Chapter - 36 (36) (1/2)

Predator birds over ten-thousand li of barbarian flower's sky, the beginning of the edge of the clouds over thousand winding snowy roads.

The two of them ate some dried venison, and then slept on the beach; by the time the second watch of the night [between 9-11pm] arrived, they quietly moved toward the fortified city. It was quiet all around, that night the moonlight was bright. They noticed that the fortified city was constructed from big lumber and big stones, the circumference was indeed not small; it was definitely not a one-day, one-night effort. Wei Xiaobao thought, ”This fortified city was built sometimes ago, so nobody peeked at my map and informed Luocha people to come over here and build the city.”

He saw his own shadow as well as Shuang'er's on the ground, and could not help but was afraid, thinking that if there were Luocha soldiers guarding on the wall, with several shots, Wei Xiaobao would turn into Wei Sibao [xiao bao – little treasure, si bao – dead treasure]. Thereupon he pulled Shuang'er and crouched on the ground, trying to see if anything was astir. He saw on the southeast corner of the fortified city there was a small log cabin, with light coming out from the window; apparently it was where the guards lived. Wei Xiaobao whispered on Shuang'er's ear, ”Let's go over there to take a look.” The two of them slowly crawled toward the log cabin.

Just as they were outside the window, suddenly they heard a woman's laughter from the inside, the laughter sounded so lascivious. Wei Xiaobao and Shuang'er looked at each other; they both felt strange, ”How could there be a woman?”

Wei Xiaobao peeked through a small crack on the window. But the weather was cold and the wind strong, all the cracks on the window were tightly sealed; he could not see anything. Yet the voice from the inside continued, one man one woman, they were talking and laughing gibberish that Wei Xiaobao did not understand at all. He knew that this pair of Luocha man and woman was not doing any good deed; his heart was moved. Reaching out, he embraced Shuang'er in his bosom. Shuang'er heard the voices from the inside, she seemed to understand, but not quite understood; there was a vague feeling in her heart that it was improper. When she was held in Wei Xiaobao's arms, for fear that they would be found by the people inside, she did not dare to make any noise.

To Wei Xiaobao, it was exactly what he wanted. His left arm hugged her even tighter, his right hand gently stroked her cheek. Shuang'er's body went weak, she leaned on his bosom. Unexpectedly, since the ground was packed with ice, in his eagerness Wei Xiaobao forgot to mind where he stood; his foot slipped, he could not hold his stand, 'bang!' his head hit the window heavily. ”Aiyo!” he could not help but letting out a cry.

The voices inside stopped; a moment later a man's voice shouted a question. Wei Xiaobao and Shuang'er crouched on the ground, and were momentarily at a loss of what to do. They heard a latch being pulled, the wooden door creaked open, someone with a lantern in his hand standing at the door looking outside. Wei Xiaobao sprang out lightly with his dagger going straight into the man's chest. The man did not even grunt; his body slumped and he fell down without any noise.

Shuang'er rushed into the room, but she saw the room was absolutely empty, there was no one inside. ”Uh,” she exclaimed in surprise, ”Where's that woman?”

Wei Xiaobao followed her inside. He saw a kang [heatable brick bed] inside, a wooden table, and a wooden trunk; the room was illuminated by a bear fat candle on the table, but the woman had actually disappeared without a trace. ”Search her quick, don't let her go announcing our presence.” He noticed that other than the front door, this house did not have any other exits.

He dragged the dead body inside and closed the door. He saw the dead man was a foreign soldier, the lower part of his body was naked, he did not were any pants. Wei Xiaobao looked up to examine the beam, but did not see anything out of ordinary, ”She must still be here,” he said. He rushed to the trunk's side, opened the trunk lid, and quickly stepped aside to guard against the Luocha woman opened fire.

After a moment without seeing anything astir, Shuang'er said, ”She is not inside the trunk. This is really strange.”

Wei Xiaobao went near the trunk to examine it, and saw the trunk was full with fur clothing. He reached in and scooped some, but underneath it was also fur clothing. Suddenly he sniffed a strong fragrant; obviously it was the smell of women's cosmetics. ”Something can't be trusted in here,” he said. He grabbed the fur clothing and tossed them all to the ground. To his surprise, there was a hole at base of the trunk. ”In here!” he cried out in delight.

Shuang'er said, ”Turns out there is a tunnel in here.”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Quickly intercept that Luocha woman. If she talked, a large group of foreign robbers will swarm over, we will be in a terrible mess.” Hurriedly he took off the leather clothing that he bundled up on his body, pulled his dagger, and crawled into the hole. He was very afraid of foreign troops, but he did not take foreign women to heart.

The tunnel was inclining downward, and he could only crawl, but he was slim and agile, he was able to crawl fast and nimble in the tunnel. After crawling for more than ten zhang, he heard voices ahead. He increased the strength in his hands and feet, and crawled even faster. The voice ahead was getting closer. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed as hard as he could, and touched a smooth and soft calf. The woman cried out in low voice, and frantically fled forward. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought, ”If I kill you with one stab, I am not a hero or warrior. Good man does not fight with women, Chinese men do not fight with Luocha demon granny

[44]. Foreign male demons I have seen a lot, but what foreign female demons look like, I must take a good look.”

