At dawn, a heavy mist clung to the surface of the Huan River. Until the east wind rose, everything here would remain shrouded in a sea of swirling vapor.
The cargo ship, sitting halfway deep in the water, cut through the river as it surged forward. The surface widened, pushing the banks further into the distance. The water shifted from a turbid pale green to a color as black as ink; up close, one could see the churning silt and smell the lingering, fishy stench. Here, the water transformed into various forms, enveloping a person before seeping into the body with every breath, turning everything damp and cloying.
Li Qiao lay prone beneath the rubbing strake on the port side, his body tensed as he pulled himself away—further and further—from the white foam of the river.
He did not like this damp sensation; he never had.
He clearly disliked water, yet he had come to this city where water was everywhere.
He clearly disliked staying in one place, yet he had unknowingly remained in the same spot for so long.
He had clearly sworn an oath never to be driven by anyone again in this life, yet the moment she spoke, he had involuntarily stepped into the same predicament once more.
He loathed this side of himself, temporarily dismissing it as the necessity of "bowing one's head while under another's roof."
Several sailors carrying oil lamps walked across the deck. After a brief inspection, they headed toward the stern. Li Qiao vaulted over the port rail, observing the swaying silhouettes in the distance as he moved toward the cabins.
His movements were light; as he maneuvered, the entire ship barely made a sound.
This vessel had clearly been cleaned and prepared recently. The deck, where goods usually circulated, was spotless; even the grime in the scuff marks had been meticulously scrubbed with river water. An elegant, simple gauze curtain hung inside the small cabin window. Though it didn't look conspicuous from the outside, one could smell the faint scent of incense wafting from behind the gauze upon drawing closer.
While these arrangements were sophisticated, they had nothing to do with caution. If this were merely a leisurely lake cruise, it would be fine, but if Su Lin truly intended to move something or someone, he would never spend effort on such details.
It seemed this was not the ship they were looking for.
Li Qiao glanced back at the receding riverbank, then turned his head to search the water for the other vessels. Just then, a nearly imperceptible sigh from a woman drifted out from the half-closed, carved window nearby.
His frame stiffened, and he quickly vanished into the shadows, peering through the gap in the window.
Inside the cramped cabin, under the glow of candlelight, Su Muhe’s face appeared exceptionally hazy and fragile, like a shadow blurred upon a painted screen. Her usually fair, translucent cheeks were now tinged with a hint of pink; she looked like an autumn lotus pining for its own reflection.
From what he had seen at the prefectural magistrate’s office and the birthday banquet, Su Muhe should not have appeared here tonight. Conversely, if she was here, did it mean she wasn't entirely ignorant of the Su family’s actions tonight?
Li Qiao pursed his lips, his fingers instinctively brushing against his scabbard as if weighing his options.
A light breeze swept across the river and slipped into the ship. The lamp flame inside the window flickered, and a sharp female voice rang out from within.
"Who is there?"
This second Miss Su was more alert than he had imagined.
Li Qiao remained silent, but his ears twitched. There were two people in the cabin. Their breathing was light and shallow but not long-drawn; they were not practitioners of martial arts.
He had intended to leave, but his footsteps ultimately halted. A moment later, the familiar maid in pink, Shangqu, hurried out with a lamp and looked in his direction.
"It’s you?" Shangqu was somewhat surprised, but her expression quickly shifted, her eyes turning wary. "Why are you on the ship? Could it be you followed our Miss all the way here..."
The person inside the cabin had clearly heard the commotion. Before her maid could shout for help, she spoke softly.
"Shangqu, please invite him in."
Shangqu was reluctant, but she stepped aside, signaling for him to follow.
Li Qiao looked back at the pitch-black water. There was only silence in the mist, save for the sound of the river.
Seeing him standing still, Shangqu grew even more displeased. She glanced around quickly and said in a low, urgent voice, "Our Miss is telling you to come in. Are you standing there in plain sight because you're afraid people won't notice you?"
The youth finally retracted his gaze, gave a submissive bow, and followed her into the cabin.
Standing outside, he could only see a corner, but now inside, it was clearly a meticulously decorated inner chamber. The wooden partitions were covered in light-colored silk padding. Though the furnishings consisted only of a small couch, an incense stand, and a pair of tea stools, every detail exuded refinement and beauty, speaking to the elegant taste of the one who arranged it.
Now, a woman sat upright on the small couch covered with a cooling mat. Only half of her body leaned toward the window. There was no tea on the table before her; instead, a white porcelain ewer sat in a warming bowl. The glass lamp beside it looked much simpler than the one at the birthday banquet, carved only with a few clean-lined magnolia blossoms.
