After the Dragon Boat Festival, Luo Zhensheng brought a scholar by the surname Chang — who held the rank of juren — to visit the Xu Mansion. Xu Lingyi spoke with Scholar Chang for an hour, then instructed Steward Bai to have Listening to the Waves Pavilion, not far from Shuangfu Courtyard, tidied up. “From now on, the Fifth Young Master will study with Teacher Chang at Listening to the Waves Pavilion!”

The rumor that “the Fifth Young Master, like the Second Young Master, will be going to Le’an to study” finally came to nothing. The person who let out the biggest sigh of relief was Xu Sizhun.

“I said it before — Mother went to see our uncle,” Xu Sijie said with a smile, looking at his elder brother. “Uncle would find me a private tutor. I was not going to go to Le’an.” He had absolute confidence in Eleventh Lady.

“I was only afraid that Uncle might not be able to find a suitable person,” Xu Sizhun said a little sheepishly. “And that if he couldn’t, Mother might take one look at how well Second Brother is doing in Le’an and, in a moment of resolve, send you off there too… and then I would be left all alone.” His voice trailed off with a touch of forlornness toward the end.

Xu Sijie felt warmth well up in his heart. “That wouldn’t happen. Isn’t Sixth Brother still at home? Even if I went to Le’an to study, I would come back for every festival and holiday!”

As he said this, he realized his words were a bit problematic.

Xu Sizhun felt a little embarrassed.

Sixth Brother was perfectly fine — it was just that he was so young, there was nothing to do together. Without even meaning to, Xu Sizhun had never quite thought of him as a friend.

“Oh, let’s not talk about all this,” he said, waving his hand and quickly changing the subject. “Now that you don’t have to go to Le’an, and your study room will be right next door to Shuangfu Courtyard, we can go to class together again.” Then he added, “When are you officially starting at Listening to the Waves Pavilion? Teacher Chang is your private tutor, but should I go and pay my respects to him as well?”

“I’m not sure,” Xu Sijie said. “Why don’t we go and ask Mother?”

The two of them went to the main room.

Xu Lingyi was speaking with Eleventh Lady about the children’s affairs. “…As for Zhun Ge’er, Teacher Zhao knows what to do. Jin Ge’er will come to me for calligraphy practice, and I will supervise his classroom studies as well. As for Sijie — I can see that Teacher Zhao is a very conscientious person. The boy has been studying under Teacher Zhao and has grown used to a somewhat relaxed pace. With a new teacher, he may find the adjustment difficult. He is also of a reserved nature, so you will need to check in on him often. As for Teacher Chang’s compensation, I intend to set it on a par with what Teacher Zhao received when he first arrived — thirty taels of silver per year, one manservant, and two sets of seasonal clothing for both hot and cold weather. If his teaching proves good, we can give him additional reward money at year’s end. And if Sijie manages to pass the shengyuan examination, I will give a separate reward.”

The going rate for a private tutor in Yanjing was between twenty and thirty taels a year. Xu Lingyi was additionally providing a manservant, seasonal clothing, and a year-end bonus — this was no meager arrangement.

Eleventh Lady gave a slight nod.

“You may rest easy, Marquis!” The weather had been growing gradually warmer, and it was not yet time to bring out the ice. She picked up a round fan and fanned Xu Lingyi, who had just come in through the door. “I will keep an eye on Sijie. Only — with Jin Ge’er in your care, you must not simply indulge his every whim. And you must not take him to the riding grounds on horseback. He should be at least ten years old before that. If you truly must go, take him yourself and accompany him personally…”

She stood at his side, and with her every movement, a subtle fragrance drifted in the air.

“So in the end, are you telling me to take him riding, or not to take him riding?”

His gaze drifted over her with unhurried ease.

Her white and silver-striped tunic hung loosely about her, rippling like water with each motion of her fan, making her fullness seem more pronounced and her waist more slender — there was a teasing allure in it that seemed to hold back what it might say.

He abruptly snatched the fan from her hand and fanned himself vigorously.

“First you say no, then you say yes. If you go on like this, the child won’t know what to do…”

Eleventh Lady glared at him.

