The following morning, after sending the two girls off, Minglan finally ordered breakfast to be served. The mornings of a young mother are always hectic, but because the previous night his parents had been busy quarreling like demons, the little chubby one had waited a long time, found no one paying him any attention, and puffed up his little belly in anger. He had fussed with his wet nurse for half the night and refused to sleep, so by this hour he had instead fallen into a deep slumber.

Unexpectedly free in the early morning, Minglan sat idle and listless, biting on her soup spoon and poking the fried soft cakes in front of her into a honeycomb with her chopsticks. The porridge bowl before her had grown slightly cold, yet she still hadn’t finished eating. Then a visitor was announced from outside, and Minglan finally roused herself and hurried to stand.

“…What a rare guest — Fifth Sister, I’ve been looking forward to your visit. Come, sit down. Elder Sister comes often, so there’s no need to be formal.”

Minglan looked with surprise at Rulan, who stood before her brilliantly turned out. It was only the beginning of winter, the chill not yet pronounced, yet she was already dressed in a crimson silver-mink satin jacket embroidered with butterflies among flowers. A large inlaid ruby gilded-gold hairpin was pressed into her elaborate double-winged phoenix chignon, dangling emerald jade earrings swayed at her ears, and a pair of heavy pearl-encrusted gold bracelets hung from her wrists — for a moment, the entire room shimmered with the radiance of her jewels.

Coming back to her senses, Minglan quickly instructed the maids to fetch tribute tea to serve the guest.

Rulan gave a light pout: “You’re the noble Marquis’s wife — I didn’t dare summon you to my humble little nest, so I had to come myself.” Minglan raised an eyebrow and smiled: “Wasn’t it you who told me to visit less often? You said it would save you the trouble of quarrels with your mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.” Rulan’s reflexes were as sharp as ever: “I was just being polite — you actually took it seriously? You’re using my own words to block me.” Minglan was entirely unapologetic: “Oh, forget it — you swore oaths at the time that you meant every word.” The two sisters traded barbs with practiced ease.

Hualan hurried forward to stop them: “Both of you, hold it right there — you haven’t even sat down yet and you’re already at each other’s throats! How old are you both? You’re mothers now, not little maids anymore.” She turned to a young woman standing behind Rulan and said, “Xique, quickly — bring Gui Jie’er over so her Sixth Aunt can have a look… And over there, Danju, stop standing there in a daze. Quickly have someone bring Tuan Ge’er here. Oh my, the poor dears — these little cousins have never even met.”

Rulan then reluctantly sat down, pointing for Xique to bring the child over. Minglan smiled and sat as well.

Compared to Hualan, Rulan had almost never set foot in the Gu household. As for visiting Rulan’s home — she found her own residence too modest and feared the comparison, and didn’t want Minglan coming too often. But if she were invited here to the Cheng Garden, the sight of the Marquis’s mansion with its grand grandeur and magnificent furnishings would make her heart sour and her throat fill with bitterness — a most delicate and conflicted state of mind.

Xique received the child from the arms of a matron standing behind her. The little girl had quite a spirited temper and declared loudly: “I’ll walk myself.” Xique smiled and supported her as she toddled over — waddling and unsteady, like a little duck, her steps somewhat crooked but still steady. Remarkably, even upon suddenly seeing so many strangers, she showed no fear or shyness, carrying herself with easy grace.

Rulan had arrived today with her daughter unannounced, and Minglan had not prepared. While smiling, she caught Danju’s eye; Danju understood at once and went to the inner room, found a brand-new bright-red embroidered pouch, tucked inside it a warm and lustrous white jade toad figurine, thought a moment, then added a small gold ingot as well, placed everything on a small begonia lacquer tray, and carried it out.

By this time, Minglan had taken the little girl onto her lap on a small stool, and was gently asking: “You’re so pretty — what’s your name?” The little girl had delicate brows and bright eyes, a fair and rosy little face, and a vermillion mark the size of a red bean between her brows. She sat up straight on the stool, as adorable as a porcelain doll. Then in a clear voice she said: “My name is Gui Jie’er.”

Minglan stroked her porcelain-smooth little face, accepted the items Danju had presented, and said warmly: “These are for you to play with.” The little girl obediently turned her head, tilted it to look at her mother, and only once Rulan nodded did she reach out her two little white jade hands to accept them, saying in an endearing childish way: “Thank you, Sixth Aunt.” Her voice was sweetly childlike, and Minglan was delighted. She had someone bring sweets for her to eat, then asked whom she played with every day, what she liked to eat, and what she liked to do. Gui Jie’er couldn’t yet organize long sentences, but her enunciation was very clear.

“They’re cousins after all — this child bears some resemblance to Zhuang Jie’er, and is just as well-behaved and sensible.” Minglan turned and remarked.

