Luo Shenyuan went to see the young girl himself.

Her features were deeper than those of the women in the capital, truly striking. She wore a dark green satin jacket intricately embroidered with silver thread, which accentuated her delicate, youthful face. She appeared to have just come of age, with several jade and silver bracelets adorning her wrists.

A’shan didn’t understand what was happening. After being sent to the marquis’s residence, she fully expected the lord to take her as a concubine. While he treated her kindly, he never touched her. She discreetly inquired and learned that the marchioness was rarely at home, and only a few personal maids attended to the marquis.

This realization made her anxious and fearful. One day, she was called to dress up, and someone whispered instructions to her in Chinese. Her limited Chinese and nervous state meant she only caught that she was to be sent to a high-ranking official’s residence, presumably as a gift.

The Dutou was so kind, usually just practicing swordplay or drinking with his subordinates when not busy. He never used harsh words and was exceptionally handsome and valiant.

A’shan felt like crying the more she thought about it. What if she was sent to a wrinkled old man with a vicious temperament? She didn’t know how she’d cope.

So when she heard someone enter, she curled up on the kang bed, not wanting to look at him.

As the person approached, she heard someone say softly, “My lord, this is her.”

“Mm,” he responded, his voice remarkably clear.

Hearing a young man’s voice, A’shan slightly raised her head. She saw him standing backlit, the wind and snow raging outside, his cloak making his tall figure appear even more imposing. As the wind gusted in, she stared at him in shock, eyes wide: “You…”

She was stunned both by his exceptional good looks and a sense of familiarity. In a daze, she recalled seeing him once when she accompanied her father to Datong three or four years ago. He had been discussing the horse market with her father, accompanied by another man. His handsome appearance had left a strong impression on her.

Noticing her shocked expression, Luo Shenyuan frowned and stepped closer: “Do you recognize me?”

“My father is… Nurhaci…” A’shan said with difficulty.

A cold glint flashed in Luo Shenyuan’s eyes.

Lin Yongdu was surprised: “My lord, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Luo Shenyuan replied calmly, his tone casual. “Keep her confined here under close watch.”

As they left the room, Lin Yongdu cautiously observed him. “My lord, what’s the matter with that girl?”

Luo Shenyuan sighed, thinking perhaps he should be grateful Lu Jiaxue had sent her over. Years ago, when he was associating with Zeng Heng, he had gone to Datong to help negotiate business. He never expected to encounter a familiar face. This complicated matters – the girl couldn’t be released, nor could he let Lu Jiaxue hold this information over him. The emperor knew about his schemes against the Oirats but was unaware of how deep his connections ran.

This could be a capital offense affecting nine generations of his family!

It would be best to quietly dispose of her.

“Find an opportunity to deal with her discreetly…” Luo Shenyuan made a slicing motion with his hand. Lin Yongdu immediately understood his meaning.

He thought of the orphaned girl, her family gone, so young and pitiful, barely able to speak Chinese. He felt a twinge of sympathy.

Perhaps men are innately inclined to pity beautiful women.

But the Grand Academician showed no signs of compassion.

Luo Shenyuan changed the subject from the prisoner: “I’ve noticed the empress has been quiet lately, no longer pushing the third prince to perform for the emperor. The palace seems much calmer. Has the imperial consort sent any messages?”

Lin Yongdu snapped back to attention and replied: “The imperial consort says the empress has been focused on managing the inner palace affairs and seems to be neglecting the third prince.”

Unusual behavior often signifies trouble brewing.

After some thought, Luo Shenyuan said: “Tell the imperial consort to attend to the empress daily. Don’t worry about the emperor’s side.”

Having given these instructions, he returned to continue sleeping. Yining was still asleep. He gazed at her face nestled in the bedding, illuminated by candlelight. She seemed to have lost weight again in recent days. Luo Shenyuan suddenly recalled when she was little and would come to play while he studied. Not daring to disturb him, she’d curl up like a ball and fall asleep in his chair, like a little cat with her head and tail connected, chubby paws folded together.

She no longer slept that way, but the sweet, soft little bundle lying beside her slept just like her mother used to. Curled up in a ball.

Looking at them this way, he thought perhaps the little one wasn’t so bad after all.

Luo Shenyuan lay down next to the mother and child. The larger bundle automatically snuggled closer, while the smaller one instinctively pressed against its mother. He embraced them both and closed his eyes.

With Lu Jiaxue’s return and the empress’s unusual behavior, he suddenly felt a sense of impending trouble. But here, all was peaceful.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, another heavy snow fell. The mansion was decorated with lanterns and festive decorations in preparation for the New Year’s sacrifice.

The little bundle, chilled, didn’t want to move and clung tightly to its mother for warmth.

The little one now had a hearty appetite. No longer satisfied with just tofu and egg custard, he had even eaten a bowl of minced meat porridge the day before. He had also started having more frequent, messy diapers. Once when he soiled his diaper, Yining was about to wash his little bottom. She removed his pants and gestured for his father to hold him.

