Tag: Historical setting

TTBE 83

~ TN4L3 ~ 5 Comments

Chapter 83

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

Regarding the message that was sent back to the Palace, Xiao Zhige was not too concerned with how Emperor An Qing would react. With the current situation, he could only try his best to win him over and wouldn’t dare to lock horns with him. Without his interference, no matter whether the Crown Prince or Third Prince won, Emperor An Qing’s place on the throne was undoubtedly in jeopardy.

After accepting the rewards, Xiao Zhige ordered for it to be stored in the warehouse and began his search for skilled craftsmen to renovate the Wang Manor. As he was summoned back to Yejing by the Emperor, it was unlikely that he would be allowed to leave anytime soon. The same goes for the two princes; they wouldn’t be willing to let him step back and watch from Yanzhou as they fight it out for the throne. As such, he was bound to be confined in Yejing for a long time and An Chang Qing and the children would have to return to Yejing with him.

Before, he used to think that the Wang Manor was a decent place to live in. However, after seeing the extravagance of the Shi Family’s home, he felt that the Wang Manor was lacking in many ways. At the moment, they couldn’t change their lodgings but it was still possible to renovate it into something more resplendent and comfortable to live in. Xiao Zhige planned to have the remodeling completed by the time An Chang Qing and the children arrived.

By the time the reconstruction work had started, the 20 thousand Yanzhou soldiers had already left Yejing. Xiao Zhige’s private letter was handed to Xie Ling to deliver to An Chang Qing. In it was the escort details for their trip back to Yejing.

Following the soldiers’ departure, Xiao Zhige began his wholehearted work on rebuilding the manor. Perhaps it was Emperor An Qing throwing a tantrum at Xiao Zhige for not appreciating his offer that he was ordered to be in charge of Hong Lu Temple which overlooked Da Ye’s affairs with foreign countries. And because Da Ye does have any dealings with neighboring countries, Hong Lu Temple was a useless and destitute branch of the government. Most of the officials were always idle and anyone with a good background was unwilling to work under it. Emperor An Qing’s verdict in sending him there acted as a warning to let him know that without the Emperor’s support, he could only rot away in places like the Hong Lu Temple.

However, Xiao Zhige couldn’t care less. Emperor An Qing had never liked him and no matter what he did, Emperor An Qing would never let him get involved in politics, much less pass the throne to him. As such, Xiao Zhige did not even bother to attend the morning court sessions. At present, he was simply happy to sit back and enjoy the dog fight.

Everyday, after paying the Hong Lu Temple a short visit, Xiao Zhige would brazenly return to the Wang Manor to personally oversee the construction work. 

Upon hearing this, Emperor An Qing was left with immense anguish and almost coughed up blood. But with the current situation, there was nothing he could do to Xiao Zhige.

On the other hand, words of the Wang Manor’s lavish redecorations had reached the Crown Prince’s ears. New heating cauldrons were built in every room, spring water were dug to irrigate the garden, thousands of koi were released into the courtyards’ lakes where bridges connecting exquisite pavilions had been built… every corner radiated luxury.

“It’s got to be him!” The Crown Prince had always suspected that the downfall of the Shi Family had been orchestrated by Xiao Zhige. Emperor An Qing wasn’t clear of their wealth but he was very well aware. All the officials involved in the South had been purged and the one who had conducted the raids and confiscated their wealth were all Xiao Zhige’s men, and hence, he was unable to get any solid information. But at present, seeing Xiao Zhige’s extravagant spending on the Wang Manor alone was enough to confirm his doubt. It was certain that Xiao Zhige had secretly seized most of the Shi Family’s treasures and then turned around and accused him of hoarding this wealth, causing Emperor An Qing to lose his trust in him.

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A close confidant ushered, “The Northern Warlord’s actions clearly shows that he does not take Your Highness seriously. It seems that he’s determined to make you his enemy!”

Thinking of Emperor An Qing’s course of action, the Crown Prince’s face twisted with menace, “I’ve always known he was ambitious. It is only now that he is unable to hide it any longer.”

He squinted his eyes and said venomously, “He and I, sooner or later, we’ll have to have a deathmatch…”

His confidante looked at him in silence and dared not respond. He had known that the Crown Prince’s words harbored ill intentions but he could only bow and keep his mouth shut.

…..

In mid-March, An Chang Qing’s group returned to Yejing.

Xiao Zhige personally rode out of the city to wait for his arrival. When he saw the carriage inscribed with the word ‘Ge’, the stoic expression immediately softened and his lips stretched into a thin smile. An Chang Qing also happened to lift the carriage curtain at the same time and their eyes met briefly before having to part ways.

