Chapter 101 |
Pinggui Courtyard.
Ye Xiaoyuan was using a cotton towel to dry Qu Dubian's hair.
As he dried it, he murmured.
"Running into an assassination attempt was an accident. It's fortunate you didn't directly engage with the assassins and let Lord Liuliu handle it. But it was still too dangerous..."
"How can you not dry your hair after a bath? Don't think just because the weather is hot, you won't get a headache from the wind."
Qu Dubian: "Overall, today went quite smoothly, didn't it? I didn't go looking for trouble."
Ye Xiaoyuan: "It was a coincidence, and luckily, Lord Liuliu was by Your Highness's side, otherwise I would never have been at ease."
Qu Dubian nodded repeatedly: "I was good. It was always others picking fights."
Just as they were talking, Yidianbai came in, holding a neatly folded piece of paper in its mouth, and sat down in front of Qu Dubian.
Qu Dubian vaguely felt the paper looked familiar: "What's that in your mouth?"
Yidianbai whined twice, lifting its head proudly.
This was what it had snatched from that masked two-legged creature's hand—its trophy of victory!
Ye Xiaoyuan: "Don't eat random things."
He pried the paper from Yidianbai's mouth and casually opened it to look. Being meticulous, he usually inspected items carefully.
There was writing on the paper. Ye Xiaoyuan read in a low voice: "Qu Xiaoqi and Agumudo voluntarily enter into a contract, using their own persons as targets, life or death notwithstanding..."
The sound of his reading stopped.
Qu Dubian: "............"
Ye Xiaoyuan said calmly, "Your Highness also had an archery contest with Agumudo this afternoon?"
"'Using their own persons as targets, life or death notwithstanding.' Your Highness, do you have anything you'd like to say?"
The sparse, cold moonlight shone on the courtyard trees; the night was deep and silent, birds hushed.
A mournful wail drifted from the window:
"Liuliu betrayed me!!"
Why this contract ended up in Pinggui Courtyard—anyone could figure it out with their toes!
How infuriating! Liuliu never used to tattle before!
The windows of Room Yi Twelve were all closed, but he heard the young prince's voice.
He turned a deaf ear, quietly turning a page of his book.
Yidianbai was the one who took it over; it had nothing to do with him. This was not work hours.
-
The next day.
Qu Dubian went to the academy with the Fifth and Sixth Princes.
They had only just learned about last night's assassination attempt on Agumudo.
Sixth Prince: "I didn't realize his status was that important."
Qu Dubian: "Perhaps he's not very important within the Royal Court itself, but if he died in Great Zhou, he would become very important." If not handled properly, it could turn into a serious diplomatic incident.
He reiterated: "Keep your mouth shut. Everything about yesterday at the grasslands, including the Ruyi Tower matter, must not be mentioned."
Otherwise, Sixth Brother would be reprimanded, and he would get into trouble too.
Then it wouldn't just be Ye Banban nagging him; the three from Shunning Palace, the Old Geezer, and the Dowager Consorts from Cining Palace would all inevitably lecture him.
There would simply be no peaceful days.
The Fifth Prince listened silently. "Did you two run into each other when you went out yesterday?"
Sixth Prince: "Don't ask."
Qu Dubian: "Fifth Brother isn't an outsider. Besides, if he knows, and you accidentally slip up, he can help cover for you."
Sixth Prince thought for a moment: "Alright then."
The two recounted yesterday's events. The three brothers huddled together, talking all the way.
When they got to the archery part, the Fifth Prince said sternly, "Xiaoqi, there must absolutely not be a next time."
"Ah, don't be a spoilsport," the Sixth Prince lightly punched his arm. "You have no idea how dashing Xiaoqi looked with that shot!"
"There still won't be a next time."
Qu Dubian repeatedly promised, and only then did the Fifth Prince stop lecturing him.
Upon arriving at the academy.
Qu Dubian scanned the room: "Where's Elder Sister? She didn't come?"
