Eastern Palace - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

I finally asked Gu Xiao Wu, “Do you like to marry me?” Gu Xiao Wu seemed to be a bit surprised . He looked at me and said, “Of course I do . ” “But I have a bad temper . You come from the Central Plains while I grew up in Western Liang . You like to eat millet rice while I love roast lamb . I don’t understand your language, nor do I know the custom of Central Plains . If you stay in Western Liang which is far from Central Plains, you will definitely be homesick . If you go back to Central Plains long way off Western Liang, then I will definitely miss my hometown . Although you killed the White-Eye Wolf King, you didn’t do that completely for me . You said that you happened to meet the wolf and kill it while you were hawking tea… I’m young, but I know that I can’t force someone to marry me…” I talked a lot from when we first met to the present . I told him all the inconveniences we would meet if we got married, which made me thirsty . Gu Xiao Wu didn’t interrupt me . When I put down the lamb chop and went to drink, he asked, “What you said were all unimportant things . Are you willing to marry me? Just give me an answer . ” I almost spit water out of my mouth . I gave him an angry stare while my face suddenly went red, “Am I willing… um…” “Answer me!” he urged me, “yes or no?” My mind was in such a turmoil . Pictures of these days in my mind were like visions or dreams . Time had gone by so quickly that so much had happened . I had never expected that I would marry at such an early age . I found Gu Xiao Wu was annoying at first, but now I didn’t hate him . I didn’t know what I should say . Looking at fireflies in the autumn, I suddenly made up my mind and said, “I will say yes if you can catch me a hundred fireflies . ” As soon as I finished my words, he stood up abruptly . I stared at him, but then he turned a somersault as if he was a naughty boy . I watched him jumping into the air like a star – no, a meteor would not be like this – he nearly fell onto the flood land . He suddenly reached his arms out for fireflies and grabbed a few . Those fairies shone faintly through gaps between his fingers . I shaped the lower part of my robe into a bag and urged, “Hurry up!” He put the fireflies into my bag-shaped robe . He jumped up again – martial arts in the Central Plains were charming and elegant, just like paintings or poems . He moved as if he was dancing, but there was no dance with such an act of animated courage in the world . He spun around in an incredible angle in midair, chasing those ethereal fireflies . His sleeves brought a flurry of wind, and I pointed in the direction of the fireflies, “Left! There are a lot on the left!” “Oops!” “They’ve escaped! There! Oh, there are more of them!”… The laughter of us wafted across the river, and the number of fireflies in my clothes was increasing . They gathered together and shone like a bright moon in my arms . All the fireflies near the river were gone, they were caught by Gu Xiao Wu and put in my arms . “Are there a hundred fireflies now?” He leaned over, putting his head to my head and using a slender finger to uncover the corner of my rope, “let’s count, shall we?” We then counted a dozen . Gu Xiao Wu’s body had a faint cool aroma, which couldn’t be found in Turks and the people of Western Liang . I felt that this faint aroma made me uneasy, and my face seemed to be burning . He stayed too close to me . Suddenly a gust of wind blew, his hair softly touched my face, it felt light, soft and itchy . My hand holding the clothes could not help but loosen, the fireflies then were scrambling to fly up, thus the moon dispersed, turning into countless fine meteors . For a time, Gu Xiao Wu and I were surrounded by these meteors, whose bright light illuminated our faces . I saw his dark eyes, which were staring at me . I remembered those who sang outside the A’Du tent, as they just stared at A’Du in this way . Their burning gaze was like a flame, softening people who were looked at . However, Gu Xiao Wu’s eyes were much warmer, reflecting my silhouette . I suddenly felt something in my heart was becoming softer, which made me uneasy but comfortable . Seeing me watching him, he suddenly became embarrassed . He turned his face to see the fireflies in the sky and said, “They all ran off!” I couldn’t help but say, “They are like meteors!” He also laughed and repeated, “Meteors!” Countless fireflies flew away, like thousands of meteors passing by our fingertips . When the gods released the meteors, the scene must be not better than this one, which was like a dream . I thought I would never forget the night by the river – thousands of fireflies were surrounding us, and they flew by deftly, then scattered in all directions with their fluorescent light, just like the golden glow of a meteor splitting the night . I thought of a song, in which a god, together with his loved one, stood in the Milky Way as gorgeous as this scene .

The Great Chanyu sent a messenger to tell my father that he had chosen a husband for me, who was Gu Xiao Wu . At that time, my father was in a dilemma between Yuezhi and Central Plains, so he immediately wrote back, asking my grandpa to make the decision for me and preside over the marriage . When my father’s letter arrived, the wedding was already halfway through .

Tujue’s wedding customs were grand but simple . People in countless tents had slaughtered numerous fat sheep, and the fragrance of the wine spread everywhere . These days, Gu Xiao Wu had become friends with all Tujue’s nobility . People in Tujue respected heroes most . Gu Xiao Wu became a young and promising hero in Tujue as he had killed the White-Eye Wolf King and won the competition with He Shi . Listening to the hymns sung by the priest, we walked slowly on the red carpet towards the high platform used to offer sacrifices to gods .

