Xue Liulan rose and walked to the window, staring out at the moonlit grounds. Autumn had settled over the capital, the air turning cool. He wondered if snow was already falling on the frontier, and what Murong Jin was doing.
When Die Man entered with a bowl of medicine, she found him lost in thought, bathed in moonlight. He wore only his white under-robes, his silk-black hair held back by a simple ribbon. His lips were pressed into a thin line.
It was the same look he'd had when she first met him. So many years, and he hadn't changed. Or perhaps, she thought with a frown, I simply refuse to admit that he has.
"You're only just recovered, and you're already standing in a draft?" she said, her footsteps deliberately heavy. She set the medicine down with a smile. "Are you trying to fall ill again?"
"I'm not that fragile," he laughed, turning from the window. He walked to the table and downed the medicine in one gulp.
Die Man covered a smile. "You're not afraid I brought you poison?"
He set the bowl down. "Even if it were poison, I'd drink it gladly from your hands."
She blushed and fell silent. He gestured to the door. "Little Dingzi."
"Yes, Your Highness?" the eunuch chirped, scurrying in.
"Take this away. And don't let anyone disturb us. I need to speak with Lady Die Man."
Little Dingzi's face broke into an all-knowing grin. He took the bowl, backed out of the room, and quietly closed the door.
Die Man watched him go, then sat across from Xue Liulan. "A whole month stuck here—aren't you going crazy?"
"Are you saying you're bored of being cooped up in here with me?"
She shot him a look. "Jindu itself is a cage. If I were afraid of being bored, I would have stayed free in the martial world, not come here to be with you."
The playful look on his face softened into something serious. "Thank you, Die Man," he said, his voice low.
She had never seen him look so earnest. She paused, then turned away with a small laugh. "What's all this for? As long as you know I did it for you, that's enough."
"I know," he nodded, but said no more.
It was a topic they couldn't continue. Nothing he could say, no thanks he could offer, would ever be enough to repay what she had given up for him. But what else could he give her? He had been so certain of the future, but Murong Jin's arrival had thrown everything into chaos.
"Her returning to Wuchuan like this," Die Man said softly. "Will it break the pact you made with her father?"
He didn't answer.
"Even if you're just putting on a show for others, you didn't have to do it right in front of her. What if she gets truly angry? If you lose the support of the Murong family, your chances are even slimmer."
Xue Liulan turned back to the window. After a long moment, he answered. "The Seventh Prince's spies were not the only ones watching. Guo Shangzhong may have had men there as well."
"Guo Shangzhong?" she asked, surprised. "Inside the residence?"
"I don't know. But it's better to be safe. A close alliance between myself and the Murongs is bad news for everyone else." He gave a helpless laugh, but his eyes were dark.
"True." She rose and walked to his side. "They've arrived. They said they will be here tomorrow night and wish to see you. We had planned for the meeting to be at your residence, but perhaps the Yichun Courtyard would be better now?"
"Fine," he said, turning. He wrapped his arms around her, his voice a low murmur in her ear. "You've been working too hard."
"It's what I'm here for," she said, her fingers tracing a pattern on his chest. "Besides, Murong Jin herself told me to take care of you, to treat this place as my own home."
"Oh?" His brow furrowed. "She said that?"
"So you see? It is my duty."
"A duty for Murong Jin?" he laughed, letting her go. She grabbed his arm.
She poked him in the chest. "You know damn well who I'm doing this for."
He just smiled and said nothing.
In a quiet courtyard of the Yichun Courtyard, a single light burned. Xue Liulan pushed open the door. Two men were already waiting inside. The man on the left was a young master in fine brocade. The man on the right was dressed in black, a gentle smile on his lips.
"Apologies for the wait," Xue Liulan said, closing the door behind him.
"Fifty strokes of the staff, and yet your lightness skill has improved, Your Highness," the man in brocade said with a laugh. "Suyi told me you had arrived, but I didn't believe him."
Xue Liulan sat down. "I imagine Suyi knew the moment my feet touched the ground."
The man in black, Suyi, smiled gently. "When one's eyes are poor, one's ears become sharper than most. And Your Highness's skill has indeed improved."
Xue Liulan glanced at the man's eyes and sighed. He was the heir to the Marquis of Yin, yet he had been born blind.
"As long as the mind is clear, the eyes are secondary," Suyi said. He picked up the wine jug and poured a perfect cup for Xue Liulan, not spilling a drop.
"Truly worthy of your title as one of the 'Four Gentlemen of the Dynasty,' Xiao Suyi."
Xiao Suyi just smiled. "My lord Rong Xiu and I have asked you here tonight to discuss the matter we spoke of previously."
"Oh?" Xue Liulan downed the cup in one go.
"We have discussed it," the man in brocade, Gongzi Rong Xiu, began. "If we proceed, we can certainly eliminate the threat of the powerful court factions. However…"
"You're worried that once the wolf is slain, the hounds will be put down?" Xue Liulan asked, leaning back with a smirk.
"The Emperor has already stripped three vassal lords of their titles on trumped-up charges," Xiao Suyi said. "We must be cautious."
"But you both know that with the kingdom's current military strength, he cannot touch the states of Jin or Yin," Xue Liulan countered. "Even if my father did not act, the other vassal lords would swallow you up soon enough."
"When the first Emperor established the fiefdoms, he never imagined a day when the branches would be stronger than the trunk," Gongzi Rong Xiu said, shaking his head.
"The dynasty's foundations are rotten," Xue Liulan sighed.
The room fell silent.
"If you rely on the Murongs, won't that just be trading one powerful clan for another?" Gongzi Rong Xiu finally asked.
A small smile played on Xue Liulan's lips. "Whether I can still rely on them is now the question."
"You mean because Murong Jin has returned to Wuchuan?" Xiao Suyi asked.
"How did you know she returned to Wuchuan?" Xue Liulan asked, genuinely surprised. Murong Jin had locked down the residence precisely to prevent that news from getting out.
Xiao Suyi just raised an eyebrow. A moment later, he understood. "I received a report that Murong Jin was ambushed near Wuchuan."
"What?" Xue Liulan's hand tightened around his cup. "Is she alright?"
"She suffered a leg wound, but was rescued by someone and has been taken back to her father's camp." A mysterious smile touched Xiao Suyi's lips.
Xue Liulan let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Do we know who the assassins were?"
"Only that they were professionals, disguised as northern raiders, attempting to frame them for her murder."
"To provoke a war between the kingdom and the raiders?" Gongzi Rong Xiu mused. "If Murong Yan's only daughter was killed by the raiders, he would stop at nothing to get his revenge. His army would be decimated. Could it be the Seventh Prince, trying to weaken the Murong clan?"
Xue Liulan was silent. There was someone else who would benefit from the Murongs' fall.
"Perhaps the mastermind is someone else entirely," he said, his voice grim.
"Guo Shangzhong," Xiao Suyi said softly.
Xue Liulan met his gaze and smiled.
"He is not yet on your side?" Gongzi Rong Xiu asked. "Fighting both of them at once will not be easy."
Xue Liulan nodded, but his mind was already elsewhere. Murong Jin is injured. I wonder how she is now.