Sheng Changfeng was naturally good-looking to begin with, and with Sheng Hong’s prior coaching and guidance, he was scrupulously careful at the Liu household at every step. The moment he laid eyes on the Liu family women, his fair and handsome face flushed a bright crimson, and he answered every question with proper, gentle deference. The Liu family, from top to bottom, was entirely satisfied — and as for the Liu matriarch herself, she looked at her son-in-law the way a mother-in-law always does, and the more she looked, the more she liked. The Liu family had been making quite a show of their dowry preparations, and between the small betrothal gift, the large betrothal gift, and now this New Year’s gift, all had been remarkably generous and lavish. It was clear the new bride’s family fortune would be considerable, and Wang Shi looked on with a gnawing bitterness. Seeing Sheng Hong — as father of the groom — smiling from ear to ear, practically more pleased than the groom himself, only made her more indignant.

Minglan heard the implication in Liu Kun’s wife’s words and smiled slightly: “The Marquis received a report some time ago stating that Elder Brother is governing the local area with diligence and dedication — building bridges, paving roads, encouraging farming and sericulture — and is held in great affection by the people there. His superiors frequently commend him as well. His prospects are surely boundless, so you may rest easy.”

Liu Kun’s wife knew perfectly well that Sheng Changbai’s future prospects were far better than Sheng Changfeng’s — it was simply that Wang Shi was narrow-minded and could not let go of her resentments. After a little more idle conversation, Minglan brought up the fact that Jiu Niang was soon to be married, that there was a friendship of a few years between them, and that she ought to at least add something to the bride’s trousseau. She had Danju bring out a pair of solid gold bracelets wrapped in red silk.

Liu Kun’s wife saw that the gold bracelets weighed a full four taels and each had a large pearl embedded in it. She was overjoyed: “I never expected Young Madam to still remember my daughter.” Then she added: “Thanks to Young Madam’s grace and generosity, she was given her freedom papers last year and has been matched to a farming household family.”

Xiaotao’s talent for gathering information was not to be underestimated — during the New Year gift delivery to the Sheng household before the holiday, she had quietly brought back gossip of equal value. The more significant pieces had brightened Minglan’s days of pregnancy rest considerably. A bride chosen by the Sheng household’s senior head steward — she could hardly be from an ordinary farming family. Still, over all these years, Liu Kun’s wife had managed the inner household affairs competently and fairly — distributing food, clothing, and provisions to each room and keeping the junior maids in line without causing mischief or stirring up trouble. Minglan remembered her good qualities and was happy enough to add a touch of embellishment.

In the early spring of the second month, amid a torrent of flying criticisms and challenges, the Emperor finally settled on the appointment of the Inspector of Salt Administration.

It was said that during this period, Qi Heng’s father, official Qi, had been introduced through multiple channels by the Shen family and granted several audiences with the Emperor, during which he presented detailed memorials outlining salt administration procedures to the Emperor and several key ministers — even cooperating fully by laying out many of the systemic flaws and their root causes with complete candor. The Emperor was greatly pleased and bestowed generous commendation. After a gap of many years, Pingning Junzhu was once again summoned to court, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Shen Shi, for an audience with the two Empress Dowagers and the Empress.

Gu Tingye sighed: “That old fox has a real gift for finding the right in-laws. Even a stone with no cracks, he can press juice out of.” He paused, then turned his head to look at Minglan. “I must say, the Junzhu also has no small ability when it comes to choosing a daughter-in-law. Qi Heng’s future in office will surely not be wanting.”

Minglan said blandly: “His official prospects are not wanting — it’s just his luck in wives that has been somewhat lacking.” Saddled with a shining green hat of a cuckold. Not that it could be helped — but what was particularly infuriating was this man before her, being so sour and strange every time the subject of Qi Heng came up, when he had known perfectly well all along. And yet here he was, playing these games.

Gu Tingye curved the corners of his mouth: “Everyone in the palace says that Shen Shi is virtuous, gentle, learned, and refined — a worthy wife who brings honor and benefit to her husband.”

Minglan felt a sourness rise in her mouth: “After just one visit, they could perceive all of that. The palace women truly have eyes that can see through anything.”

