Though it was the Start of Autumn that day, it still fell, properly speaking, within the dog days of summer. As the saying goes, the heat after autumn can be fiercer still, and with the summer heat not yet fully spent, this was in fact the very peak of the season’s swelter. Out on West Lake, the water itself seemed almost to steam, though fortunately the lake was not like the land—when the breeze reached the boats it remained comparatively cool—and one pleasure boat after another opened its windows and drew back its gauze curtains, drifting slowly out across the water.

Those who received invitations to today’s gathering were, without exception, people of family standing—and even the relatively humble among them were, at the very least, well-connected scholars and men of letters. Along the shore, people could already be seen greeting one another; it was still early, and the afternoon heat kept the crowd thin for now, but before long, boat after boat began putting out onto the lake, and the scale of the gathering became apparent. Each vessel bore the emblem of its household—among them Jiangning’s largest rice merchant, the Cao family; the cloth merchant Long family; the Chen family, proprietors of pleasure houses; and various official boats besides, with their anchors already raised.

Though it was hardly the ideal time of a summer afternoon for a lake outing, the scene was more than enough to show off the prosperity of Hangzhou as a city of the Jiangnan waterways. Now and then two boats would draw close together, their passengers exchanging bows across the gunwales—clearly all part of the same circle, with no shortage of mutual acquaintance among them.

The weather being warm, and it not yet quite time to dock and go ashore, those who had arrived early were content to drift about on the lake a while longer. Whenever they spotted someone they knew, the smaller boats would draw alongside the larger ones; since many had come in groups, smaller gatherings were already underway aboard one boat after another even before the main event had begun—two or three wealthy men here, three or five scholars there, laughing and talking, holding forth on the affairs of the world. There were also boats belonging to the garrison forces stationed around Suzhou and Hangzhou, having already sent soldiers ahead to Xiaoyingzhou to clear and guard the grounds in anticipation of the Hangzhou prefect’s arrival.

Since many of the merchants and poets had brought along family members, the women of the pleasure quarters could not be brought openly. Still, aside from the Chen family, whose business this naturally was, and who had brought two of their finest courtesans along as company, there were ways for others to bring such company aboard as well, should they wish to attend. Certain scholars, unaccompanied by family, who had close ties with particular courtesans, would bring them along in a private capacity—though such groups tended to form their own separate circle, difficult to mix with those who had brought their families.

The women of these families, who might in ordinary times enjoy hearing tales of talented scholars and beautiful courtesans, could hardly help feeling some displeasure upon actually encountering such company in person, and would naturally take to mocking and excluding them. The clear divide between the two groups was, in fact, one of the more entertaining features of such gatherings—romantic dalliance and domestic warmth rarely blended well together.

By the time the Lou family’s large boat arrived, the weather had cooled slightly. Aboard were mainly Lou Jinlin along with his son and daughter, Lou Shuwan and Lou Shuweng—his elder son, Lou Shuwang, was not in Hangzhou at present. Lou Shuwan’s husband, Song Zhiqian, had come along as well, but when a few friends came over to greet him, Lou Jinlin spoke up: “Shuwan and Zhiqian, go on over and join your friends.” At home, Lou Jinlin’s manner was mild enough, but whenever he mentioned the two of them, he always said Lou Shuwan’s name first and Song Zhiqian’s second—given the son-in-law’s already lowly status from having married in, no one thought this at all strange.

Song Zhiqian had always felt somewhat intimidated by his father-in-law, and hearing this, felt as though he’d been granted a reprieve. Lou Shuwan, for her part, rubbed her temple. “It’s too hot at midday, I’m feeling a bit drowsy—you go on ahead, husband.” Song Zhiqian hesitated a moment before finally being persuaded to switch to another boat and go join his friends there.

Besides these three principal members of the Lou family, several junior members of the household’s collateral branches had come along as well—mainly young relatives Lou Jinlin had been cultivating as future support for his son and daughter, brought along this time to gain some experience and make useful acquaintances.

Earlier, at the shore, Lou Jinlin had already exchanged greetings with a local wealthy merchant, and now that the boat had left the bank, someone else soon called out loudly, drawing their boat alongside. The Lou family’s reach in Hangzhou extended far and wide; though not quite on the level of a family like the Qians, generations of accumulated standing put them not far behind, and no one took them lightly. Many came to pay their respects, and a number of scholars came over to greet Lou Shuweng as well.

