Only a married couple could pull this off.

On the second floor was Wan Shangning's private boudoir.

After dismissing the attending maidservants, the three of them sat around a pear-wood round table, upon which rested two or three plates of pastries and a pot of clear wine.

"My two young lords, the hour is still early. Would you prefer to listen to some music or watch a dance?" Wan Shangning's eyes darted between the two of them as she giggled charmingly.

Lin Yuejiao and Rong Yu exchanged a glance. "Neither."

"Oh my, you two are in such a hurry in broad daylight. Are you hoping to play the dragon and phoenix and indulge in daylight debauchery with this humble maid?" Acting shy, Wan Shangning took the initiative to close the room's windows, turned around, and said, "Please, make yourselves comfortable on the bed."

Lin Yuejiao felt that this courtesan was far too impatient. Too lazy to invent excuses, she went straight to the point. "Pardon me, Miss Shangning, but I have only one matter to discuss with you. I harbor no other intentions toward you."

"Discussing a matter? With a courtesan like me, what could there possibly be to discuss with two young lords aside from matters on the bed?" Wan Shangning covered her mouth and smiled.

Lin Yuejiao uttered, "The Heart-of-Stone Jade."

A flicker crossed Wan Shangning's eyes as she looked at Rong Yu and Lin Yuejiao once more. The flirtatious smile she usually reserved for guests faded slightly. "I expected you two wouldn't come seeking a night of romance, but I didn't expect that you, too, would be after the Heart-of-Stone Jade."

Wan Shangning certainly didn't believe they were foolish enough to spend ten thousand taels of silver just to sleep with a brothel courtesan.

"Aside from us, have others come to see Miss Shangning about this?" Lin Yuejiao asked, surprised.

Wan Shangning sat down on a stool, casually toying with the handkerchief in her hand. "Mhm. Someone from the Four Seas Trading Firm came to see me before, and even claimed that the person buying it from behind the scenes was an influential figure whom I couldn't afford to provoke. However, no matter how they tried to coerce or bribe me, I refused. Actually, the Heart-of-Stone Jade has been in my possession for years. Let alone anyone else, if I hadn't accidentally shattered the ordinary-looking exterior stone last month to reveal the icy crystal marrow inside, I wouldn't have known it was so valuable."

On the outside, the Heart-of-Stone Jade looked like a drab, ugly grey stone. Unless someone was well-versed in such matters, they wouldn't recognize it even if they were holding it.

"To you, Miss, the Heart-of-Stone Jade is merely a paperweight, a plaything. But to me, it is a crucial medicinal ingredient. I sincerely hope you will part with it. Name your price—whether it be wealth or any other condition—and we will negotiate in good faith," Lin Yuejiao said with utmost sincerity.

Wan Shangning raised an eyebrow slightly, her smile radiant. "Who says the Heart-of-Stone Jade is just a plaything to me? While it may be crucial to you, it is equally indispensable to me."

She had clearly been using it casually as a paperweight on her desk, yet upon hearing Lin Yuejiao's words, she now claimed it was indispensable.

"Is the Miss trying to drive up the price? I have neither belittled the value of the Heart-of-Stone Jade nor denied its importance to me. I am simply making it clear that Miss Shangning is free to name her price. There is no need to inflate it; it is inherently of high value. Not because it is precious in its own right, but because if Miss Shangning is willing to part with it, you will be doing me a tremendous favor. I am naturally willing to pay any cost, so Miss Shangning need not do this," Lin Yuejiao said, looking straight at her.

Normally, in business transactions, when someone had their eyes on an item, they would avoid showing that they desperately needed it, lest the other party realize it wasn't worth an exorbitant price.

Since Lin Yuejiao had managed to cheat Beitang Han out of his grain reserves, she was certainly not ignorant of this principle.

Yet, she had directly stated that she must have the Heart-of-Stone Jade, and that Wan Shangning was free to name any price she pleased.

"The young lord is truly extraordinary and full of sincerity," Wan Shangning said with a thin smile. "It is a pity, however, that what I want, you cannot give."

A trace of calm settled in the depths of Lin Yuejiao's heart.

