十年一品温如言 A Heartwarming Decade: Chapter 2 A Basin of Water Appeared Unexpectedly

Ah Heng's eyes seemed to have a burning sensation when she saw Yan Xi for the first time.

Before coming to B city, everything related to the prosperity of the city was enclosed in the most precious black box of my home. With the irregular onset of the rainy season, the clear and sweet female voice brought warmth within the weather.

She often sat on the bamboo stool in front of the medicine stove while holding a palm-leaf fan. Yun Zai was lying down on the wooden bed not far away. His pupils were as clear and beautiful as the glass balls she played with when she was a child. His eyelashes fluttered as he blinked and gently asked her: "Sister, today's medicine is not bitter, right?"

She held onto the palm-leaf fan, slowing down her movements. She sniffed the strong medicine. She didn't know what to say, not daring to turn around, she hesitated before opening her mouth to vaguely respond: "En.....Not bitter......."

"Sister, since you said it's not bitter, then I believe you." Yun Zai smiled, looked at her with eyes that were full of smiles, his thin face added a bit of vividness.

So, when she fed Yun Zai the warm medicine, her eyes were not willing to look at him.

She was not good, whenever she encounters problems that cannot be solved, she would often choose to escape.

Then, when she left home and was taken to another home, she intuitively ignored the farewell.

From the south to the north, from poor to rich, Wen Heng refused this transition. A better way to describe it, "mild in nature, accepting circumstances with goodwill"; an unpleasant way to describe it, it's inevitable to be "cold, selfish and ruthless."

People in town could not understand, they said that Yun Heng has lived in the Yun family for 16 years, calling them father and mother with sincerity, without a trace of affectation. Now that she has her biological parents, how could she forget about the parents who have raised her?

The daughter-in-law of the chief, who opened a tea shop, raised her eyebrows and scoffed with a smile: "It's a pity that the Yun family has only one broken medicine stove and two outdoor rooms. If her adoptive father lives in the official residence, no matter if there was a sick person living there, and if they were raising a nest of big insects, do you think that girl would stay or leave?!"

This was precisely what happened, Ah Heng's biological family lives in the official residence located in B city. They were senior officials that could cause their small town to collapse by just stamping their feet!

Naturally, Ah Heng couldn't hear these words. At that time, she was clenching her teeth and staring at the car window. She was afraid that she would vomit and ruin this expensive car!

Feeling dizzy, not knowing how much time have passed, the sceneries flew past in front of her eyes nonstop. Ah Heng's mind was blank, her sight was fixed on the clear neon light. The violent sound of wind filled her ears, making her feel very dizzy.

Once those sounds disappeared, the moment she opened her eyes, the car door slowly opened, and the slightly curved long knuckles appeared in front of her with a breath of summer.

Ah Heng admitted that at the time, she had unspeakable expectations when she saw that pair of hands. Later when she thought back on this, she felt like she may perhaps have a bird-like complex[1].

"Welcome, Yun Heng."

"I am Wen Si Wan," the young boy pronounced “Wen” with a clear voice. "Grandfather asked me to take you back."

Wen Si Wan.......Si Wan.....

Ah Heng pronounced his name silently, she remembered when Secretary Li picked her up from the small town, he had told her that the Wen family has a young boy, who is her biological older brother.

She raised her head slightly, looked at his eyes carefully, and then, perceiving something, she looked away quietly and lowered her head slightly in confusion.

Wen Si Wan smiled, when she felt shy, he did not notice. Waving his hand, Si Wan politely said goodbye to his grandfather's secretary and took over the suitcase in Ah Heng’s hand.

Ah Heng looked at Si Wan, at his straight back, not far or close from her, from an arm's length distance.

Being in a city for the first time, children from remote areas are naive in nature, always having some strange sensitivity. She can tell that Si Wan had ill-feelings toward her which she had chosen to ignore, a clear rejection all hidden in his eyes, making her feel awkward.

Palpitating with fear for a short moment, she couldn’t help but breathe in a big mouthful of air, but she still felt depressed.

Following the pace of Si Wan, her eyes slowly wandered to the so-called “official residence.”

Independent white buildings were arranged on both sides of the flat and wide road, giving a bright and clean feeling. It was not filled with gold and silver as she had imagined, but it was luxurious to the point that it exposes people’s desires.

As it was the summer, there were plentiful of trees, and several villas were hidden in the shade.

