Thinking of this, the Sixth Prince felt his body and spirit ease somewhat.

But then he said with some dejection: “Now I understand why none of the officials here were willing to tell me the straight truth — they are all military men! They look frightened of me on the surface, but they have something to fall back on — they don’t take me seriously in the least!”

Situ Sheng set down his tea and rose, walking to the edge of the pool. As he handed the tea across he said: “Not entirely so… The Prefect and Vice Prefect Zhou are clearly not among them…”

Liu Ling faced so many local officials every day that he only remembered those in the most significant posts.

Aside from the Prefect, the beautiful wife of Zhou Sui’an had also left a strong impression on him — and by association, the Sixth Prince had also remembered Zhou Sui’an himself.

Hearing Situ Sheng say this, the Sixth Prince expressed his puzzlement.

Situ Sheng, amid the rising fragrance of the tea, explained slowly: “His Majesty began to resolve to reform the accumulated problems and abuses half a year ago — with the sword pointed at border military affairs — and many officials were newly appointed. All the officials here have been replaced. Both the Prefect and the Vice Prefect were appointed only about half a year ago. Especially that Vice Prefect Zhou — he has been here half a year, yet what he knows is not even as much as Your Highness knows. Would you say he is likely to be an insider?”

The Prefect was something else — reportedly a student of the Grand Secretary Dong, one of the court’s senior officials, appointed by the Emperor to serve as his eyes here. He conducted himself in the cautious, moderate way of a seasoned official, not offending either side.

But an official like Zhou Sui’an — young, without connections or backing — sent to such a dangerous and critical posting, was obviously being used as a temporary shield, someone who could die without consequence.

Liu Ling thought this reasonable. Zhou Sui’an was indeed different from the other local officials who kept dodging and deflecting — he was full of enthusiasm, charging up before the Prince every day, reporting on all manner of things both significant and trivial.

So much so that the Sixth Prince sometimes, upon catching sight of Officer Zhou, would feel a buzzing in his ears and instinctively look for a way to go around him.

Thinking that the day of return to the capital was coming soon, Liu Ling was too lazy to drag more trouble onto himself. Since the Junior Preceptor wanted to investigate old cases, let him investigate to his heart’s content!

At that thought, Liu Ling waved his hand toward the Junior Preceptor: “These hot springs are wonderful — would you not join me in a soak, Master?”

This master of his was fine in every other respect — only he was too stiff and proper, abstaining from both wine and women, with no pleasures or hobbies to speak of.

The mist and steam from the water was warm and moist, yet Situ Sheng kept his collar fastened tight, with not the slightest intention of getting into the water to enjoy himself.

Even upon hearing the Sixth Prince’s invitation, he merely rose and said: “I caught a chill from bathing in my room yesterday — I won’t be getting into the pool. Your Highness, please soak a little longer. I’ll go down to the pavilion below and warm myself by the fire while I wait for Your Highness.”

With that, he descended the steps and headed for the half-mountain pavilion. Liu Ling watched the upright, dignified retreating figure of his mentor and shook his head helplessly.

Situ Sheng was in the prime of his years, yet he had never taken a wife. People at the palace used to gossip about whether he had no interest in women, or whether he had some hidden physical ailment.

That a man could cultivate and restrain himself so thoroughly — the Sixth Prince, who had only recently married, could not understand it at all.

Liu Ling’s earlier invitation to bathe together had in fact also carried a note of curiosity — he wanted to see whether his mentor’s “little mentor” was in proper working order.

But Situ Sheng was no fun — unwilling to enjoy snow-viewing and a shared bath — making one wonder whether the gossip was true after all: that Situ Sheng had some unspeakable condition?

—

Then again, Situ Sheng had only just made his way down to the pavilion when he spotted several carriages stopped at the foot of the mountain.

This place was called Chai-fei Mountain — two modest peaks facing each other, like the two panels of a brushwood gate. One peak had the beautiful hot spring pools, while the other had a temple whose incense fires burned flourishing and abundant.

Today was the fifteenth of the month, and several of the ladies from the prefecture had planned to go to the temple to burn incense and fulfill their vows, so their carriages had stopped at the foot of the mountain and they were preparing to go up.

From his vantage point in the pavilion above, Situ Sheng looked down and saw Chu Linlang dressed in a striking pink, flitting among a group of wives like a bright butterfly — weaving back and forth between them, keeping the mood lively and the conversation flowing.

