“People are most frightening when they stand before you face to face.” Wen Yiniang spoke to Shiyiniang in whispers in the warm inner chamber. “If I go, I fear she will make impossible demands. If I do not go, I know her too well — she has a knack for wearing people down by sheer persistence. Never mind a simple woman like Qiuhong’s mother-in-law who has never seen much of the world. By the end, I am afraid Qiuhong will be put in an impossible position…” She had the look of someone seeking Shiyiniang’s counsel.

When it came down to it, Wen Yiniang was still somewhat afraid of facing the Third Young Madam of the Wen Family!

Otherwise, she could simply refuse outright. However capable the Third Young Madam was, however relentless her persistence, could Qiuhong’s mother-in-law actually make binding promises on Wen Yiniang’s behalf?

Shiyiniang turned the question back on her: “What do you yourself wish to do?”

Wen Yiniang gave an embarrassed smile: “Could I ask the Marquis to send a steward to meet with my third sister-in-law?”

If that happened, it would become a matter between the Wen Family and the Xu Family. Perhaps that was exactly the Third Young Madam’s intent.

“What is it that Wen Yiniang is truly afraid of?” Shiyiniang reflected, then simply asked directly: “Could it be that the Third Young Madam holds some leverage over you? Even granting that you are worried about your mother, so long as you remain safe and well in the Xu household for even one day, the Wen Family would not dare show the slightest negligence toward her. So why are you afraid of meeting the Third Young Madam?”

Wen Yiniang’s face flushed a deep crimson. She did not leap up to protest, but after a long, held silence, she said: “In the year the Mistress first arrived in this household, the Third Young Madam of the Wen Family gave me fifty thousand taels of silver to introduce the Mistress to her acquaintance…”

Shiyiniang, hearing this, could not help but laugh: “You accepted the silver but never delivered on the arrangement!”

“No, no — that is not it,” Wen Yiniang hastened to say. “It is not that I failed to make the arrangement — only that it never came to pass!”

So she was guilty of conscience… If that was truly the case, it would be best for Xu Lingyi to step in. Wen Yiniang could then shift the responsibility onto his shoulders, signaling to the Wen Family that she was powerless to help, and use the occasion to sever ties with them once and for all. Though Xu Lingyi would be put at a disadvantage, Wen Yiniang was his concubine — if something went wrong later, others would assume he was behind it or at least involved. Rather than be unable to clear his name when the time came, it was far better to step in now and tidy up the loose ends, achieving two aims at once.

Only, Xu Lingyi was currently occupied with the Huang Family’s affairs — there was no telling whether he had the time or the inclination to deal with this matter for Wen Yiniang.

She thought it over and sent Zhuxiang to ask Xu Lingyi to come.

Xu Lingyi did not come himself; instead, he sent Steward Zhao.

“The Marquis says, whatever the Mistress has to say, giving her instructions to me is just the same!”

Steward Zhao was the chief steward of the household affairs office — Xu Lingyi’s most capable right hand.

Shiyiniang treated him with great courtesy. Speaking through the curtain, she had a small maid bring out a brocade stool for him to sit upon, then recounted the matter to him in a low voice.

Steward Zhao grasped the intricacies of the situation at once, but the matter ultimately touched on the interests and relationships of both the Xu Family and the Wen Family, and he was not in a position to make decisions on his own. He smiled and said: “Allow me to report this to the Marquis.”

Shiyiniang too understood the gravity of the matter. She smiled, raised her teacup, and had Zhuxiang see Steward Zhao out the door.

Before even one full cup of tea had passed, a young manservant came in with a reply: “The Marquis says, please ask the Mistress and Wen Yiniang to rest comfortably. He has already sent someone to meet with the Third Young Madam of the Wen Family.”

Both women let out a breath of relief at once. Wen Yiniang, in particular, was so pleased that she pulled out more than ten coins, borrowed Shiyiniang’s name, and tipped the manservant with them. Then she rose to take her leave: “Qiuhong is at home waiting for word — if I give her an answer sooner, she can return home sooner too!”

Shiyiniang had Qiuyu see her out the door.

Nanny Song came forward: “Mistress, Qiao Yiniang has gone to the rear gate!”

