◎”Yu Qingwu, things will get better. Tomorrow’s sun will still rise.”◎

Lan Shanjun was brought back to the Shou residence by Nanny Qian. The people from the Duke Zhenguo’s estate had already left. Old Madam Shou sat alone quietly in the main hall. Seeing them return, she sighed: “Where’s Qingwu?”

Nanny Qian: “Minister Wu took him away.”

Old Madam Shou: “What did the authorities say?”

Nanny Qian’s voice carried indignation: “They said he lost his footing and fell into the water.”

Then, thinking of Su Xingzhou’s corpse without a single patch of uninjured skin, she choked up: “We all helped investigate for so long and found nothing. I suspected something had happened at the time. Now five days have passed, and he’s been soaking in the river until he looks like that—even if it wasn’t losing his footing and falling in, there’s nothing left to find.”

“A perfectly fine person just vanished into thin air…”

She tried to hold back but couldn’t: “The people behind this have gone too far!”

Old Madam Shou remained silent, grief appearing on her face. She covered her chest and coughed once.

But Nanny Qian didn’t dare let her grieve like this. The physician had said that if Old Madam suffered too much sorrow and grief, it would easily damage her vital energy. She quickly said: “Miss Lan Six’s clothes got stained with mud and sand at the riverside. It wouldn’t be proper for her to return directly, so I brought her back. At the very least, she should change clothes.”

Old Madam Shou nodded and forced herself to rally her spirits, taking Lan Shanjun’s hand: “I told your mother I sent you to help me fetch a new blade from Iron Pearl Hall, and that you might return rather late. After you return, I’ll send you home.”

Lan Shanjun nodded. “Yes.”

She looked up, just in time to see Old Madam Shou watching her with concern. “Shanjun, are you all right?”

Lan Shanjun nodded again. “I’m fine.”

Old Madam Shou: “This can hardly be called fine.”

She raised her hand and gently patted her back several times. “Come back to yourself—come back to yourself—”

This was a method elders commonly used when children were frightened.

Lan Shanjun raised her head and managed a smile toward her, asking: “Are you all right?”

Old Madam Shou sighed softly. “At my age, I’ve seen so many deaths… What could be wrong?”

She asked: “You were frightened today, weren’t you? Qingwu came to ask me for help, so I could only invite you to come.”

Lan Shanjun shook her head. “Young Master Su showed me kindness. Today’s matter—I should help.”

She looked toward Old Madam Shou. “He once gave me a coffin, but I probably won’t be able to repay him for his coffin.”

Su Xingzhou’s coffin would certainly be arranged by Yu Qingwu.

She said: “I can only go pay my respects.”

Almost as soon as she spoke these words, Old Madam Shou understood. She said: “Don’t worry. Just follow me when the time comes.”

She loved to quietly gather information about other families’ affairs, so she knew the temperament of everyone, old and young, in the Duke Zhenguo’s estate. The old matriarch had been grief-stricken sixteen years ago and no longer left the estate, so her world had become small, making her especially domineering and unreasonable.

As for the younger generation, they still held onto their status and hadn’t yet recovered from their glorious past. They still clung to the Duke Zhenguo estate’s dignity.

If Lan Shanjun wanted to pay respects to Su Xingzhou, she would likely face obstruction.

But Old Madam Shou had no such concerns. She was very direct in her actions: “I’ll send you an invitation addressed to you alone. When the time comes, just come here.”

Lan Shanjun rose and bowed gratefully. “Thank you.”

Old Madam Shou waved her hand. “You young people these days are far too formal.”

Speaking of this, she grew sad again after all. “If back then those three had been willing to live here with me, they wouldn’t have lost their lives one by one.”

Yu Qingwu was Wu Qingchuan’s disciple, so naturally he would pay respects to her when coming to Luoyang. She had wanted them to live at the Shou residence, but the Wu family also had a residence, so the three had gone to live at the Wu estate instead. Just this one decision had led to so many complications.

Lan Shanjun quickly tried to comfort her, then hesitated and said tentatively: “Sir Yu came to find me today to ask about my master.”

