Lady He was dressed brightly and looked no different from the dignified wives of Jiankang’s great families, except her movements were somewhat timid and restrained. Combined with the unconscious flattering and pleased expression on her face, she inevitably appeared petty.

When brought before Luoshen, she was even more respectful, as if she wished she could prostrate herself to express her current gratitude and admiration. She immediately spoke a long string of flattering and grateful words on behalf of her husband, also saying how eye-opening this trip had been and how worthwhile it was.

Luoshen patiently listened to her finish, then invited her to sit—she had already invited Lady He to sit earlier, but she had insisted on refusing. This time when invited again, Lady He finally accepted with gratitude and sat down.

Luoshen had tea served to her and asked about Lady Shen’s recent situation.

Lady He hurriedly replied: “Sister-in-law is doing well. Only one thing—her husband left with General Li this time, leaving her alone at home with two children. Before leaving this time, thinking it wasn’t easy for her, I specially made a trip to Jingkou personally to bring her rice, flour, money, and goods, plus two bolts of cloth. The weather’s getting hot, perfect for making new clothes for the two children at home.”

She spoke with a smile: “I know Madam gets along well with my sister-in-law. With Madam’s care, please rest assured. We’re all one family after all, and her husband is now helping General Li handle important affairs for His Majesty. With one pillar of support missing from home, as the elder sister-in-law, how could I not look after her?”

She glanced at Luoshen, her smile growing broader: “Not just sister-in-law—I also specially visited Old Madam Li last time. The old lady is truly kind and good-natured, and even told me to visit more often in the future.”

Hearing her finally mention Lady Lu, Luoshen’s heart skipped slightly. Following Lady He’s words, she casually asked: “My mother-in-law and the others, are they all well?”

“Old Madam is doing fine!” Lady He nodded, “Just one thing—some days ago, she accidentally fell and hurt one of her legs. Fortunately, it’s nothing serious. When I visited her last time, she said with a bit more rest, she should recover.”

Luoshen was alarmed and pressed for details.

It turned out that after Li Mu was promoted to Guard General, many people came to seek refuge with their families and land, hoping to receive protection, avoid paying grain taxes, and be exempt from various corvée duties.

Li Mu refused them all, keeping only a distant relative couple surnamed Zhao. Before leaving home this time, he had the Zhao couple come help A’Ting with household matters.

Lady Zhao was diligent and honest, but one day she forgot to remind someone and casually left a bamboo pole used for drying clothes horizontally by the door, forgetting to put it away. After she left, the pole was blown down by the wind. When Lady Lu passed by without paying much attention, she stepped on it, lost her balance, fell to the ground, and accidentally injured her leg.

Seeing Luoshen looking somewhat anxious, Lady He hurriedly comforted her, repeatedly saying it was nothing serious: “Old Madam just has difficulty getting around. I could see her spirits were still good…”

As she spoke, she seemed to suddenly remember something and exclaimed “Oh my,” slapping her own mouth.

Seeing Luoshen looking over, she hurriedly smiled apologetically: “Look at this mouth of mine! When Old Madam heard I was coming to Jiankang, she specifically reminded me that if I saw you, I shouldn’t mention this, to avoid making you worry unnecessarily.”

“Madam, please rest assured—Old Madam is fine!”

Luoshen fell silent.

Lady He was also someone who could read facial expressions well.

This trip to Jiankang with her husband, entering Leyou Garden and witnessing the demeanor of Jiankang’s aristocratic ladies, had already brought her tremendous face. After returning, she would have enough to boast about for most of the year. Now having brazenly come here to thank the Gao family young lady, seeing that after she spoke, Luoshen seemed tired, she didn’t dare continue imposing and smiled as she rose to respectfully take her leave.

Luoshen personally saw her off a few steps. Lady He was flattered beyond measure and thanked her repeatedly.

Luoshen stopped, had someone escort her out, and stood on the garden path herself. Seeing her mother hadn’t returned yet, she took Qiongshu and slowly walked forward along the stream.

Having reached this point, heartbroken as she was, she had originally resolved never to keep Li Mu in her heart again.

They weren’t meant to be together, and he was so heartless. Whether he lived or died in the future, whether he was wealthy or destitute, she would no longer care.

