Su Luoyun could not help but laugh: “Mixed-heritage marriages are everywhere — and the children born of them really do tend to be better-looking… But what are those men doing, riding through the city so ostentatiously?”
Xiangcao recalled the military uniforms the riders had been wearing and said, “They are all soldiers, though I do not know whether they belong to the same garrison as our Shizi.”
Su Luoyun asked nothing more and continued walking toward the spice shop.
Because Su Luoyun had placed her order with the shopkeeper well in advance, the myrrh she had requested was of the finest quality, and the other spices she needed had also been packaged and set aside for her.
As Su Luoyun ran her hands along the shelves, she found herself quietly impressed — this shopkeeper was truly remarkable. His stock was extraordinarily complete. In times of peace, there would have been nothing surprising about that, but with the main roads in such a precarious state, a stable supply chain was cause for genuine admiration.
Taking advantage of the time while her purchases were being prepared, Su Luoyun idly asked the shopkeeper whether his goods came in by waterway or overland.
Her question was so knowledgeable that the shopkeeper could not help asking in return, “How is that, young lady — do you run a business yourself?”
Su Luoyun smiled faintly and spun a casual lie: “I have only recently moved here, and I cannot stomach the local food. I was hoping to bring in some provisions, fabrics, and household goods from the south — but the roads are plagued with mountain bandits, and I fear something might go wrong in transit. I thought I would ask whether you know of any reliable routes.”
The shopkeeper had never seen her before. He looked her up and down, taking in her silk robes and refined appearance, and decided she did not look like someone who would lie.
So he leaned in and lowered his voice: “Madam, if you want to make money, stay off the main roads. Find a local escort agency — they have their own routes that bypass checkpoints, and you can avoid some of the local levies and miscellaneous taxes. They usually have connections on both sides of the law, so you will also have fewer run-ins with highway robbers. Even the outlaws have their own code of conduct. Hire a reputable escort service, and you can travel from one end to the other without any trouble!”
Su Luoyun nodded slowly, as though taking it all in.
Of course, she had no intention of going into trade. But Han Linfeng now needed to bring in grain from elsewhere, and if the transport drew too much attention, it would inevitably attract the interference of those with ulterior motives. If there were back-channel routes available, all the better.
So she had asked in passing while buying spices, simply to have the information to hand.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Su Luoyun settled herself at a side table with a cup of tea, waiting for the shopkeeper to finish packaging her spices.
Just as she raised the teacup to her lips, someone else walked into the shop: “Shopkeeper — do you have elk grass?”
Xiangcao, who was standing beside Su Luoyun, turned to look. Three broad-shouldered men in military uniforms had entered the shop.
The one walking in front was quite young, with thick brows and large, expressive eyes. He did not look like a native of the Central Plains — yet, like their household’s Shizi, a touch of mixed blood only made him strikingly handsome, and he was rather pleasant to look at.
The moment Xiangcao saw his face, it came to her — was this not one of the men she had spotted earlier, riding through the market with such flamboyant ease?
Yet unlike the Shizi’s air of composed, refined elegance, this young man carried a wilder edge — like a mountain chieftain who had spent years thundering through forests and ravines. There was an untamed, ungovernable quality about him that even the crisp lines of a Wei military uniform could not suppress.
Xiangcao immediately leaned close to her mistress’s ear and whispered that she had spotted the handsome soldier again.
The young man at the head of the group, noticing Xiangcao glancing over, let his gaze linger on the two of them for a moment.
But Su Luoyun, unable to see, did not turn her head, and so he only caught a glimpse of her profile.
That day Su Luoyun was dressed in a pale, smoky grey outer cloak — a colour usually favoured by elderly women. Yet on her, this seemingly dull shade, paired with garments of elegantly restrained cut, only made her complexion look more luminously pale. It lent her an atmosphere of pure, unaffected grace, like the image of a fair maiden standing by the waterside amid pale reeds and blue-green rushes.
And as for the line of her profile — it was a radiant, otherworldly beauty rarely seen in the northern lands.
The young man paused for just a moment, then could not help stealing a few more glances. At precisely that instant, Su Luoyun finished her tea, rose from the chair, and turned to face him fully.
He saw her face in full now, and his gaze sharpened with an intensity that could not be disguised — a flash of undisguised, startled admiration.
Just then, the shopkeeper came bustling over: “Honoured sir, how many liang of elk grass would you like?”
This was a commodity transported all the way from the far south — from Siam — along a long and winding route. It was precious and costly; even extravagant buyers seldom purchased more than one or two liang for use in blended fragrances.
