Having been delayed briefly along the way, by the time Cheng Chang reached the main hall, Yun Xi’s personal guard captain Cui Yu had already arrived.
Accompanying him was Bai Ling from the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household.
Seeing Cheng Chang, Cui Yu hurried forward to pay his respects: “Upon hearing the news of Madam Fang’s death, the Marquis didn’t ask many questions — he simply wrote out a letter of divorce and instructed this subject to bring it to Prince Ling’s mansion. This subject had originally intended to go first to the household to report the matter to General Yunhui, but it turns out the General had already accompanied Your Highness to the mansion.”
Cheng Chang said: “We only just heard the news ourselves.”
The group waited together for a while before Yun Xi came over from the villa.
Hearing that Yun Luo, upon learning of Fang Fulan’s death, had simply sent along a letter of divorce, Yun Xi felt no surprise at all.
Her brother had always been like this — loving and hating with absolute clarity, decisive when a matter called for decisiveness.
Yun Xi asked Bai Ling: “Why have you come here too?”
Bai Ling lowered her eyes slightly: “Reporting to my lady — the young mistress, no, Madam Fang, though she betrayed the marquis’s household, back when she was still with us, she once helped care for the household’s elders and children alongside my lady, and looked after Ling’s own father and mother. Ling still remembers that debt of kindness. Now that she has passed, with no one to properly see to her burial, it seemed such a pitiful thing — so Ling wished to come and give her a proper burial. That way, when I follow the young general to the northern frontier later on, there will be nothing left weighing on my heart.”
When Fang Fulan had first arrived at the marquis’s household, Bai Ling had still been a young girl barely past childhood; now, several years later, she had grown into a graceful young woman.
Yun Xi nodded: “Very well. I’ve already gathered up Fang Fulan’s belongings for her. Cui Yu, take some men and go with A’Ling to see to the burial. Once she’s laid to rest, remember to burn my brother’s letter of divorce for her as an offering.”
“Yes.” Cui Yu bowed with clasped hands.
Prince Ling’s mansion now lay in such ruin that anyone who came, so long as they held any official rank at all, had to be treated with deference.
After Cui Yu, Bai Ling, and the others left, the servants of the household, sensing that the heir apparent and General Yunhui seemed to have something to discuss, all withdrew to a respectful distance.
Recalling what Bai Ling had said, Cheng Chang asked Yun Xi: “Your brother plans to return to the northern frontier?”
Yun Xi nodded: “Yes. Back when His Majesty recalled Father, he had actually intended to appoint another general to guard the frontier — but after Zhaoyuan’s betrayal and the Pei household’s downfall, no one else proved suitable, no matter how they searched. Besides, these past two years the barbarians on the frontier have remained fairly peaceful, largely because after Father wiped out the Daman tribe, other tribes also suffered defeats under Pei Lan’s command. But now, with Wang’an about to ascend the throne, the frontier tribes seem to sense an opportunity and have begun stirring restlessly again. Last night, Wang’an and my brother discussed the matter through the whole night, and in the end decided that my brother should lead the Zhongyong army back to the frontier.”
Hearing this, Cheng Chang paused, then asked Yun Xi: “Was the decision to send the Zhongyong army back to the frontier made jointly by the Crown Prince and Yun Luo?”
Yun Xi said: “Yes. But my brother won’t leave right away — probably not until late summer, early autumn.”
She went on, smiling. “I originally wanted to keep A’Ling here in Jinling and find a matchmaker to arrange a marriage for her, but she doesn’t seem to want that — she’s set on going to the northern frontier with Uncle Bai and my brother, so I let her have her way.”
Hearing Yun Xi mention this, Cheng Chang recalled that nearly two years ago, Yun Xi had once proposed a match for Bai Ling — with none other than Tian Ze himself. Unfortunately, at the time Tian Ze had had no intention of marrying, his mind consumed entirely with clearing Yun Shuguang’s name, and so the matter had simply been left to fade away.
Before the chaos at Mount Pingnan, Cheng Chang had once happened to pass by Hanyuan Hall and caught Tian Ze instructing Tian Si to inquire after Uncle Bai’s illness, and mentioning that he’d recently obtained a box of rare medicinal herbs, asking Tian Si to find some way to send it to Uncle Bai. At the time, Tian Si and Tian Ze had only just returned to the palace and were still closely watched by Emperor Zhaoyuan, so it was Cheng Chang who had ultimately arranged for someone to deliver the medicine to the marquis’s household on their behalf.
At the time, Cheng Chang hadn’t thought much of any of this — but looking back on it now, in a household as vast as the Marquis of Zhongyong’s, Tian Ze’s particular concern for Uncle Bai’s illness alone did carry a certain unspoken significance.
