Xu Qinghuan casually tossed the sheet of parchment covered in Chen Changfeng’s hatred into the brazier beneath the veranda.
The scarlet flames instantly curled over it, devouring the mottled bloodstains until nothing remained but a wisp of acrid blue smoke.
Xu Qinghuan stirred the coals twice with the poker and gave a cold laugh.
No matter how miserably the gray wolf on the grasslands howled, it would not be crossing the Great Wall anytime soon. Besides, there was still one fierce wolf of her own holding down the northern frontier.
She dropped the poker, dusted the ash from her hands, and had just picked up her teacup when hurried footsteps sounded beyond the courtyard gate.
Xu Fu came running through the moon gate, both hands clasped around an object as he made straight for the little pavilion in the rear garden. He was grinning from ear to ear as he called out, “Young Miss! A most distinguished guest has arrived!”
Xu Qinghuan tossed a peeled chestnut into her mouth, chewing until her cheeks puffed slightly. Without even raising her eyes, she mumbled, “How distinguished can he be?”
“It was personally delivered by the steward of the Third Prince’s residence.” Xu Fu shielded the letter from the wind and presented it with both hands. It was a folded invitation edged in gilded trim. “He’s waiting in the reception hall of the outer courtyard. They say His Highness’s carriage is already stopped at the entrance to our alley.”
Xu Qinghuan glanced at the invitation and burst out laughing.
That boy certainly moved fast.
Judging by the time, the old man had not attended court this morning, and memorials from the various offices would not have reached the palace until the end of the mao hour. The Secretariat for Palace Communications had sorted and delivered them overnight, so at most, they had only reached the emperor’s desk a few hours ago.
The old emperor’s stance had barely revealed the slightest crack, and Xiao Jingyan was already unable to sit still. He had hurried straight to her door to settle the accounts.
“Go and invite him in,” she ordered casually.
Xu Fu nodded at once, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and dashed off.
Two sticks of incense later.
A steady set of footsteps approached from the far end of the covered corridor.
Xu Qinghuan reclined against the soft couch. Her gaze drifted lazily away from the idle book in her hands and toward the half-open door.
With a smile on his face, Xiao Jingyan stopped five paces outside the threshold. He carefully straightened his robes before stepping inside.
Xu Qinghuan looked him over from head to toe.
Today, Xiao Jingyan had shed his usual imperial prince’s python robe. He wore only a plain, simple gown, and the jade belt signifying his princely rank was gone as well, replaced by an ordinary cloth sash. He looked for all the world like an impoverished scholar who had come to the capital for the examinations.
But clothes could be changed. What had truly changed was the air about him.
Two months ago, when he had stood outside the imperial study, his agitation had been impossible to conceal. He had regarded everyone as though they were laughing at him, always feeling as if the First Prince’s blade were pressed against the back of his neck. He had been like a frightened bird startled from its nest.
But now, standing in the center of the pavilion, the fury floating on the surface of his demeanor had been completely ground away. Every emotion was sealed tightly beneath his flesh.
Xu Qinghuan gave a quiet nod to herself.
After two months in the fire, he had finally begun to take shape.
“Greetings, Princess.” Xiao Jingyan took two steps forward and bowed deeply.
“Third Prince, you’ll make me feel terribly overawed,” Xu Qinghuan said lazily from against her bolster. She did not even put down the book in her hand, much less make any effort to rise and return his salute.
Xiao Jingyan was not offended. He straightened and met her gaze, opening with words straight from the heart.
“If not for the Princess’s guidance over these past two months, every word of it sharp and insightful, I would already have been crushed beneath the feet of my Eldest Imperial Brother. I would not even have had the chance to look up at the sky.”
His tone was solemn. “You have earned this half-teacher’s courtesy.”
“Enough. Put away that empty formalism from the official circles.” Xu Qinghuan tossed the book onto the small table and pointed at the embroidered stool opposite her. “Sit down and speak. What is it? Word from the palace?”
Xiao Jingyan did as she said.
“Just after noon, several informants in the Imperial Household Department passed along some news.” He tried hard to keep himself composed, but the delight in his quickened speech was impossible to hide. “Father Emperor has shelved that memorial of mine without comment. The messenger said that His Majesty was in excellent spirits in the Warm Pavilion today. Not only did he stop scolding anyone over the Mingyue Tower affair, he even held my memorial and laughed for quite some time.”
Xu Qinghuan picked up a peeled pine nut from the fruit plate beside her and tossed it into her mouth.
Seeing her calm expression—not even the slightest lift of her brows—Xiao Jingyan quickly reined in his satisfaction and slowed his speech as he explained, “When I wrote the memorial last night, I followed the Princess’s earlier instructions to the letter and completely distanced myself from the trouble at Mingyue Tower. I said nothing about politics from beginning to end. At the very end, I merely mentioned that I had been studying Emperor Guangwu’s practical notes on flood control these past few days, along with a single line wishing Father Emperor good health.”
“Not bad!” Xu Qinghuan clapped the crumbs from her fingers and interrupted him.
A glimmer appeared in Xiao Jingyan’s eyes.
“The First Prince caused such a commotion at the Luming Banquet. He even dared to commandeer the Five-City Military Command to surround the newly successful examination candidates. What was he after? Power! He wanted to gather the scholars of humble origins from across the realm and pave his own road to the throne!”
Xu Qinghuan lifted her teacup and indifferently skimmed the foam from the surface with its lid.
“That sort of thing is what an emperor fears most. The old man hasn’t even stopped breathing, and he’s already daring to openly snatch his rice bowl right out from under him.”
