Chapter 25

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“It’s already closed? Really, we were delayed by all that fuss.” Zhu Yan frowned and ordered, “You go tell the city guards that we are from the Red King’s Palace, entering the city from the feudal land in pilgrimage, with the vassal King’s Golden Waist Plate as proof, we can pass everywhere on this road without obstruction.”

“I have already informed them.” The scout said with some difficulty, “But… but the city guards said that the governor’s rule is strict, and Yecheng is the gateway to the Yunhuang, once the hour has passed, all nine gates will be closed, even the emperor cannot make an exception.”

“Ooh! What a big mouth!” Zhu Yan was so angry that she started laughing, “I don’t believe that if the emperor was really locked outside the city gates, he would dare to be so tough and just not open! I’d like to see it.”

She was so hot-tempered that she lifted the curtain and was about to step out of the carriage. But Grandma Sheng tugged at her skirt and said, “My goodness, my dear, the Governor of Yecheng today is Bai Fenglin of the Bai clan, the eldest brother of Princess Xueying – let’s forget it.”

“What’s wrong with Xueying’s brother?” Zhu Yan was not convinced, “Should I be afraid of him?”

“Ugh, how immature.” Grandma Sheng sighed and lifted her finger to point at the city, “If you barge through recklessly and make a scene, word of this will soon spread among the nobles of the Six Clans… the Red King’s House can’t afford to lose face. If your father finds out, he will definitely scold you severely.”

“…” Zhu Yan froze for a moment, remembering her father’s angry rant, she was discouraged, “Then… what about tonight? Do we just stay in the carriage for the night?”

“As a noble Lady, how can you sleep with these merchants halfway down the road?” Grandma Sheng shook her head, “The Red King has another courtyard outside this city, why don’t we stay there tonight? We’ll go into the city first thing tomorrow.”

Zhu Yan’s eyes widened, “My family has a courtyard here? How come I didn’t know?”

“You’ve been busy playing since you were little, how could you care about such trivial matters?” Grandma Sheng laughed, “The six vassals of Kongsang share the Six Harmonies of Yunhuang, and the Red King certainly has other courtyards, in Yecheng and the Imperial Capital, what’s so unusual about that?”

“Wow,” she couldn’t help but stammer, “so my father is so rich!”

“After all, he is a King of the Six Clans. But when it comes to wealth, the White King is still number one among the vassals.” Grandma Sheng shook her head and rambled on, “His White Clan has produced queens for generations, and shares the world equally with the blood of the emperor, not only does he have the richest fief, he is also in charge of Yecheng, the center of trade and commerce.”

Zhu Yan couldn’t help but frown, a little unhappy, “Ah… so in that case, wouldn’t the Western Wasteland that our Red Clan is in charge of, be considered the poorest fiefdom in Yunhuang?”

Nanny Sheng let out a chuckle, but did not refute it.

“No wonder whenever I meet Xueying, the jewelry she wears blinds people’s eyes. Mutton jade bracelets, pigeon egg-sized gems… that time she even took a bead that was worth half a city to show me.” Zhu Yan has a carefree personality and hadn’t noticed these differences before, but after all, she is a girl, and at the moment she was a little upset, she couldn’t help muttering, “So her father is that rich?”

Grandma Sheng smiled and tidied up her clothes, while comforting her: “Don’t be upset, Princess. The Red King has only you, while the Princess Xueying has ten brothers and sisters.”

“That’s true too!” Zhu Yan instantly became happy again, “My father only loves me!”

As they spoke, the group walked in the direction of the other courtyard and dismounted to take a rest.

The courtyard was so large that it took a quarter of an hour to walk from the gate to the main hall. Zhu Yan looked at the overlapping pavilions, the clouds of maidservants and the splendid furnishings inside, and was stunned, “How… how come this courtyard looks more exquisite than the Red King’s residence in Celestial Wind City?”

