Chapter Thirty-Six: The Triumphant Return to the Capital
Huairou meticulously documented her observations during her trip to Yongzhou, the evidence of the empty granaries, and her speculations about the underlying connections in a long letter, which she secretly sent to the northern border. In the letter, she earnestly reassured Yunji, urging him not to be anxious about the rumors circulating in the court. She stressed that the priority was to stabilize the situation in the north, while simultaneously conducting an internal investigation to ensure that border trade accounts were clear, personnel were reliable, and no new incriminating evidence was left for the enemy. Having done all this, she and Jiancheng quietly returned to the capital.
Only a few days after returning to his residence in the capital, the imperial court issued several eye-catching imperial edicts in succession. Although their contents seemed unrelated, they caused quite a stir in the eyes of those in the know.
Huairou first learned from his elder brother Guo Qiyu that he had been urgently dispatched by the Emperor to the vicinity of Yongzhou to secretly reorganize a well-equipped but mysteriously unknown "private army" of over ten thousand men. This army was successfully incorporated and, after being dispersed, was deployed to various border garrisons.
Immediately following this, the emperor bestowed a marriage upon the second prince, Zhen Antai, to a highly respected princess from a neighboring country, granting her a very wealthy fiefdom located on the border between the two countries. He ordered her to go there immediately, assume the title of king, and not to return to the capital without an imperial edict.
The final decree was even more earth-shattering—ordering the local government of Yongzhou to investigate the land and directly distribute the land deeds of nearly one-third of the land in Yongzhou that originally belonged to the Lu family and several other powerful families involved in the case to local tenant farmers and displaced people who had little or no land, according to the registered households, allowing them to cultivate the land for generations and reducing their taxes for three years.
These three imperial edicts, like three thunderclaps, resounded throughout the court and the country. Upon hearing them, Huairou pondered alone in his courtyard for a long time, secretly admiring the move. This series of combined actions was truly brilliant!
The emperor was so decisive that he took the initiative to issue an edict to openly and generously bring the "unknown army" that the second prince had privately raised and which should have been severely punished into the national fold under the guise of reorganization. This instantly strengthened the court's military power and turned a potential threat into its own strength.
He had put even more thought and effort into his two sons. Although the second prince, Antai, had committed a grave error, his marriage to a princess from a neighboring country and the granting of a wealthy fiefdom outwardly maintained his status as a prince and preserved diplomatic relations with the neighboring country. In reality, however, he had effectively removed Antai from the center of power and completely withdrawn him from the competition for the throne. The seventh prince, Yunji, though wronged, learned a profound lesson: the court was treacherous, and he needed to be constantly cautious in his words and actions, guarding against treacherous individuals. The emperor, without making a sound, preserved the reputation and future prospects of both his sons.
As for the Lu family… this decree of land distribution was even more ingenious. The Lu family played a dishonorable role in this matter; supporting the prince's private army was already a serious crime, not to mention embezzling disaster relief funds and framing the prince. The emperor did not immediately punish them severely, but instead used the method of "distributing land to the people," both appeasing the disaster victims in Yongzhou and stabilizing the situation, while also effectively weakening the Lu family's foundation in Yongzhou and protecting the important minister Lu Xian. This was equivalent to making the entire Lu family repay their crimes with a large tract of land they depended on for survival, and also incurring a huge favor from the emperor through leniency. This move both demonstrated the emperor's boundless benevolence and subtly and precisely dealt a blow to the powerful maternal relatives.
Huairou's intuition told him that the emperor's series of seemingly effortless yet deadly edicts must be related to Jiancheng Jun's secret investigation in Yongzhou. He must have presented conclusive evidence and clear judgment to the emperor.
What troubled Huairou even more was that this series of events made her realize clearly that the Lu family, to which Lu Binghui belonged, had always been staunch supporters of the Second Prince, An Tai. Those casual chats about country, ideals, and aspirations that they shared during their school days had now, under the harsh light of reality, become undeniable differences in political views and opposing stances.
She couldn't help but sigh softly, gazing at the withering begonias in the courtyard, silently thinking, "Binghui, Binghui, if your fate were different, you might just be an ordinary young master in the family, dutifully following your father's orders. That... wouldn't be so bad. It's just that without realizing it, we... have already become people walking on two completely different paths."
The best news is that Yunji is finally going to return to the capital!
After three years of honing his skills and persevering in the northern frontier, he had finally completed his mission and was ready to return to the capital to report. What made Huairou even more overjoyed was that he would be marrying Princess Yuanya, the beloved daughter of Sutan, the king of the grasslands, in the imperial city with the most solemn ceremony.
Upon hearing the news, Huairou jumped and danced with joy in her room, completely abandoning her usual calm and demure demeanor. At that moment, she seemed to truly be a modern mother watching her "son" achieve academic success, return home in glory, and bring back an outstanding daughter-in-law as beautiful as the "governor's daughter," her heart filled with indescribable pride and joy.
