◎She thought this was called “there will ultimately be salvation.”◎

Lan Shanjun had always felt that the thread of light that suddenly penetrated in was her salvation.

She had indeed relied on that thread of light to regain the will to live.

She thought, life was getting better day by day.

Today there was a thread of light—tomorrow perhaps she could escape.

She was naturally stubborn and refused to admit defeat. So even if she had to crawl, she would crawl to the window, struggle to stand up against the wall, reach out her hands to cup that tiny point of starlight, and strain to bring her face close to it, placing herself in the warm sunlight.

She thought this was called “there will ultimately be salvation.”

But it turned out, this was called—A Point of Daylight.

This made all the countless days and nights she had struggled through into a joke.

For a moment, she felt as if she had returned to that cold winter when she was bound hand and foot and sent back to Huailing—helpless, grief-stricken, wronged, desperate.

There she reflected on what she had done wrong, there she hated Song Zhiwei, hated the Duke Zhenguo family, hated heaven, hated earth, hated every person she knew.

Hated until she was unrecognizable, then began forcing herself to become clear-headed.

She slapped herself in the face again and again, not letting herself be swallowed by the boundless darkness and lose her reason, not letting herself become the person she most detested.

She tried so hard to live.

But there were still times when she couldn’t hold on.

She stopped eating that cold, spoiled food, stopped thinking about living. She sat expressionlessly on the ground, holding the old monk’s precept blade in her hand.

That thread of light appeared at such an opportune time.

The moment the blade approached her wrist, it appeared.

She didn’t know how long she was stunned, then groped her way to the door to pick up the cold dishes and began eating.

Live on.

Try harder to live. The sun and moon have brightness, their radiance must shine everywhere—perhaps one day, it would shine upon her.

Just like that, she lived on for so long.

In the end, she didn’t even know how she died.

Did she cut her wrist with the blade? Did she die of exhaustion? Did she die of starvation?

Lan Shanjun’s head slowly lowered, her body trembling uncontrollably, her eyes reddening, but she was still stubborn and refused to let a single tear fall.

She thought, stop investigating. Just use the precept blade to kill Song Zhiwei.

She had lost one life—Song Zhiwei could pay with one life. Fair enough.

A life for a life. No loss.

She stood up abruptly with a whoosh, urgently searching for her blade.

This appearance of hers had long since frightened Lady Shou and Yu Qingwu beside her.

She stumbled forward as she rose. Yu Qingwu could only try to stop her, but how could he? She had tremendous strength. Becoming anxious and afraid something would happen to her, he could only overstep propriety and use all his strength to press down on her shoulders.

“Lady Lan, what’s wrong?”

“Lady Lan?”

“Shanjun.”

He called out anxiously: “Shanjun—come back to yourself!”

Hearing her name, Lan Shanjun gradually regained her reason.

She looked up in a daze and saw Yu Qingwu looking at her worriedly, saying softly: “Shanjun, come back to yourself.”

Lady Shou had been sitting the whole time. Just now she had stood up suddenly and her head was a bit dizzy. She sat back down, anxiously saying: “Shanjun, what’s wrong?”

Lan Shanjun shook her head. She didn’t know what was wrong with her either.

Perhaps she had been suppressing things too long, perhaps her hatred was too deep.

But awakening from the nightmare, she couldn’t help but seek more. She couldn’t die in such confusion.

This was the first time she had lost her composure since being reborn. She quickly turned to walk back, afraid she would act impulsively again. But her feet went soft and she was about to fall. Fortunately Yu Qingwu was right beside her and quickly reached out to support her. Not daring to overstep too much, he could only grip her arms tightly with both hands, barely steadying her tottering body.

Seeing Lan Shanjun calm down, Lady Shou finally breathed a sigh of relief: “Nanny Qian, quickly dissolve some sugar in water for her to drink.”

She called to Yu Qingwu: “Help Shanjun sit down. Don’t stand—that takes too much energy.”

Yu Qingwu did as told. After Lan Shanjun sat down, he was covered in sweat.

He didn’t notice though. He quickly crouched down, softly saying “pardon me,” and reached out to gently press on her wrist to check her pulse.

This was a skill he had learned in his youth. Like studying, he had worked hard at it.

Nanny Qian brought the sugar water and used a spoon to feed it to Lan Shanjun. Nanny Zhao had been guarding the carriage at the door. Hearing something wrong, she walked in. As soon as she entered, she saw Yu Qingwu checking her young lady’s pulse and quickly asked anxiously: “What happened?”

Yu Qingwu: “Nothing serious. She should just be… just be frightened.”

He was uncertain. According to his diagnosis, her heart and spirit were both injured. That moment just now was like a final burst of energy before death. But it was also possible his medical skills weren’t proficient enough.

Fortunately her pulse was stable now. He said: “She just needs to recover from the shock.”

Hearing this, Lady Shou glanced at him but didn’t continue asking. She just slowly embraced Lan Shanjun, afraid of frightening her again, and consoled her: “It’s alright, it’s alright. Don’t be scared. I’m here. I’m an old titled lady too—demons and ghosts must all give way.”

