Dr. Chen was about to kneel in gratitude, but Shen Qingluo quickly helped him up. Instead, he had the little girl behind him kneel properly to thank Shen Qingluo for saving their lives.
The child wasn’t frightened at all. Her bright eyes still shone as she declared angrily, “If anyone dares to snatch me away, I’ll poison him with a packet of rat poison!”
Shen Qingluo: “…”
“Please forgive her, my lady,” Dr. Chen said apologetically, his face still pale with fear. “This little girl has never feared heaven or earth. She spends her days tinkering in the clinic with me, and her talent is greater than mine.” He sighed with regret. “But alas, she’s a girl. No matter how skilled she becomes, in a few years she’ll marry and take another family’s name…” He trailed off, unwilling to continue.
“Why must I marry? Isn’t it good enough to stay with Father, treating illnesses and saving lives?” the little girl asked innocently, her wide eyes full of confusion.
Dr. Chen only patted her head and said nothing.
Shen Qingluo felt a pang of compassion. The child was spirited, but in Shanyang City her fate was already sealed—an early marriage. If she could take the girl away, let her see the wider world, might she not have more possibilities?
Besides, Shen Qingluo was returning to the Marquis’s household. Open attacks were easy to guard against, but hidden ones were not. With the girl’s medical skill, many dangers could be avoided.
Thinking this through, Shen Qingluo crouched down, looked into the girl’s eyes, and asked solemnly: “Little one, I’ll soon return to Shengjing. My health is poor, and I need someone skilled in medicine to care for me. Would you be willing to come with me?”
Dr. Chen’s mouth fell open. “Th-this… how could that be possible?”
Shengjing—the capital, the Marquis’s household, the most prosperous city under heaven, beneath the Emperor’s feet. It was not a place ordinary folk like him dared to tread.
Shen Qingluo gently pressed her case: “Dr. Chen, I’ll be returning to the capital soon. That bully may rise again once the threat is gone. Would you truly abandon the ancestral clinic handed down through generations?”
The little girl’s tender, innocent face was lit by a pair of sparkling eyes. She wore a quilted jacket so faded from washing that it had turned pale. At her age, most girls loved to dress brightly and prettily, but she spent her days buried in piles of herbs, carrying with her the faint, bitter scent of medicine.
Dr. Chen sighed, then made up his mind. Lifting his robe, he knelt down.
“My lady, I entrust Xiao Ya to you.”
Shen Qingluo was moved. “Rest assured, Dr. Chen. I will protect her well.” She could see clearly the depth of his fatherly love.
Parents who love their children plan far into the future. Alas, she herself had never known such parents.
Xiao Ya packed her things and followed Shen Qingluo into the old residence. Suyue asked whether she should be taught the rules of the Marquis’s household, but Shen Qingluo shook her head. “Don’t bind her nature. She’s clever—just a few reminders will suffice.”
When another child of his own age arrived in the household, Douzi showed little interest. He only saw her when he came to read for Shen Qingluo.
Xiao Ya, dressed in a new lotus-colored jacket, was outside the corridor building, making a snowman. Her round face lifted, smiling without a trace of sorrow. Douzi glanced at her once, then stepped into the room.
Shen Qingluo, wrapped in her fox-fur cloak, was dozing by the window. A book had slipped to the floor. Douzi picked it up and saw it was *The Art of War*. Surprised, he looked at her as she opened her eyes. “You were reading this?”
The book bore neat annotations in fine, elegant script. Douzi had seen Shen Qingluo’s handwriting before—it was so poor it made one’s eyes ache. When had she learned to write so well?
“I never wrote seriously before. Children always have too many worries,” Shen Qingluo said lightly, reclaiming the book. She pointed to the stool by the table. “Sit there and tell me what you’ve been reading lately.”
She knew Douzi was gifted, but without a teacher, she had no idea how far he had come. This time, she wanted to give him a good future.
After the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, Douzi finished reciting. Shen Qingluo looked at him with satisfaction. “When we return to the capital, I’ll find you a proper teacher.”
Douzi twisted the hem of his clothes, asking softly, “You mean… you’ll take Mother and me to Shengjing with you?”
The boy before her could not hide his thoughts. Shen Qingluo saw through him at once and smiled. “You and Nanny Bai are my family. Wherever I go, you will go too.”
“Mm, as you say, my lady.” Douzi pressed his lips together, trying to restrain the joy that threatened to spill out.
Shengjing—he was going to Shengjing! He would see the towering imperial palace, the Thousand Lantern Lake where scholars gathered, the incense-filled Baique Temple…
But then… Douzi lifted his head. To hide the mix of longing and fear that he might not truly go, he asked with feigned calm, “Will the Marquis’s household send someone to fetch you?”
A month later, the old residence gave him the answer.
Suyue came running from the front courtyard to the back, her delighted voice echoing through the halls: “Miss, the Marquis’s household has sent someone! They’ve come to fetch you!”
Nanny Bai had just finished serving Shen Qingluo her medicine. At the news, her hand trembled as she set down the bowl, hurrying to look at her mistress.
Shen Qingluo dabbed her lips with a silk handkerchief. Her elegant brows were drawn low, and in her brown eyes there was no trace of joy.
“Miss, guess who it is?” Suyue rushed inside, unable to wait for her to answer. “It’s Young Master Lu Yan!”
Nanny Bai exclaimed, “Oh! That is a distinguished guest, my lady. Shouldn’t we open the main gate to welcome him?”
“No need. Entering through the side gate is already more courtesy than he deserves.” Shen Qingluo rose, her tone as light as an April breeze.
Suyue and Nanny Bai exchanged bewildered looks. Suyue muttered, “What’s wrong with the young lady? In the past, even the slightest news of Young Master Lu would make her happy for days…”
“Perhaps her health is still unwell,” Nanny Bai deflected, then urged, “Quickly, follow her.”
“Yes, yes, I was too muddled with excitement for her.” Suyue lifted her skirts and hurried after.
The east wind scattered a few pear blossoms. The orioles had just ceased their song, and the warm sun filled the air. Shen Qingluo, dressed in a bean-green jacket paired with a silver-gray horse-face skirt embroidered with winding floral patterns, wore pearl earrings and a small fragrant sachet at her waist. Stepping across the rain-dampened stone slabs, she made her way toward the front hall.
Lu Yan entered through the side gate, his refined features clearly shadowed with displeasure. But when he lifted his eyes and saw the figure approaching, he froze. This was Shen Qingluo?
Had he not seen her in person three years ago, Lu Yan might not have recognized her. Quickly, he smoothed away his irritation and surprise, and called softly: “Ah Luo.”
His voice was gentle, carrying the same deep affection that now lingered on his face.
That voice—Shen Qingluo had heard it countless times. Only Lu Yan ever addressed her so intimately as “Ah Luo.”
For ten years of marriage, Lu Yan had used this clumsy performance to deceive her into giving him her heart and soul.
Now, gazing at the tall, jade-like young man in his blue robe, Shen Qingluo spoke coolly: “Steward Li, go to the Fu’an Inn and prepare a fine guest room for Young Master Lu.”
The servant, who had just lifted a bundle from the carriage, stopped at the doorway. He glanced at his master, then at the young lady of the Shen family, not daring to step inside. Wasn’t it customary for Young Master Lu to stay at the old residence whenever he came?
Steward Li hesitated, uncertain.
Nanny Bai caught his eye and whispered, “Do as the young lady says.”
Only then did Steward Li turn and leave.