After the initial elation, she began to worry about what kind of wedding gift to prepare for Yunji. Gold and silver jewelry? As a prince, Yunji surely had plenty, given the thriving trade in the north. Rare treasures and antiques? Those seemed too commonplace and failed to express her unique sentiments. She racked her brains, feeling that whatever she prepared would be insufficient, unable to bear the weight of her deep affection and blessings spanning two lifetimes. Then she thought again that in this era, Yunji must be materially wealthy, and her "motherly" joy stemmed more from spiritual fulfillment. Recalling the dire situation of her previous life, where parents had to empty their "six wallets" to prepare weddings for their children, she couldn't help but chuckle, finding the contrast quite peculiar.
However, a sense of loss crept into her heart. She could only attend the wedding as the daughter of the Minister of War and Yunji's former study companion, accompanying her father and brother, instead of sitting in the high hall as his mother, receiving the newlyweds' kowtows, and witnessing one of the most important moments in her "son's" life. This unspoken identity became a faint shadow beneath her joy.
Even a hidden worry arose: After Yunji's marriage, with his own queen and future children, would he... still need and depend on her as before? If she were to visit him in the Northern Border again, what identity should she present? As his former study companion, or... a "foreign official" with whom she needed to keep her distance?
Sigh, she rubbed her temples and thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile, "It turns out that the troubles of happiness and the troubles of not being so lucky seem to be about the same in number, only the taste is completely different."
Meanwhile, in the northern border, Yunji was also busily preparing for his return journey and wedding. Before the wedding, the northern army needed to redeploy its defenses, and some of the soldiers who had fought alongside him for many years would either return home or be transferred to other posts. This was also the ultimate mission of his trip—to ease the relationship between the court and the various border tribes, and to alleviate the long-term pressure on the national treasury from border defense through trade and education; the results were already beginning to show.
For the past three years, he has lived and ate with his soldiers, reviewed troops on the battlefield, patrolled the border, and resolved tribal disputes. Despite being a prince, he had to endure harsh winds and bitter cold alongside his men, even encountering small groups of bandits and experiencing life-or-death crises together. The unwavering composure of General Guo An and the bravery of Guo Qiyu provided him with invaluable support and assistance. These experiences tempered Yunji's originally somewhat weak character, making him increasingly resilient and composed. His brow now bore the weight of responsibility and duty to protect the land and its people, earning him the heartfelt respect and loyalty of the northern border's soldiers and civilians.
On the grasslands, King Sutan's alliance with the Central Plains was based on the premise of maintaining the grasslands' high degree of autonomy. He did not treat his daughter's lifelong happiness as a mere political bargaining chip, but carefully selected the bravest and most loyal warriors from various tribes to form a wedding escort team to ensure his daughter's safe arrival in the capital of the Central Plains. Furthermore, he prepared a dowry of over a dozen cartloads—from precious furs native to the grasslands, crystal-clear agate gems, and miraculous healing elixirs, to powerful and swift horses and ornate saddles inlaid with jewels… a dazzling array of extravagant goods, showcasing the utmost luxury of the grasslands, determined to give his most beloved daughter a grand and glorious marriage, bringing honor to the people of the grasslands.
One day, Huairou was pruning flowers in the mansion when she suddenly heard a familiar, loud laugh and the clanging sound of armor rubbing together coming from the front yard. Overjoyed, she dropped the pruning shears and ran towards the front hall, lifting her skirt.
"Brother!" The voice arrived before the person.
Guo Qiyu, still covered in military uniform and dust from his journey, broke into a bright smile upon hearing his sister's voice and strode forward to greet her. Before Huairou could even stand still, he opened his arms and gave her a firm, frontier-weather-like embrace.
Huairou felt a sharp pain from the cold armor, yet the comforting scent of her brother lingered in her nostrils. Her eyes welled up, and she couldn't bear to push him away. How long ago had Ji Moli, an only child, dreamed countless times of having a brother she could rely on and play with? Now, that dream had come true in such a tangible way.
Guo Qiyu realized that his armor might hurt his sister, so he quickly released her. His rough hand affectionately pinched her cheek, and he smiled, "It's been several months, and you've lost some weight. But your taste is excellent!" He was referring to Huairou's support for Yunji and her judgment on the Yongzhou matter.
He held his sister's hand, eager to share his experiences in the North, when suddenly he remembered something. He turned and took a cage wrapped in soft fur from his guard, shoving it into Huairou's arms with an exaggerated air of disdain: "Here, a gift for you, an overly clever red-tailed fox! Take it, take it! I've been exhausted from serving it all this way. This little thing is quite good at acting cute and charming; those rough men in the army all say it's the reincarnation of Su Daji among foxes, adept at bewitching hearts..." As he spoke, he continued to pull Huairou's hand, and the two siblings unconsciously began to take tiny, shuffling steps together, as if they were still playing as children, making Huairou giggle.
