Sweet Beauty - Chapter 8

Three days later, His Majesty sent a letter to the Prince of Xiao. Liu Xun was ordered to carry out the duties of the Grand Excellency over the Masses and pacify Hebei. Once again, the court and the public were in uproar.

In fact, this was expected. What the people never expected was that His Majesty would only assign him a trifling two thousand soldiers!

It should be noted that the warlords infesting the region of Hebei were divided into different regimes, each consisting of tens of thousands of troops. With a mere two thousand soldiers, people feared that they would be annihilated by the marauding bandits first before they could even set one foot in Hebei. No matter how reputed Liu Xun was for his astuteness and resourcefulness, the chorus of bad mouthing could not be stopped: Liu Chang is already dead. Liu Xun may not be able to survive this obstacle.

The former Grand Excellency’s mansion, now the Prince of Xiao’s mansion, which was previously filled with guests on the day of the wedding ceremony, suddenly became desolate and empty.

However, the two people in the house were both calm and unperturbed by this turn of event.

Liu Xun still went out early and came back late every day. Occasionally, if he returned early, he would always stay in the study for a long time until the candles burned out.

They still lived in the same room, but they slept on separate beds. However, Liu Xun was cautious. He would wait for the maids to leave first before laying down the quilt on a separate bed. The next day, he would tidy eveything up before the maids entered the room. Therefore, in the eyes of others, this newly married couple lived in perfect harmony and mutually respected each other like special guests.

There were only two days left before the trip. A’Shu’s dowry and belongings had already been sorted out. At present, she was directing the servants to pack up Liu Xun’s clothes. For Liu Xun, this departure might last longer for a year or so. Hence, he told her beforehand to leave behind the burdensome items and only take all the books and letters in the study.

It was such a pain for A’Shu.

Not only were the books heavy but they were also prone to dampness. Before packing, they must be unrolled one by one to be sundried, and then rolled back again. It was quite troublesome. Furthermore, most of the maids were illiterate and have difficulty classifying them by volumes. Therefore, each roll must be read by A’Shu first before it could be packed.

A’Shu was exhausted.

But she still kept up her spirits after working for a day. One by one, she compiled the remaining strips and weaved them into a loose and messy booklet.

The writings on the long and thin bamboo strips were dense. She was sitting on the couch, totally spent. Her eyes were blurry. The slender and delicate fingers were also red caused by the coarse hemp string. She looked at the pile of bamboo strips still left on the table and felt discouraged.

When Liu Xun came back, he saw her sitting on her knees, preoccupied with something in her hands. Her head was bowed, exposing half of her long and soft nape which looked very demure and graceful.

When he approached, he found that she was holding his booklet in her hands. The thick hemp string was tight in some parts and loose in others, making it all the more unruly.

On her small face, her pretty eyebrows were slightly furrowed and her two bright white teeth were tightly chewing her lower lip. She was having a hard time but she refused to give up. She did not even notice that he had quietly walked to the door.

The maid at the door saw him and was about to report but he was already striding in to her bed. He took the hemp string with one hand, and after only a few moments, the original loose booklet became neat and compact again.

A’Shu stared at him in surprise. “How did you do it?”

She had just spent more than half an hour weaving only two rolls. How could he do it so easily?

Liu Xun looked at her face which showed unconcealed surprise and a trace of admiration. His heart fluttered slightly.

In the past few days, he went out early and returned late. The two of them didn’t really talk much. In the living room, he deliberately kept his distance from her. When he came back just now, it was the first time he saw a woman besides his mother who was so devoted in packing up for him.

Only this one was just a little clumsy.

He couldn’t help but smile a little, “When you were at home, you probably didn’t do much sewing, did you?”

A’Shu seemed to have been stabbed at a sore spot. Her face suddenly turned red and her back straightened. “No, I ——”

Halfway through her denial, she paused guiltily. Her dark eyes looked at him timidly, but she was caught off guard by the sight that greeted her.

He was smiling. Unlike his previous fake smiles, this one was warm and moving. Even his eyes, which were always light and clear, were stained with a warm color.

It turned out that he looked very handsome with a genuine smile.

He sat down on the couch, took the remaining bamboo strips and skillfully passed them through the hemp string.

“My family was poor when I was young so I did a lot of work while I studied at the Imperial College. At that time, most of the students who came from wealthy families were too lazy to bind their own notes, so I asked to do it for them to earn some money and get a full meal. Now, several years have passed and this craft is still familiar.”

The candlelight reflected on his face. If one didn’t know better, they would mistakenly think that he was just an ordinary husband returning from a day’s work and continued to do errands for his wife.

A’Shu felt a little sad.

In Handan, she never had to worry about food and clothing. Although Liu Xun was born in a royal clan, he had no title and wealth. Yet despite poverty, he still did not forget to study at the Imperial College. Compared with favored sons nearby, all his achievements and fame today were earned by travelling around with his elder brother in the early years. Now, he was still under the control of others, being forced to leave for Hebei in the face of criticisms.

