Snow had been falling for several consecutive days. The ridge-tiles, the treetops, the ground — all were blanketed under a layer of white frost. The light filtering in through the latticework windows papered with translucent gauze was far brighter than usual, and so the room was suffused with a crystalline, lustrous glow.

Eleventh Miss set down the half-read copy of *Records of the Nine Regions of the Great Zhou* and pushed open the window to gaze out.

The grove beyond Lvyun Tower was entirely draped beneath a thick layer of accumulated snow. Whenever the wind passed through, the cottony balls of snow resting atop the branches of the Chinese boxwood trees would scatter down with a soft rustle, revealing the green leaves beneath — a sight that lifted the spirits.

She had come to learn that the Yuhang she now occupied lay to the northwest of Hangzhou Prefecture, with Mount Dadi to the southwest, Mount Jing to the northwest. To the south flowed the Tiao River, whose source lay in the Tianmu Mountains of Yuqian County…

There was far too little information!

She had once passed through Yuhang in her previous life — on a work assignment. The wife of the client involved had taken her children and fled back to her family home in Yuhang. She had tracked the woman down, persuaded her to relinquish custody of the children. As a lawyer, she had earned a seven-figure sum in compensation. It had been the first windfall of her professional career.

Thinking of this, Eleventh Miss could not help but sigh.

What good was it to be thinking of such things now?

Three years had passed since her arrival in this world. The farthest she had ever gone was the inner gate of the Luo Mansion’s rear compound — when she accompanied Madam, the First Madam of the Luo household, that is to say her own official mother Xu Shi, on a visit to Ci’an Temple to offer incense.

What was Yuhang like now? How far was it from Hangzhou? What did any of it have to do with her?

Even if she knew all of this and saw it with her own eyes, what use would it be?

This world was no longer her world.

Eleventh Miss let out a long sigh — as though that breath could blow away everything that had come before.

“Eleventh Miss!” When the maid Binju came in carrying hot tea and small flaky pastries, she happened to catch sight of Eleventh Miss pressing her forehead against the latticed window frame. “You’ve opened the windows again. There’s a north wind today.” As she spoke, she set the tea tray down on the small side table nearby and stepped forward to support her. “Today’s pastries are filled with plum blossom — do give them a try.”

Three years ago, this body had taken a fall, lying unconscious for three months and then bedridden for another half year. Had it not been for the attentive care of Binju and another maid named Dongqing, she would not have survived, even after inexplicably crossing into this body.

Eleventh Miss, not wishing to refuse Binju’s kind intentions, docilely took a seat at the table and accepted the cup of hot tea Binju handed her, taking a sip.

Rich, full-bodied black tea with just a hint of honey — her favorite.

Eleventh Miss’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly with an expression of quiet contentment.

Binju, watching this, felt the corners of her mouth lift, and she turned to close the latticed window.

Suddenly, from overhead came the sound of “thud, thud, thud” — loud knocking from above. It resounded directly over their heads, enough to set one’s nerves on edge.

Binju’s expression shifted, and she looked up at the ceiling, about to say something, when Eleventh Miss had already begun reciting in a tone like a chant: “Endure her, yield to her, avoid her, let her be, bear with her, do not bother with her — wait a few more years, and just see what becomes of her!”

From the doorway came the sound of a soft, stifled laugh.

Eleventh Miss and Binju both turned instinctively toward the sound. A young girl dressed in a peach-red sleeveless jacket stood leaning against the door curtain, a dark blue cloth bundle in hand.

“Dongqing!” Binju’s eyes lit up. “You’re back!” And so saying, she went forward to take the bundle from her.

Dongqing was from Yu County. Madam had granted her five days of leave to attend her younger sister’s wedding. Today was only the fourth day, and yet she had returned before midday — not at all what anyone had expected.

“Why didn’t you stay a while longer?” Eleventh Miss smiled. “Such chances don’t come often!”

“What is there to stay for?” Dongqing let Binju relieve her of the bundle. “My brother married a sister-in-law, and they’ve added a nephew these past few years. The house was already cramped — when I come back, they have to make room for me… It’s better not to go back at all.”

