Liu Zhengjie was a capable veteran of criminal law and justice. Seeing the capital growing daily more crowded with all manner of dubious characters from every stratum of society, he wasted not a moment more than necessary. Scarcely had he taken Man Niang and her son away when he dispatched them out of the capital by two separate routes. But who could have anticipated that the very next evening, Madam Liu would arrive in a small, hastily arranged sedan chair. The moment she sat down she offered her apologies, reporting that Chang Ge’er had been seized by someone.

Minglan was greatly startled. “What do you mean?”

“Even my husband didn’t see this coming — he keeps saying he was the one who went to drive away the goose and ended up getting pecked in the eye!” Madam Liu wore a look of embarrassment, her speech carrying the thick accent of the Sichuan border region. She wore a brownish-red long vest patterned with a damask of silver-thread bottle gourds, which she kept clutching and twisting at the hem.

“Yesterday my husband drove that woman away and had men escort her to the city gate, giving her a severe fright on the way — telling her that if she ever dared to come back and cause trouble, she would without question be sent to the frontier as a corvée labourer! The woman kept agreeing, said she would never dare again, then turned and ran.” Madam Liu lowered her voice and leaned slightly forward. “In truth, by my husband’s own inclination, he would have dealt with that woman once and for all this time — but…”

“It is no matter,” Minglan waved it aside. A drifting affair like Man Niang’s had run its course — to keep making a spectacle of dying and living would only bring ridicule upon herself. As far as Gu Tingye and the Marquis household were concerned, what truly weighed on them was the small boy. And to speak frankly — if some ill-intentioned person were to sell Chang Ge’er into some filthy place, or lead him astray into thieving and banditry, that would be a danger of the first order.

She said urgently: “What actually happened with Chang Ge’er?”

Madam Liu pressed a handkerchief to the fine beads of perspiration at her temple. “Because they needed to find a wet nurse and caretaker first, Chang Ge’er’s departure from the city was delayed by half a day. Who could have known that as they passed below the slopes of Fengyun Mountain at the Eighteen Li Post Station outside the capital, a group of masked bandits suddenly rushed out and attacked without warning. In the midst of the struggle, a female bandit who had been hiding at the rear suddenly spurred her horse to the side of the carriage and with one blow of a staff knocked the female attendant unconscious, then snatched the boy up onto the horse and fled. The escorting brothers were thrown into a panic, and quickly killed the majority of the bandits, then interrogated two survivors. They learned that the attackers belonged to something called the Mountain Demon Gang — they had been paid by someone to seize a person. Unfortunately, none of the escorting brothers were in official uniform, so the bandits took them for ordinary household servants, which was why they had the nerve to be so brazen.”

Minglan sat in a daze. She had a vague sense of who the female bandit was.

To be honest, from the very first time she had encountered that woman at the Yu household, she had never underestimated that seemingly unremarkable figure. Even so — she had still underestimated her. This remarkable woman could not only act and perform convincingly, she was a martial practitioner as well. Thinking back on this last meeting — it was thanks to Nanny Cui’s cautious insistence on having her bound securely from the start that Minglan had been safe. If Man Niang had suddenly erupted in violence, with treachery rising from within arm’s reach, what would have become of her?

She bit her lip and asked anyway: “Has Lord Liu been able to find out who was behind this?”

Madam Liu heaved a heavy sigh, her brows drawing tightly together, making her face look even more tired and rough: “We asked — and those several survivors immediately pointed the finger. Among the dead bodies on the ground, there was the very brother of the woman who had arranged the whole affair!”

Minglan gave a soft exclamation: “Man Niang’s brother?”

Madam Liu slapped her knee: “Exactly! I’m told her elder brother had been drifting around the Zhili region these past few years, making acquaintances among all manner of idle street ruffians. According to the surviving bandits, they had been deceived as well — her brother told them his sister was the kept woman of a wealthy household, and that the wife of that house was vicious and could not tolerate their mother and son, and was planning to have the boy disposed of… Well, had any of them known the other side was official escorts, who would have dared be so brazen?”

Minglan curled the corner of her mouth in scorn: “That account isn’t entirely inaccurate.”

Madam Liu let out a few embarrassed laughs and explained: “That masked female bandit hiding at the rear was Man Niang herself. At first the brothers wanted to shoot arrows to stop her, but Chang Ge’er was on the horse too — afraid of hitting the boy, they could only watch helplessly as the mother and son made their escape.”

Minglan was silent for a moment before saying: “This is no fault of the escorting brothers — how could they have imagined that a small woman would be capable of such lawlessness? I don’t know whether the brothers suffered any injuries — if anything happened to them, how could I ever have an easy conscience?” These men had originally only been assigned to make a delivery, and ended up also having to act as guards, ambushed completely off guard.

Madam Liu quickly waved her hands and shook her head: “Nothing life-threatening — only cuts and bruises. Those petty ruffians were no great warriors either, they simply had numbers on their side, and when they swarmed in all at once they created enough of a tangle that Chang Ge’er could be seized.”

