"What do I want to see you for?" Xiao Ba's eyes swept over her fiercely. She smiled coldly, with a hint of disdain and coldness on her young face. She said slowly, "Sixth sister is now of noble status. She is General Xiu Li of Yanbei, King Xiu Li of Bian Tang, and will soon be Madam Sima of Daxia. If I, a little slave, come here rashly, wouldn't it be embarrassing for Sixth sister?"
Xiao Ba's eyes were cold, especially when he said the words "Mrs. Sima", his eyes almost seemed to spit fire.
The incense in the incense burner was lit, and a thin line of smoke rose slowly. The light golden light was like sparse water, flowing in layer by layer, casting a mottled and fragmented light and shadow on the smooth floor. The room was silent. Chu Qiao looked at Xiao Ba silently. Her burning heart gradually cooled down. She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. Her heart was blank, as if the white snow in Yanbei was cold and clear.
She heard herself ask in a calm voice: "So what brings you here today?"
"Your Highness is leaving. I would like to ask you to get me a document to release me from royal slavery so that I can go with Your Highness."
Chu Qiao was slightly surprised, "Where is Zhao Song going?"
"Where else can he go? To guard the horse farm in Yansai. A prince of Daxia, the legitimate son of the queen, was actually demoted to guard the horse farm."
Xiao Ba's expression turned gloomy, and she spoke coldly through gritted teeth, the great anger in her voice almost unsuppressible.
"Why?"
"Why else? Isn't it because of you?" Xiao Ba turned around and said coldly, "Since Yan Beigou cut off one of his arms, His Highness has been living in seclusion and never cared about any disputes between the court and the public. In the battle for the throne, the princes of various families were busy fighting for power and no one paid attention to him. However, a few days ago, he mobilized the government's troops for you, and also showed goodwill to you. Do you think the people of the Fourteenth Prince can still allow him to stay in the capital with his status?"
Chu Qiao's hands were unusually cold, and her head was buzzing. She could only hear Xiao Ba's sharp voice ringing in her ears, saying angrily: "I don't ask you to find a way to let His Highness stay in the capital, I just ask you to help me get a document. If His Highness refuses to take me with him, I will go with him. At least I can serve him soup every morning and evening, and he won't have to go alone. His Highness has been kind to me, and I will never repay kindness with enmity like some people do, and be ungrateful."
After a long while, Chu Qiao finally raised her head, looked at Xiao Ba's beautiful face, and said calmly, "Xiao Ba, do you really have to live with me like this?"
"What are you talking about, Sixth Sister? Who are you? Who are Xiaoba? How dare I marry you? What's more..."
"If you keep talking like this, leave right now and don't beg me for anything. I will just pretend that I don't have a sister like you!" Chu Qiao suddenly said angrily in a cold voice.
Xiao Ba was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at the furious Chu Qiao, unable to utter a word for a moment.
"What are you complaining about? What are you angry about? Are you angry that I couldn't protect you and take you away? Or are you angry that I can't avenge Zhixiang and Linxi today, and that you have to accept the enemy as your husband and devote yourself to the enemy?" Chu Qiao said angrily, "You have had a hard time these years, but I may not have lived a happy life. I thought you were dead and blamed myself for fourteen years. But today you come to my door and mock me. Is this the sisterhood between you and me?"
The midday sun shone in, casting bright white spots on the ground. Chu Qiao stood up, looked at her coldly and said, "It's been fourteen years. How many things have happened in the meantime? All you think about is your own misfortune and sadness, and then you blame everything on others. I really doubt whether you are still the strong and brave sister I knew back then. You named yourself Wuxin, do you really have no heart?"
Xiao Ba stood there, his face a little pale. Chu Qiao suddenly felt very tired, as if every inch of her skin was clamoring with fatigue.
She slowly turned around and said calmly: "You can go, I will take care of Zhao Song's matter." Then she turned around and ignored Xiao Ba.
It was a long time before Xiao Ba left. Chu Qiao watched through the window paper as she left Sima Mansion escorted by Meixiang and others. Her back was thin and her clothes were snow-white, as if she was about to blend into the vast snow.
Chu Qiao looked at it and thought of what she had just said: being under house arrest, wandering alone, falling into prostitution...
She bit her lips, feeling increasingly sad in her heart, and sat alone until dusk fell.
Zhuge Yue hugged her from behind, and his deep voice sounded behind her, with a hint of reproach, "Why didn't you eat dinner?"
Chu Qiao just leaned in his arms, like a fish swimming into the water, so relaxed. She held his hand, not wanting to speak, and just looked at his hands, carefully counting the calluses on them.
"Hachi is here?"
"Yes," Chu Qiao nodded, "You knew it a long time ago, why didn't you tell me?"
"I have always wanted to say it, but I have never found the opportunity." Zhuge Yue smiled and said helplessly, "Whether you believe it or not, this matter has always weighed on my mind. It is also a pain in my heart. After all, I was not very kind to her during those years. She escaped a few times and I even beat her. I had a strange temper back then. After rescuing her, I kept her in custody and did not want to let her go. When I was in a good mood, I taught her to read, write and practice martial arts. When I was in a bad mood, I gave her a cold look because she looked like you. During those years in the mountains, there were no maids around, and she was the one who served by my side. I think her strange temper now is also due to me."
"How long has she been with Zhao Song?"
“It’s been about two or three years.” Zhuge Yue recalled, “I heard that Zhao Song doted on her very much. She once accidentally killed one of Zhao Song’s concubines, but Zhao Song didn’t pursue the matter.”
