“Xuanqing…”

Lu Shi called out to her husband in concern.

“Whatever A’Mei wishes is what I wish as well!”

Mu Xuanqing barked sharply, leaving no room for negotiation whatsoever.

The couple had always shared a deep and harmonious bond. This was the first time Mu Xuanqing had ever spoken to his wife in such a tone before others.

The Prince’s fury was fearsome. Every attendant standing nearby showed expressions of dread, one after another dropping to their knees and prostrating themselves upon the ground, not daring to stir.

Lu Shi understood that he must have learned of the Xie Family’s intent to take a concubine — that was why he had flown into such a rage, ignoring the fact that his leg had not yet fully healed, and come over like this.

She knew her husband’s temperament.

He had long harbored a deep hatred of himself for his own helplessness — back then, unable to earn their father’s trust, he had been forced to marry off his beloved sister to a notorious river bandit.

For his sister, it had already been an immense injustice.

And now the Xie Family dared to treat her like this. How could he possibly endure it?

Although by intuition, Lu Shi could not quite shake the feeling in her heart that this matter was not as simple as her young sister-in-law made it appear on the surface — that there were perhaps other circumstances hidden within.

Yet her husband was the Prince of Changsha. Now that he had made his stance clear, how could she voice any further objection?

What was more, her young sister-in-law’s own attitude was equally resolute.

She had just saved her husband’s life.

Even if the worst were to happen — even if this sudden upheaval in the marriage were to cause a rupture, even an enmity, between Changsha and the now supremely powerful Hexi Military Commissioner Xie Changgeng —

Was there anything, any consequence, more terrifying than Changsha having nearly lost its Prince, and by extension facing the dissolution of the entire principality?

Had it not been for her young sister-in-law receiving a divine revelation in a dream and sending that life-saving letter in time, she would now have no husband, Changsha would have no Prince, and the principality itself would soon cease to exist.

Lu Shi was by nature a broad-minded person, and thinking it through this way, she settled into calm acceptance.

She deliberated a moment, then nodded.

“Very well. If you have truly resolved to sever all ties with the Xie Family, Lan’er, your sister-in-law stands with you, just as your royal brother does, and will help you in every way.”

“So long as the principality stands, you are the Princess of my Changsha!”

Mu Xuanqing glanced at his wife, and only then did the severity in his expression ease somewhat. He ordered all the attendants nearby to withdraw.

“A’Mei, do you recall what happened ten years ago, when you were six, and our aunt passed away in the imperial palace? I have never told you this before — at that time, our father clearly received word that there was something deeply suspicious about our aunt’s death, something that may very well have been connected to the treacherous Empress now on the throne. Yet just before our aunt drew her last breath, she sent a final message to our father through a trusted confidant.”

“I was twelve years old at the time. Our aunt’s final words — I remember them to this day, clear as crystal.”

“Our aunt said that life and death are fated, that it was all a matter of destined tribulation, and that she harbored not a single shred of resentment. She said the imperial court had long intended to completely eliminate the princes of different surnames, and she did not wish for Changsha to suffer any upheaval on her account. She told our father that from that day forward, he must double his efforts to conceal his strengths and bide his time, and make the preservation of Changsha’s safety his foremost duty.”

“A’Mei, do you understand what our aunt meant by those words? At the time, I did not. I asked our father, and he would not say. Afterward, I turned it over and over in my mind myself, and it was only in the past two years that I finally came to fully understand.”

“A’Mei, can you imagine why the imperial court would have chosen a woman of our Mu clan to be Empress? What appeared to be an honor was in truth a poisoned bait! Our aunt died in the palace under murky circumstances — what they were waiting for, perhaps, was Changsha’s anger and indignation. The moment our father made the slightest move, it would have become the perfect pretext for them to move against our Mu clan!”

“To protect our Mu clan’s legacy, our father endured it. He even agreed to the Xie man’s proposal for your hand, and betrothed you to him.”

“When our father betrothed you to him that day, and recommended him for official appointment, his hope was to use that man’s strength to protect Changsha’s borders on all four sides. But this Xie man now accepts the treacherous Empress’s inducements and keeps extremely close company with her. And through the pretext of eliminating rebellious princes, she continues to isolate Changsha and suppress us in secret.”

“Our father may be able to endure it. I cannot. The debt owed for our aunt’s death — I will repay it sooner or later. What I said just now was no moment of impulse!”

