Princess Agents 特工皇妃楚喬傳
Chapter 121: Men Dispute, Women Battle
Translator's Notes: I skipped the chapters where Chu Qiao spent a lot of time with Li Ce. He is a very shrewd politician and though he is her friend, his motives are mixed with him being crown prince of Bian Tang. Still he cares enough to get in the way of the DaXia princess to protect Chu Qiao, but her peaceful time with him is at an end. Zhuge Yue has also entered the capital to thwart the princess' plans and rescue Chu Qiao. This whole time, he and Yan Xun have been searching for her.
The chapter begins with Chu Qiao once again in dire straits, finding an opportunity to escape. For some reason she has disguised herself as the princess. This is also the first time Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue meet again after the many months she spent recuperating in Bian Tang.
The sky was a darkened slate, clouds hung very low, the air very heavy. The wild wind wound its way around the trees and stone walls as it rolled and twisted on the ground. It howled like a wild beast and the trees swayed violently and it seemed as if they would soon be snapped in half. By now it was noon, but the sun was nowhere to be seen. Only a grayish light shrouded the city of Tang Jing.
A heavy rainstorm was brewing.
The carriage was driven so fast it seemed it was flying and the driver gave his all to shout at the horses, the soldiers rode their horses in formation, guarding the carriage. They followed along the carriage road alongside the city's wall, running at a fast pace inside the huge imperial city.
The strong wind rolled sand and fine pebbles against the carriage with a *shaa*.
Chu Qiao's hands were red with fresh blood and more than half of her white silk garment was covered in it. She maintained her composure as the watched the situation, waiting for the right time to escape.
She had to quickly find Yan Xun and by all accounts he should not have made it into the city yet, though he would certain appear today. He was most likely outside of the city. But once he found out the news of her demise she could not imagine what would happen then. Though Princess Zhao Chun'er was rather dumb, she did predict a few things correctly. She and Yan Xun were each other's help mates, but they were also each others' weakness.
As for Li Ce, she did not believe there was anyone who could properly predict his moves so easily. He was a fox, and he never counted on others, relying only on his own fortune. Even if something should happen, she also believed that Li Ce had the ability to easily turn things around.
The horses' hooves shattered the tranquility of the long carriage road. The autumn wind *whooshed* and the sand blew away, leaving and even harsher chill.
Seeing that the carriage was about to join the main thoroughfare and enter the city proper, Chu Qiao had to decide quickly. If she did not depart now it would be even more difficult to find an opportunity later. She grit her teeth a bit, her hand reached down to the blade she kept strapped on her calf, and she waited for the right moment.
But, at that time, the sound of a clear whistle suddenly broke through, followed by the sound of regular hoofbeats. Then came the sound of shooting bowstrings and the right moment had arrived!
The war horses suddenly screamed. In an instant DaXia soldiers and horses were thrown into confusion, followed by non-stop blood-curdling shrieks. The situation was extremely chaotic. Then from the tops of the trees and the walls lining both sides, deadly assailants soared down from above. Armed with curved bows they used flying daggers and arrows with great accuracy and impeccable force. The DaXia soldiers who had recently gone through large changes and reassignments were caught off guard and were far more inferior, which made it impossible for them to retaliate. Half of them were wounded and falling off their horses, and the nearly three hundred troop contingency was instantly routed!
"The heavens have helped me!"
Chu Qiao's heart did not often feel joy. In addition to Zhao Chun'er, her list of enemies was quite long. So this would be a godsend and she would be a fool to not take this chance.
She agilely jumped from the carriage, and just as she was about to slip away a cold, indistinct blade tip pointed at her from the front, with two more black-clad men on the right and left as support.
Chu Qiao clenched her teeth. It seemed these people's target was indeed the unlucky princess, Zhao Chun'er.
She wrenched her body around and took a darting charge forward, meeting force with force in each strike in a contest to see who was faster!
Chu Qiao sent two vicious flying kicks to their lower section, which was followed by two piercing cries. On this strange, long street, the sound was exceptionally savage. Chu Qiao did not have time to look back and admire her handiwork, and her feet hit the ground running. Seeing that her opponents were also enemies of Zhao Chun'er, she did not use deadly force, but whether those two men who had just received her flying kicks to the groin could still be men in the future was not within the range of her consideration.
