"Marry... King Xuan of Qi?" Zhongli Chun bit her lip.
"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Xia Yingchun was dumbfounded too. "You mean my lady has to wait until she's forty to marry, and then marry His Majesty and become queen?"
Xia Yingchun hurriedly turned back to Zhongli Chun. "My lady, don't listen to his nonsense. Something like that could never happen!"
"Xiao Xia, I believe him." Zhongli Chun looked at Xiao Xia and repeated her stance, then said to Du Yu, "Though doing this will make me a little sad, it's what you've asked of me. I'm willing."
"My lady!" Xiao Xia was nearly frantic. "You can't agree! For a woman to remain unmarried until forty-isn't that wasting the springtime of your youth?"
"Without him, never mind the springtime of my youth-I might not even be alive now," Zhongli Chun said with absolute conviction. "Xiao Xia, you said your life belonged to me. And my life belongs to him."
There was a sincerity in Zhongli Chun's voice that Du Yu could hardly bear to hear, but he still had to complete this mission. He had no choice but to continue. "Little Zhongli, marrying King Xuan of Qi is only the first step. You'll also need to help him repel foreign enemies and restore peace at home, putting down every upheaval in the Qi Kingdom. That will be your life's mission."
"All right, I understand." Zhongli Chun sought one last confirmation from Du Yu. "Then I'll be able to cross that river and see you, right?"
"Yes."
Du Yu felt a little sad. He nodded and told Zhongli Chun, "Little Zhongli, you might think I'm selfish, but I want you to know that nothing I've done has been for myself. If you don't marry King Xuan of Qi, the Qi Kingdom might even fall... I'm not being alarmist, and I can't tell you how I know..."
Zhongli Chun smiled. "I understand. I've known from the beginning that you have secrets of your own. When you're ready to tell me, I'll listen carefully."
Du Yu smiled too, but his smile was bitter.
This descent lasted only three days, and now it was already the last day. Xia Yingchun went to the kitchen and prepared a few dishes. For the first time, Du Yu and Zhongli Chun sat down to a meal in a proper setting, but the atmosphere at the table was strange. Something weighed on Du Yu's mind, and Zhongli Chun did not seem happy either.
Was doing this really right? Du Yu's heart was a jumble of conflicting feelings. Should I have let someone else rescue Zhongli Chun back then?
Night fell, and Du Yu took the initiative to say goodbye to Zhongli Chun and Xiao Xia.
Du Yu had left at night last time too. Zhongli Chun knew this time would be the same. As she watched him walk away, she wondered how many more decades she would have to wait before seeing him again. She felt as though a piece of her own flesh were being torn away, the pain leaving her unable to breathe.
After returning to the Legend Management Bureau, Du Yu remained silent for a long time.
Dong Qianqiu knew he must be hurting, so she did not disturb him.
"Sister Qianqiu... how much time do I have?"
"You can rest a little longer this time. Half an hour."
Du Yu nodded and asked, "Can you take me to see Zhongli Chun?"
Dong Qianqiu lowered her head and pressed her lips together. "Du Yu... you need to remember your role. If you get emotionally involved..."
"I know. I just want to see her."
Helpless, Dong Qianqiu could only take Du Yu to her office. Zhongli Chun was sitting quietly inside, holding the jacket Du Yu had given her earlier.
"Oh? You're finished?" Zhongli Chun sprang to her feet when she saw Du Yu, a trace of delight on her face.
"Sister Qianqiu... could you step outside for a moment? I want to talk to her..."
Dong Qianqiu nodded silently and closed the door from outside.
Du Yu looked at Zhongli Chun. It was a long time before he finally uttered those words:
"Little Zhongli..."
The instant she heard those words, tears welled up in Zhongli Chun's eyes. Her brows drew together, and she burst into sobs.
"I thought... I'd never hear those words again..." Zhongli Chun cried so hard she could barely breathe. She crouched down where she stood and hugged herself. "I thought you'd forgotten everything that happened between us... I'm willing to wait two thousand years, even ten thousand years, but I'm so afraid. I'm afraid of hearing you call me 'Miss Zhongli.' I'm afraid you've forgotten me..."
Du Yu hurried over to support Zhongli Chun, letting her lean against him.
"Little Zhongli... I won't call you 'Miss Zhongli' again. I remember everything now," Du Yu said through clenched teeth.
"Thank goodness..." Zhongli Chun cried aloud, as though releasing all the anguish of the past two thousand years.
After a long while, Du Yu asked again, "Little Zhongli, I came here to ask you something-have you ever regretted it?"
"Regretted it?"
"Yes." Du Yu nodded. "Waiting for me for so long-have you ever felt even the slightest regret?"
