“Miss, all four seasons’ worth of clothing and luggage have been packed. Jewelry, fine items, and small valuables have all been properly sorted.” Bai Yu reported softly. “It comes to eight wooden trunks in total.”

The maids traveling with them had also packed a considerable number of bundles each.

Ling Jingshu gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment and said absently, “Grandmother will have Mo Kui bring over some jewelry and pearls later. Pack it all and take it along.”

Today, Grandmother had given her five thousand taels in banknotes. From Ling Wuye she had extracted another four thousand. Added to the private savings she and Ling Xiao already held, the total surpassed ten thousand taels. On top of that, the various pearls, jewelry, and fine valuables could be converted into another sizeable sum.

If they were careful with their food and daily expenses, it would be enough to last her and A’Xiao for half a lifetime.

Bai Yu acknowledged this, then could not help but lower her voice and ask, “Miss, you’ve taken all your private savings with you. Surely you don’t plan to never return to Dingzhou?”

It was no wonder Bai Yu had come to such a suspicion.

Ling Jingshu had done far more than just take her private savings — everything of value in Qiushui Pavilion had been cleared out, save for objects too heavy and cumbersome to carry or too fragile to survive the long journey.

Was it really necessary to bring so much, just to accompany the young master to the capital for medical treatment?

Ling Jingshu fixed her gaze on Bai Yu and said quietly, “What if I said yes — would you be very surprised?”

For Ling Jingshu, the closest people in the world to her, besides Ling Xiao, was Bai Yu. Even though Bai Yu was only a maidservant, in her heart she was something more like a sister. Apart from the secret of her rebirth, she kept almost nothing hidden from Bai Yu.

With Bai Yu’s sharp and perceptive nature, it was only a matter of time before she sensed her true intentions anyway.

Sure enough, Bai Yu showed no surprise at hearing this. Only a look of worry rose in her eyes. “Miss, even though the master and mistress pay little attention to you and the young master, with the old matriarch here, no one in this household would dare to slight you. If the young master’s eyes are healed, he can return to his studies and sit the examinations. And for all of that, he still needs the Ling Family. Staying in the capital indefinitely is not a solution either — after all, that household belongs to the First Branch. Living under someone else’s roof is no long-term arrangement.”

“What’s more, in another year or two, both Miss and the young master will be of age to discuss marriage. The old matriarch and the master would need to have a say in any match made. How could you manage without returning to Dingzhou?”

Bai Yu’s concerns were thoroughly practical.

Ling Jingshu curved the corner of her lips and said lightly, “Every one of these concerns you’ve raised, I’ve already thought through. I’ll find ways to deal with them one by one as the time comes.”

“For now, just keep this in your heart. Don’t let a word of it slip in front of anyone — not even in front of A’Xiao. Don’t bring it up with him for the time being.”

Ling Jingshu’s expression was calm, her voice steady — she had clearly made up her mind.

Bai Yu’s virtue was her loyalty and her silence. Whatever her mistress had decided, she would accept and carry out without question, never voicing doubt — even in matters as significant as this, matters that could determine the course of an entire lifetime.

Bai Yu gave a nod and quietly agreed.

In that former life, when Ling Jingshu had believed Li Shi’s words and consented to giving Bai Yu to Li Erlang as a concubine, Bai Yu had been unwilling in her heart — yet she had nodded in that same quiet, composed way.

Looking now at Bai Yu’s steady, refined face, a faint pang passed through Ling Jingshu’s chest.

Bai Yu, in my past life, I could not protect you. In this life, I will take you and A’Xiao far away from here. No one will ever be able to hurt either of you again.

As for Li Shi — she had harmed A’Xiao, and she had harmed Bai Yu. Even if Ling Jingshu left Dingzhou behind, she would not let Li Shi live out her days in peace.

“Bai Yu, after dark tonight, I need you to go and deliver a message to my elder brother on my behalf.”

A cold light flickered in Ling Jingshu’s eyes, and she said softly, “Tell him that I have something important to discuss with him, and ask him to come to Qiushui Pavilion after the third watch. When he comes, he must make sure no one sees him. You will wait by the courtyard gate yourself and bring him directly to my room.”

This unexpected instruction startled Bai Yu considerably.

Even so, Bai Yu asked no questions. She simply nodded in agreement.

After nightfall, Bai Yu slipped quietly away to see Ling Ting.

When Ling Ting saw Bai Yu arrive to seek an audience, he was rather taken aback. “You’ve come to see me — what is the matter?”

Bai Yu bowed her head respectfully and relayed the message in a low voice. “This servant comes on Miss’s orders, to call upon the eldest young master. Miss has an important matter to discuss and asks that the eldest young master come to Qiushui Pavilion tonight at the third watch.”

