When Xiao Jue led the Southern Garrison troops to Jingzhou, although people knew the Second Young Master Xiao was exceptional in both civil and military affairs, he was still considered too young for such heavy responsibility. Zhao Nuo, the Military Governor of Jingzhou, was lustful, greedy, and incompetent. When Xiao Jue first arrived in Jingzhou, Zhao Nuo didn’t take him seriously, often treating him with disrespect and making jokes at his expense.

This might have been tolerable, but during the Battle of Jingzhou, while Xiao Jue led troops to the battlefield, Zhao Nuo cowered in the rear, fearing for his life. His misguided commands delayed crucial military opportunities, causing numerous soldiers to die needlessly. Seeing such outrageous behavior, Xiao Jue ordered Zhao Nuo to be bound and arrested.

Zhao Nuo’s father was the Minister of War, and having stayed in Jingzhou for many years, naturally had countless people pleading on his behalf. Among those who came were high officials and nobles, using both threats and bribes, thinking they could take advantage of Xiao Jue’s youth and his lack of connections in the area.

“He is the Military Governor of Jingzhou, and his father is the Minister of Households! How many people in court are close to the Zhao family? If you offend him, you’ll find it difficult to advance in the future!”

Xiao Jue remained unmoved, merely smirking with contempt: “If he acts so arrogantly just because of being a Minister, even if he were promoted to Prime Minister, I would still execute him without hesitation.”

Three days later, Xiao Jue led troops to surround Zhao Nuo’s residence and beheaded him before the memorial hall of the fallen soldiers.

“The Zhao family had some distant relations with both the Xiao and Cheng families,” Cheng Lisu recalled. “That Zhao Nuo was, technically speaking, somewhat of a relative to us. My mother even personally wrote a letter to Uncle asking him to show mercy and leave room for future relations.”

“But Uncle didn’t listen, of course,” he smiled, looking both helpless and proud.

“Wasn’t Governor Xiao afraid that someone might speak ill of him before the Emperor?” Heyan pondered. “Surely His Majesty would have been displeased as well.”

“As expected of my elder brother, you ask the same questions I did,” Cheng Lisu said cheerfully. “I also thought my uncle’s actions were somewhat rash.”

Much later, when that youth had shed his carefree demeanor and become the reserved and steady Right Army Commander, Cheng Lisu asked: “Uncle, weren’t you afraid that His Majesty would grow distant from you because of this?”

The young man was reading at the time and merely gave a contemptuous smile, saying softly: “He wouldn’t dare.”

Not that the subject wouldn’t fear, but that the Emperor wouldn’t dare.

Indeed, this proved true. Even though court officials spoke endless ill of him, and the Minister of Households submitted petition after petition to the Golden Hall requesting punishment, nothing came of it. This was simply because Xiao Jue, leading the Southern Garrison troops, was defeating the Southern Barbarians with unstoppable force.

At such a crucial time when talented people were needed, between a dead Military Governor and an exceptional military talent, Emperor Xuanwen wasn’t blind to which choice to make.

However, just because Emperor Wenxuan didn’t dare punish Xiao Jue didn’t mean rumors didn’t spread through Shuojing City. Minister Zhao Tong and Xiao Jue became bitter enemies from this point forward, and families friendly with Zhao Tong naturally couldn’t bear to see Xiao Jue prosper. Even families previously on good terms with the Xiao family unanimously distanced themselves from Xiao Jue.

Firstly, this was because of his cold and strict temperament, willing to execute even his relatives without showing mercy. Secondly, because of his arrogance, not even respecting the Emperor, he would inevitably offend others in the future, and might someday implicate those around him.

The Cheng family and Xiao family, being relatively close relatives, didn’t completely cut off relations, but they preferred to associate with Xiao Jing rather than Xiao Jue.

“My mother told me not to get too close to Young Uncle,” Cheng Lisu said. “She said he doesn’t care about family ties.”

Heyan thought for a moment: “Governor Xiao doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

“I know,” Cheng Lisu smiled. “I’ve always known.”

Of the two Xiao brothers, the eldest was like a gentle breeze and bright moon, modest and warm, making people feel as if bathed in spring sunshine. He was kind-hearted and brilliant, universally loved. The second son possessed outstanding looks and talent, but perhaps for the sake of fairness, his personality wasn’t particularly likable.

