The carriage traveled swiftly, draped in the afterglow of dusk, and returned to the Qin Manor stepping on the last ray of daylight.
After a busy day, Qin Hongying and Shi Rongyue both looked tired. They exchanged greetings and returned to their rooms.
Dai Li was doing alright, but she felt the hair ornaments on her head growing heavier and heavier. She wanted nothing more than to hurry back and take off all the pearl hairpins and jade ornaments.
However...
"Mom, I'll go back with you," Qin Yanzhou said in a low voice.
Dai Li looked at her son, inexplicably feeling that there was more to his words. Usually, if they were going back, they would just go; Zhouzhou wouldn't add this extra sentence.
She briefly told Qin Shaozong that she would take another path. The man nodded, his face shrouded in the already dim shadows, making it hard to see clearly.
For some reason, Dai Li felt that his mood right now was rather gloomy.
The group left, and Dai Li didn't delay for too long before heading back with Qin Yanzhou.
Night had fallen, and the long corridor was dark. Dai Li declined Nianxia and Bipo's offers to carry the lantern for her, asking them to go back first to prepare the bathwater. She held the lantern herself and walked slowly with her son.
With no one else around, Dai Li spoke without hesitation. "Has something happened recently, Zhouzhou?"
Qin Yanzhou replied, "Mom, Mr. Nalan has been a bit strange lately. In the past, when I went to see him, we would talk about everything under the sun, mostly interesting anecdotes from the past. But recently, he has completely changed his style and started teaching me the Book of Changes, the Great Learning, and the Book of Rites..."
Dai Li paused her steps.
The contents of these books varied, but if one were to summarize them, it would be: cultivate one's moral character, manage the household, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.
"Zhouzhou, did you ask Nalan why he suddenly started talking to you about this?" Dai Li asked.
Qin Yanzhou nodded and said he had. "Mr. Nalan said that all the other boys have to read these books. I wasn't in a good state before, so he didn't teach me. Now that I've changed so much compared to the past, I have to make up for what I missed."
The lantern in Dai Li's hand swayed gently in the wind, much like her wavering heart at this moment.
A trace of hidden worry quietly crept out from the bottom of her heart.
But this wisp of worry was too faint, like the smallest tender shoot in spring, so much so that Dai Li was more focused on other things right now. She asked her son, "Zhouzhou, do you want to learn these things?"
"Mom, I want to study," Qin Yanzhou said softly.
Dai Li's thoughts were instantly pulled back to the past.
In the past, many of her colleagues envied her for having an angel baby. And indeed, Zhouzhou had been easy to raise since he was little. Even when he was a baby, he would sleep after eating and wouldn't fuss when he woke up. He would only cry a little when he was hungry; the rest of the time, he would just roll his big eyes and observe his surroundings.
When it was time for kindergarten, he only cried that very first time. After coming back, he told her that kindergarten was fun, and from then on, he happily carried his backpack with a little water bottle and handkerchief to school.
When he started elementary school, she never had to worry about his homework.
The first thing Zhouzhou always did when he came home from school was finish his homework. He wrote quickly and could often finish everything before dinner. And after eating, he would read the children's storybooks she bought for him by himself.
Dai Li suddenly realized that those precious, sparkling things like seashells had not been worn away by those ten bitter years; they had only been temporarily buried by the wind and sand, waiting for the right moment to break through the soil again.
"Zhouzhou, during the first two years you spent in the Green Lotus Sect, what else did they teach you besides how to read?" Dai Li asked.
Qin Yanzhou shook his head. "I just learned some basic characters, and later it was mainly martial arts training."
They didn't teach him much reading either, only the most commonly used characters needed for communication. He slowly learned the rest by himself in every spare moment.
Dai Li smiled and said, "Then study with Nalan. No matter what era it is, reading more is always good. If it weren't for the coincidence of coming here, Zhouzhou would be in college by now."
Some parents saved up enough wealth for their descendants and felt that it didn't matter whether they studied or not. After all, they would just end up working like dogs after graduating anyway, so it was better not to let their children suffer the hardships of studying.
