Missing Thoughts Literature

What Mei Chengyu cared about most was that night when he hurried to the Saint Hall, only to be stopped by his master, who wouldn't let him in.

After Yu Sui left the Saint Hall Main Hall, she could use Five Elements Qi and practice Nine Schools Techniques. She was no longer a Normal Practitioner.

The key moment had been that very night.

If Yu Sui hadn't sealed the Breath Soil and learned the Bagua Life Technique that night, then on the day she was attacked in the Outer City, the strange fire might not have strengthened her Nine Schools Techniques. It might have burned her to ashes, just as it had the first time.

Going from a Normal Practitioner to a practitioner who could cultivate was already astonishing enough.

But his master hadn't let him in on Yu Sui's secret, and Mei Chengyu hadn't pressed the matter. Even if Yu Sui acted one way to his face and another behind his back, he didn't care. His master could keep her in check, anyway.

Everyone had secrets they didn't want others to know.

Mei Chengyu knew Nian Qiuyan was reminding him that Yu Sui's appearance that night hadn't been a coincidence. Even if she hadn't been directly involved, she'd played a part indirectly.

"It is unusual for something like this to happen during a Divine Wood Sign divination." Mei Chengyu looked at the Divine Wood Sign in Nian Qiuyan's palm and thought it over. "Even if Junior Martial Sister had a hand in it, she probably meant no harm. Otherwise, Master would have stepped in."

Nian Qiuyan nodded. "That's what I think, too. I can't imagine why your junior sister would target you, unless you'd been bullying her under the cover of being her senior martial brother."

Mei Chengyu lifted his hands from the medicinal bath, removed the Medicated Cloth, and rewrapped them. He replied casually, "She's not that easy to bully."

Whether Yu Sui's appearance had been a coincidence or what it meant didn't concern Mei Chengyu much. She hadn't meant any harm, after all. What interested him a little was the person who had nullified his Nine Schools Techniques that night.

"It was Mystic Technique, wasn't it?" Nian Qiuyan mused. "The School of Names is quite good at abilities that can nullify someone else's Nine Schools Techniques, but not to this extent. The Golden Thunder and Xustar Star General you used were both Heavenly Secrets Techniques from their respective schools, yet they were nullified the instant you used them. That's the power of a School of Names Sage."

"There couldn't have been a Sage among those people tonight. If a Sage had been trying to kill Meimei, his master would have noticed." Cang Shu replaced Mei Chengyu's medicinal bath with fresh water, then added, "If it was Mystic Technique, it could have been 'Heavenly Official' or 'Six Paths.'"

Nian Qiuyan put away the Divine Wood Sign. "Those are both high-ranking Mystic Techniques, and either one can break someone else's Nine Schools Techniques."

"Mystic Technique doesn't require Five Elements Qi, but he was initially hiding in the dark while clearing them. He was probably using the Listening Wind Ruler to communicate with Wei Kun. In other words, he didn't dare let Wei Kun know he had Mystic Technique."

Mei Chengyu recalled, "But when he nullified the Nine Schools Techniques, he didn't move. It even failed once midway through. If the owner of Shadow Devour hadn't nearly died, he might not have stepped in at all."

"There are limits to its range and use. While nullifying a technique, he can't use Five Elements Qi to embody Nine Schools Techniques." Nian Qiuyan nodded. "Then it must be Heavenly Official, the ninth-ranked Mystic Technique."

Records of the various Mystic Techniques varied in detail. Some were especially thorough, while others contained only a few scattered lines. There were too few people who knew about them or had seen them. Or perhaps those who possessed such Mystic Techniques had never revealed their abilities to the world.

Downstairs, Yu Sui listened as Shi Yuezhen explained the essentials of Spirit Calming Sleep. Her eyes followed the other woman's movements as she wrote out the medicine, but her attention was on the second-floor scene monitored by the Five Elements Light Core.

She heard her senior martial brothers discussing Gu Gan's Mystic Technique, and their final guess matched her own.

