The autumn hues of the setting sun grew rich, the sky awash in red sunset glow, hazy distant shadows lingering.
With the exception of the Ministry of Revenue, officials from the other six ministries got off duty one after another, their whispers scattering amid the clamor of the long street.
Tao Qian had been thrown into prison, to be executed on a chosen day. Da’an’s top noble son from a humble family met an ignoble end, leaving behind a chorus of sighs.
“To dare scheme against the Heir Apparent—truly, he’d had it too easy for too long, overestimating himself.”
“Outmaneuvered by the Chief Minister, he lost his composure and wanted to vent his frustration. In the end… as the saying goes, endure for a moment, and the seas will calm! Your Majesty is still in his prime, the Crown Prince’s ascension is far off—what was Tao Qian in such a hurry for?”
“Eager for quick success, that’s all.”
Jiang Yinyue, walking ahead of Wei Qin, turned back to glance at the six ministries’ officials whispering among themselves, then slowly came to a stop, waiting for the young official with the white heron patch to catch up.
Tao Qian, who had made an enemy of the Crown Prince, had been killed by Your Majesty to warn the rest. Would Wei Qin, who had not earned the Heir Apparent’s favor, become a guest at the Eastern Palace… or the next Tao Qian?
Wei Qin passed her unhurriedly. As the woman arched her fine brows in puzzlement, he stopped in front of a stall selling silverware, picked up a pair of silver gourd cups engraved with dragons and phoenixes in auspicious patterns. “How about these?”
Jiang Yinyue walked over, took out another pair and put them back on the stall, then pulled him along through the crowded street.
“The mansion doesn’t lack for storage vessels. We should still economize where we can.”
Wei Qin withdrew his gaze from the silver gourd cups, letting it fall on the woman’s slender hand.
Her delicate fingers tugged at his sleeve, like a thrifty wife afraid he would squander silver.
Wei Qin ambled along with his wife’s steps, his tall and upright figure blending into the glow of the evening clouds, reflected in the flowing water beneath the arch bridge swaying with reed flowers.
From afar, the young nobles from prestigious families watched the little couple with various sneers and jeers.
“The Jiang family girl has gone out for some training and come back thrifty.”
“This has nothing to do with thriftiness. It’s just the play of who holds the upper hand in the marriage.”
“The live-in son-in-law is still at a disadvantage.”
“Now we should call him Grand Scholar Wei.”
The dimming sky could not hide the beauty of the mountains. The group heading straight to the Capital City by cart traveled leisurely, stopping here and there without the toil of a rushed journey, admiring the autumn scenery all the way.
Passing a grove of ginkgo trees, the Silver-Robed Painter stopped the donkey cart and crooked a finger to knock on the carriage doorframe. “Madam Wei, care to admire the autumn leaves?”
Wei Ying, entrusted to Xie Jingcheng by her brother, exchanged a glance with Miaodie and nodded excitedly.
“Miss, take it slow.”
Wei Ying’s body was frail; getting on and off the donkey cart took more effort than for others.
Supported by Miaodie’s arm as she stepped down from the cart, Wei Ying picked up a golden ginkgo leaf from the ground and twirled it between her hands.
The young girl, who had never traveled far, brimmed with delight.
“Master Painter Xie, we’ll walk a bit in the woods—not far.”
“As you please.”
The grove was small and quiet, with no outsiders around. Xie Jingcheng let the two girls run in to play while he took out paper and ink, immersing himself in the golden fallen leaves amid the setting sun.
On another donkey cart following not too near or far, the scarred youth nudged the burly man. “Mo Hao, you’ll drive in a bit.”
“Sure.”
Yan Yi stretched lazily and leaned back between the carriage shaft and compartment, only to be teased by the White-Haired Old Man reclining inside the compartment. “Roll up the curtain, or you’ll look just like you’ve been waist-chopped.”
“Your mouth’s as sharp as ever, old timer.”
“What are you saying? This old man has a healer’s benevolent heart.”
“I can’t win against you. You’re always right.”
The fearless Yan Yi dreaded only this wealthy and unfathomably deep Old Physician. “Have you thought it over, old timer? What identity shall we use when we reach the Capital City?”
