Ying Niang lay in bed the whole time, waiting for news. It was not until the first watch of midnight that a woman servant came to relay a message: “The Sixth Young Master and Second Young Master came home late — and happened to run into each other right at the gate. Second Young Master and Fifth Young Master are both spending the night at Sixth Young Master’s quarters. Sixth Young Master says it’s too late tonight, and he will come to the inner courtyard tomorrow morning early to pay his respects to the Grand Matriarch and Fourth Madam.”

She breathed a long sigh of relief, rewarded the woman servant with a handful of copper coins, and lay there with her mind still on the business of Jin Ge’er’s fight. But by then the inner courtyard was already locked for the night… she dozed fitfully for a while, and when she woke the sky was still dark. She called for the night-duty maid, Shi Yan, to come in: “What time is it?”

Shi Yan was a personal maid who had come from Yuhang with Ying Niang when she married. She threw on a small robe and ran to the hall to check the chiming clock: “Just past the third quarter of the fourth watch. It’s still early — do rest a little more.”

The inner courtyard gates were unlocked at the third quarter of the fifth watch.

Ying Niang sat up. “Call the little maid to bring water in — I’m going to Qingyin Residence to have a look.”

Shi Yan covered her mouth and laughed: “Fifth Young Madam, there’s no need to worry — Fifth Young Master said he was spending the night at Sixth Young Master’s quarters, so he certainly is. And there’s Second Young Master there to keep them company besides.”

The two of them were close and often joked with each other. But this time Ying Niang did not laugh. Shi Yan quickly schooled her expression and curtseyed respectfully, instructing the maid to help with washing and dressing.

Ying Niang made her way to Qingyin Residence at the earliest possible hour.

The household at Qingyin Residence had only just roused itself, with the young maids still bleary-eyed. The head maid, A Jin — Hong Wen had long since married out — wore a smile on her face, but it did not reach her eyes.

“Fifth Young Madam.” Without waiting for Ying Niang to speak, she drew her into an unoccupied hall. “What are we to do?” Her voice trembled faintly, her tears hovering at the rim of her eyes. “The corner of Sixth Young Master’s mouth is split, and there’s a bruise on his forehead — when he goes to pay his respects to Madam and the Grand Matriarch later, how are we to explain it away?”

But Ying Niang asked urgently, “Is he hurt anywhere else?”

“There’s a bruise on his shoulder,” A Jin shook her head. “Nowhere else.”

Ying Niang breathed a deep sigh of relief, and only then asked about how to manage the aftermath: “What did Second Young Master say?”

“Second Young Master brought Sixth Young Master back and then went out again — he hasn’t been seen since.” A Jin said in a low voice. “It was Fifth Young Master who stayed and kept applying well water to the corner of Sixth Young Master’s mouth.” Her tone carried a faint undercurrent of dissatisfaction toward Xu Siyu.

Ying Niang was momentarily taken aback.

Then the room rang with Jin Ge’er’s clear, bright voice, tinged with a note of good cheer: “Fifth Sister-in-law, why have you come so early?”

Ying Niang looked up to see Jin Ge’er lifting the inner room’s curtain and walking out, dressed in a sapphire-blue brocade robe.

His face was as fair as white jade, making the slightly swollen, purplish bruise at the corner of his mouth all the more conspicuous.

Ying Niang felt a pang of tenderness at the sight. She reached out instinctively to touch it, then stopped herself for fear of causing him pain, her outstretched hand pausing mid-air. She asked him with care: “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t!” Jin Ge’er grinned — but the moment he did, it tugged at the bruised corner of his mouth, and before the smile could fully form he was wincing. The resulting expression was rather comical. “At the time I didn’t notice, and afterward I couldn’t feel it.”

“Still putting on a brave face in front of me?” Ying Niang couldn’t help but scold him. “A gentleman avoids unnecessary danger. Look at you — actually getting into a brawl. I’d like to see how you explain this away.” She turned and asked A Jin, “Is there any rouge powder? Mixed with white face powder, it might be possible to cover it up.” Then she said, “I actually have a box of rouge powder in my quarters,” and called out loudly for Shi Yan: “…go fetch it quickly!”

