The Seventh Young Madam was herself a straightforward person — otherwise, she would never have ended up at such odds with the Zhu family despite having every advantage of time, place, and circumstance.

The Fifth Madam thought this over and spoke her mind directly: “I heard from Fourth Sister-in-law that Lord Yu was also present at the time?”

“I also feel Zhu Anping was far too rash.” The Seventh Young Madam nodded. “If he truly felt remorse in his heart, he could simply have spoken to you in private. Why did he have to do it in front of Fourth Elder Sister’s husband? You don’t know — Fourth Elder Sister’s husband looked quite displeased with me at the time!”

The Fifth Madam smiled faintly: “How many years have you and Zhu Anping been married now — five? Then tell me, what sort of man is Zhu Anping?”

The Seventh Young Madam was taken aback and thought for a long while, as though uncertain how to describe him.

Because he is my own husband, I’ve never really stopped to think carefully about it.

The Fifth Madam reflected, then asked again: “By rights, Zhu Anping broke his promise to you — you are the one he wronged. So why did he not kneel before you, but instead went and knelt before Lady Yu?”

The Seventh Young Madam thought it over and ventured a guess: “Is it because my making such a fuss put Fourth Elder Sister in a very difficult position?”

“At least you have some sense.” The Fifth Madam laughed at this. “Not quite to the point of being like tofu fallen in ashes — impossible to pat clean or beat clean.”

“Here I am, in such a state, and you still laugh at me!” The Seventh Young Madam protested and reached out to pinch the Fifth Madam.

The Fifth Madam laughed and dodged her. The two of them walked over to sit on the stone bench beside the Taihu rock garden in the small courtyard.

“That kneeling was not for you at all,” the Fifth Madam said quietly. “He was kneeling for his broken promise to you — and kneeling because of the discourtesy he had shown to Lord Yu and Lady Yu.” She took the Seventh Young Madam’s hand. “Some things cannot be judged only by their surface — you must think carefully. Let me ask you this: Zhu Anping knelt before you, and yet why did you look so pleased with yourself?”

The Seventh Young Madam felt that in all the world, the Fifth Madam was the person who understood her best, and one of the few who truly wished her well. She did not conceal it, and said openly: “He has always been a man of his word. Now that he has broken it and knelt before the people of our family to make his apology, it counts as an admission of fault — in the end, it is an acknowledgment that I was right.”

“You — always fretting over these trifles.” The Fifth Madam broke into hearty laughter, finding the Seventh Young Madam’s candor particularly endearing.

The Seventh Young Madam could not help feeling a little sheepish, and muttered in a low voice: “When it comes to the big things, I always lose arguments with him — am I supposed to yield on every small matter as well?”

The Fifth Madam laughed again. When her laughter subsided, her expression turned solemn. “Then tell me honestly — when you arranged for Lady Yu to have her youngest son adopted into the Zhu family as heir, was there not even the smallest trace of guilt in your heart?”

The Seventh Young Madam lowered her head and was silent for a long while before she said softly: “I — I only wanted Zhu Anping to reap what he had sown.”

The Fifth Madam asked again: “Do you know what your Fourth Elder Sister did for your sake?”

The Seventh Young Madam looked up, her expression startled.

The Fifth Madam said gravely: “She said that you were set on adopting Qi Ge’er as heir, and that out of deep love for you as her sister, she had no choice but to agree. But she feared that the Zhu family would refuse to accept it and take the matter to the authorities, so she went to Fourth Sister-in-law — that is, your Eleventh Younger Sister — and asked Fourth Sister-in-law to petition the Marquis to put in a word with the relevant officials. Given the gravity of ancestral shrine matters, Fourth Sister-in-law, worried about the Marquis being drawn into it, simply cut off the problem at its source — she personally went to Gongxian Hutong to persuade your elder brother to step forward and invite your great-uncle to preside over affairs, in order to prevent the situation from escalating further and implicating others in the family…” She did not wish to say that Eleventh Young Madam had also asked her to step in and persuade the Seventh Young Madam, for fear the Seventh Young Madam would feel that the whole household had banded together against her and thus refuse to hear another word. The Fifth Madam paused here and fixed the Seventh Young Madam with a long, meaningful look. “Think carefully — you spoke but a single word, yet how much thought and effort did your Fourth Elder Sister pour into this?”

