They rushed to the Fourth Elder Uncle’s residence, only to find that the Fifth Elder Uncle and Gu Tingdi with his wife were already seated inside, speaking to the Fourth Elder Aunt, whose expression was bewildered and at a loss. “Fourth Elder Sister-in-law, don’t be anxious — just set your heart at ease. We are all of this age now, and life and death are in the hands of fate…”

Gu Tingye escorted Minglan forward to offer their greetings and apologize for their late arrival. The Fifth Elder Uncle waved his hand slowly, his manner gentle and composed: “We live nearby, so we naturally arrived sooner. You are here early enough as well. … Go in and see your Fourth Uncle first.”

Gu Tingxuan led them into the inner room. Gu Tingying and several maids and matrons were attending to the medicine and soup at the bedside. When they saw that Minglan and Gu Tingye had come, they stepped slightly to the side.

Gu Tingying could not stop letting out sighs of distress: “…The physician said his life is not in danger, but he has been struck by wind paralysis. Now not only can he not move at all, but he can no longer speak either…” At those words, her voice broke.

Minglan leaned in to look. The Fourth Elder Uncle lay stiffly in bed, his eyes half-open and half-closed — as though he could neither open them fully nor shut them — his limbs rigid, his face contorted and twisted, the corner of his mouth pulled into a strange angle. A spoonful of medicine broth would be fed in, and half of it would dribble back out.

In a situation like this there was not much to be said. Minglan said a few hollow phrases along the lines of “Fourth Uncle, please rest and recover well,” and Gu Tingye, his face expressionless, offered two sentences of equivalent sentiment, and then the two of them stepped out with Gu Tingxuan.

When everyone had settled in the central hall, they began to talk.

Gu Tingye asked first: “What exactly happened? He was perfectly fine — how did he come to collapse just like that?”

A simple enough question, yet Gu Tingxuan hesitated and hemmed and hawed for quite a while before he managed to speak: “…This afternoon a letter arrived, saying that… that Second Brother in the northwest had made another blunder… Father heard it, and the shock brought him down.”

Minglan turned to look at Gu Tingxuan’s wife: “After the new year, Elder Sister-in-law mentioned that Second Brother Gu Tingbing had run into some minor trouble — is this the same matter? Is it that the local authorities there still refuse to let it drop?”

Gu Tingxuan’s wife gave repeated bitter smiles: “These are two separate matters. The first one had more or less been smoothed over with payments and connections. But Second Brother couldn’t keep himself out of trouble — his name wasn’t yet clean, and he stirred things up again. They say he got into a fight with someone in the night and beat the man to death, and Second Brother himself had one of his legs broken! The old account not yet settled, and now a new one arrived — and the man he killed was a freeborn commoner. The garrison commander was furious and declared that Second Brother must not return for this entire term!”

Minglan quietly turned her head away. At this point, the second wife of Gu Tingbing began to shift from low-pitched sobs to high-pitched wailing, and she threw herself at the Fifth Elder Uncle crying: “I said long ago that the northwest is a barren and dangerous place, with rough and violent people as well. My husband is a straightforward, decent man — if he hadn’t been badly wronged, why would he have gotten into a fight with anyone…”

Before she had finished speaking, Gu Tingye cut her off: “Gu Tingbing is living in the place of exile. He has used silver and connections to arrange things so that he doesn’t even have to perform labor on a daily basis — food, clothing, and daily necessities are all managed by servants. During the day when he has nothing to do and goes out for a walk, he should still return by nightfall. How could he have ended up killing someone in the middle of the night?!”

With that one point laid bare, the Fifth Elder Uncle’s mouth — which had just begun to open — closed again. He shook his head and stroked his beard. The second wife of Gu Tingbing could not dispute it and said sheepishly: “Perhaps there was some important matter that made it necessary for him to go out…”

The Fourth Elder Aunt let out a cold, contemptuous snort: “He has gone into exile — what important matter could he have? The family has been on tenterhooks worrying about him, and what does he do but cause one scene after another, dragging his own father down with him!” The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She had finally managed to arrange a rather decent marriage for her daughter with great effort — talks had been going along nicely — and now if the old man were to die, Gu Tingying would have to observe mourning for three years, which would turn her into an old maid. To say nothing of whether the other family would be willing to wait — even if they were, by the time her daughter was finally married off, all manner of concubines’ children, both sons and daughters, would likely have already been born.