The White-Haired Old Man pulled out a stack of travel permits and fanned them open. “Pick whatever identity you like. This old man will continue as a physician.”
“I’m not playing a butcher, anyway—no dignity in that.”
The burly man rolled up the curtain for Yan Yi and faced the old man. “Father’s identity is the easiest to expose. The Capital City has too many acquaintances of yours.”
“No matter. Most are mere casual contacts. The ones who truly know your father well are those few in the palace. I’ve tested it—Fu Zhongcai didn’t recognize me, at least.”
“Still, better to be cautious.”
Yan Yi kicked Mo Hao. “You, who were the wildest as a kid—how’d you turn into someone else? Now you’re the steadiest of us all.”
Mo Hao brushed the footprint off his leg. “Caution brings eternal safety.”
The White-Haired Old Man kicked Yan Yi. “You’re the most hot-tempered and thick-headed. Always remember: keep your tail tucked between your legs.”
“Got it, got it.”
Yan Yi muttered “nag” under his breath, then bounced up and leaped onto the cart’s roof. “I hear scattered neighing ahead—probably a horse ranch. Finally, we can change horses.”
The youth sat atop the cart, gazing toward the Capital City.
To protect the young master, they had disguised themselves and hidden in Yangzhou, accompanying the youth step by step in his growth. After so many years, they could finally return to the capital.
In the dead of night, a bright moon hung from the branches, fireflies danced by the embroidered curtains.
Fresh from her bath, Jiang Yinyue lay by the window, staring at the fireflies swirling around the irises, her raven hair gleaming with moonlight as it cascaded over her moon-white nightgown.
A faint sound came from behind her. She hesitated and turned her head, seeing the man in snow-white undergarments sitting boldly on the embroidered bed.
It was strange, really. Along the way, they had stayed in inns, borrowed beds in farmhouses, and long resided in the East Wing of the Wei Residence—they were no strangers to sharing a bed, so she should have been accustomed. Yet in this moment, she felt utterly at a loss.
Perhaps it was another habit that had been broken.
From their wedding until their departure for Yangzhou, Wei Qin had never occupied her embroidered bed.
The boudoir bed was a woman’s most private possession. Now it had been breached.
“This is my bed.”
The proud young lady was still holding strong, though her words rang a bit hollow.
Wei Qin looked up and, right in front of her, kicked off the slippers he had worn after his bath, deliberately mimicking how she kicked off her embroidered shoes.
His dominance was veiled in restraint, making it hard to tell if he was provoking her on purpose or merely teasing.
Fortunately, Jiang Yinyue knew him well.
“Become a cabinet minister, and you won’t even yield to me.”
Wei Qin lay back on the pear-scented embroidered bed, his left leg dangling over the edge, right leg bent with foot planted on the satin quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks. The overlapping collar of his undergarment rose slightly, faintly revealing the fair skin stretching from his neck to his chest.
Jiang Yinyue’s embroidered bed was slightly smaller than an ordinary frame bed, just barely accommodating two people. The Jiang Mansion stewards, attentive to every detail, had not arranged for a replacement—undoubtedly on someone’s instructions.
Wei Qin lifted one arm to rest over his forehead. After half a year of tireless toil and travel, accumulated fatigue washed over him, melting away in the warm pear-scented bed curtains. He closed his eyes as sleep came.
In a daze, he returned to their wedding night.
He, in his bright red wedding robes, stood by the bed and lifted Jiang Yinyue’s red veil with the scale pole.
The youthful beauty with vermilion lips and powdered face showed no shy delicacy; she wore a stern little face as she dismissed the matrons, throwing caution to the wind. “The rites are done.”
The newlyweds, without even drinking the nuptial cup, regarded each other coldly.
He reached out to remove her headdress.
She did not refuse, though her fingertips dug into her flesh. Only when her wedding gown was stripped away could she no longer bear the scent of this unfamiliar man, and her young lady temper erupted.
“You—from tonight on, sleep on the floor.”
Recalling his floor-sleeping days, a deeper meaning flickered across Wei Qin’s weary face.
