I tugged at Master Wei’s hand, signaling with my eyes for her to look at Wen Jiang and Duan Qimo. Only then did she reclaim her usual air of detached tranquility. She narrowed her eyes, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of her lips, before turning her gaze away from everyone else to look only at me.
Even though I was accustomed to her cloying affection, after a month apart, such a gaze still made my heart race and my face flush. I lowered my head with a smile and a soft reproach, only to be pulled back into her arms for more tender contact. After a few moments of whispered endearments, we finally composed ourselves and walked hand-in-hand into the center of the crowd.
Master Wei offered a few words of concern to the group, greeting Nie Xueqing with a graceful, faint smile. It was Nie Xiaoyan’s first time seeing "the person I had married." She stared at Wei Qingming for a long time, her eyes wide, before suddenly exploding in a fit of rage. She lunged forward as if to strike her, crying out, "By what right? By what right! You’ve burdened Ah Zhi with your mountain of messes, yet you can’t even stay by her side!"
"Xiaoyan!" Nie Xueqing barked, her eyes flashing with a rare fury. "Stop this nonsense! What do you know?"
Upon hearing those words, Wei Qingming said nothing. She merely smiled. I, however, knew exactly what that smile meant—it was the cold sneer of someone pushed to the brink of extreme wrath, looking down at an ant she was about to crush.
I hurriedly grabbed her sleeve, but it was already too late. A ball of brilliant True Fire gathered in her palm. She raised her hand and fired it toward the space behind Nie Xiaoyan. The flames whistled past the girl’s ear, melting the gold hairpin at the back of her head, and surged toward the exquisite manor nearby. In an instant, the estate was engulfed in a raging inferno, reduced to nothingness.
"An illusionary construct left by Xia Ji," she said tonelessly. "It is safer to destroy it."
With that, she took my hand and led me toward the waiting carriage.
Nie Xiaoyan was nearly frightened into a faint and was dragged away by a frowning Nie Xueqing. Sister Qing was also rarely this incensed, nearly delivering a slap of disappointment to the girl in public.
It seemed Master Wei never truly stayed angry with young girls. After scaring Nie Xiaoyan by destroying the manor-sized illusion, she walked with me in silence for a while. When she lifted me into the carriage, her demeanor had returned to a water-like serenity and tenderness. She softly confirmed once more that I wasn't injured in the slightest. I smiled and squeezed her hand. "I’m truly fine. If I were hurt, would I hide it from you? I would have taken the chance to act spoiled long ago."
Only then did her expression relax. She smiled slightly and replied, "As for acting spoiled, you may do so at any time. There is no need to wait for an occasion."
We spent the journey chatting about what had happened during our separation. Mostly I spoke while she listened; by unspoken agreement, we rarely discussed her affairs at the temple. Upon returning home, Muyu and the others, who had been pacing in circles with anxiety, swarmed us with greetings. Several of the women fussed over me, patting me down to ensure I was in one piece, before weeping with joy and heading off to prepare our bath.
Before we could even wash, A-Ze arrived to report that someone had arrived on horseback. The visitor insisted on seeing the Master and Mistress, acting with such savage and violent momentum that they threatened to break down the door if it wasn't opened. Wei Qingming had just changed into her casual home attire. Hearing this, she smiled faintly. "It is likely Duan Qimo. Let her in." Turning to me, she said warmly, "If you are too tired, Ah Zhi, go ahead and sleep. I will handle this."
I shook my head. "I’m not tired. I know the details of her situation better; let’s see her together." Thus, I went ahead to wait in the small reception parlor, leaving her to peel off the dusty, two-day-old robes I had only half-removed and change into a clean set for guests... She certainly had it easy; even in her sleeping robes, she looked presentable!
Duan Qimo must not have closed her eyes for days while searching for Wen Jiang and managing the chaos. Her long robes were wrinkled and stained with dust, and the bandage on her arm was seeping blood. Yet she didn't spare it a glance, pacing the hall like a trapped beast, unable to even sit down. By the time I arrived, Wei Qingming had already finished the pleasantries and was calmly sipping tea.
When Duan Qimo saw me, she pursed her lips and managed a polite cupped-hand salute. With a sharp flick of her sleeves, she finally settled into a chair.