Princess Sihe raised her hand: "Seventh Brother, I know. Sister Zhiyi went to the Princess's residence. It seems Auntie Axiang is about to depart for the Northern Frontier soon. Sister Zhiyi went to deliver some things."
Qu Dubian frowned: "Returning to the Northern Frontier..."
Did something happen at court today that he didn't know about?
This was the disadvantage of not having established his own residence and attending court—news from the court always reached him a step slower.
After classes ended at noon.
Qu Dubian followed Grand Tutor Fang to a side hall.
"Auntie Axiang is returning to the Northern Frontier? Didn't they originally say she'd stay for a month? It's only been about ten days."
Grand Tutor Fang: "Because of yesterday's incident."
Qu Dubian: "Yesterday's assassination."
He frowned in thought.
This assassination attempt superficially targeted Agumudo, but its true aim was the hard-won, somewhat peaceful relationship between Great Zhou and the Northern Frontier.
"Yuruo probably isn't involved. Southern Ning was defeated and is still recuperating; it will take at least two years to recover."
"Aside from Southern Ning, the only ones who don't want to see Great Zhou and the Northern Frontier maintain peace are the hawkish faction within the Northern Frontier. The assassins targeting Agumudo were Northern Frontier sleeper agents. That's why Auntie Axiang is rushing back to the Northern Frontier—because something might happen there."
Within the Northern Frontier tribes, there were hawkish factions and pro-Zhou factions.
The hawkish faction believed that it was the marriage alliance princess who divided the Northern Frontier tribes, preventing them from uniting into a powerful force to swallow the Central Plains.
Therefore, they had always wanted to provoke conflict and disrupt the balance.
If Agumudo had died, the hawkish faction would likely have done everything possible to pin his death on Great Zhou, even forcing the Royal Court to sever the marriage alliance with Great Zhou and expel Princess Axiang.
Or directly overthrow the current Royal Court and establish a new one.
If that happened, Great Zhou's borderlands would inevitably be plunged into turmoil once again.
Grand Tutor Fang smiled and nodded, stroking his beard.
All his guesses were correct.
Qu Dubian: "But this still only treats the symptom, not the root cause."
Grand Tutor Fang: "This relationship between the Northern Frontier and Great Zhou has persisted for decades. How would you treat the root cause?"
Qu Dubian: "Annex the Northern Frontier, control them through trade, grasp their economy, spread Great Zhou's culture, and educate their descendants."
"It would only take one generation, just thirty or forty years. Eventually, they would speak the Great Zhou language, eat Great Zhou rice, identify with Great Zhou culture—wouldn't they then become Great Zhou people?"
When Grand Tutor Fang heard the part about cultural identity, a chill ran down his spine.
The simple sentences spoken by the Seventh Prince, pondered deeply, were truly chilling.
He composed himself for a moment. Naturally, it was chilling for the enemy, but for one's own side, it was comforting warmth.
Grand Tutor Fang said thoughtfully, "Since the founding of Great Zhou, no monarch has been able to suppress the Northern Frontier for decades. Nor has any general been able to conquer the Northern Frontier and awe the surrounding regions. The Marquis Who Holds the Sword might have been able to in his youth, but..."
He shook his head.
"Therefore, the prerequisite condition you mentioned does not exist."
Qu Dubian: "Just imagining... I think Xia Fuyang could do it."
Grand Tutor Fang: "The Xia family's boy... Isn't he about to take the military examinations soon?"
Qu Dubian: "Yes, he's quite formidable. I can't beat him for now."
Grand Tutor Fang couldn't help but laugh: "How old are you, and how old is he?"
Qu Dubian snorted: "In a few years, I'll knock him flat!"
Grand Tutor Fang: "You have four years left. Don't forget the initial examination question I gave you."
"I know, I know."
-
Princess's Residence.
Zhiyi was helping Princess Axiang pack her things.
As there were many gifts from the consorts in the rear palace who couldn't leave the palace themselves, they had all entrusted her to deliver them on their behalf.
Having spent so much time together, her temperament somewhat resembled her brother Qu Dubian's.
Sometimes lively, sometimes steady.
