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Old Madam Xie quickly told Zhengze and the others to help the master up. Mother and son had not seen each other in two years, and she meant to take a good look at him. Xie Shu had first served as Regional Inspector of Jiannan Circuit and was later given the additional post of Military Governor. In camp he oversaw the troops; on campaign he took command as marshal. The frontier had been unsettled for years, with Tubo raiding again and again. Two years earlier he had met and driven back the Tubo elite forces that seized Shibao Fortress, and since then he had been building defensive works around the Jishi Mountains. A soldier living in the open could hardly be as well kept as a man at home, and the old madam felt a pang of sorrow. "You are getting old," she said wistfully. "However busy the army keeps you, you must take care of yourself." Xie Shu supported her by the arm as they walked toward the hall, smiling. "Beyond the pass, the whole world is wind and sand....

Qinghe was amazed at how generously Qingyuan took it, though she couldn't say so outright and felt her way toward it. "Fourth Sister, the days go by so quickly. In the blink of an eye, you've been back two months. We sisters don't have many days left together. Soon each of us will have to find her own door to go through. About today, aren't you angry?" Qingyuan smiled and shook her head. "It had nothing to do with me. What is there to be angry about? In a whole lifetime, how many chances come along, and who gets every one of them to end well? When I was at the Chen house, my grandmother there was a very learned old lady. Once I went with her to a temple to burn incense. It was far off in the mountains, and we had to cross water to reach it. When the boat was in the middle of the lake, I let a cup slip from my hand into the water. I watched it sink, bit by bit, all the way to the bottom, and I cried over it. My grandmother said that as long as it wasn...

"Go to the gate and find out exactly who delivered this letter," Madam Hu said hurriedly. "Where is the messenger now? Find a way to track him down. I have questions for him." Cailian said yes and went out to carry out the order. Qingru couldn't make sense of it. Her mother had always been steady, composed no matter how serious the matter before her. What could have happened this time to throw her off balance, even for a moment? She asked carefully, "Mother, what is wrong? Who wrote this letter?" Madam Hu didn't want to explain. She turned and sent for Nanny Sun, her dowry servant, who had attended her from her family home until now and was the confidante she trusted most. As soon as Nanny Sun arrived, she dismissed Qingru. "The sutras I had you copy yesterday, I suppose they aren't finished? They're needed for the vow-fulfilling at the Great Buddha Temple in a couple of days, so don't fall behind. Go on." Qingru couldn...

Qinghe spent several more days on pins and needles, and at last the good news came. The day chosen was an auspicious one, perfect for a marriage proposal. A message had already reached the Xie house the day before, and Qinghe's maid Xinyu came hurrying over late that night. Smiling, she curtsied and said, "Fourth Miss, our young lady sent me with a message. Tomorrow, please come early. After paying your respects to the Old Madam, wait a little while, and our young lady asks that you keep her company." Qingyuan was pacing the room reciting her lessons. She set the book down at Xinyu's words. "Oh. So there's good news?" "There is," Xinyu said. "Tomorrow the prefect's wife is bringing the Earl of Kaiguo's people to propose, and the eldest young master will come with them. Our young lady is too shy to meet them alone, so she asks you to be her guest and give her a little courage." Of all the Xies, Qinghe was the one with the f...

Qingyuan said she had never harbored any improper thoughts about that young gentleman. For a moment she had admired how rarely one met such a complete man in Hengtang, and once that moment passed, she had not given him another thought. "The old lady is worrying far too early," she said to Baoxian with a smile. "I'm only fourteen." They had gone to the spring banquet and did not return until late afternoon. By the time the old lady was settled and the Fourth Miss was back in Danyue Pavilion, it was already dusk. Baoxian had just helped her change and was gathering up the clothes one by one, to hand over to the maids in the lower quarters for washing. Hearing this, she turned to look at Qingyuan and laughed. "Fourteen is still a child? In another year you'll have your hairpin ceremony, and then they'll start discussing a match. Miss doesn't know this, but when families look for a bride these days, they begin watching girls your age. The days fly...

This was probably a young man for whom everything had gone well. Something in him spoke of a person who had never known the world's hardships. Qingyuan rarely saw anyone so high-spirited. It was as though the shadowed, troubled world had been generous to him, and he, its favorite, had never met any misfortune and was bound to live like a patch of sunlight. Sometimes a single look is enough to judge a person. Qingyuan reached her verdict quickly, then found herself a little amusing: girls really did tend to judge by appearance. Still, the young man was strikingly handsome. Back at the Chen household she had been allowed out on days like the Flower Festival and the Lantern Festival, and in all that time she had never seen a second person like him. Beautiful things are hard to dislike, and even the fact that his ball had struck her seemed forgivable. He came hurrying over, but when he reached her he was perfectly proper. He bowed with hands clasped and asked, "I hope I haven...