A knock at the door from Jing Zhi jolted Yan Qing from a deep sleep. She turned to look beside her — Shi Ting was still there.

She glanced out the window. It was already broad daylight.

“Shi Ting.” Yan Qing quickly sat up and reached over to shake his shoulder.

The man who had been sleeping soundly didn’t stir with the slightest hint of irritation at being disturbed. One long arm reached out and pulled her back against him, his eyes still closed, murmuring drowsily, “Up so early.”

“It’s broad daylight.” Yan Qing tried to wriggle free but couldn’t, so she changed tactics and poked her fingers into his armpit.

He let out a muffled laugh, and his arm loosened.

“We’re going to the Qian family today. Mother will be sending someone to hurry us along soon.”

“Isn’t it just a lunch?” Shi Ting managed to open one eye, clearly nowhere near rested enough, reluctant to release the soft warmth in his arms.

“Even if it’s just lunch, you can’t arrive exactly at mealtime — people would laugh.” Yan Qing pinched his nose. “Don’t you have things to do today? How can you be lying in this late when you have things to do?”

“My business is in the afternoon. My morning is completely free.” Shi Ting tugged at her arm, keeping her from getting up. “I’ll drive you both there.”

Faced with this clinging great tiger, Yan Qing poked him in the ribs again. “You can keep sleeping if you want — I’m getting up.”

“Stay with me ten more minutes,” came the plaintive request.

“No.”

“Five minutes.”

Yan Qing tossed a pillow directly onto his head. “No.”

The unsatisfied great tiger gave a long-suffering sigh and grudgingly sat up alongside her.

“I need to wash up and eat first, then go to Mother’s courtyard to coordinate the gifts with her. The Qian family is enormously wealthy — they have no shortage of valuable things — so a gift has to show genuine thoughtfulness to stand out.”

“What does my wife plan to give?”

Yan Qing replied, “Old Madam Qian enjoys smoking her pipe, but now that she’s getting on in years, tobacco that’s too strong will make her cough. I asked someone to procure a pipe made from spotted bamboo, and then I modified the mouthpiece — the smoke passes through it and has most of the harmful substances filtered out.”

“You made that yourself?”

Yan Qing blinked. “Just a little experiment.”

Shi Ting had grown accustomed to her talent making itself known at unexpected moments, yet even he was astonished that she could fashion something like this.

Yan Qing had come to know about these filtered mouthpieces because her second uncle was a devoted smoker. Whenever a new case came in, he would chain-smoke one cigarette after another. In an effort to reduce the damage to his health, she had bought him various mouthpieces over the years and developed a thorough understanding of how filtered ones worked.

“A gift this thoughtful from you — Old Madam Qian is certain to love it.” Shi Ting gently patted her hand. “Go and get ready.”

After breakfast, the two of them went together to Luo Huaimeng’s courtyard.

Yan Qing discussed the matter of gifts with Luo Huaimeng. The pipe was a gesture of care, but something of real value still couldn’t be overlooked — they didn’t want the Shi family to be seen as stingy.

Ever since Luo Huaimeng and Yan Qing had taken over running the household together, the inner court of the Shi family had been peaceful and orderly, every matter attended to with precision, which thoroughly satisfied the General Commander.

Luo Huaimeng was speaking with Yan Qing while Shi Ting sat to one side drinking tea, glancing up every now and then at the pair of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conversing quietly.

He had once worried about whether Luo Huaimeng and Yan Qing would get along. Even if a harmonious relationship wasn’t possible, he had hoped at minimum that they wouldn’t clash. Seeing the situation now, he had been underestimating his own wife.

Watching the two women work together in such seamless coordination filled him with a contentment that no one else could match.

“You’ll drive us there?” Luo Huaimeng had finished going over the gift list with Yan Qing and now looked toward her son. “You’re not going?”

“I still have business to take care of. I won’t be joining you.”

Luo Huaimeng nodded. “Then don’t come. Who knows what kind of scene might unfold anyway.”

It seemed Luo Huaimeng’s instincts matched Yan Qing’s — both suspected something was off about this birthday banquet. What it was aimed at, exactly, they would only know once they arrived.

As Yan Qing and Shi Ting came out of Luo Huaimeng’s courtyard, they found Ling Ai playing with the chestnut.

Yan Qing laughed. “You really are punctual. You’ve gotten quite professional at this freeloading business, haven’t you?”

“Director Shi, your wife’s tongue is getting sharper by the day.” Ling Ai put her hands on her hips, tilting her head to the side. “Is what I do really freeloading? I freeload openly and honorably, thank you.”

Shi Ting said, “Remember to freeload a share for me as well.”

“No problem.” Ling Ai laughed and gave her solemn assurance.

When Shi Ting’s car pulled up at the Qian family gate, the street outside was already a stream of carriages and cars.

True to its reputation as Shun Cheng’s preeminent wealthy household, the Qian family estate might not be overflowing with family members, but its grounds were vast — larger even than the Yan family’s. Besides a Western-style building, it also contained several three- and four-courtyard compounds, with pavilions, towers, ponds, and waterways too numerous to count.

Old Madam Qian had given birth to one son and two daughters. The master of the house had also fathered three sons and two daughters between his two concubines. The two daughters had long since married out, two of the four sons were deceased, and the remaining two both lived within the estate.

