Wei Xun slowly edged closer with deliberate slowness. With the window between them, Bao Zhu reached out with both hands to cup his face. Her mind was hazy and confused, not really knowing what she wanted to do, only feeling a strong desire to be close to him. Her face was burning hot, and his cool nose tip touching against hers felt quite amusing.

Wei Xun was captured by her, having completely forgotten how to breathe. His chest burned hotly – if even a single spark ignited the fuse, he would shoot into the sky like fireworks and explode into a shower of stars.

She was drunk – did she know what she was doing? What should he say to dissuade her? Two ideas pulled back and forth in his mind: one part wanting to flee far away, while another part wanted to break through the window and get even closer.

Just as he was caught in this internal struggle, Bao Zhu’s lips had already pressed against his. At the instant of contact, the conflict between fleeing or fighting overwhelmed his reason. Years of martial arts instinct took the upper hand – Wei Xun raised his hand and brushed past the Tianding and Futu acupoints on the side of her neck. Bao Zhu’s arms immediately dropped and she fell into unconsciousness, her body slowly collapsing.

Wei Xun frantically caught and supported her, staring at his right hand in disbelief. Apparently before his brain could react to how he should respond, his body had already acted first to knock her unconscious. Why? How could this happen? What on earth was he doing?

Confusion mixed with inexplicable regret, Wei Xun held the unconscious Bao Zhu and crouched on the eaves in a daze. A voice in his heart cried out: This was wrong, he should quickly put her on the bed. Hurry up and let go, put her back.

The warm, soft body slept in his arms. Though reason repeatedly urged him, his body remained motionless. He wanted to steal Bao Zhu away, once again. Though he knew this was improper, he couldn’t bear to let go no matter what.

After over a thousand rounds of internal struggle, he ultimately didn’t dare be presumptuous. He carried her back into the room, not even daring to touch her shoes, roughly tucking her into the bedding and covering her with the quilt. Listening to her steady breathing, Wei Xun climbed out the window, wandered around the vicinity for a while, his heart agitated and unable to calm down. Not knowing what to do, he tiptoed back again.

Having almost touched but not quite, he unconsciously sought compensation. Seeing the remaining wine she had left at the bottom of her cup on the table, he quietly picked it up and drank it down.

The rim of the cup bore a trace of crimson lip rouge. Though just a shallow sip, it was like having ten pounds of strong liquor in his stomach. For a moment he felt dizzy and intoxicated – wine doesn’t intoxicate people, people intoxicate themselves.

This was actually more thrilling than any life-or-death duel. Feeling himself moved, he dared not linger any longer. He secured the doors and windows and fled in panic, sitting on the rooftop hugging his knees to catch the cold wind.

Wine reveals true nature – he couldn’t help repeatedly speculating about her intentions. Was it just drunken nonsense from being unable to handle her cups, or was there a hint of something vague…

He had always longed for her to take the initiative to touch him, but when she actually made a move, he feared it wasn’t her true intention. In bewilderment he took out the ten gold Tongbao coins, fondling them back and forth in his palm. She had said she would write a contract – though it was playful banter, still… when she gave him the gold coins to establish the agreement, she was sober, wasn’t she?

Thinking of this, his composure was completely shattered.

He had always come and gone without a trace, free and unrestrained. Now that he had accepted money and been redeemed, he instead felt bound by some invisible rope, emotionally entangled and unable to go far or run fast.

However, Wei Xun understood in his heart that Bao Zhu’s current melancholy and unhappiness was a knot that absolutely couldn’t be solved through martial force. She had fallen from the clouds into the mud – live burial, martyrdom, unsolvable mysteries… With worldly affairs so troublesome, if everything were like martial arts with only victory and defeat, it would be too simple.

Wei Xun gripped the cold gold coins, pressing them against his even colder chest. Youzhou – the destination of this journey. His life wouldn’t last much longer. He must strengthen his resolve, restrain his selfish thoughts, and quickly deliver her to her brother’s side to finally ensure her smooth and peaceful life.

