As the parents of two young adults of marriageable age, the capacity for wedding preparations was seemingly limitless. Sheng Wei and the Kang family pushed and rushed to get everything ready, and the wedding was set for the end of September, in the season of clear autumn skies — so that the new bride could present incense at the ancestral shrine before the year’s end. Sheng Hong received word and had his start at the office delayed that morning so he could gather all his children together to speak with them.

Minglan was stifling a yawn as Danju dragged her into the room. She saw that Sheng Hong and Wang Shi were already seated in the hall — two tall paulownia wood chairs, one to the east and one to the west. The children were lined up by age on either side below them. She noticed Changdong, standing last in line on the left, quietly send her a reassuring look. Knowing there was nothing to worry about, Minglan made her way over neatly and stood beside Rulan with proper composure.

Sheng Hong took a sip of hot tea, and Wang Shi waited until he set the bowl down before speaking: “All of you may sit. Your father has something to say.”

Minglan sat, looked up, and saw that Sheng Hong’s expression was cheerful as he said: “Your eldest uncle’s family is about to have a happy occasion. In a way, it’s a double happy occasion for us — a marriage between relatives.” He stroked his beard and chuckled.

No one dared press Sheng Hong directly, so they all looked to Minglan. Minglan cooperated with a smile: “It’s Second Brother Changwu and Cousin Yun’er — eldest aunt came to meet her and was very pleased, saying she is virtuous, gentle, and refined. The eldest uncle wrote to say that it’s all thanks to Grandmother’s matchmaking. Father, has eldest uncle sent a matchmaker’s gift for Grandmother?”

Sheng Hong pointed at Minglan and laughed: “You child! You’re already such a big girl, and still this mischievous!”

Wang Shi said with satisfaction: “As for Yun’er’s family background, it truly couldn’t be better. Uncle’s family is fortunate to gain such a daughter-in-law. The fact that this match came together really is a matter of fate!”

Molan smiled graciously: “Fate it may be, but speaking precisely, Uncle’s family owes some of that good fortune to Father’s face as well.”

The remark was carefully worded. That a family of the Kang family’s stature would consent to marry their legitimate daughter into the merchant household of Sheng Wei was in no small part owing to Sheng Hong’s standing. Molan’s indirect compliment landed precisely where it was most welcome. As expected, Sheng Hong said nothing in reply, but his expression grew even more gratified. He nodded toward Molan repeatedly, his eyes filled with pleased approval.

Minglan lowered her head and looked sideways at Rulan, who was clenching her fist inside her sleeve. She let out a quiet internal sigh. If Molan had once been a performer relying on natural talent, these past years had transformed her into a performer of genuine skill. Regardless of how she behaved toward Rulan and Minglan in private, the moment Sheng Hong was present, she became the warm, attentive, perfect daughter — solicitous toward her elders and considerate to her younger sisters.

Sheng Hong smiled: “Eldest uncle wrote to say that for this wedding, Grandmother absolutely must come to join the celebration — if she refuses, he will come and invite her personally. Yesterday I discussed it with Grandmother, and we agreed to set out for Youyang at the end of the month. I have official duties and cannot go. My term as Prefect ends at the end of the tenth month, and Changbai needs to go to the capital soon to put the residence in order. Changfeng needs to prepare for the Autumn Imperial Examination. Changdong is still too young. Minglan must of course accompany Grandmother. Molan, Rulan — would you like to go?”

Rulan glanced sideways at Minglan. Minglan was actually rather surprised herself. Given Grandmother Sheng’s longstanding preference for quiet and distaste for fuss, Minglan had fully expected her to decline, and had been mentally composing an excuse on her behalf. Instead, Grandmother had agreed without hesitation.

Molan gave Minglan a sideways glance and smiled: “An occasion like this — I would naturally wish to go. But the whole family is preparing to move to the capital, and the household matters are overwhelmingly busy. All the packing and sorting of trunks really ought to be attended to by us personally. I would need to help manage a few things for Fifth Sister and the brothers as well, so I will stay behind. Please convey my congratulations to Second Brother Changwu on my behalf, Sixth Sister.”

Minglan agreed with a smile.

Compared to the capital with all its splendors, Youyang was hardly impressive — and on top of that, Qi Heng was there. Rulan had the same thought and said coldly: “Who asked you to manage anything for me? If Fourth Sister doesn’t want to go, fine — but don’t use me as your excuse!”

