The grueling heat of June persisted, and not a single drop of rain fell within the borders of Chizhou for ten consecutive days.
The sweltering humidity of the day was unbearable; only after dusk did a hint of coolness return. Xiao Nanhui often leaned against the side window of the swaying carriage, organizing her thoughts as the evening breeze brushed past her.
Sometimes, when her mind went blank, she would sit in the corner of the carriage and secretly observe him.
During these ten days, he spoke very little.
He had brought ten large chests with him, each filled to the brim with stacks of documents and imperial reports. Periodically, fast riders would catch up from behind—sometimes at the dead of night, sometimes at high noon under the blazing sun. Each time, they would deliver one chest and take another away, and each chest was always packed full.
Xiao Nanhui watched from the side, her initial restless curiosity gradually giving way to habit.
She had once thought that being the Emperor was the most comfortable job in the world. One would travel in an eight-man litter without one's feet ever touching the ground; indoors, there would be golden cups, jade bowls, and a steady bed with warm quilts. There would be as many glass-like beauties as one desired, and rare treasures would be brought before one's eyes in an instant. In all the world, no one would dare disagree with him, and certainly, no one would ever look down upon or bully him.
But now, she suddenly lost interest in the so-called Imperial House. The only thing she still envied was the particular aura he possessed, born from years of self-restraint and cultivation.
It was an indescribable feeling, like a consistent indifference toward his surroundings. She could barely describe it with the word "equanimity," a quality she knew she would never possess.
She was often anxious, uneasy, and poised for action.
Equanimity was too much of a luxury for her.
Aside from keeping company with those ten chests, he would occasionally stop to estimate the time, then take a porcelain bottle from a lacquer box and hand it to her.
Each bottle contained only one pill. After she took it, the bottle would be placed into another lacquer box. This cycle repeated twice a day.
He said it was life-saving medicine for her recovery and that, for safety's sake, he had instructed Hao Bai to prepare several more doses.
She didn't ask questions, but she was almost certain this wasn't something that could be easily whipped up. The taste was very similar to the Zhidan Hao Bai had given her in Muerhe, though it smelled more fragrant and felt warmer upon ingestion.
How could that stingy physician be willing to let her take two a day like they were simple digestive pills?
At this thought, she ate them with even greater relish.
As she ate, memories of that night at Douchen Ridge flickered in her mind. She vaguely remembered Hao Bai’s exasperated face hovering over her, hurling insults before ruthlessly sticking her with needles.
Not wanting to be ungrateful, she found an opportunity to ask about the wandering physician's whereabouts. He simply said: "I gave him other things to do and invited an old friend to keep him company. He is living a quiet and carefree life."
She was somewhat skeptical. Since leaving Quecheng, the number of times she sneezed had increased for no reason, and her ears often felt hot. She had a lingering suspicion that the physician was not living a comfortable life at all, which was why he was cursing her every other day, making her nose itch.
Or perhaps it was simply because the weather was so dry and hot that her nose was constantly irritated.
Finally, on the evening of the tenth day, a sudden clap of thunder shook the ground, and raindrops began to patter against the carriage roof. Almost simultaneously, the people delivering the chests stopped coming.
Xiao Nanhui guessed this was because they had entered the borders of Huozhou.
He was finally free. Before the sun set, he blended an incense with a sweet, pungent, and cold scent and lit it. He leaned against the side window where the sudden rain drummed, quietly watching her.
The carriage continued to bump along. In the darkness, there was only the faint red glow of the burning incense powder.
His gaze pierced through the swaying darkness, as if traversing long years and unknown hardships, landing gently upon her.
"Why don't you ask me?"
She instinctively lowered her head.
"You've been busy, and there are many things I haven't sorted out myself..."
"Ask now, then."
He pressed further, his voice sounding exceptionally calm amidst the noisy rain outside.
What question?
She could have pretended not to know, but she chose silence instead.
"Do you not want to know if I knew the truth about the Xiao family massacre? Why don't you ask? Is it because you don't want to, or because you don't dare?"
In the end, he asked the question for her.
The damp air began to seep into the carriage, mixing with the scent of the incense, carrying a chill that did not belong to a summer night.
She sighed softly in the darkness.
"You know exactly why."
If one never hears the answer to certain questions, then even with all sorts of deductions, nothing is truly settled.