The sound of peddlers on the Luo River calling out lotus pods for sale drifted in from outside the window. Bao Zhu groggily awakened to find daylight already bright. Whether due to her hangover or not, after one night, her head felt heavy and the left side of her neck ached terribly.

She stared blankly for a while, unable to remember what had happened the night before. She only vaguely recalled drinking alone and talking with Wei Xun for a while, after which her memories became blurred. Scanning the room, she saw a red-petaled, silver-edged double-colored hibiscus flower inserted in the wine pot on the table, still bearing some dewdrops.

She threw back the covers, got up and pulled out the flower branch to smell it. A faint fragrance wafted to her nose. The wine in the pot was gone, replaced with half a pot of clear water. The hibiscus soaked in it with petals spread wide and full of moisture.

Yesterday’s several unexpected incidents had made her unhappy, but this flower brought a trace of comfort. She couldn’t help but smile slightly. After changing clothes and arranging her hair, she pinned the hibiscus flower in her hair knot and gracefully walked down to the main hall on the ground floor.

Shisan Lang was fanning the tea stove, while Wei Xun propped his arm up supporting his cheek, staring blankly at the donkey in the courtyard. Hearing footsteps, he turned to look and saw her descending the stairs gracefully. Recalling her charming drunken state last night, his face reddened and his gaze drifted back to the courtyard.

Yang Xingjian was reading a volume of Yuan Zhen’s new poetry. Seeing that Bao Zhu had finally gotten up, he immediately stood respectfully to bow. After Bao Zhu was seated, Yang Xingjian came forward to serve tea. Seeing her constantly rubbing her shoulders and neck, he asked with concern, “Does the Princess feel unwell?”

Bao Zhu tilted her head to stretch her tendons, saying, “I don’t know why, but the left side of my neck is strangely painful.”

The cattail leaf fan in Shisan Lang’s hand paused. Yang Xingjian quickly said, “Perhaps you slept wrong. The Princess has been traveling continuously, exposed to wind and sleeping outdoors. Constantly changing beds makes it easy to sleep poorly. Since there’s nothing urgent today, why not find a skilled massage lady to give you a rubdown?”

Shisan Lang dropped his fan and stood up, asking, “Does Jiu Niang still remember what time she went to sleep yesterday?”

Bao Zhu looked confused and said doubtfully, “I don’t remember when I fell asleep. I even dozed off without taking off my shoes, which is rather strange. Even if I had drunk an entire pot, I shouldn’t have gotten so drunk as to be unconscious. Has my alcohol tolerance decreased?”

Shisan Lang felt suspicious. He came over to ask specifically where it hurt, then looked back at Wei Xun, seeing his evasive gaze and silence, apparently showing some guilty conscience.

Shisan Lang frowned and said to him, “Senior brother, I have something I want to discuss with you.”

Wei Xun knew he had been found out and could only stand up. The two brothers walked out of the courtyard one after the other, speaking in lowered voices outside the courtyard wall.

Shisan Lang said with a serious expression, “Jiu Niang was knocked unconscious by someone using pressure point techniques. This person habitually uses their right hand, commonly targeting the Tianding and Futu acupoints. Due to profound internal energy penetrating muscle and bone, those affected often lose a small segment of consciousness and can’t remember what happened before they fell unconscious. Since senior brother was nearby, surely no such expert could have infiltrated the room to attack Jiu Niang?”

Wei Xun folded his arms, half-leaning his shoulder against the wall, head lowered without speaking. After a long while he finally said, “…She made the first move.”

Shisan Lang said in astonishment, “She hit you?”

Wei Xun recalled yesterday’s unclear and ambiguous actions, still feeling somewhat flustered and confused. Unable to explain properly, he could only give a low “Mm.”

