Vol 2 Chapter 13 (1/2)
Chapter 29: Sorrow
My heart really hurts, so without considering the ramifications, I release a long howl to the moon. In a split second, all of Chang An breaks into a cacophony of dog barks and roosters crowing. In what was a dark house the lamplight is lit and people start talking.
I quickly tried to leave the scene of the crime without making any noise. As I took off running, I let out a small smile. A person ought to be able to find joy even during the sad moments. And if their lives are not filled with much happiness, people ought to learn to create their own joyful moments.
Sticking to the darkened corners of the streets, I clear my throat and let out another howl. The same reaction happens again. I howl to the East, I howl to the West, I turn the entire city of Chang An upside down with freaked out animals. The street starts to light up and even the guards at the government estates are nervous. Everyone comes out ready to capture a wolf. Some claim there are three or four, others say there are ten of them.
The beggars on the side of the streets become the most popular people in town. Crowds gather around them asking what they saw. Normally a beggar would never get so much attention, so they are all eager and excited to spout out and gesticulate as to what they saw. Their stories become more and more exaggerated and the crowds start to gasp in shock. Perhaps these days have been too quiet recently so people are not scared by their story and instead get more excited. They appear to be waiting for something exciting to happen.
My eyes s.h.i.+fted a few times and I thought that since I’ve already caused a commotion, might as well make it even bigger to make myself happier and make the crowds happier. I see a black-cloaked person walk past, and once I confirm the coast is clear, I jump down behind him and knock him out with a bat to the head. I take off his black cloak only to discover he’s a government official. Oooooops, this is not ideal. This is more serious that I intended. Oh well! I already knocked him out, it’s too late for regrets.
I put on the cloak and tie a handkerchief around my head. I hid on a rooftop and howl once more before starting to run along the roof tops. I’m chased by a crowd of government officials behind me, and lined all along the streets are people watching this show. When I almost kick a guard off the roof, some of the spectators actually clap in excitement. A lone hero can’t beat a hundred men, and the guards chasing me are increasing rapidly in numbers. It appears the entire guard retinue of Chang An is out to capture me.
Initially I wanted to taunt them a bit longer, but it turns out that some of them are actually not half bad at martial arts. In the beginning they were all randomly chasing me, but someone has taken charge and their pursuit has grown organized. I’m slowly getting chased into a dead end. Indeed I’m playing right under the nose of the Emperor! I’m impressed with their skill and hurry to find an exit. If I get captured, that ought to be interesting, but too bad I can’t afford to take that risk right now.
Because I don’t want to kill anyone, I withhold some of my strength and try to avoid them. I’m looking for a way out…..and I flip right into the backyard of the Huo Estate. The guards must know who owns this place so they don’t follow me inside. I secretly stick my tongue out at them. Likely a bunch of high level government officials will be knocking on the door in a few minutes, and Uncle Chen can kiss his sleep goodnight.
I sneak into Qu Bing’s room and peek inside. There are no maids keeping watch over him, he’s just sleeping alone on the pallet. I’m feeling upset and worried. How could Uncle Chen be so careless and not take better care of him?
I walk next to the pallet and lean over to check on him, when he suddenly opens his eyes. I yelp in shock and he immediately pulls me into his embrace. I’m enveloped snugly in his arms, leaving me laughing as I hit his chest “How dare you surprise me! No wonder there wasn’t a single maid around!”
He didn’t laugh and just said very seriously “I’ve been waiting for you this entire time. If you didn’t return by dawn, I was going to storm over there and grab you back.” I humphed at him “You’re a thief!” He laughed and kissed my forehead “That would make you the wife of a thief. Why are you dressed like this?”
I made a face at him and tried to struggle out of his arms. I took off the cloak and tossed it on the ground before removing the handkerchief tied around my head. “You’re in trouble now. Maybe tomorrow someone will tattle to the Emperor that you are secretly protecting a thief. Tonight I managed to cause a commotion to lure every government official out looking for me.”
He put his hands behind his head and laughingly asked “What did you steal?” I wrinkled my nose at him “Nothing, I just punked everyone for fun.” He furrowed his eyebrow and indicated for me to come over. I crawl under the blankets and snuggle in his arms “You don’t look like someone who was just ill. How are you this energetic? Are you uncomfortable anywhere right now?”
He frowned “Everything feels normal, but there is one area that’s uncomfortable.” I was immediately so nervous “Where? We’ll summon the royal physician at dawn tomorrow. No, let’s have Uncle Chen summon him right now.” I was about to jump off the pallet when he grabbed my hand and then slowly slid it down past his stomach “This area is quite uncomfortable.”
My hand could feel his arousal “You…..” I was so mortified and annoyed that my face was beet red. He laughed and lightly murmured in my ear “How long as it been since you willingly snuggled with me? So there is something good that comes out of getting sick. If I knew this, I would have gotten sick earlier. Since it’s such a rare occurrence for you to jump into my arms, if I didn’t have the appropriate reaction, I would be insulting the “icy cold beauty” that is you.”
