It was perhaps because she had grown too comfortable and complacent that her alertness was not what it once had been. Two days passed before Minglan noticed something was wrong.

Gu Tingye seemed increasingly moody and erratic — one moment laughing and talking with her, the next sinking into silence and staring at her for long stretches with an unreadable look, making her head go numb. When he had free time, he no longer played about with her as he used to, but often sat alone holding their son in a distant reverie.

When she asked what was the matter, the man would offer an offhand reply: “Nothing.”

Master Gongsun of late had been altogether carefree and at leisure; in the old days, drumming and singing and playing music, watching this, it did not seem as though there was any trouble at court. Minglan felt increasingly uneasy. Thinking it over carefully, she realized with a start that things had been off ever since the day they attended the birthday banquet at the Duke of Qi’s estate.

That day, when Gu Tingye went to court, Minglan called for Gu Lu and — making no great attempt at concealment — came straight to the point, saying that the Marquis had seemed displeased at the Qi estate that day, and asking what exactly had happened. Gu Lu had an ordinarily good memory, but after thinking it over at length he could not identify anything amiss. Minglan then asked him to recount, one by one, everything that had happened after the Marquis had entered the Qi estate that day.

“The Marquis first paid his birthday respects to the Old Duke and spoke with him for a while. Then the Duke of England, the Duke of Auxiliary, and several other lords arrived, and they all began talking about events from years past — the various lords praised the Marquis for being a swift and remarkable steed… At the banquet, Duke Han kept edging over to the Marquis to speak to him, and the Marquis kept pressing wine on him until Duke Han finally passed out. Then someone mentioned that the Old Duke was blessed to have four generations under one roof, and the Old Duke was so pleased he had the two great-grandchildren brought out for all the lords to see…”

Minglan forced herself to keep her heart from leaping and asked: “Did the Old Duke happen to mention the names of those two children?”

Gu Lu thought for a moment and replied: “He only mentioned the young boy — he said he is called Han Ming. The Old Duke dotes so much on this one and only great-grandson of his that he had the name written out many times and had them posted outside for people to read aloud.”

Minglan fell silent and asked no more. She commended Gu Lu warmly, then had Xiaotao see him out. Xiaotao, as was customary, stuffed his arms full of dried fruit and pastries, then ushered him away.

The spring breeze touched her face, yet a cold sweat broke out regardless. She spread her damp palm open and stood before the window, overcome with regret. Truly — whatever one dreaded most would come for one in the end. If she could thrash Qi Heng ten thousand times right now, she would gladly do it.

The matter between herself and Qi Heng was something Gu Tingye had always known about. In fact, the very first time they had ever met, he had been the sole witness to that performance she and Qi Heng had put on for each other. And then, as time passed and seasons changed — Qi Heng took a wife, was cuckolded, sat for the civil examinations; Gu Tingye took a wife, was cuckolded, wandered among the rivers and lakes — if anyone had beaten her to death on the spot, she still would never have imagined she would one day marry the second young master Gu, so notorious in the circles of capital idlers!

And so at the beginning, she had been more preoccupied with He Hong — after all, he was the one she and Qi Heng had actually seriously considered as a potential match. How was she to have known that that gold ingot Qi so-and-so would have his head go so catastrophically haywire?!

What was to be done now? He had known about the past between herself and Qi Heng long before today — so why was he still brooding over it like this?

Minglan pressed her head in her hands and writhed back and forth on the daybed, unable to think of any solution. She grabbed little Tuan Ge’er, who had just woken from his nap, brought him in front of her face, fixed his little cheeks between both hands, and said: “Help your mother think of something!”

But the little chubby one could not understand any of it, and only kept nuzzling toward her chest, his roly-poly face rubbing against her bosom as he opened his small mouth and searched everywhere eagerly. Minglan flushed with embarrassed exasperation and used her index finger to push back his big forehead: “You little glutton!”

— And a stupid little glutton at that. She had been out of stock for quite some time already!

The problem had been identified; now the real difficulty lay in how to resolve it. Even the usually quick and decisive Minglan was momentarily at a loss. Truth be told, in her previous life she had been nothing but a fledgling, and even in this life she had never handled this sort of situation with any real mastery. When it came to Qi Heng, He Hong, or even Gu Tingye, it was less a matter of sentiment than one of survival.