Gu Gan might have thought that tonight's operation was sure to succeed. Relying on his Mystic Technique, Heavenly Official, he'd believed Mei Chengyu was as good as dead. Though he'd nullified Mei Chengyu's various Nine Schools Techniques several times, he'd still underestimated him.

Mei Chengyu wasn't stupid, and neither was anyone around him. They'd all earned their way to Grade A Disciple through their own talent and hard work, and none had stopped there; they'd kept pushing forward. As long as they shared information, it would be easy to find the culprit.

If Mei Chengyu had died, there would have been no trouble. Unfortunately, he hadn't.

"Heavenly Official. It's the ninth-ranked Mystic Technique, and plenty of people would kill to get their hands on it." Mei Chengyu raised an eyebrow, a wicked smile curving his handsome face. "If I spread the word, I won't even have to lift a finger. Plenty of people will help me find him."

The academy would announce that he'd killed Wei Kun tonight anyway. That would indirectly help him spread the news that someone possessed the Mystic Technique Heavenly Official.

"You lost points, too," Cang Shu said.

Mei Chengyu didn't care. "I'll make them back by spending a few days on Mechanism Island."

"I think you'll need time to recover," Cang Shu said. "At least a month."

Mei Chengyu frowned, displeased, but there was nothing he could do.

"Is Yuezhen still on duty at the clinic this month?" Nian Qiuyan asked Cang Shu.

Mei Chengyu looked at him, too. "I've never seen a Medical School Disciple serve at the clinic for two months straight, all by herself. There are so many Grade A Disciples in the Medical School, and not one of them comes?"

Cang Shu looked a little helpless. "The Medical School has the fiercest competition and the most to learn. For most Medical School Disciples, watching over the clinic is a waste of time. Sometimes there are Hundred Schools Night Walks or other trials, and the disciples on clinic duty can't go because of their schedules. So hardly anyone wants to come."

Only some disciples below Grade A who wanted to get a little hands-on experience were willing to come, but they never stayed long. They had even more to learn and were busy.

Mei Chengyu said coolly, "She doesn't get paid a single coin for all the people she saves at the clinic. Tell her to stop standing watch. If the disciples won't do it, the instructors can."

"Clinic duty is something every Medical School Grade A Disciple is supposed to do. Yet now she's the only one doing it." Nian Qiuyan smiled. "Could those Medical School brothers and sisters be trying to slow Yuezhen's cultivation by doing this?"

Mei Chengyu lowered his bandaged hands into the medicinal bath again. "One or two might be, but if none of them come, then it's about more than slowing down her cultivation."

Cang Shu said slowly, "I'm not happy about it, but she seems to have her own reasons. If she doesn't ask me for help, I can't just interfere however I want."

After hearing that, Yu Sui couldn't help turning her gaze back to Shi Yuezhen, who stood by the Medicine Cabinet, opening a drawer and looking down at the medicines.

A few days ago, when she was studying outside the Medical School, she'd seen many newly enrolled Grade D Disciples. They'd just started learning, and the instructors' explanations of medicinal herbs, injuries caused by Nine Schools Techniques, and their aftereffects left them utterly bewildered.

They were all busy, scribbling furiously in class or using their Listening Wind Rulers to send each other messages and record the key points.

The class next door was for Grade C Disciples. An instructor had brought an injured disciple in to demonstrate in person how to use Five Elements Qi to ease an injury. Meanwhile, everyone listened as the injured disciple yelped in pain throughout the demonstration.

The Medical School really was busy, and the competition was fierce.

Shi Yuezhen had risen to become a Grade A Disciple and mastered the Medical School's Heavenly Secrets Technique. She was already among the top Medical School Disciples at Taiyi Academy.

Could someone like her still be ostracized by her fellow Medical School Disciples? Yu Sui folded her hands on the table and rested her cheek in the crook of her arm, tilting her head to look at Shi Yuezhen. In a soft voice, she asked, "Sister Yuezhen, why have you been on duty at the clinic for so long? Aren't the other Grade A Disciples coming?"

