Princess Agents 特工皇妃楚喬傳 Chapter 176 English novel translation

Princess Agents - 特工皇妃楚喬傳 

Synopsis:  The next few chapters conclude the wistful and tragic story of Li Ce condensed into three to four chapters.  I'm not sure why the author decided to end things like this for one of the most lovable characters in the novel, but then, there it is.

We start with the inner turmoil of Bian Tang and how Li Ce had to quell a rebellion against his half-brother (same mother, different father) whom he grew up with since childhood, Li Luo, who crowned himself king.  Chu Qiao and her entourage did not make it to Bian Tang after parting ways with Zhuge Yue, and instead were waylaid at Han Sui.  Despite her status with the emperor she could not get to the capital. Han Sui ran into famine and plague as a result of the war, but Chu Qiao and her group stayed out of it for the most part, as they had packed for long distance travel and camped outside the city.

The entire rebellion lasted 11 days, and Li Ce prevailed while his brother was erased from the annals of history.   It was a rather sad affair, since Li Ce relied on his general Xu Su, who was brother-in-law to Li Luo.  The general's sister ended up committing suicide.  From what I could tell, since I skipped many of the earlier Bian Tang chapters, Li Ce had only ever been in love with one woman, a childhood friend named Fu'er who was in love with Li Luo.  Their parents ended up marrying her to Li Ce, likely against her will, and she died early.  After the rebellion, he buried Li Luo next to her, but he executed Li Luo's entire family.  (Perhaps it is because of this other woman that Li Ce supported Chu Qiao wholeheartedly to choose her own path in life.)

When Chu Qiao finally makes it back into the palace she has no other place to go.  In the process of the war, her inn and the entire scholar town was burnt to the ground so Bian Tang was as good a place to stay as any.  

When she visits Li Ce she sits next to him, rather than opposite him, as she is aware that place is reserved for the dead.  He is getting drunk alone and looks rather miserable, which makes her want to cry, to which he replies, "I'm not dead yet."   He explains that when he became crown prince, he wanted to fulfill Li Luo's dream of being a scholar by opening a history bureau for him, but never got to tell him after Fu'er died.  (Her death drove a stake between them.)  Chu Qiao just listens to him, knowing that he needs a sympathetic ear.

Zhuge Yue has since taken to writing to her (something she accused him of not being able to do in an earlier chapter).  He doesn't mention any of the turmoil he's been embroiled in with the DaXia princes.  Bian Tang's inner conflict eased pressure on Da Xia's border.  Prince Zhao Che had been waylaid by a snowstorm.  Zhao Yang took the opportunity to make some progress towards Bian Tang and positioned himself 30 miles outside of the capital.  Zhuge Yue then took 5,000 QingHai escorts to face off with him.  If Wei Shuye had not come in the next 3 hours, it would have been a mess.  He didn't mention a thing to her in the letter, but she had to learn it from the mouth of the guard who delivered the letter.  The messenger told her how nerve wracking it was for 5,000 QingHai guards to face off 30,000 Southern Army soldiers. 

Now that the DaXia emperor was on his deathbed, the Zhao princes were starting to move. While Chu Qiao is unoccupied she goes to the temple to pray for the safety of her loved one.  She remembered the Dowager Empress had once asked her son not to tear down this temple and to worship Buddha.  

She also comes across He Xiao after years of separation, who is now a third-ranked officer guarding Li Ce's inner harem.  She explains that she did not want to abandon them, and she considered him one of her best friends having been through thick and thin together.  He responds that he had also been selfish since he had seen all her inner turmoil in Yan Bei.  He should not have placed the responsibility on her that drove her to go against the king and end up like this.  The emperor said that she needed to let go of the past to attain happiness, so He Xiao wishes her well, hoping she can choose to live for herself.  He is embarking to the southwest for his next assignment, and perhaps there will not be a chance of them meeting again.  Chu Qiao realizes he already knows she is going to QingHai.  She calls him 'brother' while he calls her 'little Qiao', they exchange farewells and part ways.  

