Because of the strict separation between men and women, although he agreed to let Wei Chi see Yao Youqing, the door was not closed after Yao Youqing went in, and even the curtain was lifted, so that people outside could see what the people inside were doing and saying at a glance.
Wei Chi snapped out of his daze and said apologetically, "I was rude."
Yao Youqing shook her head: "Is there something you need for His Majesty's visit so late at night?"
Wei Chi was silent for a moment: "It's nothing, I just... wanted to say goodbye to you."
As he spoke, he took out a small porcelain bottle from his bosom and said, "The Prince of Qin's fiefdom is a thousand miles from the capital, and the journey is long. I know that you have never been able to endure long journeys and you will feel dizzy and uncomfortable if you sit in the carriage for a while. So I specially asked the imperial physician to prepare some pills for you, which may alleviate the symptoms."
Yao Youqing looked at the porcelain bottle but did not accept it. Seeing this, Wei Chi opened the bottle, poured out one or two pills to prove that there was nothing else inside, and then handed the bottle to Zhou Mama, who took it to Yao Yuzhi to check. After confirming that it was really just pills, Zhou Mama had it returned to Yao Youqing, indicating that she could accept it.
Yao Youqing nodded and thanked him, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Wei Chi smiled and said, "Don't thank me. This is all I can do for you right now."
Yao Youqing said, "As the ruler of a country, Your Majesty is not obligated to do anything for me. It is already a blessing that you have bestowed medicine upon me."
The tone wasn't exactly distant, but it wasn't exactly warm either.
Wei Chi looked somewhat disappointed and said, "After this parting, it may be difficult to see each other again. Is there anything you haven't fulfilled, Sister Yao? I will do everything I can for you!"
Yao Youqing shook her head again: "Your Majesty knows that my father is old and has no other wishes. I am only worried about my father. As Your Majesty knows, my father is old and has no one but me as his daughter. If I leave, there will be no one to care for him. I beg Your Majesty to consider my father's lifelong loyalty to the country and his unwavering dedication, and to take care of him and not let him overwork. As long as my father is healthy, I will be at peace no matter where I am."
“Of course,” Wei Chi said. “The Grand Tutor is not only a pillar of the nation, but also my teacher. I will take good care of him without you having to say anything more.”
Still unwilling to give up, he asked her, "Sister Yao, is there nothing else you want to say to me? Is there anything else you want me to do for you? I'll agree to anything you ask!"
Yao Youqing thought for a moment and said, "If I had to say something, then I would hope that Your Majesty would not do anything for me, but for the sake of all people."
"Your Majesty, I hope you can be a good emperor for the people, so that the Great Liang can be prosperous and peaceful, and the people can live a life of plenty and happiness."
“My personal happiness is a small happiness, but the happiness of all the people under heaven is a great happiness. Your Majesty is the ruler of a country, and the well-being of millions of people is on your mind. I am just one of those millions. If Your Majesty governs the country well, I, as a citizen of Liang, will naturally be able to enjoy peace and tranquility. There is no need for Your Majesty to do anything special for me.”
Yao Yuzhi stood outside the door listening to her daughter's words, tears welling up in her eyes.
Ning'er studied with him and her two older brothers from a young age, and learned about family, country and the world from what she saw and heard.
She may not know how to do it, but she knows that she must always put the country first, and that for Wei Chi, the fate of the Great Liang Dynasty is what he should care about more.
If she were a boy, she might not be any less capable than her two older brothers.
If she were a man, she wouldn't have had to be married off to someone thousands of miles away.
It's just a pity...
Yao Yuzhi shook her head and sighed, her heart filled with even greater sorrow.
Wei Chi, who was in the room, looked at Yao Youqing, who was speaking earnestly, his eyes slightly deep, as if he was thinking about something. He remained silent for a moment before smiling again.
"Alright, I agree!"
Yao Youqing smiled too, her eyes crinkling, still looking innocent and naive.
Wei Chi had agreed with Yao Yuzhi that he would only stay for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. When the time was up, he took his leave without Yao Yuzhi having to say anything more.
He sat in an inconspicuous carriage, traveling along a secluded path towards the palace.
A night breeze lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, and the cool air that followed seeped in was all-pervasive.
The person who had been resting with their eyes closed in the car opened them, their gaze colder than the night.
Chapter 5 Leaving the Capital
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, three thousand Jingyuan soldiers, dressed in their heavy armor as when they arrived, left the capital.
Unlike last time, this time there was a long convoy in the procession.
The first few cars in the procession carried Yao Youqing and her maids and servants, while the cars behind were filled with her dowry.
Yao Yuzhi only has one daughter, Yao Youqing. Since there is no son to inherit the family business, she gave almost everything she could to her daughter.
