Shen Zhuxi ordinarily despised walking anywhere on foot.

In the palace, she had always been carried by palanquin, yet today — with the prospect of being self-sufficient within her grasp — she didn’t even pause to rest. After leaving Zhou Sao’s home, she set off again directly along the road into town.

Three hours later, seeing Shen Zhuxi again for the second time that day, the proprietor of the River Willow Hall wore a surprised expression.

“Lady Li — did you leave something behind?”

Too shy to state her purpose outright, Shen Zhuxi carefully produced the sheet of decorated paper she hadn’t dared to fold and had been carrying in her hand the whole time.

“Proprietor, what do you think of this?”

The proprietor narrowed his eyes, wiped his hands on the hand cloth beside the counter, and accepted her piece of decorated paper with solemn care.

“This is… painted with water-smoke ink?” The proprietor’s expression showed genuine surprise. “Who painted this? Is there actually someone of such talent hidden away in our town?”

“I painted it,” Shen Zhuxi said. Seeing the astonishment on his face, she gave a shy smile.

“You painted it?” The proprietor raised his eyes and looked her over twice, incredulous. “Lady Li, you’re not pulling my leg — this was truly painted by you?”

“It truly was. If there’s paper and a brush here, I can paint another right now for you to see.”

At this, the proprietor set the decorated paper down and looked at it again with cautious uncertainty. “This really is…”

“Proprietor, in your view, if this decorated paper were put up for sale, how much would it be worth?” Shen Zhuxi asked.

“…Hard to say,” the proprietor said carefully. “In a prosperous place like the capital or Jiangnan, it would certainly have no shortage of buyers. If sold in Yutou Town, however, I’m afraid very few people would purchase it.”

“If it were sold in Yutou Town, what do you think a fair price would be?” she pressed.

The proprietor gazed at the decorated paper and considered for a moment. “Four hundred copper coins per sheet. If the designs came in complete sets — birds and flowers, mountains and water, rocks and sky — the price would be even better.”

“One set of ten sheets, ten sheets for five taels of silver — what does the proprietor think?”

“That seems reasonable.” The proprietor gave a nod.

“Then I’ll sell them to you.”

“But… what?” The proprietor was taken aback, and once he collected himself, he immediately put the decorated paper back on the counter. “Lady Li, what sort of joke is this? I run a shop that sells stationery — I don’t buy stationery!”

The proprietor’s refusal was something Shen Zhuxi had already anticipated. She did not give up and continued to make her case: “Before goods can be sold, one must first acquire them. You yourself said there would be no shortage of buyers — which means you acknowledge the value of this decorated paper. You buy from me and resell at a higher price. Wouldn’t that work out very well?”

“What’s so well about it!” The proprietor shook his head repeatedly. “This is no prosperous locale I’m running my shop in. Who would spend five taels of silver to buy ten sheets of letter paper?”

“Haven’t I just done exactly that?” Shen Zhuxi said. “When I first arrived in Yutou Town, you sold me a set of scholar’s four treasures for one hundred and thirty taels…”

The proprietor of the River Willow Hall’s old face flushed red. He waved his hand, eyes darting away. “Didn’t I sell it to you for eighteen taels in the end! Let’s not dredge up the past! The past is the past!”

Shen Zhuxi argued her case at length, but the proprietor refused to purchase her decorated paper.

“Say no more — I’m not buying. I have business to attend to. Lady Li, you should head home. Doesn’t your Li Wu come home for meals?”

The proprietor, without so much as a word of explanation, alternated between coaxing and urging until he had driven Shen Zhuxi out the door.

Shen Zhuxi stood outside the entrance, defeated, watching as the proprietor walked back inside without looking back.

Was she just going to give up like this? She looked down at the exquisite decorated paper in her hand.

She had painted this stroke by stroke, with care and dedication. She was confident it surpassed every piece of decorated paper sold in the River Willow Hall by a hundredfold.

Was she really going to go home empty-handed and tuck this sheet of paper, along with the rest of the jade-green letter paper, deep inside a drawer?

Shen Zhuxi walked a couple of steps, lost in thought, then stopped, turned around, and charged back into the River Willow Hall.

“Proprietor!” She rushed up to the counter again. At the sight of her, the proprietor’s face puckered into a sour expression. “Lady Li, what else is there?”

“I understand your concern about slow sales, and so I’ve thought of something —” Shen Zhuxi, afraid he would cut her off, spoke in a rapid rush: “I could complete the full sets of decorated paper and leave them in your shop for you to sell. If they sell, you give me the money then. If they don’t sell, I’ll come back after a while and take them away myself.”

She pleaded: “Would that work?”

The proprietor did not immediately refuse, and that gave Shen Zhuxi hope. She struck while the iron was hot: “You set the selling price — and of whatever you earn, you keep two portions and I take eight. If nothing sells, I absorb the cost myself. How does that sound?”

“…Let me have another look at your decorated paper,” the proprietor said.

Shen Zhuxi immediately offered the paper to him. After scrutinizing it for some time, the proprietor finally said, “Every sheet in the set must be no lower in quality than this one.”