Old Madam Shou was in the know and said: “Don’t blame him. He’s at his wit’s end.”

Lan Shanjun: “This is only natural. If I encountered such a situation, I would do the same. It’s just… I’ve thought it over and over, but my master was just an ordinary monk with nothing unusual about him, so I couldn’t help.”

Old Madam Shou: “Don’t worry about it. Xingzhou did go to White Horse Temple, but he first went to Yingying’s eternal lamp, then to the four lamps you offered. The young monk at White Horse Temple said he stood before those four lamps for quite a while, but there’s no definitive conclusion about what exactly he was looking at. Perhaps because you had met before, he wanted to pay respects while there. Or perhaps he was thinking about other matters and stopped there without coming back to himself.”

Both were possible. At any other time, this would have been a trivial matter. But by coincidence, after searching everywhere for Su Xingzhou to no avail, Yu Qingwu encountered Lan Shanjun on the street going to the banquet at Marquis Boyuan’s estate, and treated it as his last hope.

Old Madam Shou wiped her tears. “I also have regrets. Back then, no matter what, after Yingying died, I should have made Xingzhou come live with me.”

Nanny Qian had gone to fetch clean clothes for Lan Shanjun earlier. Returning and hearing these words, she sighed deeply, then said to Lan Shanjun: “These are from when Old Madam was young. Your build is similar to hers, so please try them on to see if they fit.”

Lan Shanjun took the clothes and expressed her thanks. Just as she was about to rise to change, she heard Nanny Qian say to Old Madam Shou: “Don’t blame yourself. You even came forward to warn the Marquis Boyuan’s estate. Who knew they would still dare to do such a thing!”

Lan Shanjun sat back down and asked softly: “The Marquis Boyuan’s estate?”

She remembered that Third Brother had once mentioned Yu Qingwu had fought with the Marquis Boyuan estate’s eldest young master.

Nanny Qian: “This isn’t a secret—everyone in the know is guessing that Young Master Su was killed on orders from Young Master Lin.”

But there was no evidence. Without evidence, they couldn’t arrest anyone.

She sighed: “Back then, there was no evidence that Young Master Lin did what happened to Yingying either. So when Young Master Yu attacked the Marquis Boyuan’s estate and viciously stabbed him, it was wrong. It was only because Old Madam interceded before Imperial Concubine Lin that his future was preserved.”

Imperial Concubine Lin was the younger sister of Marquis Boyuan.

But Lan Shanjun was surprised. “Stabbed him?”

She hesitated: “I heard it was just a fight.”

Nanny Qian curled her lip. “Marquis Boyuan cares greatly about face and wouldn’t let word of his loss get out.”

She continued dejectedly: “Yingying died miserably—several holes in her body. Young Master Yu was young then. In his rage, he was ready to fight to the death.”

She fell silent at this point. “He fought desperately once back then. This time… this time I’m afraid fighting desperately won’t help. He can only plan gradually.”

Yu Qingwu himself probably understood this principle, which was why after Su Xingzhou disappeared, he hadn’t recklessly attacked their door again but instead asked Minister Wu and Old Madam Shou to help search.

But neither of them had found him.

So the one pulling strings behind the scenes was worth pondering.

Nanny Qian still believed it was Young Master Lin who did it.

She poured a cup of tea for Lan Shanjun and brought it over. “Back then, Young Master Lin was cursing Minister Wu in Jixian Hall. Young Masters Yu and Su, who had just arrived in Luoyang, overheard and got into a dispute with him.”

Jixian Hall was a place Luoyang scholars frequently visited.

“Young Master Lin was displeased and harbored malicious intent. He actually sent someone to lure Yingying to copy books for money. Such a small girl, only thirteen years old—she thought with all her heart she was going to earn money. But when she entered Jixian Hall, she was given trouble by a poor, sour scholar because she was from Shu.”

“Yingying argued with him a few times, and he beat Yingying to death.”

This scholar confessed readily, saying over and over he was avenging the soldiers who died in Luoyang. Before entering prison, he even smiled at Young Master Yu and said: “You Shu people truly deserve to die.”

But everyone could see that the scholar was just a blade—there was someone else standing behind him.

