“Initially, it was Gongzi Qian and others who accused Lord Shang of treason. I heard that later no evidence was found – it was a false accusation…”
Song Chuyi’s lips curved up slightly. Ying Si’s methods were indeed ruthless and efficient – he had removed two massive stumbling blocks without the slightest effort. Next… it would be those old clan elders.
Although Gongzi Qian was Ying Si’s uncle and had once served as the Crown Prince’s tutor, after being subjected to the punishment of having his nose cut off, he had schemed relentlessly for revenge. The power he had accumulated in the court and among the people had already threatened Ying Si’s sovereign authority – his death was inevitable.
Ever since Song Chuyi learned that this world was different from her previous life, she no longer viewed matters solely through the lens of memory, because perhaps the future could change at some unknown time.
After finishing dinner, Song Chuyi and the others sat for a while, then returned to the carriage to rest. Though it was equally cramped, at least they didn’t have to squeeze in with so many people.
White snow, bright moon.
Song Chuyi raised her hand and knocked on the carriage wall. Ji Yu’s voice came from outside. “Master.”
“Yu, please come in,” Song Chuyi said.
The person outside seemed to hesitate for a moment before climbing into the carriage.
Tonight Ji Yu and Ji Huan would take turns keeping watch. Song Chuyi said, “You and Ji Huan rest in this carriage. I’ll go squeeze in with Buwang.”
Ji Yu glanced at her, cupped his hands, and said, “Thank you, Master.”
“What kind of person do you think the Lord of Qin is?” Song Chuyi suddenly asked.
Ji Yu was slightly surprised, not knowing why Song Chuyi had suddenly asked him this question. He pondered for a moment, but still answered truthfully, “A heroic ruler – one who should rule all under heaven.”
Song Chuyi smiled, took a box out from under the table, patted White Blade, and got out of the carriage with it.
Ji Yu did not move. After a moment of silence, he gazed thoughtfully at her retreating figure through the window.
Facing the chilly air, Song Chuyi breathed out a puff of mist. In this era, the various heroes were rising together, and the gap in strength between them was not very large. Ruling all under heaven was already considered the ultimate achievement – her theory of destroying states was merely a distant dream. That was why she had thought of founding a school and establishing doctrines, hoping to let this ideal continue.
“Chi Ju,” Song Chuyi said, walking over to the few men who were keeping watch.
This was the sturdy warrior she had “picked up” together with White Blade. During their time on the road, Song Chuyi had not deliberately sought them out, but she had treated them quite generously. At the same time, she had also secretly observed these men.
“Master,” Chi Ju and the four men beside him all saluted.
“No need for formalities.” Song Chuyi considered her words for a moment, but ultimately spoke directly. “Today we part ways once again.”
Chi Ju said in surprise, “Do you despise us, Master?”
“No, I merely have a matter on which I need your assistance,” Song Chuyi said.
Chi Ju immediately cupped his hands and said, “You need only give the order – we will do our utmost.”
Song Chuyi handed the box in her hands to Chi Ju. “Here are fifty gold and several pieces of jade. The jade may be small, but together they should be worth at least five hundred gold.”
“Why is this?” Chi Ju asked, full of confusion. Since he had heard Song Chuyi say there was a matter to be handled, he did not rush to decline.
“Sell these things and find a way to buy a plot of land near Xianyang, then live a good life. My suggestion is to buy a dozen or so female slaves and make a living by planting mulberries and raising silkworms. But if you have better ways to build up a family fortune, then go ahead and try – just don’t lose the land,” Song Chuyi said with a smile.
It was merely an ordinary purchase of farmland. They were a merchant group, and doing such things was completely normal. It was nothing shameful, so Song Chuyi had not tried to conceal it.
This was clearly giving them money to settle down and establish themselves – a great temptation – but Chi Ju still declined. “Master, we have already received your kindness. How could we accept your money and property without repaying your kindness?”
“Having you do this naturally serves a purpose.” Song Chuyi did not reach out to take back the box. “Just consider it as managing a family estate for me.”
Chi Ju hesitated. “Aren’t you afraid, Master, that we might take the money and run?”
After all, five hundred gold was a huge sum. If not squandered, it would be enough for them to live comfortably for a lifetime.
Hearing this, Song Chuyi laughed heartily and said, “You are all men of righteousness -how could I harbor doubts? Besides, wealth is but an external thing. If you truly do run off with the gold, then I’ll just consider it a misjudgment on my part.”
Chi Ju was moved and made a deep bow. “You have entrusted us with such complete confidence. We will certainly not fail our mission.”
“We will absolutely not fail our mission,” the others likewise pledged.
Song Chuyi nodded. “You can read as well. Inside the box there is a letter from me. If you encounter difficulties in the future, you may read it.” With that, she lowered her voice and leaned close to Chi Ju. “Land near Xianyang is not easy to buy. You may first purchase a small plot in the outskirts and wait patiently for a year or so – there will surely be a turning point.”
Whether from her memories of the past or from Ying Si’s character, the days of turmoil for the old clans were not far off.
After the reforms, the old clans had lost much of their land, but no matter how things changed, they were still nobles – they would always have several hundred mu of land. Only once the noble class experienced a fatal upheaval would opportunities arise in land transactions.
“Rest early. Set out tomorrow morning – there’s no need to bid me farewell. We will surely meet again someday.” Song Chuyi cupped her hands in farewell to Chi Ju and the others first, then took White Blade and climbed into Longgu Buwang’s carriage.
Having learned her lesson from last time, Longgu Buwang decisively gave up his spot as soon as Song Chuyi came over, ordering a maid to bring a mat and make a bed on the floor, lest the tragedy repeat itself.
