After the violent rainstorm that night, several more spells of rain fell over Chang’an in succession.

When the rain finally cleared, the trees and plants throughout the city seemed even more lush and vigorous than they had before — greenery bloomed everywhere, a riot of flowers and foliage, and the weather grew warmer by the day. The heavy clothing of winter could no longer be borne.

On the day of the Palace Examination, the skies were clear again.

Qin Yao rose early to see her brother off, then returned to her own small courtyard. She found the crabapple blossoms beneath the eaves had all opened overnight in full bloom, and the parasol tree rang with the songs of orioles and swallows. A happiness she could not quite account for rose up in her chest, and in high spirits she fetched a kite from her room and brought her maidservant Caiping out to the garden to play.

The Qu family’s estate was modest in scale, with only a small garden — dotted with a few crabapple trees and banana plants and an octagonal pavilion, and nothing else of note.

Qin Yao played for a while and felt the garden was too cramped for her to have any real fun. She glanced at the courtyard walls on all sides, and her eyes lit up with a mischievous gleam. She smiled and waved Caiping over: “Come here.”

Caiping was built with round arms and round legs, and had barely run a few steps with Qin Yao before she was gasping like a broken bellows. This time, seeing Qin Yao beckoning her with that look on her face, her plump cheeks tightened with alarm: “Miss — what are you trying to do now?”

Qin Yao was amused by Caiping’s expression of pure dread, and dragged her over to the base of the courtyard wall despite her squirming resistance, then instructed: “Hold the kite reel and stand here. When I tell you to let the line out, let it out.”

Caiping let out a sound of resigned compliance and stood there gripping the reel.

Qin Yao took the kite, gave a light spring, and was up on top of the courtyard wall. Gathering her energy, she sprinted along the top of the wall at speed.

The line on the reel in Caiping’s hand played out to its full length in an instant, and the kite, which had been hanging limp and listless before, gave a great swooping flutter and soared high into the wind.

Caiping’s heart nearly leaped into her throat: “Miss, that’s enough — the kite is flying plenty high! Please come down!”

Qin Yao paid her no heed whatsoever, only ran faster and faster, entirely absorbed in her own enjoyment.

All at once she seemed to slip, and let out a startled cry. She tumbled off the far side of the wall and vanished from sight.

Caiping burst into panicked tears and rushed forward, scrambling hand and foot up the side of the wall: “Miss! Miss! Are you all right? Miss!”

Her fingers had barely scrabbled to the top of the wall when Qin Yao’s head popped up from the other side, laughing with pure glee: “I’ve never seen such a gullible little fool. You fell for it just like that.”

Caiping’s mouth hung open for a long moment. Then, with much awkward fumbling, she climbed back down the wall and pressed a hand furiously to her eyes: “Miss is too much — was scaring this servant funny to you?”

Qin Yao saw Caiping was genuinely upset and quickly bounded down from the wall, patting her on the head: “Oh come now — is this something to get upset over?”

Caiping gave a fierce swipe at her nose and turned her back on Qin Yao.

“You take all the fun out of it when you’re like this—” Qin Yao was still grinning and trying to tease Caiping when Qu Chen Shi hurried into the garden with several maidservants and matrons in tow.

“Yao! Ah, look at you, standing there as if nothing’s happened! Someone’s come from the palace — they’re looking for you. A decree is to be read. Come now, hurry, come with Mother to the front hall to receive the decree.”

“An imperial decree? For me?” Qin Yao was completely at a loss, but let herself be pulled along by Qu Chen Shi toward the garden gate. “What’s going on, Mother?”

“Mother doesn’t know either — let’s go and see.”

The two of them arrived at the front hall, where several smooth-faced eunuchs were already waiting.

Upon seeing Qu Chen Shi and Qin Yao come out, the head eunuch smiled and extended his congratulations: “Felicitations to Madam and to the young lady. Please receive the decree.”

Qu Chen Shi’s heart was pounding, but she immediately dropped to her knees, pulling Qin Yao down alongside her to receive the decree.

“By the mandate of Heaven — it is determined that the Yunyin Academy shall be reopened next month. We have long heard it said that the daughter of Imperial Astronomer Qu Enze adheres faithfully to womanly virtue, applies herself with diligence and quiet compliance, and possesses in her nature a quality like unpolished jade — a treasure yet to be fully revealed. We hereby designate her for enrollment in the Yunyin Academy, that her virtue may be illumined and her talents brought forth. Thus decreed.”

