Watching him scramble away in such a flustered state, Li Yuanzhi couldn’t help but laugh. *We’re in love—so why does this feel like an illicit affair?*
Hearing the door being pushed open from outside, she pulled the blanket over herself and, following the plan, pretended to still be asleep.
“Ah—” A palace maid’s startled cry rang through the room. Clearly, the group had taken in the state of the bed—the disheveled bedding, the air thick with an embarrassing odor. Li Yuanzhi lay beneath the covers, her hair a mess, her cheeks flushed. Even a fool could tell what had just happened.
The group erupted into chaos. What a scandal—debauchery in the imperial palace! Those who had no idea what was going on turned pale with fright, trembling on the spot. *If something like this has happened to our mistress, we servants will probably be silenced as well.* The more seasoned ones reacted better, slipping away quietly to inform their respective patrons.
Song Qingshu observed from hiding for a while, and seeing that Li Yuanzhi was in no immediate danger, he left with an easy heart.
Earlier, he had realized that someone was using Li Yuanzhi to target the Jia clan, and he quickly recognized this as a golden opportunity. He’d been worrying about how to leave Lin’an without exposing his identity to go support Ah Jiu and Xia Qingqing. The incident in the palace had just provided the perfect pretext.
All the evidence now pointed to Consort Jia, out of jealousy, having used her nephew to ruin Li Yuanzhi’s chastity. But Li Yuanzhi had been designated as an imperial consort, a strong contender for future Empress, with Chancellor Wan Qili and Li Kexiu—who commanded a hundred-thousand-strong army—backing her. Her position was extraordinarily sensitive.
No matter how unassailable Consort Jia’s status in the palace, no matter how powerful Jia Sidao was, they couldn’t suppress this. Especially with Jia Baoyu having slept with the Emperor’s future wife. Even if Zhao Gou was physically already a eunuch, he still couldn’t tolerate such a cuckolding. And even if Zhao Gou were willing to endure it, how could Wan Qili and Li Kexiu?
*Debauchery in the inner palace—a crime punishable by the extermination of nine entire clans!* Jia Sidao was powerful enough to avoid literal clan extermination, but Jia Baoyu, as the principal offender, couldn’t be protected.
From what Song Qingshu had observed in the Jia mansion, Jia Baoyu was indeed, as described in *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the apple of the household’s eye, their precious treasure. Jia Sidao naturally wouldn’t stand by and let his son die. Given his unclear relationship with Isle of Heroes, the most likely course was to have Isle of Heroes send Jia Baoyu away until the storm passed.
Once they were out of Lin’an, there would be countless opportunities along the way to slip away from Isle of Heroes’ people. As for Li Yuanzhi, given her special status, she wouldn’t be dealt with like an ordinary consort—summarily executed with a white silk cord. The worst outcome would be confinement to the Cold Palace, suffering some temporary hardship until Song Qingshu was free to rescue her.
Not only had he just played the groom, savoring a young girl’s tenderness, but he’d also resolved a problem that had been vexing him for days. Song Qingshu was in excellent spirits. After leaving the palace, he didn’t rush back to the Jia residence. Instead, he headed for the Red Sleeve Courtyard, where Zhou Zhiruo was waiting. He needed to give her a heads-up.
With Song Qingshu’s level of cultivation, even in a crowded marketplace, he didn’t need to hide his movements deliberately. People around him would only sense a blur—and when they looked closer, his figure would already have vanished several streets away. There was no chance of tailing him.
Arriving at the pre-arranged room, he found that Lan Fenghuang had also come and was chatting happily with Zhou Zhiruo. Both women stood to greet him as he entered.
Song Qingshu nodded to Zhou Zhiruo first, then turned to Lan Fenghuang. “Fenghuang, are the arrangements in place?”
Lan Fenghuang laughed coquettishly. “Don’t worry. With the Five Poisons Sect’s elders escorting her, I guarantee not a single hair on your little lover’s head will be harmed. But here you are, asking about another woman the moment you walk in. Aren’t you afraid of making Lady Zhou jealous?” [G: Lady Zhou – a polite address for Zhou Zhiruo, though Lan Fenghuang internally feels it would be more appropriate to call her “wife” since she’s married—but she subconsciously avoids that out of loyalty to Dongfang Muxue.]
Song Qingshu smiled. “Fenghuang, I have to hand it to you—that sharp little tongue of yours.”
Lan Fenghuang giggled. “How does the young master know my little tongue is sharp? Have you tasted it?”
Zhou Zhiruo watched the banter with an amused smile. Knowing Lan Fenghuang’s style, she wasn’t about to get upset over such trivialities.
Song Qingshu’s forehead darkened. *Misery loves company, I see.* Knowing that if he let this continue, there was no telling what she might drag into the conversation, he quickly changed the subject. “Jia Sidao will arrange for Jia Baoyu to leave the city in the next couple of days. When he does, you’ll intercept ‘him.’ I’ll assist from the shadows. We’ll pull off a ‘golden cicada shedding its shell.’ Jia Sidao has many enemies right now—he’ll blame his political rivals, never suspecting anything else.”
Zhou Zhiruo nodded. “That’s a good plan. But how can you be sure Jia Sidao will arrange for Jia Baoyu to leave the city in the next two days?”
