The next day, the moment Qin Yao opened her eyes, she urgently sent someone to deliver an invitation to Wang Yingning, asking her to come visit. Yet it was Qing Xuzi who, hearing she was ill, arrived at Prince Lan’s residence first thing in the morning to check on her.
Lin Xiao had originally planned to go into the palace, but upon hearing the servant’s report, he gave up the idea and personally went to welcome Qing Xuzi inside.
Qin Yao had taken her medicine for a full day and rested through the night, feeling considerably better. Hearing that her master had arrived, she quickly put on thick clothing and went to the outer room to wait.
Lin Xiao naturally understood what was on Qin Yao’s mind, and knowing how deep the bond between master and disciple ran, saw no need for formality and led Qing Xuzi straight to Siru Studio to see Qin Yao.
“Master.” The moment Qing Xuzi entered, Qin Yao rose and went to greet her. Seeing that A’Han hadn’t come along, she assumed he, being a young man, must have thought it improper to follow into Siru Studio, so she asked Lin Xiao, “Is Senior Brother out in the courtyard?”
Qing Xuzi brushed the cold from her clothes and let Qin Yao help her to a seat. “No need to ask the young lord. The weather’s cold—this old one didn’t bring your senior brother along at all.”
Qin Yao found her master’s words rather strange. Senior Brother wasn’t some delicate maiden of an inner chamber—back when they used to hunt demons, what kind of weather hadn’t they braved? Why was he suddenly being so fussy about it now?
Seeing Qin Yao standing there, Lin Xiao, worried she couldn’t withstand the strain on her body, signaled to Wengu and the others.
Wengu took the hint and hurried forward to help Qin Yao sit at the table, saying gently, “Young madam, please sit and talk.”
She also instructed Tingfeng, Saoxue, and the others to serve tea.
Lin Xiao lifted the hem of his robe and sat down beside Qin Yao.
It had been a good while since Qin Yao had seen her master, and naturally she was overjoyed. After studying her for a moment, she pouted. “The last few times the young lord and I went to Qingyun Temple to see you, bringing winter clothes and tonics, you were never there.”
Qing Xuzi paused, then lifted her eyelids to glance at Qin Yao. “I’ve only gone out twice in total. It just so happens that each time you came, this old one happened not to be at the temple.”
Qin Yao had Caiping go to the storeroom to fetch the items from those previous visits that had never been delivered, intending to send them along when her master left—including several padded undergarments for her master and A’Han, soft and warm in texture, ideal for wearing beneath their Daoist robes to keep out the cold, along with a few pairs of winter straw sandals lined thickly with woven cotton, so their feet wouldn’t freeze in the bitter cold.
After laying everything out clearly, worried that her master’s bedding might not be thick enough at night, Qin Yao wished she could send extra thick quilts from the storeroom to Qingyun Temple as well, but Qing Xuzi stopped her, stamping a foot. “Enough, enough. This old one won’t freeze to death. I’ve made it through every winter just fine all these years.”
Qin Yao turned to find Lin Xiao also watching her with a half-amused expression and gave an embarrassed smile, letting the matter drop with some chagrin.
Recalling the events at Yunyin Academy, she asked her master, “That night we cleared out all the vengeful spirits in the academy and set up the Six Harmonies Formation, but unfortunately we never got the chance to go back and check on it. I wonder if any evil spirits have drifted back in since. Hey, Master, what do you think? Why would so many vengeful spirits suddenly converge on the academy in the first place?”
Qing Xuzi took a sip of her steaming tea and said with displeasure, “The next day this old one wanted to go take another look, only to find the academy had already been sealed off, guards posted all around. After asking around, I learned someone had died inside the academy—how could I possibly get in to investigate after that? Had no choice but to return to the temple.”
“Indeed.” Qin Yao sighed and took the tea Caiping handed her, about to take a sip, when a thought suddenly flashed through her mind and her hand froze mid-motion.
Seeing Qin Yao’s odd expression, Lin Xiao frowned slightly and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qin Yao stared blankly ahead, trying desperately to grasp at that fleeting thought. Of course—why hadn’t she thought of it before? If Female Official Lu hadn’t suddenly hanged herself, and the academy hadn’t been sealed off, she and her master would certainly have gone back the very next day to investigate further.
Thinking about it now, wasn’t Female Official Lu’s death just a bit too conveniently timed? Could there be some evil force at work behind it?
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. She said to Caiping, “Quickly fetch that map of Chang’an I have—I want to show Master.”
Caiping knew the young mistress liked to study a certain map in her spare time, though she rarely seemed to make much sense of it even after staring at it for a full hour. Still, hearing this, she hurried inside to fetch the map.
Qin Yao spread it open and handed it to her master. “Master, take a look at this.”
