Chapter 41

Lin Que and Gu Chi were both in the palace, so they received the news a bit late. After reading the note from the pigeon loft, Lin Que handed it to Gu Chi. Gu Chi read it and immediately said, “I’ll go check,” before leaving the palace and heading to Mingyue Nunnery.

Lin Que sighed, thinking his brother was still not steady enough. He sent someone to inform Grand Princess Zhaoming, asking her to visit Princess Qinyang at Shifeng Garden.

Princess Qinyang’s grandson had accidentally killed the son of the Minister of Justice while playing a game last summer. Being associated with such high-ranking officials, neither side was ordinary. Both families were equally powerful and related to the royal family. The victim’s parents relentlessly pursued justice, eventually leading to Princess Qinyang’s grandson being executed. Since then, Princess Qinyang had been bedridden, recuperating at Shifeng Garden.

Grand Princess Zhaoming would visit Shifeng Garden first and then go to Mingyue Nunnery, as everyone in the capital knew she was a devout Buddhist. Visiting a nearby nunnery was reasonable. She would bring Gu Chi back, claiming he went to fetch her and coincidentally discovered Li Zhi being harmed by her family’s servants. Their families were already related by marriage, so it made sense to escort the frightened Li Zhi back to her family.

Later, they could fabricate a story about Gu Chi falling in love with Li Zhi at first sight, making the proposal more plausible.

Lin Que’s plan was meticulous, but he suddenly received news from the King’s mansion that his wife had gone to Mingyue Nunnery as soon as she heard about the situation.

Lin Que, who had just criticized Gu Chi for being impulsive, didn’t hesitate and immediately left the palace.

…

At Mingyue Nunnery, Fei Xing dragged the bound nanny outside. Only Li Mu and Li Zhi remained inside the room, sitting on the edge of the bed.

After crying her heart out, Li Zhi couldn’t pull herself together as she usually did. Instead, she leaned on Li Mu’s shoulder, looking completely drained.

Li Mu didn’t know how to comfort her, so she just stayed by her side quietly, not getting annoyed or rushing her. They stayed like that for a long time until a noise came from the window. Li Mu quickly turned her head, and Li Zhi, startled, looked over as well. They saw Gu Chi climbing in through the window, standing still without approaching immediately.

Li Zhi glanced at Li Mu in panic, seeing her expressionless face, feeling lost and unable to say a complete sentence.

Li Mu: “…” Should I leave?

Gu Chi: “Could I trouble you, sister-in-law, to let me speak with Qiongshi?”

Alright, I’ll go.

Li Mu stood up, took her bow and arrows, and left, even closing the door behind her.

Feixing stood guard outside. Li Mu walked to the shade of a tree not far from the door, checking the bow she had thrown in a hurry to make sure it wasn’t damaged and sighed in relief.

Not knowing how long she had waited, Li Mu went from standing to squatting, bored out of her mind. She started arranging patterns on the ground with arrows and picked up a stone to play hopscotch.

After only a couple of rounds, the door opened. Gu Chi was nowhere to be seen, but Li Zhi had perked up. Seeing what Li Mu was doing, she recalled the end of their conversation. Her heart, previously heavy, was now lightened. She and Gu Chi had expressed their feelings for each other, and just as Gu Chi was about to kiss her, the sound of Li Mu’s hopping outside ruined the moment. Thinking of Gu Chi’s frustrated expression as he bumped his forehead on her shoulder, Li Zhi smiled.

Seeing Li Zhi’s smile, Li Mu finally felt relieved.

Afterward, Li Mu helped Li Zhi pack her belongings. When Li Zhi changed out of her nun’s robes and re-tied her hair, Li Mu went outside to find Feixing. She saw Feixing reporting to Grand Princess Zhaoming, with the Li family’s maids kneeling nearby and the bound nanny beside them.

Grand Princess Zhaoming, seeing Li Mu, walked over briskly, acting as if she had just learned what had happened, and asked if Li Mu was hurt.

Li Mu shook her head.

Grand Princess Zhaoming said, “It’s good that you’re okay. Coincidentally, I was nearby visiting Princess Qinyang and heard about Mingyue Nunnery, so I came to take a look. Who knew your second sister was living here and encountered a treacherous servant? Fortunately, you decided to come fetch her on a whim and save her life by chance. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

Grand Princess Zhaoming quickly shared the script with Li Mu and explained the situation to everyone present. Stunned, Li Mu accepted the script and led Grand Princess Zhaoming inside to see Li Zhi.

Li Zhi hadn’t expected the Grand Princess to come and hurriedly greet her only to be helped up. When they left, Grand Princess Zhaoming took Li Zhi to ride in the same carriage.

