Seven or eight days after Miss Fengxian had gone off to begin her new life, the Shi brothers finally returned. Che Niang was like an ant on a hot pan — restless and unsettled. Catching Minglan’s curious gaze, she laughed with a touch of awkwardness. “Since getting married, my husband and I have hardly been separated at all. When we first agreed to it, we said: wherever he is in the water, I’m in the water. Wherever he is in the fire, I’m in the fire. Whoever goes ahead, wait on that path to the underworld.”

She said it with complete self-assurance. Minglan felt a little abashed by comparison, and couldn’t help asking, “Elder Sister, you are so devoted — but what if Stone Elder Brother were to let you down?”

Che Niang broke into her robust laugh. “I was a street performer girl before all this — I married up when I married a small leader in the canal guild. I wanted to take good care of my mother-in-law; he needed to support his younger brothers. Both of us at the bottom of the world, both with burdens to carry — so we figured we’d make a go of it together. What happens in the future, who can say? If he truly dares to grow a wandering heart, I’ll take it for the eyes have gone blind, and a red knife in and a white knife out will settle the matter! For now — enjoy life one day at a time.”

Minglan smiled with a trace of sheepishness. By comparison, she thought her own anxious hesitations rather funny.

On the day the Shi brothers returned, Che Niang put on a brand-new bright red cut-velvet jacket and went to the gate to welcome her husband back. The light of the setting sun fell across Shi Keng’s dark, bronzed face, and the look he turned on his wife was as bright and warm as a brilliant sunset.

They brought back more than ten large trunks. Ten of them had been sent back by Gu Tingye. They were full of specialty goods from the northwest — all sorts of precious furs, woolen cloth, dried mushrooms and dried vegetables, Chinese angelica root, astragalus, and Chinese motherwort, along with several thick, heavy felt rugs of vivid, brilliant color from far lands.

Shi Keng said, “These are all tributes sent from those above to the Marquis.” He then pointed at the other large trunks and smiled. “These are our brothers’ New Year gifts — all plain and ordinary things. Madam, please accept them with a laugh.”

What was in the trunks was of secondary importance — what Minglan cared about was the person. Ruomei also came lumbering over with her unwieldy body, and asked a few tentative questions.

Shi Keng continued, “The Marquis is in good health, and the campaign is going well. He said to tell Madam to concentrate on resting and caring for your pregnancy — do not worry about anything else.” He also said to Ruomei, “Master Gongsun is also well. He has recently developed a fondness for the grape wine of the western regions, but because of the war he does not dare drink much. He sent back two cartfuls under seal and told Yiniang to keep it — he said this wine is to be shared with the child in the future.”

That was typical of old Master Gongsun. Ruomei listened and brightened, bowing her head and covering her mouth with a sweet smile.

Shi Keng sat by the door and talked for a good long while. At the end, he reached into his chest and drew out a letter for Minglan — a personal letter from Gu Tingye.

The envelope was thick and heavy. It felt substantial in her hands.

Gu Tingye had always been terse with brush and ink — in ordinary times, he was the kind who begrudged every extra character. Minglan had a sudden fancy that it might be silver drafts collected from above. But when she returned inside and opened it, it really was a personal letter!

The letter said nothing particularly important — it was all everyday, trivial things, chatty and fussy.

Page after page, line after line, written here and there as the mood struck, as though he wrote whenever a spare moment allowed: weather conditions, the morale of the troops, the customs and scenery of the northwest, and amusing remarks and jokes exchanged among the soldiers. Often, at the end of a paragraph, he would tack on a line or two of teasing banter.

Such as: “Sandstorms blotted out the sky — we hadn’t marched far when we had to make camp. Just like your temper.” Or: “The sky here is like you — changes without warning, and never tells you what it did wrong.” And then: “The women here are fierce and healthy, can ride and shoot. When this is over, I’ll teach you to ride.”

When he ran out of teasing material, he would throw in a crooked verse or two.

