Eight years had passed. The capital seemed both familiar as it was in his memory, yet also completely transformed.

The Yingsufang was as bustling as ever. The former Prince of Danyang’s mansion had changed ownership, and who knew which noble family owned it now. Chong Heng led his horse and bought a package of pastries which he hung on the saddle. In the past, his brother and Wang Dian both loved the pastries from this shop, so he often came to buy them. The shopkeeper had been replaced by the store owner’s son, and the flavor had deteriorated significantly.

Disgusting, ugh.

The streets were crowded with people. He was just thinking about finding an inn to stay when suddenly the sound of hoofbeats approached, followed by excited shouting. “Good news from Eastern Hua Prefecture! Good news from Eastern Hua Prefecture!”

People on the street quickly made way and began discussing excitedly. Just at that moment, a child’s ball rolled out into the street, and a toddler with two small buns on their head stumbled after it.

“Child!” someone shouted loudly.

Chong Heng leaped forward to grab the child, but someone moved even faster than him. An armored general twisted down from his horse one step ahead of him and snatched up the child, even shamelessly stepping on Chong Heng’s shoulder in the process.

The messengers bringing the good news had already galloped straight toward the imperial palace.

Chong Heng looked with a gloomy expression toward the inconsiderate person.

“Whoa!” The warhorse reared up, held back by its reins. The general on horseback, dressed in black clothes and silver armor, dismounted with the child in his arms. He appeared to be twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes that made him quite handsome, his bearing filled with a solemn martial presence.

“Aunt, here’s your child.” He handed the wailing child to the old woman with one hand.

“Thank you, General! Thank you, General!” The old woman excitedly clutched the child tightly.

“It’s the One-Armed General!” someone shouted excitedly from the crowd.

“General Yang has returned to the capital—does that mean the war is over?!”

“Of course! Didn’t you just hear the good news from Eastern Hua Prefecture?”

“What about Commander Jiao? Why hasn’t Marshal Jiao Yan returned?”

“Sorry about that, brother! I stepped on your shoulder just now!” The one-armed general had a straightforward personality and apologized to Chong Heng with a smile. His hawk-like eyes met Chong Heng’s gaze and paused slightly. “Are you… Chong Heng?”

Chong Heng stared at him for a while, finally recognizing the shadow of the young man from years ago in his features. “Yang Wujiu?”

Half an hour later, at Changyun Tavern.

“It must have been many years since we last met, right?” Yang Wujiu raised his cup to toast with him.

Chong Heng replied coldly, “Nine years.”

“Whew.” Yang Wujiu smiled and took a sip of wine. “It really has been many years.”

Chong Heng simply drank his wine unhurriedly.

Calculating the friendship between them, it was quite minimal. Perhaps it was because so few people from the past remained that this faint friendship, which could almost be ignored, was taken out after many years, allowing two people who had never gotten along to sit down and share some thin wine.

“My father passed away five years ago. Tomorrow is the anniversary of his death, so I asked for leave from the commander in advance to rush back.” Yang Wujiu appeared much more steady now, making it difficult to connect him with the noisy yet cowardly youth from nine years ago.

Of course, Chong Heng had also changed a lot, causing Yang Wujiu to sigh. “You’ve really changed a great deal.”

Chong Heng pulled at the corner of his mouth.

After several rounds of drinks, they inevitably brought up old matters and remembered people from the past.

Yang Wujiu had drunk too much fiery liquor. The alcohol wasn’t enough to make him drunk, but it couldn’t stop the regret welling up in his heart. “If not for the Prince and the late Emperor, my father and I would probably have died long ago.”

Chong Heng drank his wine in silence.

“That day I originally wanted to follow you all into the palace, but my father stopped me firmly. He even knelt down to me…” Yang Wujiu lowered his head and furrowed his brows, raising his hand to cover his forehead. “I couldn’t let my father kneel to me, so I didn’t go with you.”

“You wouldn’t have been any help anyway,” Chong Heng said mercilessly.

“You’re still as infuriating as ever.” Yang Wujiu ground his teeth hard, glaring at him with displeasure, finally showing a glimpse of the spoiled young noble from many years ago. But it quickly disappeared as he let out a long sigh, raised his wine cup to clink with Chong Heng’s, and smiled. “Actually… I just wanted to say one more word to Wang Dian.”

Chong Heng didn’t discourage him further. When Wang Dian had been shot with an arrow at that time, his brother had held him tightly and wouldn’t let anyone touch him. Even if Yang Wujiu had gone, he wouldn’t have gotten close. Even Chong Heng himself hadn’t been able to take another look at Wang Dian.

Upstairs in the tavern, scholars who had passed the imperial examinations were drinking joyfully, with constant sounds of merriment and laughter. The imperial court would soon welcome many new faces. New people came as old ones departed; each emperor had his own officials. Those turbulent events of the past had long been buried in the lengthy passage of time. In the capital, who knew how many people truly remembered them?

