Not only had Yuyao Palace’s wedding gifts not arrived this quickly in her past life — they had not been this generous either. In the past, it had been a perfunctory affair, a bare minimum gesture.

Xie Yuzhang listened as the eunuch finished reading out the inventory list, and said only, “Please convey my gratitude to Noble Consort.”

Then she turned to Lin Fei and said, “Put it all away.”

Lin Fei harbored her own dislike for Yuyao Palace, but she was ultimately not someone who could afford to act on a whim. Xie Yuzhang could afford to, and when she did, Lin Fei had to cover for her.

In the end, Lin Fei still had a gratuity envelope brought out for the eunuch.

Yuyao Palace’s eunuchs came and went at Zhaoxia Palace regularly. In past days, Princess Baohua had always received them with a smile. This was the first time they had encountered such cool treatment.

The eunuch muttered to himself, she’s about to be married off to that kind of place, and kept a smile on his face as he thanked them, tucked the envelope away, and returned to Yuyao Palace. He whispered to Noble Consort Chen, “Her temperament seems to have suddenly changed entirely.”

Noble Consort Chen showed a serene smile. “Noted.”

That evening, when the Emperor rested at Yuyao Palace, the Noble Consort dabbed at her eyes. “The moment I think of that child going to such a place, it is as though a piece has been cut from this subject-concubine’s own heart. Your Majesty must ensure that Baohua’s dowry is prepared generously.”

After all, it was not her money being spent. The more generously Xie Yuzhang’s dowry was prepared, the better the excuse to be equally generous when Princess Anle married out in the future.

She then exaggerated what she had contributed to Xie Yuzhang’s wedding gifts — claiming various beloved possessions she had originally intended to leave for Anle, but had reluctantly given to Xie Yuzhang out of love, and so on.

The Emperor, seeing harmony in the rear palace and the Noble Consort conducting herself with the manner of a gracious elder maternal figure, was naturally in great imperial pleasure, needless to say.

Among the four chief consorts, the Noble Imperial Consort ranked highest. But since the Empress’s passing, the Noble Imperial Consort had been like a decorative ornament for these past years, perpetually claiming illness to excuse herself from managing the inner palace’s affairs. Without power in her hands, she naturally received all news later than the Noble Consort.

The Noble Consort had sent her wedding gift the first evening. The following morning, the gifts from the Virtuous Consort, the Worthy Consort, and the Noble Imperial Consort arrived in turn. By the afternoon, the lower-ranked consorts in the remaining palaces were gradually hearing the news and beginning to act.

But regardless, Zhaoxia Palace presented a scene of lively bustle.

Xie Yuzhang watched box after box of things being brought in while Lin Fei bustled about cataloguing and recording them, and she could not help but think of her past life. The moment the announcement of the marriage alliance had been made, the gates of Zhaoxia Palace had grown suddenly cold and desolate, unbearably bleak.

A princess destined to leave the center of power, who did nothing but weep and wail until even the Emperor avoided her — naturally, none of the consorts would be willing to spend any effort on Zhaoxia Palace.

Before her departure, when her birthday came, the Emperor had given a token reward, and the consorts had shown no expression at all. The only ones who had truly remembered her birthday and gone to the trouble of preparing a celebration for her were the people of the Duke of Xun’s residence.

Some things cannot be changed, Xie Yuzhang thought, but some things can indeed be altered through human effort.

The ones who were suffering, rather, were Zhaoxia Palace’s palace staff. The thought that they might have to follow the Princess to the distant frontier had each of them wearing expressions of grief, unable to lift their spirits.

This was only human nature. Even she herself had spent her days in tears in her past life. Xie Yuzhang did not reproach them.

Lin Fei, on the other hand, had within the space of that single day reprimanded and punished several slippery servants who had made careless errors.

“This is not the time to let the hearts of the people here scatter,” she said to Xie Yuzhang. “Otherwise, how will we manage and restrain them later?”

In the palace, with imperial authority bearing down on them, the servants could not stir up real trouble. But once they reached the frontier, she worried that Xie Yuzhang would have difficulty keeping the people below her in check, and so she had been turning this problem over in her mind from now.

Xie Yuzhang’s thinking was different.

