Li Gu’s arrival did not surprise Lin Fei, but his early departure certainly did.

She went to the open pavilion and asked, “Leaving already?”

The maids, all trained by her own hand, hurried to tell her: “His Majesty suddenly grew angry and left.”

Lin Fei was at a loss. “What’s gotten into him?”

Xie Yuzhang said languidly, “Who knows what sudden madness seized him. That man keeps everything bottled up inside and won’t say a word — he only feels satisfied once someone guesses right. Never mind him. Come, I’ll play the qin for you.”

Lin Fei had no experience dealing with the Emperor directly; nearly everything she knew of him came from Xie Yuzhang. She could only shake her head and go sit beside her.

At midday, a maid came to report: “Captain Wang has arrived.”

Captain Wang was Wang Zhong, the husband of Wanxiu and Xie Yuzhang’s former head guard. He had since gone into the military and was no longer counted among Xie Yuzhang’s people.

Xie Yuzhang sighed with resignation. “Have him come see me.”

Wang Zhong arrived shortly and bowed to Xie Yuzhang. “Your Highness.” His manner carried a trace of unease and remorse.

Xie Yuzhang said, “Must you really take Yaya back?”

Wang Zhong replied, “She has truly gone too far. Her mother sent me to bring her home and discipline her.”

“Yaya is still so young — what does she know? The fault lies with us adults.” Xie Yuzhang said, “Whatever you do, don’t hit her. When we return, let Wanxiu teach her slowly. She won’t be indulged like this going forward.”

Wanxiu had become Jia You’s nursery governess, and Yaya and Niuniu followed Wanxiu to Jia You’s courtyard every day. Well-fed and well-cared for, the two of them lived a wonderfully carefree life.

Niuniu was one thing — he tore around the courtyard like the wind, never still for a moment. But Yaya had always stayed close to Jia You, who treated her like the apple of her eye and granted her every wish. Her mother was Wanxiu — not only the foremost person at Jia You’s side, but also held in high esteem before Xie Yuzhang herself. Yaya was pretty as a porcelain doll besides, and all the maids, following Jia You’s lead, showered affection upon her.

Gradually, Yaya had been thoroughly spoiled by everyone’s doting. She had become exceedingly skilled at using Jia You to command those around her and satisfy her every desire.

With the fall of Xiaoyao Manor, the blow fell not on Xie Yuzhang alone. Jia You had already begun speaking in short sentences, but upon hearing the devastating news, though she did not weep, she suddenly fell silent again.

She retreated back into her shell. Added to that, being at the Western Hills was not quite the same as home, and she had been slow to respond to Yaya’s demands. Yaya had raised her little fist and struck her.

Wanxiu exploded at once. She hauled Yaya back to the room, shut the door, and gave her a thorough beating.

Jia You grew frantic outside, pounding on the door.

But Wanxiu’s heart was iron-hard. The moment she finished, she sent someone racing back to Yunjing to notify Wang Zhong, ordering him to come that very day and take both children away.

Wang Zhong had come today accordingly.

Wang Zhong said, “She’s a little girl — my fists are too heavy. I won’t beat her. I’ll wait for her mother to come home and do it.”

Xie Yuzhang sighed. But this was Wanxiu’s family matter, Wanxiu’s child. No matter how long her reach, she could not extend it into someone else’s household. She could only have some food and silk rewarded to Wang Zhong, hoping the couple would go easy on Yaya when they punished her. She also kept Wang Zhong for lunch at the villa before finally letting him take the children away.

Yaya was only five years old this year, still innocent of right and wrong; her actions were nothing more than the instincts of a small animal. For the past year, she and Jia You had been inseparable except at night, and being forced apart so suddenly made her wail as though her heart were being torn out.

Even Wang Zhong’s heart softened. He kept looking at Wanxiu — but did not dare plead for his daughter’s sake.

Wanxiu did not waver in the slightest. “Take her home,” she said.

Wang Zhong took Yaya and Niuniu and headed back to Yunjing.

But the moment Yaya was gone, Jia You broke down and wept — since the fall of Xiaoyao Manor and the loss of Madam Yu, this was the very first time she had cried.

