The characters on the stele curved and flew across the stone with an airy, luminous grace. After studying them for quite some time, Eleventh Miss finally discovered that what was carved upon it was half of the Heart Sutra.

“Is this your first time at the monument pagoda?” a man’s voice suddenly came from behind her.

Without hearing any movement from Nanny Song or the others, she was startled, and spun around sharply, stumbling back three or four steps.

“A fright can be the death of a person.” She drew a long breath as she looked at Xu Lingyi, dressed in sapphire blue brocade with dark purple cloud-and-floral medallion patterns. “My lord walks like a cat.” She glanced around — the attendant boy had vanished, and Nanny Song and Hupo were standing far off at the edge of the bamboo grove.

They had probably not spoken because they recognized the newcomer as Xu Lingyi.

“When did my lord arrive?”

Xu Lingyi could not quite understand why she looked so thoroughly alarmed, and said in some puzzlement, “But there is no one else in this temple…”

Eleventh Miss said with mild reproach, “Precisely because there is no one else here — and then a man’s voice suddenly sounds — how could one not be startled?”

Xu Lingyi smiled an apology.

Deputy Commander Liu had kept talking even as he was about to take his leave, which had made Xu Lingyi later than the appointed time. Hurrying over, from a distance he had already seen Eleventh Miss standing before the monument pagoda studying the characters on the stele, occasionally reaching out a finger to trace them.

Seeing how absorbed she was, he had gestured to Nanny Song and the others not to disturb her, and quietly made his way over.

It was now late afternoon on an autumn day. Sunlight caught the water-jade ornaments on her hairpin, which flickered and glittered with brilliant fractured light, reflecting onto her face until it seemed as white as jade, her brows soft as distant hills, her eyes full of living radiance — as though they might draw a soul into them — and he could not help but pause to gaze.

He saw that she was wearing a white jacket embroidered with delicate pale blue entangled flower branches, with a plain pale blue Hunan-silk skirt, her head tilted sideways as she examined the characters on the stele. One moment she furrowed her brow, the next she broke into a smile, and she could be heard quietly murmuring “without end of ignorance… without end of old age and death…” The sight of her was wonderfully charming. He had stood to one side and waited. But she finished reading half of the Heart Sutra and began again from the beginning, as though she had never seen it before, and so he could not help but ask — and did not expect that he would frighten her so.

And Eleventh Miss, thinking of how Xu Lingyi had guests on his side and had still made a point of arranging to meet her in such a secluded place, sending Nanny Song and the others to stand far away, went directly to the point: “Has my lord called me here for some matter of importance?”

Xu Lingyi’s expression shifted slightly at her words. After a moment he said, “Nothing particularly pressing.”

He spoke more slowly than usual, his voice carrying a hint of hesitation and great deliberateness. Eleventh Miss’s manner grew composed, and she listened carefully with held breath.

“You are on good terms with the Grand Madam of the Gan family, are you not?” Xu Lingyi said unhurriedly. “I have heard that the Loyal and Diligent Baron and people from the Bantang Gong family are thinking of going into the sea shipping trade together…”

The Gong family? That Bantang Gong family — one of the four great merchant houses, which was at odds with the Wen family? Eleventh Miss was mildly startled, and then Xu Lingyi’s voice grew gradually clearer in her ears.

“In those years the Gong family went to every length to marry their daughter into the Jian’an Jiang family, counting on the shelter of a great tree. But as fate would have it, neither generation of the Jiang family produced a successful examination candidate, and they had long since lost their former standing, hemmed in as they were in Fujian and suppressed by the Marquis Ji’an’s Qu family.”

He turned slowly and descended the steps.

Eleventh Miss hurried to follow.

“The Gong family could not very well openly switch their allegiances. Life has not been easy for them these past few years. When they heard that the Jiang family had formed a matrimonial alliance with the Gan family, they found every possible way to make connections with the Gan family.”

As they spoke, Xu Lingyi turned casually into a narrow path through the bamboo grove.

“The sea shipping trade yields handsome profits, but the risks are great as well, and there are many hidden nuances to it. And the Gong family did not make their fortune from this trade to begin with. You should find a moment to mention this to the Grand Madam of the Gan family, and advise the Loyal and Diligent Baron to be more discerning about some matters.”

On either side, the bamboo grew tall and dense, the stalks varying in thickness — some as broad as a bowl, others as slender as a writing brush — packed closely together with their branches and leaves spread wide, full of vibrant life.

