Hui Cun was full of regret now. If that time she had not caused such a scene that left the Geng family utterly unable to save face, if she had not persuaded Xu Xiangning to take the position of principal wife, the Geng family would likely not have been driven to the extremity of humiliation and fury. Now her brother’s prospects were ruined, and he himself was locked away. Compared to all that, what did a difficult marriage matter?

So from the moment she learned that the Duke of Chuguo had colluded with Geng Yu to frame her brother, she had sat alone in a daze, growing more and more vexed, weeping until she could not count how many tears had fallen — hoping only that A’Niang and A’Sao’s visit to the palace to plead their case would yield some measure of possibility. But as it turned out, the situation remained as impossibly deadlocked as before.

Once in the carriage, she kept wiping her eyes. One moment she was apologizing to her brother, the next to A’Sao. Yun Pan could only reach out and pat her gently on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t think that way,” she said softly. “Even if we had not offended the Geng family, the Duke of Chuguo would have found plenty of other ways to frame the Duke. One Geng Yu is not actually so important. And speaking of your marriage — is that not a matter that concerns your entire life? The Geng family is so shameless, capable of such despicable conduct. Life there would very likely have not been easy for you. When they bullied you, your brother would certainly have stood up for you — sooner or later there would have been offense taken. Why sacrifice your whole future for the sake of postponing that day?”

“But…” Hui Cun said through her tears, “in the future, Brother’s foundations might have grown stronger, and the Geng family would not have dared to scheme openly against him.”

Yun Pan smiled slightly. “You were to marry into the household before the year’s end, and they were already planning to bring Xu Xiangning back the moment you crossed the threshold — it would have been the matter of a heartbeat. One day sooner, one day later — what difference would it have made? Besides, if you were to ask the Duke himself, he would certainly not regret it either. Trading away his sister’s lifelong happiness for a momentary peace — do you truly think that is the sort of person he is?”

Hearing her say this, Hui Cun felt the guilt in her heart ease just slightly. She lowered her head, wiped her tears, and said, “Then what is to become of things? The Empress Dowager has not said a word about ordering an investigation at once — Brother will just have to keep being shut away in that dreadful Western Side Gate.”

Yun Pan sighed. Her own heart felt no less tormented, as though searing over a slow flame. Yet this kind of suffering — who could she share it with?

She pulled back the curtain and looked outside. The snow showed no sign of stopping. The streets that had been swept clean in the morning were covered again with a thick layer, almost swallowing half the carriage wheels.

The Western Side Gate was a very secluded place. The narrow passage ran deep, and the small courtyard where people were confined lay at the far end of the passage — it required passing through one checkpoint after another before one could reach it.

The Chief Steward, his cloak wrapped tightly about him, climbed down from the carriage to negotiate. He exchanged a few murmured words with the gate guard, but the guard kept shaking his head, and even pushed back the banknote that had been offered, pointing toward the depths of the narrow passage. “That one is no ordinary person. Even if we were to eat the gall of a bear and the heart of a leopard, we would not dare take it upon ourselves to decide such a thing.”

Yun Pan waited a moment. Seeing that the negotiation was going nowhere, she grew anxious, and together with Hui Cun pushed open the carriage door and stepped down to speak with the guard herself. “Officer,” she said, “our Duke is in poor health and constantly requires medicine. These items are only for keeping out the cold. We ask for your consideration.”

The guard took one look at her clothing and manner and recognized her without question as the Duchess. Ordinarily, such personages of high standing would not have spared him a glance. Now, with the household fallen on hard times, she had lowered herself to come and speak kindly with him. How truly the times had changed.

Yet however much he felt it in his heart, the rules could not be broken. He put on a sincere expression and said, “Madam, it is not that I am using a chicken feather as a command token — it is truly that the regulations for keeping watch here are extremely strict. Even the things the Duke of Chenguo sent men to deliver this morning, we did not dare let inside. The Duke of Weiguo is a person of singular importance; we must ensure that nothing goes wrong during the period of his confinement. If there were some harmful object hidden among the delivered goods… and if a person were to come to harm, we would face the punishment of having our entire families executed. For this reason, on no account can we casually agree to anything.”

Yun Pan had no choice but to signal the Chief Steward to add another banknote, and she continued in gentle tones, “Officer, here are one thousand taels of silver — consider it a token for you and your colleagues to buy tea with. The person confined inside is my life itself. You may not dare accept what others send, but what I send carries no ill intent whatsoever. I ask only that you show me some understanding. It is the depths of winter’s cold now, and he is alone in there. I don’t know how he is eating or sleeping. I ask only to see him once, so that I may be at ease.”

The guard lowered his eyes to the banknote, and there was a flicker of emotion in his gaze. After all, money has a way of moving even ghosts. These men toiled here all their lives and could never hope to earn so much.

