The gates were overflowing with guests, the atmosphere lively and abundant. The assembled ladies filled the hall as they looked around them: the Gu household furniture was solid and dignified, the furnishings simple and unassuming, yet on closer inspection everything was of fine and costly quality — an air of settled comfort and quietly understated wealth, nothing ostentatious. The tea bowls and serving dishes and drinking cups on the tables were all official kiln lotus jade porcelain in a pale pink, clean and fresh yet with a pretty, translucent delicacy to them — perfectly suited to the spring occasion.

The maids serving tea and refreshments were all dressed alike in white garments printed with blue flowers, each tied with a sash of a different colored brocade. As they moved in and out serving tea and attending to the guests, their footsteps were light and steady, their responses lowered and composed, their eyes kept respectfully downward, not daring to steal even a glance at the guests.

Having taken it all in, the assembled ladies quietly conceded their admiration, and their initial slight regard for Minglan quietly fell away. They thought to themselves: she really did come out of a literary household — even if she was a concubine’s daughter, her household standards were quite strict. Such a large estate, with no senior matriarch watching over her, and she so young, managing alone — yet she had put everything inside and out in clean and capable order.

In consequence, their estimation of Wang Shi rose a few degrees as well, and several of the distinguished ladies went over to make conversation with her. Wang Shi had learned her lessons well under Pingning Junzhu’s tutelage, and now knew how to navigate dealings with these high-ranking ladies — poised and unhurried, yet not without a certain presence.

Minglan arranged the seat of greatest honor for Old Madam Lu, who was the eldest of the guests and the last to arrive. After circling about to greet everyone, she spotted Madam Shen sitting off to one side in a corner and went to thank her: “I don’t know what I would have done today without you — truly, I am so grateful.” She then personally poured a bowl of tea for the younger Madam Shen, who had been talking until her mouth was quite dry.

Madam Shen accepted the tea bowl without ceremony, smiling cheerfully: “No thanks needed — it was nothing more than a bit of spit. I’m just an upstart country girl; I know nothing of composing poetry or appreciating art or the moon. I can’t manage all your complicated proper etiquette. Just don’t look down on me in the future — that’s all I ask.”

“Where is this coming from?” Minglan turned and looked out at the hall full of guests. Her gaze landed on Madam Shen’s elder sister-in-law, Madam Zheng Jun, standing beside the Shoushanbo Countess in conversation. Something stirred in her mind, and she turned back with a smile: “You have the Empress’s own sister at your back, with the National Uncle as your family — I should be afraid of you looking down on me. Come — you’ve been introducing people to me all afternoon; let me now introduce you to some of mine.”

Madam Shen glanced toward Madam Zheng’s side, then quietly followed Minglan over toward the Shoushanbo Countess. When they drew near, Minglan smiled and curtsied: “Auntie, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. My Elder Sister told me you had returned to your hometown — I hope the journey went well?”

The Shoushanbo Countess was characteristically forthright, her handsome, spirited face creased with smiles: “All very well, all very well. While my bones are still sturdy, I rushed back home to see to what needed seeing to, rather than end up unable to make the journey later. I never expected that by the time I returned, you would already be married! It left Ying with no wedding wine to drink.”

Beside her, Yuan Ying laughed and hooked her arm through Minglan’s: “Tell me — how are you going to make it up to me?”

Minglan tapped Yuan Ying on the forehead and feigned indignation: “Nonsense — you’re turning everything on its head. You’re the one who missed my wedding wine. Tell me how you’re going to make it up to me!”

Madam Shen glanced at the woman beside the Shoushanbo Countess and lowered her voice: “Elder Sister-in-law.”

Madam Zheng Jun appeared to be about forty or so, her bearing dignified and composed, carrying about her an air of cool authority. She gave only a slow nod: “Why hasn’t your brother’s wife come?” She was referring to the wife of the Weibei Marquis — Madam Zhang.

Madam Shen lowered her head: “My brother said — she is unwell today and will not be coming.”

