Xie Yan Lai leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. No one in the room reprimanded him for being disrespectful before the Emperor, and the conversation continued.

“As soon as I heard Yan Lai would be the military envoy, I had the foresight to immediately take leave.”

“Ha, Master Xie, did you know Yan Lai would cause trouble?”

“Yan Lai causing trouble is a small matter. I didn’t want Grand Tutor to use this as an excuse to give me difficulties. If we got into an argument, a few words exchanged, and a small matter would become a big one.”

Xiao Yu invited Xie Yan Fang to sit down.

Xie Yan Fang glanced at the couch where the two were seated, then at Xie Yan Lai leaning against the edge of the couch. There were certainly many places to sit in the room, but there was no need.

“Your Majesty,” Xie Yan Fang waved the document in his hand, “I met a eunuch retrieving the register of fallen soldiers from the Grand Tutor, so I took it to have a look.”

As he spoke, he opened it and looked, letting out a soft sigh.

“They were all so young.”

Xiao Yu nodded: “Heroes are often found among the young.” He looked at Chu Zhao, “Sister is like that too.”

Chu Zhao shook her head: “I can’t compare with them. They are far braver than I am.”

“The Empress had the register brought here for His Majesty to see, right?” Xie Yan Fang asked.

Chu Zhao nodded: “It’s not convenient to speak too much about casualties in court, to avoid affecting morale.”

After all, this war had gone on for quite some time, and there was some fatigue after such a sustained effort.

“But it’s precisely at this moment of fatigue that we can’t lose heart,” Xie Yan Fang said, looking at Xie Yan Lai leaning against the couch. “Yan Lai, do you have anything to say about the border army?”

Xie Yan Lai, with his eyes closed, seemed to be asleep. Hearing the question, he didn’t open his eyes and said: “There’s nothing to say. Those of us amid war don’t feel fatigue. Our thinking is different from you who sit safely at a distance.”

Xie Yan Fang said: “It’s precisely because our thinking is different that you need to be eloquent. If you come here and say nothing, isn’t your trip wasted?”

Xie Yan Lai opened his eyes to look at him and said: “What I say doesn’t matter anyway. Third Brother, you people whose words carry weight, you should do the talking.”

Chu Zhao coughed lightly: “Isn’t he saying quite a lot now?”

Xie Yan Lai immediately turned to look at her, his eyes annoyed.

Before he could speak, Chu Zhao smiled again: “Yes, yes, you don’t talk, you just act. Leave the talking to me and the Third Young Master.” She then looked at Xie Yan Fang.

Don’t argue, please.

Xie Yan Fang naturally went along with the girl’s good intentions, smiling and nodding, then looked at Xiao Yu: “Your Majesty, let’s look at this casualty register together, to understand the war by first understanding the people.”

Xiao Yu agreed.

Xie Yan Fang beckoned to him: “Let’s go to the side hall, and let the Empress continue to ask about the border army’s affairs here.”

Xiao Yu immediately stood up and walked to Xie Yan Fang’s side.

Chu Zhao sat smiling and didn’t object: “Master Xie, don’t make His Majesty cry.”

Xiao Yu protested: “Sister, I never cry.”

Xie Yan Fang smiled without speaking and took Xiao Yu’s hand to the side hall.

This was deliberately giving Chu Zhao and Xie Yan Lai time to talk.

Xie Yan Lai seemed oblivious, closing his eyes again and leaning back on the couch, until Chu Zhao threw a melon seed at his face.

“What are you doing?” he asked irritably.

“Master Xie avoids the Grand Tutor in court, not arguing with him, and now he has to avoid you too,” Chu Zhao said.

“Oh yes,” Xie Yan Lai drawled, “Master Xie’s way of dealing with people is as refreshing as a spring breeze. He knows when to advance and retreat, with a grand vision in his heart. With Master Xie in court, the Empress can rest easy.”

Chu Zhao threw another melon seed at him, laughing: “I was just saying he’s good at handling matters, not talking about myself. Why are you being so sarcastic?”

Was she saying Xie Yan Fang did well, and it had nothing to do with her? Did she also not trust him?

