Once again, they parted on bad terms.
Pei Yu strode quickly out of the room, while Shen Qingyin remained stiff and taut. She suddenly had no idea what to do, so she could only rigidly hold the posture she'd maintained moments before, her clear eyes reflecting nothing but that man's retreating figure.
It was always like this between them—never a single word of conversation worth having. Thinking back carefully, over three years of marriage, the time they'd spent together most, and got along best, had been in bed.
Shen Qingyin sat alone in the empty chamber for a long while, until footsteps sounded outside the courtyard. Only then did she emerge from her daze.
Nanny Qing entered with a slight bow, reporting softly that Tang-jie'er had fully woken from her midday nap.
Shen Qingyin gave an "mm" and rose with a blank expression—yet once standing, she momentarily forgot what she was supposed to do.
"Madam, Jun-ge'er's First Birthday Grab Ceremony…" Nanny Qing prompted at just the right moment.
Oh, the Grab Ceremony.
Only then did Shen Qingyin snap out of it and start walking.
Nanny Qing followed silently behind her with a quiet sigh.
She had watched the young madam grow up, and she remembered how vibrantly alive she used to be. Years ago, in the feather-heavy snows of the northern frontier, she had raced horses against others—a figure in red riding far ahead of the pack, unforgettable to all who saw her.
But ever since marrying into the Pei family three years ago, it was as if her very core had been replaced. She had visibly turned wooden and dull.
Shen Qingyin walked into the inner room, picked up her drowsy-eyed daughter, tucked the child's jacket around her shoulders, and made her way unhurriedly toward Bishan Courtyard.
The bustle in Bishan Courtyard had died down considerably from the previous day. The din of the main banquet had faded, leaving only small clusters of Pei clan relatives chatting idly beneath the corridor eaves and beside the flowerbeds.
The moment Shen Qingyin stepped through the moon gate, a vividly colorful figure flitted toward her at the sound.
"Sister-in-law! You're finally here!"
Madam Wei came gliding over, holding up her vermilion gold-embroidered silk skirt. Her gold-and-kingfisher-feather hairpin chimed with her movements, and two fresh pearl orchids were pinned at her temples. Her whole ensemble was bold and richly colored, managing to make her rather ordinary features shine.
"Sorry for being a little late."
Shen Qingyin gently handed Tang-jie'er over to the wet nurse, then drew a small ebony box from her wide sleeve and presented it to Madam Wei.
"We're all family here—no need for such formal talk. You're not late at all, not late at all!" Madam Wei took the box, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
"Didn't you already send a gift for our Jun-ge'er yesterday, Sister-in-law? Why so courteous again today?"
Shen Qingyin shook her head. "It's not courtesy—just a small hand-carved wooden sword. It's worth nothing, merely a small token from me as his aunt."
At these words, Madam Wei's smile stiffened. A flicker of impatient disdain crossed her eyes; she gave the box a perfunctory glance, lost any interest in opening it, and casually shoved it to Luye, who stood in attendance beside her.
Shen Qingyin took in every detail of these little maneuvers, but Madam Wei, acting as if nothing had happened, grasped Shen Qingyin's wrist, her eyes curving pleasantly.
"Then I'll thank you on behalf of our Jun-ge'er, Auntie."
"Mm."
Shen Qingyin lifted her gaze and looked around, seeing the arrangements for the Grab Ceremony but no sign of Jun-ge'er. A trace of confusion rose in her heart.
"Sister, what did Jun-ge'er grab just now? Do tell—I'd love to share in the good fortune."
"The ceremony hasn't started yet," Madam Zhang said, stepping slowly out from behind the flowers and answering softly.
A look of bewilderment crossed Shen Qingyin's face. "It hasn't begun? But didn't Luye just say all the clan relatives had already arrived?"
Madam Zhang turned her head and shot a sidelong glance at Madam Wei, who was feigning composure.
"Isn't that the truth! Second Sister-in-law sent three or four rounds of servants to hurry me along this morning. I thought it was a matter of dire urgency and rushed to get ready, not even bringing Zheng-ge'er along, for fear of missing the auspicious hour. And who would have thought that when I arrived, Jun-ge'er, the guest of honor himself, was still fast asleep…"
There was a note of helplessness in Madam Zhang's tone. "So here we are, still waiting for Jun-ge'er to wake up."
