After a busy half-day, things finally quieted down. Xiangju carefully replaced the tea with a fresh, fragrant brew. In the warm inner chambers, Concubine Lan and Grand Tutor Zhuang had been sitting opposite each other for half an hour.
Grand Tutor Zhuang, with slightly graying temples, wore a blue scholarly robe with a simple blue sash at his waist, paired with plain black cloth boots. He appeared clean and simple, even somewhat shabby sitting in this magnificently decorated Lanting Palace, nothing like the treacherous villain rumored outside to have betrayed his country for wealth and glory. Half an hour of silent sitting made his back slightly uncomfortable. His brow furrowed lightly as he shifted his body slightly, inadvertently disturbing the brocade-clothed woman who was looking down at her tea. Qing Xia slowly raised her head, glanced at him meaningfully, but remained silent.
Patience? She had plenty of that.
“Xia’er, do you blame your father?” Finally unable to endure this wordless awkwardness, Grand Tutor Zhuang, who had spent decades in politics turning his hand to make clouds and rain, couldn’t help but speak first.
Qing Xia wore luxurious garments, her face like ice and snow, adorned with an eight-treasure headdress, her temples like flowing fairy clouds. She raised her cold face, smiled coldly, and said softly: “Qing Xia is merely a chess piece in your hands. Why should you care about a chess piece’s feelings? Whether I blame you or not, what difference does it make?”
Grand Tutor Zhuang’s brow tightened as he looked at Qing Xia with considerable pain. After a long while, he finally exhaled deeply and said in a heavy voice: “You truly have changed. The old you would never have spoken to your father like this.”
“Changed?” Qing Xia laughed coldly, straightened her back, slightly raised her head, and said lightly: “As her father, you clearly knew what your daughter’s feelings were, yet you used such sinister methods to exploit her emotions. If Zhuang Qing Xia were still the old Zhuang Qing Xia, she shouldn’t be sitting here calmly chatting with you right now – she should have already apologized with death, whether by white silk or poisoned wine. Since you’ve already been so heartless, why put on the appearance of a loving father before me to make a laughingstock of yourself?”
Grand Tutor Zhuang’s expression froze, revealing traces of helplessness and pain. He looked at Qing Xia with deep eyes and finally said heavily: “Xia’er, you may hate me now, but someday you will understand your father’s good intentions. Southern Chu is your lifelong safe haven, and Prince Li is the good man you should be matched with for life. On this point, your father will never regret making this decision for you.”
Qing Xia neither confirmed nor denied this, smiling coldly as the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, forming a trace of mockery. Grand Tutor Zhuang’s expression immediately darkened, and for a moment he seemed to age many years as he said dejectedly: “Xia’er, your father must depart tomorrow as an envoy to Great Qi. The journey is long and distant, and when we might meet again is uncertain. Do you have anything you want to say to your father?”
Qing Xia looked at this father of the real Zhuang Qing Xia and suddenly didn’t know what to say. She had been an orphan since age five in the modern world – the word “father” had long been beyond her reach. Before meeting Zhuang Dianru, she had assumed he must be another feudal patriarch who would sacrifice his daughter’s happiness for his own fame and fortune. But after truly meeting him, all her calculations were instantly shattered. Looking at his slightly hunched back, a sense of desolation arose from her heart. Wave after wave of bleakness struck her heart, making her unable to distinguish whether this was Zhuang Qing Xia’s sorrow or her own.
She sighed helplessly and said with a bitter smile: “What more is there to ask? Everything is already so obvious. The so-called secret keeping of men’s belongings and disturbing the palace was just a setup. Even if I hadn’t resisted Concubine Dan, you would have found other ways to convict me. This grand spectacle was all to lure Prince Qi into the trap, wasn’t it? From now on, Zhuang Qing Xia’s name as a promiscuous, shameless woman will spread throughout the world and stink for ten thousand years. In all the vast world, except for this Southern Chu palace, there will be no place for me to establish myself. This is what you wanted me to understand, isn’t it?”
“Father,” Qing Xia suddenly stood up, walked to Zhuang Dianru’s side, looked into the old man’s eyes, and asked seriously: “Can you tell me why you betrayed the Qi Kingdom and came to Southern Chu? The Zhuang clan has been powerful in Great Qi for generations with a distinguished family background, and the Qi ruler has always treated the Zhuang family with great respect. That day, Qing Xia was already the honored crown princess in Great Qi, and becoming the mother of a nation was imminent. The Zhuang clan’s meteoric rise was right before our eyes. You were a senior minister of three dynasties, honored as the current Grand Marshal, with gold, silver, treasures, wealth, and glory within reach. Why did you risk universal condemnation to betray your lord and country, helping Chu Li, who was then a hostage in Qi, to escape, gambling the family’s fate on this heaven-defying wager? You’re not someone who covets wealth and glory – what were you really after?”
Grand Tutor Zhuang’s body shook as he looked up incredulously, staring intently into the eyes of this daughter he no longer recognized, his lips trembling, unable to speak for a long time. Finally, he revealed a bitter smile with trembling lips and said dejectedly: “Xia’er, you’ve finally grown up. Finally, I can no longer deceive you.”
