Commander Shen had probably never met such a heedless girl. Was his reputation not bad enough, or had she not been snubbed enough the day before? She showed no fear and made no attempt to avoid him. A bow would have been enough, but she smiled as well. The smile struck him as strange. He passed her with a cold face, yet he could not help glancing back at her once.
Bao Xian stayed at Qing Yuan's side and did not dare lift her head until the footsteps on the wooden corridor opposite had faded. The Xie household was now entirely under the control of the Palace Command. Everyone coming in or out was questioned by the guards at the gate, and the whole house was wary of the men in brocade and gilded armor.
"Is that the Commander?" Bao Xian stole another look at his retreating back. Those tall men gave off a crushing presence even without their armor. The group had swept in like a gust of wind and were soon inside the eastern banqueting hall. Perhaps because the hardness of soldiers had worked its way into their bones, the men of Youzhou were nothing like the refined young lords of the south, with their delicate tenderness and the bearing of a clear breeze and bright moon. They were like the sharpest blades in the world, able to cut through gold and jade and sever a hair at a breath.
Qing Yuan nodded. "That's him." As they walked she said, with relief, "I was afraid just now that he wouldn't come. If he had refused to show his face, Father's position would have grown even more dangerous. Now it's better. The Marshal may be hard to deal with, but now that he has appeared, a great stone has lifted from my heart."
Of course it had. A girl raised in the inner chambers, making such an effort for the first time, naturally hoped it would not come to nothing. Bao Xian smiled. "I never expected Commander Shen to be so young."
"Mm," said Qing Yuan. "He may be young, but he has weathered more storms than many older men. My hardship is only the past half year. His has been a full ten. He's come a long way, and it can't have been easy. Who's to say his aloofness now isn't what is left after he drank his fill of the world's coldness? If the Xie family had held out a hand back then, we wouldn't have to scheme in every possible way to curry favor with him today." She shook her head.
The two of them talked in low voices as they walked toward the kitchens.
She had no way of knowing how things stood in the east. She only asked the men at the gate in detail, and they told her that all the guests Master Xie had invited had arrived. The side hall's tables were laid out as well. Nanny Jiang asked Qing Yuan, "Has the Old Madam said when the feast should begin?"
Qing Yuan looked outside. The sky was gradually darkening, and hearty laughter drifted from the east flower hall. The guests keeping the company were evidently working both sides of the room well. She turned back and said, "Serve now." She sent a servant boy with a message: "Tell the Eldest Master that all the dishes are ready and the banquet can begin."
The boy said, "Yes," and ran off at a bounce. Qing Yuan checked everything once more, and only when she found it all in order did she return to the west hall to report to the Old Madam.
The ladies on this side were chatting cheerfully. The Old Madam said with a smile, "We lived in Hengtang for nearly twenty years and neglected our old friends and relatives in Youzhou. We really shouldn't have. Now that we're back, we must visit one another often. From now on, my son can go on about his official duties, but we are not leaving again. I'm old, and they say fallen leaves return to their roots. In Hengtang I was content with southern life, but only after coming back to Youzhou did I feel that one's old home is best. The land here nourishes people, the local speech is dear to the ear, and I find it even better than the south." As she spoke she rose to her feet and gestured. "We have set out a simple meal at home. The cook came with us from the south, so I had them prepare southern dishes. Please do try them, ladies."
The noblewomen moved gracefully into the small flower hall next door. Casement windows opened on all four sides, and the early summer night was especially cool. Through the layered tortoiseshell-pattern lattices, a slender silver crescent moon could be seen in the sky.
Green bamboo rustled outside the windows. Inside, the ladies drank wine and chatted. The wife of the Grand Master of Counsel liked to hear about the south and said with a smile, "When I was a girl, I spent some time in the south with my husband's family. The scenery was lovely and everything was finer than it is here. When the pleasure boats passed on the river, the girls washing cloth would sing southern folk songs. Ah, I truly loved that accent. It sang straight into your heart."
