That evening, as she removed her makeup, two soft peach blossom petals drifted down from Eleven’s loosened jet-black hair, settling onto the polished azure stone floor.

Xu Lingyi, reclining on the bed with a book, glanced at the pale pink petals lying beside his wife’s ink-dark pleated skirt and said with a smile: “Did you enjoy yourself today?”

“Very much!” Eleven turned to look at Xu Lingyi. “The sunlight felt warm and lazy on your skin. The peach blossoms and pear blossoms were both in bloom, drawing out bees and butterflies. Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er led a pack of pugs chasing butterflies through the peach grove, while we sat there listening to Jie Ge’er play the flute. Xin Jie’er and the little maidservants ran off to pick armfuls of wildflowers to weave into bracelets… I was even thinking that for the Double Third Festival, perhaps I should hold the banquet in the peach blossom grove just like today. But then I thought, there are all sorts of unknown little insects in the grass — if anyone were to be bitten, that would be dreadful.”

“There is always Qiongling Mountain Villa!” Xu Lingyi set down his book. “The elevation there is higher, and the spring breeze against one’s face has a different kind of charm.”

“That also crossed my mind.” Eleven casually twisted her long hair up into a loose bun. “I just worry that Madam Huang and Grand Matriarch Zheng would find the climb exhausting — they are both quite advanced in years.” She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Better to keep it in the main hall as in previous years. If the younger generation — Qin Ge’er’s wife and the others — want to go out and take a stroll, we can have Siyu’s wife accompany them.”

Xu Lingyi nodded, then raised the matter of Jin Ge’er’s studies: “Master Zhao tells me that Jin Ge’er recognizes most of the characters in the Elementary Studies primer, but can only write a few simple ones…” He seemed rather concerned.

“I only ever asked him to recognize characters, not to write them,” Eleven said with a smile. “For one thing, he is still young and his grip is not strong enough — I worried he might develop poor writing habits. For another, he cannot sit still, and writing would drift into drawing before long. I was afraid that if I forced him to write, he would come to dread it and refuse to practice — so I let him be. Now that he has started formal lessons with a teacher, having recognized a few characters already means that whether it is learning to write or reading, he should progress faster than most children his age, and that will keep him interested.”

One concern after another. Xu Lingyi felt Eleven was far too indulgent with the child.

When he was young, he had not liked writing either. His father had slapped him several times on the palm with a board until his hands swelled up enormously, and he had not dared make a sound, simply sitting there obediently copying characters in red ink. And when he grew up, had he stopped reading and writing? Not at all.

Thinking of this, he could not help but furrow his brow slightly, quietly resolving to keep a closer eye on Jin Ge’er’s schoolwork.

After the initial settling-in period, Jin Ge’er’s studies gradually took on a regular rhythm. He woke each day at the third quarter of the yin hour. More often than not, his breakfast consisted of a cup of goat’s milk, a silver and gold steamed bun or two small steamer dumplings, and half an apple or something similar to line his stomach. At a quarter to the mao hour, he was reliably at Xiumu Courtyard, and at the mao hour proper, he began his horse stance. At the third quarter of the full mao hour, he returned to his room to wash and change, then joined the family for breakfast, paid his respects to the Grand Madam, and was at Furong Courtyard by the third quarter of the chen hour.

Master Zhao taught not only Jin Ge’er, but also Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie. They were different ages and therefore studied different material on different schedules. In the mornings, he spent one hour teaching Jin Ge’er from the Elementary Studies primer, then taught Xu Sijie from the Analects. While he taught Jin Ge’er, Xu Sijie practiced calligraphy. While he taught Xu Sijie, Jin Ge’er memorized his lessons. Xu Sizhun spent the time copying characters or composing essays.

Classes let out at the beginning of the wu hour. Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie each went to their own rooms for the midday meal, though occasionally they ate together. Jin Ge’er returned to the inner courtyard to share the midday meal with Eleven, napped for a while, and then it was the end of the wei hour. A maidservant would see him off to Shuangfu Courtyard.

In the afternoons, the lessons were all for Xu Sizhun. He would practice copying characters, while Xu Sijie either practiced calligraphy or worked on assignments Master Zhao had set.

Just as Eleven had said, for characters he already recognized, Jin Ge’er learned to write them very quickly. Though his handwriting was not yet refined, the speed at which he read and wrote still came as a surprise to Master Zhao.