Grand Tutor Zhuang slightly closed his eyes, thought for a long time, then said in a deep voice: “Back then, the First Emperor pacified the world and created unprecedented achievements. Later, the Second Martial Emperor expanded externally and pacified internally, forging a great unified prosperous age where people lived stable lives in peace and contentment. What a scene of joyful prosperity that was. Who knew that three hundred years ago, feudal lords rebelled and smoke of war rose everywhere. The Qin family was powerless to stabilize the realm. If not for Prince Zhaoyang still having some fortune, I’m afraid Qin couldn’t even maintain a corner refuge. For three hundred years, nations have warred continuously, and people have lived in dire straits, suffering unbearably. Now, although the four nations appear calm on the surface, undercurrents never cease. Although Qi is prosperous, it has a fatal weakness – the southeastern coastal areas are constantly harassed by Japanese pirates and barbarians. Moreover, the north still has the Huarong Trail deliberately left by Western Sichuan, allowing the Xiongnu to drive straight in, plus it borders Southern Chu to the west and is pressured by mighty Qin to the northwest. So no matter how strong the army or how many famous generals emerge, the defeat cannot be avoided. Facing enemies on four sides, sooner or later it will be nibbled away piece by piece. It’s not a place for long-term residence.”
Qing Xia frowned and asked puzzledly: “Although Chu has geographical advantages and produces iron ore abundantly, though their weapons are sharp, their troops are not strong. Their soldiers don’t match mighty Qin, their horses don’t match Western Sichuan. Why did father come here?”
Grand Tutor Zhuang slowly nodded and said in a deep voice: “Though you’ve lived in the inner chambers, having such insight is already extraordinary. But you still can’t see the big picture. Though Qin has strong troops and vast territories, since the Second Emperor abolished the crown prince system and started the selection system, mighty Qin has declined. With internal confusion and princes fighting for power, as long as mighty Qin doesn’t improve this situation, it can hardly look eastward. The Song king is brutal, and Western Sichuan’s people remain uncivilized barbarians – not to be feared. Looking at Southern Chu, though their troops aren’t strong, they have dangerous terrain, and behind them lies the vast granary of the southern frontier. The crown prince has remarkable talent and grand strategy – the great task of unifying the world will surely fall to Southern Chu. This old man is fortunate to assist a worthy prince in pacifying the world, stopping the fires of war, and returning peace to the world – this is heaven’s blessing.”
Speaking of this, Grand Tutor Zhuang couldn’t help but raise his head, staring intently into Qing Xia’s eyes, and said in a deep voice: “Xia’er, Prince Li is brilliantly talented, and Southern Chu is far from the ravages of war – it’s truly a peaceful haven. Your father doesn’t seek for you to become the mother of all under heaven, only that you live peacefully your entire life – that would be father’s greatest wish.”
Hearing this, Qing Xia smiled faintly, her smile bitter. She couldn’t help but look deeply at this aged old man and said with furrowed brows: “If you wanted her to live peacefully, why did you let her marry into the palace? Once you enter the palace gates, it’s as deep as the sea – don’t you understand this?”
Grand Tutor Zhuang shook his head slightly and said slowly: “To establish oneself in this world, one must have the capital to survive. Only by standing at the highest place can one have the right to freedom, and I wanted to give you exactly this kind of freedom.”
Qing Xia laughed helplessly and shook her head. “It’s lonely at the top,” yet he didn’t know that this overwhelming wealth and status was an invisible shackle – being in prison, what freedom was there to speak of? Qing Xia slowly turned around, facing the small ice crystals on the tree outside the window. Winter was quietly approaching, and even in Southern Chu, the bitter cold wind was blowing. She gently pushed open the slightly open window and said: “Father is not a good father, but he is a great sage who cares about the world. You’re not doing this for fame, profit, wealth, or glory, but for the ideals in your heart. In this world, to accomplish some ideals, one must inevitably make some sacrifices and give up some things. From the perspective of the world’s greater good, I respect you, but from Zhuang Qing Xia’s perspective, I cannot forgive you. The road ahead is full of sycophants – Grand Tutor, take care of yourself.”
Grand Tutor Zhuang’s tears immediately flowed like rain. Through half a lifetime of hardships and being reviled by the world, he never expected that the one who understood him best would be the daughter he had repeatedly used. Hearing Qing Xia’s words change from calling him “father” to “Grand Tutor,” he suddenly realized painfully that this daughter he had once cared nothing about was truly leaving him forever. Something quietly slipped away in his heart – was everything he had done really worth it?
The long wind of the great hall suddenly rushed in, lifting Qing Xia’s wide robes. That man who came to rescue her from prison out of infatuation – how was he now?
In the vast darkness, who had really failed whom?
Before noon had even arrived, various news reached Lanting Palace through various strange channels, intentionally or unintentionally. Qing Xia sat peacefully in a luxurious reclining chair, wearing expensive garments, her face cold, her gaze sharp as she dismissed several seventh-rank beauties from the Yingge Pavilion.
The three noon bells rang continuously. On the official postal roads outside the capital, thick smoke rolled and horse hooves fell like snow. Urgent reports like snowflakes in the depths of winter poured into the heart of the capital, and a new round of storms began to surge dramatically.
Chu Li had gone through all this trouble not merely to avenge the humiliation he suffered when he was a hostage in Qi’s capital Shoudu. Prince An of Qi was imprisoned in the capital’s prison, guarded by the capital’s Imperial Guards, the Iron Cavalry. The security was so tight that probably not even a fly could get in.
Two days later, the originally warring Qi and Chu suddenly stopped fighting. Qi retreated twenty li and camped in the Shoushan-Yunling area. But at the same time, Great Qi was secretly mobilizing troops. According to Southern Chu’s spies’ reports, seven armies from the western defense line of Juyong Pass under Prince Jingjiang’s command were rushing rapidly and had already reached the Minlan mountain range. Moreover, Great Qi had emptied its national treasury to purchase military supplies from mighty Qin at high prices, and in just two days had already assembled large quantities of provisions. Things were clearly developing in one direction – if Prince An of Qi suffered even the slightest harm, Qi would use all its national strength to pressure Southern Chu on all fronts.