Zhou Sui’an watched Chu Linlang’s retreating figure, unable to suppress the flush of shame that crept across his face.

Because he had understood Chu Linlang’s veiled jab — even after their daughter had been withdrawn from school, his obligatory social banquets and drinking engagements had never once stopped.

Originally, he had felt entirely at ease with this arrangement. After all, those dining invitations were tied to his career advancement, and even his mother had never reproached him for it.

But having it laid bare so lightly and casually by her, he suddenly realized — in Chu Linlang’s eyes, he had sunk to the same level as Chu Huaisheng.

Toward his former father-in-law, Zhou Sui’an harbored nothing but the deepest contempt.

So his former wife’s veiled mockery left Zhou Sui’an’s heart brimming with an indescribable ache.

Wanting to offer some defense of himself, he rushed out after her — only to see Chu Linlang, dressed in her narrow skirt, being gracefully assisted into a carriage by Situ Sheng, her posture elegant and refined.

Though Chu Shi’s skirt today accentuated her figure, it made movement inconvenient.

Yet with a maidservant right beside her, Situ Sheng had still reached out on his own initiative to assist a servant of the household, his expression carrying a warmth that was difficult to name.

And Chu Linlang very naturally let him help her, even leaning her slender, pale neck toward him, her lips brushing close to his ear as she murmured something softly.

His powerful hand gripped her delicate, boneless fingers — one standing in the carriage, the other on the ground below — an air of endless intimacy between them.

A tall, dashingly handsome man paired with a graceful, beautiful woman — no matter how one looked at it, it resembled a painting of lovers on a spring outing.

Zhou Sui’an stood watching from behind them, his mind producing, for the very first time in his life, an absurd thought — could it be that Situ Sheng had taken a liking to Chu Linlang?

Now, when Chu Linlang had come out of the stable area, she saw that Situ Sheng — who should have gone off drinking with Lord Li and the others — was still waiting beside the carriage.

Seeing her and Zhou Sui’an emerge one after the other, he said nothing about it, only remarking: “I’m not particularly hungry, so I won’t join them for the meal. I’ll see you home instead.”

Since wearing a skirt made getting into the carriage inconvenient, he extended his hand to steady her.

It wasn’t until he had taken hold of her hand that Chu Linlang realized something wasn’t quite right — after all, they were out in public, not at home.

She whispered for him to let go, but he refused, his large hand holding firm and steady, as if making a show of force toward Zhou Sui’an, who stood there wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

With no other choice, she hastily ducked into the carriage compartment.

But once inside, Situ Sheng didn’t speak. He simply leaned back against the carriage wall, eyes half-lidded, his expression like frost and snow covering his face. His two long legs, stretched out on either side of her, had her completely trapped, unable to move an inch.

Chu Linlang assumed he had seen her speaking with Zhou Sui’an and suspected her of lingering feelings for him, so she offered a brief explanation — she had only exchanged a few words with Zhou Sui’an because of Yuan’er’s schooling.

Yet Situ Sheng’s expression didn’t shift in the slightest. He asked evenly: “Was the match He Shi arranged for you satisfactory?”

Chu Linlang blinked, then let out a dry laugh. “I didn’t take to him. Apart from having quite a large nose, there wasn’t a single other redeeming quality…”

When Situ Sheng had come upstairs earlier, he had in fact overheard a few lines of He Shi’s theory about men needing a large nose to be of real use.

At first he hadn’t grasped the true meaning behind it.

But just now, the way Chu Linlang had laughed — so coy and suggestive — and thinking back to He Shi’s earthy, country-woman manner, even without fully grasping the meaning, Situ Sheng had guessed eight or nine parts of it.

With that thought, Situ Sheng leaned down to her ear and murmured: “When there’s time, let me show you whether my nose is large enough…”

Sure enough, at those words, the slippery little woman’s cheeks instantly bloomed crimson, and she could only glare at Situ Sheng, sputtering “You… you…” on and on without end.

Situ Sheng became even more certain his guess was correct.

He imagined He Shi had been saying quite a few things against him — would she have gone so far as to tell Chu Niangzi that he might prefer the company of men?

