“What were you thinking about so intently?” Xu Lingyi asked with a smile.

Shiyiniang gathered her thoughts and told him what had happened that afternoon. “…I find myself actually looking forward to the New Year now. That way I’ll be able to speak with him gradually. Otherwise it’s like a ticking time bomb — the slightest disturbance on his end and I start worrying.”

So that’s what it was.

Xu Lingyi privately felt that both Shiyiniang and the Grand Madam were making a great deal of fuss over a small matter. But seeing that the Grand Madam had flown into such a rage over it, and that Shiyiniang had been worn ragged by the whole affair, he gently advised her: “Haste makes waste. Set this matter aside for now. Fretting over it constantly will stir up trouble where there is none. Besides, Zhun Ge’er and Jie Ge’er are not unruly boys. You have spoken to them earnestly and at length — if they still cannot tell good from bad after all that, then these years of study have amounted to nothing.”

This, one might say, was the very definition of protesting too much.

Shiyiniang let out a long breath.

Having spoken the words aloud, her spirits lifted considerably.

Xu Lingyi, seeing a faint smile return to her face, smiled himself and changed the subject: “Where is Jin Ge’er? I haven’t seen him.”

“Mother kept him over there for dinner.” Just mentioning this little ray of sunshine made Shiyiniang’s face light up with warmth. “I was about to go fetch him after eating.”

“Then hurry and eat.” Xu Lingyi pointed to the small bowls and dishes on the low table. “The food has gone cold.” With that, he called a small maidservant over. “Bring the Madam a fresh bowl of hot rice.”

“No need!” Shiyiniang said quickly. “I’ve already eaten my fill — if I eat any more, I won’t sleep tonight!”

Xu Lingyi drew out his pocket watch to check the time.

It was already past the third quarter of the xu hour. Bedtime was approaching, and eating too much would risk indigestion. So he said nothing more. Once Shiyiniang finished eating, the two of them went together to the Grand Madam’s quarters.

The Second Madam and Xu Lingkuan’s family were also there.

Seeing Xu Lingyi and Shiyiniang come in, the Grand Madam said: “Yu Ge’er still hasn’t returned? It’s nearly the curfew hour — I wonder if something has happened.” She was all smiles, with not the slightest trace of the fierce temper she had displayed that afternoon.

“They have people from the guards escort accompanying them. What could happen?” Xu Lingyi replied with a smile. “Most likely her in-laws were so hospitable they stayed a little longer than expected.”

The Grand Madam nodded and turned to Shiyiniang to discuss the matter: “What do you think — should we invite the in-laws over the day after tomorrow, or leave it a few more days?”

According to custom, after the newlyweds’ wedding, both families were to formally host each other once. The bride’s family’s banquet was generally held the day following the groom’s. After that, the wedding was considered officially concluded. The bride would begin her daily morning and evening attendances, serving her parents-in-law, and the two families could begin visiting one another freely.

The formal invitation was typically arranged for the fifth, ninth, or twelfth day after the main wedding ceremony.

“I think the day after tomorrow would be best.” Shiyiniang chose the fifth day, feeling that it expressed the groom’s family’s eager welcome while also showing due respect to the bride’s family. “What does Mother think?”

“You decide!” The Grand Madam smiled. “We just want to know the date so we can look forward to eating and drinking well,” she teased Shiyiniang.

Everyone laughed.

A small maidservant came in to announce: “The Second Young Master and the Second Young Mistress have returned!”

“Speak of the devil.” The Fifth Madam laughed.

Everyone laughed again.

The newly arrived Xu Siyu and Xiang Shi looked somewhat at a loss.

The Second Madam smiled and came to their rescue: “All right, all right, stop teasing the young ones!” Then she asked them: “What kept you so late? Grandmother was just asking about you.”

Xu Siyu quickly replied: “Little Uncle arrived all of a sudden. He didn’t get there until the hour of lit lanterns, so we sat with him for a while and came home later than expected.”

The Second Madam hastened to explain to the others: “This younger brother of my sister-in-law’s was a jinshi of the fifty-sixth year of the Jianwu reign. He served as Magistrate of Dingtao County for a year before resigning and traveling the world. He must have heard that Rou Ne was getting married and hurried back.”

