Spring of the Blade - Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Time always flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the day arrived for Xie Shu to return home in triumph.

Unlike previous campaigns, although this one could be counted as a victory, the losses were too severe. The imperial court had pointlessly paid with twenty thousand lives just to capture Shibao City; such military merit could largely be ignored. Xie Shu knelt in the imperial court, his shoulder armor pressing into the golden bricks, numbing his entire body. The Emperor did not grant him permission to rise. To a veteran general who had spent twenty years on the battlefield, such indifference was a humiliation beyond measure. He even considered death; having crawled back to life, he had been far too attached to it after all. Had he known this would happen, he would have been better off dying outside the passes. To leave behind a glorious reputation on the battlefield was far better than living on while having to lower his head in shame.

The Emperor, seated upon his throne, was consulting with officials about grain and salt supply routes. The Emperor spoke eloquently, and the ministers followed in lockstep, as if no one remembered him, still kneeling in the corridor. Later, the conversation turned to the defense of the Imperial Guard in the capital. The Emperor "oh-ed" and said, "I happen to have a decree to issue. In this capture of Shibao City, the Jiannan Road Wing Army under the Palace Command has contributed greatly. I decree that the three hundred soldiers who went on the expedition shall be promoted two ranks. The Palace Commander led them well; he is granted the title of Lulong Army Commissioner, his mother and wife shall be granted honorary titles, and in the future, one of his children or grandchildren shall be appointed to a government post."

A pair of gold-embroidered official boots stepped into the edge of Xie Shu’s vision. Shen Run’s voice rang out clearly, "I, and the Wing Army under my command, kowtow to thank the Emperor for his grace."

It was well known throughout the court that the Emperor was biased. Shen Run’s rise to power was inevitable; he only needed a small excuse to be promoted. Now that he was getting married, the decree to grant his wife a title had already been issued. The Emperor, in his favor, had even pre-arranged a government post for the child yet to be conceived. Even if others were green with envy, there was nothing they could do. Political connections were, after all, traded in blood and tears. That Shen Zhibai’s entire household had been convicted years ago, and yet his children and grandchildren were now thriving, was not something to be questioned.

Xie Shu closed his eyes, his energy draining away to his heels. In one campaign, some gained glory while others received blame. They had fought bitterly outside the passes for two months, yet it was not as effective as the two-day surprise attack by three hundred Imperial Guards. This was simply a case of inferior skill—what more could be said! At this point, he no longer hoped for merit, but only to avoid further trouble, which would be enough.

However, the Emperor did not issue a command, seemingly intending to grant no face to the old veteran. Among the gathered civil and military officials, not a single person mentioned him. Finally, it was Shen Run who couldn't bear it any longer and casually put in a good word for him. The Emperor pondered for a moment before allowing him to rise, though he said nothing else, only mentioning that the expedition had been exhausting and that he should go home and rest for two days before finishing.

The court session ended, and the Emperor returned to the inner palace. The officials bowed to see him off, and the first thing they did upon turning around was to congratulate Shen Run. Amidst the chaotic flattery, someone laughed and asked, "Should we address you as Commander or Commissioner now?"

Others clicked their tongues, "The Commander has dual happiness! Succeeding in both love and office—truly an object of envy."

Speaking of love, naturally, one could not leave out Xie Shu. Consequently, everyone’s gaze shifted to him, and they laughed, "The Commander’s wife is the young lady of Commissioner Xie’s household. With a son-in-law like a dragon to assist him, the Commissioner will surely be in the Emperor’s favor in the future."

Xie Shu was distracted, and hearing this, he felt momentarily dazed, not even knowing that his own daughter was to marry Shen Run.

He opened his mouth, about to speak, but unfortunately, this son-in-law, whose rank was now equal to his own, clearly did not care for him. As the others stirred up trouble, Shen Run raised a hand and said, "Shen dares not climb the social ladder of the Xie household. Commissioner Xie has several daughters; let’s not spread misinformation and ruin the reputation of innocent young ladies."

Shen Run refused to acknowledge the connection; everyone saw it, except for Xie Shu, who remained in the dark. He had just rushed back from the battlefield, worried sick the whole way, and no one had spoken to him about family matters, so he did not know about the changes that had occurred in his absence.

