On the fourth day, early in the morning, Madam Gantang acted as if nothing had happened, directing the household servants to busily prepare for the spring banquet.

Nanyi had only returned at midnight the night before and was yawning as she worked beside Madam Gantang in the morning, her gaze occasionally drifting to observe this woman. Being young and unable to contain herself, with such an enormous secret in her belly, she inevitably showed some nervousness on her face.

Yet looking at Madam Gantang’s calm and composed expression, she appeared exactly like a rear courtyard matriarch who never left home, as if the person secretly maintaining an army in Tiger Kneel Mountain wasn’t her at all.

She wondered whether her explanations yesterday had managed to deceive Xie Queshan.

Just as she was thinking about Xie Queshan, he strode into the garden with large steps.

Dark circles pressed beneath his eyes—he clearly hadn’t slept well the night before either.

As he passed Nanyi, his footsteps paused. Nanyi suddenly tensed.

Though nothing particularly significant had happened during their boat journey home the previous night, she couldn’t shake the memory of him gripping her hand tightly until her cold knuckles were warmed by him, until both their palms were sticky with sweat.

She knew why he had done it, knew there was nothing improper about it, but remembering it still made her face flush.

Later she had fallen asleep. She had vague memories of him carrying her through the thick darkness of the long corridor, placing her on the bed, his warm knuckles brushing across her face, sweeping aside a strand of loose hair…

When she woke again, it was already cockcrow. She had slept peacefully in her own room, as if everything from the night before was just a dream that rippled with the water waves and slowly disappeared.

After that night, the relationship between them had become subtle. Familiar eye contact, mutual understanding—they shared many secrets known only to them beneath the green tiles and vermillion beams of the great mansion.

But on the surface, they were incompatible uncle and sister-in-law.

Xie Queshan nodded slightly toward her, acknowledging her presence, then strode toward Madam Gantang.

Despite his usual swift decisiveness, he patiently stood aside, waiting for Madam Gantang to finish her tasks before saying: “Second Sister, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Madam Gantang glanced at Xie Queshan. Seeing his current demeanor, she guessed this was probably an important matter. She raised her hand to summon a maid carrying water, cleaned her hands, and said: “Let’s go inside to talk.”

Once inside, after dismissing the others, Xie Queshan got straight to the point: “Second Sister, for tomorrow’s spring banquet, I’d trouble you to invite one more person to dine at our home.”

“You’re the family head. If you have a guest, just invite them.”

“If I invite him, he won’t come.”

“Who?”

“Song Muchuan.”

The room suddenly fell quiet.

Madam Gantang’s gaze swept over, her brow furrowing as she asked: “What are you planning to do?”

His answer was simple and brutal: “Have him come to dinner, drug him, then throw him on a boat and make him leave Li Du Mansion.”

He had no time to send negotiators to waste words with Song Muchuan, who wouldn’t listen anyway. This was the simplest and most effective method.

Hearing this savage and crude plan, Madam Gantang was so angry she directly splashed the tea in her hand at his face: “Xie Chao’en, what madness has possessed you!”

“I’m not mad.” His eyes were dark as he let the tea drip down his face.

The empty teacup crashed heavily onto the table, signaling the complete exhaustion of Madam Gantang’s last bit of patience. She issued an eviction order: “Get out!”

Xie Queshan remained seated, completely unmoved.

Madam Gantang composed herself and stared at Xie Queshan, waiting to see what else he could possibly say.

“Second Sister.” He began, but his words suddenly caught in his throat.

He raised his hand and wiped away the disheveled water stains on his face, a self-mocking smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

“The Xie family owes me, and I owe the Xie family. This muddled account can never be settled in this lifetime. Whatever you’re doing, whatever schemes you have, at most I can only turn a blind eye. But if one day the Qi people force me to open my eyes, I must open them. Second Sister, do you understand?”

Madam Gantang’s expression became somewhat disordered. She tried to maintain composure, but her eyes still revealed a trace of disbelief, her voice unconsciously carrying a tremor: “If the Qi people told you to kill your own relatives with your own hands, would you do that too?”

Xie Queshan remained silent for a long time, which amounted to acknowledgment.

Madam Gantang was actually somewhat stunned. No matter how unflappable she usually was, these treasonous words still shocked her. She slumped back into her chair, speechless.

“But Song Qi—he doesn’t owe me anything. My blade can point at anyone in this world, except it cannot point at him. Li Du Mansion isn’t murky water he should stir up. He must leave.”

This statement was even more shocking than all his previous words.

There was nothing unusual about a demon declaring how he would go on a killing spree in the future. But when a demon said he had someone he wanted to protect, that there was still one person who was his weakness in this world.

This was deadly.

Madam Gantang looked at Xie Queshan. Since returning home, though she hadn’t said anything, she had tried to observe her third brother from every tiny clue. Then she was dismayed to discover that she couldn’t see through him at all.

He was always impeccable, leaving no traces.

Yet with this speech, he had laid bare his sharp position before Madam Gantang without any concealment.

