Spring Remains the Same - Chapter 36

The twelfth lunar month was always the busiest time of the year. The palace and the noble houses were all preparing for the New Year festivities, while the government offices in the imperial city were busy concluding the year’s affairs before sealing their official stamps for the holiday.

This year was slightly different. As the war in Liangzhou drew nearer with each passing day, a taut tension gradually permeated the court.

A rebellion of a mere few thousand people had dragged on for nearly a month with no resolution. Apart from a minor victory at the very beginning, there had been no news since, as if the entire province of Liangzhou had vanished into thin air.

The ministers of the court looked at each other in dismay, only now growing vigilant. The Emperor issued an edict for the border armies to prepare for battle, but before the decree could even leave the capital, a fast horse delivered the report of Qian Wu’s defeat to Luoyang, shocking the entire court!

Thirty thousand elite troops against four thousand Qiang and Rong rebels, yet they had suffered a crushing defeat. If this was not a national disgrace, what was?

Puyang could not be bothered with anything else and hurried toward Wei Xiu’s small courtyard.

She had not been here for a mere ten days or so, and though the courtyard looked the same as ever, Puyang felt a sense of unfamiliarity. As she entered, a servant saw her and rushed inside to announce her arrival.

Puyang’s steps did not falter as she walked briskly forward, yet her heart tightened with an indescribable apprehension.

Wei Xiu soon came out.

Though they had not met for many days, her temperament was still as serene, her bearing as free and dashing as ever.

The wheelchair stopped under the eaves. As Puyang approached, Wei Xiu gracefully bowed. “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Puyang stopped before her. This was a person long imprinted on her heart, yet after days apart, there was a sense of unfamiliarity filled with distance. Puyang pressed her lips together, her gentle, water-like eyes flashing with a brief moment of unease before she calmly said, “I have an urgent matter to discuss with you, Sir.”

Wei Xiu straightened up, looked at her, and made a gesture of invitation. “Your Highness, please.”

The air outside was freezing, truly unsuitable for a detailed discussion.

The two entered the inner room together.

The room was as warm as spring, a stark contrast to the world outside. After a maidservant served tea, Wei Xiu dismissed everyone.

“If Your Highness has any concerns, please speak freely.”

Only the two of them remained in the room.

She had not visited for over ten days. Before coming, Puyang had felt anxious, wondering how she should properly answer if Wei Xiu were to ask why she had been absent for so long. All along the way, she had been consumed by anger and anxiety over the Wei army’s great defeat, yet also hesitant and reluctant, not knowing how to face Wei Xiu.

But upon her arrival, Wei Xiu was just as she had always been, seemingly unconcerned by her disappearance.

Puyang couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss. Wei Xiu treated her only as a patron. Such an attitude was perfectly appropriate; it was she who, projecting her own feelings, had harbored a deliberate hope.

“I have yet to thank you in person for the wine you gifted me the other day,” Puyang said calmly.

Wei Xiu smiled. “It was a small matter. Does Master Jiang meet Your Highness’s standards?”

Jiang Zhen’s talent was sufficient to govern the state and make him a renowned minister of his generation. After interacting with him for a few days, Puyang knew that this man had his own set of principles and was not someone who could be easily commanded.

“If Jiang Zhen enters the court, he is certain to have a meteoric rise,” Puyang said. As long as His Majesty met Jiang Zhen, he would surely treat him as he had Zhang Daozhi, promoting and entrusting him with great responsibility.

Wei Xiu had chosen the man, so she naturally knew his worth. Seeing Puyang’s incisive assessment, she knew she must have already made a decision and thus did not presume to dictate how he should be employed.

“It is good that he has met Your Highness’s standards,” Wei Xiu said with a gentle smile. “After spring begins, another group of people will come to pledge their service to you. I ask that Your Highness treat them with due respect.”

Puyang naturally agreed.

Wei Xiu’s every action and movement was no different from usual, but in Puyang’s eyes, her every frown and smile was more dazzling than before.

Puyang glanced at Wei Xiu, then restrained herself, pretending to casually turn her head to look elsewhere as she stated the purpose of her visit. “I have just received a report. Qian Wu has been routed, his army has collapsed, and the Qiang and Rong have won a great victory. Moreover, other Rong and Di tribes have answered their call. A rough estimate puts their numbers at over ten thousand.”

