That evening, after returning to their chamber, Xu Lingyi tweaked Shiyiniang’s nose. “What kind of mischief were you up to?”

Shiyiniang turned her face away to dodge it, laughing. “Did my lord see through it?”

“With Danyang laughing so openly and unabashedly, I could hardly pretend not to notice.”

Shiyiniang grinned. “I simply felt Third Sister-in-law was being too stingy and wanted to make it sting for her a little. But I did not want to leave her truly worse off, so I thought up this scheme. It gave everyone face, and the gifts still went to Siqin and his bride — it was not as though Third Sister-in-law came out the loser!”

Xu Lingyi considered it for a moment, then smiled. “That was Danyang’s idea, was it not?”

Such certainty!

Shiyiniang pouted. “How does my lord know it was not my idea?”

“You?” Xu Lingyi smiled and tapped the tip of her nose. “When have you ever come up with a mischievous scheme like that?”

Shiyiniang laughed. “My lord should not underestimate me!”

Xu Lingyi hugged her. “A few more years learning from Danyang, and you might have improved by two parts!” Then he murmured, “You lost a kingfisher-feather hairpin — tomorrow I will replace it for you,” and walked into the washroom with a smile.

Shiyiniang watched the back of his retreating figure, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

So this was how Xu Lingyi regarded her — as someone hopelessly earnest and straightforward.

Still, thinking back on the day’s events, she found herself genuinely admiring Fifth Madam.

She had been worried it might all go wrong. But Fifth Madam had patted her own chest confidently: “Third Sister-in-law will be tempted the moment she sees the gifts, and Madam Gan, hearing Fourth Sister-in-law speak up, will definitely jump in to help. Trust me, it will work out perfectly.”

Every link had fallen into place, and the whole thing had been pulled off.

She just was not sure whether Elder Madam Hong had been in on it with Fifth Madam from the start.

The thought drew a quiet, faint smile from her.

Nanny Gu came in carrying Jin Ge’er. “My lady, look — this is what the Elder Young Madam gave to the Sixth Young Master as her greeting gift.”

Jin Ge’er had a tiger-head cap on his head — the craftsmanship was fine, the colors vivid, and it fit him quite well. What was more, a tiger tail hung from the back, which was rather creative.

Perhaps because it was not yet cold enough to warrant a hat, Jin Ge’er kept reaching up to pull it off, but could not quite manage it, and his little face turned red with frustration.

Shiyiniang smiled and removed the hat for him. Jin Ge’er immediately tumbled into Shiyiniang’s arms, his lips puckered in aggrieved protest.

“Put the hat away,” Shiyiniang said with a smile, patting her son’s head. She then looked down and noticed that Jin Ge’er was also wearing a pair of tiger-head shoes. The tiger’s whiskers were thick and straight, and on closer inspection, she found they had been fashioned from copper wire wrapped in black velvet.

“The Elder Young Madam put real thought into these!” Nanny Gu added another word of praise before removing the shoes and re-dressing Jin Ge’er in black velvet shoes embroidered with good fortune characters.

Shiyiniang found herself feeling a sudden flicker of envy toward the Third Madam.

How wonderful it would be if Jin Ge’er could one day marry a wife like this.

The thought passed, and she felt it was a little absurd — she was already thinking about taking a bride, and Xu Siyu did not even have a prospect yet!

She coaxed Jin Ge’er off to sleep.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, Fifth Madam was having a heart-to-heart with Elder Madam Hong.

“Every time it is the same wretched show. If I had not made a scene like that, it would have been a disgrace to the Xu family.” Fifth Madam brought out freshly arrived persimmon cakes and oranges to offer her guest. “I truly cannot understand what Third Sister-in-law is thinking.” Then she added, “Though I am sorry to have put the three elder sister-in-laws from Nanjing to such expense!”

“As if we would pass up a chance to shine like that!” Elder Madam Hong pried off a piece of Hangzhou rice cake with a toothpick and smiled. “Say nothing about expense. Your eldest sister-in-law had no trouble producing those things. What I did not expect was that Fourth Sister-in-law would join in to help you act it out. Without her, I wonder how you would have managed to pull it off — you might have ended up simply losing a hair ornament for nothing!”

“Elder Sister-in-law, do not misjudge her. Fourth Sister-in-law is the sharpest one of the lot when it comes to calculating.” Fifth Madam was unimpressed and peeled an orange idly. “And let us not forget — she has four sons. Whatever she gives away will come back to her many times over.”

