In the sixteen years of the Great Yin Dynasty, although there had been quite a few wars, Jizhou was hardly ever affected.

Fan Changyu had only ever heard from the elders how cruel war could be — after all, war required not only the conscription of grain but also of men. Aunt Zhao and Uncle Zhao’s son had been taken away for conscription that year, and he never came back.

An old man said, “Prince Changxin rebelled in Chongzhou, and the court sent troops to suppress it. This battle has dragged on with no result. I’d say, eight or nine chances out of ten, the Great Yin’s mandate is at its end — the heavens are about to change.”

“Marquis Wu’an is already dead. What does Wei Yan have left to stabilize the northwest with?”

Someone else added, “Whoever becomes emperor — I couldn’t care less. As long as he doesn’t rob me of my money and grain or force me onto the battlefield.”

Many people shook their heads and sighed. “The soldiers have already started to forcibly requisition grain from nearby villages and towns. When war drags on like this, the officials end up with both wealth and power, but for us common folk, it’s nothing but ruined homes and scattered families, wandering and destitute…”

Hearing this, Fan Changyu felt a heaviness in her heart and said to Xie Zheng, “If the court is fighting in Chongzhou, shouldn’t the court be supplying the army’s grain? Why are they taking it from the people?”

Xie Zheng’s tone carried a hint of mockery. “The grain route’s been cut off. Some people, when driven into a corner, jump over the wall like desperate dogs.”

Huizhou had once been his territory. Thinking back now, Wei Yan must have already begun to fear him back then. The court always allocated military rations to his stationed troops every three months, and the prefecture itself had no granaries.

As it was a garrison region, its geography offered no natural advantage — it was not a place of abundant harvests.

Once the grain route was cut off, it was a fatal blow.

The rebellion in Chongzhou happened to be just south of Huizhou, severing the supply route from the court to Huizhou.

When the battlefront between Chongzhou and Huizhou stretched longer, he had already guessed that Huizhou would run out of grain sooner or later. The quickest solution, of course, was to levy grain from the people.

After surviving the pursuit and escaping death, he had planned to contact his old subordinates, instructing them to secretly buy up the civilians’ remaining grain first.

When Zhao Xun appeared, purchasing grain became a touchstone to test him — and now that the grain was secured, Wei Xuan had already suffered defeat on the Chongzhou battlefield and failed to collect grain from the people.

Knowing Wei Yan as he did, he was certain that Wei Yan would not show his son a pleasant face.

Letting Wei Xuan receive a punishment from his father first — that was, in Xie Zheng’s eyes, a gift to his cousin before the real revenge began.

With no one left in the northwest, Wei Yan had no choice but to let He Jingyuan take over the Chongzhou campaign. Though known as a scholar-general, He Jingyuan would never stoop to allowing his soldiers to rob civilians of their grain.

Moreover, with the reputation of the Wei faction being what it was, if Wei Yan truly allowed his men to plunder the people’s food, it would only hand his political enemies fresh leverage against him.

Now that he held those two hundred thousand shi of rice, he had enough time to begin the next phase of his plan.

The sudden forced requisition of grain by the soldiers was, eight or nine times out of ten, another foolish idea from his glory-seeking cousin — hoping to achieve some merit before his military authority was officially taken away.

Ordinary folk, unaware of the deeper intrigues, were just as puzzled as Fan Changyu. They discussed, “Sixteen years ago at the Battle of Jinzhou, that traitorous minister Meng Shuyuan delayed the delivery of provisions, ruining the opportunity for victory. Prince Chengde and General Xie led a hundred thousand soldiers who starved for five days in Jinzhou. By the time they climbed the city walls, they were too weak to stand, and that’s how the Bei Jue broke through the gates. Now the grain supply’s a problem again — why are they scraping from our scalps this time?”

As for the culprit behind the defeat at Jinzhou, the name Meng Shuyuan was one that every man and woman of Great Yin longed to see struck down.

Immediately, someone cursed, “That Meng Shuyuan died far too easily! General Xie trusted him so much, even entrusted him with the crucial task of transporting supplies. If he hadn’t delayed the army’s timing, how would Prince Chengde have died at Jinzhou? How could that dog Wei have controlled the court for so many years since?”

“The Meng family’s extermination was nothing less than retribution!”

“Let’s just hope the Chongzhou army’s grain this time doesn’t have another grain officer pulling the same tricks again!”

Since sixteen years ago, Xie Zheng had already known that the fatal cause of defeat in the Battle of Jinzhou was the delay of military provisions.

The one in charge of escorting those supplies back then was Meng Shuyuan, an old general under his father’s command. His father’s former subordinates once told him that in this world, anyone might betray his father — anyone except Meng Shuyuan.

Meng Shuyuan’s delay in delivering the supplies had not been treachery. On the way, he had gone to rescue the one hundred thousand refugees trapped by the Beijue forces in Luocheng. In the end, the refugees were not saved, and Jinzhou was also breached.

When Meng Shuyuan heard the news of his lord’s death, he knelt in the direction of Jinzhou, drew his sword, and took his own life.

The tragedy of Jinzhou thus came to an end with his death. Yet even after more than ten years, whenever the common people mentioned his name, they still spoke of him with bitter condemnation.

The group of soldiers had already gone far ahead. Xie Zheng withdrew his gaze and said to Fan Changyu, “Let’s go.”

But he saw Fan Changyu staring absentmindedly at the people who had just been discussing Meng Shuyuan.

He asked, “What is it?”

Fan Changyu held Changning’s hand and pressed her lips together. “Meng Shuyuan delayed the timing to save one hundred thousand refugees. He doesn’t seem to be as detestable as the world says, does he?”

