Yu Ziyu locked Li Jiyan in the room, placed three iron locks on the door, and affixed yellow paper talismans. She then carried a sword and went out to the palace to find the Ancestral Master, hoping she would return and avenge her by killing this wicked creature.
As soon as she stepped outside, she caught a glimpse of Zhu Shuqiu’s thin figure again.
Zhu Shuqiu was new to the household and worried that the stewards would think she was a rough and clumsy countrywoman. So she got up early in the morning, before dawn, to sweep the courtyard.
Yu Ziyu called her over: “Qiu Niang, can you do me a favor?”
Zhu Shuqiu, limping, trotted up to Yu Ziyu: “Miss, what are your orders?”
Yu Ziyu scrutinized Zhu Shuqiu from head to toe, and was quite impressed with her. She was hardworking and diligent, getting up to sweep the floor before dawn. It was a real pity that someone with such a diligent and hardworking nature wasn’t cultivating immortality.
She snatched Zhu Shuqiu’s broom and pushed her to the front of her house.
”Qiu Niang, I’m giving you a task. You stay here and guard this place. Don’t let anyone into my room, and don’t let anything out of the house. I’ve locked up a ghost in the house. If it comes out, it will bring disaster to the people.”
Zhu Shuqiu was completely confused, but being timid by nature, she dared not say much and nodded, saying, “Okay, Miss.”
Yu Ziyu left in a flash and arrived at the main gate, where she saw a carriage parked in front of the mansion. Her father, Zhao Tianjun, was about to get in. She called out, “Father, are you going to court? Give me a ride; I want to go to the palace too.”
Zhao Tianjun lifted the curtain and let her in first: “Why are you coming to the palace so early in the morning instead of sleeping?”
Yu Ziyu sat down in the carriage: “I’m going to the palace to find the Ancestral Master and ask her to help me catch the ghost.”
”Where are the ghosts?” Zhao Tianjun went in as well and sat down opposite her.
”Heavenly secrets must not be revealed.”
The cart wheels rolled slowly over the gray paving stones. Zhao Tianjun looked at Yu Ziyu’s dark circles under her eyes and her haggard face, and felt a pang of sympathy. He asked again, “Ziyu, did you not sleep all night again?”
Yu Ziyu rubbed her dry eyes: “Yeah, I’m busy cultivating.”
”Aren’t you tired of staying up so late every night? Listen to your father, go to bed earlier in the future and start cultivating when it gets light.”
Yu Ziyu said in a muffled voice, “I cultivate during the day too. I cultivate all day long.”
Zhao Tianjun rubbed his temples in worry. “Ziyu, you keep saying you want to cultivate immortality, but have you ever thought about what the purpose of cultivating immortality is?”
”What else could it be for? To become an immortal.” Yu Ziyu lifted the carriage curtain and looked anxiously outside. She was in a hurry to go to the palace to find Ling Xuzi, and didn’t have time to have a long talk with her father.
Less than half a cup of tea’s time after leaving the Yu residence, she complained that the carriage was too slow and said to her father, “Father, why don’t you get off? You’re too heavy; the horse can’t pull you anymore.”
”Then how will Father go to court?” Zhao Tianjun secretly sweated.
”You can walk there,” Yu Ziyu said anxiously, pushing him off the carriage. “Besides, your court duties are not as important as my cultivation. You’re so old, how can you still be so insensible?”
Zhao Tianjun had no choice but to get off the carriage and let Yu Ziyu leave first.
He walked briskly down the street alone, and soon encountered a coachman who had also been kicked off by Yu Ziyu: “Master, I was also kicked off by the Third Miss.”
Zhao Tianjun looked towards the palace, his concern for Yu Ziyu’s condition growing stronger.
Yu Ziyu rode her horse to the palace gate, jumped off the carriage, and galloped forward, shouting, “I am Yu Ziyu, granted permission by imperial authority!”
The Imperial Guards at the palace gates naturally didn’t stop her for inspection and let her in directly.
She rushed towards the Sanqing Hall with great haste. It was still dark, and only a faint light shone from the clouds in the east, but the Sanqing Hall, shrouded in mist, was still visible.
When Yu Ziyu arrived at the palace gate, he encountered Liu Bing, the eunuch in charge of the old emperor’s affairs. This eunuch was tall and strong, and his demeanor was quite different from that of ordinary hunchbacked eunuchs.
”Liu Bing, is my master, Lingxuzi, inside?” Yu Ziyu recognized the eunuch and asked directly.
Liu Bing bowed and nodded, smiling obsequiously, “Yes, yes, what brings you here to see Daoist Lingxuzi, Miss?”
”Never mind that, just take me inside to find her.”
”Alright, Miss Yu, come in quickly.” He peered at Yu Ziyu’s attire, his gaze finally settling on the gold hairpin in her hair. “Come on, Miss Yu, be careful not to bump your head.”
He helped Yu Ziyu through the door, raising one hand as if to protect Yu Ziyu’s head. Without leaving a trace, he skillfully and casually stole the gold hairpin from Yu Ziyu’s hair and quickly hid it in his sleeve.
