Chapter 5
Chapter 5
It was only after the two of them left arm in arm that the stagnant atmosphere in the inner room relaxed .
It was only then that Shen Tiexin could speak . He looked toward the direction of where the two women had left and a sigh escaped from his mouth, “Heavens, fortunately, the Crown Princess was here… Otherwise, there would be no one else to subdue this Terrifying Tigress!”
The right flank’s Vice General Shao Yun was a bit more composed . Having heard a colleague blurt out so bluntly, he inadvertently glanced at Shen Tiexin: saying it like this . Wasn’t he openly saying that the Seventh Prince was cowardly and weak against his own wife?
However, the always cold and arrogant Prince Xueya didn’t speak . He only looked at the direction the Crown Princess and Imperial Concubine had gone . His eyes revealed a hint of worry and after a long while, he softly sighed . He then set down the teacup and stood up .
Clank, bang . The sounds rang out loud and clear . The porcelain cup in his hand had actually already cracked like ice and shattered into thousands of fragments . Shen Tiexin looked at the Seventh Prince’s complexion and immediately stopped . He did not dare to say more .
“Seventh Brother… you should be more tolerant . ” Crown Prince Chengde didn’t know what to say . After a moment, he heaved a sigh and patted Prince Xueya’s shoulder . His eyes flashed, “Don’t worry… Wuchen can handle her — she’s just a kid with a bit of a temper and that’s all . Don’t tell me you don’t know what kind of person Wuchen is?”
“…… . ” Prince Xueya’s fingers imperceptibly shook . He looked up at his imperial brother .
Prince Chengde only smiled slightly . His gaze was calm, yet unfathomable .
Over there, from among the two who were drifting away, they could only hear Jin Bihui’s lucid laughter, “Aiya, Big Sister’s gui[1] name is Wuchen! Now that I think about it — giving this Warding Dust Pearl[2] to Big Sister as a gift is very fitting . With this, no matter how dusty it is, Big Sister will always be spotless and as pretty as a fairy~”
“Eh? I don’t suit such a priceless treasure…” Zhangsun Wuchen laughed lightly and politely declined .
“What do you mean you don’t suit it? Except for Big Sister, no one else in the world could possibly suit it!”
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Jin Bihui was apparently a woman who ate soft food but refused hard food[3] . Encountering the Crown Princess, it was as if she had met her nemesis, but in just a few moments, she had already taken a liking to Zhangsun Wuchen .
The biting, cold winds of early winter scraped their faces like a knives . Walking into the left flank’s army camp and listening to the rising and falling sounds of training and the clanging of swords, Yan Bai breathed a sigh of relief — this was where he belonged . Only by returning to the army could he feel his true worth .
The past few days had been quiet on the surface, but the new “Imperial Concubine” was really giving him a headache . The Seventh Prince, who had once mediated between the vassals and supported the Crown Prince’s army until today, also felt worn out, both mentally and physically .
“Hah, it’s only difficult to raise women and villains…”[4] The vice general beside him was Shen Tiexin . Although a subordinate, after years of going through fire and water on the battlefield, he had already forged feelings of being able to cut his own throat for him long ago . At this point, he heard Yan Bai sigh . Knowing he was troubled, he involuntarily began to speak with regret, but just as he did, he shook his head and changed his tone, “Also not right — a woman like the Crown Princess is wonderful . Your Highness, it looks like you’re going to suffer a lot of bitterness this time . ”
“Any developments within the army these few days?” Fingers mindlessly fiddling with the various weapons on the rack, Prince Xueya’s expression was nonchalant as if he didn’t want to continue this topic, so he shifted the subject .
Shen Tiexin’s face suddenly sank, and his hand pressed hard against the knife at his waist . A long time passed before he spoke with a heavy voice, “Yang Ding is dead . ”
“What?!” Prince Xueya turned around suddenly, unable to conceal the shock and intense anguish in his eyes .
Shen Tiexin’s head lowered further and further . Veins popped out of his hands and he gritted his teeth, “Five days ago, Sun Zhiquan, the Iron Arrow General of Lord Yonglin’s army, came to the city yelling for battle . Yang Ding was unable to remain calm and charged out of the city with some men to face the enemy…”
Yan Bai’s face was livid, “How is that guy Iron Arrow Sun’s opponent?! Isn’t he courting death?!”
Shen Tiexin suddenly knelt down, his voice already choked with sobs, “Indeed! But Yang Ding has such a fiery temper… He said that even if Your Highness is not present, he cannot allow anyone to insult you . This subordinate failed to stop him . Please bestow punishment!”
Prince Xueya was silent . His eyes closed and he asked calmly, “Has his funeral arrangements been completed?”
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“The Crown Prince dispatched Shao Yun to assist in battle, but unfortunately it was still a step too late… His head, his head… has already…” Shen Tiexin used his sword to stay, yet his originally uninhibited and bright voice choked with sobs .
Yan Bai stood atop the city . For a long time, he did not speak . The north winter winds blew like knives cutting into his body .
After a long, long time, he withdrew his gaze from below the city wall — there, a layer of darkness encircled Ye City on three sides . It was the army of the Fourth Imperial Uncle, Yonglin . The apricot-colored banner on the army’s center tent fluttered . With the newly severed head hanging from the banner, it spun like a bell in the north wind .
