Extra 2
Late spring was a season of frequent rain. The damp traces left by last night’s shower still lingered on the blue bricks in the courtyard, while the flowers and plants in the garden glowed with vibrant green after the rain. Droplets clinging to the tips of the leaves shimmered with a faint golden light beneath the morning sun.
The doors stood wide open, and bamboo blinds of varying lengths hung beneath the corridor eaves, allowing broken strands of dawn light to spill into the room.
Song Yan remained frozen in his bow. The back of his bamboo-green scholar’s robe had already been soaked through with cold sweat.
The fragrance of tea drifted through the air. The silver-thread floral embroidery on Fan Changyu’s pale tea-white brocade robe blurred before his eyes as she lowered her gaze to the teacup, where several brownish-green tea leaves floated upon the surface. She raised it and took a slow sip, her expression revealing neither pleasure nor anger.
Wu Guangkun looked from Song Yan to Fan Changyu, inwardly crying that things had gone terribly wrong. With an awkward laugh, he tried to ease the tension.
“Th-this… Great General, are you and Scholar Song old acquaintances?”
Fan Changyu’s expression remained cold.
“I dare not claim the title of ‘old acquaintance’ with Scholar Song.”
The moment those words left her lips, Wu Guangkun broke out in cold sweat as well.
Song Yan’s body stiffened briefly before he suddenly lifted his robes and knelt. When he spoke, it was difficult to tell whether bitterness or humiliation weighed more heavily in his voice.
“The great kindness your family once showed me is something I shall never forget. As for what I did back then…”
Fan Changyu interrupted him.
“According to the laws of the Great Yan, those who possess scholarly rank are not required to kneel before officials.”
She glanced toward the attendants.
“Help Scholar Song to his feet.”
Xie Wu stepped forward and effortlessly hauled Song Yan upright with one hand. Caught completely off balance, Song Yan stumbled before barely managing to steady himself. The composed confidence he had displayed before entering the room had completely vanished, leaving only unmistakable embarrassment.
Wu Guangkun wore an awkward expression. He wanted to plead on Song Yan’s behalf but had no idea what grievance existed between him and General Huaihua. In the end, he dared not speak again, confusion filling his small eyes.
Fan Changyu looked at Song Yan.
“My father paid for your mother’s coffin and your tuition. You have already repaid every coin. The Fan and Song families owe each other nothing now. There is no great kindness as you claim.”
Song Yan stared silently at the woman seated above him.
Years of hardship had filled his eyes with emotions too complicated to describe.
Only after a long silence did he manage to utter a single word.
“…Yes.”
Standing nearby, even Xie Wu frowned.
He knew nothing about what had happened back in Qingping County. He only felt that the failed scholar’s expression whenever he looked at the General was… wrong.
Fan Changyu continued, “I’m hiring a tutor for Ningniang’s education. You should understand that I cannot possibly employ you.”
Wu Guangkun and Xie Wu were both completely bewildered by the exchange.
Only Song Yan quietly answered once more.
“…Yes.”
“In that case, please leave.”
Fan Changyu set down her teacup.
“Xiao Wu, see our guests out.”
Xie Wu immediately extended a hand toward the doorway.
Wu Guangkun regretted bringing Song Yan more than ever. Fearing he had offended such an important person because of him, he wanted desperately to say something to salvage the situation. But faced with Fan Changyu’s indifferent expression and Xie Wu’s unmistakable gesture toward the door, he dared not overstep his bounds. Wearing a stiff, flattering smile, he could only leave alongside Song Yan.
As they neared the doorway, a little girl with twin buns came running down the corridor.
Following close behind her was a tall, handsome guard.
Before she even reached the room, her sweet, childish voice rang out.
“Big Sister! I’ve packed everything in my room!”
She nearly ran into Wu Guangkun and Song Yan.
The grin stretching across her face immediately faded. Tugging nervously at her skirt with her chubby little hands, she politely greeted Wu Guangkun.
“Teacher.”
Wu Guangkun immediately brightened as though seeing a savior.
“So it’s Ningniang…”
Before he could finish, Changning spotted Song Yan standing behind him.