Luo Shenyuan could only set aside his official documents and take his son. He held the baby at arm’s length. Seeing his father’s furrowed brow and look of disgust, the bare-bottomed child kicked his chubby little legs and laughed cheerfully. Luo Shenyuan found it amusing: “You’ve made such a mess, yet you’re laughing?”

The baby giggled and tried to grab his father’s handsome face. But his arms were too short, so he could only tug at his sleeve. Luo Shenyuan wouldn’t even let him pull on his sleeve, making the interaction between father and son quite awkward.

Luo Shenyuan said to Luo Yining: “I think he takes after your temperament. So young, yet already causing such a fuss.”

Ro Yining glared at him: “He’s your son too. If you don’t want him, just toss him out!”

At a loss for words, Luo Shenyuan turned and tucked the bare-bottomed baby into the warm bedding, letting him burrow around on his own. The little one’s head poked about, unable to find his way. Yining watched angrily, wanting to pinch her husband: “Luo Shenyuan, what are you doing? I haven’t cleaned his bottom yet!”

Now the bedding would need to be washed too. The baby seemed to enjoy burrowing about, perhaps thinking he was a mole.

Luo Yining began seriously considering what her third brother wasn’t good at. Most of his abilities were focused on books, leaving him somewhat… lacking in practical matters. His cooking skills were abysmal – nearly nonexistent, really – though he seemed aware of this and never approached the kitchen. Child-rearing was another weak point; he was very perfunctory and didn’t seem to like children much.

“What did you call me?” Luo Shenyuan looked up from his documents.

“Third brother…” Luo Yining’s bravado deflated.

“That’s better.” He patted her head, satisfied.

After being cleaned and dressed in fresh clothes, the now sweet-smelling bundle was handed back to his mother by the wet nurse. The doting mother took the baby’s little paw and made him grab at his father’s face. His father, trying to read official documents, couldn’t dodge in time and pressed his lips together.

The baby laughed gleefully again, and Yining joined in: “Look how funny your father is, little one!”

As the baby’s tiny hands pawed at his face repeatedly, Luo Shenyuan saw mother and child laughing together and couldn’t bring himself to reproach them. He decided he’d settle accounts with her slowly that night.

In the afternoon, Luo Chengzhang returned from his post in Jinan.

This time, he brought back a pregnant maid. Lin Hairuo noticed the slightly swollen belly and glanced at Luo Chengzhang. Feeling awkward, he coughed and said, “I’m not sure when it happened. I’ve brought her back to settle her here.”

He then turned to Luo Shenyuan: “How are things at court for you now? I hear you have the emperor’s full trust.” With that, he changed the subject.

Yining looked at Luo Chengzhang. His temples had grown white, but his gaze towards the pretty maid was full of tender affection.

So this was how he used to look at Concubine Qiao. And perhaps before that, how he looked at Gu Minglan.

Luo Yining suddenly felt like laughing.

Lin Hairuo called the maid, Xia Fan, to join her in the inner chamber. Luo Yining followed. Lin Hairuo sat on the luohan bed, gently rubbing the lid of her teacup. She said, “Since you’re with child, you won’t return to your master’s post. I’ll elevate you to concubine status, and you can live with Concubine Qiao. Where is your hometown? I’ll send some gifts there as well.”

Xia Fan, who had been anxious, immediately knelt and kowtowed to thank Lin Hairuo, nearly crying with relief.

Some pregnant maids who returned were forced to miscarry by the mistress on the grounds of being “unclean”. Fortunately, the main wife wasn’t unkind and even elevated her to concubine status.

After the maid gratefully withdrew, Yining massaged Lin Hairuo’s legs and asked, “You don’t mind anymore?”

Lin Hairuo smiled and said, “If a person holds onto every grievance, they’ll be burdened their whole life. It’s not so easy… It’s not that I don’t care, I just don’t want to dwell on it anymore. Let him do as he pleases. He’s always liked young, delicate women – the more so, the better he likes them.” When she married at seventeen or eighteen, Luo Chengzhang was also in his prime and not without talent.

Lin Hairuo was illiterate and had always admired scholars, especially since Luo Chengzhang was a jinshi degree holder. She greatly respected him, but Luo Chengzhang simply never liked her.

“Enough about that,” Lin Hairuo pulled her up. “Perk up. Let me tell you, I heard your eldest aunt talking the other day about arranging a child marriage between Qing’er and your little one…”

Luo Yining sat up straight. Looking at the drooling baby gnawing on his bracelet in the wet nurse’s arms – barely more than an infant who couldn’t even speak – she couldn’t believe they were already planning his future!

She asked, “Did the eldest aunt bring this up? What did Yixiu say?”

“Yixiu never cares about these things. It’s the Zhu family’s old madam who keeps urging her to bring the child over to visit after hearing about your little one.” Lin Hairuo had grown much shrewder over the years. She squeezed Yining’s hand and continued, “Why else do you think that old madam is so good to Qing’er? It’s all because of the Luo family – because of Luo Shenyuan. Your third brother’s status has changed dramatically.”

Luo Yining knew the complications that came with power and status. Still, her son was so young… To think of such things already made her uncomfortable.