Ling Ting frowned and said in a low voice, “What is so pressing that it cannot be spoken of during the day, that it must wait until the third watch at Qiushui Pavilion?”

This cloak-and-dagger behavior inevitably gave rise to less-than-wholesome thoughts.

Bai Yu answered with a helpless expression, “Miss only gave this servant these instructions. The specific details are not known to me.”

She paused, then added, “Evening is almost upon us. If the eldest young master waits a few more hours, all will become clear. When the eldest young master comes to Qiushui Pavilion, please be careful not to be noticed by anyone. This servant must return to report, and takes her leave now.”

It must be said that Ling Ting’s curiosity had been thoroughly roused.

What matter could be so pressing that Ling Jingshu needed to speak with him at the third watch tonight? And she had even specifically asked him to come without letting anyone notice. That had to mean she wanted to avoid the eyes and ears Li Shi had planted near him…

Ling Ting turned it over and over in his mind and could not guess the reason, no matter how he thought about it.

He ate his supper with little appetite, sat in the study restlessly turning the pages of a book for what felt like ages, and barely managed to endure the wait until the third watch. By then, the entire household had long since retired for the night. Ling Ting had been using the pretense of reading in the study, which aroused no suspicion in anyone.

The night was deep, the world hushed and still.

Ling Ting slipped out of the garden on his own and made his quiet way to the outer gate of Qiushui Pavilion.

Before he could even knock, the door opened. Bai Yu’s face appeared before him, and she murmured swiftly, “Eldest young master, please follow this servant inside.”

Ling Ting gave a sound of assent and followed Bai Yu into Qiushui Pavilion.

Bai Yu led him to the outer door of Ling Jingshu’s bedchamber and pushed open the door, which had been left slightly ajar.

Once Ling Ting had stepped inside, Bai Yu immediately shut the door behind him and stood guard outside, watchful and alert.

Two candelabras burned inside the room, their light soft and still. Ling Jingshu stood there gracefully and smiled at Ling Ting. “Elder brother, I have been waiting for some time.”

Ling Jingshu was lovely to begin with, and bathed now in the gentle candlelight, she carried an even more breathtaking radiance about her. Her gaze drifted, her eyes shimmering with reflected flame.

Even Ling Ting, accustomed as he was to Ling Jingshu’s beauty, found his breath catch for just a moment. He thought to himself — no wonder Lu Hong and his brother were both utterly captivated by her.

What man alive could look upon such beauty and remain unmoved?

Though Lu Hong and Lu Qian had gone to great lengths to conceal it, the perceptive Ling Ting had long since noticed the feelings of both brothers. He had simply been feigning ignorance all along.

Ling Ting cleared his throat. “Sister called me here in the middle of the night. What important matter is there to discuss?”

Ling Jingshu smiled faintly, her expression composed as she spoke. “I invited elder brother here precisely because I have something of the utmost importance to discuss.”

For no reason he could name, Ling Ting felt his entire body go taut — certain that whatever he was about to hear would come as a considerable shock.

Sure enough, he then heard Ling Jingshu say, in an unhurried tone, “Elder brother, tomorrow A’Xiao and I are leaving Dingzhou for the capital.”

Ling Ting started and blurted out, “Leaving tomorrow? Why so suddenly?” There had not been a breath of rumor before this — and now, just like that, they were going to the capital?

Ling Xiao’s eyes could not see. He rarely left the gates of the Ling estate in his daily life, let alone undertaking a long journey. Why would Ling Jingshu travel all that distance to bring Ling Xiao to Luoyang?

Ling Jingshu said calmly, “I have heard that there is a divine physician named Wei in the capital, renowned for treating ailments that confound ordinary doctors, who has cured many conditions considered hopeless. A’Xiao suffered a head injury from a fall years ago that took his sight. I intend to bring him to the capital to seek treatment — perhaps his eyes can be healed.”

What?

Ling Xiao was going to the capital to seek treatment for his eyes?

Ling Ting’s expression did not change, but inwardly his heart sank abruptly.

Although he was the eldest son of the Fifth Branch, he was a concubine’s child. His birth mother had been cast off by his father and had died of illness some years ago. The most favored child in the Fifth Branch now was the youngest son, Ling Fou. Though Ling Xiao was a son of the legal wife, his blindness had rendered him useless in Ling Wuye’s eyes — he was regarded as even less valuable than Ling Ting, a concubine-born son.

If Ling Xiao’s eyes were healed and he went on to build a future for himself, where would there be any place left for Ling Ting in this Fifth Branch?

Ling Jingshu’s gaze was deep and still, as though she had seen through every shadowed secret hidden in Ling Ting’s heart. She asked, word by word, “Elder brother, are you truly content to spend your whole life beneath others?”

Ling Ting’s breath stalled. His complexion quietly shifted.