Shi Yan went off at a run.

“I’m not a woman!” Jin Ge’er protested, raising his voice. “What kind of thing is it to put powder on my face? Besides, from this close up, even if Grandmother’s eyesight isn’t what it used to be, she’d smell the powder fragrance and likely grow suspicious. Better to think of another way.”

“Then you tell me — what do we do?” Ying Niang stared at him wide-eyed. “Say you tripped and fell? You’ve been standing in a horse stance since age six — you’re more likely to floor someone else than fall yourself.” Then she caught herself quickly: “Right — what happened yesterday? Was anything serious? Are Chang’an and Suifeng all right? Who else knows about this? The other side said they came from Huai’an and were shouting that they weren’t afraid even of facing the Emperor — has anyone traced their background?”

“Don’t worry. Those fellows thought a few moves made them fighters — they didn’t give the Shuntian Prefecture authorities or the Five Districts Military Commissioner’s men any thought at all. By the time they realized things had gone wrong and went to call for reinforcements, we’d already slipped away.” Jin Ge’er spoke with a touch of satisfaction in his brow. “Chang’an and Suifeng only took minor injuries — a bit of bruise ointment will sort them out. As for that blind lot — they won’t be getting out of bed for at least a year or two…” He added, “And they picked the wrong territory to throw their weight around in. A mighty dragon is still no match for the local snake. Serves them right. The guards I brought out are the finest fighters in our household — if those men could have beaten them, I’d say we’d better take down the imperially granted plaque from our gate before we embarrass ourselves any further.” A tone of complete disdain.

“What are you going on about?” Ying Niang was alarmed. “You won — that should be enough. Why did you have to put them down so badly? Show some mercy when mercy can be shown. From what I heard from the manservant, you were the one who started it…”

“What do you mean I started it — they started it, not me!” Before she could finish, Jin Ge’er leapt up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “I came out from the Dingguo Ducal Household and accidentally startled their carriage horses — I apologized to them, and they still followed me all the way to the teahouse. When I saw how arrogant they were, I first disabled two of their attendants, then said I’d host them at the Spring Brightness Restaurant for a couple of tables of wine by way of apology, and that would settle the matter. But they wouldn’t accept it — they went and called for even more men. What did you expect me to do? I think I was more than magnanimous enough. Were they expecting me to just stand there and let them beat me?”

Ying Niang immediately seized on the slip in his words: “You said you were going out to stroll around. So how did you end up at the Dingguo Ducal Household? And how did you come to startle their carriage horses? Even granting all that — you apologized, and surely the Dingguo Ducal Household’s gatemen would have recognized you. If there was a conflict, why didn’t someone from the Ducal Household come out to mediate? How did they let those people follow you all the way to the teahouse?”

Jin Ge’er looked somewhat embarrassed and was about to speak when a low, measured voice suddenly came: “He was wearing a manservant’s clothes and came bolting out of a back alley of the Ducal Household. He nearly frightened several of the guards into falling from their horses.”

“Second Elder Brother!” Jin Ge’er’s face went red.

Ying Niang quickly looked in the direction of the voice.

Xu Siyu was still wearing yesterday’s dark raven-blue brocade robe, a faint weariness around his eyes — he looked somewhat spent.

“Dressed as a manservant, how would the gatekeepers ever think it was Jin Ge’er?” He spoke as he walked toward them. “The Grand Canal Commissioner Chen Bozhi rules Huai’an with absolute authority. His only son, Chen Ji, grew up in Huai’an surrounded by adulation, and has developed a character that looks down on everyone. This time he came to the capital on imperial orders. Jin Ge’er apologized and ran off without a trace of sincerity, so how could Chen Ji let it drop? And then—” he looked at Jin Ge’er “—you struck and disabled two of Chen Ji’s attendants right off the bat, and in the same breath invited him to the Spring Brightness Restaurant for a feast. That shocked them into silence, and when they asked what household you were from, you said you were a relative of the Dingguo Ducal Household — but would a proper relative of the Ducal Household come out through a back alley? Would Ducal Household servants fail to recognize their own relations? How was Chen Ji supposed to take that? He naturally thought he was being toyed with, so of course he was furious beyond measure!”

