LFHYB -Chapter 87 A Thousand-Li Marriage, Led by a Silly Eagle

The noise outside continued.

Yuwen Zhu put on her shoes, straightened her clothes, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack, carefully peeking outside.

Outside was in complete chaos, with more and more people gathering.

With so many people… it didn’t seem dangerous?

Even though Yuwen Zhu was precocious, she still had the lively curiosity of a young girl.

Unable to restrain herself, she opened the door. “What’s going on?”

“Oh my little lady, go back inside quickly! That’s a hunting falcon—it can hurt people!” the wet nurse hurriedly stopped her.

Yuwen Zhu looked up. A large bird was perched on the eaves, tilting its head left and right. It didn’t really look like a falcon—more like an owl.

Her gaze fell on the bird’s neck.

The long feathers there were so luxuriant that even a silk scarf couldn’t hide them. They draped stylishly over its chest and back, shimmering faintly with a golden glow in the sunlight.

Yuwen Zhu covered her mouth. “A golden eagle? … And this scarf—Wudi?!”

On the corner of the square kerchief hanging from the bird’s chest, the two large characters “乌镝” (Wudi) were clearly visible.

The big bird spread its wings. “Chirp! Chirp!”

It glided down from the roof and landed right in front of Yuwen Zhu.

“Miss, run!” The wet nurse stepped in front of her, while the other servants raised their long sticks at Wudi.

“Wait! Don’t hurt it!” Yuwen Zhu hurriedly said. “It’s someone I know… the golden eagle!”

The wet nurse turned back in surprise. “Golden eagle? You know it, miss?”

Yuwen Zhu peeked out from behind her. “Wudi, did you come to deliver a letter?”

She had read stories about messenger falcons. Her grandfather had said that falcons only obey their falconers and would escape if they went too far away. Although, in extremely rare cases, they could be trained to deliver messages, the effort far outweighed the benefits, so such things mostly existed only in stories.

But Wudi, whom Third Young Master Li raised, was very smart. Maybe he really had been trained to deliver letters? Otherwise, how could this be such a coincidence?

When Wudi heard Yuwen Zhu’s words, he blinked. On that bird face of his, he somehow produced a vivid, confused expression.

The wet nurse said, “This beast can’t understand—ah! It’s so fierce!”

Wudi shot her a glare and made a pecking motion.

The servants immediately tensed again, gripping their sticks tightly.

At that moment, guards with knives and bows also rushed over.

Yuwen Zhu said anxiously, “Wudi, you are Wudi, right? Are you here on Third Young Master’s— I mean, Li Sanlang’s, Li… Li Xuanba’s—your master’s orders, to deliver a letter?”

Wudi’s eyes widened, then he shook his head.

Yuwen Zhu: “…You can understand what I’m saying?!”

The wet nurse cried out, “This beast bird can actually understand human speech!”

Wudi flared up. “Chirp chirp chirp! Chirp chirp chirp!”

The wet nurse hurriedly said, “I mean, how dare you be so fierce to me—you can even understand me scolding you? I was wrong, I was wrong! You’re not a beast, you’re a smart bird, a smart… golden eagle, right? What a noble name. Good golden eagle, don’t be angry. I’ll go to the kitchen later and get you some meat as an apology.”

Wudi narrowed his eagle eyes. “Chirp, chirp chirp.”

The wet nurse gasped again. “Was it just telling me not to lie to it? Heavens, I can actually understand what a bea—what a golden eagle is saying!”

“What’s going on? Where did this beast bird come from?” The burly chief guard walked over with his bow in hand.

Wudi started hopping madly. “Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp chirp! Chirp chirp chirp chirp!”

He flapped his wings hard, just like a person pointing and cursing at someone.

Yuwen Zhu covered her mouth with one hand, laughing, while blocking the guard with the other.
“Uncle Xin, it’s not a beast. It’s Third Young Master Li’s golden eagle, named Wudi. It should be here to deliver a letter.”

Wudi shook his head while continuing to curse.

Yuwen Zhu asked, “Not delivering a letter? Then what did you come for?”

Wudi cursed even more furiously. Even the newly arrived guards felt as though they could hear a stream of vicious profanity in that chain of bird calls.

Yuwen Zhu smiled wryly. “I can’t understand you. Didn’t Sanlang have you bring anything?”