Just at this moment, there came the sound of clop, then a scout scrambled to the Great Chanyu’s throne .

Through the bustling crowd, I saw the Great Chanyu frowned . I turned around and ran up to the Great Chanyu without caring much about the priest and his songs . “Grandpa!” patting my hair, the Great Chanyu said with a smile, “nothing serious . The King of Yuezhi has sent some of his soldiers to provoke us . I’ll send our army to drive them off . ” I was unaware that Gu Xiao Wu had stood behind me . He bowed to the Great Chanyu in accordance with Tujue’s rituals, saying, “Your Great Chanyu, please allow me to defeat them . ” “You?” The Great Chanyu glimpsed at him, saying, “The King of Yuezhi has an army of about fifty thousand people . ” Furthermore, the King of Yuezhi was a veteran general . I was afraid Gu Xiao Wu was no match for thousands of enemies, though he had good mastery of shooting arrows . “Your Great Chanyu, you can send thirty thousand cavalries to fight with those weary enemies . You can also dispatch a general to go with them if you still can’t rest assured . I’ll assist the general in the battle . If I terrify the cavalry of Yuezhi by shooting arrows, it will be a contribution to Tujue . ” While the Great Chanyu was hesitating, He Shi said, “Military tactics of the Central Plains army are skillful . They are the people who led an army to defeat the cavalry of Yuezhi on my way back . The Great Chanyu nodded and said to Gu Xiao Wu, “OK . Kill the general of Yuezhi and bring his head back to me as your one of the sacrifices offered to the gods at your wedding ceremony . ” Gu Xiao Wu knelt before the Great Chanyu according to the Central Plains rituals, saying, “God bless you, the Great Chanyu!” He gave me a look when he stood up, saying, “I’ll be back soon . ” I was so worried about him . Watching him turned around and walking outward, I hastened to catch up with him and tied my girdle around his waist .

According to the customs of the wedding ceremony in Tujue, the ceremony was completed when the bride and bridegroom exchanged belts with each other, which signified that they became a married couple with God’s blessing . I had wanted him to tie his belt around my waist, but the slave brought him a horse . As a result, there was no time for me to talk to him . Gu Xiao Wu said to me while mounting the horse, “I’ll be back very soon . ” Grasping him by his sleeve, I parted from him with reluctance . I recalled a lot of things that experienced with him . For instance, I once waited for him on the sand dune for three days and three nights; he saved me after I fell off the horse, told me a story that night, killed the White-Eye Wolf King and won the competition with He Shi, and the wonderful time we had catching fireflies… From that moment on, I had made up my mind I would accompany him for a lifetime… I couldn’t help but worried about him since he would fight with the enemy .

He might have seen the worried look in my eyes, so he smiled and bent over to touch my face . His hand was warm, making me feel like it was my mother’s hand rather than my father’s or grandfather’s . I wondered why there were no calluses on his hands now that he was skillful at archery .

I always thought of trifles like this while I was baffled by other things . Gu Xiao Wu took his hand back . Thirty thousand soldiers lined up, and their general was my elder cousin, namely the Great Chanyu’s grandson, Yi Mo Yan . Yi Mo Yan said to me with a smile, “Sister, rest assured . I’ll take care of him . ” Being used to fighting with others, people in Tujue regarded wars as simple as eating . I liked my cousin Yi Mo Yan as he used to hunt with me and treated me as his own sister . I shouted, “Who asks you to take care of him? Just look after yourself, I am waiting for you to come back for a drink . ” Everyone laughed loudly, saying, “Your little princess, please rest assured . We’ll kill the Yuezhi army and take their heads back when the roast lamb is done . ” Under the banner of Yi Mo Yan, Gu Xiao Wu put on Tujue’s cowhide armor with the helmet covered most of his face . Seeing I was looking for him in the crowd, he smiled and waved hands towards me . I saw my girdle was tied on his belt around his waist . I just tied a knot in a hurry, so I couldn’t help but worried if the girdle would loosen . It would be an ominous marriage for us if the girdle loosened… Before I could think about it more, the army set out with the horseshoe rumbled and the dust flew from the earth . The cavalry rushed out the military camp like floods and ran towards the prairie . They had run to the distant horizon in a short while . At first, a long dark shadow was visible far away, but it vanished behind a gentle slope at last .

Seeing that I was standing there with a worried look, A’Du could not help but gestured to me, as if she was saying they would be back soon . I knew she was trying to comfort me . I nodded . Although the King of Yuezhi had fifty thousand soldiers, they were no match for the thirty thousand picked soldiers of Tujue since they were weary after a long match and each of Tujue’s picked soldiers were able to fight against ten enemies . In addition, the Great Chanyu’s army were stationed here, they could rush to support Gu Xiao Wu and others even if the King of Yuezhi sent one hundred thousand cavalries to fight .

