Ying’ying Ji soaked in the bathtub. Her long hair had been wrung dry and wrapped in a cloth. She had dismissed Xiang’er and Ling’er, lazily lounging alone in her bedroom, reluctant to get up.
She hadn’t told her brother or mother about tonight’s encounter with Lord Sheng.
“What good would telling them to do? They’d just worry needlessly. Our humble family has neither power nor influence—what could we do to him?” Ying’ying sighed.
In the end, she still hadn’t handed over the secret formula to Lord Sheng. Report him to the authorities? For what? Setting fire to the warehouse? There was no evidence. For using money to lure her aunt to Yizhou to trap the Ji family in debt? The lawsuit with her aunt had just been settled, and they didn’t even know if the Baron of Yichuan was satisfied. Should they reopen the case and make her mother and brother appear in court again? The Ji family had no evidence to prove her aunt was enticed by him. Report him for conspiring with Jucai Pavilion to trap the Ji family. He had never appeared in person throughout the entire affair. If the Ji family hadn’t been tempted by the massive profits from the blue macaw dye, they wouldn’t have fallen for it. And then there was that ginseng—a hundred-year-old root priced at two thousand guan. It wasn’t even expensive. She had been the one who actively sought to buy it on credit.
In the end, the Ji family had paid him back. The debt was settled. As long as he didn’t cause any more trouble or try to force them to hand over the secret formula, he could completely disappear from their lives.
The more Ying’ying thought about it, the more terrifying he seemed. He had nearly driven the Ji family to ruin and forced them to give up their secret formula. Yet his actions were completely untraceable, and even his background remained a mystery.
“What kind of prince is he? Why has he appeared again? Is he still after our family’s secret formula? Last time he used debt and lawsuits to threaten us, and this time he’s directly threatening to silence me with death. Ah!”
Ying’ying’s head ached from all the thinking. Her thoughts turned to Yang Jingyuan, and she angrily slapped the water in the wooden tub: “Kill and silence me, does he know? We have no evidence at all, we don’t even know his identity. What good would tell you to do? You only know how to scold me. The stupid worm who doesn’t think!”
“Miss, you shouldn’t soak for too long, the water’s getting cold. Please come out,” Xiang’er urged from behind the screen.
Ying’ying stopped her scattered thoughts and called her in to help.
On the Lantern Festival night, two lanterns hung outside the Ji family’s back door for the occasion. The red lanterns cast small circles of light, illuminating the character “Huanhua Dyehouse” on the door frame.
Yang Jingyuan came from the city, but this time instead of climbing over the wall, he stopped by the Huanhua Stream outside the Ji family’s back door. He gazed at the Ji residence from afar, patting his white horse’s head while muttering, “Running to find her like this—isn’t it a bit undignified?”
Just hours ago, Ying’ying had brazenly told him to wait for her to break off their engagement. Not only was he not angry, but he had eagerly rushed from the city to find her… Yang Jingyuan sighed deeply: “It is undignified!”
He paced in frustration, put his hands on his hips, and pointed at his white horse, treating it as if it were Ying’ying: “You must know who that masked man is. Why won’t you tell me? Do you think jumping into a lake in winter is as comfortable as jumping into a bathhouse pool? In your heart, there’s another man more important than me? I originally thought you and Xiuyuan Zhao were just childhood sweethearts… Childhood sweethearts usually don’t work out anyway, so I forgave your youthful ignorance. At least I helped you see Xiuyuan Zhao’s true nature and get over him. Where did this masked man come from? Tell me, is he the White King of Nanzhao? Ying’ying Ji, you’re just a girl from a small dyehouse—what’s there to be unsatisfied about being engaged to me? If we’re comparing family status, there’s no need. Looks? I’m better-looking than you, right? Well, never mind, a hero shouldn’t be judged by appearances. That’s meaningless. Let’s compare talents instead. Wasn’t my lotus-stepping water-crossing technique more elegant than that masked man’s tonight? Not just anyone can master the Eight Steps Chase Cicada lightness skill.”
