Not long after eating the Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings, the Wang Family came to present the betrothal gifts.

Garments, betrothal money, geese, wine, and tea leaves filled thirty-six carrying trays in all, drawing the neighbors from both sides to come out and watch. First Madam felt it was very face-giving, and sent back full trays in return — shoes, socks, and robes for the groom’s parents and the groom himself.

When Second Madam hurried back from Shandong to attend the wedding banquet, Third Madam could not help but sigh to her: “…Xing Ge is a Shuji Shi, one son-in-law is a Juren, and another son-in-law is the heir of a Duke’s household. Elder Sister-in-law truly has good fortune.”

Second Madam smiled upon hearing this: “The match for our Seventh Miss is not bad either. In Gaoqing, nine out of ten acres of land belong to the Zhu Family, and seven out of ten shops are theirs. Though the mother-in-law is Young Master Zhu’s birth mother, she was originally a concubine who was elevated to wife, so she carries little authority in her words, and there are no younger sisters-in-law beneath her. It is a fine household that would be hard to find even with a lantern to light the way.”

Third Madam could not help but purse her lips.

The Second Household was truly short-sighted. Wealth is a dead thing — people are what matter. For a family like theirs, without a Jinshi degree holder, no matter how large the family fortune, it would gradually decline.

But she also knew that her Second Sister-in-law was an extremely proud woman. To say such things would only offend her. Besides, Seventh Miss’s marriage had already been settled…

So she smiled and invited Second Madam to go see Tenth Miss: “…I heard she refuses to see anyone! Truly, a girl changes greatly as she grows — even someone as fearless as her has learned to be shy.”

Second Madam smiled and nodded. She greeted First Madam, who was bustling in and out attending to guests, and then went with Third Madam to the rear courtyard.

Along the way, she lowered her voice and asked Third Madam: “There are some things I cannot ask Elder Sister-in-law directly. I heard that Eleventh Miss is to be married to the Marquis — is it true?”

“Even you have heard about it!” — which was as good as a tacit admission.

“How did this come about?” Second Madam stopped walking, and she and Third Madam stood in the covered walkway to talk. “How did no one tell me a word? I only heard about it from my husband. He said the Empress Dowager intended to betroth the eldest daughter of the Jianninghou Yang Family to the Marquis, but the Xu Family said they already had a prior marriage agreement with our Eleventh Miss. My husband was beside himself with worry at the time, not knowing how we had been drawn into it, and fearing the family would be implicated by this affair. He was just about to write a letter home to ask Elder Brother-in-law when he heard that there was in fact no such matter at all — that it was the Emperor who intended to betroth the eldest daughter of the Jianninghou Yang Family to Third Young Master Tang of the Zhongshanhou Tang Family. One thing, then another, with no reliable word at all. This time he came back, he especially instructed me to ask Elder Sister-in-law what exactly happened!”

Third Madam then told Second Madam what she had heard: “…It is said that the eldest daughter of the Jianninghou Yang Family is not young anymore, and they feared it would be difficult to find a suitable match, so the Empress Dowager had the idea of bringing together the Yang Family and the Xu Family. Somehow the Emperor came to know of it. He said that although the Yang eldest daughter was not young, there was no need for her to go as a second wife. He asked the Imperial Clan Court to look into it. The Imperial Clan Court recommended Third Young Master Tang Shaohua of the Zhongshanhou household. The Emperor took one look and was pleased, and bestowed the marriage on the spot. She had first been considered for the Marquis, and then was to be married into the Tang Family instead. The Jianninghou household naturally had to let it be known that there was nothing to the original rumor at all!”

“So that is what happened!” Second Madam suddenly understood, then asked with concern: “Then our Eleventh Miss and the Marquis…”

Third Madam covered her smile behind her sleeve: “The last time I came to bring Elder Sister-in-law the Dragon Boat Festival gifts, I asked her about it. She said that because of the complication with the Jianninghou matter, they had not made any grand announcement. However, it has already been agreed with the Xu Family — the formal betrothal gifts will be exchanged on the twenty-sixth day of the fifth month. The wedding date will be fixed at that time.”

Second Madam was taken aback: “So that means the Marquis has become the Elder Branch’s son-in-law again!” Her tone carried a faint note of sourness.