Among the Lou family’s children, Lou Shuweng, though he came across as something of an idle playboy, was in fact quite gifted in letters, and had even been called a child prodigy in his youth around Hangzhou. His natural talent had been considerable, though he had never applied himself with much diligence afterward, and had still managed some accomplishments regardless. As the youngest son of the Lou family, deeply favored by his father, he carried a certain touch of arrogance that others tended simply to accept as a matter of course.

Once grown, his interest in women had come to outstrip his interest in poetry. With the family’s money and influence behind him, even without any great display of poetic ability or open bullying, winning women over was simple enough for him. Later, when his father expressed some displeasure at this, he took to managing the business here and there instead—being a clever man, and with capable people to assist him, things went smoothly enough. From then on, in everyone’s eyes, he became something of a figure of detached, worldly refinement—not one to write much poetry, yet still considered a great talent, and skilled in business besides, the very image of a man capable at everything he touched.

This kind of reputation built up in a rather more conventional way. Compared with Ning Yi’s reputation back in Jiangning—a man who could both write poetry and outmaneuver his rivals, yet remained relatively low-key, coupled with his status as a son-in-law married into his wife’s family—people instinctively felt there was something rather pitiable about him. If Lou Shuweng’s story was that of a favored son of heaven rising as expected, then Ning Yi’s, by comparison, seemed more like some obscure tale of a man clawing his way up from the shadows.

Aboard the boat, people sat sipping chilled drinks, and before long the conversation turned to the Su family, largely because word had gotten around that the Su family had some connection to the Lou family as well.

“I saw just now, over that way—what looked like the Su family’s little pleasure boat passing by on the lake. I glanced over, and there wasn’t much movement on board—by the window, it looked like everyone was already asleep, ha ha…”

“In weather like this, the lake really is the best place for an afternoon nap. Those Su family folk certainly know how to enjoy themselves.”

“I did see the Su family’s two young sons… Come to think of it, they’re both rather capable too. Only, I wonder why the Su family let a woman take charge of things—does Brother Lou know anything about that?”

The speaker was a Hangzhou cloth merchant surnamed Luo, asking out of curiosity. Lou Jinlin merely smiled. “An old family friend’s daughter. She called on me once, but as for really knowing her well, it’s my daughter Shuwan who’s had more dealings with her. Old Luo, if you’re curious, you might ask Shuwan yourself—I’m not so clear on the details.”

Lou Shuwan, who had earlier claimed to be sleepy and had been standing behind her father like an ornamental piece, now gave a faint smile at hearing the subject raised, and went over to pour tea for the middle-aged man surnamed Luo. “The Su family was originally based in Jiangning—I haven’t looked too closely into matters on that side myself. It’s just that my Tan’er sister here is a truly capable woman—even I, her elder sister, can’t compare to her… Hm, does Uncle Luo happen to know of Luo Tian?”

The man nodded. “Of course I know him—his cotton goods are top quality here in Suzhou-Hangzhou. Why do you ask about him, niece?”

“This Luo Tian and Tan’er have already done a piece of business together—surely Uncle Luo has heard of it too?”

The merchant surnamed Luo thought for a moment. “Just these past couple of days, yes, I did hear there’d been some small deal—though not much dealing beyond that. To be honest, that Luo Tian is famously stubborn. Even though it’s only a small transaction, I do wonder now how the young Miss Su managed to talk him around. Does my niece happen to know?”

Lou Shuwan smiled. The Su family had not caused much stir in Hangzhou, and up to now people had only spoken of them as idle dinner conversation—but Lou Shuwan’s figure was fine and her smile sweet, and by now she had thoroughly piqued everyone’s curiosity, all of them waiting eagerly for what came next. Holding the teapot, she turned gracefully around.

“I do happen to know the inside story. This Luo Tian may be stubborn in business, but he dotes utterly on his wife, who was originally the daughter of an official family. It took him a great deal of effort, they say, to win her hand and marry her. But these past few years, her spirits have grown increasingly gloomy—she’s fallen ill, sometimes can’t even manage to eat. It’s a sickness of the heart, and no number of physicians has been able to cure it. It was through her that my Tan’er sister managed to build a connection with Luo Tian.”

“Oh?” The merchant surnamed Luo frowned. Someone else in the group spoke up in surprise. “I’ve heard something of this Madam Luo that Miss Lou speaks of as well. To be honest, quite a few people have thought to use this connection to get closer to the Luo family—no shortage of physicians sent over with prescriptions—but none of it ever worked. What method did Miss Su use? Don’t tell me she actually managed to cure Madam Luo?”