Unaware of anything amiss, Yu Ziyu ran into the central hall of the Sanqing Palace and found Ling Xuzi, who was instructing the young Daoist disciples to refine elixirs.
As soon as she stepped into the central hall, she seemed to vaguely hear someone crying. Before she could ask, Ling Xuzi, with a cold face, quickly stepped forward and pushed her out.
She forcefully pulled her wrist and led her back to the front hall.
She scolded sternly, “You have no manners! How many times have I told you not to barge in when your master is refining pills? You just ignore me!”
Yu Ziyu lowered her head in grievance and cupped her hands, saying, “Grandmaster, this disciple knows he was wrong.”
Ling Xuzi put her hands behind her back, quietly hiding the bloodstains on her hands, before asking, “You came to see your master so early in the morning, what’s making you so agitated?”
“Grandmaster, I have captured an evil spirit, but I cannot get rid of it no matter what I do. I followed your instructions and used the copper coin sword, the magic ruler, and the immortal-binding rope to whip it, but I still cannot make the evil spirit reveal its true form.”
“Where is that evil spirit now?”
“I locked it in my room with three locks and put up talismans,” Yu Ziyu said respectfully.
”Alright, I’ll go take a look for you. You wait here, I’ll go change my clothes first.” Ling Xuzi handed the whisk in her hand to Yu Ziyu and went to the back hall.
Yu Ziyu secretly picked up her master’s whisk and imagined herself as an enlightened immortal with all-powerful abilities.
After Ling Xuzi changed into a dark red Taoist robe and came out, the eunuch Liu Bing escorted the master and disciple out of the Sanqing Hall. Before leaving, Ling Xuzi sternly instructed Liu Bing: “Keep a close eye on the medicinal ingredients in the iron cage, and make sure there are no mistakes.”
”Yes, Daoist Master,” Liu Bing replied, bowing and scraping.
After seeing Ling Xuzi and Yu Ziyu off, it was just dawn.
Liu Bing bypassed the back gate of the Sanqing Hall and arrived at the secluded pebble path in the Cuiyuan Garden. He saw a graceful palace maid approaching and smiled as he reached out to touch her waist.
The palace maid was terrified. Before she could even scream, Liu Bing pulled her behind the locust tree, hugged her tightly, and kissed her passionately.
You Jiao pinched him and scolded, “You’re so unserious so early in the morning, as if you’re afraid people won’t know you have a penis.” She touched Liu Bing’s chin, worried that he hadn’t shaved properly.
Liu Bing pulled her into his arms: “I haven’t seen you for days, I’ve missed you terribly.”
He took out a gold hairpin from his sleeve, inserted it into You Jiao’s hair, and kissed her again: “Come on, turn around and let your husband see you. Oh my, my Jiao Jiao is so beautiful.”
You Jiao reached out and touched the gold hairpin, then took it off and examined it closely: “What an exquisite hairpin! Where did you get it?”
Liu Bing grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and buried his head in You Jiao’s chest, rubbing against her: “I swiped it from that Yu family’s third daughter’s head. She went to the palace to see Ling Xuzi just now. When I saw this hairpin on her head, I thought to myself, how beautiful it would be if you wore this hairpin.”
”Yu Ziyu, the third young lady of the Yu family?” You Jiao frowned slightly.
”Isn’t that her? She’s always acting crazy.”
You Jiao shoved the gold hairpin into his hand and said angrily, “Didn’t you promise me you’d never steal again? We stole before because we were forced to, but now we have enough to eat and wear, so why are you still behaving like this!”
”Oh dear, with Yu Ziyu’s brain, how could she possibly notice that her hairpin was stolen?”
Liu Bing toyed with the gold hairpin in his hand, lowered his head and bit You Jiao’s lips, and continued, “Now the old emperor is so anxious that he’s even using people as medicinal ingredients to refine elixirs. I’m afraid his days are numbered. Once he passes away, we’ll probably be able to leave the palace. Shouldn’t we save up as much money as possible now?”
Yu Jiao was horrified when she heard this, her face turning deathly pale: “Using people as a medicinal ingredient to refine pills?”
Liu Bing covered her mouth: “Shh, keep your voice down. If this gets out, we’ll all lose our heads!”
Yu Jiao, still shaken, asked anxiously, “Who does he use as a medicinal ingredient? Could it implicate us?”
”Probably not, they’re all young people with delicate skin. But he hasn’t even started yet, I wonder what his plans are.”
As he spoke, Liu Bing stuffed the gold hairpin into You Jiao’s hand again: “Keep it safe. Didn’t you say that we’re going to open a noodle shop after we leave the palace? We’ll need money for many things then.”
Before entering the palace, You Jiao and Liu Bing had lived in poverty for many years, experiencing plague and famine, and surviving only by eating grass. She knew stealing was wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to truly blame Liu Bing.
She put the gold hairpin into her pocket, stroked Liu Bing’s chin, and said, “Don’t steal again. If you steal again, I’ll really get angry.”
