Chapter Forty-Two: Lian Yue Takes Action

Update Time: 2013-06-11

Ziling entered the room just in time to catch the last sentence. The gaze reflected in the mirror from Lianyue made her shiver with a chill; her heart ached with pity. Although her mistress was still as mischievous, pure, and endearing as ever, whenever those close to her were hurt, her eyes would take on a terrifying intensity that made one tremble. Ziling could not help but want to draw her away from that darkness.

“Miss, Qingfeng instructed me to pack up. Is there anything in particular you’d like to prepare?”

Lianyue withdrew the sharpness from her eyes and returned to her usual lively self. “You handle the packing,” she said, hesitating for a moment before adding, “Ziling, you’re expecting. Let Zizhu take care of these things; you just supervise. And this time, since the road to Nanping will be rough, you don’t need to come along. The baby comes first.”

Ziling grew anxious at once. “How can that be? If I don’t go, who will take care of you? Besides, I’m quite proficient in medicine now; I won’t let anything happen to the baby. Please let me come, Miss.”

Lianyue was deeply moved. Though Ziling was just a maid, she had looked after her so attentively for so many years. After her marriage, Ziling had grown even steadier, and in Lianyue’s heart, she had long treated her as a sister. Her own sister had lost her baby at five months—how could Ziling, who was only a little over a month along, be safe?

Thinking of her sister’s lost child, Lianyue felt another wave of sadness. She deliberately put on a stern face and scolded, “If you’re not with me, there’s still Zizhu. Do you think your mistress can’t take care of herself?”

“But—”

“No buts! Are you going to disobey me now?” Lianyue, well aware of Ziling’s temperament, continued to rebuke her.

Seeing that her mistress was truly angered, Ziling dared not argue further, deciding to wait until her temper cooled before raising the matter again.

“Then I’ll go see to tomorrow’s luggage.”

Lianyue frowned and asked, “Where’s Zizhu?”

Ziling’s eyes lit up as an idea came to her. “I don’t know. Haven’t seen her in ages—who knows where she’s gone off to slack?”

No sooner had she spoken than a voice, still tinged with childishness, drifted in from afar. “Sister Ziling, didn’t you tell Zizhu to bring lotus cakes to Xiaohu at Meilan Garden? How could that be slacking?”

Ziling, seeing Zizhu standing behind her with a food box and an indignant look, flushed in embarrassment but stubbornly retorted, “You heard wrong.” Inwardly, she lamented the poor timing of Zizhu’s return.

Zizhu, unwilling to let it go, set the food box on the table and looked at her mistress. “Miss, you be the judge. Did I mishear, or did Sister Ziling say something wrong?”

Lianyue cast a reproachful glare at the silent Ziling, seeing through her little scheme—to make Zizhu seem lazy and careless so she could justify coming along herself. Not wanting to worry her about her pregnancy, Lianyue had chosen not to mention her sister’s loss. Now, it seemed, there was no avoiding it.

“Ziling was only joking. Don’t take it to heart. All right, Zizhu, tomorrow I’m going to Nanping, and you’ll come with me. Go pack your things now, and later help me with my luggage.”

Zizhu, at first disappointed that Lianyue was siding with Ziling, brightened immediately at the mention of accompanying her. She cheerfully agreed and hurried off to pack.

Once Zizhu was out of earshot, Ziling said, “Miss, with Zizhu’s sharp tongue and obstinacy, how can I rest easy leaving only her by your side?”

Lianyue raised an eyebrow. “And you have the nerve to say that? When did you learn to gossip behind someone’s back?”

Lianyue spoke the truth, and Ziling could only stand there awkwardly.

“All right, there’s a reason I’m not letting you come. It’s not really a secret, but since you’re pregnant, I didn’t want to trouble your heart, so I kept it to myself.”

Ziling asked curiously, “What is it?”

Lianyue sighed and continued, “A letter arrived from Nanping Prefecture. My sister lost her baby.”

“What!” Ziling cried out in shock, then, suppressing her astonishment, asked in confusion, “Didn’t the last letter say she was three months along? Usually, after three months, the fetus is stable. How could she lose it so suddenly, unless—”

“Unless someone did it on purpose! Isn’t that right?” Lianyue finished for her, her expression darkening.

Ziling dared not draw conclusions about such matters and could only stand beside her in silence.

After a pause, Lianyue continued, “So this time, you must stay behind. My sister has already lost her child—if something happened to yours as well, I could never forgive myself. Besides, you and Qingfeng and the others have never been treated as mere servants by me or my brother. If anything happened to you, what would we tell Qingfeng?”

Moved to tears by Lianyue’s words, Ziling’s nose tingled. How could she not be grateful? She and the other servants were well aware of the kindness shown to them by their mistress and the young master. To have such masters was their good fortune.

“Ziling will obey, Miss.”

