Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 417 Born of You, Born of Me, To Be Together Through Life and Death

Once a person's emotions are out of control, it is difficult to get them back in a short period of time. As for when they can return to calm, it depends on how long the emotions have been suppressed.

The county princess stood in the waterside pavilion, weeping uncontrollably. The servants outside the pavilion wanted to go in and comfort her, but none of them dared to approach.

Zhang Dai walked around the desk, raised his hand to wipe away the county princess's tears, but then stopped halfway, feeling it was too abrupt.

The weeping Princess of Yunyang glanced at him through her tear-filled eyes, cupped Zhang Dai's hands in her own cheeks, and choked out, "I...I'm sorry for being so rude..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai immediately embraced the trembling princess's delicate body. Feeling somewhat guilty, he subconsciously glanced around to make sure no one was nearby to disturb him. Then, he lowered his head and whispered to the princess nestled in his arms, "Cry, and we can talk properly when you've cried enough."

Upon hearing this, the Princess of Yunyang cried even louder, her delicate body pressing even closer to Zhang Dai. Her hands, unsure of what to do, first gathered in front of her chest, then rested on Zhang Dai's waist, before wrapping around his shoulders and ribs and scratching him forcefully. Zhang Dai winced in pain, but to maintain this embracing posture, he could only endure it.

Time passed, and Princess Yunyang's sobs gradually subsided. Somewhat shyly, she left Zhang Dai's embrace. Zhang Dai, however, remained in that embracing position, his shoulders and back numb, and for a moment, even his arms were stiff and unable to be lowered.

After crying her heart out, Princess Yunyang calmed down considerably. When she looked up again, she saw that Zhang Dai's front was soaked. Her pretty face immediately turned red with embarrassment, and she whispered, "Is this all because of my tears? Why didn't you push me away, brother?"

"If I did that, I would be worse than an animal!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai smiled and said, while loosening his shoulder joints and slowly lowering his arm, still savoring the warm and tender feeling he had just experienced.

Princess Yunyang, of course, didn't understand the joke. Upon hearing this, her beautiful eyes lit up. She lowered her head to tidy her disheveled hair before bowing her head again and saying, "I lost my composure today. Thank you for your understanding of my momentary indulgence, Brother. Brother has inquired about my feelings for you, and I should have responded sincerely, but I hesitated due to my own selfishness and have been delaying until now. I imagine this has caused you considerable anxiety, and I am truly sorry!"

"A lifelong commitment like this cannot be decided lightly. But as long as the outcome is good, I am willing to wait. Although I do not know what concerns the county princess has, the journey upstream is long and arduous, but I vow never to abandon the one I love!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai spoke again, looking directly into the county magistrate's eyes to express his determination.

Upon hearing this, the county princess's eyes welled up with tears again. She lowered her head, pointed to her Taoist robes, and then said in a hoarse voice, "In my early years, I prayed for my late father's well-being, and dedicated myself to Taoism, abandoning worldly life. My brother also knows this..."

"Jade Maiden, with her innate Daoist grace, still cherishes worldly ties. Her children have all achieved great success, a truly admirable feat. Why shouldn't the County Princess do the same?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai immediately replied. Many women from the Tang Dynasty imperial family entered the Daoist path, but this did not mean they ceased all contact with the secular world. Princess Yuzhen devoted herself to Daoism for many years, yet this did not prevent her from marrying and having children; her son is already quite old. She truly lived up to the expectations of both the Three Pure Ones and her beloved.

“Xianyuan is born with wisdom and willingly entered the Dao, while I prayed for my father and had a request to the Venerable One. My intentions were not pure. Now that time has passed, I am greedy for love and attached to the mortal world. I am a deceitful and unfilial person! Even if my brother pities me and does not mind, I am afraid that we will be incompatible between the mortal world and the Daoist sect.”

As the county princess finished speaking, her eyes reddened slightly again. Looking at Zhang Dai, she said softly, "I know I have no virtuous wifely qualities that could make you so infatuated. You only love my physical appearance. So I found a beautiful woman in the capital and gave her to you to serve you in your place and keep you company."

"If you have feelings you wish to express, my lord, I will wait here. Whether now or in the future, you may always visit me. We do not necessarily have to become husband and wife. You may seek out a virtuous woman from a noble family to be your principal wife. I will not compete or be jealous. Your well-being is my peace of mind."

Hearing the county magistrate's words, which were filled with tenderness yet also tinged with self-abandonment and despair, Zhang Dai frowned and said, "Your Highness has devoted yourself to Taoism, wishing to pray for the longevity of Emperor Huiwen. Now, the late king has been gone for several years, and it is known that the will of Heaven is fixed and cannot be changed. Your Highness still acts as if you have abandoned the world, praying incessantly while silencing the voices of others. Are you not afraid that the Taoist master will be annoyed and that you will diminish the late king's blessings in the afterlife?"

"This... Brother, this is just sophistry!"

Upon hearing this answer, the county princess was immediately taken aback, and then scolded, "These words are only to be spoken to me, not to others, lest you earn a reputation for arrogance."

“Even if I don’t say it, the facts are there, and the will of Heaven cannot be defied. Even if the county princess continues to follow the Way, it cannot be called filial piety. It is foolishness, blind obedience, and disregard for the deceased king’s blessings…”

In an attempt to dissuade the county magistrate from this idea, Zhang Dai continued his relentless criticism.

"Enough! Even if I leave the Taoist sect, does that mean I can just get married and be done with it?"

The county princess was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. She glared at Zhang Dai with a hint of anger and said, "Don't you know about my family situation, brother? My brother is not capable of managing a household, taking care of people, and maintaining a business. He himself is not yet married, and he has several younger sisters to take care of. How can I abandon them and go to find a good man on my own!"

