The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 159
by Little PandaSitting on the Mountain to Watch the Tigers Fight
Regarding the matter of two women having a child, if one asked anyone else, they might not know, but asking Liu Wuxiang was a different story.
Lin Xizhao’s recent letter had been sent just a few days after Lin Jianhai’s burial. The letter reported her safety and current situation, but spent the most words talking about Zhao Jiayu’s daughter.
Qu Sheng had always known that Lin Xizhao liked children, but they were both women. They had defied worldly conventions to finally be together, yet they were unable to have children, so Qu Sheng began to ponder this matter.
As for Qu Yu and Zhao Jiayu, Qu Sheng had confirmed with Liu Wuxiang that they would not be able to have any more children. If Zhao Jiayu knew they couldn’t have another, she would likely be unwilling to give her child to them.
Because of this, Qu Sheng wanted to have a child of her own with Lin Xizhao, which was why she had asked such an abrupt question.
Qu Sheng looked at Liu Wuxiang, who was bent halfway in a squat, hovering over his seat. Her brows twitched as she asked, “Is there no way?”
Seeing the sincerity in Qu Sheng’s question and realizing she wasn’t joking, Liu Wuxiang slowly sat down. When Qu Sheng saw him settle into his seat, a look of confusion appeared on her face.
If Liu Wuxiang didn’t know how, he could simply say so. But what did it mean that he didn’t refuse outright?
Liu Wuxiang blinked, looked at Qu Sheng, and asked in return, “Have you ever heard of a woman having a child with another woman?”
Qu Sheng shook her head and answered directly, “Never.”
“Since you’ve never heard of it, isn’t the question you’re asking this old man pure fantasy1?”
Hearing his words, Qu Sheng showed no disappointment. She had only asked to try her luck. However, she knew Liu Wuxiang was a master of medicine; he had even managed to ensure Zhao Jiayu felt no pain during childbirth. Qu Sheng’s gaze rested on the desk for a few moments before she looked at Liu Wuxiang and asked, “Then could I trouble Doctor Liu to think of a method?”
Seeing that Qu Sheng’s expression remained entirely serious, Liu Wuxiang raised a hand to stroke his short beard. After a moment of silence, he said, “The union of yin and yang in this world is the Great Way. To go against this natural order will inevitably invite a backlash—”
“The ways of old were set by mortals. Since there are entities in this world capable of nurturing life, it must be possible for two women to unite and give birth. Doesn’t the Taiping Imperial Encyclopedia2 record instances of men having children without women, and women without men? Doctor Liu, you have read widely through medical texts and harbor grand ambitions; you must have researched such matters.” Qu Sheng spoke of what she knew, seemingly goading Liu Wuxiang on purpose.
Hearing this, Liu Wuxiang’s gaze toward Qu Sheng changed. He studied her and said, “You yourself know the book says ‘men without women, and women without men.’ You want two women to combine; how could this old man come up with a method for that?”
Qu Sheng’s lips curled into a slight smile. “It seems this Qu Sheng underestimated Doctor Liu just now. Let me first apologize to you.” She paused briefly before continuing, “I can be like them, as long as a child can be born. Since Doctor Liu knows how to nurture a child, then this Qu Sheng will rely on your intervention.” As she spoke, she clasped her hands in a respectful bow, her eyes fixed on Liu Wuxiang with a faint, knowing smile.
Whether the child was born to her or to Lin Xizhao, she would treat it as her own.
Hearing this, Liu Wuxiang immediately stood up, wanting to say it was impossible, but Qu Sheng spoke again. “If Doctor Liu can enable either me or my jiejie to bear a child, all the medicinal herbs within the borders of Tiansheng will be at your disposal. Whatever herb Doctor Liu requires, Qu Sheng will spare no effort to procure it for you.”
Tiansheng was vast and abundant in resources; compared to Haichao, it naturally possessed far more medicinal herbs, countless in number. The terms offered by Qu Sheng were an enormous temptation to Liu Wuxiang, a man who frequently had to halt his research due to a lack of medicinal ingredients.
Liu Wuxiang lowered his eyes in thought. Tiansheng was currently under the Qu family’s control. Even if the Qu family didn’t control Tiansheng, the abundant herbs in Shoulin alone were things he had sought but could never obtain. While treating Qu Yu’s body, he had asked the Qu family to prepare many elusive herbs for him, which had helped him develop quite a few new medicinal formulas.
However, there were some exceedingly precious herbs that Qu Yu didn’t need, so he hadn’t had the thick skin to ask for them.
“Could it be Doctor Liu has other requirements?” Qu Sheng’s brows twitched. “Does Doctor Liu also desire an official post?”
Liu Wuxiang pondered for a moment before looking up at Qu Sheng. “If spoken of, this matter is utterly bizarre. This old man has researched it in the past, but I was never successful. I dared not experiment on living people, and naturally, no one was willing to cooperate. If this old man were to administer the wrong medicine and cause you to lose your life, wouldn’t that be a terrible waste?”
Hearing this, Qu Sheng’s face slowly darkened. Losing a life just to have a child—neither she nor Lin Xizhao could accept such a risk.
Seeing Qu Sheng’s hesitation, Liu Wuxiang stroked his beard again and chuckled. “I think Sheng xiaojie should drop this matter.”