But once the answer is known, many things can no longer be avoided.
"But you've already investigated quite a bit, haven't you?" He paused, his voice becoming somewhat distant. "As early as when we met in Muerhe, I had a premonition that you might be the first person in all these years to get close to the truth. So back then, I considered whether I should kill you."
Her heart tightened, and she instinctively felt a wave of discomfort. But thinking back to the situation then, she remembered that she too had harbored murderous intent, and her heart found some balance.
Who could say for sure what the future held? At that time, she only felt he was an enemy of the Marquis's estate.
"Do you regret not killing me?"
He was silent for a while, seemingly considering the question seriously. After a long moment, he spoke indifferently.
"Some answers can only be known much later."
How much later was "much later"?
She felt his words seemed deep but were actually quite empty.
If the star-crossed lovers in those popular novels said such things, the people who paid for the books would curse their mothers.
Either you do or you don't. Why all the excuses?
She hardened her heart, her tone carrying a hint of pique.
"It's not too late to do it now if you didn't then. Regardless, there are some things I haven't told a second person yet."
He didn't take the bait of her angry words at all; his focus was elsewhere.
"What things have you discovered? Why don't you tell me?"
If it had been a month ago, she never would have imagined she could speak so candidly about this matter face-to-face with him.
Now that the day had finally come, she was clearer and calmer than she had expected.
Organizing her thoughts, Xiao Nanhui slowly laid out the conclusions of her recent reflections.
"When I first investigated the Xiao family mystery, I noticed the letter recorded by the Censorate. Back then, my status was low and my strength meager; I couldn't dig deeper, so I had to let it go. But after Bai Yun appeared, I learned a crucial fact: the Bai family was dragged into this entire affair because of that letter. Before that, I had always thought the Bai family's entanglement began on the night of the Yuan Disturbance."
His expression remained peaceful. Xiao Nanhui couldn't tell if he truly felt no ripples or if he had known about her investigation all along.
"What did Bai Yun tell you?"
The scene at Jingbo Pavilion flashed before her eyes; it was something she could never forget.
"Bai Yun said the letter was personally brought back from Heimu County by Bai Heliu when he was an envoy to Huozhou. At first glance, there's nothing wrong with that, but upon closer reflection, it's strange. First, the Xiao family never had dealings with Huozhou; why would they suddenly have an old acquaintance to exchange letters with? Second, given Prince Shuo's status at the time, correspondence with a sensitive place like Huozhou should have been handled through official government documents unless there was a special reason. That way, even if he were implicated in something later, it would be easy to explain and extricate himself. Having a friend who served in the same court and held a high position carry the letter was by no means a wise move."
"So I deduced: Prince Shuo's actions at the time were either out of caution or because he had no choice. If he didn't want others to know the contents of that letter, he could only entrust it to a friend. Since the Bai family was close to him, the letter wouldn't pass through other hands during delivery, avoiding the risk of leakage while bypassing the inspections of official documents. And if the contents of that letter were related to what happened later, it must have involved two powers."
He leaned forward slightly, finally seeming to have some interest. But that interest was more like the detached curiosity of a bystander, as if what she was about to say had nothing to do with him.
"Which two?"
She glanced at him.
"The Imperial House of that time, and Puhuna."
He immediately followed up with another question.
"Why not suspect the Bai clan?"
"I don't like Bai Yun, but what she said about this matter is at least sixty or seventy percent true. When she told me at Tingfeng Tower that the Xiao family's blood feud had nothing to do with the Bai clan, my heart wavered, but I didn't fully believe her. It wasn't until the spring hunt when I returned to Yuan and personally investigated the Xiao family villa that the traces at the scene explained everything."
He listened intently, showing no sign of the guardedness one might expect when approaching a forbidden topic.
"Oh? And what did they explain?"
Since the person involved didn't seem to care, she could only try her best to remain calm and finish recounting this most sinister part without any emotional fluctuation.
"It explained that the Xiao family massacre was a long-premeditated slaughter intended to thoroughly eliminate a certain secret. The Bai family, as unintended witnesses, were framed as the culprits and swept into it. Because the opponent was the Imperial House, if they didn't rebel, their end would be the same as the Xiao family's. So Bai Heliu took the Yueze Army and fled into Bijiang, even colluding with Puhuna for years to oppose Tiancheng, because he knew the matter wasn't over. He knew the Imperial House would one day complete the final link of that year's slaughter. This is the truth behind the Yuan Disturbance and the recovery of Bijiang."
