The next day, Shen Lingzhen awoke to the rumbling sound of wheelchair wheels, realizing Huo Liuxing had risen before her again.

She groggily started to open her eyes, but remembering last night’s incident at the last moment, quickly squeezed them shut again to feign sleep. Only after the rumbling sound gradually faded did she sit up in bed and exhale softly in relief.

Jianjia and Bailu came in to help her dress and wash. Seeing her haggard appearance, they asked if she had slept poorly.

This was naturally the case. After being caught red-handed, she had barely slept all night. Too embarrassed to toss and turn and disturb Huo Liuxing, who lay just an arm’s length away, she could only lie stiffly, counting off months in her mind from today, the nineteenth day of the fourth month, all the way to the thirtieth of the twelfth month at year’s end.

Thinking of this, she sighed softly. “Today is the nineteenth of the fourth month—it’s the forty-ninth day after Suohui’s passing, isn’t it?”

Suohui was the maid who had died protecting her in Peach Blossom Valley.

“Yes, young mistress.” Bailu answered. “This servant remembers your instructions. Today we’ll burn paper offerings and pray for Suohui’s blessing as customary.”

Shen Lingzhen nodded. “Being newly wed, inauspicious matters are taboo. Handle it outside so the household doesn’t know. Burn more spirit money for me, and take along the memorial text I drafted earlier. Also, remember not to leave before the paper money has completely burned.”

“Because that would be disrespectful to the deceased!” Jianjia took over. “You repeat these instructions every time—we servants’ ears have grown calluses. Even the dullest of us could never forget. Right, Bailu?”

Jianjia and Bailu smiled as they spoke, but their eyes held emotion.

In this world, there were plenty of nobles who treated servants as livestock, using and degrading them. Where could one find such a kindhearted mistress who treated her personal maids like sisters, personally wrote memorial texts for deceased servants, and observed mourning from the seventh day through the forty-ninth day without missing a single occasion?

After Jianjia and Bailu finished attending to Shen Lingzhen, they found a pretext to leave the residence together.

Just after they departed, Huo Shuyi hurried into Huo Liuxing’s courtyard.

She wore a crisp men’s narrow-sleeved robe, her hair bound in a simple topknot with a wooden hairpin, her steps swift as wind. Reaching the study, she knocked on the door before catching her breath. “Second brother, I have something to tell you.”

Huo Liuxing sat at his desk examining a border region map. He called out “Enter,” then looked up. “What is it?”

“Just now, the purchasing servant from my courtyard returned from outside and encountered those two personal maids of the Shen woman leaving the residence with a basket of items, looking rather furtive. So I had someone follow them to see…”

Huo Liuxing had just begun to frown when Huo Shuyi waved her hand in explanation. “Don’t worry, I sent Jingmo. He’s reliable in his work, and his skills are top-notch—he absolutely won’t be discovered.”

Huo Liuxing’s face remained stern. “Unless it’s a matter of life and death, even if you think something is foolproof, you must never act on your own initiative. If this happens again, you can follow Mother’s suggestion and move to Junxian Temple.”

Huo Shuyi lowered her eyes. “I was meddling.”

Huo Liuxing’s expression softened slightly. “I see you truly have excess energy. Running so fast just now—was yesterday’s punishment of two hours in horse stance not severe enough?”

“Two hours is nothing at all.” She raised her eyebrows with a smile. “Does second brother think I’m made of mud?”

Huo Liuxing shook his head. “That’s because your sister-in-law spoke kind words on your behalf at dinner.”

Her expression stiffened, and she said coldly, “I have no sister-in-law. With the filthy blood of the Zhao and Shen families flowing through her veins, how is she worthy of entering the Huo family’s gates!”

Huo Liuxing shot her a sharp look, and Huo Shuyi immediately restrained herself. “I know, I won’t say such things in front of her. Yesterday I truly drank myself silly—that’s why I dared to frighten her. But I knew what I was doing. I didn’t really intend to hurt her. I knew second brother was below and she wouldn’t be hit.”

“You acted on impulse for momentary satisfaction. How do you think she views your hostility? This clearly tells her that the Huo family still harbors resentment about past events, about His Majesty and the Grand Princess.”

“But living under the same roof day after day, I can’t learn your and Mother’s way of treating people with false courtesy and putting on acts. When you dislike someone, it simply can’t be hidden…” She paused to think. “Otherwise, let her misunderstand that I resent her because I harbor feelings for second brother. That way it won’t cause problems!”

Huo Liuxing furrowed his brow. “Stop speaking so carelessly. Do you still want to marry or not?”

“I never wanted to marry in the first place. I’ll follow second brother for my whole life!”

