Lin Bo replied from outside the window lattice: “From the moment it was light, five wet nurses were sent over. They are waiting in the outer courtyard.”

“Bring them all in!”

Lin Bo acknowledged the order and left.

The baby’s crying grew louder still.

Eleventh Young Mistress sat up in anxious urgency.

“Allow me!” Xu Lingyi quickly placed a bolster pillow behind her back and took the child into his arms.

Eleventh Young Mistress leaned against the pillow. Xu Lingyi held the child and paced slowly, patting him gently. But the baby went on crying without cease.

His voice was strong and resonant; his weeping was distressed and heartfelt, and in the quiet of the room it had something almost startling about it.

In only a few breaths, Eleventh Young Mistress already felt as though an eternity had passed.

Anxiety had crept across Xu Lingyi’s brow as well.

Red Markings, nearby, was on the verge of speaking but held back. Autumn Rain saw it plainly. She moved lightly to her side and whispered: “What is the matter?”

Red Markings said timidly: “Could it be that he has wet himself?”

Autumn Rain paused, recalling that when selecting maidservants for the Sixth Young Master, they had specifically chosen girls between thirteen and fourteen years of age who had experience caring for younger siblings at home. She felt there was some truth to what Red Markings had said. After a moment’s thought, she stepped forward and said softly: “Madam, Red Markings says — could the Sixth Young Master have wet himself?”

At this point, Eleventh Young Mistress simply wanted the child to stop crying. She quickly called to Xu Lingyi: “Bring him over — let us have a look!”

Xu Lingyi had also heard Autumn Rain’s words, and placed the child on the bed.

The two of them, somewhat clumsily, unwrapped the swaddling cloth. It was indeed wet. Once the cloth was loosened, the child stopped crying immediately. He opened his jet-black eyes wide and kicked his little legs freely.

Xu Lingyi looked at those small feet — not much larger than a peanut — and was at something of a loss. He asked Eleventh Young Mistress: “What should we do?”

That they had discovered the reason for the child’s crying was entirely owing to Red Markings’s suggestion. Eleventh Young Mistress looked toward Red Markings.

Red Markings stepped forward with nervous haste and said: “Nanny Wan said he must be washed, and then changed into a clean nappy, and wrapped up again.”

Before the words were fully out, Nanny Wan came walking in, took one look, and could not help but let out a soft “Oh!” — though in the next moment she had turned to give a quiet word to a young maidservant and come back transformed. She quickly scooped the child up, tucking the small swaddling cloth firmly around him: “Mind he does not catch a chill — that would be trouble.”

Eleventh Young Mistress explained: “He wet himself!”

Nanny Wan had already seen for herself. She smiled: “I will help the Sixth Young Master change his nappy now.”

Over there, Red Markings had long since brought out a clean nappy, and called for a young maidservant to bring in warm water. Together with Nanny Wan, they helped the child change.

Xu Lingyi said: “This will not do — we must quickly settle on a wet nurse and appoint a head matron for his room.”

Nanny Wan’s heart stirred at hearing this, and she was just considering recommending someone to Eleventh Young Mistress when she heard Eleventh Young Mistress say: “What do you think of Binju? She has experience, and I trust her work.”

Xu Lingyi felt that Binju was too young, and besides, there was still the matter of Wan Daxian to consider.

He helped Eleventh Young Mistress pull up her blanket, and seeing that Nanny Wan and Red Markings and Autumn Rain were fully absorbed in re-swaddling the child, lowered his voice to say: “After the new year, there is a senior first-rank steward in the accounts office who is old enough to retire and return home. The positions in the accounts office will need to be reshuffled. Wan Daxian has been diligent in his duties these past two years. I am considering placing him in a second-rank steward’s position…”

This being the case, Binju would no longer be suited to serving in the inner courtyard — particularly not at the side of the legitimate second son.

Though Eleventh Young Mistress was a little disappointed, the thought of Wan Daxian receiving such recognition brought her some satisfaction as well. Sensing from Xu Lingyi’s voice that this matter had not yet been publicly announced, she also lowered her voice and smiled: “I never imagined that Wan Daxian would come into such good fortune…I was thinking only of Binju just now. What if we first settle on the wet nurse, and go from there? After all, the child is still very small, and the weather is only growing colder — I would like him to stay for the time being in the warm alcove of the main room. Between myself and the wet nurse, with Nanny Song, Hupo, and Zhuxiang, can we not manage to keep watch over one child? My lord, what do you think?”

