The husband and wife were talking inside the room, while Hupo, who stood in the courtyard, chatted leisurely with Hongxiu. “When I went in just now, I saw you talking to the Marquis. What were you two talking about? The Marquis seemed quite pleased!”

Hongxiu covered her mouth and laughed. “The moment the Marquis came through the door, he asked where Madam was. I told him, ‘Madam hasn’t been feeling well these past few days — she went out for a walk.'” Then she lowered her voice and whispered into Hupo’s ear, “After hearing that, the Marquis even asked where Madam had gone for her walk!”

Hupo smiled faintly. “You really are bold. Even I wouldn’t dare say just anything in front of the Marquis.”

Hongxiu was unconcerned. “Qiao Yiniang is with child — this is the perfect opportunity for our Madam. Of course we should help Madam compete for a little more of the Marquis’s attention!”

Hupo said nothing more and let out a small sound of surprise. “How is it that Lvyun still hasn’t come back?”

The words had barely left her lips when Lvyun sauntered in.

Seeing that all the maids were gathered in the courtyard, she stepped forward and said softly, “The Marquis is back!”

Hupo acknowledged this with a sound and asked, “What did the Third Madam’s side say?”

“They said they’re planning to have Yi Yiniang go over to offer a stick of incense.” Lvyun continued, “They said this was a special consideration given that the Fifth Madam intends to hold a Taoist rite for Xiaolan.”

Hupo had nothing to say to that.

The Third household had only one yiniang, yet their side had three.

But Hongxiu laughed. “Oh my! Whichever yiniang Madam sends over — won’t that yiniang become the foremost one in our courtyard?”

Hupo and Lvyun both smiled without a word.

Hongxiu felt a little embarrassed, muttered a few words to herself, then made an excuse and took her leave.

When Xu Lingyi and Shiyiniang returned from having dinner at the Grand Madam’s, Lvyun reported the matter to Shiyiniang.

Seeing that Xu Lingyi was also present, Shiyiniang discussed it with him. “Why don’t we send Qin Yiniang? She is Siyu’s birth mother.”

“You can make the call on these matters yourself,” Xu Lingyi nodded, then asked about Xiaolan with some hesitation in his voice. “How did she… die?”

“Imperial Physician Wu said it was excessive internal heat causing blockage.” Such matters were not easy to speak of at length, so Shiyiniang kept her words brief.

Xu Lingyi said nothing. His expression shifted between clouds and sunlight, unsettled and difficult to read.

Shiyiniang thought of the early-departed Tong Yiniang…

She was just about to slip quietly away and leave Xu Lingyi some space when Qin Yiniang and Wen Yiniang arrived to pay their respects to Shiyiniang.

Shiyiniang took the opportunity to assign the task.

Who could have anticipated that Qin Yiniang, upon hearing this, would shake her head as frantically as a rattle-drum. “I’m not going, I’m not going!”

Xu Lingyi’s expression darkened at the sight.

Qin Yiniang, frightened into a panic, caught sight of Wen Yiniang standing beside her and grabbed hold of her as if seizing a lifeline. “Let Wen Yiniang go — let Wen Yiniang go. She’s far better with words than I am… If I go, I’ll only embarrass everyone!”

Shiyiniang had already spoken, and with Xu Lingyi present, Wen Yiniang would never step forward to take this on. She hastily declined. “What nonsense are you saying, Elder Sister Qin? Since Madam has asked you to go, it means she holds you in regard. Besides, you are our Siyu’s birth mother — how could you possibly embarrass anyone?”

Hearing Wen Yiniang mention Xu Siyu, Qin Yiniang faltered, then muttered haltingly, “I… I’ve never done this before…”

“Who is born knowing how?” Wen Yiniang smiled and coaxed her gently. “Everything has a first time…” Only then did Qin Yiniang reluctantly nod.

After the two of them withdrew, Xu Lingyi could not help but sigh. “A wasted effort on your part. Don’t bother with her in the future. She’s always been like this — unfit to appear in polite company.”

In her heart, Shiyiniang found this a little strange.

Such a simple matter, and yet Qin Yiniang had reacted so strongly…

She replied casually, “It was my own lack of consideration. I should have asked for her thoughts beforehand. It’s no wonder she couldn’t accept it so suddenly when I arranged things so abruptly.”

Xu Lingyi was taken aback by her words and said, “When you assign duties, since when do you need their agreement?”

