Chapter 78

Si Yunqin looked drowsy all morning. Yuwen Luo hopped down from Yuwen Qiyue’s arms and ran over to Si Yunqin. “Master, did you not sleep well?”

Si Yunqin yawned and nodded. “Who the hell gets up at this hour normally?”

“Elder Aunt does. The Grand Tutor said court sessions start at this time every day,” Yuwen Luo said very seriously.

“So she’s not normal. I’m the useless one,” Si Yunqin said casually.

Yuwen Luo took her hand. “They say only gentlemen of the roof stay up past midnight.”

Si Yunqin reached out and ruffled her hair. “Little one, learning two words and using them wrong will get you beaten.”

Yuwen Luo’s eyes flickered. “That must mean I hit the mark.”

Si Yunqin was amused by her. She picked her up. “How did you hit the mark?”

“Because I hit it, you’re angry and embarrassed, so you want to hit me.” Yuwen Luo hugged her neck and explained with a straight face.

Si Yunqin pinched her little cheek. “Is it possible you really are wrong?”

“Then what were you doing staying up at night?” Yuwen Luo grabbed a strand of her hair and asked curiously.

“Hey, learning to trick me, huh?” Si Yunqin thought the kid was pretty sharp.

Yuwen Luo shyly hid her face. “No.”

“Bad dreams can also cause poor sleep.” Si Yunqin bluffed with a straight face.

Yuwen Qiyue gave her a probing look, as if her face was written with “you’re lying to a child.”

Shen Yanxin hadn’t said much the whole time. Xi Fengyu was being dragged by Ke Lanyue to walk at the very front.

They finally climbed to the mountaintop just at sunrise. The process of sunlight piercing through the clouds, from a single beam to illuminating the sky, was still quite breathtaking.

Si Yunqin sat down. Yuwen Luo looked a little excited.

Pulling out the bamboo flute from her waist, Si Yunqin slowly began to play. Xi Fengyu answered with the sound of her long flute. The two had known each other for so long that they had some unspoken understanding.

When the song ended, Si Yunqin hesitated before speaking. “I saw someone yesterday.”

Xi Fengyu turned to look at her. “Someone? What kind of someone?”

“Someone you might know, or might not know.” Si Yunqin sighed.

Xi Fengyu was still confused. “Stop with the riddles.”

Si Yunqin scratched her head. “No, I’m just afraid you’ll get too excited.”

Xi Fengyu frowned slightly. Who could possibly make her excited?

“I saw your girlfriend.” Si Yunqin said quietly.

“My girlfriend?” Xi Fengyu’s voice rose a little.

“I told you I was afraid you’d get too excited. See, you’re obviously excited.” Si Yunqin muttered a complaint.

“You were drunk and seeing things, right? How could she possibly appear here?” Xi Fengyu didn’t hold out any hope.

Si Yunqin gave her a blank look. “Right when it got dark yesterday, before I had even drunk anything. Shen Yanxin and I saw her together. Later I asked Senior Sister Zhou. She does exist in Azure Cloud Abbey. Her Dao name is Changli. She’s an orphan adopted by the Temple Abbot. She grew up in the abbey and has never come down the mountain.”

At this point, Si Yunqin suddenly had a question. “Do you look the same as before?”

Xi Fengyu shook her head gently. “No.”

Si Yunqin scratched her head again. “I don’t either. So what do you think? Is she or isn’t she?”

Xi Fengyu fiddled with the long flute in her hands. Si Yunqin knew this was a sign of her inner nervousness.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a resemblance.” Xi Fengyu said quietly.

“Do you want to see her?” Si Yunqin looked up at the sea of clouds before her. She had never seen such a view in her past life. She rarely traveled, and whenever she did, it was always packed with people.

Xi Fengyu was silent for a long time. By now, the sunlight had pierced through the clouds. Si Yunqin stretched and patted her shoulder. “You can take your time thinking about it. We’re not in a hurry. We can stay another day or two.”

“Thank you.” Xi Fengyu smiled at her, a genuine thank you.

“Don’t mention it. We’re friends.” Si Yunqin turned her head and saw Shen Yanxin answering Yuwen Luo’s questions on the side. That little one really was a walking “why” machine.

