Wen Yu had not yet fully recovered from her serious illness and was unsuitable for the hardships of travel by boat and carriage, so she temporarily remained in Gele City to recuperate.
Now with Li Xun and Zhou Sui present, the various complicated and important matters were all discussed and organized by them into proper procedures before being presented to Wen Yu for review.
Chen Wei was ordered to lead thirty thousand troops, carrying He Yi’s coffin and a group of Western Ling surrendered generals to the Western Ling royal city, to make the final conclusion to this war.
The twenty thousand elite Northern cavalry led by Song Qin had rushed from the Great Liang heartland toward Tiger Gorge Pass. Upon reaching Tiger Gorge Pass and learning the war had already ended, they hurried again to Gele City, finally managing to catch the tail end of the campaign against Western Ling.
Western Ling, which had originally been barely holding on, lost all will to fight after seeing He Yi’s corpse and the group of Western Ling surrendered generals.
Before year’s end, Wen Yu received a peace proposal personally drafted by the Western Ling King.
Both the Liang and Chen kingdoms had been exhausted by warfare these past two years. Wen Yu originally had no intention of continuing the fight either, so she summoned her ministers to discuss peace terms. When she had allied with the sixteen tribes of the great desert at the royal court, she had promised them she would help reclaim the territory invaded and occupied by Western Ling.
However, urgent reports soon came again from the front lines. After Western Ling proposed peace talks, the Liang army and the sixteen tribes had truly ceased hostilities, but were then ambushed at night by Western Ling, suffering heavy casualties.
The enraged Liang army and sixteen tribes, thinking Western Ling was playing tricks, attacked in force into the Western Ling royal city, only to discover the Western Ling King had already died in the royal palace, with a Liang-made war blade lodged in his abdomen.
The Western Ling Queen who had escaped the royal city turned the tables, claiming that after seeking peace, the Western Ling King had still been ambushed at night by the Liang army and sixteen tribes who attacked the royal city and cruelly murdered him, and that Great Liang and the sixteen tribes had no intention of negotiating peace with them at all.
The various Western Ling tribes, which had originally lost their will to fight, rose up again to continue resisting the Liang army and sixteen tribes.
After reading the urgent report, Wen Yu knew a fight to the bitter end was ultimately unavoidable, and simply said four words: “Swift battle, swift resolution.”
The thirty thousand Liang troops and the forces of the desert’s sixteen tribes began sweeping and advancing across Western Ling.
At the tail end of the first month, victory reports came again from the front lines.
Western Ling, at the end of its strength, finally crumbled completely under this thunderous offensive.
All the tribes originally subordinate to Western Ling broke away, killed the Western Ling Queen as proof of allegiance, and declared their willingness to submit to Great Liang, paying annual tribute. The territory that had been invaded and seized from the desert’s sixteen tribes was also carefully itemized and returned, with compensation provided as well.
The desert’s sixteen tribes, perhaps fearing that with Great Liang as their backing, the Western Ling tribes might be detrimental to them in the future, also declared their willingness to become vassal tribes of Great Liang.
When the great army returned in triumph, Wen Yu signed documents of vassalage and mutual trade with the tribal chiefs in Gele City.
When news reached Liang and Chen territories, the ministers almost couldn’t believe it was true. Only after confirming it several times did they become so moved that tears of joy streamed down their aged faces.
The common people below were also wildly jubilant, spreading the word to each other everywhere. The city’s markets were so lively that lanterns blazed bright for days and nights on end.
—
In mid-second month, Wen Yu led the army back to the Chen royal court.
When the great army was still more than ten miles from the city gates, common people were already lining the roads to welcome them, chasing after Wen Yu’s carriage all the way and earnestly shouting “Princess.” Everyone’s faces were brimming with joy.
Having repelled one hundred and twenty thousand strong enemies with thirty thousand troops, and ultimately even completely defeating Western Ling which had harassed the Chen kingdom’s borders for many years—since Chen kingdom had retreated beyond the passes, it had never achieved such a great victory.
The shadow of taxation brought by years of warfare was swept completely away from the common people’s hearts.