“No problem!” Shen Zhuxi was so excited she nearly leapt up on the spot.

“As I mentioned — birds and flowers for one set, mountains and water for one set, and another set with the floral and plant designs young women enjoy.” The proprietor looked up at her. “Three full sets in total. When can you deliver them?”

Shen Zhuxi silently calculated the time and said with certainty, “I’ll deliver them to you in four days.”

“…Very well.” The proprietor set down the decorated paper. “Lady Li, let’s be clear from the start — if they don’t sell, you take them back yourself, and the matter shall never be raised again. And don’t go complaining to your husband about it!”

“Agreed!” Shen Zhuxi accepted at once.

Once the matter of splitting the earnings had been settled, Shen Zhuxi walked out of the River Willow Hall with a light, buoyant step.

The decorated paper hadn’t sold yet, but she already felt as though it had. Passing by a wine shop called the Chen Family Tavern, she suddenly turned and stepped inside on a whim, moved by the impulse to buy some good wine and food to share with Li Wu and celebrate her joy.

Two tables of customers were seated inside the tavern; the counter where the abacus sat was unattended. Shen Zhuxi stood before the counter, wondering where the proprietor might be, when a familiar figure slipped out from the rear courtyard of the wine shop.

“Oh my, a rare guest indeed—” Jiu Niang sauntered over with a swaying gait, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Here to buy wine, or to have a chat with me?”

“Jiu Niang, what wines and dishes do you have here?” Shen Zhuxi said.

“Oh, I have plenty of specialties — but your Li Wu’s favorites are braised pig’s trotters and strong sorghum liquor. He’s a rough and simple man, with rough and simple tastes. Bring those two back for him, and I guarantee he’ll be delighted.” Jiu Niang leaned against the counter, her arm propped under her chin pressing against her chest, the snowy white of her figure visible above the red dress’s neckline in a way that made Shen Zhuxi flush and look quickly away.

“We’re both women — what’s there to be embarrassed about?” Jiu Niang caught the source of her discomfort and let out a bright peal of laughter that drew repeated glances from the customers in the main hall.

“I’ll… take the braised pig’s trotters and the strong sorghum liquor then,” Shen Zhuxi said, and then added: “In portions for three men — Li Kun and Li Que may well come for dinner too.”

“Wait here.”

Jiu Niang finished speaking, lifted the curtain, and walked back into the rear courtyard. Not long after, she came back out carrying a platter of braised pig’s trotters arranged neatly in rows.

“Pick whichever you’d like — which ones do you want?”

Shen Zhuxi’s eyes swept over them, overwhelmed. “I can’t choose — better to let Jiu Niang pick for me.”

“Well then, fine…” Jiu Niang picked up the long chopsticks nearby, her eyes sharp and her hands swift, and in three quick movements had selected three trotters — all the plumpest, most flavorful-looking of the lot.

“Thank you, Jiu Niang!” Shen Zhuxi said happily. “As for the payment, I’ll just…”

“You can’t put it on a tab,” Jiu Niang cut her off. “Your Li Wu doesn’t come through here — who would I go to at the end of the month to settle the bill?”

Shen Zhuxi’s face reddened, and she quickly brought out her purse to pay. Fortunately, there were still two small pieces of silver and a few copper coins inside — just enough to cover the cost of the wine.

After settling the bill, Jiu Niang began wrapping the trotters in lotus leaves and asked in a casual tone, “What brings you out drinking today? What’s the occasion?”

Shen Zhuxi saw no reason to be evasive about it, so she told her about the arrangement she had made with the River Willow Hall proprietor to sell the decorated paper on commission.

Before Jiu Niang could respond, a customer nearby burst into laughter.

“Lady Li, the widowed wine hostess had no choice but to make her living herself after losing her husband. But yours is still alive and well — what’s a woman with a man at home doing out here making money?”

The man beside him laughed in agreement. “Could it be that the wedding cost so much that you need your wife to come out and make up the difference?”

Shen Zhuxi felt uncomfortable hearing it but kept her tone light. “Li Wu’s earnings are enough for us to live on day to day. I just wanted something to keep me occupied.”

The two men looked ready to say more, when Jiu Niang said, “You two have had too much to drink if you’ve got this much to say for yourselves. If you truly have that much energy, how about another jar of sorghum liquor instead?”

“We can’t disrespect the wine hostess — another jar it is!” The men laughed heartily.

The subject finally moved away from Shen Zhuxi.

Shen Zhuxi took two jin of strong sorghum liquor, picked up the lotus leaf parcel containing the braised pig’s trotters, and thanked Jiu Niang with genuine gratitude.

“Think nothing of it — men just love to talk too much,” Jiu Niang said with a dismissive wave. “I’m not going to hold my breath for your Li Wu to be a customer here. Come and patronize my shop more often in the future. That sachet you gave me last time was truly lovely — the design was unlike anything I’d seen. When you make other little trinkets from now on, bring one for me, and I’ll trade you a good bottle of wine for it.”

Shen Zhuxi agreed readily.

She picked up the sorghum liquor and the braised pig’s trotters and made her way quickly home.