The wife of the Militia Commissioner fanned herself and said, "When my cousin said she was going to marry into Shengzhou, she was unwilling a thousand times over. Now she has put down roots there..." She turned to Madam Hu. "Perhaps the Old Madam and Madam know her. She married the Marquis of Danyang and has a precious son, about the same age as your young masters."
The moment Qing Ru heard anything connected to Li Congxin, she perked up. Madam Hu, though, was cool about it, since the Marchioness had recently asked the Surveillance Commissioner's wife to call and make her excuses, and any thought of a marriage alliance with the Marquis of Danyang's house had basically been dropped.
Still, she kept up a warm manner. "Hengtang is a small place, not like Youzhou beneath the Emperor's feet. The Marquis of Danyang's house is related to the imperial family and very prominent in Shengzhou. The young Marquis was a schoolmate of my three sons, and they often visited one another."
The Militia Commissioner's wife nodded. "I haven't heard from her in a long time. Chunzhi hardly came to my house when he was in Youzhou. I wonder if he's betrothed yet."
Qing Ru had not given up. She secretly tugged at Madam Hu's sleeve under the table, but Madam Hu ignored her and said only, "Young men these days are in no hurry to settle on an engagement. I haven't heard anything about the young Marquis's marriage. I suppose the Marchioness has high standards and won't easily look at a girl from a humble family."
Madam Hu spoke like a bystander, but she meant it for Qing Yuan, and glanced at her once she had finished to remind her that even if Li Congxin had given her the list of officials, it proved nothing. Her birth was an original sin. However much the young Marquis favored her, the Marquis's house was not a place she could enter. If Qing Ru could not manage it, Qing Yuan should not even dream of it.
But Qing Yuan looked as though she had heard nothing. She smiled and served food to Qing He. "Eldest Sister, try this. The kitchen's cooking has improved since before."
It was exactly this feeling of a punch landing on nothing that made it all the more irritating. Sometimes Madam Hu truly suspected the girl had no heart. The young Marquis must have had his brain clogged with lard to remember her so fondly.
What the Old Madam cared about more, of course, was the main purpose of tonight's banquet. After toasting the ladies all round, she probed obliquely: "Commander Shen is twenty-six this year, isn't he? He suffered hardships earlier, but now that he has been reinstated, why is he still unmarried?"
The Censor's wife said, "Probably because there is no elder in the family to arrange it. Their parents are gone, and the two brothers have had a hard time. The Chief Commissioner's wife was someone he met in Yunzhong. Her family had no standing, and her father was only a Registrar of the eighth rank. The Chief Commissioner is a man of loyalty and feeling. After entering the Palace Command he did not forget old bonds and brought her into the family. Ten years ago, with that Young Madam Shen's family background, how would the Shens ever have taken notice of her!"
The Old Madam nodded with a smile. "This is what they mean by saying not to ask about a hero's origins. It was Young Madam Shen's good fortune. We sent an invitation today, hoping to get acquainted so that we could visit each other often afterward, but she said she was unwell and couldn't attend."
"A sickly, melancholy sort," someone said. They all smiled vaguely, and then the talk turned to household matters. It was clear that "the great do not match the small" always leaves people with something to say. The more the Shen brothers prospered, the more easily the women around them drew criticism.
Madam Jiang spoke bluntly on any occasion. She knew the Old Madam had reservations and had circled around without saying it, so she went ahead and said it plainly herself. "You ladies are old friends of the Shens. Why not arrange a match for the Marshal?"
The noblewomen smiled awkwardly. The Militia Commissioner's wife said, "A second-rank official at twenty-six, how many in all of history? With rank that high, who dares act as matchmaker? Besides, the Marshal has no such wish himself, and it isn't right for others to propose things at random." The rest she did not say aloud. A man who had walked through mountains of blades and seas of fire was not like someone raised in a nest of wealth. The daughters of great families were all raised in honey jars, and in the hands of an iron-blooded man they would be like flowers pinned to a blade's edge, and might even lose their lives. If the match was of equal standing, they feared the delicate young lady could not bear the hardship. If it went lower, it would not suit the Marshal's rank and fortune. So this was the hardest kind of match to arrange, and it was better for everyone to keep quiet.