As these words poured out in one breath, Xiao Nanhui suddenly felt an unprecedented clarity in her chest.
It turned out that even if some things were left unsaid, they had long since taken root in her heart. Rather than waiting for them to be triggered and burst forth one day, it was better to lay them bare herself now.
"Finally, there is one more thing that supports my deduction."
Xiao Nanhui paused, not continuing immediately, but instead looking up at him.
"If I speak truthfully, you are not allowed to be angry, and certainly not allowed to take your anger out on me."
He snorted, seemingly letting out a light chuckle.
"If you were afraid of my anger, would you have said all this?"
She hadn't felt anything when he spoke like that before, but at this moment, seeing his nonchalant manner suddenly made her a bit angry.
"I'm not afraid of being beheaded, but I am afraid of you being angry and sad."
He stopped smiling, his eyes holding a layer of dark light even in the shadows.
"But I am already angry. Because I know what you are about to say."
Xiao Nanhui's temper, which had been swelling a moment ago, suddenly lost its momentum.
The last thing she wanted to talk about was Xiao Zhun.
Based on her understanding of Xiao Zhun, even with Bai Yun's involvement, he would never have defected during the spring hunt because of a confrontation with Bai Heliu.
He was born into a family of generals, a descendant of loyal subjects. His father and brothers had raised him in the army since childhood; the Subei Army was like family to him, and the nation was connected to his very blood. Even if Bai Yun's appearance was an accident, he wouldn't easily abandon the faith and national sentiment he had defended for half his life.
Unless he learned some terrifying fact, a fact sufficient to shake the faith he had spent over a decade of bloody battle to protect.
She didn't speak, and the man in the darkness remained silent for a long time.
So long that the incense powder had burned out, and the drumming of the rain against the window frame had slowed from a frantic pace to a fine, fragmented noise.
"Xiao Nanhui."
He suddenly called her name.
"Listen well. What I am about to tell you is known to no other soul in this world. But regardless of what you hear today or what you discover in the future, you must remember the promise you made to me that night at the Marquis of Qinghuai's estate."
That no matter what happened, she would never leave him?
Her heart beat faster and faster, but she still nodded.
"I will."
He gave her a deep look, and before she could discern the meaning within it, his voice rose heavily.
"Everything begins with my father. The Su clan was originally a family of powerful ministers; they had many good strategies but lacked long-term planning. But by my father's generation, everything changed. He was a natural-born emperor, his thoughts as deep and obscure as a hidden chamber; no one knew what he truly thought. However, fate is cruel. He spent half his life calculating every step, yet his fortune was dominated by malevolent stars. None of those close to him met a good end, and his descendants were even more ill-fated."
"My father once had two sons. The eldest had double pupils, and the second had only one eye; both died before the age of ten. A diviner entered the palace to perform geomancy and claimed there was a lingering impurity from the former dynasty, crouching in a place where yin energy gathered. Thus, my father ordered all the lakes and ponds in the palace to be filled. Yet there was one lotus pond, a mere pool of mud, that could never be filled no matter what. The diviner exhausted all his skills but could find no solution, and in the end, they could only let the water accumulate to contain it."
Hearing this, Xiao Nanhui suddenly remembered Yao Yi's previous business venture.
"Lake Yueqi?"
He glanced at her.
"You've heard of it?"
More than just heard of it—she had peeked at him choosing a wife from the earthen mound outside the palace walls, had a fight with Xu Shu over it, and had even snatched Su Pingchuan's undergarments on the way back.
She sniffed.
"Just heard people talking nonsense."
He pretended not to see the small tell she had when lying and continued slowly.
"After the lotus pond incident, my father also felt the diviner was likely just talking nonsense, so he invited the Qu family of Buxu Valley, who had already gone into seclusion, to make a final judgment. The head of the Qu family stayed in the palace for only one day before asserting that the pond water had not dried up not because of an impurity, but because it was a sign that the former dynasty's fortune had not yet expired. This aura was either trapped within the palace walls or hidden in the wilderness; it was growing more prosperous by the day, and it could not be dispelled without cutting off its source. Upon hearing this, my father's great confusion was resolved. He took it to heart, turned around and killed the previous diviner, and went to seek this aura of the former dynasty."