Song Qingshu gave an awkward smile but frankly summarized what had just happened—naturally leaving out certain details.
The two women listened with strange expressions. Lan Fenghuang grinned slyly. “No wonder the young master came in smelling of another woman’s perfume. I thought you’d brushed against one of the ladies in the Red Sleeve Courtyard on your way in—and was just wondering which lady had such fine taste. Turns out it was a palace consort.”
It was Zhou Zhiruo who came to his rescue. “Miss Li sacrificed her reputation to save you—she clearly has deep feelings for you. Her running into danger this time, and you being the one to find her… if it had been anyone else, the consequences would have been unthinkable. As things stand, it’s not exactly a bad outcome.”
Lan Fenghuang glanced at Zhou Zhiruo with surprise, not expecting such magnanimity. She couldn’t help a private grumble. *Inside, she must be burning with jealousy.* Although Lan Fenghuang sided with Dongfang Muxue, she had to admit that Zhou Zhiruo was increasingly acquiring the graceful, composed bearing of a first wife.
“My dear Zhiruo!” Song Qingshu pulled Zhou Zhiruo into his arms and planted a few exuberant kisses on her, paying no mind to Lan Fenghuang’s presence.
Lan Fenghuang’s cheeks colored slightly, but she wasn’t offended. As a Miao woman, she actually preferred this kind of direct expression of love and affection, looking down on the Han Chinese’s coy, hesitant attitudes toward romance.
Zhou Zhiruo gave a startled cry and quickly pushed him away, laughing as she scolded, “Stay away from me. You still smell of other women.”
Song Qingshu knew Zhou Zhiruo had a thing about cleanliness—every time he’d touched another woman, she wouldn’t let him near her until he’d washed thoroughly. Grinning, he released her, thinking to himself: *If one day I touch Zhao Min and then go near her, I wonder what her reaction will be.*
The thought made his heart race. He quickly composed himself and stopped thinking about such messy things.
After chatting for a while, Song Qingshu returned to the Jia residence. After all, with such a huge incident, all the various factions should have reacted by now.
Just as he stepped through the front gate, he ran into Xiren coming out. “Oh, my dear Second Young Master Bao, where have you been? Everyone in the household has been looking everywhere for you.”
“Looking for me? What is it?” Song Qingshu knew perfectly well but asked casually.
“Not long ago, the master sent word back—he ordered the household to keep a close eye on you and not allow you to meet or contact anyone. The whole household has been searching for you. I was just about to go out into the streets to look for you myself.” Xiren took his hand and walked as she spoke.
“Has something happened?” Song Qingshu probed, wanting to see how much the Jia household knew.
Xiren shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know. But the master has never used such a harsh tone before. Have you done something else to anger him?”
“Perhaps.” Song Qingshu answered ambiguously. *It seems what happened in the palace is still known to only a few. The news hasn’t leaked out yet.*
As they walked, they suddenly ran into a young servant. Seeing Song Qingshu, he breathed a long sigh of relief. “Second Young Master Bao, we’ve finally found you!”
Noting his flustered tone, Xiren frowned. “What’s wrong?”
The servant was panting. “The… the master has returned. He said that as soon as the young master comes back, he should go… go to the study to find him.”
“Baoyu…” Xiren was startled. She looked at Song Qingshu with concern.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” Song Qingshu thought, *Perfect timing*, and strode briskly toward the study.
Watching his retreating figure, a look of confusion appeared in Xiren’s eyes. *Baoyu used to be terrified at the mere mention of the master. Since he’s returned this time, he doesn’t seem afraid at all.*
***
When Song Qingshu reached the study, he found that all the servants had already been dismissed. Within a radius of several dozen yards, there was no one but Jia Sidao.
As soon as he stepped inside—and while he was still worrying about how to address Jia Sidao—a teacup came flying toward him. He could even see the hot tea splashing from it. Startled, he was about to dodge to the side when he remembered that with Jia Baoyu’s level of skill, he could never evade a sudden flying teacup.
He was just gritting his teeth to take the hit when the teacup arced through the air and shattered a foot in front of him.
Song Qingshu’s heart tightened. With his eyesight, he could clearly see that the cup had been aimed at his face. Yet at the last moment, it had suddenly dropped. Clearly, Jia Sidao’s internal force had been attached to it. The technique was extremely advanced—so advanced that even Song Qingshu hadn’t noticed it at first.
The only reassuring thing was that Jia Sidao clearly doted on Jia Baoyu to the bone. Even in his fury, he couldn’t bear to hurt him.
“Look what you’ve done!” After smashing the cup, Jia Sidao cursed, his anger mixed with disappointment. “Normally, I can’t be bothered to care about your womanizing. A man chasing women is no great sin. But you should at least use your head and know which women you can touch and which you can’t! Li Kexiu commands a massive army, and he’s just newly surrendered to the court. Sending his daughter to Lin’an—it was written in the stars that she would become an imperial consort. How dare you touch such a woman?”
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He slammed his hand on the table, and the heavy solid-wood desk splintered into pieces.
Song Qingshu was secretly alarmed. *The aura he just released—this man is definitely a supreme expert.* He quickly restrained his own energy, careful not to reveal that he possessed martial arts skills.
“Cat got your tongue? Speak!” Seeing his silence, Jia Sidao roared.