Matriarch He watched Madam Zou leave. That girl looked more haggard by the day, she mused. Her fingers tapped gently on the table beside her as she began to consider some thoughts she had previously set aside.
A few days ago, Countess Jing’an had mentioned the matter of letting her eldest son, Dalang, take a concubine to the matriarch.
Truthfully speaking, the matriarch had been waiting for a great-grandson for much too long. She had given Dalang’s wife ten years, but there was still no news.
……
After He Changdi and Laiyue passed Zhangzhou and went as far north as they could go, they took to the water and reached Qizhou. They then changed horses and continued northward. After half a month of harsh travel, they finally reached the northern border of the Great Wu Dynasty: Liangzhou.
Looking at the endless grasslands of the northern border, memories from He Changdi’s past life bubbled to the surface. His heart was a mess of muddled emotions.
Laiyue rode his horse up to his young master’s side before asking, “Young Master, are we entering the city directly?”
He Changdi shook his head and pointed in another direction.
Laiyue turned his gaze over, only to see a few scattered tents dotted yonder on the boundless grassy plains.
He gulped, but didn’t say a word.
Throughout their journey, the fuse on Third Young Master’s temper had just grown shorter and shorter. He wore a gloomy expression around all day, and practically radiated the aura of a porcupine: don’t touch me!
Laiyue subconsciously took a deep breath and instantly regretted it. He looked down at his own travel-worn clothing, fighting the urge to throw himself into a pool of water. He was emitting the stink of the century here, and it was to the point where he was about to lose his sense of smell. He hadn’t thought that Third Young Master, who had always loved cleanliness, could actually keep travelling without bothering to wash the dirt off his body.
It was full summer right now. The last time they had properly cleaned themselves was back when they had left Qizhou. The further north they went, the fewer pools and lakes they could find. Since they were rushing to their destination, they were living roughly. A normal thing like a bath had become a luxury.
Now that they had arrived at the uncivilised northern plains, they were surrounded by grassland all around. There weren’t even that many tents, let alone any inns or restaurants where they could rest in.
Laiyue secretly shot a glance at Third Young Master. His fitted grey riding clothes were already stained with dirt, and there were even a few tears here and there. His black hair had been tied up at the back of his head, but the journey had made it a mess. Dark stubble was already growing all over his chin due to the lack of shaving. Half a month of travelling out in the sun and wind had made Third Young Master not only more tan, but also skinnier than before.
The corners of Laiyue’s mouth twitched. If his young master were to ride along the streets of the capital now, probably no one would be able to connect this coarse man with the He Family’s Sanlang the Fair.
Master and servant urged their horses towards the scattered tents in the distance.
Just as they arrived, a slightly plump madam happened to walk out of one of the tents, carrying some butter and tea as she pushed up the tent flaps. Seeing the two strangers, she looked over curiously and spoke in some gibberish that Laiyue couldn’t understand.
Laiyue stared at the madam. Although he had expected the northern border to be harsh and cruel, he hadn’t thought that they wouldn’t be able to communicate…
The madam spoke a bunch of words to them, but Laiyue still couldn’t understand a single one. He felt a headache building.
He turned to his master helplessly.
Who could have expected that He Changdi would get off his horse, walk up to the madam, and speak in the same gibberish!? Laiyue couldn’t understand a thing. However, after he was done, took out a stamp from the purse at his waist and passed it to the madam.
The madam eyed the stamp for a long time, holding it up to the light to see it better. Suddenly, she practically leapt for joy and returned the stamp to He Changdi. She then respectfully bowed 90 degrees to him, before pulling He Changdi into the tent.
Laiyue was stunned. He didn’t know how his young master had suddenly learned how to speak a barbarian language. And looking at the way he had spoken, he was extremely fluent, too.
Laiyue stood stock-still as he held the horses’ reins, completely dazed. His feet had become one with the ground due to his shock. In the end, He Changdi had to turn around and shout at him before he regained his senses.
In a moment, a half-grown teenager stepped out from the tent, smiling widely as he tried to take the reins of the horses from Laiyue. He Changdi noticed that Laiyue wasn’t moving, so he instructed, “Give the horses to him; he’ll help us take care of them.”
Laiyue then handed the reins over to the grinning, tanned teen.
Laiyue caught up to his young master in a few steps. He scratched his head helplessly and said, “Young Master, this servant doesn’t understand…”
He Sanlang glared at his manservant. “What are you blanking out for? Just follow me.”
Laiyue quickly nodded. However, not even a minute had passed before he was no longer able to hold back his curiosity. “Young Master, when did you learn how to speak the barbarian language of the northern border? This servant didn’t realise you could do that at all.”
He Sanlang looked at Laiyue in contempt. “With your wits, it’s normal that you didn’t know. All you think about all day is eating!”
Poor Laiyue didn’t dare to ask again.
All he did was eat a bowl of Third Young Madam’s braised meat with rice. That bowl of rice had even been leftovers from the maidservants’ meal! Third Young Master had been ridiculing him for that one bowl the whole way here; what injustice!
However, upon remembering that braised meat, saliva gathered in Laiyue’s mouth. That thick sauce and fatty meat… With one bite, the taste lingered in his mouth for hours… It was the most delicious meat he had ever eaten in his life!
If he could have another bowl right now, he would put the entirety of it on another bowl of rice. Three huge servings of that wouldn’t be a problem! Wait, no, maybe he could even eat the entire pot of rice!
