Elio’s Notes: The chapter title comes from Li Yu’s Dao Lian Zi, describing brows gathered in sorrow like distant mountain peaks.
Ehuang had never truly fallen asleep. Not long after hearing Li Congjia leave, she quietly rose, dressed herself in an embroidered skirt, and returned to the shelf from which the books had fallen.
She stared at it for a long time, then finally raised her hand and removed the volumes. They were old books untouched for ages, and dust had gathered along the inside of the rattan shelf, spilling through the sunlight. Ehuang reached deeper and touched the icy bottle. She drew it out again and went to the window to examine it carefully. It looked almost like jade yet gave off an unnatural, piercing cold. In the sunlight she could nearly see pale white frost clinging around it. Within moments her hands became bitterly cold again, the chill seeming almost alive. Ehuang clearly sensed that this bottle was not ordinary. Cold gradually spread through her hands as though trying to burrow into her body. Frightened, she seized a brocade handkerchief and wrapped the bottle tightly before the fear eased.
She slowly lifted and shook it. There was clearly liquid inside. Knowing it was strange, she did not dare open the stopper casually. Yet curiosity and doubt about the contents became impossible to suppress. The bottle seemed an ominous metaphor for everything disturbing her since the nightmare.
Since that man inexplicably entered the residence, many things had become different. Ehuang could not clearly identify what was happening, but she trusted her intuition. Women could be especially stubborn about feelings that could not be explained. Something this strange had to be connected with Zhao Kuangyin.
She slipped the handkerchief-wrapped bottle into her sleeve, then arranged her hair before the mirror and put on light makeup suitable for going outside. She opened the door. No one was nearby. Perhaps Li Congjia had dismissed the servants so they would not disturb her sleep.
All the better. Ehuang only wanted to understand the matter as quickly as possible and had no intention of letting Li Congjia discover anything. She planned to go and return quickly.
Her pink gauze skirt swept urgently through the flower-lined corridor toward the side courtyard.
At that moment Zhao Kuangyin was reclining on the bed, looking at the wooden bracelet he had carved in childhood. He carried it with him even now.
He was still waiting. If Li Hongji had truly heard Li Congjia’s words outside the door the previous night and had truly withdrawn his order, then a message should have arrived by now. Nothing had.
The entire affair was originally a dispute inside the Southern Tang imperial family. Their schemes and deception had nothing to do with Zhao Kuangyin. He was merely selling his strength in exchange for his brother’s safety and the glory Li Hongji had promised. Of course he had no intention of remaining forever beneath this narrow sky. For the moment, the south could serve as a stepping stone. Temporarily attaching himself to the Crown Prince would be useful to Zhao Kuangyin’s larger plans for the realm. Everything made perfect sense. He only needed to carry out the Crown Prince’s command. Li Congjia’s life or death should have been nothing more than a sentence spoken by Li Hongji, something incapable of affecting Zhao Kuangyin at all. Yet this time, Zhao Kuangyin felt his own hesitation with complete clarity.
Perhaps he did not want to watch Li Congjia die.
Zhao Kuangyin fell back in boredom. Perhaps this too was Heaven’s will. On that night, of all nights, he had encountered those black-clad men. Normally so cautious, Zhao Kuangyin had somehow lost the Qingu he carried and therefore had no choice but to wait for the Crown Prince to send poisoned wine.
Without that delay, perhaps Li Congjia would already have died without a sound. Symptoms resembling heart disease were among the easiest sudden deaths to conceal. By now Jinling might already have been filled with mourning for a brilliant life cut short.
Just as Zhao Kuangyin gave a helpless, bitter smile and shook his head, someone knocked.
The sound outside was hesitant. Who could it be this time? Zhao Kuangyin sat up sharply. The first thing to flash through his mind was that pale blue-green figure. He immediately rejected the thought. Unless Li Congjia had truly gone mad, after being frightened away only moments earlier there was no chance he would return so quickly. Who then…? In a single instant, countless useless possibilities crossed Zhao Kuangyin’s mind.
“Who?” One word fell heavily.
“I have something to ask Young Master Zhao. Forgive the disturbance.” A woman’s light voice answered.
Things were becoming more interesting. Zhao Kuangyin sat beside the table, narrowed his eyes, and watched the strip of pink light shifting through the narrow gap in the wooden door. It was her.
“Zhao welcomes Madam.” The words sounded humble, yet he did not actually rise to receive her or even open the door. His attitude could not have been clearer. He acknowledged her status with his mouth, but she should not imagine that he truly placed it above himself.
Ehuang drew a deep breath and told herself not to argue with such an ill-mannered man. More important matters needed answers. She pushed open the door herself and immediately met Zhao Kuangyin’s searching gaze. He sat motionless beside the table, sword-like brows strong and heroic, nothing like some cringing lesser man.
