Chapter 501 — A Memorial Day Beyond Words
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
After breakfast, Gao Yang did not immediately set about the domain's affairs as was his custom. Instead, he called out to Hetty, who was just preparing to leave: "Is there anything pressing at the government hall this morning?"
"No," Hetty said, puzzled, but she answered nonetheless. "The winter work plan has already been distributed. This morning there are only routine matters—they can be left to the assistants."
"Then don't hurry off to the hall just yet. Come walk with me through the city."
A dozen or so minutes later, Gao Yang and Hetty had arrived at the central district of Xuanyao City, and Amber had come along as well, in her capacity as a guard.
Walking the streets of this newborn city, one was met on every side by the vitality and vigor unique to Xuanyao City. The air carried the rise and fall of human voices, of carts and horses; everywhere the eye fell were citizens full of spirit, substantial and healthy. Though late autumn had now arrived and the weather grew colder by the day as the giant sun's activity waned, this slight chill did nothing to affect the lives of the Cecilians—on the contrary, with the launch of a great many new projects in the new urban district on the north bank, countless jobs and opportunities for livelihood were drawing more and more people into the city of Xuanque, onto the path of work. Cecil at this moment was as lively as it had ever been.
Yet only a little more than two years ago, such a thing would have been unimaginable to the people of Ansu—unimaginable, indeed, to any nation in the north of the continent.
So it was that whenever he walked the streets of Xuanyao City, a sense of gratification would rise unbidden in Gao Yang—a gratification that made him feel more keenly the fact that he was alive in this world, made him realize that he had already become inseparably bound to this world, made him realize that his efforts and actions all along had not been without meaning.
Amber followed at Gao Yang's side. She glanced at him with some curiosity, as though she had glimpsed something faintly amiss in that rather imposing face: as the lord's guard, she had spent even more time at Gao Yang's side than Hetty or Rebecca had, and whether she wished it or not, she had grown familiar with every detail of his expressions. She could tell that Gao Yang had something on his mind, but she did not know whether she ought to ask.
Fortunately Hetty was there on his other side. Hetty might not be as skilled as Amber at reading faces, but she was a meticulous and sensitive woman, and after a moment's hesitation this "grand steward" spoke up with concern: "Progenitor, is something troubling you?"
Gao Yang was indeed troubled—he was pondering the civil war beyond the Fortress of Bedrock, pondering how many years of stable development the Duchy of Cecil still had, pondering the threat of the God of Holy Light and the other gods, pondering whether those cultists who had lain silent for nearly a year were brewing some new conspiracy. But under Hetty's slightly worried gaze, he only said, as though casually: "Once Frostgate City is settled... we can develop in peace for a few years."
"As you say," Hetty lowered her head slightly. "Some of the production and construction plans have already been scheduled through the second half of next year. So long as the external situation does not change greatly, the coming years will be the most crucial period of development for the Duchy."
"Yes... provided the external situation does not change greatly..." Gao Yang said slowly, but his mind could not help turning to that powerful and covetous nation: Typhon, that empire already standing at the critical crossroads of transformation—how much longer would it stand by and watch the civil war in Ansu? At what point of Ansu's weakening did they intend to strike?
Perhaps Daniel's arrangements over there ought to be accelerated...
Yet Gao Yang's musings were suddenly interrupted by a scene in the street not far off.