Chapter 69

When Wei Lenghou saw Xiu Tuhong acting so rudely, he couldn’t even be bothered to maintain the false smile on his face.

He simply said coldly,“General Xiu Tuhong, do you still take this place as your father’s command tent? Though Princess Shaoyang followed Xiongnu customs and remarried you, becoming your wife, has Xiongnu formally presented a state letter regarding this to Great Wei? Or does General Xiu Tu believe that the daughter of the Great Wei Emperor requires no proper rites, and that simply merging tents counts as a wedding ceremony? The Princess was dissatisfied with your careless treatment and returned to Great Wei, hoping you would wed her properly through rightful ceremony, so what is wrong with that? And yet you come here spouting outrageous nonsense? It is utterly disrespectful! It truly makes us officials worry about her safety should she be married off again!”

The Grand Tutor, known for his eloquence, swiftly transformed Princess Shaoyang’s disgraceful flight back to the palace into something dignified and noble.

Xiu Tuhong, unlike his scheming younger brother Xiu Tulie, was straightforward and not skilled in cunning.

Though his heart was fuming, he found himself momentarily speechless.

All he could do was glare at the Grand Tutor with angry, bulging eyes.

Nie Qinglin sat calmly upon the dragon throne, taking in the entire scene.

Inwardly, she let out a small sigh: It’s no wonder that Imperial Sister risked her life to escape. This kind of violent brute, how could any ordinary person endure him, let alone a sister made of tears? If he behaves so domineering and arrogant even in court, who knows what sort of beatings and scoldings he would deliver behind closed doors?

After suppressing Xiu Tuhong’s arrogance, the Grand Tutor wisely shifted the topic, turning to the issue of opening border trade.

Trade along the border had drastically declined due to recent tensions, leaving merchants who traveled between the interior and the frontier deeply distressed.

In truth, Great Wei’s situation wasn’t too bad.

Though the northern route was cut off, the southern waterways remained open.

But outside the border, it was a different story—critical necessities such as salt and iron tools had to be imported from Great Wei.

With trade disrupted, supplies were constantly interrupted.

When wolves are driven to desperation, they rob.

Now that the Third Prince had returned home with his beloved wife, it presented a good opportunity to negotiate and restore trade at the border, which might bring some peace to the North for a while.

After state affairs were discussed, the court was dismissed.

Nie Qinglin knew that it wouldn’t be long before Xiu Tuhong would go visit Imperial Sister, so she changed into a silk gown and returned to Fengchu Palace.

Yesterday, her sister had already learned of her pregnancy, as well as the news that Xiu Tuhong was arriving soon.

Upon hearing it from Nie Qinglin, she had become completely disheartened, sitting dazed at the window for a long time.

Just like now.

When she entered the courtyard, she saw her Eighth Imperial Sister sitting under the crape myrtle tree with a blank expression.

Her hair was simply tied back in a childlike knot, and she wore a gauzy white magnolia-patterned robe that made her seem even more delicate and frail.

Nie Qinglin let out a soft sigh and walked over to her, speaking in a low voice: “Sister, you’re not feeling well, why aren’t you lying down? Why sit here in the cold air?”

Princess Shaoyang slowly lifted her head.

Her face, like her plain clothes, was pale.

She forced a smile and said, “It was stuffy in the room. The crape myrtle is blooming beautifully, so I came out to get some air and admire the flowers. Where have you been, Little Sister? I didn’t see you for a long while.”

Nie Qinglin couldn’t very well say she’d been sitting on the dragon throne, so she only smiled and said she had taken a walk in the Imperial Garden.

Then she added, “The flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. If you feel like enjoying them, why not take a stroll there?”

But Shaoyang gave a faint, bitter smile.

“Has the Prince arrived? If so, it’s not appropriate to meet the Xiongnu prince here in your palace, Sister. I’ll go change my clothes and you don’t need to accompany me.”

Princess Shaoyang, though timid, was by no means a fool.

Back then, she’d fled in a fit of anger, thinking that the prince had plenty of concubines in his tent anyway.

Every time his troops returned from battle, they’d deliver beautiful female prisoners directly to his tent.

Even if she suddenly disappeared, he would be angry for a few days at most and not take it too seriously.