Chu Qiao was silent for a long time before she slowly said, "Maybe she is interested in Zhao Song."
Zhuge Yue smiled and said, “Whoever she is interested in, it’s fine as long as you are not angry with me.”
"What about Zhao Song?"
"Don't worry. Zhao Yang wants to cover up everything, and he still wants to ask us if we agree. But I think there is nothing wrong with Zhao Song leaving the capital. This Zhenhuang City will be in chaos sooner or later. For him, leaving is much safer than staying."
Chu Qiao actually thought of this as well, and frowned slightly, "Then what should we do?"
"I plan to send him to Qianghu. First, it is close to the north and within Zhao Che's sphere of influence. Second, it is where the Qiang people gather. They live a prosperous life and the climate along the coast is mild."
Chu Qiao nodded and said, "Let's do as you say."
"Then I'll arrange it tomorrow. Do you want to see him off and see him?"
Chu Qiao thought for a long time, then shook her head, "Maybe he doesn't want to see me, so let's not get involved."
Zhuge Yue said: “But I think you should go meet him.”
Chu Qiao raised her head and looked at him with a frown. Zhuge Yue sneered and said, “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t mean any other things. I just don’t want you to feel sorry for yourself all day long. You can’t be blamed for what happened back then.”
then? Chu Qiao's vision gradually became hazy, and the scene on Xiangzhi Mountain that day flashed back to her mind. The man stood tall, his clothes fluttering, his black hair stained with frost, and an empty sleeve like a rootless willow catkin.
The memories have long been sealed away, and now when they are torn open, everything and everyone has changed, only the red maple leaves remain the same as they were back then. After a night of snow, the entire Zhenhuang City was shrouded in a vast expanse of white. When I opened the door early in the morning, I saw the snow was more than a foot thick, up to my knees. The snow was flying on the ground and the wind made it impossible to open my eyes. The soldiers guarding the city yawned and opened the heavy city gate before the sun rose. They seemed to see a vague shadow in the turbid light. When they wanted to open their eyes wide to see more clearly, the people who had been waiting at the city gate had already swarmed in.
A simple blue cloth carriage with an ebony doorshaft and the sound of wheels rolled up the white snow on the flat ground and left two deep ruts on the long street. The carriage looked plain and simple, and it followed behind a group of people queuing up without complaint. The guards at the city gate naturally assumed that this person was definitely not a noble from Zhenhuang City, and naturally accepted the hefty carriage fee, and shouted and showed off their power.
After waiting for about an hour, the carriage finally left Zhenhuang City. The sun rose lazily, emitting white light through the morning mist. The migratory birds had long flown away, and the only ones left were the cold-hardy eagles, flying across the end of the sky with long screams. Their wings were all snow-white, and occasionally they flew into the clouds and disappeared. Only the long screams could be heard echoing over the snowfield.
When the carriage arrived at Xiemaling outside the city, we saw a young girl standing quietly on the Yangguan Bridge. She was wearing a clean white fur coat and blue riding boots. Her features were as pretty as a painting, and her cheeks were rosy from standing in the cold wind for so long. She looked less harsh and cold than usual, and more gentle and graceful. Seeing the carriage coming, she smiled and took a step forward. The horse followed obediently behind, and the snow on the ground squeaked under its feet.
The coachman was also a young man, only sixteen or seventeen years old at most. He seemed a little surprised to see her and turned around and said something to the people in the carriage. A thin hand reached out and slightly lifted the curtain of the carriage, revealing the man's beautiful eyes and a pair of tightly furrowed eyebrows.
"Why are you here?" Zhao Song's voice was no longer as clear and sunny as it used to be. It had become a little low. Over the years, it had been like a stagnant pool of water, without the slightest ripple.
But that didn't matter, after all, he was like this when she first met him, calm, gentle, and uninterested in everything. As a result, he gradually withdrew from the political stage of Daxia, and changed from a glorious royal son to a lonely and embarrassed person like today, with no one to see him off when he was exiled to a distant place.
Maybe apart from her, no one in this entire imperial city would remember him anymore.
Xiao Ba smiled quietly, with a hint of sarcasm still on the corners of his mouth. She stepped forward and handed the reins to the young man in the carriage very naturally, saying, "Ah Jiang, go and harness the horse."
Zhao Song frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "What are you doing?"
Xiao Ba raised his eyebrows and smiled at him, his eyes were clear, and he said naturally: "Of course I will go with you."
Zhao Song still frowned, his face was somewhat gloomy, and he showed a rare hint of impatience, "Wuxin, stop messing around."
Xiao Ba is now called Wuxin, which means "heartless".
She has had countless different names in her life. She no longer remembers her childhood days in the Jing family. The only relatives she remembers are Zhixiang and Linxi. Because she was young and not the child of the wife of the Jing family, her brothers and sisters of the same age even forgot her name. They could only be ranked according to their ages after escaping death. Like the other children, she was called Xiaoqi, Xiaoba, and Xiaojiu. She was treated like an animal, just some cold numbers, not even as good as a purebred war horse.
Later, she was rescued by Zhuge Yue and lived with him under the tutelage of Mr. Wolong for nearly seven years. During those years, she also had a name, but this name was given by Zhuge Yue in order to prevent people around her from knowing her identity. The purpose was nothing more than to protect her sister who lived in Shengjin Palace.
The moment she heard the news of Zhuge Yue's death, she actually cried. This was the most unforgivable thing she had done in all these years.