Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 5 Mohe Orb
Due to the lack of a complete trade route, the journey was difficult and bumpy, with bandits rampant in the desert, difficulties posed by other countries, and frequent shortages of supplies. He relied entirely on the obsession of sending his mother back home and the support of Daxuan, a prosperous and stable city spoken of by the people of the tribe.

When approaching Yangguan, the small caravan met another team and rested with them in a river valley.

This team was large in number and was also heading from the Mohe Kingdom to Daxuan. They had the flags and ceremonial guards of the Mohe nobles.

Sarug chatted with the other guards over two gallons of fruit wine and learned that they were Princess Mohe's group, bound for Daxuan for a marriage. Mohe had accepted Daxuan's overtures and, as a gesture of goodwill, had sent its only princess to Daxuan for marriage. Hearing that the marriage was with a prince of Daxuan, it was a prestigious event for the Mohe Kingdom.

The bond between the nobles of the two nations was, to commoners like them, a distant legend, a story they listened to during their journey. The small caravan tactfully avoided the riverbank where the marriage party had camped, sitting around their own campfire, chatting happily in the Mohe language.

Caizhuer couldn't sit still, so she wandered around the area and found a few small wild fruit trees, picking some fruit. She had never seen this kind of fruit before, and some had yellow skins and some had white skins, so she couldn't tell which one tasted better.

So she picked out a white fruit and handed it to her brother, saying excitedly, "Look, brother, I found some fresh fruit. It's fragrant and sweet. I picked it especially for you. Come and try it."

Sarug didn't think much of it, just thinking his sister was thoughtful. He took it and took a bite. The sour taste immediately distorted his face. He spat it out and cursed, "Pah, pah, how can it be sweet! It's so sour and bitter!"

Cai Zhuer's evil plan succeeded, and she laughed and said, "Thank you for helping me taste it, it seems that these white fruits are not yet ripe."

Sarug was so angry that he chased her and beat her: "You are playing tricks on me again!"

Caizhuer dodged while taking a bite of the yellow fruit. "Hmm, a little sour and a little sweet, but quite juicy. Just barely edible. Still not as delicious as our grapes... Oh, brother, spare me, hahahaha."

Finally, she was caught. Saluge tickled her, and Caizhuer twisted her body so much that the fruits in her arms fell to the ground.

After all the fun, she couldn't bear to part with the fresh wild fruits, so she picked them up and walked towards the river: "The sour and sweet ones are not bad, I'll go wash them and share them with everyone."

While washing the sand off the fruit, Caizhuer heard the sound of water not far away. She looked up and saw a girl about her age, dressed in gorgeous Mohe aristocratic clothing, sitting by the river, washing a brocade handkerchief and wiping her face.

Thinking of the information her brother had found out, Cai Zhuer's eyes widened and she blurted out, "You...you are not a princess, are you?"

The girl turned to look at her. Seeing that she had no ill intentions and spoke the Mohe language, it was obvious that she was from the same tribe. She nodded and said, "My name is Alan, and I am the princess of Mohe."

"My name is Caizhu'er!" Caizhu'er didn't know how to greet him, and frantically pointed towards her father and brother. "I'm the daughter of a Mohe merchant, and we want to enter the customs to do business..."

"I know. The guard told me." Alan's tone was very friendly, with a reassuring power. "Caizhu'er, your name is a bit similar to mine."

Alan, in Mohe language, means the most dazzling gem.

"Yes." Cai Zhu'er was still a little restrained, but also a little curious. "I'm sorry, Princess, I disturbed you, but what are you doing here? Why is no one following you? Shouldn't the princess be surrounded by guards and maids?"

"That's too weird," A Lan said with a smile. "I told them not to follow me. We're going through customs tomorrow, and I want to get some fresh air, wash up, and clear my head."

"Oh, so... I'm here to wash some wild fruits," Cai Zhuer walked over and handed her a bright yellow fruit. "I just picked this from the tree over there. I don't know what kind of fruit it is, but it tastes sweet and sour. Would you like to try it?"

As she approached, there was movement in the princess's camp.

A Lan made a gesture towards that direction, indicating that she was not in danger and the guards did not need to come over.

Cai Zhuer paused and quickly withdrew her hand: "Ah, I'm so abrupt..."

Ah Lan took the initiative to step forward, looked at the washed fruit, and said generously, "It's okay. I have an important mission on this trip, so it's really not convenient for me to eat wild fruits. But I can tell you what this fruit is called."

"What's it called?" "The people of Daxuan call it apricot," Alan said. "This kind of apricot tree grows very well. We previously exchanged some seeds with Daxuan and plan to plant some in the Naxi River Valley."

"Really?" Cai Zhuer took a bite of an apricot. "Then we can eat it in Mohe in the future?"

The two girls of the same age chatted for a while on the shore. They did not mention the anxiety of marrying into a foreign country, nor did they mention the confusion of entering the country to do business. They just talked about everything under the sun, and then said goodbye to each other.
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Back at her camp, Caizhuer gazed at the princess's exquisite and magnificent carriage on the other side of the river and sighed, "It turns out that being a princess also has many things that are beyond your control."

Sarug tapped her forehead and said, "Are you still worrying about the princess?"

Caizhu'er's attention was soon drawn to something else. "Hey, brother, look, that curtain hanging from the princess's carriage is silk, right? It must have been a gift from Daxuan to our royal family. Wow, it looks so light and soft, and it even glows in the moonlight. I really want to touch it. How is this silk made?"

Saruge said, "My mother told me that the people of Daxuan raise a kind of insect that can spin long, dense silk threads, which become silk."

Caizhuer pouted. "I've heard mother mention that too. Isn't it just impossible to imagine what kind of insects they are? Wouldn't it be weird for the people of Daxuan to wear things spit out by insects? And those insects can spit out cloth just by eating leaves. Isn't that amazing? How big can those insects grow? This long? Or this long?"

While his sister was gesturing with her hands, Saluge secretly scratched the back of her neck with a thin piece of water grass. Caizhuer felt itchy and reached out to scratch it, and happened to grab a long, wet object.

Sarug deliberately shouted: "Wow, what a long worm!"

Caizhuer jumped up in fright, shaking her hands wildly: "Ahhhh! What a bug! So disgusting!"

Sarug laughed and teased her: "A silkworm."

"Brother, you're scaring me again!"

"You let me eat sour fruit, so we're even now!"

Watching the brother and sister laughing and playing, Harang's dull mood brightened up a lot. Looking at the Gobi Desert in the east, he said, "Don't worry, Caizhu'er. Once we reach Yangguan, Aung will take you to touch their silk and see the insects they raise."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to see the insects anymore. Mother said that kind of insect is only found in the south of Daxuan, and it's likely that we won't see it in the four counties of Hexi." Caizhuer said regretfully.

"That's okay. Once Aung sells the goods he brought and starts a small business, there will always be a chance to take Caizhuer to more places and see those insects that can spit out cloth."

"That's great! Grandfather is so kind..." Caizhuer hugged her father's arm and made faces at her brother. "When the time comes, I'm going to hide the bugs in your brother's naan and let him take a bite... hehehe..."

At this moment, Saluge suddenly tilted his ear: "What's that sound?"

Huwu——Huwu——

There seemed to be a wind in the valley, and the camels and horses in the small caravan and the marriage team were a little restless.

The moonlight shone on them, and Yangguan was just dozens of miles away.

Caizhuer never expected that this night would turn her life upside down.
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　Next chapter: A night in the valley.

　　Thanks to Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Han and Xia Xi Chan Ming for their recommendations~
　　

(End of this chapter)