The Duke of Yongning had always been diligent and conscientious. Whenever a responsibility was entrusted to him, he would see it through properly before returning to the capital to report on its completion.
The follow-up measures for dealing with the flooding in Jiangnan, along with the autumn imperial examinations there, had all been arranged by the Duke of Yongning with great care. By the time winter arrived, the embankments in Jinling had been completely repaired, and the entire city had returned to the order it had known before the disaster.
When the first light snow of the season drifted down over Jinling, the Duke of Yongning set out on his journey back to the capital.
By then, Chang’an was already blanketed in white.
As soon as the twelfth lunar month began, the festive atmosphere of the New Year gradually grew stronger throughout Chang’an.
The same was true of the Duke of Yongning’s residence. Once the twelfth lunar month arrived, Madam Jun instructed the household stewards, servants, and maids to clean every corner of the estate until it was spotless. They also began purchasing New Year provisions little by little.
Madam Jun started writing letters.
Several months earlier, Jun Xiaowu had grown restless staying in the capital and returned to Yumen Pass. Judging by the timing, if Madam Jun sent him a letter in the next few days and Jun Xiaowu set out promptly, he would be able to return to Chang’an before the New Year.
While Madam Jun wrote, Jun Huailang sat beside her, grinding the ink.
As she continued writing, Madam Jun said slowly, “Your father is already on his way back to the capital. He should be able to return to Chang’an before the New Year.”
Jun Huailang smiled beside her. “That’s wonderful. Last New Year, both Father and I were in Jiangnan. Mother must have missed Father terribly.”
Madam Jun’s brush never stopped moving.
“Your aunt also said she wanted to come home for a few days around that time. I told her to have Xiaowu come back as well. It’s been several years since all of us in the family celebrated the New Year together.”
Jun Huailang answered in agreement.
Madam Jun paused. Without looking up, she said casually, “If there are no other arrangements, let the Prince of Guangling come to our home as well and join us for New Year’s Eve dinner.”
Jun Huailang froze, his eyes widening slightly.
Seeing that he had not responded, Madam Jun raised her head and glanced at him coolly.
“What? He comes running to our house every day, and you’re not going to give him a proper status?” she asked.
Jun Huailang paused before finally finding his voice again.
“If Mother says he should be given one, then of course he should.” He could not suppress the smile in his voice.
Madam Jun shot him a glance and reached out to tap his forehead.
“Let your father meet him, too,” she said. “Since your father will be coming home for the New Year, he probably won’t beat him too badly.”
Jun Huailang burst out laughing and conveyed Madam Jun’s message to Xue Yan exactly as she had said it.
When Xue Yan heard the news, the corners of his mouth lifted so high that he could not bring them back down.
Jun Huailang watched him standing there grinning and reminded him rather helplessly, “My father will be coming home for the New Year, too.”
Xue Yan’s eyes curved into a rare smile. He pulled Jun Huailang straight into his arms and kissed him repeatedly on the lips, without any restraint.
“It’s fine. Your father likes me a lot,” he said.
Jun Huailang felt as though he had been knocked down and licked by a giant dog. His lips were soon glistening with moisture.
“My father liked you when he didn’t know about our relationship,” he said, struggling to dodge him.
Xue Yan was unconcerned. He gently bit Jun Huailang’s lip.
“Then he’ll definitely like me even more once he finds out.”
Jun Huailang slapped him on the shoulder.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Xue Yan chuckled softly.
“It’s fine,” he said. “If your father wants to beat me, I’ll just take it. I can take a beating.”
Naturally, he could take a beating. Jun Huailang’s father was a scholar. If he really tried to beat Xue Yan, how much damage could he possibly do?
Jun Huailang could only look at Xue Yan’s smug, self-satisfied expression. He was so shameless that Jun Huailang was momentarily speechless.
After several more snowfalls, the end of the year gradually approached in Chang’an.
This year, the Emperor was bedridden with illness and could not even get up. As a result, the customary imperial banquet held every year was canceled.
To curry favor with everyone in the Jun family, Xue Yan issued an imperial decree a few days before the New Year, allowing Consort Shu to return home and stay for several days. There was no need for her to hurry back to the palace; she could wait until after the New Year festivities were over.
Consort Shu did not appreciate his kindness in the slightest and did not give him even the faintest smile. However, when the day of her departure arrived, she did not delay at all. She had the palace attendants pack several large chests of luggage, then returned to the Duke of Yongning’s residence in a grand procession.
