Chapter 157

Prince Yi let out a light chuckle and teased, “That’s rather strange. Why do I get the feeling that you trust this Wu Wei more than your own flesh-and-blood disciple?”

Dongfang Rui met Prince Yi’s gaze directly, her expression solemn. “There will always be a barrier between Xue’er and me. This official dares not speculate on the enmity between Prince Pingyan and the Late Emperor. But with Your Highness’s methods, you must surely understand what I mean. Even with the New Emperor’s ascension to the throne, it doesn’t mean the past can simply be swept away. The Bright Mirror Division has always been loyal to the sovereign and devoted to the kingdom. Even if the organization itself exists now only in name, my patriotic heart has never wavered. Once the mourning period ends, Xue’er will marry into that household of the Xiao Family, and from then on…”

Dongfang Rui trailed off. She changed tack and continued, “Wu Wei may not share a master-disciple bond with me, but I greatly admire her character and wisdom. Absent this incident, she would already have joined the Bright Mirror Division by now. Even if she cannot one day inherit my legacy, she will still become one of its pillars. I have commanded the Bright Mirror Division for many years and seen countless coroners, but never one as exceptional as Wu Wei. If she could remain with us for another twenty years… no, perhaps merely ten, she would undoubtedly become the Liang Dynasty’s foremost coroner—the very first female coroner. Her very presence could upend our existing methods of handling cases, vastly improving the rate at which murder investigations are solved across the entire Liang Dynasty. Talent like hers may not appear again even in a century. But given my present circumstances, I cannot guide her to that height myself. That is why I recommend her to Your Highness. I hope Wu Wei can take up a proper position where she can benefit the people, rather than being driven down a path to ruin.”

Prince Yi had not expected Dongfang Rui to speak with such gravity. The playful smile on his face gradually faded into solemnity, and when she finished, he lapsed into silence.

A moment later, Dongfang Rui spoke earnestly. “Your Highness harbors the world in your heart and is destined for great achievements. One who aspires to the highest seat must embrace all rivers like the sea, gathering talents without prejudice. If thoughts of factional strife and exclusion take root, how can any grand enterprise succeed? Wu Wei’s skills as a coroner are a gift from the heavens themselves. If Your Highness squanders such a boon, regret is sure to follow.”

Unbidden, the image flashed through Prince Yi’s mind of Wu Wei dissecting the head of one of his own subordinates. At first, he had thought her a mere trickster putting on a ghostly show, eager to witness the panic that would expose her ruse.

To his surprise, Wu Wei had carried it out without the slightest change in her expression. Every incision was clean and precise, as though she had performed the procedure countless times before. And yet she treated the remains with the utmost respect—not only bowing and purifying her hands beforehand, but afterward carefully sewing the head back together and offering several more bows to the body.

Perhaps… Dongfang Rui was right. Perhaps Wu Wei’s coroner craft was a gift from the heavens to the Liang Dynasty, bestowed through her hands?

Had Wu Wei not insisted on wielding the blade, the death of his subordinate would surely have gone down as an unsolved case. It was only afterward, through tracing the technique of the hidden weapon, that Prince Yi had uncovered the trail leading to Fusang—and from there, further leads.

“…Very well. I’ll heed you this once. She’s running a rice shop that’s positively booming at the moment. Once This Prince has thought it through, I’ll decide what sort of post to assign her.”

“My deepest thanks, Your Highness.”

“Carry on with your work. Let This Prince know if there’s any progress. I’m off to drink—someone’s keeping an eye on This Prince.” Prince Yi offered a sardonic smile.

Before Prince Yi had departed the capital for his fief, the palace had followed tradition in granting him a batch of palace servants—nominally to attend him, but in truth to spy. It meant many matters required a more indirect touch. He owed much to Dongfang Rui.

…

In the same city, Wu Wei was happily tallying the accounts inside her rice shop, blissfully unaware that she had just slipped free from the jaws of death.

Winter arrived early in the Liang Kingdom, and the cold in Taizhou Prefecture was particularly harsh.

Before long, the first snow of the year began to fall.

It came on fiercely, battering the branches until the last clinging dry leaves scattered across the ground.

Early the next morning, Wu Wei threw open her window to behold a vast expanse of white. She cried out in delight, “Third Sister! Come here quick—it’s snowing!”

“Really?” Liu Cuiwei paused in washing the cloth and hurried over to the window. She gazed out at the snowy vista, her face lighting up with joy.

Snow Heralds Bumper Harvest. After last year’s winter of scant snow, Liu Cuiwei had come to deeply appreciate its importance. With snow falling this early, did it not bode well that next year’s crops would escape the drought?

“I’ll go tell Mother!” Liu Cuiwei dashed from the room. Moments later, Old Lady Liu’s joyful exclamation echoed from next door.

Both families were in high spirits over breakfast, all praying aloud for a bountiful year.

…

When Wu Wei and Liu Cuiwei returned to the Wu-Liu Store, the clerks were already going about their tasks in orderly fashion. The snow piled at the entrance had been diligently swept into two neat heaps flanking the doorway.

“Third Sister, fetch the hats. These next couple of days are bound to turn colder.”

“Right away!” Liu Cuiwei bounded up the stairs with buoyant steps, returning shortly with a large bundle in her arms.