Hualan was blowing on her tea and could not help sighing: “When Zhuang Jie’er was this age, I was having a wretched time — her grandmother disliked her too. Her quick-wittedness was something she was born with. How could she compare to this child here, loved like a precious treasure by both parents, attended to by the whole household, not even dared to be slighted by grandmother or aunts — and yet she’s still so mannerly and gracious.” She kept shaking her head.

On the other side, Rulan was holding Tuan Ge’er and kissing his little face over and over. Hearing this, she looked up and scolded: “Listen to Elder Sister — my mother-in-law isn’t easy to deal with. She pinches here today and scrapes there tomorrow, wanting to squeeze as much as she can from me. If I weren’t so vigilant, who knows how much would be left… Oh my, this little one — still sleeping? He doesn’t even wake from all this.”

She herself had given birth to a daughter and found boys especially precious. She thought Tuan Ge’er was absolutely adorable with his chubby little face — quite different from a delicate, finely-made girl everywhere. Holding him in her arms, he felt heavy and solid, like a soft little counterweight, both reassuring and satisfying.

Minglan laughed: “He fussed terribly last night — half the night without sleep, and now he’s dozed off.”

Tuan Ge’er slept soundly and no matter how he was passed around, he just lolled his head and slept on. Hualan craned her neck for a look, saw the fat white baby inside his bright red swaddling — sleeping utterly oblivious to the world, tilting this way and that — and couldn’t help laughing: “This child is a solid sleeper. My two little ones wake at the slightest movement. The wet nurses all say boys like that are hard to raise — you have to be careful all the time.”

Generally speaking, whenever married women gather, there are only a few topics of conversation. Minglan was no exception to this commonplace. After the wet nurse took Tuan Ge’er away, she had Xiaotao lead Gui Jie’er off to play, and the sisters closed the doors and chattered away for a long time about child-rearing and household gossip. While talking, Minglan kept stealing glances at Rulan, and saw that she was dressed in fine and costly clothes with a rosy, healthy complexion — clearly living quite well.

Yet she still couldn’t compare to Hualan.

This mother of three who was nearing her thirties was looking more radiant by the day — her skin luminous and glowing, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, an irresistible loveliness brimming in her eyes. It is said that one’s thirties are a watershed for women: if one doesn’t navigate them well, one will quickly wither and decline toward old age; but if one takes good care of herself during this time, she will bloom like an everlasting flower, growing ever more richly fragrant.

She wore a simple white top embroidered with indigo flower clusters and a plain embroidered skirt, without a single piece of jewelry visible — yet Hualan shone with a radiance all her own, luminous as sunlight, leaving jewel-laden Rulan several streets behind.

“…Not just her nose and eyes — this girl resembles her father in every way. Taught two times to memorize something and she’s got it. Ai, the child may be clever, but she hasn’t inherited a single thing from me — how vexing.” When everything worth saying had been said and the conversation was nearly wound up, Rulan boasted for the nth time about her daughter. Hualan interjected: “Enough — stop that and speak to the real matter.”

Rulan was interrupted, but showed no irritation. If anything, the smug look on her face grew more pronounced. She said to Minglan: “Your brother-in-law — it seems he may be posted to an outer region.” Minglan was startled and, without thinking, blurted out: “Is it to Fujian?” Now it was Rulan’s turn to be taken aback: “How did you know?” Minglan reacted quickly, waved her hand and said with a smile: “I heard the Marquis mention it. There’s been a corruption case of some size in Fujian recently, and the Emperor dismissed a number of officials — naturally many vacancies would open up.”

Hualan looked at Minglan with some surprise: “Your husband tells you everything.” Minglan turned and retorted with a playful smile: “Oh? Has Brother-in-law ever hidden anything from Elder Sister?” Hualan laughed and gave her a sidelong look: “You little rascal!”

By now the conflicts in the officialdom of the two Huai regions had reached a white-hot intensity, with two factions fully arrayed against each other, fighting until the sun and moon seemed to lose their light. The general pattern in such battles is that when the main front is temporarily deadlocked, cannon fodder tends to appear on the flanks. The Fujian Provincial Governor, who had just recently been stripped of his official post, was exactly such a case — and having served in Fujian for many years, his relatives, allies, and disciples formed an extensive web of connections, so that one large piece of cannon fodder dragged many smaller pieces along with it, and the officialdom of southern Fujian was stirred into a great cloud of dust.

At the prospect of escaping her mother-in-law and managing her own household independently, Rulan could not conceal her joyful excitement: “It’s said to be Fujian — still not confirmed, but no matter. Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law have managed in that remote place, so if I grit my teeth, I can get through it too.”