She was by nature gentle and non-contentious, but at this moment she could have wrung Gu Tingbing’s neck with her own hands.

The second wife of Gu Tingbing panicked, and blurted: “But you can’t put all the blame on him — it’s these past days, Father’s health has not been good to begin with, and it’s all because of that newly brought-in…”

Gu Tingxuan broke into a fit of loud coughing, his face flushing deep red. The second wife of Gu Tingbing suddenly realized she had misspoken and quickly fell silent.

“That is also true.” Gu Tingye said, slowly and deliberately. “I also found it strange just now — Fourth Uncle has always had a strong constitution. The matter of Second Brother is not one that would be immediately life-threatening. Why, then, has he fallen so gravely ill?”

With that question out in the open, all those of the fourth branch lowered their heads. The Fourth Elder Aunt wore an expression of exhaustion mingled with resignation. Gu Tingxuan and his wife showed embarrassment overlaid with shame, and Gu Tingbing’s second wife sat hunched in the corner, her eyes darting about.

After a long silence, the Fifth Elder Uncle stroked his beard and said: “They all say a family’s shame should not be aired publicly, but today we are all our own family — there is nothing that cannot be said.” He sighed and continued: “When Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law were still alive, Fourth Brother could still be reined in to some degree. But since the household was divided, his behavior has grown increasingly unseemly. Recently, Fourth Brother has even taken in a Yangzhou-trained courtesan and spends his days in indulgence and merriment. Elder Nephew was deeply worried and once asked me to come and talk some sense into him, but Fourth Brother would not listen, and so this is what it has come to.”

The words were spoken with tact, but there was no one in the room who could not understand the meaning.

Minglan lowered her head and translated it privately into her own unflattering version: A man of his age, still fancying himself in full vigor, carrying on day and night. If he had only been with one of the household maids, the variety would at least have been limited, being a respectable woman. But no — he had brought in a professional. Very likely he had also been taking certain medicines. Battling on through several consecutive bouts, he had by then been thoroughly drained and hollowed out, and perhaps had just finished a round that very morning, with another sprint at noon, and then in the afternoon the terrible news about his beloved son had reached him — of course he could not hold on.

Gu Tingxuan had perhaps still wanted to shield his father somewhat, but Gu Tingxuan’s wife had not the slightest intention of protecting that insufferable old wretch of a father-in-law.

The Fifth Elder Uncle turned to address Gu Tingye and Minglan, and said with kind, consoling tones: “Fourth Brother has made a foolish mess of things — but what can you, his children and nieces and nephews, do about it? Going against him would only earn you the name of being unfilial. Both of you, Elder Nephew and Elder Niece-in-law, are clear-eyed — no one will blame you.”

Gu Tingxuan wept: “Thank you for your understanding, Fifth Uncle. I — I… we have truly been at our wits’ end…”

“Life and death are fated. By the time a man reaches our age, the King of Hell has long had his eye on us.” The Fifth Elder Uncle said with a gentle smile. “Since the physician says there is no immediate danger to his life, just nurse him carefully along — in time he will come round.”

These words were mild and clear-minded, carrying a calm transparency about them. Minglan at last could not help stealing a glance at the Fifth Elder Uncle.

It had only been a few months since she had last seen him, yet the Fifth Elder Uncle seemed like an altogether different person. The proud and haughty airs of former days were entirely gone. Though he looked just as aged as before, his spirit was considerably better, and his speech was warm and earnest, thoroughly reasonable.

Gu Tingye seemed equally puzzled, casting a sideways glance at Minglan, then adding: “Fifth Uncle speaks wisely. As long as there is hope, just nurture him carefully.” Then he turned his head: “Elder Brother, Elder Sister-in-law — if there is anything lacking, please do not hesitate to come and ask.”

Gu Tingxuan’s wife wiped away her tears and smiled: “We thank you in advance, Second Brother.” On the other side, Gu Tingdi, seeing this, also rose and said: “If there is any way I can be of use, please, Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law, do not stand on ceremony.”

Gu Tingxuan and his wife expressed their gratitude, moved by the gesture.

Seeing that the others were speaking back and forth, the second wife of Gu Tingbing feared the matter of Gu Tingbing was being forgotten, and in a flash of calculation she leaned over and murmured a few words to the maid beside her. The maid nodded and slipped quietly away.

Gu Tingye turned back to the Fifth Elder Uncle and said with a smile: “It has been many days since I saw you, Uncle. To see your color and bearing both surpassing what they were before, your young nephew is truly glad.”

