Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Concerning Helan Yet Heir Prince Helan froze slightly. “Why are you suddenly saying that?” Shaoyin assumed that Heir Prince Helan had reacted this way because he had not expected her to be so magnanimous. After all, at the wedding in Lizhou, Xiao Heng had said quite a few things about how jealous she used to be. Because of Xiao Heng’s words, Heir Prince Helan might have viewed her as a narrow-minded wife who could not tolerate others. That was why he was so surprised to hear her say this. At that wedding, she had promised Heir Prince Helan that after marrying him, she would certainly be a gentle, virtuous, and worthy wife. Thus, Shaoyin spoke with exceptional gentleness and virtue. “Naturally, I hope that the Heir Prince can live comfortably. As your wife, I ought to consider your wishes in every respect. If there is a woman you like, simply bring her to the Golden Tent. As the Heir Princess, I will certainly make proper arrangements for her.” Shaoyin felt that she had phrased it appropriately. Yet Heir Prince Helan remained silent for quite some time, merely gazing at her face. When he finally spoke again, there seemed to be hesitation in his voice. “…Did someone…say something to you?” After hearing this, Shaoyin became even more certain that a woman named Wuqige truly existed. “No one said anything to me.” As she spoke, Shaoyin told Heir Prince Helan that he had once murmured that woman’s name in his drunken sleep. “…Oh.” Heir Prince Helan gave a soft “oh,” as though he understood, but then remained silent for a long while. The atmosphere…seemed to have grown somewhat strange… Ever since Shaoyin had met Heir Prince Helan, the two of them had always treated each other with respect and courtesy and observed the proper etiquette. They had gotten along fairly harmoniously, and there had never been a moment like this, when the atmosphere seemed so off. Just as Shaoyin was both puzzled and inexplicably uneasy, a servant’s report suddenly came from outside the tent. She naturally could not understand everything. She only heard the servant apparently mention the Great Khan of Shuobei. When Heir Prince Helan heard this, his expression became solemn. Seeing the bewilderment on her face, Heir Prince Helan told her, “My father has sent someone to summon me to the Great Khan’s Tent. He says there is an important matter to discuss with me.” Heir Prince Helan apologized to her and said that he could no longer continue teaching her the Shuobei language. He had to hurry to the Great Khan’s Tent at once to attend to state affairs. Shaoyin naturally expressed her understanding with all due gentleness and virtue, then personally saw Heir Prince Helan out of the tent. Yet as she watched Heir Prince Helan’s figure hasten away into the night, that earlier sense of strangeness seemed to linger in her heart, leaving her unable to settle down. While Heir Prince Helan was away, Shaoyin thought it over carefully. Perhaps Heir Prince Helan disliked her interfering in his personal affairs. After all, she was merely his wife in name, and she was an outsider besides. Whether he brought that moon-bright woman to his side or kept her hidden away elsewhere, it was all Heir Prince Helan’s private business. As an outsider, what right did she have to ask about it? She had originally made the suggestion to show Heir Prince Helan how magnanimous she was and to get along harmoniously with him. Instead, it seemed she had only made matters worse. Shaoyin felt regretful. She thought that she should make amends for this and repair her relationship with Heir Prince Helan, but she did not know how. After considering it from every angle, Shaoyin thought of preparing a meal for him. No matter what, she was Heir Prince Helan’s wife in name, at least. After thinking it over some more, Shaoyin could only cook a bowl of tremella-and-lotus-seed sweet soup. It was the only thing she knew how to make. Naturally, tremella-and-lotus-seed sweet soup was not part of the Shuobei diet, but Shaoyin had brought many Central Plains goods with her when she came to Shuobei, so she had no shortage of the ingredients needed to stew this sweet soup. She cooked a bowl carefully, then left it warming in a small pot as she waited for Heir Prince Helan to return. She did not know whether their discussion of state affairs had continued until very late, or whether Heir Prince Helan was somewhat upset with her because of what had happened earlier and did not want to see her. In any case, even late into the night, Heir Prince Helan still had not returned. As Shaoyin waited, she gradually nodded off in her seat. Suddenly, she felt someone touch her shoulder. Startled, she rose in a daze. Heir Prince Helan had just walked up behind her, and when she suddenly stood, her head struck him directly on the chin. Hearing Heir Prince Helan let out a soft, pained sound, Shaoyin was startled. Her mind cleared at once, and she hurriedly turned around to examine him. She held Heir Prince Helan’s chin in both hands, so anxious that she did not know what to do. She kept asking whether he was in pain and whether she should summon