“Raise your hand another half inch.”
The morning light filtered through the papered windows and spread across the floor, illuminating two figures standing side by side.
Xu Mingshu wore a moon-white narrow-sleeved blouse and a pale willow-green pleated skirt. Her waist was neatly fitted, the sleeves trimmed cleanly—an outfit Wen Yunyi had specially chosen for her the night before to wear while practicing etiquette. Without her usual dangling ornaments and the burden of trailing hems, she ought to have felt lighter than usual.
But after standing so long, her legs still ached, her waist had gone stiff, and even her fingertips felt as though a taut string were stretched through them.
Grinding her teeth, she lifted her hand a little higher.
“Your shoulders are still loose.” Governess Tao stood nearby, her voice not loud, and not even particularly severe. “When a young lady stands, it is not only the waist and back that matter. If the shoulders collapse, the spirit scatters. No matter how lovely you are, if you cannot stand properly, it is wasted.”
Xu Mingshu had already been wavering from exhaustion. Hearing those words, heat immediately rushed to her face, even reddening the tips of her ears. Instinctively, she wanted to glance aside, but the moment her eyes moved, Governess Tao spoke again.
“Do not let your eyes wander either.”
At that, Xu Mingshu had no recourse. She could only swallow down all her grievance and impatience and continue standing.
Zheng Lingyun, who stood half an arm’s length away from her, remained perfectly steady.
Even after standing so long, not a strand of hair at her temples had come loose.
Governess Tao’s gaze rested on her for a moment. She neither praised nor criticized her, merely instructed the two girls to change into a seated posture.
Two official-hat chairs had been placed in the hall, neither cushioned. When seated, their knees had to stay together, backs straight, hands resting over their skirts. They were not allowed to clutch their sleeves, support themselves on the chair, glance about, or even breathe too hurriedly—nothing escaped Governess Tao’s eyes.
After half a shichen, Xu Mingshu felt as though her legs were no longer legs, her waist no longer a waist, and even her neck had gone numb with soreness. When Governess Tao finally said, “Rest for the time it takes to drink one cup of tea,” she nearly let out the long breath she had been holding in.
A young maid stepped forward to serve tea. The moment the cup was presented, Xu Mingshu reached for it too quickly. The lid tapped lightly, making a small sound.
Governess Tao only glanced once. “Young Lady’s hands were too hasty.”
Holding the teacup, Xu Mingshu looked ready to wilt entirely.
Zheng Lingyun sat on the other side. Receiving tea, lowering her gaze, drinking—it was all calm and composed.
She was no less tired than Xu Mingshu. A faint sheen of sweat had appeared at her temples as well, but she concealed every trace of weariness beneath lowered lashes, revealing nothing.
That only made Xu Mingshu’s own grievance and disarray appear all the more obvious.
After the tea break, Governess Tao began lecturing on the weight of one’s steps during greetings, how to gather one’s skirt while turning, and where one’s eyes should rest when speaking. Xu Mingshu had always hated such tedious details, and Governess Tao excelled at focusing precisely on them.
By the time the morning session ended and the sun had slanted toward the window, she was finally released.
The moment she reached the main courtyard, before even changing her shoes, she rushed straight toward Wen Yunyi.
“Sister-in-law, I truly can’t stand anymore.”
There was no etiquette at all in the way she flung herself forward, and it made Wen Yunyi, who had been looking through an embroidery sample booklet, lift her eyes in amusement.
Wen Yunyi sat beside the couch, flipping through two embroidery designs just delivered from the sewing room. Hearing her, she closed the booklet and set it aside.
“Even if you cannot stand, you still must stand. Since Mother invited the governess, she did not leave you any road of escape.”
Xu Mingshu immediately made a bitter face.
“How come you say the same things as Mother?”
Though she complained, she had already seated herself on the small stool beside the couch and begun rubbing her calves. After only two presses, she seemed to realize how ungraceful she looked and glanced up at Wen Yunyi, unable to hide the pitiful look in her eyes.
Wen Yunyi wanted to laugh, but held it back. Instead, she called, “Bai Lan, bring the pair of soft-soled shoes I told you to set aside last night.”
Bai Lan answered and quickly brought them.
The soles had been newly padded. Nothing unusual could be seen from the outside, but inside had been added a thin, soft lining. It would not show while walking, but after long standing it would spare much strain.
“Wear these tomorrow.” Wen Yunyi handed them over. “Governess Tao watches etiquette, not whether you suffer. Since you must stand, do not add burdens for yourself.”
Xu Mingshu had wanted to stubbornly retort, I’m not afraid of hardship. But after touching the shoes, joy rose in her heart, and a trace of it escaped onto her face.
“Then… will she notice?” she asked softly.
“And if she does?” Wen Yunyi lowered her head and reopened the booklet. “If she cannot tolerate even a pair of shoes, then she has not come to teach etiquette but to torment people. Someone who came out of the Imperial Palace would not be so shallow.”
Hearing that, the frustration Xu Mingshu had bottled up all morning finally eased.
“She still picked on me the most today,” she muttered.
Qing Tao entered carrying a bowl of freshly stewed pear and lily sweet soup. Hearing that, she could not help laughing.
“If Young Lady stood as steadily as Young Lady Zheng, the governess would naturally have nothing to criticize.”
The remark was light, yet it struck exactly where Xu Mingshu felt sorest.
