About half a month later, Yuan Qian was able to get up and walk on her own, and the wounds on her body no longer looked so frightening from the outside. Of course, it was impossible for them to be completely healed inside, but even at this rate of recovery, it was already astonishing—so much so that the doctors began to wonder whether the internal cultivation techniques she had practiced were specifically designed to promote healing.

One evening, Qin Yaoyue and Shang Rong came together to Shuanglin Courtyard, saying that Qin Yaoyue wanted to host a banquet for Qiu Huan and the others as a token of gratitude for their recent care.

—Qin Yaoyue’s tailor shop had opened ten days earlier, under the name “Xihua Pavilion.”

“Why on earth did Boss Qin find time to visit us idle folks today?” After three rounds of wine, Qiu Huan waved his cup as he chatted with Qin Yaoyue on behalf of the guests.

Yuan Qian couldn’t drink while still injured, and Yuan Mo, feeling it wasn’t safe for her to do so, only took a few sips just to go through the motions, deliberately using his inner energy to make her cheeks flush. As for Shang Rong, he couldn’t refuse and swallowed a cup of the bitter brew with a frown, then immediately collapsed into sleep. Everyone bent over, clutching their stomachs and laughing uproariously.

As for Duan Yunhe, she finally managed to catch a gathering where people were allowed to drink, and she really went all out, leaving Qin Yaoyue constantly having to keep an eye on her and urge her to slow down. Zhao Erhan, however, simply gave her a casual glance and continued chatting with Ming Zhen. No one knew when exactly it started, but suddenly Ming Zhen and Zhao Erhan got along much better, often going out together to admire flowers or take a boat ride on the lake.

Qiu Huan wore an indifferent expression: “Those two foxes must have taken a fancy to each other, huh?”

Duan Yunhe spat blood: “Fengze, you don’t ‘take a fancy’ like that!”

Speaking of which, since Qin Yaoyue’s tailor shop had just opened, everyone in Shuanglin Courtyard had pitched in to help—except for Shang Rong, who’d been there all along—so it was only natural that they should talk about “taking care” of her.

“Fengze, stop teasing me,” Qin Yaoyue said with a wry smile. “What boss? As long as the shop can make ends meet, that’s good enough for me. There’s no way I’m going to get rich off this business.”

Qiu Huan nodded toward Shang Rong, who was lying face-down: “See? Just let him help you more. He was born into this trade, after all. Besides, it’s clearly me whose business is doing the worst right now. If anyone should be whining about being broke, it should be me—leave the complaining to me!” —Of course, the claim that Shuanglin Courtyard’s business was bad was entirely self-inflicted. The manager and the owner were always neglectful; they’d stay up late and sometimes even skip opening the shop for a whole day. And whenever they saw a cute young girl, they’d insist on giving her jam for free—hardly the behavior of someone trying to make money.

“Brother Shang has already helped me enough; he’s even dragged down Yutang Pavilion’s business quite a bit. How could I possibly trouble him any further?” Qin Yaoyue shook her head. “Starting out is bound to be a bit tough anyway—no big deal. I’m not the kind of person who can’t handle a little hardship.”

Qiu Huan was just about to bite into a shrimp peeled by Yuan Mo when she heard this and raised an eyebrow without commenting. Ming Zhen glanced at Yuan Mo out of the corner of her eye, then spoke for Qin Yaoyue: “When you’re trading in the Unbound Lands, you’ve got to be extra careful. There are far more bandits and robbers here than in Liangqiu.”

In fact, there were a few more, but it wasn’t really that outrageous. Normally, one would expect the Unbound Lands—being lawless, with no external rules—to be a living hell, a place where everyone kills, robs, and commits crimes. But that wasn’t the case. Just like the “justice-driven martial arts masters” of Xinxiang mentioned before, almost every major city in the Unbound Lands had its own unwritten bottom lines. Anyone who crossed those lines usually ended up dead—sometimes by accident, sometimes deliberately. Xinxiang, for example, was a prime case of the latter.

So under the constraints of these “invisible laws,” public order in the Unbound Lands was certainly worse than in Gaoyang and Liangqiu, but it wasn’t terrible either—at least people could still manage to get by. Otherwise, the Unbound Lands wouldn’t have developed to where they are today.

Qin Yaoyue nodded in agreement: “That’s exactly right. Especially for women, life in the Unbound Lands requires extra caution.” As she spoke, she unconsciously glanced at Yuan Qian, who was sitting quietly.