Minglan made a quick internal comment — you just want to ask: “Old Uncle, what on earth has turned you around like this?”

The Fifth Elder Uncle laughed: “Even if you had not asked, I would have brought it up myself.” He paused, then sighed: “Since that wretched son of mine departed, I have spent many a sleepless night in reflection, and looked back in bewilderment at a lifetime that seems to have been lived in vain. I made no achievement in my studies, fared poorly in official career, built up no great household estate, and even my children I failed to raise properly. Ah, what a wasted life it has all been…”

Gu Tingye said nothing. In private, he had not known how many times he had privately mocked this uncle who fancied himself a man of scholar-gentry class — and meant pretty much the same thing. He would never have imagined that in his old age, this uncle had finally arrived at the same understanding himself.

“Don’t speak like that, Uncle…” Gu Tingxuan interjected, then stopped himself — he had probably been about to say “you are still far better than my incorrigible father,” but caught himself mid-way.

The Fifth Elder Uncle was entirely unconcerned with the reactions of those around him, and gave a magnanimous shake of his head: “I have made up my mind. In a few months, when the weather turns cool, Gu Tingdi and his wife will stay in the capital and keep house, while I and your Fifth Aunt will take the young lady and her mother along, and we shall go to Dingzhou.”

At those words, everyone in the hall looked up in surprise.

Gu Tingxuan’s wife was quick-tempered and was first to speak: “Dingzhou? That is quite far away. What is Uncle going there for?”

Gu Tingxuan was completely baffled, unable to make any sense of it. Gu Tingye sat in silent thought. Minglan turned it over briefly in her mind and said quietly: “I have long heard that Dingzhou is a land of beautiful mountains and clear waters, known for its pure and elegant customs. And among its attractions, the Moni Mountain Academy is famous throughout the realm. Could it be that Uncle is thinking of…?”

Master Zhuang had once pursued his own studies in depth there.

The Fifth Elder Uncle nodded, smiling: “Your father-in-law is far worthier than I am. Not only did his own sons all turn out capable, but even his daughter was raised with discernment and vision.” He then explained: “I once had a fellow student who is now teaching at the Moni Mountain Academy. I intend to go and join him there. My own scholarship is not adequate to produce scholars who pass the examinations, but it is sufficient to teach young children the basics — and it would also be well-suited as a way to find a distinguished teacher for young Xun Ge’er. Two purposes served at once.”

“But… but Uncle is already advanced in years…” Gu Tingxuan said haltingly. Gu Tingdi, who had been quietly silent until now, also spoke up: “What Elder Brother says is true, Father. Please think carefully.”

“There is no need to say more.” The Fifth Elder Uncle smiled and waved them off. “In this life of mine, I have accomplished nothing of note. If I do not act now, my whole life will truly have been squandered.”

The matter had come up suddenly, and the others were left without words. The Fifth Elder Uncle, however, was in splendid spirits, talking and laughing cheerfully as though he had grown ten years younger.

At just that moment, a sudden and piercing cry came from the door. Concubine Liu appeared there, disheveled, her face streaked with tears: “I beg all the uncles and brothers, please save my son Gu Tingbing!” And with that she knelt down on the floor.

Concubine Liu had grown unmistakably old, yet even so she could not afford to care: “I know Gu Tingbing has brought trouble upon himself. But for the sake of being of the same clan — please don’t wash your hands of him!”

The sudden interruption left everyone taken aback. The Fifth Elder Uncle, who had never liked Concubine Liu, frowned: “Stop this unseemly display and get up at once. Gu Tingbing is still of the Gu Family — we will naturally do what we can. But given how stubbornly incorrigible he has been, it is only right that he suffer a little!”

Concubine Liu knocked her head again and again toward Gu Tingye: “Gu Tingbing was thoughtless before and offended the Marquis. I beg the Marquis’s great magnanimity to pardon him — for the sake of the late Old Marquis, please save him.”

— Why should it be for the sake of the late Old Marquis? Was Gu Tingbing fathered by Gu Yankai? Minglan nearly laughed out loud.

The words were nonsensical and strained, and the same overused phrases had been heard so many times that everyone was quite tired of them. Gu Tingxuan’s wife was on the verge of having someone drag Concubine Liu out, when Gu Tingye’s cold voice cut through: “Since when does a servant’s maid have a right to speak in the Fifth Elder Uncle’s chambers?”

