With the arrival of spring, the Shrine of Military Heroes was established, and the Qi family army set out on their return to the northern frontier.

The Emperor held a special farewell banquet, conferring upon General Qi Shen the title of Supreme Commander of the Northern Frontier and sending off the tens of thousands of soldiers who guarded the border.

The Shrine of Military Heroes was built near the Huguo Temple. By the Emperor’s grace, the Empress Dowager led a procession of princes, consorts, and the families of court officials to the Huguo Temple to pray for blessings and guide the spirits of the countless fallen soldiers home. At this same time, the Crown Prince, confined to his quarters for his offense, was not permitted to leave even for the prayers at the Shrine of Military Heroes. His duties at the Eastern Palace were reassigned by the Emperor to the First Prince.

The First Prince had left the palace and established his own residence several years ago, and had built a considerable reputation at court. Every matter he handled was managed with care, and he had earned wide praise for his capable conduct.

The imperial carriages stood at the palace gates. The consorts and princes from every residence had already arrived.

When Ying Fusheng arrived, he could see Consort Ning’s carriage ahead from a distance. He walked up to her and greeted her. “Mother.”

Consort Ning’s response to Ying Fusheng’s greeting was perfunctory. She was in public and had no choice but to keep up appearances, but when she saw that Ying Fusheng had his own separate carriage, a deeper resentment crept into her eyes.

Since the prince’s seating at the palace banquet, Ying Fusheng had been entitled to all the provisions of a prince in all his outings, including a carriage of his own. Her own son, on the other hand, had been confined for a minor offense and was not permitted to leave even for something as significant as the prayers. Consort Ning dug her nails into her palm, her gaze drifting repeatedly toward Empress Xu’s carriage, and only when she confirmed that no Eastern Palace carriage was present did she finally let go of her last hope.

She turned and boarded her carriage, leaving Ying Fusheng standing alone.

Quite a few people nearby were watching. Bizhu said, “The Lady has been unsettled lately and has not been feeling well. Your Highness has been staying at the Cining Palace, and the distance between you and the Lady has grown.”

Then she added, “It is cold out. Your Highness should not catch a chill. Do go back.”

The words carried an undercurrent of reproach, faulting Ying Fusheng for his lack of filial devotion in not returning to the Weiyang Palace. The people around them looked over. Seeing the Sixth Prince standing before the carriage with nowhere to go, there was no shortage of murmuring. Ying Fusheng lowered his eyes slightly. The curtain inside the carriage had already been drawn.

“Is Consort Ning…”

“The Sixth Prince has been at the Cining Palace all this time. I hear Consort Ning has even been ill for several days.”

It was common knowledge in the palace that the Sixth Prince was recuperating at the Cining Palace. With everyone looking over now, their eyes naturally fell on the Sixth Prince. Word had been circulating recently that Consort Ning had taken ill, yet the Sixth Prince had not been at her bedside. Seeing this scene at the carriage confirmed that the rumors were not unfounded. Whispers spread through the crowd, while the Sixth Prince, having paid his respects at the carriage, let a trace of weariness cross his pale face. He stood there for a moment before turning and walking back to the princes’ carriages.

As he made his way to his carriage, Ying Fusheng moved under the scrutiny of those around him, many of them watching with undisguised curiosity.

After the Crown Prince’s incident, Song’an had sent word to the Weiyang Palace, and Consort Ning had taken to her sickbed. It coincided neatly with recent events in the palace. Ying Fusheng understood Consort Ning’s intentions perfectly. The performance of a devoted mother and a filial son was something he knew better than Consort Ning, and he had more patience for it too.

Ying Fusheng ignored the gazes around him and boarded the carriage on his own. As he stepped in, he noticed a charcoal brazier had been placed inside specifically for him.

The palace attendant responsible for driving the carriage bowed respectfully when he saw Ying Fusheng. “Your Highness, if it is cold, please just say the word.”