“After all, the Western Wasteland is bitterly cold and not as friendly as this place,” Grandma Sheng laughed, “Don’t hurry to say that this courtyard is big – when you will see the Red King’s Palace in Yecheng, I don’t know how surprised you will be then.”

“How did father managed to buy so many properties thousands of miles away from home? Does the mother Imperial Consort know that he spends money so recklessly? He’ll be keeping an outside family here, right?” Zhu Yan was surprised, “And such a big mansion, does anyone usually come to live here?”

“When the Red King goes to the Capital, he occasionally stays here for a few days.” Grandma Sheng said, “Usually when no one is staying, the lobby and main building are sealed off and the servants are not allowed in.”

Zhu Yan frowned, “That big house is just left empty for nothing? Why don’t we rent it out to someone?”

“How can that be? What a childish thing to say,” Grandma Sheng laughed and shook her head, “The Red King is after all one of the six vassals, how can he be left behind in a place like the Imperial Capital and Yecheng where the powerful and noble gather, would be too disgraceful.”

“Spending so much money only for the sake of face?” Zhu Yan was disapproving, but still followed her all the way in.

The chief steward of the courtyard was caught off guard, and came up to salute with some trepidation, saying that there were no good ingredients in the house and the market in Yecheng was closed, so they could only put up a simple meal for tonight, he was hoping the Princess would forgive him.

“Just make a little something, hurry up!” She was a little impatient, “Even if there’s no bamboo chicken with mushrooms, I’m starving to death.”

The chief steward hurriedly took the order and retreated, and it was done in less than half an hour.

As Zhu Yan followed the maid forward, she saw that the room was lit by bright candles, and on the red sandalwood table were six cold dishes, twelve hot dishes, various fruits and pastries, spreading all over the table, making Zhu Yan’s tongue salivate; Even in the Red King’s Mansion in Celestial Wind City, her daily evening meal was rarely this sumptuous, unless it was a festival.

“I’m just a single person, how can I eat all of this only by myself, this is too much!” She muttered to Nanny Sheng as she struggled to stuff her mouth, “Don’t waste it… take it out and share it with everyone later!”

“Yes.” Grandma Sheng only smiled and said, “Take your time, Princess, don’t choke on your food.”

There were many different kinds of dishes, she tasted them one by one and was almost satisfied. However, the dishes tasted so good, many of which she had never eaten in the Western Wasteland; she just couldn’t resist and picked out a few more delicious dishes and ate them with such vigor that she could hardly stand up.

“Your Highness, you can sleep in the west room for the night.” Old Nanny Sheng helped her slowly out the door and pointed to the left side of the backyard, “That was originally the room the King reserved for you, everything in the room is arranged according to your boudoir in the Red King’s Mansion, you shouldn’t feel strange sleeping there.”

“Good.” She hugged her waist and hiccupped, “Father is actually so attentive.”

“The King loves the Princess,” Grandma Sheng laughed, “such a precious daughter.”

This room upstairs in the west wing was large, and the furnishings inside were indeed identical to the royal family’s boudoir, only more ornate and refined. Zhu Yan had been sitting on the carriage all day and had eaten too much in the evening, so she felt drowsy all of a sudden. She washed up and ordered her maid to prepare her bed and help her get ready for the night.

Taking advantage of this gap before going to bed, she went to the window and took a glance at the scenery outside and could not help but let out an exclamation, “Oh my God, it’s so beautiful!”

Looking out from upstairs, there was a brilliant silvery color that could she never seen before, like the Milky Way suddenly spreading out in front of her – an infinite sea. Immersed in the melting moonlight, sparkling, sleeping quietly in the windless night. Zhu Yan, who was born in the Western Wasteland, had never seen such a sight and was shocked beyond words for a moment.

“This is the Sea of Vishnu, the Southern Sea of the Seven Seas, the home of sharks.” Grandma Sheng walked behind her and smiled, “Princess, this is the first time you’ve seen it, right? Is it pretty?”

