Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Princess, you must not-”
“Pah!”
With a flick of his claw, the guinea pig had thrown a chicken bone into the mouth of the person exaggerating, and the bone locked itself between her upper and lower gum.
Annoyed, Meng Fuyao smashed her bowl on the thunder and said, “Not even letting me complete my sentence! How am I supposed to live?”
Beside her, Yun Hen sighed. “I have already heard that dramatic scene thrice.”
Meng Fuyao pouted her lips and pushed the bowl. “Not hungry!” she shouted, and she left straightaway, refusing to look at anyone.
A person quietly ate his wantons in deep thought, and the guinea pig squatted in front of him, showing a sympathetic expression of “master, you’re in trouble”.
Smiling, Zhangsun Wuji caressed the guinea pig, causing him to dance in joy. As the guinea pig offered his half-eaten nut, his expression had already changed to one of “the trouble lies with Meng Fuyao, master is forever victorious”.
Zhangsun Wuji stuffed that nut back in the guinea pig’s mouth as a form of affirmation, then grabbed him and headed straight towards a room. Behind them, Yun Hen silently gazed at their figures for a few moments and turned his head away.
Out of the blue, Ya Lanzhu asked, “Yun Hen, what’s your feeling?” She still had a mouthful of soup, so her question sounded more like a mumble.
Yun Hen turned to look at her, and sparks flew by in his clear eyes. Without answering or raging, he pushed aside his chair and walked over to the window, choosing to watch the impending nightfall.
His bamboo-like silhouette seemed to be embedded into the dark backdrop, appearing lonely but resiliently bright. But even that firm brightness was inevitably coated with a darker shade, radiating soft glimmers of sadness.
Meanwhile, Ya Lanzhu refused to give up and went up to him. Tilting her head, she suddenly said, “Actually, I know how that feels.”
Yun Hen looked back and was met with her smile. At that moment, she was no longer the radiant, colorful and cheerful girl, but more mellow and depressed.
She said, “I like Zhan Beiye, and I have been chasing him for five years.”
There was so sign of shyness on her face. Openly, she told Yun Hen, “For five years since I was 12 years old, I have chased after him from Fufeng to Heaven Demon, then to Taiyuan, Wuji, and back to Heaven Demon again. In the end, it became a natural habit, and I ended up being the joke of Fufeng. My parents would scold me every time and ground me in the palace, but I would always escape either through climbing past the window, digging a tunnel, faking death, or bribing my attendants. Then, my parents confiscated my allowance so that I would have no money to survive outside, but I sold all my expensive jewelry, and even the gem on the royal seat was not spared. The whole of Fufeng knew that Princess Ya was an obsessive woman, and had lost her mind from chasing after men – the more they disapproved or laughed at my actions, the more unwilling I was to give up. What did they know? Did they ever wash the heads of their mothers? Did they ever bleed for their subordinates? Have they ever starved themselves to hunt down their enemies, just to let their nation enjoy peace? These people merely sleep on their beds and kick away the women who wash their heads – they are the universally recognized men, the machos, but not the ones I acknowledge.”
Stunned, Yun Hen wanted to say something, but in the end, he chose to be silent.
Ya Lanzhu’s expression suddenly changed to one of wistfulness. “I chased after him for so long that it became a routine. There were many times when I felt very, very tired, and I terribly missed home, but I would assure myself to hang on for a while more. Zhan Beiye might have been avoiding me, but one day I would become an inseparable part of him, and he would not be able to do live without me. It has been five years, five full years, and Zhan Beiye has already gradually become number towards my chase, sometimes even smiling at how disheveled I look. Hence, I thought that the day was approaching… then, Meng Fuyao appeared and then, it was love at first sight for him.”
Cocking her head to one side, with her big round eyes glistening under the moonlight, she questioned Yun Hen, “So, what do you think I should feel?”
Yun Hen froze, and he instantly felt that it was hard for him to talk. A few moments later, he tried to explain, “She didn’t do it on purpose…”
“Look at you, look at all of you, the first reaction is always to defend her as if I would eat her up,” interrupted Ya Lanzhu. Though she giggled, her smile had a hint of helplessness. “Meng Fuyao has a tough life, but at the same time, she’s very lucky. All the people she met are people who understand, love and protect her. Compared to her, I often feel that I have nothing at all.”
After she sat down, Ya Lanzhu kept her hands beneath her colorful robes and slightly swayed as she wistfully watched the stars shining brightly in the horizon. “Today, in the palace, when I saw how miserable and ugly Lotus was after she brought demise upon herself, I felt that she did it only because of love. Only because she wanted love, and I am no different from her. But when I saw her state, I suddenly felt shivers all over my body. I don’t want to be like her, that’s too pitiful.”
