Nine Nights Owl Song

Spring of the twenty-third year of Yong'an.

Luoyang, the imperial city.

Su Jiuge sat in the imperial study reviewing secret reports from the Dark Pavilion. Outside the window, the spring scenery of the capital city was in full bloom: willows were sprouting new buds, and peach blossoms filled the courtyard.

Xiao Yan sat opposite her, reviewing memorials. The two were separated by a long table, each doing their own thing.

They would occasionally look up and exchange glances, but no further words were spoken.

Someone in the court tentatively asked the emperor if it was time to hold a selection of concubines—three years after his ascension to the throne, half of the position was vacant, and there was only one empress in the palace, with no concubines, which was unprecedented among the emperors of the Great Liang Dynasty.

After hearing this, Xiao Yan only replied with one sentence:

"My harem is ruled by the Empress. If the Empress says there's no need to choose, then there's no need to choose."

No one ever mentioned it again.

Su Jiuge didn't ask any further questions after hearing about it.

She never asked Xiao Yan if he had ever considered taking a concubine, and Xiao Yan never mentioned it either.

There was an unspoken understanding between the two of them.

She had made the biggest concession she could: she wouldn't stop him, but he couldn't break the contract either. He had signed it; it was in black and white. He didn't mention it, and she didn't ask.

Life in the palace was much more peaceful than Su Jiuge had imagined.

She didn't need to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager every day.

Because the Empress Dowager has already passed away;

There's no need to scheme and fight with other concubines—

Because there were no other concubines in the palace;

No need to manage harem affairs—

She entrusted those matters to Shen Qing and Zhao Xiaohe. Zhao Xiaohe is now a lady-in-waiting in the palace and manages them very well.

When Zhao Xiaohe brought in the tea, Su Jiuge was reading a secret report from the Northern Border sent by Ghost Shadow.

The second prince, Xiao Jingyan, has been promoted to captain, commanding a thousand men and stationed at a fortress outside Yanzhou City.

His martial arts skills had reached the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm, and he was a skilled commander with high prestige in the army.

The ghost added a sentence at the end of the secret report—

"He seems to have really become a different person."

Su Jiuge put down the secret report, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.

Zhao Xiaohe stood to the side without leaving, her small face showing a hint of unspoken words.

Su Jiuge glanced at her: "Speak your mind."

Zhao Xiaohe blushed and clutched the hem of her dress: "Your Majesty, Brother Shen Qing asked me to ask you when he can leave the palace?"

Su Jiuge thought for a moment: "He can leave the palace whenever he wants. He's not a palace guard, he's a member of the Dark Pavilion. He can leave whenever he wants."

Zhao Xiaohe's eyes lit up, she bowed and quickly walked out.

Su Jiuge watched her figure disappear outside the door.

She knew what Zhao Xiaohe was happy about—

Shen Qing is going to marry her.

Shen Qing, who has a missing arm, is quiet and reserved, like a taciturn person, but Zhao Xiaohe likes him.

I've liked him since I was fourteen, for four years now, and I've finally won him over.

This is what Su Jiuge most wanted to see—

One by one, the people around her found their own paths.

The secret chamber is no longer her secret chamber; it belongs to everyone.

Summer of the twenty-fourth year of Yong'an.

Qingjiang River.

Su Jiuge hasn't left Luojing for a long time.

This time, she left Beijing for someone—

Qian Shigui is seriously ill and there is no cure. His son, Qian Shaoqing, is in the Western Regions and cannot return for the time being.

On his journey from the Western Regions back to Qingjiang, Qian Shaoqing wrote a letter to Su Jiuge. The letter contained only one line:

"Master, my father wishes to see you."

Su Jiuge went.

Qingjiang City was more prosperous than when she first came four years ago. The streets were wider, there were more shops, and the pedestrians had a peaceful expression on their faces.

After surrendering to the imperial court, there were no more rebellions by regional warlords or the calamities of war, and the lives of the people improved considerably.

Su Jiuge rode her horse through those familiar streets, recalling the scene from her first visit to Qingjiang—

Zhao Ying, disguised as a silk merchant at Zuixianlou, was challenged by Qian Shaoqing to a duel with a cold iron sword.

Back then she was still making plans, but now the overall situation is settled.

The Qian family's plaque has been replaced with a new one, its paint bright and shiny, but the people inside remain the same.

Qian Shigui lay on the bed, so thin he was just skin and bones, his face sallow and his eyes sunken, but his eyes lit up when he saw Su Jiuge walk in.

He reached out his hand, and Su Jiuge grasped it.

Qian Shigui's voice was hoarse and weak: "General Su... I thought you weren't coming."

He thought that as the Empress, she wouldn't personally make a trip for a surrendered regional military governor.

She came and said, "Your son is mine, and you are his father. It's only right that you come."

Qian Shigui's eyes reddened, and he squeezed her hand tightly with all his might: "General Su, I have made many mistakes in my life. The biggest mistake was colluding with the Crown Prince, and the right thing was listening to Shaoqing's advice and submitting to the court. I am very relieved that my son is with you."

He paused, then said, "He's in the Western Regions, far away. After I leave, keep an eye on him for me, and make sure he doesn't go astray."

Su Jiuge looked at the old man who was about to die, and he was completely different from the Qingjiang Jiedushi who had sat in the armchair and negotiated with her back then.

He has changed; he has grown older and softened.

Is it because of my son? Maybe.

"Your son won't go astray," Su Jiuge said.

"He's from the Dark Pavilion. People from the Dark Pavilion never stray from the right path."

Qian Shigui smiled, and the smile was particularly touching on his gaunt face.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Su Jiuge stood by the bed, quietly holding the hand that had loosened its grip until it was completely cold.

She closed his eyes, stood up, turned around, and walked out.

The entire Qian family knelt on the ground—

She walked past the kneeling people, past the courtyard, past the plum tree, and out of the Qian family mansion.

The sunlight shone down from above, making her squint.

She stood on the streets of Qingjiang City, thinking of many things—

She recalled Qian Shaoqing asking her, "What does the Dark Pavilion do?" when he first entered the Dark Pavilion; she recalled Zhao Ying's uncomfortable expression when she was disguised as a merchant at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion; and she recalled Qian Shigui saying in that letter to Xiao Yan, "Shaoqing has never left home since he was a child."

Now Qian Shaoqing and Zhao Ying are both in the Western Regions. She stands on the street in Qingjiang, with a mansion behind her that has just lost its owner.

She mounted her horse and headed towards Luoyang.

Behind them, the white lanterns of the Qian family mansion rose one by one, swaying gently in the wind.