At the moment, she was checking the inventory against the accounts, wearing a light goose-yellow gown, looking very spirited.
Princess Axiang stepped out of the room and caught Agumudu standing in the covered corridor, peeking.
She said lightly, "What are you looking at?"
Agumudu straightened up abruptly, the tips of his ears turning red, and stammered, "Your Highness... it's nothing. I just thought... she is very beautiful."
Princess Axiang looked at Zhiyi, seemingly seeing her own fifteen- or sixteen-year-old self in her.
"She is a flower that grew up in Great Zhou. Uprooted from its soil, it may wither."
Agumudu nodded. "When I was a child, I picked two flowers from a border town of Great Zhou. They died after I transplanted them to the royal court. I still remember what you told me: it's hard to leave one's homeland. Even if the homeland is barren, flowers can grow strong there. Once removed, they die from being unable to adapt."
Princess Axiang said, "You understand what I mean."
Agumudu replied, "I do. I just think she's very pretty. I have no other thoughts."
Princess Axiang smiled. "I am going to the palace. Alright, don't be so serious. Since we'll be leaving soon anyway, it's fine to try and make a friend."
Agumudu stood in the corridor a while longer before walking over.
"Hello."
Zhiyi turned around, looked at the bandaged wounds on him, and blinked. "Oh! So you're Agumudu, the one my little brother saved yesterday."
Agumudu said, "He's your brother?"
Zhiyi: "Yes."
Agumudu found a topic and praised, "Then he's quite impressive. We had an archery contest—I shot a strawberry off his head, and he didn't even blink. In our Northern Frontier, we'd call him a young warrior!"
Zhiyi: "......"
Snap.
The charcoal pencil in her hand broke.
She asked with a sweet smile, "You shot what at his head?"
Agumudu: "?"
Zhiyi picked up a handy stick, raised it, and started swinging. "You bullied him! You picked on him because he's young, didn't you?! And you forced my little brother into an archery contest with you?!"
"He's so slight of frame! What would you use to make it up to him if he got scared sick?!"
"Damn it, he never should have saved you!"
Agumudu ran around the courtyard. "I was praising him!"
Zhiyi: "Stand still and let me hit you! If you can stay expressionless and not blink, I'll praise you as a warrior too!"
Agumudu, flustered and exasperated, retorted, "That's not the same!"
Had he bullied anyone? In that archery contest on the grassland, just who was bullying whom?
-
Setting aside how Zhiyi, after learning the whole story from Agumudu, went back to Shunning Palace to report every detail to Consort Xuan, and how Qu Dubian was subsequently scolded until he hung his head in dejection.
After Princess Axiang entered the palace, she stayed in Cining Palace for three days.
She did not waste a single minute or second, spending all her time by Consort Zhou's side.
It was only when the retinue was fully prepared, guards properly assigned, and safety assured that Axiang finally had to face the moment of departure.
Before leaving, she visited Shunning Palace once more.
"Although I have already entrusted my imperial brother and sister-in-law, I still cannot rest easy. This time I leave, it may be... forever, for my mother. Even if I cling to foolish hopes, I know my mother has grown old."
Consort Zhou had waited for her for twenty years once. Could she wait for a second twenty?
Princess Axiang bowed deeply. "So I must also ask you to take good care of her. I beg of you."
Consort Xuan: "Your Highness, please rise! This is too much."
Qu Dubian: "Aunt Axiang, there's no need for this! Don't worry. With my sister and me keeping an eye on Cining Palace, we'll spend more time with her after you leave."
Princess Axiang: "Thank you."
And so, she set out on the road back to the Northern Frontier.
The farewell took place on the outskirts of the capital.
The sky was dusk, the evening clouds spread across the horizon, and crows dotted the fading light.
Agumudu dismounted and walked up to Qu Dubian. "There's something I need to tell you."
Qu Dubian: "Hmm?"
Agumudu told him what he had overheard at Ruyi Tower: Xu Cheng urging the Sixth Prince to sabotage Xia Fu's military examination.
