Li Yuanji fidgeted irritably with his hair at the nape of his neck, his fingers feeling damp and clammy. He had no idea how long it would take to dry enough to tie up properly.

He had already washed himself with heated water and changed into the clothes Lawyer Pei had brought. Lawyer Pei was thoughtful – the change of clothes he prepared for them had a coarse brown hemp exterior that made them look like farm laborers, but they were clean and starched, with a layer of silk padding inside that was both comfortable and warm.

Li Yuanji had no complaints about changing clothes; what bothered him was that Yang Xinzhi insisted he leave his hair loose until it dried, claiming he would catch a cold otherwise.

How undignified to have one’s hair hanging loose… Moreover, he was anxious to go check on Wei Shubin in the western room of the main hall.

That careless young lady had been lighting the stove fire when he heard something amiss. Just as he got down from the kang bed and turned past the wall, he saw flames shoot out from the stove directly at her face.

Without thinking, he rushed forward to pull her away. The room instantly filled with an acrid burning smell. Wei Shubin’s face was covered in soot, with sparks still flying from her forehead. Fortunately, after washing with water, they found she had only singed her eyebrows and temples, with a few red, swollen burns on her forehead and around her eyes – nothing too serious.

When Yang Xinzhi and the two old women rushed back, they separated the two unfortunate victims of water and fire to care for them in the east and west rooms. Li Yuanji silently endured Yang Routa’s nagging, and when he had just put on dry clothes and said “Let me wrap up my hair,” it only earned him another even sterner lecture. Yang Xinzhi even piled all their bedding on top of Li Yuanji, terrified that His Highness the Prince of Wu might catch a cold and develop a fever. “There are no doctors or medicine in this place – if you fall ill, you can only wait to die.”

Rationally, Li Yuanji knew Yang Xinzhi was right – none of them could afford to fall ill or meet with disaster, so he didn’t argue back. When the Kuchean guard was called out of the room by the old woman, he lifted off the pile of felt blankets and got down from the kang, found a pair of old hemp shoes, and was about to head to the west room when he suddenly remembered his current disheveled state and stopped in his tracks.

After some thought, he found a piece of black silk gauze in his bundle to tie back his hair, using his fingers to smooth down the hair at the back of his head before securing it at the nape of his neck. If he couldn’t properly style his hair and wrap it, he should at least make it neat – how else could he face people?

However, when he stepped through the doorway into the west room, both Wei Shubin and the old woman sitting on the kang looked up and burst out laughing.

It’s just wearing hemp clothes with a ponytail, what’s the big deal… Li Yuanji stubbornly ignored them, exchanged greetings, and went forward to check on Wei Shubin. Fortunately, the old woman had applied some unknown herb paste to her burns that gave off a fresh, green scent. Wei Shubin shrank back on the kang:

“Don’t look. I’m hideous.”

“It’s fine, it will heal in a few days,” Li Yuanji consoled her.

“It will leave scars,” the beauty-conscious young lady pouted, then smiled bitterly, “Oh well, never mind. As long as… the Khagan of Tibet doesn’t mind.”

Li Yuanji glanced at the old woman beside him. The toothless granny smiled, gathered her things, and got down from the kang, saying “I’ll go busy myself,” leaving the young man and woman alone.

After a moment of silence, Li Yuanji suddenly said: “Gardenia, bailian, scutellaria.”

“What?” Wei Shubin didn’t understand.

“Forty gardenia fruits, five liang each of bailian and Scutellaria,” Li Yuanji struggled to recall his mother’s prescription, “Grind them into powder, simmer with five shengs of water and one sheng of oil to make an ointment. After it cools, apply it to burns – not only will it prevent scarring, it will also make the skin fair and soft, and leave a lingering fragrance on the face.”

“Pff!” Wei Shubin covered her mouth and laughed. Li Yuanji frowned and explained seriously: “It’s true. My mother often made it and gave it to others – the palace ladies all loved using it.”

“I’m not…” the young lady paused, then changed the subject, “Where would we find those three medicines in this place now? We’re not in the palace anymore.”

