By the time the carriage entered Yunzhou City, it was already late spring.
Su Yuzhi leaned against a soft cushion, gazing at the streetscape through the gauze curtain. This was the first major city he had seen since leaving the capital. The streets were broad, shops lined both sides, and though the clothing of the pedestrians was not as luxurious as those in the capital, their brows and eyes carried a greater sense of ease and freedom.
Women either rode horses or walked on foot, chatting and laughing freely; men likewise did not need to cover themselves everywhere with veiled hats like the noble sons of the capital—simply draping a light gauze was enough to go out.
"Young Master, Wenyan Pavilion is just ahead," Chunyu reported softly.
Su Yuzhi withdrew his gaze. His fingers unconsciously brushed over the faint bluish mark around his wrist—that trace left on the night before departing the capital, when Xiao Yuhuang had been carried away by emotion. She had held him in her arms, her voice hoarse: "Yuzhi, on this journey south to Jiangnan, I have already arranged everything with the prefectures along the way. You need only focus on recuperating. Do not concern yourself with anything else."
At the time, he had not responded.
The caravan stopped before an elegant courtyard. The plaque above the gate bore the three characters "Wenyan Pavilion," the brushwork powerful yet carefree. What surprised Su Yuzhi even more was that upon entering, no one performed a grand kneeling salute. Instead, a middle-aged woman in a green robe stepped forward, cupped her hands, and said, "The proprietor has already given instructions. Esteemed guests, please follow me."
Xiao Yuhuang was disguised as a wealthy merchant, clad in a dark brocade robe, her hair bound with a gold crown. She naturally took Su Yuzhi's hand and said in a low voice, "The owner here is an old acquaintance of mine. Don't worry."
Su Yuzhi lowered his eyes and allowed her to lead him toward the inner courtyard.
Though called a book pavilion, Wenyan Pavilion was in fact a compound that combined book collection, printing, and sales. Most remarkable of all were several open-air desks set up in the courtyard, where male and female scholars sat scattered about. No one even glanced sideways at their arrival.
"Yunzhou's scholarly atmosphere is open-minded. Wenyan Pavilion in particular does not distinguish between men and women, only talent," Xiao Yuhuang explained, yet her gaze fell on the faint light in his eyes, and her heart tightened for no reason.
Their lodgings were arranged in a small waterside tower. Upon entering the room, they encountered Aunt Qin, who had arrived earlier to see to arrangements.
"Greetings, Your Majesty, Fengjun," Aunt Qin saluted, her eyes immediately settling on Su Yuzhi's face as she carefully assessed his complexion. "Young Master has traveled a long way today—are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
"I'm all right, just a bit tired," Su Yuzhi replied softly.
Aunt Qin nodded, then turned to Xiao Yuhuang. "Your Majesty may rest assured. I will take good care of Young Master. Wenyan Pavilion is quiet and secluded—most suitable for recuperation."
The shelves in the room were filled with books, and writing implements were neatly prepared on the desk. Su Yuzhi walked over to the shelves, his fingers brushing across the spines, when he suddenly stopped—
Annotations on the Classic of Waterways, New Studies on Canal Transport, Gazetteer of Southern Border Customs… These were books that would never have appeared in his chambers within the palace, yet here they stood quietly before him.
"Do you like them?" Xiao Yuhuang wrapped her arms around him from behind. "I had them prepared."
Su Yuzhi's body stiffened slightly. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "Thank you, Your Ma… Madam Xiao."
Seeing this, Aunt Qin tactfully led Chunyu out to the outer room to prepare the medicine.
In the afternoon, Xiao Yuhuang summoned the Yunzhou Prefect to discuss affairs. Before leaving, she specifically instructed Aunt Qin, "Auntie, Yuzhi's spirits are decent today. If he wishes to stroll in the garden, there's no need to stop him. Just have Chunyu follow closely."
"This old woman understands," Aunt Qin replied.
After taking his medicine and resting briefly, Su Yuzhi awoke to find the spring light lovely outside the window. He said to Chunyu, "I'd like to walk around the garden."
Chunyu hesitated. "Young Master, Aunt Qin said you already walked quite a bit today…"
"Just within the garden. I won't go far." Su Yuzhi rose on his own, put on a pale moon-white outer robe, and donned a face veil.
Chunyu had no choice but to follow, also taking a cloak along.
Su Yuzhi stepped slowly out of the small tower. Following the sounds, he headed toward the open-air desks, and from afar heard voices in debate.
"The methods recorded in the Treatise on Rivers and Canals may work in the north, but in our southern region with its dense waterways, how can they be applied wholesale?" said a clear female voice.
Su Yuzhi paused behind a bamboo grove and looked over. Three people sat by a stone table: a woman in green with sharp, spirited features; a woman in blue with a gentle, refined face; and a round-faced youth.
The woman in green slapped the table. "Sister Su, you're always this conservative! Li Yuan, the former Vice Minister of Works, proposed in her Treatise on Governing the South the idea of 'guiding according to terrain and setting sluices in segments.' Is that not brilliant?"
The woman in blue shook her head. "Li Yuan's plan consumed enormous resources. How could the court afford it? Besides, she was demoted precisely because of this back then…"
Su Yuzhi's heart stirred. He recalled having once seen a fragmentary copy of that book in his father's study. He unconsciously took half a step forward, the bamboo leaves rustling.
The three turned at the sound. The woman in green rose and cupped her hands. "May I ask who this gentleman is?"
Su Yuzhi returned the gesture. "My surname is Su, given name Yu. I am temporarily residing here. I overheard the name Li Yuan and grew curious."
"You also know Li Yuan?" The woman in blue's eyes lit up.