“And what about you?” Xu Qinghuan looked up at him. “You’ve kept your gates closed, neither competing nor scrambling for advantage. Your entire memorial spoke only of practical affairs and filial devotion. You were telling the emperor plainly that you possess real ability, but do not form factions and understand the rules.”
She took a sip of tea to soothe her throat, making no effort to hide her approval.
“You allowed the old man to see your progress without leaving a single word for those mad dogs among the censors to seize upon. Just in the ability to hold your nerve and play the fool, you’re already three steps ahead of your good-for-nothing elder brother.”
Xiao Jingyan clenched his back teeth, forcing down the delight rising within him, and cupped his fists.
“The Princess praises me too highly. For the past two months, Jingyan has been locked in his residence, chewing through the old records of previous dynasties. At last, I have managed to glean a few lessons and have not entirely failed the Princess’s painstaking efforts.”
“Hmph! The First Prince overreached himself at the Luming Banquet and trampled the dignity of the Imperial Academy and all those old relics into the mud! The thing Father Emperor has hated most all his life is factionalism and arrogance. With such blatant recklessness, he must already have aroused enormous suspicion in Father Emperor’s heart!”
Xiao Jingyan abruptly raised his head. The force he had suppressed for so long finally broke free without restraint.
“This is Jingyan’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”
“As for what I intend to do next, I will continue keeping my gates firmly shut and observe Father Emperor’s attitude. If Father Emperor truly intends to reconsider his choice of heir…”
He sprang to his feet, his chest rising and falling heavily. His hands clenched into fists, and his voice dropped low, edged with ruthless determination.
“Then Jingyan will enter the fray! I will fight for that position with real blades and real guns! Not for any other reason than to ensure that, in the afterlife, Mother Empress will never again suffer the humiliation and degradation inflicted by those people!”
Having said this, Xiao Jingyan stared intently at Xu Qinghuan, waiting for the mastermind behind the board to unveil her next earth-shattering strategy.
Yet the room held nothing but a long, heavy silence.
Xu Qinghuan studied him quietly for a moment.
Then she simply lifted the half-cup of tea that had gone lukewarm beside her and raised it in his direction.
“Then allow me to wish the Third Prince success in achieving his heart’s desire.”
Xiao Jingyan froze. He looked at the fragrant cup of tea—the unmistakable tea of dismissal—and instinctively took half a step forward.
“Princess… Is that all? What should Jingyan do next?”
Xu Qinghuan lowered her eyes, idly turning the jade bracelet around her wrist. Her voice was filled with anticipation. “I’ve paved the road for you and helped you cross the threshold. Now, let’s look forward to what the Third Prince does next! As for me, Xu Qinghuan, I will certainly give the Third Prince my full support.”
A flicker of astonishment crossed Xiao Jingyan’s eyes before swiftly giving way to understanding.
He took a deep look at Xu Qinghuan, then threw back his head and laughed. “Commandery Princess Xu, there’s no need for thanks between us! I’ll be counting on your guidance from here on out!”
The wind and snow billowed his plain robes. The ambition he had kept restrained for so long had finally grown fangs—and he no longer bothered to hide them.
Outside the courtyard, they waited until the sound of footsteps crunching through the snow had completely faded.
Suddenly, a tall, broad-shouldered figure emerged from behind the ink-bamboo screen in the right-hand side of the heated chamber.
Xu Zhan strode forward and dropped heavily into the grand armchair beside it. He casually snatched up a half-eaten piece of fruit from the platter on the table, his face full of wounded indignation.
“Little sister, I really can’t understand you!” He chewed through the apple core in two or three bites and swallowed it, then complained in his deep voice, “The Third Prince has clearly finally wised up. This is the perfect time for our Xu family to press our advantage and support the new emperor! Why did you suddenly push him away? You’re not teaching him any practical matters anymore! Aren’t you just throwing away the merit of helping him seize the throne?”
Xu Qinghuan grabbed a hot towel meant for wiping one’s hands and flung it straight into her second brother’s face.
“You brute who knows nothing but how to swing a hammer—you don’t know the first thing.”
Xu Zhan yanked the towel down and irritably ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. “How do I not understand? In battle, you seize the initiative and press your attack. Isn’t contending for the throne the same? You have to overwhelm your opponent with one move after another! What if he goes out there and loses his way again because you won’t teach him how to fight?”
“If seizing the throne could be accomplished through nothing but brute force and rigid tactics, the First Prince wouldn’t have been driven into such a desperate state today.” Xu Qinghuan slowly wiped the remnants from between her fingers, her expression cool and detached, as if she had already seen through the entire game.
“His insight is more than sufficient.
“The arts of an emperor can only be understood by oneself. You can’t pull the strings and teach him to become a puppet.
“If I continue instructing him in every last detail—telling him which foot to step forward with and what words to say…”
She casually tossed the towel into the copper basin, where it landed with a splash.
“Then I wouldn’t be helping him. I’d be building him up only to destroy him. Once he truly takes that supreme position, the first person he’ll want to kill will be the guide who knows he was once a fool who didn’t even know how to walk his own path!”
Xu Zhan scratched his head, utterly perplexed, and smacked his lips. He still only half understood the twists and turns of politics, but he understood the word “kill” perfectly well when his little sister said it.
“Besides…”
Xu Qinghuan drew out the final word, her expression turning completely cold.
“What our old man is about to do will likely be a hundred times more dangerous than the vicious struggle between those two brothers for the throne.”
“What?”
“Moving the capital.”
