Hearing a sound behind her, Ye Xiaoxian turned around and saw Xiao Baoshan standing close by. With anger, she pulled a long face without any greeting. This made Xiao Baoshan feel a little embarrassed, but he thought of Li Hongmei’s words: “Even if she snubs you, you should be unabashed about chatting with her.”
Seeing two empty buckets next to him, he pointed at them and asked, “Shall I get two buckets of water for you?”
Ye Xiaoxian replied in a sulk, “If you like. No one’s stopping you.”
Xiao Baoshan took a pole and hung a bucket on each end. Then, he headed for a river which he had seen yesterday.
…
Ye Xiaoxian had slept rather lightly the previous night. Now, she still felt conflicted with a little excitement and a little anger. She was thinking about Liu Qianqian’s words which sounded reasonable. If Xiao Baoshan stayed in Longmen Inn and married Jin Xiaoyu, she would be even more furious.
She had won the game temporarily, now that he was willing to come back. With him by her side, she felt somewhat safe and reassured. She had been the one to be relied on, and now, she also found a shoulder to rest her head on. But she was reluctant to give in. Alas, she should just take her time.
After a terrible night’s sleep, she had got up early to cook porridge. There were so many things to do every day that she had no time to think much. After cooking a large pot of porridge, she began making baked pancakes.
After a while, Wong Mudan and Li Hongmei also got up. Seeing that Ye Xiaoxian was making breakfast alone, they also hurried over to help.
Suddenly, Wong Mudan pointed towards the base of a mountain. “Isn’t that Baoshan? Why is he fetching water so early?”
Ye Xiaoxian couldn’t help looking towards the mountain. When she saw his figure, her heart fluttered uncontrollably. In the village, he had also been hardworking, fetching water and firewood, and doing any work he could see that needed doing. At the beginning of their business in the county, he had also helped her carry bean jelly to the market every day. By that point, she had begun to particularly enjoy seeing his strong and muscular back while he carried everything with ease. That had always made her heart pound wildly. To her surprise, she still had butterflies in her stomach when seeing such a scene again. Angry with herself, she shifted her gaze away from Xiao Baoshan.
“Baoshan, you’ve just come here. Why don’t you take a longer rest?” Li Hongmei looked worried.
Xiao Baoshan put down the buckets. “It’s not tough work. I’ve healed up. I just wanted to help Little Ye…”
“Oh, you’re fetching water for Little Ye? You’re so considerate!” Li Hongmei’s attitude changed in the blink of an eye.
Wong Mudan was quite amazed. Ye Xiaoxian gave a wry smile. She thought of how Li Hongmei had got Xiao Baoshan and her together.
Xiao Baoshan said to Ye Xiaoxian, “I know you all have work to do, so I also can’t stand idle. I can do anything. Little Ye, you can arrange some work for me to do.”
She said sourly, “Of course. All of us are very busy. How could you not help out? Since you’ve just come here and aren’t familiar with most work, you can join the wood-chopping team or the camel team.”
Li Hongmei immediately disagreed, “No, Baoshan can’t join the camel team. Tarico can manage it well on his own and he has enough manpower. As I see it, Baoshan may fetch firewood or purchase materials with Squire Liu. Anyway, the camel team is not suitable for him.”
If he were to leave with the camel team for a month, how could he rebuild a relationship with Ye Xiaoxian?
So that day, Xiao Baoshan followed the wood-chopping team to the mountain.
…
At noon, Tarico arrived. It was not just for work but also to see Xiao Baoshan. Along with some other men, Xiao Baoshan had just come back with a large bundle of firewood. Since he was tall and strong, it seemed effortless for him to do this job.
In Tarico’s eyes, there was a trace of hostility and a hint of jealousy. This was the one who Little Ye missed; an unusual man with a handsome face and unique temperament. But Tarico didn’t think himself inferior to Xiao Baoshan. Apart from being robust, a man should be a good fighter, and above all, be able to protect his woman. Although Xiao Baoshan had once been a hero, he was now merely a wood chopper. Even if Little Ye had liked him very much before, she might get tired of him after a while.
There was a custom of wife snatching in the tribe. If one took a fancy to another man’s wife, he could throw down the gauntlet. As long as the woman agreed, he could then take her as his own wife. Although few people used this trick, such behavior was allowed in the tribe. With envy, Tarico gulped down a jar of alcohol after returning home.
…
In the capital.
A great many ministers had come to wait outside the palace half an hour earlier. There was heated discussion over one thing. “Beiqing attacked Heihe city again yesterday and over 1,000 of our soldiers died. How can we stop this?”
