Two days later, Zhang Xingjian and Shen Qingwu came down from the mountain and returned to the small town where the physicians had gathered before, the one they’d stayed in previously.

The stone bridge on the official road leading directly to the capital had collapsed. Many soldiers had been injured, and the bridge showed no sign of being repaired anytime soon.

The physicians had all returned to their own homes, waiting for further word.

Zhang Xingjian gave Shen Qingwu a long, meaningful look. “Thanks to you and Young Master Yang, the bridge is down, and with the drizzling rain these past few days, the mountain roads are harder to travel than usual. Taking the mountain path will delay things by about a month compared to the original plan, and even if the workers rush the repairs, fixing the bridge will take at least half a month. In the end, the delay works out to roughly the same either way.”

He sighed. “It seems the path for the great physicians of the Central Plains to reach the capital and treat His Majesty is more or less blocked off now.”

Shen Qingwu said nothing.

The corner of her mouth curved up slightly.

She and Yang Su had, after all, completed their mission.

She just didn’t know whether Zhang Xingjian’s remark was half-genuine or entirely sarcastic, or what he truly felt about it. Having ruined his plans, she felt a flicker of guilt and thought it best not to say much.

Zhang Xingjian only explained the current state of things to her, without dwelling further on it.

She wasn’t part of his plan, just as he wasn’t part of the orders she followed… there was no need for him to hold this against her. The situation had changed, and Zhang Xingjian would naturally come up with a new approach.

He said with a faint smile, “Whether His Majesty can be saved now depends on whether some skilled physician can be found north of the Central Plains.”

Shen Qingwu thought to herself: Yang Su had already said that possibility was slim.

The young emperor was as good as dead.

She felt entirely at ease.

Zhang Xingjian thought for a moment, then reached out from behind and gave a light tug at Shen Qingwu’s sleeve.

The two of them walked along the mountain path together.

After the fresh rain, the empty mountains rang with birdsong, and greenery surged like a tide in every direction. Petals and leaves drifted down here and there, mist curling faintly through the air, and the two of them seemed to walk through a dreamlike haze.

Still, Shen Qingwu was, in the end, not a considerate person.

Nor did she have any self-awareness as someone’s romantic partner.

She strode ahead in long, confident steps, and despite her serious injuries, her formidable endurance made the rough terrain feel like level ground beneath her.

Zhang Xingjian wasn’t injured. But following behind her, refined and delicate as he was, he almost looked like the more fragile one between them.

And especially—

The one so capable of walking simply refused to wait for him at all.

Zhang Xingjian silently huffed to himself: how could she just leave him behind and stride off so cheerfully, without a second thought?

After Zhang Xingjian tugged at her sleeve, Shen Qingwu turned back and fixed her gaze on the wound across his cheek. “We’re going down the mountain to see a physician. Don’t waste time.”

Zhang Xingjian: “…”

He said quietly, “Do you actually want to go see a physician, or do you just want to reach Yang Su as quickly as possible?”

—While they’d been in the mountains, in the midst of that intimate moment, Shen Qingwu had suddenly said she wanted to see Yang Su.

At the time, Zhang Xingjian had been utterly consumed, lost in a haze of longing and desire, moved by her beyond measure, caught in a state of confusion rarely seen in him. He hadn’t quite registered what she’d said, and had simply agreed.

Once he’d come back to his senses, Zhang Xingjian had felt a flicker of regret.

He’d even begun to secretly wonder: had she agreed to be with him so quickly only to deceive him, so she could go find Yang Su instead?

It was all Shen Qingwu’s fault, for having such a merciless heart.

He’d fallen for her, been let down by her, too many times to count—he could never be entirely sure just how far she might be willing to go.

Now, walking through the mountains, Shen Qingwu strode along briskly, while Zhang Xingjian was in no particular hurry to get down.

Shen Qingwu found his words puzzling. “First we see a physician, then you take me to see Yang Su. Isn’t that what you agreed to? Are you thinking of going back on it?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Someone as cunning as Zhang Xingjian going back on his word wasn’t out of the question. Only…

Shen Qingwu felt a vague, uncertain sensation: if he’d gone back on his word before, she’d naturally have used force to deal with him, made him follow her wishes; but now…

She blinked, an unexpected shyness rising in the rough, unpolished parts of her heart: he was hers now, wasn’t he, her… her man? She couldn’t very well threaten violence against her own man, could she?

