After a moment of awkward silence, Ling Jingshu cleared her throat and said: “Thank you for the warning — I’ll be careful going forward.” She thought a moment, then couldn’t help but add a reminder for Wei Yan: “Imperial Physician Wei must also be doubly on his guard.”

She meant: mind yourself, and don’t fall into Empress Xu’s clutches.

It was a rather awkward thing to say.

For a man to have his looks coveted in that way — it was both absurd and pitiable.

One could see that in this world, man or woman alike — when power came into the picture, everyone had to yield and endure.

Wei Yan laughed with a touch of self-deprecation: “Rest assured. As long as the Emperor lives, Empress Xu will not dare act with impunity. I have been building my footing within the palace for many years — I still have the means to keep myself safe.”

Ling Jingshu looked at Wei Yan and felt in her heart a certain sorrowful kinship — the feeling of sharing the same affliction.

The distance between them had, invisibly, drawn much closer.

After a moment of mutual gaze, Ling Jingshu said softly: “I’ll be going first.”

Wei Yan pressed down the reluctance within him and gave a nod, watching as she pushed the door open and left.

Bai Yu, who had been waiting outside for quite some time already, heard the sound of the door and immediately brightened up, stepping forward to meet her: “Miss, did you get the medicine?”

Ling Jingshu smiled and gave a soft hum of assent, placing the porcelain vial in Bai Yu’s hand: “We’ve been out this long — it’s time we headed back.”

Bai Yu, sharp-eyed as she was, sensed a gravity within Ling Jingshu’s smile.

Miss and Imperial Physician Wei had been alone in that room for so long — what had they talked about? Miss now had the look of someone weighed down by thoughts, and was considerably more subdued than when they had set out.

……

Once they were back in the carriage, Ling Jingshu said quietly: “I am a little tired and want to rest a short while.”

Bai Yu tactfully agreed and made no sound to disturb her.

Ling Jingshu closed her eyes and rested her head on Bai Yu’s shoulder.

What she had learned from the conversation with Wei Yan today was truly astounding. Not wanting to embarrass him, she had not let her full emotions show at the time.

Now at last she had time to quietly turn over everything she had just heard……

A woman born too beautiful would draw covetous eyes. It had never occurred to her that a man born too strikingly handsome would be just as dangerous. When all was said and done, it came down to a low station with no power to protect oneself.

The Crown Grandson and Prince Yan were both strikingly handsome and outstanding — yet what woman in this world would dare covet their looks?

For a long time she had assumed that Wei Yan and his sister were affiliated with Empress Xu’s faction. Now it seemed that might not be so at all.

Empress Xu harbored improper designs on Wei Yan, yet Wei Yan, though powerless to contend with the mistress of the entire palace, would absolutely refuse to demean himself by becoming someone’s kept beauty. He would sooner live out his life alone than bow his head to Empress Xu. They could hardly be considered of one mind……

The carriage suddenly lurched to a violent stop.

Caught completely off guard, Ling Jingshu’s body pitched forward. Fortunately Bai Yu was quick-eyed and quick-handed, and grabbed her arm in time.

Still unsteady from the fright, Ling Jingshu gathered herself, while Bai Yu — ordinarily so even-tempered — had a trace of irritation come into her eyes. She raised her voice and asked: “What is going on out there? Why has the carriage stopped so suddenly out of nowhere?”

One of the guards reported helplessly: “Just now a young woman suddenly collapsed and fainted in the middle of the road. If the reins hadn’t been pulled in time, the horse would have trampled her.”

A trampling like that would have made it very difficult to save a life.

Bai Yu’s irritation immediately vanished upon hearing this.

Ling Jingshu also came to her senses. She gave a quiet instruction: “Bai Yu — get down and see what has happened.”

Bai Yu assented and swiftly climbed down from the carriage.

Sure enough, there was a woman who had fainted lying in front of the carriage. She was approximately seventeen or eighteen years of age, dressed in worn cloth clothing. Her hair lay disheveled across her face, obscuring her features.

As men and women were to observe proper boundaries, and as the other woman was unconscious, it would not do to move her freely — yet it was equally impossible to simply leave her unattended.

The household attendants were all at a loss, and when they saw Bai Yu descend from the carriage, they immediately made way.

Bai Yu stepped forward, crouched down, and gave the woman a gentle push: “Miss, wake up.”

She pushed several times, but the woman made no response at all. Bai Yu had no choice but to brush the hair from the woman’s face, exposing a plain and unassuming face drained of all color.

Bai Yu pressed firmly on the woman’s philtrum, and at last the woman stirred feebly and barely managed to open her eyes. They were reasonably bright eyes — only dry and without light.

“Miss — how did you come to suddenly faint here on the road?” Bai Yu did her utmost to soften her voice: “Are you feeling unwell? There should be a physician’s hall nearby — shall we take you there?”

Before she had finished asking, the woman fainted again.

Bai Yu: “……”

The corner of Bai Yu’s mouth gave a faint twitch. She was at a complete loss for what to do. She returned to the carriage and in a low voice reported the situation: “…… Miss, this woman’s identity and background are unknown — she didn’t manage a single word before she passed out again. What should we do now?”

Ling Jingshu considered for a brief moment: “Since we’ve come upon her, we can hardly leave her there unattended. This way — have one of the guards carry the woman into the carriage, then find the nearest physician’s hall and bring her there. Get her revived first, then we’ll see what’s to be done.”

That was the only option.

She could hardly leave a woman lying unconscious by the roadside. Delivering her to a physician’s hall and paying a little silver — that would count as an act of goodness.

Bai Yu assented and quickly gave the order.

The guards, hearing the instruction, exchanged glances, but none of them said a word out of turn.

……

Before long, the woman was carried into the carriage.

Though the woman’s clothing was worn, her person was reasonably clean — no unusual smell about her. She lay in the carriage without so much as a stir.

Ling Jingshu, not without some curiosity, looked the woman over for a few moments and quietly tried to guess her background and identity.

Judging from her dress and appearance, this woman was clearly from a poor household — her skirt had several patches sewn into it. Yet this woman was not thin or frail. The wrists that showed beneath her sleeves were stouter and more muscular than those of an ordinary woman.

And her face — it looked sickly pale, but on closer inspection, the pallor seemed somehow off. It did not look like the pale of someone unconscious — it looked more like some kind of substance had been applied to it……

Wait!

Who exactly was this woman?

A glint of sharp alertness flashed through Ling Jingshu’s eyes. She spoke abruptly: “Who are you? Why did you deliberately choose to faint on the road just as our Ling family carriage was passing?”

The woman lay motionless.

Bai Yu was startled by Ling Jingshu’s words: “Miss — what are you saying?”

Ling Jingshu paid no heed to this, and looked coldly at the woman, saying slowly: “If you keep up this performance, I will immediately have you thrown from the carriage. Or I will take my dagger and give you one cut — and see if you can still keep up this act.”

Bai Yu was completely bewildered now.

And what came next left Bai Yu even more bewildered.

The woman who had supposedly been lying there unconscious simply opened her eyes. Then she turned over nimbly and stood up.

The woman was slightly taller than Bai Yu. Standing straight inside the carriage was rather cramped, so she had to bend her head down a little. Even so, the woman’s eyes were quite bright, and she gave Ling Jingshu a proper bow: “Greetings to Miss Ling.”

Not a trace remained of the pitiful, barely-clinging-to-consciousness appearance from before.

Bai Yu’s jaw dropped — and for a long time she could not close it again.