Being surrounded and fussed over like this, Lan Shanjun was grateful but also knew her words and actions might have aroused their suspicions.

But they should have no way to investigate. Her past sixteen years were traceable. No matter what, they couldn’t trace it back to her.

She made up a lie: “I once saw it in a book, and once heard a lady who came to buy pork mention she had such an experience.”

She said quietly: “When I saw it in the book, I just thought it was absurd. When I heard someone say it, I also thought it was false.”

“Who knew there really was such a punishment. Thinking about it now, when I heard her tell it, I wasn’t sincere. I thought she was using lies to evade me, so I was very perfunctory with her, pretending to believe this ghost story. But if she really had such an experience, then my perfunctory attitude and pretending to believe must have hurt her deeply.”

She smiled embarrassedly: “Thinking of this, I felt guilty. Just now I was even thinking about going back to Shuzhou to apologize to her.”

Lady Shou: “You met by chance. She certainly wouldn’t mind.”

Lan Shanjun smiled habitually and said: “Whether she minds or not, it’s useless. After she told me this story, she died in a broken temple. When I saw it, I felt terrible. So all these years, I’ve always wondered if what she said was true or false. If it was false, I’d feel better. If it was true, I can’t help but think—if I had been more sincere then, would she have felt better when she passed?”

Lady Shou sighed after hearing this: “You have such deep feelings and loyalty, and you’ve developed an obsession in your heart, which is why you’re like this.”

Lan Shanjun: “If it were something else, I wouldn’t be like this. It’s just that this method sounds so torturous. I was horrified and felt terrible about it. But since it was something from my youth, I don’t remember it clearly. Sometimes I wonder, could it be that I misremembered and created this memory?”

“So I’ve always kept it in my heart. A few days ago I asked Master Yu to help me investigate.”

This way, it all made sense.

Hearing this, Yu Qingwu’s eyes softened. He thought, her nature was so easily able to empathize with others—he didn’t know if that was good or bad.

When Elder Brother passed away, she had been enveloped in a sorrowful air. Not only did it linger around her, he always felt that when she looked at him, there was also that sorrow.

Just as he always felt they were old acquaintances, he also felt that when she looked at him, there was a sense of shared suffering.

This made him worry.

People have their underlying nature. Some people are always cheerful—even when they fall ill, they’re not afraid. Some people keep things hidden, suppressing them day after day. One day they’ll be crushed. At the slightest disturbance, they’ll go see the King of Hell.

Yu Qingwu couldn’t help but console her: “This method is indeed shocking. Not believing it at first is human nature. Don’t keep thinking about it. It seems her death made you feel guilty, which became an obsession.”

Then he couldn’t help but say: “Looking at it, this method is specifically designed to torture people with strong will. If they weren’t sure the person sent in was stubborn, they wouldn’t use this method.”

“How could ordinary people endure this? They’d probably take their own life within a few days.”

He couldn’t help but sigh: “That lady actually endured it. I wonder how she finally survived.”

Lan Shanjun’s hands slowly clenched tight. She echoed: “Yes, I don’t know how she survived.”

She murmured: “A Point of Daylight… what kind of hatred and enmity would make someone think of such a method to torture people.”

But Lady Shou felt more and more that she had heard the three words “A Point of Daylight” somewhere before.

She asked Yu Qingwu: “Which book did you see it in?”

Lan Shanjun also looked over.

Yu Qingwu: “In a miscellaneous record. It didn’t have a title. It recorded many things—flowers and plants, ancient paintings and landscapes, everything. This punishment was written on the last page.”

During this period he had been in a daze, not really knowing what to do. But because of Lan Shanjun’s request, he had gained some focus. He said softly: “At night when I couldn’t sleep, I kept flipping through books. Flipping and flipping, I really found it.”

Lan Shanjun: “Could I see that book?”

Yu Qingwu: “Of course. But it’s not here—it’s in the study at the Yu residence. The day after tomorrow I’ll have someone send it to you, Miss.”

Lan Shanjun: “Thank you.”

Yu Qingwu didn’t know what to say.

The two of them were always thanking each other.

But it was because there were things that needed help that they gave thanks. He said to her: “If you have anything else in the future, just come find me. Whatever I can do, I’ll certainly help you do well.”

Lan Shanjun again had the thought of using him to fight Song Zhiwei. This time she agreed directly.

In the previous life, she hadn’t heard that he and Song Zhiwei were good friends. Perhaps they were enemies from the start?

A few years later he would rise meteorically. Even the Duke Songguo’s mansion would have to avoid his brilliance for the time being. If she was looking for someone, Yu Qingwu who now had connections with her was undoubtedly the best choice, more reliable than the Zhu siblings.

She heard herself softly hum in agreement: “Alright, I’ll definitely find you.”

Lady Shou watched from the side, smiling, exchanging a glance with Nanny Qian. She had ideas forming in her mind.

After returning, she said: “Look at those two—aren’t they a match made in heaven?”