But his mother had been so good to her. Both times when her parents forcibly took her away, Lady Lu not only didn’t complain at all but always comforted her. Now Lady Lu had injured her leg in a fall—she didn’t know exactly how bad it was. If she didn’t know, that would be one thing, but now that she clearly knew, how could her heart be at peace without going to see her?

The spring scenery was beautiful, the air quiet with bird songs, peach blossoms and flowing water babbling past.

But Luoshen frowned deeply, with no mood to appreciate spring. She broke off a willow branch, full of worries, following the stream upward. Unconsciously, she reached the end of that wall.

Where the wall ended, flowers and trees cast shadows. The eastern garden was just opposite, and she could faintly hear the sounds of men drinking and making merry, drifting over the wall with the wind.

The peach blossoms and flowing water passed right under this section of wall, connecting the eastern and western gardens.

The flowers and trees by the stream were dewy, lush green and dripping, wetting the hem of Luoshen’s skirt.

Luoshen couldn’t help but remember the past, when she and Lu Jianzhi had played flute and qin together across this very wall.

The joy of that day, when recalled now, seemed like a beautiful spring dream.

As she stood transfixed, suddenly she heard a brief cry from beyond the wall.

“Murong Ti, you dare—”

It was a man’s voice, gritted with teeth, filled with incredulous shock.

Before the voice finished, accompanied by a pained muffled groan and rustling sounds as if flowers and trees were being trampled down, that side fell quiet.

A thick streak of crimson blood flowed with the water from that side under the wall, slowly spreading on the water surface before gradually dispersing.

Luoshen was horrified.

Though she couldn’t see it, she could already imagine what was happening just then on the other side of the wall.

“Miss, blood!”

Qiongshu cried out in alarm. As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately realized something was wrong, quickly covered her mouth, and looked at Luoshen in panic.

Luoshen immediately pulled her and turned to leave, but it was too late. Behind them, a figure had already quickly flipped over the top of the wall.

That person was as agile as an eagle, leaping down from the wall in one bound and landing behind Luoshen and her maid.

Just as Luoshen was about to cry out, her neck felt a chill.

A sharp, blood-stained dagger was already pressed against it.

A young man appeared before her.

This man was in his twenties, with pale skin and purple eyes, beautiful features, but disheveled hair and sweat on his forehead. His clothes were also in disarray, his collar open, revealing his collarbone—he looked as if he had just been roughed up and hadn’t had time to straighten himself.

His lips were also cut, with a spot of dark red blood at the corner, which against his whole face gave him a strangely alluring appearance.

But at this moment, the eyes with which he stared at Luoshen were extremely dark, the corners slightly red, as if smeared with blood.

Luoshen froze.

With just one look at this man who had flipped over the wall, she confirmed the name she had heard across the wall moments before.

The Xianbei royal family member who had pledged allegiance to Dayu—Murong Ti.

She also guessed what scene had just played out on the other side of the wall moments before.

Obviously, this Xianbei man had killed his assailant while being violated.

She just didn’t know who the dead person was.

Murong Ti’s hand holding the dagger was still pressed against Luoshen’s neck. In almost a flash, his other hand grabbed the throat of Qiongshu, who was about to scream. His five fingers like claws suddenly tightened, making Qiongshu unable to make a sound. Her eyes rolled back as she struggled desperately but futilely, her face rapidly reddening from inability to breathe.

Luoshen sensed the murderous intent emanating from this Xianbei man.

For some reason, at this moment, her mind flashed to that night of the Lantern Festival not long ago, when she and Li Mu had experienced that scene of carnage at the night market.

The panic she had felt from inadvertently witnessing others’ secrets suddenly disappeared—she felt no fear at all.

“Murong Ti, do you know who I am? Try killing my maid and see what happens!”

She slightly raised her face, looking directly at the person opposite her.

“Since you dared commit murder here just now, you must have already calculated your escape plan. As long as I don’t speak, you can survive. But if you dare harm a single hair on my head, today at this Winding Water Floating Cups gathering, three people die, including me—do you think you can escape unscathed?”

Murong Ti slowly turned to stare at this girl-like young woman under his dagger.

Her expression was cold, her bearing noble, with no panic in her eyes but rather a trace of disdain.

The Gao family young lady—he knew who she was.

That day at Jingkou when they first encountered each other by chance, though he had only seen her from afar and she had been wearing a veil, he immediately associated her figure and voice.