Madam Jiang wanted to embarrass Madam Hu. She looked at Qing Ru and suddenly blurted out, "Our house has three daughters, none betrothed yet. I say the Second Miss's looks and background would suit the Marshal very well."
When she finished, everyone froze. Madam Hu hated this chatterbox for wagging her tongue. The noblewomen thought the Xie family's ambition was too great. They could barely protect themselves, had only today invited these guests to keep their company, and were trying to climb up to the Commander. They did not even know yet whether the flattery had landed in the right place, and already they were in a hurry to make him a son-in-law of a younger generation. Did the Xies mean to take every good thing under heaven for themselves?
Qing Yuan had been slowly eating a biluo pastry. When the table went quiet, she raised her eyes. The faces around the table, all so polished, wore different expressions, and the Old Madam looked displeased. Qing Yuan found it funny. Second Madam might speak without restraint, but she had voiced what was on everyone's mind. Why dislike her for talking too much now? If the ladies had all agreed in a rush, Second Madam would probably have turned into a hero of merit overnight.
An awkwardness like this could not be left unsoftened. The Old Madam now knew where she stood. Her hope of having these ladies carry out the matchmaking was completely gone, and she would have to find another way. She said with a smile, "Our Second Madam has always cared most about her nieces. Whenever a good family of fitting age comes up, the first person she thinks of is one of our own girls. Commander Shen has high rank and great power. How could we dare to aspire to him? ... Ah, ladies, don't stand on ceremony. Please try this flowered beef intestine. It is the dish our cook does best. When Prince Jingde went south and stayed in our house, he had to have this dish at every meal, and if we forgot to prepare it, he would sulk."
Soon everyone was laughing and talking again. Only Second Madam felt the evening had been thoroughly unlucky. She sat there, unable to smile or to be angry, and in the end said nothing more.
The women's banquet did not last as long as the men's. After a few cups of wine, the wine was cleared away and the fruit tables brought in. Now everyone could move about. The Xie family's old residence had a good many years behind it. After the family moved back to Youzhou it had been refurbished. The outer walls, the painted wooden pavilions, and the covered walkways had all been repainted, and with the rocks and trees of seventy or eighty years standing, it gave a strange mix of old and new.
Madam Hu accompanied the ladies as they admired the moon and enjoyed the cool in the garden. Only now did the Old Madam have a moment to herself, and she looked preoccupied, wondering how the talks across the way were going.
Qing Yuan stayed beside her. But the young are prone to drifting thoughts, and her eyes were caught by fireflies flickering faintly at the treetops. She just kept looking up.
The Old Madam sighed. "I wonder if the Commander has agreed."
Qing Yuan drew back her gaze. "Please don't worry, Grandmother. Since the Commander was willing to come to our door, and with the help of the other officials mediating, there is a good chance things will turn around."
The Old Madam nodded, but was still uneasy. She turned and said in a low voice, "Go quietly to the side courtyard by yourself and see whether the wine jars are ready. Have them loaded onto the carts, tied down, and covered tightly with oilcloth. Nothing must go wrong on the road later. If outsiders notice, it would be a disaster."
Lately the Old Madam liked to hand her anything connected with the Commander's residence. She had not handled any of it from the start, and now she was being sent to arrange it midway. Qing Yuan could only agree in confusion and withdrew from the west flower hall.
From the garden where the guests were received to the small courtyard behind, it was about a bowshot. Lanterns hung at both ends of the blue-brick path, and the light at the far end was visible from a distance, but at the midpoint one could not see one's own hand. Qing Yuan had someone fetch a small lamp. It was a fist-sized glow, just enough to light the ground at her feet without drawing attention.
