Vol 2 Chapter 18 (1/2)

Chapter 34: Dangerous Plot

The Northern desert battle has the Great General Wei commanding fifty thousand troops and departing from Ding Xiang, while Huo Qu Bing commands fifty thousand troops and departs from Dai Jun, along with fourteen thousand horses and one hundred thousand foot soldiers.

Huo Qu Bing disregards personal conflicts and greatly uses Li Gan as his second-in-command, and he also heavily uses the surrendered Xiong Nu elite talent rom the previous battles. Under his command is a group of seasoned and brave warriors. This leader of the pack roams through the desert over thousands of miles and finally meets up with the Left Sage King of the Xiong Nu army.

Even though he is attacking deep within Xiong Nu territory, but Huo Qu Bing knows this area well. His riders are more fleet and courageous than the Xiong Nu riders, and he defeats the Left Sage King. He also captures important officials to the Shan Yu, kills some tribal leaders and officials, and captures the Left Sage King’s banner and drum. The Xiong Nu forces are in disarray. Huo Qu Bing’s forces quickly cross over the Hou Mountains and he captures more tribal leaders, generals, and ministers numbering a total of eighty-three. He manages to kill over seventy thousand Xiong Nu, completely destroying the Left Sage King’s forces.

Wei Qing’s forces travel over the desert and meet up with the forces of the Shan Yu himself. He faces them with a new formation and also burns their supplies which greatly weakens the Shan Yu’s forces. During the confusion the Han army manages to kill over twenty thousand Xiong Nu soldiers.

Under Liu Che’s orders, because of what happened in the past and Liu Che is superst.i.tious that Li Guang has bad luck at war, plus wanting to give Gong Xun Aou a chance to succeed, Wei Qing refuses Li Guang’s plea to take the first attack and instead gives it to Gong Xun Aou and places Li Guang on backup. Li Guang once again gets lost in the desert and does not have a chance to face the Xiong Nu, and loses another chance to be made a duke. This white-haired general, under extreme rage and despair, commits suicide in front of Wei Qing.

Despite the suicide of Li Guang casting a cloud over the Han army, this remains the most significant victory of the Han army over the Xiong Nu in history of the dynasty. So when Wei Qing defeats the Right Sage King the following year, after five years of war with the Xiong Nu, the Xiong Nu have been completely defeated. Henceforth the Desert South region no longer has the kingdom of the Xiong Nu.

The two generals Huo and Wei will soon return victorious. To celebrate, Huo Q Bing decides to build a temple on the top of Lang Ju Mountains to hold an open air prayer ceremony to the Heavens. The messenger returns to Chang An with this news. Even though I can’t go see Qu Bing, I can imagine his cold and composed exterior hiding his excitement and glee on the inside. Right now he must be proudly on a horse surveying the Xiong Nu lands he conquered.

Since he was small he listened to stories from his uncle about fighting the Xiong Nu. He learned to ride a horse and pull a bow and arrow from his uncle. Since he was small he had a dream to stand on Xiong Nu land and conquer the entire vast expanse. Now his dream has finally come true.

Huo Qu Bing has not returned to Chang An but the poetic song he composed for his ceremony to the Heavens arrive first. It is sung all through the streets and in every house and hovel in Chang An. The song has some hidden meanings that I don’t understand immediately, with Qu Bing seemingly misusing some phrases. Tian Cao compliments that a warrior can do so well already in writing a song about the end of war and hoping for peace to the nation.

I mull over it and discover that within the song are hidden references to the great historical figure Fang Li, who won many wars but eventually gave up his political career to travel the world. Jiu Ye looked at me with a smile that hid his despair “General Huo admires Fang Li?” I nodded my head, happy inside but also worried “Do you think the Emperor will discern the hidden meaning behind his words?”

“Only one word in the entire text references it, and it has a dual meaning. You know that General Huo once complimented Fang Li so you can guess. How many people in the Han dynasty know General Huo as well as you do? Most people will see General Huo as just a fighting man, and that he used a word incorrectly in this song.”

