Bihan City lay on the central plains of Longsha. It was not by the sea, so its climate was mild and moist without being excessively damp, while the continuous mountain ranges to the northwest blocked the cold winds descending from the north. Winters were therefore not particularly harsh, making the weather pleasant throughout the year.
Compared with Xiling, which valued upright dignity and orderly tradition, Longsha bordered several countries and enjoyed flourishing trade. It absorbed influences from every neighboring state so readily that its own character was easily obscured beneath the prosperity.
This quality was especially apparent at the banquet in Huifeng Tower. Every piece of furniture in the hall was made from dense-grained Timo rosewood, while the folding screens and paintings were works by famous Dongyu masters. The dishes were authentic Fengdu cuisine from Xiling, while the grape wine and silver cups engraved with winding grapevines came from the overseas Kingdom of Shushan.
The hosts were Qiyun dignitaries, the guests were important officials from Xiling, yet the subject under discussion was Longsha’s national affairs.
Inside a private room in Huifeng Tower, Pingdu’s Resident Port Envoy Yuan Tianjing sat on one side, while Liangang’s Resident Port Envoy Shang Zhen sat on the other. Wei Fu occupied the seat of honor, with Deputy Envoy Feng Xie below him, while Wei Qiancong, a Director in Longsha’s Ministry of Revenue, accompanied them.
After Qiyun obtained Longsha’s two ports, it stationed officials there under the title of “Resident Port Envoy,” allowing them to establish their own administrative offices inside the harbor districts. These were known as Resident Port Offices and administered all military and civil affairs within the ports, effectively pushing aside Longsha’s original Maritime Trade Offices.
Furthermore, under the agreement between the two countries, the Resident Port Offices were entitled to intervene in matters within Pingdu and Liangang beyond maritime shipping itself, including merchant guilds, repairs, and public works. Conversely, the local governments were forbidden from interfering in port affairs at all. The ports even maintained their own garrisons and naval forces, practically forming independent states within the cities.
Yuan Tianjing and Shang Zhen were immensely wealthy and powerful. Although nominally stationed at the ports, they had long since become thoroughly familiar with Bihan City. They entered its winehouses of nightly revelry as casually as though returning home—after all, there was scarcely anyone capable of controlling them. The fact that they had even brought along an official from Longsha’s Ministry of Revenue as company showed how thoroughly they had greased the wheels throughout officialdom.
This was their first formal meeting with the Minister-Regent from Xiling, although it was not their first interaction.
When Wei Fu first entered Bihan City, subordinates of Yuan and Shang had already tried to present him with gifts and favors, all of which Wei Fu dismissed. Later, however, when high officials from Longsha’s ministries hosted banquets for him, he accepted readily instead of refusing. After hearing this, the two men vaguely grasped his intentions and therefore asked Wei Qiancong to serve as intermediary while they personally hosted tonight’s banquet.
They had originally assumed that someone so young might be self-important, unwilling to conform to ordinary social customs, perhaps even somewhat awkward in company. Yet after only a few rounds of exchanging cups, they discovered that Wei Fu was an exceptionally agreeable man—easy to talk to and enjoyable to entertain, while always knowing exactly where to draw the line.
Holding a wine cup loosely between his fingers, Yuan Tianjing leaned forward and asked, “Chancellor Wei is so young and handsome. Have you married yet?”
Wei Fu wore lotus-blue casual robes with broad, flowing sleeves. He was tall, and his features were strikingly vivid; pale colors could not support his bearing, and only stronger shades brought out his full presence. Yet when he sat there smiling, it was like spring water melting ice, without the slightest trace of sharpness or aggression. “Thank you for the compliment. My career is not yet established, so I haven’t had time to consider such matters.”
Yuan Tianjing immediately seized the opening. “I heard His Majesty had a new residence prepared for Chancellor Wei. You have only recently arrived in Bihan City and surely need someone considerate at your side to look after your daily comforts, while the household itself requires attentive management. If Your Excellency does not mind, I could send you several clever and thoughtful young women to ease the loneliness of long nights and an empty pillow.”
Everyone laughed teasingly. Wei Fu raised a purple-bamboo folding fan to cover his chin and openly pointed at Feng Xie. “Lord Yuan needn’t ask me. Lord Feng serves in the Censorate and is specifically responsible for impeaching officials over misconduct. Ask him instead. He can write a memorial back to our emperor, and if His Majesty doesn’t send someone over to strangle me, then perhaps it might be possible.”
