Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Viewing Flowers in a Mist

’Could it be a congratulatory gift for the new bride, and he wants me to pass it along?’

The moment the box was opened, Bai Lu couldn’t help but gasp.

Gold filigree set with kingfisher feathers, a step-shaking hairpin hiding blossoms within.

The flowers were crafted from thin silver with pearls for pistils. The stems passed through the center of each blossom, with dozens of six-petaled flowers inlaid with gold and jade forming a crescent-shaped cluster. The most exquisite detail was a delicate nectar-gathering bee.

It shimmered with a dazzling, multicolored brilliance.

It was a Shaking Flower hairpin.

Bai Lu said, "The General holds Liang Ji in high regard."

’At a time like this, shouldn’t the gift be for the new bride?’

Liang Wan poked the nectar-gathering bee with her finger, and it trembled lightly. "Are you sure this is for me?"

"The messenger made it very clear. There’s no mistake," Bai Lu said, glancing again at the distant Qinglu. "I suppose at a time like this, everyone else is only thinking of the new bride. The General must be worried Liang Ji would feel left out."

Among the Lu Family, Lu Huai was indeed the one who treated her best.

But if he was worried about her feeling left out, his concern was unfounded.

Thinking of Lu Huai, Liang Wan fell silent. Though she didn’t know if she could take these things with her in the future, she had to accept the sentiment behind them.

As for how to repay him...

"Put it away carefully."

Lu Huai was leading troops this time to suppress the rebellion of the Prince of Bozhou County. Fighting wasn’t difficult for him; the aftermath was. This season was the peak period for plagues.

He likely never expected that the time his forces would suffer the heaviest losses wouldn’t be on the battlefield.

Liang Wan got up and went back to her room.

At her desk, she lowered her head and wrote intently.

"What are you doing?"

The sudden voice startled her, making the tip of her brush tremble.

Liang Wan looked up and glared at him. "Do you not make a sound when you walk?"

Lu Xiu paused, looking as if he wanted to say something but was holding back. His expression was strange.

Liang Wan froze.

The rebuke had slipped out instinctively. Her heart hammered in her chest. ’Am I tired of living?’

"This prescription is a gift for someone. Now that I’ve made a streak across it, it’s really not presentable."

Her voice trailed off toward the end.

Lu Xiu lowered his gaze and smiled, not at all angry. "Shall I make a clean copy for you then?"

Before she could even nod, he took the brush from her hand, sat down beside her, and spread out a fresh sheet of paper. He looked at her. "Does anything in the first part need to be changed?"

Liang Wan shook her head with an embarrassed smile.

Lu Xiu lowered his head and actually began to write. When he reached the latter half, he gestured for her to dictate.

After he finished writing, he put down the brush and asked, "Is this to be sent to Lu Huai?"

Liang Wan nodded. It wasn’t too surprising that Lu Xiu could guess.

After all, the instructions for preparing the medicine and treatment not only included detailed methods but also emergency measures suitable for crude conditions and haste, including medicines that could be sourced locally.

Lu Xiu handed the envelope containing the prescription to Yuan Hou. Turning to Liang Wan, he said, "You are quite thoughtful."

"It’s merely a matter of returning a favor."

Liang Wan felt a little guilty. Knowing about this wasn’t a matter of being thoughtful.

Speaking of being thoughtful, she remembered something. "There’s a household over in the East Market. Could I trouble my husband to help me look into it?"

"What is it?"

Liang Wan picked up a sheet of paper and spread it out, drawing as she spoke. "A few days ago, I met with Song Tan in the East Market. On the way back, I happened to run into my eldest sister-in-law, Yao Jinse. She went into this very house."

As she spoke, she drew a circle on the map she had sketched.

"Her actions are so strange. I can’t seem to figure her out."

Lu Xiu waited quietly for her to continue.

Liang Wan said, "Back then, Yao Jinse was publicly assaulted on the street by Liang Zhang. Logically, she should hate Liang Zhang to the bone. But I made a point of getting close to her, and she showed no resentment at all. She even said something to me about accepting her fate and insisted on marrying Liang Zhang.

"What I find even more incomprehensible is that after the Liang Family’s downfall, not only did she refuse to return to her own family and continue caring for Mrs. Zhang, she even wants to give birth to Liang Zhang’s posthumous child..."

