Chapter 36: Saving the Exiled Crown Princess Consort (8)

Luo Xu was utterly stunned by the sight before her. She stiffly turned her head. “How did you…” How did you get so much silver?

“Did you never wonder where my martial skills came from?” Tang Qi decided to launch into a tall tale. Luo Xu looked dazed, shaking her head slightly.

“When I was a child, I once saved a person.” Tang Qi trotted out her prepared story. Luo Xu’s spirits lifted. As a devoted reader of storybooks, this plot felt incredibly familiar. “Was he a reclusive master?”

“Ah… no… Yes, well… our dynasty has only been established for a little over ten years. During the previous dynasty, there were many bandits in these Barren Mountains who specifically robbed merchant caravans heading to the Western Regions. These bandits roamed here for a hundred years, harming countless travelers.” Tang Qi felt her imagination failing her, but Luo Xu’s eyes were growing brighter by the second.

Having started the tale, she could only brazen it out. “He wiped out the bandits single-handedly but was gravely wounded himself. I lived with him in the mountains for a few years. He passed on everything he’d learned to me and, on his deathbed, told me about this location. This is the accumulated wealth of several generations of bandits.”

In truth, bandits had indeed existed here. Tang Qi had once found a cave left by them, but it had contained nothing but a few broken pottery jars.

Luo Xu covered her mouth with both hands, letting out a gasp. This was exactly the kind of karmic fortune written about in storybooks!

Tang Qi felt this explanation was absurdly fantastical and was fully prepared to be doubted. But Luo Xu believed it. Not only did she believe it, she was quite excited. “In the stories, people always fall off cliffs and meet a hidden master. I never thought it could happen in real life… What was this hidden master like?”

The System covered its face. “Luoluo, you’re way too gullible.”

“…Ha, haha! Yes, I also found it quite miraculous!” A bead of cold sweat trickled down Tang Qi’s forehead. She hastily changed the subject. “I’ve only been here once before. I’m not even sure what’s inside. Do you want to go take a look?”

Luo Xu’s attention was diverted. She lifted her skirt and scampered inside. Box after box of gold bullion was stacked on the ground. The wooden crates were decaying with age, and many Gold Bars had tumbled out and half-sunk into the dirt. There were also countless pieces of jadeite, pearls, and gems.

The System said proudly, “Didn’t I do a great job arranging it to look like it’s been stored for a hundred years? I even factored in the smell of the cave.”

Luo Xu was, after all, a young woman, so she was fairly unmoved by the gold. She was more drawn to the jewelry, rummaging through it and holding various pieces against herself to admire. A mix of delight and wistfulness filled her. “The merchant caravans of old were this wealthy? They could almost rival the national treasury. Still, I wonder how many people died here for these treasures.”

“After all, it’s a hundred years of accumulation,” Tang Qi said, wiping the cold sweat from her brow. “Even if we wanted to find the original owners now, we couldn’t.”

…

A new blacksmith’s forge opened in Barren Mountain Town.

The town, frequented by garrisoned troops, constantly needed weapon repairs, and the prices paid were high. Every forge there thrived. However, this newly opened shop never conducted business. Instead, it directly hired the town’s best blacksmith at an exorbitant price.

Ten days later, a pitch-black box was sent out from the forge. Tang Qi used money to pave the way, and the box successfully reached the general of the garrison troops.

That very night, a detachment of soldiers appeared at the forge’s entrance and escorted the two of them into the military camp.

Women were forbidden from entering military camps. The two of them, wearing heavy cloaks, walked unimpeded all the way to the general’s command tent.

Every time Tang Qi visited the town, she investigated the garrison situation. The commander stationed there was Marquis of Zhenbei, Xiao Tong. A man known for his loyalty, righteousness, and wise delegation, he was deeply respected by his soldiers and the local people.

After careful consideration, Tang Qi had bribed a junior officer to deliver her creation to the Marquis of Zhenbei. The Marquis was currently pacing inside his command tent. When he saw Tang Qi enter, he hurried forward, demanding, “Are you the ones who sent this?”

“Indeed.” Tang Qi threw back her hood. The Marquis seemed taken aback, clearly not expecting the visitors to be women. His expression stiffened. Luo Xu also removed her cloak and saluted the Marquis with a slight bow. “This humble woman is Luo Xu, daughter of Luo Huaimin. The crossbow in your hands, General, is of my own making.”

“Luo Huaimin? You’re from the Ministry of Works.” He pressed his lips together, his dark stare fixed on Luo Xu. As a general who had campaigned across the land, Xiao Tong’s aura was heavy with a lethal ferocity. Under his intense gaze, Luo Xu’s heart trembled, and she couldn’t help but step back.

