By the time Pei Ming left Prince Ling’s side estate, it was already very late.

A servant from the Pei household brought the carriage around, and they drove all the way back to the mansion. No sooner had Pei Ming arrived than he saw Pei Lan waiting at the mansion gate with a wind lantern in hand, who stepped forward and called out, “Father.”

Pei Ming nodded. “What is it?”

“Grandmother asked me to wait here for you, and requests that you go see her in the main hall.”

Pei Ming glanced at the sky—it was already past midnight.

The Old Madam’s health had been poor for the past year, and she usually retired by the second watch. That she was waiting up until this hour tonight likely meant she had something to lecture him about.

Pei Ming fell silent for a moment, took a light cloak from a servant nearby and draped it over his shoulders, then walked toward the main hall.

On the way, he asked Pei Lan, walking behind him, “Have you seen Yun Luo these past few days at the Bureau of Military Affairs?”

“I have,” Pei Lan said.

“And how was it?”

Pei Lan hesitated. “Our friendship has grown distant. Nothing much to say.”

He and Yun Luo and Yun Xi had grown up together in the northern frontier as children. After such a long separation, one would expect a joyous reunion, but Yun Luo, like Yun Xi, was someone who drew sharp lines between love and hate. He knew what despicable things Pei Lan had done over the years, and when they crossed paths at the Bureau of Military Affairs, Yun Luo had simply ignored him entirely.

Pei Ming made a soft sound of acknowledgment, and after a long pause, said flatly, “Take these next few days to review the troops under your command—know clearly in your own mind which ones can be relied upon, and which cannot.”

Hearing this, Pei Lan was startled, and after a moment, a shocking suspicion gradually began to take shape in his mind.

He hesitated, about to press his father for confirmation, but by then they had already reached the main hall.

Pei Ming stepped inside and saw the Old Madam sitting bolt upright at the head of the hall, leaning on her wooden cane. He hurried forward. “Mother, why haven’t you retired at this late hour?”

The Old Madam’s brows shot up. She struck her cane sharply against the floor and said harshly, “You still dare ask? Tell me—where have you been, coming home so late tonight?”

Pei Ming acted as if nothing were amiss. “After work today, I had a social engagement—went for tea along the Qinhuai with a few colleagues.”

“Tea?” the Old Madam snorted coldly. “More likely discussing your grand ambitions, weren’t you?”

Pei Ming said nothing.

“I’ve warned you before—a person walking through this world should act with integrity, answerable to Heaven above and to one’s own conscience below—only then can one see things through to a good end and reap good fruit! With His Majesty still alive and well, you’re already rushing to serve a ‘new sovereign’—are you trying to usurp the court’s authority and decide the succession yourself?! Acting against the natural order like this, you’ll suffer retribution one day, mark my words!”

Pei Ming tried to reassure the Old Madam. “Don’t worry, Mother. Everything I do is for the good of the court. I won’t do anything treasonous.”

“Won’t you?” The Old Madam was beside herself with anger. “Then why, ever since Luo’er returned, have you been so busy you can’t even sit still? Why have you been coming home so late so often lately?”

“Luo’er and Ning Huan are both military officers at court. Their return, no matter how much it complicates court affairs, shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of someone from the Ministry of Works like you!”

“Greed knows no bounds—a snake trying to swallow an elephant. You’ve already risen to the exalted position of Minister of Works; you ought to be content. Even if you wish to climb even higher, you should do so through proper, upright means! Back then Yun Shuguang did you a great kindness, and later, when the Marquis of Zhongyong fell from grace, you rushed to sever ties with his household for the sake of your own career, abandoning that little girl A’Ting to fend for herself—that was already a grave wrong. Heaven watches everything a person does. If you turn back from this wayward path now, while there’s still time, all may yet be well. Otherwise, one day, when the wheel of heaven’s justice turns, you will surely—”

“Mother worries too much,” Pei Ming interrupted before she could finish. “My busyness these days has nothing to do with Luo’er’s return to court. It’s because His Majesty has taken an interest in restoring Mingyin Temple, and that’s what’s kept me so occupied I barely have time to sit down.”

