Chapter 222

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After Chu Qiao brought the few of them along, they bought an inn along a nearby lake and started to manage it. Firstly, it was to cover their identities. After all, it was weird for a solitary lady to travel together with a maidservant and two children. Secondly, she wanted to find something to do for herself. Idling around was not an option.

Initially, they did not do this for the purpose of making money. However, due to Chu Qiao’s unique management style, the way that she maintained exemplary hygiene standards, and the favorable geographical location of the place, this inn came to be one of the most reputable places in the city. Scholars who came to attend the examinations held in spring and autumn would earmark this place as their foremost choice to stay in. Hence, this place earned the title of “Scholars’ Inn”. During the peak periods, business was booming as the rooms were often full.

Time flew by rapidly; each day flowed on to the next quietly. She lived in this remote city, away from the happenings of the world, concealing her past glory and abandoning her past memories. She lived like an ordinary woman, characterized by the peaceful days she had.

Nothing had changed, except for her health which had started to decline. Even though she was only 21, the long periods of physical exertion, being engaged in combat, and the hardships she had experienced since young had caused her body to be plagued with ailments. The injuries would cause her to feel pain whenever the weather was bad; her joints had also started to turn rheumatic. Thin wrinkles started to appear on her eyelids, while her vigor had also been affected. Whenever she felt a little bit tired, she would tend to drift off to sleep.

Illnesses had seemed to become her best friend. Nearly every part of her body had been ravaged by problems; while the flu bug visited her almost every month. As she lay on her bed, fighting the diseases, she often wondered if this body even belonged to her in the first place. She felt like a puppet at risk of being torn to shreds anytime.

On the bright side, peace had finally returned to her life. There was no longer any bloodshed, cruel deaths, and incessant scheming and plotting against other parties. Her heart started to enter a state of calm, like the water on the surface of a lake.

These two years, she rarely kept up to date about the situation in the outside world. However, as she managed the inn, many passers-by often shared the information with her and the children, who were also particularly interested. For example, she was informed about Zhuge Yue and Princess Nalan’s marriage. From what she heard, when Zhuge Yue got back to the Xia Empire, he readily accepted the offer. As the Xia officials clapped in celebration, Zhuge Yue dropped another bombshell that he already had a legitimate wife back in Qinghai. Claiming that he did not want to abandon her as she had stood by him, he declared that Princess Nalan could only be his concubine if they were to marry. Even if she were to give birth, she could only be his second wife.

The envoy of Song was greatly angered by this. This issue, which had been predicted to stir up a big hoo-ha in West Meng, was effortlessly diffused by Zhuge Yue’s casual attitude towards this matter. There were no other consequences as the matter slowly became forgotten.

Thereafter, with the backing of Chief Marshal Zhuge, the seventh prince, Zhao Che, returned to the capital from the northern borders with more than 500,000 elite troops. They had crushed the rebellion and liberated large swathes of territories in the borders. As they supported each other, they shattered Zhao Yang’s monopoly of power in the political scene of Xia.

Yan Bei was no longer as well off as before; the Tang Empire shut off the waterways along the southern borders while economic relations with Song were cut off. Faced with a two-pronged assault by Xia and Qinghai, Yan Bei temporarily lost the ability to wage another war with Tang.

Luckily for Yan Bei, Zhao Yang was embroiled in a struggle for power with Zhao Che, causing his attention to be diverted away from reinforcing Yanming Pass. Additionally, over the past one and a half years, only one large-scale attack threatened to break out, which occurred at Longyin Pass. However, the battle did not even take place—the troops stood off against each other there for two days before retreating back to their respective locations.

The situation was unpredictable, with many plot twists along the way.

Evidently, Zhao Yang understood that Zhuge Yue’s Qinghai army would have massacred their way into the capital of Xia, if not for the presence of Yan Bei. Then, his Southwestern Army would not have been a match for Zhao Che and Zhuge Yue. Hence, indirectly, he stood on the same side as Yan Xun.

The unpredictabilities of this world were simply amazing.

However, the news that garnered the most positive responses from the travelers was the news of Yan Xun’s extravagant wedding. A year ago, during the period of the new year, Yan Xun hosted a largely publicized series of wedding banquets outside Shuofang Palace, taking 18 of his officials’ daughters in as his concubines. He housed them in his harem that was built behind Shuofang Palace. The banquets lasted for a total of 18 days as the civilians of Yan Bei gathered at Shuofang to pay their respects. It was a spectacular sight.

On the second day of the banquets, the construction of Nada Palace, atop Luori Mountains, was finished. People who were lucky enough to see the palace in Yan Bei repeatedly described the miraculous sight that they had witnessed. Some scholars and the more educated people even composed figurative poems and lyrics, to signal their awe for the beautiful palace.

It was rumored that Nada Palace was built in mid-air, embedded into a cliff. Streams of water flowed upwards; colorful gardens floated in the air, along with rivers made of wine, whose aroma spread far and wide. Additionally, there were also golden statues and silver walls, which glowed as bright as the sun. It was almost a magical marvel—even Tang’s Jinwu Palace, which dated back thousands of years, could not compare to it.

Everyone knew that this palace was built by the king of Yan Bei for his lover, the General of Xiuli. However, since their high profile fallout at Huolei Plains two years ago, this woman that had been born as a slave, that had sparked conflicts between the kings of Yan Bei, Tang, and the Chief Marshal of Xia, completely disappeared from the political scene of West Meng, never to be heard of again.

