Chapter 14 (2/2)

Silent for a moment, Gui Wan smiles, “I don’t remember doing anything for the Nu Tribe.”

“You do not need to do anything, your very existence has already contributed to the Nu Tribe.” The old Nu King spoke in such manner, his voice resonant, his face unruly.

Because she is unable to make out the meaning behind his words, Gui Wan already carried a slight look of indignant, settling down, her face is lit with her usual indifferent smile like that of a cloud, tentatively asking: “I would appreciate further details.”

“I have already sent a letter to lady’s family, I believe lady’s family has already prepared generous gifts, departing from the Capital City to come get you.”

Gui Wan freezes, amongst hundreds and thousands of thoughts, she would never have thought to be able to hear the old Nu King personally speak of her return, giving rise to a feeling of contempt towards him, to use this sort of behaviour no different from abduction for ransom, how is this anything like the behaviour of a king of a country? At the same time, she is thrown into confusion, exactly what are they asking for in exchange, to actually abduct her thousands of li away to the Nu Capital?

Only Ye Li continues to bitterly smile, he has brought her here out of his own selfishness, his original feelings that were only of adoration seems to have already grown intense, burning him to extreme discomfort, a wave of heat swarms in his stomach, he suddenly bolts up, not caring for everyone’s look of surprise, he grabs onto Gui Wan’s wrist, towards the old Nu King, he announces with complete resolution[1]: “Royal Father, I do not agree.”

All sorts of doubtful and weird gazes were casted upon him, Ye Li ignores them, his deep voice filled with determination: “Even if it is between a fish and a bear’s paw, I still want it.” The power of such sharpness like a knife, the air of such arrogance like a rainbow.

Aside from the few exceptions, a great number of people reveals puzzlement, the old Nu King says nothing, his eyes nailed onto him, his unclear eyes shows no joy nor anger.

Ye Li turns his head, gazing at Gui Wan, even if it is only a little, a little show of emotions will be good, a little show of encourage will also be good, he is willing to carry all the burden for her.

Within a moment of daze, a split second of hesitation, she throws off his hand, not sparing a look at Ye Li’s expression, Gui Wan says to the old Nu King: “I hereby tour this scenery, waiting for my family to arrive, Nu King and everyone’s warm hospitality, I shall bear in mind, and will certainly return.”

“No,” Ye Li suddenly speaks up, attracting her eyes to him, “No, I will not allow you to leave……”

A meaningful faint smile floats to the surface of her lips, she faces him with a chilling gaze, “My sky is not here.” Throwing out a sentence of puzzling words, she no longer bothers with everyone there, turning around and leaves, without the slightest hesitation nor pause.

In the Capital City, the warmth of summer has already unfolded step by step, only in the courtyard of the Prime Minister Estate, does it seem like the chilliness of late spring still remains.

A figure dashes into the inner courtyard in flying manner, like a shadow flas.h.i.+ng by, a spear obstructs the crescent doorway, the guard’s neither cold nor warm voice sounds extremely mechanical: “Halt at the inner courtyard, not free to enter.”

The person incessantly gasps for air, his face already flushed red, speaking disjointedly: “There……there’s news of Madam.”

The always calm guard reveals a look of pleasant surprise upon hearing this, thinking to himself, the arrival of Madam’s news, should also end the Prime Minister Estate’s days of suffering, after little hesitation, he withdraws the spear, unable to help but blurt out the question: “Is it really news of Madam?”

Desperately panting for air, the person can only frantically nod his head.

“Quickly go in.” The guard reveals a rare smile, immediately giving entry.

The person suddenly summons up all his energy, once again starting to run inside, loudly crying out: “There……there’s news of Madam.”

The summer atmosphere at once flies into the Prime Minister Estate courtyard, the estate livening up, this past month, the dead silence caused by Prime Minister Lou’s depression and rage has been broken by this shocking news that came so suddenly……

A leisurely breeze pa.s.ses through the study room in the Prime Minister Estate’s inner courtyard, spurring the gla.s.s bell hung on the eaves to emit a clear ringing sound, the lingering charm sways leisurely, whilst a scene of still silence falls upon the room, the emptiness of the gla.s.s bell leaving the room filled with a refres.h.i.+ng sigh.

Dressed in luxurious clothing, an elegant and handsome looking man sits in front of the desk, his eyes conceals coldness as he attentively looks at the letter on the table, tightly pursed lips adding a bit of chilliness to his warm and gentle face, right hand clenching onto a string of black pearl earrings, although not a word is spoken, his entire being is shrouded in an air of breath-taking dignity.

The man who delivered the letter stands beside the desk, despite the beads of sweat lining his forehead, he actually feels a burst of chills, not daring to make a move to wipe his sweat, only afraid that the slightest movement would cause him harm due to the cold imposing air surrounding the young prime minister sitting behind the desk.