As he spoke, he stepped back and bowed deeply to the Old Madam. “Mother’s teachings today, your son takes to heart and will never forget. Rest assured, Mother—starting tomorrow, your son will come home early after work each day and spend more time with you.”

With that, he gave Pei Lan a nod, signaling him to stay behind and comfort the Old Madam, excused himself citing “official business,” and turned to leave.

Pei Lan had been somewhat puzzled earlier when Pei Ming instructed him to “review his troops,” but after hearing the Old Madam’s words just now, there was nothing left unclear to him.

Though Pei Lan was, by nature, selfish and not particularly admirable in character, when he’d first joined the military, he had, after all, been taught by Yun Shuguang, and understood that as a soldier, one owed unwavering loyalty.

But… Pei Ming was, after all, his own father.

If one day Prince Ling truly did ascend to the throne, then the realm he himself would be leading troops to defend and uphold would, in fact, be that of the new emperor—wouldn’t it?

A storm of turmoil rose in Pei Lan’s heart, and without realizing it, he found himself caught, torn between two impossible choices, until the Old Madam called out “Lan’er” several times before he finally came back to himself.

“Grandmother.” He stepped forward, took her arm, and helped her slowly toward the back courtyard.

The Old Madam’s anger had originally been fierce, but after walking with Pei Lan for a while under the moonlit night, she calmed somewhat and asked, “Lan’er, have you seen A’Ting and Luo’er at the government office these past few days?”

Pei Lan made a soft sound of assent.

The Old Madam asked, “And… are they willing to come see me?”

Pei Lan was silent for a long moment. “Yun Luo has only just returned to court and has a great deal of business to attend to. Grandson only managed a brief meeting with him, and… haven’t had the chance to talk properly yet. As for A’Ting, she’s been suspended from duty and confined to the mansion today—it’ll probably be April before she can return to the Bureau of Military Affairs.”

The Old Madam was about to ask why Yun Xi had been suspended, when she suddenly remembered—Pei Lan had already mentioned this to her before.

It was about the recent theft of the Ministry of War’s defense map. The Ministry of Justice had already found a lead and had Yun Xi lead the full complement of Guangxi Bureau troops to apprehend the thief, only for Yun Xi to rush all the way to the western part of the city and, through some “carelessness,” let the thief slip away.

Emperor Zhaoyuan had flown into a rage over this and ordered Yun Xi suspended from duty pending investigation.

“The theft from within the palace is a grave case—will A’Ting be in real trouble for mishandling it?” the Old Madam asked.

“Grandmother needn’t worry. His Majesty actually has a fairly good idea of who really stole that defense map from the Ministry of War. Since this matter is connected to the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household after all, with the household’s two generals involved, His Majesty had to hold someone accountable, if only for appearances. That he chose to question A’Ting shows he has no intention of settling scores with the Marquis’s household for now—and even if he does later, A’Ting won’t come to any harm, since either way—” Pei Lan paused here, then after a moment continued, “either way, the Third Young Master from Prince Cong’s household will protect her.”

After returning to Jinling, upon his first audience with Emperor Zhaoyuan and the Grand Empress Dowager, Cheng Chang had directly declined the offer of an arranged marriage, stating plainly that he would decide his own matters of the heart. This request wasn’t exactly small, but wasn’t exactly enormous either. Emperor Zhaoyuan, feeling some guilt toward him, along with the Grand Empress Dowager’s willingness to indulge Cheng Chang, had no choice but to agree.

At this point, it was hardly a secret at court that the Third Young Master of Prince Cong’s household favored the eldest young lady of the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household—anyone paying attention could see it plainly, and Pei Lan, of course, understood this as well.

Hearing this, the Old Madam struck her cane down hard and scolded, “A’Ting is such a fine girl! And you let her slip right through your fingers!”

After a long moment, Pei Lan gave a low, quiet “Mm” in response.

Since they worked together at the Bureau of Military Affairs, he had seen Yun Xi several times since her return from Lingnan.

