Lang Jiuchuan and Lang Caimeng led their guests toward the warm pavilion, and those left behind exchanged bewildered glances, feeling as though none of it was quite real.

Lang Zhengwen asked his elder brother Lang Zhengping, “Elder brother, how does Ninth young lady come to know such remarkable figures?”

Had she not grown up in the countryside?

Everyone nearby pricked up their ears.

Lang Zhengping said, “The connections between people speak of one thing — fate. Perhaps she and Xue Shi simply found a natural affinity.”

The kind of affinity that likely involved doing him a great favor.

Lang Zhengping’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. This niece of his — he feared that even he had underestimated her abilities.

He turned to Lang Zhengwen. “Third brother, you have only just returned from the ancestral home, so go and bathe and change your clothes, and rest. Once you have, you and I will sit down and discuss the arrangements for Father’s burial and other matters.”

Lang Zhengwen, thoroughly exhausted in body and spirit, nodded and cupped his hands toward him. He was just about to leave when he directed his eldest son to go find Lang Caimeng: “Your elder brother also just returned but, without regard for his own fatigue, is helping to receive guests. You should learn to share the burden. Go over to the warm pavilion and see if there is anything you can help with — even running errands would be something.”

Lang Caize stared in consternation. He had been pushing himself to his limits on the road home and was nearly dead from exhaustion — all he wanted was to go back to his room to bathe and change. Why was he being put to work?

Lang Zhengwen saw the obvious reluctance on his face and immediately darkened his expression. This dullard — those were Xue Shi and Master Youhe in there. Even if he could not be of service, getting his face recognized would be worth something. How could he not know to seize such an opportunity?

Lang Zhengping read his thoughts and said nothing. After all, his own thinking ran along the same lines — he had no expectation of the boy being taken on as a disciple or student, but simply becoming a familiar face would have its uses. He pointed to Lang Caize, who was still craning his neck in the direction where Xue Shi and the others had disappeared, and said, “Fourth young one, you go along with Sixth young lord as well. As your third uncle said — helping to run errands will do.”

Lang Caize eagerly agreed and dragged the reluctant Lang Caize away with him.

Lang Zhengping then dismissed the remaining onlookers, and with his hands clasped behind his back, made his unhurried way toward the main courtyard.

In the Qizhi Pavilion.

Cui Shi listened as Nanny Cheng hurried back to report, and felt her anger somewhat ease. She understood that the Zhao Family’s ostentatious gesture was most likely intended to help dispel the rumors swirling around Lang Jiuchuan.

But she had actually known Xue Shi as well?

How many more things was she keeping hidden?

Cui Shi felt a sense of helplessness and disorientation. The more people Lang Jiuchuan proved to know, the further she seemed from her — the more utterly unknown.

By this point, she had no choice but to admit it: regarding Lang Jiuchuan, she truly knew nothing at all.

The warm pavilion of the Marquis’s household was situated on the lakeside in the northeastern corner of the estate. It offered views of the lake and garden, and served as an ideal place to host guests during autumn and winter at Marquis Kaiping’s residence.

By the time Lang Jiuchuan and the others arrived, servants who had received their master’s orders had already opened the pavilion and arranged everything within. The moment one stepped inside, warmth enveloped you. Fresh pale pink winter-sweet plum blossoms had been arranged inside the room, and the warmth coaxed them into full bloom, filling the air with a fragrance that was both penetrating and refreshing.

Lang Caimeng personally prepared and poured the tea, offering it first to Xue Shi and Ou Luozhong. Though the two were anxious at heart, seeing his eager attentiveness — and noting he was dressed in mourning white, a reminder that the Lang Family was still in a period of mourning, meaning this young man would have to wait before sitting for the examinations — they casually asked him a few questions about his studies.

Lang Caimeng was overjoyed, sat up straight, and gave his answers. After receiving a few words of guidance, he noticed that Xue Shi and Ou Luozhong had tacitly lifted their teacups to drink, and with good sense, said to Lang Jiuchuan, “Ninth sister, I have received Xue Shi’s guidance and have much to reflect upon. I shall go downstairs and write an essay on it. I will leave the hosting to you here. The servants are all waiting at the foot of the stairs — simply call if anything is needed.”

“Please go ahead, elder brother.”

Lang Caimeng then clasped his hands in a bow of parting to Xue Shi and Ou Luozhong before taking his leave.

