Returning from Bowstring Lane, Eleven rested at home for one day, and from the fourth day of the month onward accompanied Xu Lingyi to make New Year calls. First to Red Lantern Lane to see Elder Marquis Sun, then to Prince Shun’s estate, and after that to Duchess Fucheng’s residence, Yongchang Marquis’s estate, Weibei Marquis’s estate, Dingguo Duke’s estate, Wang Li’s residence, and so forth. Aside from the visit to Yongchang Marquis’s estate — where the Marquis of Yongchang pulled Xu Lingyi into the study to talk for an entire morning — at every other household they simply exchanged greetings, shared a meal, and returned to the mansion.

After that came Jin Ge’er’s Hundred Day banquet. Then Zhou Madam, Huang Third Madam, Lin First Madam, and others came to pay their New Year calls. Eleven set up a banquet in the inner courtyard to receive them; Xu Lingyi entertained in the outer courtyard the colleagues, former subordinates, and friends who came to call, with those who brought female family members received in the inner courtyard as well. This continued until after the Lantern Festival, when things finally quieted down, and the household began preparing spring garments.

Eleven and Zhen Jie’er put their heads together to discuss styles for the spring garments, occasionally inviting Master Jian into the mansion to consult, with Xiu Lian and Yu Mei sometimes running four or five trips a day to the sewing room to pass along messages or summon people. Influenced by the two of them, the main courtyard suddenly grew lively. Some nimble-fingered maidservants and matrons began to lavish attention on their own clothing — embroidering floral patterns at the collar, tying red hair ribbons… As the wind on one’s body lost its bite, the clothing grew thinner and thinner, and the main courtyard began to breathe with the leisure and abundance of a prosperous, peaceful age.

It was at this time that Hupo became pregnant.

“I was beginning to worry,” Eleven said with a laugh. “If there had been no movement much longer, I would not have been able to help myself from asking!”

Binju, who had come with her son Chang’an to pay her respects to Eleven, heard this and laughed straight away: “I thought you were busy with the New Year, so I didn’t come. I didn’t expect to walk right in and hear such wonderful news.”

Eleven smiled and reached out to pat Chang’an — who sat obediently on his mother’s lap eating a crisp pastry — then instructed Qiu Yu: “Have Nanny Gu bring the Sixth Young Master here for Binju to see.”

Binju quickly demurred, saying she dared not trouble anyone. Qiu Yu knew that Binju was not like other people in Eleven’s eyes, and smiled as she went to summon Nanny Gu.

“The Sixth Young Master is truly beautiful,” Binju said, carefully lifting Jin Ge’er into her arms and exclaiming praises without end.

“When he was first born he was red and wrinkled — everyone said he looked like the Marquis, but I couldn’t see it,” Eleven laughed. “These days he has gradually grown into his face. He’s also fairer now. I think his features are actually quite well-formed.”

Binju could not suppress a burst of laughter.

Which startled Jin Ge’er awake.

He opened his large, round eyes and looked about.

Binju, well-practiced, quickly held out the pot for Jin Ge’er to relieve himself.

“Before, he would eat and sleep, sleep and eat, and I worried he couldn’t see or hear properly,” Nanny Gu took Jin Ge’er away to feed him, while Eleven said, “Now it’s the opposite — once he wakes he won’t go back to sleep, and after sleeping a bit he wakes again. I heard Nanny Tian say that a child this age needs at least eleven shichen of sleep a day, and I’m not sure where he gets such energy.”

“Whether a child is fat or thin matters less than whether he is full of vitality,” Binju said, drawing on her greater experience. “A child full of vitality is quick and sharp in everything he does, and is clever… The Sixth Young Master will certainly be very clever.”

While the two of them chatted, over in Wen Yiniang’s quarters, a little maidservant came running.

“Yiniang, Yiniang — Binju is here!”

