Shiyiniang pondered for a moment. “Do you know the manservant’s name?”

“I do,” Hupo said. “He’s called Xiao Luzi — around nine or ten years old. Yang Huizu found an excuse to slip into the boy’s room for a look. He said the boy has a very clean, fair appearance, speaks with refinement and courtesy, and seems to know a few characters as well.”

A tidy appearance, proper manners, and a degree of literacy — he was an ideal candidate for a personal attendant without question.

Shiyiniang smiled faintly, then asked about Qin Yiniang. “… Has there been any movement on her end?”

“According to a young maid in Qin Yiniang’s service, Qin Yiniang’s appetite has been poor these days and she hasn’t been sleeping well. Her maid Xinghua even asked someone to obtain blessed spirit water from Ciyuan Temple for her to drink.”

“Spirit water?” Shiyiniang’s eyes widened involuntarily.

Hupo nodded. “Qin Yiniang has great faith in the nun Jining there, and donates incense oil money to Ciyuan Temple every year.”

Shiyiniang could only suppress a smile.

The household may not be large in people, but it was rich in faith.

She told Hupo about the possibility of Lin Da’nainai sending Hui Jie’er over to have her guide the girl in embroidery. “The two families live next door to one another, and the older matrons here are sure to have dealings with people over there. Have someone discreetly find out more about Hui Jie’er, so we’re prepared.” She then brought up the matter of the house at Jinyu Lane. “The New Year is coming up soon. Have someone bring fifty taels of silver over there, and pass along a message that they should settle in comfortably for the holiday and not worry about anything until the snow lets up.” She then instructed Hupo, “Wake me tomorrow at the second of the five night watches.”

Hupo committed it all to memory, and the following morning woke Shiyiniang at the appointed hour.

It was the dead of winter, the middle of the night. Shiyiniang burrowed and fidgeted inside her quilt for quite some time before finally rising. After getting herself ready, she reclined on the kang and ate an apple, but there was still no sign of Xu Lingyi.

She grew puzzled and sent Hupo to check.

A short while later, Hupo returned with an odd expression. “Qiao Yiniang’s maids are attending the Marquis at breakfast this very moment. A young maid asked what brought me, and I only said I had come to see if the Marquis had left for his early court audience. I said nothing else.”

The several maids standing nearby all bowed their heads, holding their breath, and the atmosphere in the room immediately became rather heavy.

He had never intended to come at all.

Shiyiniang sat there feeling rather foolish.

Hupo seemed to want to say something, but held back.

Having already lost face to this extent, there was nothing left to fear.

Shiyiniang simply asked, “Is there something else?”

Hupo stepped forward and said quietly, “Word is that the Marquis spent last night at Qiao Yiniang’s.”

Shiyiniang felt thoroughly mortified.

If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it at all. Let alone that in her household, the three Yiniangs had almost certainly already sent people to watch her every move. When it was Qiao Lianfang’s turn to receive the Marquis, he had either had matters to attend to or simply not been in the mood. Then last night he had stayed there — and now, early this very morning, she had dispatched her most trusted maid to check on the situation. If someone with an eye for such things had noticed…what would they make of it?

She began silently grumbling about Xu Lingyi.

Had he not said he would be served breakfast this morning? How could he go back on his word?

Yet in her heart she also knew she could not truly blame him. The offer yesterday had been nothing but an offhand remark, and Xu Lingyi had at the time even replied, telling her there was no need to get up so early.

How had she made such a blunder?

Or perhaps — it was fear of offending him.

The thought flashed through her.

Shiyiniang found herself nodding inwardly.

Right. The offer to serve him breakfast had been made entirely out of guilty conscience after refusing him. That was why she had carried through with it this morning — thinking that if she served him a meal, it would count as having been forgiven for her ill-timed refusal, and let her feel at peace with herself.

At the realization, a faint sheen of perspiration appeared at her temples.

Had she become too careful, too cautious?

