Every time Chu Linlang met this man’s gaze, she felt an unsettling sense of being seen through. This time was no different. She quickly lowered her eyes.

She had always been a keen judge of people. She had thought from the start that Situ Sheng was skilled at seizing opportunities and using them to climb the official ladder. Then, after discovering he had falsified her records, she had come to see him as recklessly bold and deeply deceitful.

Looking at him now, she found that his ability to shift with the wind was beyond what any ordinary person could match.

Since Situ Sheng dared to offend the Crown Prince — did he perhaps believe that this Crown Prince’s position as heir was not entirely assured?

But these struggles and intrigues of the court had nothing more to do with her. Once she had formally separated from Zhou Sui’an, she would no longer need to spend energy probing these matters for him.

No longer needing to urge her husband to advance in his career — it felt as though a great burden had been lifted. Even with no clear path ahead, life felt lighter.

Thinking this, she quickly thanked Lord Situ for his assistance today, said that it was getting late, and that she and the lord would part ways here.

Though she was genuinely grateful that Situ Sheng had thought of their old acquaintance and come to her aid, Chu Linlang had no desire to associate with a man whose schemes and calculations ran so deep.

He had treated the Sixth Prince — who had done him a great service — as something to be discarded the moment he was no longer useful. This man was far too skilled at using people as pieces on a board, and one had to guard against him. After all, he was perfectly capable of being ruthless even toward himself — he could press a branding iron to his own flesh without flinching.

If marrying someone like Zhou Sui’an — sentimental and weak — only wore out your heart and lungs as your deep affections were betrayed…

Then marrying someone like Situ Sheng, if one were not careful, might leave an unlucky woman thoroughly exploited. She would be counting money on his behalf even as he sold her off.

With that thought, Chu Linlang actually felt that Situ Sheng had some kind of hidden affliction — spending his whole life as a bachelor would be perfectly fine, as it would mean not bringing misfortune upon any unsuspecting girl. That would be a meritorious act worthy of the highest divine blessing!

Seeing Chu Linlang suddenly in a rush to leave, Situ Sheng said no more about the matter of her moving. He simply offered a brief clasped-hands farewell.

For some reason he could not quite name, after his exchange with the man on horseback, he seemed to have something weighing on his mind, and his expression grew deep and somber. He cupped his fists at Chu Linlang, then set off briskly with his young manservant.

Chu Linlang, having reached a settlement with the Sixth Princess Consort, felt somewhat lighter of heart. She thought of how her rented rooms were still lacking so many things, so she picked up a few items on the way and strolled leisurely back.

But when she reached the entrance to the alley, her rare good mood evaporated in an instant.

Zhou Sui’an was there, standing at the mouth of the alley with his young manservant, waiting.

The moment he saw Chu Linlang and Xia He returning loaded with purchases, he trotted over to help carry their things.

Chu Linlang did not need his help. She stepped back and said coolly: “What brought you here?”

Zhou Sui’an was unaccustomed to Chu Linlang’s coldness. He pressed his lips together and said: “It has been so many days now — surely your temper has cooled. What does it look like for you to keep living outside like this? I have come to take you home.”

In every quarrel between the Zhou household husband and wife, it had always been Chu Linlang who was first to back down and end the standoff.

This was the first time Zhou Sui’an had taken the initiative to come and soothe Chu Linlang after a quarrel.

In the past, Chu Linlang had always yearned for Zhou Sui’an to set aside his gentleman’s pride and come to coax her a little. But now, she had no need of it anymore.

Zhou Sui’an currently had no way to contact Second Miss Xie. The scandal of the Xie family’s unmarried daughter with a swollen belly had thrown the household into lockdown — not even a scrap of paper could be smuggled out.

However, the Sixth Prince had called him in the day before and given him a thorough dressing-down, demanding to know whether he had eaten the heart of a bear or the gall of a leopard — how had he dared stir up such trouble with his wife’s younger sister?

Zhou Sui’an wore an expression of profound guilt and simply wept as he endured the Sixth Prince’s tongue-lashing.

But in the end, the Sixth Prince had finally relented, saying only that this family scandal must not be allowed to grow larger. If the Chu woman could be persuaded to make no further noise and allow everything to be handled discreetly, there was still room to work things out.

