“I do not know how Third Elder Brother and Third Sister-in-law have worked it out between themselves,” Xu Lingyi said. “He wrote to me because he wanted me to speak with Mother about it.”

Shiyiniang thought of the earlier arrangement they had discussed — the plan to separate the households gradually over the years. She had not expected the Third branch to be in such a hurry.

“And what is my lord’s view on the matter?” she asked Xu Lingyi.

“So be it. A forced melon is never sweet.” Xu Lingyi’s tone was decisive, though a faint flicker of displeasure crossed his face. “If Third Elder Brother and Third Sister-in-law are both set on living their own separate life, opposing them will only mean more trouble down the road. Before, it was only Third Sister-in-law grumbling behind closed doors. Now that a daughter-in-law has entered the family, if she goes on making a fuss, will it not make us a laughingstock in front of the younger generation — and set a bad example as well? Besides, whether they move out or not, if anything happens to Siqin or Sijian, we would be there to see to it all the same. Better simply to let things follow Third Elder Brother’s wishes — keep the household name without formally dividing, let Siqin and Sijian go to Sanjing Lane to study in seclusion, and let Madam Fang manage the inner household affairs. If the boys can uphold the family reputation, there is nothing more to be said — and Third Elder Brother will be able to stand on his own two feet. If anything should happen to them, and neither Third Elder Brother nor Third Sister-in-law is here, it would be entirely natural and proper for us uncles to step in. Nothing dire should come of it.”

That made sense.

Shiyiniang thought of Madam Fang, who had just recently entered the household, and how she had only dared come visit while the Third Madam was away — suggesting the Third Madam seemed somewhat resistant to her daughter-in-law growing close to her in-laws. This made Shiyiniang all the less inclined to involve herself in the Third branch’s domestic affairs.

The simpler life could be kept, the better.

“Since my lord has already made up his mind,” she said with a smile, “it might be worth mentioning to the Grand Madam. Third Master would have no idea how to broach a subject like this himself.”

Xu Lingyi nodded. “Let it wait until after Jijin Ge’er’s first birthday celebration. By then it will have been nearly a month since Siqin’s wedding.”

On the first month after a wedding, it was understood that one should not leave the bridal chamber — and still less should one move house.

The conversation shifted quite naturally to Jin Ge’er’s first birthday celebration.

“…Mother is not young anymore — she has barely recovered from the exhaustion of Siqin’s wedding, and now there is Jijin Ge’er’s first birthday celebration as well. I worry it may be too much for her health,” Shiyiniang said softly. “I think it would be best to keep Jijin Ge’er’s birthday simple.”

Xu Lingyi was somewhat hesitant.

Shiyiniang quickly added, “Besides, our Jin Ge’er will be doing his object-selection ceremony. What need is there for so many people standing around watching? What matters is what Jin Ge’er reaches for on the day!”

Xu Lingyi’s attention was successfully drawn to the prospect of the object-selection ceremony with eagerness and anticipation.

“Then let us keep it simple!” He lay back and drew Shiyiniang close. “What do you think Jin Ge’er will reach for? A sword would be good — then we could send him to the Western Mountain Camp, and he would surely make it to Senior Commander of the Third Rank at the very least.” His tone was utterly confident.

Shiyiniang inwardly broke into a cold sweat.

The Western Mountain Camp? To spend his life there like those others who entered by privilege — every day cock-fighting, falconing, and idle pleasures?

“What is so appealing about the Western Mountain Camp!” she could not help saying. “I would rather he reach for a book, or a spring onion. To study, to cultivate character, to travel widely when he is grown and see something of the world — that would not be a life wasted!”

Xu Lingyi gave a quiet laugh. “I cannot quite picture Jin Ge’er in a long scholar’s robe, holding a scroll, sighing at the river.”

Shiyiniang was exasperated. “Nor can I picture Jin Ge’er spending his days in a dull stupor, knowing nothing but eating and drinking!”

“How would that happen?” Xu Lingyi laughed. “A Senior Commander at the Western Mountain Camp is not a post just anyone can hold. Beyond birth and background, one needs real ability and skill to manage it.”

If he was going to wade into that world of privilege and vanity regardless, then he might as well enter public service instead — build bridges, pave roads, manage waterways, and do something that truly bettered the lives of the people.

