In the study, looking at Mo Xiuyao’s calm eyes that showed not the slightest ripple of emotion, Han Mingyue felt countless words stuck in his throat. He had long known Mo Xiuyao never intended to spare Su Zudie. If he were in Mo Xiuyao’s position, he would have torn Su Zudie to pieces already, but… he wasn’t Mo Xiuyao. The woman he loved wasn’t called Ye Li, so he was destined to be unable to watch Su Zudie suffer, yet now he had no bargaining chips left to change Mo Xiuyao’s mind. He even suspected nothing could change Mo Xiuyao’s mind, unless… Ye Li came back from the dead…
Mo Xiuyao no longer paid attention to Han Mingyue standing to the side lost in thought. The only reason he had allowed Han Mingyue to stay in Ruyang city and even live in the mansion for so long without driving him away was that Han Mingyue had helped A’Li at the cliff edge, but this didn’t mean he would make any concessions because of it. Looking down at the various documents on the table, the elegant handwriting made his eyes soften with tenderness. The contents were enough to astonish the world. Even he had never known his wife harbored so many brilliant ideas and grand designs. Since learning of Mo Jingqi’s secret agreement with Nanzhao and Western Ling, A’Li had foreseen the day the Mo Army would break with the court. So she had devoted all her efforts to protecting the entire northwest, while painstakingly considering the survival and development of the hundreds of thousands of Mo Army troops in the relatively barren northwest. If A’Li hadn’t been born a woman, Mo Xiuyao believed she would have qualified to become a legendary minister even more renowned than her ancestors.
Now, gently stroking the documents beneath his hand, tenderness and love welled in Mo Xiuyao’s eyes. A’Li… This Prince will not let your painstaking efforts be in vain. Even if you’re not by This Prince’s side, This Prince will make your name eternally renowned and revered alongside mine. Of course… before that, watch as This Prince shatters this realm and changes the color of mountains and rivers.
No matter how the world changes in blood and violence, there are always a few places that remain eternally peaceful and secluded from the world.
Ye Li painfully opened her eyes to see a light blue coarse cloth canopy and parted curtains hanging above. Looking down, she was covered with a blanket of the same coarse material. The numbness in her body limited her attempt to rise to merely shifting slightly. A hand touched her abdomen, and the occasionally moving bulge filled her heart with joy. No matter where she was now, at least… when she had thought death certain, now not only was she alive, but her baby was still there too. This alone was enough to make Ye Li set aside all hatred and feel grateful. As long as they were alive, there was nothing that couldn’t be resolved. Biting her lip lightly, pushing her worries deep down, Ye Li struggled to try to sit up.
“Ah, you’re finally awake.” At the door, a middle-aged woman in floral print clothing entered carrying something, and seeing the person struggling to get up, said happily. She quickly put down the faintly fragrant porridge she was carrying on the room’s table and came forward to help Ye Li sit up. Ye Li quietly thanked her, using the woman’s help to sit up against the bedpost, saying, “Thank you, sister. Did… you save me? May I know how to address you?” The middle-aged woman’s smile was simple and kind as she said warmly, “My husband’s surname is Lin, you can just call me Sister Lin. Poor child… you’ve been unconscious for over four months. When you were rescued you were already over a month pregnant, fortunately, this child seems blessed with great fortune, staying well all this time. I can see you’re blessed too, little sister, how does that saying go… great fortune follows surviving great calamity…”
Ye Li smiled faintly, gently stroking her protruding belly, saying, “Thank you for your kind words, Sister Lin. I’m called… my maiden name is Chu, please call me Jun Wei.”
Sister Lin looked at Ye Li, noting how she only mentioned her maiden name, and thinking of how a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl appeared here pregnant and needed rescue, surely there were difficulties she couldn’t speak of. Her simple face showed concern and sympathy as she patted Ye Li’s hand saying, “Everything will be alright, don’t think too much and focus on recovering your health, the child is most important.” Ye Li nodded, accepting the porridge Sister Lin passed her and slowly bringing it to her mouth. Though four months of unconsciousness had left her body weak, with even her hand holding the spoon trembling slightly, her exceptional endurance helped her avoid appearing too awkward. Sister Lin sat beside her making conversation while watching her eat. It turned out this Sister Lin wasn’t the one who had rescued her. Her rescuer was the village’s only elderly doctor, but since the old doctor had no other relatives and it wasn’t convenient for him to care for a woman, he had asked Sister Lin to help look after her.