“If a small fire is not immediately extinguished, it will naturally spread. This was to be expected,” Wei Xiu said.

Now that the Qiang and Rong had grown in strength, they were no longer as easy to deal with as they had been at the start. Puyang understood the situation. The battles to come were not something she could control, nor would the court treat the matter as lightly as before. The rebellion would be quelled sooner or later, but she still felt a sense of anguish. A trace of vulnerability flashed in Puyang’s eyes, gone in an instant.

But that brief moment was captured completely by Wei Xiu’s gaze.

Wei Xiu hesitated, then thought for a moment before offering consolation. “There have been no wars in the northwest for decades. Liangzhou is no longer the Liangzhou of the past. I once traveled through Liangzhou myself and know well that Qian Wu’s abilities were insufficient to quell the rebellion. It is a pity the court did not know this. This matter cannot be blamed on Your Highness. You have done all that was humanly possible; you need not dwell on it.”

Puyang was saddened because she had clearly been advised by Wei Xiu, yet no one had listened to her. This was the very definition of being too humble to be heard.

“I fear the Great Wei will lose many more soldiers. And the people of Liangzhou…” Because of Qian Wu’s defeat, the number of deaths would surely increase. To be born in a chaotic era, where people were treated like straw dogs, just staying alive was the hardest thing.

Luoyang was prosperous, while Liangzhou was desolate. The people who directed this war lived in splendor, while those who fled east and west, driven from their homes or even innocently killed because of the defeat, had no idea when they might rebuild their lives.

She was not a good person. Wei Xiu had known from the beginning that this princess was not soft-hearted. She had managed to escape the Prince of Jin’s assassination attempt by swapping clothes with her maidservant, who had died in her place.

The Prince of Jin’s assassination attempt must have been perilous. In that critical moment, she had been able to make a decision without hesitation, letting her maid take her place, which showed her cold-heartedness.

Part of the reason Wei Xiu had chosen her was this very decisiveness and ruthlessness.

Yet it was precisely such a ruthless person who could show such compassion when faced with the life and death of the common people.

How contradictory.

Puyang lowered her head, fiddling with her teacup as if she had figured something out. She placed the cup on the small table and said calmly, “For now, we can only hope the court quells the rebellion soon. I have an idea and would like to hear your thoughts, Sir.”

Wei Xiu replied, “Please speak, Your Highness.”

“The Qiang and Rong are a scourge, and the flames of war bring devastation. After this rebellion is pacified, I intend to petition His Majesty to relocate the non-Han tribes beyond the border passes,” Puyang said. In her past life, there had been no rebellion in Liangzhou of such a scale, but in the years that followed, these foreign tribes had always stirred up some trouble. It would be better to move them out early to prevent future turmoil.

Hearing this, a brilliant smile spread across Wei Xiu’s lips. She took a sheet of paper from her sleeve and presented it to Puyang.

Puyang accepted it with both hands. As she unfolded it, her eyes shone. Her fingers, holding the edge of the paper, tightened, even turning white from the force. After a quick scan, Puyang looked up at Wei Xiu, her face blooming with delighted surprise.

Wei Xiu watched her with a smile and said steadily, “What does Your Highness think?”

“Excellent!” Puyang exclaimed with joy. Her eyes still lingered on the essay. When she looked up again, she met Wei Xiu’s smiling phoenix eyes.

Wei Xiu was born with a pair of phoenix eyes, long and slender with a slight upward tilt, captivating whenever she smiled. At this moment, they reflected Puyang’s image. Her dark pupils, as gentle as black jade, held nothing but Puyang, and no one else.

Puyang felt as if she were frozen, staring blankly at Wei Xiu, unable to look away. It was not until Wei Xiu spoke in a natural tone, “This discourse contains insights from my personal experiences in Liangzhou. I dare not say it is the best, but it is better than the work of those who speak in empty generalities,” that Puyang finally returned to her senses.

She no longer dared to stare at Wei Xiu as brazenly as she once had. Before, her conscience had been clear; now, she was “harboring improper intentions.”

Puyang hastily averted her gaze, not daring to meet Wei Xiu’s eyes, afraid she would sink even deeper.

