Chu Qiao was just about to turn down the invitation when Qiu Sui noticed her intention and anxiously stammered, “Lady, the Lady of Tang is the Queen of Tang Empire!”

　　The Feng Yuan Palace was where the Queen dwelled. Having waited in there for a whole hour, Chu Qiao was still not summoned by the Queen. She was already feeling extremely tired, and could barely keep her eyes open. Struggling to fix her slouching posture, she was extremely annoyed by the poison. So far, the poison had not actually given her many issues except making her extremely tired and drowsy. Right now, she could only hope that Li Ce could find a cure for her once and for all.

　　After another unknown duration that seemed like an eternity, a servant walked out and informed her that the Queen was feeling unwell today and that Chu Qiao could return. Although Chu Qiao was infuriated, she still controlled her temper and bowed politely before dragging her feet out of the Queen’s residence.

　　She knew the Queen had probably been observing her all this while, but after all, she was in the Tang Empire, and her body was still in a weakened state. This was not a good time for her to be embroiled in conflict.

　　Right after she exited the room, she yawned, only to see a shadow flash in front of her. Jumping back, she realized that it was just Li Ce, who looked as though he had just woke up.

　　Chu Qiao’s sleepiness immediately went away, and she asked in bemusement, “You were lying in waiting at the door all along?”

　　Yawning, Li Ce replied, “Upon hearing that mother called you out for a talk, I came over to observe.”

　　Chu Qiao was taken aback by that response. “Why didn’t you come in?”

　　“It was hot inside.” Li Ce gave an obviously nonsensical excuse, before raising an eyebrow and elaborating, “I was scared that you two would start fighting in the middle of the conversation, so I stayed around to stop the fight if it happened.”

　　Chu Qiao was a tad surprised by Li Ce’s reasoning, and inquired, “Your mother’s temper is that volatile?”

　　“It is more or less normal for older women to act strangely here and there.” Li Ce sloppily replied. “Plus, she always harbored some grudge against me. I cannot guarantee that she would not try to make life difficult for you.”

　　Not wasting time on his antics, Chu Qiao walked off, saying, “I am tired. I want to go and sleep”

　　Li Ce sounded off in agreement, “Okay, I am also tired. Shall we sleep together?”

　　Turing back and waving her fist at Li Ce, Chu Qiao smiled. “If you aren’t scared of dying, you can come and try.”

　　Li Ce chuckled in response. “Women’s threats were never a problem for me.”

　　At this point in time, a young servant ran up, and called out to Li Ce, “Prince, Mister He’s daughter is entering the palace. She is visiting the fourth princess.”

　　Li Ce’s mood was instantly lifted. He bid farewell to Chu Qiao, “Qiaoqiao, I have some urgent matters to attend to, see you some other time!” With that said, before Chu Qiao could even respond, he had already left with the servant.

　　Urgent matters? Chu Qiao chuckled in amusement. In any case, interacting with such types of people was good for her, as she would never be too emotionally tied to him.

　　After boarding the carriage, Chu Qiao drifted off to sleep the moment she sat down.

　　Deep into the night, Chu Qiao was rudely awakened by sounds of someone wailing. Fumbling down the bed, Chu Qiao called for Qiu Sui. Apparently, Sui was still awake and was just outside when Chu Qiao called, so she swiftly entered the room, and informed her, “Lady, don’t worry, it was just Lady Hongluan. I already sent men to chase her away.”

　　Feeling strange, Chu Qiao asked, “What happened?”

　　“In the evening when we were returning, we crossed paths with Lady Hongluan and her sister, Lady Qiuhe. Lady Qiuhe then ordered her men to push our carriage, and your carriage was almost pushed into the lake. By chance, some Iron Guards saw the incident, and it was reported to His Highness. His Highness then sent his guards to throw Lady Qiuhe into the torture room. Lady Hongluan is now crying for your forgiveness. But Lady, these messy politics are not something you have to get involved with. With that in mind, this servant chased her away.”