He had taught Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie for several years and had grown accustomed to looking for the strong points in his pupils. Even where there were none, he could always find something — let alone with Jin Ge’er, who was genuinely bright, lively, and talkative. His praise was naturally boundless.

With his teacher heaping such compliments on him, Jin Ge’er — who already found it hard to sit still — began to grow a little smug. And once the novelty of starting school had worn off, his effort with calligraphy was no longer what it had been at first. He would often get up mid-writing and go whisper in his brothers’ ears while Master Zhao was teaching, seriously disrupting the lessons. Master Zhao gave it some thought and sent word to Eleven, asking that Jin Ge’er do his afternoon character-copying practice at home instead.

With the Double Third Festival celebrations out of the way, the only notable occasions ahead were the Buddha’s Birthday on the eighth day of the fourth month, the Grand Madam’s birthday on the twenty-sixth, and the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month. Eleven found herself with time to spare, and the moment Master Zhao raised the matter, she agreed at once. Each afternoon, she sat with Jin Ge’er and kept him company while he practiced his characters.

Seeing how Jin Ge’er could not settle his mind, Eleven made a pact with him: “If you can concentrate and practice for two quarter-hours, I will let you play for one quarter-hour.”

It was high season — colors vivid, birds singing, blossoms sweet — and in previous years he would have spent every day in the back garden picking flowers, catching insects, teasing dogs, and feeding birds. His heart had long since taken flight to who knew where. Hearing this arrangement, he grinned until his eyes curved like crescents, immediately called out a loud “Yes!”, bent his head, and applied himself earnestly to his character-copying. Over the course of a month, his improvement was considerable.

Xu Lingyi saw it and breathed a sigh of relief, turning his attention to matters of court.

In recent days, a band of Japanese pirates had been raiding the Zhoushan area, burning and plundering several villages. The Emperor was furious. The Marquis of Jinghai was held accountable, and more than thirty officials of varying ranks — including the Military Commissioners of Fujian and Zhejiang, along with their Deputy Commissioners — were removed from their posts. The Military Commissioners of both Fujian and Zhejiang were additionally stripped of office and escorted to Yanjing to stand trial.

There were those who raised once more the idea of a maritime ban, and there were those who brought up the matter of Xu Lingyi’s past campaign to pacify the northwest.

At first, he simply heard it all with a smile and thought nothing of it.

In recent years Fujian had been restless, and whenever something happened, people said such things. What he had not anticipated was that at the Grand Madam’s birthday celebration, Elder Chen and Elder Dou arrived one after the other to offer their congratulations, and in private, as if by unspoken agreement, both sounded out his position — would he be willing to go to Fujian to suppress the pirates? He had been growing restless from idleness at home, and upon hearing it his heart stirred with temptation — but after thinking it through carefully, he suppressed the impulse and declined on the spot. Even so, he felt a lingering unease. Elder Chen was the Grand Secretary, and Elder Dou had gathered momentum formidable enough in recent years to eclipse veterans senior to him in tenure, establishing a standing that placed him beneath Elder Chen and yet above all the other Grand Secretaries. If these two men were to jointly recommend him for Fujian… the consequences would be considerable.

Xu Lingyi made time to call on Elder Liang, then held a lengthy private discussion with Wang Li, and returned home to await news.

After the Dragon Boat Festival had passed, the new Military Commissioners of Fujian and Zhejiang were appointed to their posts. Only then did his mind settle. He returned to his room and spoke to Eleven: “…Things cannot go on this way. We must find a means to recommend to the Ministry of War a few commanders capable of conducting naval warfare.”

Eleven said with a smile: “Has not Commissioner Ma, Ma Zuowen, been transferred to Fujian? Why not have him make inquiries on your behalf?”

“If he had someone suitable to recommend, he would have put the name before the Ministry of War already. It would not have come to this difficult impasse!” Xu Lingyi said with a bitter smile. He was particularly vexed by his own inconvenience in being unable to leave the capital, and a faint restlessness stirred in him. Looking at the tranquil calm between Eleven’s brows, he did not want to trouble her with his anxieties, and with a smile he shifted the subject: “I heard Third Sister-in-law has taken ill — how is she?”

That day Eleven had accompanied the Xiang household wife and the Fifth Madam to San Jing Alley to pay a sickbed visit.

