Chapter 62 The Journey
In the deep winter of the twenty-first year of Yongjing, the snow in Lai State was thicker and more desolate than in previous years. The first snowfall of the winter had already been retained by the earth, and each subsequent snowfall piled up layer upon layer, until now it was up to above the calves.
The land was covered with snow, the mountains and roads were closed, and there were hardly any people walking around. There was no green on the branches, and no birds in the sky. The whole world was extremely desolate.
A dark-colored carriage stood out starkly against the white backdrop. It was very simple, with no decorations whatsoever, even the window carvings were crude. Only a coachman wearing a straw hat was waving a whip to drive the three horses pulling the carriage. On ordinary days, such a carriage would hardly attract any attention on this mountain path.
The wheels moved slowly forward, and the carriage traveled steadily. The quiet mountain felt eerily unsettling.
Just as the carriage had passed, the bushes rustled with dry branches, and several dark figures flashed by. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be several bandits in tattered clothes who had been watching the carriage as soon as it entered the mountains.
Although they don't appear to be wealthy or powerful, and probably wouldn't have robbed much money, they make their living by burning, killing, and looting. The Lai Kingdom has sent troops to suppress them many times, and they've been living like rats in the street, constantly on the run, barely surviving. This year, heavy snow has blocked the mountains, and they won't let anyone who passes through this area go.
They stared at the direction the carriage had traveled, rubbing their hands greedily, their eyes gleaming with greed. The leader was a one-eyed man, stout with a full beard, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt even in winter, yet his complexion was ruddy and showed no signs of cold, clearly indicating he was a martial artist. The one-eyed man drew a long sword from his waist and shouted.
"Brothers! Charge! Kill them all! Leave no one alive!"
A dozen or so bandits suddenly sprang from the snowdrifts, their broadswords aimed directly at the carriage. The three horses in front let out sharp neighs, their heads shaking uneasily, seemingly frightened, and began pulling the carriage in different directions.
"Don't panic, don't panic."
The coachman suddenly sighed and slowly reached out to touch the horse's back.
The one-eyed man at the head of the group felt looked down upon by a coachman, which enraged him even more. He immediately raised his hand and slapped the coachman, creating a powerful gust of wind that stirred up the snow piled up on the branches.
"This trick looks good but is useless."
Someone inside the carriage muttered something, which made the coachman in black grin. Then, the coachman stood up without moving his feet, his hands moving with lightning speed.
The one-eyed man didn't even see what the coachman did before his vision was blurred by flying snow. He was also struck in the chest by some unknown powerful force. The one-eyed man groaned and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He barely managed to stop himself from sliding backward by sticking his knife into the snow.
He was terrified and quickly looked around at his brothers, who were also sent flying like pieces of paper, crashing heavily into tree trunks. Some, like him, coughed up blood, while others were completely unconscious.
As snowflakes fell from the sky, the man noticed that the coachman had two swords at his waist, but the man hadn't even drawn them; he was simply holding one of the swords in his scabbard with one hand.
If she had just drawn her sword... the man's face turned deathly pale. Even if he was stupid, he knew he had messed with someone he shouldn't have. This coachman was actually a master!
"Run! Run!" The one-eyed man, not even bothering to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, turned and ran, shouting desperately.
“You lot come with me to the yamen to confess your crimes, and you might still have your lives.”
The coachman's voice sounded from behind, unhurried yet like a death knell.
"Pah! Who knows if you'll even survive when you get there, you lot..."
The one-eyed man spat and ran even harder, but the snow was so heavy that his legs sank into the thick snow, making it extremely difficult to pull them out.
"Jiang Heng."
Suddenly, another faint voice sounded from inside the carriage, a voice even softer than the one from before.
"You... are..."
Before he could even finish speaking, the one-eyed man had become one of the corpses scattered on the ground, lifeless. The crimson blood on the ground flowed into the snow in the shape of branches, like eerie plum blossoms in full bloom.
Two figures lifted the curtain and entered the carriage. The carriage swayed slightly, then fell silent again. The dark-colored carriage, pulled by three horses, continued to move slowly forward, the heavy snow behind it burying the corpses and the snow itself, as if none of this had ever happened.
...
The unassuming carriage was actually quite spacious and bright, with soft carpets and heavy curtains that kept out the cold.
Four stools were arranged in pairs facing each other, with a small but expensive rosewood armrest on each side, upon which tea and pastries were placed. A large fire burned brightly in the center, requiring only a light shirt to sit in. The incense burner was filled with a faint floral fragrance, though the exact contents were unknown.
After the coachman in black entered, he removed the bamboo hat that concealed his face, revealing a young man's face—it was none other than Lin Chengye. Opposite him, dressed in a dark red robe, was none other than the Third Princess of the Dynasty, Wei Jingchen.
"you……"
Lin Chengye stared at Wei Jingchen across from her with an unpleasant expression. She reached out and took the hot tea that Bian Yi had handed her. The pleasant warmth went down her throat, dispelling the chill in her body, which finally eased her brows a little.
"There's no need to keep these people; they're just a nuisance in jail."
Wei Jingchen had nothing to explain to Lin Chengye's questioning gaze, so he just sneered and looked into those dark eyes.
"You're just too soft-hearted."