Minglan looked at her husband, reclining against the headboard of the bed, gathered her courage, and smiled, casting about for something to say: “You came back so late this evening — shall I have some night-time snacks brought?” Gu Tingye shook his head. “It’s already late — eating now is too easy on the digestion. Better to sleep.” Very brief. Then he handed the half-drowsy little Tuan Ge’er to the wet nurse and went to the writing desk to look for a book to read.

Minglan could not hold back the torrent of words in her head: He hasn’t time for snacks, but he has time to read? Fine then, don’t eat — starve to death for all I care. Serve yourself right for taking the posturing too far and making an absolute fool of yourself!

Then again she thought that she really shouldn’t be sulking right now. Minglan forced herself to cast about for idle household chatter to bring up. But the man only responded with vague, indifferent sounds, his air of perfunctory dismissal plain for all to see.

With no way forward, Minglan had no choice but to go and wash up. When she returned from the washroom, she found Gu Tingye still in the same position — sitting against the headboard in his inner robe, long hair loose, reading his book. Minglan squinted to look. Well, at least the book was not upside down.

After she climbed into bed, she moved as usual to the inner side, but the man showed no sign of any intention of setting his book down. Another long stretch passed. Minglan at last could not hold herself back: “Does the Marquis wish to rest yet?” Gu Tingye was silent for half a moment, then gave a low affirmative sound, extinguished the light, and drew the bed curtains closed.

Left without any other option, someone in the darkness reached out to feel for the man’s whereabouts. Slender fingers crossed ever so carefully over the brocade quilt, slipped under the folds of the man’s lapels, and began slowly exploring. The skin of his chest gradually grew warm to the touch. Someone quickly pressed her body against him, inching and nuzzling her way closer — if even this gambit failed, she was well and truly out of ideas. Fortunately the man showed no sign of being a paragon of virtue, and before his heavy breathing could even gather itself, he had already turned and pressed her beneath him, making no ceremony of what followed.

The next day, someone’s back and waist were aching pleasantly and she was quietly pleased with herself for having successfully deployed her strategy — only to find that when the man returned to the room, he was back to his original state: expression flat, disinclined to speak, carrying a strong air of “I’ve eaten the sugar coating, and now I’m throwing the cannonball right back at you.”

Faced with this half-alive, half-dead attitude, Minglan suddenly recalled a phrase: like a dog biting a tortoise — unable to find a place to start.

After racking her brains for several days without arriving at any clarity, Minglan felt exhausted in spirit. Seeing that the weather had been growing warmer by the day, she had some water chestnuts picked from the pond, along with a few fat fish caught, and set off to pay a visit to General Zheng’s estate, partly for company, partly to clear her head.

Little Madam Shen’s belly had been growing visibly rounder. This pregnancy of hers had come with great difficulty, and neither her mother-in-law, her elder sister-in-law, nor her husband would allow her to go outside. Growing bored to the point of distraction, she was overjoyed at Minglan’s visit.

“…These past few days I feel as though I’m about to grow mold from sitting still — Elder Sister-in-law won’t even let me walk a little longer in the garden…” Little Madam Shen poured out her grievances. Minglan examined her closely and saw her face was round and full, her color excellent — she simply looked terribly bored.

Little Madam Shen lowered her voice: “I think Elder Sister-in-law is being overly cautious. When His Majesty was still in his princely domain, I saw the women there — some with very large bellies, still moving about everywhere — and their children were born just as lively and healthy. And there was a second-rank noblewoman, who was still strolling through the garden just half a month before she was due! It’s only here in the capital that there are so many rules!”

Minglan said firmly in a tone of instruction: “When other noblewomen go out, they sit properly and drink tea — politely and without incident. You were born under the star of a monkey — the moment you step outside this gate, can you actually manage to sit still? Your Elder Sister-in-law has read your character perfectly well!”

There was more than a grain of truth in this, and Little Madam Shen let out a small sigh. Minglan found her dejected expression amusing, reached out and tapped her on the forehead, and teased: “Just sit here and be patient. Besides, the child in that belly of yours is not yours alone — who said you had any right to make a fuss?”

Little Madam Shen’s face went a soft pink. In a small voice she said: “I know. For the sake of this child, my husband has also…”

Minglan feigned astonishment: “I mean your mother-in-law and Elder Sister-in-law — they have burned so many incense sticks to the Bodhisattva, recited so many sutras, and pledged so much lamp oil for you to conceive… What on earth were you thinking about? Ah, though it is true that young Master Zheng has put in no small effort as well.”