But Eleventh Miss had no thoughts to spare for admiring the scenery.

Xu Lingyi was not the sort of man who acted on unfounded rumors, and his youthful fire and readiness to draw a blade at the slightest provocation had long since given way to steadiness. For him to have made such deliberate arrangements — drawing her to this secluded spot to say what he had said — however lightly his tone seemed to treat it, the matter was likely already quite ominous.

She listened with full attention.

“At present, the Gong family is eager to ingratiate themselves with the Gan family. They also wish to use the name and reputation of the Loyal and Diligent Baron’s household, so the Baron need not worry that the business with the Gong family cannot be concluded. He should propose to take a dry share without contributing capital. Even if the profits are smaller, do not let them put in a large sum of money. That way they will not be left with a crippling loss.”

The official yamen has its rules — those with money and those without alike must beware of entering. Though the Gan family held the rank of Duke, that inheritance lawsuit had badly depleted their vitality, and they were far less robust than their outward appearance suggested. It was entirely possible that the Loyal and Diligent Baron, blinded by greed, might make a disastrous misjudgment. And should such a setback occur, they might never recover.

The Grand Madam of the Gan family was still quite young, and she would still need to rely on the Loyal and Diligent Baron to care for her in her old age.

Eleventh Miss could not help but feel a wave of urgency. “I will go to the Gan family tomorrow. It is a good opportunity — I can bring along the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts I have prepared for the Grand Madam of the Gan family.” She then thought of the relationship between the Loyal and Diligent Baron and the Grand Madam of the Gan family, and said helplessly, “I do not know whether the Loyal and Diligent Baron will heed the Grand Madam’s counsel…”

After all, she could not say this was on Xu Lingyi’s word.

This was, in the end, the Gan family’s own private affairs, and the Loyal and Diligent Baron was newly come into his title, in the very moment of establishing his authority. If he took it well that would be fine, but if he did not, he might only accuse Xu Lingyi of overstepping, and out of sheer contrariness deliberately pour a great sum of money into the business with the Gong family just to show the Marquis Yongping…

She asked Xu Lingyi, “How many people know of this matter?”

“Not many should know of it.” The two walked slowly along the forest path. “I heard of it quite by chance myself.”

The Qu family was in Fujian, and Xu Lingyi had always paid close attention to the Qu family’s movements. Eleventh Miss pondered. “Did you hear of it through the Jiang family?”

Xu Lingyi gave a nod.

Eleventh Miss consulted him. “Would the Grand Madam of the Gan family’s elder brother possibly know of this?”

After all, the Grand Madam of the Gan family’s elder brother was, in any reckoning, the Loyal and Diligent Baron’s maternal uncle, and his taking an interest in the Gan family’s affairs was entirely appropriate.

Xu Lingyi said, “You need not overstep on those details. The Grand Madam of the Gan family should be able to handle it well enough.”

True enough. The Grand Madam of the Gan family had served as a baron’s wife for so many years — even if she did not have a ready solution, she still had an elder brother at home to consult. She herself had always pictured the Grand Madam in her plain indigo dress, looking solitary and adrift, and had felt that she was helpless and without support.

“I was overthinking.” With this clarity, Eleventh Miss let out a breath of relief.

Xu Lingyi gave a slight nod and said nothing more.

All around them the graceful bamboo swayed and sighed.

The two walked in silence for a while.

Eleventh Miss, thinking of the Grand Madam and the others still in the side chambers, began to find her steps growing hesitant, uncertain where this path led. Then she heard Xu Lingyi ask her, “Just now by your manner, it seemed as though it was your first time at the monument pagoda?” Then, without waiting for Eleventh Miss to reply, he continued, “There are those who have called this stele the finest running-cursive script in existence, and praised it with the line ‘strange stones rushing a mountain stream, cold vines hanging on an ancient pine,’ attracting scholars and men of letters who come to the Temple of National Protection to admire it. What did you think of it?”

“I have not practiced cursive script, so I know little about such things.” Eleventh Miss smiled. “But the brushwork has a flowing, sweeping freedom to it, and there is a feeling of sinew and strength in the brushstrokes — it is undoubtedly a fine piece of work.” She paused, then added, “And yet, writing the Heart Sutra in cursive script — somehow it always seems a little strange.”

Xu Lingyi gave a low laugh.

“And so when this stele first came to light, there were those who said it was something the Temple of National Protection had fabricated itself, as a shocking and unconventional trick to attract attention.”

Such things have always been with us.

