The night wind rose, and the maid hurried forward to close the window.
“Madam, the bed has been prepared,” said the maid as she stepped out from the inner room. “Seventh Young Lady’s bedding has all been brought over.”
Second Madam Cheng nodded.
“Just this once,” she said, turning to Cheng Qi-niang beside her.
Cheng Qi-niang, already washed, dressed in undergarments, and with her hair loose, giggled.
“Then you mustn’t hit me because of others in the future either,” she said.
Second Madam Cheng shot her a reproachful glance.
The door slid open, and two maids entered carrying food boxes.
“Seventh Young Lady, have some midnight snacks,” they said cheerfully.
A light, refreshing fragrance filled the room.
“Mother, you still love me the most, don’t you?”
Cheng Qi-niang, holding a soup spoon and about to eat her midnight snack, looked up again and asked.
Under the lamplight, Second Madam Cheng, reclining against an armrest, smiled and flicked her daughter’s nose.
“Not ‘still’,” she said with a laugh. “It’s always been you, and always will be.”
Cheng Qi-niang’s eyes reddened as she sniffled and smiled, then lowered her head to eat heartily.
“Qi-niang, you don’t understand—everything I do is for your sake,” Second Madam Cheng added with a sigh.
“For my sake, so you can be nice to others?” Cheng Qi-niang pouted, displeased again. “I don’t get it.”
“Oh, you silly girl,” Second Madam Cheng said, poking her forehead. “Is that really being nice? Good food, good drinks, a comfortable home—even our guard dogs live like that. Being ‘nice’ to them is just to make sure they guard the house well. If I scold you because of a dog, does that mean I’d choose the dog over my own daughter?”
Cheng Qi-niang let out an “Oh” and nodded—that made sense.
“Then… are you being nice to that fool so she’ll guard the house? But we already have enough dogs…” she muttered, pouting.
Second Madam Cheng chuckled and poked her daughter’s forehead again.
“You silly little thing,” she said with a laugh.
Cheng Qi-niang pouted and said nothing, picking up her bowl to eat heartily.
“You’re only nine this year—there’s much you don’t understand yet,” Second Madam Cheng said, gazing at her daughter, whose delicate features looked even more exquisite in the lamplight, her eyes full of tender affection. “I must secure you a good marriage, and that’s no easy task these days.”
“Then I’ll stay with you for the rest of my life,” Cheng Qi-niang mumbled through a mouthful of food.
“I couldn’t bear the shame of that,” Second Madam Cheng replied with a smile, then continued, “Listen to me—be a little kinder to that foolish sister of yours. Coax her, make her happy, make her believe you’re the sweetest little sister in the world, that we’re the ones who treat her best in this life.”
“Why?” Cheng Qi-niang asked, visibly displeased.
“Don’t you want to dress better, eat better, and have finer things than Liu-niang?” Second Madam Cheng countered with a smile.
Of course!
Cheng Qi-niang nodded eagerly.
“Then listen to me—be sweet to your foolish sister,” Second Madam Cheng said, watching as her daughter pouted again before adding with a chuckle, “Is our clever, beautiful Qi-niang really incapable of making a fool adore her?”
Impossible!
Everyone must love Qi–niang!
She set down her bowl and straightened up proudly.
“Go on, eat up. Our Qi-niang is the best at everything,” Second Madam Cheng encouraged, playfully flicking her nose once more.
“Come now, sit up and finish your meal.”
Meanwhile, on the other side, Madam Wang was watching as a maid brought in a tray.
Wang Shi’qi-lang, dressed in casual undergarments, sat cross-legged before the low table and eagerly picked up his chopsticks with barely contained impatience.
“Slow down,” Madam Wang chided, her expression caught between amusement and heartache. “How many meals have you missed?”
Wang Shi’qi-lang wolfed down his food, mumbling an indistinct reply between mouthfuls.
“How many?” Madam Wang pressed, not catching his words.
After swallowing several bites and stretching his neck—prompting one lovely maid to pat his back soothingly while another held a spoon to feed him broth—he finally answered:
“I don’t know. It feels like I haven’t eaten my fill in ages…”
Madam Wang dabbed at her tears again upon hearing this.
