Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The look on Second Consort’s face was serious, and Shangguan Ru had no choice but to smile wryly. “Sorry,” she said. “After hearing your speech about women and love, I can’t accept the following advice of yours.”
The Second Consort didn’t get angry, and neither was she embarrassed. However, she would never change her mind on this point. She raised a finger and said, “Listen. You know what that sound is?”
“It’s a bunch of people drinking.” Shangguan Ru was a little curious as to what kind of new trick the Second Consort was going to play.
“They’re drinking, but they’re also pledging their allegiance.” The Second Consort seemed excited and content as if she were a part of the reason for Duodun’s current success. “Xiaowan City, Heaven’s Pass, and the Royal Court; all the armies there are Norland cavalrymen. Some of them pledged their allegiance to Duodun a long time ago, and the rest of them will also unhesitatingly take the side of the Khan’s descendant, even if they’ve never met Duodun before. It’s been destined for almost a century, but the Dragon King? It’s been less than two months since he’s gained the Norland people’s trust. And I have to say that people will see through what he’s doing sooner or later, and then their trust in him will quickly disappear.”
“So when he said that he would hand over the 70,000 cavalrymen in Heaven’s Pass to the Dragon King, he was just lying? The cavalrymen are going to betray Dragon King and return to the Norland at any time?”
“Not necessarily. That all depends on whether or not the Dragon King can give them a good enough reason to stay. I believe that the Dragon King’s capable of doing that if Duodun doesn’t vie with him. But there’s no doubt that the 10,000 men here as well as the 100,000 plus men in Royal Court all belong to Duodun in heart and soul. Take Azheba for instance; he admires the Dragon King, but if he had to choose between Duodun and the Dragon King, he would shoot the arrow at the Dragon King without hesitation.”
“You seem to be hinting at something.” Shangguan Ru smiled. There was no sign of drunkenness in her face at all now.
“Hinting?” The Second Consort acted as if she didn’t understand the meaning of the word. She let out a vivacious laugh as she said, “I’m not even sure if I’m capable of doing that. Okay, let me spell it out. First off, there’s Duodun, who’s the favorite son of the Khan. He’s young, brave and all of the officers and troops like him very much. You’ve seen his ability to bring people over with your own eyes. And then there’s the Dragon King, who’s equally young and brave, but not only is he an outsider, he also used to be a humble servant. The Dragon King’s also good at gathering people, but his approaches are as dangerous as wire-walking and their effects are slow and may not last as long.”
“Based on what you’ve just said, the Dragon King doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell.”
“That depends on who his opponent is. Duodun’s not a ten-year-old brat.”
“King Rizhu and King Kuari used to be the most powerful lords in Norland. They were planning on using the Dragon King, but they eventually died.”
“That was an accident. Those crazy women of the Waning Moon Hall were stabbing people in the back, but they can no longer hide themselves. At the very least, Duodun won’t underestimate them.”
“When I left the Royal Court, the 100,000 Court Attendants Army were hostile to us and wanted to kill us all. But when I arrived in Heaven’s Pass, I heard that they had already come back to their senses and were willing to follow the officers’ orders. The Dragon King’s the reason why Duodun has more than 100,000 troops at his command, so he should be grateful to the Dragon King.”
“Of course Duodun should be grateful to the Dragon King. That’s why he generously offered to give 70,000 Norland cavalrymen to the Dragon King. What the Dragon King’s doing is merely returning them to their original master. From beginning to end, he was never a king to any Norland man.”
The noise outside was getting louder and louder. The delight of the men was coming to a climax, and soon they would started dancing, bragging, fighting and vomiting. Yet the two women inside were growing more and more sober. Glaring at each other from opposite sides of the table, the sparks in their eyes could almost light the spilled wine on the surface of the table afire.
Then they both burst into laugh simultaneously and gulped down the wine in their glasses, feeling embarrassed about the previous tension between them. The Second Consort’s tone instantly switched from an aggressive one to an amiable one. “You see, this is what women do. I don’t have Duodun yet, and you don’t have the Dragon King. They’re still allies, but we’re already fighting because of them.”
All kinds of complicated feelings surfaced in Shangguan Ru’s heart – The Second Consort can defend Duodun, yet what place do I have to defend the Dragon King? The title ‘Instructor of the Land of Fragrance’s Female Soldiers?’ She calmed down and said, “You want me to marry Duodun to make sure that he won’t vie with the Dragon King for the Norland cavalrymen?”
Second Consort opened her right hand, indicating that that was exactly what she meant. “During the first few years after I married the Khan, I had always intended on killing myself. And then I met Duodun. At first, I saw him as a son, a younger brother. And as I watched him grow up, I eventually became his lover. I put up with that old jerk purely because I loved Duodun. If I could do that, then you can do this, because we’re both women. Besides, the Dragon King already has a queen. The status you’ll get by marrying the Dragon King won’t be any higher than the one you’ll get by marrying Duodun.”
“I don’t see how this will do you any good.”
“I’m older than you, and I know men better than you do,” Second Consort said in a sincere and grave tone. “Men always fall in love easily when they’re young. Only after living with those women for a long time will he realize who he truly loves. Duodun will be the Khan in the future and he will marry a lot of woman. I’m content with waiting.”
“You’re content to wait, and yet you want me to sacrifice myself?”
“It’s not that I want you to sacrifice yourself, but that you need to decide whether or not you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for the Dragon King.”
“He doesn’t need me to sacrifice myself for him. You and Duodun shouldn’t underestimate him.”