Huo Liuxing looked at her silently for a long moment, finally saying with complete calm, “Shuyi, in second brother’s life, there is no romance, only weapons of war.”

“That’s exactly why I must always protect second brother and be second brother’s legs. Alright, I’ll go apologize to the Shen woman. Second brother can rest assured and attend to important matters.”

She finished speaking, smiled, closed the study door, and withdrew. Turning around, she stood motionless under the covered walkway, staring vacantly at the patch of withered Cherokee roses in the courtyard.

They said Cherokee roses were spring’s last flowers. Poetry spoke of “spring’s affairs end with Cherokee roses”—when these flowers bloomed, no more fragrance remained in the mortal world.

“Why must you keep mentioning marriage to the eldest young miss?” Kongqing, grinding ink at the desk, looked out the window at Huo Shuyi. “Look, the eldest young miss is moved to melancholy by the scene.”

Just as he finished speaking, a cold snort came from outside the door. “Isn’t there still spring next year? How affected!”

Kongqing choked on his words.

Huo Liuxing shook his head and continued examining the map.

Two incense sticks later, Jingmo returned. “Young master, the young mistress instructed them to burn paper offerings for a maid who passed away forty-nine days ago.”

Jingmo was Huo Liuxing’s man and wouldn’t normally follow orders from others. He had only followed Jianjia and Bailu because the eldest young miss’s instructions happened to align with his master’s directive to watch the young mistress.

Huo Liuxing’s brush-holding hand paused. “Nothing else?”

“Nothing else. Those two maids have already returned to the inner courtyard.”

Kongqing remarked with feeling, “It seems she worried about the clash between wedding joy and funeral matters, afraid you might feel uncomfortable knowing, so she acted so secretively. To cherish and mourn even a long-deceased maid so much—this humble one sees that this young mistress is truly pure and kind-hearted.”

Huo Liuxing said nothing, but Jingmo spoke first. “Someone sent from the capital could have anything to do with being pure and kind? After only two days, what can you possibly discern?”

“I think you’re judging a gentleman’s heart with a petty person’s mind! In any case, I don’t find the young mistress suspicious at all. Instead, I clearly see she’s very fond of our young master. Just take yesterday—whenever the young master was present, did her gaze leave him for even a moment? Young master, wouldn’t you say so?”

“Oh.” Huo Liuxing seemed to grasp some essence from his words, suddenly enlightened about a confusion that had been troubling him, and slowly nodded.

Jingmo and Kongqing exchanged glances, both reading incomprehension in the other’s eyes.

Huo Liuxing clearly had no intention of explaining. He merely frowned, looked down at his collar, and said, “If that’s truly the case, young women nowadays are far too forward.”

“…?”

——

In the inner courtyard, Shen Lingzhen was speaking with Huo Shuyi, who had just come to apologize, when her nose suddenly itched inexplicably and she sneezed.

“Is the young mistress catching cold?” Bailu asked.

She waved her hand to indicate it was nothing and had Jianjia bring a meeting gift—a pair of excellent quality jade bracelets—which she handed to Huo Shuyi.

Huo Shuyi gave her a cupped-fist salute and said extremely quickly, “Thank you, second sister-in-law. I should have come to pay respects yesterday morning, but I was in poor spirits the night before, drank too much wine, remained confused all day, and nearly hurt second sister-in-law. Please don’t blame me.”

“No harm done. But drinking harms the body—you should take care of your health.”

“Then I’ll take that as second sister-in-law accepting my apology.” Huo Shuyi forced a smile. “I’m going to practice martial arts now.”

“Very well.”

Huo Shuyi casually handed the bracelets to a maid beside her, turned, and quickly walked away.

Inside the room, Jianjia’s expression immediately turned cold.

Even Bailu, who normally avoided disputes, became angry. “Young mistress, how can this eldest young miss be so passive-aggressive? The young master is newly wed, yet she’s in poor spirits—isn’t she saying she doesn’t welcome you?”

Shen Lingzhen smiled and shook her head. “You needn’t be so on guard. I actually think her openly expressing hostility toward me is a good thing.”

“A good thing?”

“I’ve never understood why, among all the eligible noble ladies in the capital, Imperial Uncle and Mother chose to marry me to the Huo household. I’ve always felt there must be some reason behind this—that it had to be me specifically. But these past two days, my husband has treated me with tender consideration, my mother-in-law has cared for me attentively, the second young miss has been sincere and genuine with me, the servants have been respectful and proper—the entire Huo household top to bottom reveals no suspicious signs. Only the eldest young miss… Though I don’t know why she targets me so, I think anyone who openly expresses hostility cannot be the worst kind of person. I might as well interact with her more.”

“Then who is the worst person?”

