Lin Fei had praised Xie Baozhu for her breadth of insight and vision — and truly, she had not been wrong.

Xie Yuzhang also said gravely: “I think the same. And so I have already made it clear to the Son of Heaven — I will not enter the palace.”

That Xie Yuzhang’s mind was so clear gave Xie Baozhu great relief. She sighed with feeling: “Zhuzhu, I no longer recognize you. It is as though you have been replaced entirely — as though you are a different person.”

If she said replaced by a different person, Xie Yuzhang thought — well, perhaps that could be said to be so.

Since Xie Yuzhang already had her own reckoning on the matter, Xie Baozhu set her mind at ease. This younger cousin had managed to win herself such contributions, which showed she was no longer the same person she had once been.

She only reminded her: “Do not have an imperial son. As long as you do not, you will have no conflict with the two consorts. The favor of a man — a person with a clear head will not place any stock in it.”

Xie Yuzhang said: “Elder Sister need not worry. There will not even be that kind of involvement between His Majesty and me. I spent eight years on the steppe. I no longer wish to use my beauty as a means to serve anyone.”

Xie Baozhu also nodded and said: “We women of the Xie clan — do not wound yourself, do not abandon yourself, do not demean yourself. As long as you can live standing upright for one more day, live it standing upright.”

“When the day comes that you can no longer go on — when that day finally arrives — what then? Whether to remain whole or to break like jade — that is for you alone to decide.” She reached out and gently smoothed the hair on Xie Yuzhang’s forehead, telling her: “No one has the right to demand that another person must live in a certain way. Each person need only not betray herself.”

Xie Yuzhang said: “I know. But what Elder Sister does not know is — if I were unwilling, he would never force me. That is the kind of man he is. What Elder Sister fears will not come to pass.”

Xie Baozhu thought for a moment, as though something dawned on her: “That is true — I was unwilling to become a concubine to Marquis Bei Rong, and that Emperor did not force me either.”

Xie Yuzhang was startled.

Xie Baozhu then told Xie Yuzhang about her second meeting with the Emperor as well.

Xie Yuzhang could never have imagined the way things had unfolded in this life. Once again, a sense of confusion stirred in her mind.

“He said he had promised someone to let you live well?” she asked.

Xie Baozhu nodded and said: “That was all because of your kindness to me.”

Xie Yuzhang was dazed for a moment.

Many things in those days had not allowed for careful thought, nor had there been any plan behind them — all done on impulse, all said on a whim. Later, the eight years on the steppe had demanded every ounce of her mind and energy, and everything before the bridal procession had been cast to the back of her mind as she poured all her effort into coping with what was in front of her.

She had not expected that the seeds sown so casually in those days had truly taken root and blossomed, bearing such good and unexpected fruit.

Xie Yuzhang said: “Back then when I went to bid Elder Sister farewell and came out, I happened to run into him just outside. I was worried about your health, and told him I hoped you would fare well… I never imagined he remembered it. How wonderful.”

She said “how wonderful” with her lips, but she did not feel that same pleasure of an early investment yielding many times its return — the pleasure she had felt when she first received the princess enfeoffment.

Strangely, there was a vague bittersweet feeling she could not quite name.

Seeing Xie Baozhu’s intent gaze on her, as though there were words behind her eyes, Xie Yuzhang pushed aside that feeling and cursed: “That Li Qi is truly insufferable!”

Li Weifeng sneezed. He rubbed his nose and called out: “Have you caught anything yet?”

The personal soldiers came out of the woods, each holding up a pheasant: “Got some, got some.”

Prince Shou claimed his household was poor and could not entertain guests who did not bring their own provisions.

Li Weifeng had no choice but to go and see what he could find. Now that he had two pheasants, he felt he could account for himself, so he told his soldiers to carry them and trotted his way back to Xie Family Village in high spirits.

Of course Prince Shou would never allow him to sit at the same table as Xie Baozhu. The front courtyard and the rear courtyard each had a table laid out separately.

Xie Yuzhang asked: “Has Li Qi been pestering you constantly?”

Xie Baozhu said: “Not at all, actually. I haven’t seen him for quite a long time since that day.”

Xie Yuzhang was very worried. Because Li Weifeng was so extraordinarily close with Li Gu, she did not feel she had the standing to urge Li Gu to reprimand Li Weifeng over this matter.

Xie Baozhu said: “There is no need to worry. He is only a fool, not an evil man.”

Li Weifeng had no idea why he kept sneezing today. He rubbed his nose and turned back to ask: “So she really intends never to marry?”

Since that day, he had not come to Xie Family Village again. But the garrison officer guarding the village was one of his men, and he had in fact been keeping track of Xie Baozhu’s news all along. He had been worried she might get married. Yet she went on living her days at leisure: each day she would go turn the soil, or stroll along the ridges between the fields, wandering around the village, and gradually she was able to walk farther and farther.

Frail as she was — yes, truly too frail to marry.