Xu Lingyi considered and found this reasonable: “Then let us first settle on the wet nurse.” He also laughed. “Eating is the great affair of life!”

Eleventh Young Mistress laughed at hearing this.

Nanny Wan re-swaddled the child and brought him over.

Xu Lingyi saw that the baby had fallen asleep again, and could not help but say with a laugh: “He really is delicate — cannot bear even the slightest discomfort.” His eyes remained fixed on Eleventh Young Mistress as he spoke.

Eleventh Young Mistress’s face flushed red, and she said with a fond pout: “He was wet and uncomfortable — of course he would cry!”

Xu Lingyi only smiled.

Eleventh Young Mistress’s face grew even redder.

Just then, Lin Bo arrived leading the wet nurses from the nursing agency, followed shortly by a young maidservant bringing in the three previous wet nurses. Xu Lingyi put away his smile and said: “I am going to Mother’s rooms for a moment. Let us first have the child’s name settled. Then I will consult with her about the arrangements for the third-day washing ceremony. You are in confinement — it is unavoidable that Mother will need to help receive the guests.”

Selecting wet nurses was after all an inner-household matter, and it was not fitting for Xu Lingyi to have any part in it.

Eleventh Young Mistress nodded in agreement. After Xu Lingyi had gone, she had Nanny Wan call the wet nurses in.

Eight wet nurses stood in a row — some fuller in figure, some more slender, a varied assembly — yet all sharing one common quality: each was between twenty-one and twenty-two years of age, with even and pleasing features, fair skin, and a well-filled bosom.

Eleventh Young Mistress asked each a few questions, then selected two whose speech was quick and clear and whose confinement periods most closely matched her own, and had them try feeding the child.

The child, intent on sleeping, was with great difficulty roused awake, and promptly began to cry in discontent.

Nanny Wan quickly took him up to soothe him.

One of the wet nurses, surnamed Gu, said with a smile: “Madam, the young master was just wanting to sleep, and now he has been woken up — of course he is fussing. When he is hungry, he will wake on his own. Why not wait until the young master wakes and then feed him?”

Eleventh Young Mistress said anxiously: “You do not understand — he has had nothing to eat for a full day, only a few mouthfuls of water.”

Wet Nurse Gu smiled and replied: “It may be that he was just born, and his appetite has not yet opened. Perhaps the Madam could ask a physician to prescribe two doses of broth to regulate his stomach and digestion.”

Eleventh Young Mistress, seeing that she spoke and carried herself with considerable confidence, and that she seemed rather knowledgeable about the care of children, found herself looking at her with greater attention.

Wet Nurse Gu wore a jacket of vivid blue coarse cloth and a black eight-panel Hunan-silk skirt that was a little short, revealing her black cloth shoes and laundered white cloth stockings.

Eleventh Young Mistress gave a quiet nod of approval inwardly.

A young maidservant came in to report: “Madam, the physician is here.”

Eleventh Young Mistress had Nanny Wan take the child out first to be seen by the physician. But Nanny Wan returned quickly: “The physician says that Physician Wu of the Imperial Medical Bureau specializes in difficult pediatric cases.” Eleventh Young Mistress felt exasperated at this. She sent Autumn Rain with her authority token to have the outer courtyard steward go and summon Physician Wu. She kept only Nanny Tian to attend her beside the bed, then let down the bed curtain, rested a cloth over her wrist, and allowed the physician to take her pulse and write a prescription.

Nanny Tian served Eleventh Young Mistress her medicine.

The Second Madam came in supporting the Grand Dowager.

The child had just finished crying and was lying awake, those eyes of his wide open and clear as limpid water, capable of mirroring the reflection of any face that looked into them. The Grand Dowager was delighted beyond measure, and said: “Just now the Old Master came to my rooms, and said the child’s name is to be ‘Jin’?”

Eleventh Young Mistress smiled and answered, “Yes”: “The Marquis and I both think the name is fitting.”

The Second Madam gave a faint smile at hearing this.

A glimmer of gratification passed through the Grand Dowager’s eyes. She laughed fondly at the child: “Then from now on we shall call you ‘Jin Ge’er’ — what do you say?”