Shi Yuezhen had her back to her. She smiled gently. "They're busy cultivating and don't have time to come here."

"It's been almost two months. Aren't Grade A Disciples required to serve at the clinic?" Yu Sui asked softly, sounding puzzled. Shi Yuezhen glanced back. The girl with her face tucked into her arms looked as cute as a curious kitten.

"It's all right if they don't come. Things haven't been busy lately. If the clinic gets too crowded, I'll call someone to help." Shi Yuezhen's lips curved into a smile. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with staying at the clinic."

Yu Sui could tell that the senior martial sister wasn't someone who would simply swallow her grievances if she were bullied. She had her own reasons, so Yu Sui didn't ask more and risk arousing suspicion.

Shi Yuezhen mixed her a bowl of soothing medicinal soup. Yu Sui's sleeplessness was caused by the strange fire, but she still scrunched up her nose and drank down the bitter medicine.

She didn't want to go back to the dormitory and stare down Gu Gan and his gang, so she stretched out on the small bed in a first-floor side room. Then she took out her Listening Wind Ruler and asked Li Jinshuang, the unlucky one, when she'd be back at the dormitory.

Li Jinshuang was attempting the Military Formation in the Military School. When she came out and received Yu Sui's message, she pressed her lips together and stared at it for a while before moving her fingers to reply, "In the morning."

"Then shall we eat together?" Yu Sui asked. "I'm at the clinic and haven't gone back either. Once you're done, we can go to the Dining Hall."

Li Jinshuang hesitated.

She remembered what Shu Chujun had said: the Saintess's wish was that she not get too close to the County Princess of Qingyang. Qingyang County Princess hadn't done anything out of line, and she didn't seem to have any grudge against them. Li Jinshuang didn't understand why they had to keep their distance, so Shu Chujun had glared at her and muttered, "The Saintess has finally taken a liking to a man. She's only just fallen for him, and now the Qingyang County Princess, who's so close to Gu Gan, has arrived. Do you really still want to be friends with her?"

If that man was Gu Gan, Li Jinshuang thought the Saintess didn't have very good taste.

Whenever Li Jinshuang happened to see Gu Gan walking with Yu Sui or eating with her in the Dining Hall, she would think that this man surely wouldn't take only one wife. If the Saintess liked him, then what would happen to Nangong Sui?

Staring at Yu Sui's message, Li Jinshuang's mind raced with countless thoughts. She didn't think keeping her distance from the Qingyang County Princess was really the Saintess's wish, but she still declined Yu Sui's invitation.

Li Jinshuang put away her Listening Wind Ruler. Though she was the one who'd rejected Yu Sui, her heart was uneasy. She'd already decided not to check her Listening Wind Ruler again, but she couldn't help herself.

She plunged headfirst into the newly opened Military Formation and stopped thinking about it.

Rather than worry about whom the Saintess liked, she might as well think about her sword spirit.

Though Yu Sui had been rejected by Li Jinshuang, she wasn't very surprised.

After daybreak, the strange fire's heat subsided. Yu Sui fanned herself with one hand. Hearing Mei Chengyu come downstairs, she pushed aside the curtain and went out, too.

Mei Chengyu had White Medicated Cloth wrapped around both hands, as well as around his neck and other places beneath his clothes. His condition looked oddly familiar, and Yu Sui couldn't help remembering that she'd looked about the same last month.

Yu Sui greeted him first. "Senior Martial Brother."

Mei Chengyu saw that she still seemed full of energy, as though she hadn't slept at all, and asked, "You didn't sleep?"

"No." Yu Sui shook her head.

Mei Chengyu said, "Didn't they prescribe medicine for you?"

"It might not work right away," Yu Sui said. "I have to keep taking it."

Mei Chengyu studied her. "Then keep taking it."