For the most part, Chu Qiao avoids Li Ce's grand parties for the New Year, preferring the quiet seclusion of her place in Jin Wu palace.  On the 28th day of the 12th month, a long string of beautiful carriages pulled up to Jin Wu palace, each laden with precious gems and jewels, furs, brocades, art and antiques, calligraphy and other luxuries as far as the imagination could reach.  Not only that, but also many things that girls would love, such as palace clothes, shoes, bright red hairpins, top grade flowers, coral decorations up to three feet high, rare orchids, a curtained screen inlaid with eastern pearls, jades that glowed in the night, and even things from overseas like matches, telescopes, simple chiming clocks, foreign women's clothing, and specialty products like foreign medicines.  Altogether, twenty carts and 200 boxes large and small were delivered to her doorstep.

What was more ridiculous was the inclusion of some indigenous produce, some ugly looking squash things.  Chu Qiao realized this was the QingHai melon Zhuge Yue had once written to her about.  When she put it to her nose it was slightly was fragrant, and a sudden sweetness overcame her heart.  She concluded these ugly melons were worth more to her than the other treasures he had sent.  (TN: ^__^)

These melons had been treated with great care, each wrapped in red cloth and tied with red string. She knows the locals in Qing Hai had gone to great lengths at their master's bidding.  To one of these melons his letter is tied.  She opens the golden envelope and sees his flying, thin handwriting in great volume.  He always does this.  Even the tone of his letters are awkward.  He speaks of weather, politics, economy, like the cordial banter between two heads of state.  And then, at the very last part he gives a strange warning, "Make sure you secure your doors and windows at night as a precaution against unsavory people." 

Li Ce sees what he had written and flies into a fit accusing Zhuge Yue of badmouthing him behind his back; and Chu Qiao generally stays out of it knowing they were both probably guilty.  Still, at the very end of this letter, he writes, "I am entangled in a difficult situation and will not be able to spend the spring banquet with you.  Next year, on the day when the spring flowers bloom I will fulfill my promise.  Wait for me."  (TN: So I guess all these gifts were for her was part of an apology for asking her to wait another year)

In response she draws a little cartoon of two figures, one serious and awkward, another smart and delicate on a high hilltop, staring at a grassy green plain before them,  with various cattle and sheep in the distance.  Further out, she drew a large ocean.  Beneath the "letter" she wrote, "Waiting for you."

She lets herself be selfish and willful with him, and she must believe once more.

Then, in March, Li Ce's second son dies of fever, leaving him only one son, six, and one daughter, four.  Chu Qiao visits him again and sees he has gotten very drunk. He asks her desperately as he clings to her, "Is it because my hands are stained with blood?"

In May, another of Li Ce's concubines, Zhan Ziming (from book 2), entered the palace to give birth to another child, a son, which puts the whole palace into celebration mode again.  Li Ce named this boy, QingRong.  The Dowager Empress was not in attendance and Chu Qiao's  attendant at JinWu palace told her the empress had not been seen in the palace for many years, having gone into seclusion at AnYing temple.

A few days earlier, Zhuge Yue had sent a pair of beautiful twin HuDi birds to her.  They were rumored to be paired for life, and if one died the other would not survive.  (TN: awwww, who said he wasn't romantic?)  Chu Qiao renames them as lovebirds, and she is unusually attached to them.  She hand feeds them herself and the female became really friendly to Chu Qiao, while the male bird always squawks angrily at everyone.  

Li Ce also liked the birds and came to tease them every so often.

One night, while she was sleeping, Chu Qiao finds a drunk Li Ce in her bedroom.  (TN: ^__^ Zhuge Yue was right to warn her…)  He holds her in a tight embrace, and she strokes his back to ease his loneliness and pain.  She asks him if he was mistaking her for Fu'er, who also lived in JinWu palace.  Li Ce laughs it off and said Fu'er's figure was much nicer than hers.  When he leaves she saw he had left his jade ring behind, and she calls out for him to take it back.  He says he'll come back for it tomorrow, and in frustration she accidentally jams her bare foot against the door frame and bled everywhere.  She has a frightful premonition after that.