He re-inserted the dagger into its sheath, and charged more than a zhang forward. With both hands he grabbed the woman's calf. Inside the tunnel, the woman was unable to turn around; she crawled forward desperately. The woman's strength was indeed not small, unexpectedly Wei Xiaobao was unable to pull her back, instead, he was pulled forward about a zhang or so. Wei Xiaobao spread his legs toward the tunnel wall to brace himself, only then did he manage to hold himself and not dragged forward by the woman.

The woman struggled hard, Wei Xiaobao's hands slipped; unexpectedly the woman was able to free herself. She quickly crawled forward. Wei Xiaobao threw himself to her and grabbed her waist. Suddenly he felt his head was free; they had actually reached the part of the tunnel, which was fairly spacious. The woman let out a couple of soft laughter; she turned around and kissed him. But since it was dark, she kissed his nose instead.

A burst of strong fragrant assaulted Wei Xiaobao's nostrils, the body of the woman in his bosom was smooth and slippery; to his surprise, she did not wear even one thread. He felt the woman reached back and embraced him; his mind was blurry. He heard Shuang'er asked in a low voice, ”Xianggong, what is it?”

Wei Xiaobao hummed and hawed; he was just about to reply when the woman in his bosom suddenly kissed his mouth. Immediately he was unable to speak. Suddenly he heard a voice above his head saying, ”We found out that Zongdu [governor-general] has arrived at Yakesa

[45], therefore, we rushed over to meet him.”

As soon as these words entered Wei Xiaobao's ears, it was as if a bucket of iced water was drenched over his head. The speaker was unexpectedly the Divine Dragon Cult's Cult Leader Hong. How could Hong Jiaozhu be over his head? And the Luocha woman in his bosom, how could she be so flirtatious and intimate? The number of unusual things he had seen in his life was indeed not small, but what he came into tonight in this tunnel was totally new and unthinkable. The woman in his bosom was like a warm, fragrant soft jade; the Hong Jiaozhu in his mind wanted to pull his tendon and peel his skin. In his terror, hastily he pushed away to woman in his bosom, he wanted to turn around and flee; who would have thought that the woman embraced him tightly, and did not want to let him go.

Wei Xiaobao was greatly anxious; he said in her ear, ”Jiligulu, xilihuala, hulihutu.” He only hoped that she would understand this made-up Luocha language. The woman let out soft laughter, twice, and said a few words in his ear; presumably she was speaking genuine Luocha language. And then she reached out to his cheek and twisted it hard.

Right this moment, a man overhead was speaking a string of gibberish foreign words. When he finished, another man said, ”Zongdu Daren said, Jiaozhu of Shen Long Jiao have honored us with your presence; he wishes to welcome you very much, yet did not come to greet you, it was very lacking in manners, hence he begs for Jiaozhu's forgiveness. Zongdu Daren wishes Hong Jiaozhuon a long life of a hundred years, great good fortune and great longevity, that everything will be according to your wishes, and wishes to be good friends with Hong Jiaozhu, to work with a common purpose, attempting the important matter together.”

Wei Xiaobao mused, ”This interpreter

[46] is uneducated; he changed the 'enjoy immortal good fortune forever, long life the same as the heaven's' into 'long life of a hundred years, great good fortune and great longevity'.”

He heard Hong Jiaozhu responded, ”Biren [humble one, referring to self] wishes Luocha Country Emperor ten thousand years of boundless longevity, wishes Zongdu Daren good fortune, long life, health and peace, and to rise in promotion soon. Biren will do my utmost wholeheartedly, to work with Luocha Country on a common goal, attempting the important matter together. From now on blessing will be enjoyed together, difficulty will be faced together, both sides will not renege on this oath forever.” The interpreter spoke for a moment, the Luocha Country governor-general responded with some continuous gibberish.

Wei Xiaobao asked the woman in a low voice, ”Who are you? Why aren't you wearing any clothes?”

The woman laughed in a low voice and said, ”Who are you? Why are you wearing some clothes?” While saying that, she reached out to untie Wei Xiaobao's undergarment.

In this kind of situation, how could Wei Xiaobao have the mood to do this kind of loose, merry-making shady business? He had heard Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen spoke Chinese; now he heard this Luocha woman spoke Chinese, he was not surprised. ”It is very dangerous in here,” he busily said, ”Let us get out quickly.”

The woman said in a low voice, ”Don't move! Don't move! You move, they hear.” Although she spoke Chinese, the tone was very stiff, it sounded very awkward. Thereupon Wei Xiaobao stayed still, he did not dare to make the slightest move.

He heard Cult Leader Hong and the Luocha Country governor-general discussing how as soon as Wu Sangui deployed his troops from Yunnan, Divine Dragon Cult and Luocha Country would attack Manchurian Qing from two sides. They laid out the plan, and sure enough, it was identical to the one explained by the Mongolian big beard Hantiemo. As the discussion progressed, Cult Leader Hong offered an idea, saying that if Luocha Country attacked from Liaodong, not only the distance was great, the route was tightly guarded by Qing troops. It would be better to take the sea route and land in Tianjian, and then go straight to Beijing with firearms and cannon; that way they might take over Beijing earlier compared to Wu Sangui. The governor-general was greatly delighted; he repeatedly praised it as wonderful plan, he said that Cult Leader Hong was so loyal that in the future he would definitely take control of several provinces of China, and would be established as 'king'. Cult Leader Hong did not stop expressing his thanks.

