The following day, Marquis Kaiping’s residence received an unexpected visitor, and Lang Zhengping could hardly believe his own eyes.

Shen Qinghe had actually come looking for someone.

Not for him, the newly appointed family head, but for that strange girl, Lang Jiuchuan.

While waiting for Lang Jiuchuan to arrive, Lang Zhengping smiled pleasantly and exchanged pleasantries with Shen Qinghe, their words laced with veiled probing — questions like: what brings you here, and what business do you have with that child?

Shen Qinghe, for his part, was investigating Lang Jiuchuan’s past. Though he had sent people to look into her through the night, the time had been too tight and the information gathered was far from complete. All he knew was that she had been sent to a villa estate to be raised from a young age due to poor health.

After a round of verbal sparring, both men wordlessly lifted their teacups, using the lids to conceal their private disdain.

Old foxes.

Lang Jiuchuan arrived at Lang Zhengping’s study and offered both men a bow. Catching sight of Shen Qinghe, she furrowed her brow slightly and reached for the Dizhong at her waist, her fingertips tracing the inscription patterns carved within the bell, her gaze cold and sharp.

Jiangche drifted over and circled around Shen Qinghe once, his face full of revulsion. “Wicked — this evil energy is far too thick.”

Lang Jiuchuan had noticed it too. It was even denser than the day before; the upright and righteous aura emanating from him was nearly unable to contain it.

With her eyes fixed on him, Shen Qinghe felt, for reasons he could not explain, a sudden chill crawl across his entire body. He instinctively glanced to his side, his expression stilling.

Lang Zhengping broke the silence. “Jiuchuan, Master Shen has some questions for you. You mustn’t be as presumptuous as you were yesterday — speak properly.”

Lang Jiuchuan gave a small nod, then turned to Shen Qinghe. “Since you’ve come, my lord, then let us be on our way.”

Huh?

Shen Qinghe was taken aback. On their way — where?

“Your arrival here is proof enough of what choice you’ve made,” Lang Jiuchuan said. “There’s no need to waste time. You may be able to wait, but your son cannot.”

Shen Qinghe’s gaze sharpened, piercing as an arrow as it locked onto her. The commanding authority of a man long accustomed to high office surged forth, enough to make one’s blood run cold.

And yet Lang Jiuchuan showed not the slightest trace of fear.

The two held each other’s gaze for a long moment before Shen Qinghe reined in his aura, pressed his lips together, and said, “Then I must trouble the ninth young lady to make this trip.”

Lang Zhengping was so shocked his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He watched as the two of them walked out the door one after the other, not even sparing him so much as a farewell, clearly not giving him a second thought. He hurriedly set down his teacup. “Hey — wait for me!”

Lang Jiuchuan’s footsteps paused. She turned back and said, “You stay here at the residence. Oh, and — if I do not return today, there is no need to send anyone to look for me. Once the matter is settled, I will come back on my own.”

This matter would likely not be resolved in a single day. She had to tell him in advance, to avoid any misunderstanding.

“What? You’re going just like that?” Lang Zhengping said. “You’re still so young, you—”

“I guarantee that I will return the ninth young lady safely to the Marquis’s residence,” Shen Qinghe interjected. “Please set your mind at ease, young lord.”

Lang Zhengping said, “Master Shen, it is not that I doubt your ability to protect this girl. But you are the chief justice of the High Court, and if word gets out that you’ve taken my family’s young lady with you — whether for private or official reasons — it could stir up all manner of unflattering gossip, and I would have no way to answer to her mother, let alone to my late second younger brother.”

Shen Qinghe clasped his hands together and bowed. “Rest assured. If anyone asks, it will simply be said that my wife took an immediate liking to the ninth young lady and invited her along to make offerings at the temple.”

As for whether they had actually met before — that could all be improvised. Who was to know the truth?

“But—”

“That’s enough.” Lang Jiuchuan cut him off. “I’ll be back soon. That’s all.”

She shot Shen Qinghe a glance and strode briskly out of the study.

Shen Qinghe’s eyelid twitched. He had no choice but to bow to Lang Zhengping once more. “Young lord, I will seek your forgiveness when I return.”

