Eleventh Young Madam first looked Xu Lingyi up and down.

He still wore the scarlet court robes he had had on when he entered the palace the day before. But the golden ornaments on his black seven-ridged ceremonial hat glinted with a dazzling yet cold radiance, adding an even sharper severity to his already stern and cool brow. Nothing about him appeared obviously different from the usual. Yet after all, he had spent a night in the palace — there must be some change.

“My lord,” she said with a trace of hesitance in her voice, “are you well?”

Eleventh Young Madam was wearing a pomegranate-red plain Hangzhou silk jacket and a skirt of greenish-black with embroidered white plum blossoms. Her raven-black hair was loosely pinned up in a simple knot, with not a single ornament on her person. Fresh-faced and unadorned, her gaze clear, her expression composed — understated and dignified, with an innate air of grace and nobility about her.

Yet Xu Lingyi sensed something was not quite right.

Eleventh Young Madam was fond of arranging flowers and plants, and fond of adorning herself and decorating their rooms — and she excelled at it. The same object, once it had passed through her hands, would always reveal some small, distinctive touch that set it apart, bringing an involuntary smile to all who saw it. When had she ever appeared like this — neither wearing some small accessory to lend her dress that crowning finishing touch, nor finding some novel way to pair the colors of her clothing? Instead there was this by-the-book propriety, that stripped away the effortless and unassuming prettiness that usually showed through without her even trying.

Even on the day they had first been married, when she was walking on eggshells and being most cautious, she had still picked out a small pair of earring-stoppers of red gold inlaid with enamel clove blossoms to wear each morning, looking spirited and bright — a pleasure for the eye that lifted the spirits of all around her.

What was the matter today? There was a faint air of distraction about her.

A thought flashed through his mind, and a subtle change came over his eyes.

Yesterday when he entered the palace all had been fine — yet today he returned to find her changed…

Xu Lingyi’s heart beat a little faster, and a faint, shallow smile rose in his eyes, softening the severity that usually settled on his features.

“I am fine.” He held her gaze steadily. “What did the decree say?”

A single sentence that disclosed far more than it concealed.

Eleventh Young Madam wasted no words either: “The auspicious date is set for the twelfth of the third month.”

Xu Lingyi smiled and raised his arm, gesturing for her to help him change clothes: “The Emperor’s will may not be defied — you had better make your preparations then.”

There was a note of careless indifference in his voice.

Eleventh Young Madam found herself suddenly thinking — of all the women around Xu Lingyi, none apart from the wife matched to him by a go-between, Yuan Niang, had ever been actively sought by him. Whether it was Qin Yiniang, Wen Yiniang, or the late Tong Yiniang and Qiu Luo, they had all arrived without him pursuing them. And both she herself and Qiao Lianfang had been circumstances of helplessness. And so on their wedding night, though he had seemed a little restless, he had still done his best to suppress his negative feelings… He seemed to take all of this rather lightly.

Or perhaps, the affairs of the court held more draw for him?

Thinking on this, she gave an inward, wry smile.

Never mind someone like Xu Lingyi, who had been raised on the orthodox education of a feudal lord — even she herself, having lived in this world built on the clan as its fundamental unit for several years now, had undergone great changes in her thinking. Without the shelter of a family, relying on one’s own strength alone was nearly impossible. No wonder people scrambled and jostled so desperately for advantage — that was simply the way of things.

Eleventh Young Madam helped Xu Lingyi change his clothes.

“Only, this is something your concubine has never encountered before.” Turning over in her mind these changes she had undergone over the years — thinking of how everyone had come to Tenth Young Madam’s aid in her time of trouble, thinking of the grand commotion when the First Madam had passed away — she said: “My lord must at least give your concubine some guidance.” Eleventh Young Madam handed the official robes she had removed to the young maid waiting at the side. “Yang Shi is after all bestowed by the Empress Dowager — it is not certain whether the old rules and precedents will apply here or not.”

Xu Lingyi bowed his head, and Eleventh Young Madam drew out the pin that secured the seven-ridged ceremonial hat.

“When the time comes, should we ask the Imperial Bureau of Astronomy to select an auspicious hour? How many banquet tables would be appropriate? Is there any particular custom regarding the living quarters?”

Eleventh Young Madam turned and instructed a young maid to bring in hot water. Another young maid carefully received Xu Lingyi’s official robes and ceremonial hat and stored them away in a chest.

“Once the new person has entered the household, what gift should be given upon first meeting? And what form of address should be used? Your concubine truly has not the faintest idea where to begin!”

