“We’ve decided to have Zhiheng give you a child to rely on. We’ll tell everyone it’s Yuan’er’s posthumous child. Are you willing?”
Xie Rutang had been summoned to her parents-in-law’s quarters just after daybreak.
Thinking they wanted to discuss her remarriage, she had washed and dressed before making her way to Shou’an Hall, her heart full of apprehension.
Ever since her husband’s death, she had worn plain white clothes every day, with only a single jade hairpin in her hair.
Lifting the curtain, Xie Rutang stepped inside and curtsied to her parents-in-law.
Old Madam Shen and Old Master Shen exchanged a glance. Then Old Madam Shen spoke those words.
The news struck her like a bolt from the blue.
Second Master Pei, Pei Zhiheng, had arrived at the residence not long before.
When word came that this trusted official of the emperor would be staying with the Shen family, the servants had bustled about sweeping the courtyards and carrying chilled sweet fruits through the halls.
The whole residence had come alive.
Among the capital’s prominent clans were the Shen and Pei families.
Madam Shen and Madam Pei had been close friends since girlhood. They had gone into labor at the same time, giving birth to Pei Zhiheng and Shen Yuan.
To celebrate their shared good fortune, the two families had agreed to give the boys courtesy names that echoed each other—
Pei Zhiheng’s courtesy name was Yuanzhi, and Shen Yuan’s was Yuancheng.
From then on, the two families had visited each other frequently, maintaining their close ties to this day.
The Shen residence was Xie Rutang’s marital home.
When she was young, she had fallen into the water, and Shen Yuan had risked his life to save her. Her admiration for him had grown into affection.
Yet less than a year after they married, Shen Yuan had died on the battlefield.
Pei Zhiheng, meanwhile, had distinguished himself in the imperial examinations two years earlier, earning the jinshi degree. The entire Pei family had risen to wealth and prominence on the strength of his success.
Mindful of Madam Shen’s grief at losing her son in middle age, the Pei family occasionally had Pei Zhiheng stay with the Shens for a short time to ease her longing for him.
But Xie Rutang had never imagined that her mother-in-law would seize this opportunity to make her spend a night with Pei Zhiheng!
She parted her lips, but Old Madam Shen already knew what she was about to say and shook her head.
“There’s no other way. We cannot let the eldest branch of the family die out. Zhiheng is still unmarried, and Yuan’er often looked after him when they were children. They were as close as brothers. Zhiheng ought to help Yuan’er look after you.”
Xie Rutang could scarcely believe what she was hearing. She lowered her eyes, her lips slowly losing their color.
“Mother, this would be improper.”
Pei Zhiheng was Chief of the Court of Judicial Review, a rising figure at court. How could she possibly be worthy of him?
Her parents-in-law said nothing. Clearly, they had already made up their minds.
The Shen family had held high office for generations. Unfortunately, its fortunes had begun to decline in her grandfather-in-law’s time. Over the following decades, that decline had steepened until the family had been pushed to the fringes of the capital’s great clans.
The Pei family, with whom they enjoyed such close ties, had risen to the very highest ranks.
Second Master Pei would be staying at the Shen residence for a month.
Xie Rutang had lived a sheltered life in the women’s quarters. Although Shen Yuan had been dead for thirty days, she still could not accept the thought of living under the same roof as Second Master Pei simply to conceive a child…
“Madam Xie, this is a blessing for you. Be sensible. You must carry on the Shen family line. Zhiheng is staying at Suxue Residence in the southeastern part of the grounds. Take some soup to his room tonight and get to know him.”
Xie Rutang knelt on the floor, her head deeply bowed, and begged Old Madam Shen to reconsider. Even so, an older serving woman helped her to her feet and escorted her out.
As the maid lifted the curtain, Xie Rutang saw a man approaching in dark official robes, about to enter the room. He carried himself with an icy, unfathomable air, and a fine piece of black jade hung from his belt.
Her fingers tightened around her handkerchief.
Her late husband, Shen Yuan, had owned an identical piece of black jade. Years ago, the Shen and Pei families had commissioned a jade craftsman to make the pair.
Shen Yuan had been warm as sunshine, a faint smile always playing about his lips.
Pei Zhiheng, by contrast, was reserved and solemn, rarely smiling.
His piercing gaze turned toward her. Already distracted and upset, Xie Rutang missed the step beneath her feet.
“Careful, Madam!”
Fortunately, someone caught her.
Once she had regained her balance, Xie Rutang looked down and saw a hand with well-defined knuckles. His palm was warm against her skin, his hand closing neatly around her slender wrist.
He was younger than her husband, and stronger.
For some inexplicable reason, her heart fluttered.
She suffered from night blindness.
One night, not long after her marriage, she had mistaken Pei Zhiheng for Shen Yuan because their builds were so similar and called him “Husband.”
