Ch.29 Return To The Capital
“Right, I must say I saw that coming.” The General grabbed the carriage roof with one strong hand, his grip firm and powerful as he lowered himself to the window level. He gestured towards the rows of wine urns behind her. “Kitty, on behalf of my exceptional tolerance towards you so far, how about sharing one of those?”
His towering figure covered almost all the sunlight coming through the window. That smirk glinting on that dashing face was even more alluring in the shadows. Luo Yue, on the other hand, would rather admire a horse than its master. She paused, raising her gaze to meet his, “two silver tokens.”
The light in his eyes flickered as he retorted, “one! You know very well that you only left one silver token in my sleeves that night.”
Without any hesitation, Luo Yue drew back her fan and the curtains fell mercilessly in his face. Wu Zhe Yan let out a soft snort as he looked at the tightly closed curtains. He was right; his temper had improved drastically these days. Had he gotten so used to her that he had even stopped feeling offended now? He was even starting to feel that her insolence was also a part of her charms. Perhaps, the rumours were right; Wu Zhe Yan really was a nutcase.
He bargained through the closed curtains, “you’re interested in the alcohols they sell in my city, aren’t you? How about this? A flask of wine in exchange for an urn of the highest quality of alcohol there.”
A hand reached out from behind the curtains. “Deal.”
Wu Zhe Yan grinned as he pulled out his empty leather flask and handed it over to her. He had grasped one very effective way to deal with the little lynx now. She was weak to the temptation of alcohol.
Quietly sitting in the driver seat, Xiao Liu grimaced, ‘great. Now my Lady has even more excuses to drink…’
A minute later, Luo Yue left the carriage carrying a flask and a plate of carrot pastries. She threw the flask to the man on the horse and then the languid look on her face visibly softened as she fed the horse some pastries.
“He’ll get fat if you feed those to him,” Wu Zhe Yan said from atop the horse.
“It’s fine once in a while,” Luo Yue responded as she ran her hand gently down Chen Lian's mane.
“Why does he get free food while I’m being charged like a convict who has evaded tax for a flask of alcohol?” He jumped down from Chen Lian who was too busy eating.
Finding him too noisy, Luo Yue finally, very generously, pushed the plate of one remaining carrot pastry into his hands. Anything to shut him up. “Here, take some then.”
For once, as Wu Zhe Yan bit into the small pastry, their conversation was surprisingly harmonious.
“Hey, kitty. How about joining my Imperial Hounds Army? With your fighting skills and intellects, you’re more than qualified.” There was a hint of seriousness in his tone for once. It was rare to find someone as gifted as her and while they seemed to have been fighting like cats and dogs for the past few days, he did not wish to let go of such an exceptional talent. Especially now that the North seemed to be having some internal conflicts, protecting the Emperor was becoming an even more crucial job. Perhaps, that was his reason for the patience he had been showing thus far.
As Luo Yue continued to feed Chen Lian, her heart jolted at his words. She was suddenly reminded of ‘that person’.
‘With your fighting skills and intellects, I do admit that you’re more than qualified,’ ‘that person’ had told her in his Imperial study. That day many many years ago, she had arrived to tell him her wish to join the army he was leading. However, he had looked torn. He knew that he would be away for a while because of the war. He was too worried to leave the small girl alone in the Imperial Palace yet, could not bear to bring her anywhere near the battlefront. So, he had replied then, ‘however, Yue-Er, the army is not a suitable place for you to join. Fighting for our country is my responsibility as the Emperor. What kind of an Emperor would I be if I have to resort to sending a young child into the battlefield just to protect our country?’
‘Then, I won’t enter the army. I’ll just stay by your side,’ she had stubbornly insisted. ‘Who cares about the country? I’m not fighting for this country; I’m just making sure that you’re keeping your promise and not leaving me alone.’
In response to Wu Zhe Yan’s invitation, Luo Yue gave a simple answer. “The army is not a suitable place for me to join.”
Hearing that, Wu Zhe Yan did not say anything else. Truth be told, he had roamed the Jianghu for far too long to hold any sort of patriotic sentiments. With his straightforward character, he really did not fit into his role as an official of the Imperial court with all their rules and restrictions. Perhaps, the little lynx was the same; someone who would rather live freely without being chained down to a place.
Was that one of the reasons why he had found her intriguing? Because they were the same type of people? It was nice to see at least one of them was living the life they wanted.
“Hey, kitty. The soldiers will probably need another hour of rest. Let’s make a bet and have a match. If I win, you’ll grant me a request.”
“Not interested.” Luo Yue turned her back as she sat on the empty driver seat. Xiao Liu had left a few minutes ago to grab some food. “You don’t have anything valuable to me.”