Such as: “These stars tonight are not last night’s stars — for whom do I stand in the wind and dew at midnight?” — that was not too bad. “The longing of one night — how much? The ends of the earth are not so far as this.” — a little saccharine. “May I be the stars, and you the moon, each night flowing with light, luminous together…”

Minglan clutched the pages and collapsed onto the bed laughing. Very well, very well indeed — you are the stars, I am the moon. By the time you return, it will be a moon surrounded by a crowd of stars.

Little Tuan Ge’er had just finished half a bowl of steamed egg custard and his fat little head was beginning to nod with drowsiness. Minglan pressed a firm kiss to her son’s face and said, grinning, “You must study hard in the future. Don’t be like your father — I can’t imagine which book he copied all that from!”

That night, Minglan read the letter over and over. She pressed the dozen or so pages of paper to her heart, and at last drifted to sleep in a drowsy haze.

The next day, Che Niang came to Jiaxi Residence, her face rosy-bright, eyes soft and languid, complexion dewy and smooth — clearly the night before had been passionately satisfying. Minglan teased her a little, and Che Niang got to the reason for her visit.

She spoke plainly, and after just a sentence or two, Minglan was utterly shocked. “Shi Qiang wants to marry Xiaotao?!”

Che Niang twisted her handkerchief, looking awkward. “We’ve been gone several months, and from yesterday night onward that foolish kid has been off. Brooding all through dinner, wouldn’t eat. I asked what was wrong, but he clamped his mouth shut like a river clam. His eldest brother was about to use his fists on him, and only then did the kid speak up — said that years back he’d caught a glimpse of Miss Xiaotao, and hadn’t been able to forget her ever since. This time seeing her again, both of them older now, and him all grown up, he found himself taken with her.”

Minglan sat stunned for quite some time before managing to stammer, “Shi… the younger Shi brother… took a liking to Xiaotao… since when?”

She recalled that several years ago during that river ambush, after they were rescued, she had been in the cabin resting and steadying her nerves, while the maids below had been running around in all directions putting things in order. Shi Qiang would naturally have seen her maids while helping out at the time.

Xiaotao was a good girl, no question — but her looks… Minglan’s mind called up Xiaotao’s appearance: round, simple, thick-set, awkward — very much a village girl. Love at first sight?

Che Niang was also at a loss. “I don’t know either. How about Madam asks the girl yourself?”

Minglan nodded. Since it was not proper for a man from outside to enter the inner chambers, she and Che Niang had no choice but to sit in chairs in the outer reception hall and call Shi Qiang in.

Arriving at the outer hall, the young Shi Qiang, who was nearly tall enough to touch the ceiling beam, had a face as red as a hard-boiled egg, and seemed to have something stuck in his throat — no matter what, he couldn’t get the words out.

Che Niang, who practically treated Shi Qiang as her own child, was beside herself watching him. She went over and gave her young brother-in-law a firm cuff. “Will you just say something?! Madam said she is looking for good husbands for the maids. If you don’t speak up now, that nice cooked…” — no wait, nothing was even settled yet, the girl hadn’t given any answer at all. “If you don’t say something, that feathered duck was always meant to fly away…!” Che Niang brandished her fist and yelled.

Minglan burst out laughing. The tense air in the hall eased at once.

“Say it clearly. What exactly do you like about Xiaotao? If you can’t give me a reason, how am I to feel at ease sending Xiaotao all the way out there?” Minglan asked gently.

Shi Qiang wiped the sweat from his forehead, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet. He looked at his sister-in-law, then at the shadow of a person beyond the screen, and finally gathered his courage. “Miss Xiaotao…” He struggled for a long time. “She’s a good girl!”

Che Niang despaired. She seriously wondered whether she had been too strict raising him.

Minglan sighed and said, in the tone of a school disciplinarian coaxing a student into admitting to puppy love, “Tell me — the very first time you saw Xiaotao, all those years ago, what was the situation…?”

Her original plan had been to find that simple-hearted girl a reliable husband — and a nearby one, so as to be convenient to care for.

Shi Qiang began to recall. He spoke in fits and starts for a long while, and only one sentence was the crux of it all. “…The whole boat full of girls was terrified. Some were crying, some were cursing, and some were shaking so badly they couldn’t speak…. Only Miss Xiaotao was different.”

