445: Jiang Yan's decision

This afternoon, the sunlight was just right, scattering broken gold across the floor through the carved window frames.

Jiang Yan was sitting in the small study, trying to flip through the Geographical Records of the Northern Frontier that Situ Jun had sent over. The yellowed pages were filled with the mountains, rivers, customs, and people of the Northern Frontier. She read very seriously, trying to understand this land that would become her place of refuge for the rest of her life from these words.

"Madam, the City Lord of the Northern Frontier is here."

The maid walked in lightly and reported in a low voice.

Jiang Yan's fingertips paused, and when she looked up, Situ Jun had already strode in.

He still carried a bit of the outside chill on his body. The edges of his black cloak were stained with unmelted snow. Under the cloak, he still wore that crisp and neat black casual attire, with a Jade Belt tied around his waist, which further accentuated his tall posture and steady Aura.

He held two things in his hand. One was a scroll wrapped in bright yellow brocade, with the gold lacquer seal of the Tianqi Imperial Family stamped on the closure.

The other was a slightly smaller envelope. There was no signature on the envelope, only a small ink stamp.

"Yaner,"

He called out, his tone calm and gentle:

"The formal state letter from Tianqi has arrived. The auspicious date for the conferment ceremony has been set for two months from now, on the fifth day of the third month, the day of Awakening of Insects, a solar term."

Jiang Yan's heart trembled slightly. She subconsciously put down the book in her hand and stood up to greet him, her skirt sweeping across the floor and bringing a faint fragrance of clothes.

Her gaze fell on that bright yellow scroll. In a trance, she seemed to see the scene in the Tianqi harem in the past, where she was dressed in a Phoenix Robe and respectfully received the imperial decree.

Only at that time, she was the high and mighty Empress; now, things had long since changed.

Situ Jun gently placed the scroll and the envelope on the table, sat down in the pearwood chair opposite her, looked up at her, and signaled:

"Sit down and talk."

Jiang Yan sat down as told, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes, but her heartbeat was a few points faster than usual.

"The formal state letter from Tianqi has arrived."

Situ Jun picked up the bright yellow scroll, his fingertips brushing over the gold lacquer on the seal, his tone flat and emotionless:

"The auspicious date for the conferment ceremony has been set for two months from now, on the fifth day of the third month, the day of Awakening of Insects, a solar term."

"Awakening of Insects, a solar term..."

Jiang Yan repeated this solar term in a low voice, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She remembered this solar term. Spring thunder rumbles, and all things revive; it is a day of rebirth.

Li Xuan chose this day to install the New Empress, which indeed had a profound meaning.

Situ Jun looked at her slightly pale face, as if he had seen through her thoughts. He picked up the small envelope again, curled his lips, and revealed a half-smile:

"The state letter is a routine invitation, phrased very politely, filled with high-sounding words. In addition, there is also a personal letter from Li Xuan."

He paused, his tone carrying a bit of mockery:

"It is written quite sincerely, filled with words of 'relying on' and 'earnestly requesting,' with deep affection between the lines, as if he really took the Northern Frontier and me to heart. Actually, even if he didn't say it, I would still maintain the stability of Tianqi. After all, you all still live here."

Jiang Yan lowered her eyes in silence, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyelids.

She knew Li Xuan too well. Behind those seemingly earnest words were hidden nothing but the Emperor's calculations and trade-offs.

She was silent for a moment before looking up and asking softly:

"Have you... decided to go?"

Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the edge of the page. The rough paper rubbed against her fingertips, bringing a slight stinging pain.

"Go? Why not go?"

Situ Jun picked up the hot tea served by the maid and took a sip. The warm tea slid down his throat, dispelling the chill around him. His tone was casual, yet carried an unquestionable certainty:

"The grand ceremony won't be held until two months later, so there's plenty of time. It just so happens that I also have some matters that I need to handle in person in the Royal Capital. Incidentally, I'll also go and see what kind of person this New Empress, Xia Wei, is, to make Li Xuan so impatient to push her forward at a time like this."

His tone carried a condescending scrutiny, as if this trip was not to attend a ceremony, but to watch a play that had nothing to do with him.

