BEGW C59

Chapter 59

The mid-spring wind still carried some chill.

It stirred the loose strands of hair across his forehead, bringing a faint itch.

Jiang Yuxun was just lifting his gaze toward Ying Changchuan when, in that brief moment, their breaths intertwined.

Within those smoke-gray eyes, he suddenly saw his own reflection.

…Ying Changchuan’s gaze seemed different from usual.

Jiang Yuxun could not help but fall into a brief daze.

Before he could react, Ying Changchuan suddenly loosened his hand.

Instinctively, Jiang Yuxun clutched the booklet tightly in his palm and stepped back two large strides.

The wind seemed to stop at that instant, and he couldn’t help directing his eyes toward the puddle behind Ying Changchuan.

Involuntarily, he used the tip of his foot to grind against the grass at the water’s edge.

The military camp was so quiet, it felt almost excessively so.

Just as Jiang Yuxun was tangled in hesitation over whether he ought to say something, Ying Changchuan’s voice unexpectedly reached his ear: “Does Beloved Minister not wish to check whether there are any omissions?”

Jiang Yuxun instinctively wanted to flip through the booklet, but his hand froze just as it touched the cover.

Whether or not there were omissions was not important…

What mattered was whether Ying Changchuan had already read the contents within!

He bit his lip and could not stop himself from asking: “Has Your Majesty finished reading?”

Ying Changchuan lifted his brow lightly: “I have not.”

Had he not looked at it at all, or had he simply not finished?

Jiang Yuxun nearly asked, but in the end managed to restrain himself.

——Was he still not embarrassed enough already!

By clinging to the principle of if one does not ask, then it has not happened, Jiang Yuxun finally managed to hold his tongue.

The camp once again sank into silence, with only the sound of the wind brushing past his ears.

Unable to resist, Jiang Yuxun hugged the booklet tightly to his chest, took a deep breath, and pretended at composure: “Th-Then… may this subject take his leave first?”

“Very well.” Ying Changchuan nodded lightly.

Jiang Yuxun exhaled in relief and quickly turned to walk toward the outer camp.

Absorbed in trying to recall exactly what the booklet contained, he failed to notice the road before his feet and walked straight toward another puddle nearby.

“Mind your step.”

Ying Changchuan suddenly reached out and steadied his shoulder, and before Jiang Yuxun realized what was happening, he had already been gently guided past the puddle to the other side.

The touch vanished as quickly as it came.

Jiang Yuxun’s fingers tightened around the booklet: “Many thanks, Your Majesty—”

“Beloved Minister need not be so polite with the Lonely One.”

Ying Changchuan’s voice brushed his ears, carrying with it a quiet, faint laugh.

Jiang Yuxun paused for a moment, then hastily quickened his steps, fleeing out of the camp.

By great effort, Jiang Yuxun and his group just managed to return to Zhaodu before the Qingming Festival.

After several bouts of spring rain, the plains along the Yi River were lush with green.

Having endured the northern campaign, everyone was utterly exhausted.

Yet Jiang Yuxun did not choose to rest at such a time but together with the Office of the Sealed Seal, personally brought the hard-won wheat seed to the military camp of the Fulin Army, entrusting them to carry out the spring sowing and germination work.

At midday, Jiang Yuxun, together with those in charge, rode with Xue Kejin, who oversaw the matter of military farming, to inspect the fields.

These fields were adjacent to the Fulin Army’s garrison, their soil flat and fertile.

Before Jiang Yuxun had even arrived, soldiers had already sown the crops with utmost speed.

——Diseases and pests in wheat often broke out in the damp half-mountainside regions.

This present land had been chosen after weighing every advantage and disadvantage, deemed the most suitable for cultivation.

As they rode forward, Xue Kejin explained to Jiang Yuxun: “This year’s winter snow was nearly twice as heavy as in years past, so the soil’s moisture content will also be far better than usual.”

Jiang Yuxun listened while nodding gently.

Back at the Northern Garrisons, he had spent considerable time learning directly from the conscripted laborers who had farmed wheat there for many years.

——What Xue Kejin called ‘soil moisture condition’ referred precisely to the water content of the soil.

If the moisture was insufficient, the soil would be too dry, delaying the wheat’s sprouting and subsequently hindering its growth and development.

At this, one of the Ministry of Revenue officials accompanying them couldn’t help but ask curiously: “And how exactly does one determine this ‘moisture condition’?”

