Chapter 55: Sometimes People Do Certain Things for No Good Reason

Following the army that returns to Xian Yang city, spring time arrives. Amid the shallow meadow that can barely cover horse hooves, one can see a flower sway among grasses, lone but beautiful.

The army has returned, but Bai Qi does not visit the king’s palace right away; instead, he heads straight back to the Wu An mansion, bringing Gu Nan with him.

“Master, is it really fine to not report to the king?” Gu Nan hesitates. After all, when a general leading his army returns, it is a common sense for them to report to the king before going home.

“I already said it is fine. Why do you keep looking for trouble?” On the horseback, Bai Qi waves off Gu Nan. He looks caring and at ease, leaving behind that stern look he once carried.

“Where is the fun in visiting the king? I will for sure pick my wife over him.” Not aware of the disrespect to the king at all, Bai Qi sounds so tired that he can only receive proper rest when he finally returns to the Wu An mansion.

As usual, few people pass by the Wu An mansion. It is a distance away from downtown and is therefore quiet and less visited. Knowing Bai Qi’s temper, officials do not bother to visit him for celebration.

Lao Lian is scraping the doorstep. Seeing the two figures approaching from far, he freezes there until he recognizes that they are Bai Qi and Gu Nan.

“My lord, young miss, you have returned.” Lao Lian takes over the horses from Bai Qi and Gu Nan, smiling.

Joy and excitement can be sensed from his voice, despite it being flat as usual.

“We are back.” Bai Qi stands in front of the Wu An mansion wearily, while his tightened shoulder now loosens.

“Lao Lian.” A smile creeps up to Gu Nan’s expression. She narrows her eyes at Lao Lian, giving him a look.

Lao Lian knows that look too well. She is just craving for wine. Thinking of it, Lao Lian shakes his head, and smiles.

Blackie nudges into his arms. To be honest, Gu Nan can barely tell if this is her horse or Lao Lian’s, as Blackie looks much closer to Lao Lian than it is to its owner.

Thinking of it in another way, Gu Nan finds it understandable since that she only gets to Blackie’s place for wine, whereas Lao Lian is the one taking care of it. It is only natural that Blackie is annoyed every time she visits.

Lao Lian puts his arms around Blackie’s head and gives its neck a gentle slap: “you have gotten sturdier.”

Some liveness has finally returned after Gu Nan and Bai Qi come back to the mansion.

Servants start preparing a feast under the demand by Wei Lan. The old lady has decided to reward the young miss with food and drink, whereas in contrast, Wei Lan do not even bother to tend to Bai Qi.

“Good. Good. You have grown up.” Looking at Gu Nan’s battle ridden armor and her matured expression, Wei Lan caresses Gu Nan’s cheeks, and whispers.

After the battle of Chang Ping, Gu Nan looks closer to being a general. But in exchange, a sentiment of bitterness and loneliness can be felt from her temperament. It pains Wei Lan’s heart to witness those changes. “Look at you. You get skinny, your master must have starved you in the field.”

Xiao Lu rarely talks in the presence of the old lady, but she worriedly observes Gu Nan from top to bottom. In comparison, the painting fairy just stands there with a smile on her face.

“How can there be anything good to eat in the army camp? Even I do not have much to eat.” Some distance away from their conversation, Bai Qi grumbles secretly, thinking that nobody can hear him.

But apparently Wei Lan somehow catches his little complaint. “You have a problem with me? Nan’er is different from you!”

Bai Qi’s hair stand on end, as he nods and replies in a hurry: “Yes, Yes, of course, we are different, we are different…”

Only until Wei Lan has completely turned her sights away does Bai Qi dare to let out the breath he has been holding.

Huh…I don’t have a say in this house at all…

The food is plenty for supper. Even though the styles are not many and the flavors are plain, Gu Nan still finds the food tasty, as she finishes up one bowl after another.

The scene makes Bai Qi nervous, as he wonders if he is really guilty of starving Gu Nan.

Thinking of which, Bai Qi shakes his head. The dried rice cake and rice soup taste bad but are plenty. Gu Nan should have had plenty to eat when in the army.

However, he misses that it is exactly because of the bad taste of rice cake and soup that Gu Nan finds the food served in the mansion much more delicious in comparison. Thus, she eats a lot today.