Nanny Qian: “I think so too. It’s just that Young Master Su just passed away. It’s not appropriate for us to mention this.”

Lady Shou sighed: “I don’t want to mention it either, but Shanjun is sixteen this year. Duke Zhenguo’s mansion will certainly be looking for a husband for her this year.”

Nanny Qian: “But we can’t just think they’re good together. We still need to ask their intentions.”

That made sense. Lady Shou said: “In two more months, I’ll first ask Qingwu’s intention. If he agrees, then I’ll ask Shanjun. Men have thicker face—even if Shanjun is unwilling, it’s fine. Just refuse.”

Otherwise, if they asked Lan Shanjun first and she was willing but Qingwu refused, that would hurt the young lady’s dignity.

Lady Shou lay in bed and couldn’t help but think of the Su siblings again. In her whole life, she had never wronged anyone, except she felt she had wronged these two.

Being kindhearted, she couldn’t help but say again: “Tell me, if I had let them live here back then, they wouldn’t have died, would they?”

Nanny Qian sighed: “Don’t think about it. It’s all in the past. Your health is what matters.”

That’s why kindhearted people blame themselves like this. Those demons and monsters kill people as if nothing happened—at the time they were even hosting grand birthday banquets!

She said: “I only hope there’s justice in the underworld.”

Lady Shou closed her eyes to rest. After waiting a bit, she couldn’t help but grip Nanny Qian’s hand: “Hey, those three words ‘A Point of Daylight’—are you familiar with them? I always feel I heard someone say them long, long ago.”

Nanny Qian: “How would I remember?!”

She still had a pile of things to be busy with! After serving the old lady to sleep, she still had to manage all the affairs of the Shou residence. She was only fifteen years younger than Lady Shou!

She felt she had also reached the age to rest.

She said: “In a few days I’ll go select some maids and servants to wait on me.”

Lady Shou laughed: “You should have done this long ago. I’ve advised you so many times, but you never wanted to.”

Nanny Qian: “I’m just a servant!”

Lady Shou: “Oh, which servant always says ‘I, I, I’?”

She said: “Stop being stubborn. How many more years can we live?”

Speaking of this, she lowered her voice: “Qingwu’s nature is somewhat similar to Shanjun’s—both are stubborn children. I see in his recent actions, there’s quite a bit of meaning toward getting close to the Shuzhou faction.”

Nanny Qian didn’t understand: “He’s originally from Shu. It’s reasonable and expected. Besides sending New Year and festival gifts to us, he hasn’t neglected the Xu family either.”

The Xu family were also people from Shuzhou. Master Xu currently held the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

Lady Shou sighed: “You don’t understand. He still has barriers in his heart. Before, he wholeheartedly followed Wu Qingchuan. Now he wants to walk another path.”

Nanny Qian: “This must not be let known by Elder Wu.”

Lady Shou: “All the gifts went through me. Wu Qingchuan never likes to manage these things, and no one manages his inner quarters. How would he know?”

She said: “I’m worried in my heart, afraid the estrangement between master and disciple will grow.”

Nanny Qian thought for a while and was even more confused: “Then why don’t you tell Elder Wu, and instead agree to help Young Master Yu keep it secret?”

Lady Shou was silent, then said: “Xingzhou and Yingying died so unjustly. Qingwu wants revenge—I can understand. Wu Qingchuan’s path doesn’t work, so he’s thinking of using the phrase ‘Shuzhou scholars’ to make his case.”

Nanny Qian: “This… how is this good?”

Lady Shou’s face darkened: “What’s not good about it?”

Wu Qingchuan suppressed Qingwu and asked him what backing he had. Qingwu understood the hint and could only say he had nothing. But did he really have nothing?

She became angry and coughed: “Qingwu clearly still has him. He keeps saying he treats Qingwu as a son, but look—how does Marquis Boyuan protect his son? Even I can see that Qingwu’s shoulders are being pressed lower and lower. When he said he had nothing, how heartbroken he must have been. He treats Wu Qingchuan as his own father.”

Nanny Qian quickly went over to pat her back, persuading: “You also said you have a few more years to live. Don’t ruin your health like this. Interfere less in their affairs!”

She wiped tears: “The physician said if you keep worrying like this, you might not live past three years.”

Lady Shou laughed: “That’s enough. My life hasn’t been a loss.”

She drifted off to sleep and dreamed of when she was young.

She entered the palace to visit His Majesty and the Empress. His Majesty pulled her over: “Sister, come quickly. Boyan is saying he wants to shave his head and become a monk.”

She scolded: “What nonsense are you doing for no reason!”

Duan Boyan said sarcastically: “You say that, but I’m cultivating blessings for myself.”

He clicked his tongue: “Sister, you don’t know—the Crown Prince and I just cursed Prince Qi behind his back, and he said in the future he’d give me A Point of Daylight and break my bones.”

He said: “Listen to that—I’m his uncle!”

Lady Shou looked toward Prince Qi. Prince Qi quickly said: “I just saw an allusion and was joking.”

