Dandere General and his Lord

30. Courtship

It was an old soldier who brought Cheng Qianye her meals every day. His face was one that had gone through the vicissitudes of life, his figure small and thin, and his temper reticent.

When it was meal time, he passed the food through the small opening with his withered hands and took back the used tableware from the previous meal. Throughout this process, no matter what Cheng Qianye asked him, he would not respond with so much as a single word.

This time, after he had passed her the food, Cheng Qianye seized him by the wrist before he had the chance to retrieve his hands.

“Help me give some food to that slave at the stables.” She didn’t wait for him to struggle free and immediately voiced out her request.

She shoved a smooth jade pendant into that wizened old hand which had become rough and deformed from years of labour.

Cheng Qianye squeezed his hand and whispered through the door, “Please, give him something to eat. He is also a living being. It’s not a difficult request, I beg you.”

That hand hung back for a moment before the fingers finally closed, concealing the jade pendant in his sleeve.

Cheng Qianye clung onto the window railing, looking outside.

A while later, she finally saw the old soldier appear in front of the stable holding onto a bowl.

He looked around and made sure nobody was paying attention before holding Mo Qiao Sheng’s face and feeding the liquid food in the bowl to him.

He whispered something into Mo Qiao Sheng’s ears before hastily putting away the bowl and leaving.

Mo Qiao Sheng lifted up his head, his line of sight falling on Cheng Qianye who stood behind the window.

Cheng Qianye cupped her hands around her lips and mouthed a few words at him.

“Cheer up, Qiao Sheng!”

Although she knew that Mo Qiao Sheng couldn’t hear her, she still believed that he would be able to understand what she wished to say.

Mo Qiao Sheng gazed at her for a moment before turning his head away.

A dense yellow colour akin to that of deciduous leaves tinted his splendid blue lustre. It denoted his deep anxiety, the emotional colour of guilt and powerlessness.

That little fool is feeling guilty he couldn’t protect me. Cheng Qianye thought. He’s clearly in such a bad situation but he’s still thinking about me, his Lord.

I need to find a way out of here, I can’t let Qiao Sheng get hurt again.

Cheng Qianye carefully scrutinized her surroundings outside the window. She discovered that the room she was locked up in was actually part of gorgeous and ornate palace buildings, situated in a corner on the outskirts.

There was a great chance that she was currently within the palace of the State of Wei’s monarch, Yao Hong.

Every once in a while, servants passed by leading colts or horses in and out from the stables sitting opposite.

Sometimes, a few well-dressed nobles would come to the stables personally.

A young woman from among these nobles caught Cheng Qianye’s attention.

She never wore the complicated short jackets with the long skirts that women wore these days, instead wearing neat and efficient clothes which closely fit her body.

Every time she appeared, she acted very openly with great ostentation.

She would come to the stables very often and choose a precious horse of her liking, letting the stableman lead it out before she mounted it and swaggered off.

Cheng Qianye had heard people address her as Princess Tianxiang.

There was an impression of this princess within the memories that she had inherited. She was Duke Wei Heng; Yao Hong’s sole blood-related younger sister, Yao Tianxiang.

This Princess Tianxiang had been married off to Duke Luzhuang from their neighboring state, but unexpectedly, Duke Luzhuang who was over 50 years of age died of illness less than a year after their marriage.

Duke Wei Heng’s mother, Madame Ji, was unable to bear seeing her only daughter widowed at such a young age. She brought her back to the State of Wei and wished to select another husband for her daughter.

Cheng Qianye leaned against the window and quietly gazed at the beautiful woman clothed in red jumping off her horse.

The beauty passed over the reins in her hands to a young stableman. Taking advantage of the horse’s body which obstructed the other people’s line of sight, she reached out her hand towards the strong figure, squeezing the young man’s butt.

The man bowed his head as he led the horse away, his face flushed red.

This is already the third one. Cheng Qianye thought to herself. The third man with an aura of pink bubbles when facing the Princess.

Interesting, maybe I can try and find an opening through this princess.

She sat in front of the guzheng in the room and tuned the strings. Calming herself, her fingers fluttered and played the song, “A Male Phoenix Seeks his Mate”.1

There were no movements at the door.

