Chapter 252 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Fine,” a deep voice said, as Zhao Song did not have much choice but to let her be. “AhJiang, move out.”

AhJiang was rather stunned, as Xiaoba walked up and knocked her head while chiding, “Quickly move out! Are you waiting for our master to change his mind and chase me away?”

AhJiang earnestly smiled, as he raised his whip and whipped the horse. The carriage started to advance slowly in the morning sun that lit the world up a golden yellow.

After exiting Zhen Huang City, he would no longer be an aristocrat, and she would no longer be the famous dancer in the capital. They were thankful that the world gave them the chance to begin anew.

In the dense forest, a lady dressed in dull green appeared on her horse, with He Xiao looking on from behind. A few teams of guards on patrol walked past, but she seemed as though she had not seen them, as she stared at the carriage that was quickly distancing away from her, remaining silent.

Farewell, friend.

Farewell, sister.

Farewell, the two persons that she had been deeply indebted to in her life.

As the sun rose higher into the sky, the northern winds continued to rage on. Chu Qiao gathered her thoughts and lifted her head up, reminding herself once again that this was Xia. This land was filled with the smell of Xia, the wind of Xia, and the Xia history, and her friends. Those who were supposed to leave had already left, and the remaining ones must be prepared to face the future here. Regardless of difficulty and disaster, they all had their own responsibilities and had people that they were waiting for or protecting.

She turned around and looked at the majesty city walls that could be seen from afar. There were countless palaces and buildings, and seemingly endless plots and traps. She had once hated everything about here, yet now she had willingly entered this large prison. Just like how her sister had willingly continued being a servant, these were all choices that she had made. This was her own personal battle, but she was not alone, because in that huge majestic prison there was one more person waiting for her.

After all, things were completely different, and just like life and death, it was impossible to reverse to the past.

“Giddyup!” Chu Qiao coldly bellowed as she raced back on her horse, with the cold winds slicing past her ears. It was as though everything turned to dust, disappearing into the past.

Within the blink of an eye, it was already the turn of the year. Even though this was not a particularly joyous year, Zhen Huang City had put up a jubilant display as usual. There was still half a month to the Spring festival, but the imperial palace loosened up the curfews at night, and with approval from the Elder’s Council, the tax on the businessmen was reduced to encourage trade. In addition, in the Emperor’s name, they started to summon some of the officials who had performed well in the past year back to the Capital for awards and recognition.

Just so simple, in merely three days, Zhen Huang City had been restored to its old prosperous self. Partially manipulated by the officials, the new year ceremony this year was particularly grandiose, as various wealthy families started to enter the capital. Within Zhen Huang City, decorations had already been set up, with performances held often. Regardless of how much of a mess the world was in at that moment, or how urgent the war was at the borders, the people in the capital were still captivated by the scene before their eyes.

As the cold wind blew past the city walls, it was as though it picked up a scent of the festivity, before heading to the north. Yet, the war with Yan Bei seemed to become increasingly urgent. Zhuge Yue seemed to be sleeping later each night, and sometimes he did not even sleep. The candle wax rolled down endlessly, piling up on the candle stand as the dim light illuminated his face that seemed ever so pale, yet his back seemed straight.

Three days ago, Chu Qiao had finally met Zhao Che.

On that day, it was snowing. The snow that had piled up after a four-day-long snowstorm was almost two feet deep, and one would sink up to his thighs while walking. Chu Qiao had always been sickly in this recent year, and ended up just staying in the house.

That night she suddenly heard Zhuge Yue’s laughter from afar as she leaned on her soft bed, frowning. Suddenly, she opened her eyes only to feel a wave of cold air coming from the door. She could not help but to shiver and pull her blanket up, as she straightened her body. Zhuge Yue raised the curtain and spoke to her, “Xing’er, look who’s here?” After saying that, he brought the person behind into the room.

Zhao Che walked in back facing the light. His black blouse had no flowery embroideries and looked rather dull, with no other pompous decorations. He seemed to be the same as usual, although he seemed to be taller and thinner. Yet his face did not seem to have changed much from the past. The only major difference was that his eyes no longer had the haughtiness that he used to have, and he looked rather calm and mature. Even as he smiled, there was a tinge of unfamiliarity and seemed to be always on guard. He casually greeted her as he nodded very slightly, before calmly saying, “We meet, finally.”

Food streamed in from the kitchen. Zhao Che had brought some Qianghu wine. It seemed rather strong as the smell of alcohol filled the entire room the moment he opened it. He chatted with Zhuge Yue and discussed in detail about the war and their future plans. Occasionally they would laugh and poke fun at each other. Zhuge Yue never had many friends. Perhaps apart from this man, there would be nobody who could chat so casually with him.

Chu Qiao calmly sat at one side and listened to them speak. Eventually, they started to reminisce about their past as they used to be rivals back in the military school. Only when the war began, as the corrupt powers started to usurp power from the Imperial rule did they finally come together as friends.

Both of them had a noble birth, with amazing dreams for the future and talent to back their dreams. They did not succumb to rules and their worldviews were not contained by their countries, holding stubborn, extreme views about the world. In the eyes of their families, they were the betrayer who strayed from the normal path. They had faced many ups and downs, eventually dominating the center of politics. Even as their hearts were firm like steel, they exuded burning passion. Many a time, the friendships between men were needless of any explanation.