“This Xie man — he came seeking our Mu clan’s hand in marriage to wash away his identity as a great bandit. Now, for the sake of advancement and glory, he willingly acts as the treacherous Empress’s running dog. It is impossible for him to be of one mind with our Mu clan. To say nothing of the fact that he now treats you with such contempt! In the past, you chose to marry him yourself; now that you have changed your mind, even I, Mu Xuanqing, as useless as I may be, will not force you to suffer such an unworthy person!”

“A’Mei, rest easy. When this Xie man comes, your elder brother will make everything clear to him on your behalf!”

“From this day forward, your elder brother will exert every effort to strengthen our Changsha, to protect you, my A’Mei, and never again allow you to suffer a single grievance!”

The young Prince spoke with agitated emotion, his gaze blazing with intensity. His resounding vow displayed his unparalleled determination and the pride and courage that were innate to a prince of royal blood.

In Mu Fulan’s heart, a surge of warmth welled up.

Xie Changgeng and her royal brother were the same age — he was only a few months older. Yet the depth of his scheming, the patience of his nature, the cunning of his disposition — there was perhaps no one in this world who understood these things more clearly than she did.

Regardless of whether her elder brother would truly be able to send him away when the time came, the love and protection that her brother and sister-in-law showed her was, after losing her flesh and blood in her last life, another form of precious possession.

In the days ahead, she would likewise give everything she had to protect what she held dear.

“Thank you, Elder Brother. Thank you, Sister-in-law.”

She looked at the royal brother and sister-in-law before her, and spoke, one word at a time.

……

Half a month later, on the twelfth day of the eleventh month, the ceremonial officials of Changsha received word once more.

Hexi Military Commissioner Xie Changgeng — that is, the husband of the Princess — would arrive in Yuezhou in three days’ time.

Just as the ceremonial officials began making preparations to receive this distinguished guest with full protocol, they received a royal decree.

The decree ordered them to do nothing whatsoever.

They were not to obstruct Xie Changgeng’s arrival, but neither were they to make any preparations to receive him.

The ceremonial officials were utterly perplexed.

To say nothing of the fact that Xie Changgeng’s current official post was one of the most prominent in the land. The Hexi Military Commissioner, garrisoned at Liangzhou, received the ceremonial staff of authority at appointment, held sole military command, flew six great banners before his headquarters, and was of awe-inspiring prestige and grandeur in every regard.

Even if he were an ordinary man, as the husband of the Princess, coming to Changsha to pay respects at the shrine of the late Prince — such “hospitality” could hardly be justified.

But a royal decree could not be defied.

The ceremonial officials consulted Chancellor Lu Lin. Lu Lin himself could not make head or tail of it; he could not pry out any of the inner details even from the Princess Consort, and wishing to advise Mu Xuanqing, found himself refused an audience. He had no choice but to suppress the anxiety in his heart and order that things proceed in accordance with the royal decree.

When the fifteenth day arrived, Lu Lin sought an audience with Mu Xuanqing early in the morning and earnestly urged him that regardless of his reasons, since Xie Changgeng had declared he was coming to pay respects to the late Prince, there was no need to offend the man so thoroughly.

But Mu Xuanqing still would not heed his words, and swept out of the room in displeasure.

Lu Lin had no choice. He ordered someone to open the city gates and receive the arrivals, and led his subordinate officials himself to the Sacred Way before the late Prince’s ancestral shrine, where they waited for Xie Changgeng.

Xie Changgeng arrived in Yuezhou in the early afternoon.

He wore a plain blue robe and black boots, his garments entirely unremarkable, and behind his horse followed only a sparse handful of attendants, all plainly dressed. As a result, when he rode up to the city gates, the city guards did not think that this cultured and elegantly refined young man before their eyes could be the husband of Changsha’s Princess — the renowned man spoken of throughout the entire court as the youngest Military Commissioner. Noticing that the people travelling with him appeared to be carrying weapons on their bodies, the guards stopped them and interrogated them about their identities.

These several attendants of Xie Changgeng had all followed him from their earliest years, clawing and fighting their way through the waterways of the Yangtze River. They appeared ordinary — they could vanish into any crowd without a trace — but in truth, every single one of them was a ruthless and hardened killer who had never blinked at taking a life. Upon entering Changsha, they had already been astonished at how they were being received. Now, arriving at the royal city’s very gates, finding not so much as a single person sent to receive them, and being stopped and questioned so rudely by these city guards — they could no longer contain themselves. Their fury erupted; right then and there they were on the verge of drawing their blades, but Xie Changgeng stopped them.

He sat upon his horse, gazing at the cityscape of Changsha’s capital rushing toward him through that heavy gateway arch ahead, his expression calm. He stated his name.