I spit out “You’re a lech!” He kissed my cheek and sighed “Yu Er, are you willing to bear my child? I can’t marry you right now, but I’m going to be yours for this entire lifetime. It’s bound to happen sooner or later. If you don’t care about official t.i.tles, I don’t want to restrain myself anymore.” I turn sideways to avoid his kiss and didn’t have a chance to respond to his question when Uncle Chen was outside “Young master!”
Huo Qu Bing ignored him and continued to tease me and ask in a low voice “Yes or no?” I’m too afraid to breathe, worried that Uncle Chen will hear what is going on inside the room. But Qu Bing doesn’t care the least, and the more nervous I am, the more it gets him all into it. He decided to just kiss me on the cheek with a loud resounding smack.
“Young master! Young……” Uncle Chen’s voice trailed off into silence for some time before “Young master…..”
Huo Qu Bing said in an exasperated voice “Why do people keep interrupting at the most crucial moment?” He called out “What?” Uncle Chen explained “The Guard Master asks to see you, saying a thief appears to have snuck into our estate. He wants the young master to investigate and I came to ask you what to do?”
Huo Qu Bing replied “What so hard you need to ask me? Can’t you decide what to do?’ Uncle Chen stammered “Our estate is protected no less securely than the Palace, anyone entering would encounter dozens of dogs. Plus today there are rumors of a wolf commotion in the city. So I was thinking……thinking that…..” I can tell he’s having a hard time saying it so I help out “Uncle Chen, it’s me. I snuck into the estate tonight.”
Uncle Chen let out a sigh of relief “That was what I suspected, so I already sent the Guard Master home. But after that the an even higher official come by saying that a violent thief had knocked out the Crown Prince’s tutor with a bat to the head. The tutor is furious and has vowed that the thief must be captured, otherwise he’ll make sure the guard officials all get in trouble.”
Huo Qu Bing laid down and with a lazy expression turned to look at me. He flicked me on the forehead and said with a laugh “Fine! I’ll make a trip to the tutor’s estate in a little bit. There must be an even more dire situation involved, so tell me who else came by?”
I was already wondering why a high court official was all wrapped up tightly and wandering around Chang An late at night by himself. So this was what happened? I whisper in Huo Qu Bing’s ear and he laughed and gave me a strange look, shaking his head indicating he didn’t agree with me.
Uncle Chen piped up “Li Gan is here waiting for you, claiming he’s here on orders of General Li as the Palace Commander to ensure the safety of Chang An. He asks for your cooperation to make sure the a.s.sa.s.sin is caught.” Huo Qu Bing’s expression turned cold “Li Gan is calling the person an a.s.sa.s.sin?” Uncle Chen softly answered “Yes.”
The Palace Commander is in charge of the safety of the Palace, so if they are calling me an a.s.sa.s.sin, aren’t they a.s.serting that I was planning to a.s.sa.s.sinate the…..Emperor? I pitifully say “I think I’m in big trouble now. With such a huge mountain falling down on me, is Li Yan intending to crush me to death?” Huo Qu Bing immediately said “Li Yan? What do you mean by that?”
I cover my mouth and just stare at him, my eyes s.h.i.+fting but I don’t answer his question. He shook his head “I’m not sure what is making you so worried.” He turned to Uncle Chen “Since third brother Li has already guessed it’s Yu Er, then don’t lie to him. Tell him the truth – it was Huo Qu Bing and my woman who got bored tonight and decided to play a prank. I’m sorry we disturbed them. Right now we’re resting on the pallet so if he wants to arrest someone tell him to barge right in. Since I’ve never seen the inside of a prison cell in Chang An, tell them I’m thanking them in advance for showing me around there.”
I pull his robe “You can’t say this, you can’t…..” Uncle Chen was outside and quiet for some time, and he finally said “Yes” and quickly left. From the sound of his, his footsteps are unsteady like he’s drunk.
I lay down on the pillow and make a face “Huo Qu Bing, are you purposely messing with Li Gan or with me? Why do I feel like you’re upset with me?” He laughed “Half and half, but my annoyance isn’t just regular annoyance, it’s unsatisfied bedroom annoyance.” He brushed my hand aside and kissed me on the nose “Li Gan is very thoughtful and this is a chess match he orchestrated. If I play the match with him, I might not win, so why not just play stupid and mess up his entire chess match. Let’s see what he does about that? If he gets upset and makes one wrong move, we can use that to taunt him.”
This man doesn’t follow the rules of military tactics and he does things without following normal protocol. If I’m comparing shamelessness with him, I will clearly lose. I turn around and lay down to sleep, deciding to ignore him. He laughed “So you’re just going to sleep?” I huff “It’s almost sunrise and I’ve been getting exhausted on the rooftops of Chang An all night. If you don’t let me sleep, I’m going back to my place.”