“Those who are determined to leave — as long as they have a way out, let them go.” She did not seem the least bit angry. “People whose hearts have already fled, tied to us by force, may not be a good thing at all. Using this moment to do a round of sifting through may not be a bad thing either.”

Lin Fei was speechless for a long moment, then said, “If I were not right here before Your Highness, I would have thought these words came from a seasoned old monk who had seen through all worldly matters.”

Xie Yuzhang smiled. After a moment, she said, “A’Fei, Attendant Xu… let it go.”

Lin Fei paused.

Attendant Xu was the head palace nurse and Palace Directress responsible for overseeing Xie Yuzhang’s daily life and care. These past two days she had been nowhere to be found, running about on her own business. Lin Fei was quietly furious, but she was in truth a daughter of a convicted official, still registered in the lowly registry, which put her in an awkward position — Attendant Xu, by contrast, was a female palace official with a proper court rank. Lin Fei had no real authority over her. By reprimanding and punishing the palace servants, she was, as they say, striking the mountain to frighten the tiger, sending a warning to Attendant Xu.

Otherwise, if all of Zhaoxia Palace followed Attendant Xu’s example, what would become of things?

“Attendant Xu entered the palace as a woman of good family and is a native of the capital region. She still has a large family of kin outside the palace walls. That she does not wish to go to the frontier is only human nature.” Xie Yuzhang said with indifference. “If she can find her own way out of it, let her. If she cannot, when the roster comes into my hands, I will simply strike through her name.”

But if even your own nurse has left, who will truly follow you with a loyal heart? Lin Fei’s lips moved, but the words never came out. Her heart, however, was anxious and restless.

The Princess — how could she sit there looking like someone utterly untroubled, without a trace of worry or urgency? It was as though she had already seen through all of it to the other side.

A palace servant came in to report. “Fuchun is here.”

Fuchun, coming to Zhaoxia Palace at a time like this? Lin Fei glanced at Xie Yuzhang in surprise.

Xie Yuzhang’s gaze flickered. “Let him in.”

Fuchun entered in his customary way, back bent, shuffling with quick small steps, light and quiet. Seeing that the only other person in the main hall besides Lin Fei was no one else, and knowing that this was someone Xie Yuzhang trusted, he did not bother to conceal anything in front of her. He drew close to Xie Yuzhang. “That forty thousand jin of sugar and ten thousand jin of tea that His Majesty wished to add to your dowry — the Chief Ministers refused. His Majesty argued with them for half an hour. In the end, it was decided that it will come from the inner privy stores. The Princess’s dowry list is expected to be ready this afternoon.”

Regardless of where it came from, hearing that it was settled made Xie Yuzhang breathe out in relief. But the thought that the Emperor was drawing from his own privy stores to add to her wedding gifts stirred in her a feeling that was difficult to name.

It was he who had steeled himself to send her away in a marriage alliance. It was also he who feared she would suffer and was preparing her a generous dowry. It would also be he who would, in a panic, think of presenting her to the new emperor.

Princess Baohua’s expression shifted through many things. Fuchun simply stood bowed, saying nothing. Something like this naturally required the Princess time to absorb.

After a moment, he heard Princess Baohua let out a long, slow sigh. He stole a glance upward, and the Princess’s face had already been composed.

“Has the attendant roster come out yet?” she asked.

“Not yet.” Fuchun replied.

“Help me keep watch over it. Tell me the moment it comes out.” The Princess said.

Fuchun bowed. “Yes.”

Xie Yuzhang glanced at Lin Fei. Lin Fei understood, and took out a gratuity envelope.

But Fuchun firmly refused to accept it. “Your Highness, please do not humble this servant so. Your Highness’s kindness to this servant is a debt that cannot be repaid in a lifetime.”

He gave a quick bow and made off at a trot.

Lin Fei stared in astonishment.

Xie Yuzhang smiled faintly and said, “A human heart is always flesh and blood in the end.”

Fuchun’s unwillingness to follow her to Mobei was genuine. But the guilt and affection he felt in his heart toward her was also genuine.

Everyone was like that, was it not? Fuchun was. Father Emperor was too.

What about the future emperor? What would she need to do to make a deeper, more lasting impression on the future emperor?