Xu Lingyi was slowly rolling up his sleeves. Watching her drift ever closer to the territory of incessant chatter, a faint smile spread across his face.

When Zhen Jie’er’s first betrothal gifts were exchanged, when Zhun Ge was engaged to be wed, he had not given her a single word of guidance on either occasion — yet had she not handled everything flawlessly, with not a syllable of reproach from anyone? Why was she now suddenly in need of guidance?

Thinking on this, the corners of his mouth curved upward into a quiet, pleased arc. He said: “The Emperor said: since she has entered our household, she is our family. Only, do not let him be saddled with the name of an unfilial son.”

Just as she had suspected — this was the product of political contest and compromise.

With these words from the Emperor, this Yang Shi would most likely need to be treated with courtesy and respect.

Eleventh Young Madam said thoughtfully: “Your concubine’s experience is limited. Perhaps it would be best to ask Mother how to proceed.”

“Very well.” Xu Lingyi watched her gently knitted brow relax again, and smiled: “This matter should indeed be discussed with Mother. Once I have changed, we will go to Mother’s.”

Eleventh Young Madam gave a distracted nod and sat on the kang, drinking a cup of tea.

She would need to look over the account books in a little while, to see what procedures had been followed when Wen Yiniang and Qiao Yiniang first arrived. She would also need to call Nanny Song and ask about the customs and taboos surrounding the taking of a concubine, to have something to refer to later…

Before long, Xu Lingyi came out of the washroom.

Eleventh Young Madam gathered her thoughts and helped him change into a plain sapphire-blue lined robe of Hu-Hang silk for daily wear. Together they went to the Grand Madam’s residence.

The Grand Madam was not alone — Second Madam was also there.

That Yang Shi was entering the household was a matter of consequence for the entire Xu family. Eleventh Young Madam felt no surprise at Second Madam’s presence. When the Grand Madam saw the two of them come in together, she instructed a young maid to serve tea, then dismissed the attendants from the room: “By my reckoning, had you not come back now, you would have returned within the hour!”

After paying their respects, Xu Lingyi settled onto the kang facing the Grand Madam. Second Madam and Eleventh Young Madam sat in the master chairs at the edge of the kang.

The Grand Madam then asked with grave composure: “What exactly has happened?”

“The Emperor said the Empress Dowager was weeping before the Shrine of the Imperial Ancestors in grief for the late Emperor, and asked me to enter the palace and offer some counsel. I had someone ride at full speed to Princess Fucheng’s residence to inform her. And then I myself held back a moment.” Xu Lingyi raised his teacup and took a slow sip, then continued in unhurried detail: “By the time I arrived, Shizheng had already escorted Princess Fucheng to the Shrine of the Imperial Ancestors ahead of me. Moreover, the Empress Dowager and Princess Fucheng had already come to blows. One was kneeling on the east side of the shrine, the other on the west side — both weeping before the late Emperor, each saying her own piece. The Empress Dowager declared that the Crown Prince’s primary consort had borne no children, and that she felt she had failed the ancestors — that she wished to select a virtuous woman to enter the Crown Prince’s household as an honored companion and see the Crown Prince’s line flourish and grow, so that she might face the late Emperor in the afterlife with a clear conscience. Princess Fucheng declared that she had been raised from girlhood in the teachings of the court, and had always been cautious and proper, never transgressing her bounds, earning the Emperor’s approval — and it was for this reason that the Emperor had elevated her granddaughter to the position of Crown Princess. She was profoundly grateful, and therefore constantly examined herself, never allowing private interest to override the welfare of the state. When speaking with the Crown Princess, she had urged her repeatedly never to use the excuse of ‘not yet with child after less than four months of marriage’ as grounds for installing attendants-in-waiting, to curry favor and consolidate position, to blur the distinctions between proper and common, such that superiors and subordinates became confused, proprieties were undermined, the established order overturned, the moral fabric corrupted — becoming a criminal to the imperial clan. Better to be childless for a lifetime, she said, and instead raise the Crown Prince’s sons of lesser birth with devoted care, selecting those of virtue and talent to be prepared for the imperial house, so as to ensure the unbroken continuity of the imperial house for ten thousand generations…”

He had not yet finished speaking when all three women in the room let their expressions shift.

After all, the Empress Dowager’s own elevation to Empress had been precisely because she was without a son — it was for that very reason that she had been made Empress. Every word that Princess Fucheng had spoken was little short of digging up the Empress Dowager’s old wounds and laying them bare.

“This Fucheng,” the Grand Madam sighed, “is in the end the late Emperor’s own sister — she goes too far; enough is too much!”

