Seeking Instruction

Bamboo shadows rustled through the courtyard as the two sat facing each other.

Zhou Yao gave a general account of everything that had happened. In response, the man offered a faint smile.

"I already have a full understanding of what Your Highness has been through." He paused, then asked in turn, "But what does Your Highness make of it?"

She was at a loss, her brows furrowed as she noticed the smile that had not once left Qi Yanhan's face. "Are you mocking me for ending up in such a sorry state?" she asked, her fine brows knitting together.

Qi Yanhan dutifully drew back his smile, those fox-like eyes glistening with a hint of moisture. "Not at all."

She studied him discreetly, taking in the elegant lines of his hand as he held his cup. "There must be something more to it," she replied.

"Indeed. My guess is that the place Your Highness visited was the Nine Kilns. It sits deep in the market district; in years past it produced vessels exclusively for the palace, but it was abandoned over some trifling matter. I never expected anyone would still be there these days."

His fox-like eyes lowered, looking perfectly refined—but Zhou Yao knew full well that what he called a "trifling matter" was usually the sort of thing that ended with entire families being executed.

Her throat went dry, and she swallowed involuntarily, letting her gaze drift toward the bamboo-framed window and the view beyond.

Early summer brought frequent rain, and the misty drizzle outside had a leisurely, pleasant air. Zhou Yao could no longer sit still. She rose and walked out, leaving behind a single line: "Thank you for the guidance, Master Qi."

What she did not notice was that after she left, the smile vanished from Qi Yanhan's lips. The moist gleam in his eyes turned murky and obscure as he set his cup down on the table.

Once Zhou Yao was gone, he summoned Duyun, who set about handling the matter at once. Only Qi Yanhan remained in the room, his fingers tracing the rim of his cup over and over again.

———

Zhou Yao hurried to the Nine Kilns, thinking back to the man she had met last time. It stayed with her, a nagging feeling that this matter would not be as easy to settle as it seemed on the surface.

This time, however, the door was not standing open as before. It was locked tight, and faint traces of a government-issued seal could still be made out on the door bolt.

She was just about to step forward and knock when her mouth was covered before she could even move, and she was half-dragged away from the spot.

Zhou Yao's doe-like eyes blinked without pause as she took in her surroundings, only letting out a breath of relief when the man who had grabbed her made a few turns before finally setting her down.

When she turned to look back, she realized that the man who had abducted her was the very same one who had hurled the teacup at her last time!

She thought to herself: I haven't done anything to provoke him. Why does he keep coming after me again and again? Even if there's something behind this, his attitude is far too hostile.

Despite her displeasure, she kept her tone polite and courteous. "Sir, what is the meaning of this? Are you trying to seize an innocent woman in broad daylight?"

The man seemed to cast a glance her way. "A woman like you—why do you keep wandering down this secluded alley instead of taking the open road?"

"I believe I already made my intentions clear to you earlier, sir. I ask that you reconsider."

"Impossible. Please, turn back."

His tone was cold, as if he had no desire to say another word. Even his handsome features were now creased with impatience.

"Why?" Zhou Yao refused to give up, wanting to press her case further—but to her surprise, he shot her a sideways glare.

"Go. Stop asking." With that, he turned and left, his elegant figure receding into the distance.

All Zhou Yao was left with was his back. She had not come any closer to learning the craft of porcelain.

But this skill she absolutely had to learn.

If not for her grand dream, then at least for the silver she owed the innkeeper.

If she could combine colored glaze with the palace's porcelain techniques, she was certain the results would sweep the market and bring booming business.

Then she would achieve financial freedom, turn her fortunes around in one stroke, and be able to formally propose a divorce to Qi Yanhan. No matter how she looked at it, the future was bright.

She left the alley and spotted a shop bearing a sign claiming to be a century-old establishment.

Noticing that the shop appeared to have little business, Zhou Yao stepped forward to ask, "Auntie, might I ask what happened in this alley before? Why is it so empty now?"

The old woman sighed ruefully. "This used to be the grounds of the Chen family's Nine Kilns. In years past, they enjoyed great favor from His Majesty, but for reasons unknown, a troop of officials came one day and took the whole family away. We never saw them again. The only one who ever came by was an apprentice the Chens had taken in years before—he'd drop by occasionally. A pity, too, that craft of theirs, made exclusively for the imperial household."

Zhou Yao nodded in understanding, thanked the woman, and moved on to ask at the next shop.

The stories she heard along the way were largely the same, and she was able to piece together a coherent account from what the neighbors had told her.

The Nine Kilns had once been a favorite of the emperor. During a palace banquet, the reigning sovereign had summoned Master Chen to appear before him.

When Chen returned, nothing seemed amiss—but that very night, a eunuch arrived bearing an imperial edict ordering the entire family executed.

The man she had just met was named Chen Yuwen, the sole survivor of the Nine Kilns, which explained the current state of things.

Zhou Yao's lashes lowered, casting a small shadow beneath her eyes.

She had arrived just as dawn was breaking, around the hour of Chen. Now the sky was dyed a shade of rose, the sun sinking in the west.

As she prepared to make her way back along the same route, her attention was caught by a woman being roughly dragged along at the edge of the street.

A wooden hairpin that had once been neatly fixed now dangled precariously from the woman's disheveled bun. Though the bun was in disarray, one could still make out the shape of an unmarried maiden's hairstyle.