Minglan offered her heartfelt congratulations: “To be able to go out and see the world, to experience the scenery of far-off places — that’s a wonderful thing. Fifth Sister, allow me to offer you my congratulations first.”

Rulan was happy and accepted generously, smiling: “It’s also thanks to everyone’s good fortune. I’ll bring you back some local specialties from southern Fujian.” Then she made a cute wrinkle with her nose and humphed: “It’s lucky that your brother-in-law had made up his mind — otherwise that old sh—” She caught Hualan’s glare and quickly changed course: “My mother-in-law still wanted to keep me behind to serve her!”

Minglan bit her lip, smiling mischievously: “Brother-in-law is certainly thoughtful. You’re not even there yet — how could you be separated from Fifth Sister?” Rulan’s face flushed red, and she broke into shy, sweet embarrassment, laughing as she reached out to swat at Minglan. Hualan laughed and teased: “You’re glad now it’s a girl, aren’t you? If it had been a boy, either your mother-in-law would insist on keeping the eldest daughter-in-law behind, or the grandmother would insist on keeping the eldest grandson!”

Rulan said coquettishly: “When did I ever say Gui Jie’er wasn’t good? Sister is really something!”

“Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone.” After laughing and playing for a while, Rulan grabbed Minglan by the collar and repeatedly warned her: “We don’t even know if it will come through yet. If it doesn’t, we’ll become a laughingstock!” Minglan nodded her head so vigorously she looked like a woodpecker, and only then did Rulan let her go. She then turned to glare at her elder sister: “Elder Sister can’t say anything either! Your husband says one must be careful in all things.”

Hualan deliberately gave no answer, and instead teased laughingly: “Tsk tsk tsk — your husband has real skill! He’s pressed the Monkey King beneath the Five Elements Mountain — my insufferable Fifth Sister is this obedient now?!”

Rulan flushed with fury and was about to launch herself across the room. Minglan quickly grabbed her arm and soothed her repeatedly: “Don’t mind Elder Sister — she’s the most aggravating one. Lately she’s been so lovey-dovey with her husband that she thinks she can make fun of her sisters!” This was no joke — Danju, that straightforward soul, had brought out the absolute finest porcelain for today’s guest service: the top-grade ware just out of the imperial kilns at Songxi, the only set in the whole house. If Rulan carelessly smashed a few pieces, there would be nowhere to cry about it.

Seeing her sister genuinely annoyed, Hualan smiled and came to make peace: “Alright, alright — don’t be angry with me. Yesterday your brother-in-law got hold of some fresh wild mushrooms from outside the passes. Made into soup and cooked into dishes, the flavor is excellent. I’ll let you both try some later.”

Rulan, seeing her elder sister relent, finally let the tension go with a harrumph. But Minglan suddenly thought of something and asked in puzzlement: “Hmm — didn’t Brother-in-law just go with the Imperial Stable’s Chief Clerk to select horses for the Five City Infantry Command a few days ago? Has he come back so soon?” Just the other day, Hualan had come over wearing the look of a lovesick young wife, lamenting “the suffering of separation between husband and wife.”

“It’s nothing — he came back for one night.” Hualan made a great show of not caring. This time even the oblivious Rulan sensed something was off: “Is the imperial stable’s pasture really that close to the capital?”

Hualan gave a beautiful smile, her fair complexion taking on a touch of color, and said softly: “There were some traders from outside the passes doing business there. Your brother-in-law saw that the mushrooms were of the finest quality and bought some to send home.”

Minglan understood perfectly, and deliberately affected a strange tone: “He could have sent a page boy to deliver them. Why make the trip himself.”

“That’s exactly what I said — but your brother-in-law…” Hualan was both bashful and proud at once, but her candid nature meant she could always say things openly and straightforwardly: “He rode through the night to come.” A pause. “He only stayed long enough for a few words, then had to rush back immediately, afraid of missing his duties.” Even as she said it, she smiled.

“He rode for hours on horseback just to see you once?” Rulan was baffled. “Has he never seen you before?”

Hualan’s voice was like something floating on clouds, barely audible: “He said… suddenly… he just wanted to see me for a moment…”

Having already heard more than a few such stories, Minglan was now perfectly composed, holding up her teacup and staring at the ceiling. Hualan was indeed Wang Shi’s daughter — the hereditary instinct to show off was impossible to erase. Also, middle-aged people falling in love were truly like an old house catching fire — once started, impossible to stop. This couple, married for nearly a decade, had suddenly both tumbled headlong into a raging river of love — a rather rare, spontaneous large-scale conflagration.

Rulan was experiencing this for the first time and was utterly dumbfounded. In the past, when Wang Shi had complained to her youngest daughter about Hualan’s various improprieties, she had felt Wang Shi was being unreasonable. Now she finally understood. Truly, the way Hualan currently looked — lost in love with no regard for anyone else, as though heaven and earth held nothing but her husband — was indeed rather punchable.