Moreover, after the incident of executing Zhao Nuo, Xiao Jue’s reputation as the “Jade-faced Commander, Young Killing General” spread, making others even more afraid to look up to him. While Zhao Tong certainly helped spread these rumors, Xiao Jue himself provided plenty of material for gossip, such as not shedding a single tear at his parent’s funeral, being busy petitioning for military authority at the Golden Hall, and leaving before the seventh day of mourning, abandoning Elder Master Xiao to handle the mess alone.

During family gatherings on festivals and holidays, he didn’t like talking to people, only making brief appearances before leaving.

Cheng Lisu remembered one summer day when Elder Aunt Bai Rongwei was hosting relatives from the Cheng family at the manor for a summer feast. The Xiao family had few members now, and such lively occasions were rare.

Cheng Lisu went along too. By then, Xiao Jue had already been appointed as General Fengyun and received honors, having just turned eighteen and returned to Shuojing.

The women were in the main hall eating snacks and drinking tea, while the men were discussing politics with Xiao Jing. Cheng Lisu looked around but didn’t see Xiao Jue.

As a child, he had been particularly mischievous and disliked by all, and youths his age didn’t like playing with him. So Cheng Lisu found his entertainment. He ran to the back courtyard of the Xiao residence and saw a calico orange cat at the entrance of the ancestral hall. He chased the cat behind the screen inside the hall.

It was summer, and the weather could change suddenly. By evening, dark clouds had gathered over the city, with rolling thunder. Suddenly, heavy rain poured down.

He was holding the orange calico cat, wanting to leave, when suddenly he heard footsteps – someone had come in.

Cheng Lisu secretly peeked out from behind the screen and saw his elusive young uncle enter.

The young man wore a raven-blue cloud-patterned round-collared robe with a gold crown, his appearance elegant like precious jade. In his youth, he had loved wearing white robes, appearing romantic and brilliant, but now that he was older, he only wore dark colors, making him seem increasingly cold and inscrutable.

Xiao Jue entered the ancestral hall, picked up three incense sticks, and lit them, slowly offering them up.

Cheng Lisu’s eyes widened.

Perhaps because there were all sorts of rumors about Xiao Jue, Cheng Lisu had heard that Xiao Jue never offered incense to his parents and that he was simply a heartless person. But now it seemed the rumors weren’t entirely true.

His movements were slow but meticulous, first carefully dusting off the incense burner, wiping it clean with cloth, then lighting the incense and placing it in the burner. Blue smoke rose steadily from the burner, dispersing in mid-air. But he didn’t leave, nor did he speak, just standing there with lowered eyes, lost in thought.

The summer day was stuffy and humid, moisture steaming in from outside, sticky and uncomfortable. The thunder grew louder, and the young man kept his eyes lowered, his expression peaceful. Outside, the torrential rain washed the eaves, but inside it was incredibly quiet. Cheng Lisu didn’t understand what was happening, but somehow felt the atmosphere was strange. He didn’t dare breathe, holding the calico cat and sitting behind the screen with his cold and distant young uncle for over half an hour.

After a long while, the rain stopped, and Xiao Jue left the ancestral hall.

From when he entered until he left, he only offered three incense sticks, didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything, just stayed quietly. But just these three incense sticks allowed Cheng Lisu to perceive a different gentleness beneath his uncle’s severe exterior.

He wasn’t the heartless person others described.

In this world, many people hide their true hearts beneath a cold exterior, but it’s not that they don’t have feelings – they simply aren’t good at expressing them, brushing things off lightly.

Others always said Cheng Lisu was still like a child, naive and ignorant of the world, but children’s eyes are best at distinguishing good from evil. He didn’t think this young uncle was as harsh as his mother claimed. He liked this uncle even more than Elder Master Xiao.

“My uncle is amazing,” Cheng Lisu said earnestly, looking into her eyes. “If you spend enough time with him, you’ll come to like him too.”

Heyan couldn’t help but laugh and ruffled his hair. “I know. I’ve known for a long time.”

…

Thousands of miles away in Shuojing, today’s Chunlai River was also ablaze with countless lights.

The water lanterns reflected both above and below the water, making it impossible to distinguish between heaven and earth. Today it was also drizzling, so the water lanterns had small paper covers to prevent the rain from extinguishing them.

In the ancestral hall of the Xiao residence, someone was offering incense.

Since the passing of Xiao Zhongwu and his wife, the number of servants in the General’s manor had decreased significantly. With only two young masters and Xiao Jue rarely being at home, it was essentially just Xiao Jing and his wife, not needing so many attendants. While it was peaceful most days, it occasionally felt somewhat lonely.