Some slaves were roasting lamb and others were busy preparing mare’s milk and good wine . The camp was filled with cheers and laughter . Everyone knew the soldiers of Tujue would return with triumph over the Yuezhi army after a while . I recalled that I said a fond farewell to Gu Xiao Wu, my face going red . When Yi Mo Yan returned, he would definitely laugh at me! He would be the first to make fun of me because I couldn’t bear to let go Gu Xiao Wu . Young aristocrats in Tujue regarded Yi Mo Yan as their leader . In this evening’s singing competition, they would definitely made a joke about me . I felt worried wthen thinking of it . Gu Xiao Wu couldn’t sing, so I must tell him after he came back, lest he made a show of himself .

But I didn’t know that they would never come back .

Many, many years later, I found a history book of Central Plains which recorded this day . There were only a few dull words, “In July, Crown Prince Cheng Yin personally entered the Western Region and allied himself with countries in Yuezhi, leading an army of 400,000 soldiers to attack Tujue . The Great Chanyu of Tujue refused to surrender and died on the battlefield . More than 200,000 Tujue people were slaughtered . The entire Tujue tribe was destroyed . ” About that day, I remembered nothing but He Shi clutching his bow before he died . He bled heavily from numerous knife wounds on his chest and abdomen . He knew that he was dying, but he still tried his best to lifted me and A’Du into the saddle . The last sentence he said was “A’Du, take care of princess!” Dense mass of arrows looked like swarm locusts or thousands of meteors . If god relaxed his hold and let all the stars in his hand fell down, it would be like this… A’Du desperately urged the horse onward . There were fires, blood and cries all around . Hundreds of thousands of troops seemed to pop out of the ground . Although Tujue people continued to put up a stiff resistance, they couldn’t strike down such strong enemies… Countless people fell down behind us, and countless blood splashed in our face . Without He Shi, we would have not escaped from the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of enemies . But at the end, He Shi died . A’Du and I fled on prairie for six days and six nights before being caught up by pursuers .

My leg was injured and A’Du also got wounded . But she still drew her sword and kept me behind her . The hatred in my heart was like a raging fire which so hot that my mouth parched and tongue scorched . I thought to myself, “These people killed grandpa; these people killed Gu Xiao Wu; these people killed all Tujue people . ” Although I was not a Turk, I had half of Turkish blood in my body . Only A’Du and I were still alive, so I wouldn’t be a discredit to grandpa and Tujue even if I drained the last drop of my blood .

At this moment, a cavalryman rushed out from the group of Central Plains, and A’Du rushed to him with a knife . But the man just reached out and deftly moved his hand, A’Du’s knife then dropped into the ground . I looked at that man with amazement, he must know magic, right? Otherwise, how could he cast a spell to take away A’Du’s knife and make her static there?

A’Du glared at that man, actually, she rarely got angry, but I knew this time she really did . I picked up A’Du’s knife and tried to chop that man . I had already flown into a rage, no matter who he was, I would kill him!

That man also just reached out and gently hit me, I immediately passed out and couldn’t sense anything .

When I woke up, I was bending over a horse’s back with my face down, looking like a bag of glutinous rice . Though the mud splashed by the horse’s hooves slammed on my face, I couldn’t move . In all directions, I could only see horse’s hooves and countless horse’s legs falling and rising, just like Achnatherum splendens being blown by the wind . I became dazzled and had to close my eyes . After quite a while, the horse finally stopped . Someone lifted me up from horseback, but the acupoint on my leg was sealed for too long, I couldn’t hold myself up and suddenly fell to the ground .

The ground was covered with thick felt, so I supposed it must be the tent of a general from Central Plains . Is that protectorate? I looked up and saw Gu Xiao Wu . Numerous Turkic warriors were already killed, especially the 30,000 picked Turkic soldiers who had confronted with the enemy beforehand, no one came back alive . But Gu Xiao Wu, he was still alive .

Not only was he alive, but he changed the clothes of Central Plains . Although he didn’t wear armor and he looked like a young scholar of Central Plains, I knew that such a tent would never be of a scholar . There were a lot of guards around him, and that general of Central Plains who caught us came in and kneeled down to Gu Xiao Wu . A clear sound came from his armor, which represented the highest courtesy toward the most noble man in Central Plains . I suddenly understood, Gu Xiao Wu, Gu Xiao Wu turned out to be the spy of Central Plains! It was exactly he that had brought about the enemy’s sneak attack . I tried my best to spit at him, “You spy!” The guards beside him hooted at me and someone kicked on my lap, then my legs felt weak and I rolled to the ground again . I saw the protectorate, who also bowed to Gu Xiao Wu to pay respects . They all spoke the language of Central Plains, so I couldn’t understand any single sentence . Gu Xiao Wu didn’t look at me, and the protectorate said a lot to Gu Xiao Wu . I saw Gu Xiao Wu’s face was sullen . Finally, all the people left the tent except Gu Xiao Wu and me, then he took the dagger and walked over to me .

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