Chapter 116: Protection

When the court’s decree arrived, the palace immediately sent someone to summon him.

As it happened, Jiang Lan had just sent for Daoist Sanmu as well. The moment he saw the man standing below the hall, he recognized him at once.

Jiang Lan lifted his tea, a smile curling at the corners of his lips. “What brings you here?”

Sanmu glanced around and, seeing nothing amiss, asked, “Why has the heir summoned me with tea and gifts? Have I done something wrong?”

The servant beside him hurriedly explained, “Young Master, one cannot summon anyone from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. After going elsewhere and asking around, they recommended this Immortal Master. I took the liberty of inviting him here to sit in the residence for a while and drive away any evil influences.”

Jiang Lan waved a hand. “You’ve done well. There’s nothing more for you to do. Go collect your reward.”

“Thank you, Young Master.”

Sanmu walked forward and sat in the place below Jiang Lan. “Your residence is still magnificent, Young Master. It’s countless times better than my shabby hut.”

Jiang Lan said nothing. A maid stepped forward and served tea and pastries.

“The pastries here are delicious too.”

“If you like it here, move in.”

Sanmu beamed. He stroked his beard and said, “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

“Bring Qingli in as well.”

“Qingli is not—” Sanmu caught the look in Jiang Lan’s eyes and hurriedly covered his mouth. He quickly changed his words. “Qingli has been longing to see you too, Young Master. I’ll bring her along then. I’ll bring her along.”

Jiang Lan nodded inwardly. Not entirely foolish, at least.

Remembering what the servant had said, he asked again, “Have you made a name for yourself now?”

Sanmu looked a little embarrassed at being found out. “Please don’t make fun of me, Young Master. It’s all thanks to you. When they couldn’t find you, they saw how you had treated me well while I was imprisoned in that place where demons were held, so they tried to win me over in private. They’ve merely been flattering me a little. I can hardly be called famous.”

“Come now. Our Daoist Sanmu is clearly riding high these days. What do they think of me now? Do they know who I really am?”

Sanmu’s expression turned solemn. “I haven’t revealed anything. I’ve watched their expressions several times, and they truly seem unaware. However, your Uncle-Master Qingmei appears rather suspicious of why I have appeared at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. Whenever we associate in private, there is always an indescribable feeling about him. I was afraid of ruining your plans, so I avoided speaking with him too much.”

“As for him, just keep that in mind. He is merely a man unable to cast off worldly concerns and rise above them. If you deliberately avoid him, it will only make it seem as though you have something to hide.”

Sanmu nodded, showing that he had taken Jiang Lan’s words to heart.

“I heard that you summoned me today to drive away evil spirits and banish misfortune. May I ask why?” What Sanmu truly wanted to ask was whether there was still any demon or evil spirit that the Young Master could not deal with—or rather, could not subdue.

Jiang Lan shook his head and answered frankly, “Because of what happened yesterday. Your role is simply to put on a show and reassure everyone in the residence, so they won’t spend all day trembling with fear and turn every harmless thing into a catastrophe.”

“I never imagined there would be another act to follow. You truly have thought of everything, Young Master. In this world, people are more often frightened by themselves than by ghosts. Leave this matter to me and rest easy.”

Jiang Lan knew little about setting up an altar and performing rites, so he left Sanmu to instruct the steward in making the necessary preparations.

Outside the Western Residence, a sea of people surrounded the ritual altar. The commotion was no less impressive than the uproar he had witnessed on the day he awoke to find the room covered in yellow talismans.

Everyone from both the Eastern and Western Residences had come to join the spectacle and see whether ghosts had truly disturbed everyone’s rest the previous night. Every person had woken feeling utterly exhausted. At first, they had assumed it was because the young mistress had suffered a nightmare, but then they learned that the Eastern Residence had been affected as well.

That made the matter strange indeed. There had been no master in the Eastern Residence to keep everyone awake through the night.

With that thought in mind, everyone came over to watch.

Several familiar old maids huddled together, chattering without end.

One sharp-eyed woman immediately recognized Sanmu. “Isn’t that the Daoist from Mount Zhongnan? Why did the Young Master invite him?”

“What do you know? This Daoist has already discovered his spiritual roots and is now one of the most prominent figures in the city. Many Immortal Masters of great ability recommended him. If he hadn’t mentioned our Young Master’s name, he might not even have been granted an audience, much less invited here.”

“Could he have come to deal with the Young Master? The rumors outside are dreadful. They say that the Young Master—”

“Bah, bah, bah! Those are nothing but the words of ignorant street folk, and you believe them? What sort of person is our Young Master? Born to wealth and honor, blessed beyond measure—even the King of Hell would not dare claim him! What business is it of theirs? Those sharp-tongued gossips simply cannot bear to see our Young Master prosper or win favor!”

“Exactly, exactly. The Young Master is so considerate. The moment the young mistress felt unwell, he summoned an Immortal Master within hours. I even heard that he sent a formal request to the palace for an imperial physician who specializes in treating women, afraid that the assassination attempt might have harmed her health.”

“I wonder what sort of murderer it was who dared attack our Young Master in broad daylight. The old coachman was killed by a single arrow before he could even cry out. Poor Young Master—he risked his life to seize the reins. If not for that, the Young Master and the young mistress—oh, heavens, I can’t even bear to imagine it! What would we have done if something had happened to either of them?”

“Indeed…”

“I think bad luck has settled over the residence lately, especially around the Young Master. One calamity after another, as though someone had placed a curse on him.”

“That’s right, that’s right. The Young Master has been terribly unlucky. First he was stabbed so many times, then he was imprisoned and attacked, and now even some street urchin is speaking ill of him. It’s enough to make anyone furious.”

“We should have the Immortal Master perform more rites and take a closer look. Besides, this isn’t even the young mistress’s courtyard. We ought to leave it to the old steward. If we don’t look after our own young master, who will?”

“Exactly. The old masters in this residence can’t be relied upon.”

At that, everyone fell silent. They all understood, without needing to say it aloud.

One of the old masters remained in his own domain almost constantly, emerging only on the festivals of the dead or on major ancestral rites. As for the other, the Third Master, hardly anyone ever saw him.

The only dependable masters in the entire residence were these two young ones.

Jiang Lan sat on a low stool beside his younger sister’s bed, peeling a pear.

“Is the person outside someone Brother invited?”

Jiang Lan paused, knife in hand, and glanced at the girl leaning against the headboard. “Yes. I know him. He’s a good man.”

“When those things came yesterday, the fan Brother gave me began to glow. Chunming told me its origins afterward.”

Jiang Lan handed the peeled pear to Jiang Si. Seeing the questions in her eyes, he answered frankly, “What I told Chunming was only half true. But that object can indeed protect you. Keep it on your person at all times. If I’m not by your side, you must never take it off.”

“Is Brother afraid someone may harm me?”

At the mention of Fang Ru, Jiang Lan hesitated. He did not know whether he should offer a warning. Matters between young women were always complicated, and he still had not sorted out the tangled relationships among those people.

“Are they targeting you, Brother? Or are they targeting me?”

Jiang Lan was momentarily startled. He had only paused to think for a moment, yet Jiang Si had already discerned the truth from the slightest sign. She truly carried the Jiang family blood—her intelligence bordered on the uncanny.

When her brother remained silent and merely looked at her, Jiang Si voiced the suspicion she had kept buried for a long time.

“Both?”

“Yes. Both.”