Luo Yining sighed and said, “Outright refusal would be too offensive. Mother, please hint at my feelings to my eldest aunt. She’s a smart woman; she’ll understand my meaning.”

Though the Zhu family had three jinshi degree holders serving as officials, they still couldn’t compare to the Luo family.

Once things were made clear, the eldest branch wouldn’t harbor other ideas.

The next day, they joined the eldest branch to make sacrifices to the Luo family ancestors. Yining dressed her son in festive clothes. Since the Luo family ancestral hall was in Baoding, they arranged carriages and set off in a grand procession to return to Baoding.

Having been pressed by Luo Shenyuan several times the night before, Luo Yining was not in good spirits and dozed off throughout the journey. Sleeping in the carriage was uncomfortable, so Luo Shenyuan pulled her into his arms. Seeing the red marks on her neck and her drowsy state as she leaned against him, he frowned and scolded, “Your constitution is too weak. From now on, I’ll wake you up every morning to walk a few laps in the courtyard with me.”

“I won’t walk. I need to catch up on sleep,” Luo Yining turned away, burying her face.

Luo Shenyuan wanted to pull her up and say more, but she closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. He could only let her be, resigned.

When they arrived in Baoding and got out of the carriage, Chen Shi’s face was dark with anger.

Lin Hairuo had spoken to her the night before, not bothering with subtlety. As a result, Chen Shi went straight into the mansion without even greeting them.

It had been many years since Luo Yining had returned to the Luo residence in Baoding. She looked up at the familiar doorway, feeling a sense of nostalgia. Even the angry Chen shi seemed more endearing.

“Let’s go,” Luo Shenyuan took her hand as they entered.

The servants at the old home had already prepared the sacrificial offerings of meat, paper money, and incense. Luo Yining couldn’t enter the ancestral hall now, so she sat outside with her two sisters-in-law. The two Zhou women sat far from her, talking and occasionally laughing, their slightly grating conversation audible. Since her return, her interactions with the two sisters-in-law had decreased significantly, tinged with disdain. Luo Yining knew why, but no one in the second branch mentioned it because of Luo Shenyuan’s presence.

The two women, originally not close, had grown closer through their shared dislike of her. A common enemy often quickly unites women in friendship.

Luo Yining ignored them. Looking at the ancestral hall, she remembered the year old Madam Luo died, when she collapsed crying in front of her tablet. He had come to find her, kneeling halfway and straightening up, calling her “Mei Mei” in a hoarse voice.

Everything between them was connected to this compound.

Yining went to look at the courtyard where old Madam Luo used to live. Unfortunately, everything had been cleared out, leaving it empty as if nothing had ever existed there.

She saw sunlight shining on the worn floorboards and the window carvings of Ma Gu offering longevity. In her memory, there was the Buddha statue old Madam Luo loved, her frequently used porcelain pillow, the many pots of orchids she had nurtured to death, and the nested porcelain dolls Luo Shenyuan had once given her. Sadly, nothing remained.

“Father has ordered a banquet to be set up in the flower hall. Let’s go,” Luo Shenyuan came to find her. Seeing her peering into the room, he asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Grandmother has been gone for six years now,” Luo Yining said. The old lady’s smiling face, the way she coaxed her to eat, holding her while teaching her to read characters – all vivid in her mind.

The first and kindest person she met in this life, is now gone forever.

“If you saw her now, you’d be frightened,” Luo Shenyuan chuckled softly. “It’s time to eat.”

As Luo Yining let him lead her away, she looked back once more. Empty, with nothing left.

She could only tightly grip the hand of the person beside her.

The old home was in disrepair after years of neglect, making it inconvenient for eating and sleeping. After lunch, Luo Chengzhang suggested returning to Beijing, no doubt concerned about his pregnant concubine.

Luo Shen Yuan had to leave early due to urgent matters in the capital, not waiting for them. By the time Yi Ning and her entourage returned to Xinqiao Hutong, it was already evening. Before entering the house, she noticed the soldiers in padded jackets standing on either side of the gate, and her expression immediately changed.

When Luo Chengzhang inquired of the gatekeeper, he learned that Governor Lu was here and currently waiting in the front hall. His expression turned peculiar. He instinctively glanced at Yi Ning. The last incident was Lu Jiaxue’s reckless doing, but Luo Chengzhang didn’t dare offend him. Now that Lu Jiaxue had found them, could he be here for her?

“I should avoid this situation; Father, do as you see fit,” Yi Ning said, bowing slightly before leading her maids and servants inside.

She intended to take the side path back to Jiashu Hall but saw him leaning against the corridor wall, playing with a string of beads. He sneered coldly, “If you wanted to return it to me, why not do so face-to-face?”

Lu Jiaxue turned his gaze to her, his eyes icy cold.

So he had come for the prayer beads! Yi Ning remained silent. She had only intended to return them because they were his protective charm, meant to ensure his safety. They rightfully belonged to him. If something had happened to him, she would have kept them safe for him. But since Lu Jiaxue was fine, it wasn’t appropriate for her to keep them.

It wasn’t easy for Lu Jiaxue to come to the Luo residence, truly a sign of his stubbornness.