At that moment, Ren Yaoqi thought that many things in this world truly had no fairness to speak of.

Some people were born wealthy and noble, some had exceptional talents, some were outstanding in ability, and some could attract everyone’s attention the moment they appeared—like the bright moon in the sky, like peerless jade, like flowers on snowy peaks.

Walking leisurely toward them was a young man whose jet-black hair had a slight purple tint in the sunlight, making his beautiful facial features emit a soft, jade-like luster. Though his steps weren’t slow, they gave off an elegant and noble impression of strolling among idle clouds.

This natural elegance and casual nobility made everything around him fade into mere background scenery as he walked.

A pair of deep, gentle, dark eyes met Ren Yaoqi’s in midair.

Somehow, Ren Yaoqi felt as if something deep in her heart had been struck heavily.

Ren Yaoqi had once heard scholarly gentlemen critique beauties, saying that whether someone was beautiful or not depended not on appearance but on temperament. Many people could be called beautiful while sitting still and silent, but once they moved or spoke, it was like destroying a masterpiece painting, ruining that sense of beauty.

Yet this young man was someone whose even the slightest swaying of his robe hem could make people feel it was perfectly appropriate.

“Flawless white jade, unparalleled in the world”—these phrases were meant to describe such a person.

This was the first time Ren Yaoqi had given such high praise to a man’s appearance.

Only when the young man drew closer did she notice his lips were somewhat pale, and though his figure was tall and well-proportioned, he was slightly thin, adding an unexpected gentleness to his striking appearance.

The white robe he wore had black cloud patterns embroidered around the edges—exquisite—but the right sleeve seemed to have had a piece of trim torn off, looking rather conspicuous.

Xiangqin leaned over and whispered in Ren Yaoqi’s ear with a strange expression: “Miss, do you think this young master might be the nun’s lover that those women were looking for earlier?”

Ren Yaoqi was startled and looked at the young man again carefully.

The young man’s gaze swept lightly toward Xiangqin. Though his expression revealed no particular emotion, it made Xiangqin instinctively lower her head.

Honestly, Ren Yaoqi found it impossible to imagine such a young man as the male lover she’d heard about earlier. But he had appeared here at exactly this moment, and in a state of “disheveled clothing” no less.

Ren Yaoqi coughed softly, averted her gaze, and said casually to Xiangqin: “Let’s go sit in the pavilion.” She then walked toward the pavilion.

Before she’d taken many steps, she saw the women who had run behind Dragon King Hall to search for someone come rushing out again. They hadn’t found anyone and had turned back.

Ren Yaoqi paused, wanting to turn and look at the young man, but ultimately restrained herself after only slightly moving her head. It was better to avoid such matters as much as possible.

However, the young man walked toward her, stopping at her left side, only half an arm’s length away—close enough to be walking side by side.

Ren Yaoqi was startled again and turned to look at him. The young man’s expression was leisurely, his gait elegant, as if he had originally been standing beside her, taking a stroll together.

The spring breeze, still carrying some chill, brought with it an extremely pure and faint medicinal fragrance that calmed one’s mind.

Xiangqin’s eyes widened enormously, as if she’d seen a ghost, frantically signaling to Ren Yaoqi with her eyes.

Ren Yaoqi turned her head and walked to the wooden bench in the pavilion without changing her pace, sitting down. The young man sat gracefully across from her.

Xiangqin stood behind Ren Yaoqi with a bitter expression, her eyes darting between the young man and the women approaching ever closer.

“Strange! Where did that slut’s lover hide?”

“Fourth Aunt, could Fourth Uncle have been mistaken? We’ve searched all along this path and haven’t seen the disheveled white-clothed man Fourth Uncle described.”

Xiangqin’s eye twitched as she glanced at the young man’s white robe, secretly reaching out to tug at Ren Yaoqi’s sleeve.

A faint smile appeared on the young man’s lips, like flowing water under moonlight, like a gentle breeze on one’s face. He lifted his eyelids and glanced at the master and servant across from him.

After a moment of dazed confusion, Xiangqin’s face reddened. She lowered her hand and deeply bowed her head, making no further movements.

Ren Yaoqi’s expression remained serene. She neither looked outside nor at the young man, but turned her head toward a magnolia tree growing by the pond beside the pavilion, as if the white flowers that were half-bloomed had captured all her attention.

The women had reached outside the pavilion and stopped to look inside upon seeing people there.

The white-clothed young man somehow had a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his right hand, which he fingered leisurely. The beads struck each other rhythmically, producing a metallic sound.

Only then did Ren Yaoqi turn her head, looking at the prayer beads with some curiosity. The beads appeared to be sandalwood but weren’t sandalwood.

