Isolated town in northern border region

After reviewing the files of the last prefecture, Zhou Xun did not immediately return to the capital.

He sat in the post station in Qingzhou all night, going through all the case files again to make sure nothing was missing before closing the last page.

Tie Muyun stood at the door, leaning against the doorframe, waiting for him. He had already polished the bow for the third time, and the bowstring was taut. "Finished the investigation?" Zhou Xun put away the case file. "Finished the investigation."

"Everything that needed to be done has been done." Tie Muyun slung his bow over his shoulder. "Then it's time to take care of our business." Zhou Xun was taken aback. Tie Muyun had already turned and walked out, but stopped after taking two steps. "When do you plan to marry me?" Zhou Xun opened his mouth, but after a long while, he said, "I'll do it when we get back." Tie Muyun didn't turn around. "Then hurry up."

"I can't wait much longer." She walked out the door, and Zhou Xun remained sitting there watching her figure disappear at the end of the corridor, the file he hadn't had time to put away still slightly crumpled in his hand.

He glanced down at it, smoothed out the paper, put it back on the table, then stood up and followed them out.

He stood at the door for a while. There was no one in the corridor anymore, only light streaming in from the floor tiles at the end, like a thin layer of frost slowly spreading.

When the news reached the capital, Xiao Lie was looking at blueprints for improving the chassis of a steam-powered war machine.

After listening to the report, he didn't immediately respond, but rolled up the blueprints and put them away: "Then let's do it."

"We must hold a grand celebration." Zhou Xun stood to the side: "Your Highness, there's no need for such extravagance..." Xiao Lie interrupted him: "How many things have you done for me over the years?"

How many cases have you investigated?

How much criticism did he receive?

"It wouldn't be right for me not to give you a grand wedding." He walked to the window. "Half a month, is that enough time to prepare?" Zhou Xun was silent for a moment. "Yes, enough."

For the next two weeks, the entire city of Youzhou was busy with one thing.

The day the notice was posted at the city gate, the whole city knew—Zhou Xun and Tie Muyun were getting married, with the King of Northern Frontier personally officiating, and all newlyweds in the city were invited to get married on the same day.

Below the notice was a line of smaller print: "For those who wish to marry on the same day, the wedding banquet, wedding attire, and ceremonial guard will be arranged by the Prince's Palace." After the news spread, the line of people registering stretched from the east side of the city to the west side.

After reading the notice, a street vendor selling sesame cakes squatted behind his stall and calculated for a long time. Then he stood up, walked to the registration desk, and asked, "Can I go too?" The clerk in charge of registration looked up at him and said, "Yes."

"As long as it's a marriage between two willing parties, you can come." The vendor grinned: "Then I'll sign up."

"I've set a date with Cui'er, who sells tofu next door, and I was worried about how to organize it." After filling out the form, he turned and walked back to his stall. His steps were lighter than usual. He stirred the charcoal in the stove again, glanced at the direction of the tofu stall across the street, and then continued to flip the pancakes without calling her. However, he flipped the pancakes a little slower than usual.

An old man next to him, who was waiting for a sesame seed cake, asked him with a smile, "What's wrong?"

"Is the cooking not right today?" The vendor shook his head with a smile. "No, I'm just calculating the days." The old man followed his gaze to the girl who was busy at the tofu stall across the street, chuckled, and said nothing. He simply placed the coins on the table, took the sesame seed cake, and turned to leave.

During the two weeks of wedding preparations, the streets and alleys of Youzhou City underwent a complete transformation.

The old lanterns on the city gate were replaced with new red silk lanterns, and a row of pine and cypress trees were newly planted along the roadside, with red ribbons tied to the trees.

The shops along the street hung red silk ribbons at their doors, and even the most frugal noodle shops changed their door curtains to new ones embroidered with mandarin duck patterns.

Some people start cleaning the steps in front of their houses before dawn, some people take advantage of the time after closing up their stalls in the evening to repaint the old paint on their stalls, and some people use lime water to draw a row of crooked "double happiness" characters on the low wall by the roadside. Although the strokes are not neat, each one shows their seriousness.

