Overall situation
Chapter Eleven
I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.
Too many things happened during the day, and my mind was in turmoil. I couldn't help but let my mind wander, and the more I thought, the more my head ached. Finally, I got up, clutching my head, which startled Ami, who was sleeping on the floor. She jumped up and ran to my bedside, asking groggily, "What does Miss want? Ami will go and prepare it for you."
I sighed.
Ami arrived in the evening, saying she was ordered by the owner to serve me personally.
There were no female servants with the older brother, and besides, the host should follow the guest's lead, so of course he had no choice but to keep her.
When only Ami and I were left in the room, Ami took out a small paper packet from her belt, handed it to me, and told me that it was the best wound medicine in the clinic. It could stop bleeding, relieve pain, promote tissue regeneration, and was easy to use—just sprinkle it on the wound.
I opened the paper package, which contained a mixture of black and white powder, and a peculiar fragrance wafted out.
Urged by Ami, I rolled up my sleeve and carefully applied the powder to the worm-shaped wound on my arm. I immediately felt a refreshing coolness, and the pain was greatly reduced.
Ami watched as I did as she said, and smiled happily, showing her gums: "That's great! The owner was worried that Miss wouldn't want to use it!"
"Are you worried I won't use it? Why?" I blurted out.
“The curator said you might be angry with her,” Ami told me honestly. “But she brought you medicine, so why would you be angry? Does she expect the curator to ask you for a lot of money?”
I opened my mouth, but said nothing; I was already too frightened to speak that day.
However, Ami's thoughts were stirred up, and she began to talk incessantly: "Miss, you must believe that the owner would never overcharge you. She probably knows you have money, which is why she brought up the price with you. Ami came to help at the clinic because the owner refused to accept money for my mother's medical treatment and medicine. After my mother recovered, she asked Ami to work for the owner. The owner has the kindest heart, Miss, please don't be angry with her."
“It has nothing to do with money,” I said, grinning, “and I’m not angry.”
Ami was relieved, but I felt heavy-hearted.
Recalling Lan Feiyu's somewhat strange expression and burst of laughter when I readily offered to become sworn sisters with her, and with Ami's corroborating description, I completely believe what my older brother said: Lan Feiyu was helping Prince Asa win me over...
But I still don't understand what their struggle for the throne has to do with me. Why do the two princes think that marrying me will guarantee them official recognition from the court? I just can't figure out the reason behind this!
The older brother could only smile wryly when he heard my doubts. After the wry smile, he said to me with a bitter look on his face, "No one believes that you came here on a whim because you wanted to see elephants. Especially since, although you don't have an official title, you are indeed a girl from my Zhao family."
So they think I'm here for a marriage alliance? That doesn't make sense. In the past, marriage alliances always involved a princess with a title, and the procession was always a special team. How could they sneak around and plant a girl in a prince's inspection tour like this?
Do these damned barbarians even know the rules?
Besides, even if it were truly a marriage alliance, there must have been a purpose behind it, right?
To protect their borders and ensure the well-being of their people, many people sought peace through treaties and marriage alliances, refraining from repeated military incursions by foreign tribes. History is replete with such instances. But who would choose to form a marriage alliance with a vassal state? This misunderstanding of hierarchy and social status demonstrates a profound ignorance that leads one astray.
No, no!
There must be another problem.
According to my older brother, the two princes are vying for the throne and might take us both hostage, or even make me one of their concubines. But even so, I really don't see how this would benefit their "great cause".
The emperor of Eastern Chu was not the type to be weak and easily threatened. His audacious actions were more likely to result in a massive military campaign, turning Bozhou Kingdom into Bozhou Prefecture, rather than a formal edict of investiture.
I dumped all my questions on my older brother, and to my surprise, he gave me an approving smile again.
"Xiao Xi's mind is still very clear." The older brother's praise was quite unique, and I couldn't quite accept it. "What you said is correct in principle. However, the problem of Bozhou is not limited to Bozhou, and it should be considered in the context of the overall situation."
"The big picture?" I blinked.
The older brother waved to me, and we sat down at the table, where a newly replaced teapot and teacups were placed.
He picked up the teapot and placed it in front of me: "This is my dynasty."
I looked at the teapot; it was round and plump, quite similar to the "palaces" here—is round and plump the preferred style here? In terms of size, it's quite suitable as a metaphor for my Eastern Chu.
The older brother moved a teacup over and placed it on top of the teapot: "This is Northern Liang. Although their strength has been greatly reduced in the past two years due to our dynasty's attacks and internal strife, they are still our dynasty's biggest external threat."
I know that. It is said that when I was very young, I once attracted the emperor to personally lead an expedition against me. However, as my older brother said, that once powerful northern bandit kingdom has now been divided into three, and they are at odds with each other, each wanting to devour the other. It's quite a lively situation.
From the perspective of the people of Eastern Chu, I would certainly hope that they could fight amongst themselves for a hundred years, and then all three would be severely injured and perish together.