“Will the young lady sleep on the floor tonight?”
“Why should I?”
Jiang Yinyue huffed and stomped to the embroidered bed, pushing the tall man inward with all her strength, straining with little grunts.
The unmoving Wei Qin merely tugged lightly, pulling her into his arms.
Verdant hills shifted, pinning the restless kitten.
“You’re crushing me.”
“Mm.”
Wei Qin pressed half her body beneath him, burying his head in the fragrant hollow of her neck, nudging the source of her scent with his nose tip.
It had been months since he had been this close to her, touched her skin like this.
The soft, cool sensation from her neck hollow trailed along her neckline, leaving trails of wetness that gradually warmed, then burned. Jiang Yinyue, feigning ferocity, lost ground and clutched the bed curtain against the wall, gripping tight to steady her heaving breaths.
The woman with her neck captured stared blankly at the swirling clouds on the canopy top.
As if trapped in misty mountain haze.
When her little hand clutching the curtain was pried loose, the candlestick on the table went out right on cue, plunging the boudoir into darkness. Shadows flickered outside the door—the night-watch maids and matrons.
All old familiar faces outside; Jiang Yinyue dared not make a sound. She felt the searing softness shift from her neck to her collarbone, a faint sting threading through.
Her collar gaped wider.
Her pronounced collarbones gleamed with watery luster in the faint moonlight.
When her outer robe was tossed out of the bed curtains, the thoroughly restrained woman felt a spark of anger, but her little hands were clasped by Wei Qin, sinking into the soft bedding. Apart from her curling fingertips, she could not move.
The pair of looped ties on her breast wrap dangled loosely at the front, slowly coming undone.
The rise and fall of her chest was no longer constrained.
Jiang Yinyue gasped for air, her face flushed with fragrant sweat. She wanted to call a halt, terrified of what came next, but the man looming over her sealed her parted lips.
Sucking the sweet nectar of her sandalwood mouth.
Wei Qin’s jaw flexed in the kiss, leaving the captured Jiang Yinyue with aching jaws.
Hands controlled, lips blocked—the young lady who hated being at a disadvantage whined softly, then abruptly stopped.
“You…”
Wei Qin’s hand stirred clouds and rain.
Jiang Yinyue’s fingertips trembled violently.
Her whines turned to fragmented sounds in her sandalwood mouth.
The loose looped ties fell away.
In the pitch-black night, the only light was the moonbeam spilling through the window, dimmer than flickering lamplight. Regaining her breath, Jiang Yinyue saw the dark silhouette above her showing signs of propping up on elbows.
She twisted her wrists, trying to pull her hands free, but they were raised high over her head and pinned to the coral pillow.
This was her home turf, yet she had become a fish on the chopping block.
As Wei Qin leaned down, she instinctively drew up her knees.
Her knee brushed against something.
Through the slightly thicker autumn fabric.
A soft sigh sounded in the darkness.
Wei Qin held both her wrists with one hand, the other steadying her knee. With a slight push, it did not budge.
Her pressed-together knees formed the last barrier of the outwardly stern but inwardly weak Jiang young lady.
Wei Qin slowly rolled up her trouser leg and kissed her knee.
Then he rolled over to the inner side, releasing his hold on her.
The tense woman relaxed after a good while. Borrowing the moonlight, she stole a peek at the dark silhouette facing her, blinking her wet almond eyes. “Mm?”
“What mm?”
“Mm!”
Wei Qin chuckled and pulled her close, patting her lightly. “Sleep.”
Exhausted from days of arduous travel, they needed proper rest. If they went further, it might wear him out half to death.
Jiang Yinyue, wide awake, lifted her head and heard only even, shallow breaths.
He had fallen asleep…
He must have been truly worn out these days.
She let out a slow breath, realizing they had no quilt over them.
Deep autumn brought chillier nights; the only source of warmth was the man beside her.
Unwilling to disturb him, she shifted closer, nestling into his arms to draw a bit of his heat.
The long night stretched on, moonlight shrouding the tranquil autumn scene. As the incense burned out and the watch changed, the man and woman embraced in sleep.