Minglan still wore the face of someone in the middle of a yawn as she sat alone at the breakfast table, lifting her congee spoon in a manner that suggested she might be sleepwalking. The sight made Danju shake her head repeatedly: “It is fortunate that my lady was born a woman. If you were a man — up reading until the third watch, up for early court at the fourth — how would you ever manage?”

Minglan nearly burst out laughing. A small, silkworm-like creature once told us that with great power comes great responsibility. Ancient men enjoyed so many more privileges than their modern counterparts — naturally they had to work a little harder for them. Besides, she had not exactly been a stranger herself to working through the night and rising at dawn in her previous life.

Ah… how she missed that previous life. Back then, even though the sky was grey and the ground was dark and the rivers ran in strange colors, at least if a husband strayed there was division of assets and divorce; at least if you discovered a mistress you could go directly to her door; at least if your mother-in-law started trouble you could talk back; at least if your best friend stabbed you in the back you could expose her to the whole world. And most importantly of all — even if someone was caught in an affair, they would not be drowned in a pig cage.

Well then — Minglan reeled in her nostalgic wandering. One must come back to reality.

For Minglan, the famous Wang Xifeng of ancient times — that legendary figure of the Eight Red Banners — represented an unattainable peak. What manner of extraordinary industrious talent was this woman? No extra salary. No prospect of promotion. One might squeeze out a little money through the advantages of one’s position, but the debts far outweighed the gains. Up every night at midnight, managing affairs before dawn, attending to an enormous family above and below, pandering and placating everyone — and even so, she seemed terrified of not exhausting herself fast enough, and took it upon herself to seek out more work next door at the Ningguo Mansion as well! Perplexing beyond all measure.

In the end she wore down her body, depleted her dowry entirely, did not even produce a single son, and was given the pretext of barrenness to bring in a concubine — the secondary wife You Erjie. Was it all for some legendary thing called a “sense of achievement”? Incomprehensible.

Minglan’s character had no affinity for this brand of martyrdom to work, and so she had Liao Yong’s wife and several other managing matrons rotate responsibility for calling roll at the mao hour and organizing the day’s tasks. She herself would review matters and go over the accounts after breakfast, while the following day’s work would be allocated before the previous evening’s dinner. Only periodic unannounced inspections were required. So far, by all appearances, the results had been quite satisfactory.

Nanny Cui was deeply displeased with Minglan’s “laziness” and regularly had to drag her by the ear for a lecture. But Minglan always had a ready argument: “If the outcome is the same either way, why put yourself through the ordeal?”

Nanny Cui set her face in a stern expression: “Work hard when you’re young, and when my lady is surrounded by children and grandchildren, you can rest as much as you please.”

“On the contrary,” said Minglan, wagging one finger. “Nanny — do you still enjoy sleeping in nowadays?”

Minglan’s eyes were bright and limpid; Nanny Cui’s gaze slid sideways: “Not particularly anymore.”

“There we have it! As the saying goes — pluck the flower while it blooms, for once the flower is gone there is nothing left to pluck. The luxury of sleeping in does not wait for any one person. Other young wives may not have this opportunity, but if I do not take proper care of myself now, would that not be a squandering of good fortune? Don’t you think so, Nanny…”

Nanny Cui, never gifted with words, had always been a woman of few — she could only glare at Minglan and seethe in silence. People all said that the sixth young lady of the Sheng household was the most gentle and obedient, but only Nanny Cui knew: “gentle” should be replaced with “cleverly perceptive,” and “obedient” was in truth “outwardly compliant while inwardly doing exactly as she pleased” — a stomach full of seemingly reasonable arguments, and she would sidle up to you with that smiling face, narrow those wide curved eyes of hers, and “discuss” things with you in a tone that sounded like humble inquiry.

Nanny Cui had no choice but to acknowledge, ruefully, that from the time Minglan was nine years old, she had never once won an argument with her.

Watching Nanny Cui’s expression, Minglan judged the moment to be right and gently coaxed: “I know what Nanny means, and I appreciate it. But how long I’ll be able to enjoy these good days — that I cannot say. If one day we return to the Ningyuan Marquisate, I’ll have to be up before dawn for morning greetings, and may well have to stand through the formal protocol. Far better to rest well while I can.”

“Will you have to go back?” Nanny Cui asked doubtfully.

Minglan laughed lightly: “We are all one family in the end — it’s hard to say whether we will or won’t eventually.”

Nanny Cui sighed once, said no more on the subject, and applied herself instead to strictly overseeing the discipline of all the residence’s maidservants.

Minglan had no objection to this. She had come from the age of the internet and understood the power of rumor and gossip. If the inner household servants were allowed to grow lax, who knew what talk might start to circulate — and there was no shortage of people keeping a close eye on the Ningyuan Marquisate.

The most critical area of all was the main courtyard of Jia Xi Residence.

The inner household maids came from several sources: those Minglan had brought with her in her dowry, those purchased from outside, and those born into household service.

