After leaving the main residence, Shi Huai did not return directly to Shou'an Hall. Instead, he took a detour to the garden.
Beneath the old locust tree in the garden stood a swing. Grand Madam had had it made for him while she was still alive, and whenever he had nothing to do, he liked to sit on it and sway.
Today, however, he was not there to swing. He was waiting for someone.
That someone was Shi Youlan.
Every morning, Shi Youlan played in the garden for half an hour. It was a habit she never broke.
Before long, Shi Youlan came bounding into the garden in a pink jacket, followed by two maids. When she saw Shi Huai sitting on the swing, she froze for a moment and slowed her steps.
“What are you doing here?”
Shi Youlan stopped three paces away, chin raised, her tone as haughty as ever.
“Waiting for you.” Shi Huai jumped down from the swing, dusted off his robe, and looked at her with a beaming smile.
A faint blush spread across Shi Youlan’s face, but she quickly schooled her expression. “Waiting for me? What for? I have nothing to say to you.”
“I have something to say to you.” Shi Huai walked up to her and tilted his head back to look at her. Though he was half a head shorter, his presence was not the least bit weaker.
“Second Sister, does your mother badmouth me in front of you every day?”
Shi Youlan was stunned by the question. She opened and closed her mouth, unable to say anything for a long moment.
The expressions of the two maids behind her changed as well. They exchanged uncertain glances, not knowing whether they should step forward.
“You... What nonsense are you talking about?” Shi Youlan’s face flushed bright red, and her voice rose sharply. “My mother never badmouths you! Everything she says is the truth!”
“The truth? What truth?”
Shi Huai tilted his head, looking genuinely curious.
“That I’m a bastard? But Father himself said I’m his son. That they were going to drive me out? Yet I’m still living perfectly well in the Marquis’s Residence.”
Shi Youlan was left speechless. Her lips trembled, and her eyes reddened.
“You... You’re bullying me!” Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she turned to run.
Shi Huai caught her by the sleeve and softened his voice. “Second Sister, I’m not bullying you. I only want to tell you that what your mother says to you isn’t necessarily true.”
Shi Youlan stopped. Tears still clung to her face as she turned back to him, the hostility in her eyes fading somewhat.
“Mother says you aren’t my little brother?” Her voice trembled slightly.
“But I am your little brother.” Shi Huai released her sleeve and looked earnestly into her eyes.
“Second Sister, we’re family. No matter what grudges the adults may have between them, there shouldn’t be any hatred between us siblings.”
More tears slipped from Shi Youlan’s eyes. She wiped them away messily with the back of her hand and spoke through her sobs.
“Mother says you aren’t my little brother. She says you came here to take our family’s wealth.”
“Your mother is wrong.” Shi Huai’s voice was soft, but every word was clear.
“I didn’t come to the Marquis’s Residence to take anything. I only wanted to stay alive. Second Sister, think about it. I was abandoned in a side courtyard only a few days after I was born. If Grandmother hadn’t saved me, I would have died long ago.”
“My own mother tried to strangle me, and my own father threw me away like a piece of trash. What did I do wrong? I hadn’t done anything at all. Was I supposed to die just because I was born with an unpleasant face?”
Shi Youlan could not find a reply. She stood there as tears continued streaming down her cheeks.
The two maids’ eyes had reddened as well, and they lowered their heads, afraid to look at him.
“Second Sister, I don’t blame your mother, and I don’t blame you either.” Shi Huai’s voice remained gentle. “I only want you to know that I’m not a bad person.”
“If you’re willing, we can become true siblings. If you aren’t, I won’t force you.”
With that, he turned and walked away. His pace was neither hurried nor slow. His small back was straight and proud.
Shi Youlan remained where she was, watching his figure disappear through the moon gate at the edge of the garden. Then, all at once, she squatted down and covered her face as she began to sob.
One of the maids hurried over and gently urged her, “Second Miss, please don’t cry. The Young Master has a point. He’s only a child. What ill intentions could he possibly have?”
Shi Youlan raised her head, her eyes red from crying. “But... But Mother says he’s a bastard. She says that if I become close to him, I’ll be an unfilial daughter.”
The maid sighed, not knowing what to say.
Shi Youlan wiped away her tears and stood up. She looked toward the direction in which Shi Huai had disappeared. The hostility in her eyes had vanished completely, replaced by a complicated emotion.
When Shi Huai returned to Shou'an Hall, Qinghe was waiting for him in the courtyard with a letter in hand.
“Young Master, Second Master sent a letter.” Qinghe handed it over with a smile. “He says he’s at the estate and wants you to visit when you have time.”
Shi Huai accepted the letter and opened it. There was only a single line written on the paper:
“A new gardener has arrived at the estate, and the flowers he grows are beautiful. Come and have a look.”
He stared at that line several times before a slow smile spread across his face.
Shi Yuanping’s letter made no sense on the surface. A gardener who grew flowers—it was obviously a coded message.
If he wanted Shi Huai to go to the estate, there was certainly something important he wished to discuss.
Shi Huai folded the letter and slipped it into his sleeve. Then he said to Qinghe, “Sister Qinghe, pack our things. Tomorrow we’re going to the estate to see Second Uncle.”
Qinghe stared at him. “Tomorrow? But didn’t the Marquis say we should wait for the steward to make the arrangements?”
“We’re not waiting. We’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll speak to Father myself.” Shi Huai turned and headed inside, his steps light and quick as a rabbit’s.
Early the next morning, Shi Huai went to the main residence and told Shi Yuanzhi that he wanted to visit the estate. Shi Yuanzhi did not object, merely reminding him to be careful on the road.
As usual, Qinghe packed two large bundles—one filled with clothes and the other with food. They were both bulky and overstuffed.
Looking at them, Shi Huai sighed helplessly. “Sister Qinghe, we really don’t need to bring this much.”
“It never hurts to bring extra.” Qinghe slung a bundle over her shoulder and marched off with a swagger.
Shi Huai climbed into the carriage and settled himself on the thick bedding. He lifted the curtain and looked outside.
The vermilion gates of the Marquis’s Residence grew farther and farther away. The two stone lions became smaller and smaller, until they finally vanished around the corner of the street.
After traveling for two hours, the carriage finally arrived at the estate.
The little courtyard looked just as it had before: gray brick walls, dark-tiled roofs, and winding paths leading into secluded corners. The several stalks of bamboo had grown considerably taller. The plum blossoms in the corner had already faded, but the new leaves were glossy green.
Nanny Wang was waiting at the gate. When she saw the carriage stop, she hurried over to greet them.
“Young Master, you’ve arrived? Second Master has been waiting for you.”
Qinghe lifted Shi Huai down from the carriage. He straightened his collar and followed Nanny Wang inside.
Shi Yuanping was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, with a pot of tea before him and a book in his hand. Hearing their footsteps, he raised his head, a familiar, gentle smile spreading across his face.
“You’re here?” Shi Yuanping set down his book and beckoned to Shi Huai. “Come sit.”
Shi Huai walked over, climbed onto the stone bench, and sat opposite him. He tilted his head back to look at Shi Yuanping.
“Second Uncle, where’s the gardener you mentioned in your letter? Where is he?”
“The gardener is a lie, but the flowers he grows are real.”