As he thought of the harsh journey they had gone through to get here, Laiyue missed that delicious food even more.
He Sanlang experienced an instant of confusion. Barbarian language? His fluency with it was all because he had been exiled to the northern border in his previous life. He had lived amongst the lowest of the barbarians for three years, suffering all the hardships there were in this world. After all that, how could he possibly not know the most basic language amongst them?
Thinking back to those dark days, He Changdi’s hands clenched into fists, hidden under his sleeves.
However, the heavens had been kind to him; they had given him a chance to redo it all!
When they entered the tent, a short but sturdy barbarian came up to welcome them. He placed his right hand over his heart and bowed respectfully to He Changdi.
He Changdi nodded and headed towards the short table in the center of the tent. He waited for the barbarian to sit together with him. In a moment, the madam they had met outside brought in two earthenware jars.
The barbarian man indicated for him to go ahead, in the manner of the Han people. He Changdi didn’t stand on ceremony and filled the roughly made bowl before him with food. He ate one bite before jerking his head towards Laiyue, who was kneeling behind him, indicating for him to eat as well.
The two of them hadn’t eaten for almost a day in their rush to reach Liangzhou; their empty stomachs were growling by now. They had relied on each other along the way, so He Changdi didn’t bother with keeping up with his noble airs and simply treated Laiyue as a comrade. Each time they entered an inn to eat, they always shared a table.
Laiyue didn’t reject the offer and followed He Changdi’s example to fill up a bowl of food for himself. Due to his hunger, he drank a huge gulp of the food in the bowl immediately.
However, the moment the food touched his tongue, Laiyue’s face contorted. He secretly glanced at his master, only to see that He Changdi’s expression hadn’t changed at all, and that he was eating the food in the bowl with small bites. It was only because of that that Laiyue managed to swallow the mouthful he had taken.
Looking down at the black, strange substance in his bowl, Laiyue completely lost the courage to take another bite.
What was this made of? It was harder to swallow than the steamed buns they had on the way here. The barbarians couldn’t possibly be eating only this everyday, could they?
After a while, He Sanlang had already elegantly polished off all the food in his bowl. He looked calmly at his manservant. “Finish it all. There’s nothing else to eat here. You’ll go hungry otherwise.”
Laiyue looked at his master’s empty bowl. With no choice, he faced his own bowl and valiantly did battle with the food in it, not daring to taste it at all.
That food was the northern border’s specialty, Chinese olive porridge. Although the taste wasn’t very good, it was the main source of food for the barbarians living here. In He Changdi’s past life, even this terrible porridge was hard to come by. He could only have it once a month, thanks to a barbarian woman who pitied him and secretly brought him some every month.
Upon tasting this flavour again, He Changdi had initially thought that he might reminisce about his past, or even like the taste of it this time. However, he didn’t feel anything special at all upon tasting it. He stared at the steam rising from the earthenware jars, going into a daze. The Chinese olive porridge on the table slowly changed into steaming hot scallion pancakes and wontons.
His companion at the table changed into a lovely, innocent young woman, who would stare at him huffily from time to time. The look in her eyes was accusing him of being a big eater who had snatched away the food she had carefully made.
The taste of those delicious wontons and crispy scallion pancakes seemed to slowly cover up the flavour of that Chinese olive porridge, causing him to forget what he was actually eating.
He Sanlang suddenly pinched his own palm fiercely. His eyes froze over into pools of black jade.
Damn it! Was he cursed or what? Why was he thinking of that wicked woman again?!
He replayed the tragedies that he had faced in his past life in his mind, reminding himself that all the hardship he had gone through was caused by that woman and that woman alone. He slowly shut his eyes… When he opened them again, they were back to his usual clear gaze.
Laiyue set down his bowl with all sorts of emotions on his face, and turned towards his young master with a pitiful look.
The barbarian man was sitting across from him. He found Laiyue’s expressions amusing, so he openly burst out into peals of laughter, before ordering the woman to clear the table and serve some fermented milk.
Laiyue was more careful with what he ate this time. He picked up the fermented milk before him and sipped a tiny mouthful. Although it couldn’t be compared to the capital’s cheapest yellow rice wine, it was heavenly compared to that Chinese olive porridge.
The barbarian man smiled again upon seeing Laiyue’s change of expressions. He turned to He Changdi to speak.
Laiyue couldn’t understand anything, but he did see the barbarian man pause in his words to pull out a small pouch, handing it over to his young master with both hands.
He Sanlang opened up the small pouch and took out the two letters inside. Following that, he glanced at the remaining things in the pouch and balled it up before he stuffed it into the sack he carried with him at all times.
When Laiyue noticed the seal on the back of the letters, his expression turned more serious.
Those two letters had been sent along Prince Jin’s connections.
He Changdi first opened the letter from Prince Jin and skimmed through it. No change in emotions could be discerned from his face. Next, he opened the other letter.
The handwriting in this letter wasn’t as bold as the previous one, but was more neat and orderly. This had been written by Senior Servant Zhong.
There were five pages in total, miniscule words covering every blank space on the letter. They reported every single thing that Chu Lian had done in the two weeks he had been away from the Jing’an Estate, big or small.
He Sanlang’s face noticeably cooled as he read the letter. At the same time, a trace of doubt surfaced in his eyes, unseen by the rest.
He Changdi continued reading. When he reached certain parts, his mouth couldn’t help but twitch in response.