A beauty that could topple kingdoms
She immediately replied, "Uncle Chu, there's no need to worry. I've seen it with my own eyes. Before my brother joined forces with the Shuofang Army, he could go anywhere on his own. It's not like he became a young lady who needed someone to follow him everywhere he went just because he arrived in the south."
Before A Qiu could finish speaking, laughter erupted from the army. She laughed and continued, "Besides, I'll be with you, wielding the Moon-Carving Sword."
Chu Mao, usually stern and unsmiling, now wore an expression of utter disbelief. He finally understood why Li Chongyu only treated A Qiu as a younger sister and never as a girl.
What daughter wouldn't try to stop or dissuade her father or brother from getting into danger? How could she do something like this, not only not helping to stop them, but also giving them her full support?
Chu Huaiming, even more eager to try, said, "Dad, I want to go too!"
He had previously joined forces with A Qiu to assassinate Su Rouhua at Luoyufang, and later encountered Xiao Chang'an and Gu Yi, sharing a boat that crossed almost half of Jianzhang. Having spent his entire life on the northern battlefield, this experience, besides being dangerous, also brought him a sense of novelty. A Qiu was also different from other women he had met: she was neither as reserved and well-behaved as his mother and Madam Yao, nor as passionate and unrestrained as the women of the northern lands.
In short, she is a very special older sister. Even General Chongyu dares to protect her, and he also wants to go out and play with her.
Chu Mao's eyes narrowed, and he shouted, "What are you doing running around like that? Don't you have any military discipline or rules?"
Startled by his shout, Chu Huaiming immediately shrank back behind Li Chongyu. Chu Maoshi realized he had insulted Li Chongyu as well, and apologized, "My lord, that's not what I meant."
Li Chongyu smiled and patted Chu Huaiming's head gently, saying softly, "We're not going out to play, and we'll be back soon, so don't worry."
Chu Huaiming was unwilling, but he could only watch with resentment as A Qiu and Li Chongyu left the vanguard camp one after the other, their figures disappearing into the grass.
Upon leaving the official road, Li Chongyu lagged slightly behind, allowing A Qiu to catch up with him. He walked alongside her and said casually, "To be honest, my greatest gain from this trip is to have such a beautiful sister as you."
A Qiu had never heard Li Chongyu mention her appearance before, and thought he was a hero who didn't care about women, so she ignored him. Who would have thought that he would suddenly say this now? She couldn't help but laugh and reply, "Brother, you're not blind after all. You actually know I'm a beauty."
Li Chongyu said with great interest, "I not only knew you were a beauty, but I also heard the officials in the palace say in private that you are the most beautiful woman in the Southern Dynasty. At that time, I did not know that they were talking about you. Now that I think about it, even though I am a rough man, I feel proud."
A Qiu had no idea when she had replaced Shangguan Yuqi and earned the title of "Number One Beauty of the Southern Dynasty." She quickly realized that beauty also depends on background. She had been the top dancer at both palace banquets and state banquets, which had probably solidified her reputation as a beauty capable of captivating the nation, on par with Lady Li and Zhao Feiyan. Coupled with her unique status as the successor of the young master, she had overshadowed Shangguan Yuqi.
Knowing this, she replied, "I don't know how they made up such nonsense. A few months ago, I still remember that the most beautiful woman in the Southern Dynasty was Miss Shangguan, whom you have also met."
Li Chongyu's eyes softened as he replied, "Miss Shangguan is indeed very good. You are all very good. The women of the Southern Dynasty... are very good."
A Qiu didn't know what Shangguan Yuqi's name reminded him of. Seeing him say this, he wanted to make a joke and said, "Since you think the women of the Southern Dynasty are so good, why don't you marry one and take her back to the Northern Border?"
Li Chongyu's eyes flashed with deep emotion as he smiled and said, "I have sworn since childhood that I will never marry."
This was an answer that A-Qiu had not expected.
She also understood why there was the Princess Wansui first, and then herself, and why Li Chongyu was always generous and treated her with brotherly affection, admiring her but never overstepping his bounds.
She was usually good at speaking, but at this moment she was somewhat at a loss for words, which inevitably involved Li Chongyu's personal pain.
Li Chongyu looked up at the twinkling stars embedded in the sky and sighed, "When you have seen the rare and beautiful sights in life, you will find it difficult to be impressed by other ordinary things. Since you will not be impressed, you will not need to delay others."
After thinking it over again and again, A Qiu suddenly asked, "I heard Miss Shangguan say that when my brother accompanied Duke Mingyuan in the battle of crossing the river, he was already thirteen years old. Since my brother was with your father at that time, did he ever see Empress Shangguan?"
Li Chongyu looked at her with undisguised admiration and said, "My sister is indeed very intelligent. Just from my words, she guessed that the rare and beautiful sight I was referring to was Empress Shangguan of the former Huan Dynasty. However, you are wrong about one thing. It is not because I have seen Empress Shangguan that I have become so indifferent to other women and vowed never to marry her."
His eyes gleamed as he sized up A Qiu, saying, "If we're talking about exceptional temperament, remaining untainted by the mud, I think you, sister, are on par with Empress Shangguan, perhaps even more so with your elegance. Miss Shangguan is the same. Therefore, in my eyes, Empress Shangguan is not the vast ocean." His voice lowered as he continued, "Actually, my sentiments are not for myself. But the reason I made this vow is related to these sentiments."