　　It seemed like these ladies had thought of her as their potential enemy. It was merely ladies of the harem struggling for attention, so Chu Qiao was not too bothered. But deep down, she still felt shocked at the extent of the poison that was spreading within her. Even though someone had been pushing her carriage, she had not realized. That was really too careless of her.

　　Upon waking up the next morning, the temporary pond had already been completed. The few goldfish were swimming gracefully inside. Chu Qiao leaned on the window next to the pond, and stretched out her hand, stirring the water in the pond. Suddenly, her sharp ears picked up some voices. It seemed like it was a conversation between Qiu Sui and another maidservant called Zi Chan.

　　Qiu Sui commented, “That was so brash of them! There are so many ladies within the palace. Even if she had not made this mistake, there would eventually come the day that she would die here.”

　　Zi Chan sighed in response. “Perhaps she thought that His Highness would be easy to fool. But look what happened. The ladies from the Song empire all died or suffered injuries, and not a single one was left.”

　　“Didn’t you hear what the nanny said? The fact that our Tang Prince and the Xia Empire entered an alliance by marriage was for the very purpose of distancing our country from the Song Empire, so those ladies from Song empire would not be around for much longer. Now we can all see her predictions coming true!”

　　“What? Will we be going to war with the Song Empire?” Zi Chan asked.

　　“I don’t know, but didn’t we just have a skirmish over at the Laohu Mountains? Although it was supposedly a small skirmish, I heard there were great casualties. With the end of the battle there, Master Luo will be coming back to the capital soon,” Qui Sui said.

　　“His Highness seemed really angry this time around. I have never seen him so infuriated before! Lady Hongluan is in really deep in trouble now. Sigh, it was clear as day that His Highness favors this lady, yet she was unable to understand that.

　　The Tang Empire fought with the Song Empires previously? Chu Qiao frowned. She started to understand why the Tang Empire had suddenly formed an alliance with the Xia Empire. Although Li Ce seemed as though he was very thoughtless and nonsensical, he was ultimately still the heir to the throne of an empire. She realized that it was better if she did underestimate him too much.

　　Night Fell. As the bright silvery moon hung in the sky, the pristine white moonlight illuminated the room through the gaps in the windows. Wearing a pearl colored dress, her jet black hair loosely spread out on the bed. Frowning, Chu Qiao woke up. Seeing the waves reflect the gentle moonlight outside of her windows, she was once again taken aback by the grandiosity of this palace. Having slept too much in the day, she did not feel that tired now.

　　Sitting up, Chu Qiao took care not to wake the maidservants who were resting outside. Walking up to the window, she opened one side of the window, only to see a crabapple tree in full blossom right outside. The twigs lightly swayed in the wind. With just a delicate touch, the petals fluttered down onto Chu Qiao’s dress.

　　On the lake, there was someone pedaling lightly on a small boat, with the soft melody of a flute echoing in the air. A bit taken aback by this phantasmagoric view, Chu Qiao stood awkwardly, lost for words, as though she had accidentally intruded into the realms of gods. Not wanting to disturb the maidservants, she lifted her skirt, and with a light jump, she stepped onto the tree branch, and along the newly installed watermill, she descended from the second floor. With a flip of her body, she landed stably on the soft soil.

　　The fresh soil on the ground was evident of the fact that the tree had just been transplanted from elsewhere. Chu Qiao remembered how Li Ce joked about moving that crabapple tree into the palace, and was quite surprised at how he really did that.

　　For some reason, Chu Qiao’s heart trembled slightly as she forced herself to turn away from the tree, as though she was scared that she would evoke more of a certain emotion. Now it was already nearing the end of summer, and the night was no longer reminiscent of the searing heat of a summer day, and had begun to turn chilly. Lifting her dress, Chu Qiao slowly dragged her feet, which were clad in the uncomfortable embroidered shoes, as she strolled on the wooden bridge. The chilly breeze rustled her fluffy dress as she basked in the sparse starlight that shone from the cloudless night sky. The waning moon faintly shimmered as an occasional parade of thin clouds happened to pass by, but otherwise provided a uniform illumination of the ground.