The raging aura of death and the flash of blades with the image of clashing swords was everywhere. The men in black were extremely ruthless and it seemed they planned not to leave anyone alive. The man following behind her in pursuit carried a broad axe and when he saw a living person he swung at them full in the face, leaving the body count to include fierce blood splatter and white brain matter. Ordinary people would most likely vomit at the sight.
How vicious!
Chu Qiao narrowed her eyes slightly and transferred all her body strength into an unrestrained sprint and her pace became shockingly fast. In a moment, if she left this street she would encounter the main thoroughfare. Even if she accomplished that, she didn't believe these people would have the audacity to attack on the main street.
Her opponents seemed to see through her intent. Suddenly a dark shadow came up from behind. He was extremely fast, his skill was not inferior to hers, and in an instant he approached her. In another five or six steps he would be running shoulder to shoulder with her. As he ran he drew the bow on his back and pulled the string taut, and with a *shou* he fired it at her!
At this time, Chu Qiao's head was still wrapped in a white head scarf, her face was covered in blood and her full head of long hair was scattered everywhere in front of her like a madwoman. But this did not hinder her movements or her eyesight. She could see that her opponent was aiming for her thigh. She grabbed a bulge on the wall and borrowed its strength to lever her entire body. She heard a *ka-cha* and knew that the arrowhead had struck the wall and was simultaneously broken off, but she could certainly tell how much force the other person was using.
A good strategy!
Chu Qiao narrowed her eyes. She could see her opponent's attacks were not discouraged, but instead he drew another sharp arrow.
How could he continuously hope to succeed? Chu Qiao grunted coldly, and reached for something on her chest, followed by a stern rebuke, "Hidden weapon!"
After her match with the central imperial army, Chu Qiao was already at the end of her rope. She had used up all her strength, this was a critical juncture, and she unexpectedly had to use her last move. Even though her throat had turned coarse and she had no means of using her original voice, in such a life and death situation, that man still heard it.
She only saw his extremely agile dark shadow react, his figure turning over to take shelter. But taking into account the situation, what hidden weapon could she have?
Looking back, he saw Chu Qiao had already run far, and unsatisfied, he grunted coldly and again followed in pursuit.
She had reached a remote cluster of small alleys and lanes, and Chu Qiao ignored the figure following her like her own shadow. She fled by any path, taking turns left and right down random alleys.
But not long thereafter, she felt something was amiss. Her opponent's reactions were too quick. She was fast, but so was he. When she slowed, so did he. She turned a corner and her opponent didn't even need moment's worth of reaction time. Their pace was the same, their speed was the same and their moves were consistent. He was her shadow from beginning to end, without even saying a word!
What kind of person had that idiot Zhao Chun'er provoked?
Chu Qiao became exceedingly angry, and an idea flashed through her mind. A large banyan tree stood in the middle of her path and Chu Qiao narrowed her eyes. She rushed forward then suddenly stopped very abruptly. The figure flashed by and she was entirely concealed by the the banyan.
Following normal logic, it was improbable that someone would suddenly stop in this situation without any preparation, even if that person was extremely agile. According to her plan, when he stopped he should be ahead of her, and that was when she would draw her dagger.
But at that moment, an acute sense of danger suddenly struck her heart, and Chu Qiao instantly crouched down without hesitation. Then, from the other side of the tree she could sense the flash of a blade scrape across her scalp. She even felt a few strands of hair lightly fall down from both sides!
In that instant Chu Qiao could hardly contain herself and wanted to yell at him. The other person seemed to have been able to foresee even this trick of hers. His pace, his speed and his control was just right. Just as she was earnestly calculating her plans against the other person, the other person had already decided how he would counter it!
Really, his interference was depressing!
In a flash Chu Qiao had already activated all the nerves in her brain devoted to fighting, adjusted her posture and prepared to fight her best battle yet.
If she didn't kill him now her modern-day instructors would never forgive her, for she had the reputation of all modern agents to uphold.
But in that moment there was a sudden scream above her head, bearing down menacingly, bringing with it a fierce sound of wind. Chu Qiao was shocked, and before she could even react to whatever it was, her back was already in pain for something had fallen squarely on her, and the pain almost made her spit blood!