“Then what was she doing?” Even Minglan was curious.

The maids from a great inner household were all kept in pampered conditions — they had never in their lives seen bandits. The boat had already docked by then, but several bodies were still floating on the water’s surface, and not far away, the flames on the nearby vessel had only just been put out. Drifting over was a smell of decay and charred ash. The deck was still stained with blood not yet dry. The girls who had only just been rescued were barely over their terror, and were also being asked to get themselves organized — it was only natural they had no good dispositions about it.

A dreamlike light spread across Shi Qiang’s face. “…She borrowed a fish spear and went to the shallows, and in one go jabbed up more than ten fat fish. Then she picked up a long knife that had washed up on shore and, right there on the spot, chopped off the heads, scaled them, and gutted them. Then she went back, singing a song.”

This time it wasn’t only Minglan who was speechless — even Che Niang was frozen, and she had the very strong urge to feel her young brother-in-law’s forehead. Was the way that girl killed and gutted fish somehow radiantly beautiful to him?

“That’s the kind of wife I want!” Young Brother Shi clenched his fist and stated with firm conviction.

Minglan sat speechless for a long while, and could finally only say, “This… I’ll have to ask Xiaotao first…” Thinking of that silly girl’s personality, she tacked on, “It probably won’t be possible to give you an answer right away.”

Che Niang laughed. “No rush at all. That maid has been with you since she was young — of course Madam wants to think it through carefully for her. My brother-in-law isn’t that old, and besides, the uncle on our side in the canal guild only passed away less than a year ago. Take your time — when Madam has decided, let us know.”

She was not as naive as young Shi Qiang. She could see that Minglan was hesitating. The key concern was this: having Xiaotao marry into the family was good; but having her marry into the household of someone with ties to the Marquis’s residence was even better. It was not about taking advantage of anything — but one more connection to the Marquis’s household meant that even if she and her husband were gone one day, and the Shi family’s influence in the canal guild had faded, her daughter and young brother-in-law would still have someone to look out for them and not be easily mistreated.

And so Shi Qiang stayed on. He was set up in the outer wing, in rooms adjoining where brave Gongson was staying, and during the day he trained with combat skills under the stern-faced second Tu brother — after getting beaten up enough, he went next door and got a good meal.

Once the business of settling Shi Qiang’s accommodations was squared away, Matron Liao Yong came to report to Minglan. As it happened, Minglan was taking her afternoon rest, so she asked Xia He to pass the message along. Xia He readily agreed. After seeing Matron Liao Yong off, she returned to her own room and found Bi Si lying lazily against the headboard of the kang. She laughed and scolded, “You idle little hoof! Look at you lounging about — even when Matron Liao comes on an errand, you dare play at sleeping?!”

Bi Si was listlessly flipping through a poetry anthology in her hands, and said with a lazy, sweet smile, “Let me rest a while. I have you today — I’ll enjoy it while I can.”

Xia He stared at the charcoal brazier for a moment, then said idly, “It seems Xiaotao is finally going to have someone to depend on.”

At these words, Bi Si bolted upright on the kang, urgently asking, “Does that mean it’s true?” And then she muttered to herself, “No wonder things keep getting delivered inside all the time.”

Thinking of Shi Qiang’s tall, upright frame and the canal guild’s wealth, she pursed her lips. “Private exchanges without permission — how shameless!”

Xia He shook her head with a smile. “You — jealous, aren’t you? The things he sent were all food, shared and eaten by all of us, every last morsel. Besides…” she pressed her lips together, “…not even Matron Changwu said a thing, which tells you plainly it was with Madam’s knowledge.”

Bi Si said sourly, “Who’s jealous? Who’s jealous?! I don’t see what’s so special about that dull girl! Why is the Shi family so keen on her?”

Xia He replied, tilting her head amusedly at Bi Si, “I came here later than the rest — I can’t compare to any of you who served from the start. But, you know — you deserve what you get.”

“What do you mean?” Bi Si asked in a small voice.