Xue Kejin hesitated, pondering how best to explain, but Jiang Yuxun had already leapt lightly down from his horse.

He strode quickly toward the fields and crouched, running his fingers over the freshly tilled soil.

His action startled the people behind him: “Why does Lord Jiang go so far as to touch it with his bare hand?”

“It’s no trouble,” Jiang Yuxun smiled, then turned to show them, “The soil here leans toward a brown hue, which means it is perfectly suited for sowing at this time. If it were pale or grayish, then irrigation would need to be carried out immediately.”

“Exactly so!” Xue Kejin immediately nodded in agreement, looking at Jiang Yuxun with satisfaction. “Lord Jiang grew up in the southern lands, studied the sages, and never once engaged in farming. I recall that only a few months ago, you did not understand these matters at all. Who would have thought that now you would know so much!”

As he spoke, he could not restrain a sigh: “A truly remarkable youth indeed.”

“General Xue overly praises me,” Jiang Yuxun, embarrassed by the compliment, quickly shook his head, “These are but things I ought to learn.”

Half of the field remained unplanted, yet the soldiers had already leveled the earth, breaking clods into fine loosened soil, soft at the top but firm below.

Confirming that the wheat seeds would be sown on time, Jiang Yuxun wiped his hands with a silk kerchief and rose from the fields.

Seeing that the important matters were now concluded, he cast his eyes briefly to the distance before following Xue Kejin back to the military garrison for a meal.

On the way, a few willows had been planted along the road.

Now, their branches had sprouted tiny green buds, swaying lightly with the breeze.

As they neared the camp, Xue Kejin suddenly said: “In a few days, it will be your birthday. Though recent affairs of court have been demanding, you must not forget such a day.”

His tone had suddenly softened, a sharp contrast to his robust and rugged appearance.

“…Birthday?”

Jiang Yuxun paused, then remembered that the original host’s birthday, coinciding with his own lunar calendar birthday, fell on the twelfth day of the third month.

This time, instead of addressing him as “Lord Jiang,” Xue Kejin used “virtuous nephew,” a clear mark that he was speaking from the perspective of an elder who had watched this youth grow up.

“Yes.”

Jiang Yuxun’s parents and family had all long passed away, and most acquaintances were far away in Lanze.

If Xue Kejin had not mentioned it, he truly would have forgotten.

He smiled lightly and nodded: “I thank General Xue for the reminder.”

With the spring sowing affairs concluded, Jiang Yuxun rested for a few days at the estate before returning once again to duties inside Xianyou Palace.

By coincidence, as soon as he stepped back into the palace, he encountered Xing Zhi, who oversaw the sale of liquor, right at the Xianyou Palace gates.

Though brewing wine had shifted from the Sealed Seal Office to the Jiang family estate, the matter of selling it still required regular coordination with the Sealed Seal.

——And ever since taking over this task, Xing Zhi had become a frequent visitor of Xianyou Palace.

Yet upon seeing him, Jiang Yuxun was startled at once.

He couldn’t help blurting: “Young Master Xing… your face, what happened?”

The man before him wore a splendid robe of bluish-green brocade, gleaming with luxury.

But his face was smeared with dust, his eye corners and the edge of his lips mottled with bruises, making him look extremely wretched.

Xing Zhi instinctively touched the corner of his eye: “Hiss—”

Hastily he lowered his hand, then offered Jiang Yuxun a deep bow before gritting his teeth: “To tell you the truth, these wounds… were from being beaten up. Alas, I’ve truly made Lord Jiang laugh at my sorry state.”

“Beaten up?” Jiang Yuxun immediately grew tense. “Why would that be?”

As the two walked together toward the Sealed Seal station, Xing Zhi growled with hatred: “By now, everyone in Zhaodu knows that I earned a fortune reselling strong liquor. And since I’ve never been much for keeping a low profile, I ended up being targeted by a band of rogues.”

Speaking here, Xing Zhi sucked in a sharp breath, clearly in pain: “Indeed, the ancients were right when they said, ‘Wealth should not be flaunted.’”

Not long ago, Xing Zhi had sold a freshly brewed cask of rice wine under the reputation of his father’s name for an exorbitant sum.

Not only did it make the strong liquor famous once more, but it also earned him an enormous profit.

Who could have known that he would so quickly become someone’s mark?

Jiang Yuxun nodded gently, listening with patience as he continued.

