Ashes to Crown

Chapter 261: Chapter 65: Night Meeting (2)

Xie Yanlai’s face was completely bundled in his scarf, with only his eyes showing. He shot a glance at Chu Zhao. ”Instead of drinking, Miss Chu, why don’t you continue on patrol with us?”

Chu Zhao giggled. ”Nope.” She adopted a frail and delicate posture. ”Miss Chu is young and weak; she must go rest now. This heavy burden must fall to fine young men like yourselves.”

Xie Yanlai scoffed, spurred his horse, and galloped off. Ding Dachui and the others scrambled to keep up.

Even though his wife wasn’t present, Ding Dachui couldn’t find an opportunity to reveal Aunt Ding’s true nature to Chu Zhao. Every time he tried to speak, he felt someone staring at him, and he simply didn’t dare.

’Oh well, I’ll just take it one step at a time. It wasn’t easy to get in the Empress’s good graces, and I don’t want to die so soon.’

The group galloped away.

Chu Zhao, meanwhile, hurried into the government office, jogging all the way to the rear courtyard.

”Miss!” Ah Le was waiting under the covered walkway, her face wreathed in a smile. ”It’s gotten even colder today.”

Chu Zhao hummed in agreement, clutching her cloak tight as she rushed into the room.

”Dad, are you asleep?” she shouted from the main hall. ”I’m back!”

Ah Le chuckled. ’Even if he were asleep, a shout that loud would have woken him.’

A placid voice drifted from the inner chamber. ”I know. I’m not asleep. I was waiting for you.”

Chu Zhao kicked off her boots, which were as hard and cold as blocks of ice. Ah Le helped her off with her cloak while two other maids slipped warm shoes onto her feet. They patted her down with hot towels, both to warm her up quickly and to keep the chill from seeping into the inner chamber.

A moment later, Chu Zhao hurried into the inner chamber and looked at Chu Ling, who was lying in bed.

Under the dim lamplight, the middle-aged man on the bed had a face as pale as paper and listless eyes. Yet, a smile touched his lips, and he gazed in Chu Zhao’s direction.

The girl’s smile bloomed under the lamplight.

”Dad,” she said, a little proudly, ”guess what I brought back for you?”

Chu Ling said, ”Did the young lady on patrol catch a spy?”

”Nope.” Chu Zhao laughed, uncupping the hands she held close to her chest to reveal a small, snow-white rabbit. ”I found a rabbit in the snow.”

”My Ah Zhao is amazing,” Chu Ling said. ”To be able to catch a rabbit on a snowy night—was it Ah Jiu who caught it?”

”It wasn’t Ah Jiu!”

”Well, fine. He spotted it first, but I’m the one who caught it.”

The girl’s clear voice rang through the inner chamber. Lying in bed, Chu Ling listened with a smile and then felt something soft and furry placed in his hand.

”Dad, look,” Chu Zhao said. ”The little rabbit is just like a snowball.”

Chu Ling said, ”Rabbits bite. Don’t forget, you were bitten when you were little and cried for three days.”

Chu Zhao laughed. ”Did I? I don’t remember that at all.”

”Has it been too long?” Chu Ling asked with a smile. ”Have you forgotten everything from your childhood?”

’It has,’ Chu Zhao thought, sitting on the edge of the bed. ’For someone who has been reborn, my childhood really does feel like a lifetime ago.’

”Dad, tell me some stories about when I was little,” she said.

Chu Ling gently stroked the Snow Rabbit with one hand and began to speak in a soft voice. ”You were quite something as a child. The moment you were born, the entire room was filled with a red glow. A passing fortune-teller’s expression changed in an instant. He pointed and declared that an auspicious omen had descended from the heavens—”

Chu Zhao laughed so hard she clutched her stomach.

”Dad—have you been eavesdropping on the storytellers at the teahouse again?”

Ah Le stood in the outer room, listening to the laughter of the father and daughter inside. She smiled along with them, raised a hand to wipe away her tears, and quietly withdrew.

The night deepened, and the sounds of laughter from the room gradually faded.

Chu Zhao watched as the hand stroking the Snow Rabbit fell still. Her own face turned as white as the rabbit’s fur. Slowly, she reached out and placed her fingers on Chu Ling’s wrist to check his pulse. A moment later, she let out a breath of relief and sank to the floor by the bed.

’Thank goodness, my father is still alive.’

’Even though the doctor said he could die at any moment.’

Chu Zhao hugged the Snow Rabbit, leaned against the bedframe, and buried her head in her knees, her tears soaking the fabric of her dress.

’But still... I’m so happy. This time, I’ll be able to be with my father when he passes away.’

...

...

The cold wind howled with abandon in the dead of night. Xie Yanlai staggered as it buffeted him on his way back to his quarters.

’The wind is so strong.’ He stopped and glanced toward the government office. ’I wonder if Chu Zhao is able to sleep.’

The next moment, he turned on his heel and stared in a different direction.

”Who’s there?” he said coldly. ”You’re capable enough to get into the city, so why are you still hiding?”

The howling wind swirled around a flickering figure, who emerged from the corner of a building.

”Young Master Ah Jiu,” a soft female voice said. ”It’s me.”

Xie Yanlai let out a soft ”Oh,” a smirk playing on his lips. ”Aunt Ding. What’s the matter? Are you lost? Came all this way and now you can’t find Uncle Ding?”

Mu Mianhong took a few more steps forward. Her frail body swayed in the darkness, but the gale-force winds couldn’t seem to carry her away.

”Ah Jiu.” She didn’t answer or say anything else, only stated, ”I want to see General Chu.”

Xie Yanlai let out a sharp laugh. ”I knew it. That fool, Chu Zhao, refused to speculate about your motives, but I knew from the start. You came for General Chu.”