The wind caused the candleflames to sway violently. That section of shoulder was as white as ivory, like congealed frost.

It flashed by in an instant, both because the young lady calmly fastened her upper robe and because Lu Huating instinctively closed his eyes—his vision went black.

When he opened them again, amid the strange lights and shadows, only one person knelt on the prayer cushion, head lowered, tying her skirt ribbons.

Her hair was actually this long—it could wind all the way to her lower back, scattered among her skirts. Because her hair was black and smooth, it reflected an eerily cold luster in the light.

Lu Huating raised his eyes. Above her head stood a white jade Bodhisattva statue, dignified and solemn, holding a flower with lowered gaze, quietly looking down upon the two of them.

Lu Huating felt somewhat absurdly amused and twitched his lips: “Madam—changing clothes before Guanyin?”

Regardless of whether one believed in gods and spirits, this was quite ridiculous.

“It doesn’t matter, does it? This is the Bodhisattva’s dignified female aspect.” Qun Qing looked up at the jade statue, then gathered her raven-black hair behind her into a simple bun, inserting a hairpin to secure it. “The duty female official directed me to this changing area, precisely to avoid colliding with nobles in the side hall. I didn’t expect an outer official could find this place too.”

Her movements were unhurried. Lu Huating’s smile faded as he looked at her coldly: “Not the least bit flustered—you came prepared. You’re specifically waiting for me here. Stop acting. Where is he?”

“Who?” Qun Qing asked.

“Madam knows whom I’m speaking of.”

Qun Qing considered briefly, then said: “Does the Chief Administrator mean the household administrator whose clothes I spilled water on? He must be changing in the side hall. Surely I, a mere palace maid, wouldn’t bring him here to change clothes together with me?”

Lu Huating smiled slightly. Qun Qing stood up. In the pupils watching her, she detected cold, pressing scrutiny.

He didn’t believe her.

“After all, doesn’t the Chief Administrator think this place is very small?” Qun Qing stood and indeed needed only three steps to reach Lu Huating, looking straight into his eyes. “See for yourself—two people changing here couldn’t even move properly.”

Only then did Lu Huating notice that this chamber was surrounded on all sides by dark blue soft curtains—the space was extremely narrow, making one feel as stifled as being inside a coffin. This distance was sufficient for Qun Qing to see clearly Lu Huating’s bright black pupils, and the very faint killing intent within them.

His expression hadn’t changed, but cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

In the previous life, her records noted that rumor held Lu Huating greatly disliked enclosed, narrow spaces. Qun Qing deliberately guided him to observe their surroundings.

Seeing he indeed seemed uncomfortable, Qun Qing unhesitatingly took out Lu Huating’s indigo sachet from her pouch and toyed with it in her hand.

Lu Huating looked somewhat surprised, staring directly at the sachet.

“The Chief Administrator isn’t looking for me, so why be tripped up by tangential matters?” Qun Qing said, holding the sachet. “There’s no one else here, only us. If you still don’t leave, and someone else sees us later, we’ll be entangled in complications for nothing.”

Lu Huating stared at her fixedly for quite a while, then without a word, actually withdrew.

Seeing the chamber door close, Qun Qing breathed a sigh of relief. She ran back to the prayer cushion and bowed three times deeply to the Bodhisattva, murmuring requests for forgiveness. As she bent over, half a hand emerged from beneath the altar curtain. Qun Qing lightly kicked it with her toe.

The fingertips immediately retracted.

Su Run, eight feet tall, was curled beneath the altar table in misery, his face flushed red from the strain.

But Qun Qing still couldn’t let him out. She observed a mirror embedded in the altar.

This mirror connected to the outside through a bamboo tube, with mirrors set at angles in each corner—through multiple reflections, one could see the situation outside the door from within.

This was how she had seen Lu Huating’s figure entering earlier.

Currently, Lu Huating still stood at the doorway, not having left.

Earlier, she had pulled Su Run along, dodging palace servants as they entered the shrine. Su Run had gripped her hand in return, seemingly having urgent words to tell her. He had said “Lu Huating,” then inexplicably uttered four more characters—”silk dreams”—and then Lu Huating had arrived, forcing her to hastily hide Su Run.

Qun Qing racked her brain but couldn’t figure out who “silk” referred to.