The atmosphere between them became a little tense again, and the Second Consort chose to compromise. “Alas, maybe I’ve made my offer too early. The current situation is very favorable to the Dragon King, so it’s very natural that you hold such opinions. I just want to say that, if some day you change your mind, I won’t be an obstacle between you and Duodun.”
This offer disgusted Shangguan Ru. Especially that confident look on the Second Consort’s face – as if everything was predestined, that Duodun would defeat the Dragon King in a war and that the Second Consort would win in the future competition for Duodun’s favor.
“The dishes are cold,” Shangguan Ru said gently.
“We can have them reheated.”
“The mood for drinking is gone. We might as well just go to sleep.”
“Okay, then. Just think about my offer. We’ll be sisters. Really, if it was another woman that Duodun was obsessed with, such as that Luo Ningcha, I would’ve slapped her in the face and woken him up and then had Luo Ningcha killed. But you’re different, and we have a lot in common. Maybe it’s just that I’m flattering myself, but I think that Duodun sees me in you.”
When faced with this kind of confidence which was almost equivalent to wild arrogance, Shangguan Ru responded with nothing more than a smile.
She returned to her tent but wasn’t sleepy at all. Yet she also didn’t want to go back to Duodun’s feast. Shangguan Ru had a female soldier bring her a pot of wine and started drinking alone. After two glasses, she felt irritable and was in the mood for more wine.
The mood for drinking was really gone.
She touched the glass with two fingers on the brim and shook it gently, recalling that her third elder brother Shangguan Yun used to do this. The distant memories of the Land of Fragrance suddenly became sweet. Things there were always simple. She could cry, smile, and do whatever she wanted at any time.
A female soldier came in and reported that Azheba had requested permission to come in.
With a pink flush all over his cheeks and a big wine jar in his arms, Azheba staggered in, staring blankly at Shangguan Ru. “Why aren’t you drinking?”
Shangguan Ru smiled and raise her glass to show him. “I am drinking.”
Azheba sat down opposite Shangguan Ru with a thud. Then he looked around, seemingly looking for something. “Bowls. We should drink this sort of wine with big bowls.”
The female soldier went out and brought them two bowls immediately. Shangguan Ru signaled for her to stay in the tent.
The two bowls were filled to the brim and some wine spilled over as it was poured out. Azheba took one and swallowed the wine in one big gulp, then he blankly stared at her again.
Shangguan Ru drank the wine as well and licked her lips. “This wine’s pretty good.”
“Absolutely. This is a top-notch wine delivered here from the Central Plains. It has a strange name, but I already forgot it. There’re only several jars and I took one from His Highness. Ha-ha, His Highness and I have been friends for many years. He won’t blame me.” Unlike his usual courteous manner, the drunk Azheba was bold, outgoing and talkative.
Shangguan Ru felt that this Azheba was a little strange, so instead of drinking, she just sipped at the wine. Azheba didn’t notice this and just kept refilling his bowl and drinking. He almost finished half the jar by himself.
“The Norland’s situation is going to rejuvenate soon, and then Prince Duodun’s going to unify the grasslands. Horsewhip Luoluo? He’s not even necessarily the Khan’s descendant, so how can he possibly be a match for His Highness? Soon – I think during the transition time of next year’s summer and autumn at the latest, the war will be over, His Highness will become a Khan supported by millions, and he will lead us to create history even grander than that of the former Khan.”
“All the tribes on the grassland have been subjected by the Khan. What kind of ‘history even grander’ could that be? Conquering the Western Regions? Attacking the Central Plains?”
“No. You have no idea how large the grasslands are. Eight or nine years ago, I once followed the Khan, and we rode westwards for half a year, but we could still see that on the horizon in the west, there were still boundless grasslands, as if we could never reach its end. The Khan pointed forward and said, ‘My sons and grandsons will keep marching forward until they reach the place where the sun sets.’”
“You heard that yourself?”
Azheba shook his head and then explained hurriedly, “I was in the rear guard. Another officer told me this. But I wasn’t lying – plenty of people heard it.”
Shangguan Ru tried to console him, smiling saying, “I believe you. This does sound like something the Khan would say.”
“So you can see that you won’t feel lonely on grasslands. There are a lot of things we can do, a lot of land waiting for us to conquer them. You can apply your talents there.”
Shangguan Ru’s face became sullen as she asked, “Did Duodun send you here? Again?”
Azheba was so drunk that he couldn’t even recognize the change in her mood. “He didn’t. I’m here of my own account. And I came her for your own good, really. You’re so… beautiful. You’re more beautiful than all every other women’s beauty combined together. And you’re also so smart, bold, and magnanimous. Who else is more qualified than you to be the Khaleesi of the grasslands? I believe that all Norlanders would pledge their allegiance to you, fight for you, and die for you, because I myself would do those things for you.”
Shangguan Ru gave a sigh as she said, “You’re drunk.”
“I’m not. I know what I’m saying. Even if His Highness himself was here, I would still dare to say that I like you. But I’m not worthy of you. Only-”
Shangguan Ru stretched her hand out and gently poked Azheba in his chest. He slowly leaned into the table and fell asleep.
The female soldier outside the door called some helpers in, dragged him out of the tent, and handed him to some other soldiers.
Shangguan Ru was weighed down – not by Azheba’s inappropriate words, though. This was the first time that she had suspected that the Dragon King might not be able to win the contest with Prince Duodun for the Norland people’s allegiance, and that maybe there was a reason behind the Second Consort’s confidence.
When dawn was about to break, Red Bat came back from the city. Shangguan Ru hadn’t gone to sleep yet. Upon seeing her, Red Bat said, “The Dragon King can’t meet Prince Duodun. We’ll have to delay him for at least another day.”
