After Taisheng escorted the Old Madam on her way, Minglan was still sunk in the sorrow of their parting when Rulan came storming into Mucang Study with all the force of a gust of wind. She saw Minglan lying listlessly on the daybed, hugging a large bolster pillow and staring into nothing. She went straight over and patted Minglan’s cheeks. “Hey, hey — wake up. You’re still sad? Give it a rest, give it a rest. As if you’re the only one who’s a devoted granddaughter. We’re all heartless and cold-blooded, aren’t we!”

Minglan had no energy to spar with her, and only half-dead, said, “Not at all, not at all. The sisters keep their sadness in their hearts. It is only that this younger sister lacks the cultivation, and wears her sadness plainly on her face.”

Rulan had thrown a punch straight into a pillow. Having nothing to say to that, she went straight to the point. “Um, that… Lan wrote again, didn’t she? Hurry up and tell me — what has that Sun scholar been up to lately?”

Minglan rolled her eyes at the ceiling.

Lan’s series of letters revolved around essentially two themes. One was ‘A Record of the Decline of a Heartless, Conscienceless, Virtue-Forsaken Scoundrel Who Abandoned His Wife and Family.’ The other was ‘A Complete Record of the Full Revival of the Wronged, Kind-Hearted, and Refined Lady Sheng Shulan.’ Ever since Minglan had mentioned it offhandedly once, Rulan had become a devoted listener to this serialized story.

The story went as follows: in the year that Sun Zhigao exchanged a letter of divorce for half of the dowry he had received, he immediately moved that courtesan — pure as a lotus risen from the mud — into the main chambers. Shulan was sent by her family to the village where Gui Jie’er had married, a place of abundant produce and simple, honest folk. Since Gui Jie’er’s father-in-law was the local village head, no one spoke ill of Shulan there.

With no Shulan to check him and none of Shulan’s management staff keeping watch, Sun Zhigao spent his days in dissipation, throwing lavish banquets at wine houses, hosting gatherings of hangers-on who fancied themselves poets, drinking and consorting with entertainers — living without a care in the world. When word of this behavior reached Magistrate Da, the official was furious. At a local examination research seminar attended by scholars and graduates, he publicly reprimanded Sun Zhigao in front of everyone, calling him “a man without conduct or virtue” and “a disgrace to the scholarly class.” Sun Zhigao returned home in utter humiliation and thereafter spent even more recklessly.

Sun’s mother had soft ears and an easily led mind. Clutching a large sum of money with no idea how to spend it well, she decided to invest — at one point a cosmetics shop, at another a grain merchant, sometimes money-lending. The industries could not have been more varied; the results were entirely consistent: she lost money. Minglan strongly suspected that her Elder Uncle Sheng Wei had been quietly adding fuel to that fire behind the scenes.

So it was that by the time the courtesan woman gave birth to a son, the Sun household had already greatly declined. But Sun Zhigao cared greatly about appearances, and kept up the facade of prosperity. To continue living the comfortable life of a man attended by servants, he began steadily selling off family property. Sun’s mother had tried to persuade her son to show a little restraint, but Sun Zhigao’s response to everything was — ‘once I pass the examinations, everything will be different.’

But the courtesan woman apparently was not willing to wait. One day, when the Sun mother and son had gone out to a banquet and came home late, they each drank a bowl of sobering soup — and both fell into a deep sleep. When they woke, they found that all the valuables, silver, and cash boxes in the household had vanished. Only the courtesan woman and Sun’s mother’s nephew had left behind a ‘deeply moving’ long letter.

It explained that the two of them had known each other for a long time, that the child she had borne was actually the nephew’s, that they had loved each other for years in a love that could move heaven and earth. Fate had been unkind and kept them apart. They had endured these long days barely able to deceive themselves. In the end they could no longer deny their true feelings, and had decided to go off together and make a life as a couple. They asked the ‘compassionate and magnanimous’ Sun’s mother and the ‘noble and magnificent’ Sun Zhigao to understand this love they shared. Oh — and please also understand their having taken the household’s money and valuables with them.