When Si Wan walked on the stone path, his silhouette was slowly being covered by the big trees. Ah Heng was still in a daze, when she finally returned to her senses, she had lost sight of him.

She froze in place, looking at the forked stone road, not knowing whether to go left or right.

Fortunately this child was gentle by nature, and was not impatient. She believed that once Si Wan could not find her, he would naturally return to the original path. No matter how bad it was, you can always meet people and ask for directions. Wen Mu Xin, grandfather’s name, which Secretary Li had definitely told her.

At dusk, the beautiful white building behind the tree reflected the side of Yun Heng.

Subconsciously, she raised her face and squinted her burning eyes at the setting sun. Followed by the cool and refreshing tree shade, she saw a window dyed in gold colour.

By the window, there was a figure.

His hands were beautiful, his violin was beautiful, echoing a very sharp sound.

His eyes were very big and proud.

As far as the eyes can see, his vision did not have her.

This was the first time she had seen this person, her heart was beating like a drum.

It was just a faint figure, but she could not look away. As if she had been bewitched, she could only stay in place with the posture of looking up, staring through the tree crack with a delicate and nervous mood.

A handsome gentleman there, quietly standing by the window, that memory would stay in her mind forever. However at that moment, it was just a silhouette.

Afterwards, she would often think about him, the ten years they had experienced together. Most of the time, it was her secretly admiring him. Bitter, sweet, it was him who froze those times, however, those times have nothing to do with him.

The sunshine reflected on her braids, Ah Heng raised her head and smiled.

Before she could hear the sound of the violin, but afterwards it was complete silence, she could only hear her own breathing. Slowly, it was as if she was pushed into water by someone. Drowning, losing consciousness, unable to revive.

She didn't know when Si Wan had returned to her side, hands raised and shaped in the form of a loudspeaker, yelling at the window: "Ah Xi, how can you destroy people's ears again? It's the wrong tune!"

Yun Heng was frightened by Si Wan, once again looking up, the figure had disappeared, leaving only the empty window.

Before she could react, in an instant, the window screen was half opened. In the blink of an eye, a basin of water was poured on Si Wan's body, very accurately and without a single drop of water wasted.

Then, the white pair of hands quickly took back the pink plastic basin. With a bang, he shut the windows and pulled the curtains, as if he was exorcising ghosts in one go.

This year was 1998.

Ah Heng could not escape this destined fate. At the age of 15, she finally met Yan Xi.

Many years later, someone asked her: "Ah Heng, be honest, did you fall in love with this beauty at that time?" Ah Heng smiles and said: "How could that be possible?"

At that time, she was young and foolish, she didn't have any other thoughts. She just thought the citizens in the capital were very different. Even his posture when he poured water was especially aggressive, especially..........good looking.....

Notes:

[1]雏鸟情结 Bird-like complex- Chicks and other animals would imitate the actions of the first animal they see and would treat that animal as their mother. For humans, when they see the first important person of opposite gender, they would automatically have good feelings towards them. 

<Chapter 1                                                                                                                   Chapter 3>

东宫 Eastern Palace: The Flowers in the Pavilion Resembles the Snow Under the Moonlight (Part 3)

What a shame to be an unfaithful, unfilial, and unjust person.

I protect a wounded soldier, pulling out the knife beside him, maybe this golden knife can’t hold up the stone beam at all, but when it collapses, it could makes people suffer less.

I said: "Don’t be afraid.”

The wounded soldier nodded, his eyes were full of tears, calling out to me: “General." 

On the verge of desperation, enduring one more moment was still a moment.

The stone beam shook again, making a terrible muffled sound, but it did not collapse.

The falling rocks outside gradually reduced, I did not know how much time have passed before I could no longer hear the sound of falling rocks.

The landslide was finally over.

Everyone climbed out of the stone beam with fear, and found that several huge rocks were on top of the stone beam. The whole stone beam was on the verge of collapsing.

The snowy wind had stopped long ago, and a crescent moon was hanging in the lower part of the sky.

Suddenly someone couldn’t help but exclaim: "Lake! Holy lake!”

I walked around the huge rocks and was stunned. 

Out of thin air, the rapid flowing river in the valley disappeared, revealing the riverbed. Not far away, it was a calm lake. 

The jade coloured lake under the moonlight, looked like a smooth crystal plate. 