“My husband and I are also a loving, harmonious couple — but even we’re not like this. It’s shameful!” Rulan thought for a moment, then asked in puzzlement: “Then why did you still take a concubine for Brother-in-law?”

Hualan cast her a sideways glance: “Your brother-in-law often has to travel outside the passes. With bitter cold and freezing weather, who would warm his meals and pour his hot water if there were no one to serve him? Choosing an honest, steady girl to go along and attend to him — that’s when I can feel at ease. Does everyone have your jealous temperament? The moment you heard your husband was going to take a chamber companion, you ran out and wept in the rain while pregnant with a belly full of child — lucky your constitution is tough or something terrible might have happened!”

“Oh, did that really happen?!” Minglan was electrified — here was some gossip!

Rulan burned with shame and fury: “Don’t listen to her nonsense!”

The sisters talked and jostled, pushed and pulled, laughed and played for a good long while. Minglan then brought out Shao Shi, laid out a full table of food, warmed some good wine, and the four women ate and laughed together until mid-afternoon, when Hualan and Rulan finally rose to take their leave. Gui Jie’er was already exhausted and lay with her face buried against Xique’s back, rubbing her eyes with her little fists.

Once the sisters were in the carriage, Hualan quickly leaned back against the cushions. She had been in high spirits these past few days and had drunk rather a lot. The wine was now going to her head, and she began to ramble in a drowsy, murmuring way: “Sister dear, listen to what Elder Sister tells you. When you follow your husband to his posting in the outer regions, be sure to keep your proper place. Don’t go pointing fingers at official business. Back then you were still young, so you didn’t know — but Mother suffered greatly in this regard. She listened to someone’s sweet words, accepted their favors, and pressured Father to do this and that…”

Rulan leaned against the carriage wall, swaying gently with the rolling rhythm of the wheels, and seemed to have already fallen asleep: “Don’t worry, Sister. I won’t follow in Mother’s old path.” These words were spoken very, very softly — one could not tell whether Hualan had heard them.

…

Shao Shi had spent many long years in solitude and cold quiet. The sudden liveliness was a delight to her, and since Hualan and Rulan were both outgoing and cheerful talkers, this meal of wine had been deeply satisfying. She kept murmuring, “The young ladies of the Sheng Family are truly beyond praise — you must invite them to sit here often,” and so on.

Minglan smiled and accompanied the half-tipsy Shao Shi for a walk to air out the wine, then returned to her own room. There she found Tuan Ge’er lying on the kang, staring up at the ceiling with wide-open eyes, wide awake. Minglan very much wanted to pretend she hadn’t noticed him and quickly turn to take an afternoon nap, but the little chubby one’s eyes were too bright. The moment he spotted his mother, he immediately began cooing and babbling, reaching out his little arms to be held.

Minglan picked up her son and lay down on the bed with him. Despite being surrounded by the smell of wine, it couldn’t deter the little chubby one at all. She could only pat him and coax him: “Wouldn’t sleep when you should sleep — when you shouldn’t be sleeping, you sleep like a log. Your Fifth Aunt rarely came to visit and you didn’t even open your eyes. Now that Mother is tired, you’re all lively… Was little cousin sister pretty? Wasn’t she well-behaved? But look at you, you little troublemaker, not listening at all…”

Thinking back on the private things the sisters had shared earlier, her thoughts drifted slowly outward.

Perhaps Hualan’s was actually the normal thinking of an aristocratic woman in ancient times — taking a concubine for one’s husband to help serve and attend to him; it would both establish one’s own good reputation and demonstrate one’s generosity. In this day and age, keeping a few concubines was like buying a carriage — any man of standing who didn’t have one worth ten thousand taels could hardly show his face in public. As long as the concubine didn’t overstep or cause trouble, she was entirely inconsequential. Take the wife of Zheng Senior, for instance — she and General Zheng Senior were considered a rare harmonious couple, yet even she still had two concubines in the household and five concubine-born daughters.

The Sheng Family was a bit different.

Because of the enormous storm once stirred up in the Sheng household by a certain woman surnamed Lin, the Sheng women had from the marrow of their bones developed a fierce wariness toward the species known as concubines. Those women that Yuan Furen had once inserted into the household had all since been cleared out cleanly by Hualan; those permitted to stay were either purely ornamental secondary companions, or ones she could keep firmly under her control.

And Rulan was different from Hualan. Around the time Rulan was born, Lin Yiniang had been at the height of her power in the Sheng household, doing as she pleased; their own mother had ground her teeth in fury every day, resembling a sorceress; and there was a concubine-born elder sister of roughly Rulan’s own age, whose beauty and talent surpassed her own in every way, who enjoyed their father’s affection and a favored mother — one who had almost stolen away every honor that belonged to her as the legitimate daughter.