Days were long in early summer, and with the earlier round of banquets, it was very late by the time the feast broke up. Once night deepened, the darkness turned thick as ink. She was hurrying forward when someone suddenly seized her hand. With a turn and a push, she was pressed against the wall.
Qing Yuan was startled. She was about to ask who it was when the smell of wine hit her face. The little lamp in her hand was knocked away and landed with a clatter by her foot.
"Where is Miss Four going?" he asked in a drawling voice, with a lazy tone between his teeth.
She had been frightened already, and when she recognized the voice, she felt the hair on her skin rise. "Marshal? How did you get here?"
He did not answer. His grip was strong, and he pinned her shoulder so she could not move.
Qing Yuan knew he had been drinking. He might not be completely drunk, but the wine had gone to his head, and he was surely seven or eight tenths gone.
"Marshal, this is the inner residence. You've come to the wrong place." She struggled to steady her breath and pointed toward where she had come from. "That way... follow the path that way, and once you pass the side gate in the wall, you'll reach the courtyard where the guests are."
He still did not answer. The lamp at her feet had gone out. She opened her eyes wide, and when she had adjusted to the dark, she saw him with the cold moon over his shoulders, his tall outline like a mountain. He slowly leaned in, close enough to be improper, and breathed in the fragrance at her neck.
Her heart twisted with fright. In all her life she had never been treated so rudely. It was a dark, windy night with no one else present. If this got out, what would become of a young woman's reputation? But if she stayed silent, she feared she would swallow the injury with nothing to say for it. She could only soften her voice and bargain with him. "If the Marshal doesn't know the way, let me take the Marshal back to the flower hall."
He gave a short laugh. "Miss Four seems very afraid of Shen Run."
He was speaking right at her ear, and his low whisper brushed her heart like a feather. Her heart pounded like a drum, but she forced herself to steady up. "I'm not afraid of the Marshal. I'm trying to protect the Marshal's good name. Under a melon patch or beneath a plum tree, people can misunderstand. That would not be good."
"Afraid of being misunderstood..." he mumbled. His speech had begun to slur. His hand groped at his waist, and he yanked off the jade pendant hanging there and pushed it into her hand. "This is for you."
Qing Yuan was speechless. After a moment's hesitation she asked, "Marshal, why are you giving me this?"
He did not answer. He went to feel around the other side, but after tearing at it for a long time he could not pull anything free. Swaying, he said, "There's nothing else. Just this, then."
Qing Yuan thought he really was badly drunk, to wander to the wrong place and give things away at random. But he was drunk and she could not treat him as a drunkard. What she held felt like a pendant, a personal item she could not accept under any circumstances, so she tried to put it back in his hand. "Marshal, you've dropped something. Please take it back."
He paused, seemingly understanding. "Too little?" He began groping at his waist again.
Qing Yuan worried he would stuff everything he carried into her hands. She hurriedly said that it was enough, that it was enough. Holding that hot potato in her palm, she stood like a bronze bird embroidered on a screen.
Satisfied, he drew back a little and laughed softly. He patted her shoulder the way one would a subordinate, then staggered off toward the flower hall.
What had just happened felt like a dream. If the weight in her hand had not been real, she would have treated it as one. She nudged the ground with her toe, struck the little lamp that had fallen there, and with a sigh picked it up. The lanterns of the side courtyard hung high, but their light did not reach where she stood, so she had to feel her way along the wall. She was filled with regret that she had done as the Old Madam wanted. If Bao Xian had been with her, this would not have happened.
Fortunately, no one knew, she thought to herself. Being offended and telling no one was a young woman's helpless way of protecting her reputation. But what was she to do with this thing...
At last she reached the door of the side courtyard. She opened her hand and looked. In her palm lay a jade pendant, openwork carved with a beast's face. The taotie's pattern was fierce and greedy, and its bright eyes stared at her as if it meant to devour her.