Minglan felt a slight easing in her chest. She also offered to send silver and medicine for the injured guards as a small expression of goodwill. Madam Liu at first refused, but under Minglan’s persistent and clever persuasion eventually agreed to have the things passed along.

The two discussed a few more details of the incident, and Madam Liu could not help sighing: “I’m not making excuses for my husband — it’s simply that no one could have foreseen this. That woman looked so gaunt and pitiful, completely at a loss, so frightened by the officers that she couldn’t get a word out, bursting into tears the moment anyone raised their voice, shaking all over like a sieve. Who could have known that she immediately turned around and went to her brother, had people following and tracking everything, then hired men to intercept and rob on the road! Truly formidable!”

Madam Liu was several years older than her husband and had long served as something between an elder sister and a mother-figure to Liu Zhengjie’s most trusted men, so she was well-informed on all the fine points. When she first heard about Man Niang’s situation, she had privately criticised Minglan for not even being willing to take in a child — after all, what high official didn’t have a wife and four concubines, with concubine-born sons and daughters filling the house? But now she could see plainly enough that this mother-and-son pair truly could not be allowed to remain free.

Minglan gave a wry twist of her lips: “That pair of siblings are both trained performers from the theatre world — skilled in both the literary and martial arts. No wonder Lord Liu and the escorting brothers were taken off guard. If you’ve never witnessed it with your own eyes, how could you possibly anticipate such a thing? Besides, she is not the first or second person that woman has deceived.” The very first and foremost example of a thoroughly swindled fool was her own beloved husband.

Madam Liu clicked her tongue: “I’ll say that woman is truly ruthless — when her brother was cut down with a blade and cried out ‘Sister!’ at the top of his lungs, she didn’t even turn her head, just kept galloping away by herself. My husband says she deliberately used those bandits as a shield of flesh and blood — and for the sake of making sure nothing went wrong, she probably kept even her own brother in the dark about certain things.” She shook her head over and over — to be willing to use even your own full-blooded brother as a disposable tool went far beyond the words “cold-blooded and ruthless.”

Minglan was silent for a long while before asking: “Has Lord Liu any leads on where the mother and son have gone?”

Madam Liu smiled with embarrassment: “Once they were out of the Fengyun Mountain pass, there were roads going east, west, south, and north in every direction — there was no way to determine which way the mother and son had gone. And besides — at present, the capital is… there simply are not enough hands to spare…”

Minglan took her hand and said gently: “Elder Sister need not explain. I understand Lord Liu’s difficulties. I only feel sorry for the boy — such a young child, who had just had a few years of stability, and now who knows where he’ll be wandering again.”

Madam Liu, having raised her own children, had a mother’s heart too. She gave a long sigh and lightly patted Minglan’s hand in comfort: “My dear younger sister, let your elder sister presume on her seniority and say one extra word. Women as vicious and ruthless as that — what good end can they come to once they’re out in the world? You and your husband are both good and honest people, you could never bring yourself to do anything so cruel and heartless — otherwise you would have finished her off long ago! As for the child — it must be fate from a past life. To be born with a mother like that, no one can be blamed. Let’s hope for a better birth next time round!” She sighed deeply and lamented at length.

Fate from a past life?

Minglan was at a loss. In truth, Chang Ge’er had been given many chances to change the course of his destiny — but all of them had been missed, one after another.

From her own perspective, she could not have been more eager to keep this burning ember at arm’s length — she had dodged everything connected to Chang Ge’er whenever she could.

From Gu Tingye’s perspective, it was his early experiences that made him feel a child was better off having a birth mother nearby, that at least this offered more proper care than being handed to complete strangers. Beyond that, his consideration for his legitimate wife and children meant he had not wanted to burden Minglan or place Tuan Ge’er in a position of risk.

As for Man Niang — she was a rare specimen. She could have let Chang Ge’er go earlier, or simply made a decent life with her son. Instead she clung to her delusions and refused to relinquish them until the very end.

Somehow, ever since she had become a mother, Minglan found herself growing softer-hearted. In the past she could encounter the most wretched of situations and set them aside with professional detachment. But now she could not bear to see innocent children suffer — it stirred a nameless reluctance in her heart.

After Madam Liu departed, Minglan summoned Rong Jie’er and, after dismissing everyone else, told her the whole matter in full detail, sighing quietly: “Now, no one knows where they’ve gone.”

Rong Jie’er sat with her head low and her hands clasped tightly together, her eyes red and swollen. She had grown somewhat thinner these past few days; her rounded cheeks had drawn slightly inward, tracing a delicate youthful line at her jaw. She said nothing at Minglan’s words, only sat silently on the round stool before the kang, her fingernails pressing deep into her palms.

The two of them sat facing each other in silence for a long while. Just as Minglan was about to tell her to go back and rest, Rong Jie’er suddenly said: “Thank you, Mother.” Her voice was thick with congestion. Minglan was slightly taken aback.

