In the twelfth year of the Zhengtong era, life grew increasingly comfortable. With more officials handling affairs, the Emperor was not so weary.
Taking advantage of the fine weather, their party went to an imperial villa for a few days, treating it as a camping trip. Since it was an imperial villa, there was no need for a regent; any urgent matters could simply be brought there.
It could also be called a summer retreat. When the palace grew hot, the summer villa was far more pleasant.
There was a type of “rain room” that used water to cool the building. It mimicked the sound of falling rain, but it wasn’t noisy. The sound was very soothing, making sleep inside even more pleasant.
Chi Wan was taking a nap on a lounge chair, listening to the sound of raindrops. Her mood was serene, and she quickly fell asleep. Beside her, Yu Jiuzhou was reading memorials. There weren’t many memorials these days, so one person was enough to handle them.
Unexpectedly, when she opened her eyes, she found Yu Jiuzhou still reading.
“Is something difficult?”
There weren’t many memorials. They were all carefully selected ones that required Yu Jiuzhou’s attention. The number had dwindled from hundreds or even thousands a day at the beginning to just a few dozen now. Logically, she should have finished them in a short while. What was going on today?
Yu Jiuzhou raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to come and see for herself.
Chi Wan immediately got up from the lounge chair, strode over, and took the memorial. “An Yizhi wants to return to the capital?”
What is that woman coming back to the capital for? She can’t still have designs on my wife, can she?
After the victory in Yanbei, An Yizhi had been stationed at a key border town. For the sake of occupying Beining, she had been pushing forward for the past two years. Now they had reached the Blackwater River. Beyond that lay another country, so for the time being, they had ceased their advance.
Yu Jiuzhou and Chi Wan had expended considerable effort to govern the newly acquired lands. Their efforts were beginning to show results, and the border towns were indeed not under as much tension.
It was normal for An Yizhi to want to come back for a rest. However, knowing her, Chi Wan thought she would prefer life in the military.
Chi Wan placed the memorial on the table, asking doubtfully, “She can’t still be harboring wicked intentions toward you, can she?”
In her past life, An Yizhi had been able to conquer half of Great Zhou’s territory and install a new emperor, all to avenge Yu Jiuzhou. Although she didn’t have that opportunity in this life, her contribution to conquering Beining was undeniable.
She was already the Marquis of Pingliang. Any further enfeoffment would mean changing her title. Champion Marquis?
In the end, her title was not changed. An Yizhi had disagreed, believing that if Chi Wan hadn’t arrived with reinforcements in time back then, she would have lost Yanbei. Even though she had been schemed against by her own side, the outcome could not be denied.
Later, during the campaign to break through Beining, the first factor was the overwhelming superiority of their equipment. In the face of firearms, Beining’s cavalry was no match. There was also Chi Wan’s detailed strategy.
After all, armies drank from nearby rivers, but the water in some rivers was not potable. Drinking it would, in the best-case scenario, lead to diarrhea and illness; in the worst case, it could kill or injure a majority of the troops.
Either scenario was unacceptable on a military campaign. The former meant losing combat effectiveness; if they were besieged, they would suffer heavy losses. Even without an attack, they would have no choice but to retreat. This war of vengeance, supported by the entire nation, would end in a retreat without a fight. The latter was even worse, directly resulting in the loss of Great Zhou’s elite forces.
Great Zhou’s weapons would fall into enemy hands. It was supposed to be a war of revenge, but what would be the difference between that and funding the enemy?
Great Zhou fought its wars with just cause. Beining had attacked Great Zhou and nearly reached the capital—no one had forgotten this grudge. Moreover, Beining had been harassing Great Zhou’s borders for centuries.
Either reason was sufficient to attack Beining.
But to return in disgrace under the banner of revenge, or to die before even seeing the enemy, would be a humiliation.
The detailed maps provided by Chi Wan, which indicated which water sources were unsafe to drink, had been a great help.
In truth, it wasn’t all Chi Wan’s doing. The Brocade Robe Guard and the Embroidered-Robe Guard also deserved credit. After all, she was just a theorist, a bookworm. To bring her agricultural knowledge to fruition, she needed practitioners to conduct field surveys.
A war involved not only the armies on the surface but also intelligence gathering. Sometimes, intelligence could decide the outcome of a war.
The Brocade Robe Guard and Embroidered-Robe Guard agents hidden in Beining had sent back invaluable information.
Add to that weapons and provisions—the preparations for a war were immense.
An Yizhi’s command ability was indeed strong, but she knew she was not yet worthy of the title Champion Marquis, so she had refused it.