She looked at His Majesty. His Majesty waved his hand: “Sister, they’re driving me to exhaustion.”

But he said: “First punish Prince Qi. How dare he be so disrespectful to his elders.”

Lady Shou thought, A Point of Daylight—I seem to have heard someone say that today.

Who said it?

She frowned in her dream. Boyan walked over smiling and asked: “Sister, thank you for coming. Only then do I dare say I cursed Prince Qi.”

She scolded: “Don’t be so disrespectful in the future. That’s still His Majesty! That’s His Majesty’s son!”

But she couldn’t bear to scold him and pulled his hand: “Boyan, haven’t I seen you in a long time?”

Perhaps sixteen years.

Why haven’t you come into my dreams to see an old friend?

……

At Duke Zhenguo’s mansion, Lan Hui came with her pillow to sleep with Lan Shanjun. She had been doing this these past few days, very much enjoying talking with Lan Shanjun before bed to deepen their relationship. Lan Shanjun knew of her good intentions, but today she really wasn’t in good spirits. She said: “I might need to sleep first.”

Seeing her complexion, Lan Hui worried: “Why do you have no color at all?”

Lan Shanjun: “I might have gone to the Zhu family first, then went to see Lady Shou. I’m a bit tired.”

Lan Hui: “Sixth Sister, hurry and sleep!”

Lan Shanjun was mentally and physically exhausted. She nodded and soon fell into a confused sleep.

When she woke, she saw Huihui sitting on the bed wiping her sweat: “Sixth Sister, you had a nightmare.”

Lan Shanjun didn’t remember. She said blankly: “Did I?”

Lan Hui: “Yes. You were covered in sweat. I shook you before you woke up.”

She called outside: “Brew a cup of warm water.”

Nanny Qin came in with Yin Qiu, worried: “How did you have a nightmare? Should we go to White Horse Temple to pray?”

Lan Hui: “We’ll ask Mother tomorrow.”

Lan Shanjun: “It’s nothing.”

She shook her head: “What time is it now?”

Nanny Qin: “The hour of the Rat.”

Lan Shanjun: “It’s still early. You should all sleep quickly too.”

Lan Hui was full of worry: “Sixth Sister, is something troubling you?”

Lan Shanjun said gently: “No.”

Lan Hui couldn’t ask further. Before, she thought Mother was overthinking, but the more time she spent with Sixth Sister recently, the more she felt Mother might be right.

Sixth Sister might be hiding something in her heart.

But she wouldn’t say—their bond wasn’t deep enough yet. Lan Hui sighed silently and held onto her sister’s arm for a long while before falling asleep.

But Lan Shanjun couldn’t sleep.

She waited until Lan Hui’s breathing became gentle and slow before slowly climbing up. Holding a lamp, she sat at the desk in the outer room. After sitting in a daze for a while, she picked up her brush wanting to write something, then glanced at Lan Hui on the bed. Afraid she would see it, she put it down again.

But her mind was like paste. Many things rose and fell like clouds and smoke in her heart, yet there was no clear thread.

She had to pick up the brush again. Like Yu Qingwu writing notes, she also wrote down a cryptic phrase.

“The 48th year of Yuanshao, first month, 20th day. Learned the past has a name, daylight has an allusion. Thief Song hates me greatly—”

The brushstrokes were sharp, like knife cuts.

She thought, Song Zhiwei and the mastermind behind the scenes must have hated her thoroughly to use this method to torture her.

Then she would have to repay them in kind. Besides her stubborn bones, she also loved to learn from others’ methods.

She held grudges deeply.

And today, perhaps because long-suppressed matters were released somewhat, she actually wasn’t as she had been before, dwelling on every small detail of the past without letting herself go, no longer obsessing over what person she had offended or what mistake she had made to be treated this way.

She only thought of the Su siblings—hadn’t they also done nothing wrong?

Their lives were still lost.

The powerful deceive people, treacherous criminals kill people—there’s no reason to it at all.

Then she thought of the old monk.

Since she began investigating the turning point sixteen years ago, she discovered that it was precisely sixteen years ago in spring that the former Crown Prince and his uncle, the Great General Who Pacifies the South Duan Boyan, had died one after another. After that, the former Crown Prince’s faction died or scattered, never regaining influence.

If the old monk was connected to her matter, if he was at court, could he have been one of the former Crown Prince’s people?

She couldn’t help but connect all people and events to her confinement in Huailing.

This was a habit formed in the pitch-black nights of Huailing.

This habit made her suffer, but it also always let her think of one more culprit, one more reason why others might have persecuted her.

She didn’t avoid such wild guesses.

She had guessed so many culprits—what if she guessed one correctly? At the time she thought, having guessed, having resented, was better than never having resented.

So she picked up the brush again and wrote on the paper: “The villains greatly hated him, vented their anger on me.”

If the old monk was one of the former Crown Prince’s people, then the person he might have offended was Prince Qi.

Prince Qi… Prince Qi ten years later, though he had endured to age fifty, was vaguely in a winning position. If the old monk had a grudge with him, then Song Zhiwei using her as a gift to curry favor was also possible.