Next to the Grand Princess’s carriage, Gu Chi was on horseback. He kept his face composed, gripping the reins tightly, trying not to let his gaze linger on Li Zhi.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t hold out until Li Zhi got into the carriage. When she was boarding, he instinctively worried she might stumble and couldn’t help but look over. When Li Zhi steadied herself and was about to enter the carriage, their eyes met briefly, a fleeting connection quickly broken, as if they were meeting for the first time despite their many intimate nights.

Grand Princess Zhaoming had intended to take Li Mu in her carriage as well, but her eldest son came to fetch his wife personally. She couldn’t tell him to leave in front of many people, so she rode with Li Zhi instead.

On the way back, the Grand Princess’s carriage led the way, with Gu Chi riding alongside to escort it. The King Yan’s carriage, carrying Li Mu and Lin Que, followed in the middle, and finally, the Li family’s carriage came last to fetch Li Zhi.

In the Grand Princess’s carriage, Grand Princess Zhaoming and Li Zhi chatted, getting to know each other better.

In King Yan’s carriage, Li Mu kept bumping her head into Lin Que’s chest. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how cool she looked leaving with her bow and arrows, but she ended up using the bow to hit someone, which felt quite silly.

Lin Que, who had initially planned to scold Li Mu for taking such a risk, ended up comforting her instead. He praised her bravery, saying that using the bow to save someone was very righteous.

What? There were people protecting Li Zhi in the shadows, so she wasn’t needed? Who could predict what might happen? In any case, Li Weixi was the best.

Li Mu blushed from the compliments and had to cover his mouth to make him stop.

The carriage continued towards the Li family home, passing through increasingly bustling streets. By the time they arrived at the Li family’s gate, the family’s servants had already run back to inform the matriarch about the incident at the nunnery.

Being very shrewd, the matriarch quickly guessed who had orchestrated the situation. She had already noticed her second son’s change of heart and had been asked to oppose the marriage, but she hadn’t agreed. After all, the matter had already been settled, and opposing it wouldn’t solve anything; it might even drag the whole family down. She hadn’t expected her second son to be so ruthless. She immediately sent someone to call him back, saying that if he didn’t return, she would pack her things and go back to her hometown the next morning, never to see him again, as if he had never been born.

When Grand Princess Zhaoming and Li Zhi entered the Li family home, the matriarch, who had rushed over, didn’t even greet the Grand Princess properly. Leaning on her cane, she hugged Li Zhi and cried, causing the previously calm Li Zhi to cry as well.

The three ladies who had come along tried to console them. Li Zhi, worried about the matriarch’s health, cried and helped to calm her down. Once the matriarch had settled, they greeted Grand Princess Zhaoming and invited her to move to the backyard, leaving Li Mu’s third brother, Li Tingwu, and Li Zhi’s younger brother, Li Shu, to entertain Lin Que and Gu Chi.

Li Tingwu, with excellent social skills, had once been afraid of Lin Que but had grown accustomed to his influential brother-in-law. He even managed to chat with the usually quiet Gu Chi.

Li Shu, Li Zhi’s younger brother, was shy but knowledgeable and very concerned about Li Zhi. It seemed that because their parents were unreliable, he was closer to his gentle sister. Even when he struggled with his studies as a child, his sister’s patient guidance kept him interested in learning. Fortunately, no one told him what Li Zhi had gone through. The matriarch cried so much that he and the other three ladies thought she was heartbroken over Li Zhi living in the nunnery for so long. He felt the same way, so he didn’t suspect anything else. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to sit and entertain guests properly.

The four of them got along harmoniously until Li Zhi’s father and Li Mu’s father, Li Wendao, appeared, causing the atmosphere to suddenly turn cold.

…

“Is the eldest back too?” In the backyard, the matriarch heard that her eldest son had returned home with her second son, and her eyelids twitched.

Fortunately, nothing frightening had happened earlier. Grand Princess Zhaoming waited until the matriarch sent away her three daughters-in-law and Li Mu accompanied Li Zhi in packing the things brought back from Mingyue Nunnery. Then, she spoke a few words alone with the matriarch.

To prevent any further mishaps, the matriarch had Li Zhi stay in her courtyard, in the same room Li Mu had once slept in.

Li Zhi didn’t bring many belongings, and while they were with the matriarch, Feixing and another maid had already packed everything.

Li Zhi pulled Li Mu to the dressing table and helped her tidy her slightly messy hair. As she combed, she thanked Li Mu for coming to rescue her.

Li Mu shook her head, wanting to tell Li Zhi, “Even if I hadn’t come, you would have been fine.”

Before she could say it, Li Zhi held her head still and said, “I know. He… Ah Chi told me there were people hidden in the nunnery to protect me. But even so, you still came, didn’t you? You care about me, I know that.”

Li Mu thought for a moment and concluded that her second sister was an angel; no arguments were accepted.

