Inside the room, Hua Zhi was catching up with her family. Outside, Gu Yanxi had no intention of resting.

“Shao Yao, stay by her side and do not leave.”

Shao Yao bobbed her head earnestly. “Yanxi, where are you going? Hua Zhi will ask about it.”

“I’m going to meet someone. I will definitely be back before dark. Tell her not to worry.”

“All right.”

Shao Yao might generally pay little attention to affairs, but she was far from ignorant of them. In fact, when out on assignments and faced with choices that were difficult to make, there had been times when people relied on her sharp intuition. She had met that Chen Tu before. Once he had been gravely wounded and nearly died; she was the one who had kept vigil for two nights to pull him back from the brink.

For the Shizi to have placed him in that small village, there had clearly been a purpose — and an important one. And now the Shizi had left without even resting to go and meet someone. The only explanation was that Chen Tu had reported something significant, and that it had to do with Yinshan Pass.

Some people really are so tiresome, Shao Yao thought, straining her ears to listen to the sounds coming from within.

Gu Yanxi did not go directly to meet anyone. He first walked a circuit of the city, then changed his appearance before riding toward his destination.

Among the various departments of the Yinshan Pass yamen, the Revenue Section was well known to be the most lucrative and the most difficult to get into. Those who worked there all had their own backers, and when they walked outside, every one of them had his nose in the air — ordinary people were beneath their notice.

The few currently on duty were talking about the matter of the Hua Family’s young miss having come all this way from the capital. Their words, in and out, carried a note of genuine admiration.

The Hua Family was no ordinary household — even in the capital they had been a name of great renown. A family like that, you could tell how pampered its members were just from the fact that several of them had fallen ill right upon arrival. Yet this one young woman had dared to make the journey here. Setting everything else aside, just the bone-chilling weather that could turn water to ice in an instant must have put her through enough hardship.

“If my family had a daughter like that, I wouldn’t need a son to perform the burial rites — and I’d accept it without complaint.”

“Who wouldn’t agree? She is truly extraordinary.”

“They say the young miss is also exceptionally beautiful. Heaven knows which family will be lucky enough.”

The young man at the desk closest to the inner wall, who had said nothing throughout, gave a derisive laugh. “Come off it. Those people in the capital — they would never look favorably on a young woman who goes running around outside like this. What they want is a proper lady who never steps beyond the inner courtyard, never shows her face in public. And on top of that, the Hua Family is in the state it’s in right now. Who would dare take her?”

The words stung to hear, yet no one could dispute them. Powerful, prestigious great families wanted a proper young lady of the inner chambers. A young miss of the Hua Family like this — fallen on hard times as they were — most likely truly had no takers.

They would have liked to put in a word for some young man in their own families, but they also had enough self-awareness to know their place. A daughter of the Hua Family, even one who had fallen on hard times, was not for the likes of them.

The constable lifted the heavy door curtain, bringing a gust of cold air with him as he entered. He looked longingly at the brazier in the room but dared not approach it. Standing close to the door, he reported: “Deputy Director Xu, there is a young gentleman by the name of Lu outside the yamen gate asking for you.”

The young man who had just thrown cold water on his colleagues let his gaze flicker almost imperceptibly, then said with his customary bluntness: “I don’t know any gentleman named Lu. Send him away.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll go and turn him away at once.”

Everyone in the yamen knew that Xu Gui of the Revenue Section was difficult to deal with. People had tried to make trouble for him before, but ever since he had taken that position he had never been moved from it. Over time, everyone understood this was a man with powerful backing, and it was best not to provoke him.

Having spent more time around him, they had also come to understand that he just had an unpleasant way of speaking — compared to those who stabbed you in the back, he was actually far easier to get along with. Inexplicably, he had rather decent relations with people.

Seeing him refuse so decisively, a colleague urged him: “It may well be someone important with important business. It’s not busy right now — there’s no harm in seeing him.”

“Exactly — who would come out in this cold without good reason?”

Only then did Xu Gui set down his brush, tidy the things on his desk, and without any hurry put on his padded robe and stepped outside.

When he saw the person waiting at the gate, Xu Gui’s expression remained unchanged as he approached. “Who are you? What is your business with me?”

“I’ve come on behalf of the Xu household to deliver something to you.”