Cheng Qianye continued persisting and emotionally played another song, “Endless Yearning”.2 There was still no result.

Finally, she was struck with inspiration and played the theme “A Sound of Laughter in the Vast Sea”3 from the movie, “The swordsman.”

A short while later, a woman’s voice sounded outside the door, “Open the door.”

The guard keeping watch by the door replied fearfully, “Princess, I can’t, this person is….”

“Scram! Ben Gongzhu4 is going inside. How dare you block Our path?”

The door was opened from the outside with a “bang”, and a woman dressed in red stepped inside.

She swung the horsewhip in her hand and sat down in a chair. She looked at Cheng Qianye with a strange smile on her face.

“Speak, why did you lure me here?”

Cheng Qianye stood up and straightened her clothes before saluting respectfully.

“I happened to catch sight of Princess’ appearance and was surprised by your celestial beauty. Playing a song from the heart, I wished to meet you in order to allay my lovelorn heart.”

“The song is not bad, but your words are fake.” Yao Tianxiang’s pretty mouth pulled into a smirk, “I suggest you say what you have to say, I don’t have the time to waste accompanying you here.”

Cheng Qianye lifted up her head and went straight to the point, “I have heard that Duke Wei Heng intends to choose a husband for the Princess. Zaixia5 is untalented. Being the monarch of Jin Nation, I wish to marry Princess as my wife and have a long lasting relationship with each other.

Yao Tianxiang sneered and said, “You are here as a prisoner now and actually have the audacity to speak of marrying me?”

“It’s because of this that I wish to borrow the strength of the Princess, to allow both you and I to be free.”

“What do you mean?”

Cheng Qianye replied, “I am a cut-sleeve, I do not like women.”

“Impudence! You like men yet you dare to take me as your wife!” Yao Tianxiang filled with righteous fury.

“When I look at the Princess, I see a peerless and independent woman, dazzling beneath the radiant sun. I think Princess is different from ordinary women, content to be beneath a man and serving their husband along with several other women.” Cheng Qianye observed her expression as she spoke slowly.

“I admire Princess’ appearance, this admiration merely stemming from the fondness one feels when seeing beautiful things. If you and I were to get married, I won’t need you to put on airs for me and I can also completely ignore your personal affairs.”

Yao Tianxiang averted her gaze, mumbling softly.

Cheng Qianye persevered insistently, “As a princess, sooner or later, you must remarry. And the man you marry will have to be a noble lord or king. Maybe that man would be a wretched old man, at the very least, he would have a dozen wives and concubines. Don’t tell me that you have another choice better than me?”

“If Princess wishes to go back to Jin Nation with me, I will arrange a princess’ mansion for you. I do not like women and I won’t get entangled with you in the slightest. When the time comes, I won’t interfere with you whether you take a fancy to an imperial guard, a stableman or someone else.”

“What drivel are you spouting!” Yao Tianxiang scowled. “All empty talk and you want me to believe you. How can I know that you won’t just mercilessly cast me aside after using me?”

Cheng Qianye smiled and sat down beside Yao Tianxiang. “You see Princess, in fact, the relationship between people is all about using each other. Any guarantee I give you would not be as reliable as real interests.”

“You are the princess of the State of Wei. You only need to marry into Jin Nation in this capacity.” She stretched out her snowy palm and gesticulated gently. “For me to marry you back, I merely need to provide you with a luxurious house and lavish clothing. As far as I’m concerned, this doesn’t cost me much.” 

“With you, both our countries, Jin and Wei, will become good relatives by marriage. With just a bit of property, I can gain such a huge advantage. Why would I cast you aside?”

“Even if our two countries were to have any discord in the future, you are just a woman and pose no danger to me. You can even provide me with a helping hand, I have no need to make things difficult for you.”

Cheng Qianye drew closer to Yao Tianxiang’s ear and softly enticed her, “You will never have to wrong yourself again, going against your will to be with a man you don’t like. Thereupon, you will be able to get the freedom you actually desire.”

This final sentence pierced into the depths of Yao Tianxiang’s heart.

She bit her lip and looked at Cheng Qianye. “Do you really like men?”

