Early on the morning of the eighth day of the New Year, Su Yan had Xiao Bei harness the carriage and take him out of the city to Five-Mile Post Station.
Previously, Jinghong Zhui had finally obtained Lord Su’s forgiveness through a profound self-criticism delivered while kneeling on the bedside footstool, along with a promise that he would “never again make decisions on another person’s behalf under the banner of thinking for their good.” He had also managed to help Lord Su get “used to” him again. Now that he was in the clingy phase that comes after regaining something once lost, he wanted to accompany Su Yan.
—Of course, according to Grandmaster Jinghong, this was not clinginess. It was simply the duty of a personal bodyguard. He had always been this loyal and conscientious.
Su Yan hesitated before saying to Jinghong Zhui, “Thank you, Ah Zhui, but I think I should go alone. There are some things I want to say in private.”
Since this was Lord Su’s wish, Jinghong Zhui would not force the issue. In fact, he was already prepared to stop Shen Qi if the latter stubbornly insisted on accompanying them. He would personally keep that mad-dog-like Imperial Guard behind.
Little did he know that today the Imperial Guard was not only not acting like a mad dog, but was especially reasonable.
He said to Lord Su, “Come back early after seeing him off. If Yu Wang writes to you in the future, after reading the letter, do not reply in writing. Keep the letters properly stored as well, so they don’t fall into someone else’s hands. If there is something you need to tell him, I’ll have Imperial Guard agents pass the message on in secret.”
After a moment of surprise, Su Yan understood Shen Qi’s intention.
Yu Wang’s departure from the capital to take up residence in his fief was not merely a matter between himself and the father-and-son pair Zhu Jintang and Zhu Helin.
All the imperial princes and commandery princes who had once been stripped of military authority and confined to their fiefs would be watching him closely.
The imperial clan members would speculate, observe, and calculate what sort of signal the new emperor was sending, and whether they too might be able to ride Yu Wang’s favorable wind and improve their own situations.
At such a time, anyone who maintained close contact with Yu Wang would be swept into a vortex whose hidden direction no one could predict, becoming the target of public scrutiny.
Yet Shen Qi would never force Su Yan to sever ties with Yu Wang.
Because he knew that Yu Wang was an unpredictable factor who could greatly influence the future of Great Ming. If Su Yan aimed to become Grand Chancellor and regarded the realm as his responsibility, then he had to properly handle both the public and private aspects of his relationship with this former God of War.
Deeply moved, Su Yan clasped Shen Qi’s hand. “Qilang…”
Shen Qi said, “Don’t thank me. When you used your own life to draw away the pursuers, I didn’t thank you either.”
You and I are of one heart and one body, sharing life and death together, there is no need for thanks.
Su Yan squeezed his hand and smiled. “Mhm.”
Jinghong Zhui’s face turned a little green.
He believed that his generosity, thoughtfulness toward Lord Su, respect, and obedience exceeded Shen Qi’s by tenfold. Yet because he was not as skilled as the other man at sweet words and pleasing speech, he remained at a disadvantage when it came to “how to touch Lord Su’s heart at every moment.”
He needed to train harder. This was far more difficult than martial arts.
When Su Yan arrived at Five-Mile Post Station by carriage, he saw Yu Wang’s convoy but not Yu Wang himself.
“Where is your Wangye?” Su Yan asked Hua Ling, commander of the prince’s guards.
Hua Ling replied, “His Highness said that Your Excellency knows where he is.”
Su Yan thought about it.
And indeed, he did know.
Crossing the official road, he climbed the hillside opposite Five-Mile Post Station.
The last time Wangye had come here to see him off, the fields had been covered with lush spring grass and flourishing flowers and trees. Now, when he came to bid farewell to Yu Wang, the ground was blanketed in white snow pressing down on withered roots.
From afar, he saw that Yu Wang was indeed sitting atop that huge stone stele engraved with the words “Capital Territory Boundary.”
He wore a black yesa robe embroidered with dark dragon patterns. One hand held a riding crop resting on his bent knee, while the other pressed against the cold, hard stone beneath him. He gazed toward the northern horizon.
Approaching, Su Yan looked up at him and called out, “Wangye.”
Yu Wang lowered his head, meeting his gaze. “You called me the wrong thing.”
“General?”
“Not wrong. But not here.”
“…Jincheng?”
Yu Wang smiled.
Su Yan had always known that he was powerfully built and handsome, but this was the first time he realized that when the man smiled without the slightest shadow in his eyes, he was so dazzling.
Like blazing fire.
Like a battle standard.
Like a fallen star rising once more.
Yu Wang flicked the riding crop. “Grab it. I’ll pull you up.”
Su Yan tightly seized the tip of the crop. He felt his body lighten, and in the next instant he was lifted onto the stele more than ten feet high.