Wei Xiaobao was startled and angry at the same time; he thought, ”This fellow Hong Jiaozhu is also a big traitor to China, not the least bit different than Wu Sangui. His plan is very vicious, I must report to the young Emperor and have him install a lot of cannon at the Tianjin seaport. When the Luocha Country warships come to attack, 'bang, bang, bang, bang' we'll blast those damn ships.”

He heard Hong Jiaozhu said, ”Zongdu Daren has come from afar to China, we do not have anything good as a present to you; hereby we present a hundred Dadong [district, Liaoning] pearls, a hundred sheets of mink fur, and a hundred catties of ginseng to Zongdu Daren. Outside we also have tribute to be presented to Luocha Country Emperor.”

Listening to this point, Wei Xiaobao thought, ”Unexpectedly this old dog has prepared these many gifts; indeed his magical power is extensive.”

Suddenly he felt his face was warm, the woman put her cheek against his, and then he felt she reached out to grope about his body. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, ”You grope me, I won't be polite to you.” He also reached out to grope around her breasts. The woman suddenly let out a squeal, and broke into laughter.

This laughter was not soft, Hong Jiaozhu immediately heard it, but he thought that the governor-general hid a woman in his room, it was nothing out of ordinary; thereupon he pretended not to hear. After exchanging some pleasantries, he said that they would discuss everything in more details the next day, and then he took his leave.

Wei Xiaobao suddenly heard a racket above his head, followed by a dazzling light. Turned out he and the woman in his bosom were inside a large wooden trunk, and the trunk's lid had just been opened by someone.

The woman giggled tenderly, and then jumped out of the trunk. She took a robe to cover her own body, and then said to Wei Xiaobao with a laugh, ”Come out, come out!”

Wei Xiaobao slowly stepped out of the trunk. He saw a tall and powerfully built foreign military officer standing by the trunk with his hand pressed on the hilt of a saber hanging on his waist. The woman laughed and said, ”There is one more!”

Shuang'er originally wanted to hide inside the trunk, if Wei Xiaobao got into trouble, she would think of a way to rescue him, but since the woman had already called out, she had no choice but to jump out of the trunk as well.

Wei Xiaobao saw the woman's hair was yellow like gold, draped over her shoulder; her pair of dark green eyes looked very lively. Her skin was snow white, her appearance was very beautiful, it's just that her nose was a bit too high, and she was also half a head taller than he was. Wei Xiaobao had never seen a foreign woman before, he could not guess how old she was, but he presumed she must be around twenty.

The woman was looking at Wei Xiaobao with a grin on her face, she said, ”You, little child, groped me, scoundrel, hee hee …”

The governor-general's face looked calm and collected; he mumbled something in foreign language. The woman also mumbled something in reply. The governor-general's manner was very respectful, he bowed several times. The woman spoke several sentences, she pointed to Wei Xiaobao. The governor-general opened the door and summoned the Chinese interpreter back into the room. All the time the man and the woman did not stop talking to each other.

Wei Xiaobao noticed the room was furnished with quite a bit of fur, there were quite a few glittering female clothing spread on the couch. Looking at half-exposed woman's snow white, silky breasts, her sparkling and translucent calves and skin, he thought, ”I had this woman in my bosom just now, why did I only grope her carelessly and simply let it pass like that? I got a very good pair of cards in my hand, but forgot to make a kill. That Hong Jiaozhu has frightened me silly.”

He heard the interpreter said, ”The Princess and Zongdu Daren ask: who are you?”

Wei Xiaobao was surprised. ”She is the Princess?” he asked.

The interpreter replied, ”This is the Luocha Country Emperor's imperial elder sister, Her Highness Princess Sophia. This is His Excellency Governor General Galitzine. Quickly kneel down to pay your respect.”

Wei Xiaobao mused, ”Her Highness the Princess, how could she be so wild?” But he immediately recalled Kangxi's imperial younger sister Princess Jianning was also very wild, in fact, in term of wildness, she was not inferior to this Luocha Country Princess. All the emperors' imperial older sister or younger sister must be beautiful and wild, so this princess must be a genuine article. Thereupon with a giggle he bowed to pay his respect, saying, ”Your Highness the Princess, how are you? You are extremely beautiful, you look like a celestial fairy descending into the world. In our China, there has never been any woman as beautiful as you.”

Sophia knew several most shallow Chinese words; hearing Wei Xiaobao, she knew he was praising her beauty; immediately she beamed up and said, ”Little child, very good, must reward.” She went over to the desk, pulled a drawer, took a dozen or more gold coins, and put the coins in Wei Xiaobao's hand.

”Thank you very much,” Wei Xiaobao said. He held out his hand to receive the coins. Under the candlelight, he saw the Princess' five fingers were indeed like green jade; he could not stop himself from reaching out to grab her hand, and brought it to his mouth and kissed it.

The interpreter was greatly alarmed; ”Don't be rude!” he shouted. He did not know that the ritual of kissing one's hand was actually in general use in western foreign country, it was an expression of utmost respect to the ladies of nobility. Wei Xiaobao was acting without thinking, unexpectedly he did the right thing. Only he should have kissed the back of the lady's hand, but he was grabbing Princess Sophia's palm and sucked her fingers randomly, hence it appeared rather awkward. Sophia giggled tenderly, but surprisingly she did not pull her hand away.

”Little child,” Sophia asked with a laugh, ”What you do?”

Wei Xiaobao replied, ”Little child, go hunting.”

Suddenly from outside the door a loud and clear voice said, ”This little child is a high-ranking minister under China's Emperor, don't be deceived by him.” It was precisely Hong Jiaozhu's voice.

Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his soul had flown to the outer space; pulling Shuang'er's sleeve, he wanted to dash out of the door. But as soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Hong Jiaozhu was blocking his exit with arms spread open. Shuang'er leaped forward with a direct punch. Hong Jiaozhu parried with his left hand, while his right hand finger went toward Shuang'er's waist. Shuang'er groaned and fell to the ground.

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, ”Hong Jiaozhu, you, Senior, enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven's. Where is Madame? Has she also come?”

Hong Jiaozhu did not reply, his left hand grabbed the back of Wei Xiaobao's neck, and he brought Wei Xiaobao back inside. ”Reporting to Your Highness the Princess and Zongdu Daren,” he said, ”This person is called Wei Xiaobao, he is a high-ranking minister most trusted by the Chinese Emperor, he is the Fu Zongguan [deputy chief] of the Emperor's Imperial Bodyguards, personal guards' Dutong [commander], Imperial Envoy Minister, and was conferred the title First Class Viscount.”

Hong Jiaozhu said, ”Biren has the proof.” Turning his head around, he said, ”Bring this kid's clothes over.”

Wei Xiaobao saw Lu Gaoxuan entered in, carrying a bundle wrapped in cloth. When he opened it, surprisingly it was Wei Xiaobao's original hat, clothing and personal adornment. Wei Xiaobao was greatly amazed, ”How could these clothes end up in his hands? Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is indeed extensive.”

Hong Jiaozhu ordered Lu Gaoxuan, ”Put the clothes on him.” Lu Gaoxuan complied. He shook off the clothes and put them onto Wei Xiaobao.

These clothes, along with the yellow magua, were torn apart by the thistles and thorns of the forest, but put on Wei Xiaobao's body, obviously it was extremely well-fitting. The hat, with the peacock feather on it, obviously belonged to a high-ranking minister of the Qing court. If these clothes did not belong to Wei Xiaobao, it would be very difficult to find such a high-ranking official uniform in such a small size on the earth.

Wei Xiaobao giggled and said, ”Hong Jiaozhu, your ability is indeed not small; I threw those clothes along the way, but you picked them all up from the roadside along the way.”

Hong Jiaozhu ordered Lu Gaoxuan, ”Search his body, see if you can find anything.”

”No need to search me,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”I'll get everything out.” He pulled a big wad of banknotes from his pocket, the amount was staggering.

The governor-general had lived in Liaodong for a long time, he knew banknotes. Casually he flipped some, and was greatly amazed. He turned to the Princess and mumbled something, as if he was saying, ”This child indeed has some background, the money he brings is really a lot.”

Hong Jiaozhu said, ”This little demon is very crafty, search his body.”

Lu Gaoxuan searched Wei Xiaobao and took everything out of his pocket, including the secret order written in Kangxi's personal hand writing, which said, 'Imperial Envoy Minister, Deputy Commander Minister of the Internal Imperial Bodyguards, holder of concurrent office of the Commander of the Valiant Cavalry Brigade of the Manchuria Plain Yellow Banner, has been granted by the Emperor himself bravery title of Batulu, and the right to wear yellow magua, the Viscount First Class Wei Xiaobao, is ordered to go to Liaodong region on official business. The civil and military officials along the way are to wait for his instruction and render their assistance.' The top of this imperial edict bore the imperial seal.

The interpreter read the edict in Luocha language. When Princess Sophia and Governor General Galitzine heard it, they clucked their tongue in praise and amazement.

Hong Jiaozhu said, ”Reporting to Princess: Chinese Emperor is a young child, and loves to use young children as high-ranking officials. This little child loves to play games and joke around with the Chinese Emperor, he is good at patting the horse's buttocks, he is good at blowing the cowhide, the young Emperor likes him.”

Sophia did not understand 'patting the horse's buttocks' and 'blowing the cowhide'; after asking the interpreter, she giggled and said, ”I also like people patting the horse's buttocks and blowing the cowhide.” Wei Xiaobao was immediately delighted. But Hong Jiaozhu's countenance turned very unsightly.

Sophia asked further, ”Chinese young Emperor, how old?”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Chinese big Emperor, seventeen years old.”

Sophia laughed and said, ”Luocha big Tsar, is my little brother, is also a child, twenty years old, not a tou laozi

[47].”

Wei Xiaobao was startled. ”What tou laozi?” he mused, ”Ah, she spoke incorrectly, it must be laotouzi

[48] and she said tou laozi.” Thereupon he pointed at her and said, ”Luocha beautiful princess, not tou laozi, very good.” Pointing at himself, he said, ”Chinese high-ranking official, not tou laozi, very good!” Pointing at Hong Jiaozhu, he said, ”Chinese bad egg [scoundrel/], tou laozi, not good, not good!”

Sophia bent over with laughter. The Luocha Country governor-general was a young man of about thirty; he also laughed aloud. Hong Jiaozhu's countenance, however, turned iron-grey, he so wished to strike Wei Xiaobao dead with one palm.

Sophia asked, ”Chinese high-ranking official, come here, for what?”