As the officials dispersed from the Taiji Hall, he hurried to catch up with Shen Run, partly to thank him for intervening—otherwise, the war outside the passes would still be deadlocked—and partly to inquire whether the lady he was to marry had any relation to the Xie family.

"Commander, wait!" He cupped his hands. "My escape this time was thanks to the aid of the Commander’s Imperial Guard. Xie Shu is old; I am truly not what I once was."

Shen Run maintained his arrogant and distant air, returning the greeting, "Commissioner, you are too kind. We all act to alleviate the Emperor’s worries; let us not speak of helping or being helped."

Xie Shu met a soft rebuke. His face flushed, and after a pause, he said, "I heard from my colleagues just now that you are to be married. I wonder who the lady is..."

Shen Run did not hold back. "She was the Fourth Young Lady of Commissioner Xie’s household. However, she no longer has any connection to the Xie mansion, and we cannot claim family ties indiscriminately. We would not dare to climb that ladder, would we, Commissioner?"

Xie Shu was stunned and said in a flustered voice, "How... the Fourth Girl is of my Xie family; how could she have no connection to the Xie family?"

Shen Run said, "The Commissioner has been on campaign for many months, and there have been many changes in your household. You should go back and ask the Old Madam of your noble house." He took two steps, paused, and added, "Also... regarding the case of your noble house’s Second Young Lady, please trouble the Commissioner to pass a word to your wife: the case is closed on my end, so please let her rest assured."

Having said this, he curled his lips in a smile. This smile contained endless meaning—cold mockery, intrigue, but more than anything, a warning. Xie Shu did not understand, and his heart was filled with trepidation. He rushed to finish his duties and whipped his horse to return to Youzhou.

Because the Master had returned, the Xie household gathered together, everyone crying and laughing at once.

Xie Shu kowtowed to the Old Madam, kneeling on the ground, choking up, "Son is unfilial, causing Mother to worry."

The Old Madam helped him up, looked him over from head to toe, and wiped away tears. "It is enough that you are back. In this world, there is no hurdle one cannot overcome. As long as the people are here, and the family foundation remains, there is hope for everything."

The children and grandchildren in the house noisily kowtowed to greet him, but Xie Shu searched through the crowd, only to find the small girl who usually stood in the corner missing. His heart sank, and he turned to ask the Old Madam, "Mother, where is the Fourth Girl now?"

The Old Madam was wiping her tears, but stopped halfway, stunned. She stammered, not knowing how to reply.

The whole family remained silent. Since the Old Madam didn't speak, no one else dared to explain. They looked at one another, each wearing a look of embarrassment.

The Old Madam saw this too. Now, there were not a few people in the house who resented her; human nature being what it is, people were never satisfied. She grew a bit indignant and frowned. "When you were in trouble outside the passes, I was frantic. Shen Run happened to set a trap, and I was foolish for a moment and threw the Fourth Girl into it. Now, the Fourth Girl won't acknowledge us. I don't know if she resents me, or if she had already conspired with Shen Run to find a legitimate reason to leave the Xie family. Child, in the end, only the children you raise yourself are truly close to you. Now, the two elders from the Chen family have chased her to Youzhou, and the Fourth Girl has returned to the Chen family. Judging by the look of it, she intends to never have any contact with us again."

Xie Shu was stunned. He slumped into an armchair, hammering his knees one after another. Who could he blame? He could only blame himself. If the fighting hadn't gone poorly, it wouldn't have come to this point.

He did not speak, and the room was so quiet that even a needle falling could be heard. After a long while, he sighed, "Shen Run was named the Lulong Army Commissioner today. With these two official titles, when the Fourth Girl marries, she will be a second-rank noblewoman."

The crowd was even more stunned. No one had expected that the giggling, soft girl, only fifteen years old, would have such an achievement. It was previously said that the eldest girl could enter the Earl's mansion, which was already a significant stroke of fortune, but compared to the Fourth Girl, it was several rungs lower.