Consort Shu settled in at the Duke of Yongning’s residence.
A few days later, on New Year’s Eve itself, the Duke of Yongning finally arrived in Chang’an with the officials who had accompanied him south.
Emperor Qingping was still unable to get out of bed, so it was once again Xue Yan who received the Duke of Yongning at Yonghe Palace.
Xue Yan and the Duke of Yongning were naturally quite familiar with each other through their work on the Jiangnan affairs. The Duke of Yongning also knew that the situation in the capital had undergone dramatic changes over the past few months, and he was quite satisfied with the outcome of Xue Yan taking charge of the government.
Although he had never belonged to any faction or attached himself to any particular party, he had some understanding of the Emperor’s several sons. He knew perfectly well which ones lacked ability and which ones had crooked intentions.
At present, Xue Yan was the only one capable of shouldering the burden of the entire Great Yong dynasty.
Thus, the two men conversed pleasantly at Yonghe Palace. It was not until the sky grew dark that the officials at the palace received their rewards and dispersed.
The Duke of Yongning had already received a letter from his wife and was eager to return home for the New Year. Therefore, after leaving the palace with several of his subordinates, he bid farewell to them one by one and returned to his own carriage.
Just as the carriage was about to depart, a voice sounded from outside.
“Duke?”
The distinctive tone immediately identified the speaker as a eunuch.
The Duke of Yongning lifted the carriage curtain with one hand and saw the very eunuch who attended Xue Yan.
“Is there something else, Eunuch?” the Duke asked.
Jinbao grinned. “My lord, His Highness the Prince invites you to accompany him.”
The Duke of Yongning was puzzled.
He knew that Xue Yan no longer lived in the imperial palace and instead resided at the Prince of Guangling’s estate. But… the Prince of Guangling’s estate and the Duke of Yongning’s residence were not on the same route.
“Where is His Highness going?” the Duke asked.
Jinbao smiled knowingly, a trace of excitement in his eyes, as though he could hardly wait to watch his own master’s predicament unfold.
“You’ll find out when we arrive, my lord,” he said with a beaming smile.
The Duke of Yongning agreed uncertainly and lowered the carriage curtain.
After waiting for a short while, a carriage rumbled out through the main entrance of Xuanwu Gate in the imperial city. It traveled alongside the Duke of Yongning’s carriage toward the Duke’s residence.
The two carriages moved quietly along Chang’an’s main road. At last, one after the other, they stopped in front of the Duke of Yongning’s residence.
The Duke of Yongning stepped out of his carriage and saw Xue Yan standing beside his own. He was tall and upright.
The Duke looked him up and down, somewhat surprised.
“Your Highness?”
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Xue Yan seemed to be standing a little straighter than usual today, rather like a newlywed son-in-law meeting his elders for the first time.
Xue Yan smiled faintly.
“I’ll be imposing on you today, Duke.”
The Duke of Yongning nodded and asked, “Are you planning to spend the New Year at my residence?”
Xue Yan nodded solemnly.
“Yes,” he said. “However, before entering, there is one matter I must inform you of. When the time comes, I hope you won’t blame me too severely.”
The Duke of Yongning nodded, waiting for him to continue.
Just then, the rumbling sound of another carriage approached from a distance.
It was moving very quickly, the sound of its hooves urgent and disorderly.
The two men looked up and saw a large carriage racing through the night toward them. Its design was quite simple, with a rough, grayish-brown canopy. As it drew closer, dust could still be seen clinging to the horses and the carriage itself.
“What is…” Xue Yan’s face showed a hint of confusion.
The carriage hurriedly came to a stop in front of the Duke of Yongning’s residence.
The curtain was lifted, revealing Jun Xiaowu’s face.
“Father! You’re back!” Jun Xiaowu called out excitedly before nimbly jumping down from the carriage. “Has Big Brother come back, too? Where is he?”
Jun Xiaowu ran forward a few steps, only to notice Xue Yan standing beside his father.
Back in Chang’an, he had often heard people say that His Highness the Prince of Guangling was cruel and eccentric, bloodthirsty and ruthless, and certainly not a good person.
Jun Xiaowu immediately became more reserved.
“Greetings, Your Highness,” he said, bowing to Xue Yan.
Xue Yan nodded and allowed him to rise.
“You’ve just returned from Yumen Pass?” the Duke of Yongning asked.
Jun Xiaowu nodded and grinned.