He wanted to reach for it, but dared not. He could only shake his head repeatedly. “Madam, please forgive me. I have the life to take this money, but I fear I have no life to spend it. The Duke of Weiguo was only just put in here, and countless eyes are watching. If I let you in to see him, and those above come to hold me accountable, I could not bear the blame. So I ask that Madam not make things difficult for me. It is bitterly cold — Madam, please go back. Inside, it is not as comfortable as the estate, but at least there is food to eat and bedding to sleep under…”

“What does he eat?” Yun Pan pressed at once. “Is there someone preparing his meals especially? Is the food sent to him reliable?”

The guard was stumped by her questions. He raised his numb, half-frozen hand and scratched the back of his head. In his heart he thought: who would be cooking specially for him at this point? Yet he could hardly say so bluntly, and could only hedge: “The food is certainly not comparable to what they have at the estate — just simple, plain fare. But it is absolutely reliable. Every meal is tested with a silver needle before it is sent in.”

Hui Cun stood on her tiptoes and peered inside. The passage ran deep and straight, and through the wind and snow, only two tightly closed doors were visible. She turned and asked, “But do you eat the same as what my brother eats? Where do you send the food in from? By the time it reaches his hands, is it still warm?”

These questions were even harder to answer. The guard’s brows drooped as he floundered: “In weather this cold, food goes cold the moment it leaves the pot…”

Yun Pan, upon hearing that, wept uncontrollably. His body could not withstand cold; at home she had been meticulous and attentive about everything. If now he could not even eat a hot meal, was this not as good as taking his life?

“Officer, please think of some way for me. Even if I cannot see him, please help us pass these things inside.” She signaled Qin Dan to add another thousand taels. “So long as the things are delivered, you may divide it however you see fit among your men — all of this is yours. If it is not enough, please just say the word.”

The guard’s eyes swam a little. He stared at the two thousand taels and swallowed hard.

Two thousand taels — enough to buy a proper residence in the capital, and still have enough left to hire serving women and maids. How many people could earn two thousand taels in a lifetime? His eyes could not help but linger on that sum with longing. But when he searched his own heart — the money was there for the taking, and so was the risk of losing his life. Between wealth and staying alive, staying alive mattered more.

So he averted his gaze and said with firm propriety, “Madam, please say no more. I cannot take such matters into my own hands. Please accept my apologies.”

The Chief Steward stepped forward to negotiate further. “Officer, you have served in this passage for many years and know all the ins and outs of it. Sending things in broad daylight may not be appropriate, but perhaps when the shift changes — even in the middle of the night would be fine. So long as you, Officer, give the word…” He slipped a banknote into the man’s hand when no one was watching. “Just one word, and this money is the Officer’s alone. We will keep silent and never come back to pick at small accounts.” Then he bowed and clasped his hands together in repeated entreaty, begging for flexibility.

The thousand taels felt burning hot in his palm. Being assigned to this passage was not a lucrative post. Since the current sovereign took the throne, more than thirty years had passed without anyone of imperial kinship being confined here. Now out of nowhere one had arrived — it was like holding a treasure in his hands, and yet he had no idea how to make use of it.

The guard was somewhat at a loss. “I truly cannot take the banknotes. Before, when no one paid any attention to this gate, those of us on duty would gamble and drink during our shifts and no one cared. Now that Duke Wei is here, I don’t know how many additional watches have been set inside and out. Even if there were a gap, I would not dare slip through it.”

“Is there truly no way at all?” the Chief Steward kept his smile. “Trouble yourself to think it over just a little more, Officer. Our household will bear it in mind, and we will certainly never treat you poorly in the end.”

The guard weighed the matter for quite some time. At last he said, “As for sending things in, that is truly not possible. But there might be another way around it. We could report to the higher authorities that someone is being sent in to attend to him. There is one condition, however: whoever goes in cannot come back out. Have the household send a capable and loyal manservant. They can bring some items along. If there are small things needed after that — anything of a harmless nature — I can also help pass them through.”

Yun Pan and Hui Cun heard this and brightened at once. Bi Xie, standing behind them, looked eager. “Let me go in. I have served the Duke since childhood — more than ten years. I know everything about attending to him.”

But Yun Pan said no. “I will go in. There is nowhere left to run on the outside now — we can only wait for the sovereign’s grace. Waiting at home, I am truly uneasy. Far better to be by his side; at least then my heart will be settled.”

Everyone exchanged glances. If both of the household’s key figures went inside at the same time, and something else happened in the meantime — would not everything fall apart?

Hui Cun did not agree with what she was about to do, but her mind was made up, and nothing anyone said seemed to matter.