Qu Dubian had only known that Xu Cheng was disparaging the Northern Frontier people and stirring up the Sixth Prince's emotions. He hadn't expected it to involve the matter of Xia Fu's military exam.
The second branch of the Xu family, huh...
He replied calmly, "Why are you suddenly telling me this?"
Agumudu: "I felt it might be useful. And I owe you my life. If you hadn't saved me, I'd be dead."
Qu Dubian: "I did it for Aunt Axiang."
"Whatever the reason, I owe you my life," Agumudu said, pulling a wolf's tooth from his pocket and handing it to Qu Dubian. "I keep my word. If the chance arises, I will repay it. This is a token."
Qu Dubian took it, weighed it in his hand, and tucked it into his robe. "Alright then, I'll remember that."
A debt delivered to his doorstep—whether it would be repaid or not, he'd note it down for now.
From the front of the procession came a shout: "Prepare! Mount up!"
Agumudu: "I have to go."
He took out a bouquet of flowers, prepared long ago, from his saddlebag and offered it.
Qu Dubian: "?"
Agumudu: "For your sister. Even though she hit me, in my heart, she is still as beautiful as a flower."
Qu Dubian: "?!"
After scrutinizing Agumudu's expression, he flew into a rage.
"You scoundrel! Just who are you setting your sights on?!"
The two of them ended up trading blows after all.
Princess Axiang glanced in their direction for a moment and smiled. Standing on the soil of Great Zhou, she took one last look toward the capital.
Just like over twenty years ago.
She gazed deeply for a long time, but her eyes could not reach the place she longed to see.
A maidservant said, "Your Highness, it is time to go."
Princess Axiang took a deep breath and boarded the carriage.
"Set forth!"
The procession slowly moved forward.
Agumudu galloped on his horse, following beside the carriage, his face bruised and swollen.
Qu Dubian stood there for a long time. The sound of hoofbeats came from behind.
Zhiyi rode up, reined in her horse, and dismounted holding a box, looking anxious. "Little brother, have they already left?"
Qu Dubian: "They left a while ago. Sister, what are you holding?"
Zhiyi: "Ah, some pastries that Consort Zhou made, the ones Aunt Axiang loves. They're only at their best right out of the oven. Consort Zhou wanted Auntie to have them at their freshest, so she timed it perfectly, but we still didn't catch up."
Qu Dubian: "Give me the pastries."
Zhiyi: "Little Qi?"
Qu Dubian took the pastry box, swung himself onto his horse, and said, "We can still catch up now. So what if the flavor is a bit off? If we miss this, it might become a lifelong regret."
He took out the wolf tooth pendant Agumudu had given him and handed it to Zhiyi.
"Sister, I threw away the flowers. They weren't worthy of you. This wolf tooth is for you; it's barely worth keeping as a memento."
Zhiyi, puzzled, asked, "What flowers?"
Of course, they were rotten peach blossoms [unwanted romantic advances].
Qu Dubian didn't answer. He flicked the reins. "Wait for me, sister. I'll be right back!"
The horse galloped away. He lowered his body, leaning close to the horse, his dark hair flying in the wind.
Half an hour later.
The horse caught up with the procession.
Qu Dubian reined in, watching them depart from a vast, open field of wild grass.
Princess Axiang held the food box. Seeing the familiar pastries inside, she could not hold back her tears.
-
The Imperial Palace.
At the entrance of Cining Palace.
Consort Zhou, supported by Consort Liang, gazed into the distance, her eyes filled with profound sorrow and deep longing.
The silhouettes of bygone days, cloaked in the last rays of the setting sun, fell upon the courtyard. Petals from double-layered flowers drifted down in the wind. Two aged figures stood at the palace gate, their shadows long and slanting.
"Do you think... I can still wait for her to return?"
Consort Liang sighed silently in her heart.
Within the harem, there are times when waiting and longing are the most difficult trials to endure.
At the Hall of Purple Zenith.
Upon the layered steps, Emperor Chongzhao stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.
The glow of sunset sank in the west, and a slight chill permeated the lofty height.