Once the Grand Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet had passed, the year’s end arrived quickly.

In the early years of Emperor Zhaoyuan’s reign, imperial authority had been unsettled for a time. But once the emperor reached the prime of his life, he governed with diligence and resolve, until peace prevailed across the realm and the dynasty flourished. In places like Jinling and Linan, doors were left unlocked at night, and the common people lived in contentment. The Great Sui favored lanterns—every year as the New Year approached, the lanterns of Jinling would burn from Zhuque Street all the way to the banks of the Qinhuai River, and the clamor of Tongzi Lane never quieted through the night, the festive atmosphere so thick it lingered through the entire first month.

The year Yun Xi had just returned from the northern frontier, Yun Shuguang had once taken her and Yun Luo to release lanterns by the Qinhuai River. But the good times didn’t last—after Yun Shuguang departed for the front, the family’s fortunes worsened year by year. By the time Yun Luo died in battle, she had found a post at the Jingzhao Prefecture, and every New Year’s Eve since then she had been on duty, with no chance for a family reunion.

This year, things had finally taken a turn for the better. Yun Xi had been promoted to Commandant, and for once she was able to stay home. On New Year’s Eve, she invited Tian Si and Tian Ze over to share lotus-leaf dumplings. During the New Year visits, Yun Xi had few relatives to call on—aside from sending Zhao Wu to the Pei Mansion to pay respects to the Old Matriarch, she spent the rest of her time at home keeping Fang Furan company. Cheng Ye, on the other hand, came by the Marquis Manor several times when he had nothing else to do. He and Tian Ze were close friends, and the two of them took advantage of the holiday to gather more than once, sometimes teasing Zangzang together in the courtyard. In time, even Zangzang stopped treating them like strangers.

Once the New Year had passed, by rights she should have rested until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth. But word came from the Ministry of War that the former troops of the Marquis Zhongyong would be arriving in Jinling in February, and Yun Xi was told to make a trip to Xishan Camp.

Xishan Camp lay in the western outskirts of Jinling, and the round trip took roughly three to five days. Since Yun Xi had gone to handle the resettlement of the Marquis Zhongyong’s former troops, she set out on the seventh and did not return to Jinling until early morning on the fifteenth.

Half the first month had passed, and the weather had begun to warm. The fifteenth was the Lantern Festival, and within the city, no one was allowed to ride at a gallop unless on official business, so Yun Xi dismounted in front of Shangfang Gate and walked the rest of the way to the Marquis Manor along the banks of the Qinhuai River. With the new year came a fresh air—the willows along the embankment had sprouted new buds, and the peach and apricot branches had begun to bear scattered blossoms. Spring light scattered brightly across the waters of the Qinhuai. Leading her horse, Yun Xi walked along, turning matters over in her mind: there were several important things to see to this year. The first was her sister-in-law’s illness. Her sister-in-law’s health had never been good, and around the New Year her old ailment had flared up again, sending her to the apothecary several times in a row. Yun Xi had since asked around and learned that there was a renowned physician in Linan who specialized in chronic illnesses. Once A’Jiu and the others arrived, she planned to request leave from the Ministry of War and take her sister-in-law to Linan to see the physician, so as to cure her illness as soon as possible.

Then there was the matter of Uncle Bai and A’Ling. Thanks to the Third Young Master’s help earlier, Uncle Bai’s leg injury had improved a great deal—all that remained was to save up enough silver for medicine. What was more pressing was A’Ling’s marriage prospects. Last time, Yun Xi had noticed that A’Ling seemed to have feelings for Tian Ze, and she had meant to go ask Tian Ze about it right away. But on second thought, with spring approaching and the spring examinations just around the corner, this was a matter of great importance for Tian Ze’s whole life, not something to be casually delayed. So she had set the matchmaking aside for the time being, thinking she would first discuss it with Tian Si around the New Year.