Dai Li did not support the theory that studying was useless.
Regardless of whether the final outcome was the same, there was no denying that the process in between was different. Every school was a macro-environment, and the higher you went, the better the environment.
Living with good people is like entering a room full of orchids; after a long time, you won't notice the fragrance. Living with evil people is like entering a fish market; after a long time, you won't notice the stench.
Dai Li deeply agreed with this.
She continued, "If there's anything else you're interested in, you can tell Nalan. He's a very good teacher, and I believe he will definitely teach you well."
Ever since Zhouzhou took Nalan Zhi as his teacher, her son had become much more energetic than before. It was like a withered little tree being moved to moist soil, carefully watered and cleared of pests, so that slowly, the withered tree grew tender green branches and leaves.
Dai Li felt relieved and happy from the bottom of her heart.
The two didn't walk fast, but the path eventually came to an end.
Before long, the main courtyard was right in front of them. Dai Li said to the young man beside her, "You've been busy all day today, too. Go back and get some rest early."
Qin Yanzhou: "Okay, good night, Mom."
Dai Li carried the lantern and went inside alone.
Inside the room, Nianxia and Bipo had already prepared the water. Dai Li took off all her golden hairpins and took a comfortable bath, washing away all her fatigue. But when she came out of the side room and completely dried her long hair, Qin Shaozong had still not returned.
Dai Li glanced at the door.
From what she had observed so far, unless there was an urgent confidential report or a small meeting to hold, Qin Changgeng would definitely return before the Hour of Hai.
"Nianxia, did the Marquis mention that he wouldn't return to the main courtyard tonight?" Dai Li called Nianxia over.
Nianxia shook her head. "No one came to pass on a message."
Sitting on the soft chair, Dai Li's thoughts wandered, and for some reason, she thought of what happened at the Marquis Manor's ancestral hall today.
Following Zhouzhou, Qin Yunce came out alone afterward. The young man, who had just reached adulthood, had a red forehead and red rims around his eyes. She could tell that he had shed tears.
About half a quarter of an hour later, Qin Changgeng finally exited the ancestral hall.
Dai Li tried to recall that moment, but he had been standing under the eaves of the ancestral hall. The setting sun wasn't very bright, and coupled with the dark shadows cast by the eaves, he seemed to blend into the darkness.
She couldn't clearly remember his expression at that time; she only remembered that after closing the doors of the ancestral hall, he mounted his horse without saying a word and didn't speak to anyone the entire way.
Dai Li stood up from her seat and walked toward the door.
Nianxia and Bipo, who had finished serving her and were preparing to leave, were both startled to see this. "Madam, where are you going?"
"I'm going out for a bit," Dai Li said.
Perhaps it was Qin Shaozong's rare abnormality, or perhaps it was what Zhouzhou had just told her about Nalan Zhi's change. The nerve that belonged to her sixth sense was tingling, telling her that something was happening.
"It's cold late at night; Madam, please put on your cloak." Nianxia hurriedly brought the garment over.
Bipo also said, "Wherever Madam wishes to go, your servant will carry the lantern for you."
Dai Li refused once more. "There's no need. I can go out by myself."
Wearing her cloak, Dai Li went out carrying the lantern.
She first went to the study. Surprisingly yet unsurprisingly, there was no one inside. However, although it was empty inside, there were guards on duty at the door. Dai Li asked, "Did the Marquis come by earlier?"
Guard: "To answer Madam, no."
Dai Li nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."
She turned and walked away slowly. This residence could not compare to the Marquis's Manor, but it was certainly not small. There were over twenty courtyards alone, not counting other areas such as the dedicated martial arts training grounds.
Daili naturally could not search them one by one, so she directly asked a patrolling guard she encountered.
The guard indeed knew. Madam, the Marquis went to the martial arts courtyard in the southwest.
