A Thousand Miles of Wind - Chapter 3

The guards brought the repaired carriage over. They crowded around the vehicle to block the view of passersby and invited Zhongli Ran inside.

Gu Siyuan followed behind her and entered the carriage. Once they were settled, the guard driving the carriage closed the door, cracked his whip, and urged the freshly swapped steed to pull the carriage forward smoothly.

As the carriage slowly departed, the guards behind them who had been holding up straw mats to block the line of sight opened a gap. Following closely behind were four more carriages part of the imperial motorcade, leaving only two flatbed carts at the rear to slowly haul away the horses that had suffered broken bones.

Amidst the rumbling of rolling wheels, the group set off for Taiyi Temple in a grand procession.

As the Emperor, Zhongli Ran was fully prepared every time she left the palace. From the outside, the carriage she rode today looked no different from any other, its body seemingly made of half iron and half wood. However, once inside, Gu Siyuan discovered that the entire cabin was constructed of iron. It was sealed on all sides, and even the windows were made of solid iron, leaving only a tiny sliver of a crack to let in a bit of light.

Perhaps out of consideration for the Emperor’s youth, the floor of the cabin was covered in a layer of rugs, and the walls were wrapped in soft blankets to ensure she wouldn’t be bruised by any bumps. Gu Siyuan looked at the interior fittings, then glanced at Zhongli Ran sitting in the cabin, and realized that the earlier chaos must have been quite severe.

Zhongli Ran was a person of very few words, and Gu Siyuan loved tranquility, always enjoying such an atmosphere. Thus, the two remained silent throughout the journey, rocking with the motion of the carriage as they arrived at Plum Blossom Villa.

The carriage stopped to the left of the villa gates. Gu Siyuan intended to get out to see if the person her mother mentioned had arrived. Just as she stood up, a still-slender and delicate little hand caught hold of her.

Gu Siyuan froze for a moment, turning to look at Zhongli Ran with slight confusion. Zhongli Ran spoke, asking her: “What kind of person are you meeting?”

The intent behind this question was to ask what the person Gu Siyuan was meeting looked like. Having been apart for four years, Gu Siyuan still subconsciously answered according to this meaning: “It is Lord Feng Ping of the Ministry of Rites. He is wearing a green robe today, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and should be holding a sprig of green plum leaves.”

Clearly, this was the correct answer. Upon hearing it, Zhongli Ran asked toward the outside: “Yulin, have you seen Feng Ping?”

Yulin’s voice came from outside the cabin: “Dongjun, he is here.”

It was evident that the man Gu Siyuan was to meet today was already there waiting. Out of courtesy, Gu Siyuan said: “Since Lord Feng is waiting there, I will go down first and give him a greeting.”

Zhongli Ran still held onto her and did not nod. Instead, she instructed Yulin: “Go, send someone to tell him that the person has been taken by Us. Tell him not to wait anymore.”

Having said that, she commanded: “Yulin, drive.”

Yulin: “Understood.”

The carriage soon moved again. Inside the swaying cabin, Gu Siyuan studied the tender young face of the person before her, her gaze soft. Zhongli Ran glanced at her, said nothing, and turned slightly to face the other side of the cabin.

To be honest, Gu Siyuan did not want to meet Lord Feng Ping of the Ministry of Rites in her heart of hearts. She had set out today somewhat reluctantly, yet she never expected to encounter such a surprise.

She watched Zhongli Ran’s back for a good while, but the child did not turn around. After the carriage had swayed for a bit, the sharp-eyed Gu Siyuan saw Zhongli Ran—who was still facing away—reach out a hand toward her.

The small hand reached behind her waist and beckoned to Gu Siyuan. Gu Siyuan smiled and reached out to take it. The moment their palms met, a familiar sensation welled up. Distant memories traveled through the long years, carrying them both back to a time long ago.

The first time Gu Siyuan met Zhongli Ran was in the courtyard of her ancestral home in Zhongzhou. At that time, Zhongli Ran was only three years old. A tiny child wrapped in crimson clothes, sitting in the middle of the courtyard’s rockery clutching a large ball with both hands, shedding tears without making a sound.

At that moment, a group of people were following a weak and frail-looking man, trying to coax her out, but she simply cried and refused to move.

Gu Siyuan, who had returned to her Zhongzhou home with her grandmother barely a month prior, looked inside with curiosity. She saw a child as beautiful as carved pink jade clutching a ball, her face covered in tears, looking particularly piteous and endearing.

Only later did Gu Siyuan learn that this child was the only child of the King of Zhongzhou, named Ran. The Consort had died early, leaving the King with only this one child; naturally, Zhongli Ran was favored with a thousand kinds of love.

That day, the King of Zhongzhou had come to the Gu residence to visit the Great Scholar Gu, seeking some guidance. For some reason, some ill-intentioned servant had told the little Princess that the King had come to the Gu residence to find her a new mother. They even told her that once she had a new mother, the little Princess would forget her own mother.

Since it had only been half a year since the Consort passed away, the little Princess was very sad and went to hide by herself with her beloved ball. Later, the King of Zhongzhou spent a great deal of effort coaxing her before she finally came out.

Following that visit, her grandmother, who originally hadn’t planned to stay long at the Gu residence, changed her plans and remained there to compile books alongside the King of Zhongzhou.

The King of Zhongzhou was a practical man with many achievements in local administration and an expertise in agriculture. The book he wanted to compile was the Essential Techniques of Agricultural Policy covering nearly a hundred years of the Chu Kingdom. Great Scholar Gu had no desire to participate in politics but was deeply interested in agriculture, so she and the King got along quite well.

