At the time, she didn't fully understand. But when she returned to the Imperial College and found all the other girls avoiding her, even the Record Keeper's daughter keeping her distance, she finally felt hurt and wronged.
She vaguely realized that here, sincerity and frankness weren't needed. One had to follow the rules set by these people, otherwise they would be ostracized as an outsider.
Later, she unexpectedly became close friends with Qi Zhu, and those girls who had previously avoided her gradually began to approach her.
She knew the reason was that Qi Zhu's status was more noble than that of the Crown Prince's son.
By approaching her now, they wouldn't be targeted by the Crown Prince's son anymore, and could even befriend Qi Zhu instead.
Ultimately, it all boiled down to "seeking advantage and avoiding harm."
She didn't like this place, where everyone lived behind a mask.
During these five years, whenever she felt down, she would practice with her sword. Only in those moments of full-force chopping did she feel truly free.
Sometimes she even envied Xie Zheng. Was he so clever that he had known all along what awaited him upon returning to the capital, choosing instead to remain beyond the frontier?
The young maiden in the bloom of her youth rested her head on her arm, chewing on a blade of grass as she closed her eyes in the warm sunlight.
If only she could return to the northern lands too.
Wei Mansion.
Xie Zheng entered the front courtyard and was led by the steward through a covered corridor, where he encountered a young man in crimson official robes. Though he appeared barely twenty, his bearing already carried the steadiness cultivated through officialdom's ups and downs.
His features were handsome, but at first glance, one could tell he was a man of particularly reserved nature.
Xie Zheng called out from afar: "Cousin, are you heading out?"
Wei Shubai gave him a slight nod: "With the floods in Jiangnan, His Majesty has entrusted this important matter to the Crown Prince. The Eastern Palace must quickly draft plans, so I'll have to postpone welcoming you until later."
He had passed the imperial examination at seventeen and now served as a Crown Prince's advisor.
Xie Zheng smiled: "State affairs take precedence. I won't be leaving the capital anytime soon now that I'm back - we'll have plenty of time to meet."
Wei Shubai acknowledged this and added: "Mother and your aunt are busy in the kitchen, Father is in his study. You may go straight there."
In the third month of spring, the courtyard plants flourished with vitality.
Xie Zheng sat in a round-backed chair near the wall, watching the middle-aged man handling documents with his brush. He said: "Over these five years, Father has been wearing down the Northern Turks. With only twenty percent more supplies than ordinary border troops, he's fought them this long until their national strength is depleted. Now if the court would just allocate sufficient funds and provisions, we could strike directly at the Northern Turks' heartland. For those old fossils at court to propose truce now would only allow the Northern Turks to recuperate and return stronger in a few years."
"I've come to the capital on Father's behalf to persuade His Majesty to continue the campaign and eliminate the Northern Turk threat once and for all."
The middle-aged man finally set down his brush after finishing the last document. When he looked up, his sharp phoenix eyes were identical to Xie Zheng's, though the corners now bore wrinkles carved by time: "Do you truly believe it's only those old fossils opposing the continuation of this war?"
Xie Zheng's expression tightened abruptly, his gaze turning sharply keen.Wei Yan set aside the approved document and looked at his nephew with a complicated expression. "I know your father has been fighting moderately these years to completely exhaust the Northern Jue, making them believe they can take this fat piece of meat and luring them to repeatedly invade, draining their national strength. But in His Majesty's eyes, it may not be seen that way."
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