Until returning to the Cheng residence, Shaoshang remained silent throughout, leaning against the carriage wall in a daze.

Cheng Yang worried and asked, “Did some young lady at the banquet insult you with her words?” Today she had made several kindred-spirit handkerchief friends and had been happily chatting in a corner, not paying attention to others.

Shaoshang scoffed, “Even if they had twice the courage?!”

Madam Xiao also noticed her daughter’s low spirits and asked, “Did some elder from the Lou family give you a hard time?” Lady Lou had clearly been persuaded by her husband, and today all the female family members showed no further disrespectful words or behavior; but in such a large family, there were inevitably a few thorns.

Shaoshang said proudly, “Who would dare? I’d make A’Yao disown such relatives for life!”

Unable to get any answers from her questions, Madam Xiao could only let her daughter return to her room. At dinner, seeing she was still listless and returned to her quarters after barely eating a few bites with her head hanging down. That night, a clear and bright flute melody suddenly rang out from this courtyard section of the Cheng residence, melodious and low, like weeping and lamenting. The tune was not sorrowful, but rather expressed a kind of confusion and melancholy about not knowing the way home.

Madam Xiao couldn’t sleep. She lay with her eyes open listening for a long time, then suddenly got up to push aside the bed curtain and go out, but was grabbed from behind by her husband.

Cheng Shi said with his eyes closed, “I advise you not to go.”

Madam Xiao frowned, “I’ve felt something was wrong since we left the Lou residence. No, I must go ask.”

Cheng Shi didn’t even open his eyelids: “If you ask, do you think Niaoniao will tell you?”

Madam Xiao paused, then said, “Then I’ll go ask the maids serving her.”

“Don’t go either. With Niaoniao’s perceptiveness, the moment you ask on your front foot, she’ll know on her back foot. Do you think she’ll be happy about you questioning the people around her?” Cheng Shi changed his sleeping position. “You two mother and daughter have finally eased relations somewhat recently, don’t start fighting again.”

“Aren’t you worried she has something on her mind?”

“Except for ignorant children and foolish people, who doesn’t have things on their mind? Niaoniao is about to be married off, can’t she feel some spring sorrow and autumn sadness?”

“It’s spring sorrow and autumn sadness, not ‘east sorrow and west sadness.'”

“Fine, fine, sorrow over whatever is fine, as long as she doesn’t hurt her health. Alas, Father still left too early. Niaoniao has only been learning the flute for how long, yet already plays so well, making one’s heart ache listening. If Father were still here, we could have kept Niaoniao in the capital without concern. Perhaps she could even become a great master renowned throughout the realm!”

Madam Xiao said nothing, only after a moment said, “So you’re just going to let her keep playing? Can you fall asleep?”

“Why couldn’t I sleep? In the past when Father was unhappy, he loved to play some sad and bitter tunes in the middle of the night. Sometimes playing the flute, sometimes the zither, sometimes even beating drums and cymbals. Didn’t we siblings all sleep just fine! Alright, you lie down too.”

Madam Xiao sat at the bedside for a long while before thinking: The late uncle-in-law truly had it difficult.

Fortunately, Shaoshang had lived communally for many years before, so her bedroom etiquette hadn’t been completely eaten by dogs. After finishing one melody, she put out the lights and went to sleep. The next day she woke up full of energy again, showing not half a sign of worry.

Lou Yao had originally wanted to visit daily again, but even Lou Tapu’s good temper couldn’t bear it anymore. He grabbed his nephew and threw him into the study to read books, only allowing him to visit the Cheng family once every five or six days—who hasn’t been a son-in-law before? Currying favor with the wife’s family also needs to have limits. Acting like he’d never married a bride in his previous life, completely losing face for the Lou clan. Even those waiting at the North Palace gate seeking recommendations for office were more reserved than his own nephew!

Then Shaoshang miraculously discovered that ever since Lou Yao couldn’t visit daily, all her elder brothers became even-tempered and good-natured.

“Do you all look down on A’Yao?” Shaoshang couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard she thought, so she secretly asked her twin brother.

Cheng Shaogong said, “We don’t look down on Young Master Lou, we look down on you. Every time you see him, you smile like the neighbor’s Er Wang biting into a chicken leg.” Er Wang was a yellow dog.

The result of this conversation was naturally Shaoshang flying into a rage, dumping an entire box of chess pieces on Cheng Shaogong’s head, and never again wanting her elder brothers to accompany her when going out.

Madam Xiao had just praised Shaoshang a few words in front of her sons when Cheng Shaogong, sporting an injury on his forehead, began slandering her: “Mother, Niaoniao is afraid that managing household affairs will interfere with her going out to handle her own business. She’s been going out all the time these past few days, and won’t let us accompany her!” Previously it was always them brothers who accompanied their younger sister out!

