She immediately called Chun Mo and Xia Yi in.
The two went to the bathing room to attend to Xu Lingyi, while Eleventh Miss put away various odds and ends and then changed into her sleeping clothes and sat on the bed to wait for Xu Lingyi.
After some time, Xu Lingyi emerged with slightly damp hair, pulled a quilt over himself, and lay down at once. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow we must rise early to go to the palace and offer our gratitude!”
Going to the palace to offer gratitude?
Eleventh Miss was taken aback, but thinking over how many gifts they had received that day, it did seem that a word of thanks was in order.
She murmured an acknowledgment and saw that Xu Lingyi had already turned onto his side.
Looking at the half of the bed left for her, Eleventh Miss let out a long breath.
At the very least, he was not a man who lorded everything for himself…
She arranged for Dongqing to keep watch in the eastern inner room, and after Chun Mo and Xia Yi had tidied the bathing room, she crept softly to the side of the bed.
A completely unfamiliar man, sleeping in the same bed, to spend the night together…
Eleventh Miss could not help but hesitate.
Who knew what might happen?
The thought crossed her mind, and her gaze fell on that figure.
He had his back to her, body slightly curled, one arm beneath his head, the other resting naturally at his waist — he looked deeply asleep.
She stilled herself and observed more carefully, and found that his breathing was long and even.
He truly was asleep!
Eleventh Miss could not help but let out a breath, and felt her whole body relax.
But then, almost at once, she found herself a little amused at her own reaction.
This man might be a stranger to her, yet over her, he held absolute authority. Even if he were to come at her, what was she going to do — cry out for help?
The thought flashed past, and the small hesitation within her began gradually to recede.
She had lived two lifetimes — did she not understand what marriage meant? She had already married into this household; it was as if she had pressed her handprint to a contract. To have second thoughts now — was that not far too late? Was that not rather ridiculous?
Eleventh Miss searched her own heart, and slowly her inner state returned to a quiet steadiness.
She smiled, bent down, and with gentle, careful movements, tucked the arm he had left resting at his waist beneath the quilt. Then she turned, blew out the lamp, took the other quilt, and lay down silently beside Xu Lingyi.
In the dark, one’s hearing and sense of smell grow keener than usual.
The thin, warm presence radiating from Xu Lingyi’s body, the faint trace of wine in the air with every breath — it felt mellow and warm to her, and sleep began stealing over her at once.
Tomorrow there was still the gratitude visit to the palace… she mustn’t make any errors… she needed to rest well…
Half asleep, she felt a sturdy arm gather her in.
Eleventh Miss startled wide awake.
A pair of large hands, roughened with calluses, had already reached inside her sleeping robe…
…
Eleventh Miss lay with her eyes wide open, trying to make out what style of sachet hung from each corner of the bed curtain.
But no matter how hard she tried, there was only darkness.
A warm, gentle hand stroked her hair softly.
Instinctively, she wanted to turn her face away from those hands, but that single small movement drew a sharp intake of breath from her.
She had never known that such things could hurt so much…
“Would you call my maidservant in?” she asked quietly, seeking Xu Lingyi’s permission.
Xu Lingyi’s body went visibly rigid.
Eleventh Miss had no inclination at the moment to tend to anyone else’s feelings.
That experience had truly been dreadful.
One person unable to relax; the other seemingly in urgent haste to complete a task…
For a long moment, Xu Lingyi made no sound.
Very well. She would simply wait until daybreak…
Eleventh Miss was still thinking this when Xu Lingyi stirred and sat up.
“I will go and call your maidservant.”
“Thank you,” Eleventh Miss said quietly.
Before long, Dongqing came running in, tense and anxious. “Miss — no, Madam — what has happened?”
“Bring water for me. I want to bathe and change my clothes.”
Dongqing stared at her in astonishment.
Eleventh Miss’s patience had run out. “Is that not permitted?”
“No — no — not at all.” Dongqing’s expression was flustered. “I’ll go pour water for you right away!”
The room grew bright.