Having lived here for several months, Daili was completely familiar with every part of the estate. Hearing the guard mention the martial arts courtyard, she immediately knew it was the place where weapons were stored.
But what was Qin Changgeng doing over there?
Carrying a lantern, Daili walked slowly to the martial arts courtyard.
A bright moon hung high tonight, its light reflecting off the snow in the courtyard and making it sparkle as if sprinkled with glowing powder. This area was not frequently occupied, and servants only came to sweep the snow every two days. At this moment, a line of footprints extended inward across the moderate layer of snow on the ground.
The footprints were large, clearly left by a man's black boots.
Looking further in, faint light seeped from the rather large building. The glow was extremely weak, suggesting the person inside had lit no more than a single candlestand.
Daili followed the footprints inside.
The door was not closed. As soon as Daili reached the entrance, a strong stench of alcohol assaulted her senses. It was rich and pungent, as if a brocade handkerchief had been dropped into a wine jar, fished out, and placed wet over her nose.
The man sitting in the middle of the room turned his head at the sound. Seeing it was Daili, his hand holding the wine jar paused slightly. You are here, Madam.
The candlelight on the floor flickered, casting shifting shadows over the man's sharply defined features. His light brown eyes lacked their usual unstoppable sharpness.
Daili pursed her lips, feeling that the scene before her was very incongruous.
The dim room, the various weapons placed on wooden racks all around, the wine jars scattered across the floor, and the man sitting on the ground surrounded by them.
There were many weapons in the room. Halberds were propped up, longbows hung on the walls, short swords lay quietly on wooden rests, and there were even complete sets of armor.
The only exception was a silver helmet, which sat right beside Qin Shaozong's hand along with a wine jar.
That helmet was likely quite old; most of its silver coating had faded, giving way to dark red rust. Even with the candle placed nearby, it reflected little light.
Qin Shaozong casually swept aside a few wine jars, clearing an empty space. Come sit, Madam.
Daili walked over and sat down, using her cloak as a cushion. Why is the Marquis here drinking alone to get drunk?
If only I could get drunk. Sometimes having a high tolerance is not a good thing. He twitched the corners of his mouth but failed to form a smile.
Daili opened her lantern and took out the wick to make the surroundings brighter. Even if you cannot get drunk, you should drink less. Heavy drinking is never good.
Qin Shaozong still held a wine jar in one hand. He had just raised it, but upon hearing Daili's words, he set it back down.
He spoke of other things. This residence originally belonged to my grandmother. When my older brother and I were young and got into trouble, we were afraid to go home and would hide here. Later, when we reached the age to go to the battlefield, whenever we were injured out there, my brother and I would mostly come here to recover, to save our grandmother and mother at home from worrying when they saw us.
Daili's brow twitched slightly.
Given Qin Changgeng's current domineering personality, he was probably a fearless and stubborn troublemaker in his youth. And his older brother, who would personally make toys for his son, likely had a gentler temperament and might have been a scholarly general.
She could roughly imagine the scene back then.
Two youths, one older and one younger, covered in injuries, sitting face to face helping each other bandage their wounds. The older one would be giving gentle advice, while the younger one wore a look of defiance.
So all these weapons were brought over little by little by the two of you back then? Accumulating to such a large amount over time. Daili looked around again.
Otherwise, it was hard to explain why, when there was already a Marquis's Manor, so many weapons would be kept in an outside residence.
Qin Shaozong nodded and said yes.
A period of silence followed.
Yun Ce... did he acknowledge his biological father? Daili asked tentatively.
It is human nature, he replied in a calm tone.
Daili could not help but turn to look at him.
This morning, this man had said: So even if he acknowledges my brother, it is human nature.
Now he used the exact same words; it seemed her guess was correct.
Yun Ce said he was sorry to me, that he disappointed me and failed to live up to my cultivation of him all these years. There was self-mockery in Qin Shaozong's eyes. But if he knew that my brother died because of me back then, he would not have said those words.
Daili was startled. Did you not say your brother sacrificed himself on the battlefield? Could it be that he died taking a blade for you?
