Yang Jingyuan and Sang Fourteen visited Deputy Commander Niu. Ji Yingying went along but was escorted into the inner compound by a bamboo-screened sedan chair at the entrance.
Through the gaps in the bamboo screen, Ji Yingying could see that the Niu family’s garden was planted with tall trees, giving it a grand atmosphere. Past the hanging flower gate, the inner compound’s scenery changed style completely, strongly resembling a Jiangnan garden. With winding paths leading to secluded spots and buildings hidden among flowers, trees, and artificial mountains, Ji Yingying soon lost all sense of direction.
After about half an hour, the sedan chair stopped. A pretty maidservant stood at the courtyard entrance, personally lifting the sedan’s curtain with a smile: “Miss Ji, please alight.”
Ying’er, who had accompanied Ji Yingying, raised her eyebrows, thinking how improper these military household maids were. Her mistress had married into the Yang family and had come today with her husband—shouldn’t she be addressed as Third Madam Yang?
Ji Yingying hadn’t thought about it that much. She hadn’t consummated her marriage with Yang Jingyuan yet, and those around her still called her “Miss”—being called “Third Madam Yang” would have felt strange to her.
After alighting, she looked up. The courtyard gates were wide open, revealing an exceptionally tall three-story building with a plaque hanging in the center: Xuanji Tower.
“This way, Miss Ji.”
Ji Yingying found the maid somewhat familiar, vaguely remembering her standing nearby when she first met Niu Seventh Miss last year. Thinking she must be Seventh Miss’s maid, she casually asked, “What is your name, sister?”
“This servant is Yuyuan.”
As they spoke, Yuyuan led Ji Yingying and her maid inside. After seating Ji Yingying in the hall, Yuyuan went upstairs. When she came down, she smiled and said, “Miss Ji, please wait a moment. My mistress will be here shortly.” She glanced at Ying’er and said, “Sister, please come with me for some tea.”
Over the past year, Ji Yingying had grown increasingly close to Ying’er and Xiang’er, rarely keeping secrets from them. Following custom and to allow Niu Seventh Miss to speak freely, she nodded to Ying’er.
After they left, Ji Yingying sat for a while but Niu Seventh Miss didn’t come down. The surroundings were completely silent, which she found strange. Were there no other maids or servants in Niu Seventh Miss’s courtyard? She stood up and walked to the hall entrance—the gates were closed, and not a soul was in sight. She didn’t know where Yuyuan had taken Ying’er for tea; they had vanished without a trace.
Even at the Yang family’s Mingyue Residence, though sparsely populated, there were eight servants doing chores like sweeping and brewing tea. People were always coming and going in the courtyard.
“How strange. It’s like an empty building…”
“Since I married out, this place has been kept locked. Servants only come to clean once every ten or fifteen days. It truly is an empty building.”
Niu Fifth Miss had come downstairs at some point and was sitting on the bamboo couch in the center of the hall. She wore a silver-red long dress with wide sleeves and a cross collar, her hair styled in a foot-tall bun with a golden phoenix hairpin at its center—dressed extremely luxuriously. Her face was unveiled.
The first time Ji Yingying saw Niu Fifth Miss was at last year’s brocade competition. She spoke little then, wearing a blue dress and white veil, as elegant as a fairy from the blue waves. The second time, they hadn’t even met face-to-face—she had only heard Niu Fifth Miss asking her to get down from the mule cart for a meeting. Ji Yingying had heard that Niu Fifth Miss had suffered from smallpox in childhood without proper care, leaving her face scarred. When she turned and saw her face directly, Ji Yingying almost cried out in shock.
Her makeup was too thick, and white as if painted with lime wash, making her eyebrows, drawn with black powder, appear exceptionally long and dark. Her rouge was too heavy, and her lips were blood-red.
Ji Yingying’s heart pounded wildly. She had come to bring wedding gifts for Niu Seventh Miss, but Niu Fifth Miss happened to be at her maiden home and had her brought here. What did she want to say? Had Zhao Xiuyuan come to the Niu residence with her? Ji Yingying instinctively glanced upstairs.