Elder Madam Hong laughed heartily. “You are still so young — perhaps next year I will be sending congratulations again!”

Fifth Madam pressed her lips together in a smile.

Lotus Fragrance came in to report. “My lady, Fifth Master says he is drinking tonight with Third Master Ding and asks that you do not wait up for him!”

Fifth Madam acknowledged with a simple “Understood,” then invited Elder Madam Hong to stay. “Please sleep here tonight!”

“I had better return.” Elder Madam Hong rose to take her leave. “Siqin’s wedding was an occasion, and your eldest and second elder brothers-in-law both had matters to attend to, so it was Third Uncle who escorted us here. Now he is out drinking in the outer courtyard, and as his eldest sister-in-law I cannot in good conscience leave the two younger sisters-in-law on their own — and there is still your nephew’s wife, too.”

Fifth Madam could not press her further, and smilingly walked Elder Madam Hong to her guest quarters.

The following morning, she went early to the guest rooms to collect Elder Madam Hong and the others for breakfast in the main hall, only to find that Shiyiniang had already arrived, chatting softly with the Elder Madam of the Fu household and the other ladies. When Fifth Madam walked in, the Third Madam of the Ding household pulled her aside. “I never would have expected it — you are quite the firecracker! Let me warn you: when our second son gets married, you had better watch yourself!”

“Of course, of course,” Fifth Madam laughed. “I will certainly make the trip to Nanjing. At that point, Third Sister-in-law, I leave myself entirely in your hands.”

The room broke into laughter, and together they all went to pay their respects to the Grand Madam.

The Grand Madam held the two granddaughters-in-law who had come from Nanjing in conversation for a long while, bestowing gifts upon them. The Third Madam then brought her daughter-in-law to pay her respects to the Grand Madam, and also brought with her Madam Fang’s bridal bedsheet for the Grand Madam to examine.

The Grand Madam was delighted at the sight. She took Madam Fang — who had been so bashful she had not dared lift her head the entire time — by the hand and led her to the main hall for breakfast. Xu Lingyi then escorted the party to the ancestral shrine for the formal presentation ceremony. Arrangements were made to send Xu Siqin and Madam Fang on their return visit to her family; and the rest of the day was spent talking with Elder Madam Hong and the others, playing cards, drinking, and enjoying a fine, unhurried day — right up until Xu Siqin and Madam Fang returned from the borrowed residence of Vice Minister Liu of Madam Fang’s family’s acquaintance, after which everyone at last retired to rest.

That evening, while Zhuxiang was helping Shiyiniang remove her makeup, she murmured quietly, “Since the wedding was held here in the mansion, the ones assisting were all stewards and manservants from the household management office. The congratulatory gifts from each family were received and recorded in the ledger by the household management office. Word has it that the moment the Elder Young Master and Elder Young Madam left, Gan Laoquan went to the household management office to look at the account books. When he saw that Steward Zhao was holding the post at that time, he did not dare ask, and turned around and left. The Third Madam was in quite a temper about it for some time.”

Shiyiniang began to understand the Grand Madam’s intent.

Since the wedding had been held within the mansion, the household common fund would naturally have covered the expenses — but by the same token, all the congratulatory gifts received should also belong to the common fund. There was naturally no justification for taking them out.

Anyone who had organized a wedding or funeral knew these things well. Funerals required ritual ceremonies, Buddhist and Daoist masses, tomb preparations, pallbearers, and all manner of costly arrangements — the grander the affair, the greater the loss. Red weddings were different. The largest expense was the banquet, but the more guests came, the more gift money came in, and at the very least the new bride would receive greeting gifts from every guest. At Xu Siqin’s wedding, the Xu family had set over three hundred tables. There was nothing but profit in it. No wonder the Third Madam had grown anxious.

And yet, from what the Grand Madam had said, she did not seem inclined to settle accounts with the Third Madam over this.

“Keep watch for me,” Shiyiniang instructed Zhuxiang. “And let me know if there are any developments on the Third Madam’s side.”

Zhuxiang acknowledged the instruction.

A few days later, after Elder Madam Hong and the others had returned to Nanjing, Zhuxiang quietly told Shiyiniang: “The Third Madam went to see the Grand Madam — about Qiu Ling’s situation!”

