Nan Yang stood in the room, unable to regain her composure.
Just yesterday, she had overheard the maids gossiping: she was almost seventeen, yet the family still dared not arrange any matchmaking for her, fearing she would bring misfortune to the fine young men of other families…
And today, she was already being betrothed to the Third Young Master of the Lu Family?
Even if pies fell from the sky, they wouldn’t land this quickly.
Her Legal Mother had summoned her today not to discuss the matter but to inform her. Nan Yang left the main room with a dazed expression.
After descending the steps and taking two paces, she remembered her long-unseen birth mother and hurriedly turned back.
The early autumn weather was still warm, and several side windows were left open. Her Legal Mother was whispering with a few trusted confidantes, the composed smile that had hung on her lips earlier now completely vanished.
As Nan Yang returned to the doorway, she happened to catch a faint, lingering remark:
“What is the Lu Family thinking? If sisters become sisters-in-law in the future, and Second Miss has learned quite a few of her birth mother’s cunning tricks, Yingxue might suffer after marrying into that family…”
Nan Yang spoke up just then: “Mother.”
Both sides spoke simultaneously, and the door-keeping maid, too flustered to announce her return, cried out in a panic: “Why has Second Miss returned?”
The expressions of her Legal Mother and the few trusted confidantes beside her shifted slightly at the same time.
Her Legal Mother straightened up and greeted her as if nothing had happened: “What brings you back? Did you leave something behind in the room?”
Nan Yang stood respectfully outside the door to reply. The unexpected snippet of gossip she had overheard went in one ear and out the other, no different from the draft blowing through the hallway.
“I remembered something I wanted to ask you, Mother. I’ve been away from home for over half a year. May I visit Concubine Zhou today?”
Her Legal Mother did not object: “Blood ties bind the heart. Go ahead.”
Nan Yang, having received permission, felt a surge of joy and turned to leave, only to be called back by her Legal Mother.
“You, child. A good marriage has fallen from the sky, and all you need to do is accept it. Yet you’re overthinking things. Hearing a few words here and there, are you perhaps misunderstanding again?”
Her Legal Mother gave a faint smile. “I feel for Yingxue, but I feel for you just the same. For the Wei Family sisters to marry the Lu Family brothers—once word gets out, people will inevitably compare. Both Lu brothers are outstanding men among men. Outsiders may talk, but as sisters, you must never let rivalry take root.”
“Both Lu brothers are outstanding men among men”… such polite words were best taken with a grain of salt.
As Nan Yang walked away, she pondered the phrase: “As sisters, you must never let rivalry take root.”
“What do I have to rival Eldest Sister for?” she muttered under her breath. “I only have a Grandma.”
…and a mad birth mother.
A birth mother who no longer recognized her daughter was still her birth mother, after all. Having been apart for over half a year, it would be a lie to say she didn’t miss her.
She walked straight north along the inner courtyard wall.
After her mother went mad, she had been moved to a row of rear-facing side rooms in the northernmost part of the Wei Family’s inner residence, where she was kept under the watchful eyes of two old maids.
Nan Yang’s own Dingxiang Yuan faced west. Although it was stiflingly hot like a steamer in summer, at least the afternoon sun still shone into the courtyard. The rear-facing side rooms where her mother lived, however, never saw sunlight all year round.
Nan Yang stopped outside the slightly ajar gate of the northernmost courtyard in the inner residence and took out a money pouch from her sleeve, weighing it in her hand.
Half a pouch of coins saved over half a year in Ping An Town—if she spent it all today on the old maids on duty, perhaps they would turn a blind eye and let her stay a little longer. She could take her mother out to bask in the sun and find a moment when her mother was calm to tell her about her impending marriage.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but as she stepped forward to knock on the door, intending to negotiate with the maids with the money pouch in hand, she felt as though someone’s gaze was fixed on her from behind.
Nan Yang turned around in surprise, but there was nothing behind her—only a servant walking with bowed head in the distance.
Was she overthinking? She knocked on the door.
Money makes the world go round. With half a bag of coins, she managed to spend an entire afternoon with her mother.
Unfortunately, her mother still didn’t recognize her. Sitting side by side, her mother remained dull and unresponsive.
Nan Yang was long accustomed to this. Seizing the rare opportunity, she carefully cleaned her mother’s body and washed her hair. Once smooth as silk, her mother’s jet-black hair had become tangled and streaked with gray after years of neglect.
Time flowed like an endless river. At first glance, each day seemed the same, but upon closer inspection, everything had changed.
How had her mother, once dignified and radiant like a peony in full bloom, become like this?
As a child, she often sat in Dingxiang Yuan, pondering all sorts of “what ifs” and “whys.”
Now grown, she understood that many things in life had no answers, nor were there so many “what ifs.”
Her mother was simply mad—questioning and hypothesizing were meaningless.
