23: Gift giving
The mountain stream gurgled, occasionally startling birds into flight.
Qiao Shilian walked despondently through the forest, her inner turmoil stirred by the warm breeze. She hadn’t been able to catch up to Zhuoguang’s pace, so she simply returned to the campsite alone.
She lifted her face to gaze at the hazy, misty sky and sighed silently. Was he so eager to draw a clear line between them?
Back at the campsite, Qiao Shilian happened to run into Ji Chen. She approached him and asked, “Lord Ji… if Young General Su wants to draw a clear line with someone, how would he act?”
Ji Chen was especially enthusiastic in providing an answer: “Ah, this I know all too well. That Fubai (Zhuoguang), if he’s unhappy, he’ll just give you a look and walk away, not sparing face even for the highest authority. He rarely repeats himself because he finds it pointless. So, if you hear him emphasize something repeatedly…”
“What happens?” Qiao Shilian asked, bitterness on her lips. Hadn’t she experienced exactly what Ji Chen described?
“It means he’s either angry, or he’s reached his limit of tolerance with that person, feeling disgusted and wanting to draw a clear line,” Ji Chen said.
Qiao Shilian stood rooted to the spot as if turned to stone.
It’s over… Zhuoguang is really disgusted with her.
She thought gloomily, couldn’t he at least wait until she repaid this debt of gratitude?
Not far away, beneath the shade of trees blocking the sun, Crown Prince Qin Shuo stood behind deep greenery, his expression dark and particularly ferocious. He gripped the tree trunk tightly, his voice gradually turning sinister. “Zhuoguang… it’s Zhuoguang again!”
Just moments ago, he had witnessed with his own eyes Qiao Shilian giving the sachet she personally made to Zhuoguang. The implication was clear.
Qin Shuo threw a punch at the tree, the powerful force shaking leaves and twigs from the branches. After a moment’s thought, he instructed the shadow guard behind him in a low voice, “Return to the capital on a fast horse. Send word to the Empress Dowager.”
“I will move the imperial marriage decree from next March forward. I want Shilian brought to the Eastern Palace as soon as possible!”
Two days later, the capital.
The creaking of carriage wheels passed through the bustling crowds as a carriage stopped before the gates of the General’s Manor.
Qiao Shilian lifted the curtain and stepped down, instructing two servants to jointly lift a wooden chest from the carriage. The chest was half a person’s height, and the hemp ropes binding it had already bowed the carrying pole slightly. Suddenly, with a thud, the two servants placed the wooden chest on the steps before the General’s Manor.
Qiuying blinked as she looked at the heavy chest. “Young Miss, are we really sure about sending so many things…”
Before she could finish, she saw Qiao Shilian nod solemnly. Then Qiuying couldn’t help but feel a pang for her young lady’s small treasury, accumulated over the years.
On the very first day back in the capital from Mount Jiunu, Qiao Shilian had anxiously darted into various shops throughout the city.
All the fun, beautiful, practical, and rare items in the shops were bought by Qiao Shilian. She spent money like water, throwing it around lavishly, leaving all the shopkeepers dumbfounded. Only when Qiao Shilian had spent the banknotes she brought with her down to the last one, buying enough to fill this entire chest, did she stop.
Qiuying felt that even to thank Zhuoguang for saving her life at the hunting grounds, this was too extravagant. Moreover, she had heard that Prime Minister Qiao had also prepared gifts for this matter, but before he could visit the General’s Manor with them, her own young lady had already chosen this heavy chest of items to send to Zhuoguang.
Noticing the shocked look on Qiuying’s face, Qiao Shilian explained, “That Young General Su is moody and unpredictable; it’s hard to figure out what he likes. So, I just had to buy one of everything. If he likes something, he can keep it. If not, he can just throw it away.”
“Ah?” Qiuying’s heart bled. This was such a waste of precious things.
But this extravagant display by the young lady somewhat resembled the momentum of kings from storybooks, who gathered all the world’s treasures to win a beauty’s favor…
Qiao Shilian let out a long sigh. “There’s no other way. I’d heard before that Young General Su has a strange temper and is hard to get along with. Shouldn’t I be thorough in my efforts? I’ll send my gifts; he can take what he wants. There’s no conflict.”