Who could have known that this year’s New Year would be so busy that Yun Xi never found the time. Before she knew it, the fifteenth of the first month had already arrived. If the engagement were settled, the preparations alone would take more than half a year. Yun Xi thought to herself that this matter could not be put off any longer—the moment she returned to the manor, the first thing she would do was find Tian Si.

When she made her way back to the Marquis Manor, Zhao Wu was nowhere to be found. The one guarding the gate was Ke Yong, who said the moment he saw her, “Commandant Yun, you’d best hurry inside and take a look—something seems to have happened at the manor.”

Yun Xi asked, “What happened?”

Ke Yong said, “I’m not quite sure either. It seems someone’s been watching the manor. Zhao Wu went to discuss it with Uncle Bai, and Tian Si and Tian Ze are there too.”

He had actually come to pay New Year’s respects to Yun Xi, only to find that when he arrived at the manor, there wasn’t even anyone guarding the gate. When he went inside to ask around, he found Uncle Bai and Zhao Wu in the middle of a fierce argument. Ke Yong was an honest, straightforward man, and he figured that as an outsider, it wasn’t his place to weigh in on someone else’s family affairs. But with the manor gate left wide open, someone had to keep watch, so he had simply taken it upon himself to guard the entrance.

Hearing that the manor was being watched, Yun Xi grew anxious—she feared that the “Noble One’s” people had tracked them down and that something might have happened to her sister-in-law. She hurried inside in a few quick strides, and just as she rounded the spirit wall, she heard a clamor of raised voices coming from the main hall.

“You only caught a glimpse of a shadow and started spouting nonsense! Now look what’s happened—the young mistress had only just started to recover, and with all this commotion, she’s fallen ill again!”

“I never said it was certainly him, but the build really did look similar. Besides, this person’s movements were strange—he showed up outside the manor two days in a row. It’s not unreasonable to chase after him and ask what’s going on. Before the Young Miss left for Xishan Camp, she specifically told me to keep a close watch over the manor.”

“You’ve got all the reasons on your side, don’t you—the moment something goes wrong, you bring up the Young Miss. If you ask me, this whole thing is your—”

“What’s going on?”

Uncle Bai, leaning on his cane, had been arguing furiously with Zhao Wu without letting up, but the moment he turned and saw Yun Xi, he fell silent at once.

Besides Uncle Bai and Zhao Wu, several of the servants from the back courtyard had also gathered in the main hall, A’Ling among them, along with Tian Si and Tian Ze.

The whole room fell quiet the moment they saw Yun Xi.

Yun Xi asked again, “What’s going on? What happened?” She glanced around. “Where’s my sister-in-law?”

Uncle Bai jabbed his cane against the floor and sat down to the side in irritation, turning his face away. “Ask Zhao Wu.”

Zhao Wu opened his mouth to speak several times, but each time seemed to think better of what he was about to say, and in the end swallowed it back down.

In the end, it was Tian Ze who explained. “Commandant Yun, Zhao Wu said he… thought he saw General Xuanwei.”

Yun Xi froze, the riding crop in her hand nearly slipping to the ground.

Before she could even fully process it, she heard Uncle Bai jab a finger at Zhao Wu and scold him. “The Young Master has been gone for how many years now, and here he is, not knowing a single thing for certain, just catching sight of some shadow, and claiming it’s the Young Master—getting the whole household worked up to chase after him! The young mistress had only just recovered, and she ran all the way to the mouth of the alley after them, caught a chill, and fell ill again! Whose fault is that!”

Zhao Wu said anxiously, “I followed the Young Master all through the northern frontier—how could I not recognize his build? If that person had only shown up once, it wouldn’t be strange, but he’s already circled the manor three times now. Isn’t that odd? Our household may not have many people, but most of them know martial arts, and yet that man lost us in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. If his skill weren’t that good, how could he run that fast?”