Gu Tingye deliberately needled her: “Everyone in the palace, great and small, has been tempered in the fire — of course their eyes are sharp.”

Minglan said shamelessly: “Precisely — I have only been to the palace twice, and did they not also commend me as honest and good-natured?” This was Second Madam Shen’s own words.

“Is that so. I would imagine it was the silver I sent that did the work,” Gu Tingye said flatly. He had been in a poor mood lately; with the court in chaos and a crowd of career officials whose expressions never revealed anything, he could only suppress his fiery temper and trade half-hearted pleasantries in the official style.

“Then why did you marry me?!” Minglan was also angry. She had been in a poor mood herself lately — buried every day in account books, name registers, and the tangled web of human relationships within the Marquis’s household. Looking in the mirror these days, she felt her own face had taken on a scheming, sinister expression.

Seeing her genuinely angry, her shapely double-lidded eyes raised and blazing wide, cheeks flushed red, emanating a quite unexpectedly spirited and fiery charm — Gu Tingye finally could hold it no longer. He pulled her forcefully into his arms, heedless of whether anyone was in the room, pressed a hard kiss to her cheek, and burst out laughing. The gloom and frustration that had accumulated over these many days receded considerably.

Minglan was deeply contemptuous of the sort of person who builds their own happiness on another person’s misery. However, not long after, she got her first look at this legendary “worthy wife.”

On the ninth day of the second month, it was Gu Tingcan’s wedding day.

Gu Tingxuan had been staying at the Marquis’s mansion these two days straight, rushing about from front to back — sending off the dowry, settling the staff in their positions, now receiving guests, now giving instructions about this or that. Turn her head or move her foot in any direction and a servant or manservant would swarm up requesting guidance. Yet the effect of all her coordination was excellent — people came and went without any chaos, the festive joy bustled without losing order. Madam was highly satisfied. And Minglan — before others and behind — had not been sparing in her praise of her capable and warm-hearted sister-in-law, Gu Tingxuan. The New Year’s gift she had sent over specifically to Gu Tingxuan’s branch of the household had been both substantial and dignified.

Gu Tingxuan was delightfully exhausted with how busy she was.

From early morning onward there had been nothing but rushing and bustle. No matter how lofty and aloof the Seventh Young Miss of the Gu household may once have been, on this day she had been painted up into a powdery, identical wedding-day face — the room awash in red and festive brightness. Minglan followed behind Shao Shi and earnestly said several auspicious words to the soon-to-be-wed young sister-in-law. Though Gu Tingcan had already been spun nearly dizzy from all the preparations, the moment she heard Minglan’s voice she somehow found the spirit to squeeze out a white-eyed glare for her second sister-in-law. Minglan pretended not to notice — the day before, she had sent someone to carry over a chest of newly-minted and brilliantly gleaming silver ingots as a wedding gift: precisely one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine taels, nine qian, nine fen, and nine copper coins, representing a lifetime of longevity and enduring happiness.

The sentiment was lovely enough, and the silver was more than generous — but Gu the Literary Talent had nearly choked on the spot at the sight of this heap of vulgar coin, and even Madam was somewhat displeased: can you not at least convert it to a bank draft? Did you have to make such a great display of it?

Yet when the moment came for Gu Tingcan to leave the family home, even Madam could not hold back her tears, and had to be helped by attendants back to the main hall.

In honor of her beloved daughter’s wedding, Madam had invited a wide circle of friends and relatives. The women’s tables alone numbered eighteen settings, and the inner hall was nearly packed to overflowing. She had engaged the famous Qingxi Troupe from the capital to perform at the banquet. Before the feast was served, the female guests gathered in the inner hall in lively conversation.

Zhu Shi had not yet come out of her post-natal rest and could not attend. Minglan, from start to finish, clutched a handkerchief and maintained an air of fragile indisposition. Gu Tingxuan was too busy to be seen. It was rather amusing to say — for all her time married into the Gu household, this was actually the first occasion where Shao Shi had ever truly taken the lead role, sitting alongside Madam at the front of the hall and attending to guests with careful propriety, while also periodically checking on whether her younger sister-in-law was physically all right.