But whether it was the Western Mountain Camp or the path of scholarship and public service, the child’s own inclinations would ultimately have to be respected. Whatever parents wished on a child’s behalf was merely their own longing imposed upon another person — like painting cakes in the air, it was best done as a passing fancy and left at that.

At this thought, Shiyiniang decided to put an end to the subject. Why argue endlessly over something that did not yet exist?

“Let us get through the first birthday celebration first,” she said with a smile. “For all we know, our Jin Ge’er might reach for a box of rouge!”

The objects in the selection ceremony were all prepared in advance — symbols of fortune, prosperity, longevity, and happiness. Who would ever place a box of rouge among them!

Knowing she was teasing him, Xu Lingyi smiled at the image. “Then perhaps we should put a box of rouge on the tray after all — just to see if he really does reach for it!”

“If my lord wants to put it there, be my guest,” Shiyiniang laughed. “I would rather not have Jin Ge’er think, when he grows up, that his parents had no sense of propriety!”

“But it was your idea!” Xu Lingyi propped himself on one side to look at her.

In the lamplight, her skin was smooth as snow, luminous and glowing.

His heart stirred deeply.

He bit her earlobe without a word, and his hand slipped inside her collar to cup and caress the warm, soft fullness at her chest…

Shiyiniang drew in a sharp breath, and stammered out, “Blow — blow out the lamp!”

Xu Lingyi gave a low, quiet laugh.

He obliged her, blowing out the lamp.

A moment later, soft, tender moans drifted through the darkness.

When morning came, Shiyiniang could not help frowning at her own reflection in the vanity mirror — sitting as straight and composed as a pine tree, and yet unable to conceal that faint, unmistakable warmth lingering between her brows. Nanny Gu came in, holding Jin Ge’er.

Shiyiniang let out a small sigh, buried what she had just seen in the furthest corner of her heart with a studied air of self-deception, stood up and took the child from Nanny Gu.

“Jin Ge’er, you are awake,” she said, kissing her son’s cheek. “Did you sleep well last night?”

The child looked up at her and broke into a wide, open smile, but made no sound.

She could not help the slight shadow that crossed her face.

She truly did not understand — why would this child simply not speak?

Nanny Gu, standing to the side, quickly said, “The Sixth Young Master slept soundly. He only turned over twice in the night — slept straight through until morning.”

Shiyiniang gave a nod and carried Jin Ge’er over to sit on the broad kang by the window.

Jin Ge’er immediately wriggled off his mother’s lap, rummaged around beneath the kang table, and produced the little wooden mallet he had snatched from the Grand Madam, clutching it triumphantly and waving it at Shiyiniang with a proud little air.

Shiyiniang laughed in spite of herself. She reached over and affectionately patted her son’s head. “So that is where it was hiding — no wonder no one could find it yesterday!”

Jin Ge’er let out bright peals of laughter, then clambered back into his mother’s arms.

Shiyiniang held him close and kissed him again, then asked Nanny Gu, “Still refusing to eat the vegetable porridge these past two days?”

Under the keenness of her gaze, Nanny Gu’s eyelids lowered slightly. “Still refusing!”

“Then you had best find a way to manage it,” Shiyiniang said evenly, looking at her. “I made an arrangement with the Wet Nurse Agency from the very beginning — you are to serve in our household for five years. Over these five years, regardless of whether Jin Ge’er is nursing or not, you nursed him, and you are his wet nurse. There are certain responsibilities that come with that. You cannot simply let him do as he pleases. Do you understand?”

A flash of alarm crossed Nanny Gu’s face, and she quickly curtsied and said, “Yes, my lady.”

Xu Lingyi walked in, looking bright and animated.

“Pressing our Jin Ge’er to eat his vegetable porridge again, are we!” He had just finished practicing with his sword, and there was still a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

The moment Jin Ge’er caught sight of Xu Lingyi, his eyes lit up, and he stretched out both little arms toward him, calling out “Ah! Ah!”

Xu Lingyi’s face broke into a smile from corner to corner. He reached out and scooped Jin Ge’er into his arms.

Jin Ge’er immediately squirmed and wriggled in his father’s arms like a child sitting on pins, making urgent sounds of “Yi yi ya ya.”

Xu Lingyi understood, laughed, and with a gentle motion tossed him lightly into the air.