Xiao Jing wore a jade-colored robe. He had always been as straight and gentle as green bamboo, and standing together with Bai Rongwei beside him, anyone would praise them as a divine couple. The incense smoke curled upward, the autumn rain fell gently, and as the cool wind rose, he took off his cloak and draped it over Bai Rongwei, saying softly, “The weather is cold, be careful not to catch a chill.”

“I’m not cold,” Bai Rongwei smiled at him, then added worriedly, “I wonder what the weather is like in Lianzhou.”

“Tonight is the Zhongyuan Festival,” Xiao Jing looked at the fine rain in the courtyard and said, “If only Huaijin were here at the manor.”

“He won’t come to the ancestral hall,” Bai Rongwei shook her head. “He doesn’t enter the ancestral hall.”

“He will come,” Xiao Jing answered with certainty.

Bai Rongwei looked at him in surprise, “But I’ve never seen him…”

“It’s raining today, with thunder,” Xiao Jing smiled. “He will come.”

“Ruyi, I don’t understand,” Bai Rongwei was confused.

“When Huaijin was very young, Father took him to the mountains to be taught by scholars,” Xiao Jing held her hand and said softly. “Throughout the year, we rarely saw him. His personality was proud, and Mother didn’t like him practicing with weapons. Huaijin’s relationship with Mother was never very good.”

Lady Xiao was the Empress Dowager’s niece, and it was the Empress Dowager who had arranged this marriage. Lady Xiao was quite taken with Xiao Zhongwu’s handsome and mighty appearance. However, after marriage, conflicts between them gradually emerged. Lady Xiao was like a delicate flower raised in a greenhouse, unable to bear any grievance. Though Xiao Zhongwu was a military general and never took any concubines, he wasn’t as attentive and thoughtful as nobles’ sons, and sometimes inevitably left Lady Xiao dissatisfied.

Their most intense arguments during those years were about Xiao Jue.

Lady Xiao didn’t want either of her sons to pursue military careers. The battlefield was unpredictable, and she disliked bloodshed and violence, being a gentle Buddhist believer. Initially, Xiao Jing missed the best time for military training due to his health, which was unavoidable. But Xiao Jue had been groomed by Xiao Zhongwu as his future successor from an early age.

Lady Xiao didn’t want her son to follow in Xiao Zhongwu’s footsteps, but Xiao Zhongwu, who had always yielded to his wife’s wishes, refused to listen to her persuasion for the first time.

The son had been separated from his mother for too long, and despite their blood ties, there was inevitably some estrangement. Moreover, Xiao Jue wasn’t as docile and gentle as Xiao Jing in his childhood, occasionally showing traces of arrogance. Faced with this cold and proud son, Lady Xiao didn’t quite know how to interact with him.

When Lady Xiao tried to show kindness to Xiao Jue, his response was always indifferent. Lady Xiao enjoyed tea appreciation and poetry discussion, while Xiao Jue preferred sword practice and horseback riding. Although Xiao Jue was also talented in poetry and literature, in the end, it was Xiao Jing who accompanied Lady Xiao.

“My mother told me privately that she was somewhat afraid of Huaijin,” Xiao Jing said at this point, seemingly finding it a bit amusing. “Eventually, she simply stopped trying to initiate conversations with Huaijin, and their interactions remained purely courteous.”

“Huaijin was quite pitiful.” Xiao Jing’s smile turned sad.

“Our father was stern and showed no leniency towards Huaijin. I only learned later that he endured many hardships in the mountains. He never spoke of it, and we all thought he was doing fine. If it had been me, I probably wouldn’t have lasted long before running away,” he laughed self-deprecatingly.

Bai Rongwei patted his hand consolingly, “Nonsense, you would have done well too.”

Xiao Jing remembered the year when Xiao Jue first came down from the mountain, he had asked his brother, “How was it in the mountains?”

The youth stretched lazily, giving a casual smile, “Not bad.”

Those three words “not bad” concealed all the hardships he had endured, leaving for the outside world only the image of a spirited Second Young Master Xiao.

“People say ‘strict father, kind mother,’ but while Father was severe with him, Mother wasn’t often by his side. When he finally returned, she was overly polite because she feared him. Mother thought he liked sweets, so she often made osmanthus candy for him. Huaijin would always eat them all, even fooling me. Later, his attendant revealed that Huaijin never ate sweets.”

“Because it was Mother’s way of expressing her love for him, he ate them, even though he didn’t like them, even though no one had ever asked what he liked to eat.”

