To speak honestly about it, Eleven was herself a competitive person. Otherwise, in her previous life she would never have chosen to start her own business, and in this life she would never have married into the Marquis of Yongping’s household. Yet she was not as headstrong as Jin Ge’er, unwilling to yield even on small matters that had no bearing on life and death.

Thinking of this, she smiled quietly to herself.

Knowing when to hold firm and when to give way — that was the helpless wisdom earned through hard experience, and outwardly it appeared light and effortless, free and untroubled, yet carried within it a faint weathering of the years. Unlike Jin Ge’er, who was still at an age of pure, unguarded spirit, not yet understanding patience and accommodation, doing whatever he pleased and following every impulse — which made him all the more vigorously alive.

Perhaps she had been the same in her own childhood. Only too much time had passed, and she no longer remembered.

Eleven stood there for a moment in quiet reflection, then went to the main hall.

She had invited Master Jian to bring a few highly skilled embroiderers from the Happiness Shop to come help with the needlework for Zhuxiang’s trousseau.

She had not expected Qiuju to come as well.

“Madam,” she curtseyed before Eleven, “back in Yuhang, Zhuxiang and I used to share a bed.” She spoke with tears glistening in her eyes. “Now that she is to be married, I want to personally bring people to embroider her trousseau.”

In Yuhang, they had endured much hardship together, and because of that, they shared a bond deeper than most.

“Then put your heart into helping her.” Eleven smiled. “All these years she has been at my side helping me manage one thing and another — she has spared me a great deal of worry, but it has delayed her own affairs.” There was a touch of wistfulness in her voice.

“Madam, I cannot agree with those words.” Qiuju heard this and assumed an expression of frank and ready speech. “When we first came, we knew nothing at all. If we had not been in Madam’s service, learning this and that, where would we be today? Just yesterday I was saying to my husband — it is Hupo who has the best fortune of all, being able to stay at Madam’s side all along.”

“Managing a happiness shop after all — your perspective and judgment have both changed.” Eleven could see she was trying to console her, and said with a smile to Master Jian, “She even knows how to counsel others now!”

Master Jian laughed, a warmth she could not conceal shining from her smile.

Eleven asked Qiuju to take out the embroidery patterns she had brought, and they all gathered together to discuss how best to prepare Zhuxiang’s trousseau.

A commotion broke out outside.

Everyone looked up involuntarily.

In ran Shen Ge’er, bow in hand, panting hard, with an irate Jin Ge’er close on his heels.

“Fourth Aunt, Fourth Aunt,” Shen Ge’er rushed in and flung himself into Eleven’s arms. “Sixth Brother hit me!” Even as he spoke, Eleven had already gathered him close.

Having found his refuge, Shen Ge’er immediately assumed an air of perfect composure, and even cast a triumphant glance at Jin Ge’er.

“You are lying!” Jin Ge’er glared at Shen Ge’er hiding in Eleven’s arms, so furious he was hopping on his feet. “I only meant to borrow your bow and arrows for a moment…”

“Exactly, exactly!” Before Jin Ge’er could finish, Shen Ge’er shouted back at him loudly. “You saw that I hit your Eight-Treasure Glass Bowl and were annoyed about it, so you wanted to snatch away my bow and arrows…”

“I do not want your wretched bow and arrows!” Jin Ge’er’s face flushed crimson. “I saw that you shot from so far away and still hit my Eight-Treasure Glass Bowl, and I just wanted to look at your bow and see if it was any different from mine…”

“The Eight-Treasure Glass Bowl?” Eleven was somewhat startled. “How did you take that out?”

That Eight-Treasure Glass Bowl was about five inches long, and in its eight colors — red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, and white — swirled together like clouds and mist, exquisitely beautiful. It was among Xu Lingyi’s personal treasures. Jin Ge’er had admired it and had trailed after Xu Lingyi for several days before getting it. It was displayed in Jin Ge’er’s reception room, normally dusted only by Hongwen and A Jin, and the smaller maidservants did not dare touch it!

But the two boys had eyes only for each other, trading words back and forth, faces flushed, quarreling away.