Zhang Xingjian studied her; she snuck glances at him too.

Their eyes met.

Both of them realized the other had something on their mind.

Both fell still at the same moment.

It was Zhang Xingjian who broke the silence, smiling as if nothing had happened. “I’m not thinking of backing out of anything. I only wanted to confirm once more—you’re only going to see him once, to make sure I haven’t mistreated him, and you have no intention of escaping with him. You agreed to bring me along across the river with you, to meet the Princess. From here on, the journey should be just the two of us—Young Master Yang has no part in it.

“Isn’t that the understanding?”

Shen Qingwu nodded.

Zhang Xingjian’s eyes curved, seeing her confirm it even now, and he relaxed a little.

Whether or not she was deceiving him, whether or not her heart still leaned toward Yang Su, she was here with him now, and he’d already achieved what he wanted.

Zhang Xingjian teased, “You don’t happen to have some secret mission to lure me away, do you? You truly do like me, don’t you?”

Shen Qingwu’s expression froze instantly.

She suddenly recalled what Li Linggē had first said to her, hoping she would win Zhang Xingjian over to their side.

In that instant, Shen Qingwu realized something—though she’d refused the task at the time, everything she was doing now genuinely did look like she was carrying out the Princess’s mission after all…

Zhang Xingjian, sharp as ever, caught the shift in her expression at once.

His smile faded, and he said softly, “There really is another mission, isn’t there?”

Shen Qingwu said quickly, “No. It’s just…”

She hesitated. “Are you sure you want to come with me to see the Princess?”

Zhang Xingjian said, unmoved, “What else would I do?”

Shen Qingwu said, “She might say things meant to mislead you. Don’t believe her.”

A rapid succession of thoughts flickered through Zhang Xingjian’s mind.

In that brief span, he’d already come up with at least ten possible reasons for her hesitation.

Shen Qingwu seemed somewhat reluctant to have him cross the river with her—was it because she preferred to act alone, or because she wasn’t used to having him around, or was there really something else going on?

Zhang Xingjian decided to wait and see.

His eyes curved. “Wutong, I love you so much.”

Shen Qingwu fell silent.

Unsettled by his sudden burst of affection, she cleared her throat and gave a flat, noncommittal “Mm.”

Zhang Xingjian said, “Then why don’t we rest here a couple more days? Look at how lovely it is up in these mountains…”

He rattled off a string of reasons, his eyes full of laughter the whole time.

Shen Qingwu stood beside him, watching the clouds drift over the cliffside with him. Her stillness made Zhang Xingjian think he’d already won her over, but she turned her face toward him and asked, quite seriously:

“Zhang Yuelu, do you really dislike leaving this place that much?”

Zhang Xingjian froze.

Loose strands of hair drifted across Shen Qingwu’s cheeks; dressed in her worn, half-old martial robes, she carried a plain, striking beauty all her own.

Her dark eyes fixed on him. “Yesterday it was the rain—the roads too slippery to travel. The day before that, it was the rain aggravating my injuries—also unsuitable for coming down. Today the skies are clear, the scenery especially fine, and somehow it’s still not the right time.

“Do you really not want to leave this place at all?”

Zhang Xingjian’s lashes flickered.

His dark eyes shimmered with countless unspoken feelings, glimmering and yet fathomlessly deep.

He avoided her gaze. Shen Qingwu took a few steps forward, repositioning herself squarely in his line of sight, waiting patiently for his answer.

Shen Qingwu said, “You’re welcome to stay if you want—you’ve already secured your network, and your men send word by carrier pigeon every day, keeping you informed of everything happening in the outside world. But if I stay up here in the mountains, I’m cut off entirely, blind to everything happening beyond it.

“I’ll admit, because of this, I’ve grown a little suspicious of you…”

Zhang Xingjian lowered his eyes calmly, and at her words, the corner of his mouth curved slightly.

His smile was faint, but Shen Qingwu recognized it for what it was—mockery.

Shen Qingwu leaned in close, right under his eyes, startling him.

Zhang Xingjian took a step back; Shen Qingwu closed the distance again in turn.

