Xia Xiuyan rode back to the mansion early in the morning. When he reached the inner courtyard and discovered it was completely empty, standing outside, he actually didn’t dare to go in and look carefully for a moment. Fortunately, Uncle Liu hurried over upon hearing the news. Seeing him, he was also startled: “How did Your Lordship come back?”

“I had some free time this morning, so I came back to take a look.” Standing under the ornamental gate, Xia Xiuyan forced himself to appear calm as he glanced inside. “Where is she?”

“Miss Qiu went out early in the morning. She said she wanted to go see the marketplace.”

Xia Xiuyan unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, then heard Uncle Liu ask, “Has Your Lordship had breakfast yet? Why not have some at the mansion?”

He had tossed and turned all night without sleeping well, then rode back before dawn. After finishing breakfast in the main hall, his heartbeat gradually calmed down. He suddenly had the thought “fortunately she went out early in the morning.” Otherwise, if she were here, what would he plan to say to her?

Uncle Liu watched his lord rush back early in the morning and had thought there was some urgent matter. In the time it took to eat a meal, however, he saw him return to his usual appearance, sitting at the table lost in thought. He felt puzzled but didn’t say anything, only called for the servants to clear the bowls and dishes from the table. Suddenly he heard Xia Xiuyan ask, “Did she say anything when she returned yesterday?”

Uncle Liu was startled and carefully recalled: “Nothing particularly special.”

Xia Xiuyan didn’t speak. After a while, he asked again, “When she went out this morning, what was her mood like?”

This time Uncle Liu detected some clues. Princess Mingyang had passed away early, and General Xia was busy with military affairs all day long. It could be said that Xia Xiuyan had been looked after and raised by him and Zhang Auntie since childhood. This child had few peers around him from a young age and had a heavy mind, so his temperament was somewhat solitary. During those two years in Chang’an, because he had to take medicine every day, his disposition became increasingly gloomy. However, during that period when Qiu Xinran came to the house every day to practice archery, he seemed much more spirited than usual.

He remembered that back then, Qiu Xinran would arrive by carriage every day at the hour of the Monkey. Xia Xiuyan would mostly be sitting in the main hall waiting for her with a book by the hour of the Goat. Once, the Bureau of Astronomy had some matter that delayed her—by the time the hour of the Monkey was nearly past, she still hadn’t arrived. He had brought in tea twice and, seeing that though the young man’s face showed no expression, the pages of the book in his hands had only been turned twice, couldn’t help but advise, “Qiu Sichen probably has business at the palace and can’t come. The wind is strong here. Young Master, why not go back to your room to rest?”

The young man lowered his head, staring at the book in his hands, softly acknowledging but not moving his body an inch.

It wasn’t until the hour of the Rooster when the sun set that hurried footsteps came from outside. Across the courtyard, he heard Zhang Auntie’s somewhat surprised voice: “Slow down, slow down. I thought Sichen wasn’t coming today. Was something delayed?” The young woman’s voice then also came closer from far away: “This afternoon I accidentally fell asleep at my desk, and I happened to be caught by the supervisor on his rounds. He called me in and scolded me.” She finished speaking, then lowered her voice dejectedly: “When I go in, the Young Master will scold me too…”

Zhang Auntie laughed: “Then stay for dinner. Zhang Auntie will make you something good to eat.”

“Then I want the white jade tofu soup I had yesterday!” Hearing this, the young woman immediately brightened up again, her earlier grievances swept clean away.

Sitting in the main hall, Xia Xiuyan let out a hum. Uncle Liu glanced over and saw a trace of a cold smile at the corner of his lips, while the gloom that had accumulated in his eyes all afternoon had dispersed completely.

Uncle Liu’s eyes saw everything clearly. Now he said cheerfully, “Quite happy. Said she wanted to set up a divination stall at the marketplace and asked me what good food there is around here. I told her the wine and dishes at Penglai Pavilion are quite famous, and the peach blossom wine at the shop is also good—if there’s a chance, she should try it.”

Xia Xiuyan was startled and looked up to see the old servant’s face full of knowing smiles. His expression somewhat unnatural, he turned his eyes away.

Qiu Xinran sat in the marketplace of Lingzhou City with an extremely simple stall set up. After an entire morning, she hadn’t done a single bit of business. As the sun gradually climbed higher, she touched her rumbling stomach twice and decided to close up shop and first go eat something. Just as she was thinking this, a carriage stopped in front of her stall.

Thinking it was some noble customer arriving, the carriage curtain lifted to reveal Xia Xiuyan sitting in the carriage. Qiu Xinran hadn’t expected the person who should be at the military camp to suddenly appear in the marketplace. For a moment, she couldn’t quite process it.

