Back at the Xu household, Xu Lingyi asked Shiyiniang obliquely: “When you went to see the Grand Dowager of the Gan family, did you happen to see the new Madam Gan?”

“I did,” Shiyiniang said candidly. “When she saw that I had brought flowering plants and trees, she was quite displeased. But then, gold is never entirely pure, and no person is entirely perfect. Who can win the favor of everyone?” She smiled and changed the subject: “Is there any news yet from Tongzhou?”

“Not yet,” Xu Lingyi replied. “Steward Zhao has posted a manager and four attendants to take turns keeping watch at the dock. No one should be missed.”

Shiyiniang set her mind at ease for the moment. Two more days passed without the expected visitor arriving; instead, Jin Ju from Bowstring Lane came to see her.

On ordinary occasions, when there was anything to be conveyed, it was Nanny Hang who would come. Even if Nanny Hang happened to be occupied, a mere young maidservant would certainly not have been sent to the Xu household.

Shiyiniang made no outward show of her unease and summoned Jin Ju inside.

In the Luo Mansion, Jin Ju had only heard that the Eleventh Miss of the family was one who had been blessed by fortune. But upon laying eyes on the grandeur of the Xu household for herself, she immediately felt thoroughly out of her depth — she did not know what to do with her hands or feet. Though there was no one else in the room, she still stumbled and halted for some time before she managed to speak: “Yiniang asks that Madam return home for a visit.”

“What has happened?” Shiyiniang pressed a handful of sweets into her hand.

Jin Ju accepted them with a trembling hand. Shakily, she said: “I do not know either. Yiniang, with the Eldest Mistress present, only said she was sending me out to buy some brown sugar and come back. She also asks that Madam please give her a package of brown sugar to bring back and account for.”

Shiyiniang had Hupo lead Jin Ju away to wait, told the Grand Madam she was going out, and made her way to Bowstring Lane.

“It is Teacher Jian who wishes to see you,” the Fifth Yiniang explained. “She wants to meet you before entering the Xu household. She is staying right now at a travelers’ inn called the Rising Luck Inn, in the lane next to ours.”

Shiyiniang went to the inn.

Not having seen her for several years, Teacher Jian showed little change. She was of medium height, slight of build, fair and clear of complexion, with a calm and steady gaze.

Along with Teacher Jian had come Qiu Ju.

When Qiu Ju curtsied before Shiyiniang, tears streamed freely down her face.

“You came along as well?” Shiyiniang helped her up.

Tearfully, she nodded: “I have taken Teacher as my master — I must serve Teacher.”

That was to say, Qiu Ju would henceforth be the true inheritor of Teacher Jian’s craft.

Shiyiniang smiled and nodded.

Zhu Xiang quickly drew Qiu Ju away to the outer room to talk.

Shiyiniang sat together with Teacher Jian on the bed, holding hands.

“Qiu Ju endures hardship well, is diligent, and has some natural talent. You introduced a fine student to me,” Teacher Jian said smilingly. “I have reached an understanding with her family. From now on, she will follow me. Marriages, funerals, and all such matters will have nothing to do with her family of origin. I will treat her as a daughter I have raised myself.”

“To be Teacher’s inheritor is her good fortune,” Shiyiniang said, then asked after Teacher Jian’s health: “Is your constitution still strong?”

“Not as before,” Teacher Jian said with a gentle smile. “My eyes are not as keen as they once were.”

“Then come to Yanjing and enjoy your later years in peace,” Shiyiniang said warmly. “Your student cannot promise much, but a meal and a bowl of gruel she can certainly provide.”

Teacher Jian gave a warm smile, but did not answer her directly. Instead, she asked after Shiyiniang’s own circumstances. Learning that things were going reasonably well, she gave a slight nod: “You have had a mind of your own since childhood. Even in adversity, you can weather it through.” She then spoke of her own situation: “I had originally intended to come at year’s end. But then came the great wedding of the First Imperial Prince, and the imperial textile workshops in Jiangnan wished to present a ceremonial wedding robe. For years, this kind of business had always been handled by Celestial Silk Pavilion. But in recent years, Embroidered Colors Workshop had begun to enter the embroidery trade as well, wishing to compete with Celestial Silk Pavilion. Celestial Silk Pavilion feared I might render my services to Embroidered Colors Workshop, and sent people repeatedly to inquire after my intentions. Not wishing to be drawn into the dispute between the two establishments, I departed for Yanjing ahead of schedule.”

Shiyiniang listened and could not but feel a twinge of sympathy.