Lianyue nodded. There was another reason she hadn’t mentioned—she worried that seeing Ziling pregnant would only reopen old wounds for her sister. Though she treated Ziling as a sister, it could never compare to her own flesh and blood.

Realizing that her trip would take at least three months, Lianyue remembered she still hadn’t said goodbye to her second brother, Sister Lan, or Yaoyao. Watching the busy Ziling, she instructed, “Tell Zizhu to have a carriage readied at the front gate; I need to visit my second brother.”

Ziling was folding a pleated skirt of jade-green silk. “Miss, the young master already sent Qingfeng with a message just now. It’s getting late—there’s no need for you to go in person.”

Lianyue knew full well the little tricks Qingfeng and the others played behind Yue Lingjun’s back. She was anxious for her brother and Lan Shui. Hearing that her brother had already sent Qingfeng, she grew even more anxious. “Ziling, how could you be so careless? Why didn’t you stop Qingfeng? If he delivers the message, it’s bound to be wrong. Even if Sister Lan goes, she’ll only follow in secret and never appear openly. Oh, you all...! Hurry and come with me. Forget the carriage—we’ll go on horseback.”

She paused at the threshold, then turned to the regretful Ziling. “You’re not well enough—keep packing. I’ll call Zizhu to go with me.”

With that, she strode into the courtyard, disregarding decorum, and called out loudly, “Zizhu! Zizhu!”

Hearing her mistress’s voice, Zizhu hurried from her room, leaving her packing behind. “Here, Miss. What do you need?”

As soon as Lianyue saw her, she made for the gate, explaining as she walked, “Come with me on horseback to Phoenix Ridge. Quickly!”

Zizhu said nothing but trotted along behind her.

At the stables, the grooms, quick to understand, brought out horses for Lianyue and Zizhu and saddled them. Lian mounted with agile grace, accepted the whip, and struck her horse’s flank. The steed, stung, shot forward like an arrow.

Zizhu realized the urgency of the matter—her mistress would never use the whip unless it was truly pressing; that horse was a cherished gift from Second Young Master Bing. She quickly mounted and followed suit.

The Yue family stables were located by a side gate. Turning left out the gate led directly to the main avenue of Lingyang City, and from there to the East Gate. Fortunately, it was already late, and the street vendors had packed up; few pedestrians remained, so their galloping horses caused little commotion.

Lianyue scarcely spared the whip as they sped along. When they reached Phoenix Ridge, they arrived just as two disciples of the Hidden Sect came out to meet Qingfeng, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

The three ahead turned at the sound of approaching hooves. Lianyue leapt from her horse as soon as she arrived, prompting hurried bows.

“Miss.”

“Second Sect Master.”

“Second Sect Master.”

Lianyue handed her reins to Zizhu, who had followed close behind, and waved her hand dismissively. She shot a fierce glare at the astonished Qingfeng. “Good thing I made it in time! You’re all usually so clever—what happened today? Were you planning to tell Sister Lan to set off with me tomorrow?”

Qingfeng, realizing his intentions had been discovered, looked sheepish. That was indeed his plan.

Seeing this, Lianyue scolded him mercilessly. “If you really did that, I guarantee my brother still wouldn’t see Sister Lan!”

“Why?” Qingfeng was bewildered.

“Why? You dare ask? If you did, Sister Lan would disappear before nightfall! Hmph, sometimes you really need me to handle things myself. Watch and learn.”

With that, she strode directly into the woods, not waiting for anyone to lead the way. Qingfeng, thoroughly confused, hurried after her.

While Lianyue was speaking, the Hidden Sect disciples had already taken the reins from Zizhu. Though Zizhu was merely one of Lianyue’s maids, her status within the Hidden Sect was quite high.

Three years earlier, when the three great clans left, the Hidden Sect had revealed the location of their headquarters on Phoenix Ridge to prevent unnecessary speculation and probing from outsiders. Although they kept the fact that the Hidden Sect was formerly the Blood Tears Palace a secret, the revelation still caused a great stir in the Nizhang Empire. After all, the mere fact that their headquarters stood within a forbidden zone was enough to make all the major powers wary.

As for the relationship between the Hidden Sect and the Yue family, none of the three great clans ever disclosed the truth, whatever their reasons may have been. Thus, outsiders believed the mutual support between the Yue family and the Hidden Sect was simply the result of some private agreement.

Some even speculated that the two powers were planning a marriage alliance, but this was regarded as a joke. After all, everyone in the Nizhang Empire knew that the Yue family’s cherished young lady had been betrothed to the current heir of the Yu Wen family more than a decade ago.

If they ever heard how the Hidden Sect disciples addressed Lianyue, they might have guessed the truth.

Since the headquarters was now public, it was necessary to mark their territory. The Hidden Sect opened a path through the Soul-Snaring Array using the Breaking Formation Lantern for easy passage. Still, any outsider needed to be escorted by a Hidden Sect disciple, for the Soul-Snaring Array was dangerously treacherous—this was no mere show of pride.