The child opened his rosy pink little mouth in a great yawn, then closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

The Grand Dowager’s heart simply melted at the sight of him. She said to Eleventh Young Mistress: “If you cannot manage to look after him, bring him to my rooms. Come next year, Zhun Ge will be moving to the outer courtyard in any case.”

This gave Eleventh Young Mistress quite a fright, and she quickly replied: “You are advancing in years, and the child is still so small — he is bound to be noisy and fussing. It will not be too late to bring him once he is a little older.” She then hurriedly changed the subject: “I heard that last night Jin Ge slept in your rooms — I hope he did not disturb you?”

“Not at all, not at all!” The Grand Dowager said with a smile. “The two brothers were together and very well-behaved. They played the flute for a while, recited their texts for a while, and then settled down to rest. Early this very morning, Zhun Ge’er was up without anyone calling him, and not only that, he woke Jin Ge’er too. They were even a little better-behaved than usual.”

The Second Madam smiled: “When the two brothers are together, Zhun Ge is the elder — naturally he cannot go on being a child the way he does in your presence.”

The Grand Dowager smiled and nodded. She began asking after the child. Upon learning that Jin Ge had cried loudly at having wet himself, she laughed to the Second Madam: “Just look at this child — how clever he is!” And hearing that Jin Ge had still not taken any milk, she grew anxious along with them: “We must have a physician come and see!”

“We have already sent someone to summon him!”

Even as she spoke, the Fifth Madam arrived holding Xin Jie’er.

Xin Jie’er stared with wide, curious eyes at Jin Ge’er in the Grand Dowager’s arms. Seeing that her grandmother, her Second Aunt, her Fourth Aunt, and her mother were all in conversation, she quietly extended her soft, delicate little finger and gently poked Jin Ge’er’s cheek. Jin Ge’er’s lips twitched, then he was still again. Xin Jie’er, finding this amusing, poked Jin Ge’er’s cheek again. Jin Ge’er scrunched up his nose, and quite some time passed before it relaxed again. Xin Jie’er found this even more amusing, and poked Jin Ge’er twice in quick succession. Jin Ge’er let out a sudden wail, which so startled Xin Jie’er that she stood frozen in place.

The Grand Dowager quickly soothed Jin Ge’er: “Nothing wrong, nothing wrong — your elder sister is only playing with you!”

The Fifth Madam’s face flushed scarlet. She quickly gathered up Xin Jie’er and proceeded to scold the nearby maidservant roundly: “I keep you at my side to watch the Second Miss — and here you stand doing nothing but staring blankly.” She also hastened to apologize to Eleventh Young Mistress: “Children do not understand — please do not take it to heart, Fourth Sister-in-law!”

Xin Jie’er was still a child — how could Eleventh Young Mistress hold it against her? Yet seeing Jin Ge’er cry still made her heart ache.

“Xin Jie’er was only playing with him because she liked him!”

The Fifth Madam was somewhat sheepish after all. After a few more exchanges, she made the excuse of having matters to attend to and left with Xin Jie’er.

After half a day of such receiving, Eleventh Young Mistress was overcome with weariness, and raised her sleeve to cover a yawn.

The Second Madam noticed and gave the Grand Dowager’s sleeve a gentle tug, and raised the subject of the third-day washing ceremony: “…Mother has drafted a list — please look it over, Fourth Sister-in-law, and see if there is anything to add or remove. If not, this afternoon it will be sent to the steward’s office for the invitations to go out.”

In other words, the matter must be finalized before the afternoon.

Eleventh Young Mistress smiled and agreed.

The Grand Dowager said a few words along the lines of “rest and recuperate well” and “let me know what the physician says” and then rose with the Second Madam and returned to her rooms.

Eleventh Young Mistress was overcome with drowsiness. She instructed Nanny Wan: “Keep a close watch over Jin Ge’er. When he wakes, have the wet nurse surnamed Gu try feeding him first. If he will not eat, then try bringing him to the others one by one.”

Nanny Wan understood that she had taken a liking to the wet nurse surnamed Gu, and smiled in acknowledgment. She carried the child to the large kang platform by the window.

Eleventh Young Mistress could look up and see the child at a glance. Reassured, she gradually drifted off to sleep.