Rong Jie’er lightly wiped at the tip of her nose with a handkerchief and said softly: “Thank you, Mother, for troubling yourself over Chang Ge’er, and for asking Nanny Chang to help raise him. Ever since I first learned of this… I have felt such gratitude in my heart. Nanny Chang is an upright person — my brother would have been able to follow along with Nian Ge’er in his studies and make something of himself. It would have been the greatest of blessings. Who could have imagined that after only a few years apart, my younger brother would have become so defiant — refusing to listen to anyone but… but his mother…”

Remembering the scene of meeting her own brother, strangers to each other as though they had never shared a family, her tears welled up and her heart ached bitterly. “I begged Mother to agree to this plan and persuade my brother to go willingly to Nanny Chang’s household. If he were forced against his will and decided to act out, it would not only cause trouble for Nanny Chang but also disrupt Nian Ge’er’s studies and exam preparations. But who would have thought — who would have thought that Mother not only refused, but also scolded me… and, and…”

She could not finish the last half of the sentence. At that time her birth mother had told her to go and beg Minglan to let Chang Ge’er remain in the Marquis’s household.

“But… but the Madam would never agree to that.” She had said those words herself at the time. After all her years of living here together, she understood Minglan clearly — outwardly gentle and easygoing, but inwardly fixed and resolute once her mind was made up.

“You useless thing! Then you go and cry, go and beg, make a scene as if you’re going to die! You’re the eldest young miss of the Marquis household now — would she dare let you die right in front of her eyes? This is your own full brother — can you bear to watch him drift through life with no name and no status? That is your own real brother!”

Watching her birth mother turn from honeyed coaxing to furious scolding, her scheming motives completely undisguised, Rong Jie’er had not been able to say a single word.

She was no longer the naive little girl she once had been. She understood perfectly well the dangers and entanglements hidden in this. Nor was she the sort who became overconfident after a few days of comfortable living, not knowing the measure of herself or the height of heaven — she would never so presumptuously imagine she could change her step-mother’s mind on a matter of such gravity.

Rong Jie’er shook her head hard, forcing herself not to dwell on that memory which had chilled her to the bone. She looked up at Minglan, her voice unsteady: “Mother — I truly do not understand what is in my birth mother’s heart. Don’t all mothers want what is best for their children? Then why… why… does she seem determined to destroy my brother before she will be satisfied?” She could hold back no longer and finally began to cry, pressing a handkerchief to her mouth and weeping quietly.

Minglan sighed and gently patted the girl’s back.

Looking at it from the darkest angle — Man Niang did not truly love Chang Ge’er at all; the boy was nothing but a playing piece to be deployed as she saw fit. Looking at it more charitably — Man Niang did love her son, only her idea of what was good for a child was rather different from the ordinary understanding of it.

It was rather like those melodramas in which a destitute girl gives birth to twins — a son and a daughter — for a wealthy man: one is sent back to the rich family to grow up as a young master or princess, the other is kept at her side. The outcome… depended on which one was the protagonist.

With this matter coming to such an inconclusive end, Man Niang and her son vanished like wisps of down in the wind, disappearing without a trace. Minglan was in low spirits for several days, and only recovered somewhat when Hualan came to visit and console her.

“You silly girl, what is there to be troubled about in a thing like this!” Hualan was as radiant and vivacious as ever, her beauty carrying a bold, spirited quality. She prodded her younger sister in the forehead and laughed: “With a heart as soft as yours — pitying this one, unable to harden yourself against that one — your household would be in utter chaos. From time immemorial, every debt has its debtor and every grievance has its cause. That boy has his own father and mother — what does any of it have to do with you?”

Minglan sat with her head down, rubbing her enormous belly, and murmured: “Lately I keep hesitating, always afraid that if I conduct myself badly, the consequences will fall on my children.” As a dues-paying member of the Party — well, Yao Yiyi had once been a steadfast atheist too. What a life that seemed now, looking back.

Hualan, breezy and carefree in her comfortable contentment, laughed heartily: “When it comes to gods and Buddhas, believe in moderation — you cannot twist every single thing around to divine judgment. Your brother-in-law didn’t even want you to get your hands dirty — you should have been happy to push it all away. Surely you weren’t actually thinking of bringing that boy into the household?”

“Absolutely not.” Minglan said flatly, lifting her head with the decisiveness of a mother hen shielding her chicks, and laughed self-deprecatingly: “Pitying him is one thing — but as a mother, I must first protect my own flesh and blood. Whoever dares to harm or endanger my children, I will fight them to the death!”

Hualan pinched her younger sister’s cheek and laughed: “Now that’s right!”

Looking at her elder sister’s bright and generous smile, Minglan privately reflected that she had been tormenting herself needlessly, and steered the topic elsewhere: “I hear sister-in-law is with child — I sent over some of her favourite dried fish just the other day. I hope she has been well lately.”

Since Wang Shi had gone back to her hometown to serve her sentence, Hualan had been returning to her parents’ household often to help Madam Liu through the initial period of managing the inner household. She smiled at the mention: “Sister-in-law is blessed — this pregnancy is going very well. Good appetite, good sleep, everything going on as normal.”

