It would take some time for the maids to arrive. The lamp in the study was relit, and Jiang Zhiyi sat on the daybed wrapped in quilts, taking small sips of ginger soup from her bowl, glancing at the man reading a scroll at the desk across from her after each sip.
Savoring his earlier words about “dowry maids,” the ginger soup in her bowl tasted increasingly sweet, as if infused with syrup.
Since he had acknowledged her dowry maids, his return to the capital must mean he was preparing to propose to her, right?
Jiang Zhiyi rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the man across from her, and as she pondered, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Yuance frowned, raising his book scroll to hide his face.
…Was he so embarrassed just because he had accidentally revealed his true feelings?
Jiang Zhiyi sighed and looked away, lightly tapping the small tea table with two fingers as she idly examined the room’s furnishings.
The study was divided into inner and outer sections by a twelve-panel landscape folding screen. The outer section had a display shelf for porcelain art objects, a three-tier double-drawer bookcase, and the wall behind the desk was adorned with a painting of galloping horses and a calligraphy piece that read “Quiet Denial” in two large characters.
The inner section wasn’t fully visible, but through the currently folded screen, she could vaguely make out a daybed for sleeping, wider than the one she was sitting on, an eight-immortals table with a chessboard on it.
“Brother Astrategy,” Jiang Zhiyi suddenly put down her tea bowl with enthusiasm, “how about we play a game of chess?”
The man across from her leaned back in his chair, the book covering his face, arms folded and motionless, as if asleep.
“Brother Astrategy?” Jiang Zhiyi called again.
Yuance raised one hand, his index finger pointing behind him.
Jiang Zhiyi followed his gesture and saw the calligraphy on the wall—”Denial.”
“…”
“Alright,” Jiang Zhiyi tilted her head against the small tea table, and after thinking for a moment said, “Then we could just chat for a while!”
The man across from her remained motionless again.
Jiang Zhiyi continued on her own: “We haven’t had a proper conversation since your return to the capital. Why don’t you tell me about the border region?”
“Is Guzang very different from Chang’an? Did you adapt well there?”
“My life at home has been so dull, and going out only leads to uninteresting activities. Thinking about you is much more engaging…”
“…” Yuance slowly raised his hand and pointed behind him again.
Jiang Zhiyi looked up and saw the other character on the wall—”Quiet.”
“…”
The room was filled only with the soft crackling of the charcoal fire.
Jiang Zhiyi closed her mouth and leaned against the daybed in boredom, staring vacantly at the charcoal stove beside the couch.
The faint flickering firelight induced drowsiness, making her eyes ache. After some time, Jiang Zhiyi’s head began to nod as she dozed off, gradually slumping onto the daybed.
Yuance lowered his head, the book that had been covering his face falling into his palm. He raised his eyes with curiosity to look across the room.
The person on the daybed had her black hair spread out like silk, lazily resting against a pillow, curled up like a cat. Her thick, long eyelashes cast shadows beneath her eyes as she slept sweetly, so deeply that she even smacked her lips slightly.
…She had come with ulterior motives, yet she fell asleep before him without any guard.
After quietly watching the person on the daybed for a moment, Yuance pressed his brow and stood up, as if finally seeing an end to this long night.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Gu Yu and Xiaoman had hurriedly arrived at Shen Manor, and as soon as they entered, they were about to curtsy.
Yuance gave them a cold, hushing gesture, pointing across the room.
That mouth of hers—who knew how much more chatter would come when she woke again.
The two maids immediately understood, softening their footsteps as they walked to the daybed. They reached out their hands but paused, seemingly afraid of waking Jiang Zhiyi and unsure how to proceed.
Yuance frowned as he approached, waving them aside with one hand. He bent down, one hand lifting the neck of the person on the daybed, the other passing through her leg, bending over the quilt, and picked her up horizontally in one motion.
Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, brushing against the back of his hand in thousands of strands, like ants crawling over it.
Yuance’s hand, which was cradling her thin shoulder, stiffened slightly. He curled his fingers, exhaled deeply, and turned to walk outside.
“…Commander Shen carried you to the wing room like this, personally placed you on the bed, and even thoughtfully moved your hair aside to avoid it being crushed!”
Early the next morning, as soon as Jiang Zhiyi woke up in the bed in the west wing room, she heard Gu Yu vividly describing what had happened after she fell asleep the night before.
Jiang Zhiyi sat on the bed with her hair loose, her sleepy eyes growing brighter as she listened: “Really?”
“True. Xiaoman saw it too, didn’t you?” Gu Yu turned to look behind her.
Xiaoman was holding washing utensils as she raised her head.
