Fifth Miss’s face flushed crimson as she listened. “All you ever think about is having fun!”

Seventh Miss giggled.

As the two chatted and laughed, Eleventh Miss had already finished altering the skirt.

“Try it on.”

Seventh Miss leaped to her feet, and her personal maid Mufu quickly stepped forward to help her into it.

“Very nice, very nice!” She smiled contentedly as she gazed down at her skirt hem. “With this border added, it really does look much lovelier.”

The skirt was a little long on Seventh Miss since it had been made for Eleventh Miss, so Eleventh Miss had simply cut four cun off the hem, found a piece of fabric matching the color of Seventh Miss’s jacket, and fashioned it into a decorative border to trim the skirt.

“We were held up on the road for three days, and I’ve changed into every piece of clothing I brought.” She climbed back onto the heated kang. “A proper bath and a change of clean clothes — now that is true comfort!”

Seeing that Seventh Miss was pleased, Eleventh Miss smiled and put away her sewing.

A junior maid came in to ask: “Where shall Seventh Miss’s meal be served?”

Seventh Miss smiled and said, “Right here will do!”

Dongqing and the others came forward to clear the kang table, and the junior maids brought in the food.

After the meal, the three sisters gathered around the kang table over tea.

Seventh Miss recounted her visit to the temple fair: “…blew out a breath of air, and the torch in his hand burst into flame… and he could put the torch right in his mouth…” Her voice brimmed with wonder.

Fifth Miss and Eleventh Miss had been listening to her for quite some time when Second Madam indicated she was ready to leave and sent someone to fetch Seventh Miss. But Seventh Miss wanted to stay and spend the night with Eleventh Miss: “…and it would be a perfect chance to see Fifth Sister off.”

Second Madam came to look in on things herself.

Seeing that Eleventh Miss’s quarters were tidy and tasteful, and that the maids all moved with quiet, orderly composure, she left her trusted attendant, Nanny Yu, to look after Seventh Miss, and then departed with her son, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and daughter for Laojun Hall Lane.

Seventh Miss was like a horse let loose from its reins, beside herself with delight.

Just then, First Young Mistress returned, and Seventh Miss immediately clamored to go ask her about the bed preparations.

Watching her boundless energy, Eleventh Miss smiled and went along with her to First Young Mistress’s quarters.

As they stepped outside and passed by the main courtyard, they happened to catch First Young Mistress reporting the matter to First Madam. Seventh Miss pulled Eleventh Miss along to listen.

“…Neither the mother-in-law nor the father-in-law came — they said the family was busy with spring planting and couldn’t make it. A clansman uncle came, bringing a cousin along. Both were decently dressed, though their manner was somewhat stiff; one could tell they were not accustomed to the wider world. There was also an aunt who spoke with great social ease, though she was rather tight-fisted.”

First Madam gave a slight nod. “That’s fine — it means our girl won’t have trouble holding her own once she marries in.”

Nanny Hang, who had accompanied First Young Mistress to prepare the bridal bed, chuckled and said: “You should have seen it — that aunt’s eyes went completely fixed the moment she laid eyes on the dowry we sent over. I made a point of telling the nanny keeping watch to be especially careful. We can’t afford to have anything go missing.”

“Good.” First Madam was very pleased. She turned to Nanny Hang and said, “Go rest now.”

Nanny Hang acknowledged and withdrew.

First Young Mistress noticed that Seventh Miss had been listening with rapt attention and covered her smile with her sleeve. “Is there anything else Seventh Sister would like to know?”

A deep blush flooded Seventh Miss’s face and she grabbed Eleventh Miss and bolted.

First Young Mistress smiled and said, “Seventh Sister truly has such a lively nature.”

First Madam smiled back: “Second Uncle and Second Sister-in-law treat her as their lucky star. It’s only natural they’ve spoiled her a little.”

—

Seventh Miss pulled Eleventh Miss along at a run until they reached the rear courtyard before stopping. Eleventh Miss was still catching her breath. “There — proof that a guilty conscience makes one want to run!”

“What do you mean by that!” Seventh Miss listened and pouted prettily, her cheeks rosy — she looked charmingly impish.

Eleventh Miss covered her smile with her sleeve.

“Oh, never mind, I’m not talking to you anymore.” Seventh Miss shifted the subject with a touch of evasion. “Let’s go see Tenth Sister! I haven’t seen her once all day. Last time I heard from Mother that her asthma had flared up. I wrote to her but she never wrote back. I had half a mind to ignore her, but since I’m here now, I should at least go check on her.”

