The Grand Madam’s heart brimmed with joy. She spread her arms and pulled Jin Ge’er into her embrace. “My darling, Grandmother has been longing for you to come back! Was Baoding fun? Where is your father?” She spoke without pausing, craning her head toward the doorway as she did.

The curtain stirred, and Xu Lingyi and Lady Shiyi walked in one after the other.

Xu Lingyi stood tall and upright, a smile on his face, looking vigorous and full of spirit.

Lady Shiyi wore a plain pink embroidered silk half-coat, her expression soft and gentle — like a begonia in early spring, languid and charming. She looked entirely different from her usual self.

The Grand Madam gave a slight start. She felt something flit across her mind, but with her heart so full of Xu Lingyi walking in at the front, she quickly put that fleeting impression behind her.

“Why has it taken you this long?” the Grand Madam said with fond reproach, scanning her son from head to toe and seeing that he looked even healthier than when he had left. She gave an imperceptible nod of satisfaction and said with a smile, “Was the road safe? Have you eaten?”

“It was smooth going all the way. Everything was fine. I’m sorry Mother was worried.” Xu Lingyi performed a formal bow before the Grand Madam. “We haven’t eaten yet. After arriving, I freshened up and came straight here — intending to come and cadge a meal from Mother!”

*If you know I’ve been worried, then don’t go away anymore.*

The words reached her lips, but catching the brightness in her son’s eyes, she remembered what Lady Shiyi had said about Xu Lingyi having stayed home all these past two years. The Grand Madam swallowed the words back down. Then, thinking of her son not yet having eaten, she called loudly for Yuban: “What are you waiting for — bring the Laba porridge!” Then she smiled and said, “How fortunate — today is the Laba Festival. Let’s have the porridge first and welcome in good fortune, then we’ll have our proper meal.” With that, she thought of the precious little grandson in her arms, who had also not yet eaten. She stood up and took Jin Ge’er by the hand. “Come, let’s go eat our porridge.”

“Laba porridge!” Jin Ge’er leaped joyfully alongside the Grand Madam toward the sitting room in the east antechamber, chattering away: “Grandmother, what have you been doing at home all these days? I missed you so much. When I was in Baoding, I ate donkey meat. I wanted to bring you some too. But Father said it was too far — it would have spoiled by the time we got back. So I bought you a wooden comb instead.” He stopped walking and with a touch of bashfulness pulled a bright red sachet from inside his robe and held it out to the Grand Madam. “The comb’s craftsmanship is ordinary, but I thought the meaning behind it was nice, so I bought it…”

“Oh my!” The Grand Madam was genuinely surprised. “My Jin Ge’er even brought me a present…” There was unmistakable emotion in her voice. “Let me see, let me see.” She stopped right at the doorway of the east side room and opened the sachet.

It was indeed a very simple comb — boxwood, with a pair of longevity peaches carved along the back. Not unlike the kind the little maids in the household used.

“It’s lovely, simply lovely!” The Grand Madam ran her fingers over the carved peaches, full of praise. “The meaning really is wonderful.”

Jin Ge’er exhaled with relief and explained: “We only stopped in Baoding for one meal before moving on. Things elsewhere were even harder to find. Next time I go out, I’ll definitely bring you back something nicer.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” The Grand Madam beamed with happiness and walked with Jin Ge’er into the east antechamber. “Without you here, Shen Ge’er looked downcast every time he came to visit — it was so quiet around here…”

Jin Ge’er said sympathetically: “It must be because he isn’t allowed to go out.” Then his voice brightened again: “But I brought him something too. It’s a riding whip. Jade-handled, with a black gold lash — it looks magnificent. I have one just like it. It was given to me by someone who used to groom Father’s horses. He knew Father was in Bazhou and rode two whole days to get there. Do you know Pingshun? This man serves as a registrar there — that’s a rank-nine official. Do you know what a registrar does? He’s in charge of catching thieves. When we were having a meal, he stood to the side the whole time pouring the wine. When we were leaving, he secretly pressed two enormous gold ingots into my hands…”

The two of them talked as they settled onto the daybed in the east antechamber.

