Chapter 312: Hello Chang'an
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Chapter 312: Is My Lack of Virtue That Obvious?
“Though we travel together,” said Chang Suining with a faint smile, “you are still you, and I am still me. We merely share the same road for a time. You remain free.”
Her tone was light, yet it carried genuine gladness for him. “Now that you’ve shed your old feathers, spread your wings and fly where the sky is high and the rivers are wide. Do not look back.”
Cui Jing gazed at her quietly. The world beyond the window was in the last breath of spring; summer’s warmth was already stirring. Life itself seemed to pulse in everything around her — a vibrant strength born of blood and fire, yet as effortless as nature’s own rhythm.
He realized, at last, why she had never wished to reveal her true identity to that Emperor. There was no need for her to explain — he understood completely now.
And she was wrong about one thing: she had said they would “travel together for this stretch of road.” But as for him — he would walk beside her for as long as he could draw breath.
He would use his sword to clear the thorns before her, so she could walk the path she chose — farther, steadier, freer. As long as he still lived, he would guard her to the end.
She did not yet see the full measure of his resolve, but that was no matter. He would not burden her with words — she would come to see it, one day.
He would not weigh on her heart. She had only to walk forward. He would follow. How far he could go — that depended on his own strength. Life and death were his alone to bear.
In this world, perfection was rare. To be at peace with one’s choices — that was enough.
To walk beside her — that was his greatest willingness.
Cui Jing looked at the girl before him, as poised as a young bamboo shoot swaying in the wind. “Your Highness,” he said softly, “you too have shed your old scales. Now that you’ve left behind that bound sea, follow your heart where it leads.”
In his eyes, she was like a dragon — her wounds healed, her new scales gleaming, ready to soar through the heavens.
Chang Suining smiled and nodded. “That’s what I think too.”
And indeed, she had already begun. Every day since, she had quietly celebrated her freedom.
“Xiao Jing!”
Ah Dian’s loud voice came from outside. “May I come in?”
“Please, Senior,” Cui Jing called back.
The door creaked open. Ah Dian bustled in, eyes darting between the two. “What are you two whispering about?”
“Nothing,” said Chang Suining calmly, nodding toward the window. “We’re looking at bamboo.”
“Bamboo? What’s there to see?” Ah Dian muttered, already losing interest. He crouched beside the bed to examine Cui Jing’s back. “Xiao Jing, does it still hurt?”
“I’m fine, thank you for your concern.”
“Did it hurt when they put on the medicine? I’ll blow on it for you!” Ah Dian bent down and blew twice across his shoulder. “When Her Highness got hurt, I used to do this for her too.”
He kept his promise not to reveal her identity — but the warmth and pride in his voice betrayed all the affection behind those memories.
“One time,” he said proudly, “Her Highness hurt her hand. It was bleeding so much! I stayed by her bed all night, blowing on it. The moment I stopped, she said it hurt again! So I blew and blew until she fell asleep!”
Cui Jing lifted his gaze slightly, startled. So this was how she treated her attendants as a child?
Chang Suining turned her head away and studied the room’s furnishings in great detail. “…”
Ah Dian kept blowing. “Her Highness said my magic breath was a powerful healing elixir!”
“Yes,” said Cui Jing with a faint smile. “Senior truly is remarkable.”
Indeed, few in the world could have stayed by her side so long — easing her wounds, bringing her laughter. Such loyalty was worth reverence.
Pleased by the praise, Ah Dian grinned. “There was another time when—”
Chang Suining abruptly interrupted, “Wait. I think someone’s coming.”
Ah Dian turned toward the door. Sure enough, Yuan Xiang entered in haste. “Grand General, the Imperial Envoy for disaster relief — Deputy Minister Zhan of the Ministry of Revenue — has arrived to deliver the decree and visit you. General Li Xian accompanies him.”
The relief envoy had reached Xingyang earlier that morning — she had already heard the news upon entering the city.
It was clear why Zhan Shilang came to Xingyang first instead of Luoyang: the Zheng family’s case had to be resolved before relief funds could be managed.
Now, his “visit” to Cui Jing was no courtesy call — clearly, he had heard of the clan expulsion.
“I’ll take my leave,” said Chang Suining.
Their decision to travel together was theirs alone for now — not something to share publicly. Too many would lose sleep over it… herself included.