“That night, as I was returning home from a tavern, I was dragged into the woods midway and brutally beaten!” Xing Zhi gnashed his teeth. “They not only stole all the silver on my person but even robbed me of hairpins and jade pendants.”

His facial expression pulled at his injuries, making him grimace in agony again.

The ‘home’ in question was not a clan residence, but the Xing family estate in the outskirts of Zhaodu.

Startled, Jiang Yuxun asked: “And what happened after that?”

“Hmph, thankfully there was a post.” Xing Zhi finally chuckled, “I shouted so loudly that I drew the soldiers from the nearby posthouse, who seized the culprits right then and there.”

Jiang Yuxun nodded in relief.

“It was fortunate the post soldiers appeared in time,” Xing Zhi spoke with residual fear, “Otherwise, I would likely have suffered far worse than just this.”

Those street rogues had only taken him for another pampered wastrel.

Not only did they rob him, but they had even beaten him with reckless cruelty.

Hearing this, Jiang Yuxun finally sighed along with him: “Truly, a blessing.”

The ‘posts’ had originally been established during the southern tour to defend against bandits.

After Jiang Yuxun himself was ambushed near Zhaodu, the authorities accelerated the construction of hundreds such posts along the Yi River.

Jiang Yuxun had not expected them to prove useful so quickly in Zhaodu’s outskirts.

“Where are those rogues now, the ones Young Master Xing spoke of?” he asked.

With revenge justly taken, Xing Zhi smiled and bowed: “They have already been taken to the Sealed Seal station.”

At the end, he winced again, pain etched in his face.

The Zhou Code was exceedingly strict; even if not handled by the Sealed Seal, those thugs would be sentenced at least to hard labor, if not military penal service on the borders.

“And aside from the bruises on your face, were there other injuries?” As they walked into the Sealed Seal grounds, Jiang Yuxun asked with care.

“Many thanks for Lord Jiang’s concern,” Xing Zhi quickly replied with humility, “Though my left forearm was hurt when I was thrown to the ground and rolled several times, it has already nearly healed.”

“That is good,” Jiang Yuxun advised seriously, “In the future, it would be better to take several attendants along whenever you go out.”

“Lord Jiang speaks truly!”

No sooner had Xing Zhi said this than they both stepped inside the Sealed Seal station.

To Jiang Yuxun’s mild surprise, Zhuang Youli was also there.

As soon as he saw Jiang Yuxun, Zhuang Youli leapt up from beneath a nearby tree: “Ah Xun! You finally came back.”

“What is it?” Jiang Yuxun, puzzled by his excitement, asked. “Were you seeking me for a matter?”

Before Zhuang Youli could answer, the Sealed Seal staff nearby all spoke at once: “Young Master Zhuang wants to hear about Lord Jiang’s experiences in Zhezhuo.”

“Yes, yes!” Zhuang Youli’s eyes shone bright. “Ah Xun, how did you expose the Zhezhuo King’s tricks at that time?”

Though he hadn’t personally traveled with them, over the past few days Zhuang Youli had listened to numerous retellings of the events that had unfolded there.

——But those accounts had been passed through too many mouths, with details blurred into vagueness.

So he had come during a free moment to the Sealed Seal post, hoping to hear carefully from those who had gone.

By chance, he ran directly into Jiang Yuxun returning from the Fulin Army.

Jiang Yuxun sat with Zhuang Youli beneath the tree.

At once, everyone’s eyes turned to him expectantly.

Bored with nothing else to do, Jiang Yuxun arched a brow: “You all really want to hear?”

“Of course!” they chorused in unison.

Someone even handed him a dish of candied fruits, as if coaxing a storyteller.

Even the bruised-faced Xing Zhi joined in to listen.

——Utterly ridiculous.

The Sealed Seal men themselves had not been part of the envoy to Zhezhuo, so they knew little.

That afternoon, the group crowded together, listening half a day as Jiang Yuxun narrated his firsthand sights and encounters.

Only when the sun set did they reluctantly let him go.

Afterward, he walked together with Zhuang Youli back toward another part of Xianyou Palace.

The evening breeze skimmed over the surface of the lake, the air carrying a touch of warmth.

Unconsciously, Jiang Yuxun quieted, listening to the birdsong rising from the mountain streams.

As they walked, Zhuang Youli sighed softly: “Had I known going to Zhezhuo would be so interesting, I would have found a way to accompany you.”

In just a short time, he seemed to have grown taller, though the boyishness on his face had not lessened in the slightest.

