The next day, Shaoshang woke up early. Before dawn had even broken, she instructed the guards to wake Lou Yao so they could hurry back to Hua County. Lou Yao had originally wanted to bid farewell to his male god before leaving, but after one glare from his fiancée, he became obedient.

Teacher Huangfu had wept and lamented the entire night, with Yuan Shen serving at his side throughout. According to what Lou Yao had inquired about, originally Huangfu Yi had only been sad for half the night, but then Yuan Shen—whether trying to inspire his teacher or from habitual sharp tongue—had stimulated Huangfu Yi into beating his chest, stamping his feet, disheveling his hair, loosening his robes, and acting deranged until the sky turned white. The result of his self-inflicted misery was that he was currently slumped by his teacher’s bed dozing.

In the chilly early morning, the carriages and horses of the Lou and Cheng families quietly slipped out the gate of the imperial residence. Shaoshang had originally wanted to leave without saying goodbye and was prepared to spend some verbal effort with the gate guards, but who knew the gate guards informed her that Lord Ling had already led the Black Armored Army away in the middle of the night, braving the frost. Before leaving, he had instructed them that if Shaoshang and Lou Yao wanted to leave, they should quietly let them pass.

Lou Yao’s face was full of disappointment—he’d originally thought that with the male god recuperating here, he could frequently ride over from the county to visit. Shaoshang, however, had a feeling of “enthusiastically getting up before dawn to memorize vocabulary words, only to find the overachiever next door had gotten up in the middle of the night to study”—that sense of being outdone.

Then the gate guard respectfully led out Shaoshang’s small carriage, but she saw tied to the carriage cage’s curved shaft a tall horse with glossy black coat. Shaoshang exclaimed in surprise: “Where’s my yellow-maned little horse?”

The gate guard smiled: “Lord Ling replaced it for the young lady before leaving. His lordship said there’s particular knowledge about carriage horses. If only leisurely traveling within the city, a small horse level with the carriage seat will do. But if going on suburban excursions outside the city, the horse’s height should ideally be between the canopy and the carriage body—otherwise it’s laborious and bumpy.”

Shaoshang felt grateful in her heart and turned to Lou Yao: “After returning to the capital, you must thank Elder Brother for me.”

Lou Yao was unwilling to leave his fiancée, saying bashfully: “When we’ve both returned to the capital, let’s go thank Elder Brother together.”

In all his years, whether at home or outside, he’d never had a companion as congenial and agreeable as Shaoshang. Though Shaoshang was a woman, her mindset was broad and she was brave enough to take the lead. If relegated to mean and shabby housing, an ordinary noble lady would either frown in displeasure or endure with careful patience, waiting for the situation to gradually improve. But Shaoshang neither endured nor waited—she would enthusiastically draw diagrams and find craftsmen, setting about how to lay flooring that could block moisture, how to repair the roof while reinforcing the beams, and so on.

The girl had once said: “Only when seeing desolation everywhere can one really flex one’s muscles and achieve great accomplishments. If everywhere is already prosperous, what would you do—open a few more brocade shops? Uh, though actually that’s not bad either.” The era she came from, when it came to passionate pioneering and forging bravely ahead, could probably rank in the top three of the past several thousand years.

Lou Yao felt these words possessed both spirit and courage, so he casually wrote them into his family letter for his uncle and father to see, as important evidence praising how wonderfully awesome his fiancée was. Every day the young couple discussed world affairs, read books, and chatted and laughed—they got along very happily. Before this new fiancée, Lou Yao no longer felt inferior or timid, and even began concretely contemplating what to do in the future and how to do it.

After hearing this, Shaoshang thought about it and agreed—showing gratitude required sincerity, so going in person with gifts would be better.

After changing horses, the small carriage was indeed transformed. This glossy black horse was well-trained and had a calm temperament. Upon hearing the whip crack, it would lift its steps and pull the carriage on its own. The speed was neither too fast nor too slow, steady and powerful. Shaoshang found sitting in it very comfortable.

