Jinghe Year Fifteen, the nineteenth day of the second month, dusk.
In Suzhou Prefecture, misty rain soaked the lanes.
Apricot blossoms leaned against the walls, half unfurled; fallen petals drifted with the flowing water.
The spring chill had yet to fade. The rain-fresh air was crisp and clear, seeping deep into the lungs.
From a distant temple, a bell sounded, drifting leisurely across the water...
At the Suzhou Postal Station, the evening breeze brushed the bronze bells beneath the eaves, drawing an occasional clear chime.
Wei Zi sat alone at the desk, his gaze fixed on the dusk outside the window.
As he pondered, hurried footsteps sounded beyond the corridor.
Cui Fu pushed open the door and entered, holding a letter.
"Young master, Prefect Feng of Hangzhou sent a man across the water through the night to deliver this."
Cui Fu presented it with both hands, then stepped back and stood with his body bowed.
Wei Nisheng took the letter, his brows stirring slightly.
A letter from Feng Guan, with neither a festival nor a holiday at hand, and no idle exchange of pleasantries-it had to mean the matter at Court had been settled.
He promptly broke the seal and drew out the letter.
[To my worthy son-in-law Zi'an, as though we were meeting face to face:
News from the Capital: the matter at Court has been settled.
His Majesty has approved the transfer of eight hundred men from the Hangzhou Guard into Suzhou, all to be placed under your command.
The troops are ready and will depart upon receipt of your written order.
There is another matter to tell you: Shen Duan has already dispatched a secret envoy to Hangzhou.
Under the pretext that "the Hangzhou Guard requires local cooperation to enter the jurisdiction," he seeks to