Chu Linlang, seeing Situ Sheng flash a knowing smile, realized he had been drawing her out.

This normally solemn man — when he decided to be improper, he was truly difficult to handle.

Too lazy to spar with him in words, she simply shot him a glare and turned her head away. But Situ Sheng refused to let her off so easily.

He couldn’t even recall how many days it had been since he’d been able to hold his Linlang properly.

This woman — he didn’t know what she had applied to herself — but it rose from her in a soul-ensnaring fragrance, so enticing that he couldn’t help but pull her slender waist toward him and press unhesitant kisses to her cheeks and neck.

But he was not the only one being stirred into confusion. Chu Linlang, too, was being ignited by this young, vigorous employer of hers, a heat kindling in her chest.

Yet whenever she tried to take a look at the size of that nose, the man would pinch her wrist, the corner of his mouth curving into a wicked smile as he looked at her sideways.

She suspected this man was playing the fool to take advantage — how else could someone who wasn’t an expert in the ways of romance understand the art of feigned reluctance so well? He always controlled the pace with such precision, keeping her hungry but never letting her have a taste.

Or perhaps, as He Shi had concluded, handsome men tended to be all show and no substance?

Just as Chu Linlang, thoroughly teased, was on the verge of abandoning all restraint, deciding to grab hold of him and test the goods herself — the coachman Sui Qiye suddenly called out: “My lord, there’s a carriage stuck in a mud pit ahead.”

Chu Linlang was startled, and with a sharp shove she pushed the man away from her, then hurriedly set about straightening her clothing.

Situ Sheng had been pushed with some force, the back of his head knocking against the carriage wall. But Chu Linlang didn’t even glance at him, busying herself with fixing her hair ornaments.

She seemed not to realize that her behavior gave rather the impression of a dissolute young master who had used a maidservant and then tossed her aside, unwilling to take responsibility.

Once Chu Linlang had tidied her collar and temple hair, she looked up to find the man leaning against the carriage wall, coolly arching his thick brows at her. Feeling a pang of guilt, she reminded him: “Fix your collar — don’t let people notice anything off…”

Oh dear, she had been far too reckless just now, and had nearly stripped the lord bare! Thank goodness Sui Qiye had spoken up in time; otherwise, where would this woman’s sense of propriety have gone?

Situ Sheng didn’t heed her at all. He stretched his collar open and thrust his head out of the carriage window to look, startling Chu Linlang so badly she nearly cried out, and she leaned over at once to help the lord tidy himself.

Situ Sheng peered out for a while before drawing his head back in. Watching Chu Linlang fussing over him with flustered hands, tying his sash, he said lazily: “Your teacher’s carriage has gotten stuck.”

Chu Linlang looked out — and indeed, it was Teacher Liao, the one who taught her history at the girls’ school!

She had once heard Situ Sheng mention that the academy had hidden talent within its ranks. This teacher, called Liao Jingxuan, was no ordinary man — he and Situ Sheng had actually sat the imperial examinations in the same cohort.

In that year’s top three, the position of third-place scholar — the “Flower Seeker” — had originally been shared between two candidates, one of whom was Liao Jingxuan.

However, this third-place distinction, beyond academic merit, also took a candidate’s appearance into some account.

Unfortunately, Liao Jingxuan had always been slovenly in his presentation. On the day of the palace examination, he had done no more than change into a slightly cleaner robe, his beard still wild and untrimmed.

And standing beside him was Situ Sheng, who was many years his junior — so this bookish man well past thirty ended up looking, next to such a fine-looking young man, like an elder of a beggar’s guild.

The Emperor found this rather difficult to overlook, feeling that given Liao Jingxuan’s manner, he truly did not merit the title of “Flower Seeker” and could hardly serve the elegant function of composing poetry with the imperial princes in the Hanlin Academy.

At the palace examination that day, the Emperor personally appointed only one third-place scholar — and that was Situ Sheng.

