Xie Yuzhang returned to Zichen Hall with red-rimmed eyes.

Li Gu was taken aback. “What happened? Did you two have a quarrel?”

Xie Yuzhang said, “Nothing of the sort. We only spoke of the late commander, and both of us grew sad.” She repeated the words Li Ming had once said to her.

Li Gu was silent for a long while. “That you still remember him — that is good.”

Xie Yuzhang said softly, “His Majesty truly held the late commander in the deepest respect and affection.”

Li Gu said, “Without the commander taking me as his adopted son, I don’t know where I would be today — perhaps long since reduced to a handful of dust on some battlefield.”

That was truly not so far from the truth. After all, for every general who rises to glory, countless soldiers’ bones are buried. It was because of Li Ming that Li Gu had distinguished himself and become that general.

For the young Li Gu of those days, Li Ming must have been a powerful man worthy of looking up to and revering. He must have longed to become a man like Li Ming.

Xie Yuzhang looked at Li Gu steadily.

Li Gu raised his eyes, slightly surprised. “What is it?”

Xie Yuzhang said, “Your Majesty has already surpassed the late commander.”

Li Gu was stunned. He looked at her, and for a long time said nothing.

Xie Yuzhang was the first to break the silence. She said, “It grows late. This subject takes her leave.”

Li Gu said, “It’s still early.”

Xie Yuzhang said, “The Six Bureaus staff prepared more old records for me today — I need to take them home and organize them properly.”

Li Gu considered for a moment. “Carrying them back and forth like this is too cumbersome. Go home today, and starting tomorrow, come to the palace to do your work. If anything is unclear, you’ll be able to summon people to consult right here.”

Xie Yuzhang was at a loss for words.

Before she could speak, Li Gu said nothing at all — only his right hand, fingers slightly curled, tapped lightly and steadily on the low table beside him.

Xie Yuzhang’s gaze moved to follow. His knuckles were resting on the very letter she had written for Yang Huaishen. She raised her eyes, and her gaze met Li Gu’s.

After a moment, Xie Yuzhang yielded, lowered her head, and said, “Yes.”

Li Gu nodded. “Go on.”

Xie Yuzhang walked out of Zichen Hall and sighed. It was all Li Zhenzhen’s fault — for letting Li Gu turn the tables on her.

When a steady, patient person is taken advantage of for a long time, and one day wakes up to realize their fists are rather large — that becomes a problem.

Two eunuchs carried the newly gathered registers from the Six Bureaus, following behind her. She hadn’t gone far when Lin Zi appeared, coming toward her.

Xie Yuzhang brightened the moment she saw Lin Zi. “Third Elder Brother!” she called out.

Lin Zi had already seen her. He glanced once at Zichen Hall behind her, then smiled and responded, “Your Highness.”

Xie Yuzhang said, “Third Elder Brother, why are you on duty today? Today is a rest day.”

Lin Zi said, “I’m going with His Majesty to visit Master Mo today.”

Xie Yuzhang clapped her hands together. “Today? Perfect timing — the weather is so lovely, Master Mo must be in excellent spirits.”

Lin Zi smiled — as radiant as an orchid in full bloom.

Beautiful people always put one in a good mood. After so many years on the grasslands, Xie Yuzhang was especially glad to see elegant beauties like Lin Zi now that she was back in the Central Plains.

After Xie Yuzhang had gone, Li Gu also stepped out of Zichen Hall, walking halfway around the outer railing of the hall — it was simply that the weather was fine, and he wanted some air. He hadn’t expected to catch this particular scene.

He furrowed his brows, and watched as Xie Yuzhang and Lin Zi said their farewells, each going off in a different direction.

Li Gu turned around and went back inside.

That evening, Lin Zi led Li Gu to Pingkang Ward. This place was wholly different from the Chongren Ward where Xie Yuzhang lived — a mixed and disorderly place, with low and cluttered buildings.

Li Gu knocked on a courtyard gate. An old man opened the door.

Li Gu said, “Elder, we are passing through and would trouble you for a cup of water.”

The old man said, “Here there is only well water. I fear a distinguished guest would find it unpleasant.”

Li Gu said, “I have crossed the Gobi. I have drunk muddy water, and worse.”

The old man said, “Guests, please come in.” And he opened the door wide.

Li Gu stepped into the simple, humble courtyard.

An hour later, with dusk settling in, Li Gu stepped out of the small courtyard.

Lin Zi and Hu Jin were waiting for him at a tea stall at the entrance of the alley. When they saw him approach, both stood.

Lin Zi cupped his hands in salute: “Your Majesty — how was it?”

Li Gu simply nodded and said, “We’ll come back tomorrow.”

He mounted his horse and said, “Tomorrow I’m aiming to get a meal out of it.”

Hu Jin was dumbfounded. Lin Zi’s mouth curved upward.

The Emperor laughed lightly and said, “Worth it.”

The next day, Xie Yuzhang brought back to the palace all the record registers she had previously taken home with her, and went first to see Li Gu. But she had arrived early, and Li Gu had not yet finished his morning court session.

