Pei Zirong watched Ye Chutang walk away and raised a hand to massage his temples.
He never would have imagined that, despite all his precautions, he would end up falling into the hands of a young girl.
The thought was almost laughable.
He looked up at the pitch-black sky and uttered two words.
“Fate!”
Then he returned to the pavilion and helped his mother to her feet.
“Mother, how are you feeling? Does your head still hurt?”
Old Lady Pei knew that her son had been forced to do something he was unwilling to do for the sake of her illness. Her brows drew tightly together.
“Zirong, your mother already has one foot in the grave. You shouldn’t have put the children in danger for my sake.”
Although she had been unconscious, she had retained a faint awareness and had vaguely heard some of what was said.
But she had thought it was only a dream, so she hadn’t given it much thought after waking.
Yet the words “winter clothing” reminded her that it had not been a dream!
Looking at his guilt-ridden mother, Pei Zirong gave her a reassuring smile.
“Mother, I agreed to Madam Qi’s terms not only for your sake, but for the children’s as well.”
As hostages, they had never lacked food or clothing, but no one had taken the trouble to educate them properly.
If things continued that way, they would eventually be ruined.
If Ye Chutang could send his children back to Dingzhou, back to his side, then what did it matter if he pledged himself to the Qi family and the new emperor?
After hearing her son’s explanation, Old Lady Pei let out a breath of relief.
Although she knew little about affairs at court, lately she had heard countless rumors about the emperor murdering loyal officials and slaughtering an entire city’s population. The stories filled her with fury.
“The current emperor is incompetent, tyrannical, and utterly indifferent to human life. He is indeed not worth following.”
Pei Zirong nodded in agreement.
“So, as long as Madam Qi can send Wei’er and the others back to me, I am willing to serve the Qi family!”
At present, the Qi family had the support of the people.
Taking the Qi family’s side would also be a tremendous opportunity for him.
Old Lady Pei glanced around before asking, “Zirong, quite a few people saw you interacting with Madam Qi today. If word reaches the emperor, he will surely grow suspicious of you. Could Wei’er and the others be in danger?”
Pei Zirong shook his head firmly. “No. After you collapsed, everyone who had come to enjoy the scenery at Luoxia Lake kept as far away as possible, afraid of getting dragged into trouble. No one heard what Madam Qi and I said. I’ll take some valuable gifts to the relay station later and put on a show—a dutiful son kneeling and begging for a doctor to treat his mother.”
Although this would not completely dispel the emperor’s suspicions, his sons were being held hostage in the capital. Even if the emperor became suspicious, he would not dare act against him.
***
After leaving Luoxia Lake with Qi Qingyu, Ye Chutang headed toward the relay station.
Halfway there, Ye Chutang noticed a pastry shop with a very long line outside.
She casually asked one of the people waiting, “Excuse me, what are they selling here? Why is business so brisk?”
The woman she addressed had previously welcomed the group of exiles at the city gate and recognized Ye Chutang.
She answered enthusiastically, “This shop sells crystal pastries. They’re translucent and gleaming, with a unique flavor. They’re beautiful and delicious. Madam Qi, you absolutely must try them.”
“Thank you.”
Ye Chutang glanced at Qi Qingyu and gently rubbed her stomach.
“Elder Sister, you wait in line here. I’m going to borrow a privy and will be back shortly.”
Qi Qingyu nodded and pointed toward a medical clinic not far away.
“Sister-in-law, if you’re feeling unwell, you should go to the clinic and have a look.”
“I’m fine. I just ate a bit too much variety at dinner and have an upset stomach. I’m only going to borrow the clinic’s privy.”
After saying this, Ye Chutang handed the paper bag containing the lotus seeds to Qi Qingyu and hurried to the pharmacy a little farther away.
Borrowing the pharmacy’s brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, she wrote out a prescription for Old Lady Pei.
“Prepare ten doses of medicine according to this prescription.”
The shopkeeper took the prescription and glanced at it.