Since occupying Beining, An Yizhi had been stationed there and had never returned to the capital. It was thought that she would never return in her lifetime.
That was why Chi Wan felt An Yizhi must have a reason for returning. Of course, she was joking. Based on her understanding of An Yizhi, she wouldn’t do such a thing.
Even if she still harbored feelings for Yu Jiuzhou, she would never show it, let alone return to the capital to compete for her.
Yu Jiuzhou also believed that An Yizhi must have something important to attend to that required her to return. So she pinched Chi Wan’s cheek. “Be serious.”
Chi Wan leaned against Yu Jiuzhou and sat down. “Let her come back then. Whatever she wants to do, we can just help her out.”
She still trusted An Yizhi. It was impossible that at her age, she would still insist on snatching Yu Jiuzhou.
The moment she learned that she and Yu Jiuzhou were in love, An Yizhi had buried her own feelings deep in her heart. A young general, a proud and spirited favored child of heaven—such a person would not do such a thing.
But given how seriously An Yizhi took her duty of guarding the border, her insistence on returning must mean something important.
“As for a temporary replacement for An Yizhi, a few of her deputies are good. For command ability, how about Chen Yuan?”
Chen Yuan had initially followed Chi Wan. Later, she went to the battlefield with her and rose through the ranks based on military merit. She was now one of An Yizhi’s deputies and a dignified fourth-rank official.
With her ability, temporarily taking command would be no problem.
It had to be said, Yu Jiuzhou had a good eye. Of the two sisters, Chen Yuan and Chen Jin, one was stationed at the border, and the other was the provincial governor of the Great Zhou Bank.
Chen Jin was originally a seventh-rank female official. The provincial governor of the bank was a primary third-rank official with great power.
These two sisters were originally sent by Yu Jiuzhou to monitor her, but now they each had their own careers. Moreover, Chen Jin was one of the very few high-ranking Kun Ze officials.
After all, she was in banking, which was different from the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue also dealt with money, but it had many other duties and was a proper government ministry, deeply ingrained after a thousand years of development. The bank, however, dealt only with money, so many officials looked down on it. This turned out to be a good thing.
It gave many Kun Ze a chance to rise. However, an incident had occurred before: once the peaches were ripe, people wanted to come and pick them.
For example, the position of Governor of the Great Zhou Bank, and many other posts. Many Qian Yuan officials wanted to take them, even fifth or sixth-rank officials who wanted to jump directly to the second or third rank. The Governor was a second-rank position.
In the end, Yu Jiuzhou personally took the position to settle the matter. Two years later, Lin Qianduo was appointed to the post—a true master at making money.
The people who had followed them back then had all made something of themselves. It wasn’t that they were practicing nepotism; these people were genuinely capable. This was especially true for the Kun Ze; with opportunities being rare, they worked even harder.
Besides Yu Jiuzhou and Chi Wan, they were the ones who most wanted Chenchen to be the crown heir. An emperor who was a Kun Ze meant that officials could also be Kun Ze. Having seen the vast world and tasted the flavor of power, rather than being confined to a small plot of land at home and living at the mercy of others, no one was willing to shrink back.
The Kun Ze from high-ranking noble families—it couldn’t be said that they were uneducated. In fact, apart from the imperial examinations, they learned the same things as Qian Yuan. It was just that when they reached marriageable age, they didn’t continue studying for the exams but instead had to learn household management.
However, as long as they passed the exams for the bank or newspapers, they could have their own careers.
Currently, places that needed Kun Ze included banks, newspapers, schools, and so on. Even for those who were illiterate or had limited literacy, there were factories.
Gradually, more and more Kun Ze would leave their homes.
Just like the four, Chun Gui, Xia Qu, Qiu Lai, and Dong Ying. Chun Gui led the palace’s inner officials; anyone who saw her had to address her as Grand Steward. Even officials from the outer court had to call her “Madam.”
Xia Qu was impressive. She was now the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard, having risen through military merit. No one dared to say anything. She was the highest-ranking Kun Ze among military officials.
Qiu Lai was the head of the Imperial Pharmacy Bureau, which was like a state-owned hospital. Pharmacy bureaus had been established in every county to make healthcare affordable for the common people. She was a high-ranking primary third-rank official, assisted by Zheng Yi, who was a secondary third-rank official.
Dong Ying still commanded the secret guards. At the same time, she also managed the Embroidered-Robe Guard, which had been separated from the Imperial City Division. As commander of the secret guards, her specific rank was the same as Xia Qu’s.
Thinking back now, many of the Kun Ze around them had their own careers.
