Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Your Ladyship, you must take care of yourself.” Tong’er placed the blueprints of the consort’s tomb under my pillow. “My brother has arranged everything. He also told me to thank Your Ladyship for saving his life back then.”

Tong’er’s brother was a craftsman who built the imperial tombs. According to the law, the craftsmen who finished building a tomb were to be executed to prevent them from colluding with thieves to rob the graves.

That day, while Tong’er was combing my hair, I saw her in the bronze mirror, quietly wiping away tears behind me. Only after asking did I learn she was worried about her brother’s life.

The coffin had a secret door, and the consort’s tomb was connected to an underground river, providing a path for escape.

I had planned this carefully for a long time, but the winter ice was freezing. I caught a chill and accidentally swallowed a few mouthfuls of water.

As the current swept me away, I truly thought I was going to die.

When I finally drifted awake, I found myself slumped over a small donkey.

The little black donkey trotted along, carrying me and a medicine chest, which conveniently jolted the swallowed water out of my lungs.

The old man leading the donkey wore a bamboo hat and carried a fish basket on his back. He led the donkey at a leisurely pace, and seeing me wake up, he smiled.

“I cast a divination earlier, saying I could catch a big fish here today. As expected, I’ve hooked a golden carp.”

I looked at his empty fish basket in confusion and asked politely, “Thank you for saving my life, old gentleman. May I ask where you are headed?”

“This old man is going to Wuzhou for disaster relief.”

Disaster relief?

I remembered that the former Censor Li, Li Shenzhi, had been demoted to Wuzhou in Lingnan. However, in the year-end reports from officials, I hadn’t heard of any disasters in Lingnan.

“‘Walking on frost, one knows the ice is coming; living in a cave, one knows the rain is near.’ My student said last winter was not cold and had little rain, so it’s hard to guarantee there won’t be an epidemic in the autumn. He insisted I go to Wuzhou to help treat the sick and save lives.”

When the old man spoke of treating the sick, I realized that despite being soaked in ice water for so long, I hadn’t suffered a relapse of my cold affliction upon waking.

I felt a surge of respect for the old man’s medical skills and hurriedly asked, “Could you take me with you to Lingnan, old gentleman? I know a bit of medicine; I promise I won’t cause any trouble on the way.”

The old man saw through my thoughts at a glance and waved his hand.

“Just call me Old He. You can follow along, but I’m not taking any more students. At my age, I should be enjoying my retirement, yet I still have to worry about my student.”

With that, Old He tossed me a bamboo hat and a small box of ointment.

“Put on the hat, smear your face to look darker and more sallow, and take this throat medicine. Dress up as my grandson so you don’t attract attention.”

This arrangement suited me perfectly.

After Yan Lang brought Cui Mingshu into the palace, he would surely never think of me again. Still, for the sake of absolute safety, it was better to be cautious.

The road to Wuzhou was long. By the time we arrived, the weather was warm enough to wear thin, single-layered clothes.

From a distance, I could see someone waiting by a carriage near the gates of Wuzhou.

“That is my student, Li Shenzhi.”

In the first year Yan Lang held the imperial examinations, he had personally appointed him as the Tanhua Scholar.

I had crossed paths with Li Shenzhi twice.

He was the only official who knelt outside the hall, refusing to back down even after being struck by the imperial rods.

Yan Lang had been so furious he swept the memorials Li Shenzhi had submitted onto the floor, cursing him repeatedly as a “country bumpkin.”

At that time, things between Yan Lang and me hadn’t turned so ugly yet. I had styled my hair as I did when we were first married, changed into a green silk dress, and made a Su Shan – my best dessert – hoping to beg Yan Lang not to let Fifth Lady enter the palace, not to humiliate me so.

That day, the sun was like fire, and the cicadas chirped like boiling water.

But Yan Lang refused to see me.

As I wiped my tears outside the hall, Li Shenzhi knelt on the ground with his head bowed, refusing to look at my disgrace.

Then there was October. The entire palace was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus, and my relationship with Yan Lang had deteriorated beyond repair.

On the day Li Shenzhi left the capital, I made some pastries and had Tong’er bring some gold, silver, and valuables to help him settle in on his journey.

When Tong’er returned, she said, “Master Li has a strange temperament. He merely thanked Your Ladyship for your concern but wouldn’t accept anything.

“Since he didn’t want it, I of course wouldn’t take no for an answer. While he wasn’t looking, I hurried to stuff the pastries and money into his bag.

“I thought that thick stack inside was banknotes, but looking closely, they were actually many letters from home.”

In the years he had served as an official in the capital, those letters from home must have been worth ten thousand pieces of gold to him.

In truth, I had always wanted to ask Li Shenzhi why he had spoken up for me even at the cost of being demoted.

But in all these years, let alone speaking, we had never even met in private.

It was better not to meet, to avoid causing him trouble.

I intended to bid farewell to Old He in Wuzhou, but Old He smiled and said, “Stay. Wait until this old man cures your old ailment before you leave.”

The little black donkey also bit my sleeve, pulling me toward Li Shenzhi.

Li Shenzhi stroked the little black donkey’s neck and smiled. “Xiaobai has grown much sturdier while traveling with Master.”

Such a black donkey was actually named Xiaobai?

I didn’t dare ask more, only keeping my head down, fearing he might recognize me.

But Li Shenzhi didn’t give me a second look.

He was dressed in plain hemp clothes, with a mourning band tied around his arm.

Seeing the surprise in my eyes, he merely said nonchalantly, “I am in mourning for an old friend.”