Seeing that it called for quite a few expensive ingredients, he was delighted.
“Of course, miss. Please wait a moment.”
“Shopkeeper, I have a bit of an upset stomach and would like to use your privy. Would that be possible?”
The shopkeeper hurriedly asked an assistant to lead Ye Chutang to the back courtyard.
The privy stood in the northwest corner of the courtyard. A dim yellow lantern hung outside, swaying gently in the night breeze.
After showing Ye Chutang where it was, the assistant returned to the front room to help with the customers.
Ye Chutang pushed open the door to the privy.
Ancient privies were simple pit toilets, with packed earth all around them.
Using her earth-element ability, she teleported to the military camp stationed in Dingzhou and located the warehouse where the winter clothing was stored.
There were no guards inside the warehouse, though patrols passed nearby.
Without disturbing anyone, Ye Chutang entered the warehouse and stored all the winter clothing in her personal space.
Then she teleported back to the privy behind the pharmacy.
The round trip had cost her a considerable number of merit points, but had taken only the time it took to burn a single stick of incense.
When she returned to the front room, the shopkeeper had just finished wrapping the medicinal ingredients.
Ye Chutang paid, took the medicine, and left to rejoin Qi Qingyu in line.
Half an hour later, the two of them returned to the relay station with the crystal pastries.
The two elders of the Qi family were playing with the children. The moment they saw Ye Chutang carrying medicine, their hearts leaped into their throats.
Old Madam Qi immediately asked, “Chutang, why did you buy medicine? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
She was worried that Ye Chutang’s continued absence of menstruation meant something was wrong with her health.
Ye Chutang smiled. “Mother, don’t worry. I’m fine. This medicine is for someone else.”
Then she asked Qi Qingyu to take out the pastries so everyone could share them.
Old Madam Qi still wasn’t reassured and looked toward her daughter.
Qi Qingyu placed the still-warm crystal pastries on the table and gave her mother a reassuring look.
“Mother, have some pastries.”
Only then did Old Madam Qi relax. She called Madam Xu and her son over to eat as well.
Not seeing Sun Chu, Ye Chutang asked, “Mother, where is Master Sun?”
“Master Sun went out after you two, but returned before you did. He’s in his room now.”
“I’ll go call him.”
The room the relay-station keeper had assigned to Sun Chu was on the second floor.
At that moment, Sun Chu was staring at a letter in his hands, breathing rapidly.
He had obtained the letter from the Qianjin House in Dingzhou. It contained the results of their investigation into Ye Chutang.
As he looked at the familiar poem, he was so excited that he nearly tore the thin sheet of paper to pieces.
“As I suspected. I was right!”
The moment he finished speaking, Ye Chutang’s voice sounded from outside the door.
“Master Sun, come downstairs and have some pastries.”
Rip!
The abrupt sound startled Sun Chu. The tightly stretched paper had finally been unable to withstand the force of his grip and tore in two.
He nervously crumpled both halves into a ball and stuffed them into his hand-width belt.
“All right, I’ll be right down.”
Ye Chutang immediately noticed that something was wrong with Sun Chu’s voice.
He sounded like a child who had been caught doing something bad, desperately pretending to be calm.
She wasn’t worried that Sun Chu would betray her, so she paid no attention to his unusual behavior.
Listening to Ye Chutang’s footsteps fade away, Sun Chu held his breath. Only after they had disappeared did he exhale heavily.
He pulled the scraps of paper from his belt and read them again.
After taking several deep breaths to calm himself, he opened the door and went downstairs.
The Qi family was seated around the table, eating the crystal pastries and chatting.
When Qi He’an saw Sun Chu approaching, he immediately called out, “Master Sun, come sit with us.”
After Sun Chu sat down, his eyes kept drifting involuntarily toward Ye Chutang, while his hand repeatedly strayed to his belt.
Ye Chutang pushed the paper packet of crystal pastries toward him.
“Why are you looking so guilty, Master Sun? Did you do something you don’t want anyone to know about?”
