You and I Are Both Good People

Qiao Shuyi leaned against the wall of the carriage, her innocent gaze tinged with curiosity.

"You don't believe me? But I really do think you're handsome."

She sighed and said wistfully:

"When I first woke up a few days ago, the people gathered around me were all terribly ugly. I kept feeling... my life before couldn't have been like that. I vaguely remember a very handsome man keeping me company, but I can't remember who he was. The more I try to remember, the hazier it gets, and the hazier it gets, the more I try to remember, but I still can't remember anything."

She knitted her brows, looking troubled.

Song Jue's heart stirred slightly. "You... don't remember anything from before?"

Qiao Shuyi blinked, her eyes as clear as a mountain spring, their depths visible at a glance.

"That's right."

"I heard from the head of the escort agency outside that a man entrusted me to him and asked him to escort me to Jiangnan. I suppose I must have family in Jiangnan."

She paused, then looked back at Song Jue's face. After studying him intently for a while, she suddenly asked:

"When I first saw you, I thought you were very handsome. Did we... truly not know each other before?"

Song Jue shook his head.

He had met no small number of people, but if he had met a woman with looks like hers, he certainly would not have forgotten her.

Besides, the air of pampered refinement she carried about her made it clear at a glance that she was no ordinary family's daughter.

Qiao Shuyi was not disappointed. She simply nodded and asked:

"Your name is Song Jue? Where are you headed?"

"To the northern frontier, to join the army."

"Wow-" Qiao Shuyi's eyes lit up. "Will you become a great general someday, then?"

Song Jue was taken aback, then smiled bitterly. "I'll be fortunate just to come back alive."

Qiao Shuyi tilted her head as she looked at him, her gaze earnest and her tone certain:

"People who are born beautiful have heaven's favor from the moment they come into the world. I think you'll definitely become a great general."

For a moment, Song Jue did not know what to say.

He had met many people and heard many things, but no one had ever told him so earnestly, so certainly-you'll definitely become a great general.

Why?

Because he was handsome?

It was utterly absurd, yet coming from her, it sounded like the most natural thing in the world.

In all the first half of his life, Song Jue had never felt that heaven had treated him kindly.

He was silent for a moment, then gave a soft laugh. "Then... I'll take your words as a blessing, miss."

He looked into her eyes.

People could lie, but eyes could not.

Her eyes were perfectly clear, without a trace of calculation or pretense.

She had helped him because he was handsome.

She believed he could become a great general, also because he was handsome.

As for the life just lost-in her eyes, it seemed scarcely more important than whether the weather was good today.

She was unlike anyone he had ever met.

Song Jue finally could not help asking, "Why don't you ask why that man was trying to kill me? Don't you want to know? What if I'm a bad person? Aren't you afraid?"

She answered as though it were perfectly obvious:

"Yan Po is very skilled in martial arts. If you killed me, you wouldn't live either. As for why I don't ask, everyone has a past. If you want to tell me, I'll listen; if you don't, what would be the point of asking?"

Song Jue gazed at her for quite a while.

"Miss, perhaps you've lost your memories of the past, and that's left you unguarded around people. But look at the things in this carriage. Which of them isn't worth a fortune? In the future... in the future, you shouldn't go around rescuing people or trusting others so readily."

"You're concerned about me? I knew I wasn't wrong about you. You're a good person, just like me."

A good person?

He had blood on his hands and debts on his back. Even he did not think he was a good person.

Qiao Shuyi stared into his eyes and suddenly spoke again. "Oh, right. Since you say I saved you, how do you plan to repay me?"

"How would you like me to repay you, miss?"

Qiao Shuyi thought for a moment, then spoke unhurriedly:

"If you rise to great heights someday and become an important person, would you be willing to help me find my family?"

She had saved his life, yet this was all she asked.

To find her family.

The request was as light as a feather, yet as heavy as a mountain.

He nodded solemnly. "Of course I would. But what may I call you, miss? And where should I look for you in the future?"

