‌Chapter 6: Apricot Blossoms‌

Legend claimed Emperor Yang of Sui once draped silk on trees to flaunt wealth, only for foreign envoys to ask: "Why clothe trees when beggars shiver in your streets?"

History belongs to victors. The Tang dynasty that supplanted Sui naturally vilified its predecessor, leaving truths obscured. Yet Sui's beggars were real—as real as the suffering multitudes persisting even in glorious Chang'an. Behind the City God Temple honoring Ji Xin lay an abandoned courtyard, once imperial property now sheltering refugees beneath crumbling eaves.

"This widow lost her family to wildfire," Yuwen Ji said briskly, adjusting the large bundle on her back. Her masculine attire showed no frills. "Villagers claimed thunder gods punished her sins instead of helping. Pitiful."

Xue Chongxun stood silent behind her, observing.

"Grandmother, here's an old quilt against the cold. Remember to apply the burn salve I gave you."

Rising, Yuwen Ji turned. "Two children with chills over there. Care to join me?"

"Attend your duties." Xue's voice stayed flat.

As they passed, Yuwen Ji's lips curled. "What coincidence—meeting at Qianfu Temple and now here? Spare your schemes. Remember: 'A friend's wife is not for play.' I'm betrothed."

"Qianfu was chance," Xue admitted. "Today, my men tracked you."

"Why?"

"These wretches stir pity? What of orphans left by your father's victims?"

Yuwen Ji blanched as if seeing a ghost. "Wh-what? I don't..."

"San Niang. You've met. Where are her accomplices?"

The name—common yet precise—struck like a blade. Yuwen Ji staggered. "Father... he promised reform! Whatever he did, he loved us truly!"

Xue's eyes flickered with pain as faint as falling leaves in spring. "As Tang official, upholding law is my duty. Evil must answer."

"You virtuous?" Yuwen Ji laughed coldly. "Then why stalk me? Arrest him with evidence!"

"San Niang is the evidence. The Censorate will act."

"Wait!" She clutched herb packets. "Let me deliver these... I'll believe only seeing San Niang."

Returning, Xue mocked: "Hypocrites—crimes with one hand, charity with the other."

Cruelty brought him perverse relief.

Yuwen Ji trembled. "Father... when starving as porter, he saved half rations for Mother. The best man I know!"

Tears fell as defenses crumbled. Xue watched, silent.

"Even if true..." Her voice hardened. "He stays my hero. What do you want? Gold? You have fiefdoms. Women? You drown in concubines!"

Xue crushed an apricot blossom in his palm, sniffing pulped fragrance. "Only broken, it releases full scent."

In the sealed carriage to Misty Pavilion, shadows deepened Xue's severity. Yuwen Ji shuddered. "At Qianfu, you spoke truth. I misjudged you."

"Even I misjudge myself," Xue said, recalling a courtesan's laugh: "You smell of sunlight." Absurd—his complexion ran dark.

At Misty Pavilion's blooming apricot tree, Xue snapped a branch. Inside the familiar cottage, a single teacup waited.

"Imagine strangers slitting your father's throat before your eyes," Xue said, sipping tea. "Because he refused extortion."

Yuwen Ji's face drained. "You claim Father..."

"Tax evasion needs killers like San Niang?" Xue prowled the room. "When hares die, hounds boil. When birds vanish, bows snap. Your father laundered gold and daughters. What of loyal tools like San Niang?"

"Lies!" Yet her tears confessed understanding.

"Father... saved Mother from starvation..." She choked. "My hero forever!"

Xue studied her. Perhaps better methods existed, but time pressed. Crush the blossom, extract the essence—ends justified means.