Wudi kept shaking his head, still going “chirp chirp chirp.”

Uncle Xin said, “Third Young Master Li’s eagle? Could it have gotten lost?”

Wudi scoffed. “Chirp!” Nonsense!

Uncle Xin: “…Why do I feel like he’s scolding me?”

The wet nurse had never seen a bird that seemed so much like a spirit. Since it belonged to her young lady’s future husband, she wasn’t afraid at all—in fact, she liked it all the more.

She smiled. “Wouldn’t we know what’s going on if we invite Third Young Master Li over?”

Wudi: “……”

Everyone very clearly saw the expression of “bird face stiffening” on Wudi’s small face.

Yuwen Zhu probed, “Did you sneak here on your own?”

Wudi: “……”

This time, they could even see an expression of “guilty conscience” on the bird’s face.

Uncle Xin was shocked. “Has this bird become a spirit?”

Yuwen Zhu hurriedly said, “Of course not. It was hatched by Third Young Master Li himself and carefully taught since it was small, so it’s much smarter than other birds. It hasn’t become a spirit—Uncle Xin, don’t say such things.”

Seeing how humanlike Wudi was, Yuwen Zhu plucked up her courage, walked out from behind the wet nurse, and stood in front of him. She frowned slightly and raised her voice: “What happened today must not be spoken of outside. If anyone dares to spread even a single word, I’ll hand them over to Grandfather and Grandmother to be dismissed!”

“Dismiss what?” Yuwen Bi came over, supported by his wife. “I heard there was a bird causing trouble at home?”

Yuwen Zhu said, “Grandfather, it’s not a troublemaking bird. It’s Third Young Master Li’s golden eagle, Wudi.”

Yuwen Bi looked puzzled. “Wudi?”

Wudi stepped out from behind Yuwen Zhu, wings slightly arched, like a mischievous child with hands on hips.

He lifted his head. “Chirp!”

A smile appeared on Yuwen Bi’s sickly face. “What a marvelous golden eagle. Since it belongs to Sanlang, go invite Sanlang over and ask him what’s going on.”

A guilty look appeared on Wudi’s face again, but soon his eagle eyes became sharp and resolute.

I didn’t do anything wrong! When Mom comes, she’ll praise me!

When Li Xuanba left home, Wudi had been circling in the air and had long memorized his route.

Sometimes, when Li Xuanba studied at his teacher’s house, Wudi would secretly nap on the roof or treetops.

He wasn’t here to play—he was here to protect Mom.

So when Li Xuanba was in low spirits, Wudi’s clever little bird brain quickly figured out that it was that old man who had made Li Xuanba unhappy.

Originally, it had obediently kept a low profile at Li Xuanba’s request.

But after Li Xuanba’s mood failed to improve for many days, Wudi’s childish bad temper finally couldn’t take it anymore.

Golden eagles were famous for being narrow-minded—if they held a grudge, they would definitely take revenge. And since it was still just a kid with a small brain, it had no idea what patience or danger was. So it came to get even.

Still, it remembered how respectfully Li Xuanba treated Yuwen Bi, so it didn’t go too far.

And Li Shimin had warned it many times that without his or Li Xuanba’s orders, it was not allowed to hurt people. So Wudi only vented its anger on plants and roof tiles.

“Just like Third Young Master said—exactly like a naughty child,” Yuwen Bi said calmly, showing no fear at all of Wudi’s sharp beak and talons.

He walked straight up to the golden eagle and extended his hand.

His old wife grabbed him. “Careful—it might peck you!”

“If it wanted to peck someone, it would have done so already,” Yuwen Bi replied.

With that, he placed his hand on Wudi’s head.

Wudi’s head was pressed down by Yuwen Bi’s large hand.

While everyone watched in alarm, Wudi merely shook its head hard, flinging off Yuwen Bi’s hand, then hid behind Yuwen Zhu with a look of disdain.

Yuwen Zhu’s heart skipped, and the corners of her lips lifted involuntarily.

Yuwen Bi froze for a moment, then laughed. “Third Young Master must have written you a lot about Wudi. From now on, Wudi will be in your care. Hurry and go call Third Young Master over.”

“I’ll go myself,” Uncle Xin said.

He swept his gaze over everyone around. “Remember what the young lady said.”

