This was a Xu family matter, and it was not Nanny Shi’s place to comment. She only smiled and helped Fifth Madam let down her hair.

Fifth Madam toyed with a comb in her hand: “First she arranged an excellent-looking marriage for Yu Ge, and then encouraged Yu Ge to sit for the imperial examinations. Children at that age—seeing their future shining brightly ahead, their minds aflame with hope—will naturally agree to anything. Once he is gone, she arranges the marriage with the Jiang family, and petitions for the imperial decree naming Zhun Ge as heir. By then, Yu Ge’s teachers, classmates, and close friends will all be persons closely connected to the Jiang family. If he never sets his ambitions on the title, the Jiang family will naturally be his greatest support; but if he does set his heart on the title, the first ones to refuse to let it pass will be the Jiang family itself. And if, because of this, he nurses grievances in his heart—why, he agreed to it himself, so who could he blame? Our Fourth Elder Brother certainly plays a fine hand of chess!”

Having said this, she thought of the Xiang family’s refusal of a marriage proposal, and smiled silently.

At that very moment, Xu Lingyi was sitting on the large kang near the window of the Trailing Vines Water Pavilion.

A breeze carrying the cool freshness of Biyi Lake passed through the window’s fine kudzu-cloth lattice and blew in, leaving him clear-headed and refreshed.

“…The child has a lovely appearance,” Eleventh Miss was chatting as she made the bed. “Her temperament is lively and spirited. Lady Jiang looks like a virtuous and gentle woman at first sight. I think this match is truly well made.” She straightened up and asked Xu Lingyi with a smile: “Shall the Marquis look over some reading first? Or shall he rest?”

Xu Lingyi did not answer. He looked at her with a smile. His brow and eyes carried a clarity like the bright moon.

“Come—come sit beside me!” He beckoned to Eleventh Miss, his voice low but full and warm.

As if his mood was quite good!

Could it be because Zhun Ge’s marriage arrangements had gone so smoothly?

Eleventh Miss mused on this, and sat down beside Xu Lingyi.

But Xu Lingyi drew her into his arms: “Stay with me a while!” He pressed his face against her temple.

The night air was cool, yet his breath was warm.

Eleventh Miss wrapped her arms around Xu Lingyi’s waist and leaned quietly against him.

Moonlight crept in little by little; from time to time the candle flame gave a small crack and pop, making the stillness feel all the more profound.

“Today is the sixteenth, is it not?” Xu Lingyi raised his head, his hand gently stroking her cheek.

The moonlight fell on his broad back; his bright eyes gleamed like jewels catching light.

“Yes,” Eleventh Miss nodded, unsure what he meant by asking.

Xu Lingyi’s expression stilled for a moment, then after a long pause he said: “Zhun Ge has a deficiency condition. Master Changchun also says he has ‘three calamities.’ You and I—you and your elder sister—feared his life’s thread was too slender to bear too much fortune and blessing.” His voice was even and deliberate. “We once discussed waiting until he passed twelve years of age before petitioning for the imperial decree naming him heir…”

If the two families, Xu and Jiang, were to formalize their betrothal, having Zhun Ge in the position of heir designate would carry a different significance entirely.

She slowly sat up straight: “The Marquis means—to advance the naming ahead of schedule?”

Xu Lingyi did not answer directly. Instead, he was silent for a good while before asking: “What do you think?”

“If it can be done this way, it is naturally the best outcome,” Eleventh Miss reflected. “Only when one knows one’s place can one know what one ought to do!”

Xu Lingyi gave a slight nod and took her hand: “Don’t worry too much about what lies ahead. I have it all in hand. Everything will be arranged properly!”

It took Eleventh Miss a moment’s turning of thoughts before she understood that what he meant by ‘what lies ahead’ referred to the possibility of their having a son someday…

She could not help being momentarily struck still, thinking back to the frequent intimacy since her coming-of-age ceremony.

There had been no precautionary measures taken between them at all.

If by chance…

Eleventh Miss suddenly found herself in conflict.

Having a child of one’s own was of course a fine thing—she would have someone to keep her company. But if such a child truly came, given the present circumstances, the situation would only become more complicated.

