Could it really be that straightforward?

Shiyiniang was doubtful.

She had Wan Daxian keep an eye on Xu Sizhun’s movements.

“The Fourth Young Master has been wandering around the streets these past few days!” Hupo came back with the report. “And he’s come home with a great pile of things.”

As if to confirm this, that afternoon Xu Sizhun came over and brought Shiyiniang a peach-wood hairpin and Jin Ge’er a pitch-pot set.

“Look carefully,” he told Jin Ge’er, pointing out the details. “The vessel has an octagonal body, a very long neck, no ears, and a base that curves up high — it’s an antique from the previous dynasty.”

Jin Ge’er had little interest in such things, murmured a few sounds of acknowledgment, and pulled Xu Sizhun off to the main hall to play pitch-pot.

From the room came the thumping and clanging of arrows striking the vessel, punctuated by bursts of cheering from the young maids.

Hupo came in smiling: “The Sixth Young Master is rather good — eight out of ten arrows going in.”

Shiyiniang was a little surprised.

Hupo was already saying: “The Second Young Mistress is back!”

Shiyiniang had sent her to Sanwei Alley on her behalf to invite the Third Young Master’s family to come home for the festival.

“Have her come in.”

Xiang Shi came in wearing a rose-red garment with a pipa-buckle fastening.

“What did they say?”

As Shiyiniang asked this, Hupo had already carried over a brocade stool and placed it beside the kang for Xiang Shi to sit.

“Third Aunt’s illness comes and goes.” Xiang Shi sat down and accepted the tea Autumn Rain offered. “When I arrived, Third Aunt had just taken her medicine and gone to lie down. I waited for over an hour before she woke. When she heard why I had come, she said that if she felt strong enough that day, she would come herself. If she was not feeling well, she would have the Third Master bring the eldest and third uncle and Third Sister-in-law over.”

Meaning she would keep Da Nainai, Fang Shi, at her side to tend to her.

Shiyiniang couldn’t help but sigh.

After all these years, with a great-grandchild already in the picture, Third Madam was still refusing to let Fang Shi be.

On the day of Mid-Autumn Festival, Third Madam and Fang Shi indeed did not come.

Conversation centered on Jin Shi, who was close to giving birth. This being her first pregnancy, Jin Shi sat quietly off to one side, head lowered, saying little. Meanwhile, Xu Sijian, hearing that Xu Lingyi and Xu Sizhun and the brothers had reserved a private room for lantern viewing, wanted to join them as well. The Third Master had been worn thin by the constant tension between his wife and his eldest daughter-in-law over the past two years. Thinking of how today his wife had yet again found an excuse to keep his eldest daughter-in-law at home, while his own mother had solicitously asked after his wife’s health and had Nanny Du arrange to send over some tonics first thing in the morning… his heart grew even more irritated.

“Why don’t we go and join in the fun?” he said to Xu Lingyi. “I think the last time we went to see a lantern fair together was in the fifty-eighth year of Jianwu, for the late Emperor’s sixtieth birthday celebrations — that must be well over ten years ago now.”

Xu Lingyi nodded. “That year, the late Emperor had the civil and military officials join him atop the Meridian Gate to view the lanterns… and then he passed away the very next year.” He added with a note of deep feeling, “That was the height of the struggle over the succession.” He sighed with quiet reflection. “Why not — let’s go out for a walk.”

The Grand Madam and the others moved to Qiongling Mountain Lodge to drink wine.

The old lady, after all, was getting on in years — a few cups and she was feeling the effects, and while listening to Shiyiniang and the others chat, she drifted off to sleep lying sideways on the lounge bed.

“You all go on ahead!” Second Madam settled into a seat by the lounge bed. “Third Sister-in-law is with child, Fourth Sister-in-law has an early start tomorrow to manage the household, and Fifth Sister-in-law has young children to tend to… I’ll stay here and keep watch!”

The night had grown late. Shiyiniang was a little weary as well. She said a few words to the effect of “Thank you for your trouble, Second Sister-in-law,” then went down the hill with Fifth Madam.