Could she really punish Qin Yiniang simply because she didn’t want to take on the task? At most, there was no need to think of her when future good things came along.

Shiyiniang had no wish to dwell on this matter, and with a smile, she changed the subject. “The Marquis has been running about for the Wang Family’s affairs these past two days. Even when I encounter you, there’s hardly time to exchange two words.” She then told him about Liu Taiping and Chang Xuezhi. “Do you think there might be a suitable placement for them? As you know, the yields from my manor are not good — if we can find them a path forward, it would be a help.”

Xu Lingyi agreed readily. “Look for wherever you think is fitting and place them there. I’ll speak with Steward Bai about this matter.”

Both were only around ten years of age — precisely the time when they were most moldable. She would need to rely on them in the future, and it would not do to spoil them.

“They must be placed where it suits them.” Shiyiniang smiled. “Let them start honestly as errand boys and work their way up. If they have the aptitude, the Marquis can offer them some guidance in time. If they don’t, then there’s no need to force it — we wouldn’t want them to end up embarrassing me.”

Just as they were speaking, a young maid came in to report: “Marquis, the Fifth Master requests an audience!”

At this hour?

Xu Lingyi was mildly surprised. He said to Shiyiniang, “Let me go see to this.” Then he went to the main hall.

The two brothers spoke for nearly an hour before he returned to the inner chamber.

Shiyiniang was nestled under the covers reading a book. Xu Lingyi removed his shoes and got into bed. “He said that Xiaolan’s death has frightened the Fifth Young Madam. He wants to request extended leave to stay home and look after her for a while. He also heard that the outer compound is undergoing a change of staff, and wants to make changes among his own courtyard’s people as well.”

His tone was calm, yet in the night he tossed and turned for a long while.

Seeing that Xu Lingyi appeared weighed down by something, Shiyiniang said softly, “Marquis, would you like to talk with me for a little while?”

Xu Lingyi was silent for a moment, then reached out and drew her into his arms. “According to Fifth Brother, the reason Xiaolan went into labor was entirely because Xiaomei had been giving her overly rich supplements for too long.” His voice carried a note of quiet sorrow.

It was another family’s affair — what could Shiyiniang say?

“Perhaps they simply didn’t know better,” she said, smoothing things over.

Xu Lingyi said nothing more. He held her and lay still, allowing Shiyiniang, curled in the warmth of his embrace, to settle peacefully into a good night’s sleep.

—

Early the next morning, barely had Shiyiniang woken when Lvyun, who was on duty, came quietly to tell her: “Qin Yiniang came early this morning. She says she wants to beg your pardon.”

Shiyiniang looked at the empty half of the bed and asked in a low voice, “Did she happen to run into the Marquis when he was leaving?”

“She did.” Lvyun’s voice dropped even lower. “The moment Qin Yiniang saw the Marquis, she knelt down. She said that yesterday her heart had been clouded with foolishness, and so she had come first thing this morning to apologize to you. Hearing this, the Marquis’s expression improved considerably. He even asked Qin Yiniang whether she had eaten breakfast.”

“And what did Qin Yiniang say?”

“She said she had.” Lvyun continued, “The Marquis then told her to wait in the main hall. He even had a young maid bring her a cup of hot tea.”

“Since she’s in the main hall having tea, there’s no need for us to hurry.” Shiyiniang washed and dressed, then received Qin Yiniang.

Qin Yiniang dropped to her knees the moment she stepped through the door. “Madam, yesterday it was entirely my fault. I know you were acting in my best interest, wanting to give me a moment of dignity. It was my own timidity and cowardice…”

“That’s enough, that’s enough.” Shiyiniang was genuinely unaccustomed to having someone kneel before her in apology. She had Lvyun help Qin Yiniang to her feet. “This was all a misunderstanding between us — once it’s spoken aloud, it’s settled.” She then picked up her tea. “Yi Yiniang is also well acquainted with you. Why don’t you and she go together to offer incense for Xiaolan?”

Seeing that Shiyiniang appeared unwilling to say more, Qin Yiniang had no choice but to bow her head in acknowledgment and withdraw.

Shiyiniang let out a quiet breath of relief. Liu Yuanrui’s wife had come to pick someone up.

She told her to bring the child over in a couple of days.

Liu Yuanrui’s wife broke into a wide smile and gave thanks again and again.