Helping Gu Nan with another refill, Wei Lan asks: “Nan’er, you are seventeen, right?”

“Yeah…somewhere around seventeen…” Gu Nan does not know her age from the beginning, seventeen is just a number she comes up with by her look.

Wei Lan nods, her expression serious: “Alright, it is about time.”

“Ugh,” Gu Nan gobbles down the rest of the food, “mother, it is time for what?”

Wei Lan tenderly blames Gu Nan: “Look at yourself, your master has made you more into a man than into a woman,” saying so, she rubs off some grains of rice off Gu Nan’s mouth. “You are not like a girl that you should be at all. You have unmatched appearance and outstanding literature talents. It will be a pity if you fall short of lady manners.”

Obvious, Wei Lan is very confident in her girl.

“Your master has been training you almost non-stop before. Now, it is my turn. Spend a few hours each day on cosmetics, dresses and manners. Just let Xiao Lu and Painting Fairy help you with them.”

“Uh…. Ha?” The corner of Gu Nan’s mouth twitches involuntarily.

Cosmetics, dresses and lady manners?!

They are worse than mesmerizing military scripts!

“You old woman,” Bai Qi pinches up more food. “That’s not right. Nan’er follows me to battle, so she does not need the lady stuff.”

Oh, you have my gratitude, my dear master.

Gu Nan pays a look of gratitude to Bai Qi, and Bai Qi returns a look that it is no big deal.

“Just shut up. Military or not, it will not change the fact that she is girl. If she scares off her husband some day in the future, you will be the one to bear responsibility!”

Wei Lan scares Bai Qi off with a stare, and Bai Qi instantly shuts his mouth.

Come on, master…

“Alright,” Wei Land slaps on the table with strength, “it is decided that, starting tomorrow, Painting Fairy and Xiao Lu will be in charge of the lessons. You gezzer have nothing to say in this matter.”

“Sure, it is your call.” Bai Qi smiles bitterly. And I ain’t gonna challenge you on that.

Gu Nan takes a shower late at night. Afterward, she sits at the door step, staring at the old tree and feeling the chilling air, her hair wet.

She does not go out often. In this era, the most often thing she does is to sit there and watch that old tree, or practice sword skills and read books under it.

Water drips off her wet hair and Gu Nan rubs her hair with effort using a silk towel.

“Don’t you fear that you may catch a cold?”

Tracing the voice to its source, Gu Nan sees Painting Fairy at the entrance.

“Painting Fairy?” Gu Nan smiles toward her. “Why are you here at this late hour? Isn’t it bed time already?”

“I cannot sleep, so I feel like walking around.” Painting Fairy strolls closer, and slowly sits down.

“Is that so…”

Two figures stare at the tree blankly.

Painting Fairy breaks the silence first, “miss, that painting I gave you before…”

“That…” dazed for a second, Gu Nan takes out the silk painting that Painting Fairy gave her before she took off to battle. She has been carrying it close to her, but it is now bloodstained.

Gu Nan smiles bitterly. “It is now dirty.”

Painting Fairy looks at that silk paint for a moment of daze, and comes back to reality as she replies: “I am just grateful that you have not tossed it away,” turning her sight onto the bloodstains and continues, “you must’ve been wounded multiple times…”

“No way…” Her mouth shut, Gu Nan looks down. “I am good at fighting.”

That line amuses her.

Painting Fairy laughs for a while. Sited with knees in her arms, she tilts her head back toward the moon.

“Young miss, why do you go to war?”

“Ma,” Gu Nan turns her head to the moon as well, enjoying the moon light.

Amid the clouds, the moon faintly presents itself to the audience on the ground.

“Who knows.”

Now, she can no longer tell her reason to fight.

What is she thinking then?

When she was a student, she never worked hard. As a result, history was not her strong suit.

Even so, she knows one thing for sure, which is that Bai Qi will die by a sword granted by the king of Qin. As for when it will happen, she cannot remember.

The Wu An mansion has already become her home before she realized it. She wants to remember; she wants to save Bai Qi.

But she finds out that she is unable to.

She cannot change Bai Qi’s decision, neither can she change the king of Qin’s.

What else can she do? Gu Nan clenches her fist tightly.