Xie Zheng’s voice turned cold. “The military order he received was to deliver the grain. Failing to deliver it to Jinzhou within the time limit — that was dereliction of duty. If he had enough ability to rescue those hundred thousand refugees and deliver the grain on time, he would have deserved the praise of all people. But since he neither saved the refugees nor delivered the grain, causing Jinzhou to fall and one hundred thousand soldiers to die within the city, his crime is unforgivable.”

He raised his eyes to look at Fan Changyu. “You pity such an incompetent man?”

Fan Changyu shook her head. She did not understand military strategy or law, but she felt that while Meng Shuyuan might indeed have been the chief culprit in the Jinzhou defeat, he did not deserve to be branded a great traitor. At most, he was just the kind of “incompetent” person Xie Zheng described.

As the three of them passed a clothing shop, she asked Xie Zheng, “Your cloak’s dirty. Why not buy a new one to wear?”

The cloak spattered with mud had already been removed, folded neatly over his arm.

He glanced briefly at the shop’s brightly colored fabrics and said, “No need. The sun’s out — it’s not cold now.”

Fan Changyu said, “Then how about a hair ribbon? The one I bought for you before — I noticed you don’t seem to like it much; I hardly ever see you use it.”

As soon as she finished, she saw Xie Zheng looking at her with an unreadable expression.

Fan Changyu didn’t think she had said anything wrong. Her apricot eyes met his directly, each of their pupils reflecting the other’s face — one clear and bright, the other deep and shadowed.

After a moment, Xie Zheng was the first to look away. “It’s not that I don’t like it,” he said.

Fan Changyu found his words rather like a riddle. If he didn’t dislike it, then why didn’t he use it? She said, “You bought so many things for Ning-niang. You should pick a New Year’s gift too — I’ll buy it for you!”

The corners of Xie Zheng’s mouth straightened slightly. “Didn’t you already give me a red envelope?”

Fan Changyu said, “Lucky money and a New Year’s gift aren’t the same thing.”

Xie Zheng looked at her for a while, then said, “To me, they are the same.”

Fan Changyu took that as a refusal and didn’t press him further.

She glanced at the sun. “If I go with you to the bookstore to buy paper and ink, we might be late getting to Head Constable Wang’s house. But if we wait until later, the bookstore might close. How about this — you go to the bookstore by yourself, and I’ll take Ning-niang to pay New Year’s greetings to Head Constable Wang first. Once you’re done, wait for us at the bookstore. After I drop off the gifts, I’ll bring Ning-niang over to find you.”

Xie Zheng nodded.

The two parted ways at the fork in the road. Before leaving, Changning waved vigorously at Xie Zheng. “Brother-in-law, be careful on the road! When Sister and I buy good food, we’ll get some for you too!”

Xie Zheng’s brows lifted slightly as he looked at Fan Changyu. “No need. You two just eat.”

Fan Changyu thought to herself that it almost sounded like he was accusing her of deliberately sending him away so she could take Changning to eat something nice without him.

Under her conflicted gaze, Xie Zheng walked off into the distance. Only then did Fan Changyu half-crouch down and raise her hand to wipe the bits of candied haw residue from the corner of Changning’s mouth, both helpless and amused. “You little glutton, what are you craving now?”

Changning’s plump, fair fingers pointed toward a street vendor selling brown-sugar cakes.

Fan Changyu pressed her forehead with a sigh. “All right, let’s go.”

After buying the brown-sugar cakes, Fan Changyu went to a nearby tavern to buy a pot of good wine. The cured meat she had originally intended as a New Year’s gift for Head Constable Wang had been partially given to that scholar earlier, and it felt awkward to show up now carrying only a single piece of meat.

Fortunately, Head Constable Wang was fond of wine — buying a pot for him would certainly please him.

Head Constable Wang’s residence was in the southern part of the county seat. The location wasn’t the best, but it was still a two-courtyard house — the kind that, in a small place like Qingping County, only a person of some standing could afford to live in.

After Fan Changyu knocked, an old servant woman opened the gate. Hearing that they had come to offer New Year’s greetings, she quickly invited them inside.

It was already afternoon. Those who had come in the morning to pay respects and dine had mostly departed. When Fan Changyu entered the room, she saw only Head Constable Wang, his wife, and the elderly Madam Wang sitting together on the heated brick bed in the east wing.

Old Madam Wang appeared to be well into her eighties. Unlike most old women from the countryside whose faces were deeply wrinkled, hers was round and plump with a gentle, kindly air.

Madam Wang herself was sturdily built, though not coarse or heavy-shouldered. It was said her father had once been a constable too, and she had learned a bit of martial skill from him. Her features carried warmth, but her brows held a touch of heroic vigor.

“So this is Changyu, isn’t it?” Madam Wang smiled the moment she saw her. “What a good child — one look and I can tell you’re strong-boned, a fine seedling for martial training.”

Fan Changyu smiled and greeted both her and Old Madam Wang politely.

In Qingping County, there had once been a famously beautiful courtesan known publicly as Yu-niang. Because of that, for local girls whose names ended with the character Yu (玉), people would avoid calling them Yu-niang directly. To do so would be like calling them a courtesan — an insult disguised as familiarity.

Changning clutched the hem of Fan Changyu’s clothes, hiding behind her, her fawn-like eyes peeking timidly toward Madam Wang.

Madam Wang’s smile grew even warmer. She took a handful of sweets from a brightly lacquered candy plate and beckoned to the little girl. “Little Ning-niang looks so lovely. Come, take some candy.”

Changning didn’t dare go straight over and lifted her head to look at Fan Changyu.

Fan Changyu said gently, “Madam is giving you sweets — go on, take them.”