The so-called "old rule" of the Ministry of Justice to "prevent zombies" didn't last beyond two sentences.
Facing Ying Xiaoman's surprised, wide-open bright eyes, Yan Rongshi couldn't help but turn his head and laugh softly.
The person who had almost believed it immediately realized.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't trick me anymore?" Ying Xiaoman angrily questioned.
Seeing that she was about to get upset if he teased her further, Yan Rongshi quickly apologized and spent half the day coaxing her in a gentle voice, then explained in a low tone: "All three are alive."
Ying Xiaoman let out a surprised "Ah," and the bit of anger in her heart dissipated.
The two had just entered the inn together, walking side by side up the stairs, and until now were squeezed together wrapped in a large cloak. Even during their brief argument, they were bundled together, quarreling and coaxing in hushed voices.
Room number 26 was right in front of them. Yan Rongshi pushed open the half-closed door, checked that nothing was amiss inside, and instructed, "Rest early. The suspects have all been arrested, so the Ying family no longer needs to stay in the Capital City. Let me know when you're ready on your end, and set out as soon as possible."
The impending separation made them cherish the warmth of the present moment even more.
Ying Xiaoman said softly, "We won't set out that quickly. We still need another day or two to prepare."
The two embraced for a long time at the door until Ying Xiaoman gave him a gentle push, urging, "Go to sleep."
The Ying family stayed at the inn for two more days.
The day they officially set out to return to their old home in Jingzhou was a clear, crisp autumn morning. The sun rose early from the eastern clouds, and the desolate chill brought by several days of autumn rain was seven-tenths dissolved by the long-absent sunlight.
"Child, check your room carefully. Don't leave anything behind!" her Adoptive Mother called out, holding Zhi and poking her head out from the carriage.
Ying Xiaoman carefully checked the tables, chairs, and bed, and locked each trunk and box in the room. Yan's senior attendant carried the trunks onto the carriage.
Sui Miao had risen early, making a quick round trip on horseback in the early morning to deliver a large stack of medicine packets from the Capital City to Ying Xiaoman.
"It's not easy to get medicine in the countryside. I've brought a hundred doses of tonic for Madam Ying. Don't let her stop taking it this autumn and winter. My master says that since it's little Miss Zhi's first time going to Jingzhou and she's so young, she might suffer from unfamiliar conditions on the road. So my master has arranged for a doctor familiar to the Yan family to accompany you. He hopes Miss Xiaoman won't mind."
A doctor carrying a medicine box walked out smiling behind Sui Miao and bowed in greeting.
Ying Xiaoman recognized him at a glance - wasn't he the skilled doctor who had come to diagnose and prescribe medicine for her Adoptive Mother?
With a doctor accompanying them, what was there to say? Her Adoptive Mother got out of the carriage with Zhi to express thanks. Another carriage carrying the doctor was added to the convoy about to set out for Jingzhou.
Amidst the clamor of voices and neighing horses outside the inn, Ying Xiaoman stood by the carriage door and turned to gaze far off in the direction of the Capital City.
The autumn wind blew the new cloak she was wearing.
The thick cloak for protection against the autumn and winter wind, urgently sent from the Capital City, was of the same style as the one Yan Rongshi himself wore, just different in size and color. His cloak was entirely black, while hers was entirely crimson.
The Ministry of Justice had just arrested an important criminal. The major case of weapons trafficking in the Ministry of War, which they had been investigating since last autumn and winter, had now reached a critical moment. Yan Rongshi couldn't get away from the Capital City to see her off.
In the brief moment she was lost in thought, the trunks on the supply wagons behind had already been loaded. Sui Miao came over to report, "We can set out at any time."
Ying Xiaoman's thoughts were brought back to the present, and she jumped onto the carriage. "Let's go then."
The wheels slowly began to roll southward.
Her Adoptive Mother, holding Zhi, lifted the carriage curtain to look back at the increasingly distant scenery of the Capital City.
"What did Seventh Young Master say when he came over last night?" her Adoptive Mother asked the dazed Ying Xiaoman. "When will the case he's working on finally be resolved? Will he be able to come back to our old home with us this year to see your father?"
Seventh Young Master couldn't get away during the day. These past two days, he had rushed over on horseback at night, stayed briefly, and returned after nightfall.
"Last night he said it would be resolved soon. He can return to our old home with us," Ying Xiaoman said with certainty. "We'll travel slowly and wait for him along the way."
