Qin Yao tilted her head and looked past Lin Xiao’s shoulder toward Jiang Sanlang, smiling. “I heard that the Duchess of the Duke’s household is returning to the estate to organize the Duke’s birthday celebrations, so the academy gave us a half-day holiday.”

Jiang Sanlang was briefly surprised, then laughed. “I’ve been so busy these past few days that I didn’t even go back home — I’d completely forgotten that my father’s birthday was coming up.”

Hearing this, Qin Yao’s mind stirred. She glanced across at the restaurant, saw that Cui Shi’s carriage was still parked below, and, recalling Prince Lan’s furious exit moments before, began to piece together a vague picture of what might have occurred.

She looked up at Lin Xiao. The coincidence of his and Jiang Sanlang’s appearance here was too convenient — she did not believe for a moment that they had no part in whatever had just transpired. But with so many watchful eyes around her now, it was not the time to question Lin Xiao closely about it.

Lin Xiao, watching every subtle shift in her expression, saw that she was clearly full of questions yet dared not ask them. Inwardly, he found it quietly amusing — even the flash of irritation he had felt at seeing Feng Bingyu speak to her began to dissipate.

“You and your classmates should finish your shopping and return to the academy early. It gets dark quickly these days, and the curfew has been moved earlier — don’t get caught out. I have something to attend to today; once I’m finished, I’ll come find you another day.”

These words were spoken with an entirely open and intimate ease, with no regard whatsoever for Feng Bingyu standing nearby.

Qin Yao’s face flushed crimson. She stole a glance at Feng Bingyu’s expressionless face, and her heart was filled with puzzlement — Lin Xiao was ordinarily so careful and measured with his words. What had gotten into him today?

Within Feng Bingyu’s chest, something burned through him like a consuming flame. He could no longer remain where he stood. He said to Qin Yao: “A’Yao, I still have matters to attend to — I’ll take my leave—”

He turned and walked away.

Qin Yao, thinking of the portrait still in his hands, very much wanted to run after him and ask him a few more questions — but before she could act, Lin Xiao, as if reading her mind, stepped in front of her, blocking her path, and asked: “What was in that portrait the two of you were just looking at? Has something unusual happened recently?”

Qin Yao, stopped in her tracks by Lin Xiao’s question, could only nod. “Indeed. I’ve seen the man in Brother Feng’s portrait before.”

She then recounted the night in the academy when the ghost with half a head had appeared.

“His body was apparently found in the outskirts of Chang’an, but for some reason his spirit drifted to the academy. He was filled with an intense and bitter grievance, constantly searching for his wife. The strangest thing of all was that half of his skull had been cleanly severed — I cannot imagine what kind of blade could have done such a thing.”

Jiang Sanlang listened to this, looking astonished, then burst into laughter. “A clean, even cut through the skull? Apart from the Chixiao Sword, what other weapon in the world could accomplish that? No need to look any further — the killer is standing right in front of you. You should go and report him to the authorities immediately.”

Lin Xiao said indifferently: “Don’t you still need to go to the palace to report on matters? Why are you still here talking nonsense — get moving.”

Jiang Sanlang raised his long brows. “Hey, Miss Qu, look at this man — not a word of complaint when he needs you, but the moment you’re no longer useful, he turns around. Today, without me having to say it, you’ve finally seen this person’s true colors, haven’t you?”

Qin Yao knew perfectly well that Jiang Sanlang and Lin Xiao had grown up together since childhood, and that this kind of talk was to be taken in jest. She simply pressed her lips together in a smile and said nothing.

Jiang Sanlang proved true to form and still showed no sign of leaving. He leaned close to Qin Yao and said in a low, mischievous voice: “Miss Qu, if you want to know the details of this case, why go looking to someone else? Didn’t you know that this fellow once saved Liu Zan’s life? Liu Zan may disregard anyone else’s account, but he cannot disregard his. From now on, if you want to find anything out, just ask him directly.”

After all, they were brothers of many years — one look was all it took to see through Lin Xiao’s mind.

Qin Yao smiled a little bashfully. “It’s not that I’m deliberately trying to pry into anything — it’s just that the manner of that man’s death was rather strange, and I’m worried there might be some malevolent spirit involved in the whole affair.”

Lin Xiao looked at her. “I still need to enter the palace today. If you want to know the full story of this case, I’ll look into it with Liu Zan and then come find you.”

Qin Yao immediately recalled the incident that night in the garden pavilion and dropped her long lashes, her face going warm as she murmured her assent.