“Beiqing has gone too far. We’ve given them our northern desert, but they’re still not satisfied!”
“…”
The palace gate soon opened. In a chanting voice, a eunuch called the ministers to enter. Li Chengkun was sitting on his throne with a serious expression on his face.
He looked at the ministers and asked, “I believe you’ve learned about Beiqing’s attack. Do you have any suggestions?”
The old prime minister was first to stand up and say resolutely, “Beiqing has challenged us more than once or twice. We tolerated them last month but this time they’ve killed over 1,000 of our soldiers. If we don’t fight back, Beiqing will think our country is weak and will become more aggressive in the future. I suggest we attack!”
Instantly, his proposal was seconded by another five ministers.
Just then, the state preceptor also stood up. With a snort, he said, “Dear scholars, do you know how to fight a war? How much manpower will it consume? How many casualties we will suffer? I don’t think you know about these things. Don’t ask for a war with such ease! Dare you go to the battlefield?”
The prime minister refuted angrily, “If I were young and knew martial arts, I would go to the battlefield! Of course a war will cause casualties, but if we don’t fight, Beiqing will be harsher to us! Don’t you know they want to take Heihe this time?”
“So what?” the state preceptor asked.
“It’s our land! Our inviolable land! We shouldn’t yield an inch when it comes to our territory! Even if it may require sacrifices, we can’t allow them to offend us!”
The state preceptor sneered. “Are you willing to send your children to the battlefield?”
“Why not? It’s a great honor to fight for the country!” responded the prime minister with determination.
The state preceptor turned to Li Chengkun and said, “Your Majesty, I couldn’t disagree more with the prime minister. In my view, we should send an envoy to make peace with Beiqing.”
Li Chengkun asked, “What if they demand that we give up Heihe?”
The state preceptor replied, “Then give it to them. Perhaps we can marry a princess to Beiqing and give them Heihe as her dowry. The marriage will secure the stability of our country.”
The prime minister flew into a rage. “No! Heihe is our northern fortress and the people there are under our protection. We can’t turn a blind eye to those lives. Otherwise, even if they survive, they will be marginalized, exploited and put in dire straits!”
The state preceptor said, “It’s better than launching a war. We’ll lose only a city through marriage, while we’ll suffer far worse in a war. Even if we win, we’ll use up enormous financial resources. This is not what we want to see.”
The prime minister’s face contorted with anger. “Addled asshole! You merely want to guarantee your current position and enjoy your intimacy with the empress dowager! The people’s lives are nothing in your eyes! You’re so fatuous and selfish!”
“You… you…” The state preceptor hadn’t expected him to be so blunt and asked Li Chengkun for help. “Your Majesty, I’m considering Daqi’s people, but the prime minister slanders me and even Her Majesty. She’s your mother! A pure woman! How could she bear such a stigma? Please punish this rude man!”
The prime minister snorted, “Do you think we don’t know what you’ve done? Do you think you can be so relentless and defy the law with the trust of His Majesty and the support of the empress dowager? If Heihe is captured, you’ll be a sinner in Daqi!”
The state preceptor knelt down with a thud and cried aloud to the emperor, “Your Majesty, I’m only speaking my mind, and I advocate making peace so that our people won’t suffer from war. But the prime minister says I collude with the empress dowager and defy the law. That’s absolute slander. Your Majesty, please do justice to my reputation!”
There was a sudden silence in the palace. This was an occasion for everyone to air their views, but it was thoughtless for the prime minister to get the empress dowager involved. Although her affair with the state preceptor was known by all present, no one had the courage to mention this in the palace. Since the state preceptor was favored by the emperor, the prime minister was likely to be punished this time.
As they had anticipated, Li Chengkun waved his hand with uncontrollable rage. “The prime minister is disrespectful and even slanders the empress dowager. Guards! Take off his hat (the symbol of an official post) and put him in prison!”
The prime minister said sorrowfully, “Your Majesty, you can dismiss me. You can kill me. But what we discuss today is related to the country, to our territory! Please don’t compromise this time…”
Quickly, he was dragged out of the palace. He was so aged that he looked like a withered leaf being pulled along by two guards. Many loyal ministers felt pitiful for him who had worked hard for Daqi for three dynasties and made great achievements. Who could have expected that he would end up like this? They hoped that the emperor could, considering his contributions, spare him after a few days of imprisonment.
As the state preceptor watched the scene, he revealed an inconspicuously scornful smile. He had been looking hard for an opportunity to impeach this old man, and now he’d finally found one.