Xie Yan Lai opened his eyes, first looking toward the side hall and frowning: “You’re quite bold to say such things. Aren’t you afraid your loyal minister will overhear and be disheartened?”

Chu Zhao smiled: “My loyal ministers wouldn’t eavesdrop on me. Master Xie can rest assured.”

Rest assured about what? That he could join her in speaking ill of others? Xie Yan Lai snorted.

“Whether I speak or not doesn’t matter,” he said after a moment of silence. “These loyal ministers all have their ideas. I am merely a catalyst. My presence is enough; how they choose to act is none of my concern.”

Chu Zhao said, “Commander Xie shouldn’t say that. What happens next actually depends on you.”

Xie Yan Lai turned to look at her.

The girl was peeling an almond with her hands. Seeing him look over, she pointed to the fruit platter: “Would you like some? These roasted almonds are delicious.”

Xie Yan Lai glared at her.

“I’m not flattering you. Regardless of what’s said, whether this war is won or lost still depends on you soldiers in the border commandery,” Chu Zhao ignored his glare and continued peeling the almond shell as she spoke. “No matter what others say or do, you’ve come here to strengthen your resolve and to bring that confidence back to everyone.”

She looked up at Xie Yan Lai again.

“How is the situation on your side now? Uncle Zhong always reports the good but not the bad.”

Xie Yan Lai leaned against the couch and said, “The current situation of the border army isn’t particularly good. Just like in court, the officers also have different thoughts. But don’t worry, although Zhong Chang Rong reports the good but not the bad, he handles matters with discretion and can control the situation.”

Chu Zhao was certainly confident in Uncle Zhong, and asked further: “To win this war and achieve your stated goal, how long will it take?”

Xie Yan Lai, with his eyes closed, tapped his knee with his hand and said: “Five words: haste makes for failure.”

Chu Zhao smiled slightly, peeling an almond, and said: “Back then, Western Liang took advantage of our unpreparedness and national chaos to raise an army. Now that we’ve been fighting for so long, we’re no longer in a hurry.”

Xie Yan Lai didn’t respond.

“Hey, what happened at the military camp?” Chu Zhao asked again. “Did your loose tongue offend someone again?”

Xie Yan Lai made a snorting sound.

Chu Zhao smiled: “As soon as I heard there was a disturbance at the capital garrison, I knew it involved you. But,” she picked up a small hammer to crack a difficult almond shell, “knowing it involved you, I was also reassured that you would certainly resolve it.”

At this point, she smiled again.

“And I was clever too. Xiao Man only told me how fiercely you fought, and it was only when I pressed her about your condition that she remembered to describe your many scars. I immediately thought of how to help you out of the situation.”

She had said quite a lot, especially after mentioning “helping out,” yet surprisingly didn’t hear Xie Yan Lai snort in contradiction. She leaned forward to look and found Xie Yan Lai leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed.

“Hey,” she said, “I’ve peeled the almonds. Want some?”

Xie Yan Lai didn’t decline the Empress’s kindness.

The young man had his hand resting on his long leg, leaning against the couch, his head slightly tilted back, with sunlight from the latticed window dancing on his long eyelashes.

Chu Zhao picked up an almond kernel and threw it at the young man’s face.

The young man didn’t move.

He’d fallen asleep again. Chu Zhao smiled—not surprising, though. At the capital garrison, he had first fought more than a dozen men alone, then engaged in three duels, then ridden on horseback to the capital city, and then walked from the main street to the imperial city. He must be exhausted.

He had maintained his spirits in court earlier, but now, here, he could relax and rest.

Chu Zhao lowered her head and continued peeling almonds, with the sound of cracking occasionally filling the room.

Xiao Man glanced at A-Le, who looked back with a questioning expression.

This girl was too dim-witted. Xiao Man could only ask softly: “Are we just going to let Commander Xie sleep like this?”

Offer him a bed, or drape a blanket over him. Also, sleeping so casually in front of the Empress—isn’t that disrespectful before the sovereign?

A-Le smiled: “Don’t worry about it, we’re used to it.”

Used to it? Xiao Man was puzzled.