Wei Xiaobao said, ”Chinese Emperor heard Luocha Country's high-ranking official is coming to Liaodong, he sent me to take a look. His Majesty knew Luocha Country Emperor is not a tou laozi, he knew Luocha Princess is a fairy descending to the world, he sent Xiaoren to present gifts, to give Princess and Zongdu Daren two hundred Dadong pearls, two hundred catties of ginseng. Unexpectedly en route we came across this big robber who took the gifts away …”

Wei Xiaobao had not finished speaking, Hong Jiaozhu was already unable to restrain his anger; raising his right palm, he chopped down at the top of Wei Xiaobao's head. When he was inside the trunk, Wei Xiaobao had heard Hong Jiaozhu was presenting not a few precious gifts to the governor-general, thereupon he doubled the amount, and said that it was a gift from the Emperor. When his mouth was busy talking, he paid full attention on Hong Jiaozhu. As soon as he saw he raised his palm, he immediately executed the qinggong 'Shen Xing Bai Bian' [divine line hundred changes] taught by Jiu Nan, and slipped away behind Princess Sophia.

'Crack, crash!' one wooden chair was destroyed by Hong Jiaozhu's palm strike. Galitzine was shocked; he pulled his short gun and pointed it at Hong Jiaozhu, ordering him not to move randomly.

Hong Jiaozhu anxiously said, ”No, no. This kid is very good at talking nonsense, Princess must never believe him.” He saw the Luocha governor-general was pointing the gun at him, although western firearm was formidable, but based on his martial art skill, he was not afraid. However, they were in the middle of conspiring on more important matter, he needed the Luocha Country's strong support, he must not offend the governor-general just because he could not control his anger. Thereupon he slowly withdrew toward the door without showing any sign of resistance.

Galitzine pulled back his gun and spoke several sentences. The interpreter said, ”Zongdu Daren is asking Hong Jiaozhu not to be angry. He knew this little child is spouting nonsense. Princess Sophia has come to the east in secret, it's impossible that the Chinese Emperor would find out about it. It is also improbable that the Chinese Emperor would give gifts to a Luocha Country Zongdu.”

Hong Jiaozhu's anger subsided; he smiled and said, ”Zongdu Daren is wise, you are able to see things clearly; indeed you would never fall under this kid's deceit.”

With a grin on her face, Princess Sophia was looking at Wei Xiaobao with great interest; apparently, the more Hong Jiaozhu said that Wei Xiaobao was unpardonably wicked, the more she was delighted.

Galitzine was deep in thought for half a day before asking, ”Chinese Emperor likes this little child very much?”

”That's right,” Hong Jiaozhu replied, ”Otherwise, he is this young, how could he hold a very high official position?”

”This little child must not be killed,” Galitzine said, ”Send a letter to Chinese Emperor, tell him to get a large quantity of gold, silver and jewels as an exchange if he wants him back.”

Wei Xiaobao took the wad of banknotes back and divided it into three packs. One pack he gave to Princess Sophia, the other pack he gave to Galitzine, from the third pack he took two banknotes worth a hundred taels each, and gave it to the interpreter, and then he put the rest into his own pocket.

Sophia, Galitzine and the interpreter were very happy. Sophia ordered the interpreter to count the money, she wanted to know how much in total, and then she ordered him to think of a way to send someone inside the Pass to exchange the banknotes into hard cash. Upon counting the banknotes, the total came to more than a hundred thousand taels; suddenly finding unexpected great wealth, they could not help but were ecstatic. She hugged Wei Xiaobao, and repeated kissed his cheeks left and right; she said, ”The money is enough, let the child go back!”

Wei Xiaobao thought that if he was let go this time, Hong Jiaozhu would definitely pull his tendon and peel his skin; thereupon he hastily said, ”Such a beautiful princess, I have never seen one. I want to see you for several more days.”

Sophia giggled tenderly; she said, ”We, tomorrow, return to Moscow.”

Wei Xiaobao had no idea what kind of place was this 'Moscow', he said, ”Beautiful Princess, go to Moscow, little child high-ranking official, also go to Moscow. Beautiful Princess, go to the moon in the sky, little child high-ranking official, also go to the moon in the sky.”

Seeing his wit, Sophia was very fascinated; she nodded and said, ”Very well, I take you to Moscow.”

Galitzine knitted his brows slightly; he was about to prevent her, but then he smiled and nodded. ”Very good,” he said, ”We will take you to Moscow.” And then he waved his hand toward Hong Jiaozhu.

Hong Jiaozhu did not have any choice but to take his leave. As he walked out the door, he glowered at Wei Xiaobao. Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue to him and made faces; he said, ”Hong Jiaozhu enjoys immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven's.” Hong Jiaozhu was extremely angry; he led Lu Gaoxuan and the others leave without saying anything.

Luocha Country Emperor was called the Tsar, that year he was twenty years old, his name was Fyodor the Third

[49]. Sophia was his older sister. This Fyodor III was born with disability, he was unable to move freely; day-to-day he handled the national affair from his bed.

Luocha's social custom was greatly different from China's propriety, the relationship between men and women was always casual. Sophia's natural disposition was unrestrained, plus she was beautiful; considerable number of princes and dukes, and high-ranking military officers were her lovers. Governor-general Galitzine was handsome and elegant, he was the Princess' favorite. He was sent to the East, to two fortified cities Nerchinsk and Yakesa, to attempt to enter and scout China's Mongolia and Liaodong. The city of Yakesa happened to be the place where the Manchurian Eight Banners' treasure was hidden. This place was the major crossroad where two great rivers converged; unexpectedly as if by prior agreement Manchu people and Luocha people picked this very same place.