Everyone did not dare to speak, fearing that they would make the mountain god angry again. 

The stone beam was about to collapse, it was not suitable to stay here any longer. I took the whole group of people further down around the lake. 

After the landslide, the pathway was much more difficult to walk. This time, more and more horses were injured. The remaining people were all injured, and everyone was feeling dejected. 

Everyone walked quietly through the valley until they found a gentle slope and camped by the lake.

Everyone was sleepy and tired, I had personally guarded the place at night. When it was almost dawn, I switched shifts with another soldier.

I fell asleep on the felt blanket as soon as I laid down.

After dawn, everyone ate some of the dry food and then packed up camp.

After some time had passed, at noon, the sun finally shone into the valley, but there was no warmth.

Even I couldn't think of a way to encourage everyone.

A lot of the dry food has been lost in the landslide, with only a few days of dry food left. If we do not leave the valley, I am afraid we will be in a desperate situation.

I don't know whether my obsession was right or wrong.

Suddenly the person in front called out: "People! General! There are people in the lake!"

I looked up, the lake was full of rocks, there was a huge rock like a screen floating in the water. The rock seemed to have something hidden, but the lake reflected the sunlight, sparkling, it was difficult to see clearly within this light. 

I got off the horse, not caring about anything else, just rushed into the lake. 

The water soon reached my waist.

I took a few more steps forward into the water. 

It was really people, it was them!
 

The Crown Prince and the Ninth Princess were pushed onto the huge rock by the water, most of their bodies were submerged in the water. His Highness had tightly tied his hand and the Ninth Princess’s hand together with a belt.

What was I thinking at that time?

The heavens must have pitied us!

Finally I was able to find them!

I reached out my hand, my finger was trembling. Everyone was watching me, I prayed in my heart, although I didn't know what I was praying for.

Both of them were still alive!

Just that their breathing was weak. 

I exhaled in one breath. My body couldn't help but tremble a bit, almost falling into the water.

It was not until a long time later that I remembered when I reached out my hand to see if they were still breathing, I actually reached out to the Princess first.

What was I thinking at that time?

Maybe I was thinking that if the Princess died, even if the Crown Prince survived, he would not be able to live any longer.

Seemed like a miracle.

The river of forgetfulness, to forget a love.

After the two of them woke up, I really did not expect that they would forget the past.

Ever since the Princess became the Crown Princess, she was always unhappy, wanting to go back to Western Liang.

But she didn't know that she would never be able to return to Western Liang.

She wasn't always unhappy, but sometimes when she seems sad, I would feel a bit worried.

The Crown Prince had invited me to have some wine. He mentioned about the young princesses and asked me which one I liked.

I casually said: "Anyone would be fine."

Anyways I will have to get married, marrying which princess does not make a difference.

His Highness glanced at me, suddenly said: "This is a very important matter in life, you don’t want to choose?”

I smiled as I drank the wine: "It was always the princesses that would choose their husbands. Was there ever a subject who could choose between the princesses? Your Highness, don’t make things difficult for me."

His Highness said: "Is there someone in your heart?"

I glanced at his Highness, who laughed: "See, whenever I guess your thoughts, I would always get it right."

His Highness teased me, but seeing I did not respond, he stopped talking about it. 

I returned to my residence.

During dusk, it started to rain. The branches and leaves of the parasol tree within the courtyard had flourished, reflecting a dark shadow in the room.

Xiao Xue meowed as it came inside.

I bent down to pick it up.

I scratched its neck with my fingers.

There was a small golden bell wrapped around its neck, making a small sound.

I remembered the first time when I saw the cat a long time ago.

At that time, the Crown Princess was still the Ninth Princess of Western Liang. She happily showed me the cat and said: "Look, Gu Xiao Wu won it for me! It's called Xiao Xue!”

At that time, Xiao Xue was only the size of a fist. When she held it, one person and a cat, like a round ball of fluff.

She would often wear a golden chain with a golden bells around her ankle. As soon as she moves, it would make a sharp sound. This time when she moved, one of the bells fell off and rolled to the side of my boots.

I picked it up for her.

She grabbed it with a smile and said: "Ah, right! You don't have to find a goldsmith to fix it for me.” As she said this, she untied her hair band and put it through the golden bell, then she tied it around Xiao Xue’s neck.