To everyone’s surprise, the young man finally pulled his gaze from Su Luoyun’s face and said without hesitation, “However much you have, I will take it all.”
The shopkeeper was overjoyed — today was truly a day of fortune; every customer who walked in seemed to want to buy him out. What a satisfying day of business!
So he confirmed: “That is a full ten large sacks — the price is no small matter. Are you certain you want all of it?”
Su Luoyun, overhearing this, paused inwardly with a flicker of puzzlement. What sort of trade were these men engaged in, that they needed so much elk grass? Its scent was not particularly pleasant, and it was mostly used to neutralise the odour of other spices. Even spice shops that carried it would not stock large quantities. She herself had only purchased two liang of elk grass today…
Just then, the young man confirmed: “All of it. Please have it loaded onto the cart as quickly as possible…”
Having said this, he could not help turning his head once more to steal another look at Su Luoyun. The large man at his side had already caught on to the situation, and with nothing better to do while waiting for the shopkeeper to fetch the goods, he laughed and asked Su Luoyun, “Might I ask the young lady’s age — and whether she is already spoken for?”
Su Luoyun said nothing. She took the veiled hat that Xiangcao had fetched from the carriage and put it on, allowing the heavy gauze curtain to conceal her face.
Even as that man was making his flippant remarks, several of the plainclothes guards who had been stationed outside the shop walked in, faces tight, and demanded of the soldiers, “Which garrison are you men from? How dare you harass a member of the Prince’s household?”
The large man raised an eyebrow and said, “We only asked a few idle questions — what law does that break?”
The handsome young man, however, showed better sense. He reproved the large man with a word, then turned to the guards with a cupped-fist salute: “We are from the Qianbei Camp. My subordinate does not know how to conduct himself — he has caused offence to your honoured party. Please do not take it to heart…”
When this young man spoke, he did so in the authentic accent of the capital. He looked, indeed, like one of those sons of the capital’s great families who had recently arrived at the Qianbei Camp.
The guard looked them over, gave a cold snort, and then gestured courteously for the Shizi’s consort to leave the shop and board the carriage.
Su Luoyun walked a couple of steps, then suddenly turned her head and asked, “May I ask, soldier — what use do you have for so much elk grass?”
The handsome young man had not expected a woman to ask something like that. He hesitated a moment, then smiled and replied, “A relative in the south runs a spice business and could not find any. I happened to see it here, so I am buying some on his behalf… Is there something that troubles you about that, Madam?”
Su Luoyun paused briefly, then said lightly, “I only noticed how generously the soldier spends, and could not resist asking out of curiosity…”
Those who came from Qianbei were the pampered, free-spending sons of the capital — even a lavish purchase of spice ingredients was nothing remarkable. Su Luoyun had only asked on a passing whim, and with nothing more to say, she let Xiangcao support her arm and walked out.
As for the young man — he remained standing in the doorway, watching Su Luoyun walk away. Then he turned back to ask the shopkeeper: “What household does that lady belong to? I noticed her eyes…”
The shopkeeper had not seen her carriage earlier and had simply assumed she was the wife of a merchant passing through from out of town.
Now that the guards had suddenly barged in, it dawned on him with a start: “Heavens — why did I not think of it sooner? Could she be the woman Lord Beizhen’s Shizi brought back from the capital as his bride? I heard she has trouble with her eyesight, and that her birth is not particularly distinguished…”
The young man heard this, and the corner of his mouth curved upward in a smile that was not quite a smile.
Once they had stepped out of the shop, the large man said to the young man: “Word has long circulated that the Beizhen Shizi is reckless and dissolute — it seems there is truth to it. To handle something as important as taking a wife so carelessly, marrying a blind woman at that. Still, she is truly beautiful… Once we have taken this place, we might…”
Before he could finish, the young man cast him a quiet, sidelong glance. The large man fell immediately silent, swallowing the rest of his reckless words.
The young man said quietly, “Now that the goods are purchased, load the cart and leave the city quickly. This is not our territory. Everyone, mind your words and actions, and do not stir up unnecessary trouble.”
The large man understood at once, nodded his assent, and turned to collect the more than ten spice sacks the shopkeeper had already packed, load them onto the cart, and depart the city without delay.
Back on the carriage, Xiangcao handed Su Luoyun a damp cloth to wipe her hands.
Su Luoyun absentmindedly wiped her hands, her thoughts elsewhere — fixed on what the young soldier had said.
He had claimed they were buying spices to sell for a relative in the south. Su Luoyun had barely paid attention at the time, but now, thinking it over carefully, she found it increasingly off. If they were buying spices native to the north to take south, that would at least make a kind of sense.