When she returned home, she laid out her plan before the Tai Furen and the Princess Consort. Both were greatly taken aback. “Is one person suffering not enough — must another one be added in? Quickly put that idea out of your head. If you were to ask Ji Fu this very moment, he would absolutely not agree.”

But Yun Pan was set in her resolve. She said calmly, “Grandmother. Mother. He and I have been married half a year, yet in truth we have spent very little time together. With things coming to this, if I can go inside, it is precisely the chance for us to be together like an ordinary husband and wife, morning and evening. He is suffering in there while I enjoy comfort and luxury out here — my heart cannot be at ease. Better to share the bitter and the sweet together. When he is pardoned, I will walk out with him. If the sovereign is hardhearted enough to keep him shut away for three or five years, then I will stay inside with him for three or five years. With someone for company, we will not feel so alone.”

When she said this, she struck a chord in the Tai Furen’s heart. The old woman said with a touch of melancholy, “Good child. I didn’t expect you to be so devoted to him. I looked at you before — young as you are, and it was a marriage arranged by Empress Dowager Zhang — I will be honest with you, I did not have high hopes for it. Now that Ji Fu has run into trouble, and I have watched you run and scheme and work tirelessly for him, I see that you are truly a good child. Forgive this old woman for earlier arranging for Ji Fu to take a concubine and wounding your heart — take it as me being old and muddled, and do not hold it against me. Now that you have chosen freely to go in and keep him company, I see that you two small husband and wife have that depth of feeling between you. I imagine that after this, there will be no one who could tear you apart.”

This was an unexpected gift. Yun Pan had not thought the Tai Furen would offer such an honest confession from her heart. She quickly replied, “Grandmother speaks too weightily — saying such things will leave this daughter-in-law with no way to go on living.”

The Tai Furen shook her head. “I speak only what is in my heart. You give your true heart to Ji Fu. If I were still to make trouble, would I not be just like that old woman of the Geng family?”

Everyone burst out laughing at that, though in such times it all carried the faint trace of finding mirth in misery.

The Princess Consort clasped her hands together warmly. “You must think this through clearly. Going in is easy; coming out is not. And you are a girl — that sort of place is damp and cold. What if it harms your health?”

Yun Pan said it would be fine. “My constitution is strong. Staying outside consumed with worry and longing — that is more likely to make me fall ill.”

The Tai Furen, seeing she had fully made up her mind, said to the Princess Consort, “She has this sort of temperament — ten oxen could not pull her back. Since she is going, let her go.” Then she gave a small, somewhat sheepish smile. “With the two of them together under the same roof every day, perhaps when they come out, they will bring back a little one.”

That was the small design at the back of the old woman’s mind. In the end, the matter of an heir was still very important. Even in such bitter circumstances, she could not forget to remind the young couple of their most essential duty.

At any rate, the household had settled on it. All that remained was to clear the way through those above. Yun Pan went directly to find the Duke of Chenguo and explained her purpose. He stared at her, momentarily lost. “Sister-in-law — are you truly resolved to do this?”

Yun Pan said yes. “Whether we husband and wife are ever able to leave will depend entirely on Elder Brother from now on.”

There was something genuinely heartrending about her resolve, and it made the Duke of Chenguo feel the weight on his own shoulders all the more.

He was indeed overcome with self-reproach. “It is Elder Brother who is incompetent — unable to free Ji Fu at a moment’s notice. But Sister-in-law may rest at ease. It will not be long before I see you both walk out of the Western Side Gate.”

Yun Pan said well. “Then we will wait for Elder Brother’s good news.”

If getting a person out presented difficulties, sending a person in was considerably simpler.

The Duke of Chenguo reported to the sovereign that Ji Fu’s ailments had flared up again, and that his wife had voluntarily requested joint confinement so she could go in and attend to him.

The sovereign, upon hearing this, was moved to reflection. “They say that in great adversity everyone scatters. Yet Jiang Heng’s daughter is not at all like Jiang Heng — she is far more like the Grand Princess.”

In the end, the request was granted. Li Chenjian’s poor health was widely known; so long as this was made the reason, and the sovereign had no intention of taking his life, he would not obstruct it.

The message of the palace’s approval was delivered at dusk. Yun Pan received the news and immediately began her preparations. She could not bring much, but daily bedding and clothing could still go in with her.

The Princess Consort and Hui Cun saw her off to the entrance of the passage, offering endless admonitions. “If anything urgent comes up, find some way to get a message out, no matter what.”

Yun Pan agreed, and then turned to the Princess Consort. “Mother, with both the Duke and myself away, I don’t know how those petty people might try to make trouble for the household. Please, Mother, take care in all things.”

The Princess Consort told her not to worry. “We still bear our titles — they would not dare overstep. It is you two inside who are likely to suffer.”

