Upon entering the Ou estate, members of the Ou family led Lang Jiuchuan’s party to the mourning hall. However, the people surrounding Lang Jiuchuan — Vice Minister of Personnel Zeng Jichuan, the teacher Xue Shi from Luning Academy, and the celebrated painter Ou Luozhong who shared the Ou surname — all seemed to be speaking with her, which inevitably drew more than a few glances in her direction.

Why were all these distinguished figures looking at this Lang family girl the way elders look at a young family member?

And Marquis Kaiping Lang Zhengping, by contrast, looked rather like a tagalong attendant.

When they reached the mourning hall, the members of the Zhao family who had also come caught sight of this group and came over to exchange greetings, making the scene all the stranger.

Lang Jiuchuan kept her gaze straight ahead. She fell back half a step, walking beside Lang Zhengping as they entered the mourning hall, and the moment she felt the yin energy within, she raised her eyes and looked around, letting out a quiet sigh.

The man had not yet moved on, as expected.

Had he calculated that she would come?

Lang Jiuchuan took up three sticks of incense, came to stand before Director Ou’s coffin, raised the incense and bowed three times, then set the incense in the censer. She then turned to the mourning son standing nearby and said, “I would like to recite a scripture of passage for Director Ou.”

The eldest son of the Ou family startled. Zeng Jichuan and the others also paused for a moment, but quickly had someone bring her a meditation cushion.

Lang Jiuchuan sat cross-legged on the cushion, took the Dizhong bell from her waist, gathered her daoist intent into her palm, pinched the bell, gave it a gentle shake, and let her will strike it.

Dong.

A single, deep and resonant peal of the bell spread outward through the mourning hall. A hush fell across the space — even the quiet sounds of weeping seemed to be covered by an invisible hand, not a sound remaining.

“The Venerated Ones of the ten directions of Heaven, their number like grains of sand, manifest their forms throughout the ten realms, universally delivering and crossing over all heavenly beings…”

The scripture flowed from her lips in a clear, cool voice that seemed to settle directly in the hearts of those who heard it, holding them in place, unable to leave. As the recitation continued, the Dizhong bell in her hand swayed in a steady rhythm, and ring upon ring of meritorious spiritual energy radiated outward toward Director Ou, who stood at the head of the coffin, dispersing the dense yin energy clinging to him, slowly straightening his broken and twisted neck back into place.

The recitation of scripture drew even the monks and priests outside to bow their heads and listen, silently chanting along under their breath.

Everyone present was moved and awed, and not one person dared to raise any objection. They could only look at that girl dressed in plain white garments, her eyes half-lowered as she intoned the scripture.

They heard she was the ninth daughter of the Lang family.

A Lang family daughter had entered the way of the Dao? The scripture she recited carried such serenity and compassion — sufficient to guide the deceased across and bring comfort to the living.

Lang Zhengping stood with his back rod-straight, straining to maintain an expression of composure, while inwardly his heart was bursting with excitement like fireworks going off in his chest.

She was his — this girl was of his Lang family!

By the time the rite of crossing over was complete, the spirit of Director Ou had been restored to the form Lang Jiuchuan remembered from when she had first met him — kind-eyed and gentle-faced, a smile at the corners of his mouth. He walked toward her, clasped his hands and bowed deeply. “Many thanks, young Daoist friend, for coming to escort this old one on his journey.”

Lang Jiuchuan re-fastened the Dizhong bell to her waist and stood up, walking out of the mourning hall. The monks and priests gathered beneath the funeral canopy off to the side, upon seeing her, all pressed their palms together in Buddhist salute or Daoist greeting. Lang Jiuchuan returned the salute with a bow of her own.

She moved to a quieter corner. With a small wave toward Lang Zhengping and the others who had followed, she turned her head slightly to the side and asked quietly, “How is it that you fulfilled my hexagram? Was it truly an accident, or was it——”

Director Ou stood beside her, watching the mourners come and go, and said, “It was not entirely an accident. It was this old one who took that worthless grandson along on the road.”

He had actually chosen it himself. Lang Jiuchuan said, “Even in death, you could have chosen a different way to go. Why suffer a broken neck on top of everything?”

