It is often said that the parasol trees can attract the phoenix to perch, but in reality, they love sunlight and cannot endure the cold and shade. Their sprouts are particularly frail. It is hard to imagine parasol trees surviving in a place like Beiliang. However, since these trees were planted in the private courtyard of the former Crown Prince’s residence at Qingliang Mountain, they were born into fortune. Not only did they survive, but they also grew lush and vibrant.
Yet while the parasol trees in the Parasol Courtyard thrived, the courtyard itself was shrouded in a gloomy and sorrowful atmosphere. Perhaps it was because Qingming was approaching, and the souls beneath the earth longed for the living above. Thus, someone quietly passed away in the Parasol Courtyard. It was a female scholar named Huang Gua, a second-tier maid whose name had long been forgotten. When the Crown Prince returned after his first journey across the martial world, the eldest son of the old King of Liang, who had a fondness for eating cucumbers, gave her this vulgar nickname. At the time, she had protested, but eventually, she resigned herself to it after getting used to the name. Huang Gua’s death came abruptly and inexplicably, occurring precisely when the new King of Liang was absent from Qingliang Mountain, catching many off guard. The scholars and servants outside the Parasol Courtyard dared not speak a word, and even those within remained silent. Xu Weiyan, who oversaw all military affairs in the courtyard, said nothing and arranged for a simple, hasty funeral.
Xu Fengnian returned to the mansion from the refugee lands with a modest entourage, but he still did not visit the Parasol Courtyard, a place he had visited less and less frequently. Xu Weiyan, seated in her wheelchair, found him in a pavilion on the Listening-to-the-Tide Lake and handed him a suicide note written by Huang Gua before her death. Xu Fengnian took it without glancing at it, then tossed it into the lake. The thin, sandalwood-colored letter floated on the water’s surface, soaked, and slowly sank beneath the waves without even stirring a ripple. Just like the letter and the woman herself, it was all so light and fleeting, as if they had never existed at all.
Xu Weiyan calmly told Xu Fengnian that after writing the letter, Huang Gua had used a pair of chopsticks to pierce her own neck and died leaning over her desk—a strangely peculiar death. The next morning, another second-tier maid named Bai Jiu, who had come to summon her for red-ink duties, discovered her. Xu Weiyan also said that in the letter, Huang Gua confessed to being a Zhao Gou spy planted by the imperial court in Beiliang since childhood. She had betrayed them twice: once when the Crown Prince ventured alone into the refugee lands, and once before when she leaked the Northern Liang’s route.
At the end of the letter, she wrote that she hoped the Prince would return alive to read her final words and that in her next life, she wished to serve him again, vowing not to live in such a half-human, half-phantom state.
Xu Fengnian’s expression remained calm, unreadable in his sorrow or joy. Xu Weiyan spoke calmly, “With the Beiliang hawks splitting apart, the intelligence networks of the Parasol Courtyard and Chu Lushan were divided into internal and external branches. At the time, I already knew that you had realized there was a mole in the Parasol Courtyard. I hoped they would know when to stop, to show mercy and give them a chance to survive. But you should know one thing: once they chose this path, there was no turning back. It has nothing to do with whether they valued their lives or not. A woman’s fate is fragile, especially that of a female spy. At least she could decide when and how to die without suffering beforehand. In the previous Spring and Autumn Wars, the female spies unearthed from behind enemy lines rarely had such fortune.”
Xu Fengnian sighed, rubbing his face hard, his words muffled between his fingers, slightly indistinct. “There’s another spy connected to Northern Liang, hidden even deeper. Who is it? Without her betrayal, not even the Jie Ling of Juizi Province, Murong Baoding, would have been moved to come, let alone Hong Jingyan rushing to Qingcang City to intercept me. The two of them struck at the perfect moment, clearly the result of precise calculations by Northern Liang’s strategists. She must have a much thicker skin than poor Huang Gua.”
Xu Weiyan countered, “Do you really not know, or are you pretending to be ignorant? How many in the Parasol Courtyard have such patience and cunning?”
Xu Fengnian lowered his hands, his sleeves drawn together, turning to gaze at the lake. “I’ll go see her then. Sister, prepare two cups of wine for me.”
Xu Weiyan hesitated but finally said nothing.