But Madam Gantang heard that those extreme harsh words were just armor he had donned for himself, while everything he said was actually about his own fears.

She sat dejectedly, digesting his every word, and finally nodded.

The fifth day was brilliantly sunny, unseasonably bright.

The carriage to fetch guests stopped on the street of Jiangyue District. The Xie family’s servants politely invited Song Muchuan out from his humble thatched cottage.

Madam Gantang sat inside the carriage. To ensure Song Muchuan would come, she had made the trip personally.

This was indeed somewhat sudden for Song Muchuan. However, with his sharp intellect, he immediately analyzed the purpose behind this in his mind.

Madam Gantang inviting him to the spring banquet was most likely at Xie Queshan’s request. It seemed that when Xie Queshan told him to leave Li Du Mansion last time, he wasn’t just talking.

Whenever Xie Queshan made a move, he was certainly eighty to ninety percent confident of success. Song Muchuan was now at a passive disadvantage and couldn’t refuse Madam Gantang.

Song Muchuan only pondered for a moment before immediately having an idea. He respectfully cupped his hands toward the carriage: “Thank you for Madam Gantang’s gracious invitation, but when visiting the Xie mansion, Song cannot go empty-handed. Please wait a moment while I buy some wine.”

Madam Gantang knew Song Muchuan was a very particular person. Even if she told him not to be so formal, he wouldn’t comply, so she patiently agreed, only asking him not to spend too much.

Song Muchuan went to Huachao Pavilion to buy two jars of fine wine before boarding the Xie family carriage.

There weren’t many passersby on the street, but anyone with eyes could recognize the Xie family carriage, so they naturally looked with curiosity.

This scene was witnessed by Chang Yan from Huachao Pavilion, who watched the carriage depart before hurriedly turning to leave.

Song Muchuan was just someone who had accidentally appeared in Guilai Hall’s field of vision. Zhang Yuehui considered him merely a self-exiled waste and hadn’t taken him seriously.

He had previously hidden among the common people, with no intention of having any contact with people he knew from the past. Suddenly going to the Xie family—this matter was somewhat suspicious.

Music and dancing filled Huachao Pavilion with the continuous sound of strings and bamboo instruments. Zhang Yuehui sat behind the curtain in an elegant room on the second floor, stroking his chin and pondering for a long while.

“Song Muchuan is the son of the former Minister of Works, trained in the Mohist school, a craftsman skilled in mechanical construction. He can build ships, and Wanyan Jun needs shipbuilders. This information should be worth quite a bit of money.”

“But didn’t the boss say last time that this person couldn’t be used?”

“Last time he was a dead man, but he failed to die when he jumped in the river. After such a great disaster without dying, who knows—his mindset might have completely changed.”

“But that kind of rigid scholar’s position might not be willing to work for the Qi people.”

Zhang Yuehui shrugged: “We only sell information. Whether he’s willing or not, which side his allegiance truly lies with—what does that have to do with us?”

The music stopped. After one dance ended, applause came from downstairs. Zhang Yuehui uncrossed his legs and lifted the transparent gauze curtain before him.

“Excellent!” This wastrel also applauded, then scattered banknotes from his sleeve into the air. They fluttered down like snowflakes, causing the crowd below to scramble and fight over them in chaos.

Like throwing a pebble into water, it created ripple after ripple. People’s eyes turned red fighting over a single banknote, even coming to blows, making the scene temporarily chaotic.

Zhang Yuehui looked down from his high position, enjoying the spectacle immensely.

“This pond needs to be stirred up—only then can we earn more profit.”

In Wangxue Stronghold, Nanyi was already drowning in eight hundred trivial matters. She only vaguely heard the female servants mention that a guest had come to the house, and Madam Gantang was currently bringing him to pay New Year respects to the Grand Madam.

She had no time to concern herself with these matters that didn’t require her participation, being busy in the Yixuan Pavilion in the garden. Soon everyone would emerge from the Grand Madam’s Songhe Hall and come to Yixuan Pavilion first for tea and conversation, with the formal banquet not beginning until evening.

When Nanyi looked up, all the female servants around her had disappeared. The enormous pavilion held only her.

She was used to this. Wherever Madam Gantang couldn’t see, these female servants would only move when given direct orders. Most of the time, they simply disdained working under her. Leaving her alone was probably waiting for her to be overwhelmed and make a fool of herself.

But fortunately Nanyi didn’t much care. Not because she was the type to willingly be bullied, but because she knew in her heart that she and these people weren’t on the same path.

But if you asked her which path she was on, Nanyi couldn’t answer either.

Just as she was lost in thought, her sleeve brushed against a porcelain plate on the table edge. Nanyi quickly reached out to steady it, saving the plate, but all the pastries inside tumbled out and fell to the ground.

The crystal-clear confections scattered in disarray. Nanyi felt heartache. Looking around to see no one about, she hesitated briefly before crouching down to pick up the still-intact pastries, dusting off the dirt and putting them in her mouth without a care.

