Chapter 75

On the return carriage.

Yiling untied the fine cord of her cloak and gently set it aside, then raised her head to glance at Xie Hengzhi.

“You came here for what?”

“Just passing by, thought I’d take you home.”

Passing by?

She was in Lijiang, not the Eastern Palace. That was practically halfway across the entire capital.

And besides, they hadn’t spoken in a long time, and now he had come all the way to pick her up? It was truly odd.

However, Yiling didn’t want to call it out.

This person was best at setting traps with his words. She was afraid that if she asked, she might unknowingly fall into the same situation again.

So, she simply turned her head to look at the scenery outside the window, as if Xie Hengzhi did not exist in the carriage.

It wasn’t long before Xie Hengzhi took the initiative to speak.

“Was it the Crown Princess who summoned you today?”

“Yes,” Yiling replied. “Her Majesty asked me to accompany her to get some fresh air.”

So that was it.

Xie Hengzhi had thought that Shen Shufang had brought Yiling to Lijiang for some other reason, perhaps to talk about something.

Since the Crown Prince had control over the Imperial Guard, the status of the Eastern Palace was no longer what it used to be.

One should know that only the founding emperor of the Great Liang dynasty’s heir had once held such military power, while every subsequent emperor had worked to weaken the Eastern Palace.

By the time the current Emperor Renle ascended, the Crown Prince had almost no real power.

Yet now, he had handed the entire Imperial Guard to the Crown Prince, showing his trust.

But under this favor, the Crown Prince remained composed, while the queen had become increasingly pleased with herself.

Taking advantage of the Emperor’s extreme favor towards the Crown Prince, she had managed to wrestle away quite a bit of power from Xie Hengzhi.

With the Emperor’s eldest son gone and the Crown Prince in the prime of his favor, the queen was clearly trying to change the relationship between the Eastern Palace and Xie Hengzhi.

Xie Hengzhi didn’t believe that Shen Shufang, as the Crown Princess, could not see these subtle changes.

So, he had thought that Shen Shufang’s summons to Yiling today was a hint at something.

But now, it seemed he had underestimated Shen Shufang’s ability to keep things hidden and overestimated Yiling’s sensitivity.

As he thought about their playful interaction earlier, Xie Hengzhi silently sighed.

Yiling could clearly make many like-minded friends here in the capital, but why was it Shen Shufang?

Lost in thought, Yiling, who had been staring outside, suddenly turned her head and said, “By the way, the Crown Princess’s birthday is coming up.”

Xie Hengzhi raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Her Majesty said, since the eldest prince just… everything will be simple.”

Yiling murmured, “But no matter how simple, she’s still the Crown Princess. I’ve never prepared a gift for someone of such status. I wonder if it will be considered inappropriate.”

Xie Hengzhi nodded and asked, “What have you prepared?”

“She’s the Crown Princess; she’s seen all sorts of fine things,” Yiling said. “If I can’t present something that will catch her eye, I’ll just have to make up for it with quantity.”

Yiling glanced at Xie Hengzhi’s expression, saw no objections, and continued, “This morning, I had the steward check the warehouse, and we’ve listed out these items.”

Xie Hengzhi nodded. “Go on.”

“I don’t remember everything exactly, but roughly it’s fifty rolls of Jiangxian silk, two Youxian pillows, six boxes of Qi Nanxiang, twelve tears of mermaid pearls, twelve pieces of poisoned jade ice plates, forty-eight crystal swan bowls…”

“…” 

This is what you call ‘not remembering clearly.’

As Yiling continued listing, Xie Hengzhi turned his face away.

“Oh, right, I also saw a half-person tall golden sandalwood and white jade tower.”

Yiling said, “They said this is a gift from King Yan to you. But you didn’t like it much. How about we give it to Her Majesty this time? What do you think?”

Xie Hengzhi: “…”

He thought it would be better to send the entire Xie family estate to the Crown Princess.

From then on, the two of them had no more words to share.

On the way back, the evening gradually descended.

Yiling looked out the window at the spring scenery and couldn’t help but sigh.

It was already mid-February, and in a few days, it would be her birthday.

Actually, Yiling never really liked celebrating her birthday.

Her parents would always go on and on about her getting a year older, lecturing her for half the day, and even changing the lavish breakfast into a simple bowl of longevity noodles.

The guests they invited were all her mother’s friends, and she felt like a beautiful jade ornament, displayed for others to admire.

It was only at night, after the guests left, that her younger brother would sneak her out to set off fireworks.

Thinking of this, Yiling’s longing for him grew deeper.

She hadn’t heard from Yiyun in a long time.

Meanwhile,

The early spring at Chiqiu was still wrapped in heavy snow, and further north was the land of Beiyu.

Yiyun stood his post as usual, the biting cold wind carrying snowflakes straight to his face. In the vast whiteness, he had to focus intensely to detect any movements.

Suddenly, someone called up to him from below the watchtower, signaling for a shift change.

Yiyun looked down and said, “It’s not time for a shift yet.”

The man replied, “General Lin wants to see you.”

General Lin?

Yiyun descended from the watchtower, puzzled, and walked toward the training ground.

Although he was the son of a high-ranking official, when his father sent him to General Lin, it was with a quiet request for special treatment.

But general Lin was strict and impartial, never considering his father’s words.

After bringing Yiyun to Chiqiu, he had thrown him into the new recruits’ pile and never paid attention to him again.

Not even during training had he given him a second glance.

So why did General Lin suddenly want to see him today?

Could it be a promotion?