This time, they had been separated for over two months.

Xiao Zhige followed behind the carriage on his horse, all the while having his gaze fixed on An Chang Qing. After a while, he said, “You’ve lost weight.”

An Chang Qing put away the curtain and spoke to him in whispers through the window, “It’s about time. Previously, I only gained weight due to the pregnancy. Now that the children are over three months old, it’s just right to lose that weight.”

“It’s better for you to gain some weight.” Xiao Zhige eyes flickered. If they weren’t outside, he would’ve lifted his clothes to see if his body had also gotten thinner.

An Chang Qing did not want to dwell on this and changed the subject, “A-Heng and Zhu-er are in the carriage behind with their wet nurse. After this long, they might not recognize you as their father anymore.”

Xiao Zhige was not concerned at all and responded naturally, “They’re still my blood, even if they don’t recognize me, they still couldn’t possibly call someone else their father.”

“…” 

An Chang Qing sometimes simply felt like he’s speechless against this person.

…..

The long line of horses and carriages slowly entered the city. In the beginning, the people were still speculating which dignitary it was that could cause such a scene but seeing Xiao Zhige personally escorting the carriage, they could almost garner a guess.

“Has Wangfei finally returned?”

“It has to be Wangfei. Who else is this important that could make Wangye personally come to greet?”

Back when An Chang Qing was still in Yejing, he had built the soup kitchen and handed out winter clothes which had saved the lives of many during the severe snowstorm. And later when Yanzhou had sent an urgent request for victual, he had tirelessly tried to amass the supplies and even personally delivered it to the border, garnering the people’s support and admiration.

In the past, people only saw An Chang Qing through the fanfiction stories that circulated as a kind and beautiful Wangfei. But after the snow disaster and the war at The Northern Border, they have looked up to him as a savior and elevated his status to almost that of the benevolent bodhisattva.

Now with his return to Yejing, many people have travelled a long way to welcome him back to the city. And those whom he had directly saved from the snow disaster even bowed and recited words of gratitude towards him.

The usually spacious Chang Le Street was today filled with people on both sides trying to catch a glimpse of Wangfei.

Because of this, the carriage had to slow down. When An Chang Qing heard the commotion, he popped his head out of the window to look and met with the eager eyes of the people. He was quite surprised at first but eventually smiled back at them with sincerity.

A bold lady took out her silk flower hair adornment and threw it at the carriage and quickly hid into the crowd. Shortly after, more people began throwing flowers at the carriage as well and Xiao Zhige’s face finally turned black. He forbade An Chang Qing from lifting the carriage curtain again all the way till they reached the Wang Manor.

It’s a pity that the Northern Warlord’s black face did not have the same fearful reputation that it used to have. The people had now come to see that the Northern Warlord was actually wise and kind, just as much as his Wangfei. As such, his unhappy face could no longer drive the people away.

When the carriage arrived at the manor, only then did An Chang Qing lifted the curtain and alighted. Looking at the flowers that piled up in the front of the carriage and Xiao Zhige’s charcoal face, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Why is Wangye even jealous of this?” An Chang Qing asked innocently.

Xiao Zhige looked at his smiling eyes and felt wronged. Not to mention the married women, even men were throwing flowers at him as well, how could he not be jealous?

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The Northern Warlord kept his silence but his vigilance had been raised. He calmly took An Chang Qing’s hand and changed the subject, saying, “When you were away, I have renovated the manor. See if you like it, If you don’t, we’ll call in the craftsmen and make the change.”

Xiao Zhige and An Chang Qing walked in the front while the wet nurse carrying the two babies followed behind. The family of four went to the courtyard together. 

Lady Yu and An Xianyu did not come back with them this time. An Xianyu couldn’t leave her teaching post and Lady Yu was worried about leaving her daughter alone in Yanzhou. Furthermore, thinking of the things to come once he returned to Yejing, An Chang Qing believed it was better to leave them in Yanzhou.

The moment he entered the door, An Chang Qing was astonished with the newly decorated courtyard. Whether it was his memories from the previous life or this one, the place was never this extravagant. Just the furnishing alone was a little excessive.

There was no heating cauldron in the hall but as soon as walked in, he could feel the warmth emanating throughout the room. There were most likely heaters inlaid within the furniture. And there was a light fragrance within the warmth and it was clearly his favorite spice that he usually uses. 

