The Marquis of Zhongyong’s mansion was very close to Manjusri Temple, and by the time Yun Xi arrived, Cheng Chang was still on his way.

The incense-burning today was indeed at its peak—even though noon had already passed, the temple was still crowded with worshippers coming and going.

Thinking that once the imperial edict arrived she would have to lead troops to suppress the unrest in the outskirts of the capital—ten days at the least, over a month at the most—Yun Xi took advantage of the free time to go into the prayer hall and ask for a blessing of good fortune.

It was already the start of autumn, though the days were still within the dog days of summer, and it grew rather hot past noon. After finishing her prayers, Yun Xi went to sit in the shade beneath an old tree just outside the temple gate.

She had only just sat down when she heard someone call from behind her, “Captain Yun.”

Yun Xi turned to look and saw a man descending the stone steps from the temple gate—it was Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye wasn’t in official robes today, but dressed in plain dark-blue silk, looking quite dashing. As he drew near, he asked Yun Xi, “What brings Captain Yun here today?”

Yun Xi said, “Oh, I came to ask for a talisman of safety.”

“Coming to Manjusri Temple for a safety talisman?” Cheng Ye was puzzled.

Yun Xi nodded. “The imperial edict will arrive today or tomorrow, and I’ll be leaving the capital. I can’t make it to any of the farther temples, and this one is close, so I came here.”

Cheng Ye smiled. “Ah, I see.” He thought for a moment. “Well, that works out nicely—in a few days the imperial clan will be going to Baiyun Temple to offer sacrifices to Heaven and pray for a good harvest. The incense there is said to be very efficacious. I’ll ask for a talisman for you there, and give it to you when you return from putting down the unrest.”

Great Sui had an imperial temple called Mingyin Temple, and by rights the imperial clan’s sacrifices to Heaven ought to be held there. But roughly twelve years ago, something had gone terribly wrong at Mingyin Temple—no one knew exactly what, only that it was said lives had been lost.

Once blood had been spilled in the imperial temple, it was gradually abandoned, and over the years, even the imperial family had taken to praying at Baiyun Temple instead.

Seeing that Cheng Ye meant to pray for her good fortune, Yun Xi’s first instinct was to decline. But hearing the easy sincerity in his tone, and knowing it came from good will, the words of refusal caught in her throat, and she swallowed them back. Instead she asked, “Why has the young prince come to Manjusri Temple today?”

“I have a close friend who’s sitting the provincial examination this year. I’m off duty today, so I came along to burn incense with him.”

Before he’d even finished speaking, a voice called out behind them, “Brother Jinghuan.”

Jinghuan was Cheng Ye’s courtesy name.

Yun Xi looked toward the voice and saw another person coming down the stone steps of the temple gate.

The newcomer wore plain white robes, was very tall and slender, and looked to be around twenty. It was none other than Tian Si’s younger brother, Tian Ze.

Yun Xi had assumed that the close friend Cheng Ye spoke of would be some young master from a noble family, and hadn’t expected it to be someone she already knew.

Tian Ze, seeing Yun Xi, was equally startled. “Constable Yun is here to burn incense too?”

He hadn’t yet heard that Yun Xi had been promoted to captain, and still addressed her by her old title.

Yun Xi said, “Mm. Tian Si told me you’ve been rising early and working hard lately—you’re sure to pass with flying colors.”

Tian Ze nodded slightly and smiled. “I’ll take Constable Yun’s good words to heart, then.”

Though Tian Ze and Tian Si were brothers, they were said to be born of different mothers, and the two didn’t resemble each other much. Both were good-looking, but where Tian Si was fair-skinned with fine features, giving him a somewhat girlish air at first glance, Tian Ze was different—his brows and eyes were refined and cool, clean and unadorned, every inch the picture of a scholar-official in white.

Seeing that the two of them knew each other, Cheng Ye was quite surprised, and after a few words of explanation, he laughed and said, “For the three of us to gather here today must be the guidance of the Bodhisattva—what a fortunate coincidence.”

He then turned to Yun Xi. “Is Captain Yun heading back to the mansion to wait for the edict? Why don’t I see you partway there?”

