Pei Xuan was analyzing with Pei Tong which people might preside over next year’s spring metropolitan examinations and what preferences each of them had.

Pei Tong listened very attentively.

Pei Xuan also spoke very earnestly.

He rarely had the opportunity to see Pei Tong.

Recently, the Emperor wanted to build a Daoist temple in the palace, but the Imperial Treasury didn’t have enough silver. The eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial wanted the Ministry of Revenue to provide the funds, which the Grand Secretariat naturally refused. So those from the Directorate of Ceremonial constantly made things difficult for the Grand Secretariat.

In Pei Xuan’s view, the Emperor had only recently ascended the throne, so wanting to build a Daoist temple wasn’t something that warranted making such a big issue of it. These past few years had seen favorable weather and abundant harvests, and the state treasury was full. They could completely lend some silver to the Imperial Treasury first, then repay it slowly. The Emperor still had annual income from gold and iron mines—as long as he was careful, within three years at most he could repay the silver. The Grand Secretariat didn’t need to humiliate the Emperor like this.

Though his words were tactfully put, somehow they still reached the Emperor’s ears. The Emperor even specially summoned him to ask how the silver could be repaid. As a minister, he naturally had to help resolve the Emperor’s concerns. He suggested several methods. Though the Emperor didn’t decide immediately, judging by his expression, he seemed quite approving of them all.

He just hadn’t expected that doing this would displease certain people, who repeatedly targeted him, saying he was being sycophantic. He was extremely angry and had been busy these past few days dealing with this matter.

Seeing Gu Xi walk over, he only then remembered that his main purpose today was to receive his mother. As for the examination matters, they were both urgent and not urgent. Moreover, the Yu family’s Wei Xiaochuan was also taking the examination this time. Given his younger brother’s personality, he would surely pull him aside specifically to discuss this matter with Wei Xiaochuan. Better to be generous and see the good deed through—after asking Pei Yan, he could find some free time to lecture them all, which would also show respect for Pei Yan.

He cut off the topic and said to Pei Tong, “It’s a long story and can’t be explained clearly in just a moment or two. How about this—when I have time some day, you come over and I’ll discuss it with you properly.”

This was experience that others couldn’t buy even with money.

Pei Tong was naturally extremely grateful and agreed repeatedly.

Gu Xi was very pleased.

With Pei Xuan helping to smooth the way, Pei Tong should have an even better chance at this spring examination.

She respectfully paid her respects to Pei Xuan and Old Madam Pei.

The two smiled and nodded at her.

She suddenly heard a burst of laughter from not far away.

Gu Xi couldn’t help but look toward the sound. She saw Yu Tang wearing a silver-red silver fox fur cloak, holding a green tung oil paper umbrella, being helped down from the ship by a maid.

“Atang, you haven’t changed a bit!” The speaker was Xu Xuan. She was beaming and stepped forward to embrace Yu Tang, but was intercepted by Pei Dan from the side, who in a few quick moves hugged Yu Tang and joyfully called out “Third Aunt!”

Yu Tang smiled and hugged Pei Dan back firmly.

Her fair face rested on Pei Dan’s shoulder, which was draped in a green cloak embroidered with gold all over. That face, which had already been quite beautiful, now seemed to radiate light, like summer flowers by the water—ardent and brilliant.

Gu Xi felt momentarily dazed.

When had Yu Tang become so beautiful?

Like a flower.

If before there had been a few traces of youthful awkwardness, now only the splendor of full bloom remained.

Stunningly beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful.

How could this be “not changed at all”?

She had clearly changed like a completely different person.

Before she had only spirit, but now she had substance.

And a beauty’s essence always lay in substance, not appearance.

Gu Xi couldn’t help but scrutinize Yu Tang as she exchanged pleasantries with Miss Zhang and Yang Shi.

She wore a plain Hangzhou silk orange-colored jacket over a horse-face skirt with apricot and light yellow striped panels, the pleats embroidered with patterns that appeared and disappeared as she moved—beautiful in a luxurious and extravagant way.

Gu Xi suddenly smiled bitterly.

What did it matter that she had remade her jewelry and had new clothes made?

These rich, complex colors—when Yu Tang wore them, she could forcefully suppress them, so that when people looked at her, the first thing they saw was her fair face.

Why?

Gu Xi struggled to recall.

Yu Tang had already turned around and taken each of her two sons by the hand from their wet nurse, saying to Xu Xuan and the others, “These are our Jiang’er and Qian’er.”

Both children had fair skin, large eyes, high noses, and long curling lashes, as beautiful as the attendant children beneath Guanyin. However, the older one looked calm and composed, resembling Pei Yan more, while the younger one appeared gentle and shy, more like Yu Tang.

“Oh my!” Xu Xuan bent down, wanting to hold this one but feeling she would neglect that one, wanting to hold that one but feeling reluctant to let go of this one. Holding both together was beyond her strength, so for a moment she didn’t know what to do.

Pei Dan, however, didn’t think twice. Taking advantage of Xu Xuan’s indecision, she swooped up the smaller one and gently asked him, “Are you Qian’er?”

Qian’er immediately blushed. While softly answering “yes,” he eagerly looked toward Yu Tang, as if saying “hurry up and take me back.” This melted Pei Dan’s heart—she who had a rambunctious child at home—and she didn’t know whether to hand the child to Yu Tang or continue holding him.

Jiang’er frowned almost imperceptibly and said in a clear, loud voice, “You must be my Fifth Cousin Sister, right? My brother is still young and at the age of learning to walk. You should let him walk by himself!”

Hearing this, Qian’er immediately became much more confident. Blinking his large eyes at Pei Dan and nodding vigorously, he said in his baby voice, “Fifth Cousin Sister, I walk by myself!”