After all, in all of Jiankang, besides the Gao family daughter, what other woman would dare speak in such a threatening tone?

Moreover, she had indeed struck at his inner concerns.

To kill one person, even if that person held high status, Murong Ti was confident he could dispose of the body and leave without anyone knowing.

But if the Gao family young lady were added, it would be a different story.

“He pushed me too far—I had no choice. For me not to kill you, that’s possible. How can you guarantee you won’t speak of what you saw today?”

He lowered his voice, asking word by word.

Luoshen’s gaze swept over his disheveled collar, frowned, and snorted: “Do you think I wanted to encounter you? What right do you have to demand my guarantee?”

After speaking, seeing his grave expression and flickering eyes, she raised her hand to push away the dagger at her neck, turned her head aside, and stared at him: “Why don’t you release my maid?”

Murong Ti narrowed his eyes but finally slowly loosened his grip and released Qiongshu.

Qiongshu immediately collapsed to the ground, covering her throat and coughing continuously.

Luoshen helped massage her throat a few times, then looked up coldly: “This place is my mother’s private property. I don’t care who you killed—move the body far away from here so it doesn’t defile this place.”

She helped Qiongshu up and left without looking back.

Murong Ti stared at the slowly retreating figure ahead, standing still for a moment. He quickly straightened his clothes, crouched by the water to wash the blood from his dagger, sheathed it and hid it back in his boot, then bent down to cup water and wash his wounded lips.

A sharp pain. A trace of unrelenting vicious hatred flashed in his eyes.

He had endured for a long time. That person deserved to die. Today he had finally found the opportunity to kill the one who dared humiliate him.

He hadn’t expected to run into the Gao family young lady.

He stood up, subconsciously looking once more in the direction she had left.

There was no longer any figure ahead, only swaying flower shadows and gurgling water.

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the willow branch that had fallen from her hand on the ground. Withdrawing his gaze, he returned to the wall, leaped up to climb over it, and his figure quickly disappeared beyond the wall.

…

After such an incident, on the way back, thinking of that Xianbei man’s boldness and ruthlessness, Luoshen finally felt waves of delayed fear.

She repeatedly instructed the still-shaken Qiongshu not to speak of what they had witnessed, and only gradually calmed her nerves.

Approaching the pavilion, she saw A’Ju coming to look for her, knowing her mother had returned. She hurried inside.

Xiao Yongjia had long lost interest in such occasions over the years and had only come today to accompany her daughter. Seeing that Lu Xiurong had already left, she asked Luoshen if she wanted to continue enjoying herself.

What mood could Luoshen have? So mother and daughter came out together and rode back in the ox cart.

On the road, Luoshen leaned against her mother’s shoulder the whole time, closing her eyes and pretending to doze, saying nothing until they returned home. Only then did she say: “Mother, someone from Jingkou came today, saying mother-in-law fell. I’m a bit worried. Since there’s nothing else to do anyway, I want to go back and see her.”

Seeing her mother’s hesitant expression, she smiled: “Mother, don’t worry. I’ll return after visiting mother-in-law.”

…

The next day, Xiao Yongjia had Gao Yin escort Luoshen to Jingkou.

After traveling for several days, when the boat reached Jingkou, it was already nightfall and completely dark.

Unlike the previous two times when Luoshen’s arrival at Jingkou had caused a sensation in half the town, this time she quietly disembarked, sat in a cart, and passed through half the town shrouded in night to arrive at the Li family’s gate.

She had only been away for just over a month, but it felt as if a long time had passed.

The gate was tightly closed, the lanterns at the entrance weren’t lit—cold and deserted. Only the old magnolia’s branches had grown much more luxuriant than when Luoshen left, with wildly growing flowering branches extending from over the wall, silently welcoming her return.

Luoshen stepped up the stairs, steadied herself, raised her hand to grasp the door knocker, and knocked several times.

After a long while, she heard approaching footsteps from inside. Then the door opened a crack, revealing the head of an unfamiliar woman who lifted a lantern to illuminate and examine Luoshen and the people standing behind her, her eyes showing puzzlement.

“Are you the Zhao family wife?”

Luoshen asked.

The woman nodded: “Who are you, miss? What brings you here?”

Luoshen hesitated, about to speak, when the woman’s eyes suddenly brightened. “Oh my!” she exclaimed happily, “I know! You must be the Li family’s wife who returned to Jiankang—A’Ting’s sister-in-law!”