Before Minglan’s arrival, Nanny Chang had twice selected batches of maids for the inner courtyard. The summer batch — whether purchased or born of household servants — had all been given names beginning with “Xia” (Summer): Xia Zhu and Xia He being the two Nanny Chang had selected first and sent in. A later batch, chosen in winter, had all been named with “Dong” (Winter). Minglan found this naming convention sensible and decided to continue it — since the new girls were being selected in spring, this current batch would all be given names beginning with “Chun” (Spring).

Xiaotao rolled her eyes at this.

Following the established legislative principle, there were always a few incautious “chickens” that had to be made an example of at the start, to frighten the “monkeys” watching.

Most of these maids had not been in service very long, and were at an age when young people are naturally playful. Seeing that the food, clothing, and household goods in this residence were abundant and of fine quality — and particularly those who had entered Minglan’s own courtyard, who lived as if they were young mistresses themselves, dressed in silk and satin, eating chicken and duck and fish — they were surrounded by fine porcelain and beautiful jade objects that they had previously rarely seen, now as commonplace as ordinary items.

Each time Minglan reviewed these expense accounts, she sighed inwardly: no wonder the maids in Grand View Garden would rather “dash their heads against a wall and die” than leave; no wonder girls in this era flocked to the possibility of becoming a concubine. On one side was the coarse clothing and sparse rooms of a commoner’s life; on the other, the silks and delicacies of a life kept like a young mistress. The temptation of material comfort truly had no bottom.

And beyond fine food and clothing, golden and silver ornaments given as rewards were no small matter either. Daily tasks were not particularly burdensome, and seeing that Minglan was an amiable mistress, the girls began to feel uninhibited. Some quarreled and bickered out of pride and petulance; some fought over clothing and ornaments; some shirked their duties or forgot their watch shifts; some wandered uninvited into Minglan’s inner rooms; and some harbored thoughts that were not quite proper… In only seven or eight days, no fewer than five or six offenders had been caught by Luzhi and Ruomei.

Punishment is the art of governing people. Minglan decided to be an inspired practitioner of this art.

The first step: clearly defined responsibilities. Each person’s duties were spelled out first. Then, in black and white on paper, what could not be done, where one could not go, what words must not be spoken, and what dress was not appropriate — all written plainly. Violations would result, in order of severity, in: verbal reprimand; strokes of the discipline board on the hand; deduction of monthly wages; dismissal from the household — where those expelled from the inner courtyard would not be retained in the outer courtyard either: either collected by their mothers and sent home, or sent to work on the farming estates. And at the very end of the scale, sale into other service — reserved as the final recourse.

Every violation was recorded in writing: the cause, the punishment administered, the nature of the offender’s remorse and acknowledgment — each item noted in detail. This allowed for cumulative tracking over time. If someone committed violations repeatedly, even minor ones, too many times was grounds for dismissal, to prevent those with nimble minds from arguing cleverly that every offense was too small to matter. If that were allowed, others would follow the example and the situation would become unmanageable.

In truth, the most severe punishment in this age was not sale into service, but being beaten to death outright. This method, however, Minglan did not favor. Not only was it a violation of proper moral principles, it was also liable to ruin one’s reputation. Being sold off to some poor and remote region, or even to a wild and uncivilized frontier — the outcome was in fact often worse.

Aside from deductions of monthly wages and expulsions — which required Minglan’s approval — all other disciplinary matters were left in the hands of the senior maids, who exercised judgment according to their rank. Of these, only Danju wielded the discipline board. Her temperament was steady and even-handed; she would not enforce the rules unjustly or strike the board too lightly or too heavily and throw everything into disarray. The other senior maids were responsible for supervision and reprimand, ranked according to seniority.

Minglan watched with a cool eye as Danju grew progressively more thorough and capable in her management, and felt considerably reassured. In the beginning she had always worried that Danju was too much of a pushover, lacking sufficient authority. But on reflection, it was not entirely Danju’s fault: when Minglan herself had been in the Sheng household, she was no more than an unimportant sixth young mistress, born of a concubine — how could her backbone have been straight enough then to demand that Danju act with decisive firmness?

After several days of this kind of disciplinary system — with the proper beatings administered, the proper fines levied, and even a few prominent troublemakers driven out — Jia Xi Residence became a great deal more orderly and calm. Looking at the tranquil order within the courtyard, Minglan felt quite satisfied. Xiaotao came running up in a most servile manner to offer flattery: “My lady is so capable! My lady is so clever!”

Minglan said with an air of unfathomable wisdom: “In a great household, dealing with a few servants is not the difficult part. The difficult part is dealing with the masters standing behind the servants.” Which was exactly why the waters of a great family’s inner household were always so murky — never quite able to be sorted clear.

Xiaotao had not entirely understood what she meant, but this did not prevent her from continuing to offer flattery: “My lady is so clever! My lady is so capable!”