Disciples from Canyang Academy all skillfully mastered the art of deflecting blame. Shisan Lang hadn’t expected Wei Xun to push responsibility onto Bao Zhu, angrily saying, “Jiu Niang wouldn’t attack for no reason. It must be senior brother’s fault.”

This little fellow had already completely taken her side. Wei Xun looked up at the sky in distress, momentarily speechless.

After a while, he explained unclearly, “Yesterday she was drunk and a bit out of her mind.”

Shisan Lang pondered for a moment, then said indignantly, “Master also often hits people for no reason when he drinks. Who among us didn’t get beaten during training? What’s wrong with letting her hit you a few times? Why did you have to fight back? At worst, I’ll copy down the Prajna Repentance mental cultivation method to teach you – just treat getting beaten as practice.”

Wei Xun recalled yesterday when she approached with misty eyes – even an Immovable Wisdom King would be moved. No amount of practice would help. But this matter couldn’t be explained in detail to his junior brother.

Seeing Wei Xun hemming and hawing, Shisan Lang thought he felt guilty about being in the wrong, angrily scolding, “Don’t fight back next time!” After saying this, he huffily returned to the courtyard, busying himself with pouring tea for Bao Zhu.

Next time… could there possibly be a next time?

Wei Xun stared blankly for quite a while before realizing he had been thoroughly scolded by his junior brother who hadn’t even graduated, unable to respond with a single word. He found it both irritating and amusing. Fortunately, he had no concept of hierarchical order, only feeling that though his junior brother’s martial arts were incomplete, that furious, imposing appearance quite resembled Guan Chuan’s lion’s roar before Buddha – the future looked promising.

Having been lectured, Wei Xun was too embarrassed to return immediately. He wandered around the area for a while, hearing no rumors of murders in the neighborhood. He then bought both meat and vegetarian steamed buns for everyone’s breakfast, a bag of bean cake to feed the donkey, and brought several large lotus pods from a peddler’s boat, wrapped in fresh lotus leaves and held in his arms as snacks for Bao Zhu.

Yang Xingjian thought Bao Zhu would continue shopping today, but she had no plans to go out again. She took the poetry collection from his hands and copied a poem as calligraphy practice. Yang Xingjian observed her mood, knowing that yesterday’s series of dangerous encounters had left her melancholy and unhappy.

Princess Wangshou was legally dead. Though everyone around her continued to treat her with the respect due a princess, providing careful protection, unless Prince Shao regained power, it would be impossible to restore the honor she had held while alive.

Yang Xingjian pondered for a long while, then had a bright idea. He claimed to be going out to visit an old friend, rented a horse from a nearby stable, and rode around Luoyang city several times. After examining several of the most luxurious restaurants, he selected one called Golden Wave Pavilion and reserved a private room. Though the power of money was far inferior to political power, it could equally make one feel warmly cared for and delighted.

Yang Xingjian deliberately and discreetly displayed his silver fish-shaped official pouch. The Golden Wave Pavilion owner was well-informed and naturally knew this was worn by officials of fifth rank and above. Guessing that this plainclothes client wanted to host an anonymous banquet for someone of noble status, he quickly agreed and brought out the menu of delicacies and the program of songs and dances for Yang Xingjian to review.

After finalizing the banquet details, Yang Xingjian returned to the small courtyard by the Luo River and reported to Bao Zhu that an old friend had recommended a restaurant with quite excellent songs, dances, and theatrical performances. Since they were staying in Luoyang to rest, why not go out for entertainment? After all, beyond the Eastern Capital, there would be no more such large cities along the road.

Hearing this, Bao Zhu cast aside her sorrows and wiped away her tears. She sent Shisan Lang out to hire a hairdresser to redo her hair. Shisan Lang, hearing they were going to a restaurant to eat, drink, and watch performances, was overjoyed and bustled about busily. After Bao Zhu finished dressing up, the three of them accompanied her to Golden Wave Pavilion.