Xiao Xue was not used to wearing it, constantly using its claws to scratch the golden bell, the Princess caught Xiao Xue’s claws, not allowing it to scratch the bell, asked me: "Where is Gu Xiao Wu?"

I said: "Upstairs."

The Princess was still holding the cat’s claws, holding the cat while climbing up the ladder to find his Highness on the rooftop.

The golden bells around her ankle sounded as she moved. I could hear her singing.

It was not the song that she usually sings, the song was:"A’Gua went to the riverside to hunt for wolves. The fox came instead of the wolf. When the fox came, it was very sad....A’Gua was very sad....."

Western Liang people call their older brothers as A’Gua, but it also means lover. She only sang these two lines of the song. I heard his Highness’s voice from the rooftop, asked: "Who is singing this terrible song? Is it Xiao Feng?"

"It's me!"

She stood on the ladder with a smile, happily lifting up the cat: "Look, Xiao Xue is wearing a bell."

Half of her body was already out on the rooftop.

I couldn't see her face, but I knew she must be very happy.

I never heard her sing that song again.

Until the end of my life.

Translator's note: I know many viewers of the drama adaptation questioned whether Pei Zhao like Xiao Feng or not, but the answer to that question is pretty evident in this side story, especially this part of the side story.

Off topic, but if any of you were interested in reading Heartwarming Decade, I did upload the first chapter of it which can be found on the translations page. Also we were planning to upload the final side story in November, because we are getting busy with work and trying to finish our courses.

<Side Story 4 Part 2                                                                                      Side Story 5 Part 1>

东宫 Eastern Palace: The Flowers in the Pavilion Resembles the Snow Under the Moonlight (Part 2)

I said: "You can stay by the Princess's side, but from now on, you should regard her as your master and keep your mouth shut. You must not tell the Princess anything about the Jie Shuo clan, especially the things that happened in the past. If you do, I will kill you immediately and take the Princess's life as well." 

The moonlight reflected on her face, she revealed a faint smile, I suddenly remembered that she had no tongue. 

Naturally, she would not let the Princess know. 

Seeing that I understood, she nodded slowly, as a promise. 

Jie Shuo people emphasize on the importance of promises. The feng nu was very loyal, she promised to regard the Princess as her master, naturally she would never betray. 

I don't know where the feng nu had found these herbs. Under her care, the Princess's condition finally became better, gradually recovering her senses and could recognize people. 

The Princess was very grateful to me for allowing the feng nu to stay. After her illness gradually recovered and she could walk around, she especially came here to thank me. 

I said: "It was the Crown Prince who had ordered me to take care of Princess. If Princess wants to thank someone, then you should thank his Highness." 

The Princess was very serious, wanting to thank the Crown Prince, but she was denied entrance. 

The Crown Prince seemed to hate her more than ever. 

"A barbarian woman from Western Liang." He said, "She's ugly, but still have a lover, Ah Zhao..." 

I didn't know what he was going to say, so I looked at him with a smile. 

He choked, but then said: "Besides, I have the twelfth daughter of the Zhao family." 

The twelfth daughter of the Zhao family, that was another hidden worry, but at this moment, I could only say: "The Princess of Western Liang is still young, so maybe she does not know what is affection. Your Highness doesn't have to worry about this."

The Crown Prince did not seem to care.

In the eyes of everyone, the Princess was just a cover. 

When the Princess was given the title of Crown Princess, the twelfth daughter of the Zhao family had also entered the Eastern Palace and was given the title of Liang di. 

It felt like autumn had come again soon after spring ended, the days had gone by just like that. 

The Crown Prince treated the Crown Princess indifferently, so naturally was not good. Occasionally, he would quarrel with the Crown Princess because of Zhao Liang Di. 

The people within the Eastern Palace were not getting along, which gave the Empress countless excuses to interfere with the affairs of the Eastern Palace.
 

His Highness naturally knew about this, but the Eastern Palace itself was like a sieve that was leaking. No one in the world knew about the past fate between him and the Crown Princess, even the Crown Prince himself and the Crown Princess have forgotten all about the past, it was just me having this hidden worry in my heart. 

Fortunately his Highness still has great ambition, and the Crown Princess was an unrestrained person. Within the solemn palace, she raised and played with fishes every day, spending the days unrestrained. 

The river of forgetfulness, to forget a love. 

Maybe this was actually good. 

The Crown Princess was still very childish, at times she would call me "General Pei" with a smile. 

