Silk thread? Xu Chuniang came back to her senses, set down what she was holding, and stood up. “I happen to need some.”
Chi Jin nodded. “I’m going to the West City Gate. The carriage is outside. I’ll give you a ride.”
Without being overly polite or insistent, his straightforward words gave her no reason to refuse. After Xu Chuniang composed herself and wrapped herself in a cloak, she followed him out. The cold wind outside was bone-chilling, and there weren’t many people on the street. Many shops were half-closed. However, the silk thread shop on West Street had its door wide open, with a shop assistant standing at the door, waiting for her. He bowed and said, “Miss, are you here to see our goods? Our store has just opened, and we have a lot of good items.”
She looked back at Chi Jin, and he nodded to her before closing the curtain and leaving.
Without much thought, Xu Chuniang followed the assistant into the shop, picked out some beautiful silk threads, and then noticed a notice posted on the wall.
“Do you know how to weave nets?” the assistant smiled. “This was posted by our shopkeeper. It says that as long as someone can weave an exquisite net with our ten-color silk threads, they will be rewarded with a priceless purple jade. Take a look.”
He brought out a box and opened it. “This is the jade.”
Looking down, Xu Chuniang gasped in cold air.
The purple jade was of excellent quality, engraved with auspicious patterns. With just a string, it could be worn as an ornament.
Although the princess’s mansion gave her a monthly stipend, she felt undeserving without having done anything. She also didn’t know what gift to give to Huaiyu due to giving birth in a few months. This item came at an opportune time. If she could earn it, she wouldn’t have to worry anymore.
Her eyes brightened, and Xu Chuniang asked the assistant, “What kind of net is considered exquisite?”
The assistant replied, “Just weave on a larger scale, the more complex the pattern, the better, as long as you are sincere. You will surely impress the shopkeeper.”
After some thought, he went behind the counter and took out a few pictures for her. “Since you look kind, these are for you.”
Thanking him repeatedly, Chuniang took a look. The patterns on the pictures were all good, with one large red pattern being the most complex and festive.
That’s it!
With a goal in mind, she didn’t think too much about other things and left with the silk threads in her arms.
“Miss Xu.” Lu Jingxing’s voice came from behind.
Chuniang was stunned. She turned around and saw Lu Jingxing sitting in a carriage, seemingly about to return to the princess’s mansion. He smiled at her. “It’s so cold today. Why don’t you come back with me?”
As he spoke, he even had the coachman lower the small stool.
Afraid of the cold, Xu Chuniang didn’t refuse too much and got into the carriage, sitting properly in the corner. She thanked him with a smile and murmured, “I’m lucky today.”
Lu Jingxing’s phoenix eyes smiled as he looked at her steadily.
He had originally planned to go to the west of the city, but halfway through, he met someone and turned his carriage around, insisting on helping them with their errand.
“Do you know what Chi Jin’s last name was before?” Finding this matter interesting, Lu Jingxing couldn’t help but speak up.
Chuniang shook her head. “Lord Chi Jin seems to rarely mention his past.”
“Then he’s modest,” Lu Jingxing sighed. “Others born in the Jiangnan Zhuang family would surely boast about it.”
Jiangnan Zhuang family? Xu Chuniang raised her eyes in shock. “Zhuang Beihé?”
“You’ve heard of it?” Lu Jingxing raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and nodded. “Yes, he had some friendship with General Xu.”
In the northern realms of martial prowess, Zhuang Beihe reigned supreme, occasionally clashing with the imperial court. Back then, the authorities in Jiangnan couldn’t quite contain him. It was Xu Xian who, upon the Eldest Princess’s command, ventured forth and somehow struck a friendship with him. Eventually, Zhuang Beihe accepted the court’s offer of peace, and Xu Xian even went to the lengths of sending him congratulatory gifts.
