A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 78

Chen Liangyu hurriedly put down the teapot and went up to her, her movements a bit flustered, even forgetting to bow and salute. “Your Highness, when did you arrive?”

Xie Wenjun’s gaze fell on a drop of water on her throat. That piece of jade-like color was directly hit by the high-rising sun, reflecting a sharp light.

She wanted to raise her hand to wipe it, but after thinking for a moment, she only took out a handkerchief and handed it over. “Just arrived. I saw you practicing your sword, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Even on a bright autumn morning, there was still a chill. The spot that Xie Wenjun had stared at felt alternately cold and hot.

Chen Liangyu subtly wiped off the water mark. Just as she was about to return the silk handkerchief, Xie Wenjun waited for a long time without hearing Chen Liangyu invite her inside. So, without waiting for the invitation, she lifted her foot and walked in.

Chen Liangyu offered the empty space, withdrew her hand, and twisted the handkerchief around her finger before holding it tightly.

“Why did no one announce your arrival?”

Xie Wenjun said, “From that, it sounds like you don’t welcome this Princess’s visit?”

“No,” Chen Liangyu walked alongside Xie Wenjun.

Just a moment ago, she had been standing in front of the Guanju Tower, staring at the black lacquer wooden door, as if hoping that in the next moment the door would open from the inside, and the person she wanted to see would walk out gracefully, followed by two palace maids.

The person did indeed come, but there were no maids following her.

Amidst her joy, Chen Liangyu actually felt a sense of awkwardness, as if an unfamiliar distance had inexplicably grown between her and Xie Wenjun.

Xie Wenjun said, “Today, I went to see my Imperial Brother to report on agricultural matters. I passed by the Marquis’s Residence, so I came to take a look.”

The Princess Royal’s Residence was the former residence of the Retired Emperor.

Chen Liangyu seriously considered the directions between the Imperial Palace, the Marquis’s Residence, and the Princess Royal’s Residence. After a moment, she opened her mouth and said, “The Princess Royal’s Residence, to the Palace, and then to here, it doesn’t seem to be on the way.”

“This Princess’s residence has not been fully repaired yet, so I cannot live there.” Xie Wenjun entered Chen Liangyu’s bedroom. She found a chair and sat down on her own. “Before that, you’ll have to take me in.”

Chen Liangyu leaned against the doorframe, holding the Lan Cang sword, and hearing this, a very slight arc curved at the corner of her mouth. “A residence that has been under repair until now, and it’s not a newly built Princess Royal’s Residence. Are you renovating the Imperial Palace?”

“Stop being frivolous.”

“Alright. The humble door is opened for you today.”

Afterward, neither of them spoke again.

One sat and one stood, the room was silent, allowing the quietness to spread.

The light behind Chen Liangyu slanted down, casting a hazy glow on the strands of hair on her head. Looking at her against the light, her features appeared even more distinct and deep.

Like a high cliff and a deep valley, looking directly was like gazing into a deep abyss.

But her eyes were bright as stars, captivating, making one willingly rush to her, even knowing it was a towering precipice.

Chen Liangyu: “You…”

Xie Wenjun: “This Princess…”

Both felt they should say something to break the awkward silence. They spoke simultaneously but didn’t know what to say. Chen Liangyu was still twisting the silk handkerchief in her hand; if it had been wet, she would have wrung it dry by now.

Xie Wenjun said, “I heard that you had quite a temper during the morning court today.”

Chen Liangyu said, “Both you and Second Brother are heartless for not attending court. You avoided it, leaving me alone to be the debater.”

Xie Wenjun smiled radiantly. “General Chen needs no help, trampling on the dignity of all those civil officials. Even when the late Marquis was alive, he never spoke to that bunch of old ministers like that.”

“I wanted to throw mud at them.” Chen Liangyu thought for a moment, then shook her head, deeming it unfeasible. “They would just submit another memorial impeaching me.”

The water mark on her throat hadn’t been completely wiped off; a damp patch was glistening. Xie Wenjun couldn’t resist and walked over to gently wipe away the mark with her fingertip. Just as she was about to withdraw it.

The next moment, she was pulled into an embrace by a pair of arms.

Chen Liangyu wrapped her arms around Xie Wenjun’s back, pressing her cheek against her temples, rubbing off a hint of the sawdust fragrance. “I miss you so much.”

“In the past, you never said you missed me,” Xie Wenjun said.