Madam Zheng Jun’s gaze swept over Madam Shen like a flash of cold lightning. Her voice was even: “Your maternal aunt is over there — come with me to pay your respects.” Madam Shen immediately murmured her agreement, a glimmer of relief crossing her face. She cast Minglan a grateful glance, and then the two sisters-in-law took their leave of the Shoushanbo Countess and turned to make their way to the far side of the hall.

Left standing together, Minglan and the Yuan Ying mother-and-daughter-in-law pair looked at each other, each with a different expression. It was Yuan Ying who spoke first, exhaling: “What a formidable sister-in-law — even more imposing than a mother-in-law.”

The Shoushanbo Countess said at her own pace: “You don’t know — the elder Madam Zheng has been frail and sickly for years and has long since stopped managing household affairs. From what I hear, it was practically the elder sister-in-law herself who raised Zheng Xiao to adulthood. She is, in every sense, an elder sister who became like a mother.”

Minglan shook her head: “Even so — to be this frightened of a mother-in-law, Madam Zheng has taken it somewhat far.”

Yuan Ying quickly chimed in: “Yes, yes, quite.”

The Shoushanbo Countess shot them both a look: “You two have no idea what you’re talking about. What do you know? You haven’t suffered under a mother-in-law!”

Minglan drew her neck in and chuckled: “Look at what you’re saying — let me not speak for myself; as for Sister Ying, she is truly blessed. With Auntie as her mother-in-law, she gets nothing but doting. What suffering could there possibly be?”

“Mama! Look at Minglan’s mouth!” Yuan Ying pouted and tugged at the Shoushanbo Countess’s sleeve, glaring at Minglan in mock outrage. The Shoushanbo Countess laughed and drew them both into her arms, hugging them gently: “All right, all right — you’re both good girls with good fortune!” After a few more laughs, she sighed: “Speaking of which, it really is the Shen family’s fault. It may not rise to the level of favoring a concubine over a wife — but they’ve elevated that Zou Yiniang far too much. The National Uncle’s wife hasn’t come today — she must be furious again.”

Minglan was puzzled: “But what does that have to do with the Zheng family?” Why would Madam Zheng give Madam Shen cold looks over this?

The Shoushanbo Countess glanced left and right to ensure no one was within earshot, then said: “The Duke of England commanded troops in his early years, and the Zhang family has deep-rooted ties in the military — practically everyone who served in the ranks had some connection to the Zhang family. What’s more, the old Duke once saved Lord Zheng’s father’s life in battle.”

Minglan understood. She turned to look at the Zheng sisters-in-law across the room, and sighed softly: “Speaking of an elder sister becoming like a mother — from what I hear, the younger Madam Zheng was herself practically raised by the late Madam Zou, who was the National Uncle’s previous wife. The bond between those sisters-in-law was said to be deep.”

Each bound by their own loyalties, each constrained by their own difficulties. At this, the Shoushanbo Countess also let out a sigh and shook her head gently. At that moment, Yuan Ying’s eyebrows quirked, as though something had just occurred to her, and she couldn’t help but say: “Actually, there’s more to it — there’s also…”

Before she could finish, a wealthy matron of about forty or fifty swept toward them. She was round-faced and well-fed in appearance — yet was dressed in a soy-sauce-purple robe patterned with coin motifs, her head laden with pearls and jade ornaments, altogether more richly adorned than was tasteful. Minglan quickly stepped forward and curtsied: “Madam Gan.”

Madam Gan was all smiles. She clasped Minglan’s wrist in both hands with an air of warm familiarity: “Look at you, child — you’ve gone and lost a whole size, haven’t you! You must be worn to exhaustion. Really, if you ever feel overwhelmed, you only need to say the word. Not to boast, but I am the most eager to be helpful — I would certainly come to lend a hand! But you are such a capable girl. Look at this house, this garden — just look at it…”

Madam Gan’s voice was shrill, and she was fond of speaking at full pitch — the moment she opened her mouth, the entire room could hear her. She proceeded to lavish thunderous praise on every corner of the house and garden, all the while holding fast to Minglan’s wrist. Minglan had received no shortage of compliments in her lifetime, but these particular praises were the most difficult she had ever endured. She felt a ringing in her ears and a distinct crawling sensation across her scalp.