But elk grass was clearly a product of the south; by the time it reached the north, its price had already doubled. Were they buying it at a loss to sell to a relative in the south? Did they intend to bankrupt themselves in the process?
She turned it over in her mind with puzzlement. Perhaps they were using the purchasing as a cover and had no intention of actually selling it — but then what did they want with so much elk grass?
Could it be that they were planning to use it as a styptic?
She was still turning this over in her mind when the carriage arrived back at the estate. Before she had even had a chance to step down, a pair of hands steadied her and lifted her smoothly from the carriage.
Su Luoyun gave a start of surprise. Then she caught a familiar scent and relaxed, her tense nerves unwinding: “When did you get back? You could have sent a page boy ahead to say something.”
Han Linfeng, in full military dress, sword-straight brows and deep eyes alight with a smile, set his wife down gently on the ground: “I wanted to come back unannounced and surprise you — I never expected you would be out of the house, and I was left waiting quite a while.”
Once they were back inside, as Su Luoyun was helping him change his clothes, she caught the scent of blood on him and immediately grew alarmed: “What happened? Are you injured?”
Han Linfeng was entirely unperturbed: “It is that fellow Zhao Guibei — he was assigned to the Qianbei Camp, but he keeps wandering over to my Qianxi supply depot to visit, and he is always dragging me off to the training ground to spar. I grew so exasperated by his pestering that I deliberately grazed my arm against the tip of his blade. That finally made him settle down.”
Su Luoyun heard this and did not know whether to laugh or sigh — even if he was unwilling to display his abilities in front of others, there was no need to use his own flesh to deflect a blade!
She reached toward the wound and found it had not yet formed a scab. She wanted to fetch some medicine to stop the bleeding, but when her hand moved toward the medicine chest, it happened to land on the spices she had bought today. The one currently in her fingers was the elk grass.
She paused, took the herb, ground it, and scattered it over Han Linfeng’s wound. Han Linfeng looked down, and the herb worked remarkably — the bleeding stopped almost at once.
He smiled: “So spices can also treat injuries — you could retrain as a physician.”
Su Luoyun said absently, “Spices can originally be used as medicinal herbs — many ingredients have medicinal properties…”
She stopped mid-sentence, lifted her head sharply, and said all at once: “Today, soldiers from the Qianbei Camp came into the city and bought large quantities of elk grass, claiming they would ship it south to sell. But this commodity comes from the south in the first place… And it is not widely used among various kinds of spice blending, so why would they buy so much of it… Could it be that they intend to use it as a styptic?”
Han Linfeng narrowed his eyes: “Hemostatic medicines from pharmacies are not expensive — if one needed them legitimately, one could simply buy them from a pharmacy. But purchasing large quantities of wound medicine openly would inevitably invite official scrutiny… Buying such a costly commodity as elk grass to use as a styptic? That does not sound like regular Wei soldiers — they are either mountain bandits or rebel forces!”
“Should we send someone to investigate and confirm?” Su Luoyun asked at once.
Han Linfeng shook his head: “If it is true, by now the men and the cart have already left the city — we cannot catch them… But it is also true that Brother Cao is critically short of grain and medical supplies. If they took this risk to come into the city to buy medicine… that also tells us that if we do not find a solution soon, they may not last through the winter.”
What solution — Su Luoyun understood it perfectly. They would have to take Jiayong Prefecture by force. Once that city fell, the barrier between north and south would be broken, and they would no longer fear shortage of provisions.
At this point, Han Linfeng had already dashed off a note and had it sent to the Qianbei Camp, asking that fellow Zhao Guibei to check whether anyone from the Qianbei Camp had gone into Liangzhou that day to purchase spices.
The Qianbei Camp was just outside Liangzhou city, even closer than the Qianxi supply depot. It was not long before someone returned with Zhao Guibei’s reply.
The letter said that something had happened at the Qianbei Camp. The previous day, several soldiers had left camp and never returned; only that morning had someone found their bodies in the hills behind the camp. Their military uniforms and identity plaques had been taken.
Because of this, the entire camp was on lockdown. If what Han Linfeng suspected was true, then the soldiers who had bought spices in Liangzhou were most likely the murderous imposters in disguise.
Zhao Guibei had already reported the matter to the garrison commander, who had dispatched men into the city to track down the spice shop and investigate.
Su Luoyun had not expected that today she had crossed paths with a band of desperate fugitives. And they had entered the city entirely openly, disguised as soldiers, swaggering about with unbridled audacity. True desperadoes, indeed.
“Their nerve was truly extraordinary… Who could they be?”
