Outside the martial arena, there was a lake within the city. By evening, the setting sun melted the entire surface of the lake into golden jade, the new moon rising above the cold crows.

Changling lay beneath a tree, gazing at the drooping willow branches, listening to children playing and frolicking on the not-too-distant lakeshore.

Ye Qi walked over carrying a water pouch and sat down beside her. “Want some water?”

Changling took the water pouch and gulped down several mouthfuls. “Have they all gone back?”

“Mm, those two fools must be exhausted. Second Young Fu got injured too. They’ve probably all gone home to find physicians.” Ye Qi looked toward Changling. “Are you injured?”

Changling rolled her eyes at him. “Me? How is that possible?”

“How could you not be? This sleeve of yours is… eh?” Ye Qi noticed a large tear in her right sleeve cuff. He grasped her hand and examined it carefully. Finding no wound, he did see a scar—a light purple scar shaped like a flying butterfly.

“It’s nothing. I just ran into someone whose brain had water in it today. He kept trying to slash my wrist and accidentally grazed me.” Changling sat up. Seeing Ye Qi staring blankly at her scar, she quickly withdrew her hand.

Ye Qi retracted his fingertips that had been suspended in midair. “This… is the scar from the Mutual Hearts Gu?”

“Mm.”

“Back then… how did you get infected with the gu?” Ye Qi’s voice was very gentle and slow. “Can you tell me?”

Changling wordlessly shifted her gaze away without answering.

Ye Qi said, “If you can’t say… that’s also fine.”

“When gathering herbs, the gu insect accidentally burrowed in,” Changling suddenly spoke. “He cut open his own hand and used his blood to lure out the other half of the gu insect, saying he couldn’t let me be severed in two going down the mountain.”

“He?” Ye Qi asked. “Fu Liujing?”

Changling nodded slightly. “So that day, we became sworn brothers on Cross Cliff, vowing to live and die together. But later, Shen Yao told me that the gu insect had been released by him from the start. My poison outbreak was also courtesy of him.”

As she said these few sentences, her tone was very flat, her expression showing no ripples. “He believed I had killed Ji Zining. He wanted revenge.”

Ye Qi had heard the name Ji Zining, but with such a brief explanation, he hadn’t yet sorted out the character relationships. Then he heard Changling say, “Despite all this, I’ve never been able to figure out why he never once asked me about it before attacking with murderous intent.”

“Isn’t Ji Zining a demonic cult leader? If you killed her, wasn’t that ridding the people of evil? What revenge would Fu Liujing want? Could it be he and Ji Zining had something going on in private?”

Seeing his reaction arc was so long, Changling couldn’t help but freeze. When she heard “had something going on,” she finally couldn’t resist tapping his forehead. “That Ji Zining was naturally also me in disguise.”

Ye Qi held his forehead. “You properly disguised yourself as a demonic cult enchantress and then killed yourself?”

“…”

Changling suddenly felt that pouring out her heart to this young marquis was really too unreliable.

Just as she was about to stand up, Ye Qi pulled her into his embrace in one motion. The two fell together onto the grass. A hint of laughter floated in his eyes. “I was teasing you. Why do you always get angry at me?”

“It’s because you yourself aren’t listening properly to what I’m saying.”

“I understood it all,” Ye Qi said softly by her ear. “You disguised yourself as a demonic cult enchantress to disrupt the demonic cult, encountered Fu Liujing, and he fell in love with Ji Zining, but didn’t know this Ji was not that Ji. Right?”

This was a wound she had never been willing to uncover.

Just now, she didn’t know what had come over her. Perhaps it was being closer to tomorrow, or perhaps the sunset was too distant. When Ye Qi’s warm fingertips touched her scar, she was inexplicably startled into a shiver, and the matter of the Mutual Hearts Gu just came up without rhyme or reason like that.

It wasn’t particularly solemn, nor was it through gritted teeth, but it definitely wasn’t released or forgotten either.

However, having only begun that way, he could easily guess the ending.

She couldn’t help but feel puzzled: they were all intelligent people, something so easy to think of—why hadn’t he thought of it back then?

Seeing Changling remain silent for a long while, Ye Qi thought he’d taken his joke too far. He quickly released her and said apologetically, “I just saw you were a bit serious… afraid you’d sink deeper into your thoughts, so… ah, it was wrong of me to say that…”

Changling met his eyes and unconsciously said, “If only it had been you.”

Ye Qi didn’t understand. “I what?”

“If,” Changling’s tone carried a certain deeply forbidden loneliness, “back then on Cross Cliff, if only the person who became sworn brothers with me had been you.”

