Chapter 143

 

Pei Xiaoyuan had never known that there existed a kind of journey—racing day and night—which brings not hardship but blood-stirring fervor. The mountains and rivers lay far apart, and yet he wished he could sprout wings, to set out from Pengdao at dawn and reach Cangwu by dusk.

He pressed forward as if tireless. Even the post stations meant to ease a traveler’s weariness could not slow his urgent pace—more often than not, he merely changed mounts and replenished his rations before pushing on. When exhaustion truly overtook him, he would rest wherever he could: in the wild, under trees, in deserted villages or small temples, the sky his cover and the ground his bed. One blink of rest, and upon waking, he would rouse himself once more and set out again.

In the nineteenth year of Qiande, on an evening in mid-spring, he finally returned to Chang’an.

The Wei River remained the same, flowing eastward. Chang’an no longer looked like the snow and ice it had when he left. Reeds sprouted on the banks, elms and willows were interspersed along the yellow dusty road, and new green blossomed everywhere on the branches. He rode his horse to the bridgehead of the Wei River. The clear sound of the horse’s hooves startled an old bird that had built a nest on an old tree on the bank. The old bird held food in its mouth, and several chicks that had just hatched a few days ago opened their mouths to the sky in the nest, making bursts of anxious chirping sounds as they waited for food.

Pei Xiaoyuan slowed down his horse’s hooves and walked past.

Several pedestrians came down from the bridge across the street, among them was a woman holding a child. They were probably people from neighboring village who had entered the city during the day and were leaving the city in the evening to go home together. As they were getting off the bridge, they suddenly ran into him. They all looked scared, lowered their heads to avoid him, and walked around him from a distance.

Pei Xiaoyuan was puzzled at first, until the evening breeze carried the child’s timid voice, “Mother, was that a bad guy just now—”

His mother covered her child’s mouth with her hand, looked back at Pei Xiaoyuan, and the group then quickened their pace and left in a hurry.

Pei Xiaoyuan looked down at himself.

He was dressed like an ordinary soldier, a sword tucked at his side, his boots and clothes already caked with dust and mud from the road. Reaching up to touch his face, his hand paused.

Though he couldn’t see it, he knew—this was a face covered in scruffy beard and wind-blown grime.

No wonder the passersby and children had been so frightened at the sight of him.

His haggard and shabby appearance was almost no different from that of a rogue soldier or a bandit.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered the whale ointment and the advice Li Hui gave him before he set out, and he couldn’t help but shook his head slightly as if in self-mockery.

The faint sound of evening drums in the evening breeze suddenly disappeared, and the surroundings seemed to become completely quiet.

The sky lost the last ray of afterglow and it became dark.

Pei Xiaoyuan also slowly stopped in the middle of the bridge.

He looked ahead at the vague horizon that was gradually merging into the night.

Chang’an was right there.

Along the way, he slept in the open air, traveled under the stars, and wasn’t this the moment he dreamed of?

However, he stopped here and found it difficult to move forward.

It was definitely not just because of the sidelong glances from passersby just now.

Over the past few days, the closer he got to Chang’an, the more hesitant his steps became. Until this moment, when the city was finally in sight.

After crossing this bridge, he would reach Chang’an. As long as he travelled a few dozen miles more, passed the last section of the road, and opened the city gate, he would be able to go there and see the person in his heart.

But he stopped, his feet as if tied up, on the Wei River Bridge.

The night gradually darkened, and the wind by the river made people’s skin and bones cold.

Finally, he moved, urged his horse to get off the bridge, and went no further.

It was dark, and she needed to rest. He couldn’t just rush in front of her and scare her.

Wait one more night. Just one more night.

He thought to himself.

He turned toward Changle Posthouse, circling the city and taking a longer route.

There was a posthouse not far from the Wei River Bridge. He could have easily stayed there for the night, spent it in comfort, and thought about what to do the next day.

But almost without a second thought, he spurred his horse on, guided only by instinct, and rode straight to this place where he had stayed twice before—a place that, for him, held some unspoken, invisible pull. Because of this, he traveled dozens of extra miles through the cold early-spring night wind in the wilderness. Nearing the third watch of the night, when he knocked on the door and stepped into the posthouse, there was no surprise on the servant’s face after recognizing him.

“Prince Consort has arrived! Prince Consort Pei has arrived!”

The servant who opened the door welcomed him in respectfully, and then called out loudly inside, as if he was not an uninvited guest who had come from afar suddenly in the middle of the night, but as if he had been expected to come.

Pei Xiaoyuan was stunned, and before he could come to his senses, the inn seemed to have suddenly woken up from a dream with his arrival, and all the people came out.

The postmaster came out at a brisk pace, bowed, turned around and called out to someone, “Go and inform them that Prince Consort has arrived!” Then he respectfully invited him to take a seat, while someone enthusiastically brought him hot water, a face towel, cakes and hot tea.

Pei Xiaoyuan stood in the lobby, hesitated for a moment, and asked: “What’s going on? Did you know I was coming tonight?”

The postmaster smiled happily and said, “How could this humble official doesn’t know? It was Eunuch Yang who said that you might return to Chang’an in the next few days, or stay here. In order to receive you as soon as possible, he has been waiting here for several days. He just went back to his room to rest tonight. Please wait a moment, I have asked someone to invite Eunuch Yang.”

Pei Xiaoyuan was confused and in trance for a while. Soon, he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw a palace eunuch hurriedly coming out of the back hall. It was Yang Zai’en, whom he had not seen for more than a year.