Eleventh Miss smiled wryly.

Xu Lingyi then asked her, “Whose copy books did you practice from? Your calligraphy is rather uninhibited.”

When Eleventh Miss had first practiced calligraphy, it had been as a trained skill. Later, as she grew genuinely interested, she had carried on. In the eyes of one who truly understood calligraphy, what could be said in her favor was only that unconstrained quality — a certain freedom that refused to be bound by convention.

“I began with Ouyang Xiu.” She smiled. “Then Liu Gongquan. But the ones I love most are Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, father and son.”

Xu Lingyi was somewhat surprised. “How is it you did not practice Yan Zhenqing?”

Eleventh Miss felt somewhat embarrassed.

Calligraphy is divided into large, medium, and small scripts. The Yan style is grounded and deliberate, with an open structural framework — those who studied it could write large characters, and anyone capable of writing large characters would have practiced his copy books. At the time she had felt she might not need to write large characters, and so had only lightly touched upon the Yan style without applying herself to it seriously.

She could only say vaguely, “I find small regular script more pleasing to the eye.”

Many women could not write large characters well, and so concentrated on small regular script.

The thought flickered through his mind, and Xu Lingyi glanced at Eleventh Miss’s clothing and furnishings — seemingly ordinary, yet everywhere revealing a distinctive taste — and gave a slight smile.

She was not incapable of writing large characters. She simply did not care to.

“I began with Yan Zhenqing,” he said. “Then Chu Suiliang, Zhong Yao, Zhao Ziang, Mi Fu, and the two Wangs. My greatest fondness is for Chu Suiliang.”

“No wonder I have always found my lord’s calligraphy both vigorous and gentle, elegant in its bearing,” Eleventh Miss said with a smile. “It seems my lord is especially skilled in running-cursive script.”

“Tolerably so.” Xu Lingyi said modestly. “When I was young I was unruly, and often played truant. My father sent me to Master Deng, who taught me about dictation, transcription, and copying. It was only then that I gradually steadied myself. My calligraphy too only began to take shape under Master Deng’s guidance.”

“Master Deng?” Eleventh Miss said curiously. “Could that be Master Deng Jingzhi?”

Xu Lingyi nodded.

“That means my lord and the Emperor shared the same teacher!” Eleventh Miss was greatly intrigued. “And that is why you have known Prince Shun and Lord Zhou since childhood.”

“Indeed.” Xu Lingyi smiled. “We were much the same age. Prince Shun had already been with Master Deng when I arrived. Shizhen was sent there later by the Princess of Fucheng, who had seen my great progress in reading, writing, and calligraphy. At that time we were all too young to know any better. The three of us got into trouble every day together, and when we were caught by Master Deng, we were made to kneel as punishment. Once a palace maid from Empress Wu’s household was delivering something to the Crown Prince, and when she saw the three of us kneeling in the courtyard under the blazing sun, she went back and described it to Empress Wu. Empress Wu then had that palace maid secretly send each of us a pair of padded knee-guards…”

As he spoke of the past, joy and sorrow mingled together.

Was it because he was thinking of Empress Wu, who had taken her own life?

Eleventh Miss felt a pang of sadness, but kept it quietly inside and simply listened as Xu Lingyi spoke.

“We put on those padded knee-guards, and our knees no longer hurt — but we were swelteringly hot. Prince Shun kept lifting his robe to fan himself, and was caught by Master Deng.”

Picturing Prince Shun’s figure, Eleventh Miss burst out laughing. “What happened after that?”

“Because the knee-guards were embroidered with dragon medallions,” Xu Lingyi’s eyes glinted with a flash of vivid life, “Master Deng was firmly convinced it was Prince Shun’s inner servant who had done it, and reported the matter directly to the old Prince…” With these words, he selected the most amusing anecdotes from the past to recount to her — this was the first time he had seen Eleventh Miss laugh so freely and openly. “Prince Shun was confined to bed for three months. When he returned, he came to settle scores with Shizhen and me. He had his servants block the road home from school for the two of us…”

An attendant boy appeared at one end of the bamboo path, his face full of anxiety, twisting his hands together and shifting from foot to foot as he looked toward them.

From the corner of his eye Xu Lingyi caught sight of him, but paid him no attention and continued speaking of matters from his younger days with Eleventh Miss. “…I got into a scuffle with the servants, while Shizhen ran to Empress Wu to tell on us…”

Eleventh Miss looked at Xu Lingyi speaking so freely, and her smile gradually stilled.