Freshly made pastries were naturally delicious. If other female servants saw this, they would certainly collect everything with disgust and throw it away. Having lived through hungry days, she couldn’t bear to waste even a bit of food.

But having stayed at Wangxue Stronghold for so long, she also knew that such petty behavior would be mocked openly and secretly if seen. So with her mouth stuffed full, she quickly picked up and ate all the pastries that had fallen on the ground.

Eating rather nervously, Nanyi didn’t notice approaching footsteps. When she heard them, her heart panicked and she hurriedly hid behind a screen, wiping away crumbs from the corners of her mouth and hastily swallowing the pastries whole.

But she knew clearly that this was just deceiving herself—whoever was coming from that direction could see her actions clearly. Once again, she would be looked down upon.

But those footsteps only stopped outside the screen and didn’t come any closer.

“Madam.”

This familiar voice… Nanyi was startled and looked toward the screen, which showed the silhouette of a slender man. Just as she was about to speak, her throat felt choked.

As if he could perceive her thoughts, his voice came again, extremely politely: “Madam, I’ll just speak from outside.”

Nanyi poured herself a cup of water, moistened her throat, and gradually regained her composure: “Young Master Song?”

“It’s me, Madam. I came to find you.”

“What for?” Nanyi was surprised and curious.

Through the curtain, sunlight outlined his silhouette clearly.

Song Muchuan’s voice was clear and frank: “When Madam saved me by the river that time, you dropped something. I went back to retrieve it. Last time we met in haste, I forgot to bring it with me. Today I specially brought it to return to Madam.”

“Really?” Nanyi’s voice immediately became cheerful. She had thought the inkstone that Sister Qiu had given her was lost in the river when she saved Song Muchuan. At the time she hadn’t expected to retrieve it and vaguely remembered showing some disappointed expressions. She had felt heartache for a long time afterward and felt extremely guilty every time she saw Sister Qiu.

She never expected that without her saying anything, Song Muchuan had realized she had dropped something and had specially gone to retrieve it. He was truly thoughtful.

“Song was afraid that having someone else deliver it to Madam would be called improper contact between men and women, damaging Madam’s reputation, so I avoided others and entered the back courtyard.”

Hearing this, Nanyi forcibly restrained her impulse to immediately step out from behind the screen to receive the item, first expressing her thanks: “That’s something very important to me. Thank you, Young Master Song.”

“Madam is too kind. Song will leave the item outside—please remember to take it. About the money Madam gave me last time…” Song Muchuan hesitated, hiding the money pouch in his sleeve back away and telling a lie: “When I have money in the future, I’ll certainly return it with interest. I’m truly ashamed. I’ll take my leave now.”

Song Muchuan’s finances were no longer tight, and he could afford to repay Nanyi’s money… but he suddenly had inexplicable selfish motives, wanting to maintain some connection with her.

Owing her money would give him an opportunity to speak with her again next time.

“Oh, forget about that money…”

Before Nanyi could finish speaking, the silhouette behind the screen quickly disappeared.

Nanyi carefully stepped out and picked up the brocade pouch on the ground, taking out the inkstone to examine it repeatedly, unable to let it go, joy at recovering what was lost clear on her face.

More than that, she was moved. Moved by Song Muchuan’s thoughtfulness and by his quiet consideration.

Since he had already found his way to the back courtyard, why did he need to meet through a screen? He clearly knew she was embarrassed about being seen eating things off the ground and hadn’t entered the screen to spare her the awkwardness.

He was like a gentle spring rain that nourished things silently.

But this scene, falling under Xie Queshan’s distant gaze, carried entirely different meaning.

Song Muchuan had actually come alone to the back courtyard to give Nanyi something—was that an inkstone he’d given her?

Had their relationship already reached this level?

Xie Queshan stood at the end of the long corridor, waiting for Song Muchuan.

When Song Muchuan approached and saw him, he wasn’t surprised. His footsteps paused, but ultimately he had nothing to say. Sharp words, sarcasm, or hidden daggers behind smiles—for these longtime friends, such things were too superfluous. Since he had openly come to the banquet, he would let Xie Queshan make the first move.

His face showing neither sorrow nor joy, Song Muchuan merely gave a perfunctory bow before walking past him to leave.

But Xie Queshan’s brow furrowed like small mountain peaks.

He had secretly entered Wangxue Stronghold’s back courtyard without giving him, the family head, an explanation? So righteous and confident—and he claimed to be a scholar!

Xie Queshan was inexplicably quite angry, but still suppressed the irritation in his heart. Never mind—whatever tricks he played, after today, he could send Song Muchuan away.

He Ping followed beside him, watching the expressions that flowed across his master’s face, somewhat puzzled. His master clearly cared deeply about Young Master Song—otherwise he wouldn’t arrange for his departure in such haste. But looking at Xie Queshan’s current mood, why did he seem angry? They hadn’t even said anything to each other…

Before He Ping could figure it out, Xie Queshan had already flicked his sleeve and strode in the opposite direction.