Not long after, Yan Qing heard Shi Ting say that Qing’er had been found — Shi Yuan had already brought him back to the mountain city.

Shi Yuan had been banished from the Marshal’s household, and would likely have no chance to return to Bei Di ever again.

Yan Qing felt no pity for Shi Yuan. This was what people meant by bringing ruin upon oneself. But because of this affair, the First Madam had come to despise her and Shi Ting even more deeply.

Around this same time, Dihuai had also returned from Lugou County.

Seeing Dihuai arrive covered in dust and grime, Murong quickly poured him a cup of tea and handed him a damp towel.

“You are a week behind schedule. The young miss was terribly worried.” Murong and Jing Zhi had both been anxious, fearing Dihuai might have run into danger along the road.

Dihuai drank a large cup of tea and wiped the sweat from his face before speaking: “I did indeed run into some trouble on the way.”

Yan Qing noticed a wound on his forehead that had already scabbed over, and asked: “How did you get that injury?”

Dihuai replied: “The road to Lugou County passes through Dagu Mountain, and the area around Dagu Mountain is overrun with bandits who have been growing bolder of late. I’ve heard that the government dispatched several units to suppress them, but all returned empty-handed — which shows just how fierce those bandits are.”

“You encountered bandits?” Jing Zhi asked in surprise.

Dihuai nodded: “On my return journey, I was traveling with a grain transport convoy, and as we passed through Dagu Mountain, the convoy was ambushed by bandits. I managed to escape by sheer luck, but I got turned around on the unfamiliar roads and lost some time.”

Yan Qing could see he was speaking lightly of it, yet she could well imagine how dangerous it had been. She felt a deep pang of remorse.

“Had I known this would happen, I should never have sent you on that errand.”

Dihuai quickly said: “The young miss is no oracle — how could you have known about the situation around Dagu Mountain? Fortunately, it turned out to be more fright than harm, and I managed to find out what the young miss asked me to investigate.”

Jing Zhi and Murong crowded in eagerly: “Tell us quickly.”

Dihuai drank another cup of tea before speaking: “That maidservant Bi Zhu from Er Yitai’s courtyard is indeed a distant relative of Er Yitai. Er Yitai once came from humble origins, but now that she has means, she helps her former relatives whenever she can. By rights, Bi Zhu’s connection to Er Yitai is quite remote, but when Er Yitai saw her arrive seeking refuge, she still took her in and let her do odd jobs around the courtyard to earn her keep.”

Yan Qing knew that though Luo Huaimeng kept a cool exterior, she was kind-hearted, and was exceedingly generous toward both relatives and servants.

“When I made inquiries in Bi Zhu’s village, I got quite a shock.” A few threads of mystery crept into Dihuai’s expression. “Do you know what that Bi Zhu actually does?”

Jing Zhi and Murong shook their heads together.

Jing Zhi saw he was drawing out the suspense, and gave him an irritated thump: “Spit it out already — don’t be so constipated about it.”

Dihuai: “…”

Murong glanced at Yan Qing with a smile, and Yan Qing smiled along with her.

Dihuai had no choice but to continue: “In their village, there is a type of witchcraft that has become widespread — the practice of raising venomous creatures, known as gu. Only women practice it, and the villagers call them gu women. These women specialize in using gu to harm people; not only that, but if they set their sights on a man, they will administer a love gu to him, and if the man becomes unfaithful or breaks his promise, he will die from the poison. Even though everyone knows these gu women are dangerous, no one dares to provoke them.”

“Could it be that this Bi Zhu is a gu woman?” Murong gasped.

Dihuai said: “Bi Zhu’s mother is a gu woman. Bi Zhu learned the craft of gu from her mother, though she is not as skilled as her mother.”

Yan Qing set down the book she was holding, her expression sharpening: “Did Bi Zhu’s mother say anything?”

“I asked her where Bi Zhu had gone, and she said she had been taken away by a man. That man gave her ten silver dollars and said he was taking Bi Zhu off to live a comfortable life.”

“Did that man mention Er Yitai?”

“No. Bi Zhu’s mother and Er Yitai are distant cousins by marriage — they had heard of each other but never actually met. But everyone in the village knew that Bi Zhu’s family had a wealthy and influential relative in Shun Cheng, and some villagers had even encouraged Bi Zhu’s family to go to the city to seek out their relative.”

Yan Qing asked Murong: “What did Xiang Xiu say at the time?”

“Xiang Xiu said that Bi Zhu had come from her hometown to seek refuge with Er Yitai. No one knows how she found out Er Yitai’s address, but she found her way here on her own. Er Yitai felt sorry for her, and also because she is a relative, so she took her in to work in the courtyard and looked after her especially well.”

“How long has she been in the Mansion?”

“Before the young miss had even married in, Bi Zhu was already here. Xiang Xiu said the day Bi Zhu arrived happened to be the eighteenth day of the third month — the birthday of the Dragon King — and because there was a ritual burning of paper offerings that evening, she remembered it particularly clearly.”

By that reckoning, Bi Zhu had been in this Mansion for over seventy days.

Yan Qing’s fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, her gaze gradually deepening.

Murong watched her, and had the faint illusion that their young miss’s bearing and manner were growing more and more like Director Shi.

