By the time Lang Jiuchuan entered the pagoda and came back out, the hour for breakfast had long since passed. It was only when she heard Nanny Cheng come to call for her that she was willing to emerge from within the pagoda.

The small nine-tiered pagoda was nothing short of a lifesaving medicine — and a portable spirit treasure besides. With it, she could enter and nourish her remnant soul at any time, while also studying the treasures Master Luole had left behind.

Her remnant soul. Yes, that was the right word.

It was while nourishing her soul and meditating inside the pagoda that she recalled the blessing the Master had bestowed upon her with a gentle touch of his hand to her head: even a remnant soul may achieve nirvana.

That remnant soul referred to herself, did it not?

A fractured, incomplete soul — how had it managed to slowly piece back together those two souls and five spirits while dwelling in the underworld?

Lang Jiuchuan looked at her own hands, lips pressing together faintly. It seemed she truly had forgotten a great deal.

“Young Miss?” Nanny Cheng pushed open the door and stepped inside: “Jian Lan says you went out in the night and caught a chill, and only fell asleep after taking some medicine. Should I have a monastic physician come to take your pulse? The Pei Family also has a medical woman with them.”

Lang Jiuchuan said: “Have you forgotten? I am a physician myself. I’m much better now.”

Nanny Cheng draped a large outer robe over her shoulders and looked carefully at her complexion, then nodded: “Your color does look all right. It’s just that Madam Shen has come and wishes to see you, so I came to check whether you were up yet.”

Shen Qinghe and his family of three had arrived, traced their way to this meditation courtyard, and come directly. But Shen Qinghe himself had been summoned away the moment he entered the temple — naturally because of the murder, and because the person involved had previously had a conflict with their party.

Qisi had died — and died in a most peculiar manner at that. The Qi Family had rushed over through the night, and even the palace had dispatched an internal eunuch and several members of the Imperial Guards.

By now, the entire Huguo Temple was under lockdown, throwing everyone into unease. Fortunately, with Lady Pei present, no one dared behave presumptuously toward them. Otherwise, given the small conflict they had with Qisi the day before, the Qi Family would certainly have seized on it as a pretext.

And with Madam Shen arriving on top of that — she had come personally to see Lang Jiuchuan and brought along her unmarried son. To any outside observer, that carried rather pointed implications, and no one dared take them lightly.

As for Madam Shen herself, she and Cui Shi were going back and forth in a conversation that seemed to be going nowhere. They were practically stumbling through a stilted exchange, and Nanny Cheng could see that if it went on much longer, Cui Shi was liable to lose her composure. She therefore hurried to fetch Lang Jiuchuan.

Lang Jiuchuan was a little surprised to hear that Madam Shen had come. After all, it was only the second day of the new year — should she not be visiting her parents’ home? Or at least welcoming the married daughters who returned home for the holiday?

And yet here they were, joining the bustle at a temple.

Lang Jiuchuan did not linger. She rose, dressed, and washed, ate a little of the food Jian Lan had been keeping warm over the brazier, sent Jiangche out to probe for news about Qisi’s case, and then made her way to Cui Shi’s quarters.

Cui Shi had indeed run out of things to say. She had no prior acquaintance with Madam Shen, and their conversation had turned into an awkward back-and-forth of disconnected topics.

The most uncomfortable part of it all was this: they were clearly speaking about Lang Jiuchuan, but the tone and praise in Madam Shen’s words made it sound as though she were the girl’s mother — whereas Cui Shi herself struggled to say anything favorable about her.

Cui Shi felt a complicated knot of emotions, mixed with a quiet ache she could not quite name. On some impulse she did not fully understand, she picked up a jade porcelain bottle nearby and said: “She really is a good child. This heart ailment of mine — the medicine she specially prepared for me has worked far better than anything I have taken before.”

Madam Shen’s hand paused in the act of lifting her teacup. She stared fixedly at the jade porcelain bottle, then said with a somewhat sour air: “Madam Lang, you have such good fortune. Do take care to cherish it.”

Why couldn’t she have a daughter like that?

Cui Shi caught the wistful envy in her words and felt an unexpected lightness in her heart. She bowed her head and murmured her agreement.

It was at precisely that moment that Lang Jiuchuan arrived. Madam Shen stood up immediately and smoothed her collar and sleeve cuffs with her hands. She glanced at Nanny Liao and the serving girl Baizhi, saw them each holding something, and gave a small nod.

