At the chrysanthemum banquet, the drum-and-flower passing game had ended and they began drinking games. Li Jiubao noticed that Shang Qinglan from the neighboring seat still hadn’t returned and couldn’t help feeling worried. She privately asked Wet Nurse Song, “Wet Nurse, why hasn’t Qinglan come back yet? I saw her drink quite a lot and eat so much – could she have overeaten like last time?”

Li Jiubao had gained Noble Consort Lu Jing’s favor, and Wet Nurse Song was counting on her to redeem herself and recover the face Shang Qinglan had lost. She couldn’t leave Li Jiubao’s side for the moment, fearing that with her newfound fame would come trouble – she might be schemed against by jealous beautiful women candidates. She needed to protect Li Jiubao closely, but she also couldn’t ignore Shang Qinglan.

Just then Wei Caiwei returned, so Wet Nurse Song told her about Shang Qinglan’s situation.

Last time when Shang Qinglan overate and vomited uncontrollably, Wei Caiwei had only needed to perform acupuncture on five pressure points to immediately stop the vomiting.

Wei Caiwei had just returned from her private meeting with Wang Daxia. Hearing that Shang Qinglan had been gone for a long time without returning, she immediately shouldered her medicine bag to search for her.

Shang Qinglan must not have an accident!

Following the fire attendant’s directions, Wei Caiwei came to Zixia Palace. Today all the palace servants on Qionghua Island had gone to serve the chrysanthemum banquet, so Zixia Palace was completely empty. Even Shang Qinglan’s vomit hadn’t been cleaned up in time – Wei Caiwei found the place by following the smell.

Shang Qinglan wasn’t here – she must have already left.

But she hadn’t returned to the chrysanthemum banquet. Remembering Wet Nurse Song’s words about her eating and drinking excessively, and drinking three cups of chrysanthemum wine in succession during the drum-and-flower game, Wei Caiwei guessed that Shang Qinglan was drunk and wandering around in this area, taking a path opposite to the Chrysanthemum Garden.

Leaving Zixia Palace, Wei Caiwei saw a newly built tea rose trellis beside the palace with a round hole where someone had apparently pulled out a bamboo pole.

The soil in the round hole was still moist – it must have been pulled out recently.

Wei Caiwei had spent less than a month with Shang Qinglan in this life, but in her previous life, they had been companions in the imperial court for a full sixteen years – from palace maids to favored consorts to dowager consorts. Wei Caiwei had always accompanied Shang Qinglan.

It wasn’t until Wang Daxia’s old ailments frequently flared up and his health declined that they both developed thoughts of retirement. Only then did Wei Caiwei bid farewell to Shang Qinglan and go with Wang Daxia to Nandu Yingtian Prefecture, where the climate was mild and suitable for recuperation. Wang Daxia became a garrison eunuch in Nanjing – essentially retirement – no longer as busy as in the capital.

After sixteen years of companionship, Wei Caiwei understood Shang Qinglan very well. This round hole must have been made when she got drunk and, walking unsteadily, simply pulled out a bamboo pole from the tea rose trellis to use as a walking stick.

Shang Qinglan spoke and acted unconventionally – she was capable of doing such things.

To prove her theory, Wei Caiwei also grabbed a bamboo pole, twisted it left and right, and with the momentum of Lu Zhishen uprooting a weeping willow, pulled hard and obtained a walking stick.

It wasn’t hard to pull out – if I can pull it out, she should be able to as well.

Tea Rose Trellis: Please stop, noble ladies! If you pull out any more, I’ll be as bald as this book’s author!

Wei Caiwei walked forward with her bamboo pole. Ahead were three branching paths. Since Shang Qinglan hadn’t returned, she must have perfectly avoided the correct route and chosen one of the two wrong ones.

Which path did she take?

They were all stone-paved roads where footprints couldn’t be seen, but on the smooth stone road in the middle, there were round, cylindrical marks that gradually became fainter until there was nothing left.

Wei Caiwei poked her bamboo pole onto the stone road, and the bottom of the pole also formed a round mud mark.

These must be marks left by Shang Qinglan walking with her bamboo pole. Wei Caiwei chose the middle branching path and continued forward.

The garden paths meandered like snakes. Wei Caiwei walked to the end and found a peony garden. Peonies bloomed in spring – now in autumn, the garden was closed and locked. Shang Qinglan couldn’t get in. Wei Caiwei searched around the nearby Peony Pavilion, calling her name.

“Qinglan! Shang Qinglan!”

No sign of anyone, no response at all.

Seeing no way forward, this girl should have turned back.

Wei Caiwei retraced her steps, then smelled vomit mixed with alcohol under a tree by the roadside.

Still vomiting – how much did she drink?

Wei Caiwei used her bamboo pole to push aside the grass under the tree to examine the vomit, but discovered obvious bamboo walking stick marks in the forest soil – round little holes leading to stone steps on the left mountain path.

So she had gotten confused from vomiting, mistakenly entered the forest, completely went the wrong way, and perfectly missed the correct path.

Wei Caiwei followed the bamboo pole marks along the side path. Ahead were mountain road steps going up and down. Shang Qinglan’s bamboo pole had poked into the forest soil and picked up dirt, so it also left round mud marks on the stone steps along the way.

The marks went up the steps, so Wei Caiwei followed them upward.

As she walked, the marks became fainter until they disappeared, then she saw a smooth boulder with an identical bamboo pole beneath it.

“Qinglan! Shang Qinglan!”

She must have gotten lost around here. Wei Caiwei called Shang Qinglan’s name but still got no response.

