东宫 Eastern Palace: Not Believing People's Hair Could Turn White (Part 3)

The spectators at the bottom were already cheering nonstop, the Siamese kept on swaying until he reached the end of the rope, taking out a snow white kitten from their arms and placing it on the pillar.

The kitten was the size of a palm, but it was frightened by the height that the kitten kept on meowing, shaking as it squatted on the pillar.

At this time, the Siamese began to speak. As he spoke, someone nearby translated it aloud in Western Liang language. It turns out that the Siamese wanted to walk on the rope while swinging the bucket of water, and that the water would not spill out of the bucket.

All of the spectators gasped in shock, the Siamese started to gently shake the bucket, which was already filled with water, he continued to speak, the person next to him shouted: Not only that, but he's going to put the kitten in the bucket in the last round......

Listening up to here, the Princess couldn't help but jump up, said: "The bucket is filled with so much water, the kitten will drown!"

The Siamese proudly placed down the bucket of water. He grabbed the kitten with one hand to let everyone see that it was a lively kitten, which had two eyes of different colour, with one eye blue while the other eye was green, a pair of different coloured eyes. This type of kitten comes from the Siam, very valuable.

The Siamese spoke saying that if someone was willing to come up and compete against him in ropewalking, if that person grabs the kitten first, then they will give away a hundred gold, but if the kitten drowns first, then he will win one gold.

Hearing this, everyone got into a state of uproar, even merchants that come to Western Liang to do business could not earn that much gold.

As the saying goes, there will always be a brave man under a heavy prize. Even if you might win a hundred gold, you only have to pay one gold if you lose. Several people were eager to try, but the rope was tied in midair and it seemed so high and thin, which made people feel a bit intimidated. The princess was so anxious that she was not so anxious about the gold, but was afraid that the kitten will be drowned to death. She shouted: "Don't bet on this kitten, I'll give you ten gold, you can compete on other things!" 

Even though this kitten was especially rare and valuable, but it was not worth ten gold. The Siamese saw that she was anxious, but he refused only saying that he would not sell it as the kitten was used for gambling, intentionally trying to get more money from her. He grabbed the kitten in his hand, intentionally showing her the kitten that was struggling in his grasp, while shaking his head to express that he did not want to sell it but only use it for gambling purposes.

The Princess was so anxious that she stomped her feet. As she was about to take her shoes off to compete with the Siamese, suddenly a man could be seen climbing up on the rope. It was the tea merchant, Gu Xiao Wu.

The Ninth Princess opened her eyes wide, only seeing Gu Xiao Wu standing unsteadily on the rope, the spectators couldn't help but hold their breaths. He took two steps on the rope and swayed a bit, suddenly his body leaned backwards as if he was about to fall, and the Princess screamed along with the spectators. He had caught the rope with his toes, which turned out to be an upside down hook move, he lifted the two buckets of water that was on the ground, the moment he twisted his body, the rope twisted as well, he then stood on the rope again, carrying two buckets of water.

The Siamese saw his moves, and knowing that he was confronted by a skillful enemy, he placed the kitten on top of the pillar that was at the end of the rope, holding two buckets of water and standing in front of him to stop him.

The two people on the rope walked back and forth, trying to kick each other off the rope, and the Siamese swung the buckets of water in his hand, almost hitting Li Cheng Yin several times. The crowd was crying out in shock, and the Princess was also very worried.

This Siamese specialized in tightrope walking, so naturally he has this kind of ability. When he saw Li Cheng Yin who was as stable as a rock, he couldn't see any of his flaws in the long struggle, he failed to kick him off the rope several times. He was worried that he would actually lose a hundred gold today, so he impatiently used his last trick. He was carrying two buckets of water, suddenly he bent his legs, jumping up into the sky from the rope, turned back to the sky with a somersault, the rope also bounced high because of the jump, the Siamese wanted to scoop the kitten from the pillar with his bucket and drown it as soon as it enters the bucket.

At this time, Gu Xiao Wu jumped up into the air with his toes. He soared into the sky, flew across the Siamese who was doing the somersault, and landed standing in front of him. The bucket went flying in midair, he grabbed the kitten and the kitten meowed, the bucket was about to fall, he took the kitten into his arms, while also grabbing the bucket that was about to fall, unexpectedly not a single drop of water was spilled.

