"The young masters of the Estate of the Duke of Xian are each more impressive than the last—especially the three young masters of the second branch."
Uncle Qian's keen interest stirred the shop assistant's desire to share, and the words tumbled out one after another like beans pouring from a sack.
The assistant raised his thumb. "The second branch has one zhuangyuan and one tanhua. The eldest young master was the zhuangyuan of the twentieth year of Zhaode's reign. He now serves as Vice Director of the Secretariat and concurrently as Hanlin Academy Scholar-in-Chief. He's prime minister material, and the imperial favor upon him is at its peak."
He spoke with an expression of deep admiration.
Uncle Qian nodded along with him. "Truly, young and accomplished, bringing glory to the family. But you only mentioned the eldest young master just now—what about the second young master?"
When it came to the second young master, the assistant hesitated slightly, then lowered his voice a little:
"This second young master is formidable too, but… well…"
"But what?"
The assistant bent his body closer. "This second young master was posted to the provinces as an official. I heard that in his efforts to control the flooding, he took personal charge of everything and ended up breaking his leg. There's been no news of him since."
After speaking, he glanced around, his warning laced with admonition:
"Regarding the matter of the second young master's leg, it's best you all don't bring it up carelessly. As I said, the second branch has three young masters—if the third young master were to hear of it, there would be trouble."
When he came to the third young master, his expression turned serious. "This third young master is no ordinary person…"
Before he could finish, a scolding shout came from the counter. It turned out the teahouse owner had arrived. The manager and the other assistant who had been chatting at the counter had long since returned to their own tasks—only he had been caught.
The assistant cursed his bad luck inwardly, pulled the cloth draped over his shoulder, and hurried over, only to be berated by the owner.
Uncle Qian looked out the window and said, "The rain has stopped. Let's go."
When they arrived at the restaurant, they happened to run into Zhao Lijia and her companions coming down the stairs.
Zhao Lijia came down and circled around Uncle Qian. "Uncle Qian, I was just about to send someone to find you. Where did you go?"
She had just asked when she spotted the things in Uncle Qian's hands and smiled knowingly: "So Uncle Qian went out early this morning to buy me pastries!"
Uncle Qian's eyes, wrapped in fine wrinkles, showed a kind smile. "Miss, I went to gather some information and bought you some cakes along the way."
Zhao Lijia took the pastries Uncle Qian handed her, somewhat puzzled: "Gathering information?"
Uncle Qian nodded. "The information we obtained in Liangzhou was limited. It's best to be fully prepared."
He felt that Liangzhou was remote and the information they had received was limited and possibly inaccurate. He also feared that with the Estate of the Duke of Xian being such a large household, there was bound to be some unsavory business that might cause the young miss to suffer grievances. That was why he had gone out early to gather information.
What he had heard at the teahouse proved he had done the right thing—they knew very little about the second young master.
"Miss, I just learned some things about the second young master from the teahouse assistant."
Uncle Qian led Zhao Lijia toward a corner.
"Miss, previously we only knew that the second young master was a tanhua who was later posted to the provinces as an official, and then returned to the capital. Only today did I learn that the second young master returned to Chang'an because he injured his leg while controlling the floods. So when you're at the Duke's estate, be sure not to mention any of this, lest you inadvertently reopen someone's wounds."
Zhao Lijia was surprised, and felt a pang of pity and sadness. She had heard that this second cousin had been a tanhua with a smooth official career ahead of him—and yet such a misfortune had befallen him.
She nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, Uncle Qian. I'll be careful."
Uncle Qian smiled. "Then let's go."
"Alright."
On the road, Zhao Lijia mulled over what her father and Uncle Qian had told her.
Her maternal cousin was a daughter of a concubine from the Wu family, who later married the Second Master of the Estate of the Duke of Xian. This Second Master held neither a noble title nor any official rank, but fortunately, their three sons were each more outstanding than the last. The current glory of the Estate of the Duke of Xian was entirely upheld by the second branch of the family.