In the eyes of all those around her, everyone believed that once Xie Yuzhang departed, she would be like Princess Shanqi — with no hope of returning within this lifetime. Only Xie Yuzhang herself knew that sooner or later she would come back to this city of Yunjing.

Everything Xie Yuzhang had done differently in this reborn life, compared to her past life, served two purposes — to prepare for life during the marriage alliance, and to prepare for life after her return.

The former had taken rough shape in her mind. It was a matter of money, material goods, and people.

The latter was still hazy, and she could only follow her instincts.

The Crown Princess, Lady Yu, came to Zhaoxia Palace in person to call upon her.

Xie Yuzhang had cried so much over these past two days that when Lady Yu began to weep, she found she had no more tears. So she simply did not cry, and instead took Lady Yu’s hands and turned the tables, comforting her. “Sister-in-law, please do not worry. Life is what a person makes of it.”

Lady Yu had the exact same impression as everyone else who had been in contact with Xie Yuzhang recently, and on returning to the Eastern Palace she said to the Crown Prince with a sigh, “Princess Baohua has truly grown up.”

There was nothing particularly pleasant about seeing the young women of one’s own family grow up and mature overnight. Among his sisters, Princess Anle was naturally in an opposing position to him by circumstance, the other two were still young, and Xie Yuzhang was the one who had been closest to him.

The Crown Prince’s heart was heavy.

If not for the regional military governors who held their own armies and had made the Emperor wary, there would be no need to send an actual princess to the frontier in a marriage alliance.

The Crown Prince’s resolve to curtail the military governors’ power grew even more firm.

“Younger sister also has one more thing to entrust to you.” Lady Yu said to her husband. “Father Emperor has promised her five hundred soldiers, and these men must all be drawn from the capital’s military garrisons. Baohua is worried that those below will deceive her and fill the ranks with the old, the weak, and the infirm who would only be a burden. She has heard that among the Hu people’s tribal settlements there are constant skirmishes, with raiding and plundering of goods and women at every turn. She is frightened and unsettled. Only those five hundred soldiers give her any peace of mind…”

“I understand.” The Crown Prince said. “Tell her that I will oversee this personally and see to it that she gets a proper, orderly group of capable men.”

Lady Yu let out a breath of relief.

The following day she sent someone from her side to Zhaoxia Palace to relay this to Xie Yuzhang.

Another measure of peace settled in Xie Yuzhang’s heart.

“Palace maids and eunuchs are nothing more than a means of making my life more comfortable. Even Attendant Xu — she is not truly irreplaceable. To hold her against her will serves no purpose. A person whose heart has already left may not necessarily serve me well regardless. There is no need to take any particular action. Simply refraining from certain actions, doing less of certain things, would be more than enough to cause me hardship.” She said to Lin Fei. “What truly matters is not the people around me. What matters is how much wealth I hold in my hands, and whether I have sufficient strength to protect my people and my personal assets.”

The words she said to Lin Fei carried deliberate explanation and obvious reassurance in them, but this was precisely what Lin Fei needed to hear at that moment, and so she did not notice the manner in which Xie Yuzhang spoke these words.

The Fifth Prince also came to visit Xie Yuzhang, and he comforted her by saying, “I spoke with Father Emperor, and when the time comes, I will escort you on your way.”

Of the Emperor’s still-living sons, the Crown Prince was ranked third. After him came the fifth, seventh, eighth, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth — seven princes in all.

Most of the imperial princes had died in childhood. The First Prince had survived to adulthood and had been enfeoffed as Crown Prince as the eldest living imperial son, but unexpectedly he had died of a seasonal epidemic two years ago. After that, the Third Prince, as the oldest still-living prince, was enfeoffed as Crown Prince.

After the Crown Prince came the Fifth Prince, whose birth mother was only a Brilliant Companion. The youngest, the Twelfth Prince, was born of Noble Consort Chen — the full brother of Princess Anle.

The Fifth Prince had been clearly sensing these days that ever since the afternoon she had been afflicted by that nightmare, this younger sister had not been as warm and familiar with him as before.

Sure enough, when Xie Yuzhang looked at him, there was always something strange in her gaze. He could not describe exactly what it was, but it was utterly unlike before.