Once those wives had gone up the mountain, he then set off, following a path on the far side of the mountain, making his way up to the other peak to have a look.

This path was hidden and steep, but those with an easy gait on mountain trails could actually make faster progress. Through a dense thicket, after a short while Situ Sheng, with his long, swift strides, had quickly caught up with…

—

Now to speak of Chu Linlang — before setting out this time, she had consulted the almanac in full and shaken the oracle sticks until her wrists ached.

So many heads had fallen in the neighboring county — who knew whether Lianzhou would be able to pass through this crisis unscathed.

With the King of Hell paying a visit to the prefecture in person, one could not help but go and pay reverence to the divine images, and pray for her husband’s safety.

She had originally mentioned it in passing to the Prefect’s wife, never expecting that the Prefect’s wife would also think this quite sensible. She knew that Madam Chu had a reliable hand when it came to matters of gods and spirits. If Madam Chu was going to pay her respects to the Buddha, following along to pray could only help.

The word spread, and by the fifteenth day there were as many as seven or eight wives who had joined together to make the trip.

But when they stepped down from their carriages, they discovered that there were also carriages at the foot of the opposite mountain. Upon asking, they learned that the Sixth Prince himself was over on that peak, soaking in the hot springs.

Fortunately the temple was not on the same mountain. When they came back down later, they would just have to send someone ahead to watch out and make sure they didn’t cross paths with the Sixth Prince.

Only the road was slippery from the snow, and even though the temple had sent people to clear it, the several wives still had to tread carefully on the steps.

Two wives walking behind happened to be walking alongside Zhang Xian’s wife Lin Niangzi. Knowing that Zhou Sui’an and Zhang Xian were on bad terms, they couldn’t help, while fawning on Lin Niangzi, to make Chu Linlang the subject of their remarks.

Marrying a virtuous wife — how true that saying was. That Officer Zhou was quite the man to look at, and yet his inner quarters remained so quiet and empty… The fact that Madam Zhou still had no son to this day — what a pity…

Just as in business — make an offering to the gods that is within your means to afford, when it comes true fulfill the vow, keep the transaction clean and clear. If the gods at this temple prove ineffective, simply move on to the next temple to keep praying. As for subtler matters like sweeping one’s mirror clean and purifying one’s heart — those were entirely beyond the scope of interest.

“What a coincidence, meeting you here, Master Situ.”

She was by nature the daughter of a minor military officer, raised in a rural household from childhood, and even her speech carried a flavor of rustic folk expression. Yet despite a difference of fifteen years in age, she and Chu Linlang had found an immediate rapport, their temperaments well matched. Added to that, Chu Linlang knew how to read a room and keep the conversation pleasant — and within just half a year, they had become the closest of confidantes despite the gap in age.

Looking up — heavens above! How had she run into this same Junior Preceptor Situ again!

If he had any sense of propriety, he should have responded with a polite reply acknowledging the coincidence.

Chu Linlang, though she knew herself to be young and attractive, upon hearing such an undisguised and improper remark, still couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath. She widened her eyes involuntarily and said: “Master Situ, you… what do you mean by saying that?”

This kind of temple vegetarian food Chu Linlang had no taste for, and she was even less inclined to listen to the Buddha’s sutras droning on in clouds of obscurity — so she took the opportunity of an early exit and wandered off to explore the back of the mountain.

Once they reached the temple and had burned incense and offered their prayers, Madam He wanted to have a vegetarian meal with Madam Lin and the others, and then listen to the monks expound on the scriptures.

But as the elder sister in their friendship, she did feel she ought to offer Madam Chu a word of advice.

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Lin Niangzi looked up, glanced briefly at Chu Linlang — who was at that moment chatting and laughing in high spirits with the Prefect’s wife not far away — then smiled and listened, without adding a word of her own.

Only Madam He, the sort who had no patience for lecturing, was strangely addicted to listening to the Buddhist sutras — and though she understood not a single trace of the Zen meaning, she would sit and pretend to listen, hoping vaguely to gain some extension of life and years.

The Prefect’s wife had been in the middle of a conversation with Chu Linlang when she suddenly noticed that the woman beside her had gone quiet, and seemed to be listening to something.

It was then that this Junior Preceptor Situ, paying little heed to propriety, raised his voice first and said: “Madam Zhou — may I have a word aside?”

She placed her reverence for the gods only in the moment of kneeling and burning incense.

Hearing this, the gossiping women behind realized that their voices had gradually grown too loud, and immediately laughed in embarrassment and quickly changed the subject.