The opposition to Chun, Xia, Qiu, and Dong was the least. Firstly, they already held official positions. Among the four, the one who faced the most opposition was actually Qiu Lai, with the loudest voices coming from the Imperial Medical Academy. But skill spoke for itself; after a competition, they were silenced.
The four of them still remained by Chi Wan and Yu Jiuzhou’s side. Many old acquaintances were scattered across Great Zhou, and it would be a long time before they could meet again.
So, regarding An Yizhi’s desire to return, they had no intention of stopping her. On the contrary, they had to make arrangements for the border situation after her return.
The Great Zhou border had now expanded to twenty-one key garrisons. An Yizhi defended only one of them, but her rank was the highest among all the garrison commanders. It would be difficult for anyone to completely replace her; they could only be a temporary substitute.
Chi Wan proposed Chen Yuan, and Yu Jiuzhou agreed. What she hesitated about was, “If An Yizhi is unwilling to go back, we will have to find a commander who can permanently replace her in guarding the border.”
Chen Yuan definitely wouldn’t do. She had military merits, but she had already been rewarded for them. There was no reason to promote her again. She couldn’t be promoted just because the emperor liked her or thought she was capable. That was too subjective and would disrupt Great Zhou’s system of official promotions.
Even if Chen Yuan had the ability, she certainly couldn’t be appointed as a garrison commander in the short term. She needed greater merits or the seniority that came with time.
Therefore, the border garrison still needed a commander who could command respect.
Chi Wan smiled. “If An Yizhi is unwilling to return to the border, she can still hold the title of garrison commander. It won’t matter if she doesn’t return for a year or two. Just let Chen Yuan act in her place for now.”
If she acted as commander for a long time, she would naturally win over the troops. If she still couldn’t command respect after a year or two, it would mean Chen Yuan’s ability was capped at being a deputy. They would find someone else for the commander position.
In fact, Great Zhou had produced many talented people over the years. If they really needed to find someone, they could. Unfortunately, like Chen Yuan, they lacked seniority.
The students from the Great Zhou Military Academy were quite good, but not just anyone could be a garrison commander. A good general was not necessarily a good commander-in-chief.
Chi Wan simply lay down with her head on Yu Jiuzhou’s lap. “What if An Yizhi doesn’t want to stay in the capital? Even if she does, what do you think of Xingchen?”
Prince of Shunchéng, Yu Xingchen. She had cooperated closely with them in the past and had earned considerable merit in the Beining campaign. She had the talent of a commander and might not be inferior to An Yizhi. She was a bit lacking in seniority, but her status as a prince made up for it.
She and Yu Jiuzhou didn’t mind a prince commanding troops. Under the current military system of Great Zhou, rebellion was impossible.
Even if a rebellion did occur, with so many border garrisons in Great Zhou, a single one would be immediately crushed by its neighbors. Besides, the three hundred thousand troops of the capital garrison were not to be trifled with.
Nineteen garrisons, the largest of which had only a hundred thousand-odd troops. In peacetime, even the commander could not mobilize them at will. Military exercises involving more than a certain number of troops required a joint document from the Chief Military Commission of the Five Armies and the Ministry of War.
Besides, they had watched Yu Xingchen grow up. She was like a younger sister to them, and the girl had a good personality.
“Xingchen.” Yu Jiuzhou shot her a look. “Her mother watches her like she’s her lifeline. If I send her to guard the border, the old Princess will come running to me in tears.”
Chi Wan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “You have to see if the child herself is willing.”
Previously, when Yu Xingchen had requested to go to war in Beining, her mother had cried to Yu Jiuzhou quite a bit. Yu Jiuzhou, as aloof as she was, had been left with a dazed expression.
In the end, it was Chi Wan who came to the rescue and coaxed the old Princess away.
Yu Xingchen’s father had died at the hands of Yu Yichen back then, so her mother became the old Princess Consort, and their family later moved to the capital.
The relationship between their families was quite good.
“Of course Xingchen would be willing,” Yu Jiuzhou said, rubbing her temples.
“It’s fine. If the old Princess comes, I’ll handle her.”
“How will you handle her?”
Chi Wan couldn’t help but laugh. “Matchmaking.”
“You’re such a good person.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Yu Xingchen was twenty-six or twenty-seven this year and still didn’t have a partner. The old Princess was worried sick, feeling like her daughter would never get married in this lifetime. She had asked Yu Jiuzhou to arrange a marriage more than once.
With an imperial decree of marriage, Yu Xingchen would have to agree whether she wanted to or not.
Yu Jiuzhou only had one response: “Ask Xingchen what she wants.”
