Chapter 10 – Chengyi

The carriage rattled slowly on the yellow sandy road. After traveling for hours, Jiang Liu is already tired and sleepy. But as it was too bumpy, she was not able to sleep a wink, so was really exhausted.

“Princess, who are you meeting up with?” She complained a little bit to Mei Li who was just sitting in silence looking a little pale.

After returning from the meadows, the princess have not had a good rest when all of a sudden she had to rush to Xiaoling[1] early in the morning. Jiang Liu already knew that it might be hard to wait on the princess during travels, but she did not expect to suffer this much.

“My gege.” Mei Li’s eyes were erratic.

“Oh.” Jiang Liu nodded. A relative? Princess was locked in the cold palace for so long and could not see any relatives. It explained why she came to rush out that way.

Even if they tried to hasten their trip as much as possible, it still took them two days to finally reach their destination. Mei Li felt sore and weak all over. She was supported off the carriage and looked at the desolate and quiet scene in front of her. Not far away, there was still a work in progress site, and the sound of digging and piling echoed in her ears, and somehow it felt more bleak.

Several guards standing outside the stone wall approached and questioned Mei Li. She quickly nudged Jiang Liu who then stuffed them with silver. Only then did they allow her to walk around.

Mei Li approached the courtyard carefully. And unlike the gorgeous infrastructures of the imperial mausoleum, it was built of bluestone, stong and simple, and was obviously used for the garrison of the soldiers guarding the tomb.

“Get inside! Get in! Beile[2] is asking you to come in!” A guard came out of the second door and laughed.

Mei Li threw caution off the wind and rushed to the inner courtyard.

The guards on duty showed her the way inside. She was led into a house in the corner of the compound. As sson as she approached the door of the small cross-yard, she saw Chengyi sitting under the tree. Leaning against the trunk, he turned around carelessly when he heard the sound of her footsteps.

“Chengyi-ge!” She did not know how she still recognized him despite how much he’s changed from the handsome and energetic Beile from two years ago..

Chengyi stared at her in silence. No words. No expression. Neither sadness nor surprise.

Mei Li’s eyes stung. His arrow was the one that killed Zi Qing-jie. How he cannot be like this.

She took a deep breath, not allowing herself to show any more sadness and pity. She made sure that her tears would not flow from her eyes before she finally approach and sat down beside him. With a homely tone she said, “Chengyi-ge. I was released. So I came to see you.”

Jiang Liu was afraid of this thin cold man. Although his old good looks can be still recognized, the lifelessness in his body made her hair stand on end. She retreated by the door, not daring to approach.

Chengyi nodded, finally showing some reaction.

“Can you give me a cup of water? I’m so thirsty along the way.” Mei Li requested as she forced a smile.

“In the room.” Chengyi just glanced on the location with his eyes.

Mei Li got up and walked into the room. Inside, the decoration is just simple and rudimentary. It was so neat that it seems that no one is actually living inside.

The tea set was was placed on the bed-side table. As she poured the water, she inadvertently scanned the bed and found that the bedding is extremely thin. She could not help but walk and touch it. As expected, although the quilt was near, it was a bit damp as if it has not been exposed to sunlight for a long time.

The other men stationed here are all powerful men, and Chengyi has lost his power. So even if there were servants assigned, they would not be too dedicated to his quarters.

This kind of situation and treatment… she understands it too well.

She quickly called Jiang Lu to come and drink as well. She then asked the other guards outside to prop a long rope so she could dry the beddings for Chengyi-ge under the warm noon sun. The smell of the damp covering her body, now she also feels the chill as she thought about it.

Chengyi just stared at the two girls running to and fro his room, drying the beddings one by one. Although he frowned in disapproval, he said nothing.

Jiang Liu who was busy for a long time became exhausted again. After asking Chengyi, Mei Li arranged her to rest in the small wing. She went to find a stick in the yard and gently patted the hanging cotton bedding one by one. This not not only get rid of the dust but also made the cotton more soft and fluffy.

Chengyi continued to stare at her in silence, with slight pity flashing through his eyes. How did she become like this? But then… he already knew the answer. How did her willful and wayward self survived for a long time?

“Lord[3], be careful on your steps!” A gallant voice sounded at the door of the yard. This rang completely clear on that silent afternoon.

Mei Li looked up and saw a middle-aged man who appears to be a leader. He bowed and led Jingxuan in.

She stopped in a daze and realized that he was also staring at her coldly. Mei Li lowered her eyes and blessed herself, and then he continued to pat the beddings.

The heavens always love to play jokes on her. What can she do now?

“His Majesty asked me to take you to Fengtai Camp[4].” She heard Jingxuan tell Chengyi.

“Okay.” Chengyi agreed after a long silence. The man slowly stood up and said, “Is it time to go to war?” His tone was monotonous, neither excited nor curious. He knew that the battle with the Dzungar was inevitable. It was just a matter of time.

“It should not be so soon. But formal preparations must already begin. Jingxuan replied, he seemed a little irritable.

“Give me some water.” He said coldly. Although Mei Li was not facing him, she knew that this was an order directed to her.

She nodded indicating that she had heard it and went back to the room to pour two glasses of water. All morning, Chengyi-ge sat there in a daze basking under the sun and should also be thirsty.

Since there was no tray available, she carefully came out with the cups in her hand. She handed the first to Chengyi, freed her hand and held the other to Jingxuan with both hands. It seemed to be extraordinarily respectful, but in fact it was displaying distance.

Chengyi noticed this and frowned. He realized that Mei Li has finally… given him up.

Jingxuan took the cup coldly and drank it in one go.

Mei Li smiled and inquired, “Do you[5] still want more?” She is very polite and very indifferent.

