The Beauty Within the Gates
Chapter 47
The wind tonight was stronger than last night. It swept over the top of the wall, making the lanterns in the servants’ hands inside clatter and sway with a creak-creak, while the apricot tree overhead rustled loudly, hua-la-la.
The two of them pricked up their ears. Riding on the edge of the wind, they vaguely caught Eldest Master Xie saying, “I’ll see you out, Eunuch.”
The light and shadows within the wall shifted, moving toward the gate. The light suddenly dimmed, and the two crouching beneath the wall were plunged into darkness as well. A thunderclap seemed to press down on them, and for a moment, neither reacted.
Wen Shuse had thought that whatever they overheard tonight would be nothing more than the Eldest Madam counting her property again, or scolding her and Third Xie for being spendthrifts who didn’t know their place.
She had never imagined it would be something so earth-shaking.
Someone addressed as “Eunuch” had to be from the court in the Eastern Capital. An imperial edict to reduce the power of the feudal princes wasn’t that a move against Jing Wang?
Rumors of weakening the feudal princes were nothing new, especially after the successive incidents involving the princes of Hexi and Hebei. Talk that Jing Wang would inevitably be stripped of power had grown rampant, but she had always felt such claims were sensational exaggerations.
She didn’t know the situations in Hexi or Hebei, but she knew Zhongzhou. After Jing Wang established his princely residence in Fengcheng, he drastically reduced his military forces and vigorously promoted trade, devoting his efforts almost entirely to improving the people’s livelihood.
The lives of the common people were visibly improving, and the Wen family itself was proof of that.
But the people grew richer while the Jing Wang grew poorer. Just look at the twenty taels Third Xie had brought back. It was clear that Jing Wang’s treasury was emptier than its face. With finances like that, what leverage could the court possibly use to move against him?
And over these years, it wasn’t as though Fengcheng had been without incident. Take the armory affair last time, didn’t it end with danger averted?
If His Majesty truly intended to weaken the feudal princes, how could he have let such a perfect opportunity slip by?
When she bought grain, she had already harbored her own calculations, staking everything in the shadows, seeking wealth amid danger. The more critical the moment, the more she needed to seize her chance.
What she had said to her father that day hadn’t all been deception. Under normal circumstances, given Jing Wang’s temperament, how could he possibly have agreed to selling offices? If posts could truly be bought and sold so easily, the Cui family would have long since become a household of wealthy magnates.
Only because Jing Wang was away, and with the Eastern Capital’s General Yang’s grandson, Supervisor Wei, serving as witness, had she been able to obtain three official posts from Madam Zhou in one stroke.
It had been a deal guaranteed to profit without loss. Just as those three unlucky masters had successfully escaped a life of exploitation and stepped onto official paths, before they could even warm their seats, changes were brewing.
And it was to be the Xie family tasked with weakening the feudal princes?
Wasn’t that forcing the Xie family to betray their master and turn against Jing Wang Mansion?
This time, Wen Shuse was truly frightened. She turned in panic to look at the young master beside her. Xie Shao’s expression was frighteningly calm.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly strode outward, his hand still gripping the young lady’s arm, pulling her away from the corner of the wall and onto the long corridor. Only then did he release her. “You go back first.”
With a blade hanging over her head, how could she possibly feel at ease returning now? Knowing he intended to go question Eldest Master Xie and get to the bottom of things, Wen Shuse immediately followed. “I’ll go with you.”
She didn’t give him a chance to refuse, nor did she slow him down. She hurried to keep pace at his side. “My life is on the line, too. You can’t stop me.”
Fear churned in her chest, and she couldn’t help muttering, “It’s all your fault for talking about sharing hardship that day. See? It came immediately. You should have only said we’d share good fortune.”
Her voice was trembling.
He glanced at her in surprise and saw that her face had gone pale, drained of all color. It was rare, perhaps the first time he’d ever seen her so genuinely afraid. The situation was clearly grave, yet he couldn’t help finding it somewhat amusing.
With someone even more tense than himself at his side, the tightness in his chest eased instead. “It won’t come to that.”
“I’m not a three-year-old child. There’s no need to comfort me. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. If the feudal princes are truly to be weakened, will Jing Wang just sit back and accept it?” She shook her head. “No, he won’t. The Prince Mansion is bound to resist. Deputy Commander Xie has troops in his hands, and we have none. If fighting truly breaks out, I’m not trying to sow discord, but the brotherhood between Shizi Zhou and you would likely end there. The first thing they’d do would be to seize you as a hostage, then your father-in-law, your brother-in-law…”
And then the women and children of the Xie and Wen families. Even if their lives weren’t enough to coerce Deputy Commander Xie, they could still be used to vent hatred.
