Chương 129: Book 2 Chapter 43: Vignettes

AN: As mentioned before, these are parts two and three of a three-part vignette series. I originally cut them from the book, but they belong with these chapters after all. Since there wasn't a natural place to weave them back into the narrative, I've grouped them together here instead. 😅 They're also slightly out of chronological order: the final vignette technically takes place earlier, while the second one happens after the next chapter.

Fortunately, neither contains any meaningful spoilers, so think of them as a refreshing interlude before we dive back into what Chengxuan has been doing on the political front................................................................................... Sometime after their first meeting… When the meeting ended and everyone began to disperse, Bai Ning hurriedly waved off Mo Jian and rushed after Shen Jinglan. From the corner of her eye, she saw Muxue notice her movement and then deliberately look away.

The princess clearly knew what she was doing and had chosen not to interfere. Good. Bai Ning would not have been stopped by Xiang Muxue's disapproval, but it would have made things considerably more difficult. Shen Jinglan had not gone far. She was just about to turn into another corridor, heading toward the painting of the Four Tusk Mountain Boar, when Bai Ning caught up with her.

"Shen Jinglan," she called, pitching her voice to sound as friendly and cheerful as possible. Shen Jinglan turned. Her expression was cautious, tight around the edges, and worst of all, subtly worried – as though she feared Bai Ning might attack her or try to take advantage of her. The sight stirred that familiar mixture of guilt and irritation within Bai Ning. Then again, that was precisely why she was here.

"Senior Bai," Shen Jinglan said, clearly striving to remain polite.

"What is it? Did the princess ask you to relay additional instructions?"

"No," Bai Ning replied honestly.

"I'm here on a personal matter." As she spoke, she quietly formed a barrier of qi around them, ensuring that no sound would escape. Shen Jinglan's face immediately flattened. She half-turned as if to leave before catching herself, likely realizing how rude it would appear. Even then, Bai Ning suspected she would have walked away outright if they were not now co-conspirators in the same scheme.

"Then I don't see how I can help you, Senior. Please allow me to take my-" Bai Ning bowed deeply, nearly parallel to the floor, and finally said the words she had wanted to say for a long time.

"I am deeply sorry. I betrayed your trust and used you to get close to the princess. For that, you have my sincerest and most heartfelt apologies." Shen Jinglan froze, mouth slightly open. For nearly twenty seconds, neither of them moved. Finally, she snapped out of it.

"What are you-? Please, get up. There's no need for this." Bai Ning straightened and shook her head.

"No. This is absolutely necessary. We're on the same side now, but more importantly, I am genuinely regretful about the distance between us. I..." She hesitated.

"I lied to you, and I wish I hadn't. At the time, I thought there was no other choi-" Her teeth clicked together as she abruptly cut herself off. No, she was here to apologize, not justify herself. Shen Jinglan seemed completely at a loss. She wrung her hands, and there was such a strong desire to simply accept the apology and flee written across her face that Bai Ning was both surprised and grateful when she did neither. Instead, Shen Jinglan clasped her hands at her sides and met Bai Ning's gaze directly.

"Senior, I-""Sister," Bai Ning corrected gently.

"Please." Shen Jinglan inhaled deeply and then let the breath out.

"Sister Bai... it isn't that simple." She looked away for a moment before continuing.

"For decades, I've had to be careful. Every choice I make reflects on the princess. If I make a mistake, she may suffer for it." Her hands tightened into fists.

"When I discovered that you had hidden a message in my storage pouch, I was terrified. I wanted to attend that meeting and bear whatever consequences came from it, but Her Celestial Highness refused to hear of it. She said that whoever was behind it wouldn't dare harm her physically." A bitter smile flickered across Shen Jinglan's face.

"The princess's father saved my life and entrusted me to her service. Becoming her handmaiden wasn't simply a position… it was a debt I swore to repay. To fail in that duty in such a way..." Bai Ning felt her heart twist painfully in her chest. The guilt she already carried multiplied. She cupped her hands in salute, doing her utmost to convey her sincerity.

"I know. And I'm not asking you to forgive me." Her voice softened.

"I only wanted to apologize." She lowered her head slightly.

"Master Mo Jian and I are both deeply regretful for breaking your trust after everything you did for us." Then her voice gained strength.

"And neither he nor I will betray that trust again. I know you have every reason to doubt my words, but I mean them. I truly am sorry." Again, Shen Jinglan seemed at a loss for words. Finally, her expression softened, some of the tension draining from her shoulders.

"I see," she said quietly.

"Then... I accept your apology." She hesitated before adding, "Besides, we are working together for Her Celestial Highness's sake. It would hardly be proper of me to continue holding such a grudge." The words sounded sincere. More than that, she seemed to mean them. There was a lightness to her now, as though she had finally set down a burden she had been carrying for far too long. Bai Ning smiled. Part of her wanted to say, I am not doing this for her sake, but fortunately, she was wise enough not to.

She had only just regained Shen Jinglan's trust. The last thing she needed was to squander it over a childish dislike. Instead, she changed the subject.

"Where are you headed? The scripture library, if I heard correctly." She tilted her head.

