Dark clouds gather in layers in an attempt to bring the sky down.
Willow branches were no longer in green, wilted and dried as they stuck out dumbfounded from the ground. The first snow floated down from the skies, falling through those dried branches onto the ground, slowly gathering into a pile of velvety white by the roots of those trees, fresh with the dark colours of soil glimpsing out between them.
A horse carriage strolled out of the city gates, per their master's request, the driver was travelling slowly on purpose and the sound of horse hooves slowed down.
This horse carriage was situated in the centre of the envoy, guarded both front and back by riders. Once it slowed down, the ones at the back followed. The guide at the front was baffled yet dared not urge them to be quick. He turned around instead before seeing a hand reaching out from the horse carriage seeming as though it wanted to catch a snowflake in its hand. It brought with it the wariness of one who was entering the capital for the first time from the Northern Region of the Gobi Desert. He couldn't help but was enlightened, raising his hand to signal the carriages in front to slow down as well.
The Seventh Prince of Göktürk, Kuhezhen's gaze moved away from the silhouette of that guide who was raising his chest high and surveyed the wilted willows of the city's walls that were painting it into a scene of forlorn lonesomeness. He then turned his gaze to the bustling streams of horse carriages going in and out of the city before finally withdrawing his gaze with a stunned expression.
"Everyone says the scenery of falling snow at the Ba Bridge is a sight in the capital, who could have known the first snow comes so late in the Central Plains!"
The snow that fell few and far in between all nearly melted upon reaching the ground. At a glance, everything looked bleak and gloomy. How did it resemble the magnificent snowy scene of Northern Kingdoms in paintings?
This Autumn, the Sui Dynasty allied with all powers around and waged a war to the death against the Göktürk army in which Khan Ishbara led.
The Sui Dynasty sent Gao Jiong1 and Yu Qingce2 on two separate expeditions, the Ning State Road and the Yuan State Roads to attack the Göktürk troops on two fronts.
On the other side, Zhangsun Sheng3, Yuan Hui4, Cui Buqu and other's movements resulted in the internal conflicts within the departments of Göktürk, causing them to collapse. In the face of Khan Ishbara, the same powerful enemy they all shared, powers from various departments finally united. The Suni Department of Göktürk even has up to ten thousand people who submitted to the Sui Dynasty.
As Khan Ishbara suffered the oppression of the Khitan people5 of the East and assaults on all remaining three sides, he was left with no choice but to bow before the Sui Dynasty. Even his wife, Princess Qianjin, who was a member of the Yuwen Clan from the former dynasty of Northern Zhou, knelt to the Sui Emperor and submitted to changing her surname to become a daughter of the Yang family. The Sui Emperor was gladdened, changing Princess Qianjin's title to Princess Dayi to prove his sincerity and gifted Khan Ishbara a countless amount of gold and silver.
The Seventh Son of Khan Ishbara, Kuhezhen hence entered, along with tributes and warhorses from the Western Regions, into the capital of the Sui Dynasty.
Before entering the capital, the Emperor has given orders that Kuhezhen represented the pillar of the country6, hence ordaining him Duke of Nation's Harmony while bestowed upon Princess Dayi the surname 'Yang'.
These were all just empty ranks. After the Seventh Prince of Göktürk became the pillar of the country, he could no longer get involved in country affairs even though he would receive all the fame that came with it.
To put it plainly, this Seventh Prince was just a hostage the Göktürks have given to the Imperial Court.
He brought people and horses into the capital all the way from the Northern Regions of the Gobi Desert to this present place. When they arrived in Wuxiang, he requested for a horse carriage saying that he wanted to arrange his etiquettes in order to leave a good impression for His Majesty. The guide had no issue to this and even complimented the Seventh Prince inwardly for his intellect. After all, an honest and well-mannered person in official clothes was more likeable compared to a Göktürk clad in dust and ash with foreign clothes.
At this moment, the Seventh Prince Kuhezhen truly did change into Han clothes. He tied his own braids into the style of the Han people. If not for a face with distinguished features that could not be changed, he look no different from a Han.
However, he could not sit in the same literary way as Hans. He remained sitting on his knees like when he was in the Royal Court of Göktürk, looking carefree and leisurely. There was a curious look on his face but when the curtains of the carriage were drawn back, it had vanished.
"This is the Brilliant Spring Gate. The Ba Bridge is not situated here. If His Highness wishes to see the Ba Bridge, he should head to the outside of the Yanxing Gate." The person accompanying him in the horse carriage passively said.
That person carried an impassive look, his features ordinary and when they weren't twitching they were passive like wild grasses and rocks at the side of roads. He didn't look eye-catching at all, but once he spoke, the plain atmosphere in the carriage took a fresh turn, for even his eyebrows suddenly became lively.
