Chapter 127

“Li Ce, the land of Tang is nice.” The people were picking up the money on the ground but did not fight over it. Chu Qiao stood there, dazed.

Li Ce laughed and shook his head, replying, “It’s okay. What you saw was the good side. However, it’s better than what you see in Xia.”

As the both of them were no longer able to see the acrobatic performances, they idled around on the street, chatting casually.

Li Ce bought some snacks, consisting of honey sweets, dates, osmanthus cakes, and chestnuts. They were separated into two bags. The both of them took one each and ate them while walking around.

Chu Qiao’s mood had visibly relaxed, her fatigue from the previous days dissipated. She asked, “Li Ce, do you know? I am wanted by Xia. I’m probably the most wanted fugitive in the world now.”

“Fugitive?” Li Ce was dazed. Laughing, he replied, “That’s a new way of putting it.”

“Are you not handing me over to Xia?”

Li Ce frowned strangely and asked, “Hand you over to Xia? What good is that for me? A thousand taels of gold? Haha, I’d rather keep you by my side.”

“But,” Chu Qiao shook her head, “I’ll go back to Yan Bei eventually.”

“Sigh, Qiaoqiao, you’re hurting me intentionally.” Li Ce shook his head and said, “Forget it. I know that you’re not in Tang to see me.”

Chu Qiao thought for a long while before saying with embarrassment, “Li Ce, by forming an alliance with Xia through marriage, are you opposing Yan Bei?”

Li Ce turned around and sized Chu Qiao up. With a sigh, he said, “Qiaoqiao, on a night like this, can you forget Yan Bei and Yan Xun temporarily? Can you be more relaxed?” Chu Qiao remained speechless. Li Ce continued, “The war between Yan Bei and Xia is your own business. In addition, why would I make the long journey to trample on Yan Xun’s home? He’s so fierce. What if he beats me up? I heard that the highlands of Yan Bei are very cold with strong winds too. The complexion of the women there won’t be fair. I would not do something without any benefits.”

The winds blew at her sleeve, landing on her wrist. It felt like a butterfly’s light touch upon landing on her skin. Chu Qiao smiled lightly and looked at Li Ce, remarking, “Li Ce, although I always can’t read your mind, I feel like you’re not a bad guy.”

Li Ce sneered, raised his chin and said, “I’m of high status, beautiful on the inside and outside. If I let you see through me that easily, would I have any face?” As he finished his sentence, he dashed forward and said, “Qiaoqiao, I’ll let you have a chance to see through me. Do you want it?”

Chu Qiao pouted. “Save it for yourself.”

“Hai,” the man sighed. “What an unappreciative woman.”

The both of them passed by a stall selling fish along the way. Chu Qiao, struck by curiosity, walked over to take a look. She saw a big group of red-tailed goldfish in a big water tank. They looked colorful and adorable.

Chu Qiao was adept in raising fish. She had liked animals all along, wanting to adopt a dog. However, due to her commitments in the army, she had no time for that. In addition, her hostel did not allow it either. She had to resort to keeping a few fish secretly. Thereafter, although her captain discovered it, he did not care. Hence, she kept her habit of raising fish as her pets. However, many years had passed and her life was difficult. She did not have the luxury to do so. Li Ce, seeing that she liked it, bought all the fish over. The stall owner, seeing the rare generous customer, gifted them an additional porcelain container to store the fish.

It was late in the night. As Chu Qiao had not fully recovered from her injuries, she felt tired. The both of them decided to head back. By the time they got back to the lake, the horse was still snacking on the grass. A few children squatted by the side, pulling at the reins. They wanted to steal the horse but were scared of the horse kicking them. They were hesitant and refused to back off, but upon seeing the master of the horse, they ran away.

Chu Qiao and Li Ce got on the horse. As they had an additional load of fish, they let the horse walk slowly on the street.

Chu Qiao suddenly felt strange as she thought about the times they met back in Xia. They were neither friends nor enemies. Those times seemed long ago. As expected, Yan Xun’s words held true. Zhen Huang City was like a big prison cage, devoid of liveliness. Anything there would undoubtedly be tainted.

She was unaware of Yan Xun’s whereabouts. He was disguised as Liu Xi and swallowed the wealth of the Da Tong guild in Xianyang. Undoubtedly, he wanted to advance to the southern borders and transport the goods back to Yan Bei. Presently, as Da Tong wanted to betray Xia and defect towards Tang, it was not hard to understand why Yan Xun wanted to disguise himself as Liu Xi. Judging by this, Yan Xun would definitely head to Tang. As for the underlying reasons and motives, she was not sure.

The sounds of the drums to signal the time drifted closer. Chu Qiao felt increasingly fatigued. Ever since she had been poisoned by the group of assassins, she felt an increased tendency to drift off to sleep. She sat on the horse, feeling soft inside. She leaned on Li Ce and drifted off to sleep. The man in front was dazed and turned back, seeing Chu Qiao’s forehead resting on his shoulder. She was breathing lightly and had drifted off to sleep.

The winds continued to blow. The magnolia flower on her hairpin let out a fragrant aroma. Li Ce’s face was devoid of his usual cynicism. He looked at Chu Qiao silently, letting the horse wander forward without controlling its reins.

The land of Tang was known as the “Country of Flowers”. Numerous flowers and trees decorated the two sides of the road. As the wind blew past, flower petals drifted in the air and onto the ground like butterflies. Chu Qiao’s yellow robe fluttered in the air, giving her a fairy-like look amongst the flowers.

The horse bucked lightly. Chu Qiao’s eyebrows were pressed together. With a jerk, her body fell backward.

