Tang Peiyi already felt immensely guilty about He Jingyuan’s death. Although he didn’t want any involvement with the Li faction, when he heard their demand to hold Wei Yan accountable, he immediately hitched up his robes and knelt: “This humble official also implores Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the matter of Prime Minister Wei colluding with rebels, and provide an explanation to the soldiers fighting on the frontlines and the common people of the realm!”
As Tang Peiyi knelt, the military officers who had accompanied him to the Golden Hall for the conferment ceremony all followed suit and knelt as well.
Qi Sheng rested his elbow on the armrest of the dragon throne, pressing his temple, his expression visibly displeased: “What is the meaning of this? Have you all learned to pressure me now?”
Grand Tutor Li, clutching his official tablet, with his white hair and beard hanging low over his brows and eyes, spoke in a hoarse voice: “We subjects dare not. But if treacherous officials are not removed and injustices not righted, how can we console the loyal souls in the netherworld? If this old official does not remonstrate, I would not be worthy of wearing these official robes and eating Your Majesty’s salary. I might as well retire and return to my hometown!”
Fan Changyu watched Grand Tutor Li’s figure, as thin as a bamboo pole. If she hadn’t known about the Li family’s collusion with Qi Min, she would have truly believed that Grand Tutor Li was a good official who cared for the country and its people, just like He Jingyuan.
A loud “bang” resonated.
It was Qi Sheng who had thrown down a stack of memorials from the dragon table. He laughed in extreme anger: “If you want to remonstrate, then remonstrate. Why does the Grand Tutor pressure me with talk of retiring to his hometown?”
Grand Tutor Li bent his spine forward a few more degrees, “This old subject dares not!”
In the past, it had always been the emperor and Grand Tutor Li working in tandem to suppress Wei Yan. Now, as Grand Tutor Li denounced Wei Yan, the emperor was vigorously protecting him. It was truly the first time the civil and military officials of the entire court had witnessed such a scene.
The more astute ones quickly recalled the earlier rumors, secretly speculating whether the matter of finding a descendant of the Chengde Crown Prince was true.
The Wei faction, who had been silent until now, noticed the emperor’s attitude and immediately stood up to say: “The Prime Minister has worked hard and achieved great merit, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to the Great Yin’s rivers and mountains for so many years. He has fallen ill due to overwork and is recuperating at home. Is this how you slander the Prime Minister?”
The people of the Li faction angrily retorted: “It was the person recommended by the Prime Minister to the military who let the Chongzhou rebels escape, nearly losing Lu City. The captured rebel strategist also pointed out that Wei Yan indeed had connections with the rebels. With both testimonial and physical evidence present, what is there to quibble about?”
“Lu Dayi was overly ambitious and acted rashly against military orders, falling into the rebels’ trap. Even if blame is to be assigned, the Prime Minister is at most guilty of misjudging character. How dare you accuse the Prime Minister of colluding with rebels? Your intentions are malicious! Can the words of a rebel strategist be trusted? What if this is a ploy by the rebels to sow discord!”
“What use is your clever rhetoric? The evidence is irrefutable. You won’t believe it until you see the coffin!”
The two factions in the great hall argued incessantly, almost to the point of rolling up their sleeves and coming to blows. Qi Sheng on the dragon throne seemed to have a headache from the noise and shouted sternly: “Enough!”
The court officials who had been hurling accusations at each other finally restrained themselves and returned to their original positions, holding their official tablets.
Qi Sheng’s expression was very unpleasant: “What kind of behavior is this, shouting and clamoring? Do you think this Golden Hall is a marketplace?”
The group of officials lowered their heads and brows, not daring to utter another word.
Qi Sheng, pressing his aching temple, said: “All testimonial evidence in the case of Wei Yan colluding with rebels will be temporarily held at the Court of Judicial Review and submitted to the Three Judicial Offices for joint investigation. The court dismissed!”
After saying this, Qi Sheng swept his sleeves and left the Golden Hall first. The eunuchs attending to him called out in their shrill voices “Court dismissed!” before hurriedly running to catch up with Qi Sheng.
The civil and military officials at the bottom of the great hall knelt and bowed towards the empty dragon throne above: “Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live, long live!”
As Fan Changyu rose with the other court officials, she slightly furrowed her brow and glanced at the gilded dragon throne at the top of the great hall.
Would the investigation of Wei Yan go smoothly?
As they left the great hall, Grand Tutor Li’s expression was not pleasant.
