Empress Dowager Zhao saw her son’s expression and knew he remembered. Seizing the opportunity, she continued, “It’s dark outside, you probably didn’t see the young lady’s appearance clearly, but Mother promises you, she is of the highest beauty— among all the noble ladies of Chang’an, she stands out. As for her temperament, she’s gentle, sensible, and extremely filial…”
A cold snort interrupted her words.
Empress Dowager Zhao paused and looked up.
Autumn sunlight filtered through the pale blue window gauze, casting a checkerboard shadow on the floor, and also upon the handsome face and upright shoulders of the young man.
His sharply contoured face, half-lit and half-shadowed, made his expression hard to read.
Yet, his thin lips uttered words as cold as ever: “Since Mother knows how filial she is, why did you make her mother faint from anger right in front of her? Is this a marriage alliance or a feud?”
Empress Dowager Zhao was at a loss for words, her well-maintained face tinged faintly green, and she spoke in a low voice, “Zheng Shi was simply too happy and lost her composure in the hall just now.”
Sima Jing curled his lips, too lazy to expose her self-deception.
How could Empress Dowager Zhao not sense his sarcasm?
Her fingers clenched tightly beneath the ornate sleeves. Suppressing her displeasure, she took a deep breath, twice, before maintaining a calm tone: “Believe it or not, this marriage was decided in front of so many nobles. The Heir Daughter of the Marquis of Changxin Manor is now your bride—there is no changing it!”
Sima Jing’s brows furrowed deeply, his narrow eyes dark as he stared at Empress Dowager Zhao. “I have said before, I have no intention of taking a wife in this life.”
“Nonsense! A man must marry and a woman must wed. How can a fine young man like you not marry and start a family?”
Empress Dowager Zhao felt her youngest son’s words were simply absurd.
She straightened her face. “I know you still mind those previous engagements, but those were all accidents, and those women simply lacked the fortune. How can that be your fault? As for the rumors outside, you needn’t take them to heart. Who you are— outsiders may not know, but does Mother not understand?”
Her words only earned her a faint glance from Sima Jing.
Once again, Empress Dowager Zhao was at a loss.
Perhaps she knew her youngest son before he turned six, but upon their reunion, the sixteen-year-old boy trailing behind the envoys, covered in wounds and withdrawn, seemed shrouded in thick mist— she could no longer see him clearly.
All these years, Empress Dowager Zhao had tried to make Sima Jing return to the lively, clever, and sensible little Jing of his childhood.
But six years had passed, and Sima Jing only grew more closed-off and silent. The bond between mother and son had become ever more distant and strained.
Empress Dowager Zhao didn’t know where things had gone wrong— she’d truly tried her best to make up for it.
She even suspected that the Rongdi people had put some curse on her son, turning her once gentle and affectionate little Jing into this cold, unfeeling stranger.
“Aijia doesn’t care what you think, the marriage is set and there’s no room for reversal. If the Marquis of Changxin Manor refuses to marry off their daughter, it would be defying the Emperor’s command.”
Empress Dowager Zhao took a deep breath, straightened her back, and fixed her burning gaze on her son. “A-Jing, everything Mother does is for your own good. Rest assured, Aijia promises this marriage will proceed smoothly— nothing will go wrong this time.”
“What if it does?”
Sima Jing looked at her. “If yet another life is lost because of me, will Mother pay for it with her own life, or shall I atone with mine?”
“A-Jing!”
Empress Dowager Zhao’s face changed dramatically.
She braced herself on the table as if to rise, but under the young man’s cold, fathomless gaze, she sat back down, her face still showing anger. “Don’t ever say such things again!”
As if not saying it meant it never happened?
Sima Jing’s eyes darkened.
After a moment, he stood up, his expression calm as he looked at Empress Dowager Zhao by the couch. “If another life is lost because of me this time, I will leave the Capital and never return to the Palace.”
Watching his resolute figure in dark robes leave, and recalling the threat in his words, Empress Dowager Zhao felt a tightness in her chest.