Once Madam Gan started talking, there was no stopping her — and she kept steering toward intimate terms. Minglan couldn’t help but feel bewildered: when had she become this close with this particular matron?

Madam Gan kept talking and reached out to smooth Minglan’s hair back from her temple, assuming the manner of an affectionate senior. Minglan endured it with strained patience, maintaining her smile by force of will. She was rather curious to see what this old bird was going to hatch.

A full quarter of an hour passed. Madam Gan talked until she was describing flowers blooming from the sky, enough to overwhelm most people — but Minglan showed neither pleasure nor displeasure, just quietly lowering her head and smiling. For every ten or eight sentences Madam Gan produced, Minglan returned only two words; her manner was cool, yet her tone remained warm and properly respectful, without the slightest breach of decorum.

Madam Gan was gradually losing patience. Then, abruptly shifting the subject, she said: “…if you ever find yourself in a difficult spot in the future, you may come to me at any time. After all, we’re family! Ah… how is my goddaughter Fengxian doing these days?”

Minglan’s heart gave a small lurch. Inwardly she laughed coldly: so here it comes at last. She smiled: “She’s quite well.” Not a word more.

Madam Gan paused, swallowed her irritation, and smiled on: “My, my — I’ve run into a real miser with words today.”

Minglan continued to smile in silence.

Madam Gan bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. Faced with such an unsophisticated young wife, she should have been easy to handle — yet no matter what she said, Minglan gave back nothing but this mild blandness. She could only try again: “My goddaughter was born into an official’s family, but has had a hard life. Now that she has entered the Gu household, she has come up from suffering into better times. I hope you will look after her, for my sake.”

Minglan maintained her smile: “But of course.”

Madam Gan was running out of steam. She made another effort at a smile: “Fengxian can read and write — she has some acquaintance with poetry and verse, though naturally she cannot compare to you. If she does anything wrong, please don’t spare the correction on my account. But if you can all get along in harmony, in time she might even be of some help to you inside and outside the household, mightn’t she?”

Minglan lowered her gaze, her voice warm and demure: “That sounds perfectly agreeable.”

Madam Gan stared at Minglan for a long moment. At last, she couldn’t sustain the facade any longer, and with some displeasure she raised her voice: “Look at how busy you are today — as a senior I can’t bear to watch. Why not have Fengxian come out to help as well? And I could see her at the same time!”

The moment the words left her lips, the noise of conversation around them dropped a few degrees. They hadn’t spoken loudly enough for the entire room to hear, but the few clusters of ladies nearby had all caught it. Minglan felt, with precision, the weight of countless probing gazes converging on her from every direction. Everyone was affecting not to notice — yet they were all, openly or sideways, watching to see how this would develop.

More than a few of the distinguished ladies were quietly shaking their heads, finding Madam Gan’s conduct deeply unreasonable. What sort of person, on the occasion of a formal mistress of the house hosting a banquet for guests, would insist on forcing a concubine to be brought out — and make the demand in this manner, before everyone present?

Minglan gazed steadily at Madam Gan. All at once her eyes became sharp and clear as blades. Madam Gan, caught by that look, felt a flicker of nervousness — but also a flicker of sly triumph.

Beside them, the Yuan Ying mother and daughter were growing quite anxious. On such a large occasion with so many guests, the mistress of the house absolutely could not lose her temper, and could not be seen quarreling with a guest. The problem was that Madam Gan was famously shameless and persistent, impervious to embarrassment, an expert at wearing people down. They were afraid Minglan would have no way to deflect her, and would be left with no choice but to bring the woman out. Once Madam Gan led that woman out to be seen by all these guests, it would count as an official acknowledgment in public — and after that, there would be no end of trouble.

“Help?” Minglan smiled and repeated the word as a question.

Madam Gan burst out laughing: “Of course! We’re all family — surely you can’t have you exhausting yourself to the bone while she enjoys herself in leisure.”

Her tone shifted abruptly to one of concern: “And truth be told, I haven’t seen her in quite some time…”

“Very well!” Minglan cut her off, agreeing with complete readiness. The assembled guests were all taken aback. Some exchanged mocking looks, some allowed themselves small smirks, and others simply settled in to enjoy the spectacle.