His eldest son followed closely behind him, speaking in a low voice to Grand Tutor Li: “Has His Majesty turned to Wei Yan for protection again?”
Grand Tutor Li, who had been Qi Sheng’s teacher for over a decade, understood this emperor who had been forced onto the dragon throne at a young age all too well. He shook his head and said: “It’s not the first time he’s done something like this.”
When Qi Sheng first ascended to the throne, he was just a child. The civil and military officials of the court respected him on the surface, but in reality, no one took this young emperor without real power seriously.
At that time, to secure his position on the throne, Qi Sheng followed Wei Yan’s lead in everything.
Later, as his power grew, he realized he was nothing more than a puppet emperor. To wrest power from Wei Yan’s hands, he began to draw closer to Grand Tutor Li.
Perhaps it was because he had never truly held that imperial power that Qi Sheng could not tolerate anyone sharing power with him.
He was too impatient. Before Wei Yan had fallen, he was already guarding against the Li family at every turn, which ultimately led to the Li family turning to cooperate with Qi Min. Only then did he panic, and out of necessity, he turned back to seek Wei Yan’s support.
As long as Wei Yan didn’t fall, even if he continued to be a puppet emperor, the throne would still be his.
Li Yuanting, Grand Tutor Li’s eldest son, showed a look of disdain: “He has schemed against Wei Yan so many times, how can Wei Yan still protect him? When the time comes, they will both be nothing but defeated dogs!”
Grand Tutor Li paused his steps and gave his eldest son a cool look.
Li Yuanting realized he had misspoken and looked around, seeing that the officials were all leaving the palace in small groups and no one was near them. Only then did he breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Grand Tutor Li said: “No matter when, always be careful. Calamity comes from the mouth.”
Li Yuanting lowered his head and agreed.
At the foot of a white jade stone staircase ahead, Fan Changyu and Tang Peiyi, along with a group of generals who had suppressed the rebellion, were walking down. Some minor officials were congratulating Tang Peiyi, and the group walked and talked, all wearing appropriately courteous smiles on their faces.
Grand Tutor Li’s gaze lingered for a few moments on the female general in red robes and silver armor, as radiant as the proud sun.
Li Yuanting had long known Fan Changyu’s true identity. He lowered his voice and said: “I heard that the Marquis of Wu’an refused the bestowed marriage for this woman, and personally led the Xie family cavalry to rush to Lu City’s aid, with his father’s death in between. He truly seems to have been bewitched.”
Grand Tutor Li didn’t respond. After walking a few steps, he suddenly asked: “Is there still no news from Huai’an?”
Li Yuanting shook his head and added: “We’ve sent more people to search.”
Grand Tutor Li grunted and continued walking forward.
Fan Changyu, Tang Peiyi, and others were not officials from the capital and had no residences in the imperial city. The Ministry of Rites had arranged for them to stay at the Court of State Ceremonial.
According to the customs of the Great Yin’s officialdom, when princes and nobles with fiefs outside the capital were summoned to the imperial city, they would all stay at the state guesthouses. Officials returning from provincial posts would stay at the Court of State Ceremonial.
Although Fan Changyu and the others had received rewards, whether they would remain in the capital or be reassigned to provincial posts still depended on the imperial edict.
If they were to stay in the capital, the Emperor would bestow mansions upon them or allocate land for them to build their residences. If they were to be assigned to provincial posts, they would have to depart for their respective prefectures and counties.
Fan Changyu, now a third-rank official, was assigned an independent courtyard. Madam Zhao, her husband, Changning, and Bao’er moved in with her, and it didn’t feel cramped at all.
Carpenter Zhao was now officially registered as a military physician. He should have been on duty with the Jizhou army, but with the war over, he felt he wasn’t of much use in the military. As Fan Changyu was heading to the capital to receive her title, he requested leave and accompanied them on the journey.
During the half-day Fan Changyu spent in the palace, the elderly couple, accompanied by Xie Wu and Xie Qi, had taken Changning and Bao’er for a tour of the capital’s main streets.
When Fan Changyu returned, she saw that the round table was almost covered with snacks Changning had bought. Before she could scold Changning, the girl was already excitedly gesturing about the various novelties she had seen on the streets.
“Sister, sister! There was a yellow-bearded man breathing fire on the street! And people performing with flower spears, and breaking stones on their chests…” Changning’s eyes sparkled as she counted on her fingers, almost running out of digits.
