Return to Beijing
Outside Liangzhou City.
The people stood on both sides of the city gate, excitedly sending all sorts of things to the carriages that were about to leave the city.
Some people brought vegetables grown in their own yards, a basket of eggs, and some even threw old hens that they had raised for several years onto their cars.
Outside the carriage, the jailer looked helpless: he held an old hen in one hand and eggs in the other, with a bundle of seasonal vegetables beside him.
Inside the carriage, Zhang Cheng grinned widely as he looked at the lively and excited crowd outside.
"This time, we owe it all to your brilliant strategy, sir," Zhang Cheng said with a smile, full of admiration for his master. "If it weren't for your master sending Liu Qingniang out of the city with the token to find Liu Lei and trap Zhao Deyan like a turtle in a jar, we would probably have been delayed for several more days."
Liu Lei was another general who followed Xu Zhiyuan. When Liu Qingniang stopped the carriage and handed over the petition, Xu Zhiyuan told him to stay outside the city and wait for reinforcements.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Liu Qingniang handed the tattered letter to Zhang Cheng and then went to the prison to visit her family.
Later, Zhang Cheng found her, handed her the token, and asked her to go outside the city to find Liu Lei, and to pass on the message: "Today at Hai hour, outside Shuofang city, thirty li away in the poplar forest."
As expected, Zhao Deyan appeared at 9 PM that night. Liu Lei arrived with his guards and caught Zhao Deyan and his party red-handed.
"That day, Liu Qingniang stopped us in Liangzhou City, so I kept a trick up my sleeve."
Xu Zhiyuan looked up at Zhang Cheng, who was grinning foolishly, and said quietly, "I told you to protect Liu Qingniang, and you not only ran away halfway, but you also lost her..."
Fortunately, the young lady was capable and even pleaded for you. Otherwise, disobeying military orders... I would have punished you severely.
"Your Excellency is right. I will definitely be more careful in the future." Zhang Cheng scratched his head, admitting his mistake.
Xu Zhiyuan looked out the window; the desolate desert and the setting sun over the long river were beautiful.
But it cannot compare to the sunset over the capital.
*
On this day, the Duke of Wei's mansion was filled with joy.
When Xu Qingyao woke up, Yuejian helped her get dressed and comb her hair.
Chuntao rushed over anxiously: "Miss, the eldest young master is back!"
The eldest son is back?
"You mean, my older brother is back?" Xu Qingyao put down her tea, stood up, and briefly switched the roles in her mind.
So soon I'm meeting the original owner's other family members? What if they recognize me as an imposter...?
I heard that although the original owner's elder brother worked in the Ministry of Personnel, he was a master at investigating cases.
Xu Qingyao unconsciously clenched her fist.
“Yes, the eldest young master is back,” Chun Tao nodded happily, “but he went straight to the palace.”
Xu Qingyao breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, they weren't meeting right now.
When will you be back?
“Normally, when the eldest son returns to the capital to report on his duties, he stays in the palace for a whole day,” Yuejian said, setting out the food on the table. “This time will probably be the same as usual.”
"Miss, there's no need to be so excited. You'll see the young master eventually." Yuejian was very excited because she hadn't seen the young master in a long time. "Miss, let's eat first."
*
Inside the Golden Palace, the scent of ambergris mingled with the whispers of the court officials, floating beneath the gilded dome.
Xu Zhiyuan stood below the golden steps, his blue satin official robe with egret embroidered patches making him appear as slender as a pine tree or bamboo.
The sage's gaze passed through the twelve-tasseled jade algae, shifting between Xu Zhiyuan and the shadows behind the screen.
"Minister Xu," the Emperor tapped his fingers lightly on the dragon table, "you handled the Liangzhou case well. Zhao Deyan has been executed, the threat to the border has been eliminated, and I am very pleased."
Xu Zhiyuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise and your divine power is evident."
"Oh?" The sage suddenly leaned forward, the sound of his crown tassels clinking together crisply like shattered jade. "Have you found out the whereabouts of those three thousand divine crossbows?"
The hall fell silent.
