Eleventh Young Madam’s silence did not mean Madam Li would leave it at that.

She looked at Eleventh Young Madam with pointed significance. “The Marquis and General Fan Weigang of the Xuanfu Circuit are on close terms. In those days, the original Xuanfu Commander-in-Chief was impeached for embezzlement. The Emperor dispatched Master Fan to succeed as Xuanfu Commander-in-Chief and work alongside officers of the Court of Judicial Review to investigate the matter. At the time, it had only just been the first year of the new reign, and the original Xuanfu Commander-in-Chief was also a relative of the Empress Dowager, so there was inevitably some hesitation in handling the case. Master Fan then recommended Master Liu — who at the time served as a Vice Minister in the Ministry of Justice — to be the lead judge. As a result, Master Liu was promoted to Senior Rector of the Court of Judicial Review.” She smiled and cast a glance at Eleventh Young Madam. “So my husband often says that in officialdom, good fortune is the most important thing. If one could be posted as Fujian Commander-in-Chief this time and take Ji’er along to be tempered and trained — for Ji’er, it would be a rare opportunity. Who knows — from this, honors and titles might take their first rise.”

Going round and round — this final sentence was the real point all along.

But then, what was the purpose behind Madam Li saying all this?

To ask Xu Lingyi to help smooth the way? A Marquis idling at home whom the Emperor viewed with suspicion — did he have that kind of influence? This involved the appointment of a senior regional official of enormous power! Was it to demonstrate that as long as Li Ji had opportunities, he could rise to prominence? Yet whether a man succeeds or not, seven parts are his own striving and three parts his fortune!

Eleventh Young Madam turned this over in her mind, and continued making pleasantries with Madam Li. “If it comes to pass, that would indeed be a fine thing!”

“Madam thinks so too!” Madam Li broke into a look of delight at these words. “Speaking of the commanders-in-chief of our Great Zhou dynasty — in ability, in character, in seniority, not one of them can compare with my husband. Others may not know this, but Madam’s lord Marquis knows best, for my husband was one of the Marquis’s great generals. The Marquis understands him most clearly.” Her expression grew faintly shadowed. “Only these years, when Great Zhou promotes its officials, ability, character, and seniority have not been overly emphasized. What matters now is having connections at court. My husband lacks nothing — what he lacks is connections at court!”

As if there was ever a time when officials did not need court connections!

Eleventh Young Madam nodded. “Indeed, connections do matter a great deal.”

Madam Li nodded and again glanced left and right, her voice dropping to nearly a whisper. “My husband has gone to seek out Grand Secretary Liang.”

Eleventh Young Madam was mildly surprised.

Madam Li covered her mouth and laughed softly.

“Only there is no firm news yet on the matter, so some things are difficult to say,” she said, her voice rising just a fraction. “I only thought — if this matter comes to pass, when our Ji’er is arranging a marriage, there will be a little more confidence behind it.”

That was almost certainly going to happen. Only Madam Li had designs on Zhen Jie’er, and as Zhen Jie’er’s mother, some things were not for Eleventh Young Madam to say without giving people the wrong impression.

She only gave a faint smile.

Madam Li, seeing that Eleventh Young Madam had not picked up the thread of conversation, had an odd gleam pass through her eyes. She thought to herself: could it be that the Xu family had no such intentions toward Ji’er at all? If not, then why had Ji’er been in such good spirits ever since returning from the Xu household? Ji’er was an extremely steady child — though he had come back without saying anything, if he had not had some degree of confidence, how could he be so at ease? When all was said and done, although Marquis Yongping had two sons, the eldest had since boyhood taken a private tutor and devoted himself to rigorous study, and now had gone to the Jinxi Academy — he was clearly set on the path of civil examination. The second son had been invested as Heir and was moreover sickly and frail; even if he went to train in the military, it would be nothing more than going through the motions. Xu Lingyi had risen through military service and won great victories in two campaigns. How many commanders had grown rich alongside him, and how many officers had gained their seniority and earned promotion from the merits of those two campaigns… Frankly speaking, lower-ranking officers might not know who the Emperor was, but mention Marquis Yongping and every one of them would grin and rattle off a couple of stories about him. If one could become Marquis Yongping’s son-in-law… even if Eleventh Young Madam had sons, that would be ten or more years away. If Ji’er still could not stand firm in the military by then, he might as well give up that ambition to contend with others and live a quiet, decent life. Better to bury that heart of competitive spirit early.