Inside the brightly lit interrogation room of the Ministry of Justice.
The three chief interrogators above and the criminal below had been at an impasse for two full days and nights, a full twenty-four hours.
The criminal still refused to speak.
Even as a prisoner, Zheng Yi, who had once held the highest position among all officials and enjoyed a sterling reputation, still had many court officials lobbying for his acquittal. Many scholars who had received his aid in the past spoke out in his defense.
Under pressure from all sides, the Ministry of Justice only questioned him during the interrogation period, without resorting to torture.
Zheng Yi seemed to have turned into an oyster shell, or a stubborn rock. Several shifts of chief interrogators had come and gone, but the confession statement remained blank.
The Eleventh Young Master had nearly worn out his lips talking. Zheng Yi remained unmoved, his eyes closed in feigned sleep.
The Eleventh Young Master's years of respect and esteem for Prime Minister Zheng were all spent in these twenty-four hours of interrogation. He stood up with an ashen face and stormed out of the interrogation room.
His steps turned quickly, entering the stone chamber next to the interrogation room.
"Did you hear all that? How preposterous!" The Eleventh Young Master was both angry and exhausted, his steps unsteady as he walked towards the long black lacquered table, nearly stumbling.
Yan Rongshi stood up with an amused smile, offering the wooden chair in the stone chamber to the Eleventh Young Master.
"Zheng Yi has been an official for many years, with a will as firm as rock. He won't be easily worn down."
The Eleventh Young Master was so angry he felt dizzy. He closed his eyes to rest for a while, and when he finally felt slightly better, he slowly opened them—
Only to see an unfinished gift list placed in the center of the black lacquered table.
With a bright red cover.
This was an extremely detailed gift list. From large items like various pieces of furniture, a huanghuali wood bed frame, a dressing table, carved five-drawer chests, to room decorations like white porcelain plum vases, jade Buddha's hand citrons, famous paintings and calligraphy to hang in the main hall, down to daily use items like silver basins, water pitchers, and narcissus bowls, and clothes made of various fabrics—it filled more than half the paper with dense writing.
"..."
The Eleventh Young Master picked up the densely written gift list in disbelief, raising his head to glare at the composed Yan Rongshi.
"While I was suffering next door with him, I thought you were listening in. But you were here... busy writing a gift list?!"
"Zheng Yi won't confess easily. Writing while listening in doesn't hinder anything," Yan Rongshi calmly took the gift list from the Eleventh Young Master's hand and tucked it into his sleeve.
"I told you before, Xiaoman and I have already completed two of the betrothal ceremonies. When she returns to her old home in Jingzhou, I need to prepare for the engagement gifts on my side. How can I give engagement gifts without preparing the list in advance?"
The Eleventh Young Master was so angry his liver hurt. He stood up abruptly and pulled Yan Rongshi towards the door.
"The interrogation has reached a deadlock, the case can't be closed, stop thinking about other things! Seventh Young Master, don't act like you have nothing to do. If you don't want to miss the engagement, go next door and interrogate him yourself."
Yan Rongshi put the unfinished gift list back on the table, weighing it down with a paperweight, and unhurriedly followed the Eleventh Young Master out, still saying the same thing:
"Haste makes waste, patience brings success. Don't rush, let's wait a bit before questioning him again."
This wait lasted another two days.
Several shifts of chief interrogators had come and gone without results, the confession statement still blank. But after being worn down for a few days, Zheng Yi, this stubborn rock, was indeed less spirited than when he had first been imprisoned and interrogated.
So much so that as soon as he was sent back to his cell, he immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Half asleep and half awake, he heard the cell opposite opening, as if another prisoner was being locked up.
Such a small matter normally wouldn't have disturbed his exhausted sleep. But then a familiar young voice called out to him from the cell directly opposite, excited and indignant.
"Prime Minister Zheng!"
"Prime Minister Zheng, why did you harm me!"
Zheng Yi remembered. It was the young seventh-rank official from the Ministry of Works who had accepted his request to somehow obtain three copper keys for him. The young man seemed to be called "He Sheng".
He Sheng had unexpectedly been imprisoned, his bright future ruined. The man was already on the verge of collapse, but Zheng Yi couldn't be bothered to deal with him. He turned over and continued sleeping.
Of course, one isn't allowed to sleep soundly in prison. Zheng Yi was pushed awake less than two hours after falling asleep, and a newly recorded confession was placed before him.
He Sheng had confessed everything.
