“The Fourth Prince, Zhao Yan?”
Han Yu was somewhat surprised, her large eyes blinking. “Master... You actually know the Fourth Prince?”
She tilted her head, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
But she had heard the old folks in the tea houses say that the Fourth Prince had been exiled to this bitter, desolate border many years ago after losing the struggle for the throne.
Back then, if the Crown Prince hadn't pleaded desperately on his behalf, he probably would have been executed long ago... So many years had passed, and her master looked to be only in her early twenties. How could she possibly know him?
Su Yueli merely smiled without offering much explanation. She gently patted the girl's head and said, “Let's go. You'll understand when we get there.”
Over the course of her long life, she had witnessed far too many dynasties rise and fall, and too many legendary figures grow old and wither away.
Decades that felt like a lifetime of change to mortals were nothing more than a passing breeze in her eyes.
The master and disciple trudged through the desert wind and sand, eventually arriving at the outskirts of the military garrison at Heifengkou.
This frontier garrison appeared dilapidated and desolate.
Howling gusts of wind swept up the yellow sand, battering the crooked wooden fences, and the tents were covered in patches and bloodstains.
When Su Yueli and Han Yu appeared outside the military camp like two fairies descending to the mortal realm, the originally noisy and chaotic camp instantly fell dead silent.
Quite a few shirtless, scar-covered soldiers stopped what they were doing and stared at the two of them, their eyes filled with awe and disbelief.
In this godforsaken, bitter, desolate place, when had they ever seen such stunning, peerless beauties?
“What are you doing here?!”
Before long, a burly officer clad in iron armor walked over, resting his hand on the hilt of the saber at his waist.
Though his tone was gruff, a hint of awkwardness and awe slipped into his eyes when he beheld Su Yueli's cool, ethereal face.
Su Yueli's expression remained calm as she got straight to the point. “I am here to find Zhao Yan.”
The officer froze for a moment, sized the two of them up, and waved his hand with a strange expression. “Centurion Zhao? He hasn't been in the camp for a long time. He settled down in that manor at the east end of Heifeng Town and rarely comes back here.”
Su Yueli raised her eyebrows slightly, somewhat puzzled. “Was he not exiled to serve in the military?”
The officer chuckled, not explaining further. “That is indeed the case, but he is a former prince after all. The higher-ups just turn a blind eye. If you head straight down the main street toward the east, miss, the most prominent estate you see will be his.”
“Thank you.” Su Yueli nodded slightly, turning to leave with Han Yu.
Watching their slender figures gradually recede, the officer and the soldiers immediately erupted into a flurry of whispers, their eyes full of curiosity and envy.
“How strange... That ruined prince Zhao Yan is just waiting to die in this dump, so how does he know such top-tier beauties?”
“Tsk tsk, and two of them at once! What incredible luck with women...”
...
After leaving the military camp, Su Yueli followed the directions and quickly found a neat yet slightly weathered manor at the east end of Heifeng Town.
The red lacquer on the main gates was peeling. It lacked the extravagant wealth of an imperial mansion in the capital, but it possessed a sense of frontier stability and character.
Knock, knock, knock.
Han Yu stepped forward and knocked on the door ring.
A moment later, the door creaked open a crack, and a man dressed in black poked his head out.
It was Gu Chen.
Compared to his heroic and sharp demeanor in the imperial city a century ago, his eyes now bore the weathered marks of time, his temples were flecked with gray, and his clothing was much more modest.
When Gu Chen saw the blue-clothed woman standing outside the door, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, freezing completely in place.
That cool, peerless face, those eyes that seemed to see through all of life's changes... Compared to a hundred years ago, time had not left a single trace upon her!
“M-Miss Yueli?!” Gu Chen rubbed his eyes, his voice trembling with disbelief.
“Guard Gu, long time no see.” Su Yueli smiled faintly.
“Quickly! Please come in!”