She nodded vigorously and blurted out, “Beautiful! Even more beautiful than what Yuan said…”

Yet as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she froze and her expression went down in gloom – yes, this was the homeland that Yuan had dreamed of. Yuan, did you go there? He stayed in the dry desert for so long, a hundred years later, he finally swam back to the deep blue sea like a fish, never to be found again.

“Go to sleep.” She looked at the sea in silence for a while and finally closed the window.

The bed pillow was already laid, the incense was smoked, she changed into a soft garment made of shark silk, drew the jade bone from her head, undid her hair and combed it, then prepared for bed. The maids lowered the beaded curtain for her and quietly retreated, leaving only the Grandma Sheng to rest in the outer room.

Zhu Yan placed the Jade Bone under the pillow and closed her eyes.

After an exhausting day, she should have fallen asleep on her pillow right away, but for some reason, she tossed it away and turned in her bed for a long while; whether it was because she was going to the most prosperous city in the world tomorrow, or because she was so close to the sea and the sound of the waves made her think of Yuan, she couldn’t catch sleep.

She had wondered a thousand times where Yuan might be, and finally concluded that he would be back in the depths of the Blue Sea, in the land of the sharks – or, perhaps, in Yecheng, where the sharks were most numerous. She wanted to find him, but how could she find him in such a big sky and such a big sea?

Zhu Yan touched the pendant around her neck that Yuan had given to her, pillowed on the sound of the waves, and finally eased off to sleep. However, when she had just closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside, running up all the way from the stairs, waking up the little sleepiness that had just welled up in her.

“Who is it?!” She couldn’t help but be extremely annoyed, “It’s the middle of the night!”

“Report to the Princess!” Someone outside panted as he spoke, it was actually the voice of the scout from the day, “You… the shark child you asked me to follow…”

“Ah? What happened to that little brat?” She was suddenly startled, and all of a sudden, she lost her sleep, rolled over from bed and sat up, “Did he really die halfway?”

The scout outside shook his head, breathing heavily, “No… the little bastard ran off to the docks!”

“Huh? That little brat went to the docks?” Zhu Yan jumped up from the bed, hastily pulling her hair up in a bun with the Jade Bone as she asked, “Damn it… did he try to escape back to the sea? Did you guys stop him? I’ll go with you to check it out!”

“Princess, it’s midnight, where else are you going?” Grandma Sheng hurriedly followed, “This is the middle of the wilderness, and there are no officials to watch over you, you’re going out alone, what if something happens…”

“Don’t worry, I’m a capable person! Who can do anything to me?” Zhu Yan was anxious to get rid of her, so she said, “Well, I’ll take all the guards in this house with me, okay? I’ll be right back…”

Even before the words left her mouth, she had already mounted onto a steed and rushed out with her horse.

“Quick! Follow her quickly!” Grandma Sheng couldn’t stop her, so she urged all the guards anxiously from the back, “Follow her! If anything happens to the Princess, you will all lose your heads!”

A stone’s throw away from the courtyard was the sea.

The sea here was calm, with mountains on both sides going deep into the sea, hugging back left and right, isolating the outer sea from the wind and waves, a rare natural fine deep-water port called Huilong Harbor, the largest seaport in Yecheng. It is said that 7,000 years ago, after the Great Emperor Xingzun had destroyed the Sea Kingdom, he captured the Dragon God and led his army back to the dynasty, disembarking here.

At this moment, under the moonlit night, countless merchant ships were docked here, their masts standing like a faintly floating forest.

The scout drove her away, heading straight for the harbor, stopping at one point and pointing to a pier not far away, saying, “The shark child dragged her mother’s body all the way here, then found a remote pier with no one around and put her in the water.”

“I know this.” Zhu Yan was a little impatient, “Sharks are buried in water, even if they die on land, their bodies have to return to the sea. Where is that little bastard?”

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