Wen Yiniang’s spirits lifted. She told Dong Hong to find a gold hairpin from her jewelry box as a reward for the little maidservant, then murmured to herself: “First Hupo has conceived, and now Binju comes to pay her respects to my Lady… my Lady’s mood should be quite good.” A look of resolution crossed her brow. “There is no better opportunity than this. Today, then” — she rose to her feet — “Dong Hong, find me a gold hairpin from my jewelry case. We are going to my Lady’s rooms.”

Dong Hong went to carry out the order.

When Wen Yiniang arrived at the main room, Eleven and Binju were seated on the heated sleeping platform, one on the platform, one on the edge, playing with Jin Ge’er.

“Oh my!” Wen Yiniang said with a smile. “What a fortunate coincidence — I had no idea I would run into Wan Great-Displayee’s wife. It’s been some time since we’ve seen each other. Are you keeping well?” She then looked at Chang’an, seated beside Eleven. “This must be Chang’an? I would never have expected him to have grown so big!” She stepped forward and took the child’s hand, studying him carefully. She smiled and said to Binju, “Looking at him, I think he takes after you, doesn’t he?”

“Wen Yiniang!” Binju quickly stepped forward to bow in greeting, laughing. “Everyone says he looks like me!”

“A son who takes after his mother will never go hungry,” Wen Yiniang said — the words barely out of her mouth before she realized her misstep. Jin Ge’er, after all, looked like Xu Lingyi.

She quickly changed the subject: “I came in a hurry today — I didn’t expect to find you here.” Unpinning the gold hairpin from her hair, she said, “We are still in the first month of the New Year — take this as a gift.”

Binju was quite taken aback and glanced at Eleven.

Ever since that first day of the New Year when Xu Lingyi had spoken privately with Wen Yiniang, Xu Lingyi had not again met with Wen Yiniang alone — yet Wen Yiniang’s anxiety had grown with each passing day. Eleven had been watching the situation unfold. She had even specifically sent someone to inquire into what Second Madam had gone to the Huang household to do on the first day. The report that came back said Second Madam, acting on the Grand Dowager’s orders, had delivered some food to Huang Grand Dowager.

It was not the hour for paying respects, yet Wen Yiniang had come calling out of the blue. Eleven had an inkling that Wen Yiniang’s visit had much to do with the affair of the first day.

Eleven gave a slight nod.

Binju smiled and accepted the hairpin, curtseying to give her thanks.

Eleven instructed a young maidservant to bring in a brocade stool: “Come, sit and talk.”

Wen Yiniang sat down with a smile, took the tea offered by the young maidservant, and smiled: “Our Jin Ge’er grows more spirited by the day!”

As she spoke, Jin Ge’er had been staring at her steadily.

Eleven smiled and kissed Jin Ge’er’s cheek, then handed him to Nanny Gu: “There is no wind today — take Jin Ge’er for a walk around the courtyard. He has been sitting so long, he’ll start crying and fussing again.”

Nanny Gu smiled and assented, and carried Jin Ge’er out. Qiu Yu then came and led Chang’an away. The room fell suddenly quiet, with only Eleven, Wen Yiniang, and Binju remaining.

“Wen Yiniang — is there something on your mind?” Eleven asked.

Wen Yiniang glanced at Binju, then rose and knelt before Eleven. “My Lady — please save me!”

Eleven was inwardly startled, and quickly went to take her by the arm. “What has happened? Is there something that cannot be spoken of plainly, that it must come to this!”

Binju, seeing this, rose quietly and withdrew, closing the lattice doors behind her.

Wen Yiniang knew Eleven disliked people kneeling before her, and used the support to rise, though her tears were already streaming down.

