Once the crabs were eaten and the chrysanthemums admired, the weather gradually turned cool.

The Emperor’s newly favored Consort Wang had given the Emperor a prince, while Crown Princess Fang Jie’er had given the Emperor a grandson. The third imperial prince was conferred the title of Prince of Yong and opened a separate residence in the Chongwen quarter. In the autumn of Yonghe’s twelfth year, the world was full of festive bustle. Yet Zhou Madam had not forgotten Jin Ge’er’s birthday. On the tenth day of the tenth month, she came in person, bringing as a birthday gift two cases of Hu brushes, two boxes of Hui inksticks, a pair of Duan inkstones, two pieces of royal blue ramie robes, and two pairs of cotton shoes with the character for blessing embroidered on them in cloud patterns.

Eleven was rather embarrassed and quickly invited Zhou Madam into the inner chambers for a seat, keeping her for lunch. “…It’s only a small celebration for a child’s birthday — you’ve really gone to too much trouble, Elder Sister.”

“Saying things like that is just being formal with me.” Zhou Madam laughed and took Jin Ge’er, who had come to thank her, into her arms. “Our Jin Ge’er is a blessing star sent by the Imperial Noble Consort herself!”

Eleven found herself both amused and exasperated.

Zhou Madam had once again attributed the credit for Fang Jie’er’s safe delivery to Jin Ge’er.

“That is entirely owing to the Crown Princess’s own good fortune!”

With two sons to her name, Fang Jie’er had at least secured her footing for the time being.

Zhou Madam merely smiled without replying. She reached into her sleeve and produced a piece of Hetian jade, which she hung around Jin Ge’er’s neck. “I know you have a liking for such things. This one was brought out of the palace by the Princess years ago. When she heard I was coming to see you, she especially asked me to give it to you.” She then produced a pair of solid gold bracelets and slipped them onto Jin Ge’er’s wrists. “These are from your Uncle Zhou.” She then took out a jade ring and fastened it to Jin Ge’er’s waist sash. “I had this consecrated by Master Ji Ning at Ci Yuan Temple when I went to fulfill my vow of gratitude for Crown Princess. It will protect our Jin Ge’er to grow up safely and peacefully.” She then produced a large scarlet sachet embroidered in gold thread with a pattern of abundance year after year. “There are a few eastern pearls inside — take them and play with them!”

Eleven couldn’t help a bead of cold sweat forming on her brow.

“Elder Sister Zhou…” She had barely said the words before Zhou Madam had already stuffed the sachet into Jin Ge’er’s arms. “These are gifts from an elder to a child — they’re not for you. So do hold your tongue!” Then she smiled at Jin Ge’er. “Good child, your godmother knows your grandmother has no shortage of fine things at home, and a child with your discernment wouldn’t care much for these trifles. But your godmother came in a hurry today — come New Year’s, godmother will make sure to find a few interesting things to give you to play with.”

Jin Ge’er saw that the Hetian jade was white, fine, and lustrous, and the jadeite was translucent and vibrantly clear — neither was an ordinary piece. He was genuinely delighted by them. But seeing his mother’s reluctance to accept, he could only push the items back toward Zhou Madam. “Godmother, I can’t take these!”

Zhou Madam paid him no mind. She continued stuffing the items back into Jin Ge’er’s arms as she talked with Eleven. “I heard that Jin Ge’er has started martial training under a teacher?”  Before Eleven could respond, she chided, “Whatever for? Training in the freezing winters and scorching summers — martial arts is so grueling. How can you bear to put him through it? Is our Jin Ge’er supposed to advance in his career on the strength of his fists?”

While Zhou Madam was championing Jin Ge’er’s cause here, Fifth Madam was championing her own son’s case elsewhere.

“…After all, it’s not as if it were a teacher hired specifically for your own household. When it comes to teaching the children, there is bound to be some favoritism.” She sat on the embroidered stool beside Old Marquis Sun’s bed, carefully blowing the medicine cool before feeding it to him. “It’s the same horse stance training — Teacher Pang privately teaches Jin Ge’er internal cultivation techniques, so now Jin Ge’er can hold a horse stance for four or five incense sticks’ worth of time without any strain. Our Shen Ge’er has suffered for it. Three sticks is already enough to make his legs cramp up. And yet Shen Ge’er is that unyielding sort who can’t stand being bested — he grits his teeth and refuses to yield. I tried to tell him that different fingers have different lengths, and that while Jin Ge’er might have a better horse stance, Shen Ge’er’s archery is better than his. He wouldn’t listen. Not only that — he’s taken to practicing horse stances in the morning and then again when he comes home in the evening. Father, what are we to do about this?”

The implication, of course, was that she hoped Old Marquis Sun could separately find a teacher for Shen Ge’er.

“Oh?” Old Marquis Sun listened with mild surprise. “Does that mean Marquis Yongping has agreed to let Jin Ge’er study internal cultivation under the teacher?”

When a person grows old, they find it harder to withstand illness. Ever since Old Marquis Sun had caught a chill on the Mid-Autumn Festival, he had taken ill and not recovered. It had now been nearly two months. The Grand Madam, upon learning of this, had asked Xu Lingkuan to bring Fifth Madam and the children back to stay at the Hongdeng Hutong residence. Fifth Madam had been tending to her father every day.