“Chi Jin is Zhuang Beihe’s ninth son, named Yan with the courtesy name Suihan. He was initially pampered and raised as a young master, but who knew he had such a rebellious spirit, refusing to be disciplined? At seventeen, he set out into the world, driven by a fervent desire to right wrongs, often acting recklessly and angering many. Unwilling to return home, General Xu tricked him into joining the Feiyun Palace.”
Xu Chuyi listened, wide-eyed and stunned. “Tricked?”
“Indeed,” the speaker continued, “He possessed the esoteric skills of the Jianghu, lining up volumes upon volumes from the palace gates to the Feiyun Palace. Chi Jin was so naïve then, picking them up one by one until he found himself face to face with a defiant young maiden who promptly gave him a good thrashing.”
Lù Jǐngxíng didn’t witness this scene firsthand; it was recounted to him later by Xu Xian. However, the image of Li Huaiyu’s domineering demeanor at the time must have been quite amusing.
Chuckling softly, Lù Jǐngxíng remarked, “If he wanted to return to the Zhuang family now, he could easily do so, with a legitimate official position and all. It would provide some explanation to his family. Yet, he refuses.”
Xu Chuyi pondered for a moment before saying, “He must feel he hasn’t done well enough yet.”
After all this time spent together, even if they weren’t particularly close, Xu Chuyi could still see that while Chi Jin was gentle and considerate on the surface, he possessed a strong inner resilience. He was extremely demanding of himself, often rising early to practice swordsmanship. He meticulously planned every action and, if he made a mistake, he would isolate himself for a long period of self-reflection.
For him, obtaining a respectable official position was far from enough to face his father, whose reputation preceded him far and wide.
Lù Jǐngxíng joked, “Perhaps it was the impression he left on the Eldest Princess when he entered the palace that influenced him. Since then, Chi Jin has become quite crafty. Nowadays, hardly anyone in Feiyun Palace dares to provoke him, fearing his schemes.”
“Hmm?” Xu Chuyi disagreed at this point. “How could he scheme against anyone?”
He was a kind and innocent person!
Glancing down at the silk thread and the sketch she held, then back up at her resolute expression, Lù Jǐngxíng unfurled his fan to hide his face. “Hmm… You have a point.”
Young Master Zhuang Jiu was adept at setting traps without anyone noticing. Xu Chuyi felt that Lù Jǐngxíng misunderstood Chi Jin, but she didn’t have much of a position to say anything. After all, she didn’t have a particularly deep relationship with Chi Jin, so she decided to just head back home and work on her embroidery.
Lù Jǐngxíng escorted her to the princess’s residence but showed no intention of getting off the carriage.
Curiously, Xu Chuyi asked, “Aren’t you going in?”
With a faint smile, Lù Jǐngxíng replied, “Suddenly remembered I have something else to attend to. You should go ahead, Miss.”
Momentarily taken aback, Xu Chuyi suddenly realized.
Since Lord Ziyang and Huaiyu had reconciled, Lù Jǐngxíng seemed to rarely visit the princess’s residence. He owned several shops and the largest inn in the city, so he could stay wherever he pleased, and Huaiyu wasn’t worried.
Standing at the doorway, watching the curtain fall, shielding his affectionate eyes, Xu Chuyi suddenly remembered a verse widely circulated in the capital years ago:
“Phoenix combs, once taken, never returned,
Drunken sleep, fur rugs, under the moonlit hall.”
Lù Jǐngxíng, with his Southern Yang jade fan, had shattered the hearts of many beauties in the capital. Surely, some sought to die for him or offer themselves willingly. But after all these years, why was he still alone?
She took this question back to the main residence and asked Huaiyu.
Huaiyu leaned back on the soft couch, smiling, “He was too indulgent in his youth, tired of worldly pleasures. If he were to settle down, it would take a woman of unparalleled beauty, surpassing all others, to captivate him. Otherwise, how could he be moved?”
In the outer room, Lord Ziyang quietly observed the documents. His vermilion brush paused momentarily, leaving behind a vibrant dot.