Xie Yuzhang had not expected Yaya’s departure to have this effect; it was an accident that turned out for the best. She knew all too well what it felt like to be unable to cry.

She said to Jia You, “You’ve been too good to Yaya, but she has her own home and cannot stay by your side forever. We’ve spoiled her, and that will only harm her future. Let her go home for a while. If you eat your meals and speak to people like you should, when we return, I’ll have Yaya come play with you again.”

Jia You said nothing. She only silently wiped away her tears.

That evening, Xie Yuzhang and Lin Fei sat in the main room playing weiqi. Both wore everyday robes with their hair loosely pinned, radiating an ease that was beyond words. It felt like the most peaceful moment since their return from Mobei.

Xie Yuzhang even said, “Let’s just stay here in the Western Hills for good.”

“That’s not bad,” Lin Fei replied. “Stay a year, then go back — that would be just right.”

After all, Xie Yuzhang was observing a year of mourning and was unable to go out hunting, socializing, or entertaining. Living here meant being far from the splendor of Yunjing, but also far from its complications. It was tranquil, perfectly suited to Xie Yuzhang’s period of mourning.

While they were talking, Wanxiu came in.

Xie Yuzhang asked, “How is she?”

Wanxiu smiled. “She’s been quietly wiping her eyes again.”

Both Xie Yuzhang and Lin Fei laughed. For someone as withdrawn as Jia You, a strong emotional response was a cause for joy in their eyes — it was so much better than that hollow, lifeless stupor she had sunk into back at Xiaoyao Manor.

Xie Yuzhang tossed down a game piece and stood up. “I’ll go check on her. Play in my place — and don’t lose!”

The older maids who had come from Zhaoxia Palace were all quite accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Wanxiu, who had been close with Lin Fei back in the palace, had learned her chess entirely from her.

Wanxiu took Xie Yuzhang’s place on the couch and said, “No blaming me if I lose.”

Xie Yuzhang laughed in mock reproach and went to look in on Jia You. Her personal maids all followed her out, leaving only Wanxiu and Lin Fei in the main room, with a young maid holding up the door curtain outside and another standing ready to pour tea.

Lin Fei said, “You really were quite hardhearted. Seeing Yaya cry like that — how could you feel nothing?”

Wanxiu replied, “What could I do — I’m her own mother.”

Lin Fei said, “That little fist of hers hitting someone is no worse than a tickle.”

Wanxiu said, “When her strength is no longer just a tickle and she strikes out again, I’m afraid there will be nothing left for her but death. I gave birth to this daughter myself — I have to think of her wellbeing.”

What Wanxiu said was right. Lin Fei had only grown partial because she had watched Yaya come into the world and grow up, her fondness turning into favoritism.

She could only say, “Don’t punish her too harshly. She’s really quite pitiable.”

The two of them played a game of weiqi. Wanxiu, as expected, lost. She declared with sudden understanding, “She must have known she was going to lose and ran off on purpose.”

Lin Fei burst out laughing.

The two called for more tea, but the maid outside did not come in. They were about to call again when there came a sudden thud from outside — the sound of something falling to the ground.

Both women instinctively looked toward the doorway.

The curtain hanging in the main room had been put up after Xie Yuzhang moved in. It was a pearl curtain, each pearl perfectly round, shimmering softly in the lamplight.

As they looked, a flash of light suddenly cut through the gaps in the pearl strings. The curtain was violently swept aside, and a group of masked men dressed in black came charging in!

Lin Fei and Wanxiu had no time to react. Cold steel blades were already at their throats!

Both women held their breath!

One of the masked men stepped forward and swept his gaze over the two of them. His eyes came to rest on Lin Fei.

This young woman was around twenty years of age, refined in bearing and luminously beautiful, the kind that made it impossible to look away.

He said, “So you are Princess Yongning? Truly worthy of being called the foremost beauty of Yunjing.”

He had mistaken Lin Fei for the princess! What to do — how could she warn the princess? Should she cry out? Would her head leave her shoulders in an instant? Could the servants in the courtyard hear? These men had broken their way inside — were those servants even still alive? That thudding sound just now — had the maid outside been killed? The guards were in the outer courtyard — how could she alert them that something had gone wrong?

