When Chang Lin was, once again, chased off by Zhang Xingjian to carry out some task he’d assigned him, Zhang Xingjian and Shen Qingwu were wandering through a rural market town.

To avoid the court’s wanted notice, the two of them had spent days dodging from place to place, enduring more than a little hardship. But upon reaching this place, Zhang Xingjian said the prefect here was a fellow disciple of his, and would cooperate with them—for now, they were safe.

Shen Qingwu had serious doubts about the truth of his “fellow disciple” claim.

She grumbled inwardly: probably not a fellow disciple at all—more likely one of your subordinates.

In her view, the factional struggles at court fell into three camps: the Princess, Kong Ye, and Zhang Xingjian. Any official who did as Zhang Xingjian said, she lumped together under the label “Zhang Yuelu’s underlings.”

In the market, Zhang Xingjian, facing her distrustful gaze, only smiled his usual steady, unbothered smile, offering no further explanation—not that it would have mattered whether he explained or not; she wouldn’t have believed him either way.

In any case, the two of them had made it into these mountains and rivers safely enough.

Better still, Zhang Xingjian judged that the third young master Bo’s hideout should not be far from where they now stood.

Zhang Xingjian said, “That day, his men found me on that mountain and tried to eliminate me. Based on the distance, the third young master Bo should have three feasible hideout locations. This is the one closest to us—worth a try.”

Shen Qingwu’s bow had been destroyed in the fire; she’d had a blacksmith forge her a saber to wear at her waist instead. It wasn’t a fine blade, not even middling quality, but it was enough for her purposes.

Pale golden mist hung behind them; the winter market bustled with noise, cries of horse-sellers and tea-sellers rising and clashing, all wrapped in a haze of gold and deep red.

The young woman, dressed in soft jade-green silk, walked briskly ahead with her hand on her saber, the ribbon in her dark hair fluttering lightly in the breeze as she moved. In the dusk, she stepped through a dazzling golden dreamscape, her movements light, curious about everything around her yet holding herself in check.

That fearless, indifferent air of hers… if some mountain spirit, ignorant of human affairs, had taken human form, it would surely look just as out of place as she did.

Shen Qingwu walked ahead, chin high; Zhang Xingjian ambled along behind at his leisure.

His gaze followed her; the passersby in the market, meanwhile, studied him. Such a refined, composed young man, elegant as jade, strolling through the busy market as though wandering a deep forest—too fine, too beautiful, to belong here.

Walking ahead, Shen Qingwu listened as Zhang Xingjian slowly explained their purpose for coming here. Though she said nothing, she was listening the whole while. After a while, when the explanation trailed off, she couldn’t help turning back, glancing behind her in confusion.

Straight into Zhang Xingjian’s eyes.

His gaze flickered; beneath his thick lashes, a deep, inescapable stillness withdrew, replaced once more by his usual restrained, courteous smile.

For one instant, Shen Qingwu felt as though he’d been watching her the whole time—her thoughts caught, then caught again, unsure what he’d been looking at.

Shen Qingwu threatened him: “Don’t tell me you’re about to say these clothes of mine look terrible again. It’s your fault I’ve been living out in the open like this—my clothes and bags all burned in the fire.”

Zhang Xingjian smiled, only then letting his gaze fall to her clothing, riddled with holes and thoroughly filthy.

He said, honestly, “It’s not the tidiest, no.”

A chill flashed in Shen Qingwu’s eyes.

He amended himself quickly: “Fortunately, we’re free of our troubles now—I’ll make it up to you, Lady Knight. Buy whatever you like. How’s that?”

He jingled his bulging coin purse; Shen Qingwu nodded, satisfied, offering a perfunctory compliment: “Good, you understand.”

Out in public, he called her “Lady Knight” before others and “General” in private—Shen Qingwu rather enjoyed the sense of importance this gave her.

Perhaps it was that he always spoke with a smile in his voice, always addressed her with a strange, gentle softness… Shen Qingwu couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but every time he called her something, it made her secretly happy.

Which was why, when he occasionally teased her by calling her “A’Wu” or “Wutong,” she generously let it pass without argument.

Shen Qingwu directed him: “What are we here to buy? You went on and on and then just stopped talking. Are you expecting me to haggle?”

It had been Zhang Xingjian’s plan that they needed the third young master Bo to come find them on his own. Going around asking after him directly, as Zhang Xingjian had done before, wasn’t quite suitable this time. The man was likely running some sort of bandit operation, and would surely have his eye on passing travelers ripe for the taking.

The two of them meant to play exactly that role.