If Yu Xingchen wanted to get married, she would have done so long ago. Why would she wait until now? The girl didn’t seem to have anyone she liked, yet she refused to marry.
Chi Wan didn’t think it was a big deal. Getting married wasn’t important. But the old Princess was anxious, and when she got anxious, she came to them, which was a headache.
From An Yizhi’s return to matchmaking for Yu Xingchen, the matter was considered resolved.
Yu Jiuzhou wrote “Approved” on the memorial. Then Chi Wan, as the Grand Marshal of the World’s Armed Forces, also granted An Yizhi’s leave and appointed Chen Yuan as the acting garrison commander.
After arranging these matters, Chi Wan leaned close to Yu Jiuzhou’s ear. Just as she was about to speak, her lips were covered.
“Not during the day.”
“?”
Have we done it infrequently during the day? No, that wasn’t it. Chi Wan pulled her hand away, speechless. “Chun Gui came by just now. She heard us talking about An Yizhi and then left. Her expression was a bit off.”
“Chun Gui is one to follow the rules,” Yu Jiuzhou said, not thinking much of it.
This big straight woman.
Chi Wan said helplessly, “When have we ever forbidden Chun Gui from listening when we discuss official business? She always serves us as usual. So there was no need for her to leave just now.”
Chun Gui was very tight-lipped. Having heard so many secrets, she had become even more taciturn, only relaxing a bit in private.
She put on a stern and aloof act, which made those who wanted to bribe her back off.
When she was bantering with Xia Qu and Dong Ying, she wasn’t aloof at all. And in front of the three little ones, she always spoke in a soft, cooing voice.
The “cold-faced Madam” of rumors was a black-bellied person in private. As Xia Qu said: “That woman Chun Gui is wicked without a trace.”
Here, “wicked” was a compliment. It was mainly because Xia Qu was unskilled but loved to play, and Chun Gui could handle her with ease.
In summary, Chun Gui knew things more important than An Yizhi’s return to the capital. There was no need for her to avoid the topic. So why did she?
Chi Wan immediately realized something was wrong. Yu Jiuzhou frowned in thought. “You think there’s a problem with Chun Gui? Impossible.”
“No, I feel that Chun Gui might know something about An Yizhi’s return to the capital.”
Otherwise, why would she avoid it?
With this in mind, Chi Wan talked to Xia Qu about it.
Xia Qu: “? Chun Gui has been even more silent recently, often spacing out by herself. Could it be related to the Marquis of Pingliang?”
For people like them, their first reaction to this news wasn’t that Chun Gui was a problem, but rather, they wondered if Chun Gui had run into some trouble.
Chi Wan shook her head. “That’s why I’m asking you to probe her a bit, to find out what’s going on. With Her Majesty and me here, no matter what trouble she’s in, we’ll help.”
Xia Qu nodded. “Understood. Leave it to me.”
That evening, Xia Qu bought some food from outside and came to the palace. The four of them—Chun, Xia, Qiu, and Dong—sat together.
“It’s been a while since we all got together. I asked the Prince for some good wine. Tonight, we drink until we drop.”
When Xia Qu did things, she never came back empty-handed, especially when it came to Chi Wan’s homemade wine, which she had been coveting for a long time.
Qiu Lai smiled. “You finally got your hands on the Prince’s wine.”
“A small matter.” Xia Qu patted her armor, making it clatter.
Chun Gui clearly had something on her mind. Dong Ying was her usual self, not speaking unless necessary.
Xia Qu cast a brick to attract a jade. “I heard Zheng Yi is pursuing you. Is it true?”
Under Chi Wan’s influence, they didn’t find anything strange about a Kun Ze being with another Kun Ze. On the contrary, they thought it was perfectly normal for two women to be together.
Qiu Lai: “?” She never expected that tonight’s drinking party was to gossip about her.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Xia Qu shrugged. “I’m not talking nonsense. Zheng Yi’s medical skills are good, but she’s far inferior to you. So she’s learning medicine from you, but she won’t call you master. Her intentions are too obvious.”
Qiu Lai: “How are they obvious!!!”
“Don’t deny it. Chun Gui knows about this too.” Xia Qu smoothly brought the conversation to Chun Gui.
Only then did Chun Gui look up. “What? Yes.”
Just as Qiu Lai was about to argue, Xia Qu narrowed her eyes. “Chun Gui, what are you thinking about? You’ve been distracted these past few days. Qiu Lai has a partner, do you have one too?”
Before Chun Gui could speak, Qiu Lai took the opportunity to kick her. “Don’t talk nonsense. Zheng Yi and I are not a couple.”