Her eyes had been soft with affection, her voice tender and intimate. His gaze had darkened.
Fortunately, the maid beside her had pointed out her mistake in time, sparing her any greater embarrassment.
Pei Zhiheng had already released her wrist, and the cool, unfamiliar presence surrounding him receded as he moved away.
“Madam Shen,” he greeted her distantly.
Xie Rutang stiffened.
Remembering what her parents-in-law had said, she felt even more uncomfortable and lowered her head.
“…Second Master.”
Because of Pei Zhiheng’s special relationship with the Shen family, the servants called Shen Yuan First Master and Pei Zhiheng Second Master. Now that Shen Yuan was dead, the hopes of both families rested on Pei Zhiheng.
His gaze settled on her. A breeze carrying the scent of lotus blossoms drifted past the Taihu rocks in the courtyard.
Still in mourning, Xie Rutang wore only a white dress each day. Not even a pair of earrings adorned her creamy-white earlobes. Yet on closer inspection, the very simplicity of her appearance made her beauty all the more striking. Her almond-shaped eyes were veiled in a mist as soft as spring, and her slender figure had a graceful, womanly allure.
As Chief of the Court of Judicial Review, Pei Zhiheng held the second official rank. Even standing quietly with his hands behind his back, he commanded an authority that needed no show of anger. His presence alone left her struggling to breathe.
Xie Rutang curtsied and took her leave, returning to Cuiwu Courtyard.
In the month since Shen Yuan had died in battle, she had seldom left her quarters and had avoided meeting men outside her family. Even when she encountered men from the other branches of the Pei family, she kept out of their way for fear of gossip. She had all the more reason to avoid this Second Master, who was no blood relation to the Shens.
Xie Rutang gripped her handkerchief tightly.
She had scarcely had any dealings with Pei Zhiheng.
He was usually busy with official duties. She only saw him during festivals, when he came to visit Old Madam Shen. As the Shen family’s daughter-in-law, she would lead the other women of the household to await him at the ornamental gate.
That evening, Old Madam Shen summoned her to Shou’an Hall again.
Xie Rutang lowered her eyes, concealing her troubled feelings.
“Given Second Master’s status, I doubt he would be interested in me. Mother, why not adopt a son from another branch of the family to carry on the eldest branch’s line?”
Old Madam Shen held a string of Buddhist prayer beads and smiled coldly.
“You were the woman Yuan’er loved most. Why else would he have insisted on marrying you despite the opposition of the entire household?”
She had bitterly resented Shen Yuan’s determination to marry a merchant’s daughter.
Her gaze passed over Xie Rutang, dark and heavy.
“Even in death, my son must have a son of his own. Someone must visit his grave and make offerings on the festivals and holidays. Only a child born from your womb can be Yuan’er’s child.
“Having Zhiheng’s child will serve just as well. Both the Shen and Pei families will regard him as their heir.”
She surveyed Xie Rutang’s figure, so well suited to childbearing, with the faintest suggestion of a smile.
“Don’t forget that your elder brother is still suffering in prison.”
Xie Rutang’s face went white.
Her elder brother, Xie Huai, had been imprisoned after striking someone and becoming embroiled in a legal case.
Old Madam Shen had long been in poor health, spending her days in her room observing a vegetarian diet and reciting Buddhist prayers. Xie Rutang had not dared trouble her with the matter. Instead, she had borne the burden alone, going from place to place in search of help.
She had never imagined that Old Madam Shen knew about it all along—and had done nothing.
Even as Shen Yuan’s widow, she was still an outsider in Old Madam Shen’s eyes.
“Your brother’s case is neither particularly serious nor entirely trivial. The injured party refuses to let it go. Someone will have to put in a word with the authorities.”
Xie Rutang curled her fingers into her palms. A chill spread through her heart, and her chest hurt as though someone had driven a knife into it.
Old Madam Shen set down her teacup.
“Zhiheng may be rather rigid and proper, his mind occupied with affairs of state, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has no interest in you.”
Kneeling on the floor, Xie Rutang looked all the more vulnerable and pitiful.
“What would you have me do, Old Madam?”
Only she knew how cold her heart had become.
Old Madam Shen closed her eyes.
“Tomorrow, wash and dress yourself properly, then take some soup to Zhiheng’s room.”
If Xie Rutang could secure a connection to the Pei family, the two families’ interests would remain bound together. It would be a favorable arrangement.
Old Madam Shen smiled and took a sip of tea.
…
The next evening was warm with summer heat.
Pei Zhiheng was busy with official duties. Xie Rutang had already sent a maid to make inquiries and learned that he would return during the hour of the dog, between seven and nine that evening.
Under Old Madam Shen’s pressure, she had no choice but to carry the soup to Pei Zhiheng’s study.