Chapter 66 Meeting in the Sea of People

Yu Sisheng remained unconcerned.

"I am merely going for a look, Second Young Master need not worry."

Yu Sisheng had no desire to listen to Su Yanshu. Besides, with so many people around here, Su Yanshu could not possibly do anything to her.

The person weeping was a matron. Even in a plain, unadorned dress, her noble bearing was unmistakable. Her features were delicate and lovely, and Yu Sisheng felt a lingering sense of familiarity, as though she had seen her somewhere before.

Su Yanshu, who had caught up from behind, looked slightly surprised: "Madame Liu?"

Madame Liu, the mother of Miss Liu.

Madame Liu wept as she lit the everlasting lamp, her pearl-like tears rolling down unceasingly as she murmured between sobs:

"My daughter, rest in peace. In our next life, we shall be mother and daughter once more."

Yu Sisheng was startled. Miss Liu had passed away?

Only a few days ago, she had been perfectly well, even sneering at and ridiculing her at Su Zhiyi's birthday banquet.

People around them sighed softly.

"Miss Liu is truly pitiful. She died such a miserable death."

"Who is to say otherwise? I heard her eyes and tongue were both... too dreadful to behold, and there was not a single patch of unblemished flesh on her body. They simply dumped her right outside the Liu residence."

"Indeed. When Madame Liu saw her, she nearly lost her mind on the spot. It is only today that she has recovered slightly, forcing herself to come and light the everlasting lamp for her daughter. Otherwise, with such a death... I fear she would never be able to reincarnate."

The voices came in fragments, but Yu Sisheng heard them clearly enough, a sudden chill creeping into her heart.

Su Yanshu's voice was extremely low as he spoke right beside her ear: "Are you not overjoyed?"

Yu Sisheng turned back in astonishment: "What?"

"She humiliated you publicly time and time again, and now she is dead..."

Yu Sisheng interrupted him coldly: "Although I did not like her, I never wished for her to die."

Let alone to die in such a gruesome manner.

Su Yanshu let out a soft sigh, his voice carrying a faint, shallow smile: "With Sisheng being so kind-hearted, how will you protect yourself once you reach the Prince of Nanshun's estate?"

Yu Sisheng simply fell silent, ignoring him altogether as she turned and walked elsewhere.

"Where are you going?"

"To stroll around, or perhaps to listen to a lecture on Zen. Since I have rarely managed to get out, I have no wish to waste the time."

...

Jin Baobao carefully strapped the box containing the painting to her back. Once Yu Sisheng had walked away, she prepared to step out of the carriage to deliver it.

Just as she reached the carriage door, she caught the faint glint of a cold weapon flashing through the crack of the door.

She quickly withdrew her hand, cracked open the window slightly, vaulted lightly upward, and landed softly atop the roof of the carriage.

Looking down.

Su Yanshu's guard was about to push the carriage door open with one hand while gripping a steel saber in the other.

"Hey," Jin Baobao called out.

The guard looked up, only to be knocked unconscious instantly by a punch straight to the face from Jin Baobao.

Jin Baobao leaped down from the carriage, shoved a few pills into the guard's mouth, dragged him into the nearby woods, and then sprinted swiftly toward the side gate of the temple.

This small door was used by the monks for daily entry of small carts and the transport of miscellaneous goods; pilgrims never came this way.

Jin Baobao entered with ease, hugging the wall as she slipped toward the designated spot.

Hao Mengye's trusted aide was waiting for her.

"Why is it you?" Jin Baobao asked suspiciously. "My young lady explicitly told me to hand this directly to the Grand Commander."

"The circumstances today are exceptional. The Grand Commander is currently tied up and unable to see you at this moment."

Jin Baobao clutched the strap securing the painting and refused to let go: "Why should I believe you?"

"...Then follow me, and you may catch a glimpse of him from afar."

Jin Baobao followed him to a tranquil courtyard where all the guards stationed about were members of the Red Dragon Guard.

The windows of the room were open, and the abbot was playing a game of chess with another person, while the Crown Prince and Hao Mengye stood close by.

"Did you see?"

Jin Baobao swallowed hard and nodded slowly.

"Hand over the painting, then."

...

Yu Sisheng wandered at random, though her wandering only appeared casual. In truth, she was calculating where Qi Mubai might go before the Zen lectures began, assuming he came here at all.

