Chang’an Was a Dream

In my last life, I married Wei Zheng, and everyone in the capital said that the eldest son of the Wei family and I were a match made in heaven. Wei Zheng and I spoke of the realm and its people, dreaming of peace beneath all four seas. We spent more time apart than together, never dwelling on petty romance, because greater duties filled our hearts. When he went north to guard the frontier, I set up porridge kitchens outside the capital. When he reviewed official papers in his study, I sat beside him annotating ancient texts. When work kept him overnight at the government office, I thoughtfully sent him a letter: “All is well at home. Do not worry.” He said I was unlike other delicate young ladies who cared only for moonlight and flowers and pestered their lovers to count their eyelashes. He praised me for being calm, sensible, and mindful of the greater good. What he never knew was that, as an imperial princess, I had once been the most pampered, vivacious girl of all. I had simply spent everything I had chasing after him, running until I could barely breathe. Then one day, I quarreled with someone while Wei Zheng watched coldly from the side. Only after we returned home, when no one else was present, did he say in that mild voice of his, “The other person did have more reason on their side.” That was when I realized he had never once stood on mine.