Court Lady

“Brother-in-law!”

Prince Han was sitting unstably on his horse. As he watched his guards get killed one by one, he had lost hope on escaping. However, when he heard this call, he came to a sudden realisation. When fighting wars, capable people like Sheng Chumu were needed. What capable people could do that incapable people could not, was to make a fatty a main commander. 

“Chumu! Chumu! You are finally here!” Prince Han was so overwhelmed with emotions, he almost cried. However, when he turned back he realised that Sheng Chumu was alone on his horse. Eh? Where is the huge army? Where are the elite troops? And what about the small group of soldiers that Sheng Chumu always brought around with him? Why were they all missing!

“Where are the rest?” Okay, maybe he did not understand military strategy and could not decipher this strategy.

“It is just me.” Sheng Chumu cut off an enemy’s head with one strike. He was even smiling. “Brother-in-law, thank goodness you are alright.”

“No, why is it just you?” Was this brat trying to test the limits? The previous time, he used over a hundred soldiers to defeat a few thousand soldiers. Was he going to go solo this time? Even then, don’t bet on his life!

“My horse is the fastest one.” Alas, the thousand-mile horse that he stole from Lu Qi was useful.

“Aiyo! You are alone. Why did you barge in and die with me? I am very touched but what is going to happen to your sister? She can’t lose both her husband and her younger brother!” 

He had to at least ensure that Prince Han returned home safely. As the saying goes, a wife follows her husband after marriage. As the younger brother, he could take a step back.

“Brother-in-law, don’t say such unlucky stuff!” Sheng Chumu seemed to be laughing as he spoke. However, he fought with no mercy as his actions were faster and fiercer than anyone else. Soon, he fought through a bloody path. How could the soldiers keep up with him? As they tried to fight, they were soon left behind. 

“Very good, come at me!” Sheng Chumu fought his way out. When he turned back, eh? Prince Han was still surrounded. He had no choice but to fight his way back in. “Brother-in-law, be more swift.”

Prince Han laughed bitterly, “Do you think everyone is like you and charge forward without a care for your life? Look at you. You have a cut on your face because you don’t dodge!”

“Stop talking nonsense. Brother-in-law, follow me closely this time.” The physical pain distracted him from the pain in his heart.

“Oh oh!” Prince Han nodded rapidly.

The same route, the same enemies. Sheng Chumu fought brutally once again. When he finally fought his way out, he looked for Prince Han and did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

Prince Han was still surrounded as he turned on the spot and shouted, “Chumu! Leave! Don’t come back and sacrifice yourself! You...you you better not!”

Sheng Chumu fought his way in for the third time. Prince Han stared at his ribs in fright. “You...blood…so much blood…”

Sheng Chumu looked down. There was a cut at his ribs. “When did I get cut? No wonder it feels like I can’t use my full strength.”

Prince Han’s mouth gaped open. “You are pissing me off!” He finally understood. This brat had chosen to go to the border to commit suicide.

“Brother-in-law, don’t be too moved.” Sheng Chumu did not seem to care. “If you cannot return home in one piece, Elder Sister will kill me. I do not want to deal with her nagging.”

At this moment, Jisun Chenxin led a group of elite troops to join the fight.

All of Prince Han’s troops were either injured or dead. Moreover, they did not have the advantage in numbers to begin with. In addition, Jisun Chenxin wanted to capture Prince Han to use him as a bargaining chip for his own life and was extremely fierce. No matter how good Sheng Chumu was at fighting, he was still made out of flesh and suffered many injuries. When his horse was killed, he had been tilted to the side when he was suddenly stuck in the shoulder and collapsed to the ground. Prince Han was dismounted as well.

“Brother-in-law, I am sorry. I cannot send you back in one piece.” Sheng Chumu laughed bitterly.

Jisun Chenxin was about to capture Prince Han when the horn signalling the Tang army sounded. Dense black dots appeared outside the camp. He knew that he had lost his advantage and quickly pulled on his reins, escaping as quickly as possible. 