No wonder Luye hadn't come to hurry her again. No wonder when she had arrived late with Tang-jie'er, Madam Wei hadn't pulled a face as she usually did, but had instead been so warm and welcoming.
"So that's how it is." Shen Qingyin's gaze slowly settled on Madam Wei.
Any other mother would surely have woken the child, but Madam Wei regarded Jun-ge'er as the apple of her eye. At this moment, even if a heavenly deity had descended, she would still insist on waiting for Jun-ge'er to wake before starting the banquet.
With her little scheme exposed, Madam Wei awkwardly released her grip on Shen Qingyin's hand and offered a strained excuse: "Oh well, it's just that my Jun-ge'er is so considerate. He knew Eldest Sister-in-law couldn't get away earlier, so he deliberately stayed asleep like a good boy, waiting for his aunt."
Such a pretext left Shen Qingyin momentarily speechless; she could only press her lips together in silence.
Madam Zhang, hiding her face behind a round fan, quietly rolled her eyes.
Just then, the crisp sound of boot heels striking the ground suddenly came from the courtyard gate.
The three women looked toward the sound and saw a dashing figure in a rouge-pink riding outfit striding toward them.
"Yue-niang is here too?" Madam Zhang was the first to recognize Pei Yue.
Shen Qingyin also got a clear look at the newcomer's features.
Three years ago, when she had first married into the Pei household, Pei Yue had still been a young girl spoiled into willfulness by her parents of the third branch. In the blink of an eye, time had passed, and Pei Yue had now been a married woman for two years. Her brow carried a touch of a married lady's composure, yet it could not entirely conceal the sharpness about her.
Pei Yue walked to the stone table, picked up a cup of tea, and drained it in one go. Only after quenching her thirst did she give the three women a crisp, proper bow.
"Greetings to my three sisters-in-law."
Madam Zhang looked Pei Yue over carefully several times and couldn't help praising her: "Yue-niang, that outfit of yours today is truly dashing!"
"I hadn't planned to dress this way at all," Pei Yue said frankly. "If Second Sister-in-law hadn't sent word to me that Jun-ge'er's banquet yesterday was packed with guests—so many high officials and nobles that the carriages outside the estate were jammed solid—I wouldn't have had the sense to come on horseback today."
She paused, casually glancing at Madam Wei. "Who would have thought that only family would come today? When I saw just a handful of carriages at the gate just now, I realized all my trouble was for nothing."
At these words, Shen Qingyin detected the resentment in Pei Yue's tone.
Madam Wei truly did love to show off—she had even bragged about her popularity to her married-off sister-in-law, and had gone so far as to write and tell her, afraid the girl wouldn't hear of it otherwise.
But Madam Wei pretended not to catch the meaning and hurriedly explained: "Oh my, today it's only the closest family of the household, so naturally it's not as lively as yesterday. That's precisely why I sent people again and again to invite you, Yue-niang—I was hoping you'd come add to the fun!"
As they chatted and laughed, Madam Wei turned and gestured, guiding Shen Qingyin, Madam Zhang, and Pei Yue to seats at a nearby stone table, while she herself sat directly in the seat of honor and skillfully began brewing tea with the tea set.
Boiling water poured into the teacup, and wisps of steam rose, carrying a crisp, fragrant tea aroma with them.
Madam Zhang couldn't help drawing a deep breath. "What tea is this? The fragrance is so remarkably rich."
"Pre-Rain Cloud and Mist. You've never heard of it, have you?"
Madam Wei poured the tea with a beaming smile. "You're all in for a treat today. This isn't tea you can buy in the markets—my elder sister, who married into the Jingyuan Marquis's household, specially had it shipped from Yangzhou."
"This Pre-Rain Cloud and Mist Tea is produced in tiny quantities—a thousand gold can hardly buy it. Come, taste it and tell me what you think."
The crystal-clear tea was set before them, and the three women each lifted their cups and took a small sip.
Madam Wei leaned forward, eyes full of expectation. "Well? How is it?"
As the rich, lingering fragrance of the tea touched her tongue, Shen Qingyin slowly nodded, taking a long while to gather her words.
"Good tea."
That's it?
Madam Wei secretly pursed her lips, thinking that even tossing a meat bun to a dog would earn you a few wags of the tail. She had fed such precious tea to Shen Qingyin, yet the woman still wore that same blank expression, and after holding it in for ages, managed only two words.
What a waste of her absolutely finest Pre-Rain Cloud and Mist Tea.