This place should have been hidden—why had Lu Huating found it so quickly? She couldn’t help feeling anxious. The shrine was indeed narrow and stifling. Qun Qing wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. Recalling that Lu Huating’s expression when seeing the sachet had been somewhat strange, she took the opportunity to pour everything out to examine carefully.

She had glanced at it before, thinking it was just the ten coins being returned, and hadn’t inspected closely, only fearing to miss clues.

Among the copper coins was actually a fingernail-sized jade case of wound salve mixed in. Qun Qing glanced at the scabbed-over scrape on her palm and set it aside.

A mung-bean-sized fragrance bead—when squeezed, the fresh scent of citrus burst forth. So this was the source of that fragrance on him.

Nothing special—common fragrance beads used by nobles.

Qun Qing was about to put the items back in the sachet when she suddenly noticed a tiny object still stuck to the bottom.

A paper note rolled into a thin strip. Lu Huating’s note to her.

Qun Qing hastily unrolled the note. The characters gradually revealed themselves before her eyes. Due to her inner panic, it took her a long while to read clearly—only eight characters written: “Green collar of youth, bright as the moon.”

Lu Huating had written her death warrant before. In her memory, every stroke on that silk strip had been like fangs and claws of a blade. Looking closely today, what he wrote was actually the Zhao-style calligraphy quite admired by noble young masters—elegant and graceful, commonly used for poetry on decorative paper.

“Green collar” was from a famous poem seeking worthy talents.

He wanted to recruit her to Prince Yan’s mansion?

Qun Qing held the note over the fire several times to verify the characters were correct, her expression becoming difficult to describe.

After only a few encounters, she hadn’t displayed anything particularly special, except some martial arts skills…

Qun Qing understood.

In the first year of Shenglin, when Prince Yan’s mansion was just rising, the Chief Administrator needed to recruit people everywhere. He had once recruited eight guards for Li Huan. In this life, he had set his sights on her.

Qun Qing looked at this note and fell into thought.

If it were her previous life’s self, she should have been very happy.

If she could become a guard near Prince Yan, wouldn’t killing him be very convenient? But working under Lu Huating would be even harder to escape from than the palace. Prince Yan would be killed, but her own life would be forfeit as well.

Thinking of this, Qun Qing decisively placed the note over the candle flame.

The flame licked upward from below, burning until only the two characters “green green” remained. The connected brushstrokes appeared exceptionally beautiful in the intense firelight. Even Qun Qing didn’t know her small script could be written so gracefully—she was somewhat entranced.

That night with brilliant lanterns, in that startling glimpse, the paper lantern tossed into her embrace had also been this bright color.

When the door was pushed open, those two characters also burned to nothing in her hand.

“Why must madam insist on being my enemy?” After quite a while, Lu Huating’s voice came from behind her, very calm, yet colder than the wind blowing in from outside.

Qun Qing brushed the ash from her hand and said: “I’m not familiar with you and cannot accept such an invitation.”

She didn’t want to be entangled with him, but neither did she want to belittle others.

“Are you very familiar with the Eastern Palace?” Lu Huating said. “You don’t trust me.”

“Correct. The Chief Administrator and I have met only a few times—I dare not entrust myself. That’s the first reason. Prince Yan’s prospects are uncertain—that’s the second.” Qun Qing went along with this reasoning. “Serving beside Liangdi, at least my salary is secure.”

“I think you’re lying.” Lu Huating stared at her steadily and gave a cold laugh. “Madam doesn’t trust me, yet why did you dare entrust that gentleman surnamed Su to me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll flay and dismember him?”

Qun Qing’s heart jumped.

He had actually already extracted her whereabouts from Su Run.

“I sent him to Princess Danyang as a household official.” Without waiting for her answer, Lu Huating continued: “That fine gentleman of yours, behind your back, is deeply grateful to me and extremely flattering toward Princess Danyang, employing every means of currying favor. You may have misjudged him.”

Qun Qing was about to speak when she first heard a faint gasping sound.

This scoundrel Lu Huating was distorting the truth, speaking nonsense. Su Run, listening, became so agitated his heart caught fire. He had asthma, and in his excitement, covered his chest with both hands and curled up.

“So what of it?” Qun Qing raised her voice slightly. “This gentleman the Chief Administrator speaks of surely knows that Princess Danyang followed the army in her youth and is not someone wallowing in wine and lust—it’s only in recent years that she’s been drowning sorrows in drink. Whether household administrator or attendant, who wouldn’t want to be valued when meeting such a good master?”

