The fierce wind blew, and the white banners hanging in Prince Zhongshan’s mansion fluttered like snow.

The coffins of the dozen or so people who had assassinated Xiao Xun were all placed here.

Xie Yanfang stepped over the threshold, then turned back to look at Chu Zhao: “You don’t need to accompany me to see him, do you?”

“Worried I’ll be heartbroken?” Chu Zhao said, shaking her head with a smile. “I won’t be. I’ve already bid farewell to my father. I can accept this kind of loss.”

Speaking thus, she was the first to step inside.

Xie Yanfang said nothing more and followed her in, coming to stand before Xie Yanlai’s coffin. The coffin was open. Although the weather had already turned cold and various medicinal substances had been used, the corpse and smell inside were quite horrifying.

Xie Yanfang’s expression remained calm as he looked carefully and thoroughly, accepting various items handed to him by servants—clothing, shoes and socks, ornaments, and food.

“These were all gathered by his maidservants,” Xie Yanfang said to Chu Zhao. “These are all the things Yanlai most liked to wear, use, and eat.”

Chu Zhao replied: “In the army, he had no particular preferences. What he ate, used, and wore were all the same as everyone else.”

Xie Yanfang said: “In the army, he was not the Xie family’s Ninth Young Master.”

The Xie family’s Ninth Young Master didn’t have many preferences either, so everything was quickly arranged.

“Everyone else has already been cremated to ashes,” Chu Zhao said softly. “Yanlai was waiting for you to see him with your own eyes.”

Xie Yanfang looked once more at the corpse in the coffin and said: “Actually, in my memory, he’s still that child who first entered our doors. The Xie family has many children, and in my eyes they were all the same. Now he’s finally become different, but unfortunately I can no longer see him.”

Chu Zhao also looked into the coffin: “Actually, when I first knew him, he wasn’t a Xie family young master. So now when I think back, I feel somewhat confused—am I familiar with and have I lost Xie Yanlai, or that courier soldier I happened to meet on the road?”

Xie Yanfang turned to look at her, seeing the wistfulness and confusion in the young woman’s eyes, and said softly: “No matter who he was, he died a worthy death.”

Chu Zhao nodded and gestured to the soldiers nearby: “Seal the coffin.”

……

……

As night fell and Xie Yanlai’s ashes were properly collected, Xie Yanfang returned to his lodgings. Uncle Cai had already arranged everything inside—incense burning, cushions laid out, servants standing by holding copper basins and towels.

Xie Yanfang accepted the towel a servant handed him, while Uncle Cai removed his cloak.

“Young Master, do you wish to bathe and change clothes now?” the servants inquired.

Xie Yanfang nodded: “The Empress has prepared an evening banquet. I need to go over in a while.”

The servants hurried to make preparations.

“Young Master,” Uncle Cai asked, “are you certain the corpse was Xie Yanlai?”

Du Qi, who had followed in, scoffed: “Burned like that, what could you tell?”

Uncle Cai glared at him: “Of course you can’t tell from looking at the body—you have to look at the reactions of the people around it.”

Du Qi frowned and crossed his arms: “The Empress? She didn’t cry or shout. She didn’t seem sad at all.”

“If the Empress had really wailed and screamed, that would have been strange,” Xie Yanfang said with a smile.

Uncle Cai frowned slightly: “The Empress has always been very close to Xie Yanlai. Xie Yanlai died helping her eliminate Xiao Xun. She shouldn’t be unmoved.”

Xie Yanfang held his teacup, watching the dispersing steam, and said: “The Empress is not unmoved. She seemed somewhat confused, as if she had lost someone she wasn’t familiar with. But this reaction is normal, because for the Empress, Xie Yanlai was always divided. In her eyes, there were two Xie Yanlais. The Xie Yanlai the Empress was close to, in her eyes, was not a member of the Xie family. Now she doesn’t know which Xie Yanlai she should grieve for.”

This Xie Yanlai and that Xie Yanlai? Du Qi and Uncle Cai exchanged glances.

“Young Master, just tell us if there’s a problem or not,” Du Qi said. “You came all this way to see for yourself to confirm it.”

“I came, I looked, I personally buried my brother. That is confirmation that he’s dead,” Xie Yanfang said, draining his tea in one gulp.

Exactly so—even if the person lying in the coffin wasn’t Xie Yanlai, he was still a dead man. Uncle Cai smiled: “Young Master, go bathe quickly. Don’t keep the Empress waiting too long.” Speaking of this, he recalled the scene when they entered the city and met the Empress. After a year apart, the girl’s bearing was more composed, even carrying an imperceptible威严 of dignity that showed neither joy nor anger. “After this battle, no one in the court can stop her from speaking.”

Xie Yanfang smiled: “As it should be.”

……

……

When Xie Yanfang, having bathed and changed, arrived again at Prince Zhongshan’s mansion, he learned that the Empress was meeting with an official.

“Which one?” Xie Yanfang asked.

With the end of the rebellion suppression, there were quite a few officials traveling between the capital and Zhongshan commandery.

“It’s Commander Ding of the Palace Guard,” the guard didn’t conceal this, then asked, “Lord Zhongcheng, should I announce your arrival?”