When this story got out, the Sun mother and son became the laughingstock of Yuyang overnight. The pair of true lovers had left in such a hurry they had not managed to sell the house — but they had sold off all the farmland, estates, and other valuable furnishings. Sun Zhigao found things immediately and considerably more difficult. The wine houses and restaurants in town refused to offer him further credit. The bookshops and paper merchants all came at once to collect their debts. Looking at the thin gruel and pickled vegetables on the table, it was only then that Sun’s mother found herself thinking fondly of Shulan’s merits. She made inquiries and eventually made her way to Cang Village. At first Sun Zhigao still wanted to put on airs, implying he was graciously condescending to take Shulan back. But when they arrived, Shulan was not only remarried — her belly was already quite large.

Shulan’s new husband’s family was a substantial household in the neighboring village, with house and fields both. The new brother-in-law was an amiable, honest, and straightforward man. This time, Sheng Wei and Li Shi had examined the match carefully, brought full dignity to the occasion, and happily married off their daughter.

The Sun mother and son stood staring at Shulan’s swollen belly, entirely at a loss. Sun Zhigao, in his anger and agitation, said something cutting and unkind — but Shulan was no longer the same woman she had once been. She smiled coldly and ridiculed him thoroughly. Gui Jie’er was even sharper. She went straight for Sun Zhigao’s most vulnerable point and declared: ‘Perhaps you are the one who cannot have children. You should go see a physician. Do not go on ruining the lives of fine young women.’

Sun Zhigao was so shamed and enraged he felt he might as well die. Then the sturdy, no-nonsense country men came charging in. Having no patience for talk, they simply grabbed their carrying poles and gave Sun Zhigao a thorough beating, then chased him out.

The most recent news was that Shulan had given birth to twins — a boy and a girl — and Sun Zhigao had become a regular at the pawnshop.

Rulan left behind a table full of sunflower seed shells, thoroughly dissatisfied with this ending, and equally dissatisfied with Minglan’s complete lack of enthusiasm in the retelling. Minglan was not in the mood to revel in it either. She picked up the account book the Old Madam had left for her and began reading it carefully.

Question One: One mu of average dry farmland is worth approximately five taels of silver. Irrigated paddy land doubles that price, and premium paddy land can sell for twenty taels. If she had one thousand taels, how should she invest?

Answer: It depends on the circumstances and the policies in effect.

Question Two: The original household had ten tenant families as attached servants. Over successive generations, the household staff has multiplied greatly. Older servants presume upon their seniority to act high-handedly and are difficult to manage. Household expenditures are growing, but the staff is becoming increasingly useless. How to reduce?

Answer: Best course — enforce family planning, manage them properly. Middle course — release them. Worst course — sell them.

Question Three: The household has a large number of people, the men do not engage in any productive work, monthly stipends exceed income, and the accounts are running at a loss. What to do?

Answer: Divide the family property, and let each branch support itself.

Question Four: Parents-in-law are muddle-headed and partial, favoring another branch of the family and refusing to divide the property. Sisters-in-law are greedy; brothers-in-law are lecherous. The communal accounts have a massive shortfall. The husband indulges his concubines at the expense of his wife. The wife’s own family is cold and indifferent, caring nothing for her welfare. There is nowhere to turn — not to Heaven above, nor Earth below.

Answer: …Perhaps be reborn into a better family.

The account books reflected not just income and expenditure, but a tangled web of human relationships, degrees of intimacy, competing interests — all mashed together into an impossible mess. Minglan read through the whole day and ended up with a splitting headache. Large households were simply trouble. Each branch had its own calculations; some problems had no solution at all — one could only endure slowly, grinding it out until the daughter-in-law became the mother-in-law and passed the baton to the next generation to grind on in turn.

“Miss.” Danju lifted the curtain and came in smiling. “Nanny from the main house has come to tell you that new spring garments and hair ornaments have arrived, and the young ladies are invited to come and choose.”