Her delicate little face instantly fell.
Her tiny fists clenched at her sides, and her large grape-like eyes filled with hostility.
“Bad man!”
With that, she charged toward Fan Changyu like an angry little calf, throwing herself beside her knees while glaring sideways at Song Yan.
Song Yan’s face turned even paler.
Xie Wu also sensed something unusual and secretly glanced toward Fan Changyu.
She merely stroked Changning’s hair gently.
“A child speaks without restraint. Xiao Wu, continue seeing our guests out.”
Xie Wu escorted Song Yan and Wu Guangkun outside.
Changning played with the gold-painted pattern on Fan Changyu’s belt, pouting unhappily.
“Big Sister, why did that bad man come here?”
Back when the Song family had come to break off the engagement, Changning had already been over five years old.
She still remembered.
Even though two or three years had passed, she still remembered every single person who had bullied her and her sister.
Fan Changyu replied, “Life is less than a hundred years long. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. He failed the imperial examination and came hoping to earn a living as your tutor.”
Changning immediately shook her head.
“I don’t want him teaching me!”
Her fair little cheeks puffed up in anger, and even the stray tuft of hair atop her head stood straight up, making her resistance obvious.
Fan Changyu laughed.
“Didn’t I send him away?”
Only then did Changning brighten again.
Holding onto a corner of Fan Changyu’s sleeve, she asked, “Big Sister, you’re a Great General now. Why didn’t you have him beaten?”
Fan Changyu’s expression grew serious.
“Ningniang, I may be a Great General, but that authority exists to protect the people of Great Yan—not to satisfy personal grudges. Do you understand? Song Yan’s character may be poor, but the grievances between our families were settled long ago. He hasn’t done anything wrong now. If I used my authority to make things difficult for him simply because I still resented the past, then I would be the one at fault.”
Changning lowered her head and nodded.
“I understand.”
Fan Changyu continued earnestly, “Everyone chooses their own path. Since we’re already walking the broad, proper road, there’s no need to stray onto crooked paths because of petty people. Officialdom is full of hidden currents. One careless step can ruin a person forever. Even if Song Yan manages to enter official service, there will be plenty of pitfalls waiting for him. There’s no need for us to give him an extra push and create unnecessary karma.”
Changning nodded even more firmly.
Only then did Fan Changyu ask, “Have you finished packing your room?”
She and Xie Zheng had married just the previous month.
With both her parents gone, her maternal grandfather having spent over a decade wrongfully condemned despite being a loyal official, and her only adoptive father being an incorruptible old minister, there had been no elder to oversee her wedding preparations.
Yu Qianqian had taken care of everything personally.
Even her dowry had been allocated from the imperial treasury after consultation among the court officials.
Fan Changyu had lived at the Bureau of Transmission for nearly two years, and many of her belongings still hadn’t been moved.
To make caring for Changning easier in the future, her General’s Residence had been built directly beside Xie Manor. After more than a year of construction, it had finally been completed, with the dividing courtyard wall opened so the two residences functioned almost as a single estate.
She had come today for two reasons.
First, to move the rest of her belongings.
Second, to meet the tutor Wu Guangkun had recommended.
When Changning heard about it, she insisted on returning to the Bureau of Transmission with her.
She declared that she wanted to pack her own room herself.
Given her young age, hiring a provincial graduate as her first tutor was already more than sufficient.
Fan Changyu had never expected Wu Guangkun to recommend Song Yan.
“Everything’s packed!” Changning answered proudly. “I even wanted to help pack Big Sister’s room, but Uncle Xiao Qi wouldn’t let me!”
As she spoke, she stuck out her tongue at Xie Qi.
Xie Qi cupped his fists.
“General, your books and personal valuables are not something this subordinate dares move without permission.”
At Fan Changyu’s current rank, even those closest to her could only organize her letters and documents with her approval.
Ordinary servants would never dare touch such things.
Understanding his concerns, Fan Changyu said, “There’s nothing important left in the room. Move the books into the study at Xie Manor. As for the valuables, store them temporarily in the General’s Residence.”
She had already taken away all important documents.