Seeing her so happy, Fan Changyu couldn’t bring herself to scold her. She just pinched Changning’s chubby cheeks and said, “When you go out to play, you mustn’t be naughty or runoff. Stay with your Madam Zhao and Uncle Xie Wu, alright?”
Changning nodded carelessly, then hugged Fan Changyu’s arm and started swinging it. “Sister, sister, when will you have time? Let’s go play that arrow-throwing game. If you win, you can get a little rabbit!”
Fan Changyu asked with a smile, “You want to keep a rabbit?”
Changning nodded vigorously. “I’ll fatten it up and feed it to Xuan Xuan!”
This answer left Fan Changyu torn between laughter and exasperation. When Xie Wu used to accompany her in the army, the gyrfalcon was always fed by Xie Qi and Changning. Later, when Xie Wu was injured and resting at home, he also helped with the feeding.
They both knew how to train gyrfalcons. Each day, if Changning overfed the bird, Xie Qi would take it out at night to let it fly for a while.
During the days when Fan Changyu was recovering from her injuries in Lu City, Madam Zhao couldn’t sit idle. To supplement the diet of the wounded soldiers in the infirmary, she bought a brood of chicks from the market and raised them near the camp.
Occasionally, hawks would come to steal the chicks, worrying Madam Zhao to no end. Every day when she returned to the small courtyard, she would sigh and fret. Later, Xie Qi often let the gyrfalcon fly around the military camp. If it encountered other hawks trying to steal chickens, the gyrfalcon would chase them and peck off half the feathers from their wings.
Madam Zhao praised the gyrfalcon for being so intelligent and immediately rewarded it with a pile of chicken giblets.
After entering the capital’s territory, to avoid attracting attention, even at night, neither Xie Qi nor Xie Wu dared to take the gyrfalcon out to fly. Inevitably, the bird, constantly fed by Madam Zhao and Changning, became noticeably rounder.
Fan Changyu said, “If you keep feeding it like this, your Xuan Xuan will be too fat to fly.”
Madam Zhao also advised, “Ning’er, be good. We’re staying in an official courtyard in the capital now. It’s not our place, so it’s not convenient to raise rabbits. If we leave the capital later, it’s easy to take inanimate objects, but not so easy with living creatures.”
Only then did Changning lower her head, twisting her chubby fingers together and reluctantly agreeing.
The elderly Zhao couple pulled Fan Changyu aside to ask about her audience with the Emperor. Having lived most of their lives in a small border town, they never imagined they’d one day come to the capital. Hearing that Fan Changyu had been granted a high official position, they cried and laughed, wiping away tears and saying they would burn some paper money for Fan Changyu’s parents to tell them the good news.
Changning squatted outside the door, picking up a small stick to draw circles on the ground, her little mouth pouted as she still thought about the snow-white rabbit in the merchant’s cage.
A pair of small embroidered boots appeared in her line of sight. Yu Bao’er stood in front of her and said, “I’ll help you win the rabbit.”
Changning said unhappily, “But you don’t know how to throw arrows, and Uncle Xie Wu and Uncle Xie Qi won’t help me either…”
Yu Bao’er said, “Give me two days. I can learn it.”
Children’s thoughts are exceptionally sensitive. It was fine when no one comforted her, but as soon as Yu Bao’er said this, Changning’s eyes reddened. The weather had turned cold, and Madam Zhao had dressed her in many layers. Squatting on the ground, she looked like a soft, chubby rabbit herself. She said pitifully, “What if someone else wins the rabbit?”
Yu Bao’er said, “The merchant will have other rabbits.”
Changning’s eyes reddened even more. She wiped her eyes and said, “But I only want that rabbit from today.”
Yu Bao’er suddenly asked, “Didn’t you say you wanted to raise it to feed your falcon? As long as it’s a rabbit, wouldn’t any do?”
Changning hung her head without speaking, tears clinging to her long lashes, looking both pitiful and wronged.
Yu Bao’er stared at her for a while, then changed his words, “I’ll help you win today’s rabbit, but you have to keep it as a pet. You can’t feed it to your falcon.”
Changning thought for a moment, feeling that the little rabbit was quite cute, so she nodded vigorously.
She asked, “How will you win it?”
Yu Bao’er said, “Don’t worry about that.”
After talking with the elderly Zhao couple for a while, Fan Changyu saw them out of the room, intending to ask Xie Wu how to contact Xie Zheng in the capital, but couldn’t find him.