Minglan got down from the daybed, and as Danju helped her straighten her clothes and hair, she asked, “How has things been in the courtyard these past few days?”

Danju thought for a moment and said quietly, “Not as it was when the Old Madam was here. A few of the younger maids have started some idle chatter.”

Minglan gave a slight smile and instructed, “You need not make a point of reprimanding them. Just keep a closer eye on things.” Danju was puzzled. Minglan’s lips curved a little. “The people inside a private household are all the same — easy to share in prosperity, difficult to share in hardship. Let us just watch and see.”

Previously, to tend to Minglan’s health, the Old Madam had been meticulous and painstaking about her food. During the day there were rotating snacks — clotted cream pastries, yogurt desserts, steamed delicacies, each kind taking its turn. In the evenings there were supper dishes — crystal sugar bird’s nest porridge, golden thread red jujube broth — whatever was finest. Minglan had been fed until her skin was luminous and her complexion bloomed with warmth and color, and the small maidservants had benefited along with her. Now, of course, everything had to go back to the common household standard.

Danju understood. Her expression became solemn. “Knowing how generously Miss has always treated them — if they could turn resentful and discontented at the first sign of reduced circumstances, they would deserve to be dealt with harshly. Miss, I will keep watch.”

Xiaotao helped Minglan to Wang Shi’s room. There they found Wang Shi reclining on the rattan consort’s daybed, laughing and chatting with Liu Kun’s wife. In the center, two square tables had been pushed together, and on them were arranged neatly folded new garments in brightly colored silks and brocades — vivid and eye-catching. Molan and Rulan were standing beside the table, eyeing the items. Upon seeing Minglan arrive, both glanced at her.

Wang Shi knew that Minglan did everything a step behind everyone else — even slow to bow and greet when the occasion called for it; and whenever anything was being distributed, she always arrived late, and took only whatever was left over. Because of this, no one had any grounds for complaint. Wang Shi set down her teacup and picked up a small black lacquer mother-of-pearl inlay box from the side table, asking Liu Kun’s wife to pass it over. She smiled. “Cuiwei Jewelry recently put out some new designs. Your elder sister ordered them before the New Year — she thought they were fresh and pretty, so she sent them along. You sisters can each pick one.”

Liu Kun’s wife had already opened the box and placed it beside the garments on the table. Inside was a dazzling array of ornaments and jade — brilliantly colored and richly gleaming. Minglan looked over and saw three hair pieces arranged side by side: a colored glaze mandarin duck flower-and-tassel pin, a bat-patterned gold step-ornament set with southern pearls on trembling branches, and a honey-amber crystal hairpin. They were indeed novel in design, transparent and luminous.

The two sisters looked at each other. Rulan pursed her lips and said, “Fourth Sister should choose first. Father always says there is a proper order of seniority.”

Molan gave a faint smile, stepped directly forward, and began to examine them, left and right. She finally took the most dazzling piece — the gold-pearl step-ornament. Rulan let out a soft, deliberate laugh, turned to Minglan, and said, “Sixth Sister, in the story of Kong Rong sharing the pears — was it the elder who yielded to the younger, or the younger who yielded to the elder?”

Minglan was in a bind — to answer or not to answer. She could only smile wryly. “Fourth Sister, you know very well how much ink this younger sister has in her belly. Please do not put me on the spot.”

Rulan shot her a sideways look, then turned toward Molan. “Father always praises Fourth Sister as having the best scholarship among us sisters. Fourth Sister, what do you say?”

Molan’s pretty face went red and her expression grew awkward. She forced a smile. “If Fifth Sister likes this one, just say so. Why bring up such stories? We are sisters — surely Elder Sister would not argue with Younger Sister over such a thing?”

Rulan said, unhurried, “Which hairpin does not really matter. I simply wanted to reason through a principle with Elder Sister.”

“Then you take it first!” Molan set down the gold-pearl ornament, her lowered gaze full of barely suppressed resentment.