Xu Zhiyuan caught a glimpse of a trembling crimson robe behind the screen—it was Wang Heng, the Vice Minister of War.
“Your Majesty,” Xu Zhiyuan presented the memorial with both hands, deliberately leaving half a fingerprint on the seal, “the crossbows eventually ended up in the Shuofang military town, and the people who escorted them…” He paused, “carried a Ministry of War warrant.”
"Bang!"
Wang Heng's ivory tablet smashed onto the gold brick and rolled to Xu Zhiyuan's feet.
The sage's gaze suddenly turned cold.
*
In the autumn rain by Qujiang Pool, Xu Zhiyuan, the newly appointed Minister of Personnel, became the target of public criticism.
“Lord Xu is young and promising.” Grand Secretary Cui Yan strolled over, holding a golden cup, his pine and crane patterned sleeves stained with wine. “But in this court, climbing too fast…” he suddenly lowered his voice, “is easy to fall hard.”
Xu Zhiyuan slowly and methodically sliced open the chilled shad with a silver knife: "This humble official only knows how to act impartially. It's Lord Cui who..."
He looked up, his fingertips holding half a piece of jade—a fragment of the inner wall of Wang Heng's thumb ring. "Do you know the purpose of having the two characters 'Wuwei' engraved on the private seal of the Vice Minister of War?"
Cui Yan's wine cup suddenly tilted, spilling grape wine that soaked the corner of his peacock-patterned robe. In the distance, the music from the imperial music academy was in full swing, and no one noticed the old minister's jaw tightening instantly.
*
As the evening drum sounded, Xu Zhiyuan's blue-canopied carriage was stopped at Yongxingfang.
Eunuch Su stood before the carriage, holding a whisk, his wrinkles revealing thirty years of trials and tribulations in the inner palace: "Lord Xu, please wait."
He handed over a gilded food box. When the lid was lifted, the scent of ambergris mixed with the smell of blood wafted out. Inside the box, the secret imperial edicts and vermilion annotations were dripping with blood. Next to it was Wang Heng's jade thumb ring, which he never parted with, except that the broken end was now covered with fresh silk fibers.
"Everyone asked this old servant to pass on a message." Eunuch Su's withered fingers traced the two characters "Wuwei" on the inside of the ring, "'Settling accounts after the autumn harvest will have to wait until all the leaves have fallen.'"
*
Fallen leaves rustled in front of the bluestone steps. Xu Zhiyuan's carriage had just come to a stop in front of the Duke of Wei's mansion when the mansion gate creaked open.
The old butler came out to greet them, carrying a lantern. The dim light reflected the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes: "Young Master is back."
Xu Zhiyuan nodded slightly, crossed the front yard, and came to his father's study.
Through the window, I saw my father sitting at the desk, the candlelight flickering.
"Father……"
"You're back?" Duke Wei pointed to an unfinished game of chess on the table. "Let's continue."
Xu Zhiyuan lowered his eyes, looking at the unfinished game of chess. The black pieces had been forced into a desperate situation—it was the last game he played with his father before leaving the capital.
"Is the matter in Liangzhou settled?" The Duke of Wei's voice was calm and reassuring, his fingers unconsciously tracing a crack on a chess piece.
"It's done."
"Have you visited your maternal grandparents?" Xu Lian deliberately softened his breathing. "Are they all well?"
“Grandfather…” Xu Zhiyuan placed a black chess piece down, his laughter as clear and crisp as a chess piece falling on a stone board: “Your son has won.”
Upon closer inspection, Xu Lian realized that the "black piece" had landed in the heart of the white territory. The black stones, which had seemed to be in a hopeless situation, were now launching a counterattack like a trapped beast, forming a continuous line. The large white group was cut off in the middle, and the situation was instantly reversed.
“My maternal grandfather is very healthy and can walk around the yard dozens of times every day.”
Xu Zhiyuan mimicked his maternal grandfather's tone: "Grandfather also said that Father should take good care of himself and not fight against thugs and hooligans alone anymore. He should find some more thugs."
Seeing that the game was settled, Xu Lian put the white pieces back into the chess box.
