Zhou Yinzhi left.

Yan Lin sat in the study for a very long time.

Qingfeng asked from outside: “Young Master, about Cengxiao Tower…”

But Yan Lin slowly covered his face with his palm and asked him: “Has Father returned?”

Qingfeng was stunned and replied: “The Marquis should be at Chengqing Hall.”

Yan Lin then rose, directly exiting his study, and actually strode along that corridor piled with rockery toward the direction of Chengqing Hall.

Outside, the torrential rain was pouring.

Even walking under the covered corridor, the cold wind blew cold rain onto one’s body.

Qingfeng was truly startled. Seeing that he had already walked several zhang away before he could react, he hurried to catch up with an umbrella: “Young Master, the umbrella!”

Chengqing Hall at the Yongyi Marquis’s residence was where the current Yongyi Marquis, Yan Mu—that is, Yan Lin’s father—regularly resided.

As soon as Yan Lin approached, the old steward outside revealed a face full of smiles: “The Young Master has come! Those below just sent up two jars of fine wine. The Marquis has already opened them and was just pondering who to find to drink with on this rainy day. You’ve come at just the right time.”

Yan Lin didn’t respond, nor did his footsteps stop.

The old steward was immediately somewhat stunned. He turned to look at Yan Lin’s retreating back and couldn’t help asking Qingfeng who had followed: “What’s wrong with the Young Master today?”

The Yongyi Marquis, Yan Mu, was now a man in his forties, with some white hair on his head, though it wasn’t yet obvious.

After all, coming from military service, having led soldiers and fought battles, even at this age his physique still looked quite robust. A hard beard on his chin, between his brows and eyes naturally carrying a bit of the heroic spirit that only military men possessed. One could vaguely still see a scar on his forehead.

These were all left from battles of years past.

At this moment, he was indeed as the old steward had said—he had just opened a jar of wine.

Some small dishes for drinking were placed on the table.

The newly opened wine was poured into wine cups.

The wine’s fragrance and the aroma of the dishes both dispersed in the humid air.

Seeing Yan Lin enter, he laughed, his full vigor vibrating through his chest, only saying: “Didn’t you say you were going out today? Why did you come over? Perfect timing, try this wine.”

The Yongyi Marquis pointed at the wine cup on the table.

Yan Lin stopped before the table, also gazing fixedly at his father for a moment. His tightly pressed lips seemed to be suppressing something. Then he raised his hand to pick up that cup of wine and actually drained it in one gulp.

The youth who would soon have his capping ceremony—his Adam’s apple rolled.

A cup of strong liquor poured entirely down his throat, burning all the way from his lips and teeth to his heart and lungs!

With a “pa,” the wine cup was set down heavily.

The Yongyi Marquis understood his son very well. Ordinarily they could be said to talk about everything. Even how much this boy liked that girl from Minister Jiang’s residence, he knew perfectly clearly. But an appearance like this—he had never seen before.

Thus, he realized something was wrong.

The Yongyi Marquis looked him up and down and laughed: “What, had a conflict with that little girl Xuening?”

But Yan Lin didn’t laugh. His gaze falling on his father didn’t move away either. He only asked: “Father, do you know that His Majesty is having the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate the case of Prince Pingnan’s rebel faction remnants?”

“…”

The Yongyi Marquis’s motion of reaching for wine immediately stopped.

He raised his head and met Yan Lin’s sharp gaze. All the youth’s sharpness penetrated through those eyes, leaving one nowhere to hide. Yet carefully pondering the meaning in his words, the Yongyi Marquis suddenly understood something in that instant.

No panic.

No surprise either.

He suddenly laughed, then laughed loudly, as if recalling some absurd and ridiculous past events. He couldn’t help but clap and shake his head. When he opened his mouth, it actually carried a bone-deep hatred and madness—

“What should come will always come! Twenty years have passed. I can’t forget, and those who committed wrongdoing—they can’t forget either! Hahahaha…”

Why would the Yongyi Marquis have correspondence with remnants of Prince Pingnan’s faction?

Clearly, twenty years ago when Prince Pingnan allied with the Celestial Doctrine rebel faction to stage a rebellion, attacking the capital and storming the palace, the Yongyi Marquis had still been like Duke Chengguo—a loyal minister who established great merit in quelling the rebellion.

In her previous life, some mysteries had ultimately remained unsolved.

The appointed hour had passed long ago, yet Yan Lin still hadn’t appeared.

Jiang Xuening’s heart slowly sank.

Originally, if she hadn’t been selected to enter the palace as a study companion, she should have told Yan Lin a few days ago. But these people had intervened and caused such turmoil, disrupting all her plans. In the palace with so many people and ears everywhere, there simply wasn’t an opportunity to make things clear.

