Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Regarding Helan The singing voice was clear and melodious, as though it could pierce the vast snowstorm and reach straight into the heart. Shaoyin sat dazed inside the carriage. Unable to resist her curiosity, she asked the maid, “What is the Heir Prince singing?” “It is a Shuobei wedding song.” The maid translated for her, “The general meaning is: I am marrying the girl I love and carrying her home. My heart is filled with joy along the journey, like the rosy clouds at the edge of the sky, like the wild geese flying high…” Because the maid’s command of Han Chinese was limited to basic communication, she could not translate the Shuobei wedding song line by line into the poetry of the Central Plains. She could only explain it to the Heir Princess in something close to plain speech. Yet this nearly literal translation allowed Shaoyin to feel the sincerity and joy in the song even more directly. But such a joyful song could not be sung to the person he truly loved. Thinking this, Shaoyin could not help sighing for Heir Prince Helan. Perhaps everyone in this world had things they could not help but do. No matter who they were, the affairs of the world could never go entirely as they wished. Although Heir Prince Helan loved another woman and the two of them were merely husband and wife in name, perhaps because of his gentle temperament, he had treated her with courtesy and warmth throughout the journey back to Shuobei. In the eyes of outsiders, it seemed that this newlywed couple got along rather harmoniously. Because of Heir Prince Helan’s attitude, once they arrived in Shuobei, the Great Khan of Shuobei and the other members of the royal family seemed to believe that the couple’s relationship was quite good as well. At the banquet held to welcome her and Helan home, an elderly white-haired member of the Shuobei royal family laughed as he patted Heir Prince Helan on the shoulder, then said something that made everyone present burst into laughter. Since Shaoyin could not understand, she quietly asked the Shuobei maid beside her. The maid bent down and whispered, “The Old Prince said that the Heir Prince was lucky to have married such a beautiful bride. He said that he and the rest of the family had been terribly worried for the Heir Prince, and that he had not suffered the slightest loss in this marriage alliance. Eternal Heaven is watching over him…” As the maid translated, Shaoyin, seated at the banquet, saw Heir Prince Helan turn his head amid the surrounding crowd and seemingly glance at her. The light from the lamps inside the tent illuminated Heir Prince Helan’s features, making the smile in his eyes shine all the more brightly. As newlywed husband and wife, Shaoyin and Heir Prince Helan were required to accept toast after toast at the welcoming banquet. Shaoyin had never been good at drinking, and Shuobei wine was much stronger than wine from the Central Plains. Seeing cup after cup being brought toward her, she could not help feeling anxious. She would certainly become drunk after only one or two cups, let alone so many. Shaoyin was not afraid of getting drunk. She was afraid that once drunk, she might behave improperly. Her heart was filled with too many things. She did not know what she might say or do after becoming drunk, and she feared that she might burst into tears in front of the Shuobei royal family. She was County Princess Yongning of Daqi. Every word and action of hers represented Daqi’s dignity, so she naturally could not lose control in front of others. But neither could she refuse these toasts, which carried the meaning of blessings. How could she arrive in Shuobei and immediately disregard local customs, spurning the goodwill of the Shuobei royal family? Caught between these two choices, Shaoyin did not know what to do. Then Heir Prince Helan suddenly extended an arm in front of her and stopped the cups of wine. Heir Prince Helan drank on her behalf. In his capacity as her husband, he shielded her from nearly every toast at the banquet. Heir Prince Helan’s tolerance for alcohol was likely quite good, but even twice the usual amount eventually proved too much for him. By the end of the banquet, he had drunk himself unconscious. The attendants helped Heir Prince Helan back, and Shaoyin, as the Heir Princess and his wife, naturally had to follow. After helping Heir Prince Helan remove his outer clothing and wiping his face, the attendants all withdrew. Within the Golden Tent of the Shuobei Heir Prince, only Shaoyin and the drunken, sleeping Heir Prince Helan remained. On the bed, Heir Prince Helan’s face was flushed, and his breathing was hot. Perhaps because of the alcohol, he seemed to feel feverish and uncomfortable even in his dreams. Shaoyin sat silently at the bedside. In the end, she personally wrung out a damp cloth and gently wiped Heir Prince Helan’s face. After all, if he had not drunk so much on her behalf, Heir Prince Helan would probably not have become drunk. It was only proper that she look after him in return and do her best to ease his feverish discomfort. Perhaps because the heat had been relieved, Heir