If he couldn’t find her, he would simply cover it up by claiming she had died.

Who would have thought that this General Xiu Tu would chase her so relentlessly, even mobilizing his army to pressure the border?

When Princess Shaoyang was first sent off for her political marriage, her convoy passed through the border region.

She had never seen the suffering of the people.

The first time she saw the scorched ruins outside the carriage window, she was deeply shocked.

And when she saw a limbless child crawling forward on a wooden board, she finally, truly understood what “a land engulfed in war” meant.

So when her sister told her that Xiu Tuhong was bringing troops to chase her, she wasn’t so much afraid as filled with overwhelming guilt.

She had accepted the imperial edict to go north with the resolve of never returning and how could she let a moment of impulse nearly bring disaster upon the border people?

That guilt completely eclipsed her worries about her unborn child or the punishment she would face if caught by the prince.

But Nie Qinglin didn’t know her sister’s thoughts.

Seeing how pale she looked, she felt only heartache and said,“The Grand Tutor is still with the General. It’s not proper for you to go alone, so let me accompany you.”

She then called for the palace maids to help the princess wash and dress.

They pinned a long pink peony hairpin inlaid with tourmaline into her cloud-like hair and matched it with long dangling earrings of the same stone.

Then they changed her into a flowing, floor-length gown of sheer peony-patterned silk in a soft misty hue, cinched with a belt of matching floral embroidery.

The once-ill and haggard beauty was suddenly transformed into a resplendent noblewoman, radiant like a delicate flower in full bloom.

Once she had changed into thick-soled embroidered shoes inlaid with pearls and jade, Princess Shaoyang mumbled, “Fixing the face is enough… why dress up so elaborately?”

Nie Qinglin smiled and gently dabbed some rosewater rouge onto her sister’s lips, then said with satisfaction, “Even a general polishes his armor and sharpens his weapons before going to battle! You may be naturally beautiful, Sister, but you still need proper preparation, so you can defeat those northern barbarians, used to coarse clothes and wild manners, in one blow!”

Even in her gloomy state, Shaoyang couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s teasing.

But then she recalled how the Third Prince had once savagely whipped his own subordinate in the courtyard, and her heart trembled again.

She feared this thin silk robe couldn’t withstand even one lash of his water-soaked whip.

After speaking, Nie Qinglin took her sister’s hand, followed by a dozen palace maids and eunuchs, and headed straight for the Imperial Garden.

Though Xiu Tuhong was sitting with the Grand Tutor in a pavilion, sipping tea, the burning impatience in his heart was hardly something that a few teacups could calm.

When he saw the palace maid kneeling before the tray performing an overly elaborate tea ceremony—pouring and pouring such small amounts of tea that it seemed there was more spittle than liquid, he finally had enough.
He reached out, grabbed the teapot, and poured the tea directly into the small copper basin meant for warming hand towels.

Then, lifting the basin, he gulped it all down in one go.

The inner court attendants in the pavilion were all stunned speechless, their minds shouting just one word—barbarian!

They couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Princess Shaoyang.

Such a delicate peony, and she had been handed over to a wild ox that didn’t even know how to savor her.

But the Grand Tutor wasn’t bothered.

In fact, he didn’t care much for all the excessive etiquette around food and drink.

Seeing the general embarrass himself while others gasped in shock, he simply raised an eyebrow with a small smile, then slowly set down his teacup.

He signaled the palace maid to pour tea into his own small copper basin and raised it, saying loudly,“I’ve long heard of the general’s fearsome reputation. That battle with the Turks, where you defeated 3,000 elite cavalry with only 300 troops, was truly legendary! Though we serve different sovereigns and politics stand between us, meeting you today feels like meeting an old friend too late. Why not let tea stand in for wine; cheers to that!”

Xiu Tuhong, having finished the basin of tea, noticed the stunned expressions of the Great Wei attendants.

He realized he must have breached some etiquette again, causing everyone’s eyes to nearly pop out.

This irked him.

But then, unexpectedly, the refined-looking Grand Tutor actually lifted his own basin and toasted him in the same crude style.

There was something genuinely bold and unpretentious about it—none of the delicate, fussy airs typical of Central Plains men.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration.