Cui Jing nodded. “Good idea.”
Although her rescue of him was already known, it would be unwise for her to be present when the Imperial Envoy and Li Xian arrived.
“They’re already here,” Yuan Xiang said quickly. “Hearing the Grand General was injured, they’re coming directly to this residence. They’ll arrive any moment!”
So much for the front door, then.
Chang Suining looked around. “Do you mind if I borrow your bamboo couch?”
Amusement flickered in Cui Jing’s eyes. “Not at all.”
The next instant, she stepped lightly onto the couch — her silk robe brushed his shoulder as she leapt out through the wide window like a bird in flight.
He tilted his head slightly, glancing down at the spot where her sleeve had grazed his shoulder.
“Xiao Jing, may I step on it too?” Ah Dian whispered. “Her Highness asked already, but… she’s Her Highness, and I’m me. I must ask properly.”
Cui Jing chuckled. “Of course.”
Ah Dian grinned and clambered up. The window was wide, built for the view, yet his frame was thrice her size. He got stuck halfway until Chang Suining grabbed his arm from outside and gave one powerful yank.
Thud!
Out he went, landing flat on the ground.
Cui Jing turned just in time to see him pop up again, grass and bamboo leaves in his hair.
“Xiao Jing!” he whispered through the window, gripping the sill. “Rest well! We’ll come see you again soon!”
“Thank you, Senior.”
Cui Jing’s gaze passed over him — catching a glimpse of a pale-blue figure moving gracefully into the green bamboo grove.
“Wait for me!” cried Ah Dian, scrambling after her.
Cui Jing watched them go, his eyes warm with quiet laughter.
“Grand General!” Yuan Xiang hissed. Footsteps sounded outside.
Cui Jing turned.
Yuan Xiang grinned sheepishly and pointed to his own face.
Cui Jing raised an eyebrow. “?”
Yuan Xiang whispered urgently, “Grand General, they’re right outside… maybe you should, um, stop smiling.”
The faint smile froze on Cui Jing’s lips. “…”
As his face returned to its usual cool composure, he straightened his robe and fastened the loose collar.
Yuan Xiang nearly whistled in admiration. So, he thought gleefully, the Grand General didn’t fix his collar before because he agreed with my suggestion!
Oh, how cunning love makes a man.
Even the Grand General, facing Young Miss Chang, now had his little schemes.
He must write to Steward Dai about this. If Steward Dai knew the Grand General had advanced this far, he could go to his grave smiling.
Moments later, voices were heard announcing the Imperial Envoy at the door.
With Cui Jing’s permission, a group of officials and eunuchs entered. At their head were Deputy Minister Zhan of the Ministry of Revenue and General Li Xian.
Cui Jing inclined his head slightly as the group saluted. “Forgive me for not rising to greet you.”
One of the palace eunuchs hurriedly waved his hands in alarm. “Grand General Cui, you are injured! How could we dare trouble you to rise?”
Catching the faint scent of blood and medicine in the air, the eunuch sighed softly. “Grand General Cui has suffered much this time.”
Li Xian’s eyes also held concern — and something more complicated. “Are your wounds serious, Grand General?”
After all, since leading troops to suppress the Zheng clan, Cui Jing had been stripped of his clan name — a twist few could have foreseen.
Cui Jing… severed from the illustrious Cui family of Qinghe.
And the irony was bitter: his aunt had sent an imperial decree rebuking him for excessive cruelty, ordering him to cooperate with the Imperial Envoy in handling the aftermath — and to await punishment upon returning to the capital.
Thus, Cui Jing received reward for his service… and Li Xian, punishment for his.
Li Xian laughed coldly to himself, though his face remained composed as he looked upon the pale young man reclining on the bamboo couch.
“It’s but a flesh wound,” Cui Jing said evenly. “Nothing worth mentioning.”
Li Xian’s smile did not reach his eyes. “Still, it must be tended carefully. The stability of the realm yet rests upon your shoulders, Grand General.”
“Indeed,” the eunuch chimed in, bowing toward the direction of the capital. “Grand General Cui acted only for the sake of the Court and the Holy Emperor. Such loyalty and righteousness — Her Majesty will surely recognize them.”
This man had personally crushed the Zheng clan, and now had been cast out by his own kin. Among the Aristocratic clans, he would be reviled; yet before the Holy Emperor, his loyalty shone all the brighter.