In truth, seeing Duan Milou holding Wen Jiang with such raw emotion tonight had already given us an inkling of the relationship between the three of them. Duan Qimo likely had no other outlet for her frustration, so she had recklessly come to pound on our gates.
"If you have difficulties, Qimo, why not speak plainly?" Master Wei addressed her by her given name with rare intimacy. Though her tone was light, it acted as a perfect, soothing tonic. "Anger is useless; it only serves to make others happy."
The Envoy’s ability to manipulate the emotions of others was truly peak-level. Duan Qimo was somewhat surprised by this sudden friendliness. Her overflowing rage was momentarily suppressed by this astonishment. She stared at Wei Qingming for a long time before suddenly breaking into a smile—though because she was still shaking with anger, the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably. She blurted out, "I do not mean to force a connection, but I have always felt that Master Wei is similar to me in some way. To have Master Wei deign to befriend me today is like drinking the finest wine."
Wei Qingming smiled but did not take the bait. She slowly poured a cup of wine and used her spiritual power to float it steadily into Duan Qimo's hand.
Duan Qimo drained it in one gulp. Clutching the cup, she struggled for a moment to find the words, but eventually spoke: "Lady Su knows the roots of the matter between Wen Jiang and me, though I fear Master Wei may find it tedious to hear. However, it pertains to the request I am about to make. To gain your trust, I must speak a few words of nonsense."
"Not at all," Wei Qingming said, taking a sip of wine and smiling leisurely. "Speak freely today. There is no need for reservations."
Recalling the past seemed to bring down a violent mountain rain. Duan Qimo tilted her head back to look at the dark, starless night sky, finally managing to squeeze out a sentence: "She is mine... she was supposed to be mine. I met her first. I saved her. If only I had been willing to... change my route, return home, and personally bring her back to the manor, everything would be different..."
"That was five years ago. My brother and I always stayed at our estate in the western suburbs of the capital to escape the summer heat, only entering the city for business. That day, I had an appointment to sign an important contract involving millions in profit over the next decade. I had already left late, and on the way, I happened to save a woman. Naturally, I had no time to attend to her injuries. I ordered my men to take her back to the manor, wait for her to wake, and escort her home, while I galloped off to my meeting. I only vaguely remembered her as an exquisitely beautiful woman. It seemed she had been intercepted by bandits on her way to offer incense; they wanted her money and her virtue. She had been struck on the back of the neck and knocked unconscious, but there were no external injuries or serious issues, so she wasn't worth my special concern."
"The business negotiations lasted seven or eight days. After seeing off that group of over ten wealthy merchants from the provinces, her face kept flickering before my eyes. Yet, like a thief with a guilty conscience, I was unwilling to send word to the manor to check on her. I figured that once I returned home, I would find out which family she belonged to; there was no rush to make friends."
"The return journey was even more hurried than the departure. When I finally saw her, it was only a distant glimpse. It turned out she had never left the manor; my brother had kept her there. The two of them were talking and laughing in the garden, warming wine and admiring flowers. From A-Jiang’s expression and words, it was clear she took *him* for the one who had saved her. I gripped my riding crop, not even having time to change out of my riding gear, and just stood there staring. After a while, I turned my horse around and rode back out of the manor."
"There is always plenty to do in the Merchant Association. I busied myself for a while, and after a month, that strange obsession with A-Jiang faded significantly. I felt I had simply been possessed by a momentary whim—how could I have feelings for a woman? No matter how beautiful, she was just a woman like me. Besides, she was the legitimate daughter of the Chancellor. Forget me; even my brother was far from qualified to touch her. He usually acted with propriety; if he offended Chancellor Wen over a private affair, it wasn't something our minor Yao family, the Duans, could withstand. I assumed they were just having a brief dalliance that would dissipate at any moment—they wouldn't even dare to cross the line, it was just a chance encounter. In fact, my status as a woman was more convenient; as long as the Vice-Chancellor’s daughter was willing to condescend, it wouldn't be hard for me to befriend her."
"How laughable my naivety was. Three months later, my brother called me into his private chambers and asked me to deal with a person and a matter for him. It turned out he had actually gotten A-Jiang pregnant."