They would go through the market buying up sundries and mountain herbs in bulk, with the bill footed by Zhang Xingjian’s “fellow disciple,” the prefect. If it drew the third young master Bo out, the trip would be worth it.

At this point Shen Qingwu was directing Zhang Xingjian, and he only rubbed his nose, smiling, and stepped forward on his own to haggle with the vendors.

He’d never done this kind of work before.

But he found he didn’t mind it—in fact, he sensed it was faintly enjoyable. Besides, compared to Shen Qingwu, he was genuinely better suited to this sort of thing.

She watched him for a while, saw how easily he settled into the role, and then wandered off on her own.

Once Zhang Xingjian had picked out the herbs he wanted, he turned and found Shen Qingwu gone from his side. He apologized to the vendor and, following the crowd, found her at a packed little stall, watching the spectacle.

He noticed that the crowd gathered here was mostly women.

He stood behind her and looked toward the vendor—a young, beautiful woman from the Miao borderlands. Beauty alone wouldn’t have drawn a crowd this large. There was a reason this young Miao woman had so many people lingering—

The young Miao vendor held a small wooden box, opening it carefully to show the onlookers two pills inside.

She spoke in a lilting, musical accent: “This is called the ‘Heart-Bound Gu’! My father spent forty-nine full days crafting it—it works specifically on lovers. This ‘Heart-Bound Gu’ of ours is a mother-and-child gu, guaranteed to bind a pair of lovers so neither can bear to be apart. Separate them even a moment, and their hearts will ache as if breaking, lovesick unto death. It never fails!”

The world was ever full of women pining after love.

The women in the crowd flushed, hearts pounding, whispering among themselves, but none dared speak up first under the disapproving stares of the passing men.

The young Miao vendor grew anxious, stamping her foot. “My mother won my father over with exactly this kind of gu—I’m not lying to anyone. My father never wanted me to sell it to outsiders… but stranded out here, if it weren’t for you dog of an emperor—ah, I said nothing, nothing at all.”

She stuck out her tongue, catching sight of a patrol officer at the edge of the market out of the corner of her eye, and quickly retracted her offending words. She said, quietly, “I’ve no money to get home, which is the only reason I’m forced to part with my family’s heirloom, painful as it is. Don’t any of you dare not recognize its worth!”

Seeing no one buy, she flushed with frustration. “I only have the one box, only these two!”

A timid young woman below spoke up: “But an ounce of gold is really too expensive.”

The Miao girl said, “Not expensive at all! Miss out on a priceless treasure and you’ll regret it forever—how hard is it to find a devoted lover? A devoted lover is something you buy once and keep for life—tell me that’s not worth it!”

But how many people at a rural market could afford such extravagance? Most were simply curious about the “Heart-Bound Gu,” with no real money to spend on it.

People kept gathering and drifting away again. The Miao girl’s voice was as lovely as a song, but it still couldn’t coax any money out of anyone’s purse.

Just as she was nearing despair, she noticed one woman in the crowd who had stood there quietly listening to her sales pitch the whole while, never once leaving. The Miao girl glanced at her casually—tall, slender, with a flat, indifferent gaze, but dressed shabbily, worse than the other women around.

Without much hope, the girl tried her pitch on Shen Qingwu: “I’m really not lying—our gu worms have been raised for decades, they’re powerful. You’ve been standing here so long, miss—won’t you take a look?”

Shen Qingwu said, “Too expensive.”

The Miao girl’s face fell.

Then Shen Qingwu added, “But if it really works, it’d be worth the risk.”

The girl’s eyes lit up.

She studied Shen Qingwu again, and only now noticed that beneath the dirty, disheveled clothes, this woman’s beautiful face was hidden behind that cool, indifferent gaze. It took a second, closer look to dig the beauty out from beneath all that dust and grime.

…A beauty who cared nothing for her appearance—the Miao girl silently marveled that the world truly held all manner of strange things.

Encouraged by Shen Qingwu’s response, the Miao girl grew enthusiastic. “Of course it works! You just eat this one pill, feed your lover the other, and he’ll think of you day and night, blush and his heart race the moment he sees you, come running to you without hesitation. When he can’t see you he’ll go half-mad with longing, anxious day and night, lovesick to the point of dying… and a beauty like you, miss—my gu worms will surely work even better on your man!”

Shen Qingwu raised a doubt: “And if it doesn’t work?”

The Miao girl said, shameless: “Then you can chase me all the way to the Miao borderlands and settle the score. Where could I possibly hide?”

The claim was obviously hollow.

