On the day of the Flower Washing Festival, Yanfu Street remained bustling throughout the entire night.
While festivals were naturally lively, there was a distinct difference between the festive cheer of a crowd and the chaotic clamor of a disturbance.
According to a waiter on duty at Wangchen Tower who spoke early the next morning, the root of it all was a mysterious guest.
Taking advantage of the festival's reputation, many prominent figures from the imperial court had visited Wangchen Tower that day. Their carriages and horses had nearly choked Yanfu Street into a standstill, while curious onlookers, unaware of the cause, crowded around in thick layers to catch a glimpse of the excitement.
Some speculated that a truly extraordinary guest must have graced Wangchen Tower that night to entice half the pillars of the state to lower themselves by visiting such a place of pleasure. Some even whispered that the guest might be the one from the palace himself.
However, before the "mysterious guest" theory could be proven, events took an unpredictable turn. For reasons unknown, servants from the Prince of Xuanyuan’s manor suddenly appeared at the tower, insisting on entering to search for someone. They could not be restrained. As the saying goes, one must look at the master before beating the dog; though they were merely servants, they belonged to a Prince’s manor. They could neither be struck nor persuaded to leave. In the end, the proprietor himself had to come out to handle the situation.
The proprietor of Wangchen Tower was quite a character. Having spent years immersed in such a den of vice, he had seen as much of the world’s fickleness and the complexities of the human heart as any old physician in a clinic. He saw at a glance that these were not the Prince of Xuanyuan’s personal attendants but rather those from the inner courts of the manor. Guessing that this was likely another scheme born of deep-mansion intrigue, he immediately sent word to the Prince himself.
In the time it took for a few breaths, the Prince of Xuanyuan arrived in person. This time, not even the gods could have stopped him. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Prince’s men had escorted someone out through the back door of Wangchen Tower. According to a waiter who witnessed the event, the person left in such a hurry that they hadn't even managed to put their boots on properly.
Some said the person the Prince took away was none other than his second son, the Left General of the Guangyao Camp, Su Pingchuan. They claimed the young lord had fallen into a tragic entanglement of love and hate with another general in the camp and, suffering from a broken heart, had succumbed to the vice of frequenting brothels—hence the Prince’s personal intervention.
Others argued that there must have been someone else in the tower that night, and the Prince’s scene was merely a smokescreen. After all, even if it were a family misfortune, why would such a scandal be publicized so openly? If he truly wanted to retrieve someone, he would have done so secretly, rather than letting outsiders witness it and turn it into idle gossip.
Still others claimed that everything—all of it—was because of that mysterious guest who never showed their face from beginning to end.
As for who that guest truly was...
"Please listen to the next installment!"
Xiao Nanhui stepped out of the Feng Brand Teahouse. She looked up at the increasingly fierce sun and ducked into the shade of a nearby wall, heading south.
Yao Yi had the most fastidious palate; whenever he arranged a meeting, he always chose the Feng Brand Teahouse. In the past, her mind hadn't been on such things; as long as it wasn't wine, she found it difficult to distinguish any flavor in what she drank. Today, she finally had the leisure, yet she still found the storyteller’s tales far more interesting than the "Sparrow’s Tongue" tea that cost a thousand gold pieces.
It was still early, and the streets were relatively empty.
Opposite the teahouse was West Street.
At the end of West Street, a turn to the east led to the back gate of the Prime Minister’s manor.
A dozen paces from that gate stood the tree with which she shared a strange fate, and the person she was waiting for would be beneath it...
Xiao Nanhui’s footsteps came to a sudden halt.
She squinted at the figure under the tree and immediately turned to walk back the way she came.
Yet, even so, she was a step too late. The person under the tree had already spotted her and let out a shout that could be heard across three streets and four districts.
"Xiao Nanhui!"
She was forced to stop.
She knew that if she didn't, he had plenty of ways to broadcast her whereabouts to the entire city.
With a sigh, she turned around.
Xu Shu had already strode up to her, looking her up and down.
She was still wearing her usual coarse cloth garments. Her tied-back hair didn't even have a decent hairpin in it. The brightest things on her entire person were her eyes.
He had expected to see the shadows of death in those eyes. But there were none.
"You really are still alive."
Xiao Nanhui glanced at Xu Shu.
It truly was just a glance; she didn't even bother to study him.
"Sorry to disappoint you."
Xu Shu was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice remained low.
"The Guangyao Camp said you took a leave of absence. No matter how I inquired, there was no news. Rumors in the palace said you might have died during the Spring Hunt and that you were just a decoy the Emperor put out. But I guessed you must have been hidden away. And as for who could hide someone so flawlessly in broad daylight..."