Yu Sui nodded and walked outside with him, then glanced back at the clinic. "Senior Martial Brother, are you going back to the dormitory? Should I bring you some breakfast from the Dining Hall?"

"No need. I'll go back and change, then leave. I won't be at the academy for the next couple of days," Mei Chengyu said lazily.

Yu Sui asked, puzzled, "Where are you going?"

"To earn points."

After saying that, he suddenly remembered something. His eyes narrowed and he stopped walking. "The clothes you gave me are still at the clinic. So, are you going to wash them and give them back to your senior martial brother, or buy me a new set?"

There was a teasing note in Mei Chengyu's voice.

Yu Sui shook her head. "You can just keep them."

Mei Chengyu said, "They look expensive."

Yu Sui waved her hand generously. "It's fine. I have money. I wouldn't mind buying a hundred more."

Mei Chengyu thought, I'm not asking you to buy me another set. But when he saw Yu Sui smiling with "I really don't care about that little bit of money" written all over her face, he held his tongue.

Yu Sui followed behind him and asked, "Senior Martial Brother, do you like them? I could also—"

Mei Chengyu cut her off. "I don't."

Yu Sui blinked. "Oh."

Mei Chengyu pressed his tongue against a sharp tooth and tried to hold back, but in the end he spoke up. "Don't spend your money on men. Spend more on yourself. The new dresses you bought look beautiful. You should get a few more."

Yu Sui smiled. "I think the styles this time are beautiful, too."

She didn't want to return to the dormitory and deal with Gu Gan, so she parted ways with Mei Chengyu on the road and went to the Dining Hall by herself.

The table was piled high with food. Yu Sui calmly held her bowl and drank her porridge.

Her Listening Wind Ruler buzzed. Zhongli Que had sent her a message, saying she'd brought Su Feng with her to visit the Little Medical Saint at the clinic and was on her way there.

Zhongli Que wrote, "In a few days, it'll be my mother's birthday. She wants to invite Sister Chu to the manor for the banquet, but I keep feeling that strange resemblance to King Nangong is unsettling. I'm afraid I might be imagining it and unfairly suspecting her, so I asked Second Brother Su to come with me and have a look. I want to know if I'm the only one who feels this way."

With a small piece of meat pastry in her mouth, Yu Sui lowered her eyes to the message and tapped the text box with one hand. "Is Second Brother with you right now?" On the carriage, Zhongli Que glanced at Su Feng, who sat opposite her. He'd shed his youthful innocence. His once bright, lively eyes seemed more composed now, and he'd grown steadier and more mature, though he still retained a touch of youthful spirit.

Su Feng sat sideways by the carriage window with his arms crossed, looking outside. Catching Zhongli Que watching him, he raised an eyebrow and looked back. "What did she say?"

Zhongli Que held out her Listening Wind Ruler and answered honestly, "She asked whether Second Brother Su was with me."

Su Feng gave a faint snort, took her Listening Wind Ruler, and replied to Yu Sui, "You remember to ask if I'm around now?"

Then he asked how Yu Sui was getting along at Taiyi, whether she was eating and dressing well, and whether Sheng Zui had gotten into another sulk with her over Gu Gan.

Yu Sui answered everything one by one, then told them about Qian Ying. "I saw her yesterday. She's already a Grade A Disciple in the Medical School at Taiyi Academy."

Zhongli Que covered her mouth and widened her eyes, greatly surprised. What a change.

She remembered Qian Ying, too—the younger sister Gu Gan had asked Yu Sui to look after at the manor.

The day after Yu Sui fell into the water, the story had spread through the noble families. Back at the Imperial Academy, plenty of people had talked about it.

The children who disliked Yu Sui because of Gu Gan deliberately laughed loudly whenever they passed her.

From then on, Zhongli Que had disliked Gu Gan. She really couldn't stand him. Yet she knew of his ties to the Nangong Family, and Yu Sui couldn't simply cut ties with him.