Empress Dowager Jiang personally led the officials who had remained at the royal court to wait at the city gates. Looking at the rows of common people waiting at the city gates, eagerly anticipating the army’s return, she was momentarily dazed. Looking toward the distant official road where the triumphant army was not yet visible, she said: “The royal court hasn’t been this lively in many years, has it?”
The old nanny at Empress Dowager Jiang’s side wanted to answer something, but the shadow of the army had already appeared on the official road ahead. The banners of the Liang, Chen, and Xiao camps were all unfurling in the cold wind, stern and fierce.
Empress Dowager Jiang and the accompanying officials all became somewhat more solemn, but the common people at the city gates erupted in mountain-shaking, sea-like cheers: “The great army has returned in triumph!”
“The Princess has returned to court!”
Those shouts came in wave after wave. If not for the soldiers arranged early to stand guard on both sides of the official road, the common people would have almost surged forward to block the convoy.
But even so, the soldiers blocking both sides were still pushed and squeezed until they could barely maintain their positions.
The army slowly advanced. When the leading carriage reached the city gate entrance, a Cloud Guard lifted the carriage curtain, and Wen Yu in flowing, magnificent robes was helped out of the carriage by Zhao Bai. The common people’s shouts grew even more intense, and the hundred officials at the city gate also bowed deeply with clasped hands: “We respectfully welcome the Princess’s victorious return to court!”
Surrounded by a sea of people, for a moment it seemed echoes came from all four directions.
Wen Yu, holding Zhao Bai’s hand, descended from the carriage and walked to Qi Simiao, personally helping him up: “Prime Minister, please rise quickly. During the days this Palace was away from the royal court, thanks to the Prime Minister and the Empress Dowager for helping manage court affairs.”
As she spoke, her gaze had already turned to Empress Dowager Jiang. Her eyes were peaceful. From those young eyes, gentle as the sea yet also capable of stirring up ten-thousand-zhang waves, Empress Dowager Jiang saw her own reflection with silver threads scattered through her temples.
So she had already grown this old.
After Qi Simiao rose and spoke the words “This is this minister’s duty,” and Wen Yu also raised her sleeves to let the other bowing ministers rise, Empress Dowager Jiang was dazed for a moment before slowly saying: “You suffered hardship in Gele City. Seeing your triumphant return today, this Dowager’s heart is also very joyful. The journey by boat and carriage must have been arduous—first return to the palace.”
The group finally set out again. All along the way were the sounds of common people loudly calling out “Hanyang Princess.”
Even after Wen Yu’s carriage entered the Chen royal palace, the common people still blocked the streets, not dispersing for a long time.
The rumbling sound of carriage wheels was very clear in the long palace corridors. Empress Dowager Jiang leaned against the carriage wall, watching the carriage curtain sway lightly in the cold wind, revealing new branches outside the palace walls that had sprouted green buds. Those earth-shaking shouts, even after being separated by several layers of palace gates, could still be vaguely made out.
“Your Majesty?” The old nanny saw her staring at the scenery through the curtain gap in a daze and softly called to her.
Empress Dowager Jiang only sighed and said: “Spring has come, and from top to bottom, this royal court has become so new.”
The old nanny was confused by these words, but Empress Dowager Jiang said nothing more.
All along her return route to the palace, she had been slowly recalling her entire life from entering the palace through the selection process, to becoming Queen, and then becoming Empress Dowager. She suddenly felt that the pearl and jade hairpins in her hair had become somewhat heavy.
—
After returning to Zhaohua Palace to simply change clothes, when Wen Yu went to Lingxi Palace, she was told Empress Dowager Jiang was feeding fish at the lakeside pavilion.
Chen kingdom’s winter ended early. Though the wind was still sharp, the green willows swaying by the lakeside had already sprouted new buds.
As Wen Yu entered the pavilion with Zhao Bai, she saw the Empress Dowager dressed in plain clothing, taking fish food from a jade bowl and bit by bit throwing it to the red and white koi gathered together in the lake, as if she hadn’t noticed their arrival.