She sighed, interrupting him.
"There is really no need for us to reminisce. If you have something to say, say it quickly."
Xu Shu’s jaw tightened, the veins on his temples bulging. After a long silence, as if making a final resolution, he suddenly dropped to one knee.
"Xiao Nanhui, everything before was my fault. I admit defeat and accept my punishment. I know your status is special now; no one but you can accomplish this. Just help me this once, alright? It would benefit you as well. A *Shuyuan* without favor, even if imprisoned in the palace, will only be an eyesore to you in the future. Just speak to the Emperor and ask him to release Xingyao, alright? How much could a weak woman like her, who never concerned herself with court affairs, know about what her uncle did? Just do a good deed and don't let her whole life be ruined. I won't mind her past; I will always be good to her, as long as you can..."
Xiao Nanhui looked down at the head that had once been so arrogant and was now lowered in a display of endured humiliation. A complex emotion, difficult to describe, rose in her heart.
She felt like a traveler who had been swimming for a long time and had finally reached the shore to dry her soaked clothes, only to turn and see another person still struggling in the whirlpool in the middle of the river.
"Xu Shu," Xiao Nanhui said slowly, looking at the man immersed in his own obsession. "It seems you have never understood where the true grudge between us lies. It was never a matter of winning or losing; it was that from beginning to end, you never gave me any respect. Similarly, you are not giving Cui Xingyao any respect now. You ask the Emperor to release her, but have you considered her situation? From the moment she was pushed forward, she became a piece that her family could discard. But that was her choice. Even if she could walk out of those palace walls alive, she has long since lost her dignity. How would her mother’s family look at her? How would your family look at her? How would she face herself? I don't think she needs your 'not minding,' and I certainly don't need your admission of defeat."
She had never spoken so many words to Xu Shu in one breath. As soon as they left her mouth, she felt that the fate between her and this man had reached its end.
Xu Shu’s figure stiffened. It was a long time before he slowly stood up.
"That is all my business. You only need to tell me: are you willing to help me?"
For Xu Shu to beg her, he must have reached a dead end. She understood that kind of despair, but she didn't feel she needed to always play the role of the savior.
"I am willing to see you two together, but the one who makes the choice is not me—it is him. And I have no wish to influence his choices."
Having said this, she stepped around him and walked toward the tree.
"Xiao Nanhui, do you truly believe you and he will have any so-called longevity?"
Xu Shu’s voice carried a suppressed resentment.
She felt that perhaps these next words were what he truly wanted to say to her.
"Your statuses are worlds apart—one in the heavens, one on the earth. Even without such a worldly chasm, how many people since ancient times have been able to stay devoted and grow old together? Let alone in the imperial family. Even if you deceive yourself into this dream, there will come a day when you must wake up."
Xiao Nanhui stopped and turned to look at Xu Shu across the narrow street.
If a person has truly been to hell, they tend to find it somewhat amusing when they encounter those who use demons and the King of Hell to make grand, threatening speeches.
She had tasted the bitterness of life, death, and separation all in a single day.
Would she think about staying together many, many years from now? She would not.
If there were a jar of fine wine, she would drink it all and leave none for tomorrow.
If there were a person she loved, she would hold his hand tightly and remember this moment vividly.
She spoke again, her tone more peaceful than ever before.
"My dream ended long ago. I am perfectly awake now."
The calmer she became, the more distorted Xu Shu’s expression grew.
"And what about Xiao Zhun? Have you truly let him go? I heard that when he fled, he was with the Bai family’s..."
The rhythmic "clatter" of horse hooves interrupted Xu Shu’s words.
A plain, unremarkable carriage emerged from the back street of the Prime Minister’s manor, stopping squarely between the two of them. The man sitting at the front held his back straight, positioning himself right in the line of sight between her and Xu Shu.
Ding Weixiang looked straight ahead, glancing neither at her nor at Xu Shu.
The person inside the carriage did not show his face either; only a voice drifted out from behind the thin curtain.
"Guard Commander Xu, how about I answer your question for you?"
Xu Shu’s face paled. Though he remained standing, he seemed even more defeated than when he had been kneeling on the ground.
The voice inside the carriage paused before sounding again.
"They are a pair of green and white, Zhun and Yun—hardly a match. But a solitary king and a solitary girl? That is a match made in heaven. Do you understand?"
As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Xu Shu stumble back several steps, nearly losing his footing, but even Xiao Nanhui was left agape and speechless.
The logic was utterly unconvincing, yet it carried a sense of near-shameless certainty.
Who said the current Emperor was polite, trustworthy, and measured in speech? This was clearly a case of forced reasoning and a face thicker than a wall.