Yet he was dangerous.
Ehuang smoothed the crease at her cuff and smiled with composed grace. The upbringing of a great household showed itself naturally. No matter how serious the matter, one could not discard one’s bearing.
Zhao Kuangyin could still tell that she was suspicious of something, perhaps that she had already learned something. Ehuang looked nothing like the carefree, radiant woman gathering dew at Dew Garden that morning. She was pretending calm now, yet could not escape Zhao Kuangyin’s sharp gaze. He had fought his way north and south and had seen every kind of situation. Her private visit was improper enough that she had clearly come because she had no other choice.
“What brings Madam here?” The room had been cleaned thoroughly. Nothing remained of the secret struggle from earlier. Every broken piece had been swept away and everything looked perfectly normal. Zhao Kuangyin was almost grateful. If the wreckage had still covered the room, he truly would not have known how to explain it to Li Congjia’s wife. He had no desire to watch a beauty lose color, and although Ehuang made him uncomfortable, some matters were better left unsaid.
Seeing that Zhao Kuangyin had no intention of rising to receive her, Ehuang abandoned the expectation and seated herself opposite him. A wooden table separated them. She had only begun to speak when she suddenly caught a faint fragrance clinging to Zhao Kuangyin. A martial man like him would hardly bother burning incense over himself every day. More importantly, she knew this fragrance too well.
Red sandalwood.
Ehuang frowned, displeasure immediately rising in her heart. The fragrance was almost imperceptible, yet it unquestionably clung to Zhao Kuangyin. She forced herself to remain composed.
“Madam may speak freely.” Zhao Kuangyin had remained inside the room and noticed nothing unusual about the scent. It had never occurred to him to pay attention.
“May I ask what Congjia… what the Duke of Anding and Young Master Zhao were discussing at such length earlier?”
Zhao Kuangyin burst into laughter, lifted the newly replaced teapot, and poured himself a cup. His rough movement spilled tea, but he did not care. He threw his head back and drank it in a single swallow, nothing resembling refined tea drinking at all.
Seeing the woman opposite frown, Zhao Kuangyin understood perfectly well what beauty was, and Ehuang was indeed a rare beauty. Even now she maintained excellent composure. “Am I required to report that to Madam?”
Ehuang nearly choked with anger, though her face revealed nothing.
Slowly she slipped one hand into her sleeve, removed the small bottle wrapped inside a brocade handkerchief, and pushed it toward Zhao Kuangyin.
“What is this?” Zhao Kuangyin did not react at first. Only when Ehuang opened the handkerchief with trembling fingers did he finally understand why she had been forced to humble herself and come here today.
It was the small bottle of Qingu he had lost. The poison was inconvenient to carry. Jiangnan was far too warm and damp, so only a bottle carved from cold jade could preserve its potency. Qingu itself was already an extremely cold poison, and together with the cold-jade vessel, it was no wonder the bottle continuously released an icy chill.
“Does this object have something to do with Young Master Zhao?” His expression had already given Ehuang part of the answer.
“Yes. It belongs to me.” Zhao Kuangyin did not conceal the truth, though neither did he elaborate.
“Who exactly are you, Young Master Zhao?” Ehuang’s suspicion had been confirmed. This strange bottle had indeed been brought by Zhao Kuangyin, which meant the liquid inside was unlikely to be harmless. She had heard something of the Prince of Qi’s death, but if Han Xizai had not secretly sent people to investigate, the outside world would have known only that the prince had died suddenly from heart disease. Ehuang spent most of her time inside the residence and cared little for political disputes. Naturally, she had no idea that the small amount of liquid in her hand was enough to kill imperial nobles without leaving obvious traces.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin understood that she did not know the whole story. She had probably only discovered the bottle somehow. “Then how did Madam obtain it? Surely Madam did not search through the Duke of Anding’s private belongings?” His words carried unmistakable implication.
With one sentence, Zhao Kuangyin first established that Li Congjia would never have given it to her willingly.
Ehuang understood perfectly well what he meant, and her anger deepened. At the banquet the previous night she had already made her position clear. This was still the Duke of Anding’s Residence, and she was still mistress here.
That banquet had been her warning to Zhao Kuangyin. Yet today he still dared speak like this.
“How do you know Congjia did not give it to me?” Ehuang abandoned courtesy and spoke more directly. Across the wooden table, they examined one another, neither willing to retreat while guarding the secrets in their hearts.
“Li Congjia,” Zhao Kuangyin said with complete certainty as he stared at her. “Would not.”
Ehuang did not speak.