Shen Qingwu said, “But I refuse to let myself be suspicious of you. I told you I wouldn’t doubt you again, so whatever questions I have, I’ll simply ask them outright. I’m asking now—will you give me an answer?”

Zhang Xingjian stared at her, dazed.

Bit by bit, his heart settled.

He smiled, admitting, “I’ll give you an answer. The answer is—I’m afraid. Wutong, I’m not as brave as you.”

Shen Qingwu didn’t understand.

Zhang Xingjian said, “This feeling—having gained something so suddenly, I’m terrified of losing it. Having finally seen sunlight, I fear it might only be the last glow of sunset.

“I’m used to keeping everything within a certain range I can control, and you’re the one variable I can’t control. I’m afraid you…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

But somehow, Shen Qingwu understood.

She reached out and grasped his wrist.

She didn’t know what to say. Some people carried such rich, layered emotions, such tangled, endless thoughts—how was she supposed to keep up with that?

She looked up at him.

Zhang Xingjian was already looking down at her.

After a long moment, all she could manage was: “Don’t be afraid.”

Zhang Xingjian asked, tentative, “You’ll protect me?”

She answered without hesitation. “Of course.”

And so, won over by her straightforward answer, and amused by her decisiveness, Zhang Xingjian’s mood lifted. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, a renewed glow of confidence returning to his frost-touched brow.

His mind settled, Zhang Xingjian said, “Good. Let’s stick to the plan, then—we’ll head down the mountain now.”

Shen Qingwu: “…”

Could his mood really shift this fast? She hadn’t even had time to rack her brain for something reassuring to say, and he was already fine again?

He turned and took her hand, pulling her along after him. She didn’t quite register that this time it was Zhang Xingjian leading her, rather than her striding ahead and leaving him behind at ease—

At dusk, Zhang Xingjian and Shen Qingwu stood before Mingshan Hall, its once-crowded entrance now nearly empty of visitors.

The physician now presiding over Mingshan Hall was an old man with graying temples on both sides, quiet and taciturn, sharing the same square-jawed face as the earlier physician they’d met.

Shen Qingwu and Zhang Xingjian exchanged a glance: this was almost certainly the “father,” the true miracle doctor the earlier physician had spoken of.

The two of them dutifully waited in line, and once inside the clinic, dutifully described her symptoms, careful not to trigger another farcical misunderstanding about pregnancy.

Zhang Xingjian explained their concerns with gentle composure. “The previous prescription was meant to last six months, but… in the meantime, something happened, and she ran quite strenuously several times. It seems she’s bled even more than before. We’re worried something might be seriously wrong, so we’ve come to see a physician.

“We were also hoping the recovery time could be shortened… she’s simply too lively and restless by nature. Keeping her still and calm is truly difficult.”

The physician took Shen Qingwu’s pulse and nodded slowly.

Zhang Xingjian had explained everything clearly enough that Shen Qingwu had nothing to add, though there was something else on her mind. “There’s also the wound on his face. We’d like some good medicine to prevent scarring.”

Zhang Xingjian looked at Shen Qingwu with warmth, pleasantly surprised that she’d remembered.

The old physician glanced at the refined, delicate young man beside her.

He had a vague sense that this face looked familiar.

The night the stone bridge had collapsed, he and the other physicians had been hiding together in a carriage, and he’d caught a distant glimpse of Zhang Xingjian then. But he was old, and hadn’t seen him clearly.

The old physician wasn’t nearly as chatty as his son, and simply began prescribing the medicine. “I understand this lady’s condition well enough…”

Zhang Xingjian coughed twice.

The old physician looked up.

Zhang Xingjian, looking a touch uncomfortable, said with reserved formality, “She’s not my wife.”

Shen Qingwu looked at him.

Zhang Xingjian said gently, “We’re not married yet. She remains an unmarried lady.”

Shen Qingwu couldn’t understand what he was being so formal about.

Back when they’d traveled together posing as husband and wife, hadn’t he taken to the role quite readily? Whenever he was in a good mood, Zhang Xingjian had happily referred to himself as her husband without any prompting from her at all… why was he suddenly so reserved about it now?

Shen Qingwu didn’t understand, but she had one reliable habit—when she didn’t understand something, she simply kept quiet.

She let Zhang Xingjian fumble awkwardly through clarifying their relationship on his own.

But the old physician understood perfectly well.

