So much longing, so much resentment
"Your Highness, the snow outside is very heavy. Please put on a cloak." Seeing that Wei Qiao was about to go outside wearing only a cloak, A Gui quickly draped a silver fox fur cloak over him.
Wei Qiao lifted the tent flap and looked out at the endless expanse of white snow, asking A Gui, "Are the soldiers' cotton-padded clothes enough? Have the charcoal I ordered to be distributed to each tent been distributed?"
"Your Highness, the supplies have all been distributed. The soldiers are very grateful to Your Highness," A-Gui said with a smile.
Wei Qiao lifted his leg and walked outside, asking, "Are General Wu and General Shi in the tent?"
"Yes, just now when I came here I also ran into the two generals' deputies, they should be in General Wu's tent now."
Wu Jin and Shi Shou were analyzing the map, wondering where the next battle with Xi Hai would take place. When they saw Wei Qiao approaching, they both bowed to him.
“Generals, there’s no need for such formalities.” Wei Qiao walked up to the map that the two generals had marked, looked at the Fengtu Valley circled in charcoal, and smiled, “Do you both think that the Fengtu Valley is an important location?”
Shi Shou, dressed in red armor, stepped forward to the map and pointed to the terrain, saying, "Fengtu Valley is the only way for our army to reach Kuiyang. According to scouts, the enemy has 10,000 troops stationed on Banyangpo, about 10 miles away from Fengtu Valley. If the enemy wants to block our advance, they will naturally not let Fengtu Valley go."
"Then, General Yishi, how do you think our army can safely pass through this place and capture Kuiyang?" Wei Qiao asked.
In mid-September, Wei Qiao's 200,000 soldiers finally arrived at Lianchi City, while the army of Posolang had already captured half of Dingxi Prefecture. After two months of fierce fighting, the Great Zhou army recaptured Qianyang City, which had been occupied by the enemy.
They are now stationed at Liangshuiping, thirty miles outside Qianyangcheng. Due to heavy snow blocking their path, they are now separated from the main army of Posolang by Yuqiu Mountain, occupying the north and south. Fengtu Valley is the vital passage through Yuqiu Mountain.
After pondering for a moment, Shi Shou said, "Yuqiu Mountain is high and steep, and the weather is currently bitterly cold. If our army were to forcibly cross the mountain now, it would be tantamount to suicide. We can only wait for winter to pass and spring to come, and for the ice and snow to melt, so that our army will have a chance to find a breakthrough into the valley."
Of the 200,000 soldiers, one-third were southerners who were intolerant of the cold. Dingxi Prefecture experiences a five-month winter a year, and despite adequate logistical support, some soldiers still contracted typhoid fever and other illnesses, significantly reducing their combat effectiveness. Apart from the 20,000-strong advance force they brought with them, stationed at Liangshuiping, the remaining 180,000 were currently stationed in Qianyang and Lianchi in the rear.
They have now entered a winter truce with Xi Hai. If they cannot find an opportunity to capture Fengtu Valley next spring, they will be embroiled in an even longer tug-of-war with Posala. Posala holds the advantage of terrain, and their battle with Posala is destined to be long and arduous.
In the warm spring of April, the cherries on the two cherry trees in Xichun's courtyard had begun to change color. Jiangjiao whimpered over the cherries, so Xichun picked a ripe one to coax her. Jiangjiao took a bite of the still sour cherry and her face contorted in a smile. Tears welled up in her dark eyes, threatening to fall, making her look pitiful.
Seeing this, Xichun prepared a small bowl of her favorite honey water. Jiangjiao took a sip, tasted the sweet flavor on his tongue, gave Xichun a bright smile, and called out "Mother" in a clear voice.
When Chu Wei heard Jiang Jiao call her "Mother," she hugged her and teased her, wanting her to call her "Auntie." But Jiang Jiao just wouldn't listen. Even when she could call Zhao Xiaopeng "Uncle" in May, she still hadn't learned to call her "Auntie."
After the Dragon Boat Festival, Xichun was busy in the shop as usual. When she heard a customer order two meat buns and two vegetarian buns, she picked up the lotus leaf buns and handed them to the woman in green in front of her. "Sir, that'll be sixteen coins in total."
Upon hearing this, Yue Mei took out her money pouch to pay, only to realize that she didn't have any extra copper coins. She smiled at Xi Chun and said, "Boss, wait a moment, I need to get some copper coins from my husband."
Miao Wendao gazed at the departing passenger ships under the banyan tree. Hearing his wife calling him, he hurried towards her. Yue Mei took a copper coin from him and came over to pay.
"Take care, sir." Xi Chun took the copper coin and smiled at her.
Miao Wendao, who was looking at the clothing store next door on the street, wondering if he should buy some clothes for his mother, heard a familiar voice and looked up into the steamed bun shop. The young woman busily picking out and packing steamed buns for customers was none other than Xichun.