The crowd below were stunned at first, but then they clapped their hands and cheered, someone also climbed on the roof and blew the horn. When the Ninth Princess saw that he had caught the kitten, she jumped up and shouted his name: "Gu Xiao Wu! Gu Xiao Wu! Gu Xiao Wu....."

When the Siamese saw that he had caught the kitten, he felt sad. He loosen his grip and the buckets fell to the ground. Water was splashed all over the place. The crowd below were unable to dodge, so water was splashed on them, they couldn't help but shout and scold.

Li Cheng Yin climbed down from the rope. Some people in the crowd recognized him as Gu Xiao Wu, a tea merchant from the Central Plains, and surrounded him to congratulate him on winning a hundred gold. He looked back and saw the Ninth Princess standing there.

When the Ninth Princess saw that he had saved the kitten, she was so happy that her face was filled with a smile. But she suddenly remembered A'Ba, so she angrily turned her head to look away, pretending to not see him.

Li Cheng Yin took out the kitten from his arms, which was the size of a palm, with snow white fur, a pair of different coloured eyes, and an indescribable cuteness. The Ninth Princess couldn't help but look at Li Cheng Yin, who smiled at her and raised his hand to hand over the kitten to her: "I'll give it to you."

The Ninth Princess cheered, gently reached out her hands to grab the kitten. The kitten softly meowed, sticking out its little pink tongue and licking her fingers. She immediately laughed with joy: "It licked me! It actually licked me! Very itchy......"

Li Cheng Yin said: "You can't be angry anymore, and if you do, then I won't give you the kitten."

The Ninth Princess twitched her mouth, said: "You won a hundred gold, so rich, but you are still so stingy!"

Li Cheng Yin laughed. The Siamese person had already disappeared within the crowd, don't mention a hundred gold, not even one gold was left behind.

The Princess was holding onto the kitten, not caring about whether or not there was a hundred gold, just happily walking with Li Cheng Yin back to the warehouse. She didn't come here for the past few days, the two gerbils fed by Li Cheng Yin were getting fatter. The Ninth Princess was holding the cage: "A'Ba, A'Xia, look, you have a new friend."

When the two gerbils saw the kitten, even if it was just a kitten, the gerbils were so scared that they almost fainted. The Princess talked to the gerbils: "A’Xia how come you have no courage, also A’Ba, umm you look like A’Ba so I will just call you A’Ba.......” Speaking up to here, her tone of voice was somewhat disappointed. She played with that gerbil, one hand pinching its cheeks, the other hand using a finger to gently poke at the soft plump belly of the new A’Ba.

Li Cheng Yin knew that she was still upset as she was thinking of the old A’Ba, so he talked about something else: "Give the kitten a name."

The Ninth Princess thought about it, and then said: "The fur is so white, so we should name it Xue Hua [1]! No, your name is Xiao Wu, my name is Xiao Feng, so it should actually be named Xiao Xue! That’s it, it will be named Xiao Xue!"

Xiao Xue was mischievous, everyday the two gerbils were frightened. Although they still eat a lot of broad beans, the two gerbils gradually slimmed down because they would always be chased by Xiao Xue. However Xiao Xue was still a very small kitten, it was just catching up to the gerbils to play with them. Gradually, the two gerbils did not fear Xiao Xue anymore, reaching out their claws from behind the cage to grab Xiao Xue, playing together.

The Ninth Princess likes Xiao Xue very much, carrying it with her wherever she goes. The two gerbils got used to staying in the warehouse, so they stayed there. This time Gu Xiao Wu had experience raising gerbils, so the gerbils were well taken care of, both gerbils were good looking and have very smooth skin. The Princess would come over everyday to play with them, sometimes the two would ride their horses outside the city, other times they would drink wine with a group of merchants, and even compete in riding camels.....

These days were spent very happily.

Li Cheng Yin grew up in the palace. As a child, he had always walked on thin ice every day, every step that he takes, he must consider the next few steps carefully. He has never been so reckless before, every day acting willfully. Spending time with her, he felt relaxed and carefree, like a child in the world, who doesn't need to work busily and exhaust oneself. He hopes that these days will last longer, if the days were longer, even the Central Plains, Celestial Empire, and the Eastern Palace would be forgotten for a while.