Concubine Liu had been treated with all politeness and deference by everyone in the mansion ever since the Fourth Elder Uncle had shown her such favor — even the Fourth Elder Aunt, who had married in later, had suffered at her hands. Never in her life had she been spoken to like this, and she was momentarily frozen to the ground.

“Whether and how to handle Second Brother is for the Fifth Elder Uncle and us brothers to decide. What has it to do with you? You have grown bold indeed, trading on the Fourth Uncle’s soft-heartedness to run amok in this house.” Gu Tingye’s gaze was cool and detached, and he swept an unhurried glance toward the Fourth Elder Aunt.

Concubine Liu was so enraged she swayed where she sat, but still refused to give up. She plopped herself down on the floor and began to wail at the top of her lungs: “I may be lowly, but I have endured ten years in this household, and I have borne children for the Gu Family. The Old Master hasn’t even drawn his last breath yet, and someone is already trying to shame and trample me! I won’t go on living — I simply won’t!”

Gu Tingxuan’s wife saw this was getting out of hand and ordered someone to come and drag Concubine Liu away.

At this, the Fourth Elder Aunt suddenly rose to her feet. In a cold and cutting tone she said with contempt: “Producing a child who defies the law above and scorns his father and brothers below, who brings unending trouble to the family — you might as well have not produced him at all! That unfilial wretch has done nothing but cause one disaster after another. And now we are supposed to thank you, Concubine Liu, for your contribution? If you dare make another sound, I will ask the Marquis to have him expelled from the ancestral rolls — and that would put an end to all of this.”

Everyone was astonished — no one had expected the usually gentle Fourth Elder Aunt to speak with such force. But the effect was good. Concubine Liu immediately dared not cry or make another scene, and collapsed on the floor, trembling violently.

Seeing that things were going badly, the second wife of Gu Tingbing hurried to step forward, weeping at Gu Tingxuan’s wife: “You are trying to drive us to our deaths! Can it be that you are just waiting for Gu Tingbing to die out there, and then the moment the Old Master draws his last breath, you will do as you please with us?!”

At this point Gu Tingye suddenly said: “I will go and do what I can for Second Brother.”

The second wife of Gu Tingbing was so startled she forgot even to wipe her tears, and said eagerly: “Is that true?”

“But let me make the ugly words clear first. Gu Tingbing is a man already under sentence, who has also beaten a freeborn commoner to death. Even with the greatest connections imaginable, ten years cannot be avoided. If Second Sister-in-law and Concubine Liu are hoping for something lighter, you had better find someone else to ask.” Gu Tingye said, unhurriedly. “But Gu Tingbing has caused trouble again and again — not even the Jade Emperor himself can do anything more. I think it would be better to send someone to the northwest to be near him — both to look after him and to keep a guiding eye on him.”

Hearing that Gu Tingye was willing to help, some were startled and some were glad. But then, hearing that it would still be at least ten years, and that someone would need to go and keep him company, everyone’s eyes slowly turned toward Concubine Liu and the second wife of Gu Tingbing, staring until the two of them felt a cold creeping up their spines.

The high-flown bluster of the second wife of Gu Tingbing from moments ago had vanished entirely. She shrank back and said: “They all say the eldest brother is like a father — Gu Tingbing listens to his eldest brother. Why not have eldest brother go?”

Gu Tingxuan’s wife almost laughed in outrage. She stepped forward: “Would Sister-in-law please sort out her own thoughts before speaking! The old are old, the sick are sick at home, and all that is left are women and children. If even Gu Tingxuan leaves for the northwest, who will hold this household together? Husband and wife are one body — the parents have me to attend to them, so Sister-in-law, go ahead and pack your things, and go to the northwest to keep Second Brother company!”

The second wife of Gu Tingbing waved her hands frantically, her face going pale: “The children are small — the northwest is a desolate wasteland with no good teachers. It would be a waste of their schooling.”

“Filial piety comes first!” The Fourth Elder Aunt said with full contempt, and then scolded: “Officials of the first and second rank have given up their official posts for the sake of mourning obligations. Which matters more — official position or filial duty? It is a mother like you, who does not know the rules of propriety, who raises children without proper manners!” Her gaze shifted to Concubine Liu: “Since that is the case, a mother’s heart follows her children — would it not be better for Concubine Liu to go instead?”