For the past two years, Dongqing’s family had relied almost entirely on her monthly wages as a senior maid to make ends meet. Last summer, her brother had wanted to buy the plot of land next door, and funds were tight. Her sister-in-law had even come to the mansion to find her, hoping she might help borrow some money.

Seeing that Dongqing’s expression had grown somewhat sheepish, Binju smiled as she poured her a cup of tea: “What is it this time?”

At the time, Binju had lent five taels of silver to Dongqing, while Eleventh Miss had given her two solid gold hairpins.

Dongqing sidestepped the topic and smiled as she untied the bundle that Binju had set on the round table. “My mother made a few pairs of shoes for Miss, and asked me to bring them back…”

As they spoke, the thuddingfrom upstairs had not ceased — and now it grew even more urgent, the sound battering at their ears without respite.

The three below, however, showed no change in expression whatsoever, as though they were seated in a garden swaying with a gentle spring breeze.

“…This handkerchief embroidered with kingfisher patterns is for Binju… These are pickled soybeans, for Nanny Xin…”

“You made pickled soybeans again this year?” Binju heard this and her eyes curved into a smile. “It seems the harvest at your home was good this year… Miss likes them too, you should have brought more back…”

Dongqing looked a little uneasy.

Her family had been quite considerate — even Nanny Xin, who did rough household work in Eleventh Miss’s room, had received a gift. Yet not a single word had been said about repaying the money…

She was still wondering how best to explain, when Eleventh Miss had already smiled and asked her: “Have you gone to give your thanks to Mother yet?”

Dongqing hurried to reply: “I have. I also happened to run into Nanny Xu — she gave me two jars of pickled soybeans.”

Eleventh Miss smiled and nodded, taking the shoes that Dongqing’s mother had made for her and turning them over in her hands: “Dongqing, your mother truly has fine craftsmanship…”

“Goes without saying,” Binju chimed in with a laugh from the side. “Dongqing has inherited the real skill!”

For some reason, Eleventh Miss found herself thinking of her university days in her previous life… When classes resumed after the Spring Festival, everyone would bring back local specialties from their hometowns to share with their dormitory sisters… Only she herself had never done so — her bag had always contained the most expensive snacks that money could buy from the supermarket…

An involuntary shadow of melancholy passed over her expression.

Seeing it, Dongqing could not help but think of something she had been worrying about for some time.

“Eleventh Miss,” she said, her voice carrying a trace of unease, “is it because of my situation that…”

Eleventh Miss was momentarily startled, and after a brief pause, she understood what Dongqing was referring to.

Dongqing was beautiful in appearance, composed and steady in her manner, and skilled at needlework. She had caught the eye of Nanny Yao, who attended Madam, and Nanny Yao had wanted to arrange a match between Dongqing and her own nephew. But that nephew of Nanny Yao’s was not only unsightly in appearance — he was also the sort who frequented brothels and gambled. Let alone Eleventh Miss, even Dongqing herself had no regard for him. Before the New Year, Nanny Yao had brought it up with Eleventh Miss. Eleventh Miss had agreed quite pleasantly on the surface, saying something to the effect that being able to form a bond with Nanny Yao’s family would be Dongqing’s great fortune — but the moment Nanny Yao left, Eleventh Miss immediately took up the cord she had been braiding for Madam and went straight to Madam’s chamber. While pressing her thumbs into Madam’s legs in a massage, she had asked with an air of puzzled innocence: “…Nanny Yao says her nephew looked over the entire compound and set his heart on Dongqing… I’m with Dongqing every day, and I cannot think of where or when her nephew might have seen Dongqing…”

From then on, Madam had grown rather distant toward Nanny Yao, and the matter naturally came to nothing. Yet the grudge between Eleventh Miss and Nanny Yao was thus also forged.

After some time, Madam had begun to make use of Nanny Yao again. Nanny Yao’s back straightened accordingly, and she even let word out: “Just wait and see — within two years, I’ll have that little wretch lying under my nephew, his to do with as he pleases…”

It was an unspoken rule among the wealthy households of this Great Zhou dynasty that any maidservant still unmatched by the age of twenty was to be released from service, so as not to violate the natural order of heaven.

