Chapter 10

The close followers came out from the corner and went up to help Zheng Jing: “Sanlang, did you fall?”

Zheng Jing coughed with tears on his face. Shaking his head with a bitter smile, he stood up and looked in the direction Li Yaoying had left.

The heat on his face slowly faded, his heart still pounding fast.

Every time he saw her, he was woefully embarrassed.

She didn’t remember him.

He felt grateful for a moment.

It was a fluke that he didn’t get recognized from this chance encounter in this place of fireworks1.

The reason why he hastily jumped out of the window and fled was because he was afraid that she would see him.

For a moment, he felt lost again.

When the servant reported that the Seventh Princess had arrived, he was shocked and panicked, and subconsciously lifted his legs and ran.

There was a secret ecstasy at the bottom of his heart.

He thought she was here for him.

It turned out not.

The Seventh Princess did not come for him.

The fact was that he came because of her. At the urgings of his friends, he came to Pingkang Place to see this famous Tuozhi dance in the capital.

Blossom-pattern designs hung down from their waists swayed to and fro. Hats spinning to ring the golden bells, snow white faces revealed2.

Tuo beauties was indeed very delicate.

The Hu entertainers danced even better. But compared to her, when all was said and done, still greatly lacked the noble and bright moving charm.

……

The Wei army’s management was strict and had always been very popular with the common people.

Li Yaoying sped all the way to the city gates. Both sides of the official road were magnificently packed, crowded to the point of overflowing with men, women, and children who spontaneously came to greet the soldiers.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites who received the news first had already prepared wine and sweet syrup.

The army’s victorious return was not supposed to be through the south gate.

In order to show the military prestige and stabilize the people’s mind, Li De would order Li Xuanzhen to lead the flying cavalry through the main gate into the city after each victory.

The flying cavalry were selected from the three armies to be the emperor’s personal bodyguards. All of them were a one in a thousand miles talent, tall and powerful. Three hundred and eighty youthful and heroic warriors riding fine steeds, holding long guns, recurve bows on their back, all adorned in matching black helmets, majestically arrived, the horses’ hooves rang out like rumbling thunder.

The heroic disposition, the imposing momentum.

This was a nearly invincible procession.

The people looked at the mighty and majestic flying cavalry in front of them with eyes brimming with excitement.

The young boys who were outside could not help but cheer at the orderly and neat formation of the flying cavalry. The girls laughed and threw out flowers, willow branches and incense pouches.

The fresh breeze blew past, making them fall like a shower of flowers.

The rows of soldiers passed by in front of their eyes. Yaoying lifted her curtain hat, looking forward to seeing the familiar Qin character on the banner flying in the sky, smiling sweetly.

Second brother was finally back.

In the midst of the noisy joyous singing and laughter, an ice-cold gaze swept over.

Yaoying’s heart felt startled. Her eyes darted around and collided head-on with the other party’s sight.

A row of flying calvary was passing before her, a person among them wearing a qinwang’s golden crown, silver armor and a snow-white cloak draped over their shoulders. Tall, straight, and strong, his facial features extremely handsome, he didn’t look like a fierce general that led troops in battle but a Confucian scholar who devised battle strategies in a tent.

The official of the Ministry of Rites, with a smile on his face, welcomed him and exchanged pleasantries.

He stopped his horse and politely conversed with the official. His quiet eyes seemed to be intentional but also unintentional as he looked at Yaoying, his expression indifferent and cold, like the blade of a sword.

Yaoying’s eyelids lowered slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man’s hands tightly clutching the reins, feeling chills all over.

The hands were very thin. The palms and back of the hands crawling with scars, the bones protruding a bit, the fingers strong, cold, and rough. When squeezing her neck, the rough calluses almost cut open her throat.

She didn’t even have the strength to struggle.

That time, Yaoying really thought Li Xuanzhen would kill her.

He could do it.

Nowadays, Li Xuanzhen was skilled in literary and military matters, wise and brave in every way. A capable crown prince who was praised by the world.