Lu Xiu: "Perhaps she had no other choice?"

"Impossible," Liang Wan said without hesitation. She hadn’t forgotten that in her past life, Yao Jinse would have rather shaved her head and become a nun.

She looked at Lu Xiu. "You’re a man, so of course you wouldn’t understand. That kind of trauma and fear isn’t so easily forgotten. How could she possibly bear a child with Liang Zhang without any resentment? How is that possible?"

Lu Xiu stared at her for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

Liang Wan thought for a moment, then added, "I suspect her child isn’t Liang Zhang’s, but belongs to the man she went to see. She married into the Liang Mansion purely as a cover."

Lu Xiu: "This person shouldn’t be difficult to investigate."

Liang Wan: "I just don’t understand. Before, because she was unmarried, she couldn’t give birth and needed a legitimate status. But now that Liang Zhang is dead, why doesn’t she just marry that man directly? Why must she insist on staying by Mrs. Zhang’s side?"

Lu Xiu looked at her. "She has come here many times."

Liang Wan nodded. "Yes. If she were truly willing to continue Liang Zhang’s bloodline, it would mean she had developed marital affection for him. When she sees me, she should want nothing more than to kill me with a knife. How could she possibly be so meek and submissive?

"The only reason I allow her to visit is to see what her objective is. But she’s made no further moves. Can it be that she really just wants to get money from here?"

Lu Xiu took her hand. "I’ll have someone investigate in the coming days. Before it’s cleared up, you should probably avoid seeing her."

Liang Wan shook her head. "She comes here so frequently. If it’s not for the Lu Family, then it must be for me. If I refuse to see her, wouldn’t that make her suspicious? It’s just that after thinking it over and over, I can’t figure out what grudge she could possibly have against me."

Lu Xiu: "In that case, besides that household, we must also investigate Mrs. Yao..."

Liang Wan frowned. "The more time passes, the less I can guess who sent those men in black back then."

Lu Xiu raised an eyebrow. "Weren’t you still suspecting the Lu Family?"

Knowing he was deliberately teasing her, Liang Wan didn’t take the bait and simply asked, "Is the Empress well now?"

Lu Xiu gazed at her, his voice devoid of emotion. "Tomorrow, you will accompany me to the Imperial Palace."

’To the Imperial Palace?’

Liang Wan couldn’t help but find it strange. "I just asked a simple question, and now you’re taking me to the palace?"

Lu Xiu narrowed his eyes, looking at her as if she were an idiot.

’That was, indeed, a stupid question.’

Liang Wan forced a smile. "Why are we going to the Imperial Palace?"

Lu Xiu’s expression darkened. "The Empress Dowager wants to see you."

"The Empress Dowager?"

Liang Wan was astonished.

She really didn’t understand why the Empress Dowager would want to see her.

If it was because of Lu Xiu, she was merely a concubine; there was absolutely no need.

And thinking back to the look the Empress Dowager had given her at the banquet, Liang Wan didn’t think it was one of admiration.

Seeing her furrowed brow and distressed face, a hint of a smile appeared in Lu Xiu’s eyes. He softened his voice. "Don’t worry. I will go with you."

Liang Wan lifted her eyes to look at him.

The Empress Dowager... she’d had few opportunities to interact with her. Even at the Longevity Festival banquet this time, aside from the impression of a noblewoman with exquisite makeup and a graceful, dignified air, she hadn’t felt much else.

One had to understand that the women of the Imperial Palace only ever showed the world the facade they wanted people to see. To glimpse a hint of their true selves, one would have to wait until they had washed off their makeup, removed their splendid robes, and were alone in the dead of night.

In both her past life and this one, her memories of the Empress Dowager were pitifully few. Although she had entered the Imperial Palace many times before, it was always from a distance. There was only one time she had seen her up close.

That day, she had entered the palace as ordered. To save time, a Palace Attendant had led her on a shortcut. It was this unintentional change of route that led her to stumble upon an argument between Lu Xiu and the Empress Dowager. Aside from his refusal to remarry, it seemed the argument was mostly about Lu Huai.

Liang Wan’s brow furrowed. ’Thinking about it now, it seems the Lu Family only became completely disloyal and fractured after Lu Huai’s death...’

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