Thinking of this possibility, Yiyun couldn’t help but quicken his pace.

“General!”

Upon reaching the training ground, Yiyun shouted energetically, “What do you need me for, General?”

General Lin glanced at him.

This boy, when he first arrived, was still a pampered young master, but now…

His clothes were filthy, and he hadn’t even bothered to wash them!

General Lin vaguely smelled something unpleasant and turned his face away, speaking coldly, “I’ve granted you leave to visit your family. You should set off home immediately.”

The noise at the training ground was loud, and Yiyun couldn’t hear clearly.

“What leave, General? Are you sending me to gather some news?”

“…”

General Lin turned back to him, raising his voice, “Family visit! Go back to the capital to visit your family!”

After a long pause.

“Me?”

Yiyun pointed at himself in disbelief. “I…I didn’t apply for family leave.”

Moreover, he had just arrived at the northern camp not long ago. How could he be qualified to go back to the capital?

“Go back when I tell you to.”

General Lin said coldly, “The capital is far, and if you don’t return within two months, you’ll be treated as a deserter.”

—
That night, at the Xie residence.

Yiling sat on a bench in the back yard, holding a little cat named Mallow. She watched as Mallow directed two young servants, working hard to set up a swing.

The frame had been set up, but the crossbar didn’t fit, and the two servants scratched their heads, having to go back for a saw to rework it.

Mallow had instructed them to do this three days ago, but the two boys still hadn’t completed it.

It was only today, while accompanying Yiling to this spot, that they were caught slacking off. 

Mallow was furious and insisted on supervising their work.

“I can’t even set up a swing properly; what can I expect from you two?”

Mallow cursed at the two servants as they hurriedly ran off, then turned back to Yiling with a calm face, asking, “Madam, aren’t you angry?”

“They’re only twelve or thirteen years old, at the age when they’re fond of playing. What’s there to fuss about with them?”

Yiling stroked the little cat in her arms, replying, “I remember you have a younger brother. He should be fourteen this year, right?”

“Yes.”

Mallow replied, “My brother serves the Master, and he’s much more diligent than these two.”

At the mention of her brother, Mallow’s eyes grew distant.

Since coming to the capital, she hadn’t seen her family and didn’t know how her parents were doing.

Forget it; there is no need to dwell on sad things.

Yiling was about to leave, but as she took a few steps, the little cat in her arms seemed startled and suddenly wriggled out of her arms, jumping into the grass.

“Hey!” Yiling pointed in the direction the cat ran. “Quick, go catch it, or we’ll never find it again tomorrow.”

Mallow stomped her foot in frustration, gathered her skirt, and bent down to chase the cat into the grass.

So Yiling was left standing alone, waiting.

Only a few lanterns provided light as Yiling stood under a tree, fully focused on watching Mallow search for the cat, occasionally standing on tiptoe to look around.

Suddenly, a soft voice called out above her, “Ning Ning.”

Yiling’s back stiffened, and she turned to look around.

What was that sound?

Why did it seem like someone was calling her by her childhood name?

Had she misheard?

She blinked and looked up, only to see the thick branches of the tree above her blending into the night sky, nothing clear in sight.

But the voice just now…

She suddenly realized, it couldn’t be her deceased childhood friend, Xin Shaoyan’s voice?

In that instant, her body went cold, and her soul seemed to leave her body—there was a ghost!

Just then, a familiar figure appeared in front of her. Yiling screamed and ran toward him in a panic.

“Bang!”

Unaware of what had happened, Xie Hengzhi saw Yiling running towards him and instinctively opened his arms.

She indeed pounced into his arms, tightly wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against his chest.

However, the force was too strong, and an unprepared Xie Hengzhi was pushed back a step.

Li Chun, who was following behind, quickly turned her back.

After a while, Xie Hengzhi lowered his arms and placed them around Yiling’s shoulders.

Feeling his body warmth, Yiling gasped for breath, gradually regaining some sense.

But she didn’t dare to let go, still holding onto Xie Hengzhi tightly.

“What’s wrong?”

Yiling’s mind was filled with the voice she had just heard.

She opened her mouth but didn’t know how to speak.

Mallow had already run over at the sound, and Li Chun was there too. There was no other movement around.

Yiling slowly turned her head but saw nothing unusual.

Could it be that she was hallucinating?

“N-nothing.” Yiling stuttered. “I thought I heard a snake.”

“A snake?”

Li Chun scratched his head, pulling out his sword and crouching down to carefully inspect the ground.

After a while, he stood up, holding a piece of rope in his hand.

“Madam, it’s not a snake.”

Yiling didn’t completely relax and looked around again.

She saw a few fallen leaves drifting down from the tree beside the bench, but there was nothing strange happening.

She finally let out a long sigh of relief.

As the sensation in her limbs gradually returned, she turned her head and noticed she was still nearly hanging onto Xie Hengzhi, her face close to his chin.

“I… I was mistaken. I thought…”

Yiling was afraid he might misunderstand again, so she quickly tried to pull away, but her foot got caught on something.

Just as she was about to fall, before a cry could even escape her mouth, Xie Hengzhi quickly caught her.

Feeling his arm around her waist, Yiling instantly held her breath.

Again… she was starting to have one-sided feelings again…

But the next moment, he simply steadied her, his actions extremely restrained.

Xie Hengzhi didn’t do anything else. He just lowered his hand and held onto her wrist.

It was clear that her fear had turned into a fear of him.

Xie Hengzhi’s throat tightened, and after a moment, he said only two words.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Then he took her hand and turned to leave the dark place.