Qi Mubai did not believe in gods and Buddhas either, but he might drift along with the crowd toward the Hall of the Literary Star or visit the calligraphy steles on the back mountain.

Although she had never been here before, she had made inquiries and learned that Hongyuan Temple's back mountain housed a calligraphy stele dating back three hundred years, according to legend. Though somewhat weathered, the handwritten characters remained legible, and many people had made rubbings of them.

Given Qi Mubai's fondness for calligraphy, he ought to be interested.

Passing the Hall of the Literary Star, she walked slowly among the throngs of people, her eyes scanning eagerly while maintaining a calm expression on her face.

Su Yanshu was also watching the surroundings. Whether Yu Sisheng was having a good time mattered little; her safety was paramount.

As he followed closely behind Yu Sisheng, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Brother Su, I thought you looked familiar. It really is you! Have you also come to listen to the Zen lecture?"

Su Yanshu turned around to find a fellow student from the academy—someone with whom he shared only an ordinary acquaintance, tinged with a faint sense of rivalry.

He had heard that this young man's father had tried to seek an audience with the Crown Prince not long ago, presumably wishing to pledge allegiance to the Crown Prince's faction as well.

Su Yanshu smiled faintly: "Indeed, Brother Li. You have come as well."

"I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has also arrived. Have you paid your respects to him?"

Su Yanshu shook his head: "His Royal Highness has important matters today and will not come."

"That shouldn't be," the newcomer said in surprise. "My father clearly received word..."

Before he could finish, he let out an awkward laugh: "Come along, let us go together."

A flicker of doubt crossed Su Yanshu's heart, though it was largely overshadowed by a sense of contempt. Whether the Crown Prince came or not, would he not know?

"No need, I have other matters to attend to. Later..."

Even as he spoke, Su Yanshu turned his head—and his gaze abruptly contracted.

Yu Sisheng was gone!

Yu Sisheng had walked up to the calligraphy stele, where quite a few people were already gathered, observing and discussing it.

Her mind was not on the stele; she only wished to scour the crowd as quickly as possible for the figure she sought.

Not far away stood a pavilion, situated on slightly elevated ground. She walked up into the pavilion, hoping it would give her a clearer view of the area surrounding the calligraphy stele.

The pavilion stood close to the edge of the mountain, and the wind blew in from all directions, carrying the fresh fragrance of the woods and the calls of birds.

wisps of it tangled in Yu Sisheng's hair and coiled around her heart.

She pushed aside the strands of hair blocking her vision, closing her eyes briefly to relieve the soreness, when she suddenly heard a familiar, long-missed voice carried on the wind.

"The calligraphy stele—I brought paper, we can make a rubbing of it."

The tip of Yu Sisheng's heart trembled in sync with her eyelashes. Her eyes flew open instantly, and she looked eagerly in the direction of the voice.

Qi Mubai had grown a bit taller, and thinner too, with a posture even straighter than before. Many scholars wore moon-white robes, yet somehow, he alone stood out in her eyes.

Most special of all.

A gentle, faint smile lingered on his face, his brows and eyes carrying a steadfast warmth. Unlike Su Yanshu's expression, his bore the resilience, calm, and composure forged through hardship.

A myriad of emotions rushed over her heart like a tidal wave at that moment. Scene after scene of the past rose up, yet none of it had been diluted or faded by the passing of time.

Tears welled up from her heart into her eyes, and Yu Sisheng scrubbed at them fiercely, terrified they would blur her vision and ruin this hard-earned reunion.

Qi Mubai drew out the paper he carried with him. As if sensing something, his movements paused and he raised his head.

Their gazes locked.

Qi Mubai froze, his eyes widening slightly. Across his astonished face, the familiar warmth of a smile—the one Yu Sisheng knew best—slowly bloomed.

At the same time, tears streamed down Yu Sisheng's face, yet the corners of her lips curved upward.

aggrieved, yet filled with boundless joy.

Qi Mubai took two steps forward, but Yu Sisheng shook her head gently and flashed him a specific gesture.

Qi Mubai halted his steps—he remembered. This was the gesture they had agreed upon back in the countryside.

In those days, life was harsh for both of them. Whenever either suffered a beating or a scolding, and upon meeting again found themselves unable to approach one another, they would signal with this exact gesture.

*I am well, do not worry.*