Since White Blade loved splashing about in the bath pool and was not dirty, Longgu Buwang unceremoniously used it as a warmer.
The night passed without incident.
Before dawn had fully broken, the relay station was already bustling.
Matters like arranging the route were generally decided by Ji Yu; not everything needed to go through Song Chuyi.
Longgu Buwang was habitually an early riser. As soon as there was movement outside, he was already awake. After dozing a little longer, he sat up with the blanket wrapped around him and turned to look at the bed.
Last time he had witnessed the gruesome spectacle of Song Chuyi’s sleeping habits, but the scene that met his eyes this time left him utterly amazed – the entire bed was a complete mess. The blankets were piled so high he couldn’t tell head from tail, and Song Chuyi was wrapped within them in a baffling posture, limbs occasionally poking out from under the covers, though it was truly impossible to tell which was an arm and which was a leg.
Longgu Buwang gaped, stared for a long while, then sat up straight to look more carefully. After searching for quite some time, he finally spotted that mass of disheveled hair – he couldn’t tell whether it was her face or the back of her head. He couldn’t help reaching out to part the hair, saw her nose emerge, and muttered, “How has he not suffocated?”
The convoy swayed along northward. Longgu Buwang dressed properly, did a simple wash, and then, while eating breakfast, watched Song Chuyi’s sleep posture that would make gods and ghosts marvel. What impressed Longgu Buwang even more was that she shifted positions from time to time, stretching out in every posture imaginable on the bed, and in the end actually returned to a relatively normal sleeping position – the only evidence that her sleep posture had been terrible the night before was the bird’s nest of hair on her head.
Only when the morning light streamed in through the carriage window did Song Chuyi wake up. Finding her field of vision completely dark, she blanked for a moment, then reached out to push the hair from her eyes and turned to look toward the small table.
Song Chuyi looked at Longgu Buwang and couldn’t help frowning. “What kind of expression is that?”
“What do you think of your own sleeping posture?” Longgu Buwang couldn’t resist asking.
Song Chuyi glanced at the bed, rubbed her bird’s-nest hair a few times, covered her mouth and yawned, then gave a fair self-assessment. “It should be… not exactly graceful, but probably not too bad. Hmm, why do you ask?”
Song Chuyi thought to herself – could it be that this kid had seen some unseemly movement?
“If I tell you the truth, will you take revenge on me?” Longgu Buwang asked tentatively.
Song Chuyi narrowed her eyes and was about to speak when Longgu Buwang immediately said, “Your sleeping posture is truly enviable. My sleeping posture is terrible – I wanted to ask you how to be as proper as you.”
Staring at the utterly sincere-faced Longgu Buwang, Song Chuyi cleared her throat and said seriously, “Read more books of the sages.”
“Buwang understands.” Longgu Buwang’s face reddened slightly, and he quickly knocked on the carriage wall. “Stop, stop – I need to pee urgently.”
As soon as the carriage stopped, Longgu Buwang bolted out.
Song Chuyi’s face darkened. She thought to herself – could my sleeping posture really be that bad?
After thinking it over and over, Song Chuyi attributed it to the bumpy road making sleep unsettled. She took a comb from the box beside the small table and began painfully tugging at her tangled hair.
It took an immense effort before she finally managed to coil her hair into a bun on top of her head. Today Song Chuyi no longer asked the maidservant to comb her hair for her, because the day before yesterday when she looked in the mirror, she suddenly realized that with her hair down, she looked more and more like a woman. After some more time, she feared that even dressed as a young man, people would see through her.
The difference between a boy and a girl is sometimes not very great, but the difference between a young man and a young woman is not something that can be concealed merely by wearing men’s clothes or adopting masculine mannerisms.
She was now at the age when a girl’s body develops, and before she knew it, her appearance had changed…
After washing up and finishing breakfast, Song Chuyi thought for a long while before finally taking out that bottle of medicine from her bosom, pouring out one pill, and swallowing it with water.
“Master,” came Ji Yu’s voice, and right after it Song Chuyi heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves.
Song Chuyi put away the medicine bottle and lifted the curtain to look outside.
A group of black-armored soldiers came galloping over. Their horses’ hooves kicked up the snow on the ground into a flurry of white mist, striking in its contrast with the black armor – quite a spectacular sight.
As they neared the convoy, they slowed down, and three riders flew out from their midst, reaching the window in an instant.
Only then did Song Chuyi see clearly that the general at the head wore black armor, with black wolf fur at his collar concealing half his face, but those brows and eyes were recognizable at a glance – it was none other than the Lord of Qin, Ying Si.
“I am Sima Cuo, a Qin general, come to see the Master off,” Ying Si said loudly.
The carriage gradually came to a stop, and Song Chuyi hurriedly got down and cupped her hands in salute to Ying Si. Although she felt she might be regarded favorably by Ying Si, she would never have imagined that the ruler of a state would come in person to see her off. To be honest, she really could not remain unruffled by favor or disgrace.
“The General coming in person to see me off – I am overwhelmed by the honor,” Song Chuyi said.
Ying Si sat on horseback, his cold, snow-reflecting eyes looking at her with a faint smile. “A scholar will die for one who understands him. I am merely seeing you off – you deserve it.”
As he spoke, he swung down from his horse and waved for two boxes to be presented. “Merely commonplace items, but your journey is long – having more preparations is always better. I came specially to deliver them, and I hope you will not decline.”
Having said all this, declining further would be pointless. Song Chuyi said readily, “In that case, thank you, General.”