The remaining shelves held only military treatises, histories, and political writings she had read over the years.
When Xie Zheng learned she intended to move everything over, he had deliberately cleared out half the study for her.
Those books were ones she would often consult in the future, so keeping them together in the study would save trouble later.
Receiving her instructions, Xie Qi personally went to pack the remaining books and valuables.
—
After passing through an ornamental gateway, Xie Wu was about to escort Song Yan and Wu Guangkun out of the residence when he saw a group of people descending the entrance steps.
Leading them was a tall, imposing man wearing the Regent Prince’s ceremonial robe, a golden crown upon his head.
His commanding aura was so overwhelming that it eclipsed even his extraordinary handsomeness.
One glance alone was enough to inspire fear.
Xie Wu quickly moved Song Yan and Wu Guangkun to one side of the passage and lowered his head, waiting respectfully for Xie Zheng to pass.
Xie Zheng already knew Fan Changyu had returned to the Bureau of Transmission today to collect the rest of her belongings.
The moment he left the palace, he had come directly to see how her packing was progressing.
Seeing Xie Wu standing there with two strangers caught his attention.
As he passed, he suddenly stopped.
“What is this?”
Xie Wu answered, “Changning’s tutor passed the metropolitan examination and came today to resign. He also recommended a provincial graduate. The Great General felt he wasn’t suitable and declined to employ him, so this subordinate is seeing them out.”
Xie Zheng had only asked casually.
But upon hearing that Fan Changyu had refused to keep the recommended tutor, his sharp, oppressive gaze settled upon the man in the green scholar’s robe.
He had to admit…
This style of dress was exactly the kind worn by scholars he disliked the most.
He frowned ever so slightly.
Immediately, both men lowered their heads until they could see only their own feet.
They trembled uncontrollably beneath his gaze.
The younger scholar in green shook so violently he resembled a leaf caught in the wind.
Xie Zheng knew he had never enjoyed a good reputation among officials.
Even experienced civil ministers feared him.
It was only natural that an unappointed provincial graduate would be terrified.
Since Fan Changyu had already rejected the man, Xie Zheng didn’t bother asking why.
He merely instructed Xie Wu,
“Then escort them out properly.”
Only after Xie Zheng had completely passed did Xie Wu continue leading the two men outside.
But the young scholar in green looked as though his legs no longer worked.
His face was deathly pale.
He looked like someone who had already died once.
Xie Wu knew scholars throughout the realm generally held prejudices against his master because of the case involving Grand Tutor Li.
Still, the Prince had only spoken a few words.
To be frightened into such a state seemed excessive.
His tone cooled.
“The Prince always rewards and punishes fairly. Even though the Great General chose not to employ Scholar Song, there is no need for you to be so frightened.”
Song Yan muttered an acknowledgment.
Yet when he tried walking again, his legs remained as limp as noodles.
There was no mistake.
That voice…
It was the very same man Fan Changyu had recruited as her live-in husband years ago.
At the Lantern Festival that New Year, those words—
“When the northern geese fly south, phoenixes are so plentiful that even they can scarcely find a place to land.”
—had haunted Song Yan for years.
He could never mistake that voice.
Then he remembered the rumors spread throughout the capital after Fan Changyu became engaged to the Regent Prince the previous year—
that the Regent Prince was the very husband she had once recruited into her household.
Song Yan’s face turned the color of ashes.
The terror that overwhelmed him now was even greater than when he had discovered today’s noble patron was Fan Changyu herself.
Everyone said the Regent Prince was ruthless.
Merciless.
His hands were stained with countless lives—if not ten thousand, then certainly eight thousand.
The private prison beneath his residence was said to contain every imaginable torture.
Criminals who endured every punishment in the imperial prison without confessing would reveal everything within half a day after entering his dungeons.
The sun after the rain wasn’t particularly hot.
Yet as Song Yan and Wu Guangkun stepped out of the Bureau of Transmission and descended the stone stairs, dizziness overwhelmed him.
He looked up at the sky.
The sun seemed to transform into a blazing ring of fire that pierced directly into his eyes.