“Vice General Yang left the city to fight without permission . His death has no value . [5]” Another while passed until Prince Xueya spoke in a heavy voice . No longer looking, he returned from the city wall . Shen Tiexin followed him, feeling that His Highness’s upright figure was suddenly a bit haggard .
“What else?” As he walked, without turning his head back, Yan Bai continued to ask .
Shen Tiexin hesitated but finally said, “Provisions… The provisions can only last for ten more days . A harsh winter is approaching, winter clothes have not been issued, and morale is wavering — the civilians within the city are starving and freezing . There are also numerous complaints . ”
“You need not worry . Provisions and armaments will soon arrive . Reinforcements from Yang Country should also arrive in a month . ” Yan Bai raised his hand and waved it . Suddenly, there was a miserable smile on his lips, “You see, selling myself like this was worth it, was it not?”
“Your Highness!” Shocked, Shen Tiexin blurted out, not knowing what else to say .
Yan Bai no longer said anything . He just smiled faintly and walked down the city wall, continuing to observe the left flank’s affairs . However, looking at the tent that had been vacated after Yang Ding’s death, there was profound sorrow in his eyes . His fingers clenched hard unknowingly .
Another one had fallen… Amid eight years of chaos and separation, how many good brothers had spilled their blood on the battlefield?
As he came out of the army camp, he could hear the clamoring on the streets from afar .
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“What happened?” Prince Xueya frowned and asked the soldier guarding the camp . That soldier was shivering in the cold, yet having heard the Seventh Prince ask the question, he kneeled and replied, “Reporting to Your Highness — there was a group of unruly civilians causing an uproar at the camp’s entrance just now, but General Shao sent his men to suppress them . ”
“Why are they creating a disturbance?” Yan Bai asked the question, but seeing the soldiers’ clothes and complexions, he then understood: it had been nearly a year since the siege, and even the army had become so deprived . As one could imagine, the civilians’ circumstances were worse .
Thinking up to this point, his heart grew even heavier . An invisible burden weighed him down and caused him to be slightly out of breath . However, the civilians over there who were forced to disperse stubbornly refused to leave . When they saw that Prince Xueya had strode out of the army camp, they clamored even louder .
“Sir, when will the war end? We can’t last much longer!”
“Please help us! It’s been several days since any of my family has touched the lid of a pot… If this goes on, people will be eating each other!”
Yan Bai was suddenly shocked . He absent-mindedly looked ahead, only to see those people with famished faces and thin clothes . They were shivering like withered grass in the cold winter wind . A few of them were still carrying their children, and it was obvious that the whole family had been starving for a very long time . At this moment, they joined together to complain and gathered at the entrance of the army camp to express their plight .
A platoon of soldiers rushed over to disperse those gathered civilians . Some who refused to leave and continued shouting were randomly beaten down with rods and dragged away without a word .
“Stop!” Yan Bai finally snapped out of his trance and shouted at them to stop . The left flank was highly disciplined, and all the soldiers paused at the order from the Commander . The starving civilians and weary soldiers turned to look at Prince Xueya at the camp’s entrance, waiting for him to speak—
“The provisions will arrive shortly . ” Massaging his temples, Yan Bai spoke with great exhaustion, “This war will end as well . ”
However, the normally handsome prince’s now haggard face could not be concealed and because it was also caused by the famine, the civilians seethed with anger once again, “You always say it’s arriving! You’ve been saying that since two months ago — any longer and we’ll have to eat our own children! I don’t care who becomes the emperor as long as you keep us from starving to death!”
“Right! Do you take us, civilians, for fools? My father starved to death as we waited for provisions from outside the city to arrive!”
Someone in the crowd roared, eliciting a response, and the soldiers had no time to resist the starved crowd . They had already broken through the human barricade . All of a sudden, Prince Xueya and Shen Tiexin were surrounded in the middle . Shen Tiexin’s face had remained sullen the whole time, but now both eyebrows loftily rose . He was about to draw his sword .
“Sheathe your weapons!” Yan Bai quickly held down the Vice General’s hand while pulling Shen Tiexin back two steps to avoid the chaotic punching and kicking . However, when he saw the crowd’s bubbling discontent in front of him, he knew in his heart that if he didn’t use force to suppress it, things were bound to become worse .
TL Note: What will he do? Will he have to use force? Perhaps someone will rescue him? Or… is it too late? Find out next time in Melody Drifting in the Rain~
:p
Footnotes:
[1] “gui name”: “Gui” is a lady’s chamber or bedroom . A “gui name” is a nickname used by close family or friends . It’s generally a nickname they’ve had since childhood and usually applies to females though I think it could also be their first names
[2] “Warding Dust Pearl”: Wuchen’s name means “dustless” or “without dust” which is why Jin Bihui’s saying it suits her
[3] “Ate soft food, but refused hard food”: an idiom meaning “to be open to persuasion/coaxing, but not to coercion”
[4] “It’s only difficult to raise women and villains”: saying how it’s difficult to please or accommodate these kinds of people . The word “villains” is a bit strong but the phrase is mainly referencing petty or dishonest people
[5] He’s acting cold and saying that he doesn’t pity Yang Ding’s death