The Second Madam flung Lin Zeyan aside and returned to the West Main Courtyard, where she happened upon Xu Lingyuan coming to reconcile the account books. She dismissed all the maids in the room, keeping only Emei, Bizhi, and Biyun.
Seeing the Second Madam's secretive air and the smile on her face, Xu Lingyuan asked, "What is it, Mother?"
The Second Madam pulled Xu Lingyuan down to sit, then leaned in, the delight in her eyes impossible to conceal. "Just now, Madam Liang told me that the Shizi has not only kept a woman in Weinan County, but has a child as well!"
Xu Lingyuan was startled too. "A child…"
The Second Madam's brows lifted slightly. "Indeed. Some time ago, the Shizi Consort's third sister was traveling with her husband to Shangzhou, and it was then, passing through Weinan County, that she discovered it."
Xu Lingyuan asked, "So how did it all blow up?"
If it hadn't blown up, how would it have reached the ears of the Second Madam's relatives on her maternal side?
At this, the Second Madam looked rather admiring. "You know the Shizi Consort's temperament. The moment she heard the news, she rushed straight to Weinan County. Her third sister stayed there too. One went after the outside woman, the other went after the Shizi—and that's how it all blew up."
After the Second Madam finished, Xu Lingyuan showed little reaction, but Wantang, standing behind her, burst out laughing. Xu Lingyuan glanced at her, and Wantang immediately lowered her head, not daring to laugh again.
The Second Madam sighed with feeling. "Now Princess Tonghua will bring her army of women to make a scene at our household."
The Second Madam had disliked Qi Wanling for a long time. With this turn of events, she was secretly delighted, though she only spoke of it behind closed doors, just to indulge in the gossip.
She laughed for a while, and seeing that her daughter-in-law still sat upright, she waved her hand. "Enough, enough. I'll stop talking—say any more and my tongue will rot."
Xu Lingyuan picked up the account books and smiled. The Second Madam's eyes darted about; clearly she still had a whole basketful of words waiting to spill out.
On the way back, Xu Lingyuan instructed Wantang and Fusang, "Do not gossip about the Shizi Consort's affairs, and do not chat about it with the maids from the other courtyards."
Wantang and Fusang assented. Wantang said, "My lady, a few days ago the Shizi Consort made things difficult for you over the seating arrangements, and then she came to gossip in front of you. Perhaps she was just upset herself and came to you to vent."
Xu Lingyuan was somewhat weary. "Never mind. If she wants to come, let her come. We cannot avoid it."
Lin Zeyan had thought the Spirit-Calming Incense Doctor Cen gave him would be of some use, but that night he wandered between heaven and earth, enduring every torment.
Qingshu and Qingyan kept watch at the door, chatting in low voices.
Qingshu looked left and right, and after confirming the lights in the room were out and no one was around, whispered to Qingyan, "I think Sister Emei is in love with our young master."
Qingyan yawned. "You're talking nonsense. How could that be?"
Qingshu leaned closer. "It's absolutely true. I saw it clearly from the side—the way Sister Emei looks at the young master, her eyes could spin silk threads."
Qingyan sighed. "That's a desire she shouldn't harbor." He smacked his lips. "To put it bluntly, it's a toad longing for swan meat. But everyone has their own folly. We'll just pretend we didn't see it."
Qingshu sighed as well. "There are plenty in this household who covet the young master—Sister Emei isn't the only one. But I can tell she truly likes him."
Qingyan pursed his lips. "The young master can only marry one. Never mind that so many of them aren't even of matching status—the young master doesn't seem the type to have stirred up any feelings. Who knows when he might awaken to it…"
He paused, then pointed north. "Besides, there's still the one in the palace."
Qingshu let out a small "oh dear." "Sister Emei might as well like me instead—the young master is far too sought after."
Qingyan laughed and patted him. "So that's it—you like Sister Emei, don't you?"
Qingshu shook off his hand and rubbed his nose. "I was just saying."
Just then, they heard a dull thud from inside the room. The two exchanged wary glances, and Qingshu knocked on the door. "Young master! Young master!"
No one answered from inside, so they quickly pushed the door open. "Young master!"
Lin Zeyan had half fallen off the bed, frantically clutching his head, his inner robe soaked through with sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water.
"Young master! Young master!"
Lin Zeyan vaguely heard someone calling his name, but he felt his soul shuttling between a battlefield and a wedding feast—the wedding feast had become his torture chamber, the battlefield his execution ground. His heart slammed violently against his chest, each thud accompanied by a tearing, searing pain.
He felt like he was dying.
"Young master… young master…"
In the few breaths before suffocation, Lin Zeyan felt a flash of golden light burst before his eyes. He felt every inch of his skin wrapped in something gentle, warm and soft. Then he woke up, and saw Amber nuzzling his face with her head, whimpering softly.
"The young master is awake! The young master is awake!" Qingshu and Qingyan shouted, their faces a mix of grief and joy.
Lin Zeyan let out a long breath and pushed himself up. Amber circled around him restlessly, rubbing against him with her head and tail, whimpering anxiously from her throat.
Lin Zeyan's mind gradually cleared, and he felt as though all the strength in his body had been drained in an instant. He raised a hand to calm Amber down. "Amber, stop moving—you're making my head spin."
Amber slowly came to a halt, resting her head on Lin Zeyan's thigh, her whimpering still not ceasing.
"How are you, young master?" Qingshu asked, his face full of fear and worry.
Lin Zeyan pressed his head. "Get me a cup of water."