“She won’t marry. Don’t get any ideas about her.” Prince Shou warned him, chewing on a chicken wing.

Li Weifeng beamed: “Not marrying is wonderful — wonderful.”

When it was time to leave, the clanspeople gathered again to see them off.

Someone said: “Baohua, you are a princess again now. We are branches of the same bloodline — do not forget us in your prosperity.”

Xie Yuzhang held her horse’s reins and said: “For the sisters and nieces of the clan — find them good paths forward. Let none of them become anyone’s concubine. I will provide their dowries.”

Some of the clanspeople bowed their heads in shame; others were overcome with bleak sorrow.

Even the eldest, Fourth Great-Uncle, shed tears: “I tried to stop it — I could not.”

Xie Yuzhang did not reproach any of them. In truth, as she looked at these faces, what came to mind were the images of how they had each died in the previous life when the clan was implicated.

“I know. It was not by anyone’s wish that things came to this point.” Xie Yuzhang said. “But now that I am here, matters of money and goods are no great concern. In every season and on every festival, I will have things sent here. So that life will not be too hard for everyone.”

The clanspeople broke into sobs.

But Xie Yuzhang said: “There is one thing, however, that everyone must understand clearly.”

She said: “The current Emperor is a benevolent ruler, and it is because of that benevolence that our Xie clan still has homes to live in and food to eat, and our lives still stand. This is the grace of the ruler — keep it in your hearts always. But do not forget either — even a benevolent ruler has moments of thunder and lightning. When the wrath of the Son of Heaven descends, millions fall.”

“Today, you dwell here in Xie Family Village. At most it will be two generations. After two generations, when the Li dynasty is firmly rooted, the people of our Xie clan will sooner or later be able to live freely again, like everyone else.”

“But for now, live your lives with propriety. Harbor no resentment. Entertain no reckless ambitions.”

Fourth Great-Uncle wept: “What Baohua says is entirely right.”

Xie Yuzhang said: “Fourth Great-Uncle — my enfeoffment title is Yongning now.”

Fourth Great-Uncle wiped his tears: “Yes, yes — Yongning. Yes.”

Xie Yuzhang mounted her horse and said: “If you face difficulties, come find me at Princess Yongning’s residence.”

She paused, then added: “If you face matters that leave you uneasy, come find me as well — do not bring trouble to the Xiaoyao Marquisate.”

On the road back to the city, Xie Yuzhang’s face bore no trace of a smile.

Li Weifeng drew up beside her and asked: “What’s the matter, Yongning?” — Shouldn’t a reunion with one’s sister be cause for happiness?

Xie Yuzhang said with a troubled expression: “Elder Sister Kangle’s health is so poor — I wanted to bring her to live at my residence with me, but she wouldn’t agree.”

As she spoke, tears fell from her eyes: “Elder Sister Kangle has had this frailty since birth. There was even a fortune teller once who said she wouldn’t live past twenty-five.”

Li Weifeng was badly startled and quickly asked: “Then how old is she this year?”

Xie Yuzhang said: “With her next birthday she’ll be twenty-six.”

Li Weifeng let out a long sigh of relief: “You frightened me terribly.”

Xie Yuzhang said: “But her health really is very poor. Seventh Brother, my elder sister cannot bear being provoked, nor can she endure being frightened.”

As she spoke, she shed more tears.

Li Weifeng’s head ached: “Ah, stop crying. She’s living peacefully in Xie Family Village — outside people can’t even get in. How would anyone provoke or frighten her?”

But Xie Yuzhang looked at him through tear-blurred eyes.

Li Weifeng was caught off guard, and it finally dawned on him.

“You mean me?” he asked. “Did she say something about me?”

Xie Yuzhang shook her head and said: “Elder Sister only said Marquis Bei Rong is not an evil man — and told me not to worry.”

“Exactly!” Li Weifeng rallied at once, saying loudly, “Look how clear-sighted your elder sister is — she already knows I’m not an evil man. What are you worried about?”

Xie Yuzhang, eyes still glistening with tears, made an accusation: “And you still say you’re not evil? The moment you saw her you sent her straight to the palace.”

That piece of dark history could be hidden no longer.

Li Weifeng’s scalp prickled. He said: “I — I didn’t know her well back then.”

Xie Yuzhang challenged him: “Not knowing someone well and you still seized a maiden by force?”

Li Weifeng said helplessly: “What else could I do? Eleventh had been obsessed with you to the point of madness. I suddenly saw your elder sister — looking so much like you. What was I supposed to do?”

Xie Yuzhang paused for a moment, quickly pulled her thoughts back, and said: “I never believed Seventh Brother was an evil man either.”

She asked: “Seventh Brother — you have feelings for my elder sister, don’t you?”

Li Weifeng had no idea when he had become “Seventh Brother.”

But whether the connection came through Li Gu or through Xie Baozhu, if Xie Yuzhang called him “Seventh Brother,” he was genuinely willing to answer to it.