No one would believe that he would assassinate Li Zhongqian and Noble Consort Xie.

Even Yaoying didn’t believe it at first, thinking that her eldest brother was just taking his anger out for a while, and that if she got along with him well, he would be able to let go of his hatred.

Later, she finally understood that Li Xuanzhen could not let go.

He had a heart for the world, far-sighted, knew the plights of the people, loved the common people, cared for his troops, accepting of criticism, kept his promises to his allies…. such a Crown Prince made countless heroes and heroines willing to submit and follow him. Against reason, he was unyielding in this, unable to let go of his mother’s hatred.

Many years later, he would lead troops to besiege the Taiji Palace.

Li De, who had already been made a mere figurehead by him at that time, was lying on his sickbed and calmly asked, “Why did my son come?”

Li Xuanzhen replied word for word: “To take revenge for my mother’.”

He forced Li De to abdicate, killed the Li clan’s relatives, and dug up the ancestral tomb of his own father’s clan in spite of the world’s criticism.

He wanted everyone to be buried with Tang shi.

What really happened back then?

Yaoying was in a daze and lost in thought.

Li Xuanzhen had already moved away from her line of sight, entering the city with the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

Yaoying collected her thoughts, and looked at the approaching banner of Qin wang, the corners of her mouth curling up.

Li Zhongqian’s personal soldiers were not part of the flying cavalry. Attired in gold armor, before even approaching, they were a wave of brilliant and shining golden light.

Yaoying couldn’t help but laugh. Looking at her full-blooded brother who was urging his horse on and surrounded by his own soldiers, a warm feeling surfaced in her heart, dispelling the coldness that Li Xuanzhen brought.

As soon as she took off her curtain hat, she urged her horse to advance.

Li Zhongqian was six years older than Yaoying. Tall, broad-shouldered and strong, with muscles flexed beneath his heavy and ornate armor. His features were upright, and at first glance, somewhat similar to Li Xuanzhen’s.

Both brothers resembled Li De, with sharp contours and a pair of narrow, long phoenix eyes by nature.

Li Xuanzhen was gentle and reserved, his phoenix eyes were not harsh.

Li Zhongqian’s were more angular, always with a trace of fierce hostility between the eyebrows. He was moody, cold and despondent, lazily riding on horseback, carelessly sweeping a backwards glance, the corner of his eye raised, his gaze rather sharp.

The young lady next to the road who was ready to throw flower petals towards his armor was scared straight backwards.

Yaoying approached closer, and the soldiers gave way.

She stooped down, smiling, and reached for Li Zhongqian’s mount.

”Elder brother!”

Hearing his sister’s voice, Li Zhongqian jerked his head, surprised and delighted. Immediately,  his heroic disposition became glowing, changing into a gentler expression that others would never normally see on his face, “Why are you here?”

As he spoke, he slowed down the pace and reached out to hold her arm like he did in childhood when he taught Yaoying how to ride a horse, so she wouldn’t fall. She smiled as he sized her up carefully.

Yaoying was brought up by him. He taught her to read and write, taught her to ride a horse and draw a bow. The first book she read, the first copybook she wrote, the first small bow she drew, all were personally chosen by him.

Had she not been in poor health, he would not have left her in Chang’an.

The world had not yet been pacified and he was always on the warpath. Yaoying was growing up, and every time he saw her again, the young girl changed more and more.

The little qiniang3, who followed him around every day, grew up in the blink of an eye.

In a few years, she would be married out.

Before leaving for the expedition, he had talked about it with Prime Minister Zheng.

The smile on Li Zhongqian’s face dimmed a bit.

Yaoying also looked at Li Zhongqian.

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1 Euphemism for a place where people pay to do the deed.

2 From a poem by Bai Juyi about prostitutes. Stole the translation from here.

3 qi; seventh, niang: (basically used as a suffix for females) in this context it means #’s daughter. Put it together: seventh daughter.