After Li Wu and Li Kun left, Li Que walked out the door carrying a straw hat and a fishing rod.

Shen Zhuxi noticed the water bucket hanging from the wall inside and asked, “Are you going fishing?”

“Elder Brother’s assigned task — not only must I protect Sister-in-law properly, I also have to catch a bucket of fish to save for grilling in the evening.” Li Que said with a cheerful grin. “Has Sister-in-law ever fished before?”

Shen Zhuxi shook her head honestly.

As for anyone fishing in the imperial gardens — only the late Emperor and the various imperial princes had that privilege. A princess fishing would only become the subject of ridicule.

“If Sister-in-law is interested, perhaps you’d like to give it a try?”

Li Que’s invitation was sincere. Shen Zhuxi had nothing better to do anyway, and readily agreed to join him.

One extra person meant one extra small stool. She was glad to help Li Que carry things, but Li Que refused to let her help no matter what.

He carried a stool in each hand, with the wooden bucket hanging from one arm and the fishing rod tucked under his armpit — laden from head to toe — and walked downstream along the bank until he found a spot where the current ran a little calmer, settling down in a shaded area there.

Shen Zhuxi sat on the other stool and watched as he skillfully baited the fishhook.

Li Que reached into the wooden bucket and pulled out a bamboo tube, then pinched a wriggling, twisting earthworm between his fingers. The hook slipped through lightly, piercing the soft body of the earthworm with ease. The earthworm, which had been squirming and writhing just moments before, seemed to feel the pain and immediately coiled itself into a ball around the hook.

Shen Zhuxi could not help but furrow her brow.

Li Que swung the fishing rod out with force, sending the hook sailing smoothly into the center of the river — along with the earthworm impaled upon it, which vanished beneath the surface.

Li Que sat down on his small stool and said, “Fishing is a tedious business. So as not to frighten the fish away, I won’t be chatting with Sister-in-law. If Sister-in-law gets bored, you’re welcome to fetch a book to pass the time, or feel free to head off on your own.”

“Of course — please don’t worry about me.” Shen Zhuxi said quickly.

The two of them sat on their stools in silence for quite some time. After the hook sank beneath the surface of the water, it gave no sign of activity whatsoever. Occasionally a flash of a fish’s shadow appeared in the clear water below, but the fish seemed to know that danger lurked near the hook and refused to take the bait.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Shen Zhuxi could not help but shift on her small stool.

The midday sun was at its most brutal. Although the shade of the trees offered some shelter, the temperature was still climbing rapidly. And with nothing to occupy her, Shen Zhuxi gradually began to feel the urge to leave.

Li Que’s attention seemed to be fixed entirely on the water’s surface, as though he were paying her no mind whatsoever — yet the very moment restlessness stirred in her heart, he was the first to notice her impatience.

“Sister-in-law, do you know what the most important thing about fishing is?” he said quietly.

“Technique?” Shen Zhuxi offered.

Li Que shook his head, his gaze still resting on the motionless fishing line.

“Patience.” He spoke as though he were talking about fishing, and yet as though he were speaking of something far more serious. “The patience to remain still for a long, long time — waiting for the one decisive strike.”

Before his words had finished, the fishing line suddenly trembled. Ripples spread across the water in concentric rings — something beneath the surface was pulling hard at the hook.

Li Que immediately began to reel in the line. Shen Zhuxi held her breath and watched the surface of the water surge and roll. Whatever had been on her mind about Li Que’s odd manner of speaking earlier was forgotten entirely.

A moment later, a green carp appeared in Li Que’s bucket.

Shen Zhuxi peered curiously at the carp moving quietly in the bucket, its gills fluttering. After Li Que cast the fishing rod out again, he asked out of the blue, “Does Sister-in-law like small animals?”

“How did you know?”

“I heard it from Elder Brother,” Li Que said with a smile. “Visiting a sow that had just given birth — and bringing a gift, no less.”

Shen Zhuxi smiled with a trace of embarrassment.

She did genuinely like all manner of small animals — excepting those with an appearance too jarring on the senses, like bugs, rats, and snakes. Years of life deep within the palace had taught her clearly that dealing with animals was far easier than dealing with people.

An animal was simply an animal. Looking into their eyes, she could read their intentions — unlike people, who might be sitting right across from you and yet remain utterly unreadable: whether they were pleased or angry, whether in the very next moment they would offer you a warm smile or turn and walk away in a huff.

She gazed at the green carp, its scales clear and gleaming, and said with quiet wistfulness, “When I was still in the palace, there was a white Persian cat… Princess of Yue kept it, and I looked after it on her behalf. After the palace fell, I have no idea whether it is safe and well today.”

Li Que offered comfort. “Cats find their way through life more easily than people do. Sister-in-law need not worry — who’s to say it isn’t still the pampered favorite of the new palace?”

“I hope so…” Shen Zhuxi sighed.

