After venting his inexplicable rage, Gu Tingye rode swiftly past the old and well-established Deshun Shop on his way back, and brought home one fat, glistening crystal-sugar braised pork knuckle, wrapped in fresh green lotus leaves with the savory scent of the marinade wafting all around it. Minglan’s eyes immediately fixed upon it and would not move.
Unable to help herself, she glanced quickly about — and finding that no one was nearby — pounced forward and sank her teeth into the braised knuckle with great ferocity. Then she pulled up her own sleeve and compared the bite mark to the one on her arm. Minglan pressed her lips together, very satisfied with the result. She promptly waved Xiaotao over and told her to take the knuckle to the kitchen to be cut — half to be kept for the kitchen staff according to custom, and the other half to be added to the dinner table.
But at that very moment, Gu Tingye happened to be returning from the outer study. He spotted Xiaotao scurrying along the covered walkway carrying a lotus-leaf wrapped parcel, and could not help stopping her. He lifted the wrapping and looked — and his face instantly turned as green as the lotus leaf. There on the gleaming, lacquered red braised knuckle were two rows of small, neat, round bite marks, pressed deep and rather fierce.
The implication was entirely clear without a single word.
Gu Tingye tilted his head back and gazed at the sky, torn between exasperation and laughter.
That evening at dinner, Minglan devoted herself entirely to that dish of knuckle meat, eating with increasing delight. She cheerfully urged her husband to eat some as well. Gu Tingye gave her a look that said nothing in particular and said nothing, though the corner of his mouth curved faintly. Minglan paid no attention, simply burying herself in eating. The old braised flavor truly deserved its reputation — the taste was genuine and deep. She managed to finish the entire dish herself.
The result was that by that very night she was suffering from indigestion. Her stomach was uncomfortably distended, and she lay curled against the edge of the bed, whimpering softly with tears in her eyes. Gu Tingye sat with his thick dark hair loose about his shoulders, wearing a loose white silk robe open at the chest and revealing a strong, muscled torso. After dismissing the servants, he settled beside her with a small cup of Shenqu digestive tea and tried to coax Minglan into drinking it — but Minglan could not get it down.
Seeing how miserably she was suffering, Gu Tingye was beside himself with worry and nearly wanted to go in the middle of the night for the physician. Minglan caught the hem of his robe and whimpered: “If anyone outside finds out I ate myself sick, I — I — I… I will have no face left to show anyone ever again!”
Gu Tingye paced the room in anxious frustration, his expression cold with displeasure. “Serves you right! Half a pork knuckle in one sitting! Go ask all of the capital — is there another young Madam or young Miss anywhere who carries on like you?!”
Minglan rubbed her swollen little belly, hiccupping between quiet sobs, for all the world like a tiny squirrel who had eaten too many acorns. She covered her face with her hands and let out a muffled whine of remorse and mortification: “…Who told you to bite me in the first place.”
Gu Tingye grew even more furious and glared at her. “You coward! You did not dare bite me back, so you bit the pork knuckle instead?!”
Minglan drooped her head and silently condemned herself.
Since lying flat made her even more uncomfortable, Gu Tingye spent the night with her propped half-upright against his chest, one arm rubbing her stomach, murmuring low curses all the while. Minglan drifted in and out of sleep, and in her hazy, half-conscious state, she noticed the elaborate carved stone dragon incense burner on the side table, its coiling smoke rising in soft, pale drifts. In her ears was the steady, deep sound of the man’s heartbeat.
In that drowsy, half-waking moment, she felt, all of a sudden, very safe. Very steady.
Before dawn the next morning, Gu Tingye was preparing to rise for morning court. Just as he was about to swing his legs off the bed, he felt something catch at his collar. He looked down to find a small hand, white as jade, gripping his lapel with firm and quiet determination. The transparent nails, pressed with just a hint of effort, had taken on the faintest blush of pink — like the inner petals of a tea rose still folded in the bud, soft and tender.
After half a night of discomfort, Minglan was sleeping deeply and peacefully now, the rosy-white skin of her face smooth and serene in repose. A feeling of inexplicable warmth stirred in Gu Tingye’s chest. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the small, plump fist, then carefully freed the fabric from her grip, undressed himself, and slipped quietly away.
By the time full daylight came, Minglan yawned her way out of bed, and found to her bewilderment that she was clutching a garment in her hand — one that still carried the strong, faint scent of the man. Minglan stared at it for a moment. Danju glanced over, took in Minglan’s expression, and could not help smiling: “Young Mistress, as for how well the Master treats you… it really is something.”