Minglan turned to face her with a straight expression: “Can you not come up with some fresh words to praise your mistress?”

Xiaotao tugged at the corner of her mouth in slight difficulty: “My lady… as long as the feeling is there, does the wording really matter? Didn’t you say that appearances aren’t what’s important?”

Minglan stared at her for a long moment, then sighed and gave her a pat: “Fair enough.”

Not many days later, someone came to report that Hai Shi had given birth — a baby girl.

Minglan produced two strings of small, gleaming gold cash coins, each string carrying nineteen beautifully crafted little golden coins, each one engraved with a different auspicious phrase, strung on red silk thread, with a round, plump little gold ingot hanging from the bottom. Minglan said with great self-satisfaction: “A good thing I had the foresight — Elder Sister will likely deliver soon too. When the washing ceremonies come, I’ll give one string each to Elder Sister and to our eldest sister-in-law.”

“Might it be… a little too modest a gift?” Danju offered cautiously. After all, the Gu household was now considerably wealthier than the Liang and Sheng households combined. “And the same gift for both?” Danju bit her lip — in her view, Hai Shi had treated Minglan far better than Hualan had.

Minglan explained patiently: “Foolish Danju — anything given in public should not be ostentatious, or people will think you a nouveau riche. Besides, what about Fourth Elder Sister and Fifth Elder Sister? What should they receive? The birth dates of Elder Sister and our eldest sister-in-law are so close together — if the washing ceremony gifts I give are not the same, wouldn’t that only invite unnecessary trouble? A gift should make both giver and recipient happy. At the full-month celebration, I’ll make proper arrangements for a more substantial gift then.”

The Sheng family’s washing ceremony fell on a warm and sunny day. Minglan had let Gu Tingye know in advance, then set out in a small, modest conveyance. Today happened to be one of Sheng Hong’s days off from court, so Minglan went first to pay her respects to him. Entering the room, she found Sheng Hong with a stern expression, in the middle of admonishing Wang Shi about something, while Rulan stood nearby with her head bowed, looking downcast.

After completing her formal greeting, Minglan rose and smiled at him with cheerful ease, saying in her most obedient and engaging manner: “Father, your beard has grown quite a bit — it’s nearly catching up to the magnificent beard of Chief Minister Shen.”

Sheng Hong could not quite keep his expression from slipping. He stroked his carefully maintained long beard with considerable self-satisfaction, then maintained his pose and scolded: “What nonsense is this? You’re a married woman now — still so childish!”

Minglan stepped forward and smiled in a winning, flattering way: “Father is quite right. I recently happened to find a small beard comb and brush made from Yunnan rhinoceros horn, and I set it aside especially for you, Father — I’ll have someone bring it over soon. Is that childish enough?”

Sheng Hong could no longer hold his straight face. He laughed and scolded: “Save it for your husband!” Minglan tilted her head back and forth with exaggerated thought: “Better not — he’s in a military post. Apart from Lord Guan, I’ve never heard of anyone growing a long beard and still fighting well in battle. On horseback it would be so cumbersome. And looking at that husband of mine, his skills are still a long way from Lord Guan’s!”

Sheng Hong burst into laughter and pointed at Minglan with an exasperated shake of his head.

Minglan then turned to Wang Shi and said with a smile: “It’s been many days since we’ve seen each other — you’re looking quite a bit younger! Well, they do say daughters are debts and worries — now that the four of us are all married off, you must be feeling much freer.”

Wang Shi’s tightly pressed lips loosened slightly. Rulan, catching sight of Liu Kun’s wife peeking urgently at her from behind the inner room curtain, judged Sheng Hong’s expression to be appropriate and chimed in with a smile: “Naturally — you were the last one Mother worried about.”

Minglan turned and looked Rulan up and down, then said with sudden enlightenment: “Now that I think of it — the moment Fifth Elder Sister left the household, Mother immediately began to feel her heart and spirit lift.”

Rulan laughed and went to pinch Minglan: “You troublesome girl — making fun of me again!”

And so the tension in the room was dispelled. Liu Kun’s wife marveled privately at this — this sixth young lady was truly something. In Sheng Hong’s presence, she was never constrained or awkward. Whenever she was in the same room with the master, she always laughed and chatted naturally and at ease, entirely without stiffness. Especially with Sheng Hong — Minglan had never let bitterness show over the indifferent treatment she had received, nor had she grown distant because of neglect. She behaved as though he truly were a warm and loving father, happy to see him whenever they met, always knowing how to please him and make him feel good. Over the years, Sheng Hong had in fact grown rather fond of her, and whenever anything good came to him, he never forgot to set something aside for Minglan.

After a few more exchanges, Wang Shi led the party to Hai Shi’s room. As they walked, Wang Shi’s expression remained tight. She moved ahead surrounded by maids and matrons, while Minglan and Rulan linked arms and walked behind, whispering close to each other’s ears.

