On a summer afternoon, cicadas chirped incessantly. The Wei mansion had little vegetation, and the sun’s glare on the stone slabs added to the heat. The doors and windows of the room were open, with bamboo blinds half-drawn, offering a cool respite from the outside. Ming Shu sat by the window, fanning herself with a palm leaf fan as she waited for Lu Chang. The cicadas’ song was lulling her to sleep, as she had barely slept the night before.
When Lu Chang emerged, he found Ming Shu nodding off, her fan moving intermittently. A light meal had been prepared – porridge and small dishes rather than rich fare. Having missed the usual mealtime, Lu Chang served himself some porridge and casually ate some pastries, not wanting to disturb Ming Shu.
After a brief nap, Ming Shu almost hit her head on the window frame, startling herself awake. She rubbed her eyes to see Lu Chang had finished eating and was quietly clearing the dishes.
“Let me do that,” Ming Shu hurried to help. How could she let an injured person do such work?
Lu Chang didn’t stop, but allowed Ming Shu to assist. They packed the dishes into a food box together. This was Lu Chang’s habit from childhood poverty when he and Madam Zeng relied on each other. To ease her burden, he learned to manage household chores early on, always cleaning up immediately after meals. Even now, with servants available, his habit persisted.
Ming Shu was different. Raised as a pampered young lady, she was used to a life of luxury. Yet now she had adopted Lu Chang’s habits. Despite his efforts to treat her well, her lifestyle had subtly changed. This change, while not necessarily bad, carried a tinge of bittersweetness.
After tidying up, Ming Shu returned the food box to the servants outside, who were surprised and expressed gratitude before leaving. She turned to find Lu Chang staring at her by the window, lost in thought.
“What are you daydreaming about?” Ming Shu asked, grabbing a dry towel. “Sit down, I’ll help dry your hair.”
Fresh from his bath, Lu Chang smelled of fragrant soap. He wore only a thin, light robe over his undergarments. Due to his shoulder injury, the robe wasn’t tied tightly, revealing his collarbone. His wet hair hung loose, giving him an uncharacteristically relaxed appearance – the very picture of an alluring invalid.
He didn’t refuse Ming Shu’s offer, sitting by the window and allowing her to tend to him.
Ming Shu gathered all his hair, wrapping it in a large towel and pressing firmly to absorb the water. She then gently wrung it out before covering his head with the towel and massaging it.
“Brother, your hair is really beautiful,” she marveled as she worked. It was even nicer than a woman’s – thick, lustrous, and silky smooth.
Lu Chang frowned. “Why are you calling me ‘brother’ again?”
“It’s habit, not easy to change,” Ming Shu replied. “Besides… you’ve been a good brother. I’d hate to lose one for no reason.”
Lu Chang didn’t want to hear the term ‘brother’ anymore. “Even if you don’t see me as a brother, I’ll treat you the same as always. What’s there to lose?”
“The difference is huge. If you weren’t my brother, could I be drying your hair like this?” Ming Shu tossed the wet towel into his lap and took out her small jade comb.
“Why not?” Lu Chang asked.
“Well… apart from family, I’d only comb a man’s hair if he were my husband. Right now, I’m just taking advantage of your brotherly status, you know?” Ming Shu explained as she gently combed his hair from top to bottom.
Lu Chang tensed slightly.
Ming Shu’s words carried hidden meaning. She was responding to what he had confessed to Song Qingzhao that night.
Ming Shu had heard it and couldn’t pretend otherwise. She knew Lu Chang had done much for her and was aware of her own growing feelings for him. But with her memory still incomplete and her past unknown, she remained in a state of confusion. Even though her dreams had cleared, her emotions were still muddled.
In such a state, it wasn’t appropriate for her to define any relationship beyond “family.”
Brother – let him remain a brother for now.
“I understand,” Lu Chang didn’t argue. He then asked, “Don’t you have any questions for me?”
“That depends on what you want to tell me,” Ming Shu replied, continuing to comb his hair.
Lu Chang fell silent, gazing out the window. Ming Shu waited patiently, her comb moving gently through his long hair.
After a long while, Lu Chang seemed to make a difficult decision and spoke: “I’m helping the Third Prince investigate a robbery case in Jiangning.”
Ming Shu would eventually learn about what had happened to their family. Perhaps it would be better to let her accept it gradually rather than revealing everything at once after a month?
Lu Chang thought that while her pain might not lessen, the shock might be reduced.
Hearing the word “robbery,” Ming Shu’s heart skipped a beat, a slight pain arising.
“The local officials have closed the case, but there are still doubts. So the Prince ordered me to investigate secretly. My men in Jiangning recently caught a key witness and were escorting them to the capital when they were ambushed outside the city. I was also attacked here in the capital,” Lu Chang explained, turning to observe Ming Shu’s expression.
If she showed any sign of distress, he would stop immediately.
But Ming Shu grasped his hair and turned his face back. “I’m combing your hair, don’t turn around.”
His hair was only half-dry; it needed to be 80% dry to avoid headaches.
