After sitting a while longer, the Cao mother and daughter took their leave. At this point the Senior Madam looked at Yun Pan with a smile and asked, “What do you think of An Rong?”

What could she say — truth be told, she had very little to go on. The girl had sat there for half a day and had only spoken a few words at the very end when saying farewell. There was no real basis for judgment. But since the Senior Madam had asked, Yun Pan took the opening and said, “I found her looks to be very fine, and she seems to be a quiet and composed person.”

The Senior Madam nodded. “The important thing is this: the Cao family has frequent twins, and that is rather interesting.”

The Princess Wang understood what the Senior Madam had in mind, but constrained by her mother-in-law’s intentions and not wishing to contradict her, she simply smiled and added, “She was just very quiet — not a word out of her for half a day. I wonder what her mind is like.”

The Senior Madam made a sound. “There is virtue in a woman having no especial talents. As long as she is no mute, and judging from the mother’s manner of conduct, the daughter is likely to be of a similar calibre.”

At this, both Yun Pan and the Princess Wang fell silent. Yun Pan had not been in the household long, and she did not know the details of the Senior Madam’s own family. But the Princess Wang had been a daughter-in-law for several decades and knew the ins and outs well. The Senior Madam had once been an Imperial Noble Consort — only families of the utmost distinction could be considered for imperial selection. Her several brothers had attained the ranks of dukes, marquises, and high ministers. In those earlier days, the family had basked in immense imperial favour. Now, these distant relatives had arrived quite out of the blue — it was not a holiday, and there was no wedding or funeral to attend. By rights, given the gap in the families’ social standing, the connection should have been gradually allowed to fade. Yet today they had appeared without warning, bringing a young girl who had an apparently elevated likelihood of producing twins. The Princess Wang saw through the purpose of the visit with a single glance.

Ah — the Senior Madam was also far too eager. The Princess Wang’s own disposition was quite equable. Ji Fu and Yun Pan were on very good terms right now, and their marriage was not yet very old — to forcibly introduce someone at this point was truly not a wise move.

But who could dissuade the Senior Madam? Once she had made up her mind to do something, ten bulls could not drag her back. Yet she was also mindful of Yun Pan’s feelings, and so the Senior Madam had been hinting and probing obliquely all along, hoping the girl would perceive what was expected of her on her own. But that child had kept playing dumb the entire time, which caused the Senior Madam some vexation.

When the conversation finally ran out, the Senior Madam said, “I was thinking — perhaps it would do to keep An Rong here with me. The child has lovely eyes and a gentle temperament, and I find her quite pleasing.”

This was tantamount to saying she intended to arrange for An Rong to become a concubine for Li Chenjian. Yun Pan still played ignorant, keeping to agreeable words. “If Grandmother is willing to keep her here and guide her, it will be the girl’s good fortune. After all, with her father and elder brothers posted in outlying regions, anyone who knows she came out from Grandmother’s side will find it greatly to her advantage when the time comes to arrange her marriage.”

The Senior Madam was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to tell whether the girl was truly oblivious or feigning it. She gave a vague laugh. “Only, the family connection is rather distant. I am not sure what grounds there are to ask the girl to stay.”

The Princess Wang raised her teacup and drank from it. At this moment she had absolutely no desire to interject. She simply listened as Yun Pan said unhurriedly, “The Cao family’s standing is not high, and they are distant relations to boot. But Grandmother looks on An Rong with favour and wishes to keep her near — Madam Cao should be overwhelmed with gratitude. What grounds are needed?”

The Senior Madam fell silent. She realised the girl was deliberately playing along without getting to the point. Ordinarily so clever — one hint and she understood everything — yet when it came to finding a concubine for her husband, she pushed back and prevaricated. Truly small-minded.

The teacup was set down. The Senior Madam lowered her eyelids and brushed the creases on her knee. “Very well. This is only our intention — we do not even know what the other party is thinking. Let us wait until next time they come and ask about their thoughts.”

Yun Pan docilely said yes and did not raise anything more about the Cao family. She helped prepare the evening meal in the Mao Garden and waited for Li Chenjian to return from his duties.

That evening the Senior Madam, seemingly by chance, brought up with Li Chenjian the topic of the relatives who had come that day — mentioning where Madam Cao’s husband was currently posted, what position the Cao son had secured, and noting that the family also had a young cousin who had come to visit that day, a girl of rather exceptional beauty.

Li Chenjian heard it all without any particular reaction, saying only, “Such distant relations — long since out of touch. That they remembered to come and see Grandmother is a thoughtful thing on their part.” He turned his head to look at Yun Pan and asked gently, “My Lady, did you change your incense today? It smells different from usual.”