And now, Yan Lin must already know, mustn’t he?

Standing by the window of the private room on the second floor, she gazed at the sheet of rain outside.

It had been falling for a long time.

Falling very heavily.

The sky had gradually darkened. Lights were lit in various parts of the capital. The dim yellow warm light illuminated the windows of each household and also illuminated the buildings near and far, but in the splashing rain and hazy rain mist, all contours became blurred.

The wind gradually turned bone-piercing.

Tang’er and Lian’er following behind her, seeing the strong wind, were somewhat worried. They stepped forward wanting to close the window first, and couldn’t help complaining a couple sentences: “The Young Master hasn’t come this late. Perhaps he’s been delayed by something and can’t come? Miss, why don’t we go back first?”

Jiang Xuening only said: “Don’t close it.”

Her voice was soft, yet her gaze didn’t turn away, still falling on those bright rain lines outside the window.

Lian’er and Tang’er immediately exchanged glances.

They always felt today was somewhat unusual.

The young miss who never took the initiative to ask the young marquis out had asked him out. The young marquis who was never late still hadn’t come at this time.

But they didn’t dare ask more.

Since Jiang Xuening said not to close the window, they could only withdraw their outstretched hands. They wanted to persuade her not to stand by the window: “Why don’t you go sit inside? We servants will keep watch for you. When the young marquis comes, we’ll tell you. The wind by this window is so strong. Your constitution wasn’t that good to begin with. If you’re accidentally blown on, catch a chill, or suffer from the wind and cold, we servants truly can’t bear the responsibility.”

Jiang Xuening seemed not to have heard at all and didn’t move an inch.

Lian’er and Tang’er then didn’t dare persuade anymore.

The private room suddenly became quiet again. One could only hear the surrounding clamorous sound of rain, occasionally mixed with the sounds of toasts and drinking from nearby wine houses and inns.

The sound of horse hooves accompanied by the rumbling sound of wheels pierced through the rain curtain.

Both Lian’er and Tang’er jolted.

But looking down from the window, that carriage wasn’t from the Yongyi Marquis’s residence. It also didn’t stop below Cengxiao Tower but stopped at Xichen Pavilion across the street. A servant first descended from the carriage and actually respectfully held up an umbrella, welcoming down the person inside.

Dressed in a dark blue-green long robe, brow furrowed, seeming to dislike such rainy days.

His features were fairly proper, just that pair of eyes too deep.

The corners of his lips always seemed to curve in a smile, yet when looking at people it couldn’t be considered sincere, even carrying an innate coldness.

Standing by the window, Jiang Xuening recognized him almost at a glance—

It was actually Chen Ying!

This dynasty’s famously cruel official, currently Vice Minister of Justice, also the person who in her previous life had nearly taken Zhang Zhe’s life…

What was he doing here?

Jiang Xuening was immediately stunned.

She only saw that after Chen Ying got off the carriage, he was immediately welcomed into Xichen Pavilion. Before long, from the tightly closed window on the second floor arose a burst of lively greetings. Even through the rain curtain one could hear everyone warmly calling out “Minister Chen.”

At this time, the waiter came in to replace Jiang Xuening’s tea with hot tea.

She then asked: “It’s so late, and on such a rainy day, your Cengxiao Tower has no customers, yet Xichen Pavilion across the way is lively.”

The waiter followed her gaze to look outside the window and laughed: “Oh, across the way. I heard it’s Minister Chen from the Ministry of Justice hosting a banquet. Those going are all official lords from the Ministry of Justice. It’s normal they’re not at our place. Last time, Minister Chen had just left when Teacher Xie was attacked in our establishment. Minister Chen felt it was inauspicious, so from then on he changed to eating at Xichen Pavilion.”

Was that so?

Jiang Xuening’s gaze still fell on those windows across the way where figures swayed.

She could see figures approaching.

Then that window outside was pushed open. A roomful of wine vapors and laughter all transmitted out. From Jiang Xuening’s position, she could easily see that roomful of people, each with an expression of flattery and fawning.

She immediately frowned slightly. Knowing that if she could see others, others could see her too, she was about to turn around and have Lian’er and Tang’er close the window.

But just as she had turned around, at the instant she wanted to speak—

The scene from when Xichen Pavilion’s window had just opened across the way, like a scroll of painting, suddenly returned to her mind, fixed on one quiet corner.

Her heart trembled gently for just that moment, and even her body seemed momentarily rigid. Not knowing what strange hope she was holding, she actually turned around again, once more looking toward the window across the way!

