After finishing the meal with her, Pei Xu took his leave.
He ran a medical clinic in Fengping City, with hired physicians on staff. His own medical skills weren't particularly refined—his mother had been a doctor, and he'd absorbed some knowledge through osmosis from a young age.
The carriage rocked and rattled over the blue stone road. Le'an stared at his master for a while, hesitating before speaking: "...Master, are you really going to marry Miss Yun?"
Pei Xu looked up at him.
His gaze was calm, and beneath his plain white sleeves peeked a wrist with pronounced bone structure: "Why not?"
"It's just that I think—Miss Yun showed up alone on Mount Bei-wu, her origins unknown. What if she's carrying some kind of trouble..."
Mount Bei-wu was perpetually shrouded in mist, its terrain steep and treacherous, with several gangs of bandits nesting within its folds. Only those desperate men of the jianghu—fugitives from the court's justice—would crawl up Mount Bei-wu when cornered with nowhere else to go.
Unexpectedly, Pei Xu said, "I asked Miss Yun. She said she fled as a refugee from the south and got lost, wandering into Mount Bei-wu by accident."
Le'an was stunned: "She said that, and you just believed her?"
Pei Xu flipped a page in the book he was reading: "She has no reason to lie to me. Even if she did, she must have her own hardships. Since I've resolved to marry her, I won't pry into those matters."
Le'an was at a loss for words and clutched his head, muttering: "...Master really has read himself senseless."
The carriage stopped before the doors of Xuanji Hall. A clerk from the luxury garments shop was already waiting there, handing him a pattern with a smile: "Master Pei, these are wedding robe designs drawn by the finest embroideress in our shop. Would you care to take a look and see if they please you?"
Pei Xu took them, examined them carefully, then instructed the clerk to deliver them to Qinghuai Lane, letting Yun Lou choose for herself.
Yinyin carried the patterns into the room, beaming: "Miss, come take a look at these designs! The clerk said they're all the rage in the capital these days—the noble families' daughters all wear this style when they marry."
Yun Lou was lounging on the bed again.
She loved the bed, and the bed loved her.
She propped herself up on her elbows, grabbed the patterns, and took a look.
They were indeed the popular style in the capital—that marquis's daughter had worn the like when she married, but...
"To weave a pattern like this, you'd need the most expensive cloud-pattern brocade, wouldn't you?"
Thread-of-gold patterned satin—every inch of it worth every inch of gold, traditionally only affordable to princes and nobles.
Did running a medical clinic make that much money?
Yinyin asked, "Do you like them, Miss?"
Yun Lou handed the patterns back to her: "I like them, but they're too costly."
Don't drain the scholar's family coffers just for a wedding.
Yinyin took the patterns back out to the clerk and asked him to bring cheaper ones instead.
Yun Lou lay on the bed, chatting with her two young maids about the local customs of Fengping City, then felt drowsy again.
Before she'd left the Silent Blade, Situ Yan had cautioned her not to use her martial arts for half a year. Half a year? She hadn't even lasted a month before she was swinging a blade at bandits on Mount Bei-wu.
Now look where that had landed her—a helpless invalid who couldn't even lift a finger, spending her days doing nothing but eating and sleeping.
Yinyin watched the girl on the bed, eyelids drooping and struggling to stay awake mid-conversation. She secretly signaled Wensi, and the two of them tiptoed out.
By the time Yun Lou woke again, the sun was already setting.
Yinyin pushed the door open only after hearing the sounds of her getting up. Pei Xu had told them to let Miss Yun sleep as long as she liked, since her body was weak and sleep was a form of recuperation.
"Miss, Master Pei sent a cook over this afternoon," Yinyin said as she combed Yun Lou's hair. "He dispatched someone all the way to Jiangling to fetch her. They say she's especially skilled at medicinal cuisine—and can make it so delicious that you won't even notice the herbal taste you hate."
Jiangling? That bustling hub between north and south?
Given the distance from Jiangling to Fengping, he must have sent for her the moment Yun Lou arrived.