“I like Zhan Beiye, and I like how righteous and frank he is. So, I also want to be a frank and righteous person to be able to stand by his side. If not, if I look down upon myself first, how will Zhan Beiye even take a look at me?”
Ya Lanzhu stood up and leaned against the window, scooping up an ant in her palm. Seeing that it was anxiously darting in all directions, resembling how flustered she was when she chased after Zhan Beiye, she could not help but chuckle.
She said, “The first time I met Meng Fuyao, she told me that the revolution is far from successful, and I have to work harder. Sigh, what an interesting sentence that was. I liked her the moment I heard that line.”
“At the inn in Huazhou, I was sleeping on her bed, but I somehow ended up on the outer room, and when I woke up, I realized that I was tightly wrapped inside my blanket. Usually, my blanket would end up on the floor, so I was curious about why that did not happen,” she added, and she turned towards Yun Hen. “Come on, make a guess, how did the blanket not drop?”
After thinking for a few moments, Yun Hen asked, “She covered it over you?”
Scrunching up her face, Ya Lanzhu replied, “Even if I’m covered with the blanket I can still kick it away. It was because she used a chair to secure the corner of the blanket. At that time, I thought that she was pretty comical to care about whether the blanket dropped or not because even my mother did not bother about this. Sigh, how troublesome, no wonder I felt so warm.”
A faint smile appeared in Yun Hen’s expression.
“Then, news of Zhangsun Wuji’s death came.” Ya Lanzhu beamed at the ant and took a sniff of the mud on it. “She was so silent that she scared me. As I squatted in front of her, I thought about what my reaction would be if I heard the news that Zhan Beiye died. I would definitely not be like her, who was obviously smiling but without a soul. I would have gone berserk, used a knife to kill people, and then committed suicide in front of Zhan Beiye’s grave. But the way Meng Fuyao acted, was the first time that I felt like crying for someone else.”
Yun Hen’s body swayed slightly, and he stayed silent as he pressed his hand against the window frame. Giggling, Ya Lanzhu looked at him and asked, “Feels bad right? This is the exact feeling. I’m human, and I will also feel jealous and want to slaughter her whenever Zhan Beiye chases after her. However, I know that if I really do that, I will lose Zhan Beiye forever.”
Slowly drawing a long, vertical line on the window frame with her fingernails, Ya Lanzhu muttered, “Meng Fuyao taught me how to persevere.”
She sent the ant back on its original path, flicking its antennae to correct its direction. “Sending you home,” she said gently. Then, she stood on the window, opened her arms and shouted against the wind, “Persevere!”
Her petite figure was on high ground, her colorful braids were untangled, and her purple and golden pants were filled with wind; she seemed to be a rainbow-colored mainsail that stood upright against the wind.
Taking a step back, Yun Hen took a better look at this child. He had always felt that she was only a child, and didn’t even pay attention to her. Though slightly similar to Meng Fuyao, her bright characteristics had always been overshadowed by Meng Fuyao. It was only then that he realized that the child-like Ya Lanzhu encompassed the maturity and wiseness that were no less than anyone else. She might never be able to achieve what Meng Fuyao did, but her shining personality and understanding of life were definitely on par with Meng Fuyao.
For a princess who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, who had to tolerate universal mockery from pursuing the person she loved, and then witness an outsider extinguish her blossoming hopes, she had thousands of reasons to hate Meng Fuyao.
But she chose to focus her attention on a place further away.
Some people might be selfish, but there were magnanimous people as well.
Ya Lanzhu looked back and let out a shout. Her red cheeks rose and fell according to her breathing, and she suddenly jumped down and dragged Yun Hen away.
“What are we fools doing by staring at nothing? Come, let’s get a drink!”
Meanwhile, Meng Fuyao stomped away and barked without looking back, “Lord Yuan Bao, I’m warning you. If you continue following me, I’ll fry, steam, cook and sear you, and arrange you into a feast!”
The guinea pig felt very wronged. ‘Who wants to follow you? That person’s obviously my unscrupulous master, and I’m just an accessory who’s dragged along with him. You’re just picking on the weak!’
Folding his arms and looking miserably at the sky, the guinea pig considered a very serious question, ‘Was Meng Fuyao fated to be his nemesis?’ Ever since he met her, he had been downgraded from a worshipped “legendary guinea pig” to becoming her bodyguard, accessory and sidekick. His status fell by such a large margin, and his future was no longer bright.
His master suddenly looked down at him and understood all his hidden frustrations. As a sign of consolation, the master caressed his head, and simply changed a hand to drag him.
When Meng Fuyao turned and saw that someone was still smiling calmly, her inner self exploded with rage. Without returning to her room, she stood there and faked a grin. “Your Highness, I suddenly feel that there’s a need for me to apologize to you.”