After all, the Sixth Prince also knew his little sister-in-law’s character — she was the sort who could infuriate even her gentle, kind-hearted elder sister to the point of cursing. And so from a man’s perspective, he did not place all the blame on Zhou Sui’an alone for this romantic entanglement.

So he told Zhou Sui’an that the Sixth Princess Consort had already traced the household registry and found Chu Linlang’s current address. That day, she would invite Chu Linlang to the Wang manor for a conversation.

Zhou Sui’an would then need to bow his head a little, sweeten his tongue, and properly coax his legal wife.

After all, this was the capital — the foot of the Son of Heaven’s throne. Which woman from a distinguished family here did not have to put the larger picture first? Things could not be handled the rough-and-tumble way they were done back in the countryside.

So Zhou Sui’an, figuring that the Sixth Princess Consort had finished her talk with Chu Linlang, had purposely come here to wait for her.

In his mind, Chu Linlang would listen to the Sixth Princess Consort’s counsel and agree, at least for now, to come home with him. If she kept living outside the household, it would invite gossip.

Chu Linlang had no desire to squabble with him in the street, so she let him follow her into the courtyard.

Zhou Sui’an frowned at the rather bare and modest rooms and couldn’t help muttering: “Look at this — is this fit to live in? Xia He, Dongxue, come and start packing up Madam’s things!”

He called out, but the two maids exchanged a glance and neither one moved.

Just as Zhou Sui’an was frowning and about to raise his voice, Chu Linlang sat in the small chair in the front room, her eyes downcast, and said: “The Sixth Princess Consort mediated on my behalf, so I have also made a concession. Besides the two shops from the household and the compensation silver that the princess consort promised, I want nothing else.”

Zhou Sui’an was startled and asked in a daze: “What? The princess consort — wasn’t she supposed to persuade you to…”

Chu Linlang cut him off and continued: “The princess consort is a woman of culture and good sense. Words asking someone to demote herself to concubine are not words she could bring herself to say. Go back and discuss it with your mother. Once the shops have been transferred into my name, we can sign the separation agreement…”

This time it was Zhou Sui’an who could not wait for her to finish. He immediately raised his voice and cut her off: “Chu Linlang, have you had enough of this scene? Even if I was in the wrong, you cannot press me like this! The Deputy Minister of Revenue just spoke to me and said I am doing excellent work. Before long, there may be an opening for an important position, and my rank could even be promoted. At this critical moment, can you not cause any more trouble?”

He was counting on Linlang’s deep investment in his career. If he was filling a vacancy, he could very well be promoted again within the year. Surely, upon hearing this, Linlang would think of his interests!

But to his surprise, after he finished speaking, Chu Linlang remained expressionless. Zhou Sui’an couldn’t help but say with great distress: “Can you not see — once we separate, you and I become complete strangers, never to be reunited!”

Chu Linlang slowly raised her head to look at Zhou Sui’an. In all these years of marriage, Zhou Sui’an’s matrimonial experience may have been fulfilling — but that did not mean she, as his wife, had found fulfillment in it.

She had no desire to argue and quibble with him further, determining who was right and who was wrong. She simply said calmly: “Dongxue, see Lord Zhou out!”

Dongxue had been itching to see the back of this “lord” for some time now. Just waiting for the young mistress’s word, she picked up the basin she had just used to wash the cured fish, shot Zhou Sui’an a glare, and said: “Lord, our mistress needs to rest. Please leave for now!”

Seeing that Zhou Sui’an still wanted to speak, Dongxue simply stepped in front of Chu Linlang and with one hand tossed the basin of water forward. The fishy, foul-smelling water hit Zhou Sui’an before he could dodge it. He lurched backward in retreat, stumbling all the way out of the courtyard.

Finally, the rather ramshackle door slammed shut right in his face!

Xia He looked at her young mistress, who was rubbing her brow, and asked cautiously: “Young Mistress, have you really made up your mind?”

Chu Linlang looked up at her and saw Xia He’s eyes full of worry.

She knew what the maid was anxious about. After a separation, she would no longer be an unmarried girl. What was more, she could not bear children — which made her even less marriageable than someone like Miss Yin, a widow who supposedly brought ill luck to husbands. If she were to remarry in the future, what decent man would want to take in a hen that couldn’t lay eggs?

Was it not this very thing that Zhou Sui’an had seized upon — convinced she could never truly leave the Zhou household?