We could ask Yang Da to buy them in the Small Western Market… The words turned twice on Li Yuanji’s tongue before he swallowed them back. Yang Xinzhi’s appearance was too eye-catching; better for him to minimize going out. If someone needed to go to town, he should go himself.

“I—”

“Don’t worry about this,” Wei Shubin cut him off, “Being ugly won’t kill me – I wasn’t that pretty to begin with. There are more important things to worry about now, and who knows how long we can hide here? We might have to move again tomorrow.”

Lawyer Pei’s reliability was limited. He had already been very helpful, but if the Imperial Guard found and questioned him at his estate, considering his family’s past ups and downs and his sister’s marriage prospects, it would be hard to expect Lawyer Pei to stubbornly resist the authorities to the end. They hadn’t discussed this, but both understood it tacitly.

Wei Shubin seemed to feel her tone had been too harsh earlier. After a pause, she spoke much more gently:

“Grandmother applied sesame leaves – I’ve read in herbal texts that it’s appropriate for treating burns… I didn’t know your mother was versed in medicine too.”

“She wasn’t knowledgeable about medicine,” Li Yuanji smiled wryly, “When my mother was unmarried, my maternal family ran the largest perfume and medicine shop in the Western Market of the capital. Mother learned from childhood, and could blend excellent perfumes. After entering the palace, she supervised the palace perfumers and was known as the ‘Perfume Lady.’ The Emperor and high-ranking consorts like Consort Wan, Consort Yin, and Noble Lady Yuwen all wore her handmade perfumes and burned her incense in their halls. I grew up familiar with these scents…”

Many of his brothers’ birth mothers were of humble origins, and while they didn’t intentionally avoid the topic, they generally didn’t casually discuss such matters. But under Wei Shubin’s clear, pure gaze, he felt peaceful and warm, wanting to pour out his heart:

“In the thirteenth year of Daye during the former Sui dynasty, chaos engulfed the realm. Bandits ran rampant in the capital, and my maternal grandfather gathered his wealth, planning to flee with his children to the mountain fortresses in the south. With so much wealth and heavy carts, they were naturally ambushed by bandits halfway – all their possessions were stolen, and all family members were killed, except for my mother who was spared. The bandit leader took her up the mountain, but as fate would have it, they encountered my Third Sister’s mother – Princess Pingyang of our Great Tang…”

The family relationships were rather complicated, so Li Yuanji paused and rephrased: “Princess Pingyang of our Great Tang was also taking refuge at her estate in Hu County at the time, recruiting soldiers and building an army – she had already gathered several tens of thousands of men. That group of bandits also intended to join her forces and invited Princess Pingyang to their stronghold.

Third Sister saw how pitiful my mother looked crying, and said she would take this young woman as payment for joining forces – when the bandit leader tried to renege, he didn’t expect Princess Pingyang would dare draw swords right there in his territory. With warriors like Ma Sanbao and Qiu Xinggong by her side, each incredibly brave, they fought against superior numbers and captured the stronghold to establish their authority. From then on, my mother naturally served Princess Pingyang.”

In other words, she became a slave in the Chai family. Wei Shubin nodded sympathetically but didn’t try to comfort him. In times of chaos, such things were too common, and Li Yuanji didn’t feel there was anything to be ashamed of, so he continued:

“Princess Pingyang loved using the perfume balls and sachets my mother made and treated her with kindness and favor. After the founding of the Great Tang, she often visited the palace. When Noble Consort Yin smelled the unique fragrance of Third Sister, she asked about it. At first, she had my mother come to the palace to teach her maids how to blend perfumes, but eventually simply kept my mother there and wouldn’t let her return – even Princess Pingyang couldn’t do anything about it. Soon after, my mother gained favor and bore me, rising to the rank of Beauty. Throughout her life, she always viewed the Chai family as her own and had even cared for Sister Yingniang and her siblings when they were young, so my sister and I were also close to the Chai family, alas…”

The result of this closeness was that in his several attempts to rescue his sister from danger, he had dragged Chai Yinglu deep into trouble, which made him feel quite guilty about his early-deceased Third Sister, Princess Pingyang.