I suddenly thought of the past, which happened a long time ago. 

After the two of them jumped down into the river, I led the army to search the mountain in a hurry. I did not hesitate to make a detour for hundreds of miles. Finally when we found the entrance of the valley, we tried to search the valley with little hope. 

The army has been searching for many days in the deep valley.

A very steep and dangerous cliff with layers of rocks, heavy rain like the waterfall, pouring over everyone, making their faces pale. After a while, the raindrops had turned into snowflakes. 

The snow fell on the vast land.

A horse stumbled and slipped, several people tried very hard to hold onto the rein. The horse's nose started to bleed as a result of the pulling force, but in the end the rein was finally released, and the horse plunged into the furious torrent with a sad cry. The surging jade coloured waves quickly devoured the horse, leaving behind only white foam in the whirlpool. 

Someone murmured: "What kind of place is this?" 

It snowed during the eighth month, it was not rare for it to snow at this time. The valley was in the middle of a huge mountain. Only when the sky was clear, were we able to see the sky. During the first few days of entering the valley, the sandstorm covered the surroundings, and then it rained heavily. 

There was no pathway in the valley, people and the horses could only walk cautiously upstream along the river valley. It was a river valley, but also a cliff. There were continuous falling rocks from the top, and a surging torrent below. The river flowed too fast, no matter whether people or horses fall, they can not be rescued.

In the middle of the night, you can only camp on the slope wall, turning around would fall into the water. One time there was a landslide in the middle of the night, causing the mountain to collapse. A hundred people were buried instantly. Since then, every night, everyone only dares to sleep in shifts by the cliff, wrapped in felt blankets. If there was any movement, they will get up and run away.

The people and horses were tired, traveling on this arduous journey all this time. The horses carrying the dried food were always falling into the water.

Running out of dried food.

I have never encountered such a desperate situation while leading an army.

The solider in front of the horse finally couldn't help, but pull my horse's rein: "General Pei, if we go further, I am afraid that no one will be able to come out alive."

I did not answer, I just cheered them on: "Let's go to the open area ahead and make a fire! Roast some dry food to eat!"

It was snowing more and more, only a few people responded feebly.

I know that the morale of the Yu Lin army was almost at its limit. Originally, these Yu Lin soldiers were the children of prominent officials from the Capital. Before heading to a foreign country, many of them thought that it was very easy to obtain military merits. When they had left the Capital, they went hunting, everyone was excited.

Before they had fought in battle with the support of the army from the Anxi Protectorate. The Yu Lin army was only the rear army, when the enemy broke through, they rushed in disorder and thought that it would be a bloody battle.

It wasn't until we had entered the valley, that they had finally encountered the real enemy.

But we cannot retreat.

Because we haven't found the Crown Prince yet.

That person whom I have served since childhood, who will become the ruler of the world.

From the age of six, I knew clearly that I had to protect this person even if my life was in danger.

In front of me, the deep jade coloured foamy torrent had finally calmed down. I could see a hillside ahead. Once the ground was even, I rode the horse and passed down an order. The army was on top of the slope, eating lunch. 

The snowy wind covered the sky, everyone suffered from the bitter coldness. 

I got off my horse and stood in front of the slope, watching the last person in front of me pass by. This time I told a soldier to pay attention to the falling rocks on the mountain. 

Bonfires had been set up, everyone around it shivered. 

The hard flat bread was the only dry food left. 

Several horses' hooves were injured and bleeding. The horses would stamp their hooves on the snow, soaking the snow with blood, which resembled a blossomed inauspicious flower. 

I ruthlessly unloaded the dry food on the horse's back and ordered someone to kill the injured horse. 

The smell of roasted horse meat lingered, and everyone was cold and hungry that their stomachs rumbled. 

I looked at the thousands of people left. More than half of the three thousand army of soldiers have already died, but the Crown Prince's whereabouts was unknown. If we continue to move forward, it would be more dangerous. If we retreat now, I am afraid that many people will also die before we can leave the valley.
 

It was a real dilemma.

It was still snowing.

When the horse meat was roasted, everyone got a piece, I also took one myself. I just took a bite, suddenly the soldier that was guarding the place called out: "Falling rocks! Falling rocks!" 

I was startled, the falling rocks were often accompanied by landslides. Almost everyone jumped up, I called out: "Stick to the mountain wall! Hurry and go up!" 

