Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The next day, Du Lingjing did not leave.

Jiang Fengchuan’s injuries had inexplicably worsened, and by morning, he was running a high fever. When Du Lingjing arrived, she found him pale, the medicine applied by the physician the night before seemingly unable to staunch the bleeding. He lay on the bed with his eyes tightly shut, his vitality seemingly diminished by a third.

Her heart clenched.

When the third brother had brought Liulang home years ago, everyone understood his intent. His health was always precarious—a congenital weakness—and he feared he would not live long, leaving no one to care for his parents in his stead, only to cause them sorrow. Liulang, a clan outcast, could then fulfill filial duties in his place.

Thus, after his death, the clan had arranged for Liulang to be formally adopted by his parents.

Had it not been for the rumors of succession by younger brothers, the Jiang family might not have been willing to send him away to wander and study, leaving him with no permanent home.

Now, with his sudden high fever almost pushing him into delirium, how could Du Lingjing possibly leave? She had no choice but to speak to the man behind her.

"Please return to the capital first, my lord. In a couple of days, once Jiang Liulang’s condition stabilizes, I will return. Would that be acceptable?"

Her words were so polite, just like when she had asked for his help to save a life the day before, yet still bowed formally when making her plea...

Lu Shenru did not respond immediately, but Chong'an stepped forward to report.

"My lord, a message has arrived from the capital. The Earl of Rongchang’s advisor seeks an audience with you, seemingly on urgent business. Additionally, there are two military dispatches from Ningxia awaiting your lordship's decision."

With duties piling up, it was impossible for him to remain at Guilin Tower any longer. And with Jiang Fengchuan’s severe injuries, moving him was out of the question.

Lu Shenru looked at his wife. Clearly, this Jiang Liulang was important—at least to her, enough that she would devote such careful attention.

The man lowered his gaze and couldn’t help asking one more time.

"Truly not coming with me?"

Du Lingjing knew she had already promised him yesterday that she would return to the capital with him. Yet today, she was reneging—all for the sake of someone from the Jiang family. But given the circumstances, even if it weren’t for the third brother’s sake, she could not simply wash her hands of the matter, not with the generations of neighborly friendship between the Jiang and Du families.

She could only offer another excuse.

"There are still some unfinished business to attend to at Guilin Tower. I’ll stay for another two days."

She pressed her lips together. The excuse was paper-thin, but the words were already spoken. What more could Lu Shenru say? He held her hand, letting her accompany him to the gate, only releasing her when he mounted his horse.

"Then don’t overexert yourself."

She nodded.

He gave her a silent glance before spurring his horse and riding off.

As soon as he left, Du Lingjing returned to the medicine-heavy air of the room.

The physician had just completed the acupuncture treatment on Jiang Fengchuan and was wiping sweat from his brow as he stepped out. Seeing the lady, he bowed and, when asked about the patient’s condition, replied,

"Jiang Sixth Master’s injuries didn’t actually strike any vital areas, but for some reason, the healing process is abnormally slow. Still, with wounds like those, he should have required complete bed rest overnight. Why is he still bleeding by morning?"

The physician couldn’t explain it either. "Don’t worry, my lady. I’ll observe him for another two days."

Du Lingjing thanked him and had Qiu Lin offer an additional consultation fee. The physician refused. "You’re too kind, my lady. The marquis’ household has already paid."

But what the marquis’ household paid was their business. She smiled. "This is from me personally. Please take extra care."

After repeated refusals, Qiu Lin finally managed to press the payment into the physician’s hands.

Du Lingjing then stepped into the room. As she lifted the curtain, she saw the man on the bed had already dressed properly and was walking over from the bedside.

"The physician said you should rest."

Only the two of them were in the room. Du Lingjing spoke, but he did not respond. Instead, he donned a pale green robe with bamboo leaves embroidered at the cuffs, his frame slightly stooped as he gathered another bloodstained blue-green robe.

The third brother had most often worn two colors in life: blue-green and pale green. Du Lingjing’s gaze lingered on the two robes, her gaze momentarily fixed.

She watched as the injured man folded the bloodstained garment, then took out a silver silken cord from his bundle to tie around his waist.

Unlike the high-ranking ministers at court who cinched their waists neatly with brocade belts, he simply used this long cord, tied loosely about his waist in a simple knot, letting the excess length drape to one side.

