Chapter 111: Who Really Is It

Chapter 111: Who Really Is It

After the fall of the Donghu Kingdom,

Su Yiquan submitted a proposal to the Emperor outlining a plan to conquer Gaochang in five years. After reviewing it, the Emperor shared the proposal with the ministers of the three departments. It was collectively rejected by ministers, led by Imperial Secretary Xie Wu, as being overly ambitious and impractical.

This prompted the Emperor to visit the Anbei Protectorate.

Meeting with the King of Gaochang, he observed the kingdom’s vulnerability.

“Apart from accelerating the timeline, follow your plan in every other aspect,” said the Emperor. He could wait, but the changing situation in the west with the Uighurs and restless tribes couldn’t. There was also a loss of public support.

He needed to resolve the east completely to focus fully on the tougher western front, anticipating a prolonged engagement.

The Emperor further instructed Su Yiquan, “Whatever you want or need, just tell me. I will fulfill all of it – troops, funds, logistical supplies, including manpower. I will instruct the ministers to cooperate fully with you. Also, about your previous suggestion to adjust the military reward system, draft a proposal for discussion and implementation.”

Su Yiquan, deeply moved, knelt in gratitude, “I thank Your Majesty for your gracious favor and on behalf of the soldiers at the frontier. I swear to conquer Gaochang within two years, bringing the lands south of the desert under our empire.”

“Stand up.”

The Emperor personally helped him up, “You’ve been with me for ten years and understand my ambitions well. I trust and value you, and there will be greater responsibilities for you to shoulder in the future.”

The sovereign and his minister conversed deeply throughout the night, retiring only at dawn.

The Emperor, not in a hurry to return and embracing the fact that he was on an official tour, decided to stay a few more days in the Protectorate of Anbei. During this time, he met with important officials from the six prefectures under Anbei, including Governor Yuan Yi of Shengzhou.

With the Dog Emperor busy, Zhu Yan found relief. Apart from worrying about her son, she preferred being outdoors, especially in Anbei where the Emperor seemed to trust Su Yiquan greatly, feeling much safer than in Shengzhou City. The Emperor, accompanied by his entourage of high officials, stayed in the Protectorate, allowing Zhu Yan to go out escorted by only Lü Yu and four others.

Ren Fashan was directly reassigned by the Dog Emperor.

As local officials arrived, two banquets were held at the residence. Zhu Yan, seizing the chance to explore outside, did not attend, spending her days traveling from dawn to dusk. She took the opportunity to visit the countryside during a trip to the Fuyou Temple outside the city.

She also visited several villages near Fuyou Temple.

She aimed to understand as much as possible about the lifestyles of the common people in this era.

Especially the plight of widows in the countryside and cities.

Witnessing a young widow in a village being coerced by her in-laws and parents to remarry, and her subsequent attempt at suicide by drowning, Zhu Yan acted quickly. She instructed Lv Yu to save the woman.

In this era, social customs were more open, and the concept of widows remaining chaste was weak. Widows were often seen as a reproductive resource, and their remarriage was encouraged by the government.

Hence, few chose to remain chaste.

Fortunately, they brought twenty additional men, all retired soldiers from the army, armed with swords. Without them, rescuing the woman amidst the angry villagers would have been impossible.

Later, Wang Popo, who spoke the local dialect, negotiated with the villagers. With the widow's consent, they paid ten guan to take her away.

Their success was partly due to the twenty soldiers, recognized by the arriving village chief, who wore the military attire of the Protectorate's soldiers.

The widow was named Xin Huanghua.

Her husband died two summers ago after being kicked by a newly purchased calf, followed by drowning while chasing the escaped animal. Soon after his death, their two children also died from illness.

She had a deep bond with her husband and still wept at the mention of him, even after a year.

At twenty-five, her years of hard labor made her appear over thirty.

Zhu Yan communicated through Wang Popo, offering Xin a job as a servant in the Protectorate with a contract, or she could choose to live in the city with some financial help to start a new life.

Wang Popo is well-known in Shengzhou City as a matchmaker.

Zhu Yan merely wanted to see how Xin Huanghua, if choosing to make a living in the city, would establish herself. Entrusting her to Wang Popo, Zhu Yan didn’t intend to intervene further, understanding that excessive attention would skew the natural outcome she wished to observe.

This excursion made Zhu Yan reconsider her future prospects of retiring to the countryside, should she ever have the chance to leave the palace.

Rural villages are insular and dominated by clan authority, with a weak sense of legality.

Cities, at least, have laws to follow, especially in such peaceful and prosperous times, ensuring clear and effective governance.

Returning to the Protectorate’s city, Zhu Yan unexpectedly encountered Lin Niangzi, the proprietress from the Shengzhou tavern. Reminded by Wang Popo, she recognized Lin Niangzi’s true appearance – a stunningly beautiful woman with a striking presence.

Zhu Yan recalled the Emperor’s remarks about Lin Niangzi’s coquettish behavior towards him, suspecting his attraction to her beauty and dismissed it with a cynical laugh.

In this era, self-reliant women often command respect.

Back at the Protectorate, Zhu Yan, usually indifferent to gossip, inquired more about Lin Niangzi from Wang Popo, “With her beauty, she must have many suitors. Has she considered remarrying?”