Shen Lingzhen frowned in confusion, then shook her head to indicate she didn’t want to think about it. “Time naturally reveals people’s hearts. What concerns me more right now is how to open my husband’s collar.”

“…” Hearing such words from the usually proper Shen Lingzhen truly startled both maids.

But Shen Lingzhen, preoccupied with thoughts of that scar, remained completely oblivious. She propped her chin in thought for a moment, then said something even more shocking. “Why don’t you two teach me how to assist a man with dressing?”

“Young mistress, if you wish to learn, of course you can, but you likely cannot assist the young master. You’ve woken late these past two days and haven’t seen—every day the young master requires both Kongqing and Jingmo working together to support him before he can complete dressing. Your strength absolutely cannot support the young master.”

That made sense. Shen Lingzhen sighed, thought for a moment, then asked, “What about bathing? When does my husband usually bathe?”

——

Serving this one mistress their whole lives, could they possibly say “no” to her? Never mind that the young mistress only wanted to secretly watch the young master bathe—even if she wanted to bathe together with him, wouldn’t servants have to do their utmost to accommodate?

Jianjia and Bailu’s martial skills were outstanding even among women. After discreetly inquiring about Huo Liuxing’s bathing time, they infiltrated his courtyard, roughly surveyed the terrain around the bathhouse, and returned to the inner courtyard.

“Young mistress, the young master usually bathes before bedtime, but because he needs to wash his hair today, the bath has been moved earlier to the middle of the hour of the Monkey. When the time comes, take a small bronze mirror to the rear window of the bathhouse and act according to circumstances. If things go smoothly, you might be able to align the window gap with the large bronze mirror inside. That way, you could see the young master in the mirror’s reflection.” The two reported thus to Shen Lingzhen.

Shen Lingzhen thanked them for their hard work. As the hour of the Monkey approached, she brought a pot of freshly prepared tea to Huo Liuxing’s courtyard. Sure enough, the servants in his courtyard told her he had just gone to the bathhouse to bathe.

Kongqing said cheerfully, “The young mistress is thoughtful, but the timing is unfortunate. You’ll have to wait in the study for the young master.” He politely ushered her inside, then voluntarily left.

Shen Lingzhen had initially worried there would be guards in the study. Seeing things proceed so smoothly, she actually became hesitant.

He trusted her so completely, yet she harbored such despicable intentions—it truly troubled her conscience.

Seeing her hesitate, Jianjia urged, “Young mistress, opportunity knocks but once—hurry and go!”

“Wait, wait a bit longer.” She struggled internally and began pacing in the room.

Inside the bathhouse, Huo Liuxing sat in the bathing tub with his eyes closed, meditating. After one incense stick’s time, feeling rather bored, he frowned and asked Kongqing, “Where is she? This water has grown cold waiting.”

Kongqing added a bucket of hot water for him and scratched his head in puzzlement. “This humble one didn’t leave anyone stationed between the study and bathhouse. If the young mistress intended to come, she should have arrived by now. Could she really have just come to deliver tea?”

“Then why inquire about my bathing time?” Huo Liuxing exhaled and closed his eyes again.

Another half incense stick passed. As Kongqing added the second bucket of hot water, Huo Liuxing opened his eyes again. “Go see if she’s lost.”

Kongqing grinned. “Right away, young master. You’re quite considerate, you know.”

How could he not be considerate? If he weren’t somewhat considerate, with her clumsy tricks, she couldn’t even get through the courtyard gates.

Kongqing received the order and withdrew. Half an incense stick later, he hurried back. “Young master, the young mistress hasn’t lost her way. She appears to be contemplating life in the corridor.”

“?”

“This humble one will demonstrate for you.”

Kongqing immediately put on a melancholy, distressed expression and paced back and forth. After pacing a while, he crouched down, propped his chin with both hands, sighed, shook his head to himself, and said in a falsetto voice, “No, this won’t do.”

Then he stood up again, clasped both hands behind his back, looked down at his shoe tips, and shuffled forward kicking at nothing, continuing to pace with a furrowed brow.

“…” Huo Liuxing’s elbow struck the edge of the bathing tub with a thud, breaking the skin.

He raised his hand to stop Kongqing. “Enough.” A grown man performing such gestures was rather nauseating.

Kongqing coughed lightly. “This humble one sees that the young mistress is truly innocent in her thoughts. Between husband and wife, there should be no distinction anyway. Merely watching you bathe secretly, yet she must deliberate for so long.”

“Absurd reasoning. If her thoughts are innocent, why would she want to watch me bathe secretly?” Huo Liuxing glanced at him, fell silent for a moment, then said with a furrowed brow, “Fine, I’ve grown tired of waiting. Give her an opportunity to enter. Tell her I forgot to bring my clothes.”