He Xiao lowered his head and replied, “I do not dare.”


  “By saying this, you’re blaming me.” Chu Qiao smiled bitterly, her smile disappearing in an instant as she continued, “No matter whether you believe me or not, we have been through many battles together all these years. I have always regarded you as my best friend. By leaving, I did not mean to abandon all of you.”


  “I understand.” He Xiao suddenly looked up, reverting to a state of calmness and shedding his aura of glory which he had demonstrated on the battlefield. Quietly, he added, “I have never blamed you. You were looking out for us, giving us the best escape route. I understand all this.”


  This was the first time that they addressed each other by name. He looked at her quietly as he spoke slowly, “All these years, I witnessed as you soldiered on. I understand the difficulties that you faced. Perhaps, sometimes, I thought that I had been selfish back then. If I had sorted out my thoughts, I would not have let circumstances drive you to desperation. Even if the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison had become bandits, or if every one of us died, we should not have let you shoulder this responsibility, opposing the king of Yan Bei, resulting in this state today.”


  Chu Qiao shook her head as she thought to herself. There had already been irreconcilable differences between Yan Xun and herself. Even without the existence of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison, other reasons would have culminated in their fallout. It was but a matter of time.

  He Xiao did not wait for her to speak as he spoke frankly, “After all, you’re just a young girl. Back then, we failed to see this clearly.” He looked up and smiled gently, like an elder watching over his descendants. “Your Majesty had said before, ‘Only if you abandon the past entirely, can you attain inner peace’. By not calling you ‘General’, it doesn’t mean that I’m distancing myself from you. It just means that I hope you will be able to put the past behind you and live a life for yourself.”


  The water droplets, which had accumulated on the branches and leaves on the trees, fell to the ground, landing on Chu Qiao’s white shoes. She raised her eyebrows as she felt touched.

  “Although Tang is a warm place, it’s cold now. Miss, you should go back earlier.” As he finished his sentence, he stepped aside for Chu Qiao to leave. However, she suddenly called out, “Brother He.”


  He Xiao was utterly stunned as he jerked his head up vigorously to look at her.

  Chu Qiao said in a heavy tone, “We have known each other for many years, going through life and death together. We are comrades on the battlefield, and family outside the battlefield.”


  The desolate winds streamlined across the forest. He Xiao’s gaze became momentarily distracted. After a long while, he maintained his posture and took a small step back. With a heavy tone, he declared, “I’m going to the southwest to assume a new appointment. We might not have the chance to meet again.” As expected, he had already known.

  Chu Qiao’s fingertips turned slightly cold. As she looked at He Xiao’s lonely shadow, she began to feel a little choked. She nodded quietly and said, “Take care.”


  Following which, she turned around and exited the pavilion. She had barely taken a few steps outwards when a voice rang out from behind her, “Xiaoqiao, take care.” She turned around to see He Xiao standing there quietly, as he maintained his posture. The wind blew across his clothes; revealing patterns of greenish-brown clouds that had been embroidered on his uniform. A shade of green could be seen around his waist; he was still wearing the belt when he was still part of the Xiuli Army back then. He stood there quietly, his head lowered; it was hard to comprehend that he had uttered those words which had acknowledged their now different relationship status.

  Chu Qiao froze for a while before she finally turned around and walked in a different direction. After a few turns, Shanglin Garden was no longer in sight. She looked up, realizing that she had inadvertently wandered to the foot of Fulan Mountains, outside Roufu Palace. The aforementioned mountain was but a landscape with piled-up rocks. The exterior layer looked as if it had been adorned with white jade, appearing crystal clear. It had earned itself the title of one of the wonders in Jinwu Palace. However, as Chu Qiao stared at this white pile of rocks, she felt a sense of coldness emanating from her heart, enveloping her slowly.

  “Miss?” Meixiang called out to her, worried.

  Chu Qiao remained silent as her gaze fixated slightly on the few plum blossom flowers and the things beyond them.

  “Miss, everyone thinks differently in this world, but you only have one heart. You won’t be able to look out for so many people.” Meixiang’s words rang out beside her ear, but Chu Qiao seemingly did not hear them. The winds were big. She suddenly felt a tinge of sadness.

  “Commander He Xiao has followed you for so many years. In time, he will come to understand. Nothing lasts forever. Don’t be too sad.”


  Chu Qiao turned around and embraced Meixiang gently as she said, “Meixiang, if you want to leave with him, go ahead.”


  Chu Qiao felt Meixiang’s body quiver like a frightened rabbit as she straightened her back. After a long while, Chu Qiao felt a pair of hands wrapped around her waist as Meixiang’s voice lingered around her ear. “I can’t bear to leave Commander He, but I can’t bear to leave you more.”


  The sunlight shone a bright white at its zenith. No clouds were visible in the skies high up.

  “Miss, don’t worry about others anymore. Master Zhuge may not be a complete saint, but he’s the only person in this world who is wholeheartedly devoted to you. For you, he can kill and become demonic, but he is willing to change for the better as well. You won’t be able to find another person in this world that is like this.” Meixiang smiled as she spoke, “As for Commander He, he will come to terms with this eventually just like me. Things like this cannot be forced. Each individual has his own affinities.”


  A sense of unrestrained freedom had been Chu Qiao’s wish for many years. She looked up and seemingly saw the man’s eyes. Amidst the harsh conditions and turmoil within the court of Xia, was he still doing well?

  In the blink of an eye, another new year had arrived. The Tang Empire had experienced its most turbulent year in recent history. In a gesture to liven up the mood, Li Ce gave his orders to host a spring banquet which was unprecedented in extravagance.

