Her heart jolted and Ye Xi clenched her fist.
After evading so many traps, she had never expected a clue to surface while others were still searching for her. And with Lin'an trailing behind this time, whatever Yun Qi had tried to hide would be impossible to keep secret.
She forced a smile, steadied her face, and went to the table to write a quick reply: Is that so? What clue? Where did you find it?
Yi Yuan, not noticing her sudden alertness, answered plainly: For now we don’t know. Lin'an only said that he and Yun Qi felt something amiss while searching for you. The letter was vague—hard to explain in full—so they’ll report back in person.
That sounded important. If word got out it wouldn’t be long before more people knew; they’d need another approach. She’d have to go to the palace soon and dig into what happened with the epidemic fourteen years ago.
Thoughts tumbled through her head, but she kept them to herself and only nodded once, indicating she understood.
They spoke no more that night. Before noon the next day Lin'an and Yun Qi had returned. Yun Qi, who knew his mother had rushed to the capital and had rescued Ye Xi along the road, had already gone ahead to Yun Manor and did not come with Lin'an.
Yi Yuan had just returned from court. Before Ye Xi could say a word, Lin'an began his report.
“After parting with General Yun near Lixian, we followed the tracks toward Shuozhou, searching for Miss Xi. There we found a group moving with extreme secrecy.”
“At first we thought they were the bandits who stole Miss Xi, so we investigated closely,” Lin'an went on. “But they turned out to be people from the Shen family.”
“Shuozhou? The Shens?” Yi Yuan’s brow tightened. “What are the Shens doing so far away?”
Lin'an agreed it was suspicious. “They acted with great caution and seemed familiar with Shuozhou’s territory. General Yun and I didn’t have enough men and didn’t want to stir up the local officials, so we sought help from the late Princess Dowager’s natal family—she happens to have influence in Shuozhou. They’ve revealed a secret: the Shens have built a warehouse there and every few months bring in a large shipment from Yanshan. What the shipments contain, we couldn’t determine yet.”
“If they’re this careful,” Lin'an added in a lower voice, “they must be hiding something serious.”
A cold light flashed in Yi Yuan’s eyes. “Good. Put a watch on them. Pull manpower from my mother’s family first. We can’t afford to lose focus here in the capital—the people who abducted Miss Xi might still be nearby. For now we won’t act against Shuozhou.”
They began arranging details. Thatched between Yanshan and Shuozhou the matter could be delayed a little longer; Ye Xi let out the breath she’d been holding.
She found an excuse to change and slipped into the palace to seek Master Hunyuan. Lingyan was away; Saixing accompanied Ye Xi. When they arrived Hunyuan was in the middle of teaching Lianyi to read the lines of the divination charts. Lianyi jumped up, waving happily when she saw Ye Xi.
Ye Xi barely paused for greetings. She told Hunyuan exactly why she’d come. After seeing Lianyi settled, Hunyuan led her to the archives.
The stacks rose two stories high—shelves packed with scrolls and bundles until Ye Xi felt dizzy. She exchanged a look with Hunyuan, and together they began pulling out cabinets marked fourteen years ago.
They worked in silence, turning brittle paper and scanning faded entries. Hours passed. The sun leaned low. Both of them were sore and exhausted, and still there was nothing—the records had been scrubbed clean or never written down.
“Let’s call it for today,” Hunyuan said, rubbing his shoulders. “You can’t search forever. Yi Yuan will start to wonder.”
Ye Xi nodded. They closed the scattered volumes and restored the shelves. With her veil and hat set, she led Saixing and the attendant out of the palace.
Their exit was smooth until they reached the Jingchun Garden.
“Ah Zhen, who’s that?” a bright voice called out. “Why is she covered up inside the inner court? She makes me think of someone unpleasant.”
The “someone unpleasant” could only be Ye Xi. Her step faltered.
Of all times to run into Yun Qianying and Yi Zhen. The story from Qiao Yan yesterday had been true: the Shens had favored Yun Qianying—summoned her into the palace, given Yi Zhen to escort her—and she’d been made bold and rude by it. The two of them dared to speak like this even within the palace. Either they didn’t care whom they offended, or they didn’t realize how dangerous it might be.
Ye Xi couldn’t be sure whether Yi Zhen knew the secret of her identity as Manping. In theory, the Shen family would have known long before Shen Zhou—if Shen Zhou had been sent to kill her, then other Shens must have known. Yet from his behavior at the Qionglin Banquet, Yi Zhen had seemed unaware. Ye Xi didn’t understand why, but this was not the time for confrontation. She pretended not to hear and quickened her steps.
Yi Zhen, who liked Yun Qianying’s frankness, laughed softly. “You returned late and missed her—she’s the seer Manping,” he said. “I hear she went away to cultivate for a while. Everyone’s been frenzied trying to find her. Who knew she’d slip back to the capital without a sound. From the looks of it, she’s just come from seeing Master Hunyuan, and is now leaving the palace.”
Yun Qianying’s nose curled with disdain but curiosity won out. “Really? Does her gift for reading faces really work? Or is it all talk? I’ve been wanting to see for myself. If she doesn’t live up to the name, I’ll make sure she regrets it.” She linked her arm through Yi Zhen’s and cooed, “Ah Zhen, call her over.”
Ye Xi felt her eyes roll upward. Talk about timing. She couldn’t speak anyway—her voice was gone—but she could not refuse now. Yi Zhen had already sent a palace maid over to stop her.
The maid was an old acquaintance, the same Yu’an who’d earlier led Ye Xi to the changing room at the banquet. She held herself with practiced courtly politeness. “The princess invites the seer.”
Ye Xi made a small bow, pointed at her own throat, and gestured that she could not speak.
Saixing stepped forward and barked in his rough voice, “Please pardon us. My mistress injured her throat during practice—she can’t speak.”
Yu’an’s face remained composed as she stood in the correct posture of an envoy. “I only carry the message. If the seer has anything she cannot say here, she can speak to the princess in private.”
There was no getting away from it.
Ye Xi tightened her grip on her veil and followed Yu’an and Saixing toward the group. Saixing repeated in a low, rough voice the explanation for Ye Xi’s silence. The two women sized Ye Xi up. Yun Qianying’s eyes gleamed with undisguised scorn.
“How convenient,” she said. “When we want to ask her something, she can’t say a word. It’s clear she’s got no respect for the princess—covering her face, refusing a sovereign’s invitation. Insolent.”
“Bring her veil up,” Yun Qianying snapped to the attendants. “I’d like to see what kind of sacred Buddha she thinks she is, daring to carry such airs.”