As for Teacher Liao, having missed the honor, he entered the Ministry of Works — a quiet backwater posting. For two years prior, he had followed the Ministry’s senior officials to the border region between the Great Jin and the Kingdom of Jing to oversee military construction works. It was only the previous year, after falling from a scaffolding and sustaining injuries, that he had returned to the capital to recuperate, and since then had been without an official assignment.

However, his writing was fine enough to earn Qi Gong’s admiration. Moreover, Qi Gong felt sorry on his behalf — that his honor had been stripped from him on account of his looks — and so he asked his son to invite Liao to take a part-time post at the girls’ school, helping to supplement his income.

Chu Linlang thought that Qi Gong was, in truth, quite shrewd.

After all, the girls’ school was filled with daughters of noble families. If they invited a dashingly handsome teacher, trouble was bound to follow. Someone like Teacher Liao, disheveled and unkempt as he was, would cause far less worry.

Teacher Liao appeared to be quite familiar with Situ Sheng and bore him no grudge over the palace examination affair.

He was crouching beside the mud pit studying the sunken wheel, and when he looked up and saw Situ Sheng, he broke into a wide grin — a flash of white teeth showing through the beard that covered half his face — calling out: “So it’s you! Come down here quickly and help me lift the carriage!”

Situ Sheng, having been neatly straightened up by his capable female steward, was presentable enough to step out. But just as he was about to go over and help, the coachman Sui Qiye said quietly: “My lord, allow me.”

With that, the lean, dark old man walked over. First he spread a worn cotton jacket in front of the wheel, then cracked his whip across the hindquarters of the horse pulling the carriage. The horse, stung by the pain, let out a neigh and lurched forward with all its strength. Meanwhile, Sui Qiye planted himself at the back of the carriage compartment and shoved with force — and at once, those lean arms erupted with bulging, taut muscles. In a few strokes, he had pushed the stuck carriage free.

Liao Jingxuan squinted over at Sui Qiye with a smile. “What arm strength — this elder here must have been a soldier in his younger days?”

Situ Sheng said evenly: “In his younger days, he served as a personal guard to a certain general.”

Hearing this, Liao Jingxuan seemed to understand at once and pressed no further, only smiling as he pointed to the fishing basket and bamboo pole he had brought along. “I’ve found a splendid spot for angling. I’ve even brought a brazier and seasonings — if anything’s caught, we can have a proper outdoor feast. What do you say — come fishing with me?”

Situ Sheng turned to look toward Chu Linlang in the carriage, wanting to ask her opinion — after all, she hadn’t eaten lunch yet, and if they went fishing with Teacher Liao, the midday meal would likely come to nothing.

Chu Linlang smiled and said: “I just ate my fill of cakes and pastries at He Shi’s — I’m not hungry yet. My lord, please go and enjoy yourself with the teacher.”

Situ Sheng had pitifully few friends. And seeing how familiar he and Teacher Liao were, it was clearly a bond that went far beyond having sat the same examination cohort.

Chu Linlang genuinely hoped that Situ Sheng, beyond the grinding toil of daily official documents, might have some leisure and amusement in his life.

And so the two carriages traveled together to a tranquil river bend for an afternoon of fishing.

Linlang, with gracious tact, refrained from disturbing the men’s conversation. She led the coachman Sui Qiye and her maidservant to a nearby grove to gather mushrooms that had sprouted after the rain, so they could later cook a broth with the grilled fish.

Meanwhile, Situ Sheng and Liao Jingxuan each took a stone as a seat, facing the river, fishing leisurely as they conversed freely.

Liao Jingxuan, thinking of how Situ Sheng had just “consulted” the female steward of his household about whether to go fishing, couldn’t help but laugh: “As expected, a man does need a capable woman to run the household. Ah Sheng, you’ve grown more and more like a real person these days. If my adoptive mother could see you now, she would surely be gladdened.”

Liao Jingxuan’s adoptive mother was none other than Situ Sheng’s late foster mother.

At the time, Situ Sheng had been rescued from the battlefield, but it happened to coincide with the Yang family’s execution and annihilation. To avoid attracting attention, and because the child wept and would not stop crying for his mother, he had been delivered to his birth mother — the woman who had long since severed all ties with the Yang family.

