The First Mistress’s wife’s expression became uncomfortable.

Under normal circumstances, Shiyiniang would not have pressed her. But thinking of Sixth Yiniang’s conspicuous behavior today, she could not let it go.

“Sister-in-law, you treat me as you would your own younger sister.” She appealed to her with feeling. “I bring everything to you to discuss. Surely there is nothing you cannot tell me.”

The First Mistress’s wife was quiet for a long moment, then said quietly, “To tell you the truth, I genuinely cannot say for certain exactly what has caused Mother’s condition to worsen.”

Shiyiniang stared at her in surprise.

The First Mistress’s wife gave a bitter smile. “Father arrived the evening before last. With so many people suddenly descending on the household, there was simply no room for them all. Mother was already unhappy about it, but seeing that Father was in high spirits — saying that he had heard Mother was ill and feared she had no one to attend her, and that the Fourth Sister-in-law was newly wed and just come into the family, so he had specially brought everyone to Yanjing to pay their respects and help care for her — Mother said nothing at the time and forced herself to drink the new daughter-in-law’s tea ceremony tea. When it came time to assign rooms, Mother’s intention was to have Fourth Brother and the Fourth Mistress stay in the eastern wing as before, with the various Yininangs and Twelfth Miss lodged in the back building. But the Fourth Mistress said it was improper for a son and his wife to be housed in the same courtyard as the parents-in-law while the concubines and an unmarried young miss were put up in the back building — and she proposed moving herself to the back building to share quarters with Twelfth Miss. Mother felt the Fourth Mistress had contradicted her mother-in-law right upon entering the house, and that it showed poor judgment — she said a few words to her. The Fourth Mistress acknowledged the fault, but still held firm on moving to the back building. And Father thought the Fourth Mistress had a point, and gave his approval outright. Mother was shaking with fury at that point…” The First Mistress’s wife sighed. “That was also my failing — if I had been more attentive then, what came after might never have happened, and Mother might not have…”

Shiyiniang was taken aback.

Zhou Shi did not seem like a foolish person — yet when she pushed back against the First Mistress, she hadn’t yielded an inch. Could this be what people called staking her claim from the very first day?

She could not help asking, “What happened after that?”

“Seeing that Mother was distressed, Nanny Xu hurried to calm her. But Mother suddenly asked Fourth Brother what his plans were for the future. She added that now that he had a family to support, he could not go on casually taking the household tablet to draw money from the accounts as he had before. From now on, according to the household’s established rules, as long as the family remained undivided, room and board would be covered by the common fund, with an annual stipend of twenty taels. She went on to say that Fourth Brother had grown up in her care, and had no regular occupation, so it would be hard on him to live so frugally all at once. She would therefore supplement his stipend to fifty taels a year — the additional thirty taels to be deducted from her own personal allowance.”

The First Mistress was using money to put Luo Zhensheng in a stranglehold.

Truly a ruthless move.

Equivalent to seizing him directly by the throat.

“Fourth Brother and the Fourth Mistress immediately bowed and thanked the First Mistress. Fourth Brother even said that his friend Zhou had a colleague named Xie who was serving as county magistrate in Shangyuan County and needed a chief accountant. Zhou had recommended him for the post, and asked Fourth Brother to bring his family and accompany him there…”

A flash of surprise crossed Shiyiniang’s eyes.

She had not realized Zhou Shi had that kind of resourcefulness. No wonder she had dared to insist on moving to the back building.

“…Mother’s expression turned very dark. She questioned Fourth Brother, saying that she had hired renowned scholars at home to teach him the way of the sages since he was a child — and was it all only so that he could go and work as someone’s accountant?”

“Fourth Brother turned pale with fright and kept looking to the Fourth Mistress.”

“The Fourth Mistress stepped forward with a smile and said that now that Fourth Brother had a family, he could no longer spend his days idle — he needed to pursue something proper. The path of economics and official advancement were not separate. Though the post of accountant was humble, accompanying Magistrate Xie and observing how others governed — how they cultivated themselves, managed their households, and administered affairs — would be of great benefit to Fourth Brother. Besides, Fourth Brother was still young. Traveling and gaining experience for a few years, broadening his horizons, then returning to apply himself to his studies — that would surely be more valuable than staying home reading books by rote day after day.”