Jiang Yan Upon hearing this, Frowning slightly, He asked with some concern:

"Then the affairs of the Northern Frontier... if you leave the territory, will there be any changes?"

The departure of the City Lord of the Northern Frontier was no small matter. If not handled carefully, it could trigger instability.

"It's fine."

Situ Jun put down the teacup, his tone relaxed, but a sharp light flashed in his eyes:

"The military and political system of the Northern Frontier is already mature and complete, with each department performing its duties in an orderly manner. When I am not here, there are regulations in place, so there won't be any chaos. Moreover..."

He looked at Jiang Yan, his gaze deep, as if containing endless power:

"I have personally visited the Great Zhou Dynasty, and their National Preceptor has been subdued by me. From now on, there will be no more wars or disputes between Northern Frontier City and Great Zhou."

"You..."

Jiang Yan looked up abruptly, her eyes full of shock, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

She only knew that Situ Jun was powerful, and even Li Xuan was willing to give his own Empress to him, but she didn't expect that he could actually subdue the National Preceptor of Great Zhou, resolving the Northern Frontier's greatest external threat without making a sound.

Situ Jun saw her shocked expression, and the curve of his mouth softened a bit. He took a sip of tea, then suddenly looked up, his gaze falling on Jiang Yan's slightly pale face, and asked softly:

"Do you want to go to the Royal Capital with me?"

Jiang Yan's whole body shook, as if struck by a bolt of lightning. She looked up at Situ Jun abruptly, shock and panic flashing in her eyes, along with a few traces of hard-to-detect fear.

Return to the Royal Capital?

With her current status as a deposed Empress and a Commoner?

Return to that place filled with her glory and humiliation?

To face those former palace servants, those familiar court officials, and... Li Xuan and the New Empress he was about to confer?

Just thinking about it made her feel cold all over, and she almost instinctively wanted to shake her head in refusal.

Situ Jun took in all her reactions, but he didn't force her. He only said indifferently:

"No rush, take your time to consider. There are still nearly two months before departure, enough time for you to think clearly. In any case, the City Lord's Mansion is your home, and you, Jiang Yan, are my Dao Companion. This point will never change."

He put the state letter and the envelope back into his Storage Pouch and instructed again:

"Just rest peacefully in the mansion and adapt to life here. If Yun Niang and Xuan'er invite you to move around, you might as well go and see. Although the customs in the Northern Frontier are rough, they also have their unique charms, no worse than the Royal Capital."

Jiang Yan looked at his steady features, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

She was silent for a long time before finally looking up, her eyes firm and her tone clear:

"There's no need to consider. I'm not going to the Royal Capital. From the moment I came to the Northern Frontier and moved into this City Lord's Mansion, I have completely abandoned my identity as the Empress of Tianqi. Now, I am just your woman, just a member of Northern Frontier City. The rights and wrongs of the Royal Capital have long since had nothing to do with me."

Situ Jun looked at her fixedly for a moment, then slowly nodded, a hint of softness flashing in his eyes:

"It's good that you can see it that way."

The two of them chatted casually about the customs of the Northern Frontier and the trivial matters in the mansion until the sun set in the west, and then Situ Jun got up and left.

Jiang Yan sat alone in the study. The sunlight outside the window gradually moved westward, casting long shadows of the window frames in the courtyard onto the pages of the book, moving slowly with time.

She slowly spread her palms, looking at her slender but no longer delicate fingers.

These hands once held the Phoenix Seal, mothered the world, and turned clouds into rain; now, they were empty. Without the weight of the Phoenix Seal and the entanglements of the harem, they seemed... to have grasped a trace of a vague future that she could choose for herself.

The cold wind of the Northern Frontier passed through the courtyard, blowing the gauze curtains on the window frames, bringing the cold scent of the distant mountain cedars, crisp and refreshing, cleansing her chaotic thoughts.

Her new life, under this seemingly calm surface, was facing its first major choice.

Whether she went or not, Jiang Yan clearly knew that the entanglement between herself and Situ Jun, this vast land of the Northern Frontier, and that dusty old dream of Tianqi would all usher in a brand new chapter on the upcoming day of Awakening of Insects, a solar term.

In that chapter, there might not be the honor of an Empress, but there would be the freedom of choice that she had never possessed before.