Ye Qi’s pupils trembled. For a moment, he neither spoke nor remembered to look away.

That day at Canlang Mountain, when he heard Yu Ping say that Nanxu had been taken away by Fu Yangui, his heart had been filled with raging fury. He had thought that upon returning to Jinling, he would definitely chop this little demoness into mincemeat to avenge “Changting.”

After returning to the capital, he learned she was Jing Wuwei’s daughter. Coming to the banquet today, he had still harbored a sliver of hope—perhaps the Five Poisons Sect master hadn’t stripped off her skin that day, and he had simply been mistaken.

Until this moment, when he looked into these rippling eyes, his heart skipped a beat violently. For that brief instant, he almost wanted to confirm that this person was “Changting.”

Seeing Ye Qi staring entranced, Jing Wuwei assumed he was captivated by his daughter’s appearance, so he coughed lightly. “Marquis?”

“Throughout Jinling City, everyone says General Jing’s daughter possesses beauty that makes fish sink and geese fall,” Ye Qi spoke. “Seeing her today, her reputation is truly well-deserved.”

Changling assumed he had recognized her and was just putting on an act to avoid exposing her. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief: this kid reacted quickly—he wasn’t stupid enough to ask on the spot why she appeared here.

Jing Wuwei was about to respond when he heard Ye Qi continue, “Miss Jing looks somewhat familiar. Have we perhaps met somewhere before?”

Changling: “…”

“The Marquis jests. My daughter has always been wandering outside,” Jing Wuwei’s expression changed slightly. “How could she possibly have had the fortune to meet the Marquis?”

“I was traveling through Beichuan recently. Perhaps I did cross paths with Miss Jing?”

Changling didn’t know whether this Ye Qi was possessed or had lost his memory. His words carried an air of deliberate difficulty. She narrowed her eyes. “I have never met the Marquis. The person you saw must have been someone else.”

Ye Qi’s heart jolted—those four words “someone else” somehow felt wrong.

Suddenly, a guest at the banquet called out, “Prime Minister Fu has arrived!”

Everyone turned to look and saw Fu Yangui striding in with composed bearing that no one dared underestimate. Those who had greeted the Marquis now unanimously converged toward the Prime Minister. Fu Yangui merely nodded with the warmth of a spring breeze, then walked directly toward Ye Qi.

Changling had been about to give Ye Qi more hints, but now could only swallow her words. Fu Yangui stepped forward, first performing a bow with clasped hands, then smiled at Ye Qi. “Marquis He, after that hurried parting in the northern border, I have constantly been concerned about the Marquis’s health. After returning to the capital, I haven’t had time to visit. Now seeing the Marquis so spirited, I can rest easy.”

“Prime Minister Fu is too kind. In the northern border, I was unconscious. If we didn’t see each other, naturally there could be no parting.” Ye Qi also smiled warmly. “However, in my impression, Prime Minister Fu rarely attends such gatherings. I wonder what rare treasure General Jing’s family possesses that could entice even Prime Minister Fu to join this lively occasion?”

Hearing this, Jing Wuwei chuckled. “The Marquis doesn’t know—Prime Minister Fu and my daughter have a marriage agreement. Her return is entirely thanks to the Prime Minister’s efforts.”

Fu Yangui smiled faintly, essentially confirming this. Seeing Changling standing there, he proactively inquired with concern, “Have you been adjusting well these past few days?”

Changling hadn’t expected him to suddenly strike up a conversation with her. She paused. “Well enough.”

“That’s good.” Fu Yangui’s tone was as if he’d known her for eight hundred years. “I’ve been busy with official duties these past few days, which is why I haven’t come to see you. In a couple of days, shall I take you out for a stroll?”

Changling glanced at him expressionlessly. “Oh, fine.”

Under normal circumstances, when a couple was having a private conversation, anyone with tact should automatically avoid them. Young Marquis He seemed completely oblivious to social graces—not only did he stand there without leaving, he even smiled and said, “What a talented man and beautiful woman—truly worth congratulating. I heard Miss Jing was wandering outside before. How did Prime Minister Fu find her, and when did you become engaged to Miss Jing?”

Changling’s eyebrow reflexively twitched. Fu Yangui didn’t mind at all. “After I rescued the Marquis, I coincidentally reunited with Miss Jing. The marriage was arranged many years ago. It’s normal that the Marquis hadn’t heard of it.”

Changling caught the subtext: saving you without demanding a favor in return was already generous enough. As for whom I’m engaged to and when—that’s my family business. What’s it to you?

After these words, Ye Qi indeed couldn’t continue standing awkwardly between them. Just then, everyone had arrived, and Jing Wuwei invited everyone to be seated. Ye Qi cast a complicated glance at Changling before returning to his own seat.

