Four Seasons Brocade – CH 187

Chapter 187 ☆、

Before Ah Wu even realized it, she was already naturally acting coquettishly and throwing a tantrum with Chu Mao, without any worry that His Highness would not accept it.

“What a pity, I was hoping to keep it a secret for a few more days.” Chu Mao asked again, “Did He Shui let it slip?”

“That’s your problem; how can you blame someone else?” Ah Wu sensed something was wrong with Chu Mao’s words.

Chu Mao narrowed his eyes. “Are you pleading for He Shui?”

“This is not He Shui’s fault.” Ah Wu raised her voice.

“Ah Wu, your pleading for He Shui will only worsen my punishment for him,” Chu Mao said sternly.

Ah Wu did not immediately understand Chu Mao’s meaning, but then felt incredibly stupid. She had come to confront him, but Chu Mao had somehow managed to pin the blame on He Shui.

“I do not care about him; you are all in on it,” Ah Wu said angrily. “Chu Mao, your hand is perfectly fine. How can you make me give you, give you… that…” Ah Wu could not bring herself to say it.

“I am indeed injured.” Chu Mao unbuttoned his clothes, revealing bandages, which he then untied in front of Ah Wu. “Look, you even applied medicine for me.”

Chu Mao did indeed have two arrow wounds on his shoulder, appearing to have scabbed over and then reopened, revealing cracked scabs. It seemed the wounds had been reopened when he drew the bow earlier that day.

Ah Wu now understood. Chu Mao was indeed injured, but not as severely as he made it out to be. She had been foolish enough to fall into his trap. She simply had not expected that Prince Qi, praised for his celestial appearance, would resort to such a despicable trick.

“But you… your hand can… it can move!” Ah Wu stammered, her anger rising.

“Yes, my hand can move. Are you wondering why I did this?” Chu Mao looked at Ah Wu without a trace of shame.

Ah Wu blinked her large, watery eyes, pouted, and remained silent, tacitly agreeing with Chu Mao.

“Ah Wu, tell me, what am I doing this for?” Chu Mao looked at Ah Wu, then slowly said, “What do you think a husband would do if he resorted to such petty tricks to win his wife’s affection?”

Ah Wu felt He Shui was absolutely right. Prince Qi was a master archer, hitting her squarely with a single blow, shattering her with a bang.

Ah Wu lowered her eyes, staring silently at her toes. She felt guilty and ashamed. She had come angrily to confront him, but now Chu Mao was the one questioning her, and she felt rude. It was an unexpected turn of events, Ah Wu sighed.

Then Ah Wu felt Chu Mao gently stroking her head. She let him pull her onto his lap, her cheek pressed against his chest, listening to him say, “The insult Jinguo Erhan inflicted on you today, I will make you get reparations yourself in a few days, alright?”

Ah Wu looked up at Chu Mao, surprised by his words, but her heart felt incredibly warmed, every pore of her skin soothed. She wanted to vent all her grievances and frustration on Jinguo Erhan.

“Alright,” Ah Wu nodded.

Seeing Ah Wu so obedient, her cheeks flushed, her face like snow, her long eyelashes casting butterfly-like shadows in the lamplight, like feathers tickling his heart, and her elegant, white neck, Chu Mao could not resist kissing Ah Wu’s cheek. Not satisfied, he opened his mouth and gently bit her cheek. He loved her so much that he had to exert all his strength to control himself from biting down hard.

Ah Wu fanned her nose, making a disgusted face. “Stinky.”

Chu Mao gently pinched Ah Wu’s nose, stood up, and said, “Serve me during my bath!”

“You wish!” Ah Wu turned her head away.

“I spoil you.” Chu Mao smiled and walked out.

That night, Ah Wu slept terribly. When she woke up in the morning, her whole body was stiff and aching. She naturally understood that there was something different about her and Chu Mao, or rather, Chu Mao had already removed the biggest obstacle with his cunning. Last night, when Chu Mao held her as they slept, Ah Wu could clearly feel that hard, hot, ugly thing behind her, like a ball of fire.