Qu Chen Shi had not read much in her life, and only grasped the broad meaning of it. Having received the decree, she quickly ordered tea to be served to the eunuchs, then produced several small packets of silver to press upon them, smiling and attempting to coax some inside knowledge out of them.

The head eunuch returned a smile of mysterious inscrutability: “Madam, you need not ask too many questions. You should know that this time the reopened Yunyin Academy has enrolled a total of only fifty female students — and there are many who sought entry but could not obtain it. Consider yourself quietly fortunate. The hour grows late and we still have other households to visit with the decree — we shall take our leave.”

After seeing the eunuchs out, Qu Chen Shi’s bewilderment only deepened. She had vaguely heard her husband mention the Yunyin Academy in passing recently, and while she understood it to be a good thing, the court officials numbered in the hundreds, and those with daughters at home were no small number either — given Qu Enze’s rank, there was no reason to expect Qin Yao would be selected. And so neither of them had given it a second thought. For the selection to have actually fallen on Qin Yao was entirely unexpected — she couldn’t help wondering whether there was some hidden circumstance behind it all that they were unaware of.

“Mother, what is this Yunyin Academy?” Qin Yao, who had always been easy-natured and optimistic, had recovered her composure soon after the initial surprise. But seeing her mother still frowning from time to time, she grew curious.

“This — Mother doesn’t know very clearly either. We’ll wait until your Father and Elder Brother come home and have them explain it to you in detail.” As she spoke, Qu Chen Shi’s mood gradually brightened. Whatever the reason, having Qin Yao accepted into the renowned Yunyin Academy was a good thing, no matter how one looked at it.

She pulled Qin Yao close and looked her over from head to foot, beaming from ear to ear: “You silly child — from now on, with the Academy to attend, you’re not to go running off with your master getting into fights and scrapes everywhere. Starting today, stay home properly, pick up the studies you’ve been neglecting, and learn them properly. When you get to the Academy, heaven forbid a teacher should ask you something and you draw a complete blank.”

Qin Yao’s interest in the Yunyin Academy dimmed considerably: “Mother, this isn’t how last-minute cramming is supposed to work. Could we talk about something else?”

In her heart she was already wondering whether, if the imperial decree didn’t make it absolutely impossible to refuse, she might find some way out of going.

At dusk, the Qu family received even better news. Qu Ziyu had earned first place in the Palace Examination.

Even after the messenger bearing the good tidings had left, Qu Chen Shi still seemed to be in a dream, pulling Qin Yao’s sleeve and asking over and over: “Mother didn’t mishear, did she? Your elder brother placed first in the Palace Examination?”

“He did! He did!” Qin Yao was so overjoyed she was beaming from ear to ear, and could hardly keep from grabbing her mother and jumping up and down.

When Qu Enze returned home, he could barely conceal the satisfaction on his face. He quickly downed a mouthful of water, then shared with his wife and daughter the details he had gathered.

The topic of the Palace Examination that day had been river management. After the examination, the Emperor and several senior ministers had evaluated the essays together, and all agreed that Qu Ziyu’s and Feng Chuyue’s were the finest — but over which of the two deserved the top placement, the ministers were each of a different opinion.

In the end, the Emperor himself spoke. He said that while Feng Chuyue’s essay was piercing and incisive in its arguments, with brilliant literary flair, it was overly focused on immediate results, and between the lines a certain eagerness and aggressiveness could be sensed, which robbed it of a degree of measured steadiness.

Qu Ziyu’s essay, by contrast, while not quite as brilliant in expression as Feng Chuyue’s, was written with depth and calm assurance — taking the broad view throughout, neither aggressive nor one-sided, measured and serene, with the composed and sweeping quality of a great commander. It had no rival for first place.

“Does that mean the two of them came first and second in the examination?” Qu Chen Shi had a good impression of Feng Chuyue, and hearing this she felt doubly pleased, and promptly refilled her husband’s tea cup.

Qu Enze nodded, accepting the cup from his wife with a heartfelt sigh: “Young Master Feng is a remarkable person. But our Ziyu has had over a decade of study by candlelight, never once slackening even in times of illness — his achieving first place this time is a reward he has truly earned.”