Wen Yu said: “On the day Zhaohua Palace had that incident, thank you, Your Majesty.”
She was referring to when the Chen King had stormed into Zhaohua Palace intending harm to A’Li.
At that time, with the battle situation at Gele City tense, Bronze Sparrow feared that Wen Yu, with powerful enemies pressing at the borders, would worry about A’Li if she learned of the disturbance at the royal court, so temporarily didn’t mention this matter in the reports.
Later, when the victory reports from Gele City were sent back to the royal court and the Chen King’s death no longer needed to be concealed, the Cloud Guards who had remained at the royal court only then immediately informed Wen Yu in letter form of everything that had happened that day.
Hearing this, Empress Dowager Jiang’s hand that had been continuing to pinch fish food paused slightly.
The pain of losing a son was ultimately a scar on Empress Dowager Jiang’s heart, especially since the Chen King had killed himself in such a resolute manner before her.
The initial anger and hardness, like the rain and snow of this royal court’s winter days, after melting left only some rust-stained water marks. Then those threads of sorrow that only came in the middle of sleepless nights seeped in along the rust marks, accumulating day by day.
After quite a while, Empress Dowager Jiang finally said: “This Dowager also did it for the Chen kingdom.”
She pinched a few more grains of fish food and threw them into the lake: “You said before that you found a quiet place for this Dowager to worship Buddha. Now you’ve returned, this Dowager has properly returned the royal court to you, and has grown somewhat weary of staying in this royal palace. This Dowager wishes to go early to Zen Mountain to enjoy quietude.”
Hearing this, the old nanny quickly knelt down, calling out mournfully: “Your Majesty…”
Wen Yu also paused a breath, saying: “Empress Dowager need not do this…”
Empress Dowager Jiang continued feeding the koi in the lake, but said: “This Dowager is truly weary.”
She turned her head to look at Wen Yu: “You arrange it for this Dowager.”
This time Wen Yu didn’t refuse again.
After Wen Yu left, the old nanny knelt at Empress Dowager Jiang’s feet, crying mournfully: “Your Majesty, why do you do this to yourself…”
Empress Dowager Jiang threw the last bit of fish food from the bowl into the lake, looking toward the red walls and green tiles of the distant Chen royal palace. Beyond exhaustion, only endless desolation remained in her eyes: “This Dowager, in this place, has seen off husband, nephew, siblings, and finally son…”
“Zhifang, this Dowager is tired. The old royal court is gone—what are you and I still guarding here for?”
The old nanny vaguely understood something, her sobbing growing worse.
—
The mourning edict for the Chen King’s death had already been issued before Wen Yu returned to the royal court. However, with the entire nation’s people immersed in the wild joy of the great war’s victory, this national mourning failed to stir up even half a ripple among the common folk.
Even because of the Chen King’s various absurd behaviors during his lifetime, as well as his attempt to refine longevity elixirs with his own child’s blood before death, for a time even the Chen kingdom’s historians—most skilled at embellishment—didn’t know how to put brush to the mourning records.
It was still the Empress Dowager, whether for her son’s sake or for the Chen kingdom’s reputation, who directed the historians to write that the Chen King had fallen ill from worrying about the border warfare and died coughing blood.
But the common people scoffed at this explanation. After all, the Chen King’s absurd reputation had long been known, and with Xiao Li’s siege when he had bound Wen Yu to surrender in cowardly submission, even three-year-old children in the streets didn’t believe the Chen King had died from concern for the nation.
For a time there was much speculation among the common people about the Chen King’s true cause of death—some said the Chen King died from excessive indulgence, some said the Chen King died from excessive consumption of elixirs, and some even said the Chen King had been scared to death by Western Ling’s one hundred and twenty thousand troops pressing at the borders.
Wen Yu knew nothing of all this. To arrange Chen kingdom’s various matters properly before returning to Liang territory, she had been working around the clock these recent days.
The Empress Dowager was no longer willing to concern herself with any affairs of the Chen royal palace, and the Chen King was already dead. In the future, there would be no new Chen King in Chen territory, and whether the Chen royal palace would even be preserved was uncertain. The palace consorts all needed proper placement.
