“After all, this is the eldest son’s wedding. The Third Master has not only arranged a residence in Yanjing for him, but also plans to set up a shop and a farm estate of six hundred acres of land.” Third Madam Huang smiled as she spoke, a note of surprise in her tone — she had clearly not expected the Third Branch household to have this kind of reach.

Shiyiniang was not surprised in the least.

The Third Madam had been quietly accumulating wealth over the years. Combined with the property she had received at the time of the household division, these arrangements were still well within her means.

“Even so, I hope Sister will spare every effort for this matter,” she said graciously.

Third Madam Huang laughed at this. “Since I have accepted the commission from the Grand Madam, I will naturally see to it with all my heart!”

The two of them chatted as they walked out through the courtyard gate.

Third Madam Huang asked Shiyiniang to stop here. “Jin Ge’er is still waiting for you to coax him to sleep!”

Shiyiniang did not stand on ceremony. She watched Third Madam Huang board her small green-curtained oil carriage, then turned and went back to the main rooms.

Jin Ge’er had not yet fallen asleep. His dark, bright eyes were roaming about with curiosity. Seeing his mother enter, he spread into a gummy smile.

“What a lively spirit you have!” Shiyiniang laughed and gave him a light pat on his little bottom.

Jin Ge’er, thinking his mother was playing a game with him, beamed at her even more.

Shiyiniang was half-amused, half-exasperated.

Xu Lingyi came back from the palace.

Shiyiniang hurried to welcome him at the door.

“Where is Jin Ge’er?” Xu Lingyi asked after his son the moment he came in.

“In the inner chamber — Nanny Gu is watching him.” She answered and called for a small maidservant to help him change his clothes and wash up, then studied Xu Lingyi’s expression carefully.

Seeing that it was composed and untroubled, her heart settled somewhat.

Xu Lingyi knew his wife was worried. He quickly said, “Nothing to concern yourself over. I spoke with the Emperor about certain things. The Huang household will inevitably be reprimanded, but there should be no danger to their lives.”

“What a relief!” Shiyiniang exhaled.

With this matter brought before the Emperor through proper channels, even if the Yongchang eldest son’s note had fallen into the Jianming Marquis’s hands, Xu Lingyi’s own position was now entirely above reproach.

Xu Lingyi went to the inner chamber and took Jin Ge’er into his arms.

Jin Ge’er giggled with delight.

Xu Lingyi’s gaze turned very warm.

Shiyiniang nodded and asked how the palace visit had gone. “…The Emperor was not displeased, was he?”

Xu Lingyi’s reply was rather evasive. “The Emperor was urgently seeking Elder Cabinet Minister Chen for a consultation!” He said nothing more, and handed the child back to Nanny Gu, then went to the washroom.

The matter had not yet been resolved — for now, there was nothing to do but wait for news.

Shiyiniang turned this over in her mind as she took her son into her arms to coax him to sleep.

In the days that followed, Third Madam Huang made frequent appearances at the Yongping Marquis household in connection with Xu Siqin’s betrothal. Each time she left, she would stop by Shiyiniang’s rooms to sit for a while.

Shiyiniang knew she was using these visits to quietly probe for news of Xu Lingyi’s thinking. But the matter was far too complex — even Xu Lingyi himself had no certainty of what would come to pass. Vague reassurances without anything concrete to offer felt hollow and empty, and so Shiyiniang could only speak with her about Xu Siqin’s wedding arrangements instead.

Madam Liu — wife of Vice Minister Liu of the Ministry of Justice — had relayed that the Fang family had set aside ten thousand taels of silver for the eldest daughter’s dowry.

The Third Madam felt that the twenty-four acres of land included in the Fang family’s dowry, though not inconsiderable in value, were located far away in Huzhou and thus of no practical use to her household. “On our side, we generally prefer to have land in Wanping or Daxing. If that cannot be arranged in time, Shandong would be tolerable at a stretch.”

Madam Liu conveyed this to Third Madam Huang: acquiring land in Wanping or Daxing at this point was not feasible, but she agreed to arrange for land in Shandong instead…

The Third Madam requested that the Fang family include several household servants and a few young maidservants as part of the dowry. “…The residence in Jingsan Hutong has no one to manage it!”