Zhao Lijia felt somewhat nervous. She had never interacted with many relatives or elders before. Most of the time, she had roamed around Liangzhou City with the Cold-Light Iron Armor, and the only person who stayed year-round in the General's Estate in Liangzhou was Uncle Qian. Her father frequently had to leave the estate to patrol the borders, spending half his time in the military camps.
So, facing the prospect of meeting a female elder, she was both expectant and nervous.
But she didn't have to be nervous for long, because within a short while, they arrived at the Estate of the Duke of Xian. The estate was located in Shengye Ward, right next to Chongren Ward, very close by.
Passing through the low ward gate, they came upon a towering black-lacquered main gate, over ten feet high. At the center of the gate hung an imperial plaque with gold characters on a black background. The six large characters, "Imperially Commissioned Estate of the Duke of Xian," were written with formidable brushstrokes, as if forged from iron and silver.
Two maidservants stood at the gate, craning their necks in anticipation. When they saw Zhao Lijia and her party, they walked over with small, measured steps, their eyes darting over the newcomers before asking, "Are you the young miss from the maternal side?"
"That's right." Uncle Qian clasped his hands in a formal salute, then took out a visiting card from his bosom.
Bizhi and Biyun examined the card and confirmed that the person before them was the young miss from Liangzhou. Their faces broke into warm, friendly smiles as they bent their knees in a curtsey. "Young miss, the Madam is waiting for you."
As Bizhi and Biyun led Zhao Lijia and her party inside, they frequently turned back to smile at her, causing a flush of crimson to rise to her cheeks.
Entering through the main gate, they faced a screen wall directly ahead, carved with the pattern of "Pine and Crane, Symbols of Longevity."
Passing the screen wall, they reached the front courtyard. In the southeast corner of the courtyard was an inkstone-shaped pond, surrounded by lake rocks and planted with calamus.
At this point, Uncle Qian parted ways with them, because beyond the hanging-flower gate lay the inner courtyard.
As they walked, Biyun turned back to speak with Zhao Lijia. "Young miss, we are Bizhi and Biyun, serving Second Madam. Since you'll be staying at the estate for a while, you'll also need to meet the Duchess and the Shizi's wife."
"They're waiting for you in the flower hall right now."
Zhao Lijia smiled and acknowledged this.
Uncle Qian had already explained all this to Zhao Lijia beforehand. After all, she was a delicately raised young lady, whose clothing, food, and daily necessities were no less refined than those of any noble daughter in Chang'an. It was only in terms of upbringing that she lacked the guidance of female elders, so she felt slightly nervous but not to the point of being ill at ease.
Passing through the hanging-flower gate, they entered a covered corridor that wound around the courtyard. On the left side of the corridor, at intervals of a few steps, were openwork windows carved with patterns of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.
Behind the openwork windows, wisteria flowers were in full bloom. Some branches reached through, scattering fine purple petals onto the corridor floor, forming a thin carpet of purple.
On the right side of the corridor was a green pond, in which several goldfish swam. Two maidservants stood by the pond feeding the fish. When they saw the party, they bowed in greeting.
"Sister Bizhi, Sister Biyun."
Bizhi stopped and said to the two maidservants, "This is the young miss from Liangzhou. Remember to greet her with proper courtesy from now on."
The two maidservants exchanged a glance, then bent their knees in a curtsey. "Greetings, young miss."
Zhao Lijia curved her eyes into a smile. "Rise."
After Zhao Lijia and her party had left, the two maidservants set down their fish food jars and began to talk.
"Young miss? Here to sponge off the family's wealth?"
"That's not it. I heard that this Miss Biao's father is a Loyal and Martial General personally conferred by His Majesty, and he's also the Military Commissioner of the Chishui Army in Liangzhou. Didn't you notice she's decked out in gold and silver?"
"Then why is she here?"
"I heard she came to ask the Second Madam to help find her a marriage match."
"Find a marriage match? Surely she doesn't have her eye on one of the young gentlemen in the household? The Third Young Master, perhaps?"
"No way. The Third Young Master has very high standards."
"Listen to your tone—as if the Third Young Master would take a fancy to you."
In the flower hall, the Duchess sat on one side of the arhat bed, and the Second Madam sat on the other. Below them, the Shizi's wife and the eldest madam of the second branch, Xu Lingyuan, were seated on the left and right respectively.