“Elder brother,” Xie Yuzhang said abruptly, without any preamble. “Drinking leads to mistakes. In the future, elder brother should drink less.”

The Fifth Prince was baffled. “I haven’t been drunk lately.”

Xie Yuzhang offered no explanation.

The Fifth Prince asked, “Are you just going to spend every day shut up inside the palace from now until your wedding?”

Xie Yuzhang was slightly startled, then said, “It’s not that I’m deliberately shutting myself away. I simply have nothing in particular to do.”

The consorts, gauging the Emperor’s expression and perceiving that he seemed to feel guilty toward her, were all putting on a show of attentive concern — visiting her and offering wedding gifts to demonstrate their goodwill. Their ultimate aim was still nothing more than to curry favor with the Emperor.

As for the daughters of noble families who had previously come and gone in her company, they had sent gifts at most, but their persons were nowhere to be seen. The banquets and outings they had once enjoyed together no longer included an invitation for her.

Xie Yuzhang put it together and asked, “What does the outside world think of my situation?”

The Fifth Prince said, “What else could they think?” Naturally they assumed Princess Baohua was washing her face in tears.

Xie Yuzhang understood, and had nothing to say.

The Fifth Prince said, “Why not go out and clear your head?”

Xie Yuzhang had nothing to do anyway. And once she left, she feared it would again be many years before she could see the landscapes of Da Zhao.

“That sounds good.” She said.

The people of Yunjing, having heard the news that Princess Baohua was to be sent as a marriage alliance to Mobei, all assumed that this Princess was spending her days shut away in the palace, weeping. No one expected that on this particular day, a group of noble young men and women who had arranged an outing — going hunting and for a barbecue outside the city walls — would find Princess Baohua, Xie Yuzhang herself, appearing among them.

Everyone was astonished.

Contrary to all expectations, Princess Baohua showed none of the misery they had imagined. Quite the opposite — she appeared entirely at ease, more carefree than anyone else, as though nothing had happened at all.

People were stiff at first, guarded in their speech, but seeing that Xie Yuzhang’s expression was one of calm serenity, they gradually relaxed.

“Baohua,” said a round-faced young girl who rode alongside Xie Yuzhang, “Did you receive the things I sent?”

Xie Yuzhang said without a flicker of change, “I received them.” In truth, she could not for the moment recall who this young girl was.

“I’ve been worried about you all these days, but I never had the chance to enter the palace,” the girl said. “Yesterday, Mother went into the palace to pay respects to the Noble Consort, and I asked her to stop and visit you on the way. She told me not to cause trouble, said you certainly wouldn’t want to see anyone just now. I’ve been worried to death — but seeing you today, I can finally set my heart at ease.”

As she spoke, she let out a light sigh of relief.

Taking advantage of the time while the girl talked, Xie Yuzhang racked her memory frantically, and at last remembered who she was.

The reason she had not recognized her at once was that after she returned from Mobei, she had never seen her again, nor seen anyone from her family. In those years of upheaval, how many families of great wealth and prestige had silently vanished without a trace — plaques tumbled to the ground, grand residences passed to other hands. A surname, a family line, from that point on, no one ever spoke of them again.

Xie Yuzhang recalled that this round-faced young woman was a friend from her girlhood, known as A’Mei. Since they had never met again in her later years, she had either died, or been married far away, or… after her family’s ruin, drifted off to some unknown place. In any case, in that lifetime they had never had the chance to see each other again.

A flash of sorrow crossed Xie Yuzhang’s eyes.

A’Mei sensed that Xie Yuzhang seemed somewhat different from before. She did not smile as readily as she once had, did not carry the same carefree lightness. They were the same age, yet Xie Yuzhang gave her the feeling of an older sister.

On the road, she could not help but ask, “Baohua, my grandfather said that on the day of the palace banquet, it was truly you who volunteered to go. Is that true?”

Whether she had volunteered or not, the outcome was the same either way. She had merely gone along with the current of events, and in this piece of theater, secured for herself a more favorable position.

Xie Yuzhang twitched the corner of her mouth. “Yes.”

A’Mei said, “Baohua, I never imagined you would be so courageous. After grandfather came home that day, he praised you at great length. Elder brother also admires you greatly.”

