In that instant, Xie Ci was overwhelmed with both sorrow and joy. Even the pale winter sunlight seemed piercingly bright. After so long licking his wounds in grief, he finally felt that perhaps the pain was not as bitter as before.
Xun Rongbi’s wicker chair was carried to the side of Xun Xun’s corpse. Trembling, leaning on his cane, he forced himself to stand, striking the body madly with the cane: “You unfilial wretch! You dog who betrayed your father! You imprisoned your own father, ambushed your brother, schemed for power! You unfilial son, you unfilial son! I’ll beat you to death, I’ll beat you to death—”
Xie Ci was not the only one whose family had been destroyed. Xun Rongbi wept bitterly, collapsing heavily to the ground. Xie Ci rushed forward to support him.
Tears streamed down Xun Rongbi’s face as he gripped Xie Ci’s hand tightly. “Uncle is sorry… Uncle is so sorry to you!” Shaking and muttering, he sobbed aloud, clutching his chest in pain, his body bent.
Xie Ci’s eyes reddened instantly. Choking, his chest felt as if it would burst. He lifted his head, struggling to hold back, but tears spilled in great drops.
The winter wind whistled, dust rolled across the parade ground, and the clash of hooves and blades gradually dwindled, finally ceasing altogether.
Though grief weighed heavily, the aftermath still demanded resolution.
Xun Rongbi fainted once from the violent surge of emotion, revived only by pressure on his philtrum. Forcing himself, he ordered armor brought, donned it with difficulty, had his gray hair combed, and was carried in his wicker chair up to the flag platform.
The new recruits trembled in terror.
Xun Rongbi spoke, and Long Shouren shouted in his stead: “What are you afraid of?! Do you think yourselves like those mutinous rebels? As long as you obey discipline and train diligently, you are fine soldiers of Suzhou, safe and secure. Why should you fear?”
Gradually, the recruits calmed. The veterans, still gripping blood‑stained weapons, looked up toward the platform.
At last, Xun Rongbi pulled Xie Ci’s hand, forcing himself to stand. In a weak but resolute voice, he declared: “This is the son of my sworn friend, Li Tongzhen.”
He raised his voice: “In quelling this rebellion, Li Tongzhen has earned the foremost merit. I hereby appoint him Inspector Captain, effective immediately!”
“Those who have rendered merit shall each be rewarded according to the rolls.” Xun Rongbi forced out the words with effort, then collapsed in exhaustion.
Fortunately, Xie Ci was right beside him. With strong arms, he caught him, preventing him from falling and preserving his dignity as they descended from the platform.
Afterward, Xun Rongbi gave a few weak instructions, leaving everything else to Long Shouren. He sat in the soft palanquin and returned to the Governor’s Mansion that very morning.
The early‑winter wind was already bitterly cold. Inside the dim carriage, Xun Rongbi gripped Xie Ci’s hand tightly. Looking up at Xie Ci’s features, which bore some resemblance to his father’s, tears streamed down before he could even speak.
“Little Fourth, you look more and more like your father.”
In truth, the resemblance was not so strong. Xie Ci was far more strikingly handsome, while Xie Xinzhong’s square face was stern and rugged. It was Xie Ci’s elder brother whose looks most resembled their father.
But at this moment, the faint similarity in Xie Ci’s brows and eyes became their only shared solace.
Xun Rongbi’s thin, trembling hand touched Xie Ci’s cheek. He wept as though his soul were breaking. “It is my fault, my terrible mistake! Why was it not me who died instead?”
“That damned unfilial son! That damned unfilial son!!”
“I hate him — why did I ever give birth to him? I should have strangled him the day he was born—” He beat his chest and stomped his feet, crying with heart‑rending anguish.
After returning to the Governor’s Mansion, Xun Rongbi held onto Xie Ci’s hand and stood for a long time in Hongsong Courtyard. This courtyard was not only the place where Xun Xun had imprisoned him, but also where, years ago, when Xie Xinzhong served as Governor of Suzhou, the Xie family had stayed during visits — Xie Ci as a child, his parents and brothers all together.
The voices and faces of that family seemed as vivid as yesterday. Tea, fruit wine, two white candles… Xun Rongbi slowly placed paper offerings into the brazier. Behind the altar table, uncle and nephew wept bitterly together.