“Precisely so!” Xu Lingyi also sighed. “The Empress Dowager heard this and pointed at Princess Fucheng and said ‘you, you…’ twice, then her body went limp and she fell into a faint.”

The Grand Madam and Second Madam’s expressions tightened simultaneously, and both sat up straight without a word between them.

“Fortunately, Imperial Physician Liu of the Imperial Medical Institute had been waiting outside the hall the whole time,” Xu Lingyi said, not without exasperation. “After half a shichen of bustling effort, it was at last a fright without lasting harm.”

Even though they knew the crisis had passed, those in the room still felt a chill of retrospective fear.

Had the Empress Dowager died just like that, it was not only the Emperor who would have gone down in history as the “foolish ruler” who showed unfilial defiance to his stepmother — even Princess Fucheng, Xu Lingyi, and Zhou Shizheng, who had been present, would most likely not have escaped without blame.

“Yet the Empress Dowager truly is ill now.” Xu Lingyi’s expression became somewhat grave. “After she regained consciousness, even her speech was slurred. She seized the Emperor’s hand and could only weep. The Emperor could not help but show signs of distress and reluctance. Princess Fucheng then knelt at one side and began weeping about the birth mother of the late Consort Chang’ning — Lady Wang the Beauty, who had once helped raise the Emperor.”

“The Empress Dowager, on hearing this, trembled, nearly fainting again. Princess Fucheng saw this was going badly and dared not say more. The Jianninghou and the Marquis of Shouchangbo, kneeling outside the door, then seized the moment to wail and sob loudly. The Empress Dowager heard it and struggled to rise and make for the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The Emperor could not hold her back, and caught my eye, asking me to go and reason with her.”

At this point, Xu Lingyi looked somewhat displeased.

“But Shizheng, who had no eye for the situation, saw the Jianninghou and the Marquis of Shouchangbo weeping until the Emperor was at a complete loss, and called me in as well — then proceeded to set up a loud, dry wailing of his own alongside them. Not content with that, he managed to drown out even the cries of the Jianninghou and Shouchangbo, leaving the Empress Dowager chilled to the bone. Suddenly she resolved to die, and without a word, scrambled up to throw herself against the bedpost…” He paused, and with a brief glance toward Eleventh Young Madam, a flicker of awkwardness crossed his face. “The Emperor glared at me and proposed granting the two Yang women to Shizheng and myself as concubine-attendants.”

Eleventh Young Madam nearly burst out laughing.

Xu Lingyi had intended to deflect the trouble toward others, and had ended up deflecting it straight onto himself.

The Emperor must have blamed him for summoning Princess Fucheng and Zhou Shizheng in the first place.

“The Empress Dowager did not agree, but Princess Fucheng thought the idea agreeable, and said that as long as the Yang family consented to send their daughter to Shizheng as a concubine, she would certainly treat the Yang family as a proper relation. She even swore an oath on the name of the Great Ancestor. The Emperor heard this and followed on from Princess Fucheng’s words to counsel the Empress Dowager. He said: refusing to allow the two Yang women to serve the Crown Prince was not a desire to grow distant from the Yang family, but solely because the Crown Prince was the heir apparent of the realm — for him to appoint an honored companion only days after his marriage would certainly bring censure from the censors. Moreover, if ill-intentioned individuals were to exploit the matter to question the Crown Prince’s conduct and thereby destabilize the foundation of the realm, that was the second concern. He told also the Jianninghou and the Marquis of Shouchangbo: since the lifting of the maritime restrictions, Japanese pirates had frequently come ashore raiding in Ningbo, Quanzhou, and Guangdong. The court ministers were deeply indignant, and the common people of all three regions cried out in grievance. The realm was in a time of many difficulties. The Yang family were the Empress Dowager’s maternal clan, the Xu family were the Empress’s maternal clan, Shizheng was the Crown Princess’s father — all were the Emperor’s blood relations. At such a moment, they should all be of one voice and one will, united in purpose, and together weather the hardships.”

Eleventh Young Madam could not help but stare.

It was unexpected that the Emperor should spin such plausible and well-ordered nonsense.

The Grand Madam and Second Madam both broke into faint smiles.

“At first the Empress Dowager still refused to agree.” Xu Lingyi perhaps also found the Emperor’s words rather amusing, for his expression had relaxed considerably. “Seeing the Emperor step forward, the Jianninghou and the Marquis of Shouchangbo felt a measure of wariness, and a measure of temptation. The Emperor, seeing this, said he wished to bestow marriages. Only then did the Empress Dowager cease her objections.”

Eleventh Young Madam was somewhat puzzled: “Then how did it become the Empress Dowager’s decree?”