The third brother had once said that most of his time was spent in his study at home or in her Mian Tower, where he received no guests, so there was no need for formal attire. But more importantly, he had admitted that his chronic illness had left him thin, and tightening a brocade belt around his waist only made him look more like a withered sapling.

She had disliked him saying such things and forbade him from repeating them, yet she had still woven seven or eight cords for him according to his wishes.

This silver cloud-patterned one had also come from her hands.

How many years had it been since she had last seen this cord fastened around the third brother’s waist?

Now, as it draped loosely about the man before her, Du Lingjing felt a pang in her nose. Seeing him in the pale green robe with the silver cord, so weak he could barely straighten his back, yet still walking to the tea table to pour her a cup—

"I’m not thirsty..." she began.

But he seemed not to hear, only glancing back at her before taking a plate of tea cakes and warming them unhurriedly over the small tea stove.

Every movement was just like years ago, when she would realize the third brother hadn’t come to Mian Tower for two days and knew his health must have taken another turn. Otherwise, no matter how exhausted, he would come through wind and rain to see her. If she didn’t come, he would go to her.

On cold days, he never wanted her coming to him. But if she insisted on coming, he would sigh, refusing help from Uncle Hui or even her, and instead brew her a cup of hot tea himself, rewarming the chilled pastries before gently setting them before her.

Finally, he would fill a warming pan and press it into her hands, murmuring softly, "Mind it doesn't burn you..."

Every scene before her now seemed to replay, overlapping bit by bit with memories she had revisited endlessly yet could never grasp again.

Sure enough, the man before her also took out a hand warmer, heated it, and slowly walked over to tuck it into her palms.

A tear fell from Du Lingjing’s eyes with a soft pat.

The young man drew a handkerchief from his sleeve, gazing down at her as he reached out slowly, dabbing at the tear that had slipped down her cheek.

But in the next moment, she abruptly jerked her face away.

His hand stilled. She lifted her head and stared at him intently.

"What are you doing?"

He said nothing. Du Lingjing called him directly.

"Liulang, sit down."

Her tone carried an urgency absent in her usual speech.

Only then did the young man withdraw his hand, turning to sit at the table.

He remained silent, his pallid, injured face devoid of color. Now, after being "scolded" twice, his expression held a touch of pitifulness.

That look, too, overlapped and mirrored, softening hearts.

But the person before her was not the one from before. Du Lingjing frowned in silence, and it was only then that he finally spoke.

"Why didn’t you go back with Marquis Lu?"

At his question, Du Lingjing’s frown deepened as she looked at him.

His injuries weren’t life-threatening, but earlier he had claimed that during his pursuit, he had no medicine available. Yet last night, the physician had carefully treated his wounds—why was he still bleeding so much this morning, to the point where he developed a fever?

She’d seen him pacing around constantly, as if his wounds didn’t hurt at all, and yet every gesture he made seemed deliberately imitative...

How could his injuries possibly heal like this?

She wasn’t in the mood for small talk and got straight to it.

"Is this about yesterday?"

Because yesterday, she’d brushed aside his concerns and directly informed Lu Shenru about the rescue.

When she posed the question, he finally stopped beating around the bush.

"Yes. Scholars like us find Marquis Lu’s reputation hard to trust." At this point, he looked at her. "In my eyes, he’s not even a fraction as trustworthy as my third brother."

If the first part was common knowledge—a genuine concern among scholars, especially those like Mr. Liao, who’d crossed paths with Lu Shenru—then Du Lingjing knew the last part was meant for her. Just as every word and action just now had been performed for her to see.

The strong smell of medicine hung in the air.

When Sanlang was alive, no matter how cold the weather, he’d throw open the windows and doors when he knew she was coming, doing his best to air out the medicinal smell.

But now, the smell was trapped inside.

He was calling her out on her broken promises.

She lowered her voice. "I did get married—to someone else."

A royal edict left her no choice—no matter how hard she tried, there was no avoiding it. She had married Lu Shenru, the Marquis of Yongding, and theirs was a marriage in name and in truth...

"But this matter has nothing to do with whether I am his wife or not."

She laid it out plainly: Shao Boju had tried to force her into marriage by leveraging Madam Wan and her uncle’s influence.

"At the time, I spread the news that Shao Boju might be involved in persecuting the Hu siblings, and overnight, the whole capital knew—all by borrowing the Marquis’s influence. But back then, our relationship wasn’t what it is now. We just happened to want the same thing."