“What happened? You’ve only just arrived and already set Father off?” Minglan glanced toward Wang Shi ahead and deliberately kept a few steps’ distance.

Rulan let out a sigh: “The Hanlin Academy pays poorly, and recently a position has opened up for an outside posting. My husband seems rather interested in it, but that would mean going to the Sichuan region — and Sichuan is a wealthy and fertile land, so I worried about…” Minglan had a partial sense of what was coming, and slowed her steps to walk even farther back beside Rulan. “So you came to ask Father and Elder Brother for their help?”

“Not exactly. I only mentioned it in complaint to Mother. But then Mother went and brought it up with Father herself, and now I’ve been caught up in the scolding too.” Rulan’s face fell, carrying a fair amount of grievance toward Wang Shi for being “more hindrance than help.”

Minglan glanced at Wang Shi’s rigid shoulders ahead, and sighed quietly to herself. This woman really was…

Rulan’s heart was troubled. She tugged at Minglan’s sleeve: “Say something, say something — Father is being so unreasonable. If he can help, just help; if he can’t, fine — why scold me over it?” For matters like these, Minglan was the sister Rulan could speak to plainly, always had been.

Minglan leaned close to Rulan’s ear: “Has Fifth Elder Sister’s husband ever said he wants Father and Elder Brother to help?”

“No.”

“Has he ever hinted at it in front of you deliberately? For instance, sighing and showing distress?”

“No, nothing like that either.” Rulan shook her head. “My husband hides nothing from me. One afternoon when he came home from court, he simply mentioned it to me in casual conversation and laughed, saying he wondered which colleague might manage to pull the right strings.”

“Then Fifth Elder Sister has made a mistake.” Minglan nodded. “First: your husband may not necessarily want his wife’s family to intervene in this matter. Second: you went to Father without your husband’s consent to ask for help — that may actually displease him, and he may well have his own way of handling things. Third: if Elder Brother and Father feel it is a good position, they will naturally help your husband find a path; but if they feel it is not, and you push for it regardless, they may come to think your husband is incapable and relies entirely on his wife’s connections to get ahead.”

Minglan said all this in one breath, and Rulan was left speechless for a moment. “You… what you’re saying does seem to make sense,” she murmured.

Minglan glanced ahead — the group seemed to be moving farther and farther away. She lowered her voice to a near whisper: “When I was small, I once heard our grandmother mention that long ago, she and Father used to be very well-matched — husband and wife respectful and harmonious, their life peaceful and happy. It was precisely because our grandmother liked to involve herself in Father’s affairs outside the household that Father gradually grew distant from her, and that allowed Lin Yiniang to find her opening.”

In fact, it was not unusual for inner household women to involve themselves in their husbands’ and sons’ official matters. The question was whether the involvement was well-handled and appropriate. Wang Shi, who had no understanding of the larger picture and concerned herself only with private benefit, had likely caused Sheng Hong no small amount of trouble in the early days.

The case was instructive, and the consequences that had followed were painful. Rulan considered herself the most severely wronged victim of the whole affair. She was immediately struck as though waking from a dream, and struck her palm with her fist: “I’ve vaguely heard about this too. Then… Sixth Sister, what should I do?”

Minglan genuinely wished Rulan happiness, since her own life was going so well, and she said: “First, watch how your husband proceeds. If he brings it up again and again, you can go to our eldest sister-in-law and mention it to her. She’s a daughter of the Hai family and understands the ins and outs better than anyone. Then she can pass it along to Elder Brother, and they can decide between them whether it is possible to help or not. For things like this in the future, you can always do it this way.”

“That’s a good idea!” Rulan nodded enthusiastically — she had full confidence in Hai Shi as a sister-in-law. Then she asked: “But what if my husband doesn’t bring it up again?”

Minglan looked at her with a sidelong glance: “Then it means your husband doesn’t particularly want that posting, and you should drop the matter. Stop thinking so much about how meager the pay in the Hanlin Academy is — if you start making all the decisions about your husband’s career for him, you’d better watch out, or he won’t like you anymore!”

Rulan cared very much about this particular “love,” and by comparison, being merely a Hanlin wife was not so terrible after all. She nodded with effort.

After a moment, Rulan suddenly thought of something: “Oh, right — I can ask you for help too, can’t I? Everyone says my Sixth Brother-in-law is tremendously capable these days! Well, will you help? You’ll help, won’t you?” She narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, slipping back into the manner of her unmarried days, imperious and unyielding.

Minglan hooked her arm through Rulan’s and said cheerfully: “Who are we to each other? Of course if you ask me, I’ll say something. But you’d better think it through clearly first — civil officials and military officers operate through entirely different channels. If Father and Elder Brother were to handle the same matter, they’d follow all the proper procedures, and it would be like wind passing over still water, leaving not a trace. But if your brother-in-law were to handle it… well, before long everyone in the city would know about it. Don’t blame me afterward.”

