书斋小说网

第 1 章（第1页）

Chapter1:Wecaughtthefish!

“MissYuan!MissYuan!”Agirl’sexcitedvoicebrokethroughthequietafternoon。“MissYuan!Thefishhasbittenthebait!”

XianSuyuan，whohadbeendozihtheshadeofthewillowtree，startledawakebythescream。Foramoment，shestaredblanklyattheriverbeforerememberingwhereshewas。Then，sheheardAyao’shurriedvoiceagain。“Thefish!Missquickly!”Suyuansighedsoftlyandreachedforthefishingroad。

“Don’tpulltoohardoryou’llfrightenthefishaway”。

“Butit’salreadycaught，howIletitgetaway”。Ayao’seyessparkledwithexcitement。Togetherthetwogirlscarefullypulledtheliowardtheriverbank。Thefishfoughtfiercely，splashingthewatereverywherebeforefinallybeingdraggedontotheshore。Itwasalargerivercarp，biggerthawoofSuyuan’spalmsplacedtogether。

Ayaostaredatitwithgreatsatisfa，“wecaughtit!”。Suyuanlookedatthefish，thenatAyao’sdelightedexpressionbeforeanswering，“Yeswedid“。Theyplacedthecarpintothewoodenbuckettheyhadbrought。Bothgirlscrouchedbesidethebucket，Ayaolookedasifshehadjustdiscoveredatreasure。“Miss，nowwehavesomethinghottoeat”。Suyuancouldn’thelpbutlaugh，“littlegreedycat。Isfoodtheonlythingthatcatchyourattention?”

Ayaopouted，“IonlywanttomakesomethingnutritiousforyouandHerHighness。IheardfromNannyZhang，herhealthhasworsen”。ThesmileonSuyuansfacefadedslightly，“Mothershealthhasworsened?”Ayaonoddedslightly。Suyuanloweredhereyestowardthefishinthebucket，hermotherhadalwaysbeenweak。Butretly，evenservantsbeganwhisperingabouthowfrequentlytheprincessbecameill。

Shecouldn’tsimplyjustsithere，“helpmetopackeverything”。

Ayaoblinked，“now?”

“Now”。

“Whataboutthefish?”

“We’lltakeitwithus，thebucketistooheavy，letsjusttieitwiththegrass…Weoreturntothepalacebeforetheyfindoutwe’vesneakedoutagain”。SuyuanstoodupandbrushedthegrassfromherskirtwhileAyaotiedthecarpwiththegrass。Thetwogirlsquicklygatheredtheirbelongingsandfollowedthenarrowpathhiddenamongthetrees，itathfewpeopleked。

TheKhan’spalacewasheavilyguardedbythesoldierbuttheOrchidCourtyard，wherePrincessShuranlived，waswatchedfarlessstrictly。TherewaslittlereasonfortheKhan’sguardstothemselveswithitsincePrincessShuranhadlongfallenfromtheKan’sfavor。Uherwomenintheharem，shehadnoiiontopeteforhisattention。Shedidnotflatterhim，seekhisaffeoreventrytowinhisfavor。

AftergivingbirthtoSuyuan，shedevotedherselfalmosteoraisingherdaughter。OnceSuyuanwasoldenoughtotakecareofherself，PrincessShurangraduallywithdrewevenfurtherfromtheworld。Shespentherdayspraying，readingscriptures，tendingtothesmallcourtyard，andlivingaquietlifethatresembledawomanwhohadalreadyrenouncedworldlydesires。TotheKhansheisalmostinvisiblebuttoSuyuanshe’severything。

Suyuanwalkedsilentlyalongthehiddenpath，herexpressioncalm。Sheheardtlessstoriesabouthermother，aprincessofXian。Awomanwhohadoncebeensoinlovewithagreatgeneralbutintheendshehadgivenupeverythingtomarryafnruler。Suyuanhadnevercaredmuchaboutthosetitlesbuttherewasonlyohingshehadalwayswaoknow，whatkindofmanhadGeneralSubeen?

Whatkindofmancouldmakehermother，evenafterallthisyears，lookasthoughhalfofherhearthadremainedburiedwithhimonadistantbattlefield?Suyuantightenedherfingersaroundtheedgeofhersleeve，maybeonedayshewillfindtheanswer。