She had left in a hurry and forgotten to leave a note. If Li Wu came home to find her gone, he was sure to kick up a fuss.

After the time it took to burn one incense stick, Shen Zhuxi pushed open the gate to the Li family’s courtyard — just as Li Wu was walking toward the entrance and they came face to face.

Li Wu was, as expected, wearing a sour expression. “Where did you go? Didn’t even leave a note.”

This rotten fellow — acting as though she’d disappear the moment he turned his back and make off with all his valuables. And it wasn’t as though he even had any valuables… Shen Zhuxi had barely begun to feel a flicker of grievance when she recalled Li Wu’s sacrifice — enduring humiliation and selling himself to provide for his wife — and that flicker of grievance dissolved entirely.

“I was thoughtless. Next time I’ll remember to leave a note.” Shen Zhuxi spoke with patience and in a good temper — her tone could even be called gentle.

Her uncharacteristic tenderness made Li Wu look at her with a peculiar expression.

“What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?”

“No trouble at all,” Shen Zhuxi said. She walked into the courtyard and held up the wine jar and lotus leaf parcel in her hands with a smile. “I brought back some strong sorghum liquor and braised pig’s trotters. Where are Li Kun and Li Que?”

“They haven’t come back yet. I headed home first to keep you company for dinner.” Li Wu took the wine jar and the parcel from her. “How did you know I liked these two things?”

“Jiu Niang told me. She’s such a kind person,” Shen Zhuxi said with a smile.

“…You see everyone through those charitable pig’s eyes of yours — everyone except this man.” Li Wu carried the things toward the main room, grumbling as he went: “I’m telling you, you’re the kind of fool who’d help someone count the coins after they’ve sold you off!”

Shen Zhuxi had a habit of washing her hands before eating, and not only did she herself wash up, she also required the Li brothers who dined with her to do the same. Over time, Li Wu had developed the same habit of washing his hands before meals.

The two of them washed their hands and sat down at the square table.

Li Wu pried open the wine jar, tilted the jar, and took a large swig directly from it. Shen Zhuxi unhurried, untied the thin hemp string from the lotus leaf parcel and spread the lotus leaf flat and smooth.

Li Wu picked up a trotter and held it up to her mouth. “Open up.”

“I can manage on my own,” Shen Zhuxi said, her face flushing.

“Open up — don’t make me say it a third time.” Li Wu said impatiently.

Shen Zhuxi stared at the large pig’s trotter before her with some difficulty — she did want to take a bite, but the trotter was so large, where was she supposed to sink her teeth in?

She searched for a moment and finally found a spot that seemed manageable, and bit lightly. The braising sauce flooded into her mouth.

The braised trotter was rich without being greasy, the skin chewy, and the tenderness of the meat inside was a delight that made Shen Zhuxi’s eyes widen.

She had barely reached out to take the large trotter from him when Li Wu suddenly drew his hand back. Using the place where she had bitten, he sank his teeth in and took an enormous bite — and in one go, the trotter had a great crater taken out of it.

“That’s… the part I ate from…” Shen Zhuxi stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Haven’t I eaten plenty of your leftovers?” Li Wu gave her a sidelong look and said without any care. “So what.”

“But…”

Shen Zhuxi couldn’t find the words. For the first time, she felt herself at a complete loss. She had the vague sense that Li Wu’s behavior, though it resembled the way he ordinarily picked up her leftover food, was somehow fundamentally different in nature.

“I…” Shen Zhuxi hesitated for a long while, then finally gathered her courage and spoke: “Today I went into town and bought some letter paper, and turned it into decorated paper. The River Willow Hall proprietor has agreed to sell it in his shop for me — whatever it earns, I get eight portions and he gets two. If nothing sells, I take the paper back myself.”

Li Wu didn’t even look up. “Not a single copper coin out of his own pocket, and he gets two portions of the profit — of course he agreed.”

“While I was buying wine at Jiu Niang’s afterward, someone overheard.” Shen Zhuxi paused, and her voice gradually grew smaller. “They mocked you, saying I had come out to work because the household was financially struggling.”

“Noted,” Li Wu said, biting off the meatiest part of the trotter without much concern.

“What do you mean, noted?” Shen Zhuxi asked.

“Whoever said that will have to answer for it. They won’t be saying anything like that to your face again — don’t worry.”

“That’s not what I meant. Please don’t go and pick a fight with them…” Shen Zhuxi said quickly.

“Then what did you mean?” Li Wu looked up at her.

“If you think it brings shame… if you don’t want it…” Shen Zhuxi lowered her gaze and forced herself to finish what she was saying: “I won’t go out anymore… I’ll find another way to earn money…”

“Shen Zhuxi,” Li Wu said suddenly, calling her by name.

She looked up instinctively.

His eyes were clear and steady — dark and bright. The blankness and bewilderment so common in the eyes of those around them were nowhere to be found in his.

“If this is something you truly want to do, then don’t concern yourself with whether I’ll be embarrassed. If I were to feel embarrassed because my woman has ability, then that would be the real embarrassment.”