Even if Ah Wu was slow to realize it, she sensed the danger Chu Mao posed. Although she had overcome some of her obstacles, it did not mean she could immediately accept Chu Mao doing those things to her, as in the picture book—it was truly shameful.

So, Ah Wu spent the entire night with her back straight, trying her best to keep a little distance from that guy. As a result, nothing happened until morning, and Ah Wu breathed a sigh of relief. She only managed to catch up on some sleep after Chu Mao got up.

The following days also passed peacefully, which was completely unexpected for Ah Wu. Her usually prideful intelligence was defeated by this miscalculation.

However, Ah Wu slept facing Chu Mao every night, her mind focused on avoiding that burning heat, thus neglecting the two flames burning against her back—flames that could consume anything, their heat and aggression, their greed and desire terrifyingly intense.

His Highness Prince Qi, of course, would not consummate his marriage with his beloved wife in such a humble place. Even if it was incredibly difficult and painful, even if it meant taking a cold shower in winter, he would endure it. Moreover, even the most greedy among them, before savoring a delicious meal, would deliberately pause for a while, just to let the enticing aroma linger at their noses, stirring up even deeper, more intense desires and yearnings fueled by unfulfilled passions. This waiting only made the food taste even better, allowing for a longer period of enjoyment.

Chu Mao sniffed and nuzzled Ah Wu’s neck repeatedly. Ah Wu was completely unaware that in Chu Mao’s eyes, she had become a delicious feast, just waiting for him to reach for his chopsticks.

That day, Chu Mao was looking at a map again, and Ah Wu rested her chin on her hand, looking at it with him.

“Where do you think Jinguo Erhan will hide this time?” Chu Mao casually asked Ah Wu.

This question had actually lingered in Ah Wu’s mind countless times. She pointed with her cute little finger to Liuye Pass, the closest pass to the Luobei Grassland. Beyond Liuye Pass lay the stronghold of Jinguo Erhan. Once the nomadic tribes entered the grasslands, they would vanish like shooting stars; even the wise and courageous Prince Qi might not be able to capture Jinguo Erhan.

“Oh, how so?” Chu Mao turned to look at Ah Wu.

“His Highness said this was the last time he would be released. He’s been captured eight times by His Highness; he cannot possibly be without inner demons. His Highness is probably invincible in his heart now, so I guess he would not dare gamble with himself again, wandering near His Highness. Once Jinguo Erhan enters Liuye Pass, he will be like a fish returning to the sea. But even so, that day in the main tent, Jinguo Erhan still dared to ask you for me. This shows he’s arrogant, conceited, and unwilling to admit defeat. So I guess he’s prepared to leave Liuye Pass at any time, but he will not actually flee back to the grasslands.”

Chu Mao pointed to Liuye Pass. “Alright, let’s go to Liuye Pass and see if my Ah Wu is right.”

“But is His Highness really confident that after capturing Jinguo Erhan this time, he will submit?” Ah Wu asked.

“No,” Chu Mao replied briefly.

“Then why does Your Highness keep releasing him? Would it not be better to kill him?” Ah Wu asked, puzzled. Having spent so long in Luobei, Ah Wu was sick of hearing the name Jinguo Erhan—how he murdered his father to seize the throne, how he unified the Luobei grasslands, how valiant he was in battle. Ah Wu felt that such a ruthless leader must be eliminated quickly; otherwise, he would become a future threat.

“Oh, how so?” Chu Mao seemed somewhat interested.

Ah Wu hesitated for a moment, then spoke, not to show off, but because she feared Chu Mao’s teasing nature might lead him astray. “Now, Great Xia is strong and powerful, with a wise ruler and capable ministers. Jinguo Erhan has submitted today, but what if Great Xia weakens in a few decades, and the Tatars achieve unification? Would that not be a future disaster?”

With his eyes, Chu Mao encouraged Ah Wu to continue.

“I thought that after killing Jinguo Erhan and dividing the various tribes of the Luobei grasslands, the border people might have a few more years of peace.” Throughout history, the Central Plains dynasties had indeed used this method to suppress the northern barbarians, and it had proven effective time and again.