“This is—” Qing Xuzi unfolded the map and saw the several marks Qin Yao had made on it, her expression gradually turning serious. “Are these the places where the evil spirits first appeared?”
Qin Yao nodded. “Don’t you think the distribution of these places looks a bit like some kind of formation?”
Qing Xuzi studied it closely, falling into a long silence.
Qin Yao asked her master expectantly, “Master, have you noticed something?”
But Qing Xuzi’s eyes flickered, and she abruptly pushed the map back to Qin Yao. “It’s nothing but coincidence. Even the youngest of these mountains has stood for at least a hundred years, each with no connection to the others—how could they possibly be tied to some formation? It’s absurd to even think it.”
Qin Yao felt thoroughly doused by her master’s cold dismissal and couldn’t help feeling rather deflated. After a moment she said dejectedly, “No wonder I’ve stared at this map for so long without making any sense of it—and here I’d even been reading up on formation theory all this time for nothing.”
“There was no connection to begin with—how could you possibly find any problem in it?” Qing Xuzi said, her tone growing firmer, and she rose at once. “Since you’re not seriously unwell, this old one will be heading back now.”
“Won’t you sit a while longer?” Qin Yao said, reluctant to let her go, but seeing she couldn’t be stopped, she could only have Caiping and the others gather up the gifts for her master to take along, trailing after her and saying, “Once I’m fully recovered in a couple of days, I’ll come to the temple to see you, and bring more food and supplies.”
Qing Xuzi had already started toward the door, but at these words she stopped abruptly and turned back. “You’re a married woman now—you ought to stay home properly and look after your husband, not keep running off elsewhere. The weather’s only going to get colder—you’d do better to spend more time at home with the young lord.”
With that, she strode out of the room. Qin Yao wanted to chase after her but was stopped by Lin Xiao. “I’ll see Master off. You stay in the room.”
Qin Yao pulled her clothes tighter around herself and, seeing her master not look back even once, could only nod helplessly.
Qin Yao’s illness came on quickly and passed just as quickly. Two days later, aside from a still somewhat poor appetite, she had largely recovered.
That day was Prince Wu’s wedding. Qin Yao, at Consort Yi’s command, went to Prince Wu’s residence early in the morning to help with preparations.
Having arrived far too early, just as had happened that time at the Imperial Son-in-law’s residence, there were no guests yet at Prince Wu’s residence, but she ran into Kang Ping at the garden gate.
Seeing Qin Yao, Kang Ping pulled her along toward the inner courtyard, grinning. “Let’s go take a look at Seventh Brother’s new bedroom.”
Qin Yao had not the slightest interest in anything related to Xia Yuan, but let herself be dragged along by Kang Ping into the inner courtyard, until she suddenly remembered that the banquet hall also needed arrangements and hastily pulled her arm free. “Let me go check on the banquet hall first.”
She turned to leave, but just then a group of palace attendants emerged from the inner courtyard, surrounding Prince Wu in his formal attire. These attendants all wore the livery of Prince Wu’s household, their expressions respectful, clearly his closest personal servants.
Following behind the group was a stunningly beautiful woman, her face unforgettable at a glance—Qin Yao recognized her immediately as Consort Kang.
Prince Wu, resplendent in his bright red wedding robes, gazed at Consort Kang with a look of utter tenderness. Consort Kang wore a smile, but no matter how one looked at it, there seemed to be a hint of awkwardness beneath it, as she trailed slowly behind him, trying several times to find a chance to slip away, only to be called back each time by Prince Wu.
“Your Highness.” She stopped, smiling helplessly. “Don’t forget it’s your wedding day.”
Prince Wu looked at her, his tone gentle and coaxing. “I know. Walk me to the gate, then you can go back—how about that?”
Qin Yao silently marveled to herself—this Prince Wu truly was quite the romantic, unable to part from this stunning consort even for a moment on his own wedding day. Yet he seemed entirely unconcerned that this scene might reach Xia Yuan’s ears. Clearly, Prince Wu kept tight control over his household.
Only upon reaching the gate of the inner courtyard did Prince Wu notice Kang Ping and Qin Yao standing there. He paused slightly, but showed not the least sign of embarrassment, saying to Qin Yao as if nothing were amiss, “Thank you for your trouble today, sister-in-law.”
Qin Yao smiled and offered a bow.
Once Prince Wu had smiled at Qin Yao, Consort Kang bowed to her and to Kang Ping as well, then withdrew without a sound.
Kang Ping had no interest whatsoever in her brother’s concubine and merely said, “Seventh Brother, it’s getting late. Everyone helping with the wedding procession has already arrived—don’t delay any longer. It’s time to head to the Duke of Wei’s residence to receive the bride.”
Prince Wu’s expression turned spirited and eager once more. He gave a hum of acknowledgment and walked off with his hands clasped behind his back.