Traditionally, a wife’s status relied on her husband’s, and this was nothing more than that. The Old Madam could only step back and console herself, "Fortunately, our Third Girl has entered the palace. If we can smooth things over later, and she manages to enter the Shenglong Hall and be conferred the title of Wanyi or Xiuyi, that would not be a waste of all we spent raising her."

Xie Shu’s gaze, however, shifted to Qingru. "I heard Shen Run mention something about the Second Girl’s case... A young lady in the chambers, what kind of case could she be involved in?"

Madam Hu’s expression changed drastically. Qingru shrank behind her mother, not daring to breathe. There were always those in the household who enjoyed a show; Aunt Mei gently called out to Madam Hu, "Madam, this matter cannot be hidden."

Xie Shu knit his brows. "What exactly happened?"

Madam Hu gave Aunt Mei a cold look and turned to Xie Shu. "Master, I will tell you the details of this matter later."

Hearing this, Xie Shu could only restrain himself. He deliberated and said to the Old Madam, "Is the Fourth Girl now at the Chen house? We should find a way to persuade her to come back. As our own flesh and blood, if she doesn't even recognize her own ancestors, who knows how the outside world will mock us?"

The Old Madam lowered her eyes. "I had the eldest girl go to persuade her. Her heart is set on not returning; what can be done?"

Xie Shu choked, and in the end, he steeled himself. "If that’s the case, I have no choice but to go myself. As her father, she should at least give me some face."

Madam Jiang, listening from the side, snorted under her breath. Seeing that the girl was to be given a noble title, he was throwing away his old face to cozy up to her. When the Old Madam sold her off, she hadn't thought of this day. Now, let alone her biological father—even if the Heavenly King himself came, she probably wouldn't give him the time of day.

Of course, for such things, the Second Aunt would inevitably spread the word. The news soon reached Qingyuan’s ears. Old Madam Chen said, "After all, he is your biological father. If he comes and you choose to acknowledge him, your grandfather and I won't blame you."

Qingyuan’s eyes, which were slowly embroidering mandarin ducks, remained steady, stitch by stitch. "When he devoured my mother’s family property and drove her out of the Xie mansion, he didn't have a soft heart at all. Later, I asked him if he had ever suspected the cause of Aunt Xia’s death, and he only told me not to meddle and that he didn't want to bring up the past. If he had even a shred of affection for my mother, I wouldn't have lost hope in him. In my mother’s demise, he was an accomplice. Why should I acknowledge him?"

Old Madam Chen nodded. "Make your own decision on this matter. If you have made up your mind, do not change it again. The big day is approaching; calm your heart to avoid further complications."

Qingyuan looked out the window. From summer to autumn, it seemed to have been only the blink of an eye. The thick green leaves on the trees had gradually fallen, leaving only branches. However, the two persimmon trees were covered in orange-red fruit. Because no one picked them, they appeared as bright as fire in this bleak, pale world, full of hope.

When Xie Shu came, he brought only one servant and one horse. When he arrived at the gate and asked to be announced, the gatekeeper had a face full of fake smiles. "How unfortunate. Our Old Master, Old Madam, and the Eldest Young Lady have all gone to the Commander’s mansion; they are not home. Who might you be? When the master of the house returns, I will certainly report this."

Xie Shu knew in his heart: it wasn't that they weren't home; it was that they were unwilling to see him. He stood in the cold wind for a long time, standing there until he felt a bone-deep desolation. The servant kept asking, but he shook his head, walked away from the porch in a dejected manner, and headed towards the residential ward.

Qingyuan watched the whole time, watching that figure fade into the distance, her heart overflowing with endless bitterness.

The person beside her said, "If you regret it, you can catch up to him now and explain the cause and effect clearly to him—what Xie Old Madam says must be a completely different story."

But what would be the use of saying anything? Knowing the Xie family's character, he would not stand up for her justice just because of a few words.

"What I cherish in my heart is a father, not Xie Shu," she murmured. "During the days I spent in the Xie house, I saw things very clearly, and I will no longer expect anything. If I acknowledge this relationship now out of a moment of soft-heartedness, we will have endless trouble in the future."

Shen Run took the opportunity to tease her. "You are truly going to be a man’s wife, considering everything for your own little family. I do not force you to break completely with the Xie family. If you want to acknowledge them, those demons and monsters in the Xie family, I can settle them for you until they are perfectly obedient."