“I just made it back. Father, take a look. Do you know who else has come?”
The Duke of Yongning and Xue Yan both turned to look at the carriage.
Following behind Jun Xiaowu, a tall, powerfully built man, nine feet in height, leaped down from the carriage.
The carriage even rocked slightly with the force of his landing.
The man strode forward with long, powerful steps until he reached the light beneath a nearby lantern.
He was extremely tall, even a little taller than Xue Yan. He was still wearing heavy armor, with a cloak fluttering behind him. His shoulders and back were broad, and a thick beard covered his face.
“Duke, it’s been several years! I hope you’ve been well!”
He spoke with a hearty laugh, his voice booming like a bell.
“Brother-in-law, you’ve returned as well?” the Duke of Yongning asked in surprise.
Jun Xiaowu grinned broadly.
“Mother hasn’t seen Uncle for several years. When I returned this time, Uncle said he wanted to come back with me and celebrate the New Year together.”
Xue Yan understood.
The man standing before him was Jun Huailang’s maternal uncle, his own mother’s elder brother, Shen Yihong, the commanding general stationed at Yumen Pass.
It was said that more than ten years ago, when foreign enemies invaded Yumen Pass, Shen Yihong had been no more than a young officer in his twenties. He had led a troop of light cavalry straight into the Turkic camp, wielding an eighty-jin broadsword with such ferocity that not a single enemy was left alive wherever he passed.
It was he who had cut down the enemy general with a single stroke, turning the tide of battle and making his name in a single engagement.
He had guarded Yumen Pass for ten years. Throughout that decade, the Turks had repeatedly launched attacks, yet they had never even managed to reach the gates of Yumen Pass.
Xue Yan looked toward Shen Yihong and found that Shen Yihong was looking at him as well.
“And this gentleman is…?” Shen Yihong asked.
The Duke of Yongning replied, “This is His Highness, the Prince of Guangling.”
Was there anyone in all of Great Yong who did not know the name of Xue Yan, the Prince of Guangling? With the Emperor bedridden and unable to rise, this prince was the one truly sitting on the throne.
Hearing this, Shen Yihong clasped his hands and greeted him openly.
“So you are the Prince of Guangling! This general pays his respects to Your Highness!”
Xue Yan raised a hand and supported his arm, stopping him before he could kneel on one knee.
Shen Yihong asked with a laugh, “Why haven’t you and the Duke gone inside yet? Are you standing at the entrance chatting?”
The Duke of Yongning nodded.
“His Highness just said that he had something to tell me,” he replied frankly.
Hearing this, Shen Yihong immediately became interested.
“Oh? What is it?”
In an instant, all six eyes belonging to the three men—the Duke of Yongning, Jun Xiaowu, and Shen Yihong—turned in unison toward Xue Yan.
Xue Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
The words that had already reached the tip of his tongue… suddenly became rather difficult to say.
——
That evening, it was not until the dishes for New Year’s Eve dinner were nearly cold that the doors to the main hall of the Duke of Yongning’s residence finally opened.
Everyone in the room looked over and saw Shen Yihong, Jun Xiaowu, and the Duke of Yongning enter together, with Xue Yan accompanying them. The four men came in with quite an imposing presence.
Consort Shu had been hungry for a while and was currently sitting with Jun Linghuan, eating snacks. Seeing them enter, she complained in a sweet, aggrieved voice, “Why have you all ended up together? And why did you arrange to arrive so late? Are you trying to starve me to death?”
Whenever she was at home, everyone had always spoiled her. Normally, whenever she complained like this, everyone in the family, from her elder brothers and sisters-in-law to her nieces and nephews, would gather around to coax her.
But today, all the men who had entered wore grim expressions and remained completely silent.
Xue Yan walked behind them, and his movements seemed a little strange.
Jun Huailang stared at him for a long time. He thought Xue Yan looked as though he might be limping, but when he looked more carefully, it seemed that he was walking normally after all.
Just as he was puzzling over this and trying to get another look, his maternal uncle suddenly spoke.
“What are you staring at?” Shen Yihong barked, startling Jun Huailang.
Madam Jun could not help complaining, “Do you think you’re still in the military camp? Why are you shouting so loudly?”
Shen Yihong, however, was gritting his teeth and saying nothing. His tiger-like eyes were wide with fury, fixed solely on Xue Yan.
Xue Yan nodded to him, inviting him to take the seat of honor.
