"Would Eldest Brother like some thousand-layer cake?"
"My tooth aches; I can't eat anything too sweet and rich." Song Langyu's voice was cold.
Song Langxuan, however, genuinely believed his tooth was hurting and asked with concern, "Is Eldest Brother in a lot of pain? I have a folk remedy that works wonders for toothaches—I'll go find it for you right away!"
Song Langyu glanced at Wen Jiao, then at Song Langxuan, and without saying a single word, entered the courtyard.
That day, Song Langyu worked late into the night before returning to the Marquis's estate. The moment he stepped into his study, he saw a food box placed on the desk.
He averted his gaze and reviewed case files as usual.
Late into the night, hunger gnawed at his stomach, and his gaze involuntarily fell upon the food box. His index finger twitched, but then he recalled the image of Wen Jiao chatting and laughing with Song Langxuan, and suddenly he was no longer hungry.
He opened his mouth to call for a maidservant, but paused—
If his heart was truly at ease, what harm was there in eating a plate of thousand-layer cake?
He lifted the lid of the food box. What lay on the white porcelain plate was not thousand-layer cake, but a plate of lotus flower pastries.
They were prettier than thousand-layer cake, and more troublesome to make as well.
Song Langyu pressed his lips together, reached out, and took a lotus flower pastry into his mouth. The flaky, oil-layered crust melted on his tongue, leaving behind a cloying sweetness.
This was definitely not Wen Jiao's handiwork.
Song Langyu rinsed his mouth with cold tea and called for the maidservant.
"Where did these lotus flower pastries come from?"
The maidservant was newly assigned and didn't understand why he was asking. She answered truthfully, "The kitchen sent them over this afternoon."
Song Langyu let out a cold snort.
"Take them away."
The maidservant didn't know why the young heir was angry, nor did she dare to ask. She quickly carried the food box out.
But before long, the maidservant returned.
"What is it?" Song Langyu asked.
The maidservant said cautiously, "Miss Wen has come to deliver thousand-layer cake."
"My tooth aches, I won't eat it. Tell her to go back."
The maidservant acknowledged and went out to say to Wen Jiao, who was waiting in the courtyard, "Thank you for your kindness, miss, but the young heir's tooth is aching and he cannot eat sweet, rich pastries."
Wen Jiao softly uttered an "oh," then picked up her food box and left the Calamus Courtyard.
Song Langyu was a man, and men have possessiveness. Even if he didn't like her, he couldn't bear to see her wavering between two minds and entangling herself with Song Langxuan.
He couldn't help but look at her, think of her, and couldn't help but feel jealousy and contempt toward Song Langxuan…
Song Langyu was no immortal; hidden in the depths of his heart were shameful, secret desires.
The Dragon Boat Festival was approaching. In the capital, every household would insert mugwort and calamus at their doors and windows, and people would tie longevity cords around their wrists and wear sachets.
Young ladies in the inner chambers had few pastimes, and Song Xiangyu had long been looking forward to the Dragon Boat Festival. She had prepared silk threads, pearls, and jade fragments, and dragged Wen Jiao along to braid longevity cords together.
The two sat beneath the flower trellis, their fingers deftly tying beautiful knots while exchanging whispered secrets between sisters.
Song Xiangyu untangled a strand of silk thread as she spoke: "Yesterday you and Second Brother went out without calling me along—that's truly disloyal of you."
Wen Jiao's fingers were slender and nimble, five-colored silk threads dancing between her fingertips. She raised her bright, sparkling eyes to look at Song Xiangyu and said, "I did want to call for Cousin to come along, but Second Cousin was in a hurry to leave…"
Song Xiangyu gave a humph. She thought of mentioning Song Langyu, but then realized that bringing him up might upset Wen Jiao, so she held her tongue. Her gaze shifted to the longevity cord Wen Jiao was weaving.
The knots were exquisite, and the jade fragments matched beautifully—truly unique and lovely.