Seeing how deliberate and composed she was about it, the depth of Cui Shi’s gaze shifted.

This was not performance. She genuinely thought highly of the child.

Sure enough, the moment Lang Jiuchuan walked in, Madam Shen came forward with a warm smile to greet her and called out: “Jiu Niang.”

Lang Jiuchuan bowed to her: “Wishing you, Madam, a joyful and blessed new year.”

“Yes, yes, and the same to you — may the new year bring you peace and happiness.” Madam Shen beckoned to Nanny Liao, who stepped forward and handed over an embroidered gold pouch, which Madam Shen took and pressed into Lang Jiuchuan’s hands: “A new year gift — great luck and all blessings, peace and joy.”

Lang Jiuchuan hesitated for just a moment, then accepted: “Thank you, Madam.”

She passed the pouch to Jian Lan to keep, but before she knew it, Madam Shen had already taken a red lacquer box from her serving girl and was pressing it into her hands as well: “A new year gift.”

“Madam, the new year money was already more than enough.”

“Elders give gifts; one does not refuse. Take it — it is nothing precious, just something to enjoy.” Madam Shen studied Lang Jiuchuan’s face and nodded approvingly: “Looking well — you’ve grown into yourself. Your complexion is so much better than the last time I saw you.”

Lang Jiuchuan smiled slightly: “It is only the second day of the new year — the day married daughters return home. What brings you here, Madam?”

Madam Shen replied: “My family’s home is in the south, and I haven’t been back in several years. As for your Shen elder sister, she is not in Wu Jing at present, so we have no one to welcome back on the second day either. Our household’s banquet is on the sixth — you are in mourning, so naturally we would not send you an invitation, but we certainly would have otherwise. Today, we came because old Shen heard you were here at Huguo Temple offering prayers for a departed soul, so we thought we’d come by since we had nothing pressing to attend to — only he was called away the moment we arrived. Nanny, go ask the young master to come over.”

Nanny Liao nodded.

Madam Shen seemed to remember Cui Shi only then and turned to her with an apologetic look: “Some time ago, my son’s life was hanging by a thread, and it was Jiu Niang who saved him and brought him back from the brink. I am having him come so that he may express his gratitude to Jiu Niang in person. I do hope Madam does not take it amiss.”

Cui Shi had no concerns about the girl sharing things outside, and so she had spoken plainly.

“There are elders present, it is perfectly proper,” Cui Shi replied. She glanced at Lang Jiuchuan, then let her eyes drift to the pouch and the lacquer box in Jian Lan’s hands, and quietly lowered her head for a sip of tea, a wave of feeling stirring somewhere inside her.

Shen Peng walked in, dressed in a sapphire-blue robe with a jade-inlaid belt at his waist, deerskin boots on his feet, and his hair fastened with a fine white jade hairpin. His features were handsome, his manner distinguished and refined.

He bore no resemblance to the hollowed-out, skin-and-bone state in which he had last appeared. In just a short span of time, he had regained the vitality proper to a man his age, and perhaps because he had passed through a brush with death — knowing the tremendous sacrifice his parents had made on his behalf — his temperament had settled considerably.

When he saw Lang Jiuchuan, he did not dare look at her face directly. He stepped forward two paces, flipped back the hem of his robe, and dropped to his knees before her with a resounding thud, pressing himself fully to the ground: “Miss, the grace of saving my life is something Shen Peng will never forget for as long as he lives. Please accept this bow.”

Cui Shi: “!”

Lang Jiuchuan: “…”

That was really quite unnecessary.

Lang Jiuchuan was just about to tell him to rise when she heard noise and commotion from outside — and it seemed to be directed at her?

She exhaled quietly. She never sought out trouble, and yet trouble would always find her.

Cui Shi and Madam Shen had heard it too. The two women exchanged a glance, both expressions tightening, for they had caught the voice — arrogant, shrewish, and sharp as a blade. Demanding that Lang Jiuchuan come out to face them?

Lang Jiuchuan had already moved past Shen Peng and was walking out the door. Cui Shi and Madam Shen quickly followed — they could not let the child come to any harm.

Shen Peng: “…”

Should I get up, or should I stay kneeling?

Occupational hazard is the bane of my life — neck aches, shoulder pain, numb fingers, absolutely killing me~