The young man was clearly mindful of the lady’s reputation, and at a glance, he was obviously from a fine family—no doubt he was simply shy.

The old man wasn’t one to meddle in young people’s affairs.

The old physician simply instructed the apprentice beside him to note down the herbs. “These need to be brewed daily, and taken without fail for three full months. Then let this old man check your pulse again…”

Zhang Xingjian’s face lit up. “Three months will be enough?”

His thoughts flickered, already working out how to arrange things so Shen Qingwu wouldn’t need to lift a weapon for the full three months.

As he sat there deep in thought, the door curtain lifted, and someone emerged from the inner hall.

Zhang Xingjian didn’t notice at first, but the man startled, his voice unusually loud. “You—you two… Father, what are they doing here?”

Shen Qingwu looked up: ah, so the middle-aged physician she’d threatened before was still here.

Zhang Xingjian looked up too: ah, it was that amusing, endlessly flustered physician.

The physician stared at the two of them again with that same strange, conflicted look, while the old physician scolded his careless son. “What kind of behavior is this? You’ve startled two patients.”

The physician drew in a sharp breath. “Two patients?!”

He knew the lady’s injuries were severe and needed careful, gradual treatment, but this Young Master Zhang… heh, the worst wound on him was surely just that streak of blood across his pretty face.

The physician muttered to himself, wondering how he’d come by such a long scar across his cheek. It looked like a blade cut… who could have done that?

The old physician apologized to the two patients and, in passing, explained their conditions to his impulsive son. Just as the physician had suspected, Zhang Xingjian only needed medicine for scar prevention.

The physician studied the two of them. “Why have only the two of you come to see a doctor? My lady, where’s your husband? Isn’t he coming?”

The physician thought to himself: that young master really trusts his wife alone with the bookkeeper like this?! What kind of reckless nerve was that… it bordered on absurd.

And here he’d tried to warn them, too, all for nothing.

Shen Qingwu’s gaze flickered.

Realizing he was asking about Yang Su… hm. She glanced toward Zhang Xingjian, expecting him to naturally come up with some cover story.

But before Zhang Xingjian could invent anything, the physician drew a sharp breath and reached his own conclusion.

The physician lowered his voice, his voice trembling. “You two, you two… don’t tell me you’ve actually abandoned Young Master Yang and run off together?”

His gaze fixed intently on Zhang Xingjian.

The old physician, still preparing the medicine with his apprentice, was startled at the word “eloped” and glanced over at his two patients. At his advanced age, he’d never expected to encounter something this scandalous—

So this was why the young man had refused to refer to her as his wife?

Zhang Xingjian’s glassy eyes flickered.

Too weary to bother explaining, he readily admitted it. “That’s right.”

Shen Qingwu’s eye twitched, but she didn’t contradict him.

The middle-aged physician pointed a trembling finger at the fair-faced young Master Zhang, then turned a look of bitter disappointment on Shen Qingwu.

The middle-aged physician said, “How could you not restrain yourself? I warned you already, didn’t I? Young Master Yang was so good to you, so pitiful.”

Shen Qingwu, thoroughly irritated by this, said, “…Yang Su isn’t as handsome as Zhang Yuelu.”

Zhang Yuelu, catching the physician’s glance, offered a warm, gracious smile in acknowledgment.

The physician said, “If the soldiers find out about this, you’ll both be thrown in prison!”

Shen Qingwu, focused on waiting for the old physician’s prescription, gave him a light, dismissive glance. “No one knows we’ve eloped. If they find out, it’ll be because you told them. I’ll come back and settle the score with you—better keep your doors locked at night.”

The physician: “…!”

A bandit! A woman bandit!

The physician cried out, “Father!”

The old physician said, “Enough, enough, don’t meddle in the patients’ private affairs. Give this medicine to Young Master Zhang—apply it three times a day, young master. Your wound isn’t deep; it should heal within about a month.”

Zhang Xingjian rose and bowed in thanks.

As the physician reluctantly came forward to hand over the medicine, he caught sight of a mark on Zhang Xingjian’s neck as he bowed—a mingled trace of a bite mark and reddened skin.

The physician: “…”

Scandalous.

Zhang Xingjian looked up and gave him a smile.

The physician hurried to send the two patients on their way. “…Don’t come back next time!”

