Chapter 14

 

Late at night, the camp was quiet, with only a few dying bonfires emitting faint warmth.

A guard on duty dozed off, chin propped on his hand as he sat on a stone. Among the exiles, some tossed and turned while others snored loudly. Li Zhi sat at the edge of the camp, far from the fires, engrossed in her work under the moonlight. The carriage stood silently behind her, shielding her from the night’s cold wind.

Sweat dripped down her forehead as she wiped it away with the back of her hand, satisfied with the result of her night’s labor: A simple sled woven from countless branches and vines.

With this sled, Xie Lanxu would no longer need to be carried by the servants; he could finally move more freely.

Li Zhi even sacrificed her only handkerchief, using its threads to reinforce the sled’s pulling rope. The handkerchief was small, and she had to rack her brain to make every thread count.

Xie Lanxu gazed at the “luxury ride” she had painstakingly crafted and fell into silence.

Overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, he reluctantly climbed onto the sled. This was likely his first time riding such a contraption so close to the ground, leaving his upper body rigid and immobile.

Li Zhi grabbed the pulling rope with both hands and strained with all her might. The sled creaked forward slowly, carrying Xie Lanxu along.

Unaccustomed to the sled’s motion, Xie Lanxu instinctively clutched its edges, a hint of unease flashing across his face.

“Your Highness fears nothing, yet you’re afraid of riding a sled?” Li Zhi teased, amused by his overly cautious expression.

“I’m not afraid of the sled; I’m afraid of your sled,” Xie Lanxu replied dryly.

“Everything has a first time. I’ll get better at pulling it with practice,” Li Zhi said cheerfully before realizing it was improper to address herself as “I” in his presence.

“Your Highness, this humble woman—”

Before she could finish correcting herself, Xie Lanxu interrupted, “Do we still need to bother with such formalities?”

He had a point.

Li Zhi smiled brightly. “In that case, Your Highness shouldn’t call me ‘Miss Li’ anymore—just call me by my name.”

At that moment, Zhen Qiao’s shout echoed from a distance.

The exiles were preparing to move again.

“I’ll call for help to get you onto the carriage. Please wait a moment, Your Highness.”

Li Zhi fetched a nearby servant to help lift Xie Lanxu onto the carriage. She carefully placed the unused sled inside the carriage as well.

Soon after, a servant took the reins and drove the carriage forward.

Thanks to Xie Lanxu, Li Zhi no longer had to trudge through mountains and rivers. This privilege drew envious glares from the other exiles, who suspected she had gained favor with Zhen Qiao and the imperial grandson through improper means.

Li Zhi paid no mind to the gossip.

She focused all her efforts on securing safe food and water for herself and Xie Lanxu. Even when Madam Zhu occasionally extorted rations from her, Li Zhi willingly handed over less tampered-with food in consideration of Madam Zhu’s two younger children.

And so, the days passed one by one.

At first, Li Zhi struggled to pull the sled. Over time, she learned how to angle and position herself to conserve energy. On clear, sunny days, she ignored the curious stares of others and dragged Xie Lanxu around for fresh air.

Most of the time, however, snow fell heavily from the skies. The mountains were covered in thick layers of snow, sometimes so deep it reached the exiles’ knees. On such days, she and Xie Lanxu stayed inside the carriage.

Despite the wooden lattice windows blocking the wind, snowflakes still drifted through the cracks in the brocade curtains.

The temperature inside the carriage was hardly better than outside. Wrapped in Xie Lanxu’s cloak, Li Zhi huffed into her hands for warmth. When her hands grew too cold, Xie Lanxu would hand her a small brass hand warmer filled with still-warm embers.

Every night, the exiles outside hesitated to close their eyes completely. Fights frequently broke out over tattered clothing or spoiled bread, sometimes to the death.

In the face of survival, humans were no different from beasts.

Compared to the others, Li Zhi’s life in the carriage was far more fortunate.