Lou Che tightly clenches his fist with the earring in hold, a slight coolness can be felt within his hand, making its way straight into his heart, and even pulls through his deepest layers of thoughts……

The first time he had seen her wear this earring was at the end of the year, such unique enchantment like some sort of luminous s.h.i.+ne flowing colourfully, leaving all who have seen her with an unforgettable memory, right now the earring has already returned, yet she is still separated by thousands of li away, thinking up to this point, the strength in his hand unconsciously increases, once again glancing over the letter on the table, he lightly sounds a cold scoff, a monstrous rage taking over his heart.

The Nu Tribe wants to use Gui Wan in exchange for warhorses, looks like the disaster in the Nu truly has already reached an extremely severe state, his hand reaches out, tearing the paper into shreds, Lou Che stands up, slowly walking up to the windowsill, gazing out the window into a sea of emerald green, hundreds of mixed feelings gathers in his chest, difficult to dispel.

Since when did the heat of summer already arrive, could it be he has forgotten the times? Only that day he was stopped outside Qu Zhou City seems to have remained in his mind, unable to recall anything after their goodbyes, to actually lose all news of her just like that, how did he feel when he first heard she had disappeared, was it anger? Was it fear? Was it pain? He is unable to tell exactly how he was feeling, only knowing, that even if he has to dig out the entire Qu Zhou, he must definitely find her.

Yet she actually disappears just like that, even when with half of the Celestial Empire heavily guarded, they still couldn’t find any traces of her. This past month, he had no appet.i.te to eat, unable to get a good night sleep, even with Consort Ying’s miscarriage, and the huge matter of students denouncing the imperial government, wilfully criticising the Emperor favouring his consort, he could not bring himself to focus on handling such matters, as though stuck in a boundless dimension, what he lost is half his soul.

The garden without her figure, his ears void of her soft laughter; her grace, her smarts, her smiles, simply vanis.h.i.+nh into thin air, right after he had already gotten used to and had even become intoxicated, everything suddenly disappears from his world.

Such bitter feeling that cannot possibly get any more bitter than this, has been carved into his bones and engraved in his heart[2], further allowing him to suffer the feeling of greatly worrying about the outcome. Such feeling, should be able to be referred to as love, right? Lou Che speechlessly smiles bitterly, when they were newlyweds, he had once made it clear to her, promising not to fall in love with one another, the two of them seem to have drawn out a circle, called “not to fall in love”, but unknowingly, he wandered out of the circle, his feet stuck deep in the mud, yet she, seems to still be uncertainly lingering inside the circle……

A burst of wild laughter suddenly resonates within the room, standing at the side with both legs almost completely numb, the messenger who reported the letter receives a sudden shock, widening his eyes, carrying a look of disbelief as he staress at Lou Che, his heart filled with dread.

Lou Che crazily laughs out loud, pouring out an entire month’s worth of depression, now that he has found out where Gui Wan is, he will not have even a moment of hesitation, remembering the Nu’s request of settlement, their search for the beauty in the painting, scene after scene pieced together, his eyes flashes with a chill, his entire chest firing up, to actually take his, Lou Che’s wife, to make an exchange, he shall definitely have the Nu pay a painful lesson.

“Lord……Lord Prime Minister……” Trembling as he softly calls out, the messenger unable to bear such oppressive atmosphere, is forced to speak out.

“Lou Yu, inform the guards of the estate to get ready, in two hours’ time, I shall be setting out to the Nu Capital, immediately go to the military division in ask for a few warhorses.”

“Lord Prime Minister……could it be you’re going to meet their requirements? But…..in this case……”

“To actually take Gui Wan for a condition of exchange, you think I would let them off so easily?” Lou Che’s clear and light voice carries a trace of laughter, dispersing into the air, twisting into an insidious and vicious air of severity. The messenger’s heart thumps, even though he clearly knows the one he wants to deal with is not himself, the hidden cold meaning in his words still manages to extract the cold sweat out of him.

Relentlessly swallowing down a mouthful of saliva, he gently forces out the words: “But, if you don’t agree, wouldn’t Madam be in danger……”

Lou Che’s resonantly cold laughter does not diminish, as though mocking the person’s lack of intelligence: “The lovable thing about politics, is that in this world, there is no equivalent pay, sometimes it is possible to lose both money and life also.”

Not daring to ask anymore, as the imposing air leaves him shaken, bending to a bow, he slowly withdraws from the study room, the oppressive feeling immediately disappears, and he secretly lets out a sigh of relief, silently looking through the crack of the door, it is clearly the elegantly handsome face like that of the spring breeze, yet why is there this sense like that of being in an ice cold environment? Just now, such pressure like having a knife held against him, seemed like an illusory image, the only real proof of its happening is the cold sweat lining his forehead, not daring to think any further, he closes the doors, quickly leaving the place.

Now free of any disturbance, Lou Che holds up the pearl earrings, looking very attentively at it, deeply thinking without a word, a while after, he walks up to the desk, placing down the earrings, he lifts the idle brush on the table, planning to leave a letter for the Emperor, and have someone immediately sending it into the palace, thinking for a moment, he was hesitating how to word it, but finds that in a moment unconsciousness, he had already written a few words on the paper, after getting a clear look of the written words, he could not help but reveal a trace of smile like the spring breeze, four words impressively written on the paper:

My wife Gui Wan

Sitting on the wool rug barefooted, Gui Wan fiddles with various ornaments before her, her face of deep calm showing a trace of cunningness that is difficult to catch onto.