The incident dated back to last New Year’s, when First Madam had asked Tenth Miss to accompany her to the temple to offer incense for First Young Mistress’s spirit tablet. Tenth Miss had fixed First Madam with a cold gaze in front of the entire household and said: “My asthma has flared up.”

First Madam said nothing and sent someone to call for a physician.

When First Master heard she was ill, he promptly summoned the doctor to ask about it — only for the doctor to say with lofty disdain: “…What sort of quack did your household engage? This young lady is perfectly fine. How is it you’re claiming she’s had asthma for three years?” That had made First Master tremble with fury. Had First Madam not stepped in to calm him down, he would have packed Tenth Miss off to a temple and left her to fend for herself.

At the time, Eleventh Miss had privately thought that perhaps being left at a temple might have given Tenth Miss a real chance at survival…

“She probably wasn’t doing well then and didn’t notice anything amiss,” Eleventh Miss said with a smile, gently making excuses for Tenth Miss.

Seventh Miss gave a little smile and pinched Eleventh Miss’s cheek. “You, always covering things up with a veneer of peace!”

Eleventh Miss smiled and accompanied Seventh Miss to Tenth Miss’s quarters.

Yinping blocked them at the entrance to the inner room: “The young miss has retired for the night!” Her expression, however, was one of silent pleading.

Seventh Miss looked over and sighed, then smiled and said, “Then please tell Tenth Sister we came to visit.”

Yinping’s face flooded with gratitude: “I will certainly tell our young miss.” She then personally saw the two of them out.

Seventh Miss glanced back toward the gate and quietly asked Eleventh Miss: “Could she be unwell in some way?”

Eleventh Miss gave a wry smile.

Honestly speaking, she felt that the Tenth Miss of today was like a person mortally ill — someone who, knowing her days were numbered, would typically set about doing whatever she had always most wanted to do but had never found the courage or occasion to do. And so Tenth Miss was even more willful now than she had been in Yuhang — more reckless, carrying a burnt-boats courage, or perhaps just sheer spite, as she goaded First Madam’s patience, wanting First Madam to feel at least some measure of the resentment she herself had borne these past years.

What she did not realize was that in the eyes of others, she was nothing more than a moth flying into the flame…

Eleventh Miss couldn’t help but think of Fourth Yiniang.

Did Tenth Miss even know that her birth mother had passed away?

It had been nearly a year, and yet First Yiniang and Second Yiniang had sent no word at all.

It was as though a riddle lay before everyone — one that no one could solve. And the one who held the answer was right there before them all, yet no one approached her to ask. Instead, they simply skirted around it as though it didn’t exist, until this very matter had curdled into something distinctly eerie.

She was still turning it over in her mind when a voice called out with a smile: “Has Seventh Miss just returned? Our Fifth Miss is inviting the two of you for tea!”

Eleventh Miss looked up to see Ziwei standing on the steps, smiling brightly.

Seventh Miss leaned close to Eleventh Miss and whispered: “Who else will be going with her when she marries?”

“All the maids who attend her daily will go along,” Eleventh Miss replied with a smile, “plus two households of accompanying servants.”

Seventh Miss nodded and went with Eleventh Miss to Fifth Miss’s room.

Fifth Miss welcomed them with fine West Lake Dragon Well tea.

Seventh Miss teased her: “You just want to know what First Young Mistress said, don’t you?”

Fifth Miss forced herself to look composed: “What’s there to ask!”

“Exactly!” Seventh Miss said with a grin. “You’ll find out everything tomorrow when you marry in!”

“You little mischief-maker,” Fifth Miss scolded playfully, “You’re far too clever for your own good!”

Seventh Miss laughed heartily and still went ahead and told Fifth Miss everything First Young Mistress had said.

Fifth Miss listened with a thoughtful expression.

Seventh Miss seized the moment to take her leave: “Fifth Sister needs to be up early tomorrow to have her hair done.”

Fifth Miss had Ziwei see them out.

The two returned to their room, where the maids quickly brought water to help them wash up.

Seventh Miss wanted to wash her feet together with Eleventh Miss.

“We each wash our own,” Eleventh Miss refused plainly.

“Together!” Seventh Miss was insistent.

Eleventh Miss snapped the washroom door shut with a firm click. Seventh Miss stamped her foot in indignation. Eleventh Miss just laughed through the door panel.

After their baths, Seventh Miss wanted to sleep in the same bed as Eleventh Miss.

Although Eleventh Miss felt rather uneasy about it, she thought the bed was large enough and had someone add an extra quilt.

Seventh Miss still wasn’t happy: “Why are you being like this? Haven’t I always been so good to you!”