Madam Gan was delighted and was just about to speak when Minglan suddenly smiled — a smile like spring flowers bursting into bloom — and said in a gentle voice: “I’ve long heard that Fengxian is a young woman of remarkable accomplishments, renowned in her time as a leading talent of the Entertainment Bureau. Today I was worried that the few female performers I’ve arranged might not hold the hall adequately — why not invite Fengxian to come out and sing and dance for us? What do you say, Madam Gan?”

The moment those words landed, half the room went silent. The ladies stared outright. A few had their mouths hanging open in pure astonishment. Beside them, the Shoushanbo Countess was struggling so hard to suppress her laughter that she was pressing her handkerchief to her face; Yuan Ying ducked behind her, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Brilliant. Brilliant! When dealing with a shameless person of this caliber, sometimes the only answer was to strip all pretense away outright.

There was not a single thing wrong with what Minglan had said — every word of it was the truth. The Entertainment Bureau was a fact. “Remarkable accomplishments” was a fact. Even if Fengxian had since been formally installed as a concubine, what of it? Plenty of noble households had their men bring out concubines to perform for guests at banquets.

Madam Gan trembled with fury — yet when she looked up, she found Minglan meeting her gaze head-on, calm and utterly unmoved.

Madam Gan could only look away. In her wildest dreams she had not imagined Minglan would pierce through the pretense with such blunt, direct frankness. She had assumed a young wife of Minglan’s kind would be too ashamed to voice it, and could only swallow the humiliation. Now her complexion shifted through several shades; choking with rage, clenching her teeth — and then, beneath it all, she caught the faint sounds of muffled derision and contempt rippling through the room on all sides, and her face turned the deep red of congealed pig’s blood.

In truth, many of the distinguished ladies present had long found Madam Gan’s behavior distasteful — they simply had no stake in the matter and no particular reason to intervene. But watching someone else’s downfall was a different matter entirely. Not a single one of them would step in to help Minglan — but neither would they step in to help Madam Gan.

Just as Madam Gan was at a loss for how to gracefully retreat, Old Madam Lu — who had been sitting at the head of the table all this while pretending to be deaf — suddenly called out in a loud voice: “My sixth girl! I was wondering when we’d be sitting down to eat — if this old woman goes hungry, I’m going straight to your grandmother to complain!”

That remark made quite a few of the ladies nearby burst into laughter. Minglan covered her face with a charmed, flustered look: “Goodness! I got so caught up talking with all these new acquaintances I nearly forgot! Please don’t be cross with me, Old Madam — let us go to the table at once.”

Old Madam Lu waved a hand: “No matter — it’s a young girl’s first time hosting an event; she’s done admirably.”

With that, Minglan directed the servants’ wives to lead the ladies out of the parlor toward the side hall by the lotus pool, where the meal had been set. At Old Madam Lu’s timely intervention, not a few of the ladies were quietly disappointed — the spectacle had been cut short. Madam Gan, on the other hand, let out a quiet breath of relief and followed the crowd out, seizing the convenient exit.

Xuan Da, seeing the whole confrontation dissolve without a trace, hurried to help escort the guests. Minglan brought up the rear. She was just about to step outside when Yuan Ying grabbed her arm from the side. Minglan saw that Yuan Ying was laughing so hard her face was entirely flushed, leaning close to whisper in her ear: “Do you have any idea how many ‘goddaughters’ this shameless woman has distributed in total?”

Minglan stared in surprise: “Quite a few?”

Yuan Ying nodded with great enthusiasm: “One to your household, one to the Shen National Uncle’s household, one to the younger Zheng Commander’s household — and several to the generals on the northern frontier! From what I hear, at one particular banquet, every military officer in attendance was sent one by General Gan!”

Minglan was utterly struck dumb. She had already perceived the thickness of Madam Gan’s skin, but she had not imagined the Gan family had taken shamelessness to this extreme: “But — but — the Shen and Zheng households have only just been newly married!”

Making things so blatant and conspicuous — this woman was probably just a frontman for someone; it was anyone’s guess who the real power behind it all was.