No one knew how deeply wounded that little girl had once been. Today the sisters had gathered, laughed, and chatted at ease, and yet not one of them had mentioned Molan by even half a word — including Minglan herself. They were willing to forget, but could not easily forgive.

And yet Rulan was also fortunate. After countless setbacks and scoldings in her girlhood, she had at last learned to rein in her temper — and more importantly, to think. The maidservant in that household was one who had served Yan Jing since childhood. When Rulan became pregnant, the old woman used the pretext that her son had no one to attend him, and proposed that the maid be taken as a chamber companion — which was, in itself, perfectly natural and reasonable.

But Rulan was jolted instantly awake, and immediately realized it was absolutely out of the question. Such a maid — one who had served the master since childhood — even if he had never developed romantic feelings for her, the bond formed from such an early age was quite real and substantial. More to the point: she would be very difficult to fully control.

Rulan was, for the first time, ice-cold and calm. She did not make a scene. Instead, she played the card of the aggrieved soldier.

From Wang Shi, Rulan had learned that the power of her maternal family could intimidate anyone — even her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law — but could never be used to coerce her husband. And from Lin Yiniang, she had learned to show vulnerability, to appeal to feelings. One must always appeal to feelings.

Weeping in the rain, she was simply a little woman blinded by jealousy and confusion — deeply, helplessly in love with her husband, terrified that his heart might turn away, not knowing what to do, throwing all propriety and decorum out of her mind, able only to hide in the rain and cry in secret, like a child.

Yan Jing was deeply moved. He felt that he was truly blessed in this life, and could not bear to fail such deep and sincere devotion. The very next day he personally arranged the dismissal of that maid. Afterward, even when Rulan selected one of her own dowry maids to serve as a chamber companion, he never once went near her.

Rulan had won a complete and total victory in this battle. In her husband’s eyes, she was a deeply loving and virtuous wife who, though her heart was wrung with bitterness, forced herself to endure the pain out of concern for her husband having no one to look after him, and took a concubine on his behalf. In the eyes of the outside world — well, hadn’t she taken a concubine for her husband? How could she be called a jealous wife?

The old woman had some objections to the new chamber companion’s appearance. The matrons and old women of the Sheng family who had come with the dowry were not pushovers either. Taking a concubine: first, for the continuation of the family line; second, for the serving and attending of the master. Robust health and a good, steady character are what matter most. What use is a beauty who could bewitch a man — why not just go pick one from a pleasure house? To distract the Young Master from his studies and ambitions — what on earth was the old woman thinking? Such talk spread by word of mouth back to the clan — even the old wives and uncles of the clan grew outraged (it wasn’t easy for a clan to produce one scholar), all criticizing the old woman for losing her wits in her old age. The old woman was furious but could only back down and let the matter rest.

And as for a chamber companion whose deed of ownership was held firmly in Rulan’s hands — whose parents and siblings’ very lives were at Rulan’s mercy — how could she stir up any waves?

After so many years of stumbling and bruising, the reckless girl from memory — her face always flushed, her fists always clenched, never able to best her clever concubine-born sister — that clumsy, domineering girl who only knew how to throw her weight around: she, too, had awakened. She had learned how to use her mind.

Minglan felt a vague, wistful sorrow — as though the most innocent and uncarved part of something had quietly been lost.

In a patriarchal society, men create rule after rule and shape them into an elaborate mold. For a woman to survive within it — and to survive well — she must abandon the original form heaven gave her. Ground down again and again, hammered through trial after trial — whether she becomes smooth and slippery, or coyly charming, or worldly and calculating, or alluring — she must twist herself into whatever shape fits the mold.

Thinking and thinking on this, Minglan suddenly laughed.

She was feeling such melodramatic resentment on behalf of women — Bao Yu would certainly disagree. As a man, he had refused to be assimilated by the world, and so he had no choice but to become a monk. When she thought about it, it wasn’t just women. When had men ever been able to do exactly as they pleased?

Gu Tingye, too, had severed that fiery, willful version of his second-son self before he became the Gu Marquis he was today.

And then there was that gentle and handsome young man — the one who had liked to use flower petals as bookmarks, who had smiled at her through the soft spring rain. She had heard he was soon to become a father. His conduct had grown ever more seasoned and measured, earning the admiration of several senior officials.

Now, if he were to pass again beneath those drooping flower-laden branches, he would likely not pause even a single step. That young, hesitant, uncertain part of himself — he had cut it away cleanly. He would brush the falling petals resolutely from his shoulder and walk steadily forward.