When she had first proposed the match to her husband, her husband had still been a little timid, fearing the Xu family would look down on them.

“Though she is a concubine’s daughter, the Marquis has only this one daughter. There must be no end of people angling for her hand…”

She had been anxious and irritated at the time. “If you don’t try, how will you know? Who knows — perhaps everyone thinks like you, and in the end it proves too lofty a match and no fitting candidate is found. Otherwise, why is it that every time the Ministry of Rites selects a consort for a princess it leaves everyone stunned?”

The Zhuo family was in even worse circumstances than theirs, and the boy was of only ordinary looks besides. And the Wang family had an outside granddaughter who had become a consort of the First Imperial Prince — to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, the two families would certainly not intermarry again. She had thought the betrothal was all but settled, but unexpectedly the Shao family appeared out of nowhere in the middle of things…

Thinking of all this, Madam Li bit down hard.

“So whether this succeeds or fails rests entirely on a single word from you, Madam!”

She said this softly, her tone carrying a thread of imploring.

Eleventh Young Madam was taken aback.

Madam Li continued, “Just now the Grand Secretaries are engaged in endless wrangling over the question of opening the maritime trade routes. Officials from the south naturally oppose it; officials from the north naturally support it. Grand Secretary Chen’s camp is extremely difficult to deal with. Grand Secretary Liang, though he tends toward accommodation, must also watch what direction the imperial will leans. But if one has a foothold in Fujian for oneself, no matter how the situation shifts, one can always be a step ahead of others. It is also on account of this layer of reason that Grand Secretary Liang agreed to intercede on my husband’s behalf. Yet Grand Secretary Chen is, after all, the Chief Grand Secretary. My husband gathered from Grand Secretary Liang’s manner that if the Marquis would say a word — or rather, the Marquis need not say a single word; as long as some such intent were conveyed, this matter could be secured.” She laughed softly. “Grand Secretary Chen is now beset on all sides, and the Marquis is one who has stood by without saying a word against him. How that account is calculated — I imagine Grand Secretary Chen would have to weigh it carefully no matter what!”

Eleventh Young Madam understood completely.

So the Li family had approached Grand Secretary Liang, Grand Secretary Liang was afraid to take responsibility, and hoped Xu Lingyi would signal his position.

Why Xu Lingyi of all people?

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she gazed at Madam Li.

Even Commander Li could see that going to Fujian to quell the unrest was an opportunity, let alone someone of Grand Secretary Liang’s ilk — who saw this even more clearly. Such a fine chance — who would not want to place their own man there? For Commander Li to have gained an audience with Grand Secretary Liang, he had in all likelihood done so under Xu Lingyi’s banner, and may even have privately told Grand Secretary Liang that the two families were in the midst of negotiating a marriage alliance.

But Grand Secretary Liang — what manner of man was he? He had certainly lived through no few situations of this kind. Spoken words leave no evidence; one needs proof. Since the claim was that he had a connection with Xu Lingyi, let Xu Lingyi come forward and say something. This would both test whether the claim was real and, if Xu Lingyi had his own designs, cause him to calculate his gains and losses — thereby adding weight to Commander Li’s standing in Grand Secretary Liang’s estimation.

The Li family truly knew how to maneuver!

In Eleventh Young Madam’s experience, such people, though one need not befriend them closely, must not be made into enemies either.

“The things Madam Li speaks of — I do not fully understand them,” Eleventh Young Madam positioned herself at a suitably modest level, so as to prevent this Madam Li from coming back to her door with yet another matter. She added with a slight note of apology, “And besides, the Marquis does not like the ladies of the household to meddle in such affairs…”

Madam Li, of course, knew this.

