Qian Ming had barely stepped out when Sixth Yiniang, Fifth Yiniang, and Twelfth Miss came in from behind.

Sixth Yiniang was dressed in a madder-red jacket patterned with silk brocade roses, with large red pomegranate silk flowers pinned at her temple; the corners of her eyes and brows were laced through with barely contained delight. She pulled Twelfth Miss forward with a beaming smile to pay her respects to Shiyiniang. “You two sisters shared a room growing up. Now that your sister has married, you should be all the closer.”

Twelfth Miss stepped forward with composed ease and curtsied to Shiyiniang, calling out “Elder Sister.”

Shiyiniang naturally had to give her a generous red envelope.

Sixth Yiniang then pulled Fifth Yiniang, who had been standing to one side, toward them and chided her playfully: “She talks about Eleventh Young Madam day in and day out — and now that Eleventh Young Madam has actually come back, you are hiding in the corner.”

Fifth Yiniang avoided Shiyiniang’s gaze, and gave an embarrassed little smile.

Shiyiniang rose and called out “Yiniang,” asking, “How is your health?”

“I am fine, I am perfectly fine,” Fifth Yiniang said, waving her hands, a trace of agitation flickering across her face.

Sixth Yiniang gave a little laugh. “Fifth Jiejie has a blessing that comes in threes — the happiness of a mother bear!”

The room fell silent.

A mother bear’s happiness… that meant she was with child.

A younger brother or sister who would be fifteen years younger than herself…

Shiyiniang could not help but press her fingers to her brow.

The whole thing was beyond imagination.

She had been so certain Fifth Yiniang was suffering some kind of grievance in the Luo household that she had quietly asked Hupo to make discreet inquiries.

No wonder she had been so evasive the last time they returned — clearly it was not something easy to bring up.

In the midst of these thoughts, Fifth Yiniang had already denied it outright: “No, no — nothing of the sort.”

“Oh!” Sixth Yiniang laughed, her gaze drifting to Fifth Yiniang’s abdomen. “By the time spring comes she will be quite showing — how long can it be kept quiet?” Then she turned to Shiyiniang with a smile: “First Master is blessed with a child in his later years — this is a great and auspicious event. With everyone gathered here, saying it aloud brings good fortune to us all.”

Fifth Yiniang listened, crumbling with shame, tears trembling at the corners of her eyes. “Sixth Sister, please — please do not say any more.”

Those crystalline tears fell on Shiyiniang’s heart like drops of scalding water.

Fifth Yiniang being with child was a good thing.

She was still so young, after all.

To have a child by her side would spare her much loneliness and solitude.

But as for First Madam…

She called out “Yiniang,” and her eyes could not help but drift toward First Madam.

First Madam’s expression had twisted. The look she turned on Fifth Yiniang was laced with unmistakable venom.

Shiyiniang could only smile wryly to herself. But from beside her came Fourth Madam’s voice, bright with pleasure: “A new little life coming into the family — we shall have a new younger sibling — what a truly wonderful thing!”

Jolted by Fourth Madam’s exclamation, First Madam also came to her senses. She immediately looked toward First Madam.

Nanny Xu had bent close to First Madam and was murmuring something to her, blocking the view; First Madam could not make out First Madam’s expression.

First Madam’s mind worked quickly.

Her husband was the eldest legitimate son, already a certified scholar now serving as a Shu Ji Shi. She herself had given the Luo Family its eldest legitimate grandson, and had managed the household without a single misstep. Even if Shiyiniang rose by virtue of her husband’s standing, even if Fifth Yiniang gave birth to a son — could any of that shake her husband’s standing or her own position because of one child whose future was yet uncertain? Given that — why make things unpleasant with a cold face, and let the Fourth Household walk away with all the goodwill?

“Indeed, indeed — what a truly wonderful thing!” She laughed openly, pulling Mu Ge close. “Mu Ge, you are getting a little uncle.”

“What little uncle?” Mu Ge was entirely confused. “Where did a little uncle come from?”

Xu Sijian quietly lowered his gaze and took a few steps back, retreating to the edge of the room divider curtain, putting a small but deliberate distance between himself and the others.