"I have never regretted it." Without a moment's hesitation, Zhongli Chun spoke each word distinctly. Every word was like a breeze blowing into Du Yu's heart.
She had never regretted it. Even after wandering alone through this dim underworld for two thousand years, she had never regretted it.
The burden in Du Yu's heart seemed a little lighter, but seeing Zhongli Chun's face, like pear blossoms drenched in rain, still pained him.
"Little Zhongli, in a little while, I'll go finish this stage of my work. After that, I'll go anywhere you want with you and do anything you want. I'll make up for everything I owe you," Du Yu told Zhongli Chun with utter seriousness.
Zhongli Chun nodded vigorously, as though her whole life had been worth it.
Du Yu rallied his spirits and returned to the main hall.
"Sister Qianqiu, how's the legend going?"
"There are a few key moments I need to show you." Dong Qianqiu did not ask a single question about Zhongli Chun. She simply kept her eyes fixed on the screen and brought up several scenes.
Zhongli Chun sat in her chamber while Xiao Xia combed her hair.
"My lady... we only just sent away the people from the Qin Household, the Zhu Household, and the Lu Household yesterday, and today the matchmakers from the Ouyang Household, the Sun Household, and the Yan Household have come to propose marriages again..." Xiao Xia said.
Zhongli Chun thought for a moment. "Xiao Xia, I don't understand. Since coming home, I've never left this room. Those young gentlemen have never even seen me, so why do they want to marry me?"
"My lady..." Xiao Xia said as she combed Zhongli Chun's hair, "sometimes two people don't have to like each other to marry. They don't even have to have met. You're the daughter of a scholar-official and a disciple of the Master of Ghost Valley. With those titles attached to you, all sorts of princes and nobles will want to bring you into their families as a bride. Lord Pang Juan and Lord Sun Bin have already made names for themselves. As another disciple of the Master of Ghost Valley, your name already resounds in all directions, even if you do nothing."
"Then..." Zhongli Chun paused for a while before asking, "is there any way to make men stop wanting to marry me altogether?"
"That's impossible." Xiao Xia shook her head. "With your beauty, my lady, even if you weren't a scholar-official's daughter or the Master of Ghost Valley's disciple, someone would still want to marry you."
At that, Zhongli Chun raised her brows and murmured, "Beauty...?"
Xiao Xia nodded. "Yes, my lady. Your beauty far surpasses mine. If you showed your face in the street, there would probably be even more matchmakers than there are now."
"Wonderful..." Zhongli Chun considered for a moment, then told Xia Yingchun, "Xiao Xia, help me spread the word that I'm extremely ugly."
"What?!" Xiao Xia was so startled that her comb fell to the floor. "My lady... why would you do that?"
"Because I can only marry King Xuan of Qi," Zhongli Chun said earnestly.
"You..." Xiao Xia did not know how to dissuade her. She only knew that her lady harbored an obsession. "My lady, forgive me, but I cannot obey... A rumor like that would ruin you..."
"I don't care." Zhongli Chun shook her head. "Xiao Xia, I don't need you to obey. I've never treated you as a servant. You're my only sister in this world. I'm merely asking you for a favor, and I hope you'll agree."
"But... but..." Xiao Xia shook her head again. "No... I simply can't say it. My lady, you truly are beautiful. I don't even know how I could describe you as an ugly woman."
"It's simple. I'll write it down for you. Just say what I've written."
Zhongli Chun picked up a brush, swiftly wrote several lines, and handed them to Xiao Xia.
Xiao Xia took the paper and read it, her jaw dropping. "Heavens, my lady! What you've written... it barely even sounds like a human being... I..."
"Xiao Xia, I hope you'll help me," Zhongli Chun repeated earnestly.
A month later, rumors were rife in the streets.
Some said Zhongli the Saltless Woman had a forehead that caved inward like a hollow in the ground, eyes sunk deep like two holes, and skin as black as though scorched by burning coals. Not only did she have an upturned nose with outward-flaring nostrils, she also had an Adam's apple larger than a man's. Others said Zhongli the Saltless Woman had a belly as large as a pregnant woman's, an enormous, fat head, and balding hair.
Passersby often discussed the matter with great interest.
"Have you heard what Zhongli the Saltless Woman looks like?"
"Zhongli the Saltless Woman? More like Zhongli the Beautyless Woman!"
"Hahaha! Zhongli the Beautyless Woman-that's a good one!"
At this point, Du Yu took the material Dong Qianqiu handed him. There, plainly written, was a passage Liu Xiang had recorded in Biographies of Exemplary Women: "Zhongli Chun was a woman of Wuyan City in Qi, and King Xuan's principal queen. Her ugliness was beyond compare: a mortar-shaped head and deep-set eyes, a tall, robust frame and large joints, an upturned nose and protruding throat, a thick neck and sparse hair, a bent waist and jutting chest, and skin like black lacquer."