“Exactly! To be honest, I’ve been afraid to tell you all along — but now that I see you’re not afraid of her, I feel much better!” Yuan Ying revealed two rows of tiny, neat white teeth, her eyes shining with excitement. “The Zou Yiniang in the Shen National Uncle’s household is a canny one — she turned around and passed that woman off to someone else. The Zheng household has it worse. They didn’t want to fall out with the Gan family, but the younger Madam Zheng had only just gotten married — she certainly wasn’t going to stand for it. She cried and made a scene for over half a month. Lord Zheng Jun was terrified of displeasing the Empress, and decided he’d take the woman himself on his younger brother’s behalf. But that set off Madam Zheng Jun, who wouldn’t hear of it! Madam Zheng Jun has a famous reputation for dignified strictness and an absolute intolerance for women of that sort — so without a word she went and arranged a proper concubine for her husband herself, declaring that taking a concubine is one thing, but taking that particular concubine was absolutely out of the question. And so there was another round of argument…”

“And then what?” Minglan was gripped now, pressing for more.

Yuan Ying laughed so hard she was nearly convulsed, gasping out the rest in broken fragments: “Ha ha… and then the elder Madam Zheng stepped in herself. She… she… ha ha… she accepted the woman as a concubine for Lord Zheng Senior himself! Ha ha… Lord Zheng Senior has been bedridden for years — he can barely even move…”

Minglan could only gape in speechless admiration: “Heavens. Heavens. This is… this…”

“So that’s why those two Zheng sisters-in-law are so stiff with each other.” Yuan Ying finally recovered enough to dab the laughter-tears from the corners of her eyes. “My own elder sister-in-law and Madam Zheng Jun were childhood friends. Her family lives far away, so she used to come to our house quite often. When she told us about all this, we were all furious on her behalf. Hmph — how can anyone be so utterly shameless!”

The two of them doubled over laughing for a good while. Once they’d laughed themselves out, they hurried off together. They were both frank and spirited by nature, and found they suited each other very well. As they walked and talked, pausing to laugh together, Minglan asked casually: “By the way — have you gone back to your family home? Have you seen your new nephew yet?”

Yuan Ying immediately broke into sighs and lamentations: “Aie, I have gone. Second Sister-in-law is very well, little nephew is very well, everyone is very well — except for my mother, who is not well at all.”

“What happened?”

Yuan Ying’s face fell into a picture of woe: “Not long ago, my aunt arranged a concubine for my father. My mother nearly tore the roof off the house in a fury — but there was nothing she could do. The concubine drank the acknowledgment tea and entered the household just two days ago.”

“Ah?! That fast—”

Minglan caught herself just in time, swallowing what she’d nearly blurted out in barely-concealed delight. She hastily changed course: “How could your aunt do such a thing?”

“I know!” Yuan Ying worried. “I don’t know what Auntie was thinking. The one she chose is a woman of over twenty — no spring chicken. They say she comes from a respectable family, but orphaned early; she delayed her own marriage to raise younger siblings, and has both a fine character and a good appearance. She can also read and write. Father…” She let out a long, heavy sigh. “Father is very pleased with her.”

Minglan felt a deep and sincere admiration for the Shoushanbo Countess’s efficiency. A truly high-caliber operator — one could point once and she understood everything.

The Loyal and Hardworking Earl was no longer young, and by nature he was grave and proper. A girl of fifteen or sixteen might well fail to catch his eye. A mature woman of experience — warm-natured yet resilient — was far better suited to him. Moreover, a woman who had delayed her own marriage to raise her siblings was unlikely to be a difficult person; there would be little danger of her truly upending the household in the future.

With this to occupy Hualan’s mother-in-law’s attention, perhaps Hualan would have a somewhat easier time of it. Minglan let out a quiet breath of relief, then cast a sideways glance at Yuan Ying and felt a small pang of conscience.

She rubbed her nose, knitted her brows in an expression of solemn sympathy, and took Yuan Ying’s arm. With a face full of profound sorrow, she stepped forward with determination, expressing her firm conviction that as a close friend, they would share each other’s joys and sorrows — that if your mother had been given a lesser wife, it was as though her own mother had been given one too — and that in this world full of perfectly lawful lesser wives, let them join together and strive, hand in hand, toward a brighter tomorrow.