Xie Yan Fang walked out from the side hall, standing at the hall entrance. At a glance, he saw the girl sitting on the couch, relaxed and at ease, peeling almonds, while the young man leaned against the edge of the couch, head tilted back, sleeping deeply.

He quietly looked for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and walked back to the side hall.

“Uncle,” Xiao Yu held the document, “I’ve finished reading. Shall we go tell Sister about it?”

Xie Yan Fang said: “There’s no rush. You’ve seen the tragedy of war; let me also tell you about the cruelty of war.”

Xiao Yu made a sound of acknowledgment, without saying whether he agreed or not. He glanced toward the main hall, wondering what his sister was doing. Earlier, he had won at cracking melon seeds, and his sister had said she would peel almonds for him—

Whether war was tragic or cruel, he wasn’t very interested.

He had seen it firsthand.

The reason he was willing to listen to Xie Yan Fang was that Sister Chu wanted him to listen.

“Let the Empress talk with your Uncle Yan Lai for a bit,” Xie Yan Fang, perceiving the child’s thoughts, was straightforward. “Your Majesty, you cannot yet speak in court. The Empress is a few years older than you; she will have opportunities to speak. Before then, let her prepare herself. This is good for the Empress.”

He certainly wouldn’t oppose anything good for Sister Chu. Xiao Yu nodded and sat properly again.

However, Xiao Yu’s hands, resting on his knees, clenched slightly. He wouldn’t disturb his sister talking with his uncle even if he were present.

……

……

After the court session dispersed, Deng Yi didn’t stay in the imperial city as usual. After a clerk whispered something in his ear, Deng Yi left the imperial city and returned home.

Seeing his return, the visitors waiting at the gatehouse were excited.

There was a constant stream of people at the Grand Tutor’s door, but most of the time they came to express their goodwill, and very few could see the Grand Tutor.

Although the Grand Tutor accepted gifts from all comers, few people could see him.

Deng Yi entered his home surrounded by servants and imperial guards. The visitors in the gatehouse excitedly crowded to the door.

“Is the Grand Tutor resting today?”

“Does the Grand Tutor have time to see me?”

“Who do you think you are? You’re just a prefect from out of town—”

The gatehouse was filled with noisy mockery and banter, which suddenly ceased when a steward came over. The noise instantly died down; even the servants in the Grand Tutor’s house had higher status than these officials.

Especially this steward, whom everyone addressed as Master Li, who was in charge of receiving the Grand Tutor’s guests.

“Master Li, is the Grand Tutor seeing people?” “Master Li, I submitted my card three days ago.” “Three days? That’s nothing. I submitted mine a month ago—”

Steward Li frowned and waved his hand, and the noise immediately subsided.

He ignored these eager gazes and simply said: “Young Master Liang, the Grand Tutor wants to see you.”

Young Master Liang? The people in the gatehouse were stunned, instinctively looking around to see a young man standing up from a bench in the far corner.

It was him?

This young man had entered covered in dust, wearing only his inner garments. Everyone had thought he’d been robbed and was seeking charity. He was strange, and no one had paid him much attention.

He hadn’t spoken, just sat down in the farthest corner, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, seeming to doze.

Probably some servant delivering a calling card, sitting here to make an appearance, knowing there was no hope of seeing the Grand Tutor.

Unexpectedly, the Grand Tutor wanted to see him.

Who was this person?

Someone else had a thought: had the Grand Tutor returned so suddenly to see him?

The young man still didn’t say much, just responded affirmatively and followed Steward Li out.

The entrance hall was again filled with discussion. Suddenly, someone exclaimed.

“Liang! Could it be someone from Minister Liang’s family back then?” he shouted. “I was wondering why that young man looked familiar. I must have seen him at Minister Liang’s house before.”

But which young master was he?

The Liang family had disappeared from the capital for too long; he couldn’t remember.

This statement immediately caused an uproar among the others.

“Minister Liang?” “The Liang family isn’t all dead yet?” “They can come to the capital?”

Hearing the buzz behind him, Liang Qiang, following Steward Li inside, looked back.

Don’t be impatient. The Liang family isn’t just alive; they can not only come to the capital, but before long, their name will be known throughout the capital.