Upon returning to the county office, Shaoshang had originally wanted to immediately find Sang Shi, but who knew she’d encounter Cheng Zhi just as he was about to go out to inspect the city defenses. He immediately put on the airs of an elder, pulling a long face. First he had Lou Yao stand to the side, then grabbed his niece and pulled her to a side room to scold her.

Unfortunately, he assumed his authority too late. Before he could say more than two sentences, Shaoshang opened her mouth and said: “Uncle, you’re so lucky. If not for Master Huangfu Yi being too conceited and self-righteous, how would it have been your turn to marry Auntie?!”

Cheng Zhi immediately deflated, saying resentfully: “I knew Huangfu Yi had no good intentions keeping you and A’Yao. What’s the point of talking about old affairs! It’s not like I stole his girl—Shunhua proposed to me herself!”

Shaoshang was greatly shocked and said in a low voice: “Auntie proposed to you? You’re lying!”

Cheng Zhi kept a straight face: “Your aunt is an honest person. At that time she proposed to me privately, saying that if I was unwilling, no one else would know about it, so I wouldn’t be in an awkward position refusing the marriage when seeing the Mountain Master and Senior Brother Sang.”

Shaoshang had no choice but to believe him: “Uncle, did you only marry her because Auntie proposed? Don’t you love her?”

Cheng Zhi’s handsome face reddened as he awkwardly stroked his beard: “Well, well… naturally I also… ahem…”

“If you won’t say, then I’ll go tell Auntie!” Shaoshang turned to go tattle. Cheng Zhi was so frightened he quickly grabbed this little ancestor, secretly cursing himself for being full from eating too much. Why didn’t he leave this sanctimonious work of “scolding the niece who stayed out all night” to his wife? Laying out principles and lecturing people was an ancestral skill of the Sang family. Why did he have to put on airs and court bad luck!

“Alright, alright, I’ll tell!” Cheng Zhi craned his neck to look outside. Seeing no one nearby, he said: “When I went up White Deer Mountain, Huangfu Yi had already fled into the jianghu. When I first met your aunt, I didn’t really notice her. To be honest, even I would look more remarkable dressed as a woman than she did.”

“Uncle, if you’re so bold, just go say this to Auntie’s face!” How could Shaoshang let Sang Shi suffer any loss? Confronting her own uncle was nothing.

“If you keep being so picky, I won’t say anything at all!” Cheng Zhi made as if to leave.

Shaoshang sighed and had no choice but to compromise.

Cheng Zhi continued: “Later I saw how she, a weak woman, forcibly withstood the elders’ punishment and gossip, arranging things here and providing relief there. Sometimes she was so tired her back couldn’t straighten. I deeply admired her in my heart.”

“What gossip? Auntie was so righteous and magnanimous—people still spoke ill of her?”

Cheng Zhi said sullenly: “How could they not? Those ladies in the city didn’t dare wait for Huangfu Yi themselves, but they criticized your aunt, saying that a woman of plain appearance had rarely found the chance to marry someone like Huangfu Yi who was a dragon among men, so naturally she would desperately cling to him.”

“Ptui! Too bad I wasn’t there, or I’d have torn their mouths one by one!” Shaoshang spat.

“But up to that point, I only felt pity and goodwill. Later when the Cruel Emperor’s power declined, the Huangfu family didn’t need to hide anymore. Though Huangfu Yi hadn’t returned yet, everyone knew his future prospects would certainly be bright. But at this time, your aunt suddenly wanted to break off the engagement.”

Cheng Zhi forcefully pounded the door frame, then continued: “Everyone felt that Huangfu Yi missing the birthday banquet was just a small matter and urged your aunt to let it go. Who knew your aunt absolutely refused, enduring everyone’s reproach, yet she still broke off the engagement. Alas, my heart ached terribly then. I knew she didn’t covet Huangfu Yi’s fame and talent for glory, nor was it for any fame, profit, or wealth. What she wanted was just a sincere and genuine heart… Unfortunately, at that time I had neither passed the civil service examinations nor came from a prominent aristocratic family. How could I presume to speak up?”