The man in the carriage glanced at the empty money bowl on her table: “A whole morning and you still haven’t opened for business?”

Qiu Xinran still looked somewhat dazed: “How is Your Lordship here?”

“I was just going to have a meal. Would the Daoist like to join me?”

In her confusion, Qiu Xinran got into the carriage before remembering she was currently angry with him. However, now sitting in his carriage and about to have him treat her to a meal—having received someone’s favor made it somewhat difficult to maintain a cold expression. Xia Xiuyan also seemed to have completely forgotten about what happened before, casually asking, “Business not good?”

Qiu Xinran maintained a good attitude: “That’s just how it is when you first arrive. Besides, Lingzhou is still different from Chang’an.”

“Different how?”

Qiu Xinran looked at him: “His Majesty believes in the Dao. Your Lordship does not.”

Emperor Xuande loved seeking immortals and consulting the Dao, which had led to a trend of fortune-telling and divination in Chang’an City. Xia Xiuyan didn’t believe in such things, so Lingzhou had few Daoists, making business naturally harder to come by. The man in the carriage pulled his lips slightly: “So you’re blaming me?”

The woman also smiled: “I wouldn’t dare.”

The wine house Xia Xiuyan took her to was called Penglai Pavilion. The two arrived early, so there weren’t many diners in the building yet. A server led them to a private room on the second floor and diligently recited today’s dishes. From the names alone, most seemed to be Jiangnan cuisine. It wasn’t easy to prepare such a table in the Northwest—just the cost of transporting the fish, shrimp, and river crabs thousands of miles wouldn’t be low. This meal alone would probably cost quite a bit of silver.

Xia Xiuyan said nothing, only ordering an additional pot of wine. Hearing this, the server’s eyes swept over the two of them. Cleverly, he said, “Right away. Please wait just a moment, honored guests.”

Qiu Xinran felt the server’s glance at her just now carried some meaningful implications. She couldn’t help but sigh, “When the city’s common people see you eating at this kind of place, most will think you’re living some kind of luxurious and debauched life.”

Xia Xiuyan looked at her: “So enjoy this meal well, because there won’t be another chance like this.”

Qiu Xinran raised her chopsticks with a smile: “No matter. If someone truly recognizes you, just say I’m treating you to this meal.”

The environment at Penglai Pavilion was tranquil and elegant. Once the wine and dishes were served one after another, Qiu Xinran had no time for talking. When the private room was quiet, only the sound of chopsticks lightly striking porcelain bowls could be heard.

After she had eaten her fill halfway, she raised her head only to discover the person across from her had barely touched his chopsticks. She couldn’t help but stop and ask, “Why is Your Lordship just watching me eat?”

“I’m not accustomed to eating these things.”

Qiu Xinran was startled: “Then why did Your Lordship choose this place?”

“The wine here is very good.” Xia Xiuyan looked at her, picking up the porcelain cup on the table to pour her a cup. Qiu Xinran took it and looked—the wine color was pale red with a light, clear fragrance.

“What wine is this?”

“This wine is called Peach Blossom Brew. In the Northwest, peach trees are scarce, so good peach blossom wine is extremely rare. Yet every wine shop in the city, large or small, will certainly brew this wine. Do you know why?”

Naturally, Qiu Xinran didn’t know, so she heard him continue, “Because there’s a legend about this wine in this area.”

Seeing she indeed showed some curiosity, only then did Xia Xiuyan slowly continue: “Legend has it there was a woman who followed her beloved from Jiangnan to the frontier. Unfortunately, her beloved was a soldier about to go to the front lines to fight, so he cruelly rejected her. Several years later, when he returned safely from the battlefield, the first thing he did was go to that woman’s house to ask for her hand in marriage. But every time he went, the young lady refused to see him. After going several times like this, the last time, the man waited outside the woman’s door from morning until dark before the young lady was finally willing to come out to see him. The man’s heart was full of joy, but the young lady coldly said to him with an expressionless face: ‘I have waited for you many years. Now I miss the peach blossom wine of my hometown. It’s time for me to return home.'”

Having told the story to this point, he suddenly stopped. Qiu Xinran couldn’t help but press: “What happened after?”

“After…” The man across from her paused slightly, then suddenly asked, “When you said earlier you wanted to leave Lingzhou, where were you planning to go?”

Qiu Xinran hadn’t expected him to suddenly ask about this. For a moment she was at a loss for words: “Though I haven’t decided yet, I want to travel around. Perhaps that way I can figure some things out.”

“Figure out what?”

Qiu Xinran saw that when he asked this, his gaze was quietly fixed on her, as if he truly cared very much about the answer to this question. She couldn’t help but become serious as well: “Does Your Lordship remember when you once asked me why I study divination?”

