Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 248: Would You Like to Have a Drink With Me?

At Tang Wanzhuang’s home.

The guqin-carrying maid stood guard outside the guest room, her face blushing with embarrassment.

What just happened? The young lady brought home a man, who then went to take a bath while she quickly ran away. In the end, I’m the one who is left here to serve him. Thankfully, he looked disdainful of me and even drove me out. Otherwise, would I have had to serve him while he was taking a bath?

Wait, how dare that stinky bear look down on me? He hasn’t even compensated me for the time he broke the strings yet!

Tang Wanzhuang appeared in front of her. “Why are you standing here?”

The guqin-carrying maid murmured, “Didn’t you ask me to serve him?”

Tang Wanzhuang pinched her brow and said angrily, “I asked you to arrange for people to fetch him some water. After that, you can go and do whatever you want. What is going on in your head? It’s almost been an hour, do you think he’s pickling vegetables in the tub?”

“...I can soak in the tub for that long.”

“You’re just a pickled vegetable!” Tang Wanzhuang glanced at the door and lowered her voice with some anticipation. “Have you been standing outside all this time? Did you hear any music come from inside?”

“No,” The guqin-carrying maid said. “Miss, he’s just a stinky bear.”

Tang Wanzhuang explained to her, “This just isn’t the right time. No one would play the guqin at this time.”

The guqin-carrying maid looked at her sideways and said nothing.

Tang Wanzhuang coughed lightly and knocked on the door.

Zhao Changhe’s voice came from inside, “Come in.”

Tang Wanzhuang pushed open the door and saw Zhao Changhe sitting by the window in his robes, pen in hand, writing something.

Outside the window, rain whispers its tale; upon the table, a verdant lamp glows pale.

Clad in robes, a pen held with care; in the depths of night, to toil and dare.

Tang Wanzhuang’s heart could not help but skip a beat, feeling like this scene was something that she had seen in her dreams. For some reason, it tugged at her heartstrings even more than when she thought he had been playing the guqin.

Unfortunately, instead of bringing him a bowl of hot soup, she was here to ask him when he was leaving.

“What are you writing?” she asked as she slowly approached, quietly taking a peek over his shoulder.

It turned out to be a manual.

“It’s part of the agreement I had with Sisi. I have to continue providing her with manuals on the Sword Emperor’s techniques. The last set of content I gave her was not much, it was only until the level of the Profound Mysteries. I feel like that won’t be enough, so I’m preparing more,” Zhao Changhe replied as he wrote. “We had an agreement, after all... I did not have a chance to write much during my travels, but seeing a pen and paper here reminded me of it.”

Tang Wanzhuang subconsciously blurted out, “Is it because it’s Sisi? What if it was a man instead?”

Zhao Changhe turned to look at her strangely. “When I made the appointment with Han Wubing, I traveled thousands of li while being hunted down to fulfill it. He is not a woman, yet I still went to such lengths. What does her being a woman have anything to do with my fulfillment of agreements?”

Tang Wanzhuang realized that she had lost her composure and quickly looked down at his writing. “I’m just saying. Hmm... Does this set reach the Profound Mysteries?”

“No, it’s just another set at the same level. I also need to produce multiple different sets of techniques. After all, they’re a group, not just one person.”

“Hmm...” Tang Wanzhuang breathed a sigh of relief seeing that she had successfully averted the discussion.

In any case, Zhao Changhe did not have the inclination to talk much. He was rushing to finish this manual and then leave. It would not be good for him to delay his leave until dawn.

Tang Wanzhuang stood aside quietly by his side, just like in the past in Gusu, habitually reaching out to grind ink for him.

The lamplight flickered, while the room became quieter in the rain.

His calligraphy has been getting better and better. Although he has not gotten to practice much, the wild and sharp edges have become more restrained, and the weight and grandeur have become more prominent. Yet, upon closer inspection, there’s still a hidden sharpness, ready to burst out of the paper at any moment.

His writing is just like him right now.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but the guqin-carrying maid’s voice eventually came from outside the door. “Miss, Yang Yaowu and the others just came to report that they are all ready. At least eighteen Zhao Changhes are ready to go. Young Master Zhao’s horse is also in the rear courtyard, ready to go at any time.”

The tranquil night was suddenly shattered.

Zhao Changhe stopped writing, and Tang Wanzhuang came back to her senses.

The two looked at each other and smiled slightly.

“Alright,” Zhao Changhe handed over the manuscript. “I guess it’s time for me to say goodbye.”

Tang Wanzhuang felt slightly regretful in her heart and said softly, “Don’t be so reckless next time. Ultimately, it’s not the right time.”

