knife

Chapter 404 Only One Thing is Missing

Jiang Ping is unlike any other woman Li Dachui has ever been with.

Xia Zhi, who grew up with Li Dachui, took meticulous care of him. She could do everything for him – combing his hair, dressing him, washing his face, cooking – everything. With her around, Li Dachui was a complete pushover. He did whatever she said, and even when he was angry, he wouldn't vent in front of her; instead, he'd hide and cry secretly. Sometimes he'd beat up Fang Xiaomao to vent his anger, and sometimes he'd get beaten up by Gu Xiaoman.

As for Xiao Changche, she can do everything herself and doesn't need Li Dachui's help at all. She also won't help Li Dachui with anything, nor will she act cute or charming in front of him. More often than not, she just wants to take a gun and stab Li Dachui in the eye. Of course, after they got together, it was no longer appropriate to stab him in the eye, but the thought of beating Li Dachui has always remained. As for whether she actually did beating him or how she did it, that's not something to be told to outsiders.

Two years ago, I met Zhang Qingyun. She was a refined lady from a wealthy family. She was always polite and courteous in her dealings with others. She spoke and acted in a soft and gentle voice. She was very opinionated but also good at listening to others' opinions, making it impossible for anyone to find fault with her.

Jiang Ping, who's always sticking to me like a leech, is just too much of a character.

She gets angry; the princess's temper flares up from time to time.

She knows how to act cute and charming. When she finds that getting angry has no effect on Li Dachui, she immediately switches to acting cute and pitiful.

She gets angry easily, and sometimes when Li Dachui really angers her, she can go a whole day without eating. Even if Li Dachui tries to tempt her with all sorts of delicious food, she will not be moved. Her stomach will be growling loudly so that you can hear it from far away, but she can still endure it until Li Dachui admits his mistake.

But she also worked very hard. She learned hunting techniques such as setting traps, snares, and cages very quickly. She even learned some of Li Dachui's cooking skills. After traveling with Li Dachui for more than ten days, the food she prepared was already edible.

In Li Dachui's words, it is growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This is a very interesting little girl.

"Li Bao, is your wife prettier than me?" The two rode side by side. After spending more than ten days together, the level of trust between them had risen rapidly, and they were already able to ask each other some more private questions.

"Yeah, prettier than you!" Li Dachui nodded. This was the truth; Jiang Ping was actually quite good-looking, but it depended on who she was compared to.

If you put her next to Xiao Changche, she is indeed a notch below him.

"How are you prettier than me?" Jiang Ping's face flushed with anger as she pouted and asked, "I suspect you're blind!"

“She’s prettier than you in every way. Taller than you! Fairer than you!” Li Dachui said, staring at Jiang Ping. Actually, he had always been puzzled as to why Xiao Changche’s skin remained so fair despite her working in all kinds of weather, while the people with her all had darker skin.

This may be a gift from God, and it cannot be judged by ordinary standards.

"And she even gave birth to my son!" Li Dachui added before Jiang Ping could refute.

Although the child is still in Xiao Changche's belly, it is definitely a boy.

For Li Dachui and Xiao Changche now, it is still very important that their eldest son is a boy.

"Doesn't she have any flaws?" Jiang Ping was furious when she saw Li Dachui looking up with a blissful expression. "There's no such thing as a perfect person in this world. If you say she has no flaws, you're lying!"

"Of course!" Li Dachui said seriously, "He has a terrible temper and often beats and kicks me!"

Jiang Ping looked at Li Dachui with some surprise, and after a long while she burst into laughter. She pointed at Li Dachui, wanting to say something, but she was laughing so hard that she couldn't catch her breath and couldn't say anything.

"Li Bao, haha, I never thought you'd be afraid of your wife!"

“这不是怕，这是爱，懂不懂？”李大锤不以为然地道，“真要打架，她打得赢我？只不过能被她揍，我觉得挺开心，挺快活呢！”

Jiang Ping's laughter stopped abruptly. She looked at Li Dachui with a somewhat unreadable expression in her eyes, and after a long while, she nodded: "Or perhaps, is that so?"

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy because you heard I'm doing well?" Li Dachui teased.