She called out to Xie Qi, who was tidying up the courtyard, “Xiao Qi, where did Xiao Wu go?”
Xie Qi, leaning on his broom, answered, “The young master said he needed to go out to buy some things and asked Fifth Brother to accompany him.”
Yu Bao’er’s identity was sensitive. Except for the elderly Zhao couple who always called him Bao’er, Xie Wu and Xie Qi addressed him as a young master.
Worried about potential incidents, Fan Changyu asked, “Is only Xiao Wu with him? Do you know where they went?”
Xie Qi quickly replied, “Don’t worry, General. The young master said they were only going to the two streets we visited this morning. General Tang has also secretly sent people to follow them.”
Fan Changyu breathed a sigh of relief but felt strange that Xie Qi so quickly addressed her as General. She wasn’t used to it herself. She said, “That’s good,” and then asked, “Do you know… where he is now?”
Although Fan Changyu didn’t specify who, Xie Qi could tell from her tone that she was asking about Xie Zheng. He said, “The master entered the capital secretly. We haven’t received any news from him yet. Although the Xie family has a residence in the capital, the master has always been cautious and probably won’t stay there. The meritorious officials from the rebellion suppression are all temporarily staying at the Court of State Ceremonial. For now, we can only wait for the master to contact us.”
Fan Changyu recalled the figure she had seen in the window of a street-side tavern when entering the city. She wondered if he had been there specifically to watch the army enter the city.
Seeing her lost in thought, Xie Qi asked, “General, do you have urgent business with the master?”
Fan Changyu said, “It’s not urgent. You can go back to your work.”
She mainly wanted to ask Xie Zheng about his next deployment. The Crown Prince had temporarily disappeared, and Yu Qianqian was also nowhere to be found.
The Emperor was starting to favor Wei Yan. With the joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices, it was uncertain what the outcome would be.
Whether Li’s faction won or Wei’s faction won, Fan Changyu felt that the court was in a terrible state.
She returned to her room and closed the door, just as she let out a soft sigh, a deep voice sounded, “What did you want to see me for?”
Fan Changyu looked up in surprise and saw a figure leaning against the bed curtain with folded arms.
She exclaimed, “When did you arrive?”
Xie Zheng answered, “I’ve been here all along.”
Seeing the confusion still in Fan Changyu’s eyes, he raised a disguise mask in his hand.
The area near the bed curtain was dim, and only when he walked out did Fan Changyu notice he was wearing the uniform of a Court of State Ceremonial guard.
He had disguised himself as a guard here!
Before Fan Changyu could speak, he took out another set of guard’s clothes and threw them to her, saying, “Put these on. I’m taking you to meet someone.”
Many eyes were watching the Court of State Ceremonial, monitoring which officials from outside the capital went where and whom they met, with every detail being reported to the palace.
To avoid those watchful eyes, they naturally had to disguise themselves to slip out.
Fan Changyu glanced at Xie Zheng. He wasn’t wearing the mask, and his face was still handsome and refined, but she felt that his mood seemed off.
To be precise, from the moment she saw him at the tavern when entering the city, she had sensed something was wrong with him, which was why she had deliberately smiled at him as she passed by.
Now, holding the guard’s uniform, Fan Changyu didn’t ask whom he wanted to take her to meet, but hesitated and said, “What’s wrong? Is something not going well with your return to the capital…”
Before she could finish the last word, she was pulled into a hard, chilly embrace.
Xie Zheng didn’t do anything else, just held her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck, like a drowning man clinging desperately to a piece of driftwood.
Fan Changyu was slightly stunned. Because both her hands were still holding the clothes, she couldn’t return his embrace.
She tried to free one hand to gently pat his back and ask what was wrong, but before she could, she was pulled even tighter into his arms.
“Don’t move. Let me hold you for a while.”
Xie Zheng’s voice was filled with exhaustion and hoarseness.
For a moment, it gave Fan Changyu the illusion that he seemed vulnerable.
Fan Changyu couldn’t quite describe the feeling in her heart. She only felt as if a large hand had gripped her heart tightly, causing a dull ache.
She let go of the guard’s uniform, letting it fall to her feet, and instinctively wrapped her arms around his slim, firm waist. Just as she had comforted Changning on countless nights after their parents had passed away, she now softly comforted the man before her, her voice calm and gentle: “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”