The young man smiled gently at Ren Yaoqi and offered her the prayer beads, saying softly: “This is ‘golden stone wood.’ It looks very similar to sandalwood and even has a sandalwood scent, but it’s not. The Buddhist beads are carved with the entire Diamond Sutra, with characters as small as dust that can only be seen with a special mirror.”

His voice was low and slightly hoarse, as if carrying some special magic. Ren Yaoqi unconsciously accepted the prayer beads he offered. They felt slightly heavy in her hand and were cool against her skin.

Running her thumb over them, she could indeed feel slight irregularities on each bead. Looking with her eyes, she could only see what appeared to be random patterns, unable to discern any characters.

The women glanced at the pavilion a few times, then turned away their gaze and left while conversing in low voices.

The young man slowly stood up. Just as Ren Yaoqi was about to return the prayer beads, he had already turned and walked out of the pavilion. Though his steps didn’t seem particularly fast, he disappeared from sight in an instant. The faint medicinal fragrance disappeared with him.

Only then did Xiangqin react, calling out quietly: “Oh my, Fifth Miss, he didn’t take his prayer beads!”

Ren Yaoqi quietly looked at the prayer beads in her hand, her eyes thoughtful.

Xiangqin looked toward the path he’d taken and sighed regretfully: “What a pity—such a remarkable person is someone’s male lover.”

Seeing that Ren Yaoqi didn’t respond, Xiangqin asked with some confusion: “Miss, was he using us to evade those people just now? Are these beads a thank-you gift?”

Ren Yaoqi didn’t answer but handed the beads to Xiangqin: “Keep these for now, just consider them found. If we have a chance to meet him again, we’ll return them.”

Xiangqin quickly agreed, wrapping the prayer beads in her handkerchief and carefully storing them in the pouch at her waist.

Only then did Ren Yaoqi ask: “What did you want to tell me earlier?”

Xiangqin quickly said, “Fifth Miss, earlier Wujing said that when she went to add oil money offerings for Madam, she thought she saw a martial actor named Dongqing from Master’s entourage.”

“Dongqing?” Ren Yaoqi was slightly startled, then looked up sharply. “You’re saying Wujing saw Dongqing? Not Xiaqing?”

Xiangqin replied with confusion and puzzlement: “Wujing said it was Dongqing. She couldn’t have been wrong, could she? Though Dongqing and Xiaqing’s names differ by only one character, their appearances are worlds apart. Fifth Miss, Third Miss said that Dongqing and Xiaqing always follow Master wherever he goes. If he appeared here, Master must be nearby too, so she took Wujing and two servant women to search.”

But Ren Yaoqi sat there frowning, her thoughts drifting far away.

These years, her maternal family could barely afford to keep servants, yet they maintained a troupe of opera performers.

Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou—all roles were complete, enough to hold proper performances. Whenever her maternal grandfather and uncle were in the mood, the small, shabby two-courtyard house would ring with gongs and stringed instruments. The father and son might even take the stage to show off their voices, creating quite a lively scene behind closed doors.

Everyone said the deposed Prince Xian and his son were both muddled, pleasure-seeking fools. Some quietly scorned them, saying it was fortunate the late emperor hadn’t had time to name a crown prince before dying, or the Great Zhou dynasty’s future would have been worrying.

Only after Ren Yaoqi later entered the capital, when her uncle secretly brought people into the city, did she learn that those opera performers in her maternal grandfather’s residence—the martial sheng, martial chou, old sheng, and young sheng actors—were all deeply skilled martial arts masters in disguise.

Some were hidden guards or bodyguards the late emperor had originally granted to Prince Xian, others were confidants of Prince Xian’s birth mother, Noble Consort Wan. After Prince Xian’s family was banished to Yan Bei, they secretly followed, disguising themselves as opera performers to stay beside Prince Xian and his son. They could be considered Prince Xian’s manor’s death-sworn retainers.

Chunsheng, Xiasheng, Qiusheng, and Dongsheng were the four who often stayed close to her uncle Li Tianyou. She remembered Chunsheng, Xiasheng, and Qiusheng because they had accompanied her uncle to the capital. Especially Xiasheng—after she persuaded her uncle to leave, he secretly stayed by her side for half a year to ensure she was truly safe before returning to Yan Bei.

But she had no impression of Dongsheng. According to Xiasheng, Dongsheng had disappeared one year while accompanying her uncle on a trip. No matter how they searched afterward, they never found him. He never returned—neither alive nor dead.

Hearing Dongsheng’s name suddenly now made Ren Yaoqi somewhat dazed.

Dongsheng hadn’t disappeared yet.