After forcing himself to complete the rites for the Xie father and sons, and crying his heart out, Xun Rongbi began treatment. His condition was terrifying, but fortunately Suzhou had no shortage of skilled physicians. Renowned doctors gathered, and after exhausting every effort, they managed to stabilize him.
The most skilled was the old master of Huichun Hall, a retired imperial physician. He withdrew the silver needles one by one, packed them away, and said: “If the Governor rests and nourishes himself properly, he can survive this time. But his lifespan… I fear no more than five years.”
Xun Rongbi asked how long he could live. The old physician, accustomed to speaking plainly to nobles, did not soften the truth.
Xun Rongbi was silent for a long while. “Five years is enough,” he murmured.
Summoning his strength, he asked Xie Ci: “Little Fourth, is your mother well? Where are they now?”
His voice was weak and frail. Winter sunlight filtered through the white window gauze, leaving half the room bright and half dim. His face was pale and sickly, his eyes clouded from long illness. It was natural — he worried about his sister after such upheaval. Even wanting to bring the Xie family close for protection was understandable.
But Gu Wan felt a sudden tightness in her chest. She quickly turned to look at Xie Ci.
The slanting sunlight cast mottled patterns across the three figures by the sickbed.
Xie Ci paused, then said: “Eldest Sister‑in‑law wanted to return to Tong’an, but Second Sister‑in‑law said Tong’an wasn’t suitable. Before I left, they were still wandering around the Sui region. I don’t know where they are now. They said they would send word once they settled.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Xun Rongbi didn’t show whether he believed it. He nodded, sighed softly, eyes full of sorrow, but quickly concealed it. Forcing himself, he said: “Then I’ll write a letter. You send it for me; see if they are still where they were before?”
Xie Ci nodded immediately: “Alright, Uncle.” He took the bowl and helped Xun Rongbi drink his medicine. After writing the letter and handing it to Xie Ci, Xun Rongbi soon fell into a deep sleep.
By then, lanterns were already lit. Xie Ci and Gu Wan returned to their room. They did not speak of separation; Xie Ci simply introduced Gu Wan as of the Gu family, married since last July. Naturally, the two were arranged to stay in the same room.
Back in the room, Gu Wan smiled, dismissed the servant who had brought food, and casually checked the doors, windows, and roof tiles as if by chance. Returning to the table, she saw Xie Ci bent over the letter.
Gu Wan took the envelope, broke the wax seal, and read it through. The words were heartfelt, with faint traces of tears. She slipped the paper back into the envelope and lied with a straight face: “Mother and the others must already have left that place. Let’s wait for Second Sister‑in‑law’s message before sending this.” She tucked the letter under the pillow.
Xie Ci nodded without hesitation. “Alright.” Family was his final boundary. No matter what, he could not allow these matters to touch them, not even a little.
The two washed their hands and ate.
Gu Wan lowered her voice: “We should hurry and look at the case files.”
The *Lantiao Treason Case* originated within Suzhou’s jurisdiction. The Governor’s Mansion kept a complete set of detailed records. This was what Xie Ci and Gu Wan had to study. At the time of the incident, Xie Ci had not yet joined the army and was far away in Zhongdu, so many details were unclear. Whatever they planned to do, they first had to understand the case thoroughly.
Xie Ci nodded at once: “I know.”
The two exchanged a glance, then bent their heads and quickly finished their meal.
After supper, Xie Ci went to keep vigil for Xun Rongbi. Gu Wan thought for a moment, then followed as well.
Unlike Xie Ci, she had no blood ties to Xun Rongbi, no surging emotions or familial bond. Yet she did not make her presence felt, simply watching coldly from the side. For her to feel at ease — that was impossible in the short term. Clearly, Xie Ci felt the same.
But perhaps they were overthinking.
The next day, Xun Rongbi was able to sit up slightly. Without waiting for them to speak, he himself ordered the case files to be brought.
The three of them read the dossiers over and over, line by line.
It was clearly Xun Rongbi’s first time seeing them. Every sentence, every word struck him with horror. Several times he clutched his chest, unable to breathe, cursing bitterly: “That damned beast!”
He gripped Xie Ci’s hand tightly: “Rest assured — even if I die, I must overturn this case first! I’ll see you settled before I go.”
Xun Rongbi pressed hard in interrogating Xun Xun’s followers, investigating with all his strength. Xie Ci took part personally. But Xun Xun’s men were stubbornly tight‑lipped, leaving few leads.