Li Qiao’s gaze swept over the room and suddenly paused on a subtle detail of the lamp.
A corner of a magnolia petal illuminated by the flame was chipped. On the tea table beneath the glass lamp, there was a faint, dark stain—the mark left by soaked lamp oil.
After only a momentary pause, the youth withdrew his gaze.
He knew now what that faint, strange noise he had heard back at Baosu Pier was. It was the sound of the glass lamp being accidentally knocked over.
Or perhaps, it wasn't an accident.
The woman behind the tea table finally raised her head slowly, her slightly tipsy almond eyes landing on the youth standing at the door.
"Li Qiao."
This was the second time she had called his name so directly. She didn't find it awkward at all; in fact, it felt increasingly natural.
From the moment he entered, the youth’s eyes remained fixed on the floor, and he kept his head bowed even while bowing.
"Greetings, Second Miss."
"Are you wondering why you didn't make a sound, yet I, someone who knows nothing of internal cultivation, managed to detect you?"
Undoubtedly, the second Miss Su was a clever person with an extraordinary ability to perceive the hearts of others.
Li Qiao said nothing. Su Muhe looked at him and continued, "You have a very faint scent of mint on you, meticulously blended. I grew up in pharmacies and medicine rooms; I have smelled thousands, if not tens of thousands, of medicinal formulas. But this scent on you is something I have never encountered before."
Li Qiao lowered his head, his gaze falling on the somewhat crude cloth pouch at his waist.
That was a small bag used in Guoran Ju for packaging wax pills and lozenges. Customers who paid promptly would receive one; he and Jinbao each had one as well. Whenever they went out, Qin Jiuye would stuff them with mint pills, insect repellent herbs, and the like for them to use.
So, he couldn't be blamed for this. He had to blame her crude cloth bag for being unable to mask even a hint of mint fragrance.
The youth gave a deep bow, his dark clothing outlining the shape of his spine.
"Second Miss is as meticulous as a hair and possesses remarkable skill. I am impressed."
Not a single fault could be found in his movements; he acted exactly like a personal servant trained by a great household, showing no trace of his rural origins.
But the more he acted this way, the more displeased Shangqu became, her eyes scrutinizing him with suspicion.
"So what exactly is going on? Don't tell me you were traveling in the middle of the night and just happened to board the wrong ship."
Li Qiao paused, then actually nodded.
"Miss Shangqu is indeed brilliant. I did indeed board the wrong ship." The expression on his face showed a perfectly measured amount of distress; his handsome brows furrowed slightly, and his eyelashes trembled with his breath. "That day, I accompanied the second young master of the Qiu family to the manor for the birthday celebration. The master was drunk and dizzy, so I accompanied him to the garden to catch the breeze. I happened to meet the Miss and we spoke for a while. Who knew that I would be distracted when leaving and accidentally lose the master’s favorite waist fan."
His voice grew lower as he spoke, playing the role of a humble and helpless servant to perfection.
"I am a mere medical apprentice of lowly status. I only took this job to repay my elder sister's debt. If I make another mistake and let someone catch me, not only will the debt go unpaid, but I will also implicate my family. I truly had no other choice, so I grew bold enough to linger in front of the Su Manor, thinking I had to retrieve the fan no matter what. I didn't expect to see the Miss leaving the manor. I followed all the way but found no chance to step forward and explain the situation until the Miss called for me just now."
The youth’s narrative was so sincere and his words so fluent that one could hardly bear to reproach him. Yet, upon closer thought, this explanation was utterly absurd, and his actions were incredibly audacious.
It was just a waist fan; would that Qiu playboy, who stayed drunk every day, even remember such a thing? Besides, even if he went to the street to buy a fake fan, it would be better than stalking a wealthy young lady and trespassing on a cargo ship. And what did he mean by "the Miss called for me, so I came in"? Was this situation now somehow her Miss's fault?
Shangqu thought indignantly, her face flushing with anger. Perhaps having never met such a brazen person, her throat felt stuck with countless harsh words, yet she couldn't pour out a single one.
"You... you... you are simply..."
The next moment, Su Muhe suddenly laughed. Not just a smile, but an audible laugh.
Beside her, Shangqu was stunned. She had been with her Miss for many years, and the number of times she had heard her laugh could be counted on two hands. What kind of bewitching potion did this youth possess to make her Miss show her emotions so openly?
Even Su Muhe didn't know what had come over her. Perhaps the aftereffects of those few jars of fine wine were finally surfacing, or perhaps she was seasick from not leaving the house for so long. She looked at him and felt that even his self-righteous way of lying was quite amusing.
