Chapter 20: Sharpening the Blade for the Doomed Fish

When Bai Huan left the palace, it was already the hour of Si. As she neared the Danfeng Gate, she saw two carriages waiting by the foot of the city wall, but could not tell which had been sent by the Imperial Consort to fetch her.

Suddenly, a figure in dark robes leaped down from one of the carriages and strode toward her. Bai Huan focused and recognized him as Dong Yi’s attendant.

Flying Fish approached and bowed. “Miss Bai, please get in the carriage.”

Bai Huan paused, glancing at the second carriage. Its driver had also noticed her and hurried over.

“Are you Miss Bai?” he asked.

She nodded. “Are you the one sent by the Chao Hua Hall to fetch me?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I have been instructed to see to your transport during this period.”

Bai Huan looked at Flying Fish with something like relief. “You needn’t trouble yourself. I have a carriage.”

Flying Fish blinked. “My lord says you now belong to him, so you must listen to him.”

Bai Huan felt a knot tighten in her chest.

The other driver grew anxious. “How could a favored guest of the Imperial Consort ride in someone else’s carriage at random?”

Flying Fish shot him a sidelong glance. “The carriage of the Minister of Works—do you think he’d sell Miss Bai off?”

Bai Huan muttered inwardly that a corrupt official could do worse than sell her.

The driver wanted to argue further, but when Flying Fish reached for the sword at his waist, the man paled and fell silent.

Bai Huan, eager to return home, had no choice but to board Flying Fish’s carriage. The other driver quickly mounted his own vehicle and followed close behind.

Seated in the carriage, Bai Huan finally had a moment to collect her thoughts. Reflecting on her conversation with Physician Zheng, she was certain that on the day the Imperial Consort fell into a coma, neither food nor medicine were at fault. If the trouble lay only with the incense, then it must have been the palace maids in charge of incense and the chief perfumer who tampered with it.

Her only regret was that the Xue family had not stepped forward to present their incense, which must mean someone had sent them a warning. What a pity—they had slipped away for now.

Once she returned home to check on her father and ask about the incense-making process, she would have to visit the Gu family as well.

The people of the Marquis of Ruyang’s residence would likely have already placed her dowry into the public treasury. If she wanted to protect it all, she would have to exert some effort.

But she was not anxious. As long as her father and her family were safe, she did not fear losing part of her dowry. She could always earn it back, and one day, she would make them spit out every last coin!

—

In the northwest of the city, at the southeastern corner of Liquan Ward, stood a two-courtyard residence tucked away in a quiet lane. The house bore neither plaque nor house number.

Inside the main hall, Dong Yi, clad in dark robes, stood by the window like a steadfast pine. The sunlight cast his tall frame in sharp relief, but he was a shadow among brilliance, the cold behind the splendor unmistakable.

Behind him, a young man in crimson sat cross-legged by a low table, brewing and pouring tea as he listened to Xuanjia’s report.

“We gave chase for a full mile, but as we neared the city, the target vanished without a trace. We searched thoroughly, but found not the slightest clue. The methods were clean. The swordplay was reminiscent of the Ghost-catchers who appeared a decade ago.”

“Ghost-catchers!” the man in red exclaimed, eyes wide.

Dong Yi clasped his hands behind his back, knuckles whitening with the force of his grip. “After all these years, they finally could not resist making a move once more.”

The crimson-robed man frowned. “Ten years ago, they used the Ghost-catchers to stir up that catastrophe for the sake of the succession, leaving hundreds dead and rivers of blood. Even now, the thought chills my bones.”

Dong Yi turned. “Now, for profit, they seek to incite another bloodbath.”

His handsome face was frosted, his smile cold and mocking, his voice laced with venom. “Such people, blinded by greed, rush headlong into peril and have no regard for human life. It was so then—it is so now. The incense trade flourishes, and their avarice cannot be quelled.”

Suddenly, he laughed. “No hurry. Let them reveal their tails. Once we sever their tails and clip their wings, it will be time to settle accounts in full.”

The man in red poured him a cup of tea. “Are you planning to help the Bai family?”

Dong Yi lowered his gaze, picked up the cup, and watched the drifting tea foam in silence.

“Originally, the Bai clan’s misfortune could have been turned into a weapon of retribution. But to counter violence with kindness is not my wish. Now that the Bai girl is willing to be the blade herself, it would be a waste not to use her. Let us see how high a wave she can stir. We’ll add our strength to the current, then cast the net when the fish leaps.”

His last words rang with steel, a blade sharpened for the doomed fish.

