Qiao Chu

By the end of last year, Chu Zhao could walk three laps around the entire village every night.

When the first month of this year came, Chu Zhao was already able to trot gently on horseback outside the village.

By the start of spring, in the training ground specially designated for children to practice martial arts outside the village, Chu Zhao's archery skills had suddenly become the best among the little ones.

Now she was no longer satisfied with competing with a group of children in the training ground and began riding her horse outside to showcase her skills.

Zhong Changrong watched as the girl, dressed in plain clothes and wrapped in a scarf, rode a red horse, carrying a bow and arrows, galloping toward him.

Despite the scarf, the spring wind had still reddened her face.

"Be careful," Zhong Changrong couldn't help but say, signaling her to dismount quickly.

Chu Zhao nimbly jumped off the horse, startling Zhong Changrong once again.

"Are you really all right now?" he said, then complained, "Mu Mianhong doesn't even bother to look after you, and yet you call her mother."

Chu Zhao laughed. "I'm really fine." She winked at Zhong Changrong and added, "I went decades without a mother, and my father and Uncle Zhong still took good care of me, didn't they?"

Zhong Changrong grunted with satisfaction, then looked at the bow and arrows in her hands and asked, "Has your strength returned?"

Chu Zhao replied, "Still a bit lacking."

Zhong Changrong said, "I can tell. Otherwise, we'd be having roast lamb tonight." With that, he turned to look at the flock again and called out, "Number Twenty-Seven." A little lamb indeed came trotting over.

He said with a hint of pity, "Its leg is a bit lame."

Chu Zhao was both amused and exasperated. "Then this Number Twenty-Seven of yours isn't much good—it goes lame at the slightest scare. How can it charge into battle?"

"That's where you're mistaken," Zhong Changrong retorted, glaring. "Sheep charging into battle is different from humans. Our Number Twenty-Seven is a sentinel. At a single command, it leads the way and covers the rear with great skill. With it around, I don't even need to direct the flock—they can manage themselves."

Chu Zhao laughed so hard she clutched her stomach.

Zhong Changrong even demonstrated it specially for her.

After watching Zhong Changrong train the sheep and riding alongside the flock for half a day, Chu Zhao was urged by him to return.

"Take good care of your health," he repeatedly reminded her. "Horseback riding and archery can wait. Now that we're in a place with no one to govern us, living freely and happily is more important than anything else."

Chu Zhao repeatedly agreed and also reminded Zhong Changrong not to drink too much before urging her horse back to the village.

Since recovering her health, Xiao Man no longer lived with her, and she didn't cook either. Returning to her dwelling, she let the little red horse find its own food and drink, then went straight into Deng Yi's courtyard.

"A Cai," she called.

The servant immediately poked his head out from the kitchen. "A Fu is back. The meal will be ready soon."

"What's for dinner today?" Chu Zhao asked eagerly.

"Roast chicken!" the servant said excitedly. "And I even managed to buy dried lotus leaves from the market."

Chu Zhao repeatedly praised it.

The servant gestured to her. "Go on inside and wait."

Chu Zhao entered the room. The main hall of Deng Yi's house was much brighter than hers. A blind old woman sat by the window, feeling her way as she knitted socks.

"A Fu is here," she said, tilting her ear and smiling.

Chu Zhao hummed in agreement and sat down beside her, loudly praising, "A Po, the socks you make are so beautiful."

"Whether they're beautiful or not doesn't matter. A Er and his older brother both have big feet, so the socks never stay on properly," Deng's mother said. Then, as if remembering something, she called out, "A Er, A Er."

This time, without the servant having to reply from the kitchen, Chu Zhao said, "A Er is still in class."Deng Yi's mother made an understanding sound, as if recalling something, then began chattering: "A Er studies diligently and eats a lot. A Da always gives his own meal to him, lying that he's already eaten at home." Then she called out, "A Er, remember to repair your father and brother's graves."

Chu Zhao didn't mind the old woman's confused words, nodding along: "I remember, he mentioned it."

Amid Deng mother's repeated phrases, a servant brought in the meal. Shortly after, Deng Yi also entered.

"My tutoring fees alone can't afford meat every day," Deng Yi frowned.

The servant looked displeased: "We only had meat three days ago! Besides, this chicken wasn't bought - it was given by Little Grasshopper's mother. Grasshopper learned to write his name, so she came to thank you."

Deng Yi glanced at him: "You accept gifts from anyone."

"This isn't a gift," the servant corrected. "This is human connection."

While master and servant argued, Deng Yi noticed from the corner of his eye Chu Zhao tearing off a chicken leg—

"A Fu," he said, "your mother lives in the village and manages the household. She doesn't lack for meat."

Chu Zhao grinned and took a big bite from the chicken leg. "I'm grown up now - can't keep clinging to my mother's skirts." Saying this, she tore off the other chicken leg, placed it in a bowl, then guided Deng mother's hands to hold it. "Grandma, chicken leg, eat."

Deng mother said "good, good," holding the bowl with one hand and chopsticks with the other as she began eating.

Chu Zhao picked up her own bowl: "I'm finished eating, leaving now." Despite her words, she added another scoop of lotus leaf rice to her bowl. Passing through the hall, she picked up an inkstone.

"Borrowing this!"

These actions happened in an instant. By the time her words faded, she had already vanished from the room.

Deng Yi frowned toward the doorway and shook his head.

"A Er, your father and brother—"

"I remember, I'll go repair them right away."

Stepping through her doorway, the sounds of Deng Yi's household chatter faded away. Chu Zhao entered the study area, leisurely finished her rice and meat, then took out the inkstone and began grinding ink.