Gu Tingbing glanced around the room and leaned in with a smile: “It is truly lively today. Do take care of yourself and don’t let yourself get tired.” Minglan leaned against a well-cushioned chair, her expression both grateful and fragile: “Thank you for your concern, Sister-in-law — I shall be fine. I owe it all to Sister-in-law Gu Tingxuan who has been rushing in and out managing everything. I have been very much at ease.”

Beside them, Madam was in conversation with another guest. Hearing this, she cast a glance over and felt inwardly aggrieved that Minglan was putting on such a show — everyone who had seen her today would say she was gentle and soft-natured, not the sort who could engage in disputes with anyone. At this moment a noble lady, following Madam’s glance, looked over at Minglan and turned back to comment: “Your second daughter-in-law seems quite proper and restrained — she doesn’t say a single extra word. Timid and delicate, rather charming and pitiable, though one wonders if she can keep the servants in line.”

Madam bit down on her silver teeth hard. To say anything unpleasant about someone, one needs few people and a private, quiet corner — the ideal location is a darkened room. At this moment, with the hall full of voices and noise, how could she possibly explain in any detail that Minglan was playing the pig to eat the tiger — looking like a small white rabbit while actually being a big grey wolf?

Another madam seated nearby had also observed Minglan for a time, and said in a low voice: “Oh, stop worrying about her daughter-in-law.” Then, turning to Madam, she said: “They say your second son has settled down a great deal lately — capable in his official duties, earning the Emperor’s approval, and devoted to his wife. My sister-in-law is regretting it terribly now — had she known he would turn around so completely, she would certainly have betrothed my niece to him. As it is, her niece comes back to her mother’s home to cry about her husband’s faults every other day…”

Madam was too tired even to grumble inwardly this time, and could only put on a smile and murmur: “Those words cannot be spoken too openly. I am also fond of your niece — the two families are quite well-matched in standing, but it was simply not fated to be.”

At the words “well-matched in standing,” the two madams exchanged a glance. The second one smiled and said: “Though she is of concubine birth, looking at her manner and bearing, she is really not lacking at all. However… she is a little… lacking in a certain grandeur, that presence that commands authority. One wonders whether she can hold the servants in check.”

The first madam, however, furrowed her brow slightly. She thought to herself: your niece, on the other hand, has more than enough of that commanding presence — relying on her powerful family’s might, she causes a scene in her husband’s household every single day. And yet here you are, hiding it from all of us old friends, going on about how dignified and virtuous your niece is. She looked back at Minglan, who was in conversation with someone — smiling warmly and with a touch of shyness, somewhat on the delicate side, but projecting a genuinely kind and pure air. Mindful of her long-standing acquaintance with Madam, the first madam said nothing more and excused herself with a turn to go speak with the wives of the fourth and fifth branches.

In this part of the room quite a few people had gathered. Shao Shi was in conversation with Pingning Junzhu, and as they talked the subject drifted to Minglan — Shao Shi could not help but offer a few words of praise for her. Pingning Junzhu was a little sour about it — the little concubine-born girl she had once dismissed was now, with a single transformation, blessed with both wealth and good fortune. The wife of the Fifth Branch had a household in disarray of late; her husband spent his days in bitter denunciation of Gu Tingdi, blaming himself that his indulgent nature had ruined their son, and she no longer had the energy to make cutting remarks about Minglan. The wife of the Fourth Branch was doing somewhat better — her daughter Gu Tingying’s marriage prospects were gradually becoming clearer.

The accompanying Gu Tingbing was considerably more subdued on this occasion — she dared neither pick quarrels with her various sisters-in-law, nor said much of anything, and simply settled quietly in a corner of the inner hall’s side room. She was seated beside Minglan and quietly taking tea when she raised her eyes and saw a young and refined-looking woman walking gracefully toward them — unmistakably the same person she had just exchanged greetings with: the daughter-in-law of Pingning Junzhu.

The woman’s smile was warm and pleasant. Upon seeing Minglan, she first curtsied in greeting: “My respects to both aunts-in-law.”

Gu Tingbing turned her head — and was surprised to see that her second cousin’s wife’s expression had gone somewhat peculiar. She heard her say in a voice that carried a slightly hollow quality: “Oh please, we are not so far apart in age — there is no need to stand on ceremony.”