She lifted her gaze and found herself looking directly at the red pit on Li Que’s face. Looking more carefully, she realized this was not a defect he had been born with — it looked far more like something that had been gouged away by human hands.

“Did I startle Sister-in-law?” Li Que was like a mind reader — she hadn’t said a word, and yet he had already spoken up with thoughtful consideration. “I have the fishing rod in hand and it’s not very convenient to move — would Sister-in-law trouble herself to come sit on the other side?”

“It’s all right… I’m not afraid.” Shen Zhuxi hastened to clarify. Li Que did not press any further.

Shen Zhuxi’s gaze kept drifting back involuntarily to the pit on his cheek. If not for that mark, Li Que would surely have been a man of striking looks known far and wide. If this injury was indeed inflicted by another person, what could possibly have happened to cost him the flesh of his cheek?

The perceptive Li Que could certainly guess what she was thinking at that very moment — yet he did not open his mouth to answer her unspoken question. And since he did not, Shen Zhuxi asked nothing.

Everyone has their own secrets. She was no exception.

After the first fish took the bait, the second followed in short order. Just as Li Que was working to remove the hook from a lively, thrashing carp, a spirited voice drew close behind them.

“In a fine mood today, I see — still here fishing. Give me a couple, won’t you?”

“Miss Sui?”

Shen Zhuxi turned in surprise and found Sui Rui walking toward them carrying a bundle wrapped in lotus leaves. Sui Rui was wearing the same clothes she’d had on earlier that morning. Perhaps to make it easier to work at the stove, she had worn dark, subdued colors every time they’d met over these past few days — the polar opposite of Jiu Niang, who was always in vibrant red. In some ways she and Shen Zhuxi, who tended toward pale, plain colors herself, were not unlike each other.

“I brought roasted chicken to trade for a few of your fish — that’s not too much to ask, is it?” Sui Rui said.

“Not at all,” Li Que said with a smile, “only… what about Elder Brother’s braised pig trotters?”

“Right here.” Sui Rui rubbed her stomach and smacked her lips. “Not bad — Jiu Niang’s skill is as consistent as ever.”

She lowered her hand from her stomach and shot Li Que a sideways look — the expression of someone who already knew the answer and was just asking to make a point.

“Anything that falls into my hands and belongs to Li Wu — don’t expect to get it back!”

Li Que said with an amused shake of his head, “It’s just as well you ate it — consider it Elder Brother’s way of making amends to you, Miss Sui. As for what happened in the past, please be generous and let it go this once.”

“Forget it!” Sui Rui said immediately. “And you — don’t think I don’t know it was you who knocked my father down, leaving him bedridden for two whole months. You and Li Wu both — I’ll curse you every single time I see you!”

“Whatever makes Miss Sui happy.” Li Que said with a helpless smile.

“You just sit there and catch fish for me — it’s the least you can do! I have something to say to Shen Zhuxi—” Sui Rui suddenly looked toward Shen Zhuxi. “You, come with me.”

“Don’t go too far — Elder Brother gave me instructions to look after Sister-in-law.” Li Que said.

“We’ll be right in the house!” Sui Rui said with a disgruntled look. “I’m not going to eat her!”

After Shen Zhuxi followed Sui Rui into the bamboo hut, Sui Rui cast a look around the interior as she made her way to the table and sat down.

“Looks run-down on the outside, but it’s decent enough inside.” she said.

“Li Que spent all morning cleaning — it’s all thanks to him.” Shen Zhuxi said with a smile. “Let me make you a cup of tea.”

Sui Rui waved a hand. “No need for tea — plain water is fine.”

Li Wu had boiled a kettle of water before leaving and set it aside at home. By the time Shen Zhuxi came back with the water poured, Sui Rui had already unwrapped the lotus leaf bundle.

The bulging parcel contained two roasted chickens — one whole, and one that was only half remaining.

Sui Rui beckoned her over with a wave. “Sit down and share the chicken with me.”

She went straight in with her hands, tearing off a drumstick and eating it without ceremony. Whatever Shen Zhuxi had been about to say about where to wash one’s hands had no chance of leaving her lips.

Shen Zhuxi went to wash her own hands and came back, then used her chopsticks to pull apart a chicken wing and ate it.

Sui Rui watched the way she ate as though she were looking at something altogether remarkable, not blinking once.

“Is that how all the women from the palace eat?” Sui Rui asked.

“…Not all of them, exactly.” Shen Zhuxi said vaguely.

Nobody visits without a reason, and Sui Rui’s sudden appearance today certainly had a purpose — but since she didn’t broach the subject, Shen Zhuxi could hardly bring it up herself. She could only keep her company and share in that half of the roasted chicken.

She had eaten not long ago at noon, and before she even finished the one chicken wing, she was so full she set down her chopsticks.

“You’re already full?” Sui Rui stared at her in disbelief.

“I ate the midday meal not long ago.” Shen Zhuxi explained.