If Nan Yang’s childhood memories were like a vibrant scroll, sometimes touched by spring breezes and sometimes stirred by storms,
her later years were devoid of even a gentle breeze, the scroll left blank, yet peaceful in its own way.
As she combed her mother’s hair, Nan Yang whispered softly, “Mother, your daughter is going to be married.”
“I met Lu Sanlang yesterday—it must have been the so-called arranged meeting. There’s nothing wrong with the Lu Family’s Third Young Master.”
“But there’s nothing particularly good about Lu Che either. Mother, the age gap between me and Elder Cousin is too wide.”
When she was seven, Lu Che was already thirteen. He patiently played grass-weaving games with her. She stood while he sat.
The height difference was too great; only this way could they look each other in the eye.
As he watched her excitedly present a handful of grass stems, what had the outwardly gentle and refined Elder Cousin of the Lu Family truly been thinking?
“What were you thinking back then, Mother?”
She carefully tied up her mother’s graying hair into a bun. Her mother’s cloudy eyes remained vacant, and Nan Yang knew she would receive no response today.
She sat quietly for a while longer, then leaned forward, resting her chin on her birth mother’s warm knees, murmuring to herself:
“Mother, talk to me.”
The autumn sun hung high in the sky, illuminating the bright yellow glazed tiles of the palace.
A tall, formidable figure appeared outside the grand hall. Dressed in solemn black court robes with wide sleeves, black shoes, and a purple sash with a jade ring gleaming in the sunlight, he descended the white marble steps with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
Di Rong and Ming Wenhuan, his two subordinates waiting at the foot of the steps, hurried forward to meet him.
Usually, Di Rong strode ahead quickly, but today he lagged behind, moving as if his feet were weighed down.
He had been tasked with gathering information about Wei Er Niang’s affairs in the Wei Family.
…And what a mess he had uncovered.
How was he supposed to report this to his lord?
Ah, troublesome.
“Marquis Xiao, how did the audience with the Son of Heaven go?” Ming Wenhuan asked quietly. “Is His Majesty in good health?”
Xiao Chengyan grunted in response.
“I didn’t get to see the Son of Heaven.”
“Instead, I ran into Prince Qi.”
They had crossed paths outside the Son of Heaven’s bedchamber. Prince Qi was completely taken aback to see him in the forbidden palace, his face paling as he opened his mouth to call for guards.
Cui, Prince Qi’s most trusted advisor, quickly pulled him back and whispered a few words. Only then did Prince Qi manage to steady himself, forcing a smile as he stepped forward to exchange pleasantries.
Ming Wenhuan pondered Prince Qi’s reaction carefully. “Something’s off.”
Xiao Chengyan nodded.
“The imperial guards didn’t stop me. Prince Qi was very surprised.”
The situation in the palace is off, with many unfamiliar faces appearing. Fortunately, there are still more familiar ones.
The Xiao family has served in the military for two generations, and Xiao Chengyan has been training in the barracks since he was fourteen. Over the years, the connections he has built within the military are deep and extensive—how could Prince Qi possibly shake them in just a few months?
Ming Wenhuan, cautious by nature, considered the matter further.
“His Majesty is gravely ill, the position of Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace remains vacant, and now we can’t even see His Majesty’s face. It seems that in the month and a half we’ve been away from the capital, Prince Qi has already placed many of his own people, taking control of the palace. If he ascends the throne… that would be utterly disastrous.”
A mocking smile curled at the corner of Xiao Chengyan’s lips.
If Prince Qi had truly gained complete control of the palace, when they unexpectedly crossed paths earlier, he wouldn’t have approached with a forced smile to exchange pleasantries—he would have directly ordered his men to surround and kill him.
The fact that he didn’t dare act within the palace clearly showed that, despite the month and a half Xiao Chengyan had been away from the capital, Prince Qi, even with the advantage of timing and location, still hadn’t managed to fully secure the palace.
What a waste.
Xiao Chengyan strode forward with his long legs, quickly moving ahead, and remarked indifferently, “By His Majesty’s grace, Prince Qi doesn’t have that much ability.”
The Son of Heaven is old, and the older he gets, the more he enjoys playing political games.
The two adult princes, Prince Qi and Prince Xiang, are not particularly favored.
Whenever His Majesty speaks of these two sons, it’s always with a tone of disdain.
He scorns Prince Qi for his arrogance and Prince Xiang for his gloominess. The combined talents and virtues of these two sons still fall short of the late Crown Prince, who passed away early. If the late Crown Prince were still alive, these two would never have been allowed to remain in the capital—they would have been sent to their fiefdoms long ago.
Last year, Prince Xiang was the first to be driven to his fiefdom.