Strangely enough, although he and the King of Qin were at odds and saw each other as thorns in their side, they inexplicably trusted each other's character in certain aspects.
For example, he made Yao Youqing bring so much dowry, and he wasn't worried at all that the King of Qin would covet these things and keep them for himself.
Yao Youqing had a dowry prepared for her by Yao Yuzhi with all her resources, plus the rewards from the late emperor and Wei Chi, the amount of which can be imagined.
Traveling with these things was slow. Less than half a day after leaving the capital, Wei Hong ordered his horses to go ahead, with the dowry procession following slowly behind.
When Qiongyu heard the news, she frowned and said to the Qin King's subordinate who came to deliver the message, "We didn't say before that we would travel separately. Besides, there are still three months until the wedding. Even if we take our time with the dowry, we can still make it. Why are we in such a hurry?"
The man scoffed, "My lord is swamped with official duties, how could he have time to walk slowly? He didn't come back to the capital to get married, it was just that the late emperor forced him to come."
He spoke his last sentence very softly, but Qiongyu still heard it and immediately jumped up in anger.
"How can you speak like that? Our young lady is the late Emperor's chosen Princess Consort of Qin! You..."
"Qiongyu," came Zhou Mama's voice from inside the carriage. The heavy curtain was lifted, revealing half of Zhou Mama's face. "What's wrong?"
Qiongyu knew that her young mistress was resting in the carriage. She figured that Zhou Mama had made a sound because she had been too loud and woken her up. So she glared at the soldier, went back, and whispered in Zhou Mama's ear what had happened.
Madam Zhou nodded, looked at the soldier and then at her: "Understood, do as the prince says."
Qiongyu knew that they probably couldn't disobey the King of Qin on the issue of travel; she was just annoyed by the soldier's attitude. Hearing this, she returned to the soldier dejectedly and said sullenly, "I know! Go back!"
The soldiers left with their chins held high and expressions of disdain, without even noticing Yao Youqing in the vehicles.
She cried all the way when she left the capital, and eventually fell asleep while crying. She was just woken up by Qiongyu arguing with someone else, and she was still half asleep and couldn't hear what they were saying.
After Zhou's mother lowered the carriage curtain, she opened her red and swollen eyes and asked in a hoarse voice, "What's wrong, Zhou's mother? What were they talking about just now?"
Mother Zhou smiled and said, "It's alright. We brought too much dowry. The prince still has some official business to attend to in his fiefdom, and he can't afford to be delayed on the road for too long. So we had the horses and the dowry travel separately so that it would be faster."
Yao Youqing nodded upon hearing this: "Yes, Your Highness holds an important position. He has already stayed in the capital for a month due to the national mourning. There must be many things to deal with in your fiefdom. Indeed, you cannot afford to delay."
Mother Zhou smiled and gently stroked her hair: "But this way the journey might be a bit bumpy. Qiongyu was worried that Miss's body couldn't handle it, so she argued with that young general for a bit."
Even the best carriage becomes uncomfortable when traveling fast. Yao Youqing had never traveled such a long distance before, so it was understandable that the servants were worried.
She rubbed her slightly sore eyes and smiled faintly: "Mom told them not to worry about me. What I said before about getting dizzy from sitting in a car for a long time was just an excuse. Others may not know, but don't you know?"
Yao Youqing never actually suffered from motion sickness. It was just that Wei Chi frequently asked Princess Chenglan to invite her on outings under various pretexts. She didn't want to go but couldn't always refuse, so she made up this excuse.
Madam Zhou naturally knew, and said gently, "We all understand, but this time is different from the past. The journey is really too far, which is why she is a little worried. If Miss feels unwell during the journey, please tell me and don't suffer in silence."
Yao Youqing nodded and said, "Mom, don't worry, I will definitely tell you if I feel unwell. Besides, you and Ling Shuang and Qiongyu are with me all day long. If I really have a headache or fever, how could I hide it from you?"
She genuinely felt she had nothing wrong with what she said, but she underestimated the difference in understanding of the word "travel" between those who actually went to war and ordinary people.
Even ordinary people traveling at night would usually need to find a post station to rest.
However, the Jingyuan Army traveled almost day and night without stopping. They would only stop to rest occasionally when they were tired. The places they stopped were very random. Often, they would find an open space or a river in the wilderness where they could drink water and let their horses graze. They would give an order to set up a pot and cook a meal on the spot, or simply eat a few bites of dry rations. After a short rest, they would mount their horses and continue on their way.