Wang Shi frowned and glanced at Sheng Hong. As expected, his voice dropped into a stern reproof: “How are you speaking? You have always been careless and inattentive. Your sister kindly offered to help you, and this is how you receive it? Such a lack of courtesy — you needn’t go either, and save us the embarrassment!”

Rulan’s face turned crimson, but she did not dare answer back. Wang Shi, afraid the argument would escalate again, quickly intervened: “Children don’t know better, it’s just sibling squabbling. My lord, please finish what you were saying — the hour is getting late and you still need to go to the office.”

Sheng Hong shot Wang Shi a look, then turned and said warmly: “Minglan — this time it will just be you accompanying Grandmother to Youyang. Grandmother is getting on in years. Keep a close eye on her the whole way.”

Minglan was happy enough at the prospect of going out, since she had not once left the estate since arriving in this ancient era. But the mere thought of riding in a carriage again filled her with dread, and she made a mournful face: “Father, you have it backwards. Someone like me who gets dizzy just looking at a carriage — Grandmother will have quite enough keeping watch over me. Could I walk there instead?” Sheng Hong looked at Minglan’s woeful expression and found it rather amusing. He schooled his face into sternness: “With those little short legs of yours, if you ran them off you’d only make it in time for the full-month banquet!”

The tension in the room dissolved, and everyone laughed. Minglan looked even more worried: “In that case, could I stay home as well?”

Sheng Hong looked at Minglan’s fair, pretty little face with affection and said: “You are going! This is a good opportunity for you to meet some of the family’s relatives and to present incense at the ancestral shrine. Whatever congratulatory gifts your brothers and sisters want to send, you can bring along with you.”

With that, Sheng Hong rose to his feet, and the children on both sides stood as well. Wang Shi went to help straighten the purple cloud-and-crane brocade belt at his waist. As Sheng Hong passed by Minglan, he added: “Minglan — hurry and get your things packed, and don’t let Grandmother worry over you. Mind your manners when you’re out. Once you’re back in the capital, it’ll be just in time for the new year — I’ll take you out to see the New Year lanterns.”

Minglan nodded so vigorously her head nearly bounced. Sheng Hong smiled, patted Minglan on the head, then turned and beckoned to Changbai before striding out the door. Changbai followed close behind. Changfeng stood watching their retreating figures with an expression of vague loss.

“Father called Elder Brother — I wonder what for?” Molan noticed Changfeng’s mood and asked casually, as if merely curious.

Rulan gave her a disdainful look: “If you want to know, go and ask Father yourself.” She then flipped her handkerchief and followed Wang Shi into the inner room. Minglan, who dreaded this sort of thing most of all, hurriedly slipped out the door.

The moment they were inside, Rulan received a thorough scolding from Wang Shi: “You truly grow worse with age. Even if you can’t match Fourth Sister’s cunning, you could at least learn from Sixth Sister — that knack she has for being pleasing and likeable. These past years, how much has your father come to favor her? He’s praised her to me more times than I can count — warm-natured, kind-hearted, genuinely good — and he keeps telling me to make sure her daily comforts are never neglected! “

Rulan let out a cold snort: “All she does is make a few pairs of shoes and some sachets to ingratiate herself!”

Wang Shi grew more agitated: “Shoes may be a small thing, but they show a sincere heart. Even I, wearing the shoes she gave me, can feel that she put real care into them. Why can’t you do the same? All you know how to do is squabble with Fourth Sister and make trouble! Your father is having Minglan go to the ancestral shrine to offer incense this time — that is as good as letting all the elder relatives of the old family know: this child is to be recorded under my name!”

Rulan’s expression shifted to alarm: “Truly? And what about Fourth Sister? She went to the ancestral shrine once before — does that mean she also…?”

“I don’t know. We’ll deal with things as they come.” Wang Shi sank onto the kang bed, exhausted.

While the mother and daughter were in a quandary, elsewhere Sheng Hong — the one who had stirred it all up — was walking through the garden with Changbai: “I’ve already had Laifu draw up the standard list for the congratulatory gifts — your mother will go over them once more before you leave. I’ve written a letter to your Mentor Liu. Barring anything unexpected, this time when his appointment at the Court of Judicial Review ends, he’ll be transferred to a Vice Ministership in the Ministry of Finance. You should also write to Changwu, filling him in on Minister Liu’s preferences, character, and household — have him prepare in advance so he can pay a proper visit after everyone returns to the capital.”

Changbai nodded. After a moment, he said: “Eldest Uncle is truly capable.”