She collapsed onto the five-colored brocade pillow behind her, closed her eyes, and panted, “Aijia must have committed some great sin to give birth to such a heartless Nian!”
Langui Mama quickly brought tea, patting the Empress Dowager’s back as she softly consoled, “Please calm down, Your Majesty. Getting angry so early in the morning is bad for your health.”
Empress Dowager Zhao gulped down two mouthfuls of tea, barely managing to steady her breath.
Staring at the gently rippling brown surface of the tea, her brows remained tightly knit. “How did he become like this? He was the most considerate child when young— everyone praised his sensibility and filial piety…”
Langui Mama sighed, about to offer more comfort, when she caught sight of a shadow flitting behind the soft gauze curtain. She narrowed her eyes.
Empress Dowager Zhao noticed it too. Already annoyed, her tone grew even colder. “What are you sneaking around for? Get in here!”
At her command, the chief eunuch Zhang Dehai stumbled in at a trot. “This servant greets the Empress Dowager— may Your Majesty enjoy ten thousand blessings.”
Empress Dowager Zhao shot him a sidelong glance. “Why were you lurking outside?”
Zhang Dehai knelt, looking hesitant. “This servant… this servant…”
Langui Mama, knowing the Empress Dowager’s mood was sour, quickly urged, “If you have something to say, say it in front of Her Majesty.”
Only then did Zhang Dehai, trembling, report what he’d heard. “This servant’s godson at the Shangshiju went out to buy supplies this morning and said he saw the Marquis of Changxin Manor send someone to fetch the best physician from Huichuntang at dawn.”
Empress Dowager Zhao paused, rubbing her brow. “Didn’t the Taiyi say Zheng Shi was fine? Why summon a physician again?”
“My godson heard that the physician wasn’t for the Marchioness, but for… for…”
Zhang Dehai swallowed. “For the young lady of the Marquis’s Mansion!”
At those words, the air in the flower hall seemed to freeze.
Empress Dowager Zhao’s face turned completely cold. “What happened to her?”
Zhang Dehai replied, “This servant doesn’t know the details. Only heard she fell ill as soon as she returned last night, and at first light, they hurried to find a physician.”
The flower hall fell into a deathly silence once again.
After a long moment, Empress Dowager Zhao let out a cold laugh. “Well, well. This morning, Prince Jing gave Aijia a sour face, and now even the Marquis of Changxin Manor dares to do the same.”
“That young lady was lively and rosy-cheeked last night— yet as soon as the marriage was decreed, she falls ill? It’s as if I’ve seen a ghost!”
“Aijia refuses to believe in such bad luck.”
Empress Dowager Zhao propped herself up and ordered coldly, “Langui, pack up immediately and take Imperial Physician Liu to the Marquis’s Mansion. Until the wedding, you’ll stay in that Yun family fifth young lady’s courtyard and watch her for Aijia.”
“This time, Aijia will not allow the marriage of Prince Jing to suffer the slightest mishap!”
“Achoo—”
In the rear courtyard of the Marquis’s Mansion, Yun Ran, leaning against the bed, sneezed hard once again.
Beside her, Zheng Shi hurriedly handed her a handkerchief, heart aching. “Ranran, are you alright?”
Yun Ran wore a pale sleeping robe, her black hair loose over her shoulders.
Resting on a pale green pillow, her head was slightly tilted back, a moist cloth folded on her forehead.
Her delicate, makeup-free face was flushed from the fever, as if someone had spilled rouge across her cheeks.
Even with her cheeks burning red, she managed a smile. “Mother, I’m fine— my nose was just a little itchy.”
“Silly child, you’re burning up and still say you’re fine?”
Zheng Shi’s eyes brimmed with tears. Sitting by the bed, she touched her daughter’s hot face, then turned and urged the maids, “It’s been so long— why isn’t the medicine ready?”
From outside, a maid replied, “Almost done, Madam— please wait a little longer.”