The next night her attendant and MeiXiang rushes into her bedroom saying there had been an attempt on the emperor's life.  Chu Qiao dropped his ring, and it chipped a corner.  He had been stabbed by an old eunuch who was loyal to Li Luo while staying in the temple.  Chu Qiao was a bit incredulous since Li Ce was careful not to allow people near him and he was strictly guarded.  

The doctor is tasked to seek two people for the emperor, Minister Su Di and Chu Qiao.  Before the watchful eyes of the court, Chu Qiao enters Li Ce's chambers.  He looks terrible, but he says with a raspy smile, "Scared you both."  A dagger wound an inch away from his heart is carefully bandaged, and Chu Qiao is really afraid for him.

Li Ce explains that under these circumstances he is unable to personally prepare a dowry for her, and has to rely on Minister Sun to do it for him, jokingly saying he doesn't know whether the minister will be corrupt or cheap and try to pocket the goods.  Chu Qiao smiles back and tells him she'll keep an eye on him.

He looks tired and Chu Qiao tells him to rest.  In turn he asks that she stay with him.  She does as he asks and sees the doctor come by to change his dressing several times.  Her worries about the wound grow but she says nothing.  She stays for three days, and Li Ce looks as though he is improving.  It was then that the Dowager Empress comes to visit.  Chu Qiao was shocked to see the Queen Mother had turned very old, with a full head of white hair, deep wrinkles everywhere, her eyes red and sunken.

Chu Qiao accompanies the haggard looking woman to Li Ce's temple chamber, and is told to leave by the Queen's attendant.  Mei Xiang wants to say something, but Chu Qiao says it was appropriate to leave and give the mother time with her son.  Her attendant added that the Queen will not harm her own son.  When Minister Sun arrives he rushes towards the temple, saying news of the emperor's assassination attempt is not known outside the inner palace, and the queen would not have heard of this news so quickly.

A sudden scream made both Chu Qiao and Sun Di rush into the temple, only to see the woman holding a bloody dagger.  "I will kill you!  I will kill you and avenge Luo'er!!  You are all beasts, damn you all. I will avenge my husband and my son!"

When she looked at Li Ce it was as if she sees through him for the first time.  She clearly sees his happiness, anger, grief and joy.  She saw the affection in his eyes he had suppressed and hid deep in his heart and the desolation that was like the pure white snowy outer regions north of the Great Wall.

Li Ce looks at his mother with a bone-weary exhaustion, without shock or anger.  Chu Qiao is petrified to see him thus and goes blank. She knows other people are pulling her to leave, but she only screams loudly and rushes into the inner hall.  Several guards block her way, and Li Ce shouted for them to let her go, all the while pouring blood from his mouth and chest.  She stays all day while the crowd of doctors and attendants busy over him.  And in the evening, when she hears the choking sobs of the imperial doctor Chu Qiao finally faints.

I'm going to go into detail about Li Ce's final moments because I really like Li Ce and it's my tribute to such a fun character in these novels, the only really multi-dimensional character in the entire series.  This ends up being a catalyst for helping Chu Qiao rise to awesomeness again, so I am grateful to his character. 

When she wakes in the darkness Sun Di comes to get her, saying the emperor wishes to see her.  When she goes to see him, he is colder than her own fingers when she touches him.  He opens his eyes and looks at her quietly, ever so calm, as he said "Qiao, Qiao…."

Her tears roll down as her grief is caught in her throat, and she sees how much weight he has lost in these few days.  He touches her face and tells her not to cry.  Chu Qiao blames herself for not being with him when it happened, and he says she was not to blame, for no one would have suspected that a mother would do such a thing to her own child.  He tells her he had wanted to personally marry her off, but now he cannot.  Chu Qiao stubbornly refuses to believe he will die, and in her panic and misery she begs him to stay.

