Yang Lun unconsciously clenched his hand, “Must we just watch him like this…”
Bai Huan sighed, his eyes growing hot, his throat constricted.
“We can only watch…”
Yang Lun said: “But my sister is still with him.”
Bai Huan raised his head. A flock of birds in the clouds dove down their manner like knowing death yet still rushing toward it. The words he had originally been unwilling to say suddenly came out.
“Zixi, even one’s child, should they not be abandoned for the sake of the country?”
These words were spoken as they reached the main gate.
Bai Huan still gazed at the horizon but spoke no more.
Yang Lun raised his head to look straight out the door, seeing the spring path with green trees, swallow grass like green silk, a scene of warm spring prosperity, yet he vaguely felt that the whole way was covered in three feet of ice and strewn with white bones.
After leaving the Yang residence, Deng Ying walked alone on the main street. Several Eastern Depot guards saw him from far away in the crowd and swarmed to his side saying: “Chief, you’re out alone?”
Seeing their flushed faces and that they weren’t wearing official uniforms, Deng Ying gathered his sleeves and asked while walking: “Did you go drinking?”
One of them replied: “Yes, we went for a celebratory drink. Commander Chen married a second wife and got a new house, we just came from the festivities.”
Deng Ying nodded: “I heard about him buying a house last month.”
“Indeed! Oh my, it’s huge! Although it’s only a two-courtyard house, it looks extremely spacious. Chief, speaking of which, you should also get an outside residence. What’s the point of always living in the palace? I see many Beijing officials eagerly waiting to show you respect, some even bringing property deeds – what’s the harm in just taking a look?”
Deng Ying smiled: “If they’re coming through your channels, you go look.”
“How can that be? These past six months, you’ve distributed everything to your subordinates, not adding anything for yourself inside or out. If you don’t want anything for yourself, at least think about Lady Yang!”
Deng Ying stopped walking, “Don’t speak like that.”
As he finished speaking, they had reached the East Prosperity Gate.
When the guards saw the person at the gate, they suddenly fell silent as winter cicadas, pulling at each other as they left.
Deng Ying looked up and saw Yang Wan standing behind the East Prosperity Gate, wearing new palace clothes, her hair in a loose bun. Over these past six months, she seemed to have developed new insights into makeup and clothing, becoming increasingly radiant.
“Why are you here?”
Yang Wan walked a few steps closer to him, “Can you tell what’s different?”
“Promoted to Registry Chief?”
Yang Wan smiled: “Yes, I want to host a celebration tonight, but I don’t have a place, so I need to borrow yours and Li Yu’s.”
Deng Ying hesitated: “My place is cramped, I’m afraid…”
“It’s fine.”
Yang Wan walked forward with him, saying as they walked: “Now that the weather’s warm, we don’t need to eat hotpot inside. I see you usually cook outside anyway. There won’t be many people this time, just you and me, Li Yu, Yun Qing, and Chen Hua. I’m not asking for much, just some liveliness. Look… how many times have we talked about getting together? Your health hasn’t been good, so we never managed to do it.”
Deng Ying nodded in agreement: “Alright. I’ll first return to the Depot office, then come over.”
Yang Wan suddenly asked: “When you went out today, did you go to see my brother?”
Deng Ying paused, “How did you know?”
“I guessed.”
She looked at his ankle as she spoke, “Looking at how you walk, I know you stood for a long time. Outside, beside him, who else would dare make you stand so long?”
She finished speaking and moved closer to Deng Ying, “Deng Ying.”
“Mm?”
“Don’t be afraid of him in the future, just sit while talking to him. If he’s not nice to you again, I’ll go to the Imperial Court Gate and scold him.”
Deng Ying laughed out loud, “The Cabinet Elder was also there today, I couldn’t be disrespectful.”
“Oh.”
Yang Wan sighed, “I can’t mess with that old master. Ah…”
This sigh carried some heartache, “I also stood all day today, there really are many people I can’t mess with.”
Deng Ying hurriedly asked: “What happened?”
Yang Wan pressed her lips together, “Noble Consort Jiang suddenly wanted to read some classics. Just reading would have been fine, but then she ordered me to recite them. I read for half a day, her palace maids nearly fell asleep – clearly revenge against me.”
“Is it because of last time when you reported the Yanxi Palace incident?”
Yang Wan shrugged, “What else could it be? I finally understand why Lady Jiang punished me that time.”