Night descended through heavy snowfall. The Lang Family — weary in body and spirit after a day of turmoil — gathered around a brazier in one room, speaking in low voices about the events in the mourning hall, and thinking back on the experience of being caught in that strange dark fog, they all felt a lingering unease and disquiet.

“So — was that black fog an illusion, or something Daoist Huang actually conjured? What was he trying to do?” Lang Cailing asked with a furrowed brow, looking at the brothers and sisters around her.

Lang Caiyao, eyes lowered, idly played with her fingertips and said, “That’s not something we’re in a position to know.”

At those words, everyone looked around the room. True enough — aside from themselves, none of the people who might have something to say on the matter were present. Of the three branches of the Lang Family, every adult who counted for anything was elsewhere.

“Father and Mother and Second Aunt and Third Uncle I can understand — but why was Lang Jiu also called to the study to discuss things? Even Elder Brother wasn’t included.” Lang Cailing muttered in dissatisfaction, shooting a glance toward Wu Shi.

Wu Shi saw through her intent immediately — trying to stir up resentment. It left a bad taste in her mouth. At a time like this, still trying to get an edge over everyone else.

This concubine-born younger sister-in-law, with her well-favored mother, had grown up enjoying all manner of indulgences. Now that both elder sisters had married and she was the only one left at home to act coquettish and endear herself, the father-in-law favored her even more. Knowing she was the daughter of a Marquis, she carried herself with an increasingly lofty air.

Foolish. The Lang Family had fallen out of favor when they had supported the wrong side during the late Emperor’s succession, and had since been out of the inner circles of power. The current Emperor set great store by filial piety and propriety, and did not dare go against the late Emperor’s wishes by promoting the Lang Family — so the Lang Family remained a marginal presence. Now that the old patriarch was gone, whether the father-in-law as the legitimate eldest son could even successfully inherit the title was still uncertain. And yet this girl had the audacity to act as though she were some prized daughter?

Among the declining noble families of Wu Jing, take Duke Shun’s household — the title was hereditary and irrevocable in perpetuity, true, but it was an empty title with nothing to back it. And they were prolific breeders besides, the family teeming with people. Two or three young ladies sharing a single courtyard, wearing clothes that were seasons out of fashion — the life of a legitimate daughter of that house was not half as comfortable or prosperous as that of a concubine-born girl from a family of mid-ranking officials with real power.

The Lang Family had not yet sunk so low as to be pawning ancestral heirlooms to get by, but if no capable descendants emerged within three generations, they would certainly decline into common folk.

And yet Lang Cailing still dared to dream such grand dreams. She had truly been spoiled rotten. Of course, she was of marrying age, and once the period of mourning was over and she found a suitable match, perhaps her dowry could keep her comfortable for a few years. But for a woman — if her family home held no weight, what standing could she hope to have in her husband’s household?

Wu Shi’s face held almost no warmth as she said, “The elders are all discussing important matters, and the mourning hall cannot be left unattended. Your elder brother is the eldest legitimate grandson, and the responsibility on his shoulders is heavier than anyone else’s. With the elders away, naturally he must watch over things — he cannot act like a child, always fighting to come first. That is not the way.”

As the eldest sister-in-law and future matriarch of the clan, with her own father and brothers holding important positions at court, Wu Shi commanded considerable respect in the Lang household. Lang Cailing, receiving that thinly-veiled rebuke, didn’t dare push back too hard. She forced a smile and said, “Elder Brother will always be unrivalled — naturally.”

But inwardly she was seething. Was this still her own sister-in-law? Taking the side of someone from a different branch entirely rather than standing with her own sister-in-law?

No sense of loyalty at all.

“But — setting that aside, doesn’t everyone think Lang Jiu is very strange?” Lang Caize said. “Never mind the paper figure making trouble the other night — just look at today. How did that Daoist come to look the way he did? Doesn’t every bit of it seem connected to Lang Jiu? How does she know about any of these things?”

“And she cursed Old Master Zhao to death,” Lang Cailing added.