She turned to head back to the carriage, then remembered the small medicine vial that was trapping the ghost. She reached into her waist pouch, drew it out, and handed it to Lin Xiao. “There’s a wandering spirit sealed inside this. I had intended to go see my master today, but I don’t have enough time now, and the academy has no more days off for the next few days, so I can’t get out. I’m afraid if we wait any longer it may cause problems. Could you please have someone send this vial to Qingyun Daoist Temple?”

Lin Xiao accepted the vial quite naturally. “I’ll see to it right away.”

Jiang Sanlang, watching the two of them — though both were making a show of keeping their distance — behaving in every gesture with the unmistakable ease of those who were already thoroughly intimate, gave an inward laugh. “It’s getting late,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Qin Yao, with her cheeks stinging under Jiang Sanlang’s teasing expression, quickly scurried back to the carriage.

Inside the carriage, Pei Min already knew about Qin Yao and Lin Xiao’s situation, and Wang Yingning was too gentle-natured to pry. Both of them held their tongues. Only Liu Bingyu, popping a snack into her mouth, blinked and nudged Qin Yao mischievously. “The Young Heir of Prince Lan’s household is famously cold and unapproachable. Today’s the first time I’ve seen him say this much to a woman. You’d better not tell me he’s some distant relative of yours.”

Pei Min quickly came to Qin Yao’s rescue. “He just chatted a few words — you’re making it into something grand. It’s almost the Hour of the Sheep now. We still need to buy the osmanthus cakes and then go to Fu Chun Zhai for hairy crabs. Stop dawdling.”

Liu Bingyu slanted a sideways look at both her and Qin Yao. “The two of you are definitely hiding something from me, and you’re deliberately changing the subject to stop me from asking too many questions.”

Pei Min and Wang Yingning laughed simultaneously. “You’re so sharp — if there really were something going on, we wouldn’t dare hide it from you!”

The group bantered and laughed their way through it, muddling past the subject.

By the time they had finished buying osmanthus cakes at Rong Bao Tower, it was already the Hour of the Monkey, and everyone was feeling rather hungry. Liu Bingyu was thinking fondly of the crabs and wine at Fu Chun Zhai and proposed they go there for supper.

Qin Yao could not object, so she followed along.

As it turned out, Fu Chun Zhai’s private rooms were all fully booked. They waited for a while, and when they saw it was truly getting late, they reluctantly gave up and prepared to return to the academy.

Just as they stepped out the door, a stout innkeeper came hurrying after them. He peered carefully at Qin Yao, then put on an ingratiating smile. “My apologies — the staff below were confused earlier. There is in fact still one private room available upstairs — please follow me, young ladies.”

Qin Yao recognized him as the innkeeper who had previously referred to Lin Xiao as “Young Master.”

Liu Bingyu was overjoyed and, not giving Qin Yao time to think twice, pulled everyone inside.

The group sat down, and the innkeeper soon personally brought up a full table of fine food and wine. He stole several glances at Qin Yao, wearing a smile that carried a knowing meaning, before excusing himself and withdrawing.

It was the season of autumn crabs. Liu Bingyu and Pei Min praised the crab roe as thick and rich, and as they ate and drank and talked, the mood grew merrier by the minute. By the time they had eaten and drunk their fill, the Hour of the Rooster had already passed.

Wang Yingning glanced out at the sky and reminded the others: “The hour is truly late — if we don’t leave now, I’m afraid we won’t make it back to the academy before curfew.”

Liu Bingyu looked out as well and saw that it had indeed grown dark. She hurriedly called for a server to come in and pay the bill.

To everyone’s surprise, the stout innkeeper came in himself with a smile. “The bill for your table has already been settled by someone.”

They all looked at each other in astonishment.

Pei Min laughed in surprise. “To come out once and have something like this happen — Innkeeper, who was that person? If they’re a stranger to us, we really can’t in good conscience let them pay our bill. Please return the money to them, and let us pay our own tab.”

Liu Bingyu nodded vigorously. “Exactly.”

The innkeeper smiled. “I truly don’t know either — I only know that the bill for your table was taken care of long in advance. Even if you paid again, I wouldn’t know where to find that person to return it to.”

Qin Yao could not help but look up, and at just that moment she caught sight of the innkeeper regarding her with a deeply knowing smile. Her heart immediately understood, and a strange sense of guilty embarrassment washed over her.

Wang Yingning and the others exchanged glances and whispered among themselves for a while. Seeing that the hour was truly late, they had no choice but to set aside their curiosity for the moment and leave Fu Chun Zhai.

The carriage wheels began to turn. Liu Bingyu let out a satisfied sigh. “The craving I’ve had for Fu Chun Zhai’s food is finally satisfied today. I wish we could come here all the time. But we so rarely get days off — I don’t know when we’ll be able to come out again.”

Qin Yao said: “Mid-Autumn Festival is not too far off — the academy is sure to give us a holiday then.”

