Back in their room, Shi’er Niang reminded Xu Lingyi, “Marquis, when the time comes, you must make things clear to Master Pang, so he does not act without knowing the full situation — it would not do if Shen Ge’er were to take a fall or get hurt.”

“I will make everything clear to Master Pang,” Xu Lingyi said with a smile. He beckoned Jin Ge’er over and spoke to him, “Now that you are studying under a teacher, you must apply yourself properly. No fishing for three days and drying the nets for two. Otherwise, your teacher will punish you.”

Jin Ge’er nodded repeatedly. “I won’t be punished by my teacher!”

“Very well then,” Xu Lingyi smiled. “Remember your words.”

Jin Ge’er smiled and nodded, then ran to Shi’er Niang’s side, where she sat on the heated bed sorting through fabric scraps. “Mother, Mother, are you making a book bag for Seventh Brother?”

“I am,” Shi’er Niang said, smiling as she pulled her son up onto the bed.

Jin Ge’er lay sprawled across his mother’s lap, his large phoenix-shaped eyes blinking at her without wavering. “Mother, Second Brother has books, and brushes and ink and inkstone… and the inkstone has a great tiger carved on it, and pine trees…” His eyes were full of longing.

Zhun Ge’er’s inkstone had been a gift from the Second Madam — an antique Duan inkstone from the previous dynasty, of considerable rarity and value.

Shi’er Niang could not suppress her smile. She pinched her son’s nose gently. “You little rascal — Mother prepared something for you long ago.” Reaching under the small bed table beside her, she produced a yellow boxwood case carved with a scene of fishermen, woodcutters, farmers, and scholars: “Here, for you.”

Jin Ge’er looked at the case — no bigger than Zhun Ge’er’s inkstone — and opened it with some hesitation. Inside, neatly arranged, were a writing brush, an inkstone, and an ink stick. The brush handle was made of bamboo, carved with a little monkey clutching a peach; every strand of the monkey’s fur was rendered with delicate precision, vivid and lifelike. The ink stick, too, was shaped like a monkey — one that clung to the side of the stick — while the inkstone was carved with a monkey gathering pine nuts beneath a grove of pine trees. All three pieces were small and finely made, charming and full of wit.

Jin Ge’er cried out with delight and flung himself at Shi’er Niang. Caught off guard, she was nearly knocked backward into the bed table.

Xu Lingyi’s hand shot out and seized his son firmly, scolding, “You are nearly old enough for school — must you still be so reckless?”

“It’s nothing, nothing at all!” Shi’er Niang laughed, coming to her son’s defense.

Jin Ge’er wriggled free without a second thought and threw himself into Shi’er Niang’s arms again. “Mother, all of this is for me!”

“It is,” Shi’er Niang said, holding him close. “Beautiful, isn’t it? Mother had it specially ordered from the Treasure Pavilion.”

“Beautiful!” Jin Ge’er nodded over and over, his eyes curved into crescent moons with happiness. He then climbed out of his mother’s arms, clutched the case, and slid down from the bed. “Mother, I’m going to see Seventh Brother!”

“At this hour!” Shi’er Niang looked surprised, glancing toward the window. “Wait until tomorrow.”

“I’ll go and come straight back!” Jin Ge’er’s eyes sparkled. “I’ll have Huang Xiaomao and Liu Erwu come with me. I promise I won’t wander off…”

Shi’er Niang understood.

He had no intention of checking on Shen Ge’er at all — this was a plain and simple showing-off expedition.

“You may go,” Shi’er Niang said with a smile, “but leave the case here with Mother. We would not want it to get bumped and the things inside broken.”

She preserved his dignity and said nothing to give him away.

Jin Ge’er pouted, his eyes turning in their sockets.

Shi’er Niang paid no notice, and called out, “Hong Wen, come in — it is getting late, please help the Sixth Young Master wash up and get ready for bed.”

Hong Wen answered and came to take Jin Ge’er by the hand.

Jin Ge’er trailed after Hong Wen with a drooping head.

Shi’er Niang smiled to herself.

Had she let him go, Shen Ge’er would most certainly have been consumed with envy, and the Fifth Madam would not have had a peaceful evening.

She tidied the leftover fabric scraps on the bed table. “Marquis, shall I attend to you for your washing as well?”

“No need,” Xu Lingyi said, settling himself across from her. “Just call the little maids.”

Shi’er Niang called for the maids.

As they came and went, Xu Lingyi spoke to her about Jin Ge’er’s schooling: “You must not let your heart soften at the first sign of the child suffering, indulging every excuse — too hot one day, too cold the next, and certainly not going out in wind or rain. Once bad habits take hold, nothing will ever come to fruition.”

“Listen to how the Marquis talks,” Shi’er Niang said, setting aside the fabric scraps she had sorted and placing them in a small wicker basket. “Am I that sort of person?”

Xu Lingyi smiled. “You say that now, but do not be too confident. Even my mother, a woman of firm principles in her own right — my Second Brother still gave up halfway.”

“And look how your Second Brother has turned out perfectly fine!” Shi’er Niang argued back.

Xu Lingyi was left without a reply.

“I understand,” Shi’er Niang said, casting him a sidelong glance. “I will make sure to urge Jin Ge’er to attend school every day, and ensure his studies are not neglected.”

In the lamplight, her sideways glance carried a shimmering depth, rippling like spring water.

