At that time, the girl happened to give birth to a prince. The Empress then ordered someone to poison the nourishing soup that the girl would have daily. The girl had the poisonous soup and gradually got weak and died of illness. Before she passed away, she hoped to make the cause of Gong Zi’s death public, but it was too late. The Empress put her under house arrest, saying that she had serious tuberculosis and was not allowed to see anyone. Besides, the Empress also took the newly-born little Prince away…" I was quite nervous, asking, "Did the Empress even kill the little Prince?" Gu Xiao Wu looked as usual and shook his head, "The Empress wouldn't kill the little Prince. She had no children herself, so she brought up the little Prince and taught him the skills. The little Prince regarded the Empress as his own birth mother, but he had never known that his real birth mother was originally killed by the Empress. Later… the little Prince finally knew the truth, but he couldn’t help it. He was still young, while the Empress was very powerful, and he couldn’t go against her. The Emperor also hesitated by then, because he not only had the little Prince as his son, he also got other Princes. The Emperor pondered over these Princes, not knowing who to pass the throne to in the future. The other Princes strove for the throne secretly, and they all knew that the little Prince was not the birth son of the Empress; while the Empress also bore a grudge against the little Prince… However, the Emperor finally sent the little Prince as the Crown Prince. In Zixu, there were very few Crown Princes who could live more than thirty years old, as they would either be assassinated or be dethroned and put under house arrest by their fathers until they died. There were also some Crown Princes who had plotted a rebellion against their fathers in order to seize the opportunity… Some of them succeeded, some failed; the winner became the Emperor, and finally died, while the loser failed to become the Emperor, he also died… In fact, Eastern Palace is a court immersed in blood…” Gu Xiao Wu ceased his narration and got absent-minded suddenly, while I also looked at him dumbly. This story was not fun at all, unlike those stories I had heard before. I wondered why I didn't interrupt Gu Xiao Wu. After a while, he continued his story in a plain tone: "Although the little prince was the crown prince, he led a hard life. The empress was wary of him and the emperor threw him a difficult problem to handle, saying: "Since you are the crown prince, you should set an example to our subjects. Then the emperor sent the little prince to a place to carry out a task that was almost impossible to complete…" "The little prince was pitiful." I pumped him for more details: "What was the prince's task at last?" "That was the end." Gu Xiao Wu dabbed his saddle and lay down again comfortably, "Go to sleep." I flew into a fury. How could I fall asleep without knowing the end of the story? I said: "I didn't ask why, but why you stopped talking?" Gu Xiao Wu replied: "That was the whole story. How could I continue?" He turned his back to me. I only saw his shoulder blades. Though covered with sheepskin, he still huddled up together because of the cold wind at night. He seemed to be asleep.
I pulled the leather mattress under my chin, which made me warm. I thought: Gu Xiao Wu looked heartless, and his story was even more annoying! However, looking at him asleep, I thought he was somewhat pathetic. In his story, the little prince didn't have a mother, neither did he. Certainly, a motherless person was pitiful. If I didn't have a mom, I would cry right away.
I drifted off to sleep in a daze. I dreamed of the little prince possibly because I had heard the story before sleep. He was a very young boy who was only three or four years old. Crouching and crying there, he huddled up together like a small injured beast. He looked like a wounded fox that I found in a hunter's trap after a fall of snow. The little fox huddled, looking at me with its watery black eyes. It was very alert to me, but it also had a hint of fear. It squeezed its shoulder blades together, with its pointy mouth hidden under its claws. Snow falling thickly, I felt tender and protective toward it, so I couldn’t help but reach out to hug it to me. But I didn't expect when it raised its head, it turned out to be Gu Xiao Wu, which was spooky. I got shocked and woke with a start. Now it was beginning to get light – there was a thin crescent in the western sky, the stars growing dim and even the bonfire gradually dying down. The night seemed to deepen. Two thousand cavalrymen slept heavily on the prairie, and only the sentinels were still patrolling. The grass beside my face was covered with cool dew which fell on my face when I touched the grass. I licked the dew – it was sweet. Then I turned over and fell asleep again.
As soon as the day broke, we struck camp and rode east for five or six days. We finally met the rangers Tujue had sent. Hearing that the Great Chanyu’s tent was nearby, He Shi was overjoyed. I was also very happy because I would see my grandfather soon. But it was not convenient for the two thousand cavalrymen from the Central Plains to stay in the border of Tujue, so they would go back soon.
He Shi admired them much, praising them for their strict military discipline, swift actions, and bravery. He said they were true men hard to come at. Together with He Shi, I walked with them part of the way west.
The hot sun beat brightly upon us in the afternoon. Gu Xiao Wu lowered his head, dozing off on his horse. I said, “Hey, do me a favour – give a message to my father that I have arrived at Tujue safely.” Gu Xiao Wu said: “It depends on whether I will go back to the empire city to sell tea.” I said: "If not, where will you go?” He smiled but didn’t answer. The calvarymen from the Central Plains had gone far. He waved at me and then caught up with them.
I covered my forehead with my hand, looking over the flat and endless prairie. After a long time, I saw that he caught up with the team and waved to us. They gradually went far, like the dust between the heavens and the earth, subtle and indistinguishable. I gazed at his back and remembered the story he told me yesterday, feeling lost.
