Legend Management Bureau Chapter 30

[ … words ]

“Marry… King Xuan of Qi?” Zhongli Chun bit her lip.

“What nonsense are you sprouting?!” Xia Yingchun was dumbfounded. “You mean to say that my lady has to wait until she’s forty to marry, and on top of that, marry the king to become the queen?”

Xia Yingchun hurriedly turned back to Zhongli Chun. “My lady, don’t listen to his drivel! Something like that is absolutely impossible!”

“Xia, I believe him.” Zhongli Chun looked at Xia Yingchun, reiterating her stance before turning back to Du Yu. “Even though doing this will be painful, if it’s what you ask of me, I am willing.”

“My lady!” Xia Yingchun was frantic with anxiety. “You can’t agree to this! For a woman to remain unmarried until forty—isn’t that throwing away your youth?”

“Without him, let alone my youth, it’s uncertain if I would even be alive right now,” Zhongli Chun declared with absolute conviction. “Xia, you once said your life belongs to me. Well, my life belongs to him.”

There was such raw sincerity in Zhongli Chun’s tone that Du Yu could barely bear to listen. Yet, he still had a mission to complete and forced himself to continue. “Little Zhongli, marrying King Xuan is only the first step. You will also need to assist him in repelling foreign enemies and stabilizing internal affairs. Quelling all the unrest in the State of Qi—that is your life’s mission.”

“Alright, I understand.” Zhongli Chun sought one final confirmation from Du Yu. “If I do this, I’ll be able to cross that river and see you again, right?”

“Yes.”

Zhongli Chun offered a soft smile. “I know. I’ve known from the very beginning that you have your secrets. When you’re ready to tell me, I’ll listen closely.”

Du Yu returned the smile, though his was steeped in bitterness.

This descent only allowed for a three-day stay, and today was the final day. Xia Yingchun went to the kitchen and prepared a few dishes, allowing Du Yu and Zhongli Chun to finally sit down for a proper meal together. However, the atmosphere at the dinner table was peculiar. Du Yu was completely preoccupied, and Zhongli Chun didn’t seem happy either.

‘Is what I’m doing really the right thing?’ Du Yu’s heart was a tangled mess of conflicting emotions. ‘Should I have let someone else rescue Zhongli Chun back then?’

As night fell, Du Yu took the initiative to bid farewell to Zhongli Chun and Xia Yingchun.

The last time Du Yu left was also at night. Zhongli Chun knew this time would be exactly the same. Watching his retreating figure, she wondered how many decades she would have to wait before they met again. It felt as if a physical piece of her body was being ripped away, the pain so intense it left her gasping for breath.

Upon returning to the Legend Management Bureau, Du Yu remained silent for a long time.

Dong Qianqiu knew he must be hurting, so she didn’t disturb him.

“Sister Qianqiu… how much time do I have?”

“You can rest a bit longer this time. About half an hour.”

Du Yu nodded. “Can you take me to see Zhongli Chun?”

Dong Qianqiu lowered her head and pursed her lips. “Du Yu… you must remember your position. If you let your emotions get the better of you…”

“I know. I just want to see her.”

Feeling helpless, Dong Qianqiu had no choice but to lead Du Yu to her office. Zhongli Chun was sitting quietly inside, cradling the outer robe Du Yu had given her previously.

“Ah? Are you done with your work?” Zhongli Chun stood up immediately upon seeing him, a touch of joy coloring her features.

“Sister Qianqiu… could you step out for a moment? I want to talk to her…”

Dong Qianqiu nodded silently and closed the door behind her as she left.

Du Yu looked at Zhongli Chun. It took him a long time to finally utter a single phrase:

“Little Zhongli…”

The moment she heard those words, tears welled up in Zhongli Chun’s eyes. Her brows furrowed, and she broke down into agonizing sobs.

“I thought… I would never hear you call me that again…” Zhongli Chun cried until she was breathless. She squatted down right where she stood, wrapping her arms around herself. “I thought you had forgotten everything that happened between us… I’m willing to wait two thousand years, even ten thousand years! But I was so terrified. I was terrified when you called me ‘Miss Zhongli.’ I was so afraid you had forgotten me…”

Du Yu hurried forward to support her, letting her lean against him.

“Little Zhongli… I won’t ever call you ‘Miss Zhongli’ again. I remember everything now,” Du Yu said through gritted teeth.

“That’s wonderful…” Zhongli Chun wept loudly, as if releasing two thousand years’ worth of pent-up grievances.

After a long while, Du Yu spoke up again. “Little Zhongli, I came here this time 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 shred of regret?”

“I have never regretted it,” Zhongli Chun replied without a moment’s hesitation, enunciating every word clearly. Each syllable felt like a gentle breeze blowing straight into Du Yu’s heart.

She had never regretted it. Even after wandering completely alone through this dim underworld for two millennia, she harbored no regrets.