But these were other people’s private affairs, and Cheng Chang chose not to press the matter further, asking Yun Xi instead: “With Yun Luo taking the Zhongyong army back to the northern frontier, will you stay here in Jinling with me? If so, you’ll have far fewer chances to see your brother from now on.”
Yun Xi smiled, answering briskly and without hesitation: “It’s fine. I’ve already made up my mind — from now on, I’ll go wherever you go, Third Young Master, as long as you don’t stop me from heading off to fight a battle now and then. Besides, my brother, A’Jiu, and the others are all military men themselves, fighting campaigns across the land — we’re bound to cross paths on the battlefield eventually anyway.”
Cheng Chang asked further: “After your brother inherits the title today, will he have a few days of leisure?”
“Yes, he’ll have three to five days free.”
Cheng Chang said: “Then let’s set it for three days from now — I’ll pay a visit to the marquis’s household.”
“You’re coming to the household?” Yun Xi asked, surprised.
Cheng Chang said: “Though my father and mother have already decided to go propose the marriage on my behalf, in the end, marrying you is my own affair, and the life we build afterward is one we’ll share together. So I’ve decided to follow the proper customs of my own place — I’ll go to the marquis’s household myself first, and personally ask your brother for your hand. Only that way will I feel I haven’t done you wrong.”
Hearing this, Yun Xi was startled for a moment, then broke into a bright smile, her voice crisp and cheerful: “All right, then I’ll go tell my brother — three days from now it is!”
———*—
Three days later, at the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household.
Early in the morning, just as dawn broke, the eastern side chamber of the main courtyard was already crowded with people. Yun Luo stood before a bronze mirror, turning this way and that, shaking his head: “This outfit won’t do — the color’s too bright, not dignified enough, won’t carry any weight.”
“Young master, why not try that bamboo-green one instead? The color’s lighter, gentler — dignified and good-looking both,” Mingcui suggested, holding out a bamboo-green summer robe draped over a yellow pear-wood rack.
Yun Luo took it and quickly changed behind the screen.
Everyone turned to look. A’Jiu said: “I think it looks good — just as nice as the other one.”
“It looks nice, sure, but…” Bai Xiang hesitated, “but dressing well is like being a person — you should play to your strengths and hide your weaknesses. If the young general wears this, it does add a touch of refined elegance, but that young prince from the Cong princely household is already the very picture of ‘a gentleman fine as jade’ — how could the young general possibly outshine him in that regard? Better change again. Or — why not wear the marquis’s formal ceremonial robes instead, to overwhelm him with sheer authority? Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s bring out that long spear the founding emperor once bestowed on our ancestor, kept in the ancestral hall!”
“No, no, that won’t do. Today he’s the one coming to ask for the young lady’s hand — he’s the one with something to ask of the young general. Whether the young general even agrees is still up in the air! Why would we go putting on the marquis’s official robes for this? It would give him far too much face!” Zhao Wu said.
“Then what do you suggest? Too bright a color isn’t dignified enough, too light a color can’t compete, and proper formal robes would give him too much honor — surely we can’t just show up looking sloppy to receive a guest! That would be far too undignified!” Qin Zhong said impatiently. “If you ask me, the young general just has to accept his fate — who told him to be away these past years, letting the young lady get swept off her feet by someone who looks practically like an immortal come down to earth.”
“The Third Young Master’s real advantage isn’t just his looks,” Mingcui said, thinking it over. “Well, he is handsome, but his bearing is even better — clear, calm, utterly one of a kind in this world.”
Yun Luo pointed a finger at Mingcui: “I see you’ve been spending so much time around A’Ting that you’ve started taking her side over mine.”
“Young general, why not… why not wear your armor instead?” Bai Ling suggested. “Didn’t Father say to play to your strengths? The young general is a military commander — nothing looks more impressive on you than a suit of armor, and that’s one thing the Third Young Master will never be able to match.”
Yun Luo thought this made sense, and had just finished putting on the armor when the door suddenly rattled — it was Yun Xi arriving.
“Brother, the Third Young Master is already at the mansion gate — why haven’t you gone to the main hall yet?”
As Yun Xi spoke, she suddenly noticed Yun Luo dressed head to toe in full military armor, and asked, puzzled: “Brother, you’re not even going to the Western Hills Camp today — why are you wearing that? It’s the height of summer, aren’t you hot?”
But Yun Luo, seeming rather put out with her, fastened on his iron wrist guards and, passing by her, shot her a glare without answering, then walked off toward the main hall in stony silence.