“I see.” Shaoshang nodded.

Cheng Zhi shot his niece an annoyed look. Not only had he failed to lecture her, but he’d been tricked into revealing many old matters. So formidable—no wonder even Elder Sister Yuan Yi couldn’t subdue her! Seeing the hour was getting late, he could only leave in frustration.

Shaoshang pulled Lou Yao, who was waiting outside, and quickly headed toward the back. Sang Shi, sitting peacefully in the inner quarters, saw her niece and future nephew-in-law who’d stayed out all night but surprisingly didn’t ask anything. She first pressed them both to eat a bowl of hot noodle soup in her room. Shaoshang barely swallowed the last mouthful before quickly encouraging Lou Yao to go to the martial arts ground to practice swords, spears, and halberds or something, so he could show off next time he saw the male god.

Lou Yao laughed with wide eyes: “No need to send me away. I’ll leave on my own. Why use such a fake pretext?” He was so clever—he immediately knew his fiancée also had secret words to say to Sang Shi.

Shaoshang said: “Fine then. Please step aside first. Auntie and I have things to discuss.”

Lou Yao thought: …You should still use a pretext to seem more tactful.

Sang Shi had been suppressing her laughter watching all along. After Shaoshang sent Lou Yao away and dismissed the maidservants, she said: “Alright, speak. What did Huangfu Yi say to you?” How could she not know her former fiancé’s character?!

Shaoshang quickly gave a summary of what Huangfu Yi had said last night, then asked: “…Auntie, what he said was all true, he didn’t deceive me, right?”

After quietly listening to all this, the corners of Sang Shi’s mouth curved in a mocking smile: “He’s quite the filial son. Such a convoluted story, yet in telling it over and over, he left out the most important person.”

Shaoshang wore an expression of “just as I expected” and slapped the table: “I know. It’s that orphan daughter. Master Huangfu must have left out many things about her?!”

“Are your ears on backwards? I said ‘filial son’!” Sang Shi poked her niece’s forehead with a laughing scold, then said disdainfully: “As for that Qi woman, she’s not worth mentioning. She put on an appearance of being helpless and dependent, thinking she could deceive everyone. Later she did get her heart’s desire, entering the door as Lady Huangfu. Was she very happy then?”

Shaoshang was stunned: “Ah, she still, still married him…” If Uncle Cheng Zhi was a big pig trotter, this Huangfu Yi was pig trotter hair! Last night he spoke so sincerely and pitifully, saying over and over “that orphan daughter didn’t compare to even one-ten-thousandth of the fiancée,” yet turned around and married her?!

Seeing her niece nearly exploding with fury, Sang Shi smiled: “Don’t rush. Believe your aunt on this—for Qi to marry him was the greatest punishment for her. These years, she’s probably lived no better than a prisoner in a cell.”

Shaoshang quieted down, lost in thought.

Sang Shi continued: “What Huangfu Yi left out was his mother, Lady Tu.”

Shaoshang clicked her tongue. Well then, white lotus mistress and vicious mother-in-law—all complete. Fortunately Auntie escaped cleanly, otherwise how could she now distribute dog food with Uncle all day long, completely disregarding whether others could stand it.

“What about this Lady Tu? Didn’t you say that later the orphaned widows of the Huangfu family were all looked after by you? They ate your food and used your things—how dare she put on airs before you?”

Sang Shi smiled: “She didn’t eat my food or use my things. Because after Uncle Huangfu died early on, she remarried. At that time Huangfu Yi wasn’t even five years old. However… both her remarriages were unsatisfactory…”

“Remarried twice?!” Shaoshang inexplicably felt a surge of envy. “Lady Tu was quite capable.”

Sang Shi snorted: “Lady Tu was very beautiful and naturally had uncommon aspirations. Unfortunately, marrying three times, none were as she wished. Uncle Huangfu had talent and ability but died early. The second husband was mediocre and incompetent, so Lady Tu angrily divorced him. When she gave up hope on the third husband’s prospects as well, only then did she learn that her son by her former husband had risen to fame. At that time Huangfu Yi was only fourteen, so she hurried back to put on the airs of a Grand Lady!”