Suddenly someone behind me chuckled. I turned back and found it was He Shi. He reined his horse in behind me, and I asked him with embarrassment and anger, "What are you laughing at?" He Shi nodded but shook his head then, saying to me with a smile, “Little Princess, let’s go back.” Seeing grandpa, I was so happy that I forgot all my troubles. It had been a year since we last met, so grandpa doted on me more, allowing all my mischief. He Shi’s arm was injured and Grandpa worried that I would get into trouble without He Shi's accompany, so he asked He Shi’s sister to follow me all day long. He Shi’s sister was about the same age as me. She studied martial arts since childhood, quite skilled at wielding a saber. I liked calling her name, “A’Du! A’Du!” Just like calling a little bird. And she also really resembled a little bird, as no matter where I was, she would immediately appear in front of my eyes when I called her, just like a bird flapping its wings deftly and showing up at another place immediately.
What I didn’t expect was that the King of Yuezhi had sent an envoy to propose marriage. Grandpa didn't let the envoy enter his tent, instead, he sent someone to pass his message to the envoy: “Although the Little Princess is not the princess of Tujue, her mother is the daughter of the Great Chanyu. The Great Chanyu cherishes the Little Princess a lot and is only willing to marry her to a real hero. If your king wants to marry the Little Princess, then he has to come to the Great Chanyu's tent in person and compete with those warriors of Tujue. As long as he can catch the White-Eye Wolf King in the Tian Gen Mountain, the Great Chanyu will definitely marry the Little Princess to him. This is the Great Chanyu’s decree, even the father of Little Princess, the King of Western Liang, will be willing to accept the Great Chanyu's arrangement.” The envoy met with a rebuff, going back disapprovingly.
The Great Chanyu’s words spread throughout the prairie, everyone knowing that if one wanted to marry Western Liang’s little princess, he had to kill the White-Eye Wolf King. Legend had it that Tian Gen Mountain had thousands of wolves, but they only regarded a white-eye wolf as their king. Wolves were just like people, succumbing to the strongest one. The White-Eye Wolf King's coat was intensely black, but around its left eye was a circle of white hair which seemed to be painted with snow-white mare milk. It was said that such a creature was actually not a wolf but almost a demon. Wolves on the prairie were terrifying, and the White-Eye Wolf King was even more scary. Even small groups of cavalry or herdsmen would be in a very dangerous situation when they meet the White-Eye Wolf King, because it would lead tens of thousands of wolves to fight against people, and then eat all the people and horses. I once thought that the White-Eye Wolf King was a legend, just living in a story told by my grandmother. After all, no one had ever seen the White-Eye Wolf King, but everyone had vowed that the Wolf King did lead tens of thousands of wolves on the Tian Gen Mountain.
The Great Chanyu goaded the King of Yuezhi into entering the Tian Gen Mountain to look for the White-Eye Wolf King. What if he really killed the White-Eye Wolf King? I didn’t want to marry such an old man. But no one could kill the White-Eye Wolf King – all Tujue people believed that, so did all the people on the prairie. Although the King of Yuezhi took a large troop of soldiers and sent out for the Tian Gen Mountain where the white-eye wolf lived, they might not find the White-Eye Wolf King, because no one really saw the White-Eye Wolf King – it was only a legend. I felt comforted when I thought about it. The King of Yuezhi was old and weak, and the Tian Gen mountain, a few hundred miles around, had many overhanging rocks and beasts. Maybe he would be thrown from his horse and became paralysed, then I didn’t have to marry him.
I led an even happier life in Tujue than I did in Western Liang. Every day with A’Du, I either went hunting or catching birds. Girls in Tujue married young, and A’Du was old enough to sing songs. Sometimes there were people singing all night long outside her tent, which made me fail to fall asleep. However, nobody had ever sung to me, I believed it might be because they knew they had to kill the White-Eye Wolf King to marry me. Even for the warriors on the prairie, it was a tough task.
I didn't believe it was because I was not beautiful that nobody had ever sung to me.
I was sleeping in the tent that day when I suddenly heard a clamour, which sounded as if the encampment was blown up. Rolling out of bed, I shouted aloud "A’Du". She lifted the curtain of the tent hastily and entered. I asked her: "What's going on? What happened?" A’Du was also confused, I thought neither of us knew what happened. At this moment, my grandfather sent a person over to bend to salute us, saying, "The Great Chanyu summoned the Little Princess to his tent." "Are we going to war?" I asked nervously. Last time, the envoy of the King of Yuezhi returned in disgrace, according to the king's disposition, he would not give up that easily. The King of Yuezhi was goaded into looking for the White-Eye Wolf King, but wasn't it a hard task? This was clearly a trap for him made by the Great Chanyu – my grandfather who loved me the most. If the King of Yuezhi suddenly realized it and became furious, he would wage war against Tujue. If Yuezhi and Tujue were at war, it would be a bad thing for the whole western regions. Powerfully occupied the north of the Gobi desert, Tujue was the strongest country in western regions, with its territory extended all the way to the east coast. However, Yuezhi was also one of the largest countries with solid national strength in western regions though it compared unfavorably with Tujue. In addition, several decades of transient peace had make people on the trade routes unimpeded, and cities take on flourishing view. For example, if there was no trade routes, our Western Liang would not be as prosperous as it was today. Everything might be ruined after a war.
(Original Translation from WWW。wangmamaread。com)
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