a physician. Only after quite some time did she realize that she and Heir Prince Helan seemed far too intimate at that moment. She was practically pressed against him. One hand held his face while she tilted her own up to look at him, and Heir Prince Helan was gazing down at her. They were so close that even their breaths seemed to mingle softly between them. Shaoyin’s hand stiffened. She lowered it and stepped back a little, but still asked with concern, “Are you all right, Heir Prince?” “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Heir Prince Helan spoke gently, then asked why she had not gone to bed and rested when it was so late. “I was waiting for you to return.” Shaoyin said, “I cooked a bowl of sweet soup for you. Would you like to have some as a late-night snack?” A bright light appeared in Heir Prince Helan’s eyes, and he smiled as he said yes. Shaoyin asked Heir Prince Helan to wait a moment and went to serve it herself. Before the tremella soup was done, she added rock sugar, goji berries, and other ingredients, then stewed it for a while longer. Only when the sweet soup seemed to have reached its best texture did she ladle it into a bowl. She then scooped another bowl from the pot and personally carried the tremella-and-lotus-seed sweet soup over to Heir Prince Helan. She had done something similar once before, but Xiao Heng had not even tasted a single bite at the time. Furious, she had carried the bowl straight home and thrown it away. She had never found out what that bowl of tremella-and-lotus-seed sweet soup had tasted like to someone else. Now, Shaoyin watched Heir Prince Helan eat with some nervousness and asked, “What do you think of the flavor, Heir Prince?” As soon as she asked, she could not help feeling uncertain. After all, Heir Prince Helan was from Shuobei, and his tastes differed from those of people in the Central Plains. He might not be accustomed to a sweet food with such a soft, silky texture. Shaoyin added, “If you’re not used to it, I can have someone bring over some salted milk tea and roasted venison. Those are the late-night snacks Shuobei people usually enjoy.” “How could I not be used to it? It tastes very good.” Heir Prince Helan smiled. “If you don’t believe me, try some yourself.” He picked up the spoon and scooped a small bowl for her from the pot as well. Shaoyin sat down beside Heir Prince Helan. The tables used by the people of Shuobei were much lower than those in the Central Plains. They ate their meals seated together on cushions behind long, low tables, which naturally brought them somewhat closer together. Shaoyin lifted the small bowl of sweet soup, and she and Heir Prince Helan began eating together. When the soft, glutinous tremella and the delicate fragrance of the lotus seeds blossomed gently across her tongue at the same time, the corners of her lips curved upward. It was as though a smile delayed for many years had quietly surfaced at her lips on this tranquil, peaceful night, beneath the warm glow of the lamps. Before going to sleep that night, Shaoyin apologized to Heir Prince Helan for what had happened earlier, saying that she should not have presumed to ask about his personal affairs. But Heir Prince Helan told her that since she was his wife, there was nothing she could not ask about. There were no private matters between husband and wife. Heir Prince Helan remained gentle and tolerant toward her. He was not upset with her as she had feared, and all her earlier unease seemed to have been unnecessary. However, Shaoyin did not bring up that woman again. Though Heir Prince Helan’s attitude was forgiving, she understood that she had to know her limits and must not overstep them. That night, she still shared a bed with Heir Prince Helan. They each wrapped themselves in their own blanket and kept a distance of roughly half a chi between them on the broad bed. Unlike on the night of their wedding in Lizhou, the man beside Shaoyin no longer filled her heart with panic and fear. Before falling asleep, she found herself thinking of the loved ones in her homeland, always worried that they might be faring poorly and unable to live in peace. When one has thoughts, one has dreams. That night, Shaoyin dreamed that everything she had done was futile. Her Aunt was still given poisoned wine by the Son of Heaven, while the Xue family was stripped of its property and exiled. Soldiers stormed into her home and destroyed everything familiar to her from childhood. Even her parents’ memorial tablets were thrown to the ground and shattered. Yet her Crown Prince Cousin, when his adoptive mother was sentenced to death and the Xue family met with disaster, merely stood by and watched with cold indifference. His eyes were icy, and his expression detached. “Xiao Heng! Xiao Heng!” In her dream, Shaoyin cried out again and again in anguish. “Save them! I beg you, save them!” She screamed in grief and despair, as though she would shout her throat raw, when someone suddenly embraced her. Shaoyin could not tell whether she was dreaming or awake. She only heard the owner of those arms comforting her again and again. “It’s all right now. It’s all right…”