Xu Siyu nodded: “Little Uncle said that when he was on his way to Wuxi’s Huiquan Spring to fetch water, the Prefect of Wuxi mentioned it to him. He rented a boat for Yanjing that very night, but was still a step too late — he only arrived this noon.” He added with a smile: “He also brought us a jug of Huiquan Spring water as a wedding gift.”

“Safely home is what matters, safely home!” The Grand Madam chuckled and began asking about their visit to the Xiang family home.

Xu Siyu answered her questions one by one with a smile.

Upon hearing that Madam Xiang had invited her brothers, daughters, and sons-in-law to accompany and welcome Xu Siyu, the Grand Madam nodded with a pleased expression. “You must both be tired. Go and rest early.”

Xu Siyu bowed his assent.

Shiyiniang noticed Xiang Shi quietly tugging at the corner of Xu Siyu’s sleeve.

Perhaps because they were in the presence of so many elders and in full view of everyone, Xu Siyu glanced at Xiang Shi but did not respond, and turned to leave the side chamber’s sitting room.

Xiang Shi followed, looking rather helpless.

Shiyiniang was curious about what she had wanted to say.

Back in their rooms, she had her answer at once — Xiang Shi arrived carrying a small cup of Huiquan Spring water in a sweet-white porcelain vessel.

“It is only enough to brew one pot of tea, but it represents my small token of goodwill.”

Shiyiniang smiled and accepted it, then asked: “Have you sent some to Grandmother and Second Aunt and Fifth Aunt?”

Xiang Shi replied respectfully: “I was just about to go.”

Shiyiniang nodded and told Qiuyu to bring out a box of hibiscus cakes to give her as a gift: “A gift from Her Highness the Empress. I found the flavor very fine. Do try some.”

Xiang Shi thanked her and left with Wenzhu for the Grand Madam’s quarters.

Making the rounds, she received a box of ginger candies from the Grand Madam, two clusters of stacked-gauze palace flowers from the Fifth Madam, and nothing from the Second Madam — likely because, being an aunt by blood, no such gesture was expected.

Returning to her rooms, Xiang Shi’s personal servant from the Xiang household, Nanny Xiang, came out to meet her. She made a meaningful glance at Xiang Shi and stepped forward to pay her respects with a smile: “The Second Young Mistress is back!”

Xiang Shi nodded. Nanny Xiang attended to her toilette while Xiang Shi sent Wenzhu away to rest.

“What is it?” Xiang Shi asked Nanny Xiang in a gentle voice once they were in the washing room. “That you should need to speak where no one else can hear.”

Nanny Xiang leaned close to her ear and told her about Shiyiniang’s disciplining of the stewards earlier that day. “Second Young Mistress, it seems the Madam, though she appears kind and gentle, is not someone to be taken lightly.”

Xiang Shi was unconcerned. She smiled and said: “Elder Aunt made it clear to me long ago that my mother-in-law is a shrewd woman. She told me to be respectful, compliant, and patient with her. As long as we follow the Madam in all things, she surely will not come after me without cause. Nanny, there is no need to worry.”

Nanny Xiang made to say more, but Xiang Shi had already asked: “What is the Second Young Master doing?”

“Practicing his calligraphy in the study!” Nanny Xiang replied, her eyes crinkling into a happy squint, clearly full of admiration for Xu Siyu’s diligence. “According to Mozhu, he practices three pages every day, ever since he began learning to write, without a single day missed.”

Xiang Shi’s face likewise took on a look of admiration. She thought for a moment, then instructed Nanny Xiang: “Take out the hundred-year-old ginseng Mother gave me and brew it as a tea for the Second Young Master.”

Nanny Xiang smiled and said yes, called a maidservant to attend to Xiang Shi’s toilette, then brewed a serving of ginseng tea herself, set it on a red lacquer tray shaped like a begonia blossom, and carried it in: “Second Young Mistress, here you are.”

Xiang Shi, cheeks flushed, made her way to Xu Siyu’s study.

Xu Siyu had just finished writing his three pages of calligraphy. Seeing Xiang Shi come in carrying a small cup, he felt a pang of remorse and went to meet her. “You’ve finished sending everything.”