The confession was personally delivered by Yan Rongshi. He now stood outside the prison cell, still speaking in a gentle and calm tone as he questioned Zheng Yi inside.
"Three iron keys were found in the study of Prime Minister Zheng's residence. Coincidentally, they are identical to the three keys I keep in my office at the Ministry of Justice."
"He Sheng has confessed that these three iron keys were stolen and replicated from the Ministry of Justice at your request. You told him that there were traitors among the Ministry of Justice officials. He always believed he was working for the court and serving the country."
"Does Prime Minister Zheng have any defense to offer?"
Zheng Yi sat leaning against the wall, lifted his eyelids to examine He Sheng's confession for a few moments.
Then he closed his eyes again in feigned sleep. Still playing the oyster.
"Prime Minister Zheng has been in prison for five days, facing numerous incriminating testimonies, yet he remains silent. Prime Minister Zheng is very confident."
Yan Rongshi stood outside the prison cell, speaking at an unhurried pace, stating facts one by one.
No matter how much one pretends to be a stone, a person is still a person. He can hear.
"Let me guess Prime Minister Zheng's thoughts at this moment. In four words, it would be: confident without fear."
"Prime Minister Zheng holds a high position and has planned for many years. He has much to rely on."
"He has a clean reputation outside, with many admirers. The Ministry of Justice dares not torture Prime Minister Zheng. This is the first reason."
"The Emperor has trusted Prime Minister Zheng for many years, a trust that is deeply rooted and not easily destroyed. This is the second reason."
Zheng Yi still kept his eyes closed, a mocking smile appearing on his face.
"Prime Minister Zheng smiled," Yan Rongshi said leisurely. "The mockery is obvious. He must be mocking me for showing off before an expert. No matter, Prime Minister Zheng can laugh all he wants. I'll continue to show off, please enlighten me, Prime Minister."
He truly continued speaking.
"The key witness Sheng Fugui is dead. The whereabouts of the warehouse full of iron weapons mentioned in the assassin's confession, hidden somewhere in the Central Plains, and the token given to Zhuang Jiu to take away, have become two unsolved mysteries. The warehouse of weapons that the court has been searching for years remains without a trace."
"But Prime Minister Zheng already knows clearly that the iron key melted from the silver ingot is Zhuang Jiu's token. One of the three bronze keys is the key to open the iron weapons warehouse. If Prime Minister Zheng confesses this secret, it would be a great merit enough to offset death. Prime Minister Zheng is confident without fear... This is the third reason."
Before he finished speaking, Zheng Yi's eyes suddenly flew open!
His gaze, cold as a venomous snake, slowly swept over Yan Rongshi.
For the first time since his imprisonment, Zheng Yi opened his mouth.
"With Zhuang Jiu's daughter Ying Xiaoman by your side, it's not surprising that you know these things. Yan, you carry Zhuang Jiu's token with you day and night, but do you dare to say it? You don't dare. You don't dare to implicate the Ying family. You don't dare to put 'Zhuang Jiu is Ying Dashuo' in the official statement."
The coldness in his eyes faded. Zheng Yi smiled again.
"You know about the great merit of Zhuang Jiu's token, but you dare not speak of it. You've already replicated the key to open the warehouse, it's on your desk, but you dare not tell anyone. Alas, all tangled up for the sake of love."
"Since Young Lord Yan won't speak, I might as well present the warehouse key and claim this merit."
Zheng Yi chuckled: "I bet that even after this private conversation today, Young Lord Yan still won't dare to record it in the official statement."
Yan Rongshi also smiled and called the jailer: "Open the cell door."
Under Zheng Yi's gaze, Yan Rongshi walked into the prison cell, stopping in front of Zheng Yi. He placed a tray in front of Zheng Yi, on which lay a set of three heavy iron keys.
"These were found in Prime Minister Zheng's study."
He then took out another set of three iron keys from his sleeve, placing them in front of Zheng Yi as well.
"These are the three keys I keep at the Ministry of Justice office. Prime Minister Zheng found good people, they've made exact replicas."
Zheng Yi sneered without a word.
Under his gaze, Yan Rongshi surprisingly took out yet another iron key from his sleeve.
It was equally heavy in hand, weighing about ten taels.
He placed it on the tray in front of Zheng Yi as well. Then he changed his tone:
"—Unfortunately, it seems Prime Minister Zheng's people were too hasty when they snuck into the Ministry of Justice that night, and got the wrong key?"