Who knew Madam Xiao wasn’t angry at all, and said leisurely, “Niaoniao has maids and servants following her, what could happen? She can’t very well bring home another suitor, can she?”

Cheng Song’s mouth moved, and he exchanged a glance with his eldest brother Cheng Yong. The two brothers lowered their heads and said nothing—because they had once seen Yuan Shen escorting their younger sister home, only parting at the alley entrance.

Afterward, they brothers had secretly asked Shaoshang about it, but Shaoshang looked completely open and aboveboard: “We only met twice, there was no third time. We were just discussing uncle and aunt’s matters.”

Yuan Shen was still Yuan Shen, his style of doing things unchanged at all. He again had people watching the Cheng residence gate, and when he saw Cheng Shaoshang’s ostentatious golden-red small carriage come out, he had servants follow along and report back to him—meetings between talented scholars and beautiful ladies should be very pleasing to the eye, if only the locations of these two meetings weren’t so bizarre.

The first time he caught the young lady was in an iron forge at a corner of the city. Facing the red-hot blazing iron furnace, both the talented scholar and beautiful lady had flushed cheeks and curling hair from the heat, like a pair of pitch-black charcoal-burning elderly couple.

The second meeting was at a mill not far outside the city. Facing the grain husks and fine flour flying in the air, both the talented scholar and beautiful lady were covered head to face in powder white and ash yellow. They could directly take over managing the mill after changing clothes.

“Can’t you go to a bookshop or gold store or something? Even a flower shop or cosmetics store would be good.” On the way back to the Cheng residence, Yuan Shen rode his horse alongside the carriage, feeling very speechless.

“Did I invite you to go?” Shaoshang had no good feelings toward the guy who disturbed her field research. “If you have something to say, just say it! Last time you said something, oh right, you said Master Huangfu had settled down in the mountains. So what? Are you asking me to deliver letters again? I won’t do it!”

“You didn’t listen to a single thing I said!”

Shaoshang rolled her eyes and said, “That’s because you didn’t stay by the iron furnace for even half a moment before escaping out.” During that meeting, including the pleasantries outside the iron forge, the two of them didn’t even exchange ten sentences total before Young Master Yuan was almost coughing up his lungs from the smoke.

Yuan Shen felt depressed. He had never been in an iron forge before, alright? People were practically roasting, couldn’t even catch their breath.

“I’m not asking you to deliver letters. Master just needs to know that Madam Sang is doing well. If there’s anywhere he can help, since Madam Sang and your uncle can’t say it easily, you can quietly tell me. Master Huangfu will help if he can… Why are you looking at me like that… There’s no other meaning, it’s just that Master wants to feel better in his own heart.”

Shaoshang smiled, “That’s more like it. What Aunt did for the Huangfu family back then was more than just a drop in the bucket. If Master can understand this, that’s good. Then I’ll accept on behalf of Aunt!” Of course she had to agree to such a practical matter.

“Also…” Yuan Shen looked melancholy, “I also have to go view marriage prospects now.”

Shaoshang laughed heartily, “This is proper business. The elderly all say, the more you pick and choose, the less good ones remain. Better to cut the Gordian knot. When the time comes, A’Yao and I will come to your door to offer congratulations!”

Yuan Shen felt angry in his heart, his jade-like cheeks slightly flushing red. He said resentfully, “No family’s Gordian knot could be like yours. As soon as someone proposed marriage, you immediately agreed. If I had known earlier, if I had known earlier…” As he spoke, he clamped his legs against the horse’s belly, forcefully turned the horse’s head, and quickly galloped away, leaving only the sound of hoofbeats at the alley entrance.

Shaoshang touched her nose, pretending she understood nothing, and happily returned to the residence.

Several more days passed, arriving at the most splendid spring time of the year, when a scholar from the National Academy suddenly presented several old bamboo slips to the Emperor bearing a prophecy that seemed to mean ‘In the east there is calamity, the one who responds shall be most spiritual.’

The Emperor took this very seriously and immediately summoned several trusted ministers for discussion, reaching the conclusion—the character for ‘calamity’ has a mountain top, so it should be Mount Tugao to the east of the capital, requiring sacrifice of the mountain spirits.

Originally the Emperor should have personally led a grand hunt, but the Emperor was benevolent and expressed that since spring was the season when all things reproduce, excessive slaughter was inappropriate, so he changed from offering hunted game to ritual sacrifice, presenting various grains and seeds to the mountain spirits. The scholars naturally rose up in praise, extolling how wise and benevolent the Emperor was, and how grain seeds were inherently more sacred than game, and so forth.

With such arrangements, the Emperor brought the imperial consorts and the pitifully few members of the imperial clan, plus a heap of officials to go together to Mount Tugao for the sacrifice—Old Man Cheng was also selected. Although this was called a sacrifice, to Shaoshang it looked more like a large-scale spring outing and outdoor feast, because the selected officials could also bring their families.