Third Madam laughed: “I wonder, when we run into the Marquis in the future, should we call him ‘Elder Branch’s Son-in-law,’ or ‘Eleventh Miss’s Son-in-law?'”

Second Madam did not find this amusing at all. She made a few vague sounds and went with Third Madam to the west wing room to see Tenth Miss, who was waiting to be wed.

Tenth Miss’s room was cold and cheerless. Only the maid Silver Bottle and a junior maid were moving about quietly, tidying things up. When they saw Second Madam and Third Madam, Silver Bottle hurried over with a smile to greet them. Tenth Miss, reclining on the bed in a casual pomegranate-red jacket reading a book, merely gave a slight nod.

Everyone in the household knew her temperament was peculiar, and thought nothing of it. Second Madam even took Tenth Miss’s hand and spoke at length: “…We had originally planned to exchange the betrothal gifts in autumn, but who knew the Zhu Family would be so afraid of our Seventh Miss slipping away — their matchmaker came every single day. I was worn down to the point where I had no choice but to agree to discuss the betrothal arrangements upon returning.”

Third Madam listened and laughed: “When a family has a daughter, a thousand families come seeking her — this is a good thing.”

Second Madam heaved a sigh in a tone of one thoroughly put upon: “I truly had no other option.” Then she turned to Tenth Miss and said: “Your Seventh Sister is rushing to finish her needlework and could not get away. She asked me to bring a pair of pillow covers she embroidered herself as a gift of congratulation. I hope you will not find them lacking.”

Tenth Miss said coldly: “I have never heard of needlework keeping someone so busy that she has no time to visit her relatives.” Her tone was thick with scorn and mockery.

It was because she was a young lady about to be married that one does not go wandering about freely… No one had expected Tenth Miss to say such a thing. Was she not also a young lady waiting to be wed? Did she not know the customs in this?

The fury turned Second Madam’s face an iron gray, and she stood up at once: “Seventh Miss also asked me to bring a letter to Eleventh Miss.” And with that she went to Eleventh Miss’s room.

Eleventh Miss was wearing a plain pale-lake-blue jacket, sitting on the kang beside the window doing needlework. Seeing the two aunts arrive, she rose to welcome them onto the kang, and had Hupo brew a fine pot of Longjing tea.

“Why did Seventh Sister not come with you?”

Second Madam repeated Seventh Miss’s reason for not coming.

Eleventh Miss smiled: “…I shall go visit Seventh Sister when the time comes.”

Second Madam finally felt somewhat better.

The three of them exchanged pleasantries for a little while. Second Madam handed the letter to Eleventh Miss, and then she and Third Madam returned to the main courtyard.

Eleventh Miss opened the letter and read it — it turned out that Seventh Miss was asking her to help make two sets of men’s straight-cut robes. She also wrote that the needlewomen in the Shandong household were terribly clumsy, and that she had been dissatisfied with several sets they had made. After thinking it over, the only one she could turn to was Eleventh Miss.

Eleventh Miss could not help but laugh.

Seventh Miss wanted her to help sew the return-gift garments for that Zhu Anping, didn’t she?

Gazing at the joy that shone through every line of Seventh Miss’s letter, her own mood lifted considerably.

When Fifth Miss was married, the household had been lively and festive, and Fifth Miss would sometimes let slip a coy shyness, caught between having and losing — that bridal happiness of hers made anyone who saw it smile with warmth. But when it came to Tenth Miss, not only was there no bridal joy, she had adopted the air of someone to whom nothing in the world concerned her.

Maids were brought for her to look over — she would not spare them a glance. Seamstresses came to make her clothes — she paid no attention, just went on lying there reading. A jeweler came to make her ornaments — one word, “Whatever,” and she left Old Jixiang’s people standing outside her door.

First Madam was busy with the banquet arrangements, and could not possibly attend to every last thing herself.

Nanny Xu had no choice but to step in — helping her select maids, fetching old garments to take measurements from, deciding on the jewelry to be made for her…

When everything was placed before her, Tenth Miss said only one thing: “Truly hideous.” It utterly deflated Nanny Xu — who always wore a smile — and drained all energy from those helping to prepare for the wedding.

On the day of the wedding, she slept until the sun was three poles high before rising. Nanny Xu, with no time left for niceties, physically pulled Tenth Miss up.