At this, Ye Li immediately wanted to go pay respects to the old doctor who had saved her, but Sister Lin quickly stopped her saying, “Uncle Lin went to gather herbs in the mountains, he won’t be back until later. Sister knows you’re a well-bred young lady, but our place doesn’t stand on such ceremony – just focus on recovering and don’t waste Uncle Lin’s kind efforts.” Ye Li nodded, thanked Sister Lin, and changed the subject. By the time Sister Lin collected the dishes and left, Ye Li had a general understanding of this place.
Though she didn’t know the exact location, this should be an isolated village not far from where she fell from the cliff. The old Doctor Lin had found her by a small river while gathering herbs in the mountains. What was strange was that after so long, how had the Mo Army and secret guards not found her yet?
In the early evening, Ye Li sat by the herb garden outside the house, lost in thought watching the sunset. The village wasn’t large, only about a dozen households in total. The small village was built against the mountain, houses scattered haphazardly at its foot. Every house appeared very old and small the people here didn’t value luxury or comfort. Occasionally young people, girls, and women passing by the house would give her friendly smiles. This is a quiet and simple little village, Ye Li thought silently watching the sunset.
In the sunset light, an elderly man with graying hair approached leisurely carrying an herb basket. Seeing Ye Li sitting by the herb garden, he raised his gray eyebrows saying, “Awake? You girl certainly seem blessed with great fortune, this old man thought you’d need at least another month to wake up.” Ye Li stood up, respectfully curtsying to the elder, saying, “Jun Wei thanks Doctor Lin for saving my life.” The elder observed her with interest, “A young lady from a noble family? Noble ladies with such great fortune are rare indeed. Girl, what’s your surname?”
Though deceiving her savior felt somewhat wrong, Ye Li didn’t want to risk exposure, saying softly, “Chu, Chu Jun Wei.”
The elder looked at her sideways, after a while stroking his beard and nodding, “Chu… Jun Wei… good name, suits a girl like you. However, this old man recalls there are no noble families surnamed Chu in Great Chu. Looking at your manner and bearing, you don’t seem to be from an ordinary family either.” Ye Li smiled apologetically saying, “Doctor Lin overpraises me. Jun Wei’s… maiden family is from Yunzhou, with some connection to the Xu family there.” As she spoke, Ye Li discreetly observed the elder’s expression, seeing him furrow his brow and nod, “The Xu family of Yunzhou? Well… that makes sense. Never mind, this old man won’t pry into which family you’re really from. Since this old man saved you it must be fate between us, just focus on recovering.” Ye Li lowered her gaze, saying softly, “Thank you, Doctor Lin.” From the elder’s expression, he didn’t seem to be acting. News of her fall from the cliff certainly couldn’t be hidden and must have spread throughout Great Chu by now. She had deliberately mentioned the Yunzhou Xu family – anyone with even slight knowledge of current affairs would make some connection. But the elder’s face showed no sign of recognition, unless his acting skills were so refined as to show no flaws, or he simply didn’t know about the Princess Consort’s fall. And Ye Li… was certain it was the latter. When she fell from the cliff, she had thrown her last dagger at the Southern Marquis, and even her clothes were the most ordinary and unremarkable kind, with nothing on her that could prove her identity. Unless someone knew her personally, they couldn’t possibly recognize her identity just by looking at her. Though she felt somewhat guilty about deceiving the elder, Ye Li knew she had to be extremely careful and absolutely could not let herself fall into enemy hands to become leverage against Mo Xiuyao. Thinking of Mo Xiuyao… Ye Li’s heart seemed to be pulled, aching slightly. It seemed… they had spent all of last year constantly separating. Learning of her death… thinking of Mo Xiuyao’s health, Ye Li’s brows furrowed deeper.
“Aren’t you coming in? Want to get rained on standing out there? Can’t you see it’s about to rain?” The elder’s unrestrained voice came from inside. Ye Li looked up and indeed saw the sunset had been covered by dark clouds, rain imminent. With a faint smile, Ye Li turned and went inside.