Wu Wei clapped her hands to draw everyone’s attention. “Third Sister made winter cotton hats for all of you—one for each person, enough to go around. Come claim yours!”

The clerks crowded forward eagerly. Liu Cuiwei untied the bundle, drawing gasps of wonder from the group. Inside lay two neat stacks of exquisitely crafted cotton hats. Their navy fabric bases bore lifelike embroidery of the five grains, so vivid it seemed as if fresh wheat ears had been clipped and affixed directly to the cloth.

On the back of every hat, Liu Cuiwei had embroidered the wearer’s name in gold thread. At the front gleamed the three characters “Wu-Liu Store,” also worked in gold.

Liu Cuiwei called out each clerk’s name in turn, handing over their hat. The air filled with overlapping voices of thanks and delight.

Even a few customers who had come to buy rice wandered over to see the excitement. They marveled at the sturdy materials and intricate embroidery.

“Just perfect, Second proprietress—your hands are truly gifted!”

“And look, my hat fits like it was made to measure.”

Wu Wei’s eyes shone with pride amid the chorus of praise.

One auntie buying rice picked up a hat, turning it over in her hands. “What fine handiwork! The batting is packed evenly without a single lump to feel. And these stitches, these patterns, this lining… not even the top Embroiders in the finest ateliers could surpass it!”

Blushing, Liu Cuiwei replied, “Back when we were at home, I often did needlework. The first floor of our rice shop is wide open to the drafts on all sides—winters must be brutal for the clerks. I worried they’d freeze their ears, so I hurried to make these hats. Flip up the sides, and they cover the ears and cheeks perfectly. Auntie, you flatter me too much.”

“No flattery here—your skill is exceptional. What a shame to waste it on a rice shop. You ought to open an embroidery house; the business would flourish.”

…

Those words stirred a pang of guilt in Wu Wei’s heart. She had originally planned to partition off half the shop to make room for Liu Cuiwei’s clothing boutique.

But once the various grains were all displayed, there simply wasn’t space left. Liu Cuiwei had suggested putting it off for now, and with the rice shop’s business booming thereafter—often too much for even the two of them to handle—the plans for the clothing shop had gradually fallen by the wayside.

For Liu Cuiwei, needlework was more than a means of survival; it was a true passion.

Wu Wei had always felt that her friend’s embroidery possessed a spark of life, born from that very love. Now that their days were better and business brisk, it seemed that passion had been set aside.

…

Once the crowd dispersed, Liu Cuiwei repacked the remaining hats to distribute to the next shift of clerks tomorrow.

But Wu Wei drew her aside and said, “I’ve done the math. After paying Miss Gao her share, we’ve still banked a tidy sum this half-year. Why don’t I go ask around at the pawnshops? Maybe there’s a smaller shop nearby coming up for sale. We could open that clothing boutique after all.”

Liu Cuiwei shot her a puzzled glance. “One rice shop is already wearing me to the bone. You want to open another?”

Wu Wei tugged at her sleeve and glanced around to make sure no clerks were paying attention. Then she continued, “I just think… it’s a shame to let your talents go to waste like this. If you didn’t enjoy embroidery and sewing, that would be one thing. But you do love it, don’t you? In this life, it’s rare to find something you’re truly passionate about. The hardest days are behind us now, and I want to make good on my promise.”

Liu Cuiwei studied Wu Wei for a moment, then drew her into the inner hall and shut the door. “Did that auntie’s words earlier get under your skin? Are you feeling bad about it?”

Wu Wei nodded, making no denial.

Liu Cuiwei gently pinched her earlobe. “Has anyone ever told you that you tend to overthink things?”

“No one’s said that. Plenty have called me carefree, though,” Wu Wei replied.

“Listen, Weiwei,” Liu Cuiwei said. “I’ve always seen you as someone who keeps her word. Being with you puts my mind at ease. We’ve known each other so long now, and you’ve never once let me down—not a single promise unkept.”

Hearing this only made Wu Wei feel more abashed.

But Liu Cuiwei spoke up again. “Weiwei, do we really have to live like that? You always keep your word to the letter—aren’t you tired of it? I used to be uneducated, with little exposure to people or the wider world. But things are different now. I’d rather you weren’t quite so serious. For small matters, I’d prefer you treat them as jokes—say them in the moment and let them pass. Don’t take everything so much to heart.”

Wu Wei and Liu Cuiwei gazed at each other. Liu Cuiwei took Wu Wei’s hand and held it gently against her chest. “Weiwei, we’re both women who adore each other, walking this path side by side. It doesn’t mean one of us has to take care of the other. Even in a marriage between man and woman, it doesn’t require one to sacrifice endlessly for the other. In the past, I lacked the ability to share your burdens. But now… now I have the confidence to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. So what if the clothing shop doesn’t open? We don’t rely on those few silvers to get by. Isn’t the rice shop good enough? Even if I love embroidery and needlework, with so many people at home, don’t I have plenty of chances to practice?”

“You’re right,” Wu Wei admitted. “I’ve been too rigid.”

“Weiwei, it’s not that you’re rigid. It’s that I ache for you. You take every word I say to heart and turn it into action, and it fills me with both sweetness and heartache… You’re a woman too, you know. I want to cherish you, let you act spoiled in my arms—like the innocent, carefree little girl you are—without shouldering so much.”