When Ye Qi returned to the He residence, Changling was rummaging through the chests and cabinets in his room. Although the He family had a unified pharmacy, the rare medicinal items specially prepared for the young marquis were mostly kept by him personally—the first time she broke into the residence and got injured, Ye Qi had retrieved a jar of herbs prepared by Elder Xiao Yin from the inner room. That medicine had miraculous effects. After applying it for just a few days, the wound scabbed over and grew new skin. Even now, not a trace could be seen.

She looked around and pulled open the half-person-high cabinet drawer behind the bed, indeed finding a pile of bottles and jars, each labeled with single characters like “Injury,” “Pain,” “Heal,” “救” (Save) to distinguish the types of medicine.

Changling stared at them for a long time but truly couldn’t figure out which jar was the anti-festering medicine Fu Yanyang wanted. Just as she was worrying, she heard a “creak” from outside as the door was pushed open. From the sound of the footsteps alone, she knew it was Ye Qi.

Young Marquis He hadn’t rested since awakening from his sickbed. At this moment, he would gladly lie down and sleep without even removing his shoes, but his heart still concerned itself with Changling. As soon as he entered, he called out, “Ling, are you here?”

“I’m here.”

Changling walked directly out of the inner room. Seeing Ye Qi with dark circles under both eyes, his eyelids swollen with fatigue, she couldn’t help but step forward to receive the outer garment he was removing. She let him lean against the bed, poured him a cup of water, tested the temperature with a sip, and handed it to the bedside, asking, “Have you eaten?”

Ye Qi was somewhat dazed by this series of gentle, considerate actions. He took the water cup and answered in a daze, “Not yet.”

“Oh, then I’ll go tell the kitchen for you.”

“No need.” He grabbed her wrist in one motion. “When I returned to the residence, the steward official saw me and will naturally make arrangements. The food will be brought soon. You haven’t eaten either, have you? Keep me company.”

Changling hummed in acknowledgment. “When will Seventh Uncle return? Is there any news about the Spirit Snake’s gallbladder?”

Ye Qi shook his head. “Not yet.”

“How can there be no news?” Changling asked strangely. “He and Divine Physician Ji have been gone for some time now. Surely they wouldn’t fail to send back even a bit of news?”

“Recently, messenger pigeons coming and going from Jinling City have been specially intercepted by the court. This matter is secret, so Seventh Uncle didn’t dare easily use messenger pigeons. Even if there’s news, it would be personally delivered by someone… Cross Cliff is far from Jinling City, so it’s normal that news hasn’t arrived so quickly.” Ye Qi, seeing her brow furrowed tightly, reached out a finger to smooth her forehead. “I’ve already had Tao Feng track down news from the He family’s outposts along the route. There will definitely be news within half a month. Don’t worry.”

Half a month?

Changling’s heart sank—every moment, every second now was crucial for saving his life. She didn’t dare waste any more time on ethereal waiting.

“When Shen Yao summoned you to the palace for questioning, did he blame Fu Yangui’s matter on you?”

Ye Qi was probably truly a bit tired. Half-leaning on the soft couch, his whole body somewhat languid with eyes closed, he said, “He had that intention initially, but the timeline didn’t match up, so he had nothing to say… Moreover, compared to Fu Yangui’s life or death, what he’s more worried about now is his own survival…”

Changling was startled. “What do you mean? With Fu Yangui dead, wouldn’t the centralization of power he’s been dreaming of happen naturally?”

“If it were really that easy, he would have killed Fu Yangui long ago. Why wait until today?” Ye Qi’s tone was slow. “That man surnamed Fu’s influence in the court can be described as deeply rooted. Since he became Minister of Personnel, more than half of the important officials at court have been promoted and employed by him. During these years of Shen Yao’s military rule, Fu Yangui on one hand didn’t oppose it, while on the other hand secretly gave much preferential treatment to the neglected literati. Now throughout the entire Eastern Xia Dynasty, whether scholars or warriors, everyone holds him in high esteem. Add to that his control over the Jing family’s military power this time… I can only say that as long as he doesn’t die, at least on the surface, Shen Yao probably won’t dare act rashly.”

Changling asked softly, “What if he does die?”

“Civil unrest among the people would be inevitable. I’m not without anticipation for this day… Now at least in the northern border the He family army is there, so it won’t be easy for Mingyue Zhou to breach the city. But the southern border…” Ye Qi said this, reopening his eyes. “Actually, with the Central Plains divided in two, Eastern Xia and Western Xia battling bitterly for years, those who suffer are always the common people at the borders. Reunification is a matter of sooner or later. That being the case, letting Wei Xingyun end Shen Yao’s dynasty wouldn’t be a bad strategy…”

Changling’s heart shook violently. She had never imagined that Ye Qi’s secret plotting had always been calculating with such intentions—but thinking carefully, with cause and effect in a cycle, since Shen Yao had framed Wei Xingyun and deceived his way to half the empire, this was perhaps the best ending.

“Originally I wanted to use the momentum of the martial arts conference to make Shen Yao’s past actions known to all. In that way, the old Yue family subordinates in the Eastern Xia Dynasty, as well as the leaders of the righteous armies who once followed the Shen family for the Yue family’s sake, would naturally defect to Wei Xingyun. The corresponding battles would be greatly reduced, and less blood would be shed…” Ye Qi said, “Now with this sudden change, perhaps it’s also heaven’s will… I know you’ve had opportunities to personally strike down Shen Yao with your sword. You’re just worried it would bring disaster to more people… Rest assured, no matter what Western Xia does, I’ll do my utmost to minimize the harm…”

Before he finished speaking, Changling suddenly asked, “What if Fu Yangui narrowly survives?”