Zhang Xingjian turned back, teasing him with a bright smile. “That’s hard to say. If my little wife gets injured again, we’ll surely have to come find you both once more.”

The way he said “my little wife” carried a strange inflection—one only the physician seemed to catch.

The physician’s face twisted, though his father and Shen Qingwu remained perfectly composed, oblivious to whatever mischief Young Master Zhang was hinting at—

Shen Qingwu said, “You’re teasing him.”

Zhang Xingjian said, “Hm? You caught that, did you?”

Shen Qingwu said, calm. “I caught that your tone was off, but I didn’t catch what exactly you were implying.”

Zhang Xingjian smiled. “Then there’s no need to know. It’s not important.”

Shen Qingwu nodded. “Mm. Now, shouldn’t it be time for me to see Yang Su?”

Zhang Xingjian fell silent for a moment.

He said, “…Fine. But I have one condition—change your clothes before you go see him.”

Shen Qingwu had no objection to that—

Shen Qingwu was led off to see Yang Su, while Zhang Xingjian sat in a study, twirling a wolf-hair brush between his fingers, deep in thought.

The last light of the setting sun fell across the desk, casting his wrist bones in a warm, jade-like glow.

It was at this moment that Chang Lin knocked at the door, and after receiving permission, pushed it open and entered.

Chang Lin hadn’t seen his young master in nearly a month. Now, seeing him seated calmly behind the desk, there was an elegant, easy grace about him that surpassed even how he’d looked back in the capital.

Though Chang Lin was reluctant to admit it, he had to concede this was Shen Qingwu’s doing.

Before, when Shen Qingwu had been absent, even with the help of the girl from the Miao mountains, the young master had been tormented by both physical illness and heartache together. However handsome he’d once been, within the span of a year he’d wasted down to almost nothing but bone.

Now, though he’d left the capital and surely faced no end of hardship along the way, he’d put on some weight again, and his fine features and bearing had returned once more.

The girl from the Miao mountains had already returned home happily after Zhang Xingjian sent word to release her, so if the young master was sitting here in such good health now, it could only be thanks to Shen Qingwu’s companionship.

It was all because of that “bonded gu.”

Nothing to do with Shen Qingwu herself, surely.

Setting aside his displeasure toward Shen Qingwu, Chang Lin reported to Zhang Xingjian with some excitement. “I received word and brought men out to search for you, young master. Since you left, the capital has been in chaos—the ministers have been fighting bitterly amongst themselves, still unable to agree on a plan.

“They’ve placed the entire imperial family under guard, all preparing in case something happens to the emperor—deciding who they’d put on the throne if the worst comes to pass… but they’ve split into several factions, arguing endlessly every day.”

Zhang Xingjian smiled faintly.

Twirling his brush, he said, “Power—who doesn’t want it?”

The hunger for power kept them from worrying too much about the looming threat from the Princess, kept them indifferent to whether the young emperor lived or died. But Li Linggē was watching too, waiting for the chance their chaos would give her…

Zhang Xingjian couldn’t afford to give her that opening.

Zhang Xingjian said, “I still hold some influence over them for now. I’ll keep sending letters, using my authority to keep them in check, keep things from spiraling out of control.”

Chang Lin nodded.

Chang Lin said, “But His Majesty’s condition isn’t good…”

Kept alive daily on ginseng broth and morning dew tonics, barely clinging to a single breath. Did the young master want the emperor to live?

Zhang Xingjian said, “For now, he must live.”

As long as the young emperor still drew breath, the court wouldn’t descend into complete chaos, and Li Linggē would still have reason for caution.

Chang Lin said, “There’s something else… when I was leaving the capital, Young Lady Zhang—your second sister, that is—asked me to pass along a message, asking when you plan to return to the capital.”

Zhang Xingjian tilted his head. “What about it?”

Ever since he’d begun gradually consolidating control over the Zhang family, ever since he’d used his own imprisonment to bring the entire family fully under his hand, Zhang Wenbi had long since stopped trying to manage him. She no longer had the power to keep her younger brother in check, and had come to feel a certain relieved pride in how he’d grown up—why would she suddenly be asking after him now?

Chang Lin said, “Young Lady Zhang said your birthday is coming up soon. She wants to know when you’ll be back, so she can arrange a birthday celebration for you.”