The round-faced youth brought over a bamboo stool. "Please sit, sir. I am Su Wenjin. This is Elder Sister Liu Yunyì, and this is my elder sister, Su Wenyu."
After a brief hesitation, Su Yuzhi sat down. Chunyu retreated to stand guard a short distance away.
"I heard you debating flood-control strategies just now," he said carefully. "Lady Liu considers the Treatise on Governing the South to be brilliant—but has it occurred to you why Li Yuan failed back then?"
Liu Yunyì raised her brows. "I would like to hear your insight."
"The failure was not in the engineering methods, but in the word 'people.'" Su Yuzhi lowered his gaze, his fingers tracing imaginary lines on the stone table. "Segmented sluices require officials of each section to act in perfect coordination. She saw the water, but failed to see the human heart."
Su Wenyu clapped her hands. "Exactly so!"
Liu Yunyì fell into thought. "Then what if there were a way to restrain these 'human hearts'? Joint accountability—group several sections together, with officials sharing both merit and fault. If one section fails, the whole group is punished; if one achieves merit, the whole group is rewarded. In that case, they would be forced to supervise one another."
Su Yuzhi was slightly taken aback. This line of thinking… was strikingly similar to the "collective performance accountability" method he had once secretly proposed to Xiao Yuhuang.
"Lady Liu is truly talented," he praised sincerely.
"Oh, not at all." Liu Yunyì laughed openly. "But you, sir—judging from your accent, you don't seem to be from Yunzhou?"
"I'm from the capital."
As they spoke, a gust of wind lifted one corner of Su Yuzhi's veil.
In that instant, the stone table fell silent.
Bamboo shadows swayed as spring light filtered through the leaves, dappling that fleeting glimpse of his face. Though it lasted only a moment, the overly refined line of his jaw, lips pale as cherry blossoms, and eyes that seemed to hold Jiangnan mist and rain—even half-hidden, they were enough to leave one dazed.
Su Yuzhi quickly pressed the veil down, his fingers trembling slightly.
"Sir…" Liu Yunyì came back to herself and cleared her throat.
"It's nothing." Su Yuzhi stood up. "I've been out for quite some time—it's time to return. Thank you all."
He turned to leave, but Su Wenyu took out a handwritten booklet. "This is a copied edition of the Treatise on Governing the South. If you don't mind, you may take it to read."
Su Yuzhi hesitated for a moment, then accepted it. "Thank you, Sister Su."
Chunyu hurried forward to support him and whispered a reminder, "Young Master, you've been out for nearly an hour. Aunt Qin will be worried."
By the time they returned to the small tower, dusk had fallen.
Aunt Qin was brewing medicine in the outer room. Seeing them return, she first carefully examined Su Yuzhi's complexion, then finally relaxed. "Young Master looks all right. Come in quickly and rest—the medicine will be ready soon."
Xiao Yuhuang had already returned and was sitting by the window reviewing secret reports. When she saw him come back, she lifted her eyes. "You were gone quite a while."
"I walked around the garden," Su Yuzhi said, placing the handwritten booklet on the desk and removing his veil.
Xiao Yuhuang's gaze fell on the booklet. "What's this?"
"A copy of the Treatise on Governing the South, borrowed from a fellow book lover."
She rose and walked over, lifting his chin with her hand. "A book lover? Chunyu said you spent nearly an hour conversing with two women and one man."
Su Yuzhi met her gaze. "Just a chance encounter. We discussed flood control."
"Flood control…" Xiao Yuhuang's fingers brushed the corner of his eye. "Yuzhi, you're still the same—once you see books and learning, you forget your own status."
"What status do I have now?" he asked softly.
Xiao Yuhuang's eyes darkened. Suddenly, she pulled him into her arms, the force strong enough to make him frown slightly. "You are mine," she murmured by his ear. "Always. Don't make me feel… that you're about to fly away."
Su Yuzhi closed his eyes and did not answer.
At that moment, Aunt Qin brought the medicine in. Seeing the two of them, she paused, then stepped forward anyway. "Your Majesty, it's time for Young Master to take his medicine."
Only then did Xiao Yuhuang loosen her hold. Aunt Qin handed the bowl to Su Yuzhi, watched him frown as he drank it down, then offered preserved fruit, her movements practiced and natural.
At dinner, Xiao Yuhuang was unusually silent. She watched Su Yuzhi sip his soup in small mouthfuls, watched the focus with which his fingers turned the pages of a book, watched the fleeting light in his eyes when he occasionally looked out the window—that light did not belong to the deep palace, nor to the gilded cage she had built.
She drained the wine in her cup, her throat burning.
"That Treatise on Governing the South," she suddenly spoke, "does it make you that happy?"
Su Yuzhi lifted his eyes. "It's just rare to see. I looked a bit longer."
"Is that so." Xiao Yuhuang set down her cup, rose, and moved behind him, placing both hands on his shoulders. "That woman surnamed Liu—did you get along very well with her?"
Su Yuzhi's shoulders stiffened slightly. "Just a passing acquaintance."
"Passing acquaintance…" Xiao Yuhuang leaned down, her breath brushing his ear. "The way she looked at you—I saw it even through the bamboo grove. And that Su Wenyu, so attentive when she gave you the book… Yuzhi, do you know what you look like in other people's eyes? What kind of scenery you are?"
"Your Majesty is overthinking it." Su Yuzhi tried to pull away, but she held him down.
"Overthinking?" Xiao Yuhuang let out a low laugh, tinged with wine and something suppressed. "Do you know how those officials spoke at the prefect's banquet just now? They said my Fengjun truly lives up to his beauty—so radiant that even illness cannot conceal his splendor… They spoke obliquely, but I could hear what lay beneath."
She turned him around, forcing him to face her. "On this journey, I allowed you to relax your mind—not to let you attract butterflies and bees."