The convoy’s numbers dwindled month by month, some dying from illness along the way, others leaving the group upon reaching their destinations.

A stifling air of despair and solitude hung over the exiles until the snow began to melt and the weather grew warmer. Slowly, conditions started to improve.

By early March, the persistently overcast skies finally cleared.

After much cajoling, Li Zhi persuaded Xie Lanxu to step out of the carriage for some fresh air. She dragged him around the campsite on the sled. By then, Zhen Qiao and the other servants were used to the peculiar sight of the two and turned a blind eye as long as they didn’t stray too far.

The evening sunset radiated a fiery warmth, wrapping the two of them in a cozy orange glow like a soft blanket.

Li Zhi picked a wildflower and presented it to Xie Lanxu with childlike pride, her eyes curving into crescents.

“Your Highness, look! Even the roadside flowers are blooming—”

Xie Lanxu had little interest in wildflowers but gave a perfunctory “Hmm” to humor her.

As she dragged him along, Li Zhi collected edible wild greens.

She stuffed her foraged greens into a cloth bag made from old clothes. When no one was looking, she used the opportunity during medicine preparation to cook them into a wild vegetable soup.

That’s how the two of them scraped through the harsh winter.

The shared hardship, leaning on each other, made it all more bearable.

“Your Highness, look over there!” Li Zhi suddenly stopped and pointed at the base of a tree.

She blinked, wondering if her hunger had conjured a hallucination.

Xie Lanxu followed her gaze and saw a cluster of mushrooms of various sizes.

“Mushrooms,” Xie Lanxu identified plainly.

Li Zhi dragged him closer and crouched to inspect them.

The mushrooms varied in height and color, from pale white to soft yellow, with caps of all shapes and sizes. Li Zhi tried to recall if any of them matched the edible varieties she had seen on dinner tables but found them either completely unfamiliar or questionably similar. Uncertain, she hesitated to pick any.

Caution dictated she leave them alone.

Still, the thought of savory mushroom soup made her mouth water, and she couldn’t help but feel tempted.

“What does Your Highness think?” she asked, turning to Xie Lanxu on the sled.

Xie Lanxu frowned. “I’d rather eat the wild vegetable soup.”

“Fair enough.”

Taking his advice, Li Zhi dragged him away, casting regretful glances back at the mushroom patch with every step.

If only… if only she’d read a book about identifying poisonous mushrooms!

She sulked all the way back to the carriage, the image of the plump mushrooms lingering in her mind.

By the time the sun had fully set and the moon rose into the sky, several exiles had wandered into the woods to relieve themselves. From her perch by the carriage window, Li Zhi watched them, wondering if anyone had discovered the mushroom patch. Sure enough, a joyful shout from the forest mentioned mushrooms, drawing a swarm of exiles towards the spot.

Li Zhi turned back to look at Xie Lanxu. “Your Highness, someone’s discovered the mushroom patch.”

Xie Lanxu leaned against the carriage wall, casually holding a handwritten booklet. Without looking up, he gave a nonchalant reply.

“What are you reading, Your Highness?” Li Zhi leaned closer.

She flipped the book to its cover and saw the handwritten title: Tao Te Ching.

Li Zhi instantly let go of the pages, as if she had touched something venomous. Xie Lanxu glanced at her and remarked, “You don’t like it?”

Li Zhi made a face of distaste.

Xie Lanxu chuckled softly. “Neither do I.”

“Then why are you reading it?” she asked.

“To pass the time,” he replied. “There’s nothing else to do.”

Li Zhi thought to herself that even with nothing else to do, she’d never pick up such a soporific book.

She leaned on the wooden lattice window, staring idly outside again.

Before long, people emerged from the forest, clutching handfuls of mushrooms. Li Zhi spotted her own family—Madam Zheng and Li Jinzhi hurriedly exiting, their bulging clothes betraying glimpses of mushrooms. Madam Wang and Li Huizhi also carried large handfuls, with Li Huizhi beaming with excitement, his small face lit up with joy.

