rare edition on traditional medicine and was flipping through it when, all of a sudden, the crowd surged toward one spot. Somewhere in the commotion, the word “dead” drifted through the air.

“What happened?” Yan Qing set the book down.

Murong said, “Someone seems to have died over there.”

“Died?” Yan Qing frowned. “Let’s go take a look.”

In broad daylight, no one should be committing murder in the open street. There was likely more to it.

The road here was a flat dirt path, with the market set up on either side and the middle lane left clear for vehicles to pass through.

A crowd had gathered in a circle in the middle of the road, all pointing and talking at once.

“Excuse me, excuse me.” Murong pushed through the crowd at the front, while Jing Zhi sheltered Yan Qing and they squeezed through the gaps.

When they saw what was inside the circle, Murong let out a stifled laugh. “It’s a pig.”

Lying across the middle of the road was a white pig, which appeared to be dead.

Not far from it lay an old, overturned bicycle. The owner looked to be over sixty years old — his hair already streaked with grey, dressed in a set of grey linen shirt and trousers, with the cuffs bound tight by straps.

The old man’s palm was scraped and bleeding.

“Hey you, old man — you killed my pig. Pay up.” The pig’s owner, though thin and small, had an extremely aggressive manner.

“No, no — it wasn’t me. I didn’t kill your pig.” The old man was so frightened he kept waving his hands in denial.

“Old sir, if you knocked over someone’s pig, you should admit it.” A young man stepped out from the crowd. He was dressed in white trousers and a white shirt, fair-complexioned and clean-cut.

Jing Zhi’s eyes glazed over dreamily. “A handsome man.”

Murong poked her. “All you ever look at is handsome men.”

Jing Zhi said, “I have a feeling that pig owner is no good — look at that weasel face of his.”

“You can’t judge a person by their looks,” Murong countered. “And I think the so-called handsome man you mentioned is no good either — just a pretty face.”

The young man Murong had dismissed as a “pretty face” pulled a magnifying glass from his pocket, crouched down, and examined the pig all over. Then he went over and inspected the old man’s bicycle tire.

Finally, he stood up straight, his expression confident. “Sir, the evidence is irrefutable. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Evidence? What evidence?” someone in the crowd asked.

The young man said, “Look — there are two parallel pressure marks on this pig’s body. I compared the pattern of these marks with the tire of that bicycle, and the tread is identical. This proves that the bicycle ran over the pig. Is that not conclusive evidence?”

The onlookers heard this and began nodding in agreement.

Only the old man let out a wail and burst into tears. “I did ride over the pig, that’s true — but I didn’t kill it! I have no idea why it was lying dead in the road!”

Seeing the old man dressed so shabbily, both Murong and Jing Zhi felt a pang of sympathy.

Jing Zhi said, “I really feel like this old gentleman has been wrongly accused.”

“I think your handsome fellow and the pig owner planned this together.”

“Hmph, if that’s really so, then I don’t think he’s handsome anymore.”

Both of them felt sorry for the old man, so Jing Zhi spoke up and pleaded, “Miss, please think of something — help this old sir.”

Yan Qing had no intention of getting involved in other people’s business, but with both maids begging her, she had no choice but to make an exception just this once.

“You’re both right — this old sir has indeed been wrongly accused.” Yan Qing said.

The two maids were overjoyed, knowing that Yan Qing was willing to step in, and they quickly pushed her toward the scene of the incident.

Suddenly, three young women stepped out from the crowd. One of them was strikingly beautiful, her looks enough to captivate a city, and she inevitably drew the attention of everyone around — including the young man in white.

He looked Yan Qing up and down, a flash of admiration crossing his eyes.