Shen Changcun had been demoted to Vice Director of the Court of the Imperial Stud. The carriages for outings fell within his purview. It was not difficult for Ying Fusheng to guess who had arranged this.

“Vice Minister Shen is too kind,” Ying Fusheng said.

The driver said, “Your Highness, it is only right.”

The princes’ carriages moved out ahead. Ying Fusheng had Song’an light the brazier. He rarely left the palace, and as they passed through the streets and lanes, he took note of the lively scene along the road.

Song’an, however, kept his eyes fixed on the window outside. “Your Highness, it is so lively out there.”

“Qi Shen is setting out for the northern frontier. Of course it is lively. With him returning to the north, Great Yuan stands as firm as an iron wall.” Ying Fusheng leaned against the window frame, his gaze lingering for a moment. It was indeed lively. With Qi Shen departing for the northern frontier this time, Great Yuan would have at least several years of stability.

In his previous life, Qi Shen had been the imperial house’s blade from beginning to end, right up until his imperial father fell gravely ill, internal troubles stirred at court, and the new emperor took the throne.

The first to reach out to him then had been the Qi family.

If everything followed the course of his previous life, with Qi Shen leaving the capital, Qi Hanzhou would take up his post with the Embroidered Guard. From the late emperor onward to his imperial father, the Qi family’s loyalty had always been to imperial power alone. The one exception was the new emperor. When the new emperor ascended, the Qi family did not offer their allegiance, and the one who led that defiance was Qi Hanzhou.

The Qi family was the Emperor’s most trusted confidant. Qi Shen’s authority extended over the entire Qi family army, and one could say he was the very backbone of the whole Qi family. But as Qi Shen’s only son, Qi Hanzhou was a person very difficult to see through. He had risen to fame young, yet rather than going to the frontier to build his achievements there, he remained in the capital and took a subordinate position in the Embroidered Guard, after which he nearly vanished from sight entirely. But Ying Fusheng knew that within just a few years, the entire Embroidered Guard would become his to command, and he would later become the blade turned against the new emperor.

At this point in time, Qi Hanzhou had not yet grown into the deeply calculating figure he would become in that later life. But after two encounters, Ying Fusheng already knew: that person had set his sights on him.

Just like in his previous life. A wolf’s nose. Also the imperial house’s most useful blade.

Ying Fusheng opened his hand without thinking, his eyes downcast, his expression unreadable.

Lost in thought, the imperial procession had already reached the Huguo Temple.

When Ying Fusheng stepped out of the carriage, the cool air that met him eased his drowsiness a little. Song’an quickly handed him his hand warmer.

They were here to pray and offer incense, and would need to stay for two days.

The moment he stepped down from the carriage, someone came walking toward him. The Seventh Prince was dressed in slightly more subdued attire today. Since the runaway horse at the training grounds, he had rarely worn any of his bright, eye-catching ornaments. He gave Ying Fusheng an uncommon nod, said a few words, and walked off toward the distance.

The First Prince’s carriage was just ahead. With the Crown Prince recently confined, the First Prince had been performing outstandingly, and the Yun family’s standing at court had shifted considerably. The Seventh Prince was the same. He and the First Prince were brothers by the same mother, and the two were close. Noble Consort Yun stepped down from her carriage, and the two princes stood before it to receive her. Ying Fusheng turned to walk toward Consort Ning, but Bizhu had already led her away.

Song’an said, “This servant was about to go over, but Bizhu Jiejie had already taken the Lady away, saying the Lady was not feeling well.”

Ying Fusheng tapped his fingers and gave a feigned light cough. Ignoring the looks from those around him, he took Song’an with him and walked ahead.

The Ministry of Rites had organized the Shrine of Military Heroes. The monks of the Huguo Temple performed the rites for the departed. With the Empress Dowager and the Empress at the head, followed by the princes and consorts, and then the families of court officials, each group offered incense and prayers in turn.