Jin Ge’er’s pure, unclouded laughter rang out through the room.

Shiyiniang pressed a hand to her forehead.

Jin Ge’er played this game every time he saw Xu Lingyi.

She stepped forward to intervene. “So early in the morning, my lord is already damp with perspiration, and the child has just finished nursing — he might feel unwell!”

Xu Lingyi was very fond of playing this way with Jin Ge’er. Hearing this, he tossed him up two more times before turning to hand the child over to Nanny Gu.

But Shiyiniang reached out and took him herself.

Xu Lingyi paused for a moment and said quietly, “You should rest a while.”

Shiyiniang’s face flushed. She forced a composed expression and said, “My lord, please go and freshen up — the children will all be arriving soon to pay their respects.”

Xu Lingyi looked at her with a smile warmth in his eyes, then finally turned and went into the washroom.

Jin Ge’er, delighted as he had been a moment before, found himself suddenly without a playmate and was most displeased. He bounced and kicked in his mother’s arms, and had Shiyiniang not known he would do this and been prepared, he might well have tumbled to the floor.

Nanny Gu, standing to the side, offered a compliment: “Our Sixth Young Master is such a robust little one.”

Shiyiniang glanced at her with a smile, then carried Jin Ge’er to sit on the kang.

Zhuxiang walked in, her expression carrying a certain significance.

Shiyiniang said to those attending in the room, “Go and set out breakfast.”

Everyone withdrew silently and discreetly.

Zhuxiang then said in a low voice, “The Third Madam brought the Elder Young Madam to pay respects to the Grand Madam. At first she spoke only of things that pleased the Grand Madam, but eventually she brought up the congratulatory gifts from the wedding.”

So the Third Madam had been unable to hold herself back after all.

Shiyiniang thought of the Third Master’s proposal to separate without formally dividing the household.

No wonder she was in such a rush.

If she could not get her hands on the congratulatory gifts before leaving Yanjing, she would certainly never have another chance.

“What did the Grand Madam say?”

“The Grand Madam then asked the Third Madam whether each branch of the family should henceforth handle their own gifts for weddings and funerals independently.” Zhuxiang’s voice took on a subtle note of amusement. “She also said that if so, she would summon both you and Fifth Madam to make it clear to everyone. Your branch is the main line, so gifts from families like the Yongping Marquis household, the Zhongshan Marquis household, and the Loyal Diligence Marquis household would naturally belong to your branch. The gifts from the Red Lantern Lane branch would belong to Fifth Madam’s branch. Apart from Madam Gan’s gift, the gifts from the other Gan family members would belong to the Third Madam’s branch. Whoever received the gifts would also be responsible for covering the costs of the banquet. Once the headcount was calculated, the expenses for each branch would be clear.”

The official gifts from the various noble houses were substantial — far more generous than what individual guests might give personally. By this reckoning, Fifth Madam’s branch and the Third Madam’s branch would almost certainly come out at a loss. But since it was Xu Siqin’s wedding, the Red Lantern Lane branch had only hosted one table — even at a loss, it would be negligible. The Gan family, however, had filled over a dozen tables…

Shiyiniang laughed. “The Third Madam would never have dared answer that!”

“The Third Madam made some vague, evasive response and let the matter slide past.” Zhuxiang nodded with a smile. “Then the Grand Madam brought up the matter of the Elder Young Madam.”

Shiyiniang was a little surprised.

“The Grand Madam said,” Zhuxiang continued, still smiling, “that customs differ from place to place — let alone all the way from the Yangtze River region. Since the Elder Young Madam is a new bride, there must be many things she is not yet accustomed to. She asked the Third Madam to teach the Elder Young Madam the household’s rules and customs properly, so that the Elder Young Madam would not be at a loss.”

To teach a daughter-in-law the rules, one naturally had to keep her close — to take her along and correct her through the daily flow of events. With the Third Madam’s son Xu Siqin still residing at the Yongping Marquis estate, she would have to remain at the estate to properly instruct her new daughter-in-law. And that meant the Third Madam was effectively returning to her old life — a mother-in-law above her, sisters-in-law beside her, forced to swallow her frustrations and yield. No — it was worse than before. Now there was a mother-in-law above, a daughter-in-law below, sisters-in-law to the sides, and Third Master far away in Shanyang…

—