Fifth Miss, Eleventh Miss, and Wu Xiaoquan’s wife filed out of the room one after another.

Standing at the doorway, everyone seemed to feel their spirits lift — the expressions on their faces softened considerably.

Wu Xiaoquan’s wife smiled and asked the two sisters: “I’ll go and find my husband now to get the dimensions and design of the screen. But I’m not sure where to look for the two young misses afterward — where would be most convenient?”

To embroider a Hundred Longevity Screen, one first had to determine the appearance and dimensions of the screen. Then Fifth Miss would write out the characters to be embroidered, sized according to the screen. Eleventh Miss would select the fabric and silk threads for the screen, after which she could take up her needle in place of a brush and, following the weave of the fabric, begin embroidering the characters according to the script Fifth Miss had written.

And so, the initial stages were a matter for Wu Xiaoquan’s wife and Fifth Miss.

It was naturally not her place for Eleventh Miss to involve herself.

She looked toward Fifth Miss with a bright smile.

Fifth Miss knew it too — she had promised Madam two days’ time, and if those two days passed without something to hand over to Eleventh Miss, and Eleventh Miss in turn could not produce anything, that would be entirely her own responsibility.

This was not the moment for false courtesy.

“If Sister doesn’t mind,” she said, smiling toward Eleventh Miss, “why not come and sit a while at my place? My quarters are a bit closer to Mother’s, and it would be easier for Nanny Wu to come and report back afterward.”

Fifth Miss lived in the Jiao Garden, just to the west of the main building — less than a cup of tea’s time away.

“How thoughtful of Fifth Sister,” Eleventh Miss smiled. “Then I shall trouble you for the imposition!”

“We are sisters of the same family — why be so courteous? It only makes us feel like strangers.” Fifth Miss smiled. “You spend all your time shut in your rooms doing needlework — apart from visiting Madam, you never venture anywhere. You are an honored guest I can rarely persuade to visit. I could only hope you’d impose on me every single day.”

Hearing this, Eleventh Miss laughed: “Then I shall not stand on ceremony with Fifth Sister!”

Wu Xiaoquan’s wife also agreed heartily with Fifth Miss’s decision: “In that case, I’ll come to the Jiao Garden to report later.”

Fifth Miss and Eleventh Miss nodded: “In this cold weather, we trouble you, Nanny.”

“What a thing for young misses to say — this is entirely within my duties!” Wu Xiaoquan’s wife exchanged a few more courteous words, then turned to go and find her husband.

Eleventh Miss then gave instructions to Binju, who stood to the side: “Go and let Dongqing know. Hupo, who attends Mother, will be coming to our quarters to serve from this day forward. Have Dongqing arrange a comfortable resting place for her, and then go to Mother’s quarters to welcome Hupo — see if there is anything she can help with. I still need to go to Fifth Sister’s to wait for Nanny Wu to bring the dimensions of the screen. Once you’ve passed on the message, come to Fifth Miss’s quarters to find me.”

Ever since learning that Madam had transferred Hupo to Eleventh Miss’s quarters, Binju had been consumed with a gnawing anxiety, and had been longing to fly back to Lvyun Tower at once to consult with Dongqing about what to do. Now that Eleventh Miss was sending her back to deliver the news to Dongqing, it was precisely what she had been hoping for. She answered respectfully and set off at a quick pace.

Fifth Miss’s gaze lingered on Binju’s retreating figure for a moment, then she smiled: “Sister is truly gracious in how she treats people!”

“She is, after all, someone who once served Mother.” Eleventh Miss’s smile was warm. “Coming to my quarters is already something of a grievance for her — if we aren’t additionally kind to her, Hupo may well feel wronged, and we would only be needlessly failing Mother’s good intentions!”

Fifth Miss regarded her with a long, searching look, then smiled and led her toward the Jiao Garden.