It was Song’an’s first time here, and he was careful throughout, afraid of making any misstep. He attended to Ying Fusheng with particular thoroughness, and asked the temple monks where the medicine room was so he could go and prepare Ying Fusheng’s medicine.

The moment he left, the area around Ying Fusheng fell quiet. Ying Fusheng sat for only a short while before getting up and walking out on his own.

The Huguo Temple had stood for many years, nestled in the wooded hills outside the capital, and had been restored by successive generations of the imperial family.

The rear mountain was secluded. An elderly man in monk’s robes stood there, birds perched around him, along with a few wild monkeys.

Ying Fusheng noticed that the wild monkeys showed no sign of their usual mischief and were eating quietly from the abbot’s hands. The bowl held only a small amount of grain. With nothing pressing to do, he stood and watched for quite a while. The abbot seemed to have noticed his presence long ago.

“Many creatures live in these mountains. When they are hungry, they come to the temple to look for food.”

The abbot gave Ying Fusheng a slight bow and extended the plain bowl toward him. “Your Highness the Sixth Prince, would you care to try?”

Recognized, Ying Fusheng paused briefly, then walked over to his side. He took the alms bowl from the abbot’s hands, picked out a few grains, and coaxed a bird to land on his arm. The abbot watched without surprise, and seeing how naturally Ying Fusheng fed the bird, waited quietly at his side.

Watching the young man feed the birds in silence, his open hand held perfectly still, waiting as the birds ate grain by grain, his frame not moving in the slightest. The food in the bowl dwindled. Only when everything had been eaten did the abbot say, “Your Highness is a kind soul.”

Ying Fusheng watched the small bird, which showed no aggression whatsoever, and his interest in feeding it faded. “I would not say kind. I simply once kept a falcon.”

At that moment, a few drops of rain fell from the sky.

Ying Fusheng paused and tilted his head slightly upward.

“The wind is strong in the mountains, and rain comes often. This way, Your Highness.” The abbot led the way.

Ying Fusheng passed through two covered walkways and came to an abrupt stop as he crossed the threshold.

The guest hall was still and quiet, incense smoke curling before the Buddha. Before the Guanyin statue, Empress Xu stood with her hands pressed together, her plain robes pooling on the floor, her head bowed in deep reverence. For all her standing as the Empress, she had no palace attendants with her. The incense candles on the altar had burned more than halfway down. She had been here for a long time. Ying Fusheng stopped and was about to turn back when Empress Xu looked up at that moment and saw him.

“Your Majesty the Empress,” Ying Fusheng greeted her with a bow.

The Empress’s gaze rested on him briefly. She gave a slight nod, then looked toward the abbot. “Master Liaozhi.”

At the Empress’s form of address, Ying Fusheng recalled who the abbot before him was. Master Liaozhi, a venerable monk of the Huguo Temple, and the former national diviner of Great Yuan.

“Mother! There are such big birds on the rear mountain. I want to keep one too!” The Eighth Prince came bounding in, about to throw himself into the Empress’s arms, and nearly collided with Ying Fusheng standing at the doorway.

Ying Fusheng stepped back and moved slightly to the side.

Seeing the Eighth Prince, he also understood why such a small thing as feeding birds had been prepared in an alms bowl. It was common knowledge throughout the city that the Eighth Prince loved large birds. That small bowl had been prepared for the Eighth Prince.

With the Crown Prince confined, the Empress still had the Eighth Prince in her care, and it was he she had brought along this time.

The Eighth Prince ran to the Empress’s side. She caught the lively child and restrained him with a look of fond exasperation on her face. She gently scolded him that the Buddha hall was not a place for noise, then said, “The Eighth Prince is full of energy. I hope he has not disturbed the Master.”

Master Liaozhi said, “The Eighth Prince’s childlike spirit is a blessing. This humble monk happened to encounter the Sixth Prince, and the business on the rear mountain is now finished.”