Xu Gui’s manner warmed somewhat. He pinched off a small piece of silver and tossed it into the constable’s arms. “Go and inform Chief Clerk Yu of the Revenue Section that someone from my household has come. I am requesting the afternoon off.”

The constable responded with great enthusiasm and sprinted inside.

Xu Gui led the visitor back to his private quarters — a small, self-contained residence; the space was modest, but quiet.

Once the door was shut, Xu Gui knelt cleanly to the floor. “Your subordinate greets the Shizi.”

“Rise and speak.”

Xu Gui no longer bore the slightest resemblance to the insufferable figure he presented at the yamen. Apart from his physical appearance, the entire quality of his bearing had become a different person.

“Are there any unusual developments at Yinshan Pass?”

Xu Gui hesitated a moment, then said what he genuinely felt. “On the surface, everything at Yinshan Pass appears normal. Yet your subordinate has always had an uneasy feeling. From the beginning of last year until now, the number of military officers demoted and sent here has reached nine. In the five years before that, the combined total was only four. Your subordinate does not know the situation in the capital, but Yinshan Pass is a critical border post. Having so many military officers concentrated here by demotion — your subordinate feels this does not bode well.”

He paused, then continued: “Your subordinate has tallied the figures. Each military officer arrived with more than forty household servants — and that is only what is apparent on the surface. There are more in private. Your subordinate has not been able to determine the exact number. Furthermore, those servants are not ordinary domestics — your subordinate has observed that every one of them has considerable martial ability.”

Gu Yanxi noted this inwardly with approval. Placing the meticulous Xu Gui here had indeed been the right decision. “Before coming to see you, I walked around the city and noticed that the number of people from foreign tribes is considerably higher than on my last visit. Yet Yinshan Pass has clearly already closed the trade markets. What are they doing here? Has General Wu Yong had anything to say about it?”

Xu Gui suddenly knelt again. “Your subordinate has failed in his duties. It was only recently confirmed that General Wu has been ill for three months, and the news was only sent back three days ago.”

Gu Yanxi’s brow furrowed. “What illness?”

“This matter has been tightly concealed. Your subordinate has been investigating since learning of it, and still has not determined the answer. He has not sent for a physician from outside, and he continues to appear in public as usual, looking no different from before. Were it not for the evidence confirming it, your subordinate would suspect he was not truly ill at all. Yet it is a fact that General Wu’s grip on the city is considerably weaker than before.”

Gu Yanxi stood and began pacing. If it were an ordinary ailment, Wu Yong would have no reason to be so secretive. The more concealment there was, the more this indicated it was no small matter.

The Wu Family had guarded Yinshan Pass for generations. To them, Yinshan Pass was not merely a critical strategic pass — it was their home, the foundation of everything they were. Their desire for Yinshan Pass to remain secure and stable could be said to surpass even the Emperor’s own.

They also understood well that as border generals, military strength was everything. And so the children of the Wu Family had learned to ride before they could walk — each one possessing genuine, hard-earned martial prowess. Yet there are always things beyond the power of human will to decide. Wu Yong’s generation had only him as the sole male descendant — and this was a deeply precarious situation. Should anything happen to Wu Yong…

“Keep a close watch on those military officers. Reinforcements will be coming soon to serve under your command.”

“Yes, sir.”

“One more thing.” Gu Yanxi looked at him. “If Yinshan Pass should undergo a crisis, do your utmost to protect the Hua Family, and seek counsel from Old Master Hua. Whatever he says, whether or not those under you agree with it, execute it immediately without exception.”

“Yes. Your subordinate will remember.”

PS: This chapter follows the main storyline. This author dislikes stories that endlessly orbit around romantic entanglements. What I prefer is a grand, sweeping scope — love, family, and friendship are the nutrients of this story, not the whole of it.

And to answer one reader’s question: a “character outline” refers to a character’s design. Before writing this book, for example, for Hua Zhi, I had to decide what kind of person she is, what her values are, how her love story will go, her background, her relationships, her ending, and everything else — all of this has to be established beforehand. This is what determines whether a character feels alive, whether she is compelling enough to be memorable. Of course, there is still a great deal of improvisation in the moment. If everything is fixed too rigidly, the character also loses her spirit.

Also, this author will not be filling up paid chapters with such remarks.