"Ah..." Du Yu sighed. "Why put yourself through this..."
"There's another moment I need to show you." Dong Qianqiu pressed a few more keys, and another scene appeared.
Once people began spreading rumors of Zhongli Chun's unparalleled ugliness, no one was more anxious than her adoptive father. He had thought he could use this "daughter" who had fallen from the heavens to forge ties with other princes and nobles. He had never expected someone to spread rumors throughout the city that Zhongli Chun was ugly.
Her adoptive father had coveted Zhongli Chun's beauty more than once, so he naturally had complete confidence in her looks. To dispel the rumors, he angrily invited many young noblemen to his home, determined to let them see his adopted daughter, whose beauty could topple cities and kingdoms.
The young gentlemen sat in two rows in the main hall, but Zhongli Chun still failed to appear. They could not help discussing it.
"Is this a trick?"
"Probably. We've been waiting for two hours."
"Didn't he say her beauty could topple cities and kingdoms? Why would a beauty like that be afraid to show her face?"
Everyone chimed in, one after another.
Zhongli Chun's adoptive father kept staring outside too, his heart burning with anxiety. He had sent someone to fetch Zhongli Chun long ago, so why had she still not appeared?
Before long, a refreshing fragrance drifted in from outside, and all the young gentlemen turned toward the doorway.
An extraordinarily beautiful girl entered slowly, her lotus steps light and graceful. She swept her bright eyes over the gathering, dipped her head with a smile, and bowed to them.
"Oh! Miss Zhongli?!"
Everyone exclaimed. This woman was indeed incomparably beautiful!
The woman slowly raised a hand to quiet the clamoring crowd, then said calmly, "Please don't misunderstand, gentlemen. I'm merely my lady's personal maid."
Before anyone could react, the maid stepped aside, revealing the person behind her.
The gentlemen looked over and saw a very tall figure, her face covered by black gauze that concealed her features entirely.
"You..." The scholar-official rose abruptly. "Zhongli Chun! What are you doing?! Take off that black veil at once and let these gentlemen see your face!"
"You want to see my face? What gives you the right?"
Zhongli Chun gathered her energy and swung her arm straight toward the floor. A huge fissure smashed open across the main hall, sending every young gentleman seated there toppling this way and that. Their faces drained of color, as though they had encountered bandits.
Xiao Xia, who stood closest to Zhongli Chun, nearly lost her footing. Zhongli Chun discreetly steadied her.
"You feeble sons of privilege think you're worthy of marrying me, Zhongli Chun?"
"A monster!"
"Th-this woman is as strong as an ox, and her mouth is full of insolence!"
The young gentlemen raised a clamor, their voices trembling.
"Listen well. If I, Zhongli Chun, marry, it will only be to a general, minister, prince, or king. Stop coming here to bother me!" Zhongli Chun said coldly.
"We'll never come again!"
Du Yu watched the screen for a while, then turned to Dong Qianqiu. "Sister Qianqiu, what year will my next descent take me to?"
Dong Qianqiu looked troubled. "You only have one descent left. There are two possible points in time now, and you need to choose one."
"I can actually choose?"
"That's right." Dong Qianqiu nodded. "The first is the year Zhongli Chun turns forty. You would descend to ensure she marries King Xuan of Qi. The second is the year after Zhongli Chun becomes queen. The Qin Kingdom and the Zhao Kingdom attack the Qi Kingdom simultaneously, and there's a chance Zhongli Chun will die in battle."
"Wait... Zhongli Chun dies in battle?" Du Yu was puzzled. "That can't be right, Sister Qianqiu. If this battle was recorded in history, that means Zhongli Chun goes through it in every iteration of the legend. She shouldn't die in it..."
"Yes, Zhongli Chun goes through this battle in every iteration of the legend. The problem is that in previous versions, she always went to war with her father, each of them leading a force against the enemy. But in this version, Zhongli Chun's father dies early, and she ends up leading an army alone against the invading forces of both kingdoms. Our colleagues in the technical department have analyzed the odds. Zhongli Chun has a sixty percent chance of dying in battle."
"Sixty percent..." Du Yu shook his head. "That's far too high..."
"So what do you think? Which point in time are you planning to descend to?"
Du Yu considered it carefully. Both points in time were indeed crucial.
If Zhongli Chun did not marry King Xuan of Qi in the year she turned forty, or if King Xuan of Qi did not want to marry her, everything would be in vain. But that sixty percent chance of dying in battle...
Du Yu sank into deep thought.
Before you continue