“The Marquis has told me to wind up all my business dealings before the twenty-fourth day of the first month. If not, he will step in and do it for me,” she said, pulling out a handkerchief to dab her eyes. “Under my management I still have more than thirty workers — all of them came with me from the Wen household. If these businesses are wound up, who will provide for these people? How will they make their living hereafter? How can I face those who have followed me all this while?” She became more and more agitated as she spoke. “At the time, when I invested in the Wen family’s business, the Marquis never said a word of objection. Later, after His Majesty ascended the throne, the Marquis said the Xu household had become imperial relatives — to continue competing for profit with commoners would not look well — and he told me to dissolve my partnership with the Wen family. I agreed without a moment’s hesitation. But I am, after all, a daughter of the Wen family. To cut ties so cleanly and completely all at once was not possible. Moreover, when I had been doing business with the Wen family, everything relied on these workers and the Wen family managers to keep accounts scrupulously — only then could the annual dividends be tallied clearly. After the dissolution, the Wen family would naturally not employ these people anymore. I had no choice but to find a way to open a small shop and provide for them. But now the Marquis wants to wind up the shop as well… My Lady, please intercede with the Marquis for me. I will close the shop. I will sell it to Qiu Hong’s father. That way, those workers can still earn their living in the shop as before!”

If matters stood thus, it was truly Xu Lingyi who was in the wrong.

And yet — would Xu Lingyi act in such a simple, heavy-handed way?

Moreover, so many years had already passed. Why had Xu Lingyi suddenly found Wen Yiniang’s business dealings intolerable? And to press the matter so urgently on the very first day of the New Year!

Eleven thought it peculiar.

She considered for a moment, then sat down beside Wen Yiniang. “Have you said all these things to the Marquis?”

Wen Yiniang’s expression shifted slightly with some discomfort. She lowered her voice: “The Marquis had such a stern look on his face that I didn’t dare say much at the time. Afterwards, the more I thought about it, the more wrong it seemed. And fearing the Marquis’s anger, I came expressly to beg my Lady…” Her voice grew a little unsteady.

Eleven smiled faintly, her voice gentle: “The Marquis is not an unreasonable man. You can speak these concerns directly to the Marquis. But since Wen Yiniang has come to me, I have a few questions I would like to ask — and I hope Wen Yiniang will resolve my puzzlement.” Without waiting for Wen Yiniang to nod, she went straight on: “You say that when you first invested in the Wen family’s business, you were a woman — how did it come to you to do business with the Wen family?”

Wen Yiniang was taken aback and replied: “It was after I gave birth to Zhen Jie’er. My father said that as a concubine I had no dowry. He suggested I invest in the Wen family business. The dividends from the business would be held in safekeeping by my father. So that if anything ever happened, having money would give me more courage.”

Eleven listened and asked again: “I wonder — how much capital did Wen Yiniang put in at the time?”

Wen Yiniang replied with some embarrassment: “At the time I had very little money. I only entered the partnership on credit. Later, when the Wen family’s business grew and they distributed dividends, I paid back the principal from the profits.”

“And how much did Yiniang earn in those years?”

Wen Yiniang fell silent.

Eleven did not rush her, and sat quietly sipping tea.

After a long while, Wen Yiniang finally said in a very small voice: “One million taels of silver!”

“A million taels of silver!” Eleven exclaimed. “Does the Marquis know? And afterwards, Yiniang — how did you dispose of that silver? Did you deposit it in a money house? Or did you use it as capital to continue doing business with the Wen family?”

Wen Yiniang’s expression became unsettled.

Eleven said quietly: “Yiniang — if these matters are not made clear, how will I be able to speak for you before the Marquis?”

Wen Yiniang listened and her expression became one of someone throwing caution to the wind. She said in a low voice: “The Marquis knew. And moreover, from that one million taels, apart from the one thousand taels that was my actual principal, the Marquis took away nine hundred and seventy thousand taels.”

One thousand taels of hollow capital — had earned one million taels of silver.

Had the money driven Wen Yiniang out of her mind?

“How many years did this business last?” Eleven’s expression grew somewhat grave. “And in total, how much silver did the Marquis take away?”

It had all been to protect the Marquis’s good name — but now the Marquis showed not a shred of consideration for her good name. And since the words were already out, it was just as well to let my Lady know what had happened in those years.

Thinking this, Wen Yiniang said: “The business ran for six years. All told, the Marquis took away close to seven million taels of silver.”

—