Seven short words. Sheng Hong turned sharply to look at his son, and his eyes filled with genuine appreciation: “The fact that you can see that is already very good. In this world, even among relatives, relationships follow the principle: treat others with one foot and they will treat you with ten. Your eldest uncle truly takes after your great-grandfather the most. Starting with nothing but my small assistance, he built up a vast family enterprise with his own two hands. He has two sons — the elder has inherited the family business, and the younger has entered official service. A family like that will never fall. Bai’er, my only hope is that you and Changfeng can look out for each other in officialdom in the years to come. As for Changdong — I can see he doesn’t have a scholar’s temperament, though he’s shrewd enough in other ways. When he’s a bit older, I’ll have him go into trade and build up a landed estate. That way you three brothers — between official rank and wealth — will have everything covered!”

Changbai watched his father’s spirited profile and quietly cleared his throat: “Grandmother is going to Youyang this time — she is likely to encounter the old master there as well. Eldest Uncle… is also quite formidable.”

Sheng Hong looked at his eldest son’s perfectly composed expression with a note of mild aggrievement. Had Changfeng been standing here, he would have greeted Sheng Hong’s grand plan with loud and enthusiastic agreement, probably even applause. But Changbai was utterly without the capacity for that sort of thing. And yet he was precisely the son Sheng Hong relied on the most. Thinking of it, Sheng Hong let out a sigh: “The old master’s branch has been declining more and more in recent years. He constantly comes to your eldest uncle looking for handouts. Seeing that eldest uncle’s son Changson’s family has no children, he’s even been pushing the elders to have one of his own grandsons adopted into the line. Now that Changwu is getting married, he’s bound to stir up trouble again. Eldest uncle is restrained by the expectations of the clan and can’t deal with him too harshly — only your grandmother, with her high standing and her strong temper, is the one who can keep this old master in check!”

Sheng Hong shook his head with a helpless smile. Changbai raised one eyebrow slightly and offered no further comment.

…

Minglan’s trunks were mostly packed already. Thinking she ought to say farewell to the friends she was on good terms with, she sent word to the others — but Hong Qingyu, two years younger than her and her most steadfast fishing companion, needed a personal farewell. She wrote Hong Qingyu a proper letter explaining the situation, then after obtaining Grandmother’s permission, set out for the Yu residence to say goodbye in person. Grandmother Sheng, knowing Minglan’s trouble with carriage sickness, had Nanny Fang arrange her own four-bearer curtained sedan chair for the occasion.

Still fifty paces from the Yu residence, Minglan sensed something was not right. She lifted the curtain a crack and looked out. The front gates of the Yu residence were shut fast. A crowd had gathered outside, pointing and murmuring. Minglan caught a few scattered words — “…heartless wretch… abandoning wife and children… abusing power to bully…” — and immediately told the lead attendant Nanny Cui to have the sedan chair go around to the rear entrance.

The matrons at the back gate of the Yu residence were well acquainted with the Sheng family’s chairs and carriages, but today one of them wore an awkward and uncertain expression, as though she was not sure whether to let Minglan in. While they stood at an impasse, Yan Ran’s wet nurse came hurrying up and ushered Minglan inside. In Minglan’s ear, the woman said in a trembling whisper: “…Minglan Miss, you treat our young miss better than a blood sister — Old Madam would not hide this from you. Early this morning, a woman arrived — I don’t know who she is. She brought a young boy and girl with her and knelt at our front gate, kowtowing over and over, saying she wanted to see our young miss and the old master and old madam. She said if they would not see her, she would dash her head against the door and die on the spot! …Oh heavens, what is to be done? Our young miss — why is her fate so bitter…”

Minglan listened to her rambling account and in a moment grasped the outlines of the situation. She said, hesitating: “That woman… is she connected to the second young master of the Ningyuan Marquessate Gu family…?”

The wet nurse was already on the verge of tears, pressing her handkerchief to her face: “What a terrible sin! …What has any of this to do with our young miss? The woman keeps saying she wants to pay her respects to the young miss as mistress, begging the young miss to take pity on them and give them a proper place. She says that if the young miss does not agree, she and her children would sooner die right there than leave. Those two little ones have been wailing and crying loud enough for the whole household to hear. The old master became so enraged he spat blood and fainted. The old madam is barely holding together either. The second master’s family has gone to Jinan, so there’s not a soul here who can take charge of things! Our young miss is too gentle and kind — she can only cry, she has no idea what to do… Oh, merciful Buddha above — what sin is being punished here?!”