The Zhou empire was vast, and beyond its borders lay countless smaller kingdoms besides. If someone truly wanted to disappear, the world was wide—where couldn’t they go?

And yet Shen Qingwu nodded.

She said flatly, “Fair enough.”

The Miao girl blinked, startled, and looked at her more seriously.

The Miao girl began to worry to herself: if the medicine didn’t work, surely this woman wouldn’t actually chase her down across ten thousand li to kill her? No, no, surely not that far…

But looking into Shen Qingwu’s eyes, she found herself growing hesitant all the same.

Shen Qingwu was already reaching for her coin purse. “Bring it here. I’ll take it.”

A light cough sounded behind her.

The Miao girl brightened at once, as if rescued. “Oh, miss, your husband’s here!”

Shen Qingwu, of course, already knew Zhang Xingjian had arrived, but she paid it no mind, keeping her eyes fixed on the Miao girl, intent on buying her “Heart-Bound Gu.” Seeing the girl pinned in place, unable to back down, Zhang Xingjian couldn’t help but sigh.

Zhang Xingjian said gently, “My dear, your husband dotes on you completely—I adore you more than I can even express. What need is there between us for such trinkets?”

He took Shen Qingwu’s hand, watching her calm profile refuse to so much as turn toward him, and had no choice but to lean in close, murmuring in her ear: “That money is meant to save the Marshal. Using it for personal indulgence—doesn’t that seem a bit unwise?”

Sure enough, mention of Bo Rong made her hesitate.

Shen Qingwu turned to look at him.

She said, “Didn’t you say I could buy whatever I wanted?”

Zhang Xingjian said, “But would I really just stand by and watch you buy something of dubious origin, meant to be used on me?”

He held her wrist, giving it a light shake; to anyone watching, he seemed the picture of a tender, doting husband, speaking with such gentle patience. In truth, if Zhang Xingjian weren’t this patient, Shen Qingwu would never have bothered listening to him at all.

His glass-clear eyes fixed on her, he said softly, “Didn’t we already agree on terms? Why buy some ‘Heart-Bound Gu’?”

Shen Qingwu argued stubbornly: “I’m buying it for my own amusement. Not necessarily to use on you. Don’t flatter yourself.”

The Miao girl’s eyes went wide at that.

The smile in Zhang Xingjian’s eyes stiffened for a moment.

He smiled. “Oh? And who exactly would you use it on, then? How many men do you even know?”

Worried Shen Qingwu might say something too far, Zhang Xingjian quit while he was ahead and changed the subject at once.

He softened his tone, laughing gently: “You heartless little thing. However badly I’m hurt because of you, you won’t even look after me—and now you want to go play with some dubious drug instead. I suppose since it’s not you who gets hurt, you simply don’t feel it, is that it?

“Seeing me hurt makes you happy, doesn’t it?”

Hearing her precious gu spoken of so dismissively, the Miao girl couldn’t help but bristle: “Hey!”

A handsome face was no excuse for talking nonsense.

Shen Qingwu’s eyes flickered, a touch of guilt creeping in. His fingers, through the fabric of her sleeve, gently rubbed at her wrist, his plea so tactfully phrased that it softened something inside her, leaving her faintly dizzy, her judgment slipping.

She’d been genuinely tempted, listening to the pitch for the “Heart-Bound Gu.”

But Zhang Xingjian’s earnest, reasoned appeal did stir what little kindness she possessed. She studied his fair, elegant face, his long, thick lashes, his rosy lips, and thought back to how weak and breathless he’d been just days before…

Sickly Zhang Xingjian did have a certain sickly beauty to him, admittedly, but he seemed liable to shatter at the slightest touch—not nearly as satisfying as a healthy one.

But that “Heart-Bound Gu”…

Zhang Xingjian said softly, “If you’re curious about these rare gu creatures, once we’ve bought what we need, I’ll let you play with them then. All right?”

Of course, once they’d bought all the necessary herbs, their money would be entirely spent. Zhang Xingjian had no intention whatsoever of letting her buy some unknown, dubious substance to use on him afterward.

Shen Qingwu fell silent, mentally calculating whether it would be worth spending her own salary, whether she even had enough.

Hm. If she spent an ounce of gold’s worth of her own stipend, years of savings would vanish in an instant, not a coin left. But she was single, with no dependents, and rarely had anywhere to spend money to begin with…

The only problem was how she’d manage to rejoin her unit with no money left. But she… with skills as formidable as hers, surely there’d be a way.

Seeing his stubborn little troublemaker fall silent, Zhang Xingjian knew her obstinate streak had flared up again. He sighed inwardly, continuing to gently talk her down.