Minglan paused, and then smiled — a smile that held something wistful in it. “It is.”
Day by day, the inner and outer courtyard gradually took on a proper shape. Minglan began making preparations for the banquet to formally open the new residence. From the Ningyuan Marquis’s mansion next door, someone was sent expressly to ask whether any assistance was needed.
Minglan was run off her feet with everything, and the moment she saw Nanny Xiang, sent over by the Marquis’s wife, she wasted no time in being honest about what she needed. She asked for extra hands, for the old records of past banquets hosted by the Ningyuan Marquis’s mansion, and for the loan of tables, chairs, tableware, wine vessels, bowls, and cups.
Nanny Xiang agreed to all of it with a smile, and made trip after trip between the Ningyuan Marquis’s mansion and the Gu household. In the course of all this back and forth, she and Minglan had actually come to talk quite freely together.
“…So that means Eldest Sister has not been in the capital these past several years?” Minglan held a small cup of cool wolfberry and plantain tea and smiled — the recipe had been given to her by Old Madam He. Come to think of it, she had never met the eldest daughter of the first branch, Gu Tingyan.
“That is right.” Nanny Xiang took a small sip of tea and replied: “The Feng Family is a family of scholars. The Eldest Master’s husband currently holds a posting in Fujian, and Eldest Sister has gone with him.”
Minglan lowered her head over her tea, then suddenly lifted it and smiled: “Please don’t laugh at me, Nanny. We have been talking all this while, and I still have not been able to determine whether I should address Eldest Sister as ‘elder sister’ or ‘younger sister.'”
Nanny Xiang’s gaze shifted slightly. “Eldest Sister is about four months older than the Second Master.”
“Then I ought to call her ‘Elder Sister.'” A thought stirred in Minglan’s chest, though her expression remained warmly composed — Gu Tingyan’s birth mother had been a Yiniang who had since passed away. Old Madam Da Qin Shi had clearly made her own preparations.
“Has the Second Madam prepared a guest list for the banquet?” Nanny Xiang probed gently. “If there is anything you are uncertain of, you are most welcome to ask the Marchioness — it would be a pity to unintentionally slight any of the family’s relations.”
Minglan set down her teacup and rested both hands lightly in her lap, her posture elegant and composed. She smiled: “Nanny is quite right — I was afraid of overlooking something, so I have already asked our eldest sister-in-law to have one of her trusted household managers send over a list of all the relatives our family customarily keeps in contact with. That said, the Commandant says the court is very busy these days, and we ought to keep things simple. There is no need to make a grand affair of it — just a modest gathering of a few close family members and friends.”
A glimmer passed through Nanny Xiang’s eyes. “The Second Master is quite right in that,” she said, pausing for a moment before adding with a smile, “I do wonder — those people sent over to help — is the Second Madam finding them to her satisfaction? Whether from the Marchioness herself, or from the Fourth or Fifth Masters, each of them sent their most trusted people.”
Minglan gave a light laugh. “Very well, very well.” She made a small gesture to Danju, who immediately came forward with a booklet in hand. Minglan turned to a few specific pages and handed it to Nanny Xiang. Nanny Xiang looked — and the color immediately drained from her face.
Minglan said in a composed, unhurried tone: “It is nothing out of the ordinary. As the proverb goes: a tangerine tree planted south of the Huai River bears sweet fruit; planted north of it, it bears bitter thorns. Most likely my own virtue as a mistress is insufficient to command their respect.”
……
“She truly said that?” In the quiet inner room, the Marchioness, Madam Qin Shi, sat before the household shrine with a string of prayer beads between her fingers, seated upright.
Nanny Xiang said in a low voice: “Those women who had not settled into their ways — in just these few days, she had already gathered enough evidence against so many of them. Gambling. Skimming from the maids’ monthly wages. Passing items out of the house without authorization. Each entry was written clearly, with the women’s own handprints and fingerprints beneath, and witnesses’ testimony recorded alongside. I only had to look, and my heart was already racing.”
The room was adjacent to the flower garden, and a fresh fragrance drifted in through the window. The Marchioness lowered her eyes and said: “You have been going to that household frequently these past few days. What is your impression of things there?”
“There seems to be some real substance to it.” Nanny Xiang used the jade tongs to stir the ash in the incense burner and said quietly: “I made some careful inquiries on the side. The Second Madam appears easy-going and relaxed in her manner, but her rules are strict. Just in her main courtyard alone — the maids all have assigned shifts and posts. Every hour of the day, which part of the compound is covered by which person, has been written out in a schedule — in plain writing — and during their shift, idle chattering and rowdy behavior are not permitted. Especially in the main hall and inner rooms — no one may enter casually. At all times someone is on watch. There is a ten-step perimeter outside the inner rooms where no unauthorized person may linger — even maids who belong to the same courtyard must not wander without reason.”