Dongqing was eighteen this year…

Eleventh Miss’s birth mother, Lv Yiniang, had not failed to advise her: “Why make an enemy of Nanny Yao over a single maidservant… She is Madam’s own personal attendant who came with her from her natal home… You don’t even know what your own future holds, and yet you’re going out of your way to offend people on behalf of a servant girl…”

Thinking of all this, Eleventh Miss felt a rising irritation.

She did not regret speaking up for Dongqing.

Living in a place like the Luo family compound — a world made up entirely of women — kindness would only invite exploitation. If she could not even protect her own maidservant, who would take her seriously? And besides, Dongqing had sacrificed a great deal for her as well…

What she was truly afraid of was her own future.

A daughter born of a concubine, blessed with good looks, whose mother enjoyed no favor — her fate lay entirely in Madam’s hands.

If Madam had been the sort of woman who could be managed with a few well-placed words of flattery, things might have been simpler. But she had been born into a prominent family from Qiantang, with a father who had risen through the ranks all the way to Vice Minister of Rites. She had followed her father from posting to posting since childhood, traveling across half of Great Zhou, and had been raised to read and write as a man would. She had married into the Luo family at thirteen and taken charge of the household at fifteen. By the master’s side, there were no fewer than six concubines he had taken — and of these, only Ke Yiniang, who had once been Madam’s own personal maidservant before being elevated, had borne a concubine-born son who was nine years younger than the eldest legitimate son. The rest of the children had either died in infancy or had been daughters… Every time Eleventh Miss looked upon Madam’s face — serene and still as a Bodhisattva — she felt a restless, prickling unease, as though sitting upon needles.

The thought flickered past, and Eleventh Miss could not help but cast a peculiar glance up at the ceiling above.

Lvyun Tower had three bays spread across two floors. On the ground floor, the eastern rooms were occupied by Eleventh Miss, the western rooms by Twelfth Miss, and the upper floor was where Tenth Miss resided.

Eleventh Miss’s birth mother Lv Yiniang and Tenth Miss’s birth mother Yang Yiniang had feuded for the better part of their lives — and in the end, both of them had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by Lu Yiniang, Twelfth Miss’s birth mother. Tenth Miss, whenever the mood struck her, would have her maids pound the floorboards with a large wooden mallet, making such a racket that neither of them below could find any peace.

That Eleventh Miss herself could keep her composure was understandable — after all, there was a seasoned soul inhabiting her body. But that Twelfth Miss, only seven years old, could hold her composure with equal steadiness was something that genuinely made Eleventh Miss look at her in a new light.

“Dongqing, don’t worry.” Seeing that Eleventh Miss had fallen silent and the cheerful atmosphere of the room had vanished into thin air, Binju smiled and offered Dongqing some comfort. “There are still two years yet, aren’t there? Miss is so clever — she’ll surely think of a way within these two years!”

Dongqing’s expression dimmed, and she seemed on the verge of saying something, then stopped herself.

Eleventh Miss, watching this, felt a stir within her heart, and thought back to the look on Dongqing’s face when she had first returned.

Her expression grew somewhat serious as she asked: “Dongqing — has Nanny Yao sent someone to your family to formally propose the match?”

Dongqing lowered her eyes.

The unspoken confirmation of her suspicion ignited a blaze within Eleventh Miss’s chest.

She let out a cold snort, just about to say something, when from outside came the voice of the little maidservant Qiuju, deliberately pitched higher than usual: “Nanny Yao, in all this snow — what brings you here? Come, come in quickly for a cup of hot tea to warm yourself.”

Everyone in the room was momentarily taken aback.

Binju’s face had already gone pale as she tugged at Eleventh Miss’s sleeve: “What do we do? What do we do?”

Even Dongqing’s usual gentle gaze had taken on a few degrees of sharpness.

“What is there to panic about?” Eleventh Miss rose to her feet with a smile, and with the composure of someone entirely at ease, she gave instructions to the two of them: “Dongqing, go and bring out the Da Hong Pao tea that Madam gifted us last time, to receive our guest. Binju, go and welcome Nanny Yao inside.”

Her own calm steadiness spread to Dongqing and Binju.

The two of them gave an affirmative response and were just about to separate and go about their tasks, when Nanny Yao herself had already lifted the curtain and entered, a smile on her lips that did not reach her eyes, as she surveyed the three people in the room: “Eleventh Miss — Madam has asked you to come over.”

—