Yuwen Bi said to his wife, “Trouble yourself to gather all the servants and give them a proper warning.”

His wife smiled and complained, “With things having blown up this much, warning them one by one is really troublesome. When Third Young Master arrives, you must give him a good talking-to.”

“All right,” Yuwen Bi replied.

He glanced at the devastated courtyard. “Don’t clean it up. Let Third Young Master come see it himself.”

After hesitating, Yuwen Bi made a decision.

The grassland people all said that golden eagles were spirits of the snow mountains, messengers of the gods. Today, the golden eagle had come on its own without Li Xuanba’s command—perhaps this was a sign from Heaven.

If Li Xuanba had sent it, that meant Li Xuanba had already regretted something.

His wife went to warn the servants, and Yuwen Zhu supported her grandfather by the arm.

“Zhu’er,” Yuwen Bi asked, “do you want to see Third Young Master Li?”

Seeing Wudi had made Yuwen Zhu light up, but at these words her expression dimmed. “He doesn’t want to.”

“I’m asking whether you want to,” Yuwen Bi said calmly. “Third Young Master is truly frail. Even if you have to face a separation like the one you had with An’er again, do you still want to see him?”

Yuwen Zhu froze slightly. “Third Young Master Li is sick?” So he wasn’t coming to see her because he was ill—not because he disliked her?

“Not at the moment,” Yuwen Bi said.

After hesitating for a while, Yuwen Zhu bit her lower lip, suppressing her shyness. “I’m going to marry him anyway. I’ll change into a maid’s outfit and go!”

Yuwen Bi halted in surprise. “Why?”

Turning her little face to the side, her ears turning crimson, Yuwen Zhu said, “If he won’t come see me, I’ll go see him.”

After thinking for a moment, Yuwen Bi finally understood. He smiled helplessly. “Very well.”

Wudi tilted its head.

Although it didn’t understand much of what these humans were saying—and even when it did, it didn’t really get it—it had a strong instinct: this person could stop others from attacking it. She must be the leader here. Following her couldn’t be wrong.

It stretched out its two bird legs, lifted its head high, and swaggered beside Yuwen Zhu, drawing the attention of all the servants.

“It looks so handsome when it swoops down on people. Why does it look so sneaky when it walks?”

“Shut up! It understands you—be careful it pecks you! And it’s an eagle, not ‘sneaky.’ It’s bird-sneaky!”

“Shouldn’t it be eagle-sneaky?”

Wudi raised its head even higher.

Hear that? They’re all praising me!

Both Yuwen Bi and Yuwen Zhu noticed its expression and couldn’t help laughing.

Yuwen Zhu teased, “Grandfather, since Wudi understands human speech, shouldn’t we teach it to read? That way it won’t misunderstand when people curse it.”

Suppressing a laugh, Yuwen Bi said, “When Third Young Master comes, you can tell him that.”

Yuwen Zhu turned her face aside and fell silent.

Watching his granddaughter, Yuwen Bi felt both a sigh and a doubt rise in his heart.

He sighed because if she were to part from Third Young Master Li in the future, she would probably be just as heartbroken as when she parted from An’er.

As for his doubt—his granddaughter shouldn’t even have met Third Young Master Li yet, so why did she look like a girl just awakening to love? Could it really be that a few letters had already captured the heart of his always-proud granddaughter? At the very least, shouldn’t they meet once first?

At the Duke of Tang’s residence in Daxing City, Li Xuanba gave a light cough, put down his book, and pulled his fur-trimmed cloak tighter around his neck.

Though it was only early autumn, Li Xuanba’s health was poor. With the sky overcast, he had already put on a cloak with fur trimming.

The fur came from a snow fox that Li Shimin had hunted.

Snow foxes were rare. For the sake of that beautiful pelt, Li Shimin had specially had craftsmen embroider an extra layer of golden cloud patterns in gold thread over the original white cloud-patterned heavy silk, making a cloak for his plainly dressed younger brother that looked low-key in the shade but dazzled brilliantly in the sunlight.

Li Xuanba liked black clothes with a black cloak. Li Shimin had long had complaints about his brother’s taste in clothing. This time, when Li Xuanba went out, Li Shimin secretly swapped the trunk that held his cloaks.

When the weather turned cool and Li Xuanba opened it to get a cloak, he was so angry at the box full of gaudy cloaks that his chest hurt.