The top of the monument was flat. Though one corner had broken away, there was still more than enough room for two people.
Yu Wang’s broad robes spread across the surface. He patted the space beside him. “Sit.”
Su Yan sat shoulder to shoulder with him, both legs dangling as they looked together toward the northern mountains and sky.
The cold wind brushed through the rustling dead grass and struck against the stone monument.
Neither spoke.
Should I take the initiative and say something? Some sort of farewell blessing? Su Yan thought.
Perhaps something like: Do not worry that you have no friends ahead; under heaven, who does not know your name?
“Last night I wandered around the Eastern Garden for a long time before finally entering Longde Hall to see Royal Mother.” Yu Wang spoke casually, as though merely chatting.
“I wanted to ask her whether she had been happy during these ten years with me by her side. If she answered ‘happy,’ then those ten years of imprisonment wouldn’t have been entirely wasted. That was how I tried to persuade myself.”
“How did the Empress Dowager answer?” Su Yan asked.
Yu Wang was silent for a moment.
“I didn’t ask.”
“Outside the door, I saw her in the small Buddhist hall, making wishes before the Buddha statue and the memorial tablet of my third brother, Zhu Jinxuan.”
“She wished for the Mo clan’s souls to be scattered and denied reincarnation. She wished for the heir to fail in securing the throne, so that she could return to Cining Palace. She wished for her Xuan’er to return to her side soon, and for Zhao’er to grow up safely.”
“She never mentioned Second Brother, nor did she mention me. Second Brother had only just died, so I can understand that she didn’t want to touch upon something so painful… But what about me? I was filial to her for so many years. In the end, because I helped Zhu Helin and stood on the opposite side from her, have I gone from being her son to being her political enemy?”
“Did Royal Mother… ever truly love Second Brother? Did she ever truly love me? If she did, did she love us, or did she love our filial devotion?”
Yu Wang’s expression remained calm. As Su Yan watched him without blinking, a faint ache arose in his heart.
He wanted to tell him that his second brother was still alive, merely unconscious and not yet awake. But he feared that the situation was still unclear and that any leak might ruin the Emperor’s grand plan.
He also wanted to tell him that not all parents in this world love their children unconditionally. At the very least, the Empress Dowager was not one of them.
But he could not bear to rub more salt into the wound.
“People always say that a parent’s kindness in giving birth and raising a child is as deep as the sea,” Yu Wang said with a self-mocking smile. “Yet I feel as though I might drown in that sea. You come from an orthodox Confucian background. Since childhood you were taught heaven, earth, ruler, parent, teacher, and the virtues of benevolence, wisdom, propriety, righteousness, and faithfulness. Hearing words like these, you might think I’m a heretic, not a good person.”
Su Yan shook his head. “On the contrary, I think you’re someone with independent ideas who refuses to be bound by convention.”
“Really?”
“Really. Just like when you once told me, ‘Heaven and earth, mountains and rivers possess mysteries; wind, snow, thunder, and lightning possess power. But they do not necessarily possess spirit. Only people possess spirit, which is why humanity stands foremost among all things.’ I agreed with that wholeheartedly.”
Yu Wang laughed aloud. “Good! At least an oddity like me isn’t the only one under heaven.”
He draped an arm over Su Yan’s shoulders and pulled him closer. The riding crop in his hand pointed northward. “The past is gone. Look forward. Ahead lies the vast Northern Steppe, fluttering battle standards, and the neighing of warhorses. That is where I belong!”
Su Yan’s blood was stirred as well. “Why should a man not carry a Wu-hook sword and reclaim the fifty frontier provinces? Unfortunately, I’m a weak scholar. I doubt I’ll ever have the chance to step onto a battlefield. I’ll just have to admire the future bearing of you, General Jingbbei
Yu Wang laughed. “I’m already past thirty. What bearing is left to admire?”
Su Yan blinked at him. “Aren’t you only twenty-eight? You even compared yourself to a flourishing peony. ‘This prince is only twenty-eight years old, in the prime of life, hardly old at all.’ Those were your own words.”
“Hahaha!” Yu Wang burst into laughter.
“That was when I first met you… How quickly time passes. Three years have already gone by. In those three years, you and I have tasted love, hatred, affection, and enmity alike. One could say our fate runs deep. So what are we now? Truly just comrades?”
Su Yan thought carefully before answering honestly. “Probably a little closer than comrades. Half a confidant, perhaps.”
“Why only half?”
“The other half can be counted once I have the chance to go to Great Tong and drink with you in the future.”
Yu Wang’s laughter faded. He let out a sharp whistle.
At once, a magnificent black horse came racing down the snowy hillside like a dark cloud rolling across the sky. Agile and powerful, it stopped beneath the stone monument.