The Cheng family had few members. Excluding Madame Cheng and Cheng Xiaozhu who couldn’t go, this trip consisted of just the husband and wife, plus the three brothers and Cheng Yang and Shaoshang. After meeting up with the Wan family’s convoy at the city gate, they traveled for half a day and finally arrived at Mount Tugao.

They weren’t particularly late. By this time, the foot of the mountain was already covered with human footprints and horse tracks everywhere. Looking from afar, with the most eye-catching black-bordered vermilion and gold-topped great tent in the very center as the axis, private tents of various colors spread out in all four directions, extending for several miles.

Like the area of over a dozen tents belonging to the Yuhou family, all were uniformly indigo-blue brocade tents inlaid with ivory-white carved clan emblems, noble and dignified; like General Wu who wasn’t particular about fine details, his area had a riot of colorful tents of all colors piled together; and like General Han who loved to show off his refinement, his family’s dozen or so tents all used green bamboo and green cloth, giving a verdant appearance at a glance that actually seemed quite cool.

There were also those who loved to play around, like the Empress’s younger brother Marquis Xuan, who actually decorated his tent like a thatched hut made of straw, but looking closely revealed it was covered with bundles of gold and silver silk, provoking both envy and laughter from everyone, and also drawing a thorough angry scolding from the Empress. Marquis Xuan could only dismantle it overnight and re-pitch an ordinary tent.

The Wan and Cheng families as usual pitched their tents together. The two families laughed and chatted together over meals, but unfortunately the next morning required superstitious ceremonies, so that night they couldn’t drink alcohol or eat meat, only having some vegetable cakes and fish soup made from fish and shrimp just caught from the stream at the mountain’s base. Shaoshang didn’t know if it was psychological, but she always felt this sacrifice seemed more form than content.

Before dawn, Wan Songbai and Cheng Shi dressed neatly in their official robes and hurried to the imperial tent, while the other family members stayed in place, following the loud gongs and drums in performing kneeling, kowtowing and prayer rituals, making a ruckus for a whole morning before finishing.

Probably due to anemia, Shaoshang rested in the tent for a moment supporting her dizzy head. When she came out, everything had changed—

Wan Qiqi and Cheng Song went to participate in the archery and horse racing competition with prizes set by Old Marquis Ban. Cheng Yong originally wanted to find some classmates to discuss literature, but was dragged away by the Yin family siblings who had come to find him earlier. Cheng Shaogong originally wanted to stay in the tent reading, but who knew that out of habit before opening his book, he cast a divination and got the precise omen of ‘should not remain in place before the first quarter of the hour of Shen.’ He touched his nose and could only go out to wander about.

Madam Xiao and Madam Wan sat facing each other chatting about domestic matters, with Cheng Yang as usual obediently accompanying them. Seeing Shaoshang come out, she even told her that Lou Yao had come looking for her, but seeing she was resting didn’t disturb her, and had also been pulled away by Second Brother Cheng.

Shaoshang thought for a moment and decided not to waste such fine spring weather. She put on her veiled hat, mounted her beloved milk-spotted little flower horse, and leisurely wandered off alone without any destination. Along the way she encountered laughing young ladies, groups of scholars, and even nearly startled several pairs of wild mandarin ducks. Passing by a cluster of flowering trees, she even picked several branches and wove them into a garland to wear on the little flower horse’s head, which as it shook its head looked increasingly silly and cute, making Shaoshang laugh.

Since childhood she didn’t like crowded places, so naturally she rode away from Mount Tugao toward the surrounding hills. Who knew that after riding not too far, she actually saw Yuan Shen and a group of young men dressed as literati cooking wine and reciting literature in a pavilion by a stream ahead. Fortunately she was wearing a veiled hat and no one recognized her, so she quickly patted the little flower horse’s neck and turned to go another direction.

As she rode she thought, why was it so easy for people to run into her? Because she always liked to go near water! If she didn’t want to encounter acquaintances again, perhaps she should change her thinking and go in the opposite direction, for example… Shaoshang looked up and saw on a nearby hillside there was a small tower-style wooden pagoda.

Shaoshang’s heart stirred. She had been wanting to see what this scene with the Son of Heaven’s camp and nobles everywhere looked like in all its grandeur, but unfortunately her father’s official rank wasn’t high enough to get close for a look. Better to view it from a high vantage point instead.

Her mind made up, Shaoshang quickly galloped over. Riding to within a few dozen zhang of the pagoda, the hillside was strewn with broken rocks and the path was steep and rugged. She pitied that the little flower horse was young with tender hooves, so she tied it in a nearby grove of trees and walked up the mountain herself on foot, lifting her skirts.