Xie Yanfang waved his hand: “No need. Palace Guard matters are all confidential. Don’t disturb the Empress. I’ll first admire the scenery of Prince Zhongshan’s mansion.” After speaking, he stood in the corridor, surveying his surroundings.

The guard obeyed and stood at attention without reporting inside.

Inside, Chu Zhao was looking at the roster Ding Dachui had handed her. These were the personnel for the Palace Guard branch to be established here.

“I’m confident in everyone you’ve selected,” Chu Zhao said. “But remember that investigating these aristocratic families must be done discreetly. The rebellion has only just been pacified—we cannot stir up more turmoil, and we must not alert our targets. These aristocratic families have been entrenched locally for even a hundred years, deeply rooted and intertwined. They hold no official positions, yet they’re more difficult to deal with than officials.”

Ding Dachui acknowledged: “Your Majesty, rest assured, I understand.”

Chu Zhao said: “However, don’t worry. I will personally oversee things here. Once your Palace Guard is stable, I’ll leave.”

“Your Majesty, whether you’re in the capital or here makes no difference to us. You don’t need to specifically hold the fort for us,” Ding Dachui said, then with some concern added, “You’ve been away for so long. Go back and rest.”

Chu Zhao smiled: “I’m fine. My staying here isn’t only to hold the fort for you. Prince Zhongshan schemed for decades—I must ensure this place becomes stable before I can return home with peace of mind.”

When she spoke of returning home, her eyes brightened. Ding Dachui couldn’t help but think that the Empress really did want to go home.

“Alright, Your Majesty, rest assured. I will watch over this home well,” he said solemnly.

The home she spoke of wasn’t the capital. Chu Zhao smiled and asked: “Dachui, have you thought about going home? When things aren’t so busy, you brothers should go visit your families.”

These days, when Ding Dachui walked out in the capital, common people dared not look directly at him, and officials, no matter how much they looked down on them in their hearts, gave them three parts of courtesy on the surface. Ding Dachui had almost forgotten he had once been a bandit, much less remembered what his days were like before becoming an outlaw.

He even felt he was born to be a commander.

Of course, the Empress was very clear about their origins.

Thinking of origins, Ding Dachui smiled sheepishly: “The brothers have all settled down in the capital. Those with wives and children brought them over, those without have all found wives. Life is very good.”

Speaking of this, he bowed deeply to Chu Zhao again.

“Thank you for Your Majesty the Empress’s great kindness in promoting us.”

“This life was exchanged for with your lives. You first showed me great kindness, and only then could I bestow kindness upon you,” Chu Zhao said with a smile.

Xiao Man, who had been standing silently to the side, huffed: “Stop talking about the past. It’s all past.”

Ding Dachui chuckled: “Thank you as well, Miss Xiao Man.”

Xiao Man huffed and turned her head away.

“Alright, you may go,” Chu Zhao said, handing the roster back to him. “Return to the capital once you’re finished here.”

Ding Dachui acknowledged, reached out to accept it, and withdrew.

Chu Zhao leaned back against her chair and let out a soft breath, closing her eyes slightly.

“Is Your Majesty tired?” Xie Yanfang’s voice came from outside. “Perhaps this subject should come back tomorrow?”

Chu Zhao smiled and opened her eyes: “Facing subjects is tiring, but Third Young Master Xie at this moment is not a subject.” After speaking, she sat up straight. “Moreover, precisely because I’m tired, I need to eat even more. Xiao Man, serve the meal.”

Xiao Man acknowledged and gave orders outside. Xie Yanfang walked in with a smile and sat down across from Chu Zhao.

“Your Majesty, though somewhat fatigued, is in good spirits,” he observed her for a moment and said. “So next, will Your Majesty return to the capital first, or wait until things here are more stable? If Your Majesty returns, I can handle matters here.”

Previously, when Xiao Xun first led troops to approach the capital and cause chaos, it had been like this—Chu Zhao ended the conflict, while Xie Yanfang remained behind to handle the aftermath.

Chu Zhao shook her head: “This time is different from last time. Last time there was no real fighting. This time we fought with real blades and spears for almost a year. If I could fight it, I’ll handle the aftermath.” She smiled again. “It won’t take too long. Once the officials here are selected and the government is functioning, I’ll go back. I’ll definitely make it back for the New Year.”

Xie Yanfang nodded and said that sounded good.

Here, Xiao Man led servants bringing food and dishes.

“You haven’t been to Zhongshan commandery before either, have you?” Chu Zhao said with a smile. “Try the local flavors. I find them quite delicious.”

Xie Yanfang reached out and picked up his chopsticks.

“Third Young Master,” Chu Zhao said again, “do you think I’m being too domineering in doing this?”

Previously, raising the curtain to speak and intervene in court affairs was limited to the court realm, but now remaining in the provinces and personally reorganizing the disrupted government meant the Empress was also placing her influence in local areas.

Xie Yanfang held his chopsticks and said: “In my heart, Your Majesty and His Majesty should rule the realm with authority. I also don’t consider this domineering. This is what Your Majesty should do and must do. Moreover, I, Xie Yanfang, am willing to strategize for Your Majesty and go through fire and water without hesitation.”

After speaking, he looked at Chu Zhao, his eyes clear and bright.

“From when I first met Miss A’Zhao until now, I have been like this, and I will continue to be like this in the future.”