To stand between the Holy Emperor and the Aristocratic clans — and choose the former — that was Cui Jing’s path.
And since the Imperial Envoys represented the Holy Emperor’s will, they naturally lowered their tone and manner before him.
After much courteous inquiry and polite sympathy, Deputy Minister Zhan finally read aloud the imperial edict — a decree of commendation for Cui Jing’s efforts in suppressing the Zheng clan and aiding disaster relief.
The same deed — punished on one hand, rewarded on the other.
The young officials standing behind Zhan looked at one another, quietly shaken.
Near the back of the line, one young man cast a look at his fellow scholar beside him, silently mouthing: What are you writing down again?
Tan Li, the one in question, had been clutching a small notebook and several charcoal sticks all the way from the capital, scribbling incessantly.
“Of course I’m recording their phrasing,” Tan Li whispered. “What better lesson in official rhetoric than this?”
This was the perfect live classroom.
They were fresh from the examinations, barely entering the bureaucracy, and everything here was new. Each day, Deputy Minister Zhan was besieged with their questions — to the point of near collapse.
So Tan Li chose to learn by observation.
His classmate gaped. It was one thing to record landscapes or customs — but speech patterns too?
A sense of crisis struck him immediately. “Brother Tan,” he whispered, “may I borrow your notes later?”
Tan Li hesitated. “Ah… the notebook and charcoal were lent to me by Brother Song.”
It was true — such supplies were costly, and beyond his means.
The other scholar nodded gravely and patted his hand. “Say no more — I understand.”
Then, glancing down, he frowned. “But why are you even recording Eunuch Cai’s words?”
“We’re scholars, not courtiers!” he hissed.
Tan Li smiled calmly. “It’s all learning. The more I know, the steadier I’ll stand.”
He believed that learning broadly was nourishment — the more he absorbed, the wider the road ahead.
His companion looked torn — afraid that such “balanced nutrition” might overwhelm him entirely.
The audience stretched long into the afternoon. By the time Deputy Minister Zhan and his entourage finally departed, Tan Li’s charcoal stick had been worn down to a mere stub.
Meanwhile, Chang Suining had already left Cui Jing’s residence and was riding toward her temporary quarters in Xingyang.
The wind carried a faint scent of renewal — the floods were receding, and life was returning to the land. She was in good spirits.
She dismounted before the steps, handed the reins to Ah Che, and ascended the stone stairs, her lips curving with quiet satisfaction.
Her steps were light; Ah Dian followed close behind, puzzled. “Ah Li, why are you so cheerful after seeing Xiao Jing injured?”
Chang Suining blinked innocently. “Am I?”
Was her lack of virtue that obvious?
Ah Dian nodded solemnly. “Very obvious.”
“You must have seen wrong,” she said, clasping her hands behind her back — but the corners of her eyes still held laughter.
Indeed, she was pleased — not by his suffering, but by what it meant. Cui Jing’s severance from his clan freed him. The more she thought of it, the happier she became. Were it not improper to drink, she might have toasted to his freedom — and to the new beginning this “punishment” would bring.
Entering the main hall, she told Jiang Cai and the others, “We’ll rest in Xingyang for two days before returning to Bianzhou.”
Everyone had been weary from the constant travel. With Xiao Min overseeing the Bianzhou camp, all was stable; there was no rush to return. Moreover, now that the Imperial Envoy was in Xingyang, she would soon receive a summons — it was worth staying to observe the handling of the Zheng family’s aftermath.
Jiang Cai acknowledged the order and stepped out to arrange matters. But she had barely crossed the threshold when a rough, spirited voice called out, “Sister Jiang Cai! Where’s the General?”
That distinctive swagger — unmistakably He Wuhu.
At the start of the floods, Chang Suining had dispatched He Wuhu and his men to rendezvous with Chang Sui'an. For more than twenty days there had been no word, only fragmentary reports two days ago that they’d been sighted near Song Prefecture.
She rose swiftly and looked toward the courtyard.
He Wuhu had returned — but what of her brother? Had they met? Was he safe?
A familiar voice answered before she could ask.
“Ning Ning!”
Chang Sui'an, gaunt but alive, strode into the hall. When his gaze met hers, his eyes reddened, and his voice broke with emotion.
“Ning Ning!”
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