Fu Jinshu returned to the Wei mansion and headed straight to the martial arts training ground to find Wei Yunchan.
The entrance to the martial arts ground was guarded by sentries. Without the consent of either Wei Yunchan or Wei Zhiyin, no one was ever permitted entry into the training grounds.
Therefore, Fu Jinshu was blocked at the entrance, which came as no surprise.
However, the guards still possessed good judgment; they sent someone inside to announce his arrival, and shortly after, the guard returned and bowed to Fu Jinshu, saying, “Young Madam, please come in.”
Fu Jinshu walked inside with a tense expression.
The first thing he saw was Wei Yunchan practicing archery.
As summer approached, the weather grew increasingly hot. Wei Yunchan had been practicing under the sun for several hours, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. In the past, he would have long since reached his physical limit, but now he felt boundless strength within his body. Even when fatigue set in, a brief rest allowed him to recover completely.
Hearing footsteps drawing closer from behind, Wei Yunchan’s focus wavered. He released his grip, and the arrow strayed off target.
This was the seven hundred and sixty-fifth arrow he had shot today, and also the only one that failed to hit the bullseye.
The martial arts instructor glanced at the two of them and tactfully departed.
“Private school dismissed at the hour of shen, why did you return so late?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Yunchan familiarly extended his hand, waiting for Fu Jinshu to write words on his palm as a response.
Instead, Fu Jinshu gave an irrelevant reply: A young woman came to the mansion.
Wei Yunchan was completely baffled: “What young woman?”
Fu Jinshu gave no explanation, simply lowering his head to write again: Are you still sleeping with me tonight?
Feeling a guilty conscience, Wei Yunchan gave a sharp cough, fearing that Fu Jinshu might have discovered something. He immediately shook his head and conjured up a random excuse: “Tonight I will sleep in the east chamber, I-I need to read books.”
Little did he know that as soon as these words were spoken, Fu Jinshu shook his hand off.
It was truly a “shake-off,” sending a slight numbness through Wei Yunchan’s arm, which was already sore and swollen from high-intensity archery practice.
This little demon, quite strong indeed.
And quite a temper, too.
Wei Yunchan stared at his retreating back, let out a “tsk,” shook his arms, and prepared to rest for a moment before continuing his practice.
Having received Wei Yunchan’s reply, Fu Jinshu felt profoundly disappointed in him.
Although Fu Jinshu did not understand what “love” was, he had once witnessed other people’s “romance.”
Centuries ago, a fox spirit he knew had willingly abandoned all her cultivation for her beloved scholar, just to trade it for a lifetime of romantic fate with him.
Yet later on, the scholar caught the eye of the reigning dynasty’s princess and was appointed as the imperial son-in-law.
Heartbroken and desolate, the fox spirit dragged her frail body back to the mountains. Fu Jinshu did not understand and asked her: “He never said he wanted a formal separation from you, why did you have to leave him?”
“Because love cannot be shared,” the fox spirit gave a desolate smile. “I cannot accept him marrying another woman; what I want is a lifelong devotion between just the two of us.”
Clearly, Wei Yunchan was incapable of that either.
Fu Jinshu even began to doubt Master Heji’s divination for him, what damned “fated marriage ordained by heaven,” this scoundrel Wei Yunchan was going off to sleep with another woman tonight.
How was he ever supposed to fall in love with such a person? Fu Jinshu felt distressed and angry in his heart. He had done so much for Wei Yunchan, yet Wei Yunchan treated him this way.
I might as well just kill him.
As soon as this thought surfaced, the image of Wei Yunchan’s pitch-black eyes flashed through his mind, abruptly forcing the idea back down.
When evening came, Fu Jinshu did not go to the main hall to dine with the others. Wei Yunchan originally wanted to check on him, but upon reaching the door, he remembered what had happened last night and this morning. His cheeks grew slightly warm, and in the end, he flicked his sleeves and headed toward the east chamber instead.
The east chamber was where Wei Yunchan used to rest directly when he grew tired of reading books. Naturally, the room was not as spacious as the main quarters, and the furnishings were very simple: just a desk, a bookshelf, a folding screen, and a bed.
In the past, pushing open the door would always be met with a lingering scent of writing brushes and paper, but today was remarkably different.
A wisp of rouge fragrance drifted over.
Frowning, Wei Yunchan stepped into the room and took a look, only to see a young woman kneeling on the bed.
She wore only a red silk belly-duvet, revealing practically everything that should and should not be seen. Beneath her disheveled black hair was a fair face, and her eyes gazed at Wei Yunchan with shyness and timidity as she called out in a sweet, clear voice: “Young Master.”
A young woman came to the mansion.
Are you still sleeping with me tonight?
Recalling the two sentences Fu Jinshu had written in the afternoon, Wei Yunchan experienced an epiphany.
He withdrew his gaze, too lazy to even look at the woman on the bed again, and was about to slam the door and leave when the woman behind him spoke up.