Because she had angered Zhuoguang while descending the mountain, she had racked her brains to come up with this method. Money was easy to accumulate, but favors were hard to repay—she truly understood the taste of that now. Even if Zhuoguang wanted to draw a clear line between them, she needed to repay this debt of gratitude to set her mind at ease.
On the second floor of a teahouse not far from the General’s Manor, the window was half open, filled with bright light.
Two figures sat opposite each other by the window, just in time to see the scene at the gates of the General’s Manor: Qiao Shilian directing servants to carry a wooden chest inside.
Ji Chen, toying with a closed folding fan in his hand, lifted a fan rib to point towards the gate and said to Zhuoguang before him, “I say, tie a red silk ribbon on that chest, make a flower knot, and it could pass as a betrothal gift when coming to your house to propose.”
Zhuoguang: “…”
He shifted his gaze to the slender figure handing a gift list to the General’s Manor’s steward, feeling somewhat surprised.
Ji Chen’s smile grew wider. “What do you think Miss Qiao is thinking? Sending you so many gifts. I’m truly envious. Thinking about it, in over twenty years, I’ve received countless gifts from beauties, but all added together probably can’t match the items in that chest Miss Qiao sent you.”
Su Zhuoguang picked up the teapot and poured tea as if nothing were amiss. “She said I have a strange temper.”
He could hear Qiao Shilian’s words to Qiuying from here, but Ji Chen, who didn’t practice martial arts, couldn’t.
Hearing this, Ji Chen abruptly closed his fan, deeply agreeing. “Miss Qiao makes a valid point.”
Su Zhuoguang: “?”
“You’re the one who told her about the sachet. I haven’t settled that account with you yet.”
Seeing the cold glint and sharp gaze in Su Zhuoguang’s eyes, Ji Chen awkwardly changed the subject: “I asked you out today for one thing.”
He lowered his voice. “Coming from the palace, I heard from Princess Zhaoyue that the Empress is discussing the selection of a Crown Princess for the Crown Prince.”
Su Zhuoguang gave an “oh,” his indifferent expression showing little change.
“Everyone in the capital knows the Crown Princess candidate has long been internally chosen by the Crown Prince. The so-called grand ceremony for selecting the Crown Princess is merely going through the motions according to protocol, while also adding consorts for the Crown Prince. Originally, this was scheduled for next March, but for some reason, it’s suddenly being moved forward.”
Ji Chen glanced at Su Zhuoguang’s unmoved demeanor and, unusually for him, grew anxious. He set down his fan and said seriously, “I’m telling you, Fubai, how can you still sit still? Don’t tell me you don’t know the Crown Prince’s internally chosen Crown Princess is the Second Qiao Young Lady!”
Su Zhuoguang lowered his gaze and took a sip of tea.
No wonder. Lu Sheng had told him early this morning that after returning to the capital, the Crown Prince hastily concluded the hunting grounds assassination case, pinning all the blame on the imperial guard Luo Qi.
The case conclusion report stated that Luo Qi coveted Qiao Shilian and wanted to abduct her, hence designing the assassination to force her into danger. He also stole the letters between the Crown Prince and Qiao Shilian to forge the handwriting on the deed, spreading rumors so everyone mistakenly believed Qiao Shilian had run away on her own, causing the Eastern Palace to give up searching for her.
The Crown Prince was in such a hurry to close the case precisely to clear Qiao Shilian’s name, so she could smoothly become a Crown Princess candidate.
Su Zhuoguang snapped back to reality and glanced at the furious Ji Chen. “If internal selection guaranteed success, why aren’t you Princess Zhaoyue’s consort yet?”
Ji Chen choked. “You…”
Then, gnashing his teeth, he looked at Su Zhuoguang with an expression of exasperation. “Su Fubai, is this the same?”
If it really came to that, even if Qiao Shilian were unwilling, once the imperial marriage decree was issued, defying the order could implicate the entire Qiao family. Given Qiao Shilian’s character, she would most likely endure the humiliation for the greater good.
…
Dusk hung heavily on the horizon; the afterglow grew late.
By the time Qiao Shilian returned to her residence, she was still agonizing over whether Su Zhuoguang would be appeased after receiving the gifts. Suddenly, she encountered the house steward bringing her a letter, saying someone calling himself ‘Fenglai’ had delivered it.
Qiao Shilian was very puzzled. Had Su Zhuoguang gotten over his anger so quickly?
She unfolded the letter. The mere two lines written there plunged Qiao Shilian into an icy abyss.
**