Chapter 17: The Gift of a Bow

Zhuyang Tower.

Elder Wu was in the middle of a conversation with Pei Su when he suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Pei Su asked.

"The poison mark has dissolved. Xiao Lin is dead."

"Oh?" A glimmer of interest flickered in Pei Su's eyes. "And Zhao Lan?"

The poison mark Elder Wu had planted was not merely imprinted on the body — it also diffused a toxic aura. Since Zhao Lan had been in close contact with Xiao Lin for so long, he had naturally been tainted by the mark as well, his whereabouts firmly within Elder Wu's grasp.

"He's somewhere in the wilderness of Tan territory, to the southeast. Moving slowly — likely prioritizing concealment."

"With Xiao Lin dead, Dragon-Sparrow should be on Zhao Lan. It is a treasure of the imperial court — time to take it back."

Pei Su gazed into the distance with a faint smile in his eyes, as though his sight pierced through space itself to glimpse that faraway scene — a young man walking on foot with an ancient blade strapped to his back.

Elder Wu's expression was dark and brooding.

"It's also time to find out exactly how many drops of imperial blood Xiao Lin had hidden away. If he died without even telling his adopted son, then there's no point searching further — let it follow him down to the underworld."

Elder Wu turned back, only to find Pei Su had lowered his head, as if lost in thought.

"Young Lord?"

Pei Su raised his head and gazed quietly out the window at the green grass and red blossoms.

"We'll set out shortly. It's time to bring this to an end."

Pei Su left the room and walked toward the courtyard outside the tower.

The courtyard outside Zhuyang Tower was planted with many rare and exotic flowers, all transplanted from thousands of miles away on Liu Gongyun's orders.

Among them was the "Lantian Jade Lotus" — its petals lustrous and smooth as fine jade, exuding a faint, cool fragrance. Rumored to be a cultivated variety bred by the southern border tribes, it was rarely seen in the Central Plains and was of considerable value.

Beside the jade lotus, a young girl was crouching down, her eyes bright with delight.

"Do you like flowers?"

Jiang Suining startled and immediately stood up, finding Pei Su standing right behind her.

"The Lantian Jade Lotus is indeed a remarkable bloom. And over by the corner wall, the golden witch-hazel is equally rare. Beyond those two, the rest of the flowers here are rather ordinary."

Following Pei Su's gaze, Jiang Suining spotted the pale golden plum blossoms blooming in the corner, and her eyes lit up again.

"Butterfly Dream Valley does have many rare and exotic flowers, but the valley is small, and the variety is nothing like what you find out here."

She offered the explanation to Pei Su.

"This little courtyard, though lovingly tended by Uncle Liu, is still just a provincial garden. If you were to see the Imperial Garden in the Imperial Capital, I imagine you'd be even more astonished."

"The Imperial Garden?"

"It spans tens of thousands of square meters, housing seventy-three thousand varieties of rare flora from across the realm — including species long thought extinct. The current Empress also loves flowers. Every spring, when the weather is fair and bright, she hosts an elegant flower gathering in the Imperial Garden. Nearly half the noble ladies, aristocratic young women, and talented young men of the Imperial Capital attend in their finest attire."

Listening to Pei Su's description, a look of longing spread across Jiang Suining's pure, delicate face.

A garden that gathered all the rare blooms of the realm under one roof!

Pei Su watched her expression and smiled softly. "Would you like to go?"

"I would, but... no matter how precious or beautiful the flowers in the Imperial Garden are, they bloom in a noisy, crowded place, admired and gazed upon by all under heaven. I still prefer the few yellow chrysanthemums I tend in Butterfly Dream Valley. At least they're peaceful and quiet — and they don't feel so impossibly far away..."

As she spoke, Jiang Suining had already crouched back down, gently touching the blue lotus at her feet.

"I wonder if Granny Ling has been watering them every day..."

Pei Su raised an eyebrow slightly, his smile unchanged.

"Get ready. We're going to the Governor-General's Office to bid farewell to the governor..."

Jiang Suining paused, then asked softly:

"Where... are we going after that?"

"To catch a thief."

Jiang Suining opened her mouth, stared at Pei Su's retreating figure, and said nothing.

"Oh, right!"

Pei Su suddenly turned back at the courtyard gate.

"There are actually quite a few ladies in the Imperial Capital who have no desire to attend the flower gathering — it's troublesome and exhausting. But every year, not a single one is absent."

A faint, enigmatic smile curved the corner of Pei Su's lips. "Such is life — no one is truly free. When the reigning Empress extends an invitation, who would dare refuse her?"

After Pei Su left, Jiang Suining stood cradling a chrysanthemum in her hands, her gaze distant and a little lost.

