Marquis Yongping, however, lacked Master Xiang’s confidence.

He said softly to Shiyiniang, “Siyu is the eldest illegitimate son, not the second. By convention, he should establish his own household. But it would not be appropriate for him to move out immediately after marriage — he should live at home for several years first, so everyone can grow familiar with one another. Otherwise, if they all live separately from the start, they would feel like strangers to each other, and there would be nothing to speak of in terms of harmony among sisters-in-law. That is why I asked Second Sister-in-law to look into which of Master Xiang’s three daughters had the most gentle and obedient temperament. A woman of such character, once she marries into the family, would be able to look after the younger brothers and sisters, serve in your presence, and set an example for the sisters-in-law who join the household later. Furthermore, when the time comes to establish a separate household, she would not harbor too many unreasonable ambitions, nor stir up resentment that might make Zhun Ge’s wife’s life difficult. Moyan, the matter of choosing a candidate was something I deliberated over carefully. At the time, I even considered that if none of Master Xiang’s three daughters met this criterion, I would have no choice but to reluctantly abandon the idea altogether…”

Shiyiniang admitted that everything Xu Lingyi said was correct. She held no grievance against the Second Madam either — after all, the Second Madam had only acted on Xu Lingyi’s behalf. As for whether or not she should have informed her, that was the Second Madam’s prerogative.

What she disliked was the manner in which Xu Lingyi had handled the matter.

Not a single word of consultation — he had simply made the decision on his own. What did that make her?

“My Lord,” Shiyiniang said, folding her arms across her chest, her voice cool, “I do not wish to speak with you.”

Xu Lingyi was stunned.

“What?” His face was full of disbelief.

She did not want to speak with him?

To think someone would say outright, so plainly, “I do not want to speak with you.”

In all his years, this was the first time he had ever encountered…

Shiyiniang had already turned to face him. She looked at him with calm, steady eyes: “My Lord, you made the decision about Siyu’s marriage entirely on your own — you never regarded me as Siyu’s mother, nor as your wife. Even though everything you say makes sense, I still cannot dispel this anger and resentment. If we continue talking, I fear nothing good will come of it. It is better to stop here, to avoid saying words that would wound us both and leave us with regret.” Having said this, she turned over and lay with her back to Xu Lingyi.

This resolute display from Shiyiniang left Xu Lingyi momentarily at a loss. After a long while, he finally said, “Moyan, whatever it is, let us talk it through properly. Sulking like this cannot resolve anything.”

“It is precisely because I do not wish to quarrel with My Lord that I do not wish to speak with him.” Shiyiniang said quietly, “Besides, My Lord has already made everything quite clear. There is nothing to resolve.”

Was it so that a person of gentle temperament, once they dug in their heels, became particularly stubborn?

Xu Lingyi thought for a moment, then leaned on his elbow with a smile and called to her: “Moyan…”

Shiyiniang kept her mouth shut and said nothing.

Xu Lingyi continued smiling and called again: “Moyan…”

This was not a matter that could be smoothed over with a little coaxing and teasing. This was a matter of principle. If she could not make Xu Lingyi understand his error this time — could not use this as a warning so that he might change — then the next time something like this arose, he would fall back into the same habit of thinking: that so long as his decisions were sound, consulting her was unnecessary; that all he needed to do afterward was explain, coax, and charm his way through.

Shiyiniang rustled out of bed, and dressed only in her inner garments, she retrieved a quilt from the tall cabinet and spread it out on the large kang beside the window. She lay down, wrapping half the quilt beneath her and pulling the other half over herself: “My Lord should also rest soon. I must be up at the second quarter past the fifth watch tomorrow!”

He stared for a long while at the small mound she made beneath the quilt before he came back to his senses.

True, it was he who had been in the wrong. But it was also he who had gone to Second Sister-in-law, asked her to go to the Xiang family to make inquiries, and enlisted her help in choosing a candidate… If he now let Shiyiniang go to inspect the girl herself, would that not be going back on his word? Not only would it show disrespect to the Xiang family, but he would also be breaking a promise.

The only path forward now was to change Shiyiniang’s mind.

Xu Lingyi thought for a moment, then squeezed himself onto the kang beside the window: “Moyan. Let us talk this through properly.”