Only now did she truly grasp the terror of collective punishment. Once married, they became ants tied to the same rope, their fates hanging on a blade’s edge. It seemed the only hope of survival lay in the man beside her, in whether he could turn the tide and win them a single chance at life.
The pale moonlight spread across the long corridor, stripped of all tenderness. Looking up, it had become a cold, distant moon.
Her legs, after all, weren’t as long as his; she was starting to fall behind. She reached out and clutched the corner of his long sleeve.
The young master ahead felt the tug at his sleeve. He didn’t turn back, but the hand beneath his sleeve lifted, his wrist turning to envelop her hand in his palm. He gave it a gentle squeeze and said softly, “Nothing will happen.”
The night wind had been blowing for a while, and her hands and feet had grown cold without her noticing. The sudden warmth of his hand enveloping hers made her realize just how chilly she had become.
The warmth from his palm flowed straight into her, making her heart jump. She turned her head to look. Under the silver moonlight, the young master’s profile was resolute and calm, with not a slightest trace of his former dandyish air.
Seen like this, he truly was tall, more than half a head taller than her.
When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Those sayings were not wrong at all. Relying on his height, the young master beside her suddenly seemed imposing and solid.
The hand holding hers felt as though it had built a fortress before her. Her unease and anxiety were swept away at once, and the restlessness in her heart unraveled thread by thread, gradually settling into calm.
In the end, she regained her composure.
If Fengcheng fell, they could always go to the Eastern Capital. She only hoped Deputy Commander Xie wouldn’t act so soon.
Seeing that she didn’t pull away, the young master didn’t let go either, holding her hand the entire way as they walked toward the gate.
—
Eldest Master Xie had just finished seeing someone off when he spotted the young master and young lady standing by the shadow wall. He froze for a moment, then his expression tightened. “Why are you two here?”
Xie Shao didn’t bother to beat around the bush and asked straight out, “Uncle, have you received the imperial edict?”
Eldest Master Xie’s expression changed abruptly. His sharp gaze fixed on the two of them. Only after a moment did he grit his teeth and say, “We’ll talk inside.”
A sudden late-night visitor, the Eldest Madam had been sitting inside waiting for Eldest Master Xie, her nerves not yet settled. Hearing movement, she rose to greet him at the door, only to see that behind him followed those two unwelcome guests from the second branch. Her heart sank at once, and she showed no pleasant expression. “What are you doing here at this hour of the night?”
Xie Shao didn’t answer. Following closely behind Eldest Master Xie, he stepped inside. Wen Shuse followed close behind. Once inside, without waiting for an invitation, the two found two stools and sat down on either side, directly facing Eldest Master Xie.
Before the Eldest Madam could ask what was going on, Xie Shao spoke first, addressing Eldest Master Xie. “What is the intent of the imperial edict, and how does Uncle plan to respond?”
The Eldest Madam was startled. She had never imagined that the two of them would know about this matter at all. She hurriedly told Biyun to go stand guard outside, then turned back to face them. “I don’t care how you heard about this or where it came from. Go back to where you came from. The affairs of this household are not for you to meddle in.”
Xie Shao sat there without moving an inch, paying no heed to her words, waiting only for Eldest Master Xi’s answer.
“Aunt is mistaken,” Wen Shuse couldn’t help but speak up. “The lives of everyone in this family are tied to Uncle’s decisions. Naturally, we have the right to ask.”
The Eldest Madam’s expression changed. “What do you mean, losing our lives? Since it’s an imperial edict, we’re merely carrying out orders. Who would dare come for our lives? Would they really intend to rebel?”
With that one sentence, she revealed most of it. Xie Shao asked directly, “Has His Majesty decreed the weakening of the feudal princes?”
At this point, Eldest Master Xie saw no reason to hide anything. “It’s nothing out of the ordinary. It was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“And what if the edict is forged?” Xie Shao pressed.
Both Eldest Master Xie and the Eldest Madam stiffened. It wasn’t that they hadn’t harbored doubts. The edict had arrived far too suddenly, without any prior signs. Logically, the armory incident had already been resolved, and His Majesty shouldn’t have moved against Jing Wang again so soon. Yet when they thought it through, who would have the nerve to forge an imperial edict at the risk of execution?
Eldest Master Xie gave a cold snort. “Who would dare? A palace eunuch came to Fengcheng in person.”
