In the fourth year since Yin Wuzhi entered the palace, Jiang Wu’s gloominess had visibly lifted somewhat, though he remained lethargic, leaving the palace no more than once a month, usually with Yin Wuzhi.
He tried to face things that once seemed disastrous to him—foods he couldn’t bear, tasks he considered apocalyptic. Yet most of his time was spent idly within the palace.
Loving someone was exhausting.
Jiang Wu often thought it would be easier if he and Yin Wuzhi could die together. At times, he even considered killing Yin Wuzhi himself.
Yin Wuzhi was injured again.
Although he had refrained from going to the battlefield for Jiang Wu’s sake, he never lessened his ambition against Zhao. This inevitably provoked retaliation; assassination attempts on him were frequent.
Under the insistent urging of King Dingnan, Yin Wuzhi was sent home to recover.
He laid on a sickbed by the window, dressed in white. His loose hair cascaded softly over his chest, and the sunlight traced delicate lines along his nose and lips. His striking yet pale features carried a morbid beauty.
Jiang Wu happened to walk in just as this scene unfolded.
Dingnan Wangfei’s voice, sharp with complaint, sounded before she appeared: “Injured again? Look at you! Since you entered the palace to serve the emperor, how many times have you been hurt? Just a simple assassination attempt—how could someone with your skills fail to avoid it?”
Her implication was clear: Jiang Wu was a liability.
“Mother, please don’t speak carelessly,” Yin Wuzhi interrupted wearily. “This time, His Majesty saved me.”
“And why would you need his protection? If he could protect himself, would you even be injured?”
Yin Wuzhi chuckled faintly.
Indeed, if Jiang Wu could protect himself, Yin Wuzhi wouldn’t be hurt.
But Jiang Wu feared neither death nor pain and wouldn’t even bother to resist an attack. Yet, when a blade had merely grazed Yin Wuzhi’s arm, Jiang Wu had appeared before him in an instant, kicking the assailant away with overwhelming force.
“You laugh?” The Dingnan Wangfei was furious. “You’re not young anymore. When will you get married? Surely you’re not planning to follow him around for the rest of your life?”
“I’ve told you many times,” Yin Wuzhi said, clearly exasperated. “I’m not getting married.”
“There are countless beauties in the palace. He’s only interested in you now because you’re new. What happens when you age and lose your looks?” Her face filled with dread. “What will you do if he abandons you?”
Yin Wuzhi frowned in frustration. “I’m not a concubine. Why would I be discarded for something so trivial?”
“Not a concubine? Then why do you serve him like one? Even when it comes to intimacy, it’s you who takes the initiative. A dignified emperor willing to stoop to your level—what else could it be if not for your physical strength? Surely it’s not love?”
Yin Wuzhi sighed. “…Mother, could you not put it so harshly?”
“Could anyone else treat him this way?” She was indignant. “By day, you manage state affairs for him; by night, you toil tirelessly. And now, you’re covered in injuries…”
“Mother,” Yin Wuzhi interrupted sternly. His gaze drifted to the courtyard, where he noticed Jiang Wu standing silently, watching them.
“I’m saying this for your sake.” Dingnan Wangfei hadn’t seen Jiang Wu yet and continued, “You should marry a nice girl. At least secure the family line…”
Yin Wuzhi cut her off again, his voice unwavering. “Mother, enough.”
The Dingnan Wangfei finally peered out the window and saw the emperor strolling in the courtyard. Her face turned pale, then darkened.
Yin Wuzhi stepped out to support the emperor. “Your Majesty, why are you here alone?”
“Outside,” Jiang Wu murmured.
Dingnan Wangfei frowned, not understanding. But Yin Wuzhi did. As he helped Jiang Wu into the room, he asked, “Why did you leave your attendants outside?”
“Surprise,” Jiang Wu replied.
Dingnan Wangfei understood this time. Jiang Wu’s arrival in Yin Wuzhi’s courtyard was indeed surprising.
“Mother, you should go tend to your matters,” Yin Wuzhi said. Dingnan Wangfei hesitated, then turned to Jiang Wu. “Your Majesty, you must have heard my words earlier. Yin Wuzhi is not getting younger, and the Yin family has only him to carry on the line. Please show mercy and allow him to marry.”
To Yin Wuzhi’s shock, she knelt before Jiang Wu. “Your Majesty, for the sake of his sacrifices for you, grant him descendants.”
“Mother!” Yin Wuzhi exclaimed, his pupils constricting.
“Let her speak,” Jiang Wu said, his tone calm. “Dingnan Wangfei, do you resent me?”
“Of course I do,” she answered directly.
“Yin Shu has practiced martial arts since childhood, born and raised in the southern territories. He has risked life and limb to protect the Xia Kingdom, and the scars on his body bear witness to his sacrifices for its people. A distinguished Major General of the Eagle Army, he is now confined to the palace, subjected to scorn and ridicule. Your Majesty, you rarely leave the palace, so you can pretend not to see or hear these things, but I cannot. He is my son. I cannot stand by and watch as others speak of him in such a way. I don’t want a future where, a thousand years from now, he is remembered only as a sycophant who served through his beauty alone!”
“And so?”
“And so,” said Dingnan Wangfei, “I ask Your Majesty, for Yin Zheng’s sake and for the honor of the Chang family, which has also defended the Xia Kingdom, to let Yin Shu return home. Allow him to marry, have children, and live the life that should rightfully be his.”
Jiang Wu’s expression remained calm and unshaken. He turned to Yin Wuzhi and asked, “What do you think?”
