Chapter 3: 2.2: The Journey

After everyone dispersed, Ji Yu walked to me, and stood beside me. He pulled my arm, and looked at the blood marks on my arm, with a smile that was novelty and curious: “I didn’t expect that you would also have such moments of excitement.” 

I let him hold my arm, and calmly looked at the river: “It really is easy and simple to give up one’s life.” 

“Oh?” 

I turned my head, and saw Ji Yu’s slightly surprised expression. He looked at me with an inquiring look that he always used to look at me during these days, as if he could see some type of answer on my face. To think that he recruited me to be his helper, yet he was very wary of me in his heart. 

In fact, it really doesn’t matter. If he wants an answer, I will just tell him.

“My birth mother is actually not the Queen of the Qi kingdom. I can’t remember exactly what my birth mother looks like, but just vaguely that she has shallow dimples along with a beautiful smile. When she was dying, she had no other wishes for me, only hoping that I would live well. At that time, I was still young, and was sent to be raised up by the Queen. The Queen did not treat me badly, and my food and clothing had never lacked. It’s just that she loves Qiqi, and on the other hand, I am just her responsibility.” 

“I still remember the day the Qi Kingdom became a vanished nation. After father killed mother, he then hanged himself to death with a piece of white silk in the imperial palace. Before the enemy troops attacked, and entered the palace, the palace was very noisy. The maids ran around, and cried helplessly. Some people criticized me for being heartless. My country is dying, and my parents hanged themselves. From the beginning to end, I did not shed a single tear. Perhaps, I did not have time to be sad as I had to find a way to keep me and Qiqi alive. When I was sixteen years old, the Qi Kingdom was destroyed, and now, I am twenty-one years old. For five whole years, I still managed to be alive.” 

Ji Yu’s eyes flickered, and after being silent for a long time, he said: “Why are you telling me this?” 

I only shook my head, and turned to walk back to my room: “Yes, why did I tell you this? You can just take it as a joke.” 

He spoke behind me: “The person you saved today is the wife of Nan Huaijun. She was originally Princess Chang Ni of the Han Kingdom.”

I looked at him when I heard this, and he looked into my eyes as if trying to see through my mind. I couldn’t help but smile, and said without any emotion: “Really? Then Nan Huaijun owes me a favor.” 

The split second I closed the door to my room, I saw him purse his eyebrows. 

As everyone knows, the Ninth Princess of the Qi Kingdom and the Zhao Kingdom’s Nan Huaijun have had a marriage contract since childhood. After the death of the Qi Kingdom, Nan Huaijun reneged the marriage, and married Princess Chang Ni of the Han Kingdom. The Han Kingdom was one of the four kingdoms that attacked the Qi Kingdom. Of course, it has now already been destroyed by the Song. 

It indeed is a joke. 

What did Ji Yu want to see from my face? anger, resentment, or is it hostility? Then he may just be disappointed. Nan Huaijin is just a man who I have only seen at a glance in a distance, and I have already forgotten what he looks like. I don’t hate him for breaking off his promise to the marriage, to instead marry the princess of the enemy kingdom, because to him, I am just a person without mutual feelings. 

Whether he is happy or not, it is not something that I care about. 

Ji Yu’s rule is that two maids will personally serve him everyday on this trip while the rest will each respectively take care of the other things. Yesterday, it was Chang Le and Lai Ying who personally served him, so when Chang Le knocked on my door this morning, I also guessed that there was some matter with Nan Huaijun. 

Chang Le wore a rose-red colored dress, and her cornelian1cornelian = a reddish gemstone red earrings swayed gently with her steps. Her appearance is also outstanding among the eight beauties, but it’s just that she was an ice-cold beauty who is arrogant and did not like to acknowledge others. 

She took me to where Ji Yu was , and along the way there, she had a cold face and did not say a word. When we were almost there, she suddenly spoke: “A’zhi, I don’t care what your identity was before, but right now, you are the maid of the young master. A maid must have the appearance of a maid.” 

I looked at her, and her cold and beautiful eyes looked at me. Without any emotion, she hooked the corner of her lips and said: “Don’t expect me to be as naive as that girl, Zi Kou, only thinking of you as the maid of Jiang Qiqi.” 

“Jiang Qiqi? Shouldn’t you address her as “Her Royal Highness, the Seventh Princess?” I faintly said. 

She smiled, and said disdainfully: “The princess of a vanquished kingdom, how can she still be considered as a princess? Even if she is the daughter of the emperor, so what? Chang Le is the young master’s maid, and in the entire word, Chang Le only respects the young master.” 

Not long after, we arrived. She lifted the beaded curtain, and faintly bowed her head, speaking softly to the people inside: “Young master, the person has arrived.” 

“Okay, you can go rest.” The voice was very gentle and low as if an illusion of a trance of extreme tenderness. 

I just realized that this is the first time I had actually heard him properly speak. There were no schemes or defensiveness, just simply hearing the voice of the person “Ji Yu”. It can not be denied that his voice is very nice, very warm and calm. It feels as if it can make people trust him. I looked at the distant rose-red back of a figure, and turned to enter the room. 