Zhao Kuangyin looked at her almost regretfully. “Madam, if this is how things stand, I truly feel sorry for the Duke of Anding.”
“Sorry for what?” Anger was already impossible to hide from her voice.
“Do you not understand him? Or does Madam understand only the Li Congjia she has imagined?”
Ehuang drew in a sharp breath.
It was not a blade, yet the words cut more sharply than one. Zhao Kuangyin spoke calmly and genuinely found the situation almost laughable. He had no intention of quarreling with the woman before him. She simply seemed far more self-assured than he had expected.
What did Li Congjia look like in her eyes?
The gentle Duke of Anding, warm and soft as polished jade? A considerate husband with no secrets and no affairs of his own, husband and wife bound deeply enough to follow each other through life and death?
Zhao Kuangyin did not doubt Li Congjia’s sincerity toward her. But Li Congjia understood feeling differently. He liked and loved, yet affection was not something that could bind him. He even refused to linger over anything. If Li Hongji truly acted, Zhao Kuangyin was certain Li Congjia would submit rather than fight.
Zhao Kuangyin could be completely certain that the man in blue-green would never tell Ehuang about this bottle. Li Congjia clearly knew what liquid it contained, yet he still refused to kill Zhao Kuangyin and even kept him inside the residence. From everything that happened beneath the tree when they first met, Zhao Kuangyin already knew Li Congjia valued feeling deeply.
He trusted human hearts too much and therefore refused to abandon Li Hongji. He was still waiting for an answer. How could he tell Ehuang about something like this?
Doing so would only harm her.
Li Congjia was not someone who harmed others. He believed in human life and believed in his elder brother. At the same time, he was someone who saw far too clearly.
He was never cowardly. He simply understood too much and had discovered that truth was often dull and uninteresting. To him, fighting or refusing to fight was as simple as composing poetry.
He and Ehuang saw things differently. To her, life and death mattered too much. Li Congjia cared more about whether his own elder brother had truly become someone entirely different from the man of the past, and whether Li Hongji would ultimately kill him for the imperial throne.
And now Zhao Kuangyin too wanted to know the answer. Would Li Hongji do it?
Ehuang rose, standing tall and elegant. Her tone hardened, far removed from her earlier courtesy. “Zhao Kuangyin, this is still the Duke of Anding’s Residence. If I give the order now, you can be thrown out immediately.”
“Does Madam even know what is inside that bottle? And why are you so angry?” Zhao Kuangyin knew he had struck the hidden thought in her heart. She was afraid Li Congjia would truly refuse to fight or flee. She was afraid he would… leave her behind. That fear made her realize she might be far less secure in her happiness than she had imagined.
What she wanted was to follow each other through life and death and never separate. She wanted her husband to linger for her, stop for her. She wanted her Li Congjia always to remain the calm young man who had listened to her pipa beneath the corridor that year.
She could never forget the expectation in his eyes when she stood veiled before him. Even someone as detached as him had possessed desire. That knowledge had reassured Ehuang and completely satisfied the pride of that magnificent, blooming peony.
But that dream… Inevitably, it had forced her to confront what sort of man he truly was. Was Li Congjia forever beyond her reach? The thought had always existed. She simply never dared consider it.
As long as everything remained peaceful, a wound left unspoken could be forgotten. Then Zhao Kuangyin appeared and shattered the balance inside her heart. Li Congjia had actually worn the Mountains-and-Rivers Brocade before him.
It had been a long time since she had seen Li Congjia like that, one lifted wrist enough to overwhelm a city, a man whose brilliance reached its utmost extreme.
Ehuang had intended to use the Mountains-and-Rivers Brocade to intimidate Zhao Kuangyin and remind him of their status. Instead, Li Congjia had willingly put it on, and everything about those two men that night had frightened her.
Again she remembered the look in Zhao Kuangyin’s eyes when he saw Li Congjia wearing the Mountains-and-Rivers Brocade. That gaze had been full of desire.
It was as though fate slowly extended a secret hand, following Ehuang silently day after day until one day it abruptly closed around her throat and left her unable even to call Li Congjia’s name.
She was terrified by the feeling. She was afraid she truly would not be able to catch him.
Seeing Zhao Kuangyin still perfectly at ease made Ehuang lose even more control over her emotions. “Young Master Zhao, you had better tell me what you intended when you infiltrated this residence. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Zhao Kuangyin lifted one sword-like brow, entirely unconcerned. He approached her. The woman in pink fell silent, uncertain what he intended.
“What does Madam intend to do with Zhao?” Zhao Kuangyin’s smile turned deliberately cruel, killing intent flashing in his eyes. “You still do not know why I came here, do you? There is no harm in telling you. I came here because I want the Duke of Anding.” He spoke one word at a time, almost as though afraid she might fail to hear him clearly.