Rulan said with light contempt, “Elder Sister has already made her choice. How could I take something she has set her heart on? Father would scold me again.”

Minglan, watching Rulan press on so relentlessly, furrowed her brow slightly and glanced over at Wang Shi — only to see that Wang Shi was busy chatting with Liu Kun’s wife, apparently not looking over here at all, as though she neither knew nor noticed a thing. Minglan lowered her head. She understood.

This time the old Emperor had opened a special examination. Many of Sheng Hong’s colleagues and former classmates had younger brothers sitting for it. But Changfeng had not even passed the provincial examination to earn the juren degree, and could only watch helplessly as this rare opportunity slipped away. Lately, Sheng Hong had been looking at Changfeng in a way that made clear he was far from pleased. A few days ago, when the examination began, half the Censorate was buzzing with colleagues discussing their brothers and nephews who were sitting for it. Sheng Hong had found it deeply grating. He came home in a black mood and went straight to Changfeng’s study, intending to give him a thorough dressing-down — the boy absolutely must pass the provincial examinations next autumn and the capital examinations the autumn after that.

But the moment he stepped to the door, he heard the sound of a man and a woman laughing and talking from within. Sheng Hong kicked the door open and went inside — only to find his own son with a slight smile on his lips, looking dashingly at ease as he raised a jade-handled writing brush. Beside him, a slim and graceful maidservant was leaning close, rolling up both sleeves. Changfeng was writing vivid, lurid lines of poetry across her two bare, snow-white, tender inner arms.

Sheng Hong had sharp eyes. With one glance he caught the verse — ‘skin smooth as ice, as jade, scent rising through the silk; unwrap the sash, remove the garment, and await my pleasure’ — and the fire in his belly shot up at once. Without a single word, he had Changfeng trussed up firmly and then subjected him to a thorough application of the family rod. By the time it was over, this young man of graceful bearing had been beaten until he was crying for his father and screaming for his mother. Lin Yiniang came rushing in to plead for mercy, kneeling on the floor and begging desperately.

Sheng Hong’s fury was beyond containing. In front of the entire household, he pointed at the mother and son pair and cursed them as ‘hopeless cases that could not be reformed.’

Lin Yiniang was aggrieved as well — it was not that she did not want to manage her son properly, but she was only a yiniang. Her standing was neither right nor legitimate. Her son did not fully submit to her discipline, and she worried that if she was too strict, she would damage their relationship as mother and son — and her remaining years depended on him.

Sheng Hong, not one to do things by halves, had Changfeng’s study turned thoroughly inside out. In the process, he uncovered more than a dozen volumes of erotic art and licentious verse — the pages worn and dog-eared, evidence of frequent and fond revisitation.

Sheng Hong was beyond furious. He personally picked up the rod and gave Changfeng another beating, then placed him under house arrest, and immediately spoke to the outer accounts manager, issuing a strict order that Changfeng was no longer permitted to withdraw silver freely — any sum exceeding five taels must be reported first.

Lin Yiniang’s influence had rested on two things: her own favor with Sheng Hong, and her son being held in Sheng Hong’s regard. Now her favor had long since faded, and her son had fallen into disgrace. The household servants all had crystal-clear hearts — the winds promptly shifted toward Wang Shi.

“Then what does Fifth Sister want?” Molan said coldly. In all her years, she had never been spoken to with such contempt.

“I don’t want anything in particular.” Rulan turned the garments over idly, and said with deliberate provocation, “But since Elder Sister has told me to go first, that would be going against Father’s wishes — there must be an explanation for it. We are sisters here. It is not as though one of us is of higher standing than the other, is it?”

She stretched out the last syllable, watching Molan with a challenging gaze.

Molan bit her lip. She knew Rulan was trying to force her to say the four words: ‘the born of concubines rank lower.’ In earlier years, when Lin Yiniang’s branch was in favor, Molan had not infrequently wielded that ‘legitimate versus concubine-born’ distinction as a tool to earn more sympathy and preferential treatment from Sheng Hong.

