Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Lady Weiguo, Shao-ge'er, and Yulian (1)

In February, in the Daliang of Tokyo, the fresh green willow branches swayed in the wind, with palaces and pavilions reflecting each other to form a picturesque scene. Yet, the white paper money drifting in the wind, like falling leaves, added a sense of autumnal desolation and misery to the spring light.

Longjin Bridge connects the north-south central axis of Daliang City, looking north toward the Zhuque Gate of the inner city and east toward the handicraft and commercial district of the outer city. At the head of this bridge, three men and women who seemed to have nothing to do with one another encountered each other by chance, their fleeting glances feeling as if they belonged to a past life.

On the street corner next to Longjin Bridge, a semi-open blacksmith shop under a memorial archway hung a banner with the character "Guo" written on it; the shop faced the Zhuque Avenue diagonally. The makeshift wooden stall outside was filled with newly forged farm tools, knives, and various ironware, while inside, the bellows wheezed and roared. With the glowing red charcoal and deep blue flames, it was much hotter inside than out.

A tall, sturdy young man of eighteen or nineteen was swinging a hammer, sweating profusely. He wore only a tattered short jacket, the chest wide open and the sleeves torn off entirely. The swinging hammer whistled through the air, and sweat sprayed with the trembling of his muscles, diffusing a sense of raw, primal power into the air. This young man was known as "Brother Shao." His physique was truly impressive: his long arms and shoulders were corded with muscle, his pectoral lines were prominent, and his abdomen was defined in distinct blocks. This build was certainly not something a common laborer could achieve, for the lines were far too symmetrical. Brother Shao had joined the army at fourteen and was now a junior officer in the Imperial Guard under the command of Zhang Yongde, the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace. He had spent years practicing archery.

"Clang!" The force of this hammer blow was suddenly immense, sending sparks flying, and a woman’s soft cry of "Ah" came from behind him.

The young woman who had cried out swept her gaze over the half-naked, sweat-drenched Brother Shao and quickly turned her head away, her eyes dropping as a shy blush rose to her face. She clutched the basket she had been carrying tightly to her chest, as if startled by the violent sound of the hammering.

She had a full forehead and large, bright eyes, and her worn, coarse cloth dress could not hide her graceful figure. Her hair was pinned up and wrapped in a gray cloth; both her attire and age suggested she was a married woman, though she was not Brother Shao’s wife—she merely did the laundry, cooking, and chores there.

Just then, pedestrians on the Zhuque Avenue diagonally opposite were seen hurriedly dodging out of the way. People looked on with curiosity as a large procession of honor guards escorted a magnificent felt-covered carriage approaching slowly. There were not only cavalry guards in brand-new armor riding tall horses, but also many palace maids and eunuchs, with flags, umbrellas, canopies, and placards all in attendance. This formation was surely that of a noble from the inner palace. Indeed, those riding in official sedans quickly retreated to the roadside, bowing respectfully and looking up.

"The Lady of Weiguo," a voice said among the crowd that had retreated under the archway.

Brother Shao also stopped his hammer and stood by the anvil, squinting to look into the distance. It was already afternoon, and looking west from the handicraft district on the east side of Zhuque Avenue, one faced the setting sun, the glare so bright it made it hard to keep one's eyes open.

And was that noble lady’s procession not just like the sun, making people feel such awe that they dared not look directly at it?

The Lady of Weiguo, née Fu, came from the Fu family, which had held titles of nobility for three generations. Her father, Fu Yanqing, was the Prince of Wei in Hebei. After the fall of the Tang Empire, the Central Plains had seen five surnames and five dynasties in forty years, but no matter who sat on the throne, the Fu family’s power and wealth remained largely unaffected. Now, the Prince of Wei, Fu Yanqing, possessed both imperial favor and prestige, holding the titles of Prince of Wei, Jiedushi of the Tianxiong Army, and Governor of Daming Prefecture in Hebei.

The eldest daughter, Lady Fu, had first married the son of the (Later) Han General Li Shouzhen, but after Li Shouzhen and his son failed in their rebellion and were killed, Lady Fu became the adopted daughter of Guo Wei and subsequently married Guo Wei’s adopted son, Chai Rong. Chai Rong had inherited the throne in the first month of this year, so Lady Fu was not far from becoming Empress.

It was precisely this woman, who had always been high above the clouds, who suddenly lifted the beaded curtain on the side of her carriage as she passed Brother Shao’s blacksmith shop, revealing half of her face with its bright eyes and white teeth. Her gaze was sharp, seemingly possessing great penetrating power; even across a wide road, it made those on this side feel a tremor in their hearts.

The person she looked at was Brother Shao. With just one glance, she swept her gaze over the young woman, Yulian, standing nearby.

The disparity between these three people was so vast that they should never have had any connection; the scene that had just occurred between them was truly strange.

...Closing the curtain, the Lady of Weiguo sat upright in her magnificent carriage, gently closing her eyes as if resting. A woman as fair as jade and as beautiful as a fairy, she wore a plain white-based, light-patterned, low-cut half-sleeve top, which faintly carried a Tang style, though it was much more restrained than the court attire of the Tang. Her posture was very upright, her shoulders and back were like carved blades, and her neck was slender, giving her an innate air of nobility and dignity—high above and untouchable.