All sorts of strange questions. Si Yunqin felt that, away from the palace, the Child Emperor’s true nature seemed to be slowly emerging. Not forced into a Dragon Robe, just an ordinary five-year-old child.

Shen Yanxin, when Si Yunqin went to find Yuwen Qiyue, turned her head and glanced at her and Xi Fengyu.

She had deliberately paid attention to their conversation earlier. She felt like she had touched upon another piece of the truth.

“Girlfriend”—a term like that wouldn’t exist in all of Great Zhao. But could it exist in the Western Regions or other unknown countries?

But another point Shen Yanxin still couldn’t understand: what did “look different from before” mean?

The sunlight grew hotter. Yuwen Luo’s stomach growled. Si Yunqin couldn’t help but laugh at her. The little girl blushed, shy.

“It wasn’t me… it was it that wanted to cry.” Yuwen Luo said shyly.

Si Yunqin squatted down and pinched her cheeks. “Being hungry isn’t shameful.”

“But the Grand Tutor said it’s very rude.” She was small but cared about face.

Si Yunqin reached out and took her hand. “Alright, time to go back.”

Yuwen Luo turned and extended her hand to Shen Yanxin. She was getting more and more casual around Shen Yanxin.

The three walked in front, the other three followed behind. Ke Lanyue rubbed her chin and watched for a long time, then suddenly said to her two friends beside her, “Don’t you think they look like a family of three?”

Xi Fengyu was a bit distracted. Hearing Yuwen Qiyue’s question, she glanced over and said faintly, “Quite similar.”

Yuwen Qiyue normally wouldn’t agree, but today she nodded for once.

But if you really counted, she was supposed to be one of that family of three, wasn’t she?

After all, Shen Yanxin still held the nominal title of her Mother Empress.

“What’s wrong with you?” Yuwen Qiyue was sensitive to emotions and easily noticed Xi Fengyu seemed a bit down.

Xi Fengyu shook her head. “Nothing.”

She didn’t want to talk. Yuwen Qiyue didn’t know how to press further. She wasn’t good at comforting people.

“I’m just a little hopeful and a little scared. I have a darling. Logically, I should never see her again in this life. But yesterday Yunqin said she saw her.” Xi Fengyu gave a bitter smile.

She wanted to go see, even if it was just a face that looked similar. But she was also afraid—afraid that it wasn’t the person she was looking for, and it would only add disappointment.

Ke Lanyue listened beside them. She didn’t understand this feeling. She simply thought she should go and see.

“At least it’s a thread of hope, right? If it’s her, then everyone’s happy.” That was how she saw it.

Xi Fengyu heard her and laughed. “That makes sense.”

The path down the mountain seemed much longer than the way up. Going up, they had climbed with passion and excitement in one breath. Coming down, there was no such fervor.

When they finally got down, the abbey’s breakfast time had already passed.

The abbey was now preparing for the Dao Discussion Conference. Si Yunqin didn’t want to trouble Zhou Xinglian, so she decided to drag Xi Fengyu and cook themselves. They just paid for the ingredients.

Xi Fengyu’s cooking wasn’t as good as Si Yunqin’s, but she could manage simple home-style dishes.

The weather was hot, so appetites were low. Si Yunqin deliberately made a cold dish.

Zhou Xinglian hadn’t shown up today, as far as Si Yunqin could see.

While the two were cooking in the kitchen, a woman entered. She wore a Taoist robe, like a clear moon and breeze, untouched by dust.

Changli had come to brew medicine. The Temple Abbot was old now, not as healthy as before. Changli had studied medicine with the abbot since childhood, so she often came to brew medicine or make medicinal meals.

Xi Fengyu was carrying a few cooked dishes, ready to take them back to eat.

But as she turned, she saw a woman enter the kitchen.

Xi Fengyu froze as if struck still. She hadn’t yet decided whether to go searching for that person, but heaven seemed to have made the decision for her.

The woman before her was just like in her memories. Every line of her brows and eyes hid tenderness, like a warm spring sun that made one want to unconsciously draw closer.

Her ordinary clothes had been replaced by a Taoist robe, adding even more serene detachment.