Yun Xi had actually come to the temple to wait for Cheng Chang, and hearing Cheng Ye say this, she wasn’t sure how to respond.

She glanced toward the temple gate. It was nearly two in the afternoon, and the incense at Manjusri Temple showed no sign of thinning. A moment later, several narrow, canopy-roofed carriages pulled up at the temple gate, and a few noblewomen stepped down from them.

Yun Xi recognized two of them—one was her distant aunt, Madam Yu, Luo Shu’s mother, and the other was Madam Zhang, Lin Ruonan’s mother.

These ladies’ households all had sons sitting the exams this autumn, so it was no surprise they’d come to Manjusri Temple today to burn incense.

But Luo Shu had recently been imprisoned over the Yao Susu case, and Madam Yu trailed dejectedly behind the other noblewomen, surrounded by maids and servants, a dark gloom hanging over her brow.

Without meaning to, Madam Zhang caught sight of Yun Xi, paused, then turned and murmured something to Madam Yu.

Madam Yu followed her gaze toward the tree, and the moment her eyes met Yun Xi’s, the gloom in them turned instantly to fury. She tried to suppress it but couldn’t, wrenched her hand free from her maid, and stormed toward Yun Xi in a rage.

As she closed the distance, she raised her hand to slap Yun Xi across the face, cursing as she came: “You black-hearted little wretch!”

Her hand was caught midair by Cheng Ye, who stepped in front of Yun Xi, pulling her back a couple of steps as he asked, “What does Madam Luo mean by this?”

Madam Yu ignored Cheng Ye entirely and pointed straight at Yun Xi. “The day you came to our house looking for Shu’er, I thought you’d come out of kindness to see her—never did I imagine you’d set a trap to frame her and land her in prison! Shu’er is so kind-hearted, how could she harm anyone? How could she kill anyone? Even when your Marquis’s house fell into ruin, she never once looked down on you, running over every few days to accompany that sickly sister-in-law of yours to the physician. And this is how you repay her—framing her like this. Truly, you’ve repaid kindness with malice!”

Madam Yu had always been a foolish woman, and upon hearing that Luo Shu had been imprisoned, and recalling that it was Yun Xi who had taken her away from the house that day, she’d worked herself into a fury against Yun Xi.

She’d later had someone inquire into the details, but hadn’t really understood much of what she was told—only that on the night of the Autumn Festival, it was Yun Xi who had been with Luo Shu when they discovered Yao Susu meeting Pei Lan in secret; that it was also Yun Xi who had later found Snowball; and that it was Yun Xi again who had gone to ask the young prince to find Yao Susu. So she’d naturally concluded that Luo Shu’s imprisonment was entirely Yun Xi’s doing.

She had originally meant to go to the Marquis’s mansion that very day to settle scores with Yun Xi, and had only been stopped by Luo Fuyou. Little did she know that just this morning, Luo Fuyou himself had been taken away by the Court of Judicial Review for questioning.

Cheng Ye said, “Madam Luo is mistaken. Your fourth daughter’s imprisonment has nothing to do with Captain Yun. The reason she went to your house that day to bring the young lady away was at the request of the Prefect of the Capital. I was at the office at the time and can attest to this myself.”

Madam Yu’s anger was far from spent. Cheng Ye’s words were like pouring a bowl of water into a pot of boiling oil—it didn’t put out the fire, only made it flare up worse.

She swept a glance over Cheng Ye and, heedless of his rank, blurted out, “The young prince can attest to it? Attest to what? You make it sound as if you know this wretched girl so very well. Aren’t you afraid you’ve been bewitched by that face of hers, your judgment clouded? Do you think you can truly see through all her twists and turns?”

Suddenly recalling the gossip Madam Zhang had shared with her that morning, she gave a cold laugh. “No wonder. A while back, Prince Cong’s consort wanted to betroth the Lin girl to the third young master as his primary wife—the betrothal gifts were nearly sent—and then out of nowhere the match fell through. I only just found out it was because someone had meddled behind the scenes, forcing a rift between Prince Cong’s household and the Lin family, so the marriage had to be shelved. I was wondering who could possibly have such monstrous nerve—turns out it was none other than the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong’s house.”