She recounted the incident in detail before turning to Jiang Fengchuan.

"It’s the same now. The Shao family already holds considerable power, and with Shao Boju now a Tanhua, in the Emperor’s good graces—do you think he would want to see Shao Boju grow even stronger?"

Jiang Fengchuan, who had been drifting outside the capital, only had a vague understanding of Shao Boju’s affairs. Hearing this, he gave a mental nod, his face blank.

"But who’s to say? Back then, he might have been happy to see Shao Boju entangled in scandal, but now, other interests might come into play. How can you be sure your husband won’t screw over the Fu Party?"

Du Lingjing fell silent for a moment at his words.

She changed her phrasing.

"Marquis Lu might indeed have other interests that could sway his judgment."

But at this moment, she trusted his motives were pure—just saving lives.

Yet could she truly guarantee that?

Her voice dropped as she laid her cards on the table.

"The Marquis of Yongding’s estate has its own stance, and Marquis Lu has his own considerations. What we can do is, when our interests align, use his influence and ask for help."

She continued, "This is a request—we are asking him. Naturally, we’ve got to mean it."

"But if later, his interests shift, I’ll know when to back off."

She had been his wife for nearly two months, but before that, they had been strangers. What kind of bond could they really have?

They each had their own positions and affairs, but her matters were not Lu Shenru’s.

Two months together didn’t count for much to ask for repeated favors—especially when interests no longer aligned, or even clashed.

"He’s done more than enough already. When the time comes, it will be our own affair."

She naturally wouldn’t trouble him further. If they had to part ways, she’d make it clean and find her own solutions.

If, by that time, they still hadn’t rescued everyone—or if the situation worsened—

She would have no one to rely on. She’d hike into those mountains herself if she had to, to search and rescue, she wouldn’t abandon them.

"Since everyone trusts me, I won’t stand idly by. You can rest assured."

After saying this, she noticed the young man across the table finally seemed to settle down, no more theatrics. Yet his gaunt cheeks and pallid complexion, something in his eyes and brow that reminded her of Sanlang...

Du Lingjing couldn’t help but stare a moment longer before asking,

"Do you get it now? Will you actually rest and heal?"

Seeing him nod, she sighed in relief and casually inquired about the others’ conditions.

Jiang Fengchuan said it wasn’t good. "Brother Hu’s injuries are the most severe—Shao Wuxing’s arrow nearly pierced through his arm."

Du Lingjing inhaled sharply. Luckily, he said, they’d found a good hiding place. "They’ve kept their heads down for a while, and his wounds are stable for now. But Sister Hu can’t stop fretting about her kid back home. I’ve caught her crying to herself more than once."

Du Lingjing lowered her gaze. Thankfully the kid wasn’t snatched—otherwise, how would Tingjun cope?

"And Mr. Liao... he’s so thin I barely recognized him."

Du Lingjing thought she had misheard. Mr. Liao used to be the roundest of them all—had he really wasted away?

She burned with the need to see them all, but Chongping had only just set out with a rescue party yesterday. They were hiding near the border of Zhending and Baoding—it’d be a while before they got there.

Though Du Lingjing didn’t believe in Buddhism, she muttered a prayer despite herself.

Don’t let anything go wrong. Let them be rescued safely...

While they’d been talking, she looked up to see Liulang’s wounds had started bleeding again.

She hurriedly urged him not to stay seated. "Get back to bed—you need rest. If you need anything, don’t bother the Marquis’s people—I’ll have Chang Pu look after you."

Hui Shu must have stayed behind with the Fu Party members. Chang Pu attending to him would be more convenient.

She rose to leave, but a voice called out behind her.

"Sister-in-law."

She turned to see Liulang, who this time only said,

"It’s getting colder out—don’t stay out too long or you’ll catch cold."

"Got it." Du Lingjing softened her voice in reply before she stepped outside.

Once she left, Jiang Fengchuan was left alone in the room.

He didn’t return to bed immediately. Blood oozed slowly from his wound as he pulled out a bamboo puppet from a box on the table.

"Brother, what do you think of what your wife said?"

The bamboo puppet stayed silent.

Instead, he took a few bamboo leaves from a nearby embroidered pouch and scattered them across the table. Tilting his head, he studied the fortune-telling signs formed by the scattered leaves.