Walking into the room, Mo Na was incessantly surprised: “What are you doing? Madam.” Ever since the day of the banquet, the Nu King strictly ordered, everyone must know that this woman of the Celestial Empire is a distinguished guest, not one person should neglect this.

Gui Wan raises her head, smiling beautifully, captivatingly, reflecting the long lost joy in her, “Thinking about how to spend the next few days.”

“Madam, why not go wandering around the Nu Capital, I believe everyone within the entire city must be scrambling to catch a glimpse of your elegance.” Mo Na laughingly says, these past few days, Gui Wan has practically been pestering her in asking for all that is happening within the Nu Capital, not even sparing the minor details, with the look of extreme interest towards the Nu Capital.

Not giving an immediate answer, Gui Wan acts as though she is thinking as she picks up the things around her, a twinkling of faint light catches Mo Na’s attention, she could not help but to stare curiously at the thing in Gui Wan’s hand, all of those are the accessories that had originally been removed from Gui Wan’s body, but looking at it now, how could the structure look slightly different?

Gui Wan notices her wonder, but does not stop her, leaving her to get a good look, until Mo Na took hold of it, did she feel she is being overly sensitive, this is clearly an accessory from back then, there is no difference at all. Looking away, she looks towards Gui Wan again.

Gui Wan still carries that faint smile, sweetly saying: “Since there is nothing to do, then let us go wander around the Nu Capital.” Having said that, she stands up, her face filled with antic.i.p.ation.

Seeing her in such a happy mood, Mo Na hastily stands up, under Gui Wan’s suggestion, the two of them leaves the room in male getup, with the accompany of Mo Na, they smoothly leave the palace.

A little after leaving the palace gates, they follow a small and spa.r.s.ely populated trail, Mo Na excitedly explains to Gui Wan about some of the unique things in the Nu Tribe, but finds that Gui Wan seems a little distracted, she diverts the topic, asking: “Is it not as beautiful as your homeland here? Why are you not happy?”

“The Celestial Empire and this place each has its own strengths, I really like it,” Within her indifferent smile, there reveals desolation, Gui Wan turns her head, gently asking, “But I have been brought here as a tradable item……how am I to possibly treat this place as my own homeland?”

Hearing this, Mo Na reveals a look of shame, the Nu people have always been militant, but because of the natural disaster that occurred this time, they have suffered the loss of a large number of warhorses. The decline in military strength, caused the Nu Tribe to face a serious shortage of fighting force in face of foreign enemies, that is why they need one woman to make an exchange for warhorses, and because of Prince Ye Li’s selfish reasons, they have actually abducted this woman to the Nu territory, even wanting to make her his, such acts does indeed appear somewhat despicable.

Wanting to say a word of apology, she looks back, only to meet Gui Wan’s smiling face like that of blossoming spring flowers, in a moment of hesitation, she had just wanted to ask for the reason, when her hand suddenly receives a gentle p.r.i.c.k, the words in her mouth turns into a soft sound, and her body had already collapsed, she forcefully grips onto her consciousness, but senses her willpower rapidly blur out.

Gui Wan crouches down, looking into her almost closed eyes, she softly says: “This type of drug is not only exclusive to the Nu Tribe, it is also available in my homeland, originally I have only kept it by my side for self-defence, didn’t think I would be using it on you, you take a good rest, no matter what, you do not need to apologise to me, with this, I guess we’re even now.”

A gracefully pretty voice accompanies Mo Na’s consciousness as she gradually sinks deep into darkness……

Standing up, once again checking all the accessories she has on her, Gui Wan remains on the same spot for a while, although she has found out about all situations within the Nu Tribe these past few days, and even made a detailed plan, she still needs to think it through carefully, by taking every step into great consideration, only then can she truly leave this place.

Raising her head towards the skies, Gui Wan reveals a smile of indifference, gently throwing back her sleeves, she clearly works out the directions, turning around and leaves.

[1] The original term used to say complete resolution is zhǎn ding jié tiě / 斩钉截铁, this literally translates to chop nail, section iron which refers to making a clear cut decision.

[2] To carve into one’s bones and engrave on one’s heart or kè gǔ míng xīn /刻骨铭心 is used to express an unforgettable heartfelt feeling or memory.

After reading this chapter, I really cannot understand how the Nu people are able to hold themselves so high up despite the underhanded means they take to, especially when the Nu King told Gui Wan of her use to them, so pridefully too ugh!

On the other hand, Lou Che finally realises and admits to his love for Gui Wan, the entire estate suffering thanks to her disappearance haha. I guess he suffered quite a bit, not that it’s enough to make up for the suffering Gui Wan has to put up with. And as much as I’d love to see him actually do something to prove himself somewhat worthy of her, I’m much happier to see Gui Wan take action herself, for better or for worse we will have to see for ourselves……

Oh! And for those missing our general…16…chapter 16! Just two more chapters now lol

<script>