Shaoshang immediately felt contempt in her heart.

Sang Shi added: “When Huangfu Yi was young, Lady Tu was busy pursuing her own prospects and rarely even came to see him. When Huangfu Yi became successful, all those high-ranking ladies who admired him rushed to flatter and fawn over her—how delighted she must have been!”

“Auntie, did this Lady Tu make things difficult for you?” Shaoshang began to wonder.

Sang Shi snorted coldly: “Making things difficult for me would have been fine—I always treated her words as wind past my ears. Things like ‘my son is talented and handsome, you should cherish your good fortune,’ and ‘the betrothal back then was too hasty. Marriage concerns one’s entire life—I think we should reconsider this matter’… Hmph, if she had the ability she should have found the Huangfu clan elders to break the engagement. I would have been spared seven years of suffering. All she could do was make things difficult for my mother!”

“And after the Huangfu family fell?” Shaoshang was full of schadenfreude. “Did she run away in a flash?!”

Sang Shi looked at the girl with great approval: “Not only did she run, she distanced herself cleanly! She hid in her husband’s home and didn’t dare come out. When the Regional Inspector sent someone to the door to inquire, she frantically pulled over the two sons she’d borne with her later husband and said ‘I have only these two sons’!”

“Even so, after Master Huangfu rose again, she still had the face to come back out?” With this thickness of face, Shaoshang didn’t know whether to admire or despise her.

“She said she had her difficulties!” Sang Shi said sarcastically. “As soon as the situation eased a bit, she couldn’t wait to use Qi to pressure me, saying all day long in front of me how gentle and submissive Qi was, how thoroughly she cared for Huangfu Yi, how much better than me she was. Later, hehe, Huangfu Yi finally fulfilled them both. He made those two truly become mother-in-law and daughter-in-law…” As she spoke, she laughed aloud. “Here I must say one thing for Huangfu Yi—well done!”

Shaoshang deflated: “Where did Lady Tu truly like Qi? She was just using Qi to sever the marriage agreement between Master and you, Auntie, while waiting to find an even better bride later!”

Sang Shi smiled faintly, hitting the nail on the head: “You don’t know. People like Lady Tu would never be satisfied with any bride. If possible, she’d wish she could marry her son with great prospects herself!”

Shaoshang nearly choked on her saliva, both shocked and amused. She stepped forward to hug Sang Shi’s arm, rubbing her cheek against the soft fine cloth sleeve. She loved this kind of sharp and frank mockery!

Sang Shi stroked her face, saying gently: “Believe your aunt. For Huangfu Yi to marry Qi was the greatest punishment for Qi. For him to resign from office and retreat into seclusion is the greatest punishment for his mother. Actually, later on, he understood everything, but speaking of it was useless…”

Shaoshang said with interest: “Auntie is quite broad-minded—you’ve let everything go.”

Sang Shi smiled and turned her head in reminiscence: “When I first broke the engagement with Huangfu Yi, to say I wasn’t heartbroken would be a lie. I’d already had no heart to marry again, but my parents and elder siblings sighed all day long, crying to heaven and wiping away tears at every turn. I thought I might as well just get married.”

But she wasn’t someone who gave up on herself. Even if marrying, she’d marry well. If she couldn’t achieve tender loving devotion, at least there should be mutual respect and courtesy. “Actually, though I’d missed my flowering season and my reputation wasn’t great, relying on my father and brothers’ family standing, it wasn’t as if no one wanted me. Among the three to five unmarried scholar-officials on the mountain with gentle and kind temperaments, I finally chose your uncle. First, because he often secretly glanced at me, thinking I didn’t know. And second…”

She collapsed laughing onto the table: “I’m not boasting, but in the entire White Deer Mountain, including the two county towns at the foot of the mountain, you couldn’t find a second young gentleman more handsome and beautiful than your uncle!”