Wang Yingning, however, recalled something. “Speaking of Mid-Autumn, I remember that the Emperor goes on an autumn hunt every year after Mid-Autumn, and in previous years he always took Princess Kang Ping along. Now that the Princess is studying at the academy, I wonder if he’ll still bring her with him this year.”

Pei Min was momentarily startled, then could not help saying: “Last time when the Emperor went to Yuquan Mountain to escape the heat, he simply had all of us accompany him because he wanted to bring Kang Ping along. This time, could he really call on all of us to join in again?”

“Don’t say it — that’s quite possible,” Liu Bingyu mused. “In previous years, the Emperor would bring Noble Consort Yi and Princess Kang Ping on the autumn hunt every time. The Princess never failed to ask the Emperor to let her bring a few little companions along, and this year will probably be no exception.”

Pei Min’s head immediately ached. “I have absolutely no interest in hunting and killing, and I can’t bear such scenes. Kang Ping can go to her hunt — just please don’t drag us all along with her.”

As they talked, the night had grown darker still. The streets were becoming sparse with people. The carriage sped along, turned a corner, and entered a narrow alley.

Qin Yao lifted the curtain and looked outside. She saw that they had already left the Eastern Market behind them. A mist had risen somewhere along the way, its thick whiteness deepening the density of the night so that she could not immediately tell where they were. All she could sense was that the narrow alley was extraordinarily deep and dark, as though it stretched on with no end in sight.

Wang Yingning also lifted the curtain to look outside and called to the driver: “Wang Da, have we reached Qingzhu Alley already?”

The man replied with measured deference: “Indeed we have, Fourth Young Miss.”

Wang Yingning put down the curtain and explained in a gentle voice to Qin Yao: “Going through Qingzhu Alley leads out to Baoyuan Street, right in front of our academy — it’s the shortest route. When I travel from home to the academy, I always take this road.”

Qin Yao’s unease dissolved at these words, and she too let down the curtain.

Liu Bingyu was still debating the autumn hunt with Pei Min. “Princess Kang Ping loves riding and archery more than anything — there’s no way she’d miss the hunt. And didn’t she want to bring a certain Miss Feng to the academy to keep her company? She seems so eager about this Miss Feng — whoever she is, she’ll surely be the first person invited on the autumn hunt.”

Qin Yao, listening with a slight frown, couldn’t help but ask: “When exactly is this Miss Feng coming to the academy?”

She was anxious to confirm whether or not this was Feng Chuyue.

“Probably any day now,” Pei Min said. “Didn’t Princess Kang Ping say the Emperor has already agreed?”

Suddenly, from outside, came Wang Da’s startled shout: “Who’s there?”

His voice carried an unmistakable tremor of fear. The hearts of Qin Yao and the others lurched in unison, and they hurriedly lifted the curtains to look out.

At the far end of the alley, at a point no one had noticed before, a dark shape had appeared. Shrouded in the night mist, it was impossible to tell what it was — yet the thing radiated a dense, suffocating aura of malevolent energy. One look at it made the heart seize with terror.

No wonder Wang Da had been thrown into such a panic.

The dark shape was still for only a moment, then began to slowly move toward them. From within the night mist came the sound of a blade scraping across the ground, and the wind carried with it a thick, metallic reek of blood as it gradually drew near the carriage.

“Wh-what is that thing?” Pei Min grabbed Qin Yao’s sleeve in terror.

Liu Bingyu and Wang Yingning were too frightened to move.

As it drew nearer, stripped of the mist’s concealment, its outline finally sharpened into clarity.

It was a man astride a tall, powerful horse. He was dressed entirely in black, his face somewhat unclear, but clearly still young. He gripped a long sword in his hand, the tip dragging along the ground, carving a piercing screech across the surface with every step.

Wang Da, trembling uncontrollably, called out: “Just who are you? The young lady of Shangshu Wang’s household is in this carriage. If you dare show even the slightest disrespect, the Shangshu will never let you off!”

The man’s face was expressionless. He sat atop his horse, one hand gripping the reins and the other gripping the sword, advancing with an overwhelming, crushing pressure.

Qin Yao’s pupils contracted sharply. This person’s entire being was saturated with the qi of death — this was no human being at all. It was a rare and formidable malevolent spirit.

She quickly called out to Wang Yingning and the others: “Whatever you do, don’t get out!”

She threw back the curtain, kicked off the side railing of the carriage, and leapt up, landing steadily on the horse’s back. She sent a talisman flying out. “Wicked creature — meet your end!”

The man suddenly let out a bizarre cry and raised his sword, stabbing it directly toward Qin Yao.

Inside Taiji Palace.

Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang stood quietly in the main hall, waiting for the Emperor to speak.