Someone like Song Zhiwei, cold and detached, cold-hearted and cold-blooded—what couldn’t he do?

It was just that she still couldn’t understand why they had to use the method of A Point of Daylight specifically.

No matter which speculation, she couldn’t understand.

It was the hour of the Tiger.

Lan Shanjun carefully folded the paper. Suddenly she thought of Yu Qingwu.

He liked to write notes.

She looked at the paper in her hand. Her hand paused, then she simply made it into a notebook too.

There would be plenty to write in the future.

Lan Shanjun sat at the desk all night.

This night, she wasn’t as miserable as she had imagined. Instead, toward the end, she became more and more calm.

This was her strength—she always had a tenacious spirit that could withstand any unexpected occurrence, not letting herself collapse.

When Lan Hui woke up, she saw her sitting straight-backed at the desk looking out the window at the scenery.

Seeing her like this, she knew she hadn’t slept all night! Lan Hui shouted: “Good heavens! At least take a nap! If you can’t sleep, wake me up so we can talk!”

But Lan Shanjun couldn’t sleep. After breakfast she asked: “Next month at the beginning, I heard Duke Songguo’s mansion is hosting a flower-viewing banquet?”

Lan Hui nodded: “Yes, Mother will take the two of us then.”

She glanced at Lan Shanjun: “Sixth Sister, Mother is probably going to look for a husband for you.”

At her young age, she wasn’t at all embarrassed talking about such things.

At first Lan Shanjun was curious how she developed such a nature. Later she discovered Mother would talk to her about marrying into high families from time to time, and she understood.

She patted Lan Hui’s head: “Then help me watch. My judgment isn’t good.”

Having her head patted, Lan Hui was very happy, feeling Sixth Sister was finally getting closer to her: “Alright, I know all the men of suitable age for Sister in Luoyang.”

She helped Lan Shanjun dress, then said idly: “Tomorrow you’re going to the Shou residence, Third Brother is going with Prince Qi’s heir to the horse grounds, and I have to learn household management with Mother and Sister-in-law. It’s so dull and boring.”

Lan Shanjun’s hand, which had been inserting a gold hairpin, paused: “Third Brother is going with Prince Qi’s heir to the horse grounds?”

Lan Hui nodded: “Yes, I don’t know what luck he had. Mother is happy, but Fourth Uncle is on edge, afraid he’ll cause trouble.”

Fourth Uncle had the smallest courage. He was always cautious in everything he did, so Prince Qi looked down on him and never valued him highly.

But only Fourth Uncle wasn’t wrong about Lan San’s tendency to cause trouble. Two years later, Lan San caused him to lose his official seal. From then on, Duke Zhenguo’s mansion never recovered.

Lan Shanjun: “Fourth Uncle’s worry isn’t without reason. You should still remind Mother to have Third Brother be more vigilant.”

She remembered in her previous life there had indeed been such an event. At the time Lan San had been very pleased with himself and mentioned it to her many times.

But nothing bad should have happened, otherwise he wouldn’t have bragged like that.

She didn’t concern herself too much: “For Third Brother, being more vigilant has no downside.”

Lan Hui: “Who says it doesn’t.”

The next day, Lan Shanjun went early to Lady Shou’s house. She still wanted to see the book in Yu Qingwu’s hands that recorded A Point of Daylight.

After she left, Third Young Master Lan slowly came over to have a meal with Zhu Shi, sighing: “I’m even afraid of her now!”

Lan Hui rolled her eyes. Third Young Madam endured and said nothing.

She told herself not to get angry and stuffed a steamed bun in his mouth.

But the bun didn’t plug Third Young Master Lan’s mouth. Instead it expanded his mouth. The bun was being chewed in his mouth, but it didn’t block his mouth. He was still babbling there: “She’s really something. These past few days when she sees me, she doesn’t even greet me.”

Before, he could understand when she didn’t go pay respects to Grandmother. Grandmother wanting to move her master’s eternal lamp to the Taoist temple was going too far. But he hadn’t done that. He had been reasonable and well-founded, all for her good and for Duke Zhenguo’s mansion’s good.

But what happened? She talked about the past, and everyone in the family said he was wrong.

Lan San sighed: “You all just spoil her. One day you’ll spoil her into causing trouble.”

Third Young Madam endured and endured, but still couldn’t hold back. She stood up and said to her mother-in-law: “Mother, I’ll go check the monthly records first.”

Zhu Shi nodded awkwardly. After her daughter-in-law left, she said: “That mouth of yours—here, eat another bun!”

Lan Hui rolled her eyes again.

Third Young Master Lan felt embarrassed but wasn’t angry. He just smiled: “Little girl, quite a temper.”

He stood up: “Fine, today is your brother’s moment of glory. Don’t make me angry.”

Fourth Master specifically came over to give a few warnings, still uneasy: “You must speak less and do less.”

Third Young Master Lan: “I know!”

Fourth Master: “Let me see your blade.”