After a few more years, perhaps even when they themselves recalled these events, they would only smile and move on.

The wine cups clinked, ripples spreading across the surface, reflecting two silently solemn faces.

“Will you leave again after returning this time?” Yang Wujiu asked him.

Chong Heng replied, “I’ll leave in a few days.”

“That’s good.” Yang Wujiu nodded and smiled. “I need to enter the palace tonight for an audience with the Emperor. Tomorrow, after I visit my father’s grave, I’ll return to Eastern Hua Prefecture. Speaking of Eastern Hua Prefecture, did you know it has many gold mines?”

“Mm.” Chong Heng nodded.

He had occasionally heard Liang Ye mention it.

“It’s quite an interesting story. There were many gold mines in Eastern Hua Prefecture with unclear ownership. Marshal Jiao sent people to investigate for a long time. Guess what happened?” Yang Wujiu smiled. “Seven or eight gold mines all belonged to our Great Liang. The gold mined from there first flowed to Eastern Chen, then took a detour through Southern Zhao and Yunshui, eventually flowing into our own merchant convoy. You must know that convoy.”

“The Wang merchant convoy?” Chong Heng raised an eyebrow.

Yang Wujiu slapped the table. “Right, that’s the convoy the Prince established before. Now it’s a massive operation, one of the top two major merchant convoys among the three countries. Their current leader is called Yu Lang. I heard he used to be just a servant in the Prince’s mansion… The convoy has become an official imperial merchant right under the Regent’s nose, which means they’re genuine imperial merchants… No wonder our national treasury can be filled to the brim year after year…”

“Do you know Lu Shu? The late Emperor sent him to the Western Army, but he complained there were no battles to fight in the west, so he found an excuse to attack westward into the Western Regions. The two prefectures we gained in the west were all conquered by him…”

“…Ah, I don’t know much about those civil officials’ matters. I can’t compete with their scheming… The most famous ones now are probably the Six Talents: Baili Cheng’an, Chu Geng, Liu Binbai, Xun Yao… and that sensational top imperial exam scholar from a few years ago… who else… anyway, many of them came from Changlin Academy… I don’t know them…”

“I don’t come back often either. I just heard all this from those young fellows…”

“His Majesty is completely different from when he was a child. He’s so steady that he doesn’t seem like a teenager at all. Baili Daren has done an excellent job as Imperial Preceptor… The Regent’s health hasn’t been good in recent years, and he’s gradually relinquishing power. I think he intends to let His Majesty take personal control of the government soon…”

The capital’s wine, which he hadn’t tasted for a long time, was quite intoxicating. As Chong Heng listened to Yang Wujiu talk about the people and affairs of the capital, he actually felt somewhat drunk.

Unfortunately, all feasts must end. As the sky began to darken, he and Yang Wujiu had to say goodbye.

“Come visit me in Eastern Hua Prefecture when you have time!” Yang Wujiu smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll treat you to the best wine then! We brothers will drink to our hearts’ content!”

“Sure.” Chong Heng nodded, holding his sword, watching as the other man drunkenly mounted his horse.

“Hiya!” The man and horse disappeared into the main street of Yingsufang.

Chong Heng led his horse and strolled to the palace gate, looking at the imposing city gate in the moonlight. Viewed from outside the palace, it was magnificent and majestic, but from inside, it was always just sky cut into squares by courtyard walls, and seemingly endless long palace corridors that concealed countless intrigues and schemes.

Perhaps those outside the palace tried every means to get in, while those inside always wished to fly out.

In the imperial discussion hall of the palace, candles flickered.

A fair and handsome youth sat on the throne, lowering his eyes to read the battle report in his hand. He appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, but already showed the beginnings of imperial dignity. The entire hall was silent.

Cui Qi sat coldly in his wheelchair, holding a handkerchief to his mouth, occasionally letting out a suppressed cough. His already pale face grew even paler.

Liang Huan looked up at him, but Cui Qi just shook his head slightly.

Baili Cheng’an stood on the other side. Having returned to female dress, she appeared even more elegant. Yet no one in court dared to look down on her because of her gender. This rare genius had become powerful enough that gender could no longer be used as a weapon to attack her. She strongly advocated for establishing women’s schools and allowing women to take imperial examinations. Later, she resumed wearing women’s clothing at court, hoping to show that women in the world need not disguise themselves as men to fulfill their wishes.

When a person of noble character stands in the world, there should never be a distinction between men and women.

