Just as the two were silent, they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind them. A carriage came driving from behind and slowly stopped beside them. Qiu Xinran froze, instinctively moving to shield Mei Que, and saw someone lift the carriage curtain, revealing a familiar face inside.

Xia Xiuyan sat in the carriage, looking down at her from his elevated position, greeting her: “Strolling the streets late at night—the Daoist has such fine leisure.” Qiu Xinran couldn’t gauge his meaning and didn’t respond for a moment. Xia Xiuyan then glanced at the person behind her. Mei Que’s appearance looked extremely disheveled, with both sides of her face swollen, her hair in disarray, and her clothes torn. Facing the man’s gaze, she turned her head away somewhat awkwardly, but heard him ask: “Would the young lady like to go to my estate to change clothes?”

Mei Que was startled and hesitantly glanced at Qiu Xinran beside her, as if asking for her opinion. Qiu Xinran also hadn’t expected Xia Xiuyan to suddenly make this suggestion. After a while, she gently nodded to Mei Que.

Mei Que pressed her lips together, curtsied slightly to Xia Xiuyan, and walked around to the back of the carriage. The driver was Zhao Rong, whom Qiu Xinran had seen at the official residence last time. After Xia Xiuyan got off the carriage, he also jumped down. Qiu Xinran saw him unhitch one of the three horses that had been pulling the carriage, then retrieve a saddle and stirrups from behind the carriage to attach to it. He led the horse over and handed it to Xia Xiuyan. She was completely baffled.

Once everything was arranged, the driver cracked the whip and left with the carriage, leaving just her and Xia Xiuyan standing by the roadside. Only then did she come to her senses: “Does the Marquis plan to ride back himself?”

The man holding the horse glanced at her: “Does the Daoist want me to walk you back instead of riding?”

Qiu Xinran blinked, finally comprehending his meaning. Startled, she hastily declined: “The Marquis need not do this. I can return on my own.”

The man stepped into the stirrup and in an instant had mounted the horse. Looking down at her from above, he extended his hand toward her: “Though Chang’an’s patrols are strict, if something truly happened to the Daoist, the Capital Administration would come looking for me first thing tomorrow morning.”

Bah, bah, bah—why say such inauspicious things in the middle of the night? Qiu Xinran grumbled internally. Seeing him extend his hand toward her with no intention of withdrawing it, she ultimately surrendered and placed her hand in his.

A trace of amusement flashed through the eyes of the man on the horse. Immediately after, he exerted force with his hand and pulled her up onto the horse. Qiu Xinran’s riding skills were poor, and it was her first time sharing a horse with someone, so she appeared very nervous the moment she mounted. Before she had even settled herself, she instinctively wanted to bend down and hug the horse’s neck. The person sitting behind her held the reins with one hand and lightly encircled her waist with the other, making her sit upright: “Don’t move, you won’t fall.” This voice seemed right by her ear. Qiu Xinran instantly stiffened her spine, not daring to move.

Xia Xiuyan withdrew the hand that had been around her waist and gripped the reins again, giving them a gentle shake. The horse beneath them slowly began to walk forward.

Qiu Xinran tried to divert her attention. Clearing her throat, she asked: “Why isn’t the Marquis returning by carriage?”

Xia Xiuyan said coolly: “Mei Que’s clothes are disheveled. If I were in the carriage, she would inevitably feel awkward.”

Qiu Xinran was stunned, not expecting this to be the reason. She suddenly remembered he came from an aristocratic family and had received excellent upbringing in etiquette. But to treat a music house woman with such equal consideration already far surpassed many ordinary nobles. Feeling somewhat moved, her originally stiff body also relaxed a bit. She smiled slightly: “The Marquis knows propriety and observes the rules. Not only did you give the carriage to Mei Que, you’re also riding to escort me home. It’s truly touching.”

Hearing this, Xia Xiuyan gave a light laugh but didn’t respond.

At night the streets were silent and still. Lanterns hung from the shops lining the road, casting a dim yellow glow over the spacious streets. The horse walked leisurely on the stone-paved road, its hoofbeats clearly audible. It was late spring, and the night breeze blowing on one’s face carried a warm feeling. Xia Xiuyan noticed the person sitting in front of him shift restlessly. Looking down, he saw several scratch marks on the back of the hand gripping the reins, the skin slightly reddened.

“Did a wild cat scratch you?” he asked casually.