Li Ce was quick to notice, grabbing her waist swiftly. Subsequently, the man who was not skilled in martial arts turned his body around and used one hand to hold the saddle. His body flew up in the air. The next second, he had leaped from the front to the back. His hands wrapped around Chu Qiao’s waist, letting her sleep in his embrace.

The winds blew at the leaves, causing residual water droplets to fall from the leaves onto the ground, along with the myriad of flower petals.

“The peace in Tang is about to be disrupted.” Li Ce sighed and smiled. His smile neither reflected the fact that he was relaxed nor happy, but rather showed that this had become his habit while in conversation. “After you recover, I’ll send you to see your old flame. There’s no enjoyment in this world. You’re a fool.”

The moonlight was like a thin layer of frost and fog. The majestic Jinwu Palace appeared slowly in front of his eyes.

When Chu Qiao woke up, it was late in the day. The young maidservant, Qiu Sui, was sitting on the bench, waiting for her. Seeing that she had woken up, Qiu Sui smiled and brought a cup of tea over, saying, “You’re awake. Do you want some water?”

Chu Qiao shook her head. The young maidservant continued, “The physician is outside, waiting to take your pulse. Your Highness has instructed them to enter when you’re awake.”

Chu Qiao washed up casually, refusing the maidservant’s intention to do up her hair properly. She inserted a hairpin behind her hair. She was not a noble and had not lived a good life. However, in this instant, over ten people were paying attention to her even as she washed her face. Visibly not used to it, she was dazed. She rejected their intentions, but over 20 physicians entered her room and offered to take her pulse.

The maidservant had prepared a sumptuous feast consisting of over 30 kinds of soups and various desserts. One maidservant knelt at either side of the table. Chu Qiao did not have to do anything. As the physicians attended to her, the maidservants fed her. Before she took each mouthful of food, the maidservants looked at her. If she nodded, the food would be sent to her mouth. If she shook her head, the next spoonful of food would be delivered to her. Chu Qiao was embarrassed to shake her head, accepting every single mouthful of food. Her stomach was miserably bloated thereafter.

After the physicians had finished their job, the 20 of them went to the main hall to discuss the method of treatment.

Suddenly, clanking sounds came from outside. Chu Qiao asked, “What is going on outside?”

Qiu Sui was clearly the leader of the maidservants. She said, “They are fixing the pond.”

The pond was located directly under Chu Qiao’s window. Strangely, she asked, “Fixing the pond? What happened to the original one?”

“The pond was too shallow. Your Highness instructed us to build a waterwheel here to elevate the pond so that the goldfish you brought back can be properly raised.”

Chu Qiao was stunned. She walked over to the window, seeing over 200 men at work, sweating buckets, but did not dare to make too much noise. All the things had been assembled elsewhere and dragged here. She was shocked at the fact that so much effort was required just to raise a few worthless goldfish. She had heard of the Tang Empire’s wealth but did not expect them to demonstrate such extravagance.

After all, she would only be spending a few days here. With such a gesture from Li Ce, she felt embarrassed.

She turned around and asked, “Where’s Your Royal Highness?”

“After the morning, Your Highness has not come back.”

Chu Qiao nodded. She was unaware how she got back last night. It looked like her health had been greatly affected. She thought to herself: I’m waiting for Yan Xun to appear in Tang. I’ll recuperate here first. She sat on the cool mat slowly while sorting out her thoughts.

“Miss, are you from Xia?”

Chu Qiao looked up and said, “Where did you hear that from?”

“I heard it from Commander Tie. He was the one who brought you into the palace, together with Your Highness. He said that you were a noble of Xia, and asked us to serve you well.”

“Oh.”

“I thought you were another concubine! However, Your Highness said last night that you were his friend. Thinking about it, you’re his first female friend.” The maidservant found Chu Qiao easy to talk to. As she fanned her, she said, “Your Highness treats Missy well. I’ve not seen him treat any of his concubines so well.”

“Does Your Highness have a lot of concubines?”

Qiu Sui replied, “Yes. With the palaces of Qiuhua, Zhangqing and Qiushui Pavilion combined, there are about… Aye, I’m not clear either. In short, there are a lot.”

“Oh,” Chu Qiao nodded. “The rumors are true.”

The maidservant smiled and said, “Your Highness likes to play around. All of us like him very much. Although he’s a prince, he treats us harmoniously without any airs.”

At this instant, another maidservant walked into the room and said, “Miss, Lady Hongluan is here. She is waiting outside and wants to see you.”

Chu Qiao was dazed. Qiu Sui explained, “Lady Hongluan is a new concubine. She’s a dancer. She was gifted to the prince by the Song Empire.”

Chu Qiao nodded, aware of the visitor’s intentions. She said in a low voice, “Can I not see her?”

Qiu Sui said, “Of course. The prince said that you can refuse visitors at will before he left.”

“Oh,” Chu Qiao said. “Help me inform Lady Hongluan that I’m gravely ill. I’m not in the state to attend to visitors. Help me to thank her for visiting.”

The maidservant took her leave.

In less than half a day, over ten concubines visited Chu Qiao. A few of them were nobles. It was evident that Li Ce’s reputation was not made up. He had so many women. She suspected if he actually remembered their names.

As afternoon approached, the weather warmed up. Chu Qiao drifted in and out of her sleep. Qiu Sui prepared a bowl of ice, adding some slices of peach and honeydew to it. As she prepared to feed it to Chu Qiao, another person entered the room and said that the Lady of Tang wanted to see Chu Qiao.