Seeing Miao Wendao staring intently at the owner of the steamed bun shop, Yue Mei smiled and asked, "Does my husband know that owner?"
Miao Wendao put away his purple bamboo fan, pondering whether to go forward and acknowledge Xichun. Hearing his wife's question, he sighed inwardly and decided not to disturb her life any longer. He shook his head and prepared to leave with Yue Mei.
"Doctor Yue, my father's illness last time was really thanks to you!" A middle-aged woman who came out of the steamed bun shop called out to Yue Mei.
Yue Mei remembered that she was Madam Chen, who ran a pastry shop on Tiema Street. Last time, her father had fallen and injured his back at home, and it took her ten days of acupuncture to recover. Yue Mei smiled and said, "Madam Chen, you're here to buy steamed buns too?"
Madam Chen held up the steamed bun wrapped in lotus leaf in her hand. "Yes, my husband loves Madam Jiang's steamed buns. I come here to buy them whenever I have time."
With no one waiting, Xichun looked outside to check the wind. She heard Chen Niangzi speaking and looked in her direction, only to see that familiar figure.
"Brother Miao!" Xichun called out excitedly to Miao Wendao. Seeing him look up at her, she immediately ran out from behind the counter and ran to him.
Seeing that Miao Wendao's features remained unchanged, still wearing his favorite white clothes and holding his folding fan, tears welled up in Xichun's eyes. Brother Miao is doing well, that's wonderful.
"Xichun, it's been a long time," Miao Wendao said, his voice hoarse.
He never imagined he would meet her again here. Two years ago, after resigning from his official post, he went to the capital and searched for her for two months without any news. Later, his father fell seriously ill, and he returned to Yanzhou. By a twist of fate, he and Yue Mei became intimate, and this scene was witnessed by both families. He and Yue Mei then got married on the day of Xiaoman last year.
Yue Mei could be considered his childhood sweetheart; their families lived on the same street. However, Yue Mei preferred quiet, while he was active, so they never played together as children. Later, Yue Mei was chosen by the Divine Doctor Valley to study medicine, while he embarked on the path of the imperial examinations, and the two never saw each other again.
After getting married, the two gradually became familiar with each other, and now they can be considered a loving couple.
The shop was still busy, and Xichun and Miao Wendao only exchanged a few hurried words on the street. The following afternoon, Xichun took her daughter Jiangjiao and some gifts to the Miao residence.
Miao Wendao did not hide his past relationship with Xichun from Yue Mei. Although Yue Mei was resentful about Xichun and Miao Wendao's reunion, seeing how open and generous the two were, the thorn in her heart disappeared.
When Aunt Feng saw Xichun again, the two cried together. Seeing that they were both alright, they were relieved.
Upon learning of Yue Mei's exceptional medical skills, Xi Chun wanted Zhao Xiaopeng to see Yue Mei, but Yue Mei was helpless to treat Zhao Xiaopeng's condition. However, over time, Xi Chun and her two companions became friends with Miao Wendao's family.
Miao Wendao did not follow his father's wishes to inherit the family's tea business. Instead, he opened his own private school, Baiyu School. He didn't have many students, and in his spare time, he often took Jiang Jiao to Xingchun Hall in Yuemei to help cut and dry herbs.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, Xichun, Chuwei, Zhao Xiaopeng, and the ever-talkative Jiangjiao were eating mooncakes and admiring the moon in the courtyard. The bright moonlight illuminated this small family in Yanzhou City and also the western border hundreds of miles away.
"Your Highness, have a mooncake." Zhao Yu placed a red bean paste mooncake made by the kitchen in front of Wei Qiao.
"I don't like it. You can take it and share it with A-Gui," Wei Qiao said without looking up as he studied the military intelligence report.
After the snow melted in April, they engaged in battle with Posala in the Fengtu Valley. With effective scouts, Wei Qiao seized the opportunity while the enemy was celebrating the snow-melting festival and launched a three-pronged attack, capturing the Fengtu Valley. Unfortunately, before they could even reach Kuiyang, they clashed with Posala's army on the banks of the Bilu River. Although the Great Zhou repelled the enemy, it was only a narrow victory, and the Great Zhou army suffered heavy casualties, with more than 10,000 soldiers dying on both banks of the Bilu River.
The land turned purplish-red, and even the wide, clear river was stained red with blood. The ceaselessly flowing red river was entirely the blood of the soldiers of the Great Zhou. When the tragic battle was mentioned, the surviving soldiers all wept.
It wasn't until midnight that Wei Qiao looked up from his desk. He rubbed his aching neck and walked outside the tent. The moon, like a jade plate, hung high in the sky, its clear light adding a touch of charm to the battlefield. A few soldiers were singing songs from their hometown. Wei Qiao walked to the nearby Qingcao Creek and sat on a protruding boulder to admire the moon.