Liang Chen said, “His Majesty said: if Your Highness arrives, this servant is to take Your Highness over first.”

Xie Yuzhang followed Liang Chen along. Midway there, she stopped and asked, “Where has His Majesty arranged for me to work?”

Liang Chen bowed. “Zhaoxia Palace.”

Zhaoxia Palace had no tall tables and high chairs — it was still furnished as it had always been, with low couches and low tables, for sitting on the floor in the traditional way.

All the latticed panel doors were open, and sunlight poured into the main hall. Xie Yuzhang heard a soft, clear jingling sound, and turned to look — wind chimes hung from the eaves’ corners, strand upon strand.

“Why are there wind chimes here?” she asked.

These couldn’t possibly be the old wind chimes from before. Eight years had passed — beaten by wind and rain, those chimes should long since have rotted and crumbled. These were brand new.

And this palace had clearly been empty for a long time, without a mistress.

Liang Chen bowed very low. “Godfather said he remembered that every time he came before, he could always hear the sound of wind chimes. Godfather has atoned for his crimes with meritorious service. He asked this servant to convey his gratitude to Your Highness.”

Xie Yuzhang smiled faintly. “I did nothing.”

Liang Chen said, “Without Your Highness, how would Godfather have had the opportunity to earn merit?”

Xie Yuzhang settled herself in the hall and set about her work.

All the latticed panel doors were open, and sunlight filled the main hall in abundance. Lifting her gaze, she could see the flowers in the central courtyard — all in bloom, vivid and brilliant.

The young women who had once laughed and chattered beneath those corridors were no longer here…

Xie Yuzhang, brush in hand, smiled faintly.

Now, they were all in Yunjing — some had become the managing matrons of the Princess’s residence, some had married cavalrymen from the guard detail and were raising children, and some had taken their wages and settled on farmland estates. As it stood now, they were all living very well.

And Xie Yuzhang’s heart brightened. She bent her head and applied herself earnestly to her work.

When Li Gu came, he found the Princess seated in the principal position, summoning two female officials of the Six Bureaus for consultation and discussion. There were palace maids grinding ink for her, palace maids organizing the registers, palace maids presenting to her the sweet drink she favored…

She was in the midst of all these women, unhurried and graceful, her expression focused.

Li Gu stood beneath the eaves and watched for a moment.

Liang Chen stole a glance and saw that the Emperor’s eyes and brows were very soft, with a trace of a smile at his lips.

But the Emperor did not go over to speak with Princess Yongning. He watched for a little while, then said, “Tell her not to work too hard — when it’s close enough to done, she may go back. Come again tomorrow.” And he departed.

Liang Chen bowed in acknowledgment.

When Xie Yuzhang saw Liang Chen come in, she dismissed the female officials.

Liang Chen leaned close and said quietly, “He’s gone.”

Xie Yuzhang let out a breath.

Liang Chen hesitated, then asked softly, “How did Your Highness know His Majesty would only look and then leave?”

Xie Yuzhang looked at him, thinking this child was even steadier than Fuchun had been in his day.

She said, “I can’t explain it to you. You aren’t me — you can’t feel what I feel. As for fathoming the imperial mind, when you’re still half-schooled in such things, it’s best not to try. Trying will lead you to end up like your godfather. Better to be straightforward and honest. An astute person is certainly good to have, but when there isn’t one, those above prefer someone honest and obedient.”

Liang Chen bowed. “Thank you, Your Highness. This servant is instructed.”

He added, “Godfather wishes to see Your Highness.”

Xie Yuzhang said, “He can walk now?”

Liang Chen said, “He’d crawl to get here.”

Xie Yuzhang said carelessly, “Fine. Tell him to come.”

He didn’t quite have to crawl. Though Fuchun had received forty strokes of the plank, the Emperor had not issued a decree stripping him of his position as head of the inner court. Two sturdy eunuchs had carried him there — though upon entering the hall, he did indeed crawl the last few steps, dragging himself to the floor before Xie Yuzhang.

“Your Highness! Your Highness!” Fuchun wept, tears and mucus streaming freely. “Please accept this servant’s gratitude for saving his life!”

Xie Yuzhang’s expression was cold and impassive.

Fuchun lay prostrate on the floor, weeping. “This servant knows he was wrong! This servant will never dare again!”

“What is there you would not dare?” Xie Yuzhang said scornfully. “Your nerve is large enough to swallow the sky whole. Scheming against me is one thing — but you dared scheme against the Emperor?”

“Of course, in your mind, perhaps you weren’t scheming against the Emperor at all. You were only scheming against me, a single person.” Xie Yuzhang nodded. “If the Emperor had succeeded, if his wish had been fulfilled, not only would you have committed no crime — you would have earned merit.”

“As for me, whether I was willing or not, whether I consented or not — none of that entered your calculations.”

“Isn’t that right, Fuchun?”

Fuchun’s whole body was trembling.