He lifted his own basin, clinked it with the Grand Tutor’s, and downed another round of Central Plains tea.

When Nie Qinglin arrived at the pavilion with her sister, she saw the Grand Tutor toasting the Xiongnu guest in such a bold fashion and sighed inwardly:The Grand Tutor truly knows how to entertain…was he helping the prince wash his face or something?

Still, she kept her expression neutral as she approached the pavilion.

The Grand Tutor saw them and handed his basin to the palace maid before rising slowly to greet the two princesses.

But his gaze was cold and indifferent.

He didn’t even glance at Princess Yong’an.

The prince, however, upon seeing Princess Shaoyang—whom he hadn’t laid eyes on for a full month, felt as if a blooming peony had burst open before him.

This delicate young woman was even more beautiful than he remembered.

In an instant, he jumped up and strode over in a few quick steps.

His deep blue eyes looked as if they could shoot fire.

Seeing him, Princess Shaoyang instinctively shrank back.

The resolve to sacrifice herself for her country crumbled halfway, and she wished she could hide behind her sister.

Xiu Tuhong noticed her fear, and his large hand opened and clenched repeatedly.

In the end, he let it fall, glaring furiously at this woman who was determined to run from him.

Nie Qinglin saw that the prince was at least restraining himself in public, and felt somewhat reassured.

She greeted the Xiongnu prince briefly, then stepped up the stairs.

But Shaoyang, already panicked from the prince’s glare, stumbled on the steps in her thick-soled shoes and nearly hit the stone stair edge.

Before her maid could react, the prince had already moved quickly to catch her.

He glanced at her shoes, and with a slight lift of his arm, he scooped the princess up in his arms and carried her back into the pavilion, gently placing her on a cushioned stone bench.

Seeing this, Nie Qinglin felt even more relieved.

It seemed this prince, though angry over her sister’s escape, was not someone who abused his wife.

Perhaps he even cared for the child in her womb, and wouldn’t resort to violence in private.

While she quietly observed the pair without blinking, she failed to notice the Grand Tutor glancing over at them without a word.

Though Princess Shaoyang was beautifully dressed, she still couldn’t compare to that graceful and pure figure standing beside her.

Perhaps to deliberately highlight her sister, the fashion-loving Princess Yong’an had chosen to wear a simple pleated skirt in lotus-pink today, with very few accessories in her hair.

Only two pearl earrings, each no bigger than a fingernail, hung like droplets from her delicate earlobes, making one wish they could lean in and gently sip from them, just to see if they might taste of nectar and jade dew.

But her exquisite features could not be hidden by plain attire.

The brilliance in her eyes and the spirit in her gaze far surpassed any “flooding the Golden Mountain Temple” kind of beauty.

(T/N: A little lesson in a Chinese classic legend… hehe. “Flooding the Golden Mountain Temple” comes from The Legend of the White Snake. In the story, Bai Suzhen (the White Snake spirit) falls in love with a mortal man, Xu Xian, and marries him. However, a monk named Fahai believes that Bai Suzhen is a demon and forcibly detains Xu Xian at the Golden Mountain Temple to separate them. Bai Suzhen, in her desperation to rescue her husband, uses her magical powers to summon a massive flood and submerge the Golden Mountain Temple, trying to force Fahai to release Xu Xian. This event is called Flooding the Golden Mountain )

The sweeter and more angelic this little troublemaker looked, the angrier the Grand Tutor became.

After days of silent conflict, this little scoundrel still refused to bow her head in the slightest.

She was truly getting bold…

At that moment, both men in the pavilion wore equally dark expressions, making it hard for either of the Great Wei princesses to speak up.

Shaoyang couldn’t raise her head from shame after the prince’s earlier recklessness, while Princess Yong’an knew it wasn’t her place to talk—one man here held power over court and state, and the other woman was her older sister.

What right did she have to speak?

The pavilion fell into complete silence.

The Grand Tutor, however, remained unhurried.

He reached out to retrieve an ornate teacup, gently blew on the floating tea leaves, and began sipping in a slow, refined manner.

The rising steam veiled his thick lashes and sharp nose in a misty glow.

Every movement was elegant, so much so that the palace maids nearby stared, completely mesmerized.