The only time was when Xie Wenjun pestered her into admitting it. Though she admitted it, her expression looked like she wanted to devour someone. In the end, she still lectured that it was improper. This was the first time Chen Liangyu had ever taken the initiative to say she missed someone.

Chen Liangyu said, “In the past, I dared not miss you.”

Xie Wenjun pushed her away.

Chen Liangyu felt an emptiness in her arms, as if something was missing, so she circled her arms around her again, holding her. “I heard you used some means to deal with a few people.”

Xie Wenjun said, “Why would this Princess need to use means to deal with a few people?”

Chen Liangyu said, “Are you truly going to keep those students from the Imperial Academy locked up?”

“This Princess must protect the Gu family.”

It was Gu Changxue who entered the palace with the blank Imperial Edict bestowed by Emperor Xuanyuan to save Yao Jifeng’s life. However, Imperial authority and the law have always coexisted. Now that the matter has come to light and officials are aware that Yao Jifeng escaped the death penalty, this matter absolutely cannot be seen as the Emperor perverting the law. All consequences must be borne by Yao Jifeng and the Gu family. Whether it was Yao Jifeng deceiving the Emperor or the Gu family harboring him, an explanation and justification must be given to the scholars of the realm.

However, the loudest call now is: the Gu family should be judged with the same severity as Yao Jifeng.

Xie Wenjun and Chen Luan suppressed the matter by detaining those Imperial Academy students, which made the court and the common people apprehensive, preventing them from becoming overly aggressive. But the final decision on how to settle this still rests on the Emperor’s will.

Xie Wenjun said, “The presence of the Retired Emperor in the Palace is the greatest worry for Imperial Brother.”

That is why Xie Yuan, despite the empty national treasury and the opposition of his ministers, insisted on rebuilding the Yan Zhi Mountain Retreat Palace. However, because the Ministry of Revenue could not allocate the silver, the construction progress has been slow.

Chen Liangyu said, “Whoever can raise the silver for the construction of the Yan Zhi Mountain Retreat Palace will have the greater advantage.”

Xie Wenjun said, “I thought you would advise against it.”

“It’s alright to be a treacherous official once.”

Xie Wenjun said, “The tricky part is that we cannot use the national treasury’s silver, nor can we levy it onto the common people.”

Chen Liangyu chuckled internally. She had already guessed what Xie Wenjun was about to say, so she spoke first. “Your Highness is eyeing Dongyin again?”

Xie Wenjun did not deny it. “The envoy Dongyin sent to negotiate peace with our dynasty last time, You Jingbo, his grandfather was the Dongyin State Preceptor. Our spies reported that the Dongyin State Preceptor was imprisoned, and the You family has been confiscated.”

You Jingbo’s failure to bring back Crown Prince Chu Zhang and the captured soldiers upon returning to Dongyin had already angered the Emperor. There were even rumors that You Jingbo had the audacity to solicit courtesans while the Crown Prince was imprisoned in the water dungeon and near death, which reportedly infuriated Chu Muyao so much that he was sick for a month. During his illness, someone impeached the You family for secretly sending four million taels of silver to Zhong Lin. In a fit of rage, Chu Muyao had all members of the You family thrown into death row, dismissed from their posts, and their property confiscated.

The You family’s wealth was indeed a considerable sum.

Xie Wenjun continued, “Chu Zhang is Chu Muyao’s eldest legitimate son, installed as the Crown Prince since birth. Now that Chu Zhang is in our dynasty and Chu Muyao is critically ill, some vassal lords in Dongyin are already coveting the throne. Releasing Chu Zhang now could fetch a good price. But Chu Zhang alone is not enough; we also need to release a batch of prisoners of war.”

“How many people do you want?”

“Twenty thousand is enough.”

Chen Liangyu said, “Five thousand, no more than that.”

Xie Wenjun broke free from her embrace. “You…” She haggled, “Fifteen thousand.”

Chen Liangyu quickly chased after her, hastily explaining, “The river channel excavation has started, and my sister-in-law’s weirs and irrigation canals urgently need people. A sudden loss of twenty to thirty thousand people will delay the construction schedule. Your Highness, Princess Royal, Qingqing… don’t ignore me.”