Tenth Miss let them comb her hair and dress her in her wedding gown without a word, then leaned back against the bolster pillows and went on reading.

Nanny Xu urged her: “You can read later.”

She lifted her eyes and cast Nanny Xu a cold look: “Has the bridal sedan chair not arrived yet? What are you rushing for?”

Nanny Xu was rendered speechless.

Fifth Miss, who had come to keep Tenth Miss company, could not help but take Eleventh Miss’s hand: “She wants to be a loner — it seems we have no choice but to oblige her!”

The evening before, Fifth Miss had gone especially to congratulate Tenth Miss, but Tenth Miss kept her door shut fast and would not open it no matter what Fifth Miss said.

She must still be dwelling on that from last night.

Eleventh Miss smiled and led Fifth Miss to her own room: “We have been sisters all this time — does Fifth Sister still not know what kind of person she is?”

Fifth Miss was given an out, and her temper cooled a little.

The two were still talking when the Wang Family’s bridal sedan chairs arrived.

Seeing Fifth Miss’s face full of curiosity, Eleventh Miss laughed: “Fifth Sister, go and watch! Come back and tell me about it.”

Now that she was a married woman, she had far more freedom than Eleventh Miss.

She hesitated a moment: “Will you be all right here alone?”

“What is there to worry about!” Eleventh Miss laughed. “The room is full of maids — would you fear I might go thirsty or hungry!”

Fifth Miss laughed at that, exchanged a few more polite words, and went off to the main courtyard.

The groom had just knocked the Luo Family’s main gate open, and Luo Zhensheng, Luo Zhenda, and the others had all retreated behind the inner gate, ready to give the new son-in-law a hard time.

Qian Ming saw Fifth Miss and came over with a smile.

“Should you not be keeping Tenth Sister company?”

Hearing the note of tender concern in her husband’s voice, Fifth Miss’s eyes were all smiles: “She has the senior ladies and the wedding attendants with her… I came to see the excitement.”

Qian Ming told her: “Go stand on the steps of the main hall, so you won’t get jostled when the bridal party all crowds in.”

“Yes!” Fifth Miss responded, her face flushing pink.

Yu Yiqing called out teasingly to Qian Ming: “What are you doing standing among the women? Come over here and help hold up the ladder!”

The whole courtyard turned to look.

Fifth Miss’s face turned so red it looked ready to drip blood.

Qian Ming, though slightly discomfited, quickly recovered his ease: “Today it is the new groom who has come — why does Fourth Brother-in-law always have to single me out!”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Someone even called out: “Young Master Wang is the new groom, and you, sir, are also a new groom.”

Another round of laughter followed.

Outside, the knocking on the gate grew more urgent: “Open up, open up — don’t miss the auspicious hour!”

Luo Zhensheng was about to speak when Luo Zhenkai suddenly sprang out from behind him, whipped a piece of paper from his sleeve with a flourish, and bellowed at the top of his voice through the gate: “If you want to come in, this young lord has ten riddles here — answer them correctly and you may enter; answer them wrong, and you may not.” With that, he recited the first riddle: “Without trust, a person cannot stand. Name a character.”

Laughter broke out on the other side of the gate, and someone called back: “The character ‘Yan’ — words.”

“Then guess this one. Metal, Wood, Water, Fire.” Luo Zhenkai shouted, refusing to give up so easily.

“Kan!”

“One side red, one side green, one side loves the wind, one side loves the rain.”

“Qiu — autumn!”

…

Before long, all ten character riddles had been answered.

Someone on the outside called out with a laugh: “Now open the gate.” There was a note of swagger in his tone.

Since the Wang Family’s people had answered all the riddles, Luo Zhenkai had long since been fuming, his cheeks puffed out like a toad’s. Hearing the other side’s self-satisfied tone, he nearly jumped in the air.

Luo Zhenyu, who had been following close behind his brother, saw this and stepped forward, shoved his brother aside, and shouted through the gate: “Answer this one and we’ll open the gate.” Without waiting for a reply, he called out loudly: “Tiny little thing, wearing a fur coat — strip off the fur coat and there’s a purple gown, inside the gown there’s a red velvet jacket, and inside the jacket sleeps a little baby. Answer this one correctly and we’ll let you in.”

Everyone was completely stumped.

What sort of riddle was this?

A woman standing near Fifth Miss covered her mouth and laughed.

—