Banshu
Chapter Two
Although I was born into a family that was related to the emperor, I knew absolutely nothing about court affairs and national matters before I left the capital.
This isn't my fault; after all, my days are extremely monotonous and repetitive.
Reading, eating, practicing martial arts, eating, needlework, sleeping.
Day after day, in an endless cycle.
She often went out of her boudoir, but only once or twice a year from the city gates, to accompany her to worship her ancestors.
Occasionally, when Aunt Fairy has some free time, or when my uncle comes to visit, or when my older sister asks me to come to the palace to keep her company, they tell me about the world's affairs, the joys and sorrows of humankind, which is already a rare treat.
Therefore, I am not entirely clear about the heavy responsibility that my older brother is shouldering this time when he travels with me.
Looking back now, I feel ashamed. But at the time, I did see my older brother receive the news and his expression change drastically. Apart from marveling at his unchanging expression collapsing, my only worry was that I would have to return early and face the endless matchmakers again.
When I learned that my older brother had to change course midway and temporarily abandon his trip to Nanyue, instead heading to Bozhou instead, my worries deepened: I wouldn't be able to see any elephants.
Before I left, I solemnly promised the older sister that I would meet the baby elephant for her.
Yes, I was indeed that ignorant and shallow. Her later disdainful assessment that I "had only four legs and no brains" wasn't entirely unjustified—but it also reveals a lot about what she truly thought of me…
In short, at the time I had no idea that the events reported in the courier report were so closely related to myself and the entire Eastern Chu.
Bozhou, which had submitted to Eastern Chu nine years ago, faced a crisis due to the death of its old ruler and the question of his succession, which ignited a war within its borders.
The old king had a biological son and a daughter, as well as two adopted sons. His biological son was sent to the capital after he submitted to Eastern Chu, where he stayed for seven or eight years.
When the father dies, the son succeeds. The emperor of Eastern Chu naturally released the man. His own son traveled thousands of miles to return to Bozhou to succeed him. However, he had barely arrived when, it is said, he died before he could even eat a few bites of food in his hometown, following his father to the afterlife.
What followed was naturally fratricide and infighting... But that's not quite accurate, since the old king no longer had any biological sons, only a biological daughter, so the battle for the throne took place between two adopted sons.
Why can't the daughter succeed to the throne? That's incredibly disrespectful!
I hadn't even met the girl yet, but I was already feeling indignant on her behalf. The older brother explained that it wasn't a matter of sons and daughters, but rather a matter of age order. The girl had just turned sixteen and hadn't done anything before; she was probably like me, rarely even leaving the house.
Her two older brothers, although not the old king's biological sons, have been treated by the old king as his own children for many years, regarded as his right and left arms. Moreover, the two of them, the older one is twenty-five and the younger one is already twenty-three, which is the age when they should make great achievements.
The best approach for that little girl—that's the older brother's term—is to please both sides and not offend either. The next best approach is to attach oneself to one of them, otherwise…
What else can we do?
The older brother sighed: "Otherwise, the fate of her father and brothers will serve as a warning."
I was horrified and stammered, asking my older brother if he was overthinking things: "But, but, didn't you say that the old king died of illness, and then, and then, the old king's son died suddenly because his health collapsed from the journey?"
The older brother raised the corners of his mouth slightly, a half-smile on his face, but said nothing.
I suddenly remembered my mother mentioning to Aunt Xian that when my older brother smiled, he looked more like the emperor's son than my uncle's biological son.
I didn't understand it at first, but I suddenly realized its meaning from the older brother's smile.
So, besides the elephant, I had another person to worry about: Lan Feiyu, the youngest daughter of the old king, whom I had never even met.
"But why are we going to Bozhou?" Although I temporarily understood that the ruler of Bozhou might not be so easy to be born, I still didn't understand how this had anything to do with our trip.
My older brother didn't show any impatience with my persistent questioning—in this respect he was very much like my uncle: "Because they invited us. I'm the imperial envoy now, representing the emperor. If the new ruler doesn't have His Majesty's support, his position won't be secure."
I was still confused: "Why?"
"This is a bit complicated. In short, Bozhou is still a vassal state. If it angers His Majesty the Emperor, well, it will cease to exist."
"Does 'it doesn't exist' mean?" I wondered, then boldly speculated, "Will it become part of Eastern Chu?"
The older brother smiled and nodded: "Xiao Xi is so smart."
Actually, there's another question I've been keeping to myself, but I haven't asked it: Are those people in Bozhou, like the old king's adopted son and daughter, happy about this?
I guess they wouldn't be happy about it, because then none of them would become the ruler.
Just like my uncle, who was said to be a king in Nanyue, but the emperor captured him and took him to Jinling. Nanyue became part of Dongchu, so of course he could no longer be a king.
What's it like to be a king? I don't know, but I guess you wouldn't have to ask your mother for permission to even go out in your own territory, right?
I spent each day on the road lost in thought, and since everything was new to me, I didn't find the days unbearable at all. I was full of energy and refused to stay in the carriage, insisting on riding a horse. With the kind of spirit my older brother described as "being able to beat two oxen to death with my bare hands," I entered Bozhou.
But fate is fair.
I was too arrogant a while ago, and I was so happy that I couldn't sleep every night. The group had just settled in the post station arranged by the King of Bozhou when I fell ill that very night. The illness came on suddenly and suddenly. The next day, my older brother sent someone to wake me up and found me tossing and turning in bed, my whole body burning like a piece of charcoal in a furnace.
I was in a daze for two days, almost unconscious. When I finally regained consciousness and opened my eyes, I found that the person supporting me was not my older brother, nor a doctor or a maid, but a young girl dressed in a very strange way.
Her hair was tied up, and above her forehead was a gold ornament the size of a palm, shaped like a bird spreading its wings. The bird was like a phoenix with long tail feathers, but each feather was pointing upwards. I counted them in a daze, and there were as many as ten.
A pink, blooming flower was tucked behind her ear. I didn't know what kind of flower it was, but it looked somewhat like a poppy. I must have been delirious with fever at the time, because I blurted out a very inappropriate name: "Yu Ji!"
"Yu Ji" paused, frowning. Before she could speak, I murmured again, as if delirious with fever, "Yu Ji, Yu Ji, what can I do... Why are you so dark?"
Her face flushed red, and she glared at me angrily. After a moment, she calmed down, stood up, and said to me, "I am not Yu Ji. My Han name is Lan Feiyu, and I am the daughter of the King of Bozhou."
She spoke those words in a rough and harsh voice, but I don't think I can blame her.
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