Prince Helan’s lashes suddenly stirred as Shaoyin gently wiped his face, and he slowly opened his eyes. Although his eyes were open, his consciousness still seemed hazy with drunkenness. Heir Prince Helan gazed at her through drunken eyes, the lamplight beside the bed dimly reflected in them, and softly said something. It was in Shuobei, with a sound resembling the Han Chinese pronunciation of “Wuqige.” Shaoyin naturally could not understand it. After murmuring that word, Heir Prince Helan let his eyelids droop again and sank back into drunken sleep. When the maid came in to change the water, Shaoyin asked her out of curiosity what “Wuqige” meant in the Shuobei language. The maid told her that “Wuqige” meant a treasure like the bright moon in Shuobei, and was often used as a girl’s name. Shaoyin suddenly understood. In his drunken confusion, Heir Prince Helan must have mistaken her for the woman he loved. That woman’s name must have been Wuqige. On a night like this, that woman named Wuqige was likely somewhere, alone in sorrow and gloom, unaware of where to turn. Although she no longer loved Xiao Heng, Shaoyin—who had once loved him for so many years—could still understand that kind of feeling. She had experienced it countless times in the past, whenever she had grieved over Xiao Heng and Jiang Ningyan. With a sigh in her heart, Shaoyin tucked the covers around Heir Prince Helan and walked out of the tent. She stood silently in Shuobei’s night wind, gazing in the direction of her homeland. In her heart, she thought of her Aunt, her Older Brother, and several other relatives. The only person she no longer needed to think of was Xiao Heng. She was no longer the little girl who spent all day chasing after her Crown Prince Cousin, fretting only over his cold attitude toward her. Now, upon her shoulders rested both her family’s safety and the alliance between Daqi and Shuobei, as well as peace between the two countries. She could no longer be willful. For the rest of her life, she could never be willful again. Although she was only Heir Prince Helan’s wife in name and they had never consummated their marriage, Shaoyin was, in status, the legitimate Heir Princess of Shuobei. In her daily life, she took on some of the duties expected of an Heir Princess with the assistance of the chief female official of the Golden Tent. She spent most of her remaining time studying the Shuobei language and learning about Shuobei’s customs and way of life. When it came to studying Shuobei, Shaoyin had originally asked Heir Prince Helan to assign a female tutor to teach her. Although Heir Prince Helan had complied with her request and sent her a Shuobei female official as a teacher, he would often teach her personally whenever he had free time. That day, Shaoyin was learning to write Shuobei script under Heir Prince Helan’s instruction. In Shaoyin’s eyes, the rune-like Shuobei characters truly did look like talismans when written. Practicing alone was one thing, but with Heir Prince Helan watching beside her, Shaoyin could not help feeling her face grow hot. She said, “…Heir Prince, please don’t laugh at me.” “How could I? For a beginner, you’re already writing very well.” Heir Prince Helan smiled as he said, “You don’t know how crooked and unsightly my writing was when I first learned as a child.” Shaoyin did not believe him. During her time in Shuobei, she had learned from the maids that Heir Prince Helan was an exceptionally intelligent man. He had been remarkably bright since childhood and excelled at everything, so much so that his position as Heir Prince had never been in dispute. If his position as Heir Prince had not been beyond question, perhaps Heir Prince Helan might have had more freedom in the matter of his marriage. Shaoyin continued writing while listening to Heir Prince Helan teach her some common Shuobei words. When he reached the word “Wuqige,” Shaoyin’s heart stirred. She lifted her eyes toward Heir Prince Helan, only to find that he happened to be looking at her as well. For a moment, their eyes met. After a short while, Heir Prince Helan shifted his gaze slightly away. As he held the brush and wrote the word on the paper, he said, “This word means a treasure like the bright moon. The people of Shuobei often use it to describe the person or thing most precious to their hearts.” That woman named Wuqige must be a treasure like the moon in the sky to Heir Prince Helan. Just as Jiang Ningyan was to Xiao Heng. In the past, Shaoyin had been muddleheaded and insisted on inserting herself between Jiang Ningyan and Xiao Heng. Now, she naturally would not do such a thing again. Heir Prince Helan treated her with great kindness, and she could repay his kindness in turn. After all, alone in Shuobei, the person upon whom she most needed to rely was Heir Prince Helan and his goodwill toward her. She had to maintain a good relationship with him. Thus, Shaoyin said, “If the Heir Prince has a woman he loves, you might as well bring her to your side.” In any case, Shuobei men were like men of the Central Plains. It was perfectly ordinary for them to have three wives and four concubines. Author’s Note: None.