For a child who had grown up entirely at his grandfather’s side, abruptly learning the truth of his birth mother’s condition — the shock to his innermost heart could only be imagined.

It was later that Liao Jingxuan’s father — who had served alongside Yang Xun in the army — could no longer stand by and watch. He took it upon himself to secretly deliver Situ Sheng to Li Shi’s care, at last giving the boy an identity he could show the world, allowing for a long and patient future course of action.

Liao Jingxuan was perfectly clear about Situ Sheng’s background and identity. Even their having sat the examinations together in the same year had been part of a deliberate plan.

Liao Jingxuan had little attachment to fame or fortune. But for the sake of looking after Situ Sheng, he had agreed to sit the examinations together with him and come to the capital.

The two of them had secretly agreed back then — regardless of whether they passed the examination or not, one would remain in the capital while the other would find a way to be posted to the frontier.

And everything was proceeding exactly as they had envisioned, in an orderly and unhurried fashion.

As for the world’s speculation — that because Situ Sheng had stolen Liao Jingxuan’s honor as third-place scholar, the two men were outwardly cordial but inwardly at odds — it was all nothing more than smoke and mirrors to deceive the eyes.

Liao Jingxuan knew well Situ Sheng’s previous manner of keeping people at a distance. When he had first seen Situ Sheng personally escorting the female steward of his household to attend school, it had already left him clicking his tongue in wonder.

No one could have anticipated that Situ Sheng had now reached the point where even before going fishing, he had to consult the lady of the house!

Hearing Liao Jingxuan’s teasing remark, Situ Sheng did not take the bait. He only said mildly: “How are things over there?”

Liao Jingxuan’s expression gradually turned grave as he said in a low voice: “The informants we planted have reported back — infighting among their ranks is fierce. The Great Khan of Jing is growing old and feeble, and his several sons are all brainless. Right now it’s a pack of wolves circling each other, and no one knows who will rise to power. However… the Crown Prince has been cultivating close ties with the Jing Kingdom’s Duolun chieftain, Prince Angu. This Angu’s territory has been steadily expanding — he has absorbed numerous trade routes, extracted considerable wealth, and the quantity of saltpeter he purchased from the treacherous merchant Chen Yuanwai is enough to arm an iron cavalry. Yet this Angu seems to advocate for peaceful coexistence with the Great Jin, and he also maintains private dealings with many of our court officials. So the court on our side should also be favoring his rise to power.”

Situ Sheng said nothing. He held the fishing rod in one hand, his gaze resting with quiet calm on the surface of the river — but the hand gripping the rod slowly tightened.

It was the Jing Kingdom’s Wuren Khan who had given the order to hang General Yang Xun’s severed head atop a flagpole.

Had the Yang family’s armies not bled the Jing forces dry across several engagements, that Wuren Khan would very likely have pressed forward with full force and ordered his troops to flatten vast stretches of the Great Jin’s northern lands.

Compared to this bellicose and war-hungry old Khan, the Angu of the Duolun clan appeared far more amicable toward the Great Jin — and had indeed been one of the connections the Crown Prince had been cultivating in Jing territory over the years.

And Angu’s most favored daughter, Princess Hanna, had in her day married a surrendered Great Jin general — Yang Yi.

Though he alone had cast endless shame and infamy upon the Yang family name, he himself had flourished in the Kingdom of Jing, putting down roots and multiplying his family line.

Liao Jingxuan let out a slow sigh. “When you investigated that case earlier, although it put you at odds with the Crown Prince, it also cut off Angu’s trade routes. You should be on your guard…”

When the late General Yang had died on the battlefield, how many of the personal attendants who had not accompanied him to that final battle wept until their hearts shattered upon hearing the news of the general’s death in service to his country.

Liao Jingxuan had himself seen his father weeping bitterly and silently at home. So in order to protect this last surviving blood of the Yang family, the Liao family had truly given everything they had.

And that frail child of years past had grown into a man of steady, inward composure — his calculations reaching a thousand miles ahead without the slightest outward sign — yet he remained, regrettably, a horse with a rein held tight by another hand. His heart might yearn for open wilderness, but he could never gallop freely as he wished.