Si Yunqin hadn’t expected to meet Changli here either. She collected herself and smiled at Changli. “Daoist Changli.”

“Greetings, Benefactors.” Changli returned the salute.

But when she met Xi Fengyu’s somewhat burning gaze, she was still a little uncomfortable.

Nonetheless, she was inwardly struck by Xi Fengyu’s beauty.

“Benefactors, are you just now having a meal?”

“We went to see the sea of clouds this morning and missed the meal time.” Si Yunqin took the dishes from Xi Fengyu’s hands. She was really afraid Xi Fengyu might accidentally drop them, and then they’d have nothing to eat.

“I see.” Changli averted her eyes from Xi Fengyu’s gaze.

Si Yunqin gently nudged the dazed Xi Fengyu with her elbow. “Let’s go. If we don’t go back, those starving ghosts will really starve to death.”

Xi Fengyu snapped out of it. She composed herself and smiled at Changli. “Sorry for the disturbance.”

“You’re too kind, Benefactor.”

Xi Fengyu followed Si Yunqin out. But Changli looked at Xi Fengyu’s back, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Si Yunqin carried the dishes back to their lodgings. Yuwen Luo saw them return and immediately dropped her wooden sword and ran over.

“Hungry?” Si Yunqin asked with a smile.

Yuwen Luo clutched her stomach and made a gesture like she was starving. “Huuungry~”

Si Yunqin set down the dishes and laid out the food. “Call your Elder Sister and Elder Aunt out to eat.”

Ke Lanyue had been teaching Yuwen Luo sword practice earlier. Yuwen Luo was especially enthusiastic about sword training.

Shen Yanxin came out first. Xi Fengyu arranged the dishes and then sat down absently.

Knowing the inside story, Shen Yanxin didn’t say anything. She just sat next to Yuwen Luo.

Yuwen Luo was well-behaved. She took the initiative to help serve rice. Her movements weren’t fast, but the fact that she was willing to help was already good enough in Si Yunqin’s eyes.

Everyone could tell that Xi Fengyu was off. Even Ke Lanyue talked less.

After the meal, Xi Fengyu locked herself in her room. Si Yunqin didn’t disturb her.

Instead, she went to chat idly with Yuwen Qiyue. Ke Lanyue also came over to listen to gossip.

“What’s wrong with Fengyu?” Yuwen Qiyue asked worriedly.

“Nothing serious. She just saw Daoist Changli. Probably a bit torn.” Si Yunqin fiddled with a deck of cards, motioned for Ke Lanyue to sit down, and started dealing.

“Why is she torn after seeing her?” Ke Lanyue didn’t understand.

Si Yunqin smiled. “You won’t get it. But I understand her conflict.”

“Just explain it clearly and I’ll get it.” Ke Lanyue felt Si Yunqin sometimes treated her like a child.

“Because I can’t explain it clearly.” Si Yunqin spread her hands, picked up her own cards and glanced at them. “Bad hand.”

“You dealt them yourself.” Ke Lanyue gloated. She could tell her own hand was good.

The first meeting, without any probing, just because she was afraid it was truly only a similar face—that kind of fear couldn’t be described in words.

Next door was lively. Shen Yanxin’s room was much quieter. Yuwen Luo had played herself to sleep. Shen Yanxin was still reading the letter delivered by the Shadow Guard.

The Imperial City was far from peaceful.

She had heard that the Sikong and the Chancellor were at odds. The Acting Prime Minister was supposed to co-govern as Regent, but in truth, he had done nothing.

Commoner Scholars were starting to band together, but the Aristocratic Clans had not formed a united front. After all, there were conflicts of interest among the clans themselves.

Complete chaos.

But that was exactly what Shen Yanxin wanted—chaos.

As for Xi Fengyu’s room, it was utterly silent, as if no one was inside.

This time was different from probing Si Yunqin. Before she had probed Si Yunqin, she already knew Si Yunqin was probably from the same world as her. But she knew nothing about Changli.

More importantly, once hope was raised, if it turned into disappointment, Xi Fengyu didn’t know if she could bear it. So she didn’t even have the courage to probe.

But she really looked too similar. Just one glance, and a voice in her heart was already screaming to see her again, to be a little closer.