Seeing her sister so flustered she could barely breathe, Nie Qinglin had no choice but to glance over at her “immortal brother.”

But the Grand Tutor didn’t even look at her.

Nie Qinglin sighed softly.

She knew that she had greatly angered the Grand Tutor at the ancestral hall a few days ago, and if the Marquis of Dingguo didn’t have a chance to let out that resentment, both she and her sister would be in trouble.

So she turned to the maid beside her and said,“Take out the two boxes of iced crystal-sugar steamed chestnut cakes from my food case and present them to the Grand Tutor and General Xiu Tu. They’ll go perfectly with this red-robed tea.”

The maid obeyed, retrieving two small lidded dishes from a carved osmanthus food box and placing them on the tables before the Grand Tutor and the prince.

She said,“These two dishes were personally made by Princesses Shaoyang and Yong’an yesterday over the course of half a day. Please enjoy them.”

Xiu Tuhong gloomily lifted the lid and picked up one delicately shaped piece to eat.

The rich sweetness made him frown.

He turned to Shaoyang, who was still frozen stiff, and asked,“You made this yourself, Princess?”

Shaoyang lowered her head and nodded slightly.

General Xiu Tu, brows furrowed, forced himself to swallow one piece, then took another.

Like gulping down medicine, he quickly finished the entire dish.

The Grand Tutor, on the other hand, calmly lifted the lid and glanced at the contents.

After a moment of silence, he covered it again and said to the prince,“Earlier, Your Highness was concerned for the princess’s safety. Now that you’ve seen she’s unharmed, you can be at ease. It’s true that Princess Shaoyang left without a word, which was improper. But it also happened to be the memorial day of her late mother, and she longed to fulfill her filial duty at her mother’s grave. That moment of emotion led to her rash behavior.

After hearing from the imperial physician that she was already two months pregnant, the princess was deeply remorseful. Fearing she might harm your child, she has followed the physician’s instructions and remained in bed. But when she heard you were coming yesterday, she was overjoyed and personally made these cakes for you. One can see from this how deep the bond is between husband and wife. I, Wei, truly admire it. Since the princess is not well enough to travel, and Your Highness intends to stay for a while to care for her during her pregnancy, the Ministry of Rites has already prepared temporary lodging for you. You may escort the princess there tonight. As for the formal wedding ceremony… it can be held after the two of you return to the northern border.”

Though usually cold and aloof, this former top scholar of Great Wei could, when he chose to, speak with lotus-flowered eloquence and lie with elegant ease.

Truly a pillar of the imperial bureaucracy.

As Xiu Tuhong listened to these smooth and diplomatic words, his sullen expression began to soften, and the tension in the pavilion gradually lifted.

The garden was in full bloom.

The Grand Tutor stood up lazily at last and finally looked toward Princess Yong’an, saying,“These past few days I have been busy with court matters and haven’t had the chance to appreciate the famed and rare flowers in the garden. Would the princess be willing to guide me on a short walk?”

Nie Qinglin understood immediately that the Grand Tutor was giving the prince and her sister a chance to speak in private.

Once they could clear the air within the palace, it would be easier for her sister to leave with him willingly, rather than risk being taken away in anger and locked in his estate to suffer silently.

So she gladly rose and nodded slightly.

After bidding farewell to the prince and her eighth sister, she led the Grand Tutor out of the pavilion and toward the lakeside.

As they departed, Nie Qinglin looked back anxiously and saw the general rise to his feet, his towering frame overshadowing her frail sister.

He lowered his head and said something softly.

She looked forward again, catching sight of the tall figure ahead of her walking with hands clasped behind his back.

As they neared the lake, the sun shone gently, sparkling on the water’s surface, and waterfowl occasionally soared overhead.

On one side of the lake stood a dense grove of bamboo, its tall green shoots gleaming, releasing a refreshing bamboo scent into the air.

The Grand Tutor, who had remained silent the whole way, suddenly stopped and turned slightly to ask,“I wonder if I might have the honor of inviting the princess into the bamboo grove to enjoy the rustling together?”

Princess Yong’an glanced up at his expression, then nodded.

The palace maids and eunuchs halted outside the grove.