Gazing at that dot, he pulled out a clean sheet of paper nearby, changed his brush, and wrote a letter, handing it to Cheng Xu, and instructing him to deliver it.
Li Huailin was currently troubled by the recent breakdown in relations with Dongjin. A foolish subordinate approached him, “Your Highness, if my memory serves me right, Dongjin is currently under the guidance of Baihua Jun, and Baihua Jun has a close relationship with our Lord Ziyang. If Lord Ziyang were to intervene, there might still be room for negotiation.”
His expression darkened, Li Huailin retorted, “Lord Ziyang is unwilling to return to the capital. Are you expecting anything more from him?”
The man was freshly transferred from outside the capital, looking perplexed, “How could His Highness, who observes protocol meticulously, not return to the capital? Is there some difficulty?”
Before he could finish his words, he was swiftly silenced and taken away by someone else.
Qi Han wiped the sweat from his forehead, bowing respectfully, “Your Highness, don’t let it trouble you.”
Li Huailin sneered, “It’s been so long, and there are still so many who treat Lord Ziyang like a deity.”
“Ice takes time to thaw; it requires considerable effort,” Qi Han remarked. “Lord Ziyang’s longstanding prestige, coupled with his lack of major missteps, means changing public opinion won’t happen overnight.”
How could he not be impatient? Both his sister and Lord Ziyang had left the capital. Everywhere he looked now was a scene of desolation. In the past, before he ascended the throne, courtiers never dared to criticize him, instead urging him to take the throne soon. But now, no matter what he did, there were always mentions of the Eldest Princess and Lord Ziyang, accompanied by sighs and murmurs, as if they felt he, as the emperor, wasn’t competent enough.
How could their attitudes change so quickly? Li Huailin, still young and proud, turned to ask, “Has the envoy from Pingling received their orders?”
“Your Highness, they have. The imperial envoy arrived a few days ago. By now, they should have reached the outskirts of the city.”
“Very well,” he said resentfully. “Since the officials of the court miss the Eldest Princess so much, they might as well invite her back and let them have a good look at her.”
Empress Ning, listening behind the screen, sighed silently.
During the Emperor’s recent illness, when he was delirious with fever, he had called out for the “Eldest Princess.” But now, wearing the dragon robe and standing here, he seemed like a different person.
He was already an emperor, with everything at his disposal. It would have been beneficial for him to let the Eldest Princess off the hook. What a pity…
Shaking her head, she thought.
The sky was gloomy, with dark clouds pressing down as if to crush the city. Envoy Jia Liang, leading a thousand troops from Pingling, marched boldly towards the outskirts of the city, brandishing the royal sword bestowed upon him.
“Sir, I’ve heard that the Princess of Danyang kills without blinking an eye. You should be careful,” someone next to him advised respectfully.
With a light chuckle, Jia Liang replied, “I’ve already found out. There are no defenders in the city. Just a few bandits causing trouble. With our numbers, are we afraid of a princess? Even if she calls for reinforcements, we have more support behind us, and Pingling Lord is backing us!”
“But…” the person whispered, “This city is close to Lord Ziyang’s territory. I’ve heard rumors that Lord Ziyang might also be coming.”
“Nonsense!” Jia Liang scolded. “Lord Ziyang is busy governing in his capital. How could he suddenly come to this city? Besides, everyone knows that His Highness and the Princess of Danyang are sworn enemies. Who in the world doesn’t know? If he does come, it’s to help us. What’s there to fear?”
Thinking it made sense, the soldier fell silent, and the army continued to advance. Jia Liang, gazing at the fragile walls of the city from afar, lifted his chin proudly and instructed, “Go tell them to open the city gates. If they refuse, it doesn’t matter; we’ll just march right over and flatten those walls!”
The men behind him laughed and cheered, and the messenger ran off to deliver the message.
The city of Danyang was poor, and its gates seemed ready to collapse. Someone on the city tower heard the shout and peered down at them, then replied coldly, “Not opening.”