"I don't remember what my name used to be either. But before I woke up, I had a hazy dream. In it was a great big fringe tree, covered in blossoms as though snow had fallen. So I gave myself a name-Susu."

She lowered her head, untied an exquisite jade pendant from her waist, and held it out to him.

The pendant was smooth and lustrous throughout, carved with a simple cloud pattern.

She placed it in Song Jue's palm.

"This is for you."

"Whether you become an important person someday or remain an ordinary soldier, you can bring this to Jiangnan to find me. If you don't rise to great heights, with a face like yours, I can find you a way to make a living and make sure you never lack food or drink."

Song Jue looked down at the jade pendant in his palm, then up at her smiling face.

At first, he had thought this woman was ruthless and vicious, not someone he should befriend.

Yet he had never expected that she had saved him without seeking repayment or anything else, asking only that he help find her family.

She had given him a token and even said that if he fell on hard times, she could find him a way to make a living on the strength of his face.

He gripped the pendant tightly and solemnly cupped his fists in salute. "Thank you, Miss Susu. I will remember this always."

The Palace of Compassion and Tranquility.

The hall was scented with burning aloeswood incense.

"Your Majesty, the emperor has sent a list for your review."

A young eunuch from the Hall of Supreme Ultimate bowed and respectfully presented a register with both hands.

Nanny Liu took it and passed it to the empress dowager.

The empress dowager set down her teacup and opened the register. Her gaze swept slowly over it, and her brows knitted slightly.

"Director of the Department of State Affairs, vice minister of the Imperial Secretariat, vice minister of the Chancellery, minister of revenue, vice minister of rites..."

She read out several official posts, then looked up at Nanny Liu. "Are the daughters of all these officials on the list for this selection?"

Nanny Liu lowered her head and answered, "Yes, all of them."

The empress dowager nodded, closed the register, and set it aside.

She did not know much about affairs at court, but she understood what the emperor meant by placing this list in her hands.

The daughters of these officials were all to be selected to enter the palace.

She could not manage the affairs of the imperial court, but she had to see to the arrangements in the inner palace for the emperor.

"Then that's settled. In the third round, select the girls from these families first. Fill the remaining places from among the other candidates."

Nanny Liu assented, but did not withdraw immediately. After hesitating for a moment, she added:

"Your Majesty, the vice minister of rites' daughter is a concubine-born daughter..."

"What about his legitimate daughter? I remember she's also within the age range for the selection."

For this selection, the candidates ranged in age from sixteen to twenty-five.

The age range had been made so broad because circumstances had left them no choice.

An edict from the late emperor had forbidden celebrations in the capital for two years, holding up the marriages of many girls in their prime.

Later, after the new emperor ascended the throne, the empress dowager issued another decree, making women of eligible age wait another year before preparations for the selection finally began.

A broader age range meant fewer complaints from those below.

Besides, the emperor had been delayed all these years and had neither wife nor concubines, nor any children. The empress dowager herself was not of high birth and had been unable to give him any help at court. Now that she was in charge of the inner palace, she naturally had to arrange everything, inside and out, so the emperor would have no worries on that front.

Older women were better suited to bearing children, and she hoped the emperor would soon have an heir, so that the realm could be secure.

Nanny Liu looked somewhat troubled.

"During the selection, the Su Family's eldest young lady suddenly fell ill and broke out in red rashes all over her back. She was eliminated in the second round."

The empress dowager sighed.

She had spent decades immersed in the inner palace. What was there about such schemes that she could not see through?

"Poor girl."

"Still, if she couldn't withstand such schemes during the selection, she would have had a hard time lasting long even if she entered the palace. The daughter of Vice Minister Su's family has suffered this ordeal, so the emperor must be given some reassurance. Though she is a concubine-born daughter, that's no obstacle. Once they enter the palace, they're all the same."

Nanny Liu understood and curtsied. "Yes, Your Majesty. I'll see to it at once."