It all started at the palace banquet during the first month of last year. His Majesty, holding the late Crown Prince’s eldest grandson, publicly mocked his two sons: “The imperial grandson is four years old this year, and in my view, his talent, virtue, and conduct far surpass those of Prince Qi and Prince Xiang!”
Prince Qi gritted his teeth and endured it.
Prince Xiang couldn’t hold back. He caused a scene at the palace banquet and was expelled to his southern fiefdom in the first month of last year.
In truth, Prince Xiang had been secretly preparing for two or three years. Being driven to his fiefdom was like molten lava bursting through a crack—by the second half of the year, Prince Xiang had rebelled.
Xiao Chengyan led troops to suppress the rebellion. He executed all of Prince Xiang’s former followers, beheading over eight thousand people, their bodies piled high.
After Prince Xiang’s death, only Prince Qi remained among the princes in the capital.
His Majesty had to appoint a Crown Prince.
Just as the court began to hint at the selection of an heir, Xiao Chengyan was urged by the Son of Heaven to leave for his fiefdom, effectively banished from the capital.
Xiao Chengyan strolled leisurely along the palace path, a faint smile on his lips, his tone relaxed.
But the words he uttered were not meant to be overheard.
Utterly disrespectful.
“His Majesty is wary of me. He fears that if I stay in the capital, I’ll be a hindrance to Prince Qi.”
“Once Prince Qi solidifies his position as Crown Prince and ascends the throne in the future, His Majesty plans to offer my life as a congratulatory gift to Prince Qi.”
“The secret decree sent to Shanyang Commandery—the more I think about it, the more it seems real.”
“…” Di Rong cursed under his breath.
Cold sweat broke out on Ming Wenhuan’s back, and he tugged at his lord’s sleeve. This is the imperial palace—how many ears are listening!
Xiao Chengyan paid no mind.
“His calculations are clever, but his luck isn’t great. Before Prince Qi could be officially named Crown Prince, His Majesty fell ill. What does this mean?”
He mused leisurely, “Is it fate? Destiny? Or is it that rotten wood cannot be carved?”
With an enigmatic smile, Xiao Chengyan took a few steps forward, his thoughts seemingly drifting elsewhere, before abruptly shifting the topic again.
“Let’s talk about something more interesting. How is the Wei Family doing?”
Di Rong was in charge of matters concerning the Wei Family.
Di Rong found the Wei Family’s messy affairs rather uninteresting and couldn’t fathom what his lord found intriguing about them.
“I sent a skilled operative to infiltrate the Wei Family. The situation has been mostly ascertained.”
After recounting everything in detail, Di Rong concluded, “Wei Erniangzi doesn’t seem to have an easy life at home.”
Ming Wenhuan frowned deeply upon hearing this: “Originally, it was Wei Er Niang who was betrothed to Lu Che, the legitimate eldest son of the Lu Family. Later, Lu Che changed the arrangement to marry the Wei Family’s legitimate daughter instead, and Wei Er Niang’s betrothal was switched to the Lu Family’s branch-line Third Young Master. How chaotic these Lu and Wei families are.”
Xiao Chengyan halted his steps, drew a portrait from his robe, and unfurled it in the wind, gazing thoughtfully for a while.
It was the portrait of the young lady brought from Ping An Town.
He had tossed it aside three or four times along the way, only to retrieve it again, crumpling it until it was creased.
Fortunately, one could still make out the young lady’s delicate pointed chin and her gentle, round eyes.
“Wei Er Niang is not favored in the Wei Family…” Xiao Chengyan suddenly asked, “Does she wear coarse cloth clothing at home?”
“No one in the Wei Family wears coarse cloth clothing. Not even the cleaning maids do.”
Xiao Chengyan: “Send someone back to Ping An Town. Investigate the Wei Family’s residence there.”
Ming Wenhuan couldn’t quite gauge his lord’s thoughts and asked with a half-serious, half-playful smile:
“Given Wei Er Niang’s noble background from a prestigious family, she hardly seems like the kind of benefactor young lady who would wear coarse cloth, go barefoot, and venture out alone to pick lotus seedpods. The missing person notices posted all over Ping An Town are mainly aimed at finding young ladies from poor backgrounds—perhaps those living in the mountains, like hunters or herbalists…”
Xiao Chengyan interrupted: “Given her status as a noble lady of the Wei Family, would she lie in a dirt ditch?”
Ming Wenhuan was at a loss for words: “…Well…” Most people certainly wouldn’t.
Xiao Chengyan was tall and agile, yet his footsteps were soundless as he swiftly moved ahead.
Like a sleek, wild leopard stretching its fur in the jungle, awakening dangerously under the sun, not in a hurry to hunt but leisurely licking its sharp claws and stretching lazily.
Xiao Chengyan mounted his horse with a faint, pleased expression.
“No rush, investigate slowly.” He had plenty of patience.
“But I think it’s most likely her.”