A servant brought Haoyue to the room. He pushed the door open and said respectfully, “Miss, please come in. The official will be here shortly — please wait a moment.”

“Thank you for the trouble.” Haoyue smiled with a gentle tilt of her head, her manner putting the servant at ease at once. Seeing him smile, Haoyue stepped over the threshold with satisfaction.

The room was ordinary — she had seen far grander. She gave it only a brief sweep of her eyes before beginning to speculate about the true intentions of the Qisu Division’s leader. By now it was already mid-August, and this had to be about that matter, without a doubt.

Footsteps approached. Haoyue looked toward the door and drew in a few careful, subtle breaths through her nose, then rose to greet the arrival.

“This young woman pays her respects to the official.”

“No need for ceremony.” The voice carried through the mask was somewhat altered to begin with, and Chen Qing had deliberately changed the pitch further — it bore no resemblance at all to his natural voice.

“This is the first time this young woman has had the honor of meeting the official since coming to the capital. I wonder whether there has been a development in the matter in the south?”

Chen Qing sat down and motioned for her to do the same. “There has indeed been a development — only the outcome is somewhat different from what Miss Haoyue described.”

Haoyue was momentarily taken aback. In order to demonstrate her sincerity, she had, since arriving in the capital, stayed within this residence without taking a single step outside as the other party had requested. Word of flooding in the south had already been circulating in the capital, yet she had heard nothing of the specifics. “I wonder in what way it differs?”

“The flooding in the south was indeed severe — but nothing like what you described, Miss Haoyue, where the levees at Xiangyang broke and the dead numbered in the tens of thousands. According to information I have received, the number of deaths stands at one hundred and twenty-one.”

Haoyue covered her mouth with a light laugh. “This young woman is not at all surprised. The official cares deeply for the people — naturally, having received word from me, you would have devised some countermeasure. So let me ask it plainly: without your emergency measures, would the Xiangyang levees have broken? And if they had, would the dead and injured not have numbered in the tens of thousands?”

“How am I to answer for something that never came to pass? You should know that the proof of good faith concerns whether I can place my trust in you — what you have offered, miss, falls far short.”

Haoyue’s smile remained as bright as spring flowers. “Then what would be enough?”

Chen Qing did not answer immediately. After a pause, he said, “Since the miss is skilled in divination, I wonder whether you might be able to divine the future of the Great Qing dynasty?”

“The official asks something rather difficult of this young woman. Calculating the fate of a nation is no simple matter — even if I had such ability, I could not simply answer on the spot at your word.”

Chen Qing immediately seized on her slip. “So you are saying — you can do it!”

Haoyue lowered her head to drink her tea and offered no reply.

“It seems Miss Haoyue has her difficulties. Very well — I will not press you. Just share what you are able to share.”

From the room next door, Hua Zhi silently commended his cleverness. He had opened with something Haoyue would obviously not speak of even if she knew it — something she would hold tightly as a bargaining chip — and then stepped back and gave her room. Haoyue, now relaxed, was likely about to fall right into the trap.

Haoyue did indeed let out a breath of relief. This bargaining chip was far from ready to be handed over, and since the other party had already retreated, she naturally needed to say a little more to smooth over that brief tension. So she opened with something significant: “If this young woman were to say that the imperial house grows faint — would the official believe it?”

“Miss, you must watch your words!”

“Only before the official would I dare speak so freely. Since coming to the capital, this young woman has cast several divinations. The chaos of the hexagrams is unlike anything I have encountered in my life. Only one thing can be said with certainty: there is a malicious influence at the Emperor’s side — and it should be someone close to him, someone who shares his pillow. The official might as well start the investigation there.”

“I have noted it.”

Haoyue had not expected to offer such a significant piece of information and receive not a single word of praise in return. It left her feeling a little put out. She masked it by pretending to drink her tea, then continued: “There is another matter — this young woman received word of it some days ago. I had originally wanted to confirm it before speaking, but now that I am in the capital, it is rather inconvenient to do so. Informing the official seems just right. The General Wu at Yinshan Pass has been in poor health — I wonder whether the official is aware?”

