Chapter 21: Chang Chun Returns Home

Chapter 21: Chang Chun Returns Home

Once Yun Ran finished writing it down, Eunuch Yuan stood on his tiptoes to sneak a peek at the notebook,

Damn, the master's a real genius. This personal little ledger is kept all neat and tidy.

Why'd he put a checkmark next to the Imperial Envoy's name?

Eunuch Yuan scratched his head, clueless about what it meant,

Yun Ran's voice came from above him,

"The Imperial Envoy's account is all settled."

Oh, so that's it—the Imperial Envoy got his house raided and his head chopped off! No wonder the account was cleared up,

Yuan Bao's skin crawled.

The current Imperial Envoy was an old official from the Grand Emperor's era.

"Master, your method's brilliant. This servant ought to keep one of these too."

Yuan Bao mused,

With this little notebook, I'll jot down everyone who's mean to me!

When the chance comes, I'll collect my debts—I won't let a single one get away, hmph.

This little-notebook trend, without anyone knowing how it started, spread all through the Imperial Household Department,

And the source of all this evil turned out to be the Emperor himself.

The eunuchs went back and forth—you jot one down on me, I jot two down on you—mutually watching and ratting each other out,

Which actually ended up serving Yun Ran's new policies surprisingly well...

Yuan Miao, meanwhile, wore a sour face watching the army march off, inwardly screaming,

These Yanchi folks are all bandits, every last one of them!

I, Yuan Miao, am never setting foot in this godforsaken place again. Even their emperor's got no shame—emperor, eunuch, general, not one of them's any good.

And so, Yun Ran's crew camped right there for a day and a night.

When night fell, they even went and killed and ate that Beixiang horse that'd been shot, claiming it was to keep bacteria from breeding and polluting the environment.

Yuan Miao's crew didn't even get a single sip of that soup,

All they could do was stare longingly, too scared to speak up even though they were furious...

Then, on the second night, when the moon was bright and the stars were few, the sound of horse hooves rang out.

"Milord, the letter's here!"

Yuan Bao had sharp ears—he woke up in a flash, scrambled to his feet, and the whole army got up too.

Chang Chun held her breath inside the palanquin.

She'd heard everything that happened outside,

The Emperor had personally come with her father to bring her home, but she didn't know what terms had been negotiated with the Beixiang people, or if they'd even agree.

The letter had already been delivered outside, and Yuanyang stood nearby, clutching her handkerchief, nervous for her young lady.

...

"Hahahahaha, great!"

A hearty laugh rang out, along with Lord Yuan's weird yelps.

Turns out,

Thanks to Yuan Miao's spin on things, Prince Beixiang naturally agreed to the sweet deal of silver replacing the county lady's marriage alliance,

But he'd also sent their General Ashina to go with Yuan Miao to collect the silver, showing he didn't trust them much.

One look from Yun Ran, and Chang Yuan got it,

The Beixiang crew was immediately surrounded by Yanchi soldiers.

Yuan Miao thought he was finally leaving Yanchi, but turns out he had to head back again,

Karma came back that fast—truly a sad thing.

"Chun'er! Chun'er!"

Chang Qing and Chang Jiu, the two older brothers, rushed toward the distant palanquin first, while Chang Yuan knelt before Yun Ran.

"Basking in the Emperor's boundless grace for saving my daughter, your humble servant's gratitude is beyond words. I shall devote myself to the nation's cause and pledge my loyalty to the death."

"The General is most devoted. I look forward to your help in expanding our territory and conquering the vast lands under heaven."

Yun Ran gave Chang Yuan a pat on the shoulder.

Chang Yuan was blown away by the Emperor's grand ambition—words about conquering the realm weren't spoken lightly.

The Grand Emperor had been a stickler for tradition, focused only on guarding the lands and nation he had, never daring to launch campaigns, only fighting back when invaded.

Even so, the Grand Emperor had been a kind ruler, doing his best to shield the people from the horrors of war,

Hence all the land concessions and marriage alliances.

The Emperor was cut from a different cloth.

Chang Chun could finally come out to reunite with her family, and from this moment on, she was no longer a poor soul being sent off to marry.

The only thing she lost was her title of Lady of Pingyang.

But compared to marrying far off, a mere title was nothing—the General's Manor didn't need it anyway.

"Chun'er, you won't believe it—when we came to get you, the peach blossoms along the road were all in full bloom!"

"Really? I've been waiting for the peach blossoms to bloom since last winter."

A smile finally bloomed on Chang Chun's face.

And so the party set off once more,

And Chang Chun, as she had wished, saw the long-awaited rain of peach blossoms.

That poor old Lord Jiang, the Minister of Rites, after all that running around, didn't even get one line to say. Looking totally confused, he climbed back onto his galloping horse, bracing himself to get dizzy and puke his guts out again...

Lord Jiang muttered incessantly,

"Getting old—even drinking cold water gives me trouble!!"

As Yun Ran galloped along, she glanced back and saw

Chang Chun racing on her steed.

The girl sat tall and poised in the saddle, but she wasn't frail. Her long black hair had long since lost its jingling hairpins, and now, with no adornment, it was simply tied back with a silk ribbon.

Her bright red wedding gown had been swapped for a sharp black riding outfit.

There was a fierce, spirited look in her eyes that strongly reminded you of Chang Yuan.

The way she rode at full gallop was in no way inferior to Chang Yuan—untamed and bold.

"Seems she'll be quite the talent in the future."