“All done!” Xiang Shi gazed at Xu Siyu with eyes full of tenderness. “Husband, you must be tired. Have some tea to refresh yourself.”

Xu Siyu thanked her and picked up the cup. The moment he raised it, he caught the unmistakable aroma of ginseng, and a look of surprise crossed his face.

Xiang Shi could not help but feel a flush of regret.

She had been too careless.

The ginseng was part of her dowry. She had taken it out and used it without asking a word, and if he mistook her meaning — thinking she assumed that as a concubine-born son of the Xu family he would have no access to such fine things — that would be very difficult to explain.

“Husband!” Xiang Shi’s face had gone quite red. “I saw that you were still working so late into the night… I wanted to help you keep your spirits up, but felt too awkward to say anything outright, so I used something from my own dowry…”

Seeing his wife rush to explain herself with such earnest urgency, the corners of Xu Siyu’s mouth curved upward.

It was like just now.

*When there is food and drink, first serve it to those who taught you.*

He had the Huiquan Spring water, and the proper thing to do was to offer it first to the elders of the family.

But since the water had been a gift from his wife’s uncle, he had not felt it was his place to decide on his own, and had intended to come home and discuss it with her first — only to have her gently reproach him, saying he ought to have divided it among the elders himself.

“I know.” Xu Siyu’s gaze as he looked at Xiang Shi was very bright. “The tea is fragrant. I…” He hesitated a moment, then said quietly: “I like it very much.”

It was as though something had struck her heart without warning, making it difficult to breathe. Uncomfortable, yet glad; glad, yet bashful — too tangled to name, too uncertain to understand, leaving her heart unsettled and fluttering…

Xiang Shi’s face grew even redder.

Suddenly she felt a little afraid of that sensation.

She forced herself not to dwell on it, and in a fluster of concealment, blurted out: “Fourth Uncle’s quarters — should we send some over as well?” The moment the words left her mouth, she immediately knew she had misspoken.

Fourth Uncle was the heir. Would her husband think she was trying to curry favor with him?

She hastened to add: “And First Uncle’s quarters, and the other Uncles’ — would it not be better to send a little to all of them?”

Xu Siyu gave the matter no further thought.

His wife had just arrived. It was natural she would be anxious about propriety.

“Fourth Younger Brother and Fifth Younger Brother both live in the outer quarters — unlike Jin Ge’er, who is with Mother. If you send to Fourth Younger Brother, you must naturally send to Fifth Younger Brother as well.” He considered the matter. “As for First Elder Brother and Third Younger Brother — they have already established their own households, so it can go either way.”

As they spoke, Xiang Shi’s heart gradually settled. She quietly agreed: “Then I will send some to Fourth Uncle and Fifth Uncle tomorrow.”

Xu Siyu smiled at her: “In that case, there will be none left for ourselves.”

Xiang Shi was startled.

She had noticed at the time that the water was limited, which was why she had not sent any to Fourth Uncle and the others… and yet here she was, for some unfathomable reason, blurting it out…

Xiang Shi was at a loss for words.

Xu Siyu had already said serenely: “Fortunately, I am not the sort of person who cannot write without Hu brushes and Hui inkstones. What’s gone is gone. Send it to Fourth Younger Brother and Fifth Younger Brother tomorrow.”

Xiang Shi bit her lip and said yes, bowing her head with a slightly crestfallen air, inwardly deliberating whether she should have Nanny Xiang return to ask her little uncle for a bit more Huiquan Spring water tomorrow — and so she did not see the smile in Xu Siyu’s eyes.

Shiyiniang had coaxed Jin Ge’er to sleep before returning to the inner chamber.

“I did not expect that Siyu’s wife would prove to be such a perceptive woman.” She smiled as she settled onto the embroidered stool before the dressing table, addressing Xu Lingyi, who was leaning against a large pillow reading a book. “With her helping him manage things, we can set our minds at ease about Siyu.” Finished speaking, she turned back to the mirror and began removing her earrings.

When the time came for Xu Siyu to establish his own household, there would be no need to worry on his account.

—