Torn between her own cold, obstinate will and the soft, lovely words of the handsome young man beside her… Shen Qingwu, who had never experienced anything quite like this before, felt strangely lost, wanting both to have her own way and to see Zhang Xingjian smile at her—thoroughly confused.

Fortunately, she was soon spared the struggle—

“Everyone whose name is called on the list, come forward!”

An officer arrived at the edge of the market with his commanding officer; the commander dismounted, and, followed by a retinue of attendants, swept noisily into the market, startling the common folk. The soldiers surrounded the market, pulling out a scroll bearing a long list of names, shouting:

“The palace is holding the imperial selection! Everyone on this list must report at once… and any unmarried women present, pretty ones, stay put. You, you, you…”

They pointed at random to whichever pretty women caught their eye, indifferent to the sudden pallor on the faces of those singled out.

“The rest of you needn’t rush off either! This year’s Winter Celebration Tax—three strings of cash per household. In his mercy, His Majesty has reduced it to two strings for landless households. Payment in full within ten days at the government office…”

Hearing the chaotic selection process starting up again, the Miao girl hurriedly began packing up her stall to flee.

Meanwhile, most of the common folk hadn’t even finished processing the endless selection process before being struck dumb by talk of a “Winter Celebration Tax.”

Someone blurted out, “Winter Celebration Tax? I’ve never heard of any such thing! We already paid our taxes this year!”

The official reading the decree glanced at him and said, haughty: “His Majesty says that with deep winter’s arrival, he wishes to celebrate together with his people. In the Eastern Capital, whenever His Majesty’s thoughts turn to the common folk under heaven, his heart fills with benevolence, and so he means to build a ‘Snow-Viewing Pavilion,’ to share the celebration with all the realm.

“This ‘Snow-Viewing Pavilion’ is being built for the whole realm to enjoy together—are you people not part of the realm?”

The crowd erupted in fury, angry shouting and cursing breaking out on all sides.

The soldiers shouted them down: “No talking out of turn! Get your money ready at once…”

The Miao girl, hastily packing her bags to flee, crouched near Shen Qingwu and Zhang Xingjian’s feet, poking her head out and spitting quietly in the soldiers’ direction: “Dog of an emperor!”

Zhang Xingjian and Shen Qingwu both looked down at her.

The girl looked guilty for a moment, then defiant. “Did I say something wrong? I snuck out from home just to have some fun, and ran straight into you people’s dog-emperor selection, grabbing women left and right. All my travel money is gone now, I don’t even have enough to get home!

“And now you’re raising taxes on top of it… is anyone even supposed to survive? Is that his idea of celebrating with the people? He just wants to round up all the pretty women in the realm to entertain him and flatter him, doesn’t he?”

The Miao girl kept muttering with regret: “I had no idea things outside were this chaotic. If I’d known, I never would have left home… My father never told me the Zhou realm had gotten this bad.”

Shen Qingwu said, “Is it because the Princess left, and now there’s no one to rein in the young emperor, so he’s just doing whatever he pleases?”

The Miao girl said, “What princess? What young emperor? Who are you two, anyway?”

Before either of them could answer, the searching soldiers’ gazes had already reached this direction, and they began walking over. The Miao girl quickly ducked her head back down, clutching her bundle, and scrambled under a stone bench.

The soldiers approached Shen Qingwu and Zhang Xingjian.

The soldier’s gaze landed on Shen Qingwu’s face, then dropped to the saber at her waist. Though she hadn’t done anything at all, something about her made him faintly uneasy, and he looked away. He turned instead to pick out other beauties. “You too… yes, you, I don’t care whether you’re already married or not!”

Shen Qingwu’s hand rested on her saber.

Zhang Xingjian said mildly, “There are too many people—you can’t handle them all. The best approach would be for someone to return to the Eastern Capital court and get the young emperor to rescind the order.”

Shen Qingwu glanced at him.

She said, “Are you talking about yourself?”

Zhang Xingjian’s eyes curved into a smile. “I could just as easily mean the Princess.”

Shen Qingwu said, “But where did the Princess go? Doesn’t she never leave the Eastern Capital?”

Zhang Xingjian didn’t tell her about the old history between the Princess and the Zhang family—even if he explained that the Princess and Zhang Rong had once loved each other deeply, he doubted she’d be able to understand what weighed on the Princess’s heart now. He still hoped Shen Qingwu would stay as uninvolved as possible in the affairs of the Zhang family.

