Bai Yu and Qiao Yun exchanged a glance, each gave a word of assent, and promptly left the room.
With a wordless understanding between them, the two took up positions beneath the eave of the corridor outside the door, some five or six meters away — close enough to see clearly whether anyone passed by, yet far enough that they could not hear what was said by the two inside.
What thoughts occupied Qiao Yun’s mind need not be dwelt upon here.
Bai Yu, however, was overjoyed at Wei Yan’s arrival.
Wei Yan’s feelings for Miss were plain for anyone to see. During the two months Miss had spent in the imperial dungeon, it had been Wei Yan who worked quietly behind the scenes to watch over her. Miss never spoke of it aloud, yet from every manner of sign and behavior, it was clear she had come to feel something for Wei Yan in return.
The road ahead was uncertain, with no telling what dangers still lay in wait for Miss. Yet at least on that road she would have Wei Yan’s company, and that was some comfort to carry in her heart.
Inside the room, the two of them — a man and a woman reunited after long separation, at last with a moment alone — stood quietly regarding each other.
The last time they had been alone together was in the Peony Chamber of the Pepper Blossom Palace.
That had been three months ago.
In those three months, far too much had come to pass.
Now, as their eyes met, a quiet sweetness rose in both their hearts. There was no need for words; the feelings between them were understood without speech. Yet threaded through that sweetness, in each of them, was a tangle of unspoken bitterness and helplessness.
“You have already told the Emperor of my strange illness?” Ling Jingshu asked softly, breaking the silence.
Wei Yan gave a nod. “Yes. The Emperor was somewhat displeased upon hearing it. I volunteered to treat your ailment, and the Emperor agreed. From now on, I shall come once every three days.”
He paused, then added, “The Emperor’s constitution is frail — he requires rest and calm for roughly half a year. During that half year, you need not worry… As for what comes after, I will certainly find a way to protect you.”
Ling Jingshu pulled her lips into a self-deprecating curve. “Any other woman afflicted with such a strange illness would no doubt wish she were dead. For me, it has turned out to be something of a stroke of fortune.”
Because of this illness, she had avoided Empress Xu’s suspicions, and now it had bought her half a year. At least during these six months, she need not fear for her virtue.
The words were lightly spoken, but they settled heavily on Wei Yan’s heart, pressing down on it with a stifling weight. “A’Shu, I’m sorry. I failed you. I had promised to protect you, to get you out of the dungeon — and then all of this happened…”
“Wei Yan,” Ling Jingshu seemed not to hear his self-reproach. A blankness passed across her face, and she spoke almost as if to herself. “Why do I always find myself in one kind of trouble or another? Is it because of this face I was born with — this face like a curse upon the water? Why is Heaven so unjust to me? What have I ever done wrong…?”
What had she done wrong?
In her previous life, her mistake had been in being too weak, too easily taken advantage of — tormented and abused by others until she died with hatred in her heart. After being reborn, she had tried so hard to change her fate. So why did she still find herself caught up in things that left her no say in her own life?
What had she done wrong?
Without her noticing, two clear tears slipped silently from the corners of her eyes, sliding down her beautiful, smooth cheeks and disappearing into the collar of her robe, leaving nothing but two faint, pale trails of moisture across her face.
Wei Yan could no longer hold to his own calm composure. Overtaken by feeling, he stepped forward — and stopped himself about three chi away from her. “A’Shu, don’t grieve. None of this is your fault. Heaven gave you beauty. It gave you a bearing unlike any other. It gave you a presence that draws every eye in any room. These were Heaven’s gifts to you.”
“I did not want gifts like these.”
Ling Jingshu’s voice broke faintly as she replied, “I only want to live in peace and safety. To marry a gentle and kind-hearted husband, to have a pair of lively, beloved children, to live a quiet and comfortable life. Let all the princes and princesses, the empresses and emperors — let them remain far, far away from me, so that our paths never cross again…”
Such a modest wish — yet for her it was a luxury beyond reach.
From the moment she had set foot in the capital, she had been swept helplessly into the storm of it, unable to pull herself free, unable to find a way out.
Ling Jingshu’s shoulders shook in small, continuous tremors, and the sound of her suppressed weeping reached Wei Yan in broken fragments.
A sharp ache moved through Wei Yan’s chest. Almost without thinking, he reached out his hand — and then, just before it touched her shoulder, he stopped himself. Slowly, he drew it back.
Let her cry, then. Cry it all out.
He said it to himself in silence.
Grief, helplessness, resentment, indignation — when feelings like these were left to fester too long inside, even the most courageous and steadfast of people could not bear them indefinitely. Better to let them pour out like this.
…
Gradually, Ling Jingshu’s weeping ceased.
Wei Yan drew out the handkerchief from his person and held it toward her. His voice was soft. “Use this to dry your tears. Rest assured — I put this handkerchief on fresh this very morning. I have not used it once. Not a trace of disagreeable male odor on it whatsoever.”
The emotions that had been weighing on Ling Jingshu’s heart had found some release through her tears, and then Wei Yan — with that gentle tease — coaxed the corner of her lips into a slight, reluctant curve.
She silently accepted the handkerchief from his hand and carefully wiped the traces of tears from her face.
When she raised her head again, her expression had returned to composure. Aside from the faint redness around her eyes, there was nothing to betray that she had just wept. “Thank you for the handkerchief. I will wash it clean and return it to you.”
Wei Yan cleared his throat, his handsome face flushing faintly with a somewhat bashful air. “Consider it a gift. No need to return it. If you truly feel the need to make it up to me, you could always embroider me a new one instead.”
Ling Jingshu: “…”
Who had ever said Wei Yan was too earnest and straightforward?
As it turned out, even the most apparently guileless of men, when faced with the woman he cared for, was perfectly capable of sweet-talking and quiet maneuvering.
Ling Jingshu felt both exasperated and unable to suppress a smile, and a natural, unguarded warmth crept into her voice. “Very well — given everything you’ve done for me, I suppose I can embroider you one handkerchief. What pattern do you prefer? I must be clear: my needlework is mediocre at best. Whatever I embroider will be merely passable to look at, nothing more. Do not set your hopes too high.”
Wei Yan had only said it as a lighthearted probe, not truly expecting her to agree — so when she accepted without hesitation, his heart turned sweet as a jar of honey. “Embroider me a peony.”
Then, pressing his luck a little further, he added, “Just like the Luoyang Brocade you grew.”
The mention of the Luoyang Brocade naturally brought Empress Xu to mind. Ling Jingshu lowered her voice. “That vial of liquid you gave me — I used every last drop of it. The Luoyang Brocade grew beautifully, with an unusually rich fragrance, and Empress Xu took a great liking to it — she moved the pot into her bedchamber early on.”
“The matter between Empress Xu and the palace attendant Yu Chun — is that connected to the Luoyang Brocade?”
Wei Yan was not in the least surprised by her perceptiveness. He smiled and gave a nod. “Yes. The liquid was something I prepared specifically. It not only causes the peony to bloom larger and more beautifully — it also causes it to release an unusual fragrance.”
“Later, I prescribed a remedy for Empress Xu to nourish her constitution. Among the ingredients, I included a particular medicinal herb. Once taken, and upon exposure to that specific fragrance, it would produce an aphrodisiac effect.”