Inside Xichen Pavilion a banquet was set. On the table were jade plates of delicacies. Seated around the table were all court officials.

As soon as Chen Ying arrived, he was invited by everyone to the seat of honor.

Among this group of people, he was after all of quite high official rank, and was a hall official of the Ministry of Justice. As everyone laughed and talked, they all raised their wine cups to urge him to drink, standing up one moment and sitting down the next, appearing extremely lively.

Thus that quiet corner appeared incompatible.

Blocked by that carved window panel, Jiang Xuening could only see his partially obscured profile. Wearing the dark blue fine cloth round-collar robe commonly worn by lower-ranking officials, with slightly wide sleeves, following those slender hands with prominent finger joints, gently pressed on his separated knees.

Sitting on a round stool, his back ramrod straight.

Zhang Zhe looked outward at the continuous rain curtain.

The lively socializing behind him in the full room seemed unable to touch his body’s cool quietude and had nothing to do with him at all.

Even though it was just a glimpse of such a truly incomplete and unclear profile, Jiang Xuening could be certain—

It was him.

It couldn’t be anyone else.

This posture of quietly watching the rain—after so much time had passed, so much time—was still deeply etched in her memory, impossible to erase even a trace.

Minister Zhang still likes watching the rain this much…

At this moment, there was actually a surge of hot tears welling in Jiang Xuening’s eyes.

Everything from her previous life turned over in an instant.

Under the pavilion in heavy rain, he stood below the steps reaching out to tear off the corner of his official robe that she had deliberately and mischievously stepped on. When he raised his head to look at her, rain droplets covered his eyelashes.

In the Qianqing Palace in the afternoon, he stood with bowed head below the hall. In front of her, lowering his gaze not daring to raise it, the rigid arc of his palms slowly clenching tight.

On the muddy post road, he covered his injured shoulder. When he reached out his hand toward her who had sprained her ankle, his slightly rolling Adam’s apple, and the winding blood water on the ground.

…

What was wrong with her, that she just had to go and provoke such a good person?

Probably there was a demon hidden in her heart that wanted to dye white things black, wanted to stir clear things turbid, wanted to pull down all those standing high on sacred altars, to struggle and flounder in the suffering of mortal life…

Only thus did she feel satisfied.

In her previous life, what she owed Yan Lin, Yan Lin had repaid her ten times, a hundred times over. But what she owed Zhang Zhe—even if she gave up that life, she couldn’t repay.

She was the demonic obstacle in Zhang Zhe’s upright and stern life that he ultimately couldn’t overcome.

And Zhang Zhe was in her dust-covered heart the last corner of unstained pure land.

There had been a few moments when she thought: If she weren’t the Empress, she would marry this man regardless of everything. From then on, raising her sleeve to brush away every speck of polluting dust on his clothes, bending down to pick up every tripping piece of rubble on his path ahead, becoming a good person—then she could enjoy his goodness toward her with a clear conscience.

But she was ultimately the Empress.

A heart obscured by worldly dust harmed herself and also harmed him.

Jiang Xuening gazed across at him. Her vision slowly became blurred. She just didn’t know whether it was ultimately because of that pouring rainwater or because of those surging tears…

Someone hurried upstairs from below Xichen Pavilion.

Zhang Zhe, who had been sitting by the window for a long time, finally moved.

That person said something to him. He nodded, rose to bid farewell to others, and without looking at their expressions, walked out from the open door.

All the way downstairs.

The waiter at Xichen Pavilion handed him an umbrella at the entrance. He took it, opening that dark green oil-paper umbrella and holding it up.

When the umbrella rim lifted, that face with deep contours also emerged beneath the umbrella—from the cool jaw, to the tightly pressed thin lips, then to the straight nose bridge, and those calm, long eyes, the slightly furrowed long eyebrows…

As if sensing something, his gaze lifted.

And thus, just like that, their eyes met directly.

Across the rain curtain like a curtain of smoke and the long street, she was by the window upstairs, he was before the steps downstairs.

In Jiang Xuening’s eyes, a rolling tear fell without warning.

A drop of cold rain from the umbrella tip gently fell on Zhang Zhe’s hand.

He felt as if he’d been branded.

That bright and beautiful young lady, having washed away all her cosmetics, without that vague obsession, just so clean and gentle, standing behind his most beloved heavy rain, looking at him with a pair of eyes that were also raining.

At this moment, his fingers holding the umbrella gripped tightly with force.

But he ultimately didn’t walk over, nor did he show any abnormality. After a long gaze, he only lowered his eyes, walked down the steps, letting that opened umbrella conceal all his secrets, gradually walking away in her line of sight.

Jiang Xuening then thought: How wonderful—nothing has happened yet.