Wen Yu ordered people to make a trip to these consorts’ residences. Following their own wishes, those willing to leave the palace were given generous funds to depart, while those with nowhere to go were settled in temporary palaces for support.
Additionally, she needed to select a group of ministers to accompany her back to Liang territory, and also select trustworthy ministers to remain in Chen territory to manage the situation.
Incense burned in the treasure mountain brazier, the rising smoke spreading out layer upon layer like a canopy. The entire imperial study was wreathed in sandalwood fragrance.
Wen Yu sat behind the desk, rubbing her throbbing temples for what must have been the umpteenth time.
Previously, fearing Gele City couldn’t be held, when she had Bronze Sparrow take A’Li back to Liang territory, she had also selected a group of Chen territory officials to accompany them.
But unexpectedly, problems arose later. Some aristocratic families and royal relatives who had been cautious about not taking sides during the Yan faction’s rebellion directly seized those officials’ quotas and moved their entire clans to Liang territory with all their households.
Qi Simiao had originally been among the ministers moving to Liang territory, but chose to remain to stabilize the Chen kingdom’s situation.
Headache aside, but after that, whether common people or lower-level officials in the court, they all seemed to have completely lost hope in the Chen kingdom’s aristocratic families and royal relatives. Therefore, after Wen Yu returned to court, everyone treated her as the true master of the Chen kingdom.
Chen kingdom officials whose names Wen Yu had written on the list were summoned into the imperial study one by one. After she questioned them and they finished, they would exit the imperial study wiping tears with their sleeves—either from the pain of parting or from the weight of being valued and recognized.
But after today, the entire Chen kingdom would no longer bear the surname Chen—it would bear the surname Wen.
As Prime Minister, Qi Simiao was the last Chen territory official Wen Yu summoned.
After Eunuch Li announced him, he entered the imperial study and saw Wen Yu holding a brush, concentrating on writing something at her desk. He first bowed down: “This old minister Qi Simiao pays respects to the Princess.”
“Prime Minister need not be overly courteous.” Wen Yu set down her brush and looked at Qi Simiao below, saying: “This Palace summoned the Prime Minister today to ask—in the past, the Prime Minister was willing to go to Great Liang to continue the Chen kingdom’s national fortune. Now, though the situation is settled, this Palace still wishes to invite the Prime Minister to accompany this Palace to Liang territory to continue assisting this Palace. Is the Prime Minister willing?”
Qi Simiao’s lips moved several times before he finally answered with clasped hands: “This old minister is deeply honored that the Princess does not abandon him. This old minister’s bones are not yet ready for burial—he is willing to be at the Princess’s service. However… this old minister has one highly improper question he wishes to ask the Princess.”
Wen Yu said: “Prime Minister, please speak.”
“This minister dares to ask the Princess… how will you resolve matters with the Northern Territory Xiao camp?”
Wen Yu looked at the old minister below who was over fifty years old. Her gaze was very peaceful, yet also without half a measure of room for negotiation as she said: “Great Liang and the Northern Territory Xiao camp will form a marriage alliance.”
Both Wen Yu and Xiao Li had no clan relatives. With these words “marriage alliance” spoken, what it meant was already self-evident.
But this was also the best strategy for quickly unifying the realm.
Qi Simiao knew that after the Battle of Gele City, their Chen kingdom no longer had the qualifications to demand anything of Wen Yu, yet still asked with difficulty: “Then the young Princess…”
Wen Yu said: “The point that A’Li will be established as heir will not change.”
Qi Simiao felt ashamed of himself and bowed down to Wen Yu again with lowered head: “This old minister… thanks the Princess.”
—
After Qi Simiao departed, when Wen Yu again took up her brush to annotate documents, she pressed her temples which throbbed more obviously from fatigue.
She knew why Qi Simiao had those two questions.
He had been selfless for the Chen territory people his entire life. This one bit of personal interest could be said to be seeking an accounting for the Chen kingdom royal house he had loyally served for decades, or it could be said to be for the sake of all the Chen territory people.