But Third Young Master Lan began talking about everything except the blade. Seeing him like this, what didn’t Fourth Master understand? He said loudly: “Did you not listen and go to the storehouse to get your father’s war blade again?”

Third Young Master Lan softened his attitude: “Uncle, I’m just taking it to show off—”

Fourth Master was rarely angry: “What do you mean ‘show off’? Do you know who will be there today? Your grandfather and father—you’re not unaware of what happened in Shuzhou back then. If you rashly bring their war blades there and any accident happens, can you bear the consequences?”

First a defeat, fifty thousand soldiers died. Then a victory, fifty thousand soldiers died.

He said: “None of us can bear this consequence. Two people died in our family, two entered the Taoist temple. Now when we use blades, we should use unsharpened blades. Zhang’er, you absolutely cannot do things that put the family in a difficult position.”

Lan San could only say awkwardly: “If I don’t use it, I don’t use it. Why does Fourth Uncle need to scold?”

So he returned the blade. Fourth Master saw this, personally locked the storehouse, and only went to his post after watching him leave.

But Lan San looked at the ordinary blade Fourth Uncle gave him with melancholy. Originally going to show off, but who knew he’d be struck down at the start.

His servant saw this and said: “It’s still early. Why don’t we go back and change to another one?”

Lan San sighed irritably, listlessly comparing the blade this way and that. Then his hand holding the blade paused: “I know!”

He shouted: “Quick, quick, back to the mansion!”

He knew what blade to take.

He said to Zhu Shi: “Mother, I want to borrow Sixth Sister’s precept blade.”

He had watched Sixth Sister practice with the blade—each move and stance carried the wind. That precept blade should have decades of history, not knowing how many generations of monks it had passed through in the temple.

He said: “Fourth Uncle told me to use an unsharpened blade. Sixth Sister’s blade is definitely unsharpened, right?”

He had already thought of what to say if someone asked. He would say: “Family rules, merely following them.”

Thinking this, he became more and more pleased and urged: “Mother, go on.”

But Zhu Shi didn’t dare go take it: “What state are you and your Sixth Sister in? We just reconciled a little. How can we go take her blade without permission?”

Lan San: “I’m just taking it out for a bit. I definitely won’t use it. When the time comes, I’ll return it to her properly.”

Zhu Shi still didn’t dare. She hesitated: “Why don’t we go ask her first?”

Lan San: “Aiya, where’s the time for that!”

He said: “I’ll go get the blade. Mother, send someone to tell her. That way both sides are fine.”

In the end, Zhu Shi nodded: “Fine. But you absolutely must not damage her blade. That’s from her master. You know how much she treasures it.”

So on one side she had her personal attendant go get the blade, on the other she sent someone to Lady Shou’s house.

The blade was retrieved. Lan San said happily: “Mother, I’m leaving first. If Sixth Sister wants to scold me, tell her to wait for me to come back to scold me.”

Zhu Shi’s heart pounded. She didn’t dare tell Lan Hui and Third Young Madam about this, only dared to have people block the mouths of all the maids and servants. Then she collapsed onto a stool, covering her chest: “Good heavens, what kind of situation is this! I want to die!”

In the end, she was still afraid of her eldest daughter.

——

On the other side, Yu Qingwu had specifically told his superior to choose today as his rest day, just to personally deliver the book to Lan Shanjun.

He arrived early and even brought her delicious pork buns from Luoyang city.

Lady Shou had told him Lan Shanjun loved these. The old lady said: “Nanny Qian and I are old with old appetites. She can’t get used to what we eat, so you should go buy them.”

Yu Qingwu felt he owed Lady Lan a debt of gratitude and was very willing to bring her food. He even learned without a teacher to buy other foods—all related to pork.

He went to buy them before dawn. After buying everything, it was still early, but Lan Shanjun arrived even earlier.

She stared at him. He quickly passed the food over. Then he discovered she smiled slightly, politely said thank you, and continued looking at him.

This time she didn’t need to say anything. He immediately took the miscellaneous record from his pocket.

Lan Shanjun took it but didn’t look at it immediately. Instead, she sat to the side to eat breakfast.

Yu Qingwu sat on the other side helping Nanny Qian with the accounts.

Nanny Qian wanted to bring the two together, so she had both of them pick vegetables for her!

She sat there muttering: “I’m so pitiful, working like an ox and horse for the Shou family my whole life.”

Though she said such things, her hands were very fast—much faster than oxen and horses could run.

Before becoming familiar with her, Lan Shanjun thought Nanny Qian had a dignified temperament. After getting to know her, she discovered the old lady loved to mutter.

This kind of complaining seemed to take her back to Huailing. The old monk would also nag at her: “After I die, what will you do! I’m not at all at ease about you, but I can’t arrange everything for your future.”

He said: “Shanjun, fortunately you can butcher pigs. In the future, just butcher pigs in Huailing for your whole life—that wouldn’t be bad.”

Thinking of the past, Lan Shanjun smiled softly and said to Nanny Qian: “You’re just saying that for fun. When the old lady really won’t let you work, you’ll scold people then too.”