Director Ou reached up to feel his own neck, then let out a hearty laugh. “That part — was a pure accident.”

“I apologize. That is the nature of divination — once you know what is coming, it weighs on the mind. Your allotted years were not supposed to end here, and yet because of me——”

“No, no, no — how could any of this be related to you? On the contrary, this old one is deeply grateful that I had the fortune to learn of this calamity facing the clan. Two lives in exchange for the safety of the entire family — the Ou family has come out ahead, in truth. Had I truly remained ignorant all along, what use would a few more years of life have been? I would only have died without being able to close my eyes in peace.” Director Ou sighed. “This outcome is precisely what this old one wished for.”

Lang Jiuchuan pressed her lips together. “I had thought disposing of your grandson would be sufficient.”

Director Ou shook his head. “It is not so simple. Violating the propriety of the inner palace means making the Son of Heaven a cuckold. Could the death of one person ever settle that account?”

He was a ghost now and could freely speak his mind about the Emperor without fear that anyone would hear and bring disaster upon him.

“Moreover, what I exchanged for this safety was this old life of mine, along with decades of service to the imperial household. After the funeral rites are concluded, the Ou family will withdraw from Wu Jing and return to Guangyuan, our ancestral home, to practice medicine — that is the agreement I made with the Emperor.”

Lang Jiuchuan caught the other meaning beneath those words. “Surely you did not lay everything bare before the Emperor?”

That would be rather extreme.

Director Ou gave a cold smile. “To speak plainly — if it were not for you, how would I have known that child had such a deadly gu on him? Had I remained unknowing, he would have been controlled by the Xie woman and compelled to do who knows what kind of damage — your hexagram had already made that clear!”

In truth, he had already been used by that wretched Xie woman to do harm, just not yet enough to implicate the entire clan.

“That fool was worthless and his death is no loss. He could die; this old one has lived long enough and harbors no greed, so to preserve the clan, this old one could die too. But my grandson and I are dead, and we died because of that person’s scheming — for us to end up in this situation because of her plotting. I cannot swallow that anger. That Xie woman has brought such ruin upon my Ou family, and yet she can continue to live in ease and luxury — this old one refuses to accept it. I have grievances, and I have resentment!”

Lang Jiuchuan felt a stirring in her heart. “So you——”

“This old one served two emperors. Whether these hands are clean or not — I know it, and the Emperor knows it. This old one paid with his life, and could have taken countless secrets to the grave along with that rebellious grandson, in exchange for the entire clan’s safety. Revealing this matter actually involved a measure of gambling — gambling on the Emperor’s sense of obligation. Fortunately, my grandson, though he had the gu on him, had not yet dared to commit any act of defilement. If he had, two lives would not have been nearly enough to pay.”

Director Ou gave a cold snort. “For the Xie woman to have used a gu to control an imperial physician — and not just any physician but the very one this old one cultivated with his whole heart, and intended to pass his legacy to — what could a palace consort have wanted to use him for? One statement from this old one and what could I not say? Nothing more than some subtly poisoned words in the Emperor’s ear, a hint or two, and her fall from favor becomes inevitable even if she does not lose her life.”

Which Emperor would not grow wary of having the imperial physicians by his side bought and controlled by others — especially by a palace consort — and not through ordinary means like gold and silver, but through a gu, and a love-compulsion gu at that. Was she not simply seeking her own death?

“What truly makes the Xie woman dangerous is her father, who commands military power. She placed the little prince she bore into the care of Noble Consort Xian to be raised, maintaining a facade of detachment from worldly ambition — and she thinks that can fool people? Pfft! That place that devours people never lacks for clever minds. I need say nothing elaborate — merely plant the suggestion of disloyal intent, and the Xie family’s downfall is assured!”

Lang Jiuchuan looked at the self-satisfied Director Ou and sighed. “You have handed me quite the handsome referral fee, haven’t you.”

Could this be called a stroke of unexpected fortune?

She had wanted to use this whole affair as leverage to send a grand gift of trouble to the returning Marquis of Zhenbei — and she had not expected Director Ou to already do it on her behalf.

They say, do not lightly make an enemy of a physician — a physician can save lives, and can kill without ever drawing a blade.

Old Ou, you have done well.