This one was already among the more restrained ones.

“Third Young Master! Third Young Master! Something terrible has happened!” Xiang Gu shouted as he ran.

Li Xuanba stood up in confusion. “What is it? Why are you in such a panic?”

Xiang Gu said anxiously, “Wudi—Wudi has been captured!”

Li Xuanba was startled. “Captured by some noble out hunting? Which family?”

Xiang Gu said, “No, no—it wasn’t us. It went to Duke Yuwen’s residence to cause trouble and was caught by Duke Yuwen—your teacher, Third Young Master.”

Li Xuanba’s expression went blank for a moment. “Huh?!”

Li Xuanba was already dressed to go out, so he immediately hurried off with Xiang Gu and Uncle Xin to retrieve his misbehaving eaglet.

On the way, he listened as Uncle Xin vividly described all the “good deeds” Wu Di had committed at his teacher’s home.

Li Xuanba apologized again and again. “It’s my fault. I didn’t raise him properly. I’ll compensate for all the damage to my teacher’s house. I’m truly sorry.”

When he heard that Wu Di hadn’t hurt anyone, Li Xuanba finally breathed a sigh of relief.

What on earth had that bird gotten into?!

His head was already aching from thinking about it, yet he still couldn’t figure out why Wu Di would go rampage at Teacher Yuwen’s house.

He knew that sometimes Wu Di didn’t fly out of the city to hunt but secretly followed him instead.

Wu Di would look smug, thinking Li Xuanba hadn’t noticed. After greeting his teacher, Li Xuanba wouldn’t expose the bird.

And Wu Di really was good at hiding—after landing, Li Xuanba often couldn’t find where it had tucked itself away.

He had once wanted to bring Wu Di to show his teachers, but Wu Di hated strangers. Every time he mentioned it, Wu Di would roll around on the ground in protest, and the next day it would fly off early in the morning and disappear. So he had given up. That was why none of the three teachers had ever seen Wu Di.

Could it be that while hiding at Teacher Yuwen’s house, Wu Di had been hurt by some servant there and went to take revenge?

Why didn’t it tell him? Li Xuanba and Li Shimin had taught Wu Di and Han Gou early on that if something made them angry, they should tell them first and not take revenge on their own. These two eaglets had always followed that rule well and were very good at tattling. So what was going on today?

Unable to figure it out, Li Xuanba could only go pick up the bird first and then question the culprit.

When he arrived at Yuwen Bi’s residence, his teacher’s wife personally came out to greet him with a smile. “Dade, you really didn’t send that eagle here on purpose?”

Li Xuanba gave a bitter smile. “Madam, do you think I’m that kind of person?”

She smiled. “True enough. Come, I’ll take you to see what ‘good deeds’ your eagle has done.”

She led him to the scene of the havoc. Seeing the scattered fallen flowers, broken leaves, and shattered roof tiles all over the courtyard, Li Xuanba’s scalp went numb and his fists clenched.

“Where is Wu Di?” he ground out. He’d been far too indulgent with that bird lately!

The madam smiled and asked, “Do you know whose courtyard this is?”

Li Xuanba started to shake his head, then suddenly turned to look at the half-closed door of the main room.

The madam asked, “Figured it out?”

Li Xuanba dug his fingernails into his palm and forced himself to stay calm. “I can’t be sure, but since you asked like that, Madam, I can guess.”

She kept smiling. “Dade has always been clever. You should apologize properly.”

Like a wooden automaton, Li Xuanba stiffly followed her through the semicircular archway and winding corridor into the small courtyard next door.

For a moment he wanted to make an excuse and run away, but his sense of responsibility wouldn’t allow him to dodge it after his bird had done something so outrageous.

Before he even entered, he heard Wu Di’s cheerful chirping.

Golden eagles looked mighty and imposing, yet their voices were oddly delicate, only able to chirp “jiu jiu” like a spoiled little bird.

After raising two eaglets, Li Xuanba had begun to suspect that in nature documentaries, the cries of golden eagles were probably dubbed by other birds just to preserve their majestic image.

Wu Di’s “jiu jiu” sounded light and happy, while Li Xuanba’s heart felt unbearably heavy.

That bird really deserved a beating!

“There,” the madam said, pointing.

