Wind And Snow On The Jade Steps - Chapter 1

Nanan Country was draped in a layer of pristine white, silvered by the frost. Shen Zhishu had just led her army back in triumph from the Northern Desert.

The heavy gates of the capital stood wide open, flanked by endless crowds of citizens who welcomed them with fervent heat. Amidst the clamor, Shen Zhishu lowered her head to tidy a few stray hairs. While still mounted, she unfastened her mink fur cloak and handed it to her attendant with deliberate, steady movements.

Her lieutenant, Xie Jin, rode alongside her. He quirked an eyebrow and teased, “Little Master Shen, is it truly that hot? Or are you perhaps feeling a bit nervous about meeting His Majesty?”

Nervous?

She hadn’t felt a flicker of nerves while slaying enemies on the battlefield, so why would she show weakness now?

And yet, it was indeed her first time being summoned by the Emperor.

Shen Zhishu had been away from the capital for eight years. She had left as a fourteen-year-old youth and returned as a twenty-two-year-old adult.

Eight years ago, she was merely an obscure centurion, lacking the rank to attend court. She had only caught a distant glimpse of the Emperor once during a hunt in the capital.

In the intervening years, she had fought her way from the south to the north. She followed the army to stabilize the Central Plains and wipe out the Northern Desert. She had the courage to hold an isolated city with only dozens of men, and the skill to capture nearly a thousand enemy troops with only a few hundred. Her victories through superior tactics were too many to count, her resume grew increasingly formidable, and her rank rose steadily.

Part of it was her undeniable talent, and part of it was a stroke of administrative luck. She had fought her way from a simple centurion to a Commanding General.

She had become the youngest general in the history of Nanan Country.

Xie Jin, who was nine years her senior, had faced life and death at her side for three years.

They rode at the head of the formation, followed by a vast, surging tide of soldiers. Shen Zhishu turned to glance at the thousands of troops, then looked back at Xie Jin, ready to speak.

Suddenly, an inner official appeared at the front of the procession, holding a scroll of yellow silk.

Shen Zhishu recognized that silk.

When she was first named Commanding General, a similar official had stood before her with a matte yellow scroll, smiling as he said, “Shen Zhishu, receive the decree.”

It was an Imperial Edict.

The official called out in a high voice, “Shen Zhishu, receive the decree!”

Xie Jin halted his horse and patted Shen Zhishu on the shoulder. She dismounted and knelt down, bowing her head.

The official unfurled the silk and shouted with great vigor, “By the Grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Shen Zhishu has strategized across a thousand miles and shown valiant loyalty to the nation. In eight years, she passed the gates of the capital many times without entering, focusing solely on stabilizing the Central Plains and calming the Northern Desert. She is truly a blessing to Nanan Country. She is hereby appointed as General of the State. Respect this.”

Shen Zhishu looked up abruptly, only to see the official’s face crinkle into a wide, flattering smile.

In Nanan Country, the rank of General of the State was neither exceptionally high nor low. The current Emperor loved granting titles. There were already two Generals of the Realm and three Generals of the State, but even so, she remained the most eye-catching of them all.

The reason was simple: her youth.

The official’s smile stretched from ear to ear, his eyes nearly disappearing into slits. “His Majesty says the General has had a long and exhausting journey. You are to return home and rest today, then enter the palace tomorrow at the hour of Chen to give thanks. A banquet has been prepared in the palace to wash away the dust of travel for all the officers.”

Shen Zhishu replied with a composed “Understood.” She accepted the decree and remounted her horse, finally answering Xie Jin’s earlier remark.

“I wasn’t nervous before.”

The Emperor had bestowed a magnificent General’s Manor upon her. Bells hung from the eaves, swaying gently in the breeze with a clear, melodic chime.

Inside, silver-charcoal burned in the center of the room, and several branches of winter plum blossoms bloomed vibrantly in a porcelain vase in the corner.

Shen Zhishu was currently bathing in the inner chamber.

She reclined in a wooden tub, tilting her head back as she allowed a servant to pour warm water over her.

After eight years away, the servants attending her had been replaced by a new group. The one currently serving her seemed particularly timid, her voice no louder than the buzz of a mosquito.

Shen Zhishu gathered the plum petals on the water’s surface into her palm and asked casually, “How old are you this year?”

The servant whispered, “Ten…”

Shen Zhishu didn’t catch the rest and asked again. Perhaps because her tone wasn’t particularly soft, the servant suddenly shrank back, her voice even smaller: “…”

Accustomed to the rough and tumble life of a military camp, Shen Zhishu had never dealt with such a situation. She sighed inwardly and softened her voice. “Don’t be afraid, I don’t eat people.”

The servant gave a dull “Yes,” but when Shen Zhishu glanced at her, she noticed the girl’s face was flushed red.

Shen Zhishu wondered: Is she not timid, but shy?

The next second, the “shy” servant suddenly pulled out a blade, flicked her wrist, and lunged toward Shen Zhishu’s chest!

Shen Zhishu thought, So much for being shy.

The servant’s clumsy attempt was no match for the battle-hardened Shen Zhishu. The young General used a clever burst of strength to seize the girl’s wrist in an instant.

There was a loud splash as water sprayed everywhere. Shen Zhishu frowned at the person beside her and asked, “Who sent you?”

The servant stopped pretending. The flush on her face vanished instantly, and she clamped her jaw shut, refusing to speak.

Shen Zhishu narrowed her eyes. “You know my methods. I have a hundred and eighty-eight ways to make you talk.”

A large clump of snow slid off the eaves outside. A bird landed on the wind chimes, creating a sharp, ringing sound.

The servant kept her head down, then suddenly looked up and said coldly, “Xie Jin.”