“Really!” the Grand Madam said, playing along with a delighted, surprised tone. “So our Jin Ge’er met all sorts of people on this trip!”

“Yes, indeed!” Having been out on this journey and encountered so many unusual people and things, Jin Ge’er was eager to share every bit of it. The Grand Madam’s words were exactly what he’d been waiting to hear. He counted on his fingers and rattled off one name after another: “I also met the deputy magistrate of Qingyuan, the assistant magistrate of Dingxing, the garrison commander of Jizhou…”

Xu Lingyi, who had been following unhurriedly behind the two of them, suddenly leaned down slightly and said in a low voice close to Lady Shiyi’s ear: “I brought you something too!”

From the moment they had seen each other until now, the two of them hadn’t managed to exchange a single proper word…

Lady Shiyi covered her smile with her sleeve and shot him a sidelong glance. But unlike before, when she would only turn red and say nothing, there was something easy and familiar in her look this time.

Xu Lingyi felt a stirring in his heart and quietly squeezed her hand.

From outside came a flurry of sound, mixed with a maid’s low urgent calls: “Seventh Young Master, slow down, slow down…”

The husband and wife glanced at each other with a smile and let go of each other’s hands.

Shen Ge’er came charging in, full of excitement: “Sixth Brother, you’re back!”

“Seventh Brother!” Jin Ge’er ran to meet him.

The two little figures threw their arms around each other.

“Was Baoding fun?” Shen Ge’er demanded eagerly. “Where did you go?”

“So many places!” Jin Ge’er said excitedly. “Dingxing, Bazhou, Zhuozhou…” He hadn’t even finished before Xu Sizhun and Jiang Shi arrived.

“Father, you’re back!” He bowed respectfully to Xu Lingyi and reached out to ruffle Jin Ge’er’s hair with a fond smile.

Jiang Shi bent forward with a bright smile and asked Jin Ge’er: “You went to so many places, didn’t you? Come, tell us all about it.” Jin Ge’er’s eyes immediately curved with delight, and he launched into a cheerful account of everything he had seen and heard along the way.

Before long, Xu Lingkuan, Fifth Madam, Xu Sijie, Xiang Shi, and the others all arrived as well, and everyone gathered around to listen to Jin Ge’er talk.

Jin Ge’er was positively beaming — his eyebrows dancing, his spirits soaring. If Yuban hadn’t come in carrying the porridge, there would have been no end to his story.

That afternoon, Jin Ge’er pulled Shen Ge’er back to his own room and gave him the gift he had bought — then dragged out everything he had picked up along the way: an ear pick, a dough figurine, a little bronze man who could box, a double-chamber Mandarin Duck wine flask that poured two different drinks at once… and spread them all out for Shen Ge’er to see, explaining when and how he had bought each item. Shen Ge’er’s eyes lit up with wonder, and Jin Ge’er was thoroughly pleased with himself. The two of them went off together to distribute gifts to everyone.

Xu Lingyi watched the two little figures bounce and skip out the door and turned with a smile to Lady Shiyi, who was sorting through his clothes. “Why haven’t you asked me what I bought for you?”

“Am I not waiting for my lord to bring it up himself?” Lady Shiyi laughed. “Who goes asking for their own gift?”

In the past, when he had bought her little things, she would simply smile politely and thank him — nothing like this easy, casual warmth that carried just a hint of intimacy.

Xu Lingyi took her by the hand. “Come with me.” They went to the study.

A gleaming red lacquer chest sat in the corner — clearly new, acquired on this trip.

He opened the chest. Inside were, surprisingly, many scroll paintings.

Xu Lingyi lifted the scrolls out and set them on the floor.

