Hearing that Xu Lingyi had returned, Shiyiniang and Zhen Jie’er hurried to go and receive him. After paying their respects, they accompanied him in to greet the Grand Dowager and inquire after her health.

Before he had even risen from his bow, the Grand Dowager was already asking urgently, “Why have you only come back now?”

“The Emperor kept me to speak for a while. Just then the Court of the Imperial Clan arrived to report on the Fifth Prince’s first memorial rites, so I stayed a little while longer.”

The Fifth Prince’s funeral had suspended court for three days, with mourning observed for five. The eleventh was the “first memorial rites.”

The Grand Dowager immediately said, “What did the Emperor say?”

Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly. “Ten thousand sheets of gold and silver spirit paper, ten thousand sheets of plain spirit money, thirty-one banquet tables of offerings, nineteen sheep, nine jars of wine. All imperial kinsmen from Prince of the First Rank downward to Endowed Guardsmen, all nobles and officials of the first rank and above, and all inner and outer titled ladies to assemble at the place of sacrifice, read the memorial text, pour libations, and perform the rites.”

Everyone was startled.

“Ten thousand sheets of gold and silver spirit paper, thirty-one banquet tables of offerings,” Second Sister-in-law murmured with a frown, “might that not be rather excessive…”

Xu Lingyi nodded. “Not only I — even the Court of the Imperial Clan felt it was too much. But the Emperor’s stance was exceedingly resolute, and no one felt it would do to say much more, so it was settled as such.”

Second Sister-in-law looked at Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi gave a slight nod.

Neither of them said anything further.

The Grand Dowager too sank into thought.

Shiyiniang gave Zhen Jie’er a meaningful glance, and the two quietly withdrew.

Coming toward them was Zhun Ge, rosy-cheeked, chatting and laughing with Xiaosha, one of the small maids from the Grand Dowager’s rooms, as they walked in.

Upon seeing Shiyiniang and Zhen Jie’er, he called out loudly, “Mother, I kicked eleven today — three more than Xiaosha!”

Shiyiniang noticed that the small maids who had gathered around him were still holding several shuttlecocks, and realized they had been playing in the back covered walkway. She smiled and stepped forward to tousle his head. “You can already kick eleven — very good, very good!”

He lifted his little face and smiled, looking rather pleased with himself.

“Your father is inside speaking with grandmother — let us speak more quietly.” Shiyiniang instructed him in a soft voice.

Zhun Ge immediately nodded, and in a very small voice said to Xiaosha, “We will play again tomorrow.”

Xiaosha quietly said “yes.” The maids and women servants who had followed Zhun Ge in all dipped in unison to bow to Shiyiniang, and had just straightened up when Xu Siqin, Xu Siyu, and Xu Sijian arrived.

Zhun Ge immediately whispered to them, “Father is inside speaking with grandmother — we must speak quietly.”

The household had been tense these past several days, and the children all knew it. Hearing Zhun Ge say this now, unease flickered in each of their eyes. They approached Shiyiniang on quiet feet and paid their respects, but from the inner room came the Grand Dowager’s voice: “Is that Qin Ge and Yu Ge?”

“Yes!” Xu Siqin immediately called back in full voice.

“Come in!” the Grand Dowager said. “Your Fourth Uncle is here as well!”

The three of them straightened their lapels and entered the inner room.

Shiyiniang also took Zhun Ge and Zhen Jie’er by the hand and followed them in.

The children paid their respects to their elders. Then Third Master and Third Sister-in-law arrived.

They looked rather subdued — a change from their usual air of smiling ease and the pleased, contented look that normally shone from between their brows.

Third Master inquired with concern about the Fifth Prince’s “first memorial rites.” Xu Lingyi gave a brief account, and the couple could not help but click their tongues. Third Sister-in-law even said with a laugh, “Since the Emperor has bestowed such generous favor, it shows he still holds Her Majesty the Empress in great affection and high regard.”

The Grand Dowager, Xu Lingyi, and Second Sister-in-law all said nothing, and not a trace of joy appeared on their faces. The atmosphere in the room immediately grew heavy and still.

Third Master shot a meaningful glance at Third Sister-in-law.

Third Sister-in-law said awkwardly, “Did I… say something wrong?”