This was a lone spirit returned from a battlefield strewn with the dead — and more than that, a child raised from infancy on a diet of distance and hatred.

He had always been worried that Situ Sheng’s heart had been filled to the brim with the shadow of hatred, and that he had been driven into inner darkness by others, and that this hatred might propel him to do something irreversible and catastrophic.

And yet… the Situ Sheng of today was utterly unlike the one he had seen when he had left the capital two years ago. There was a certain human warmth and earthiness about him now.

He had assumed that what he said would stir some emotional reaction in Situ Sheng — but just at that moment, Situ Sheng’s fishing rod gave its first tug.

He reached out and hauled in the line, and found he had caught a fat fish the length of a forearm.

Situ Sheng’s expression was serene, as though he had not heard anything just now. He turned and called out: “Chu Niangzi, come quickly and look!”

Then they saw a slender beauty in a pink skirt, carrying a basket, come skipping over like a cheerful little pink rabbit, eager to be part of things.

“Oh my, my lord, you really are remarkable! Such a plump fish — salt and pepper is the best preparation. Look, I even dug up some wild ginger here, just right for marinating the fish!”

As Chu Linlang was speaking, Situ Sheng deliberately flicked his fishing rod — and the fish’s tail slapped her square in the face with a splash of water. Enraged, she forgot there were others present and began pounding his shoulders with her fists, setting off a burst of bright, open laughter from the handsome man.

Liao Jingxuan’s beard trembled faintly as he gripped his fishing rod tighter.

He was now increasingly convinced that Situ Sheng had been possessed by some outside spirit. What kind of enchantment did this woman surnamed Chu possess?

As her teacher, Liao Jingxuan knew only that she tended to let her mind wander in class, and that during breaks she ran a little side business selling cosmetics and rouge, alongside a fortune-telling operation, and would occasionally lavish flattery on every teacher, making each one feel thoroughly pleased with themselves.

This was a woman with a certain worldly, mercenary air — though her appearance was undeniably striking — but Situ Sheng was not the kind of man to be ensnared by a woman’s looks alone!

Could it be that Situ Sheng was susceptible to flattery, and had been bewitched by Chu Niangzi’s honeyed words?

No matter what, Liao Jingxuan genuinely hoped Situ Sheng would take on a more human quality.

In the end, the outdoor feast was a thoroughly satisfying affair, though Teacher Liao failed to catch a single fish himself — it was entirely Situ Sheng’s three fat catches that saved the day. Paired with the wild mushroom broth, every mouthful was brimming with fresh, natural flavor.

Chu Linlang noticed that this Teacher Liao, despite holding only a modest official post, had a far greater talent for enjoying life than her employer.

His manner — like the courses he taught — was free-spirited, unconventional, carefree and otherworldly, and followed no established order whatsoever.

Teacher Liao could distinguish three different methods of grilling fish, and had an eye for enjoyment — he even had his young attendant break off some wild banana leaves from a nearby plant and weave them into a sun-shading hat for himself.

But when Teacher Liao tried to put the hat on Situ Sheng’s head, Lord Situ politely declined.

Today he had nearly been saddled with a very large and conspicuous hat of a certain color by that matchmaking-mad He Shi — he certainly didn’t need to add another green one on top of it.

Meanwhile, Chu Linlang gently advised Teacher Liao to trim his beard — otherwise, after eating grilled fish, it would be covered in salt and pepper, which was rather unsightly.

In the classroom, it was a habit of Teacher Liao’s to eat while he lectured. On more than a few occasions, he had eaten green rice cakes until his beard had turned entirely green, sending the students below into fits of suppressed laughter.

But Teacher Liao, hearing Chu Niangzi’s gentle reminder, was entirely unconcerned, only chuckling and saying he had grown his beard because of a vow he had made — once the vow was fulfilled, he could naturally shave it off.

In the evening, after the outdoor feast concluded, Situ Sheng departed together with Teacher Liao. Chu Linlang was seen to the mouth of the alleyway before they parted ways.