These words struck Qu Chen Shi directly in the heart. Thinking of everything her son had endured over those years, a wave of grief welled up, and her eyes grew red, threatening tears.

Qin Yao quickly cut in to change the subject, and told her father about the matter of the Yunyin Academy that day, asking: “Father, what kind of place is this Yunyin Academy?”

Qu Enze showed no surprise — evidently he had already heard the news.

He rested a hand on top of Qin Yao’s head, his expression a mixture of glad and troubled: “The Yunyin Academy was once one of Chang’an’s three great academies. More than ten years ago, for reasons that were never clearly explained, the Late Emperor issued a decree to close it. The Emperor’s decision to reopen the Yunyin Academy is doubtless for reasons of his own, and it would not be our place as subjects to speculate. Now that you have been called to enroll and study there, think no more about it — simply go and learn well. There will be no harm in it.”

Just then Qu Ziyu came home and caught the tail end of his father’s words. His brow creased slightly, and he interjected: “Father, from what I’ve heard, the Yunyin Academy’s reopening this time will enroll no more than a few dozen students. I keep feeling there is something questionable about why Yao was selected.”

Qin Yao laughed and sprang to her feet, darting forward to welcome her brother: “Our family’s Number One Scholar is back!”

“How are you home so early? Did the Emperor not intend to hold a feast in the Eastern Grove today to entertain you new imperial scholars?” Qu Chen Shi was delighted, and pulled her son to sit down. “You two gentlemen talk — I’ll go tell the kitchen to add a few more of Ziyu’s favorite dishes.” And she whisked out of the room in a flurry.

“Word is that Imperial Consort Yide is feeling a little unwell, and the Emperor, being concerned about her, postponed it to tomorrow.” With the Eastern Grove feast cancelled, Qu Ziyu had originally planned to invite their examiner out for drinks with Wang Yikun and Feng Chuyue, but hearing that his younger sister had been accepted into the Yunyin Academy, he felt uneasy and had hurried home first.

Qu Enze’s thoughts had not left what Ziyu had said a moment ago, and he spoke in a measured tone: “The ones tasked with drawing up the enrollment list this time are Vice Minister Wu and Attendant Mo. The selection criteria were also quite strict — for instance, a candidate must be under the age of fifteen, must be the legitimate first-born daughter of her family, and it was preferred that her eldest brother hold an official position. It so happens that Qin Yao meets every single one of these conditions.”

“And yet among those on the enrollment list, daughters of officials below the fourth rank are exceedingly rare — the great majority are young ladies from the households of princes and high ministers.” Qu Ziyu was increasingly uneasy.

“Elder Brother, what are you worried about?” Qin Yao did not like to see her brother frown, and reached over to smooth away the furrow between his brows.

Qu Ziyu did not wish to raise before his sister the rumor that the Academy’s female students might be chosen as imperial consorts by the Emperor. He said only, helplessly: “You carefree little creature. Once you’re at the Academy, Father and Mother and I won’t be there with you — and you’ve never made any serious study of the four arts before. What if the coursework is demanding and the other students aren’t easy to get along with? Will you be able to manage?”

Qin Yao smiled: “So Elder Brother is afraid his little sister will be bullied at the Academy? Rest assured — the road beneath your feet is the road you walk yourself. There is nothing your little sister is afraid of.”

Qu Enze and Qu Ziyu, seeing Qin Yao standing there with her chin held high and an air of absolute fearlessness toward the world, could not help but smile.

A few days later, the Emperor appointed Qu Ziyu to the position of Compiler at the Hanlin Academy, while Wang Yikun was appointed as a Corrector. Feng Chuyue was appointed, rather unexpectedly, as a Chief Clerk at the Court of Judicial Review.

That morning, Qin Yao had been planning to find a pretext to go back to the Qingyun Temple to see her master and A’Han, when the steward brought her two invitations.

One was addressed to Qu Ziyu, the newly crowned top scholar of the examination. The other was addressed specifically to Qin Yao herself.

She opened them to find the contents were the same — both were invitations to an evening banquet at the Wei Guo Ducal Household.

“The Wei Guo Ducal Household?” Qin Yao tried her best to think of any connection between her own family and the Wei Guo Ducal Household.