The heavy burden in Du Yu’s chest finally seemed to lighten, but seeing Zhongli Chun’s tear-stained face still filled him with sorrow.

“Little Zhongli, I’m going to wrap up my work soon. Once I’m done, I’ll accompany you anywhere you want to go and do anything you want to do. I will make up for everything I owe you,” Du Yu told her with utmost sincerity.

Zhongli Chun nodded vigorously, feeling as if this entire lifetime had finally been worth it.

Du Yu gathered his emotions and returned to the main hall.

“Sister Qianqiu, how is the legend progressing?”

“There are a few key points in time I need to show you.” Dong Qianqiu didn’t ask a single question about Zhongli Chun. Instead, she kept her eyes glued to the screen and brought up several visual feeds.

Zhongli Chun was sitting in her boudoir while Xia Yingchun combed her hair.

“My lady… we just sent away the people from the Qin, Zhu, and Lu families yesterday, and today the matchmakers from the Ouyang, Sun, and Yan families have come knocking…” Xia Yingchun reported.

Zhongli Chun pondered this for a moment. “Xia, I don’t understand. I haven’t stepped foot out of this room since I returned home. None of these young masters have even seen me, so why do they want to marry me?”

“My lady…” Xia Yingchun said gently as she brushed Zhongli Chun’s hair. “Sometimes, marriage isn’t about two people liking each other. They don’t even need to have met. You are the daughter of a scholar-official and a disciple of Mr. Guigu. With those prestigious titles attached to your name, all sorts of royalty and nobility will be clamoring to marry you. Lord Pang Juan and Lord Sun Bin have already made names for themselves. As their fellow disciple under Mr. Guigu, you are renowned far and wide even if you do nothing at all.”

“Then…” Zhongli Chun stared blankly for a moment. “Is there any way to make men completely lose the desire to marry me?”

“It’s impossible.” Xia Yingchun shook her head. “With your beauty, my lady, even if you weren’t the daughter of an official or Mr. Guigu’s disciple, there would still be countless men desperate to marry you.”

Hearing this, Zhongli Chun raised an eyebrow, murmuring to herself, “Beauty…?”

Xia Yingchun nodded. “Yes, my lady. Your beauty far surpasses mine. If you were to show your face in the streets, I’m afraid there would be even more matchmakers than there are now.”

“Perfect…” Zhongli Chun thought for a moment before turning to Xia Yingchun. “Xia, I need you to spread a rumor for me. Tell everyone that I am hideously ugly.”

“Huh?!” Startled, Xia Yingchun dropped the comb onto the floor. “My lady… why on earth would you do that?”

“Because the only man I can marry is King Xuan of Qi,” Zhongli Chun replied with utter seriousness.

“You…” Xia Yingchun didn’t know how to dissuade her, only realizing that her lady was fixated on this one goal. “My lady, forgive me, but I cannot obey… Such a rumor will completely ruin you…”

“I don’t care.” Zhongli Chun shook her head. “Xia, I’m not asking you to obey me as a servant. I’ve never treated you like one. You are the only sister I have in this world. I’m just begging you for a favor, and I hope you’ll agree.”

“But… but…” Xia Yingchun shook her head again. “I can’t… I could never say such a thing. You are truly beautiful, my lady. I wouldn’t even know how to describe you as an ugly woman.”

“It’s simple. I’ll write it down for you, and you just recite what it says.”

Zhongli Chun picked up a brush, quickly scribbled down a few lines, and handed the bamboo slip to Xia Yingchun.

Xia Yingchun took it and her jaw practically dropped to the floor. “Heavens, my lady! What you’ve written here… this doesn’t even sound human… I really…”

“Xia, please help me,” Zhongli Chun repeated earnestly.

A month later, rumors ran rampant through the streets.

People claimed that the woman of Wuyan, Zhongli, had a sunken forehead like a hollowed-out basin and deep-set eyes that looked like two pitch-black craters. They said her skin was as dark as charred coal, and that she not only had a pig-like upturned nose with flared nostrils but also an Adam’s apple larger than a man’s. Others gossiped that the Wuyan woman had a massive, bulging belly as if she were heavily pregnant, a gigantic, fat head, and balding hair.

Pedestrians strolling through the market frequently chatted about it with great amusement.

“Have you heard what that Wuyan woman from the Zhongli family looks like?”

“Zhongli of Wuyan? More like Zhongli the Unglamorous!”

“Hahaha! Good one! The Unglamorous Zhongli!”

Seeing this, Du Yu accepted the document Dong Qianqiu handed to him. Imprinted on it was an excerpt recorded by Liu Xiang in the Biographies of Exemplary Women: “Zhongli Chun, a woman from the Wuyan region of Qi, and the legal queen of King Xuan. Her appearance was unparalleled in its ugliness: she had a mortar-like head and sunken eyes, large joints and a sturdy frame, an upturned nose and a swollen throat, a thick neck and sparse hair, a hunched back and a protruding chest, and skin as dark as lacquer.”