Su Muhe laughed her fill and finally stopped, then intentionally pulled a stern face as she looked at Li Qiao.
"Do you know that if I call for people now, you will either be taken to the authorities or have to jump ship to escape?"
No, he could also take her hostage to leave, or kill everyone on this ship before departing.
But the woman raised in the inner chambers did not know these things. Though she had suffered some injustice and harshness, she had never witnessed true savagery. Her innocence grew from her very bones, carrying a sense of blamelessness that made him uncomfortable.
Li Qiao glanced at the deck outside the window and spoke in a slightly worried tone.
"Second Miss is traveling alone, yet you didn't even bring a few more attendants and servants?"
The woman on the couch stiffened, her entire aura darkening instantly. Her slender hands, hidden in her sleeves, instinctively clenched.
Before the marriage alliance with the Qiu family became a source of glory, outsiders believed the Su family had only one daughter—the eldest, Su Muzhi. In truth, the Su family really did have only one daughter. She had never been that daughter; she was merely a weed parasitic to this grand manor. Just a weed—how could she expect to enjoy the same adoration and protection as the celestial fungus?
There was a moment of silence in the small cabin before Shangqu’s voice rang out, somewhat shrill.
"My Miss has important business tonight. What does an outsider like you know..."
"Shangqu!"
Su Muhe barked a command to stop her. The pink-clad maid realized she had misspoken and quickly shut her mouth, lowering her head.
Su Muhe lightly tapped the cloisonné incense burner on the stand.
"The refreshing incense has burned out. Go and fetch some more."
Shangqu knew she had overstepped, but she still felt a sense of indignation when she looked at the youth who had triggered it all.
"Miss, it is truly inappropriate for you to be in the same room as him..."
Su Muhe raised her eyes, showing a hardness that was usually unseen.
"No one has been here tonight. How could I be in the same room as an outsider?"
The maid was taken aback, then understood her Miss’s intent. She bit her lip, whispered her compliance, took the incense burner, and reluctantly left the room.
The cabin door was gently closed, shutting out the night wind. The warm breath of early summer began to slowly accumulate in the room. At that moment, the glass lamp by the window ran out of oil; it flickered and went out.
The surroundings dimmed. After a long while, the woman’s sigh echoed in the darkness.
"There are no servants or attendants on this ship, only the sailors. Father is out auditing accounts and has left the family affairs to my sister. He is always like this—whenever it involves the family business, he lets my sister handle it. When it’s time to socialize, he takes my brother. Only when there is a mess that is hard to clean up does he think of me. The irony is, I even have to fetch my own candles and lamp oil."
Fetching one's own candles and oil was not inherently a sad thing.
But the second Miss of the Su family was deeply mired in her emotions, unable to pull herself out.
The faint scent of alcohol in the air became more pronounced. Li Qiao looked out the window again.
"Second Miss is drunk. Perhaps we should talk another day."
"Do you look down on me too?"
A flash of disappointment appeared on Su Muhe’s tipsy face, replaced by a resolve born of resignation. She pursed her lips, pushed herself up from the couch, and took fresh lamp oil from a small box to relight the glass lamp.
As the light returned, she looked up and found the youth’s gaze still fixed outside the window.
Through this small window, one could barely see a small patch of the river. A bit of wind seemed to have picked up, scattering the mist slightly. In the distance, a dark shadow was faintly visible.
It was another of the Su family’s cargo ships.
Su Muhe picked up the glass lamp and walked off the couch barefoot.
"You didn't come for a fan, did you?" She suddenly leaned close to him, speaking in a strange tone. "Actually... I know what you are looking for."
The youth’s eyes shifted, finally landing on her face.
Upon closer inspection, the woman had eyes similar to his. At first glance, they always seemed to carry a layer of watery light, hazy like misty rain. But looking closely beneath that haze, there was little drunkenness—only clarity.
Li Qiao laughed, a low sound.
"Actually, I never need others to interfere when I am looking for something."
Su Muhe looked at that laughing face and felt the wine she had just consumed burn along her heart's meridians.
This was the real him—the wild, untamable youth who had left an unforgettable impression on her.
The boy who had lent her an umbrella in the rain seemed to have returned, standing vividly before her.
In that moment of hesitation, the youth had already turned to leave.
She was unwilling to let him go and took a sudden step forward. The river wind poured through the window gap, blowing her slightly loosened hair into disarray.
"It’s useless. Every one of the Su family’s cargo ships is built from the same mold. Even a sailor who has been with the family for ten years might not be able to tell them apart across the water. No matter how extraordinary your eyesight is, it is the same."
The youth’s silhouette remained silent; it was unclear if he was considering her words.