Rulan felt uneasy at this. A man values face above all — being elevated by his father-in-law and elder brother-in-law was already awkward enough. If even his brother-in-law had to step in to help, and it was done in a way that left nothing to the imagination — that really would not do.

Minglan watched Rulan with a smile. In this age where everyone had eighteen layers of scheming in their hearts, finding someone as straightforwardly direct as Rulan was genuinely rare.

“Sixth Sister,” Rulan said suddenly in a low voice, “I may be foolish, but I’m not someone who doesn’t know good from bad. Everything you say to me, you say out of genuine goodwill. You treat me well — I know it. Sometimes my temper is bad; please don’t take it to heart.” She squeezed Minglan’s hand gently, quietly.

Minglan felt a sudden twinge of guilt. She squeezed Rulan’s hand in return and said warmly: “What sort of outside-the-family talk is that between sisters? Oh — by the way, is Fifth Elder Sister’s husband treating you well?” And she looked Rulan over appraisingly. She wore a large red jacket of tapestry-woven silk with a butterfly-through-flowers pattern — rather more formal than the occasion strictly called for, but it made her look radiant and rosy-cheeked, clearly a sign of happiness. It seemed life was going quite well.

As expected, Rulan raised her chin with pride, her pink face flushing red, and said in bashful delight: “Very well indeed. Whenever my husband has a free moment, he writes poems and paints pictures with me.”

“Does he paint portraits of you?”

“Of course!” Rulan glared fiercely. “Jing ge’er says my face is lively and natural in expression, the easiest kind to capture in a painting!”

“Yes, yes, absolutely right.” Minglan immediately moved to make amends. “And then… your mother-in-law?”

Rulan was quite pleased about this as well: “Whenever that old woman starts causing trouble for me, my husband goes off to the Hanlin Academy. And if the nagging gets really fierce, he says, ‘If you’re so dissatisfied with the daughter-in-law they raised, you should have the decency to move out of their house.’ After that, the mother-in-law doesn’t say much anymore.”

Minglan laughed out loud, drawing Wang Shi’s gaze from ahead. She immediately reined in her laughter. This era was difficult for women in so many ways — she was genuinely happy for Rulan’s happiness. Yan Jing was after all a man whom both Sheng Hong and Changbai had approved of; he would not be anything less than worthy.

Ah… if only all her sisters were like Rulan — easy to get along with and straightforwardly happy. But of course that was impossible. Minglan was quickly confronted with another of her sisters — Molan.

Molan sat inside Hai Shi’s room, chatting with the other female guests who had come to offer congratulations. Her clear, lovely face looked somewhat muted and dull. She wore a purple-red jacket of tapestry-woven silk with interlocking peony medallion patterns — luxurious enough — but the color only made her look several years older. A massive five-phoenix-and-rising-sun solid gold pearl hairpin blazed on her head, pearls catching the light so brilliantly the entire room seemed dazzled.

Rulan spotted her and immediately curled her lip, deliberately leaning close to Minglan’s ear: “What is she putting on airs about? The whole city knows the Yongchang Marquis household is having a hard time now. The Emperor has reprimanded them several times, and even Molan’s father-in-law, the Marquis of Yongchang, has had his military post suspended. Fourth Brother-in-law can count himself lucky to keep his current position, let alone think about any promotion.”

Molan had seen them too, and gave a stiff, barely perceptible nod. She seemed to want to come over and speak with Minglan, but Rulan blocked her path without any obvious movement. Minglan kept her expression neutral and exchanged a few pleasantries with the other female guests in the room, then went to look at the newborn girl. The infant had delicate brows and eyes, with a slightly upturned little mouth — a marked resemblance to Hai Shi.

Lady Liu, whose husband held a position at the Court of Judicial Review, looked at the small baby and said with a smile: “This little girl is lovely — she takes after her mother. She’ll grow up to be a proper, refined young lady.”

Hai Shi had a cloth wrapped around her head and was reclining against a cushion of crimson silk embroidered with mountain-and-sea longevity patterns. She smiled and said: “What is good about taking after me? Taking after her aunts would be better — every one of them is a beauty.”

Another Lady Liu laughed: “All good, all good — you sisters-in-law are all women of good fortune.” She could not help glancing at Minglan — everyone knew that Hai Shi’s wish for her daughter was that she would be like Minglan.

Rulan looked at the tiny infant, and something suddenly came to mind. She tugged at Minglan’s sleeve and whispered: “When Elder Sister gives birth soon, have you been making small clothes and little shoes? Hmm… will I be getting some?”

Minglan turned and gave her a wide-eyed stare, speaking in a low voice: “You’re already married — and you still want to mooch off my needlework? I’m telling your mother-in-law on you!”

Rulan lunged at her and hissed fiercely: “You dare?! I’ll squeeze you to death!”

Minglan hurried to make peace: “I’ve made them, I’ve made them!… But it’s agreed — just this one year. No more next year!”

Molan watched the two sisters laughing and squabbling, her handkerchief in her hands twisted into a tight coil, bitterness gathering in her heart.