Concubine Liu had some backbone after all, and gritted her teeth: “Fine! We will go — we will take the children and go together. But since we do not know when we might return, would it not be best to first divide the family assets?” The silver, business, and property of the fourth branch had originally all been in Gu Tingbing’s hands, and ever since his exile, the past two years had seen Gu Tingxuan and his wife essentially take over the management. If she could get the accounts settled now while she still knew where everything was, she could avoid being left completely in the dark later.

“Insolence!” The Fourth Elder Aunt was formidable today, seeming deliberately set on suppressing them. “The Old Master is still alive and well — how dare you speak of dividing the household! Are you cursing him to die quickly?!”

The Fifth Elder Uncle also reproached: “You shameless servant! Division of the household is a matter of great consequence — what right do you have to weigh in?! Dividing a family twice within a single year — do you want people to point at the Gu Family’s backbone and jeer?!”

The Fourth Elder Aunt added: “After a year has passed, then talk of dividing. Either Gu Tingbing comes back, or young Master De — Gu Tingbing’s eldest son — reaches adulthood, and then I will personally authorize the division! Otherwise…” She gave a cold, cutting smile, and let her gaze sweep with icy contempt over the second wife of Gu Tingbing. “The children are small — they cannot make decisions on their own. A mother who is unwilling to share her husband’s hardships — once the assets are divided, who knows what will become of things?”

The words were extremely unpleasant, stopping just short of openly calling the other woman promiscuous, and the second wife of Gu Tingbing immediately burst into tears. The Fourth Elder Aunt watched her coldly, letting her words stop short of full clarity, setting them aside to serve as a handle for the future.

Gu Tingxuan, being good-natured, seemed to feel a little uncomfortable with the harshness of it and was about to say a word or two — but Gu Tingxuan’s wife pulled his sleeve and stopped him with a look. The second wife of Gu Tingbing went on crying wretchedly, at a loss for what to do. Concubine Liu knelt on the floor, looking out at the room full of people — and gradually began to understand. With the Fourth Elder Uncle now incapacitated, she and her grandchildren were entirely in the hands of others.

She had spent most of her life playing the proud and mighty concubine, only to face such hardship in her old age. Concubine Liu’s heart was filled with nothing but bewilderment.

…

Minglan watched this entire drama unfold in silence, and without saying a single word, followed Gu Tingye back to the mansion. By now the lanterns had been lit and the moon hung above the treetops. The two changed their clothes, bathed, and washed, then sent all the attendants away and closed the bedroom door.

The intricately carved square side table beside the bed was painted in black lacquer, but in the dim, amber light of the candle, a dark shade of red seemed to emerge from within it. On the table sat a small, low teapot of white porcelain painted with blue flowers — its delicate spout tilted slightly upward. As the candlelight wavered gently, high and low shadows rippled across the surface of the table. Minglan, wrapped in a thin silk inner garment, sat on the edge of the bed and looked at it all quietly for quite some time, before finally lifting her head.

Gu Tingye was reclining against the headboard of the bed, his loosely draped white silk robe spread out over the edge of the bed. His jet-black, unbound hair fell long across his broad chest. Tonight he had not brought a book out as a pretense, and simply looked at her directly — watching her face full of doubt, on the verge of speaking and then holding back. On any other occasion, he would already have taken the initiative to help her untangle things. But tonight… he wanted to see whether she would ask.

A ghost of a smile, barely perceptible, crossed the corner of the man’s mouth — almost self-mocking.

He simply watched her in silence — watching her struggle between asking and not asking, waiting.

“Yu… Yu Yan Hong…” Minglan felt her own breathing grow labored. In the darkness, the shadows of the bed canopy loomed and shifted, and the man’s deep eyes seemed to wrap around her like chains. “…Was it Gu Tingbing?”

A dreadful, long silence.

The man dropped all pretense of ease. His voice came out cold and hard as a cliff of ice: “At least ten years — he cannot think of coming back.”

Minglan’s mind went completely blank, and she stuttered: “But… how did this happen?” She had imagined many different people, had always assumed it would be someone given to romantic adventures, reckless and bold — she had never once imagined it would be Gu Tingbing, who spent every waking moment scheming over power and money?!

“For the silver.” Gu Tingye was extraordinarily calm.

Minglan felt something sink inside her. The truth was uglier by far than she had anticipated — the cause of everything not even a passing dalliance, but something far more sordid.

