But facts proved that his disbelief was correct.
The next day was a rest day. After Lin Zeyan got up, he held his head, unable to understand what had happened to him.
He picked up the Surangama Sutra and threw it onto the small table beside the bed, then walked to the washroom, took off his damp inner garment, and jumped into the wooden tub, submerging his whole body in the water.
After bathing, he let his hair hang loose and, wearing only a plain robe, practiced swordplay in the back. Every time he had worries, practicing with the sword cleared his mind completely, but this time, after practicing for more than an hour, he was still frowning, his mind a mess.
Just then, Qingshu came over with Emei, who was one of Second Madam's attendants.
Seeing that the Third Young Master was still practicing swordplay, Emei waited under the corridor. Qingshu noticed she was holding a box and said, "Sister Emei, the young master will probably need a while longer. Why don't you give that to me so you don't have to wait so long?"
Emei smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. I'll wait a bit. It's no trouble."
Qingshu said, "Alright then."
He was about to prepare the clothes the young master would need shortly, but Emei stopped him and asked, "How long has the Third Young Master been practicing?"
Qingshu said, "Almost an hour and a half. The young master hasn't been sleeping well lately. Practicing swordplay helps a little."
Emei's brows drew together. "Has Doctor Cen been called to see him?"
Qingshu shook his head and lowered his voice. "The young master doesn't want that, and we wouldn't dare make that decision on our own."
While they were talking, Lin Zeyan came over with his sword. He tossed the sword to Qingshu, picked up the handkerchief on the table, and wiped his sweat. Then he saw Emei holding a box and looking at him.
He raised an eyebrow, a little puzzled, and waited for Emei to speak, but Emei just stared at him in a daze.
He was somewhat displeased and said, "Is something the matter?"
Emei gave a start and quickly replied, "Third Young Master, this is what the madam told me to give you."
She handed over the box. Lin Zeyan looked at the glossy black box carved with red lychees and thought of the person who had been troubling him. His brows pressed down, and he took it reluctantly.
Emei opened the box to show him what was inside. "Third Young Master, this is the golden hairpin of the young miss from the maternal family that you knocked off yesterday. The madam wants you to return it to her, and also…"
"And also what?" Lin Zeyan held the golden hairpin in his hand and saw that the head of the pin was shaped like a tree of shattered gold, wrapped around a lychee-like red gemstone bead.
Emei quickly raised her head to glance at him, then lowered it again and said, "The madam wants you to choose something priceless from the storeroom in your courtyard, and then go apologize to the young miss from the maternal family."
Lin Zeyan tossed the golden hairpin back into the box and handed it to Qingshu. "Understood."
Emei had thought the Third Young Master would say something sharp again and anger the madam, but she had not expected him to agree so readily.
After she left, Lin Zeyan bathed again and changed his clothes, looking as if he was about to go out.
Qingshu held the box and asked, "Young Master, are you going to the young miss from the maternal family's place?"
He did not know what priceless thing to choose to apologize to the young miss from the maternal family. There were many good things in the storeroom, but "priceless" was truly an exaggeration. There really was nothing like that. Perhaps the madam was deliberately making things difficult for the young master.
Lin Zeyan did not answer. He took the box from Qingshu's hand and walked to the bookshelf. On the lowest level there was a storage box. He opened the lid. Inside was a spring-green shawl and several messy items. He put the black-lacquered box inside as well.
Qingshu was astonished that his young master had actually put the cousin lady's things in that large box. The box contained items belonging to suspects his master had dealt with in the past—evidence that the Court of Judicial Review had not accepted, so his master had kept them.
Was his master treating the cousin lady as a suspect too?
Lin Zeyan rose and said to Qingshu, "I'm going out. Go to Doctor Cen and get me some Spirit-Calming Incense."
This startled Qingshu again. His master had never used such things before, feeling they impaired the mind, and now he was using them too—how strange.
Lin Zeyan left the house, and Qingshu went to Doctor Cen's Guiyun Courtyard to ask for the incense. But Doctor Cen was not there—he had gone to the Second Young Master's Yunyu Hall. When Qingshu arrived at Yunyu Hall, the people there told him Doctor Cen had just left for the west side courtyard, the First Young Master's quarters.
In the study of the west side courtyard, Lin Congji and Cen Yu were drinking tea and chatting.
Seeing Cen Yu speaking in riddles, Lin Congji urged him, "How is it, really?"
Cen Yu said, "What's the rush? When I resigned from the Imperial Medical Office to head south, wasn't it you who begged me to stay and treat your second brother's leg ailment? I stayed for the sake of our years as fellow students. Now several years have passed, and your attitude has changed rather too quickly."
Seeing him joking, Lin Congji gathered there was no major problem and felt much relieved. Smiling, he slowly took a sip of tea and said, "You couldn't make it in the Imperial Medical Office back then—heading south would have been the same situation. Better to be at ease in my ducal residence."
Cen Yu grew agitated. "What do you mean, couldn't make it? I just found the Imperial Medical Office too full of rules and restrictions."
Lin Congji refilled his tea and nodded in agreement. "I misspoke. These years I must thank you for treating my second brother's leg ailment."
Cen Yu accepted the out. "I have treated your second brother with all my heart. Based on today's diagnosis, his lame leg is fully capable of walking freely—it's just that he has lost his spirit. Any external effort I make is like trying to stop water from boiling by scooping it out, or a cup of water on a burning cartload."
Lin Congji felt uneasy hearing this. "Is there any way…"
His words were cut off by Cen Yu: "Visible illnesses are easy to treat; invisible ones are hard."