Situ Sheng had already tried playing the lute to that cow once before, and knew that when speaking to her, it was best not to be too roundabout. So he said directly: “Previously I had suggested to your husband that I would like him to provide me with the register of Lianzhou’s former officials. Unfortunately, Officer Zhou felt that as the Prince’s Junior Preceptor, I had no authority to inquire into local affairs, and was not inclined to comply. So I would like to ask the Madam — would you be able to help copy out a version for me?”

Chu Linlang saw that he also had his manservant with him, and that her own maids followed behind her as well — here in the open, with no walls and no roof overhead, it could not be counted as a clandestine meeting. So she pressed her lips together, walked over, and returned his greeting with a bow.

Chu Linlang shook her head with a rueful smile: “If I were in your position — when others like to chew their tongues, why would you fear it? You are the true mistress of this courtyard — what cat or dog would dare climb up over your head and relieve itself?”

Just then a gust of wind passed, and she also heard the vague murmur of voices somewhere not far behind her. In a flash she understood the situation, and turned her head toward the people behind her and called out: “What are you saying back there? Speak louder — let me hear it too!”

Hearing this, the other wife shook her head and sighed: “No wonder Officer Zhou is such a handsome and accomplished man, and yet his inner quarters are so quiet and orderly. But she still hasn’t produced a son to this day — does she not worry for herself?”

These words stirred the enthusiasm of those around, and everyone chimed in with feelings of their own, all sighing and lamenting that this Madam Chu was so domineering and willful in her own household, and that sooner or later no good would come of it.

Madam He, the Prefect’s wife, turned and patted Chu Linlang’s arm, the arm that had been supporting her: “That’s just how they are — they’ve been talking about me behind my back too. Pay no mind.”

Chu Linlang actually knew as well that this day would come sooner or later. But even if that day truly arrived, she could never manage it the way Madam He did — with her iron-fisted methods.

“What a domineering woman, to do something as unfilial as defying her mother-in-law! I’ve heard she has always been jealous and possessive — even her mother-in-law Lady Zhao has cried to my mother about it, saying that Madam Chu cannot tolerate anyone else in the inner quarters — every one that comes, she drives away! The Zhou family is going to have their line die out!”

But Madam Chu has never conceived, and if this standoff simply drags on forever, won’t she just end up being seen as the guilty one in her husband’s family?

Her own mother had been a concubine, and she had no wish to cause another woman to live the same unbearable life. She had no desire to continue on this topic, so she changed the subject and spoke of other things.

But this Junior Preceptor from the imperial palace seemed to be utterly ignorant of what “propriety” meant. With only the faintest curve of his mouth — perfectly composed — he said: “It is not a coincidence. I came here specifically to wait for Madam Chu.”

Chu Linlang was once again struck with a sharp inward breath — this time because of her husband’s childish stubbornness. Of all things, he had gone and offended the Sixth Prince’s mentor over something so trivial.

Chu Linlang estimated she might have some time to wait, so she wandered around for a while and then prepared to head back to the meditation chamber to sit and drink tea. But she had only taken a few steps when she found someone standing in her path.

Chu Linlang felt there was something too reminiscent of a romantic drama about a chance temple encounter, and that there was something vaguely improper about it — so she quickly turned to leave and remove herself from the situation.

Just as she sought an oracle for a son and drew lots — even if nine temple heads told her she was destined to have no children, and one said she was blessed with a son and daughter both — that one was enough.

“The next time your mother-in-law starts arranging things, you absolutely must not push back against her. It’s been how many years since you married — the novelty has worn off, and you can’t keep acting like a young girl being jealous and petty. This day will come sooner or later — so why not turn it to your advantage and win some credit with your husband and mother-in-law? A concubine is a concubine — once she’s through the door, can’t you manage her? When the time comes, if you find yourself struggling, I’ll teach you how!”

If a husband and wife are devoted to each other and blessed with children, then keeping a hold on one’s husband is perfectly fine — it’s a case of both parties being willing. But if Madam Chu continues to block the household from having children while holding onto her husband, won’t she simply end up being the sinner in her husband’s family?

As for the matter of the attempted concubinage in the Chu family, she had also heard about it — and had even seen that delicate, sweet-tempered Miss Yin with her own eyes. Add to that the visit from Zhou Sui’an’s elderly mother, who had come to inquire directly — and she understood the ins and outs of it well. It was not as the rumors said — that Madam Chu had scolded a good concubine away.