The night was black as ink. The carved rosewood lattice doors, patterned with gourds and climbing vines, were opened just partway. Wisps of cool air drifted into the room. For the height of summer at the beginning of the eighth month, the chill was somehow sharp enough to make one’s heart clench. In the inner chamber of Shou An Hall, people were seated and standing in clusters. Sheng Lao lay flat on the bed with both eyes closed. Beneath her eyes were deep dark hollows; her color was pale and white with a tinge of sallow yellow; the cheeks that were usually so vigorous had sunken deeply inward. In Minglan’s memory, she had never seen her grandmother so old and frail.

Nanny Fang stood to one side, collapsed in spirit, dazed and at a loss.

Sheng Hong’s heart was like an ant on a hot griddle. He stood four steps from the bed, staring without blinking at Physician Lin, who was taking the pulse. After a long wait, he could finally bear it no longer and said: “Physician Lin — my mother… her condition…?”

Physician Lin slowly withdrew the four fingers of his right hand, rose, and turned. “The old lady needs to rest and recuperate properly. Too many people in the room is not good for her. Master Sheng, if I may speak with you privately.”

Sheng Hong quickly followed the physician out. Minglan hesitated, then looked at Hai Shi, who was tending to Sheng Lao by the bed. Hai Shi smiled gently: “Sister, you should go and listen too.” Minglan said gratefully: “Thank you, Sister-in-law,” and hurried after them.

Out in the main hall, she found Changfeng already helping Sheng Hong to his seat at the head, while Liu Shi was personally offering a bowl of tea to Physician Lin. Wang Shi was asking continuously: “What is the situation? What is going on?”

Physician Lin hesitated: “…This is… difficult to say.” At that moment he saw Minglan come out, and his eyes flickered slightly. He faltered and said: “In any case — for now, she has stabilized.”

Sheng Hong let out a great sigh of relief, his face full of gratitude: “Thank you for your trouble, Physician. Whatever you need, just say the word — I will do all within my power.” Physician Lin smiled: “Your filial devotion is admirable, Master Sheng.”

Minglan walked slowly over, and said quietly: “My grandmother has always been robust and healthy — this is so sudden. Physician Lin — surely there is some explanation for us.” Wang Shi frowned and was about to speak. Sheng Hong cut her off first: “Indeed. Please tell us more.”

Physician Lin smiled gently. “Not at all — a physician’s heart is as a parent’s. It is my duty.” He then turned slightly to one side, as though incidentally blocking Wang Shi and the others from his line of sight, and met Minglan’s eyes. In a calm and measured voice he said: “At her age, the old lady’s vitality is naturally not what it was in youth, and there will always be one thing or another that ails the body. As for what exactly is wrong — it’s hard to say just yet. We will need to keep watching.”

Minglan held Physician Lin’s gaze steadily, and said slowly: “You are right, Physician. They say illness comes on like a mountain falling…” She lightly pressed the corner of her eye with her fingers. “After all, Grandmother is getting on in years…”

Wang Shi said, satisfied: “Exactly so. An old person’s constitution is unpredictable — you can never be sure what day something might happen. We were originally planning to send word to you first thing tomorrow morning, but the servants talked too freely and called you over in the middle of the night — now it looks as though we couldn’t even take proper care of things ourselves.” She turned to Physician Lin with a smile: “And you, Physician — we’ve disturbed your rest for nothing, truly…”

Sheng Hong saw Wang Shi’s words heading further and further in the wrong direction, and said in a low voice: “Keep it short. The child’s filial piety is to be commended, not criticized.”

Liu Shi, seeing the atmosphere in the hall becoming uncomfortable, said in a gentle and careful voice: “It is late, but Sister rarely gets to come back — why not stay and rest here tonight? I’ve prepared a guest room — you can be settled straight away.” Then she turned to Physician Lin: “And you, Physician…”

Physician Lin raised a hand with a smile: “Being called out at night is a routine thing in our profession. Young Madam, there is no need to trouble yourself…”

At this moment, Minglan suddenly spoke: “Even though Grandmother has stabilized for now, she has not yet regained consciousness. I only hope, Physician, that you might stay for the night — for our peace of mind. Otherwise, if Grandmother should take a turn for the worse in the night, what would we do…”

Wang Shi’s brow furrowed, and she was about to open her mouth. Sheng Hong stepped in first: “Exactly so. Please take further trouble on our behalf, Physician.” He rose and clasped his hands in a bow — it was a gesture of genuine deference. Physician Lin quickly returned the gesture. Though he himself held a sixth-rank title, the Sheng family was full of officials and had prominent in-laws — he dared not presume: “You are too kind, too kind.” He thought for a moment, then said: “Very well — I will stay and apply some needles to the old lady and see how she responds. I’ll have my apprentice go back to the medicine hall and fetch some medicines.”