The young marquis who never could keep his mouth shut raised his eyebrows. “Who wants to become sworn brothers with you? If we’re going to swear anything, it should be to…”

Changling asked, “What?”

Ye Qi looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, and then said, “Guess. If you guess correctly, I’ll treat you to salted duck?”

Changling expressionlessly propped herself up on his stomach to stand. Ye Qi, being pressed, let out a howl and bounced up. “Your strength really… did you get infected by Miss Zhou?”

The wind brought a gust of willow catkins, fluttering like smoke and clouds, dancing chaotically all over the sky.

Changling was just about to speak when she couldn’t help but sneeze.

Ye Qi froze, then saw her sneeze several times in succession. “Are… are you cold?”

Changling waved her hand and turned to walk away. “Whenever I… bump into this… willow catkins… achoo… I… achoo!”

Ye Qi quickly pulled out a handkerchief to shield her. Seeing that she simply couldn’t stop, he felt both amused and heartbroken. “I never thought you’d have this weakness. Wouldn’t fighting you mean gathering a basin of willow catkins would lead to great victory?”

“Achoo!” Changling couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She ran off in a flurry, fleeing the scene like flying. Ye Qi almost couldn’t keep up, calling repeatedly, “Hey, slow down a bit, wait for me…”

They ran too hastily, so much so that they didn’t notice the unusual nature of this gust of wind for the moment.

Less than a hundred zhang from where they’d been sitting, someone had been standing behind a tree from beginning to end.

At such a distance, though unable to hear what they were saying, he could clearly see one sneezing repeatedly and the other laughing endlessly.

In Fu Yangui’s hand hung a cloth bag filled with willow catkins.

He quietly watched their figures depart into the distance. The evening glow completely dimmed, but his eyes suddenly reddened.

On the day the scholarly examination results were posted, the Emperor would host the Deer Cry Banquet to entertain the successful presented scholars and personally designate the top three rankings to manifest the Son of Heaven’s grace. The martial examination’s banquet was called the Martial Assembly Banquet. Because Shen Yao had founded the nation through martial prowess, this Martial Assembly Banquet was said to be even more magnificent than the Deer Cry Banquet. Organized jointly by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, not only civil and military officials and imperial nobility were invited, but even masters from the various major jianghu sects were included on the guest list.

Before the Martial Assembly Banquet, the presented scholars were led by Clear City Academy Academician Mo Daoyun from the west of the city to the east, past the Qinhuai River bank, circling half the city on horseback in a public procession.

Jinling City had already gathered jianghu people from various sects. Naturally, they didn’t want to miss such a grand occasion. As for ordinary common folk who wished to personally witness the new martial presented scholars’ demeanor, by the time dawn was barely breaking, over a dozen streets leading to the imperial city were packed with people. Adding the Imperial Guards who had already been deployed, it was simply somewhat overwhelming.

Changling rode her horse, positioned within the procession, following the Imperial Guards all the way forward. Watching the nine thoroughfares and three markets surrounded by crowds so thick not even water could pass through, everywhere they went people cheered and horses whinnied, yet there was not half a bit of joy in her heart.

All along this route, what people saw was merely the external glory. But would this procession of martial presented scholars become the claws and teeth of those who manipulated power, or could they truly contribute their efforts to protecting the common people?

Fu Yanyang and Zhou Qin were naturally overjoyed. Though clearly riding at the rear of the procession, their faces hung with expressions that read “I’m the most impressive,” constantly waving to acknowledge the neighboring common folk, waving for a full hour without tiring.

When noon arrived, the new presented scholars rode past the palace gates. Under the leadership of Chief Examiner Wang Yin, Mo Daoyun, and the Vice Minister of Personnel, they changed into deep blue palace robes at the side hall, and then proceeded to the main hall.

Changling raised her head, gazing at the three large characters “Fengtian Hall” on the main hall.

The last time she’d been here was when she’d come with the Yue Family Army to capture the previous dynasty’s rebels, riding a black horse and carrying a long spear, circling once through the hall before hastily departing. Back then, she probably couldn’t have imagined in any way that more than ten years later, she would step into this hall again in such a capacity.

After the palace eunuch announced them, Mo Daoyun led these twenty presented scholars into the great hall. Inside the hall, civil officials and military generals stood separately on the left and right sides, while seated high upon the dragon throne was Shen Yao.

Changling stepped forward one step at a time. She looked straight ahead, fixing her gaze on the person before the imperial throne.