The three returned their attention to the dossiers, parsing each word, sending out several groups of men. Xun Rongbi explained to Xie Ci in detail the tangled relationships and factions of the Northwestern Army, and the entanglements at every node. He coughed, once even spitting blood, until Xie Ci forced him to rest in bed.
During this time, Xie Ci and Gu Wan moved freely between the Governor’s Mansion and the camp, passing through gates and city walls without obstruction.
Until the sixth day of the eleventh month.
Xun Rongbi’s illness gradually improved. After all, he had been strong all his life, not yet sixty, not so frail as to be undone by every gust of wind.
With careful nursing, his vitality began to return. He was even permitted to face the wind again.
The northern winter was bleak. One night of roaring west wind left heaven and earth desolate. Wrapped in a thick cloak, Xun Rongbi stood beneath the veranda, gazing up at the sky for a long time. At last he said to Xie Ci:
“Tomorrow, let us go to the western suburbs to pay respects at your elder cousin’s grave.”
Xun Xiao’s tomb lay in the western suburbs.
Tomorrow, the seventh day of the eleventh month, was Xun Xiao’s death anniversary. From the time the news of Xun Xun’s treachery had returned, through the funeral and burial, Xun Rongbi had not once been present.
When they returned at dusk, Gu Wan was sorting through the case files. Hearing this, her heart tightened at once. She knew the final test had come. She had privately warned Xie Ci never to be alone, never to go where few people were. Whether at the camp or in the Governor’s Mansion, he must always stay where crowds were.
Xun Rongbi had only just killed a son who tried to usurp power. He absolutely could not now kill, in front of the entire Suzhou army, the nephew he had publicly declared to be his sworn brother’s son and the chief merit in quelling the rebellion. Otherwise, the army would erupt in mutiny, and his authority would collapse instantly.
As a commander and governor, no one could afford to expose such a face before their soldiers.
At the Governor’s Mansion, they would remain in the front courtyard — closest to the outer wall, spacious, and easiest to retreat from if danger arose.
Xie Ci never let his dagger or sword leave his side. He always wore his fitted gear, naturally prepared for such moments. Even when leaving the mansion for the camp, they always walked along the busiest streets. But there are times when danger cannot be avoided. And now, that time had come.
Gu Wan dropped her pen at once.
The two whispered together half the night. By dawn, the sounds of guards and servants moving outside could already be heard.
Soon a servant came to report: the carriage was ready, and the Governor had risen.
At last Xie Ci said: “Yuan-niang, I want to go.”
“I must go too.”
When the servant left and closed the door, Xie Ci leaned close to Gu Wan’s ear and whispered softly.
During this period, Xie Ci had been in the most torment — reason and emotion seemed to split him in two.
On one hand, like Gu Wan, once bitten by a snake, he feared even a rope for ten years. Until safety was absolutely certain, the string in his heart remained taut, filled with deep suspicion and vigilance. After all, his father and brothers had been destroyed by the sudden betrayal of supposed confidants. Yet on the other hand, with Xun Rongbi’s daily care and concern, his tireless efforts for the Xie family despite his illness, even coughing blood once, Xie Ci’s emotions grew harder and harder to restrain. He knew that Xun Rongbi understood — Xie Ci was not ignorant of his family’s whereabouts. But Xun Rongbi never pressed, never asked, simply accepted it as truth. From then on, he never mentioned it again, never questioned Xie Ci’s movements, or made any arrangements for him.
Until yesterday, the sixth day of the eleventh month.
Xun Rongbi hesitated for a long time before finally saying the two of them should go together. With Xun Xun dead, there should have been no more suspicion. More importantly, Xun Rongbi had lost his sons. With Xie Ci in Suzhou, he could not refuse to attend his cousin’s death anniversary.
That was settled.
And more importantly — if, hypothetically, this visit to the western suburbs were a trap, and he avoided it, then what about the next time?
“We cannot go on like this forever.”
The Governor’s Mansion was not completely safe, nor was the camp. If open violence was impossible, poison could still be used in secret.
One can guard against the obvious, but not the hidden. Better to face it outside.
The dawn light was dim, the heated brick bed warm. Xie Ci threw back the bed curtain and leaped down. His collar was loose, revealing the mottled scars and burn marks on his neck, chest, and hands — new flesh layered over old wounds, leaving shocking traces. Just like that experience, he could never forget it for the rest of his life.