With that thought, she patted Xia He’s hand: “Don’t worry. Even if I do separate, I can still save up enough for both your dowries…”

Xia He stamped her foot in frustration: “After all of this, you’re still teasing us! Who’s worried about that!”

Dongxue, washing her hands to the side, said: “Forget the saving-up. Seeing how the young master has treated you, I don’t want to get married at all!”

The three of them were still talking when a knocking sound came from the front gate. Dongxue shot to her feet, glaring and muttering: “What’s this? Still haunting us like a restless ghost?”

With that, she picked up the basin of water that had not yet been fully emptied and went to the door. The instant she opened it, she flung the remaining water out in one sweeping motion.

The result: the tall man standing at the door was drenched from head to foot with foul water.

When Dongxue recognized that the man now soaked like a drowned chicken was none other than Situ Sheng, she panicked and fell over herself apologizing to the junior minister.

But Situ Sheng could not hear a word she was saying. Having been unexpectedly doused with a full basin of water used to wash cured fish with absolutely no warning, he first stared with wide, round eyes — and then suddenly lurched toward the flower shrubs to the side and began to retch wretchedly.

It was unclear what strange condition this old acquaintance of hers had, but the fish smell seemed to affect him far worse than even a pregnant woman’s morning sickness. No wonder he had struggled through an entire feast at the Zhou household, forcing down those few bites of fish.

Beside him, the young manservant called Guanqi looked as though his master had just died — his eyes reddening, his voice trembling as he shrieked at Dongxue: “How could you throw such rancid, reeking water on our master! What were you thinking!”

Dongxue had been feeling a little guilty at first, but seeing him yell with such ferocity, she was not about to be outdone: “I got the master’s clothes dirty — I’ll wash them clean again, that’s that! I didn’t do it on purpose. Who would have known that Lord Situ was standing outside the door!”

No wonder Guanqi’s reaction was so extreme — Situ Sheng’s complexion was truly alarming. The hand braced against the wall was clawing at the stone with great force, as though suppressing something, and his broad back was trembling faintly.

Chu Linlang knew he could not bear the smell, so she quickly invited him inside to change his clothes and wash up.

There were no men’s clothes in the house, so Guanqi hurried back to the yamen to fetch a set for his master.

Xia He prepared two basins of hot water for Situ Sheng, letting him be in the room alone to remove his soiled clothes and thoroughly clean himself.

Once Guanqi returned with clean clothes for his master to change into, Chu Linlang ladled out a bowl of freshly cooked red bean soup for Situ Sheng to settle his stomach.

When the fish smell had finally dissipated, Situ Sheng at last recovered. Perhaps having let someone see such a rare moment of dishevelment, he wore a quietly somber expression and did not smile. He sat there with his outer robe still hanging loosely, holding the cup and drinking the soup sip by sip.

In the past, if a man had been showing up at her door every other day, Chu Linlang would definitely have suspected her own beauty was the culprit, attracting bees and butterflies looking to take advantage. But this man calling upon her twice in a single day was no ordinary person — it was this Lord Situ, who would rather jump ship than be caught near a virtuous maiden, the same Lord Situ seemingly afflicted with some serious hidden condition.

Guanqi had been living the hard-scrabble bachelor’s life alongside his master, and their kitchen fire was never lit. Staring now at five or six steaming home-cooked dishes on the table, the plain vegetable-filled steamed buns he had just bought suddenly lost all their appeal.

The house was old and had been left empty for some time, with all the furniture moved out. Without investing some silver, it was simply uninhabitable.

He calculated on others’ behalf, yet he never came without a reason.

Already set out on the table were several stir-fried hot dishes that smelled quite good.

Situ Sheng, with downcast eyes, said: “It has nothing to do with her — I ate something bad this morning.”

However, he was currently on duty, and as he had been occupied discussing matters with a colleague, he had been unable to slip away for a while. He was asking the madam, as a continued act of kindness, to please accompany the load to Lord Situ’s residence.

Guanqi, however, had been shooed outside, yet his mouth was not idle — squatting beside Dongxue, who was washing Situ Sheng’s clothes, he rattled off every injustice his master had suffered.

Chu Linlang could hardly believe it for a moment — Situ Sheng had been this considerate.