Gu Tingbing found this rather strange. Could Minglan be feeling unwell?

The Shen Shi in question was not especially striking in appearance, but her features were clear and refined, with a graceful and cultivated bearing. Her entire person carried a quality as quiet and delicate as the misty rains of the Jiangnan waterlands. She bowed respectfully and smiled: “Proper etiquette must not be neglected — if it were, Mother and my husband would surely scold me afterwards.”

A cold sweat broke out along Minglan’s back: “Though our two households are connected through kinship, we have long been past the fifth degree of mourning — there is really no need to…”

Gu Tingbing, having been taught a lesson some time back, had been somewhat more perceptive lately. Seeing Minglan in this state, she quickly chimed in to help: “I say, Younger Sister, speaking for myself it’s one thing — but when it comes to age, you are actually a year or two older than my cousin’s wife, so this…”

Shen Shi smiled and turned to Gu Tingbing: “When elders are kind enough to be modest, how could we as juniors truly take advantage and overstep? Oh, by the way — just now I noticed a maidservant looking for you everywhere.” Before Gu Tingbing could say another two words, a small maidservant in a blue-grey fish-pattern padded jacket appeared, hurrying over with evident anxiety, a bead of sweat at the tip of her nose. She leaned in close and said in a low voice: “Second Young Mistress Gu Tingbing — Madam Gu Tingxuan’s hands are full and she cannot get free. She asks that you go and lend a hand.”

Gu Tingbing was not at all inclined to go, but thinking that she now depended on her brother and sister-in-law’s goodwill to get by, she could only put on a strained smile and leave.

Now only the two of them remained. Minglan was not sure what to say and could only manage: “Please don’t stand there — come sit down.” Shen Shi sat down beside Minglan as she suggested, and smiled like a spring breeze: “Thank you, Aunt. At home I always heard Mother say that Aunt has the most warm and affable nature of all — and meeting you today, I see it is truly so.”

The very thing Minglan feared most was her bringing up the past. Her heart felt strangely uneasy, and she smiled dryly: “The Junzhu flatters me.”

The maidservant attendant at their side had good eyes and quickly brought Shen Shi tea. Minglan felt she ought to find something to say, and offered: “Looking at the Junzhu’s complexion, she seems in even better health than before — one would say younger than ever. Perhaps it is your daughter-in-law here who is looking after her so well.”

Shen Shi smiled and folded back her sleeve with a graceful tug: “Nothing of the sort — I am by nature slow-witted, and it is all thanks to Mother’s patient instruction.”

The two of them went back and forth in this manner, exchanging mutual compliments. Though the atmosphere was harmonious, half an hour had passed without anyone getting to the point of anything. In ordinary circumstances, Minglan found this sort of empty, nutritionally-void chit-chat most tiresome — but today she was desperately hoping her counterpart would not steer the conversation toward anything substantive.

Shen Shi had no intention of obliging Minglan’s wishes. With a deft turn of the subject, she said with a bright, warm smile: “I must say, I have long heard a great deal about Aunt.”

Minglan’s throat sank slightly. She kept her expression unchanged and half-joked: “When I was small I followed my older brothers and sisters to study together — Qi Heng was there in those days as well. It was a pity that the teacher was focused on nurturing the future pillars of the realm, and ended up dismissing us useless sisters.”

Shen Shi’s eyebrows were rather light — quite unlike Minglan’s beautifully arched ones, naturally shaped and perfectly proportioned — so she had drawn a simple, flat pair of brow lines in pale indigo. When she smiled, her expression, too, was understated: “If we speak of a pillar of the realm, Aunt’s eldest brother alone truly merits that title.” She spoke in an unhurried manner, carrying a certain refined composure of her own. “I have often heard it said that Aunt has been delightful and witty since childhood, and listening to her is like basking in a spring breeze — a joy to the heart.”

— Where had she heard that? Those last eight words fell like a heavy iron weight in Minglan’s gut. She could only keep smiling with forced brightness: “I have also often heard it said that since you entered the Qi household, you have been filial to your elders, harmonious with your sisters-in-law, and praised by all.”

Shen Shi knitted her brows ever so slightly, and a faint shadow of sorrow rose in her expression: “I am of little use — my husband has been unhappy for a long time, and I am too slow-witted to know how to comfort him. It causes Mother constant worry and distress. I am truly unfilial.”