She was no longer the little girl she used to be.

She was a decisive, capable woman general now, and also a radiant, striking young lady—especially since Cheng Chang’s return to Jinling, she seemed truly happy, so much so that even her smallest expressions and smiles were captivating.

“Well, never mind,” the Old Madam said. “What’s lost is lost. In the future, find yourself a good match and marry a virtuous wife—that will do just as well.”

“And remember this: the most important thing in a person’s life is to live with a clear conscience. Otherwise, no matter how wealthy and honored you become, the rest of your life will be nothing but torment, never a moment’s peace…”

Pei Lan nodded. “Grandson understands.”

He glanced at the sky. “Grandmother, it’s very late. Let grandson help you to bed.”

…

The next morning, no sooner had A’Jiu gotten up than she was already urging Yun Xi to help her outside for a walk.

Though her injuries had been severe, her constitution was sturdy, and after resting for over ten days, her condition had improved considerably. Having received the doctor’s permission to get out of bed, she couldn’t wait to go stroll outside the mansion.

Supporting her, Yun Xi cautioned her, “The doctor said you can, at most, walk around inside the mansion grounds for this next month. Once your injuries have fully healed, I’ll take you out—otherwise, if my brother finds out, he’ll scold me again for sure, sooner or later.”

“What’s the big deal?” A’Jiu said. “I never used to see you so afraid of him. What, does he have something on you?”

Yun Xi glanced at her without answering, handing her the wooden cane beside them. “Try walking on your own.”

A’Jiu took a few steps with the cane, then said, “If you ask me, you shouldn’t be cooped up in this mansion either. Hurry up and think of a way to get back to being a general at court. Don’t let yourself actually get stripped of your rank—how would you ever get back to the battlefield to fight the enemy then? What a waste of all your hard-earned skill.”

Yun Xi said, “Well, now that my brother’s back, even if I really can’t be a general anymore, I could just serve as a common soldier under him. Either way, it’s all about defending the border and protecting the realm—it’s all the same to me.”

She thought it over carefully, then added, “Besides, I don’t plan on going off to war this year anyway. I’ve got to get married too—that alone will probably keep me busy for quite a while.”

“You’re getting married?” A’Jiu looked at Yun Xi’s unusually serious expression and blinked in surprise. “Didn’t you say you didn’t want to marry? Who are you marrying, then?”

“When did I ever say I didn’t want to marry?” Yun Xi said. Even if she had said something like that before, it was only because the person she wanted to marry hadn’t yet come to the mansion to propose.

Seeing A’Jiu look thoroughly confused, Yun Xi didn’t bother explaining further and simply said, “In any case, someone will come marry me sooner or later.”

A’Jiu looked her over and nodded. “That’s true—you’re so good-looking, of course plenty of people like you!”

She hobbled over on her cane and threw an arm around Yun Xi’s neck. “All right! Once we get back to the northern frontier, we’ll pick you out a good one on the grasslands—you’ll marry no one but the most heroic man on the steppe! And if he dares refuse to marry you, I’ll beat him up!”

Yun Xi said, “I’m not marrying at the northern frontier. I’m marrying right here in Jinling.”

“You’re going to marry one of those young masters from official families here in Jinling?” A’Jiu said, taken aback. “That doesn’t seem like a good fit—would those young masters even like a girl like you, who fights and kills?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Yun Xi said, pressing her lips together before adding, unable to help herself, “Someone likes me. Likes me a lot, actually.”

“Likes you a lot?” A’Jiu blinked, tossed the cane aside, and asked, “Then tell me, who has such good taste?”

Yun Xi was just about to answer when a low cough sounded behind her.

She turned to look and instantly fell silent, terrified.

Yun Luo had arrived at some point without her noticing, staring at her with a heavy expression. Seeing her turn to look at him, he scolded, “In broad daylight, and you a young lady, talking like that? Have you no shame?!”

He paused, then added, “Uncle Qin has brought your Uncle Mute to the mansion. Come with me to the main hall.”