Eleven’s expression shifted drastically.

Lin First Young Mistress quickly said: “Go and see to your matter — do not mind me!”

Eleven wasted no time on formalities with Lin First Young Mistress, and pulled Chang An to one side to speak with him.

“…Master Pang had the runs all day yesterday. This morning, as soon as we arrived at Xiumu Courtyard, Master Pang demanded of the two young masters whether they had put a laxative in his tea. The two young masters demanded that Master Pang show proof. Master Pang said that if the young masters had done wrong, they should not make excuses, and proceeded to order them to receive a caning on the palms. We tried to take their place but were not allowed. Seeing that the situation looked bad, this servant ran to find Madam.” He added: “I had Huang Xiaomao go find the Marquis!”

Hearing that Huang Xiaomao had gone to find Xu Lingyi, Eleven grew calmer.

Though she had never met Master Pang herself, just looking at the schedule Master Pang had arranged for Jin Ge’er’s lessons she could see that this Master Pang was a straightforward and serious man. Since Master Pang had determined that his bout of illness was connected to Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er, there would not be smoke without fire.

For a matter like this, to settle it with nothing more than a caning on the palms… Master Pang was likely also a man who knew where to draw the line.

It would do Jin Ge’er good to learn from this lesson.

Eleven looked at Chang An with serious composure: “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Chang An’s face flushed scarlet, and he looked deeply uneasy: “I… I really do not know how it all came about!”

“Chang An.” Eleven looked at him steadily. “Jin Ge’er is young and does not know better. You who are at his side to serve him — when you see him doing something wrong, you should speak up to correct him at once. Do you want to see Jin Ge’er become a worthless, spoiled nobleman?”

“No, no, I would never. I did not.” Chang An said hastily, even more ill at ease. “I genuinely do not know. Whenever Jin Ge’er wants to do something, he always talks it over with Seventh Young Master first. For the actual doing, he always gives the instructions to Huang Xiaomao and Liu Erwu.” He paused, and something forlorn crept into his voice. “I only saw that Huang Xiaomao and Liu Erwu, these days, were either catching mice or catching cockroaches… and thought it a bit strange!”

Mice? Cockroaches?

What was Jin Ge’er catching those things for?

“Tell me everything you know, in full detail!” Eleven’s expression grew grave.

Chang An dared not hold anything back, and recounted everything he knew from beginning to end.

Even if the laxative in Master Pang’s tea had nothing to do with Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er, they could not be absolved of the mice in the bedding, the spiders on the chair, and all the rest.

She had always thought the child was still young — yet it turned out Jin Ge’er’s boldness was not young at all.

Eleven felt as if a fire was burning inside her.

“Come,” she said, her expression grave and composure steely. “Let us go and see.”

Chang An responded, and the two of them had just stepped down from the inner gate’s steps when Fifth Madam’s voice called out from behind: “Fourth Sister-in-law, wait for me!”

Eleven turned. She saw a young manservant from Jin Ge’er’s side accompanying Fifth Madam as she hurried over.

“Madam, when I went to report to you, someone from Seventh Young Master’s side also went to report to Fifth Madam!” Chang An explained. Fifth Madam had already lifted her skirts and come up through the inner gate.

“Fourth Sister-in-law must also be going to Xiumu Courtyard!” The elegant brows knitted tightly together, and her eyes flashed with indignant fury. “I have said it long ago — this Master Pang is far too strict with the children. And yet everyone dismissed what I said. What do you see now? I was right, wasn’t I?” Fifth Madam could not help protesting. “When I went back to Honglamp Alley for the Dragon Boat Festival, I had half a mind to ask my father to speak to Fifth Master — saying that we should wait until Shen Ge’er is a few years older before finding a martial arts master. But our Shen Ge’er wanted to follow his older brothers and learn martial arts himself. My father saw Shen Ge’er’s small but determined spirit, not only called me soft-hearted and said a doting mother ruins her child, but told me not to interfere with Shen Ge’er’s affairs anymore. He even took Shen Ge’er to the training ground himself and had people demonstrate the horse stance, sparring, and archery. Seeing that Shen Ge’er’s arrows had some accuracy, he actually sent a dedicated archery master to teach Shen Ge’er…” Her complexion had gone grey, worse even than Eleven’s. “And now a martial arts master, a man who teaches nothing but fighting, dares to cane the young masters on their palms. Does he have any sense of rank and propriety at all!”