“Oh? This too can be divined?”

“Not quite — this young woman came to know of it while in Yuzhou. The official may recall that I have several thousand followers. Cats have their routes and dogs have theirs; some of them are genuinely capable people. But as this young woman did not witness it firsthand, and does not have General Wu’s date of birth to work with for a calculation, I can only say that General Wu has had many physicians called to his residence — I cannot confirm whether he truly faces a great calamity.”

Hua Zhi’s mind suddenly jolted to life. Whether it was Tong Yi or Wu Yong, what Haoyue knew was not wrong — but the time at which she knew it was wrong. She did not know that Tong Yi’s identity as a member of the Chaoli tribe had already been exposed. She did not know that the poison in Wu Yong’s body had already been cured.

In other words, in the lifetime that Haoyue had previously lived through: at this point in time, Tong Yi had not yet been exposed, and Wu Yong was already on the verge of death, word of which had spread even throughout the capital. What did this mean? It meant that everything had happened earlier than it should have.

She suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Yanxi’s hand. Gu Yanxi gave it a gentle pat to calm her and made a hushing gesture.

Hua Zhi steadied herself. Of course. She herself was one variable. Because Yanxi and Shaoyao had accompanied her to Yinshan Pass, Wu Yong’s fatal poison had been discovered ahead of time and the danger resolved without intention, deepening the bond between Wu Yong and Yanxi. And furthermore, had Yanxi not gone with her a second time, not a single member of the Hua family would have gotten out.

And Haoyue herself was the second variable. It was her appearance that had caused Yuan Shifang to be exposed ahead of schedule, which had pushed the Chaoli tribe into the open prematurely, putting the entire court on heightened alert — which was why Yanxi had become so thorough about it, clearing out the Chaoli tribe’s hidden remnants in the Great Qing dynasty one after another.

Yet none of this was known to Haoyue. Up to this point, she had not yet developed a wide network of connections, and whatever she did have was in Yuzhou. As for the situation in the capital, she was completely in the dark.

If it were herself in that position, she would never have placed herself in the Qisu Division’s line of sight before she had the means to protect herself. Being watched by people like this, and relying only on the little knowledge in one’s head as leverage — it would be useless. If Haoyue was truly familiar with the Qisu Division, she should have understood that. So what was it that compelled her to be so reckless?

Haoyue ought to be a clever person. Yet judging by her behavior today, that cleverness was quite considerably diminished.

The exchange on the other side continued.

“There is one more matter this young woman is uncertain whether she should speak of.”

Chen Qing gestured for her to continue. “Miss Haoyue may speak freely. Whatever you say, I will give it careful consideration.”

“This young woman is bold to ask — may the official please lean a little closer.”

This was truly the intentions of Sima Zhao laid bare for all to see. Hua Zhi glanced at Yanxi. He was reclining sideways, one hand propping up his cheek, an eyebrow raised at her in what looked like a puzzled expression — yet somehow the pose was rather fetching.

Chen Qing rose and stepped closer. Haoyue lowered her head with a touch of shyness, deliberately letting a stretch of pale, smooth neck become visible — particularly striking when viewed from above.

With one hand lightly covering the corner of her mouth, she murmured a few words into his ear. Chen Qing was visibly startled. After a pause, he said slowly, “Those words, Miss Haoyue, are best kept buried in your heart forever.”

“This young woman stands by what she has said. It is only because it is you that I dare speak so impertinently — of things I ought and ought not to say. Whether you believe it or not is your affair entirely. I will not trouble the official any further. I am quite content to stay here, and if the official has any doubts, I am at your disposal at any time.”

Author’s note: Family gathering today — a lively, rowdy day. This chapter was only squeezed out in the evening, so just one update today.