Xie Changgeng traveled by day and rested by night, and half a month later, returned to Xie County.

He arrived at his home gate late at night. He knocked at first, but the gatekeeper was so deeply asleep as to be completely oblivious. Fearful that too loud a noise would startle his elderly mother, he simply climbed over the wall and went straight to the east wing where he lodged.

The room door was left slightly ajar. He pushed the door open and entered, lit the oil lamp on the table, then raised his eyes and let his gaze fall upon the bed on the opposite side.

The bed curtains hung in two panels, each hooked up to one side by a pair of golden hooks, falling in quiet drapes on either side. Inside lay the mandarin-duck pillow and the bright-red bedding — all just as before. The room was cold and drafty, the chill air pressing close.

After quelling the revolt of Prince Jiangdong, he was required by custom to report to the court. Because of the trip to the Changsha Kingdom, this had already been delayed for some days; it was now urgent that he proceed to the capital.

He seldom returned home these years, and thinking of his widowed mother, he felt considerable guilt. This time, after leaving the Changsha Kingdom, he had thought to go home earlier, to free up time and spend a few more days with his elderly mother, before setting out once again to leave home.

He did not know when the next homecoming would be, and so this return trip had been carried out in great haste.

Now that he had finally arrived, having rushed along the road for days, he was somewhat weary. He was just about to put down his travel pack and change his clothes when he heard a soft knocking at the door behind him.

He opened the door.

Standing outside was a young woman holding a candleholder. She was fair of face, her hair loose and hanging down, a dark oily lock falling before her chest. Over her shoulders she wore a pale green padded jacket against the cold, its collar loose, revealing a glimpse of the crimson-pink inner jacket beneath.

By her appearance, she seemed to have just risen from bed.

Upon seeing him appear in the doorway, her face showed an expression of joyful surprise, her eyes lighting up as she called out, “Brother-in-law.”

This young woman was none other than Qi Lingfeng of the Qi Family.

Xie Changgeng was mildly startled, then raised his eyes and looked toward the side room adjacent to where they stood.

That door was half open.

Clearly, she must have come out of that side room just now.

“Just now I thought I heard some movement in this room, so I got up to take a look. I didn’t expect it would be Brother-in-law who had returned…”

She paused and looked past him into the room.

“The Madam must have returned together with Brother-in-law, I presume?”

Xie Changgeng said nothing.

She could likely tell that the woman of the Mu clan had not returned with him. After a moment’s hesitation, she said again, “It must be cold in there. The household wasn’t aware Brother-in-law was coming back tonight, so there’s been no preparation at all. Please go on in, Brother-in-law; I’ll start the brazier for you and warm you up first…”

Having said this, she made to hurry inside.

“When did you move here?”

Xie Changgeng did not step aside, and asked her this.

A faint blush rose onto Qi Lingfeng’s face, and she said softly, “Just these past few days… The Old Madam accidentally caught a chill, and Qiuju wasn’t looking after her well enough, so I came to take care of her. After the Old Madam’s health improved, she absolutely insisted I not leave, and arranged for me to stay here — to wait until Brother-in-law and Madam returned, so that…”

Her voice trailed off, and she lowered her gaze.

A gust of night wind surged in, blowing out the candle flame in her hand.

The surroundings were plunged into dimness at once.

“…Brother-in-law…”

She raised her head and called out softly.

The night air was hazy and indistinct. Her shadow shifted very slightly.

“The Madam is not returning for the time being. It is not appropriate for you to stay here — return home tomorrow.”

Xie Changgeng said this in a gentle tone, then stepped out of the room and made his way toward the main quarters where his mother lived.

He came before her door, and happened to encounter A’Mao, who had come out in the middle of the night to relieve herself.

A’Mao was huddling her neck, squinting her eyes, clutching her arms tightly around herself, yawning on her way back inside, when she suddenly bumped into Xie Changgeng and received a fright, letting out a startled cry. Recognizing who he was, she let out another “ah,” then turned and went pattering back inside.

“Old Madam! The young master is back——”

She opened her throat and shouted loudly.

Xie Changgeng was about to stop her but hesitated, held himself back, and let her shout as she ran inside.

Very soon, a lamp lit up inside the room.

“Geng’er, you are back? Come in quickly!”

Along with the sound of someone rising, his mother’s voice reached him from inside the room.

Xie Changgeng walked in, a smile coming to his face, and steadied her as she settled back onto the edge of the bed.

His mother was delighted to see her son, took hold of his hand, and asked him about conditions on the road. Mother and son exchanged a few words; she glanced at the doorway.