Qingyan quickly handed over the one he had already prepared.
Lin Zeyan drank a whole pot of cold tea before he felt the tearing, burning sensation in his heart gradually subside.
Qingshu: "Young master, did you have a nightmare?"
Lin Zeyan stared at the bottom of the bookshelf, not saying whether he had dreamed or not, only: "Go prepare hot water. I want to bathe."
After Qingshu and Qingyan were dismissed, he collapsed backward onto the bed in despair, took a deep breath, and let it out.
Even if he was the Third Young Master of the Estate of the Duke of Xian, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and a favorite of His Majesty, no one would believe what he saw in his dreams—they would probably think he had lost his mind.
For the first time, Lin Zeyan felt lost and terrified.
He had known Zhao Lijia before he ever met her.
He had never seen Zhao Lijia before, but before she ever set foot in the Estate of the Duke of Xian, she had already taken up residence in his dreams, invading them night after night. Those dreams came in fragments—some clear, some hazy—all of them absurd.
He had thought it was merely desire…
Until he saw the person from his dreams with his own eyes. How could he not be shocked? How could he not be terrified? She had tormented him for nearly a month with things he would never have dared to imagine in his lifetime.
He knelt before her… impossible!
But tonight was different from before. It wasn't him and Zhao Lijia entangled together—he had become a bystander. He watched Zhao Lijia marry someone else, and he watched himself die on the battlefield.
What kind of eldritch creature was Zhao Lijia?
He concluded she was up to something—perhaps she had cast some arcane sorcery on him? She came from Liangzhou, which was close to the Western Regions; perhaps it was some Western Regions arcane sorcery, who could say.
Absurd as it was, by Lin Zeyan's experience, that was the only conclusion he could draw.
Amber was still whimpering. Lin Zeyan scratched its head, slowly rose, then walked over to the bookshelf, picked up the box from the bottom, and opened it. The spring-green silk shawl still lay at the bottom of the box.
In his dream, before he died, he had also seen a green silk shawl blown into the sky by the wind. He had prayed for it to carry him back to Chang'an.
Amber jumped over and sniffed the shawl in Lin Zeyan's hand, a mournful whine unceasing in its throat.
"My lord, the water is ready," Qingshu said from the doorway.
Lin Zeyan's eyes sharpened. He clutched the shawl tightly in his hand. He would never allow himself to be toyed with like this—whether it was an eldritch creature or whatever else, he would never allow it.
After bathing, he sat thinking through the night. Early the next morning, he handed the box to Wuhen. "Hold onto this for now. At the hour of Wei this afternoon, bring it to Zisheng Temple."
At the mention of Zisheng Temple, Wuhen was puzzled. "Wasn't the Zisheng Temple case closed long ago? Has my lord discovered something else?"
The Zisheng Temple case was the first case my lord handled when he served as Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. At the time, two young novice monks had died at Zisheng Temple. Ordinarily, this matter would not have reached the Court of Judicial Review, but the Ministry of Justice kicked the ball, unwilling to handle the case—because it involved a prince who was receiving ordination and practicing at Zisheng Temple. So the case fell to my lord, who had just taken office.
My lord had just been promoted by His Majesty to Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Everyone at court was watching him, eager to see how this aristocratic youth—promoted out of turn despite his inexperience—differed from the rest.
In the end, that prince was thrown into prison by my lord and sentenced to exile, which caused a sensation throughout Chang'an.
With that single case, my lord was promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and his decisive, fearless style of handling matters spread throughout the court.
Faced with Wuhen's question, Lin Zeyan said only one thing: "Just hold onto it when I tell you to. If Zhao Lijia goes out, follow her. At the hour of Wei this afternoon, bring this box to Zisheng Temple."
Wuhen left, full of questions.
Youji, remembering Qingshu's instructions, bought a bowl of hot tea and a hubing at the ward gate and handed them to him. "My lord, I heard you didn't sleep all night and haven't eaten since the morning court. Have something on the way."
Lin Zeyan originally felt that eating on horseback was undignified, but having not slept all night and with the morning court standing for so long ahead, he feared he could not hold up. So he took the hubing and bit into it perfunctorily, then gulped down the hot tea. But as ill luck would have it, just as he finished drinking, he saw Vice Censor Lu riding past on horseback, smiling at him.
On Chunming Gate Avenue, the street was now full of court officials riding horses and sitting in carriages on their way to the morning court. Encountering a court official here was not strange—but the trouble was that this Vice Censor Lu was a Vice Censor of the Censorate.
On the way to court, censors would inspect the officials' appearance. If there was anything unkempt, your name would appear at the end of the impeachment list.
Although they had not yet entered the imperial city and there were no censors yet, during the reign of the late emperor, an official had been impeached by a censor for eating a hubing on the way to court and was demoted out of Chang'an. So at this moment, Youji was nervous. "My lord, will this Vice Censor Lu impeach you?"
Lin Zeyan was vexed. "Running into bad luck first thing in the morning."
These old ministers at court could not stand him most of all. Impeachment was certain.
"The dawn has just broken, and misfortune arrives first," Lu Qingyou said as he rode his horse up alongside.
"Third Brother, what luck you have! Vice Censor Lu usually rides in a carriage, but today he made an exception and rode a horse for once—and you had to run into him."
Lin Zeyan shot him a cold glance and rode on ahead without a word.
Fortunately, Lin Zeyan's name wasn't on today's impeachment list. Lu Qingyou even joked that Vice Censor Lu might have taken a liking to him as a son-in-law, to which Lin Zeyan told him to get lost.