Outside the city, on the drill ground, craftsmen erected colorful tents. The red silk on the roof stretched from north to south, and when the wind blew, it looked like a flowing flame.

In the very center of the main stage stood a grand master's chair, the seat Xiao Lie had used to officiate at the wedding. The back of the chair was adorned with red silk tied with pine branches and copper bells.

As the craftsman in charge of the setup squatted down to adjust the position of the pine branches, a young man helping him asked him, "What are these pine branches for?" The craftsman didn't turn his head and replied, "Pine and cypress are evergreen, a good omen." The young man squatted down to help him straighten the pine branches and then asked, "Will His Highness really come in person?" The craftsman straightened up and patted the dirt off his hands, saying, "The notice says His Highness will officiate the wedding."

"Your Highness keeps your word." He turned and walked toward the next pillar, his clothes covered with tiny pine needles.

Public discourse has also shifted.

The conversation in the teahouse shifted from the border situation to the upcoming wedding. Some people were counting down the days, some said that Zhou Xun had finally made it through, and some said that Tie Muyun had followed the prince through thick and thin in Panlong Valley, and that it was a blessing from heaven that she was now finding a good home.

An old man sitting in the corner put down his teacup and said slowly, "The prince's men are all married now."

He himself is still single. "The person next to him chimed in, "What kind of person is the Prince? How could an ordinary person be worthy of him?" The old man did not reply, but when he picked up the teacup again, his gaze lingered on the rim of the bowl for a while, as if he was weighing that sentence over and over in his mind, but could not find a suitable place to put it down.

The wedding was to be held at the drill ground outside the city.

The weather was fine that day, with a light breeze. The red silk swayed gently in the dim light, and the sunlight cast the shadows of the colorful canopy onto the ground.

The parade ground was packed with people attending the wedding. In addition to the newlyweds in their wedding attire, there were also many onlookers and invited guests.

Some people stood outside the decorated tent, tiptoeing towards the main stage; some squatted on the edge of the field, watching the honor guards lined up; and some held their children, pointed at the stage, and said, "See that?"

"The prince is over there." The child looked in the direction his father was pointing, then shrank back into his arms, staring at the main lamp on the stage as if trying to identify a light he didn't yet recognize.

Several rows of small lanterns hang around the main light, their light shining on the tabletop from different directions, turning the gaps in the wood grain into parallel thin lines.

When the auspicious hour arrived, Xiao Lie stood on the main platform in a dark brocade robe, with no sword at his waist, only a red rope tied around his cuff.

He glanced at the newlyweds in formal attire below the stage and stopped at the front of the group—Zhou Xun was wearing a newly tailored deep red suit, while Tie Muyun had changed into a red dress, a rare sight, with a small knife hanging at his waist, the handle of which was tied with a red rope.

Xiao Lie spoke softly, but every word was clearly heard by everyone in the audience: "Today is the wedding day of Zhou Xun and Tie Muyun."

"I'm happy for them." He paused, "and also for all the newlyweds today."

From this day forward, you have your own home.

There may still be storms in the world, but as long as there's light at home, there's nothing to fear. He raised his glass and toasted the audience.

Hundreds of hands raised their glasses simultaneously, the sound of them clinking together like the tinkling of a copper bell in the wind.

Zhou Xun and Tie Muyun stood side by side on the main stage, raising their glasses together amidst cheers from the audience, the rims of their glasses clinking softly in the candlelight.

Tie Muyun turned to look at Zhou Xun: "If you dare to mess around outside in the future..." Zhou Xun replied: "I wouldn't dare." Tie Muyun put down her wine glass: "That's more like it." As she turned around, the small knife with a red rope tied to her waist flashed in the light, half of it covered by the edge of the red silk.

Xiao Lie watched as the newlyweds finished their vows and retreated to the edge of the stage, a smile still on their faces, but there was something he had carefully suppressed in his eyes that didn't surface.

He stood at the edge of the main stage, watching the hundreds of couples below exchanging vows. He had been holding the wine glass in his hand for a while, and the glass was slightly warm.