“The Yan Family’s dowry was generous — aside from estates and shops and farmland, Yan Hong had at least twenty thousand taels of silver in cash in her hands. After Yan Hong died, when her dowry was returned to the Yan Family, that sum of silver was nowhere to be found. Naturally, given the circumstances at the time, the Yan Family did not press the matter.”

“…Gu Tingbing had long coveted Yan Hong’s dowry, but had no pretense to act on it. After I left, when everyone was saying I would never come back, he made his move.”

“Unfortunately it came to light too early — he only managed to swallow the cash. The shops and farmlands he had no way yet to touch…”

Said in a level, narrating tone — as though recounting some ghastly farce.

Minglan felt a crushing weight in her chest. “Did the Fourth Elder Uncle… know about this? And Concubine Liu?”

Gu Tingye said slowly: “It was the mother and son who plotted it from the beginning. Once the first sum of silver was obtained, the Old Uncle knew about it as well.”

“The Fourth Uncle did not put a stop to it?” Minglan was outraged and at a loss for words.

Gu Tingye said nothing in reply, and only gave a mocking laugh.

A thought flashed through Minglan’s mind and she blurted: “Does the Fourth Uncle’s illness have anything to do with you?”

“It does. And it does not.” The man seemed to half-smile. “I sent word to those drinking companions of his that though the Fourth Uncle and I had divided households, we are still family — they must not show any disrespect to my senior relative.”

After a long pause, Minglan asked again: “The Fourth Elder Aunt — why was she willing to help you?”

“She was not helping me. She was helping herself — and her daughter.”

“Gu Tingying’s marriage arrangement — ?!” Minglan was startled.

“That marriage arrangement — I was the one who went and made the request.”

Seeing Minglan’s face go to startled worry, the man smiled: “Don’t worry — it is a good family. Frankly, given the state of the fourth branch since the household division, it is Gu Tingying who is marrying above her station.”

— That, then, explained the Fourth Elder Aunt’s unusual behavior today.

“Since the wedding is so close, you still — you still — the Fourth Uncle…” Minglan was too agitated to find the words.

Gu Tingye frowned slightly: “That was an unforeseen development. The Fourth Uncle went too far in his foolishness — fortunately no one died.”

The original plan had been to wait until after Gu Tingying’s wedding, and then have the Fourth Elder Uncle fall ill gradually over time. Unexpectedly that old lecher had been in too much of a hurry and put himself out of commission ahead of schedule — the Fourth Elder Aunt had likely been given quite a scare.

“After the wedding, I imagine the Fourth Elder Aunt will have far more leisure to properly ‘care for’ the Fourth Uncle.” The man said with amused interest.

Minglan understood. Like those patients who lie paralyzed for ten or twenty years, the Fourth Elder Uncle would likely never recover — not until he died.

Judging from today’s events, Gu Tingxuan and his wife had not known about the plan from the start, but as things unfolded, it became plain that Gu Tingxuan’s wife had quickly grasped the essential point: once the Fourth Elder Uncle could no longer function, the most senior figure in the fourth branch would be the Fourth Elder Aunt. If Gu Tingxuan and his wife hoped to fully suppress the branch of Gu Tingbing, they would need to ally themselves with the Fourth Elder Aunt.

A father’s long-standing concubine was not something a son could deal with directly, but the legitimate wife was perfectly able to take action. A younger brother exiled far away was someone elder brother and sister-in-law must show consideration and sympathy toward — but the Fourth Elder Aunt, in her capacity as the elder generation, was entirely at liberty to lecture and control the younger sister-in-law. And in turn, the Fourth Elder Aunt without sons, and Gu Tingying who would soon be wed, also needed Gu Tingxuan and his wife to back them up.

Mutual benefit. Everyone gained.

From that point on, the Fourth Elder Aunt could look after the Fourth Elder Uncle however she saw fit. And after today, she would also have the leverage to keep Gu Tingbing’s wife in check — one step out of line, and off she would be sent to keep her husband company in the northwest. As for Concubine Liu — without a son at hand, with the man rendered helpless, the Fourth Elder Aunt would finally have her chance to vent all the accumulated grievances of the years.

A chill ran through Minglan: “Will there be any trouble from the northwest? If anyone should discover it was you…”

“What do you think I actually did?” Gu Tingye burst out laughing.

“When Gu Tingbing was exiled to the northwest, his elder brother sent him four manservants and two matrons. I supplemented these with two guards of my own. During this time, I frequently sent word to those servants and matrons to serve their master well, to obey him in all things, not to neglect or show him any disrespect, and to ensure their master was entirely comfortable — and there would be generous rewards for them when they returned. I also instructed those two guards that the northwestern regions have rough customs, so they must protect their master diligently and must not allow him to come to harm. That was all.”