Nanny Qian: “Four years ago, the matters between Shuzhou and Luoyang had long been gradually forgotten. Where would anyone still specifically remember this to give trouble to a young girl from Shuzhou? It was just an excuse. Later it was discovered that the eldest young master of the Marquis Boyuan’s estate had instigated it.”

But he had only had his subordinates invite the poor, sour scholar for a drink once. He hadn’t done anything else—what could you do to him?

So in front of everyone’s eyes, a human life was lost, and Young Master Lin behind the scenes faced no consequences whatsoever.

Nanny Qian was still angry even now. “Fortunately he was stabbed once, otherwise it would be even more stifling.”

This was the first time Lan Shanjun had heard of this past event. She remained silent for a long while before saying: “Thank you, Nanny, for telling me about this.”

Nanny Qian placed a hand warmer with a peony pattern in her arms. “In this matter, we’ve implicated Miss. In the future, it might bring you some trouble, so we certainly need to explain it clearly to you.”

Old Madam Shou had been silent on the side the whole time. Only after Nanny Qian finished speaking did she say: “Shanjun, if you encounter trouble because of this matter in the future, just come find me.”

Lan Shanjun expressed her thanks again.

Old Madam Shou’s spirits weren’t very good. She managed a smile, then had Nanny Qian escort Lan Shanjun away.

Because Lan Shanjun had accompanied them to the Luo River today, Nanny Qian’s impression of her was excellent. She kept saying: “You have a kind heart. You’ll surely live to a hundred years old.”

After seeing her off, she returned to the main hall and saw the cup in Old Madam’s hand had shattered on the floor. Her eyes reddened. She called for a young maid to come sweep up the broken cup, then sat to the side: “Don’t be angry. Now that Minister Wu has returned, this life won’t be settled just like that.”

But Old Madam Shou shook her head. “It’s precisely because he’s returned that for Xingzhou’s life, I’m afraid Qingwu won’t even be able to strike back with one blow.”

Nanny Qian’s hand paused as she wiped her tears. “What do you mean?”

Old Madam Shou was silent for quite a while before saying: “His way of doing things has changed.”

She sighed with emotion: “Perhaps it’s because he’s gotten old. I keep feeling that after his return, his methods have softened considerably, and his concerns have increased greatly.”

“The Marquis Boyuan’s estate is at the height of its power. He couldn’t possibly offend people for Su Xingzhou’s sake.”

Because of Wu Qingchuan and Yu Qingwu’s relationship, Su Xingzhou’s death was no longer just about his own life. Everyone was watching to see how Minister Wu would act.

Old Madam Shou closed her eyes wearily. “And at a time like this, why would the Marquis Boyuan’s estate kill Su Xingzhou?”

There was more to say about this.

…

At the Yu residence, in the mourning hall, Minister Wu pressed his hand on Yu Qingwu’s shoulder and said in a heavy voice: “The more it’s like this, the more you need to stay calm. This matter may not necessarily have been done by Lin Ji.”

The eldest young master of the Lin family was named Lin Ji.

Yu Qingwu remained silent and didn’t deny this speculation.

Minister Wu: “The urgent priority is to find the real culprit. Otherwise, focusing entirely on the Lin family won’t be good—it will easily let others sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.”

He looked toward the coffin and gently placed his hand on it. “Qingwu, you’re someone meant to do great things. You can’t lose sight of the big picture for small gains. Do you understand?”

Yu Qingwu understood his meaning. He also knew that his teacher had just returned to Luoyang at a critical time. He couldn’t do things that would put his teacher in a difficult position. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “According to Teacher’s meaning, should Elder Brother’s life just be settled like this?”

Minister Wu: “It’s impossible to settle it like that. But it’s not now that we settle it.”

He set down the plan with one statement and patted Yu Qingwu’s shoulder. “In these few days, prepare to bury Xingzhou.”

Yu Qingwu’s head shot up. “Bury him?”

Minister Wu: “What else? How long do you want to wait?”

Yu Qingwu’s body began to tremble. “But Teacher, once he’s buried, there will be no evidence left. It will be as if we’re not pursuing anything—”

The hand Minister Wu had placed on his shoulder pressed down, and he said in a heavy voice: “Qingwu, don’t be foolish.”