"If you are gone, what will happen to me?  If something happened to me who will come help me? I don't even have anywhere to live right now, who will I shamelessly live off of?"  To this Li Ce replies, "So in the end, I was just a sucker."  The years of their friendship was like a clear spring rolling past them through the lonely and cold air between them. She no longer had the strength to look at him, like her heart was being gouged out by a knife.  He then told her, "I've sent word to Zhuge Four. (a nickname for Zhuge Yue.  It could also be interpreted as a play on words meaning Zhuge Die, or Damned Zhuge.  Zhuge Yue calls him Li Fox -- a sly, untrustworthy person)  Someone will escort you to him, and you will go with him."  Chu Qiao bit her lip.  "In the future, don't hesitate, and don't throw fits of childish temper."  (TN: he knows her too well…)

He then asks her to help him up, and though she didn't want to because he was too wounded to do it, he was resolute.  She then helps him fix his hair because he complained of it being messy.  As she combs his hair each stroke brings back the memory of their relationship over the years and her hands tremble though he didn't turn around to see it.  When she is done he turns around and smiled charmingly, asking, "Do I look better?"  Of course he is handsome as ever, though his complexion was pale like white jade.

"Totally awesome."  (TN: Chu Qiao uses modern slang here)

"Are you praising me?"

She nods and he gives her a brilliant smile, just like old times.

Holding back the sadness in her heart, she asks him, "Li Ce, do you still have any wishes?"  (TN: last requests, unfulfilled….)

"Wishes?"  He thinks for a while before lightly chuckling, "Not anymore."  

His breathing suddenly becomes labored, he turns to her and reaches out his hand remotely, and whispers, "Qiao Qiao, let me hug you."

A gust of wind blows open the small window, letting in the moonlight.  She kneels on the floor, half in his arms, and cries into his chest.  The breaths at the top of her head fade, like a fresh breeze affectionately blowing away cherry blossoms, and then all is silent.  In that moment, it is as if the young and frivolous young man of many years earlier, dressed in red robes and ink black hair who had fallen from the sky, whispers behind her ear, "Still not going to stop?" (TN: His spirit is poking fun at her)

Chu Qiao's eyes are cold and empty like dead ash as she looks at him.  He sits there quietly, head askew, looking as if he was caught in some lovely dream.

She goes out of the palace doors, nods sorrowfully to Sun Di, and announces under the cold moonlight to the waiting court, "The Emperor has passed."  (TN: R.I.P. Li Ce!!!  *bawls*  Whyyyyyyyyy???!!!!)

The entire city is in mourning for weeks.  His mother dies.  Chu Qiao is not invited to the funeral as she is not an official of court, but she mourns him nonetheless. By the time the White Moon festival rolls around again, he has already been dead for a month.  Zhuge Yue repeatedly sends people to escort her away from it all, but she stubbornly stays because of a thought that won't let her go.  Though Li Ce was gone, taking away all the mirth from Jin Wu palace, there is still something she has to do.

She retraces the times she spent with Li Ce and realizes that he was in love with her.  And though he had given her many hints, she never figures it out until after he died.  When they buried Li Ce, she moves out of Jin Wu palace and buries her weak incompetent self with him, swearing that it is the last time she would ever cry.

She moves into the manor that Li Ce had refurbished for her as a dowry, filled with riches and antiques and a handful of servants -- a gift he had spent more than two years preparing.  The only thing it is missing is a name, Sun Di explained, since Li Ce had been picky and hadn't decided what to call it.  

Mei Xiang greets her with Zhuge Yue's ninth letter, saying if Chu Qiao doesn't respond he will be very worried.  

Yan Bei and DaXia are again at war.  Four battles have already been fought below Yan Ming Pass, the front line expanding into the Batuha territories. The DaXia emperor is dying.  Zhao Yang colluded with Ling Nan Mu and his Highness Jing Han and took full control of the southwestern soldiers to oppose Zhao Che and Zhuge Yue's powerful northern army.  Danger lurks on every side, and conflict can break out at any moment.

At a time like this, Chu Qiao understands it all, and wonders how Zhuge Yue cannot.  When Mei Xiang asks her what they were going to do, Chu Qiao responds, "We wait."

The new emperor is enthroned and holds court on the second day.  His Queen Mother sat behind him.  Also on the dais was Zhan Ziyu, as imperial regent  (TN: From Book 2 recall the Zhan family and this man in the wheelchair was the one who rescued Chu Qiao and Liang Shaoqing from the slavers when she fled DaXia).  As Li Ce did not have brothers or sisters living, and his mother was now dead, and the current emperor's mother was not high enough in court to be knowledgeable about politics, that left only Li Ce's royal uncle next in line to be regent.  Chu Qiao suspects him.  All of Li Ce's trusted officials and Minister Sun Di are suppressed in court, then arrested for conspiracy with Li Luo and thrown into prison.  On that day, all of Li Ce's loyal servants were executed. All the women and dancers were pushed out of the palace to be nuns.