"If His Highness hadn't been so playful and insisted on creating some kind of fake carriage, we probably wouldn't have been attacked."
Lin Chengye retorted without hesitation, taking a cold, hard pastry from the plate. Although it was far inferior to what she usually ate, it still satisfied her craving.
When setting off from Bingzhou, Wei Jingchen did not board the proper caravan returning to the capital. The large entourage of over three hundred people consisted entirely of her personal guards; how could bandits be so blind as to attack the royal family? But this prince insisted on traveling in a small carriage, accompanied only by an attendant named Jiang Heng and two unidentified江湖人 (jianghu people, martial arts practitioners).
"How much longer until we reach Lin Su City?" Lin Chengye asked, glancing at Bian Yi's expression.
After traveling for many days, in order to reach the capital as soon as possible, they traveled almost day and night, only stopping at post stations when their horses were resting.
This was tough on Bian Yi, a normally active person, who looked rather listless. Furthermore, she wasn't actually that familiar with outsiders, being reserved and quiet, so most of the time she would lift the carriage curtain and stare blankly at the heavy snow outside, lost in thought.
“It will probably take another three days, until the beginning of the twelfth lunar month,” Jiang Heng replied.
Have you been to Linsu City before?
Wei Jingchen gestured with his chin toward Lin Chengye.
“No, I grew up in the northern frontier and have never been to the capital.” Lin Chengye shook her head. Bian Yi, who was beside her, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head as well.
"I've only been to the vicinity."
That place was called... the Jade Capital of the Human World.
Wei Jingchen gently swayed the teacup between his fingers, and with his other hand lifted the carriage curtain, a ray of sunlight slipped through the gap, and the shadows of the distant mountains flowed slowly in his light brown eyes.
"Words cannot fully describe its splendor; you must see for yourselves. However, I feel it has been demonized by rumors."
"Those who have been there will forever remember that there is a city that seems to belong to another world, with vermilion gates like the entrance to a celestial realm. In their memories, the true appearance of that city has long been blurred, mixed with their own imagination."
Wei Jingchen raised an eyebrow and said again.
"However, it is quite surprising that you two don't seem to have any expectations for this."
"It's not that I've never thought about it."
Returning to the land of Lai, some memories that Lin Chengye had put aside began to resurface. She recalled some trivial matters from her youth and was surprised to realize that in just a few months, she had traveled to far more places than in the previous ten years. Her world had become much larger, no longer limited to Litao Prefecture or the flames of war in the northern frontier.
I remember that some of the soldiers who followed my mother came from Lin Su City. She was still young then, and when she sat with Lin Chengtong and the soldiers, she needed to put two cushions under her legs. Those people drank wine and would inadvertently become sentimental while looking at the moon.
Lin Chengye clearly remembers a woman who was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old and was still wearing soft armor. She held him on her lap, was slightly drunk, her face flushed, and whispered in his hoarse voice in his ear.
"Second Miss, that's a wonderful place, a wonderful place... Even Her Highness the Eldest Princess once recited poetry on the city wall. I was about your age then, and I saw Her Highness from afar, from afar. She stood amidst thousands of fireworks, stood in the golden rain..."
"...'A meteor shower across the Milky Way cannot compare to the moonlight over this night.'"
The words slowly escaped Lin Chengye's lips, and she herself felt a pang of melancholy, realizing that she still remembered those things so clearly. But then Lin Chengye suddenly shook her head and looked at Wei Jingchen.
"However, we both know the truth beneath the boundless prosperity of Lin Su City, so why reminisce? If everything were as it is now, I'm afraid I would never enter the capital as a descendant of the Lin family. Besides, Your Highness has only been out for a few months, and you already miss it?"
"There's no point in talking to you. You know perfectly well what I'm thinking. I miss that place terribly, otherwise why would I have rushed back?"
Wei Jingchen switched arms, his fingers lightly tapping on the surface. Suddenly, she changed the subject, speaking with interest.
"Do you know why the capital city is called Linsu?"
“Your Highness, we are all people of Lai, so we know this much.”
Bian Yi found it really difficult to listen to the two of them talking. They spoke one after the other, and she was confused by half of it. When she finally found someone who knew the answer, it was such a simple question that even a three-year-old could answer. She muttered to herself.
"There is a long river in the territory of Lai State called Sushui River. The capital city was built along the river and was called Linsu."
After speaking, she subconsciously glanced at Lin Chengye, who nodded slightly at her. Bian Yi then relaxed and proudly raised her chin at Wei Jingchen.
"You're from Lai?"
Wei Jingchen raised an eyebrow and said.
“You look like someone from the south, somewhat similar to Bingzhou, which I’m going to this time.”
"Ah... I don't really know the specifics, but I grew up in Qingyue County of Lai Kingdom, which isn't far from Linsu City."
Bian Yi paused for a moment, then subconsciously mentioned the place where Qingluan used to be.
"It was a long, long time ago... I've almost forgotten what Lai Kingdom looks like. This is my first time returning."
"Really? That's quite a coincidence."
Wei Jingchen raised her hand, slowly pointing at Lin Chengye, then Bian Yi, and finally at her own chest. She narrowed her light brown eyes, leaned forward, and looked into their eyes as she spoke, word by word.
"It seems that no matter what, we will eventually have to come back here."
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