Chapter 134

The moon inched to the west as the night passed. Seeing that mysterious man off, Chu Qiao’s heart froze.

King Luo?

King Luo….

By the time she returned to the palace, Qiu Sui was waiting for her. Still struggling to keep her eyes open, it was apparent that Qiu Sui knew of Li Ce’s visit.

“Miss, you are back!” Seeing that Chu Qiao had returned, this maidservant jumped up and said, “This servant had prepared some lotus soup for you. Miss, would you like to drink some before you sleep?”

Holding the warm bowl of soup, Chu Qiao suddenly lost all interest to taste the soup. Lifting her head, Chu Qiao inquired, “Qiu Sui, do you know anything about King Luo?”

Taken aback, Qiu Sui frowned and asked, “Lady, why did you suddenly mention this?”

“Nothing, just casually asking. If it is inconvenient, you need not tell me.”

“Sigh, it is nothing inconvenient, just that…” Even though it was clear that the palace had no eavesdroppers, Qiu Sui quickly scanned the surroundings for any other people in sight, before whispering to Chu Qiao, “That was a scandal that occurred within the palace. Generally, no one would dare speak about it.”

Chu Qiao’s eyebrow twitched. “Scandal?”

“Indeed. Master Luo’s Father King Lushan was our Emperor’s uncle. When our Emperor ascended to the throne, for some unknown reason, King Lushan passed away from sickness. I heard that when our Emperor was young, he was even more nonsensical than our Crown Prince. Going against the advice of the entire court, and ignoring any morals prevalent in the world, he married his aunt. Two years later, she gave birth to our Prince, and the Emperor made her the Empress. Supposedly, on the day of her ascension to Queenship, eight of the elder officials protested by killing themselves on the Feng Ming Pavillion. But despite that, the Emperor stubbornly went ahead. Over these 20 years, the Emperor only doted on the Queen, and her position in the palace has since then been completely consolidated.”

“That is to say….”

“Yes, that is to say, that King Luo is both the Crown Prince’s uncle and his half-brother. King Lushan died early, so when the Queen had just been married to the Emperor, King Luo was merely three-months-old, and before he turned 20 he had grown up with the Crown Prince.”

“Oh gosh!” Chu Qiao lightly exclaimed, while remembering the noble lady whom she had met.

“Did the Crown Prince and King Luo grow up together in this Palace?”

“That is not true either.” Qiu Sui bit her lower lip while saying, “The Prince and King Luo were both living with the Queen in the Qianhua Palace. This Mihe Residence was actually Princess Fu’s dwellings.”

Chu Qiao asked, “Princess Fu?”

“Yes. Princess Fu was not a real Princess. She was the granddaughter of Archduke Mu Rong. The Mu Rong family was one of the greatest military families in the Tang Empire. And being fiercely loyal, General Mu Rong, along with all of his four sons, sacrificed their lives for the Empire. In his last battle, the Xia forces broke through the Bai Zhi Pass, and the Xia commander Meng Tian ordered the massacre of 30,000 of our prisoners of war. To protect the civilians, the old general Mu Rong, who was already in his sixties, along with his four daughters-in-law, lead the entire Mu Rong family in resistance of the enemy to delay them so that reinforcements could arrive. Finally, help came, but the entire Mu Rong family had been decimated, leaving behind only Princess Fu who was merely four-years-old at that time. Praising the bravery of the Mu Rong family, the Emperor posthumously promoted General Mu Rong to Archduke, along with peerage of various ranks to his family. It was then Princess Fu was given the title of Zhangyi Princess, and since then, she lived in the Royal Palace, enjoying the same treatment as Crown Prince and King Luo.”

This story was short, but Chu Qiao had been deeply shaken. This Mu Rong family must have been an existence that was similar to the Yang Family during the Song Dynasty back in her world. She was completely immersed in the story, so she asked for more, “What happened later?”

“In the end…” Qiu Sui bit her lower lip, hesitating before finally whispering, “And then Princess Fu died.”

Chu Qiao was completely taken aback by this development, as she exclaimed, “Died?”

Princess Fu and the Crown Prince were of the same age and had grown up playing together, so despite her family being in shambles, the Emperor and the Queen doted on her. When she and the Prince both turned 17, they decreed their marriage, and Princess Fu was to become the wife of the Crown Prince, and her name would be entered into the royal family tree.”

Chu Qiao listened quietly, but deep down she did not feel much. Considering the influence that the Mu Rong family had in the military, this marriage would certainly help the royal family to consolidate power. That was only to be expected.

“But in the end, on the day of the marriage, Princess Fu hung herself.”

“What?” Chu Qiao could not believe the story. “She committed suicide?”

“Indeed.” Qiu Sui’s face turned pale, and she continued to elaborate, “The Emperor’s statement said that Princess Fu passed away from sickness, but this servant had been in the Palace since young, and personally witnessed everything. At that time, when the Crown Prince had reached the Mihe Residence, he was wearing a crimson red robe that exuded overwhelming auspiciousness, and happily followed after the officials. After reaching her bedroom, they still had not found the Princess. Panicking, everyone rushed around to look for her. In the end, the Crown Princes was, in fact, the first to have found her. Running to the back, they could only see how Princess Fu, in her wedding dress, was hanging on that parasol tree.”

The frigid night wind blew, as though driving the point of the tragedy home.