Going to the rear gate at this hour?

Shiyiniang reflected a moment, then said carefully: “Do we know what she went for?”

“It seems Qiao’s Third Madam has arrived!”

Neither too early nor too late — and at precisely this moment!

Shiyiniang smiled and gave a nod. Nanny Song said no more and quietly withdrew.

* * *

Over in her quarters, Nanny Yang stared at the one-hundred-tael banknote in Yang Shi’s hand, her eyes nearly dropping out of her head: “Yiniang, where did you come by so much money?”

“Never you mind,” Yang Shi said quietly. “It is honestly earned — you need not worry.” Then she gave Nanny Yang hushed instructions: “Take this banknote and find someone to go and quietly inquire into what has become of the Yang Family.”

Nanny Yang’s expression became troubled: “At a time like this, I fear there is no one to be hired for money…”

“Those who add flowers to brocade are many; those who send charcoal in the snow are few,” Yang Shi said coolly. “At this moment, the Yang Family has only just been raided — it remains to be seen how the Emperor intends to deal with them. There may be nothing more than this punishment, or the Yang Family may be utterly destroyed. But regardless of his intentions, since no clear pronouncement has yet been made, people still carry a thread of hope in their hearts. If we let a few more days pass and the Yang Family comes out unscathed, we naturally have nothing to worry about. But if something does befall them… by that point, trying to use silver to get someone to go and gather a little information would be as difficult as climbing a mountain.”

Nanny Yang thought this over and agreed.

She took the banknote and hurried out of the courtyard.

By evening, word came back.

“The Marquis of Jianning and the Earl of Shouchang, along with all their female household members, have been sent to the Court of Judicial Review.”

Yang Shi went cold in her hands and feet, her face ashen: “It is finished, finished.” She added, “The fact that even the female members of the household have been sent to the Court of Judicial Review means that not even a shred of face is being spared… at the very least, this will mean exile of a thousand li!”

Nanny Yang did not understand these things, but she knew that Yang Shi was a woman of great intelligence. Hearing this, she covered her face and began to weep in a low voice: “All that wealth, squandered in a single morning… and leaving us with no one to rely on…”

Yang Shi’s expression jolted. She quickly said: “Nanny, do not cry — hurry and find someone to inquire about the Elder Sister who married into the Zhongshan Marquis household and the Elder Sister who married into Elder Grand Secretary Liang’s household, and find out how they are both faring right now!”

Nanny Yang’s heart kindled with a flicker of hope: “Perhaps the two young ladies might ask their husbands’ families to intercede before the Emperor — perhaps the Marquis and the Earl still have a chance of being spared!”

If they could be cleared of guilt, then she and Yang Shi would naturally be able to go on living their quiet, peaceful days in the Xu household!

Nanny Yang quickly wiped away her tears and went to inquire.

* * *

Xu Lingyi strode into the inner chamber with a dark expression.

Shiyiniang was patting Jin Ge’er to sleep. Seeing him, she quickly gave Zhuxiang a glance.

Zhuxiang immediately stepped forward to help Xu Lingyi change his outer clothes and wash up, then led the attending maids quietly away.

“Jin Ge’er is asleep!” Xu Lingyi braced both hands on the kang and circled both his wife and son within his arms, gazing at Jin Ge’er’s serene and peaceful sleeping face. A few traces of warmth entered his eyes.

Shiyiniang gave a small nod and gently sat up, saying quietly: “Just fallen asleep!”

Xu Lingyi settled himself beside her on the kang to speak.

“Keep this safe.” He handed her a document pouch. “The one who carried out the household raid was a deputy general who had served under Jiang Yunfei for many years. When Jiang Yunfei was defeated in battle, I once saved this man’s life. Tomorrow, show it to Madam Huang the Third, then burn the documents in her presence.”

So these were the items the eldest son of the Yongchang Marquis household had been worried about.

In this way, the Huang Family’s people would have seen the evidence with their own eyes and would know that Xu Lingyi had received the entrusted items and had them removed.

Shiyiniang nodded and stored the documents in the hidden compartment behind the headboard panel, right in front of Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi carried Jin Ge’er to the warm inner chamber and handed him to Nanny Gu, then lay down to rest with Shiyiniang.