Gu Gan hadn't been in the capital then. By chance, Yu Sui's eldest brother, Han Bing, had returned from Taiyi Academy the next day. Han Bing had been nineteen, a tall, grown man. He'd been mature and steady since childhood, and always looked after his two younger brothers and sister.

When he heard what had happened, he beat up the noble scions who'd started the trouble and gotten physical with Yu Sui. A few days later, he stole the Crown Prince's thunder at the Hunting Ground and won Qingyang Emperor's favor. The emperor praised him repeatedly and even bestowed on Han Bing the bow the Crown Prince had wanted.

The Crown Prince Qingyang had been so furious that he'd walked out on the spot.

By the time Gu Gan came back to avenge Yu Sui, it was already too late.

Han Bing had always told Sheng Zui to hold back and stop clashing with Gu Gan all the time, but sometimes Sheng Zui just couldn't control himself.

Su Feng thought Sheng Zui had been completely blinded by jealousy. When he was little, he'd been the child who liked Nangong Ming most; after growing up, Sheng Zui had become the one who cared about Nangong Ming most.

When his two older brothers were around, Sheng Zui could still be kept in check. But then he went to Taiyi Academy, and after eldest brother Han Bing left the academy, Gu Gan arrived. With no one left to keep him under control, Sheng Zui had free rein.

Later, when Sheng Zui met Qian Ying at the academy, the two of them disliked each other at first sight. Especially during the time Qian Ying was on duty at the clinic, Sheng Zui would rather die of pain than go there when he was injured.

He couldn't stand the way Qian Ying chased after Gu Gan, calling him Brother Gu. It always made him think of his own hopeless little sister.

During the Hundred Schools Night Walk Trial at the academy, they inevitably ran into each other a few times. Their old grudges from childhood piled up, and Sheng Zui had been ambushed by Qian Ying's Medical School Pupil Technique more times than he could count. He hated her guts. That crazy woman was willing to do anything for Gu Gan.

Sheng Zui had done his fair share to make Qian Ying hate the Nangong Family.

Su Feng replied, "Your third brother is probably having a rough time, but don't worry about him. It'll do him good to suffer a little."

Zhongli Que replied, "Since Gu Gan took Qian Ying to Taiyi, still keeps in touch with Xiang Feifei, and has even teamed up with the Saintess of Nanjing Country, he really is a womanizer!"

Yu Sui laughed. "He sure is."

Zhongli Que angrily pressed the text box. "Suisui, you should put him in his place!"

Yu Sui thought that after Senior Martial Brother exposed Gu Gan's Mystic Technique, his days would probably be difficult.

Zhongli Que said to Su Feng, "I'm really afraid King Nangong will marry Suisui off to Gu Gan."

"I absolutely won't agree to it," Su Feng said.

Zhongli Que sighed. "But if King Nangong agrees to something like that, it'll be hard to stop."

"You're worrying too far ahead." Su Feng raised an eyebrow. "If Father really wanted to do that, I'd be the first to assassinate Gu Gan."

He added silently, Even if that day really comes, plenty of people in the capital will do everything they can to ruin the marriage. And if they can't, there'll only be more people wanting to kill Gu Gan.

Though Chu Jin's clinic in the capital was in a bustling district, the area around it was quiet. The surrounding shops sold calligraphy, paintings, and jade, so few people came by. Those who did were either wealthy people visiting out of curiosity or experienced regulars.

Since her clinic opened, though, the street had grown lively. Every day, people came to the clinic to pick up medicine or seek treatment.

Many of them were Nine Schools Practitioners. Chu Jin also treated ordinary people, so everyone praised her as kindhearted and compassionate, a living bodhisattva.

It was Su Feng's first time at the clinic. After getting out of the carriage, he looked at the signboard, then lifted his gaze and caught sight of a flash of white passing behind the railing on the second floor.

A moment later, the woman in white appeared in the main hall downstairs, smiling as she greeted Zhongli Que. "Miss Zhongli."

"Sister Chu, I brought you a patient today." Zhongli Que stood beside Su Feng and introduced him. "I don't understand his problem, so I brought him here for you to take a look."