Xu Xuan and the others couldn’t help but laugh heartily at this.

Pei Dan, afraid of making the child cry on their first meeting, thought for a moment and quickly set Qian’er down on the ground.

Qian’er, as if granted amnesty, quickly hid beside Jiang’er.

Jiang’er consolingly patted his younger brother’s head.

Qian’er clutched his older brother even tighter.

Xu Xuan could see that Yu Tang’s eldest son probably took after Pei Yan. She couldn’t help teasing Jiang’er: “We’re all your aunts or maternal aunts. Can’t we hold your brother either? If he’s this timid, he won’t accomplish great things in the future.”

A flash of displeasure crossed Jiang’er’s eyes, but his face remained proper and respectful as he replied, “Our parents have taught us since childhood not to talk to strangers. This is our first meeting with our aunts and maternal aunts, so we’re inevitably a bit uncomfortable. If my brother were truly timid, he would have started crying already. He’s just not quite used to this yet.”

“Well, well, well, look at this little one!” Having lived with Yin Mingyuan for so long, Xu Xuan had also come to appreciate clever people. Yu Tang’s eldest son was clearly very intelligent, and she admired this greatly. She said to Yu Tang, “Your eldest is only six this year, isn’t he? He already knows to protect his younger brother. Mine only knows how to fight. He won’t rest until he’s turned everything upside down.”

Yu Tang felt even more tender toward this precocious eldest son who would later bear the responsibilities of the firstborn. Hearing this, she hugged her eldest son and smiled, saying, “Your children are close in age. When I gave birth to Qian’er, our Jiang’er was already sensible enough to know to cherish his younger brother.”

Xu Xuan no longer wanted to discuss her three sons. She sighed, “If I hadn’t had a daughter this time, I would have preferred never to give birth again.”

Did she plan to keep having more children?

Yu Tang looked at Xu Xuan in surprise. Thinking of the Yin family’s situation, she forcibly swallowed her words. Then, with her two sons at her side, she exchanged a few more pleasantries with Miss Zhang and Yang Shi. The Pei brothers walked over with Old Madam Pei and said, “Let’s get in the carriages! We’ll return to the Tongzhou residence first and have lunch before discussing anything else.”

Everyone agreed.

Old Madam Pei beckoned to her two little grandsons: “Come, come to Grandmother.”

She wanted to ride in the same carriage with her two little grandsons.

Second Madam had originally arranged for the Pei brothers to ride with Old Madam so they could have some intimate conversation.

Seeing this, she quickly adjusted the carriage seating order.

Old Madam Pei rode with Jiang’er and Qian’er in one carriage, the Pei brothers in another, Second Madam in another… the Gu Xi couple in another…

A grand procession of over thirty carriages whipped their way toward Yu Tang’s small residence in Tongzhou.

The heating flues had all been lit the day before.

Inside it was warm as spring, while outside heavy snow fell and winter plum blossoms bloomed red.

Those who came in from outside after removing their cloaks and wearing only lined garments all breathed sighs of relief, revealing relaxed smiles.

The men talked in the main hall while the women went to the warm pavilion.

Old Madam Pei sat on the arhat couch holding Qian’er, chatting with Xu Xuan while occasionally looking down at the wet nurse squatting beside them feeding Qian’er water, as if afraid the wet nurse would spill water on Qian’er’s clothes: “…It’s good that the elders at home are all healthy. After I passed sixty-five, I felt it quite noticeably—each year worse than the last. If it weren’t for having these two children to look after, I wouldn’t have this much energy.” After speaking, she even helped straighten Qian’er’s scarf.

Second Madam chuckled, feeling that having something to do indeed gave Old Madam more vitality.

Her gaze toward Jiang’er became gentle, and she quietly asked him, “Are you tired? If you’re tired, go rest for a while!”

Jiang’er stood straight-backed beside Yu Tang, letting Yu Tang hold his hand as he politely answered Second Madam: “Second Aunt, I’m not tired. My brother and I just woke up when we disembarked from the ship.”

Moreover, they would be having lunch soon, and after lunch, the brothers would be arranged to take an afternoon nap. There was no need to disrupt everyone’s reunion.

Second Madam couldn’t help saying to Yu Tang, “This child is so well-behaved!”

Yu Tang nodded with a smile. Knowing that her eldest son had high expectations of himself and was filial and obedient, and not wanting to make things difficult for him, she also quietly said to him, “Do you want to lean against Mother?”

“No need!” he said seriously. “I’m really not tired.”

Yu Tang said nothing more.

In Gu Xi’s arms, Brother Yuan looked longingly at Jiang’er and Qian’er.

Gu Xi saw him staring intently. Aside from occasionally encountering Pei Dan’s son Sen’er, who was about his age, when visiting Second Madam’s place, he rarely saw children close to his own age.

He tugged at Gu Xi’s sleeve and said to his mother in unclear words, “Mother, brother, play!”

Gu Xi was staring at the embroidery on Yu Tang’s skirt pleats.

Stripe after stripe, embroidered with magpies celebrating among plum blossoms.

Those colors, that needlework—it looked like the Shu embroidery the tailor shop proprietress had given her.

Could it be such a coincidence?

Could Yu Tang have used this to make a skirt?

Hadn’t she left the capital? How was it that she wore whatever was fashionable in the capital?

Or was it imitation embroidery?

Jiangnan merchants pursued profit and were the quickest to act—wherever there was something good, they could immediately learn to copy it.

Gu Xi didn’t hear clearly what her son had said. When her son tugged at her sleeve, she somewhat impatiently grasped his hand and couldn’t help saying, “Third Aunt’s skirt is truly beautiful! I’ve been looking at it for ages, and the more I look, the better it appears!”