Zhou Yao's brows furrowed in displeasure. She did not want to invite trouble, but seeing a woman of the realm being humiliated like this, she could not restrain the urge to help.

Her gaze turned cold, and she slowed her steps, keeping her ears open to hear what they were saying.

"Please, I beg of you, let me go just this once..." The woman spoke with the soft, lilting accent of the south—both her coarse clothing and her bare wrists made it clear she was not from Chang'an, and that she was entirely alone.

"Aiyo, would you look at this pitiful little thing now. That talk of yours, it just won't do. How 'bout tonight you come on over to my place, and I'll teach you to speak proper Chang'an talk." As he spoke, the man lunged at her again. No matter how the woman begged, no one stepped in to stop him.

"Hey, today I'll show you what a real man from the imperial city is like."

Zhou Yao gritted her teeth, pulled the hairpin from her own hair, and hurled it forward. It flew true, cutting across the man's so-called "imperial city."

The man was furious, cursing and craning his head about as he tried to find who had done it—but when he looked around, there was no one in sight beyond the goods of the street vendors and hawkers.

The rose-colored clouds faded, and the sky gradually darkened.

The man seemed to lose his nerve. With one last vicious curse—"Pah, poser!"—he stumbled off, abandoning his game with the woman and leaving her alone in her distress.

The woman from the south had clearly heard the rustling in the grass nearby. She fell to the ground in fear, her legs trembling uncontrollably, muttering words Zhou Yao could not understand.

Those tear-filled eyes softened Zhou Yao's heart.

Thinking the woman might be frightened of her, Zhou Yao left her only remaining pack of dried rations and the thirty copper coins she had earned from her stall that day in a corner near the alley's exit.

What Zhou Yao did not notice was a carriage bearing the Qi family mark, stopped not far away...

Qi Yanhan watched Zhou Yao's receding figure disappear from view before slowly stepping down from the carriage.

By the time she returned to the inn, she found the owner already waiting at the door.

Though he greeted her with a smile, Zhou Yao felt a chill run down her spine, afraid that at any moment he would open his mouth and demand compensation from her again.

It wasn't that Zhou Yao didn't want to repay the debt.

She simply couldn't! How could she not help a poor woman who had appeared on her path to making money?

Zhou Yao suppressed the urge to frown as she watched the owner approach, letting out a sigh.

"Miss, about today's room fee—when might we be seeing it? I'm not trying to rush you, it's just that this is a small business, and three thousand and eighty copper coins is no small sum. That's the only reason I'm bringing it up. How about this: you rest here for tonight, and tomorrow you can see if there's anyone in Chang'an you know who might lend you a bit."

The owner spoke with genuine feeling. Zhou Yao smiled awkwardly and apologized again and again.

In the first half of her life, even at her lowest point—scrambling for scraps with a favored concubine's dog in the palace—she had never felt so embarrassed and humiliated.

"Sigh."

Owing money was still better than getting married.

Though she and Qi Yanhan were husband and wife in name, it still didn't sit well with her.

"Werwerwerwerwer~"

The moment Zhou Yao stepped into the inn, she heard the piercing, penetrating bark of a beagle from upstairs.

She had been out all day, and she didn't even dare to think about whether it had managed to escape from that bamboo cage.

Her lower lip was bitten red from anxiety. Forgetting all decorum, she flew up the stairs as fast as she could.

By the time she reached the door of her room, the barking suddenly stopped.

In its place was dead silence.

She knew it—trouble.

Sure enough.

When she opened the door, the bamboo cage she had carefully placed there before leaving that morning had been chewed to pieces by the beagle.

Shreds of cloth and splinters of wood littered the floor, testament to its "glorious achievements."

Zhou Yao covered her eyes, not daring to look.

This was an illusion.

It had to be!

She tried closing the door and opening it again, hoping the scene inside would somehow change.

It didn't.

"Werwerwer!"

The beagle, seeing Zhou Yao at the door, happily rolled twice on the floor before using its paws to scratch at the bedding.

The next moment, Zhou Yao's fist came down on the beagle's solid skull with a solid "thump."

The beagle opened its mouth as if to bark again, but Zhou Yao grabbed a strip of cloth it had already shredded and tied its mouth shut.

The beagle, unable to move, shot her a look of reproach so intense it seemed almost tangible. While Zhou Yao turned away, it leaped, sending her head smacking against the door.

Man and dog stared each other down.

Neither would back down.

It wasn't until the innkeeper knocked on the door, asking, "Miss, is there anything I can help with?"

Zhou Yao looked at the mess of a room and sighed. She was about to answer through the door, but as she stepped closer, she overheard the quiet murmuring of two voices on the other side.

"Are you sure she's in there?" A somewhat low male voice asked.

"Yes, yes!" The innkeeper replied with a fawning laugh, "Just as you described—a young woman with an unusually loud dog. In all of Chang'an these days, she's the only one."

There was silence for a long while. Before Zhou Yao could even recall where she had heard that voice before, the innkeeper was knocking again.

"Miss, if it's convenient, let me bring you some hot water. I saw you out all day; a bit of hot water should help."

Zhou Yao's heart began to race with nervous tension.

Why was the man outside the door asking about her whereabouts? Who could it be?