Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The imperial examinations had just concluded, and the top scholar’s parade had all of Chang’an in an uproar.

I had gone out to buy jewelry and happened upon it.

Well, since I was already there…

I squeezed into the crowd and rose onto my toes for a look. Everyone said this year’s top scholar was exceptionally handsome.

Hoofbeats sounded as a procession rode slowly past. At its head was a young man in brilliant red. His skin was pale as jade, his brows swept like distant hills, and his dark eyes gleamed beneath them. The faint curve of his lips carried all the high spirits of youth. He was, indeed, remarkably good-looking.

“It’s Lu Ying’an, the top scholar! He really is gorgeous!” a young woman beside me cried.

In her excitement, she shoved me without warning. I stumbled and instinctively covered the scented pouch at my waist.

There was something very important inside it. I absolutely could not lose it.

No longer in the mood for sightseeing, I clutched the pouch and called, “Let me through, please. Let me through.”

I had just started forcing my way out when something happened behind us. A wave of screams broke from the crowd, and people surged forward from every direction.

The current of bodies swept me backward. I raised my hand, afraid the pouch would be crushed—and in the next instant, my palm was empty.

A clear young voice sounded above me. “Stop pushing! Fine, fine, I’ll accept it.”

I spun around in disbelief. My pouch had fallen into the young scholar’s hand.

“No, that’s mine—”

My eyes went wide as I shouted, but the crowd drowned me out. The young man merely gave me a helpless look, tucked the pouch into his sleeve, urged his horse onward, and rode away.

I watched his back vanish and nearly lost my mind.

That was no sweet-smelling gift pouch. It was a specially made vessel for a gu worm!

Before I married, Mother had given me that pouch.

She said it held the secret to the love between her and Father.

I opened it and—well, would you look at that—a love gu.

If Father ever stopped loving her, he would die.

Being an obedient daughter, I took her lesson to heart. After marrying into the general’s household, I had planned to put the love gu in my husband. Who could have known he would march off to war on our wedding night?

The servants said he already loved someone else and refused to settle for a woman he did not want. He would not even come look at me. My mother-in-law was furious.

“Always pining for that girl from the Southern Frontier, yet he won’t show his own wife a shred of kindness! How did I give birth to such a wretch?”

…The truth was, I came from the Southern Frontier too.

I dared not say so. I was afraid she would finish cursing him and start on me.

In short, I never got the chance to use the gu. I certainly never expected a disaster like this.

I chased after the top scholar, chanting silently all the way: Don’t open it. Please don’t open it!

After the parade, Lu Ying’an attended a banquet with His Majesty and his new colleagues at Yulin Garden. I waited until everyone else had left, then crept around in search of him.

The covered walkways twisted beside a lake gilded by the setting sun. A lone young man came stumbling toward me. His cheeks were flushed, so he had probably drunk too much, but that was hardly my concern.

After a moment’s hesitation, I said, “Young Master Lu, would you return the pouch you took this morning?”

He slowly lifted his gaze. His eyes shimmered as though steeped in water. “The pouch? Did you not give it to me?”

“It… it is precious to me. It wasn’t a gift. Young Master, you misunderstood.”

The explanation embarrassed me, but I forced it out. We would never see each other again, anyway. Recovering the gu was what mattered.

Lu Ying’an fell silent, then took the pouch from inside his robe and returned it. I thanked him and hurriedly opened it.

It was empty.

My expression changed. I glared at him. “You opened it?”

“I thought it was a gift from a young lady…” Though confused, he patiently explained, “It was already empty when I opened it. I took nothing from inside.”

Anxiety clawed at me. “You did take it…”

“What?”

I had spoken too softly. Lu Ying’an leaned closer to hear.

The next instant, he groaned and doubled over. His face flushed, then went pale. He tried to flee in a panic. “Young lady, I suddenly feel unwell. I should take my leave.”

“Is your body burning up?” I called after him.

He froze. “How did you know?”

Numbly, I told him the truth. “There was a love gu in that pouch. You’ve been infected.”