What a joke! Although she wanted to express her gratitude, she was currently setting up her own household, and her expenses were no light matter. What sense did it make to cook a full table of dishes and then go home without eating them?

Guanqi indicated he understood, and replied with barely concealed resentment: “Quiet—”

These items pawned off through the long-term pawn shop were all confiscated furnishings from large noble households under investigation — not only cheap, but one could find genuine treasures among them.

The Sixth Prince, back when he had not yet fallen out with Situ Sheng, had mentioned this to him. Situ Sheng had not hesitated for a moment, and had swapped his own allotted residence with Lord Zhou’s.

When Situ Sheng returned, he had just entered the alley when he saw smoke rising from above his own courtyard — that old cold and bare place.

Later, Chief Justice Liu of the Court of Judicial Review saw that his capable subordinate was living in such poverty and obtained a list from the long-term pawn shop for Situ Sheng, so he could go and acquire some household furnishings.

Everything was ready. Chu Linlang found a length of rope to serve as sleeve ties, fixing back her wide sleeves, then led Dongxue and Xia He in a thorough clean-up of the entire house inside and out, pasting fresh paper over the windows…

Situ Sheng explained: “The long-term pawn shop has some used furnishings that are far cheaper than brand-new items on the market. With this list, you can go to the steward at the Western City long-term pawn shop and see if there are any tables and chairs at a suitable price — buy them for temporary use.”

This particular long-term pawn shop in the capital had special channels to re-sell goods confiscated by the public treasury from investigated households. Though second-hand, there were many fine pieces among them that could not be found on the open market —

Before the auctions were even announced, those with connections from various great households would have already bought the best items. By the time ordinary folk could bid, nothing was left.

And so Chu Linlang patiently sat nearby, waited until Situ Sheng had finished a cup, and his expression seemed to have eased somewhat, before delicately asking: “That is… my maid is rather clumsy and careless. I hope my lord will not take offense.”

He was this kind and generous — forgiving past grievances and even extending consideration to a friend’s discarded wife. He was truly a worthy man destined to be recorded in the pages of history!

The confiscated furnishings up for re-sale were all from great noble households — not just cheap, but genuine treasures.

Chu Linlang looked at her own four bare walls and had to acknowledge she was truly lacking even a decent table or chair. Even on the day Situ Sheng had come to drink tea at her place, he had squatted on the small wooden stool used for washing clothes…

This Lord Situ — she didn’t know whether he had grown up so poor that he’d been frightened into frugality for life, but in so many things he truly could not bear to spend money.

This was not at all the person she had imagined earlier, always calculating and scheming. In many small matters, his generosity was enough to leave one utterly speechless!

And then the junior minister, in his charitable generosity, had turned around and given this list to the wife of the lord who was filing for separation.

Although — the friendship between men had always been a mysterious thing. For all she knew, Situ Sheng might have felt an instant kinship with Zhou Sui’an and considered him a friend as close as Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya.

The courtyard, which had been overgrown with weeds, had within the space of a single afternoon been shorn clean as a freshly shaved head. Some of the dilapidated windows had been refurbished as well — not only fitted with new paper treated with water-resistant beeswax, but the window frames had also been given a coat of clear lacquer.

With that, she sealed her own mouth shut, indicating she would say no more.

Just look at this ramshackle old house — with only the two of them, master and servant, they would probably not manage to seal all the drafty window panes before winter arrived.

And so when Chu Linlang finished setting out the dishes, filled the bowls, and quite naturally called for him to sit down and eat with her, the perpetually deep and calculating Lord Situ had a rare moment of utter bewilderment, and actually blurted out in stupefaction: “You… are eating here?”

Then she called for the two maids to join them at the same table, reached out her chopsticks with no ceremony whatsoever, and began eating in earnest.

Lord Situ followed the principle of frugality to the bone and had absolutely no intention of hiring craftsmen for repairs. These days, whenever he had a break, Guanqi would be dragged along by his master, hammer in hand, patching things up here and there around the house.

But the residences allotted to newly arrived officials of each rank had already all been assigned, and any last-minute swapping would inevitably cause gossip and quarrels.

He had not finished speaking before Situ Sheng sent him a cold, drawn-out look: “Guanqi—”

Chu Linlang found herself quite willing to do this favor.

Chu Linlang unrolled it and found it was a catalogue of furnishings available through the long-term pawn shop.