Little Madam Shen was overcome with embarrassment and flung a soft cushion at Minglan, then tried to lunge over and pinch her mouth shut. Minglan immediately called out anxiously: “Don’t move, don’t move — you are precious cargo right now. If you were to drop so much as a strand of hair, I could be turned into a bald head and still not be able to repay the debt!”

Little Madam Shen was helpless against her and dared not move recklessly. She could only point her trembling fingers and sputter: “You, you…”

Elder Madam Zheng, hearing the laughter and commotion inside, shook her head with a smile and stepped in: “How old are the two of you — I’ve only been out for half a moment, and look at the state of things. What mischief were you talking about? And you even sent all the attendants away.”

Little Madam Shen immediately sat up properly and dared not move carelessly. Minglan noticed a middle-aged woman following behind Elder Madam Zheng and asked pleasantly: “Elder Sister-in-law, this lady is…?”

Elder Madam Zheng pointed to the woman: “This is a cousin from my maternal family. She was living in another part of the country in earlier years. Now that her children and grandchildren have all settled in the capital, she’s been brought here to enjoy her old age.”

Little Madam Shen appeared to recognize her and called out with a smile, though she did not rise.

Minglan nodded and politely invited her to be seated; a maid came forward to present tea.

The cousin was dressed without particular distinction, and her appearance was even somewhat plain, yet her manner was easy and natural with not a trace of timidity, and her voice was quite loud: “What a thing to say — you are wealthy and distinguished people, and we are country folk. The little we have from a small household — in the eyes of people of rank such as yourselves, it would only be a thing to laugh at.”

Elder Madam Zheng did not appear to dislike this cousin, and spoke to her with considerable warmth: “Whether a household is grand or small, the most important thing is the filial devotion toward one’s parents. Your children are all dutiful, and that is the greatest fortune.”

The cousin grinned broadly: “That’s true enough. The children are all reasonably good-hearted and haven’t forgotten the hardships their parents went through. Even the sons-in-law are filial — and that’s saying something. That’s why I’ve come to run this little errand for them.” Minglan noticed that beside her on the floor sat a small bamboo basket, its covering set to the side, revealing inside several dozen red-dyed eggs.

Elder Madam Zheng turned her head and said with a smile: “This time, good fortune has piled on good fortune for the Qi Family. The Old Duke received a pair of great-grandchildren — a boy and a girl — just a few months ago. Then just a few days ago he celebrated his seventieth birthday. And now another member of the clan has welcomed a new addition.” Seeing Minglan’s look of puzzlement, she added: “This cousin of mine — her daughter married into a side branch of the Duke of Qi’s Family.”

The moment Minglan heard the words “Duke of Qi’s Family,” her brow gave an involuntary twitch. She kept her smile in place: “Truly, what happy news. Congratulations.”

Privately she thought: for the side branches of a great family to marry among families connected to that same great family by distant ties — that was quite a well-matched arrangement.

Little Madam Shen quickly followed up: “Has the baby already arrived? Boy or girl?”

The cousin’s broad face was full of smiles: “A young master — seven pounds and six ounces — a heavy one! From a small household like ours, there is nothing fine to offer. But we’ve brought some red eggs, and if the young Madam eats them, she’ll surely give birth to a fine fat boy in no time!”

These were the very words Little Madam Shen most loved to hear. Out of shyness she dared not reply for herself, so Elder Madam Zheng thanked the woman on her behalf: “How kind of cousin to remember us so thoughtfully. To share a little of this bountiful happiness and good fortune — could anything be better?” Then she turned to Minglan and said: “Don’t just sit there smiling — today I’ll do the honors and pass some along to you too.”

Minglan was taken aback for a moment. Little Madam Shen seized the opportunity: “You’ve only produced one and think that settles things — hurry up and go home and have several more!”

Everyone laughed together. Elder Madam Zheng offered her thanks to the cousin again.

The cousin laughed: “Elder Madam, don’t say another word about it — a few red eggs aren’t worth anything. If you want to speak of gratitude, it is all because of you — without your help, Guan Ming and his wife would not be where they are today. Once she is out of confinement, they will come personally to kowtow to you.”

Elder Madam Zheng smiled: “It was your son-in-law’s own ability that brought him here. Even his younger brother Si Ming, I hear, is very well spoken of by his teachers.”

