The young guard delivered the ointment and left. Only then did Bai Qingqing sit down before the mirror, leaning in to examine herself carefully. She finally spotted a small cut on her lip, so tiny it would be easily overlooked if one weren’t paying close attention.
Was this minor injury really worth sending an imperial ointment for?
She pressed her lips together and felt only a faint, stinging pain. Opening the jar, she dipped a fingertip lightly into the ointment, picking up just the tiniest amount, and gently dabbed it onto the wound, smoothing it out.
The ointment melted on contact with her warmth, turning liquid and spreading into a thin, glistening layer, carrying the faint fragrance of orchids.
Bai Qingqing felt a pang of guilt. She realized she had judged by appearances. Though Ning Yan seemed capricious and unreliable on the surface... her eldest brother’s judgment of character had indeed been sharp.
At that moment, Ning Yan was sitting in a private room at Yanlai Tower, looking perfectly at ease. His wrinkled clothing did nothing to diminish the lazy, devil-may-care charm that clung to him.
Seated across from him was a man of refined features and elegant grace, his demeanor as gentle as an orchid. His cultured gaze lingered on Ning Yan, sweeping back and forth.
"I've known you for so long, but I've never seen you look before. Those marks... don't tell me you've just emerged from some tender land of romance?"
Ning Yan shot him a sidelong glance and curled his lips into a lazy smile. "If you want to put it that way, I suppose it barely counts."
He had no intention of discussing the matter further. Stretching languidly, he asked, "Are your preparations all in place? According to your original plan, weren’t you going to bide your time for another two years?"
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A trace of sharpness surfaced in Pei Lingshu’s gentle eyes. "Some people have grown impatient. I had thought they could endure a little longer. But after hearing someone had an audience with the Emperor, they started trying to uproot everything, probing in every direction. I had no choice."
He frowned and looked at Ning Yan. "Could it be someone in the Jinyiwei stirred things up prematurely?"
Ning Yan shrugged. "That I wouldn’t know. The Jinyiwei have made enemies as countless as the stars in the sky—you think I could keep track of them all?"
Pei Lingshu: "…Fair enough. As for His Majesty…"
"Don’t make me guess at His Majesty’s intentions. I delivered the person where they needed to go—what the Emperor thinks now, heaven only knows."
Ning Yan leaned back against the window lattice, sunlight streaming through and casting dappled shadows across his handsome face. Pei Lingshu said no more; some bonds, once past, were best left behind.
"By the way, I remember you never used to wear any fragrance," Pei Lingshu resumed his usual gentle and harmless manner, a faint teasing smile at the corner of his eyes. "How is it that you’ve gone with the flow now? The scent actually suits you. Which perfumery is it from?"
Ning Yan glanced at him lazily. "A secret recipe. Don’t even think about it."
"That secretive? Was it a gift? Which poor girl has such terrible taste?"
"Are you looking for a fight? I'm in a good mood today, but I wouldn’t mind obliging."
Pei Lingshu pressed his lips together and rolled his eyes at him. So annoying—he had been since they were kids, always resorting to violence whenever things didn’t go his way, just because no one could beat him. Utterly unlovable.
And wearing fragrance didn’t make him any more lovable either!
Meanwhile, Bai Qingqing had been wrestling for days over the secret concerning Fu Yi’s birth. In the end, she made up her mind—if the Fu family had nothing more to do with her, then she would act as if she had never heard anything. If they dared entangle her again or harbor any ill intentions, she wouldn’t mind stirring up a little trouble for them.
Her anxiety over Fu Yi seemed to vanish as well. Even knowing he, too, had experienced things beyond ordinary comprehension, she no longer felt fear.
"Sister, what are you thinking about again?"
Bai Yaoyao waved a hand in front of her. Bai Qingqing snapped out of her daze. "Nothing, just got distracted. Where were you?"