Han Linfeng also knit his brows. He was a man of extraordinary boldness in his own right and seldom felt his heart lurch with alarm. Yet after hearing Zhao Guibei’s reply, his heart had given a sudden, sharp jolt.
In his absence, Su Luoyun had come face to face with men of this kind. If anything were to happen to her, what then?
At this thought, he could not help saying with unaccustomed gravity: “In times of war, even the city is not safe. From now on, when I am away, do not go out without good reason.”
“It is not as though killers and brigands come strolling through Liangzhou every day,” Su Luoyun said with exasperation. “If I never leave the estate, I will grow so idle I will start putting on weight.”
Han Linfeng heard this and immediately looked Su Luoyun up and down: “Nonsense — after only a few days away, how is it that you look thinner? Where has all the weight I worked so hard to put on you gone?”
Su Luoyun was taken aback. Thinking she really had grown thinner, she — unable to see herself — could only pinch her own cheeks to check: “Have I really? I have been eating a full bowl of rice at every meal…”
Han Linfeng scooped her up in his arms: “I do not believe it. I will need to make my own careful inspection. Come — let us go and take measurements right now.”
By his reckoning, he had been away at camp for more than half a month. There was not much to do there — that gang of rogues under his command had effectively sidelined him from any real authority. But he had other matters to attend to, and using the excuse of hunting expeditions, he had frequently led men out of camp, keeping himself busy enough that he had had no time to return home.
On the occasional rare moment of freedom, he could only commune with her at a distance through the page boys who carried letters back and forth between them.
In the evenings, he would unroll his portable scroll and gaze at the painted beauty — her head bowed, playfully teasing a cat with an air of captivating charm — and for a moment it felt as though he were back in the capital, separated from her by only a single wall, pining for her yet unable to draw near, enduring those days of longing.
And so today, with a day of rest from the supply depot, he had seized the moment and come back to spend time properly with the beauty in the painting.
He had not expected that the moment he arrived, he would be plunged straight into the unsettling business of Su Luoyun’s near-encounter with the counterfeit soldiers.
His heart still held a lingering trace of alarm, and he could not help wanting to hold her warm and close, to assure himself properly that she was safe and whole.
Su Luoyun was quite powerless against a man who had been starving for half a month. Even her protests that he smelled of sweat came to nothing — he paid them no mind whatsoever, intent on satisfying a hearty craving before anything else could be said.
When the man had finally sated himself, the woman beneath him lay with her dark hair tumbled loose and her hairpins scattered across the pillow. The flush had not yet faded from her cheeks, and her lips were tinged with a luminous, dewy gleam.
Such radiant loveliness — she looked even more bewitching than the little enchantress Han Linfeng conjured in his hazy late-night dreams.
Han Linfeng was so captivated that his heart stirred with fresh longing, and he was about to lean down for more — when from outside the door came Ji Qiu’s hesitant voice: “…That is, Shizi — the Princess Consort is asking you to come for tea… Please, Shizi, do come quickly…”
At this, not only Ji Qiu outside the door was burning with embarrassment — even Su Luoyun’s face could have fried an egg.
She had nearly forgotten — this was the estate of Lord Beizhen. There were a father-in-law and mother-in-law in the house!
In broad daylight, a husband freshly returned from camp had closeted himself in his wife’s rooms and refused to emerge — it was hardly something that could be spoken of openly, let alone heard by others.
Han Linfeng, however, seemed entirely untroubled. With a smile, he tossed over a damp cloth, wiped Su Luoyun down and then himself, then called for servants to come in and help him change into house clothes, and went to pay his respects to his mother.
Su Luoyun, meanwhile, hurried to get up and make herself presentable. Xiangcao nimbly combed her hair with nimble hands, chattering all the while with bright-eyed animation: “Miss, the Shizi in full military dress — he truly cuts a splendid, commanding figure! I have never seen any man wear Wei military uniform as handsomely as him!”
“Did you not say just today that you had seen someone even better-looking?” Su Luoyun could not help remarking.
Xiangcao hastily paid her compliments: “That was just idle nonsense — how could anyone compare to our Shizi?”
When Han Linfeng had returned to the estate that day, dressed in his military uniform, all the maidservants in the household had stolen glances at the Shizi as he passed.
Even Xiangcao had not been able to help staring several times.
Su Luoyun smiled faintly, but behind it lay a faint thread of wistfulness. She had long since grown accustomed to the life of the blind. Yet still there lingered, quietly, a trace of regret.
If someday, before her life was through, she could see with her own eyes the face of the man who slept beside her, whose breath intertwined with hers — how wonderful that would be…
When Han Linfeng walked through to the front hall, he found not only his mother there, but his father as well.