By nature the Princess was very active and always wanted to have a good time, hearing that the East was mysterious and strange, plus she missed her lover, she went so far as to come after him, traveling tens of thousands li from Moscow to this remote place. Although Sophia liked Galitzine, she would never dream of being faithful and single-minded. That day she discovered the tunnel inside Galitzine's room, her interest was piqued, hence she went down to investigate. The tunnel went outside of Yakesa city, it was connected to the sentry post cabin; originally it was prepared by the governor-general as an escape route for fear that there was a rebellion in the city. When Sophia saw that guard, she spoke to him and teased him, and then fooled around with him.

At this time hearing that Wei Xiaobao wanted to go to Moscow with her, she thought that it was a fascinating idea, hence she decided to take him and Shuang'er along. Sophia had a team of two hundred Cossack soldiers as her escort; sometimes they rode horses, sometimes they sat on sleds, journeying westward every day on the boundless great snowy plain.

After traveling for more than twenty days, they had left Yakesa city very far behind, Hong Jiaozhu could not possibly catch up with them anymore. When Wei Xiaobao asked, to his surprise he learned that Moscow was still more than four months away; he could not help but was shocked. ”Isn't that at the ends of the earth?” he asked, ”Traveling for four more months, Chinese little child will turn into foreign tou laozi.”

”Do you want to go back to Beijing?” Sophia asked, ”Are you tired of looking at me?”

”Looking at beautiful princess for a thousand years, ten thousand years, I will never tire,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”But I am scared of a journey this far.”

Now that Sophia heard that he wanted to return to Beijing, she could not help but feeling somewhat reluctant to part with him. ”I won't allow you to go,” she said, ”You escort me to Moscow, accompany me for a year, then I let you go back.”

Wei Xiaobao groaned inwardly. After being together with her for the last several days, he knew that the Princess was resolute; if he did not follow her wish and decided to simply leave, most likely she would send the Cossack soldiers to kill him. Thereupon with smile across his face, he repeatedly said that he was utterly delighted.

That evening, he quietly discussed with Shuang'er whether they might have an opportunity to escape. Shuang'er said, ”Whatever Xianggong thinks is the best, I will follow your instruction.”

Wei Xiaobao turned his gaze toward the boundless snowy plain, and heaved a deep sigh. He shook his head, knowing that if the two of them run away without enough provision, even if Sophia did not send anybody to pursue them, they would definitely freeze or starve to death in this great snowy plain. Previously, in the forest and snowy plain of Liaodong, although it was desolate and frigid, they could still go hunting and look for food. This time, even small birds were barely seen; sometimes they travelled for a whole day without seeing a single track of animal footprints, let alone spotted any deer. Without any other choice, they had to follow Sophia to the west.

At first Wei Xiaobao was worried about the young Emperor, whether Wu Sangui had started the rebellion, whether that beautiful little girl Ah Ke was in Kunming or not; he also wondered where Hong Jiaozhu and Fang Yi had gone. But after traveling on the great snowy field for more than a month, even these thoughts had gradually faded away. In this world of ice and snow, it seemed like his brain had also frozen into ice. Luckily his natural disposition was cheerful and carefree without any worries; sometimes he spent time with Sophia telling nondescript Luocha jokes, sometimes he told Shuang'er some crazy tale that he invented himself, this way he did not feel too lonely.

One day they finally reached the outskirt of Moscow. By that time it was already the fourth month, the weather was getting warmer, ice and snow had already melted. He noticed that although Moscow city wall was solid, thick and gigantic, the construction was very crude. Looking far toward the city, he saw that the buildings inside were also filthy, simple and crude. Forget about comparing it to Beijing, Yangzhou or other big cities, even compared to Central Earth's small and medium-sized towns, it was still far inferior. Only several big cathedrals with domes and spires looked magnificent.

As soon as Wei Xiaobao saw all these, he held Luocha Country in contempt, ”Dog-fart Luocha Country, what's so great about it? In our China, this kind of place is only fit to raise cattle and raise pigs. Yet along the way this Princess has always been tooting her horn about the bustling city of Moscow.”

When they were still several dozen of li from Moscow, the Princess' guards had already galloped into the city to report. They heard the bugle, from the city a squad of soldiers carrying firearms came out on their horses. By nature Luocha people loved to invade and occupy, and annex their neighboring countries, as a result, their territory was vast, from east to west the distance was several tens of thousands li. The people were mixed. The nation's elite troops were Cossack cavalry; they charged to the east and fought to the west, besieging towns and seizing lands, subduing people of various races. The other one was firearm battalion, a brigade of sharp-shooters; they were the Tsar's personal guards who surround and protect the national capital.

When these gunmen

[50] galloped near, Sophia was shocked because she saw black feathers on the numerous officer and soldiers' hats and black cloth hanging from their guns. It was the sign of national mourning. Hastily she galloped her horse forward and asked loudly, ”What happened?”

The firearm brigade captain dismounted and stepped forward; he bowed and said, ”Reporting to Princess: His Majesty has suffered the misfortune of being summoned by God, and has left the country and its people to go to the Paradise.”

Sophia was deeply grieved; with tears in her eyes she asked, ”When was that?”

The captain said, ”If Princess were to arrive four days earlier, you would be able to bid farewell to His Majesty.”

Although Sophia was aware that her Tsar brother was weak and she knew that he would not live long, but suddenly receiving this terrible news, she was still unbearably grieved; she bent down on the saddle and cried bitterly.