Changling was even more baffled: was this fellow really here to cause trouble?

Fu Yangui took his seat beside Changling. Seeing her expression of exasperation, he casually asked, “Do you know Marquis He?”

“No.” Changling immediately withdrew her gaze. “I just heard you mention the northern border. When you were searching for me, you encountered this young marquis?”

“Mm.” Fu Yangui nodded slightly. “He had his own matters to attend to. We just happened to meet. He was injured, and I hired a physician to treat him.”

Changling had wanted to eat something but remembered she was wearing a veil and put down her chopsticks again. “But I get the feeling he’s not very friendly toward you?”

“Is that so?” Fu Yangui had been watching Changling the whole time. He suddenly reached out to lift the face veil. Changling instinctively tried to dodge, but saw him smile. “You don’t really want to starve through an entire meal, do you?”

“…I’ll do it myself.” Changling, adhering to the principle of not striking those who smile, removed the face veil and casually ate a piece of glutinous rice cake. Seeing that Fu Yangui’s gaze hadn’t moved, she asked, “Why do you keep looking at me?”

“That night, you said you had something to ask…” Fu Yangui leaned in slightly, moving closer. “But then you didn’t continue. I’ve been curious… what did you want to ask?”

Changling choked. That day, upon learning who Nanxu’s father was, she had wanted to ask Fu Yangui about Jing Wuwei. But then the man himself appeared, making further questions unnecessary. She didn’t know what Fu Yangui’s intention was in bringing this up now.

“I forgot.” Changling came up with the simplest evasive excuse. “It was probably just some trivial matter.”

“I see.”

Ye Qi’s peripheral vision glanced over. Seeing those two people whispering to each other, looking quite familiar, his heart sank further: if she were her, there would be no reason to be so intimate with Fu Yangui.

Once the thought arose, he could no longer face that countenance directly. He lowered his head and drank five cups of wine in succession. Unfortunately, the wine at this banquet wasn’t strong enough to warm the coldness filling his chest.

Changling watched him drinking cup after cup throughout the meal and was truly puzzled. How could someone with weak meridians drink so heavily? Thinking that these actions were consuming his internal force, she really wanted to drag him to some corner and give him a good beating—but Fu Yangui remained at her side the whole time, making it impossible for her to slip away. In the end, the young marquis left early, giving her not a single opportunity to hint at anything the entire time.

How strange.

If not for that jade ring he wore, she would have almost thought the young marquis here and Young Master Ye she met in Northern Yan were two different people.

After the banquet dispersed, Changling replayed Ye Qi’s various words and actions today in her mind. Her doubts only deepened, so she decided to change clothes and slip out of the mansion—whatever misunderstanding existed could be cleared up when they met.

Unexpectedly, just as she returned to the north wing, she saw a throwing knife embedded two fen deep in the window lattice, with a cloth strip tied to the handle. Unwrapping it, she saw crooked writing that read: Sect Master, East City Gate, Mochou Lake, under the ancient locust tree, at the hour of Hai. We’re all here.

The signature was the two characters “Tingfeng.”

“We’re all here…” Changling frowned slightly, thinking to herself: could it be disciples from the Five Poisons Sect looking for Nanxu?

Just when she’d been wondering where to obtain the antidote for Mahun Powder, it was delivered right to her door?

Changling crumpled the cloth strip into a ball and stuffed it in her pocket. After dusk fell, she found an opportunity to quietly slip out of the General’s mansion.

Originally, she wanted to stop by Marquis He’s mansion on the way, but one was in the east of the city and the other in the south—too far apart. Without a horse, she could only first check the situation at the East City Gate.

There was indeed a century-old locust tree by Mochou Lake. The locust flowers were about to bloom, and a refreshing breeze caressed her face. Occasionally, she could smell their fragrance.

Changling’s ears twitched. She saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl emerge from behind the tree. At first glance, she looked somewhat familiar. Thinking back carefully, when she was escorted to see Nanxu at the Five Poisons Sect, the gatekeeper seemed to be this very girl.

“Greetings, Sect Master.” As soon as the girl saw Changling, she knelt down, her tone choked with emotion. “Tingfeng thought… I would never see the Sect Master again.”

Changling was stunned. Although everyone in the Five Poisons Sect knew about the skin-taking matter, this girl didn’t even ask questions and was certain she was Nanxu. Wasn’t this a bit too hasty?

“Stand up and speak,” Changling didn’t help her up, imitating Nanxu’s unhurried speech pattern. “Now… what’s the situation in the sect? Did Jingda help you escape?”

Tingfeng stood up and lowered her voice. “Senior Sister Jingda, Junior Sister Pinning, and the others are all dead. Only Xiaoxu, Qin’er, Niannian, and I escaped with our lives… After we got out, we searched everywhere for news. We heard you were taken away by people from Eastern Xia. We were truly terrified, so we followed all the way to Jinling…”

Followed all the way to Jinling?