Madam Liu asked whether two households of servants and four young maidservants would be sufficient…

The Third Madam specified that the young maidservants should be six or seven years of age. “That way they can learn the household rules from the start. By the time the eldest young miss’s personal maidservants are released from service, these girls will be ready to take over.”

“The Fang family agreed to that as well,” Third Madam Huang said, sipping her tea. She sighed. “If only I could find such an agreeable set of in-laws for myself!”

“Third Sister-in-law has only Qin Ge’er’s best interests at heart.” Shiyiniang listened, feeling a quiet astonishment of her own — she had only ever heard of the bride’s side setting terms that the groom’s side readily accepted, and rarely the other way around. Still, she had heard that the Fang family was not only a prominent household in Huzhou but a wealthy one as well — perhaps they regarded the conditions the Third Madam had put forward as trivial matters. And one could not entirely rule out the possibility that the Fang family was also eager to have the eldest daughter’s betrothal finalized without further delay. But all she could do was offer a conciliatory remark: “Madam Fang is a reasonable woman. When she thinks it through carefully, she will understand.”

“Everyone understands it as a principle, but how many can truly think it through and carry it out in practice?” Third Madam Huang laughed and chatted with Shiyiniang a while longer. Seeing that dusk had come, she rose and took her leave.

Yuban came over from the Grand Madam’s quarters. “Fourth Madam, the Grand Madam asks you to bring Sixth Young Master over for her to have a look at!”

On the fourth day of the second month, Teacher Zhao returned to the household. Xu Lingyi and Teacher Zhao conferred behind closed doors for half a day, after which it was decided that on the sixth day of the third month, Xu Sizhun would move to the outer courtyard.

The Grand Madam heard this and was not without reservations.

Xu Sizhun, however, was eager and ready, and even reassured his grandmother himself. “Both Elder Brother and Second Brother moved to the outer courtyard at about my age — and besides, I would have Elder Brother and Second Brother there to keep me company.”

Hearing this, the Grand Madam had no choice but to agree. Still unable to set her heart fully at ease, she asked Ge Jin to go along to the outer courtyard to attend to him. For the next few days she was occupied with sorting through Xu Sizhun’s chests and trunks and overseeing the furnishings and arrangements of the Tranquil Retreat — where Xu Sizhun would soon take up residence. Two days had passed since she had last seen Jin Ge’er.

Shiyiniang smiled and agreed. She and Jin Ge’er both changed into fresh clothes and went to the Grand Madam’s quarters.

Xu Sizhun had already begun his lessons. After class, he hurried to pay his respects to Shiyiniang, then pulled Xu Sijie off toward Tranquil Retreat. As Shiyiniang was carrying Jin Ge’er through the door, the two of them were just coming back from Tranquil Retreat.

“Mother, Mother!” Xu Sizhun tugged at Shiyiniang’s sleeve and tilted his face up toward her. “I have set aside a side room in Tranquil Retreat for Fifth Brother. On rest days, could you let Fifth Brother come and stay with me there?”

Xu Sijie had clearly already been won over by Xu Sizhun, and also came to pull at Shiyiniang’s sleeve. “Mother, Fourth Brother’s courtyard is so big and so beautiful!” His eyes were bright and clearly quite envious.

Tranquil Retreat was the residence of the Yongping Marquis’s heir. Now that Xu Sizhun had moved there, he would formally begin receiving the education befitting an heir — and there would certainly be an adjustment period at first. If the cheerful and lively Xu Sijie could occasionally come to keep him company, that would be no small comfort to him.

Shiyiniang thought this over, then said with a smile, “Coming over to play with your brother on rest days is fine. But you cannot stay overnight. That would disrupt your brother’s studies.”

After all, it was the heir’s residence — staying overnight there was not entirely appropriate, and was more likely to stir up gossip.

“We won’t, we won’t,” Xu Sizhun was quick to promise. “Neither of us will neglect our studies!”

Xu Sijie also said, “I’ll only come to play when Elder Brother isn’t in school!”

“Very well then!” Shiyiniang smiled and drew both boys close with an arm around their shoulders. “You must remember what you have promised Mother!”

Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie nodded earnestly in unison.

Everyone entered the room, all smiles.

The Third Madam was seated beside the Grand Madam on the large kang by the window, engaged in conversation.