“There are plenty of people with good martial arts—are you going to call every one of them the Young Master? Why don’t you say—”

“D-don’t, don’t fight anymore.” Seeing the two of them about to start up again, Tian Si hurried to cut in. He glanced at Yun Xi and, seeing how pale her face had gone, rushed to explain to her instead. “It’s, it’s just that while you, you were away at Xi—Xishan Camp these past few days—ah, Wang’an, you, you tell her.”

Tian Ze nodded and said to Yun Xi, “Commandant Yun, during the days you were away from the manor, there was a man in a brown robe with his face covered who kept lingering around the alley outside. Because his build resembled the late General Xuanwei, Zhao Wu paid him extra attention. This morning, the man showed up again. Zhao Wu, worried it might truly be General Xuanwei, thought to go up and get a closer look, but the moment he approached, the man fled. Zhao Wu rushed after him, which stirred up the whole household. Afterward, when the young mistress asked what had happened and heard it was about General Xuanwei, it must have touched on old grief, and she fell ill.”

Yun Xi nodded. She had recovered somewhat by now, and quietly let out a breath before asking Zhao Wu carefully, “Did you get a clear look at his face?”

“No.” Zhao Wu shook his head. “He was very alert—the moment I got close, he ran.”

“If it really were the Young Master—” Uncle Bai’s anger had not subsided, and he struck his cane hard against the ground. “If it really were the Young Master, would he run at the sight of us? He wouldn’t be able to wait even a moment before rushing back to the manor to reunite with the young mistress and the Young Miss! Do you think you can just say something like ‘I saw the Young Master’ so carelessly? When the Young Master died all those years ago, it was the Young Miss herself who went to the northern frontier to collect his remains. Do you have any idea what those years were like for the Young Miss, for the young mistress? Every time you say something like this, it’s like forcing them to tear open an old wound and look at it all over again! Why can’t you understand that?”

By the time Uncle Bai finished speaking, his voice had grown choked with emotion.

Back then, he had loved Yun Luo like his own son, so much so that even now he still could not let go of Yun Luo’s death in the prime of his youth. But the dead were gone, and the living would slowly find their way forward in time. What he feared most was a single spark of hope kindled from cold ashes—one that could never grow into a real flame, nor be truly grasped, only leaving a person trapped in the abyss for the rest of their life.

He was old now, and it didn’t matter if he wrapped himself in his own cocoon of grief. But Yun Xi and Fang Furan were still young, and both of them were people who valued loyalty and affection far too deeply. They couldn’t spend the rest of their lives clinging to some empty hope.

It was out of genuine concern for them that he had lost his temper so badly.

Yun Xi understood Uncle Bai’s good intentions and tried to comfort him. “Uncle Bai, there’s no need to be angry. Sometimes even I see someone tall and straight-backed on the street and mistake them for my brother. Besides, Zhao Wu was only doing his duty. That man has been lingering around the manor over and over, and he runs at the sight of people—it is a bit suspicious, so it was only right to chase after him.”

Having said this, she told the servants in the side courtyard to disperse, and had A’Ling help Uncle Bai to the back courtyard to rest. She had meant to swing by Fang Furan’s courtyard to check on her illness, but on the way she ran into Mingcui, who told her, “The young mistress just took her medicine and has fallen asleep. Young Miss, you’d better go see her a little later.”

Yun Xi agreed and made her way back to her own courtyard along the covered corridor.

Zangzang had been sleeping in the courtyard, and not having seen Yun Xi for days, he ran up and circled around her legs. Yun Xi bent down to stroke his head, set her travel bag inside the room, then went back out and slowly sat down on the edge of the steps.

In truth, the instant she’d heard Zhao Wu mention Yun Luo, a spark of hope had genuinely flared within her—hoping that her brother might still be alive.

She had even thought—back when she collected her brother’s remains, the body had been burned black. What if it hadn’t really been him?

But she knew that was impossible.