Thinking of all this, she pursed her lips and said gently: “Marquis, if that is so, you had best enter the palace soon to petition. When we speak to the Jiang family about the betrothal, it will also be more dignified that way.”

That way—even if she bore a son herself someday—the position of heir designate would already be settled, and there would be fewer conflicts!

Xu Lingyi said nothing, but closed his hand around hers, wrapping her fingers tightly within his palm.

Her mind was clear on the reasoning, yet the moment her thoughts turned toward the possibility of pregnancy, Eleventh Miss felt a restless unease in her heart.

She was unsettled for two days—and then Madam Gan arrived.

“There is a physician surnamed Han, living at Jing’er Lane Number Two in the western part of the city,” she said quietly, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Eleventh Miss on the kang. “Recommended by my sister-in-law. Quite well-regarded. It is said that the wife of Academician Jin of the Hanlin Academy once went to him for a consultation, and last year she gave birth to a fine healthy boy.”

For this matter, Madam Gan had come in person to make the trip herself.

Eleventh Miss was deeply grateful: “Seventh Elder Sister went to the temple with her husband today—the moment they return I will tell them.”

Madam Gan then asked: “Shall I accompany them? I know the place well.”

Presiding over a household’s domestic affairs made it no easy thing for Madam Gan to come out even once.

Eleventh Miss quickly said: “If they cannot find the place, I’ll ask Elder Sister Gan to accompany them then.”

Madam Gan seemed to hesitate, as if she had more to say.

Eleventh Miss quickly said: “Elder Sister treats me as a younger sister—what is there that cannot be said?”

Madam Gan thought for a moment, then said quietly: “Would you also like to go see the physician?”

Eleventh Miss heard this and her face flushed red.

Madam Gan said hastily: “I don’t mean anything else by it. It’s only that last time I heard you have been taking medicine all along… the more physicians one consults, the better one’s chances.”

This was a heartfelt thing to say.

Eleventh Miss gathered her thoughts before saying softly: “I have never properly sought medical treatment. I feared that if I conceived too young I might not be able to carry the child to term, and both mother and child would be lost; and yet I also feared that by putting off treatment, when the time came that I wished for a child, I would be unable to conceive… My heart has been in a turmoil over this for quite some days.”

This too was a heartfelt thing to say.

“You must not put the cart before the horse,” Madam Gan said with great sincerity. “As you said yourself—if you do not properly restore your health now, by the time you want a child, there will be nothing to be done. The matter of having a child belongs to fate—it is not something you can calculate to perfection… and besides, not wanting to conceive is not without its solutions.”

Eleventh Miss felt a surge of emotion.

Since marrying, all of this had relied entirely on things she had pieced together from half-heard talk; she had never felt certain that what she was doing was entirely right. She had often felt herself walking on eggshells, wishing that someone with experience could guide her. Yet her true thoughts could not be spoken to others… She had never imagined that today, this opportunity would suddenly present itself.

“Elder Sister Gan…” She pressed her lips together; the corners of her eyes glistened with moisture.

Madam Gan suddenly thought of herself at this age… her eyes brimmed with tears even as her lips curved into a smile. She patted Eleventh Miss’s hand and leaned close to her ear: “Let me tell you…”

The two talked in whispers the whole afternoon before Madam Gan finally made her way home.

Eleventh Miss accompanied Seventh Younger Sister to Jing’er Lane Number Two for the medical consultation.

Xu Lingyi, meanwhile, was occupied with the matter concerning Zhun Ge.

He first consulted with the Elder Madam, then went to the Jiang household and spoke with Scholar Jiang, telling him of his wish to obtain the imperial decree naming Zhun Ge as heir designate before the two families formally exchanged betrothal gifts. Such a mark of distinction was naturally something Scholar Jiang was glad to witness. Not only did he agree at once, but he also volunteered to smooth the way at the Ministry of Rites on their behalf.

