It was not yet night, but the capital was already ablaze with lanterns.
The streets and alleys everywhere rang with the clamor of gongs and drums.
Outside Fengle Tower, the proprietor directed four or five workers as they hauled out three vats of wine, each half a man’s height. They lined them up and smashed open the mud seals.
“Drink your fill! No charge! Help yourselves!”
Passersby hurried over with bowls to receive the wine.
In ordinary times, tavern owners would have been loath to part with even a single drop.
But today, the workers ignored their proprietor’s anguish and filled bowl after bowl to the brim.
The people exchanged glances, then burst into laughter.
The owner of a cloth shop had his men drag out bundles of plain silk and blue cloth, cutting them into pieces to distribute among the elderly.
At the butcher’s, pigs and sheep were slaughtered. Steam mingled with white smoke and drifted several yards above the eaves.
The gongs shaking the entire street, the firecrackers echoing through the heavens, the people linked arm in arm as they ran up and down the roads, shouting again and again about the pacification of the Northern Frontier.
The entire capital had fallen into uproarious celebration.
Peaceful Long Street, outside the residence of Earl Chengyi.
Yet inside the reception hall of the front courtyard, everything was unusually quiet.
Xu Wuyou sat in a redwood grand chair, with a cup of tea that had long since gone cold beside him.
The curtain was lifted, and the steward, Xu Fu, hurried in with quick, mincing steps, his forehead covered in sweat.
“Oh, my young master.” Xu Fu panted as he pointed toward the main gate. “There are tens of thousands of people gathered outside!
“The neighbors are carrying rice wine, fresh fruit, and other gifts, and they’ve blocked the gate completely. They’re all shouting the names of Second Young Master and Eldest Miss.
“At this rate, the carriage of the Censor for the Patrol of the Capital won’t be able to get through at all.”
Xu Wuyou’s thoughts raced.
A great victory in the Northern Frontier. His younger brother Xu Zhan had broken the enemy camp with two hundred cavalrymen, while Qinghuan had held the city through blood and iron.
The credit was simply too great.
“Put all of this away.” Xu Wuyou set down the papers and stood. “I’m changing clothes.”
Xu Fu froze and glanced toward the outside of the manor. “Young Master, shouldn’t we avoid them for now?”
“Can you avoid a scene like this? Hurry and receive them!” Xu Wuyou untied his outer robe. “Bring me my crimson brocade robe with the dark pattern.”
“Also, send word! Take the forty-four boxes of red-paper packets we’ve been preparing these past few days, along with the steamed meat buns and meat porridge, and distribute everything at the foot of the steps.”
“Young Master, are you planning to scatter money?”
“If we don’t scatter money, the Xu family will be scattering our lives by tomorrow morning.” Xu Wuyou straightened his collar and strode toward the front. “Open the main gate.”
Before long, several servants hauled open the two vermilion gates of the Earl Chengyi residence.
The roar from outside poured instantly into the front courtyard.
When the people crowded beneath the steps saw the gates swing open, they raised the baskets in their hands and erupted into deafening cheers.
Xu Wuyou crossed the threshold and stood at the highest point of the stone steps.
He swept his gaze over the densely packed crowd below, then bowed deeply toward the long street.
When the people saw the eldest son of the Earl Chengyi residence offer them such a profound bow, their cheers gradually subsided. One by one, they stopped moving.
“Thanks to the gracious support of the fathers and mothers of the capital.” Xu Wuyou straightened and projected his voice with all his strength. “On behalf of my younger brother and little sister, I thank you all for your kindness!”
Someone in the crowd shouted, “The Xu family has produced two heroes! They saved the Great Qian Empire!”
Xu Wuyou’s expression did not change. He quickly cut off the man’s words:
“My younger brother and little sister merely fulfilled their duty as subjects! The reason Zhenbei Pass was able to survive its desperate circumstances is entirely due to His Majesty’s boundless blessings and far-sighted command!”
“It is even more thanks to the forty thousand soldiers on the frontier, who shed blood and laid down their lives, fighting to the death without retreat!”
He turned to face the imperial palace and raised his clasped fists from afar.
“Thunder and rain alike are the grace of the sovereign. How could the Xu family dare claim credit? Today’s great victory belongs to Great Qian; it belongs to His Majesty!”
His words rang out with force. He made no mention whatsoever of the Xu family’s personal contributions, forcibly redirecting the people’s fervor toward the emperor and the frontier troops.
Several members of the Imperial City Office concealed among the outer edge of the crowd exchanged secret glances and slipped the charcoal pencils in their hands back into their sleeves.
Xu Wuyou turned around and waved.
Dozens of servants came hurrying out in pairs, carrying heavy redwood chests.
When the lids were lifted, the chests were revealed to be filled with copper coins and broken silver wrapped in red paper.
From the rear courtyard, the older women pushed dozens of carts piled high with steaming meat buns and large vats of meat porridge. They followed the servants to the gate.
“His Majesty cares for his people. On the day of a great victory, all under Heaven should celebrate together!” Xu Wuyou proclaimed loudly. “Today, the Xu residence is distributing money and grain on behalf of the Son of Heaven to reward the fathers and mothers of the capital! Everyone, eat and drink your fill!”
The crowd erupted into even more fervent cheers.
“Long live His Majesty’s wisdom!”
“We thank His Majesty for his grace!”
With the food, wine, and money before their eyes, the people’s attention was drawn away. They spontaneously formed long lines to receive their rewards.
Once they had taken their paper-wrapped silver, meat buns, and porridge, they no longer chanted about the Xu family. Instead, they turned toward the north, praising the emperor’s divine providence.