Who was the one who had taken Jin Ge’er riding in the first place? Now the child had riding on his mind every other day. Whenever he came home, he would fawn on him — bringing him tea, pouring him water, circling around him like a little puppy…

“I say no, but does the Marquis ever listen to me?” A tinge of coquettish complaint crept into her voice involuntarily. “You even said that boys cannot spend all day mingling with maidservants and the wives of servants — that their horizons will be narrow, and they will end up gossiping about this family and that family…”

A young maidservant called from beyond the curtain: “Marquis, Madam, the Fourth Young Master and the Fifth Young Master have come!”

Eleventh Lady quickly stopped what she was saying.

Xu Lingyi saw that her expression still carried a trace of vexation and could not help but feel a little regretful for having spoken too bluntly. He pressed the fan into her hand and, taking the opportunity, covered her hand with his own. “All right — the children are here!” His voice dropped a notch, his tone turning very gentle, carrying in it a coaxing quality.

Eleventh Lady was not opposed to his view as such — she simply did not trust riding masters she had never met, and would rather Jin Ge’er go with him. She was also annoyed by his tone. Now that Xu Lingyi had lowered himself a little, the small displeasure in her heart naturally dissolved. But she still gave him a pinch on the shoulder before smiling.

She was becoming more and more like a child.

Xu Lingyi smiled and shook his head.

Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie walked in.

“You have come at just the right time!” After the children paid their respects, Eleventh Lady had a young maidservant bring brocade stools for them to sit on. Before either of them could speak, Xu Lingyi said, “Teacher Chang will come to live at the household after the fifteenth of the fifth month.” He looked at Xu Sijie. “These next few days, get your things in order. You will be taking your classes at Listening to the Waves Pavilion from now on.” He then turned to Xu Sizhun. “Once Sijie moves to Listening to the Waves Pavilion, Teacher Zhao will teach Jin Ge’er in the mornings and you in the afternoons. From now on, you will come with me to the outer courtyard every morning to learn how to manage the household’s affairs.”

Both children stood and respectfully replied, “Yes.”

Xu Lingyi gave them a few more words of instruction — “Listen to your teacher and apply yourselves to your studies,” “Observe and listen attentively; if there is something you do not understand, ask Steward Bai, and do not make decisions on your own” — then sent both children off to prepare.

Xu Sizhun caught Eleventh Lady’s eye.

Eleventh Lady showed no reaction, and walked the two children to the door.

Xu Sizhun quickly said, “I would like to invite Teacher Chang to a meal when the time comes — would that be all right?”

“Of course!” Eleventh Lady considered that Xu Sizhun would not be sitting the imperial examinations, which meant there was no objective measure of how well Teacher Zhao’s instruction was going. When there was only one live-in tutor, it did not matter much. But now that there would be two, and while she trusted Teacher Zhao’s character, she had had little interaction with Teacher Chang — if friction arose between the two teachers, it would be Xu Sizhun and Xu Sijie who suffered. She advised Xu Sizhun, “Teacher Zhao is your teacher and has also taught your Fifth Brother. All these years, he has treated the two of you as warmly as a family member. You must not be neglectful toward Teacher Zhao. Since you plan to invite Teacher Chang, why not invite Teacher Zhao as his host, and let Teacher Zhao help you receive Teacher Chang? The two teachers can take the opportunity to get acquainted.” A good beginning was always advantageous. It also occurred to her that Xu Sizhun was about to formally take over the household affairs, so she instructed him further, “When you are in the outer courtyard, treat the household managers with courtesy — they will be your helpers in the years to come.”

Xu Sizhun nodded repeatedly.