But everything that happened next would really want to make her spit blood. (TN: in anger)
Immediately afterwards, the seven or eight year old boy sitting on her back back began his high-pitched wail, wiping his garish face and crying loudly!
It turned out that before she had come, there was already a child playing in the tree. And here she claimed to be a super commander of the army, but she didn't even know there was someone in the tree. In the process of their impending battle, the child's hands became unsteady and he fell from the sky onto Chu Qiao!
Was this not something to cause her to vomit blood?
Just as Chu Qiao pushed the child away, trying to rectify this fluke, and planned to counter this hopeless situation, a fighting sword pointed at her neck.
A gathering of footsteps soon followed to surround her, adding a few more blades to accompany the first. Chu Qiao angrily lifted her head to glare at the crying child. She heard someone whisper, "Never expected the princess' skills would be so good."
Another one added, "The Zhao family began as horsemen and archers. It wouldn't be surprising if they knew a bit of martial arts. But I didn't think the princess' skills would be this good."
What did they call Zhao Chun'er?
Princess? Were they from DaXia?
A horseman from a distance approached their group and a man with his face wrapped in a head scarf dismounted and ran over to them. "Our people are still providing the diversion, we still have time."
The man in black who was Chu Qiao's immediate opponent nodded. The person next to him said, "Take her, we'll head to the square."
One of men in black guarding her said, "Put down your weapon."
People who entered under the eaves must lower their head, as the saying went.
Her weapon clattered to the ground and Chu Qiao considered whether she should reveal herself to these unidentified people and tell them she was not Zhao Chun'er.
At this time, the skillful man in black suddenly came forward, stretched out his long and powerful arm, and took Chu Qiao by the chin. Chu Qiao grunted disdainfully, unexpected shook off his hold, and bit down on his hand!
You could almost hear the sound of her teeth crunching down on his flesh, and a fresh trickle of blood dripped down from the man's wound. Chu Qiao's face was thin and white, her eyes wide as her chin dripped with his blood. Her expression was like that of an unyielding wolf, viciously starting back at the man.
"Ah!" someone whispered in alarm but no one came forward to react to Chu Qiao's bold offense and reckless act of defiance.
The man looked at Chu Qiao, seemingly stunned and let her continue to bite him, without moving or saying a word. The black cloth wrapped around his head only revealed his eyes, but in those eyes, aside from the initial shock, was the hint of a smile.
Chu Qiao was stunned. These eyes were too familiar. Like an idiot she slowly released her bite, looking up at him with a wooden stare.
"Ha, ha!"
The man suddenly burst into laughter, took off his head scarf and pulled Chu Qiao up. He opened both arms and held her tightly to his chest in an embrace.
"I knew you wouldn't die so easily!"
Zhuge Yue was like a happy child, laughing loudly. His eyes were full of mirth though his complexion was a bit pale. His chin even had the bluish tinge of stubble growth. The sound of his voice was a bit too happy, but his arms squeezed her ever so tightly, as if he wanted to merge Chu Qiao into his own body!
Chu Qiao's head was pressed against his chest, and through his well muscled torso she could hear his strong heart beat. She recalled everything that had happened before, and her vision started to blur. After escaping by the skin of her teeth, there was some sentiment wildly wreaking havoc in her chest, leaving her a little beside herself in the moment. She unexpected opened her arms to wrap them around Zhuge Yue's waist, burying her face in his chest, and let her tears flow freely.
Translator's Notes: Awwwwwwwww…… Zhuge Yue had come to thwart the princess in a pell-mell fashion, concocting a plan in haste if his pale complexion and stubble are any indication of his frantic effort to save Chu Qiao.
Not surprisingly, they always fight when they meet again. It's also adorable how happy he was to see her, so even though their interaction is short in this chapter, I wanted to translate it.
It's hilariou how Chu Qiao always calls the princess "dumb" or an "idiot" -- we can see she doesn't think very highly of her ^_^; Li Ce also makes a very public move in this chapter against the crazy princess, but I skipped it.
We are nearing the end of this story arc before we head into the territory of the "Frozen Lake" scene that has kept everyone on edge since the end of Season One. I will take my time translating the next emotionally charged scene between Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao before she leaves him (again) to go to Yan Xun. --KERO
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