He was deliberately changing the subject, and he also wanted Grandmother to understand that his thoughts were entirely with Yun Pan, and that he had absolutely no intention of taking a concubine.

Yun Pan naturally understood his meaning, and laughed. “This morning after seeing the Duke off, I went to the garden to pick osmanthus flowers. I was busy for a whole morning before I managed to press out one small jar of flower water. It will take another ten days or so for the fragrance to settle before it can be used.”

He took her hand and indeed caught the scent of osmanthus, then folded those slender fingers into his palm and said with tender concern, “Now that the weather is cooling, you must remember to add layers when you are outside for a long time in the morning. I have told you before — in midsummer, seeing me off to court is fine, but once the weather turns cold, there is no need. There are so many attendants, and I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.”

Yun Pan said that would not do. “If I don’t watch you get into the carriage, I am always uneasy.”

He laughed. “Uneasy about what? It is only one li from home to the palace walls. This is the capital — the guards are dense throughout the city. Nothing will happen.”

The young couple’s tender exchange made the Senior Madam press a hand to her forehead. The words that had been on the tip of her tongue ultimately did not make it out. She only said, “Let’s eat. If we wait any longer, the dishes will go cold.”

On the way home, the two of them walked side by side along the wooden covered walkway. The night air was already lightly cool. Yun Pan puffed out a breath in jest, and a faint wisp of mist actually appeared.

“Winter is just around the corner.” She murmured this, then turned her head to ask him, “Grandmother’s meaning — did the Duke understand it?”

He gave a sound of acknowledgement. “Understood it quite clearly.”

Yun Pan smiled. “Apparently the Cao family has twins in every generation. That is what Grandmother has set her sights on.”

The expression that floated across Li Chenjian’s face was like the mist she had just breathed out — diffuse and indistinct. “Twins? Is Grandmother trying to get two for the price of one?”

Indeed — childbirth was a walk along the edge of the underworld. One was already so difficult. Let alone two at once.

So it was that older people — especially those of such high station, with hearts long worn smooth by years — were no longer as soft as they had been in youth. Very often they only wanted their wishes fulfilled and thought little of the cost.

Yun Pan said, “Even if a concubine is to be found for the Duke one day, it absolutely cannot be from a family known for having twins. That is a human life, after all — to bring someone in specifically to produce children is far too cruel.”

He nodded. “I am a bit busy these days. Once I have a little more time, I will go and make things clear to Grandmother — the matter of concubines is not to be raised for now.”

It was certainly a good thing that he felt this way, but she feared a rift might form between grandmother and grandson. Yun Pan thought it over and said, “Leave it for me to handle. The Duke need not concern himself with this.”

He knew she had her ways of managing things, and he did not ask what she planned to do. They simply strolled back toward Xu Zhou, and he said in a mild voice as they walked, “The weather grows colder and colder, and the political situation in the capital grows increasingly unstable. Going forward — whether you are out and about or conducting affairs — you must be more careful. These years I have been occupied with official duties, going from Commander of the Xizhi Garrison to Governor of Youzhou, then to Commander of the Palace Guard. It seems as though I have had no rest.” He looked down at her as he said this. “Even our wedding — I was so occupied with the yamen’s affairs that I was not able to properly accompany you.”

Yun Pan sensed something was off about him and asked warily, “Duke, why do you suddenly speak this way today? Has something happened in court again?”

“There are so many developments in court each day — more than I can account for.” He turned to gaze at the vast sky and clasped his hands behind his back. “Or perhaps… I ought to take a rest for a while. If all goes well, I may be able to accompany you in burning incense and preparing tea.”

Yun Pan stopped walking. “And if it doesn’t go well?”

He turned his head. The look in his eyes held a certain solitary coldness and a kind of tender sorrow. “Then you will have to manage on your own for a time. Until… next year, when spring returns and the flowers bloom.”

He never spoke empty words. What he had just said frightened Yun Pan. She stood there for a moment in a daze, gazing at him with something catching in her throat.

He suddenly smiled. “What is it? Why that expression?” He reached out and brushed her cheek, the red-gold ring on his finger grazing her chin — the entwined chilong serpent pattern left a clear impression.

She clasped his hand and held it. Her heart was beating in sudden frantic leaps. She steadied herself with effort and said, “If you encounter something outside, you must tell me. Do not keep it from me.”

His gaze rippled faintly, and in the end he only shook his head. “Some things cannot be explained in a few words. You need only know that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. That is enough.”

That was nowhere near enough — simply keeping her safe! Yun Pan recalled how that day when he had called on her aunt and uncle, the very first thing he had done was to entrust her to their care. At the time she had merely thought him sincere. But she had not imagined that after marriage, she would truly one day face the worst-case scenario that had once been merely a hypothetical.

