The front of the Gao residence became lively, with carriages coming and going incessantly.
“What’s happening here?” a passerby asked curiously. “It looks like they’re moving.”
“They really are moving,” a shop assistant by the roadside chimed in immediately. “Don’t you know? Master Gao has resigned from his official post and is returning to the countryside.”
This news astonished the passerby.
“Master Gao resigned? Are you joking? With such a distinguished household, how could Master Gao resign?”
“Master Gao was forced out by Minister Chen,” the shop assistant lowered his voice, a hint of pride in knowing court secrets. “Because Master Gao is a member of the imperial in-laws.”
“Nonsense,” the passerby retorted, rolling his eyes. “Isn’t Minister Chen also a member of the imperial in-laws?”
That left the shop assistant momentarily speechless.
“Well, two tigers cannot share one mountain. Now that Minister Chen is the imperial in-law, naturally, he’d want to drive the Gao family away,” he insisted, widening his eyes.
“Both are imperial in-laws. What gives one the right to drive out the other?” the passerby said.
“Minister Chen is a good imperial in-law,” the assistant blurted out. “That’s why he can.”
The passerby scoffed.
“What good imperial in-law or bad imperial in-law? Before Wang Mang usurped the Han dynasty and Yang Jian stole the throne, they were also praised by everyone as good officials,” he said, flicking his sleeves as he walked away.
The shop assistant stood dumbfounded.
“He’s accusing Minister Chen of planning a rebellion,” he couldn’t help but mutter, pointing a trembling finger at the passerby.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a shudder ran through him.
Rebellion? Was this something he could even speak of?
The shop assistant glanced at the bustling entrance of the Gao residence, then quickly ducked his head and retreated inside.
Meanwhile, the front of the Chen residence was also bustling, but unlike the scene at the Gao family’s home, it was crowded with officials waiting to pay their respects.
There were even more people than usual, as the Crown Prince’s wedding day drew closer.
Yet, as always, no one managed to get an audience with Chen Shao. Not that the officials seemed to mind – those seated in the reception rooms chatted and laughed for a while before leaving, only to be replaced by new arrivals. The lively atmosphere lasted from morning until dusk.
“People outside are saying that you…”
A close attendant in the study lowered his head and began to speak.
Chen Shao raised his hand to stop him.
“There’s no need to say it,” he said. “I already know what those outside are saying about me.”
The attendant acknowledged with a “Yes.” A nearby advisor gestured, and the attendant quickly bowed and withdrew.
“My lord, Master Gao is indeed packing up and preparing to leave,” the advisor said.
Chen Shao smiled faintly.
“I know,” he replied. “And I also know why he’s leaving so readily. But since he wants to avoid a direct confrontation, I can seize the opportunity to act.”
The advisor nodded.
“While he’s away, we can remove as many of his people as possible. Even if he tries to make a comeback next year, it will have weakened him significantly,” he said. “However, Duke Jin’an is still lingering and unwilling to depart. He says that Princess Consort Xiu is coming to the capital and wishes to see his mother and brother before leaving.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Chen Shao said. “The Empress Dowager has already denied his request.”
Footsteps echoed outside the door.
“Madam…” a servant called out, as if trying to stop her.
Madam Chen had already reached the doorway.
Inside the room, the advisors immediately lowered their heads and moved aside to avoid her gaze.
“You may leave,” Chen Shao said.
The advisors bowed and quietly withdrew.
Chen Shao looked at his wife.
“Why have you come? Please, sit,” he said.
Since the incident with Chen Dan-niang, Madam Chen had stopped speaking to Chen Shao and had largely avoided him. Her initiative in coming now surprised him.
“Are you forcing Jiao-niang to leave?” Madam Chen asked, remaining standing instead of sitting.
Chen Shao rose to his feet.
“This matter…” he began.
Madam Chen cut him off.
“There’s no need for grand explanations,” she said. “I only know one principle: if you’ve done nothing wrong, you have no reason to fear the knock at the door.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
“Qi-niang,” Chen Shao called out, reaching to grasp her sleeve. “I’m doing this for her own good. What’s so wonderful about the capital? If she stays here stirring up trouble, sooner or later she’ll end up harming herself.”
Madam Chen turned around.
“You’re wrong,” she said. “She never stirs up trouble. It’s always the faults and disputes of others that seek her out.”
With that, she shook off his grip and walked briskly away.
Chen Shao could only watch helplessly as she left.
Once back in her room, Madam Chen raised her hands to cover her face, sobbing softly.
“Mother, Mother.”
Chen Dan-niang’s voice came from outside.