The room held perhaps seven or eight female guests in all, and though everyone was engaged in conversation, they could not help casting looks toward Minglan. All present knew that this was the least distinguished girl of the Sheng household — the youngest, a concubine’s daughter — and yet she had made by far the best match of them all. Not only was her husband outstanding in both valor and noble rank, but she now lived in a separate residence on her own, with no parents-in-law above her to nag, no sisters-in-law beside her to compete with, an enormous household arranged entirely to her own taste, a treasury full of silver at her disposal, and no one to answer to. Just recently she had been bestowed an imperial title at the Second Rank. Truly, what good fortune.

The women’s eyes were drawn to Minglan one after another. She wore a light jade-green figured silk jacket and a water-green long skirt embroidered with misty willow branches. Her hair was arranged in a neat crescent-moon bun, with a single brilliant hairpin of twisted gold and silver filigree set with precious coral and plum-blossom motifs, its head sending out a small dangling tassel of strands, each strand ending in a bright, vivid coral bead that swayed against her cheeks.

This ensemble was quiet in its overall effect. The only jewelry visible was a pair of white jade interlocking-twist bangles on each wrist, making a clear, bright sound as they moved. At a glance, one saw nothing but pure, lustrous mutton-fat jade, warm and elegant — and what made them truly rare was that all four bangles were perfectly matched in color, texture, and pattern. These were without doubt pieces from the imperial tribute.

The women looked on for a few moments, feeling only that Minglan possessed an extraordinary, radiant beauty — her brows and eyes bright and graceful with a natural, lively charm — and the female guests could not help but admire her privately.

Wang Shi sat at the head of the gathering. Watching Minglan’s bearing of ease and distinction, then watching the female guests drifting as if by chance to cluster around her, their words carrying a clear note of deference and flattery — Wang Shi felt a simmering discontent rising in her chest. Yet seeing Minglan and Rulan still tangled together in laughing and whispering, with every appearance of sisterly warmth and closeness, her mood smoothed out somewhat after all.

The one who had been left in the cold for some time was the Kane Maternal Aunt sitting beside Wang Shi. None of the female guests were particularly inclined to speak with her, and Hai Shi had been giving her nothing more than polite, noncommittal responses. Watching Minglan, a concubine’s daughter, being so evidently distinguished, Kane Maternal Aunt felt rankled.

“I say, Bright girl,” she suddenly called out in a loud, pointed voice. “Now that you’ve done well for yourself, you mustn’t forget your mother and the Sheng family. Just because you’ve received an imperial title doesn’t mean you can come here and put on airs! If you do, that would be forgetting your roots.”

Minglan looked up in mild startlement, taking in Kane Maternal Aunt’s expression — an unconvincing smile, her mouth twisted with tension. The female guests looked equally surprised, exchanging glances with one another. Then Minglan said, calmly and pleasantly: “Yes. I understand.”

Kane Maternal Aunt, seeing Minglan’s deferential manner but cold tone, was even more provoked. She let her voice drop further in coolness: “Even though you now live separately in another residence, you must not lose your sense of proper conduct. Your mother-in-law is not living far away. You should pay your respects morning and evening every day, have regular contact with your uncles, aunts, and cousins, be filial to your elders, and never act against their wishes! Don’t think that just because you have an imperial title you can disregard those above you. If your conduct within your own household is improper and you disgrace your mother and the Sheng family — I will be the first not to forgive you!”

Kang Yun’er’s face had gone white with alarm, and she kept tugging at Kane Maternal Aunt’s sleeve. Kane Maternal Aunt paid no attention, continuing to speak her satisfaction.

The room fell into a momentary hush. The female guests looked at one another in discomfort. Kane Maternal Aunt went on at length in her tirade against Minglan. Wang Shi sat beside her in silence, making no sound. Minglan simply, at her own unhurried pace, continued sipping her tea. When Kane Maternal Aunt reached a natural pause in her speech, Minglan said in a measured, deliberate manner: “Maternal Aunt, I have taken note of everything you have said. What a pity that Cousin Yuan’er has gone to Fengtian — perhaps we sisters can all get together sometime.”

At these words, Kane Maternal Aunt deflated instantly like a punctured balloon, all the air gone out of her. Kang Yun’er’s face took on an unhappy color. Kang Yuan’er had quarreled with her mother-in-law Wang Maternal Aunt one day and caused a tremendous row — not only frightening the old Wang grandparent into illness, but nearly resulting in a bill of divorce.

Minglan held Kane Maternal Aunt’s gaze steadily, a cold, dispassionate smile at the corner of her lips. If Kane Maternal Aunt dared to go further, she would not hold back for a moment. Ever since she had come to this ancient world, she had endured one thing after another — endured east and endured west. Now even this distant maternal aunt was something she was supposed to tolerate? She was not willing to be so easily dismissed.

