During the hottest days of summer, the temperature was unusually high. In the inner courtyards of the Jinxiu Dynasty’s imperial palace, palace servants were scattered about, tiptoeing carefully among the various flowers and trees, using gauze nets to catch the incessantly chirping cicadas to avoid disturbing the Emperor who was resting in the rear palace.
“Returned?” Xiao Weiran said with an intriguing smile, casually picking through the items piled on the table. “He refuses the Emperor’s rewards and doesn’t accept Yi Xiao’s gifts either—Your Majesty, is it necessary to summon him to the palace?”
Xia Jingshi, reclining on a cool chair, frowned slightly, his gaze piercing through the half-closed window lattice and fixing on a distant void. After a long while, he lowered his eyelashes and said, “Weiran, if there’s nothing particularly urgent to do, why don’t you accompany me to the Yulin Camp for a look?”
It was the afternoon rest time, and in the Yulin Camp stationed in the suburbs, groups of Yulin soldiers with open shirts were cooling off under the trees everywhere. Amidst the laughter, a middle-aged soldier casually raised his head, and after clearly seeing the figure walking not far away, he spat on the ground and strode out of the shade to chase after him.
“Well, well, look who it is,” he called out deliberately, putting his hand on the man’s shoulder while eyeing the heavy laundry basin in his hands maliciously. “I heard someone refused the Emperor’s rewards and even returned the gifts from the Queen of Su Sha. Why do I always feel like he thinks the gifts are too few?”
The man nodded silently in greeting and tried to walk around him, but he wouldn’t let it go. He caught up in a few steps and swept the wooden basin from the man’s hands, spilling all the wet clothes onto the dusty ground. The man finally couldn’t help but angrily say, “I’ve tolerated you several times, don’t go too far!”
“I’m going too far?” The middle-aged soldier spat viciously. “You only have that little bit of guts. Who do you think you are!”
The man stared at him for a while before bending down to pick up the dirty clothes, no longer paying attention to the arrogant scolding behind him, slowly walking towards the stream behind the camp.
He was the young soldier who had saved Fu Yi Xiao that day.
Perhaps because of Fu Yi Xiao, Xia Jingshi didn’t make things difficult for him. On the second day after returning to the Yulin Camp, an edict came from the Holy City, stating his faults and merits during the turmoil. With merits and faults offsetting each other, he was neither promoted nor demoted. He didn’t mind, but the new emperor’s attitude and the large rewards brought by the official messenger made everyone in the camp envious, especially the colleague he had knocked unconscious that day, who was even more jealous and resentful of him.
As he rinsed the sandy clothes in the stream, his face was peaceful, as if everything before had never happened.
“So you’re here,” a gentle voice sounded. He instinctively raised his head, startled, and bowed, “Prime Minister Xiao.”
“Come with me, His Majesty wants to see you,” Xiao Weiran said simply before leaving the riverside. He looked down at the unwashed clothes in the basin, sighed, and slowly followed.
“Sit,” Xia Jingshi, sitting casually in the open space, pointed to a patch of grass not far from him, indicating for him to sit down. He casually asked, “Your name is Lin Yuan?” “In response to Your Majesty…” Before he could finish, Xia Jingshi interrupted, “No need to be formal, just a casual chat.”
“Yes,” he responded, hesitantly raising his eyes to look at the thin man in casual clothes before him. Gentle eyebrows, indifferent expression—this was the new master of the Yulin Camp, the new emperor of the Jinxiu Dynasty, Xia Jingshi.
“If Yi Xiao knew you returned those things, she would surely be furious,” Xia Jingshi said softly after a moment of silence. Like a pebble thrown into the center of a lake, an expression that could be called tenderness suddenly rippled across his calm face, disappearing in an instant. “She specially sent a message, emphasizing that those were gifts for you,” he continued, glancing at him, “not rewards bestowed by the royal family—why won’t you accept them?”