His heart was truly so considerate — to have thought of giving her this…

When the furnishings were delivered, Chu Linlang, following Guanqi’s instructions, found the copper key under the stepping stone beside the main gate, opened the front door of the residence, and discovered that everything Guanqi had said in his lamentations was not in the least exaggerated.

When she heard that he lived in Jicui Lane in the southern part of the city, she couldn’t help but let out a rueful laugh.

After selecting a set of inexpensive willow-wood furniture for herself, she specifically chose a nearly-new paulownia-wood bed frame and some other simpler wooden beds, along with some tasteful tables and clothing chests, plus a rattan reclining chair — all loaded onto a single ox-cart and hauled right to the gates of the Court of Judicial Review.

At this, Situ Sheng said calmly: “Don’t go thinking you’ll strike it rich with bargains. The truly good items there you won’t be able to buy — or afford. Stick to the plain willow-wood tables and chairs. Those are the things the pawn shop has no use for and stacks up to use as firewood — they’ll let them go for a few copper coins, practically giving them away.”

Heavens above! She had spent her own money, gone to the trouble, bought ingredients, lit the stove, and exhausted herself to near collapse — and this fellow had not even said a word of thanks, and now wanted to cook a meal and then send her walking right out the door?

To use Guanqi’s own words: did their master owe the Zhou household a debt from a previous life?

Just then, a voice came from behind Situ Sheng: “Lord Situ is back? Come wash your hands quickly — as soon as the flower-wine braised duck leg is done frying, we can eat!”

What a way to live! Even a carefree, lazy bachelor shouldn’t be this haphazard about things!

But Zhou Sui’an’s originally allocated residence had been an idle property from a household that had been stripped of its assets and left vacant for many years.

With this, the list on the table was worth its weight in gold.

No wonder he had been so insistent on both occasions about suggesting she move to Jicui Lane, saying the security there was excellent. Of course it was excellent — the junior minister of the Court of Judicial Review himself was right there in the lane, anchoring the neighborhood!

She had genuinely bled her purse dry today — she needed to eat, and eat well. Only then could she recoup some of her losses!

This business of master and servant eating at the same table was against propriety, but since Lord Situ’s home rang as empty as a penniless pauper’s, there was no call for any such airs!

Walking into the front room, she found what had previously been a bare, empty space now neatly set with tables and chairs. Someone had even found a piece of deep blue cloth and made small cushions tied to the chair seats — soft and yielding to sit on.

He had also not at all anticipated that Chu Linlang would lead her two maids in tidying up his house and cooking him dinner.

Guanqi, still outside, saw the cartload of things that Madam Chu had brought, and stood there rather dumbfounded.

Situ Sheng had heard that Chu Linlang had come to deliver tables and chairs, but he had returned too late and assumed she would have left long ago.

Chu Linlang finally understood — that was how the young manservant had gotten his name. It seemed that the junior minister found his own manservant far too talkative and had named him accordingly as a constant reminder.

Such an irresistible bargain — she had no reason to send it back. Only, when she had gone to pick out items at the long-term pawn shop, Chu Linlang had brought along an extra pouch of silver.

He wore old clothes — that was one thing. But to not even hire an elderly house servant to sweep and watch the gate, to just leave the key under a stone and go — truly, he had nothing worth stealing, no fear of thieves.

Situ Sheng’s own words at the time had been: Lord Zhou, the circuit intendant, has many mouths to feed — old and young — so the large residence in Muyu Lane would be more convenient for them. He himself was a lone bachelor, and it made no difference where he lived.

But Guanqi, who had produced the list, was far from pleased. He muttered under his breath: “Master, your newly assigned residence is also four bare walls — the chief justice specifically arranged this as a convenience for you. Now that you’ve given it away, tonight you’ll be sleeping on door planks again…”

He retrieved the list and handed it to Chu Linlang: “I saw you this morning and meant to give you this list right then — but I suddenly remembered a pressing matter and returned to the yamen first. I was passing by here just now, and thought to drop it off for you.”

After that, she thought about it and decided to once again return a kindness in kind — to generously repay Situ Sheng this debt of goodwill. She counted out some copper coins and gave them to Xia He to buy window paper, clear lacquer, and beeswax from the sundry goods shop at the end of the street, suitable for patching up windows.

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