“Young Master, wait!” Shen Fu’er got off the bed and dropped straight to her knees on the floor. Seeming completely unconcerned by how unseemly her appearance was, she knocked her forehead against the ground a few times, blood instantly welling up: “Young Master, please show mercy. Fu’er does not ask to consummate a formal marriage with the Young Master; I only ask that the Young Master lodge here for the night.”
Wei Yunchan paused in his tracks, not because of her words, but because he figured that a woman willing to go to such lengths must have ulterior motives.
“State your purpose for insisting that I stay here tonight.”
Shen Fu’er met his unfathomable eyes, swallowed nervously, and honestly recounted the injustices she had suffered in the Shen family.
Half the time it took to burn an incense stick passed. Comprehending what she meant, Wei Yunchan got up, walked over to the door, and closed it.
“Get up, and go put on your clothes.”
Shen Fu’er looked at Wei Yunchan in astonishment. Wei Yunchan seated himself by the desk, his expression indifferent: “I can help you, but I cannot keep you in the Wei mansion under the status of a ‘concubine’.”
“But if we don’t do this, my.”
Wei Yunchan interrupted her: “How old is your younger brother?”
“Over fourteen.”
“Very well. Tomorrow, I will have General Lin write a letter by hand and send it to your household. Publicly, it will state that he is to serve as the chief bodyguard in the Lin family army, and upon reaching eighteen, he will be directly promoted to bodyguard platoon leader. Your father, dreading his promising future, will certainly no longer mistreat your mother in the household. As for whether he can achieve a bright future, it will depend on his own capabilities.”
Wei Yunchan casually picked up a book, his tone solemn and serious: “The reason I think more favorably of you is because you possess the determination to go to such lengths for your family. However, remember this, relying on your looks to attach yourself to others is a very foolish path. Although you are a woman, you possess the courage to burn your boats and cross the river; why not throw caution to the wind and forge a future for yourself?”
Shen Fu’er shook her head bitterly: “I would like to as well, but what can I do.”
“Have you ever heard of the ‘Lingluo Bureau’?”
Shen Fu’er shook her head blankly: “I have never heard of it.”
Wei Yunchan lightly tapped the tabletop, his voice clear and detached: “The ‘Lingluo Bureau’ consists entirely of women, those younger than you, and those older than you, all of them. They are responsible for gathering and delivering intelligence for me, hiding in plain sight across the six states with different identities. It is one of the sharpest ‘blades’ in Yunliang.”
A glimmer of brilliance lit up in Shen Fu’er’s eyes: “Can, can I join too?”
Wei Yunchan looked at her, his thin lips parting slightly: “Acceptable.”
Seeing the candles in the east chamber extinguish, and hearing the faint, intermittent pants of a woman, Fentao felt relieved. She turned around and left to report tonight’s situation to Madam Wen.
Motionless, Wei Yunchan sat in his chair. In his ears were the deliberately produced breaths of Shen Fu’er. Rationally speaking, these sounds were ambiguous and licentious, yet Wei Yunchan felt not a shred of arousal.
It was far less stirring than yesterday when Fu Jinshu’s hair brushed against his neck, leaving him restless and ill at ease.
Fu Jinshu.
It was always Fu Jinshu.
Wei Yunchan had figured it out somewhat: his body had been healed by that little demon.
Naturally, then, his body only “bowed in submission” to that little demon as well.
After sitting blankly like that for a full quarter of an hour, Wei Yunchan stood up.
Shen Fu’er got up to send him off: “Is the Young Master returning to his quarters?”
Wei Yunchan gave a sound of acknowledgment and instructed her: “In another hour, I will have someone come to fetch you. Tomorrow, it will be announced publicly that you were tortured to death by me, once you enter the Lingluo Bureau, the person named Shen Fu’er will cease to exist in this world.”
Shen Fu’er smiled untrammeled: “That is truly wonderful; I grew weary of the identity of Shen Fu’er long ago, only.”
She hesitated, then continued after a moment: “Only in doing so, I will ruin your reputation once again.”
Prior to tonight, Shen Fu’er had also imagined the “White-Faced Asura” Wei Yunchan as cruel, bloodthirsty, vicious, and ruthless; the rumors and gossip from earlier years had long since ruined Wei Yunchan’s public image completely.
Yet the real Wei Yunchan was steady and calm; although he appeared aloof and cold, he actually possessed a benevolent and generous heart.
Apart from him, Shen Fu’er could not think of a second candidate to become the future City Lord of Yunliang.
Wei Yunchan waved his hand dismissively, as if talking to himself: “It doesn’t matter, it’s just a bit troublesome having to explain it to someone.”
As he spoke, he walked in the direction of the main quarters.
Only then did Shen Fu’er remember that Wei Yunchan had a wedded male bride for dispelling misfortune.
Who was he going to explain it to, that male bride?
Recalling Wei Yunchan’s words just moments ago, Shen Fu’er actually managed to taste a hint of pampering in them.