These words were specifically said for Su Run to hear. Over there, Su Run took them in and struggled to calm down.

Having listened for a long while, how could Lu Huating not detect the intent behind this?

He had thought Su Run had already been transferred away, never imagining she had actually hidden the person right here in this shrine, right under his nose!

Without warning, his hand moved to his belt. A light sound rang out—silver flashed as a soft sword struck against the four walls, directly slicing four gaping wounds through the middle of the curtains.

If Su Run had been hiding behind the curtains, his head would already have been severed.

In that instant, Qun Qing blocked the altar with her body. Only now did she see clearly that Lu Huating held a two-finger-wide soft sword, thin as wood chips, incomparably sharp. Because everything happened too quickly, her heart beat wildly: “The Chief Administrator dares carry weapons into the palace.”

“A lesson learned—surely I shouldn’t let madam protect me again?” Lu Huating gripped the sword hilt calmly, looking behind her. “Step aside.”

Qun Qing didn’t move. That line of silver light suddenly jerked upward, scraping past her clothing and stopping at her neck.

Qun Qing didn’t know why he insisted on making things difficult for Su Run. What she couldn’t stand most in this life was madmen: “Chief Administrator, leave others some leeway.”

Lu Huating gazed at her: “You see? Again you want me to give you face. What is our relationship that I should give you face and help you look after your people?”

Qun Qing said: “He’s not my person.”

“Fine, then he’s my person.” Lu Huating said. “My person has his uses. Now he’s fled from his post, and madam has ruined my scheme. Do you intend to take his place?”

“Then come at me instead.” Qun Qing looked at him quietly, clearly meaning to oppose him.

Lu Huating’s eyes deepened somewhat as he watched her, seemingly not expecting her to say such a thing: “Miss Qing, those are your words.”

Qun Qing was drenched in sweat, her hand reaching back to the altar, slowly searching for the secret passage switch.

That passage was underground. Su Run had no martial skills—falling down might cripple him, but better that than death…

Just as she moved, Qun Qing felt coldness press against the warm pulse at her neck. Instantly, she accumulated her hatred from both past and present lives and displayed it in the glare she directed at him.

Lu Huating looked at her, but suddenly smiled: “This feeling is somewhat right.”

“Some things, like rats and cats, spiders and mosquitoes, are born adversaries. Placed in any other position, it doesn’t quite fit—only as natural enemies are they in their element.” He inquired softly, “Don’t you think so?”

Qun Qing closed her eyes, only able to feel the heat of her pulse beating against the blade.

It wasn’t like this. She didn’t want this. She had clearly been avoiding him—why had things come to this step again? The causes and effects were too complex. In a short time, she couldn’t condense it into a single sentence. But if she hastened to explain, it would seem very false, as if begging for mercy to save her life.

“Lord Lu, I…”

Opening her eyes, she found Lu Huating was quietly listening to her speak.

“Move the blade away. Let us go.” Qun Qing’s face was somewhat pale. “I have information to trade with you.”

“What?” Lu Huating moved the blade slightly away.

“A secret memorial.” Qun Qing said. “His Highness has a secret memorial about you. You’re wasting time here—be careful you’re not impeached during the banquet.”

Suddenly, urgent knocking came from behind them. Both started. The knocking was rapid yet had a rhythmic pattern of long and short beats.

Qun Qing pushed the blade aside with her hand. Lu Huating turned and went out.

Juan Su emerged from the night: “Chief Administrator, you can’t stay any longer! People from the Eastern Palace followed. Look—this subordinate barely managed to shake them off.”

Where he pointed, a young eunuch carrying a lantern wandered on the dark path.

“Why shake them off?” Lu Huating was puzzled.

Juan Su was even more puzzled. Lu Huating said: “They’re not following me.”

“Still, you can’t stay!” Juan Su pulled him. “His Majesty has arrived. What if the first thing he does is deal with His Highness? The Princess Consort summons the Chief Administrator to return quickly!”

Lu Huating picked up a pebble, weighed it, and tossed it at the young eunuch’s feet, attracting his attention, then patted the dumbstruck Juan Su: “You stand guard. I’m going back.”

