96. Plan-Enchanted by Darkness(Aguigu)

This morning, Gumin felt it was the calmest day he had known in six months.

He stood bare-chested, and the lithe strength in his skin would make any viewer turn red under the sun, yet the bite marks of varying depth across his body were equally arresting.

Lady Cui came in in a rush with a jar of medicinal plasters. She would not even let the maids move a hand; she unsealed the packet herself, dabbed a little on, and then, eyes faintly wet with pity, rubbed it across his wounds as if she could will the pain away, cursing Duogula to the winds in her heart a thousand times.

Gumin seemed long used to this. He gave no sign of concern, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth as he stared into the distance, and still comforted Lady Cui. “Mother, do not fret. It is only skin-deep. Your son can bear it.”

“That vile girl, the one who dared torture you so, will one day burn in fire at my own hands. Only then will my heart be at ease.” Lady Cui touched him so lightly, so lightly, as if afraid her care might hurt him.

Hearing this, Gumin’s eyes twisted into something savage. He bent his head to inspect his scars, especially the deep gouges along his chest, then said darkly, “It won’t be this time for long.”

As he spoke, half-closing his eyes, he added, “This morning a gate steward reported that people from Qingmo Courtyard had prepared a carriage. Someone saw Guifei climb into it with their own eyes. They said she is heading to Linlang Pavilion.”

At that, Lady Cui lit up with pride. “Truly, my son—whatever he sets his hand to, he does without fail.”

Gumin shook his head. “No. Though Guifei has gone to Linlang Pavilion, we do not yet know whether she will find Master Jiu.”

Lady Cui buckled his belt herself and said, “Don’t worry. That girl, for all her insolence, loves her life. If there is a cure, she will do everything to break this poison.”

Guifei assented in agreement, as is natural. “Then for these few days, I will pacify the household guards so Guifei has no chance to come too near.”

Lady Cui’s face instantly softened with such aching concern that she caught hold of Gumin’s sleeve and sighed, “My poor son.”

Leaving aside all Gumin’s plots, Guifei had gone to Linlang Pavilion and sat with Ziyuan in the cool pavilion, sipping tea and idling together in perfect ease.

Ziyuan was a lively talker and a deft one at that; even if Guifei neither courted heat nor sought dispute, she could still draw the whole atmosphere into motion and keep no silence from settling.

“Young lady, have you thought about what you’ll do next?” Ziyuan sipped her clear tea, eyes half closed in pleasure as the tea fragrance unfolded like a bud.

Guifei tapped the armrest with one finger. She understood what Ziyuan meant: whether she should, as once before, seize power from Guozhong. Now that Gumin held the Guo household, if she wished to reclaim anything, she would have to wrestle for it in the same way.

But no—Guifei only shook her head. Her gaze drifted from the white gauze draped over the pavilion to the pond full of pink lotus. “Seizing by force, however clever, leaves you forever answerable. And these are all Guo possessions. Even if I take them, my claim is never clean. Today it is Gumin who appears; who can say who will rise next?”

Ziyuan smiled, eyes crinkling, and pinched a piece of rose pastry into the small cup before her. “To think so wisely is best. I had already prepared to persuade you yourself.”

Guifei gave her a glance and, not wishing to continue the argument, said, “Once I leave, send someone out. Say that I need the strange physician, Master Jiu, to treat my poisoning.”

To her surprise, Ziyuan rose at once and asked in astonishment, “Young lady, you are poisoned?”

Guifei did not hide it. She nodded. “Yes. I was careless.”

Ziyuan paused a while. For once her brows held a rare seriousness, and a touch of appraisal. “You should hasten. Mogeyi is on his way to Yizhou, and there is not much time left.”