Xie Wenjun held up an index finger: “Ten thousand people. It’s essential for Chu Zhang to have no less than this number to appease the military and the populace. Furthermore, Chu Zhang must be allowed to return to Dongyin voluntarily. With people in Dongyin coveting the throne, they will surely be waiting to take Chu Zhang’s life, so we also need to send troops to escort him.”

“That sounds like…”

“How so?”

Chen Liangyu rested her chin on her hand, leaning next to Xie Wenjun. “It doesn’t sound like releasing prisoners of war; it sounds like supporting a puppet.”

“You got it right.”

Chen Liangyu said, “But Chu Muyao isn’t dead yet.”

“He won’t live much longer.”

Chen Liangyu took out a moon-white purse from somewhere. Embroidered on it was a flower with a peculiar appearance.

It was a deer.

“The craftsmanship is rough, Your Highness, please don’t dislike it.”

Xie Wenjun held it in her palm, brought it close to her nose and sniffed. It smelled of flowers and medicinal herbs. “Why didn’t you take it out just now?”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t like it.”

Afraid you wouldn’t like the deer, wouldn’t like me, and wouldn’t want to mention that absurd night at Qunfangyuan.

Xie Wenjun asked, “Is there anything else?”

“No.”

“You’ve been back in Yongdu for several days, yet you haven’t come to look for this Princess. You waited for this Princess to come to your door. Are the soles of the General’s shoes so precious that you were unwilling to take two extra steps?”

Chen Liangyu actually wanted to go, but several times she lost her nerve and stopped in her tracks.

She said, “How is it ‘several days’? I only arrived the evening before last.”

Xie Wenjun said, “You returned to Yongdu the evening before last. Imperial Brother granted you a day of rest, and you truly didn’t leave your house for a whole day. This morning, you went to argue with those court officials. How is it that I remember the journey from the Xuanning Marquis Residence to my residence does not take a full day?”

Seeing her in the posture of accusing someone, Chen Liangyu smiled, “It’s my fault.”

Xie Wenjun whispered, “I thought you didn’t want to see me.”

Chen Liangyu took Xie Wenjun’s hand and pressed it against her face.

She still had many things she wanted to ask, such as about Qin Sensen, and Gu Xie. But right now, she didn’t want to ask anything else, nor could she recall what to ask.

A moment of tranquility.

Chen Liangyu said, “When did you get to know Qin Sensen?” It seemed that the courtesan was quite important to Xie Wenjun.

Chen Liangyu’s impression of the woman only remained at the time of the old Prince of the Eastern Residence’s birthday banquet that year. After that day, the name Qin Sensen seemed to descend from the heavens, quickly becoming famous in Shangyong City overnight. No one had ever mentioned her background.

Xie Wenjun said, “I’ve known her for a very long time. Yi Feng Pavilion, its reputation is huge. Which of those officials, pseudo-refined scholars, and wealthy merchants from all corners of the world doesn’t consider it an honor to have a confidante from Yi Feng Pavilion? That place can gather information faster than the Imperial Secret Service.”

Chen Liangyu said, “I know that.”

“To scout for information, you need to cultivate your own eyes and ears.” Xie Wenjun hinted, “Speaking of which, you and she have some kind of connection.”

Chen Liangyu pointed to herself, “Me?”

Xie Wenjun nodded. “Her original surname was Li. She was penalized and registered as a low-caste person in the seventeenth year of Xuanyuan due to her father’s crime.”

Chen Liangyu tried hard to recall, but she couldn’t think of anyone she knew named Li.

The seventeenth year of Xuanyuan.

That was the second year after she returned to Shangyong City with her father and brother from the northern border. Too many confusing and complex things happened that year, and she was too lazy to recall them.

Xie Wenjun raised an eyebrow. “You once vowed to be a matchmaker, saying you would marry her to Qiu Renshan’s son, Qiu Shiyan.”

Chen Liangyu protested, “Nonsense, how could I have said such foolish words?”

She didn’t remember Qin Sensen, but she remembered Qiu Shiyan. That disgusting face was deeply etched in her memory. Being a matchmaker for Qiu Shiyan would be ruining that girl’s life, wouldn’t it? She also remembered another girl, a fierce woman who held a blood letter and knelt at the entrance of Yong’an Prefecture to seek justice for herself. Years had passed in a blink, and she wondered where she was now and if she was well.

Suddenly, Chen Liangyu froze.

Many years ago, she did seem to have said that someone should marry Qiu Shiyan. That girl, whom she had never met, was named Li.