Shiyiniang saw this and said, “I imagine that is so.” Then she asked the small maid beside her, “Go and see whether the meal is ready.”

The expressions of the three — the Grand Dowager, Xu Lingyi, and Second Sister-in-law — eased very slightly.

Everyone watching them let out a quiet breath of relief.

The small maid went off to check, and Fifth Master and Fifth Sister-in-law arrived, all smiles.

The Grand Dowager smiled. “What brings you here as well?”

Fifth Master paid his respects to the Grand Dowager — the Grand Dowager had long since dispensed with Fifth Sister-in-law’s need to do so.

“It is a rare leisurely day — we came to enjoy the company.”

Just then, the small maid came back in to report, “The servants say they may serve the meal whenever you are ready.”

“Then serve it.” The Grand Dowager said, and rose to her feet. Second Sister-in-law quickly stepped forward to support her, and everyone gathered around her and headed to the eastern side room.

After dinner, the Grand Dowager did not keep anyone back, and urged them all to go and rest: “There is the new year to prepare for, and the first memorial rites and the great memorial rites still to attend.”

Xu Lingyi answered respectfully, “Yes.” And so everyone dispersed.

Back in their room, Xu Lingyi’s expression settled into gravity. After washing and grooming, the two lay down in bed. He lay on his back, gazing up at the canopy, and let out a long, low breath. “Today, when the Ministry of Rites came to discuss the Fifth Prince’s arrangements, the Emperor — wholly unlike his usual temper — became extremely rigid… Even with something of a quality of ‘those who submit to me prosper, those who defy me perish’!”

Shiyiniang listened, and sat bolt upright with a start. “‘Those who submit to me prosper, those who defy me perish’?”

Xu Lingyi’s expression was somewhat dazed as he recalled the scene. “Not entirely… just very harsh. The official from the Ministry of Rites said no more than ‘the ritual standards of a prince — and the gold and silver spirit paper seems excessive.’ The Emperor suddenly leapt to his feet, snatched an inkstone, and hurled it at him. If Director of the Household He had not deflected it, that official would surely have been drenched in blood… In all the years I have known him, this was the first time I had ever seen him lose his temper in such a fashion… I could see that his mood was ill, so after the ritual official left I sat for a short while and prepared to take my leave… but the Emperor kept me behind alone… did not say a word, just sat numbly in the warm room for a long time. Then dismissed me…”

Those in the midst of the situation cannot see clearly; those who stand outside can.

The Emperor had summoned a person to his side, yet sat in wordless silence…

Shiyiniang’s mind moved swiftly.

He was the Emperor — what was there he could not speak of?

They were ruler and subject, yet also brothers-in-law… As ruler and subject, of course anything could be said. But if viewed as brothers-in-law, in the wake of the Fifth Prince’s death, such silence became something that could be understood.

Shiyiniang asked with care, “Did my lord make any effort to speak with the Emperor?”

“Of course I spoke — nothing more than a few hollow pleasantries, though.” Xu Lingyi gave a helpless, self-deprecating smile, a flash of irony in his eyes. “Master Deng’s attitude, you already know. He spent over thirty years in the Hanlin Academy, and yet not a single decent teacher did he put forward — it was entirely the manner of a man wanting urgently to put distance between himself. I was afraid that the more I said, the more I would err.” By the time he reached the end, his voice had grown wistful.

Master Deng distancing himself in haste — what did that signify?

Was the current situation so fraught that even Master Deng, once tutor to the Emperor, was unwilling to be drawn in? Or did it mean that Master Deng feared the Emperor would one day “kill the hunting dog once the hare is caught,” and therefore preferred to keep his distance from the Xu Family? Or was it simply that he had already achieved the honor of imperial tutor, and wished purely to look after himself alone?

Shiyiniang weighed her words carefully. “My lord, did you not say that after the new year you intended to resign your post? In my view, why not resign now, right away…”

She thought of the change in Third Master and Third Sister-in-law these past days.

