The day after Yun Ni returned to the Shen residence, Nanny Chen arrived at Qiuhе Courtyard with several maids carrying trays.
“Tonight, Miss Yun is invited to stay at Tingyu Tower.”
Nanny Chen spoke with a smile, without the slightest trace of contempt or dislike.
Sure enough, Yun Ni’s guess had been correct. Nanny Chen and Madam Shen definitely knew about the Love Gu.
After hesitating for a moment, Yun Ni asked, “Is the matter of me staying at Tingyu Tower known only to Madam Shen and you, Nanny? If possible, I hope the two of you can help keep it a secret and not let anyone else know…”
The moment she heard this, Nanny Chen understood.
Yun Ni did not want other people to know that she and Shen Tinglan were close.
But why?
Nanny Chen and Madam Shen had privately discussed the matter before. Shen Tinglan had not allowed any woman to serve him closely all these years. If Yun Ni could truly win his favor, perhaps they should persuade him to keep her and give her a proper status. That way, she could stay and bear children for the main branch of the family.
Yet from Yun Ni’s words, it seemed she wanted to keep their private relationship hidden so that, once the Gu was removed, she could leave the Shen residence and live on her own without anyone discovering that her reputation had been compromised.
The Shen family of Longzhou was one of the most powerful and wealthy aristocratic families in Wu. Even a position as a concubine was something that noble young ladies from prominent families would fight desperately to obtain.
Why would any young woman refuse such a life of luxury?
Nanny Chen could not understand it, but she still smiled and said, “Miss Yun, don’t worry. A secret door has been opened between the two courtyards. At night, you only need to pass through it to reach Tingyu Tower, and no one will notice anything. Besides, the servants and maids of the main household are extremely discreet. They were all trained by Madam Shen and would never dare gossip outside.”
Only then did Yun Ni feel relieved.
“Miss Yun, please follow me.”
Nanny Chen led the way, guiding Yun Ni through a narrow hidden doorway concealed behind a curtain of wisteria. They entered the spacious Tingyu Tower.
This was Yun Ni’s first time stepping into Shen Tinglan’s private domain.
In the distance stood a three-story wooden building. The four corners of its sweeping roof curved upward, with several green lotus-shaped copper bells hanging from the eaves.
In front of the building was a pond filled with emerald lotus leaves and drooping branches. Behind it grew a patch of graceful green bamboo. In the distance, Yun Ni could faintly see an octagonal pavilion standing over the water.
The stone pavilion was open on all eight sides to catch the breeze, with strings of glazed beads hanging as curtains. Inside were a zither table and a tea stove.
Shen Tinglan probably came here to sit quietly, play the qin, and enjoy some peaceful time whenever he was free.
Yun Ni stared for a moment.
She had always been busy struggling just to survive. Every day, she thought about how to fill her stomach and prepare enough animal furs to survive the bitter winter.
Playing the qin, drinking tea, painting, and calligraphy were all luxurious and distant things to her.
But these refined pursuits—the Six Arts of an educated gentleman—had been part of Shen Tinglan’s daily life since childhood. He had grown up surrounded by the elegance and refinement of an aristocratic family.
Yun Ni could not help sighing inwardly.
Her life and Shen Tinglan’s truly could not have been more different.
When they reached Shen Tinglan’s bedroom, Nanny Chen called several maids over. They carried into the spacious room a mother-of-pearl inlaid chest for women’s clothes, a folding screen decorated with subtle bird-and-flower patterns, a pear-wood couch, and various soft silk bedding items.
Yun Ni had originally assumed that when Shen Tinglan said they would “stay together in the tower,” he meant she would sleep in a guest room adjacent to his bedroom.
She had not expected Nanny Chen to directly move women’s bedding into the master’s bedroom.
Yun Ni watched the servants coming and going, carrying things inside and out. Her eyes were blank, and she wanted to say something but could not find the words.
Nanny Chen guessed what she was thinking and smiled.
“Perhaps we don’t need to prepare a separate couch. Would Miss Yun like to share the master’s bed?”
Yun Ni felt as though she had been struck by lightning.
She hurriedly shook her head.
“No, no! How could I disturb the master’s sleep? Nanny, please prepare a separate couch.”
Nanny Chen secretly felt disappointed.