Yun Lou walked outside and saw a sturdy, stout woman standing in the small kitchen, wearing a clean indigo linen top, her hair combed neatly back, her complexion healthy and rosy. She stood at the cutting board, chopping away at a chicken with brisk, practiced strokes.
"Miss Yun. My surname's Zhou—just call me Aunt Zhou."
Seeing Yun Lou, she came out to greet her with a smile, polite and poised, clearly someone who'd cooked for a wealthy household before.
"Miss Yun, just tell me whatever you can't eat. I'm new here and don't know your tastes yet—if anything doesn't suit you, just say the word."
Yun Lou smiled and said she would.
How much silver must it have cost to poach a cook like this?
Could that scholar's purse even take the hit?
Yun Lou felt a little melancholy.
Ah, well. Back when she'd been an assassin, she'd hidden away some private savings in the hills outside the capital. If worst came to worst, she could always dig them up to contribute to the household.
Aunt Zhou quickly finished with the chicken, put it into a pot with various medicinal herbs, and set it to simmer. Smoke curled up from the little courtyard's chimney, and the rosy glow of dusk fell across the blue-brick walls. This kind of humdrum, everyday mortal life—the smell of cooking food and chimney smoke—was something Yun Lou had never experienced in her life.
Perhaps when she was very young, before she'd entered the Silent Blade, she might have had a life like this.
But it had been too long. She no longer remembered any of it.
All her memories were tied to death—wrapped in the smell of blood and corpses. Even in her dreams, she saw only the twisted, agonized faces of those who'd died beneath her blade.
But now, sitting beneath the apricot tree in the little courtyard, eyes closed, breathing in the fragrant steam of chicken soup drifting from the kitchen, those dark, clotted memories seemed wrapped in a layer of mist and carried far away.
In her memory, Pei Xu's face grew clear, along with the faint, herbal scent that always clung to him.
"Miss Yun, the spring nights are chilly. You should put on a cloak if you're sitting out here."
Yun Lou opened her eyes and saw Pei Xu pushing open the gate, wearing a dark-colored cape. He looked good in black too—it lent the jade-bright mountain of his demeanor a layer of solemn calm.
The herbal fragrance at the tip of her nose grew stronger. Yun Lou brightened at the sight of him: "What are you doing here?"
Pei Xu glanced toward the kitchen: "Just checking whether the new cook is a good fit." He then instructed Yinyin: "Bring Miss Yun a cloak."
The moment he gave the order, he felt a tug at the hem of his robe.
Pei Xu looked down. Yun Lou had braced both elbows on her knees, propping her face in her hands as she looked up at him with a grin: "I want the one you're wearing."
The apricot tree stood verdant in the courtyard. Pei Xu's face flushed red, and he looked a little embarrassed, but he didn't refuse. He took off his cloak, draped it around her, then crouched down and tied the strings neatly just below her collar.
Yun Lou was even more pleased to see him blush.
Just like that moonlit night, when the scholar had stood before the moonlit cave, blushing as he asked for her hand in marriage, the night breeze lifting the hem of his robe like an immortal about to ride the wind away. The scene had been so beautiful that Yun Lou had let her head grow hot and her neck had done the nodding before she knew it.
She was someone steeped in blood and sin, fit only to see vengeful ghosts. What extraordinary fortune, then, to have met an immortal.
Pei Xu finished tying the cloak and looked up to meet those unabashed, ink-dark eyes. His breath caught for just a moment.
Yun Lou, blissfully unaware, suddenly leaned in close to his ear. Her breath—young, fresh, and entirely her own—brushed against his neck: "This cook from Jiangling couldn't have come cheap, could she? How much silver did it cost?"
Pei Xu went slightly stiff, but answered in a stiff, businesslike tone: "Not expensive. Within our ordinary household means."
Yun Lou tilted her head, casting him a suspicious look.
Pei Xu seized the chance to step back, letting out an imperceptible breath, and explained: "The clinic does good business—between seeing patients, selling medicinal herbs and such, we turn a decent profit each month, more than enough to cover expenses."
He said with great solemnity, "Since I intend to take you as my wife, I will do everything in my power to treat you well."