Minglan felt her mouth go dry and swallowed with effort. Surely not — even as obtuse as Qi Heng could be, he would not be so lacking in sense as to actually describe his romantic history to his wife? Minglan tilted her body slightly and slid a glance toward the nearby Pingning Junzhu, who was chatting and laughing with others — could it be that the mother-in-law, at a loss herself, had let something slip to her daughter-in-law who had no idea how to navigate things?! Her feelings at this moment were exceedingly complicated. She felt like the heartless former girlfriend encountering the legal wife — somehow finding herself inexplicably occupying the moral low ground.

Minglan thought to herself that this was not a good direction at all. She steeled herself, dropped her smile, assumed a proper elder’s bearing, and with the manner of someone speaking from lived experience said: “A man of true ambition has his sights set on the wider world. Qi Heng is at precisely the age when he should be applying himself and making his mark. Though I am a mere woman, even I know that the court is occupied with many pressing affairs at this time. Qi Heng’s concern for his official duties is a mark of his ambition and drive. Surely one cannot say that a marriage is harmonious only when a husband spends his days chasing butterflies and painting one’s eyebrows. You two treating each other with mutual respect and love, your household prospering and peaceful — that is the greatest proper path of all.” And ultimately — she had done nothing wrong. Why should she feel unaccountably guilty?!

Shen Shi was visibly caught off guard for a moment, not having expected such a lengthy lecture. But she recovered quickly and immediately covered her mouth with a light laugh: “Aunt is quite right — I was being narrow-minded.” Minglan quietly raised her guard. This woman’s level of sophistication was not low at all.

“This past New Year, the Yongchang Marquis’s household sent over an enormous jade stone screen. The carvings on it are exactly the peonies of wealth and prosperity that Mother loves most.” Shen Shi gently turned the lid of her teacup and shifted the subject: “We only found out afterwards that it was Aunt’s fourth elder sister who provided the suggestion. That screen — whether in its materials, its design, or its craftsmanship — suited Mother’s taste in every particular.”

The words were neither heavy nor light, neither hurried nor slow — they had no head and no tail — but as they fell on Minglan’s ears, they were like a muffled thunderclap right beside her.

Minglan stared at Shen Shi steadily. Shen Shi held her gaze in return with perfectly composed ease, utterly unmoved. After a moment’s thought, Minglan lowered her voice and said, slowly and deliberately: “Clear words need not be spoken in riddles — the Junzhu has most likely told you everything about my household. Over the course of this half-day, at least seven or eight madams have already congratulated me on my good fortune, until I feel rather as though I have been dropped inside a shop full of honey and sugar. Yet in my own inner courtyard, I have a concubine who came as part of the late first wife’s dowry, a woman who has been my husband’s personal attendant since he was small, girls sent over from various families of remarkable beauty and talent, a young daughter of about seven or eight years old, and outside the household, a firstborn son of concubine birth and his mother — whose true situation remains unknown to this day. If I allowed myself to be weighed down by all of this, I would die of worry. So I have decided I cannot allow that to happen.”

Shen Shi’s expression shifted slightly. She inclined her head a little and said quietly: “…Mother has also said — Aunt… is not exactly at leisure.”

Minglan laughed at herself, then continued: “From the time I was small to this day, I have always felt that being born a woman is a truly bitter assignment. The particular bitterness within — only those of us who are women truly know it.”

Shen Shi’s expression darkened for a moment, and she said softly: “…Who would say otherwise.”

“Given that — then stop making things harder on yourself.” Minglan said it crisply and directly. “Heaven makes nine to compensate for one deficiency — nowhere in this world is anything complete and perfect in every way. The ability to see things openly is the only way to live well.”

Shen Shi’s life was already better than that of the vast majority of women in this world — she had been born a legitimate daughter of an eminent family, loved and cherished from childhood, with no need to begin scheming and fighting for position even before she left the inner chambers. As an adult, she had been married into a household of equal standing, with a young, handsome, talented, and ambitious husband who was not frivolous with other women. More difficult to come by still: the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was harmonious. Shen Shi had not yet conceived, and yet the Junzhu had never so much as uttered half a word of reproach — having been through the education of her previous daughter-in-law, the Junzhu’s requirements for daughters-in-law were already not very high. In addition, the family’s finances were ample; when the old Qi Duke eventually passed, and the household divided, there would not even be sisters-in-law to contend with.

