The bridal procession had set out at the beginning of the first lunar month. Apart from being delayed for a few days when snowfall sealed the roads, they had barely stopped at all.
By now, it was already the middle of the third lunar month.
After crossing the Yinshan Mountains, they officially entered the Northern Frontier.
The closer they drew to Hanhai, the more hurriedly the procession seemed to travel.
Ever since leaving Bingzhou, they had set up their tents and rested in sheltered spots.
As the sun sank that day, the procession finally entered a small city that could be measured on foot.
A maidservant climbed out of the carriage first and brought over a mounting block. Standing outside, she called, “Madam, please get out.”
Suiying slung one of the bundles over her back, lifted the carriage curtain, and leaned out.
She stepped down onto the block, lowered her veiled hat, and, as usual, walked away from the procession and toward a more distant spot.
The maidservant seemed to have learned her habits along the way. Keeping neither too close nor too far, she followed and bowed. “Madam, I’ll go submit our identity documents first. Please don’t go too far. I’ll come fetch you once I’ve arranged the lodging at the inn ahead.”
Suiying nodded but still did not speak.
Before bowing and walking away, the maidservant could not help stealing another few glances at her.
The leader of the procession, who had returned from negotiating, came over to ask. His gaze also drifted toward the figure standing at the end of the street. “She still hasn’t spoken?”
The maidservant bent forward and replied, “No. But Madam reads bamboo slips in the carriage. I can’t understand them.”
The leader waved a hand, sighed, and walked back to the procession.
Someone from the procession came running over, eager to curry favor, and handed him a waterskin. “Chief, what do you think Second Master will reward us with? We came all the way into the Central Plains and even brought back his wife for him.”
The leader glanced at the companion who had come to speak with him, accepted the waterskin, and sighed again. Turning back to look at that figure, he said, “What are you dreaming about? Take a look at the condition of that new Madam. For all we know, she’s mute.”
Hearing this, his companion immediately developed a bad feeling.
If that were really the case, wouldn’t it amount to a slap in the face for Second Master, the new Anbei Grand Protector?
The companion’s round eyes darted about. He raised a hand to shield his mouth and whispered into the leader’s ear, “Then why don’t we make some arrangements first? That would be better than making Second Master face her for the rest of his life.”
The leader immediately kicked him. “What do you take this for? This is an imperial marriage. Second Master may not even dare act rashly. Once we reach the Grand Protector’s Residence, let Second Master decide for himself.”
With Heaven high and the emperor far away, once they reached the northern lands, that man would have the final say. Whether she stayed or left was a matter of a single word from him.
As he secretly wondered how the ruler of the Northern Frontier would arrange matters for this Madam, his gaze paused. A figure was moving in the distance.
It was Suiying, walking toward them at an unhurried pace. The gauze hanging from her veiled hat fluttered lightly in the wind, and her plain clothing and lowered veil concealed her face.
The leader and his companion watched until she reached the maidservant, then withdrew their gazes. They had seen enough.
The maidservant sensed someone approaching and raised a hand in invitation. “Madam, please enter the inn.”
Suiying turned to look at the procession, which was still negotiating, then glanced toward the front of the inn, where several people from the procession were also standing. Only then did she step forward.
After arriving at the superior room that had been arranged for them, the maidservant bowed and asked, “Madam, would you like to wash first or eat first?”
Suiying lifted her veiled hat and glanced at the maidservant, whose face was deathly pale yet who was still forcing herself to serve her. She quietly sniffed the air.
Gathering her clothes, she sat down and set her veiled hat and bundle to one side, then reached a hand toward the maidservant.
The maidservant assumed that Madam wanted some water. She quickly put away the bundle, bowed, and was about to leave. “Madam, please wait a moment. I’ll ask the waiter to bring some tea.”
Unexpectedly, the moment she turned around, someone seized her by the wrist.
The maidservant was about to ask whether Madam had seen something in the street that frightened her, but she saw Madam raise an index finger to her lips, signaling her to be quiet.
Feeling the warm hand around her wrist apparently taking her pulse, the maidservant was astonished. She hurriedly knelt down beside her and adjusted her arm so that Madam could examine her pulse properly.
A short while later, Suiying withdrew her hand. As she opened her bundle, she pointed toward the small couch in the room and said, “I don’t have any medicine. I can only use acupuncture to ease it. Draw the bed curtains, lie flat, lift your clothes, and expose your abdomen.”
The maidservant evidently had not expected her to speak. She looked up at Suiying’s face, then realized that she had been rude and hurriedly lowered her head. Obeying the order, she walked over, lay down, and lifted her clothes.