Wu Guangkun was still complaining beside him, asking whether he had once offended the Great General.
Song Yan’s vision suddenly went black.
He collapsed unconscious.
Xie Zheng had only just found Fan Changyu in the inner courtyard, and the two had barely exchanged a few words when Xie Wu hurried back to report that the provincial graduate who had come to apply for the tutoring position had fainted outside the entrance to the Bureau of Transmission.
Fan Changyu frowned slightly upon hearing this.
She hadn’t gone out of her way to make things difficult for Song Yan. Why had he collapsed the moment he left?
Seeing the subtle change in her expression, Xie Zheng asked, “What happened?”
Fan Changyu answered truthfully, “The man Master Wu recommended was Song Yan.”
Xie Zheng looked at her, clearly unable to remember who that person was for a moment.
Left with no choice, Fan Changyu explained differently.
“The scholar I was once engaged to in Qingping County.”
Xie Zheng’s expression visibly darkened.
His phoenix eyes grew exceptionally cold.
“He came here looking for an opportunity?”
Fan Changyu nodded.
“Finding a tutor for Changning may seem like a small matter, but it can also become a big one. I was worried that if people learned our household was hiring a tutor, someone with ulterior motives might deliberately send unsuitable candidates. So I asked Master Wu not to announce it publicly and simply bring anyone he thought suitable for me to meet. I never expected him to bring Song Yan.”
Xie Zheng merely gave a quiet “Mm.”
His emotions remained impossible to read.
When Xie Zheng arrived earlier, Changning had gone to help Xie Qi finish packing Fan Changyu’s former room.
After giving Xie Wu a look, Fan Changyu waited until he withdrew before turning back to Xie Zheng.
“You don’t seem very happy.”
Xie Zheng poured himself a cup of tea.
His expression remained calm.
“I’m not.”
Fan Changyu’s expression became rather peculiar.
She looked at him carefully.
“Xie Jiuheng… don’t tell me you’re still jealous of Song Yan?”
Xie Zheng lifted his eyelids slightly.
“What a joke.”
Fan Changyu nodded as though agreeing.
“That’s true. When it comes to talent and learning, you’re extraordinarily gifted and immensely knowledgeable. Aside from passing the provincial examination on his first attempt, there’s really nothing remarkable about him anymore. Now he’s failed the metropolitan examination twice and ended up in such a miserable state. If you compared yourself to him, you’d only be lowering your own status.”
At first she had only intended to humor him.
But as she continued speaking, genuine emotion gradually entered her voice.
“Back then, after learning you could read and write, I even joked that when you became a high-ranking official one day, if you ever met Song Yan in court, you should suppress him a little and help me vent my anger. Yet only two or three years have passed. Looking back now, what once felt like the sky collapsing has become nothing more than a small pothole along the road we’ve traveled. Besides, Song Yan hardly needs either of us to suppress him anymore. Officialdom itself is enough. One careless stumble is all it takes to cost him half his life.”
Her tone was light and peaceful.
It truly sounded as though she had completely let go of the past.
The tiny thorn buried deep inside Xie Zheng’s heart—the darkness he had never admitted even to himself—was quietly smoothed away by those simple words.
He turned his head slightly.
Half his body was bathed in the warm spring sunlight.
His already fair complexion appeared even brighter beneath its glow.
The warmth softened his brows and eyes.
Golden embroidery on his princely robe shimmered beneath the light.
His long fingers loosely held a celadon porcelain teacup containing half a cup of pale amber tea.
Against the porcelain, even his fingertips looked as white as jade.
There was an indescribable ease and elegance about him.
He said softly,
“Have you finished packing? I’ll take you home.”
Fan Changyu smiled.
“Only the books and a few personal belongings from my room are left. Xie Qi is packing them now. He should be nearly finished.”
When they stepped outside, Xie Qi had indeed already packed everything from Fan Changyu’s room.
Every book had been carefully placed into specially made book chests.
The three of them returned to Xie Manor together.
After lunch, Fan Changyu felt a little sleepy, so she took Changning with her for an afternoon nap.
Xie Zheng went into the study to deal with government affairs.