“I have a horse.”
“Alright,” it took one sentence for the God of War to change her mind and accept instantly. “I want a name change for Chen Lian.”
One end of Wu Zhe Yan’s lips lifted into a smirk. He noted mentally, ‘The little lynx’s weakness number 2: Weak to Chen Lian’.
“If you win-…”
“When I win,” she corrected him.
“I will accept Horse’s new name.”
“Fine. What match?”
“Horseback archery. I’ll let you ride on him.”
“Shouldn’t he be resting like the others?”
“Do you think he’s like the other horses? The march so far cannot even be considered a walk in the park for him.”
Luo Yue’s eyes shone with admiration as she glanced over at the horse. “As expected from Chen Lian.”
Wu Zhe Yan stifled a laugh as he watched her genuine expression. Somehow, there were very rare times where she was looking more and more innocent in his eyes. He must be getting blind.
Chen Lian suddenly knelt on his left leg, extended his other leg in front of it, and lowered his head to the ground as he gave a gentlemanly bow to Luo Yue.
“Are you telling me to get on?” her eyes lighted up again, bringing a bit of light and colour to the usually inscrutable face. “You’re a smart one, aren’t you?”
Chen Lian neighed proudly.
Beside him, Wu Zhe Yan threw his horse a look of disbelief. Since when did that conceited rascal become this flirtatious?
~~
The match ended in a draw since both did not miss a single shot even until it was time to go. They could only extend it and wait for a second stop to have their second round.
She was a better archer than Wu Zhe Yan had expected, and it brought in a question that he was getting exceedingly curious about the more he knew her. Exactly what did she not excel in?
Well, having a feeling that he would be seeing her more often, he was not in any particular rush to find out as well. Besides, -he glanced at the eagle who had flown down and made himself comfortable atop his horse’s head- he seemed to have gotten himself an informant. A slightly unreliable one, however.
~Meanwhile~
Emperor Xuan closed the reports of causalities throughout the 4 years of the Southern Expedition. He gave a long sigh, “Imperial Teacher, do you also think that I’ve made a mistake?”
Standing in front of the Emperor in the Imperial Study was Xu Shi Jing. He answered, “no, I understand that your Majesty was merely trying to protect the peace within the North. With the passing of the late Emperor, it was only natural for the other 3 kingdoms to start eyeing our every move. If we had not started the Southern Expedition and shown that we were still standing strong, the other kingdoms would have attacked us first.”
“However, we have also suffered a lot of damage this time,” Emperor Xuan rubbed his temples and took a sip of the calming scented tea by his table. “Imperial Father used to say that his achievements were all feasible thanks to the 3 Great Heroes by his side. I am starting to understand what he meant.”
“I apologise for my long leave of absence at such a critical time. I, at least, should have been by your Majesty’s side.” He bowed, “I will accept any punishments for having failed my duty as your teacher.”
“You do not need to say that, Imperial Teacher,” the Emperor hastily interrupted. “You lost both your wife and unborn child overnight. I have already permitted your leave of absence that year.”
Xu Shi Jing flinched a little at the mention of his wife and unborn child. It was an unfortunate mishap that even the Gifted Scholar had been unable to foresee. He had been too basked in the warmth of starting a family and her death had completely broken him. It seemed like even after all these years, a mere mention could still feel like a thousand swords through his heart.
He forced a small smile, “Xu Shi Jing thanks the Emperor.”
~~
For the next few days, the days repeated itself in the same cycle for Luo Yue. Wu Zhe Yan disrupting her peace for a flask of wine, another match of horseback archery and of course, dealing with her illness acting up in the middle of the night.
By the time they had reached the other side of the capital’s city gates, Luo Yue was already exhausted. The medicine was getting less and less effective and there was something about returning to the Capital that was giving her a very bad premonition.
“It’s the Leader! The Leader is back!”
Crowding around the gates were the members of the Imperial Hounds. The rowdy group of people welcomed their leader loudly as they rushed towards the troops. Seeing the entire Imperial Hounds army gathered at the gates, the commoners quickly backed away, anything to get out of the notorious army’s sight.
As the troops entered the gates, more and more commoners found the courage to step out. They searched desperately around for shadows of their own loved ones within the soldiers and celebrations of reconciliations were heard throughout the Capital. After the past few years of fighting and death, the soldiers have -like Wu Zhe Yan had promised- finally returned to their homeland. The curtains on the war have finally closed and it was truly a rewarding sight.
Luo Yue remained in her carriage with her curtains drawn. Emperor Xuan Zong had ordered her identity to remain concealed and while Luo Yue did not like being ordered around, she never had the intention to disclose her identity either. The war has ended, and naturally, the existence of the God of War would no longer be necessary anymore.