Xia He said, “I haven’t been serving Madam long, but I can see that she is warm and reasonable. For those of you who have served since you were young — as long as you’re decent enough, how could Madam not keep you in mind? Both Qinsang and Danju married out, and Madam still sends things over regularly. With a mistress like that…” she clicked her tongue appreciatively, “…the good fortune was earned in a past life.”

She walked to the hand warmer and poured herself a cup of hot tea, blowing on it lightly. “That Yancao I never met. Ruomei has only herself to thank for causing trouble for Madam. As for you…” she sat down beside Bi Si and poked her playfully on the forehead, “…you are well and truly a hopeless case.”

Bi Si was not at all happy. “What do you mean?”

Xia He continued with a smile, “I have never seen anyone as lazy and pleasure-seeking as you. When cloth and rouge are being distributed, you are the first to run up; when there’s work to be done, you vanish into thin air. Fat geese, fine ducks, silks and satins — and in return, you, Miss Bi Si, can only manage half a petal of embroidery pattern a day, two stitches of needlework. When idle, you are either reading or eating and drinking. Amitabha Buddha — oh my Buddha — are you here to be a maidservant, or to be a young miss of leisure? It is only because Madam and the senior maids have such good tempers that no one ever calls you out on it. In any other household, would you be allowed to enjoy such comfort?!”

Bi Si was gentle by nature and rather fond of comfort. She had no courage to go sneaking into the Marquis’s bed to make a move, and no determination to apply herself diligently and work her way up. She only wanted to go on like this forever — good food, fine clothing, small maids to wait on her. But seeing her fellow maids securing their futures one by one, she couldn’t help feeling quietly anxious inside.

“Nothing special about some canal-guild person from a lowly background!” she muttered under her breath.

Xia He said with a laugh, “What are you talking about? If it weren’t a decent family, would Madam be this torn about it? Look at the clothes and jewelry Che Niang wears — she splashes money around without even blinking. A household where a son’s wife gets to be the mistress.” Then she sighed. “Going out there, that would mean being the proper mistress of her own household.”

“Since it’s such a fine family, why…” Bi Si flushed, and lowered her voice, “…why not pick someone better for young sister-in-law? I don’t see Shi Qiang being all that impressive either?”

Xia He laughed until she couldn’t. “My dear sweet sister — are you truly that simple?” There was no point trying to explain it to this muddle-headed one, so she said the most straightforward thing she could think of, “The Shi family wants to grow their family line. Shi Qiang made his choice early on, and Xiaotao has a face that says ‘blessed with many sons.’ He likes her enormously.”

She took a sip of her tea and continued, “Shi Qiang? Not impressive? Heh heh — she spotted that Madam was moved, but that Xiaotao was still clueless, and Madam was uneasy about it. So she arranged to have her brother-in-law stay behind, letting Madam take her good time looking him over. If Madam feels he is genuinely a good person, she’ll make the decision on Xiaotao’s behalf.”

Bi Si grew anxious now, and grabbed Xia He’s sleeve. “Then — then what about me? Even Luzhi has a prospect now. Madam has someone in mind for her — the little Manager Chen of the outer courtyard. Word has already been sent through Matron Liao to the Chen family’s parents. Only I…”

Xia He patted her hand and said with a smile of consolation, “Knowing Madam’s nature, she would never short-change you.”

But how she could possibly think hard enough to find a fitting husband for a maid as lazy and fond of pleasure as you was something even she could not manage. Your future life would likely be… heh heh… rather plain and simple.

Bi Si was easy to comfort, never daring enough to go climbing into the Marquis’s bed, never hardworking enough to earn merit, and content to stay lazy at the sound of Xia He’s reassurance. She lay back down to flip through her poetry anthology, completely the picture of a young miss at leisure.

Xia He looked at her for a moment, then smiled to herself.

In truth, she rather hoped Xiaotao would marry out — it would open up more opportunities for her to show her own worth. Besides — being a maid in such a fair-minded and upright household was truly a stroke of good fortune.

Life in the courtyard was harmonious, and the maids were not constantly scratching at each other like fighting chickens. As long as she did her work well, her future would be secure — maybe not as good as Luzhi’s, but comfortable and well-fed was not out of reach. With luck, she might even be released and given a chance to start her own household.