Knowing they were to be sent to an outlying post, the couple had been cheerful all day long, and Third Sister-in-law had devoted herself wholeheartedly to teaching Shiyiniang the workings of the household, as though transferring it all to her as diligently as possible. When all was said and done, it was because they had a vision of a new life ahead of them that such a change had come over them. If Xu Lingyi were to go back on his word — though it would be for cause — the intense disappointment would inevitably leave some measure of grievance between husband and wife. As for whether she managed the household or not, Shiyiniang did not particularly care either way. With things as they were, not managing it would actually be a relief. Besides, Third Sister-in-law, though she did have a slightly grasping streak, was like water that needed to be a little muddied to sustain life — whoever sat in that position would be the same. When one thought about it, Third Sister-in-law had actually done quite a capable job. She had streamlined a number of positions, and the household’s expenses had even come in somewhat lower than in Yuan Niang’s time…

Xu Lingyi gave a bitter smile. “You think I would not wish it? But at a moment like this, the Emperor might well take it as a strategic retreat on my part, and that would only breed estrangement.”

Shiyiniang heard this and said, “Mother said that when you were young, you often went to the palace to see the Emperor, and the Emperor treated my lord as if you were his own blood brother. When you broke the head of Prince Shun, it was the Emperor who found a way to smooth it over.”

Xu Lingyi’s gaze dimmed. “That was when we were young…”

But Shiyiniang pressed on. “Even so, the bond of those childhood years is still there. Did you not also speak to me just the other night of your childhood memories with Her Majesty the Empress? The Emperor surely has not forgotten either.” Her voice was gentle, somewhat low, and in the stillness of the night it was like a cup of aged, mellow tea — carrying a warmth that went straight to the heart. “Moreover, you are the younger one — what is there that cannot be said? One can even fall back on teasing and playing the rascal to get difficult words out…”

Whether out of concern or wariness, the Emperor was certain to pay close attention to the Xu Family’s affairs — what went on at home might not be fully concealed from the Emperor’s eyes and ears. Rather than that, it would be better to play on sentiment, and gently lay bare the family’s affairs to the Emperor with candor. For one, it would forestall the Emperor from suspecting that Xu Lingyi was playing a game of strategic retreat. For another, it would soften the relation from ruler-and-subject to one of family. For a third, it would diminish Xu Lingyi’s image — even weaken the image of the Xu Family as a whole. A man is measured by his achievements in the world, and in that regard Xu Lingyi was undoubtedly a figure of strength. If even such a man of strength had difficulties he could not resolve, and could only endure in helpless silence, the Emperor was likely to reassess Xu Lingyi’s capabilities. He might even take some quiet satisfaction in the Xu Family’s internal discord — and that, in turn, could smooth the path of Third Master’s career in the provinces.

Xu Lingyi needed only a moment’s reflection to understand his wife’s intent.

He was silent for a long while.

He was, after all, a son of an old and distinguished family — pride was in his very bones. To withdraw from the court on such grounds would be difficult to accept, at least for now.

Shiyiniang had no expectation of changing his mind with a few words. She said softly, “Those who accomplish great things are not bound by small considerations. As for the judgments of history — those will be left to those who come after. And besides, it is the victor who is called a king, and the vanquished who is called a bandit…”

Xu Lingyi listened, and could not help but fix his gaze on his wife, falling into deep thought.

…

On the eleventh, the first memorial rites were held at Sishan Gate. On the twelfth, officials from the Imperial Household Department conducted the “secondary memorial rites” for the Fifth Prince. The occasion was also very grand: two thousand sheets each of gold and silver spirit paper and plain spirit money, five banquet tables of offerings, five sheep, five jars of wine. On the thirteenth, the great memorial rites were held, with the Emperor attending in person. The rites followed the precedent of the first memorial, except that the nine jars of wine were reduced to five. It was at this very time that Her Majesty the Empress fell ill. The Emperor issued a decree summoning the Grand Dowager and the Marchioness of Yongping to the palace to pay a sickbed visit.

The Grand Dowager was consumed with worry and did not sleep through the night. The following morning, looking weary, she brought Shiyiniang with her to the Kunning Palace.

The atmosphere in the Kunning Palace was tense and heavy. The Empress Dowager had arrived ahead of them to visit the sick, and the Grand Dowager and Shiyiniang waited outside for more than two hours. By the time midday drew near, the Empress Dowager rose to take her leave.

Her Majesty the Empress came out in person to see her to the door.

Shiyiniang saw that her makeup was vivid, her eyes carrying a look of grief, and the weariness between her brows could not be concealed. Shiyiniang’s heart tightened.

—