Minglan felt a tightening in her chest and quickened her pace toward the rear courtyard. She had barely passed through the half-moon gate when she saw a cluster of maids and matrons standing about, whispering and gossiping, some laughing among themselves. Minglan turned immediately to the wet nurse: “Go and fetch your second master’s head housekeeper here. What kind of spectacle is this, all of you standing around gawking?!”

The wet nurse gave a start, suddenly grasping what she had been overlooking. She hurried off at a run. Minglan, familiar enough with the Yu residence to need no guide, took Xiaotao and Danju and headed straight inside. Through the courtyard, she saw a woman dressed in plain clothes kneeling in the center, her arms around a young boy and girl. The mother and children were weeping without pause. Minglan slowed her steps and walked calmly around them, heading directly for the inner room.

Inside, Grandmother Yu lay on the daybed breathing faintly and with effort. Yan Ran sat weakly at the bedside, her face ghostly pale, her expression vacant. The moment she saw Minglan she seized her hand in both of hers, trembling, her lips barely moving as she murmured: “What a spectacle for you to witness…” Then, making a visible effort to compose herself, she raised her voice toward the woman kneeling outside: “Will you not get up! I will not drink your tea! Go — just go!”

The woman raised her head. She had delicate features and a pitiful look about her. Blood was specked across her forehead from kowtowing. Her eyes were red and brimming with tears: “You will be my mistress. If you will not shelter me, where in this vast world are my children and I to go? If you will not give us your word today, we would sooner die here together. Could you bear to watch us die, Miss?”

Yan Ran was by nature thin-skinned and soft-hearted. Words like these left her speechless. Under Minglan’s gaze, she felt even more at a loss, and called out weakly: “Please get up first — I, I won’t let you die…”

Minglan turned her eyes upward. Elder Yu had lived a life of absolute integrity — he had never taken a concubine. Grandmother Yu had lived her entire life without any such tribulations. Her daughter-in-law did not dare cross her. Yan Ran had grown up sheltered under her grandparents’ protection. Neither grandmother nor granddaughter had ever encountered anything like this, and their capacity to withstand it was predictably limited. If it had been Wang Shi here, or Rulan, or Molan — Minglan suddenly found herself sincerely appreciating that woman’s formidable fighting spirit. Looking at Grandmother Yu, who was now taking in more shallow breaths than deep ones, Minglan steeled herself and leaned close to the old woman’s ear: “Forgive me, Old Madam. Minglan must overstep.”

Grandmother Yu opened her eyes a sliver. Seeing Minglan, she understood, but had not the strength to speak. With great effort, she gasped: “You are like my own granddaughter. Go… go and give my useless girl some backing!”

Minglan stepped to the doorway and looked down at the woman on the steps below. Her voice rang out, clear and sharp: “Who are you who kneels there? If you would have my sister drink your tea, you ought at least to tell us your name!”

The woman raised her head slightly. Seeing that the servants around her treated Minglan with considerable deference, she took her for one of the second branch’s young ladies, and stilled her weeping: “I… my name is Man Niang. And these are my two poor children.”

Minglan’s expression remained mild. She smiled pleasantly: “Taking a concubine is not a matter settled simply by having the principal wife drink a cup of tea. It is said that ‘discord within a household begins with a neglected threshold.’ Even in ordinary families, when a man takes a concubine, proper inquiry must be made into her background. How much more is this true when it concerns the Ningyuan Marquessate — a distinguished noble household of the capital? If my sister were to drink your tea without even knowing your origins and past, would not people laugh at the Yu family for having no propriety or standards?”

The words were lucid and well-reasoned. Everyone listening nodded in agreement. Man Niang’s expression flickered with surprise as she looked at Minglan with unexpected attention. At that moment, a maid brought a padded stool for Minglan. Minglan settled herself with composed grace and smiled: “Now I will ask you a few questions on behalf of the old madam and my sister. Once things are clear, my sister will be in a position to consider your tea. Would you prefer to answer kneeling or standing?”

Seeing Minglan’s assured bearing, the servants around the courtyard gradually fell quiet, observing the mother and children as though watching an unfolding scene. Man Niang bit her lip, then stood up, saying low: “I will answer whatever you ask.”

A maid brought Minglan a tray with a tea bowl. She lifted it unhurriedly and took a sip, then asked in a perfectly agreeable tone: “Are you a member of the Gu household?” Man Niang lowered her head. “…No,” she said, muffled.

Minglan gave an inward smile and continued: “Ah, so you are from outside, then. And your parents and brothers — how do they fare? What is their occupation?”