Coming to his senses, Gu Chen hurriedly welcomed them inside, ushering them into the estate.
Passing through the corridors, Su Yueli met the former Fourth Prince of Great Li, Zhao Yan, in a pavilion nestled within a quiet courtyard.
At this moment, Zhao Yan was draped in a large sheepskin robe, resting on a lounge chair.
He was no longer the calculating, ambitious young prince of the capital. He was now a bearded, middle-aged man with graying temples and a slightly stockier build.
Beside him, two gentle concubines from the frontier were softly pouring wine and massaging his legs.
“Your Highness, look who is here!” Gu Chen's voice trembled slightly.
Slightly tipsy, Zhao Yan opened his eyes. The moment his gaze landed on Su Yueli, his hand shook violently, spilling the clear wine all over the floor.
Staring at the woman before him, it took a long while before he gasped, “Miss Yueli... Is it really you?!”
Zhao Yan quickly stood up and dismissed his concubines and servants.
Before the stone table, steam curled gently from the hot tea.
Zhao Yan looked at Su Yueli, then glanced at Han Yu, who had her hand resting on her short saber. He couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle, deeply moved.
“A hundred years... This prince has long become an abandoned pawn of the frontier, yet you look exactly as you did back then. Time truly has no hold on you, miss. And this young girl is...?”
“This is my disciple, Han Yu,” Su Yueli introduced briefly.
After taking their seats, the two began to chat about the events of the past century.
Zhao Yan sighed, his tone filled with self-deprecation and acceptance. “When I was first exiled to serve in the military at Heifengkou, my heart was filled with resentment. I thought I could rely on my own abilities to earn merits in the army, quietly win over the troops and officers here, and wait for a crisis in the capital to launch a rebellion and reclaim what belonged to me...”
At this point, Zhao Yan shook his head and drained a cup of wine.
“But later, I realized... the chiliarchs, vice-generals, and even the vast majority of the troops in this frontier army had long been the Crown Prince's chess pieces. My every move was right under their noses. I couldn't fight them. I couldn't fight them at all.”
Later, he also came to terms with it. Rather than fighting for that throne with constant anxiety and bloodshed, it was better to live peacefully out here on the frontier.
Only after letting go of his ambitions did he realize... this kind of life was actually quite nice.
Zhao Yan pointed around the quiet yet warm manor and smiled. “No power, no influence, but it is peaceful. Now, I can rest my head on a beauty's lap, worry about neither food nor clothing, and live by the rhythm of the sun. It is a lifetime of leisure.”
Su Yueli listened quietly, a faint light shimmering in her beautiful eyes.
Back in the capital, power struggles and conspiracies had them walking a tightrope between life and death.
Now, after all the changes of time, the once ambitious prince had finally found peace in this desolate frontier.
Su Yueli picked up her teacup, looked at Zhao Yan, and said seriously:
“My detour here today was mainly to express my gratitude to you, Fourth Prince. Back when I was down and out, if you hadn't gifted me that life-saving spiritual medicine to save Lin Ye, and secretly intervened to block the Pang family's harassment so I could smoothly enter the secret realm... I wouldn't have had my subsequent opportunities.”
Zhao Yan was taken aback, then burst into a hearty laugh, his eyes full of warmth and the wisdom of age.
“Haha! It was but a trivial matter! I am surprised that you still remember it after a hundred years, Miss Yueli. Being able to know an immortal figure like you is indeed the thing I am most proud of in my life!”
Looking at Zhao Yan as he laughed and raised his cup, his gaze completely open and free, Su Yueli took a gentle sip of her fragrant tea.
In the vast mortal world, fame and fortune were nothing but fleeting clouds.
The prince who once vied for the world had now found a pocket of pure joy in this small border town.
The corners of Su Yueli's lips curved upward, and a feeling inexplicably arose in her heart...
A simple life like this seemed rather nice, too.
Rate on N.U.