As they were talking, Xiaotao brought in a small basin of freshly stir-fried garlic string beans from the kitchen. Hualan frowned and covered her nose, then let out a faint retch.

Minglan wrinkled her brow: “But this is one of Elder Sister’s favourite dishes — how can you also…” Just a moment ago she had already had a plate of cream-filled sweet bean rolls and caramelised honey apples taken away, as Hualan found the smell of each one nauseating. She had to send the kitchen hurrying to make something fresh.

Looking again at Hualan’s slightly fuller figure, Minglan’s eyes lit up with teasing amusement: “Could it be that Elder Sister is also with child?”

Hualan’s hands stopped. She laughed and scolded: “What nonsense — I’m at that age already.” After years without any sign of it, and with her age advancing, she had long since given up the thought.

Though she said those words, middle-aged pregnancies were not unheard of — and afraid something might go amiss, Minglan quickly arranged for the Marquis household’s best carriage — a grand four-horse vehicle with a soft, gold-trimmed straight canopy — to take Hualan home. Not half a day later, the Yuan household sent back word: the Second Young Madam was indeed with child.

The messenger Cui Chan clapped her hands and smiled: “The Second Young Madam couldn’t believe it at first and had two different physicians examine her before she accepted it. The Second Master is beside himself with joy — like a yellow warbler with a hawk’s leg tied — he refuses to leave her side even for a moment and won’t hear of going to the northern border now.”

Yuan Shao had been eyeing a piece of land outside the northern border, hoping to purchase it and enclose it as a horse pasture, and had already applied to his superior for leave. But now that his beloved wife was with child, and the physician had said a pregnant woman of her age must be extra careful in all things, Yuan Shao made up his mind firmly not to go.

“The real business must come first — my husband has great ambitions and should not worry on my account,” Hualan naturally said.

But Yuan Shao, with the manner of a devoted husband straight from a Cantonese drama, opened his mouth and said: “Money can always be made again. What matters most is the peace and happiness of our family. If you give birth safely, that is worth more than a whole mountain of gold.”

Hualan blushed with sweet bashfulness, her bright, liquid eyes glancing over at him full of tender feeling. Yuan Shao gazed back with deep-felt affection. This middle-aged couple — with a combined age of more than seventy — were so genuinely, earnestly in love that it was almost alarming. From time to time they would press their heads together and murmur to each other in low voices, until Nanny Cui — who had gone on Minglan’s behalf to deliver gifts — was utterly overwhelmed with second-hand discomfort.

“No wonder Nanny Fang used to say she couldn’t stand watching the eldest young miss and her husband,” Nanny Cui privately felt she had done Wang Shi a great injustice.

Minglan buried her face in the kang and laughed until her sides ached, and the gloom that had hung over her for days swept away entirely.

A few days later, Tujia Tiger came back from outside the city leading some forty-odd sturdy estate hands. Minglan grew busy again — arranging their meals and lodgings in the outer courtyard, and discussing with Tujia Elder Brother how to organise shifts for guarding, and how to station men at each gate, wall, and courtyard throughout the estate.

Once things were settled inside, she continued to have people out gathering information. In the capital, there were indeed growing numbers of suspicious characters — gathering in groups of five or more, their whereabouts unclear once they dispersed. Liu Zhengjie was increasingly furious but had nothing he could act on. Young Shi Ge’er was also quite put out — a dumpling stall he and Xiaotao both enjoyed had seen the old couple who ran it decide that the streets were looking unsettled, and they had actually gone off to shelter with their children in the countryside.

In the fourth branch, Gu Tingdi and his wife were busy putting their shops in order, and business was gradually picking up. In the fifth branch, Gu Tingxuan was occupied with vetting marriage prospects for his eldest son, and the Prostrate family had responded very enthusiastically. The Lady still rarely ventured outside — unknown what she was scheming about. The old Gu master still went out at irregular hours to drink and watch plays. Yu Fang Shi still came to call on Gu Tingwei’s household every few days. The eldest young master of the Liang family continued to play the obedient grandson — or rather, the filially pious son…

Joy and worry, each with its own insufficiencies — the political awareness and decision-making ability of a clerk in a minor court was enough only for Minglan to tell her household staff to double their vigilance at the gates. She could not reason out from the surface phenomena what the underlying nature of things actually was.

By now the days were growing warmer. In the space of barely half a month, her belly had swollen as though inflated. Several of the older female attendants all said the due date was drawing close. Minglan had not even had time to adjust to the weight of her changed body before Ruomei went into labour first.

Fortunately the midwife and wet nurses had all been prepared in advance. Laying out the bedding, heating water, sterilising the scissors — everything proceeded in orderly fashion. Minglan personally went to sit in command at the front hall of the Gongsun small courtyard, and not a soul dared to be negligent.

From midday until the moon had risen above the treetops, the sounds of Ruomei’s agonised screams came in waves. Not until Minglan had leaned against the soft couch and woken from her second nap did someone come to report that Ruomei had given birth — to a big, robustly healthy baby boy.