The new emperor's regime is fierce and vigorous and any opposition would be cut down without question.  The first person to stand up to the regime is surprisingly Li Ce's old opponent, Liu Ge.  The old man stops Zhan Ziyu before Jin Wu palace, hurls insults at him and calls him a thief, accusing him of being behind the attack on Li Ce in the temple.  Before he dies on the spot he shouted Li Ce's posthumous name.  When Chu Qiao hears this, she pondered it for a long time into the early morning.  

Students from all over Bian Tang then gather in the capital to protest his death, appealing to the judiciary.  But then Zhan Zhiyu burns down the judiciary court and throws the minister's body into a mass grave.

Then the young emperor stops coming to court sessions, and even the queen behind the curtain is gone to take care of the emperor's health.  Zhan Zhiyu then builds a chair as magnificent than the throne and sits on it during court sessions.  He declares it was a gift from Li Ce and that he is also allowed to move into Jin Wu palace for convenience sake.  

When Chu Qiao reads the report, she turns to Tie You (Li Ce's right hand man and leader of his Wolf Army) and tells him to go watch over the little emperor.  The end of this farce is near.  That's where we begin….

Chapter 176: Tang Dynasty Melting Point

On the evening after the third day, a huge clamor came from the direction of Jin Wu palace.  All who were awake and those who were sleeping were roused into alarm, senior officials and commoners alike hastened out of their rooms in succession. Standing in their respective courtyards they looked up and gazed in the direction of the source of that noise.  They only saw that all the lanterns in Jin Wu palace were lit in splendor, with a looming red shadow as if there was a big fire, accompanied by the sound of endless killing, a mournful assault to the ears, as if ghosts were crying. 

Very quickly, everyone's faces went deathly pale.  Worried men held onto their wives and children and hurried back into their houses, and closed all the doors and windows tightly, fearing they would suffer from troubles not of their own making.  Only a few high ranking officials looked astonished in the direction of the palace gates, muttering to themselves, "I'm afraid the sky will change once more."  (TN: the sky refers to an emperor's regime)

Sometime around midnight the palace gate was attacked and broken open.  Lu YunXi's robes were covered in blood as he took 3,000 of his Valiant Wolf Army and faced Chu Qiao standing before the Tai'an Gate, and said in a deep voice, "Miss, we have already captured Ling Xiao Hall."

Under the pitch black canopy of heaven, Chu Qiao was dressed all in black robes, embroidered with gold brushes and green birds (TN: the bird is a 'luo' which is a mythical bird related to the phoenix, the symbol of a queen), her face like white jade.  Behind her stood a dense and dark mass of 10,000 XiuLi soldiers. He Xiao looked calm and collected sitting erect atop his battle horse, and a tight contingent of guards were on either side of her.  The banner of the red cloud on a white backdrop was raised over their heads.  The night was dark and the wind high, overcast with clouds, with no moon or stars.  The blood red light of the torches reflected onto Chu Qiao's face that was like a cold sword without the slightest expression.

"Into the palace."

The ice cold voice spoke faintly, like the sound of a blade scraping across and sharply piercing everyone's ears.  The large winds blew up the hem of Chu Qiao's robes.  She lifted up her pointed thin chin, both her eyes narrowed slightly, dug her heels into her horse's side and drove her horse into the beautiful and imposing, towering imperial palace.

When the last guard of the Ling Xiao Hall fell, the fire in the West Hall was extinguished.  Du Ping An rushed forward with a group of soldiers and the young man's eyes shone with a firm and tenacious brilliance, as if he had grown up overnight.

Ten thousand guards stood behind Chu Qiao, and their glowing torches illuminated the sky, reflecting onto the mess of corpses on the ground.  Chu Qiao rode her horse all the way to the white jade stone steps.  The daily palace attendants who dared not even look up at the door of the Regent's palace were felled to the ground and her horse made small crunching noises as it stepped on top of them.

