Beneath the vast azure sky, the city wall towering over nine zhang high split the clear blue expanse like a majestic mountain ridge. The rough, heavy wall still bore arrow holes and blade scars that could never be repaired. Crossbow platforms stood grim along the crenellations, and on the watchtowers, armored soldiers of the Dingbei Army remained motionless in the biting wind, cold and stern.
Yet beneath their iron helmets, their hawk-like gazes stealthily and earnestly drifted down toward the foot of the wall, eager to see how the Young Prince would put an end to this farce.
Baili Xunzhou raised his brows, catching the loitering men red-handed. His stern gaze swept over them, and the guards hastily withdrew their stares, eyes fixed on their noses and noses on their hearts.
“Pass my order: let no word of today’s affair reach the Prince or the Princess Consort.” Baili Xunzhou instructed the young gatekeeper, who acknowledged and departed.
“Once the vegetables are gathered, hand them to me.” Baili Xunzhou hooked his fingers in a beckoning gesture.
A Hao hurriedly lifted the large, fully loaded vegetable basket with both hands, straining as she hung it from Baili Xunzhou’s palm, and said obediently, “It’s all here.”
Baili Xunzhou hefted the basket in one hand and directed the crowd: “All of you, stand aside. When the County Princess’s procession enters the city, just shout your welcomes. I have my own plans regarding the annulment—don’t you meddle.”
With that, he turned and made his way toward Feng Mian’s carriage.
“Oh, the Young Prince is coming over.” Liu Ying quickly ducked back inside, leaving Feng Mian alone by the window.
Feng Mian rested her chin on her hand, watching Baili Xunzhou ride over. The pale gray sky and the blue-gray city wall stretched behind him like a painted scroll. The biting wind whipped his cloak into flight, and as he drew near, he reined his horse to an abrupt stop, smoothly pivoting the horse’s head to stand before the window.
Baili Xunzhou reached back and thrust the vegetable basket up to the window, nearly filling the entire frame.
His gaze drifted down, fixed on the basket, as he tried his best to sound natural: “These are welcome gifts from the people of the northern frontier, to welcome the County Princess to Yunzhong Commandery.”
Before Feng Mian could react, Liu Ying behind her said in disbelief, “So it really is a welcome custom? Throwing vegetable leaves?”
“These aren’t ordinary vegetable leaves—they’re fresh vegetables just in season. The northern frontier has little grain, and this full basket is the heartfelt offering of the northern people.” Baili Xunzhou explained immediately.
He truly wasn’t good at lying; by the time he finished speaking, the tips of his ears had turned bright red. Feng Mian knew at once that every word had been made up on the spot. This basket of vegetables, though a gift for her, was hardly a gesture of “welcome”—it was meant as a “send-off.”
Feng Mian wasn’t the least bit angry; she merely found it amusing. This method of driving someone away was far too gentle—they hadn’t even used a rotten egg. Even if the Young Prince hadn’t taken the hit for her, and she herself had been pelted with these fresh vegetables, she wouldn’t have suffered a scratch.
Could it be that everyone in the northern frontier was this simple and honest?
“Then please thank them on my behalf, Young Prince.” Feng Mian slid the window open, and Liu Ying and Wuliu together grabbed the large vegetable basket, settling it inside the carriage.
Seeing that the matter seemed resolved, Baili Xunzhou let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief, then felt a flicker of annoyance—here he was, spinning lies to please a woman.
He turned his horse to leave, thinking to himself that if not for fear of his parents’ collective punishment, he would surely…
“Young Prince, wait.”
Feng Mian’s voice came from behind. Baili Xunzhou turned his head to see her beckoning to him, and instinctively leaned down. “What else—”
The last syllable died in his throat. The young woman before him leaned slightly out of the carriage, her raised arm sweeping past his ear, carrying a faintly warm breeze, and a light, fresh citrus fragrance instantly filled his nostrils.
Baili Xunzhou’s spine went rigid. He stood frozen in place, each instant stretching as long as a full stick of incense.
The Luan Yi Guard blocked the County Princess’s carriage, and the common folk craning their necks below the city wall could only see Baili Xunzhou suddenly lean toward the carriage, with no idea what he was doing. They began chattering in speculation.
“Could the Young Prince be threatened by the County Princess, humbly apologizing?”
“No, no, no—it looks more like the Young Prince is cornered and threatening her!”
“What a tragedy. Why did we bother coming out? Poor Young Prince…”
Before the carriage, Feng Mian plucked a stalk of chives that had been caught in Baili Xunzhou’s high-bound ponytail, unnoticed by him, and said with a smile, “Since these were gifts from the people, how could the Young Prince keep one for himself?”