She quickly turned to Madam Zhang, who held her teacup, first sniffing the fragrance delicately before taking small, careful sips.
After a moment, Madam Zhang set down her cup and praised it sincerely. "Smooth and mellow on the palate, with an unbroken fragrance. I've never tasted such fine tea."
Knowing what Madam Wei wanted to hear, she added, "Second Sister-in-law is truly fortunate to have an elder sister married to the Jingyuan Marquis—that's how the rest of us get to enjoy such a treat."
Madam Wei was flattered into high spirits by Madam Zhang's words, her face glowing with pleasure. She then turned to Pei Yue beside her and pressed the question again.
Pei Yue had just set down her cup, but under Madam Wei's expectant gaze she felt awkward, so she lifted it and took another sip.
"It calms the mind with its fragrance and delights with its refined taste—truly an exceptional tea, rarely found. Might I ask where in Yangzhou one could buy it? I'd like to have my husband send someone to procure some."
Madam Wei's smile widened, tinged with a proud, self-satisfied air. "That, you can't procure, Yue-niang. Second Sister-in-law knows your husband dotes on you, but this tea is tribute tea—it simply can't be bought through ordinary channels. My brother-in-law, the Jingyuan Marquis, traded rare treasures from Beishuo with Yangzhou tea merchants to obtain it."
Madam Wei talked too much, but only two words caught Shen Qingyin's ear: "Beishuo."
The Jingyuan Marquis—so he actually traded goods with Beishuo?
Pei Yue blinked, a perfectly measured flicker of surprise crossing her eyes, and said softly, "I see. How ignorant of me."
"No need for regrets, Yue-niang—it's only a cup of tea," Madam Zhang quickly interjected with a smile, soothing her gently.
"Your husband cares for you so devotedly. Anything you've ever wanted, he's found a way to get for you, whether it meant climbing mountains or crossing seas."
At this, Pei Yue smiled wistfully. "My Lord Zhou treats me wonderfully, of course—but that's precisely what worries me."
Hearing that there was more beneath these words, Madam Wei feigned innocence, squeezing her eyes playfully. "Whatever do you mean, little sister?"
"Ah… I thought my sisters-in-law already knew." Pei Yue sighed softly, her fingertips tracing the rim of her gilded teacup.
"It's been two years since I married into the Zhou family, and my belly still shows no sign of a child. I've urged my husband time and again to take concubines to continue the family line, but he refuses outright every time."
Madam Zhang frowned slightly and suggested gently, "Have you had a physician come to the residence for a thorough examination?"
"I've summoned every renowned physician in the capital." Pei Yue lowered her eyes with a bitter smile, her face clouded with sorrow.
"Right now, the only one I haven't consulted yet is the imperial physician in the palace."
Shen Qingyin had never known how to join conversations like this, much less how to offer comfort, so she could only lower her eyes quietly and listen.
When it came to bearing children, it had always been a matter of fate and fortune—something that could not be forced. That was what Nanny Qing had told her before she conceived Tang-jie'er.
"If you ask me, even the imperial physician's methods may not work. Have you tried any folk remedies?" Madam Wei suddenly leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a volume only the four of them could hear, speaking in a mysterious tone.
"For instance, have your husband thrust more vigorously when you share a bed, and afterward place a soft cushion beneath your hips—don't let anything slip out easily. That's how I conceived Jun-ge'er less than a year after my wedding."
The moment Madam Wei finished speaking, Shen Qingyin's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, the tips of her ears burning. For a moment, she had no idea how to respond.
Madam Zhang, on the other hand, looked perfectly composed, while a flash of realization crossed Pei Yue's eyes, as if she had genuinely taken note of this folk remedy.
Having had her fill of prying into private matters, Madam Wei turned to look at Shen Qingyin and teased, "Every time we talk about these bedroom matters, Eldest Sister-in-law never says a word. Could it be you're afraid of making us green with envy? After all, I heard that when Eldest Brother came home the night before last, the bed in your Yuebai Courtyard actually collapsed… Tsk, Eldest Brother really is full of vigor. I wish my useless pretty-boy of a husband would learn a thing or two from him."
Madam Zhang was the first to lose control, letting out a low laugh.
"There was actually such a thing?!" Pei Yue was utterly astonished. "Ever since I was little, I've seen Eldest Brother as that cold, aloof young gentleman who kept his distance from women. Who would have thought he'd be like that in such matters…"
Shen Qingyin's expressionless face instantly burned hot, and the lingering soreness at her waist suddenly became vividly clear at this moment.