It turned out that the Guo family father and son had already discerned from the numerous imperial edicts sent to the front lines in recent years, as well as the emperor's overt and covert protection of Yunji, that His Majesty intended to cultivate the Seventh Prince. The recent incident in Yongzhou, with the Lu family's fiefdoms being significantly reduced and the Second Prince being sent to a distant fiefdom, further confirmed their suspicions. The relationship between the Guo and Lu families thus underwent a subtle but immediate change. The once-praised "marriage between a general and a minister" now appeared rather awkward and out of place in the current political climate.
What Guo Qiyu was so eager to tell his sister was that, after their father and Prime Minister Lu had spoken, the two families had reached a tacit agreement—the marriage between the Guo and Lu families would be temporarily put on hold until the Emperor's final attitude towards the Lu family became clear. However, he did not tell his sister directly, but instead asked his mother, Lady Xiang, to probe his sister's feelings on her behalf.
Lady Xiang was probably even more capable than Huairou in her youth. Although a member of the royal family, she did not marry into another country's royal family. While it seemed she had married down to Huairou's father, she and Guo Shichang were each other's only child, and now, with a son and a daughter, they were forever united. She went to her daughter's study and began to chat about everyday matters, recounting how Huairou's temperament had changed significantly since childhood. Perhaps it was because the girl had grown up; she had transformed from a lively and playful child into a gentle and sensitive one, with a strong sense of self and not easily swayed by others. Mother and daughter were very close, like sisters. Lady Xiang brought up many details of Huairou playing with Binghui when they were young, jokingly mentioning Huairou's engagement to Binghui, revealing that the political situation had changed, and asking about her feelings for Binghui.
After hearing this, Huairou subconsciously bit her lip and lowered her eyelids, seemingly digesting the sudden news, but in reality, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and even felt an uncontrollable surge of joy.
She wasn't in a hurry to marry Binghui! What was so great about being a wife? Ji Moli, already a mother, had regretted countless times her hasty decision to marry in her youth if it weren't for wanting to maintain a complete family for her son. Now, having finally broken free from the shackles of her past life and possessing the freedom and possibilities that came with the identity of "Guo Huairou," how could she easily give it up? This postponed marriage wasn't a regret for her; rather, it felt like an unexpected and precious gift—a free space to continue breathing, continuing to explore, and continuing to live according to her heart.
"My daughter doesn't want to marry yet, Mother. I've known Lord Binghui since childhood. Since our time together hasn't come yet, it's alright to wait a little longer." Unbeknownst to Xiangwang, if Huairou still harbored any hope for romantic love, her heart was entirely with Lord Jiancheng, and she felt no disappointment at the failed marriage.
Having been a wife for many years, she possessed a profound understanding of life. Seeing the emptiness in Huairou's eyes, she already understood most of it. Actually, she had another, more important person to ask her daughter about—a crucial task entrusted to her by her husband: the Guo family now knew their daughter was close to the Seventh Prince, and Guo's mother had subtly inquired whether Huairou's beloved was the Seventh Prince. As a mother, she worried that if her daughter agreed, given the Seventh Prince already had a principal wife, what would become of her daughter's heart and status?
Let alone desiring to be a prince's wife, Huairou knew such thoughts overstepped her bounds as a subject. But before her mother, Huairou needed no pretense. She shook her head and smiled, saying, "Mother, the Seventh Prince and I are not only ruler and subject, but also like siblings from a past life. We spend every day together, our bond is like that of brothers. Naturally, everything I do is for him; there is no romantic interest whatsoever." Huairou remained composed, remembering that she and the Seventh Prince were of similar age, and needing to conceal her love for her son. Due to her status, she dared not call them "siblings in this life," and could only choose the word "brothers" to express her affection. The Princess Xiang nodded slightly. She was a descendant of royalty, and her daughter and the Seventh Prince were indeed blood relatives. The young people sharing similar interests was a good match. At this moment, she was filled with worry for her daughter's marriage but had no words to comfort her. Thinking of her own happy marriage, she could only tell Huairou that a woman's life should be guided by her heart; her inner self was the most important thing.
Finally, Huairou couldn't help but ask her mother if the Seventh Prince had any uncles or elders holding official positions in the palace. Her mother pondered for a moment and replied that there were many relatives in the royal family, and she didn't know which branch her daughter was referring to. Huairou's heart sank to the bottom of a lake. The letter she had sent to inquire had been sent many days ago, but there had been no news. This made her uncontrollably worried about Jiancheng Jun's injuries, but she was restrained by the modesty of a young lady and could not rashly search for him. She also didn't know if he would ever appear before her again.
Her mother had gone home. Outside the window, the autumn sun shone brightly. At Huairou's feet nestled a red-tailed fox that gazed at her with intelligent eyes. She felt the warmth brought to her by this little animal that had returned from the north ahead of schedule. Thinking of Yunji, who was about to return to the capital, her heart was filled with a light and expectant anticipation for the future.
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