A court servant who was adept at reading the situation rushed forward, shouting loudly that he would welcome the general to dismount.

Chu Qiao's cold eyes glanced at him, and thereafter actually stepped onto the man's back to dismount, and step by step she walked towards the majestic palace door.

The palace doors were quickly thrown open, bringing the scent of sandalwood incense head on with the cold wind.  The howling gusts picked up her black cloak, the sword at her waist was like ice in a cold forest, its chilly air stabbing into the recesses of the heart. In the empty, quiet and lonely main hall Zhan Ziyu sat alone. Vaguely it seemed he remained just as he was many years ago on the bow the river boat, a man in black sitting atop a wooden wheelchair, facing the torrential river waves, enveloped by a clear moon, his eyes unclouded like a mountain spring with his mellow and quiet voice asking, "Who is there?"

The wind entered the carved window, blowing down a thin piece of bright yellow imperial paper, actually an object for imperial use only, used solely by the emperor for the purpose of issuing imperial edicts.

Chu Qiao stepped into the hall, stepped onto the imperial decree, her eyes indifferently watching the shadows behind the deep and quiet layers of curtains as she quietly said, "I've come to take your life."

Zhan Ziyu smiled lightly, and like a thin cloud in the breeze he said, "I didn't think it would be you."

"A wise man of a thousand schemes will make at least one mistake, and certainly will lose once.  It was not easy for you to climb so high in five years from the position you were in."

Chu Qiao said this calmly, her expression steady, without a single waver. 

Zhan Ziyu smiled, "Are you trying to console me with these words?  I guess it's not so bad. It's not easy to be praised with a sentence by the world renown XiuLi General."

 Chu Qiao said faintly, "Do you have any wishes unfulfilled?"

A trace of lonely desolation suddenly went across Zhan Ziyu's face, he frowned slightly, and seemed not reconciled, saying, "I have never ridden an eight horse carriage, my heart is still not resigned to that."

As soon as she heard it Chu Qiao's mind was slightly shocked and could not help but think of the joke she had shared with Zhan Ziyu that year.  At the time, the two of them had been chatting, and Zhan Ziyu said he could no longer ride horses in his lifetime and in order to help him feel better Chu Qiao playfully told him he could try to raise eight exceptional horses to pull his carriage.  At the time Zhan Ziyu had chided her for being silly, because only the emperor could ride in such a carriage and if he dared to do it, it was a sure sign he was going to rebel.

Time ran like water, everything was reflected against the water like a mirror, no longer returning to the past.

"General Chu, why is it that the Li family can sit on this land, while I cannot?  Was this throne not taken by the Li family from the previous holder as well?  Why is that they are seen as the orthodox power of this world while I am a treacherous minister and usurper?"

There was a trace or two of lofty expression between Zhan Ziyu's brows.  He raised his head and looked up towards the lofty ceiling, and not without a fierce ambition as he said, "Besides, I've only taken back what the Li family owes me, is that so wrong?"

Chu Qiao was unmoved, and she said in a calm tone, "That is a grudge between the two of you, it has nothing to do with me."  

She slowly walked forward, flowing and steady like a night watchman's drum beat, echoing throughout the large hall.

"You caused the death of someone who was very dear to me.  I will kill you in revenge."

Her sharp, rare treasure sword pulled out inch by inch out of its scabbard.  The chilling light flashed like winter silvergrass under the evening moon, like the bright light of star fire, coldly reflecting on her face in a streak of white.

"Do you have anything more to say?"

"Let my sister go, she is just a woman and everything she does, she does for me."

Chu Qiao looked at him, for a long while she had no words, and a trace of bitterness rose up from the bottom of her heart.  The wind blew in from far away, stirring the hems of both their clothing, like a pool of black ink.

"I'm sorry.  I can't do that."

She coldly spit out those few words, then suddenly swung her sword.  Vaguely she once again thought of that night when Zhan Ziyu smiled and said to her, "What you say isn't wrong.  But as an insider you cannot see through the game, and when you come across an opportunity, you cannot help but want to give it a try."

Give it a try….