Yan Ze, who was about to retire and return to his hometown, requested to resign again, but was refused by Cui Qi. They all understood why Xu Xiude had been sent back to Anhan Prefecture earlier—Liang Ye didn’t mind because with his abilities and personality, he wouldn’t care if subordinates formed factions; he could probably break them up faster than they could form. But Cui Qi had always been cautious and particularly wary of factional disputes. Yan Ze and Xu Xiude were teacher and student; having them both in the cabinet would certainly be inappropriate, especially now that many court officials were Changlin Academy scholars. Recently, he had begun to boldly reassign officials from the Changlin faction, with Chu Geng and Liu Binbai being the first affected.

Although Baili Cheng’an didn’t agree, because she had once served in Hexi Guangyuan County, she couldn’t say much, only trying her best to mediate.

Cui Yun had been upright and incorruptible his entire life, but in the end, he was implicated by his direct grandson’s mistake and nearly ruined his reputation late in life. He finally resigned and returned home, at least preserving the lives of his entire family. But when people discussed it, they still felt the Regent was narrow-minded, probably still holding a grudge against the Cui family for crippling his legs.

Cui Qi paid no attention to these rumors. He knew his days were numbered and only wanted to quickly help Liang Huan pave the way so that his future path would be smoother.

Although Liang Huan was young, he already understood all these matters clearly. Starting from when he was five years old, Uncle Wang had taken him into the discussion hall to listen to affairs of state. After Uncle Wang died, his Nineteenth Uncle took him to court discussions and forced him to express his opinions. Later, after his Nineteenth Uncle passed away, his father and Imperial Preceptor Baili became even more demanding, not allowing him a moment’s rest. Tears from his crying probably had fallen throughout the entire palace.

But as he gradually grew up, he could no longer cry.

Back then, Uncle Wang and Nineteenth Uncle had exerted all their efforts to save a crumbling Great Liang. His Nineteenth Uncle was willing to bear eternal condemnation, using any means necessary to eliminate aristocratic families and military nobles, clearing a path to the throne for him. His father Cui Qi, his teacher Baili Cheng’an, and other old ministers from the Anping reign worked tirelessly to secure his position on the throne at age six. While he was still confused and only knew how to cry and feel wronged, they gradually mended the thousand wounds of Great Liang. Now as they were approaching the end of their lives, he finally made the determination to truly take Great Liang into his own hands.

Most of those who had accompanied him could probably only walk with him to this point. At least compared to his Uncle Wang and Nineteenth Uncle, who had departed without saying goodbye, he could at least see them off.

Liang Huan slowly closed the memorial in his hand, raised his head to look at the officials in the hall with their varied expressions, and said solemnly, “Go back and tell Jiao Yan, Great Liang absolutely refuses to negotiate peace.”

“Zhen wants Eastern Hua Prefecture.”

The officials on the floor all knelt down in unison.

“Long live Your Majesty! Long live! Ten thousand years!”

In the ninth year of Northern Liang’s Yuanxing era, Liang Huan took personal control of the government. That same winter, the last aristocratic family, the Zeng family, was executed, and First Assistant Minister Yan Ze returned home due to illness.

In the spring of the tenth year of Yuanxing, Lu Shu advanced westward another three hundred li, adding another prefecture to Northern Liang.

In the autumn of the tenth year of Yuanxing, Northern Liang’s Great General Jiao Yan led his army to fully recover Eastern Hua Prefecture.

That same winter, Regent Cui Qi died in the capital, and Baili Cheng’an was appointed Prime Minister in Wutong Hall.

From the tenth year of Yuanxing when Eastern Hua Prefecture was recovered, the young emperor finally completely grasped the massive state apparatus in his own hands, raising the curtain on the Yuanxing Golden Age. Together with his teacher Baili Cheng’an, he initiated sweeping reforms throughout Northern Liang. Over the next twenty-plus years, they successively conquered Loufan, Eastern Chen, and Southern Zhao. More than a hundred years after the fall of the Great An Dynasty, the Central Plains finally welcomed long-awaited unification again.

And Liang Huan’s name became the most prominent entry in Northern Liang’s history books. Even centuries later, people still filled this young emperor with praise. Unfortunately, he passed away early at just over thirty years old, leaving the elderly minister Baili Cheng’an to maintain the prosperous era alone, causing countless regrets among scholars and writers.

Half-burned, yellowed spirit money circled around a dry tree branch jutting out from a cliff wall, then unhurriedly floated toward the distant sky.

“Brother, I plan to go to the Western Regions. I don’t know when I’ll return to see you and Wang Dian. Take care.”

As the sun set, hoofbeats echoed on the ancient path covered with moss. Vines covering the rock face swayed in the breeze against the evening glow.

Chong Heng led his old horse with extremely ugly coloring that had become terribly thin, holding his sword in one hand, and pulling a pastry from his pocket to toss into his mouth.

Still disgusting, ugh.

The man and horse gradually receded into two small dots in the distance, finally disappearing beneath the vast sky and ancient road.

The mountains stand clear, the rivers flow far, and each must cherish their own journey.

~Fin~