Shen Yao wore ceremonial robes of black base with golden patterns. The purple-gold crown on his head had suspended pearls across his forehead. The hair at his temples had thinned considerably. On his square face, two deep nasolabial folds hung prominently. At first glance, she almost didn’t recognize him.

The Shen Yao of eleven years ago had been considered quite a handsome young gentleman in the jianghu. She hadn’t expected him to have become like this now.

Just then, the ceremonial official spoke. Only then did Changling return to her senses, following the other presented scholars in performing the ceremonial bow and thrice calling out “Ten thousand years.”

When she rose again, Shen Yao finally spoke. “I am greatly pleased today. All you beloved ministers are both literary and martial, outstanding talents, which is why you can step into this Fengtian Hall. Henceforth, you must faithfully guard your ministerial duties, exhaust your efforts for the court—all are the pillars of our Eastern Xia…”

What he spoke were nothing more than words of praise, winning over, and mixing grace with authority. Changling didn’t listen to a single sentence. The same voice—she only remembered how many years ago when Shen Yao first came to see Big Brother, he couldn’t even straighten his back, cupping his hands repeatedly saying, “From now on, my Shen family will follow the Yue family’s lead, for the common people, for all the people under heaven, seeking blessings and welfare.”

As Shen Yao spoke, he inexplicably felt something wasn’t quite right, as if he were being coldly stared at by a certain gaze. He paused for a moment, sweeping his eyes around in a circle. Seeing the presented scholars each with bowed heads listening respectfully, he felt it was probably just his paranoia. So he cleared his throat lightly and continued speaking the remaining words.

Changling restrained her own gaze, suppressing her sense of presence to the lowest level, until Shen Yao instructed the ceremonial officials to grant them the banquet and she followed everyone else out of Fengtian Hall.

She looked up at the sky, the fist in her sleeve slowly unclenching.

Changling glanced back once toward the direction of the palace hall, her eyes revealing a trace of undisguised coldness.

The light of stars ultimately is borrowed radiance—eventually there will come a time when it falls completely dark.

The Martial Assembly Banquet was held at the Wuying Pavilion, jointly organized by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites. Not only civil and military officials and imperial nobility were invited, but even masters from various major jianghu sects were included on the guest list.

As night fell, flowered lanterns bloomed on a thousand trees. Guests arrived one after another, and the sound of string and woodwind music had already begun.

The hundred officials sat in one row according to rank and order, while this year’s presented scholars sat in another row. Young Marquis He, seated quite far from Changling, kept looking over frequently. Discovering that fellow examinees constantly went over to strike up conversation, he wished he could pull out a crossbow and shoot them one by one, or a pair at a time.

Prime Minister Fu, seated next to Young Marquis He, also occasionally glanced at that position, to the point that when people came to toast him he was distracted, no longer displaying his usual manner of conversing and laughing, maneuvering smoothly in all directions.

Changling was naturally quite puzzled.

She’d been sitting peacefully in her seat drinking wine by herself, so how come these people kept coming over endlessly to greet her? She hadn’t seen them being this enthusiastic back at the Clear City Academy.

She naturally didn’t know that among these people, quite a few were those who had secretly slipped love letters through her window cracks back at the Clear City Academy. It was just that at the time, not having achieved success, they didn’t dare be presumptuous. Now at this Martial Assembly Banquet with heroes celebrating together, naturally they didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

“Wow, my master really is… too popular…” Zhou Qin watched with amazement. “She’s only been sitting for a little while, but the people coming up to toast her haven’t stopped…”

Fu Yanyang stuffed several peanuts in his mouth. “Isn’t that obvious? With our master’s beauty and bearing, calling her Jinling City’s number one beauty would be no exaggeration. We’ve been in the palace so long today and seen quite a few pretty palace maids. Do you think any of them can compare to our master?”

Zhou Qin shook her head repeatedly. “No comparison at all.”

Just then, Shen Yao arrived slowly, surrounded by palace attendants. Seeing from afar that nine out of ten seats at the presented scholars’ section were empty, everyone crowding toward one place, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat surprised. He raised his hand, indicating the palace attendant need not announce him, and strode forward.

“What excitement are all you beloved ministers gathering around?”

The Emperor’s voice sounded behind them. Several presented scholar gentlemen were so frightened their scalps went numb, instantly collapsing to the ground in a wave. Guests at the remaining seats also knelt, all calling out “Ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years” to receive the Emperor.

Changling had already been kneeling at her seat. When she heard Shen Yao speak, she naturally lowered her head, bowing down together with everyone else.

Shen Yao stared at her and said, “You, raise your head for me to see.”

Changling hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised her head with a hint of caution.