Ye Qi was stunned, not having expected her to ask this. “For the subjects and people of the Eastern Xia Dynasty, following a powerful minister who has led state affairs for years would be more stable and appropriate than following the unknown Wei Xingyun… Moreover, Fu Liujing’s existence is itself just a legend. He disappeared for over ten years, and everyone has long forgotten him. Besides, after this incident, he’ll certainly be on guard. Trying to expose evidence against him will be difficult…”

No wonder his former self had donned the mask of “Fu Liujing” to walk the jianghu—from the very beginning, he had calculated even this final step.

Seeing Changling’s expression in a daze, Ye Qi patted her hand comfortingly. “So everything has advantages and disadvantages. Although your sword made the situation in the Central Plains more critical, it also exceeded Fu Yangui’s expectations…”

Changling didn’t understand. “Exceeded expectations?”

“I originally thought Fu Yangui’s displaced heart was truly bizarre. Today I heard Vice Minister Wang, who’s in charge of this case, mention the injury on Fu Yangui’s hand…” Ye Qi leaned forward. “That night before you stabbed him with your sword, what did he say?”

Changling replied, “Nothing much. He told me that if I didn’t consider the feelings he’d shown me, I should just stab him to death. At that time I didn’t think much about it. Hearing him say that, I thought I’d grant his wish.”

Ye Qi reached out his hand in demonstration, also covering his own heart. “When he said this, was his hand in this position?”

Changling asked in confusion, “How do you know?”

“Then that’s it. Look…” Ye Qi used another finger to point at the space between the fingers resting on his chest. “You’re battle-experienced. If you want to kill someone, you either slit their throat or stab their heart. He first provoked you with words, making you focus your attention on his chest. The position blocked by his palm was exactly where his heart truly is, while the space exposed by the tiger’s mouth was where an ordinary person’s heart apex would be. This way, when the sword pierced through his fingers, wouldn’t it precisely avoid his heart’s vital point?”

Changling’s head shot up abruptly. Recalling all the circumstances of that night, she was suddenly enlightened—he had deliberately taken that sword strike, but never intended to die under her blade. That this sword failed to kill him was less her miscalculation than Fu Yangui having already calculated even this miscalculation into his plans!

With a hundred mixed feelings, Changling couldn’t figure it out for a moment. “He… why would he do this?”

“I guess he wanted to use this sword strike to dissolve your determination to kill him.” Ye Qi said meaningfully, “If I hadn’t told you these things today, knowing your character, after killing once, even knowing he narrowly escaped death, nine times out of ten you wouldn’t strike a second sword while he’s vulnerable, right?”

Jianghu people distinguish clearly between gratitude and grudges. Even when seeking revenge and killing, they emphasize being upright and honorable. After Fu Yangui suffered this injury, he would probably have lingering ailments for years to come. How could she relentlessly pursue someone who had once been willing to die under her sword?

A cold, absurd look passed through Changling’s eyes—his entire life, from beginning to end, at every moment, he had been calculating human hearts.

“So-called calculation is also part of gambling. Since one is a gambler, how can every move win?” Ye Qi sighed with considerable emotion. “He also didn’t expect that his body still harbored old poison. Now that his injury cannot heal, I’m afraid he won’t make it through tonight.”

Changling’s eyelashes trembled imperceptibly—if Fu Yangui died, wouldn’t Wu Run’s folding fan be forever unobtainable?

Seeing Ye Qi yawn again with a weary face and collapse back onto the bed, his entire body exuding an air of declining sunset, she made up her mind. Silently moving her hands behind her back, she used her fingernails to gouge a bloody cut in her palm, then said, “By the way, when I broke into your home and got injured before, didn’t you apply Elder Xiao’s anti-festering medicine to me?”

Ye Qi replied, “Mm, that’s top-grade spiritual medicine. What about it?”

“I got a bit injured. I was looking for it earlier but couldn’t find it…”

Before she finished speaking, Ye Qi sat up with a start. “You’re injured? Where? Why are you only saying this now?”

“Here.” Changling extended her palm. “When I was strolling in the garden, I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally got scratched by a tree branch…”

Ye Qi suddenly jumped down from the bed, pulled open the drawer, picked out a palm-sized dark blue medicine jar, cut a strip of cotton cloth, sat down in front of Changling, and while wiping the blood and applying medicine for her, he nagged, “You really don’t give people peace of mind. Even strolling through a garden, you can…”

Before he finished speaking, his hand movements stopped. “That’s not right. We’ve been talking for so long, but this blood of yours looks like it just came out…”

Having told a lie, the Second Young Master felt somewhat guilty and wanted to pull back her hand. Ye Qi grabbed her arm in one motion, saw the bloodstain in the crevice of her thumb, and asked, “Why did you injure yourself?”

Changling knew she couldn’t hide it from him. She instinctively glanced at the medicine jar placed by the bedside. Ye Qi followed her gaze and immediately reacted. Both of them simultaneously reached out to grab the medicine jar. Guessing the reason for her abnormal behavior, Ye Qi’s expression suddenly turned ugly.

“This medicine… you’re getting it for him?” Ye Qi asked incredulously, “You want to save him?”