Yuan Tianjing burst out laughing. “The emperor is high in the heavens and far away. Why bother asking permission? Lord Feng, does your household happen to be short of servants?”
Feng Xie answered with complete seriousness, “Thank you for your concern. My wife governs the household very strictly. If my residence ever dared to be ‘short of people,’ then my household would genuinely end up short a few people.”
He was past thirty, with thick brows, large eyes, and a short beard. When he was not joking, he looked rather stern, so when he suddenly produced such a line, even Wei Fu could not hold back a laugh and raised his cup in admiration.
After running into two walls in succession, Yuan Tianjing still refused to give up and was about to say that a fleeting romance was nothing to fear when Shang Zhen shot him a warning glance and silenced him. Shang Zhen then probed cautiously, “Lord Feng and his wife are deeply devoted. That sort of blessing cannot be obtained merely by wishing for it and is truly enviable. More remarkable still is that someone of Chancellor Wei’s age and appearance remains so clean-living and self-restrained. Could it be that you already have someone in your heart?”
A gleam flashed through Wei Fu’s eyes. He gave Shang Zhen a meaningful smile, which the other man immediately took as tacit confirmation. “Is it someone from a great house in Xiling, or perhaps a noble personage within the palace?” Afraid he sounded presumptuous, Shang Zhen added, “Please don’t think me nosy, Chancellor Wei. We oversee the ports and frequently deal with merchants and officials from Xiling. Now that we share this connection, if Your Excellency wishes to present gifts to your future in-laws someday, or if either lord wishes to offer rare curiosities to the palace, Brother Yuan and I might contribute some small assistance.”
To win him over and show goodwill, they had truly exhausted every possible avenue—even devising such roundabout social strategies. Everything Wei Fu had sent to the emperor had come from his own pocket, and Yugong Zhaoye had even supplemented a considerable portion of it. If someone else were willing to prepare tribute gifts for him, it would genuinely save him a great deal of silver.
“I appreciate Lord Shang’s kindness, but unfortunately I lack the fortune to enjoy it.” Wei Fu flicked open his fan, concealing the hint of a smile at his lips as he said leisurely, “The person I admire is from Longsha, someone with a heart pure as ice and snow, whose eyes cannot tolerate even a grain of sand. If I want to make him happy, then I suppose I can only devote myself wholeheartedly to Longsha, exhaust my mind and strength planning for its benefit, and strive like the spring silkworm that spins silk until death.”
Had Yugong Fengting not already passed away, Shang Zhen might have suspected Wei Fu had come to Longsha to become Yugong Lie’s stepmother.
What kind of husband-selection standard required total devotion to the court and state? If this person loved Longsha that much, why was he entangled with someone from Xiling?!
That thunderbolt struck friend and foe alike. Even Feng Xie choked on his wine in shock, repeatedly banging his knee against Wei Fu’s beneath the table. His expression was so vivid it practically came with its own voice: Does His Majesty know you’re this suicidal?!
How could Wei Fu possibly tell him that the truly suicidal part was that His Majesty knew, while the person he loved still did not?
So he merely smiled inscrutably and pretended everything remained perfectly under control.
“This… this…”
Shang Zhen stammered twice without finding the words. Wei Fu raised his eyes toward him. “If two families become close, the two countries grow closer as well. There really isn’t much difference. If one wishes to take, one must first give. I carry His Majesty’s heavy trust, so naturally I must contribute my share of effort for Longsha.”
Hearing a deeper meaning in his words, Shang Zhen seemed to understand something. “Yes. Chancellor Wei speaks correctly.”
Yuan Tianjing still had not caught on. “Which family’s daughter in Longsha has caught Chancellor Wei’s eye? Our Qiyun Princess Huarong was personally elevated by His Majesty to Noble Consort. Since Chancellor Wei is interested, if Noble Consort Huarong were to mediate the match, how could it possibly fail?”
“Quite so,” Wei Fu replied, but instead of answering directly, he changed the subject. “I heard Lord Yuan is related to the Noble Consort? She married far away into a foreign country. Having trustworthy relatives stationed here in Longsha must give her far more confidence than I possess.”
At the mention of this, Yuan Tianjing immediately showed a measure of pride, though he pretended modesty. “Ah, it’s nothing much. Princess Huarong’s mother was the youngest daughter of our Yuan family. I am her maternal uncle.”