As Chu Linlang walked toward her own quarters, Dongxue followed behind, watching her young mistress with quiet, searching eyes, before at last being unable to hold back any longer and asking softly: “Young mistress… what exactly is going on between you and Lord Situ?”

Ah — Chu Linlang looked at Dongxue in surprise, unable for a moment to think of when she had let something slip.

Dongxue narrowed her eyes at the young mistress and said softly: “Today during the grilled fish, the fish heads you left in your bowl were picked up by Lord Situ to eat, and you said nothing. And the soup bowl you had drunk a mouthful from — he took it and drank directly from it without even shifting the angle of the rim, not avoiding it in the slightest!”

Dongxue was sharp-eyed, after all — would a man and woman eat together so unguardedly if they hadn’t reached a certain degree of closeness?

Even the former son-in-law Zhou Sui’an had never been so unconstrained with the young mistress!

Chu Linlang pulled Dongxue into the room with one swift motion and lowered her voice: “What are you going on about! I… what could there possibly be between me and Lord Situ?”

Dongxue heard this out and was so indignant her cheeks flushed red. “What?! Situ Sheng actually wants to take advantage of our young mistress without any consequences!”

Well, this… if she were being truthful, she had simply wanted to play around with Lord Situ for a while — but unfortunately, that man had been playing coy with her like a slippery loach, impossible to get a proper grip on!

What Chu Linlang had in mind was too improper to say aloud — she could only speak in all seriousness: “Lord Situ’s character, you should know it well enough by now? He is not that kind of person. It is I who have been careless about keeping proper boundaries — I’ll be more mindful going forward.”

Dongxue saw that the young mistress wouldn’t admit to anything, so there was nothing more she could say.

If Lord Situ were a merchant or peddler, or merely a scholar of ordinary standing, he would be a fitting match for the young mistress.

Yet given his current station — steadily climbing in official rank — whether he might fail the young woman who held him in esteem was truly impossible to say.

Dongxue had accompanied Chu Linlang through the pain of the Zhou family’s marital upheaval and hoped dearly that their beleaguered young mistress might one day meet a good man who would cherish her sincerely for a lifetime — she absolutely could not afford to fall for the wrong person again.

Hearing Dongxue’s words, Chu Linlang gave a careless shake of her head and smiled: “I have lived through one round of marriage and tasted its full measure of bitterness. A match is like praying to the gods — even a good omen from a divine oracle only gives you temporary comfort; it cannot guarantee peace and safety for a lifetime. And what they call a good marriage is likely just trading one place of suffering for another.”

She paused, seeming to be moved by some deeper feeling: “These past few days at the academy, I have been listening to Teacher Liao lecture on history. He spoke of a widow in the Qin dynasty named Qing — she had the misfortune of being widowed after marriage, yet she was able to grow her late husband’s enterprise into something great. In that tumultuous era, she even raised her own private army to protect herself from harm, and was so respected by the Emperor that he honored her with the title ‘Chaste Woman.’ This goes to show that a woman need not depend on a man to achieve something remarkable. Rely on a man? Better to rely on yourself!”

Dongxue, hearing this, was left speechless, staring straight ahead before asking plainly: “Then… are you planning to remarry a wealthy old man and inherit his estate?”

Chu Linlang flicked Dongxue’s nose. “With my talent for making money, why should I go and marry a dying old man? The merchant ships heading northwest are selling goods quite smoothly! Your young mistress is about to buy a shop right here in the capital! When the time comes, I’ll hire a few girls who know how to charm customers and get you married off as quickly as possible!”

Dongxue, riled up by the young mistress’s teasing, stamped her foot indignantly and fled.

Linlang had not spoken falsely — the spices and water-drawing implements she had sent with Xia Qingyun to the northwest were selling remarkably well in the local markets.

Because of the trend of opening border markets in the north, many merchants with connections had rushed off to the northern territories in a swarm.

Xia Qingyun’s merchant convoy, by going against the prevailing current, had actually seized a favorable position. Combined with the fact that his goods were in high demand, once they reached the local markets, they sold at triple the price without any difficulty.