Qiu Xinran was dazed. After a while, she realized what he was asking and opened her mouth somewhat embarrassedly: “When I encounter flying catkins, my skin turns red. Having stayed in the mountains for so long, I almost forgot that this time of year is precisely when Chang’an is filled with flying catkins.” Thinking of this, she asked casually, “Are there such things in the Northwest?”

Xia Xiuyan hesitated slightly, then answered after a moment: “No.”

“That’s truly nice,” Qiu Xinran’s expression showed a trace of envy. “Ten years ago when I first came to Chang’an, I encountered the flying catkin season and regretted it terribly. Then I received a letter from a fellow disciple who had gone to the frontier, saying the Northwest had lush water and grass with herds of cattle and sheep—very different from the usual sights. I felt quite regretful for a time that I hadn’t been able to go with them.”

“You were originally supposed to go to the Northwest?”

“That’s right. Unfortunately, my master said my temperament was too flighty and needed proper tempering, so he sent me to Chang’an instead and entrusted me to my teacher.” Speaking of this, she had a sudden thought: “Though if I had gone to the Northwest back then, I probably would have met the Marquis three years later.”

However, Xia Xiuyan said coolly: “If you had gone to the Northwest back then, you might never have met me in your lifetime.” Qiu Xinran choked, remembering that if not for her divination, he might still be in Chang’an now—wouldn’t that mean they’d never meet in this lifetime? She couldn’t help but say awkwardly: “This shows that the word ‘fate’ is truly mysterious and profound.”

Hearing this, Xia Xiuyan glanced at her with an expression between a smile and not, actually nodding in agreement: “Indeed, the Daoist and I do share some degree of fate.”

This topic was somewhat dangerous. Qiu Xinran hastily changed the subject: “After the Marquis brings Mei Que back, do you have any arrangements?”

“Why do you ask this?”

“Tonight a servant brought a message saying Mei Que requested to meet me at Pindong Courtyard. Wasn’t that deliberately arranged by the Marquis?”

“What makes you think so?”

“I suspect the Marquis sent someone tonight to summon me to Pindong Courtyard, knowing that if I witnessed Wu Peng’s actions I wouldn’t stand by and do nothing—I would certainly bring Mei Que out to escape. But something went wrong midway, so you deliberately said those things to the Seventh Princess in the pavilion for me to hear. After I brought her out, you happened to arrive by carriage to take her back.”

“Why would I do that?”

Qiu Xinran shook her head, composing her expression as her tone became serious: “I don’t know, but regardless of the reason, Mei Que is still young. I hope the Marquis can let her go.”

The smile on Xia Xiuyan’s face also disappeared: “You think tonight I orchestrated for Mei Que to go find Wu Peng?”

“The Seventh Princess wouldn’t pay attention to a music performer’s background. If she wanted revenge on Wu Peng, she wouldn’t use such a roundabout method.”

Mei Que said it was Lan Hui who had found Yu Yin and brought her back to Fangchi Garden. At that time, she had guessed this was probably at Xia Xiuyan’s instruction. The opera Mei Que sang at the Lakeside Pavilion was chosen and approved by Wu Peng. The drug in Wu Peng’s wine was arranged by the Seventh Princess’s people. Mei Que’s disappearance without reason was because Qiu Xinran had taken her away. Investigating further, tonight’s banquet was also Wu Peng’s own idea. Although the stated purpose of the banquet was to congratulate the Marquis Dingbei on his relocation and the return of Young Master Zheng to the capital, the Wu family residence had also been selected by her feng shui consultation—no one would think these things were connected to the Marquis Dingbei.

But why would he do this? Perhaps because these people had all offended him before, or perhaps what Xia Xiuyan wanted to deal with went far beyond just these matters.

Before they knew it, they had arrived outside He’s Rice Shop. Qiu Xinran dismounted from the horse and stood on the steps facing the man sitting on the horse. Seeing his expression cold as ice, he sat on the horse looking at her: “Since you think this way, why did you just watch me take Mei Que away?”

“Because…” Qiu Xinran hesitated, then after a moment raised her head to look at him. “In my heart, the Marquis and the Seventh Princess are still different.”

When she had originally thought Li Hanru had arranged all this, she hadn’t felt particularly bothered. But when she thought the mastermind behind it might be Xia Xiuyan, she felt disappointed. She couldn’t help remembering the youth who had once said “no matter how fine gold, silver, and jade objects are, they’re just dead things—how can they compare to human life?” Such a youth really shouldn’t become someone cold and calculating who would use human lives as bargaining chips.