“Where is the Mu woman?”

Xie Changgeng paused for a moment, then turned his head and told Qiuju and A’Mao to withdraw.

“The Mu woman did not return.”

His mother was taken aback. “You went to fetch her — why did she not come back with you?”

“She was pampered and indulged from childhood. When she arrived at our side, she was probably unaccustomed to the local conditions. At the time I did not mention it to you — when she left, her health was actually not well. So I did not ask her to return, and let her stay there to slowly recuperate.”

His mother frowned. “Is that so! If her health was poor, why did she not say so at the time? Since she calls me her mother-in-law, do I seem the sort of person who would be indifferent to her life and death?”

Xie Changgeng said nothing in reply.

She sighed and grumbled in a low voice, “I knew it! The day she entered this household, the first time I laid eyes on her — that fragile, delicate look of hers, as though a single gust of wind would topple her, was not the blessed constitution of someone who bears children easily. Nothing like Feng’er…”

She seemed to have suddenly recalled something, and her face showed a smile again. She said with a pleased expression, “Geng’er, let Mother tell you something. Feng’er has come over — I wonder if you saw her just now. I’ve been thinking, since she’ll soon be one of our family, I let her move over to your side. You’ve come home this trip — stay a few more days. Mother will choose an auspicious date and have Feng’er’s matter settled. That would put one of the long-cherished wishes of my heart to rest.”

Xie Changgeng said, “Mother, I was just going to speak to you about this. Since the Mu woman has not returned, this matter ought to wait for now. It is not appropriate at the moment. The second young lady of the Qi family — it would also not be appropriate for her to continue lodging in that room. Once you are well again, let her go home.”

His mother was displeased. “I spoke to her about this matter earlier, and she herself agreed to let me make the decisions! If she does not return, am I to keep Feng’er waiting forever? Feng’er is not young anymore — she is almost twenty! She has waited for you for so many years — how much longer do you want her to wait?”

“Mother, the Mu woman is the proper wife. If, while she is away, we bring someone in this way, as far as propriety is concerned…”

“I am still your mother!”

His mother cut her son off.

“I care nothing for whatever rules there are out in the world — this is Xie County! I have lived more than half my life, and I have never yet heard of a mother-in-law conducting herself according to the wishes of a daughter-in-law!”

“Mother, please listen to me — bringing someone in right now truly is not appropriate…”

His mother fixed a steady gaze on her son.

“Geng’er, when I was giving birth to you, it took three days and three nights of grinding labor. One foot had already stepped through the gates of hell; only by good fortune did I barely survive. Your father read all those books to no avail, earned no degree, and in the end was only ever a post station official — how much income could the family have had? You were clever from a young age; I spent every day spinning and twisting hemp to support your studies, hoping you could make something of yourself. After raising you to adulthood with such difficulty and finally seeing a glimmer of hope, you went and killed someone! During those years, I lived in constant fear, with no one to rely on. It was the Qi Family that looked after me.”

“You have likely long since forgotten, but I have not, and I dare not forget. That year, a flood struck the village. Feng’er’s family brought me along as we fled the disaster. As we were crossing a bridge, it was suddenly swept away by the water, and people and carts went plunging into the river. At the time I was in the carriage with Feng’er’s mother. If not for Feng’er clinging to the bridge pillar and holding fast to my hand without letting go, I would have been fish food long ago! I survived, true enough — but Feng’er’s own mother was gone just like that!”

“Our Xie family owes the Qi Family a debt of gratitude — and beyond that, we owe her a life! Feng’er is dearer to my eyes than my own daughter! Later, when I learned you had contracted a betrothal on your own outside, there was nothing to be done and I had to let it go. Having her become a concubine is already humiliating enough for her. And now if you do not want her at all, I tell you — I will not go on living!”

His mother spoke as she wiped her tears.

Xie Changgeng’s brow furrowed deeply. He hesitated for a moment, then rose and knelt on the floor, kowtowing solemnly.

“Mother, your son is unfilial. From childhood I have made you live in constant fear and worry, and now I have again disappointed you to this degree. This matter is not that your son is unwilling — it is truly inconvenient at this time…”

“What inconvenience is there?”

“Mother lives at home and may not be aware of certain outside matters. Bringing someone into the household is, of course, a trifling domestic matter, but there is always the unlikely possibility of trouble. If the Mu family of Changsha Kingdom were to consider it a show of disrespect toward them, that would cause some difficulty. And now that your son has risen in office, there are many enemies in the court, and no one knows how many eyes are watching from behind. Any pretext will do for those who wish to cause harm. Though the matter itself is small, if someone with ulterior motives were to make a great deal of it, that is entirely possible.”