All the soldiers dodged the falling rocks, the mountain heights echoed a frightening muffled sound. My heart sank as soon as I heard that sound. This sound I had heard before, it was on that terrible night of the landslide. More and more rocks rolled down, which gradually became more concentrated. Some people were hit by the rocks and fell into the turbulence; some people's faces were covered with blood, lying on the ground and crying in despair. More people dodged the rocks while protecting their heads, trying to climb up the mountain. 

I suddenly saw a wide stone beam not far away, just like the eaves of a house, sticking out in midair. However if there was a landslide, I was afraid that such a large stone beam would fall down, and everyone would still be crushed into meat paste. But the rocks were like rain, more and more people were hit by it, falling into the turbulence. I could not hesitate. 

I called out: "Stone beam! Hide under the stone beam!" 

I dodged the falling rocks and pushed a soldier to the stone beam, who was almost hit by a falling boulder. Everyone also saw the huge stone beam lying in the middle of the mountain and climbed towards it. 

I pulled up a wounded soldier and a soldier who almost fell as a result of a misstep. The soldiers pulled up one after another. At last, I don't know how long it took, all of them finally hid under the stone beam. 

The falling rocks fell down like raindrops, we kept silent, looking at the falling rocks outside. 

A number of people were injured, they had clenched their teeth tightly without uttering a half groan. 

These past few days, many of the people and horses were injured. No one dares to say anything in front of me, however there was a rumour spreading around that this was a sacred mountain of Jie Shuo. If intruders disturb the mountain god, then the landslides must be the expression of anger by the mountain god. 

No one knows how angry the mountain god would be, there were more and more falling rocks outside, it became even more concentrated. If half of the hillside collapses like last time, I'm afraid that the stone beam will not be able to stop it. 

The muffled noise grew louder and nearer, and large boulders fell from the mountain. 

I'm afraid there will be another landslide. 

The stone beam vibrated slightly and made a frightening noise. I don't know if there were too many huge rocks falling on the stone beam. Obviously, the stone beam was about to collapse. 

Everyone looked up at the stone beam, and there was despair on everyone's faces. 

I'm not afraid of death, but I'm sorry that I didn't find the Crown Prince because I was disloyal; it was because of injustice that I led the soldiers to die here; I was unfilial to let my parents see me die before themselves.

<Side Story 4 Part 1                                                                                      Side Story 4 Part 3>

东宫 Eastern Palace: The Flowers in the Pavilion Resembles the Snow Under the Moonlight (Part 1)

The title is a verse from the Song Dynasty poem, Spring Jade Pavilion, written by Cai Shen. The poem is about how people's lives within the vast world is like a droplet in the ocean, each and every moment, what is the importance of it?

........................

It was only the ninth month, but there were already a few snowfalls. It continuously snowed the whole evening.

There was a fire in the tent, it was actually warm.

When I opened the tent and walked inside, I suddenly realized that the Princess was gone.

The milk in the bowl was unmoved. I reached my hand out to touch the bowl, the milk was still warm, so the Princess must not have gone far.

The guard in charge of watching over the tent anxiously asked: "General Pei, should we immediately search the camp?"

I shook my head and said: "No need to rush."

I walked out of the camp alone and found the Princess at the back of the mountain.

She sneakily gave beef jerky to a person with disheveled hair and who was covered with a felt blanket, living like a savage person.

I did not walk up close yet, but that person already pulled out the knife.

The gleaming golden knife, which was given to the feng nu within the Jie Shuo camp. It was said that this knife was extremely rare in the Western Regions, which was given by the King of Jie Shuo to his most trusted maidservant, known as feng nu. After being selected during their early childhood, their tongue would be cut off to prevent leaking secrets. Feng nu are free to enter and leave the King of Jie Shuo's tent, gaining the trust of the King, living a luxurious life. Every day they would diligently practice their swordsmanship, able to hide during the night, and kill without relying on weapons. It was said that the nobles of the Jie Shuo clan's greatest fear was the golden inlaid knife. If anyone dared to be disloyal to the King, their heads would be cut off by the feng nu using the golden inlaid knife during the middle of the night within their own tent.

I stopped my footsteps, I raised the wooden bowl in my hands, showing them that there was only milk.

That savage-like feng nu slowly withdrew her golden inlaid knife, I placed the wooden bowl on the ground, quietly retreating. The Princess took a careful look at me before bending down to grab the bowl of milk.

