Before the words had fully faded, Auntie Liu had already arrived, bringing with her an old woman and a little girl.

Auntie Liu said to the little girl, “Fourth Girl, go on and tell these officials what you just said.”

Fourth Girl was only about five or six years old, her hair done up in two little tufts. She usually followed her grandmother around from house to house, only ever meeting familiar faces, and now, suddenly confronted with so many strangers, she shrank behind her grandmother in fright, unable to say a word.

“Hey!” Auntie Liu, a blunt sort, pressed on. “Grandma Zhang, you tell them, then.”

The old woman nodded.

“A couple days ago, Fourth Girl’s father came back from sea and brought home a young gentleman — not sure if he was alive or dead. Apparently they found him at the edge of Baiyun Lake, about a month or two ago. Said he was some kind of nobleman, told me and Fourth Girl’s mother to take good care of him.”

Cheng Ye held up Cheng Chang’s portrait for the old woman to see. “Grandma Zhang, look carefully — is this what the nobleman you mentioned looks like?”

The old woman’s eyes were poor, and she couldn’t quite make out the figure in the painting. She leaned in close, squinting for a long moment, then could only mutter, “Well, he looked something like the bodhisattva, anyway.”

It was little Fourth Girl, still hiding behind her, who added quietly, “That’s him. That’s what he looks like.”

Hearing this, Cheng Ye didn’t hesitate for a moment. He asked the old woman, “Grandma Zhang, may I ask where your family lives? Could you take us there to have a look?”

The old woman clicked her tongue nervously. The people before her were all clearly officials, and the striking young woman among them, dressed in a skirt, carried herself with an air of extraordinary grace. Fourth Girl’s parents preferred a quiet life — bringing such a crowd to their door out of nowhere, who knew if they’d be upset about it.

Seeing Grandma Zhang hesitate, Auntie Liu grew impatient and declared firmly, “I’ll take you there!”

Cheng Ye nodded and thanked her, then turned to gather his men and follow, but after a couple steps, he glanced back and saw Yun Xi still standing frozen in place.

Cheng Ye asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yun Xi didn’t answer at first. After a moment, she shook her head and said quietly, “Let’s go.”

Grandma Zhang’s village was in nearby Fengnan Harbor, only a few li from Wutong Village. Along the way, Auntie Liu explained to Cheng Ye and Yun Xi that different villages’ men went out to sea and returned on different schedules, which was why Fourth Girl’s father had made it home a few days earlier than the men of Wutong Village.

The sun was setting, wisps of cooking smoke rising over the fishing village and harbor. Reaching Fengnan Harbor, Cheng Ye had his men and Sun Haiping wait at the village entrance, and went in alone with Yun Xi, following Auntie Liu deeper into the village.

Auntie Liu led them to a fishing household with nets drying outside, calling out, “Fourth Girl’s father, Fourth Girl’s mother, still eating?” Then added, “Stop eating for a moment — you’ve got distinguished guests!”

The wooden door of the fishing household stood ajar, the scene inside faintly visible. Before long, Fourth Girl’s father came out carrying his bowl, glanced at Yun Xi and Cheng Ye, then looked to Grandma Zhang. “Mother, these two are—”

“These two are distinguished guests from Jinling,” Auntie Liu answered for her. “Fourth Girl’s father, tell me — didn’t you fish up a young gentleman who looked like a bodhisattva, out at sea? Your mother told me you brought him home a couple days ago, had Fourth Girl’s mother look after him?”

Fourth Girl’s father was startled for a moment, then looked at Cheng Ye. “You officials have come looking for him?” He hesitated, then added, “Then please, sir, come inside.”

With that, he shot the old woman a somewhat reproachful glance, as if blaming her for having said too much.

Fishing village families lived a self-sufficient life — not lacking for food and clothing, exactly, but rarely well-off. With dusk settling in, Fourth Girl’s household had only a single oil lamp lit. Fourth Girl’s father carried the lamp, leading Cheng Ye and Yun Xi to a room, lifted the cloth curtain over the doorway, and said, “The one lying on the bed there is the nobleman. Take a look, you two — is he the one you’re searching for?”