So even such a proud and arrogant girl is willing to bow her head for you? 

The room was arranged very elegantly, and the incense burner had smoke rising out of it in spirals. It is precisely the mysterious moon scent of the Zhao Kingdom. Sure enough, Nan Huaijin is also in the room with Ji Yu standing beside him, smiling as if he had met an old friend, and said to Nan Huaijun: “The person is already here, so I won’t bother you anymore.” After saying this, he clasped his hand2greet by raising clasped hand, and went out of the room. 

Nan Huaijun nodded at me, and said: “Young lady, please sit.” 

I bowed my head and saluted: “This maid does not dare to.” 

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He laughed bluntly: “The young lady is speaking too seriously. Young lady has saved my wife’s life, and is my benefactor. How can you not dare? Please sit.” 

With this, I stopped refusing, and sat in front of Nan Huaijun. 

I asked: “One does not know if Madam is feeling any better?” 

He forced a smile, and said lightly: “She is better now, but it’s just that her mood is still not good.” 

I lowered my eyes, and did not speak. The destruction of the Han Kingdom is not much better than the Qi Kingdom. Practically all the nobles and aristocrats were slaughtered. It can be seen that Princess Chang Ni’s family was not spared, and recently, it was also heard that her first child died prematurely. 

After several heavy blows, Princess Chang Ni can probably not take it anymore. 

I said faintly: “I have seen a lot of the world’s rises and falls, Madam will naturally let it go.” 

He was stunned, and then laughed: “It seems that the maid of the Seventh Princess is indeed not a common chord3“Not a common chord” = outstanding/brilliant.”

“…Which seventh princess?” 

“Now when it comes to mentioning the seventh princess, who else could it be other than the Seventh Princess of the Qi Kingdom?” 

I was silent. If he just wanted to thank me, with my current identity as a maid, he could have just sent some coins4This was considered money in the ancient times, and these coins were usually made out of copper, silver, or gold. However, he spent a lot of effort to meet me through Ji Yu, and it can be seen that there must be something else. After this, we will probably enter into the main point of this meeting. 

“Have…you ever seen the Ninth Princess?” He was silent for a while, and finally spoke faintly. 

I was stunned as I did not expect him to want to inquire about me. He had a guilty expression, and it seems that the things that happened five years ago, he did not let go of it as easily as I did.

“Naturally I have seen her before. The Seventh Princess and Ninth Princess have been inseparable since childhood. I am the maid of the Seventh Princess, meaning I am also the maid of the Ninth Princess.” 

He hesitated for a moment before speaking: “She…How is she now?”

“She’s dead.” I spoke as if it was not a big deal: “She died at the wedding banquet of the Song Kingdom along with the Seventh Princess.” 

He was clearly stunned, and there was some sadness on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he could only sigh: “In the end, I still feel sorry towards her.” 

“This maid does not know why you feel sorry towards the Ninth Princess?” 

He was stunned again. He probably thought that as a person from the Qi Kingdom, I would definitely know the Ninth Princess, and it would only make sense that I should hate him, and criticize him. 

“I backed out of the marriage agreement between me and her.” 

I looked at the man who had a guilty expression on in front of me. I could not help, but want to laugh: “You are mistaken. What you have turned your back against is the agreement with the Qi Kingdom. It is the agreement with King Qi. There is no agreement between you and the Ninth Princess, so who you are actually sorry for, is the Qi Kingdom and King Qi, not the Ninth Princess.”  

He seemed a little at a loss. I paused, then spoke again: “The Ninth Princess does not hate you. Marrying you or someone else is the same to her as none of it is what she chooses herself. Besides, now you have a wife so if you had married the Ninth Princess, wouldn’t it be that you would have never met your wife?” 

His eyebrows gradually loosened, and he asked: “Really?” 

I laughed: “This maid swears with the life of oneself and one’s family.” 

As a result, he also laughed and seemed to be more relieved: “It seems that I overestimated my influence on the Ninth Princess. People around the world highly praise the beauty of the Seventh Princess, and listening to what you just said, I think the Ninth Princess is also a very outstanding person. It’s just a pity…” 

I picked up my teacup, and took a sip of tea. There was a light drizzle outside the window, and the wind was also moist and warm. It reminded me of a certain light drizzle day many years ago. Qiqi pulled me to go to the side of the rockery5Rockery = is a raised part of a garden which is built of rocks and soil, with small plants growing between the rocks in the palace, pointing to a boy who walked by far away: “Jiu Jiu, he is your future husband.” He flashed by and at the time, he was only fourteen or fifthteen years old, wearing purple clothes. He did not have an umbrella, and his figure was very young and tender. 

At that time, I did not attentively look at him. Instead, a boy in goose-yellow clothing appeared in my mind, smiling innocently. Now that I think about it, the reason why I can be so at ease is maybe because before him, I had already put another person in my heart.  

Hi! Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!

1cornelian = a reddish gemstone2greet by raising clasped hand3“Not a common chord” = outstanding/brilliant4This was considered money in the ancient times, and these coins were usually made out of copper, silver, or gold5Rockery = is a raised part of a garden which is built of rocks and soil, with small plants growing between the rocks

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