She had no idea, nor did she care to know, how that young soldier had appeared in the Fu family’s palace guard years ago. However, when she married into Li Shouzhen’s mansion and saw the youth again, she felt he looked vaguely familiar. It was not until Li Shouzhen and his son rebelled and Guo Wei led his army to storm the mansion that the young man left a deeper impression on her.

At that time, the chaos of war was everywhere; the Li mansion was in total disarray, with people being killed, fleeing, or begging for mercy. Yet, there was no one left fighting to the death, for the situation was lost and resistance was meaningless. Lady Fu did not want to be buried with the rebellious Li family and hurriedly retreated into the inner mansion. As the sounds of slaughter drew closer, there was still one armored soldier at the gate of the inner mansion who had not fled—it was that familiar youth. He had suddenly said from the side: "Let me serve you one last time, my Lady."

She had been so terrified and panicked that she could not pay attention to such strange words, and she hurriedly entered the door with her only remaining maid. Yet, some sounds remained etched deep in her memory, impossible to erase. The metallic friction of a sword being drawn was so clear... The sword had no feelings, but the person holding it should have had consciousness; perhaps the sword, too, carried a desolate, death-like chill? The youth’s roar, the savage clashing of weapons—had he charged alone into a crowd of pursuers?

"Let me serve you one last time, my Lady." Why did he do that?

Lady Fu frowned, and a vague impression appeared in her mind again. A drizzling morning, a ragged boy shivering by the roadside, the curses of the guards... "Father, Father, he is so pitiful, please save him."

"I humbly invite you to move on, my Lady," a female official kneeling by the carriage said, her voice interrupting Lady Fu’s contemplation.

Supported by a palace maid, she slowly stepped down. The eunuchs and maids immediately bowed and stood respectfully, none daring to utter a word. People were filled with awe for those in high positions, and also for the imposing aura emanating from the towering palaces and halls behind them. Only one eunuch was whispering into the ear of an old man; their furtive movements were quite conspicuous.

Lady Fu did not mind. She walked to a sedan chair, waved her attendants away, and called the eunuch over to speak.

"That young man is named Guo Shao. He is a 'Shijiang' (equivalent to a squad leader) in the Imperial Guard, currently serving under the command of Zhang Yongde, the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace, and belongs to the Xiaodi Army of the Palace Command," the eunuch reported, bowing clearly. "It is said that this man defected to Commander Zhang in Hezhong in the first year of Qianyou. He is skilled in archery and likely served in the army before that... Your servant dares to guess that he might have been a remnant soldier under the Hezhong Jiedushi, Li Shouzhen."

Lady Fu said softly, "So that is it. No wonder I remembered seeing him somewhere."

She wanted to put it out of her mind, but for some reason, a voice seemed to ring in her ears again: "Let me serve you one last time, my Lady." It left her feeling somewhat unsettled, so she blurted out, "If you can see Zhang Yongde, tell him to look after that Guo Shao. This man did me a service when he was in Hezhong..."

"Yes," the eunuch replied respectfully.

After saying this, Lady Fu felt much more at ease. She then asked, "Has the Emperor made his decision to lead the campaign in person?"

The eunuch lowered his voice and said, "Your servant believes it is almost certain. Yesterday, the Chancellor Feng Dao tried to dissuade the Emperor from leading the campaign in person, saying the Emperor was not as good as Emperor Taizong of Tang, and today he was dismissed from his post..."

Lady Fu said nothing more and turned to board the sedan chair. Naturally, she did not want her second husband, whom she had only recently married, to risk his life on the battlefield. But because she had only recently been titled Lady of Weiguo and had not yet been named Empress, she did not want to go against Chai Rong’s wishes too overtly.

The new Emperor, Chai Rong, was to lead the campaign against the Northern Han and Khitan coalition. The ruler of Northern Han, who occupied Jinyang, had always wanted to emulate Shi Jingtang by borrowing Khitan troops to march south and become the Emperor of the Central Plains, having fought many battles over the years. This time, with the death of the Zhou Emperor Guo Wei and the new monarch Chai Rong’s throne not yet warm, the Northern Han ruler believed there was an opportunity to be seized. He once again united with the Khitan army, and a coalition of 100,000 marched south, having already defeated Li Yun, the Jiedushi of Zhaoyi in Luzhou, with the intention of destroying the Zhou Dynasty.

Lady Fu had once been displaced and experienced the chaos of war firsthand. She believed it was unlikely that the Northern Han ruler could march south and destroy the Zhou Dynasty, and that the Emperor did not need to lead the campaign in person. But the Emperor’s intentions might not just be to protect the country; he might also want to establish his own prestige and stabilize the domestic situation through a war... If the campaign were to fail, the consequences would be unimaginable. But since the Emperor had already made up his mind, further dissuasion would be futile.

"Lift the sedan!" With a shrill cry, Lady Fu’s sedan was carefully lifted amidst a crowd of attendants. Ahead lay the deep palace, a world beyond the imagination of ordinary people.