Eleven found it both funny and confounding. After listening carefully for quite some time, she managed at last to piece together the rough outline of what had happened.

It turned out that Jin Ge’er, taking Eleven’s words to heart, had immediately run off triumphantly to find Shen Ge’er and declare that although Shen Ge’er could shoot arrows, the arrows had no force behind them and could not break anything, making them entirely useless. Shen Ge’er took exception to this, grabbed his quiver, and wanted to settle the matter once and for all. Jin Ge’er then pointed at an incense burner and told Shen Ge’er to shoot it. Shen Ge’er fired five or six arrows in a row without hitting it, and said the burner was too small and they needed a larger target. Jin Ge’er generously agreed, and even let Shen Ge’er pick any target he liked. Shen Ge’er’s eyes landed at once on the Eight-Treasure Glass Bowl, which was somewhat smaller than a washbasin.

Jin Ge’er hesitated a little.

Shen Ge’er laughed and called Jin Ge’er petty.

Jin Ge’er could not abide that and immediately agreed.

The result: Shen Ge’er sent a single arrow straight into the Eight-Treasure Glass Bowl.

Jin Ge’er was stunned.

Shen Ge’er raised his bow triumphantly in the air.

When Jin Ge’er recovered himself, he wanted to look at Shen Ge’er’s bow. He even said things like “this must be a priceless treasure bow.”

Shen Ge’er would not let him. Jin Ge’er tried to grab it. Shen Ge’er fled; Jin Ge’er chased. They went around and around the room in circles… Just when it seemed the bow was about to be snatched, Shen Ge’er’s eyes darted about and he ran straight to Eleven…

Eleven was rather dumbfounded.

It had only been a little over a month since the Dragon Boat Festival, and Shen Ge’er had already achieved this. Perhaps Shen Ge’er had a natural gift for it?

She turned the thought over in her mind, then drew the two boys apart: “Alright, alright. You are brothers — whatever you have to say, you can say it properly. This quarreling will not do.” Then she added, “Look, everyone here is watching you!”

Both boys fell sheepishly silent, though they continued glaring at each other with unconcealed resentment.

Eleven coaxed them for quite some more time. Jin Ge’er said he had never intended to take Shen Ge’er’s bow for himself; Shen Ge’er said Jin Ge’er had not actually hit him. Only then did the two of them awkwardly reach out and clasp hands, and consider themselves reconciled.

Shen Ge’er walked away with his back straight and his head high. Jin Ge’er returned to his room in low spirits.

Eleven saw Master Jian and the others off, then went straight to Jin Ge’er’s quarters. She nestled with her son on the bolster pillows of the window-side kang and talked with him at length. She drew many comparisons to illustrate the ideas that “there is always someone more skilled, and always a higher mountain beyond” and “when brothers work in harmony, their strength can cut through iron.” Only gradually did Jin Ge’er begin to brighten again, the sparkle returning to his eyes.

She breathed a small sigh of relief.

Then, unexpectedly, the very next day at Xiumu Courtyard during the horse stance, the two of them quarreled again — this time over whether to practice the horse stance first or learn archery first.

Master Pang shouted a reprimand at them several times, but the two boys paid no heed. Master Pang simply took them each by the scruff of the neck and hauled them to the center of the courtyard: “You two — horse stance, down!” He made them hold the stance under the full sun.

Both huffed a “Hmph” at each other and sank into the half-squat.

The midsummer sun rose early, blazing bright and harsh, leaving one irritable with the heat.

Jin Ge’er held the stance for a while and, seeing that Master Pang was seated under the eaves on a high-backed chair drinking tea, quietly shuffled a few steps sideways toward a nearby tree’s shadow.

Master Pang was correcting Huang Xiaomao’s form and had not noticed.

Emboldened, Jin Ge’er shifted a few more paces and settled himself into the shade.

Shen Ge’er glanced back and suddenly noticed that Jin Ge’er, who had been punished alongside him, had tree shade above his head. His eyes darted about and he immediately understood. Taking advantage of the moment Master Pang was reprimanding Chang An, he edged a few steps to the side. By the time Master Pang was nodding in satisfaction at Chang An and walking back toward his chair under the eaves, Shen Ge’er shuffled a few more steps sideways.