Xia Xiuyan’s heart was in turmoil. His phoenix eyes stared at the woman before the steps, several emotions rising and falling in his heart, his fingers gripping the reins creaking. He felt that one sentence from this person made his heart cold as ice, just as he was getting angry, the next sentence was like spring wind and rain, making him unable to hate or be pleased—and she still had an upright and innocent expression, bowing and cupping her hands toward him: “I cannot persuade Mei Que to give up avenging Yu Yin, nor will I urge the Marquis to let go of your grievances. But when the Son of Heaven rages, millions of corpses fall and blood flows for thousands of miles. Yet when an insignificant person rages, it’s like a moth flying into flame—in the end it only harms oneself. The Marquis has also experienced being manipulated by others, powerless to resist. Judging others by oneself, I hope you can, for the sake of innocent children, let her go.” After finishing, she remained bowed for a long time.

The surroundings were quietly silent. In the night, two people and one horse stood in silence for a long while. Xia Xiuyan finally spoke, his voice carrying a chill like the night wind: “After saying all this, you’re only asking me to spare her?”

“Yes.”

“What about yourself?” This statement seemed to tacitly confirm her earlier speculation. Qiu Xinran’s body stiffened. Before she could speak, the man on the horse continued: “Since you think I’ve returned to the capital to collect old debts, what do you plan to do next?”

Xia Xiuyan pulled the reins, making the horse turn in place, reversing direction. Tonight was like a play arranged by someone—the cover beneath the artificial hill, the brief peace while riding together, all were illusions. When she spoke up to stop it, breaking through this tacitly understood surface peace, these illusions completely vanished.

Xia Xiuyan was still that Marquis Dingbei sitting high on his horse, lofty and superior. He had returned to Chang’an with even sharper fangs. He was no longer a separated young wolf shackled here—very soon he would demand old accounts from the enemies who had once harmed him. And what about Qiu Xinran? She was probably also in his ledger of old debts.

“If you were truly wary of me all along because of that divination seven years ago, you wouldn’t dare say these things to me tonight at all.” Xia Xiuyan said coldly, looking down at her from above. “Since I returned to the capital, you’ve avoided me many times. Is it truly because you fear I’ll come settle accounts with you after autumn, or are you deliberately trying to make people think you’re extremely guilty, to solidify the charges so I’ll settle that account on your head?”

Qiu Xinran’s heart jumped. She heard the sound of horse hooves gradually receding, the man on the horse leaving her with one sentence: “The days ahead are long—the Daoist should take care of herself.”

In the end, she still couldn’t hide it from him.

Qiu Xinran listened to the sound of his horse hooves receding into the distance. She lowered her hand, touched her nose, and smiled bitterly. She hadn’t expected that after three years in Chang’an, the person who could see through her at a glance would turn out to be Xia Xiuyan.

The next day at noon during the meal, He Xiu’er shared with her in a mysterious manner the big news that had spread through every street and alley this morning—Miss Mei Que from Fangchi Garden had disappeared.

Qiu Xinran made an effort to put on a curious expression: “What happened?”

“Who knows? Last night Fangchi Garden was reserved to entertain distinguished guests. The news only spread this morning that this distinguished guest was none other than Young Master Wu of the Wu family. Miss Mei supported the intoxicated Young Master Wu back to his room to rest last night. This morning when servants went to attend to his washing, they entered the room to find it in complete disarray, as if people had fought there. There was even a bit of blood on the floor. But Young Master Wu was lying on the bed safe and sound—only Miss Mei Que had vanished into thin air.” He Xiu’er rested her chin on her hand, utterly perplexed. “How can a living person vanish into thin air? Now the streets are full of all kinds of talk. Some say Fangchi Garden never had a person named Mei Que—she was actually a female ghost who came to the mortal world to fulfill a wish, and now that her wish is fulfilled, she’s been reincarnated. Others say Young Master Wu killed Miss Mei and had servants secretly dispose of the body, which is why she can’t be found anywhere…”

Qiu Xinran said: “Perhaps she just left on her own.”

“That’s possible, but that would be too boring.” He Xiu’er frowned. “Besides, why would she leave when everything was fine? Where could a person go alone?”

People always love bizarre stories. The closer something is to the truth, the less willing people are to believe it.

Qiu Xinran shook her head, sighing inwardly. Judging by this, it seemed Xia Xiuyan had achieved his purpose last night. After all, a minister’s son encountering a ghost at midnight and a music house performer vanishing into thin air—put together, it was truly eye-catching. This matter would probably be hotly discussed in the city for quite some time.