Seeing several book chests filled with Fan Changyu’s books stacked on the floor, he worried that the servants might not know how she usually organized her collection, making it inconvenient for her to find things later.
So he personally placed every volume onto the half of the bookshelves he had cleared specifically for her.
Most of the military treatises Fan Changyu studied had originally been selected for her by Xie Zheng.
From the simplest texts to the most advanced, he had personally written detailed annotations in all of them.
So when he picked up one military treatise that he hadn’t chosen himself, he instinctively glanced at it a second time.
Opening it casually, he discovered that it, too, was filled with meticulous notes.
But the elegant, graceful handwriting…
Wasn’t his.
His expression remained perfectly calm.
Only his eyes suddenly grew frighteningly dark.
Sitting behind the desk, he spent the entire afternoon reading that military treatise page by page from beginning to end.
He didn’t overlook even a single annotated character.
Only after finishing did he quietly order someone to summon Xie Wu.
The moment Xie Wu entered the study and saw the familiar military treatise lying on the desk, he froze.
His scalp instantly went numb.
This was the very military treatise Zheng Wenchang had once returned to Fan Changyu.
Every annotation inside had been written by Li Huai’an, the grandson of Grand Tutor Li.
“Who gave her this book?”
Xie Zheng sat behind the desk.
At first glance, his voice sounded perfectly calm.
Yet it was precisely that calmness that made Xie Wu’s hair stand on end.
He licked his dry lips.
He hesitated for only a moment between lying and telling the truth.
Then he chose honesty.
There had never been anything between the Great General and Li Huai’an.
If he deliberately concealed the truth and caused his master to misunderstand, he’d only outsmart himself.
“It… it was when the Great General was still fighting in Chongzhou. After she was promoted to Cavalry Commandant, Grand Tutor Li’s grandson presented it to her as a congratulatory gift.”
Xie Zheng’s expression remained unchanged.
Only the fingers holding the book tightened slightly, the knuckles becoming more pronounced.
An invisible pressure spread throughout the room.
Even the air inside the study seemed thinner.
Afraid Xie Zheng would misunderstand, Xie Wu hurriedly explained,
“The Great General accepted the book but immediately rewarded it to the soldiers under her command. Later, General Zheng borrowed several military books from her while they were staying at the Bureau of Transmission and eventually returned this one along with the others.”
Xie Zheng still said nothing.
A long time passed.
Just as a bead of cold sweat rolled down Xie Wu’s temple, he finally heard Xie Zheng speak.
“You may leave.”
Xie Wu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought the matter was over.
That night…
Fan Changyu paid the price.
Both of them practiced martial arts, so their stamina was naturally abundant.
Most of the time, Fan Changyu was more than capable of matching him.
More often than not, they would continue until well past midnight before bathing together in complete satisfaction, after which Xie Zheng would pull her into his arms and the two would fall asleep.
Xie Zheng had never been someone who liked talking in bed.
Just as with martial arts and warfare, he always acted far more fiercely than he spoke.
He held her firmly in place, every movement deep, steady, and forceful.
But that night…
Even after Fan Changyu was completely exhausted, he still seemed far from satisfied.
Worse still, whenever she became so overwhelmed that she could barely think, he would suddenly begin asking her questions about military strategy.
How could she possibly answer?
Each time she failed, he found a perfectly legitimate excuse to continue “punishing” her.
By the end, her voice had become completely hoarse, broken by helpless sobs.
“Xie Zheng… Xie Jiuheng… enough…”
Xie Zheng lowered his head to look at her.
Sweat-damp hair hung messily across his forehead.
His eyes were dark beyond measure.
The prominent Adam’s apple beneath his neck bobbed repeatedly as he swallowed emotions only he himself understood.
When he lowered his head to kiss her already swollen red lips, there was nothing in his cool, husky voice except the endless greed of a ravenous wolf.
His voice was hoarse.
“Not enough.”
Far from enough.
No matter how much…
It would never be enough.
If there truly existed a way in this world…
He felt he would be unable to resist draining even the marrow from her bones just to satisfy the insatiable longing buried deep within his heart.