"Oh, the Qian hexagram, or Modesty hexagram," Jiang Fengchuan murmured. "Looks like Brother still dotes on her—whatever she says, he listens."

If that was the case, he could only say, "Let’s hope she’s right."

*

Outside Guilin Tower.

Du Lingjing walked to the entrance but did not enter. Instead, she circled around the building and continued toward the back.

She remembered a small bamboo grove tucked away in a corner.

But as she walked on, the northern wind turned her skirt stiff with cold. Only then did she realize the bamboo grove wasn’t within the tower’s courtyard but beyond the back gate.

She slipped outside.

It was just a small patch, but as soon as she entered, the clean bamboo scent seemed to ward off the cold, settling in her hair, between her fingers, and upon her collar. The fragrance wrapped around her like arms...

Du Lingjing couldn’t help but close her eyes.

A passerby glanced at her. "Miss, are you crying?"

Du Lingjing blinked in surprise. Seeing the basket of incense in the person’s hand, they gestured ahead.

"There’s a small temple up front. If you’re thinking of someone, why not go and speak to the gods? They’ll deliver your message."

They added, "I’m sending some money and a few words to my deceased mother. Would you like to come?"

Du Lingjing wiped away the tear streaks on her face.

"Yes."

*

In the capital.

Separated by a wall, the Marquis was working in his study while Adviser Yu met with the Earl of Rongchang’s advisor in his stead.

The Earl of Rongchang’s advisor looked worried.

"...The two young masters have acted recklessly, stirring up a bloody incident. Our lady is overwhelmed, and with the Earl away leading troops beyond the pass, sending word would only distract him. But if left unchecked, who knows what might happen? Our household truly has no other choice—we wouldn’t trouble the Marquis otherwise. We can only ask the Marquis’ family, for the sake of their family ties, to help find the people involved."

Adviser Yu said assisting in the search was manageable, "But it’s hard to say how long it will take. Since the Earl is leading troops in battle, we shouldn’t disrupt military affairs. Best not to inform him."

The Earl of Rongchang’s advisor repeatedly agreed. "As long as the Marquis is willing to step in, we’ll accept any arrangement."

He then asked to greet Lu Shenru, but Adviser Yu declined on his behalf. "The Marquis is occupied. Let’s focus on finding the people first."

The advisor had no choice but to bow outside the study before taking his leave.

Adviser Yu then entered Lu Shenru’s study and briefly brought up the matter.

"Apparently, the two young masters were involved in a fatal fight. The family, fearing retaliation, has gone into hiding. The Countess of Rongchang is worried the situation might escalate and had to seek help..."

Adviser Yu explained the details, but the man just nodded, disinterested.

He watched as the Marquis first skimmed through a few palace memorials, glanced at them briefly before setting them aside, then propped his chin on one hand and turned to gaze out the window.

Outside, a few thin bamboo swayed.

The Marquis’ lips thinned. Unsure of his meaning, Adviser Yu mentioned others waiting outside to see him.

But before he could finish, the Marquis suddenly said, "No more meetings."

With that, he rose and called for his horse to be brought. "I’m going out."

*

Du Lingjing had lost track of time and spent the entire day in the small temple.

The abbot, noticing how long she had stayed, asked if she would like some vegetarian meal.

Du Lingjing thanked him but declined.

As dusk fell, the other visitors had all departed without her noticing. Even the joss sticks in the burner had burned down to their ends. The novice monk began sweeping the courtyard, so she stood and made her way out.

The surroundings had darkened, but the tall outline of Guilin Tower was still visible. She followed its shadow back, knowing she would reach the bamboo grove soon.

But before she had gone far, still nowhere near the grove, she spotted a tall, imposing figure standing on the dim path where the last light of the setting sun had faded.

He was walking toward her, his gaze fixed on her face.

His steps halted, but Du Lingjing froze in surprise.

"My lord?"

Why was he here?

Du Lingjing felt embarrassed. She had spent the entire day in the temple behind her, and she still smelled of incense.

She instinctively wanted to brush her collar but feared it would be too obvious.

The man also noticed her puffy eyes and red nose, her usually soft lips now chapped.

The mountains devoured the last light of the sunset, leaving only a streak of red lingering on the horizon.

After a silent pause, he spoke to her gently, ignoring her state. Instead, he simply asked,

"Would you like to go for a ride?"