"I have been in Rouge House for ten years. If I wanted money, countless men would have spent a fortune for me; I do not lack wealth. If I wanted to escape this earthly realm of wine and song, I don't know how many men over the past decade would have been willing to take me as a concubine. Most of my peers chose to marry wealthy merchants during the height of their youth, yet I have remained here in Rouge House," Wan Shangning said, the habitual flirtatious smile completely gone from her face. Her expression was calm and serene as she looked at Lin Yuejiao. "In truth, I don't even need someone to marry me; the money I have saved is enough for me to leave Rouge House and live free of worry for the rest of my days. Money is useless to me, and as for power, it goes without saying. A humble woman like me—could I possibly aspire to become an official? My lord, do you still believe you can give me what I want?"

***

Lin Yuejiao's gaze narrowed.

"Could it be, Miss Shangning, that you wish for someone to take you as their legal wife?" Lin Yuejiao pondered aloud.

Wan Shangning chuckled. "The young lord is joking. Before I sank into the dust of this world, there were indeed those who wished to take me as a wife. But now that I bear this identity, how could I ever harbor extravagant hopes of becoming a legal wife? Besides, men in this world are fickle; what good is being a legal wife? Vows and solemn oaths are always spoken so prettily, but when the time truly comes, it is nothing more than discarding the hunting dog once the hares are caught, treating one like discarded footwear."

Those words struck a deep chord within her, mirroring her relationship with Beitang Han in her past life.

"Miss Shangning speaks the truth," Lin Yuejiao said with deep empathy.

Wan Shangning looked at Lin Yuejiao with a hint of surprise. "My lady, I never imagined that someone of your tender age could comprehend such a principle. I used to think that young women who had experienced nothing were just like I was in my youth—harboring romantic fantasies, naive enough to believe that finding a good match meant entrusting one's entire life to them, living in mutual respect and marital harmony."

"You... you realized I am a woman?" Lin Yuejiao was momentarily stunned.

Wan Shangning pressed her lips into a smile. "I have seen the gazes of too many men. Your eyes do not hold the look of a man gazing upon me. Coupled with the fact that we were able to converse so congenially, I concluded you could not be male. As for this young lord here, his gaze does not resemble that of other men either; at first, I even thought he preferred men," Wan Shangning said with a chuckle.

Lin Yuejiao looked at Rong Yu, unable to restrain herself any longer. She covered her mouth with her small hand and laughed softly.

Rong Yu cast a blank stare at Lin Yuejiao.

Seeing that Wan Shangning had already seen through her identity, Lin Yuejiao decided she no longer needed to suppress her voice. Recovering her natural pitch, she casually explained, "Miss Shangning, I can vouch for him. He is not a practitioner of the southern winds; at most... he is just impotent."

"Oh?" Rong Yu showed no signs of anger. Instead, his handsome eyebrows arched slightly, and his magnetic voice carried a hint of profound meaning. "Whether I am capable or not, didn't you already test it out?"

Lin Yuejiao glared at him, utterly speechless in rebuttal. With an outsider present, the embarrassment drove her to extend a foot and kick Rong Yu in the shin.

Rong Yu wore a half-smile.

*Well, well, the little lady is growing bolder, actually daring to kick me. She's making progress.*

Wan Shangning looked back and forth between Rong Yu and Lin Yuejiao, then smiled. "So the two of you are husband and wife. No wonder you looked so well-matched."

Just as Lin Yuejiao was about to refute this, she heard Wan Shangning continue, "However, if the two of you are a deeply affectionate couple, what I desire is something you might actually be able to obtain."

Lin Yuejiao was taken aback. "What does whether we are husband and wife have to do with it?"

"What I want is something a single person cannot accomplish, but a married couple just might," Wan Shangning replied.

Lin Yuejiao looked at her incredulously. "Something a single person cannot get, but two people can—aside from a child, there's nothing else. Could it be that you want our child? That is out of the question!"

Leaving aside the fact that they didn't have a child right now, even if they did, she would never trade her child away.

Rong Yu looked at Lin Yuejiao, feeling a smile tugging at the corners of his lips for reasons unknown upon hearing her words.

