Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
She finally realized that her past distaste for makeup was mainly due to her state of mind. Meixiang looked at her while smiling happily. Zhuge Yue walked over and grinned at the mirror. “Such a beauty.”
Chu Qiao was rather embarrassed, as even her ears seemed to turn a bit red. She said, “Since when am I that pretty? Stop your nonsense.”
Zhuge Yue continued grinning from ear to ear, and countered, “I was talking about myself. You are merely thinking too much.”
Chu Qiao pretended to be enraged as she stretched her hand out to grab him. Zhuge Yue immediately dodged while teasing Meixiang, “Look at your mistress, if I don’t praise her, she will be so angry.”
Meixiang was all smiles as she looked on without interjecting. The sunlight was warm, and there were already sounds of firecrackers sounding off in the distance. This was the first time in a long while that Chu Qiao had seen such a heartwarming new year. She had even personally cooked, teaching the servants how to make dumplings. She even wanted to drag Zhuge Yue to do it with her, but due to his strong belief in the patriarchy, he refused.
As the crowds ate the new year’s dinner together, there was a myriad of lanterns as decoration. Incidentally, Zhuge Yue ate the single unique dumpling that was filled with a Chinese date, and as the servants crowded up to say that his fortune for the coming year would be great, he was in a good mood as he passed out all kinds of rewards to the servants. The entire residence was filled with praise and gratitude. The Zhuge Residence was shut tight, and all visitors were refused entry apart from Zhao Che’s men who came at midnight with two pots of premium wine. Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue drank them together. Chu Qiao seemed to be intoxicated, leaning into Zhuge Yue’s embrace.
The servants started to light firecrackers. The sounds of the crackling could be heard, as the surroundings brimmed with an auspicious aura. Chu Qiao felt as though she had just seen Li Ce’s fox-like smile in the sky. But when she stretched out her hand to grab it, she touched only air.
She was indeed drunk, but her head seemed ever so clear. At that moment she seemed to have suddenly remembered all her past memories. She remembered Xiao Shi, Mao’er, Ming Rui, Li Yang, her comrades in the Military Intelligence Department, and her aged grandfather. She suddenly remembered her pain and hard work all those years. She had vividly recalled how she had been walking on the thread between the border of life and death as Mister Wu, Lady Yu, Huanhuan, and so many other people’s faces surfaced in her mind. She too thought about Li Ce and Yan Xun.
Happiness had come all so suddenly, she still felt that everything was a dream.
She pushed her head into Zhuge Yue’s chest, with his smell filling her nostrils. Her eyes were slightly moist as she lifted her head and looked at his handsome face, and with her crystal clear eyes, she said, “Zhuge Yue, I love you.”
Zhuge Yue was taken aback as he looked down at her. They were surrounded by servants, and her voice was so loud and was audible even over the sound of the firecrackers. The surrounding people all looked at her in shock, yet she did not mind their gazes and merely said it loudly again, “Zhuge Yue, I have fallen in love with you!”
The smell of incense drifted past. People snickered quietly. Sounds of Jingjing and Pingan bantering could be heard from afar. Chu Qiao’s face was beet red as her eyes looked straight at him. It was as though she had turned back time and turned back to her 17 orf 18-year-old self. She smiled at him, happiness written on her face.
With a whoosh, the wind blew past her ears, as she was suddenly carried up by someone. Then, in full view of everyone, Zhuge Yue put down the food that he had just started to eat, before turning back to the bedroom. The bedsheets were new and fresh, all red, with layers of silk and embroideries of all kinds of mythical characters, exuding a sense of warmth and sweetness. His eyes were pitch black with a tinge of burning lust. With one swift motion, he jerked off her collar, as he stared right at her. With a slightly hoarse voice, he said, “You little, I will never give you alcohol again.” Saying that, he kissed her forehead with all his force. His breath was rushed and warm, like a burning flame. Where ever he touched seemed to burn with a tingling sensation. She smiled as she hugged his waist in return.
With the curtains covering them, they could still hear the sounds of the people chattering outside, with waves and waves of laughter.
In life, there were too many changes, and one would never be able to tell when a storm would come, and if the incoming wave would turn everything upside down or not. All those painfully repressed emotions and hidden words ultimately still found a place to exit. Nothing is for sure, and the only thing that one could do was to treasure whatever one presently had.
Covered by the layers of silk and curtains, she lied in the layers of sheets on his body. Sweat covered her body as she was filled with a sense satisfied fatigue. She leaned on his body and looked out the window. Through the layer of the paper window, she could almost see the fireworks in the distant sky, illuminating the land.
No matter what happened in the future, she would no longer be afraid.
After the banquet for the new year, the weakness of the Xia Empire seemed obvious. There were countless refugees along the Longxi region. Walking on the main roads, one could see people selling their children as slaves so as to feed themselves. Even though the court had already ordered disaster relief and tried their best to draw money to help those refugees, the Xia Empire did not manage to reverse the situation in its weakened state caused by the war. In mere years, the war had already weakened this glorious empire into poverty.
Yan Bei was in no better position. Before the massive snow in the Longxi region, Yan Bei had already sunk into a massive catastrophe. Snowstorms impacted the Lan City area particularly bad, as civilians completely starved. For a moment, it seemed as though Yan Bei was in a dangerous spot.
Yet, just as the Xia Officials were celebrating their enemy’s misfortune, Yan Bei had secretly mobilized 100,000 soldiers and crossed over the Lanhe Highlands, and after scaling the Mulang Peak that was over 6,000 meters in height, they had managed to bypass the Tanghu Pass and went deep into the Tang territory. They managed to snatch over 1,000 tons of rice. The entire operation only took four days, and by the time this news had been transmitted back to Tang Jing, the Yan Bei army had already returned to the Longyin Pass and had already engaged with the Xia Army a few times. After this incident, it was like a drop of water falling into a pot of boiling oil, erupting huge waves across the continent.