After all, while she was in power, though she made the Chen kingdom ministers believe she would be fair to all ministers, what about the future heir?
Each new emperor brings his own ministers—there will always be distinctions of closeness and distance.
Only if an heir with Chen kingdom royal bloodline inherited the throne would they continue to treat both territories as one in the future.
Xiao Li entered carrying the medicine Wen Yu took daily for nourishment. Seeing her head ailment seemed to have flared up again, he directly pulled the brush from her hand, closed the document for her, and pushed the medicine bowl before her, saying: “Look at it later. First drink your medicine.”
When Wen Yu got busy, not eating was common, let alone taking medicinal tonics.
She was the master. Besides bitter exhortations, those below usually had no way to deal with her. Now with Xiao Li watching over her, Zhao Bai and the Cloud Guards felt much more at ease.
Not only would he invariably personally brew and bring the post-meal tonic medicine for her to drink under his supervision each day, he also hadn’t missed the twice-daily medicinal compresses.
Thanks to this, Wen Yu’s body had already recovered seventy to eighty percent before returning to the royal court.
Wen Yu’s thoughts were still pulled by the government affairs on the documents. She frowned slightly, pressing her temples and saying: “I’ll be finished reviewing them soon.”
Normally when the Cloud Guards saw her frown, they wouldn’t dare disobey her. But Xiao Li directly gathered all the documents piled on her desk and moved them aside, then sat in a round chair to the side with folded arms, staring at her and uttering two words: “Drink medicine.”
Wen Yu could only suppress her thoughts of continuing to review documents, picked up the medicine bowl on the desk, closed her eyes and gulped it down in a few swallows. From the base of her tongue to her throat, it was still instantly so bitter it went numb, even causing her eyes to uncontrollably moisten.
Xiao Li had already handed over the preserved sour plums from the box. Wen Yu ate several in succession before barely suppressing the bitterness in her mouth.
Whether because her taste buds were more sensitive after recovering from illness, or because the prescription the imperial physician had rewritten after taking her pulse earlier was simply more bitter, Wen Yu now found drinking this medicine quite an ordeal each time.
Moreover, she didn’t like sweet foods, so after drinking medicine each time she could only eat sour plums and preserved fruits to suppress the medicinal taste.
After finishing the sour plums in the box, Wen Yu’s furrowed brow finally relaxed a bit. She said to Xiao Li: “My body is already much better. Have the imperial physician stop this medicine.”
“Good medicine tastes bitter. I asked—the imperial physician says this medicine must be taken for at least another half month before it can be stopped.” Xiao Li’s refusal was decisive.
He had always been forceful regarding matters of her medicinal nourishment.
The moisture that had risen in Wen Yu’s eyes hadn’t receded and was still tinged with a physiological light red. She suddenly beckoned with her finger, signaling Xiao Li to come closer.
Though wary in his heart, Xiao Li’s body still uncontrollably moved closer.
Wen Yu hooked her arm around his neck and kissed him. As lips and teeth met, she vengefully transferred all the clear bitterness of the medicine from her mouth.
Having succeeded in her mischief, she released the hand hooked behind his neck and was about to pull back, but unexpectedly a large hand pressed against the back of her neck, suddenly pushing down.
Her lips collided with his again, with a force that allowed her no struggle.
Before she could react, all her breath was already being plundered by him.
Turning, sweeping, sucking.
The clear bitterness of medicine still permeated between lips and teeth. In the curling smoke spreading from the treasure mountain brazier, there was another kind of heat and suffocation.
Wen Yu couldn’t catch her breath. In the chaos she only felt herself being lifted to sit on the long desk. The sound of many documents being swept to the floor came from the desk’s end. Xiao Li still gripped her chin in a deep kiss, devouring every last trace of bitterness between her teeth.
Unable to breathe, she could only helplessly clutch the fabric of his shoulders and arms with her five fingers.
The scorching kisses fell along her neck. Sharp teeth bit open her clothing, revealing half a jade-white shoulder covered in marks of varying depth.
Wen Yu barely pulled out rationality from Xiao Li’s chaotic fine kisses and reached out to block him.