Chapter 55: Sometimes People Do Certain Things for No Good Reason

Following the army that returns to Xian Yang city, spring time arrives. Amid the shallow meadow that can barely cover horse hooves, one can see a flower sway among grasses, lone but beautiful.

The army has returned, but Bai Qi does not visit the king’s palace right away; instead, he heads straight back to the Wu An mansion, bringing Gu Nan with him.

“Master, is it really fine to not report to the king?” Gu Nan hesitates. After all, when a general leading his army returns, it is a common sense for them to report to the king before going home.

“I already said it is fine. Why do you keep looking for trouble?” On the horseback, Bai Qi waves off Gu Nan. He looks caring and at ease, leaving behind that stern look he once carried.

“Where is the fun in visiting the king? I will for sure pick my wife over him.” Not aware of the disrespect to the king at all, Bai Qi sounds so tired that he can only receive proper rest when he finally returns to the Wu An mansion.

As usual, few people pass by the Wu An mansion. It is a distance away from downtown and is therefore quiet and less visited. Knowing Bai Qi’s temper, officials do not bother to visit him for celebration.

Lao Lian is scraping the doorstep. Seeing the two figures approaching from far, he freezes there until he recognizes that they are Bai Qi and Gu Nan.

“My lord, young miss, you have returned.” Lao Lian takes over the horses from Bai Qi and Gu Nan, smiling.

Joy and excitement can be sensed from his voice, despite it being flat as usual.

“We are back.” Bai Qi stands in front of the Wu An mansion wearily, while his tightened shoulder now loosens.

“Lao Lian.” A smile creeps up to Gu Nan’s expression. She narrows her eyes at Lao Lian, giving him a look.

Lao Lian knows that look too well. She is just craving for wine. Thinking of it, Lao Lian shakes his head, and smiles.

Blackie nudges into his arms. To be honest, Gu Nan can barely tell if this is her horse or Lao Lian’s, as Blackie looks much closer to Lao Lian than it is to its owner.

Thinking of it in another way, Gu Nan finds it understandable since that she only gets to Blackie’s place for wine, whereas Lao Lian is the one taking care of it. It is only natural that Blackie is annoyed every time she visits.

Lao Lian puts his arms around Blackie’s head and gives its neck a gentle slap: “you have gotten sturdier.”

Some liveness has finally returned after Gu Nan and Bai Qi come back to the mansion.

Servants start preparing a feast under the demand by Wei Lan. The old lady has decided to reward the young miss with food and drink, whereas in contrast, Wei Lan do not even bother to tend to Bai Qi.

“Good. Good. You have grown up.” Looking at Gu Nan’s battle ridden armor and her matured expression, Wei Lan caresses Gu Nan’s cheeks, and whispers.

After the battle of Chang Ping, Gu Nan looks closer to being a general. But in exchange, a sentiment of bitterness and loneliness can be felt from her temperament. It pains Wei Lan’s heart to witness those changes. “Look at you. You get skinny, your master must have starved you in the field.”

Xiao Lu rarely talks in the presence of the old lady, but she worriedly observes Gu Nan from top to bottom. In comparison, the painting fairy just stands there with a smile on her face.

“How can there be anything good to eat in the army camp? Even I do not have much to eat.” Some distance away from their conversation, Bai Qi grumbles secretly, thinking that nobody can hear him.

But apparently Wei Lan somehow catches his little complaint. “You have a problem with me? Nan’er is different from you!”

Bai Qi’s hair stand on end, as he nods and replies in a hurry: “Yes, Yes, of course, we are different, we are different…”

Only until Wei Lan has completely turned her sights away does Bai Qi dare to let out the breath he has been holding.

Huh…I don’t have a say in this house at all…

The food is plenty for supper. Even though the styles are not many and the flavors are plain, Gu Nan still finds the food tasty, as she finishes up one bowl after another.

The scene makes Bai Qi nervous, as he wonders if he is really guilty of starving Gu Nan.

Thinking of which, Bai Qi shakes his head. The dried rice cake and rice soup taste bad but are plenty. Gu Nan should have had plenty to eat when in the army.

However, he misses that it is exactly because of the bad taste of rice cake and soup that Gu Nan finds the food served in the mansion much more delicious in comparison. Thus, she eats a lot today.