Cheng Ye nodded and was about to step forward, but noticed Yun Xi still standing frozen at the doorway.

Her gaze had fixed on the figure lying on the bed inside, the single bean-sized flame of the lamp faintly reflecting both hope and dread in her eyes.

She wanted to go look. But she didn’t dare.

She had searched for him for so long. Now that a sliver of hope had finally appeared, she would rather cling to that sliver a moment longer, standing still, unwilling to move — because she was afraid it might all come to nothing.

Cheng Ye finally understood the source of Yun Xi’s hesitation, and something in his chest twisted uncomfortably. But he said nothing, didn’t rush her either. He walked forward alone, and by the lamplight, looked carefully at the figure lying on the bed.

It really was Cheng Chang.

Cheng Ye froze.

More than a month had passed since the third young master’s disappearance; the four guards who had accompanied him had already been buried. By now, nearly everyone in Jinling believed Cheng Chang was dead. And yet here he was, alive.

Cheng Ye said, urgent and clipped, “It’s him.”

Yun Xi startled, then rushed forward, looking down at the figure on the bed. Seeing it was indeed Cheng Chang, her mind went blank, but her hand had already, instinctively, reached toward his nose.

His breath came slow and steady. He was truly alive.

Yun Xi slowly withdrew her hand.

She opened her mouth — there were clearly so many things she wanted to ask — yet not a single word came out.

Something rose in her chest like a tide, slowly filling, spilling over her heart and lungs, her throat, choking off every word she might have said.

She was overjoyed, yet not particularly shocked or surprised. For some reason, she’d always had a feeling, a certainty, that he was still alive, that he would live.

Even after finding, by the cliff’s edge, the very talisman she’d given him, knowing he’d fallen from that height — even with all of Jinling believing the third young master gone, with Prince Cong’s household already beginning to prepare for a funeral — she had simply believed it, without wavering.

Yun Xi didn’t know where this certainty came from — much like, in the past, there had been fleeting moments when she’d felt he wasn’t truly of this world at all.

Cheng Ye called out twice, “Third Young Master.” Seeing Cheng Chang show no response, he asked Fourth Girl’s father, “Why isn’t he waking up? Has a physician looked at him?”

Fourth Girl’s father shook his head. “When we first found him by Baiyun Lake, he was already unconscious like this. After we brought him onto the boat, we could get him to drink water and eat food, but he just wouldn’t wake up. There was someone on the boat who knew a bit about medicine — he checked him over, said his pulse was strong, and aside from the wound on his right arm, his body seemed healthy, nothing else wrong.”

Hearing that Cheng Chang had a wound on his right arm, Cheng Ye lifted the blanket to look. It was an external wound, apparently from a sharp blade, now mostly healed.

He pulled a small ingot of silver from his belt pouch and handed it to Fourth Girl’s father. “Please, go find the best physician nearby to come examine him — however late the hour, please, do bring him.”

Fourth Girl’s father agreed. Seeing how distinguished Cheng Ye’s official robes were, and yet how respectfully he treated the man lying on the bed, he couldn’t help but ask, curious, “Sir, might I ask — which noble household does this young gentleman belong to?”

Cheng Ye thought about it and decided there was no need to hide Cheng Chang’s identity. “Not an official household. He’s the third young master of Prince Cong’s household.”

Fourth Girl’s father blinked, not quite grasping what “third young master” meant as a title. He walked toward the door with the silver Cheng Ye had given him, and only then did it suddenly strike him — hadn’t the officer just mentioned something about a “prince’s household”?

Common folk didn’t know much about matters of the imperial family, but they did know that in all the realm, there was only one Prince Cong.

If this “third young master” was that prince’s son, then wasn’t he… a young prince?

Fourth Girl’s father stumbled, nearly tripping over the threshold.