Zhang Xingjian understood at once.

He let out a soft laugh.

A young master’s birthday only truly mattered the year he came of age at twenty. He’d long since passed that milestone; every birthday since had amounted to little more than a bowl of longevity noodles and a few words of blessing and gentle reminder from his elders… since when did it call for a grand celebration?

Zhang Xingjian said with a smile, “My second sister has an agenda of her own here.”

Naively, Chang Lin guessed, “Could it be she wants you to promote some young man in the Zhang family? All those elders of yours have been fawning over you every day lately.”

Zhang Xingjian said, “That’s what the other elders want. It’s not what my second sister wants. My second sister doesn’t care about anyone else—she only cares about one person.”

Chang Lin paused, and after a moment’s thought, understanding dawned. “…Marshal Bo?”

Young Lady Zhang wasn’t truly hoping to throw her brother a birthday celebration at all—she was hoping to put him in a good enough mood that, on that day, she could beg him to spare Bo Rong, to stop keeping him imprisoned.

In fact, Chang Lin thought, Young Lady Zhang had likely been working at this for a long time already, simply unable to find a way to save her elder brother.

Unable to openly reveal Bo Rong’s true identity, all she could do was try to win Zhang Xingjian’s favor and beg him to let Zhang Rong go.

Chang Lin said, “How could she do this?! Not even sparing your birthday… why does she have to ruin someone’s special day like this?”

That was Zhang Rong, after all.

The very Zhang Rong who had weighed on the young master for all these years.

How could she bring it up specifically on his birthday of all days?

Zhang Xingjian twirled his brush, leaning back lazily.

He waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter, I don’t mind. Go back and tell my second sister I probably won’t make it back this year, and I’ll miss my own birthday celebration. Tell her not to worry—I’ll take good care of myself out here, celebrate my birthday on my own. Tell her to take care of herself too, and if the rest of the Zhang family gives her any trouble, tell her not to worry about it—I’ll sort things out once I’m back…”

Chang Lin muttered, “She’s not really worried about you at all…”

Zhang Xingjian tilted his head back. “Just tell her that.”

Family didn’t need to draw such sharp lines with each other. As long as Zhang Wenbi understood what he meant, that was enough.

She showed him deference, and naturally, he’d show her the same in return.

Besides… he wanted to bring Shen Qingwu into the family eventually, and being a man himself, wouldn’t he need his second sister’s help to quiet any opposition within the household?

Zhang Xingjian said, “Pass all this along to my second sister, and then keep watching developments at court…”

At this, Chang Lin looked stunned. “Keep watching? What? You don’t want me staying by your side?”

He said, heartbroken, “What if you get hurt again with no one by your side? You’re used to a life of comfort, young master, not like those coarse, rough men out there. How could you possibly endure hardship like this every single day?”

Zhang Xingjian coughed.

Chang Lin went on, “Not even a proper birthday to speak of…”

Zhang Xingjian: “…”

Chang Lin murmured, “No servants to attend you, wearing the same few robes over and over, even having to wear someone else’s old clothes…”

Zhang Xingjian shot him a look and coughed again.

Zhang Xingjian said, gentle in tone, “I have Shen Qingwu with me. Don’t you trust her martial skill? She’ll protect me. All right, you should head back now…”

Chang Lin grew even more agitated. “She’s rough and careless—being with her is exactly why you’re suffering more, young master! Your face has been injured… and there’s a wound on your neck too!”

Chang Lin’s heart ached at the sight, and Zhang Xingjian stiffened, immediately reaching up to touch his own neck.

He’d only felt a faint soreness there and hadn’t realized there was an actual mark.

All Shen Qingwu’s fault… Zhang Xingjian lowered his eyes, troubled. “Next time I can’t let her anywhere near exposed skin…”

Chang Lin cried out, “Young master!”

Zhang Xingjian said, “Enough, go on back. I have my own arrangements.”

Chang Lin said, “Let me stay with you…”

Zhang Xingjian blinked. “But Shen Qingwu doesn’t seem too fond of you always tagging along, does she?”

Chang Lin: “…”

Zhang Xingjian turned his face aside, adopting a composed, dignified air. “You don’t know yet—we’ve already begun discussing marriage.”