Increasingly flustered, Kane Maternal Aunt turned to Wang Shi for support. Wang Shi received the look and immediately stiffened her face: “Bright girl, you —”

“Mother!” Rulan cut Wang Shi off with perfect, timely cheerfulness. She said with a smile: “Stop talking about things that have nothing to do with us — hurry and start the washing ceremony, before we end up letting my new little niece catch a chill. Father and Elder Brother will hold you accountable!”

She was smiling brightly throughout, but her eyes bore down hard on Wang Shi as she bit out the words “nothing to do with us” and “Father and Elder Brother” with pointed emphasis. Wang Shi understood her daughter’s meaning — Sheng Hong had always been displeased by the Kane family, and if someone with an agenda were to pass a word along afterward, she would face another round of reproach. She gritted her teeth, said no more, and moved directly to announce the start of the washing ceremony.

Everyone smiled and pressed forward to observe the ritual, leaving Kane Maternal Aunt standing alone and abandoned — nearly overcome with fury.

After the ceremony was done, Minglan went by herself to the Shou’an Hall. It was just as she remembered — quiet and elegant, the faint scent of incense hanging in the air. Minglan stood beneath the great osmanthus tree, breathed in deeply, and felt her mind and spirit settle into peace. Smiling, she jogged happily inside — and nearly collided headlong with Nanny Fang in the doorway.

“Sixth Young Lady! Don’t run, don’t run — be careful someone sees!”

Minglan flung herself into the old woman’s arms, wriggling and twisting like a piece of taffy candy, and said in her most indulged, coaxing tone: “Grandmother — Minglan has missed you terribly!”

“Who has been missing anyone? I’m perfectly well!” Yet Sheng Lao’s ordinarily serene face seemed to blossom with joy. She held Minglan and laughed as she patted her. Nanny Fang hurried to bring out fruit and refreshments.

After a good while of catching up on everything, Minglan asked after the family. Sheng Lao told her with great relish.

“…Your eldest sister-in-law’s pregnancy has not been going smoothly — she has been somewhat unwell and needs to rest. She has had to take over household management again. Quan’er has been left in my care.” Grandmother’s complexion had grown noticeably more vibrant, and she pointed lightly toward the inner room curtain with a gentle smile.

Minglan immediately rushed to the inner room to look, and saw a plump and fair little baby lying on Grandmother’s bed. One tiny fist — no larger than a small date — rested beside his pink, tender, newborn face. The little one was sleeping with his breathing even and quiet, letting out the faintest contented snores.

Minglan hurried back out and sat beside Grandmother, full of happiness. She said: “This is wonderful — with Quan’er here to keep Grandmother company, you won’t be lonely! But… how did he end up here?”

Sheng Lao smiled in a most unvirtuous way. Wang Shi had recently eaten a quiet little loss.

With Lin Yiniang’s defeat and departure and all four daughters married off, Wang Shi had found herself with nothing to manage and suddenly noticed how comfortably her daughter-in-law was living — and immediately felt sour with envy.

When Hai Shi became pregnant, Wang Shi had wanted to push a chamber maid on her son, saying he worked hard with his reading and duties and deserved someone attentive and warm. Changbai had replied that Father worked even harder earning money to support the family — she should first see to Father’s needs. And somehow word got out, and Sheng Hong immediately made it known that he felt a particular fondness for two of the maids serving in his study.

Wang Shi was so furious she nearly flew apart, and a whole scene of chaos followed. In the end, Sheng Hong acquired two chamber maids, and Wang Shi acquired several new wrinkles.

Then Wang Shi tried to elevate the maid Yangmao to Yiniang status as a way of exerting pressure over Hai Shi. Changbai had asked his father what had happened to the chamber maids he’d kept in the old days. Wang Shi turned green in the face and slapped the table and roared at him for daring to be so impertinent to his own mother and did he have a death wish; Changbai had replied, perfectly reasonably, that of course he was her son and could not talk back to her, but he happened to be genuinely curious, so he might as well just go ask Father and Grandmother.

Wang Shi nearly coughed up blood. Even so, after Hai Shi heard about it, her spirits sank considerably, leading to instability in the pregnancy. Physicians had to be called and the He family grandmother summoned in a panic; it took several more days of upheaval before things finally settled.

Sheng Hong placed great importance on the Hai family and, by extension, treated his eldest daughter-in-law with considerable regard. Displeased with Wang Shi’s conduct, and seeing that Hai Shi no longer had the energy to care for her child, he simply sent Quan’er to the Shou’an Hall and asked the trusted Grandmother to help raise him.

Whenever Wang Shi objected or tried to make trouble for Hai Shi, Sheng Hong would immediately and conveniently announce that he had lately discovered several more talented, pitiful, and prettily unfortunate young maids who had caught his eye — at which point Wang Shi had no choice but to shift her focus to the front lines of the battle between wives and concubines, and had no energy left over to stir things up among children and grandchildren.

