"Amid the patter of rain, she raised her hand, hoping to brush away the cold haze that had lingered over the court for more than a decade."
"The waters of Canglang can cleanse all things."
A cool, restrained lone minister x a clever, courageous official
At the end of the third year of Qingli, the emperor appointed Xie Yan Tong Ping Zhang Shi and launched new policies.
Xie Yan served as chancellor for a hundred days before being dismissed.
Xie Yan was summoned to the palace to answer charges, but on his way to Wende Hall, he accidentally fell to his death from the Dengxian Terrace.
They said Xie Yan had taken his own life out of guilt.
On the day Xie Yan died, the skies were dark with wind and rain.
In Tokyo, every household shut its doors, hoping to escape the torrential rain. In the rain-slick night, the rooftops shimmered with reflected light. Fleeing her pursuers, Xie Fanjing had no choice but to stop a passing carriage.
Still shaken, she heard an attendant reach for his blade. Then a man from the carriage stepped out with an umbrella and held it over her. Xie Fanjing looked up at him. It was Su Zhen.
He took her home.
*
Su Zhen, courtesy name Ziwen, passed the imperial examinations as a young man. He was the son of a senior government official and a student of the great chancellor Xie Yan, but the new policies drove him to turn against his teacher.
Everyone said Su Zhen had taken in Xie Yan's daughter to get revenge. Only Su Ziwen himself knew he was repaying a debt.
*
"On the second day of the third month, I met Fanjing. Rain fell without pause that day, and I took her home with me."
"On the fifth day of the fourth month, I taught Fanjing to write in flying-white script. Her calligraphy has the spirit of her father's, and even surpasses mine."
"On the seventh day of the seventh month, I gave Fanjing a palace lantern. She was very pleased."
"On the eighteenth day of the ninth month, Fanjing gave me a gold-inlaid saber. I thought it more beautiful than the finest embroidered robes."
"In the seventh year of Qingli, I sent Fanjing into the palace. That night, sleep would not come."
Updated on July 23, 2025
Theme: Seeing a mountain as a mountain, then not as a mountain, and finally as a mountain again