Yun Xi had at first thought Madam Yu was simply speaking without thinking in her anger, and had meant to let a few curses pass. But as the woman grew more and more outrageous—raving like a mad dog—she could no longer hold her tongue. “Watch your words! What does the affairs of Prince Cong’s household have to do with me? What does it have to do with you? Spouting baseless accusations like this on nothing but guesswork—aren’t you afraid that one day these words might reach the prince’s ears, or even the Emperor’s, and you’ll be charged with slandering the imperial clan?”

The word “charged” took some of the wind out of Madam Yu’s sails, but she was still furious, and said coldly, “Am I wrong, though? Why else would you want to harm Shu’er, if not because you wanted to marry the second young master of the Pei family yourself, and he doesn’t fancy you? Seeing that after your betrothal was broken off, a match between the Pei and Luo families was about to be settled, you grew jealous of Shu’er and set up that whole scheme to lure her into witnessing that filthy affair, framing her for it.”

Madam Yu had been a peasant woman in her early years, sharp-tongued and none too kind at heart. Later, as her husband rose in rank, her airs had risen with him, though her understanding of the world never deepened—decades spent mired in petty domestic squabbles had hardened her into someone who saw the world only as she imagined it to be.

Having said such vile things and still feeling entirely in the right, she glanced at Cheng Ye beside them, as though she’d caught hold of evidence. “What, now that your betrothal’s broken and you can’t land the third young master, you’ve set your sights on the young prince instead? Arranging a secret rendezvous at Manjusri Temple, no less? No different from that filthy business the Yao girl pulled before.”

Cheng Ye had never encountered such an unreasonable woman before, and his tone turned cold and hard. “Madam Luo, do not speak such nonsense. There is nothing improper between Captain Yun and myself—our meeting today was purely by chance. Captain Yun came to ask for a safety talisman, and I came to accompany a close friend in burning incense before his exam.”

Madam Yu sneered. “Coming to Manjusri Temple for a safety talisman—who’d believe that?”

By now, several sharp-eyed servants had already cordoned off passersby at a distance, so Madam Yu’s filthy words hadn’t reached too many ears.

Unfortunately, Cheng Chang had also arrived by then.

The servants didn’t dare stop the third young master, and so every word of Madam Yu’s slander against Prince Cong’s household reached his ears, without a single word missed.

Cheng Chang wasn’t normally quick to anger, but Madam Yu’s words were simply too vile, and his brow furrowed at once as he stepped forward to cut her off.

Sun Haiping, beside him, grabbed his arm. “Young Prince, you mustn’t go over there!”

Cheng Chang’s brow furrowed deeper. “Why not?”

Sun Haiping glanced toward Madam Yu and Yun Xi. “That old woman is like a mad dog right now, snapping at whoever’s nearest—can’t you see? What does today’s business have to do with the young Prince of Nan’an? And yet she’s latched onto him and slung the same filth his way regardless. Whatever’s between him and the young lady of the Marquis’s house is perfectly clean, and that can be sorted out another day. But you…”

Sun Haiping lowered his voice. “The young lady of the Marquis’s house is only here today because you privately arranged it. Even if it’s for a legitimate reason, who would believe that if word got out? Those gossiping women would think—you’re the future prince, you don’t need to sit the exams, and the Marquis’s house has only one daughter left with no one taking the exam this year. Why else would the two of you meet here, of all places, if not for a secret rendezvous?”

“It’s—it’s my fault. I didn’t think it through, forgot this year had the autumn exam. But that mad woman already suspects something between you and the young lady of the Marquis’s house, and there’s that gossiping Madam Zhang too. If you go over there now, won’t it only confirm their suspicions?”

“Of course, you’re the young prince—if you told them to hold their tongues, they wouldn’t dare disobey. But what then? What could you possibly do to them afterward? If you go over there now, no matter what you say or do, in their eyes it’ll look like you’re standing up for that young lady of the Marquis’s house. They won’t dare voice their anger to your face now, but in a few days, the rumors will be flying all over the place.”