Her fair, tender palm held a flash of green before his eyes. Baili Xunzhou jerked back abruptly, turned without a word, and strode away.
Feng Mian watched his retreating figure in bewilderment. She’d only made a little joke—why was he angry again?
What a temper.
“Into the city.” At Baili Xunzhou’s command, the Swift Feather Camp and the Luan Yi Guard finally moved through the gates.
The common folk at the city gate huddled together like quails, not daring to speak loudly in Baili Xunzhou’s presence, so they exchanged furtive glances and whispered among themselves.
“Look at the Young Prince’s face—he’s truly furious.”
“Isn’t he? His face is red with anger! He must have been bullied by the County Princess!”
“The days ahead are long. Let’s just watch—sooner or later, she won’t be able to stay in Yunzhong Commandery.”
The townsfolk’s murmurs scattered with the wind. At the city gate, the crowd’s hushed cries of “Welcome, Princess Consort” were carried away by the breeze.
Feng Mian heard only the clatter of hooves and the rumble of wheels as the air filled with traces of smoke and cooking fire—they had entered the city.
She slid the carriage window open a crack and peered out. Everything she saw differed vastly from Shengjing: fewer carved beams and painted rafters, more bluestone, ironwood, and other cold-resistant materials. Every dwelling was designed to withstand wind and snow, their bold, rugged style inspiring awe.
A figure pressed close beside her. Wuliu whispered in her ear, “Princess Consort, it seems everyone out there is sneaking glances at you.”
Feng Mian looked toward the crowd nearby and happened to catch a child’s gaze that hadn’t been withdrawn in time. The child wore a tiger-head cap and held a candied hawthorn stick, pretending to eat it while actually peeking sideways into the carriage.
Caught in the act, the child froze for a moment, then shrieked and ran off.
Liu Ying looked utterly bewildered. “What’s he running from, as if he’d seen a ghost… Ah!”
Liu Ying had been craning her neck to follow the child’s retreating figure through the gap, but when she turned her gaze, she met Feng Mian’s face twisted into a fierce grimace. Startled, she stumbled back into her seat, patted her chest, and huffed, “Princess Consort! You scared me to death!”
No wonder that child had run so fast—if it were her, she’d run too.
Feng Mian covered her mouth with a stifled laugh.
Wuliu pushed the window shut and gave her a look caught between amusement and exasperation. “At this rate, the people of the northern frontier will be spreading word that the Princess Consort is a fierce, fang-baring shrew.”
“Let them talk. The northern folk never welcomed me anyway—it can’t get any worse.”
Feng Mian said this with utter indifference, her gaze wandering over the long street. Along the even road, vendors hawked many curious things she had never seen before, with plenty of foreign flavors mixed in. From the houses and shops to the face of every passerby, a vigorous, untamed vitality was plain to see.
Yunzhong Commandery was the city least plagued by Rongyi raids in all the northern frontier, and it was more peaceful and harmonious than the other places Feng Mian had passed through along the way.
A rider slowed, drawing gradually closer to the carriage, and rapped twice politely on the window. Lu Mingzhu said in a low voice, “Princess Consort, Prince Dingbei’s residence is just ahead.”
“So soon? We haven’t even left the bustling district yet.” In Shengjing, noble estates often occupied an entire street, and commoners were forbidden from doing business before their gates.
“Prince Dingbei never competes with the people for profit and prefers to stay close to them. I hear he chose this location for his residence so that in times of crisis, he could shield the people before himself.”
Prince Dingbei truly loved his subjects like his own children.
Feng Mian sat up straight and had Liu Ying and Wuliu help tidy her appearance. Before setting out again this morning, she had changed into a goose-yellow ru skirt embroidered with a hundred butterflies among flowers, draped with a brocade cloak trimmed in rabbit fur—a fresh, springlike air about her that swept away the weariness of days on the road.
The black-iron, copper-clad gates of Prince Dingbei’s residence stood wide open. Beneath the high-hanging nanmu plaque, the stalwart Prince Dingbei and his elegant, dignified Princess Consort stood side by side.
Feng Mian descended from the carriage and was about to offer formal greetings when the Princess Consort stepped forward directly, took her hands, and looked her over with a warm smile. “The Princess Consort must be tired from the long journey. No need for such formalities—come inside and rest.”
“Thank you, Princess Consort.” Feng Mian gave a demure smile and entered the residence hand in hand with the Princess Consort, her gaze quietly taking in the estate.
Baili Xunzhou had just started to follow when Prince Dingbei turned and fell into step beside him, letting out a cold snort through his nose. “Who was it that said he didn’t want to come? And yet here you are, dutifully escorting her all the way back.”
“A chance encounter—pure chance!” Baili Xunzhou fumed, refusing to acknowledge him, not sparing him even a glance as he strode past Prince Dingbei and charged into the courtyard.
