Ashes to Crown

Chapter 68: Chapter 31: Catching Up

Chu Zhao walked slowly down the street. Ah Le watched her cautiously. ”Miss, please don’t be angry.”

”Angry?” Chu Zhao laughed. ”I’m not angry. Why would I be angry with them?”

In the end, it was nothing more than a squabble between girls. Compared to the life-and-death conspiracies she had experienced, it was nothing at all.

She wouldn’t get angry over something so trivial.

”I was just thinking that I must return to the Border County as soon as possible,” Chu Zhao said.

Third Young Master Xie’s appearance in the Capital City had reminded her of what was to come, and it filled her with a renewed urgency to see her father.

Besides asking about her mother, there was one other thing.

In that lifetime, the Xie family’s reason for rebelling was that Xiao Xun had illegitimately taken the throne, conspiring with a traitor to seize the imperial seat.

That traitor was her father, Chu Ling.

The Xie family claimed that while the Third Prince had massacred everyone in the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince’s son had actually been rescued and entrusted to Chu Ling. However, they alleged that Chu Ling conspired with the King of Zhongshan to have the boy killed.

Otherwise, the Heir of the King of Zhongshan would never have had the chance to inherit the throne.

That was the deal between Chu Ling and the King of Zhongshan, and the proof was her becoming the Empress.

’How utterly ridiculous.’ She had always treated such absurd words as a joke. The Xie family must have been truly desperate for a reason to rebel to fabricate such nonsense.

’What kind of person was her father, Chu Ling? A disgraced official. Even if the young prince had been rescued, no one would have entrusted him to my father.’

’His Majesty and the Crown Prince probably didn’t even remember who my father was.’

But now, she felt that perhaps she needed to rethink everything—

In any case, there were too many unanswered questions. She had to see her father. She could not stay in the Capital City any longer.

Ah Le had no idea how many thoughts had just raced through her mistress’s mind. She squeezed Chu Zhao’s hand. ”Miss, don’t be anxious. We’ll find another way.”

Chu Zhao snapped back to reality. ’A way...’ She thought for a moment, then said, ”The best way is still to find Ah Jiu.”

’Ah Jiu?’ For a moment, Ah Le couldn’t even remember who that was. ’Why bring up Ah Jiu all of a sudden?’

’The young miss actually remembered him?’

Just as she was about to say something, a hesitant voice came from the side.

”Miss... Miss Chu?”

’Miss Chuchu? Who are they calling?’ Ah Le looked over, but Chu Zhao had already cried out happily, ”Mr. Zhang!”

At the entrance of a sundry shop by the street, two men stood holding several large and small bags. They had been the ones to speak first, but when the girl looked over and called out to them, their expressions became somewhat evasive.

”It really is Miss Chu,” Zhang Gu said. ”We just... we just called out on an impulse. If it’s inappropriate, we’ll leave right now.”

What he meant by ”inappropriate” was that the circumstances under which they had met this Miss Chu were not exactly honorable. For a young lady, it was best not to bring such things up.

They had just stepped out of the sundry shop when they saw the two girls. Although they were dressed completely differently from how Ah Fu and Ah Le had been back then, the memory was so vivid that they recognized them at a single glance.

Zhang Gu couldn’t help but call out, but he regretted it as soon as he did. ’Would this girl even want to be recognized by them?’

Unexpectedly, Chu Zhao’s expression showed no annoyance or distance, only pure delight.

This, in turn, made him a little happy. ’The girl doesn’t look down on me.’

”Mr. Zhang,” Chu Zhao said, stopping in front of them. ”I was just thinking about you all—where’s Ah Jiu?”

Uh... Zhang Gu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He watched the girl peer around behind them, her eyes shining brightly with anticipation.

’She wasn’t thinking about us, she was thinking about Ah Jiu.’

’This pair of lovers were forced apart on the road. The engagement must be off.’

...

...

Zhang Gu looked at the girl’s excited, happy expression with a twinge of sympathy. ’Life is like that; not everything goes your way. The young have to accept that fact sooner or later.’

”Miss Chu,” he said in a low voice. ”Ah Jiu isn’t with us anymore.”

Chu Zhao froze. ’Not with them? What does that mean?’

”He didn’t come out with you?” she asked, then added happily, ”It’s alright, I’ll go with you to find him.”

The sympathy in Zhang Gu’s eyes deepened. ”Miss Chu, he... he isn’t a posthouse soldier anymore.”

’Not a posthouse soldier anymore?’ Chu Zhao was surprised. ”Then what is he doing?” ’But it doesn’t matter. He’s still familiar with the posthouse soldiers, so he can figure something out.’ She urged Zhang Gu again, ”I’ll go see him and ask.”

”Miss Chu,” Zhang Gu said in a low voice, rushing to get the words out so the girl wouldn’t have a chance to overthink it. ”He’s gone. He’s not at the Posthouse Soldier Camp. We don’t know where he went, and we haven’t seen him since we got back.”

Chu Zhao understood now. She recalled what Zhang Gu had said before—that Ah Jiu was being punished. ’So, he must have left as soon as this assignment was over.’

’No, that’s not it.’ Her eyes darkened. ’Ah Jiu wasn’t being punished; he was a messenger. He was concealing his identity to deliver a secret letter to my father. Once the task was done, his assignment was over.’

”Where is his family from?” she asked.

Zhang Gu shook his head. ”He joined the Posthouse Soldier Camp halfway through. We don’t know where he’s from, much less where his home is.” He sounded a bit wistful as he added, ”I don’t know if we’ll ever see him again.”

