Chapter 23: Taboo – Fubo Bridge

The man who had failed in his eagle presentation stormed straight into the falconry shop, slamming the door with thunderous force. He grabbed the shopkeeper by the collar and roared, “That eagle of yours hasn’t been properly tamed! It’s still wild! Give me my money back!”

Seeing the customer determined to ruin his shop’s reputation, the shopkeeper turned pale with anger. “Every eagle from my establishment understands human commands perfectly. Someone! Bring one from the backyard so everyone can witness it firsthand!”

The onlookers nodded in agreement.

The shop assistant brought out a falcon. It took flight upon command, circled sharply at the shopkeeper’s instruction, then landed steadily on the perch. Its sharp eyes scanned the crowd with fierce intensity.

The spectators quickly retreated to a safe distance.

Knowing he was in the wrong, the man raised his voice: “That damned creature attacked Miss Lin of the Lin residence! It tried to peck her eyes out!”

“Hiss…” The crowd gasped in shock.

A busybody pressed further: “Did Miss Lin go blind?”

The man hesitated, mumbling vaguely: “Well, no.” He deliberately omitted how Miss Lin had taken shelter under Young Master Wen’s sleeve and emerged completely unharmed.

The busybody grew more curious: “How could a delicate young lady with no strength to tie up a chicken possibly fend off such a ferocious eagle?”

The commoners began chattering among themselves. Earlier rumors had suggested Miss Lin’s dementia had cured itself, replaced by madness. Now it seemed this was no ordinary hysteria.

“She must be possessed by evil spirits!”

“A resurrected young lady from a noble household, repelling a fierce bird with just one palm?”

“If it’s not through supernatural means, then what could it be?”

“Didn’t the Taoist priest who jumped from Fubo Bridge shout ‘The heavenly mechanism changes, the heterodox appears’? Thinking back now, that ‘heterodox’ was clearly a person!”

“Heavens! That young lady from the Lin residence repelled an eagle bare-handed… isn’t she the greatest heterodox of all?!”

“…”

The next day, coinciding with Lin Zhaoheng’s day off, Lin Xihe forced her eyes open to serve tea to her nominal father.

“He’er, you’re unwell. Skip the formalities and return to your room to rest.”

“Father, can I really go back to sleep?”

She surprised herself with the question. Wasn’t the Lin residence an esteemed household? Wasn’t this family atmosphere excessively relaxed? Where were the household rules?

“Go back to sleep?” Lin Zhaoheng repeated each word slowly, contemplating before asking, “Is the inner chamber of Tinghe Courtyard too cramped for comfortable sleep? Perfect timing – the Wen residence is undergoing renovations. I’ll immediately approve constructing both sides simultaneously to build you a better one! The bedchamber of the Lin family’s legitimate daughter must be more spacious than Wen Hongyuan’s grandson’s!”

Help. This wasn’t just courtyard renovation – it was clearly an infrastructure competition.

Lin Xihe hesitated before speaking: “Father, you and Lord Wen…?”

It seemed like there was some enmity.

The incense stick gradually shortened amid Lin Zhaoheng’s complaints.

A matron brought several soft cushions. Lin Xihe rested her head on them, growing drowsy.

Lin Zhaoheng sprayed saliva as he ranted: “Yesterday in court, Wen Hongyuan didn’t spare me any dignity at all!”

“Differences in political views are quite normal. Don’t be angry, don’t be angry.” Lin Xihe was focused on smoothing his ruffled feathers when her tongue slipped: “Dad, have some tea.”

“Dad… means father?”

“Yeah.”

Lin Zhaoheng’s eyes curved into bean-pod shapes: “He’er’s way of calling me sounds particularly pleasing.”

“…” So ancient times had daughter-loving fathers too.

Her biological father from her previous life had given Lin Xihe enough headaches. Being assigned a daughter-loving father in this life wasn’t so bad after all.

“Thinking the Emperor truly supports him! The Emperor only considers Wen Zhiyue’s face!”

She almost misheard it as Wen Zhixu. Lin Xihe immediately perked up: “Who is Wen Zhiyue?”

“He is Wen Zhixu’s elder brother.” Lin Zhaoheng spoke of Wen Zhiyue, bowing solemnly toward the north, “General Wen, valiant and skilled in battle, truly deserves to be called a hero.”

As expected, every good-for-nothing has an impressive older brother. Lin Xihe shook off the drowsiness in her head and asked, “Why have I never seen him?”

Lin Zhaoheng’s expression darkened abruptly: “He died in battle…”

There is no such thing as lasting peace—only walls built from the bones of the frontier, blocking the sandstorms from blowing toward the capital.

The conversation had turned heavy.

Seeing his daughter’s solemn expression, Lin Zhaoheng deliberately stood up and spun in place, his pale blue robe sweeping arcs through the air. He insisted on his daughter’s opinion: “He’er, help your father… help Dad take a look. How does this suit me?”

Lin Xihe offered her critique: “A bit too plain.”

“If I were to apologize to someone, would they forgive me?” he murmured, as if speaking to himself.

Lin Xihe was somewhat puzzled. She scrutinized the middle-aged man before her: “Did you do something wrong and want to seek their forgiveness?”

Lin Zhaoheng nodded slowly.