At last she slowly rose and walked away, leaving behind a sigh so faint it was barely perceptible.

* * *

Pei Su brought only Banxia and Jiang Suining with him to the residence where Liu Gongyun was staying.

They met again with Liu Gongyun in his study.

When Pei Su stated plainly that he was leaving, Liu Gongyun's expression flickered with surprise, but he did not press him to stay.

He understood that Pei Su and his companions had come bearing a secret imperial mandate.

"Before we part, Jiumu has one more gift to present to Uncle Liu."

Pei Su clapped his hands, and Banxia walked in slowly from outside the door, cradling an ancient bow of burnished bronze in her arms.

Its curve was like a great arc of the sky; the body was thick at the center and tapered at both ends, its surface etched with intricate, mysterious patterns that even emitted a faint divine radiance.

Any connoisseur present would have been struck with awe — for this was unmistakably a Magical Artifact, the kind that any top-tier power in the realm would treasure as a cornerstone of their foundation. A bow-type Magical Artifact, at that, was extraordinarily rare.

"Young Marquis, this is...?"

Before Pei Su could answer, Banxia eagerly spoke first:

"Before departing for Bingzhou, His Lordship made a special detour to the Weapon Tomb of Qingzhou — with three fingers he suppressed all the prodigies of Qingzhou, and with a single sword he cut straight through the nine-layered gate of the Weapon Tomb. There he obtained this supremely mighty divine bow Magical Artifact, intending to present it to Lord Liu..."

Once Banxia had finished delivering the key points, Pei Su frowned slightly and called out quietly, "Banxia."

Then he smiled lightly. "Uncle Liu need not take it to heart. This was something Father once instructed — a gift for his White-Feather General."

Liu Gongyun's expression turned dazed. As he reached out to receive the ancient bow, his hands trembled faintly.

"This bow... does it have a name?"

"Dujun."

"A fine name! I... will not disappoint the expectations of the Young Marquis and the Marquis..."

At those words, Liu Gongyun seemed to recall something. The stern lines of his dignified face softened, and the rims of his eyes grew faintly red.

After Pei Su left, Liu Gongyun ran his fingers slowly along the body of the ancient bow, his gaze fixed on the wall for a long while, his trembling growing worse and worse.

No one could ever know how many times this formidable governor of Bingzhou had stared at his lone remaining arm on nights when the cold wind cut like a blade, weeping in silence.

"His Lordship went to such lengths just to make Lord Liu draw a bow again? That was an extraordinarily precious Magical Artifact."

Once they were outside the residence, Banxia asked curiously.

"Before long, the Naadam Golden Eagle Festival will be held in the Northern Steppe. Within Great Jin, there is no one but Liu Gongyun who can outshoot those barbarians in archery."

Banxia nodded, recalling the Naadam Golden Eagle Festival — a gathering famous even across the Central Plains.

Its three most prestigious events were horse racing, archery, and wrestling.

To the north of Great Jin lay the Steppe Court, home to many nomadic clans renowned throughout the realm for their archery and horsemanship.

In recent years, the steppe had grown increasingly harsh. Each winter, great numbers of cattle, sheep, and horses froze to death, and so the nomads' raids on Great Jin had grown ever more frequent and severe.

Years ago, at the Battle of Tianque Pass, the Northern Pacification Marquis had held back King Chen's two hundred thousand iron cavalry with only one hundred thousand troops. King Chen was forced to retreat north of the Kunlun Mountains and, pinching his nose, acknowledged the Emperor's seclusion and the Empress's regency. At the time, the Imperial Capital was also unsettled, and the court's approach toward this foreign-surnamed king who commanded vast armies was primarily one of appeasement. Both sides stepped back and preserved their dignity.

But any clear-eyed observer could see that King Chen and the imperial court had already grown estranged. With his grip on the seven northern provinces of Yan and Shuo, how could the court possibly rest easy?

It so happened that around that same time, the Steppe Court fractured. Seventeen clans, led by Darhan "Bataar Uljii," settled in the northwestern grasslands and proclaimed themselves the Türks — and they too cast covetous eyes upon Great Jin.

And so the Northern Pacification Marquis remained stationed at Tianque Pass, guarding against the northwestern Türks while keeping watch lest King Chen secretly collude with the Northern Steppe.

Though King Chen and the Northern Pacification Marquis were at odds, on the surface at least, Great Jin had two powerful lords guarding its northern frontier, and the Steppe Court dared not act rashly for the time being, maintaining a facade of friendship with Great Jin.

Their Naadam Golden Eagle Festival on the steppe likewise extended grand invitations to people from the Central Plains to participate.

Only, every time, the results left the entire Jin court without a shred of dignity.