Rules exist for a reason. Men manage affairs without; women govern within. What happened inside this household should be for her to decide. Which room he slept in, for how many nights — though it was a rule she herself had set, he had agreed to it. Given that, what was there to feel guilty about?

She took a slow, deep breath, and felt a genuine lightness settle in her chest.

Meanwhile, Hupo had been watching her — her cheeks tinged faintly red, sitting there in silence for a long while — and assumed she was flustered with embarrassment. She quickly smiled and said, “This morning the kitchen made a stewed black-boned chicken broth with cordyceps. Shall I have a bowl brought to you?”

“Yes, please,” said Shiyiniang with a nod. “And while you’re at it, bring me that small chest where I keep my embroideries. Let me see if there’s anything suitable — in case Hui Jie’er comes, I’ll have something to show her as an example.”

Hupo was relieved to see the natural ease returning to her manner, and dared not breathe another word about the Marquis, Qiao Yiniang, or breakfast. She cheerfully agreed at once and called for a young maid to bring the morning meal, while she herself took two more young maids off to retrieve the small chest containing Shiyiniang’s embroidery pieces.

Shiyiniang drank a bowl of the chicken broth, then sat down to sort through the pieces. She thought that if Zhen Jie’er were to come over, Zhun Ge’er would almost certainly clamor to come along — she would need to think of some way to keep him entertained in her room. Her mind kept turning.

“Do you know what little boys like to play with?” she asked Hupo.

Hupo froze, thought for a long moment, then shook her head. “I don’t.” After a pause, she asked softly, “Are you preparing for Zhun Ge’er’s visit?”

Shiyiniang sighed. “The things I used to play with back then don’t seem very suited to a boy like Zhun Ge.”

Hupo thought for a moment. “Why not let me ask around?”

“Alright,” Shiyiniang said. “Go ask, and come back and tell me this evening.”

While they were still talking, Nanyong’s wife arrived. Seeing Shiyiniang already seated on the large kang by the window, she looked mildly startled.

Shiyiniang, in a rather self-conscious way, explained, “Oh — in a day or two, Lin Da’nainai from the neighboring Lin family may be bringing her daughter Hui Jie’er over to have me give her a little guidance in embroidery. So I’m looking through my old pieces to see if there’s anything appropriate to use as an example for her.”

Nanyong’s wife’s face broke into a smile. “You have guests coming! Would you like me to cut some paper window decorations? The New Year is nearly here, and it would look festive.” Then she said a little bashfully, “My skill is only ordinary — all I can manage are the ‘Step by Step Higher’ and ‘Abundance Year After Year’ patterns. Nanny Du, who serves the Grand Madam, can do them all — she doesn’t even need to draw on the red paper first. She picks up her scissors and cuts, whatever she imagines, she can cut.”

“Really!” Shiyiniang had never thought of this, and smiled. “Though even you’re a step ahead of me — all I can cut is the character ‘double happiness.’ One of these days, let’s invite Nanny Du to show us how it’s done.”

Nanyong’s wife looked astonished. “I’m included too?”

Shiyiniang remembered she had a child to look after, and quickly said, “If you have other matters to attend to, please don’t let me keep you.”

Nanyong’s wife immediately waved both hands. “I have nothing! Nothing at all.” She smiled a little shyly. “I’ve also been wanting to learn from Nanny Du. I just haven’t had the nerve to ask.”

Shiyiniang smiled. “Since you want to learn, come along when the time comes. And if you’re worried about little Niu’er having no one to watch her, bring her along. There’s no shortage of young maids in my courtyard — they can help keep an eye on her.”

A child’s laughter is the most beautiful sound in the world.

Nanyong’s wife smiled with pure delight.

Shiyiniang consulted her: “Can you style my hair in a peony chignon — the way I wore it when I visited my family home? But not quite as high. Too high and it makes me look like I’m trying to seem older than I am…” And then she added under her breath, “Even though I am, in fact, quite grown.”