That feng nu ate in a hurry, probably because she hadn't eaten anything in a while, hurrying to drink up the bowl of milk without leaving a single drop left.

I turned around to leave, suddenly the Princess called me. Her Central Plain language was not spoken very well, she stumbled in her words, she said: "General, thank.....Thank you......"

I did not look back, I just stopped, and said: "Princess, no need to be polite."

I didn’t expect her to be so impolite. The next day I saw the feng nu in her tent again, her hands and face were washed clean, her hair that was like felt fabric was cut short. She wore coarse clothes of a servant, resembling a young boy. 

The Princess was a bit embarrassed, and she stuttered, trying to explain to me: "A'Du...she...pity...me...stay." 

I looked at the few Central Plains maids who had been specially hired from the Anxi Protectorate, to serve the Princess. They all kneeled to the ground, trembling, afraid to get up. 

I finally said: "The army cannot take in people of unknown origin. Besides, she is from a different clan. Princess should not make things difficult for this subject." 

The Princess looked at me with her dark and bright eyes, rarely able to say a whole sentence: "But I am also from a different clan."

I calmly said: "Your Highness is the daughter of the King of Western Liang, the Princess that will be married to the Crown Prince in the arranged marriage, not from a clan of unknown origin."

The Princess slowly lowered her head. Outside, it started to snow again, the falling snow hit the tent, making rustling noises. 

After walking south in the snow for several days, the feng nu seemed to still have not given up yet, following from behind, not too far and not too close, not hiding the traces she left behind. 

The trusted aide within the Yu Lin army couldn't help, but ask me: "General, do you want to kill?" 

I did not answer. 

Because the Princess was sick. 

Since expelling the feng nu that day, the Princess has been ill. 

She was very ill, a high fever that would not go away. Feeling dizzy, she would lay down in the carriage every day. There was no skilled doctor within the army, I am just worried that she would never recover. 

During this night within the camp, the maidservant of the Central Plains, who served the Princess, came to me in a panic, saying that the Princess had fell unconscious, only afraid that this time it will not be good.

Although the Princess was very ill for the past few days, but she was still conscious. I wanted to enter the Princess's tent to take a look, but after thinking about it, I went to see the Crown Prince first. The Crown Prince was getting better day by day. When I entered the tent, he was practicing his swordsmanship. The Crown Prince has exceptional swordsmanship, but he would not expose this in front of other people. At this moment, he was in a good mood, doing a sword dance that could shock a dragon, as if there was a bright light by his side, the sword emitting that bright light. Suddenly, the sword was facing towards me.

I was not surprised.

As expected, the sword's edge flicked past my ears, carrying a chilliness, cutting off the curtain. The snowflakes outside suddenly flew in, continuously landing on the lapel of my robe.

I didn't reach out my hand to brush off the snowflakes. It was warm inside the tent, in a flash, those snowflakes gradually melted into water marks on my clothes and disappeared.

The Crown Prince smiled, putting away the sword and then said: "Ah Zhao, you came just in time. It's snowing again, I told them to roast lamb meat, let's drink some wine and warm ourselves tonight."

I said: "The Princess is very ill, does your Highness want to go over and take a look?"

The smile on the Crown Prince's face disappeared in an instant, he said: "That ugly person, I don't want to see her."

I said: "Your Highness is dissatisfied with this marriage. This subject thinks that since we are returning to the Capital, instead of binding the problem to ourselves, we could just end it now."

The Crown Prince stared at me with bright eyes: "How do you want to end it?"

I said: "The Princess is very ill, if she die along the way, it would not be a major issue. We could ask the King of Western Liang to choose another princess for the arranged marriage. If the King of Western Liang does not have any other daughters suitable for the marriage, it is also possible to choose someone from other countries in the Western Regions such as Kucha. Other princesses could be chosen as long as it is a princess from the Western Regions."

The Crown Prince pondered for a moment, but finally he shook his head: "Although you have led the Yu Lin army well and there seems to be no informer within the army, but if we kill the Princess, father will definitely be unhappy."

I said: "Your Highness don't worry, the Princess has been sick all along. Everyone in the Yu Lin army knows about this, so his Majesty would not suspect anything unusual."