She could only think of this reason, otherwise why would Qin Changgeng say he died because of him?
But the man shook his head. Perhaps because he had been drinking, the dusty past from many years ago was rarely brought up again under the influence of alcohol. Back then, the Wuhuan had not yet been beaten into submission. They constantly came south to pillage villages, committing all sorts of atrocities like burning, killing, and looting. After the Wuhuan army invaded again and slaughtered a village, my father decided to teach them a lesson, so they would learn the meaning of knowing their place. However, the timing was not very good, because relations between the Northern Territory and the Imperial Court were very tense at the time.
Daili calculated in her mind.
He had said Yun Ce lost his biological father at the age of five, which was nearly fifteen years ago. Fifteen years ago, the Northern Territory and the Imperial Court might have been in the early or middle stages of intensifying conflict.
Why were relations tense? Daili asked.
The expression on Qin Shaozong's face slowly faded. The Han Emperor at the time, that is, the late Emperor, wanted the sons of the provincial governors to go to the capital to accompany the Crown Prince in his studies.
Go to the capital as hostages? Daili was surprised.
Qin Shaozong finally lifted the wine jar and took another gulp. The intention was so blatant that almost everyone knew it. My father only had two sons, my brother and me. My brother was the heir, so there was absolutely no possibility of him leaving the Northern Territory. If anyone was to go to the capital, it could only be me. But my father knew perfectly well that Chang'an was a dragon's pool and a tiger's den, and he was unwilling to send me into such a cage.
But if you did not go, it would be defying an imperial decree, giving them an excuse to do whatever they wanted. Daili asked curiously, How did your father handle it later?
Qin Shaozong: By dragging it out.
Daili nodded unconsciously; it was indeed a good method.
It was not that they were refusing to go to Chang'an, just that they would go later. It could not strictly be considered defying the decree.
Just as the Wuhuan invaded, my father simply rallied the army to crusade against them, planning to ambush and flank them when they came south again. At the time, I was appointed as the vanguard general, responsible for the charge; my brother was the left general, responsible for the flank. But right before going into battle, an old injury of mine flared up. After my brother noticed, he told my father he would swap with me. I became the left general, and he became the vanguard general, saying that since we had led the army together for so long and were quite familiar with the soldiers, changing commanders would not matter. Qin Shaozong set down the wine jar with a thud.
A gust of wind blew in at that moment, surging like a black tide, and extinguished the lamp in front of Qin Shaozong with a whoosh.
The light in the room instantly halved, leaving only the wick in front of Daili glowing faintly, like a lonely living soul.
Daili froze, then blurted out, So your brother sacrificed himself in that battle?
The veins on Qin Shaozong's forehead bulged. His face was half-hidden in the dim light, exuding an indescribable ruthlessness. "At that time, there was a spy from the imperial court in the army. That spy sabotaged our operations during the battle, which not only led to my elder brother's death but also caused the entire vanguard unit to be almost completely wiped out. It was only later that I figured it out. The Wuhuan invasion at that time was also unusual. Someone in the imperial court secretly colluded with the higher-ups of Wuhuan to set up this trap."
Dai Li drew a sharp breath.
Colluding with foreigners to set a trap for their own people? This was clearly treason!
She could roughly guess the reason. His merits were so great that they threatened the ruler. The Emperor, far away in Chang'an, felt that his throne was not secure.
Coupled with Father Qin's delaying tactics, which added fuel to the fire, someone simply colluded with Wuhuan to chop off one of the North's arms.
As for the Great Yan border soldiers and innocent villagers involved in this...
No, none of it mattered.
In the face of politics, those things were of no consequence.
"But in the end, it was still because of the change of commanders with me..." Qin Shaozong suddenly fell backward, covering his eyes with the back of his hand, the knuckle of his index finger brushing against his broken eyebrow.
It was as if a solemn voice drifted from afar: "Prefect Qin of Youzhou, this child has brown pupils and long eyes, born with a broken eyebrow. He is destined to harm his father and mother, bringing misfortune to his relatives, and is doomed to have shallow ties with his kin."