Seeing the woman beside the carriage fail to react for so long, the green-clad swordsman on the driver's seat finally grew impatient.
"Guard Xiao, take your position."
With the Spring Hunt over, her title had reverted from Attendant back to Guard—roughly three or four ranks lower than Xu Shu’s Guard Commander.
If the word "Guard" made her lose face in front of Xu Shu, the phrase "take your position" was used quite terribly.
An Attendant might at least ride a horse, but a Guard was expected to run behind the carriage.
Take her position? Where was she supposed to go?
The curtain was lifted slightly from within, and a hand wearing Buddhist prayer beads reached out. The beckoning motion was reminiscent of a young lady at Wangchen Tower soliciting customers.
"Get in."
The master was indeed more sensible, far more perceptive than his lackey.
Xiao Nanhui didn't bother with any pretense of modesty; she scrambled up into the carriage.
Before entering the cabin, she cast one last glance back at Xu Shu.
He was still standing there, but for some reason, he already seemed very far away.
Just as he was about to look toward her, she ducked into the carriage.
She was still not cold-hearted enough; another moment’s delay would have made her waver.
The carriage smelled faintly of a bitter, clean scent. Xiao Nanhui took a deep breath, letting her heart settle.
"Where are we going?"
"North, to Huozhou."
She paused, then straightened her body.
"North? Aren't we going after Yan Zi? They..."
"Chasing is always the inferior strategy. No matter how fast you move, you will always be one step behind. If you want to win the round, you must find a way to be one step ahead."
She couldn't quite take it in, and her tone became urgent.
"But how can we be a step ahead? They took Xiao Zhun because they have a scheme. We don't know when Pu Huna will reappear. Why give up the only clue we have?"
"Who said this is the only clue we have?"
The man opened a brocade box with one hand. Inside lay a strip of fabric—the very hemp ribbon she had brought from the manor that night.
"What information is hidden in that ribbon you found at the Xiao manor? Where did the people from Zou Sifang’s manor go? Who wrote that letter from Heimu County, and what exactly did it say? Don't you want to know the answers to all of this?"
Her clenched fists relaxed. After a long while, she finally leaned back against the soft cushions.
She was convinced, though many questions remained unanswered in her heart.
She sat up again, about to ask more, but turned to find that the man had already closed his eyes and fallen into a deep sleep.
He seemed exhausted; a half-read ledger was still spread across his lap.
"Your Majesty?"
She called softly, but he did not respond. From outside the carriage came Ding Weixiang’s low voice.
"To leave for this long journey as soon as possible, the Master spent three days and nights without sleep, debating policy with the various elders."
Xiao Nanhui fell silent.
After a moment’s thought, she picked up the ledger and set it aside, then pulled a folded blanket over him.
Only after doing this did she realize something: this was the first time she had ever done such a thing for another person. In the past, Du Juan had done it for her many times.
Her nose prickled, and she nearly shed a few ungraceful tears. But she had finally learned how to quell those emotions. She silently recited the names of those who had left her, and gradually felt a warm strength flow from her heart through her entire body.
Opening her eyes again, she propped open the carriage window slightly and looked out.
The carriage had already passed through the city gates. Outside was the familiar scenery of the outskirts of Quecheng. The flat official road stretched into the distance, and the tall, lush green poplars rustled in the summer morning light.
She had set out from here countless times and returned here just as often.
This time, she did not know where the road would end. She only knew that no matter what awaited her, she would end this herself.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 浣花节 | Flower Washing Festival | A traditional festival mentioned in the story. |
| 望尘楼 | Wangchen Tower | A prominent establishment/brothel in the capital. |
| 燕扶街 | Yanfu Street | The street where Wangchen Tower is located. |
| 丰字号 | Feng Brand | The name of a high-end teahouse. |
| 雀舌茶 | Sparrow’s Tongue Tea | A type of high-quality green tea. |
| 淑媛 | Shuyuan | A rank for imperial concubines (Lady of Grace/Virtuous Beauty). |
| 卫士令 | Guard Commander | A military rank/title held by Xu Shu. |
| 参乘 | Attendant | A position involving riding in or alongside the imperial carriage. |
| 营卫 | Guard | A standard military guard rank. |
| 霍州 | Huozhou | A location to the north. |
| 邹思防 | Zou Sifang | A character mentioned in relation to a manor and missing people. |
| 黑木郡 | Heimu County | A location mentioned in a mysterious letter. |
| 丁未翔 | Ding Weixiang | The Emperor's guard and carriage driver. |
| 夙平川 | Su Pingchuan | The second son of the Prince of Xuanyuan. |
| 孤王配孤女 | A solitary king and a solitary girl | A wordplay by the Emperor on their statuses and names. |
