Prince Jing pondered for a moment before speaking. “If this matter is handled properly, it will not be difficult. However, if the Master wishes for an open and honorable mother-son reunion, I have two methods in mind. First, I can step forward personally to have Jia Zheng release your mother from the estate and sever ties between the two of them. Second, the Master can step forward yourself. At present, His Majesty’s health is somewhat indisposed; if you are willing to enter the palace to diagnose and treat His Majesty, and have His Majesty issue the decree himself, would that not be even better?”
Gu Zhaoyan carefully weighed the two methods proposed by Prince Jing and shook his head, ultimately opting for the first. While the second method was certainly excellent, if the people of the Rongguo Estate caught wind of these details, the peace and stability he desired would likely become difficult to maintain. It would be far better to let his mother quietly leave the estate and be cared for by his side alone. This way, they would have no fear of outside disturbance, and the peaceful life shared between mother and son would surpass all else.
Learning of his preference, Prince Jing nodded in agreement. “Very well. The Master’s reasoning is sound. Since the Master has made your decision, I happen to have thought of a plan myself.” He leaned close to Gu Zhaoyan’s ear and whispered. As Gu Zhaoyan listened, the worried expression on his face gradually smoothed out, replaced by a smiling curve. “Then I must trouble the Prince to put in your careful effort.”
“The Master saved my son; such a minor task is hardly worth the Master’s thanks.” Following their consultation, Prince Jing departed shortly after, intending to help Gu Zhaoyan bring this matter to fruition as swiftly as possible.
Seeing the worry vanish from Gu Zhaoyan’s face and replaced by ease, Bailang asked, “You can prepare a residence now. Do you have money? If not, I can lend you some.”
Hearing this, Gu Zhaoyan instinctively patted himself down, only to discover that his body was completely empty, he could practically be described as as clean as a whistle with two sleeves of breeze. Looking toward Bailang in astonishment, he asked, “You, a wolf demon, actually possess silver used by mortals?”
Bailang rolled its eyes at Gu Zhaoyan in disdain, opened its mouth, and spat out a cluster of light that landed right at Gu Zhaoyan’s feet. Focusing his gaze, Gu Zhaoyan saw a massive, disorderly pile of gold, silver, pearls, and jewelry lumped casually together.
“Where on earth did you get all of this?” Gu Zhaoyan asked, thoroughly perplexed. Bailang had always lived deep in the mountains and claimed it had never descended to the mortal world. Shouldn’t these things have come from that tomb, but these gold and silver treasures carried no unclean yin aura whatsoever.
“Oh, these are Seventh Granny’s personal estate. When I saw that you didn’t want them, I took all of them. How can one live in the mortal world without money?” Bailang said airily, completely oblivious to the fact that it had just pioneered a brand-new revenue stream for Gu Zhaoyan. After all, as a practitioner of the Buddhist path, even if he treated people’s illnesses, he would feel too embarrassed to demand exorbitant fees; he was, after all, an eminent monk!
Gu Zhaoyan opened his mouth to say something, but gazing into Bailang’s clear, ice-blue eyes, he swallowed his words back down. It wasn’t that he didn’t want them, but rather that he hadn’t thought of this aspect at all! But it mattered not; they were partners after all, and mere silver and coins could certainly be borrowed and spent mutually between them!
“If there is ever a time like this again and I forget, remember to remind me,” Gu Zhaoyan said as he began collecting the pile of gold and silver valuables. “By the way, Seventh Granny didn’t only have these worldly possessions, did she?”
Bailang nodded without concealing anything. “There are some spiritual medicines, though not very many. I imagine the suitable ones were already consumed by her. The things she hoarded are beneficial to us demons, but they hold little use for you.”
Gu Zhaoyan minded it not; aside from instances of injury, he actually disliked relying on pill-popping to boost his cultivation anyway. Progress driven entirely by pills tended to feel too superficial and unstable, steady, self-earned cultivation through grounded effort was far superior.