The Shizi's wife, Qi Wanling, sipped her tea and observed Xu Lingyuan across from her for a while. Seeing her stern, unsmiling expression, she let out an inward scoff. Then she looked up and saw her mother-in-law, the Duchess, sitting with eyes closed and prayer beads in hand. She silently rolled her eyes. Noticing that the Second Madam was staring outside with an absent, distracted look, she followed her gaze toward the door.
Hearing footsteps, the Second Madam craned her neck to look. She had only met Shuhua's daughter once and didn't know whether she had grown up to look like Shuhua or like the General. But having grown up in Suzhou, with a father who was such a fierce warrior, she was sure to be different from the young ladies of Chang'an.
When Bizhi and Biyun entered, the Second Madam imagined a tall, sturdy woman in riding attire striding in with the bearing of a dragon and the gait of a tiger.
But what came into view was a fair, round little face.
The young woman before her had cheeks with a natural, peach-blossom pink flush. Her eyes were very large, with outer corners that tilted slightly upward, and her pupils were dark and bright. When she looked at people, she carried an air of innocent naivety.
She was not tall, but delicately petite with well-proportioned slenderness. As she walked, her skirt swayed faintly, her steps light, and the pearl hairpins on her head swayed with her movements, giving off a fine, soft shimmer.
After Zhao Lijia entered and saw two madams seated at the head of the room, she noted that the one on the left was somewhat older, appearing to be over fifty, with a face that was proper and stern, the corners of her mouth slightly turned down—even when smiling, she carried a trace of authority.
Compared to her, the madam on the right seemed much more approachable. She was around forty, with a round, oval face full of warm, genial smiles. Even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were relaxed, and her gaze was gentle and smiling when she looked at people.
Zhao Lijia recognized who they were and stepped forward, crossing her hands before her chest and bending her knees in a salute. "Lijia pays her respects to the Duchess, and to the Second Madam."
The Duchess's authoritative face revealed a precisely measured smile, and her eyes opened a bit wider than before. But her gaze did not wander over her; instead, she looked into her eyes and said, "Rise. You've had a long journey."
After Zhao Lijia rose, the Second Madam beamed with delight. Paying no mind to the Duchess beside her, she leaned forward and beckoned to her. "Lijia, come here. Let your auntie have a good look at you."
Zhao Lijia went over. The Second Madam grasped her hand, her smiling eyes scanning her face. "You've only seen me once. Do I seem like a stranger to you?"
Zhao Lijia shook her head. This was not a lie—the approachable charm of this auntie made her feel that she was exactly as she had imagined.
The smile in the Second Madam's eyes deepened. She tilted her head and looked her over, finally saying, "Your face shape takes after your mother. Your eyes must take after the General."
At this moment, feeling the pleasant fragrance on the Second Madam and the warmth transmitted through her hand, Zhao Lijia relaxed and revealed a small smile. "I've forgotten what my mother looked like. But my eyes are exactly the same as my father's."
Upon hearing this, Second Madam's smile became tinged with sorrow, though it was quickly replaced by intense amusement once more. "I had imagined what you might look like, but I never expected you to look like this."
Zhao Lijia's eyes trembled slightly as she looked at Second Madam with confusion and a trace of barely perceptible bewilderment.
Second Madam knew she had misunderstood and was about to explain, but someone else seized the conversation first.
The Shizi's wife, Qi Wanling, smiled and said, "I thought you would be a sea buckthorn grown in Liangzhou, but it turns out you're a peony nurtured in the water towns of Jiangnan."
Zhao Lijia felt herself being scanned from top to bottom by someone's gaze.
She turned her head and saw that the speaker was wearing a purple skirt painted with golden interlocking floral patterns, her hair styled in a high conical bun adorned with three pairs of jadeite ornaments on each side from bottom to top, and a comb inlaid with turquoise—quite eye-catching—inserted right in the center of her bun.
She knew this was the Shizi's wife, so she turned and curtsied, saying, "Lijia pays her respects to the Shizi's wife."