The children had quite possibly genuinely done wrong. If Fifth Madam were to charge over like this, what dignity would Master Pang ever have before his pupils going forward? And a master who has no dignity before his pupils — how can those pupils trust him, let alone truly apply themselves to learning from him?

Eleven quickly stepped in front of Fifth Madam: “Jin Ge’er’s personal attendant has already gone to find the Marquis. Fifth Sister-in-law, please compose yourself first. Since this concerns the children’s studies, it would be rather improper for us to go charging over like this!”

Fifth Madam heard this, and held herself back from going to Xiumu Courtyard by sheer force of will. She instructed Shen Ge’er’s manservant: “Go and find out exactly what is happening. If there is a single word of concealment, I will have your hide.”

The manservant trembled, responded with a quavering “Yes,” and set off at a trot for Xiumu Courtyard.

Eleven was also very worried, but before she could even speak, Chang An said: “Madam, let me go and see as well!”

She gave a slight nod.

Chang An followed close behind the other manservant and ran off toward Xiumu Courtyard.

Eleven coaxed the furious Fifth Madam into coming to her quarters to sit a while.

Standing out here would do no good.

Fifth Madam thought about it, and followed Eleven into the main room.

Eleven invited her to sit on the window-side kang.

But she shook her head: “How could I possibly sit still!” With that, she began pacing back and forth in the room.

Eleven’s heart was also deeply anxious, and she could entirely understand her feelings.

The two of them — one sitting quietly, the other going around and around like an ant on a hot pan — said nothing, both waiting for word from Xiumu Courtyard.

After what felt like about half an hour, Chang An came running in.

Before he could even open his mouth, Fifth Madam had already stepped forward urgently: “What happened? Did Master Pang actually cane them?”

“No!” Chang An had no breath to spare, and hurried to say: “The Marquis has already arrived. Sixth Young Master and Seventh Young Master admitted that the laxative in the tea was put there on their orders…”

“Why did they put a laxative in Master Pang’s tea?” Eleven’s expression was cold and stern as she stepped forward as well.

“That time Master Pang punished Sixth Young Master and Seventh Young Master by making them hold the horse stance under the blazing sun…”

“What?” Fifth Madam’s sharp voice cut off Chang An’s words. “Master Pang actually made Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er hold the horse stance under the blazing sun? Why were the two children made to stand under the blazing sun? When did this happen? How did I know nothing of this?”

She fired off question after question like a volley of shots. Chang An was taken aback, and then carefully replied: “It was the time Sixth Young Master and Seventh Young Master quarreled…”

His words only infuriated Fifth Madam further: “Children — when have children ever not quarreled? If quarreling earned you a punishment of standing under the blazing sun, then who in this world would dare open their mouths?” As she spoke, she started moving toward the door. “This will not do. I need to speak to the Marquis about this properly!”

Eleven, meanwhile, was so furious she could not find her words for quite some time.

Because they had been punished by Master Pang for quarreling, they responded by planting mice, cockroaches, and even laxatives in his tea to reclaim their dignity — what kind of bandit reasoning was that!

“Fifth Sister-in-law!” As a mother, she understood Fifth Madam’s fury, but she could not agree with it. “Let us wait for the Marquis to come back first.” She blocked Fifth Madam’s way. “Surely we cannot interrupt the Marquis while he is handling the matter!”