Along the way, Xin Jie’er asked to have Jin Xiang stay and sleep in her room.

“Absolutely not!” Fifth Madam carried the already-sleeping Cheng Ge’er in her arms. “That wild temperament of yours — what if you kicked your Third Sister-in-law’s belly? Better let your Third Sister-in-law stay with your Second Sister-in-law!”

“Mother!” Xin Jie’er was unhappy, but only pouted and said nothing more.

Fifth Madam had invited a court-trained matron to instruct Xin Jie’er in etiquette, and her conduct was becoming increasingly that of a proper young lady.

“It wouldn’t look right at all!” Fifth Madam would not have it.

Jin Shi, seeing that Xin Jie’er was displeased, quickly stepped in to smooth things over: “What if we all go and stay at Second Sister-in-law’s quarters?”

“Yes!” Xin Jie’er jumped in before Fifth Madam could speak. “Then we can all stay up talking by candlelight!”

“I kept your Third Sister-in-law on this side precisely so she wouldn’t tire herself out.” Fifth Madam scolded with an affectionate tone. “And here you are wanting to stay up talking by candlelight! Off to bed with you, quickly.”

Xin Jie’er protested, but in the end went with Jin Shi to stay at Xiang Shi’s quarters.

Shiyiniang returned to her room. Moonlight lay like silk across the floor. There was no one about, and it was very still — yet somehow it felt somewhat empty.

Perhaps it was because she was thinking of those who had gone out to see the lanterns. Her sleep was fitful; she dozed off and woke again, and then couldn’t fall back asleep no matter how she tried. She gave up and got out of bed, draping a robe over her shoulders, and asked the night-watch maid Autumn Rain: “What hour is it now? Have the Fourth Young Master and the others not yet returned?”

Autumn Rain stifled a yawn and hurried over to check the floor-standing clock in the east side room: “It’s already past the second watch of the hour.” Then she added: “I’ll go and see what’s happening outside!”

Just as she was speaking, a commotion sounded from outside.

“That must be the Sixth Young Master returning!” Autumn Rain snapped awake at once, her sleepiness entirely gone. “Let me go and see —” she said, and took two rapid steps to the door, then quickly turned back: “It’s the Fourth Young Master and the Fifth Young Master — they’ve carried the sleeping Sixth Young Master back!”

Shiyiniang hurried to dress and went out, just in time to see Xu Sijie guarding Xu Sizhun’s back as he carried Jin Ge’er into the west side room.

She followed quickly: “Has your father not returned yet?”

Jin Ge’er was sleeping so soundly he could not be roused.

“Father is with Third Uncle.” Xu Sizhun wiped the sweat from his brow. “Third Brother has gone to find them. We came back first.”

“And Shen Ge’er?” Shiyiniang helped Hongwen change Jin Ge’er’s clothes. “Is he asleep? Who took him back?”

“He fell asleep even before Sixth Brother.” Xu Sizhun laughed. “We took Shen Ge’er back first, and then came here!”

Shiyiniang noticed Xu Sijie standing quietly to one side and said gently with a smile: “It’s getting late — you two should go back and rest as well.”

Both replied in unison, bowed their farewells to Shiyiniang, and left.

Passing through the gate of the hanging flower door, both went together to Danbo Study. As soon as they entered the inner room, Xu Sijie grabbed Xu Sizhun’s hand. “How is it?” His voice was taut with strain, his expression carrying a kind of brooding gloom. “Still no news?”

“Don’t be impatient.” Xu Sizhun said softly, reassuring him. “After all, it was more than ten years ago. The Liu family has no close relatives, and I daren’t involve anyone else — I have to ask around carefully and indirectly. It can’t be done this quickly.”

Xu Sijie couldn’t conceal his disappointment. Thinking of that terrifying possibility, his face gradually drained of color.

“What if I’m… not…” His lips moved soundlessly, his body trembling faintly.

“That won’t be the case!” Xu Sizhun said with firm conviction. “The two of us look so alike — you’re definitely a child of the Xu family.” But the moment those words fell, both of them wore the same odd expression.