Li Xuanba reflexively looked over—and saw a young girl dressed in a plain maid’s outfit, holding a piece of meat and feeding the eagle.

That shameless bird was sprawled across the girl’s legs, opening its beak eagerly to beg for food.

A maid?

She was wearing maid’s clothes, her hair tied into two buns with only a green ribbon, and she didn’t mind using her bare hands to feed meat to the bird—she really did look like a maid.

The girl was in profile, so Li Xuanba couldn’t see her face, but the hands feeding the eagle stood out clearly.

His eyesight was excellent, and at a glance he saw the thick calluses on her fingers.

Aristocratic women normally kept long nails.

Dyeing one’s nails with pigments was also part of noblewomen’s grooming, and playing the qin required long nails too. Not keeping them would invite ridicule among other noble ladies.

Yet this girl’s nails were only just past the fingertips, neatly trimmed into smooth curves.

Combined with those thick calluses, it was obvious she did a lot of manual labor.

Li Xuanba’s heart relaxed slightly.

He’d been breaking out in a cold sweat, thinking his teacher’s wife was using this chance to arrange a private meeting between him and Yuwen Zhu.

But even as he relaxed, a faint sense of regret and disappointment rose in his heart.

“Jiu jiu jiu!”

Wu Di was the first to notice Li Xuanba—but it finished the meat in its beak before flapping its wings toward him.

The girl dipped a cloth into the water basin on the stone table and wiped Wu Di’s beak and face clean, then unhurriedly washed her hands with the scented soap nearby, dried them with another cloth, and only then stood up and saluted Li Xuanba, addressing him as “Third Young Master Li.”

Her etiquette was impeccable, just like a real maid’s.

But Li Xuanba stood there as if struck by lightning, unable to move.

The madam asked, “Dade, why are you frozen there?”

Li Xuanba mechanically turned his head away, refusing to look at the “maid” who was standing to one side with her head lowered after completing her salute.

Wu Di swaggered over to Li Xuanba and butted his leg with its head.

Li Xuanba lowered his head and grabbed the bird by the neck.

Wu Di: “Jiu?”

Li Xuanba ground his teeth. “I’ll deal with you later!”

Wu Di: “Jiu jiu jiu?” Why are you punishing me? I was standing up for you!

Hearing Wu Di’s distressed cries, the girl looked up at them with concern, then quickly lowered her head again.

After scolding Wu Di, Li Xuanba was ready to leave at once.

Since Yuwen Zhu had no intention of revealing her identity, he could still make his escape now.

Li Xuanba forced himself to stay calm and said to his teacher’s wife, “I’ll take Wu Di home first and give it a proper scolding. Tomorrow I’ll come back to visit Teacher and Madam again and offer a formal apology.”

The madam said, “Won’t you stay a little longer?”

Li Xuanba shook his head. “No. I’ll first— Wu Di!”

Wu Di wriggled out of Li Xuanba’s hands. Like a rooster about to be dragged off to be turned into soup, it flapped and hopped wildly, charging behind the “leader” of this residence.

The young girl instinctively spread her arms slightly, shielding the little falcon behind her.

The little topknot on Li Xuanba’s head practically exploded as if his hair were standing on end in rage. “Wu Di?!”

The girl realized she might give herself away and hurriedly lowered her hands.

Wu Di: “Chirp chirp chirp!” Save me!

Hearing the falcon chick’s miserable cries for help, the girl hesitated.

The madam burst into laughter. “All right, stop pretending. Dade, you noticed it long ago, didn’t you?”

Li Xuanba stiffened. “…”

The girl was startled. “You noticed?”

The madam smiled and sighed. “You think you were acting well? What kind of maid sees a noble guest arrive and still calmly finishes washing her hands before going to greet him?”

The girl was dazed. That’s where I slipped up?

Her ears buzzed, her cheeks flushed crimson, and she froze stiff, just like Li Xuanba.

Looking at the two youngsters who had both turned rigid one after the other, the madam laughed so hard the wrinkles on her face bloomed like flowers.

How delightful.

“Cough, cough.”

From around the bend of the covered corridor, Yuwen Bi came out leaning on his cane, casting a reproachful look at his wife.

The madam hurriedly said, “I won’t disturb you two any longer.”