She reached out and pinched Wen Jiao's cheek, saying, "I don't care—you have to give me that long-life cord you're weaving as an apology, or else I won't speak to you anymore!"
"If Cousin likes it, then it's yours."
Wen Jiao had woven two long-life cords—one for Song Xiangyu and one for herself—but then Song Xiangyu said she wanted to make a sachet. After sewing the sachet, however, she forgot to buy the fragrant herbs. Just as she was fretting, Wen Jiao said, "I do know how to blend fragrant herbs, and I have everything else in my room—I'm only missing calamus and mugwort."
"Calamus and mugwort aren't hard to find. Come with me."
Song Xiangyu pulled Wen Jiao along toward the Calamus Courtyard. Song Langyu wasn't there, so the two went straight to the pond in the back to pick calamus.
The calamus grew in the pond, and the two of them stood on the bank, stretching on tiptoe to pluck some leaves. Wen Jiao said, "These calamus leaves are too tender—once dried, they probably won't have much scent."
Song Xiangyu was just about to have someone bring a ladder to use as a bridge when she saw Song Langyu approaching. She quickly called him over, grabbed his hand, and pleaded:
"We're making sachets and need calamus and mugwort. Big Brother, have some mercy and help us pick some."
Song Langyu looked at Wen Jiao. Her sleeves were tied back with arm bands, revealing two fair, jade-like forearms. She held two wilted calamus stalks in her arms, a shy smile on her face as she gracefully curtsied to him and called him "Cousin."
It was as if she had completely forgotten their earlier discord.
Song Langyu gave a flat acknowledgment before being dragged by Song Xiangyu to pick calamus. Though the pond wasn't deep, the bottom was muddy, and Song Langyu didn't want to wet his shoes. He found two stones to stand on, pulled up six or seven calamus stalks, and returned to the bank.
"Big Brother, do you have mugwort in this courtyard?"
Song Langyu raised his hand and pointed to a lush, low-lying area not far away. "There should be mugwort over there."
So he led the two of them to pick mugwort.
The noon sun was hot, and a fine layer of sweat had formed on Wen Jiao's forehead, her stray hairs damp with perspiration.
When Wen Jiao returned to the Glazed Pavilion, she saw from a distance Song Langxuan sitting on the porch outside. Perhaps bored from waiting, he was idly plucking tender leaves from a willow branch.
If not to provoke Song Langyu's displeasure, Wen Jiao wouldn't have given this second cousin a second thought—he was neither clever nor useful. Though easily swayed, he was of no help to her at all.
When he saw Wen Jiao, he greeted her joyfully and said, "Jiao-meimei, where have you been? I've been waiting so long!"
"Cousin just called me over to weave long-life cords, and she also took me to pick calamus and mugwort for sachets." Wen Jiao's eyes brimmed with a smile as she shook the calamus and mugwort in her arms.
Song Langxuan naturally took them from her and said, "When they're done, Jiao-meimei must save one for me."
The two entered the house. It turned out Song Langxuan had bought some trinkets for Wen Jiao—a bamboo-woven bird, a carved wooden roly-poly, a paper lantern, and other such things.
Song Langxuan took them out one by one to show Wen Jiao, playing with them in high spirits. Wen Jiao found it terribly noisy but had to smile and coax and praise him. After enduring for a while, she finally couldn't help but say, "I haven't sorted out my calamus and mugwort yet—why don't you help me, Second Cousin?"
Ever since Song Langxuan had laid eyes on Wen Jiao, his heart belonged entirely to her. Whatever she said, he never refused. He set down the paper lantern and said, "I'll take care of it. You just sit by and rest, Jiao-meimei."
The two returned to the porch, had a maid bring over a small table, and spread out the calamus and mugwort.
"Second cousin, pick off all the leaves and leave only the stems in the middle." Wen Jiao picked up a mugwort branch and gently stripped the leaves from it.
"I know how. Just watch, don't dirty your hands." Song Langxuan worked swiftly, and before long, both the calamus and mugwort were neatly prepared.