Su Feng discreetly sized up the woman before him. She seemed about his age, with smiling, watery eyes and the gentle warmth of someone from the Medical School. To have that sort of bearing, she must have cultivated the Medical School Pupil Technique and reached at least the Fifth Realm.

"Come this way." Chu Jin led them to a Consultation Desk nearby. As she cleared the table, her white sleeve brushed lightly over it, revealing a fair hand. She listened intently as Su Feng described his symptoms, her expression composed and focused as she asked careful questions.

Su Feng watched her write out a prescription with Paper and Brush. Feigning curiosity, he asked, "May I ask whether Physician Chu uses pupil techniques to treat people?"

"Though I've cultivated pupil techniques, my skills are poor, and I wouldn't dare try them lightly." Chu Jin kept writing out the prescription, her eyes on the black characters on the white page, but she smiled. "I usually just earn a little money to get by."

Su Feng rested his face on one hand and asked with smiling eyes, "I heard Physician Chu once went to the manor to help Lady Su treat an old illness. My aunt has been ill for many years. If a doctor's Medical School Pupil Technique weren't good enough, she wouldn't even be allowed through the manor's gates. Physician Chu must be too modest."

Chu Jin froze, then looked up at Zhongli Que in confusion. Only then did Zhongli Que explain, "This is the manor's Young Master."

"So you're the Young Master." Chu Jin's expression cleared, and she smiled. Then she shook her head gently. "Though I did go to the manor that day, I didn't see the lady. Perhaps she found out midway that my pupil techniques were poor, so she decided not to meet me."

Su Feng looked surprised. "Wasn't it Lady Su who invited Physician Chu?"

"I only received an invitation from the manor," Chu Jin said, shaking her head. "I don't know who sent it."

She got up and handed the prescription to the clinic's assistant physician to fetch the medicine. Standing by the stairs, she said to Zhongli Que and Su Feng, "The Massage Teaching Room is full of women. It might be inconvenient for the Young Master to go inside, so please wait here."

Zhongli Que said goodbye to Su Feng, then followed Chu Jin upstairs.

Su Feng stayed where he was. His calm gaze followed them all the way to the second floor, his expression betraying no emotion. After a moment, he looked away and carefully examined his surroundings.

When Zhongli Que entered the room upstairs, several female physicians were already preparing the ointment for the massage.

"So the invitation wasn't from Lady Su?" Zhongli Que asked curiously.

Chu Jin smiled and shook her head. "It really wasn't. At first, when I heard the manor had sent me an invitation to treat someone, I thought the County Princess had invited me on her mother's behalf."

Zhongli Que paused with the medicine jar in her hands and lowered her eyes slightly.

It couldn't have been Suisui.

"Later, I heard that the County Princess had already gone to Taiyi Academy, so it couldn't have been her." Chu Jin gracefully rolled up her sleeves and helped Zhongli Que adjust hers, speaking softly. "But Lady Su has suffered from her old illness for years. As her only child, if the County Princess hadn't gone to Taiyi Academy, she would probably have found someone to treat her mother."

Zhongli Que looked up at the woman before her as she rolled up her sleeves and pressed her lips together in silence.

The most foolish thing she'd ever done, and the thing she regretted most, was trying to bring Yu Sui and Lady Su closer.

When the two girls had still been thirteen or fourteen, Zhongli Que had always felt that Lady Su and Yu Sui didn't seem like mother and daughter whenever she saw them together at a banquet.

Clearly, Suisui was so adorable. Why didn't Lady Su like her?

Zhongli Que had even suspected that Suisui wasn't Lady Su's biological child, but she'd been wrong. Yu Sui really was the daughter of Lady Su and Nangong Ming.

She thought Yu Sui was so wonderful that there couldn't be anyone in this world who didn't like her.