Wu Shi’s expression cooled. “Seventh Sister — there is no basis whatsoever for talk of curses. She is your own family. Don’t say such things again. It does you no good if it gets out.”

Lang Cailing felt hard done by. Why was she always the one getting scolded?

Lang Caiyao gave a cold inward laugh. Such a fool.

Still — that Ninth Sister of theirs truly was a mystery all over. Deeply, endlessly curious.

Lang Jiuchuan rubbed her itching nose and glanced across at the three people sitting opposite her, who together looked like a formal tribunal of interrogation, scrutinizing her from every angle.

Look all you like. You win if you can see through me.

Seeing that she had no intention of speaking, Lang Zhengping said: “What do you have to say about today’s events? How did you manage to see through that Daoist Huang’s deception?”

What had this child been learning out on that estate? A young girl, with all these strange, eerie abilities — at her age, no less.

Cui Shi had been watching Lang Jiuchuan without pause, and the longer she looked, the more she felt she could not see through her at all. She had the persistent sensation that the other person was right there in front of her, and yet impossibly, immeasurably far away. It made her uneasy — even frightened.

“Rather than that — shouldn’t the more pressing question be who is behind all of this? After all, the person at the back of it intends to destroy the Lang Family.” Lang Jiuchuan turned the question back on him.

Lang Zhengping said with a grim face, “I’ve already sent people to investigate. The question is — if this plan failed, will the one hiding in the shadows attempt another? These sinister arts are harder to guard against than open arrows or hidden blades. What do you think?”

There was a note of testing in that question.

Lang Jiuchuan’s face showed a self-deprecating expression. “I’m nothing more than a village girl raised on a rural estate — no proper upbringing, no particular abilities to speak of. So that question of yours, I’m afraid, is wasted on me.”

Lang Zhengping: “…”

He glanced toward Cui Shi and saw her staring at Lang Jiuchuan without blinking. He considered, then reached for the teacup at his side and gently skimmed the foam from the surface with the lid.

Let whoever made this mess deal with it.

Cui Shi stared fixedly at Lang Jiuchuan, at those brows and eyes, at that expression. Something stirred strangely in her, and the feeling unsettled her. That defiant, brazen, challenging expression — she had seen it on someone else before. On the child’s father.

The first time they had met, he had deliberately teased her, wearing exactly that infuriating, asking-to-be-dealt-with expression.

The memory surged up before she could stop it. And then the cold sweat began at Cui Shi’s back. Her fingernails dug into her palms, and the sharp pain brought her back to herself.

Impossible.

Cui Shi composed herself back into the cool, remote face of a widow. She looked toward Lang Zhengping and said, “She’s right. She is only a young girl with limited experience. Elder Brother, don’t waste your time.”

A cough.

Lang Zhengping choked on his tea and began to cough.

Madam Fan gave him a displeased look and passed him a handkerchief.

Lang Zhengping accepted it and dabbed at the corner of his mouth. He looked at Cui Shi with helpless resignation. She wore an expression of complete seriousness — this was not a joke, nor was she defending anyone. She was simply stating what she believed to be fact.

A mother and daughter, truly — did they need to be so estranged from one another?

Cui Shi appeared to find nothing unusual in Lang Zhengping’s expression, and said, “We should first investigate who is behind this, and who is directing this Daoist against our family. I will also write to the eldest lady of the Gong Family and ask for her assistance.”

Lang Zhengping sat up sharply, startled. “The Gong Family? Do you mean the Gong Family with the Dao affinity?”

Cui Shi nodded. “The eldest Madam Gong and I were close friends from childhood.”

“That is excellent news.” Lang Zhengping struck his hands together with a resounding clap, his face lit up with relief. “If we can bring the Gong Family in, then the Lang Family need not fear any more of this sinister business.”

Cui Shi said nothing. She only glanced once in Lang Jiuchuan’s direction, and the fingers hidden in her sleeve curled inward.

Lang Jiuchuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The Gong Family. Dao affinity.