“Then you’d better wear a monk’s robe—that would be more effective.”

“You child…”

Lin Zhaoheng took out a pouch embroidered with animal patterns from his pocket, fondled it lovingly a few times, and pressed it into Lin Xihe’s hand: “It was Dad’s fault for forgetting that my He’er is a grown lady now. Take this to buy some jewelry.”

Having received her allowance, Lin Xihe watched as Lin Zhaoheng boarded the carriage. The pouch was quite heavy, containing a fair amount of silver. She leaned against the carriage window, insisting on seeing him off beyond the estate.

“Dad, is Shu Shi An far?”

Lin Xihe quickly calculated in her mind: Although Bu Bu had slept soundly last night, when she changed his bandages this morning, the wound showed no signs of improvement. She needed to go to the back hills of Shu Shi An to find the hematite that could stop bleeding and regenerate flesh, just in case of emergencies.

“Why is He’er mentioning that place?”

“Ah?” Lin Xihe glanced sideways at him. The usual composure on the middle-aged man’s face inside the carriage had vanished.

Shu Shi An.

It seemed to be a forbidden topic he was unwilling to touch.

After Lin Xihe coaxed him for a few sentences, Lin Zhaoheng’s expression cleared.

“Today is highly auspicious. You must follow the custom of walking three rounds around the bridge to ward off evil spirits. The carriage and accompanying servants are all ready. This must be done today—do you remember?” Lin Zhaoheng instructed carefully.

To ward off evil spirits? Isn’t this just feudal superstition!

“Qingwu and I can go by ourselves.” She didn’t want a string of “tails” following her.

“Absolutely not. That girl Qingwu is gluttonous and playful. You two—”

“Why do you think they’re called the Sleeping Dragon and the Young Phoenix!”

“…”

A carriage approached from behind the alley. Lin Xihe lifted her skirt and moved aside.

“Bye, Dad.”

“Bye…?” Lin Zhaoheng mimicked her rising tone.

After seeing off Lin Zhaoheng, the carriage behind pulled forward, its vermilion wheels and ornate hubs brushing past the hem of her skirt.

Lin Xihe shook her fist: “Reckless driving! If you hit me, I’ll make you pay through the nose!”

That carriage belonged to the Wen family.

Her archrival had definitely done it on purpose.

She was about to chase the carriage when the pouch in her arms suddenly fell to the ground.

Lin Xihe hurriedly picked it up. The embroidery on the pouch depicted a scrawny little monkey—a rare pattern in ancient times. The embroiderer had taken an unconventional approach; though the stitches were clumsy, they were full of charm.

She shook her fist at the air: “I’ll settle this with you later.”

The sudden swerve caused the carriage to sway slightly.

Wen Zhixu lifted the curtain and looked back, just as a beam of sunlight pierced through the alley, landing squarely on the girl behind.

After the eagle snatched her hairpin, she had indeed replaced it with another. As she walked, the pearls on the new hairpin shimmered and swayed, irritating to the eye.

It was far inferior to the jade bamboo hairpin—at least that one hadn’t been so glaring. Wen Zhixu turned his face away.

Her slender figure melted into the entrance of the Lin residence and vanished from sight.

From inside the carriage, the noble young master uttered calmly, “Stop the carriage.”

The coachman panicked: “Second Young Master, it was Miss Lin who startled the carriage just now—I couldn’t avoid her in time!”

“Is that your excuse for deliberately hitting someone?”

The coachman leaped down and knelt on the ground: “Second Young Master, I only did it because that Eldest Miss Lin is truly detestable! I wanted to vent your anger for you…”

Wen Zhixu cut him off: “Her detestable nature is her own affair. It’s not your place to interfere. Wen Qi, take him to collect his silver.”

“Yes.”

“Second Young Master, have mercy! I have an elderly mother above and children below—”

Wen Qi dragged him away.

Creak—the gate of the Lin residence opened once more.

The carriage blocked the view, revealing only a glimpse of apricot-colored skirt hem.

Wen Zhixu leaned slightly to the side and caught sight of the Lin residence’s main gate. Crafted from premium rosewood, its dimensions were blatantly broader than those of the Wen family’s gate—a deliberate move by Lin Zhaoheng, who insisted on overshadowing the Wen family in even the most trivial matters.

The massive gate nearly swallowed the girl’s petite figure.

She poked her head out: “Is Shu Shi An far?”

“Far,” Wen Zhixu replied without thinking, then dug his nails deep into his palm. “Why do you ask?”

Lin Xihe studied him. His guarded demeanor mirrored that of her cheap father.

What was wrong with that nunnery? Was it haunted?

“Just curious,” she tossed back, then nimbly slipped inside the gate.

“…”

With both the coachman and servant absent, Wen Zhixu found himself alone, feeling adrift.

A clear voice rang out again: “Then Fu Bo Bridge can’t be far, right?”

Wen Zhixu’s gaze refocused on the Lin residence gate, where that infuriating head bobbed and swayed.

“Not far,” he said, the words escaping before he could stop himself—and he wanted to punch himself for it.

“You have a carriage—could you take me to Fu Bo Bridge?” Afraid he might change his mind, Lin Xihe immediately raised a plump money pouch. “It’s not a free ride! I’ll pay the fare!”