Nine Nights Owl Song

June 20th, the eighteenth year of Yong'an.

Luoyang.

The day Su Jiuge returned to Luoyang was the summer solstice.

On the day with the longest day of the year, the sun shines fiercely from dawn, making the glazed tiles of the imperial city gleam with dazzling golden light.

She entered through the west gate, riding the warhorse she had ridden all the way back from Liangzhou. The horse was thin, and so was she.

His dark blue outfit hung loosely on his body, his cheekbones were higher, and his eye sockets were deeper, but his eyes were brighter than when he left—the light of battle experience.

Xiao Yan walked beside her, and the two entered the city side by side.

The streets were filled with people welcoming her, some shouting "General Anxi," others "General Su," and some children riding on their fathers' shoulders waved to her.

Su Jiuge remained expressionless, but Xiao Yan noticed that her fingers tightened slightly around the reins.

Outside the imperial city, Emperor Yong'an sent Gao Dequan to greet them.

Gao Dequan held the imperial edict in his hands, followed by a procession of honor guards, with music and fanfare, making quite a scene.

Su Jiuge dismounted and knelt on one knee under the scorching sun.

Gao Dequan unfurled the imperial edict, his voice shrill: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: General Su Jiuge of Anxi, having penetrated deep behind enemy lines, beheaded the commander, burned the grain supplies, rescued thousands of prisoners of war, and decisively defeated the Qiang army of 150,000. He is hereby granted the title of Marquis of Zhenxi, with a fief of 3,000 households, and bestowed with a suit of golden armor, a jade belt, and 1,000 taels of gold..."

Su Jiuge knelt on the ground and listened.

"The Marquis of Zhenxi, with a fief of three thousand households, golden armor, jade belt, and a thousand taels of gold." It was extremely rare for a military general to be granted a marquisate in the history of the Liang Dynasty, and it was unprecedented for a woman to be granted such a title. She didn't move.

After Gao Dequan finished reading the imperial edict, he looked at her with a smile, but she seemed not to have listened to any of the rewards and honors.

"General Su, please accept the imperial decree." Gao Dequan handed over the imperial decree with both hands.

Su Jiuge did not answer.

She looked up at Gao Dequan, her voice soft but clear: "Eunuch Gao, this humble woman wishes to see His Majesty."

The Imperial Study.

Emperor Yong'an looked better than when Su Jiuge left the capital—frequent reports of victories at the border had lifted a heavy weight from his heart, he was eating and sleeping well, and his spirits were high. He sat behind his dragon desk, watching Su Jiuge.

She had lost weight, become darker-skinned, and had a scar on her cheekbone that hadn't yet fallen off.

He felt sorry for this child, just like he felt sorry for his own daughter.

"Are you not satisfied with the title of Marquis of Zhenxi?" Emperor Yong'an asked in a gentle tone.

Su Jiuge knelt before the dragon table.

"Your Majesty, I dare not refuse."

"Then why didn't you accept the imperial decree?"

Su Jiuge raised her head and looked at Emperor Yong'an.

"Your Majesty, I am seventeen years old this year. Becoming General of Anxi is already an exceptional appointment. If I were to become Marquis of Zhenxi as well, what would the court think of me? What would those veteran generals who have guarded the border for over a decade or two think of me?"

Emperor Yong'an remained silent.

"This battle in the western border was orchestrated by Marquis Dingyuan and fought valiantly by the soldiers of Daliang. I only did what I was supposed to do and do not deserve the title of Marquis Zhenxi."

Emperor Yong'an leaned back in his chair.

He was emperor for over thirty years and had seen far too many people vying for credit, stealing credit, and greedily seeking credit.

I've never seen anyone push away the credit they've already earned.

He looked at Su Jiuge's face, a cold, thin face with a scar that hadn't fallen off, and there was no flicker of coy reluctance in her bright black eyes.

"Is this what you truly think?"

"This humble woman dares not deceive the emperor."

Emperor Yong'an remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked an unrelated question:

Are you afraid that a tall tree will attract the wind?

Su Jiuge looked at him but did not answer.

Emperor Yong'an smiled, a smile that contained helplessness and感慨 (a complex emotion encompassing both regret and reflection). In his more than thirty years as emperor, he had never learned to fear the dangers of being too prominent.

This seventeen-year-old girl learned it.

Emperor Yong'an asked, "Then what do you want?"

Su Jiuge looked at her.

"I wish to attribute the credit to Marquis Dingyuan. Without Marquis Dingyuan's presence in Liangzhou, I could not have won this battle." She paused.

"Your Majesty, I would like to request another matter concerning the Wusun tribe."

Emperor Yong'an's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Su Jiuge reported the situation of the Wusun tribe in detail—the hundreds of Wusun people rescued by Ayiguli needed a place to settle down. The uncultivated grasslands west of Liangzhou were just lying fallow in the imperial court's hands, so it would be better to let the Wusun people cultivate and graze them.

The Wusun people have a blood feud with the Qiang people and will not side with the Qiang people.

Give them land and food so they can rebuild their homes; they will become a bulwark for the western border of Daliang.

Without costing the court a single soldier or a single penny, only an imperial decree was required.

Emperor Yong'an stared at Su Jiuge for a long time.

"You not only won a battle in the western border region, but you also found an ally for me," Su Jiuge said, adding that it was her duty as a subject. Emperor Yong'an picked up his brush and wrote an edict—granting the Wusun tribe the grasslands west of Liangzhou, a thousand shi of grain, and five hundred shi of seeds, and declaring that the Wusun tribe would be allied with the Great Liang for generations to come to jointly resist foreign enemies. He then stamped the edict with the imperial seal and handed it to Su Jiuge.