Minglan wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and roused herself to go and congratulate the new mother. She found the wet nurse sitting at the bedside holding a swaddled infant wrapped in bright red silk embroidered with golden peonies. Ruomei’s face was pale, but she was beaming with delight, unable to keep her eyes from the baby in the swaddling.

Minglan leaned over to look — yes, he was indeed sturdy and robust. Particularly that impressively large forehead which struck such dread into mothers who had gone through labour — the very image of old Master Gongsun’s tiresome expression. She sat down beside Ruomei and said gently: “The child is excellent. He looks like the Master. You can rest easy in your life now.”

Ruomei’s voice was somewhat hoarse from all her cries. She pulled at Minglan’s sleeve, looking up with urgency: “When the Master returns, please, Madam, please put in a good word for me — tell him I risked my life to bring this boy into the world. Could he… could it be permitted for me to raise him myself…?”

Minglan paused for a moment, then sighed: “I will speak on your behalf. But this is ultimately the Master’s family matter, and in the end it will depend on what the Master and his principal wife decide.” She added: “When you first asked to become the Master’s concubine, I told you about this as well.”

Having said that, she gently withdrew her hand, paid no further attention to Ruomei’s quivering expression of imminent tears, and turned with Xiaotao’s support and walked away.

After this, while Ruomei was in her month of confinement, Minglan did not come again to visit her — only told Liao Yong’s wife to watch over her carefully, and to ensure that all her food, clothing, and daily necessities were not stinted in the least.

On the third-day bathing ceremony, Minglan had two tables set up in the Gongsun small courtyard, calling the maidservants and female attendants who were on good terms with Ruomei to gather and make merry, offering her proper encouragement and comfort. It would not do for Ruomei to spend the entire confinement sighing and wearing a long face, which could only harm her recovery.

The very next day after the third-day bathing ceremony, a swift dispatch from the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu shook the entire court and country —

The son of the Jie-Nu Left Guli Wang, seeking to rescue his father, had set an ambush on the Qingshi River plain and attacked Shen Congxing’s great army. Flushed with the victory of previous days, the Shen army’s supply train had grown unwieldy, their formation stretched long and thin, and most of the commanders had grown complacent and dropped their guard. The army was sliced into four sections by the Jie-Nu cavalry, sweeping in with the speed of wind and lightning. A separate surprise force drove straight for the main command tent, striking down the principal commanders. The Left Guli Wang was rescued. Shen Congxing was seriously wounded. The entire army fell into disorder, with officers and soldiers suffering casualties beyond count. General Duan Chengqian currently held temporary command of the forces.

In addition — Elder Marshal Bo Tianzhu had recently fallen from his horse and was now unconscious. The central army was being jointly commanded by General Fu, a trusted officer of the Bo family, and Elder General Gan.

And as for the Zhang-Gu army, which had been buzzing about so noisily earlier — because they had pushed deep into the steppe, to this day there was still no definitive news. Whether the army had been entirely annihilated, or every man killed — no one could say for certain.

Minglan counted on her fingers. Judging by the timing of the dispatches, Shen Congxing must have been ambushed shortly after his great victory. At the same time, Elder Marshal Bo had his fall and was gravely injured. And the definitive news of her dear husband remained thoroughly wrapped in clouds and fog.

When the reports came in, the Emperor was furious — both shaken and deeply troubled. According to what Sheng Hong passed along, compared to when the news of the Zhang-Gu defeat had first arrived, this time the Emperor seemed genuinely alarmed. The Empress and Xiao Shen Shi both wept themselves into a faint. Zhang Shi was half a step behind, and out of consideration for the general mood, fell “ill with worry” half a day later.

The Elder Madam Bo expressed that she was devastated beyond bearing, and fearing she might die on the spot, decided to retire to the country estate outside the capital to recuperate — at which point Minglan could not help but mutter: You’ve been a military wife for fifty-odd years. Haven’t you gone numb to this by now? What’s there to be so devastated about?

There was that year Elder Marshal Bo came down with a fierce cold and the physicians all said it was touch and go. The Elder Madam Bo had very composedly patted her husband’s quilt: “You go on ahead. Don’t wait for me — I’ll find my way to you.”

The Elder Marshal flew into a rage, bellowing that “you heartless old hag — you’re not going to die anytime soon” — and in the course of working himself into that fury, his illness had turned around entirely.

— When Gu Tingye had recounted that story, he had worn an expression of pure wistful admiration.

Military officers all submitted memorials requesting to send reinforcements to the front, each afraid of falling behind the others. Civil officials’ memorials rained in like a downpour — some impeaching the senior commanders for careless dereliction of duty and requesting harsh punishment; some requesting that the gravely injured Bo and Shen be recalled to the capital for further deliberation. In teahouses and wine shops, discussions filled the air — some cursing Shen, Zhang, and Gu for incompetence; others speaking in low voices about the current ruler’s poor discernment in employing men and recklessness in the conduct of war. The capital plunged into a peculiar, clamorous uproar.

Minglan said nothing.