A Qiu didn't want to ask any more questions, as this matter inevitably touched on his hidden pain. But then he thought that after tonight, the two of them would part ways, and even if Li Chongyu had many worries, he probably wouldn't have anyone to confide in. So he cautiously said, "Then, brother, you must be regretting the life of your father, Mingyuan Gong."
Even from the few words he had heard, A Qiu could guess that at least three women were extremely important to Li Mingyuan's life: his first wife, Madam Yao, was the daughter of a noble family in Youzhou; Su Rouhua, the leader of the Yinyue clan, gave birth to Li Chongyu for him; and Empress Shangguan of the former Huan Dynasty.
Given Li Mingyuan's rough and bold martial personality, it's quite remarkable that he would go to such lengths to find three Han Dynasty bricks to present to the Empress, even though it was to clarify his own ambitions.
Li Mingyuan, a renowned general who spent years conquering various regions, could hardly be considered a womanizer based solely on his relationship with these three women. In fact, he could be considered quite self-disciplined.
After all, he was firm in his stance and had never accepted Su Rouhua, and he had only met Empress Shangguan of the former Huan Dynasty once in his life.
Even so, Li Chongyu was one of the most deeply hurt among them. Orphaned at a young age, he wandered and lived among foreign tribes, living like an orphan.
When he learns who his birth mother is and what his birth father's true attitude towards him is, it's another blow.
A Qiu suddenly understood why Li Chongyu had chosen to vow never to marry.
From Chu Huaiming's words, she already knew that Li Chongyu was extremely filial to his stepmother, Madam Yao, and devoted himself to Hu Miaorong, who raised him. He was also extremely tolerant of Princess Wansui and Su Rouhua.
Having been hurt before, he didn't want to hurt any more women.
A-Qiu cautiously observed Li Chongyu's expression and asked, "Brother, do you harbor any resentment towards your father?"
He resented that he had burdened him with so many things since childhood, and that he had left this world so early, leaving behind so many grudges for him to bear, which he felt he could never repay in his lifetime.
When asked this question, Li Chongyu looked somewhat bewildered. He smiled wryly and said, "Actually, I don't know either. Perhaps being a man isn't such an easy thing."
He had to contend with the allure of the delicate flower, and the struggle between desire and reason. And that fleeting glimpse of Empress Shangguan was likely the annihilation of his father's life.
It is said that matters of the heart are like a battlefield, and he knew he might not be able to do it as well as his father, so he chose not to go to the battlefield.
Li Chongyu turned his face away and looked at her seriously, saying, "Ah Qiu, it's not just the beauties of the South; everything in the South is the dream of us Han people in the North. Elegant attire, magnificent songs and dances, timeless etiquette, making friends through literature, enjoying spring outings in the summer—is there anything in you that we don't envy or want?"
He continued, “I’m afraid it’s not just me, Li Chongyu. Ask any of the northern nomadic tribes, who wouldn’t envy or want the rich culture of the Central Plains? The only difference is whether they are conquerors who plunder and trample, or builders who painstakingly build the homeland they desire, brick by brick.”
He grasped A Qiu's hand and said, "Actually, this is what I meant. Coming to Jiangdong, I am already content with having a girl like you. Beautiful flowers need rich and peaceful land to grow, otherwise it would be a waste. I do not want to take a flower of the Southern Dynasty back to my territory, because it is not suitable for her to grow there now. A woman who is used to the poetic and romantic life of the Southern Dynasty will never adapt to our life of eating raw meat and sleeping in the open on the frontier."
For some reason, A-Qiu felt that these words were not spoken by Li Chongyu to her.
It must have been long ago that the previous Marquis of Guannei, Li Mingyuan, also pondered this matter in his central command tent, pacing back and forth all night, and finally came to this conclusion.
If Li Mingyuan had disregarded the Empress's wishes, he could have easily raised an army and seized Jianzhang Palace. As Li Chongyu said, who wouldn't want a beauty who could topple a kingdom? Even the barbarians could do it—burn down palaces, abduct concubines, leaving only ruins and weeds in Chang'an and Luoyang. Li Mingyuan could certainly do it too.
He simply didn't want to.
Ah Qiu grasped Li Chongyu's large hand and said with some emotion, "Brother has his own principles, which Ah Qiu greatly admires. However, I still hope that one day you can get rid of the burden of your ancestors. Those things are not your responsibility, and I also believe that your father in the afterlife would want you to live a carefree and happy life."
A look of bewilderment flashed across Li Chongyu's face, and he said with a wry smile, "Can a person really live a carefree and happy life? At least everyone I know carries the responsibility of the country and the family." He pointed his whip forward and said, "We can dismount when we get there."
In the pitch-black night ahead, a dilapidated archway appeared, with three slender yet powerful characters inscribed above it: "Martial Saint Shrine".
A Qiu had guessed early on that Li Chongyu was coming to the Martial Saint Shrine. This was because the first time she saw Li Chongyu, she saw him come to this place at Su Rouhua's request.
This place is desolate and dilapidated, yet it possesses a faint air of tragic grandeur.
Li Chongyu looked up at the three characters and said before A Qiu could ask, "These must have been written by the former Grand Secretary." He then said calmly, "My father died here during the crossing of the river, and the entire Shuofang army was wiped out. I am the only survivor."
A Qiu finally understood why he hadn't brought any Shuofang soldiers, but only her.
This is a page filled with pain and nightmares for the Shuofang Army left behind in the Southern Dynasty. Li Chongyu did not want anyone in the Shuofang Army to experience his pain again.
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