To ask her, at a moment like this, whether she missed him…

Eleventh’s face turned crimson.

Yet she could not help but turn the question over in her mind.

Before, it seemed she had never thought about it.

Now, she did miss him.

She missed this warm embrace; missed this closeness of being intertwined, each within the other; missed being cherished so carefully, so reluctantly…

She wrapped her arms around Xu Lingyi’s neck and pressed her cheek against his.

With how thin-skinned Eleventh was, and with him asking so shamelessly, she would be too embarrassed to answer — let alone give a reply. He could expect her to be so overcome with shame she would be at a complete loss…

The thought barely formed before Xu Lingyi felt a subtle unease rise within him. Without quite knowing why, he tightened his arms around Eleventh and pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder.

Unable to see those luminous eyes of hers this way, relying only on the feel of her body to sense her unhurried, winding tenderness — he understood now why Eleventh so often pressed her face red into his arms. He closed his eyes, the soft roundness of her earlobe between his lips, and murmured “Mo Yan” in a muffled voice… accompanied by an ever-deeper exploration that fell upon Eleventh’s heart with a faint, quiet urgency…

Her face burned terribly; her heart pounded wildly.

She leaned close to his ear and whispered a single word: “I do.”

Xu Lingyi stilled. He raised his head, and the gaze he fixed on her burned like fire.

“Mo Yan…”

His tone held disbelief, hesitation, uncertainty — even a small, barely perceptible tremor of unease… He was no longer that Xu Lingyi who laughed with eyes bright as the sun and walked with the bold strides of a dragon or prowling tiger…

Was it her single word that had brought this change over him?

She did not know why, but a small, secret delight stirred in her heart.

Eleventh clung to his shoulders, blowing warm breath into his ear. She answered once more: “I do.”

Her voice was coy and artless, yet clear and distinct.

It was as though a rope had suddenly cinched around his throat. He could barely breathe… yet his arms drew in tighter, and tighter still, as though he would press her into his own body, and then drove forward with thunderous force, as though he would meld himself into hers… as though only then could he feel how soft this body in his arms was, how sweet, how soul-dissolving… drawing from Eleventh a soft cry of delight…

* * *

“Family has come?” Wen Yiniang, wrapped in a quilted jacket, sat looking at Yang Yiniang beside her, eyes brimming with tears.

Yang Yiniang dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief, her voice catching with suppressed tears: “They say someone took advantage of my father while the Yang household was in trouble and moved in to extort money — a note for a loan of three or five taels of silver, now demanding repayment of thirty thousand taels. If they refuse, they will go to the authorities and report my father. My father had no recourse, so he sent someone here, hoping I could ask the Marquis to put in a word…”

Wen Yiniang listened, her brow knitting slightly.

The tea grows cold as soon as the guest departs. Yet the Emperor’s decree had not even come down, and already these people were this impatient.

She thought of her own mother, from whom she still had no word… She did not know whether Qiuhong’s father could persuade her mother to leave the Wen household.

At that thought, Wen Yiniang quietly sighed to herself.

And Yang Yiniang, watching this from the corner of her eye, felt her heart ease a little.

Wen Yiniang was a person who loved silver above all else. What she had feared most was that Wen Yiniang would be unmoved.

She thought as much, and covered the corner of her eye with her handkerchief, sobbing softly a few more times. Then she said quietly: “Others may not know, but Elder Sister knows. Since I entered this household… I have barely exchanged a handful of words with the Marquis, and his manner toward me has been most cold and distant. Unlike with the Madam and Elder Sister — toward both of you he has always been kind, and in any matter, he has looked out for you. Let alone the fact that I am nominally his concubine, and in such a large affair, ought first to have consulted with the Madam.” Her expression grew sorrowful. “But the Yang household now stands under criminal suspicion, their fate uncertain. The Madam, even if willing to help, must consider the name and future of the Xu household — she cannot sacrifice the greater for the lesser…”

Wen Yiniang’s thoughts turned to herself.

Back then, she too had spent several nights sleepless and turning, thinking through three hundred years past and three hundred years to come before finally mustering the courage to go to the Madam… Yet who could have thought that Eleventh would agree so readily, and in the end devise a brilliant plan.

“I thought it through from every angle and walked right to the courtyard gate before turning back, then went inside and sat there unable to keep still — and in the end I twisted my foot.” Yang Yiniang stretched out her foot, wrapped in white cotton bandaging to look like a rice dumpling, and showed it to Wen Yiniang. “Thinking it was late and the Madam was unwell, and calling a physician might disturb her, it was my nanny who reminded me — and I thought to come ask Elder Sister for a little medicinal oil to rub on.”

Wen Yiniang listened and quickly asked after her foot injury, then comforted her: “My medicinal oil works very well. Get a good night’s rest, and tomorrow the physician will come and prescribe a few medicines — it will heal up quickly enough.”

Yang Yiniang nodded, but said: “I’m not worried about my foot. It will heal on its own with rest and care.” She paused, pressed her lips together, and said in a steady voice: “I am worried about the people at home… Those people pressing my father to repay the debt have been at it for ten days now. I don’t know what has come of it. My father is a man of straightforward temperament. If he just digs in and refuses to yield to them…” Tears fell again. “I truly dread that something might happen to him… I would not know a moment’s peace for the rest of my life…”

“Nothing will happen!” Wen Yiniang reasoned it through for her. “Those people just want to squeeze out some silver. If they push the other party to the wall, no one gains anything from a complete falling out. I think you need not let your imagination run away with you — go home and sleep well, and tomorrow morning we will go together to plead with the Madam, and see what she says before deciding what to do.” Then she added, “The Madam is broad-minded and generous. Everyone in the household, high and low, likes to come to her with their troubles. If she can help, she will certainly help. In this you may rest completely assured.”