The Seventh Young Madam was greatly shaken.

Father approved of her plan to adopt Qi Ge’er into the Zhu family as heir, and so she had never truly considered whether Fourth Elder Sister was willing.

In her heart, Fourth Elder Sister had always been an extraordinarily capable person — whatever came into her hands was manageable. Among all the children, Father loved her most dearly but esteemed Fourth Elder Sister above all others. Deep down, the Seventh Young Madam had always assumed that if Fourth Elder Sister truly objected to Qi Ge’er becoming the heir, no one could have compelled her. Since she had agreed, the Seventh Young Madam had naturally taken it as a sign that the matter was sound — and so she had become all the more resolute.

The Fifth Madam’s words brought her fixed world crashing down in an instant.

Had Fourth Elder Sister, finding no other recourse, used Eleventh Young Madam as a channel to bring Great-Uncle in and check Father?

Then what on earth had Father said to Fourth Elder Sister — that a woman of such clarity and brilliance would have had to devise such a means?

She thought back to how, since childhood, Fourth Elder Sister had always deferred to her in everything — letting her eat first whenever there was something good, and giving away without hesitation whatever she wanted — and she began to twist her fingers together, growing restless and unsettled.

The Fifth Madam watched this with a slight nod and simply added more fuel to the fire.

“Our household’s newly arrived eldest young madam — you’ve seen her, haven’t you?”

The Seventh Young Madam did not understand why she had suddenly brought up Xu Siqin’s wife, and was mildly startled. “They say she comes from a distinguished family in the south of the Yangtze. In both appearance and character and temperament, she is said to be quite exceptional!”

The Fifth Madam nodded, and smilingly asked her: “And what do you think?”

The Seventh Young Madam considered and replied: “Though it was our first meeting, watching her receive and deal with guests, she was indeed quite impressive. The rumors appear to have some credence.”

The Fifth Madam nodded and recounted for the Seventh Young Madam all the particulars of the situation between the Third Madam and Fang Shi: “…Think about it — even a person of our eldest young madam’s caliber has no choice but to humble herself and keep her head down.” Then she spoke of herself: “I can no longer recall the details of my early childhood, but I still remember things from the time I was seven or eight. Because the weather was sweltering and I could not sleep, the maids took turns fanning me. One of them, in the middle of the afternoon, fell asleep at her task. I was woken by the heat. Father had that maid dragged to the outer courtyard and given twenty lashes across her bare flesh, in full view of everyone. When the maid returned to her room, she hanged herself.”

In the sight of all — a young girl, stripped bare and flogged in public. Subjected to such humiliation, what else could she do but die?

The Seventh Young Madam had also grown up as the cherished treasure of her parents, yet even so, no one had ever taken a life over a maid who had failed to fan attentively!

She stared at the Fifth Madam in astonishment.

But the Fifth Madam spoke with deliberate intention: “Father doted on me so deeply. Yet when I came to the Xu family as a bride, have you ever seen me put on the airs of a county princess?”

The Seventh Young Madam could not help shaking her head.

The Fifth Madam asked again: “Have you ever seen me give a cold look to the Grand Madam’s maids?”

The Seventh Young Madam shook her head again.

“Have you ever seen me walk ahead of the Fifth Master?”

“No!” The Seventh Young Madam was beginning to dimly understand what the Fifth Madam meant, and said haltingly: “The Fifth Master treats you with such gentleness and consideration, always deferring to your wishes; the maids treat you with great respect and dare not be remiss; and the Grand Madam cherishes you as dearly as a daughter…” As she said this, she thought back to when she and Zhu Anping had first married — how even a small discontent on her part would send him fretting for half a day over what he might have done wrong — and yet now…

The Seventh Young Madam’s eyes grew a little glassy, and she fell into a daze where she sat.

The Fifth Madam could see that her thoughts were churning like a storm-tossed sea, so she did not interrupt and sat quietly beside her.

When the dishes began to be served and neither the Fifth Madam nor the Seventh Young Madam appeared, Eleventh Young Madam and the Fourth Young Madam both grew anxious.

The Fifth Madam was a woman of great propriety — she would never absent herself from a gathering without reason.