“Your maternal grandfather is right,” he said leisurely as he poured himself another cup of tea. “You must know about the marriage arranged by the Emperor. Don’t think about anything else these next few days. Spend more time with your sister.”
"Yaoyao and that Xiao family brat..." Xu Zhiyuan paused in his hand as he put down the chess piece. "Could Father have been threatened by Xiao Zhouyan?"
The Xu family and the Xiao family are mortal enemies.
If it weren't for the scheme devised by the old Marquis of Zhenyuan, the Xu family wouldn't have only been granted the title of Duke of Wei.
Besides...
"What about Yao Yao? Did Yao Yao agree?!"
On his way back to the capital, he did receive a message from the Duke of Wei's mansion.
After entering the capital, he heard some news along the way, but he thought it was just idle gossip among the people and didn't take it seriously.
How could His Majesty allow powerful families to marry into each other's clans?!
“Even if we disagree, that kid from the Xiao family went to the Emperor with an imperial edict to ask for a marriage decree…” Xu Lian sighed, having to admit that the kid was something else: “Do you think the person on the throne would contradict himself?”
“Now the Xiao and Xu families are in the same boat,” the Duke said, gazing out the window with a cloud of worry obscuring the moon.
Even if he doesn't think about himself, he should think about the child.
"The trip to Liangzhou, though fraught with danger, ended without real harm. The Minister of Personnel of Jin..."
"You are a new minister whom the Emperor relies on, but you must know the saying 'serving the emperor is like serving a tiger.'"
"It's getting late. You've done a great service this time, and the palace has sent word that you should rest well during this period... Go back now."
*
Xu Qingyao woke up before the morning dew had dried.
To be precise, she had insomnia.
I spent the whole night agonizing over whether to take the initiative to find this "big brother" or wait for him to come to me...
Whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll still get stabbed.
Xu Qingyao clenched her fist. Go! According to the original owner's personality, she would definitely go to visit her older brother when he returned.
Then, Xu Qingyao, lifting the hem of her apricot-red skirt, burst into Tingxue Pavilion, the gold hairpins in her hair jingling merrily: "Big brother! What's fun in Liangzhou? I heard that the foreign merchants there have exquisite glass cups, dancing bronze sparrows, and Persian treasure boxes that can breathe fire?"
"No, none of them."
"No way, bro. You must have brought it, right?"
Xu Zhiyuan was reviewing documents when he heard this. He looked up and smiled slightly: "You silly girl, all you ever think about are these strange and unusual things."
He took out a painted poplar wood box from under the table. The box was no bigger than the palm of his hand, but it was carved with vine patterns in the style of the Western Regions and had a string of tinkling silver bells hanging from it.
"Here, this is for you."
Xu Qingyao eagerly opened the box—inside was neither a bronze sparrow nor a treasure box, but several colorful pebbles, smooth and round, gleaming like glass in the sunlight.
"This is……"
Glass beads?
“Colorful stones from the Gobi Desert,” Xu Zhiyuan said with a smile. “Children in Liangzhou often play with these as marbles, calling them ‘fragments of stars.’”
Xu Qingyao picked up a green pebble and held it up to the light. Inside the pebble were fine golden lines, like a flowing galaxy.
It's a bit different from the glass beads she played with when she was little.
“And this too.” Xu Zhiyuan took out a small Hu doll from his sleeve. The wooden doll was dressed in bright Hu clothing, and its joints were movable. “The Hu merchant said that this is called ‘Dancing Hu Girl’ and it will spin around by itself when placed in the palm of your hand.”
He blew gently, and the doll indeed began to spin, its skirt fluttering, looking incredibly lifelike.
Wow! This is so much fun!
Xu Qingyao was so engrossed in watching that she suddenly noticed a line of small characters engraved on the base of the doll: "May the moon over the capital always shine on the people of Liangzhou."
"This is……"
“The children from Liangzhou asked me to take care of them.” Xu Zhiyuan’s gaze softened. “They said they wanted to see if the moon in the capital was really rounder than the one in Liangzhou.”
Outside the window, a gentle breeze blows, and the wind chimes under the eaves tinkle, as if responding to this childlike innocence from a thousand miles away.
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