The Xia Empire and the Tang Empire were both engulfed in rage, yet they could not do anything about Yan Xun. Even as the Xia Historians scolded Yan Bei for their acts of robbery, and as the Tang Scholars insulted all of the Yan Xun’s ancestors, they were ultimately all talk. After all, that was all that they could do. The Longyin Pass was so firm and steady, and the Yan Bei forces were so strong and ferocious. The very fact that the Yan Bei army still remained behind their walls was something that was worthy of celebration by the Tang and Xia Empires.
Hearing this, Chu Qiao could not help but smirk. Who could match Yan Xun’s appetite for risk?
Zhuge Yue still seemed like he was not concerned at all, as he completely ignored how the court dictated that they should begin another offensive. Everyone knew how the Xia Empire was in a state where it could barely stand by itself. The struggle for the throne between the various heirs had just begun to reach a climax. Who would have the time to continue an offensive to external enemies? If Zhuge Yue really began to force an invasion, perhaps that would be when these cunning officials would begin to cry for a change in decision.
When he heard that news, he was merely a little surprised. He had not expected that Yan Xun would do that. In fact, it was not just him. Perhaps in the entire West Meng continent, no one would think about him. After all, he had wagered all of Yan Bei to lure the Xia army into Yan Bei while invading the Xia Empire. Soon after that, to remove dissidents, he had completely annihilated the Datong Guild that had helped him to power. Even his very own teacher was killed. As for such a person, perhaps none would think that he would take such a risk for the civilians of Yan Bei. Even Chu Qiao had not thought of the details of this.
Luckily, the general who oversaw the Tanghu Pass was a stepson of Jingan King. Although after Jingan King had been crushed, he had defected to the Tang Empire quickly, he held command over troops and guarded over the Tanghu Pass, the most important customs to the Tang territory. Even then, it was difficult for the court to have full trust in him. As such, it was not exactly a big loss for the Tang Empire.
As for the loss of all that food… Chu Qiao’s eyebrows started to frown. She was once again reminded of the places that she had lived in for such a long time, the Shangshen Highlands, the Hui Hui Mountains, and those naive and helpful civilians.
Yan Xun became more and more skillful in the art of war. He was able to hide the tracks of his army for thousands of miles, acting swiftly without letting anyone know. With that, he was able to ambush and achieve his goal in one attempt. With sharp judgment and exceptional courage, he would be easily considered one of the most talented generals of this world. As long as he existed, the Xia Empire would find it impossible to breach Longyin Pass. Even if Zhao Che headed out personally, it would have been impossible. Zhao Che might be able to beat Yan Xun in terms of strategy, manpower, information, weapons, and supply. But when it came to how ferocious and ruthless one could be, Yan Xun would always take the upper hand.
The fearsome part about Yan Xun was mainly about how he could perfectly make use anything around him to assist him in victory. Not only that, but his ability to read other peoples’ hearts had already reached new heights.
In this world, perhaps the only person still capable of going head to head with him would be Zhuge Yue. Yan Xun had the advantage of being ruthless, whereas Zhuge Yue had the advantage of being enigmatic. Should the two of them be able to encounter each other on a battlefield and fight with all their strength, it would undoubtedly be recorded as a battle of legend.
Chu Qiao lightly shook her head. Even though she had grown sick and tired of that sort of life, when she rested, she would still start to think about those matters. She would compare her thoughts with the information that she had received, and slowly figure out the greater picture. After which, she would start to contemplate the next step, as she calculated and considered the following steps to take. She was like a chess master who absolutely adored the chessboard, and even if she stopped playing chess, she would still make up all kinds of situations in her mind.
Only that this was the one single time that she did not know which side she was rooting for.
Even if she and Yan Xun were enemies, she hoped that he would not be defeated. As such, after the sneak attack on Tanghu Pass, she had even felt a slight sense of elation, completely unbefitting of her position as the King of Xiuli of the Tang Empire.
To that, she smiled in self-mockery. It seemed like even for her herself, it would be impossible to completely remove all of her emotions. In the river of time, all that was left of him was a blurring silhouette and a pair of bold black eyes, along with a pair of forceful hands. In the end, who was really indebted to who? Would it really be possible to clearly return all favors?
Even though it was impossible to fight together, it was also not necessary for the two of them to fight to the bitter end.
Then again, despite the fact that Yan Bei had been able to temporarily avoid death from the winter disaster due to the food they had snatched from the Tang Empire, Yan Bei was still in a horrible spot. There were no major conflicts at the borders this New Years. Regardless of Yan Bei or the Xia Empire, the advance of the military had been halted by this snowy winter.
On the first of March, the Xia Emperor formally awarded the region of Northern Hu to Zhao Che as his own territory. Although by now Zhao Che was already the de facto leader of the Northern regions, prior to this he had never been formally given the titles. The fact that the Xia Emperor had chosen such a timing to award him with authority over the Hu people who had not suffered losses from the winter was something that the entire court spent much time contemplating about.
On the seventh of March, the Grand Marshal Zhuge Yue finally returned from his reflection at home and went to the Grand Elders Council. The 17th Prince had also indicated his friendly attitude to Zhao Che. For that moment, the status of Zhao Che suddenly increased. On the other hand, Zhao Yang had claimed that he was sick and had not appeared in court for two whole days. Yet, the news that came from the Yan Bei incited Chu Qiao’s worry and concern.
In reality, the content of that message was nothing much. It was merely that Yan Xun was willing to resume trade with the Xia Empire, to exchange horses and iron with the Xia Empire’s food, tea, salt, and silk.