When the city guards heard that this was actually Xie Changgeng, they were startled, and quickly stepped aside, clearing the way.

Three years ago when he had come to propose marriage, he had only visited the royal manor and had never been to the ancestral shrine. He asked the city guards for directions.

He gazed in the direction they indicated, narrowed his eyes slightly, then spurred his horse forward and entered the city.

While Lu Lin stood with his subordinate officials waiting at the foot of the stone steps of the Sacred Way leading to the royal shrine, Yuan Handing also arrived.

Yuan Handing stood there, utterly unmoved, his gaze fixed straight ahead — like a pillar of stone frozen in place.

Lu Lin outranked Yuan Handing in seniority and was his elder in years, yet today he simply could not achieve even a fraction of that mountain-like steadiness.

He truly could not fathom why Mu Xuanqing would adopt such an arrogant posture toward a brother-in-law who had traveled so far to come.

He was even more worried that if they offended Xie Changgeng as a result, it would be no good thing for Changsha in the days to come.

Just as his mood was growing restless and he was looking anxiously from side to side, he suddenly spotted in the distance, at the far end of the Sacred Way, a sliver of blue approaching.

That blue silhouette gradually drew closer, growing larger and larger.

Lu Lin recognized at a glance that it was Xie Changgeng — a man he had met once, three years ago.

Three years had passed, yet this young man’s appearance had changed remarkably little compared to the impression Lu Lin held.

Perhaps the killings accumulating along the official roads were merely a continuation of what he had done before as a great outlaw, insufficient to add much more of a bloodstained shadow to his gaze.

He was seen walking with his robes billowing in the wind, his pace unhurried, alone, coming in this direction.

Lu Lin hurriedly led his people forward to meet him with a bow, and said with a broad smile that it had been a number of years, that he had only been able to hear from afar of the Military Commissioner’s awe-inspiring achievements and renown, and that today he was finally able to meet him again in person — the man’s distinguished bearing was even more impressive than before, and it was a great honor.

His tone was exceedingly respectful.

Xie Changgeng stopped and returned the courtesy with a slight smile. “The Chancellor speaks too highly of me. The Chancellor labors tirelessly for his country and its people, never resting from his duties. It is I who arrived late and made the Chancellor and all the gentlemen here wait so long — my shame knows no bounds.”

Mu Xuanqing had thoroughly offended him today. Yet unexpectedly, upon their first meeting, Xie Changgeng carried on as though nothing had happened — entirely unperturbed, his words refined and his replies attentive.

Lu Lin finally let out a slight breath of relief.

Since the other party himself made no mention of Changsha’s breach of etiquette, he himself was naturally not foolish enough to raise the matter on his own initiative. He hurried to introduce Yuan Handing to Xie Changgeng.

“General Yuan is the adopted son of our late Chancellor Yuan, who passed away. He heard today of the Military Commissioner’s arrival and has come especially to offer his welcome.”

Yuan Handing was merely a general within Changsha — there was an enormous gap between his rank and Xie Changgeng’s official post.

Yuan Handing’s expression was grave and dignified, neither servile nor overbearing. He gave a bow to Xie Changgeng and said, “This officer respectfully welcomes the Military Commissioner.”

Xie Changgeng’s gaze came to rest on Yuan Handing’s face; he studied him for a moment, gave a faint nod, then passed by his side and continued forward.

Lu Lin followed quickly, guiding the way for him, and they arrived before the entrance of the royal ancestral shrine.

The shrine gates had already been opened.

Xie Changgeng washed his hands, took up incense, and with a solemn expression entered the royal ancestral shrine. He paid full reverence, kneeling before each of the many Mu clan ancestors enshrined within, one after another, then performed the rites once more before the memorial tablet of the late Prince of Changsha, who had passed away three years prior — respectful and meticulous, without the slightest deviation.

When the rites were complete, he rose from the ground, inserted the incense into the censer, and backing away, retreated a dozen or so steps before turning to leave the shrine. His footsteps paused, coming to a halt once more.

Changsha Prince Mu Xuanqing — his wife’s elder brother — had entered the ancestral shrine at some unknown moment and now stood in the middle of the hall, blocking his path.

The attendants who had been kneeling on either side of the threshold outside had all vanished without a trace.

Mu Xuanqing wore a white jade ceremonial crown, a brocade royal robe, and a sash of golden and jadework. His complexion was pale as snow, his expression cold as ice, as he stared at him coldly.

The surroundings were silent, utterly still, as though dead.

It was as if the eyes of wandering spirits drifted at the top of the shrine, silently watching the two figures who stood facing each other on the ground below.