The Empress lowered her eyes. Noticing the faint traces of grain on Ying Fusheng’s sleeves, and hearing that he had been there feeding the birds, her expression gradually eased. When she was composed, it was difficult to read her feelings. Master Liaozhi seemed to perceive something, and stepped forward to lead the way. “Your Majesty is here, and the business is done. This way, please.”

The Empress bent down to the Eighth Prince and said gently, “Mother has something to attend to. Stay here, and do not play around.”

The Eighth Prince murmured, “I know.”

Ying Fusheng watched Empress Xu with the Eighth Prince and waited quietly to one side.

The wind and rain outside were cold. Not far away, Empress Xu carefully brushed the twigs and debris from the Eighth Prince’s clothes, her voice soft and warm as she whispered to him. In the shifting lamplight of the Buddha hall, the faint shadows of the two of them swayed gently with the wind.

Ying Fusheng watched for only a brief moment before looking away.

The sky was growing dark, and the cold was deepening.

He gathered his robes and turned to look out through the hall entrance.

The mountain forest had gone still. Night was almost upon them.

Empress Xu followed the Master further inside. As she stepped into the covered walkway, the figure standing behind her gradually disappeared.

Her unguarded glance had not escaped Master Liaozhi’s notice. He said, “Your Majesty has something weighing on her heart.”

“The Sixth Prince is a kind soul, much like Your Majesty.” The Master walked ahead and led the way, his tone unhurried, yet the words he spoke carried the weight of someone who had seen through to the heart of things. “In years past, when the young monks here fed the creatures of the mountain, Your Majesty would always give them a portion of candied fruit. When this old monk came by today, several of them were still pestering me, saying they wished to come and see Your Majesty.”

But at those words, the Empress’s expression grew distant. She lowered her eyes to the small embroidered pouch at her waist. “I forgot to bring the candied fruit today.”

Empress Xu had a habit of carrying small sweets on her person. It was a habit that had formed when the Crown Prince was young. Medicine was bitter, and candied fruit helped take the edge off.

Master Liaozhi did not point out the strangeness in Empress Xu’s manner toward Ying Fusheng. He murmured a few words of Buddhist scripture before speaking. “Your Majesty came today to light a lamp for His Highness the Crown Prince, did you not?”

…

The Buddha hall was quiet. The moment the Empress left, the Eighth Prince fixed his eyes on Ying Fusheng.

Since the shove at the training grounds, his feelings toward Ying Fusheng had been complicated. He had brought it up with the Crown Prince several times, but the Crown Prince had paid him no mind. Watching Ying Fusheng about to leave the Buddha hall, he wrestled with himself for a long moment before finally saying, “About what happened at the training grounds that day. Thank you.”

Ying Fusheng glanced over slightly, looking as though he had not heard. “Pardon?”

The Eighth Prince pressed his lips together and raised his voice. “I said thank you.”

Ying Fusheng seemed to understand at last. “Eighth Brother, there is no need.”

The lamps inside the hall burned steadily. The Huguo Temple’s prayer lamps were lit to pray for blessings and good health.

Ying Fusheng’s gaze shifted slightly. The rain outside seemed to be growing heavier. As the sound of it fell, the steady patter seemed to cut through the rush of the world. Outside the Buddha hall, in the mountain wilderness, fewer and fewer people remained holding umbrellas and tending to the lamps.

The wind and rain were closing in. Night had fallen deep.

Only then did the Eighth Prince notice that Ying Fusheng had been looking at the prayer lamps. He seemed to have finally found a topic to talk about and said a few more words. “You have never left the palace, so you probably have not seen them before. They are right behind this Buddha hall. The consorts from the inner palace and the court officials all come to request them. You are so frail. Have Consort Ning request a few more lamps for you, so you do not fall ill again…”

“Request lamps…?” Ying Fusheng repeated the two words in a peculiar tone and looked at him.

The Eighth Prince was puzzled. “What is it?”

Ying Fusheng gave a sudden small laugh. “You are right. She should request more lamps for me.”