Eleventh Miss soaked in the wooden tub for a good while before her body gradually began to ease.
By the time she dressed and returned to the inner chamber, Xu Lingyi was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her.
“Sleep,” he said, his tone flat. “We must rise early tomorrow.”
Eleventh Miss saw that the bedding had been changed.
She gave a small nod, pulled back the quilt — still faintly scented with jasmine — and lay down.
Later, Eleventh Miss had a dream.
She dreamed she was being chased by a giant; her legs were short and she had taken only a few steps before she was caught… No matter how she pleaded, the giant would not let her go, and then opened its great maw and swallowed her whole in one gulp.
Eleventh Miss jolted awake drenched in sweat.
Xu Lingyi, alert at once, immediately asked her, “What is the matter?”
“Nothing,” she said, exhaling slowly. “The quilt is too heavy.”
Xu Lingyi said nothing and got up to call Dongqing in to attend to her.
What could she do, in any case?
Eleventh Miss smiled ruefully to herself. She had fresh water brought, wiped herself down, changed her clothes, and lay back down.
Sleep, however, would not come again. She lay listening to the sounds drifting in from outside — the maidservants rising, smoothing out bedding, washing and rinsing.
…
Nanny Du emerged from the inner chamber, her smile impossible to suppress, joy spilling from the very corners of her eyes.
She curtsied to Xu Lingyi and Eleventh Miss. “Congratulations, my lord! Congratulations, Madam!”
Xu Lingyi gave a small nod. Eleventh Miss, for her part, dropped her eyes with a touch of discomfort.
Nanny Du’s smile deepened further. She gathered the length of white silk that had been laid out on the bed the night before and placed it in a carved red lacquer box. Then she had the kitchen send up a lotus seed broth.
Xu Lingyi and Eleventh Miss ate the lotus seed broth. Xu Lingyi was then escorted by Nanny Du to the main hall, while the auspicious woman performed the facial hair removal ritual for Eleventh Miss, and her hair was arranged into the round bun of a married woman, with the golden ruyi hairpin — part of the Xu Family’s betrothal gifts — inserted into place.
Nanny Du looked at Eleventh Miss with her delicate, bright features and smiled all the way into the depths of her eyes. “Let us go and pay our morning respects to the Grand Madam.”
Attended by her maidservants, Eleventh Miss followed behind Xu Lingyi as they made their way to the Grand Madam’s quarters.
Third Madam was there, attending to the Grand Madam’s tea. When she saw Eleventh Miss, she came forward to greet her with a smile. “Word is that you are going to the palace first to offer your gratitude, and then returning this afternoon for the formal introductions?”
“That is right,” Eleventh Miss said with a nod and a smile.
A look of undisguised envy passed through Third Madam’s eyes. “Then you had better set out early, so as not to run short of time before the afternoon introductions.”
Eleventh Miss smiled gently.
Then she saw Nanny Du pass the carved red lacquer box to the Grand Madam and speak a few quiet words in her ear. The Grand Madam’s gaze came to rest on Xu Lingyi and Eleventh Miss, and a look of warm satisfaction settled across her face.
Xu Lingyi and Eleventh Miss stepped forward to offer their morning greetings to the Grand Madam — as it was both the first time and the morning after the wedding, they knelt and performed three full bows.
“Rise, rise!” the Grand Madam said, all smiles. She then took out a carved red lacquer box patterned with flowers and birds and presented it to Eleventh Miss as a meeting gift. “Some trinkets I’ve had for some time — take them and wear them.”
Since the box was sealed, Eleventh Miss had no way of knowing what it contained; she simply smiled her thanks and accepted it.
The Grand Madam smiled and had Nanny Du see them to the door. “Go early and return early!”
…
Eleventh Miss followed Xu Lingyi through a south-facing corner gate and into the courtyard where they had received the imperial edict the day before. They went around the seven-bay hall and came directly out to the outer courtyard’s ceremonial gate, then boarded the carriage and set off for the imperial palace.
