When the soldier came in to report, Yan Zheng was curled up on the kang sorting medicinal herbs and didn’t immediately respond.
“Siya Huchun, Siya Huchun, oh, that’s…,” she muttered.
Seeing she didn’t react, the soldier thought the two girls outside might have lied, “Then I’ll ask them to leave.”
“No, no, no! I know them, I know them!”
As soon as she spoke, Yan Zheng sprang from the kang, hurriedly reaching for her shoes and rushing out in a fluster.
They really arrived safely!
As soon as she opened the door, all three girls were stunned.
It had been over a year since they last met. Much had happened to both sides. Their appearances and the expressions in their eyes had changed greatly, so much so that they hesitated to recognize each other.
After a brief silence, the three embraced tightly, overwhelmed with joy and tears.
After calming down slightly, Yan Zheng pulled Siya and Huchun into the house, where the three simultaneously asked, “How have you been?”
They were momentarily startled, then all laughed.
Without knowing each other’s recent circumstances for such a long time, they inevitably felt somewhat awkward. After laughing, there was a prolonged silence.
“Should I call you Elder Sister Yan from now on?” Huchun asked softly.
Yan Zheng replied, “It wasn’t my intention to hide things from you…”
“We understand,” Siya said. “It’s admirable you could hold on for so long.”
She couldn’t even imagine how she would have coped if she had been in such a situation.
With Huchun’s words breaking the ice, the atmosphere relaxed. Yan Zheng then asked about their experiences.
Siya and Huchun took turns recounting their journey.
Indeed, the journey from Kaifeng to Liangzhou had been extremely difficult, especially since autumn had already arrived when they set out, and the northwest grew colder more quickly.
Moreover, without travel permits to enter the city, they could only rest outside city walls, where dangers from people often proved worse than those from wild animals.
Fortunately, the two girls had grown up in a brothel and had seen more of human treachery than most, making them highly suspicious of everything during their journey. They fled at the slightest disturbance, which ironically helped them avoid many traps.
“Later we got lost and thought we’d never make it. Fortunately, heaven took pity on us. We met some kind people who happened to be leading a merchant caravan heading to Liangzhou to trade horses, so they brought us along.”
Even now, Siya still felt lingering fear when recalling those days.
One cannot truly understand the hardships of traveling unless one has experienced them firsthand. A single misstep could lead to irreversible consequences.
Making it to Liangzhou safely was truly a blessing from heaven.
Holding their hands, Yan Zheng said, “After hardship comes happiness, and after surviving adversity, good fortune follows. From now on, everything will be better!”
Siya and Huchun both nodded firmly, “Everything will be better!”
The life they now lived in Liangzhou was beyond what they had ever dared to imagine. No matter how much hardship they endured, it was worth it.
“What about you?” Siya asked Yan Zheng. “A few days ago, we heard a storyteller recounting your tale, but it was all mixed up with countless inaccuracies…”
Huchun then asked, “Elder Sister Yan, they say you and your family, along with the young marquis, are celestial beings undergoing trials on earth. Will you really return to heaven someday?”
Yan Zheng: “…”
What had things come to outside?
Although exiled, the two officers escorting her had treated her very kindly, and she hadn’t suffered any hardships along the way. Her big black horse had accompanied her all the way with clattering hooves.
Compared to humans, animals were better at finding food and water sources.
At one point, the road was particularly desolate, and their water ran out. It was the big black horse that helped find a stream.
From then on, the horse’s status skyrocketed.
Later, upon arriving in Liangzhou, the local officials were even more considerate—they didn’t confine her at all.
Since Yan Zheng was skilled in medicine, the local authorities in Liangzhou had directly arranged a small courtyard for her to live in and practice medicine. They even assigned two soldiers to her, nominally as guards but essentially as attendants and messengers.
Afterward, as word spread, countless townspeople brought her gifts and supplies.
Therefore, although Yan Zheng arrived in Liangzhou with almost nothing and had no means of earning money, she never lacked food or drink.
Seeing that she was indeed living well, Siya and Huchun felt reassured.
“Then, are you not going back to Kaifeng? What about the young marquis?” Siya asked about another matter.
At the time, she had sensed that Xie Yu treated Yan Zheng differently, but she never expected that the two would endure so many trials together. Just hearing about them was enough to make one’s heart race with fear. She couldn’t imagine how harrowing the actual events must have been.
However, misfortune had brought blessings. The two lovers, having shared hardships, must have grown even more devoted to each other.
But now, one was in Liangzhou, and the other in Kaifeng. How could that be good?
Yan Zheng lowered her eyes, gazing at a stack of letters on the desk, her expression softening.
Xie Yu had been deeply resentful of the emperor’s deception. As soon as Yan Zheng left, he began writing letters, sending them along the postal stations.
Before Yan Zheng even reached Liangzhou, the people he and Pei Rong had dispatched had already arrived.
In fact, even without their special instructions, the officials and townspeople of Liangzhou would never have treated Yan Zheng poorly. But some things just felt better when done personally.
Though usually reserved, Xie Yu became talkative in writing, filling pages with trivial details.
He wrote about being sent on errands by the emperor today, assigned to handle official business tomorrow, how Chen Qi had once again attempted to dash his head against a pillar, and so on.
Especially regarding the emperor’s current prohibition against his traveling to Liangzhou, he harbored deep resentment.
Even the big black horse could come, but he couldn’t!
Between the lines, the words were brimming with grievance.
Yan Zheng repeatedly flipped through the letter pages, smiling as she read, then crying as she smiled…
But she didn’t cry.
Everything was fine now. Why cry? That would be weak-willed!
Spring will always come. As long as one is alive, there is always hope.
The following year, Siya and Huchun moved in.