Pei Yue was blunt and outspoken, yet as if completely oblivious to Shen Qingyin's embarrassment, she pressed on: "Eldest Sister-in-law, you're so alluring, with such a shapely figure—no wonder Eldest Brother pulls out all the stops. But though Eldest Brother is a civil official, he's the tallest in our Pei family. You're so delicate, Eldest Sister-in-law—how do you even bear it?"
Madam Wei and Madam Zhang both half-covered their faces, laughing so hard they trembled like flowers in the wind.
Shen Qingyin's fingers, resting on her knee, curled slightly, and a wave of indescribable embarrassment rose in her heart.
She had no idea how to answer that question.
After all, from childhood she had heard that other people's husbands were either tender and affectionate or uninterested in such matters. She had seen Pei Yu before their wedding night—cold, aloof, and dignified—and had assumed he would be the same.
But after marriage, Pei Yu's treatment of her had always been silent, head-down, hard work—frankly, it could be called utterly ferocious.
Shen Qingyin had also tried the cushion-under-the-hips method before conceiving Tang-jie'er, but Pei Yu simply gave her too much. Not only did it overflow even with her hips raised, it hardly seemed necessary at all…
She, too, had conceived Tang-jie'er less than a year after her wedding.
Three years of marriage, and Pei Yu had never once failed to come to the main courtyard for such matters—so lustful that she could hardly withstand it. The fact that she hadn't yet died in Pei Yu's bed was probably thanks to the body she had trained in the military camps in her youth, barely holding on.
Seeing that Shen Qingyin remained silent, Madam Wei knew when to quit. She waved her hand and said with a smile, "All right, all right, no more teasing Eldest Sister-in-law. I'll send someone to check when Eldest Brother will arrive, and see whether my Jun-ge'er has woken up yet."
Madam Wei rose and left, a wave of heavy rouge-and-powder fragrance sweeping past their noses. Only after the scent had dissipated did the tension in Shen Qingyin's shoulders and back finally ease a little.
Madam Zhang, reading the room, smilingly suggested, "Sister-in-law, it's rare for Yue-niang to visit her maiden home. Why don't we join her for a stroll through the Bishan Courtyard?"
Shen Qingyin agreed and rose to her feet, and the three women strolled slowly through layer upon layer of blooming flowers.
Today, Madam Zhang wore a spring-moss-green ruqun of light, soft, lustrous fabric that suited her petite, demure charm perfectly.
Pei Yue was dressed in a rouge-pink fitted outfit, neat and dashing, her delicate face lending her a touch of heroic spirit.
Only Shen Qingyin was wrapped in a plain moon-white gauze gown, without a trace of vivid color—yet it was precisely this unadorned attire that made the natural allure between her brows all the more striking, her full, graceful figure on full display.
From a distance, she carried an even more captivating charm than the gentle woman in green or the vivacious one in pink.
Madam Zhang and Pei Yue chatted animatedly while Shen Qingyin listened quietly at their side, and before they knew it, the three had walked to the double-eaved pavilion deep within the Bishan Courtyard.
Several servant women were busy there, for some reason hanging layer after layer of crepe, brocade, and silk gauze, enclosing the entire pavilion so tightly that not a breath of air could pass through.
Shen Qingyin looked over instinctively. The hazy veil of gauze had already obscured most of the pavilion's interior, through which one could just barely make out a Konghou Harp resting quietly on the stone table at the pavilion's center.
A Konghou Harp.
A flicker of distraction passed through Shen Qingyin's eyes.
Ever since the Yan Emperor decreed that the men of the Dingbei Prince's residence be exiled and the women's household confiscated, her dearest childhood friend Shu-niang had vanished without a trace, and Shen Qingyin had never seen such an instrument again.
Madam Zhang gazed at the gauze curtains with curiosity showing on her face.
Pei Yue raised a hand to stop a servant who was arranging the gauze drapes, and asked, "Why is this place arranged like this?"
The servant woman bowed her head respectfully and answered, "To the three ladies: today the Second Madam has specially invited Lady Lin to play the Konghou Harp here, to add delight to the banquet."
Lady Lin.
The three words drifted into her ears, and for an imperceptible instant, Shen Qingyin's eyes glazed over.
Wasn't that the famed courtesan of Changle Ward—the very place Pei Yu frequented for his liaisons?