Gu Wan thought it over — Xie Ci’s reasoning made sense. She decided: “Then go.” She pulled Xie Ci over to a plain box tucked in the corner of the room. Inside were items she had taken from Suzhou’s camp armory and modified. She handed him an inner armor, fastening breastplates front and back, along with chain sleeves, throwing darts, and other gear.
After a moment’s thought, she said: “You go first. I’ll follow later, behind you.”
At the start of the *chen* hour, Xie Ci helped Xun Rongbi into the carriage, and they set out. But Gu Wan, left alone, grew more uneasy the more she thought.
Xun Xun was clearly dead. She had checked his wounds, pulse, and breathing herself. As a professional, she could be one hundred percent certain he was dead beyond doubt. And Xun Rongbi — the scars from shackles on his wrists could never be faked. His near‑death state at the time was no act.
In these days, his care for Xie Ci… Gu Wan asked herself: if she were the nephew, she too would have been deeply moved. Yet somehow, perhaps because everything had gone too smoothly, she could not feel at ease. Maybe it was her former profession — Gu Wan always grew suspicious in such matters. That day when Xun Rongbi asked about the Xie family’s whereabouts, though natural, had indeed struck her. Holding her pen, lost in thought, her mind drifted. Suddenly she remembered — in the original book, the protagonist Li Yi had a double!
Li Yi had chosen and trained a substitute from the very day he regained his princely title. They selected face shape and body build, eliminating candidates as he grew, until finally they found one who, without makeup, resembled him six parts out of ten, and with makeup could reach eight or nine parts. From a distance, the likeness was so striking it could almost pass for the real person.
Whenever Li Yi left the capital in secret, the double remained in the princely residence. From childhood, the double had imitated his mannerisms and speech, eaten the same food, lived in the finest courtyard, been addressed by servants as “Young Master,” and even used the same soaps and incense. In daily interactions, no one could tell the difference — not once had a flaw been exposed. Later, during a crisis, the double suffered a grievous injury in Li Yi’s place. Only then did he gradually fade from public view.
“Incense!”
Grievous injury? A substitute death?! Like a bolt of lightning, the thought split Gu Wan’s tangled mind. She started in shock, suddenly leaping to her feet. Her heartbeat pounded like a drum. Almost at once, she turned and ran into the inner room, hurriedly strapping on all the gear from the corner chest. Steadying herself, she left the Governor’s Mansion immediately.
First she went to the main street, pretending to buy some women’s supplies, all the while watching carefully. But she noticed no one tailing her.
Still, Gu Wan had another plan. She thought it over, then headed to Zhang County, where she had agreed with Second Sister‑in‑law to send letters.
The courier system of Great Wei was well‑developed. In every major city, many shops offered letter‑receiving services. Before leaving home, Xie Ci had agreed with his family to send word of his safety, and also to include messages through Second Sister‑in‑law’s hand.
Second Sister‑in‑law’s reply was also sent to this address.
But events unfolded too quickly. After entering the city, Xie Ci and Gu Wan, wary at heart, pretended nothing had happened and never went back to collect that letter.
After leaving the city, Gu Wan galloped all the way to Zhang County. Jumping off her horse, she rushed into a guest shop, tossed down a small ingot of silver, and slipped a letter into one of the compartments of the oil‑cloth pouch used for outgoing mail. She pressed down the brim of her hat and turned away.
After walking a short distance, she suddenly darted into an alley, then sprinted back to the shop. Looking inside — the letter she had just placed was already gone!
“Damn it!”
Gu Wan cursed aloud. She ran at full speed to the shop where she and Second Sister‑in‑law had truly agreed to send letters.
The clerk said: “That letter was taken. The county office started checking a few days ago, and several letters were seized — yours among them. It’s not our fault. Think carefully: have you committed some offense?…”
“Damn it all!”
Xie Ci and Gu Wan had been cautious, had taken every precaution. Their safe‑letter correspondence was placed outside Suzhou, in Zhang County, and they hadn’t even used their real names. It showed how deep the other side’s preparations ran! Damn it!
Gu Wan finally realized — unless something extraordinary had happened, the Xun Xun who died was a double!
Xie Ci had come all the way to Suzhou, his instincts razor‑sharp. The Xun family knew, and with deliberate preparation, in a brief moment they might well have deceived him.
Xun Xun only met Xie Ci once every two or three years during his time in Suzhou!
Gu Wan, frantic, vaulted onto her horse, lashing the reins hard. The steed neighed long and loud, then shot forward like a storm!