Chang Lin: “…”

He let out a blank, bewildered “Ah,” entirely at a loss for how to respond—

Meanwhile, Shen Qingwu was meeting with Yang Su.

Cooped up and thoroughly restless, Yang Su had spent the past several days making trouble, without ever finding a chance to escape. Just as his frustration peaked, Shen Qingwu came to see him.

And she hadn’t just come to see him—she’d come dressed extremely, extremely…

Like a flower in full bloom.

Yang Su’s eye twitched. In the study, he leapt up so abruptly that the shackles at his feet rattled loudly.

Yang Su said, “You chose to dress like that yourself?”

Shen Qingwu said, “No. Zhang Xingjian dressed me like this.”

Yang Su said, “He’s up to something! Don’t let him fool you!”

A flicker crossed Shen Qingwu’s eyes, and she gave a soft, noncommittal “Mm.”

Yang Su launched into an account of how the two of them had been deceived by Zhang Xingjian, how the people here had confined and effectively placed him under house arrest. Mysteriously, he told Shen Qingwu that all these people were Zhang Xingjian’s personal retainers.

Yang Su said, “Whatever tricks Zhang Xingjian’s used on you, I’m the one who’s been locked up here. Quick, before his men notice, find the key and free me from these chains—let’s make a run for it.”

Shen Qingwu said, “The key will be given to you. Your plan is a good one, but I have other arrangements.”

Yang Su said, “What arrangements?”

Tripping slightly over the long hem of her skirt, Shen Qingwu simply gathered it up and sat down, the pale yellow fabric spreading around her like a lotus in bloom.

Her waist was slender, her figure tall and graceful, an elaborate flower crown adorning her hair, her makeup light rather than heavy, giving her a fresh, elegant beauty rather than anything overdone. As she sat, her whole bearing seemed clean and upright, like a lotus standing gracefully above the water.

While Yang Su was still stunned by her beauty, Shen Qingwu told him plainly, “You’ll stay confined here for the time being. You can’t leave the courtyard, but you’re free to go anywhere within it. Zhang Yuelu will take your place—he’ll cross the river with me, to go back and see the Princess.”

Yang Su said, “…What?”

Yang Su asked, “Has he charmed you into this?”

Shen Qingwu nodded. “Yes.”

Unable to comprehend her reasoning, Yang Su nearly shouted in frustration. “I see your head is completely full of scoundrels and seductresses! You’ve let yourself get dazzled by his looks, stopped thinking altogether! Do you have any idea why he’d dress you up like this, all decked out and flowery, just to come see me? He’s trying to provoke me, don’t you understand? He’s trying to tell me not to have any thoughts about you, that you’re his. Do you understand?

“And he’s keeping me locked up here besides… he must have some purpose in mind!”

Shen Qingwu said, as if suddenly enlightened, “I understand now.”

Yang Su said, “I don’t think you understand at all!”

Shen Qingwu said, “I really do understand.”

Yang Su laughed coldly. “Go on, then.”

Shen Qingwu said, “He’s infatuated with me.”

Yang Su: “…”

Shen Qingwu continued, perfectly at ease. “He said he likes me more than anything, and he explained everything he’d done—he’s been jealous of you and Bo Rong this whole time. When he asked whether Bo Rong was the only one in my heart, he looked so hurt he was almost in tears.”

Yang Su’s crossed arms went rigid. “…”

Shen Qingwu recited what she’d heard, word for word. “He said he’s liked me for a very long time, that he only forced himself not to. He said I’m the most unique woman he’s ever known, that everything I do moves him beyond measure, that he praised my looks, called me the most dazzling pearl in the world…”

Yang Su: “…”

Shen Qingwu felt a little awkward saying it all, actually.

She added, “That’s what he said, not me. If you think I’m not that impressive, go argue with him about it, not me.”

Yang Su took a sharp breath, gritting his teeth in fury. “And you actually believed all that, just because he said it?!”

Shen Qingwu looked up.

Her eyes were bright and clear; when she wasn’t fighting or engaged in combat, they simply looked unusually dark, and when she fixed that focused stare on someone, it could be a little unsettling.

Her eyes made a slow circuit as she said, unbothered, “Mm.”

When anyone else praised her, she never believed it.

But when Zhang Xingjian praised her, she was determined to learn to believe it. She’d promised him she would. Lady Shen the Second always kept her word.