"Would you mind if I accompanied you? Though I promise I won't be offended if you'd rather go alone." The last part came out a little wryly, and she meant it entirely. Shen Jinglan looked hesitant for a moment, her eyes flicking down the corridor. Then she offered a rueful smile of her own.

"I would be glad of the company. Besides, General Tang keeps reminding us to travel in groups." Her smile widened faintly.

"Though both the princess and Lord Mo are terrible at following that advice. We should at least try to set a better example." Bai Ning grinned and stepped forward to walk beside her. Her barrier of qi drifted along with them, silent and unseen.

"That shouldn't be difficult," she declared.

"It is self evident that the two of us are naturally superior to the other two in every respect. Merely by breathing, we're setting a better example." She briefly considered tossing her hair for emphasis, before deciding that would be excessive. Shen Jinglan turned a carefully expressionless face toward her, though the twitch at the corner of her mouth betrayed her amusement.

"Oh? And if I happen to repeat those words to Lord Mo?" That would require you to actually speak to him, Bai Ning thought, suppressing a grin. Still, the fact that Shen Jinglan could joke about him at all felt like a promising sign.

"Go ahead," she replied airily.

"I've said worse to his face." For a brief moment, Shen Jinglan looked genuinely horrified. Bai Ning burst out laughing.

"Sister, you-" Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. And so they continued down the corridor, tentatively friends once more. As they walked, Bai Ning felt something inside her loosen, glad that she had done this. She was gladder still that Mo Jian had convinced her to. She had thought keeping her distance would be kinder, less awkward for everyone involved. Mo Jian had disagreed.

"Silence plants deeper wounds than you know," he had said, sounding as though he were quoting some ancient piece of wisdom.

"Better to talk things out, even if it turns ugly. Besides, we owe her that much." Then he had paused.

"I would go myself, but..." The unfinished sentence had been enough. Bai Ning had understood. Given how skittish Shen Jinglan was around him, if he went, then it might not work. Wounds left untended festered, but given time and care, even old scars could soften. She had spent years learning how to seize opportunities from her Master, and it seemed she was only now learning how to repair them. It felt good. ………………………………………………………….. Mo Jian's first night in the Princess's room…

"A vial of Nourishing Moon Essence, three fragments of Fire Spirit Thread, the preserved horn of an Eighth Rank Diamond Armored Rhino, a jade slip containing the complete spell library of the extinct Thousand Mantra Sect, a half-finished Nascent Soul grade treasure tool, and not to mention all the assorted spirit stones and rare materials. It's an amazing haul." It was nighttime, or more accurately, three in the morning.

It was the perfect hour when even a palace full of cultivators who no longer needed sleep, food, or even breath had mostly retired for the night. Human habits died hard, and many found comfort in maintaining some connection to mortal routines. That also made it the perfect time for a spot of thievery. Mo Jian would deny it with every fiber of his being, but he was becoming dangerously addicted to it. It was just so much fun.

"You seem delighted," the only other person awake in the residence observed, making no effort to hide her amused smile. Xiang Muxue had changed out of her usual snow-white robes into something simpler: a flowing green hanfu with long billowing sleeves and a gold sash cinched at the waist. Her hair hung loose and unbound, shimmering faintly beneath the artificial constellations that drifted across the ceiling of her chambers.

The stars reflected in her smoldering golden eyes, leaving them glowing like embers in a hearth. Mo Jian felt both underdressed and distinctly peasant-like by comparison, which, ironically enough, was true in both senses of the word. Unlike Muxue, he had not felt the need to change clothes simply because they were sharing tea in the sunken courtyard at the center of her room.

A dome of condensed qi surrounded them, muffling all sound so as not to disturb the others, namely Bai Ning and Shen Jinglan, who had gone to bed at a reasonable hour like sensible people. Mo Jian had been unable to sleep, and so had wandered into the main chamber only to find Muxue staring up at the slow-moving constellations overhead. One thing had led to another.

The conversation had somehow become a discussion of strategy, the discussion of strategy had somehow become a burglary, and the burglary had somehow become his fourth trip. This was, he reflected with a faint twinge of guilt, perhaps becoming a pattern. But, he reassured himself virtuously, he was not doing it solely because he enjoyed it and was discovering a worrying talent for theft. Certainly not. He was doing it because it was an important component of Muxue's strategy for undermining their enemies.

"The reality remains that there is nothing in here that serves our purposes," Muxue said, leaning forward and examining the contents of the storage pouch with her spiritual sense.

"As I keep telling you, Jian, stealing confiscated storage pouches is not actually helping us." She sounded mildly exasperated, and, at the same time, entirely too amused. Yes, she had already figured him out.

"You never know, Muxue," Mo Jian said, attempting to justify himself to the princess who had insisted that he call her by her first name.

"We might find something useful buried in the mess. Besides, it's practice for stealing the actually important things. Practice," he repeated. Muxue responded with another raised eyebrow.