Chu Qiao sat aside and observed how Zhuge Yue discussed with such a rare vigor, along with Zhao Che being so unrestrained. At that moment, she felt as though the two men before her were trees that had grown to tower over the world with the storms they had been through.

Another figure suddenly appeared in her mind. She was reminded of how there was too, someone who she had partnered with in the dark past. When Zhao Che and Zhuge Yue were still enjoying the prosperity of the world, she had been fighting endlessly alongside that person. Yet, they had ultimately become a mere passer-by.

That night, Zhuge Yue was drunk. His tolerance for alcohol had never been too good, yet he was able to control himself very well. Yet, seeing his friend for the first time in such a long duration, it seemed as though he decided to remove all restraints. Yet, Chu Qiao knew that he was merely too tired.

In recent days, there was a huge snowstorm in the Northwest, and there was a poor harvest in the Southwest. A third of the empire was full of problems, as corruption was rife in the royal capital, causing food and necessities to be unable to reach the hands of the civilians. Zhao Yang held control over the western part of the Empire, but he turned a blind eye to all corruption to gain support from the other noble families. Within half a year, over 200,000 civilians in the West had died, and millions of civilians turned into refugees. Some headed South, some headed East, some even headed to the snowy Northwest. There were countless starving civilians crowded at Yanming Pass, Tanghu Pass, Yao Pass. Thousands starved or froze to death daily, yet the royal capital continued to spend a huge amount of money on building extravagant palaces and preparing huge banquets instead of helping the civilians.

Zhuge Yue had already reported the current state of affairs dozens of times, yet in the entire court, nobody was willing to support him, as his letters were ignored in the midst of enjoyment in the courts. The Elder Council was like a group of rotten maggots and refused to see through the facade of prosperity that was displayed only in the royal capital, allowing various local officials to remain corrupt as they wished.

Zhuge Yue reported that the natural catastrophes had led to over 200,000 deaths, yet the Elders stubbornly believed that there was no such thing as weather, and that all civilians lived in peace and harmony, satisfied by the Empire’s wealth, and that Zhuge Yue was merely speaking nonsense.

Zhuge Yue informed them that there were almost a million refugees crowded around Yanming Pass, Tanghu Pass, and Yao Pass, and that if no action was taken, there could be a civilian uprising. Yet, the Elders were convinced that the three passes were completely well defended, and that there was not even a single criminal in sight.

Zhuge Yue warned that the Xia Empire was at a turning point where it may soon cease to exist, yet those Elders merely closed their eyes at the current state of affairs, continuing to turn a blind eye to everything. Not only that, but they had accused Zhuge Yue of being overly self-important just because he had control over much of the Xia Empire’s armies.

While they argued in the courts, countless civilians were dying. The Elders used letters of praise supposedly written by the civilians as evidence, and claimed the unrivaled wisdom of the reigning Emperor, and then accused Zhuge Yue of claiming facts without proper evidence.

Evidence? Chu Qiao heard how he had furiously scolded some of the Generals in his room. He was so enraged to the point that his face turned green, and his eyes seemed to be spewing fire.

The Elders had ignored the sight of the crowds of civilians, and chose to forget about the countless corpses that littered the Western region while shutting their ears to the deafening cries for help. And then, they dared to cite the single incident in which the corrupted officials had planned to make fun of him?

That night before he fell asleep he remained quiet for a long time before whispering into her ear, telling her how he really wished that he could really kill all the maggots of the empire. He said it so coldly that even Chu Qiao felt chills go down her spine. She stretched out her hand and circled his waist, and lightly touched his arms. She could clearly feel his tightened muscles and cold skin, it was as though there was a layer of frosty determination.

Chu Qiao knew he was merely saying it. Even though he held great power, even though he held control over great armies, even though he was already alienated by his family, there would always be things that he had to care about, and that he could not merely ignore.

The Xia Emperor, whose life was previously hanging by a thread, suddenly took a turn for the better. His state of mind was much better and he could occasionally appear at the court.

As for this Emperor, nobody dared to underestimate him. All these years he had always seemed to be this way. He had seemed to give not much care to politics, yet whenever someone crossed him even slightly, he could dish out a devastating attack. The incident involving Yan Bei was a bloody example.

Yet, everyone also thought that the Emperor was a human and would ultimately die. With Zhao Che and Zhao Yang competing for his favor, whoever could make him happier would have a better chance at winning. As of now, the Emperor seemed to be more satisfied with Zhao Yang who always reported how civilians were ecstatic of his rule. In such a situation, who would dare to start reporting all the disasters to ruin his mood? Even for Zhao Che, he had to think twice if he wanted to report any related information.

Initially, Zhao Che was not in Zhen Huang City, so Zhuge Yue held on alone by forcing out the pathetic amount of resources from the other departments to send to the three passes as disaster relief. Yet his efforts were ultimately limited.

A slight mistake was made in the distribution of food at the Yao Pass. Due to the lack of food, the porridge issued for rations turned more and more watery. Triggered by a mildly offensive statement made by a single soldier to a civilian, a riot formed. In the small brawl, there were over 30 soldier deaths, and over 50 deaths amongst the civilians with over a hundred injured.