She turned her head to look at the window lattice, struggling to maintain her composure. “This work is perfectly timed. I will present it to my lord father on your behalf,” she said calmly. Here, she paused slightly. “But in doing so, you will become famous, Sir.”

Wei Xiu smiled at her. “Is fame not a good thing?”

“It is not that fame is bad, but you are not one who seeks it and you prefer tranquility. I feel that you would not wish to do something that puts you in the spotlight,” Puyang said slowly and evenly. She had refused the position of Chancellor several times, which was proof enough of her dislike for empty reputation.

Wei Xiu was noncommittal, merely saying, “Consider it casting a brick to attract jade.”

Her words were vague, but Puyang understood.

Wei Xiu was her person. Her fame was also Puyang’s glory, making it seem as though her household was full of talented people. Moreover, this discourse was incisive and profound, something only a great talent could produce. His Majesty would treat Wei Xiu with courtesy because of it, and he would also hold Puyang in higher esteem in political matters. In the future, should a situation like Qian Wu’s arise again, His Majesty would at least take her words into consideration.

The benefits were obvious, and more than that, they were something Puyang could not refuse.

But this was not Wei Xiu’s true intention. Once she became famous, the tranquility she enjoyed would be shattered. Not only would visitors frequently call upon her, but His Majesty would likely want to grant her an official post.

A wave of emotion washed over Puyang’s heart, carrying with it a trace of sweetness that was both delightful and intoxicating.

“After you become famous, Sir, I will block visitors for you. As for His Majesty’s side, I can also…” Before Puyang could finish, she saw Wei Xiu shake her head and say unhurriedly, “Your Highness need not go to such trouble for me. Since I am Your Highness’s strategist, I serve you as my lord. To you, I am the same as Jiang Zhen and the others.”

Puyang froze. There was clearly another layer of meaning in Wei Xiu’s words.

Wei Xiu, however, looked at her calmly, thought for a moment, and continued, “I respect Your Highness as my lord. My heart in serving you is like the Chancellor’s in serving His Majesty. How could I dare trouble Your Highness to worry so much for me?”

Every sentence was pointed, and every word was meant to draw a line. Her feelings for Puyang were like those of the Chancellor for the Emperor—nothing more than the bond between a ruler and a subject.

In an instant, Puyang’s face turned deathly pale, drained of all color.

She knows. When did she find out? This eagerness to distance herself, to hint that Puyang should not entertain improper thoughts, was calm to the point of being cruel.

These words had come without any warning. Puyang was caught completely off guard. Her chest heaved as she tried desperately to calm herself. “Sir…” The two words escaped with a slight tremble. She quickly steadied herself, but an inexplicable sense of grievance welled up in her heart.

“Sir,” her voice was steady now. Puyang managed a smile to make herself seem more at ease, but her heart ached with a sour pain. “You are overthinking things. I treat you well out of admiration for your talent and gratitude for your efforts on my behalf. What is wrong with showing a little more respect?”

Wei Xiu watched her feign composure, refusing to let her emotions show. She saw the deeply hidden hurt in her eyes. Wei Xiu had thought she would be indifferent, or perhaps even feel gratified. The Emperor had slaughtered her entire family; she ought to reclaim something from his daughter. But seeing the princess hastily steady herself after the initial shock, then clumsily try to preserve her dignity, she found she could not bear it.

Having spoken, Puyang finally regained her composure. She smiled with dignity, glanced out the window, and said, “It is getting late. I shall not disturb your rest, Sir.”

She folded the essay and placed it in her sleeve. “The court is busy with the war these few days, so it is not a good time to submit a memorial. After the New Year, I will present it to His Majesty on your behalf.”

Wei Xiu nodded. “As Your Highness says.”

With the matter settled, Puyang stood up. Wei Xiu turned her wheelchair to see her out. Puyang did not refuse, but only let her come as far as the eaves. “It’s cold outside. You should go back in, Sir.”

The eunuchs and maidservants waiting in the courtyard saw the princess emerge and hurried forward to attend to her.

Everything was exactly as it had been in the past.

Puyang walked out of the small courtyard. After a few more steps, she stopped as if unwilling to accept it and turned her head, only to see that the space under the eaves was already empty.