The second-tier maids of the Parasol Courtyard each had their own private quarters, each with its own charm. Among them, the room of Lu Yi, the young Go master of the mansion, was the most cluttered with curiosities. Her room was filled with all sorts of strange and unusual items, though it held few books. She was skilled in Go but had neither a Go board nor a single stone. When she played, she always faced the Crown Prince directly in the main courtyard, often defeating Xu Fengnian so thoroughly that he would flee in disarray, never showing him any mercy. Even against the second princess, who was renowned for her divine intuition and for devising the nineteen-line Go board, she could occasionally match wits when their minds were aligned. Her intelligence was extraordinary, but perhaps because wisdom brings sorrow, Lu Yi was also the most frail among the Parasol Courtyard maids. Fortunately, Xu Fengnian was a spendthrift when it came to those around him. Even the rare medicinal pills sent by Song Zhiming, the venerable Taoist master of Wudang Mountain, were regularly given to Lu Yi to nourish her health.
Today was not Lu Yi’s turn for red-ink duties, and her door was left ajar. She sat alone by the window, gazing at the green parasol trees outside, a faint smile on her lips. When she heard the knock, she turned to see the Crown Prince holding a cup of wine in one hand, smiling warmly. The women of the Parasol Courtyard still liked to regard this gentle and handsome young man as their Crown Prince.
Xu Fengnian walked to the window, placed the two cups of wine down, and followed her previous gaze to look out the green Gauze window. Lu Yi, indifferent to rank and propriety—since the Parasol Courtyard never placed much emphasis on such things—lightly sat back in her chair, her elbow resting on the armrest, her body leaning forward as she looked up at him. For years, she had always been like this. That man was always watching Beiliang, looking at the martial world and the Rivers and mountains. She could only watch him, his profile or his back. At most, during their games of Go or their wine-drinking, she could feast her eyes on his face.
Lu Yi smiled softly and asked, “Huang Gua was a fool, wasn’t she, Your Highness?”
Xu Fengnian did not look away, nodding. “Among the girls in this courtyard, she was always the dumbest. Her handwriting was the ugliest, her Go skills the worst, and her guzheng playing lacked any spirit. Every time, you all encouraged her to provoke Fish Youwei, Pei Nanwei, and Lu Chengyan, making enemies on all sides. She carried the blame, thinking herself righteous and noble, a true female knight. I wanted to scold her every time but never knew where to begin. If I criticized her indirectly, she would take it as praise. If I spoke plainly, she might burst into tears. The dumbest one became a spy and, in the end, was truly too dumb to live. I don’t blame her because she was just a silly girl, and besides, her parents were still alive in the Yangzhou region of Liyang, and she had no choice. But you, the cleverest one in the courtyard, as my sister said, you have no family in Northern Liang. Why would you willingly serve the barbarians and risk your life for them? For fun? If you had defected earlier and lived peacefully as Lu Yi of Beiliang, who could have come to the Parasol Courtyard to kill you? Zhong Liang? Murong Baoding? Or Hong Jingyan? The latter two are among the top ten martial experts in the world. You summoned them both to Qingcang City, yet they still couldn’t kill me. I really can’t understand it.”
Lu Yi said calmly, “Your Highness, why don’t we drink and chat? Which cup is yours, and which one is mine? Consider it a farewell for me. I’m bolder and more scheming than Huang Gua. In my heart, I also wish for Your Highness to return home safely. But I also hope to speak to you one last time. Huang Gua wouldn’t dare. She was not only foolish but also a coward.”
Xu Fengnian chuckled coldly, “She’s truly a ghost now. Dying just before Qingming—it’s fitting.”
Lu Yi shook his sleeve gently, looking at him with a dazed expression. This beautiful and intelligent woman murmured, “We’re all women. Why am I a maid? Why must I call myself your servant when I see you? Why can I only watch you from afar for my whole life? I’m not stupid. I can kill, and I can destroy people with my words. I also have a name. I want to marry, to have a husband and raise children. I have so many dreams, but the biggest one, do you know what it is, Your Highness? I remember when you returned from the capital and we drank together. You said many drunken words, many idle words about dreams. You said the dream of a stray dog is to have a home. The dream of a pawn crossing the river is to be able to look back. The dream of a swordsman is to enter the martial world with a sword and leave it with one too. You also said you didn’t want anyone to die because of you, didn’t want to see the people around you die one by one, needing you to visit their graves during Qingming. So my dream was to have you look at me just once, truly look at me, like you are now. Only when I die will you remember me. For as long as you live, you’ll hate me.”
