Ballad of the Desert

Chapter 12: Invitation

The Fall arrives and the Han's battle with the Xiong Nu ends. Even though the army commanded by the Great General Wei captured or killed tens of thousands of Xiong Nu, one of his subordinates the General Zhao Xin met the army led by the Shan Yu himself in battle, and somehow Yi Zhi Xie was able to convince Zhao Xin to switch sides.

When the news reaches Chang Ah, Emperor Wu of Han orders Zhao Xin's entire family and estate to be killed. When the special army arrives, they discover Zhao Xin's two young sons have somehow vanished. The Emperor is livid, until another new arrives that makes him thrilled, Huo Qu Bing, in an attitude like he doesn't care and refusing to follow battle protocol, privately leads 800 of his hot-blooded Yu Lin Army soldiers into battle against direct orders to stay put.

He succeeds in sneaking onto the Xiong Nu army base, and he manages to kill the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, and a bevy of officials ranking from the Shan Yu's grandfather's generation. His troops captures the Shan Yu's uncle Luo Gu Bi and kills two thousand and twenty eight soldiers. Huo Qu Bing's private attack expedition emerged victorious despite having smaller numbers, and he personally managed to capture or kill four of the top officials in the Xiong Nu.

At a time when both sides suffered tremendous losses, and a Han general switches sides to the Xiong Nu, Huo Qu Bing's prowess on the battlefield and his success only appears even more stunning. The Emperor crowns him as a Grand Duke and gives him wealth to equal over a thousand households. For the Great General Wei who commanded this entire army, battling to a draw with the Xiong Nu in this tussle, the Emperor does not cast blame or reward.

When I hear about all this, it makes me even more confused. If Yi Zhi Xie can somehow smuggle Zhao Xin's two young sons out of Chang An under the Emperor's nose, then he can kill me anytime, why even hire assassins?

Huo Qu Bing dumbly stares into Yi Ping Ju. From top to bottom, all three floors are filled with beautiful young girls, chattering away and lively. His face is somber while I stand next to him and giggle.

He sudden turns and jumps back into the carriage and pulls me inside while I holler "Hey, hey, Grand Duke, you are supposed to be treating me to a meal at Yi Ping Ju."

He huffs in annoyance "I wanted to treat you, not every single girl in your dancing houses."

I laughed "I always wanted to have the girls gather for a meal to strength their ties. But if the meal is too cheap people will laugh at me, but if the meal is too expensive my wallet will hurt. Since you agreed to treat, I thought why not invite all the girls, so I had Yi Ping Ju help organize it. Why are you so stingy? You went out for a twirl and came back a Grand Duke. Treating a few hundred of us to a meal is something you can easily afford."

"Went out for a twirl? What an interesting way to downplay it. Next time you join me for the twirl and I'll split everything I'm rewarded with you in half" he says as he continues to stare at me.

I avert his eyes and look outside with a smile "Where are we going? Knowing we were going out to eat, I purposely didn't eat much for lunch. And even though we are not eating at Yi Ping Ju, you still have to pay that bill."

He has a small smile and quietly sits there looking at me, not saying he'll pay for it or not pay for it. After being apart for over a month, he appears the same as before, yet he appears to have changed as well. My heart feels this indescribable confusion. I subconsciously shrink back into my seat and press myself into the seat back.

When the carriage stops, he jumps off with an elegant flourish, turning around to assist me. I laugh and raise my chin, pushing his hand away. I push off the seat and with a kick on the roof, somersault out of the carriage. I turn in the air, my skirts swirling, and land with a flourish in front of him. I look at him with a pleased expression and he smiles back "You're so competitive, but that was very pretty."