With that, she quickly walked over, took Yuwen Bi by the arm, and the two of them vanished around the corner of the corridor.

The other servants also withdrew at once, leaving nothing behind.

Li Xuanba’s neck was so stiff it felt like a rusty robot’s, creaking as he turned left and right.

Not a single servant left?

The entire courtyard was empty, leaving only him and Yuwen Zhu?

Wasn’t there something about men and women keeping their distance?! A lone man and a lone woman meeting in private—Teacher and Madam, aren’t you going to do anything about this?!

“Chirp chirp!” Wu Di poked its head out from behind Yuwen Zhu.

Oh right, not just the two of them—there was also one silly falcon.

This stupid bird—maybe I should dump it on Second Brother and let him release it.

While Li Xuanba was still spacing out, Yuwen Zhu gathered her courage, performed a formal chashou salute again, and bowed to him.

Startled, Li Xuanba hurriedly bowed in return.

Seeing his flustered appearance, a surge of grievance rose in Yuwen Zhu’s heart, and her words came out sharper than she meant. “Is Third Young Master Li disappointed to see me?”

Li Xuanba shook his head vigorously. “No, no, I just—”

Just what? He got stuck and couldn’t go on.

Yuwen Zhu pressed her lips together and said softly, “Here’s Wu Di. If you want to leave, then leave.”

She turned sideways and revealed Wu Di.

Wu Di: “Chirp?”

It immediately took off on its bird legs and darted back behind Yuwen Zhu.

Yuwen Zhu: “…”

Li Xuanba: “…”

The boy and girl exchanged a silent, awkward look. Yuwen Zhu then quietly stepped to the other side.

Wu Di nimbly hid behind her again.

Li Xuanba took a deep breath. “Wu Di, come out!”

Not only did Wu Di refuse, it even spread its wings and wrapped them around Yuwen Zhu’s legs like it was hugging them.

Yuwen Zhu stammered, “Y-you… you come and catch it yourself?”

Li Xuanba hesitated, then suppressed the urge to just leave the bird here and ignore it. He walked around behind Yuwen Zhu.

Wu Di kept up its leg-hugging pose, shuffling its bird feet in tiny steps, circling around with Yuwen Zhu between itself and Li Xuanba.

Li Xuanba went around once. Wu Di went around once too.

Yuwen Zhu: “Pfft… cough. Wu Di is really cute.”

Wu Di lifted its head. “Chirp!”

Li Xuanba was about to explode with anger, but he couldn’t curse in front of Yuwen Zhu, and he certainly couldn’t step right up to her and start yanking the bird.

He tried to threaten Wu Di with his eyes. Wu Di buried its head against Yuwen Zhu, pretending not to see anything.

Li Xuanba chanted to himself, Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, it’s just a baby falcon, what does it know, and asked as calmly as he could, “So now you’re scared? Why did you suddenly come to Teacher Yuwen’s house to make trouble today? Aren’t you afraid someone would shoot you full of holes?”

Wu Di looked up and chirped pitifully.

Seeing this, Li Xuanba had already more or less guessed what had happened.

Since Wu Di wasn’t lost but had deliberately come to cause trouble—and had done so with restraint—it was probably because it saw that he was in a bad mood and thought he was being bullied here, so it came to “take revenge” for him.

And that crafty little falcon had likely also figured out that, just like Pei Shiju’s residence back then, the Yuwen household was a place where Li Xuanba and his second brother could protect it and tolerate its mischief.

So after wreaking havoc, Wu Di calmly settled down to eat fresh meat here, not afraid in the least.

“Wu Di, you’re acting so recklessly because you feel you have something to rely on. What will you do if you really run into danger one day?” Li Xuanba sighed. “Teacher is sick right now; otherwise, the moment you made trouble, you’d have been shot with an arrow. Forget it—there’s no point telling you now, you won’t understand. I’ll deal with you slowly when we get back.”

Li Xuanba resolved that he would definitely make Wu Di understand the story of “killing two birds with one arrow.”

Luckily Wu Di had made trouble at Teacher Yuwen’s house. If it had been at Teacher Changsun’s place, Teacher Changsun would personally have taught Wu Di the meaning of “killing two birds with one arrow.”

What? This is a falcon raised by Li Erlang and Li Sanlang? Who cares—shoot it down first.