“So what?” Xie Shao cut in. “If Jing Wang wishes to see the Emperor, he must still wait outside the Eastern Capital for His Majesty’s summons. What makes Uncle think you, a mere deputy commander in a fiefdom, can verify it? What proof do you have that this edict is genuine?”
“Then how do you prove it’s fake?” Eldest Master Xie suddenly flared up. “Are you telling me to defy the edict? And then let His Majesty punish the Xie family, execute nine generations, and have all our lives?”
Xie Shao countered, “Then Uncle has already decided to betray Jing Wang and turn blades against him?”
That question struck Eldest Master Xie like a slap across the face. Humiliated and enraged, he snapped, “What choice do I have? You’re the clever one, Third Xie. Tell me, what should I do?”
Xie Shao ignored the sarcasm in his words. “Uncle should depart for the Eastern Capital at once and seek an audience with His Majesty. Whether the edict is real or false, the matter of weakening the feudal princes should never pass through Uncle’s hands. If it is false, Uncle will surely preserve his life. If it is real, then even in death, Uncle would at least earn the reputation of loyal service to your master.”
Eldest Master Xie froze, then stared at him in disbelief. “You’re telling me to go and die?”
“Whether it is death or life remains unknown,” Xie Shao said, looking at him steadily. “But Uncle has already lost any path of retreat. Does Uncle know what the consequence will be if this edict is false? It would be deemed treason. The court would move against us, the world would despise us, and the lives of the entire Xie family would be implicated by Uncle’s single misstep.”
He laid it bare without reservation. “At this point, can Uncle truly not see what this is? It is factional struggle at its sharpest. There is someone deliberately taking advantage of Father’s absence to eliminate the Xie family, thereby cutting off one of Jing Wang’s arms.”
Eldest Master Xie had no desire to listen to a junior lecturing him and pointing fingers. Hearing him bring up the Second Master now, the implication was unmistakable: with the Second Master gone, others were treating him like a fool.
He couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. “Your father? He’s probably long since drunk himself to death somewhere outside.”
Just as the standoff held, a guard rushed in from outside to report, “Master, Jing Wang has already crossed the Ling River and will arrive in Fengcheng within half an hour.”
Xie Shao sprang to his feet at once. “Deputy Commander Xie!”
Eldest Master Xie took a sharp breath and rose from his chair. Overwhelmed by tension, his blood surged from his feet straight to his head, countless considerations of gain and loss flashing rapidly through his mind.
He recalled what the eunuch had said earlier, “The eldest young master’s literary talent is outstanding, and the Right Chancellor holds him in high esteem. His future in the Eastern Capital is boundless. This servant congratulates Deputy Commander Xie in advance.”
And who was the Right Chancellor? The Crown Prince’s own maternal uncle.
How could a mere feudal prince compare with the Crown Prince himself?
The fates of the two deputy commanders of Hexi and Hebei were known to all. He had struggled his entire life; was it really all going to end here? Impossible. How could he resign himself to that?
As for Shizi Zhou’s future, one glance was enough to see where it ended.
He had already let Pei Yuanqiu go last time, and now the eldest young master had gone to the Eastern Capital as well. Madam Zhou must already have grown suspicious of him. Once Jing Wang returned, she would surely report everything, and by then, his own situation would be uncertain.
Moreover, even if he took no action now, once the imperial court sent its forces, Jing Wang would still be unable to hold out.
By then, he would have no choices left at all, becoming an accomplice to Jing Wang’s rebellion. Forget promotions and noble rank, he wouldn’t even be able to save his own life.
He had once pinned his hopes on the eldest young master carving out a path for him in the future. And now, wasn’t the opportunity right in front of him?
His heart began to pound violently, his mind already a complete mess. Looking again at Xie Shao, who was staring at him unblinkingly from across the room, he finally clenched his teeth and, following the guard, strode out. With a single command, he barked, “Close the city gates!”
Xie Shao had been right. When two ships collide, a choice must be made. A wise bird chooses the tree on which to perch. He only hoped Jing Wang would understand.
In the dead of night, the Xie Mansion’s troops poured out in full. The thunder of hooves erupted suddenly through the alleyways, then vanished just as quickly.
Wen Shuse hadn’t dared to make a sound the entire time. Only now did she turn to look at Xie Shao. “Husband…”
At this moment, Xie Shao’s expression had instead returned to calm. Things had already been pushed this far. If Eldest Master Xie insisted on jumping into the pit, there was nothing he could do to stop him.
Those people in the Eastern Capital truly knew how to strike, every move landing squarely where it hurt.
He turned and pulled the young lady with him as they hurried out of the Eldest Madam’s courtyard. “You go back to your room first. I’m going to the Prince Mansion.”