Now, they had gradually adapted to life in Liangzhou. Thinking that relying on their savings wasn’t sustainable, they decided they needed to find a trade.
Unable to do heavy manual labor and unfamiliar with animal husbandry, they eventually settled on making woolen clothes and socks, which seemed like a good option.
Unlike people in the south and east who mainly used cotton, hemp, and silk fabrics, the people of the northwest relied more on fur coats and wool.
After washing and processing wool, it could be spun into wool thread and woven into wool fabric.
However, wool wasn’t as soft and fine as silk and cotton. It could feel prickly against the skin and had limited patterns, making it hard to popularize.
Even among locals in Liangzhou, cotton remained the primary fabric for undergarments.
Siya thought that if they could make the wool finer, softer, and more varied in patterns, it might not only be suitable for their own use but also sell well in the central plains.
The two sisters rented the neighboring courtyard, spending their days collecting and experimenting with wool, and in their spare time, helping with medicinal herbs and caring for patients. Their days were fulfilling.
Three years passed. On the occasion of the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, the emperor granted a general amnesty, releasing prisoners whose crimes weren’t severe or who showed remorse. Yan Zheng was among them.
In truth, no one had truly treated her as a prisoner in recent years, but the stigma of exile still lingered, causing lingering discomfort.
Now, even that final source of unease was gone.
On the day the official notice arrived, Siya personally prepared a celebratory feast, and the three sisters indulged heartily.
Yan Zheng loved beef and mutton, which were hard to come by in central China in her early years. Now in Liangzhou, she saw them daily.
Younger Huchun couldn’t handle much alcohol and quickly became tipsy after just two cups of fruit wine, retiring early to the kang to sprawl out.
Siya and Yan Zheng, however, remained clear-headed, sitting at the table chatting casually.
Liangzhou had sparse population and few indoor entertainment venues, so people generally went to bed early.
Outside, it was pitch black, with only occasional barks from dogs, making the starry sky and moonlight appear even more brilliant.
It happened to be the fifteenth day of the lunar month, with moonlight as clear as water, casting silver-white light across the ground, bright enough to see without lamps.
Winter came early in the northwest, and although it was only the ninth lunar month, the cold was already intense. Once night fell, a fine layer of frost covered the ground.
Moonlight reflected off the frost, sparkling like crushed silver.
“Now that the last bit of restraint is gone, are you thinking of going back to Kaifeng to visit?” Siya said.
Yan Zheng fiddled with her wine cup, hesitating slightly.
In truth, she had kept in touch with Kaifeng all along, but as time passed, longing naturally grew.
Yet, if she were to return, she felt somewhat uneasy.
Undoubtedly, Kaifeng was the most prosperous city in the world, gathering rare treasures and exquisite delicacies from across the land. Likewise, it was also where terrifying power converged.
Power could easily elevate a person to godlike status or bring a deity crashing down from the heavens overnight.
She had mixed feelings toward that place—both love and hate.
“Let’s wait a bit longer.”
The next day, people came one after another to offer congratulations. Amid the wind and snow, Yan Zheng naturally invited them to stay for tea.
During the gathering, someone mentioned, “Have you heard? It seems we’re getting a new transport commissioner. He should arrive before the New Year.”
The transport commissioner oversaw local salt, iron, and taxation affairs, a high-ranking and influential position entrusted only to the emperor’s most trusted advisors.
Precisely because the role was so important, holding it for too long inevitably attracted scrutiny and led to troubles. Therefore, transport commissioners typically served three-year terms before rotating.
Calculating the time, this year marked the third year of the current transport commissioner’s term. October had already arrived, so it was time for a replacement.
Yan Zheng half-heartedly listened to this conversation, her mind somewhat preoccupied with Siya’s earlier words.
For the next half month or so, amidst continuous wind and snow, Yan Zheng simply stayed indoors.
Winters in Liangzhou were unlike others. The snow was heavy, and the winds fierce beyond description. It was hard to even keep one’s eyes open outdoors.
Out in the countryside, it was common for snow to pile up to waist height overnight.
The northern winter nights were long, and Yan Zheng, full of energy, couldn’t sleep early. She sat on the kang leaning against the cushions.
The kang was warm, and casually flipping through a book was incredibly relaxing.
Before climbing onto the kang, Yan Zheng had grabbed a book without checking its cover. Now flipping through it, she discovered it was a travelogue, unsure who had brought it or when.
A travelogue…
Outside, the wind and snow intensified, with cold gusts carrying snowflakes violently striking the window paper, making a slapping sound and carrying her thoughts far away.
A travelogue…
Kaifeng…
“Knock, knock, knock!”
Just as she was thinking, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
In Liangzhou, there were few doctors, and since Yan Zheng’s arrival, nearly half the town’s people had come seeking treatment.
It was the dead of winter, and occasionally children or elderly people suffered sudden illnesses, prompting their families to bring them here. Thus, she didn’t think much of it, hastily pulling on her clothes and shoes as she walked outside.
The wind was strong, and she struggled greatly to push open the door, only to be met with a faceful of snow.
“Who is it?”
She asked.
“Sorry to disturb. I’m here for treatment.”
The weather was terrible, and the visitor’s voice was blown into fragments, sounding somewhat hoarse and hard to hear clearly.
Given the harsh conditions and the late hour, the illness must be serious. Yan Zheng hurried to open the door.
“Coming, please wait a moment.”
As the door opened, a stronger gust of cold wind howled in, but it was blocked by the visitor’s broad back.
Snowflakes swirled, and instinctively, Yan Zheng squinted her eyes.
“Are you the patient? What’s the ailment?”
The visitor wore a large hooded cloak, covering half their face, making it hard to discern their expression.
Upon hearing her words, he suddenly lifted his head, revealing a familiar and long-missed smile, “Homesickness.”
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