After fixing her hair, the Grand Princess called for her. Li Mu got up to bid farewell to the matriarch and left with the Grand Princess.

Outside, Lin Que and Gu Chi were already waiting.

Gu Chi showed no expression, while Lin Que seemed in a good mood.

In the carriage, Li Mu asked Lin Que why he was so happy. Lin Que replied, “Your father and your second uncle returned home together. I had Ah Chi find an excuse to take your third and sixth brothers away and explain your letter-stealing incident to them.”

Li Mu: “What?”

Lin Que continued, “I told your father that even if you hadn’t stolen the letter back then, he and Wen Bingren wouldn’t have succeeded in their assassination attempt because I already knew about their plan. If he had been involved, the Li family’s fate would have been the same as the Wen family’s.”

“Your second uncle almost argued with your father but held back because I was there. I imagine there will be more drama later.” Lin Que then remembered Li Wendao was Li Mu’s father and cautiously asked, “Was what I did not right?”

Li Mu shook her head, and just as Lin Que had praised her, she said to him, “You did very well, exceptionally well.”

Lin Que smiled again and touched his forehead to Li Mu’s.

The next day, Li Mu received news from the pigeon loft that after they left, the Li family’s eldest and second masters had a heated argument behind closed doors. The main instigator was Li Zhi’s father, who demanded to split the family estate with Li Wendao. The argument even reached the matriarch, who dismissed the servants and, in front of the younger generation trying to mediate, exposed all of Li Wendao’s actions.

“If it weren’t for King Yan’s wife being blessed with foolish luck…” the enraged second master blurted out, realizing too late that there might be King Yan’s spies in the mansion. He slapped himself and then shouted at Li Wendao, “If she hadn’t stolen the secret letter and given it to the matriarch, would you have dragged the whole family to their graves?”

The women were terrified. Li Yunxi, with her keen political sense, advised her father, who was full of poetry and deeply respected his elder brother, to focus on his teaching and not be used by the eldest master to write dangerous articles.

Li Mu’s stepmother, Madam Qian, also grew fearful of Li Wendao. The thought that the whole family had narrowly escaped the fate of the Wen family made her weak at the knees. Her two sons, Li Xu and Li Tingwu, would have been implicated and buried with the family. She could barely stand, supported by her sons, to avoid collapsing.

That night, the second household had another uproar. When the other two households arrived, they found the second master’s face scratched and the second madam crying and cursing, threatening to die with her husband.

In contrast, the usually unnoticed Li Shu held a candlestick. If Li Xu hadn’t quickly snatched it away, it’s hard to say whether the sharp spike on the candlestick would have landed on the already disheveled second master.

Few knew what had happened until Li Tingwu, using both soft and hard tactics, pried the truth from Li Shu. It turned out that a few words from Li Wendao had nearly led the second master to kill Li Zhi.

Li Xu’s gaze towards his father grew colder, more like that of an enemy than a son. Madam Qian, who was used to mediating, said nothing more, allowing her son to distance himself from his father as long as it wasn’t too obvious to avoid being labeled unfilial and affecting his career.

The matriarch had planned to keep the news of Li Zhi’s near-death a secret, but after discussing it with Grand Princess Zhaoming, she changed her mind. The next day, the news of the Li family’s treacherous servant nearly killing their mistress spread.

The nanny had already been dealt with. The matriarch told others that the nanny had embezzled a lot of money and goods sent to Mingyue Nunnery and, fearing exposure upon Li Zhi’s return, had intended to kill her. Fortunately, the nanny had indeed embezzled a lot, which helped cover up the lie. After this stormy period, the three masters of the Li family no longer interacted as harmoniously as brothers, but it didn’t significantly affect the already grown and sensible younger generation. In fact, due to distancing himself from Li Wendao, Li Tingwu finally had no more concerns and joined the Jinyiwei.

Li Tingwu, who was neither accomplished in literature nor martial arts, was known for his terrifying social skills, something Li Mu had long envied. Lin Que naturally saw his value and wanted to bring him into the Jinyiwei. Not knowing martial arts wasn’t an issue; he could work in the administrative department responsible for document handling, which didn’t require martial skills.

Lin Que had privately mentioned this to Li Tingwu early on, but due to Li Wendao’s opposition, Li Tingwu didn’t dare defy his father and had to give up.

Now, with Li Tingwu and his brother distancing themselves from their father, he happily joined the Jinyiwei, unafraid of being looked down upon for nepotism. After all, it was just about getting along with people. Given time, he could turn even the most impartial commander into a buddy.

By the end of June, shortly after Li Zhi returned home, the Grand Princess’s mansion sent a matchmaker with betrothal gifts to the Li family’s door.

Thus, Li Zhi’s legendary marriage, as recorded by later generations, officially reached its final turning point.