Zhun Ge, however, helpfully explained: “It is Father’s younger brother. Just like my Fifth Uncle — he is my father’s younger brother.”

Mu Ge still did not understand. “Is Siyu Ge not already my little uncle? Why do we need another little uncle? Then what do I call Siyu Ge?” He looked up at First Madam in bewilderment.

Fifth Niang, her belly noticeably rounded, covered her mouth with a laugh: “Fifth Yiniang has hidden this well indeed.” Her voice was clear and strong, with an edge that cut rather sharp. “Are you afraid that if we knew, we would come and ask to drink your wedding wine?”

Fifth Yiniang expecting a child — at her age!

Now that First Madam lay bedridden and could not manage household affairs, and by the sound of what the physician had said, it seemed unlikely she would recover. First Madam held the household. By convention and propriety, a daughter-in-law had no grounds to intervene in First Master’s private quarters. Before, First Master had entrusted Fifth Yiniang and Sixth Yiniang together with the management of his rooms; if Fifth Yiniang were now to give birth to a son… There was a saying that a mother gained dignity through her son, and a son gained nobility through his mother. She feared that by then, her own full brother would not even have a foothold left.

She could not help but shoot Fourth Madam a fierce glare.

A woman from a minor family — not a shred of sense. Helping Fifth Yiniang and Shiyiniang rejoice…

Shiyiniang, hearing the ill temper in Fifth Niang’s tone, immediately stepped forward several paces, placing herself in front of Fifth Yiniang, and said with a smile: “I have always heard it said that the first three months, when the child has only just quickened, are best not spoken of too broadly.”

Then she turned to Fifth Yiniang and asked, “Yiniang — is that not what I understand to be the case?”

Fifth Yiniang looked at her daughter, her face scarlet with embarrassment and something deeply earnest in her expression — as though she feared Shiyiniang might not believe her. “I — I — I…” But for a long moment, she could not produce a single coherent word.

Shiyiniang offered a small, contained smile, and asked Sixth Yiniang with an expression of quiet satisfaction, “Sixth Yiniang — does Father know that Yiniang is expecting?”

Sixth Yiniang had been waiting for precisely this.

To be sure, on the surface Fifth Niang always seemed to have the upper hand while Shiyiniang always seemed to yield — yet everything Fifth Niang had, Shiyiniang had never been without. She had taken notice of this young woman long ago and had not dared underestimate her. Then, when Shiyiniang had married into the Marquis Yongping household and within a matter of months had managed to bring the Marquis himself out to stand up for Fifth Niang, she had felt even more wary. Now, watching Shiyiniang shed her usual reserve and suddenly turn decisive and firm, she knew: Shiyiniang was going to stand up for her own birth mother this time. And what woman did not wish for someone in her maiden family capable of helping her stand firm in her husband’s household?

“Since Eleventh Young Madam has given the instruction, I shall go and bring the happy news to First Master.” She answered with a radiant smile, then shifted her wording and framed the entire matter of telling First Master as having been Shiyiniang’s idea.

Let her push the responsibility onto someone else if she wished.

This matter — she was going to see to it regardless.

Shiyiniang smiled faintly and did not contradict Sixth Yiniang’s words.

Fifth Yiniang, however, grew agitated and said quickly, “I will tell First Master myself…”

“Both the masters-in-law are here — it is better to let Sixth Yiniang inform Father.” Shiyiniang said with a smile, cutting Fifth Yiniang off, and she took her arm and guided her into the eastern side chamber. “Your health is the most important thing right now.” Then she added, “Why are your maids not with you? You need someone to attend to your every need. How can anyone feel at ease with you this way?”

Fifth Yiniang, however, stopped walking and looked steadily at Shiyiniang. Answering not quite to the point, she said: “Eleventh Young Madam — I truly never expected this to happen…” She spoke with her face turning bright crimson, yet her expression was deeply sincere — as though she feared Shiyiniang might not believe her.

Shiyiniang was suddenly struck by a wave of heartache.

She was gentle in temperament, and that same gentleness made her weak in action — yet whenever it was something she felt would benefit her daughter, she was willing to set aside everything and do it without hesitation…

—