A handful of blood suddenly sprayed out, splattering onto Chu Qiao's ink dark robes, quickly seeping through and condensing into a clustered dark shadow onto the fabric.

Chu Qiao bent down from the waist to pick the human head off the ground.  The man's ink black hair was combed meticulously, his face was pale like jade, the expression on his face was peaceful as if he were asleep, except his severed neck was bleeding from the savage cut.

Chu Qiao tossed the head into the arms of an attending guard and said in a low voice, "Hang the head above the palace gate, and let the attacking Central Army see it."

As soon as she said it she turned to exit Ling Xiao Hall, and agilely flipped herself back onto her horse, saying to those around her, "On to Roufu Hall."

***

At some point in time the moon had drilled through the layer of clouds, sprinkling a gloomy layer of clear and bright light.  Ling Xiao Hall gradually cooled.  The soldiers in armor rushed away, leaving behind the corpses littered over the ground.  Crows in the sky cawed, their black wings like funeral banners.  In the empty great hall, a headless body still quietly sat on the golden dragon throne, looking rather gruesome and horrible.

The battle of Ruofu Hall was already over by now. Tie You and Sun Di came together, both of them covered in blood as proof of how fierce the battle was.

Chu Qiao dismounted and came forward, saying to Sun Di, "You've been inconvenienced."

Sun Di shed a smile, saying, "It couldn't be helped.  Except the food in prison was really bad.  I was so hungry I've become skinny."

"Miss, imperial concubine Zhan has been apprehended."

Tie You said this in a low voice, and Chu Qiao briefly raised her brow, "And the emperor?"

Tie You's brow slightly knit together, "He is unharmed, but he was a little frightened by these events."

"That's good then."  Chu Qiao sighed, and asked, "Then why are you pulling a long face?"

"The Queen Mother Yuan is dead.  When we rushed inside she thought it was imperial concubine Zhan, and before we could get a word in edgewise, she committed suicide."

As soon as she heard it, Chu Qiao tightly knit her brows together.  Who would have known that the woman would have such a fate, when she had tried her best to create this path for the mother and son and without a word, she was now dead.

"Miss," Sun Di walked forward and said, "The Zhan siblings colluded for their self-interests to assassinate the previous emperor, and all their plans of enthroning QingRong have been seized in the search and collected as evidence.  Tomorrow all the world will know of their crimes."

Chu Qiao slowly took the few sheets of paper from him, and though it was only paper, she felt it was heavier than a thousand pounds.

"Let me out!  You wretched bunch of  slaves!  Let me out!"  A heartrending cry suddenly burst forth.  The majestic Ruo Fu Hall was now in tatters.  A large fire was still burning, dust and rubble were everywhere.  Zhan Ziming dressed in full red phoenix attire struggling with two palace attendants to escape the hall.  Both her eyes were fully red, her face without a trace of grace or sumptuous beauty.

When she saw Chu Qiao, Sun Di and the others, she was suddenly shocked to a standstill, her eyes steadily latching and staring at her, and when she finally recognized her, she laughed and screamed wildly, "So it was you!"

Chu Qiao said nothing and only stared back at her, in a flash of many years, she did not want to reunite with this person here today.  That girl who eagerly gazed at and followed behind her older brother was already dead.  The one who stood before her today was nothing but a madwoman.

"Where is my third brother?"

She suddenly asked sharply. 

Chu Qiao's face didn't change when she said slowly, "He's dead."

Zhan Ziming then stopped abruptly, as if she expected there would come a day like this.  After a long while, she smiled slyly, and let out a mournful wail, like a night eagle in the heavens.  The light in her eye gradually faded, and looked at Chu Qiao with lifeless eyes, asking, "Did you kill him?"

"Yes."

"Good.  Good.  The one he fell in love with was unexpectedly very good.  It's no wonder that even though the palace was filled with women, he was only ever sincere towards you."

Chu Qiao stared coldly back at this beautiful and mad woman, her gaze for a moment altering to pity, seemingly able to pierce through her exterior beauty and into the depths of her heart.

"What will you do with Rong'er?"

"He is not only your child but also the child of Li Ce. I will treat him well."