Seeing her father’s look of surprise, Fifth Madam quickly said, “That’s right! I’ve also heard that Jin Ge’er practices external martial arts in the morning with a horse stance, and in the evenings returns home to meditate and practice internal cultivation. Because of this, the Marquis had Teacher Zhao cut Jin Ge’er’s academic coursework in half.”

Old Marquis Sun settled back against the large resting bolster. The easygoing expression of a moment ago had given way to a look of gravity.

He drank his medicine in silence. It was not until Fifth Madam had tidied everything away and was about to withdraw that he pointed to the embroidered stool beside him and gestured for her to stay. “Tell me — do you know that once a person has mastered internal cultivation, while it does make learning external martial arts twice as effective with half the effort, the foundation-building period requires one to remain unmarried? Otherwise, all the work comes to nothing.”

Fifth Madam’s face was filled with confusion.

“Do you still want Shen Ge’er to study internal cultivation?” Old Marquis Sun asked his daughter, with meaning behind his words.

“I don’t!” Fifth Madam answered without a moment’s hesitation. “I’m counting on Shen Ge’er to marry and have children early.” And then a look of uncertainty crossed her face. “Fourth Sister-in-law only has this one son. How can she bear it…”

“Indeed.” Old Marquis Sun looked at his daughter. “Even she is willing to bear it. You have two sons — why can’t you?”

Fifth Madam was dumbfounded.

Old Marquis Sun was already calling out to those attending him in a loud voice. “Go and bring the Seventh Young Master in!”

“Father!” Fifth Madam felt a growing sense of unease.

Was her son’s future to be decided just like this?

“It is peacetime now — no wars to be fought. What’s the use of learning all this?” she protested. “And besides, even if times were turbulent, it would never come to our Shen Ge’er having to go into battle with a real sword and spear!”

“If even you understand this reasoning, do you think your Fourth Uncle does not?” Old Marquis Sun smiled. “You ought to put that mind of yours to better use. Now go and fetch Lingkuan for me.”

Fifth Madam walked away in a somewhat sullen mood.

The long-serving attendant who had been standing silently and slightly bowed at the head of the old marquis’s bed raised his head at last. “My lord… perhaps it would be best to wait and see about this matter a while longer… The Seventh Young Master is still so young…”

“No need!” Old Marquis Sun shook his head. “In letters and learning, there is no final ranking — scholars endlessly debate who ranks first or second among themselves, and can only go by seniority and precedence in the end. Those of us who have come up through the ranks of the military are different. One punch thrown, and it’s plain for all to see who wins and who loses. Whoever has the hardest fist commands respect. Think about it — if Xu Lingyi hadn’t had a strong foundation in martial arts, how could he have brought those veteran old hands in the barracks under his command so quickly? Do you think they truly feared his title as Marquis Yongping? Since our Shen Ge’er will sooner or later walk this path, it’s better to plan ahead now than to sharpen the spear only when the battle is already upon you. Besides, the Xu family still has that great spread of influence in the military — do you think Xu Lingyi can simply leave it unattended?” Old Marquis Sun spoke on, his eyes gazing with a faraway, deep look at the blue-green hexagonal patterned ceiling above, his voice gradually dropping lower. “The west has been at peace for ten years now… The Emperor is in his prime, and naturally all is well… But what of ten years from now? By then, Jin Ge’er ought to be fifteen or sixteen years old…”

The attendant’s body gave a slight tremor. “My lord…”

“A man who does not think ahead will find trouble close at hand.” Old Marquis Sun smiled. “Xu Lingyi is not the kind of man who keeps his eyes fixed on the ground. If you don’t believe me, we’ll just watch and see!”

Within a few days, Shen Ge’er swaggered back to Hehua Lane.

He pointed to a powerfully built man standing beside him, cast a glance at the slightly limping Teacher Pang, and announced with a grin, “This is Teacher Yang. My grandfather has gifted him to me. Starting today, I will be studying internal cultivation techniques under his instruction.”

Jin Ge’er’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

He went home that evening and waved his fists at Eleven. “I’m the older brother, and I can’t even match him — won’t that be a laughingstock for everyone…” The boy who used to linger in his blankets every morning now got himself out of bed without waiting for Hongyun to come and wake him.

Whether a person succeeds or not depends, in great measure, on whether he possesses a heart of unyielding resolve.

Eleven felt this was a fine opportunity.

She rose with Jin Ge’er every morning and sat with him in meditation. Over the New Year’s holiday, she declined all invitations — no matter whether the household was hosting a theatrical performance or receiving New Year’s guests, Eleven would make a brief appearance and then return without lingering a moment extra, maintaining the same rhythm of daily life as before.

This made a deep impression on Jin Ge’er. Most importantly, through this period of diligent practice, he had begun to find his way in both external and internal martial arts alike. This gave Jin Ge’er a sudden sense of joy that surpassed anything he had known before — a feeling of transcending his own limits. He grew more self-assured. Imperceptibly, he had come to embrace the belief Eleven had instilled in him: that perseverance leads to success.

—