Yin Wuzhi immediately knelt, replying without hesitation, “This minister only wishes to stay by Your Majesty’s side.”
Dingnan Wangfei turned to him, her eyes blazing. “You must not be so willful.”
“I am devoted to His Majesty,” Yin Wuzhi said. “As long as I can be with him, I don’t care about my reputation or about being childless. I will not marry.” His Majesty is already my spouse, he thought, though he dared not say it aloud.
Jiang Wu, clearly exhausted, thought for a moment before saying, “Yin Wuzhi, fetch me a stool.”
Without a word, Yin Wuzhi obeyed, while Dingnan Wangfei, furious to the point of tears, heard Jiang Wu’s voice again: “Did you hear what Yin Wuzhi just said? He doesn’t care about lineage or how history will judge him.”
“If he doesn’t care, does Your Majesty not care either? Without descendants, how will he face his ancestors in the afterlife?”
“If he doesn’t care, why should I?” Jiang Wu replied. “All I know is that we are in love, and I will share life and death with him. Everything else is meaningless.”
Dingnan Wangfei raised her head and stared directly at Jiang Wu. “What exactly does Yin Shu mean to Your Majesty? How is he any different from the other servants in the palace? You have countless attendants; why does he matter so much?”
“None of those countless attendants can compare to Yin Wuzhi.”
Dingnan Wangfei laughed bitterly. “So to Your Majesty, Yin Shu is just a servant, slightly more skilled than the rest, and therefore irreplaceable? But Yin Shu also needs care. He could have had a gentle wife and lived a peaceful life like many other courtiers.”
“Did Father marry Mother simply because she was gentle and good at taking care of others?” Yin Wuzhi interjected as he placed the stool behind Jiang Wu, helping him to sit. “I heard that before Mother had me, she prayed for years to the goddess of fertility. And Father often said that even if Mother had been unable to bear children, he would have spent his life with her regardless.”
Dingnan Wangfei glared at him. “Yin Shu, whose side are you on?”
Yin Wuzhi replied, “Mother, you speak so much about lineage now, but when did you start caring about these things? Back when you were in the southern territories, didn’t you often say that women shouldn’t exist just to bear children? If I were to marry a girl now, wouldn’t you feel guilty? Wouldn’t you think it unfair to her?”
Dingnan Wangfei frowned deeply. “Your mother is speaking with His Majesty. When did it become your place to interrupt?”
Jiang Wu looked from Dingnan Wangfei to Yin Wuzhi and said, “Dingnan Wangfei believes I have wronged Yin Wuzhi.”
Yin Wuzhi suddenly realized the implication of those words and instinctively said, “Your Majesty, I am not wronged—”
“How are you not?” Dingnan Wangfei countered. “Even women entering the palace receive the title of consort. How long has he been in the palace, and yet people still call him Major General? But what he does now is nothing a Major General should be doing. It’s misleading and invites gossip.”
Yin Wuzhi responded, “Why pay attention to such talk?”
“So it’s my fault now, is it?”
Jiang Wu, disliking arguments, interjected, “I understand. I will give Yin Wuzhi a title.”
Yin Wuzhi couldn’t sleep that night, unsure of what Jiang Wu meant by “title.” Was it the kind of title he was thinking of? He tossed and turned, only to grimace and press his hand against an old injury, coughing softly.
The next morning, the gates of the Dingnan residence were knocked upon. Qi Hanmiao entered, holding an imperial decree personally written by Jiang Wu. Smiling, he announced, “King Dingnan, the entire household, kneel to receive the decree.”
A rustling sound of kneeling filled the air.
“By the Emperor’s command…”
“The eldest son of King Dingnan, Yin Wuzhi, has safeguarded the nation with unparalleled military achievements and is truly a dragon among men…”
Horses galloped swiftly through the streets, their hooves echoing sharply. A messenger, reins in one hand and decree in the other, loudly proclaimed the imperial edict throughout Guan Capital:
“By the Emperor’s command, the eldest son of King Dingnan, Yin Shu, is hereby named the Empress of the Great Xia! Any who speak against the Empress shall be executed without mercy!”
Windows lining the streets were thrown open as curious onlookers leaned out to watch the spectacle.
The horses sped on.
“By the Emperor’s command, the eldest son of King Dingnan, Yin Shu, is hereby named the Empress of the Great Xia! Any who speak against the Empress shall be executed without mercy!”
Flags fluttered above the bustling shops.
“…His Majesty vows to share his life with Yin Shu, promising to grow old together. This decree serves as a marriage proposal—may you not disappoint me.”
This was not merely an imperial edict; it was a plea for marriage.
“Your Lordship,” Qi Hanmiao said softly, “as long as you nod in agreement, the Ministry of Rites will immediately begin preparations for the grand wedding.”
Meanwhile, the horses continued to thunder through the capital.
“By the Emperor’s command, the eldest son of King Dingnan, Yin Shu, is hereby named the Empress of the Great Xia! Any who speak against the Empress shall be executed without mercy!”
Above Guanjing, soft clouds clustered densely, drifting lazily in the sky.
In the imperial study, Jiang Wu slouched over his desk, his lowered wrist being carefully massaged by someone nearby.
Beside him, another person was tidying up discarded balls of paper from the floor.
Some had only a single character scrawled before being crumpled and tossed aside, while others bore saccharine lines of romantic sentiments.
Clearly, countless drafts had been written for this decree.
Even now, Jiang Wu’s brows were slightly furrowed, his dissatisfaction still evident despite the efforts.