Minglan said quietly: “Thank you, Physician. I’ll have someone escort the apprentice.”

Physician Lin cupped his hands: “I’ll go write the prescription.” Liu Shi had been prepared — she quickly had brushes and ink brought. Physician Lin’s hand moved swiftly, and the prescription was done in moments. Sheng Hong took it and looked it over — most of the medicines listed were mild, with nothing targeted for the condition at hand. He could not help frowning. He looked again at Physician Lin’s completely unreadable expression, hesitated for a moment, and swallowed his question.

When the apprentice had taken the prescription and gone out, Physician Lin turned and went back into the inner chamber to attend to Sheng Lao.

Minglan said: “The hour is late — please do take your rest, Father. Elder Brother should go back as well.” Then she went over and took Liu Shi’s hands in hers: “Sister-in-law, you’ve only just come out of your confinement — you absolutely must not tire yourself.”

Sheng Hong said: “You should also rest. The old lady has your elder sister-in-law to watch over her…”

Minglan suddenly began to weep: “From childhood, Grandmother raised me with such profound devotion — a debt of kindness as deep as the sea. But in the end I am a daughter who has married out — I cannot attend to her day and night. And Sister-in-law still has little nephew to look after. Tonight — please let me keep watch with Grandmother, as a small way of fulfilling my duty.”

Sheng Hong considered this a moment. “Very well. Tonight you shall look after the old lady.” He scanned Wang Shi with a meaningful look. “In the days to come, serving the old lady’s medicines is properly your responsibility — you can rest easy on that.”

Wang Shi’s face stiffened. She bit her lip. Looking after a sick mother-in-law was, first and foremost, the duty of a daughter-in-law — not the task of a granddaughter-in-law.

Sheng Hong went again into the inner chamber, and spoke at length to the unconscious Sheng Lao, then gave Nanny Fang and the others careful instructions — he went on and on with no sign of stopping. Minglan smiled and said: “Father hasn’t gone to rest yet, and there is still morning court tomorrow?”

Sheng Hong stroked his beard with a smile: “Even if I took a day’s leave, that would be perfectly acceptable.” Minglan’s manner was gentle and full of filial warmth: “Father, you are the pillar of this household. Younger ones should bear the burdens on their behalf. Grandmother has me here — please don’t tire yourself, Father.” Sheng Hong found this extremely pleasing to hear, and felt quite gratified. Coaxed gently several more times by Minglan, he finally led Wang Shi and the others away.

As she watched the group make their way out in an impressive procession, Minglan slowly let her smile fade. Her eyes went cold, and her expression set like frost. In a quiet but firm voice she said: “Nanny Fang — shut every entrance to Shou An Hall, inside and out. Let no one move about or make inquiries.”

Nanny Fang agreed in a low voice. Minglan walked directly into the inner chamber and fixed her gaze on Physician Lin. Word by word she said: “Physician Lin, you have always had the Marquis’s full trust and confidence — so I won’t speak in circles. One question only: what truly brought on Grandmother’s collapse?”

Physician Lin seemed to have been waiting for exactly this. He stood and said in a low voice: “Marchioness, your perception is sharp. The old lady’s illness… is indeed strange. Since this afternoon, she has had severe pain in the abdomen, vomiting, diarrhea, and intermittent convulsions throughout her body. This…” He hesitated.

Minglan said: “Please speak freely, Physician.”

“This does not resemble an illness. It looks more like… more like… poisoning.”

Minglan felt as though her heart were being wrung. She drew a slow, effortful breath, and with a hand on the chair, slowly lowered herself into it: “Can you be certain, Physician?”

“This is… rather difficult.” Physician Lin said with some awkwardness. “While I am seventy or eighty percent confident, I cannot give a full assurance. If the food Grandmother consumed today could be examined, that would give us a few more points of certainty.”