A large sheet of paper was spread across the desk.

Chu Zhao surveyed it, occasionally picking up her brush to make marks. She was so focused that she only noticed Deng Yi when he spoke.

"What are you doing?"

Chu Zhao looked up to see Deng Yi standing in the hall. "Nothing much, just drawing."

Drawing is drawing - why add "just"? Did she not know what she was doing herself?

Deng Yi stepped inside and saw the diagram on the desk - a vast landscape with lines like arrows shooting through, stirring up waves.

"Your Majesty is drawing military deployment maps," he said.

In Qingmu Village, there was only Miss A Fu, never any "Your Majesty."

Whether Deng Yi used this address intentionally or it slipped out unconsciously remained unclear.

Chu Zhao didn't mind, neither confirming nor denying. Instead she asked: "What do you think? Looks spirited, doesn't it?"

Deng Yi said: "What does being spirited accomplish?"

"If the drawing is spirited, that's accomplishment enough," Chu Zhao said, studying the diagram before looking up with a smile. "When I become spirited myself, it won't just be a drawing anymore."

......

......

"What did you say you want to do?"

Zhong Changrong and Mu Mianhong had been summoned. Looking at the diagram on the desk, then hearing Chu Zhao's words, their expressions showed surprise.

Chu Zhao said: "I want to punish traitors and evil-doers, cleanse the imperial court of corrupt influences. I want to declare to the world that Empress Chu is innocent."

Zhong Changrong and Mu Mianhong looked at her, their expressions shocked, but even more complex."A Zhao, speaking of this matter, it's truly infuriating," Zhong Changrong said with a resentful expression. "That Xie family, and that Little Emperor, have indeed gone too far. It's only right that you can't swallow this anger."

Chu Zhao replied, "It's not about swallowing anger, nor is it about fairness. I never expected the Xie family or His Majesty to treat our Chu family differently. This matter is simple—it was a game, and at that time, I truly lost."

As she spoke, she smiled faintly.

"But I'm not discouraged by defeat, and since I didn't die, I'll try again."

Xiao Man, standing behind Mu Mianhong, couldn't help but interject, "Didn't you not want to be Empress? Wasn't that why Xie Yanfang went mad back then? Now you don't have to be Empress anymore—isn't this the life you wanted? Why go back to kill your way in?"

If you knew it would come to this, why did you do it in the first place?

Although Zhong Changrong disliked Xiao Man's attitude, this time he didn't scold her. Instead, he hesitated and said, "Uncle Zhong isn't afraid of battle—you know Uncle Zhong fears nothing. But, A Zhao, are you worried the court will still threaten us? There's really no need for that. A Jiu—well, that boy A Jiu, if he wants to do something, he can do it well. With him here, we can rest easy."

Chu Zhao looked at Xiao Man and said, "Back then, I fell out with Xie Yanfang because of becoming Empress, but it wasn't just that. Today, I'm going back to kill my way in for the sake of becoming Empress, but it's not just that either."

Xiao Man felt a headache coming on.

Chu Zhao then turned to Zhong Changrong. "I know it's A Jiu sitting in the Imperial City, holding off the endless pursuit for us. Of course, I also believe A Jiu can protect us. But in this lifetime, I still want to protect myself."

Zhong Changrong thought, "This lifetime? Then what about that lifetime?" He, too, felt a slight headache.

"I want to be Empress because I can become Empress on my own—not relying on anyone's support, much less anyone's favor. If I don't become Empress, it's because I've settled the world and secured my own retreat, not because someone else arranged it for me," Chu Zhao continued. "I don't want others to do things for me, or rather, I don't believe others can do them for me. In this lifetime, what I want, I must do with my own hands."

"Originally, I, Chu Zhao, should have died here, and that would have been the end of it."

"But this time, I was fortunate to meet A Jiu. Xiao Man, Mother, and you, Uncle Zhong, are also here. I didn't die—I'm alive, and I still have the ability."

"So I, Chu Zhao, cannot stop here. This matter cannot end like this. Otherwise, I would have lived this life in vain."

Xiao Man rubbed her temples, pursed her lips, turned away, and said nothing more.

Zhong Changrong was stunned for a moment, then laughed and nodded. "You're right—we can't live this life in vain. This matter can't just be left like this!"

Chu Zhao then looked at Mu Mianhong, who had remained silent the entire time, smiling gently from the sidelines.

"Mother," she asked, "do you have anything to say?"

Mu Mianhong smiled and shook her head. "Of course not. Does my child need to explain or justify what she wants to do to her mother?"

Zhong Changrong and Xiao Man both snorted in unison.

Chu Zhao was amused and nodded. "Mother is right—no need to ask. If I raise my blade, Mother will kill. It's only natural."

Mu Mianhong smiled and said, "Then I'll go sharpen my blade." With that, she called to Xiao Man, and without another word, the two turned and left.

Zhong Changrong thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll go scatter my sheep."Chu Zhao was amused once again as she watched Zhong Changrong stride away.

She gazed at the night outside, never imagining when she first returned to life that she would ultimately be the one to raise the banner of rebellion, declaring the removal of treacherous ministers to purify the imperial court.

This time, the treacherous ministers being denounced were the Xie family, while she, the Empress, had become a rebel.

A cough from behind interrupted Chu Zhao's reverie.

"Zhu Er." She turned to see Deng Yi still in the room. He hadn't left earlier, nor had he spoken, merely sitting at the desk. "Aren't you going to get busy?"

Deng Yi replied, "What should I be busy with?"

Chu Zhao raised an eyebrow. "Naturally, leading your students in drafting the proclamation of denunciation."