lute's sickly brother, hill, as a boy, was the important child in this family because he would be the successor of his father, yuxi. the young boy was cosseted, over-supervised and beaten so that he was weak and morose. lute was often ignored and had more freedom to do what she wanted. she was given to those of no consequence. lute grew up around servants, the sprawling, extended family existed in a sea of gossip, scandal, jealousy and fear. they were bound together by their need for money, and the terror of destitution. they lived on the family's ever-diminishing wealth and tarnished prestige, pretending loyalty while pursuing their own survival and pleasure. through young lute's child clear eyes, those adults sometimes were hypocritical; even her parents were relentlessly selfish.