With such a smooth and untroubled course before her, to be brooding in forty-five-degree melancholy because she could not obtain her full measure of love — that was nothing but the luxury of a person with too much time on her hands. For Sheng Lao, First Madam, Wang Shi, Hualan, and nine-tenths of the women in the world, this would be something quite beyond their circumstances.

Shen Shi was a perceptive person — how could she miss the meaning behind those words? She gave an awkward smile: “Aunt has instructed me well.” She herself had not known the full details of what had come before; she only knew that her husband carried someone in his heart. Qi Heng treated her very well, yet she always felt some invisible thing stood between them. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she had surveyed the women Qi Heng had known since childhood, and looking around, Minglan struck her as by far the most striking in appearance and manner — and so… She smiled ruefully to herself. Once, Pingning Junzhu had let slip a hint, suggesting she was “overly proper and restrained, a little lacking in natural ease — she might try being more open and carefree.” Could Minglan truly be “the one”?

She gazed at Minglan in a gentle reverie — the way her beauty could shift from radiant joy to gentle reproach, a face she had never seen produced by any inner-chamber training. Those eyes seemed to hold the breadth of sea and sky within them, her heart clear and transparent, untouched by the dust of the world. A faint, lingering melancholy rose in Shen Shi’s heart — it was she herself who would spend the coming decades with Qi Heng. What was the point of pursuing these things buried in the dust of the past?

At this point Madam called out in a high, bright voice, inviting the guests to take their seats at the banquet. Minglan watched Shen Shi’s expression gradually settle and finally allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief. She promptly took Shen Shi’s arm and led her to the table with all the warmth of an affectionate senior — that had been close indeed. She had nearly been unable to keep up the act.

Though, when all was said and done — what exactly had she been feeling guilty about? The decisions she had made at the time were ones she had never once regretted.

Walking out of the inner hall, the spring light outside was brilliant and beautiful. Peach blossom branches arching over the low wall had just begun to burst into tender spring buds; a few impatient blossoms had opened to half bloom. In order to bring good fortune, Madam had also moved in many fully flowering peach branches from elsewhere in the garden, until the entire garden was one dazzling sweep of vivid, glowing pink.

Something stirred in Minglan’s heart. She suddenly recalled that spring day of years ago, when a young man dressed in plain brocade had given her a cookbook from the Dian region. When she went back to her room and opened it, a pressed peach blossom had fallen from between the pages — where it had been used as a bookmark. The flower was a pale, delicate pink, no larger than a thumb. Across it, in tiny, meticulous script, were written eight characters: “Like basking in a spring breeze — a joy to the heart.”

Minglan sat cradling a cup of fragrant tea, gazing into a beautiful lantern shaped like a lady, and lost herself in thought. The most beautiful things are often the most fragile — that was the law of nature, and no one could escape it.

After washing up, Gu Tingye came out of the bathing room with his hair still damp, draped across his shoulders, and noticed his wife in this dreamy state. He immediately put his arm around her and asked with warm concern: “Are you feeling unwell?” Minglan shook her head. He felt her forehead, then asked: “There were so many guests today — are you overtired?” Minglan shook her head again.

“Is there something not right in the household?” Gu Tingye’s brow furrowed, his voice dropping.

“No, nothing like that.” Minglan continued to shake her head and continued to look melancholy.

“Then what is it?” Gu Tingye cupped her face in his hands and pressed for an answer. Minglan took his hands from her face and placed them on her belly instead. Gu Tingye was still in the middle of puzzling this out when he suddenly felt his palms jolt — Minglan’s belly had moved. It was the first sign of fetal movement that had been so long in coming.

“It is kicking me.” Minglan’s face was the picture of suffering. “From after dinner — stopping and starting — it has been kicking until now.”

You wretched little one! Your mother has been carrying you for ten months through every hardship — just because I was thinking briefly of a former admirer, you didn’t need to kick this hard to help your father save face!