“The two attackers have been captured by Uncle Wei. I interrogated them this morning. According to their confession, they were sent by Gao Shicai, the Deputy Magistrate of Jiangning, to assassinate two key witnesses. One of them is the person I was escorting to the capital.”
“Two key witnesses? Is the other one you or me?”
Besides Lu Chang, she had also been attacked yesterday. So who was this second important witness?
Hearing her calm tone, Lu Chang paused before continuing, “They tried to kill me because I’m the main investigator of this case. They failed to assassinate that witness, so they turned on me. As for the other important witness…”
“It’s me, isn’t it?” Ming Shu said.
The combing stopped. Lu Chang turned around to see Ming Shu staring at the ground, comb in hand.
“Before I was injured, did I learn something important? Is that why they’ve tried to kill me repeatedly? But what did I see or hear? Why can’t I remember anything… Was it really that crucial?” She mumbled, growing increasingly agitated. Her jade comb fell to the ground, breaking in two.
Lu Chang quickly stood up, grasping her arms. “Ming Shu, calm down.”
Ming Shu couldn’t control her urge to remember. The familiar, piercing pain returned, but this time she didn’t give up. She stubbornly pushed through the pain, trying to recall.
“Was what I saw and heard really that important? Brother, I want to remember… I want to…” The long-standing anxiety about her memory loss overwhelmed her. She tried to remember despite the intense pain in her head.
She wanted to reclaim her lost life.
But the more she tried, the worse the pain became, like a life-or-death tug-of-war.
Lu Chang watched as she clutched her head, her eyes reddening, her face contorted in pain… This was the situation he feared most.
He had only revealed a little, and she was already suffering. How would she cope if he told her everything after a month?
“It hurts so much, Brother! My head hurts so badly!” The hurricane-like headache was unbearable for Ming Shu. She swayed, struggling to stand, breaking into a cold sweat.
“Ming Shu, stop trying to remember,” Lu Chang said, no longer hesitating. He pulled her into his arms with one hand, painfully raising his injured arm to gently cover her forehead. “Even if you can’t remember, I can still investigate the case. Don’t push yourself. Ming Shu, be good.”
Whether it was the warmth of his palm or the gentleness of his soft words, her pain gradually eased. She leaned against his chest, breathless, unable to speak, but still yearning to recover her memories.
More than hearing the truth from others, she desperately wanted to remember on her own.
It was rare for Lu Chang to open up about her past, but due to her inability to cope, he was forced to stop and refused to mention it again.
Knowing he feared triggering her dissociative episodes, Ming Shu blamed herself for her weakness.
Wei Zhuo had allocated a separate courtyard in his mansion for the Lu family’s temporary residence. Besides the regular guards, he assigned an additional team to patrol outside the courtyard day and night, ensuring airtight security.
Lu Chang stayed home to recover from his arrow wound, not reporting for duty at the office. However, he still handled official business, with Ying Xun bringing documents from the office. Madam Zeng also remained in the courtyard to recuperate, rarely leaving her room, occasionally embroidering quietly in the yard, unbothered by visitors.
Three days passed in this manner.
Ming Shu was worried sick.
Lu Chang, fearing danger, wouldn’t let her go out. But Man Tang Hui still needed attention, business had to be conducted, some customers’ gold items were due for delivery, and she had promised to show new designs to several ladies… Now everything was on hold due to this situation.
She was anxious to go out.
————
Meanwhile, Ying Xun came as usual at sunset to collect Lu Chang’s processed documents.
“A human trafficking case from seventeen years ago? Why does she want to investigate it?” Lu Chang asked about one last matter after handing over all the processed documents and giving verbal instructions.
Ying Xun saw his hand pressing on the application document he had submitted.
It was an old case Ming Shu had asked him to look into.
“A lady surnamed Liu asked Miss Lu to investigate her background. It’s related to a trafficking case from seventeen years ago. She suspects Lady Liu might be one of the abducted children, so she wants to review the old case…” Ying Xun relayed Ming Shu’s words to Lu Chang.
“Why didn’t she come to me directly?” Lu Chang frowned—why did she need to involve an unrelated person?
“Perhaps… she’s had a disagreement with you, sir,” Ying Xun raised an eyebrow—how would he know about their sibling affairs?
Lu Chang didn’t inquire further, only mentally calculating the timing. It must have been when she first learned she wasn’t his biological sister.
“Well, let’s retrieve the case files and take a look,” Lu Chang said, approving Ying Xun’s document.
He reasoned it was just an ordinary background investigation case, likely without risk. Let her investigate; it might keep her from overthinking recent events.
Despite this thought, Lu Chang still cautioned, “Investigate, but keep an eye on things.”
Ying Xun accepted the document, bowed, and acknowledged the order. Only after leaving did he suddenly realize:
Ming Shu’s request was a private matter; from Lu Chang’s mouth, it became an official matter.
So was it official or private business?
As Lu Chang finished his work and was rubbing his temples for a break, Wei Zhuo’s trusted aide came to summon him.
After a city-wide search, the Imperial Guard had finally apprehended the leader of the criminals, Wu Si, at noon today.