This hill looked small from afar, but climbing it actually took considerable effort. Shaoshang climbed until she was gasping for breath before reaching the base of the tower. She saw the tower gate was inscribed with the two characters ‘Goose Return,’ then pushed the door and entered while calling out ‘Is anyone here?’ After shouting at the top of her lungs over ten times, Shaoshang discovered there was actually no one in the tower, so she turned back to close the tower door and carefully walked inside.

This was a new tower that nearby villagers had pooled money to build in order to enshrine the idol of a recently emerging religion. Though the interior carvings of the entire tower weren’t very fine or elaborate, the wood was solid and new, the tung oil paint was shiny, and it was swept very clean. So Shaoshang climbed up level by level, climbing a full seven levels before reaching the tower’s top.

Shaoshang stroked her violently heaving chest, gasping for breath while examining the small stone statue enshrined at the tower top that looked somewhat familiar. She couldn’t help but laugh—this was right! Though at present this stone statue still retained some primitive ferocity, after several hundred or thousand more years of evolution, it would become kind-browed and benevolent, chanting “Amitabha!”

Shaoshang originally wanted to push open a window to look, but raising her head she discovered the roof actually had a skylight propped open.

Before being a delinquent girl in training, she was first and foremost a mischievous child. Her tree-climbing and wall-scaling skills could rank in the town’s top three. She immediately tucked up her skirts, climbed up along the railings and side posts, and her slender but trained body actually nimbly climbed up.

Passing through the skylight and flipping onto the roof, the warm spring sunlight bathed her entire body. Shaoshang contentedly took a deep breath, feeling thoroughly comfortable. Looking around, she saw below Mount Tugao a mass of people, horses and tents small as ants and toys, looking like a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors in the gorgeous sunlight.

This feeling was truly alluring. Shaoshang simply lay flat on the gently sloping roof, covering her face with her sleeve, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility and warm sunbathing. Who knew, lying there she drowsily fell asleep. When she woke again, the sun had already tilted west.

Shaoshang slapped her forehead with an “Aiya.” She remembered Madam Xiao had instructed that the Emperor would feast the ministers tonight, and the Empress would feast the ministers’ families, and she must return before the second quarter of the hour of You. By that time if everyone was seated but she was missing, though it was a group banquet, if someone with ulterior motives saw this and filed a complaint, the trouble would be considerable.

Without a watch, Shaoshang didn’t know what time it actually was. She quickly lifted the skylight to prop it up, then smoothly climbed down by the original route. Before leaving the seventh level she even bowed to the stone statue. Who knew that just as she reached the sixth level, she faintly heard voices in the side room.

—This tower had the most common hexagonal structure. Except for the seventh level which was a small pavilion enshrining the stone statue, the six levels below were all the same size with the same construction. The hexagonal flat level had one small portion used for the stairway passage, with the remaining area divided in half—one half was the side room, the other half was the flat ground leading to the railed balcony.

Shaoshang was confused, still unable to make sense of the situation. Climbing along the stair railing to listen closer, she heard two people talking inside, their words not very clear:

“…The Crown Prince was quick to react this time, finding someone to explain that prophecy within two hours, escaping disaster…”

“…If only… that would be good… With such temperament how can he bear the position of Crown Prince… Deposing the heir apparent is imperative…!”

A sheet of cold sweat ran down Shaoshang’s back. She became frightened. This fear was different from before, as if a block of cold cast iron was stuffed into her chest cavity, weighing heavily, spreading cold throughout. Not knowing how long she stood frozen, she suppressed the frantically clamoring urge to flee and carefully, lightly retreated backward, hoping to return to the seventh level to hide.

Who knew that just as she approached the window sill, a strong, pale hand reached down from above. Shaoshang almost screamed out loud, forcefully covering her mouth with both hands, not letting out even a single sound—looking up, it was actually a familiar and handsome face!

Ling Buyi had half his body clinging to a beam. Seeing Shaoshang below, he also seemed startled, then suddenly smiled. He was already extremely beautiful to begin with, and at this moment with his relaxed smile, all the spring colors of the mountains couldn’t match the brightness of his expression.

Shaoshang looked dazzled, actually forgetting her fear, and returned a silly smile.

At this time, the side room finally detected the movement outside. One person said in a deep voice, “Who’s there!” Speaking, he was about to push the door to come out and see who it was.

Shaoshang was frightened again, her heart leaping to her throat. Ling Buyi considered briefly, then swiftly leaped down, reached out to grab Shaoshang, then carrying her, flew out of the tower!

This time Shaoshang finally couldn’t help wanting to scream loudly, but because she was terrified beyond measure, she actually couldn’t make a sound, only able to frantically shout in her heart—this is the sixth floor, the sixth floor! Do you think you’re filming a martial arts movie? Without wire work, what martial arts movie are you filming?!