“Nanny Dao’s wife told me as well,” Nanny Xiang continued, recalling: “Her Spring Moon — the one formerly called Bright Moon — has been punished twice in quick succession these past few days. Once for entering the main hall without permission, and once for hovering about outside the rooms for too long. Spring Moon has now been transferred out of the main courtyard entirely.”
The Marchioness suddenly opened her eyes, and a faint smile settled at the corner of her mouth: “She is quite clever. After all — she was raised in a Marquis’s household.”
Nanny Xiang shook her head slowly: “She has a genuine understanding of reward and consequence. She means what she says. When she rewards, she rewards substantially; when she punishes, she punishes substantially as well. Each time she punishes, she explains the reason clearly. If anyone tries to make excuses or argue back, the penalty is doubled. If anyone tries to shift the blame to someone else, the punishment is made heavier still. If there are mitigating circumstances, she is capable of showing some leniency. In this short stretch of time, everyone in the household from the senior managers down to the odd-job workers has come to hold her in genuine respect and a little awe. She has the whole residence locked down like iron bars — almost impossible for anything to pass in or out without her knowledge. It is very hard even to find out any news from inside anymore. My goodness… I really would never have guessed it — at such a young age, and a secondary-born daughter at that, with this kind of authority and ability!”
The Marchioness’s expression grew more and more grave. She said with a cold laugh: “I had thought we were bringing in a tame little lamb. It seems I was mistaken. Hmph. How are the two of them getting along — husband and wife?”
“It is hard to say.” Nanny Xiang seemed somewhat uncertain. “When they are getting along, they are all warmth and closeness. But they quarrel often enough too. The Second Master sometimes raises his voice when he scolds, and it carries through the walls. Just yesterday he had a fit of temper at some of the Second Madam’s maids. I could not get the details… But, the Second Master does seem to discuss everything with the Second Madam. She is free to come and go from both the outer and inner study.”
The Marchioness frowned, her knuckles whitening slightly on the prayer beads: “Is she with child yet?”
“As far as I can tell, not yet.” Nanny Xiang said with a rueful smile. “Spring Moon was transferred out just before she had recently had her monthly change… but even during those few days, the Second Master still slept in her rooms.”
At that, the Marchioness asked nothing further. She simply closed her eyes and rested quietly. Nanny Xiang stood motionless at her side. After a long silence, the Marchioness suddenly opened her eyes and laughed softly: “I have come to admire someone quite unexpectedly.”
“Who do you mean?”
“Our father-in-law of the other family — Master Sheng Hong.” The Marchioness patted her knee and smiled. “I could never quite understand it before — why would he take such pains to marry off his legitimate daughter to a lesser family, and then send a secondary-born daughter here in her place? Now, looking at things as they are, I see that Master Sheng Hong is a perceptive man indeed.”
“What should we do now?” Nanny Xiang asked with a trace of anxiety. “Ever since the Second Master learned about what happened all those years ago, he has had a grievance he has been keeping inside!”
“What do you mean, what should we do?” The Marchioness smiled serenely. “There is nothing to do. The death of Bai Shi was none of my doing — he has no cause to direct his anger at me. As things stand now, it is the Fourth and Fifth Masters who should be far more anxious than I. I have name and position behind me. As long as I make no mistakes, no one can do anything to me. Let us not be hasty — we’ll simply wait and watch what trouble the Fourth and Fifth stir up.”
“Then why have you continued to make things difficult for her at every turn?” Nanny Xiang said, puzzled. “Surely it would be better to treat her with warmth, and have her trust and respect you?”
The Marchioness slowly lifted the prayer beads between her fingers: “She is a secondary-born daughter — she would never dare openly defy her husband. And Tingye has already set his guard against me. The more warmly I extend myself, the more suspicious he will become. Better to simply live up to the suspicions they already hold of me — give them something to pull against — and in doing so, keep them reassured.”
“And…in the future?” Nanny Xiang hesitated.
The Marchioness carefully set the prayer beads on the table before her, and turned to smile gently at the figure of Guanyin in the shrine: “Does a mother-in-law need to wait for a particular moment to make things difficult for her daughter-in-law? There is no need to rush at this point. For now, she has only youth and good looks and a bit of borrowed favor on her side. Let this little spell pass — and then we will plan our next steps, slowly and carefully.”