Nanny Qian: “I learned scolding from her. When she was young, she was always scolding people.”

Yu Qingwu broke apart the vegetable stalks and leaves, placing them to the side: “The old lady loves to hear about everyone’s domestic affairs and loves to comment. Once when I was there, she heard about a family bullying their new daughter-in-law together and scolded them.”

Nanny Qian: “That was Marquis Ningyuan’s family. Shameless—incest and all—”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had misspoken. She quickly looked at Lan Shanjun, who was smiling as if nothing was wrong. But Yu Qingwu, normally so calm and composed, had his ears turn slightly red and showed some awkwardness on his face.

He didn’t know whether he should pretend to understand or not.

He involuntarily looked toward Lan Shanjun and saw that she seemed both to understand and not understand.

He could only cough once: “Nanny Qian, I’ll go get you and Miss Shanjun some hand warmers.”

Nanny Qian secretly resented that he didn’t know how to treasure opportunities, but couldn’t say it explicitly. She could only smile: “Shanjun, come, have some fruit and then go read the book.”

Lan Shanjun didn’t want to read it here. She was afraid of losing her composure again.

She put down the vegetables in her hand and took a fruit to eat slowly: “Is the old lady not awake yet?”

Nanny Qian: “She’s been having nightmares these past few days.”

Lan Shanjun: “Why is she having nightmares? Should we go to White Horse Temple to pray?”

Nanny Qian said wistfully: “When old friends enter dreams, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

She thought for a moment: “This is actually thanks to you.”

Lan Shanjun always tended to overthink. Her hand paused: “Thanks to me?”

Nanny Qian: “Yes, she hasn’t dreamed of that General Duan in so many years.”

Lan Shanjun’s motion of eating the fruit slowed. Her mouth chewed slowly: “General Duan? Which General Duan?”

Nanny Qian was butchering a chicken on the side, cleanly cutting the chicken’s throat: “The Great General Who Pacifies the South, Duan Boyan. You might not have heard of him.”

Lan Shanjun, hearing her mention this, couldn’t help but become interested in finding out more: “I heard it once… Last time at the Yu residence, when Elder Wu mentioned it, I heard this name.”

Nanny Qian heard her mention Elder Wu and thought of how Yu Qingwu might have developed an estrangement from Wu Qingchuan. She sighed heavily with a look of not wanting to say more.

Lan Shanjun inwardly cursed—not good. She was just about to say a few words to make her stay and talk more about the past when she saw Lady Shou had gotten up.

The two quickly went over. Nanny Qian said: “Did you sleep well last night?”

Lady Shou nodded: “Very well, don’t worry.”

She asked: “What were you talking about so happily?”

Lan Shanjun, having her own thoughts, said first: “Nanny Qian said you love to scold people.”

Lady Shou: “I do not.”

Lan Shanjun: “Then she said you had old friends enter your dreams and it was thanks to my blessing. I’m about to ask you for a reward.”

Lady Shou laughed: “It is indeed thanks to your blessing.”

Lan Shanjun: “I thought Nanny Qian was joking. Turns out it’s true. That confused me.”

Lady Shou said: “It was because of the punishment you asked Qingwu about that day, called A Point of Daylight.”

Lan Shanjun softly hummed: “I remember. The old lady also said it was somewhat familiar. Did you remember?”

She had been too out of sorts that day and hadn’t had the presence of mind to ask. Today she had originally planned to find an excuse to ask.

Since she was going to ask, she prepared herself. She sat up straight, her voice even softer, smiling as she asked: “Have you also heard of it? Where did you hear it?”

The old lady nodded. But this matter, she definitely couldn’t tell Shanjun.

She said: “It’s better you don’t know.”

Lan Shanjun pestered her: “Old Ancestor, please tell me. I have very few obsessions in this life—just this one. You can’t leave me hanging.”

Lady Shou began to hesitate.

She had seen Lan Shanjun’s state the other day. After all, she was extremely fond of this child. Seeing Yu Qingwu had returned and thinking about Prince Qi’s relationship with Wu Qingchuan and with Marquis Boyuan’s mansion, she felt she should still tell them.

At least let him know what kind of person he was up against. Prince Qi’s methods had always been ruthless.

She said: “Back then, the former Crown Prince studied under Grand Tutor Zhe and learned a bellyful of reforms to govern the realm.”

“His uncle Duan Boyan was originally the Great General Who Pacifies the South. The initial rebellion in Shuzhou was suppressed by him.”

“That year he took his son to Shuzhou. When he returned, only one person remained. His wife couldn’t bear the blow and passed away soon after.”

“In his whole life he had only one wife and one son. They were all gone. From then on he never left Luoyang again. Thus he became a civil official and began reforms with the Crown Prince.”

Yu Qingwu had only gone to get a hand warmer and returned to find them talking about the former Crown Prince and the General Who Pacified the South. He hesitated, looking at Lan Shanjun, not knowing if it was good for her to hear these things.