A servant helped An Chang Qing take off his cloak as he continued inside. He could see that the interior had also undergone rigorous changes. Although the position of the items was the same, everything had been replaced with higher qualities. 

“Do you like it?”

 An Chang Qing turned and looked at Xiao Zhige’s expectant eyes and swallowed back the words ‘overly ostentatious’. Instead, he smiled and said, “I like it. But where would the children sleep?”

There were no visible cribs in the room.

Xiao Zhige’s eyes brightened and said with poise, “I have also renovated the adjacent room. Let the wet nurse look after them in the future.”

Before An Chang Qing could express his doubts, he was led to the next room. There are also heaters burning and the floor was laid with soft blankets. Two finely carved cribs laid in the center surrounded by various trinkets and toys. There were even two small and realistic looking wooden horses.

Xiao Zhige said, “When they’re still young, let’s have them stay in the main courtyard for the time being. Once Zhu’er is older, we’ll let them have their own yard.” Of course it was more likely that when the children are older, they might not even be staying in the Wang Manor.

Having been married for so long, of course An Chang Qing understood his thoughts and only nodded.

After visiting the courtyard, An Fu tactfully instructed the servants to unpack the luggages and put the items in place. The two children were then fed and tucked into bed. It was then that An Chang Qing and Xiao Zhige went for dinner together.

After eating, they went to visit the children one more before returning to the main bedroom to turn in.

During the day, there were too many eyes to speak freely. Now that the servants had left, leaving only the two of them, An Chang Qing finally voiced his concern, “Returning to Yejing means exposing the existence of the children. How should we tell the world about them?”

This had always been on An Chang Qing’s mind but seeing that Xiao Zhige had called for their return, he must’ve thought of a way to deal with it. However, after his arrival, Xiao Zhige had allowed servants in and out like usual without any intention of concealing this matter. This once again stirred An Chang Qing’s concerns.

Xiao Zhige looked at him and asked, “What does Nuo Nuo think?”

An Chang Qing was also thinking about this on the way here, “Let’s just say that you adopted them during the battle in the North.”

Xiao Zhige shook his head, “If things goes as planned, in the future, A Heng will inherit my will. Claiming that he was adopted will create issues for him in the future.”

An Chang Qing had also considered this angle and knew that it was not feasible. Which means there was only one option left. A lowered his eyes and said reluctantly, “Then let’s say that they’re from a surrogate and the woman you hired had died during childbirth.”

“That’s not good either,” Xiao Zhige shook his head, “If the birth mother isn’t given a title, then he can’t be considered a legitimate son.”

An Chang Qing was getting worried, he looked at Xiao Zhige, “Then what plan does Wangye have? You can’t just say that I’ve given birth to them.”

But who knew Xiao Zhige smiled and said, “Why not? You’ve risked your life to give birth to them, you can’t let them call someone else mother.”

An Chang Qing was tongue-tied, “… but if we say that…”

It was best if nobody believed them but if they do… he would be seen as a demon and Xiao Zhige and his children would also be implicated.

TTBE 70

~ TN4L3 ~ 5 Comments

Chapter 70

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

An Chang Qing had never been this embarrassed. He gulped down his tea cup by cup while his mother and sister, together with their guards, listened to the storyteller with great amusement. 

The group continued to listen as the storyteller raved about the love-hate triflings between the God of War and the Demon Fox King for half an hour. Afterwards, the storyteller hammered his gavel on the table, took a sip of tea and said, “If you want to know what happens next, come to the next session. Ladies and gentlemen, please come again tomorrow.”

Being served with a cliffhanger, the audience were left disappointed and began to leave. An Chang Qing was sitting in the back so no one seemed to notice him.

An Xian Yu then commented, “Yanzhou’s script is bolder and grittier compared to Yejing’s. It’s indeed a place where the people are more open.”

“What other scripts have you read?” An Chang Qing asked her in surprise. His little sister was always disciplined and reserved. Most of her time spent at home were either on reading or needlework, to think that even she had read these recreational scripts, An Chang Qing found it incredulous.

An Xian Yu realized that she had made a slip of the tongue and quickly diverted, “It’s getting late, shouldn’t we leave soon?”

An Chang Qing was indeed distracted by her urging. They had been outside for too long, it was almost time for dinner. As such, the group got back on the carriage and headed home.

Back at the manor, Xiao Zhige had already returned and was having tea with his subordinates. Upon seeing An Chang Qing’s arrival, Qi Wei and the others stood up and saluted.