“If it’s just the young Prince of Nan’an here today, no matter how the rumors spread, they won’t stir up much trouble. But add you into the mix, and everyone will start reading more into it. Rumors are like a river—narrow at the source, growing wider the further they flow. It won’t matter much to you, but for that young lady of the Marquis’s house, her reputation might be ruined for good. Who would dare marry her after that? How could she ever wed?”

For all his loose tongue, Sun Haiping had the sharpest mind of all the servants in Cheng Chang’s household when it came to a crisis, which was precisely why Cheng Chang liked to keep him close.

Hearing Sun Haiping out, Cheng Chang calmed himself. He was right—if Cheng Chang went over there now, it would only bring Yun Xi harm, with no benefit at all.

But it was he who had asked Yun Xi to meet him at Manjusri Temple today. In the end, half the blame for her being slandered like this fell on him.

How could he let a young woman suffer wrongfully on his account?

Cheng Chang’s brow stayed knotted, his lips pressed thin, and he said nothing.

Sun Haiping had never seen his young prince look so coldly composed, and, feeling a knot of unease in his chest, he blurted out an ill-considered idea to fill the silence. “Young Prince, if you’re truly too angry to let it go, tomorrow I’ll gather some men and stuff that vicious old woman in a sack and give her a good beating! Oh, and that gossiping Madam Zhang too—beat her while we’re at it!”

Cheng Chang said nothing.

At this point Zhang Dahu spoke up. “Young Prince, look over there—isn’t that Captain Yun’s sister-in-law standing there, Madam Fang, or whatever her name is…?”

Cheng Chang, startled, followed Zhang Dahu’s gaze and indeed saw Fang Fulan, with her maid Mingcui, standing not far off, quietly watching Madam Yu, Yun Xi, and the others.

She seemed to have only just arrived, but had already noticed Cheng Chang, and now, feeling his gaze, she looked back at him.

Cheng Chang nodded toward her, but Fang Fulan showed no response at all. If one looked closely, there was even a hint of coldness lingering in her eyes.

A moment later, she withdrew her gaze, lifted the hem of her skirt, and walked toward Yun Xi.

Madam Yu’s tirade only grew more vicious. Not content with slandering the relationship between Yun Xi and Cheng Ye, when Tian Ze stepped in to say a few words in their defense, she claimed he’d come to keep watch and provide cover for the two of them. In the end, she even dredged up the childhood history of Yun Xi, Luo Shu, and Pei Lan up in the northern frontier, claiming Yun Xi had never been one to keep herself in check, even as a child.

The other noblewomen who’d come with Madam Yu, seeing how outrageous she’d become, made no move to stop her—instead they stood aside as if watching a show, whispering amongst themselves.

“Isn’t Madam Luo afraid of offending the Bodhisattva, raving like this inside a temple, and bringing sin upon herself with such careless words?”

Madam Yu, mid-rant, suddenly heard a soft, cool voice behind her.

Fang Fulan approached at an unhurried pace, coming to stand before Yun Xi, and looked at Madam Yu. “A’Ting came to Manjusri Temple with me today. She had no arrangement to meet anyone here.”

“Ha, and here I thought it was someone important—it’s just the young lady of the Fang family.” Madam Yu looked Fang Fulan over and laughed.

Fang Fulan was Yun Luo’s wife by their first marriage. Even if one didn’t call her “the general’s wife,” she ought at least to be addressed as “Madam Fang.” Madam Yu calling her “young lady of the Fang family” was, in fact, a veiled jab implying she brought misfortune upon her husbands—after all, Fang Fulan had moved into the Marquis’s house as an unmarried young lady, and less than a year after marrying Yun Luo, he had died in battle in the north.

Fang Fulan paid no mind to the barb in her words and asked evenly, “Madam Luo, must your words go unconsidered by your heart—and by your mind as well?”