“Second Elder Brother,” Jin Ge’er let out a dry laugh, “I was only worried because they seemed so confident in themselves — I was afraid that if I gave them our household’s name, they’d get a grip on what they were dealing with and find a way to take the upper hand once it all blew up. If I’d known that doing so would lead to another fight, I should have just announced Fourth Uncle’s name from the start!”

Whether he had been truly afraid of his father finding out he’d been in a fight, or whether he’d been afraid of giving his adversaries a handle — Ying Niang had her doubts.

Xu Siyu made no comment on this. Instead he reflected aloud, “The injured guards — I’ve already spoken to all of them. They’ve been with you day after day, and with the new year coming, I’ve arranged for the Guard Office to give them leave. By the time the new year is past, their injuries should be mostly healed. As for your injury—” he gave Jin Ge’er a pointed look “—last night I found a solution. I located a father-daughter pair who earn their living singing, and have had them brought into the household and settled in the side courtyard of the east cluster rooms…”

“Second Elder Brother!” Jin Ge’er caught on immediately. His face lit up with delight. He took Xu Siyu’s arm. “I knew Second Elder Brother would have a contingency plan. And what a plan! When Mother or Grandmother asks about it later, I’ll say I saw this father-daughter pair being bullied on the street, and stepped in to help — a righteous man who cannot abide injustice.” He grinned so broadly his eyes curved into crescents. “Second Elder Brother, you must have put a great deal of thought into this. I’ll treat you to a meal at the Tingli Pavilion later.” Then he said to Ying Niang, “Fifth Elder Brother is invited too. And whatever Fifth Sister-in-law would like to eat, I’ll have it sent over!”

Xu Siyu watched him, and in the depths of his eyes there briefly flashed an unnoticed look of quiet, helpless tenderness.

Ying Niang had been listening with her mouth hanging open, and scarcely had attention to spare for Jin Ge’er — she was still asking Xu Siyu earnestly: “Will this… will this really work?”

Xu Siyu gave no answer. After a moment’s silent contemplation, he suddenly turned to Jin Ge’er: “What were you doing at the Dingguo Ducal Household? You have a perfectly spacious main gate, so why were you dressed as a manservant and coming out through their back alley?”

Jin Ge’er was struck speechless for a moment.

“Ahhh — wearing a manservant’s clothes so pickpockets wouldn’t target me, obviously. Second Elder Brother, have you been away from Yanjing for the new year period too long? You have no idea how crowded East and West Main Street gets — I’m convinced the entire population of Yanjing pours onto East and West Main Street at once…”

He was spinning diversions in all directions.

Xu Siyu simply regarded him in silence.

But Ying Niang suddenly had a flash of clarity.

That time she had accompanied her mother-in-law to the Marquis Weibei household for a wedding banquet — someone had mentioned that a young gentleman of the Dingguo Ducal Household hoped to become the Princess’s consort, and had asked her mother-in-law to help put in a word…

“Jin Ge’er,” she cried out, “don’t tell me you went on the First Princess’s behalf to get a look at that young gentleman from the Dingguo Ducal Household?”

Jin Ge’er froze completely where he stood.

Xu Siyu’s expression grew slightly grave on hearing this. “Fifth Sister-in-law,” he said, “tell me — what exactly is going on?”

Ying Niang, sensing something in his manner, felt a faint unease. “That day I was with Jin Ge’er in Mother’s courtyard…”

“Never mind — since Fifth Sister-in-law has already guessed, I’d better explain it myself,” Jin Ge’er said, cutting Ying Niang off, his head hanging as though wilted by frost, his voice flat and dispirited. “The First Princess’s marriage has many candidates, but His Majesty and Her Ladyship the Empress can’t seem to settle on anyone. Word spread for a while that His Majesty had his eye on the youngest son of Ouyang Ming, then that Her Ladyship the Empress had taken a liking to the Crown Princess’s cousin. The First Princess has met both of them, and says one has a face full of brutish features and the other is dull as a doorpost — that marrying either of them would be worse than being a widow. She asked me to look into all the candidates who had made the list, so she could pick one herself.”