Xu Lingyi was himself well acquainted with the people at the Ministry of Rites, but considering that he still needed to press his case inside the palace as well, if Scholar Jiang could handle the Ministry of Rites side, it would save him from running back and forth between two fronts. Xu Lingyi immediately agreed. He went home and wrote separate memorials to the Emperor and to the Ministry of Rites. The very next morning, he dispatched Steward Zhao to the Imperial Clan Court to submit a visiting card and request an audience with the Emperor.

With this, everyone in the household came to know that Zhun Ge was to be formally named heir designate.

At that moment, a young maidservant from Nanny Tao’s side happened to be in the kitchen waiting to pick up a food box. Since Nanny Tao had been sent to keep watch over the late First Madam’s courtyard, everyone knew she had fallen from favor. Though none dared behave openly toward Nanny Tao herself—still intimidated by the accumulated weight of her former authority—toward the young maidservants in Nanny Tao’s service, they had gradually stopped showing consideration.

A dish of braised ground-pork and egg that she had clearly been the one to order was taken by the kitchen matron and placed with a beaming smile into another young maidservant’s food box, with repeated warnings: “Be careful now, don’t drop it. Whatever you want to eat, just come tell me.”

She knew this young maidservant was in the service of the personal maid Hupo, who attended upon Fourth Madam.

Having witnessed this, the young maidservant turned and ran back to Nanny Tao.

Nanny Tao was dressed in a plain dark summer cloth jacket, her hair neatly bundled behind her head. The hair that had once been entirely black was now threaded with several strands of silver-white at her temples. She sat at the large kang near the window, her expression solemn, copying out the Heart Sutra.

Seeing the young maidservant come running in, Nanny Tao’s face darkened.

The girl had served her since childhood and knew her ways—but at this moment there was something more important than Nanny Tao’s displeasure, something that would please Nanny Tao greatly. She could not afford to pause. Laughing out loud, she said: “Nanny Tao! Nanny Tao! The Marquis is going to name Fourth Young Master as heir designate!”

Nanny Tao listened, but her expression went grave: “Who has been talking nonsense to you?”

“It’s not nonsense,” the young maidservant hurried to say. “The whole household is talking about it. If you don’t believe me, go outside and ask!”

Nanny Tao’s brows knitted tightly together.

“Wasn’t it agreed with First Young Miss that the petition would be made when he turned twelve?” she murmured to herself. “As long as the heir designate position was not settled for even one day, Eleventh Miss would harbor some hope—thinking there was still a chance once she bore a son of her own, and hold that thought in waiting. But now the Marquis has suddenly changed his mind…” She thought of the grandeur and ceremony of Eleventh Miss’s coming-of-age celebration, and a chill ran through her. “Could this possibly be Eleventh Miss’s idea? But what would she gain by doing this?”

She could not help but turn it over and over in her mind.

But the young maidservant had none of Nanny Tao’s complicated thinking. She said brightly: “Nanny Tao, if Fourth Young Master is named heir designate, won’t he move to his own separate courtyard? Then we’d be serving Fourth Young Master in his own quarters—wouldn’t we?”

Nanny Tao heard this and was brought up short.

Of course! By all rules and conventions, once an heir designate was established, he was to live in a separate courtyard of his own. How had she forgotten this?

Before, she had still held some measure of confidence that when Zhun Ge moved to his own quarters, she would be among those who followed. But now… if Eleventh Miss wished to replace all those serving in the courtyard with her own people, it would be the simplest thing in the world.

Nanny Tao was seized with anxious urgency.

What had First Young Miss been worried about, originally?

That Zhun Ge might not live to see himself named heir designate.

Nanny Tao thought of this, and could not help a cold laugh. She instructed the young maidservant: “Go and find out where Fourth Madam is right now.”

She intended to request leave openly and honestly to visit the main house at Bowstring Lane to see the Elder Madam, and to use that opportunity to have a proper talk with Luo Zhensheng—Luo family’s First Master—about the matter.

But the young maidservant didn’t move. She said bluntly: “Fourth Madam went out with Seventh Concubine Madam to see a physician!”

Nanny Tao was taken aback: “So that is why—out of nowhere—the Marquis suddenly named Zhun Ge as heir designate. It turns out she has been thinking about bearing a son. Don’t you think she moved rather too quickly on that thought?”

* * *