One was the legitimate son, Qian Yongfu — master of the estate. The other was the son born of a concubine, Qian Yonglu.

Qian Yonglu had always been overshadowed by Qian Yongfu in every way. In his younger years he had considered making a play for more, but Old Madam Qian had always stood firmly behind her legitimate son, so after years of chafing, Qian Yonglu had quietly settled into the role of Qian Yongfu’s subordinate.

Unlike Qian Yongfu, whose line was thin, Qian Yonglu had produced a great many children, and the estate was full of his sons and daughters running about everywhere.

When Yan Qing and Luo Huaimeng arrived, Qian Yongfu and his wife personally came out to receive them.

Although Luo Huaimeng was only a concubine, she was the General Commander’s concubine, and she was currently managing the household. In the eyes of the Qian family, she was as good as half a proper mistress.

“Is this the Seventh Young Madam?” The Qian family’s wife, dressed in a red-and-gold embroidered cheongsam, stepped forward and took Yan Qing’s hand. “I’ve long heard that the Seventh Young Madam is exceptionally gifted and strikingly beautiful. Today is the first time I’ve seen you in person, and the rumors have proven entirely true. Your poise is simply one in ten thousand.”

Yan Qing knew these were nothing more than polite pleasantries, so she smiled graciously in return. “Madam Qian flatters me.”

Madam Qian’s gaze drifted over to Ling Ai. Even though Ling Ai had been doing her best to make herself invisible, a woman as perceptive as Madam Qian could never fail to recognize her.

“Surely this must be Miss Ling Ai, the beloved daughter of Master Hui Cun himself?” Madam Qian moved toward her warmly. “I never expected Miss Ling Ai to grace us with her presence personally — our Qian family is truly honored.”

Ling Ai smiled with mild embarrassment and immediately looked to Yan Qing for help.

Yan Qing could see that Ling Ai was out of her depth — she had little experience with occasions like this and was prone to feeling out of place. Being discovered was one thing, but suddenly facing Madam Qian’s enthusiasm and all the eyes turning toward her had left her visibly rattled.

Yan Qing suppressed a private smile and said smoothly, “Madam Qian, Ling Ai simply tagged along for the occasion. She doesn’t enjoy socializing, so please treat her as an ordinary guest.”

Hearing Yan Qing’s words, Madam Qian understood perfectly — the girl had come purely for the fun of it and had no desire to draw unwanted attention. Making a big fuss over her would only make a nuisance of things.

“All our guests are honored guests. Please, do come in.”

After ushering everyone inside, Madam Qian personally escorted them to the reception hall. The hall was already full of ladies and young women, who all rose to exchange pleasantries when Yan Qing’s party entered.

Shi Ting’s standing was there for all to see, and Yan Qing had risen right along with him. The moment she sat down, she immediately became the center of the room.

Ling Ai sat beside Yan Qing, looking left and right, but no matter how long she looked, she couldn’t find anything particularly interesting. All she could do was listen to these women lavish compliments on one another — their flowery language sending wave after wave of goosebumps down her arms.

“Ling Ai, do you need to use the restroom?” Yan Qing smiled at Ling Ai beside her. She could see she was thoroughly bored and offered to take her for a walk around. With the Qian estate being so large, there was sure to be plenty of scenery to see.

“Yes, yes — I do need to go.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than an observant little maidservant stepped forward. “Seventh Young Madam, Miss Ling Ai — please let me show you the way.”

The two followed the maidservant through garden paths and across a small arching bridge over a stream. The Qian estate’s scenery had been painstakingly crafted, with even the most modest little garden arranged with exquisite taste.

“You see those decorative rocks? They were all dredged from the bottom of Xuan Lake. Shaped by the river’s currents into a thousand different forms, each one is entirely unique. These stones are extremely difficult to recover — many come up shattered beyond recognition. To find one with truly varied and graceful contours takes years of effort. Accordingly, a single Xuan Lake stone is worth as much as an entire three-courtyard compound.”

“One stone is worth my whole house?” Ling Ai’s eyes went wide.

“And the flowers and trees throughout the estate — each one is a rare variety, many brought in from the south. To care for them properly requires enormous investment in both labor and money. I’ve heard that the Qian estate keeps several dozen people for that purpose alone.”

Ling Ai: “…No wonder I didn’t recognize most of these plants. I’ve never been to the south — I had no idea the flowers and trees there were this beautiful.”

“The Qian estate has far too many beautiful and wonderful things. You can take your time looking.”

“This estate really was built with money.” Ling Ai kept her expression of wide-eyed astonishment fixed firmly in place the whole way. “It certainly lives up to the name ‘Qian family.’ Maybe I should change my surname to Qian too — would I be this rich as well?”

“If you go and change your name right now, there might still be time.”

Ling Ai stuck out her tongue. “Never mind, never mind. You give me this much money and I wouldn’t even know what to do with it. Spending money is a skill in itself. Zheng Yun’s little courtyard suits me just fine — no decorative rocks or rare flowers, but it’s clean and tidy, and it puts you in a good mood just to be there.”

“Of course, of course — in your eyes, everything about Zheng Yun is wonderful. Even those few scrawny plants of his are better than the entire Qian family garden.”

Ling Ai couldn’t resist giving Yan Qing another poke. “You and your sharp tongue.”

The two had just passed through the garden when the strains of a beautiful melody drifted into their ears.