Times were different now, of course — but she still could not quite bring herself to back down openly. Her glance fell on Minglan, who was standing to one side with her head lowered, and a thought turned in her mind. She smiled and said, “Fifth Sister is quite right. Even Kong Rong yielded to the younger. In that case, let Sixth Sister choose first.”

Minglan looked at Molan. Very well. The small flicker of sympathy that had just begun to arise in her heart vanished without a trace. She saw Molan walking over to pull her forward, and with one nimble pivot, she slipped out of Molan’s reach. She had already formulated what she wanted to say — and was just about to speak when a voice was heard from outside: “The Master has returned.”

Wang Shi, who had been watching the scene from the corner of her eye, gave a small start. She glanced at the water clock beside her. It was barely past the first quarter of the shen hour — still before the time officials normally returned from their posts.

Liu Kun’s wife was fairly sharp. She immediately helped Wang Shi to her feet to go greet Sheng Hong. He came walking in still wearing his official robes and winged-brim hat, with an expression of mild displeasure on his face, a few strands of his beard slightly unkempt. He walked straight to the master’s chair and sat down. Wang Shi quickly ordered tea to be brought and went to his side with a smile. “You are back, my Lord. Why so early today?”

Sheng Hong carefully removed his official hat and said casually, “Today the special examination concluded. Even the Left Censor-in-Chief left early. Those of us remaining had no reason to stay on.” For an official, it was not advisable to stand apart from one’s colleagues — so long as no matters of principle or vital interest were involved, it was best to go along with the majority.

All the girls stood properly and paid their respects to Sheng Hong with appropriate ceremony.

Sheng Hong gave them each a slight nod. He noticed the table covered in garments and hairpins, and furrowed his brow. “Were these not sent by Hualan yesterday? Why have you only now distributed them to the girls?”

Wang Shi’s expression flickered and she covered quickly. “In a few days, the Zhongqin Earl household will be holding the full-month celebration for Hualan’s baby boy. I thought the girls shouldn’t look too plainly dressed, so I added some garment fabric as well — that is why it was only today.”

Sheng Hong nodded. Then, thinking back to what he had seen when he entered, he recalled catching a glance of Molan and Minglan standing to one side while only Rulan was at the table. He looked again and noticed the open jewelry box on the table. He shot a glance at Wang Shi, and displeasure welled within him. He said directly, “Why is it only Rulan at the table choosing? Have Molan and Minglan already received their share?”

Molan moved smoothly forward to Sheng Hong and said with a sweet smile, “Asking Fifth Sister to go first.”

Sheng Hong, knowing well that Rulan and Wang Shi shared the same temperament — neither was known for generosity — assumed at once that Wang Shi was slighting the concubine-born daughters. He immediately cast a stern glance at Rulan. Rulan’s face went pale.

Minglan saw immediately that things were going in the wrong direction, and quickly stepped forward, tugging at Sheng Hong’s sleeve with a smile. “Father, would you settle this for us? Just now Fifth Sister said there should be a proper order of seniority, and asked Fourth Sister to choose first. But Fourth Sister said it should be like ‘Kong Rong sharing the pears,’ and wanted me to choose first. The way I see it — whichever way we go, it is always either Fourth Sister or me. It never seems to be Fifth Sister’s turn. She has the worst deal of all. So this time, let her go first. Father — don’t you think that is fair?”

Sheng Hong had always been fond of Minglan. Looking at her bright, pretty face and listening to her childlike little reasoning, he smiled and said warmly to all three girls, “Very good. You all know how sisters should be toward one another. Your father is pleased.”

Molan ground her teeth inwardly, but could not argue. She could only force a smile and agree. Rulan also let out a quiet breath of relief. Wang Shi, seizing the moment, promptly said, “I will have the things sent to your rooms later, and you can each take your pick there. Your father needs some rest.”

The girls all bowed respectfully and filed out.

Sheng Hong watched the girls go, then rose and went into the inner room with Wang Shi. He stretched out his arms for her to help him remove his outer robe. “How is Quan Ge’er? And how is his mother?”