The Jiao Garden occupied the space just to the west of the main building of Zhiyun Pavilion — two sections of three bays each, separated by an inner courtyard, with several plantain trees rising taller than the roof. It had originally been called the Banana Garden. Later, when it became the residence of the eldest Luo daughter, Luo Yuanniang, Madam found the name inauspicious — and since ‘banana’ sounded the same as ‘delicate,’ she changed it to the ‘Jiao Garden,’ meaning ‘Garden of Delicacy.’ After Yuanniang’s marriage, Madam had settled Fifth Miss there. Out of respect for her elder sister, Fifth Miss kept the small inner building of the second section exactly as Yuanniang had left it — with servants cleaning it day and night as though Yuanniang were still in residence. She herself moved into the small building of the first section, using the middle space as her daily living quarters, arranging the east side as a study, and giving the west side over to the maids and serving women. She herself, along with her two senior maids Ziyuan and Ziwei, occupied the upper floor.

Upon entering, Ziwei came forward with two small maids to welcome them.

Greetings were exchanged. Fifth Miss and Eleventh Miss took their seats according to their respective ranks, the small maids brought tea, and Ziwei arranged a dish of golden kumquats on a crystal plate: “Madam presented these a few days ago — Eleventh Miss, please have a taste.”

“You foolish girl,” Fifth Miss glanced over at Eleventh Miss, “Madam gifted them to me — naturally she also gifted some to Eleventh Miss. There’s no need for you to go fawning.”

Ziwei pressed her lips into a smile: “Eleventh Miss has hers, and those are hers — but this is our own token of regard.”

Eleventh Miss was all smiles, taking a kumquat in hand and beginning to peel it: “With so many people in my quarters, those few kumquats disappeared like a rare delicacy in a blink of an eye. I had been quietly longing for more, and here Ziwei has come out with a whole plateful. Like a pillow appearing just when you’ve nodded off with drowsiness — this is a perfectly timed gesture of regard!”

Her fingers were slender and fair as scallion shoots. The golden peel flew between her fingertips like a burst of brilliant morning clouds.

Fifth Miss’s gaze drifted, despite herself, to Eleventh Miss’s face.

Hair like raven-black jade, skin as white as fresh snow, eyes like clear autumn waters, lips like a touch of rouge… When had Eleventh Miss grown into such beauty?

Her heart stirred with an unease she could not quite name.

Then, drifting into her ears, came Eleventh Miss’s gentle, measured voice: “A full hundred ‘longevity’ characters — has Fifth Sister given any thought to how to write them? Is the idea to write one large ‘longevity’ character in the center, with ninety-nine smaller characters arranged behind it? Or to arrange the characters ten across and ten down in rows? I’ve been turning it over in my mind, and both designs seem quite good. I wonder whether Fifth Sister has any thoughts on which is better — or some inspired idea that hasn’t occurred to me?”

Fifth Miss gave a slight start and came back to herself.

What good was beauty, however great, if one could not marry into a good family? With time wearing one down, it would only become a source of ridicule. And yet, to marry well, one needed Madam’s approval…

She rose with a smile: “Follow me, Sister.”

…

Fifth Miss’s study was quite spacious, but contained only two pieces of furniture. First, a large black-lacquered painting table positioned beneath the window. On it, a neat stack of calligraphy copies from celebrated masters, along with four or five ink stones, a celadon-glazed antique brush holder packed with no fewer than ten brushes of varying thickness. Second, a black-lacquered chaise longue against the wall, covered with a cloud-patterned silk cushion in autumnal green that was neither old nor entirely new. The room felt rather empty and somewhat desolate.

Eleventh Miss rubbed her hands together: “Fifth Sister doesn’t even light a brazier? How do you manage when you’re practicing your characters? I certainly couldn’t do without one. If I’m going to embroider, I must have a brazier going.” She laughed as she said this. “Though my own quarters are only about as large as Fifth Sister’s study, and there are always maids and serving women coming to me to help with needlework — with everyone packed in together for the work, it doesn’t get cold, even without a brazier.”

Fifth Miss knew that Eleventh Miss was skilled in embroidery, and that the household maids and serving women all liked to come to her — either to have her help with a piece of embroidery, or to seek guidance on their stitching. Hearing this, she teased: “How could anywhere compare with your quarters — as bustling as a thoroughfare!”

Eleventh Miss looked slightly self-conscious and smiled. She pointed to the brush with the thickest handle in the brush holder: “When did Fifth Sister start practicing large characters? I remember that what Fifth Sister loved most was writing delicate, small-style script.”