Xu Fu could not stop praising him. “Tsk, tsk, tsk! Young Master, that was a stroke of genius!”
…
Three days later.
The snow had stopped at Zhenbei Pass.
Inside the main hall of the Commander’s Residence, a eunuch from the imperial court held an imperial edict in his hands. Behind him stood two hundred heavily armored Imperial Guards.
“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Xu Zhan, second son of the Earl Chengyi, has rendered meritorious service in breaking the enemy. He is hereby granted the rank of General of Martial Valor, Third Grade, and bestowed the hereditary title of Marquis of Pacifying the North. Imperial Commissioner Xu Qinghuan has saved lives and brought an epidemic under control; she is hereby granted the rank of Lady Xu of the First Rank. Thus it is decreed.”
After reading the final sentence, the eunuch rolled up the brocade edict.
“By imperial command!”
“The Emperor has further instructed: The Northern Frontier has only just been pacified. Marquis of Pacifying the North and Lady Xu of the First Rank are to hand over military affairs at once and return to the capital to recuperate.”
Xu Zhan and Xu Qinghuan knelt on the ground. Their expressions remained calm as they bowed their heads and accepted the decree.
“We accept the edict.”
The eunuch rolled up the imperial decree and handed it to Xu Qinghuan before retreating to one side.
Xu Qinghuan rose and turned to Tie Lanshan, Commander of Zhenbei Pass, who had been standing at the side of the hall all along.
She gave Qingque a meaningful look.
Qingque stepped forward and carried two thick stacks of documents and records to the wooden table.
Xu Qinghuan placed a hand on the records and began speaking methodically.
“Marshal Tie. These three volumes on the left contain the existing epidemic-prevention registers and the resettlement accounts for infected and wounded soldiers. The two volumes on the right contain the retained records of grain and supply allocations.”
Tie Lanshan stepped forward and listened with focused attention.
Xu Qinghuan continued to emphasize the key points.
“The deep pits outside the city where the poisoned corpses were buried must be replenished with quicklime every half-month. There can be no negligence whatsoever.”
“There are three underground water sources within the inner city. Each morning at dawn, someone must be assigned to draw samples for inspection. If the water becomes cloudy or develops any unusual odor, seal the well immediately. I’ve written all these absolute orders in the records.”
“I will remember them.” Tie Lanshan accepted the documents in both hands. His voice was low but powerful.
Xu Qinghuan took a somewhat thinner booklet from her sleeve and turned to hand it to the physician, Lao Sun.
“Lao Sun, this contains the follow-up procedures for the inoculation method. You can study it yourself.”
“As for whether the method will ultimately succeed, I suppose that will depend on the will of Heaven…”
Lao Sun’s hands trembled as he accepted the medical notes. He clutched them tightly to his chest.
Then he took half a step back and fell to both knees.
“Your Excellency, the people of Zhenbei will never forget your life-saving benevolence. This old man will stake his life on spreading this inoculation method throughout Great Qian. I will never allow your painstaking work to be lost!”
Deputy Commander Zhao Heng followed suit, dropping to one knee and raising both fists to his brow.
Outside the hall, dozens of representatives from the Bureau of Artisans crowded beneath the veranda.
At their head, Lin Siniang and the old master artisan prostrated themselves and struck their foreheads against the ground three times.
“Lady Xu, you sealed the city and stopped the epidemic, saving the lives of our artisan households. You also gave craftsmen like us the chance to be seen by the world and make even the smallest contribution to Zhenbei and Great Qian!”
“The people of the Bureau of Artisans will never forget your virtue, generation after generation!”
Inside and outside the hall, all the officers and artisans bowed deeply in unison, and for a long while, none of them was willing to rise.
Xu Qinghuan did not linger. She glanced back at Xu Zhan, and the two of them stepped out of the Regional Commander’s Residence side by side.
A carriage had long been waiting outside.
Xu Zhan climbed in first, and with Qingque’s help, Xu Qinghuan took her seat inside.
Xu Qinghuan offered no further farewells. The driver flicked the whip, and the carriage began rolling out through the city gates, heading south along the rutted official road.
Several tens of thousands of surviving soldiers of the Pacifying-the-North Army, along with the common people within the pass, stood on both sides of the road, stretching for a full three miles.
Some had blood-soaked linen wrapped around their heads. Some leaned on wooden crutches. Others wore mourning clothes and heavy mourning caps.
Forty thousand pairs of eyes burned with fervent emotion, filled with a reverence beyond words.
The profound silence was more soul-shaking than any roar of mountains or sea.
As the carriage traveled farther and farther away, only the wind and snow remained to fill the empty road.
Upon the city wall, Tie Lanshan stood facing the wind.
He gripped the hilt at his waist, suddenly drew his saber, and raised it high.
“Salute!” Tie Lanshan roared.
Along the road below, the soldiers raised their right arms in unison and struck their armored chests with their fists.
Their cry shook the wind and snow, lingering without end.
Just then, a personal guard hurried up onto the wall and came to a stop behind Tie Lanshan.
“Marshal,” the guard said, presenting a blank envelope with both hands. “Lady Xu instructed me to give this to you after the convoy had departed.”
Tie Lanshan returned his saber to its sheath, took the envelope, and opened it.
There was no official document inside, only a single sheet of white paper folded within.
A look of surprise crossed Tie Lanshan’s face.
He unfolded the paper again and again. On it were several lines of sharp, forceful calligraphy.
Tie Lanshan lowered his head and read the words aloud, one by one:
“Armor worn through, yet the blood has not run dry;
Ten miles lie gray with ash, burying the northern barbarians.
Leave this ruined city to bar the Northern Yan;
Let them dare not scheme against us for a hundred years!”