Qu Chen Shi, however, knew in considerable detail the recent history of the Wei Guo Ducal Household, and was also aware that lately many families had been paying their respects there to curry favor. The Qu family’s rank was too low to have managed it, so they hadn’t tried — which made it all the more unexpected that the Wei Guo Ducal Household had taken the initiative to invite them.

“What does the letter say?” Qu Chen Shi was very curious.

“The one for Elder Brother only says that the top scholar of this year’s examination is invited to attend the banquet. Mine says—” Qin Yao propped her chin in her hand, “—that Princess Derong’s daughter, Princess Yi of the Commandery, will also be entering the Yunyin Academy this year. The Princess hopes to meet her future classmates in advance, and therefore invites her fellow students to attend the banquet.”

Qu Chen Shi smiled: “That’s a fine thing. You’ve been sitting at home with nothing to do — this is a perfect chance to get to know your classmates from the Academy before term begins. What date does the letter say?”

“Tomorrow evening.” Qin Yao was less than enthused. She had no particular interest in the flower-decked, jewel-laden gatherings of aristocratic young ladies — and more’s the pity, her plans to visit the Qingyun Temple would most likely have to be abandoned.

Sure enough, Qu Chen Shi was already eagerly making plans to take Qin Yao out shopping: “Our Yao is a young lady now — it’s high time you dressed yourself up properly. Come, Mother will take you out to buy some rouge and powder.”

When the next day arrived, Qin Yao expended considerable effort to successfully prevent her mother from applying cosmetics to her face, but she and her brother could not entirely escape Qu Chen Shi’s enthusiastic fussing.

Qu Ziyu wore a brand-new robe of dark green with subtle brocade patterning, its collar framing a strip of snow-white inner lining, his waist bound with a pale blue silk cord, and black headgear and boots to complete it — the very picture of refined and polished elegance.

Qin Yao wore a jacket and skirt of apricot blossom pink, a long trailing moon-white skirt clasped at her chest, pale blue half-sleeves draped over her arms, and her hair unadorned save for a scattering of several thumb-sized pearls — in all dressed more freshly radiant than the youngest new shoots of spring.

When Qu Chen Shi stepped back to look at the pair of them, luminous as jade standing side by side, a spontaneous surge of pride welled up in her.

“If you happen to notice any young lady tonight that catches your eye, just come home and tell Father and Mother, and we’ll arrange for her to be brought into the family for you,” she pulled Qu Ziyu aside and said in earnest.

Qu Ziyu cleared his throat in mild discomfort and offered a perfunctory reply: “Mother, it’s getting late — we should be going.”

Only then did Qu Chen Shi let the matter drop.

The two siblings arrived at the Wei Guo Ducal Household to find its gate already thronged with a splendid crowd of fine carriages and well-dressed guests.

Xia Hongsheng stood at the entrance with his sons Xia Lan and Xia Di, receiving guests.

Word came that this year’s top scholar had arrived, and the three of them promptly and courteously welcomed Qu Ziyu inside. Qin Yao, meanwhile, settled into the ladies’ palanquin that had been prepared for the female guests.

Qu Ziyu lifted the curtain and admonished Qin Yao: “Drink lightly, don’t wander off, and I’ll come and get you early so we can go home together.”

As the palanquin carried Qin Yao inward, she found the Wei Guo Ducal Household vast — and every inch of it meticulously crafted and refined, with nothing in sight that was not of the finest quality. She marveled privately: this was what it truly meant to be a household of illustrious pedigree, far beyond anything an ordinary wealthy family could match.

At the inner courtyard gate, Qin Yao stepped out of the palanquin, and an attendant came forward to escort her inside.

A winding path led her through flowers and willows to a gloriously rich garden. Qin Yao marveled inwardly — she could count more than ten varieties of peony alone among the plantings, to say nothing of the other exotic and rare flowers. And yet the arrangement was sumptuous without being chaotic, never merely piled on — so that wherever the eye rested, there was nothing but beauty and perfect propriety.

The attendants of the Wei Guo Ducal Household moved through the garden in orderly streams, and the hosts appeared to be gathered at a pavilion somewhere in the garden, in conversation.