After saying this, afraid he had dashed the other's hopes, he added, "I see your second brother greatly admires and respects you as his elder brother. Back at the Imperial Academy, didn't he often follow at your heels? Talk with him more—perhaps his heart ailment will gradually improve."
Lin Congji forced a faint smile and said nothing.
Seeing him like this, Cen Yu clicked his tongue a few times. "With your temperament, I don't expect you to have heart-to-hearts with your second brother. I don't know how your wife puts up with you."
He had seen how Lin Congji and his wife interacted, so he advised earnestly, "You know, behind closed doors, even between husband and wife, one can speak some sweet words. A person like you—living with you is no different from living with a wooden post."
Just then, Qingshu, having rushed around from place to place, arrived breathlessly. He caught his breath at the study door before entering.
"First Young Master, Doctor Cen."
Lin Congji saw it was the young servant attending the Third Young Master and thought the Third Young Master had something to say. Cen Yu was also preparing to leave. Qingshu quickly said, "My master asked me to get some Spirit-Calming Incense from Doctor Cen."
This was indeed something new. Lin Congji and Cen Yu exchanged a glance. Cen Yu asked with a smile, "Does the Third Young Master have some symptom? This Spirit-Calming Incense cannot be used carelessly."
Qingshu replied, "My master has not slept well these past few days and is fatigued during the day."
Cen Yu nodded. "In that case, come with me to Guiyun Court. This is the Shizi's first time using Spirit-Calming Incense, so I'll prepare a suitable one for now. If it doesn't work, we'll need to examine the root cause before proceeding."
Qingshu followed Cen Yu away.
Lin Congji asked Mozhu, "Where is my wife?"
Mozhu replied, "The mistress is reading in the back courtyard."
Lin Congji thought for a moment, then left the study and walked toward the back. Seeing his wife reading beneath a tree, he was suddenly reminded of what Cen Yu had said earlier. He took a jujube candy from the pouch at his waist—one he used to coax Huabao.
Xu Lingyuan noticed a shadow fall before her and looked up. Seeing Lin Congji watching her, she set down her book. "Did Mother send you to fetch me?"
Lin Congji shook his head.
"Is Huabao back, then?"
Lin Congji shook his head again.
Xu Lingyuan felt somewhat ill at ease. Though they had been married for six years, Lin Congji had served as an official in Luozhou for the first two, and had spent the following three years accompanying the Emperor on his eastern tour. Only this year had the two begun living together day to day. Lin Congji was also a pillar of the court, spending even his rest days on official matters. He had never behaved like this before, and she didn't know how to respond.
Seeing his wife looking at him, Lin Congji sat down across from her and opened his palm. "Would you like some candy? It's sweet."
Xu Lingyuan: "?"
Wantang: "?"
Fusang: "?"
Lin Congji placed the candy in Xu Lingyuan's hand and said calmly, "Doctor Cen said that eating some candy is also beneficial to one's health."
Xu Lingyuan set the candy on the saucer beside her teacup. "Thank you."
Only after speaking did she realize the words had come out too formally. The two sat facing each other in silence for a moment, until Xu Lingyuan remembered something and her heart cooled.
"Second Miss Qi of the Qi family will also be attending this wedding banquet."
Lin Congji's fingers, mid-pour of tea, paused briefly. "Mm."
Xu Lingyuan noticed his reaction, and a chill settled in her heart. She swallowed hard. "I've arranged for you and Cousin to be seated apart."
Lin Congji looked up and studied Xu Lingyuan for a moment. "That's for the best."
Xu Lingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a bitterness in her throat. She wondered if the way Lin Congji had looked at her was perhaps out of pity.
Second Miss Qi, Qi Wanyi, was the younger sister of the Shizi's wife and also the woman in Lin Congji's heart. Qi Wanyi had often come to stay at the Duke's mansion, and she and Lin Congji could be considered childhood sweethearts. As they grew older, their feelings were mutual, to the point where marriage had been discussed.
But three years later, when Xu Lingyuan returned from Yangzhou after observing mourning for her grandmother, Qi Wanyi had already married Lin Congji's cousin—and the marriage to Lin Congji had fallen upon her instead.
Ever since Qi Wanyi married Wu Zhaoxing, Lin Congji's relationship with his maternal cousin had grown increasingly strained. They didn't even greet each other when they met on ordinary days. So her arrangement was meant to spare both men embarrassment, and was done for Lin Congji's sake as well.
Knowing that her husband's heart had always held another woman, knowing all the details, and still helping her husband avoid an awkward encounter with his rival in love—Xu Lingyuan despised herself for it.
Others all said their marriage had been arranged by the Emperor, and that neither party had been willing.
But Xu Lingyuan had her own private reasons. She knew why the Emperor had bestowed the marriage, knew why she had been chosen. This marriage had never been a coercion for her. At least when she learned she was to marry Lin Congji, in that instant her heart had betrayed her—she had been happy.
Lin Zeyan did not leave the Duke's mansion. Instead, he met with his two personal attendants in the Orchid Pavilion in the front courtyard.
When Wuhen heard his assignment, he wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him. "The young miss? The young master wants me to tail the young miss?"
Youji elbowed him. "Just do what the young master arranges. Why so many questions?"
Wuhen shot him a glare. "You're not the one doing the tailing, so of course you're happy to talk."
Wuhen and Youji lived up to their names—they were Lin Zeyan's capable assistants when he investigated cases. Wuhen was skilled in qinggong, and Youji was strong; whenever they went out, the two of them accompanied him.
Wuhen said, "Young master, the young miss isn't some suspect. What am I tailing her for?"
Lin Zeyan toyed with the jade pendant in his hand. "Ask fewer questions. Go now."
"Oh, right—remember to report her movements to me every day."