Shiyiniang ignored him and rose to go lie down on the bed.

Xu Lingyi followed.

Shiyiniang went back to the kang by the window.

After several such exchanges, Xu Lingyi let out a helpless sigh.

Shiyiniang’s garments were thin — if she caught a chill, it would be no trivial matter.

He lay down on the kang and let her have the bed.

Outside, a light rain had begun to fall.

Through the window, the sound of rain came through clearly — drop by drop, patter by patter. It was a long while before he finally fell asleep.

…

The next morning, the tender new leaves that had just begun to bud were washed clean and bright by the rain, and the world felt luminous and clear, lifting the spirits.

“My Lady, it has been raining.” Yanrong came in cheerfully with her garments in her arms. “The weather will only grow warmer from now on!”

Shiyiniang smiled and nodded, and instructed Yanrong: “The Marquis is still resting — do not let anyone come in and disturb him.”

Yanrong’s gaze swept briefly over the large kang by the window, her expression betraying nothing — not even the faintest flicker at the corners of her eyes and brows. She smiled and assented, then went out to tell the young maids to wait outside, while she herself attended to Shiyiniang’s washing and dressing before accompanying her to the main hall.

After receiving the morning greetings of the children and the concubines, Shiyiniang went to call upon the Grand Madam.

They had barely exchanged a few words when Fifth Madam arrived, carrying Xin Jie’er in her arms.

They exchanged the proper courtesies, and the Grand Madam had Nanny Du take Xin Jie’er over to hold.

“She looks somewhat thinner than before?” The Grand Madam’s brow furrowed slightly.

Fifth Madam quickly replied, “Her digestion has been a little unsettled these past few days.”

“Send for Imperial Physician Xie from the Imperial Medical Institute. He is the most skilled at treating children’s ailments.”

Fifth Madam curtsied and said, “Yes.”

The Grand Madam asked after the situation in Jining: “…Has the funeral rite been completed?”

“It has!” Fifth Madam said. “From now on, we need only send someone to Ciyuan Temple on the first of each month to offer incense.”

Second Madam arrived.

She greeted Shiyiniang politely and said nothing further.

Shiyiniang did not ask either. After attending upon the Grand Madam as she went to the prayer hall, she withdrew to the reception hall.

The rain had stopped. A lingering dampness still hung in the air.

The courtyard was crowded with people.

The steward matrons stood beneath the eaves; the serving maids and married women servants stood in the middle of the courtyard.

When Shiyiniang entered, every single person dropped half a head in a coordinated bow.

Flanked by Hupo, Lvyun, and the other maids, Shiyiniang walked through the courtyard with eyes fixed straight ahead and entered the reception hall, where she began to hear the reports from the steward matrons.

Li Shi, the newly appointed head matron of the inner courtyard kitchen, silently rehearsed in her mind the matters she needed to report — three times through — until she was satisfied there was nothing amiss. Only then did she steady her nerves.

Although she was an old hand in the household, she had no close ties to any of the family’s branches. Had it not been for the uproar Wanxiang caused when Third Madam was running the household, leaving Gan Laoquan with no one to rely on, Gan Laoquan would never have asked her to help manage the kitchen. Nor would she have been kept on as acting kitchen matron by the Fourth Madam now in charge, after Gan Laoquan left with Third Madam to follow her husband to his posting. And she certainly would never have been officially appointed as kitchen matron on account of Wanxiang’s reckless behavior. When she recalled how Wanxiang’s entire household had been sent back to Bowstring Lane by the Fourth Madam… and then word later came that they had been driven out of Yanjing altogether — whenever she stood before the Fourth Madam, her heart could not help but flutter with a trace of apprehension.

By the time her turn came to go in and make her report, it was already a quarter past the first hour past dawn. She had just finished speaking when Lvyun entered.

“My Lady, two of the personal matrons from the household of the eldest daughter of Marquis Weibei have come to pay their respects to the young miss on her behalf!”

Shiyiniang smiled faintly.

Whatever those two girls were up to, she could not say — the matrons from Hui Jie’er’s side had already come twice in one day.

“Have someone escort them to Shaohua Courtyard.”

Lvyun assented and went.

