Luo Shiyiniang carefully fastened the jade pendant onto the rhinoceros horn belt, then straightened up and studied Xu Lingyi — dressed in his great crimson brocade official robes — for a moment before smiling. “There. All done.”

Xu Lingyi gave a nod. “Then I am off to court.”

“Marquis, safe travels.” Luo Shiyiniang helped Xu Lingyi into his cloak and walked him to the door.

Xu Lingyi made a sound of acknowledgment and, with Zhaoying attending to him, went out.

Watching the great red lanterns recede into the distance, Luo Shiyiniang stood for a while before returning inside.

The young maids were tiptoeing about as they cleared away the table; Hupo attended her into the inner chamber.

“Would you like to sleep a little more, Madam?”

“No.” She had been working on an embroidered screen these past few days. “I will do a bit of embroidery. I can sleep at midday.”

Hupo went to fetch her embroidery frame and set it on the heated bed platform, then sat beside her to help sort the threads, chatting as they worked.

“The wife of Liu Yuanrui came to see me two days ago. Since you seemed busy, I said nothing.”

“Is it about Da Xian’s marriage?” Luo Shiyiniang’s hands did not pause in their work as she asked lightly. “Won’t Wan Yizong’s family agree?”

“No.” Hupo smiled. “That Wan Yizong’s family had assumed you were trying to punish a disobedient maidservant, and so kept refusing to answer. When they later heard that it was one of your own attendants, a girl of marriageable age being properly released from service, they were overjoyed and agreed on the spot. They rushed to have Liu Yuanrui’s wife come to propose the match. When I saw how eager they were, I deliberately stalled a little — to make them anxious for a while.”

Luo Shiyiniang could not help but laugh. “You!”

Hupo covered her mouth in amusement. “Liu Yuanrui’s wife has been wanting to come and report to you — when would you have time to see her?”

Luo Shiyiniang considered. “Tomorrow, then. Dongqing is already a full twenty years old. If the matter can be settled before the new year, the wedding can take place come spring. It would spare her from being cooped up in her room, unable to set foot outside.”

Hupo agreed at once with a cheerful smile.

Just then Dongqing came in, and Hupo glanced over at her with a grin.

Dongqing was bewildered. “What is this about?”

Since not even half of it was settled yet, and for fear of making Dongqing shy, Luo Shiyiniang quickly said, “Nothing, nothing.” She then asked her, “Have you finished the handkerchief I asked you to embroider?” Most embroidery patterns involved intricate flowers and birds, which beginners often found daunting. She had drawn several simple flower-and-plant patterns to entice Hui Jie’er with, and since she herself had no time, she had asked Dongqing to stitch them.

Dongqing quickly retrieved the handkerchief from the rattan basket for Luo Shiyiniang to inspect.

Quite nicely done!

Luo Shiyiniang smiled and tucked the handkerchief away.

Nan Yong’s wife arrived.

“Give me a high-pinned coiffure,” she said — she normally wore her hair in a simple gathered knot. “The Second Sister-in-law didn’t manage to leave the day before yesterday with everything going on at home. She is heading back to West Mountain after breakfast today, and I will be going to see her off.”

Nan Yong’s wife agreed with a smile, attended Luo Shiyiniang to the mirror and dressed her hair, then Luo Shiyiniang changed into a pale pink jacket and a blue-green pleated skirt before going to the Grand Madam’s quarters.

The Second Madam’s trunks and cases were already packed, and she was taking her leave of the Grand Madam. Luo Shiyiniang paid her respects to the Grand Madam and greeted the Second Madam with a bow. The Third Madam arrived, and then the Fifth Madam, one after the other. Together they all offered the Second Madam their reminders — to be careful on the road, to send word home if anything came up — until the hour of the snake before they finally saw the Second Madam out the door.

During these past days, the Second Madam had kept the Grand Madam constant company; her departure left something of an empty feeling in the air. Fortunately, Xu Siqin, Xu Siyu, and Xu Sijian had all been released from their studies and were in and out of the Grand Madam’s room every day, laughing and playing, and Luo Shiyiniang had also brought Zhen Jie’er to the Grand Madam’s to do needlework there, filling the rooms with warmth and noise. The Grand Madam’s spirits soon lifted. Seeing the sky had cleared, she even had Nanny Du invite the Fifth Master and the Fifth Madam over especially to play cards.