Seeing the Princess suddenly cried, Wei Xiaobao asked the interpreter, and learned that the Luocha Country Emperor had passed away. He was inwardly delighted, ”Luocha Country Emperor did not enjoy immortal good fortune, the country must be chaotic for a period of time; it won't be easy for them to dispatch troops to attack China.”

Sophia and her retinue followed the captain entering the city; she wanted to go straight to the Palace. The captain said, ”Empress Dowager instructed me to ask the Princess to rest in the Hunting Palace outside the city.”

Sophia was both startled and angry. ”What Empress Dowager?” she shouted, ”Which Empress Dowager wants to deal with me?”

The captain waved his left hand, the gunmen raised their firearms and took aim at the guards escorting the Princess, telling them to surrender their swords and spears and ordering the guards to dismount.

The Princess angrily said, ”You want to rebel?”

The captain said, ”Empress Dowager is afraid that when Princess is back, you won't obey the new Emperor's imperial decree, thus she ordered Xiao Jiang [lowly general] to protect Princess.”

Sophia's face was bulging red. ”New Emperor?” she said angrily, ”Who is the new Emperor?”

The captain replied, ”New Emperor is His Majesty Pyotr the First.”

Sophia tossed her head backward and laughed aloud. ”Pyotr?” she said, ”Pyotr is a ten-year old little child, what kind of Tsar can he be? You said about Empress Dowager, are you talking about Natalya?”

”Precisely,” the captain replied.

Sophia's father, Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich married two empresses. The first empress gave birth to many sons and daughter, the former Emperor Fyodor the Third and Princess Sophia were her offspring, she had another little child names Ivan. The second empress Natalya was a lot younger, she only gave birth to one child, which was Pyotr.

Sophia said, ”Take me to the Palace, let me see Natalya to reason with her. My younger brother Ivan is older than Pyotr, why not set him up to be the Tsar? What about the cabinet ministers in the imperial court? Don't anybody talk reason anymore?”

The captain said, ”Xiao Jiang only follow Empress Dowager and Tsar's order, Princess please don't take any offense.” Finished speaking, he took the bridle of Sophia's horse and led it eastwards.

Sophia was seething in anger; in all her life, who dared to be this rude to her? Raising her horsewhip, she lashed it out on the captain's head. The captain simply smiled and moved sideways to evade. He jumped onto his own horse, and then led his troops to surround the Princess, along with Wei Xiaobao and Shuang'er, and took them to the Hunting Palace outside the city. The firearm brigade then set up a perimeter guard to prevent anybody from going out.

Sophia was crazy with rage; she trashed the furniture and whatever she could find in the bedroom. The Hunting Palace chef had already prepared food and beverage for her, it was also thrown onto the chef's face.

After several days like this, they saw the guarding outside the Hunting Palace was not the least bit relaxed. Sophia summoned the captain, she asked how long they would shut her off in this Palace. The captain said, ”Empress Dowager's order: Princess is to rest in here until His Majesty Pyotr the First celebrate his fiftieth year of ascending the throne. By that time Princess is going to be released to participate in the celebration.”

Sophia was furious, ”What did you say?” she asked, ”Pyotr celebrates his fiftieth anniversary of ascension, won't that mean I will be confined here for fifty years?”

The captain smiled and said, ”Xiao Jiang will turn forty this year, I believe I won't be able to serve the Princess for fifty years. In ten or fifteen years, there will be a younger captain who is going to take my place.”

Thinking that she would be confined in this place for fifty years, Sophia shivered all over although it was not cold. Forcing a laugh, she said, ”Come here Captain, I think you are exceptionally handsome.” She was thinking of enticing him by her beauty, let the captain grovel under her flowing skirt, and then in his confused state of mind he would let her go.

The captain bowed deeply and took a step back instead. He said, ”Princess please forgive me. Empress Dowager has issued an imperial decree: all the officers and men of the firearm brigade, whoever touches just one of Princess' fingers will be beheaded immediately. If the captain is killed, deputy captain will rise to take his place; if the deputy captain is killed, the first squad's platoon leader will rise to take his place. Everybody wants to get promoted, they are watching everybody else very closely.” Turned out the Empress Dowager had known for some time that the good-looking Sophia was a loose woman; if she did not issue this stipulation, perhaps they would not be able to lock her up.

After the captain withdrew, Sophia had no strategy left to try, she could only crouch on the bed and cry, while continuously hurling curses to Empress Dowager.

After being locked up in the Hunting Palace for many days, Wei Xiaobao saw that the Princess was throwing a temper tantrum every day, the musketeers who were guarding them were also very rude and cruel; he thought that it was only natural that a demon place like this would have demonic air. He talked it over with Shuang'er several times, they both felt that to escape from this Hunting was achievable; however, if they wanted to return to the Central Earth, it would be more difficult than difficult. If they had no one to guide them, they could be lost in the great prairie. Forget about riding on a carriage or on horseback for four to five month to reach Beijing, they would be confused and disoriented only after four or five days of travel, and would not know east from west or south from north. The two of them were at their wit's end. With nothing better to do, Wei Xiaobao spouted nonsense endlessly just to win Shuang'er's laughter and to ease the load in their minds.

One particular day he was telling the story of Tang Xuanzang leading Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie to the Western Paradise to fetch the Sutra. Wei Xiaobao said, ”I'll wager that the Western Paradise that Tang Xuanzang visited was not as far as Moscow. Therefore, I am more formidable than Tang Xuanzang. If you don't believe me, let's make a bet.”