Actually, today was the first time Yuan Qian had seen Zhao Erhan and Duan Yunhe together; previously, they’d both stayed in their rooms recovering from injuries and hadn’t come out. Still, for some reason, her expression seemed rather incredulous when they first met—perhaps, like Ming Zhen, she’d encountered the Crown Prince before.

Of course, Qiu Huan didn’t reveal the real reason behind Yuan Qian’s injury, and nobody asked anyway. Everyone was well aware of social norms: a grown woman like Yuan Qian had suffered such a serious injury, so there was no need to bring up such an awkward topic in front of her. Since neither Yuan Qian nor Qiu Huan mentioned it, the others just pretended not to know, only asking privately if they really needed to.

Lately, Shuanglin Courtyard had been unusually peaceful.

Although the mistress, Qiu Huan, had always lived a very relaxed life, it was undeniable that the atmosphere in the courtyard wasn’t as laid-back as she imagined. There were often undercurrents swirling around her. But with Cheng Jingtian’s departure, Yuan Qian’s recovery, and Ming Zhen and Zhao Erhan becoming close friends, things had finally calmed down—except for Duan Yunhe, who was still obsessively thinking about how to drive the Gaoyang Crown Prince back home.

And so the weather gradually grew cooler, the beginning of winter passed quietly, and before anyone knew it, it was already mid-October.

On this particular day, Qiu Huan was eating in the kitchen.

Yuan Mo had been sent away, Zhao Erhan was studying how to make fruit wine, and Ming Zhen had gone out somewhere unknown. Yuan Qian, meanwhile, had grown tired of boredom just a few days after her injury and volunteered to investigate the backgrounds of Wang Laohu and Dong Qing.

Now there were only Qiu Huan and Duan Yunhe in the kitchen.

As for how Miss Duan ended up in the kitchen, it wasn’t because she’d been begging to try her hand at cooking. It was simply that Yuan Mo wasn’t around, leaving Qiu Huan short-handed, and she didn’t feel like doing everything herself, so she decided to bring Duan Yunhe in.

—After all, with her keeping an eye on things, there was no fear that Duan Yunhe would wreck the kitchen; she just wouldn’t be allowed near the fire.

It was getting close to dinnertime, so they decided to close early to avoid having any customers left unattended. Duan Yunhe was happy to take a break too—being in the kitchen was like playing for her, and since she couldn’t cook anyway, it was actually pretty interesting to get a taste of “the culinary world.”

First, she cracked some eggs into the flour, added a pinch of salt, and kneaded it into a smooth dough, letting it rest for half an hour.

“Fengze,” Duan Yunhe handed Qiu Huan the sliced pork and cabbage, watching as she tossed them into the hot oil. “Why suddenly decide to make noodles? I thought you didn’t really like them.”

Qiu Huan stir-fried them briefly, then added chicken broth, soy sauce, and ginger, waiting for it to boil, before replying with a smile: “These are longevity noodles.”

“—Longevity noodles?!” Miss Duan was momentarily taken aback, losing her usual composure and letting out a startled cry, before quickly regaining her senses and coughing awkwardly: “Ah, yes, longevity noodles… Who are they for? Could it be Brother Fengze?” Brother Fengze had already become Ming Zhen’s official nickname, and even Qin Yaoyue and Zhao Erhan sometimes teased him like that. Ming Zhen, however, didn’t mind at all and always responded with a cheerful smile.

“No, his birthday is on July 11th.” Once it boiled, she covered the pot and let it simmer, while the dough had nearly rested enough. Qiu Huan rolled out the noodles with a rolling pin, keeping an eye on what was happening in the pot.

“Hey, Ming Zhen’s twenty-two this year, right? That’s the age to get married, isn’t it?” Duan Yunhe kept talking nonstop, and recalling her last unsuccessful attempt to gauge Qiu Huan’s feelings, she wondered if Qiu Huan might have feelings for her own sworn brother. That was why she asked the question.

“Yeah, he’s about the same age as Zhao Erhan,” Qiu Huan replied, steering the conversation toward Zhao Erhan instead. “Come to think of it, he got married so young—five years ago, he hadn’t even reached adulthood yet.”

Hearing that name, Duan Yunhe’s expression darkened slightly, but she quickly masked it and forced a smile: “His wife is three years older than him; she was already twenty when they got married. In Gaoyang, most women marry by the time they reach puberty, so that’s actually quite late. Plus, Erhan’s father wants to hold a grandson as soon as possible.”

Qiu Huan of course knew all this, but she brought it up precisely to keep Duan Yunhe on guard—not to forget Zhao Erhan’s status and family background just because he was now in the Unbound Lands.

End of Chapter 27: The Prelude to the Finale