Wei Caiwei saw scattered flower petals on the boulder and the steps ahead. Had she thrown away the walking stick and continued climbing up?

Wei Caiwei had no choice – since she was already here, she might as well keep looking.

Wei Caiwei climbed the steps and came to a mountain cave. Just as she stepped inside, two long swords suddenly appeared ahead, blocking her path. They belonged to Imperial Guards in flying fish robes.

The Imperial Guards shouted, “This is a forbidden area! Retreat immediately!”

Wei Caiwei was frightened by the blade points and retreated repeatedly. “Gentlemen soldiers, I am a court physician who came to Qionghua Island with Noble Consort Lu Jing and the beautiful women candidates. A beautiful woman candidate got lost at the chrysanthemum banquet, and I’m searching for her.”

These two Imperial Guards had been stationed in the Forbidden City for years, so they didn’t recognize Wei Caiwei. With cold faces they said, “Ahead is Guanghan Palace. This area is under martial law – no unauthorized personnel may pass. We haven’t seen any beautiful woman candidate. She must be elsewhere. Leave immediately!”

Emperor Jiajing had come to Qionghua Island incognito, forbidding his subordinates from making a fuss, but Guanghan Palace was already protected by layers of security, with Imperial Guards stationed on this mountain path.

The Imperial Guards only knew that a drunk palace maid had been carried to Guanghan Palace – they didn’t know that the young girl was actually a beautiful woman candidate.

Wei Caiwei said, “But I’ve been following her tracks all the way here. Apart from this path, there are only cliffs and precipices – she has nowhere else to go. Please let me go in and ask around.”

Wei Caiwei didn’t know that Emperor Jiajing was at Guanghan Palace.

The two Imperial Guards grew impatient and used their blade points to force her out. “Forbidden areas cannot be trespassed. If you insist on going through, you’ll have to leave your head behind.”

Wei Caiwei had no choice but to shout loudly outside the cave: “Qinglan! Shang Qinglan!”

The cave acted like a megaphone, carrying Wei Caiwei’s voice from the entrance to the back.

By coincidence, the Imperial Guard stationed at the back of the cave was none other than Wu Xiaoqi, one of Lu Ying’s subordinates – the son of the martyred Mask Wu.

Wu Xiaoqi usually had a good relationship with Wang Daxia and naturally recognized Wei Caiwei. Hearing the voice echoing through the cave, he found it familiar: That sounds like Doctor Wei!

Wu Xiaoqi knew all about the romantic rumors involving Doctor Wei, Commander Lu, and Wang Daxia.

Wu Xiaoqi quickly ran to the cave entrance to look and indeed saw Wei Caiwei being expelled by the Imperial Guards.

“Doctor Wei? It really is you!” Wu Xiaoqi hurried over to stop the Imperial Guards. “Don’t drive her away – she’s one of us. Doctor Wei is Commander Lu and Captain Wang’s… good friend (romantic interest).”

As an outsider, Wu Xiaoqi couldn’t see through the true relationship between the three – anyway, he didn’t dare ask.

Commander Lu’s good friend couldn’t be offended.

The two Imperial Guards quickly let her pass, immediately changing their attitude. “Sorry, we didn’t know Doctor Wei was an acquaintance of the Imperial Guard.”

Wei Caiwei was so worried that she forgot to name-drop her powerful connections. She said, “It’s fine. I was anxious to find someone and didn’t explain my background clearly.”

Wu Xiaoqi asked, “Who are you looking for, Doctor Wei? I vaguely heard something about Qinglan?”

Wei Caiwei said, “Shang Qinglan, a beautiful woman candidate from the chrysanthemum banquet. She drank too much and said she was going to relieve herself, but never returned. I followed her tracks here to look for her, but the trail ends here.”

Wu Xiaoqi said, “There’s no beautiful woman candidate here, but I just heard my comrades talking—”

Wu Xiaoqi lowered his voice and whispered, “His Majesty has come to Guanghan Palace. On the way, he encountered a palace maid lying drunk on a rock. The maid was so drunk she was unconscious, so Eunuch Huang ordered people to carry her to Guanghan Palace to sleep.”

It couldn’t be such a coincidence!

Could Shang Qinglan be gaining the Emperor’s favor half a year early in this life?

Wei Caiwei said, “In the ninth month, both palace servants and beautiful woman candidates wear python robes with chrysanthemum patterns – could they have mixed them up? Let me go in and see if it’s her.”

Seeing is believing.

Wu Xiaoqi said, “I don’t have the authority to bring outsiders in, and I don’t know which room the drunk palace maid is sleeping in. But Commander Lu and Captain Wang are both at Guanghan Palace – wait here and I’ll go find them.”

Wang Daxia had been called before the Emperor for questioning, while Lu Ying stood guard outside. Zhou Xiaoqi hurried over and told Lu Ying, who quickly went to the cave and brought Wei Caiwei directly to the side hall where the drunk palace maid was sleeping.

Wei Caiwei looked carefully and felt a weight lift from her heart. “It’s her – the beautiful woman candidate Shang Qinglan.”

Wei Caiwei had been worried that she had fallen off a cliff while drunk!

“Is this the beautiful woman candidate from Baoding Prefecture who set off fireworks with Wang Daxia in the bridal chamber?” Lu Ying examined her carefully. “She doesn’t look quite the same – that fireworks girl seemed thinner.”

Wei Caiwei said, “She’s recently been eating recklessly in the palace and gained weight. Plus that day in the bridal chamber she wore bright red wedding clothes and bridal makeup with a deathly white face and blood-red lips, so she looked quite different from her real appearance.”

Author’s Note: Found you~