　　Chu Qiao was feeling extremely serene, an emotion that she had long lost touch with. As the night breeze caressed her cheeks, she felt as though this was all just a fantastic realm from a dream. As she walked on the bridge, a koi fish suddenly splashed at the water, sending concentric ripples out on the otherwise calm water surface. Spreading out evenly, it actually made the scenery seem even more peaceful.

　　There was no one around, so Chu Qiao simply decided to sit on the bridge. Holding the wooden handrails for support, she observed the slowly dissipating ripples on the lake, as she leaned her head on the wooden rail.

　　She had already forgotten when she had last been so at peace with herself. This trip to the Tang Empire seemed to have washed away all the fatigue and bloodthirst within her. Finally, she could heave a sigh of relief, knowing that this is no longer Zhen Huang City, no longer the Xia Empire, and she was distanced away from the killings and fightings. She was finally safe and could catch her breath.

　　During those eight years, even if she had not complained about the stress, she would naturally still be tired.

　　I wonder if the winds in Yan Bei are as warm as they are here? Thinking about that, Chu Qiao broke into a smile.

　　That would be impossible. Yan Bei’s lands were be covered in snow all year round, with raging winds carrying bone piercing frigidness. The only place with greenery would be the grass valley around Hui Hui Mountains where one could rear horses. According to Yan Xun, Yan Bei’s Goddess resided on the Min Xi Mountain where she protected the descendants of Yan Bei. Her whole life, she stood atop the peak of the coldest mountain, gazing on the countless living things that bustled with life below the mountains. Constantly competing with the heavens for light and warmth, she then bestowed it upon Yan Bei.

　　Speaking of Yan Bei, even Yan Bei’s goddess, although compassionate and nurturing, was a warrior in her own right. Likewise, every inch of Yan Bei’s lands was the fruit of civilians’ struggles against natural disasters and endless wars. Yan Bei was truly a race that rose from piles and piles of skeletons and corpses. At the root of every plant, every flower, was soil that, at some point in time, had been soaked in a Yan Bei warrior’s blood. Within every breeze, there existed the spirits of Yan Bei soldiers who had given their lives for Yan Bei’s continued survival. Such was Yan Bei, a land filled with hardships, yet no one bowed down to such difficulties.

　　Chu Qiao had yet to see the highlands of Yan Bei for herself and had only heard descriptions from others. During those dark times, those torturous days, those miserable periods, discussing Yan Bei and those mountains and grass plains were her and Yan Xun’s greatest joy. They would cower in one corner, but they would set their imagination free, constructing a world in their minds where groups of wild horses ran free, with a meandering river flowing into the horizon. In that cold and dark winter of their lives, such pictures were the glimmer of hope they grasped onto. People who had never experienced such days would never truly understand the feeling of relying on someone so much.

　　Within that suffocating, nauseating, maddening royal capital, they were two young wolf pups, leaning on each other back to back, brandishing their tiny claws. There was nothing they could use as cover, nor anyone they could seek assistance from. With no one to rely on, they could only stick to each other and seek the courage to keep living from each other’s gazes.

　　They were inseparable comrades in arms, intimate allies, and inalienable family. This complicated emotion had long broken through simple love between a man and a woman, and had already fused into their souls, becoming a part of themselves.

　　Most of the time, Chu Qiao did not have time to think about what normal girls would worry about. In her short life so far, she had been occupied with running around, fighting, strategizing, and as a result, she had buried her own instinctual thoughts. She had always been a logical person and knew what she wanted, what she should not come into contact with, and what the future held for her. As such, she threaded carefully without mistakes. Although such a person was rather boring and uninteresting, she had accepted herself for who she was.

　　Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, thinking about his impending arrival. She could feel the wind carrying his desire to reunite with her.

　　“How long do you intend to sit there alone?”

　　Shocked by the sudden question, Chu Qiao spun her head around, only to see Li Ce wearing a pine green blouse. With his cloth belt loosely tied together, and his collar wide open. His hair was loosely tied up with silk lace. His well-defined eyes seemed to be squinting under the moonlight, and he looked like a fox that had just woke up, still drowsy from a deep slumber. Grinning ear to ear at Chu Qiao, he stretched out his lean hand and yawned.