Since he put it that way—
Yun Lou promptly said, "Then I want that woven gold-thread cloud brocade we saw this afternoon for my wedding dress."
Whatever 'an inch of brocade, an inch of gold' meant—if he had money, let her spend it!
Pei Xu laughed. "Already ordered."
The cook finished the meal and set it on the table, steaming hot and fragrant. Yun Lou took a bite—indeed, barely any medicinal taste. She wasn't a picky eater; she'd eaten snakes, rats, insects, and worms in a mass grave, and she'd snuck into the imperial palace at night to taste the finest royal delicacies. Aunt Zhou's cooking was almost on par with the imperial chefs'.
Expensive? Loved it. Eat more.
Under Aunt Zhou's tireless feeding and Dr. Chen from Xuanji Hall checking in every few days to prescribe remedies, Yun Lou's health visibly improved—manifesting as flesh on her face and waist, and a rosier complexion.
The wounds on her body had all shed their scabs, especially the one running from her lower waist up to her collarbone. The newly grown flesh was tinged with light red, curling like a small serpent lying across her chest, a stark contrast to the dark, old scars elsewhere on her body.
Given time, this wound would also darken, becoming a mark that could never be erased.
She pinched her own arm, pondering where she should go for physical training once her injuries fully healed.
"Miss Yun." Yinyin burst in, beaming with excitement.
Yun Lou drew her collar closed.
"Master Pei has brought the embroideress from the Brocade House over."
The wedding was near, and her wedding dress was already made. This was the embroideress's final visit to take her measurements, so the most perfectly fitted bridal gown could be delivered on the wedding day itself.
As the embroideress measured her with a silk tape, Pei Xu was outside asking Aunt Zhou about her three daily meals.
The young gentleman spoke to others with gentle courtesy and a soft voice, exuding the refined air of a cultivated scholar. Through the open door, the embroideress couldn't help but glance at the girl in front of her—arms spread wide, listless, letting herself be measured.
Master Pei was well-read, disciplined, and proper. Half the young maidens in Fengping City secretly harbored feelings for him, yet over the years, he'd never shown particular favor to anyone—only to be taken by this orphan girl who'd appeared out of nowhere.
Everyone said Master Pei was marrying her only out of a sense of obligation, since he'd once declared he had no intention of ever taking a wife. But if it were mere obligation, wouldn't the lavish brocade and the room full of red chests be a bit too grand?
The embroideress was utterly baffled and finally concluded that this girl was simply blessed by fate.
Yun Lou yawned, utterly bored, watching the embroideress fuss over her. A sudden thought struck her: "That bolt of cloud brocade—after my wedding dress is made, will there be any left over?"
The embroideress said, "There will be remnants, but not enough to cut a full set of clothes. If you'd like, miss, it could be sewn into an undergarment. The noble ladies in the capital also use the scraps to make sachets and pouches to carry with them..."
She was in full flow, recommending the latest capital fashions, when she heard Yun Lou say happily, "Then make me a little bodice!"
The embroideress's eyes went wide.
Yun Lou was still recalling the pretty styles she'd seen while on missions in the pleasure houses, gesturing with both hands: "Two thin ribbons on top to tie around the neck, and the front shaped like this..."
The embroideress went from shock to embarrassment to confusion, and then to sudden enlightenment: She understood. She understood everything now.
So this was what Master Pei liked!
...
When the embroideress left, she gave Pei Xu several meaningful looks, but he seemed not to notice.
He waited until Yun Lou had put on her outer robe and opened the door before walking over, handing her a small white porcelain jar.
Yun Lou was curious. "What's this?"
"A white jade ointment made by the physicians at the clinic—used to fade scars." Pei Xu's tone was soft and gentle. "Calculating the time, the wounds you suffered should have shed their scabs by now. I know women care about their appearance, and otter marrow is hard to come by, but this ointment has similar effects. Apply it twice a day—try it first. If it doesn't work, I'll find another way to procure otter marrow for you."
Otter marrow was a legendary treasure that even ten thousand gold pieces couldn't buy, yet he spoke of seeking it out for her.
Yun Lou clutched the jar in her hand and had half a mind to kiss him.