If she were to speak honestly, yes and no…
For instance, the Princess’s hair didn’t seem to have been gently moved aside, but rather pushed aside. And Commander Shen didn’t seem like a thoughtful person; he seemed more annoyed by all the hair…
Meeting Jiang Zhiyi’s expectant gaze, Xiaoman hesitantly nodded: “…That’s more or less what happened, Princess.”
Gu Yu loved to flatter and please her, while Xiaoman was more straightforward.
Jiang Zhiyi’s lips curled up in a smile as she lowered her head to touch the hair at the back of her neck, then slid her hand down to touch her shoulder. Looking up, she asked: “Is Brother Astrategy awake yet?”
“Commander Shen stayed up so late with you last night, he’s not up yet.”
Jiang Zhiyi got off the bed with a face full of joy and sat at the dressing table, urging: “Perfect timing then, hurry and help me dress.”
Xiaoman and Gu Yu took out a stack of makeup boxes they had brought from home.
Jiang Zhiyi picked up a hairpin from a whole row of jewelry and held it against her hair bun, saying she wanted this set. Then she lowered her head to choose the style of forehead decoration. After making her selections, she leaned back with satisfaction, closing her eyes to rest as the two attended to her.
Jiang Zhiyi: “I wasn’t at the manor last night. Was everything peaceful there?”
“The Madam has entered the small Buddhist shrine, and you’ve returned the Imperial Guards to the palace. No one at the manor dares question your affairs anymore. Those who knew you were gone pretended not to know.” As Gu Yu arranged her hair, she remembered something, “Oh, there’s one matter. News came from Zheng County that Sister Jing Zhe has awakened. She’s worried about you and wants to rush back to the capital.”
Jiang Zhiyi opened her eyes: “That won’t do!”
Due to multiple fractures on her body requiring pain medication, Jing Zhe had been in a half-awake state in the Zheng County medical clinic for days. Jiang Zhiyi had previously sent money and two maids specifically to care for her.
Bone and tendon injuries take a hundred days to heal. The physician said she absolutely couldn’t get up now, let alone endure the bumpy journey back through mountains and rivers, which might leave her with permanent disabilities.
“Send my message to her—the mountain bandit issue has been resolved, and Brother Astrategy and I are doing well. Tell her to rest properly and not to move around until she’s completely recovered!” After speaking, Jiang Zhiyi waved her hand and changed her mind, “Actually, don’t mention Brother Astrategy yet. She’s always been the one running back and forth delivering messages between me and Brother Astrategy. I don’t want her lying in bed worrying about whether my marriage will succeed or not.”
Gu Yu responded with agreement: “You’ve already moved into Shen Manor, how could this marriage not succeed? We servants will soon be calling him son-in-law!”
Xiaoman, who had just finished drawing Jiang Zhiyi’s eyebrows, happened to glance out the window and blurted out: “The son-in-law is coming out!”
“?” At the door of the main room, Yuance halted one foot at the threshold, slowly raising his head with suspicion, his face showing vigilance.
Jiang Zhiyi glanced outside, rose with her half-done hair bun, and opened the door: “Brother Astrategy!”
The servant sweeping snow in the courtyard suddenly looked up to see a young woman with half-loose black hair running out from the wing room. Her crimson hair ribbon fluttered in the clear sunlight like a vibrant butterfly flying into a snow-covered field.
All the servants were startled and quickly turned their backs, lowering their heads.
“Brother Astrategy, where are you going?” Jiang Zhiyi asked as she ran up to Yuance.
Yuance’s gaze swept over her face with its dark eyebrows, vermilion lips, and snow-white cheeks, pausing slightly.
Recalling the earlier casually uttered “son-in-law,” his expression darkened again: “To meet someone.”
“Meet someone? Who?”
Yuance raised an eyebrow: “If this subject’s residence can accommodate the Princess, naturally it can accommodate others as well.”
“Who else are you accommodating…” Jiang Zhiyi blinked in confusion, trying to discern the hidden meaning in his words, and muttered softly, “Can your courtyard shelter two more women…”
“Indeed, it cannot, so I would trouble the Princess to finish her preparations and vacate the wing room for my new guest.” Yuance nodded to her in farewell, then raised his chin toward Qing Song behind him, “See the Princess out properly, remember—through the back door.”
Before Jiang Zhiyi could react, Yuance had already turned and stepped into the snow.
Jiang Zhiyi stood in place, incredulously watching his retreating figure—
What is this!
In the freezing cold with melting snow, the streets were nearly deserted, and the main gate of Shen Manor that opened to the street had little activity throughout the day.
It wasn’t until dusk that a carriage, covered in frost and snow, drove into the street entrance. At the forefront, Yuance led the way on horseback, pulling the reins in front of the gate.
