CH 57

In Hu Qing’s impression, Liu Xiyin was a good and honest but slightly cowardly girl, not very conspicuous, but who did everything seriously and earnestly, and who was often teased to tears by the rotten-hearted Ye Zhao. But at the time of the greatest difficulty during the Northern Desert campaign, she had bravely stepped forward: she had mobilized the ladies left behind in their chambers to generously donate money, and sold off a lot of her own dowry for provisions and ammunition for the army. Liu Xiyin had left an extremely good impression on him, so he wasn’t entirely convinced that she would engage in outrageous acts and thought that she was only a young girl, long swindled by and angry at her “biaoge,” who would soon vent off her feelings and be done with it.

Plus, he loved receiving news of the chaos inside the residence of the prince of Nanping.

But sabotaging Xia Yujin’s health was a bit excessive.

The situation developed so unexpectedly and uncontrollably that there might have been a problem there.

Therefore, braving Xia Yujin’s murderous glare, Hu Qing dropped by for a visit.

Xia Yujin was currently toying with Ye Zhao. “I want an apple.”

Ye Zhao sent her subordinates all over town to look for premature apples.

“Peel it,” he said.

Ye Zhao immediately grabbed her knife.

“Smash it,” he said.

Ye Zhao silently looked for her hatchet to smash on the table.

“Feed me,” he said.

Ye Zhao held out a gold bowl and silver spoon, sitting next to him and feeding it to him bite by bite.

Xia Yujin hadn’t yet finished eating when he heard Hu Qing arrive. Remembering his previous gripe, he slammed his hand on the planks of the bed and yelled, “Drive him away!”

Ye Zhao herself went outside to invite Hu Qing in.

Hu Qing admired the antique painting and took the sour-faced Xia Yujin’s pulse, deeming it steady, then strolled around the room, discovering the pot of Manhua flowers in full bloom by the bedside. This kind of flower was rarely seen in the desert regions. If wealthy people had trouble sleeping, they sought for two of these to be placed by the bedside, to use their smell for their sweet dreams. It wasn’t good to use too many of them, but it was unlikely to injure people or make them lose consciousness.

“You’re halfway to a military doctor. Can you see anything?” Ye Zhao expectantly asked.

Hu Qing hatefully threw aside Xia Yujin’s paw. “Mhm, I can see you’ve fattened him up nicely.”

“I keep telling everyone I’m not sick,” Xia Yujin mumbled gloomily. “Everyday they forbid this, then forbid that. I’m not sick, but I’ll fall sick from all those prohibitions!”

Ye Zhao placated him. “Don’t mind his words,” she said anxiously. “If he’s not sick, why did he faint?”

“That was definitely because of you!” Xia Yujin said decisively.

No one paid any attention to his nonsense.

Hu Qing asked about what had happened before he fainted, as well as his recent eating and sleeping habits, and finally concluded, “It’s probably his weak health. He couldn’t stand your practice drills, over-exhausted himself, and had a sudden fit. It will be fine after a while. General, don’t keep him shut inside, it’s better if he exercises. In addition, it’s better not to place Manhua flowers next to the bed. If you grow too dependent on them, then you’ll have trouble falling asleep once you don’t have any more.”

Ye Zhao agreed to everything. Then, seeing the look of impatience across Xia Yujin’s face, she quickly saw her military advisor out.

Hu Qing started leaving, then suddenly turned back, and asked, “What has Miss Xiyin been doing recently?”

Ye Zhao thought about it. “She slightly burned her wedding robes a while ago, so she hasn’t been in a good mood. She stays in her room doing embroidery work. Sometimes she goes outside and goes to the reception pavilion to look around and sends sweets to everyone.” She was happy to think about her beloved cousin and a smile appeared on her face.

“Don’t give His Highness anything that Miss Xiyin sends,” Hu Qing ordered.

Ye Zhao frowned, not understanding. “Why?”

Hu Qing knew that she was ruthless with outsiders, but intensely defensive of her own relatives and friends, never doubting them. Liu Xiyin was an even more trustworthy person to her. Without any evidence, he couldn’t single her out and say she was the problem. He had no good explanation in case he guessed wrong. So he mulled it over for a moment and smiled, “His health’s already frail. If he eats too many sweets and turns fat or spoils his teeth, it’ll be even worse.”

Ye Zhao thought that a plump ferret made for a pleasant sight to the eyes and had been planning on trying to fatten him up, but when she heard his words, she hesitated.

“Your cousin is a guest,” Hu Qing insisted, striking while the iron was hot. “She burned her wedding clothes, she must be in a rush to make new ones. How can you let her do a servant’s job, every day? Even if she were to do it, you should have her give directions to your servants. Don’t let everyone say that the prince of Nanping’s mansion can’t afford a cook and have their visitors do it themselves.”

“You’re right.” Ye Zhao then urged him, “Don’t worry about the thing I told you about last time, just ask around who has a talented and good-looking unmarried son for me.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Hu Qing casually answered, strategizing. He felt that, because of the war, women outnumbered men in the Northern Desert. Liu Xiyin was devastatingly beautiful, an incomparable artist, clever and capable. Even if she had committed some wrongs at seven or eight years old, that was the ignorance of youth; she had followed the rules after that, so it should be erased. Moreover, the Liu family upheld upright traditions and refused to play up to those in power and sell their daughter for the sake of status. How come she couldn’t find an appropriate match around? Why come to the capital to look? Maybe General Liu was hiding something from his niece.