Setting aside whether Nanxu was worth such loyalty from these people, when the Five Poisons Sect fell and scattered, shouldn’t the survivors be focused on fleeing for their lives rather than eagerly following to Jinling? Wasn’t that seeking death?

“Just you alone? Where are the others?”

“It’s currently curfew. We were worried that too many people would attract patrol soldiers, so they’re temporarily hiding in a ruined temple outside the city. Tingfeng will take you there right away.”

Tingfeng said only she came alone, but Changling clearly sensed other people’s breathing in the vicinity.

She glanced sideways inconspicuously—no figures visible, but she could sense someone in the shadows—

Their martial arts were quite advanced, making them difficult to detect. It was unlikely the Five Poisons Sect had such masters.

In that case, were they here to monitor her?

Tingfeng walked forward for a stretch, then turned back when she saw Changling hadn’t followed. “Sect Master?”

Changling thought for a moment and followed.

She might as well play the Five Poisons Sect Master to the end. She wanted to see who would jump out if she confirmed “Nanxu’s” identity.

The ruined temple wasn’t far from the city outskirts—visible through the wild forest at a glance.

The small courtyard before the temple was covered with a carpet of dead leaves. The eaves appeared gray-white and dim in the moonlight. As the wind blew, sparse dust floated up, scattering onto the spider webs on the door frame, making them tremble.

Changling paused at the threshold for a moment, confirming that the person tracking in the shadows had also arrived, then followed Tingfeng inside—this temple appeared long abandoned. The Buddha statue in the hall was already unrecognizable, its colored paint indistinguishable.

A campfire was set up beside the altar, flames licking the bottom of a clay pot. Thin porridge bubbled inside, but there was no one nearby.

Tingfeng approached and called out softly, “Where are you? The Sect Master is here.”

As soon as the words fell, three women emerged from behind the Buddha statue. Seeing Changling appear, they all knelt down.

“Sect Master…”

“Greetings to the Sect Master…”

“We pay our respects to the Sect Master…”

All were disheveled and travel-worn. Changling’s gaze condensed slightly. She recalled the names she’d just heard: “Niannian, Xiaoxu, Qin’er…”

The girls each raised their heads. Changling silently matched them to their names and said flatly, “Rise.”

These three women appeared quite young. Upon the Sect Master’s arrival, they couldn’t quite hide their nervousness—hardly seeming like they had any close relationship with Nanxu. Changling had already reached her conclusion but wasn’t in a hurry to expose them. She merely said, “There are no outsiders here. Speak freely. You traveled a thousand miles to Jinling to find me—what exactly is your purpose?”

The several women were shocked by these words. Tingfeng immediately said, “What does the Sect Master mean by this? When the Five Poisons Sect suffered such catastrophe, if we don’t come find the Sect Master, where else should we go?”

“Yes, Sect Master, our loyalty can be witnessed by heaven and earth.”

“As long as you’re here, rebuilding the Five Poisons Sect is just a matter of time.”

“Right, exactly.”

Changling smiled faintly, imitating Nanxu’s tone. “But I don’t want to rebuild the Five Poisons Sect right now.”

The group froze. Changling continued, “I followed Brother Yangui back to Jinling. If I have too many entanglements with the past, wouldn’t that make things difficult for him?”

“But Sect Master…”

“I understand your loyalty, and I’m somewhat moved by it. Unfortunately… you escaped with your lives—you shouldn’t have come looking for me…” As Changling spoke, she deliberately added several degrees of gloom. Upon hearing this, the women’s faces turned ashen with fear. They quickly retreated several steps, begging for mercy. “Sect Master, spare our lives… Sect Master, spare our lives…”

Changling clasped her hands behind her back. “I’ll spare your lives, but you must tell me—who ordered you to lure me here?”

Tingfeng said, “Sect Master! There’s absolutely no such thing! We came of our own accord…”

“Since I came today, I naturally left contingencies. You few alone can’t hold me.” Changling said, “If you tell the truth, I’ll guarantee you won’t die. If you refuse to speak, heh, others have no obligation to preserve the remnants of the Five Poisons Sect.”

Hearing this, the group quickly exchanged glances. Tingfeng stepped forward and said with lowered head, “It was… it was the people who captured us… they said… they told us to… try…”

“Try?” Changling feigned ignorance. “Try what?”

“To try… if the Sect Master saw us… whether you would take our lives…” The little girl called Niannian timidly spoke. “If the Sect Master intended to silence us, it would prove…”

Xiaoxu’s voice was mosquito-thin: “…it would prove you are the true Sect Master.”

Just as she thought.

From the moment she sensed someone following, Changling’s first thought was Fu Yangui.