Xiao Zhige and An Chang Qing simply exchanged greetings and did not say much, it was Qi Wei whose eyes lit up the moment he saw An Xian Yu and brazenly approached to introduce himself, “I’ve heard that Madame and the Young Miss have come to Yanzhou to stay. We are here to pay our respect. I’m Vice Lieutenant Qi Wei, from the Bo Ling Qi family and have yet to be…”

Before he could finish, Xie Ling gave him a hard kick on the leg. Qi Wei glared back at him disgruntled but he did not continue speaking. 

Seeing the several dignified-looking youngsters greet them with sincere courtesy in due respect towards An Chang Qing and Xiao Zhige, Lady Yu reciprocated with a smile and bowed humbly.

Since everyone took the time to visit, it was customary to invite them for dinner.

The kitchen had already prepared the meals. Traditionally, the ladies would be seated separately but since Lady Yu and An Xian Yu were the only ladies and the people of Yanzhou were always lax with social rules, the group dined together at one big table.

Because there were ladies present, the usually uncouth army men were more refined with their eating and speaking mannerisms. After the meal, Lady Yu and An Xian Yu excused themselves and left for the backyard. 

Qi Wei took a deep breath and slyly approchaced An Chang Qing. “Since we’re all acquaintances, I’ll be straightforward with Wangfei, has your sister already been betrothed?” 

An Chang Qing was taken aback. He squinted his eyes and said doubtfully, “Not yet. What’s wrong?”

Qi Wei rubbed his hands and snickered, “Isn’t that just perfect? Since both sides have not made any marital arrangements, why don’t we join our two families through this marriage…”

Xie Ling at the back gave him another hard kick, “Whoever has proposed his own marriage before? How improper.”

Qi Wei almost fell to the ground. He turned and stared angrily at Xie Ling and said, “A fake gentleman like you deserves to be single! I’m discussing this with Wangfei first. If Wangfei agrees, I’ll send a letter to my family and have them propose this marriage.”

An Chang Qing watched them argue for a while before clearing his throat and said, “Xian Yu is my only sister so, for her marriage, I’ll respect her decision.”

Speaking of which, An Xian Yu had indeed reached the age of marriage. If it wasn’t for the retracted betrothal, she would have already been engaged. Now that Qi Wei had taken the initiative to propose, An Chang Qing had also come to notice that Xiao Zhige’s subordinates were quite good candidates.

An Chang Qing gave it some thought but did not respond. He decided to discuss it first with Lady Yu and also ask for An Xian Yu’s opinion before making any decisions.

Qi Wei was not discouraged and continued to sell himself. Xie Ling got annoyed with his boasting and gave him another kick, “It’s time to get to business.”

“Oh,” Only then did Qi Wei stop talking and remembered the purpose of their visit.

Switching to a more serious expression, Qi Wei began his report, “The sweet potato fields are almost ready to harvest. The farmers tending the fields estimated the yield to be about twenty buckets.”

The sweet potatoes were planted in May; thanks to the efficient fertilizer and irrigation, the crops grew exceedingly well. As expected, they were ready to be harvested by late August. Although he only read in a book that they could harvest almost ten buckets of potatoes in the same acre of land as wheat, it was still unbelievable to see it with his own eyes. It was as though food was dropping from the sky. Even Qi Wei and the others were feeling unreal.

“How should we deal with this large amount of sweet potatoes?”

Xiao Zhige said, “Use one portion for military rations. For the rest, how does Nuo Nuo think we should handle it?”

“Let’s have the officials promote the benefits of sweet potatoes to the people. We can keep a portion to use as seeds. When the people are aware of its usefulness, they can use silver or food to exchange for the potato seeds and grow them on their own. This way, by next year, the people should be able to secure their food source.”

The sweet potato seeds provided a large yield, the plant itself could be eaten raw or cooked, and most importantly, it could stave off hunger. If the people could realize the benefits of preserving potatoes, Yanzhou could greatly reduce its yearly food shortage.

An Chang Qing’s decision coincided with Xiao Zhige’s. “Then I’ll let Nuo Nuo and the local magistrates handle this matter.”

The pair went to discuss it in detail. Their harmonious exchange left Qi Wei and the others speechless. Once outside, Qi Wei then spoke to Xie Ling, “Do you feel that Wangfei is becoming more and more like Wangye?”

Xie Ling gave him an unsurprised look and said, “You only realize that now?”

Qi Wei scratched his head and responded, “No, but the feeling wasn’t this strong before.”