He glanced down at the wine in his glass, then raised it again to take a sip, and then put it down.

An old woman carrying a tray handed him a plate of wedding candies, smiling as she asked, "Your Highness, would you like to try a piece?" Xiao Lie took a piece, put it in his mouth for a moment, and the sweetness slowly melted on his tongue. He nodded, "Sweet." The old woman smiled and walked away.

After swallowing the candy, Xiao Lie stood at the edge of the stage for a while, his gaze sweeping over the smiling faces below the stage before returning to the empty cup in his hand, as if using the lingering warmth on the rim to confirm whether there was any possibility of bringing something up again.

He didn't pour any more wine, but simply put the empty glass back on the tray.

After the guests left, Xiao Lie stood alone at the edge of the training ground, without returning to the palace.

He gazed at the darkening horizon in the distance, still holding the unfinished glass of wine in his hand.

The night wind blew from the direction of the grassland, carrying the dry and cold air unique to early winter.

He glanced down at the half-empty glass of wine, and was about to put it down when he heard footsteps behind him.

Xu De walked over to him, also holding a glass of wine: "Didn't finish it?" Xiao Lie: "I can't finish it." Xu De stopped beside him: "You haven't let go of Princess Minyue's matter yet?" Xiao Lie was silent for a moment: "It's not a matter of letting go or not letting go."

Sometimes I feel that some things didn't have to come to that point. He leaned against the wooden stake for a while. "But it's all for the best."

She has her own path to walk, and I have mine. Xu De didn't reply.

The two stood side by side at the edge of the training ground. The last few lanterns on the distant city wall had been extinguished, leaving only the last row of candles lit in the center of the training ground, like an eye waiting for the wind to change direction.

When the wind blew from that direction, the row of candles tilted in the same direction for a moment before standing upright again, as if folding a pre-determined angle for something that hadn't been settled yet, waiting to decide which direction to unfold after dawn.

Xu De glanced at him, but didn't ask any further questions. He simply finished the last bit of wine in his cup and said, "Go back to sleep." Xiao Lie didn't answer. He stood there for a while longer before turning and walking towards the city gate.

Xu De followed behind him. As they passed through the city gate, the wind blew in through the archway, causing the hems of their clothes to flutter.

The sound of horses' hooves pounded on the bluestone slabs a few times before gradually fading into the distance.

The next morning, the congratulatory gifts from the Jing Kingdom arrived.

The messenger delivering the gift presented a long, rectangular wooden box at the palace gate. The box was unsigned, with only a wax seal on it.

When Xiao Lie opened the wooden box in the imperial study, he saw a roll of parchment inside.

When unfolded, it reveals a map depicting the entire territory of the Shu Kingdom—mountains, rivers, cities, and passes, marked with extreme detail, even including several abandoned beacon towers on the border.

Below the map was no signature, only a line of text: "Shu returns to Chu, Yan returns to Jing, and the world is divided equally." The handwriting was neat and steady, the strokes were Jiang Jun's, each stroke seemed to silently point him to a crease that had already been drawn, waiting for him to decide where to start tearing it open.

Xiao Lie looked at it for a long time, then rolled up the parchment, put it back in the wooden box, and closed the lid.

He didn't say anything to the messenger, but simply said to the clerk beside him, "Reward him." The messenger accepted the reward and left.

After closing the door, Xiao Lie reopened the wooden box, unfolded the parchment again, and looked at it once more. The way the line was drawn resembled a thumbtack that had not yet been pressed down, waiting for him to decide whether to find the corresponding location on his side of the map.

He reached out and touched the bottom edge of the line of words. The ink had dried, but his fingertips could still feel a slight raised texture as they passed over it.

He folded the parchment, put it back in the wooden box, pushed it to the corner of the table, turned and walked out of the study. The creases of the map closed up again in the direction he turned.

When the news reached the states of Yan and Shu, the reactions in the imperial courts were quite different.