The Fifth Master had them all laughing with his cheerful banter and jokes.

A young servant boy came running in to find him: “…He says he’s an old acquaintance of the Master’s — the one who played the fiddle for the Master when the Master was singing *Rolling Staircase* with Liu Huifang at Cuiqing Tower.”

The color drained from the Fifth Master’s face. “What does he want?” He started to his feet at once. “I’ll go see.”

The Fifth Madam sat quietly, an unreadable expression on her face.

But the Grand Madam’s expression turned cold. “You stay right where you are.”

The Fifth Master’s steps faltered, his face going somewhat pale.

“The new year is nearly upon us,” said the Grand Madam, her brow stern. “What good can possibly come from someone like that seeking you out?” She then instructed Nanny Du, “Go and bring twenty taels of silver.” Then she turned to the servant boy: “Go tell that person the Fifth Master has a guest and cannot come out to receive him. These twenty taels are the Fifth Master treating him to a drink.”

The servant boy took the silver and went.

But the Fifth Master remained visibly unsettled. “Mother, perhaps I should go take a look…”

“Oh?” The Grand Madam fixed him with a sharp gaze. “You think I gave too little?”

“No, no.” The Fifth Master hastened to say, “I am worried he might cause a scene…”

“How dare he!” The Grand Madam’s expression darkened. “What right has he to cause a scene? Unless there is something you have been keeping from me?”

“There isn’t, there isn’t.” A flash of alarm crossed the Fifth Master’s eyes.

“Mother,” the Fifth Madam suddenly said with a smile, “the Fifth Master has always been warm and generous with people. Having him sent off with money like this — he is probably just worried the man might feel slighted. He means no harm.”

The Fifth Master latched onto this immediately with a nod. “Exactly, exactly. I have always treated them like brothers…”

The Grand Madam heard this and brought her hand down on the low table with a sharp slap. “Treated them like brothers?”

The children who had been playing noisily in the room sensed the shift in the air and immediately fell silent, drawing themselves to the side.

“The Fifth Master just doesn’t know what to say.” The Fifth Madam laughed and tugged at the Grand Madam’s sleeve. “Do not trouble yourself over him.” She called to the Fifth Master, “Will you not hurry and apologize to Mother!”

The Fifth Master jolted back to his senses and stepped forward to offer his apologies to the Grand Madam.

Looking at her son’s downcast face, the Grand Madam lost all her good humor.

She set down the cards. “It is getting late. You two head back to the rear garden — the paths will be slippery once it gets dark.”

The Fifth Madam stepped down from the heated platform and put on her shoes, exchanged a few cheerful words with the Grand Madam, and headed back to the rear garden with the Fifth Master.

Along the way, the Fifth Madam said to the Fifth Master, “Whatever it is that you cannot tell Mother — you can tell me instead. We are husband and wife. Whatever we face, we will find a way through together.”

The Fifth Master was silent for a long while, his brow deeply furrowed.

When they returned to their rooms, the Fifth Master flopped down discontentedly onto the large heated platform by the window, looking thoroughly listless.

The Fifth Madam personally brought over a hot cup of tea. “Have some tea, dear.”

“I don’t want any.” The Fifth Master was sulky.

The Fifth Madam did not press him, and sat nearby doing her needlework.

The Fifth Master tossed and turned restlessly.

When dinner time came, he ate only a few bites and then rose to go find Xu Lingyi. “I can’t just sit around doing nothing at home every day…”

The Fifth Madam saw him to the door with a smile. “Shall I come find you later? In case the Marquis starts scolding without end…”

The Fifth Master hung his head and reached for the Fifth Madam’s hand. “Danyang…” There was deep gratitude in his expression.

The Fifth Madam laughed behind her sleeve. “We are husband and wife. If I don’t look out for you, who will?”

The Fifth Master nodded, then urged her, “Go back inside. It’s cold out.”