Had it been any other top martial artist in this place, they would most definitely have taken a shock and regard him as a formidable enemy.
However, the Seventh Prince Kuhezhen showed no response. One, it was because his martial arts were mediocre, hence he wasn't sensitive to auras that could only be given off by grandmasters of the martial arts. Secondly, he had been consistently interacting with this person and thus has gotten used to it.
Kuhezhen finally let go of the curtains, no longer interested in looking outside.
"I originally thought that the capital of the Sui Dynasty should have been a brilliant and flourishing place. Couldn't have thought that aside from the city being larger, that the people wore a little prettier, there's nothing too outstanding. Even those people rushing to squeeze into the city were all common folks. One could not look twice after they've seen once. Tuan, what do you say?"
Tuan Qinghe opened his eyes.
"This is because the person the Seventh Prince wished to see is not here."
Kuhezhen smiled: "I heard that talents are aplenty in the Great Sui and people of intelligence are everywhere. I do want to meet them for an interaction. At least my trip to the Central Plains wouldn't be for nought."
Tuan Qinghe: "What is considered a person of intelligence in the Seventh Prince's eyes?"
Kuhezhen said: "Intelligent people are aplenty beneath the Heavens. Yet I've met only a few of them; for example, my Khan Father, and that Han official, Zhangsun Sheng."
Tuan Qinghe raised his brow slightly and mentioned two names: "The Khatun? Yu Xiu?"
The Khatun he mentioned was naturally the wife of Kuhezhen's Father, Khan Ishbara, the Empress Princess Qianjin of Eastern Göktürk, who is now presently Princess Dayi.
This princess was once the daughter of the royal family of the former dynasty who married to the kingdom of deserts. Logically, she should have been similar to her predecessors, used to her old ways of life and would have felt depressed, doomed to an early death. However, Princess Dayi hadn't gone down that path. Contrarily, after the Northern Zhou was annihilated, she could grasp the heart of her husband and shared in a portion of power in the Royal Court. She could be said to be quite intelligent.
Yu Xiu was one a favoured official of the princess, but ever since he was sent to the Central Plains by the princess, Kuhezhen and Tuan Qinghe haven't seen him since.
Hearing the names of these two people, Kuhezhen shook his head.
"Tuan, intelligence has many kinds. Some people would only take into consideration the evident benefits, and some of their judgements are slaved away by emotions. Princess Dayi is the first and Yu Xiu is the latter. Before this, I have always admired Yu Xiu. A person like him sent to the Central Plains was born to sow chaos there. It's a pity that he failed in the end. Without the Princess, Yu Xiu might have been able to go further."
Tuan Qinghe seemed very convinced by his words. He nodded his head after hearing about it. "It seems like the Seventh Prince has already chosen his candidate."
Kuhezhen: "A smart person does not need to have the wisdom of evaluating their situation, but they would still need luck. From the way I see it, the present Emperor and Empress had such specialities. If their descendants are also the same, then this Dynasty could last for at least three generations. Otherwise—"
Tuan Qinghe: "Otherwise?"
Kuhezhen smiled and said: "Otherwise, even if they are more intelligent people like Cui Buqu, what use is there?"
Tuan Qinghe's gaze froze on him: "I still thought that the Seventh Prince's trip here was related to Xiao Lu's invitation."
Kuhezhen sighed a breath: "Xiao Lu is also an intelligent person. It's a pity that he lacked some luck. If he reincarnated into a good life, even if he was born as the son of the Emperor of the Chen Dynasty, perhaps the powers that rule the world presently would be different."
Since he lacked luck and ran into the Northern Dynasty who was brimming with talents, then he was destined to have a rough road ahead. The end he would eventually come to might not be blissful as well.
To ally himself with a person like that, Kuhezhen was worried that even his own luck would be brought down.
"Tuan, I have not asked you yet. Why have you suddenly decided to pursue me to the Central Plains?"
"I have overcome my limit."
Tuan Qinghe's expression was very calm, almost like he was just discussing something common.
"The limit that the number one fighter of Göktürk that year, Hulugu had not even overcome."
Kuhezhen's eyes brightened. "I remembered that during that year, you used three years in seclusion. This time you only used three months."
Tuan Qinghe nodded his head. "This time it had gone even smoother. The written notes Hulugu left behind gave me quite an advantage."
Kuhezhen smiled. "Hulugu had always been just a myth to me. However, the present version of you should have been superior compared to the prior number one fighter of Khan Father's, Fo Er, certainly? If you fought with Fo Er, how many moves would you need to defeat him?"
Tuan Qinghe pondered over for a while: "Three to five moves."