“Sigh…” Du Yu let out a long breath. “Why put yourself through all this…”

“There’s one more thing you need to see.” Dong Qianqiu pressed a few more keys, and another scene popped up on the screen.

As it turned out, after the rumors of Zhongli Chun’s unparalleled ugliness began to spread, the most anxious person of all was her adoptive father. He had originally thought he could use this “daughter” who fell from the sky to climb the social ladder and connect with royalty and nobles. He never expected someone to spread rumors throughout the entire city that she was a hideous monster.

Her adoptive father had lusted after Zhongli Chun’s beauty more than once, so he naturally had absolute confidence in her appearance. To shatter the rumors, he furiously invited numerous aristocratic young masters to their estate, vowing to let them gaze upon his breathtakingly beautiful adoptive daughter with their own eyes.

The many wealthy young masters sat in two rows in the main hall, yet Zhongli Chun was nowhere to be seen. Inevitably, they began to murmur among themselves.

“Is this all just a scam?”

“Probably. We’ve been waiting for two hours already.”

“Didn’t he say she was a peerless beauty? Does a peerless beauty need to be afraid of showing her face?”

The crowd chattered back and forth, throwing out complaints one after another.

Zhongli Chun’s adoptive father kept staring out the door, burning with anxiety. He had sent someone to fetch her ages ago, so why hadn’t she appeared yet?

Before long, a refreshing and intoxicating fragrance wafted in from outside, prompting all the young masters to turn their gazes toward the entrance.

A stunningly beautiful young woman glided through the doorway with light, graceful steps. She swept her bright, enchanting eyes over the crowd, offered a gentle smile, and gave a slight bow to the men in the room.

“Ah?! Lady Zhongli?!”

The crowd gasped in awe. This woman was indeed breathtakingly gorgeous, possessing an otherworldly beauty!

The young woman slowly raised a hand, silencing the noisy crowd, and softly said, “Please do not misunderstand, my lords. I am merely my lady’s personal maid.”

Before anyone could react, the maid stepped aside, revealing the person standing behind her.

The young masters followed her movement, only to see an exceptionally tall and imposing figure. A black veil covered her face, making it entirely impossible to see her features.

“You…” The scholar-official abruptly shot to his feet. “Zhongli Chun! What is the meaning of this?! Take off that black veil at once and let these young masters look upon your face!”

“You want to look upon my face? And what right do you have?”

Zhongli Chun channeled her internal energy and swung her arm downward in a vicious strike against the floor. A massive fissure ruptured across the ground of the main hall. All the young masters seated inside were thrown off balance, tumbling in every direction with expressions of absolute terror, as though they had just been ambushed by ruthless bandits.

Standing closest to her, Xia Yingchun nearly lost her footing, but Zhongli Chun discreetly caught her arm to steady her.

“Do you frail, weak-kneed weaklings really think you’re worthy of marrying me, Zhongli Chun?”

“She’s a monster!”

“T-this woman has the strength of an ox and the manners of a brute!”

The aristocratic youths clamored in panic, their voices trembling with fear.

“Listen closely. If I, Zhongli Chun, am to marry, I will only marry a prince, a general, or a king. Do not come here to harass me again!” Zhongli Chun declared coldly.

“We’re never coming back!”

…

Du Yu stared at the screen for a moment before turning back to Dong Qianqiu. “Sister Qianqiu, what year will my next descent be?”

Dong Qianqiu looked slightly troubled. “You only have one descent left. There are currently two points in time available, and you need to make a choice.”

“I actually get to choose?”

“That’s right.” Dong Qianqiu nodded. “The first point is the year Zhongli Chun turns forty; you would descend to ensure she successfully marries King Xuan of Qi. The second point is her second year as queen, when the States of Qin and Zhao attack Qi simultaneously. In that battle, there is a probability that Zhongli Chun will die in combat.”

“Wait… Zhongli Chun dies in combat?” Du Yu was utterly bewildered. “That can’t be right, Sister Qianqiu. If this battle is recorded in history, it means Zhongli Chun experiences it in every iteration of the legend. She shouldn’t be dying in it…”

“Yes, she experiences this battle in every legend. The problem is that in all previous legends, Zhongli Chun marched to war alongside her father, with each of them leading an army against the enemy forces. But in this iteration, her father died early. In the end, she will have to lead the troops all by herself against the invasion of two nations. Our colleagues in the technical department analyzed the probabilities. There is a sixty percent chance that Zhongli Chun will be killed in action.”

“Sixty percent…” Du Yu shook his head. “That’s way too high…”

“So what do you think? Which point in time are you going to choose for your descent?”

Du Yu pondered the matter seriously. Both of these moments in time were undoubtedly critical.

If Zhongli Chun failed to marry King Xuan at forty, or if King Xuan simply refused to take her as his wife, then everything would have been for nothing. Yet, that sixty percent chance of death…

Du Yu sank into deep thought.