Chapter 74: A Treasure Sobbing Late into the Night
Chapter 74: A Treasure Sobbing Late into the Night
Late at night, black clouds blanketed the capital city, sheltering the moon and stars from sight. But the rain that Supreme Commander Gu predicted never fell, leaving the storm brooding in the skies.
Yu Xiaoxiao suffered insomnia tonight. After eating and drinking her fill and coaxing a certain young man to sleep, Her Royal Highness began to think about her life. There should be plots and schemes awaiting her. Since Eternal Life Temple was universally revered by all six nations and held a lofty post, the Young Master Wen Fenglin should have enough power to protect himself. He must have pretended to be a chaste and pure husband in the last timeline so the cruel female emperor could snatch him to be by her side. However, Yu Xiaoxiao had no idea what his actual motives were. Now that Wen Fenglin had shown up in this life, was he simply strolling around Fengtian for a tourist trip?
Yu Xiaoxiao sat up in bed. Beside her, Gu Xinglang was snoring lightly, deep in the throes of sleep. She touched his forehead and saw that his fever had passed, then alighted soundlessly off the bed. She decided not to sleep tonight because she couldn't figure out the enemy's plans. It was part of Drillmaster Yu's tactics to listen in on them when she was lost instead! Whatever secret laid in wait, as long as she listened carefully, she would figure it out.
Because Her Royal Highness was a new bride, she wasn't allowed to have any black clothes in her wardrobe. Thus, Yu Xiaoxiao dug through the cabinets until she found a pure black robe belonging to Gu Xinglang. After rolling up the sleeves and pants, then tying a sash around her waist, she conquered the problem of the oversized garments.
Yu Xiaoxiao had no idea how to do the hairstyles of the women in this world, so she ended up tying her own into a ponytail. She ran back to the bed to check on the sleeping Gu Xinglang one more time before flashing out of the room. Gu Xinglang was still fast asleep. Despite being a general, he slept obediently and didn't thrash about. Thus, Third Young Master Gu had no idea that the space beside him was now missing one person.
Yu Xiaoxiao didn't leave by the front gates, but simply wandered into a side courtyard before jumping over the walls. At the same time, Gu Xingnuo suddenly sat up in bed, the motion stirring Lady Sun awake.
"General, has something happened?" Lady Sun asked as she got up.
Gu Xingnuo was upset. "I remembered what I forgot."
"You forgot something?" Lady Sun asked. "What is it, general?"
Gu Xingnuo replied, "I didn't send anyone to bring back Ol' Second."
Lady Sun went 囧. "General, you didn't send someone to tell the Second Uncle?"1 What was that all about? His Seventh Highness was safe, but Second Young Master Gu was still fleeing for his life with the baby.
Gu Xingnuo pulled on some clothes and hopped off the bed. "I'll send someone to find him right away."
Lady Sun replied, "The city gates are all shut by now. How are your messengers supposed to leave the capital?"
Gu Xingnuo stopped in the middle of tying his waist belt. With the four entrances to the capital city closed, no one could leave. What was the point of trying to deliver a letter? Lady Sun sat anxiously before she said, "If Second Uncle really does as he plans, he'll be traveling nonstop day and night. By now he would have covered eight hundred li or more-who knows where he is now?"
Gu Xingnuo plopped back on the bed with a bitter expression. "It's impossible for him to reach Wuzhou by tomorrow."2
Lady Sun said, "Wait until tomorrow morning, then send a fast horse after him."
Gu Xingnuo nodded, then suddenly asked, "Why didn't I see Second Sister-in-Law at dinner tonight?"
You only remembered her now? Lady Sun replied, "She said she wasn't feeling well, so she had dinner with Xu'er in her rooms."
"Did we ask for a doctor to examine her?" Gu Xingnuo asked.
Lady Sun just sighed before poking her husband's chest, right over his heart. "It's there that feels unwell. What's the use of calling a doctor for that?"
Gu Xingnuo shook his head. "Childish."
Lady Sun didn't reply, nor did she blame Lady Lin for having the most complaints in the household. Second Young Master Gu held the lowest status in the family, so both young and old were apt to forget him.
Gu Xingnuo couldn't help muttering to himself, "Why didn't the princess remember His Seventh Highness, either?"
Lady Sun couldn't come up with an answer to that either. Who knows what the princess was thinking?
What exactly was the princess thinking now?
As it turned out, Yu Xiaoxiao was currently standing outside the walls of the Gu Estate, staring at the sky and wondering, Where in the world do I find Wen Fenglin?
The third of the five night watch periods (23:00-1:00) sounded in the distance. She could hear the night watchman say, "The weather is dry, be careful of causing fires." Her hands dug into the wall behind her before she decided to look around the imperial palace. Whatever the cause, a Young Master from Eternal Life Temple's probably an honored guest of the fatuous emperor. I remember we have a Buddhist hall in the palace too.
What? You say that the imperial palace didn't let outsider males stay overnight within its walls? Sorry, but customs like that were unknown to members of an apocalypse world.
Thus, Yu Xiaoxiao did exactly as she thought. Wind rose beneath her footsteps as she ran towards the palace. Naturally, the guards were more stringent than those in the daytime; moreover, the entrance was illuminated by multiple lanterns that glimmered against the guards' armor. The gleam would dazzle the eyes if one stared for too long.
A few pebbles dropped from the gate tower and clattered to the ground. The commander on watch looked up, but the guards stationed there showed nothing out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoxiao jumped off the gate tower and headed inside. She had accompanied Wang momo to the palace's Buddhist hall a few times, so she knew where it was. Hiding her form in the darkness, she quickly ran towards the spot.
The Buddhist hall in Fengtian Palace was called Reverent Fragrance Hall (敬香堂).3 Currently, its altar lamps were still lit, but there were no honored guests in sight. Yu Xiaoxiao searched both in and around the hall. She saw a few dozen nuns and practicing Buddhists with their hair still growing, but no monks anywhere. Realizing she'd made an error, Yu Xiaoxiao stood by the door with a stifled heart. Where did that surnamed Wen sissy go? She was vexed by the fact that she was unfamiliar with the capital city. She didn't even know how many temples or monasteries it held, so where was she supposed to start searching?
Inside the Buddhist hall, a practicing Buddhist woman with her hair still intact was kneeling in front of the Buddha statue and occasionally tapping a wooden fish. Yu Xiaoxiao turned to leave Reverent Fragrance Hall. What's wrong with her? Instead of sleeping, she's here chanting scriptures in the middle of the night. Drillmaster Yu had no religious beliefs of her own, so it was likely she'd never understand the piety of believers in this lifetime.
Indistinct sounds of pleasure reached Yu Xiaoxiao's ears from the palace's northwestern side. After staying in the palace herself, she could guess that the fatuous ruler was drunkenly passing his night in the arms of some beauty again.
"Waa waa waa..."
Before Yu Xiaoxiao could leave to start her capital-wide monk hunt, she passed by a palace hall and heard the cries of a child from its south end. It was hard to tell if the sobs belonged to a girl or a boy, so she jumped over the wall to investigate. Children were the treasures of humanity, so how could she simply let this be?
In a lot of Chinese families, some relatives are called by their titles based on the youngest generation. Thus, "Second Uncle" doesn't refer to Lady Sun's uncle, but Gu Jin or Gu Xun's uncle, AKA Gu Xingyan.
Wuzhou would be the domain of ex-Empress Jiang's relatives, the Jiang Clan.
This is a literal translation. "Reverent Fragrance" (敬香) literally means to "offer joss sticks/light incense before the Buddha."