“It’s just me. My husband didn’t accompany me home,” Niu Fifth Miss saw through Ji Yingying’s thoughts and smiled, saying, “Please sit.”
Not only had she been brought to this empty building, but Ying’er had been led away. What did Niu Fifth Miss want to tell her? Ji Yingying sat in the lower seat: “Second Madam Zhao, why did you ask me here?”
“My given name is Tianji. You can call me Niu Fifth Miss if you wish. Second Madam Zhao? Heh, I don’t want to hear the name Zhao in the Niu household!” Niu Fifth Miss did not attempt to hide her disgust for the Zhao family.
What to call her wasn’t important to Ji Yingying. She recalled how Yuyuan had consistently called her “Miss Ji”—probably because Niu Fifth Miss disliked being addressed by her husband’s surname. She smoothly said, “Alright, Niu Fifth Miss, what did you want to tell me? I came today to bring wedding gifts for Seventh Miss. I don’t want to keep her waiting.”
“Which is more important—bringing gifts to Seventh Miss, or Yang Third Young Master’s life?” Niu Fifth Miss said casually.
Ji Yingying shot to her feet: “What did you say?”
Niu Fifth Miss also stood up but didn’t answer Ji Yingying’s question. Instead, she walked toward the stairs to one side: “When I was young and my face was ruined, I stopped going out. My parents feared I would feel confined, so they built this Xuanji Tower, especially for me. Standing upstairs, one can see this entire ward… and also the training ground of our household. Come with me and see for yourself?”
She turned back on the stairs and smiled. Her silver-red sleeves trailed on the steps, long eyebrows dark as ink, red lips, and white teeth—she looked almost like a ghost.
Ji Yingying shuddered violently, then lifted her skirts and rushed up the stairs.
Niu Fifth Miss walked extremely slowly, speaking in an ethereal voice: “Inviting you here was out of goodwill. I don’t want to kill him now. Perhaps you could save his life…”
The stairs thundered under Ji Yingying’s feet. She ran to the second floor and looked out from the corridor, finding that it was level with the tall trees in the compound. She turned and went up to the third floor.
“The training ground, where’s the training ground?”
As Niu Fifth Miss had said, the corridor wrapped around the rooms to facilitate viewing from above. Ji Yingying looked around and spotted an open space not far from Xuanji Tower. She rushed to the corridor’s edge and craned her neck to look.
The training ground was crowded. It looked like they were about to hold a competition. From the tower, the scene below was visible. Ji Yingying saw Yang Jingyuan in a cyan-colored robe.
He was mounted on horseback, holding a bow with a quiver at his waist. Nine others were also mounted—soldiers of Deputy Commander Niu wearing light armor. The ten appeared to be preparing for a competition of horsemanship and archery.
“The first time I saw Young Master Yang was at the training ground in our inner compound. He was having an archery competition with Seventh Miss,” Niu Fifth Miss came to Ji Yingying’s side, murmuring.
“What did you mean by what you said earlier?” Ji Yingying turned and shouted.
Niu Fifth Miss lifted her chin: “Do you see Sang Fourteen?”
She had come with Yang Jingyuan today. Sang Fourteen had said he would wait for them at the Niu residence. At the entrance, she was carried into the inner compound by sedan chair while Yang Jingyuan was led to the front hall by servants.
“Where is Young Master Sang?” Ji Yingying desperately searched among the people in the training ground. She saw the tall Deputy Commander Niu. She saw a group of armored soldiers, but no sign of Sang Fourteen.
“Clang!” A gong sounded, and the ten riders spurred their horses into motion. Cheers erupted from the surrounding soldiers.
Ji Yingying couldn’t find Sang Fourteen and didn’t understand the meaning behind Niu Fifth Miss’s words. She was extremely nervous and grabbed Niu Fifth Miss’s shoulders, shaking her violently: “Tell me! What’s going on?! Why is Third Brother in danger?!”
Niu Fifth Miss’s hairpin came loose as she was shaken, and she laughed hysterically: “Can’t you see? My father is going to kill Yang Third Young Master!”