The Emperor, gazing at the jade toad incense burner on his desk that exhaled slow wisps of nine-blended incense, wore a solemn expression, his voice carrying a note of fatigue. “Your father has just come here in person to explain the whole matter from beginning to end. This subject never could have anticipated that Cui Shi would have a heart as venomous as a serpent and a scorpion. What a trial for your father. As for how to deal with her, I’ll leave that to Liu Zan to determine.”

Lin Xiao lowered his eyelids and acknowledged with a sound.

The Emperor was silent for a moment. Then, thinking that this scandalous case, which had been an affront to the imperial family’s dignity, had finally been resolved, his expression gradually brightened. He looked at Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang with an amiable, gratified air. “The two of you have worked hard these past days. When this affair first broke out, I stated that whoever could bring the perpetrator to justice would be handsomely rewarded. Speak, then — what reward do you want? Your Imperial Uncle is in good spirits today, and whatever he can grant, he shall.”

Lin Xiao exchanged a glance with Jiang Sanlang. Jiang Sanlang, understanding at once, laughed and said quickly: “We have done no more than serve Your Majesty to the best of our abilities — how could we dare ask for a reward?”

The Emperor let out a hearty laugh. “I always honor my word. Since I said there would be a reward, I shall not go back on it. Don’t try to be evasive with me — speak freely.”

Jiang Sanlang grinned broadly. “Since Your Majesty says it thus, we shall respectfully accept the gesture with gratitude. Your subject and Wei Jin are both already past eighteen, yet neither of us has a marriage arranged. Perhaps Your Majesty could make a match for the two of us?”

The Emperor smiled with a knowing air. “Sanlang, you have always been something of a free spirit — don’t tell me you have your eye on some young woman in Chang’an lately? As for Wei Jin — you have always been a man of firm opinions, and your Imperial Uncle has never dared presume to decide for you. Could it be that you too wish your Imperial Uncle to make a match for you?”

Lin Xiao quickly knelt and kowtowed several times. Rising, he said with grave sincerity: “Your subject Wei Jin asks for nothing else — only that Your Majesty grant me permission to choose my own wife.”

The Emperor, watching the solemn seriousness on Lin Xiao’s face, was suddenly reminded of many years ago, when he too had been in the Hall of Taiji, kneeling before his Imperial Father and pleading for an imperial decree of marriage for the sake of a woman he loved.

His heart grew heavy with a shadowed grief. With a quiet, inward sigh, he forced a smile. “Rise, rise — your Imperial Uncle grants it.”

Lin Xiao was overwhelmed with joy and kowtowed again, then stood. “This subject thanks his Imperial Uncle.”

The Emperor smiled as he looked at Lin Xiao and sighed: “Your Imperial Uncle has been young before — how could he not understand the hearts of you young ones? The rarest thing in this world is two people who love each other in return. What is to be feared is mutual contempt. Your Imperial Uncle understands this and will not play the villain.”

Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang quickly expressed their thanks once more. “Many thanks to Your Majesty for your benevolence.”

The Emperor exhaled, emerging from his reverie, and suddenly asked: “There is a young official in the Court of Justice by the name of Feng Bingyu. I placed him second in the Palace Examinations — do the two of you know him? What is his character?”

Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang exchanged a swift glance and were still deliberating on how to answer when the Emperor spoke again: “At the time of the Palace Examinations, I already thought the man had an exceptionally fine appearance, and his essay was excellent as well — but his political views were somewhat too radical. He was not as measured and temperate as Qu Ziyu, which is why I placed Qu Ziyu first and, in a manner of speaking, gave Feng Bingyu second place. I’ve heard he has been performing very capably at the Court of Justice and is highly relied upon by Liu Zan. I only wonder about his character as a person.”

Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang found this increasingly puzzling. The Emperor had only just been speaking of arranging marriages, and now he was asking about Feng Bingyu — and showing such interest in the man’s personal character?

A vague suspicion took shape within Lin Xiao’s mind. Seeing that the Emperor was still waiting for their answer, he said suddenly: “Your subject has had very little interaction with this person and does not know him well. Since Your Majesty wishes to understand Feng Bingyu’s character, might it not be better to summon Liu Zan to the palace and ask him directly?”

The Emperor’s eyes lit up. He stroked his beard. “Hmm. That is well said.”

He called out to Chamberlain Mi: “Summon Liu Zan to the palace at once — I have something to ask him.”

As Liu Zan made his way to the palace, Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang took their leave and stepped out. They had barely mounted their horses when, from the distance, a rider came galloping toward them at full speed — it was Wei Bo.

He reined in his horse before them, catching his breath. “Something strange has happened on Miss Qu’s end.”