Being asked so directly by Xie Yuzhang, Li Weifeng felt a slight heat come to his face. He cleared his throat and said: “I suppose so.”

Xie Yuzhang asked: “Is it sincere?”

Li Weifeng said: “Of course.”

Xie Yuzhang let out a breath of relief and said: “If Seventh Brother’s feelings for my elder sister are sincere, then I’m at ease.”

She said: “When you care for someone, it should by nature mean protecting them and following their wishes. Seventh Brother is so close with His Majesty — being near to virtue, one learns to be virtuous. Seventh Brother must surely be a true man of standing, just like His Majesty — one who would absolutely never force himself upon a gentle woman.”

When you watch someone else being flattered, you see right through it and scoff inwardly, knowing it for flattery.

But when it falls upon yourself — no one thinks of it as flattery. You only feel that it is well said, said rightly, that this person truly understands you.

Li Weifeng was quick to protest: “How could I ever force her! Ever since she said she was unwilling, I’ve held myself back — do you know how long it’s been since I dared to come?”

In his urgency, the truth of his feeling showed.

Xie Yuzhang sighed inwardly. Yet she could only continue: “I knew Seventh Brother was not that kind of man. We were right about you.”

By using “we,” she naturally included Xie Baozhu. Li Weifeng felt a pang in his chest, and said with pleased relief: “Your elder sister is so perceptive — she’d know exactly what kind of person I am. Don’t you worry.”

They had ridden on a bit further when he suddenly came to himself and asked: “Wait — what did you just say about Eleventh?”

Li Weifeng was someone in the know, and moreover someone close to the Emperor. Xie Yuzhang therefore told him: “His Majesty promised me not to bring me into the rear palace.”

Li Weifeng clicked his tongue in disbelief: “He really agreed to that?”

“Of course,” Xie Yuzhang said. “His Majesty is a true man whose stature encompasses the heavens and the earth — how could he deceive anyone?”

Li Weifeng was still clicking his tongue, when Xie Yuzhang said: “Only, I also promised His Majesty that I would come on the first and fifteenth of each month to pay my respects to the Noble Imperial Consort. Seventh Brother — shall we go together?”

Li Weifeng thought it over and agreed cheerfully: “Why not — it really is inconvenient for me to go alone.”

Xie Yuzhang then asked: “You are all adopted younger brothers — why is it that Seventh Brother is closer to the Noble Imperial Consort than the others?”

Li Weifeng said: “I fell gravely ill once. Everyone thought I was going to die. Eldest Sister and Eleventh — the two of them, not sleeping and not resting, nursed me personally.”

Xie Yuzhang praised: “Seventh Brother is truly a person of deep feeling and loyalty.”

Li Weifeng said: “Naturally.”

The next day, when he saw Li Gu, he couldn’t help asking: “You really promised Yongning not to bring her into the rear palace?”

Li Gu’s brush stopped. He looked up: “She told you?”

“Mm.” Li Weifeng said. “I went with her to Xie Family Village yesterday.”

Li Weifeng going to Xie Family Village — that was naturally for the sake of Xie Yuzhang’s elder cousin.

Li Gu asked: “Did you arrange it with her?”

Li Weifeng tucked his hands in his sleeves: “I guessed she would be going there these past few days. I had someone watching her gate — the moment she left the city, I rode after her.”

He had so much resourcefulness for matters like this.

Li Gu was at something of a loss for words, and only asked: “Is she doing all right over there?”

Li Weifeng said: “You should hear how well she speaks.” He then recounted in full what Xie Yuzhang had said to her clanspeople.

Li Gu asked: “What else did she say?”

Li Weifeng had a whole chest full of things he wanted to say to someone, and at once he latched onto Li Gu and chattered on at length, recounting his whole conversation with Xie Yuzhang along the road, and then went on: “She praised you to the skies — ‘true man of standing,’ ‘stature that encompasses the heavens and the earth,’ all sorts of fine phrases.”

He chattered on further: “How could I ever force her — are we that kind of men, us brothers?”

Then he asked Li Gu: “You’re really not bringing her into the palace?” Eight years of longing, after all.

Li Gu said: “She is unwilling.”

Li Weifeng’s eyes flickered, and he said: “Then leave it — not entering the palace, staying outside also works out quite well.”

Li Gu said: “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Li Weifeng “heh heh heh heh’d,” then added: “But you’d better be careful — that tongue of hers is something else. Tsk tsk — leads people to their deaths and never has to answer for it.”

Li Gu looked at this man who had been thoroughly outmaneuvered without even knowing it and truly did not know what to say.

After Li Weifeng left, an attendant came in to grind ink for the Emperor.

The Emperor murmured to himself: “Setting traps again.”

The Emperor’s voice was low and what he said was unclear to the attendant. He stole a glance — and saw that the corner of the Emperor’s lips had curved upward into a faint smile.