Helping Gu Nan with another refill, Wei Lan asks: “Nan’er, you are seventeen, right?”

“Yeah…somewhere around seventeen…” Gu Nan does not know her age from the beginning, seventeen is just a number she comes up with by her look.

Wei Lan nods, her expression serious: “Alright, it is about time.”

“Ugh,” Gu Nan gobbles down the rest of the food, “mother, it is time for what?”

Wei Lan tenderly blames Gu Nan: “Look at yourself, your master has made you more into a man than into a woman,” saying so, she rubs off some grains of rice off Gu Nan’s mouth. “You are not like a girl that you should be at all. You have unmatched appearance and outstanding literature talents. It will be a pity if you fall short of lady manners.”

Obvious, Wei Lan is very confident in her girl.

“Your master has been training you almost non-stop before. Now, it is my turn. Spend a few hours each day on cosmetics, dresses and manners. Just let Xiao Lu and Painting Fairy help you with them.”

“Uh…. Ha?” The corner of Gu Nan’s mouth twitches involuntarily.

Cosmetics, dresses and lady manners?!

They are worse than mesmerizing military scripts!

“You old woman,” Bai Qi pinches up more food. “That’s not right. Nan’er follows me to battle, so she does not need the lady stuff.”

Oh, you have my gratitude, my dear master.

Gu Nan pays a look of gratitude to Bai Qi, and Bai Qi returns a look that it is no big deal.

“Just shut up. Military or not, it will not change the fact that she is girl. If she scares off her husband some day in the future, you will be the one to bear responsibility!”

Wei Lan scares Bai Qi off with a stare, and Bai Qi instantly shuts his mouth.

Come on, master…

“Alright,” Wei Land slaps on the table with strength, “it is decided that, starting tomorrow, Painting Fairy and Xiao Lu will be in charge of the lessons. You gezzer have nothing to say in this matter.”

“Sure, it is your call.” Bai Qi smiles bitterly. And I ain’t gonna challenge you on that.

Gu Nan takes a shower late at night. Afterward, she sits at the door step, staring at the old tree and feeling the chilling air, her hair wet.

She does not go out often. In this era, the most often thing she does is to sit there and watch that old tree, or practice sword skills and read books under it.

Water drips off her wet hair and Gu Nan rubs her hair with effort using a silk towel.

“Don’t you fear that you may catch a cold?”

Tracing the voice to its source, Gu Nan sees Painting Fairy at the entrance.

“Painting Fairy?” Gu Nan smiles toward her. “Why are you here at this late hour? Isn’t it bed time already?”

“I cannot sleep, so I feel like walking around.” Painting Fairy strolls closer, and slowly sits down.

“Is that so…”

Two figures stare at the tree blankly.

Painting Fairy breaks the silence first, “miss, that painting I gave you before…”

“That…” dazed for a second, Gu Nan takes out the silk painting that Painting Fairy gave her before she took off to battle. She has been carrying it close to her, but it is now bloodstained.

Gu Nan smiles bitterly. “It is now dirty.”

Painting Fairy looks at that silk paint for a moment of daze, and comes back to reality as she replies: “I am just grateful that you have not tossed it away,” turning her sight onto the bloodstains and continues, “you must’ve been wounded multiple times…”

“No way…” Her mouth shut, Gu Nan looks down. “I am good at fighting.”

That line amuses her.

Painting Fairy laughs for a while. Sited with knees in her arms, she tilts her head back toward the moon.

“Young miss, why do you go to war?”

“Ma,” Gu Nan turns her head to the moon as well, enjoying the moon light.

Amid the clouds, the moon faintly presents itself to the audience on the ground.

“Who knows.”

Now, she can no longer tell her reason to fight.

What is she thinking then?

When she was a student, she never worked hard. As a result, history was not her strong suit.

Even so, she knows one thing for sure, which is that Bai Qi will die by a sword granted by the king of Qin. As for when it will happen, she cannot remember.

The Wu An mansion has already become her home before she realized it. She wants to remember; she wants to save Bai Qi.

But she finds out that she is unable to.

She cannot change Bai Qi’s decision, neither can she change the king of Qin’s.

What else can she do? Gu Nan clenches her fist tightly.