Hearing this, she couldn't help but click her tongue.
Recalling Hao Bai's somewhat affected face, she really couldn't imagine how reliable the rest of the Qu family could be, to the point of making a monarch go to such lengths to find a nebulous aura.
Perhaps what drove the Emperor down this path was not a single sentence from the Qu family, but merely an ambition to preserve his power at any cost.
"From the time I can remember, my father was always anxious and sleepless, investigating this matter. He was like one possessed, day after day consulting ancient texts and maps, chasing the slightest fragments of information regarding the Qiu clan, even forgetting that these ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers were already beneath his seat. The search for what he could not find hollowed out his mental strength; suspicion and calculation occupied his soul. His body withered rapidly, and the imperial physicians were all helpless. At that time, he had only one son left—me, who had long been away from the palace."
He paused suddenly here, and when he spoke again, he seemed to intentionally omit something.
"My father and I were never on good terms. Until the very last moment, he was unwilling to give me the seat he had occupied for so many years for nothing. So, he placed three life-and-death challenges before me. He took me to my mother's grave to swear an oath: once I ascended the throne, I must complete three tasks within my lifetime. This was the price of my new life. If I did not comply, he would kill me on the spot and find another kinsman to succeed him."
How was this just being "not on good terms"? There was clearly some deep-seated hatred. Otherwise, why would he rather kill his own child and find someone else's to succeed him?
Xiao Nanhui knew he hadn't told her everything.
But she didn't intend to ask for now. She guessed it might be related to his mother, which was likely another sorrowful tale.
"What... were those three tasks?"
"The first was to find the Secret Seal, the second was to pacify Bijiang, and the third was to forever eliminate the threat of the former dynasty."
"The threat of the former dynasty?" She found it somewhat unbelievable. "Does that refer to the aura of the former dynasty that hasn't been found yet?"
"Perhaps. I have spent years meticulously planning, and the first two tasks are already showing results. Only the third task remains unsolved. At first, I thought it might just be another way of referring to the Secret Seal, but based on my understanding of my father, if he specifically mentioned it, it couldn't just be a repetition; it must have another meaning. I should have asked my father clearly back then, but he was already gravely ill and passed away half a month after the Yuan Disturbance. His closest guard was also convicted for failing to serve his lord and left Quecheng shortly after to guard the tombs at the Su clan's final resting place."
"You're talking about Master Zong, aren't you?" Xiao Nanhui suddenly remembered the scene at the Yulin Villa that night. "Zong Hao once told me that he had traveled the world for half his life collecting those woven silks with prophecies, but there was one that was missing. Could it be that the entire Xiao household was slaughtered just for that one ribbon? Was that the secret the Imperial House wanted to eliminate?"
She suddenly felt everything had become absurd and laughable.
A man who told her that prophecies were mere illusions had ultimately taken seventy-nine lives because of an illusion that didn't exist.
But she knew that Zong Hao was merely a sharp blade; the person holding the blade on the throne was the truly cold-hearted one.
Her heart churned, and she tried hard not to think about the bloodline flowing through the man before her.
"But why didn't he act sooner or later? Why did it have to be then..."
"Perhaps he didn't know before that the thing he had spent half his life searching for was actually hidden right within the capital."
No, something was still not right.
Xiao Nanhui racked her brains to piece together the information she had just learned, but she couldn't find the missing piece no matter what.
And right now, her only clue was indeed that ribbon lying quietly in the lacquer box.
"Even if this is just a ribbon woven from ordinary plain hemp, if it really holds some secret, what is that secret, and where does it come from?"
"The person who wrote the prophecy may no longer be in this world, so we can only go find the person who wove the cloth."
Hope flared within her again.
"You know the person who wove this ribbon?"
"I don't."
He answered as if it were a matter of course, a hint of a sly smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, as if he were intentionally trying to see her frustrated.
She stared blankly for a moment, suddenly feeling that this man's expressions had become more frequent lately.
He didn't originally have such a face. Although his features were handsome, his face was always expressionless, even possessing a sickly, bland quality. One must know that even a peerless beauty loses some charm if they always keep a cold face. But if one is already good-looking and then becomes more animated, it can instantly become overwhelming.