He paid his respects to both elders and settled himself in a chair to one side.
The Princess Consort said with cool composure: “You are no longer newlyweds. However deep the affection, there must be some sense of propriety. What kind of conduct is it to return from camp and not pay your respects to your parents first, but instead make straight for your own courtyard? Could your wife not have reminded you?”
Han Linfeng glanced at his mother and smiled: “The fault is mine. On the road back I ate something cold and had some stomach trouble — I went to my rooms, made several trips to the privy, then closed the door and cleaned myself up before I could manage to come and properly greet Father and Mother. I am sorry.”
By explaining it this way, he neatly cleared Su Luoyun of any blame. Even if everyone knew it was a fabrication, there was no good way to press the matter further.
Prince Beizhen, for his part, had no interest in his son’s domestic affairs. He had called Han Linfeng to come because there was real business to discuss.
It turned out that General Wang Yun was coming to Liangzhou to inspect the granaries, and had sent Prince Beizhen advance notice.
As proper host, Prince Beizhen was obliged to receive the General at the estate, and so he had summoned his son to give him fair warning and let him prepare himself.
Because Wang Yun was coming in person, his intentions were anything but benign.
Prince Beizhen understood this perfectly, and the look he sent his son carried layers of unspoken meaning. Han Linfeng understood: the General had come to Liangzhou to manufacture a pretext — to lay the groundwork for holding Han Linfeng responsible when the grain shipments he had been assigned to oversee eventually failed.
The General was not coming alone. He was bringing his wife, Madam Wei, with him.
Wang Yun had been stationed in the north for many years, and so he had brought his wife along with him. With the fighting at Jiayong Prefecture now intensifying, Wang Yun had arranged for his household to withdraw to the rear and settle temporarily in Huicheng, not far from Liangzhou.
Wang Yun and his wife were deeply devoted to each other, and he personally escorted her to Huicheng. Since his route took him through Liangzhou, he would take the opportunity to inspect the supply depot.
Madam Wei had spent considerable thought on what gifts to bring for the Princess Consort and the newly-returned Shizi’s wife, and consulted her husband on several options.
Wang Yun looked over his wife’s selections — red coral, tourmaline the size of eggs, all fine and costly treasures — and gave a slight scoff. He turned to her and said, “Do you know why Emperor Xuanwei bestowed upon them the title ‘Beizhen’ rather than ‘Zhenbei’?”
Madam Wei was a woman of the inner chambers; she knew nothing of such matters, and naturally shook her head.
Wang Yun continued: “In those years, it was on the northern hills of Qiutai that Emperor Shengde was trapped and besieged for twenty days. The north is a place of disgrace for this branch of the imperial family — the beginning of their decline. Emperor Xuanwei granted them this title to signify that the desolate north would forever hold Shengde’s line in check — not that they themselves possessed the martial strength to dominate the northern realm.”
Madam Wei understood at last. She lowered her head and looked at her selections: “Are these too lavish?”
Wang Yun sipped his tea, then nodded: “We are merely going through the motions of courtesy. A fallen, out-of-favour prince in the north — a token gesture will do.”
Madam Wei now understood entirely. The coral and the tourmaline were put away; in their place she selected a pair of porcelain vases of reasonable quality and respectable size, along with a white jade pendant, as greeting gifts.
While the General’s wife prepared her perfunctory gifts, the Beizhen household made preparations with far greater care.
The Princess Consort had servants busy for days sweeping and tidying the courtyard, bringing out valuable ornaments from the storerooms to furnish the guest rooms, all to ensure that the General and his wife would be comfortable and at ease during their stay at the estate.
Su Luoyun could not see the Princess Consort’s expression, but she could hear in the tone of her voice as she directed the servants — far more animated than usual — and could sense something of her anticipation.
For the Princess Consort, who had grown up in the capital, the desolation of Liangzhou was like a stagnant pool in which a vivid, living fish had been left to suffocate.
Now that the Wang household from Changxi was coming to stay, such distinguished guests were like a fresh stream of clear water poured into that stagnant pool — it was impossible not to be stirred by anticipation.
And so the Princess Consort not only had new dresses made for herself, but also supervised, one by one, the clothes that her daughter and Su Luoyun were to wear when receiving the guests — inspecting each outfit to see whether the style and cut were appropriate.
Most of Su Luoyun’s wardrobe had been made-to-order in the capital, however, and the fashionable styles did not quite suit the Princess Consort’s taste. She immediately called in the tailor and had Su Luoyun’s garments altered.