"The craftsman took fifty taels of iron from the Ministry of Works. Did Prime Minister Zheng think they only made three keys? No, they made four."
"The three keys kept in the office are just for me to play with in my spare time. Only this single key, which I carry with me day and night... is the real key replicated from Zhuang Jiu's token that can open the warehouse."
"Prime Minister Zheng, please compare and see if they're completely different?"
Zheng Yi stared at the three sets of iron keys on the tray.
Similar weight, similar length. But the shape of the key teeth... the set of three keys and the separately placed fourth key were worlds apart!
After staring for a long time, Zheng Yi suddenly moved, about to lunge for the tray!
But Yan Rongshi was prepared and didn't let him grab it. He lifted the tray and walked out of the cell in a few steps.
He casually dropped a sentence: "Prime Minister Zheng's great merit that he was so confident about is gone." Then he strolled away leisurely.
Zheng Yi was stunned for a while before lying back down.
But this time he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep no matter what.
He only fell asleep after two or three hours. In his drowsy state, he heard the sound of unlocking from the opposite cell, as if another prisoner was being brought in.
The arresting officer repeatedly instructed the jailer: "This key suspect we're bringing in is old and injured. Be careful and watch him closely. This Sheng Fugui is extremely important, nothing can happen to him."
...Sheng Fugui?!
Zheng Yi jolted awake from his half-asleep state, suddenly turning to look across!
Through the iron bars, an old man with a body covered in blood and graying hair indeed walked unsteadily into the opposite cell.
After slowly sitting down, the old man's cloudy eyes with white cataracts turned to stare at this cell for a moment—
The old man patted the ground and burst into wild laughter.
"So it's you, Zheng Yi! You're in here too?! I won't be lonely on the road to the underworld with you as company. Hahaha!"
Zheng Yi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
He would recognize him even if he was burned to ashes, it was Sheng Fugui himself!
Sheng Fugui wasn't dead! How could he not be dead!
Sheng Fugui was seriously injured, but his spirit was vigorous. During those few days he was "laying dead" at the inn, he had slept enough while tied to a stretcher, and spent the whole night cursing.
It wasn't until the next morning during the interrogation that he was taken away.
In the finally quiet cell, Zheng Yi covered his buzzing ears, nearly driven to madness.
Since Sheng Fugui wasn't dead, of course he would confess! Sheng Fugui's identity as a spy had been exposed, breaking the dangerous balance maintained for years between the two sides. If they couldn't both survive, he would definitely drag Zheng Yi down with him!
That night, Yan Rongshi stood outside the iron bars again. His gaze as he looked over was subtle.
"Sheng Fugui has given testimony that is extremely unfavorable to Prime Minister Zheng."
"With disaster looming, does Prime Minister Zheng still want to continue not saying a word?"
"Does Prime Minister Zheng have any confession to offset his crimes? With both testimonies and physical evidence complete, if Prime Minister Zheng continues to remain silent, I'm afraid he'll remain silent all the way to the execution ground."
Zheng Yi stared wide-eyed at the blank confession paper in front of him.
Compared to previous times, Yan Rongshi's stay was much shorter this time. He instructed the clerk to put away the confession paper and turned to leave.
Zheng Yi closed his eyes for a moment.
"Wait! I have a confession."
Yan Rongshi led the clerk into the cell, laid out the white paper, and recorded.
Zheng Yi described himself as extremely pitiful. When he first entered officialdom, young and ignorant, he was enticed and coerced by wealthy and cunning merchants with large sums of money, step by step falling onto the wrong path. In his youth, he didn't know Sheng Fugui was a spy from the Northern country.
Later, he realized his mistakes, gave away his fortune, supported scholars, and diligently served the court for twenty years, working from dawn to dusk, only seeking forgiveness for his past crimes.
"The cunning Sheng Fugui must have firmly held the whereabouts of the weapons warehouse as a means to save his life, and would not easily reveal it. I am willing to offer the location of the weapons warehouse to the Emperor in exchange for a chance of forgiveness."
Yan Rongshi's expression changed slightly.
"What? You know where Sheng Fugui hid the warehouse of weapons?"
"I don't know the exact location. Sheng Fugui never told anyone. But I pretended to be friendly with him and obtained a major clue."
It turned out that years ago, Sheng Fugui had asked him to find skilled craftsmen to cast an iron door with five hundred catties of pure iron in one piece. He claimed it was for a "treasury at home".
