“Sister, why are you crying too?” Han Xiao moved in anxiously to wipe her face. “Did I say something wrong?”
Chen Baoxiang came back to herself and wiped her eyes with a smile. “No — the wind up here was too strong.”
“Shall we go downstairs first?”
“Let’s.”
She guided Han Xiao back toward the rear courtyard, and had just reached the moon gate when she spotted Great Immortal.
He lacked patience at the best of times; he had stood waiting for a while and was already beginning to frown. His gaze swept over and landed on her, carrying just a flicker of childish ill temper.
But as she drew closer and he saw her eyes, his expression shifted. “Who upset you?”
Chen Baoxiang grinned at him. “No one. I’m just a little tired.”
He looked as though there were many things he wanted to say to her, but upon hearing that, he swallowed them all back down and simply nodded lightly. “Go rest. I’ll have someone keep watch out front for you.”
“Will you charge for it?”
“No.” He said, a little crossly. “Charging you for something like this — it’d be no different from cutting the flesh off your bones.”
Chen Baoxiang burst out laughing.
Spring flowers swayed around them, the banquet buzzed with life, and she gazed at Zhang Zhixu’s fine profile as her thoughts drifted far. Then, all at once, she said, “In a little while.”
“What?” He didn’t follow.
Chen Baoxiang lowered her gaze. “In a little while — I’d like to take you to Zhaixing Tower for wine. Just you and me.”
Suddenly so generous?
Zhang Zhixu watched her expression. Slowly, imperceptibly, the tips of his ears grew warm.
He looked away with practiced indifference, fanning himself. “Easily arranged. Have Han Xiao come and let me know when the time comes.”
“All right.”
The two of them walked side by side, dissolving together into the warm glow of the night’s lanterns.
·
When the first late spring cold snap swept through Shangjing, the verdict in Lu Shouhuai’s case was finally handed down.
In the courtyard, a light rain fell without pause. The grass in the distance was brilliantly, freshly green, while the wind still carried enough of a chill to seep through two layers of clothing.
Xie Lanting stood in that chill, arms folded, and said, “By His Majesty’s inclination, exile to five hundred li away would have been sufficient — after all, Lu Shouhuai paid quite a sum in reparation money.”
“But that Lady Ji who had petitioned against Cheng Huaili earlier — I don’t know where she managed to obtain further evidence of Lu Shouhuai beating a servant to death and harming civilian women. I took the opportunity to speak up, and managed to push it through — changed to exile to eight hundred li, with a permanent ban on holding office upon arrival.”
“What do you say, Fengqing — count that as a small merit of mine?”
Chen Baoxiang was sitting beside Great Immortal, practicing the technique for boiling water for tea — though she simply couldn’t get the timing right between the first and second rolling boil. The ladle slipped and knocked against the teacup with a loud clatter.
Zhang Zhixu reached out and caught the falling tea tongs. In an even tone, he asked, “Did Cheng Huaili go to plead for clemency again?”
“Naturally.” Xie Lanting smiled. “He practically stopped short of producing the iron-tablet pardon His Majesty had bestowed on him.”
“But the Grand Princess Imperial was unwilling to let this opportunity pass. A few words from her in the hall cornered His Majesty with no way to retreat. Much as His Majesty wished to protect Lu Shouhuai, all he could do in the end was spare the man’s life.”
“Isn’t sparing his life enough?” Chen Baoxiang said quietly.
Xie Lanting paused, and turned to look at her.
She seemed to have asked it casually — no heaviness in her expression, her hands still moving steadily through their task. But inexplicably, Xie Lanting felt as though the wind had picked up, carrying fine drops of cold rain, and he felt a chill deeper than before.
He rubbed his own shoulders. “Sichuan’s wild mountains are no pleasant place. Calling it ‘sparing his life’ — well, that depends on whether his life is tough enough to last.”
Chen Baoxiang was focused intently on watching the water in its three stages of boiling, and seemed to have moved on from the matter entirely.
Zhang Zhixu continued, “When does Lu Shouhuai depart?”
“Today — around the Hour of the Goat,” Xie Lanting said. “Rest easy. I’ve sent two capable officers to accompany him. Nothing will go wrong.”
Under Great Sheng’s strictly controlled exile system, word of the journey was sent back at every posting station along the route. Should a prisoner attempt to escape, the consequences would fall on the remaining family members.
Setting aside Lu Qingrong, the Lu Family still had over a hundred mouths to feed. Lu Shouhuai wouldn’t be foolish enough to try anything.
The authorities also began methodically reclaiming the farmland that the Wanbao Money Exchange had seized. In roughly another half-month, the tenant farmers would be able to buy back their land and resume cultivation.
Zhang Zhixu nodded, in good spirits, and instructed Jiuquan, “Small wheat porridge for tonight.”
“Oh, please don’t,” Xie Lanting immediately protested. “It’s rare for this whole matter to finally be put to rest — won’t you come with me to Leyou Plain for a round of polo? I’ve invited Yin Fengshi and Xu Buran and the others. We’ll have dinner at Leyou Plain in the evening.”
“In this unrelenting drizzle, what’s the fun in polo?”
“Play indoors at the ball court — then you won’t get rained on.”
Zhang Zhixu had no interest whatsoever. He was about to turn his head and decline, when Xie Lanting couldn’t help shooting him a sideways look. “How long has it been since you’ve come out to play with us? Even Yin Fengshi has noticed something is off — he keeps asking why you’re always running over to Miss Chen’s little courtyard.”
Zhang Zhixu remained unmoved.
“You’ve changed.” Xie Lanting put on an expression of imminent tears. “Before, you’d only spend time with me. There were even rumors going around that your favorite person was me. And now your favorite person has apparently become—”
Zhang Zhixu’s hand shot out and covered his mouth. He glanced instinctively to the side.
Chen Baoxiang seemed to have zoned out a little, and appeared not to have heard.
Xie Lanting struggled and made to say more. Zhang Zhixu clicked his tongue and shook him off. “Fine, I’ll come with you. Stop wagging your tongue.”