"Minister Li, what do you think?" Ling Yan hesitated, placing the prescription on the table. She had told him everything. Now, Li Yan sat opposite her, frowning in silence.
After a long while, he spoke. "Miss Ling, if the Seventh Prince knew you traded your life for his safety, what would he do?"
She looked away. "I don't care what he thinks. I can't watch him stay in danger."
"But if you die, how will he face the future? Burdened with that guilt… he might as well be dead."
She bit her lip, then suddenly dropped to her knees. "Please, Minister Li. Protect him for me."
"Miss Ling!" Li Yan rushed to help her up. "The Prince has shown me great favor. Even without your words, I would give my life for him."
"Then I leave everything to you." Tears in her eyes, she grabbed the prescription and vanished.
Li Yan watched her go, unsure whether to be happy or sad. To have someone love him enough to die for him… the Prince was lucky. But parting was imminent.
In the Fifth Prince's residence, Murong Jin sat at the stone table, her father opposite her.
Murong Yan's hair was streaked with white, stark in the sunlight.
"Father, why not stay in Jindu?" She held his hand. "The Vermilion Bird Camp is in Wuchuan. They can hold the border without you."
He looked at his daughter, crouching before him. He stroked her hair and sighed. "Jin, has the comfort of Jindu made you forget why you married the Fifth Prince?"
She froze, then stood. "I haven't forgotten. What do you mean?"
"Two years ago, you returned from Wuchuan to marry Xue Liulan. Why?" His gaze was sharp, piercing.
"To help him take the throne. To secure the future of the Murong family." She answered without hesitation.
"And your original intent?" He stood, his expression serious.
"Intent?" She frowned. "You mean… I should focus solely on the goal?"
"Your feelings have blinded you." His voice dropped. "There is a snake in your house, sleeping right under your nose, and yet you let her be."
Die Man.
Since Xue Liulan's warning, Die Man had never set foot in her courtyard. And Murong Jin watched over Qi'er constantly. But her father was not satisfied.
"I am careful. She knows her place. If she doesn't attack me, I won't attack her." She looked away.
"'If she doesn't attack me'? Jin, that doesn't sound like you." He put a hand on her shoulder. "The old you would never nurse a tiger."
"She hasn't done anything overt. I have no reason."
"Is it that you have no reason, or that you are sparing Xue Liulan's feelings?" His voice rose, tinged with pain. "To spare him, you are willing to live in fear?"
"She helped him so much." She sat down, defeated. "Father, I can't force my husband to be an ingrate."
He paced. "Jin, this is a battle between wives. It happens in every great house. If you, the legal wife, threw her out, no one would say a word. But if you lose this battle… it will be the end of you, and the end of the Murong family."
Her mother had died young. Her father had never remarried. These petty intrigues were foreign to her.
"Will it?" She looked at him, doubtful.
"It will. Beauty fades, love wanes. How many emperors have discarded their wives for a favorite concubine? Look at your aunt. If not for the Emperor's tacit permission, would Empress Deng have dared to poison her?"
He still remembered how that man had destroyed the proudest flower of the Murong family.
Silence stretched between them. In the shadows, a figure stood by the moon gate, still as a tree.
Murong Jin's gaze flickered to the shadow, then away. Just my imagination?
"I will think about it," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Father, when will I see you again?"
"Silly girl. I'll come back." He patted her head, hiding his own tears. He knew his body was failing. He might not survive another journey.
The next morning, Murong Yan left through the North Gate. Murong Jin watched until he was a speck on the horizon.
"Let's go back," Xue Liulan said, his arm around her.
She nodded, her father's words echoing in her mind. Would Xue Liulan really discard me for her? Would he break his promise?
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
She looked at him, the question on her lips, then swallowed it.
He smiled indulgently. "Are you thinking about what your father said yesterday?"
"You heard?" She stared at him.
He rubbed his nose, sheepish. "I was just passing by. I couldn't help but overhear."
"So it was you by the moon gate." She realized.
"I brought you a cloak. It was cold."
"Where is it?"
"I took it back." He shrugged. "You were having such a nice chat. I didn't want to interrupt."
"Is that so?" She raised an eyebrow. "Or were you afraid my father would interrogate you?"
He just smiled. They walked in the morning light.
Suddenly, she stopped. "Xue Liulan, if I really threw Die Man out, would you stop me?"
"Why would I?" He looked at her as if she had asked if the sun rose in the north.
"She did so much for you. She loves you wholeheartedly."
"That is her business." He smiled. "Thinking back, our seventh brother was right. Someone else's love has nothing to do with me."
"So he can treat Deng Qinyu and my cousin like strangers, but not Ling Yan."
"Exactly. If he loves someone, he will do anything for her, even if the world says it's folly." He looked at her meaningfully. "I think I should learn from him."
She tilted her head, listening, then laughed. "Xue Liulan, you are not that kind of man."
"Hm?"
"You can't be as ruthless as Xue Feiyan. Letting Die Man be is the most you can do." She declared. "You won't stop me, not because you don't care about the past, but because you trust I won't go too far."
His smile faltered for a second. She had seen right through him. "Murong Jin, you're only half right."
"Half?" She stepped in front of him. "What's the other half?"
He tapped her forehead. "What do you think?"
She shook her head.
"If she behaves, you can do as you please. But if she makes waves… I will be the first to deal with her." His voice was calm, but it sent a shiver through her.
"You won't think of the past?"
"I won't let her hurt you." He pulled her close. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadowy figure disappear. Good. Let her hear it. He wanted Die Man to know exactly where the line was drawn.
They stopped in front of a tavern. He Chengjian was waiting with a carriage.
"He Chengjian will take you back."
"And you?"
"I'm meeting Minister Li Yan for a drink." His smile told her everything.
"I see. Should I ask if the lady who took the medicine has recovered?"
He nodded seriously. "It's been seven days. It's time. I'll leave it to you, my lady."
He bowed deeply.
She curtsied, laughing. They looked at each other, and smiled.