Kuhezhen gave a shocked look: "I heard that Feng Xiao killed Fo Er at quite a big expense. Even if his martial arts have improved, perhaps he's still not your match?"
Tuan Qinghe seriously said: "That may not be the case. The path of a martial artist is boundless. Before seeing him in person, I cannot tell."
Kuhezhen snickered. He felt the disappointment from looking out of the window just now lifted.
"At a glance, of all the top martial artists: Yan Wushi, Yi Pichen, Ruyan Kehui, Shen Qiao, Guang Lingsan, Feng Xiao and the others are not within Daxing City. Although this Imperial City is huge, those who could be called top-tier martial artists could be counted on both hands. If you want to compete with these people, you might have to wait for a little more while. Perhaps after a while later, the Imperial City would descend into chaos and when that time comes no little amount of top martial artists could all show up to turn defeat into victory. Those people might not compare to the aforementioned grandmaster-tiered martial artists. They don't deserve your presence. We only need to sit and watch them like fishes in a pond. Once this pond is enough muddy, we would reach out to give it a little more stir."
As he finished speaking, Kuhezhen once again lifted the curtains at the same time the guide looked back. Both of their gazes met and as the guide saw Kuhezhen's eager and expectant expression, he inwardly convinced himself that this Seventh Prince certainly has a good-temper and way with people. Kuhezhen did not mind giving the other this sort of misunderstanding, and so he nodded his head with a vague smile.
Then when he dropped the curtains, his expression became completely dissimilar to the one just now.
If one were to say he was just like a well-fed animal just now who was too lazy to move, then now he's a wild wolf who got excited by the smell of its prey.
"Yu Xiu is dead. The Princess is both furious and upset. Her hatred for Yang Jian grew. The Thirteen Pavilions of Yunhai had lost a lot of members and horses. This time they would most certainly make use of the opportunity to have one last go. Tuan, the other princes were unwilling to come to the Sui Dynasty, yet I am different. People from the Central Plains often say "All is prepared and all it needs is a push from the Eastern Wind". I feel that my purpose to come here is to become that gust of wind."
Kuhezhen's light coloured irises seemed like they're seeing the toils of an impending wave and couldn't help feeling his blood surging in excitement.
"I've mistakenly spoken just now. This Daxing City truly is the capital praised by all under the heavens. Just by the common citizens going in and out of the city's gates, it's already a few times more than those in our Royal Court. In such a vast and spacious Imperial Capital, when the wind and clouds toiled, it must certainly be brilliant and astounding to the eyes."
...
As the horse carriage swayed, it would also sway one into slumber.
Cui Buqu did not sleep, because the rocking made his head hurt.
After the case of emblezzing rations was closed, the officials of Guangqian County were all taken down. The Censorate had to send a few officials over to relief the calamity and distribute food. This series of arrangements took up a period of half a month. However, Cui Buqu's old diseases came back and there was nowhere he could go. Until a few days after Rong Qing seized the suspects back to the capital, he set out for the capital.
This parade of people were all wounded patients. Guan Shanhai's injuries were severe, a little worse than Cui Buqu. Behind was another horse carriage; the Jiejian Bureau's Third Commander Ming Yue was in a better condition, but only by a little bit. In order to avoid his wounds from reopening, he was forbidden to ride on a horse. He was placed on a horse carriage to stop occasionally for rest.
Qiao Xian originally wanted to escort them back to the capital before leaving to assume her post at Xinan, but Cui Buqu told her that there was no need so she could only set out alone in disappointment.
Pitiful Pei Jingzhe had to say goodbye after escorting her for a few dozen li. In the few days that followed his heart wasn't there, his mind had wandered. Even Ming Yue tried to tease him whether his soul had followed Qian Xiao.
However, what truly gave Cui Buqu a headache wasn't the uncomfortable rocking of the horse carriage.
It was—
One person swept the curtains aside and came in, making himself feel at home. There wasn't a need to serve him, because he's taken a seat on his own.
"My delicate legs are hurting, so I came in to take a breather."
Here he comes again.
Cui Buqu sighed.
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[1]高颎: known during the Northern Zhou period by the Xianbei name Dugu Jiong, was a key official and general of the Chinese Sui Dynasty. He was a key advisor to Emperor Wen of Sui and instrumental in the campaign against rival the Chen Dynasty, allowing Sui to destroy Chen in 589 and reunify China.
[2, 3, 4]虞庆则, 长孙晟, 元晖: These are real people who are famous officials during the Sui Dynasty of Northern Zhou period.
[5] 契丹: Para-Mongolic nomadic people from Northeast Asia who inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East.
[6] 柱国: Rank of an official.
[DB: Kedun has been changed to Khatun.]