She immediately frowned. “She’s good at pretending. Of course everything looks perfect.”
The words left her mouth, and even she knew they sounded petty. She lowered her head and tugged at her sleeve.
Wen Yunyi heard it, yet did not speak for Zheng Lingyun. She only pushed the sweet soup toward her.
“Drink first and soothe your throat. There is still the afternoon session.”
Xu Mingshu had wanted to complain further, but hearing there is still the afternoon session, half her spirit wilted at once. She took a sip of the soup and then said quietly:
“Sister-in-law, now that you manage the household, can’t you reduce my lessons a little?”
Wen Yunyi kept flipping through the booklet without looking up.
“No.”
The two words were delivered with crisp finality.
Xu Mingshu choked on her own words. She could only gloomily finish the sweet soup before leaving with the shoes in her arms.
Once she was gone, the room fell quiet again.
Meanwhile, Zheng Lingyun sat in her own room.
The newly changed gauze curtains by the window were thin and translucent. When the wind blew, they swayed gently. On the table stood a small celadon bottle holding two freshly cut white gardenias, their faint fragrance drifting through the room.
The bed curtains, footstool, dressing box, and teacups were all arranged just right. It was not extravagant, yet everywhere there was a dignity she had rarely seen in the Zheng family home.
She sat before the mirror and slowly removed the jeweled flowers from her hair.
Her personal maid, Bi Xuan, massaged her shoulders from behind.
“Young Lady stood all morning today. You must be tired.”
Zheng Lingyun did not respond. She only gazed at herself in the mirror, then after a long while asked:
“Did you notice the sweet white porcelain cup Xu Mingshu used earlier?”
Bi Xuan blinked. “I did.”
“I only looked once, and I knew it was no ordinary kiln’s work.”
With lowered eyes, Zheng Lingyun slowly traced the edge of the dressing table.
That entire morning, what she had truly seen was not merely the spacious courtyards of the Duke’s Manor, nor only the gold and jade refinement of her maternal aunt’s rooms.
She had seen that a young lady like Xu Mingshu—young, unable even to stand steadily in etiquette practice—could naturally possess such things.
Soft fine clothing. Delicate food. New garments made for practicing rites. The moment she showed a trace of suffering, someone immediately brought sweet soup to soothe her throat.
Within the Duke’s Manor, these things seemed ordinary.
But in Zheng Lingyun’s eyes, layer upon layer, they weighed heavily.
She was clearly not inferior.
She was even better than Xu Mingshu.
Yet simply because of birth, standing here felt like facing a threshold she could never cross.
Her lashes lowered slightly.
Bi Xuan watched her expression and carefully said, “Young Lady, now that we have come here, it is always a good thing. Madam said that Madam cares for you, and on the Duchess’s side—”
Zheng Lingyun suddenly smiled.
“Of course I know this trip is a good thing.”
She placed the last jeweled flower on the table, her voice dropping lower.
“I have seen enough of Mother’s life already.”
She paused, and the eyes in the mirror slowly sharpened.
“If we were not still relying on Maternal Aunt’s side, who would truly place the Zheng family in their eyes?”
Bi Xuan barely dared breathe and said nothing.
Zheng Lingyun lifted a hand and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I will not walk her road,” she said. “And I absolutely will not marry carelessly.”
When those words were spoken, the room fell silent.
Sunlight filtered through the gauze curtains and cast scattered shadows across her skirt hem. She stared at the face in the mirror as though looking at the surest weapon she possessed.
She knew she was beautiful.
She also knew she should not end within a middling family like the Zhengs.
Now that she had come to the Duke’s Manor and seen such wealth and dignity, she would never be content to return and accept some barely respectable marriage, spending her life carelessly.
At the main chamber, the afternoon lesson continued as usual.
Xu Mingshu changed into the clothing and shoes Wen Yunyi had prepared for her. As expected, she felt much lighter than in the morning. Governess Tao still criticized her, but not as relentlessly as before.
Yet Zheng Lingyun also made no mistakes. In fact, she was steadier than in the morning.
Every time she raised a hand, every turn she made—it was as though measured by ruler. Neither excessive nor lacking.
When the lesson finally ended, Xu Mingshu dragged herself back to Pear Moon Pavilion.
She had been tormented enough by Governess Tao that day. The moment she entered, she kicked off her shoes and collapsed crookedly onto the couch, unwilling to move. She still complained aloud about how exhausting etiquette lessons were, yet she did not even have the strength to lift a finger.
After Bai Lan reported back, Wen Yunyi did not go personally. She merely instructed Qing Tao lightly:
“Pick out one plate each of the brown sugar cakes and steamed milk crisps the kitchen made today, and send them to Young Lady. Then have her servants prepare a basin of hot water so she may soak her feet. Otherwise she will stand even less tomorrow.”
Qing Tao acknowledged and carried the snacks to Pear Moon Pavilion.
When Xu Mingshu saw them, her eyes lit up at once. Most of the gloom she had bottled up during lessons instantly dispersed.
“Sister-in-law is still the best.”
Though she said this, her hand had already reached for the pastries first.
On the other side, Zheng Lingyun stood by the window, looking out through the thin gauze.
The courtyard walls of the Duke’s Manor were deep, the corridors long.
She watched for a long time, until the sun slowly tilted westward and the flower shadows beneath the window slanted with it.
Only then did she raise a hand and gently let the curtain fall.