Once inside, she discovered there was a small bamboo house hidden within the woods.

The interior had a jade-heated bed, with a compartment beneath for burning charcoal.

Beside it stood a jar of spring water.

Pouring a ladleful onto the bed would cause fragrant steam to rise.

Lying there, breathing in the scent of bamboo, every pore of one’s body would relax.

This was another of the late emperor’s ingenious designs—truly, every corner of the palace was built for comfort and indulgence.

The bamboo house had no fire burning at the moment, so it was refreshingly cool inside.

The Grand Tutor reclined slightly on the jade-heated bed, resting against a jade pillow.

With a calm tone, he asked,“I’ve been reading too many memorials lately and my eyes aren’t as sharp as they used to be. I couldn’t quite make out what words were written on the cakes Your Highness personally made. Might I trouble you to tell me directly?”

Princess Yong’an looked at the Grand Tutor’s narrowed, phoenix-like eyes and handsome face.

She lightly lifted her skirt and sat beside him.

Parting her lips slightly, she said softly,“Yong’an admits her mistake…”

Then she bit her cherry-pink lips and gazed quietly at the Grand Tutor.

His lips pressed into a thin line.

Though he was seated beside this bashful little figure, his heart felt a faint chill, like the cold surface of the jade bed beneath him.

He had achieved success early in life, and real setbacks had been few and far between.

Even when he was once demoted to the frontier by a foolish emperor, a single bowl of strong wine had been enough to dispel the gloom, and he had faced it all with calm resilience.

How, then, had he ended up like this?

It all started when he first saw the young emperor, alone and pitiful, with no one to rely on.

He’d felt a compassion he shouldn’t have and never imagined he would encounter a master manipulator from the Inner Palace, one who could win everything with empty hands.

He had been lured in step by step, tricked to this point, and yet she wouldn’t even offer the tiniest bit of sincere affection in return…

His voice turned cold as he said,“Your Highness is always like this, when you need me, you flatter and coax me. When you don’t, you toss me aside. Do you think I am so magnanimous that I will always tolerate such treatment?”

Nie Qinglin gave a bitter smile.

“Why would the Grand Tutor speak as if he’s been wronged? Anyone who dared treat you this way likely wouldn’t live long. Yong’an has always respected and feared you, always followed your lead. But your anger always comes so suddenly, I truly don’t know how to respond…”

The Grand Tutor spoke slowly:“It’s no easy thing to hear an admission of guilt from Your Highness. Now tell me, what is it you wish me to do?”

Nie Qinglin looked at him and knew his temper had not yet cooled.

But if she didn’t say it now, it might be too late. So she spoke quietly:“Yong’an still worries about my sister. Might the Grand Tutor send someone skilled to the prince’s estate to keep an eye on her?”

The Grand Tutor said nothing.

He slowly untied the sash of his robe, revealing his broad, muscular chest, and then stared at Nie Qinglin in silence.

Her cheeks flushed red, and a faint feeling of dismay crept into her heart.

So this is the price I must pay for asking a favor?

She thought.

Then I must offer it properly, best not to owe him anything.

Shyly, she leaned closer and bit her lip as she moved to kiss his thin lips—

But just then, she heard him murmur in a deep voice:

“Your Highness worries for your sister, yet I find myself pitying that prince. He and I both grew up crude in the military, not knowing how to treat a delicate woman. Even when we lay our hearts bare and offer them sincerely, they are cast aside like rubbish, treated as if we’re nothing more than beasts chasing carnal desires.”

With that, he shoved Nie Qinglin down hard onto the jade bed, then turned and walked out of the bamboo house alone.

Nie Qinglin slowly sat up, a faint bitter smile on her lips.

So she had misunderstood after all.

But how could anyone not misread a man like the Grand Tutor, Great Wei’s most beautiful man, when he undressed like that?

Still, this time his anger felt different from before… as if no amount of coaxing would make it better.

By the time she stepped out of the bamboo house, the Grand Tutor was already gone without a trace.

Only Nanny Shan and the rest of her attendants remained, waiting outside the bamboo grove.

When she returned to Fengchu Palace, Princess Shaoyang had already left the palace with Xiu Tuhong.

Once again, she was all alone in the palace.