Shiyiniang only caught the tail end of a sentence: “…If we are to establish our own separate household, and we are not even in Yanjing, by the time the eldest grandson’s wife does not even recognize you, Grandmother — would that not be a laughingstock?”

Seeing Shiyiniang enter, she quickly cut off the topic and rose with a smile to exchange greetings.

The Grand Madam did not even glance at the Third Madam, but smiled and clapped her hands warmly toward Jin Ge’er. “Dear little one, come to Grandmother!”

The next morning, when Shiyiniang went to pay her respects, the Grand Madam spoke with her.

“…She wants to renovate the small courtyard beside the Hall of Welcoming Spring and use it as a bridal chamber for Qin Ge’er.” The Grand Madam spoke, and for once in her life let out a small sound of contempt. “I refused. I told her to tidy up her own courtyard and use that as the bridal chamber. As for the small courtyard beside the Hall of Welcoming Spring — it was originally set aside as a resting place for the various ladies and mistresses who grew tired after listening to the opera performances. That particular dignity, the Xu household must still maintain!”

Shiyiniang could not help feeling inwardly embarrassed.

The Third Madam truly had some nerve to make such demands.

“The small courtyard is connected to the Hall of Welcoming Spring,” she said with a smile. “The household often holds opera performances there, and with the singing carrying through, it would be noisy for occupants — it truly isn’t well suited as a bridal chamber.”

As Shiyiniang sat talking with the Grand Madam, the Third Madam arrived.

She was dressed in a crimson jacket with an unbroken pattern of ten-thousand swastikas woven through in brocade, her face wreathed in smiles, looking altogether festive and radiant. “Mother, the Fang family’s dowry list has arrived!” she said, pulling a red gold-flecked note from her sleeve. She walked with some eagerness up to the Grand Madam and opened the note for her to see. “Look here — from the eight-post bed right down to the chamber pot, everything is lacquered in red.” She then threw a mildly triumphant glance at Shiyiniang.

Shiyiniang followed her lead and offered a few compliments along the lines of “the Fang family is truly meticulous.”

The Third Madam, hearing this, looked even more pleased with herself, and launched into a long and chatty recitation to the Grand Madam of each item on the list. The Grand Madam listened with only half her attention; Shiyiniang sat smiling at her side.

A small maidservant came running in. “Grand Madam, Third Madam Huang has come to call.”

The Grand Madam brightened noticeably. “Show her in!” — as though she were quite relieved that Third Madam Huang’s arrival had interrupted the Third Madam’s monologue.

But Third Madam Huang’s face held not a trace of joy.

She gave the Grand Madam a hasty bow, her voice trembling as she said, “Grand Madam — the Yang household has been raided!” Her expression was one of great distress.

The second month’s warm sunshine filtered softly through the glass windows, and the air was filled with the bright promise of spring.

Yet the Grand Madam and Shiyiniang had both braced themselves for this since long before — and even so, now that it had truly come to pass, thinking of the uncertain future ahead for the Yongchang Marquis household, they both could not help shivering.

The Third Madam, who had had no warning of any of this, was above all simply shocked. She seized Third Madam Huang’s hand tightly. “Sister, who told you? Is it true? Can it be false?”

Third Madam Huang looked toward the Grand Madam. “The Marquis had someone keeping watch over the Yang household’s movements these past several days. This morning, right after breakfast, a young manservant came back to report that the Court of Judicial Review’s people, leading the Imperial Forest Army, had surrounded the Jianming Marquis household and the Shouchang Bao household on all sides…” She paused, and added in a soft but imploring voice, “Mother sent me here to bring you the news.” Her tone already carried a note of silent pleading.

The Third Madam looked thoroughly bewildered. She turned from the silent Grand Madam to Shiyiniang, whose expression was dark and subdued, and demanded in a high-pitched voice, “The Yang household being raided — what does that have to do with our family?”

Her voice was sharper than it had ever been, ringing out jarringly in the silent room like a needle drop made audible.

Third Madam Huang’s face went even whiter. Her lips parted slightly, but in the end she said nothing.

The Grand Madam exchanged a glance with Shiyiniang.

Shiyiniang understood. She leaned close to the Third Madam and said softly, “This matter has happened so suddenly — Third Madam Huang must still be shaken. Let us go and brew a cup of tea for her.” Not waiting to see whether the Third Madam was willing or not, she took her arm and led her out the door.