The world of officialdom was like a demon’s road, with monsters roaming every corner. To pass through purgatory’s fire with bare skin — one either burned to ashes, or was forged into steel…

She woke in a daze and found before her the tawny face of Gu Tingye. The sharp ridge of his brow was like a sliver of cold moon, stern and dark as ink. He had entered at some unknown moment and was kneeling on one knee, his arms half-encircling her, watching her quietly, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

“You’ve been drinking?” The man’s voice was low and heavy, like the toll of the sandalwood fish-drum from her grandmother’s room in childhood.

Minglan nodded. Her head was still spinning. She instinctively turned over — and found the little chubby one had tired himself out playing. His little arms were spread wide in surrender, and he was breathing deeply and sweetly, fast asleep. He had even kicked off one thick sock, revealing a plump little foot.

“What were you dreaming about, to cry so bitterly?” His fingertip brushed over her face, coming away damp.

Minglan gazed at the beautifully carved and painted bed canopy, and suddenly felt an inexplicable stirring of dejection. She turned away, putting her back to him, and said softly: “I forgot…”

Gu Tingye paused, then pressed close and wrapped his arms around her from behind, his warm and moist breath falling against her skin at the side of her neck: “Is your body unwell?”

Minglan didn’t want to speak. She curled herself into the shape of a shrimp: “Nothing’s wrong.”

Gu Tingye furrowed his brows, reached out to turn her face toward him, and kept pressing: “Your sisters came and drank wine with you — did they say something that upset you?”

Perhaps the wine was emboldening her timid soul. Minglan was thoroughly irritated, and with one hand she tore away the large hand gripping her chin and gave her temper free rein: “What are you interrogating me for? When you come home drunk, have I ever questioned you without end?” When he was troubled, she never peppered him with questions — she only listened quietly, or offered gentle encouragement. How very understanding she was.

Yet a glint of amusement appeared in Gu Tingye’s eyes, and he tightened his arms around her, pressing question after gentle question.

“Did you and your sisters quarrel?”

“No.”

“Did your elder sister scold you?”

“Marquis, please give me some peace and quiet!”

“Did your Fifth Sister borrow money and not pay you back?” His voice now carried laughter.

“You’re truly unbearable!”

When had she ever cried because someone didn’t repay a debt! Minglan was so furious her head spun and the wine rushed upward — her mind grew even more muddled, and she desperately wished she could kick him off the bed!

One of them fuming and trembling with anger, the other convulsed with laughter — in the corner of the bed the little chubby one still slept sprawled in the shape of a great character, his little belly rising and falling, blissfully deep asleep, completely unaware of what was happening. Truly born under a lucky star.

The couple quarreled and sulked until lamplight time. Minglan couldn’t even remember how dinner was eaten — she was muddled and then herded off to bed. After a bout of wild abandon, Gu Tingye dragged Minglan off to bathe. And then, incredibly, he still had the energy to bring little Tuan Ge’er in.

Deep in the quiet of night, when the watchman’s clapper had struck past the third watch, Minglan lay utterly exhausted, clutching a pillow and watching Gu Tingye beside her, absorbed and playful as he entertained their son. Having slept so much during the day, Tuan Ge’er was now bright-eyed and bushy-tailed — kicking his little feet and making merry with great enthusiasm.

“What were you actually crying about?” He still remembered.

By now Minglan was completely clear-headed. She organized her thoughts and spoke succinctly: “My sisters have all grown up. They’ve gradually become smooth and sophisticated. It’s not like when we were little, when everyone just fooled around together without a care. That was true nature.”

Gu Tingye plucked the chubby little hand that was nearly poking into his mouth back out, and laughed: “You silly girl — people naturally grow up. Surely fooling around carelessly as children isn’t what counts as true nature?”

He lightly cradled the little chubby one in his arms, lifted him to face Minglan, and said teasingly: “If this little one caused trouble twice a day — today beating the neighbor’s child, tomorrow slapping another child in the face — would you consider that true nature?”

The little chubby one burst into delighted gurgling laughter, showing his bare pink gums with a few tiny white dots just beginning to emerge — completely unaware that he was at this moment being used as a cautionary example. Minglan’s mind immediately conjured up the classic images of dissolute young masters, and she wrinkled her delicate brow: “That won’t do at all!”

“Good that you know.” Gu Tingye flicked the tip of Minglan’s upturned nose. “What is called true nature is doing what ought to be done, acting as one should act — despising evil, distinguishing right from wrong. When did thoughtless, immature misbehavior ever count as true nature?”