The glass lamp in Su Muhe’s hand burned brighter as she approached him once more.
"If you are willing to stay, I will tell you which ship holds what you are looking for." Her voice was almost pressed against his back, as soft as ever. "Do not worry. After tonight, everything will be different. At that time, it won't just be a waist fan—everything will be returned to its rightful owner..."
***
The "Moonlight in the Misty Waves" of Jiugao City was a famous sight of Longshu, and the moonlight of early summer was the most intoxicating. Unfortunately, the heavens rarely cooperated, and a clear moon was always hard to find.
Tonight the moonlight was dim, yet there was something more intoxicating than the moon.
The ship moved slowly across the river. The circular carved window in the center of the vessel was illuminated by a lamp, like a laurel-branch moon. The night breeze brushed past, lifting the gauze curtains and hazily revealing a pair of silhouettes. A slender, graceful shadow slowly approached the tall, lean figure in front of it. The atmosphere was lingering and romantic, like the legendary Moon Goddess meeting her lover in the Toad Palace.
However, perhaps even the "person in the moon" herself did not know that the light cast their shadows onto the window paper exactly like a shadow puppet play.
What they knew even less was that on the river at dawn, there was a pair of eyes staring at them—and had been for quite some time.
Qin Jiuye lay prone on a pile of dry straw at the stern, squeezed between the rumps of two horses. She stared blankly at the shadows projected on the ship, momentarily forgetting to move.
Her position was just right; a bit to the left or right and she wouldn't have seen that carved window. Her timing was just right; a moment earlier or later and she wouldn't have caught the gap when the mist thinned. Her eyesight was just right; any more or less and she wouldn't have been able to recognize the outlines of those two people.
But she saw them clearly. Not only did she see them, but in a daze, she felt as if she were inside that cabin—close enough to see the two leaning against each other, close enough to hear their ambiguous whispers, close enough to feel the heat of the lamp. As the sounds of breathing and heartbeats intensified, she felt a wave of heat crawl up from the base of her ears...
The horses grew restless, their tails swishing irritably and kicking up a breeze smelling of manure. Qin Jiuye snapped back to her senses with a start. When she looked again, the pair of shadows and the small window had vanished into the mist, just like the moon hiding behind the clouds tonight.
She quickly soothed the horses, smoothing the hair on their rumps, and then felt a wave of lingering fear: she had actually lost her focus because of spying on others, nearly jeopardizing the purpose of this trip.
Touching her chest, she huddled in the darkness for a moment. She felt that while her body was still here, half of her soul remained in that cabin on the river, fantasizing about the silhouettes of that man and woman. She blamed Jinbao for being unlearned; he couldn't read a few pages of medical texts but never missed a play script, and he always loved to chatter in front of her. Wasn't this exactly the kind of cliché drama that blockhead Jinbao loved most? A servant climbing up to a young lady, the two making a secret vow for life—the next scene should be someone jumping out to break them apart, turning it into a tale of fleeing to the ends of the earth.
But these two had barely met a few times; how did they get together?
Qin Jiuye’s shock and confusion lasted only a moment before she immediately thought of something.
Right, it could only have been that birthday banquet. At the banquet, Li Qiao had been separated from her for a while. Later, back at the Hall of Listening Winds, he had mentioned Su Muhe. She hadn't cared at the time, but recalling the looks and tones of Tang Shenyan and the others now, she suddenly felt like laughing.
She just didn't know if it was because of her current situation, but she clearly knew she couldn't laugh.
She didn't want to investigate why Li Qiao had met Su Muhe that day, nor did she want to think deeply about what those two were doing in that cabin right now. She could only keep convincing herself: whether it was a genuine attraction or a tactic of convenience, if he still cared about his antidote, he would remember tonight's mission. And she could neither be distracted by these matters nor place her hopes on others; she had to give it her all and keep the opportunity in her own hands.
Su Muhe was on the ship where Li Qiao was, and there seemed to be no other activity. Did this indicate that the truth she sought was not on that ship?
Qin Jiuye held her breath and looked toward the other side of the river.
Not far away, the other three cargo ships had already moved far off, leaving only faint dark shadows. She counted silently in her heart, but still, no signal came.
Old Dog Du might indeed be unreliable, but Xu Qiuchi and Jiang Xin'er would not be this slow.
The premonition in her heart grew stronger. Footsteps sounded on one side of the deck, quickly drawing closer to the stern. The horses pulling the carriage grew increasingly uneasy for some reason. Qin Jiuye dared not stay any longer; holding her breath, she crawled out from between the horses' legs and headed toward a hiding spot on the other side.