“I do not care!” Fifth Madam stamped her foot. “This cannot be left to just pass!” Yet in her heart she recognized the truth of what Eleven was saying. She also thought of how this Master Pang had been recommended by their First Son-in-law, and thought of Xu Lingkuan’s refusal, and feared that everyone would be too reluctant to offend anyone and that this man with the surname Pang would never be dismissed. She lifted the curtain and walked out: “No, I must go and speak to our mother about this — we cannot let them simply do as they please!”

If Master Pang were to be driven out because of this… would any master who came after dare hold Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er to a proper student’s standards? Could Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er ever learn genuine skill?

Eleven immediately followed.

“Master Pang was wrong to have the two children hold the horse stance under the blazing sun,” said the Grand Madam, her expression displeased as she heard it out, though her tone remained fairly even. “But the children were also wrong to play tricks on Master Pang. Since the caning never actually happened, in my view, let this matter simply be settled here. In private, speak to Master Pang afterward and let him know he is not to cane the children again, and that will be that!”

The Grand Madam’s position left Fifth Madam somewhat disgruntled, but in the Grand Madam’s presence she could only bow her head and respond with a “Yes.” The Grand Madam then instructed Eleven: “When you have a moment, send some silver as a gift to Master Pang. Say that the children were in the wrong in this matter, and ask him not to take it to heart. Tell him that if the children do anything improper in the future, he is to manage and instruct them just as he always has.” — effectively overruling what Fifth Madam had said.

Fifth Madam called out “Mother” in indignant protest.

The Grand Madam gave her a gentle wave of the hand: “Jade that is not carved cannot become a vessel. Sometimes one must not simply let things go entirely unchecked.” She then instructed Eleven: “You may go!”

It appeared she intended to keep Fifth Madam behind for a word in private.

Eleven responded and withdrew.

On one side she prepared the gift for Master Pang; on the other, she asked Chang An to continue keeping an ear out for what was happening at Xiumu Courtyard.

“The Marquis gave the two young masters a brief reprimand and presented Master Pang with a treasured sword as a gift!”

Eleven was momentarily taken aback: “He did not have the two young masters offer their apologies to Master Pang and make a firm promise never to repeat it?”

Chang An shook his head.

Eleven thought it over, then had Hupo take four five-tael silver ingots and put them in a pouch, and set off for Xiumu Courtyard.

Coming the other way, she ran directly into Xu Lingyi.

He wore a grave expression, and radiated around him a sharp, stern severity that he himself was unaware of.

Jin Ge’er and Shen Ge’er trailed behind Xu Lingyi, necks drawn in, heads hanging low — looking for all the world like defeated cocks.

The moment he saw Eleven, Xu Lingyi said: “Jin Ge’er is confined to quarters for three days. His studies are not to be interrupted. You are to supervise him in practicing the horse stance in his room, reading, and copying characters.”

Jin Ge’er heard this and looked up. His gaze found Eleven, brimming with unshed tears, his lips parting and pressing together — as though he wanted to call out to her yet did not dare, pitiable in every way.

Eleven steeled her heart and answered: “Yes.” “I will supervise Jin Ge’er’s studies.”

Xu Lingyi gave a nod, and went inside.

Eleven deliberately did not glance at Jin Ge’er, and followed Xu Lingyi into the courtyard.

Jin Ge’er watched the backs of his parents retreat, his lips pressed tightly shut.

Shen Ge’er looked at him with some concern: “How about you come to my place? If my mother dares put me under house arrest, I will go tell my grandfather!”

Jin Ge’er shook his head, his voice drained of energy: “I will just go back to my own room.”

Shen Ge’er thought back to the look on Fourth Uncle’s face when he was furious a moment ago and could not help giving a small shudder: “If Fourth Uncle beats you, what will you do?”

Mother had looked that way too — clearly angered. If Father hit him, she certainly would not shield him. He had heard that being beaten was very painful…

In a flash of desperate inspiration, Jin Ge’er suddenly thought of the Grand Madam: “Then… then I will go to Grandmother!”