“How did Fourth Brother respond?” Shiyiniang asked quickly.

Whether the wife or the mother-in-law prevailed depended on the husband. If the husband stood unflinchingly by his wife’s side, the mother-in-law usually had no recourse. But Luo Zhensheng was the sort who went weak at the knees the moment he was in the First Mistress’s presence…

“Heaven only knows what had gotten into Fourth Brother.” The First Mistress’s wife said helplessly. “After the Fourth Mistress spoke, he nodded along repeatedly. He said that he had never before understood how hard Mother worked, but now that he had a family of his own, while he did not dare claim he could bring glory to the household name, he could not bring shame to the Luo family either. Magistrate Xie had also said that he might start as an accountant, but if he did well, there was also the prospect of becoming an advisor in charge of finances and provisions. He even laughed and said — after all, when Elder Brother becomes an official, he will always need advisors by his side, so when he returned he could serve Elder Brother just the same. It would be no different.”

“Mother’s expression was very dark. But Father struck the armrest and declared it excellent. He said he had never imagined Fourth Brother would have so much sense after taking a wife. He also praised the Fourth Mistress at length.”

“Mother then asked why, if this was all settled, had they waited until now to say anything — all this time she had been worrying needlessly.”

“Father looked at Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother looked at the Fourth Mistress. The Fourth Mistress then smiled and explained that because the matter had not yet been confirmed with Magistrate Xie, they had not wanted to say anything. She added that even before she was married, she had heard of Mother’s virtuous reputation. She said that Father had served as an official far from home while Mother looked after the elders, raised the children, and managed all family affairs — that Mother was the remarkable woman of Yuhang, a true heroine among women. When she herself was married, her own mother had instructed her to consult Mother in all things. That was why she had not spoken up beforehand — she had intended to find the right moment to bring it up with Mother after meeting her. But before she could, Mother had asked Fourth Brother about his plans, and Fourth Brother had spoken before she could prepare the ground. The Fourth Mistress then pulled Fourth Brother into a kneeling bow, begging Father not to blame Fourth Brother.”

Shiyiniang could easily picture the scene.

Regardless of how the First Master truly felt about Luo Zhensheng, he was still his son. And now that the son had come to his senses, the First Master was probably more elated than he would have been over his own reinstatement.

“Father, hearing this, at once pulled Fourth Brother up and said he had the right spirit. But the foundation of a man’s standing in the world lay still in study. He told Fourth Brother to decline the position with Magistrate Xie for now, stay home, and study with diligence. As for money, Father told him not to worry. In addition to the twenty taels from the common fund and the thirty taels Mother was supplementing, Father would personally contribute an additional two hundred taels a year.”

Shiyiniang drew a sharp, silent breath.

She had considered herself a capable planner — but it seemed there was an even more capable figure who had been quietly waiting ahead of her all along.

“Father then turned to Elder Brother and asked, ‘You won’t object, will you?'”

“You know how Elder Brother is — he always hopes that every sibling and family member will thrive. Not only did he say he had no objection, he also offered to contribute twenty taels a year himself. He told Fourth Brother to study hard and try for the provincial and imperial examinations — like Father and their uncles before them — so that brothers could serve together in court and bring glory to the ancestral name.”

“But who could have known — the moment Elder Brother finished speaking, Mother…took ill on the spot.”

Shiyiniang did not know what to say.

The First Mistress had always been outwardly pleasant and even-tempered with the concubines and the sons and daughters born of concubines — yet deep in her heart, she had never truly accepted them. Now, ill and confined to bed, her spirits already low. First had come the arrival of everyone from Yuhang, then the First Master’s insistence on deferring to Zhou Shi, and finally, Luo Zhensheng’s declaration of support — the string pulled taut inside the First Mistress had finally snapped.

—

Winter days grew dark early. The Luo household’s evening meal was arranged for mid-afternoon. By late afternoon, the guests were saying their farewells and setting off for home.

Sixth Yiniang brought Fifth Yiniang along to see Shiyiniang off.

The First Mistress’s wife was occupied speaking with Fourth Elder Sister and deliberately stepped aside to give them space.

Fifth Yiniang looked at the faces surrounding her — some studiously avoiding her gaze, others offering warm, knowing smiles — and thought of what her days had once been like. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

Was this, then, what it meant to have weathered everything and finally come into the light?