“Auntie, is it really okay for you to judge people by appearance like this?” Shaoshang also wanted to laugh but kept a straight face.

Sang Shi covered her sleeve laughing: “That’s why I no longer resent Huangfu Yi for looking down on my appearance! Facing your uncle’s face, even if the two of us weren’t familiar before, we could still get along well.”

Seeing the girl opposite keeping a straight face and glaring, she enjoyed herself for quite a while before saying: “Alright, I’ll stop laughing… Well, when we’d just married, your uncle and I were both constrained, not knowing how to get along. At that time he thought that after marrying me, my food, clothing, and necessities were all inferior to what I’d had at my natal home, which was unfair to me. I thought I should try my best to help your uncle and be a good Cheng family wife. Who knew later… later…”

Sang Shi smiled slightly, her spirit returning to those days. Under Shaoshang’s questioning, she had no choice but to continue: “One day, your uncle saw the sky was clear and fresh, so he took me on a spring outing in the countryside. He didn’t know what to say to me, so he pulled me running all over the mountains and fields until we were both out of breath. Then he wove a big flower crown from wild mountain flowers and placed it on my head. Who knew the crown was woven too large and immediately slipped down to my neck. I laughed until I couldn’t catch my breath, and his face turned red like a child who’d done something wrong. At that moment I thought, being able to marry him was truly wonderful. I wanted to get along well with your uncle!”

Shaoshang felt happy for her uncle and aunt in her heart, but said aloud: “Yes indeed. Ever since then, whenever you have free time you go on spring outings everywhere! I heard Old Lady Cheng mention it!” Sometimes those two would even pull the entire family of Old County Magistrate Cheng along for countryside picnics.

Sang Shi wiped away tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, sighing with some regret: “Alas, Huangfu Yi and I grew up together. Actually, thinking carefully, we were quite similar. I didn’t love playing the zither but loved playing the xiao flute, yet he also loved playing the xiao, so I had no choice but to endure my dislike and learn the zither. Later after marrying your uncle, he actually loved playing the zither. We’d study newly acquired music scores together, and when free would play a piece together. The Old Master once said, this is what’s called marital affinity—why the need to accommodate back and forth?”

Drawing Shaoshang into her embrace and gently stroking her smooth black hair, Sang Shi said to her: “Huangfu Yi isn’t a bad person, just…” She said wistfully, “He just didn’t understand clearly.”

Shaoshang didn’t really understand, and reluctantly nodded.

Two days later, after everyone in the Cheng residence had finished the evening meal, Cheng Wei went to read as usual. The twins were driven off to sleep early, leaving only Cheng Zhi and his wife with Lou Yao and Shaoshang chatting leisurely in the courtyard. Seeing the moonlight bright and clear as jade, Shaoshang begged her uncle and aunt to play a piece together.

While tuning the zither strings, Cheng Zhi said boldly: “Done! Tonight I’ll treat your ears! Back then I practiced this piece for a full two months before winning your aunt’s smile!”

Sang Shi blinked and smiled without speaking.

Cheng Zhi began with a pluck, the sound clear and bright as rolling pearls. Sang Shi’s gentle xiao sound immediately followed. Shaoshang recognized this as a piece her uncle and aunt often loved to play together, “Zheng Feng: Out the Eastern Gate.” She immediately understood and smiled with comprehension.

The melody expressed emotion, melodious and gentle. As Sang Shi played the xiao, her thoughts turned back.

She had always been firm in her opinions from childhood, but no one knew that actually even she herself wasn’t clear what kind of relationship she truly wanted. Was it that back then, as long as Huangfu Yi had put down his lofty airs and been tender and gentle with her, she would have been satisfied?

Not until Cheng Zhi played this piece for her did she understand: she could endure hardship and suffering, could bear cold words and cutting remarks, but what she wanted was the devoted and unwavering affection described in the poem.

Lady Sang turned her face to look at her husband, her eyes full of deep affection—thank you for giving me what I most wanted when even I had given up.