“She only says it is a tightness in the chest and shortness of breath.” Eleven smiled. “Medical Officer Liu has seen her and says a few doses of medicine will have her right. We could see that Third Sister-in-law was listless and not in good spirits, so we did not stay long — just drank a cup of tea and came away.” She smiled as she continued: “It is a good thing we went to visit, otherwise we would never have known that Jian Ge’er’s wife is more than three months along. It is only hard on Qin Ge’er’s wife — she must tend to Third Sister-in-law at her bedside and also look after Jian Ge’er’s wife at the same time. I hear Jian Ge’er’s mother-in-law tells everyone she meets what a virtuous and capable daughter-in-law Qin Ge’er’s wife is!”

Xu Lingyi recalled the incident of the Crown Prince specially summoning Jin Ge’er into the palace so that Fang Jie’er could hold him, and could not help smiling: “They did not ask you for Jin Ge’er’s clothing?” He added, “If the Crown Princess gives birth to a princess this time, I think our Jin Ge’er may have a rest for a while!”

Eleven laughed as well.

A small maidservant came in: “Madam, Butler Bai has come!”

Eleven had the small maidservant announce Butler Bai’s entry.

Xu Lingyi said in surprise: “You sent for Butler Bai?”

“Zhuxiang’s wedding date has been set for the ninth month, and Xiulian is to be married off as well. I will need to bring several more people into my quarters — I wanted to ask Butler Bai to help select a few for Hupo to train up.”

After looking and looking, Eleven had found no better candidate than the Yan Fu that Nanny Song had mentioned. She wrote a letter back to Yuhang, discussed the matter with Fifth Concubine, and in the end agreed to the match. The only thing was that this meant Zhuxiang would be going to Shanxi to be married.

As they were speaking, Butler Bai came in. Learning that Eleven wanted to find new maidservants, he responded with respectful compliance. Eleven then asked Hupo to go with Butler Bai at the appropriate time to make the selection.

Jin Ge’er came running in with a pout.

“Father!” Seeing Xu Lingyi at home, he was slightly startled. He greeted him respectfully and then pressed close to Eleven’s side. “Mother, Mother, I want to find an archery master too!”

“An archery master?” Eleven was puzzled. “Did Master Pang not say that once you all can walk the plum blossom posts, he will teach you the martial fists and kicks, and once you have a reasonable foundation in that, you can begin learning horse-riding and archery? Why do you need to find a separate archery master?”

“Mother,” Jin Ge’er said somewhat indignantly, “Seventh Brother’s maternal grandfather not only sent Seventh Brother a bow and arrows, but also sent a person to attend on Seventh Brother. That person is highly skilled in martial arts and can shoot through a willow at a hundred paces. When I go to Shuangfu Courtyard for lessons, Seventh Brother studies archery with that person. Just now Seventh Brother shot and struck my room’s plum-blossom vase with a single arrow. Mother, please find me an archery master too — if I study with a master every day after school, I will definitely shoot better than Shen Ge’er!”

Eleven was quite taken aback.

Just recently, the Fifth Madam had been murmuring in the Grand Madam’s ear, saying that Shen Ge’er was so young, rising before dawn every day to practice martial arts — it was too much hardship for the child. And yet after going back to Honglamp Alley to spend the Dragon Boat Festival, Old Marquis Sun had sent someone skilled in martial arts to wait on Shen Ge’er, and had privately told Shen Ge’er to practice archery…

She glanced over at Xu Lingyi.

A flicker of puzzlement passed through Xu Lingyi’s eyes — he was evidently also somewhat at a loss about this matter.

Eleven thought for a moment and said with a smile: “Seventh Brother only hit your plum-blossom vase — did he actually break it?”

Jin Ge’er’s spirits drooped as he replied: “He only hit it, he did not break it!”

“There you have it!” Eleven said with a smile. “Do you see how a house is built? First the foundation is laid, and only then can the bricks be stacked. Archery is the same. If you do not build up your strength now, the arrows you shoot will have no force behind them, and you will not be able to break the vase…”

Before she had even finished speaking, Jin Ge’er’s face lit up with a look of sudden realization. He turned and bolted out of the room: “I am going to tell Seventh Brother!”

“This child, he is far too competitive!” Eleven shook her head watching her son’s retreating figure. “He has to win at everything.”

“There is nothing wrong with a competitive spirit,” said Xu Lingyi dismissively. “If everything were approached with indifference — no ambition, no drive, content with whatever comes — what sort of person would that make?”

—