“Keep a close eye on Wen Shi. Do not let her have any further contact with the Wen Family’s people.” In the darkness, Xu Lingyi held Shiyiniang close, his hand gliding gently along her spine. The slight ridge of bone beneath his fingers was a little hard against his palm, and made his heart soften. His voice, too, grew gentle as he spoke: “To judge by Steward Zhao’s account, in circumstances like these, rather than exercising restraint, the Wen Family feels their opportunity has come… The Third Master of the Wen Family has no sense of timing or proportion. The Emperor may, out of consideration for past sentiment, overlook it this once — but there is no certainty he would overlook it a second time…”

Since her illness, Xu Lingyi had taken to touching her spine quite often — not as before, when it always carried a certain ambiguity in the end. Now there was far more tenderness in it.

She rested her head on his arm and said softly: “The Marquis’s past dealings with the Wen Family — those were conducted under orders from above, I believe?”

For otherwise, the Xu Family would never have had the boldness for it!

Xu Lingyi said nothing. The hand stroking her spine paused for a moment.

Shiyiniang asked no more, and shifted to another subject: “As for Wen Yiniang, I will make things clear to her. She is not someone who fails to understand — she only sometimes needs a little guidance. The Marquis set her to managing the shops this time, and she had everything arranged in just two or three days…”

Xu Lingyi was silent for a while, then said: “I have also thought carefully about this matter. If one wishes Wen Shi to be settled and at peace, and not cause trouble, the best course of action is to resolve the matter of the Wen Grand Madam. I have been thinking — why not do it this way: have Wen Shi send a trusted person to Yangzhou to speak plainly with the Wen Grand Madam. Wen Shi’s grandfather is already gone from this world, and the children and grandchildren are all grown. It would be better to have the Wen Family build a small temple for her on the outskirts of the city, purchase some fields and farmland, and move her to live in the temple as a lay Buddhist devotee. She would be declared publicly to have entered the monastic life. Then I will help put word out. Should the Wen Family ever come to ruin someday, since the Wen Grand Madam will be a monastic, it would be difficult to pursue charges against her!”

Shiyiniang thought this an excellent idea: “I only fear the Wen Family may not agree. If the Wen Grand Madam herself can be persuaded, that would be the best of all outcomes. But it must at least be tried. I will go and speak with Wen Yiniang tomorrow.”

Xu Lingyi drew her closer, then pressed a kiss to her cheek and said: “Sleep now — remember first thing tomorrow to send someone to invite Madam Huang the Third. These documents should not remain here long.”

Shiyiniang murmured her assent, feeling that several of her worries had all found their resolution, and closed her eyes. Very quickly, she was asleep.

* * *

Madam Huang the Third watched those documents turn to ash, then felt Shiyiniang douse them with tea until they became a blackened mass. Her eyes grew moist at the corners. She took Shiyiniang’s hand in both of hers: “There are no further words I need say. I will go back now and report everything to the Marquis!”

For the Huang Family, who had been on tenterhooks, this was nothing short of a reassuring tonic.

Shiyiniang could understand her feelings. She saw her out the door, then went to Wen Yiniang’s quarters.

“What did the Marquis say?” Though Xu Lingyi had stepped in and resolved the problem on her behalf, that did not mean he would be sympathetic or lenient toward her for it.

Shiyiniang conveyed Xu Lingyi’s intentions to Wen Yiniang.

Wen Yiniang was stunned: “Then… then what of my brothers and the others?”

One might well call this wanting too much after already receiving a great favor.

Shiyiniang said with helpless candor: “If the Wen Family had been willing to heed the Marquis’s counsel, how would things have come to this pass!”

Wen Yiniang’s expression became unsettled and uncertain.

Shiyiniang did not press her.

All that could be done had been done. It was up to the one concerned to make her own choice now!

She rose and took her leave.

* * *

Yang Shi’s complexion was murky and unreadable.

She said in a low voice: “The Third Young Madam Tang has taken ill and been sent to a temple to recuperate. The Liang household has made no move…”

Nanny Yang nodded repeatedly: “That is exactly what the messenger said!”