In the Xie residence of the Marquis of Dingguo, Xie Fengran sat by the window practicing her calligraphy. Her maid hovered just inside the doorway, moving with the soft, careful steps of someone who had learned how to disappear into a room.
Fengran finished the last stroke, set the brush down, and at last looked up at the small slip of paper in the maid’s hand. “Grandmother already passed the invitations to me for the banquet,” she said, surprised. “Why has another one just arrived?”
The maid smiled a little. “Miss Sun sent it, Second Miss.” She handed the slip over.
Fengran took it and opened it. It was a tiny, pink card, decorated with a painted hairpin blossom—delicate and feminine. Inside, neat small characters ran across the paper in a hand she recognized at once.
The note was playful and intimate; anyone who wrote so familiarly clearly counted themselves among friends. Fengran smiled faintly and set the card aside, then noticed a second slip still in the maid’s fingers.
“Another one?” she asked.
The maid suppressed a giggle and imitated the servant from the Sun household. “Miss Sun said the first is for you alone. This other one is for you to bring someone with you—bring whomever you like so people won’t be embarrassed if there aren’t enough invitations to go around.”
Fengran let out a small laugh. “That little schemer…”
The maid pressed on. “Miss, you should know—houses that received these invitations practically had their thresholds trampled flat. It’s only because people didn’t know you were friendly with Miss Sun that no one rushed in asking for one.”
She wasn’t wrong. Since the court announced that His Majesty had reopened the Imperial Women’s Academy and appointed Scholar Sun Hanlin as head, the Sun family had suddenly become the center of attention. The Academy—founded long ago—had produced many accomplished women and palace officials; being accepted was a sure path to a good marriage. Even one of the palace’s favored consorts had once been a student there. No wonder the Sun family’s flower-viewing banquet was the sort of event people fought over.
Fengran, however, didn’t think she’d need that invitation. Still—what the hell. “I’ll go,” she said.
Before she could finish, a flustered kitchen girl burst in. “Miss, Miss—His Lordship’s manservant is waiting at the outer study door! The Marquis wants you to come.”
The two maids exchanged looks. The elder maid tugged the younger out. “Why the fuss? I’ll come and see.”
They left. Fengran changed her robe and, when she returned, the maid was already waiting at the doorway, lowering her voice. “Miss, I asked. Second Miss Yunxi has just been in the outer study, and the Marquis sent for you right after.”
Fengran felt something shift behind her eyes and a trace of irony crossed her face. She’d heard how Xie Yunxi had been hopping about trying to get into the Sun family’s good graces, only to be turned away for lack of an invitation. No doubt Yunxi had her sights set on this second card.
Not that it mattered. Fengran allowed herself a slight smile. “Bring the Sun family’s invitation with us.”
The outer study was where Xie Yi, the head of the family, handled business. Ordinary servants weren’t admitted—except, it seemed, for Second Miss Xie Yunxi. Even Fengran normally had to be announced; Yunxi could simply appear when she pleased.
When Fengran stepped into the courtyard she could hear Yunxi’s soft, deliberately helpless voice through the paper windows. “Father, I simply have no other way. The Sun family’s invitations are like gold—none of the girls my circle got one. I don’t know why Miss Sun would single out sister.” She sighed, theatrical and long. “But don’t worry—your daughter is always proper. I would never do anything untoward. Father, I only came to ask your permission first; I haven’t told Grandmother—”
“Tell me what?” Xie Yi’s voice, low and even, cut across her.
At that, Yunxi turned, and Fengran stepped into the study, crossing the threshold with one sure stride, folding into a respectful kneel at the desk. “Father.”
Xie Yi glanced up at his eldest. “You’ve come. Your sister says you received an invitation from the Sun family. How would I know you have dealings with the Suns?”
Fengran smiled the smile she kept when it suited her—restrained, but the corners of it had a warmth that softened her features into something unexpectedly luminous. It made Yunxi’s practiced coquettishness look a step too small by comparison.
“Father,” she said, composed, “this invitation is hardly just for me. With His Majesty reopening the Women’s Academy, this is essentially the court’s favor. His family has ties to the Sun household; if they give the Sun invitation to us, it’s almost like the favor is for the Marquis’s household itself.”
She offered the flattery as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and she patted Xie Yi’s sleeve with a casual familiarity. A convenient lie—and one that would buy her maneuvering space. If anyone knew that she and Miss Sun were close, it was better kept quiet. This was an exit strategy.
Xie Yi considered her words and let the matter drop. “So then we must go?”
“Whether we go or not is up to you, Father. Grandmother might not agree with me attending,” Fengran added, with a slight, pointed look.
That reminder did the trick. The affair the next day would conflict with the court reception, and Mother had already intended for Yunxi—not Fengran—to enter the palace with her. Fengran’s mention of Grandmother’s likely objection made the calculus clear.
“We cannot stay away,” Yunxi chimed eagerly. She stepped to Xie Yi’s side and tugged at his sleeve as if he were the only man in the world capable of solving her dilemma. “If we don’t go, people will think the Marquis’s household is too proud for others. And if I could glean anything from Miss Sun about the Academy—if I could learn something about the entrance exams—then I’d be better prepared.”
Yunxi suspected Fengran of holding out on the truth. If Fengran truly was close to Miss Sun, Yunxi’s presence might be smoothed over. Xie Yi paused, then nodded. “Very well. You may both attend.”
“But—” Yunxi’s face clouded for a moment. “Grandmother once said that the Women’s Academy was improper. If we go, won’t she be angry?”
Fengran’s voice was cool and persuasive. “Father is the head of the household. When matters of face and relations are at stake, it is his call to make. Grandmother’s old complaints were from another time—she may well have forgotten them.”
Fengran snorted inwardly at the thought of Grandmother forgetting; she didn’t believe it for a moment. Yunxi, however, knew how to work their father. Her honeyed words unfurled until Xie Yi’s expression softened and he smiled. “Very well. You’ll go. Make sure you look presentable—your aunt can see to that. Don’t disgrace the Marquis’s household.”
“Thank you, Father,” Yunxi chimed, all bright compliance. She turned to Fengran with triumph in her eyes. “Sister, then we’ll go together. We won’t keep Father from his work.”
Fengran gave Yunxi a single, measured glance and feigned annoyance. She bowed slightly to Xie Yi. “I take my leave.”
Then she stood and left the study without looking back; the barest twist at one corner of her mouth was the only sign of the thought that passed through her. If she could go to the Sun family’s banquet, there might yet be room to maneuver the palace reception. As for Yunxi—let her have her prance.
When Yunxi hurried after her, she only caught the receding of Fengran’s back. She didn’t look upset. A little curl of triumph tugged at the corner of her own mouth. “Fight me if you will,” she purred to herself, “but see who Father favors.”