After Teacher Chang officially moved in, Xu Sizhun did exactly as Eleventh Lady had instructed, inviting Teacher Zhao as host and hosting a banquet for Teacher Chang in his own courtyard. Teacher Chang had learned beforehand that both young masters had received their foundational education from Teacher Zhao, and that Teacher Zhao only taught things pertaining to moral cultivation and self-refinement, which naturally required no rigorous demands. He, on the other hand, would need to teach Xu Sijie the eight-legged essay, which required strict supervision. He had been somewhat worried that Xu Sijie might be afraid of hard work and, being prejudiced, might constantly compare him unfavorably to Teacher Zhao and refuse to comply. Now, seeing that both boys were very respectful toward him and conducted themselves with warmth and courtesy, he concluded that Teacher Zhao had taught them well, and the weight on his heart lifted. He also felt a little ashamed of his earlier suspicion that Teacher Zhao was idling in the Xu household for easy money, and treated Teacher Zhao with great courtesy in turn. Teacher Zhao, being a man of broad and open disposition, had actually feared that a man like Teacher Chang — who regarded the eight-legged essay as sacred scripture — might look down on his poetry and belles-lettres. Now that Teacher Chang had taken the initiative to befriend him, he treated Teacher Chang as a friend in return. On their free days, they often went out together, and before long, the two had become good friends.

With the teachers on good terms, the atmosphere of the children’s studies naturally improved as well.

Xu Sijie applied himself with meticulous diligence, following Teacher Chang’s requirements to the letter. Xu Sizhun, meanwhile, handled household affairs with Xu Lingyi every morning, daring not to be careless in the slightest, and gradually shifted his focus to the matters of the outer courtyard. He was slow to get the hang of things, but what he lacked in speed he made up for in warmth and willingness to learn from the household managers. These qualities would endear anyone to others over time — let alone someone who was the Yongping Marquis’s heir and whose standing made the matter all the more significant. The household managers came to regard him with a measure of genuine respect, and Xu Sizhun’s reputation for being “generous and tolerant” gradually spread.

What Xu Lingyi sought now was steadiness. Xu Sizhun’s performance pleased him greatly, and he gave him free rein to manage household affairs. He himself rose early every day to go with Jin Ge’er to Xiumu Courtyard to oversee Jin Ge’er’s martial training, and in the afternoons checked on Jin Ge’er’s schoolwork. As long as Jin Ge’er completed his studies well, he would take him outside for an outing, or tell Jin Ge’er stories from his past campaigns. Once, in a moment of particular enthusiasm, he had even taken Jin Ge’er to the household sand table to trace out the nine provinces by map.

Jin Ge’er found it tremendously enjoyable to spend time with his father. He no longer went to feed the birds, no longer went to walk the dogs, no longer traded barbs with Shen Ge’er. Every day, he thought of nothing but finishing his schoolwork as quickly and as well as possible so he could play with his father and listen to the thrilling and extraordinary tales he told.

Eleventh Lady noticed the change in her son and could not help but feel a little worried. She checked his schoolwork several times and found that it was actually better than before, and completed more quickly. She then appeared unannounced in the outer courtyard one afternoon, and saw that Xu Lingyi was simply telling him stories and building topographic models with him while Jin Ge’er listened with eyes bright and full of delight, playing with boundless enthusiasm. A wave of feeling washed over her.

Boys, when they grew older, simply preferred to be with their father.

The sense of loss this feeling stirred in her did not last long.

Xu Sijie was coming to take his meals with her more and more frequently, and sometimes after eating he would linger and chat with Eleventh Lady, clinging to her in a way that was particularly endearing.

Eleventh Lady thought about it and began drawing him out in conversation about his studies.

It turned out that when he had been studying under Teacher Zhao, if he did poorly, Teacher Zhao would scold him, and if he did well, Teacher Zhao would offer him great praise. But now under Teacher Chang, even though he was working very hard, he rarely received any affirmation from Teacher Chang. He did not know whether or not he was meeting Teacher Chang’s expectations.

“Has Teacher Chang criticized you for anything?” Eleventh Lady asked.

“No!”

“Well, there you have it!” Eleventh Lady said with a smile. “If you were not doing well, Teacher Chang would certainly criticize you. Since he hasn’t, that means you are doing fine.”

Xu Sijie had always trusted Eleventh Lady most of all. Hearing this, he let out a breath of relief and went back to his classes under Teacher Chang in good spirits once more.

With every child having found their footing, the hottest month of the year — the sixth month — arrived.

And Xu Siyu came hurrying back from Le’an in a cloud of dust!

—