Stretching lazily, Jiang Yuxun replied: “In truth, Zhezhuo was not so interesting. Most of the time we were confined within the tents, guarded closely and unable to leave. If not for matters of business, I would much rather have stayed in Zhaodu and rested.”

Shaking his head, Zhuang Youli declared with fervor, “Still, you are now a great hero of our Great Zhou!”

The exaggeration startled Jiang Yuxun: “Cough, cough, cough—Stop! I cannot shoulder such a title.”

“…If only one day I too could become a hero like you, or like His Majesty,” Zhuang Youli said with longing, lifting his head toward the sky. After a few breaths of silence, he added with passionate hope, “Then at last I wouldn’t fear my mother!”

Jiang Yuxun: …

I knew it.

Xianyou Palace was not particularly large, and in a few steps they had arrived before Liuyun Hall.

Just as Jiang Yuxun was about to enter, Zhuang Youli stopped him.

In the cover of night, he tugged furtively at Jiang Yuxun’s sleeve and whispered: “By the way, while you were away from Zhaodu, I happened to hear about something.”

His expression was startlingly grave, as if about to reveal a great secret.

Jiang Yuxun felt his tension stir as well: “What is it?”

“Do you recall Shuile Lou?” Zhuang Youli glanced about warily to make sure none of the Sealed Seal people were listening before continuing. “That time, we were blocked outside the door.”

The mere memory of that day made Jiang Yuxun sigh: “…Rest assured, even as a ghost, I would not forget it.”

Zhuang Youli: ?!

He immediately stepped back several paces, increasing distance from Jiang Yuxun, who seemed in that moment not entirely sound of mind.

Only once convinced of his safety did he resume: “Just days ago, while gathering with colleagues, I heard someone say that one doesn’t need any invitation at all to enter Shuile Lou—one can just walk straight in!”

The memory of that brawny man at the door had left no small shadow on Jiang Yuxun’s heart: “Is that really true?”

“Truly!” Zhuang Youli nodded urgently. “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Xing Zhi. He definitely knows.”

“…Very well.” Jiang Yuxun nodded with difficulty.

There was no reason for Zhuang Youli to make up such a thing.

But… if entering Shuile Lou required no invitation, then what exactly had happened to him that day?

Jiang Yuxun wanted to probe further, but just as he opened his mouth, Eunuch Sang appeared nearby with attendants, calling to him from afar.

Thus, he exchanged a glance with Zhuang Youli before hurriedly taking his leave.

After a brief greeting, Jiang Yuxun returned to his quarters at the rear hall.

By now the night was deep, though the corridor lanterns had yet to be lit, leaving the surroundings pitch dark.

Carefully, he pushed open the hall door and in the dark groped toward the bronze lamp in the corner.

Having been away for some time, even the furnishings in this chamber felt oddly unfamiliar.

But before he reached the lamp, his foot struck heavily against a low wooden table.

“Hsss—” Jiang Yuxun sucked in his breath at the pain.

He clutched his ankle, standing frozen as he strained his ears toward the next chamber.

When he had entered, he hadn’t noticed if the emperor’s room had been lit.

…Was Ying Changchuan in residence at that moment?

Holding his breath, Jiang Yuxun silently counted to ten.

Only once no sound came from the other side did he straighten slowly again.

But fate has its unexpected twists.

Just as he went to right the table and move toward the lamp, that familiar voice pierced the thin wall: “Why has Beloved Minister only now returned from the Sealed Seal station at this late hour?”

At Xianyou Palace, even the faintest movements fell within Ying Changchuan’s grasp; Jiang Yuxun’s whereabouts were naturally no exception.

…Long accustomed, Jiang Yuxun did not much wonder at it.

“Replying to Your Majesty, I was with Zhuang Youli and the others, recounting the matters in Zhezhuo.” He softly explained while carefully lighting the bronze lamp.

At once the chamber filled with light.

The flicker of flames swayed, illuminating the soft carpets.

Taking advantage of Ying Changchuan’s blind side, Jiang Yuxun changed clothes, then quietly lay upon the couch, burying his face within the freshly laundered bedding.

——The quilt had been sunned that afternoon, carrying the gentle fragrance of warm cloth.

Tch, Eunuch Sang was surprisingly thoughtful.

“Zhezhuo?” Ying Changchuan’s tone held keen interest. “What did Beloved Minister see in Zhezhuo?”