“Mm. If I had your strength, I could flip the capital upside down. All these constraints are really annoying.” Zhao Changhe stood up, stretched, and suddenly smiled. “Coming to the capital, going to so many places in one night, I don’t really even know what I was doing... In the end, I found it most relaxing by your side, not having to think about anything else.”

Tang Wanzhuang rolled her eyes. “Weren’t you busily writing secret manuals?”

“Compared to everything else, this is as leisurely as it gets.” Zhao Changhe picked up the saber leaning against the table. “But actually, I don’t really want it to be like this.”

Tang Wanzhuang paused, “Huh?”

As Zhao Changhe turned to leave, he said, “Next time, I hope that when I’m around, you don’t have to think about anything.”

Tang Wanzhuang watched his departing figure intently, neither seeing him off nor saying anything.

He had always been doing this—setting an example with his actions just to spare a few extra worries for someone.

*

As if by the will of the heavens, when Zhao Changhe rode away from Tang Wanzhuang’s home, the heavy rain that had been pouring suddenly stopped, leaving only a light drizzle, as if bidding him farewell.

At the same time, the sound of horse hooves rose loudly as eighteen other Zhao Changhes scattered in all directions. Eighteen identical horses, eighteen identical sabers, almost indistinguishable from one another, exited through the four gates of the capital, moving toward various directions.

Tang Wanzhuang suppressed the urge to climb up to a high vantage point and watch him leave, fearing that her gaze might inadvertently reveal the real Zhao Changhe.

Meanwhile, Huangfu Qing stood on high ground with great interest, scanning the scattered Zhao Changhes as if testing to see whether she could recognize him among any of them.

Her gaze ultimately settled on the figure heading south. He was quite easy to recognize, actually. It would have been difficult to find so many white-socked black horses in such a short time. Most of the horses they used simply had the areas around their hooves painted white, and it was impossible to completely disguise a person’s face to look exactly like Zhao Changhe’s. Of course, at a glance, it was hard to tell the difference, but it failed to stump Huangfu Qing, who was well-prepared.

Hah, that guy still deliberately headed south, when he could have just gone through the west or north gates. Heading south will require him to take a detour. Well, I guess this is to be expected of him.

Watching his departing figure, Huangfu Qing sighed softly.

This trip to the capital had completely deviated from her expectations. In fact, the whole situation completely deviated from expectations. The original plan was for her to sneak in quietly, silently take care of palace affairs, visit her brother, and then leave the capital again. She would then accompany him as he headed to the Grasslands.

However, his cover had been blown at the city, causing a stir. He could not hide, and he did not want to hide. Everywhere he went felt like a rush, and he could not accomplish anything. And since he left the capital at night like this, it would be inconvenient for her to accompany him again. She had just returned, and there was still a lot of unfinished business for her to attend to.

Although she knew that he was right, and it was right not to follow him anymore, Huangfu Qing still felt somewhat regretful.

She had been the one to lead him to the capital, but it was not the right time. Perhaps if they had not gone to the capital so soon, she could have enjoyed more carefree moments like back in Sword Lake City, heading north together with him with ease and freedom.

His figure soon could no longer be seen from the city. Huangfu Qing took out the pig mask, her delicate hand trembling slightly as if she wanted to crush it.

However, her hand remained stiff, and after a while, she put it back in her pocket.

One of her trusted aides whispered, “Your Majesty, a letter from the Grasslands.”

“Hm?”

“Venerable Black Tortoise said that he’s received the message. If he goes to the Grassland, the venerable will contact him.”

“That’s good.” Huangfu Qing extended her delicate hand to catch the drizzle. Suddenly, she whispered softly, “He’s still not strong enough... His boldness is just a fa?ade. Inwardly, he’s weak, unable to withstand the storm. I wonder, when he breaks through the Profound Gate, unlocks the Profound Mysteries, and returns to the capital, what storms will he face?”

Meanwhile, Zhao Changhe arrived at the southern outskirts of the capital in the light drizzle, about ten li away.

The sky was already beginning to brighten. There was a pavilion at the ten-li mark, with a postal station nearby. Outside the station, there was a breakfast stall where people were eating porridge and steamed buns in small groups.

Zhao Changhe dismounted and decided to have some breakfast before continuing on his journey.

As soon as he got to the stall, a skinny old man caught his eye.

He was drinking alcohol.

He was drinking wine this early in the morning, while others were drinking porridge, throwing a peanut into his mouth after every sip of wine. He looked very content.

His robes were exquisite, and he had an elegant demeanor. He looked like a high-ranking official. But a high-ranking official would not be alone, without any attendants.

Zhao Changhe’s gaze seemed to prompt a response from the old man. The old man turned to look at him and smiled faintly, “Little brother, your wine gourd looks good... It seems that we share a similar taste. At this time of the autumn, when the heavy rain has just stopped, would you like to have a drink with me?”