In the days that followed, her body was profoundly tired. She couldn’t even summon the energy to play with her son. She could only sit and watch as Xian Jie’er patiently and gently taught little Tuange to speak, while Rong Jie’er sat quietly nearby, her eyes holding a mixture of loss and longing.

One morning she woke and Xiaotao helped her slowly sit up. Cuiwei came in carrying a steaming copper basin, and smiled as she wrung out the face cloth: “This morning I went to check on Ruomei — she’s looking much better. The baby is fat and solid, and even two wet nurses can’t satisfy him.”

Minglan struggled to prop herself up on the edge of the bed, draped a padded jacket of ink-splatter print scattered with flower motifs over her shoulders, and slowly moved to the window. She opened it a crack and extended her hand outside — fine droplets of rain landed on the back of her hand, carried on a cool spring-cold breeze, cold and refreshing.

“It’s a bit chilly outside today, Madam should dress more warmly,” Cuiwei said, wringing the cloth dry.

Minglan grumbled: “I dislike rainy days.” Her eyes darted about, and she shamelessly said: “I’ll just go back to sleep a bit more.” With that she shuffled her unwieldy body in a penguin-like waddling gait, toes turned out, and inched her way toward the edge of the bed.

Cuiwei was both exasperated and amused. She pressed the warm, moist cloth over Minglan’s hands: “Madam may sleep a bit more if she wishes, but at least wash your face and hands first and have some rice porridge before sleeping. You may not be hungry, but the little young master in your belly needs to eat.”

Minglan slowly wiped her hands and handed back the cloth, just about to say “I feel like having cream buns today” when Luzhi came rushing frantically in from outside: “Madam! Madam! Someone has come from the palace — they say they’re here to summon Madam into the palace!”

There was a small splash — Cuiwei had dropped the face cloth into the basin, sending up tiny droplets that fell onto the thick crimson velvet carpet, leaving dark spots that spread like ink stains — ominous.

It was Xiaotao who remained the most composed — because it had not yet registered to her that anything was wrong. Minglan said in a calm, steady voice: “Dress me.”

Luzhi stepped a little closer: “Madam, out there…”

Minglan composed herself and asked first: “Is it a formal written edict or a verbal imperial decree?”

Luzhi looked slightly puzzled, tilted her head in thought, then immediately said: “It should be a verbal decree — because Lady Liao didn’t call for the incense table to be set up.” The Gu household had received imperial edicts and imperial gifts on many occasions, and the senior maidservants all knew the proper protocols.

The drowsy languor of a few moments ago had entirely vanished from Minglan. She said briskly and clearly: “Tell Steward Hao to have the palace emissaries received with tea in the front hall and ask them to wait — just say that I have been unwell these past few days, have not yet risen, and am currently washing and dressing.”

Luzhi acknowledged and was about to go out, but Minglan called her back. She said: “You and Xia He — you two have sharp eyes. Go to the front and take a careful look. The people who have come today to convey the summons — are they the female officials and palace maids who serve at the Empress’s side, or are they Little Eunuch Xia and the others?”

Luzhi was quick and clever and sensed the urgency. She answered and flew out at once.

Minglan drew a long, deep breath, stood up very straight, and stretched out her arms to let others help her dress and arrange her hair. Xiaotao struggled hard to work shoes onto Minglan’s feet. Cuiwei, in the midst of tying the inner robe sash, said in a trembling voice: “Madam is this far along — any moment now could be the day she gives birth. Why would the palace choose this very time to summon her? If something should go wrong…” Would the child be born inside the palace?

Fine sweat beaded on her forehead. “Could it be that the Marquis…” Defeat in battle — a whole family to be executed?

Minglan slowly shook her head: “Let’s not frighten ourselves before we know anything.”

The Empress, for all her various unreliable qualities, had a genuinely kind and gentle heart. Last time, precisely because Minglan was carrying Tuan Ge’er, the Empress had on her own initiative spared her the formal New Year’s audience and thanksgiving visit to the palace on the first day of the first month. Without something truly pressing, the Empress would absolutely not summon her to the palace at this time.

But if there were something truly pressing — surely Xiao Shen Shi would have given her advance warning?

Unless it was to call someone to account for a crime.

Yet for matters of military affairs and governance on this scale, why would the Empress be involved? If it were a matter of punishing a defeated general’s family, one edict would suffice — why send palace ceremonial attendants to issue a verbal decree? Moreover, there had not been a word from Liu Zhengjie’s side. Then — unless it was the Emperor himself…

After Minglan was fully dressed in her official investiture garments and cape, Xiaotao helped her turn in front of the mirror. Cuiwei carefully brought out the pearl coronet and was just about to place it on Minglan’s head when Minglan gently raised a hand: “That thing is terribly heavy. Just carry it for me for now.”

At that moment there was a rapid drumbeat of running footsteps from outside. Luzhi and Xia He came rushing in, breathless: “Steward Hao has already received and calmed the palace emissaries. We two looked very carefully from behind the screen. Leading the group is a eunuch and a female official — they say they come by the Empress’s command — but neither of them, nor the palace servants standing behind them, is anyone we recognise!”

