Huang Zixia used a hairpin to sift through all the events of that day, then wiped it clean and slowly inserted it back into the silver hairpin holder. She said, “Looking at it this way, you were much clearer about your activities that day than I was. From noon until the next morning, I was often alone, making it difficult to find someone to verify my whereabouts.”

Yu Xuan lowered his eyes and remained silent.

“It seems my suspicion is indeed very great…” she said quietly, biting her lower lip as she stood up and used her foot to erase everything drawn on the ground.

Yu Xuan spoke slowly: “Among all people, the greatest suspect.”

Huang Zixia stared at the ashes she had erased from the ground, silent for a long while before saying, “Even if all evidence points to me, even if you too believe I am the murderer, but—I will prove to you that no matter what, Huang Zixia is innocent and pure. My father, mother, elder brother, grandmother, and uncle can rest in peace underground!”

A pot of medicinal chicken soup with yams had finished cooking, its fragrance permeating the air.

She washed the wooden bowl clean, ladled it full, and carried it to the side hall.

Yu Xuan said from behind her, “I’ll head back first.”

Huang Zixia turned to look at him, wordless.

He gazed at her, standing in the dark kitchen while she stood in the bright corridor. The sunlight was so bright she couldn’t see his face, only his eyes, like before—two obsidian orbs floating in mercury, clear and distinct.

He said, “You still need to care for the injured Kui Wang now. My presence around you both would be inconvenient, so I won’t disturb you further.”

She lowered her eyes and said, “Perhaps we could return together.”

Yu Xuan’s eyes widened in surprise as he stepped out of the dark room, asking, “You… you’re leaving with me now? You’re not going to take care of Kui Wang?”

She silently held the bowl of soup while looking at him and said, “I meant, why don’t you wait a few days, until Kui Wang’s condition improves, then… the three of us can leave together.”

The brightness in his eyes disappeared as he turned his face away, gazing at the distant undulating mountains, saying, “I have no connection with Kui Wang, and as you know, my birth is humble—I dare not associate with such people.”

Huang Zixia was slightly startled, not understanding why he suddenly reacted so intensely.

Seeing her puzzled expression, he suddenly remembered previous matters and after much hesitation, finally spoke, saying, “Between Princess Tongchang and me… there was nothing.”

Huang Zixia nodded, wanting to ask about other things, but ultimately pressed her lips together and lowered her eyelashes as she turned away.

But she heard him say softly, “With you, with him, with anyone—there were no connections.”

She finally couldn’t help but ask, “What about Noble Consort Guo?”

He was stunned, suddenly raising his head to look at her.

Having already spoken, she felt no regret and simply said, “Though we cannot hear each other now, I wish to follow the moonlight flowing to illuminate you.”

Yu Xuan was extremely shocked, stammering for a while before saying, “Yes… she once wrote me a letter that mentioned this poem. However, between us, there truly was nothing.”

Huang Zixia said softly, “I also believe you wouldn’t casually associate with others.”

“At that time, I was temporarily appointed as an instructor at the Imperial Academy. I met Princess Tongchang and Noble Consort Guo during the Spring Outing on the third day of the third month. When sudden rain came, they couldn’t find shelter in time and didn’t have umbrellas. Several maids removed their outer garments to shield them from the rain. I was passing by and didn’t know who they were, so I gave them my umbrella…” He spoke, letting out a light sigh, “Who knew that a few days later, during my lecture, Princess Tongchang suddenly appeared…”

The guards cleared away all the students, and Princess Tongchang, accompanied by several maids, walked directly to the front row. With just a glance at the students sitting there, they hurriedly gathered their books and ran to the back.

Princess Tongchang, acting as if no one else was present, sat down in the front row.

The peaceful classroom was suddenly invaded by guards and maids, with a princess sitting in the front row listening to the lecture while resting her chin on her hand. Yu Xuan couldn’t help but pause his lecture and asked, “What brings you all here unannounced?”

Princess Tongchang smiled as she observed him, her smile carrying an indescribably meaningful expression: “Instructor Yu, have you forgotten me?”

Looking at the attire of the maids behind her, he finally remembered the woman he had lent his umbrella to.

The Chancellor of the Imperial Academy entered with a bitter expression, apologizing to her: “Who at the Imperial Academy has offended Your Highness? Please let us know, and we will certainly handle it fairly to your satisfaction.”

“Is that so?” Princess Tongchang’s sharp phoenix eyes swept from Yu Xuan to Chancellor Gu, while her hands raised to point directly at Yu Xuan, a strange smile at the corner of her lips, “It’s this person, he’s too disagreeable.”

Chancellor Gu was stunned and said, “He’s a scholar from Shu Prefecture who just arrived in the capital and has only been an instructor for a few days, teaching miscellaneous subjects. When did he offend the Princess?”

“What do you think?” She stood up and walked around Yu Xuan, examining his straight posture, her smile suddenly becoming mischievous, “I’ve wanted to study lately, but unfortunately all the scholars I’ve found are old men—just looking at them makes one too lazy to even open a book. And here at your Imperial Academy, you have such an approachable and capable instructor, yet you won’t let him teach me. Don’t you think your Imperial Academy, and this young instructor, deserve punishment?”

Chancellor Gu’s already bitter face now seemed to drip with bitterness as he hurriedly agreed and urged Yu Xuan to go teach her.