Nanyong’s wife pressed her lips together to hide her smile and accompanied Shiyiniang to the dressing table, where she shaped a chignon somewhat lower than the typical peony style. Rather than the usual hairpins, she tucked in two half-moon-shaped combs set with coral and tortoiseshell and honey-amber, and small clove-blossom pendants were hung from her ears. Inside she wore a white satin jacket; over it, a lake-blue damask overrobe woven with subtle patterns of plum blossoms, orchids, and bamboo; below, a kingfisher-green skirt embroidered with oil-green intertwining floral vines. The effect was poised and elegant, fresh and refined.

Shiyiniang was pleased with it herself, and smiled as she called for Hupo to bring her tourmaline jade bracelet.

A large red plum-blossom knot at the center was strung with two jade butterflies no larger than a thumbnail, below which cascaded long red tassels. With every movement of her hand, the deep red brushed against lake-blue or came to rest against kingfisher-green, and the whole person seemed to come alive with a quiet beauty, enhanced by that one vivid touch of brilliance.

“Fourth Madam is truly lovely!” Nanyong’s wife gazed at her with open admiration.

Shiyiniang played with the two jade butterflies and smiled. “Fine feathers make fine birds, nothing more.”

Nanyong’s wife looked at her luminous face and sparkling eyes and thought she was lovelier still than the tassels, but she was not one for flowery speech, and so she only smiled at her. Shiyiniang, seeing that the hour was growing late, took Hupo and went to pay her respects to the Grand Madam.

The Grand Madam was already up. Seeing Shiyiniang, her eyes brightened. “A woman really does benefit from a little dressing up.”

Shiyiniang smiled and glanced down at her overrobe. “It’s the fine things Mother bestowed that make it so.” It was one of the bolts of fabric the Grand Madam had gifted her a few days before.

The Grand Madam gave a small, pleased nod.

A matron came in carrying a low table for the kang.

Shiyiniang attended the Grand Madam at breakfast.

The Grand Madam patted the kang for her to sit beside her.

Shiyiniang smiled demurely. “I had just a tiny bit of honey balm… I already ate before coming.”

When she had drawn close, the Grand Madam had noticed her face was bare of powder, yet her complexion appeared remarkably clear and luminous. Now hearing her say this, she looked more closely and saw she had shaped her brows and that her lips held a crystalline sheen.

The Grand Madam burst into laughter. “You clever little thing.”

Shiyiniang smiled gently, quietly breathing a sigh of relief.

She had wanted to maintain a good relationship with the Grand Madam, and also hoped the Grand Madam would accept her way of life — including how she liked to dress and style herself. She had sensed that the Grand Madam was not a rigid or old-fashioned woman, and so she had ventured this small test. Fortunately the Grand Madam did not find it objectionable, and she had passed.

While she was still thinking it over, she heard the Grand Madam call cheerfully to Nanny Du, “Go and have the kitchen make some egg cakes.”

Shiyiniang knew those were a kind of confection resembling little sponge cakes, made in molds shaped like plum blossoms, plums, peaches, and the like — each one no bigger than a cherry, usually made as sweets for Zhun Ge’er. Why was the Grand Madam asking for them now? Still, the egg cakes were sweet without being cloying, melt-in-the-mouth, and easy on the digestion — they would be perfectly good for an elderly person as well.

Nanny Du glanced at Shiyiniang and went off with a smile to carry out the order.

Shiyiniang was left rather puzzled by the look.

The Grand Madam was already laughing. “Only someone young would just think about looking pretty — have a few egg cakes to fill that stomach of yours.” A gleam of teasing danced in her eyes.

They were meant for her, after all.

Shiyiniang had already had a bowl of chicken broth that morning, plus two pieces of water chestnut cake and two pieces of chestnut cake — she was not the slightest bit hungry. But she did not wish to dampen the Grand Madam’s good spirits. Seeing her so cheerful, she blinked and said with a smile, “These must have been something Mother enjoyed in her own time? Otherwise, how would our household have so many molds for egg cakes?”

The Grand Madam only laughed.

Shiyiniang, reading everything in that laughter, sighed with mock resignation. “So it turns out I’m enjoying something second-hand.”

—