Luoshen smiled and nodded slightly.

The Zhao woman was overjoyed and quickly bowed, rapidly opening the door while saying: “Madam, please come in! Madam, you don’t know—after I came, A’Ting talks to me all day about how outstanding her sister-in-law is, how good her character is, even saying her speaking voice is like an oriole, so pleasant to hear. When I saw you just now, I immediately knew it was Madam returning…”

The Zhao woman hurriedly ushered people in while running toward the inner courtyard, calling out: “Old Madam! A’Ting, your sister-in-law has returned—”

Accompanied by the sound of rapid footsteps, Luoshen saw A’Ting’s figure rushing out from inside. Running up close, she seemed unable to believe her eyes. Only when Luoshen called her name did she cry “Sister-in-law!” and joyfully throw herself into her arms.

Luoshen caught her, exchanged a few words, then asked about Lady Lu’s condition.

“Mother accidentally fell that day and her leg is inconvenient. She’s in her room. Sister-in-law, come with me.”

Luoshen entered Lady Lu’s room and saw a lamp burning inside with dim yellow light. Lady Lu was sitting at the head of the bed, seeming about to get down. She quickly stepped forward to support her.

“Mother-in-law, please sit back down!”

Lady Lu grasped Luoshen’s hand and smiled: “It really is A’Mi who’s come! I thought I heard wrong just now. Was the journey tiring?”

Luoshen shook her head, saying it wasn’t tiring, and sat beside her to ask about her leg injury.

“Mother-in-law, I brought Jiankang’s best physician for treating falls and injuries. Let him examine you again. You need to recover soon.”

The Zhao woman stood nearby, looking ashamed and constantly blaming herself.

Luoshen carefully looked at Lady Lu. Seeing she appeared much thinner than when she had left a month ago, she couldn’t help feeling sad.

Instead, it was Lady Lu who seemed to sense her emotions and comforted her in every way. She said that during this time, except for inconvenience in walking, everything else was fine. Lady Shen and the neighbors often came to keep her company during the day, so Luoshen needn’t worry.

Knowing she had come to visit her and shouldn’t make her worry, Luoshen changed the subject and had the physician she had brought examine Lady Lu’s leg again.

After examining her, the physician said the previously injured leg just needed to be kept immobilized and slowly nursed back to health, and it would recover. It would just take longer to heal due to her advanced age. He wrote a prescription for medicine to aid recovery.

Lady Lu thanked him. Luoshen had the physician shown to his quarters to rest. A’Ju went to tidy Luoshen’s room and make the bed. Luoshen sat with Lady Lu talking for a while longer. Since it was getting late, Lady Lu said she must be tired from the journey and urged her to rest.

That night, Luoshen slept again on that square bed that she had gradually grown familiar with, but tonight suddenly seemed to have become strange again.

The curtains fell down, and the room was quiet. A night breeze carrying the fragrance of magnolia flowers flowed in through the half-open window, stirring the curtains and causing the curtain hooks to lightly strike the hard wooden edge of the bed head, producing rhythmic, clear collision sounds.

One strike after another, rhythmically.

Luoshen lay on the pillow with closed eyes, listening to this sound. In her nostrils, she seemed to gradually smell a trace of the man’s scent that lingered in these curtains, not yet completely faded. Her mood suddenly became restless. She wanted to drive it away, but it seemed to be everywhere, making sleep impossible. She sat up, lost in thought for a moment, then put on her clothes and got out of bed. Without lighting a lamp, wearing slippers, she silently passed by A’Ju who was sleeping in her room, opened the door, and walked toward Lady Lu’s room.

The moonlight was bright, making the entire courtyard glow white. Luoshen looked at her shadow on the ground, reached that door, knocked gently, and entered.

Lady Lu was still awake too.

Luoshen walked to the bedside, sat over, leaned into the kind old woman’s embrace, and asked softly: “Mother-in-law, do you know why the young master married me?”

Lady Lu held her soft body, gently stroking the long black hair scattered on her back. After a moment of silence, she said: “A’Mi, I’ve asked several times too, but he won’t tell me. Mother-in-law doesn’t know either.”

“But mother-in-law guesses you must be the only girl my son has ever truly cared about from childhood to adulthood.”