"His face was, as always, as still as wood and stone, as if she were just an ordinary woman, a plaything he had always looked down upon. I knew he was accustomed to playing among the flowers, cold and ruthless toward women, discarding them after use. But regardless, he was my elder brother; such matters were not for me, the younger sister, to criticize. When he spoke of A-Jiang, it was no different from how he spoke of those women who clung to wealth and fell for him. A sudden rage flared in my heart; I wanted nothing more than to smash the inkstones and brushes on the table against that emotionless face."
"But in the end, I said nothing and did nothing. I took the small bottle of medicine he handed me. He said it was a Forget-Love Pill; if Wen Jiang took it, she wouldn't remember anything that happened at the Duan residence. Regardless, we could never afford to offend the most powerful human families. The bloodline of our Honghu clan is precious; it requires both parents to be of the purest blood. If even a drop of foreign blood is mixed in, the offspring will be no different from a mortal—not even a Yao. So, there was no need to worry about that. As for letting her actually give birth and destroying her reputation for life, a 'great man' like Duan Milou wouldn't bother to consider such things."
"He showed me A-Jiang’s letter. Every word was written in blood, making me suffer just by reading it. It specified a time and place for a meeting. I knew Duan Milou had to go south to personally oversee the dyeing and weaving workshops and couldn't get away, which was why he entrusted this task to me."
"I didn't know why A-Jiang had arranged to meet him in a deserted small courtyard in the suburbs. Perhaps it was her family's property where they could avoid detection, or perhaps she had simply rented it temporarily. I looked at her standing in the bedroom, so fragile and beautiful, yet so pitiably and lamentably simple. She didn't realize that while such a private place was indeed hidden, it was also extremely dangerous. Perhaps she didn't ignore the danger; she simply trusted my heartless brother, her 'Duan-lang,' too much. Or perhaps she was panicked and dazed, unable to think clearly."
"That was the first time I deliberately dressed in men's clothing, and I made every effort to look like my brother. Because our bloodlines are identical, he and I have looked like mirror images since childhood. I only added a few inches to my height and slightly modified my shoulders and silhouette, which was enough for her—panicked and confused as she was—to overlook all the differences."
"She wept and poured out her heart. Seeing that I remained silent, she looked at me with eyes as piteous and trembling as cold stars. I truly couldn't restrain the impulse in my heart, yet I couldn't speak and give myself away. So, I held the Forget-Love Pill in my mouth, kissed her, and forced her to swallow it. She truly loved Duan Milou to the extreme; as we kissed, she actually became passionate and went limp upon the couch, not caring what I had fed her."
"Until... until she groaned in pain, until my hand touched a palmful of burning blood."
"That was no pill to erase memories. It was a top-grade abortifacient. My brother had at least fulfilled his final duty by finding a priceless medicine that took effect instantly without harming her body."
Why Wen Jiang was so anxious to marry yet dared not seriously consider any proposals—it was all clear now. She had not only lost her virtue, she had...
Before hearing the rest, I had already guessed the general direction. When my worst premonitions were confirmed, I too felt an extreme rage and pain. I covered my face, unable to bear looking at Duan Qimo’s desolate expression. Wei Qingming, however, showed no extra emotion. She only felt distressed by my reaction, pulling me gently into her arms to comfort me.
"I didn't know whom to hate. Duan Milou had been extremely close to me since childhood, and I trusted him implicitly. Our ability to seize the position of Family Head was the result of our sincere cooperation; during that time, we hovered on the line between life and death several times, and he was the one who carried me out of piles of corpses again and again, giving me the last pill to eat. This was the first time in my life he had lied to me. I could only explain it to myself by thinking he feared that because I am a woman, I would act on impulse if told the truth, and the task wouldn't be done."
"And how can I blame A-Jiang for hating me? She was in such pain her face turned the color of gold paper, she was drenched in sweat and sobbing, shaking like a sieve. I could only frantically hold her in my arms and send people to drag the family’s Yao physician there to stop her pain. We stayed in that deserted courtyard for three consecutive days. I treated her with the utmost tenderness and care, while she struck me and cursed me, drenching me in medicinal soup so often I had to change clothes five times a day. Of course, I had to endure it. I was atoning for my brother’s sins. But this was a sin that could never be atoned for from the start."
"After she woke up the first night, I confessed my identity to her, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I was the one who had originally saved her. Even if I had, she might not have believed me. Perhaps the one I truly hate is myself. For a single contract and hundreds of millions in profit, I actually abandoned her. Everything was displaced, everything was beyond redemption; this is the karmic retribution I deserve."