She held his hand and would not let go. He sighed, eyes dropping to look at her. He found that even this capable, composed Duchess, who always had everything in order, had her moments of fear and uncertainty.

He turned his wrist and took her hand in his, quietly leading her back toward Xu Zhou, saying as they went, “I was a little melancholy today, so I spoke some pessimistic words and caused you to worry. In truth, it is nothing. Political storms come and go — after so many years, I have long grown used to it… Perhaps it is the cold weather putting a chill in my heart, and I was simply venting to you in a moment of weakness. Don’t take it to heart.”

Yet Yun Pan knew — he was not the sort of man who lost his composure. If these words were truly nothing but venting, then he would not be the calculated and deliberate Li Chenjian she knew.

But since he did not wish to speak of it, she could not force him to make anything clear to her. Whatever storm came, she would face it with her spine straight. Whether fearless or full of fear, it would be the same — once one had reached this position, there was no room left to retreat.

That night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He lay on the pillow, doing his best to keep still so as not to disturb her. Yet the cough could not be suppressed — he had no choice but to turn his back and muffle the sound in his palm.

Yun Pan, as usual, shifted her warm body and pressed close to him, just as before.

He turned his head slightly. “I’m sorry. I’ve woken you again.”

Yun Pan said no. “I wasn’t sleeping either.”

“Still because of what I said this evening?” He tried to make his voice light. “Did you truly take it to heart?”

She said nothing. After a long silence she finally said, “Duke, is the Duke of Chuguo to be recalled to the capital?”

He gave a sound of surprise. “You already know?”

“There are many grand ladies passing through the shop. I noticed that the Duke of Chuguo’s wife has been purchasing splendid new clothing and bedding these past two days, and I thought it likely the Duke of Chuguo was returning.”

With three dukes gathered in the capital, the contest would gradually come to the surface. It was like the Emperor raising venomous insects in the palace — setting the three factions against one another, so that in the end whoever emerged victorious would pose no great threat. After all, controlling one was far easier than controlling three.

“Duke, if he returns, will it be to your disadvantage?” Yun Pan’s thoughts wound through many layers. In the darkness, she reached out and felt for his hand, asking softly, “That year when you were so gravely wounded in the army — who was responsible? Was it him?”

He was in the habit of keeping his arm pressed against the bedding — even in the coldest weather, he lay in a posture of readiness, which inevitably left his shoulders and back exposed to the cold. Yun Pan felt his fingertips were cool and drew his arm inside the bedclothes. She sat up and gathered the quilt around his back, and the two of them, wrapped tightly together, faced each other in the dark.

After a long pause, he gave an affirmative sound. “The Duke of Chuguo is a man of deep suspicion and erratic temperament. Once, his warhorse was startled and threw him — he always suspected someone had deliberately harmed him. Perhaps in the end, as he investigated, suspicion fell on me. So when I was conducting an inspection of the Xizhi garrison, someone let fly a cold arrow. The entire army was in training drills at the time. The shooter, a new soldier, insisted it had gone astray, but when it was traced back, it was found that he had once served in the Tiande Army, and his connection to Li Yujian was not necessarily nothing.”

“Was the matter not investigated further?”

He said no. “To know when to stop, and to know within one’s heart what is true — that is enough. If the investigation had continued, the enmity would have been brought into the open. Given the state of things, small impatience would have disrupted greater schemes. Besides, without concrete proof, one could only bide one’s time.”

Hearing this, she let out a long breath of sorrow. “Do Grandmother and Mother know?”

“I have not let them know,” he said. “There are still courtesies to be maintained in public. If there were ill feeling in their hearts, and it showed at an unguarded moment, it would only put the other party on guard.”

He had not told the elders of the family. He had told only her. It was his trust in her. Yun Pan felt as though she were slowly, piece by piece, finding her way into his heart — or perhaps this was how husband and wife came to live together, through this gradual permeation, becoming inseparable over time.

The hands inside the bedclothes had finally warmed. Yun Pan urged him, “Don’t keep leaving them outside. Your back takes in the cold and the cough will worsen. The household is nothing like the army camp, with its rounds of guards through the night. You can rest easy.” Then she had a sudden idea. “Let me make you a large fur-lined vest. You can wear it to sleep.”

He heard this and felt ill at ease. “How uncomfortable!”

“Being uncomfortable is better than catching cold.” She said this with complete gravity. “Wear it for a few more days. Once you get used to it, it will be fine.”

He said no. “It’s not convenient.”