If he truly was a child of the Xu family… given Xu Lingyi’s character, even if he had fancied the sister of an opera performer and taken her in, not as a formal concubine but simply to keep close to him, could Yuan Niang really have objected? And even if Xu Lingyi hadn’t wanted to bring the woman into the household, surely he would have arranged somewhere decent for her to stay… Willow Ditch was the kind of place where you caught a whiff of something foul before you even stepped foot inside, where one wrong step meant treading on a pile of waste someone had thrown by the roadside…

The image of an utterly solemn Xu Lingyi walking through Willow Ditch — Xu Sizhun thought about it and found it simply absurd.

“I remember that around that time, Father was still away fighting in the northwest…” he murmured, then his expression changed abruptly. “And Mother made a trip to Ciyuan Temple to pray over the matter…”

Could it really be that Xu Sijie was not Xu Lingyi’s son?

The thought flashed through him, and Xu Sizhun said urgently: “If only the neighbors who used to live next to Liu Kui hadn’t all moved away… then we could have asked them about Liu Kui, and found out who used to visit the Liu family all those years ago!”

“They can’t all have moved away,” Xu Sijie looked at Xu Sizhun with eyes full of quiet pleading. “Surely we could find one or two households?”

“Exactly!” His words left Xu Sizhun equally puzzled. “Why have all the neighbors moved away — and how is it that none of them, all these years, have ever come back to Willow Ditch to visit… as if, just like Liu Huifang, they all suddenly vanished. It’s as though someone wiped out every trace of what happened there ten-odd years ago…”

The thought flashed through Xu Sizhun’s mind. With more years and experience behind him than Xu Sijie, he suddenly went as pale as paper.

Even simply trying to find one household to make inquiries about what had happened back then was proving this difficult. To have moved away every single neighboring family that had lived next to the Liu house… one could only imagine how much power that would have required.

Could Xu Sijie’s origins be a secret that was never meant to come to light?

At this thought, he fell into deep, troubled contemplation.

Before the Double Ninth Festival, Xu Sizhun made a number of further attempts to visit Willow Ditch — and each time, as before, he came back empty-handed.

Xu Sijie’s agitation grew more visible by the day.

“Why not just let Tao Cheng look into it?” he suggested in desperation.

“No!” Xu Sizhun said. “Whatever happens… the fewer people who know, the better!”

Xu Sijie fell silent.

Fear of Tao Cheng knowing… deep in Fourth Brother’s heart, was he also beginning to believe that he was not their father’s son? Otherwise, why would he have said something like that…

Xu Sizhun, of course, hadn’t thought his words through. His mind was entirely occupied with the question of how to find someone who had been close to the Liu family in those days, so they might unravel this mystery.

Xu Sijie’s eyes dimmed: “Fourth Brother, I’ll go first. You should rest properly too.”

With no solution in sight at this hour, better to think again tomorrow.

Xu Sizhun murmured agreement and walked Xu Sijie to the door.

A pageboy stepped forward to greet them: “Fourth Young Master, Fifth Young Master!”

Xu Sizhun noticed the pageboy looked somewhat unfamiliar and studied him. The pageboy said quickly: “I’m from the Sanwei Alley household. Our Third Young Mistress has given birth to a daughter — I came with our eldest young mistress to bring the good news to the mansion!”

“Ah!” Xu Sizhun’s face lit up. “Third Sister-in-law has already given birth.”

“Yes!” The pageboy said eagerly. “Our Third Master said there will be a grand celebration — even a theatrical troupe like the De’yin Society will be invited to perform at a private banquet.”

A theatrical performance at a private banquet… whenever the family holds such events, it’s always Fifth Uncle who helps with the arrangements… because Fifth Uncle knows all the major troupes well…

Xu Sizhun’s eyes lit up.

He pulled Xu Sijie back inside: “Let’s go and ask Fifth Uncle for help! Liu Kui and Liu Huifang were both so well-known — Fifth Uncle is bound to either know them himself, or know someone who was close to them. And Fifth Uncle is the most approachable of everyone, and is family on top of that… it couldn’t be more ideal!”