Xia Xiuyan was startled, then heard her say, “Your Lordship awakened me. In my youth, I studied divination because my master said I had exceptional talent in this path. But from that day on, I realized I had never thought about what my original intention for studying divination was.”

“Among diviners, there are those like my teacher who dwell deep in the palace reading stars and casting fortunes for emperors; there are also those like my master who hide in the mountains transmitting the Dao and teaching disciples; and even more who, for the sake of making a living, mix with the common people to earn their meals. They all know what they want to do…” She lightly tapped the table surface with her chopsticks, her face showing confusion. “But I still don’t know why I practice divination.”

Xia Xiuyan hadn’t expected there was actually some connection to himself in this. He had long forgotten when he had asked this question. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. After a long while, he asked again, “Then how can you know?”

Qiu Xinran was also somewhat troubled: “This matter of comprehending the Dao—it’s possible I’ll understand it in the next snap of my fingers, but it’s also possible I’ll never understand it my entire life.”

Xia Xiuyan asked softly, “If you never understand it your whole life, what will you do?”

“There are so many people in the world who study divination. How many truly understand it?” Qiu Xinran feigned optimism. “People are all different. Some people probably never even think about this and still live just fine.”

But Xia Xiuyan’s eyes looked at her, saying quietly, “But if you can’t figure it out, you’ll be thinking about it your whole life, won’t you?”

Qiu Xinran fell silent. She turned to look out the window. After a long while, she finally said, “Perhaps.”

After she finished speaking, the wine house fell quiet for a moment.

Qiu Xinran turned her head back. Trying to lift her spirits and wanting to cast this topic aside, she looked at the person across from her and pressed again, “You still haven’t said—what happened in that story afterward? Did the two really separate just like that?”

Xia Xiuyan raised his hand and finished the wine in his cup. Lowering his eyes, he turned the wine cup in his hand, paused for a beat, then said, “That young lady returned to her hometown. The man then planted a peach grove near his own house and brewed a pot of peach blossom wine under the peach trees every year. Now every household in the city uses this for funerals.”

Qiu Xinran choked for a moment, staring at him incredulously. She suddenly felt the wine in her cup was somewhat hard to swallow. Xia Xiuyan looked over and laughed derisively, taking the wine cup from her hands: “I was joking. You actually believed it.” After speaking, he drained her cup of wine in one gulp.

In her heart, Qiu Xinran felt both angry and amused, yet couldn’t help being somewhat curious: “Which part was Your Lordship lying about?”

“This wine isn’t used for funerals at home,” Xia Xiuyan said without changing expression. “This wine is so expensive—they wouldn’t use it for funerals.”

So the man and woman in the story truly did separate? The story Xia Xiuyan told was clearly neither moving nor poignant, yet for some reason, Qiu Xinran’s heart still felt somewhat regretful on their behalf.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard Xia Xiuyan suddenly say slowly, “Ever since Qi Kedan’s nephew Mani took control of the royal tent, he has pledged allegiance to Dali. This time with Qi Kedan’s death, for him it also resolves a major concern. His Majesty has ordered me to escort Qi Kedan’s remnants to Juanfu. That’s the Diyue people’s royal capital and will pass through the Kada tribal grasslands. You’ve always envied your senior sisters being able to come to the frontier. When the time comes, I can take you along.”

Saying this, Qiu Xinran instantly forgot everything else and looked at him with surprise and delight: “Really?”

Seeing how happy she was, Xia Xiuyan moved his lips. After a moment, he added, “When we return from Juanfu, if you still want to leave, I can personally escort you out of the city.”

Earlier, when Xia Xiuyan had forcibly brought her to Lingzhou, she had been angry. Now that he suddenly relented, Qiu Xinran instead felt somewhat at a loss. She couldn’t help but stammer, “Why is Your Lordship suddenly granting every request?”

Granting every request? Xia Xiuyan looked at her, then looked away, saying softly, “You traveled thousands of miles to come to Lingzhou. Whatever you want, naturally I should give it all to you.” Unfortunately, these words were too soft. Qiu Xinran didn’t hear clearly and asked again, “What did Your Lordship say?”

The man shook his head. Qiu Xinran glanced at the wine bottle on the table again and reached out to take it. Xia Xiuyan saw this and picked up the bottle instead. The wine bottle still had the last bit of fine brew remaining. He tilted his head back and drank it, not leaving a single drop. At the end, he even lightly shook the empty wine cup at her—his manner extremely childish.

Yet the corners of his eyes held a hint of red, and his lips were still moistened with wine stains—his appearance elegant and handsome. With just one glance, Qiu Xinran’s heartbeat quickened involuntarily. For a moment, she couldn’t muster any anger at all. She could only shake her head helplessly, ultimately not arguing with him over that cup of peach blossom wine she never got to taste.