At this point Nanny Fang also came in. Hearing these words, she was struck dumb with shock. Minglan asked: “What did Grandmother eat today?” She had grown up at Sheng Lao’s knee for ten years and knew her habits intimately. Ever since being widowed, Sheng Lao had been devout in her Buddhist practice for decades, and her daily routine, diet, and habits were all disciplined and methodical — she was never greedy or excessive in food or in cold dishes. This aspect would not be difficult to trace.

Nanny Fang said bitterly: “I thought the symptoms seemed odd too — she has always been so robust, how could she collapse just like that?” The staff of Shou An Hall amounted to only a few mouths, and the food purchasing and preparation were almost entirely internal. Nanny Fang knew every detail perfectly well. “Today the old lady ate only breakfast and lunch, and not much of either. Given the heat, food spoils easily — I told the servants not to eat any leftovers, and all of it was discarded into the slop bucket, which is still there. Only, that smell…”

Minglan raised one hand and said in a firm voice: “Grandmother eats all her regular meals from our own kitchen — let us set that aside for now. Besides the two meals, did Grandmother eat anything else today?” The few nannies in the small kitchen were all of Sheng Lao’s decades-old personal household — their lives were entirely bound up with hers. She would hold off on suspecting them for the moment.

Nanny Fang gathered her thoughts: “In her later years, the old lady has developed more and more of a taste for sweet things. There is a long-serving old pastry master at Ju芳 Pavilion who makes a lotus blossom pastry that is the finest in the capital — the old lady is very fond of it. But this old master makes it himself only twice a month, so the old lady always sends someone to wait at the shop…” As she spoke, something dawned on her, and she began to look frightened.

Minglan said urgently: “Speak, speak quickly.”

Nanny Fang broke out in a cold sweat all over. “Earlier this year, the old lady said Quan Ge’er was old enough to learn propriety, so she had him go to pay respects to the Master every day. She took such a liking to the boy that she proactively took over this errand herself — every time, without fail, she would send someone before dawn to wait at the shop and buy the pastries fresh and hot to present to the old lady…”

“And so this time, the pastries were also sent by him?” Minglan’s voice was trembling faintly.

Nanny Fang said frantically: “It’s been many months — and nothing has gone wrong before!”

Minglan sat in a daze for a moment, then quickly had the maids bring in what remained of the pastries.

The lotus pastries were indeed fragrant and rich, sweet and soft and crisp. Even cold, they still held their golden-baked luster and color. Physician Lin took a silver needle and carefully pricked open the pastry layer, going from the outside inward, and then poked and turned through the filling. In the lamplight, the silver needle gleamed bright — not the slightest change in color. Minglan let out a breath of relief — she had not wanted it to be Wang Shi’s doing either.

But then Physician Lin’s expression grew more and more grave. He pinched the silver needle and prodded and stirred the filling until it was a soft mash, all while leaning close to smell repeatedly. Minglan felt her heart tighten again.

After a while, Physician Lin set down the needle, walked to the bed, lifted Sheng Lao’s eyelid, and examined it closely. Then he took a fine-feathered quill from his medicine chest and held it beneath the old lady’s nose, observing her breathing.

The feather trembled rapidly and unevenly, at irregular intervals, accompanied by a wheezing, hoarse sound of breath — clearly the patient was struggling to breathe.

He pinched the hands and feet for a while, tapped the joints, and after a good deal more work, Physician Lin finally stopped and let out a long breath. “A very clever scheme.”

“Physician…?” Minglan held her own breath.

“It is indeed poison.” Physician Lin’s color had gone pale. “But not a common poison like arsenic. This is a liquid extracted from the buds of ginkgo seeds — tens of jin of buds boiled and refined down into a concentrated few drops, which can take a life. A silver needle cannot detect it.”

Ginkgo is edible — but the raw buds must never be eaten. In theory, this was a case of food poisoning, which was why the silver needle had shown nothing. Physician Lin pointed at the remaining half of the pastries: “It is fortunate the weather has been hot, and the pastries are rich and sweet — the old lady did not eat very much of them. Had she eaten even a little more, even a heavenly immortal could not have saved her.”

Minglan’s voice came out trembling: “Can she still be saved?”