As for what the Grand Madam had said that day, most of the household had by now heard of it. Some had even taken to calling Qiu Ling “Yiniang” in jest, and Qiu Ling had largely stopped moving about the household these past days.

Thinking of the kindness Qiu Ling had once shown her, Shiyiniang felt a genuine concern for the girl’s future. At these words, she let out a soft “Oh” and asked, “What was said?”

Zhuxiang lowered her voice. “The Third Madam said she had long since arranged for Qiu Ling to be betrothed to one of Third Master’s personal attendants. First, because of Qiu Ling’s humble station, she had not thought to report it. Second, because the Grand Madam’s words that day had come so suddenly, she had not wished to contradict her in the moment. Now that the Second Young Master’s wedding was settled, she had come specifically to inform the Grand Madam, so that Third Master would not be put in a difficult position. She also said she had been a clumsy wife in this regard.”

Shiyiniang let out half a sigh of relief, then pondered. “Was this betrothal of Qiu Ling’s arranged on the spot, or was it truly arranged as the Third Madam says — some time ago?”

Zhuxiang replied, “There was no word of it before.”

So it was very likely a pretext she had invented to put the Grand Madam off. And there was no way of knowing what sort of man this attendant might be.

Shiyiniang frowned slightly. “The Grand Madam only meant to put pressure on the Third Madam. Now that the Third Madam has said this, the Grand Madam will certainly not raise the matter again.”

“Indeed!” Zhuxiang nodded with a smile. “The Grand Madam only admonished the Third Madam a few words — something to the effect of ‘do not leave Third Master without someone to look after him while he is away at his post’ — and said nothing more. The Third Madam, seemingly afraid that delay might bring complications, asked the Grand Madam to choose a date for Qiu Ling. The Grand Madam consulted the calendar and set it for the eighteenth day of the tenth month.”

“So soon!” Shiyiniang reflected, then said, “When the time comes, remember to set aside ten taels of silver from me as a gift for Qiu Ling.”

Zhuxiang acknowledged the instruction. Just then, a young maidservant came in to report, “My lady, the Grand Madam invites you to come speak with her.”

What could this be about?

Shiyiniang and Zhuxiang exchanged a glance.

The Grand Madam was reclining against the window-side kang’s bolster pillow, playing a leaf card game with Nanny Du, Yuban, and one of the second-tier maidservants named Zhi Hong. When she saw Shiyiniang enter, she immediately set down her cards and patted the cushion of deep crimson silk beside her. “Come, sit here.”

Nanny Du and the others rose at once.

Shiyiniang smiled, paid the Grand Madam her respects, and sat down beside her. The Grand Madam took her hand, and Zhi Hong quickly and nimbly gathered up the cards while Yuban brought tea.

The Grand Madam then dismissed everyone from the room and said pensively, “Yu Ge’er is fifteen this year, is he not?”

Had the Grand Madam been prompted by Xu Siqin’s wedding to think of Xu Siyu’s marriage prospects?

Shiyiniang thought carefully as she answered, “Yes. He turns fifteen on the twenty-fifth of the tenth month and enters his sixteenth year.”

The Grand Madam gave a slight nod, and a look of satisfaction appeared in her eyes. She said gently, “He is not young, and he has come out of mourning. You should pay more attention to matters inside his rooms. Find him two girls of good looks and steady character to place in his quarters.”

Shiyiniang startled, then understood what was being said.

She broke into an inward cold sweat.

Xu Sizhun had not even finished the equivalent of secondary schooling yet!

But this was the custom of the age, and she was not in a position to object. She smiled and agreed, then returned to discuss it with Xu Lingyi.

“Is there really any need for such a rush?” he said. “Best not let him ruin his health so young.”

“He is not that young,” Xu Lingyi said with an air of indifference. “It is already late in the ninth month. If we are going back to Le’an, the entire time would be lost traveling to and from. I have already written a letter to Master Jiang — Siyu can return to Le’an after New Year. That will be the time to see to this.”

Shiyiniang could only say, “This is not something that can be settled in a moment. One can hardly place a troublemaker in his rooms. That would be worse than placing no one at all.”

Xu Lingyi heard this and laughed. “What is so difficult about it? Once the future wife enters the door, if the girl is obedient and Siyu wants to keep her, then she stays. If she is not obedient, she is sent away.”

—