Prince Dingbei clicked his tongue. “Still stubborn, eh? Look at you, all in a rush—think your old man was never young?”
Shan Yi covered his ears and chased after Baili Xunzhou. Not listening, not listening—His Highness was preaching again.
Feng Mian had expected the residence to match the rugged style of the northern frontier, but to her surprise, what met her eyes inside the courtyard was the gentle, graceful Jiangnan aesthetic of small bridges and flowing water.
Whitewashed walls, dark-tiled roofs, winding streams, and upturned eaves. Building such an exquisite estate in the northern frontier must have taken no small effort.
She recalled that the Princess Consort seemed to be from Jiangnan, having settled in the north after marrying Prince Dingbei in her early years. Now, seeing the entire residence decorated to the Princess Consort’s tastes, it was clear the couple shared a deep bond of affection. There was only one true authority in this household.
With this thought, Feng Mian’s smile grew even more demure. Adopting the sweet, ingratiating manner she used before Emperor Jiayu, she gently took the Princess Consort’s arm and said affectionately, “I grew up in Shengjing and never traveled far, nor met many outsiders. I was anxious the whole way here, wondering what the northern frontier would be like—and whether His Highness and Your Highness would take a liking to me. Now that I see the Princess Consort is such a beautiful and gentle person, my heart is immediately put at ease.”
“Ah, a girl’s words are so much more endearing. That wild monkey of mine is nothing but trouble. I do hope he hasn’t caused any offense to the Princess Consort along the way?”
“The Young Prince is doing very well. Had I not encountered him by chance at Wolf Bone Ridge, this journey would not have been so smooth. However…” Feng Mian furrowed her brows slightly, appearing as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
The Princess Consort gently patted her hand. “I too married far from home in my day, knowing no one and feeling utterly lost. I understand your feelings completely, Princess. Whatever is on your mind, you may speak freely with me.”
Feng Mian wore a troubled expression. “The Young Prince does not seem to like me very much. I fear the marriage may not come to pass, and if I were to return to Shengjing like this…”
What had that rascal said in front of the young lady this time? The Princess Consort’s gaze swept lightly over Baili Xunzhou, who was trailing at a distance behind them. When Baili Xunzhou looked up with a start, the Princess Consort had already turned her attention back to comfort Feng Mian.
“Matters of marriage are decided by one’s parents and arranged through a matchmaker. Moreover, your union was bestowed by His Majesty himself—how could he have any objection?” The Princess Consort said this, yet felt a pang of reluctance in her heart. Her own marriage to Prince Dingbei had been one he personally sought after, born of mutual affection and harmony. But now these two young people had been forcibly bound together by an imperial decree, and whether their days ahead would be sweet or bitter was anyone’s guess.
In marriage, it was always the woman who suffered.
These words, of course, could not be spoken aloud. The young princess’s current worry was whether the marriage would come to pass, and all the Princess Consort could do was ease her mind for now. As for what lay ahead—they would see in time.
“The household is already preparing for your wedding ceremony. It will surely proceed as scheduled. Rest assured, Princess.”
As she spoke, the Princess Consort led Feng Mian onto the covered walkway. “A princess’s residence truly cannot be built within a single month. However, since receiving the imperial decree, we have been preparing a courtyard for you. I promise you will be comfortable. It’s just ahead.”
As they turned past the corner of the blue-brick corridor, the view suddenly opened up. A full courtyard of clear light enveloped a moon-gate, above which hung a plaque of black lacquer with gold flecks, bearing three characters carved like knife strokes—sharp and piercing: “Snow Moon Residence.” Within the courtyard, mottled bamboo leaned against the walls, their stalks rising tall and verdant above the wall tops, a delight to behold.
Feng Mian smiled the moment she saw it. “What a coincidence! The Shuyue Hall where I reside in the palace also has mottled bamboo planted there. I thought I wouldn’t see them again once I came to the northern frontier.”
“I thought you might like them. These bamboo plants were kept in pots in the cellar throughout the winter, and only transplanted out a few days ago. I’ve had people tending to them daily with great care.”
“Let’s go inside and have a look.”
The Princess Consort was about to lead Feng Mian into the courtyard when two people suddenly appeared from the opposite direction on the walkway ahead. The Princess Consort started in surprise upon seeing them. “Jixue?”
The young woman, who had been walking with her head properly lowered the entire way, only looked up when she heard her name called. Her face was as radiant as a spring moon. Seeing the Princess Consort, she pressed her lips into a gentle smile and curtsied with soft grace. “This humble woman greets the Princess Consort.”
Author’s Note:
Jixue: I’m not here to tear this family apart—I’m here to join it [scattering flowers]