“She insisted on observing three years of mourning for her father-in-law and vowed to care for her mother-in-law till her end. Her filial acts earned official commendation, deterring many frivolous suitors,” Wang Popo quickly responded.

Zhu Yan nodded in acknowledgment.

Filial piety serves as a powerful moral benchmark in this era.

Noticing Zhu Yan’s rare curiosity, Wang Popo eagerly shared more, “When her mourning period ended, suitors flooded in, from minor officials to even higher-ranking ones, though the latter mostly sought her as a concubine. She declined them all, making it clear she would only marry as a wife, not a concubine. She even boldly declared she’d rather die than be forced into a lesser union.”

"Scaring off numerous suitors, she became a well-known figure in Shengzhou City. The continuous harassment from the Guo family, accusing her of failing to preserve their wealth and pressuring her to remarry with their fortunes, was just a pretext to seize her assets."

In the following days, Zhu Yan encountered Lin Niangzi on the streets a few times. With Wang Popo mediating, they even exchanged a few words during their last meeting. Lin Niangzi's voice was gentle and melodious, resembling that of a woman from the Jiangnan region, speaking flawless Mandarin, even more authentic than Wang Popo's.

Her speech bore no trace of the local dialect.

At the Protectorate, the Emperor was exceedingly busy, often absent even at night. On his rare returns, he found Zhu Yan, who had been out all day and returned late, too tired to entertain him, which irritated him to the point of biting her shoulder and asking, "Do you enjoy the outside that much?"

He added, "If you're tired, rest at the Protectorate. You've been going out for so many days now. Haven't you had enough? I've never seen you so energetic before."

The Emperor's remarks were genuine.

Zhu Yan indeed seemed more spirited outside than inside the palace.

That's why he hadn't restricted her.

The summer at the borderlands was much cooler than in the capital, comparable to the royal retreat, prompting him to extend his stay at the Protectorate as a form of summer escape. Originally planned as a half-month trip, including travel time, they had now spent fifteen days just at the Protectorate.

The Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Xie Wu, had repeatedly inquired about his return, mentioning that the fourth prince was throwing tantrums at home.

The urgency in his messages was clear.

Zhu Yan pushed the Emperor away, giving him a disdainful look, “Now that we’re out, are you still trying to control me?”

“Fine, I won't,” the Emperor said with a smile, touching her shoulder where he had just nibbled and reminding her, “We leave for the capital tomorrow. Come back early today and rest well. Like on the way here, we'll have three days of hard riding ahead, which will be exhausting.”

Zhu Yan was receptive to serious matters and nodded in agreement.

Xin chose not to bind herself to the Protectorate but to work in a cloth shop in the city, using her weaving skills.

Before leaving, Zhu Yan visited Xin, who was much more stable and coherent than at their first meeting. She thanked Zhu Yan profusely and respectfully kowtowed three times, despite Zhu Yan’s attempts to stop her. Xin was determined and resolute.

Reflecting, Zhu Yan recognized Xin's bravery, a woman who once faced death without fear.

Now, she had a new lease on life.

Zhu Yan felt confident about Xin’s future.

Zhu Yan never expected to be kidnapped in this heavily guarded city with over 20,000 border soldiers. In broad daylight, she didn't even reach the doorstep of the cloth shop.

Her last memory was a severe pain at the back of her head.

When she awoke, she was overwhelmed by a filthy stench, bound hand and foot, unable to move, in a dim room surrounded by about a dozen children.

Had she ended up in a human trafficking den?

Kidnapped and then trafficked?

The unfamiliar haggling outside confirmed her suspicions. The conversation was in the local dialect, but having spent time in the Protectorate and accompanied by Wang Popo, who was fluent in both the official language and local dialect, Zhu Yan could understand most of it.

"...You see her beauty, I want thirty guan. You'll make a profit. In Shu territory, she’ll easily fetch a hundred guan, far more than the children in that room."

Thirty guan was equivalent to about 100,000 yuan in modern currency.

According to Wang Popo, the price for selling oneself in Shengzhou City was around five guan, and about six guan in the city of the Protectorate. Zhu Yan was indeed valuable.

It was her makeup that made her stand out.

Her face was the root of all these troubles.

Hearing the trafficker's plan to sell her to Shu territory, Zhu Yan suspected it might be someone she knew. She sifted through her acquaintances in her mind, wondering who harbored such deep hatred towards her to knock her out, kidnap her, and even attempt to sell her off.

There were indeed people in the world with such a vendetta against her, but they were in the capital, not in this borderland. Besides, they wouldn't dare to act so boldly.

Unable to identify the culprit, Zhu Yan focused on planning her escape.

She had wanted to leave the palace, but not like this.

She remembered the voice. After the man left, the trafficker entered, a man in his early forties. Enduring his lecherous gaze, Zhu Yan spoke up first, feigning calm: “You could use me to extort a large sum from Su Yiquan, the Protector of Anbei. Ask for two hundred taels, no, even three hundred, and he'll pay up without hesitation.”

Author's note:

Today's update, thank you all! Also, the Emperor's refusal of the King of Gaochang's daughter was simply because he didn't find her attractive enough. It's as simple as that.