Suiying quickly took out her acupuncture case and spread it open, along with a porcelain bottle filled with strong liquor and a vessel.
As she soaked the silver needles, she lowered her eyes to her own hands and remembered her grandfather’s final words.
“You have a gift for medicine. It is only a cage. One day, you will break through it.”
At that thought, she closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again and asked herself in silence: Can I?
When the silent question was over, Suiying took the prepared damp cloth and wiped her hands. She picked up each needle and carefully wiped it across the gauze.
The maidservant grew nervous at the sight of the needles, and the muscles in her abdomen tensed.
Suiying held a needle in one hand and gently pressed the other against the maidservant’s abdomen. “Relax.”
Once the maidservant had relaxed completely, Suiying moved her hand to the woman’s lower abdomen. With practiced movements, she inserted the needles into the Qihai Point, Guanyuan Point, and Zhongji Point.
These points could warm the meridians, dispel cold, regulate the qi, and relieve pain, but they could only ease the symptoms. Further treatment would require gradual recuperation.
The maidservant lay anxiously on the small couch. Feeling the pain in her lower abdomen begin to lessen, she asked softly, “Madam, how long will this take? I haven’t yet brought you any food.”
Suiying did not look at her. Her gaze moved over the furnishings in the room as she answered flatly, “Lie still. It will be done in a quarter of an hour.”
The room was very small. A plain-colored screen separated the inner room from the outer room, and she could take in the entire space at a glance.
While waiting, Suiying rose deliberately and went to stand by the window, hoping to ease the maidservant’s frightened expression. She pushed open a crack in the window and looked outside.
The wind roared outside. In the distance, everything was dark and heavy, resembling black clouds pressing down—or perhaps something else.
It truly was the northern land. The raging wind tore off and snapped the withered branches.
Suddenly, the wind outside grew even stronger, and another sound seemed to be carried faintly along with it.
The rapid pounding of hooves.
Suiying listened carefully. All at once, a warhorse screamed below, followed immediately by the sound of the room door being smashed open.
She hurriedly shut the window, turned, and removed the silver needles from the maidservant’s abdomen. She quickly packed her bundle, slung it onto her back, and put her veiled hat on.
The maidservant’s face, which had only just begun to regain some color, turned deathly pale at the sudden commotion. Even as she straightened her clothes, she did not forget to reassure Madam. “Madam, don’t be afraid. I’ll go call for someone.”
Suiying reached out and pressed down on the maidservant’s shoulder. “Don’t tell anyone about what happened here.”
The moment she finished speaking, an even greater commotion erupted all around them, accompanied by shouts: “Search inside and out!”
Hearing the voices, Suiying knew that those people were already coming toward their superior room.
No one from the bridal procession had appeared even now. Could it be that even the soldiers of the Anbei Grand Protector’s Residence were afraid of these people?
Before her thoughts had run their course, the room door was kicked open from outside.
A group of knife-wielding men entered one after another. Each wore a short tunic and a cloth headscarf.
Once inside, they did not advance any farther. Instead, they remained on guard, warily surveying the room.
Suiying and the maidservant stood behind the screen. The maidservant had already been so frightened that all the color had drained from her face, and she was crouched on the floor.
The next moment, a deep voice sounded. “Found them?”
Someone immediately replied, “There’s a woman in here. This is the only room we haven’t searched. The others have already chased after them.”
Footsteps entered the room. Outside the screen, the knife-wielding men moved aside, clearing a path.
Through the thin gauze of her veiled hat and the plain screen, Suiying saw a tall figure approaching.
The man strode forward on long legs, making a circuit of the small room before finally stopping three paces away from her.
She lowered her eyes. Through the hanging gauze, she saw his riding boots planted on the floor, still spattered with mud. His robe hem was tucked into his belt. At a glance, he was dressed like a man of the outlaw world.
Suddenly, the gauze before her eyes was lifted.
The other man had extended a long saber and placed its flat against her chin, forcing her to raise her head.
Suiying slowly lifted her face. Her expression was as calm and indifferent as ever, her eyelids lowered.
In an instant, the entire room fell so silent that even the roaring wind could no longer be heard.
Before long, the hurried sound of running footsteps approached, accompanied by a young man’s voice.
“Second Brother, the people who chased after them sent word that Sister-in-law is right here…”
His words stopped abruptly. The moment the young man entered the room, he saw the figure behind the screen. A skirt hem was faintly visible beside it.