Xiao Li’s breathing was already very heavy. When he looked at her, though his eyes were still clear, the whites were somewhat burned red.
Wen Yu said with unsteady breath: “I’ve also summoned Chen Wei. He’s waiting in Qining Hall.”
As she spoke, she was about to jump down from the long desk, but was pressed back at the waist.
Xiao Li’s long arms braced on both sides of the long desk, easily trapping her between his arms and chest. His distinctly chiseled handsome face, eyes reddened at the corners, thick black lashes half-covering his eyes from his lowered gaze, said: “You started it.”
Wen Yu looked up at him. Each other’s breath intertwined in this small space. She asked him: “Then what should we do?”
Her eyes held laughter and also innocence.
Xiao Li stared at her, his Adam’s apple slowly sliding, and in this position lowered his head to continue kissing.
More memorials at the desk’s edge were pushed and squeezed to fall to the floor in the jostling. All unspoken words were swallowed between lips and teeth.
—
When Chen Wei received the summons to the imperial study, it happened that Xiao Li was coming out carrying an empty medicine bowl. He stopped and called out “Lord Xiao.”
Xiao Li nodded and continued walking away, his dark collar barely covering a newly added tooth mark on his neck.
Chen Wei was completely unaware. Entering inside, he saw Wen Yu sitting behind the desk with one hand propped against the side of her neck, seeming somewhat fatigued, eyes still tinged with a bit of red. Thinking of Xiao Li just leaving with a medicine bowl, he guessed that Wen Yu had been overworking on government affairs recently and her body was somewhat unwell again.
Previously at the border, they had all witnessed to what degree Wen Yu had exhausted her body.
For a moment Chen Wei’s heart was filled with mixed feelings. He lowered his eyes and bowed to Wen Yu: “This humble minister… pays respects to the Princess.”
Wen Yu’s fingertip pressed on the document that would decide Chen Wei’s placement. She raised her eyes and said: “General Chen has arrived.”
Chen Wei stood respectfully below, waiting for her to continue.
“Chen territory’s various matters are concluded. This Palace will soon depart to return to Liang. However, though Western Ling and the desert tribes have now made peace, to guard against any eventuality, there must ultimately be a general this Palace trusts stationed here to guard the borders. This Palace intends to arrange for the General to remain in Chen. What does the General think?”
Realizing what Wen Yu was saying, Chen Wei immediately knelt down: “This humble minister… is overwhelmed with trepidation and gratitude, but this humble minister… how can he bear such a heavy responsibility?”
Wen Yu said: “The General need not belittle himself. When Father Emperor was still alive, he always praised the General highly. During the three years Traitor Pei brought disaster to Liang, the General supported Pingzhou and the entire Southern Territory—this merits the phrase ‘meritorious through hardship and labor.’ Now rushing a thousand miles to rescue the sovereign in Southern Chen, and with achievements in pacifying Western Ling, there is no one more suitable than the General. Only with the General guarding Chen territory for this Palace will this Palace feel at ease in Liang territory.”
After hearing this speech, Chen Wei’s eyes were already red. Knowing he could refuse no further, he bowed to Wen Yu with clasped hands: “This minister… Chen Wei, will guard the borders for my lord unto death, and will not fail this mandate!”
When withdrawing, probably thinking that henceforth separated by high mountains and ten thousand rivers, it would be difficult for sovereign and subject to meet again, he finally couldn’t hold back his tears and bowed to Wen Yu once more: “This minister only hopes that after the Princess returns to Liang territory, she will also take the utmost care!”
Having said this, probably fearing he would lose composure even more before Wen Yu, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and hurried out like the previous ministers.
Wen Yu’s hand covered the tooth mark Xiao Li had bitten on the side of her neck, realizing Chen Wei might have misunderstood something.
But with this parting, separated by ten thousand miles north and south, when sovereign and subject would meet again truly was uncertain.
Her heart turned over with mixed feelings. Looking at Chen Wei’s back as he descended the imperial study’s stone steps, she slowly said: “I hope you all also take great care.”