“You—”

Fang Fulan glanced around at the gathered onlookers and continued at her leisure. “The start of autumn has only just passed, and the provincial exams are drawing near. These past few days, Manjusri Temple has seen an unusual surge of worshippers. If one wished for a secret rendezvous, who would choose a place like this? That’s the first point.”

“Second, A’Ting is not only the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong’s house, but also the newly appointed Yihui Captain—a military officer of the court, just as the young Prince of Nan’an is. As colleagues who happened to run into one another here, a greeting between them is only proper. By Madam Luo’s logic, a single greeting implies impropriety—how many officials at court, civil and military alike, would you be slandering with that same reasoning? Would they all have to be afraid to associate with one another because of what you say?”

“Third, as for coming to Manjusri Temple for a safety talisman—why should that be so unbelievable? A’Ting has been ordered by imperial decree to go put down unrest in the outskirts of the capital. Before she leaves, unable to travel to a farther temple, she came to the nearest one to pray for good fortune—both so as not to delay receiving the edict, and to pray that this expedition goes smoothly.”

“She acted only out of good will, wishing to carry out the Emperor’s orders well, and yet she’s been slandered like this by Madam Luo. If word of this doesn’t spread, all well and good—but if it does, if it reaches the Emperor’s ears, who’s to say it won’t be the Luo household that ends up disappointing His Majesty?”

“The Luo household’s fortunes haven’t been good lately, with trouble after trouble arising. If I were Madam Luo, at such a critical juncture, I would tread very carefully indeed, and not bring further calamity upon my own household.”

“Guarding one’s tongue guards against more than half of life’s troubles. Fail to guard it, and even good fortune can turn to ruin.”

Fang Fulan glanced at the noblewomen standing beside Madam Yu. “Besides, in broad daylight, there are eyes and ears everywhere. Whatever is truly in someone’s heart—won’t it show clearly enough under this bright sun? As the saying goes, what kind of person you are determines what kind of things you see before you. Filthy people deal in filthy affairs; those who are innocent remain innocent no matter what.”

With these words, Fang Fulan not only warned Madam Yu that if this matter reached the Emperor, no good would come of it for her, but also reminded the other noblewomen not to gossip—Yun Xi was, after all, a serving captain of the court, and with so many people present, any rumor born from careless talk would end badly for everyone involved.

Fang Fulan’s own father had passed the imperial examinations in his youth, a man of vast learning who had risen all the way to Vice Minister of Rites, eloquent enough to best a roomful of scholars in debate. Though he had long since been condemned and executed, his one remaining daughter carried something of his manner.

For all her gentle, delicate appearance, Fang Fulan had a core of steel beneath the softness. Before the Fang family’s fall, she had been renowned throughout Jinling not only for her beauty but for her literary talent as well.

After Yun Luo died in battle, she had observed three years of mourning. Most people said she brought misfortune to both father and husband, and by the end, even she herself had become someone others felt free to bully, like a sickly invalid. But now that her mourning period had ended, she showed not the slightest sign of having lost her old spirit.

Having wielded both gentleness and steel, Fang Fulan finished with a faint smile. “My health isn’t good, and A’Ting came ahead of me to the temple to help me burn incense and pray. I hadn’t expected that my being a little late would stir up such a misunderstanding. Now that it’s been cleared up, let’s simply consider it as though nothing happened at all.”

The other noblewomen, having already been cowed into silence by Fang Fulan’s forceful words, seized at once on the way down she’d offered them.

They pulled Madam Yu aside with placating smiles. “What is the general’s wife saying? There was never any misunderstanding to speak of—Madam Luo was only teasing the young lady Yun just now.”

With that, having lost all appetite to go burn incense in the prayer hall, they murmured something about the day growing late and hurried off.

In truth, it wasn’t very late at all, but the temple had indeed emptied out considerably compared to just past noon.

Seeing Madam Yu, Madam Zhang, and the others leave, Cheng Ye let out a breath of relief and said to Fang Fulan, “It’s fortunate the general’s wife arrived when she did. I’m not good with words—the more I tried to explain, the more tangled it got, and it only gave them an opening to slander Captain Yun further. They wouldn’t listen to a word Captain Yun said either.”