“From Lugou County to Shun Cheng, Dihuai’s journey there and back took several days, and along the way he had to pass through the bandit-plagued area around Dagu Mountain. How could Bi Zhu, a frail young woman, have made such a long journey to Shun Cheng and then found the Marshal’s Mansion with such precision? If no one had deliberately arranged all of this, would any of you believe it?”

“Does the young miss mean that the man who took Bi Zhu away was very familiar with the Marshal’s Mansion?”

“For the other party to go to such lengths — traveling so far to seek out a distant relative of Mother and then bring her back to Shun Cheng — if there were no scheme behind it, that would be truly strange.”

Yan Qing rubbed her temples: “Since that Bi Zhu knows something of the gu craft, then who does she intend to use it on? Bi Zhu spends her time in Luo Huaimeng’s Lan Xiang Courtyard and rarely comes into contact with outsiders. If she intends to administer gu to Mother, what would be the motive?”

Bi Zhu was very much cherished by Luo Huaimeng. If someone wanted to harm Luo Huaimeng, finding an opportunity to strike would be almost effortless. Yet up to now Bi Zhu had been entirely well-behaved and shown no signs of movement — her target was most likely not Luo Huaimeng.

Was it her and Shi Ting?

She had arrived at the Shi household later than Bi Zhu, so Bi Zhu would not have known her at that time.

If the target were Shi Ting, Bi Zhu would have no way to get close to him, and besides, Shi Ting was extremely cautious. Only someone as “naive” as Shi Yuan would resort to such a clumsy method to harm him.

Yan Qing thought so hard her head began to ache.

“Does the young miss suspect it is the First Madam’s doing?” Jing Zhi asked.

“Besides her, I cannot think of anyone else. There is no great enmity between San Yitai and Er Yitai. Besides, Er Yitai poses no threat whatsoever to San Yitai’s position, so San Yitai has no need to go to all this trouble.”

This person had placed Bi Zhu in Lan Xiang Courtyard so far in advance, and with such patience — it was clear they were laying groundwork.

“I asked you to keep an eye on the person who was speaking to Bi Zhu in the grove that day. Have either of you seen them?”

Murong and Jing Zhi shook their heads: “After the young miss mentioned it that day, we began searching for the person within the Mansion. By rights, though this Shi Mansion is large and its staff numerous, we should by now have encountered everyone who ought to be seen — yet we have not seen the person from that day. That is also strange.”

“It seems the other party is very cautious and did not use anyone from this Mansion. The person who met with Bi Zhu was most likely someone from outside. If that is the case, they will be very difficult to find.”

Jing Zhi suggested: “Since Bi Zhu is a dangerous person, why don’t we simply send her back to her hometown? Why keep such a ticking time bomb nearby?”

“Mother is kind-hearted. If you were to speak against Bi Zhu without solid evidence, she, who has always been protective of relatives, might not believe what we say. Moreover, we still need to find out who is pulling Bi Zhu’s strings from behind the scenes, and what their purpose is. If we just send Bi Zhu away, someone else will come to continue the same scheme. We were lucky to discover Bi Zhu’s suspicious behavior — but what if we had not noticed? We would be completely defenseless.”

What mattered most right now was: what did Bi Zhu intend to do, and who was she targeting?

Yan Qing felt this matter might be of great importance, and so when Shi Ting returned, she recounted the entire situation to him in detail.

Shi Ting said: “I have heard of this gu witchcraft — it is an extremely vicious and insidious practice.”

The thought of someone lurking in Er Yitai’s courtyard all this time sent a chill down Shi Ting’s spine.

“Husband, do you know of any way to counter it?” Yan Qing poured him a cup of tea. “If we want to know what the person behind this is planning, we must know our enemy as well as ourselves. We do not understand this gu poison craft, but perhaps if we learn enough about it, we can find a way to counter it.”

Shi Ting did not take the teacup — instead he seized the opportunity to take her hand: “My lady, change your clothes. I am taking you to find someone.”

“Change into what? Something formal or casual?”

If they were meeting someone of great prestige and standing, naturally one could not dress too simply — it would be impolite. But if it were a friend of sorts, dressing too elaborately would create distance.

Shi Ting gathered Yan Qing’s hair upward and smiled: “Best to change into boy’s clothes.”

When Yan Qing had finished changing, Shi Ting could not help but feel a surge of admiration.

Her long hair was pinned up and concealed beneath a black melon-shaped cap. She wore a gray double-breasted small suit jacket with gray trousers, a white shirt underneath — at first glance, she looked just like a handsome, graceful young man.

“My lady truly looks beautiful in anything.” A stirring rose in Shi Ting’s heart, and he could not help but embrace her, leaning down to steal a kiss.

“Ahem!” Yan Qing quickly blocked his descending lips with her hand. “Director Shi, I am not Miss Yan right now — I am Young Master Yan. Surely you do not have… unconventional inclinations?”

Shi Ting raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on her rosy lips. “If it’s my lady, then so be it.”

With that, rather impatiently, he kissed her.

Only when he had kissed those red lips to a moist and lustrous hue did he reluctantly let go.

Yan Qing’s hat had been knocked askew by his kissing. With a look of mock disdain, she pushed him aside and stood before the mirror to straighten her cap.

A certain someone watched her slender silhouette from behind, his body overcome by an unbidden wave of heat. If they did not have to go out, he would not be letting her off so easily.

“Where are you taking me?” Once seated in the car, Yan Qing asked curiously.

Shi Ting lightly touched his lips to hers: “You’ll see when we get there.”