As for where to stay at night, it was all very casual. Sometimes they would set up a tent, and sometimes they wouldn't even bother to set up a tent. They would just wrap themselves up and lie down on the spot and fall fast asleep. When they woke up, they would be as energetic as ever.
Although Yao Youqing could barely hold on, her complexion had deteriorated considerably over the past few days. Sometimes she would lift the curtain to look at the soldiers outside and admire their tenacity.
How could one achieve such a level without constant practice and refinement?
They must train very hard on a regular basis to be able to get used to this situation.
Yao Youqing felt grateful and embarrassed to hold everyone back, so she endured the slight discomfort and tried her best not to affect the speed of their journey.
But to everyone's surprise, while she was fine, Ling Shuang, who was traveling with her, fell ill.
Ling Shuang felt unwell for the first few days, but seeing that Qiong Yu and the others didn't say anything, even the young lady could hold back, she also forced herself not to say anything.
Later, when Zhou Mama saw that her complexion was really bad, she asked Qiongyu and learned that she had been dizzy for a long time due to the bumpy ride and had vomited several times. So she forced her to rest and stopped letting her serve Yao Youqing in the carriage. She also told Qiongyu to give her some of the pills that Wei Chi had given her and to tell them if she was still not feeling well.
Qiongyu agreed and led Ling Shuang to the carriage behind.
After resting for a few days, Ling Shuang's condition improved. Although she still felt a tightness in her chest and was not very comfortable, it was not as serious as before, so she returned to Yao Youqing's side to take care of her.
However, her symptoms soon returned, and were even more severe than before. This time, even the medicine Wei Chi gave her was ineffective.
Upon hearing this, Yao Youqing went to check on Ling Shuang in the back vehicle when the group stopped. Seeing that she looked unwell, she sent someone to find Wei Hong to ask if there was a military doctor among his entourage who could examine Ling Shuang.
But the person she sent returned shortly afterward, looking embarrassed, and told her, "Miss, the people in front wouldn't let me get close. I didn't see the prince, so I asked the others, and they told me there was no military doctor."
"No?"
Yao Youqing frowned: "Where are we now? Are there any towns nearby? Could we go to a town to get a doctor, or could we take a slightly longer route, see a doctor, get some medicine, and then continue? Ling Shuang's condition is really not good, otherwise I wouldn't have made this request."
The man shook his head: "This servant does not know, then... I will go and ask again!"
Then he turned and walked away.
A moment later she returned, her face even more pale than before.
“Miss, they said there are no towns nearby and we can’t take a detour. They said the prince ordered that the journey cannot be delayed and no one can be allowed to do so.”
Even if Yao Youqing were slow to notice, she could still tell from those words that they were directed at her.
She glanced at Ling Shuang, who was lying in the car with a pale face, pursed her lips, and got up to walk out.
Ling Shuang knew what she wanted to do, and with difficulty raised her hand to tug at her sleeve, her voice weak: "Miss, I'm fine, I just need some rest, you don't need to go to the Prince for my sake."
Seeing that she barely had the strength to speak, Yao Youqing pulled her hand down and said, "It's alright, you rest, I'll go check on her."
After saying that, he walked out.
She and Zhou's mother walked towards the front of the line, but they were stopped not far away.
The person who had just been sent to find Wei Hong whispered, "He's the one who told me that there was no army doctor and we couldn't take a detour."
Zhou's mother immediately recognized him as the person who had argued with Qiongyu a few days ago, while Yao Youqing had never seen him before and did not recognize him.
Seeing that the other party had stopped her, she said, "My maid is sick. I would like to see the prince and ask him to find a doctor to treat my maid. Please inform him."
When the man saw that it was Miss Yao, the future Princess Consort of Qin, his attitude was not as arrogant as before, but he still said coldly, "His Highness is busy, and the procession cannot take a detour just for a maid. Miss Yao, please go back."
Yao Youqing knew the other party wouldn't agree easily, and wanted to say a few more words, but was stopped by Zhou's mother.
"Miss, there's no need to say anything more to him. Let's go directly to the Prince."
Ultimately, the decision-maker in this group is the King of Qin. Given their status as young ladies, why should they argue with a servant about right and wrong?
If Miss insists on going, do they really dare to stop her?
Regardless of what the King of Qin thought about this marriage, and regardless of what his original purpose in returning to the capital was, since he agreed to the marriage in court, he is now on the way to welcome the bride, not on a military campaign, so don't try to intimidate them with any military orders!
Thinking of Ling Shuang's condition, Yao Youqing felt anxious, so she nodded and walked forward with her, no longer wanting to waste any more words.
The young general was enraged by their attitude and stepped forward again to block them, shouting, "Stop! I've said the Prince has no time to see you! If you dare take another step forward, don't blame me for being impolite!"