Minglan’s brow knotted tightly. This matter had a sinister quality to it — she knew most of the prominent female officials and eunuchs in the Empress’s service by sight.

Nanny Cui came in from outside and said in a low voice: “The soft-carrying chair is ready, Madam — shall you…”

Seeing the old woman’s face full of anxiety, Minglan reassured her: “Nanny, don’t worry. How old am I now? Have you ever once seen me come off the worse in a situation?”

Nanny Cui was somewhat reassured, and helped Minglan walk slowly out of Jiaxi Residence, where she took her seat in the small chair. Carried gently through the fine, cool rain, the party made their way toward the outer courtyard’s front hall. Moving silently around the main ceremonial gate, Minglan alighted from the chair and took the side passage. Supported by Luzhi and Xiaotao, she quietly slipped in through the rear of the main hall. Through the sixteen panels of crimson latticed screens, she could dimly make out Steward Hao at the front, unceasingly complimenting the palace emissaries and urging tea and refreshments on them.

As Luzhi had said, Steward Hao had slipped them a generous sum of silver beforehand — which was why everything was proceeding so smoothly.

Minglan pressed close to the latticed screen and peered through the fine lattice work. From the broad-faced, large-eared eunuch to the gaunt, middle-aged female official, to the row of junior palace servants standing behind — indeed there was not one face she recognised. Could someone be issuing a false imperial edict?

She was still thinking hard without result when Nanny Cui came tiptoeing over and murmured at her ear: “I took several of the needlework women to look — the garments these people are wearing, the accessories they carry, and the ceremonial paraphernalia they bear, are without question from the palace.”

Minglan frowned again, thought for a moment, then beckoned Xiaotao over and whispered a few words. Then she raised her head and murmured: “Just say it like this — Steward Hao will understand.”

Xiaotao immediately dashed out. A moment later, Gu Quan was seen walking briskly into the front hall, leaning close to Steward Hao Da Cheng’s ear and saying quietly: “The Madam is behind the lattice screens. These palace people may be false — test them by asking whether Chief Palace Matron Han’s cough has gotten better.”

Steward Hao was no ordinary man. Without the flicker of an expression, he swept a glance toward the back, then turned with a smile and cupped his hands: “Eunuch Chen, Lady Huang, the palace has sent emissaries here to convey edicts and gifts many times over the years — but we have never seen either of you two before. Given that there are so many noble persons in the palace, I suppose it’s only natural that we can’t keep track of them all.”

The eunuch’s face shifted slightly, then he smiled: “There are so many servants employed in the palace, different ones at different times. Your Ningyuan Marquis household has always been generous — being sent to convey an edict here is a cushy posting, and plenty of people are eager for the chance.”

Steward Hao kept saying “we wouldn’t dare,” then beamed at the female official and said: “Lady Huang, I have a presumptuous request. While we wait for the Madam to arrive — could you pass a message to Chief Palace Matron Han in the Empress’s service? I’ve recently come by some very good loquat syrup and am wondering when I might have the chance to send it in; the weather has been so unpredictably cold and warm lately, and if the Matron’s cough comes back again, that would be worrying indeed.”

The female official did not twitch a muscle. Her gaze swept over like a cold flash of lightning, and she said: “There are only two Palace Matrons in the Empress’s service — one surnamed Liu and one surnamed Wu. There has never been any Palace Matron surnamed Han! Spare me your tricks. Have Marchioness Gu come out at once — if you delay something important, do you want the whole Gu household to lose their heads?”

The moment those words came out, Minglan’s tautly strung nerves eased as though cut loose. Her legs went weak and she nearly lost her footing. She steadied herself against Xiaotao, moved slowly away from the lattice screen, sat down, and wiped the cold sweat from her brow. She let out a long breath.

Indeed, there was no Palace Matron surnamed Han in the Empress’s service — but there was a highly trusted Executive Attendant surnamed Han. The current Lady Matron Liu was growing ever more elderly and was clearly about to retire, and the Empress intended for Han to take over her position. Hence from before the New Year, the lower-ranked palace maids and eunuchs had already been calling her “Chief Palace Matron Han.”

Naturally, this kind of thing applied to those below rather than those above — the people lower down knew about it, but the masters higher up might not necessarily know. How could this Lady Huang, a fifth-rank junior official of a mere auxiliary position, not know about it? How would she dare show such disrespect?

Unless — she was not from the Empress’s palace at all. In that case, she was… Minglan narrowed her eyes slightly.

Gu Quan ran back into the front hall with the message. Steward Hao had been busily apologising and fawning, but the moment he heard whispered into his ear, his eyes lit up. He turned his head with a hearty laugh and announced loudly: “I stand corrected in my ignorance, honoured guests. They say fabricating an edict out of nothing is issuing a false imperial decree — but what about those who casually claim to have authority to issue decrees? Would that count as issuing a false imperial decree?”