He quickly went back home to write a letter and quickly dispatched a messenger to the Northern Desert, to thoroughly investigate the matter of Liu Xiyin.

A month later, it was the fifth day of the fifth month, the summer festival.

The sky, which had long stayed gray and overcast, cleared up a bit and the rain let up some.

Young girls stepped out of their chambers hand in hand, beautifully dressed, carrying circular fans and wearing thin veiled hats, and onto the cut flowers covering the ground. Their youthful and pleasant appearances were very enjoyable under the rainy early summer. Unmarried talents or rich young men, handsomely dressed as well, flocked out and stood on the prows of their boats with their folding fans and recited poems, striving to stand out by their words and their graceful bearing to win the interest of a beautiful maiden. Married men were either floating on the river in flower or dragon boats or resting in nearby tea pavilions, and high officials gathered on the lawns by the riverside, surrounded by curtains, appreciating the summer day while determining which young man or maiden would suit their own children or relatives.

Xia Yujin, who had been shut into his room by his mother and his wife’s joint efforts, was suffocating. How could he miss such a grand occasion? He shouted and screamed, insisting on going. Already seeing an improvement in his health, Ye Zhao invited Imperial Physician Meng, who said that there was no harm in going, as long as he rested and was careful. So she relented and went with him and his friends to travel down the river. On the way, they also took Liu Xiyin out to let the matrons and fellow young men have a look at her, to aid later matchmaking.

Both banks were green and lush, with many lotus ponds ashore. The lotus leaves were covered with dewdrops, their delicate flowers colored red, which meant they were entering summer under good circumstances. They met many acquaintances on the way. Ye Zhao was pounced on by Princess Guangping, from the family of Prince Ning, and her friends, and forced to satisfy their interest and tell the stories of the warring days of the Northern Desert.

“General Ye,” Princess Guanping[1] said adoringly, “I heard General Qiu once killed over a hundred people at a time. How about you? How many people have you killed?”

“I’ve never counted.” Ye Zhao thought about it for a long time, then shook her head. “And I don’t want to count.”

Princess Huimin[2] smiled and said, “The general has killed over ten thousand people, how can General Qiu compare?”

Princess Ningping sneered. “It’s not a good thing to kill those who’ve surrendered.”

“There was a shortage of food, then,” Ye Zhao explained. “We didn’t have enough to feed our soldiers, much less keep prisoners. Moreover, the Man Jin are sly and untrustworthy and have always killed prisoners from the Great Qin. If I let the tigers return to the mountain, these prisoners would have come back even stronger, and we would once again get caught in a fierce battle.”

“Conducting oneself with integrity means accumulating virtue and leaving room for one’s mistakes. My teacher Master Huang said that although barbarians lack education, many of them can be educated through etiquette. How could they all be killed? You were cruel and excessive, General.”

Ye Zhao laughed at that, making every young woman surrounding her blush.

“Your teacher is very right, a true man of honor filled with loyalty, filial piety and integrity,” praised Xia Yujin, clapping. “Next time two armies face off against each other, we will seek out several thousands of scholars to recite out loud the Sacred Book[3] and enlighten those barbarians, let them know shame and disgrace, recognize that what they’re doing isn’t right. And then they’ll lay down their weapons, sound the drums of retreat, and henceforth will the two nations forever hold friendly relations.”

Everyone uproariously laughed at his joke.

Princess Ningping’s face turned red with embarrassment. She pushed him away and willfully said, “You’re a scoundrel, cousin! Go away! We’ll have fun without you.”

The villain did not squabble with the woman.

Seeing that his younger cousin was going to get angry, Xia Yujin laughingly escaped. He went to stand on the river bank, greeting his hedonistic friends over on their flower boats, casually appraising the figure of that year’s young maidens who were passing by and debating on which one was the most beautiful. But how could they compare with Xiyin, who was standing by a green willow, with a light green garment and her beautiful eyes? Every one of her movements captured the gracefulness of a hundred flowers. Unfortunately for the peace and quiet of the day, hundreds of eyes were staring at her. Not wishing to be too presumptuous, the anxious and talented scholars were scratching their heads, pondering over how to walk up to her and strike a conversation, or whether they ought to let their mothers go to the house of the prince of Nanping and propose.

“The beauty of the summer scenery is endless.” Looking at the soft chests and thin skirts of the beautiful women, he was deeply moved. He thought for a long time, preparing a lewd poem for his scoundrel friends’ appreciation. He had just been thinking about the opening line, when he felt a sudden numbness in his knees. It spread up and he lost control of his legs, as though they didn’t belong to his body anymore, then he fell headfirst into the river.

“Your Highness, be careful!” A woman’s anxious voice came from the side.

A slender and beautiful tightly grabbed his arm. Without enough strength, it was dragged along, and they fell into the water together. The ice cold river water filled his nose, squeezing all the air out of his lungs, and the memory of the last times he drowned flooded his mind.

Xia Yujin jerked around, carelessly dragging in the person at his side, struggling in fear.

“Help—”

“General! His Highness and your cousin fell into the water!”