“When he married you, the news came suddenly. I had people whitewash the room where you two would sleep. He was originally someone who could sleep on the ground when tired, but then he complained the craftsmen hadn’t painted the walls white enough and painted them again himself. Outside the window of your room, there had been old banana trees growing for many years. He had always slept in that room, and I never heard him complain about anything, but suddenly he said the leaves rustling in the wind at night were very noisy, and when the weather got hot they would attract mosquitoes and flies. He cut them all down himself and even smoothed the ground overnight…”

Lady Lu smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes relaxing.

“Though I hadn’t met you yet, I was very curious about what kind of girl could make him care so much. After you came to my home, mother-in-law understood. A girl like you—who could manage not to love you?”

Luoshen felt a choking sensation in her heart and could no longer hold back. She sat up from Lady Lu’s embrace.

“Mother-in-law, you’ve been extremely good to me, and I don’t want to lie to you. After I visit you this time, in the future, I probably won’t come back again…”

As she spoke, her voice choked.

The smile on Lady Lu’s face gradually faded.

“Mother-in-law, will you blame me?”

Lady Lu smiled slightly again, shook her head, and patted her back comfortingly.

“Mother-in-law won’t hide it from you either. When Mu’er married you, mother-in-law was already worried. The disparity between our two families’ social positions is so great—it’s hard to make a good match. When your father came to take you away this time, though he said nothing then, mother-in-law knew your father must be dissatisfied with Mu’er. Mother-in-law was already prepared for you not to return…”

“A’Mi, that you were still willing to come back to see me and specially tell me these things—mother-in-law is already completely satisfied.”

She hesitated.

“Just if it’s convenient, could you tell mother-in-law why your father wanted to take you away?”

Because he’s wildly ambitious with treacherous intentions, and in the future might become a rebellious minister and a threat to the court.

But facing his mother, how could Luoshen dare say this?

She only wept and vaguely said: “I don’t know either… It should be that he and my father have some disagreements on political views…”

Lady Lu fell silent. She didn’t blame her son either, but after a long time passed, she sighed deeply.

“Sometimes I don’t know what he’s thinking either.”

She said.

“This is fate. He has no fortune in life to be husband and wife with you for long. After you return, don’t worry about him anymore.”

“Mother-in-law just feels our Li family has wronged you. No matter what happens in the future, mother-in-law only hopes you can live well.”

Luoshen leaned against the old woman’s side, silently shedding tears. Gradually her tears dried, and finally exhausted, she fell into deep sleep.

Early the next morning, outside Jingkou, at the foot of Gold Mountain, when white river mist still shrouded the river surface, Luoshen embarked on the journey back to Jiankang.

A’Ting was very puzzled and reluctant about her sister-in-law coming overnight and leaving early the next morning. Not daring to forcibly detain her, she could only hide inside the door, watching Luoshen get in the cart and gradually depart, secretly wiping away tears.

Luoshen didn’t know what else she could do by staying, or what meaning it would have.

This trip to Jingkou not only failed to bring her peace of mind but made her even more distressed.

So distressed it felt like a fire burning in her heart.

Several days later, when she returned to Jiankang, she heard news.

Xu Mi’s cousin, Censor Xu Yue, had disappeared since the day of the Winding Water Floating Cups.

The Xu family searched all of Leyou Garden and questioned guards at all four gates of Jiankang, but no one knew his whereabouts.

For a time, the whole city buzzed with discussion.

That Murong Ti, after coming to Jiankang, was said to have attracted the attention of many men who favored other men.

A murder case triggered by secret romantic affairs.

Moreover, though not explicitly stated at the time, the Xianbei man had released her and her maid, and she had kept his secret—this could be considered a tacit promise.

Under these circumstances, it seemed unnecessary for her to meddle.

Luoshen’s thoughts didn’t linger long on this matter.

The day after returning, after spending another sleepless long night, she finally made a decision.

Without doubt, this was an extremely difficult decision she had never made before in her life.

She called Gao Huan over, dismissed everyone else, and told Gao Huan she wanted to make a trip to Yi Cheng and asked him to arrange it for her.

…

On this day, more than a month after Li Mu left, Luoshen finally made up her mind.

She wanted to find Li Mu and ask him face to face whether he really intended to become the rebellious minister and traitor her father spoke of.

If he didn’t want her, why had he forcibly married her in the first place?

And what exactly had all his affection for her that night meant?