“One should not accept rewards without merit…” he lowered his head slightly, weighing his words. Seeing his hesitation, Xia Jingshi suddenly said, “Rumors in the army say you’re opportunistic, seeking fame and fortune. But I believe you saved her purely on instinct. Otherwise, judging by your behavior these past few years, you should have wanted to stay far away from her—, if you’re still concerned, I can issue an edict to free you from slave status—Or are you worried about others saying you have ulterior motives?”
Xiao Weiran, standing quietly to the side, raised an eyebrow in confusion upon hearing this. “In this matter…” Before he could ask further, Lin Yuan spoke decisively, “This subject believes it was not a meritorious deed, it just happened that the person saved was Princess Xingping. It has nothing to do with past events.”
Seeing the indignation in his expression, Xia Jingshi couldn’t help but smile and changed the subject, “Commander Shang will be reorganizing the city defense soon. Are you willing to be his deputy?” Glancing at him, Xia Jingshi continued, “This is Commander Shang’s suggestion. Think it over carefully.”
With that, Xia Jingshi stood up and walked towards the carriage parked not far away.
As the carriage was about to enter the royal city, Xia Jingshi suddenly spoke, “Does Weiran remember the old minister Lin Feiyin from the previous dynasty?” Xiao Weiran nodded, “I remember. After his daughter fell ill with hysteria, he retired to his hometown… Does he have any connection with Lin Yuan?”
“Lin Yuan’s original surname wasn’t Lin. If I remember correctly, his surname was Yin, named Yin Xingyuan,” Xia Jingshi said calmly. “He was originally a servant in the Lin household, later married into the Lin family, and then changed his name.”
“Married in?” Xiao Weiran pondered for a moment, then realized, “Minister Lin was quite open-minded. An official’s daughter marrying her family’s guard, hmm, it was indeed a hot topic of gossip for a long time a few years ago.”
Xia Jingshi nodded slightly, “Lin Yuan is a very upright person, and he truly loved the Lin family’s daughter. It should have been an excellent match, but some people spread unsavory rumors. Coincidentally, at that time, Minister Lin pulled some strings and got him a military position in the Yulin Camp. Then there were people saying he was living off a woman…”
“So, at that time, he refused to take back the slave contract returned by Minister Lin and moved out of the Lin household alone, wanting to earn military merits through his efforts and then redeem the contract. The Lin family’s daughter happened to become pregnant right after the wedding, but he was fully devoted to the military and had no time to care for his pregnant wife. Miss Lin was understanding and visited him in the camp every ten days or so,” Xia Jingshi continued, glancing at the seemingly enlightened Xiao Weiran. “Later, Miss Lin encountered bandits on one of her visits. She was rescued after several days, but she had lost the baby and gone mad.”
“No wonder,” Xiao Weiran sighed. “Yi Xiao once said that after she fainted, he suddenly changed his mind and sent her back to the small courtyard. I could never understand why, but now it makes sense… Has Miss Lin still not recovered?”
“I heard she’s still unstable, but at least she no longer flees in terror when her parents and Lin Yuan approach her,” Xia Jingshi cast his gaze towards a patrol of city guards passing outside the carriage. “If he has learned from his past mistakes, he will accept this time—This way, he can return home daily to care for his ill wife, which might also help Miss Lin’s condition.”
Xiao Weiran followed his gaze, watching the city guards disappear into the distance. After a long while, he said jokingly, “Your Majesty is still the same as before, always considering others. I wonder when you’ll think more about yourself…”
Xia Jingshi only returned a smile devoid of mirth.
As the carriage approached, the inner city gates opened and closed, the dry creaking ending in a dull, heavy boom. Xiao Weiran seemed to want to speak several times but finally just pressed his lips together without saying anything. Looking up, he saw the setting sun shining through the window, casting an orange-gold layer on Xia Jingshi’s originally desolate profile, suddenly making him appear much more vibrant, even deepening the faint smile at the corner of his lips.
Perhaps after that missed opportunity, he was destined to pay with a long wait for another encounter in his life.
Perhaps…
Tomorrow should be a good day, right?