Yang Zai’en rushed to Pei Xiaoyuan in a few steps, bowed and greeted him, and said with a smile: “Finally, this servant can received Prince Consort! Prince Consort must be terribly weary from a long journey. No matter how well they serve here, it’s also a posthouse, and there are many people come in and out day and night, afraid it will disturb Prince Consort. Please, allow this servant to escort you into the city to settle in and get some proper rest.”

Although the palace eunuch had not mentioned it, Pei Xiaoyuan had already understood. This must be her arrangement.

That she knew of his early return to the capital—that was not surprising. After all, every post station along the route would have a record of his horse changes. But that she even anticipated he would not ride directly into the city, choosing instead to stop just short and take the longer way here to spend the night…

At this moment, what else could he think except giving a wry smile and obeying?

He silently followed Yang Zai’en out of the posthouse.

A carriage arrived outside the door, saying it was also prepared for him. After a long ride, his muscles and bones were indeed sore. Pei Xiaoyuan did not refuse.

He climbed into the carriage and lay on his back on a low couch that was specially set up in the carriage for him to rest.

The carriage was like a boat sailing on the waves, swaying gently, neither fast nor slow, and moving steadily on the road. He sat quietly with his eyes closed, letting the carriage carry him beyond the city gates—gates specially opened just for him—through the long archway, and onward through silent, empty streets. At last, it came to a gradual stop before the grand entrance of a mansion.

“Prince Consort, we’re home!”

Pei Xiaoyuan returned to Yongning Mansion.

Everything was just as it had been, as if nothing had changed. The stewards and servants of the mansion were all still there. At this moment, they had all come out to welcome the return of their master.

Only He shi and Zhu’er were missing.

Naturally, it was even more impossible for her to be there.

Could it be that, while lying in the swaying carriage on the way back, he had secretly dared to hope for something?

But he was a man who was not even qualified to be disappointed.

Pei Xiaoyuan smiled and asked everyone to disperse and rest.

Yang Zai’en brought several eunuchs with him to personally help him bathe and change his clothes. A pool of hot water washed away all his dust and fatigue.

After changing his clothes and entering the bedroom, he looked at Yang Zai’en, who smiled and urged him to get some rest. When Yang Zai’en was about to leave, he was unable to hold back any longer.

“Is the Princess well?” he asked.

“Thanks to Prince Consort, the Princess has been very well this past year.” The palace eunuch stopped and replied.

“And His Majesty’s health?”

He paused for a moment, but in the end, still asked.

“His Majesty has been more or less the same as before this past year—just sleeping more than he used to. Fortunately, the Princess has been by his side, attending to him. Prince Consort need not worry,” Yang Zai’en said softly, casting him a discreet glance.

Pei Xiaoyuan was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes again, as if he wanted to ask another question. However, for some reason, this time, he seemed to have encountered something extremely difficult to talk about, and he was hesitant to speak.

“By the way, Prince Consort has been in battle for more than a year, and the young master is now half a year old! Master may notice that He Amu is not at home. She was taken into the palace by the Princess to take care of the young master together.”

Suddenly, Yang Zai’en seemed to remember something, and said it casually with a smile.

“The young master’s name has not been decided. The Princess said that she would ask Lord Pei to name him when he is one year old. The Princess herself called the young master Xiao Hu’erHu means tiger. Presumably Prince Consort already knew this, right?”

Pei Xiaoyuan was stunned, and suddenly, a warm feeling surged into his heart.

It turned out that his child was a son.

Xiao Hu’er, Xiao Hu’er…

Did she name it this way to commemorate the soldiers of the Shenhu Army who died in the past?

He was overwhelmed with emotions, and when Yang Zai’en bowed and left, he called him again.

“Please send the Princess my message and say…”

“Ask the Princess to spare some time and grant me an audience.”

He calmed himself down and spoke.

In the second half of the night, Pei Xiaoyuan lay on the spacious fragrant wood bed in the Prince Consort’s Mansion. Beneath him were soft, dry quilts, and his breath was filled with a faint, delicate fragrance—one he knew well, like it had drifted from her hair and skin. Since he left Chang’an and headed north, he had never had such an experience again. He closed his eyes, and it felt as if she had never left, as though she were still here, quietly lying beside him, sleeping with him. Gradually, he began to relax. The pain faded, and weariness crept in from all sides like water slowly rising. He drifted into sleep.

That sleep was deep and unbroken, a plunge into complete darkness and without even a single dream. He slept until the afternoon of the next day.

It was a faint tinkling that roused him. The soft, crystalline chime of a small bell—ding ling ding ling—light and airy, as if it came from a tiny golden bell. Amidst the sound, there seemed to be the giggling of a baby, gentle and bubbling with that milk-sweet tone unique to infants.

“Is Prince Consort awake?”

When he was half asleep and half awake, wondering if the voice he heard was from his dream, a gentle questioning voice outside the window suddenly woke him up.

It was He shi‘s voice.

His eyelashes fluttered slightly as he opened his eyes.

“The young master is so handsome!” A maid’s soft exclamation continued to be heard.

“Looks like Prince Consort! Look, the eyebrows, eyes, nose, everything looks like——”

“Looks like the Princess! At first glance, you know he’s the Princess’s son!”

The maids began to argue quietly about who the baby looked more like.

Pei Xiaoyuan’s heart suddenly started beating violently and he woke up completely.

He suddenly opened his eyes wide, rolled out of bed in one swift motion, threw on his clothes, hastily pulling his robe closed—and dashed out the door.

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