“You mean Qian Yonlu, the second brother of Mr. Qian — Master Qian’s younger brother?”

Shi Ting smiled. “My lady understands me perfectly.”

The street was quiet and deserted, yet the two of them walked through it with a warmth and ease that seemed to linger even in the footprints they left behind.

Shi Ting said, “Qian Yonglu is Qian Yongfu’s younger brother, an illegitimate son of the Qian Family who has never been favored by old Madam Qian. Within the family he is nothing more than Qian Yongfu’s lackey, managing only trivial business dealings. Qian Yonglu has many children, but they too must rely on others’ goodwill, always outshone in every way by Qian Yongfu’s only son, Qian Wei. From what I’ve heard, Qian Wei treats these brothers and sisters of his like servants, ordering them around at will.”

“Qian Yonglu has spent his whole life in Qian Yongfu’s shadow. After all these years, he must long since have grown resentful. If we approach him, he would indeed be a useful angle.”

Shi Ting nodded. “The trouble is, if we approach him directly, it will be too obvious and is sure to put people on guard. Once Qian Yongfu starts watching Qian Yonglu, digging any further becomes very difficult.”

“I actually have someone in mind.” Yan Qing’s eyes lit up, bright as stars. “Lü Shi.”

“The newly promoted deputy manager at the pharmacy?”

“Exactly.” Yan Qing smiled. “Lü Shi is very clever and skilled at reading people, and most importantly, he is a businessman. From what I know, the Qian Family also has business dealings in medicinal herbs. If it were a straightforward commercial partnership between the two parties, it wouldn’t arouse any suspicion.”

“Is this Lü Shi trustworthy?”

“I already had Dihuai look into his background — it’s simple and clean. And what’s more, my father once did him a kindness.” Yan Qing recalled a message the Old Master Yan had sent through an intermediary. “Lü Shi’s family once fell on hard times, and it was my father who happened to encounter them and gave them two silver dollars. Those two coins helped his family escape their hardship and start a new life. After things improved, Lü Shi came to return the silver dollars to my father, but my father told him to keep the money and use it to do something he truly wanted to do. Lü Shi had always wanted to repay my father, so he went to work at the pharmacy as an assistant, and through one thing and another, he eventually became what he is today.”

“What a remarkable turn of fate.” Shi Ting marveled. “If you feel Lü Shi can be trusted, then let’s leave this matter in his hands.”

“All right — tomorrow I’ll have Dihuai go to the main shop.”

“I hear that my lady’s business has been going splendidly of late.” Shi Ting smiled. “Your husband will have to rely on you more and more from here on.”

Shi Ting wasn’t wrong. Ever since the main shop was established, business had been growing stronger with each passing day. In Lü Shi’s own words, it would not be long before they could open two more branch locations.

The two red lanterns hanging at the gates of the Shi Mansion had come into view ahead, glowing bright and vivid against the night.

Hand in hand, they couldn’t help but share a smile.

“We should sneak out for late-night food more often.” Shi Ting teased her. “This really does feel quite wonderful.”

Yan Qing thought of the high walls of the Shi Mansion and promptly shook her head. “I am not climbing that wall again.”

Tonight’s climb had used up every last ounce of wall-climbing ability she possessed for a lifetime.

Shi Ting didn’t ask her when she had ever climbed walls to go eat — at the time he had first known her, she had been unable to walk, so she couldn’t have had such opportunities then, and even after she had regained the use of her legs, climbing walls should still have been beyond her.

It was one of her secrets, he supposed.

He was curious, but he would not press her.

That night, exhausted from all the wall-climbing, Yan Qing slept exceptionally well — so well that when Jing Zhi’s knock at the door finally reached her, she was still in her dreams eating noodles.

Shi Ting had already sat up, alert. “What’s happened?”

Dawn had not yet broken. The kerosene lamp on the table had only a last flicker of oil remaining.

“Young Master, it’s the Madam — something has happened to her.” Jing Zhi’s voice carried a note of urgency.

Yan Qing heard it too. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, and when her gaze met Shi Ting’s, his expression seemed to say: just as I expected.

Qian Lan had hanged herself.

By the time Shi Ting and Yan Qing arrived, Zhuo Xin Courtyard was in a state of frantic confusion — the household members and servants were moving in and out, every face heavy with distress.

“Where’s the doctor? When is the doctor coming?” The Marshal’s voice was sharp with fury and drenched in desperation.

“Marshal, the Seventh Young Madam has arrived.” Someone came forward to remind him. “The Seventh Young Madam has medical knowledge — why not let her take a look first?”

The Marshal, as if seizing on a ray of hope, strode quickly toward Yan Qing. “Yan Qing, come quickly — hurry, hurry, hurry.”

Yan Qing could see that the Marshal’s face was stricken with grief, his voice trembling as though he had lost something beyond price.

She walked swiftly to the bedside. Two maids were standing around Qian Lan, wiping their eyes, while she lay utterly still, as though she had stopped breathing.

“Madam, what on earth happened?”