Jingxuan did not answer and threw her the cup back.

Mei Li did not blame him for being rude. She just quietly waited for Chengyi to finish drinking and took the cup together. She took it to the well, skillfully filled it with water and rinsed the cups carefully.

She heard them talk about politics and as she did not want to listen, she went back to find other chores. She took out the clothes that Chengyi had not had the time to dry.

She carefully hung and flattened the clothes so that they would be smooth when they dried up. Wiping the fine sweat on her forehead, she turned around inadvertently and found that the men had stopped talking long ago and was just staring at her thoughtfully.

She was embarrassed at first, but then smiled indifferently. Maybe they did not expect her to be able to do such a job. But life taught her more than they expected. In the cold palace, she would be even more careful to finish a chore. Not because she was too careful, but she cherished anything that can help her pass time. During summers, she would be bored and wash her sheets every other day, almost destroying the fabrics.

Actually, she has not seen Chengyi for a couple of years, so it was a little strange to wash his clothes for him. But when she saw the pile of clothes near the well, she just habitually picked it up and washed it. This made her heart at ease, making herself busy.

Jingxuan’s two entourage walked into the yard to say something, “Lord, what to you want for dinner? The slaves should already prepare early because there is nothing in this barren village but wild shops.”

Jingxuan was a little impatient. “Let us have whatever is available. We’re leaving early in the morning tomorrow so there’s no need to stir the crowd.”

The attendants bowed their head and stood outside the courtyard. When dinner comes, the horn of the dinner was blown in the camp and Jiang Liu who slept for a long time helped the guards arrange the meal.

Jingxuan’s entourage frowned at the crude food on the stone table. They exchanged embarrassed glances and one of them quickly went out.

Mei Li sat next to Chengyi. There were three dishes and one soup. Although they were coarse dishes, they were better than the ones she had in Anning Hall.

This girl has long been used to such rough tea and light rice. She even scooped some for Chengyi and did not bother giving Jingxuan any because she knew that normally, he could not east such dishes. She knew that his subordinates would prepare a more palatable meal for him.

“What are you doing?” As she was giving Chengyi the bowl, Jingxuan suddenly shouted coldly. Mei Li does not understand what she did wrong, until she saw him staring at Jiang Liu, “Are you the master or is she the master?”

Jiang Liu was terrified.

“Princess. Let me do it.” Jiang Liu panicked and snatched the bowl from her hands. She choked up.

Mei Li smiled apologetically. She was used to doing things herself, but in Jingxuan’s eyes, it was insubordination. They really viewed things differently.

“Scoop a bowl for me too.” He ordered Jiang Liu, the little girls guts had been scared by him.

Chengyi put the scrambled egg in Mei Li’s bowl. She smiled at him, each ate in silence. After being alone for so long, she was naturally silent during meals.

Jingxuan picked a piece of greens which was not cut at all. It was fried and a little overcooked. He put it in his mouth and frowned when he found it tasteless.

She and Chengyi… Have they eaten this kind of food for the past two years? He looked calmly at the two people opposite him who looked like the food was not bad at all. He could not say anything but in his heart, it was difficult.

Jingxuan’s entourage came back with trays of food. In one tray, a meal was especially made for him. Although the dish was simple, it was obviously hearty and fragrant. And there was actually a bowl of braised pork joints[6]. In the other tray were two jars of wine. Chengyi put down his bowl and chopsticks to pick up the jar.

Mei Li also put her utensils down and politely thanked, “I’ve eaten well…” Then she got up and collected the beddings that have already dried.

Jiang Liu glanced at the newly placed food on the table, but no one paid attention to it. She actually wanted to east such good food but was frightened by Jingxuan’s cold face.

The bowl suddenly fell from his hands, frightening Jiang Liu even more. She jumped up and ran to Mei Li even wishing she could hide under her skirt. Mei Li just smiled at her comfortingly, shook her head and continued on collecting the beddings. Obviously, she was not anymore affected by Jingxuan’s moods.

“Take these away! Withdraw!” He suddenly shouted at his entourage. “Get out of here!”

The two entourages hot faces were pressed on a cold ass[7]. They trembled and urged the other guards to withdraw the food before leaving.

---

Previous | Table of Contents | Next

---

Notes:

[1] 孝陵 (xiaoling) or literally tomb of filial piety is the Tomb of the Shunzi Emperor, the Kangxi Emperor’s father. Anyway she is meeting Chengyi and I don’t know before it was mentioned that he is guarding the 昭陵 (zhaoling), the tomb of the Taizong Emperor, so I’m not sure what changed, or he is guiding a lot of Tombs. I’m not sure, but I retained what was written.

[2] 贝勒 (beile) Prince of the 3rd rank in the Qing Dynasty Nobility Rank. But non-imperial members can also be called like this and has the title of Lord or Chief. Sometimes, it’s translated as Baylor

[3] “爷 (ye) can be a master, a lord or a gentleman

[4] 丰台大营 (Fengtai Daying) The elite army stationed in Fengtai, the station at the Inner district of Southwest Beijing

[5] Mei Li used the word 您(nin) again, a respectful way of saying “you” as she promised in the previous chapter.

[6] 红烧肘子 (hongshao zhouzi) pork joints in brown sauce

[7] 热脸贴了冷屁股 (re lian tie leng pi gu) It means they’ve showed warmth but was only repaid with coldness or to be snubbed despite showing good intentions. I retained the idiom because it was cute hehe

---

T/N: Sometimes, I really hate Jingxuan. I have also started scrubbing on the drama Desperate Love, and it did not help that Mickey He is Jingxuan I’m so sorry to his fans.

---

Previous | Table of Contents | Next