Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

On the last evening, Xiaoya said she wanted to see Red Square one more time. She was standing by the window of her hotel room looking out as she said this. The sky outside was changing from light gray to gray-blue, and the outlines of the rooftops in the distance were becoming clearer and clearer.

She took her coat off the back of the chair and put it on, then turned to Lin Yanzhou and asked, "Can we go to Red Square again, Yanzhou?"

Lin Yanzhou stood up: "If you like it, I'll go with you."

The wind had died down when they went out. The streetlights were still off, and the sky was somewhere between day and night. They crossed the street along the route they had taken the day before, and as they reached the edge of the square, the light was receding from the west, casting long, thin lines of sunlight on the stone slabs.

Xiaoya stood at the edge of the square without going in. She looked around for a few minutes, then said, "I'll be on the plane by this time tomorrow." She turned back to face Lin Yanzhou, "These five days have gone by faster than I expected. At first, five days seemed like a long time, but looking back now, it feels like I just got off the plane."

As she spoke, she tilted her head toward the church. "That tree over there is an old tree. Some of the wood grain at the base of the trunk has cracked. After it rains, moisture seeps in, and it won't dry out until spring. When I stand here, I can't help but think that even if we didn't come, it would still be growing there, much longer than we are here. It just so happens that we can see it."

Lin Yanzhou didn't reply, standing quietly beside Xiaoya. The streetlights on both sides of the street were lighting up one by one, the distance between them seemingly measured with the same ruler. Xiaoya watched for a while, her breath dissipating and disappearing in front of her: "Let's go, I'm satisfied, let's go back."

As they walked back along the street, the frost on the road had not yet completely melted, and it made a soft, crunching sound when they stepped on it.

Lin Yanzhou walked beside Xiaoya, his hands in his coat pockets. As they crossed a street corner, he glanced at a jewelry store that was still open. Warm lights illuminated the store, and rows of jewelry pieces reflected a soft glow in the window. He stopped and looked into the window for a moment. Xiaoya took a few steps, then, realizing he hadn't followed, turned back to look at him. Following his gaze, she glanced at the jewelry boxes in the window, then at his expression.

"Do you want to go in and take a look?" she asked.

"Come with me to take a look."

The bell hanging on the door rang as they pushed it open. The shop was quiet; no one was moving around except for a clerk in a black sweater behind the counter, who was wiping a silver tray with a velvet cloth.

He saw a customer come in, put down the cloth in his hand, and nodded with a smile. Lin Yanzhou stood in front of the counter and looked around, then bent down, his finger stopping next to the light blue box slightly to the left of the center. He looked at it through the glass for a while, then looked up at the shop assistant: "Help me get this, I'd like to choose one." The woman among the three bodyguards was fluent in English and stayed close by, acting as a translator.

The sales assistant opened the counter and brought out the ring along with its tray, placing it on a clean, dark velvet cloth. The ring's setting was a plain platinum band, without any extra embellishments. The center stone was small, but its cut was very precise; from the side, one could see continuous bands of light reflected from its facets, as if light were slowly moving around its edge.

Xiaoya stood a couple of steps away, looked closer for a moment, and asked calmly but with undisguised happiness, "Who are you planning to give this huge diamond ring to?"

"Haha, what do you think?" Lin Yanzhou said.

The shop assistant handed him the ring and its box in a dark blue velvet bag. He didn't say much, only gesturing towards the female bodyguard. The bodyguard, expressionless, took the ring to the counter to pay. They had received strict orders: they must fulfill all of Lin Yanzhou's demands.

Lin Yanzhou took Xiaoya's arm: "Let's go."

Back at the hotel, Lin Yanzhou stopped by the bedside and placed the dark blue velvet bag on the bedside table.

The room was quiet. Occasionally, a faint sound of running water could be heard from the radiator, like something slowly moving through the depths of the pipes; the sound was soft but continuous. Xiaoya reached for the bag, untied the drawstring, took out the small box inside, weighed it in her palm, and opened the lid.

She looked down at it for a moment, then held the ring in her hand: "When did you buy it?"

"Before you went into the hotel."

"I didn't see you buy it."

"Didn't you notice? The female bodyguard only needed a glance from me to make the purchase."

Xiaoya looked down at her clasped fingers, her palm pressed against the edge of the box. "A ring, once you put it on, means something is settled. Are you sure you're settled?" She looked at him tenderly as she asked, as if waiting for a confirmation.

I'm sure I've missed out on you before, and I don't want to lose you again.

Xiaoya didn't ask any more questions. She opened and closed the box, tried on the ring, and it fit perfectly at the base of her finger. "I'll keep it for now."

She turned her head and glanced at him: "I promise you, let's go back and get the marriage certificate."

The doorbell rang.

Lin Yanzhou went over and opened the door. A young man in a dark gray coat stood outside, carrying a suitcase. The man didn't come in, but said a short sentence in Russian, roughly meaning that he was there on orders, and then stepped aside to make room in the doorway.

A middle-aged man in a gray jacket walked over from the side of the corridor, glanced at the suitcase, and asked, "For security reasons, may I check it?"

"Just check according to your rules," Lin Yanzhou said casually, waving his hand.

He crouched down and opened the suitcase; the contents were neatly arranged. On top were several jars of honey, the glass jars sealed with a layer of wax; next to them were several sealed bags of birch polypore; below were several packets of coffee beans, chocolate, and a roll of something wrapped in kraft paper.

He picked them up one by one and examined them, checking the seals and bottoms with a flashlight. Then he unfolded the roll of kraft paper, revealing an oil painting of Red Square in a simple wooden frame, with no lining on the back of the frame. He looked it over, and after confirming there were no abnormalities, he looked up and said, "They're all normal local specialties, no problem."

He stood up, closed the suitcase again, and took two steps back: "It was prepared by the head of state's office; it's probably meant to send you a friendly signal."

Lin Yanzhou nodded. He stood in front of the coffee table, glanced down at the jar of honey and the oil painting in the wooden box, and said nothing.

Xiaoya walked over from the bedroom door and stood next to him, looking down. Her gaze first fell on the oil painting: it depicted a panoramic view of Red Square in winter, the outlines of the buildings appearing thinner than they actually were against the gray-blue sky, as if compressed by a layer of thickness.

Xiaoya looked at it for a while, then glanced at Lin Yanzhou: "This jar of honey doesn't seem like the kind sold in the market. It's a bit darker in color and smells a bit woody. It's probably from the Caucasus region. Birch polypore is common, but if you can find a whole piece wrapped in paper, it's usually brought from a remote forest area. You wouldn't see it in stores."

"That's probably it," Lin Yanzhou said. "They sent these things to show that there's still room for contact in the future."

Lin Yanzhou sat by the window, mentally reviewing the jar of honey and the oil painting. The things sent by the Goose were indeed just ordinary local specialties, but he noticed a very fine steel stamp on the wax seal of the honey, located near the edge of the bottle opening, which could only be seen by tilting it at a specific angle: the string of numbers corresponded to the date he arrived in Moscow, as if it had been deliberately pressed on.