Just then, Hupo came in. Seeing Liu Yuanrui’s wife there, she seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

Liu Yuanrui’s wife was a perceptive woman and immediately stepped aside. “Madam, please speak with Miss Hupo first. I’ll go help with the moving.”

“What is it?” Shiyiniang asked Hupo.

Hupo came a few steps closer and lowered her voice. “Dongqing is making a scene, saying she wants to see you. She says she wants a clear answer.”

Shiyiniang’s expression did not shift in the slightest — not even the corners of her eyes. “Tell her this: everything that needed to be said, I have said. If there’s anything she cannot make sense of, she needn’t bother trying. When all is said and done, she was a bondservant purchased by our Luo Family. I have now returned her bond of servitude and additionally gifted her three hundred taels of silver for her trousseau. If she is still dissatisfied with anything, then let it be said that I am too small and too powerless to meet her expectations — she simply followed the wrong person.”

Hupo, hearing that these words carried both softness and steel, dared not say more, and hurried away.

Before long, the sound of crying and commotion rose from the courtyard.

Yet it lasted only a few moments before falling silent once more.

Shiyiniang sat on the large kang by the window, her expression tranquil as she gazed out at the view.

That evening, her monthly course arrived.

At the same time, Qiao Lianfang received word of Xiaolan’s death.

She was somewhat surprised. “Xiaolan is dead? Do they know how she died?”

Xiuyuan told her everything she had gathered, detail by detail. “…What came out was a baby boy.”

Qiao Lianfang mused quietly. “Do they know whose hand was behind it?”

“They say it was Xiaomei.” Xiuyuan continued, “The Fifth Madam had gifted a few stalks of ginseng to Xiaolan to nourish her body. But Xiaomei used too much of it…”

Ginseng was a powerful tonic — it strengthened those who were strong, but it was of no benefit to those who were already frail.

For Xiaolan to have consumed it so recklessly and without restraint, how could nothing go wrong?

Some medicinal herbs that appeared to be tonics, when combined with other substances, became instruments of death.

Qiao Lianfang listened and laughed coldly. “‘Used too much’? I think not. However one looks at it, that Xiaomei came out of the Marquis’s own household — she ought to know this much.” As she spoke, she lifted her tea bowl and took a sip, then asked offhandedly, “And what of the Grand Madam? What does the Grand Madam say?”

Xiuyuan’s eyes dimmed slightly. “The Grand Madam had Nanny Du bring supplemental medicine to the Fifth Madam’s courtyard and offered words of comfort, urging the Fifth Madam to rest and recover well.”

Though Xiaolan was merely a chamber attendant, the child she had carried was of the Xu bloodline.

Without thinking, Qiao Lianfang’s hand drifted to cover her own belly.

That Shiyiniang was cunning and scheming, and had no children of her own — who could say what she might do in the depths of jealous fury? Though the Grand Madam had her own people stationed here to keep watch, it was better to be cautious. One couldn’t guard against every possibility…

The more she thought about it, the paler Qiao Lianfang’s lips became.

Xiuyuan’s thoughts had already reached further.

Given the Grand Madam’s attitude toward Xiaolan, if something were to happen to their young mistress, she feared they could count on no one.

She could not help but say softly, “Would you consider sending word to Madam? Ask her to come see you?”

Qiao Lianfang heard this and abruptly seized her hand. “You’re right. How did I forget about this!” As she spoke, she stepped off the kang and slipped her feet into her shoes.

Xiuyuan quickly knelt down to help her put them on.

But Qiao Lianfang’s movements faltered.

“No — this matter needs to be taken up with the Marquis.” She murmured to herself, “Tell the Marquis — ask him to let my mother come see me.”

If Madam Qiao, the Third Madam of the Qiao Family, wanted to visit Qiao Lianfang, nothing could stop her, regardless of whether Shiyiniang agreed or not.

Xiuyuan felt that bringing this matter to Xu Lingyi was the better course — and besides, Qiao Lianfang was with child at this very moment.

She carefully supported Qiao Lianfang as they came out from the inner chamber.

They came face to face with one of the madams the Grand Madam had sent over.

“Where is the Yiniang headed?” she said with a pleasant smile. “The wind is strong outside. Be careful not to catch a chill.”

Qiao Lianfang quickly said, “I need to see the Marquis,” and then, as though afraid of being stopped, hurried out the door with Xiuyuan.

—