At dinner time, Ye Li volunteered to make two simple dishes. Doctor Lin seemed quite satisfied, looking at Ye Li saying, “At least I didn’t bring back a useless person.” Ye Li couldn’t help but grimace, but Doctor Lin had already sat down at the simple table and started eating. While eating, Doctor Lin seemed to finally think to ask about Ye Li’s situation, “Where are you from?” Ye Li thought for a moment, deciding to answer honestly, “Hongzhou.” Doctor Lin’s brows furrowed tightly as he asked, “Hongzhou? Where’s that?” Ye Li was startled, not expecting him to ask such a question. Hongzhou was the northwest’s primary gateway – living near the northwest region, even if one hadn’t heard of the Xu family, one shouldn’t be unfamiliar with Hongzhou’s location. Doctor Lin frowned saying, “I haven’t gone out for too long, perhaps many place names have changed.”
Ye Li’s heart stirred – Hongzhou indeed wasn’t originally called Hongzhou. At least fifty years ago Hongzhou was still part of Ruyang, named Biyang. It was only over fifty years ago that Hongzhou was officially incorporated into the northwest as its province and renamed Hongzhou. After thinking, Ye Li said, “There’s another name… I think it was called… Biyang.”
“Biyang?” Doctor Lin’s chopsticks paused for a moment as he asked puzzled, “How did a young lady like you get here from Biyang?” Ye Li looked at him confused, and Doctor Lin said, “Though I haven’t left this place for a long time, I still know that even at your pace, it would take at least two months to get here from Biyang.”
“Two months? Where is this place?” Ye Li couldn’t believe it. According to Sister Lin, they had found her at most on the third morning after her fall. How could she have traveled so far? Even drifting with the current couldn’t be that fast. At this thought, Ye Li paused. She wasn’t entirely familiar with the great river she had fallen into, but wasn’t completely unfamiliar either. If she had fallen into the water and been carried downstream, at most she should have been swept to a lake about a hundred li from Hongzhou. Not mysteriously appearing by a small river in some mountain. Looking down and recalling the geography around Hongzhou in her memory, Ye Li asked somewhat uncertainly, “Is this… in the mountains north of Hongzhou?” Doctor Lin gave her an approving look, saying, “This place is at least seven or eight hundred li from Hongzhou, most importantly, it’s all treacherous mountain paths, not to mention the wild beasts, venomous snakes, and insects along the way. Never mind you, even strong young men wouldn’t dare venture out carelessly.”
Hearing this, Ye Li was completely at a loss. Frowning she asked, “Then how can I get back?”
Doctor Lin rolled his eyes saying, “How would I know? Just because this old man saved you doesn’t mean I’m responsible for sending you home! First, have the child and recover your health, then see if anyone’s willing to take you back, though I doubt it! Second, settle down in the village, maybe remarry and live a good life later, and forget about the past. Don’t worry, the young men in this village are all decent, they won’t mind that you’ve been married before. Want this old man to play matchmaker for you?” Ye Li shot him a direct eye roll – though they’d only interacted for less than a day, she could tell this old man was an irreverent eccentric. She calculated mentally – it would be at least four more months before she could give birth, plus time needed to recover afterward before she could set out, meaning at minimum… it would be six months before she could start her journey back. Thinking of this made her frown, but given her current situation, there was nothing to be done. She could only hope Hongzhou and Mo Xiuyao were safe and well. At least… she and the baby were still alive, weren’t they? Looking down and gently stroking her belly where the baby occasionally moved now, Ye Li smiled faintly.
“Hmph! Thinking of that heartless lover of yours?” Seeing her gentle smiling expression, Doctor Lin humphed and said with a sideways glance.
Ye Li smiled helplessly, “He’s my child’s father, my husband. And he treats me very well.”
“If he treats you so well, why are you here?” Doctor Lin snorted dismissively at this. This girl was clearly from a scholarly, wealthy family background – if treated well she should have been kept in luxury behind closed doors, what noble young lady would end up in a place like this? At least in his sixty years, this was the first he’d seen.
Ye Li smiled faintly, not arguing with his words.
Xiuyao… I’ll return with our baby soon…