Eleventh Miss laughed: “You just want to talk, don’t you? I’m listening.” And with that, she was the first to lie down.

“You take advantage of the gentle and fear the strong!” Seventh Miss muttered as she climbed into bed.

Eleventh Miss kept laughing.

Seventh Miss then dismissed all the maids from the room.

Dongqing didn’t mind. Once Eleventh Miss was settled for the night, she only needed a warm thermos of tea placed at the head of the bed — she generally wasn’t fussy about having someone keep watch through the night. But Mufu was different. Second Young Mistress had given repeated instructions before leaving, and if anything happened, it would be impossible for her to bear the responsibility. She couldn’t help but linger nearby, pleading softly.

Thinking of the early morning ahead, Eleventh Miss offered a compromise: “How about you sleep on the large kang by the window?”

While Mufu was still hesitating, Seventh Miss spoke up: “Either the kang by the window, or you squeeze in with Dongqing.”

The answer was obvious.

As expected, Seventh Miss did have things she wanted to say.

After meandering through all sorts of trivial chatter, she leaned close and murmured: “…I went to the temple fair… I met someone…”

Just that opening had Eleventh Miss’s heart lurching.

“Afterward, he came to propose…”

It took considerable effort for Eleventh Miss to keep the storm of emotions beneath the surface. “Something like that actually happened?” She feigned surprise.

“That’s why I wanted you to know…” Happiness spilled from the corners of Seventh Miss’s eyes and brows. “I haven’t even told Mother!”

Then why tell me!

Keeping someone else’s secret is an exhausting affair!

Eleventh Miss couldn’t help grumbling inwardly, and then began to worry that something was amiss.

She quietly asked Seventh Miss: “Has Second Aunt agreed?”

Seventh Miss’s situation was different from hers — for Seventh Miss’s marriage, Second Madam would certainly deliberate very carefully.

“Yes!” Seventh Miss nodded. “I heard from Nanny Yu that they’ll formalize the betrothal once we’re back.” Her smile turned bashful.

Eleventh Miss was momentarily taken aback.

“His name is Zhu Anping. He’s from Gaoqing County in Shandong, twenty-two years old this year. His father passed away early, and he inherited the post of Assistant Regional Military Commander at fifteen. I heard someone jokingly call him the ‘Lord of Xueyi’…” She broke into a string of giggles. “In ancient times, Lord Mengchang’s fief was at Xueyi — could it be he carries the spirit of Lord Mengchang? He really does sound like a most interesting person…”

“How did you come to know that people jokingly call Zhu Anping ‘Lord of Xueyi’?” Eleventh Miss kept her voice as gentle as she could.

“I heard it at the temple fair!” Seventh Miss rested her head against Eleventh Miss’s shoulder. “Someone called out ‘Oh, it’s the Lord of Xueyi from Gaoqing!’ and I was instantly curious and stole a glance… Then not long afterward, someone came to the house to propose — said he was from Gaoqing, had a generous, open nature, and was nicknamed ‘Lord of Xueyi.’ Eleventh Sister, don’t you think this must be fate?” Her voice was soft, filled with infinite longing. “It was my very first time at a temple fair…”

Eleventh Miss was genuinely surprised.

If it was all true, then it really was fate…

That thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly felt a flicker of self-reproach at her own rigid and suspicious way of thinking.

Was it only because she had lost the passionate impulsiveness of youth that everything she looked upon was now shadowed by doubt?

She reached out and clasped Seventh Miss’s hand. “Seventh Sister, this is a rare stroke of fate!” Her voice was utterly sincere.

Seventh Miss laughed softly: “I knew it — you would never laugh at me!”

Bright laughter is contagious.

Eleventh Miss laughed too.

“Hey, if you’d merely gotten to know someone, you wouldn’t be this way, would you?” Something playful stirred in her, she didn’t quite know why. “Could it be he’s also tall and handsome, with a dashing and distinguished bearing…”

“No, no,” Seventh Miss sat bolt upright, waving her hands repeatedly, “Nothing of the sort!”

“Is that so!” Eleventh Miss smiled slyly. “Shall I go ask Mufu?”

“Oh, honestly!” Seventh Miss protested. “Since when did you become so skilled at teasing people?”

Eleventh Miss laughed quietly.

Seventh Miss pressed her lips together in a smile, a trace of smug satisfaction glinting in her eyes, and in the end couldn’t hold back: “Alright, yes… he is quite handsome…”

Eleventh Miss burst out laughing.

When you see someone beside you in happiness, doesn’t some of that happiness find its way to you too?

—