“You foolish child,” she said, then added with some confusion, “But that Cheng family girl seemed quite agreeable. Did you notice something unseemly about her during the journey?”
Upon hearing this, Wang Shi’qi-lang—who had been eating heartily—suddenly froze.
Had he noticed anything amiss about the Cheng family girl during the journey?
The howling night wind rattled the doors and windows. Wang Shi’qi-lang shuddered and glanced toward the entrance, where the lamplight flickered against the oppressive darkness.
“Come here!”
A voice suddenly exploded in his ears. In an instant, he saw her—the girl—striding through the doorway, raising a bow and arrow aimed straight at him.
“Disobedient!”
A cold glint flashed as the arrow shot toward him—
“Aiya!” Wang Shi’qi-lang screamed, flinging his bowl and chopsticks away as he collapsed, clutching his head.
The room instantly erupted into chaos.
“Are you saying this is true?” Master Wang asked, his face a mix of shock and disbelief after hearing the servant’s account. “That the Cheng family’s fool is a divine doctor? Capable of raising the dead?”
The old servant nodded.
“It’s almost certainly her,” he said. “Though the person I inquired with didn’t mention the healer’s surname, the Zhou family had been obscure in the capital for decades—it’s impossible for a miracle doctor to suddenly emerge from nowhere. And the timing matches perfectly—it was right after the Zhou family brought the Cheng girl home.”
Master Wang let out a disbelieving chuckle, stroking his beard.
“That Cheng family fool—a divine doctor?” he said. “How could that be? She’s clearly a fool!”
The old servant shook his head.
“Master, whether she’s a divine doctor or not, I cannot confirm firsthand—it’s merely speculation. But what I have seen with my own eyes is this: she is no fool,” he said gravely. “No fool would command such reverence from the Zhou family, no fool could overturn fortunes with a wave of her hand, no fool could foresee danger before it struck, and no fool would calmly raise a bow in the dead of night—midst flames—and shoot to kill without hesitation.”
Master Wang’s expression grew solemn.
Indeed, one incident might be coincidence. Two could be luck. But three? That could only mean genuine capability.
The Zhou family’s deference, Master Zhou’s tears, the lantern festival on Heavenly Street, the Qin family of the Princess’s estate seeing her off at the city gates, the way every decision on the journey deferred to her command, the swiftness with which dangers were averted, the ruthless precision of that midnight kill—
“This Cheng girl is truly extraordinary,” he said with a slow nod. “Send more men to the capital to investigate thoroughly—”
Then he suddenly shook his head.
“No. There’s no need to investigate. What’s there to investigate?” Master Wang chuckled, nodding to himself. “Once they’re married, won’t it be easier to learn everything as family?”
If the Wangs had been willing to marry their son to a fool without scrutiny, how much more readily would they embrace a match worth making?
The old servant exhaled in relief and nodded—this was exactly the outcome he had hoped for. Yet, as another thought struck him, his expression darkened with worry once more.
“But, Master, the Young Master… he seems unwilling now…” he ventured cautiously.
“Unwilling? Why would he be unwilling?” Master Wang demanded, eyes widening in disbelief.
“Why?! Just look at how terrified Shi’qi has become!”
Footsteps echoed outside, accompanied by Madam Wang’s indignant voice.
The door slid open, and Madam Wang entered, her face drawn with exhaustion.
The old servant immediately dropped into a deep bow, pressing his forehead to the floor.
“Tomorrow, I’ll go speak with my sister and call off this betrothal. But to spare her any embarrassment, I’ll surely find her a more suitable match,” Madam Wang declared.
“No,” Master Wang flatly refused.
Madam Wang was taken aback.
Back when she had first proposed marrying their son to the Cheng family’s fool, her husband had also refused outright—but that refusal had been the natural reaction of any sensible parent.
Now, when she suggested canceling the match, why was he rejecting the idea just as firmly? Shouldn’t he be sighing in relief and scolding her with something like, “I told you this was nonsense from the start!”?
…Or perhaps he’s worried about causing First Madam Cheng trouble, she thought. After all, she is the matriarch of her household.