“The Crown Prince cried out and fainted. I was with my mother, and was one of the servants who was supposed to accompany the bride. My mother and the other servants rushed over to release Princess Fu. I was scared, so I took a step back, and was tripped by a stone. Falling down, I cried, but I also noticed that King Luo, who was at the pomegranate tree not far away, was wearing a purple robe, his face was pale like a ghost. With his eyes completely red, he stood quietly amongst the masses, and his hand was clenched so tightly I thought it might burst.” Qiu Sui’s eyes teared up, as she almost choked on her tears. “Later, all the people involved were killed by the Emperor to keep the incident a secret. As I was just nine, I was pardoned. After my mother died, I had remained in the Palace as a servant. Since then, I have never seen the Luo King. Only once a year during the Queen’s birthday he returns. I heard that he went to the Mei Mountains to guard the royal tombs. In just the blink of an eye, it has been over six years.”

Chu Qiao nodded solemnly. This was yet another secret that had been buried in the royal courts. She had seen these too much.

“Actually, the Prince was not like this before. It was all after Princess Fu’s death that he became like this. Miss, you did not see Princess Fu before, but she was really like a deity. Even though she was highly ranked in peerage and influence, she did not mistreat us servants in the slightest, and was extremely gentle to us. All of us servants were treated well by her. But none of us expected that such a gentle person would have the courage to walk down this path.”

Chu Qiao shook her head. “Being born to such a courageous family, that would only be expected. Perhaps even the blood coursing through her blood was boiling. She would rather take her own life than to accommodate her life into the plans of some other people. Such a pity that she did not have the strength nor power to protect herself, and neither had she found someone that could protect her.”

Qiu Sui only seemed to vaguely understand Chu Qiao’s deep words.

Chu Qiao patted Qiu Sui on the shoulder and asked, “Qiu Sui, do you like the Palace?”

The young maidservant seemed to be confused, and after a short hesitation, muttered, “I do not know either. My mother was an official in the palace, and was appointed into marriage by the Queen to my father. I was born here, and have never left this place. I have seen all the darkness that lurked in the palace, and am clear about all the secret ploys that all the ladies use to gain the Prince’s attention. The only mistresses I met in my life that were different from those were Princess Fu and you, Miss. This servant cannot judge if I like my life here. But regardless of my feelings, life goes on.”

Slightly surprised by the response, Chu Qiao chuckled lightly and agreed, “You are right indeed. Regardless of your emotions, your life goes on. Since you have not seen the outside world, you can only be content with your current state of life.”

Lowering her head, Chu Qiao petted the maidservant’s head, and continued her monologue, “Qiu Sui, the outside world is very different. You can talk loudly and walk with large strides. Wherever you want to go, you can go, and as long as you work, you can receive payment for your efforts. You can then live the life you want. Outside the palace, even the wind smells of freedom.”

The maidservant was confused by that description, and mumbled, “Then…if I do not want to wake up early in the morning and want to sleep in, will no one care?”

Chu Qiao chuckled in amusement. “Of course, but your pay will be deducted.”

“Wah!” Qiu Sui suddenly became excited. She grabbed Chu Qiao’s hand and asked, “Miss, is Yan Bei like that? Is it?”

Chu Qiao looked at her, but her gaze was affixed to something far away, completely unlike a girl of 17 or 18-years-old. Through Qiu Sui, she seemed to be gazing somewhere far away, and she seemed to have seen the green grass plains of Yan Bei, the flocks and flocks of white sheep, and the pristine snow caps atop the mountains in the distance….

“I do not know if it is still that way now, because I have not been there myself, but I can guarantee you, that one day, it will become true. That is why you must make sure you remain alive for that day to come.”

Chu Qiao stood up and stared at the parasol tree outside her window, and was reminded of a certain lonely figure.

“The parasols bloomed across thousands of miles, still blossoming after countless days. I pray that your soul will be freed from royal birth.”

The next day, the sound of the horse carriage broke the silence of the morning. Chu Qiao did not alert anyone as she did some simple packing before boarding that carriage.

Tie You smiled at Chu Qiao, and greeted her, “Miss Chu, the weather is cold. There are some rations on the carriage. I am sure you are hungry.”

Chu Qiao nodded and replied, “Thank you.”

It was obvious that Tie You was one who was privy to her identity, as he earnestly smiled. “Miss Chu, your exploits in the Xia Empire have become case studies for our young officer cadets. My son like you a lot, and always talks about you.”

Staring at the man, Chu Qiao was slightly taken aback, and asked, “You son? How old are you now?”

Tie You laughed. “I am 25 this year. My son is 12. I was married when I was 13, and just had another daughter.”

Chu Qiao clicked her tongue in secrecy. 13 years old…

Li Ce was right. The wind here was indeed quite strong. Wearing a hoodie, Chu Qiao swept the carriage window open, only to feel the raging wind greeting her ferociously. The morning sun brought with it the warmth of its golden rays, pouring it all over the Jinwu Palace. The lake, the pavilions, the flowers, and the palaces, slowly inched away, fading like waking up from a prosperous dream. On the marble tiled square, the only source of motion was this one lone carriage, inching forward in the morning bask, revealing a long and distorted shadow.

Lifting her head, Chu Qiao gazed into the clouds far in the distance, and once again thought about how Li Ce leaned on the crabapple tree. Her eyes started to cloud with doubt.

“The sun rises and sets naturally each day as destined. I hope you too can fully let yourself float freely in the river of fate.”

The carriage slowly distanced from the palaces of grandiosity. Li Ce, who could never seem to wake up early, was now standing atop an ornamental mountain in Lan Que Palace. That mountain, despite the fact that it was manmade, was extremely big and tall, and had been planted with countless bamboo shoots which swayed in the morning breeze. At the peak of this mountain, there was a small bamboo pavilion. Wearing a long green blouse, Li Ce was wearing a gold crown, and holding a violet flute. Despite wanting to play something multiple times, he was ultimately unable to create any melody.