Lang Zhengping watched as the two of them moved with the urgency of people being chased by ghosts, and his face gradually turned green. He snapped to his senses too late and hurried after them — but not even a shadow remained.

Something’s not right. How on earth did he end up being handled like this?

And what was he going to tell his second sister-in-law?

Lang Zhengping felt his head begin to go numb.

By the time Lang Jiuchuan had left the Marquis’s residence and boarded Shen Qinghe’s carriage, word had just reached Cui Shi. Upon hearing that Lang Jiuchuan had gone off with Shen Qinghe, she was both shocked and furious.

“How can she be so bold?” Cui Shi’s complexion had turned an iron grey. She pressed a hand to her chest, panting sharply.

Nanny Cheng also found it strange. Setting aside the question of Lang Jiuchuan’s audacity, how had she managed to make a connection with Master Shen, the chief justice of the High Court, in the first place?

Cui Shi had the same thought. She turned to Molan and asked, “What did the people sent from the young lord’s side say? Accompanying Madam Shen to make offerings at the temple?”

Molan nodded. On the surface, that was what was being said — though even she, a mere maidservant, could tell it was nothing but a cover.

Cui Shi’s vision swam. She sank back against the soft cushion in a daze, letting out a low groan. “She’s here to make my life difficult.”

She had lived her entire life by the rules, observing every propriety — how had she raised such a daughter who flouted every convention?

The very girl being complained about rubbed her flushing earlobe, opened her eyes, and looked across at Shen Qinghe sitting opposite her. “Your troubles — did they begin when you investigated the Daughters’ Village in Wanfeng Forest of Tong City? Tell me in detail everything you’ve uncovered.”

Shen Qinghe’s heart lurched violently. His eyes narrowed to slits. “You even know about the Daughters’ Village? Just who are you?”

“Lang Jiuchuan, the ninth young lady of the Lang Family.” Lang Jiuchuan said calmly. “I have no interest in prying into the details of a court case. The reason I want to know what lies beneath the surface of this matter is simply to know how to treat it — so that I can rid your son of this evil energy as soon as possible.”

“Payment, payment — we can’t work for free!” Jiangche bellowed from within the spirit altar.

Lang Jiuchuan continued, “Of course, all of that is contingent on whether you are willing and able to pay the price.”

“What do you want?” Shen Qinghe said mildly. “Every monk and Daoist priest who has come to examine my son’s illness has been powerless to help. A little girl like you certainly speaks with great confidence.”

Lang Jiuchuan showed no anger at being dismissed. “But you came looking for me, did you not? Doesn’t that mean you’re trying every last option, even a hopeless one?”

Shen Qinghe was caught off guard and let out an irritated, wry laugh.

He had barely opened his mouth when Lang Jiuchuan spoke again: “I’m not being boastful. If the matter turns out to be more difficult and troublesome than I expect, then I won’t be greedy for whatever price you’re offering. In other words — if I have no certainty of success, I won’t take the job!”

What merit or reward in this world could possibly be worth more than her own life?

She knew how to weigh the benefits and the costs. When the disadvantages outweighed the advantages and the price was not worth paying, all she could say was that life and death were a matter of fate.

Shen Qinghe was speechless.

He genuinely could not argue against someone telling him so openly that she prioritized her own safety.

Even Jiangche was caught off guard by Lang Jiuchuan’s shamelessness and clicked his tongue in disdain. “You know, you’re really something else!”

Lang Jiuchuan replied coolly, “You have such a saintly heart and a desire to save all under heaven — then you go and exhaust yourself saving people. Living is not easy for me!”

Call her cold-blooded if they liked, or heartless — when her strength was not yet enough, she looked out for herself first. What was wrong with that?

It was no different from the old saying: in poverty, one attends only to one’s own virtue.

Jiangche, thoroughly put in its place, slunk back into the spirit altar in defeat. Fine. It wasn’t about to pick a fight. It would keep its mouth shut.

Shen Qinghe lowered his eyes. “Though I don’t know how you came to learn of the Daughters’ Village, you’re not wrong. After I uncovered the strange things surrounding that village, nothing has gone right for me since, and my son has also…” He paused. “From what you’re saying, does that mean the Daughters’ Village holds some sinister secret?”