Inside the chamber, Su Run ignored his numb hands and feet and urged Qun Qing to return: “His Majesty has arrived! If madam is implicated, Yujie deserves ten thousand deaths.”

“You can’t return like this.” Qun Qing pulled him back. Though he was dressed the same as the other household administrators, he wore no heavy makeup on his face, which was why she had recognized him from afar earlier.

She lifted Su Run’s face and used her fingers to rub off her own lip rouge, smearing it on Su Run’s eyelids.

Su Run showed reluctance and tried to dodge.

Qun Qing expressionlessly lifted his chin and said: “Do you know what I most dislike about you scholars? Your self-esteem is too strong. Someone says a few words and you want to die. Since you have asthma, you need to train your mind to be broader. If you think wearing makeup is unbearable, think about how I kneel before nobles in the palace!”

Su Run froze. He finally discovered Qun Qing’s one unique flaw.

She was very fierce.

Su Run’s mother and sister were both gentle women, so when Qun Qing spoke harshly and severely, besides agreeing, he couldn’t utter a single word.

“Don’t you know why the Princess specifically exempted you from makeup?” Qun Qing said. “You didn’t enter the hall just now, but Meng Guanlou was inside drinking.”

Upon hearing the three characters “Meng Guanlou,” Su Run understood, his face paling: “Deliberately placing me before Meng Guanlou’s eyes… but what does this Chief Administrator Lu want to do? Does he want to impeach Meng Guanlou at the banquet? That I could do.”

“Did he explain anything to you beforehand?” Qun Qing asked.

Su Run shook his head.

Qun Qing said: “If he wanted you to expose Meng Guanlou, he should have first told you what to do, had you write a testimony, and followed proper judicial procedures. How can such a banquet be a good occasion for accusations? Even if you spoke the truth, it would only be a disruptive move!”

“I can’t guess what he wants to do for now.” Qun Qing paused. “Perhaps it concerns Princess Danyang.”

Su Run didn’t understand.

“Princess Danyang has troops stationed at her Taiyuan fief.” Qun Qing explained simply. “If she participates in the succession struggle, she’s very important to either side, except Princess Danyang doesn’t participate in court disputes. She had feelings for Meng Guanlou, but recently suddenly broke the engagement, causing an uproar throughout the city. Guess what Meng Guanlou will think when he sees you appear beside Princess Danyang?”

Su Run said: “He’ll be afraid, thinking Princess Danyang is collecting evidence of crimes and is determined to be his enemy, naturally turning against Princess Danyang without mercy. Thus because of me, he’ll pull Princess Danyang to Prince Yan’s side!”

He had never known he could serve so many purposes as a chess piece in Lu Huating’s hands. Cold sweat instantly covered him. He wanted to say something, but showed signs of humiliated choking.

“What’s wrong? I haven’t even asked—are you doing well at Princess Danyang’s?” Qun Qing most feared people crying. Momentarily at a loss, she asked quietly, “Have you already… lost your virtue?”

“Madam!” Su Run’s face flushed red as he protested. “Princess Danyang isn’t that outrageous. I just regret that day when I brought gifts and sought out Chief Administrator Lu. He said he’d find me a good position.”

Mentioning this matter, Qun Qing felt extremely guilty. After all, it was her guidance, so she could only turn to comfort Su Run: “This person is like this—his temperament is unpredictable…”

It was strange. Qun Qing also didn’t know why Lu Huating particularly made things difficult for Su Run.

“Who exactly is ‘silk’?” she asked.

Su Run finally remembered this important matter: “Madam, you must be careful—that Chief Administrator Lu is not only searching for you, he wants to kill you!”

Qun Qing’s lashes trembled. For a moment, she couldn’t process this.

Rows of candlelight stood in a line. Within the halo of light, the curtains on all sides had been slashed by the soft sword, tattered and broken. The white jade Guanyin above lowered her brows, gazing down faintly at the human world through the smoke.

“Chief Administrator Lu told his attendants a story. Silk is a person in the story. One day, Silk had a dream—he dreamed of the person who would kill him many years later.” Su Run said. “If I haven’t guessed wrong, he means that in the dream, you are the future person who will kill him, so he’s ordered his subordinates to find you in advance and kill you!”

The surroundings were so quiet one could hear the long chirping of crickets outside the shrine.

Thunderstruck.

This was Qun Qing’s only feeling at this moment.