Something stirred in Minglan’s heart, and she blurted out: “Guan Ming? Si Ming?” Catching the surprised glances that turned toward her, she hastily covered herself with a smile: “Just a few days ago I went to the birthday banquet at the Qi estate — the Old Duke’s great-grandson, if I recall, also had a name with ‘Ming’ in it.”

Little Madam Shen pointed at her and laughed: “You — just because your own name has the character ‘Ming’ in it, you think no one else is allowed the same?”

Minglan felt a flash of embarrassment.

Elder Madam Zheng smiled and did not make much of it, then gently explained: “You didn’t grow up in the capital, so you wouldn’t know this — the Qi Family’s naming custom alternates by generation: one generation has single-character names, the next double-character names. And for this present generation, the double-character names all include the character ‘Ming’.” She turned back and playfully scolded Little Madam Shen: “And you didn’t grow up here either, so what do you know — yet you’re so eager to show off your knowledge.”

Little Madam Shen mischievously pulled a face at her elder sister-in-law.

The others in the room continued talking and laughing, and Minglan made every effort to keep up with the conversation — but inside her heart, ten thousand waves were crashing against each other:

The character “Ming” in Qi Heng’s children’s names had nothing to do with her at all.

Madam Shen knew this. She had done it deliberately!

She had been played.

Madam Shen’s life was not truly so bad — the one flaw, and nothing more, was that her husband’s heart was not with her. She herself was unhappy, and she did not wish to see others at peace. With those few words she had crafted something out of nothing, leaving no handhold to grasp — if Minglan had known the circumstances, she might have been able to deflect it somewhat, but knowing nothing of the Qi Family’s naming customs, and already feeling a guilty conscience to begin with, she had walked straight in.

At the bottom of it all, Madam Shen had only wanted to let Minglan know she was suffering — and to make Minglan suffer a little in turn. What a magnificently composed, dignified, and gracious Madam Qi Shen she truly was — she was thoroughly acquainted with her now!

But as that question was settled, another rose to the surface — a larger and more vexing one.

All through dinner, Minglan was still staring vacantly at Gu Tingye, troubled by this question as she sat lost in thought — Gu Tingye had grown up in the capital. He even knew the old stories about the River East manor. How could he possibly be ignorant of the Qi Family’s naming customs by generation?

Since the character “Ming” in Qi Heng’s children’s names had nothing to do with her, then why was he so angry?

Could it be the characters “Yu” and “Han” — that when combined they sounded somewhat like the word for “regret”? No, that didn’t hold up.

Consider what she had encountered today — the cousin’s two sons-in-law: one was named Guan Ming, and the other Si Ming. Did that mean they were watching for her and yearning for her? And the father who gave these sons their names — had he too shared some childhood attachment with her?

Since “Ming” was part of the Qi Family’s generational name convention, such implications were unavoidable. Gu Tingye was a broad-minded person — he was not so petty as to be rankled to this degree over a matter of names. Minglan’s instinct told her that it was not the matter of the name that had him sulking.

As her thoughts wandered, Minglan suddenly realized she had been wronging Qi Heng. Could she really ask Qi Heng to give his children names like “Clever Ming” or “Invent Ming” just to prove there was nothing there? Good heavens — she hoped he would continue keeping his head clear and, above all, absolutely must not go and change those children’s names!

Gu Tingye noticed that Minglan had been unusually quiet at dinner today, appearing lost and absent-minded, her face shifting between pained contemplation, furrowed brows, and uncertain hesitation — her expression thoroughly tangled — and she was doing nothing but eating plain rice, with no idea what was going on in her head. He found this quite entertaining and reached out to flick away a grain of rice from the corner of her lip, smiling: “What are you thinking about? You’re not even eating properly.”

Minglan jolted awake and saw that there were grains of rice scattered all over her place at the table, which she found quite mortifying: “No, I was just — it’s nothing…” This topic was not one she could explain even if she tried, so she shook her head and said: “Nothing at all. Marquis, the soft-shell turtle soup today is quite good — let me serve you another bowl.”

Gu Tingye’s smile faded, slowly and bit by bit. She was always like this.

For the rest of the meal the two sat in silence, saying nothing to each other. The moment dinner was finished, someone came rushing in from outside — a breathless matron from the second gate. She stood outside and reported that the Fourth Elder Uncle was unwell, and that they were asked to go and see him at once.

The husband and wife looked at each other. Now what had happened?