Seeing her still watching the soldiers, and not wanting her to stir up trouble she shouldn’t at this moment, he pulled her attention back: “Think of it this way—now that the young emperor’s imposing new taxes, and the people are crying out in protest, the odds of our goods drawing the third young master Bo’s attention have only gone up.”

Soldiers needed to get through the winter too, and so did mountain bandits—passing travelers, ripe for the taking, however cautious, surely someone would give in to temptation.

Shen Qingwu, lost in thought, pulled her attention away from the soldiers and instead watched the Miao girl making off with her coveted “Heart-Bound Gu.”

Shen Qingwu said, put out: “My…”

Zhang Xingjian said, smiling, “Hm? Your what?”

Shen Qingwu instinctively took a step to chase after her.

Zhang Xingjian, behind her, held her back firmly.

Shen Qingwu pressed her lips together—

The two of them hired porters to carry the herbs they’d bought. These servants were all secret agents of the prefect who’d been aiding Zhang Xingjian, quietly trailing along with them.

Once Zhang Xingjian and Shen Qingwu had their goods ready, they left the city under cover of night, and after another day’s travel, the two of them stopped to rest at a roadside tea stall. Their servants sat scattered here and there outside, keeping watch over the goods.

A man crept furtively into the tea stall, ordered a pot of tea, and sat down at the same table as the two of them.

He was a hulking, sturdy man, with a scar at the corner of his eye, giving him a distinctly menacing look.

He studied Zhang Xingjian, who played the part of a weak, bookish scholar, mild-manneredly avoiding his gaze; then he looked to Shen Qingwu, who was resting her chin on her hand, staring blankly at a hawk in the distant sky, utterly indifferent to the man now seated at their table.

The man stared at Shen Qingwu for a long while.

Zhang Xingjian gave a light cough and said, helplessly, “A’Wu.”

Shen Qingwu’s lashes fluttered; she pulled her gaze back, her dark eyes turning to Zhang Xingjian and then to the extra man now seated at their table.

Zhang Xingjian, playing the weak scholar to the hilt, covered his mouth with his sleeve and coughed twice, introducing himself to the man: “Forgive me, friend. My wife and I do a bit of small trading. My wife is fine in every way, it’s just… just that she’s a bit different from other people.”

The man’s suspicious gaze moved back and forth between the two of them.

Seeing his distrust, Zhang Xingjian thought—after days of waiting patiently, they’d finally run into someone this suspicious. How could he possibly let the man go?

Zhang Xingjian said, “Are you here to buy herbs, friend? Just talk to me directly. My wife only handles the delivery—she has nothing to do with the negotiating.”

The man said, “So, I settle the price with you, and your wife delivers the goods?”

Zhang Xingjian nodded with a smile.

The man hesitated for a moment, studying Shen Qingwu’s demeanor for a good while, still shaking his head. He started to rise. “Never mind…”

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Xingjian decided to commit fully, and said plainly: “Friend, if you’re worried about my wife’s peculiarities, you’re overthinking it. I’ll be honest with you—I was born weak and frail, business isn’t easy for a man like me, and hiring someone capable often invites trouble of its own. I married her to be my helper because… well, she may look like she can fight, but truth be told, she’s simple-minded.”

Shen Qingwu: “…?”

Zhang Xingjian smiled at the man. “She can’t understand a word we’re saying.”

Shen Qingwu: “…”

She hadn’t expected the man to actually believe such nonsense—he turned to look at her, checking whether she was truly simple. She kept her expression perfectly still, her face calm, and it genuinely convinced the man that she was, in fact, a bit slow.

The man sat back down. “Your wife’s really simple-minded?”

Shen Qingwu: “…”

She wanted to draw her blade. Zhang Xingjian winked at her. His glass-bright eyes glimmered, damp and radiant, using his looks to charm her into silence—she seethed inside while keeping her face cold.

The man turned to study her again.

Shen Qingwu endured it.

Slowly, she let her eyes go slack, opened her mouth wide, pinched both cheeks with her hands, and abruptly pulled a hideous, purplish, ghoulish face at the man.

The few other patrons in the tea stall gasped sharply; the man let out a terrified yelp and toppled backward off his seat.

Everything went silent. Shen Qingwu, expressionless, kept up the ghoulish face. “Hehe. I’m simple-minded.”

The man stared, dumbstruck.

Zhang Xingjian abruptly turned his face away, avoiding Shen Qingwu’s cold stare, and calmly sipped his tea.

His shoulders twitched, warmth spreading through his chest; he didn’t dare look at her again—

So cooperative, so obedient, so clever, so foolish, and so… adorable.