Tang Qi immediately moved to support her, subtly stepping forward to neutralize the oppressive pressure while silently circulating her own cultivation art. An even more powerful presence enveloped Xiao Tong.

Xiao Tong’s gaze shifted to Tang Qi, a flicker of surprise and assessment in his eyes.

A personal guard whispered something quickly into Xiao Tong’s ear. Learning that Luo Xu had been exiled here, Xiao Tong’s expression softened somewhat. He remarked pointedly, “The young lady’s martial arts are not bad.”

Tang Qi said nothing. Xiao Tong was still far more concerned with the crossbow. The Qiang tribes to the west plagued the borders every year. Just days ago, he had received word that the Qiang Tribe was amassing forces, planning to attack Barren Mountain as soon as the snow melted.

The Qiang were expert riders and archers, using powerful bows that outranged theirs by fifty paces. Each year, countless soldiers died under their arrows.

But the crossbow in his hand was not only light and portable but also had a range over a hundred paces farther than their current bows. Most critically, its power was undiminished. How could Xiao Tong not be ecstatic about such a superb weapon?

Those hundred meters were enough to change the course of a battle, to save the lives of countless soldiers.

Luo Xu spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly. “This humble woman inherited her craft from my grandfather, Luo Jiu. The civilian tools my father previously submitted to the court were all of my making.” Xiao Tong’s expression shifted, and his tone took on a measure of respect. “So you are the inheritor of the ‘Frontier Lu Ban’ legacy. This general has been remiss! You have offered this device and sought an audience with me. What is it you request?”

Luo Xu bit her lip. She didn’t know if she was taking a step toward the right path or a sheer cliff. As she hesitated in a trance, Tang Qi spoke up, offering a brief defense against the charges against Luo Xu before stating, “We can provide the General with the schematics for the crossbow, help forge superior weapons, and train your blacksmiths. Our only hope is to exchange this meritorious work for the General to submit a memorial to His Majesty, requesting that Luo Xu’s crimes be pardoned.”

Xiao Tong hesitated. This matter involved the Crown Prince, and he had no wish to get entangled. Yet the crossbow in his hand was exquisitely innovative, and its construction was impossible to replicate without the blueprints.

After a brief internal struggle, he slammed his palm on the armrest of his chair. “Fine, this general agrees! But this general is only responsible for submitting the memorial. Whether His Majesty agrees is beyond the scope of our agreement.”

“Of course. Many thanks, General!” Tang Qi clasped her fist in a martial salute. Xiao Tong’s expression visibly brightened, and he looked at the crossbow in his hands with elation. Worried, he emphasized one more time: “It must be exactly identical to the one in my hands.”

Tang Qi and Luo Xu returned to their smithy under the moonlight and quickly delivered the schematics to the military camp. Afterwards, Luo Xu worked day and night with the army’s blacksmiths, and before the spring campaign began, they finally managed to produce five thousand crossbows.

Each spring, the Qiang tribesmen would come and plunder the villages and towns near Barren Mountain. They were a festering blight on the border of Great Qi. Their strength lay in their horsemanship and archery. Every year, they would sweep in, rob and pillage, and then vanish back into the Eight-Hundred-Li Desolate Mountain, untrackable by the Qi army.

Each of their raids claimed the lives of countless commoners and soldiers.

Every spring, the Emperor was on pins and needles, and the battle reports that came in periodically gave him ceaseless headaches.

As soon as the morning court session ended, the battle report from the western frontier was delivered into the Emperor’s hands. He hesitated for a long while before steeling himself to open it. He glanced at it, then suddenly froze. He read it again carefully, from beginning to end, several times over, then burst into loud laughter, exclaiming repeatedly, “Good! Excellent!”

Before long, news of the western battlefront’s events reached the capital. The Marquis of Zhenbei, Xiao Tong, had decisively routed the Qiang Tribe, slaughtering ten thousand of the enemy and pursuing them three hundred li. Great Qi’s casualties were only one-fifth of a typical year.

Accompanying the Emperor’s decree of commendation was an Imperial Pardon. As soon as the Imperial Pardon arrived at the military camp, Xiao Tong had someone summon Tang Qi and Luo Xu and personally presented it to Luo Xu.

The result was just as Tang Qi had calculated. The current Emperor was Great Qi’s founding emperor. Originally a rough and unrefined man, he had spent his early years on the battlefield and deeply valued military officers. Furthermore, what Luo Xu had given Xiao Tong was not just an improved crossbow, but also the schematics for an improved tripwire and catapult.