The two at once had their expressions change drastically. The eunuch slammed the table with a bang and said in a shrill voice: “Outrageous insolence! How dare you make such a slanderous accusation!” The female official said coldly and threateningly: “People always say the Marquis Gu is imposing and mighty in the field — today we see it for ourselves. Even the word of the palace you dare to disregard. Today you defy the decree — tomorrow you’ll be declaring open revolt, no doubt.”

“There’s no need to press those great hats down upon us,” Steward Hao said with a calm smile. He was a man of standing and face in the outside world himself — he was not the sort to crumble at the first threat. “Our household is not some ignorant small family of no connections. Given the closeness of General Zheng’s wife and our Madam, what senior figures serve in the Empress’s household — we do know about such things.”

The two exchanged a glance. The eunuch suddenly produced a smile: “Steward Hao has sharp eyes. We are indeed not from the Empress’s palace. But the edict itself was issued by Her Majesty the Empress — the palace has simply been busy lately, so Her Majesty dispatched us to handle this errand.”

Steward Hao asked pleasantly which palace they served, but the two hemmed and hawed and could not give a clear answer, only saying vaguely that they were just general palace servants. Steward Hao’s expression immediately cooled: “You underestimate people somewhat. Even if I were as stupid as a pig, I would not believe such a story. The rules in the palace are far stricter than in any official’s household. For a party this size to leave the palace, there must be a token of authorization. Speaking with no disrespect — however generous Her Majesty the Empress may be, I cannot imagine she would casually hand out her own palace’s authorization token to just anyone.”

Seeing that Steward Hao was not easily fooled, the eunuch was privately growing anxious. At this moment the female official suddenly said: “We are from the Palace of Sheng’an. The Sheng’an Consort Dowager’s rank is superior even to the Empress — surely that settles the matter.”

Steward Hao said coldly: “How does that settle it? You two have given a different story every few moments. The Marquis is currently away from home, and we must be all the more careful in protecting the Madam. We cannot simply hand the Madam over to people whose identity is unclear.”

“Then what do you want?! Are you defying the imperial decree!” The eunuch grew agitated and let out a shrill cry.

“At the very least, I must be certain whether you two are truly from the palace,” Steward Hao said with unhurried ease.

The female official fixed him with a cold stare, then slowly drew from her sleeve a dark, gold-threaded token and placed it on the table with a sharp click. Steward Hao leaned over to look — it was indeed an entry and exit token from the imperial palace. But the female official quickly retrieved it, and Steward Hao had not been able to make out the serial characters — the jia, yi, bing, ding, wu, ji, geng, xin designation numbers engraved at the bottom of the token.

The female official said: “We are indeed from the palace. Palace servants are all in service to the masters of the palace — asking Marchioness Gu to make a trip is not an unreasonable imposition, is it?”

Steward Hao stroked his beard, just about to speak, when all at once there was a commotion from outside. A small maidservant came stumbling and tumbling in, crying out: “Madam — Madam — Madam’s belly is hurting terribly, and there’s already blood — please come quickly and call for a physician!”

Steward Hao’s mind flashed at lightning speed. He immediately “seemed utterly panicked,” stretching out his voice and calling loudly: “Oh — no — this is a disaster! Just the other day the physician was saying the Madam’s pregnancy was not going smoothly — and now this has happened!”

He then wheeled on a young manservant beside him and scolded: “You fool — what are you standing there for? Go and fetch the physician immediately!”

The manservant rolled off the floor and sprinted out. Steward Hao turned back, smiling apologetically: “You’ve seen how it is — the Madam is due to give birth any day now, and now something may have happened… it appears she cannot go to the palace after all.”

The female official and the eunuch’s expressions were most unpleasant. Just as they were about to open their mouths to threaten, they saw Steward Hao turn back to the young maidservant who had come with the report: “Go at once and tell the Madam that the physician will arrive momentarily — please hold on as best she can. And tell the Madam not to worry about entering the palace — I imagine the noble masters in the palace are all benevolent and gracious, and would surely never deliberately wish to cost the Madam and her child their lives?”

The little maidservant appeared thoroughly terrified, wiping the tears from her face, and bolted away in a streak, running all the way inside to Jiaxi Residence. When she walked into the inner room, her face bore not a trace of weeping or alarm. With mischievous delight she said: “Xiaotao Elder Sister wanted to smear my face with green onion to make it look convincing, but I said there was no need — I cried so well just now that I fooled everyone!”

“You’re still showing off? Come on, tell us quickly — what happened!” Luzhi grabbed her arm and kept pressing her.

Cuiwei-sleeve, like a cross between a simpleton and someone who knows perfectly well what’s going on, said: “Nothing much happened. I said what I had to say and came back out. Oh, Steward Hao said the physician will come very soon.”

Luzhi was jumping up and down with impatience — who asked about the physician!

Minglan burst out laughing: “Why are you yelling at her? She was sent to put on a performance, she finished her performance and came back. That’s all there is to it.” She threw Luzhi a glance and shook her head helplessly, then had her lead the girl out for some fruit.