“It was the young Zhezhuo King,” Jiang Yuxun lay on his side, though far from drowsy. “That boy was arrogant, rude, swollen with conceit, bereft of all bearing befitting a ruler.” His voice brimmed with disdain.

In the adjoining hall, Ying Changchuan slowly set down his memorial scroll, listening in silence as he idly touched the faded petals of a peony.

——Tang Yimeng’s report had already recorded in full detail all they had encountered in Zhezhuo, including the king’s attempt to draw Great Zhou’s soldiers into an illusion.

But Ying Changchuan wished to hear Jiang Yuxun’s own telling.

“And you were not afraid of him?”

Afraid? How could he possibly fear a mere brat?

“Of course not.” Suddenly wide awake with indignation, Jiang Yuxun shot his eyes open. “That so-called Little King of Zhezhuo was nothing more than a bully in his own yard. The moment I unmasked his scheme and mentioned the name of the ‘Three Kings of Zhezhuo,’ he immediately lost his nerve.”

If Jiang Yuxun was not mistaken, that boy had even trembled upon his horse.

Through deepest winter into early spring, long since their journey north, Jiang Yuxun had taken to chatting through the wall occasionally with Ying Changchuan.

Getting carried away, he nearly sat upright on his bed in agitation.

“And how do you know?”

Was this doubt?

Clutching his knees, Jiang Yuxun recalled heatedly: “I saw his expression change with my own eyes… Your Majesty does not know—when we returned to the royal court, not until two or three sticks of incense later did that king reappear, and by then all his former arrogance had vanished.”

Recounting it stirred his indignation further.

Though he knew Tang Yimeng had filed a report, he had not read it himself.

He added: “At our very first meeting, the king sought to intimidate me. He charged his horse straight at the court gates, hooves raised high, stopping mere inches from where I stood—”

Jiang Yuxun instinctively gestured, only to realize belatedly that Ying Changchuan could not see through the wall.

“Less than two feet away,” he clarified.

As he finished, his hands unconsciously clenched tight.

Was it not precisely from being knocked down by that brat’s horse that he came crashing into this ancient era?

The thought made his teeth ache with fury.

In the rear hall of Liuyun Palace, Ying Changchuan idly picked up pruning shears, trimming the peony branches, his ears filled with Jiang Yuxun’s voice.

“That boy came only up to my elbow, yet dared to ride such a fierce steed. Overconfidence beyond belief.”

With that, he gave a light, bitter gnash of teeth.

Unable to resist, Ying Changchuan chuckled along with him.

Perhaps because it was not yet late for sleep, or perhaps because Jiang Yuxun was all too keen to vent about the brat, his words became unexpectedly flowing.

After the length of one tea’s brew, Ying Changchuan suddenly set aside the shears.

His gaze lowered to the wall, then in a seemingly casual tone he said: “Beloved Minister, why not come over and say it?”

His voice was no different from usual.

Yet as he spoke, his fingers strayed unconsciously across a flower stem.

When at last he looked down, he found he had crushed a leaf.

Slowly, he placed it aside, brows slightly furrowed.

Jiang Yuxun: “…”

This—this was hardly proper, was it?

An unfamiliar unease rose in his chest.

By reason, he should have held firm to etiquette of sovereign and minister, politely but firmly refusing.

Yet he truly could not disobey his own heart.

Caught up in excitement, hugging his pillow tightly, Jiang Yuxun answered bluntly, “All right.”

——Hopeless!

The mid-spring night bore no chill.

A shadow suddenly appeared upon the window lattice of Liuyun Hall.

Jiang Yuxun stood confounded at the threshold for a moment, then carefully pushed open the hall doors, just enough to create a narrow gap.

Next breath, he poked his head in through the opening, nervous eyes searching inside.

The spring breeze slipped through with a sigh, making the lamps within flicker faintly with a rustle of wood.

His half-tied hair slipped loose across his shoulders, falling into the slightly loosened collar of his robe.

Liuyun Hall was hushed to an unnatural degree.

Hesitating, Jiang Yuxun whispered: “Your Majesty?”

Then bit his lip lightly, glancing nervously toward Ying Changchuan.

In that moment, their eyes met.

The candlelight flickered gently within those dark pupils.

Something in Ying Changchuan’s heart seemed to soften with his gaze.

Locks of dark hair gleamed warm beneath the lamplight.

It brought to his mind, unbidden, that reunion in the northern deserts, amid blowing sands.