Hadn’t Yan Tang always liked to joke around?
Maybe…
Maybe he was only teasing her now.
Qin Buwen stared fixedly at his legs, her eyes searching his face.
Yan Tang lifted a hand slightly. Seeing the gesture, Ming’an sheathed his sword.
The smile on Yan Tang’s lips remained as warm and gentle as ever.
“Thank you for your concern, Miss. I injured my legs. I can no longer stand.”
He spoke lightly, as though never being able to stand again were nothing worth dwelling on.
Qin Buwen felt her eyes burn.
She blinked several times in quick succession. The tip of her nose reddened, and a sheen of moisture gathered in her eyes.
Can no longer stand…
What did that mean?
Yan Tang seemed unwilling to continue the subject. Lowering his gaze, he smiled as before.
“I’ve heard that two days ago, you went to Half-Mu Pond and purchased Qianjin paper and Huizhou ink. Is that true?”
Qin Buwen’s eyelashes trembled. Only after a long silence did she hear herself answer.
“…Yes.”
“As far as I know, that paper and ink fell out of fashion seven or eight years ago. Why did you buy them?”
Suppressing the turmoil threatening to overwhelm her, Qin Buwen replied in a hoarse voice,
“We never had them where I came from, so I bought them out of curiosity.”
Yan Tang chuckled softly.
“How interesting. I heard you’d lost your memory after your injury and forgotten everything from your past. It seems that isn’t entirely true.”
Qin Buwen’s eyelid twitched.
Sometimes Yan Tang was perceptive to a frightening degree.
Pressing his lips together faintly, he continued with the same easy smile.
“Don’t worry, Miss. Whatever it is you wish to do is none of my concern.”
With that, he inclined his head politely.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
So it wasn’t her.
Then there was no reason for him to stay.
Yan Tang raised a hand, and Ming’an pushed the wheelchair away.
Qin Buwen watched his retreating figure.
Only after he disappeared did all the strength seem to drain from her body, and she collapsed limply onto the ground.
She had known.
The moment she led Yan Tang down this path, she had already accepted what might happen.
But seeing the refined young scholar who had once stood so straight and graceful, now confined to that narrow Wuhou wheelchair…
The pain stole her breath.
She remembered a long-ago afternoon.
Yan Tang had stood before her, tall as jade, his posture perfectly upright.
“In this world, truth and falsehood are forever intertwined. Someone has to fight for Your Highness.”
Back then, Qin Buwen had been barely into her teens. Reclining lazily upon her princely seat, she had hidden a smile behind her sleeve.
“Yan Tang, and what exactly will you use to fight for me?”
The young man had answered without hesitation, righteous and unwavering, as elegant as a jade orchid.
“These hands, to write for the realm.”
“And these legs, to travel it.”
His eyes had been clear, his smile gentle as he looked at her.
“Your Highness, I am the strategist who would give you my heart and soul.”
Now…
That brilliant young strategist sat confined to a Wuhou wheelchair, never again able to wander beneath the heavens.
Qin Buwen rarely cried.
Ever since she could remember, her father had sternly reminded her that she was to live as a man.
A real man does not shed tears easily.
Even if he bled.
Even if he was gravely wounded.
She had remembered those words all her life.
Even during her darkest days, when wounds cut deep enough to expose bone and the flesh around them had rotted, when the military physician pressed red-hot irons against her body to cauterize the bleeding, she had only bitten down on a handkerchief.
Not a single tear had fallen.
But now…
It felt as though someone had ripped a piece of flesh straight out of her chest.
The agony made her whole body tremble.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
Rain began to fall.
The rain blurred her vision.
Perhaps everyone had been right.
Perhaps this road had always been meant to be walked alone.
Perhaps she truly was nothing but a bringer of calamity.
Whatever came next…
She could not let Yan Tang become involved.
And she made up her mind.
She would never reveal her identity to him.
The farther away she stayed…
The safer Yan Tang would be.
At that thought, Qin Buwen sniffed quietly and forced herself back to her feet.
Now was not the time to grieve.
She still had unfinished business.
…
Just as Qin Buwen had expected, Ji Junjiao came to see her.
She was standing beneath the hibiscus tree in the courtyard, lost in thought, and didn’t notice him approach.
“Did meeting Yan Tang help you remember anything?”
His voice was as cool and detached as ever.
Qin Buwen understood perfectly well.
To Ji Junjiao, she was nothing more than an insignificant stranger.
If she wanted to remain by his side, she would have to put in some effort.
Lowering her head, her eyelashes fluttered, but she didn’t look at him.
“My lord… have I become a burden to you by staying here?”
Ji Junjiao answered unhurriedly,
“You misunderstand. I only hope you’ll find your family as soon as possible.”
Qin Buwen looked toward the hibiscus tree in the courtyard.
“A’Jin.”
“What?”
She turned to face him.
“I’ve forgotten my old name. My lord… please call me A’Jin.”
Ji Junjiao paused, momentarily caught off guard.
Then he nodded.
“Miss A’Jin.”
A faint smile tugged at Qin Buwen’s lips.
“Please don’t worry, my lord. A’Jin’s injuries will heal soon enough. When they do, I’ll leave Wenyuan Pavilion and won’t trouble you any longer.”
Only by breaking something apart could something new be built.
The bond between two people always began with a name.
Until now, Ji Junjiao had simply called her “Miss.”
She had been no different from any other woman—just another face in the crowd.
She didn’t want to be just another face.
Now she had given him a name.
At least in Ji Junjiao’s eyes, she was no longer some nameless “Miss.”
She was A’Jin.
If she wanted to forge a bond with him, then little by little, she would have to become someone different.
Someone unforgettable.
Ji Junjiao inclined his head slightly.
“Then get some rest, Miss A’Jin. I’ll take my leave.”
Qin Buwen narrowed her eyes, unconsciously rubbing the thumb of her left hand.
In the past, whenever she was deep in thought, she had always stroked the jade thumb ring she wore there.
Someone like Ji Junjiao…
If he were ever to truly fall in love…
What would that look like?
She couldn’t imagine it.
…
Ji Junjiao did not disappoint her.
Only a few days later, the Emperor issued an imperial decree ordering every civil and military official to conduct a thorough review of their own financial records.
Once completed, every account book was to be submitted to the Grand Secretary for inspection.
Ji Junjiao truly was brilliant.
The aftershocks of the previous political purge had yet to fade. Launching another investigation now would encourage officials to examine themselves voluntarily without alerting the guilty.
If Li Yunmu truly had ties to the Northern Desert, something would inevitably appear in his accounts.
What no one expected, however, was that shortly after the decree was announced, a fire broke out at the residence of Vice Minister of Revenue Li Yunmu.
The warehouse where his account books were stored burned to the ground.
“What? Then… what happens to Lord Li’s account books?”
Sitting on a small stool, Qin Buwen listened to Qingyue’s latest gossip, deliberately widening her eyes in surprise.
Qingyue clicked her tongue.
“I have no idea. What terrible timing.”
Qin Buwen smiled.
“Lord Li certainly has dreadful luck.”
“Exactly.” Qingyue sighed. “I suppose all the financial records at his residence are gone for good.”
Qin Buwen blinked innocently.
“What a pity.”
“Miss A’Jin.”
From the distance, Changqing approached with his sword at his side.
“Someone is here to see you.”
Qin Buwen frowned slightly.
“To see me?”
Changqing nodded.
“Yes. They claim to be a relative of yours.”