"Honestly," she muttered. However, given the grin tugging at the corners of her mouth, Mo Jian felt comfortable declaring the night a success. True, they had not found anything of immediate value, but as he had said, it was practice. Then Muxue suddenly inhaled sharply. Before he could react, she snatched the storage pouch from his hands and turned it upside down. Two earrings spilled into her palm. Crafted from imperial jadeite, they gleamed a deep emerald green beneath the artificial stars overhead.

Threads of qi drifted through the stone like currents beneath still water. They were elegant but unassuming, the sort of jewelry a wealthy cultivator might own by the dozen, were it not for the material of their construction. Ordinarily, Mo Jian would have overlooked them, but this time, what caught his attention was Muxue. She stared at the earrings as though the world had abruptly ceased to make sense. For several long moments, she seemed to forget where she was entirely. Mo Jian cleared his throat gently.

"So..." he ventured.

"Something you recognize?" Muxue startled so hard that she nearly jumped out of her seat, a sight he would have found amusing under any other circumstances. When she turned toward him, her eyes were unnaturally bright. Golden and intense, like a star burning itself to pieces.

"These," she said quietly, "are my mother's earrings." Mo Jian did not know what to say. A hundred questions sprang to mind at once. In the end, he managed to voice only one.

"I don't recall hearing much about her. Was she...?" It was a terrible question. He wasn't even sure what he was asking. Was she still alive? Had she been a good mother? Was she missed? Muxue lowered her gaze, weighed down by thoughts he could not begin to decipher.

"Honestly," she said after a moment, "that's about as much I know as well." Her fingers tightened around the earrings.

"My mother was always a mystery. No one ever talked about her. When I was younger, I used to pester Father endlessly for answers, but he never gave me any." She smiled faintly, though there was little humor in it.

"I know she died when I was very young, and I know it wasn't from natural causes. She was a concubine, that much I pieced together from the imperial records." Her eyes drifted toward the distant constellations overhead.

"Beyond that... nothing." Mo Jian pursed his lips. After a moment's hesitation, he rested a hand lightly on her shoulder in a fleeting gesture.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"And... if you ever want to find out more, I could help. If that's something you want." To his surprise, Muxue shook her head. The melancholy that had briefly surfaced seemed to retreat just as quickly, carefully folded away behind years of practice.

"No," she said.

"It was a long time ago. Whatever curiosity I once had faded years back." She looked down at the earrings again.

"There was probably some scandal, some political complication, or some other reason people refused to speak about her. Whatever it was, it doesn't matter now." For the first time since finding them, her expression softened.

"I was simply surprised." Her thumb brushed against the smooth jade surface.

"Father showed these to me once after I badgered him particularly relentlessly. He carried them in his storage pouch." She paused.

"To remember her, I think." That sounded both terribly romantic and terribly sad. Mo Jian decided not to press further. If Muxue was content to leave old wounds buried, he had no desire to dig them up. Instead, another question occurred to him.

"What is something that belonged to your father doing in a random storage pouch inside a lesser treasury?" To his surprise, Muxue let out a short, humorless laugh.

"My father's body was recovered," she said, "but his storage pouch and natal artifact were not." A trace of disgust entered her voice.

"I always suspected Chengxuan had them. This is proof enough for me." She turned one of the earrings between her fingers.

"I imagine he kept whatever caught his eye and discarded the rest. These aren't particularly valuable by imperial standards. Imperial jadeite is common among the Imperial family." Her gaze hardened.

"They've probably passed through half a dozen hands since Father's death before finally ending up here." For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then Muxue held out the earrings.

"Here," she said.

"Help me." Mo Jian blinked.

"What?" She rolled her eyes and shifted in her seat, turning her back toward him. With one hand, she swept her hair aside and let it spill over her shoulder, exposing the graceful line of her neck.

"You are pretending to be my consort, are you not?" Even as she said it, a faint blush crept across her cheeks.

"So adorn me. Isn't that the sort of thing lovers do?" Mo Jian could only smile helplessly. What a transparent excuse. Muxue might insist that she no longer cared about her mother, but this discovery had clearly meant something to her. He accepted the earrings and examined them briefly. They were simple things, smooth bands of pale green jadeite with delicate curved clasps. When he sent a thread of qi through them, it flowed without resistance.

Though he had never put earrings on someone before, it was hardly a difficult task for a cultivator. He carefully aligned the first clasp and closed it. Muxue did not so much as flinch. The second took a moment longer. His fingers brushed against her ear as he fastened it into place. Then he withdrew his hands.

"There." Muxue turned back toward him. She brushed her hair behind her shoulders, revealing the earrings glimmering softly beneath the artificial starlight overhead. Tilting her head slightly, she asked, "How do I look?" Beautiful, the answer appeared instantly and entirely uninvited. Mo Jian felt heat rise to the tips of his ears.

"They suit you," he said instead. It was, he felt, a safer answer. Muxue smiled, private and quietly pleased.

"I'm glad." For a moment, she touched one of the earrings lightly, as though reassuring herself that it was really there. Then her expression shifted back toward its usual composure.

"You make a serviceable lover." Mo Jian snorted.

"I aim to please." That earned him a soft laugh, the sound of it lingering in the quiet room long after it should have faded.