But Yu Xuan, not knowing she was Princess Tongchang, still wanted to refuse her forceful invitation. Who knew that Princess Tongchang would quickly turn his life upside down? Not only were all his courses at the Imperial Academy blocked by the princess’s guards, preventing any students from entering, but even when the Chancellor, Supervisors, and Registry Officials tried to conduct business, they were disrupted by the noise. Finally, when all the teachers and students at the Imperial Academy complained bitterly, urging him to accept this assignment, he had no choice but to pack up his books and enter the princess’s mansion.

He had wondered why Noble Consort Guo always appeared to audit when he was teaching Princess Tongchang, but later, he stopped wondering. It was because one time at the mansion gate, he met the Prince Consort, Wei Baoheng.

Though Princess Tongchang had forced him to enter the mansion to teach, and the entire capital was buzzing with gossip, to his surprise, Wei Baoheng showed no concern toward him. Instead, he asked him about some interpretations of the Zhou Rites, saying the princess’s learning had advanced so much lately that he could barely understand her speech, and asked for clarification. He spoke with a pleasant smile until someone from Zhijin Garden came to report that the princess had been waiting for him for a long time. Only then did he hurriedly bid farewell to the Prince Consort and was led to Suwei Garden by a maid.

In Zhijin Garden, beyond the banana trees, by the pond. As the winding bridge curved, he heard the low voices of Princess Tongchang and Noble Consort Guo, faint and indistinct. Though the bridge twisted and turned, and he heard voices, he continued walking on the bridge without reaching the entrance.

“Mother, these are troubled times, and the person in Taiji Palace hasn’t been dealt with yet. Why are you creating more problems at this time?”

“What are you afraid of? Since that person entered Taiji Palace, your father has been unhappy every day, and these past few days he’s even suspended court affairs and gone to Jianbi Palace. I heard they’ve selected five hundred women from among the common people, all waiting for him there.”

“What is Mother worried about? Never mind five hundred, even fifty thousand probably couldn’t match that person’s beauty. But Father still abandoned her, not you.”

“Even you think this was my doing? I don’t know what happened, why suddenly the Emperor would send her to Taiji Palace to recover from illness. I wonder… could she have fallen ill from the shock of your cousin’s death?”

“Whatever the reason, it’s good news for Mother. Perhaps your lifelong hope lies in this turn of events.”

“Yes… at such a crucial moment, perhaps I should focus on making my move in the palace. But Linghua, truly I don’t have many expectations. There are many eyes and ears both inside and outside the palace, with palace maids and guards following me closely at all times. It’s already improper that I see him once every five days—what else could I do? Moreover, he’s even younger than you, and with my withered body, what hopes could I have?” At this point, she sighed softly, her voice becoming increasingly hoarse, “Linghua, I’ve been by your father’s side for over twenty years, but I’ve always been like a walking corpse. I know I have no destiny with him, that in this life we are destined to see but not hear each other, but I just want… even just to see him one more time, to hear his voice once more would be good…”

The maid who had been leading him along the way turned pale upon hearing this, realizing she had inadvertently heard too terrible a secret. She stopped in her tracks, looking back at him pleadingly.

He too was shocked to the point of losing composure. Seeing that the winding bridge was ending and they were about to reach the entrance, he quickly nodded to the maid, indicating she should leave immediately.

However, her hasty departure made Princess Tongchang hear their presence. She suddenly stood and walked to the pavilion entrance, immediately seeing him standing on the bridge and the maid who was hurriedly walking away.

Princess Tongchang’s face also suddenly turned pale as she called out sharply, “Dou Kou!”

That maid, who was about thirty years old, was named Dou Kou, a name that didn’t match her age. But he didn’t care about that anymore, feeling only confusion in his heart. He had thought Princess Tongchang was difficult to deal with, but now knowing it was Noble Consort Guo who had intentions toward him, he felt utterly shocked and his mind was in chaos.

He stopped on the curved bridge, seeing through the banana leaves to the pavilion, where at a table by the window, Noble Consort Guo put down her brush and tightly crumpled a piece of paper in her hand, throwing it to the ground.

He stood on the bridge, bowed to them, then silently turned and left.

The maid called Dou Kou hurried out after him, but just as they reached the gate, Princess Tongchang caught up with them, and Dou Kou was taken back.

All three people tacitly agreed not to mention this matter again. That day after returning, he submitted his resignation to the Imperial Academy, preparing to return to Shu Prefecture.

Later, he heard at the princess’s mansion that Zhijin Garden had been sealed off, and it was said that a maid named Dou Kou had died there, her soul claimed by vengeful spirits.

His biggest regret in the capital was not telling the maid Dou Kou to leave when they were at the garden gate. Although this Dou Kou was a stranger to him, older in age, and unremarkable in appearance, he always felt that her death was his fault.

Later, when leaving the capital, he met a woman called Di Cui. Her panic-stricken expression suddenly reminded him of Dou Kou.

So, he deceived the officials and saved her.

Di Cui escaped, Princess Tongchang died, and he left the capital far behind. It seemed everything had ended. However, at this moment, that sentence from Huang Zixia’s mouth made him realize this matter could never be resolved, and would never pass.

His mind was in chaos as he gazed at Huang Zixia before him for a long, long time, before finally saying softly, “Whether you believe it or not, I have always…”

But whatever he had always done, he didn’t say.

He just slowly stepped back into the dark kitchen, watching as Huang Zixia, worried the chicken soup would get cold, hurriedly left with the bowl.