Man Niang’s pallid face went a shade closer to ashen. Her lips trembled and she said, haltingly: “…I, I have no parents. Only an elder brother. He does some small trade…”

“What kind of trade?” Minglan pressed, and the servants around her widened their eyes in anticipation.

“At… the canal dock.” Man Niang’s voice had dropped nearly to nothing.

Minglan was about to observe that dock work was a perfectly respectable livelihood, when a matron at Grandmother Yu’s side leaned down and murmured something in her ear. Minglan’s brow furrowed: “And what is your connection to the Liuxi Theater Troupe?”

Man Niang’s voice shrank to a thread: “My brother used to do odd jobs for them.”

Minglan understood immediately. She had suspected as much — the kind of woman a wastrel like the second young master Gu would have known from outside could only have come from a pleasure house or a performance troupe. She said with an air of polite regret: “That does rather complicate things. This is something my sister may not have the authority to decide. You would do better to take your case directly to the Gu family.”

Man Niang let out a loud cry and threw herself back to the ground, tears streaming, her head hitting the floor in rapid succession: “The Gu family looks down on my origins and refuses to receive me. I have no recourse… only to beg the young miss to take pity on us. My children are growing older every day — they need to be entered into the family register!”

Minglan looked at the two children, who could not have been more than two years old, utterly oblivious and innocent. A faint pang stirred in her heart. She said, testing the ground: “Even if the Gu family will not acknowledge you, they would surely still want the children, would they not? It would simply mean some hardship for you.”

Man Niang became visibly alarmed and cried: “Separate me from my children? Look at you — a person beautiful as jade and yet with such a heartless mind! If I am parted from my own children, I… I might as well die…”

She then slammed her head against the ground again and again, and the servants around her rushed to restrain her. Her two children, terrified by the commotion, shrieked and wailed. In an instant, cries of “Mother!” and “Children!” filled the air from all directions, and chaos descended.

At that moment, the wet nurse arrived with the head housekeeper at last. Taking one look at the scene, the housekeeper immediately began dispersing the onlookers, then directed two stout matrons to take hold of Man Niang — one on either side. Man Niang, startled, ceased her crying, not daring to struggle. Minglan gave a slight wave of her hand and, watching Man Niang with cold composure, said in a voice that was clear and deliberate: “Your origins, while humble, are not without decency — you could have married an ordinary man and lived a quiet and unremarkable life. Yet knowing full well that your background made you unacceptable to a great noble household, knowing that the Gu family would not receive you — why did you choose to become a man’s kept mistress? And having made that choice, why now come here weeping and threatening to die? Are you telling me that you had no say in how you ended up here?… Hmph. You ask my sister to take you in — a woman refused entry by the Gu family itself — and so place my sister in the position of openly defying her future in-laws before she has even crossed their threshold. You have alarmed the entire Yu household and brought the neighbors to their doorstep pointing fingers, placing my sister in a position of impropriety. And you speak of mistress and concubine as if it were already settled — my sister is pure and unblemished, and you casually drag her name through the mire. You and my sister are nothing to each other — no kinship, no connection — and yet you appear without warning at her door, and for your sake she is made unfilial, improper, and dishonored. I would be within my rights to have you slapped out the door this very moment!”

Minglan’s rebuke was thorough and without flaw. Even the servants who had felt some sympathy for Man Niang a moment ago now wore expressions of contempt. Seeing the situation turning against her, Man Niang tried to open her mouth again to argue. Minglan cut her off: “You now have two choices. First: you leave calmly on your own, and the Yu household will arrange your passage back to the capital. Second: you are gagged, bound, and carried out through the back gate to be put onto the transport back to the capital. Choose one.”

The head housekeeper was quick-witted. The moment she heard this, she immediately called for rope and cloth gag to be fetched.

Man Niang’s pretty face cycled through several colors. She bit down on her lower lip, appearing soft and graceful and pitiable, and looked as if she were about to say something more: “Miss, I…”

Minglan cut her off again. She fixed Man Niang with a measured, cold gaze: “You need only say yes or no. Housekeeper — is the rope ready?”

The last question was directed at the head housekeeper, who responded at once: “Ready and waiting! Only awaiting the young miss’s word!” The several stout matrons beside her tensed in readiness, needing only the signal to move.

Man Niang stared at Minglan. Minglan stared back without flinching. Years of watching Wang Shi’s faction and Lin Yiniang’s faction clash and compete had given her a thorough education — a scene like this was not enough to unsettle her.

The two of them held each other’s gaze for a long moment. Then Man Niang went limp with exhaustion, and stood of her own accord, pulling her two children up beside her. She allowed the servants to lead her out.