The white horse snorted and ignored him.
His sincere feelings toward her meant nothing in Ying’ying’s heart. He wasn’t her only one. Yang Jingyuan’s complaints caught in his throat.
Going to see Ying’ying would be undignified, and she still wouldn’t tell him anything. Yang Jingyuan’s anger deflated. He mounted his horse and glared at the Ji family’s back door, declaring fiercely: “Just you wait, Ying’ying Ji. I’ll find out myself.”
Just as he was about to leave, a dark shadow flitted across the top of the wall and slipped into the Ji residence. Yang Jingyuan drew in a sharp breath: “Such skill!”
He dismounted, tied his white horse to a tree, and clenched his fists: “It must be him! Ying’ying Ji, you dare to meet your lover secretly, like a vine climbing over the wall…”
His heart suddenly filled with bitterness. He had treated her so well. He had finally become engaged to her and would marry her in just four months. Yang Jingyuan stopped in his tracks. What did he mean to Ying’ying? If he rushed over to expose them, what would that make him? He imagined Ying’ying and the masked man embracing. His appearance would be like scattering a pair of mandarin ducks.
Yang Jingyuan punched the tree: “How did I become so detestable?”
But what if the visitor meant her harm? Yang Jingyuan’s heart tensed, and he used his lightness skill to quietly leap toward the Ji residence.
Before he could get close, a horse with cloth-wrapped hooves and a bit in its mouth galloped up. Yang Jingyuan hid behind a tree. The horse passed the Ji residence without stopping, continuing forward. As it passed, its rider leaped lightly from the saddle and flew over the wall into the Ji family’s back courtyard.
“No way? Ying’ying Ji, how many lovers do you have? Another one?” Yang Jingyuan covered his face with his hand, wearing an expression of unbearable pain. “Tonight I’m going to see this through.”
The night had grown deep. Ying’ying wore a small jacket and had removed the cloth wrapping her hair as she lay on the couch. Xiang’er moved the warming basket over, set up the bamboo frame, laid out a white cloth, and helped dry her hair.
The charcoal brazier in the room burned brightly. Perhaps tired from her bath, Ying’ying’s eyelids grew heavy as she lay there.
In her drowsy state, she heard the creaking sound of the door closing. Probably Xiang’er leaving? She turned to her side and fell into a deep sleep.
Has the master already left? Such a short time, just to see her once? A’ning sat down by the couch and picked up a strand of Ying’ying’s long hair.
Her freshly washed hair was black, glossy, and smooth, twirling around his fingers before quickly slipping away. Ying’ying wore a small blue jacket embroidered with chrysanthemums of various sizes and colors, crafted with exquisite detail. One flower was embroidered on her shoulder; as she lay on her side, it looked as if she were pillowing her head on the yellow chrysanthemum. The blue garment accentuated her jade-like fair skin. A’ning couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her face.
Yang Jingyuan watched the shadow cast on the window and thought sourly that while he had to pry open windows, this person simply walked through the door. And dared to keep the light on. Now they weren’t afraid of being seen by her maids?
At this moment, Sheng Fengze stood in Madam Ji’s room. Old Woman Li and Madam Ji were in a deep sleep. He dissolved a pill and made Madam Ji drink it: “This won’t harm you. Your illness requires rest, and a period of deep sleep will only benefit your health. Madam Ji comes from a prominent family and knows too much. This will save you from saying too much and ruining things.”
After warning Ying’ying once more, he wouldn’t need to worry about the Ji family.
He hadn’t expected that his previous appearance and scheme against the Ji family would create such hidden troubles for the current situation.
“If the Ji family spoke out, this prince would have ways to prevent people from becoming suspicious. But fewer complications are better than more, and I don’t want to divert my attention to deal with this right now.” Sheng Fengze silently left the main courtyard to find Ying’ying.