The Duke of Yongning gave a cold snort from the side and sat down in his own seat without saying a word.
Beside him, Jun Xiaowu took his seat as well, still muttering under his breath.
“Uncle went too easy on him,” he whispered. “I told Big Brother ages ago that the Prince of Guangling was no good and that he should stay away from him…”
Jun Huailang had a pretty good idea why all these men were wearing such grim expressions.
And so the Jun family’s New Year’s Eve dinner turned out to be especially “lively.”
The men in the family did not say much. Instead, they took turns pouring alcohol for Xue Yan. Xue Yan refused none of it. No matter how much the family poured for him, he obediently drank every drop.
Madam Jun did not intervene, and Consort Shu was delighted to watch the spectacle. Only Jun Huailang tried several times to step forward and take some of the wine for Xue Yan, but each time, he was glared back into his seat.
Jun Huailang could only watch as Xue Yan drank until his eyes were red at the corners and his gaze became unfocused. Eventually, he had to brace himself against the table to keep his body steady.
“All right, we’ve nearly finished eating. Let’s go to the heated sitting room and have some tea,” Madam Jun said leisurely when she saw that they had put Xue Yan through enough.
Consort Shu chimed in, “That’s right. Now that dinner is over, it’s time to stay up and welcome the New Year.”
The three men remained silent, treating this as an implicit agreement to call it a day and spare Xue Yan for the time being.
Shen Yihong looked Xue Yan up and down and snorted through his nose.
“At least the lad is honest.”
The Duke of Yongning looked at Xue Yan, then turned toward Jun Huailang. His gaze was calm and composed.
“You must know your limits,” he said. “I don’t need to teach you how to conduct yourself in this matter, do I?”
Hearing this, a smile appeared involuntarily in Jun Huailang’s eyes.
He knew that his father had more or less agreed to their relationship.
He hurriedly gave a solemn nod.
Beside him, Jun Xiaowu was still grumbling angrily.
“He needs to be beaten a few more times. Once is definitely not enough…”
Jun Huailang smiled and patted him.
Madam Jun rose to her feet, and the others around her began leaving their seats as well. Only Xue Yan, seeing everyone stand up, tried to get up with them. But no matter how many times he pressed his hands against the table and tried to push himself upright, he could not manage it.
He remained sitting there, his posture dignified and stern, yet his eyes were filled with a bewildered, watery haze. He looked terribly pitiful.
Madam Jun glanced at him.
“Huailang, why don’t you take the Prince of Guangling downstairs to rest first?” she said. “You can stay with him while keeping watch tonight.”
Jun Xiaowu immediately cried out, “Mother, that’s like sending a sheep straight into a tiger’s den!”
Madam Jun shot him a glare.
Beside her, Shen Yihong folded his arms.
“It’s fine. The lad can’t do anything in his current state. He’s perfectly safe.”
Jun Huailang was both amused and exasperated.
Before long, everyone went together to the heated sitting room behind the main hall, accompanied by the maids. The once bustling main hall suddenly became spacious and quiet.
Jun Huailang walked over to Xue Yan.
Xue Yan raised his head and looked at him for a long time before his eyes finally managed to focus.
His head felt terribly heavy. He tilted it slightly, and his head came to rest against Jun Huailang.
Jun Huailang naturally wrapped his arms around him.
“Your family is really heavy-handed,” Xue Yan muttered.
Under the influence of the strong liquor, the end of his voice rose softly, making him sound particularly aggrieved.
Jun Huailang stroked the side of his face.
“They hit you?” he asked.
Xue Yan gave a muffled hum.
“So cruel,” he mumbled.
Jun Huailang gently smoothed his hair.
“And you just let them?”
It took Xue Yan a long time to gather his thoughts. His voice was so low that he sounded as though he were talking to himself.
“They should have,” he said.
Jun Huailang asked, “Does it hurt?”
Xue Yan shook his head, then paused before nodding.
“You just have to kiss me, and I’ll be fine,” he said.
Jun Huailang let out a soft, muffled laugh and helped him crouch down.
A gentle, cool kiss landed amid their hot breaths, where the scent of sandalwood mingled with the smell of alcohol.
Outside the window, a gust of wind blew past, making the red lanterns beneath the eaves sway gently. Snow slipped from the branches with a soft rustle, falling onto the vivid red scraps of firecrackers scattered across the ground.
Warm light shone through the window lattice, casting a soft, golden glow across the snow.