Cheng Qianye spread out her hand close to Yao Tianxiang and pointed outside the door towards Mo Qiao Sheng who was at the stable, “That one. He’s the one I like.”

Yao Tianxiang stretched out her neck and stared at him for a while, “His looks and figure are all good, your vision is unexpectedly outstanding. I don’t like those coy and delicate pretty men.”

She rose to her feet and clapped her hands together, the horsewhip still in hand, “What you just said really moved me a little. But, I may not be able to do it, I’ll go back and consider it carefully.”

Cheng Qianye felt slightly relieved.

Just as Yao Tianxiang was about to leave, she called out to her, “Your Highness, can you do me a favour first?”

Yao Tianxiang raised an eyebrow.

Cheng Qianye bowed her head and saluted sincerely and respectfully, “He is seriously injured and hasn’t received any food or drink, tied up over there without a moment’s rest. Qianyu requests this of Princess, please give me a hand and help me a little.”

Yao Tianxiang stood at the doorway and turned her head to look at her. “Seeing you like this, you appear to be a bit more convincing. I hope you are as you appear to be, and not a cold and ruthless man.”

Not long after she left, Cheng Qianye saw two attendants going over to the stables. They released Mo Qiao Sheng from the pillar and put him on a haystack inside the woodshed.

Although Mo Qiao Sheng was still tied up, he was still sheltered from the wind and rain and there was room for him to lie down and rest. It was much better than before.

Someone even brought some crude food and water for him.

Watching Mo Qiao Sheng slowly prop himself up to eat, she finally released a relieved sigh.

Cheng Qianye waited two more days before the door finally opened and several attendants filed in, carrying clean beautiful clothes before requesting her to wash up and change. They led her to see Duke Wei Heng.

Yao Hong; the Duke Wei Heng, had a square-shaped face with soaring eyebrows. His face was white and he had a beard, a man with a handsome and dignified appearance. Once he saw Cheng Qianye, he laughed heartily as he stepped forward and said, “Misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I allowed Marquis Ye6 to be wronged.”

“I haven’t been in the palace for the past couple of days and my subordinates are stupid and ignorant, actually having the impertinence to detain Marquis Ye. Truly abominable, I have already ordered for them to be punished severely. I am here to apologize to Marquis Ye, please forgive me.”

Cheng Qianye laughed and said, “Xiongzhang,7 why do you say such a thing? If Xiongzhang hadn’t come to the rescue, Xiaodi8 might have already passed away in the wilderness. Xiaodi’s heart is filled with gratitude towards Xiongzhang, how can you say such a thing?”

Yao Hong chuckled and pulled Cheng Qianye’s wrist. “Xiandi9 is so broadminded, Yuxiong10 is delighted. Come, come, let’s go, I have arranged a banquet in the audience hall for Xiandi to apologize for scaring you.”

Hence, the two of them joined hands and went over to the audience hall, the host and the guest sitting separately as they drank and chatted merrily, with brotherly affection. Not long later, the atmosphere became familiar and lively.

~

1. (凤求凰 – fèng qiú huáng) – Poem by Sima Xiangru; a courtship song.  
2. (长相思 – zháng xiāng sī) – I think it’s a poem by Li Bai, there are songs too butI’m not sure whether it’s an adaptation of the poem by Li Bai urr here’s a link for further reading of the poem in the TL note below 
3. (滄海一聲笑 – cāng hǎi yī shēng xiào) – Theme Song of the movie The Swordsman(1990) 
4. (本公主 – běn gōng zhǔ) – This Princess, I [royal]
5. (在下 – Zaixia) – I, myself [humble]
6. (爷 = Yé) A respectful form of addressing a man of higher position [Sir; Master; Lord]/respectful form of addressing an elder man. Literal translation father/grandpa/old gentleman. Basically an honorific such as “sama” in jp.
7. (兄长 – Xiongzhang) – Elder Brother [Respectful address for an elder brother / Respectful term of address for a male friend or a man of about the same age]
8. (小弟 – Xiaodi) – I, Your little brother 
9. (贤弟 – Xiandi) – Worthy little brother [Term of respect for younger brother or younger male] 
10. (愚兄 – Yuxiong) – Your unworthy elder brother, I