Wang Shi, thinking of her round little grandson, was all smiles. “Very well — all well! The child is still small, so it is not good to bring him out into the wind. Otherwise I would have had him brought out for you to dote on. Oh, those little arms and legs — you should see how strong they already are!”

Sheng Hong broke into laughter. “Just look at that child’s face — he has the look of one born to blessings! Strong is good, strong is good!” It was said that the dearest thing to grandparents is their grandchildren. The sight of a small grandson’s chubby, waving little arms melted Sheng Hong completely, and he kept instructing Wang Shi to look after him with every care.

“And not only Quan Ge’er — Hualan’s Shi Ge’er is looking well too. When I visited last time, he was already smiling — oh, oh, that sweetness when he smiles! The very image of Hualan when she was small!” Wang Shi sighed with a heart full of contentment. “Now Hualan can finally hold her head up. At least she will not always have to watch her mother-in-law’s expression.”

Sheng Hong truly adored this eldest daughter of his. Of all the children in the household, Hualan was the one he had actually carried in his own arms and coaxed into sleep when she was small. Being a gentleman official who was not supposed to speak ill of others, Sheng Hong could not help himself and said, “The old Earl himself is a decent man. But the mother-in-law… she is better now, I suppose?”

Wang Shi let out a cold huff. “If I had not gone over personally to say something, she would have been content to set out a mere two tables for the full-month banquet. Both are her own sons, and one she gave a fifty-table feast — yet for the other, she was going to do this. Isn’t she afraid of being laughed at for having such a crooked heart? And that son-in-law of ours, so blindly devoted to his mother — it is only Hualan who suffers. No telling how much of her dowry has been quietly drained away. It was only after you and Changbai got your promotions that she finally settled down a little. Hmph — as if she does not remember what a cold, desolate household it was when Hualan married in. She should count herself lucky that Hualan was willing to marry into it. That was the ancestors of the Yuan family accumulating virtue!”

Sheng Hong considered for a moment. “That day I brought it up briefly with the old Earl. He will rein in his wife.”

On that note, Sheng Hong suddenly thought of something and asked, “What about… what about the matter of Molan’s marriage prospects?”

Wang Shi folded the official robe, knit her brow, and sighed. “It is not for lack of looking on my part. But you have turned down every option. A Hanlin Academy editor from Changbai’s circle — you said too poor. The matches I found through others — you said not enough standing. If we want a proper family, then it can only be the concubine-born sons of great households. Let me be honest: it is not that there are no decent prospects. But when we are looking for a son-in-law, the other family is also looking for a daughter-in-law. Molan was born of a concubine — what great advantages does she have to offer? How do we even go about finding someone?”

Sheng Hong was inwardly uncomfortable. In truth he also felt that those candidates were adequate — but Lin Yiniang had wept and begged relentlessly. Faced with reality, Lin Yiniang had been forced to lower her head. Only then had she come to recognize that He Hong’s qualifications were actually quite sound.

“But let me say this plainly: in a few months Molan will be of age to be betrothed. If she keeps on picking and choosing, I will wash my hands of it. But it is Rulan and Minglan who cannot afford to wait — so do not let them be held back by a sister who has not yet settled her affairs first!” Wang Shi laid out her position clearly before Sheng Hong in advance.

Sheng Hong pinched the bridge of his nose, his head aching. “Mother mentioned something to me before she left. When she visited Yuyang last time, she noticed a young man on the branch of our eldest aunt’s family there — a fellow named Yu Ge’er, I believe — studious and diligent, with a respectable family background and solid finances. That sounds promising. We will have to see whether he can pass the provincial examinations next year.”

He still trusted the Old Madam’s judgment greatly. The Old Madam had mentioned, with a faint smile, that the young man rather reminded her of herself in younger years. At that thought, Sheng Hong’s mood lifted. If he resembles me, then he is likely a young man of both talent and looks — promising indeed!

Very good, very good. If it came to pass, Molan would be fortunate.