Liu Bing pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a playful smile: “I’ll do whatever you say, my wife. Turn around and let your husband smell you. I’ve missed my darling so much.”
……
Yu Mansion.
Zhu Shuqiu followed Yu Ziyu’s instructions and stood guard at the door. Before Yu Ziyu returned, Yu Yuanchu, that jinx, came first.
She lowered her head and tried to walk away from him. Yu Yuanchu walked over, waving his jade-handled folding fan, and blocked her way: “What are you doing here so early? Have you had breakfast?”
”Young Master, I’ve already eaten.” Zhu Shuqiu twisted the hem of her dress with her fingers, not daring to look up at Yu Yuanchu.
Yu Yuanchu folded his fan and tucked it into his waistband. He squatted down, lifted Zhu Shuqiu’s skirt, and pressed down on her limping leg: “Have you applied any medicine? Let me see.”
Zhu Shuqiu was extremely worried. She pulled her foot back and pushed Yu Yuanchu hard, saying, “Young Master, stop! Someone is coming!”
”Don’t move, let me take a look. I asked the doctor, and it’s possible to cure a limp. Let me see how your ankle is now.”
To distract Yu Yuanchu, Zhu Shuqiu grabbed his hand and whispered, “Young Master, the Third Miss said she locked a ghost in the room and asked me to guard the door for her. What’s going on?”
Upon hearing this, Yu Yuanchu indeed stopped what he was doing, straightened up, looked at the three iron locks and talismans on the door, and asked, “Then where did she go?”
”I don’t know. I got up this morning to sweep the yard. The Third Miss asked me to come and watch the door for her, saying that there was an evil spirit locked inside. Then she left.”
”Why are you sweeping the yard so early in the morning? That’s Granny Sun’s job. Don’t always rush to do chores, or people will start to boss you around.”
Yu Yuanchu held her calloused hand and rubbed it tenderly.
Then, he pulled her closer to the carved wooden door, tapped the three iron locks with his folding fan, and asked, “Do you know what Ziyu has hidden in the house?”
”I don’t know.”
Yu Yuanchu was filled with curiosity. He liked to rummage through Yu Ziyu’s things, looking at her strange and unusual Taoist artifacts. He banged on the door, wanting to hear if there would be any sound from inside.
Zhu Shuqiu stopped him: “Stop knocking. The Third Miss said that no one is allowed to come near this room, and nothing inside is allowed to come out.”
Her words only fueled Yu Yuanchu’s interest, and he yanked the chain on the door, making a loud clanging sound: “Is anyone home? Answer me!”
Zhu Shuqiu pressed his hand down: “Stop fooling around, the Third Miss will blame me when she comes back.”
Yu Yuanchu tapped her forehead: “Coward, stop being so timid. How can you be the second young mistress of the Yu family if you keep acting like this?”
Zhu Shuqiu blushed and her eyes drooped with tears as she said, “Young Master, please don’t talk nonsense. My husband just passed away, it’s really inappropriate for you to keep joking with me like this.”
”Okay, I won’t say anymore. What a crybaby little widow.”
Yu Yuanchu then turned his attention to the door. He looked around and decided to climb through the window to spy on Yu Ziyu’s cultivation secrets.
He stuffed the folding fan into Zhu Shuqiu’s hand and said, “Qiu Niang, come and help me a bit, I’ll climb in and take a look.”
”Young master, this is a woman’s boudoir. How can you do this?”
Yu Yuanchu laughed unrestrainedly: “Ziyu’s boudoir is different from other girls’ boudoirs. Her room is full of ancient books on cultivation and Taoist artifacts. What can’t you see?”
Li Jiyan sat on Yu Ziyu’s bed, his face cold and stern as he used wound medicine to wipe the wounds on his body. When he heard Yu Yuanchu say that he wanted to climb out the window, he quickly put on his clothes.
His carefully chosen white robes were now a mess, torn in several places by Yu Ziyu’s sword, and covered with twisted talismans on his chest and back.
Yu Yuanchu pushed open the window, preparing to climb in.
Looking up, he saw Li Jiyan standing in front of the bed, covered in wounds. His white clothes were tattered and covered with red marks, and there were obvious bruises on his face and neck, with bloodstains at the corners of his mouth.
”Make way,” Li Jiyan said coldly.
Zhu Shuqiu was also frightened by Li Jiyan’s appearance, and quickly pulled Yu Yuanchu aside to make room for Li Jiyan.
Li Jiyan nimbly jumped out of the window, his expression unchanged, and walked steadily forward.
At this moment, Yu Qingdai also came over. She originally wanted to call Yu Ziyu to drink her medicine, but she happened to run into Li Jiyan, who was covered in a mess.
Yu Yuanchu ran to Yu Qingdai’s side and shouted, “Sister, Ziyu is hiding a man in the house. She’s trying to climb on the roof and tear off the tiles! Aren’t you going to do anything about her?!”
Yu Qingdai looked at Li Jiyan, who only nodded slightly as a greeting, his eyes still cold, and quickly left.