The Ninth Princess did not like when the Mohu sent people to Western Liang to propose marriage, that night she snuck out from the palace to see A'Ba and A'Xia. 

Li Cheng Yin was already used to her coming over. When he saw that she stood there alone at the table, he approached quietly from behind, only wanted to cover her eyes with his hands to frighten her. But just as he was about to do so, suddenly he heard her sigh, so he stopped.

The Princess was disappointed, said to A'Ba and A'Xia: "What should I do? I don't want to marry the Mohu king, an old man with a white beard who is older than my father." She pouted, "I also don't want to marry the Crown Prince from the Celestial Empire. I heard that men from the Celestial Empire cannot draw their bows, they only know how to read and write.......Marrying a husband who can't even draw bows is quite unfortunate......"

She was talking when suddenly someone from behind said: "You really want to marry someone that much?"

When she turned around and saw that it was Gu Xiao Wu, she was angry and said: "Yeah, I really want to get married!"

Li Cheng Yin teased her: "Since you are going to get married, give me back Xiao Xue. This is my cat, not your dowry."

The Ninth Princess was angry and annoyed, said: "Even if I am going to marry someone, I would not be separated from Xiao Xue! Xiao Feng and Xiao Xue will not be separated."

She felt very wronged, turned around to leave when she finished talking.

She walked far away on the street. When she turned to look back, there was just an empty street market, only the moonlight that reflected her stretched shadow could be seen. Even the warehouse was completely dark, so he must have put out the lights, and went to bed.

Feeling sad, she held Xiao Xue in her arms, and left without looking back again.

Even she doesn't understand why she felt so wronged. It must be because every time they argue, Gu Xiao Wu wouldn’t give way for her, but not only that, he also wouldn’t coax her. If he chased after her when she had left, she would probably marry him, anyway it would be better to marry him than to marry the Mohu King or the Crown Prince of the Central Plains.

She stomped her foot, a little annoyed as to why she was thinking about these things, she doesn’t want to marry Gu Xiao Wu!

Feeling deeply hurt, she decided to escape from this marriage and go to Jieshuo, only her grandfather loves her the most.

She packed her bags, bringing Xiao Xue with her to escape this marriage.

Pei Zhao had his people watch over the Ninth Princess, her every move could be seen clearly, not to mention also knowing such a big matter such as her leaving the Imperial City to escape the marriage. Therefore, he divided his people into two groups, one of the groups will quietly follow the Princess, while the other group would return to report back to Pei Zhao. After Pei Zhao heard about this matter, he did not speak for a while, but in the end only waved his hand telling the people there to retreat.

He went to see Li Cheng Yin alone. After Li Cheng Yin heard about the Ninth Princess escaping from the marriage, he wasn’t in a hurry, instead he just said: “Is there any backup? I’ll just chase after her later.”

Pei Zhao couldn’t help but said: "The Princess didn’t bring anything, just brought dry food, water, and that kitten."

Li Cheng Yin laughed: "She’s escaping from a marriage, but why is she also bringing Xiao Xue with her?”

After saying this, he stared blankly because he suddenly remembered that the night before yesterday, he asked her if she wanted to marry the Mohu King, but after that the Ninth Princess suddenly became very unhappy and said: "Xiao Feng and Xiao Xue will not separate."

When she finished talking, she turned around and left.

Because she often makes such a fuss, he didn’t pay much attention, just thought that she’s a naughty princess throwing a tantrum. However when she said those words, she seemed very angry.

Pei Zhao already noticed something strange, seeing his worried expression, he called out: "Your Highness."

Li Cheng Yin said: "Such a childish temper."

He got up and took the sword: "Prepare the horse, I'll go after her. If we wait longer she would be too far away, and we wouldn’t be able to catch up to her."

But Pei Zhao suddenly reached out his hand to hold down the sword on the table and said: "Your Highness, have you thought this through? Are we going to proceed?"

He said each word with a pause, the candle on the table flickered slightly, blurring Li Cheng Yin’s expression. He didn't make a sound, but Pei Zhao knew he understood what he meant, so he slowly repeated it again: "Your Highness, have you thought this through?"

Li Cheng Yin didn’t speak, picked up the sword on the table and left alone.

Notes:

[1] 雪花 Xue Hua - This means snowflake.

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