It was the chilling hour of dawn, and the room was dim. The figure by the window moved, raised a hand, and pushed the window open, gazing out.
The guesthouse was tiny. Outside the window lay the cramped courtyard, and beyond the low wall stretched a desolate, vast world.
It was March—the time of spring—yet there was no hint of green. In the distance, an ancient, yellow, dusty road stretched, leaning against the mountains and plains, connecting to a sky that felt heavy and all-consuming.
She took a deep, deliberate breath through her veiled hat. The wind was a violent force. It had been too long since she felt the air blow so freely, too long since she had walked such a long distance. It wasn't until the wind pierced her lungs and chilled her heart that she felt a slight, undeniable spark of reality.
As the gust subsided, she focused on the guesthouse courtyard below.
A carriage sat in the center. A small group of attendants, less than twenty, stood to the sides in short coats, holding horses and carrying swords. The leader by the gate, whom they called a "bantou" (captain), had a full, scraggly beard and was leading a fat, red horse. He, too, was in shorts, mumbling an endless complaint, likely about the grueling journey. She couldn't hear him clearly, but the noise was instantly irritating.
She looked past him to the ponies just led out, followed by a handful of maids. Each covered her face with thin cloth to ward off the dust and wind. Many were nodding off while gripping their luggage; those awake looked utterly groggy.
Less than twenty people, she mused. For this forced escort, considering her current status, it was an embarrassing formality.
A small, bitter laugh caught in her throat. She was about to turn to the rooms across the way when, suddenly, a brilliant flash of lightning tore through the sky, followed by a deafening "BOOM!" of thunder. Something outside the courtyard wall broke with a loud crash—charred, flaming, and plummeting down. It swept tiles off the top of the wall and smashed into the courtyard, sending up a choking puff of dust and smoke.
Chaos erupted. The attendants frantically restrained their spooked horses, threatening to bolt. The dozing maids shrieked in sudden panic.
"Tsk! What the hell! We're about to set off, and there's thunder in broad daylight!" The captain adjusted his hood, grabbed his reins, and cursed violently at the sky. He immediately spun and bellowed at the maids, "Shut up! It's just a broken branch, why are you yelling?" Still not satisfied, he threw his horse aside and kicked the charred wreckage away. "You came out of nowhere and scared me!"
Shunyin leaned closer to the window crack. Hearing the captain's loud curses, the corner of her lip twitched.
It was perfect, really. In life, unexpected events were sometimes as sudden as thunder in broad daylight, just like her journey right now.
"Go, go and see the new lady!" The captain shouted toward the guesthouse, turning his attention to the rooms.
Shunyin had already slipped back and closed the window.
A maid burst in, pushing the door open quickly. She spotted Shunyin standing perfectly straight by the window, her veil and dress untouched. Still flustered, the maid gasped, "Madam, weren't you startled by the commotion just now?"
"No." Shunyin didn't find the noise particularly loud.
The maid stared at her several times, disbelief etched on her face, before closing the door and exiting.
"Get out of the way! Sister!" a voice shouted from outside, striding quickly toward the guest room. Amid the clamor, the headman was grumbling even more angrily, "All right, all right, wait a minute! Let Master Feng greet them first!"
The guest room door swung open again, and the person stepped in, tapping on the doorframe as if to alert Shunyin. "Sister!"
Shunyin looked up and removed her veil. It was her brother, Feng Wuji.
Not having seen him in the opposite guest room, she’d assumed he was avoiding the crass escort group. She was right; he’d been avoiding them the entire way, unwilling to approach. Feng Wuji approached quickly, his blue shirt wrinkled, his cloak askew. Guessing she must have been frightened, he immediately looked at her left ear and asked with sincere concern: "You feel okay just now, don't you?"
Shunyin raised a hand to tuck the hair beside her ear. "It's okay, they don't know my situation, but you know it too."