A’Mei had a round face and clear, bright eyes. Thinking that this girlhood friend’s fate was unknown — whether she had lived or died, where she had ended up — filled Xie Yuzhang with a particular sorrow, and she felt especially tender toward A’Mei.

“I was merely fulfilling the responsibility that falls to a princess.” She said gently. “There is nothing worthy of praise. I only grieve that I will no longer be able to attend to Father Emperor at his knee.”

A’Mei sighed.

Though grandfather and elder brother had praised Xie Yuzhang highly, her mother had privately drawn her close and whispered, “My foolish girl, do not follow her example. You must marry somewhere close, nowhere too far from me.”

A’Mei was cheerful and adorable looking, and the sight of her sighing was rather comical. Xie Yuzhang reached out and patted the top of her head.

A’Mei’s eyes went round. “Why are you patting my head? Is there something there?” She carefully felt her own hair bun with her hand, but found no twigs or grass or anything of the sort.

Xie Yuzhang drew back her hand with a smile.

This sort of hunting outing was, in truth, entirely symbolic — a few token arrows shot, hitting the target or not equally acceptable. Among the accompanying servants, there were always skilled hands with sharp eyes ready to quickly send an arrow after any prey to make sure. No young lord or young lady would ever be sent home empty-handed.

A rabbit was struck in the hind leg. A servant spurred his horse to chase it down and pick it up, then carefully examined the arrow shaft and called out loudly, “It’s the Princess again! Her Highness the Princess shot this one!”

All the young men and women around them burst into exclamation.

“Baohua, when did your archery get this good?”

“Three in a row, all shot by you — that’s a good omen!”

Someone leaned over to their neighbor and murmured, “Am I imagining things, or is Baohua’s horsemanship also much better than before?”

Xie Yuzhang unstrung her bow and said without comment, “Just lucky, I suppose.”

On the grasslands, she had been through too much.

Bow, arrow, horse — all of them could save a life. The Hu people were raised on horseback from birth, their women no exception.

Xie Yuzhang had lived there for more than ten years. In neither archery nor horsemanship could she compare to the Hu people, and she had never thought of herself as particularly skilled. She had not expected that among the sons and daughters of the Yunjing nobility, she could distinguish herself.

Truly the tallest among the short.

These young people were only out for a good time, and the real hunting was left to the servants. Once they had done enough, the group found a suitable spot and prepared to roast the game.

While the servants were laying out felt rugs and setting up the grills, the sound of hoofbeats rose, and another group of riders came heading in their direction.

“Oh, this spot has already been taken,” someone in the approaching group said.

As the two groups got a clearer look at each other, A’Mei was first to jump up and call out, “Elder brother!”

From this side came cries of “Second brother!” and “Fifth brother!” and from the other side came shouts of “Sixth brother!” and “Third sister!” It turned out they were all acquainted.

Xie Yuzhang’s group was somewhat younger, a mix of young men and women. The newly arrived group was older, made up entirely of young men. Not only were they several years senior to Xie Yuzhang’s group, but their younger siblings were all here in Xie Yuzhang’s group.

The top tier of Yunjing’s noble circle, when all was said and done, only comprised this many people.

Xie Yuzhang sat on the felt rug and looked up.

Among a group of young nobles on fine horses in splendid attire, Li Gu wore a blue riding outfit, his bearing straight as a pine tree and lithe as a leopard.

The breeze was light, the sky clear, and the young man radiating from head to toe the iron-blooded, vigorous spirit of someone forged in battle.

He pulled on his reins, and as the Fifth Prince called out “Baohua,” those eyes, deep and still as a cold pool, turned and looked over.

Princess Baohua, Xie Yuzhang, wore crimson riding attire, her skirts spread out across the felt rug like a flower in full bloom.

Her skin glowed softly luminous in the sunlight.

Li Gu thought of the flawless white nephrite jade produced from their Hexi region, and thought that perhaps… not even that could compare to her beauty.

And as he thought this, the beauty of the girl’s features suddenly softened, and curved into a smile directed at him.

Li Gu later recalled that in that moment, the sudden jolt to his heart was Xie Yuzhang carving herself into it with a single stroke, imprinting her own likeness there.

So that afterward, he was able to recall with perfect clarity every single word she had said to him before she departed in the marriage alliance.