“Not at all, young prince,” Fang Fulan said gently. “If you hadn’t been here to protect A’Ting today, I fear she would have been bullied badly by them.”

Cheng Ye smiled, meaning to ask whether Yun Xi and Fang Fulan wished to return to the mansion, so he could see them partway. But as his gaze fell on Yun Xi, he saw she was looking toward the side gate of the temple.

Cheng Ye followed her gaze and paused.

Standing at the side gate was none other than Cheng Chang.

Something uncomfortable stirred in Cheng Ye’s chest, and Madam Yu’s words echoed unbidden in his mind—”Coming to Manjusri Temple for a safety talisman, who’d believe that?”

That’s right—the last time, on the night of the Autumn Festival, it was with Yun Xi that the third young master had found Snowball.

And before that, at the Nan’an princely mansion, when Yun Xi had tried to protect Zangzang, it was also the third young master who had rushed to her defense—and in the end, he’d even given her the very kitten he himself had taken a liking to.

The third young master would one day be a prince in his own right; he had no need to sit the imperial exams. And Manjusri Temple wasn’t exactly the best place to come for a safety talisman.

If Yun Xi hadn’t truly come here for a talisman, then could it be…

At this thought, Cheng Ye clenched his fist abruptly, cutting off the unworthy notion, reminding himself—Yun Xi was a pure and honorable young woman; how could he think of her this way?

Besides, wasn’t he himself the heir of the Prince of Nan’an, and he too had no need to sit the exams? Hadn’t he, on his own day off, come to burn incense alongside Tian Ze?

It was a temple large enough for anyone to visit—if he could come here, why not the third young master? Perhaps he too had simply come to burn incense on behalf of a close friend.

Even as he told himself this, his gaze remained fixed steadily on Cheng Chang.

Cheng Chang walked over in silence, and without waiting on formality, greeted them first. “General’s wife, young prince, Captain Yun.”

The three of them returned the greeting together. “Third young master.”

Yun Xi had originally arranged to meet Cheng Chang here, but after the ugly scene Madam Yu had just caused, and with her sister-in-law present, along with Cheng Ye and Tian Ze, she found she couldn’t say much to Cheng Chang after all.

It was Fang Fulan who spoke first. “Has the third young master also come to Manjusri Temple to burn incense today?”

Cheng Chang gave a soft “Mm.”

Fang Fulan nodded, then turned to Cheng Ye. “Madam Luo caused quite an unreasonable scene today—fortunate that the young prince was here to help A’Ting out of it. When I arrived at the temple, I noticed the Nan’an princely carriage was already prepared, as if you were in a hurry to return. A’Ting still needs to accompany me to the prayer hall, so let’s part ways here for today. I’ll have A’Ting come by the Nan’an mansion another day to properly thank you.”

Hearing this, Cheng Ye understood it to mean there was no need to escort them further, and could only reply, “The general’s wife is too kind.” He said his farewells to Fang Fulan and the others, along with Tian Ze, and took his leave.

Evening was drawing near, the fierce brightness of the sun had faded from the sky, and most of the temple’s worshippers had already dispersed. A breeze suddenly stirred, carrying with it a touch of coolness.

The moment Cheng Ye left, the smile faded from Fang Fulan’s face.

She said to Yun Xi, “A’Ting, go wait for me at the lotus pond pavilion behind the temple. I have something to say to the third young master.”

“Sister-in-law?” Yun Xi was taken aback.

Her heart was uneasy. Fang Fulan knew of her feelings for Cheng Chang, but in the end, those feelings were entirely one-sided—something she’d never dared let him know.

Fang Fulan, seeming to sense her worry, added, “Don’t worry. I know how to handle this properly.”

An elder sister-in-law stood in the place of a mother, and Yun Xi didn’t want to go against her wishes. She could only agree, and turned to head toward the lotus pond pavilion.

Watching Yun Xi’s figure disappear through the distant archway, Fang Fulan fell silent for a moment, then asked Cheng Chang, “A’Ting came to Manjusri Temple today at the third young master’s invitation, didn’t she?”