Jiang Changbai, hearing this, was startled, her eyes unconsciously widening. Xie Qianbing, on seeing this, couldn't help but become panicked, standing up from the chair in a flash, advancing a step forward, about to kneel down. Jiang Chngbai got up, wanting to hold her up, but, having barely stood up, she sat back down again, only quietly and calmly waiting for Xie Qianbing to explain. "For these years, this minister's food and clothing were all paid for by the Prince's residence, and there were barely any expenses. The things you gifted this minister in the past were all kept in my home. Bixia has always been this minister's master, at the Prince's residence, and even more now. "Last night, in a night terror, I heard that the state had difficulties and needed money, and I hated my inability to do anything. Thinking on it for a long while, I could only take everything in my home that could be sold off to be pawned, thinking that whatever I could exchange i...

In the square at the doors of the Shengru Palace, Wei Xiren and Wu Dongmu stood, one at the left one at the right, hands behind their backs, in the middle of the group of people. Now, it was already wushi, [1] precisely the time of day when the sun was most burning; standing entirely unhidden beneath the sun, the group of great ministers all felt somewhat unable to bear it. Although Jiang Changbai stood beneath the shade of an umbrella, she also felt that the surroundings were incredibly stifling, the dry heat pent up in the heart. But in the middle of the group, between the two of them, Wei Xiren and Wu Dongmu, a thread of breeze rose for no reason, faintly lifting her clothes up and ruffling them. She wore a navy blue, close-fitting outfit, neat and orderly, and seemed to have great confidence in her own marital skills, the gaze of her eyes towards Wu Dongmu filled with disdain. Wu Dongmu had resided in a high position for a long time, and it seemed that the people by his side were ...

Liu Zihe didn't dare to speak, and still only kept his head lowered. Yet Song Juguang was unforgiving. "Now, when the court has needs, how come you didn't act as an example?" Liu Zihe lowered his head even further, even raising his voice to blame others. Song Juguang didn't pay attention to him, and walked to Wu Dongmu's side. "Only on leaving the capital did I hear that Wu-daren had spent money a great deal of riches to buy a painting from the previous dynasty, yet he can't draw out any money now?" At this, Wu Dongmu also shirked responsibility. When Song Juguang had entered just then, her face had still carried a smile, but now, that smiling expression had dispersed entirely. Suddenly furious, a foot kicked Wu Dongmu's chest, causing him to fall a few meters away. "A Guang." Only then did Jiang Changbai speak, stopping her. Song Juguang, hearing this, drew back her vicious behaviour, and turned around, walking to the front of the ...

Translator's note: I just realised that I'd been misreading Wei Xiren's name as Wei Sharen the entire time, and went back to fix that in the previous chapters, so if you're wondering "Who on earth is Wei Xiren", that's what happened. - The Great Li's territory was great, and the common people were uncountable. However, the state treasury had been in debt for many years, and had actually been relying on progressively levying taxes to maintain its operations. Jiang Changbai had always been within the Prince's residence, and had only known that Emperor Tai was extravagant, but hadn't imagined that the extravagance had actually come to this point. Merely for the semi-annual hunt, five hundred thousand liang of silver was used; it had to be known that one liang of silver was sufficient to cover the expenditures of a common household within Beijing for a year. Now, the Great Li had only just faced internal disorder, especially the capital to the nort...

The sound of the thunderstorm thundered against the small building; the beautiful dream woke up from the dark depths of the sky. A Yin leaned against the window, holding an edible bird's nest from Shanghai in her handkerchief and a pair of silver scissors, carefully plucking away fine feathers; A Luo, draped in a cloak, sat to the side, coughing with each page of the book she flipped through. Her body was more or less better, excepting for a bit of recurrence with the overcast, rainy skies; her back was wet and cold, as if having caught the rheumatism of the neighbouring uncle. Each time she coughed, A Yin knitted her brows, yet she didn't say anything, only privately increasing the speed at which she plucked feathers from the bird's nest. A sound came from the corridor; Li Shiyi and Song Shijiu coming downstairs. A Yin looked furtively; the two didn't seem as clingingly intimate as before, and between them, they maintained a half-body's distance, not even holding h...

Li Shiyi led Song Shijiu back inside; from the small stove, she picked up a pot of hot water, and steeped a cup of Lu'an tea for her, then prepared water for washing the face at just the right temperature. Song Shijiu took the cloth which Li Shiyi had wrung out, and lowered her face into the humid water vapour, breathing in deeply, and heard the sound of Li Shiyi putting books in order. Li Shiyi tidied up the messy letters, each one put in order, pressed between book covers; the sound of the letter paper seemed to bring the scent of ink, enough that it could comfort the returners who were exhausted from their journey. Only then did Song Shijiu have a feeling of "having returned"; it steadily and steadfastly became concrete in Li Shiyi's motions, causing her sensation of having drifted for a great many years to dispel bit by bit. Having turned over another leaf, she heard Li Shiyi ask her, "Since you've remembered, what would you say about Zhu Yan?" Song ...

Waiting for the night to become endless also caused the blue heavens to flourish with many possibilities. Li Shiyi draped a crow-black outer garment over her shoulders, not having gone upstairs, only sitting in the drawing room, using the lamp to engrave a small item. The wood within her hand was fine and slender, the elaborate knifework carving out neat scales; her fingers covered up the horn at the head, like that of a deer, and swept away the wood shavings on the surface. When she'd only carved it halfway, she stopped. What a dragon looked like, she'd never before seen with her own eyes. In paintings, in books, dragons' eyes were fierce and protruding, with the incredible might of a copper bell, but the wooden surface which she pressed against with the tip of the night felt that there ought to be lovable, soft eyelids, rising eyes, and slender, thick lashes, as well as bright, lustrous eyes. If there were to be a smile, they would narrow like the crescent moon, and have ...