Qing Song, who had been waiting at the gate, immediately stepped forward, greeted Mu Xinhong, who was driving the carriage, and took the horsewhip from Yuance’s hand: “Young Master, did you successfully meet the person?”
Yuance nodded slightly and said to the two strong servants behind Qing Song: “Go up and carry the person, be careful.”
Qing Song followed Yuance as they entered the gate first, curious about who was in the carriage that required his master to personally go outside the city to meet, and even had the deputy general of the Xuance Army personally drive the carriage as escort, as if afraid the person might get bumped or hurt.
Could it be a beauty to be hidden in a golden chamber?
Qing Song secretly turned his head and saw a stretcher being lifted down from the carriage, on which lay a middle-aged man with a gray, emaciated face, covered with a white blanket, looking almost like a dead person…
Qing Song was startled and quickly turned his head back, swallowing and composing himself: “Um, Young Master, the Princess has already left the manor. You can settle the person in the west wing room.”
Yuance turned his eyes in surprise: “She left already?”
“Huh? I risked my life to see her off. You didn’t want the Princess to leave, did you…”
“Of course not.” Walking into the east courtyard, Yuance pushed open the door of the west wing room and looked around inside.
The person had indeed left, but that sweet, cloying fragrance, whether from cosmetics or something else, still lingered in the room.
Quilts, the dressing mirror, porcelain cups, jade basins… a pile of things brought over last night, with her entire household remaining.
Yuance: “The person has left, why haven’t you cleaned up the room?”
“I thought the person you were bringing back was a young lady, and since the Princess’s things are all good quality, they might be useful…”
Yuance turned his head to look at him with incomprehension, as if questioning how his brain had allowed him to serve in the east courtyard for so many years.
“Then I’ll remove the things immediately! Since the Princess didn’t take them away, she probably doesn’t want them…”
Qing Song entered the room and started removing things with a clatter, leaving the room significantly emptier in the blink of an eye.
Watching the wing room gradually return to its original bare state, for some reason, it was as if he could hear last night’s ear-piercing noise again. Yuance rubbed his ears and suddenly clicked his tongue: “Forget it.”
Rather than having the noble Princess come here to critique everything again, it would be better to just leave the wing room as it was.
Qing Song, holding a pile of items, stopped: “We’re not removing them anymore, Young Master?”
Yuance nodded, pointing in a direction to the servants waiting outside the door: “Carry him to the opposite room.”
The two strong servants carried the person on the stretcher to the east wing room across the way.
Outside the door, Mu Xinhong, who had been listening for a while and finally understood what had happened the night before, anxiously scratched his head: “Commander, we haven’t figured out what the Princess is plotting, how could you have invited the wolf into the house?”
“Without inviting the wolf in, how would we know what she’s plotting?”
“So last night you were—”
Yuance gave a light snort.
If he had previously suspected that the Princess might have developed romantic feelings for her former “arch-enemy,” after hearing those emotionless, purely performative lines outside the door last night, he could be certain that she had other motives.
Whatever could make the pampered Princess willing to endure two hours of cold wind without giving up, her goal must be significant.
Mu Xinhong gave a thumbs up: “The Commander’s methods are truly excellent. This tactic of risking yourself must have uncovered something?”
“…” Yuance glanced at him, then turned toward the study.
Qing Song came out to quietly remind him: “General Mu, be careful not to bring up sensitive topics!”
Not only had he discovered nothing, but he had also become the “son-in-law” of her dowry maids!
“Ah?” Mu Xinhong hurriedly followed Yuance, desperately trying to think of something to say in reply.
Following the study door, Mu Xinhong eagerly opened the door for Yuance. After following him in, he turned to close the door: “Commander, I’ve been thinking—could it be that the Princess suspects your identity…”
Yuance suddenly raised his hand to stop him.
Mu Xinhong froze, seeing Yuance’s face suddenly darken. He shivered, feeling the air around them abruptly chill, permeated with an austere, murderous aura.
Mu Xinhong’s expression tensed as he slowly placed his hand on his waist dagger, raising his eyes to scan the room.
Yuance’s surveying gaze suddenly paused. He grabbed a porcelain vase from the display shelf and threw it forcefully toward the landscape screen in the room.
With an earth-shattering crash, the porcelain vase shattered into pieces, causing the entire twelve-panel screen to topple over with a loud bang.
Behind the screen, a young woman who had been reclining on the daybed jumped up with a startled cry. Looking at the mess on the floor, she raised her head in confusion, meeting Yuance’s eyes, which were surging with dark currents.
Mu Xinhong’s hair stood on end as he looked at the Princess who was supposed to have already left, and remembered his own potentially fatal words just moments ago. He turned his head to look at his companion—
And saw in Yuance’s eyes, as he stared at Jiang Zhiyi, an unconcealed murderous intent.