Minglan was speechless for a moment, then said in a small voice: “That’s not what I meant. I meant… not having to conceal or hide things, doing what one wants to do…”

“Don’t be slippery.” Gu Tingye cut her off and began to lecture in earnest: “People are born ignorant and unknowing. As they grow, they come to understand principles, to know right from wrong, to grasp the ways of the world — and naturally come to know there are many things in this world that simply cannot be done. A small child who sees another child’s good food and just reaches out to take it — one might still find that amusing. But if a seven-foot man, coveting another man’s wealth, simply opens his mouth and demands it — is that true nature? If one knows of another person’s hidden shame and pain, and says it aloud without the slightest consideration — is that true nature?”

By that logic, a certain Xi Men Qing was also quite true-natured — how resolute and unrestrained he was in seducing another man’s wife! Minglan nodded, feeling quite lightened in spirit. Then she thought of something and smiled with not-quite-suppressed laughter: “That… hitting people and slapping faces — could that happen to be one of the Marquis’s own glorious boyhood exploits?”

“I’m ashamed to say it. You flatter me.” Gu Tingye didn’t hesitate for a single instant.

What admirable directness. What shining candor. Minglan rolled her eyes in deflation.

The explosive energy of an infant doesn’t last long. Cradled in his father’s strong arms, kicked up and down and romped with to his heart’s content, the little chubby one began to grow drowsy. Gu Tingye carefully laid his son flat on the bed and said softly: “Teaching by words is not as good as teaching by example. Those who are elders must first set their own character upright — only then can the children turn out well.”

Minglan was startled, and immediately looked at him with genuine reverence. The man before her suddenly seemed to grow taller. Who says only a mother’s love is great? Those fathers who, for the sake of their children, begin early to give up smoking and drinking, to work hard and save — they are remarkable too.

“Don’t let yourself tie knots over it — no matter how sophisticated and calculating the outside world is, don’t take it to heart.” Gu Tingye stroked the little chubby one’s soft newborn hair, then looked up at Minglan with a steady gaze: “As long as our family is together, our hearts in one place — that’s worth more than anything.”

Our family.

Minglan’s eyes grew warm. She lowered her head and softly hummed her assent.

…

Reading the boss’s mind had almost become second nature to Minglan — yet lately she had found herself unable to read Gu Tingye at all.

When she was gentle and obedient, he wasn’t particularly pleased. When she threw a tantrum, he wasn’t particularly upset. Several times, her conduct had been entirely beyond reproach and perfectly considerate on every front — and yet he wore the face of a man she owed him two copper coins and hadn’t paid back. On a few occasions when she had been nearly unreasonably petulant, he had been very patient, very attentive in guiding her and coaxing her back into good spirits.

How strange. Previously this man had clearly admired her capacity for understanding and propriety. Had his tastes changed? No longer preferring the virtuous and gentle type, and now developing a fondness for the willful and demanding? Minglan immediately felt the urgent importance of keeping pace with the times.

Days passed quickly. It grew visibly colder with each one. The floor heating was lit inside, and Danju had the storage room opened, bringing out warming braziers and incense burners of every kind, which she polished to a brilliant shine and moved inside. She also personally wiped down the small cloisonné five-colored hand warmer and the white jade hand warmer that Minglan liked to use.

The needlework department finished the household’s new winter clothing. The servants and miscellaneous workers each received one thick padded winter jacket, one light padded thin jacket, and two pairs of thick padded winter trousers. When everyone touched the fragrant, soft cotton and the fabric surfaces, they immediately knew these were of the finest quality — the cost was probably twice that of ordinary winter garments. The outer courtyard stewards and inner household manager-wives all had custom-tailored satin robes from Xiangyun Zhai, a prestigious shop in the capital. The maids who attended the mistresses, including the one in the Ling Dan Pavilion, each received a set of bright and freshly made silk jackets in accordance with their respective rank.

The head steward, Hao Dacheng, came especially to the Jia Xi Ju courtyard to offer thanks: “All the brothers have asked me to come and kowtow to the Lady. The Lady treats us servants with generosity and kindness — we all hold that in our hearts. From now on, we will certainly redouble our diligence in our duties.”

The duties before and after the New Year were the most lucrative, full of opportunities for profit. Some time earlier, just on the purchase of silver-threaded fine charcoal, the procurement office had bought several hundred jin. Minglan had kept her ears and eyes alert early on, and sure enough, they had not failed her — she had caught several large rats. Some had taken kickbacks; some had received bribes. The two with the most brazen schemes: one had privately pocketed a great deal of public goods, while the other had designated specific shops for purchases, daring to bring in shoddy merchandise and wildly inflating the reported costs to an outrageous degree.

The fathers and grandfathers of these two stewards had both been long-serving bonded servants of the Gu family. They had deep roots and an imposing manner. At the slightest hint of being slighted, they would clamor about going to “cry to the Master.” Minglan had cast her net for a long time, waiting precisely for this. Shu Er-ye tested his hand with small game first, and with two moves had gotten to the bottom of it. Minglan waved her hand with a smiling expression and ordered them to be taken into custody.