“How is it not convenient? Your arms can still be outside…”

But before she could finish, he had pressed her beneath him, lowering his head to kiss her lips, his voice a soft murmur. “…At times like this, it’s not convenient.”

This man — always so surprising in his transformations. Had he not seemed rather sickly just a moment ago, coughing on and off? Yet when it came to doing what he liked, he became a completely different person.

Having been married this long, sometimes she thought she could see through him, and other times she thought she could not. He had navigated the currents of officialdom for many years and was accustomed to keeping himself wrapped up — clearly such a tender person, yet with an iron resolve in his heart that could not be turned. Only in these moments… young and ardent as a boy, obstinate in wanting to give her pleasure.

Yun Pan felt a pang of tenderness for him — for no particular reason, she simply felt it, even though he was already strong enough. Her heart still surged with a burning emotion, afraid she was not broad enough to contain him, that she could not keep pace with his footsteps.

He sought to please her, his voice low and husky against her ear as he asked, “Is this good?”

Yun Pan closed her eyes and made a sound. “Very good.”

In any case everything was good, everything was a delight. The two of them, upright and proper by day, entangled like this only in these moments — like two vines, inseparable, impossible to part.

Because of the exhaustion of the night before, Yun Pan truly could not open her eyes the next morning. She could not get out of bed. Half-dazed, she murmured her instructions to him, “Duke, you go out on your own today… I cannot see you off.”

He came and pressed a kiss to her brow. “Keep sleeping.”

She lay cocooned in warmth, a flush rising on her cheeks. Eyes closed, she sensed the candlelight withdraw from the inner chamber, and the roosters of the city crowed through once. She wrapped herself in the quilt and sank back down into dreams.

She slept deeply. Had Qin Dan not come to wake her, she might have slept on indefinitely.

This counted as the first time since becoming a new bride that she had slept late. Fortunately she had not missed the time for morning greetings. After breakfast in the Mao Garden, Yun Pan walked the Princess Wang back to the Xun Chun Courtyard. On the way, the Princess Wang brought up the previous day’s events and asked with interest, “If Grandmother truly keeps An Rong, what are your thoughts on the matter?”

Yun Pan smiled lightly. “What is Mother’s opinion?”

The Princess Wang sat in the armchair, lowering her eyelids. “A family of this standing — the father and brothers all officials — I find it unsuitable.”

Indeed. The head of the Cao family was a sixth-rank official at the very least. To keep a daughter from such a family in the residence — what would her name be? In truth, the Princess Wang’s own view was that a concubine absolutely could not be the daughter of an official family. A concubine had to have an appropriately matching background — either a small, humble household, or someone selected from among the household’s own maidservants. Bringing in someone whose father and elder brother were officials would, once any conflict between wife and concubine broke out, become the very root of domestic strife.

And yet the Senior Madam’s standards were exceedingly high. She had never wanted to slight her own grandson — even for a concubine, it could not be beneath the dignity of the Duke of Weiguo’s household.

Yun Pan found she could speak genuinely with this mother-in-law. She said warmly, “Mother, regarding the matter of taking a concubine — I spoke with the Duke about it some time earlier. The Duke has no such intention for the moment. He also said that since the first son of the eldest young master recently passed away, on the heels of such an event, there is no need for us to rush into having children.”

The Princess Wang nodded. “I know Ji Fu. Just look at the way he was at dinner with Grandmother last night — I can see perfectly clearly what is in his heart. It’s just that Grandmother’s temperament is extremely stubborn. If the Cao family also has this intention, and the two sides reach an agreement, then things will be troublesome.”

Yun Pan was puzzled. “They are people of standing too — would they really be willing to let their daughter become a concubine?”

The Princess Wang gave a faint smile. “People of standing? How could any standing compare to the Duke of Guogong’s residence? Their head of household has been an adjudication official for more than ten years and shows no sign of further promotion. The daughter would likely be married to a minor official or to someone wealthy — but compared to this, entering the Duke of Guogong’s residence is so much better. It would be a support for the father and brothers in the future.”

Yun Pan slowly nodded. In her own heart she felt that parents who truly loved their daughter would not be willing to let her become a concubine. But there were exceptions to everything.

Not two days later, the Cao mother and daughter called again at the door. As it happened, the Senior Madam and the Princess Wang had both gone to a Taoist abbey to burn incense that day, and Yun Pan had remained behind waiting for Li Chenjian’s return and had not accompanied them.

A serving woman came to report that the Adjudication Official’s wife had arrived. Yun Pan looked up and asked, “Has she come alone, or with her daughter?”

The serving woman said, “My Lady, they have come together, both mother and daughter.”

Yun Pan made a sound. “Have them shown into the reception hall. I will be there as soon as I have finished here.”