Shuang'er had no interest in gambling at all; she said, ”If Xianggong says that you are more formidable than Tang Xuanzang, then so be it. I don't want to bet with you. I am not as formidable as Zhu Bajie.” While saying that, she pursed her lips and laughed.

Suddenly from the Princess' room they heard the noise of things thrown down, the rattling of the bed, the stomping of feet, and the sound of crying. Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, ”I'll go to console her; always crying and making noise, what's the use?” Going to the Princess' room, he said, ”Princess, don't cry. Let me tell you some jokes.”

Sophia was lying face down on the bed, her feet kicking randomly. ”I don't want to hear, I don't want to hear,” she said while crying, ”I want the Tsaritsa [English: tsarina or czarina] to go to hell, I want Tsaritsa Natalya to go to hell.”

Wei Xiaobao did not understand the meaning of 'Tsaritsa', upon inquiring, he learned that it means 'Tsar's Mama'; instantly he was very happy. ”I wonder what kind of evil person a Tsaritsa was, turns out she is the Empress Dowager,” he said, ”Let me tell you: Chinese Tsaritsa was called the old wh0re; she was also a greatly evil person. Later on I thought of a way to drive her out of the Palace. The Emperor was very happy, hence he made me high-ranking official.”

Sophia was greatly delighted; she turned around and sat up. ”How did you do that?” she asked.

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”I expelled the old wh0re just because she was the fake Empress Dowager. Your Luocha old wh0re is actually genuine goods at fair prices, the real Tsaritsa. Naturally my way won't work here.” He said, ”I was in cahoots with the young Emperor in dealing with Chinese Tsaritsa.”

Sophia knitted her brows, ”Pyotr loves his mama very much, he won't listen to me to fight against the Tsaritsa. If only … if only …” She shook her head, got out of bed, and paced back and forth barefooted on the carpet, while biting her lip in deep thinking.

Wei Xiaobao said, ”In China we had a female emperor, called Wu Zetian

[51]. This female emperor married many male empresses and male wives, she was very merry. Princess, I'll say you are more or less the same as she was, it would be better for you to be the female Tsar.”

Sophia's heart was moved. She had never thought about it, Luocha Country had never had female Tsar, she always thought that women could not be Tsar. If China has had female emperor, why can't Luocha Country have female Tsar? Ever since she was kept prisoner in the Hunting Palace, she was frightened and angry; her brain had never stopped churning, but she was only thinking about how to escape the Palace. Even if she had to go east to Yakesa and be with Governor-general Galitzine, it would be much better than being imprisoned by the Empress Dowager in this place. Hearing Wei Xiaobao bringing up 'female Tsar' just now, it was as if a new heaven and earth had just appeared before her eyes.

She turned around, with sparkle in her eyes she placed her hands on Wei Xiaobao's shoulders, planted a light kiss on his left cheek, and said with a smile, ”If I become a female Tsar, I will make you my empress.”

Wei Xiaobao's heart jumped in fright; he thought, ”This absolutely must not happen.” He said hastily, ”I, Chinese, cannot be Luocha Country's male empress; you can make me high-ranking official.”

Sophia said, ”You can be the empress and high-ranking official at the same time.”

Wei Xiaobao thought, ”You don't even know if presently your life can be guaranteed, yet you are exhausting your delight by making me the empress and high-ranking official at the same time.”

Sophia said, ”Quickly think of a way to make me female Tsar.”

Wei Xiaobao frowned; speaking about important military or national matters, his knowledge and experience was indeed very shallow. Undoubtedly compared to Kangxi it was like the difference between the heaven and the earth; but compared to Chen Jinnan, Songgotu, Wu Sangui, and the others he was still far too inferior. ”Princess,” he said, ”This matter is very difficult, I cannot think of anything. Let me go back to Beijing immediately, and ask our young Emperor, let him come up with an idea. And then I will come back here with a group of highly skilled people to catch that Tsaritsa Luocha old wh0re, and catch young Tsar Pyotr; it will be a great success.” When he spoke about 'great success', four characters [da gong gao cheng], he could not stop himself from embracing Sophia and kissing her.

”Oh,” Sophia exclaimed, ”That won't do! That won't do! You return to Beijing and come back to Moscow, a year won't be enough. I will be dead by then, go to Paradise.”

Wei Xiaobao thought she was right; he sighed and said, ”Beautiful Princess, go to Paradise, Chinese little child high-ranking official, also go to Paradise.”

Sophia pushed him back gently, she said, ”Chinese little child, know how to speak and deceive people. Joyous roar of the crowd, useless. Pat … pat cow's buttocks, blow horse's skin.”

Hearing her saying 'pat horse's buttocks, blow cow's skin' [both idioms mean 'to flatter' or 'boot-licking'] backward, Wei Xiaobao could not help but roared in laughter. But then he saw the despising look on her eyes, obviously she was looking down on him; he was enraged. He pondered hard, ”How can I make her a female Tsar? How did Wu Zetian become female emperor? There is no harm in us in Luocha Country to leave our mark in history [orig. make a stamp on the board]. Too bad it's too far away from Beijing, there's no way for me to ask young Emperor or Suo Dage.”

Wei Xiaobao's literary knowledge came from, one, listening to the storytellers, two, watching the opera. Ever since he became a high-ranking official, he did not listen to the storytellers too much anymore, although he had watched operas more. However, he had never heard or watched the tale on how Wu Zetian became a female emperor.