He said: “You were foolish once. You stayed in Huailing for three years. Do you want to be foolish again?”

Yu Qingwu’s expression was dazed. He murmured: “Then what about Elder Brother’s life?”

Minister Wu repeated his earlier words: “Wait for later—what grounds do you have now?”

No witness testimony, no physical evidence, no family background, no power or influence.

Minister Wu asked: “What do you have?”

Yu Qingwu’s hands clenched tightly. His shoulders were pressed down bit by bit by his teacher. He said quietly: “I have nothing.”

Only then did Minister Wu feel reassured.

He had come in a hurry and left in a hurry.

It was snowing outside. He casually picked up a black umbrella nearby, opened it, and went out the door.

Yu Qingwu knelt in the hall watching until he disappeared from view. After a long while, he finally stood up, took out a new candle to receive the flame from the offering lamp, and said softly: “Elder Brother… take your time going to the underworld, take your time…”

…

On the other side, Lan Shanjun returned to the Duke Zhenguo’s estate. Zhu Shi and the others had been waiting for a long time. Seeing her return, they quickly said: “Why so late?”

Lan Shanjun gave Old Madam Shou’s explanation: “First I went to see Grandmother’s blades. After looking for a while, Nanny Qian said she would take me to Iron Pearl Pavilion to look—there are several more of Old Madam Shou’s blades there.”

Zhu Shi frowned. “Shanjun, this was discourteous of you. She only mentioned it, but unexpectedly you agreed, so she had no choice but to take you to see them.”

She said: “You should have come back to ask me.”

Lan Shanjun nodded. “I’ll know for next time.”

Zhu Shi saw her face was weary and softened. “Quickly sit down and rest. We were just listening to your third brother talk about an important matter.”

Third Young Master Lan quickly repeated the news about Yu Qingwu’s fellow townsman dying in the Luo River, curling his lip: “When he came to the academy looking for people, relying on Minister Wu’s influence, he was so imposing—his eyes looked like they wanted to devour people.”

“After searching for so long, who would have thought his fellow townsman lost his footing and fell into the water. Surely now he can’t say we pushed him in?”

The Third Young Madam’s hands tightened, but ultimately she didn’t speak ill of her husband before her mother-in-law.

Zhu Shi said worriedly: “When you go out from now on, take a few more servants. These winter days have plenty of rain, and with ice and snow, the roads are quite slippery.”

Third Young Master Lan scoffed: “I wouldn’t go to such places. I’m not like him—do I have nothing better to do?”

The Luo riverside was where only poor people went.

Having heard about the Su siblings’ affairs today, Lan Shanjun was already holding back her frustration. Hearing this, she looked up: “When a person dies, their light goes out. Third Brother should accumulate some virtue with your words.”

Third Young Master Lan immediately said: “I didn’t say anything!”

Lan Shanjun stood up and said with a cold laugh: “You have nothing to do—does that mean others are looking for trouble?”

Treacherous villains killing people, the powerful fooling people—none of it made any sense to begin with.

Had Su Xingzhou gone to the Luo River himself?

Had Su Yingying wanted to die at Jixian Hall herself?

She bowed to Zhu Shi. “Mother, I’m tired and would like to go rest.”

Zhu Shi was stunned, but seeing the fire in her gaze, she couldn’t very well lecture her. She could only say helplessly: “Then go rest.”

After she left, her eyes reddened. “You should all go back as well.”

The Third Young Madam quickly stood up, grabbed her husband who still wanted to argue, and took her leave. Lan Hui glared at Third Brother. After Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law left, she said to her mother: “Don’t blame Sixth Sister. Even I know Yu Qingwu is from Shuzhou, so his fellow townsman must also be from Shuzhou. Third Brother really doesn’t take Sixth Sister seriously—how could he say such things in front of her?”

Zhu Shi: “I know. Look, I didn’t say a word, did I?”

Lan Hui also stood to leave. “You should say something to Third Brother!”

Zhu Shi: “All right, all right. You’re so young—how is it you have more and more to say?”