Fifth Miss smiled: “I had the same idea as Sister — I was thinking to write one large ‘longevity’ character in cursive script in the center, and then write ninety-nine smaller ones in delicate small-style script around it…”

Eleventh Miss could not help but feel startled inwardly.

What Fifth Miss had just said amounted to letting slip that she had already known early on what birthday gift Madam intended to send the Grand Dowager Madam of the Marquis Yongping household… But how could she have known so early? Either Madam herself had told her — which would mean she enjoyed more of Madam’s confidence and favor than Eleventh Miss did, and that Madam had not only shared her plans with her but had also allowed her to prepare in advance, so as not to be caught unprepared in the moment and cause embarrassment — or someone privy to Madam’s thinking had tipped her off, which would mean her connections with a number of influential maids and attendants were far beyond what Eleventh Miss could hope to match.

Either way, to have stated it as she did was nothing less than a naked display of superiority.

Yet even before the words were out of Fifth Miss’s mouth, her expression had already shifted to one of regret, as though she deeply regretted having just said what she said, and she quickly followed with: “You know how I am — I’m fond of calligraphy and like to think about these things in my spare time…”

It had rather the flavor of someone hastily protesting there was no silver buried here precisely because there was silver buried there.

Eleventh Miss heard this and simply smiled and nodded: “Fifth Sister has always been the sharper one — I cannot compare.”

Not a trace of the bitterness or dejection Fifth Miss had anticipated.

As though she harbored not the slightest suspicion about Fifth Miss’s claim of “just liking to think about these things in my spare time.”

Fifth Miss felt her heart deflate.

Every time she spoke with her, it was like this — like throwing a punch at cotton, with nothing to show for it. Nothing like Tenth Miss, who was all seething fury she didn’t dare express…

She found it all quite dull and tiresome, and brought out several drafts she had worked on previously for Eleventh Miss to examine: “…This one is the design we both suggested — one large ‘longevity’ character in the center, with ninety-nine smaller ones around it… This one arranges them in a diamond shape, with regular script in the center and official script along the edges… This one is a circular arrangement, all in regular script…”

The two were mid-discussion when Ziyuan came in to bring Eleventh Miss a footstool.

Eleventh Miss had barely sat down when Wu Xiaoquan’s wife arrived.

Ziyuan and Ziwei fell into a flurry of activity — some bringing tea and refreshments, others fetching stools. After quite a while, all three were settled and the conversation could begin.

“This is a design drawn according to Madam’s wishes.” Wu Xiaoquan’s wife produced a piece of oilcloth paper for Fifth Miss to examine. “The base is to be carved from Chinese boxwood with the Eight Hundred Sons of Peng Zu motif, and the frame from chicken-wing wood…”

“Why not pear wood?” Fifth Miss interrupted Wu Xiaoquan’s wife. “Since the base is Chinese boxwood, pairing it with chicken-wing wood for the frame seems rather incongruous, doesn’t it?”

Chinese boxwood tends toward yellow, while chicken-wing wood leans toward dark red.

“Who could disagree?” Wu Xiaoquan’s wife had originally been one of Madam’s senior maids herself, and had grown up reading and writing alongside her — she had a basic appreciation for such things. “Other ideas had been considered. The first was to replace the base with rosewood, which would match the color of the chicken-wing wood. But good pear wood is hard to come by these days, let alone rosewood — so that idea was definitely out. The second was to replace the base with chicken-wing wood as well, so that the frame and base would match in material — the most ideal solution. My husband thought he remembered there being one in the household that might do. But when he went to the storeroom to retrieve it, it turned out it had been used — when the mother of the Zhejiang Regional Inspector Huang had her birthday, the eldest young master had it carved into the image of the Star of Longevity as a birthday gift. And since this matter was decided rather suddenly by Madam, and there is nothing available on the market just now, we’ve left word with several timber merchants we know well — and to this day, there’s still been no word back.”

Upon hearing this, Fifth Miss could not help but furrow her brow: “Who made this arrangement? How utterly thoughtless. Does Mother know about it?”