“My sister won’t be troubled—I’ll handle everything properly. Wasn’t the conflict between the Cheng and Zhou families just about the dowry? I’ll find another match, one that likewise asks for no dowry,” Madam Wang said with a reassuring smile.
“The dowry is trivial. What matters is the person,” Master Wang replied.
Madam Wang frowned.
“Listen to me—this Cheng girl is extraordinary,” Master Wang said, then briefly summarized what the old servant had reported.
By the time he finished, Madam Wang was equally stunned.
“Are you joking?” she exclaimed.
“Do you think mere jokes could have frightened Shi’qi this badly?” Master Wang countered.
Madam Wang fell silent.
“That girl killed someone,” she protested urgently.
“So what? Should she have waited to be killed instead?” Master Wang shot back. The Wang family’s maritime trade empire had been built on blood—every ship in their fleet bore its stains.
“But now that Shi’qi is terrified like this, what do we do?” Madam Wang threw up her hands in frustration.
“He’s still young. Let him go out and gain some experience for a couple of years—this is nothing to fuss over. In fact, we should be delighted,” Master Wang said dismissively.
Madam Wang hesitated, her expression conflicted.
“Our family doesn’t rely on Shi’qi to inherit the business anyway…” she murmured.
“This isn’t about Shi’qi anymore—it’s about her,” Master Wang insisted. “What family wouldn’t want someone like this? Didn’t you hear what Gu Si said? Even the Qin family from the Princess’s estate is fawning over her.”
“Then why hasn’t the Qin family proposed a marriage alliance?” Madam Wang retorted with a scoff.
“Enough—no more discussion. The matter is settled,” Master Wang declared, then glanced at his wife. “You’ve been running around all day. Go rest; we’ll talk tomorrow if needed.”
The old servant hurriedly bowed and withdrew. Madam Wang pressed a hand to her forehead, exhaustion weighing her down as she turned to retire. But before she could step away, chaos erupted outside.
“Madam! Master! Madam, Master—it’s terrible! Seventeenth Young Master has hanged himself—!”
Maids burst in, wailing and shrieking.
Madam Wang’s breath caught. She clutched her chest and collapsed.
“MY SON—!”
The night erupted into bedlam as the Wang household shattered into uproar.
The night was deep and still, the wind tapping lightly against the windows. Second Madam Cheng carefully withdrew her arm from beneath Cheng Qi-niang’s neck, rubbing the soreness from her muscles as she sat up.
The maid on night duty heard the movement and entered, whispering cautiously,
“Would you like some water?”
On the bed, Cheng Qi-niang mumbled in her sleep, tossing slightly as she flipped onto her side and kicked off the covers.
Second Madam Cheng quickly shook her head at the servant, waving her away, then gently stroked Cheng Qi-niang’s back until she gradually settled again.
“This child—even when she comes to sleep in my room, she’s so restless,” Second Madam Cheng finally murmured with a soft laugh.
“Madam, you’ve worn yourself out,” the servant whispered sympathetically.
“Worn out? What mother in this world would ever call caring for her child a burden?” Second Madam Cheng chuckled, reclining once more beside her daughter.
The maid dimmed another lamp and quietly withdrew. Glancing back, she saw Second Madam Cheng tucking the quilt around Cheng Q-iniang before the lowered bed curtains obscured her view.
Standing in the outer chamber, the maid didn’t lie down immediately but remained still, lost in thought.
“What’s wrong? Not sleeping yet?” another night-duty servant whispered.
The woman finally sat down with a sigh.
“I was just thinking… how nice it must be to have a mother,” she said softly.
The other servant paused, momentarily taken aback.
“Well, that goes without saying,” she replied with a quiet chuckle.
The maid smiled faintly too, then glanced at the heavy darkness beyond the window before settling down to rest.
Ban Qin opened her eyes to dim light, momentarily dazed before she remembered where she was. She draped her outer garment over her shoulders and rose, tiptoeing into the bedchamber.
On the bed, the girl lay peacefully under an embroidered quilt, its surface smooth and undisturbed—as if she hadn’t stirred even once all night.
Ban Qin quietly lowered the bed curtains and withdrew.