Xu Lingyi’s heart stirred. He reached out and took Shi’er Niang’s hand.

Shi’er Niang pressed her lips together with a quiet smile.

An intimate, charged tenderness drifted through the room.

Xu Lingyi’s lips parted — he was about to say something — when a startled cry suddenly broke the moment from outside: “Sixth Young Master, Madam said you are to wait until tomorrow…”

Shi’er Niang froze. Xu Lingyi was out the door in a single stride. By the time Shi’er Niang stepped outside, Xu Lingyi was already directing the search: “He certainly has not left the courtyard gate. Light all the lanterns and search carefully.”

He stood tall on the steps, his bright eyes sharp and keen as a falcon’s. Around him, maids and matrons scrambled — some fetching stools, others bringing iron poles for hanging lanterns, others taking up lanterns to illuminate the courtyard corners. The scene was a rush of noise and bustle.

At the sound of the commotion, Xu Lingyi turned and looked back at Shi’er Niang. “The child moves fast. The moment I arrived, he was already gone.” His tone carried more than a little helplessness.

Nearby, Hong Wen — who had been lighting a lantern — immediately stepped forward, her face flushed crimson, on the verge of tears. “Madam, it is all my fault for not holding him tight enough…”

Jin Ge’er was growing older by the day, and these maids and matrons were less and less able to keep a hold on him. They would need to find him a personal manservant capable of keeping him in check. Otherwise, in a few years when he moved to the outer courtyard, with Xu Lingyi unable to watch over him constantly, there would not even be anyone to stop him.

“I know,” Shi’er Niang comforted her, herself somewhat at a loss. “Go quickly and help with the lanterns.”

Her words had barely fallen when Xu Lingyi had already taken three quick steps to stand beside the winter green tree at the foot of the steps.

“Come out on your own — or shall I lift you out myself?” He smiled as he looked toward the winter green tree, trimmed in the shape of a hedge.

A rustling sound followed, and a pout-faced Jin Ge’er stood up clutching the yellow boxwood case, a few wisps of dry grass still caught in his hair.

“How did Father know I was here?” he muttered, though his eyes darted furtively toward Shi’er Niang.

“The courtyard is small, the passage through the hall open to the eye, and outside the gate is a long corridor — even a grown adult could not sprint all the way out in that short a time, let alone a small child like you. Which meant you were either hiding in one of the side rooms, or in some corner of the courtyard. Knowing I was looking for you, no maid or matron would dare hide you. So it had to be a corner of the courtyard. With the lanterns lit and the yard bright, and you wearing that scarlet robe — red against green — you were naturally going to be found very quickly.” Xu Lingyi did not raise his voice or scold. He answered Jin Ge’er’s bewilderment with patient, careful reasoning.

Jin Ge’er lowered his eyes to stare at his own scarlet robe patterned with gourds and vases in glossy gauze silk, and furrowed his brow with deep regret. “If I had known, I would have changed before sneaking out.”

Shi’er Niang did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Hong Wen quickly swept Jin Ge’er up into her arms. “Marquis, Madam — I’ll take the Sixth Young Master to wash up.” She wore the look of someone desperate to smooth the whole affair over and reduce a great matter to a small one.

“Hold on,” Xu Lingyi and Shi’er Niang said simultaneously, then could not help but exchange a glance.

With so many servants watching, and mindful of Xu Lingyi’s authority, Shi’er Niang took a step back and gestured for Xu Lingyi to speak first.

Xu Lingyi took Jin Ge’er from Hong Wen’s arms, and as he walked back inside, said to him, “If you had changed your clothes — could you have slipped away?”

Jin Ge’er thought it over. “I would have worn a green robe!”

“And if we searched inch by inch?” Xu Lingyi continued toward the inner room.

Shi’er Niang followed.

She noticed that Jin Ge’er fell silent, though a stubborn gleam flickered in his eyes.

Xu Lingyi sat on the bed by the window, and had Jin Ge’er stand before him.

“If I had gone piece by piece and searched one spot at a time?” he continued.

“Then I’d run to the rear gate first!” Jin Ge’er suddenly cried out, ideas rushing forward. “Then everyone would be looking for me at the front. I could slip out the back!”

This was nothing less than the stratagem of luring the tiger from its mountain.

A few brief words from Xu Lingyi had led Jin Ge’er straight to it.

Shi’er Niang’s eyes went wide. Knowing that parents quarreling in front of a child would only leave the child distressed and unsettled, she held herself back with great effort and said nothing.

“Then you would have to be faster than me,” Xu Lingyi said, unable any longer to contain his delight — a smile spreading from his eyes all the way to his brow.

“Then, then…” Jin Ge’er’s eyes were spinning quickly, working out a counter.

Xu Lingyi immediately admonished him, “Do not let your eyes dart about like that — the moment someone sees you looking left and right, they will know you are working something out in your head. Then others will see through you completely, while you remain entirely ignorant of them. You will be at a grave disadvantage.”

Jin Ge’er quickly said “oh,” and his gaze steadied at once.

Xu Lingyi nodded with considerable satisfaction.

Jin Ge’er’s expression relaxed noticeably.

“I’ll wait until Hong Wen goes to fetch water, and then sneak out through the side alcove — then while everyone is looking in the front courtyard I’ll go out the back gate, and if they look in the back I’ll go out the front. By the time they find out, I’ll be long gone and you won’t be able to find me anymore!”

—