The moment he was gone, Xue Shi and Ou Luozhong set down their teacups in unison and looked toward Lang Jiuchuan.

Xue Shi cleared his throat and said, “I have done as you instructed — the longevity tablet has been prepared and enshrined, with incense offered morning and night.”

Ou Luozhong: “?”

So this had happened as well, and you said nothing of it just now.

Lang Jiuchuan gave a nod. “You are the headmaster of an entire academy, and it is in your nature to mean what you say and see it through. I have already benefited from it. My thanks.”

Xue Shi saw that her complexion truly was much better than before, and let out a breath of relief. Then he said, “As for the rumors outside — pay them no mind. Justice resides in the hearts of people. So long as you conduct yourself with integrity, the slander will collapse on its own. Besides, what nonsense about being a jinx and a bringer of misfortune — it is nothing but baseless talk, empty gossip repeated by those who follow the crowd. Anyone with half a brain knows better than to believe it, and anyone who does believe it is the one with the problem!”

“But what if the rumors are true? What if I am simply stating facts?”

Pardon?

Xue Shi stiffened. Was she saying this seriously? He recalled their first meeting — this girl never spoke without purpose.

Seeing the awkward expression that crossed his face, Lang Jiuchuan continued, “I am not troubled by those rumors. There is no need for you to be angered on my behalf. Let us return to the matter at hand. As for what the two of you have come here seeking — Xue Shi, you are surely aware of my terms?”

“Naturally.” Xue Shi said to Ou Luozhong, “Little Ah Jiu does not do things without compensation. There is always a price to be paid.”

“I understand. If she can truly make my daughter well again, I would give my very life and think nothing of it.” Ou Luozhong’s eyes burned with intensity as he looked at Lang Jiuchuan. “I only hope that a distinguished person will extend a helping hand to my daughter.”

A longevity tablet — he could offer that as well. Whatever it took.

Lang Jiuchuan said, “I am not certain what you are seeking on your precious daughter’s behalf. I can see from your physiognomy that the area governing children bears signs of ruin. Whatever affliction your child has encountered — whether it involves death or injury — cannot be resolved without a price, as Xue Shi has said. And the nature of that price varies from person to person.”

Ou Luozhong turned pale with shock. “What sort of price would that be?”

“I can only know once I have seen her in person.” Lang Jiuchuan said, “Why not tell me what has happened to her?”

Ou Luozhong’s face was etched with distress. “My daughter has had a delicate constitution since childhood — easily startled into crying fits. My wife and I sought protective talismans from monks and temples to press upon her body, and only then could she sleep soundly, though even those did not last long and needed to be replaced at regular intervals. Once she was old enough to understand, she began saying she could see ghosts and spirits. At first we naturally did not believe her, and sought the help of monks and Daoist priests again. They said she had the constitution to commune with Yin and Yang, and that this was why shadowy entities were drawn to her and frequently came to disturb her. There was once a wandering monk who gave my daughter a strand of prayer beads, and those brought her a few years of peace. But when she was ten, even those prayer beads all snapped apart. My daughter is twelve now, and she is frequently so terrified by those shadowy entities that she falls gravely ill…”

As he spoke, his eyes reddened, and he sighed. “Over all these years, trying to remedy her constitution, I cannot count the gold and silver we have spent, or how many people we have approached for help. We have even appealed to the Xuan Clan several times for talismans, yet it is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause. I placed a request with Tongtian Pavilion, hoping to find a distinguished person who could save my daughter. Today I received their reply — they said I would encounter such a person today. And then Old Xue brought me here to find you.”

Lang Jiuchuan’s brow lifted slightly. So this was a referral from Tongtian Pavilion. How interesting.

She considered for a moment, then asked, “Her birth date and hour?”

Ou Luozhong seemed to hesitate over something, his expression deeply conflicted. He glanced at Xue Shi, and when Xue Shi gave a nod, he pressed his lips together and stated a date.

Lang Jiuchuan merely counted across her knuckles a few times, then raised her head to look at him. “She was born in a Yin year, a Yin month, a Yin day, and a Yin hour — and moreover, was born beside water? You have sought help from the Xuan Clan and approached any number of monks and Daoist priests. Not a single one of them calculated that your daughter, born in this hour, carries the constitution of Pure Yin?”