Yuwen Zhu said gently, “It really does deserve a scolding. If I hadn’t recognized the writing on its scarf, the guards would already have used their bows.”

She stroked Wu Di’s head. “Go back now. Do you really want to keep following me? If so, I’ll ask Third Young Master Li to give you to me.”

Wu Di lifted its head in confusion, not understanding.

Li Xuanba explained, “I’m leaving right now. I don’t want you anymore.”

Wu Di immediately let go of Yuwen Zhu, tumbled and scrambled toward Li Xuanba, and, incredibly, started chirping through tears.

Li Xuanba caught the falcon chick that leapt at him and said irritably, “Crying already? You’re crying over this? If you’re that easily scared, what bad thing did you go and do?”

Wu Di: “Chirp chirp chirp—ga ga ga!!” Waaah!

Li Xuanba was speechless. “You’re even crying with a duck’s quack now.”

“Pfft.” Yuwen Zhu covered her mouth and laughed. “Wu Di really is just as amusing as you described in your letters.”

Li Xuanba sighed. “It’s mischievous and spoiled. I really worry whether I can even protect it. It doesn’t look like a falcon at all anymore.”

As he spoke, he gave the bird’s head a hard squeeze.

Wu Di kept crying ga ga ga, until its little bird face was soaked.

Yuwen Zhu handed over a handkerchief. “Wipe it off for it.”

Li Xuanba hesitated for a moment, then carefully pinched one corner of the handkerchief to take it, making sure not to touch Yuwen Zhu’s hand.

Seeing how stiff and cautious he was, Yuwen Zhu no longer thought he was rejecting her.

If he disliked her, he wouldn’t be acting like this.

Third Young Master Li is just shy, she thought—and then she herself became shy as well.

If it weren’t for Wu Di causing such a fuss, she would never have had the courage to keep talking to Third Young Master Li, let alone hand him a handkerchief.

Now that she had gathered her courage, she didn’t want to retreat.

They were already engaged; in the future, they would spend their lives together. No matter what, she had to untie the knot in her heart.

Yuwen Zhu picked up the water warming on the small brazier beside the stone table and poured him a cup. “I heard you don’t like drinks with complicated flavors. This one only has mild flower petals in it.”

With this gentle invitation, Li Xuanba steeled himself, dragged along the ga-ga-ga crying Wu Di in his arms, and obediently took a seat.

Yuwen Zhu sat down on the other side and poured herself a cup of flower tea as well.

With Wu Di’s loud ga-ga-ga crying as background noise, the atmosphere didn’t feel quite so stiff.

Yuwen Zhu said, “I heard you didn’t want to meet me. I thought you were displeased with me.”

Li Xuanba hurriedly said, “No, it’s not that, I… it’s just that I…”

He pinched the wing of the culprit Wu Di, who had put him in this predicament, and amid the bird’s even louder crying, explained stiffly, “I just… I just thought I might not live to reach my coming-of-age, so I didn’t want to delay you.”

Yuwen Zhu was puzzled. “How does just meeting me count as delaying me?”

Li Xuanba: “…” How was he supposed to explain this?

If he said he was afraid Yuwen Zhu might fall in love with him, that would sound far too thick-skinned.

But if he said he was afraid he himself might fall in love with Yuwen Zhu, that was just as strange.

Li Xuanba stammered, his face burning red, as if he’d turned into a mute.

Yuwen Zhu lowered her head and looked at her rough hands. “It really isn’t because I handle herbs and don’t look like a proper young lady, that you didn’t want to see me?”

Li Xuanba said urgently, “No! That hobby is wonderful!”

Seeing how anxious he was to explain, Yuwen Zhu somehow started laughing. “What’s wonderful about it? I’ve visited many physicians, even the ones supported by my own family, and none of them accept female disciples. They say they’ve never heard of women practicing medicine. To practice medicine you must ‘look, listen, ask, and palpate’—how could a woman ‘look, listen, ask, and palpate’ a man?”

As she spoke, her expression fell. “If I only treat my own family, I can’t accumulate any real experience. That would just be mechanically copying from medical books and harming patients.”

Li Xuanba said, “If women can’t ‘look, listen, ask, and palpate’ men, then how can men ‘look, listen, ask, and palpate’ women? Even a great physician like Doctor Sun can only use suspended-thread pulse reading when treating female relatives. That’s definitely far less accurate than face-to-face diagnosis. Half of the people in the world are women. Even if you only treat women, you would still have plenty of cases to build experience.”