Shiyiniang saw that all the matters had been attended to and returned to her own courtyard. She sat down and took up her embroidery.

She had not finished even half a character when Xu Lingyi returned.

He called to Shiyiniang to help him change his clothing.

Shiyiniang obediently helped him change.

Xu Lingyi asked, “Why did you come back so early today?”

Shiyiniang kept her lips pressed together and said nothing.

Yanrong, seeing this, quickly caught the eye of the other maids in the room, and they all tiptoed out.

Xu Lingyi then took her chin lightly between his fingers and said with a smile, “What is this? You are truly not speaking to me?”

Shiyiniang turned her head away. She helped him fasten the decorative cord at his waist, then poured him a cup of hot tea, and silently began putting away the embroidery frame. She called to Yanrong: “It is getting late — we must go to the Grand Madam’s to have the midday meal.” And without waiting for Xu Lingyi, she walked out of the inner chamber.

Xu Lingyi shook his head with a rueful smile and followed.

When they arrived at the Grand Madam’s, there were many people present, and Shiyiniang smiled warmly the entire time — no one could detect anything amiss.

That evening, the two of them slept apart once more.

The next day, Xu Lingyi rose early and called Shiyiniang to attend to his washing and grooming.

Shiyiniang said nothing, but poured water for him and helped him dress. At breakfast, just as she always had, she placed a bowl of porridge before him.

Xu Lingyi found it rather amusing.

It was rather like watching a child in a sulk.

But gradually, the smile faded from his face.

It began with Shiyiniang no longer taking the initiative to pour his tea or fetch his water; then breakfast became a matter of each eating on their own; and finally, she stopped calling for him when it was time to go to the Grand Madam’s. Her manner grew cooler and cooler. Then came the day he called Shiyiniang to help him change, and she did not move a muscle — instead, she called Xiayi in. The warmth and tranquility that had once existed between them was gone entirely, replaced by indifference and distance.

Xu Lingyi sensed that things were worse than he had imagined.

He moved east, she moved west. He moved left, she moved right. Sometimes he would take the initiative to come and sit beside her, wanting to say something, but she would not set down her needlework, absorbed entirely in her sewing — as if she were completely unaware that he existed at all.

Xu Lingyi thought for a while, then brought up something he knew she had been paying close attention to.

“Do you remember the Qu Family?”

Shiyiniang said nothing, but Xu Lingyi noticed the hand holding her needle paused for a moment.

He let out a quiet breath of relief. He felt he had chosen the right subject.

“I have always found it puzzling. The Sixth Imperial Prince, born of the Imperial Noble Consort, is so young — why would the Qu Family choose to make their move at this juncture? Even if the Emperor and Empress are at odds, so long as Her Majesty the Empress makes no grave error, the First Imperial Prince and the Third Imperial Prince remain as secure as a fortress. What they are doing is an outright gamble.”

Shiyiniang kept her head lowered, her needle moving swiftly and smoothly, her expression betraying nothing.

“…Later, when the matter concerning Fengqing arose, the Qu Family showed themselves to be particularly vicious and ruthless. Yet when they attacked me for ‘moral misconduct,’ their approach shifted somewhat — a little less venomous, a little more seasoned. I noticed the inconsistency at the time. The Qu Family’s conduct seemed to have no coherent pattern. So when the time came for the First Imperial Prince to select a consort, I made a point of asking Ma Zuowen to report back to me. And do you know what I discovered?”

Shiyiniang appeared entirely unmoved, pulling a length of thread and narrowing her eyes as she threaded her needle.

Xu Lingyi felt a flicker of disappointment, but pressed on: “I found something rather interesting about the candidates being recommended for the position of First Imperial Prince Consort. The Yang Family recommended only women with close ties to themselves. The Qu Family was somewhat different. They openly recommended only two daughters of old family allies. But there were two other families — on the surface recommended by officials of the Ministry of Rites, yet upon closer investigation, each had faint, shadowy connections to the Qu Family…”

In the selection of an imperial consort, court politics were involved, and such things were naturally layered with half-truths and false fronts. The Qu Family would naturally have planted contingency moves in advance — that much was to be expected. What was there worth mentioning?

Shiyiniang grumbled inwardly.

She kept her head lowered without any change in expression, embroidering her flower.

—