In early October, a major event occurred.
The heir apparent of the Pingnan Count's household in Fixed Capital, the young master Su Mingfeng, suddenly fell gravely ill and had to recuperate at home. The Pingnan Count, deeply concerned for his beloved son, stayed home with his wife to care for the young master, temporarily setting aside matters at the military horse farm. The Emperor bestowed gifts as a gesture of sympathy and appointed a new overseer to take charge of affairs.
The common folk of Fixed Capital lamented this turn of events. The young master Su was a brilliant and talented youth who had recently entered officialdom and already achieved great merit. Just as he seemed poised for a meteoric rise with boundless prospects, he was suddenly struck by this severe illness. Truly, heaven envies the gifted—if this dragged on for three to five years, by the time he recovered, there might no longer be a place for him in the court.
While the commoners saw it this way, his colleagues in the court were not so sure. Some astute individuals remarked, "This isn’t an illness—it’s clearly an evasion of disaster. It was thought the Su family was like oil fueling a raging fire, on the verge of being consumed by the flames. Who would have thought they could still read the situation and pull the firewood from under the cauldron?"
When these rumors reached Shen Miao’s ears, she was in the courtyard trimming the branches of a crabapple tree. These past few days at the Hall of Extensive Learning, everyone had a new topic of conversation due to the young master Su’s situation, so they paid little attention to her. She had been enjoying a rare few days of peace.
"Young Miss has taken a liking to flowers and plants these days," Gu Yu said with a smile. "This crabapple is growing splendidly."
The deep red petals of the crabapple stood out vividly against the bleak autumn backdrop. When she was the Empress, she had learned to manage the affairs of the inner palace, helped Fu Xiuyi win over powerful ministers, went to the Qin State as a hostage, and engaged in battles of wits with Mei Furen. Most of the time, she lived amid schemes and palace intrigues—how could she have had the leisure to trim flowers and relax as she did now?
"Do you know why this crabapple blooms so brilliantly?" she asked.
Though Gu Yu didn’t understand why her mistress asked such a question, she still smiled and replied, "The steward brought these seeds from outside. I heard they were quite precious. Even the Madam praised them, saying this variety of crabapple looks especially beautiful in autumn."
Shen Miao shook her head lightly.
That wasn’t the reason at all.
Just like in the palace, that gloomy and frigid place, even outside the cold palace, flowers bloomed in splendid profusion. But beneath those blossoms lay piles of bleached bones. The most dazzling things in this world often have the coldest origins.
The Su family had already grasped this truth. What would they do next?
She smiled faintly.
...
At the Pingnan Count’s residence.
The courtyard of the young master Su was tightly guarded. No one except his personal attendants and family members could enter. The heavy scent of medicine lingered in the air, and Master Su refused all visitors, shutting his doors to outsiders.
As a close friend of the young master Su, the Young Marquis Xie naturally came to visit the ailing heir.
The Xie family’s carriage stopped outside the Su residence, and servants struggled to unload boxes of medicinal herbs. The sheer volume, packed in crates, spoke volumes about the Young Marquis Xie’s concern for his friend.
Inside the study, Su Mingfeng wore plain blue robes. Though his frame had grown somewhat thinner, his expression was as spirited as ever—there was no trace of a grave illness.
Across from him, a young man in brocade robes frowned and raised his voice. "Evasion of disaster?""Indeed." Su Mingfeng looked at his friend and sighed. "Now you can see the Su family's momentum is getting better and better. The Su family has lasted for generations, and when it comes to Military Horses, we really shouldn't rise any further. Yet, instead of suppressing us, His Majesty has been elevating the Su family more and more."
"You've also made contributions," Xie Jingxing reminded him.
"Precisely because of these contributions, both my father and I became complacent, forgetting the hidden dangers behind them. If these merits grow any larger, they will become a disaster. You understand what I'm saying, but before, being in the midst of it, the Su family couldn't see the forest for the trees. Now that the truth is clear, we must rein in before it's too late—it's truly perilous."
"That's a wise move," Xie Jingxing nodded. "But now you'll have to stay idle at home for a few years."
"I only wish for the Su family to remain safe and sound," Su Mingfeng said. "Enough about me—what about you? The Su and Xie families prosper and decline together. The Su family has decided to rein in, but your Xie family..." He trailed off.
Xie Jingxing raised an eyebrow. "I'm not in the officialdom—what can he do to me? The Xie family only has the Marquis of Lin'an. He still has to consider public opinion."
Xie Jingxing was different from Su Mingfeng. Su Yu had sent his son into officialdom early for the sake of the family, but Xie Jingxing had not entered the bureaucracy, holding only a nominal position. The few times he accompanied Xie Ding on campaigns, it was under the title of a family member. Even if the imperial family wanted to suppress the Xie family, they wouldn't target a family whose heir wasn't even taking over.
"You're quite far-sighted," Su Mingfeng couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not to guard against him," Xie Jingxing said lazily.
Indeed, he wasn't wary of the imperial family—he was just opposing his father.
"However," he frowned suddenly and changed the subject, "how did you suddenly come to realize this? Before, no matter how many times I reminded you, you paid no heed."
Su Mingfeng lowered his head in shame. "Back then, I was caught up in the moment, basking in success—how could I have thought so far ahead? This time, I owe it to my second brother."
"Your second brother?" Xie Jingxing, who had been lounging lazily in his chair, straightened up, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. "That glutinous rice dumpling?"
That Su Minlang was a foolish little dumpling was no secret—how could he have alerted the Su family to such matters? Had he taken the wrong medicine?
Su Mingfeng recounted the whole story and concluded, "If not for my second brother's accidental intervention, we might have brought about a great disaster."
"Accidental intervention?" Xie Jingxing murmured to himself.
Just then, a childish voice piped up, "Big brother, Mother asked me to bring you some snacks."
Su Minlang toddled in on his short legs, carrying a plate of flower-shaped pastries. Round and plump like a tangyuan, his mouth was smeared with crumbs—clearly, he had been sneaking bites along the way.
These days, thanks to his unintentional warning, the Su family had changed their strategy. Even Master Su, who had always been most dissatisfied with him, now thought his son was "destined for greatness," "quick-witted," and "wise like a fool." Su Furen had been showering him with all kinds of delicious treats, and in just a few days, Su Minlang had grown noticeably rounder.
Seeing Xie Jingxing still there, his voice dropped a few notches. For some reason, he always felt a little afraid of his brother's handsome friend.Su Minlang placed the pastries on the table, tossed out a "Big brother, I'm leaving," and turned to run, only to be grabbed by the collar.
Looking back, he saw a youth dressed in luxurious brocade robes, who gently crouched down and patted his head. The boy's peach-blossom eyes were lively with laughter, yet his gaze was utterly cold.
He asked, "Who taught you to say that?"
Su Minlang's eyes widened.
"When the cunning hare is dead, the hound is boiled." Xie Jingxing smiled with a wicked charm.
...
OpenNovel