"By the final night, her body had basically recovered. Her complexion was as rosy and clear as usual. What was abnormal was that she dressed in her finest clothes and applied heavy makeup, as if a pale, reserved peony bud had finally bloomed, revealing a visage as brilliant as fire. She smiled charmingly, rested her hand on my shoulder, and asked if I loved her."
"In that moment, I thought about how the one she loved was merely my brother who shared my face. But I couldn't lie to her. My words, my eyes, my heart—none of them could lie to her. I said I loved her, and she kissed me with ecstatic joy. There was only ever one way she addressed me: she called me 'Duan-lang.'"
"I truly loved her so much that I didn't care about anything. I let her pick out my clothes, let her wantonly make and break appointments, let her say she missed me one day and flirt with others the next. I already understood that this was her revenge. But why didn't she take revenge on the man who truly cast her into the abyss? Perhaps because she just loves him. Perhaps because I am pathetic; I approached her again and again, unable to be driven away. Perhaps she hates me most for killing the child in her womb—me, a fellow woman. Or perhaps in her heart, she still thinks Duan Milou loves her, and that I interfered for my own selfish desires and maliciously destroyed their child. I thought of all of it, and I still didn't care."
"After the grand banquet at Xixi Tower, I originally thought I could let go..." Duan Qimo smiled, her eyes flashing with a resolute, poisonous hatred. "But when I saw them embracing, I realized I cannot let go. As I said at the beginning: she is mine! No one can take her away, especially not him!"
"Your brother is indeed heartless," Wei Qingming commented blandly, refilling her wine.
Duan Qimo laughed loudly. "Master Wei has likely guessed why I have come. I want him to fall. I want him dead. I want everything he owns!"
Wei Qingming smiled. "And how do you intend to take it?"
"I want the military armament manufacturing rights," Duan Qimo said decisively. "I don't ask for much. A quota for a hundred thousand sets of armor and weapons. Master Wei can afford to give that."
"No offense intended, but there is no precedent for a Yao Merchant Association handling military affairs," Wei Qingming replied calmly.
"You know what I can give you, otherwise you wouldn't have allowed me through the door today," Duan Qimo answered proudly. "The unique smithing techniques of the Yao race forged the Mingyu sword of the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Yao, which once rivaled the Shoushan sword during the World-Ending War. Such techniques have long been hidden from humans, but they have been quietly passed down through the hands of certain Yao families. Our Duan family is one of them. If Master Wei is willing to further assist me, I will surely be able to win over the other families. By then, it won't just be weapons; armor, war chariots, and engineering equipment will all be included. With that, the hopes for victory in the Northern Expedition will increase by more than just a fraction or two."
I finally understood why Master Wei’s "girlish sentiments" had flared up tonight, patiently providing emotional counseling... it turned out she had calculated all of this long ago.
Only then did Wei Qingming reveal a full smile. She narrowed her eyes, elegantly raised her hands, and with a casual, languid motion, flipped her palms over, directly doubling the quota. "Two hundred thousand. If you can swallow a quota of two hundred thousand, I can clear this unprecedented path for you and give you the qualification to bid. As for what follows, that will depend on Vice-President Duan’s own ability."
Duan Qimo stood up and grasped her hand. "It’s a deal."
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
明矞 | Mingyu | The Ancestor of Ten Thousand Yao whose legendary sword rivaled the Shoushan sword.
首山剑 | Shoushan Sword | A legendary sword from human history/mythology.
鸿鹄一族 | Honghu Clan | A noble lineage of the Yao (demon) race, likely swan-like.
忘情丹 | Forget-Love Pill | A pill intended to erase romantic memories.
北伐 | Northern Expedition | A planned military campaign to the north.
军器铸作权 | Military Armament Manufacturing Rights | The legal authority to produce weapons and armor for the state.
段郎 | Duan-lang | A romantic/intimate address for a lover named Duan.
西郊庄园 | Western Suburbs Manor | The location where the original incident with Wen Jiang occurred.
妖医 | Yao Physician | A doctor specializing in the physiology or medicine of the Yao race.
明矞佩剑 | Mingyu Sword | The legendary sword forged with ancient Yao techniques.
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