Ehuang’s whole body shook. She stared at him. “Zhao Kuangyin, do not go too far! Do you even know what you are saying?”
The man before her saw nothing wrong with it. The angrier she became, the more he wanted to continue. “Madam, you heard correctly. I originally came here because I wanted the Duke of Anding’s life. Until you arrived, that was still my intention. Everything was proceeding perfectly well. Unfortunately, you insisted on coming here to demand answers, so I have changed my mind.” He reached out, caught her long hair, and pulled her neck violently toward him, studying her directly. “I want the Duke of Anding. Will you give him to me?”
Ehuang was so shocked that she forgot every rule of bearing. She could no longer maintain any calm at all. With a scream, she flailed desperately to break free. “Let go! You disgusting madman! What do you think he is?”
At the same time, Liuzhu returned carrying a newly made embroidered skirt, intending to see whether Madam had risen. She opened the door and found the room empty. Running to Piaopeng, she learned that the Duke of Anding was writing in the study and had told them to let Madam rest properly. No one had heard Madam say she was going anywhere. Liuzhu immediately became anxious. Madam had only just been trapped in a nightmare. Now no one knew where she had gone. What if she caught cold? Liuzhu and Piaopeng searched Dew Garden and the places Ehuang visited most often, but found nothing.
In the end, they had no choice but to report to Li Congjia in the study.
Li Congjia was sitting quietly beside the desk with his eyes closed. The sight of Liuzhu in a panic made him worry as well. He suddenly remembered Ehuang’s strange expression earlier and could no longer remain seated. He rose abruptly and returned to Zhaohua Pavilion.
She was indeed gone.
“You two wait outside.” Li Congjia instructed Liuzhu and Piaopeng. He entered alone and saw clear signs that the bookshelf had been disturbed. His heart sank. He swept every book onto the floor. Nothing remained on the rattan shelf.
Ehuang had taken the Qingu.
Countless possibilities flooded his mind. Li Congjia knew her temperament. Once suspicion entered her heart, she would certainly seek the truth and discover where the bottle came from. Besides, even without being told, he knew Ehuang had never believed Zhao Kuangyin was some old friend.
Had she opened the bottle already? Could she have accidentally exposed herself to Qingu? Where had she gone?
Thinking this far, Li Congjia gave a bitter smile. If she was no longer in the residence, then she had almost certainly gone to the side courtyard to demand answers. That meant the Qingu probably had not harmed her yet. Then he suddenly remembered Zhao Kuangyin’s temperament.
What would Zhao Kuangyin do to her?
Zhao Kuangyin had no concern for restraint. He did not appear interested in concealing anything. Not long ago he had arrogantly spoken those outrageous words directly to Li Congjia. Why would he hesitate to say them to Ehuang?
The burn mark remained on Li Congjia’s hand. That man had split apart the screen with one sword. “I am only interested in you.”
Those words threatened Li Congjia far more than the blade had.
Standing amid books scattered across the floor, Li Congjia felt an unease unlike anything he had known before.
He almost hoped Zhao Kuangyin would speak only of the reason he had come. That would still be better than… openly telling her about the two of them… Again Li Congjia remembered everything that had happened at Shengding House before they returned to the residence the previous night.
With one movement, he shoved the entire rattan shelf to the ground.
Liuzhu and Piaopeng waited anxiously outside when a crash suddenly sounded from the room.
Li Congjia drew a deep breath. His hand rested against the door as though he intended to open it and step outside, yet for a long moment he could not move.
“Master? What is wrong?”
Zhao Kuangyin, if you dare speak nonsense… Cold penetrated Li Congjia to the bone. He could not control the emotions surging through his double-pupiled eye.
The door opened from inside. Li Congjia stood in the doorway with his eyes closed and released the panic trapped inside his chest.
He was still the Duke of Anding. He was still her husband. He still had to go and bring her back.
Li Congjia opened his eyes. The depth of his gaze concealed every joy and sorrow. As he began walking away, he turned toward the two waiting behind him. “Both of you remain here. I will go to the side courtyard alone. If Madam returns while I am gone, summon a physician and have something prescribed to calm her nerves. You must persuade her to take it and sleep properly. No matter what she says, follow my instructions. Do you understand?” The final sentence was unusually low, unmistakably an order.
Liuzhu and Piaopeng had rarely seen the Duke of Anding like this. Both lowered their heads and agreed, having no idea what had happened.
Li Congjia could not know what might occur in the side courtyard. He did not know what Zhao Kuangyin might say. Under no circumstances could Li Congjia allow anyone else to discover anything unusual.
He went alone to the side courtyard once more.