“First, medicine to induce vomiting, then acupuncture needles, and only after that can the antidote be gradually administered through decoctions.” Physician Lin said after careful consideration, “But the old lady is, after all, advanced in age — her constitution is not as resilient as a younger person’s. Whether she can endure what is to come… is not certain…”

Minglan gripped her hands into fists so tightly they turned white. Cold sweat would not stop seeping from her brow. She suddenly bent forward and curtsied in a full bow: “All of this I entrust to you, Physician!”

Even though the Marchioness of Gu before him was younger than his own daughter, Physician Lin still hastened to return the bow properly: “It is my duty.” To be thorough and cautious, he also proactively offered to go and examine the food in the slop bucket, and Nanny Fang had someone go with him to show the way.

One step, then another, Minglan came out of the inner chamber. She stood stiffly in the middle of the hall, with Nanny Fang behind her, already weeping freely: “…The heart of a wolf, the lungs of a dog — Young Mistress, what… what are we to do?”

Minglan steadied her shaking body. She turned to Cuiping and said with gentle composure: “Cuiping, you have always been careful and attentive. These few days, please stay close and watch over Grandmother — and help Physician Lin where you can.”

“Sixth Young Mistress, rest easy. I understand.” Cuiping wiped her tears.

Rulan had these days been accompanying the old lady on visits to relatives in the countryside, and Xiqueers had taken Da Jie’er along as well. Rulan had given Cuiping and Xijuan a few days’ leave to go home to see their families. Cuiping’s mother had originally been one of Sheng Lao’s attendants, so she would come regularly to pay her respects at Shou An Hall, and to see her old companions while she was at it.

No one could have anticipated what happened. The room had been thrown into sudden panic, and it was Nanny Fang who had kept her head — she said that since Cuiping was no longer part of the Sheng household, she did not need a token to go out. She told Cuiping to go immediately to the Marquis Mansion with the news.

Seeing Cuiping step lightly into the inner chamber, Minglan turned. “Nanny Fang, please have every person in Shou An Hall kept in place. Not a word of what is happening in here is to go out.”

Nanny Fang’s eyes filled with a hatred that was like iron: “If anyone dares, I’ll cut out her tongue myself right then and there.” With that, she turned and went out.

Minglan drew a small jade token from her sleeve, and slowly turned it over and over in her palm. She said to Xiaotao: “You know how many gates there are in this mansion, don’t you?”

Xiaotao swallowed, and nodded. “I know. Five altogether — the front gate, the back gate, the side gate next to the front gate, the west side gate for carriages and horses. And then behind the garden, at the far end by the pond, there’s another small gate.”

She had grown up in the countryside and had always been active and free-spirited. Everyone had seen her as young and a little scatterbrained, and so they’d let her roam all over the mansion as she pleased. She likely knew where every dog-sized hole in the walls of the Sheng Mansion was as well.

Minglan held the token out. Xiaotao took it with a blank look, not quite understanding, and watched her.

“Go find the Tu brothers.” Minglan’s face was still as still water. Word by word she said: “Take the household guards, have the front gate opened, then from the inside — seal the Sheng Mansion shut for me. Not a single person is to be let out.”

Xiaotao, who had never lacked for nerve in her life, drew herself up straight: “Madam, rest easy. I’ll go right away.”

When Xiaotao had gone, Luzhi stared, tears rolling silently down her face: “Madam — does that mean…?” She did not dare say the rest.

Minglan stood before the couch-bed, both hands pressing down on the edge of the low table, and stared blankly at the old rosewood prayer beads resting on the table surface, beside the polished sandalwood wooden fish — objects that the old lady had treasured and used for decades.

She slowly turned the wooden fish over. As she expected, on the bottom were a few faint white scratches — put there that winter when she was seven years old, huddled over this small low table writing characters, her arms and legs too short for a small person who, when climbing off the bed, caught her foot in the blanket and tumbled down, taking the little table with her. Sheng Lao had gone white with fright, and without even looking at anything else, scooped her up at once and patted her back, coaxing her not to be afraid.

Minglan stared at the small white porcelain tea bowl sitting on the table surface, and felt her heart seize with a kind of fury — a roiling, pent-up rage that wanted to burst straight out of her chest.

Thought moved into action. She snatched up the tea bowl and hurled it with full force across the room. It struck the wall and shattered into dust. Only then did she let out a long, forceful breath — “Bastards!”