The Emperor was still at morning court, so they went first to the Empress Dowager’s Palace of Compassionate Tranquility.
The Empress Dowager appeared to be no more than thirty-four or thirty-five years old — round-faced and fair, with a rather ordinary appearance. Were it not for the air of superiority that showed itself in the set of her brows, one might easily have mistaken her, if set loose on the streets of the western market district, for someone’s nanny.
Eleventh Miss could not help being slightly startled by this.
Xu Lingyi paid his respects to the Empress Dowager with proper deference. The Empress Dowager, however, directed a lengthy address at Eleventh Miss — something along the lines of “a woman who lacks virtue cannot serve her husband, and if a woman does not serve her husband, righteousness crumbles and propriety falls to ruin.”
Eleventh Miss stood with hands clasped, listening to the lecture, reminding herself at every turn to appear deferential and meek, lest she draw the Empress Dowager’s disapproval.
Just as this was going on, a palace maidservant came in to announce: “The Empress has arrived!”
The Empress Dowager paused at that, and smiled at Xu Lingyi. “As it happens, there will be no need for you to pay a separate visit to the Empress.”
The Empress appeared to be roughly the same age as Xu Lingyi — of medium build and graceful figure, with a pair of large, long phoenix eyes just like Xu Lingyi’s, and a sweet smile. She was a rare beauty.
Nothing like what Eleventh Miss had imagined — there was no haughtiness about her at all; instead, she seemed warm and approachable.
After paying her respects to the Empress Dowager, the Empress looked at Eleventh Miss with a smile. “So this is the new bride.” Her voice was clear and bright.
Xu Lingyi replied respectfully, “Yes.”
The Empress laughed. “It is really quite something, to have come all the way to the palace this early to offer your thanks.”
The Empress Dowager said with a smile, “This is the dignity of the imperial house as well as the dignity of the Xu Family.”
The Empress duly responded, “Yes, indeed.”
Xu Lingyi then touched on his gratitude for the ten hectares of land the Emperor had bestowed, and the conversation gradually turned to the Empress Dowager’s younger brother, the Count of Shouchang. “…Though the Ding kiln pieces are fine, the price is steep and beyond the means of ordinary households, and it has long since established its own distinct tradition, making it difficult to break into the market. In my view, it would be better to find a site in Jingdezhen to open a kiln — lower costs, quicker returns.”
The Count of Shouchang was in the business of porcelain for the imperial household.
The Empress Dowager was clearly very interested. “…Tell me more of the details.”
Xu Lingyi then spoke of the maritime trade affairs he had been looking into of late — how to buy low and sell high, how to charter ships and sail the sea lanes, how to arrange guarantees and take on investors… which left the Empress Dowager listening with one astounded expression after another, until she finally asked Xu Lingyi directly whether he was himself engaged in the maritime trade.
“I only heard it from others,” Xu Lingyi said with a smile. “My knees have been troubling me since my long years in the northwest — wind and rain make them ache. The imperial physicians say I have a condition of rheumatic obstruction of the joints and must rest properly for several years. So I have been making inquiries here and there, looking for something to occupy my time.”
Eleventh Miss glanced at Xu Lingyi, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.
But the Empress Dowager nodded with an earnest gravity. “You have spent all these years fighting on every frontier — it is long past time for you to rest.”
Just then, the Emperor arrived, having finished morning court.
Eleventh Miss withdrew with the palace maidservants to a side hall.
Someone was quietly watching her from a distance. Hushed voices murmured, “…Do you see? That is Marquis Yongping’s second wife…”
“She looks so young…”
Eleventh Miss sat there composedly, quite at ease with being observed.
After approximately the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a palace maidservant came to escort her back to the Empress Dowager’s quarters. “…The Emperor has departed.”
The Empress had followed the Emperor out as well.
Xu Lingyi and Eleventh Miss sat for a short while, said a few pleasant words in accompaniment to the Empress Dowager, and then used the approach of midday as a pretext to bid their farewell and left the palace, returning to Lotus Lane.
—