Qin Yao walked slowly toward the sound, and saw a group of young men and women seated in the pavilion, talking brightly and cheerfully. Among them, one young woman of extraordinarily striking appearance was surrounded on all sides like a moon encircled by stars.

Qin Yao observed that her every gesture was refined and regal, and her looks and dress so exceptional, that she guessed at once she must be tonight’s young hostess — Princess Yi of the Commandery.

As Qin Yao had surmised, the moment the young woman caught sight of Qin Yao, she rose with an impeccable smile to greet her: “Are you Miss Qu? Welcome, welcome — please take a seat.”

Everyone in the pavilion turned at once to look at Qin Yao.

“It’s you?!” Someone suddenly leaped to their feet.

Qin Yao looked more carefully, and saw that the one who had spoken was a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, with a pretty, artless face and features far more delicate and striking than those of ordinary young ladies — who was currently glaring at her.

Recognition dawned on Qin Yao: was this not the little young lady who had thrown her weight around so high-handedly in the Donglai Establishment last time?

“What is it, Kangping? Do you two know each other?” Xia Yuan was puzzled, and turned to ask Kangping.

“She is the one that Eleventh—” Kangping remembered the lesson of being hung from the tree the other day, and caught herself just in time, swallowing the rest of the sentence back down. She gave an irritated flick of her sleeve. “I don’t know her!”

Qin Yao couldn’t be bothered with her, and went up on her own initiative to curtsy before Xia Yuan, speaking gently: “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Xia Yuan took Qin Yao warmly by the hand and drew her into the pavilion to sit, saying: “Is your father Imperial Astronomer Lord Qu? I haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing your given name.”

“My name is Qin Yao, Your Highness,” Qin Yao smiled.

“Hmph.” From somewhere, a barely audible sound of disdain escaped.

None of the others seemed to catch it; Qin Yao’s hearing was sharp, and she looked toward the source. She saw a young woman in a purple gown, her dress and ornaments extravagantly rich, her head draped in so many jewels and kingfisher-feather hairpieces that she looked even more eye-catching than the hostess Xia Yuan herself. She had a small, neat-featured face, a tiny nose and eyes, and fair skin — passably pretty in a delicate sort of way.

She was sitting beside the young lady who had been addressed by the Princess as Kangping, the two of them whispering behind their hands to each other while casting occasional contemptuous glances at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao pretended not to see any of it, settled calmly in her seat, and accepted the tea offered by the attendant, drinking it at her leisure.

“You needn’t call me Your Highness — from now on we’re classmates, so just call me A’Yuan,” the Princess said with a warmth that was far more approachable than Qin Yao had imagined.

At that moment the young woman in purple suddenly rose and excused herself to Xia Yuan with a smile: “A’Yuan, I’ll be back in a moment.” Xia Yuan understood she needed to use the facilities, and quickly instructed the attendant at her side: “Take good care of Miss Chen.” Miss Chen then followed the attendant and left the pavilion.

Xia Yuan took Qin Yao’s hand again and continued chatting: “I was born in the year of Gengchen — and you?”

Qin Yao was just about to reply when Miss Chen, making her way back past her, exchanged an imperceptible look with Kangping, and then — quite casually — bumped into Qin Yao’s arm. Taken off guard, Qin Yao swayed, and the hot tea in her cup was on the verge of splashing all over her own jacket.

Qin Yao swiftly tilted the cup to redirect its momentum, then gave a barely perceptible twist of her body — the whole series of movements was as fast as a lightning flash. A cry rang out from behind her: “Oh! Who spilled tea on me?”

Everyone turned to look: Miss Chen had half her clothing suddenly soaking wet, still steaming, and looked thoroughly disheveled.

“You — it must have been you!” Kangping stared in goggle-eyed disbelief before leaping to her feet and pointing furiously at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao wore an expression of perfect innocence, and the other guests exchanged baffled glances. Qin Yao’s body had not moved an inch — how could she possibly have been the one to spill the tea?

“Well done! Excellent!” A sharp clapping sound broke through the silence.

Everyone looked up, and found that several young gentlemen had arrived at the front of the pavilion without anyone noticing. One of them, his features bright and bold, was now looking at Qin Yao with a half-smile playing at his lips.

Qin Yao’s heart gave a startled lurch. She slowly rose to her feet, regarding the newcomers with wariness.