Chapter 34: The Imperial Prince of Zhuri
The traffickers looks up to see a young man, tall and slim, dressed in plainly colored brocade robes. Immediately, they ducked their heads, afraid to meet his eyes. As accurate judges of human character, the traffickers could tell the handsome youth with the keen gaze had to be someone wealthy and respectable and not to be offended.
"Our master"s asking you a question!" the young man"s guard hollered at hem.
Quickly and prudently, a trafficker replied, "Sir, this servant"s price is only ten taels."
There was a uproar from the crowd. Ten taels was enough to buy a few strong men, but this trafficker was really daring to demand such an exorbitant price. One of the guards approached Qingyu and lifted her chin with his shoe so his master could get a better look at her face. The young gentleman"s gaze was cold, but he nodded and turned without a word.
The guard hauled Qingyu up from the ground and tossed a tael of silver at the traffickers. "d.a.m.ned Fengtian natives!"
The trafficker only cradled the single tael of silver without a word. None of the other Fengtian residents dared to speak, either. Hearing the guard speak, they knew the group hailed from Zhuri (诛日), the suzerain state of Fengtian. Even if n.o.bles from Zhuri killed them, the imperial palace would be helpless to do anything.
The guard dragged Qingyu to the young man"s side and reported, "Master, we"ve bought the servant."
"What"s your name?" the young man asked as he paused in his steps.
Her fate had changed so quickly that Qingyu"s mind was still blank. She opened her mouth in response to the question, but couldn"t say a word. The young man didn"t press her, but continued to regard her coldly. Meanwhile, the guard nudged her in the side. Once again, Qingyu fell to the ground. As her face came into contact with the wet floor, she regained some of her senses and straightened into a kneel. Timidly, she kowtowed to the n.o.bleman and said with a face full of tears, "This servant begs sir to bestow upon me a name."
The young man"s lips quirked into something like a grin before he resumed walking, completely ignoring the pitiful girl on the ground.
"What do you count for?" the guard said as he hauled her upright again. "A servant of Fengtian wants our master to give her a name?"
By the young n.o.bleman"s side walked a middle-aged retainer, who glanced back and remarked, "Since it"s the beginning of autumn, she might as well be called Chuqiu." (初秋 – "beginning of autumn")
Inexplicably, Yu Xiaoxiao sneezed while sitting in the main hall of the Gu Estate.
"Princess, do you need more clothes?" w.a.n.g momo asked with concern.
Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head and looked outside. After the autumn rains, the weather was bright and refreshing. But why did she sense a terrible premonition?
"Princess," Xiao Wei ran inside to report, "The royal son-in-law is awake."
"Let"s go take a look," Yu Xiaoxiao rose to leave, promptly forgetting about the bad omen she just felt. As she was about to exit the room, Xiao Zhuang entered with freshly bought snacks for the princess. Seeing his hands full of food, w.a.n.g momo"s mouth twitched.
"Isn"t there anything worth eating to buy out there?" she asked.
Xiao Zhuang hastily bowed toward Yu Xiaoxiao and murmured, "Princess, this servant just got wind that Zhuri"s eldest imperial prince Jing Mo (景陌) arrived at the capital yesterday."
w.a.n.g momo couldn"t help but wonder, "What do they want from our Fengtian this time?"
Yu Xiaoxiao only smacked her lips. This continent had six nations, but Zhuri was the strongest one. Second to its strength were the evenly matched Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise nations. In comparison, Fengtian was a stepping stone for them all. The only reason it hadn"t been destroyed was because the other five nations were busy contending amongst themselves to bother; moreover, Fengtian"s capable generals could always save the country from its disasters.
Xiao Zhuang looked at Yu Xiaoxiao and said, "Princess, this servant heard that Zhuri"s eldest crown prince came this time to bring a Fengtian prince back to Zhuri."
"Hsi Majesty is going to select an imperial prince to be hostage?" w.a.n.g momo murmured.
Xiao Zhuang nodded. w.a.n.g momo immediately looked at Yu Xiaoxiao in fear. "Princess, ah, thank the Heavens you brought His Seventh Highness out of the palace."
Yu Xiaoxiao only walked towards the inner courtyards with a wooden face. Jing Mo. She knew this guy. He"d done a lot to help the cruel female emperor take the throne. In short, he had been one of her lovers in the previous timeline.
"Which prince will end up as the hostage?" w.a.n.g momo wondered.
The two shadow guards shook their heads. How would they know?
"Yu Ziqing," Yu Xiaoxiao declared.
"That"s impossible!" w.a.n.g momo exclaimed. How could Consort Hua ever allow her son to be a hostage of Zhuri Country?
Yu Xiaoxiao recalled the original timeline. After Consort Zhao drove Linglong and her brother from the palace, she"d gone guns ablazing against Consort Hua, whose clansmen held military power in their hands. As the eldest of the imperial princes, her son Yu Ziqing (玉子清) was a threat to Consort Zhao"s own child, Yu Ziming (玉子明). Yu Xiaoxiao had no idea how Consort Zhao managed to get Consort Hua"s son shipped off as a hostage, but those were the results the first time around.
"Princess, how do you know?" Xiao Wei asked.
Yu Xiaoxiao turned to look at the trio. "Do I have to worry about those things?"
w.a.n.g momo, Xiao Zhuang, and Xiao Wei all shook their heads. After all, you couldn"t solve problems like that with a beating.
"Actually, they can all count as my brothers," Yu Xiaoxiao observed. In the end, Yu Ziqing had never returned to Fengtian again. After Jing Mo gained the throne, he cut off the prince"s head and gifted it to Yu Linglong as a present. Yu Xiaoxiao couldn"t help but feel it was a wretched fate.
Is the eldest princess going to become a Buddha on the spot?! Pah! w.a.n.g momo, Xiao Zhuang, and Xiao Wei all wanted to yell at Yu Xiaoxiao. How can Consort Hua"s son be considered one of your brothers?! But none of them dared to say a thing. Her Royal Highness might be a fool, but her fists were the real deal.
"You guys agree if you"re not saying anything, right?" Yu Xiaoxiao asked when no one answered her.
"…." said w.a.n.g momo.
"…." said Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei.
What do you mean, we agree? Isn"t it good to just let the women of the palace eat each other alive?
"You"re already married," w.a.n.g momo reminded Yu Xiaoxiao.
Yu Xiaoxiao waited for her to continue speaking.
"It"s better if princess doesn"t ask after the imperial family"s affairs," w.a.n.g momo coaxed patiently as she accompanied her to the inner courtyards. "Just think of the royal son-in-law, princess. Obey your father at home, obey your husband in marriage. Once the royal son-in-law"s days get better, yours will too, like the boat rising with the tide."
Yu Xiaoxiao didn"t fully understand w.a.n.g momo"s words. Obey my father, obey my husband? What kind of logic is that? Is Gu Xinglang going to be emperor in the future? That doesn"t make sense…
"Your Royal Highness, listen to this servant this time," w.a.n.g momo coaxed. "As long as His Seventh Highness is safe and well, don"t ask about anything else."