Yu Wang wrapped an arm around Su Yan’s waist and called out, “I’ll let you experience the free wind beyond the capital.”
“Hey—”
Before Su Yan could finish speaking, Yu Wang carried him as he leapt from the top of the monument and landed on the horse’s back.
Holding the reins in one hand and Su Yan’s waist in the other, Yu Wang urged the horse forward.
The black steed shot ahead like a dragon plunging into the sea, instantly accelerating and galloping across the snow-covered wilderness.
The fierce wind howled past Su Yan’s ears.
He had never ridden a horse this fast or this rough before. It felt less like a horse and more like a black dragon soaring through clouds and mist. He constantly feared he would fall from the heavens.
Yet the chest pressed firmly against his back and the arm wrapped tightly around his waist were so strong and steady that they seemed capable of carrying him all the way to the edge of the sky.
In that moment, he felt the freedom Yu Wang had spoken of.
Boundless.
Unrestrained.
Without beginning or end.
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift wherever the wind might take him.
But eventually the wind came to a halt.
Su Yan’s hair crown had fallen off. His long hair spilled down wildly over his face, covering his features.
Yu Wang twisted his upper body backward and, suppressing a laugh, combed the loose hair behind his ears with his fingers.
Having swallowed too much wind, Su Yan coughed as he complained, “Now I definitely won’t find it. I really liked that little green-lotus Daoist crown… Hey, stop twisting me so hard! My waist is about to break!”
“It won’t break. I know exactly how flexible it is…” Yu Wang’s eyes, now only inches away, grew even darker. His breathing changed as well.
Suddenly, he lifted Su Yan’s right leg and moved it to the left side, rotating him halfway around so that instead of facing away, he was now face-to-face with him.
Then he pressed Su Yan’s back against the horse’s long neck.
The horse’s neck was narrow. Afraid of falling, Su Yan instinctively reached out and grabbed wildly, clutching Yu Wang’s shoulder.
Yu Wang leaned forward and fiercely kissed him on the lips.
Black hair mingled with the horse’s black mane, flowing quietly above the snowy ground.
Su Yan’s fingers dug into Yu Wang’s shoulder. At first his fingertips scratched weakly in a desperate struggle, then the movements slowed more and more, until it seemed as though he wanted to pierce through the cloth and sink into the other man’s flesh.
The black horse shook its head uncomfortably and snorted.
But when its master lightly brushed its belly with the tip of his boot, the fierce warhorse quieted and stood peacefully, allowing the weight on its neck to rest there.
Su Yan felt as though he had become dizzy from riding.
Not only his body, but even his soul seemed to be floating.
Only when Yu Wang spoke in a low voice beside his ear did he gradually come back to himself. “If you can’t find it, I’ll have a new one made for you in the future.”
Su Yan could not speak. The corners of his eyes and his lips were still red and damp.
Yu Wang gathered a handful of black hair and black mane together in his fingers, gently rubbing them as he sneered lightly. “Go ahead and scold me. I’m prepared.”
Su Yan let out a long breath and cursed, “Get lost. And don’t come back!”
Yu Wang laughed. “I’ll take that as an auspicious blessing from Lord Su. To tell the truth, I really don’t intend to return to the capital. Don’t forget what you promised me, come to Great Tong someday and drink with me.”
Su Yan had fallen right into his trap in a dazed haze. Yet at the same time, it did not feel entirely like a dazed mistake.
The other man’s pheromones were simply too overwhelming, his technique too good, and Su Yan’s heart had softened for a moment.
—Was it really only a moment of softness?
If someone unrelated had done such a thing, Hua Ling, Shi Yanshuang, Wei Liangzi, for example,
A chill ran down his spine.
He felt certain he would have grabbed a saddle and smashed it over their heads before throwing them into a snowdrift.
And when it came to Zhu Jincheng, who had reformed his promiscuity but not lost his integrity, perhaps there was still a bit of a fan filter left over from his previous life?
Su Yan rubbed his brow in frustration and said dejectedly, “Even if you beat me to death, I wouldn’t dare drink with you again. Let me off the horse. I’ll walk back myself.”
Yu Wang said, “We’re already fifty li from the capital. How are you going to walk back? Why not come with me to Great Tong and be Ah Wu’s stepmother?”
Su Yan snapped angrily, “Then take me back the way we came! And as for Ah Wu, having a father as unserious as you, that poor child has truly drawn the shortest straw. You don’t understand leading by example. You might as well leave him in the capital, I’ll find him a wet nurse and teachers.”
Laughing, Yu Wang pulled him into his arms and turned the horse around, galloping back along the road they had come.
“That silly boy is better off going to the frontier with me. What would he stay in the capital for, be a hostage? You, a great contributor who helped the new emperor ascend the throne, really do think of the new ruler’s interests. But tell him not to worry!”