’That kid seemed so annoying, but he was also inexplicably likable.’

’If you were good to him, he’d be good to you. If you were bad to him, he’d make sure you had it twice as bad.’

A sense of bewilderment washed over Chu Zhao. ’This will make him hard to find. He completed his mission and hid his identity. The Capital City is so large, how can I possibly find him?’

’My uncle definitely won’t help me send a letter to Father.’

’If I give the letter to Zhang Gu and the other posthouse soldiers, my uncle will surely interfere. These ordinary soldiers don’t have the authority to make their own decisions.’

’Only Ah Jiu.’

’That bad, cruel, treacherous, and heartless bastard.’

She should be wary of this Ah Jiu, and yet she felt that in the entire Capital City, he was the only one she could trust—the only one who could truly help her.

For a moment, Chu Zhao’s eyes went blank with bewilderment.

”Miss... Miss Chu.” Seeing the girl’s expression, Zhang Gu’s heart ached for her. ’Ai, what a sin.’ ”Don’t be sad.”

He blurted out a promise.

”I’ll try to find him. If I can, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him.”

Chu Zhao thanked him sincerely. ”Mr. Zhang, you are truly a good person.”

This low-ranking posthouse soldier she had met by chance on the road was better than anyone she had met in her previous life.

”The heavens must have taken pity on me, letting me meet good people like you, Mr. Zhang.”

With that, she curtsied to Zhang Gu.

Ah Le quickly followed with a solemn bow of her own.

Zhang Gu was flustered. ”What are you saying? You’re too polite. It’s what I should do, what I should do.”

”Then I’ll have to trouble you, Mr. Zhang,” Chu Zhao said. She told Zhang Gu where she lived and pointed at Ah Le. ”Just look for her when the time comes. She’s often out and about.”

Zhang Gu nodded. Ah Le bowed to him once more, and then mistress and maid took their leave.

Watching the girl walk away with a dejected look, Zhang Gu muttered ”what a sin” again.

His companion coughed lightly. ”Brother Zhang, aren’t you helping them with a secret tryst?”

Uh... Zhang Gu stammered, ”No, I’m not... Don’t talk nonsense! What secret tryst—”

His companion looked at him teasingly and said nothing.

Zhang Gu sighed in resignation. ”I just feel sorry for the kid, so I’m helping pass on a message. Whether they meet or not is none of my business.”

His companion clapped him on the shoulder. ”Alright, alright, I know. Brother Zhang is a good person.”

Zhang Gu scoffed, and the two continued on their way.

”Still, it was nice to run into Miss Chu today.”

”Miss Chu didn’t avoid us when she saw us. She didn’t look down on us at all.”

”Yeah, but at first glance, Miss Chu looked really fierce, like she’d just been in a fight.”

”Don’t be ridiculous. How could Miss Chu get into fights all the time?”

...

...

Yaqug Pavilion was now empty. The matinee show had ended, and the evening show had yet to begin. But in the main hall on the first floor, the group of young men had not yet left, though the food and wine were long gone.

Xie Yanlai was no longer hiding his head under the tablecloth. He leaned back lazily and called out to a waiter, ”Come on, more food, more wine.”

Before the waiter could respond, the other young men stood up in exasperation. ”When are you planning to leave?”

Xie Yanlai thought for a moment. ”After dark, I guess. It’s too bright outside. It’s not safe.”

’What kind of nonsense is that? If anyone’s unsafe, it’s because of you.’ The young men couldn’t take it anymore. ”You can stay here. We’re leaving.”

Although Xie Yanlai was called Mr. Xie, his birth mother was of low status. He had only been acknowledged by the Xie family midway through his life. For the rest of his days, he would likely just rely on his family to eat his fill, stay warm, and drift by without any real prospects.

But they were different. They were proper young masters who had futures to build and reputations to make.

Hanging out with Xie Yanlai was just a way to curry favor with the Xie family; they couldn’t actually waste their lives away with him without a care in the world.

The young men left in a rush, leaving Xie Yanlai all alone.

The waiter asked tentatively, ”Young Master, would you still like more food and wine?”

Xie Yanlai shot him a glance and tossed a bag of money onto the table. ”Why wouldn’t I? Can’t I afford it?”

’This young master has a terrible temper.’ The waiter quickly nodded and bowed, obsequiously shouting for the best wine and food. Just as he was about to leave, he was called back again.

”The person who was fighting on the second floor earlier... their surname was Chu, right?”

The waiter quickly confirmed it was, then asked casually, ”Do you know them, Young Master? Chu—”

Before he could finish, Xie Yanlai cut him off impatiently. ”How would I know her!”

’Young Master Chu Ke isn’t famous enough to be known throughout the Capital City yet. So what if you don’t know him? Why be so fierce about it? They say Third Young Master Xie is a kind person, but this Mr. Xie is anything but.’ The waiter mumbled his assent and was about to leave, but was stopped once again.

Xie Yanlai flicked his hand, tossing over another bag of money.

”Find someone for me. Have them tell me exactly how the fight on the second floor went down.”

Ooh! The waiter happily caught the money. ’There’s such a good deal to be had? This rich young master is truly impossible to figure out. He didn’t go watch the fight when it was happening, but now he’s paying money to hear someone describe it. Does he have more money than he knows what to do with?’

”Right away! Please wait a moment, Young Master! Wine, food, a storyteller, and all the excitement will be here right away!”