Lan Hui curled her lip and lifted her legs to leave.

Zhu Shi chased after her, calling for someone to hold an umbrella for her. “It’s snowing again! The snow hasn’t stopped all year!”

…

In the snowy night, Lan Shanjun had Nanny Zhao light a lamp for her. She sat at her desk, slowly grinding ink. She had intended to draw a portrait of the old monk.

If the old monk’s identity was unusual, this would undoubtedly be the simplest method. But she didn’t dare draw it.

At least not now, when the enemy situation was unclear. She didn’t dare bring it out.

But ultimately, she had connected the old monk with her imprisonment in Huailing.

She sat quietly for a while, then suddenly stood up. She took down the precept blade hanging on the pillar and examined it carefully, but didn’t see anything different about it. She held the precept blade in her hand and slowly practiced a few moves, recalling the blade techniques the old monk had taught her, but also felt there was nothing exceptional about them.

The old monk had said that when walking the martial world, showy techniques were useless. When practicing the blade, the main thing was speed. So from childhood, she had been coaxed into cutting radishes. He would stand at the stove calling out: “Shanjun, faster! Cut faster! The oil is smoking!”

Lan Shanjun had always felt that the old monk’s original intention in having her learn the blade was merely to have her do more work, with no other meaning.

She placed the precept blade beside her and stopped stubbornly searching for differences in it. Instead, she continued making deductions on paper.

She thought that if it was related to the old monk, it wouldn’t be Song Zhiwei and that unknown woman killing people behind the scenes. Rather, it might involve the two words “imperial court.”

The imperial court… in her previous life, she had never paid attention to it. Her energy had all been spent on the Song Duke’s estate’s small corner of the world.

She took a deep breath, then expelled the stale air. Her brush moved, writing down three characters on the paper: Wu Qingchuan.

At least these three characters she was familiar with.

Ever since she had known of Wu Qingchuan as a person, his reputation had been very good. When others mentioned him, they always praised him.

So who had praised him in front of her?

Song Zhiwei certainly hadn’t. He never spoke of court matters in front of her.

Lan Shanjun strove to recall the past, then among numerous names, wrote down four more characters: Marquis Boyuan’s Estate.

Wu Qingchuan frequently attended banquets at the Marquis Boyuan’s home. At banquets, she had naturally heard a few good words about him.

Her heart followed her thoughts. She quickly held up the lamp to illuminate these two sheets of paper.

In her previous life, she hadn’t known about Su Xingzhou’s affair, so she hadn’t felt there was any problem with the Marquis Boyuan’s estate and Wu Qingchuan being on good terms. But now her heart felt a chill.

They shouldn’t be this close—after all, the two lives of the Su siblings lay between them.

Lan Shanjun didn’t sleep all night. Nanny Zhao watched with heartache. For breakfast, she specially had the kitchen make calming pea soup. Just as she brought it to the courtyard, she saw Fu Chun come in with a joyful expression, saying quietly: “Old Madam Shou has written an invitation, saying she would like to invite our young miss to the Shou residence.”

Nanny Zhao was shrewd and immediately understood the implications, asking: “She only invited our young miss alone?”

Fu Chun nodded. “Yes.”

A smile appeared at the corner of Nanny Zhao’s mouth, which she then suppressed. She said: “Tell our people not to make a fuss about this.”

Fu Chun: “Yes!”

Nanny Zhao: “For this outing, we must bring several maids, but we can’t bring too many, lest we be laughed at.”

She thought for a moment. “Just you and Xuan Xia.”

One active, one quiet—they would be thorough no matter what they encountered. Indeed, Zhu Shi had the same thought. “It’s just a social visit. Just bring two maids with you—this way it’s just ordinary relatives visiting.”

She also instructed: “Old Madam Shou must be calling her to look at blades again. You’re experienced—watch over things more carefully and don’t let Shanjun speak carelessly.”

Nanny Zhao nodded earnestly. “Madam, rest assured. This old servant understands.”

But she hadn’t expected that after arriving at Old Madam Shou’s residence, the group would soon board a carriage to go to the Yu residence.