Minglan looked at Gu Tingye for a long moment.

That was correct — he had done absolutely nothing. He had only, in accordance with each person’s own nature, slowly drawn the threads of a spider’s web into place.

The Fourth Elder Uncle was lewd and dissolute, muddled and reckless, and the crowd he kept company with was precisely of this kind. Once Gu Tingye had sent his message, out of eagerness to curry favor with the Marquis, those men would naturally bring the finest available to entertain the Fourth Elder Uncle — and yet, was there anything wrong with that message?

Once the Fourth Elder Uncle had become entangled in this web, he could only follow the path that Gu Tingye had laid out for him — there was nothing he could say. After all, it was no more than a cousin showing concern for his uncle, and arranging a marriage for his younger female relative — nothing beyond that.

As for Gu Tingbing, Gu Tingye had sized him up accurately: he was the sort of person driven by drink, lust, money, and pride — greedy, pushing always for more. Once his life was no longer in danger, and with a group of people tending to his every comfort, surely he would not sit quietly day after day in the exile compound, would he?

No — he was simply incapable of restraining himself. Judging by Gu Tingbing’s conduct before the exile — forcibly seizing ancestral property from others, coveting other people’s businesses, hounding people to their deaths — could he really be expected to keep himself in line out in the northwest? A man does not change his nature. And with two highly capable guards beside him — guards who could overpower anyone who came at him, leaving no one to overpower him in return — it would be a wonder if he did not swagger and run roughshod over everyone.

The web had been drawn. Gu Tingye had only needed to say a few artfully ambiguous words and then wait patiently, and a satisfactory result would follow of its own accord.

“When I was down on my luck, they showed no regard for the bond of flesh and blood — they insulted and bullied me however they pleased. So today, they deserve to receive exactly this retribution.” Gu Tingye let the mask of calm slip, the ferocity in his eyes impossible to conceal.

Having one’s head knocked against the ground — that is utter, shattering humiliation. And it had been a betrayal by his own kin. The shame and anguished fury he must have felt at that time — one could scarcely imagine it.

The thought that the man before her had been capable of holding all of this inside him, concealing not even a flicker of it over these past two years while knowing full well what the fourth branch had done to him, quietly arranging and planning in secret — Minglan felt a cold spread across her back. She clutched the quilt and said in a trembling voice: “I — I didn’t, never once — not for a single moment…” Her chin was seized.

Gu Tingye leaned forward and cupped her face in his hands, casting a shadow over her features.

“Since you married me, you have treated me very well — attentive, thorough, clever, and capable. Everything that was your duty, you did flawlessly. Everything you felt might make me unhappy, or that was not your place to ask, you did not ask. Not a single question.”

In the darkness, the planes of his brow and cheekbones looked all the sharper, all the more severe. For reasons she could not name, Minglan felt a sudden dread.

“No matter how many difficulties lay before you, you kept them all to yourself. No matter how many doubts arose, you held them firmly in and never brought them up on your own. The matter of Yan Hong — how long had you been keeping it inside? Hmm… speak. On the day you gave birth to Tuan Ge’er, you came so close to not making it — and yet when you woke, you still did not ask a single word about it. You were afraid of causing me discomfort, weren’t you? But in my heart — is there anything of greater importance to me than you and Tuan Ge’er? What does a little discomfort matter?”

The man’s breathing was growing heavier and heavier, as though the fury that had been held in check was gradually becoming impossible to contain.

“In all these years, whatever you wanted to do, whatever you wanted to know — which of them did I not give you? And yet you still would not trust me — guarding against me, holding your defenses, second-guessing me in private, never allowing yourself even half a misstep in word or deed. Very well, very well, very well — I have indeed found myself a fine wife!” A heavy blow struck the bed, and Minglan felt the whole world shudder beneath her. Tears burned hot at the corners of her eyes and streamed down.

Seeing her face wet with tears, her eyes wide with fright, Gu Tingye gradually went still. He wiped away her tears, and then gathered her up — person and quilt together — and held her in his arms, clutching her so tightly it hurt.

Minglan tilted her head slightly upward. At this angle, all she could see was the side of his face, the jaw just barely visible — taut and clenched, as though biting down through gritted teeth.