Every time Wei Qiao sees the moon, he can't help but think of Xi Chun. They had spent many nights together admiring the moon when they were at the Wei residence and the Zhao Prince's residence, but now he was all alone. Wei Qiao thinks of Xi Chun in every spare moment; sometimes she appears in his dreams, but they never meet. In the desolate river, Xi Chun always has her back to him; the closer he gets, the further she walks away, until she disappears.
Wei Qiao thought that Xi Chun must still hate him, which was why she didn't want to see him. In the dead of night, he sometimes thought that if he hadn't gone to Lantai County, if he had refused the emperor's arranged marriage, if he hadn't gone to the sacrificial ceremony to be by her side, perhaps everything would have been different.
In March, Wei Qiao wrote another letter to Ming Chuqing, earnestly requesting a divorce and hoping to end their marriage. However, before the Mid-Autumn Festival, he received a reply from her still stating that it was impossible. Wei Qiao could clearly sense that Chuqing didn't love him either; although she sent a letter every few months, there was no love in her words.
He couldn't understand why Chu Qing was unwilling to divorce him, and why she was so determined to be a pair of bitter enemies with him.
"Your Highness, why did you burn the letter?" Cuiju asked in surprise. This was the only letter the prince had sent back after he went to the Northwest, and she thought the princess would keep it safe.
Ming Chuqing tossed the soot into the wastepaper basket and got up to wash her hands in the copper basin. Wei Qiao wanted a divorce, but she would never agree to it. Even if she had to fight him to the death, she would die as the Princess Consort of Zhao.
Cuiju handed her a clean towel. "Your Highness, Young Master Wei Kang's bed has been set up for you. The furniture and the remaining books from his room have all been moved over and placed in the west wing."
Ming Chuqing nodded to Cuiju, took off the jade bracelet with intertwined branches from her wrist and handed it to Cuiju, saying, "Well done, this is a reward for you."
A few days ago, Cuiju helped with the accounting of Prince Zhao's residence and discovered that the old residence of the Wei family on Shuimo Street also belonged to Prince Zhao's residence. Several gatekeepers were there to guard the gate and maintain the courtyard. Knowing that the Princess Consort liked Wei Kang, Cuiju specially found a former servant of the Wei family and asked her to point out the courtyard where Wei Kang used to live. After the Princess Consort saw it, the Princess Consort ordered people to move the canopy bed in Wei Kang's courtyard to Yunhe Hall.
Wei Qiao took away his trusted confidants and a group of personal guards, and the entire Zhao Prince's mansion was now under Ming Chuqing's control. Ming Chuqing lay on the bed where Wei Kang had slept, feeling as if she had shared a bed with him, only that he had never come into her dreams all these years.
Ming Chuqing's days were uneventful yet incredibly boring. She disdained attending gatherings of noble ladies in the capital, often only accepting invitations two or three times out of ten. Occasionally, she would return to her parents' home every few months for a short stay. She never told her mother that Wei Qiao had mentioned divorce to her. Her family assumed that she was greatly favored by Wei Qiao and always urged her to bear him an heir as soon as possible. Hearing these words, she found the stays utterly dull after only a few days.
One day, Ming Chuqing returned from the Ming residence and saw a monk dressed in a brown robe, carrying a pottery bowl, begging for alms along the road. She then asked Cuiju to give him ten taels of silver.
"Master chef, this is a gift from my princess." Cuiju put the silver into his earthenware bowl and then turned and quickly returned to Ming Chuqing's carriage to serve her.
Shi Xin had come out to solicit donations to repair the Buddha statues in the temple, and Ming Chuqing was the most generous benefactor he had encountered on this trip. Seeing that the carriage had not yet set off, Shi Xin quickly walked to the front of the carriage and bowed to Ming Chuqing through the curtain, saying, "Thank you, benefactor."
Ming Chuqing hadn't intended to speak to the monk, but seeing him come to thank her, she lifted the carriage curtain, intending to exchange a few polite words. However, upon seeing the monk's appearance, Ming Chuqing froze on the spot. Phoenix eyes and sword-like eyebrows—could there really be people in the world with such similar features? It turned out that the one most like Wei Kang wasn't Wei Qiao, but this monk before her.
Shi Xin bowed to her again and smiled, saying, "On behalf of all the monks of Kuti Temple, I thank you for your generous donation."
Seeing that the princess was not answering and was staring at her, Cuiju quickly reminded her in a low voice.
"You said you're a monk from Kuti Temple, is that the small temple ten miles north of the city?" Ming Chuqing asked. She remembered that a few years ago, when she and her mother returned to the capital from their estate, they had taken shelter from the rain in that small temple.
Shi Xin smiled and said, "That's right, benefactor."
Ming Chuqing gazed longingly at Shixin's smile, the person from her memory finally reappearing before her. She took Cuiju's purse and placed ten taels of silver into Shixin's earthenware bowl. Looking at Shixin's otherworldly smile, greed began to grow in her heart.
This monk is hers now.
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