Some said that she had married into the royal family of Tang, changing her surname to remain by the emperor’s side. Others had said that she was the wife of Zhuge Yue, staying on in Qinghai to lead the troops there. Also, people had claimed that she had returned to Yan Bei, taking Nada Palace as her home. However, those were merely speculative rumors. No one knew that the woman, who was a living legend, was currently situated in a small city in the southern regions of Tang, running a small inn. She led a normal life, taking strolls at Jialing Lake every day, and playing chess with the elderly folks to kill time.

The sudden introduction of the element of simplicity into her life had caused her to forget about many things. However, from time to time, she recalled the story that she had told the young man in that dilapidated courtyard many years ago.

“The king built a paradise for the woman he loved. There were many wonderful things there. Streams of water flowed upwards; colorful gardens floated in the air, along with rivers made of wine, whose aroma spread far and wide. Golden statues and silver walls, which glowed as bright as the sun, enhanced the splendor of the palace. That paradise ultimately became a wonder of the world, recognized by many, as it signaled the undying love between the king and his lover.”

Half of her life had passed. Some people stayed; some people left. Some people lost their way, while some people were unable to find their way. Even if she remembered some of these memories, how would she be able to salvage the relationships that had been lost? After all, everything had passed.

Her group arrived at Xiu Ridge the next day. The streams flowed down from above; the trees and flowers were dense, their leaves appearing a lush green. If not for the hurried state they were in, it would have been a great place to relax. However, on the evening of the third day, a torrential downpour delayed their journey. The mountain roads were muddy and treacherous. On the afternoon of the fourth day, they arrived at Qingheng River with great effort, only to discover that the only bridge there had been destroyed due to the rain. Another group of people who seemingly wanted to cross the river were giving their best efforts to repair the bridge, but were limited in their progress due to manpower constraints.

There were only two options to choose from. They could either turn back and travel towards Song, which would add over ten days to their journey. The second option was to wait for the bridge to be repaired before they crossed the river.

Chu Qiao gave her hired bodyguards and horsemen ten taels of silver each. The honest men, who could not hide their elation, instantly sought to join in the reconstruction efforts of the bridge. A short while later, Pingan walked to the side of the horse carriage and said, “Sister, someone from the opposite side was sent here to thank us.”

Chu Qiao, seeing that the other party had no intention to speak to her personally, answered in reply, “Go and tell them that since we’re on the same way, there’s no need to thank us.”

The sky swiftly darkened; the thunder rumbled on by the horizon. The weather was unusually humid. Chu Qiao raised the curtains of the carriage slightly. Seeing the dark clouds at the west, she anticipated another downpour in a short while.

Meixiang, along with a few servants, prepared some porridge with meat. Chu Qiao saw that the people near the river crossing were quiet in their movements. The servants were busy repairing the bridge, while a simple horse carriage, covered in green cloth, stood under a tree. Under the evening light, the horse carriage glowed a bright red. As the winds blew against the carriage, raising the curtains slightly, a golden-white pair of boots could be seen. Evidently, the person in the carriage was a noble of high status.

Meixiang brought along some guards and called out to each porridge together. Seeing that, Chu Qiao instructed her to give the extra porridge to the other party. Yet, when Mei Xiang returned, she was holding on a paper package. After opening up, one could see that it was filled with luxurious snacks and even two big pieces of beef jerky.

“That person knows how to repay favors,” Meixiang smiled as she picked up a piece of pastry. As she sniffed it, she said, “It smells like the millefeuille from Yufu Place at Baishui Pass. Miss, smell this. Does it resemble the goods that we imported from Baishui?”

Chu Qiao frowned as she grabbed the piece of pastry. She looked at it for a while before she replied quietly, “It’s not the same. The pastries we buy is of a middle grade. It’s not so crispy. These pastries will not be able to last a long journey. I think the other party bought it to eat along the way.”

Meixiang was slightly awed. Although she did not have to worry about life’s basic necessities all these years, she had been born into an impoverished family after all. She muttered, “It’s such an expensive snack. How generous of them.”

Jingjing had been ill the past few days, as she drifted in and out of her sleep. As she smelt the fragrance of the pastry, without even looking at it, she called out towards Meixiang and pleaded, “Sister Mei, I want to eat.”

“It’s better to be cautious. We don’t know who these people are. Meixiang, find a place to dispose of this thing. Don’t eat it.”

Meixiang nodded in agreement as she replied, “Miss, you are right.”

After a long period where the thunder rumbled and the wind howled, the night descended back into silence. As the sky completely darkened, the bridge was finally repaired. The group of people seemed to be rushing off. They sent someone over to greet Pingan, as they packed up and left. Chu Qiao was not willing to waste any more time. As the group of people crossed the river, she followed behind them. However, as they approached the river crossing, she saw the porcelain basin, which Meixiang had used to prepare the porridge, standing amongst a patch of weeds. The porridge inside was untouched, as a few wild rats enjoyed their slice of good fortune.

Chu Qiao let the curtains of the carriage down. She leaned quietly against a soft cushion as she started to frown.

Who were these people? Were they related to that matter?

As Chu Qiao thought of the recent unusual movements along the imperial mausoleum at Mei Mountain, she started to worry for Li Ce.

Hopefully, I’m just thinking too much.