Back then, she had smiled until her face was sore and still couldn't move that Old Man Zhou in Muerhe to arrange a private room for her, yet this man had just walked in for a turn and was chosen to be the star attraction.
People really are superficial; they only like things that look good.
Xiao Nanhui shifted her weight forward, assuming a serious posture, though in truth it was so she could see his face better.
"Since you don't know them, how are we going to find them?"
"The woven silk you found in the Marquis's estate has hemp fibers that are slightly yellowish-black. This plain hemp wasn't like that originally; it was stained this way because it came into contact with something later. As for what that thing is..."
Before he could finish, the carriage suddenly jolted and came to a slow halt.
Ding Weixiang's voice immediately sounded outside the carriage door.
"Master, we can't get through ahead."
"What happened?"
It was quiet outside for a moment, then the carriage door was pulled open, revealing half of Ding Weixiang's figure clad in a straw raincoat.
"Would Master like to see for himself?"
Xiao Nanhui was still stealing glances at the person beside her, but he had already gently taken her hand.
"Let's have a look, then."
Damp air rushed in, carrying the fishy scent of river water.
Xiao Nanhui looked around in surprise, only then realizing that they had unknowingly arrived at the banks of the Hun River again.
The last time she entered Huozhou, she and Baolao had ridden hard and still took over ten days to reach the border. Now, it had been exactly ten days, and a carriage was no match for a fast horse, yet they had already reached Yueyuan Town.
It was just as muddy and messy as before. Caravans and horse teams from all over were gathered together, waiting to board the ferry at Dafeng Ferry.
Right now, a large, colorful herd of cattle and sheep was slowly moving through the twilight, completely blocking Yueyuan's already narrow and pitted road. Not far away, several herders were shouting and driving the livestock, but at a conservative estimate, it would take at least half an hour for them all to pass.
"No matter, we'll stay here for the night."
Having received his orders, Ding Weixiang drove the carriage into a nearby grass shed, took out waterproof cloaks for the two of them, and then led the way toward that familiar inn.
*Knock, knock, knock.* After three knocks, the familiar innkeeper poked his head out, still clutching his hand warmer. His squinted eyes looked like he hadn't fully woken up, and he said perfunctorily without even looking up:
"Apologies, young master, the inn is full..."
As he spoke, a piece of paper was handed to him.
A familiar note, a familiar red seal.
The innkeeper looked up in shock. Once he clearly saw the three people in the rain, the expression on his face became even more erratic.
"The Heaven-grade room. Trouble the innkeeper to lead the way."
Seeing the innkeeper move his feet tremblingly, not daring to utter a single word of protest, Xiao Nanhui felt a surge of satisfaction.
So this was what it meant for "one man to find the Way and even his chickens and dogs to rise to heaven." She had finally experienced it.
As soon as she stepped through the inn's rickety main door, she instinctively glanced around out of the corner of her eye.
Inside were still those five or six broken tables, and the tables were still crowded with people.
But strangely, everyone was quietly drinking soup and eating flatbread. Not a single person looked up at the three guests who had snatched the best room, nor did anyone show a look of envy.
Xiao Nanhui felt a bit disappointed and was about to withdraw her gaze, but in the next instant, she suddenly froze.
At the table closest to her front left sat a man dressed as a herdsman. One arm was resting on the table, revealing just a hint of his profile. He looked strangely familiar.
However, no matter how she searched her memory, she couldn't for the life of her remember where she had seen such a person.
Behind her, Ding Weixiang had already taken the key from the innkeeper and was preparing to go upstairs. She stood for a moment before following.
As she passed the man, a sudden impulse struck her. As if possessed, she pulled out a copper coin and dropped it on the floor.
"Brother, you dropped something."
The large man's figure stiffened, and he instinctively looked down.
This look revealed his full face, and in that brief moment, it was enough for Xiao Nanhui to remember exactly where she had seen him.
"You are..."
Before she could finish, Ding Weixiang ahead had already sensed something.
A flash of white light filled the small inn as dozens of weapons were unsheathed in an instant.
And faster than the movements of any of the swordsmen was the fat body of the innkeeper. At some point, he had already nimbly scrambled under a table.
"This lowly one is just a businessman, masters..."
Xiao Nanhui, feeling a surge of malice, delivered a hard kick to the half of a buttock sticking out.
"Shut up."
***
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