Sheng Chumu lay flat on the floor as he panted heavily. As he looked at Lu Qi’s face, he was extremely unhappy. “Are you a woman? Did you sway your hips as you made your way here?”

“Where is my precious horse?” Lu Qi looked around only to spot the horse’s corpse. “Oi, you owe me.”

Prince Han sat up and pounced onto Sheng Chumu. “Chumu! Are you okay? Are you severely injured? Nothing can happen to you! You can’t leave me behind! If anything were to happen to you, your elder sister will not forgive me!”

Sheng Chumu struggled to open his mouth. “Brother-in-law, you are very heavy. Even a perfectly healthy human will die when you lie on them.”

Prince Han laughed embarrassedly, “Haha, I am sorry.”

Lu Qi rolled his eyes. These two people really were a joke.

 

On this day, Fu Rou was telling Prince Qin the story of Jing Ke’s attempt at assassinating Emperor Qin. Empress Zhangsun sat by the side with her eyes closed and resting.

Prince Qin said, “Jing Ke is a true hero.”

Fu Rou asked, “Then what about Crown Prince Dan?”

Prince Qin thought about it. “He was a hero too. He did not back down from the State of Qin’s might and tried to wash away the humiliation although he failed in the end. In the future, I want to be this kind of hero.”

Fu Rou fell silent for a moment. “I once read a collection of notes from the Han Dynasty. In it, there was a passage called <<Yandanzi>>. It mentioned Crown Prince Dan’s attempt to send someone to assassinate Emperor Qin. It was mentioned that after Crown Prince Dan got the idea of using an assassin to kill Emperor Qin, he wrote a letter to his teacher Qu Wu and asked him what he thought of the idea.”

Prince Qin became curious. “Oh, then what did the teacher say?”

Fu Rou replied, “People who indulge in their own way of thinking is the greatest obstruction to moral conduct. People who indulge in their own desires will harm their own nature.”

When Empress Zhangsun heard this, she opened her eyes. She also wanted to hear how Fu Rou would explain this. 

“A person who indulges in their own spur of a moment thinking will go against moral conduct. People who indulge in their own desires will hurt their own inherent nature. Qu Wu did not approve of Crown Prince Dan’s idea. He believed that for someone who wanted to achieve big things, he should not be placing his hopes on something like an assassination. Even if he wanted revenge, he should follow the right path and try to strengthen the State of Yan’s might and collaborate with other states to attack State Qin. However, Crown Prince Dan did not listen and used Jing Ke to attack Emperor Qin. In the end, they failed. Jing Ke was dead, Crown Prince Dan died and State Yan was conquered by State Qin.”

“Your Highness, as the responsibility on your shoulders grows, the more you cannot give in to the spur of a moment ideas. Be it taking revenge or trying to erase a humiliation. Once you step down the wrong path, it will hurt your inherent nature and it will be too late for regrets.” 

People should be upright and take the correct path. This was also her principle that she conformed to and was not willing to compromise. 

Prince Qin had a sudden realisation. “Fu Siyan, I understand. I should not be afraid when I meet an obstacle. I must have a strong resolution when I am humiliated or faced with hostility and not go astray.”

“You are absolutely right.” Fu Rou smiled. 

Empress Zhangsun suddenly spoke, “Prince Qin, from now on you should not address her as Fu Siyan.”

Fu Rou looked at Empress Zhangsun in confusion.

Empress Zhangsun smiled. “You should address her as Teacher.”

Fu Rou bowed. “I do not dare.”

Empress Zhangsun did not allow her to reject. “I said you will be a teacher so you shall be a teacher.”

In the palace, people may start off kind. They would then slowly develop ulterior motives and may passively or actively start losing themselves. However, Fu Rou had always held on to her courage and intelligence. She has never wavered because of power and was extremely precious. 

All of a sudden, an internal attendant reported loudly, “Your Majesty, Prince Han has returned victorious. He has managed to capture Prince Zhao alive and will return to court in a few days' time.”

Empress Zhangsun was delighted. “Great, great!”

Prince Qin saw that Fu Rou’s eyes seemed to sparkle like stars. He did not know that that was also a way of expressing one’s happiness.