While she was in a daze, he suddenly pushed the scattered bamboo strips to her side, and knocked on one corner of the table. “What are you doing? Help me sort them out, otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep today with your sluggish pace.”

The two sat on both sides of the table and lowered their heads together under the candlelight. One handed the bamboo strips and the other passed them through the hemp string. They were surprisingly harmonious.

……

The next day was the day of their departure.

A’Shu finished grooming early in the morning and ordered the servants to pack up the carriage and go out of the city with Liu Xun.

Outside the city, Zhao You and Deng Wan had been waiting for a long time.

Zhao You should have returned to Handan immediately after A’Shu married. However, when he heard that His Majesty had only given Liu Xun two thousand troops, he refused to leave. He sent a letter to Liu Xun, insisting that he would accompany A’Shu.

Liu Xun was afraid that there were too few soldiers. The servants under the Zhao family were versed in martial arts. Naturally, he would not refuse.

The group had assembled at the city gate ready to set out. Suddenly, a little eunuch came riding on a fast horse and informed Liu Xun, “Please slow down, Your Highness. The military inspector sent by His Majesty has not yet arrived.”

The crowd went wild.

As the eyes and ears of the Emperor since ancient times, the military inspector had to follow the commander-in-chief and supervise the expedition. However, most of the commanders-in-chief were high-ranking generals who lead hundreds of thousands of troops. With only two thousand troops under his command, the Prince of Xiao still needed a supervisor. This was truly a big joke!

“A military inspector for two thousand troops. His Majesty really thinks highly of the Prince of Xiao!” The crowd was full of uncontrollable indignation. The speaker was General Liu Ji, a subordinate and a valiant soldier under Liu Xun’s elder brother.

Amidst the outcry of others, Liu Xun sat motionless on the horse. He humbly asked, “Dare to ask, who is the military inspector sent by His Majesty?”

The little eunuch looked at the ferocious faces of the hundreds of soldiers around him. Terrified, he fell down on the horse and shook his head. “Servant doesn’t know.”

Liu Xun did not make it difficult for him either. He only asked him to go back and motioned the generals to calm down and wait patiently.

However, the wait was more than an hour.

Under the scorching sun, others were getting angry and restless, but seeing Liu Xun’s unwavering patience, they forced themselves to rein their temper.

Zhao You had been observing carefully. He was greatly impressed with Liu Xun. Hearing was not as good as witnessing it personally. With this tolerance alone, as long as he could tide over the current difficulties, he would become a great player in the future.

At noon, there was finally a movement at the city gate.

Two heavily packed carriages surrounded by fifty to sixty attendants slowly drove out of the city gate and stopped in front of Liu Xun. A man stepped out of the carriage. It turned out to be the Household Councellor, Xie Jin.

He was about half a century years old. His hair and beard were white. Vertical and horizontal lines gullied his face. His body was broad and fat. His eyes were small and protruding. Despite wearing clean clothes, he still looked like a crafty sycophant.

Liu Ji was already very impatient. Briefly glancing at Liu Xun, he rode to Xie Jin. He waved the sword in his hand and coldy said, “It turned out to be Lord Xie who made everyone wait.”

Xie Jin was furious at the sarcastic remark. However, Liu Ji was a man of powerful muscular build. The long sword in his hand gleamed with cold light, exuding a threatening aura. A retort formed at the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it back. He carefully retreated two steps and glared fiercely. Then, he put on a smiling face and went to Liu Xun’s side. “Your Highness, please excuse the late arrival.”

This sounded like an apology appropriate for the situation. However, his eyes were filled with provocation.

Liu Xun seemed to have not notice. He dismounted and bowed respectfully to Xie Jin. “It doesn’t matter. The journey is arduous. It still needs the patience of Lord Xie.”

In terms of official position and title, Xie Jin was inferior to Liu Xun. Being treated with such courtesy, he was immediately very satisfied. His expression relaxed a little. He shook his head and said modestly, “The Prince’s words are too much. Please, everybody, let’s set on.”

After speaking, he returned to the carriage under the cold eyes of everyone.

Two hours later, this team of one to three thousand people finally set foot on the road to Hebei.

Although the journey was long, A’Shu had already gone through it before. In the carriage, there was neither wind nor sun. The bumps were tolerable so she was able to endure without any complaints.

Meanwhile, Xie Jin, who was of commoner origin and had been an official for many years, had become more and more difficult to serve. In just five days, he had complained countless times that the journey was too tiring.

Liu Xun remained genial. Every time Xie Jin made insinuating complaints, he would always say the right thing without showing any anger. Since Liu Ji was standing beside Liu Xun with his glinting sword and fierce eyes, Xie Jin dare not speak again.

The generals, who were originally infuriated, applauded secretly when they saw Xie Jin’s fists hitting the cotton with nowhere to vent his anger.

However, for Liu Xun’s faction, this brief pleasure couldn’t tide away their anxiety.

How could a mere two thousand people stand against this troubled times of unrest war era? Although His Majesty ordered them to go to Hebei, how could they pacify such a large region which had long been occupied by various forces?