Eleventh Young Madam, thinking over all that had transpired these past days, felt that on an occasion like this, the Fifth Madam and the Seventh Young Madam had most likely seized the opportunity to find a private corner to talk. She dared not send a maid to find them. The Fourth Young Madam, for her part, did not wish to alarm others. The two sisters, one following the other, made their way without prior agreement to the small courtyard.

The attending maids dared not make a sound. Eleventh Young Madam and the Fourth Young Madam heard every word of the Fifth Madam’s conversation with perfect clarity.

Eleventh Young Madam felt that with the Fifth Madam interceding in this way, and given that the Seventh Young Madam was herself a clever woman, there was every chance she would change her ways going forward. She left Qiuyu to stand watch outside the entrance of the small courtyard with instructions: “When the Fifth Madam and the Seventh Young Aunt come out, arrange a separate table setting for them quietly.” Then she slipped out of the small courtyard as silently as she had come.

The Fourth Young Madam, her face flushed crimson, hurried after her.

“Eleventh Younger Sister…” She was flustered with shame and guilt. “I truly had no other recourse…”

Eleventh Young Madam had previously felt that the Fourth Young Madam’s conduct had been somewhat rash; now, looking back, she realized it was she herself who had not thought things through clearly enough.

But what was done was done, and more words would serve no purpose.

“Fourth Elder Sister need not take it to heart. The matter has been resolved happily in the end.” She urged her along: “Fourth Elder Sister, please hurry back to the table — you are today’s officiant, after all. And our Fifth Sister-in-law is a steady and composed woman; with her looking after the Seventh Young Aunt, there is nothing to worry about. Fourth Elder Sister may set her mind at ease.”

The Fourth Young Madam’s eyes dimmed at this.

There would only be a chance later to find a way to mend the relationship.

She said no more and quietly followed in Eleventh Young Madam’s footsteps back to the flower hall. There she saw the Fifth Young Madam conversing and laughing with Madam Gan: “…The spring examinations are just around the corner. My husband has been cloistered in study for three years — I’m sure he’ll place on the golden list.”

Madam Gan laughed: “Then let me offer my congratulations to Madam Qian in advance. Come the third month next year, don’t forget to invite us for the celebration wine!”

“Of course, of course.” The Fifth Young Madam’s cheeks were rosy, and she beamed with evident delight.

Someone tugged at the Fourth Young Madam’s sleeve.

The Fourth Young Madam turned — it was the Twelfth Young Madam.

“Fourth Elder Sister, Fifth Elder Sister has been drinking too much — please go and stop her,” she said, looking worried.

The Fourth Young Madam nodded and moved unhurriedly to the Fifth Young Madam’s side: “What’s all this excitement about?” And then: “We sisters haven’t seen each other in quite some time — how is Xin Ge’er?”

“I’m perfectly fine!” The Fifth Young Madam’s gaze was somewhat unfocused — clearly she had drunk a fair amount. “My husband is devoting himself to his studies, and our son is growing up sturdy and strong. Fourth Elder Sister, my days will only keep getting better and better!”

“That’s wonderful!” the Fourth Young Madam said, guiding her to the table where the sisters of the Luo family sat. “We sisters rarely have the chance to be together like this — come, sit and have a chat.”

While they were talking, the table where Lin Da’nainai sat burst into a round of uproarious laughter at something someone had said, drawing everyone’s gaze.

The Fourth Young Madam let out a quiet breath of relief.

She then heard the Fifth Young Madam murmuring: “Fourth Elder Sister, when a business is clearly turning a profit — why is it that I somehow managed to lose money on it?”

The Fourth Young Madam could not help but frown.

But the Fifth Young Madam had already poured herself another cup and drained it in one swallow.

When the winter solstice passed, the New Year was nearly upon them.

Jiang Yunfei returned in triumph and was promoted to Minister of War.

The streets and lanes of Yanjing were abuzz with talk of nothing else.

Eleventh Young Madam resumed management of the household affairs, busying herself with taking stock of the year-end goods arriving from the estates and arranging the provisions for the New Year. When Xu Sizhun came to pay his daily respects and mentioned it in passing, she merely listened with a smile.

It was at this time that the wife of Li Zhong, the General-in-Command of Fujian, came to call without warning.

—