Looking over, he saw she was listening with complete attention.

He distributed the hand warmers to the old lady and Nanny Qian, then gently placed one in her hands, naturally taking up the conversation: “Yes, my teacher was also a student of Grand Tutor Zhe.”

Lady Shou: “Back then your teacher was not a good student. He was always running away to play and was dragged back by Boyan to be disciplined. The Crown Prince was several years older than him and always protected him from beatings.”

When Wu Qingchuan was young, he was a rake who loved to frequent flower houses to support courtesans. But the Wu family didn’t have much money, and he was very stingy, so everyone gave him the nickname “Stingy Rake.”

“Later your teacher inherited the Crown Prince and Boyan’s aspirations and became serious.”

She said: “But Prince Qi detested reform and innovation. He opposed the Crown Prince and Boyan.”

“Once when I entered the palace, I happened to see the Crown Prince and Boyan confronting Prince Qi before His Majesty.”

“I’ve forgotten the specifics. I only remember the Crown Prince saying Prince Qi had killed too many people, and Prince Qi saying the Crown Prince and Boyan were cursing him behind his back. When Boyan saw me arrive, he deliberately pulled me over and said Prince Qi threatened to give him A Point of Daylight and break his bones—when Duan Boyan fought in wars, he was known for having hard bones.”

“Once he took thirteen blade wounds on his body and held on until returning to camp before calling for a physician. When I heard about it, I was scared to death. But he was fine—he even called himself ‘the King of Hell wouldn’t take him, thirteen blades were like drinking water.'”

The hand warmer in Lan Shanjun’s hands dropped to the floor. She bent down to pick it up.

Yu Qingwu quickly went to help her pick it up.

When they raised their heads, they saw she still hadn’t straightened up. Her hand was still on the floor.

Yu Qingwu became frightened: “Miss Shanjun?”

Lan Shanjun slowly sat up properly, an ugly smile appearing on her face: “How can such horrifying things be done again and again?”

Lady Shou: “Prince Qi was just saying it. Duan Boyan died of illness.”

Lan Shanjun murmured: “That’s still too much.”

How could he say such things to someone who had thirteen blade scars on his body?

The old monk had thirteen blade scars on his body.

Her heart slowly became bitter.

She didn’t dare believe some answers appeared so simply before her, yet she also felt that heavy snow in this life was a good sign.

He had sent her here.

From Huailing in the previous life to Luoyang in this life.

He must be helping her.

The truth was emerging, but she felt herself floating, as if her feet weren’t touching the ground.

She still didn’t dare believe it, afraid she had it wrong.

She looked far out toward the courtyard.

Countless nights, countless speculations, countless hatreds, countless truths speculated in her mind—could it all have started from such an absurd sentence?

That was too absurd.

For a moment, she didn’t know how to handle herself.

She thought again of the old monk eating the braised pig’s trotters she had made, constantly boasting about his past: “Ah, Shanjun, when I named you Tiger, there was meaning to it. I once fought with a tiger. These scars of mine, the ones you saw yesterday, look—”

Lan Shanjun gave him a look: “Master, tigers don’t use big blades, and I’m not stupid!”

The old monk could only shake his head: “Fine, they were mountain bandits. I acted with chivalry and competed with bandits, leaving thirteen scars.”

She worried: “You’re so sick. Could it be they caused it?”

The old monk boasted: “Don’t be afraid. The King of Hell won’t take me yet—thirteen blades are like drinking water. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely live to ninety-nine.”

Lan Shanjun gnawed on the pig’s trotter, freeing her mouth to ask the critical question: “You killed the bandits. Did the authorities give you silver?”

The old monk pursed his lips: “They didn’t kill me, that was good enough!”

Lan Shanjun, still small, immediately became anxious: “Tell the truth—are you a bandit yourself!”

Otherwise why wouldn’t he go claim the reward?

He had never been reliable!

The old monk just laughed: “I did become a bandit for a while—you’re quite smart.”

He said: “Shanjun, I’m only telling you this. Don’t tell anyone else.”

Tears fell from Lan Shanjun’s eyes: “That’s just great. I’m a perfectly innocent good person, and you’ve dragged me down.”

Thinking of it now, if the old monk was truly Duan Boyan, it really was a prophetic statement.

Outside, the white plum blossoms swayed and trembled, like snow about to fall.

Lan Shanjun remembered the night she was bound and taken away—there was heavy snow everywhere.

From that day on, she had been frozen in the snow.

Yu Qingwu noticed that Lan Shanjun was extremely prone to spacing out.

He bent down again to place the picked-up hand warmer in her hands, calling softly: “Shanjun—come back to yourself.”

He asked quietly: “Did you remember something?”

Lan Shanjun murmured: “I remembered a poem.”

Yu Qingwu: “What poem?”

“‘Snow was like flowers when I left in the past; now I return and flowers are like snow.'”

She came back to herself and asked: “This is also a good thing, right?”

Yu Qingwu said with certainty: “When winter snow melts and spring arrives, it is a good thing.”