Teacher Jian was in essence a straightforward artisan. And yet even such a person could not escape trouble coming to find her.

“What do you plan to do, then?”

Teacher Jian listened and turned the question back on her: “Has something been troubling you?”

Shiyiniang was puzzled.

Teacher Jian explained: “Yanjing is the foot of the Son of Heaven; the Marquis of Yongping’s household is one of imperial kinship — how could it ever lack for people skilled with the needle?” She continued: “That year when Old Master Chen wanted me to go and instruct his concubine in embroidery — if you had not helped me extricate myself, he would have smashed my embroidery shop on the spot. Afterward, I never said a word about it, but I kept the matter in my heart all along. I may be nothing more than a humble embroidery woman, but I understand what it is to be grateful for a kindness. If there is anything you need my help with, just tell me.”

Old Master Chen’s concubine had been a woman who had left a house of pleasure to live a respectable life; Teacher Jian had not wanted to tarnish her own reputation. At the time, Shiyiniang had only used the prestige of the Luo family to frighten the man away. And even without her intervention, Teacher Jian had likely had her own ways of removing herself from the situation. That Teacher Jian had never brought it up afterward had made Shiyiniang assume it was forgotten — she had not expected her to have remembered it all this time.

Shiyiniang promptly told Teacher Jian of the Grand Madam’s intentions: “…She thought well of my needlework, and it was this that gave her the idea of wishing to meet you.”

Teacher Jian was genuinely surprised.

Shiyiniang also told her of Xu Lingyi’s arrangement to send someone to meet her: “I had not expected that you would slip right past them.”

“I saw the full ceremony of it…” Teacher Jian said, looking slightly sheepish. “I had not realized it was the Marquis who had sent people to meet me, and so I deliberately avoided them.”

Shiyiniang could not help but laugh. She once again assured Teacher Jian: “I am perfectly fine. There is nothing the matter. In asking you to Yanjing, I only wish you to help instruct the embroidery skills of the needlewomen in the household.”

In the outer room, Qiu Ju, hearing Shiyiniang’s rather bright and easy laughter, whispered to Zhu Xiang: “The thing I told you about — you must absolutely not tell Madam. If Madam knew, she would surely be grieved.” With a quiet sigh, she added, “Just think of how well Madam treated Dong Qing.”

Zhu Xiang’s eyes dimmed: “Do not worry — I will not tell Madam.”

Qiu Ju added: “You must not tell Bin Ju either. She is a straightforward sort. She would certainly tell Madam.”

“I will not tell anyone,” Zhu Xiang promised. “You be careful not to speak carelessly either.”

“I know,” Qiu Ju nodded. “If anyone asks, I will just say I have been with Teacher the whole time and never returned to Yuhang, so I do not know the details of Dong Qing’s return there.”

Zhu Xiang nodded, then asked about Qiu Ju: “Will you be going back to Yuhang?”

Qiu Ju recounted the agreement Teacher Jian had reached with her family.

Her last words had barely faded when they saw Shiyiniang come out, supporting Teacher Jian’s arm.

The two of them quickly stood up.

Teacher Jian told Qiu Ju: “Pack up our things — we are going to the Marquis of Yongping’s household.”

Qiu Ju assented. Zhu Xiang went quickly to call the matrons who had come with the carriage to help carry the luggage, and the party made their way to Lotus Flower Lane.

The Grand Madam, seeing that Teacher Jian’s gaze was clear and her bearing composed — neither obsequious nor haughty in her manner of conducting herself — recognized that she was no person of mere vainglory, and took a warm liking to her at once. She instructed Shiyiniang to arrange two rooms in Lijing Pavilion for Teacher Jian and Qiu Ju to stay.

“Simply as a house guest. Five taels of silver per month, to help guide and instruct Zhen Jie’er’s needlework.”

Teacher Jian thanked the Grand Madam and followed Shiyiniang to Zhen Jie’er’s quarters.

Zhen Jie’er, knowing that this was Shiyiniang’s own teacher, naturally showed her double the respect. Teacher Jian, seeing that Zhen Jie’er was not a spoiled or headstrong young woman, felt reassured. Bin Ju, upon seeing the two visitors, was overcome with emotion and tears: “Ever since word came that you were coming, I have thought of nothing else — and yet here you truly are before me!”

Qiu Ju took Bin Ju by the hand, calling her “Elder Sister” over and over, unable to string together another sentence.

The others — Xiao Li and the rest — stepped forward to comfort them and bring water for them to wash their faces.