The little chubby one lying on the kang thought something good was happening, his big eyes shining bright. Xiaotao felt a great deal of sympathy and hugged Tuan Ge’er — he still didn’t understand his dear mother. Back in the day, when Minglan had squatted at the side of the pond, smiling as she waited for a fat fish to take the bait, she had worn exactly this expression. Of course, that fish had been eaten — boiled into soup, red-braised, deep-fried crispy…

The first one was questioned directly for a confession. That household admitted guilt quickly; with excellent contrition, the whole family — young and old — prostrated on the ground wailing and sobbing for half a day. The old patriarch took up a stick and personally beat his own son severely, then pleaded desperately for mercy. Minglan resolved with great magnanimity to pardon them, and with a particularly gracious “imperial favor” awarded them a sum of silver, then released the entire family from the household. The second household, however, was slick-tongued, putting on the appearance of honesty and pitifulness while in fact disputing every point with sophistry. They even dragged out elderly women who had once served Gu Tingye’s grandmother, threatening to die on the spot as a form of protest.

Only after Minglan produced witnesses and physical evidence, leaving that household without a word of defense left, did they finally collapse. For such insolent servants, Minglan showed no further leniency — new offenses and old wrongs were all brought out together. Some were sold off, some were beaten and punished. Because the capital had many eyes and ears, and these people knew something of the Gu family’s internal affairs, to prevent future troubles, Minglan had been cautious enough not to recklessly drive them out into the streets — they were all dispatched to the outer estates.

Both had once been stewards of great power and prominence. One household could still go out and open a sundry goods shop and buy a few acres of good farmland, becoming a small but comfortable family. The other was stripped entirely to the bottom — all household property and valuables confiscated without remainder, their future unknown. These two strikingly different punishments — gentle on the outside, hard within — sent a shudder through all the servants and workers of the old household, making them no longer dare to underestimate this young mistress of the house.

The colder it got, the more unhappy Tuan Ge’er became. He was now working hard at learning to roll over. His upper body could already flip, and his legs could kick with force — but his little bottom was particularly round and chubby, dragging him heavily backward, his little face turning bright red with effort. In the end he still couldn’t flip all the way over. Now with the weather cold, and wrapped up so thickly, he was bundled and plump like a little fat pig, hard to move — the difficulty was thus multiplied, and rolling over became even harder, of course.

The little chubby one showed quite a bit of tenacity. On this particular day he puffed and strained energetically for a long time — but alas, the revolution had still only succeeded by half. Just then, Xiao Shen Shi came to call. Behind her she carried a large basket, saying she wanted to show Minglan something novel. It turned out that Young General Zheng, fearing his pampered wife might be bored, had specially obtained a small puppy that had just been weaned — no bigger than a palm, with pale yellow fluffy fur and faint reddish speckled markings. Its paws were soft, its teeth not yet sharp, and it shook its little head with adorable unsteadiness.

Never mind its short legs and small body — it could roll quite expertly. One roll, two rolls — watching from his spot at the head of the kang, Tuan Ge’er had been looking on in delight, but upon seeing this, his little mouth twisted inexplicably downward and out came a wail — crying with great heartache. This gave Xiao Shen Shi quite a fright. She clutched her chest and exclaimed in astonishment: “What’s the matter with the child?”

Minglan quietly thought — it must be: his self-esteem is wounded.

That evening when Gu Tingye came home, he noticed that his son was listless and out of sorts, and asked what had happened. Minglan smiled and recounted the story. To her surprise, Gu Tingye was actually indignant about it — how could Xiao Shen Shi do such a thing? She had hurt the child’s feelings! She hadn’t meant to.

Minglan: …The one in the ditch also got shot.

Xiao Shen Shi’s comeuppance arrived quickly.

Because she had been given such a fright, she went home feeling a tightness in her chest. She was nauseated and couldn’t eat. When the Zheng household called a physician to examine her, she was diagnosed as two months pregnant. Young General Zheng instantly became as happy as a laughing Buddha; his parents and siblings also breathed sighs of relief. Xiao Shen Shi’s heart, which had been suspended in anxious uncertainty for a good many years, finally settled firmly in place. She turned her face to the sky and pressed her palms together in repeated prayer. The news entered the palace, and the Empress sent down a large pile of gifts, dispatching matrons and physicians — all was a great celebration.

However, not everything was good news. When Minglan went to visit her, Xiao Shen Shi told her with a touch of melancholy: her morning glory plant had been taken away. It was said not to be good for pregnant women, and had since become the beloved pet of her little niece (the younger sister of Rong Xian), and had been renamed “Bao Ju” — which gave Minglan quite a start.