Madam Chen quickly wiped her tears, forced a faint smile, and turned around.
“Mother.” Chen Dan-niang stepped in with a cheerful grin, cradling a bow in her arms.
“Why are you carrying that?” Madam Chen quickly reached out to help. “Be careful not to drop it on your feet – it’s heavy.”
Chen Dan-niang carefully placed the longbow on the floor and knelt down beside it.
“Mother, can I leave it here with you for now?” she said. “Those court ladies are so annoying – they won’t let me play with it.”
Madam Chen forced a slight smile.
“Alright,” she replied. “Come to me whenever you want to play with it.”
Chen Dan-niang nodded happily.
But she won’t be able to play for much longer.
Tears welled up in Madam Chen’s eyes again, but she held them back.
“This was a gift from Lady Cheng,” Chen Dan-niang added, not noticing her mother’s expression as she lowered her head to fiddle with the bow. “Grandfather said Lady Cheng is an excellent archer and that I should take my time learning.”
Then she looked up.
“Mother, do you think I can ever be as good as Lady Cheng?”
Madam Chen nodded.
“Yes, you can,” she said.
Chen Dan-niang happily went back to examining her bow.
Madam Chen reached out and gently stroked her daughter’s head, forcing a strained smile.
…
Duke Jin’an’s residence also began preparing carriages and horses.
Duke Jin’an sat in the room, watching Cheng Jiao-niang, who was still reading.
“I’ve seen other women prepare for travel before – they’re always incredibly busy,” he said. “Don’t you have anything to pack?”
Even her maids seemed idle.
“These are just worldly possessions. There’s nothing essential to take,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied. Then she looked up at him. “Isn’t it the same for you?”
Duke Jin’an chuckled.
“I also came here empty-handed. Nothing here truly belongs to me,” he said with a smile, giving her a playful wink. “No wonder we’re husband and wife – we’re really quite alike.”
Outside, Ban Qin and Su Xin, who were busy packing trunks, exchanged a glance and smiled.
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled too, her eyes drifting to Duke Jin’an’s bright red ears.
“Madam,” Ban Qin entered carrying a small box. “Should this be kept with us or placed in the carriage?”
Cheng Jiao-niang glanced at it.
“Keep it with us,” she said.
Duke Jin’an, curious, reached out.
“Let me see what it is,” he said.
Ban Qin quickly handed it over. When the Duke opened the box, his expression turned to surprise.
“Roof tiles?” he said, examining them closely.
They were indeed ordinary roof tiles, somewhat crudely made.
Something like this – to be kept close?
“People from Jiang-zhou sent these especially for me,” Cheng Jiao-niang explained.
Duke Jin’an let out an understanding hum.
It definitely wasn’t from First Master Cheng or his family, he realized. A memory surfaced – a rather cluttered, mixed-living place…
The Southern Cheng.
It was the Southern Cheng clan, which she had supported with her own hands.
Or perhaps “support” wasn’t the right word – it was more like a casual gesture of help.
But for a casual gesture to be repaid like this was truly precious.
A gentle smile spread across his face.
What a kind-hearted and easily moved soul.
“I’m really envious,” he said. “No one has ever given me such a thoughtful gift.”
Ban Qin couldn’t help but glance at Duke Jin’an.
Such a… thoughtful gift?
“Nonsense,” Cheng Jiao-niang looked up, giving him a sidelong glance. “Am I not a person too?”
In the bright room, with her delicate brows and large eyes, the slight lift at the corners of her gaze, and the playful tone of her words, there was an elegant grace mixed with a hint of charming allure that left Duke Jin’an momentarily stunned.
He had always known Cheng Jiao-niang was beautiful, but he had never paid much attention until this very moment, when he realized just how breathtakingly beautiful she truly was.
Ban Qin, blushing, quietly slipped out of the room.
After a single glance and those words, Cheng Jiao-niang lowered her head again. Suddenly, someone moved closer, sitting right beside her, pressing tightly against her side.
Cheng Jiao-niang turned to look at him.
Duke Jin’an grinned back at her.
“I was wrong,” he said. “The most precious gift you’ve given me is something no one else could ever offer.”
It is life itself.
Cheng Jiao-niang withdrew her gaze and went back to reading, feeling Duke Jin’an shifting beside her, slowly reaching out to gently pinch her arm.
She turned to look at him again.
Duke Jin’an didn’t avert his eyes. Instead, he smiled warmly at her.
“Cheng Fang, you really are beautiful,” he said.
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded.
“I know,” she replied.
Duke Jin’an was taken aback for a moment, then burst into soft, delighted laughter. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder as he laughed heartily.