Wanxiu had weathered many things in Mobei. In the span of a heartbeat, thoughts flew through her mind at lightning speed as she frantically searched for a way to handle what was before her.

Then she heard a cold laugh beside her ear.

Lin Fei set down the game piece she had been holding. She propped one elbow on the low table and, with two fingers of her other hand, calmly pushed the blade away from her neck. She looked down on the intruders with cool arrogance. “Who are you, to dare act so insolently before this princess?”

Wanxiu’s pupils contracted sharply. Her gaze shot toward Lin Fei.

This “Princess Yongning” wore a dignified expression between her brows, her bearing radiating a noble authority that brooked no disrespect.

She pushed aside the blade at her neck. The man holding it was seized by her manner and did not dare act rashly; he could only look to his leader.

The leader smiled with appreciation. “Worthy indeed of imperial blood.”

The leader had had his grand plan ruined by Princess Yongning and was about to return empty-handed — a humiliation he found impossible to swallow. Having heard that Princess Yongning had left Yunjing, he had decided to kill her before heading back, just to vent his fury.

But now that he actually stood before her, she turned out to be this remarkable young woman. No wonder she had been able to ruin his plans.

“Princess Yongning” said, “I advise you all to put down your blades immediately and surrender to justice. I have two hundred guards in this estate — they will close in and surround you, and you will have no way out.”

The leader laughed. “You’re bluffing, girl.”

Two hundred guards — that was a full complement on paper. Even if a princess had two hundred guards, she would not bring them all out with her. He had scouted the estate before moving in; there were perhaps forty or fifty guards in the compound at most.

Lin Fei kept her composure, lifted her chin, and said, “You had better leave while you still can. If I cry out right now, your heads will part from your shoulders!”

Wanxiu understood perfectly. She knew Lin Fei was deliberately provoking him. Whether they killed her or took her, Lin Fei wanted it resolved quickly — before Xie Yuzhang came back.

Lin Fei’s face was composed, but her urgency was something only Wanxiu in this room could understand.

The man laughed, and his mind was entirely changed — he no longer wanted to kill this “Princess Yongning.” He said, “Take her!”

One of his men asked, “Da’lang, what about this one?” He meant Wanxiu.

The address “Da’lang” struck Lin Fei’s ears like an arrow. Her gaze cut across like a blade.

“Da’lang” said, “Kill her.”

Lin Fei let out a sharp cry: “Stop!”

Everyone looked at her. She said, “I thought the nine hundred years of Qi Family heritage from Xinzhou amounted to something. Yet Gao Da’lang turns out to be nothing more than a common brute — not even able to spare a woman.”

Gao Da’lang’s eyes sharpened. “You know who I am.”

Lin Fei smiled coldly. “You were once betrothed to the eldest daughter of the Lin Family. The Lin Family has been by my side for years — how could I not know?”

But in her mind, thoughts flashed rapidly: the Gao Family members — after escaping from Xiaoyao Manor, with the Emperor ordering the entire city to hunt them down, how had they managed to lie low all this time and only now slip away quietly? How had they evaded capture?

These thoughts raced through her mind without affecting her words in the slightest.

She said, “If you kill her, I will cry out right now. Even if I cannot have you all killed or captured, it will cause you no end of trouble. Spare her, and I will go quietly with you.”

Then immediately she added: “Be decisive, like a man. In a moment my maids will be coming back with the evening meal, and you’ll have more trouble on your hands!”

Gao Da’lang was a man of quick decisions. He said at once, “Bind her.” He meant Wanxiu.

Men stepped forward, twisted Wanxiu’s hands behind her back, and tied her with rope.

Lin Fei turned to look. Wanxiu was looking at her too. Lin Fei’s gaze bore down on her, and Wanxiu’s lips trembled. She called out softly: “…Your Highness!”

Approval flickered in Lin Fei’s eyes.

When the cloth gag had been tied around Wanxiu’s mouth, Gao Da’lang said to Lin Fei, “Move!”

All of Lin Fei’s life, she had been waiting for a chance to repay Xie Yuzhang.

And yet — even when she had chased her all the way to Mobei, she had lived constantly under her protection. But now, at this moment, the chance she had waited a lifetime for had finally come.

She smiled faintly, and rose without fear. “Let’s go.”