When Madam Wang passed by the carriage, Li Zhi considered warning her about the potential toxicity of the mushrooms. But Madam Wang, noticing Li Zhi’s gaze, quickly hid the mushrooms behind her back and took a detour, hastily walking past.

“They won’t listen to you,” Xie Lanxu said.

Li Zhi sighed internally.

She knew the truth well: hungry people wouldn’t abandon a chance at food just because of a baseless warning.

Before long, a cooking pot was set up.

The exiles had never shown such unity. Those with pots brought them out, those with salt contributed it, and those with mushrooms added to the communal pile. Everyone gathered around the small stove, swallowing eagerly.

From inside the carriage, Li Zhi caught faint whiffs of the mushroom soup and her stomach growled loudly.

Embarrassed, she glanced back at Xie Lanxu. He remained unmoving, his head bowed over the booklet as though completely unaffected.

Curious about his indifference, Li Zhi asked, “Your Highness?”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Instead of answering directly, Xie Lanxu said matter-of-factly, “I’m used to it.”

For someone like Li Zhi, who had been starving every day since their exile, the idea of becoming accustomed to hunger was unthinkable.

It wasn’t as bad if no one had food, but when others enjoyed something good—like the mushroom soup now—her stomach felt like it was being scratched by invisible claws.

“I’m an excellent cook,” Li Zhi said. “When we reach Mingyue Tower, Your Highness must try my cooking.”

Xie Lanxu gave a noncommittal “Hmm.”

“Your Highness, are we halfway there yet?” Li Zhi asked again.

“I don’t know.”

“Zhen Qiao must know; Your Highness could ask—”

The Tao Te Ching was suddenly placed over her face, cutting her off mid-sentence.

“Be quiet. Save your strength,” Xie Lanxu said.

How could speaking two extra words possibly waste strength?

Li Zhi pouted, feeling bored as she resumed watching the lively scene outside.

The mushroom soup brought life back to the despondent exiles. Rare smiles appeared on their faces. A scholar was teased for composing a poem about mushrooms before drinking the soup, and someone who had already downed two bowls shamelessly held out an empty bowl for more.

Some leaned against trees after a hearty meal, singing homesick ballads to the moon. Surprisingly, the guards didn’t stop them; instead, they tapped their feet along to the rhythm.

Amid the melodic singing, many quietly wiped their tears.

Li Zhi, too, felt a pang of homesickness and began humming softly.

The capital—where she and her twin sister had grown up, and where all their memories were stored.

“Do you miss home?”

It was the first time that day Xie Lanxu had spoken to her of his own accord.

Li Zhi, her mood heavy, nodded silently.

Xie Lanxu’s expression didn’t change, but he looked at her for a moment and said, “You’ll go back.”

Li Zhi smiled.

“I trust Your Highness.”

The moonlight was bright and clear, the night tranquil.

For once, the exiles wore genuine smiles.

A single pot of mushroom soup had brought them a fleeting taste of a carefree past.

As Li Zhi gazed at the full moon, she drifted off to sleep, the deepest sleep she’d had since their exile began. In her dreams, she saw her long-absent twin sister.

Smiling, she told her that everything would be all right.

Everything would be all right.

Li Zhi murmured the words in her sleep.

——

At dawn, she was jolted awake by heart-wrenching cries.

Pushing open the wooden lattice window, she saw Madam Wang collapsed over Li Huizhi’s lifeless body, wailing inconsolably. The noble composure she once prided herself on was completely shattered.

Li Huizhi lay motionless, his bluish-purple face devoid of life.

Translator’s Note:- A short summary of this novel, I am so far till 50 chapters in translation and I assure you that this NOVEL is worth IT!! It has so much suspense and intriguing plot. I am sure you will like it. 

I will be regular in updating from now on so look forward to it. <3