Ah Wu felt Chu Mao pat her head again, like an elder comforting a junior who had made a mistake.

“Our Great Xia Dynasty has to wage war against Luobei almost every five years. The longest period of peace has only lasted ten years. The money and grain from Jiangnan are all used to pay the army, the national treasury is empty, and the Ministry of Revenue is constantly complaining of poverty, robbing Peter to pay Paul. It’s only because of the favorable weather these past two years that the crisis has not materialized, allowing us to maintain a semblance of peace. If a major disaster were to occur, I fear the nation would be in grave danger.”

Chu Mao pulled Ah Wu onto his lap. “For hundreds of years, the invasions of the northern barbarians have been the most troublesome problem for every dynasty. The fall of a nation is often due to internal strife and external aggression. I’ve been thinking, did we make a mistake in our initial attitude towards them?”

“A mistake?” Ah Wu looked at Chu Mao, puzzled.

“Yes. They repeatedly invade and attack, and we repeatedly resist and fight back, suffering countless deaths and injuries. The endless wars only bring a few years of temporary peace. I’ve been thinking, is there not a way to solve this once and for all?”

Ah Wu looked at Chu Mao, thinking that His Highness Prince Qi was being delusional.

“Remember the Northern Wei? The Northern Wei marched south, Xiahou became Emperor, and they lasted only one dynasty. There were no northern threats. Emperor Taizu of Wei revered the Han and respected virtue; he was truly Sinicized, his daily life and habits reflecting the Central Plains.”

Ah Wu interrupted, “Does Your Highness mean that letting the Northern barbarians invade again and rule the Central Plains will bring peace to the world?”

Chu Mao laughed. “Why are you in such a hurry? What’s wrong with the Northern barbarians ruling the Central Plains? Who rules the country is the same. Besides, to be honest, did our Great Xia’s founding Emperor not also have Northern barbarian blood? I think we do not need to distinguish between the Central Plains and the Northern barbarians; the world is one family, and then there will be no more foreign aggression.”

“That’s true. It’s all turned into internal strife. Your Highness makes it sound so easy. So far, who has ever fought alongside the Central Plains and the Northern Barbarians? The Northern Barbarians are brave and skilled in battle. You chase them, they scatter; you retreat, they gather. Even if you win temporarily, which Central Plains person would be willing to migrate to the Northern Barbarian lands? If you win but do not occupy, once they recover, the old situation will return.”

“That’s true, but you still see them as barbarians, while I consider them my brothers and sisters, just like the Han people.”

“How can they be like us, Han people? They eat raw meat and drink blood; they are utterly barbaric and uncivilized,” Ah Wu argued.

Chu Mao continued, seeing Ah Wu’s confused look: “There’s a saying, ‘The sea accepts all rivers; its capacity is great.’ Their nomadic lifestyle and hunting are simply habits, just like you like sweets, while I do not. Essentially, there’s no difference. So what if they eat raw meat and drink blood? They are all children of Heaven.”

Ah Wu remained silent, but her face still showed disapproval.

“Since you say they are barbaric and uncivilized, historically, whenever foreign tribes invaded the Central Plains, regardless of the duration, they ultimately respected Han customs. This shows they, too, were loyal to the Han. It’s just that we in the Central Plains are stubbornly conservative, viewing them as different. Unable to obtain what they desire, they resort to plunder. You should go to the border. There, the Han and non-Han peoples are not so different. They trade and benefit from each other; Han and non-Han people live together, and they secretly intermarry. Their children are mostly assimilated into Han culture. Imagine if we completely opened the borders, treating them like people from the Northwest and the Northeast, allowing intermarriage between Han and non-Han peoples. A hundred years later, where would the talk of ‘barbarians’ come from, and where would the border troubles come from?”

Ah Wu blinked, having to admit that Prince Qi’s idea was novel and not without merit.

“But this journey will be fraught with difficulties. How many people possess Your Highness’s magnanimity, and who dares to open the border?”