He had seen the craftsman's drawings. The iron door didn't use an ordinary large lock, but had the lock embedded inside the iron door.
With this embedded design, thieves couldn't forcibly remove the lock, and it could only be opened by inserting the key into the keyhole left in the iron door.
At the time, Zheng Yi had joked with Sheng Fugui: "The five-hundred-catty iron door is solid and hard to break. What if you lose the key? You won't be able to open your million-tael treasury."
Sheng Fugui had also laughed and said: "If I have it, it's my fate. If I lose it, it's heaven's will." Zheng Yi remembered it to this day.
In the dim cell, Zheng Yi testified: "An iron door weighing five hundred catties is extremely large and eye-catching. It can't be transported far even by cart. It must be in the vicinity of the capital, most likely hidden in the mountains. You can search carefully in hidden places at the foot of mountains near nearby villages."
The clerk recorded faithfully, Zheng Yi signed, and lay down with relief.
Yan Rongshi slowly rolled up the confession, gave Zheng Yi a meaningful look, and turned to leave the cell.
Eleventh Young Master stood outside the cell.
He had heard everything clearly from beginning to end.
Yan Rongshi took the newly recorded confession and showed it to the Eleventh Young Master before tucking it into his sleeve.
As the two walked side by side out of the prison corridor, they began to chat casually.
"Eleventh Young Master, given your understanding of the Emperor, what do you think? If this confession is presented to His Majesty, revealing that a warehouse of fine iron weapons lost for over twenty years has been recovered, do you think the Emperor might be so pleased as to pardon Zheng Yi's crime?"
The Eleventh Young Master gave a cold sneer. "If it's sent up, Zheng Yi will certainly die."
"How so?"
"The Emperor is kind-hearted, favors scholars, and treats his officials generously. He has trusted Zheng Yi for many years. But the kinder a person is, the more they despise betrayal from those they've trusted."
"The two cases of stolen fine iron weapons, old and new, have worried the Emperor for years. Prime Minister Zheng, as the head of all officials, knew the whereabouts of the stolen weapons warehouse for over twenty years, yet didn't breathe a word of it. Such cunning is precisely what they say - great deception seems like honesty, great treachery seems like loyalty. Imagine how the Emperor will feel looking back on these twenty years."
Yan Rongshi replied, "I see. After the confession is submitted, with Zheng Yi and Sheng Fugui as the main culprits, we can find a way to recover that warehouse of weapons. Then we can close the weapons theft case that began investigation last autumn and winter."
The Eleventh Young Master agreed.
As they spoke, the two had already walked out of the dark prison. The autumn sunlight shone down from above.
Yan Rongshi paused to think, then asked, "If Sheng Fugui confesses willingly and reveals the location of that weapons warehouse, is there a chance he could avoid execution?"
This time, the Eleventh Young Master thought for a long while. "If Sheng Fugui confesses honestly and the weapons are successfully recovered... the Emperor might be so pleased that he could pardon the death sentence."
Yan Rongshi walked on, pondering deeply. He took out the newly recorded confession from his sleeve and handed it to the Eleventh Young Master.
"Please trouble yourself to enter the palace and present this to the Emperor."
The Eleventh Young Master was taken aback as he received it. "You're not going?"
Yan Rongshi said, "Busy."
The Eleventh Young Master stopped and glared at him. "Lord Yan of the Ministry of Justice, what are you so busy with? Too busy to even present the confession of a major criminal to the Emperor yourself?"
Under the Eleventh Young Master's glare, Yan Rongshi slowly pulled out a red-covered betrothal gifts list from his sleeve.
"Today is the 30th of August. Tomorrow will be September. The list of small betrothal gifts is still not complete."
The Eleventh Young Master was left speechless.
Wild geese flying south for autumn formed a V-shape as they spread their wings across the azure sky. The Han River meandered across the land.
Winter had arrived in Jingzhou.
The family of three from the Ying household donned new thick winter jackets and stepped out onto the first thin snow of early winter. The Adoptive Mother carried Zhi, while Ying Xiaoman carried a food box as they walked towards a nearby hilltop.
"Where's Seventh Young Master?" The Adoptive Mother kept looking back. "I hope he hasn't gotten lost in our little mountain village, coming all the way from the Capital City."
"Seventh Young Master is warming the wine," Ying Xiaoman said, unable to hold back a smile as she remembered.
