Chapter 135

Wang Shuhuai was reserved and not given to reproach; he controlled his bad mood. Mamma Lin heard the movement and hurried to prepare water and clothes. Wang Shuhuai washed in haste, returned to the inner room, and, looking at the faint silhouette of his wife on the bed, gently lifted the curtain and slipped in beside her.

Xie Yunchu had not prepared an extra blanket.

She slept lightly. When the quilt was tossed back and the cold slipped against her spine, she woke. In the smoke-glazed dimness, a pair of eyes stared at her with unusual depth. Xie Yunchu broke out in a cold sweat. “Second Young Master, why are you here?”

When had he stayed two nights in her room in a row?

And this was not his usual place—he had elsewhere to stay.

Wang Shuhuai looked peculiarly unsettled and could not hold back. “You promised me something last night. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

What did he mean she had promised him last night?

Had she promised nightly revels?

Impossible. Her monthly period had just ended—this was not the time to conceive. Besides, after he had tired her out so much the night before, her body still ached; how could she have the strength for such things?

Xie Yunchu warned him solemnly, “Second Young Master, excessive indulgence harms the body.”

Wang Shuhuai was silenced by those four words. They were a rule he lived by. But this moment was not like other moments. Over the next three years, his returns home would be few; Xie Yunchu refused to go to Jinling with him. Now that he had finally come back, of course he would stay in the rear chambers.

A sourness rose in him. “I’ll be leaving in a day or two.”

Xie Yunchu was caught like a rider astride a tiger. Such urgency was unlike Wang Shuhuai’s manner—it could only mean he truly was eager for an heir.

She told him softly, “My period just ended. It’s not a good time to conceive, and I haven’t recovered yet.”

In the night, her lips were full and gently upturned, like a peony at dusk, shy and wet.

Roused and still drowsy, her coquettishness lacked the usual polite distance.

Wang Shuhuai’s heart softened. The annoyance kindled by the lantern he had given her faded in a haze of comfort. “Very well. Then let us rest.”

Wang Shuhuai lay down.

Xie Yunchu watched him silently. Having slept alone in both her lives, sharing a bed and giving up half of it to someone else felt odd at first. Still, they were husband and wife; she said nothing. She rose carefully, took a thin mattress from the tall cabinet at the bedside, and handed it to Wang Shuhuai, who was not used to her thick quilts. Taking the lighter cover, the two lay side by side, each sleeping under their own bedding.

Xie Yunchu was roused by his noise and lost her sleep.

Wang Shuhuai’s travel fatigue from the previous day had not fully left him; he mounded his head on the pillow and dozed off at once.

Xie Yunchu raised a matter. “Second Young Master, I asked Qu’er to go with you to Jinling. What do you think of him? Can he manage on his own?”

Mentioning business cleared Wang Shuhuai’s expression. He pondered a moment. “Not bad—clever and knows how to handle things.”

“That’s good.” Xie Yunchu smiled. “My shop urgently needs the best xiangyun sha. I plan to have him set up a workshop in Jinling. If you have time, Second Young Master, please keep an eye on it for me.”

(Xiangyun sha is a traditional, eco-friendly silk fabric from Guangdong, China, also known as Gambiered Guangdong silk.)

In these three months the shop’s turnover had been considerable, but profits were not ideal—because of the monopoly on market she had spent a great deal of silver. To control costs and the source, she intended to open a workshop herself to develop silk and materials techniques.

Wang Shuhuai nodded. “Leave it to me.”

Xie Yunchu was slightly surprised—he would deign to involve himself in her affairs?

“You needn’t personally oversee it,” she said, remembering someone.

In her previous life during Wang Shuhuai’s time in Jinling he had intentionally cultivated personnel. Many posts in the Jinling departments were low in rank but high in threshold—filled with sons of patrons or talented jinshi with no patronage. Wang Shuhuai had used the chance to pick a few to support him; these men later became pillars of the court.

One of them was named Qin Guang—versed in all schools, skillful with connections; he later rose to be Vice Minister of Revenue, opening financial channels for the court and replenishing the treasury. Xie Yunchu would not compete with the court for talent; borrowing a bit of their light was acceptable.

So she prompted Wang Shuhuai with Qin Guang’s traits. He nodded. “There is such a person—perhaps he fits Madam’s needs. When I go, I’ll consider employing him.”

Xie Yunchu was pleased.

Woken from his drowsiness, Wang Shuhuai remembered another matter. “By the way, I met my father-in-law at court today. He invited me to the manor for a banquet.”

Xie Yunchu smiled. “My stepmother formally entered the household on the eighth day of the ninth month—she must have asked Father to pass the word to you.”

Having a proper housewife made things different: dignified in conduct, steady in temperament, meticulous in affairs; the household ran smoothly.

Wang Shuhuai massaged his forehead. “My rudeness. Please prepare a generous gift so I can apologize to my father- and mother-in-law.”

Xie Yunchu agreed.

The next morning, Wang Shuhuai left for the court before dawn as usual. Xie Yunchu prepared congratulatory gifts and waited for him to return to the Xie residence for the banquet.

Ke’er could not sit still and begged to go to the Liuli Hall to play. Thinking Wang Shuhuai would not be back soon, Xie Yunchu took the child herself.

The Liuli Hall was the Grand Duke’s largest flower hall: five open bays, a curved-eaves roof, intricately carved caisson ceilings, and connecting galleries in every direction—grand and imposing. A wide forecourt allowed children space to play; behind lay gardens thick with blooms that kept the girls lingering. In winter the brazier burned, in summer it was cool—thus the hall was the residence’s busiest place each day.

Madam Miao of the senior branch was busy with the main family’s kitchen; the wet nurses brought two children to play in the hall. Wang Shuqin and Wang Shuya were already in a side room practicing calligraphy and embroidery. Dou Keling was occupied, while Xu Shiwei sat on the corridor bench, belly prominent, basking in the sun.

Xuan’er had been sent over as well.

Ke’er brightened at seeing her older siblings. When Xie Yunchu set her down, she raised her fists and walked around the railing by the steps. The wet nurse and maids kept an eye on her nearby.

Xu Shiwei looked at the children in the yard and her eyes softened without meaning to. She asked Xie Yunchu, “Sister-in-law, do you think this one will be a boy or a girl? My belly is pointy and I crave sour things—might it be a son?”

People always held an expectation in their hearts; asking was seeking others’ affirmation.

Xie Yunchu glanced at her belly. “The shape of the belly has nothing to do with the child’s sex. When I was carrying Ke’er, people all said my belly looked like a boy’s, but in the end it was a girl. Don’t think about it—only the birth tells the truth.”

Xu Shiwei was a little disappointed.

Just then Madam Miao finished her tasks and, arm in arm with a maid, came over smiling. “Chu’er is right—nothing is certain. When I carried Lin my belly was round and everyone said it would be a daughter. Who knew a son was born? You’re young; you’ll surely have both sons and daughters in your life.”

Hearing Madam Miao, Xu Shiwei’s spirits brightened. “You are right. I will have both.”

Madam Miao sat beside Xie Yunchu and chatted affectionately. “Since the Second Young Master has returned, you’ve been so busy I barely see you.”

Xie Yunchu’s cheeks warmed up. “Don’t tease me. I was only gone yesterday and you already miss me.”