She treats her not like a sister but like a guest.

“Truly?” Yang Yiniang’s eyes lit up as she listened. She reached out and grasped Wen Yiniang’s sleeve. “Then — could we not go and request an audience with the Madam right now?”

Wen Yiniang was taken aback.

“Elder Sister, you don’t understand.” Fresh tears sprang from Yang Yiniang’s eyes. “I had already gone to bed, but the moment I closed my eyes I dreamed of Father being beaten by men, the house seized and occupied, Mother and my younger brother without clothes to cover themselves or food to eat, weeping and begging me to save their lives…” She buried her face in Wen Yiniang’s lap and wept aloud. “How could I possibly keep still…” She raised her tear-soaked face. “I thought to myself, Elder Sister is generous by nature and has always shown me great care. I could not help but intrude upon your rest. I came here thick-facedly… Elder Sister, I beg you, for the sake of how I entered this household and followed you to learn the rules — please, come with me to the Madam’s chamber… Whether she sees us or not, I will feel easier in my heart… Otherwise, I will always feel as though I failed to seek help with all my heart, for my own sake…”

Wen Yiniang’s own family affairs remained unresolved, and she could naturally understand her state of mind. But to go and seek Eleventh at this hour…

“Just to look in on her,” Yang Yiniang implored earnestly. “If the Madam has already gone to bed, of course we would not presume to disturb her!”

Yang Yiniang’s father was a distant branch of the family. Although the Yang household had been convicted, so many days had passed and her father had not been implicated or imprisoned — it seemed this trouble had no bearing on her family. Besides, whether to help or not depended entirely on the Madam’s word.

Wen Yiniang thought of her own gratitude when Eleventh had extended her a hand when the Wen household was implicated by the Yang household…

“Very well.” She called for Dongshu to help her dress. “We’ll go and look in — if the Madam has already retired, we will not disturb her!”

Yang Yiniang’s face filled with delight, and she nodded again and again: “Elder Sister, I knew you were kind-hearted. No one but you could truly understand what I am feeling right now…”

* * *

Xu Lingyi gently wiped the sweat from Eleventh’s temple and asked softly: “Are you tired?”

Eleventh kept her eyes closed and let him hold her, giving a soft “mm.”

A deep, contented smile rose in Xu Lingyi’s eyes.

When he held her, he had been pulled in two directions — afraid she could not bear it… Yet it turned out that he was the one who had first waved the white flag of surrender…

At that thought, he quickly studied Eleventh.

He saw her face suffused with a rosy flush, a lingering tenderness shimmering in every line of her brows and eyes.

Xu Lingyi let out a quiet breath of relief.

“My body is all damp with sweat…” Eleventh shifted slightly.

He knew she loved to be clean, and he too was fond of her cleanliness. Yet this time, he held her close against him: “Wait a moment — I’ll wipe you down myself!”

He wanted to stay like this a little longer, skin to skin, lingering against her.

Eleventh could not even move a finger. Seeing him insist, she simply closed her eyes and lay still against him.

She must have been too tired, for the moment her eyes closed she drifted into sleep.

In a hazy half-dream, someone seemed to be wiping her body down.

She kept her eyes closed and called out “Xu Lingyi.”

A familiar, warm voice chuckled softly close to her ear in reply.

Eleventh let him do as he pleased.

Her body sank a little, as though someone had settled over her — tenderly calling her “Mo Yan” while parting her legs…

Eleventh was startled awake and quickly opened her heavy eyelids: “Tomorrow — tomorrow…” Before she could finish, she already felt an army at the gates.

Xu Lingyi laughed softly without a word, and pressed his lips down along the curve of her neck.

She was clearly exhausted, yet her breathing had already begun to grow unsteady.

The hand gripping his shoulder turned into an embrace…

Knowing this was not the wisest course, yet giving in to it all the same — could this be called indulgence?

Eleventh lay in a drowsy haze thinking of this, when she heard Zhuxiang’s somewhat urgent voice: “My lord, Madam — an imperial attendant from the palace has come under the Emperor’s special orders to summon the Marquis to court!”

Xu Lingyi’s body went rigid, his skin suddenly firm as iron wrapped in velvet — smooth to the touch, yet extremely hard.

“My lord!” Eleventh came fully awake, throwing her arms tight around Xu Lingyi.

This was unlike the tender affection of moments before — this was tension and unease.

To summon Xu Lingyi to court in the middle of the night — what could this mean?

The Marquis of Jianxing, the Count of Shouchang, and two grand secretaries were all held in the imperial prison. And it was in the palace that Han Xin had been cut down by Empress Lv!

Feeling her body go taut, Xu Lingyi quickly held her gently: “It’s all right, it’s all right. These days His Majesty has been busy putting the civil service in order.”

Eleventh thought it over and felt that Xu Lingyi’s words made sense.

His Majesty could not possibly stir up more chaos at a time like this. Besides, Xu Lingyi had placed no small number of informants within the palace. If His Majesty had any intention against him, in this present tangle of complications, Xu Lingyi would have caught wind of it somehow.

She let out a long breath.

Xu Lingyi, looking at her, felt a warmth in his heart. Yet he teased her: “What — reluctant to let me go?”

Eleventh blushed.

Fortunately they had not yet reached the main part — otherwise, the situation would have been truly awkward.

“I am reluctant,” she said, meeting his playful gaze head-on. “What of it?”

Xu Lingyi was quite taken aback.

He pressed his forehead against hers and said with a hiss: “Then I’ll stay home and keep you company.”