When Li Xuanba called her “niangzi” (madam) to her face, he nearly bit his own tongue.

In this era, “niangzi” was a normal way to address a woman, but in his original world it was also a term for one’s wife. That made him especially embarrassed.

After he finished speaking, Yuwen Zhu froze for a long while.

She twisted her upper body around, ignoring propriety and shyness, and stared straight at him. “Treat women?”

Li Xuanba avoided her gaze. “Isn’t that why Lady Yuwen is studying medicine? The world is full of male doctors, and no one gives women careful treatment. For example, if a man gets an abscess, a doctor can cut it open and drain the pus. But if it’s a woman, she can only take whatever medicine is prescribed through suspended-thread pulse reading and endure it. Even if some elderly doctors can directly take a woman’s pulse, they still can’t give very detailed treatment.”

Not to mention the hell gate of childbirth.

The ones who assist women in labor are midwives—women who have given birth themselves. Most of them have no medical training, many can’t even read, and they believe in all sorts of superstitions.

Some women hemorrhage heavily after giving birth. If a doctor were present, he could suture the wound and stop the bleeding.

But at this time, women on the delivery bed often just bleed to death.

On the battlefield, even soldiers who have lost an arm can be saved—yet women cannot.

Li Xuanba stole a glance at Yuwen Zhu’s expression. Seeing her look confused, he guessed that she had only come into contact with medicine because she had to care for her younger brother, and had simply grown to like it. She probably didn’t have any lofty ambitions behind it. So although she was firm about her interest now, that firmness might also be fragile.

Yuwen Zhu might truly think that loving medicine was something deviant, and aside from “I like it,” she had no other reason to persist.

Actually, that was fine.

People are happier when they don’t burden themselves with too many grand ideals.

But seeing Yuwen Zhu’s wronged expression, Li Xuanba couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

Maybe—just maybe—having a little bit of a lofty ideal was better than constantly being denied by others and by oneself.

After thinking for a moment, Li Xuanba told Yuwen Zhu a story from the late Qing period:

“When I went to Zhangye, I witnessed an utterly absurd funeral. A pregnant woman had gone into difficult labor. By chance, a folk miracle doctor passed by. With the family’s consent, he went in and used acupuncture, and both mother and child survived. But after the woman recovered, she was driven by village gossip to throw herself into a river and kill herself.”

Yuwen Zhu looked dazed. “If there were female physicians, she wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”

Li Xuanba shook his head.“Lady Yuwen, that way of thinking is wrong. Even if a woman has physical contact with a male doctor while he is saving her life, she should not have to suffer for it. How can the distinction between men and women outweigh something as important as life? It’s just that the unreasonable rules of this world are hard to change overnight, so we start with what we can do right now—such as women practicing medicine.”

He stroked the head of Wudi, whose duck-like crying had finally stopped. His tone was calm, as if he were speaking of something completely ordinary.

“If Lady Yuwen becomes a famous physician of this age, it will surely encourage many other women to practice medicine as well. Countless women in this world who die of illness simply because of the taboo between men and women—women who never should have died—will be saved because of you.”

“A deed like this will be recorded in history at court, and among the people temples will be built in your honor. What you are doing now is something that will be remembered for generations. One cannot talk of ice to a summer insect; how can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? You need not be troubled by the words of small-minded people. Please set your heart at ease.”

Yuwen Zhu blinked. Her almond-shaped eyes filled with mist, as if covered with morning dew.

She smiled. “I don’t have ambitions as lofty as a swan’s.”

Li Xuanba replied, “Judge by actions, not by the heart. Lady Yuwen, you are a swan.”

Yuwen Zhu stood up. “If you say so, then so be it. I still have matters to attend to, so I won’t keep you company.”

After saying that, she quickly turned away, lifted the hem of her skirt, and disappeared from Li Xuanba’s sight.

Li Xuanba froze, still gripping the eagle’s wing.

He lowered his head to look at the silly little eagle.

Wudi: “?”

Li Xuanba ground his teeth. “Today I’m going to pluck you clean and roast you! No one will be able to save you!”

Wudi: “???!”

“Chirp chirp!!!”

Help!!!