"No, I just remembered what you told me before about what kind of person you should look for in a partner. So, what kind of person are you and your wife?" "She and I are a match made in heaven. We like each other, admire each other, and hit it off immediately!" Li Dachui said smugly.

Li Dachui, who was prepared to be mocked by Jiang Ping's sharp tongue, was surprised to find that Jiang Ping did not refute him. Instead, she nodded and said, "Judging from your expression, I knew that was the case! Your marriage was also arranged by your parents and a matchmaker."

"That's really not the case!" Li Dachui said, "In our area outside the Great Wall, we don't have so many rules. We just took a liking to each other and got married. What can our elders say?"

Completely surprised by the answer, Jiang Ping blushed instantly: "Is this something you can just say so casually? Don't you know what shame is?"

“What’s there to be ashamed of? My wife is not only beautiful, but also very fierce. She has killed quite a few Yuan people!” Li Dachui said earnestly.

“You’re such a lucky person!” Jiang Ping said quietly. “My sister often tells me that she has everything in her life—fame, fortune, power—but there’s one thing she lacks!”

"What is it?"

“Love!” Jiang Ping sighed, “She only told me about it.”

"If your sister finds out you told me, will she kill me to silence me?"

“That’s hard to say. Perhaps that’s her biggest secret and regret!” Jiang Ping said. “When my sister was two or three years old, she was sent away to study under a master. She was gone for more than ten years. When she came back, she barely remembered her parents. She didn’t stay at home for more than a few days before she was selected to enter the Eastern Palace and live in the palace with a group of equally beautiful women. Later, she became the Crown Princess. But the Crown Prince was in poor health and was always half-dead. Then she became the Empress. My brother-in-law, the Emperor, was so diligent in his duties that he worked himself to death. So my sister became the Empress Dowager. Don’t you think her life was very pitiful?”

Li Dachui thought for a moment, "Maybe she prefers this kind of life! Jiang Jiang, power and fame are a poison; they can be addictive. I bet your sister said this to you a long time ago, right?"

“No, it was when I left Danyang this time that she told me this!” Jiang Ping said, “She said that the regrets in her heart could never be made up for in her life, so she could only use power to numb herself and use the great goal of unifying the world to motivate herself.”

“Really? But these two things aren’t complementary, nor is it true that you don’t need the other if you have the other,” Li Dachui said.

"Isn't that right?" Jiang Ping nodded. "But what can we do?"

"It seems there's no other way!" Li Dachui said. "Given her position, it seems she can only choose one thing. If she doesn't step down as Empress Dowager, then she has too many options, right?"

"Going up is easy, but coming down is hard! Many times, coming down isn't hard at all, unless you want to be smashed to pieces!" Jiang Ping said. "So I think my sister is just being nosy; she'll probably spend the rest of her life marrying into the Chu Kingdom!"

"

"Will your sister become an empress in the future?" Li Dachui asked.

"How dare you say such things?" Jiang Ping's eyes widened. "The Great Chu has an emperor; how can a woman be emperor?"

"Why can't a woman be an emperor?" Li Dachui scoffed. "Outside the Great Wall, women fight on the battlefield, farm in the fields, and run businesses. When I entered the Great Wall, I heard they were preparing to experiment with letting women take exams to become officials!"

"Is the Beiting Protectorate outside the Qin border really doing these things? Openly appointing women to official positions?"

“Outside the Great Wall, manpower is extremely scarce. Women are used like men, and men are used like animals,” Li Dachui said confidently. “By the time I return to the Great Wall, this practice might already be widespread! Your Chu Kingdom also has merchant ships going to the Great Wall, you can go and take a look!”

“I definitely can’t go!” Jiang Ping shook her head and looked at Li Dachui, then continued, “After this trip, I’m afraid I’ll be kept under close surveillance as soon as I get back, and I’ll never have another chance to come out! The area outside the Great Wall is too far away!”

"That would be such a pity!" Li Dachui laughed. "But I can write you a letter and have your merchant bring it back to you."

"That's daring!"

For some reason, Jiang Ping seemed to be in a bad mood today. She, who was usually always chattering away, was unusually silent today, and the two of them slowly rode away on horseback.

(End of this chapter)