  On the 27th day of the 12th month, Li Ce hosted a banquet for his officials in the imperial palace, to review the year that had just passed. For the people who had performed well, he rewarded them duly, allowing officials with a third-level rank or higher to dine with him in the same hall. Additionally, he composed a poem by himself, ordered his servants to copy it and distribute them to each official.

  The back palace was decorated with bright lights as well. The banquet stretched all the way from Yixin Palace to Shangqing Palace; the path was adorned with numerous bright lights and lanterns, exemplifying an auspicious portrait. Coupled with the dancers, it was a majestic sight.

  Li Ce invited Chu Qiao to the banquets a few times, but Chu Qiao rejected them as she did not like the setting. She stayed in her own palace along with her maidservants, hosting her own banquet and buying her own decorations to welcome the new year.

  On the 28th day of the 12th month, carriage after carriage, covered in green cloth, entered the main gates of Jinwu Palace, towards the direction of Mihe Residences. When the carriages arrived there, the boxes were unloaded and opened. The contents inside shook the entire palace, causing everyone to rush towards Mihe Residences to get a hold of what was going on. Even some of Li Ce’s concubines rushed there, unable to contain their anger.

  There were 20 carriages in total, containing 200 wooden boxes of various sizes. After the boxes were opened, everyone’s eyes sparkled. The boxes were full of shimmering objects. Emeralds, ancient stones, red rubies, opal stones, white jade, pearls, soft silk, valuable animal furs, antiques, and artwork…… all of life’s extravagance congregated in front of their eyes. Not only that, but there were also women’s accessories like wreaths, robes, jade shoes, and bracelets in abundance. There were plants there as well, ranging from high-grade flowers to full coral plants over 30 feet tall to rare medicinal herbs. There was also a screen made out of pearls, which glowed in the dark, along with some rare artifacts from foreign lands, like matchsticks, binoculars, glass accessories, alarm clocks, dresses and a whole myriad of valuable items.

  What was even more ridiculous was that there were a few boxes of local produce which were not eye-catching. The objects appeared like sweet potatoes. Chu Qiao picked up one of the objects and examined it for a long while before realizing that it was a sweet potato from Qinghai, which the man had described to her in his letters. She held it to her nose as it gave off a fragrant aroma, causing her to feel sweet on the inside. She thought that all of the other valuable items could not compare to these few ordinary sweet potatoes.

  The locals there had heard that the king of Qinghai had spent considerable effort in acquiring these items. The potatoes were big and had red strings and cloth wrapped around them. They looked nondescript.

  A small letterhead was put inside one of the sweet potatoes. She took it out as her fingers removed the golden thread around it, revealing a long letter with neat words.

  He was always like this. Even when he wrote, he beat around the bush, bringing up unimportant topics like the weather, politics, economics. He acted as if he was in conversation with another world leader, before adding a sentence at the end: Be careful, don’t leave the door open. Before you sleep, close the doors and windows, in case any bad people break into the house.

  One time, Li Ce was greatly angered as he secretly stumbled upon Zhuge Yue’s letter, branding him to be the backstabbing villain instead.

  As Chu Qiao looked at the self-proclaimed righteous man who invaded her privacy, she felt that both their words were true. However, today’s letter was not as long. After a short opening, his handwriting seemed to become more forceful. Evidently, he had thought for a long while before writing as the ink had dried up. The words read: I’m occupied. Wait for me.

  Amidst the gasps of surprise, Chu Qiao held the small letterhead in her hand. She felt a sense of peace. She could not hear anything, not even the sounds of the wind, the cries of the birds, the rustling of the leaves. Although it was wintertime, she felt warm inside like the spring weather.

  That night, Chu Qiao, Meixiang, Jingjing, Qiu Sui and a group of maidservants gathered in Mihe Residence. Chu Qiao cooked for her party personally. Although her culinary skills were ordinary, her cooking techniques were sufficient to wow the other people. Their initial reservations towards her cooking were swiftly dispelled.

  As nighttime loomed, fireworks were released into the sky outside. Chu Qiao and the others ran to the courtyard, standing under an osmanthus tree as they were greeted by the sight of flower patterns in the sky. As the colored lights reflected onto their faces, they basked in the joyous mood of this festive occasion.

  Jingjing, Pingan and a few other maidservants set off some firecrackers. Chu Qiao covered her ears as she was surrounded by the other people in the center. Her face glowed slightly red as she was dressed in a brand new furry cotton padded coat, appearing like a kid who had not grown up. This was the happiest new year that she had celebrated since coming to this world. Although the person she loved was not by her side, life was still blissful.

  There were sounds of laughter outside everywhere. Chu Qiao sat in front of her study table, drawing out two cartoon figures who looked as real as the original. They had small bodies and big heads; one was bubbly while the other was stern and serious. The two figures stood atop a slope, shoulder to shoulder, staring into the distance as they appeared likable. In front of them was a piece of vast grassland, with herds of cows and sheep flocking together. A big water body lay further in front.

  She diligently concluded her letter by signing off with two words: I’m waiting.

  There was no longer any need to be advised or to inquire. She figured that she would be selfish for once, maintaining her wilfulness all the way, and trusting the decision that she would be about to make.

  As she put down the letterhead, she retrieved her cloak and went out to search for Meixiang and the rest. As she walked out of the palace, a cluster of white flower petals descended upon her. Like the snow, it was scattered all over her body.

  Everyone broke out in unanimous laughter. Their noises slowly spread out across every nook and cranny of Jinwu Palace.