Feng Wuji walked to her right, opened the window, and peered outside. He saw the head of the team leading people to observe the weather while the maids prepared the carriage. Closing the window, he turned back, voice hushed with confidence: "Sister, we have already passed Huizhou."
Shunyin nodded. "Yes, it's a thousand miles away from Chang'an."
Feng Wuji suddenly became anxious, his voice rising: "You only say this? It's as if you don't know what you are going to do on this trip!"
Shunyin’s reply was flat. "I know, to get married."
"..." Feng Wuji was utterly choked by her light, indifferent tone.
Yes, she was indeed going to get married. He, as her younger brother, had followed her all this way just to see her off to her wedding. The people outside had traveled so far simply to greet her, which was why they kept calling her "Madam."
Feng Wuji had been irritated by that title the entire journey, avoiding it whenever possible. Now, reaching this desolate point, he could no longer contain his anger: "At this rate, we'll enter the pass and then head straight to Liangzhou. Are you so indifferent to this journey?"
Shunyin asked back, her tone sharp: "Why do you care? Can I refuse this marriage?"
"..." Feng Wuji was choked once more. He brushed his sleeves in frustration.
The ordeal had begun last month. The powerful governor of Liangzhou had suddenly sent someone to Chang'an to propose marriage to the Feng family, claiming he wanted to find a good match for his subordinate.
It was unheard of. In the past, marriages were only arranged by parents and matchmakers, but a senior official arranging a marriage for his subordinate? Where had that happened?
But the Governor of Liangzhou held immense power. His base, Liangzhou City, was almost as grand as the two capitals. He governed fourteen prefectures in the key Hexi region and even controlled the kingdoms of the Western Regions. Such a powerful man could make even the Emperor pause, so who would dare question him? Feng Wuji, suspicious, repeatedly pressed the matchmaker for a logical reason.
The matchmaker’s pre-rehearsed, polite reply was fluent and seamless: "The governor believes that the Hexi region is dominated by barbarian customs. While Liangzhou City is prosperous, its women are far less educated and well-mannered than the ladies of the Eastern and Western Capitals. I've heard that the Feng family of Bohai has an unmarried daughter, and this is a match made in heaven..."
It sounded beautiful, but when Feng Wuji pressed further, the matchmaker clammed up.
Within days, even the Emperor knew.
The story went that the Governor had reported the matter to the Emperor, praising Erdu but lamenting its remoteness and his own lack of marriageable children, fearing to marry into the imperial family. He claimed he had no choice but to ask a subordinate to seek a suitable woman from Erdu for him, hoping to receive the Emperor's favor and benefit the northwest, creating a beautiful story... While the story was good, it was a sudden, unwelcome burden on the Feng family.
The Emperor declined to rule, leaving the decision to the Feng family. However, the Feng family could not, in fact, refuse the marriage. They were no longer the power they once were.
Not only are we worse than before, we're even worse off than the common people...
But Feng Wuji was still furious. He suppressed his voice, almost leaning into Shunyin's ear: "The Hexi area is not a kind place. Just look at how the weather changed so suddenly just now. Moreover, they proposed marriage last month, and sent someone to pick us up the next month. Liangzhou is more than a thousand miles away from Chang'an. It's obvious that they thought we couldn't refuse. The person who came to pick us up came right after the matchmaker! The engagement was hasty, the gifts were sloppy, and not to mention all that, the groom didn't even show up! At least you should ask who you're marrying!"
After Shunyin listened to him vent, she actually laughed, a brittle sound. "So what if you ask? In my current situation, who can I choose?"
"..." Feng Wuji’s face turned pale with utter defeat, unable to argue with her cruel logic.
"The marriage certificate is with mother," Shunyin said suddenly. "She naturally knows who I want to marry. She has agreed. What else is there to say? I don't think she will let me marry a useless person who is about to die."
Feng Wuji frowned, saying nothing. Their mother had been infuriatingly vague about the marriage and had forbidden him from interfering. He’d pressed her several times only to be scolded until he dropped the matter.
