After traveling for a month, the grasslands were lush with green grass and scattered flowers. From a distance, over a dozen white tents looked like clouds across the expansive land.
“Madam, it’s right there. The herdsmen said it’s right there,” said a servant.
“Mm, hurry up. We should make it in time for lunch. I’m hungry.”
As she rode closer, the fragrance intensified. Dismounting, she followed everyone toward a tent to inquire.
Just as they approached, the servant was about to lift the tent flap when a clear female voice inside asked: “Master Qiu, it’s been eleven years.”
“Could your wife still come? Our grasslands are windy and harsh, not as good as the Central Plains. I think you should find another wife. You’re the dream of our grassland girls…”
The servant hesitated, unsure whether to lower his hand, when he saw his mistress smile slightly and lift the tent flap.
“Qiushui, I’m here.”
Chapter 65
Epilogue
In eleven and a half years, Wei Linxia had imagined Xi Linxuan’s changes countless times, but when she opened the flap, she was still slightly shocked. The person looking up had a head full of white hair, surrounded by light.
He showed no surprise, simply putting down the strangely shaped qin on his lap, standing and walking to her, naturally taking her hand and saying, “Just cooked some deer meat, though it’s not autumn, so not very fat. If you want shrimp, I’ll go catch some later.”
“Won’t you introduce me to the neighbors?” Wei Linxia asked with a smile.
His hand was warm, no longer the slight chill that used to make her worry.
“My wife, Chen Bi,” Xi Linxuan said calmly, as if they had never been apart, as if this was just another ordinary lunch.
Xi Linxuan did not eat, just looking at her, making Wei Linxia feel a bit embarrassed: “Do you have any cakes or rice? Eating only meat is too greasy and can lead to weight gain.”
Xi Linxuan opened the cabinet and took out a basket covered with a white cloth. Lifting the lid revealed several round, neatly arranged cakes that looked quite delicious. Wei Linxia helped herself to one, tearing it apart and dipping it into the meat soup, enjoying its flavor—perhaps because she hadn’t eaten properly during her journey.
After her meal, although she had eaten heartily, she still had some oil at the corners of her mouth, which she wiped with a handkerchief.
“How can you eat so much yet be so thin? I wonder where all the food goes,” Xi Linxuan remarked, breaking his cake into small pieces.
Wei Linxia didn’t respond. She went to the bedside and lifted the light gray wolf skin mattress. It was a whole wolf skin, wrapped with sheepskin on all four sides, featuring an exquisite embroidered pattern on the hairless side.
“This mattress is quite exquisite. Where did you buy it?” Wei Linxia asked.
“The wolf skin is mine; the rest was prepared by others,” Xi Linxuan replied.
Lying down, she found it warm and incredibly comfortable when she pulled the soft wool blanket over herself. She decided to leave the bowls and chopsticks, planning to wash them after she woke up.
The warm blanket and quiet grassland, devoid of the dark palace, luxurious furniture, or the silent eunuchs and palace maids, combined with her travel fatigue, quickly lulled Wei Linxia to sleep.
In her dream, she sensed a floral fragrance. When she awoke, the tent was dim. Noticing that Xi Linxuan was absent, Wei Linxia stretched comfortably, appreciating the joy of sleeping until naturally awakening.
As she sat up without her shoes, she heard cheerful children’s voices outside, accompanied by Xi Linxuan’s soft laughter and two women’s voices speaking a familiar Central Plains dialect.
“Master, why are you doing this? We can milk the sheep. We’ve brought dried meat, fried rice, and butter. Should we put them in the cabinet?” As they spoke, the curtain lifted, and two women in grassland attire entered, preparing to put things away. Spotting Wei Linxia sitting on the bed, they were stunned and immediately knelt: “We didn’t know the master was here. We apologize for our rudeness.”
Wei Linxia recognized them as the two palace maids she had selected for Xi Linxuan years ago.
After more than a decade, they were no longer young, and the harsh grassland environment made them appear less vibrant than before.
“This isn’t the old home. Why are you kneeling? Get up,” Wei Linxia said, putting on her shoes and observing the items on the carpet that indicated Xi Linxuan’s daily life. “You’ve taken care of Master Qiu all these years. I don’t know how to thank you,” she added.
“We are ashamed. We haven’t taken good care of the master all these years. Please punish us,” they replied, their demeanor contrasting with their grassland robes.
Wei Linxia wondered about special herbs that could treat mosquito bites, regretting not bringing more mosquito-repelling spices from the palace.
Xi Linxuan smiled silently as he put away the milk. He returned with dried grass from Weilin, broke it into pieces, and placed them in the three-stone stove, releasing a smoky aroma of mugwort.
He suggested she go outside to refresh herself, as the night sky on the grasslands appeared pure, with more stars than in the palace.
Weilin feared mosquitoes, tucking her hands into her sleeves. Xi Linxuan laughed, saying, “Don’t believe everything you hear. The mosquitoes haven’t even woken up yet and will only come out when the grass grows lush.”
Weilin had only been outside since noon. The white tent stood out under the night sky, next to a wooden enclosure for livestock, where a cluster of white shapes huddled together. Remembering the palace maids discussing milking sheep, she asked Xi Linxuan, “Are those sheep ours? Do we have horses or dogs to watch the livestock?”
“Of course,” Xi Linxuan replied, leading her closer. An unpleasant smell hit Weilin’s nose, but she didn’t mind; these animals represented their future livelihood.
“Is this enough to eat?” she asked.
Xi Linxuan considered, “If you eat one every two days, definitely not.”
“How could I eat that much?” Weilin retorted.
“Based on today’s appetite, it’s not impossible,” Xi Linxuan said seriously.
“Then we’ll wait for lambs to be born and raise them endlessly.”
“That’s all we can do. Wei Chenbi, have you learned to cook?” Xi Linxuan asked.
Weilin felt embarrassed, as she wanted to learn but had often been too busy reading reports at night. “I should be able to learn this year!”
“Haven’t improved in needlework either, have you?” Xi Linxuan continued questioning.
Weilin hummed softly, “No improvement, just slightly better than the embroidery on the bedding. How shameful.”
“Yes, quite shameful,” Xi Linxuan agreed, not offering the comforting explanation Weilin expected.
After walking around, Weilin felt hungry again. Perhaps food on the grasslands was especially easy to digest. Missing the deer meat from lunch, Xi Linxuan cooked shrimp and mushroom soup, garnished with delicate purple flower petals, along with dried beef and soft flatbread. Xi Linxuan mentioned that eating too much meat at night was hard to digest, so two pieces of dried meat would suffice.
After eating her fill, Weilin washed and put away the bowls and chopsticks. Knowing water was scarce on the grasslands and having not bathed for days, she felt itchy. Seeing Xi Linxuan looking tired, she decided to wait until tomorrow to mention it.
With the tent’s furnishings being simple and Xi Linxuan diligent about cleaning, Weilin straightened the incense candles. She went outside and saw Xi Linxuan return with an old wooden bucket, steam rising in the lamplight.
The bucket was old, but the water was clear. Weilin was touched, feeling her “old husband” understood her needs.
“Water is precious on the grasslands. You can bathe in the pond when summer is warm,” Xi Linxuan said. “Hurry and wash before the water gets cold!”