Looking over, Shaoshang only felt that Lady Sang’s gaze toward Cheng Zhi rippled like waves. Her face was suffused with a rosy glow, that joyful feeling seeming to overflow her surroundings. Set against this, her plain face actually became radiant and captivating. Shaoshang thought privately that they really should have Old Man Huangfu come see this, to make him give up completely.

But who knew people couldn’t withstand being thought of? Shaoshang had just had this thought when suddenly from outside the high wall of the county office’s inner quarters came a burst of aged, resonant male singing—and it was this very song:

“Out the eastern gate I go, women like clouds I see. Though they be like clouds, none occupy my thoughts. White robe and dark kerchief, she alone brings me joy…”

Everyone in the courtyard froze. They all recognized whose voice this was, but they looked at each other, no one speaking. Only Lou Yao cried out in surprise: “It’s Master Huangfu!”

At this time Cheng Zhi and Sang Shi had both stopped playing the zither and xiao, yet Huangfu Yi outside the wall continued singing: “Out the tower gate I go, women like madder I see. Though they be like madder, none stir my feelings. White robe and madder dye, she alone brings me pleasure…”

The singing voice was resonant and deep, with a touch of hoarseness, as if coming from afar—rough stones striking on ice, the pain of straining vocal cords, the regret and suffering after understanding everything. Shaoshang didn’t speak mockingly but quietly listened. This was the first time she’d held a peaceful and neutral attitude toward her aunt’s former fiancé, without any contempt or sarcasm.

She thought she understood what Auntie meant by “Huangfu Yi isn’t a bad person, he just didn’t understand clearly.”

These past two days she’d heard Lou Yao talk about Huangfu Yi’s experiences, knowing he was not only broadly learned but also brave in taking on responsibilities. Like Su Qin and Zhang Yi who traveled among the seven states in ancient times, with a scholar’s body he persuaded among the feudal lords, resolving many military disasters. A contemporary hero who wasn’t petty and narrow-minded—how could that little bit of youthful resentment have made him long for Sang Shi for over a decade?

Huangfu Yi hadn’t understood clearly what was in his fiancée’s heart, nor had he understood clearly what was in his own heart.

But such feelings could become reminiscence to be cherished, though at that time one was already bewildered.

Huangfu Yi outside the wall repeatedly sang “Out the Eastern Gate” three times. Then the sound of bronze bells on the carriage rang out, growing more and more distant as he floated away. After a moment, a servant from outside came to report: “Master Huangfu left word with the front gate guards saying he has an imperial decree token bestowed by His Majesty, so tonight he’ll open the city gate himself and depart, then retreat into the mountains. In several years when he’s seen through various matters, perhaps he’ll come to disturb old friends again.”

Cheng Zhi nodded, then turned to grasp his wife’s hand. Sang Shi grasped back, saying with tears and smiles: “It’s good if he can see through things. After all this time, I also hope he can live more happily and not be entangled in the past.”

The courtyard was silent for a long while. Lou Yao, not quite in tune with the mood, laughed dryly twice: “Well… whatever, Master Huangfu sang quite well. I never heard him sing before in the capital…”

Cheng Zhi and his wife had originally felt wistful, but hearing the young man’s slow-witted words, they couldn’t help but shake their heads and smile.

Seeing the night had deepened, everyone rose and walked out of the courtyard.

Lou Yao strode ahead at the front. Cheng Zhi caught up to pat the young man’s shoulder, saying something about treating our niece well and such. Sang Shi slowed her steps, turning to ask Shaoshang quietly: “What do you think?”

Shaoshang pursed her lips: “Master Huangfu is really something. He’s so good at studying and serving in office, yet muddled about this kind of thing. It’s all because he’s too arrogant. Otherwise, how could anyone in this world not understand clearly who they like in their heart?”

Sang Shi stumbled slightly and took a deep breath: “…What you say is correct.”

Then she silently watched the beautiful girl like a trembling flower branch lightly chase after her husband and fiancé in a few steps, shouting loudly: “Uncle, are you bullying A’Yao again?”