The man in red paused, watching Dong Yi savor his tea with apparent leisure. “You really think a mere girl can stir up any waves?”

Dong Yi took a sip, savoring its sweetness as it flowed through his mouth.

“She is different.”

The man’s curiosity was piqued. “How so?”

He was surprised Dong Yi would pay attention to a young woman. That was rare indeed!

Dong Yi set down his cup and, after a moment’s thought, replied seriously, “She possesses a tenacity, an obstinacy that refuses to give up until her goal is met. This nature reminds me of someone.”

The man in red leaned forward with interest. “Who?”

Dong Yi smiled at him. “Take a guess.”

The man rolled his eyes. “Always so mysterious.”

Dong Yi chuckled and instructed Xuanjia, “Have Flying Fish stay by her side for now. Protect her life.”

Xuanjia was startled, but quickly composed himself. “Yes, sir.”

—

When Bai Huan returned home, she found that everyone had already settled back into their routines. The servants and craftsmen went about their duties in an orderly fashion, and she felt somewhat at ease.

She headed straight to Qianqiu Hall, where Madam Bai was feeding medicine to her father. Seeing her enter, her mother set down the bowl with delight. “Qingqing, you’re back!”

Bai Huan forced a smile and hurried to the bedside. Her father gazed at her, tears in his eyes, and at the sight of him, her grief and joy overwhelmed her.

She could not restrain herself and burst into tears. “Father, you’re awake. Thank heaven.”

Tears welled in Bai Chongyi’s eyes as he tried to lift his hand to caress his beloved daughter, but found he had no strength.

Madam Bai understood and guided his hand to rest atop Bai Huan’s head.

Bai Huan embraced her father’s hand and wept bitterly.

Madam Bai, unable to contain herself, joined them, hugging father and daughter as she too began to cry. Even the servants in the room wiped their eyes.

“Elder sister…”

A child’s voice, choked with tears, interrupted them, and all three turned to look.

Seven-year-old Bai Chenyang ran over and leapt into Bai Huan’s arms. She held him and gently patted his back, soothing him. “Yangyang, don’t cry. Father is awake, and your sister is home. Everything is all right now.”

Realizing his lapse, Bai Chenyang quickly pulled away and wiped his tears. “Mm. I’m a man. I won’t cry.”

Bai Huan’s heart ached for him, and she stroked his head with tenderness. How terrified and helpless he must have been, facing execution with his parents at such a young age.

“Qingqing, your father wishes to speak with you,” Madam Bai said, suppressing her own tears. She instructed the nurse to take her son away and dismissed the servants.

Bai Huan gathered herself and sat by the bed. “Mother, have you already explained everything to Father?”

Madam Bai nodded. “I told him all that I know.”

Bai Huan went straight to the point. “Father, was your incense pellet switched by the chief perfumer?”

Bai Chongyi was taken aback. “The chief perfumer? I never met her. There were always three incense maids attending me. When I was taken away, a maid named Yumei was led off by the Palace Directorate.”

Yumei? She was one of the two official incense maids of Chao Hua Hall.

The chief perfumer had never even met her father—how could she dare to judge him so readily?

Bai Huan questioned her father in detail about the events of that day. He confirmed that the food and medicine were fine, and that he had no way of entering the Imperial Consort’s chambers himself—he could only give the incense pellet to the incense maids, who would take it in to burn. The maid who received it was called Yulu.

Bai Huan now understood. “Father, did you use Mother’s ‘Goose and Pear Chamber Incense’ recipe?”

“I did. I consulted Physician Zheng and reviewed the pulse records. The Imperial Consort seemed to be suffering from a women’s ailment, with lethargy, dizziness, and severe insomnia. I was concerned that too strong a dose would have adverse effects, so I used a gentle soothing blend.”

So her father had thought exactly as she had.

“Did you submit the recipe to Chao Hua Hall’s archives?”

“Of course.”

Bai Huan quickly fetched brush and ink. “Father, please recite the formula. I’ll write it down and check the archives myself.”

Once done, Bai Huan gripped her father’s hand and said softly, “Don’t worry, Father. I have studied with you for ten years. I will protect the Bai family.”

After comforting her parents, Bai Huan went to the council hall, where Steward Lu was already waiting.

“How are things?” she asked.

“We have identified the traitor. Every day he tried to pass messages out, but we intercepted them all. The person he was in contact with has also been identified—it was someone from the Xue family.”

“The Xue family!” Bai Huan clenched her fist. “Bring the man to me. Blindfold him.”