Looking at Fifth Yiniang — who stood in silence yet whose eyes burned with quiet emotion — Shiyiniang felt a faint sting at the corners of her own eyes. She said softly, “I am doing well. Please do not worry about me. Even though you are now in Yanjing, just treat it as though you were still in Yuhang.”

Fifth Yiniang, thinking her daughter was concerned she might not adjust to the new place, quickly reassured her. “The First Master, the First Mistress, and the First Mistress’s wife have all been very good to me. You need not worry.”

With such an answer, Shiyiniang had a thousand things she wished to say but no way to begin.

The two women faced each other, both at a loss for words.

Character shapes destiny. Fifth Yiniang had always been gentle and yielding — beautiful as she was, she had never given anyone reason to treat her as a threat. Some thought it not worth bothering with her; others saw no need. In its own way, that too was a kind of blessing.

Shiyiniang let go of everything she had been holding onto and smiled softly. She curtsied to Fifth Yiniang. “Then I shall take my leave first.”

“Give my thanks to the Dowager Lady.”

The Dowager Lady had specially sent bird’s nest along for Fifth Yiniang.

Shiyiniang nodded with a smile. “I will.”

Fifth Yiniang saw her to the carriage.

Just as the carriage was about to move, Fifth Yiniang came running after it. “Wait.”

Shiyiniang lifted the curtain. “Is there something else, Yiniang?”

Fifth Yiniang bit her lip, the color shifting across her face — one moment pale, the next flushed — as she looked at Shiyiniang.

Shiyiniang dismissed the matron accompanying the carriage and the driver, and leaned out.

Only then did Fifth Yiniang say quietly, “Don’t try to conceive too soon. Take care of your body first.”

Shiyiniang’s tears welled up, impossible to hold back.

It was only a daughter-in-law who had borne sons who could truly secure her footing in her husband’s household. But at Shiyiniang’s age, childbirth was a passage through death’s own door. Fine clothes and great wealth were all well and good. But as a mother, what mattered most was not her daughter’s fortune — it was her life.

Shiyiniang smiled and nodded, but her tears fell like pearls.

As though a great weight had been lifted, Fifth Yiniang’s expression softened. She smiled and waved toward Shiyiniang. “Go on home now. Listen to the Dowager Lady. Listen to the Marquis.”

Shiyiniang nodded, then let the curtain fall.

The carriage clattered away, out of Bowstring Lane.

—

Zhen Jie’er spread out before the Dowager Lady all the gifts she had received from the various members of the Luo household.

“…This one is from the new Fourth Maternal Aunt, this one is from Fifth Yiniang, and this one is from Third Maternal Aunt-in-law.”

The Dowager Lady examined the jade pendant Fifth Yiniang had given, then smiled and teased Zhen Jie’er. “Our young lady’s dressing table is collecting more fine things.”

Zhen Jie’er pressed her lips together in a smile.

The Dowager Lady unfolded the two silk handkerchiefs.

One was embroidered with a kitten chasing an embroidered ball; the other depicted the goddess Magu presenting longevity.

Nanny Du quickly passed over the Dowager Lady’s spectacles.

The Dowager Lady examined them for a long moment, then looked up at Shiyiniang with a smile. “This new sister-in-law who has just joined the family has quite a gifted pair of hands.”

Thinking of how she had sparred with the First Mistress, Shiyiniang could not help smiling. “And she is very capable as well.”

The Dowager Lady had Zhen Jie’er put the handkerchiefs away, then began to reminisce. “Capable women are usually very nimble with their hands. I remember in the old days, your Nanny Du, even as a young girl, was wonderfully skilled at cutting paper window designs. I noticed how deft her hands were and that was precisely why I kept her by my side…”

Nanny Du laughed from her place nearby. “Our Fourth Mistress is also deft with her hands — when I began to show her how to cut the designs, I had only just started, and she already knew how to carry on from there. Come to think of it, every person who has served at your side has had nimble hands.”

“Are you praising my daughter-in-law, or praising yourself?” the Dowager Lady laughed, and the whole room burst out laughing with her, the atmosphere warm and lively.

The Dowager Lady then turned to Shiyiniang. “What was it you had the Imperial Household Department make? I looked at it — it doesn’t quite look like a chess board, and it doesn’t quite look like a stool either…”

—