"I told him I'd light the stove fire, he just needed to warm the wine. But he insisted that since Father is watching from heaven, for the first time visiting his grave to offer wine, he should do every step himself to show sincerity. Sincerity brings blessings. I spent the whole morning teaching him how to light the fire."
The Adoptive Mother quite agreed. "Sincerity brings blessings, that's true. Seventh Young Master is sincere towards your father."
Ying Xiaoman smiled, her eyes crinkling.
Her adoptive father had been stubborn in temperament. Regarding today's grave visit, Seventh Young Master probably felt a bit uncertain too. He might worry whether the old man would appear in her dreams tonight, insisting she continue seeking revenge against the Yan family...
"When we get to the grave, let's explain everything clearly to Father."
Zhi walked slowly, so by the time the family of three reached the middle of the small hill, footsteps caught up from behind.
Yan Rongshi came up beside Ying Xiaoman carrying a food box. He adjusted the earmuffs on both her ears.
"Your earmuffs aren't on properly, half your ears are red from the cold. Aren't you cold?"
Ying Xiaoman wasn't cold at all. She was warm from walking. She simply took off her snow-white fox fur earmuffs and put them on Yan Rongshi's ears instead.
"Only you Capital City people need these things. I spent over a decade of winters back home without earmuffs and did just fine. You wear them."
Yan Rongshi chuckled and raised his hand to take off the earmuffs.
"I'm not cold. Let's give them to little Zhi."
Zhi was already clapping with joy: "Fox! Fluffy white-eared fox!"
Ying Xiaoman laughed so hard her stomach hurt. Yan Rongshi had come out wearing a silver-gray fox fur cloak. With his tall figure and the fluffy ears, you had to admit, he did look a bit like a fox.
She put the earmuffs she had just taken off back on him. "Don't take them off, keep them on a while longer so I can look at the fox."
So Yan Rongshi kept the earmuffs on as he lifted Zhi onto his shoulders, flicking her forehead lightly with his finger.
While Zhi was crying out in protest, he put the earmuffs on her.
"Little Zhi fox," he said seriously.
The three adults and one four-year-old little fox reached the hilltop. Ying Xiaoman set down the food box in front of her adoptive father's grave and took out eight offerings. The Adoptive Mother busily arranged the incense burner and lit the incense sticks.
Zhi was called over by the Adoptive Mother. She touched the tombstone engraved with the characters "Ying Dashuo" and kowtowed before her adoptive grandfather's grave.
"Dashuo, come see our family's little one."
The Adoptive Mother stroked the tombstone, murmuring a prayer: "Our Ying family now has two daughters."
A thin mist of tears welled up in Ying Xiaoman's eyes, but she couldn't help smiling. She called Zhi over and hugged her tightly in front of her adoptive father's grave.
"There, your father has met our little one." The Adoptive Mother wiped the corner of her eye and smiled, beckoning Yan Rongshi to come closer.
The Adoptive Mother said to Zhi: "From now on, you can change how you address him. Little one, call him Seventh Brother."
Zhi obediently called out, "Seventh Brother".
Yan Rongshi smiled in acknowledgment and patted her little head. His gaze flicked to Ying Xiaoman beside Zhi.
Ying Xiaoman took his hand and led him to the grave. With a slightly nervous expression, she urged in a low voice: "Pour the wine."
Yan Rongshi took out a pot of warm wine and eight empty cups from the food box.
He filled the first cup with the fine wine brought from the Capital City and placed it before the adoptive father's grave.
"Uncle, Rongshi has come to offer you wine."
The Adoptive Mother had been waiting for this moment. As soon as Yan Rongshi began pouring the wine, she swiftly placed the iron token brought back from the Capital City as an offering on the grave.
"Old man, don't be angry, open your eyes and look carefully at this iron token. Among that bunch of old friends of yours in the Capital City, there were many deceivers and bad people. Only Old Sheng was your true friend, sincerely thinking of you."
Ying Xiaoman quickly sat before the grave and hurriedly explained to the tombstone.
"Father, we've already investigated clearly in the Capital City. The ones who harmed my birth parents were assassins sent by Yuqing Tower. Yuqing Tower was a nest of northern spies, it had nothing to do with the Yan family. Please don't blame Seventh Young Master."
The Adoptive Mother also sat by the grave to persuade: "Old man, you sent our girl to the Capital City for revenge because you wanted her to avenge her birth parents, right? Old man, you got the enemy wrong. The ones who harmed her parents were Yuqing Tower. That Manager Fang and those assassins were all executed in the Capital City this autumn."