It was so infuriating. Xia Qu was always annoying, and she had been beaten up for it many times. Today, she was even more annoying.
Xia Qu said with a straight face, “Then why haven’t you beaten up Zheng Yi?”
After saying that, she added, “Like you beat me up.”
The four of them had grown up together since childhood, like childhood sweethearts. If there were any romantic feelings, they would have developed long ago. It was precisely because there weren’t any that they could get along like real sisters to this day.
Qiu Lai, usually sharp-tongued, didn’t want to talk anymore. She turned her head and changed the subject. “Right, Chun Gui has been acting strange these past few days. What happened? Let your big sister give you some advice.”
This earned her a roll of the eyes from Chun Gui. “I’m older than you.”
“Alright, alright, you’re older. Hurry up and tell us, Sister Chun Gui~” To stop the gossip about herself, Qiu Lai was going all out, even resorting to acting cute.
Xia Qu and Chun Gui exchanged a look and couldn’t help but shiver.
Only then did Chun Gui speak. “It’s nothing. Maybe I’m just tired.”
“Tired? Hmph, you know what tired is?” Xia Qu didn’t believe it for a second.
It was possible for others to complain about being tired, but definitely not Chun Gui. All day long, in Her Highness the Prince’s words, she was a work machine.
Chun Gui said helplessly, “Shut up.”
At this moment, Dong Ying suddenly spoke up. “Qiu Lai acting cute is so scary.”
Chun, Xia, and Qiu: “…” They were used to the slow-to-react Dong Ying… right? Okay, maybe not that used to her.
Xia Qu quickly brought the conversation back on track. “Chun Gui, what’s with the letters between you and Anbei? I saw you reading a letter the other day, and you looked so worried.”
Anbei was the name given to Beining after it was conquered.
She knew Chun Gui corresponded with someone in Anbei. At first, she thought it was official business. Recently, when the Prince asked her to talk to Chun Gui, possibly about An Yizhi, she thought of these letters. Especially a couple of days ago, another letter came from Anbei. After reading it, Chun Gui sat in a daze for a long time, a look of melancholy and sadness in her eyes.
Xia Qu was not one to beat around the bush. With all four sisters present today, she asked directly.
“The Prince also said that if you have any doubts, you can say she asked me to ask.”
Chun Gui’s head shot up. But then she thought, she had never hidden her correspondence with Anbei. Everyone assumed it was official business, so no one was curious.
Has my behavior been too obvious lately?
“Stop thinking. The Prince asked me to ask. She said you’ve been distracted lately and wondered if you’ve run into some trouble. If you tell us, she and Her Majesty will solve it for you.”
These were Chi Wan’s exact words. For any of the four, Chun, Xia, Qiu, or Dong, she would definitely help if she could.
Chun Gui was stunned, then touched. “It is my failure to serve Her Majesty well that has made them worry.”
Qiu Lai immediately said, “No, what’s wrong with Chun Gui? I’m starting to not understand, just like Dong Ying.”
But she knew something was definitely wrong with Chun Gui, which was why they were having this conversation today. Connecting it to what Xia Qu had just said, her eyes widened.
Stared at by three pairs of big eyes, Chun Gui hesitated for a moment. “You all know I correspond with Anbei. The person I’m corresponding with is An Yizhi.”
Xia and Qiu: “?” What’s going on!
After a long pause, Dong Ying: “? Why don’t you call her the Marquis of Pingliang?”
Chun, Xia, and Qiu: “Heh!”
Soon, Chi Wan found out. She immediately told Yu Jiuzhou about it.
“Sister, do you think Chun Gui’s correspondence with An Yizhi isn’t about official business?”
Yu Jiuzhou shook her head. She was also wondering what Chun Gui and An Yizhi were corresponding about.
She didn’t believe Chun Gui and An Yizhi had some secret deal. The question was, why were the two corresponding?
Chun Gui’s recent state was very off. They had grown up together—she, Chun, Xia, Qiu, Dong, and An Yizhi. Their relationships were very good.
“An Yizhi wants Chun Gui to plead with us to let her come back? That’s unnecessary. If she wants to come back, can you and I stop her?”
Otherwise, why would it make Chun Gui so anxious? It must be that pleading won’t work, but not pleading would betray their lifelong friendship. Isn’t that a dilemma!
Chi Wan took a deep breath and shook her head helplessly. “My Empress, you are really too straight.”
What she was thinking was that An Yizhi certainly wasn’t coming back just to retire. There must be a reason she had to return.
Combined with Chun Gui’s behavior, she was wondering, could there be something between them?