Speaking of this, I might as well explain in detail why I treat you with such courtesy, brother. It's not just because of my own affection for you, but also because I covet your talent and the power of the Duke of Yan. I hope to be able to get in touch with a prestigious family so that I can seek your help when I encounter difficulties next year!

Brother Zhang, Zhang Zongzhi, if you think I'm just a foolish young girl blinded by lust and infatuation, you're wrong! I'm cunning and calculating. If you didn't have the talent to rely on, I wouldn't be so attached to you. My eyes are full of self-interest; I'd rather burden you with the responsibilities of a family than let you bear that burden!

"I can handle it; it's nothing more than marriage. I'm not alone; I have elders, siblings, a household full of maids, concubines, servants, and all sorts of personal disputes. This morning, Princess Ningqin sent a servant to demolish my house, but I chased him away. On the way, I met my uncle, and we glared at each other." Zhang Dai leaned over the table, grabbed the county princess's slender hand, and continued, "If you're talking about disputes and burdens, which household doesn't have them? I love not only your stunning beauty but also your cunning mind, which I intend to use to help me deal with the messy affairs of my household."

If there were no burdens on either side, why would men and women need to be husband and wife? To have sex when passion strikes, and leave when one is satisfied, naked and unburdened—that's animalistic!

"Enough, enough, stop talking! I know you are exceptionally intelligent, Brother Zhang, and I can hardly argue with you! But, I truly have no choice... There are reasons why we cannot stay together, but... but I cannot..."

As the county magistrate of Yunyang spoke, her expression became agitated again. She forcefully pulled her slender hand away from Zhang Dai's grasp, covered her face, and sobbed, "Please, Brother Zhang, please have mercy on me... The more you speak sweet words, the more my heart aches! I cannot, if I were to become your husband, it would only harm you... I have no other excuse. Even if you speak eloquently, I would never harm you!"

Seeing the reaction of the Princess of Yunyang, Zhang Dai became even more suspicious.

He knew that the county princess was not some poor, miserable woman who could casually spend hundreds of thousands of strings of cash to commemorate love. It could be said that most of the suffering in the world was irrelevant to her, but now she was in such pain. Who in this world could make her so conflicted and in pain?

"Are you worried about the Emperor's will...?"

After frowning and pondering for a while, Zhang Dai leaned closer to the county princess and whispered.

"Don't say it, no... no!"

Upon hearing this, the county princess froze. She quickly raised her head and reached out to cover Zhang Dai's mouth, but her voice trembled as she asked, "Brother, you know?"

What do I know?
Zhang Dai was taken aback upon hearing this, but the county princess's reaction made him realize that his guess was pretty much correct. So he sighed and said, "I know the reason in my heart, but I just wanted to hear it from you. Since you love me so deeply and cannot bear to harm me, how can you bear to see me leave with resentment after my love is rejected?"

"I...I...okay, I shouldn't have died, he was framed!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai felt as if his mind had exploded. Although he had some guesses, he never expected to divulge such explosive information. He immediately asked in a deep voice, "What proof do you have, County Princess?"

"Brother, do you still remember the day of the star-praying ceremony? Why did you have to ask for my help at the last minute for something so important that you had been planning for so long?"

Recalling the past, Princess Yunyang was still filled with resentment, her voice trembling as she said, "Someone is trying to harm me! A palace maid who entered the manor secretly put a wicked drug in my drink to induce menstruation! They deliberately wanted to ruin the ritual to prolong my life... Why shouldn't I blame my brother? Someone committed the crime first!"

"Is there such a thing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was naturally shocked, but at the same time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

From the perspective of the Lady of Yunyang County, someone using medicine to induce her menstruation early and force her to withdraw from the star-praying ritual was tantamount to plotting against her father. However, Zhang Dai knew very well that no matter what the Prince of Qi's situation was at the time, once the star-praying ritual was performed, he would surely die, because fate would never favor him!

At the same time, Zhang Dai understood why the Princess of Yunyang County had so desperately rejected his advances. She genuinely felt that the Emperor harbored great malice towards her family, and therefore dared not marry him, fearing that she would bring that malice upon him as well.

Once he understood this, his feelings of love, which might have been only seven-tenths before, instantly surged to the maximum.

The emperor naturally harbored a deep-seated wariness towards his brothers, but with the death of Prince Qi, the source of that wariness disappeared.

He naturally would no longer pursue and harm his nephews and nieces, and was about to redirect the energy he had been putting into the Prince of Qi to his other living brothers and his increasingly powerful sons.

The county princess boasted of her cunning, but she clearly lacked political awareness. Especially after personally experiencing the emperor's malice and losing her father, she naturally became even more paranoid and fearful. She even dared not directly respond to her lover's affections, enduring the pain of being forced into a relationship.

He finally understood the girl's deepest secret, but instead of feeling sad, he felt a little relieved. To be honest, he also harbored an unspeakable malice towards the Sage's family.

At this moment, he felt even less apprehensive. He simply stepped over the desk, pulled the county princess into his arms, and whispered in her ear, "I know about this, but so what? The past cannot be retrieved. Only within this embrace, from this day forward, no one in the world can harm my beloved! Obedience brings supreme honor, defiance brings utter ruin..."

"Don't say it, don't say it! Brother Zhang, my beloved Liu Lang, from this day forward, A Yu and I will share the same fate with you. We will live and die together!"

Upon hearing this, the Princess of Yunyang burst into tears. She cupped Zhang Dai's face in her hands, her breath trembling as she spoke, and then pressed her cherry lips directly onto Zhang Dai's lips.

(End of this chapter)