That year, the palace held the Flower Appreciation Banquet. The innocent, carefree girls of the imperial capital all loved the banquet, which took place once every three years. At the time, fresh and unusual flowers cultivated in various places would be brought to the palace for them to admire and enjoy.

The two main halls in the palace were filled with flowers of every color. On the day of the Flower Appreciation Banquet, practitioners of the Agricultural School Nine Streams Technique would also hand out Spirit Flower Seeds for people to plant for fun.

After planting a Spirit Flower Seed provided by the Agricultural School and watering it, a flower would bloom fifteen minutes later.

The palace had even prepared several acres of land specifically for the children to plant flowers for fun.

When they grew a beautiful flower and gave it to their mother, seeing her smile happily made them happy too. The other ladies were just as delighted to receive flowers from their children. That was why Zhongli Que had asked Yu Sui to get some Spirit Flower Seeds, then grow flowers to cheer up Lady Su.

Yu Sui didn't think this little trick would work on Lady Su, but she also wanted to play with the Spirit Flower Seeds from the Agricultural School, so she scattered them over a large area and waited patiently.

Zhongli Que went to bring Lady Su and the others over.

The plan had been perfect.

Then a large patch of golden sunflowers with tall stalks and green leaves sprang up in the field, and Yu Sui's scalp prickled.

By the time she wanted to destroy them and start over, it was too late.

Zhongli Que brought Lady Su and the others over. Everyone marveled at the lush, beautiful sunflowers and praised the County Princess. Lady Su stood still, her expression turning cold toward Yu Sui in public for the first time.

Yu Sui could only play dumb, pretending she knew nothing as she lightly tugged at a flower's leaves and looked at Lady Su with an obedient expression.

Lady Su walked toward Yu Sui, step by step, into the flower field.

Only then did Zhongli Que realize something was wrong. Before Lady Su could speak, a vision of what would happen flashed through her mind: Yu Sui kneeling in punishment again after returning to the Prince's estate; Lady Su arguing with Nangong Ming in their room, her face cold; the dim yellow light of night falling across Yu Sui's back as she knelt at the doorway, making her look terribly forlorn.

She was stunned. How could this happen?

Lady Su stopped in front of Yu Sui, an unmistakable air of oppression about her, and asked the girl before her, "Did you plant these?"

A hint of timidity showed in Yu Sui's eyes. "I planted them with Spirit Flower Seeds. I wanted to give them to Mother."

Lady Su's eyes were dark with coldness. In a tone that allowed no refusal, she said, "Destroy them."

"I don't like these flowers," she said.

The other ladies sensed something was wrong and hurried forward to smooth things over, but Lady Su wouldn't hear them out. She simply swept away with a flick of her sleeve.

The ladies exchanged looks, at a loss for what to do.

Zhongli Que was beside herself with regret. She looked at Yu Sui standing in the flower field. The bright, lively sunflowers bloomed all around her, and Yu Sui, wearing a golden dress to match, was hidden among them—yet she was the only splash of cold color.

Lady Zhongli told Zhongli Que to go comfort Yu Sui, then led the other ladies farther away so the adults' idle chatter wouldn't disturb the children.

"Suisui, I'm sorry." Zhongli Que frowned, her eyes full of regret. "I shouldn't have asked you to do this. It's all my fault."

"It's okay." Yu Sui smiled at her, then turned and began breaking off the flowers. "Help me pull them all out so we can plant something else. Let's plant different flowers. I don't like these either."

Zhongli Que had been holding back her tears, but the moment she saw Yu Sui smile at her, her eyes and nose suddenly stung.

"I'm sorry." Zhongli Que's voice broke as soon as she opened her mouth, startling Yu Sui into turning around. "Why are you crying?"

Zhongli Que hated Lady Su. She didn't understand why, but right now she hated herself even more. Why had she made Yu Sui do something like this and suffer such humiliation?

At fourteen, Zhongli Que finally understood: there really were people in this world who didn't like Yu Sui.

Not everyone in the world would like Yu Sui, but that was all right. She liked Yu Sui.