At first, although they had the utmost respect for An Chang Qing, that was mostly because he had delivered the rations during their time of need and that he was Xiao Zhige’s Wangfei. But from some point, the Wangfei in their eyes had already held the same authority as their General. Any decisions made by Wangfei, they will not question it nor feel the need to seek confirmation from Xiao Zhige. Just like how they have accepted Xiao Zhige as their supreme leader, they have come to accept An Chang Qing with the same status.

“Dork,” Xie Ling couldn’t be bothered with Qi Wei. He shook his head and went ahead with big strides.

….

After everyone had left, only Xiao Zhige and An Chang Qing stayed behind. An Chang Qing was already filled with thoughts and ideas on the introduction of sweet potatoes to the people and immediately went straight to the study. He jotted down a rough draft and decided to further refine these ideas with the old officials another day.

Xiao Zhige did not disturb him either. He warmed a cup of tea for him and left it on the table. 

When he was done writing, An Chang Qing drank the tea and stretched his back, preparing to return to the bedroom.

Just as he was able to leave, the corner of his eye swept over a pile of books on Xiao Zhige’s desk. This pile contains the documents Xiao Zhige was currently reading and An Chang Qing rarely touched it. However, in today’s pile, there was a brightly colored booklet that caught his eyes. 

An Chang Qing sat back down and pulled out the eye-catching booklet. On the cover was an illustration of two handsome men, one was brave and dignified while the other beautiful and mesmerizing. On the left corner was the title of the book in striking letters: Fallen Demon.

On the next page were finely drawn pictures of the two, depicting their interactions in boldly intimate ways. A short exposition was written as follows: When the Fox Demon learned of his identity as the God of War, to save him from being implicated, he broke off their relationship and resolved to never seeing him again. The God of War refused and the two began tussling back and forth. Finally, the angered God of War subdued the Fox Demon…

An Chang Qing: …

Why is it that even Wangye’s study has such a book?

The only people allowed to enter the study were him and Xiao Zhige, so if he did not put it here, then it’s most likely…

An Chang Qing put the booklet into his sleeve and went back to the bedroom.

Xiao Zhige was free from work after dinner and was practicing archery in the courtyard. Seeing An Chang Qing’s return, he put away the weapon and wiped the sweat before facing An Chang Qing and said, “You’re done?”

An Chang Qing squinted at him and responded with an “en”.

Xiao Zhige was still not aware that his unhidden item had been discovered. They went back and after taking turns to wash up, cuddled on the couch and chatted. 

An Chang Qing focused his eyes on Xiao Zhige and willfully said, “Today, I accompanied mother and Yu’er to the teahouse to listen to stories. There happened to be an interesting one about the God of War and the Demon Fox King. Has Wangye heard of it?”

Xiao Zhige’s eyes twitched. He looked back at An Chang Qing who had no change in expression. It was as though he simply wanted to share the story. 

After some deliberation, Xiao Zhige replied, “No. How does the story go?”

An Chang Qing now had a big smile on his face, “What I heard this morning was only the words of the storyteller. Just nice that I found a physical copy in the study just now, why doesn’t Wangye read it with me?”

After speaking, he pulled the booklet from under the pillow and waved it in front of Xiao Zhige.

“…” Xiao Zhige’s eyes twitched again as he tried to cover up the truth, “Why is there such a book in the study?”

“Exactly. I’m confused as well. If I didn’t put it there, then who else could it be?” He raised his eyebrows and spoke teasingly, “Did Wangye secretly hide this behind my back?”

“…” Xiao Zhige was silent for quite a while before nodding awkwardly. However, he still maintained a straight tone and said, “I wasn’t secretly hiding it.”

An Chang Qing used his foot and lightly tugged Xiao Zhige’s leg, “How come I didn’t know that Wangye was interested in reading these scripts?”

Since the cat was out of the bag, Xiao Zhige responded promptly this time, “I heard that it was about our past lives so I wanted to have a look.”

An Chang Qing placed the booklet between them and pointed to one of the pages, “How’s this anything like us?” The illustrators were particularly bold that they dared to paint such a scene.

Xiao Zhige saw An Chang Qing flipping to the back pages and hurriedly grabbed the booklet away. He then nodded and agreed, “Um, it’s nothing like us but there is still something we can learn from it…” Xiao Zhige would never do anything to Nuo Nuo against his will… but there were several positions that they’ve never explored before.

When Xiao Zhige finally managed to coax the person to sleep, his conclusion was that he had to find a way to stop these stories from spreading. Although the stories were fictitious and did not resemble his Nuo Nuo, he still did not want anyone else to see him in an intimate pose. He should be the only one to see his Nuo Nuo this way.

Chapter 69

TOC

Chapter 71