After reading the secret report, Yan Ji remained silent for a while, then put the letter down: "Jing Kingdom sent a map of Shu Kingdom to Xiao Lie." Yang Wei, sitting opposite him, said: "He wants to exchange Shu Kingdom for Yan Kingdom." Yan Ji stood up and walked to the window: "Did he ask Shu Kingdom if they would agree?" Yang Wei did not answer.

However, in subsequent talks, several cooperative agreements that had already been agreed upon between the Yan and Shu states were postponed by the Yan side on the grounds that "reassessment was needed."

On the way back, the Shu envoy handed a secret letter to the people of the Bureau of Folklore. The letter was unsigned, but the handwriting was on Jiang Min's desk.

After reading the letter, Jiang Min did not pass it on to anyone. She folded it up and looked at it under the lamp for a long time before closing the envelope.

As the night wind blew in through the window along the corridor, the corner of the letter fluttered slightly before falling back to its original position, as if it were memorizing the contents of the letter, waiting for her to retrieve it and review it again whenever she needed to.

The standoff on the border continues, but subtle changes are beginning to emerge in the deployment of the three-nation allied forces.

The Shu camp began to move a short distance eastward. This change was not significant, just enough for the Yan scouts to notice it.

When Jiang Min heard the news in the tent, he didn't look up, but just kept his head down and continued to organize the documents in his hands.

Her gaze lingered on the paper for a moment, as if she were adding an inconspicuous note next to a certain number, then she closed the paper and put it into the tin box on the table.

She folded the handwriting on the secret letter again and tucked it into her sleeve, like a thumbtack waiting for its chance to be pressed onto some unsigned draft treaty.

A few days later, a message interrupted the secret calculations of the various forces—Tugh's envoy arrived in the capital overnight, bringing an unusual message.

A series of fires broke out deep in the grasslands, spreading along the pastures for more than half a month and covering the pastures of several tribes, forcing herders to migrate south with their livestock.

The envoy knelt in the imperial study, his voice hoarse: "The Khan says that the fire on the grassland has been burning for more than half a month."

Those fires are invisible during the day, but emerge from underground at night; the herders call them "ghost fires."

Most of the pastureland was burned down, leaving livestock nowhere to graze, and some tribes have begun to migrate south.

The Khan asked His Highness to send someone to investigate whether the fires would stop burning once they were finished, or if they would continue to burn indefinitely. Xiao Lie didn't answer immediately after hearing this; he stood up and walked to the window. "Will-o'-the-wisps?" The messenger nodded. "The herdsmen say they are underground fires, not lit by humans." Xiao Lie was silent for a moment. "I understand."

"You go and rest now. I will arrange for someone to head north tomorrow."

After the envoy left, Xu De emerged from behind the screen, still holding a silver needle in his hand: "Will-o'-the-wisp?" Xiao Lie turned around: "Natural marsh gas, not uncommon on the grasslands. Once it encounters an open flame, it will form a continuous raging fire." Xu De thought for a moment: "Then... can it be extinguished?" Xiao Lie walked to the table and spread out a new map, his finger tracing the border northwards, stopping at the area marked as grassland: "Let's go take a look first." He drew a circle on the edge of that area, then put down his pen, as if pressing a temporary thumbtack on the edge of something unnamed, waiting for on-site surveying to determine whether it should be nailed inside or outside the dotted line.

The ink on the edge of the circle wasn't completely dry yet, and it gleamed faintly under the oil lamp, like a newly confirmed coordinate, waiting for someone to add the first actual scratch to its edge.

Xiao Lie stood by the window, gazing northwards. The night wind blew in through the open window, stirring a corner of the map.

The wooden box on the table was still open, with the edges of the parchment inside sticking out, facing his still-open hand.

The exposed crease lay diagonally along the edge of the paper, near his knuckles, as if waiting for him to decide whether to press it back into the box or continue turning down along that crease.

He didn't reach out to touch it, but turned around and turned the wick up a little brighter. The light fell again on the edge of the not-yet-completely-dry circle on the map, casting it as a slowly narrowing arc, waiting for someone to follow the direction of that light across the still-untamed horizon to verify which crack the flames seeping from the ground would continue to spread along.