He leaned against the doorframe of the Buddha hall, his gaze settling on the Eighth Prince with a quiet, unreadable look. “Since we have nothing to do, shall we go and look at the lamps?”

…

The prayers at the Huguo Temple were a solemn occasion, with the families of court officials coming after the imperial family.

In a small Buddha hall on the rear mountain of the Huguo Temple, a woman set down her umbrella and stepped inside. Her clothes had been soaked through by the rain. Unlike the typical families of officials, her robes bore patches at the hem, and the edges had been washed so many times they had gone pale; clearly the mark of a household that lived frugally. Her young daughter followed behind her. The two of them entered, first lit a lamp, then offered incense before the shrine.

The lamps around them burned brightly. When the wind came through, the flames inside the Buddha hall swayed.

When Ying Fusheng walked in, only the mother and daughter were in the hall. He lowered his gaze slightly and took note of the woman’s plain everyday clothes. The Eighth Prince seemed not to have expected anyone to be there, and the moment he entered, he could not stop staring at them. “Why is someone here?”

The woman noticed the Eighth Prince first. The Eighth Prince was the most conspicuous of the current dynasty’s princes on any outing, and even in simpler everyday clothes today, the air of imperial blood about him was impossible to ignore. The woman paused for a brief moment, then led her daughter in a bow. “This subject’s wife pays her respects to Your Highness.”

The Eighth Prince was only thinking about bringing Ying Fusheng to see the lamps. He waved his hand to tell them to rise and turned to call out to Ying Fusheng. “Come over here.”

Ying Fusheng saw the mother and daughter look over and gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

The woman paused, then bowed to Ying Fusheng as well.

From that single exchange, Ying Fusheng already knew who this mother and daughter were. The woman’s dress was very plain, but the style of her wristband and cloth shoes was markedly different from those of the capital. The wrapping around her wrist was wound tight and close, the kind worn by people who had spent years living in the northern frontier regions to keep out the biting wind, unlike the ladies who had spent their lives in the capital.

Madam Hu. The wife of Hu Buyu, Prefect of the Anlong Prefecture, who shared his surname and had been his childhood sweetheart.

Ying Fusheng had gathered no small amount of information through Shen Yunfei.

The Anlong Prefecture lay in the northwest, on the only road leading to the northern territories, and had dealings with the frontier army stationed in the northern regions year-round. For a local official, it was a genuinely difficult post to hold. But this Hu Buyu was no ordinary man. He had first served as a trusted aide to Ying Fusheng’s imperial father during his military campaigns before ascending the throne, accompanying him for many years. After his imperial father took the throne, he was transferred to serve as Prefect of the Anlong Prefecture.

When his imperial father’s army returned to the capital this time, Prefect Hu’s wife and daughter had come to the capital with them. Some at court said this was because Prefect Hu had rendered meritorious service during the war and had found favor with the Emperor. But as far as Ying Fusheng was concerned, Hu Buyu was a cunning old fox. Since the Emperor’s ascension, he had stayed quietly and dutifully in Anlong, kept little contact with any faction at court, and was one of the rare genuinely neutral figures.

Holding a critical post in the Anlong Prefecture, the gateway to the northern territories, for over ten years was not something that could be sustained by diligent and honest governance alone. Hu Buyu was an exceptionally smooth operator who maintained quite good relations with most people. Over the years, many had tried to draw him into dealings, yet he had always managed to hold firmly to the Emperor’s trust. On that point alone, this man was far from simple.

After Prefect Hu’s wife and daughter arrived in the capital, his imperial father had not promised any official appointment, and the wife and daughter had mostly stayed home, rarely going out, and generally kept their distance from the other noble ladies of the capital.

Today was an exception. With the Shrine of Military Heroes being established, Madam Hu, as the wife of a court official, was naturally required to attend.

Ying Fusheng lowered his eyes and set aside the calculations in his mind.

And his purpose in coming to the Huguo Temple this time was precisely them.