“No, you don’t,” he said. “You don’t really know.”
Cheng Jiao-niang paid him no further mind and let him hold her, leaning comfortably against him as she continued reading.
For Duke Jin’an, it felt as if something within him had shattered, and his limbs seemed to relax all at once.
The afternoon autumn sunlight streamed through the window into the room, illuminating the girl nestled in his arms as she read with serene, effortless ease.
It seemed as though life had always been like this – relaxed, carefree, and without restraint.
“Are we taking all these books with us?”
“The journey will be long, so it’s better to have them along.”
“But you shouldn’t read too much in the carriage – it’ll strain your eyes.”
“Are we leaving too quickly if we depart the day after tomorrow?”
“Still, since we’ve decided to go, it’s better to go sooner. How about tomorrow, then?”
He chattered on in this way.
Cheng Jiao-niang occasionally responded with a soft “Mm,” not lifting her eyes from the book in her hands.
“I’m also quite good-looking, you know. Why don’t you look at me?” Duke Jin’an chuckled, reaching out to gently squeeze her hand.
Just as he finished speaking, Ban Qin’s voice came from outside the door.
“Madam, the First Young Master has sent someone with gifts.”
Duke Jin’an instinctively let go of her hand. Cheng Jiao-niang stood up.
“I’ll go and take a look,” she said.
Cheng Jiao-niang had already visited Fan Jianglin and his wife, and presumably Zhou Liu-lang was there that day as well. They must have known in advance about their impending departure.
“Perhaps we should arrange for the Da-lang and the Liu-lang to leave the capital as well,” Duke Jin’an suggested.
Cheng Jiao-niang glanced back at him with a faint smile.
“No need,” she replied. “It’s better for them to stay in the capital.”
If she said it was better, then it must be so. Duke Jin’an nodded and said nothing more. He watched Cheng Jiao-niang walk out, then stood up and made his way to the outer study.
The journey was being arranged in haste, and there were many matters to attend to.
After attending to various tasks, Duke Jin’an returned to the inner chambers but did not see Cheng Jiao-niang.
“Madam has left the residence,” Su Xin informed him.
At this hour?
Duke Jin’an instinctively glanced outside – the sky was already approaching dusk.
“Did she go to Da-lang’s home?” he asked.
Su Xin shook her head.
No?
“Madam didn’t say,” she replied.
Then where did she go?
In the dimming twilight of the countryside, someone sat on the ground before a cluster of graves, their figure blurred by the fading light.
There were few travelers on the road now. Occasionally, someone passing by would glance in that direction before quickly looking away, their ears catching the faint, distant sound of a gentle tinkling – a soft chime that seemed to blend into the encroaching night.
…
Three days later, amid a retinue of imperial guards and ceremonial procession, Duke Jin’an’s carriage passed through the city gate. Onlookers along the road gradually dispersed, and the procession eventually shrank to a distant speck along the horizon.
From atop the city gate, Zhou Fu stood for a long time, unable to tear his gaze away.
The following day, at the same city gate, just as dawn began to break, a mounted party galloped out of the gate. After riding for some time, the one leading them suddenly reined in his horse.
Those behind scrambled to pull up, but several overshot their mark.
“Go on ahead,” the leader said, then turned his horse toward the roadside.
The others exchanged puzzled glances but complied, continuing onward. Looking back, they saw the man standing still before a cluster of graves.
“Does the young master’s family have ancestral graves here?” someone couldn’t help but ask in surprise.
The rest glanced over and shook their heads.
“Haven’t heard of it.”
Then one of them suddenly gasped in realization.
“I know – that’s the Maoyuan Mountain Cemetery.”
The others understood immediately – yes, yes, the Maoyuan Mountain Cemetery established by Lady Cheng. First with the wine, then with the books, it had gained renown in the capital and was considered a remarkable sight.
“But why would the young master come here to see it at a time like this?”
They grew even more puzzled.
“Why else?” someone remarked with a hint of wistfulness, shaking their head. “All is but unrequited affection and lingering regret.”
Meanwhile, the very man they assumed to be lost in sorrow and solitude suddenly pushed back his hood. Gazing at a tombstone before him, his expression shifted to one of utter astonishment.
He dropped to one knee, reaching out to touch the stone. Whether from excitement or agitation, his body trembled faintly.
“A character!”
He murmured under his breath, eyes fixed on the tombstone.
On the once-blank surface, a character had now appeared:
程 (Cheng).
“One… character… revealed.”
A shiver shot from his feet straight to the crown of his head.
One character revealed!
A single word had emerged!