Tian Cao, who had thought Qu Bing just misused a word, turned red and stuttered “General Huo is not Xi Ma Xiang Ru, why write a song that is now sung all over Chang An?” I reply “Qu Bing is probably using this song to test the Emperor’s intentions. In the song he mentioned Emperor Wu of the Zhou kingdom, a warrior Emperor who nevertheless garnered the love of his people. Qu Bing was complimenting Emperor Wu, but was actually using that to express his own feelings about future warfare.”

Jiu Ye looked at the ground “The current Emperor is enamored of warfare. Now that the Xiong Nu is defeated, he’s worried the Emperor is eyeing Xi Yu next. But General Huo no longer cares about the weakened Xiong Nu kingdom in the Desert North region, much less wants to prey on the weak and defenseless Xi Yu kingdoms. He’s only interested in fighting an opponent like the Xiong Nu when it was at its strongest.”

Tian Cao thought about it and then said “On the surface General Huo appears arrogant and thoughtless, only knowing to barrel full speed ahead. But based on his song, from composing it to sending it back to Chang An, his thoughts are much deeper than realized, and he’s comparable to the Great General Wei in terms of doing things with forethought.”

Qu Bing’s biggest intelligence was letting everything think that he was stupid at everything else other than fighting wars. I felt happy and let out a small smile. But when my eyes met Jiu Ye, my smile froze and inside I felt a twinge of bitterness. Jiu Ye turned his head and wheeled out “We won’t bother you, get some rest!”

In ten days Qu Bing will be back. Since he deployed, my heart finally started to feel at ease. That is, until Wei Shao Er and Wei Jun Ru suddenly came to visit. Those two sisters are usually so chilly towards me, but now they are quite friendly. Liu Che wants to summon me into the Palace to give birth. They are here to congratulate me since my child will be born into the same treatment as the royal children. It is such a honor and privilege.

Honor and privilege! I see their smiles and want to grab a broom to sweep them out. Do they not know what is behind this great honor and privilege? Do they not know, or don’t want to know? Seeking wealth and power in this dangerous place, even Wei Zhi Fu as the Empress has to endure much danger.

It was nearing the end of Summer, and some of the flowers are at the end of their bloom cycle. Isn’t life just like that? When the water is full means its about to overflow. When the moon is full means its about to wane. When power is at its peak means its will soon weaken.

Is this the Emperor’s response to Qu Bing’s song? When Qu Bing returns, I will already be in the Palace, so will he dare to oppose the Emperor and take me back home? When power is at its peak, even one misstep could mean complete destruction. I have made up my mind.

Inside the study, Jiu Ye is flipping through medical books and I barge in and sit right across from him “Jiu Ye, I need to ask you for a favor. You must agree.” Jiu Ye’s grip on the book tightened and he immediately said “I won’t agree.”

I stare at him without blinking “I’ve flipped through all the medical texts these past few days but can’t find any that discusses speeding up the date of delivery. I understand the risks, but I have no choice despite knowing I am gambling with my life and the life of my baby.”

Jiu Ye’s eyes were filled with despair and he softly said “There are other ways. We can leave Chang An immediately, we can leave all this chaos and fighting behind.” I stare at him but didn’t answer what he said “If you don’t agree, then I will find another doctor.”

I knew I was forcing him, but right now I have no choice. I cannot leave Chang An with him, what position would that place Qu Bing in? His expression turned distressed, within his ashen face was pure hopelessness. My heart hurt to the point it felt numb. We really have pa.s.sed each other by. I have already chosen Huo Qu Bing. No matter what happens, what obstacles and challenges, I will not leave. I will not leave Huo Qu Bing to be alone in Chang An to weather this storm.

I silently get up and walk out, and his weak voice says “I agree.”

I knew he would agree, because he would never place my life in the hands of another person. I don’t react and continue to calmly walk outside. I keep my voice steady as I coolly say “Thank you!” But silent tears are falling, the tears are falling for him. And I cannot let him know, I would rather he saw only my seemingly cold figure.