The entire hall was draped in white cloth.

Nanny Zhao’s mouth immediately shut tight.

Both Old Madam Shou and Lan Shanjun wore white clothing today. Yu Qingwu came to the door to receive them. Seeing Lan Shanjun, his expression froze, and he said with emotion: “Thank you for being willing to come.”

Lan Shanjun supported Old Madam Shou as they entered the estate, saying softly: “I should have come.”

In the mourning hall, there was not a single person.

Old Madam Shou sighed. “Why didn’t you announce the death?”

Yu Qingwu: “Elder Brother didn’t like noise.”

Old Madam Shou: “Then we few will see him off.”

She was an elder and didn’t need to kneel. She only took three sticks of incense and placed them at the altar. But Lan Shanjun had to kneel and pay respects. Following proper etiquette, Yu Qingwu knelt down as well and handed her spirit money.

Lan Shanjun took it and used the candle flame from the offering lamp to light and burn it.

Lan Shanjun rose. Yu Qingwu supported her nominally and bowed to thank her for the worship.

Lan Shanjun silently accepted this gesture of respect, then looked toward the coffin. After a long while, she asked: “Has Young Master Su had his mouth filled with rice?”

Yu Qingwu’s heart ached. “Yesterday there wasn’t time. Just now I was about to go cook.”

But he didn’t know how to make what Elder Brother liked to eat.

In Shuzhou custom, before a person is buried, a mouthful of rice must be placed in their mouth.

This mouthful of rice also had requirements—it had to be something the deceased loved to eat while alive.

He looked at Lan Shanjun and asked quietly: “Miss, can you make Huailing spicy tofu?”

Lan Shanjun rolled up her sleeves. “Where’s the kitchen?”

Yu Qingwu quickly led her there.

He had already bought tofu. Lan Shanjun said: “This is quite quick. Can you tend the fire for me?”

She picked up a knife and began cutting the tofu.

Yu Qingwu sat to the side to start the fire.

Her blade was very fast. His hands kept trembling. He blew on the fire starter several times, but it wouldn’t light.

Lan Shanjun knew he wasn’t feeling well now. When the old monk died, she had been the same—weak all over, as if she had no strength to do anything. Now he still had to arrange the funeral and investigate the real culprit, so he probably still had some spirit. But after a few more days, once most matters had settled, he would have no energy at all and could lie on the ground crying for a day and night.

She sighed softly, then first finished cutting the tofu. She walked to his side, took the fire starter from his hands, gently blew on it, picked up kindling to light and place in the stove, then returned to the counter to chop peppers, saying not a word.

Her silence actually made Yu Qingwu feel better. At this moment, he didn’t want to hear people’s comfort.

But though she didn’t speak, he suddenly wanted to say a few things.

In the dim kitchen, Yu Qingwu heard himself ask: “Miss Lan, are you afraid of ghosts?”

He used to be afraid of ghosts.

But he wasn’t afraid anymore.

He was waiting for Elder Brother to appear in his dreams.

But he could never sleep. If he couldn’t sleep, how could Elder Brother appear in his dreams?

He could only hope Elder Brother would manifest.

Appear right now before him.

Hearing this, Lan Shanjun actually understood his meaning.

Her hand chopping scallions and ginger stopped. Her gaze carefully examined the dim kitchen, and Yu Qingwu couldn’t help but look with her.

Nothing there.

No Elder Brother.

Some guilt welled up in his heart. “Did I frighten you?”

A perfectly fine person—she had just returned to Luoyang, at a difficult time, yet he kept frightening her.

Lan Shanjun shook her head and continued chopping vegetables. Amid the sounds of the chopping board, she said: “I used to be afraid. Not anymore.”

Hearing this answer similar to his own, Yu Qingwu looked over intently. “Why?”

Lan Shanjun shook her head and didn’t say. Only the blade rising and falling answered him.

—What was there to fear?

She didn’t even know now if she was human or ghost.

She efficiently heated the wok with oil, finished making the tofu, then placed it all in a bowl and brought it to him. “Yu Qingwu, things will get better. Tomorrow’s sun will still rise. The days are still long ahead.”