And so he, just like Jin Ge’er, ended up standing in the shade.

The sunlight fell in dappled patches through the tree leaves onto Shen Ge’er’s clothing. Shen Ge’er could not help glancing over at Jin Ge’er — you can do it, so can I!

Jin Ge’er had been keeping a close eye on Shen Ge’er, who had been punished alongside him. Seeing Shen Ge’er shift into the shade, he could not help smiling silently — at least the boy has some sense. He is not so foolish as to just stand there baking in the sun.

Their gazes met across the courtyard.

One pair of eyes was challenging; the other, contemptuous… and they both turned away at the same time.

“What do you two think you are doing!” Master Pang’s thunderous voice came crashing over them like a roll of thunder. “The most essential thing about the horse stance is unrelenting perseverance — and you two have privately left your positions on your own initiative…” As he spoke, Master Pang walked toward them with an expression of cold severity, reached out, and hauled both Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er back to the center of the courtyard, into the full blaze of sunlight. “Hold it properly! If I see you move again, I will go tell the Marquis and have him deal with you himself!”

Unable to break free, the two had no choice but to reassume their stances in the center of the courtyard.

“Insufferable!” Jin Ge’er watched Master Pang’s slightly limping figure retreat, his face flushed scarlet with indignation.

“Since when can you not hold the horse stance in the shade?” Shen Ge’er muttered through gritted teeth.

The two exchanged a look, and each saw the resentment in the other’s eyes.

A shared sense of grievance instantly made them forget the quarrel they had been having moments before.

One said: “Sixth Brother, are we truly just going to let this stand?”

“Of course not!” said the other. “We have to think of a way!”

“What does Sixth Brother have in mind?” Seeing that his older brother was of the same mind as himself, Shen Ge’er’s voice grew brighter. “Hurry and think — I can see the incense stick is almost burned down!”

Jin Ge’er was momentarily blank, then he hissed back: “Better if it burns all the way down. If it hasn’t, we can’t move — and even the best plan in the world would be useless!”

Shen Ge’er said “Oh” and said nothing more.

“The sun is the sovereign of all yang, the moon the image of the Grand Yin.” Jin Ge’er loudly recited the lesson from the Elementary Studies primer he had learned the day before.

Master Zhao nodded repeatedly: “Very good, very good!” He set down his book and took out a page of large characters he had written earlier. “Today, copy these.”

Jin Ge’er respectfully said “Yes,” and took the page of calligraphy paper with a cheerful air, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes. He tugged affectionately at Master Zhao’s sleeve: “Master, what do you fear most?”

Master Zhao thought for a moment and said with a smile: “What I fear most is breaking one’s word.”

“That is not what I mean!” Jin Ge’er smiled brightly. “I mean what thing does Master fear most? Like — a tiger! Or a wolf!”

“Ah!” Master Zhao said with a smile. “What I fear most is toads. They seem very dirty.”

“So Master fears toads!” Jin Ge’er’s smile was like summer sunlight — so brilliant it made one squint. “Then I am going back to copy my characters!”

Although he did not understand why his student had asked such a thing, Master Zhao nodded in pleased approval at Jin Ge’er’s obedient manner.

The very next day, just as Master Pang had taken up his position with hands clasped behind his back on the steps, seven or eight toads came leaping out of the grass nearby. A few even hopped their way over to Master Pang’s feet.

It was midsummer, and the courtyard of Xiumu was surrounded by trees. Finding a few toads in the sixth month was nothing out of the ordinary.

Master Pang cast an indifferent glance at them, gave a few toads a casual kick to the side, and looked sternly down at Jin Ge’er, Shen Ge’er, and the others standing at the foot of the steps: “Begin the horse stance — now!”

The children responded in unison and sank into their half-squats.

Master Pang’s gaze lingered on Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er.

He could not say why, but he felt that the two boys’ expressions a moment ago had been somewhat peculiar.

“What is the matter?” Master Pang said sternly. “Is something bothering either of you?”

Ever since the incident of Jin Ge’er’s leg, Master Pang had been paying closer attention to the children’s condition.

—