With that, she closed her eyes as if making a final decision. Her lower jaw shifted slightly.

It was the precursor to biting one’s tongue or swallowing poison to commit suicide.

Shen Zhishu raised an eyebrow and suddenly reached out with her free hand, grabbing the girl’s jaw.

With a sharp crack, she dislocated the servant’s jaw.

Shen Zhishu’s voice carried a hint of a cold smile. “Don’t think you can just die after trying to frame someone.”

Shen Zhishu stepped gracefully out of the wooden tub, water splashing onto the floor. A stray flower petal was caught under her bare foot as she walked.

She grabbed a sash and tied the girl up securely in a few quick motions, then proceeded to dress herself in her inner and outer robes. Finally, she spared a glance at the servant slumped on the floor and called for her trusted confidants waiting outside.

“Interrogate this person and watch her closely. There is poison between her teeth. Once you’ve removed it, put her jaw back in place. Don’t let her die.”

The outer hall was in a bit of a mess. The other servants were huddled in the courtyard, trembling with fear. Since a mole had been found among their ranks, they were naturally held responsible.

Shen Zhishu, however, found the whole ordeal tiresome. She stood with her arms crossed for a moment before gesturing for them to rise. She simply said, “It doesn’t matter, just make sure word of this doesn’t leak out.”

These servants were a gift from the Emperor. If she made a scene, wouldn’t it look like she was defying him?

Outsiders would see it as a “clash between monarch and subject,” while the culprit hidden in the shadows would walk away scot-free after successfully sowing discord.

After eight years away from the capital, she had forgotten what it felt like to deal with this kind of calculated scheming. Or perhaps it wasn’t that she forgot, but rather that she had been so far from the center of power that she had never experienced it at all.

The snow continued to fall tirelessly, piling thick on the roof. A thin layer of ice had formed over the small pond, where four or five hardy sparrows rested.

Shen Zhishu suddenly felt that the courtyard was making her feel suffocated.

She walked slowly along the veranda until she reached a wooden trellis.

The trellis was meant for grapevines, but the season was wrong. The bamboo poles were bare and crisscrossed, laden only with heavy white snow.

There had been a similar grapevine trellis in her old home, built by Mother He herself. In the scorching heat of summer, the whole family would sit beneath the lush, sweet vines to enjoy the cool air.

Mother He happened to poke her head out from a side room.

“Are you finished with your bath?” she asked.

Shen Zhishu called out, “I’m finished. You should rest, Mother. I’m going to check on the old Shen estate. Where is Mother Shen?”

“The palace sent someone in a hurry to fetch her. The Emperor likely has urgent matters to discuss,” Mother He smiled. “Now that she’s been promoted to Minister, she’s naturally busy with this and that. Never mind her, but why are you heading to the old house? Is the General’s Manor not to your liking?”

“Not at all. Since the Emperor gifted it, everything is wonderful,” Shen Zhishu shook her head. “I just want to take a look around. I won’t be back for dinner, so don’t go to any trouble.”

Soft flakes of snow began to fall again, and a few crystalline specks landed on Shen Zhishu’s broad shoulders.

An attendant handed her a heavy cloak. Shen Zhishu threw it on deftly and rode out of the gates.

But once she was actually out, she realized she had nowhere to go.

People were watching her from every direction, and greetings of “Blessings to Little Master Shen” drifted from all sides. While Shen Zhishu returned the smiles, she gritted her teeth and asked her attendant, “I haven’t been back in eight years, why does everyone recognize me?”

The attendant laughed so hard she nearly fell off her horse. “Your portrait has spread all over the capital. Do you know why, Little Master Shen?”

“Why?”

“There are two reasons. First, you ended the war and are a great hero of Nanan. The people love you, so many have bought your portrait to keep in their homes to pray for you. Second… you are young and already a General with a limitless future. You have no idea how many noble sons in the capital are eyeing the position of General’s Consort, asking around about your preferences…”

Before she could finish, Shen Zhishu gave a dry cough. “I understand. Say no more.”

The attendant continued to giggle until a sharp look from Shen Zhishu silenced her. She cleared her throat and tried to tease again, “So, Little Master Shen… do you have your eye on anyone? If there’s someone you like, ask the Emperor for a marriage decree tomorrow, and it’s a guaranteed success.”

“No one,” Shen Zhishu shook her head, shooting her a look. “If you make another joke like that, I’ll toss you into a swamp to feed the pigs.”

A thought suddenly popped into the attendant’s mind: No wonder everyone says Little Master Shen is a rare martial officer who possesses a scholarly air.

The “scholarly air” didn’t refer to her appearance. Shen Zhishu had spent ten years in the military. Her back and shoulders were broad, she could wield a dozens-of-kilograms heavy spear like it was a toy, and she could lift a person with one hand and throw them across a room.

It likely referred to the way she spoke. Outside of battle, she rarely shouted in a coarse or boisterous manner. Even when she dropped a threat, it was steady, her voice clear and resonant.

Sometimes, she even had a faint curl at the corner of her lips.

But acting this way seemed to have more authority than shouting. Specifically, once she wore that half-smiling expression, no one dared to cross her.

The attendant shrank her neck and changed the subject. “If you don’t like the crowds, I know a good place.”

“Oh?”

“There’s a large forest on the outskirts of the city. You can ride your horse there and enjoy some freedom.”

Shen Zhishu let out a hum. “Do you think I haven’t had enough of riding horses on the battlefield?”

The attendant shrugged. “Then there’s nowhere else to go. Unless, perhaps, you wear a mask?”

Shen Zhishu sighed and took the face cloth offered by the attendant. When they reached a quiet corner in an alley, she tied it over the lower half of her face.

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