He had led troops to attack Canlang Mountain that day, then encountered her at the foot of the mountain. He had never once shown any suspicion.

That alone was suspicious enough.

She had only just arrived in Jinling when these little girls followed—hard to believe no one helped them.

Not to mention how they infiltrated the Jing mansion and knew she resided in the north wing.

The most likely possibility—Fu Yangui appeared calm on the surface but was actually using this opportunity to test her true identity.

Nanxu’s temperament was vicious, and she was so infatuated with her lover. If these subordinates came looking for her so desperately, nine times out of ten she would silence them.

Fortunately, she hadn’t bet wrong.

Changling raised her eyebrows. “Ridiculous. If I’m not the Sect Master, who else could I be?”

“We… we said the same thing…” Tingfeng laughed dryly. “Sect Master, if you were impersonated by someone else, you would have already met misfortune. We should seek revenge for you all the more, right?”

Changling let out an “oh.” “So you’re saying I should be grateful to you?”

“This… this subordinate wouldn’t dare.”

Having reached this point, the person outside should have heard everything clearly. Changling glanced at them. “For the sake of your past loyal service, I’ll spare your lives. From now on, get as far away as possible and don’t appear before me again, otherwise…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but the girls were already trembling with lingering fear, nodding repeatedly in agreement. Changling sneered and turned to leave. After two steps, she stopped and turned back. “Who has Mahun Powder on them?”

This came out of nowhere. Before Tingfeng could speak, the youngest, Qin’er, blurted out, “Me, I have it…”

“Bring it here.” Changling extended her hand.

Qin’er obediently reached into her garments and pulled out a small red porcelain bottle. Changling frowned and asked matter-of-factly, “Where’s the antidote?”

“Ah? Oh.” Qin’er froze, then came to her senses and dazedly handed over a white porcelain bottle. After Changling took them, she didn’t even bother to look closely and walked straight toward the door. The four girls were completely bewildered, having no idea why the Sect Master suddenly asked for Mahun Powder.

Changling had planned all along to get this from them after establishing credibility. She felt somewhat relieved and was about to open the bottle to verify the antidote’s scent when suddenly—whoosh—a sound broke through the air. A shadow flashed like lightning and wrapped around her left wrist. Looking closely, it was actually a gray soft whip.

She instinctively tried to grab the whip, but her right hand was clutching the antidote and couldn’t free itself. In that moment of hesitation, the whip cord tightened, and her entire body was forcibly yanked forward—

Changling reacted with lightning speed, almost instantly stuffing the antidote into her pocket. Just as she was about to strike at her attacker, she looked up and suddenly stopped—the person wore plain white robes that stood out especially in the dark night. Who else could it be but Ye Qi?

The whip cord pulled with force, drawing Changling before him. Simultaneously, a sharp dagger pressed precisely against her neck, though it only rested lightly without advancing further.

His gaze was deep and cold, completely different from his usual three-parts smile for everyone. “Who are you?”

Changling hadn’t yet figured out why he would appear outside the temple. Hearing his question, the words “are you blind?” almost escaped her lips.

However, in that moment, she caught sight of a tall figure behind the courtyard gate—it was actually Fu Yangui.

Her eyelid twitched.

All the clues connected in an instant. Changling belatedly realized—Fu Yangui was indeed the one doing the tracking, but the one who set up this trap was Ye Qi.

She didn’t understand why Ye Qi would suspect she was Nanxu, but Fu Yangui was indeed taking this opportunity to test whether she was Nanxu or not.

Changling momentarily didn’t know what to say.

At this juncture, even if she made eye contact, Fu Yangui would see it clearly. If her cover was blown, how could she continue lurking in the Jing family?

“Why won’t you speak?” Ye Qi said, “Tell me, who exactly are you?”

Changling raised her lashes. His jet-black eyes seemed to hold something, yet she couldn’t see through them.

“Young Marquis truly has a poor memory for distinguished people. We just met at the banquet today, and you’ve already forgotten?”

Author’s Note:

—Mini Theater Q&A Session—

Q: Why didn’t the young marquis recognize her at first glance?

A: Because Sister Ling didn’t give him a confirming look in return.

Q: Why does Sister Ling always let misunderstandings escalate?

A: Because Sister Ling’s concept is that since they’re all acquaintances, clearing things up later is easy. (This isn’t an advantage, don’t emulate it)

Q: Author, why do you create misunderstandings?

A: Because I want to write a scene where Sister Ling beats up the young marquis. (Just kidding—I want the female lead to experience that some people can jump to conclusions without investigating thoroughly, while others won’t let tragic melodrama happen even when facts are before their eyes. Actually, I still just want Sister Ling to beat up the young marquis.)

Side note: Today on single repeat, “Make a Wish” by Cheng Shijia.