Hearing what I said, the Crown Prince was silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed, and said: "Forget it, even though that barbarian woman is hateful, it's not like she wants to marry me. She doesn't have a choice but to marry me, so why kill her."

I said: "Since your Highness has this intention, then why not go and see her. She is alone and her life will be tied to your Highness from now on. Your Highness can't bear to kill her, then just treat her indifferently."

The Crown Prince thought for a while, finally he was convinced by me.

I accompanied the Crown Prince to the Princess's tent. The Princess still has a high fever and was unconscious.

Several maids were standing at the bedside trembling. When they saw us come in, they hurriedly bowed.

The Crown Prince absent-mindedly waved his hand, the maids quickly withdrew from the tent, I was about to bow and leave, when the Crown Prince suddenly called out.

"Ah Zhao, don't go."

He complained: "Leaving me alone with a sick person, what were you thinking?"

I could only turn around, and return to his side.

The Princess was very ill, there was a layer of white skin on her lips. A bowl of lukewarm goat milk was placed on the small table in front of the bed. The maids tried to feed it to her, but they couldn't even feed her half a spoon of milk. It seems that she will not recover. 
 

The burning fever caused her to speak in non-Han language. Although I could understand non-Han language, I only heard her speak in Western Liang language, I could not hear clearly what she had said. 

Where would the Crown Prince have the patience to take care of a sick person, he just sat down for a moment before getting up to leave. 

I couldn't say much, so I could only lift up the hanging curtain of the tent for him to leave. Suddenly she mumbled: "Gu Xiao Wu..." 

I was so shocked that my face turned pale, I turned around to look at the Princess. She was very sick that she had lost consciousness, dizzily laying there. 

These three words seemed to have some sort of magical power, the Crown Prince couldn't help, but stop his footsteps. He turned around and looked at the Princess. 

The Princess was still feeling dizzy, calling out in a lighter tone, but still it could be heard clearly in Central Plains language: "Gu Xiao Wu."

I don't know what expression was on the Crown Prince's face, but he suddenly covered his chest with his hand, as if it seemed like a sudden realization. I was shocked, suddenly many thoughts flashed through my mind. 

If he remembers everything, how should I deal with this situation. 

The Crown Prince finally walked out of the tent. I followed him silently. The snow had stopped outside, and a crescent moon was shining on the desert. 

Nearby was the many army tents. A sound could be heard from a distance. 

The Crown Prince finally lowered his hand and said: "Maybe I have exerted too much force when I did the sword dance, that's why my heart ached, as if I had been stabbed by someone." 

I said: "Do you want a doctor to be sent here?" 

The Crown Prince shook his head and said: "It's okay." Suddenly he said: "I didn't expect that this Western Liang Princess would have a lover from Central Plains." 

I didn't know what to say. 

He sighed again and said: "She is a really pitiful person." 

After escorting the Crown Prince back to the main camp, I was still worried, so I went back to the Princess's tent. As soon as I entered the tent, I found the two maids lying on the ground, obviously knocked unconscious. My heart sank, I silently drew my sword, carefully walked into the tent. 

Under the dim oil lamp, it was the feng nu who was holding the Princess, feeding her goat milk in small amounts. The Princess was so sick that she could not swallow anything, most of it overflowed after one spoonful. The feng nu was very careful, opened the Princess's mouth with the silver spoon, fed a spoonful, wiped off the overflowing goat milk with a cloth, and then fed again. 

The feng nu was very vigilant, she didn't wait for me to approach, she seemed to be aware of something, and suddenly pulled out the golden inlaid knife, standing there alertly. I lowered my sword, she saw that it was me, so she also slowly lowered her knife. 

She finally finished feeding the Princess the bowl of goat milk after some time have passed, but the Princess hadn't awakened yet, her breathing had become heavier. The feng nu seemed very pleased. She took out a herb, and then chewed it into pieces before feeding it to the Princess little by little, which took some time to do. 

The moon rose to the middle of the sky. I stood under the gentle slope, watching the feng nu quietly exit the tent. Before I approached her, she once again pulled out her golden inlaid knife. 

I blocked her knife with my sword, and we swiftly exchanged several moves under the moon, the moonlight reflected the sparks from the intersection of sword and knife. 

Finally I stopped my sword, I knew I couldn't kill this feng nu. 

She also put away her knife, still looking at me alertly like a small animal.

<Side Story 3 Part 4                                                                                      Side Story 4 Part 2>