“Once you are both settled in, come and spend a day at my home!” When the first rush of emotion had passed, Bin Ju invited Teacher Jian and Qiu Ju, then looked toward Zhu Xiang, Xiao Li, and the others. “You all come along for company.”

“We have not yet met Elder Sister Bin Ju’s husband!” Qiu Ju said with a laugh. “Naturally we must go and recognize the home.” This made Bin Ju’s face turn crimson with shyness.

Beside her, Zhu Xiang gave a quiet inward sigh. The words Qiu Ju had spoken to her floated back through her mind: “…When we saw her come back from Yanjing, she was wearing gold hairpins and silver ornaments, dressed in silks and fine satins. She was personally escorted home by Chief Steward Wu. She did not look like someone who had fallen on hard times. That very evening, her sister-in-law went through her bundle and took away all the clothes and jewelry that Madam had gifted her over the years, as well as those three hundred taels of silver. After that, there was always a fuss about needing salt money one day and oil money the next; they gave her nothing to work with and only ordered her about, and if Dong Qing showed the slightest discontent, they would speak in veiled insults about her, saying she must be saving things for her own trousseau — shaming her into silence. They quarreled and carried on until Dong Qing’s own mother and father were worn ragged, and they drained Dong Qing dry of every last scrap of loose silver she had.

Dong Qing’s mother then found a matchmaker to arrange a marriage for her.

The better families, seeing how old she was without having been matched while in service, and having been sent home by her mistress, assumed her conduct had been improper and refused. Those who agreed were largely idle layabouts from the village — no money and no betrothal gift to speak of. It so happened that a traveling silk merchant from Suzhou had moved in next door. Seeing that Dong Qing had a measure of good looks, he had a matchmaker approach the family, saying that his proper wife had died early, leaving behind only one young daughter, and that he wished to take a new wife. Dong Qing’s parents, seeing that although the man was about the same age as they were and rather short in stature, he was willing to offer a betrothal gift of fifty taels of silver, and so they agreed.

A few months later, his family saw a house in the county they liked. The sister-in-law, bringing her nephew along, made ready to visit Dong Qing in Suzhou while also borrowing a little money to cover the expense. It was only upon arriving in Suzhou that they discovered the merchant’s wife had never died at all. Not only was she still living — she had three legitimate sons besides. In the presence of others, he referred to Dong Qing simply as a concubine he had purchased. Dong Qing’s sister-in-law turned up at the door and, rather than being received, was given a thorough tongue-lashing, after which the household’s rough-work maids were sent out brandishing their stout wooden clubs to drive her off. When the sister-in-law made inquiries, she learned that the merchant was away from home for months at a time, and that the wife had sole authority over the household — and this wife was known throughout the neighborhood for ten streets around as a fearsome shrew. At the slightest provocation she would beat the maids and abuse the menservants; dragging a concubine out to the courtyard and making her kneel through the night was nothing out of the ordinary. The concubines in the household, upon seeing her, fled like mice before a cat. Dong Qing had barely set foot in the house before the wife began to make things difficult for her; by now she had been so tormented as to be unrecognizable, all her former looks quite gone…”

None of the others had any notion of what was passing through Zhu Xiang’s thoughts. When Teacher Jian and Qiu Ju were settled in, Shiyiniang and several of the older and younger maidservants of Zhen Jie’er’s household went together to Bin Ju’s home, ate and drank and made merry for half the day. When it was time to clean up, Bin Ju’s husband was kept occupied playing cards while Shiyiniang busied herself in the kitchen washing bowls, working up a sweat.

Qiu Ju watched with deep feeling, yet could not say a single word about it. But it was for this very reason that she and Zhu Xiang grew ever closer.

And Teacher Jian was thoroughly absorbed by the embroidered work that Bin Ju had left on the kang.

Bin Ju quickly explained with a smile: “I embroider a few things for some of the gift shops in Yanjing to supplement the household income.”

“Beautifully done,” Teacher Jian said, and asked: “A curtain panel like this one — how much would it sell for?”

“If I provide my own materials and thread, I can sell it for two to three taels of silver. If the gift shop provides the materials and thread, I get one tael and two hundred cash.”

“Higher than what they give in Hangzhou prefecture.”

“Here they like the Suzhou style. They find our patterns and designs from the south fresher and newer.”

Just then Qiu Ju brought in a bowl of lotus seed and osmanthus sweet soup, and the two of them let the topic drop.

That evening when they returned home, there was no sign of Shiyiniang.

“Tenth Aunt’s father-in-law has passed away. The Marquis and Madam have both gone to the Duke Maoguo’s household.”

* * *