"So our country's main military force is still concentrated in the north." The older brother said, moving three more cups and placing them all under the teapot. He pointed to them one by one from right to left. "This is Bozhou, Baili, and slightly above that is Western Shu, which occupied a small part of the original Shu territory—this country is basically a dying candle, and is only temporarily relying on the more western Turo Kingdom. Turo Kingdom, hmm, we'll need another teapot..."
Unable to find the teapot, he stacked the two cups together, glanced at them, and then stacked a third cup on top. Although it still didn't hold as much as the teapot, at least it was nearly level in height.
"Although Bozhou and Baili are both our vassal states, they do not harbor goodwill towards each other and seize every opportunity to take advantage of each other. However, due to our dynasty, neither dares to cross the line too much."
I pointed to the three cups representing the Kingdom of Tuluo and asked, "Is this country hostile to us? And what does the matter of Bozhou have to do with it?"
"It's very important," my older brother concluded first, and then explained to me.
It turns out that a few years ago, after our Eastern Chu conquered the Shu Kingdom, some of the royal descendants of the Shu Kingdom fled west to the area bordering the Tulu Kingdom, where they re-established a small country with the help of a powerful state. Although I don't mean to disrespect them, they did indeed act like watchdogs.
The emperor originally did not intend to antagonize Turo, adhering to the ancient adage "do not pursue a desperate enemy," and decided to let the matter drop for the time being.
However, a few years later, the situation changed again. The Kingdom of Tulu took the initiative to provoke war against the Eastern Chu, and the watchdog of the Western Shu, relying on its master's power, often seized the opportunity to bite a few times, and even if it couldn't bite, it would still bark and bare its teeth.
The older brother said that the dog might have escaped. He suggested sending troops, and that the entire royal family, regardless of age or gender, would flee into the territory of the Turo Kingdom.
Thus, Bozhou and Baili, caught between the two great kingdoms of Eastern Chu and Tuluo, found themselves in a rather awkward position. If they couldn't please both sides, they would have to suffer from both.
These two countries were indeed sensible. They kept the emperor's edicts of investiture and the imperial seals in good condition. When it was time to pay tribute, they never shortchanged anyone. They also never delayed sending their children to the capital for "education." However, they could not offend Turo too much. After all, even if our dynasty had the ability to protect them, the battlefield was still on their territory. Moreover, sending troops without stationing them was not a fundamental solution.
After going around in circles for a while, I still couldn't figure out how this whole situation had anything to do with me, or why the two princes would have the idea of taking me as their wife. I asked impatiently, and my older brother frowned: "Don't rush, it's really hard to explain without explaining the whole story. Because of this situation, since last year, a strange rumor has been circulating in Bozhou and Baili, saying that Eastern Chu intends to support one of the countries to annex the other, so as to serve as a barrier for my southwestern border, and to take the territory of Western Shu to guard the country's gate, in order to alleviate the danger of fighting with Turo, and to transfer all its forces to the north to wipe out the dying Northern Liang in one fell swoop."
I listened intently, holding my breath, but the older brother stopped: "Go get me a bowl of water, I'm thirsty... Oh, go take a break and come back later."
He chuckled, drifted out of the house, leaving me alone to stare blankly.
A moment later, the eldest brother returned, took a sip of water, and continued, "The timing of our trip was very coincidental, just in time for the struggle for the throne of Bozhou. The eldest brother made a last-minute decision to go to Bozhou, but the local kings and nobles of Bozhou and Baili did not think that the eldest brother's trip was without purpose. They concluded that the eldest brother was an imperial envoy who came to investigate and report who was more suitable to be the ruler of the southwest."
"And you, Xiaoxi, are the token. If I support someone, I will give you to them." The older brother grinned at me with a gloating smile.
I felt dizzy and almost fell off the stool. I managed to steady myself and gritted my teeth, saying, "Then they should be trying to please you and me. How could you say that if they cause trouble, we will all become hostages?"
The elder brother said solemnly, “They say greed blinds the mind, and these people actually believe such rumors without question. Think about it, is that possible? They obviously intend to use you and me as leverage to force His Majesty to acknowledge the legitimacy of the current ruler for the sake of face, and then legitimately annex the neighboring country. If His Majesty refuses, then they can immediately turn around and ally with Turo, becoming enemies of Eastern Chu.”
"...Big brother," I stared at the teapot and teacups on the table for a long time before finally saying, "Why do I feel like we've walked right into a trap after hearing your explanation?"
The older brother sighed, remained silent for a long while, and then suddenly said, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Xiao Xi. Yes, I'm going hunting with them tomorrow, and Lan Feiyu will definitely come looking for you. Now that you know the situation, you might as well try to probe her a bit and see if you can get anything out of her. Her own father and brothers died under suspicious circumstances, and she's living under someone else's roof..."
Before he finished speaking, I nodded, and at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder: Did my older brother really decide to come to Bozhou on short notice?
Now that I've sent Ami back to sleep, I'm starting to worry. Will I be able to be completely at ease when I see Lan Feiyu tomorrow?
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