"You told our girl to send fifty taels of silver to Yuqing Tower, which stirred up a hornet's nest and led to the investigation of the entire nest of spies in Yuqing Tower from top to bottom. Our girl has avenged her birth parents, hasn't she?"
"Old man, if you've heard clearly, come drink the wine. Seventh Young Master was afraid you'd be picky, so he brought eight famous wines from the Capital City. You're in for a treat, have a taste of each today."
In the winter wind whistling across the hilltop, the fragrance of wine wafted through the air.
Yan Rongshi poured each of the eight wines brought from the Capital City into empty cups, offering all eight cups before the grave.
In the curling smoke of the incense, Ying Xiaoman stroked the tombstone, relaying word for word the message Old Man Sheng had entrusted her to bring from the Capital City to her adoptive father.
[All these years, you were the only one I could trust. You did not betray my trust.]
"Seventh Young Master persuaded Old Man Sheng. A whole warehouse of fine iron weapons hidden near the Capital for over twenty years has been recovered and returned to the armory. Old Man Sheng was sentenced to exile."
"Father, rest in peace."
Ying Xiaoman knelt before the grave and said reluctantly: "We'll come see you again in a few days."
The Ying family would stay in their hometown to accompany her adoptive father through the entire winter.
The list of small betrothal gifts from the Yan family had been sent to their old home in Jingzhou ten days ago.
The clothes and shoes the Ying family gave in return to the Yan family were now worn on Yan Rongshi's body.
But government officials had limited leave time. Yan Rongshi had personally requested a two-month leave from the Emperor, leaving the Capital City by fast horse at the end of September. He spent mid-October in Jingzhou, and now at the beginning of November, it was time for him to return.
The weather had begun to frost. As the roads would ice over, startling horses could lead to accidents, and travel would become more difficult as the twelfth lunar month approached. Ying Xiaoman also urged him to return early.
Both sides agreed that the Ying family would stay in their hometown to spend the New Year with her adoptive father. After the Lantern Festival, the Ying family would set out to return to the city.
"Next spring, I'll bring my mother and Zhi back to the capital along this road."
Ying Xiaoman and Yan Rongshi each carried an empty box as they walked down the mountain path back to the village.
She raised her hand, pointing to a winding mountain road leading north.
"You can't see it in autumn and winter. But when spring comes, forsythias bloom on both sides of this road. It's a sea of bright yellow, absolutely beautiful."
The two stopped halfway up the mountain. Fingers intertwined, they stood side by side, gazing at the path ahead, imagining the forsythias blossoming all over the mountainside in spring.
After a moment of reverie, Yan Rongshi's eyes, a deep amber in the sunlight, turned to the young woman beside him.
"I told you to look at the forsythia road. Why are you looking at me?" Ying Xiaoman asked, puzzled.
"I'm imagining... next spring, you sitting in a carriage, passing through the bright yellow forsythias lining both sides of the road, heading north."
His calm voice masked an intense longing as Yan Rongshi gazed at her deeply: "I'll be waiting for you in the capital."
Ying Xiaoman closed her eyes, imagining for a moment.
With her eyes still closed, she said, "Seventh Brother. I can see the bright yellow forsythias on both sides too. I'm traveling through them, passing the corridor of forsythias, and reaching the capital."
"What about me? Do you see me?"
"Yes." Ying Xiaoman's joy was almost overflowing. "You're waiting for me at the end of the road—"
An affectionate kiss fell on her lips.
"I'm not at the end of the road," Yan Rongshi corrected, placing delicate kisses on the soft, fragrant corners of her mouth. "I'm by your side."
The empty boxes they were holding had long since been discarded somewhere.
Zhi's clear, childish voice sounded from nearby: "Auntie, Sister and Seventh Brother are hugging again! I want a hug too—mmph!"
Their passionate kiss paused for a moment. Yan Rongshi whispered, "We didn't hear anything, did we?"
Ying Xiaoman whispered back, "Wrap us in the cloak. We didn't hear anything."
On the windswept mountainside, the warm fox fur cloak unfurled, enveloping them tightly.
Ying Xiaoman stood on her tiptoes. On this familiar land that gave her comfort, in the warm embrace she knew so well, she hugged her beloved tightly, kissing him passionately, unwilling to part.
When spring comes next year, flowers will bloom along the path.
Then, they can slowly return home.
The End!