Bai Rongwei sighed but remained silent.

“Although I’m his elder brother, it seems I’ve never really helped him. Others always say he’s heartless and unfaithful, not as good as me, but they don’t know that the reason I can be the dignified Elder Young Master Xiao today is because he shouldered many burdens for me. Both he and I understand this.” He smiled bitterly. “Now I deeply regret that Father didn’t let me pursue military training back then. If I hadn’t become a civil official, perhaps I would be the one bearing the Xiao family’s burdens today. Then Huaijin wouldn’t have to be misunderstood by others.”

“We all know Huaijin’s good intentions,” Bai Rongwei said softly. “Father and Mother will understand too.”

Xiao Jing looked at the memorial tablets in the ancestral hall and said, “When he was young, Huaijin wasn’t close to Mother and was always running off somewhere, but he kept Mother in his heart.”

“My mother was naturally timid, easily startled, and most afraid of thunder. Whenever there was thunder, if Huaijin was at home, he would find some excuse to sit in Mother’s room. Every time Mother saw Huaijin, thinking about how to interact with him, she would forget about the thunder. When the rain stopped, Huaijin would leave.”

“I didn’t understand at first. Once during a thunderstorm, we were both outside, and he suddenly said he had urgent business at home. After returning, he claimed he wanted to eat osmanthus candy. While Mother was busy cooking for him, I suddenly realized that this fellow was just worried about Mother being frightened by the thunder, deliberately finding an excuse to come back.”

Bai Rongwei smiled upon hearing this and shook her head, saying, “Huaijin is…”

“Unfortunately, Mother died without ever knowing Huaijin’s true feelings for her,” Xiao Jing said with bitterness. “If she had known, perhaps things wouldn’t be like this today.”

Bai Rongwei gripped his hand tightly: “Mother’s spirit in heaven will understand.”

“He accompanied Mother while she was alive, and even after death. Whenever he’s at the manor and there’s thunder and rain, he always comes to the ancestral hall to accompany Mother.” Xiao Jing smiled slightly. “This is a secret I haven’t told anyone else. I think Huaijin wouldn’t want others to know.”

Xiao Jue was too proud; he did these things like gentle spring rain, nurturing silently without seeking any outcome. But in the end, thinking seriously about it, he was the one who had been wronged the most.

“So that’s why you said if he were in Shuojing today, he would come to the ancestral hall to accompany Mother,” Bai Rongwei realized.

“That’s just the kind of person he is,” Xiao Jing smiled.

The smoke from the incense burner floated midair and slowly dispersed, leaving no trace. The people of the past had become the past, and those unspoken care and companionship would never have the chance to be explained.

“Ruyi, you must understand,” Bai Rongwei took Xiao Jing’s hand and said gently, “Huaijin does all this to protect the Xiao family. Now that Huaijin is far away in Lianzhou, Minister Xu’s faction still sees the Xiao family as a thorn in their side. You must stay strong and not let Huaijin’s efforts go to waste.”

Xiao Jing was slightly startled, then smiled, saying, “I certainly understand.”

“I know you feel for Huaijin,” Bai Rongwei softened her voice, “but I feel for you too. Huaijin bears much, but haven’t you as well? Minister Xu suppresses the Xiao family openly and secretly, seeking out your faults. You must be cautious in court – how could that be easy?”

“Don’t worry,” Xiao Jing smiled. “The hardest times have passed.”

Bai Rongwei was stunned for a moment, then smiled too, “You’re right.”

The rain continued to fall steadily, soaking the courtyard in Shuojing, while thousands of miles away in Lianzhou, someone was lost in thought by a window. His black hair fell on his shoulders like smooth, cool silk, his expression equally cool. From afar came the sound of a Xiao flute, someone playing a hometown tune. As he listened, he smiled faintly.

This smile carried some self-mockery and loneliness. A moment later, he closed the window, shutting out the night beyond.

The lamplight inside flickered slowly, reflecting in his star-like pupils. On the table lay a long wooden tray with scattered grains of rice, and small red cloth flags stuck among the rice grains marking different locations.

Shen Han, Liang Ping, and other military instructors were in the room, gathered around the table, watching Xiao Jue’s movements.

“Commander, are these all the places for planting flags? Isn’t it too many?”

“Not too many.” The young man’s figure was like jade as he held a chess piece, pointing to the topmost red flag. “In seven days, we will contest for flags on White Moon Mountain.”

Poor Uncle.