His mother was somewhat taken aback; she looked at her son’s solemn expression and her weeping gradually subsided.

Xie Changgeng rose from the floor.

“Mother, how could your son dare forget the Qi family’s kindness to you? I actually feel that the arrangement you have in mind right now is itself a disservice to her. There are other ways to repay the debt that do not require only this one approach. Would Mother not rather acknowledge her as an adopted daughter? Thereafter, if your son can achieve his wishes, I will certainly treat her generously and repay her for the grace of saving you that day…”

Before he had finished speaking, someone came through the doorway and went “thump” — kneeling down on the floor.

Qi Lingfeng kowtowed to his mother, choking with emotion as she said, “Old Madam, Feng’er is endlessly grateful for your kindness to her. If it is on account of Feng’er that mother and son are at odds, then Feng’er deserves to die ten thousand deaths! Please, Old Madam, you must not force him anymore. Tomorrow Feng’er will return to her elder brother’s household.”

His mother hurried over to help her up and offered some comforting words, then turned to look at her son with a frown. “Look at her — Feng’er is this considerate. Compared to that Mu woman you married, who is better and who is worse, you should know in your own heart! Since Feng’er herself has spoken up this way, let this matter rest for now — but since she has already come, it’s not right to send her back to her elder brother’s household. Let her stay on for now in the name of my adopted daughter, and we shall talk once that Mu woman returns!”

Xie Changgeng offered no further position on the matter, making several vague sounds of acknowledgment. He said the night was late and asked his mother to go back to sleep, then took his leave.

He returned to the east wing room, bolted the door behind him, picked up his travel pack, and walked to the wardrobe. Hand gripping the handle of the wardrobe door, he paused — and suddenly remembered.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened the wardrobe door.

What met his eyes was the same as before.

The wardrobe was filled with women’s clothing. It was impossible to know what fragrant material was packed into the sachets, but after so long, the delicate scent had still not diminished.

Before Xie Changgeng’s eyes, the scene on the beauty couch that had stung him that day seemed to float up again.

The pomegranate-red skirt; the sheer, gauzy fabric.

Noble and dignified before others, yet wanton to such a degree in private — it was incomprehensible.

He swept a glance over the garments she had left in the wardrobe, and it was as though he saw her face, a trace of disgust rising in the depths of his eyes. With a “bang,” he shut the wardrobe door.

The following day, Xie Changgeng went early to the main quarters and with his own hands served his mother her morning meal. When the meal was finished, he told his mother that the court was still waiting for him to come to the capital to make his report, and that he feared he would not be able to remain at home to fulfill his filial duties — this return trip had been made precisely to bid farewell to her.

His mother was very reluctant to let him go, but his son’s prospects were the priority — how could she hold him back? She nodded in assent, helped pack his travel things, and leaning on Qi Lingfeng’s arm, saw him off all the way out.

Xie Changgeng enjoined the household servants to attend to his mother well, then set out from home. After another stretch of hurried travel, he finally arrived at the capital at month’s end, dusty and road-worn.

He had long since had a bestowed residence in the capital, staffed with a full complement of servants. Upon entering, he bathed and refreshed himself, in preparation to attend court and make his report the next day.

Late at night, a secret letter from within the palace was quietly delivered into his hands.

The letter had come from a palace eunuch named Cao Jin within Empress Dowager Liu’s palace.

This eunuch was a disciple of Grand Eunuch Yang, who attended Empress Dowager Liu. He had, from two years prior, become Xie Changgeng’s man.

Each time Xie Changgeng returned to the capital, he would receive a dispatch that very night — it had become routine.

This time was no exception.

What Cao Jin had brought out were some matters that had occurred at court or within the palace during Xie Changgeng’s absence.

Most of it he already knew.

But one item drew Xie Changgeng’s sideways attention.

Cao Jin reported that Imperial Secretary Zhang Ban had, a few days earlier, entered the palace to seek an audience with Empress Dowager Liu. The matter he raised was spoken in private, and Cao Jin had been unable to learn the details, but what Zhang Ban had said appeared to be related to the Changsha Kingdom.

Since Circuit Intendant Xie had ties of marriage with the Changsha Kingdom, and as the intelligence had come in, it was relayed along with the rest for his reference.

Xie Changgeng finished reading and held the letter up to the candleflame.

He watched as the paper was slowly consumed into ash in the tongues of fire, and remained lost in thought for a long while.