What choice did the two of them have? They were utterly at their wits’ end!

“Madam,” Madam Li said with sincere expression, “I do not understand these things either. I only know I worry about Ji’er’s future. I heard of these things only when my husband spoke of them while we were discussing the children’s affairs.” Her gaze was fervent as she looked at Eleventh Young Madam, and she hinted at her meaning. “Madam is a mother yourself — of course you must also plan for your children’s future. The Marquis, if he knew, would only be pleased; how could he be displeased?”

Using Zhen Jie’er’s marriage as a pretext?

Eleventh Young Madam suppressed an inward laugh, and with perfect composure smiled and said, “Then I will speak of this to the Marquis, as Madam suggests!”

Madam Li found Eleventh Young Madam’s answer wholly unsatisfactory. Yet thinking back to her reaction upon hearing that Xu Lingyi had encountered bandits in Shandong, she hesitated briefly and whispered, “I say this also for your own good, Madam. As the saying goes — a son-in-law is half a son. If Madam has a son-in-law who can be of use, when something comes up there will always be someone who knows of it. That is surely more convenient than having to rely on the outer courtyard stewards for everything.”

This Madam Li — she truly had the talent of Su Qin and Zhang Yi!

Eleventh Young Madam nodded along eagerly, sent Madam Li to the gate, and immediately dispatched Hupo. “Go and see where the Marquis is.” Then she calmly turned and went back to the Grand Madam’s rooms.

“What was it you dared not accept?” The Grand Madam took the opportunity while all the children were on the kang playing cat’s cradle and Fifth Madam was watching from the side to draw away from the others and quietly ask Eleventh Young Madam.

“A pure gold tiger,” Eleventh Young Madam indicated the size with her hands. “I heard from Hupo that it was solid gold, at that.”

The Grand Madam smiled, evidently well satisfied with how Eleventh Young Madam had handled things.

Eleventh Young Madam sat down at the edge of the kang to watch the children at play with Fifth Madam.

Weizi brought in mulberry bark tea.

The children climbed down from the kang to drink their tea, while Fifth Madam and Eleventh Young Madam remained seated, served tea by the small maids.

Fifth Madam held her blue and white porcelain bell-shaped teacup and suddenly smiled. “Zhen Jie’er should be finding a match soon, should she not?”

A quiet alarm went off in Eleventh Young Madam’s heart.

If Fifth Madam was raising a match and she refused, it would likely leave her feeling slighted — and the two of them were bound to see each other day in and day out.

“We are just in the middle of it now!” Eleventh Young Madam said with a smile. “There are several families — the Marquis is sending someone to make inquiries into each one by one.”

Fifth Madam smiled. “My maternal aunt’s nephew — his age is just right for Zhen Jie’er.” She then described the young man’s situation.

Since she had come to propose a match, she would naturally say only the best of things. What the actual circumstances were Eleventh Young Madam could not know, but there was one point she heard clearly enough: Fifth Madam’s maternal aunt’s nephew came from a military background and held a hereditary post of Company Commander.

“I will go back and discuss it with the Marquis.”

Fifth Madam nodded and went over to the Grand Madam’s side, asking Zhun Ge’er, “Teacher Zhao let you have the day off again?”

“No,” Zhun Ge’er said hurriedly. “Teacher had me copy out twelve characters. I finished early and copied them well, so Teacher gave me a day’s holiday. It was not that I asked for a day off on account of my birthday. Teacher said one must not casually invent excuses to give oneself a day off.”

Fifth Madam laughed merrily. “He takes a day off at every major and minor festival and still says he is not inventing excuses!”

“That is not inventing excuses!” Zhun Ge’er dared not argue with an elder; his face turned red and he said haltingly, “Teacher said that is called having a rhythm of work and rest.”

“It seems our Zhun Ge’er is very fond of Teacher Zhao!” Fifth Madam continued to tease Zhun Ge’er.

Eleventh Young Madam’s thoughts, however, had drifted far away, wondering why Hupo had still not returned with word…