Nanny Liu wiped her tears and explained. “Last night, Madam kept crying. The Marshal comforted her for a long time. We all thought she had finally fallen asleep, but when the Marshal woke this morning, Madam wasn’t in the room.”

Yan Qing could see a deep purple mark on Qian Lan’s throat, faintly textured — it looked like the kind of woven rope used for crafting.

“Nanny and the other servants searched everywhere at once, and we found Madam hanging in the side room next door. Everyone rushed to get her down. Fortunately, there was still a breath of life in her.”

Yan Qing checked Qian Lan’s breathing and pulse — both were weak, but not alarmingly so.

Qian Lan had likely not been hanging for long when she was found. She was simply unconscious for the time being.

What caught Yan Qing’s attention now were Qian Lan’s hands. She turned them over and examined the palms, finding a band of raw marks on each. The moment she saw them, everything became clear to her.

“Marshal, please don’t worry — Madam has only fainted. She will be fine.” Yan Qing straightened up. “Have someone bring rubbing alcohol and medicine for bruising to treat her wounds.”

Hearing that Qian Lan had only fainted, the Marshal seemed to let out a long-held breath of relief. “When will she wake up?”

“I can’t say for certain. For now, the best thing we can do is let her rest quietly.”

The room was packed with people — even without speaking, it felt suffocating.

“All right, all right.” The Marshal spoke quickly. “Everyone out — everyone out. Don’t disturb her.”

The crowd filed out one by one and gathered in the outer sitting room. By now the Old Madam had also arrived.

“What exactly happened?” the Old Madam asked urgently.

Nanny Liu, her eyes red, replied, “Madam has chosen death itself to prove her innocence. Old Madam, her devotion to Jing’er is witnessed by heaven and earth. Yet she was framed by a malicious hand, and with no way to clear her name through words alone, she had no option but to offer her life as proof.”

“What a foolish child — why couldn’t she think things through more carefully? Is there anything that can’t be discussed properly?”

Nanny Liu thought to herself that yesterday they had tried to discuss things properly, yet no one besides the Marshal had believed Qian Lan’s explanations.

“Old Madam.” A maid named Xique brought a small box forward and presented it to the Old Madam. “This is the sutra Madam spent last night copying for you. She wrote it in her own blood — she cut her finger to do it. Madam always said that sutras written this way are the most devout, that they carry the power to keep the Old Madam safe and well. Even in her final moments, her heart was full of filial devotion to the Old Madam. A person like that — how could she ever harm an innocent child?”

The Old Madam was deeply shaken. “Lan’er — Lan’er actually wrote a sutra in blood for me.”

“Old Madam, look — every stroke was written by Madam before she prepared to leave this world.”

The Old Madam took it quickly. The blood had dried, but still carried a faint, heavy metallic scent. Yet to the Old Madam’s eyes, what she saw was a heart full of devotion, sincerity, and pure filial love.

The Old Madam was profoundly moved — her form of address shifted directly to the intimate “Lan’er,” a clear sign of how deeply Qian Lan’s gesture had struck her. Qian Lan had diagnosed the remedy precisely.

“What a kind and filial child.” The Old Madam turned the pages of the sutra one by one, tears welling in her eyes. “How is she now?”

Xique choked back her tears. “The Seventh Young Madam says she will be fine — she has only fainted. If we had found her even a little later, she might have…”

Xique covered her face and broke into quiet sobs.

“Alas, this child — she just couldn’t think straight. Even so, there is never a reason to seek death.” The Old Madam shook her head in distress. “Has the doctor arrived yet?”

“Not yet, but he should be here soon.”

“Then send someone to hurry him along — the sooner the better.”

Shi Yutong had not yet fully woken up when someone knocked at her door. She replied with some impatience. “What is it?”

“Eighth Miss, something terrible — Madam has hanged herself.”

Hearing that Qian Lan had hanged herself, Shi Yutong’s eyes lit up and her drowsiness vanished completely. “Really? Is it true?”

She rolled out of bed immediately. “Is she dead? Did she die?”

The maid shook her head. “She was brought down in time. The doctor has just arrived.”

“She didn’t die?” Shi Yutong flew into a fury. “How could she not die? I think she never intended to die at all — she had herself rescued on purpose.”

“From what I heard, it was touch and go. If she hadn’t been found so early, she would have been gone.” The maid saw how angry Shi Yutong was and said softly, “From the look of things, it seems she really did mean to die.”

“Hurry — let’s go see.” Shi Yutong threw on a garment. “I refuse to believe she would throw away her life when everything was going fine for her. She must be putting on a show for the Marshal.”

“Miss, the Marshal is in a very poor mood right now — please don’t say too much, or his anger may fall on you.” The maid knew Shi Yutong’s nature and was afraid she might stir up trouble.

Shi Yutong shot her a glare. “Mind your own business. I know what I’m doing.”

When Shi Yutong arrived at Zhuo Xin Courtyard, calm had already been restored. She pulled aside a maid who was carrying hot water. “How is Qian Lan — alive or dead?”

—