“These are paintings I made during this trip.” He unrolled them one by one. “Look — this one I painted at the Fangshan relay station.” He pointed to the first painting. “This is Fangshan County’s main street — here is the county office, behind the county office is a medicine shop, and next to the medicine shop is an inn that also sells food. That’s where we ate… Fangshan is a small place; there isn’t much to see… This one is Bazhou… The entire East Street alley is lined with food stalls. The most famous is the Wan family pumpkin soup — Jin Ge’er and I went specially to try it, and it was honestly nothing remarkable… This is Grain Merchant Lane, full of stalls selling embroidered goods, pearl and jade hairpieces, and scholar’s caps — I found it fairly ordinary too.” He paused, then smiled and took something from the chest. “Have a look at this…”

Lady Shiyi slowly unrolled the embroidered scroll.

“I saw it in an embroidery shop,” Xu Lingyi said with a smile. “It’s different from what you usually embroider, isn’t it? Apparently this is an embroidery technique from the Daliang region. It doesn’t use ordinary embroidery needles either.” He pulled a small box from the chest; inside, several needles lay neatly side by side. “Look — these needles are three times as thick as yours. The thread passes through the hollow center. When you embroider, you push the needle through and pull it back up, leaving the thread end on the surface, then trim it even with scissors — and that’s how it’s done.”

He demonstrated with his hands, his expression entirely earnest.

Lady Shiyi’s vision blurred. His image before her wavered like flowers reflected in water, like the moon seen in a mirror.

She quietly set down the embroidery and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

“I love it… everything my lord has brought me, I love…”

She had traveled many places and seen many landscapes, yet in this moment she suddenly felt that even here, in this small courtyard, looking at these paintings of distant views, was something just as full of meaning.

“I love it!” Lady Shiyi pressed her ear against his chest, closed her eyes, and the deep, steady rhythm of his heartbeat reached her like the beat of a drum — thump, thump, thump. “I love it!”

Xu Lingyi was momentarily taken aback.

These were not, in fact, the gift he had intended for her.

His real gift was a necklace of solid gold set with tourmaline stones.

He had been planning to bring it out that evening.

To clasp it around her neck — that neck as fair and smooth as white jade… the image that conjured was nothing short of captivating…

On the very first evening at the Fangshan relay station, not wishing to receive any of the local officials, he had turned in early. In the lamplight, he had watched Jin Ge’er’s sleeping face — and suddenly he missed her intensely.

*If only she were here beside me…*

Thinking of how she loved to read the *Great Zhou Atlas of Nine Territories*, he had gotten up and painted this picture.

Later, whenever the journey allowed for an early rest, he would add a few more strokes.

He had never imagined she would be so moved by something like this.

The corners of Xu Lingyi’s mouth curved into a pleased, contented arc.

Making himself the adversary of his own good fortune — that was simply not in his nature.

He pressed a firm kiss to her forehead. “There’s still one more thing for you!”

“What is it?” Lady Shiyi watched as Xu Lingyi took a red lacquer carved box from the chest and settled beside her on the daybed with gleeful anticipation.

A flash of mischief crossed Xu Lingyi’s eyes. He held the box out to her. “Open it and see!”

Lady Shiyi opened the box with a look of suspicion.

It was a very strange object — one she had never seen before.

“This is…” she asked, puzzled, looking up at Xu Lingyi.

Xu Lingyi leaned close to her ear and murmured a few words.

She had never eaten pork, but she had seen pigs run by.

Like a hot potato, Lady Shiyi flung the thing onto the daybed.

“Wherever did my lord come across something like this…” Her face was so red it looked as though it could drip blood.

“Someone gave it to me!” Xu Lingyi nibbled at her ear. “I thought it was rather interesting… shall we give it a try?”

“You terrible man!” Lady Shiyi said with an endearing pout as she stood up. “I was just starting to think well of you, and then you go and…” She couldn’t even finish the sentence — she burst out laughing first.

—