A late Summer storm pa.s.ses and the ground is wet. When I walk the Palace physician sent to check on me out, I slip on a step and in the eyes of everyone my stomach hits the ground first. But in truth I’ve used one hand and my knee to temper the impact. To make it more realistic, I let my other arm hit the ground hard and sc.r.a.pe it so that it is b.l.o.o.d.y. I crush the Cha Mo flower leaves that is hidden in my hand, and the fragrance wafts in through my nose and hits the medicine I drank earlier. It mixes together to induce labor. Soon my entire body is curled into a ball, my sweat and blood seeping through my clothes.

The physician screams for help and Jiu Ye anxiously picks me off the ground. My blood seeps into his white robe, almost like a red flower blooming. His face has not a shred of color, and in his dark eyes I see only fear as deep as the ocean.

Jiu Ye knows this was all orchestrated but he’s reacting like it’s real. No one will suspect. But when I see him sweating, I know he’s not acting. This is his honest reaction. From the moment I drank the labor inducing medicine, my life was on the line.

I force a smile for him to indicate I’m fine, but then I realize I can’t control my body anymore. The pain makes me moan and my teeth clench. I bite my lip until its bleeding. Jiu Ye’s brows are furrowed and he puts his hand in my mouth so that I will bite him instead. He doesn’t want me to hurt myself. I try to turn away so I don’t hurt him but my clenching teeth still bites down on his hand.

His beads of sweat are rolling down his face, almost like his tears are falling. My blood, his blood, my sweat, his sweat, it all mixes together. I taste the sweet acrid blood in my mouth and all my strength dissipates. My consciousness starts to muddle and my bodily pain seems to going away. But my emotional pain appears even more p.r.o.nounced, so much that my feelings break free of my logical shackles and everything is expressed in my eyes. My tears also cannot be controlled and I just start crying in front of him.

Before I pa.s.s out, all I hear is “Yu Er, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry……”

The moment I regain consciousness, the feeling of body-rendering pain causes even the normally tough me to cry out in pain. I don’t know how long I have been pa.s.sed out, but its already dark outside the room. A curtain is pulled across my chest, with two midwives busy behind the curtain and Jiu Ye sitting beside me outside the curtain. He looked tired but he was calm and tightly gripped my hand “Nothing will happen to you. You will be fine.” But his shaking hand betrayed his real feelings. He was frightened, so I use my energy to smile and weakly nodded my head.

One hour pa.s.ses, and another, and yet another. Still there is only indescribable pain. The baby still won’t come out. Baby, why don’t you come out? Mom’s energy is almost all used up. With one more scream from me, the midwife suddenly cried out “The baby is out! It’s a boy, and despite being born two months early and is so tiny, it has a lot of energy. You can tell it’s not an average baby.”

Jiu Ye relaxed “Yu Er, you did well.”

One midwife carried the baby out and happily showed him to me. I heard his cries and my heart shook. I felt this immense sorrow that almost knocked me out. Baby, are you crying because you know that from the moment you are born you won’t be able to see your mom?

Jiu Ye pressed on my forehead and woke me up, then he exchanged a look with Tian Cao standing in the doorway. They looked at me and despite all my longing, I nod my head. Tian Cao came inside to take the baby “The nanny has been waiting for quite some time. The Palace has also sent someone to wait for the baby. I will bring the baby to them.”

I make this noise that I can’t even tell what I’m trying to say. Tian Cao stopped and I stared at the bundle in his arms. After a few moments, I forcefully close my eyes. Jiu Ye said to Tian Cao “You can go!”

Jiu Ye’s hand on my wrist, I can feel the heavy emotion and his fingers turning cold. I force a smile “I’m not hurting anymore, just tired and sleepy. My body is strong, you don’t need to worry. After a good rest I’ll recover.”

The midwife cried out “The bleeding won’t stop, won’t stop.” She was afraid to look Jiu Ye in the eye and just lowered her head and shook it. Jiu Ye froze and then in a low voice ordered the midwife to do something and then ordered medicine to be brewed.