"I don't think you're right," someone suddenly said.
Her voice was gentle, not particularly loud or forceful, but it was like a spring breeze blowing away the black mist in front of him.
Qin Shaozong paused slightly and moved the hand resting on his eyes away a little.
Dai Li understood the unspoken meaning behind his words.
If the commanders hadn't been switched, his elder brother wouldn't have been murdered by treacherous people, his sister-in-law wouldn't have committed suicide for love, and the siblings Yun Ce and Yun Shu wouldn't have lost their parents at such a young age.
She didn't know the details of that year and couldn't easily judge the change of commanders, but she was somewhat certain about another matter. "Those involved are often blind to the truth. Actually, I think Yun Ce might know about what happened back then. He admires his biological father so much that he wants to acknowledge him even after more than ten years, which proves that those memories and feelings have never faded. Such a child would definitely do his utmost to collect everything related to his father, let alone the fact that the incident was of such vital importance."
Qin Shaozong's pupils contracted slightly.
"I cannot see what happened in the past, but over these past few months, I have observed that Yun Ce treats you with great respect and holds no resentment. Even if you two are not meant to be father and son in the future, he will definitely treat you as his most respected uncle." Dai Li could roughly understand Qin Shaozong's unusual behavior today.
Qin Yunce had reached his coming-of-age ceremony; he was an adult now.
On such a memorable day, he should have received the blessings of his parents as they watched the ceremony. Yet, because of the change of commanders back then, he was separated from his parents by life and death at an early age.
Even though the change of commanders was not proposed by Qin Shaozong himself, just as Qin Hongying had said, her second brother felt guilty and took it to heart.
However, to say how much Qin Changgeng wanted Qin Yunce to be his son, Dai Li felt that wasn't entirely the case either.
Perhaps it was more about the sense of loss from the change in status, or the helplessness of his efforts in cultivating him falling through.
"The Northern Kingdom has been subdued by you, and the great vengeance of the past has been avenged. I think your elder brother would be very happy if he knew in the netherworld." Dai Li took the wick and lit the extinguished candlestick.
The light suddenly flared up, warm and comforting.
Dai Li put the wick away, turned to look at the man still lying on the floor, and suddenly smiled. "Actually, it's not necessarily knowing in the netherworld. Your brother and sister-in-law might have gone to the Peach Blossom Spring to live a better life... Hey, Qin Changgeng, don't pull my robe."
The hem of her clothes stirred up a gentle breeze, and the two candle flames swayed with it, the warm light flickering.
She fell into his arms and was caught steadily by him. The man smiled and sighed, "You are right, Madam. They have all gone to a better place."
"Right, I have something to ask you." Dai Li tried to get up.
The long arm wrapped around her waist did not loosen. "What is it? Please feel free to say it, Madam."
Since he wouldn't let go, Dai Li shifted slightly, sitting on him and looking down at him from above. "Zhouzhou told me that Nalan recently started teaching him to read other books, learning the ways of cultivating moral character, managing the family, and governing the state. Qin Changgeng, did you instruct Nalan to do this?"
With the two small lamps behind her, Dai Li's shadow enveloped the face of the man beneath her.
But his eyes gleamed with a hint of brightness in the dark, and she saw him curl his thin lips. "Madam's guess is correct."
Without waiting for Dai Li to ask, Qin Shaozong said leisurely, "Even if that boy Qin Yanzhou had read books before, he was only nine years old when he left the Peach Blossom Spring. The Green Lotus Cult picked him up to use as a blade, not to make him the reincarnated God of Literature. Knowing a few words was enough; they wouldn't teach him other literature."
He suddenly clicked his tongue lightly, his following words carrying a hint of disdain. "As the dignified patriarch of the Qin clan and the Marquis of Wu'an decreed by the imperial court, how can my son know fewer words than he has fingers on his own hands?"
Dai Li: "..."