“Take care on the way.” The Fifth Madam nodded and stood in the doorway, watching until the Fifth Master was out of sight before turning back into the courtyard.

As if sensing something, the Fifth Master looked back, and from a distance caught sight of his wife’s composed face beneath the great red lantern at the gate. He smiled and waved. “Get inside!”

The Fifth Madam smiled and waved back, watching until her husband’s figure disappeared entirely before finally returning to the courtyard.

Nanny Shi immediately stepped forward to help the Fifth Madam up onto the heated platform.

“Well? Have you found out?”

“I have.” Nanny Shi lowered her voice. “The man is Liu Huifang — born into a family of performers, with a theatrical tradition going back generations. His two uncles and a paternal cousin are all celebrated performers throughout Yanjing. But he is a man of poor character, given to drink. Three years ago he ruined his voice from all his drinking, and since then he has never been able to perform again.”

The Fifth Madam’s brow furrowed. “Then what does the Fifth Master have to fear from him?”

“From what I could gather by his words…” Nanny Shi said slowly, “the Fifth Master is generous and particular about face. It seems the man has exhausted all other options and has no one else to turn to but the Fifth Master.”

“If it is really as simple as that…” the Fifth Madam was unconvinced, yet she was reluctant to let her thoughts go to that unsavory place.

Nanny Shi understood perfectly, and came out with it plainly: “The Master is not that sort of person. Why else would Changsheng Troupe have sent little Haitang to the Third Young Master of Zhongshan Marquis’s household… Besides, just look at Liu Huifang now — a full beard, fat and bloated, not a trace of his former looks…”

“What do you know!” The Fifth Madam’s face was clouded with worry. “If Liu Huifang has become that way and the Master is *still* thinking of him — that would be far more troubling than if he had simply taken little Haitang in.”

As long as nothing was held in his heart, the Fifth Madam cared nothing at all about her husband’s worldly diversions.

“Then… I will make more enquiries…”

The Fifth Madam gave a nod.

—

On the other side of the household, Xu Lingyi was in the middle of speaking with Luo Shiyiniang: “…I told him I have a foot ailment, and that with this year’s cold being far worse than usual, the pain has become truly unbearable — and I wished to resign my post as Commander of the Five Military Commands.”

“What did His Majesty say?” Luo Shiyiniang asked anxiously.

“His Majesty refused.” Xu Lingyi gave a rueful smile. “He also asked whether it was because of the Fifth Prince’s matter.”

“And what did you say?”

“I spoke to him about matters at home.” Xu Lingyi said. “I made particular mention of Zhun Ge — that the boy has been weakly since birth, and that I had been away on campaign in my early years and then buried in court affairs afterward, leaving him to be coddled by Mother and Yuanniang until he now spends his days doing nothing but playing cat’s cradle and tossing sandbags with his older sister. While I do not expect him to excel in both literary and military arts, he cannot be raised to become a pampered good-for-nothing. With him still young, I want to put in more effort to guide him properly, so as not to bring shame upon the Xu name.” His tone was genuinely helpless — it was clear this was not entirely a pretext for resignation. “His Majesty’s eyes reddened when he heard this. He said he had originally hoped that once Zhun Ge was older, he might enter the palace to serve as a study companion for the Fifth Prince…” He paused at that. “Then he inquired about my foot ailment. I said I had been seen by all the imperial physicians, and had tried a number of folk remedies as well, but it had only been growing worse. I then turned the conversation to the northwest — telling him that though it is peaceful now, in five or ten years, conflict will inevitably arise again, and that he should use this period of calm to transfer trusted guards and generals there to gain experience. First, because these men have served loyally at his side for many years; second, because if His Majesty rewarded these veterans, newcomers would know what example to follow; and third, to guard against the northwest being left without capable commanders in the future. I then took the opportunity to tell His Majesty of my wish to have the Third Brother enter official service — saying that in this way, the family could be separated on honorable and dignified terms…” His tone carried a deep sadness.

Xu Lingyi had let go — completely, wholly, and without reservation — of all the power he had held in his hands.

Luo Shiyiniang was stunned into silence.

It was a long moment before she spoke. “Did His Majesty agree?”

—