No matter how far Qingzhou is, her brother should have arrived in the capital by now. She had arranged a new position for Wei Fengzhi in the Ministry of Personnel, not allowing him to rise too quickly to avoid dissatisfaction among court officials.
Wei Fengzhi came to see her, his two little mustaches grown longer, still laughing somewhat carelessly.
“Chenbi, you shouldn’t have called me here now. There are still matters unsettled in Qingzhou,” Wei Fengzhi said.
“I know, but right now I need your help in the capital more. I have other arrangements for Qingzhou’s affairs. For now, I’ll have to trouble you to be a minor official in the Ministry of Personnel,” Weilin said with a smile.
“The affairs of Qingzhou, the former emperor’s arrangements…”
“Don’t worry, I know,” Weilin said. Xi Linxuan had already told her why Wei Fengzhi was demoted to Qingzhou. “You’re here at the right time. Under my watch, Tai Qing won’t cause you too much trouble.”
“Her? What does she intend to do?” Wei Fengzhi asked, a frightened expression on his face.
“I don’t know, you can ask her yourself,” Weilin said with a smile.
Just then, Xi Yaya, sweating from play, rushed in and called out, “Father!”
With Wei Fengzhi’s arrival and family around, Weilin felt life wasn’t so difficult. Occasionally before bed, she would take out red wax and mold small figures.
Winter had come. She wondered how Xi Linxuan was doing—was he warm enough, had he eaten venison, were the palace maids she sent taking good care of him, was his wound still hurting? He had said he couldn’t sleep without being near her. What was he to do now?
Year after year passed. In Weilin’s impression, yesterday and today seemed the same. What comforted her was watching Yaya and Xi Qi grow more like their elegant father, especially Xi Qi. Weilin took Xi Qi to pay respects at the Southern Palace, where the elder was trimming flowers in the courtyard.
It had been three years, hadn’t it? During this time, she had used the ministers’ extreme dissatisfaction to demote Wang Ling to a local official position.