Minglan laughed so hard she nearly crumpled, burying her face in Grandmother’s arm and shaking with suppressed laughter. When she raised her head, her face was bright red. She wiped away the tears her laughing had brought on. Changbai had grown into his full strength now, and Hai Shi’s dowry was substantial — added to Wang Shi’s base of household resources, even if Sheng Hong sired several more concubine’s daughters in the future, it would not affect Changbai’s position.

Besides, with Wang Shi herself serving as a formidable guardian and Ju Fang as a favored beauty among the concubines, the new chamber maids were unlikely to produce children easily.

Sheng Lao held her little granddaughter and kept a gentle smile going. She talked on about Quan’er — what an obedient and cheerful child, how he loved to smile and rarely caused trouble, what a pleasure it was to play with him. The happiness in her eyes as she spoke was warm and genuine.

Minglan looked at her, feeling a mingling of tenderness and joy. That Grandmother could live her final years free from loneliness — that was, truly, the kindness of heaven.

“Your Elder Brother mentioned to me: since his wife’s health is not good now and she cannot manage two young ones, whatever the baby turns out to be — boy or girl — one of them will be sent to Shou’an Hall. He’s not a man of many words, but he said quite a bit in order to ask me to help look after the child.” Sheng Lao’s voice was serene, her expression peaceful, a faint smile at her lips. Compared with the past, there was less of the proud aloofness, and more of a certain softness.

“Grandmother — this is truly wonderful!” Minglan leaned over Grandmother’s knee and said with all her heart. Sheng Lao’s character was such that she would never press for things she wanted — however much she longed for something, if the other person did not offer it, she would never ask.

The two of them talked and laughed for a while longer. After Nanny Fang brought out a tray of refreshments and fruit, she retrieved a small lacquered box from the inner room. Sheng Lao took it, opened it, and inside lay a small but thick little booklet. She passed it to Minglan: “Take this. It was sent by the old Madam of the He family.”

“…What is this?” Minglan asked in surprise, receiving it and leafing through.

“A medical compendium — specifically on women’s ailments,” Sheng Lao said with a smile. “It covers in particular how to care for oneself before pregnancy, how to protect the child during pregnancy, and how to nurture the baby and recover one’s health after delivery, along with guidance on diet. The old Madam He is most knowledgeable about these matters. I’ve looked through it already — it’s written very plainly and clearly, and is well worth reading. On the last page, she has also recommended several physicians who are skilled with women’s ailments, as well as several of the wives from her Zhang family connections — whom you might call upon if needed.”

“…Please convey my gratitude to old Madam He.” Minglan turned through a few pages and immediately recognized how practical the booklet was. She felt a swell of feeling in her heart.

Seeing the emotion on Minglan’s face, Sheng Lao said in a leisurely tone: “You need not feel you owe the old Madam He anything. She is a woman who sees things very clearly. Truthfully speaking — the moment your betrothal to the Gu family was announced, she most likely immediately began turning over other ideas in her mind.”

Minglan nodded, and said with a touch of wistfulness: “Old Madam He knew that pursuing the matter further would serve no purpose, so she chose to make the ending graceful — letting our family feel beholden to the He family. She is quick of mind, thorough in her thinking, and foresighted in her planning. Truly a remarkable woman.”

Sheng Lao smiled — there was a faint irony in it: “Remarkable she certainly is. The Emperor has approved Old Master He’s petition to retire from court, and she will be leaving the capital soon. But the He family still has sons and grandsons in official service, who will still need allies and assistance along the way. Now that we feel grateful to her, could we fail to lend them a hand in the future? This is what it means to be a truly clever person.”

Minglan felt a deep appreciation for this, and nodded heavily, then sighed softly: “However one looks at it, old Madam He has extended genuine kindness to our family. What a pity that the family ran into that trouble…”

Sheng Lao laughed again — a light, airy sound — and pointed a finger at Minglan: “You truly are a foolish child! Who do you think the old Madam He is? She married into the He family at fifteen, to a husband who fancied himself a man of elegant romantic tastes — and yet she managed to stand firm and hold her ground. To this day, her children and grandchildren fill the house, and every one of them is of her blood. The whole family regards her with respect, and she is treated with great deference. Could any of that have been achieved without considerable skill?”

Nanny Fang, standing nearby, could not help chiming in: “Now that is what you call someone truly formidable — all smiles like a laughing Buddha on the outside, and ruthlessly clean and efficient when she strikes. Not at all like our old lady here, who puts on a fierce face but has the softest heart in the world.”

This remark earned Nanny Fang a sharp sidelong glance from Sheng Lao. After dispensing that glance, she turned back to Minglan and said: “I disapproved of her methods in my younger days. Looking back now, she had no other choice. She always used to say one thing: ‘If others want me to die, I can equally well want them to die — that’s only fair.’ You should keep that in mind!”

“And what about now?” Minglan nodded blankly.

“Now? Now Old Master He has retired with his honors, Hong’er is far away at the frontier, and as for her daughters-in-law…”