Yun Pan only smiled faintly. Suffering would not hold her back. And because she would soon see Li Chenjian, her heart was settling into something calm and steadfast.

She bowed to the Princess Consort, then hitched her small bundle over her arm and followed the guard ahead of her into the passage. The passage ran deep — it felt as if it led to another world entirely. The flame of the lantern danced within its paper casing in the desolate night, barely lighting more than the tips of their shoes.

Her feet crunched against the packed snow. After a long walk, they finally arrived before a weathered courtyard gate. The guard rapped the knocker in the customary manner and called out in a raised voice, “Duke Wei, Madam has come to see you.” Then he turned the lock and pushed the gate open, guiding her inside.

It was a small courtyard. The plants in the small inner yard were withered and bare; the buildings looked old and rotting. In the main room, a dim, faint light filtered through — like a shrine in a mountain wilderness, full of a strange and otherworldly feeling.

The person inside had likely heard the guard’s announcement. He came to the doorway in some disbelief to look, and upon seeing that it was truly her, for a moment found himself at a loss for words. After a long pause, he finally asked, “Madam — why have you come?”

Seeing that he was well, Yun Pan at last let out a long breath. With a somewhat triumphant lift of her arm, she gestured toward the bundle she was carrying. “Outside is dull. I have come to keep you company.”

He was taken aback, not knowing what had possessed her to act so impetuously. But she gave him no chance to express displeasure — she pressed the bundle into his hands, then turned to take the bedding and clothing from the guard. Small as she was, she seemed to possess boundless energy.

Seeing this, he hurried over to help, and carried all the large and small bundles inside himself. Yun Pan drew a silver ingot from her sleeve and placed it in the guard’s hand. “In this bitter cold, thank you for your trouble. I will have to ask for your continued care and consideration from now on.”

The guard took the silver, looking rather ashamed. “Madam is too kind. Yesterday I accepted a gift without having rendered any service — and today again… I truly feel unworthy.”

Yun Pan said with a smile, “Officer, please just accept it. We do not lack for noble friends and powerful patrons — what we lack are friends in adversity. I imagine we shall be staying in this gate for some time. Having a familiar face among the guards offers a certain measure of reassurance.”

The guard bowed and thanked her repeatedly, then withdrew from the courtyard. Yun Pan stood there and listened to the sound of the bolt falling into the lock. Slowly, a faint desolation rose in her heart.

She glanced around. It was hard to imagine that in the midst of a city’s bustle, a place this bleak and remote could exist. She stepped into the main room and found it bare and empty: one table, one chair, one bed. The charcoal in the brazier before the bed was half spent. On the table burned a single oil lamp — a long cotton wick topped by a flame no bigger than a bean, wavering and drifting above the oil bowl as if a single breath might snuff it out.

At least the room kept the wind out. That, in itself, was a great mercy. Yun Pan set to work like a capable young housewife, first unrolling the bedding and making the bed. He watched from the side, wanting to help but finding no opening. When she had arranged everything and turned back to him with a cheerful smile, she said in a tone of some novelty, “We have been comfortable and well-off our whole lives — who would have thought we’d ever have the chance to taste the flavor of poverty together.” She studied him: dressed very thinly, his complexion a little pale, but his spirits seemed all right. Even in this difficult situation, his bearing as someone born to privilege showed no signs of despondency.

The sudden shock of her appearance still had not left him. Facing her, for the first time he felt truly at a loss, his brows creasing as he said, “This is no sort of fine place — why have you come in here…”

Yun Pan tilted her head. “In the Duke’s mind, am I fit only for fine places — not fit to share hardship and difficulty with you?”

His lashes stirred and lowered, appearing all the deeper in the dim lamplight. He said that was not what he meant. “You’ve come in now and cannot go back out. This place…”

“This place has you.” She looked at him steadily. “You can endure hardship — why can I not?”

The layers of cold that had accumulated inside him over these days suddenly thawed and melted at her words.

Though he had long since prepared himself for this ordeal, now that it had truly arrived, he could not help but feel bitterness and resentment. For two days and nights he had barely slept. This empty room held no books, no brushes, no ink or paper — he had had nothing to do but stare at the snow falling endlessly from the sky, watching it for whole days at a stretch.

What is the most terrible thing in this world? Loneliness is the most terrible thing — and this was not the comfortable solitude of a man who has been busy and can finally be alone with himself; for his heart had no ground to stand on, and the silence became a slow torment.

But just at this moment, she had come — like a beam of light, piercing through heavy cloud and entering his life…

His shallow restlessness dissolved. At last he was at peace. He smiled, just faintly, and said, “These past two days without you at my side — I have, in truth, missed you very much.”