To Zheng Shi, every moment felt endless. She was about to say more when a small, soft hand pressed her own.
Turning back, she saw Yun Ran looking at her with clear, bright eyes. “Mother, you can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry. If the medicine isn’t simmered long enough, it won’t be effective. There’s nothing to do today anyway, so it’s fine to wait.”
“How can it be fine? If you don’t take the medicine and the fever doesn’t break, what if your mind is damaged?”
Zheng Shi felt her daughter was truly too good-natured, always thinking of others and never herself.
But seeing her daughter’s weak little face, she couldn’t voice her worries, only gazed at her anxiously through tears.
Yun Ran was helpless under her mother’s gaze.
She really didn’t think her illness was serious. Wasn’t it just that she’d accidentally fallen asleep in the bath last night and caught a chill?
Back in the Daoist temple, she’d had fevers before. At that time, there wasn’t even a cold cloth, let alone medicine. She’d just bundled up, sweated it out, and by the next day, the fever was gone.
She wanted to comfort Zheng Shi with an example, but feared mentioning her past hardships would only make her mother sadder, so she kept her mouth shut.
Fortunately, before long, the maid brought in the steaming hot medicine.
Along with her came two sisters-in-law.
Both had hurried over from their own courtyards, and though they’d met on the way and still couldn’t see eye to eye, they ultimately arrived together.
Seeing Yun Ran lying on the bed, sipping the bitter medicine with a haggard look, Li Wanrong and Qian Sijin both wore worried expressions.
“How did you get sick all of a sudden?”
“Yes…”
Qian Sijin bit her lip, and seeing the maids had retreated outside, couldn’t help but whisper, “Little sister is usually so healthy, practicing boxing and martial arts every day, full of energy. Now, right after being bestowed a marriage, she falls ill? Prince Jing really is too ominous…”
“Third sister-in-law, mind your words.”
Li Wanrong rebuked softly, “Did you already forget what your eldest brother said last night?”
Qian Sijin, knowing she was in the wrong, fell silent, though she was unconvinced. She didn’t believe she was the only one in the family who thought so—why was eldest sister-in-law pretending?
In truth, she wasn’t alone in her suspicions.
Whether it was Zheng Shi, the household servants, or even Li Wanrong, all felt this was far too much of a coincidence—
Wasn’t it the same with that Lady Cui? She too died of a sudden illness, without warning.
After Yun Ran finished her medicine, Li Wanrong sat by the bed, speaking gently. “Just rest and recover these next few days. Once you’re better, I’ll take you to Xuandu Temple for a visit, alright?”
“Xuandu Temple?”
At the name, Yun Ran sat up in surprise despite her illness. “Is that the one famed as the Imperial Temple, spanning three dynasties, with peach blossoms everywhere and known as the top Daoist temple in the realm?”
She rattled off so quickly that Li Wanrong was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Looks like little sister knows quite a bit about Xuandu Temple.”
Yun Ran smiled sheepishly. “I was once a Daoist myself. Now that I’m in Chang’an, I should adapt and learn about the local scene. If I ever can’t get by, I could find a brother temple to take me in and at least get a meal.”
Zheng Shi: “…”
Li Wanrong/Qian Sijin: “…”
“Ahem, I mean… As cultivators, we travel far and wide. At home, we rely on the Patriarch; away from home, we rely on fellow Daoists.”
Seeing she was digging herself deeper, Yun Ran scratched her head. “I’m just feverish and talking nonsense— pretend I didn’t say anything.”
Naturally, Zheng Shi and the others wouldn’t argue with a sick girl, especially since her habits were formed over many years.
“Then it’s settled.”
Li Wanrong smiled. “Once you’re better, we’ll go to Xuandu Temple to pray.”
If she could buy a few talismans to ward off evil for her little sister-in-law, that would be better than any dowry.
As the women were chatting and laughing, a servant suddenly rushed in with a report: “Madam, someone has come from the Palace!”