Such merit was more than enough to offset a charge of poisoning. The Emperor was naturally very willing to grant this. Even if the victim had been the Prime Minister’s daughter.

The rough-and-tumble Emperor thought simply: Nobody even died!

Seeing the Imperial Pardon, Luo Xu felt a surge of emotion, mixed with a sense of bewilderment. Leaving the military camp, she stopped at the gate and turned to look back at the sprawling encampment, then at the vast, indistinct Barren Mountain in the distance. Her lips trembled. “Little Seven, maybe we should still go to… Jiangnan! Staying here would be nice, too.”

Tang Qi stood shoulder to shoulder with her. “Don’t you want revenge?”

How could she not? In her midnight dreams, she often returned to those desperate pleas, to dragging her ailing, painful leg step by step toward Barren Mountain. She wanted revenge more than anyone alive. “But…”

“There are no buts. Trust me. The Emperor may only have Zhao Chengfeng as a son, but the Royal Family has other members. And the Emperor isn’t incapable of siring more children. By my calculations, Zhao Chengfeng will never ascend the throne.” Worst case, she could just summon Heavenly Thunder and strike Zhao Chengfeng dead. Tang Qi smiled. “We’re about to go back to the capital. Cheer up a little.”

Luo Xu nodded, and the confusion in her eyes dissipated somewhat.

They returned to their small hut and packed their meager belongings. Tang Qi took the jade pendant left behind by her original host and distributed their food to the surrounding villagers. Luo Xu looked at the now-empty room, a pang of reluctance in her heart.

She had originally thought this place would be the starting point of yet another round of misery. Who knew it would be Heaven’s compensation? Heaven had taken all her sufferings and traded them for Tang Qi’s companionship.

Tang Qi also felt a touch of emotion. She truly hadn’t expected to leave this place one day. As she was lost in thought, she felt a warmth on her hand. It was Luo Xu, holding her hand. Their fingers intertwined. Luo Xu said, “If we can survive this, can we come back here?”

“Alright.”

As they left the Western Regions, Xiao Tong assigned a company of soldiers to escort them. Traveling swiftly, the weather grew warmer the closer they drew to the Central Plains. The once barren mountain ranges transformed into magnificent grand rivers and mountains. Wild fruit trees by the roadside bent their branches low with fruit, unpicked by anyone. Compared to the bleak desolation of Barren Mountain, even the bare trees of the Central Plains seemed to pulse with renewed vitality.

Finally, at the end of the eleventh month of Luo Xu’s exile, she returned to the capital. This was a full month earlier than in the original World Line.

In the original World Line, Luo Xu had been able to return because Zhao Chengfeng had found evidence that the Prime Minister was corrupt, accepting bribes, seizing land and harming innocents, and selling official posts. The Emperor, in consideration of the Prime Minister’s past service, had stripped him of his position, confiscated his property, and banished his entire family back to their ancestral home.

Nalan Xue had also hung herself with a length of white silk in the Eastern Palace.

After Luo Xu came back, Zhao Chengfeng petitioned the Emperor to appoint her as Crown Princess Consort. Everyone forgot the sufferings Luo Xu had endured and only saw that Zhao Chengfeng had cleared her name and, disregarding her tarnished reputation, given her the position of Crown Princess Consort. They spoke of Zhao Chengfeng’s deep affection and loyalty, and of how Luo Xu should be grateful and indebted.

No matter what Luo Xu did later, she was always the one who was blamed.

But this time, Luo Xu had returned to the capital through her own ability. The modified crossbow that shook the known world in the Qiang campaign was decreed by the Emperor himself to be standard equipment for all of Great Qi’s troops. Luo Xu came back carrying glory and a halo of prestige. No one dared to look down on her.

The gate tower of the capital, Yangjing, appeared faintly in the distance. Luo Xu sat in the carriage, her palms slightly chilled. Tang Qi held her hand. “Don’t be afraid.”

Luo Xu shook her head and leaned against Tang Qi. “Of course I’m not afraid. I’m just worried that once we reach the capital, I won’t be able to live with you.” The thought of being separated from Tang Qi was something she would never accept.

Tang Qi laughed softly. “I will find a way.” Luo Xu trusted Tang Qi. In the past few months, everything Tang Qi had said had come true, one by one. It seemed as if there was nothing in this world she couldn’t accomplish.

Since ancient times, the Qinchuan plain had always been the seat of emperors. Two great rivers converged here, creating a vast expanse of fertile land known as a ‘Thousand-Li Granary’. Yangjing, the capital, was located right in the middle of Qinchuan. As the carriage moved forward, the majestic city gradually unveiled itself before them.