***

"You misunderstood, my lady," Wan Shangning hurriedly waved her hands and explained. "Across the Cliff of Severed Love grows a red flower known as the Passion Flower. The two banks of the cliff are hundreds of feet apart, impossible to cross with lightness skill. The only connection is a single heavenly bridge linking the two sides. This bridge is called the Heart-Testing Bridge. Legend has it that if a couple truly loves one another and is willing to live and die together, crossing the Heart-Testing Bridge will allow them to witness the Passion Flowers on the opposite cliff in full bloom. If either party's affection is unfaithful, when they reach the flowers, the Passion Flowers will not open."

Lin Yuejiao frowned slightly. That sounded utterly absurd.

Wan Shangning smiled faintly. "Only true love can cause the Passion Flower to bloom. Hence its name, and hence the bridge is called the Heart-Testing Bridge. However, making the Passion Flower bloom is no simple matter. I have spent many years in the mortal realm and heard countless young lords swear they loved me enough to endure shattered bones, yet when I accompanied them to the Heart-Testing Bridge, I never once saw the Passion Flowers bloom. They were all nothing more than lies told by men to deceive me. Whether you two can make the Passion Flowers bloom, I do not know. But the Heart-Testing Bridge—whether one's heart is true or false—can indeed be tested instantly."

Judging the truth of a relationship simply by whether a flower bloomed or not—wasn't that utterly ridiculous?

"You want a blooming Passion Flower?" Rong Yu asked.

Wan Shangning nodded. "Indeed. Aside from a blooming Passion Flower, I want nothing else. The two of you clearly possess extraordinary backgrounds, and a humble person like me naturally cannot afford to offend you. But the Heart-of-Stone Jade has already been hidden away in a secure location; even if you kill me, you will not get it. If you are willing, bring me the Passion Flower in exchange. If not, you may leave."

Lin Yuejiao and Rong Yu exchanged a glance.

"Very well. Where is the Cliff of Severed Love? Take us there, and we will try," Lin Yuejiao said.

Wan Shangning looked at Lin Yuejiao with a complex, meaningful gaze. "My lady, judging by your ages, you must be newlyweds, bound like glue and lacquer, deep in affection. In truth, sometimes it is better to remain blissfully ignorant in this lifetime. Seeing everything clearly is not necessarily a blessing. If you know nothing and simply muddle along, that might actually be true happiness. If you go to the Heart-Testing Bridge and truly prove to be devoted lovers, then all is well. But if the test reveals flaws in your affection, I fear you will not be able to bear the blow."

Lin Yuejiao sensed there was hidden meaning behind her words.

"No matter. Since you describe it so mysteriously, I would also like to see what this legendary Passion Flower actually looks like," Lin Yuejiao said.

Rong Yu expressed his stance with two cold, aloof words: "Lead the way."

Wan Shangning looked at Lin Yuejiao, then at Rong Yu, and smiled. "Since the two of you have decided, let us head to the Cliff of Severed Love together. Please wait for me by the carriage at the entrance for a moment while I change my clothes."

Lin Yuejiao gave a soft acknowledgment and went downstairs alongside Rong Yu.

Watching their retreating figures as they exited, the smile on Wan Shangning's face faded, replaced by a lingering melancholy.

Once inside the carriage while waiting for Wan Shangning to arrive, Lin Yuejiao spoke up. "My Lord, with your vast knowledge, have you ever heard of the Passion Flower?"

"Never," Rong Yu replied. "We will pluck a specimen and bring it back, having the palace florists force it to bloom. If that fails, we will simply find a flower that looks remarkably similar as a substitute. Once everything is prepared, we will make the exchange for the Heart-of-Stone Jade."

Lin Yuejiao nodded. "My thoughts exactly, My Lord."

The florists in the imperial palace were masters of their craft. If even they were powerless against the Passion Flower, they would simply have to resort to a substitute.

As for using genuine emotion to make a Passion Flower bloom, neither Lin Yuejiao nor Rong Yu believed in such mysticism. It sounded as though the flower had turned into a spirit.