"Take care of the Wusun tribe's affairs. I trust you." Emperor Yong'an leaned wearily against the back of his chair and waved his hand.

"I'll put the matter of the Marquis of Zhenxi aside for now. We'll discuss it later."

Su Jiuge kowtowed and took her leave.

The sunlight outside the palace was blinding; Xiao Yan waited for her at the door.

"You don't want the title of Marquis of Zhenxi?" Xiao Yan looked at her.

Su Jiuge walked down the steps.

"I want to. But it's not the right time yet. I'm only seventeen. If I become the Marquis of Zhenxi, even more people in the court will be watching me. The Crown Prince will be watching me, the Second Prince will be watching me, and those old ministers will be watching me. My father fought in the northern border for more than twenty years before becoming a marquis, and I'm made a marquis after winning just one battle. What will the court think of him? What will the soldiers think of him?"

Xiao Yan remained silent for a moment.

Su Jiuge continued down the steps.

"I'm not afraid of being watched, but I'm afraid of trouble. Fewer account bans mean less trouble."

Xiao Yan followed behind her.

"When did you become so calculating? You weren't like this before. Before, all you thought about was killing, killing, killing. Whoever messed with you, you'd kill."

Su Jiuge did not turn around.

"Before, I was all alone; I could kill and run. Now I have family, the Dark Pavilion, the Prince Zhao's Mansion, and you. I can't run away, and I can't kill everything. Killing doesn't solve everything."

Xiao Yan's heart skipped a beat. She said—"I have you."

The June sun shone on the palace path. Su Jiuge walked in front, Xiao Yan followed behind, and Shen Qing emerged from the shadows, keeping a distance of three steps.

Zhao Ying leaned against the palace gate, yawning, and grinned when she saw them come out.

Ghost Hand walked over from beside the carriage and took the knife from Su Jiuge. Zhao Xiaohe poked her head out of the carriage and waved to Su Jiuge. Su Jiuge got into the carriage.

The carriage headed towards the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.

Xiao Yan rode his horse alongside the carriage.

He returned to Luoyang from the western border, won a battle, was appointed General of Anxi, and promoted to Marquis of Zhenxi.

They obtained an imperial decree from the Wusun people.

She was exhausted, more exhausted than if she had been in a war.

Fighting a war only requires using your sword, but returning to the capital requires using your brain.

She's skilled with a knife, and she's also good with her brain—she just didn't use it before, but now she has no choice but to.

The carriage stopped in front of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.

Su Jiuge got off the carriage.

Madam Shen stood at the door wearing a light purple jacket, her hair neatly combed, and light makeup on her face.

She didn't want her daughter to see her looking haggard, but when she saw that Su Jiuge had lost weight, become darker, and had a scar on her cheekbone, Shen's tears still fell.

Su Jiuge walked up to Madam Shen and said, "Mother, I'm back."

Shen reached out and touched her daughter's face; the scar felt prickly to the touch.

"Didn't you say you weren't injured?" Madam Shen choked up.

Su Jiuge said, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious."

Shen's tears flowed even more fiercely.

The old drunkard stood behind Shen, holding a wine gourd in his hand. His cloudy eyes were red, but he didn't let the tears fall.

Ghost Hand patted the old drunkard on the shoulder from behind, and the old drunkard nodded.

Su Zhentian walked out of the main hall, dressed in a black casual outfit, his hair tied up with a hairpin, holding a book in his hand—he had been reading in the study and only came out after hearing the noise. He looked at Su Jiuge. Su Jiuge also called out, "Father."

Su Zhentian nodded. He turned and walked back to the main hall, taking two steps before stopping.

"Let's have dinner together as a family tonight," Su Jiuge said.

Su Zhentian left, his back still straight, but his steps were a little slower than before.

Zhao Ying leaned against the door frame, watching this scene unfold.

Shen Qing stood under the eaves, sword in hand, expressionless.

Zhao Xiaohe stood next to Shen Qing, looking at Su Jiuge's family, her eyes reddening.

Zhao Ying laughed and said, "Why are you crying?" Zhao Xiaohe stubbornly insisted that she wasn't crying.

Zhao Ying handed her a handkerchief, which Zhao Xiaohe took and used to wipe her eyes.

The evening breeze in June swept across the eaves of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.

The pomegranate trees are in bloom, their flowers a vibrant red, like clusters of burning fire.

Su Jiuge stood under the tree, looking at the flowers.

She said the pomegranate flowers were blooming beautifully.

Standing next to her, Mrs. Shen said that the flowers were blooming better than in previous years, perhaps because the flowers seemed to have a spirit since she was home.

Su Jiuge remained silent.

The dinner was very lavish.

Madam Shen personally cooked a table full of dishes, and Su Jiuge ate a lot, finishing all the food Madam Shen put on her plate. The old drunkard, unusually, didn't drink, and slowly ate a bowl of rice.

Su Chengzhi poured her a glass of wine.

"Brother, this is a toast to you." Su Jiuge raised his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Su Chengen laughed and said, "Drink slowly, no one will take it from you."

Su Chengxun said, "Sister Jiuge, you are really amazing."

Su Wan'er placed a piece of pork rib on her plate. Su Jiuge ate it.

Xiao Yan sat next to Su Jiuge and also had a lot of food served to him by Madam Shen.

He wasn't used to the lively atmosphere, but eating the overflowing food in his bowl warmed his heart.