Xu Fengnian shook his sleeve free, not letting her hold on.
Lu Yi exhaled softly, smiling sweetly. “I’ve said everything. I can die now. Your Highness may leave. Don’t dirty your eyes. I don’t want you to feel guilty on my account in your final moments.”
Xu Fengnian turned and left the room without another word.
Not long after Xu Fengnian left the room, a faint creaking sound of a wheelchair was heard outside. Lu Yi did not turn to look at the woman who was colder and smarter than herself. She bent down, reached out, and picked up a cup of wine. “Is this the Lu Yi wine prepared by the Second Princess?”
Lu Yi did not look at the woman in the wheelchair, nor did the woman in the wheelchair look at Lu Yi. Her expression remained indifferent.
Lu Yi let out a soft laugh. “Then there’s no difference.”
Lu Yi was indeed clever. If the two cups of Lu Yi wine had been prepared by the Crown Prince himself, one would be poisoned, while the other would be ordinary Lu Yi wine, a sign of mercy. Whether Lu Yi lived or died would depend on fate. But if the two cups had been sent by the Second Princess, Xu Weiyan, they would surely be two cups of poisoned wine, delivered behind the Crown Prince’s back. Therefore, whichever cup she drank from would lead to the same end.
Lu Yi casually picked up a cup of Lu Yi wine and drank it in one gulp. Before she could even taste it, she picked up the second cup and drank it down in one go as well. If she was going to die, drinking an extra cup was always a gain. In the many games of Go she had played against the Second Princess, the few times she had won were precisely because of such small advantages she had accumulated.
Lu Yi sat back in her chair and quietly waited for death.
After a long while, Lu Yi furrowed her brows, only to hear Xu Weiyan’s cold voice: “I did prepare two cups of poisoned wine for you, and I guessed he would replace them with two other cups. He wants you to drink one cup of wine, thinking you’ve narrowly escaped death, then leave Beiliang and hide in some peaceful, scenic place, living on with a clear conscience. But I won’t let you leave this courtyard so comfortably. I’m here to force you to drink both cups of wine, so you, this ungrateful white-eyed wolf, will clearly know who owes whom! He doesn’t want you to die, but he also wants you to live comfortably. I don’t have such a kind heart. Other than dying of old age, you won’t be allowed to die. I’ll have several elite You Sun birds follow you for the rest of your life…”
A voice interrupted the two women’s confrontation. “Enough, sister.”
Xu Fengnian returned, pushing the wheelchair away.
Xu Fengnian took her to Qingliang Mountain, where they looked down upon Liangzhou City. He spoke softly, “My last bit of patience has worn out, so sister, don’t worry. I won’t be so merciful in the future. Mother once said that no one is born to suffer. Even if a man cannot treat women kindly, he should not harm them recklessly. He must truly see them as people. Now the Parasol Courtyard is quiet, and I have no more worries behind me. This time, consider it my final decision, my last act of defiance toward you, sister. What do you think?”
Xu Weiyan hummed in agreement.
Xu Fengnian was surprised and smiled. “Sister, why are you being so reasonable? I’m not used to it.”
Xu Weiyan turned her head and gave him a hard bump, saying flatly, “I allowed you this one act of recklessness because I noticed that since you became the King of Beiliang, your visits to the Ji Zao Bureau in the back mountains have exceeded my expectations.”
The Ji Zao Bureau of Beiliang was built at the foot of the back mountains of Qingliang Mountain.
It was precisely this unremarkable institution that manufactured the finest swords, spears, bows, and armor for the Beiliang cavalry.
Each sword, spear, bow, and piece of armor was just a little better than others. But when added to the thirty thousand cavalrymen, the accumulated hidden advantage was immense and astonishing.
Apart from the military expenses, the biggest drain on Beiliang’s finances was the large-scale production of weapons and armor by the Ji Zao Bureau.
The second King of Beiliang, who guarded the empire’s northwestern border, valued this bureau even more than his predecessor, to an almost obsessive degree.
Xu Fengnian’s eyes were resolute as he made a bow and arrow throwing gesture with his hand, his voice deep and firm. “I want to tell Northern Liang and Liyang the same old truth that Xu Xiao established: the greatest truth in the world lies within the range of Beiliang’s crossbows!”
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