The armor on the body had been Yun Luo’s, the general’s seal had been Yun Luo’s, and the build had matched Yun Luo’s exactly.

Even if all of that could have been faked, how was one to explain the birthmark on the body’s right arm?

And besides, when Zhaoyuan betrayed them back then, the situation had been perilous in the extreme—with so many soldiers under his command, Yun Luo simply hadn’t had the time to escape the fire on the grasslands.

Besides, Uncle Bai had said it himself—if her brother hadn’t died, he would surely have come back to find her, to find her sister-in-law.

Yun Xi remembered Yun Luo’s final campaign. Back then, news of the Marquis Zhongyong’s death in battle had only just reached Jinling, and before she had even recovered from her grief, she had watched helplessly as Yun Luo accepted the court’s decree, put on his armor, took up his sword, and walked out of the manor gate.

She had run after him, unable to understand why her brother—who had already been made a full general—had been demoted to deputy general this time. But Yun Luo had remained calm, smiling as he said, “A’Ting, don’t worry. Father won’t have died for nothing. Whatever honor belongs to the House of Zhongyong, whatever credit belongs to our Yun family—your brother will win every bit of it back!”

“A-A’Ting.”

Yun Xi sat there lost in thought, when she suddenly heard someone calling her name beside her.

Tian Si sat down on the step beside her and said, “A’Ting, don’t, don’t be sad.”

“I’m not sad.” Yun Xi shook her head. “I just… miss my brother.”

Tian Si looked at her, and after a moment asked, “General, General Xuanwei—what, what was he like?”

Hearing him ask this, Yun Xi smiled, her gaze falling on the empty weapon rack in the courtyard. “My mother passed away early when I was young, so it was Father and my brother who raised me. My brother was born for the battlefield—he went to war at eleven, could lead troops by fourteen, and by fifteen, whenever he went into battle, he was undefeated without fail. Back then, people both in the northern frontier and in Jinling said that he had surpassed his teacher, that he wouldn’t just inherit the title of Marquis Zhongyong, but that his achievements would surpass even our father’s. But my brother never cared about any of that. He was never arrogant. He said he only wanted to do what generation after generation of the Yun family had done—protect the nation and guard the borders.”

“When I was still little, whenever my brother and father went off to war, A’Chai and I would wait at home for them. Later, once my brother started commanding troops, I wanted to follow him onto the battlefield. Father wouldn’t allow it, but my brother took me along anyway. He had A’Jiu protect me, and by the second time, he let me lead troops of my own. Can you believe that?”

“I believe you, I believe you. The whole, the whole Zhongyong Marquis family—they’re all good people,” Tian Si said.

He studied Yun Xi carefully once more and said, “A-A’Ting, if, if you really, really miss General Xuanwei, then you—then you should go find the Second Young Master at the Pei Mansion and confirm the remains. That would be better than—than leaving it hanging like this.”

After all, it had been Pei Lan who first recovered Yun Luo’s body back then. By the time Yun Xi reached the northern frontier, the remains had already been placed in the coffin.

Pei Lan, afraid it would hurt her, had not let her open the coffin to look. But on the way back to Jinling, alone, partway through the journey, she had opened it and looked anyway. That man who had once been so bright and upright had, in the end, become nothing but a coffin of charred remains.

At the time, she simply couldn’t bring herself to believe that it was Yun Luo.

Yun Xi nodded. “All right. I’ll go find Pei Lan another day.”

Zangzang, always excitable around people, stopped sleeping the moment he saw Yun Xi and Tian Si, rolling around in the courtyard before fetching a wooden ball and bringing it to Yun Xi.

Yun Xi weighed the wooden ball in her palm for a moment, then threw it hard out of the courtyard. Zangzang tore off after it at a run.

Watching him play so happily, Yun Xi felt her spirits ease considerably. Only then did she remember the matter at hand, and she asked Tian Si, “By the way, about Wang’an’s marriage—do you have any plans?”