Zhan Ziming nodded and smiled bitterly.  "Good.  My hands are stained with blood and I've hurt even him.  If it wasn't for my third brother, I would have forfeited my life long ago.  You can end it."

At that moment Chu Qiao saw the woman's riddled heart through her awkward smile.  From her childhood admiration for her brother, to her listening to everything her brother Zhan Ziyu prearranged for her.  Yet after entering the palace she gradually fell in love with Li Ce, and perhaps did not even know it until she tried to assassinate him according to plan, and only then did she know her own heart.  On the day of the attempt her grief was not fake.  Unfortunately for her, of the two men she loved in her life, one never loved her back, and one could not love her.  She eventually became a cruel joke of Fate.

"Give imperial concubine Zhan poisoned wine and white damask."  (TN: poison and a shroud for a noble lady's modesty)

Chu Qiao coolly turned around and strode out of the hall.  The wind outside howled as it blew over.  The dark night was like a thick tide spreading over her entirely.  The entrance to Jin Wu palace was brightly lit, and the sounds of yelling and killing were slowly dissipating. The sharp call for retreat blew through the chilly night sky.  The air was filled with the smell of smoke and dust, the smell of tens of thousands of slain, the smell of countless souls.  In an instant her ground shifted again, and she was surrounded from all directions.

In her hand she held a silver sword, her ink dark robes were stained with blood, behind her was a blazing fire, and black armored soldiers stood to her left and right.   Her eyes were so cold, firmly gazing at the ends of heaven and earth.  The extreme far north was in that direction, the frigid quiet rolling along.  In that short time her eyes did not blink, as if she was looking at someone, but in the end the figure was submerged in the ruins, without a trace.

"Imperial concubine Zhan has passed---"   The eunuchs announced her demise and began their rituals.

In that moment the sun pierced through the dark layer of clouds, the sky would soon be clear, and this slow, long night would pass.  But the darkness in her heart, what would it take to dispel it?

***

Epilogue:  Chu Qiao sees the new emperor, Yi'er, who comes running towards her, who still calls her "auntie" out of habit.  He laments that his mother is dead, and Chu Qiao looks at the little six year old boy and hugs him tightly.  This was Li Ce's son, his dynasty and his family.  Mei Xiang brings over his half-brother, Rong'er, swaddled snugly and asleep.  When she saw how much the baby looked like Li Ce she brought him up to her face and almost cried, her heart empty.

She sent word to the ministers of what had happened, the central army was subdued and awaited her judgment. 

Then, with baby in one arm and holding onto the emperor's hand, she entered the throne room before the waiting court.  As the sun rose, cries of "long live!" sounded throughout the hall, shining onto her black robes and the banner of the red cloud on white with the words "XiuLi" in large letters.  When the emperor says he doesn't want to sit on the throne, Chu Qiao lifts him up and sits him on it anyway, telling him that the seat was made of the blood and bones of many generations, that both his parents died for this seat, that the Tang Dynasty rested on his shoulders, and all his ancestors would be watching him here, that it was his heavenly mandate which he could not renounce.  (TN: no pressure…)

When the emperor asks, she promises she would always be with him.  Since Li Ce protected her for so many years, it was her turn to protect his legacy. The ministers were unsure of whom they should be honoring, the emperor or the beautiful general by his side.  

The dust had returned to the ruins and settled. The chess piece was already moved, and there was no room for remorse.

Chu Qiao thought quietly to herself, Li Ce, rest assured.

***

Translator's notes:  I felt I had to set up the preface to the events that lead up to Chu Qiao staying with Zhuge Yue as the other half the Xing/Yue OTP.  So even though Zhuge Yue doesn't show prominently in these chapters, it was Li Ce's demise that taught her Fate is whimsical, and she decides to jealously guard her happiness and the people she cares about with both eyes open and sword at the ready.

This is progress from that young girl who blindly followed an ideal only to be betrayed by a man she thought she loved, and a step above the weepy Chu Qiao who couldn't see past her own misery; and still a better evolution of the Chu Qiao who is in love and waiting quietly for Zhuge Yue to return, in my opinion.  But Li Ce died… still sobbing….   -Kero