“Ah Wu, but if we do not do it, we will never know how far we can go. My lifelong wish is to permanently stabilize the border and never again let the Great Xia Dynasty suffer from the chaos of the north.”

Ah Wu looked into Chu Mao’s eyes and could read the determination and passion within them. She was moved by Chu Mao’s ambition and wanted to stand by him regardless of everything. “Although I cannot yet be certain whether Your Highness’s idea can truly be realized, I am willing to do my utmost for the day Your Highness speaks of.”

“Just stay by my side.” Chu Mao took Ah Wu’s hand and kissed it.

“Your Highness has not mentioned Jinguo Erhan yet,” Ah Wu nudged Chu Mao.

“Jinguo Erhan is the wolf king of the grasslands, fierce and intelligent. Otherwise, he could not have unified Luobei in just ten years. Many of his concubines are women from the Central Plains, and you can tell from his fluent Han Chinese speech that he yearns for Central Plains culture. I think he might be the one who can help me achieve the unification of Han and non-Han peoples,” Chu Mao said.

“Since Your Highness values ​​him so much, why go through all this trouble? Can you not just tell him directly?” Ah Wu asked.

“Men of the grasslands only admire heroes. If I do not completely crush Jinguo Erhan, even if he temporarily submits, given his ambition, he will surely resume hostilities. I will make him understand that as long as the Great Xia Dynasty exists, Jinguo Erhan will never be able to trample the Central Plains!”

Chu Mao’s words were filled with heroic spirit, stirring Ah Wu’s blood. She could not help but kiss Chu Mao on the cheek; she loved how he looked now.

For a moment, both Ah Wu and Chu Mao paused. Ah Wu’s earlobes quickly turned as red as rubies, while Chu Mao cupped her face and kissed her passionately.

“Go to sleep early. Tomorrow I will take you to avenge yourself,” Chu Mao said.

“How will I avenge myself? With my fists?” Ah Wu laughed, raising her fist.

Chu Mao could not resist kissing Ah Wu’s cute little pink fist. “Of course not.” Chu Mao took out a box and pulled out a strangely shaped object.

“A musket!” Ah Wu blurted out. During her time hovering around Emperor Zhengyuan, she had seen this incredibly powerful weapon countless times.

“You know it?!” Chu Mao was somewhat surprised, kissing Ah Wu again. “It seems our Princess Qi is truly an all-knowing and talented woman.”

Ah Wu gave Chu Mao a reproachful look.

“Since you already know, I will not say any more.” Chu Mao put the musket back in its case, took Ah Wu’s hand, and led her to a map of the Great Xia Dynasty. He frowned, somewhat worried, and said, “Ah Wu, I am afraid we do not have enough time. If internal strife continues, how will we deal with the enemies coming from the other side of the sea?”

Chu Mao pointed to the sea area and said, “I have a feeling that our Great Xia’s greatest enemy in the future will come from the sea. They have invented muskets, while we have not. Ah Wu, think about it: what would it be like if people with muskets landed on our soil?”

Ah Wu gripped Chu Mao’s hand tighter, looking into his eyes for the first time with earnest sincerity, and said, “Your Highness, you must become Emperor.”

“Yes, my Empress.” Chu Mao smiled and bowed to Ah Wu. Looking at Chu Mao making her bed from behind, Ah Wu understood for the first time why he had raised an army to usurp the throne. Compared to the fate of the Great Xia Dynasty, the weight of personal honor and disgrace was self-evident.

Ah Wu could not help but hug Chu Mao’s waist from behind, saying, “It’s truly amazing that the future Emperor is making my bed. I am so honored.”

Chu Mao turned around and kissed Ah Wu again. “Sleep now. I am going to the main tent for a meeting. Bing-Shuang will be guarding outside. Call her if anything happens.”

Ah Wu nodded. Before leaving, Chu Mao pulled her back and kissed her passionately again. Ah Wu suspected her cheeks were about to turn blue from the kiss. She still could not understand or get used to Prince Qi’s fondness for such things.