“The midday meal…” Sui Rui repeated her words, then continued, “This half a roasted chicken was just freshly grilled today. The two of us will finish it — don’t let those three stinky men have any of it.”

She gestured with the drumstick bone toward the other whole roasted chicken resting on the lotus leaf.

“That one’s been sitting out for three nights — it didn’t sell. It hasn’t gone bad yet, but it’s close. When Li Wu gets back later, give him that one to eat.”

Shen Zhuxi hesitated and said nothing. Sui Rui paid no mind to her hesitation, and with her clean left hand — the one not holding the drumstick — she pulled something out and placed it on the table.

It was the small bundle of cloth scraps that Li Kun had tossed to her that morning.

Since Shen Zhuxi already knew what was inside, she looked at the cloth bundle without moving.

“Where did Li Kun go?” Sui Rui asked.

“He went out with Li Wu — they said they were going to the neighboring town to pick up some things.” Shen Zhuxi said.

“Li Kun used to throw things at me quite often. I never opened any of them.” Sui Rui said. “Looking back now, I must have missed quite a lot of maltose sweets.”

Shen Zhuxi knew these two were unlikely to come to anything, but that didn’t stop her from falling into a maternal frame of mind and speaking up on Li Kun’s behalf.

“Li Kun is not a bad person at heart. He just has the temperament of a child — he’s not good at expressing himself…”

“I know—” Sui Rui paused, then said, “I know that now.”

A flicker of self-reproach crossed Sui Rui’s face. She seemed unaccustomed to saying such things, and her gaze shifted away from Shen Zhuxi, fixing on the half-eaten drumstick in her hand.

“Before… I didn’t pay him much mind, and I never treated him any differently from anyone else. I was too careless and inattentive. He’s not quite all there, and I shouldn’t have held things against him the way I did…”

“Miss Sui—” Shen Zhuxi cut her off. “I hope you’ll continue treating Li Kun the same way as always — as if he’s not slow at all, the same way you’d treat anyone else. Scold him when he deserves it, say what you have to say. I think that’s exactly what Li Kun himself would want.”

She had wondered before why Li Kun was drawn to Sui Rui. Now she was beginning to understand.

If there was anyone in the town who did not treat Li Kun as someone slow-witted, it had to be Li Wu and Sui Rui. Her own kindness toward Li Kun was tinged with pity. And as for Li Que — she could sense, in private moments, a certain half-heartedness in the way he treated Li Kun.

Li Kun’s mind might not be quick, but his heart was open and clear. He saw things more clearly than any of them.

“…Is that really true?” Sui Rui frowned with lingering uncertainty. “I always thought my kind of personality wasn’t something people found likable.”

“I can’t speak for others, but I can say with certainty that Li Kun likes it — and I like it too.” Shen Zhuxi said earnestly. “Miss Sui is frank and broad-minded. Talking with you always feels remarkably easy and relaxed.”

“Since you say so, then I won’t change — at my age, even if I wanted to change my temperament, it wouldn’t be easy. And besides, I’m my family’s sole heir. If I really went and developed a mild-mannered personality like yours, my old father would be worried sick again.” Sui Rui suddenly looked at Shen Zhuxi directly. “Actually, I quite admire you. In this town, a woman whose husband isn’t dead and yet has come out to work for herself — that’s a rare thing. If you run into any trouble out here, you can come find me. I know a few people in town, and I might be able to help. “

Touched by her goodwill, Shen Zhuxi immediately rose to express her gratitude.

“You can say thanks without getting up — sit down!” Sui Rui pressed her back onto the stool with her left hand. “You’ve come out here to make your own way, so that puts you in the same category as me and Jiu Niang. Jiu Niang has a loose tongue, but her heart is good. You can come to us with anything that troubles you. It’s like how men like to band together and form trade guilds and things — we women who have come out to make our own way already have it hard enough. Naturally we should help one another. I may not seem easy to get along with at first glance, but as long as you’re good to me, I won’t short-change you.”

Sui Rui’s words made Shen Zhuxi genuinely happy. It was not that she was coveting the promise of help that Sui Rui had extended.

In the palace, whether it was the concubines or the other princesses — her own sisters — most of them had shown her little warmth. Partly because she had a mother consort who had fallen from the Emperor’s favor through her own faults, and partly because she had a fiancé so perfect that not a single flaw could be found in him.

But since leaving the palace, she had encountered one act of goodwill from a fellow woman after another. They did not think her clumsy; they did not think her ignorant. They reached out their hands to her on their own initiative —

Shen Zhuxi wanted to be their friend, yet feared being presumptuous. She could only sit there in silence, suppressing the wave of emotion surging through her.

To compensate for the words she was unable to speak, she began eating the chicken wing with hearty, generous bites.

Human potential knows no limits — filled with a deep sense of gratitude, she and Sui Rui somehow managed between them to finish off that half of the roasted chicken.

This had direct consequences in the form of a ridiculous muddle that evening.