Shang Zhen, meanwhile, was still turning Wei Fu’s earlier words over in his mind. Suddenly, something clicked. Wei Fu and Princess Huarong were in rather similar circumstances: both had left their homeland and come to Longsha. Perhaps this so-called “beloved person from Longsha” did not actually exist at all. Perhaps Wei Fu had been speaking in layers, using personal matters to signal his political stance.
He now stood at the head of Longsha’s Cabinet. Whatever he did, at least outwardly, had to benefit Longsha. If Qiyun’s people wanted to cultivate a relationship with him, whatever their schemes might be, they would have to remain within that boundary. Hadn’t he even brought a censor along to a drinking banquet? That alone showed he had no intention of giving either Xiling or Longsha anything they could use against him.
Tonight’s banquet had supposedly been only for making acquaintances. They had exhausted every method of flattering him without once stating what they wanted. Yet from Wei Fu’s manner, it was obvious that he understood everything perfectly—not only what they wanted, but how he intended to answer them.
He appeared to want nothing, yet inwardly carried a set of scales, weighing every person before him. Mere gold, silver, or beautiful women could not tempt him. His “taking” and “giving” would inevitably involve interests of far greater consequence.
Could Qiyun truly afford that price?
And if they paid it, would they be making a small investment for an enormous return—or trying to bargain a tiger out of its own skin?
Even when the banquet ended, Shang Zhen still had not figured it out. Distracted and thoughtful, he and Yuan Tianjing escorted Wei Fu and the others outside.
Night had already deepened, yet the street remained brilliantly lit, with carriages and horses flowing back and forth in an endless stream, carrying drunken guests home from banquets.
The curtains of the Chancellor’s carriage were half open. As a wealthy merchant’s carriage passed nearby, lantern light beneath the eaves briefly shone through the opposite window. In that instant of brightness, Shang Zhen thought he saw a pale silver gleam inside the carriage. The color was exceedingly light, yet inexplicably cold, like thin frost beneath a silent autumn night or moonlight reflected upon the crest of a wave.
But it lasted only a dreamlike instant before Wei Fu’s figure blocked it entirely, leaving Shang Zhen wondering whether he had simply drunk too much.
The carriage wheels rumbled eastward while the early-spring night breeze drifted softly past. Beside him, Yuan Tianjing suddenly sneezed with earth-shaking force.
“Pretty cold tonight. Let’s head back.” Rubbing his nose, he glanced up at the night sky. “Well, this really is a dark and windy night.”
“Well, what a rare guest.”
Wei Fu settled into the broad cushioned seat inside the carriage. Casually tossing aside his folding fan, he discarded along with it all the composed elegance and measured ease he displayed before others. Propping his head lazily against one hand, he asked, “Does Your Highness refuse to use the front entrance even on your own territory?”
Yugong Zhaoye’s expression remained dark. Seeing Wei Fu’s half-lidded eyes, the faint redness at their corners, and the shadows beneath them, he could not tell whether Wei Fu was drunk or simply exhausted after so many days of overwork. Taking that into consideration, he restrained his temper and answered patiently, “I heard you’ve had a lot of social engagements lately, so I came to take a look.”
“To see whether I’ve been colluding with the enemy?” Wei Fu laughed. “Or whether I’ve been accepting bribes and lining my own pockets?”
Yugong Zhaoye heard the bitterness hidden in his tone and suppressed his irritation. “If I came to investigate those things, then forget the front entrance—this whole building wouldn’t still be standing tonight.”
“Liar.” Wei Fu’s mouth turned down resentfully. “You said you wouldn’t interfere in court affairs. Now I’m part of the court too, so you have even more reason not to bother with me. More than a month passed without you asking a single question, but the moment Qiyun’s Resident Port Envoys invited me to a banquet, Your Highness personally showed up. You didn’t come to see me at all!”
“So now the person who spends half the month away from home is blaming me?” Yugong Zhaoye immediately shot back. “Tonight is your tenth drinking engagement this month. Keep going like this and next month you won’t be going anywhere. You’ll stay home and drink porridge.”
Only then did Wei Fu finally tilt his head slightly and look at him from the corner of his eye. “Your Highness has actually been keeping count for me?”
Yugong Zhaoye replied coldly, “Otherwise what? Wait until you drink yourself into vomiting blood before I come visit?”
“…Then why secretly keep count instead of just coming to see me?” Wei Fu endured it again and again before finally exploding. “Every day I sit in the residence waiting for nothing, not knowing whether you’ll come or when you’ll come, and I can’t even run off to Yeguang Hall to find you… What exactly are you worried about? You don’t even need to climb walls in Bihan City!”
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