Qingyuan turned her head to look at him. "You calculate it for me: besides my eldest sister, who in the Xie family is sincere toward me? They are all bootlickers; they come to acknowledge me only when I am doing well. If I were a concubine to you, I fear they would all treat me as if I were dead. Furthermore..." She frowned. "The Old Madam is still preparing to make a scene at the wedding banquet. Who could tolerate such a maternal family!"

Shen Run was always sufficiently tolerant toward her. "Then let us wait and see. If the Xie family is truly intent on seeking peace and treats you as their own daughter at the banquet—no matter how much, even if they only send a handkerchief as part of your dowry—then on the third day, I will accompany you to return home, and we will acknowledge them as before. Truth be told, I have reached this rank, and I do not fear trouble. As long as you like it, I will accompany you through fire and water. But if the Xie family comes to make a scene, then I won't care about who is related and who is not. I will have them beaten out with sticks, and that will be my affair."

Qingyuan let out a breath and said, "Alright." She also understood his painstaking efforts. "Thank you for thinking of me in this way."

He raised a hand to stroke her hair. "I spent so much effort to snatch up my wife; I must care for her carefully, for fear that you might run away."

For some reason, sometimes he felt a faint sense of unease, likely because the young lady was too calm and independent. She was not the kind of girl who obeyed her father at home and her husband after marriage; a man would never be her everything. Their interaction was more egalitarian, relying on and cherishing each other. This was very good; it was his most ideal way for a husband and wife to get along.

Three more days... Everything that needed to be prepared was ready. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event; nothing could go wrong. His hand slid down and gripped her fingertips tightly. "We cannot see each other for the next three days. Do not do anything, do not go anywhere; just keep your heart focused on waiting to be married."

He was afraid of changes, so his demands were extremely cautious. Qingyuan laughed. "Fine, I will do nothing, go nowhere, and wait to be married with all my heart. And what about you? You are not allowed to see any woman in these three days; replace all those waiting on you with young servants. Can you do that?"

He laughed, like an adult pampering a child. "What is difficult about that? Those maids never get close to me anyway."

He knew she was afraid—afraid that he would be like Li Congxin, whose heart would falter at the critical moment, leading to a mess after the wedding arrangements had gone this far. It was difficult to handle if things went wrong. The young girl’s precaution was unavoidably a bit cynical, but he was also grateful; if there were no such worries, it would not necessarily be true love.

Finally, he was going to be married. After returning, he went to the ancestral hall alone and knelt for a stick of incense, reporting the good news to his ancestors and his father and mother. Everything from the past—from the time he could remember, to the unjust deaths of his parents, to the withering of the family business—a vast expanse of memory flowed through his mind, until today, when he could finally say that the hardship had reached its end.

He pressed his forehead against the cold brick seams and kowtowed deeply. "I will live a good life from here on. Please rest easy, Father, Mother."

However, his smoothness was not enough to ensure the peace of the whole household. Coming out of the ancestral hall and stepping into the courtyard gate, he saw Shen Che standing with his head hung low, leaning against the door frame. These past two months, the West Mansion had been in turmoil. Fangchun had become like a different person, picking all sorts of faults with Shen Che, either treating him with cold eyes or hurling insults at him. Qingyuan had told him of her worries, but regarding matters within the inner chambers, an outsider shouldn't interfere. Although he felt sorry for his brother, he couldn't dictate how he treated the people in his courtyard.

"Again?" He frowned and asked. "Have you had a good heart-to-heart talk with her? How does she actually feel? Have you asked? Between a husband and wife, what is there that cannot be said? Why suffer such anger? If she complains that you don't spend enough time with her, then stop attending to matters for a while. I grant you a month's leave to stay home and keep her company."

But Shen Che shook his head, looking as if he were on the verge of tears. For so many years, only when they were in trouble had he seen him this dejected. Shen Run’s heart grew heavier. "What is wrong?"

Shen Che hunched over and held his head in his hands. "She said today that she regrets leaving her hometown to marry me. She is unwilling to continue like this and wants to separate from me.”