Concubine Qiao watched the large entourage of palace attendants following Jiang Yunshu, her eyes flashing with complex emotions.
Though she was too weak to rise and witness the grand spectacle of Jiang Yunshu's return today, her ears had caught enough of the commotion.
In truth, she didn’t even need to see today’s display. Just recalling how a team of imperial physicians had gathered by her bedside days ago, pulling her back from the brink of death, and how half the Marquis's Mansion had been partitioned off—Concubine Qiao had been drifting in and out of illness for days. When she finally regained clarity, she was stunned to learn that high walls were being erected and new gates constructed within the estate.
With such a fuss being made, surely this separated half of the Marquis's Mansion wasn’t meant for her, was it?
After much deliberation, Concubine Qiao could think of only one possibility: this partitioned section would serve as Jiang Yunshu’s marital home in the future.
As she lay ill, the sounds of construction didn’t disturb her in the slightest. Instead, they filled her with a strange comfort, invigorating her with each passing day.
Though the capital buzzed with terrifying rumors about the Chief Eunuch… Concubine Qiao believed that if Xie Lin could go to such lengths for Jiang Yunshu, her future wouldn’t be too bleak.
Jiang Yunshu cared for her, and so the Chief Eunuch had saved her life.
The Marquis, Lady Hou, and Jiang Zhaohua had once harmed Jiang Yunshu, and in turn, the Chief Eunuch had taken half the estate from them.
Worried that Jiang Yunshu, young and noble-born, might struggle to accept this reality, Concubine Qiao grasped her hand tightly and urged, "Just stay alive."
"Don’t mind what others say. Live happily for yourself."
Jiang Yunshu paused for a moment before understanding her meaning. She waved for all the attendants to withdraw, leaving only Taoye and Zhezhi in the room, then pressed her cheek against Concubine Qiao’s hand.
"Don’t worry, Auntie. I’m not that foolish."
Had she been a trueborn daughter of the ancient nobility, she might have considered death preferable to submitting to a eunuch. But she was a transmigrator—by the time the Marquis's Mansion tried to indoctrinate her with doctrines of female virtue, her own worldview had long been formed.
Those brainwashing lessons? Impossible to swallow. Absolutely impossible.
Besides, not all eunuchs were the same…
Xie Lin was handsome and not deranged.
Well, no—Xie Lin was deranged toward others, just not toward her.
Wait, no—he was deranged toward her too, just not in that way… more like in that other way…
In any case, Jiang Yunshu reassured Concubine Qiao sincerely, "Auntie, don’t worry. I won’t do anything reckless."
"My life now is quite good. You needn’t fret."
"I’ll live well, no matter where I am."
Seeing the conviction in Jiang Yunshu’s expression, Concubine Qiao knew she spoke the truth.
Relieved, she smiled. "Yes, that’s you—wherever you go, you’ll make the best of it."
Concubine Qiao remembered when Jiang Yunshu had been just a tiny thing, barely reaching her thigh, yet capable of reviving her own withered heart. Together, they had carved out a life of warmth and joy in the Marquis's Mansion.
"Only…" Concubine Qiao lowered her voice, "it’s a shame you can’t have children…"
She hadn’t expected Jiang Yunshu to share her own fate of barrenness.
Knowing how much Concubine Qiao adored children, Jiang Yunshu didn’t bother explaining that she’d never wanted them in the first place—her aunt would never believe it.
Instead, she teased, "Auntie picked me up as a child. Maybe one day I’ll ‘pick up’ one too."
"And it’ll be even smarter and prettier than the one you found."
Concubine Qiao burst into laughter, shaking her head. "Impossible! The one I picked is the smartest and prettiest!"
Once the jesting subsided, Concubine Qiao grew serious again. "If possible… try sounding out the Chief Eunuch. Perhaps he’d allow you to adopt…"
Jiang Yunshu’s scalp prickled, and she hastily cut her off. "Auntie, Xie Lin has no such plans!"
She realized Concubine Qiao had entirely misunderstood the nature of her relationship with Xie Lin.
They weren’t at all what Concubine Qiao imagined… Jiang Yunshu couldn’t even define it herself. Whatever they were, it certainly wasn’t stable enough to raise a child together!
Exhausted from the conversation, Concubine Qiao’s strength waned. Jiang Yunshu tucked the blankets around her. "Rest now, Auntie. I must return to the palace."
Reluctant to let her go, Concubine Qiao fought to keep her eyes open. "Stay a little longer. Who knows when we’ll next meet…"
Or if there would even be a next time.
Jiang Yunshu soothed her, "We’re both in the capital—it’s not as if we’ll never see each other again."
She added, "Besides, half the Marquis's Mansion has been set aside. Do you really think Xie Lin partitioned off your Qiu Shuang Garden and my Yunshu Courtyard just for you? I’ll surely have chances to come back."
Truthfully, Jiang Yunshu couldn’t predict Xie Lin’s mercurial whims. Who knew what he was thinking? For all she knew, he had done it solely for Concubine Qiao.
But her words worked—Concubine Qiao brightened immediately. "You’re right."
"Now, no more resisting. Get some sleep."
As Jiang Yunshu turned to leave, a white cat leaped gracefully onto the windowsill and mewed at her.
Surprise flickered in Jiang Yunshu’s eyes. "Isn’t that the mouser from the kitchens?"
She used to sneak it treats.
Concubine Qiao nodded. "Yes. No idea how it ended up here."
"With all the chaos during the wall construction, it probably wandered over and couldn’t return once the walls went up."
"Or maybe it came here starving—no one over there would spare food for a cat."
"Now that it’s here, sending it back is impossible…" If they did, the Marquis and Lady Hou would surely vent their anger on the creature, beating it to death.
"Since it’s here, it’s fate. The kitchen staff feed it daily."
Concubine Qiao’s arm dangled from the bed curtain, and the cat approached regally, rubbing its head against her palm.
Jiang Yunshu smiled at the sight. "It’ll keep you company."
She reached out to stroke the cat twice, its fur silky under her fingers.
When she’d left the Marquis's Mansion, believing she’d become an imperial consort, her greatest sorrow had been parting from Concubine Qiao and this white cat, wondering when—or if—she’d ever see them again.
Yet here they were, reunited within months.
And so much had happened in those months.
Upon returning to Weiyang Palace, a young attendant informed her the moment she stepped through the gates: "The Chief Eunuch has already returned."
Jiang Yunshu glanced at the sky, surprised. Why was Xie Lin back so unusually early today?
On her way to the bedchamber, she detoured to the bathing quarters, washing thoroughly from head to toe and changing into fresh clothes before presenting herself to Xie Lin.
He heard her light footsteps first, then caught the faint scent of fragrance mingled with steam, before finally seeing her enter.
Unconsciously, his expression softened.
"You bathed upon returning?" Xie Lin’s tone made it clear he approved.
Jiang Yunshu gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. She’d guessed right—Xie Lin was fastidious about cleanliness, always cleansing himself immediately upon returning to Weiyang Palace. So she’d done the same.
Xie Lin sat before the desk, his slender fingers holding a piece of jade while his other hand grasped a carving knife—he was personally engraving the jade.
Jiang Yunshu couldn’t help but steal a few more glances. Both Xie Lin’s hands and the jade he held were flawlessly beautiful.
With each precise cut, fragments of jade scattered like falling snow.
She wondered, was there anything this man couldn’t do?
"Concubine Qiao is well. Thank you, Chief Steward, for saving her life," Jiang Yunshu said.
Xie Lin’s expression remained indifferent. "No need to thank me. Her Majesty earned it herself last night."