Rongguo Estate:
Lady Wang frowned as she read the letter sent by Jia Yuanchun. A Buddhist lay disciple with a head of silver hair had appeared in the prince’s estate? Yet his face bore no red birthmark? And he vaguely resembled Concubine Zhou? Pondering the matter carefully, she felt it remained highly unlikely to be that little ill-omened star. Even if he shared some facial similarity with Concubine Zhou, it was likely nothing more than a coincidence of a lookalike. Consequently, she penned a reply to Jia Yuanchun and cast the matter to the back of her mind, choosing not to inform either Jia Zheng or Lady Jia.
Meanwhile, in Concubine Zhou’s quarters in the back courtyard:
With Luoyue’s assistance, Concubine Zhou neatly trimmed a bolt of plain fabric, threaded her needle, and set to work tailoring a set of monk robes specifically for Gu Zhaoyan.
Luoyue smiled from the side. “Concubine dotes on the Young Master indeed; you knew his exact measurements with just a single glance.”
Concubine Zhou chuckled softly at the remark, followed by a quiet sigh. “He was sent away when he was barely a month old, and throughout these dozen-odd years, I sewed a set of garments for him every single year on his birthday. I never knew how tall he was, nor whether he was thin or plump, so I could only make them based on my own imagination.” As she spoke, her eyes reddened uncontrollably. The yearning accumulated over more than a decade felt utterly agonizing whenever she recalled it.
Fortunately, her son had now returned, and he had turned out so exceptionally brilliant. Concubine Zhou smiled once more. “Those old clothes no longer fit him, so I thought I would make him a set of monk robes. It is simply a token of affection from his mother.” Though she had never taken Gu Zhaoyan’s measurements, she had observed him carefully the previous day, and his dimensions had long since been deeply engraved upon her heart.
“Shameless, wretched hussy, barefaced…”
Suddenly, a loud, scolding voice drifted into the room. Concubine Zhou remained entirely unfazed, continuing her needlework without missing a beat. Luoyue, however, glanced toward the doorway and rolled her eyes. “She spends every single day complaining about this and that, acting as if everyone owes her a debt! She never stops to check whether anyone in the estate treats her as a person of standing!”
Concubine Zhou smiled faintly, lowering her head to stitch the collar while her eyes brimmed with doting affection. “Pay her no mind. She is merely fighting and kicking up a fuss for the sake of her children.” Being a mother herself, how could she fail to understand? If Concubine Zhao did not fight or make a scene, she feared the estate would simply act as though she no longer existed.
“Concubine is still speaking up for her.” Luoyue sighed. With the legitimate young master of the estate lacking backbone, it was hardly surprising that the Master looked down upon him. With that timid, cowering demeanor, even she as a maid found it painful to look at. To speak an unfilial word, if the Young Master had remained in the estate back then, his predicament would likely have been far worse than Third Young Master Huan’s, given the existence of such vicious rumors.
Concubine Zhou smiled in silence. Being women and mothers alike, how could she not understand? It was simply a matter of shared empathy.
Prince Jing’s Estate:
Jia Yuanchun was sitting in her room embroidering when Baiqin walked in and reported, “My lady, did you know? The Prince is looking for a young woman whose horoscope matches the young prince’s, so she may go before the Buddha to cultivate and pray on the little prince’s behalf.”
“Was the young prince not cured by the Master? Why is this still necessary?” Jia Yuanchun asked with puzzlement. The Master possessed genuine skills, and now that the young prince’s health was steadily improving, why would they still need someone whose horoscope matching to go pray before the Buddha?
Baiqin replied, “I heard it is precisely because the Master saved the young prince that the Prince wishes to find a person with a matching horoscope to undertake prayers and cultivation before the Buddha on the prince’s behalf. The word is already spreading outside, so it is surely not false. The steward says that anyone who finds such a person or provides the information will receive a generous reward from the Prince.”
Jia Yuanchun lowered her gaze in deep thought and asked, “Do you know what horoscope is required?”
Baiqin recited the needed birth characters. “Does my lady wish to help the Prince find someone?”
Jia Yuanchun nodded. “Go pass this information along to Mother and have her and Father assist in the search. If there is any news, have them notify me as quickly as possible.”
“Understood,” Baiqin acknowledged eagerly, promptly conveying the message to Lady Wang.