He glanced back into the room. Fishing at this time of year usually didn’t yield much — yet ever since they’d taken in that sleeping nobleman, the whole village’s catch had been as bountiful as in spring and summer. The village men had all taken it as good fortune brought by the nobleman, and had been planning to take him out to sea again in a few days. Who could have known that today his own mother would bring officials straight to their door, searching for him.

Fourth Girl’s father thought, with a lingering chill, that he’d had no idea it was the young lord of a prince’s household — thank goodness his mother had brought the officials to find him, otherwise, who knew what crime it would have been to have secretly harbored a prince’s son.

Before long, Sun Haiping and Zhang Dahu, hearing the news that Cheng Chang had been found, squeezed into the room as well.

They stood by the bed, calling out “Third Young Master” and “Young Prince” in turns, one after another — but Cheng Chang simply wouldn’t wake.

Fourth Girl’s mother brought in a few more lamps, brightening the room considerably. Yun Xi had by now recovered somewhat, and sat silently on the long bench by the bed, watching Cheng Chang.

The third young master looked much the same as before — over the past two months, he’d only grown slightly thinner. His complexion was pale, though not entirely without color, his brow smooth and relaxed, looking, in truth, quite healthy — as if he were simply asleep.

She fetched some water, scooped up a spoonful, and fed it to him. Sure enough, just as Fourth Girl’s father had said, he could swallow water.

Yun Xi’s heart settled fully at last.

She thought it over carefully. The third young master had clearly met with foul play — the knife wound on his right arm was the clearest proof of that. That “noble one” who sought to harm him held immense power; if he learned Cheng Chang was still alive, he would surely strike again. So even to bring the third young master back to the capital, she couldn’t act rashly. Even combined with Cheng Ye’s men, they numbered only twenty-odd altogether, and this eastern fishing village was remote — if anything went wrong along the way, they’d have no way to call for help in time.

Before long, Fourth Girl’s father returned with a physician from a neighboring village. The physician already knew Cheng Chang’s identity and didn’t dare be careless — he carefully checked Cheng Chang’s pulse, worked through his limbs and joints, lifted his eyelids to examine his eyes, and finally said, puzzled, “This noble young gentleman’s pulse is steady and strong, his complexion good, no injuries to his limbs, and no external wounds on his head either. By rights, he should be perfectly healthy. Though he’s currently unconscious, he shows none of the weakness or depletion typical of true unconsciousness — he looks, rather, as if he’s simply asleep.”

He thought for a moment longer, then added, “Perhaps this humble physician’s skills are simply inadequate, and you gentlemen will laugh at me for it, but truly, I can find nothing wrong with this noble young gentleman. I’ll prescribe him something to calm and settle his spirit — if, after taking it, he still hasn’t woken in three days, you’ll need to seek out someone more skilled than I.”

Cheng Ye thanked him, took the prescription, and sent one of his men to have it filled.

Seeing that everyone unrelated had cleared out of the room, Yun Xi said to Cheng Ye, “I’d trouble the young prince to return to the capital first thing tomorrow morning, and report the news of finding the third young master directly to His Majesty and to Prince Cong.”

Cheng Ye was startled. “You’re not returning with him?”

Yun Xi shook her head. “I’m worried something might happen along the way.”

Hearing this, Cheng Ye immediately understood her meaning.

Since Cheng Chang had clearly been the target of foul play, as long as he remained alive, whoever wanted him dead would surely not give up so easily. The best course now was to hurry back to the capital and, before the assembled court, report the news of his discovery in the eastern fishing village directly to the Emperor, prompting him to send men from the Palace Front Guard to retrieve him. That way, even if the culprits wished to act, the presence of the imperial guards would force them to hold back, at least for a while.

Cheng Ye nodded. “I understand what you mean.”

Seeing the worry still lingering on Yun Xi’s brow, he thought for a moment, then picked up the sword resting on the nearby table. “I won’t wait until morning. I’ll set out tonight instead. Don’t worry — I’ll make sure to report the third young master’s situation to His Majesty as quickly as possible, without fail.”