Therefore, whenever the King of Zhongzhou was not busy with affairs, he would always come to the Gu residence to consult with the Great Scholar. Every time he came, he would bring his little Princess.

Zhongli Ran was young. Every time the King and the Great Scholar discussed agricultural policy, she would sit to the side clutching her ball in a daze, rarely speaking.

Gu Siyuan liked quiet. Once the King of Zhongzhou arrived, she could no longer read with her grandmother, so she would go to the study next door alone to read or write. Seeing that a child like Zhongli Ran would be bored sitting there, and since the child didn’t like to talk much anyway, Gu Siyuan simply brought her along to the study to read.

A non-disruptive Zhongli Ran was much more pleasant than Gu Siyuan’s naughty cousins; as time went on, Gu Siyuan became willing to take her along.

One afternoon, during a visit from the King, Gu Siyuan was again in the study with Zhongli Ran. Gu Siyuan needed to transcribe some classical texts, so she ground some ink and began writing by the window.

After writing for a while, she felt a gaze constantly watching her. The young girl turned around and asked the small child: “What are you looking at?”

The child tilted her head and watched her for a moment, then slid down from the daybed clutching her ball and walked slowly to the girl’s feet, saying: “I can do that too.”

Those were the first words between them. Gu Siyuan felt surprised and asked softly: “You know how to write?”

“Mm.” Zhongli Ran nodded, looked up at Gu Siyuan, and then fixed her gaze on the brush near her hand.

Strangely, Gu Siyuan understood the child’s thought. She handed over a light brush. She moved a large chair over, picked up Zhongli Ran to let her stand on it so she was level with the desk, and spread a sheet of Xuan paper before the child, saying: “Write, then.”

The child, still cradling her ball, leaned over and wrote a character crookedly on the white paper—”Yin” (Meadow).

Gu Siyuan didn’t understand, so she turned to look at her, only to see her lean over again to write another character—”Ran.” After finishing, the little girl looked up and explained softly: “Mother’s, and mine.”

Gu Siyuan didn’t know that because she often wrote in the study and didn’t speak to the child, the child had watched her and found writing and reading very interesting, later telling the King of Zhongzhou about it. The King also realized that three was an age where one could begin schooling, and only then taught her how to write her name.

Gu Siyuan nodded and praised her: “You wrote it very well.” Receiving the praise, the child felt a bit shy, her eyes darting left and right as she whispered: “Maimai, what about you?”

Gu Siyuan was stunned and asked back: “Maimai?”

“Mm.” The child nodded, articulating clearly: “The ‘Mai’ from ‘Mai Xiu Liang Qi’ (The wheat produces two ears on one stalk).”

This was a very complex idiom, but for the child to be able to say it meant someone had explained it to her. Gu Siyuan quickly realized that “Maimai” must be her childhood nickname, taken from the idiom meaning an omen of a bountiful harvest. It was exactly the kind of nickname the agriculture-loving King of Zhongzhou would come up with. Gu Siyuan nodded and said: “Siyuan, Gu Siyuan, this one.”

As she spoke, she wrote her own name neatly on the paper. Zhongli Ran watched her finish, then took the brush and crookedly wrote those three characters on the paper, calling out softly: “Sisi…”

The name might have been a bit difficult for Zhongli Ran to pronounce, so she remembered the middle character which was easiest to say. Gu Siyuan was amazed by her talent for imitation. Failing to pay attention at the time, she allowed her to keep calling her “Sisi” for many years.

After Zhongli Ran began her schooling, Gu Siyuan would bring her along to write and transcribe books whenever she studied in the library. As they spent more time together, Gu Siyuan would also say a few words to her while reading. By the time Zhongli Ran was four, the King of Zhongzhou simply sent her to the Gu family school to attend classes and study with the Gu family children.

Though it was called the Gu family school, it wasn’t exactly that. Seeing how clever she was, Great Scholar Gu claimed she was attending the school but privately kept her by her side to be taught along with Gu Siyuan.

Spring went and autumn came. Little Zhongli Ran stayed by Gu Siyuan’s side for five years. As she grew older, they even ate and lived together. Gu Siyuan thought she would always be there to see Zhongli Ran grow up, but the world is unpredictable. When Zhongli Ran was nearly eight, the King of Zhongzhou died of illness, and shortly after, Emperor Chu Ming took the young Zhongli Ran into the palace to be raised.

Now four years had passed. The child who used to call her “Sisi” had now become the sole sovereign of the vast Kingdom of Chu.

Thinking of this, Gu Siyuan let out a sigh. The sound was very light, yet Zhongli Ran heard it. The hand Zhongli Ran held trembled slightly. She turned her head while clutching her still-aching jaw and stared intently at Gu Siyuan.

Caught off guard, Gu Siyuan met those incredibly beautiful black pupils. She froze for a moment and quickly asked: “Is it a toothache?”

Seeing Zhongli Ran clutching her face, she assumed it was a toothache. Zhongli Ran did indeed have a toothache; she nodded, and Gu Siyuan reached out to hold her face for her. Such an action didn’t actually provide any real relief. Yet Zhongli Ran did not pull her hand away, letting her hold it just like that.

After a while, the cabin fell silent again. Just when Gu Siyuan thought Zhongli Ran wouldn’t speak for the rest of the journey, she heard her cold yet youthful voice by her ear: “If you want to see him, We can have Feng bring him to Taiyi Temple.”

“Huh?” Gu Siyuan was stunned for a moment before realizing who Zhongli Ran was talking about. She smiled and said softly: “No, I don’t want to.”