The marriage certificate had been exchanged; the ceremony, in effect, completed. There was no point in worrying now. The whole affair had been sudden, yet his mother and Shunyin were maddeningly calm. Only he was the one left aggrieved.
It wasn't that she shouldn't get married, he just couldn't stand to see his sister marry so unfairly. She deserved better than this indignity.
Shunyin sat down at the table, tugged at her veil, and gazed down at her dress. Suddenly, she asked, "Did Mother say anything to me before I left Chang'an?"
Feng Wuji's scattered thoughts paused. His expression turned sullen. He quietly stepped back and sat down beside her.
Shunyin looked up at his face, her own expression hardening. "Let me guess. Mother meant, 'She'll be useful after all,' isn't she?"
"How..." Feng Wuji instinctively began to ask, "How did you know?" but caught himself mid-sentence and changed it awkwardly: "How could you possibly think that..." He felt uncomfortable, knowing he’d failed to hide the truth.
Shunyin’s face lost all color, and she remained silent.
Her relationship with her mother had long been strained. In recent years, she hadn't even lived with the family, preferring the solitude of the Chang'an suburbs. They hadn't seen each other even before this wedding, let alone shared a tender farewell.
Feng Wuji knew she was perceptive, and he instantly regretted his slip-up. It was hard enough without him twisting the knife. After all, by all appearances, this marriage looked like her mother was simply dumping her...
Silence fell in the room. But outside, the headman had returned, shouting impatiently, "Is that all? No thunder or rain, are you leaving yet? We haven't even reached Liangzhou yet!"
Feng Wuji’s recently forgotten anger flared again. He suppressed his voice and spat toward Shunyin, "Liangzhou, Liangzhou! You even turned down the marriage proposal from the Duke of Wuwei County in Liangzhou, and now it’s just a subordinate official who’s turned against us. We didn’t even care about Liangzhou back then!"
Shunyin’s temper was finally cool, but his words brought back long-suppressed memories. Before she could indulge them, she interrupted him with a frown: "But it’s not the same back then. We care about it now."
Feng Wuji curled his lip, defeated, and finally got up to leave.
Shunyin exhaled lightly, stood, replaced her veil, picked up a green brocade bundle from the table, and slowly walked out.
Outside, everything had returned to its coarse version of normal. The headman sat atop his horse, waving his hand and urging everyone to mount.
As she did every day, she boarded the carriage under the escort's collective gaze.
"Wait a minute, I have something to ask you." As the carriage began to move, Feng Wuji’s voice called out from outside, mixing with the faint sound of horse hooves.
Shunyin sat on the right, near the window, and clearly heard his last words: "Who are you going to pick up the bride for?"
So he was still determined to confront the captain, she thought. What’s the point? It won't stop the marriage. I'm here now. I'll know soon enough.
"Mr. Feng has ignored us all the way, why do you think of asking this now?" The Bantou replied in a carefree, completely unserious tone. "It's really strange, you don't even know who your brother-in-law is? How can we outsiders know? Anyway, you have said that it is your parents' order, and we have the matchmaker's words. Are you still worried that this is a marriage fraud? Why not ask our Liangzhou governor? Or ask the saint? I am just here to pick you up, and I only know that the lady is going to marry an official from Liangzhou. As for who it is, you will find out when you go there."
"Nonsense!" Feng Wuji roared harshly, sounding beyond furious, having nothing else to say.
Shunyin lifted the curtain to watch. The Bantou watched Feng Wuji ride his horse angrily to the back of the carriage, and his beard quivered with suppressed laughter.
She pursed her lips. Feng Wuji had been furious the entire trip, and the Bantou was equally impolite. It was obvious his words were a deliberate taunt, meaning he knew the groom's identity but was intentionally withholding it.
The wedding procession is a joke, so the bride probably isn't a great catch.
Fortunately, she had no expectations for the man she was about to marry.
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