So Yun Ni’s closeness with Shen Tinglan really was only for the sake of treating his illness?
It seemed Madam Shen’s dream of holding a great-grandson would never come true.
Nanny Chen called Wen Chun over and instructed her to move the bedding back onto the small couch behind the screen.
Once clean sleeping clothes, undergarments, skin cream, bathing beans, and other daily necessities had all been prepared, Yun Ni followed Nanny Chen back to Qiuhе Courtyard.
That evening, Wen Chun served Yun Ni a bowl of stir-fried black rice with shepherd’s purse, along with a bowl of wild mushroom chicken soup with the oil carefully skimmed off.
Yun Ni had a lot on her mind and accidentally ate too much.
After eating and washing up, she walked around the tall courtyard walls again and again to help digest her meal.
Around the hour of Xu, candlelight suddenly appeared in Tingyu Tower.
The splendid little building immediately became brightly illuminated, shining as brightly as daylight.
Shen Tinglan had returned home.
Sure enough, three knocks soon came from the small door in the corner of the wall.
The old maid guarding the passage delivered the secret signal, inviting Yun Ni to enter the tower for the night.
Yun Ni froze and stopped walking.
Her stomach had already recovered.
Her repeated walks around the courtyard had merely been an excuse to delay the moment.
Her palms were covered in sweat.
She stood there, unable to move forward, not even understanding what exactly she was afraid of, worried about, or nervous about.
Only after Wen Chun urged her again did Yun Ni finally move slowly toward the hidden door.
On the long streets of the capital, a blue-covered carriage slowly made its way toward the Shen residence.
Today, Shen Tinglan had dealt with the captured assassins.
He had subjected them to the brutal torture known as bone-piercing torture, attempting to force them to reveal the whereabouts of whoever was behind the attack.
Shen Tinglan knew perfectly well that the matter was connected to the young emperor, Li Yi.
There was little point in questioning them further. No useful answer would come out of it.
It was better to simply execute them and leave Li Yi a little dignity.
Shen Tinglan had no intention of killing Li Yi for the time being.
He even hoped the young emperor would appreciate his mercy and stop provoking trouble.
The rebels who had dared to ally themselves with Li Yi were merely trying to use the Li royal family to gain power, control the government, and seize imperial authority for themselves.
They flattered and respected Li Yi only because they had their own ambitions.
If they ever reached the top, they might not be as merciful as Shen Tinglan or even bother to preserve the dignity of the Li royal family.
If Li Yi was truly foolish enough to continue forming secret alliances and plotting with others, Shen Tinglan would have no choice but to forget their former relationship and put him to death.
After reassuring the frightened aristocratic families, Shen Tinglan dispatched several thousand troops stationed around the capital to patrol the city throughout the night.
By the time he returned to the Shen residence, the entire city was silent in the deep night.
Shen Tinglan lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down.
With a casual glance, he suddenly noticed that Tingyu Tower was brightly lit.
Shen Tinglan frowned slightly.
After thinking for a moment, he remembered something.
Yesterday, he had instructed his grandmother to arrange for Yun Ni to stay at Tingyu Tower.
The bedroom lights burning in the tower now meant that Yun Ni was waiting for him.
Shen Tinglan narrowed his long eyes and gazed toward the residence.
A memory suddenly surfaced.
It was somewhat blurry, but he could still make out a cramped, shabby little house.
The four legs of the table were uneven. On its surface sat a dim rapeseed-oil lamp that gave off black smoke.
Beside it was a sewing basket, with a red bridal veil embroidered with a single mandarin duck folded on top.
Before long, the slow sound of a girl’s footsteps could be heard.
Yun Ni came carrying two bowls of steaming hot noodles in pickled-vegetable broth.
The noodles looked quite appetizing. The only flaw was that there was pitifully little minced meat topping.
Yun Ni handed Shen Tinglan his chopsticks and cheerfully urged him to eat.
Her graceful brows and beautiful eyes were softened by the simple warmth of an ordinary meal. Her beauty was elegant and delicate, so light and fragile that it seemed even a breeze could carry her away.
…
The bedroom lights shining in Tingyu Tower tonight seemed just like the tiny oil lamp that had once burned in that little courtyard in the mountains.
For a fleeting moment, Shen Tinglan almost felt as though he had returned to those days and nights far away in the countryside of Xuzhou.