After eating until more than full at the morning market, Shi Buyu suddenly found even the gloomy, half-cloudy sky quite pleasing to the eye.

From Auntie, she learned that her older sister had left early because of some urgent matter. Wrapping her cloak tighter, she asked the person beside her, “Are you in a hurry to return?”

“No rush. Even back in the capital, we’ll be waiting for news,” Yan Shian replied, looking at her. “Is there somewhere you want to go?”

Shi Buyu shook her head. “My brothers who are in the capital and I can’t meet often. Sometimes we don’t even see each other once a year. Times like this year, when we meet twice, are actually rare. Last year, my fifth brother had just been appointed governor of Huxi Commandery and was tied up, so we didn’t meet. It’s rare to have traveled such a long way; I want to spend an extra day with my brothers.”

Though their meetings were few, their feelings were strong. Yan Shian once again thought their sect was magical — as if the bond of being fellow disciples naturally made them close, unaffected by time or distance.

For such a small request, Yan Shian naturally agreed.

But just as they stepped out of the market, seeing someone approaching made his heart skip a beat.

Shi Buyu had obviously noticed too. She looked up at the sky. If it rained now, she’d stay one more day—no matter if the capital was falling apart.

The man came forward and whispered, “Young Master, Baokou City has fallen.”

This news didn’t surprise them. Yan Shian asked, “What’s the political atmosphere in the capital?”

The man glanced at Miss Shi and honestly reported, “Everyone’s blaming the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage.”

Shi Buyu scoffed, “Hopefully the place where the Marquis is hiding now is safe enough, or else the unstoppable sneezing will give him away.”

Yan Shian pondered briefly. “Have Robert muddy the waters. The Marquis of Loyalty and Courage has been scolded for so long, it’s nothing new. This city was lost by General Duan Qi of Tiger Might. If he were capable, how could he lose three cities in such a short time?”

Meeting Shi Buyu’s gaze, Yan Shian smiled: “It was expected. Staying here another day won’t change anything.”

Shi Buyu laughed. She of course knew the capital’s situation changed by the hour, and when changes happened, it was best to be stationed there. But she liked that the people around her took her likes and dislikes seriously, even if in the end she still had to consider the bigger picture.

But the guard didn’t know that the news he brought was not the only thing. He whispered again, “Young Master, Auntie Orchid sent word — the madam is coughing up blood.”

Yan Shian’s expression changed. “What did the imperial doctor say?”

“The madam refuses to let the imperial doctor in.”

Shi Buyu opened her mouth to speak but stopped after looking at Yan Shian. Some things, if said, would only stir trouble. Their mother-son relationship was already fragile; better not to add fuel to the fire.

Yan Shian looked at her. “I have to return first. With me in the capital, you can stay here a few more days.”

“That’s fine,” Shi Buyu teased. “Without me slowing the horse-drawn carriage, you’ll ride faster. I’ll stay two days and then return.”

Yan Shian wanted to say, “It’s rare to meet; you could stay a few more days,” or “No rush, I’m in the capital.” But what actually came out was, “I’ll leave Yan Ze behind to handle things, then return with you.”

Shi Buyu glanced at Yan Ze and smiled happily, “Don’t worry, if you’re not here, I won’t get mad at him.”

“Good self-awareness,” Yan Ze said as he turned his back on her. Their little exchange wiped away the faint sadness in Yan Shian’s heart.

Turning back to bid farewell to the Kuangjing couple, Shi Buyu escorted him outside and reminded, “Don’t rush; ask around more.”

Yan Shian didn’t think much about it. Worried about his mother’s health, he hastily agreed and rode off.

“Miss, what are you thinking about?” Wan Xia adjusted the girl’s cloak and asked. Yan Ze nearby perked up his ears.

Shi Buyu deliberately teased him, whispering “Yan Ze is really funny” several times into Auntie’s ear.

Wan Xia nodded knowingly. “I see.”

“Exactly.”

Yan Ze heard nothing, scratching his head, unwilling to be toyed with by Miss Shi. He cleared his throat and looked off into the distance, pretending not to care.

Shi Buyu chuckled, satisfied with her teasing of Yan Ze today.

When they returned to her room, only she and Auntie were present before she spoke: “Those imperial doctors in the palace aren’t useless. Last time when she went for treatment, they detected she was showing signs of tuberculosis. The emperor, being kind, must have assigned a very skilled doctor to treat her. But instead, she’s only gotten worse. Unless the emperor wants her dead, it means she’s playing tricks.”

“So she hasn’t really coughed up blood?”

“Who saw it? I even said I coughed blood!”

“Children say whatever is on their mind; the wind will blow it away,” Wan Xia patted her arm. “What do you think she wants?”

Talking about this, Shi Buyu got excited. “Auntie, do you remember the family with the surname Qiu not far from where we stayed in Fuxi?”

Wan Xia nodded. That family was lively, living each day like a play. Whenever she cooked but found no one, she’d go behind the Qiu family’s wall and always find an old woman and a child squatting there, eavesdropping in the same posture.

“The white-bearded man said he checked the old woman’s pulse. She looked thin, but was actually healthier than her daughter-in-law who looked strong. But whenever her son was home, she’d yell here and there in pain. Her son was filial and immediately came to care for her. The daughter-in-law hated it but had no choice and had to help too. Later, when the daughter-in-law got pregnant—oh dear, that was like carrying a secret weapon—she started yelling a lot too: stomach aches, nausea, falling down!”

Wan Xia laughed at how the girl imitated those cries. “You spent all day watching that drama?”

“There’s more!” Shi Buyu was even more enthusiastic. “Whenever the daughter-in-law yelled, her husband rushed to her side. But before they figured out what was wrong, the mother-in-law started yelling ‘ouch, ouch’ again. The poor guy was running back and forth. Who knows how he thought—he put the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the same room! It was terrible. Their cries had all sorts of melodies—soft, lingering, heartbreaking. When we left, the daughter-in-law was about to give birth. I wonder how that drama ended.”

Wan Xia listened and vaguely understood why the girl brought up that family. “Do you think madam now is like that mother-in-law?”

“Doesn’t it seem so?” Shi Buyu chuckled. “She hates me, just like the mother-in-law hated the daughter-in-law for stealing her son. Her son left with me without even saying goodbye. Wouldn’t she try to get him back? Maybe she even wants to see if Yan Shian cares about her.”

Thinking along those lines but never seeing the daughter-in-law relationship apply to herself—her nerve was really tough.

Wan Xia pinched her hand and said, “You don’t remind Master Yan because you don’t want him hurt? But he might realize it anyway when he gets back.”

“If I remind him, it’s my business. If he notices himself, that’s his business. Outsiders shouldn’t say too much,” Shi Buyu sighed. “Having a mother like that, he’s kind of pitiful.”

Wan Xia thought only her girl in the whole capital would feel sorry for Master Yan.