When people are busy, they indeed talk much less.
Wen Jiao then had him wash the stems clean, slice them thinly with a knife, and arrange them neatly on a drying rack.
This task was time-consuming and laborious, and after finishing, the light in Song Langxuan's eyes had dimmed.
"Second cousin has worked hard today. Go back and rest now." Wen Jiao sent him off with a bright smile.
Early on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, Song Xiangyu, Wen Jiao, and Song Langxuan rode together in a carriage out of the estate, heading to Jinming Pool to watch the dragon boat races.
It was a holiday, so many people were out, and the streets were packed to the point of being impassable—half an hour passed without moving an inch.
Song Langxuan lifted the curtain and said, "I'll go ahead and see what's happening."
Wen Jiao was also restless. She lifted the carriage curtain to look outside and spotted a familiar face—
Princess Yongjia, dressed in plain cloth, stood beneath a distant eaves, speaking with several men in brown short jackets. Those men were all powerfully built, clearly trained fighters.
Wen Jiao sneered inwardly.
She had known that matter from that day wasn't over, so she rarely went out lately, and when she did, she begged Song Langxuan to bring extra guards and escorts.
With Princess Yongjia's arrogant and willful nature, having suffered such a great loss with no chance to strike back, she must have been bursting with frustration these past few days.
Today, with so many people gathered by Jinming Pool to watch the dragon boat races, if someone were accidentally pushed into the water and drowned, or kidnapped by bandits, it would be nothing out of the ordinary.
Song Langxuan had already returned to the carriage, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead. "A carriage ahead had its shaft break. I helped move it aside—we'll be out of the city soon."
Wen Jiao handed him her handkerchief, her dimples deepening. "Second cousin is truly kind-hearted. Wipe your sweat, don't catch a headache from the wind."
Song Langxuan's face flushed. He took the handkerchief but didn't wipe his sweat—instead, he folded it and tucked it into his chest.
Song Xiangyu was both annoyed and anxious. She stood up and squeezed herself between the two, refusing to let them exchange flirtatious glances.
By the time the three arrived at Jinming Pool, the water's edge was already packed with people. Song Xiangyu pulled Wen Jiao through the crowd, weaving and shifting until they finally found a decent spot to watch.
From the opposite shore, drumbeats rose—each louder than the last, each faster than the last. Six dragon boats were poised to launch, and the air seemed to carry the fragrance of fresh grass.
Wen Jiao spotted two men in brown short jackets heading her way.
Song Langxuan and Song Xiangyu were focused on the battle on the lake. Wen Jiao took two steps back and slipped into the crowd.
With so many people today, to prevent brawls and chaos, the Prefect of the Capital and the Imperial Guard had both sent men to maintain order.
Wen Jiao squeezed to the edge of the crowd, now very close to the Imperial Guards. She was about to step forward and ask for help when she spotted someone on a pleasure boat by the lake.
Song Langyu.
A better idea came to Wen Jiao's mind.
She no longer hid. Slowly, she walked toward the pleasure boat, while the men in brown short jackets closed in from all sides.
Wen Jiao took a deep breath, then let her eyes fill with panic and shouted in a trembling voice, "Elder cousin, run! Someone's trying to kill you!"
Though Princess Yongjia was domineering and willful, she wasn't foolish enough to kill in broad daylight. Her orders were to have Wen Jiao bound and taken away, let ruffians humiliate her to their fill, then throw her into Jinming Pool to drown—both to disgrace her and to end her life.
These men were all Prince Ning's household guards in disguise. Hearing Wen Jiao's shouts, they faltered for only a moment before giving chase.
Wen Jiao ran and screamed "Help!" at the top of her lungs, but the drumbeats drowned out her voice. Fortunately, Song Langyu happened to glance in her direction.
"Cousin, save me!" Wen Jiao ran with all her might, yet her pursuers drew ever closer.
In her haste, her foot slipped and she tumbled to the ground. A man was already upon her, his short blade swinging without hesitation toward her face!