Xie Yuzhang continued, “You accomplished great things once before. You once moved a person of high standing like a piece on a board and used them to shift the course of events to your will — and so you thought you could do it once more?”

Fuchun shook like a leaf in a sieve.

His thoughts, his mentality — laid bare completely by Xie Yuzhang, exactly as they were.

If things had worked out, the Emperor would have had his wish fulfilled and been gratified — how could there be any blame? He would only have basked in imperial favor.

He had hidden himself behind a tree and watched with his own eyes as both the Princess and the Emperor entered the chamber. Given those circumstances, how had it managed not to happen? Both he and the Noble Consort had puzzled over this endlessly!

He had thought to stir up another wave of fortune — who could have foreseen that the Princess would capsize his boat? If the Princess had not taken pity and pleaded on his behalf, if the Emperor had not sent imperial physicians, he would likely have lost his life entirely.

“This servant… this servant…” Fuchun could find no words to defend himself.

Xie Yuzhang watched him coldly.

If they were still on the grasslands, she would have cut him down. Unfortunately, this was Yunjing, and this place was within the imperial precincts.

Cultivating a person like this in the Emperor’s inner circle was genuinely difficult. Even raising someone up from the very beginning, sooner or later that person would develop their own self-serving motives — people always follow their own interests in the end.

Better to keep this one, who had learned a profound lesson and whose nerve had been well and truly shattered.

“Liang Chen,” Xie Yuzhang called.

Liang Chen came running.

Xie Yuzhang said, “Help me pack up. We’ll head back for today and return tomorrow.”

Fuchun lay flat on the ground, watching as the hem of her skirt swept past his eyes. A long while later, Liang Chen came back and helped him to his feet. “Godfather, get up. The Princess has forgiven you.”

Fuchun felt all the strength drain from his body, and from the depths of his heart, he was filled with genuine dread of Xie Yuzhang.

Pingkang Ward.

“My original heart?” Li Gu held his teacup and repeated the phrase back as a question.

Master Mo said, “Do you still remember it?”

Li Gu asked, “What does it mean to have an original heart?”

Master Mo said, “The thing you most wanted, once. The thing you most yearned to achieve. I know it certainly was not to become the Emperor.”

Li Gu laughed. “Who could have foreseen becoming the Emperor? It all came about one step at a time.”

Li Gu thought for a moment and said, “The things I once wanted were many.”

“When I first entered the camp, all I wanted was for the military pay to be delivered on time and to have enough to eat. After I was taken in by the Li household, I wanted to be the finest among all the adopted sons. Then I wanted Hexi to be united as one, so that all of us would have something to rely on. Then later…”

Li Gu was tracing through his memories, until they touched on a certain point, and he suddenly fell still.

Master Mo raised his eyes and regarded him steadily. “You’ve remembered?”

Li Gu gazed at the kettle of rolling water, silent for a long time. “There is indeed one wish I have had, and nothing that came after it has surpassed it. Because after a time, whatever I wanted, I had the power to obtain. Only that one thing — I could do nothing.”

What Li Gu had wanted and never attained was, in truth, something very simple. But it was too laughable to say aloud, and he did not tell Master Mo.

Long ago, the first time he left Hexi and came to Yunjing, he had seen the young Princess Baohua, Xie Yuzhang.

He had been standing beneath the eaves, and raising his gaze, he caught sight of her across the water. People say that in a dream, one may traverse a thousand years in an instant — and indeed, it proved no lie. Across the water, Princess Baohua Xie Yuzhang walked along that winding corridor, graceful and unhurried, each step like a dance. And on this side of the water, the young Hexi general had already lived out an entire lifetime with her in his mind.

That dream was the same as the dream of many soldiers — nothing extraordinary about it.

She at the stove and hearth, raising children; he earning merit on the battlefield, doing his best to provide. When silks and brocades came his way, he would have robes cut for her. When gold and silver fell to him, he would have hairpins and pendants made for her.

A whole brood of children, boys and girls alike. When a younger sister married and was mistreated by her husband’s family, the elder brothers would roll up their sleeves and go settle matters.

That was all.

Only when the “she” in question was the princess across that stretch of water — then the whole thing became laughable indeed. The legitimate princess born of the Empress in the Central Palace had likely never even known what a stove was. She would have no use for his silks and brocades, his gold and silver hairpins — what she possessed was already beyond anything he could offer.

The thing he had once most wanted was in truth this simple, and yet in practice it proved so difficult to realize.

Master Mo said, “You are the Emperor now — are you still powerless?”

Li Gu said, “Precisely because I am the Emperor, I am all the more powerless.”

Master Mo asked, “How can that be?”

Li Gu said, “Because if I only wished to fulfill my desire, it would be easy enough. But for that person, it would cause harm. I am unwilling to do that. I cannot. I can only hold back.”

Master Mo asked, “You became Emperor and still you must hold back — then what was the point of becoming Emperor?”

Li Gu said, “If I could work that out, why would I be sitting here with you? I only know: even as the Emperor, there are things one must not do.”

Master Mo smiled gently. “Well said.”