“My Tan’er sister sent over a certain something,” Lou Shuwan said, turning back with a smile and holding up a single finger. “I don’t know this thing terribly well myself, but Uncle Luo here must certainly know it well. Uncle Luo, care to guess?”

The merchant thought for a long while before laughing. “Niece, don’t keep us in suspense any longer—I really can’t guess this one.”

Lou Shuwan lowered her eyes, a flicker of recollection and thoughtfulness crossing them. “She sent over… a box of silkworms. Yes, that’s it.” The woman nodded and began walking toward her father. The listeners were struck momentarily dumb, not quite understanding what she meant—silkworms? Gold silkworms, or silver ones? A moment later, the discussion broke out in earnest. Even Lou Jinlin frowned, seeming about to say something, when Lou Shuweng, after a moment’s thought, spoke up first. “Little sister, don’t keep everyone in suspense—what do you mean, a box of silkworms? What actually happened?”

Only then did Lou Shuwan raise an eyebrow, looking at her elder brother, her voice growing clear and bright. “I was puzzled myself, honestly. It was only these past two days that I heard the Luo family and Tan’er had struck up some business. When I asked further into it, it turned out Tan’er had sent over nothing more than a box of silkworms—just a few of them, really, kept in a little wooden box covered with gauze cloth, the box itself simple enough to look at, but the silkworms inside were quite adorable. Madam Luo, being a young lady of a noble household, had never encountered such creatures before, and found herself charmed watching them nibble mulberry leaves. Tan’er then told her that there happened to be a mulberry tree just across the street from the Luo residence, and from then on Madam Luo would go out every day to pick mulberry leaves to feed her few silkworms—and found herself eating happily again, and willing to step out of the house too. Luo Tian had wanted to have a mulberry tree transplanted right into his wife’s own courtyard, but Tan’er stopped him from doing it. And that’s how the deal came about. That’s really all there was to it.”

She told it all quite plainly this time. Lou Shuweng and the others, hearing this out, sat stunned for a good while. Lou Jinlin, too, was silent a moment before saying quietly, “If it’s really as simple as that, then this Tan’er of yours truly is no ordinary woman…” Lou Shuwan nodded. In truth, though she had spun the story out with some mystery earlier, and now delivered it plainly, seeming almost to share in the credit for it herself, her mind at that very moment was not on any of this at all—it had turned instead to something she had kept quietly tucked away.

She remembered that it had been not long after Su Tan’er and her husband first arrived in Hangzhou, once they had settled on their residence and begun making their rounds of calls. When it came to Luo Tian, they had gathered what information they could, and had also asked her what she knew of him. Lou Shuwan had mentioned Madam Luo’s situation in passing at the time. Luo Tian’s temperament being rather peculiar made him difficult to build a connection with, which was precisely why he had fewer rivals for his business—this was why Su Tan’er had taken an interest in the first place. But Lou Shuwan had also understood that Madam Luo’s condition was, essentially, beyond any solution; she knew little of Luo Tian herself, and had only mentioned it in passing.

She recalled that at the time, Su Tan’er’s peculiar husband, Ning Yi, happening to pass through the sitting room, had lingered nearby, sipping a few mouthfuls of tea, and after listening to her finish, had asked, “The daughter of an official family?” Then, just as casually, he had added, “Send over a box of silkworms, then.” At the time, both she and Su Tan’er had simply stared at him in bewilderment, thinking they must have misheard.

She still remembered exactly how offhandedly he had said it—at the time, this Ning Liheng had shown not the slightest sign of any hidden depth about him; he had even seemed more interested in martial arts, and had apparently gone off to do something of the sort just before, only to finish his tea, say his piece, and walk off. She had never given the matter another thought from beginning to end—not until two days ago, when she had heard that Su Tan’er and Luo Tian had struck a deal, and had asked around a bit. And ever since, right up to today, she had been turning that one sentence over and over in her mind.

That man had waved his hand and said: “Send over a box of silkworms, then…”

“Send over a box of silkworms…”

Heavens. They had actually sent a box of silkworms…

In the midst of all this discussion, at the side of the boat, a voice called out—the Qian family’s pleasure boat, belonging to Qian Xiwen, was drawing near…