“Give me some time to think about it, Doctor Liu.” Qu Sheng didn’t state her decision immediately; she still needed to discuss this with Lin Xizhao.
“Heh.” Liu Wuxiang let out a laugh. “Then come find this old man once you’ve made up your mind.”
Liu Wuxiang turned and walked out. Qu Sheng watched his retreating back. She wanted to stop him, but knew she shouldn’t at this moment. She hadn’t made her decision yet.
After Liu Wuxiang left, Qu Sheng sat in the tent and read Lin Xizhao’s letter a few more times. She could tell how happily Lin Xizhao must have been smiling when describing little Zhimu, and she knew just how much she loved children.
Early the next morning, after Qu Sheng washed up, she went out to have the soldiers bring her food. She saw Kou Huan standing rigidly outside the door, and suddenly remembered Qian Shuangying’s earlier words.
“Is the General ready for breakfast?” Kou Huan asked hurriedly upon seeing Qu Sheng emerge.
Qu Sheng glanced at her and nodded. “En.”
“I’ll bring it in for you right away.” Kou Huan had already been waiting outside for a short while. During non-combat times, Qu Sheng’s routine was highly regimented, so Kou Huan only had to wait a little before catching her.
Qu Sheng lowered her eyes to the food box in Kou Huan’s hands, nodded again, and gave a soft ‘en’ to permit her to bring it inside.
Kou Huan entered the tent and methodically arranged the dishes on the table. Seeing Qu Sheng sit down, she prepared to leave.
“Wait a moment,” Qu Sheng called out, raising her head to look at Kou Huan.
Hearing Qu Sheng ask her to stay for the first time, Kou Huan greeted her with a bright smile. “Does the General have any other orders?”
Qu Sheng lowered her eyes for a moment. Unashamed to speak plainly, she said directly, “Although I like women, I already have someone I love. Whatever you do here is in vain. You are only wasting your time and your sincere feelings. I am not worth you doing this.”
“The General is not Kou Huan; how do you know whether it is worth it to Kou Huan or not?” Kou Huan seemed to have long guessed the relationship between Qu Sheng and Lin Xizhao. She wasn’t the least bit surprised that Qu Sheng admitted to liking women.
Even if the two were sisters, they shouldn’t have been so inseparable during a military campaign, sharing a bed and sleeping foot-to-foot. Although they never did anything improper in public while in the army, the looks they exchanged couldn’t deceive anyone.
“I am not you, but I know what should be done and what shouldn’t. When what you seek cannot be obtained, stepping away early is the best strategy.”
“When the General was doing the seeking, did Xizhao-jiejie agree without any hesitation?” Kou Huan asked in return.
Qu Sheng was taken aback by the question. When she had pursued Lin Xizhao, she had also faced unrequited longing, going through countless twists and turns before finally winning her over.
“Yes,” Qu Sheng lied without hesitation.
At the very least, their feelings for each other had been mutual.
Hearing this, Kou Huan lowered her eyes slightly and said, “Kou Huan understands what the General is saying. I won’t make things difficult for you. Since Kou Huan has followed the army here, I will naturally do my duty well. There is no need for the General to drive me away. Once the war is over, Kou Huan will definitely not appear before you again.”
“There is no need to wait until the war is over. My Third Sister-in-law is currently lacking people to take care of her. If you don’t mind, you can go to her tent, and the two of you can look after each other.” Qu Sheng pointed Kou Huan toward a new path.
Hearing this, Kou Huan didn’t seem too heartbroken. She looked at Qu Sheng, her lips pressing together, and after a moment, she smiled. “Alright. Once the General finishes this meal, Kou Huan will go to Assistant Commander Qian’s place.”
Qu Sheng watched Kou Huan’s unrestrained smile—one that belonged perfectly to a girl her age. Seeing that she was able to let go so quickly, Qu Sheng felt a sense of relief.
After Qu Sheng finished her meal, she personally escorted Kou Huan to Qian Shuangying’s tent.
Seeing the two of them arrive, Qian Shuangying immediately understood what was going on. After speaking with Qu Sheng for a while, she kept Kou Huan with her.
However, Qian Shuangying was involved in managing all of Qu Sheng’s daily necessities—food, clothing, housing, and transport. Before evening had even fallen, Kou Huan followed Qian Shuangying right back into Qu Sheng’s tent.
“It’s no matter. The young girl has a simple heart, and she has already come to terms with it,” Qian Shuangying said while Kou Huan was out fetching something.
Qian Shuangying seemed to have had a deep conversation with Kou Huan, learning that Kou Huan’s feelings for Qu Sheng were mostly rooted in admiration. Emotionally, she no longer seemed as obsessively attached.
A hint of skepticism lingered in Qu Sheng’s eyes, but since she had entrusted the girl to Qian Shuangying, she didn’t want to interfere further. She couldn’t afford to waste too much mental energy on such matters.
At present, it seemed that some prisoners of war had escaped from Hejiang County, but Qu Sheng did not order anyone to pursue them. In the rear-left sector, which severed communications between the cities, her ambushing troops had killed a significant number of the Six Kingdoms’ reinforcements.
Seeing that they could not breach the defenses after a prolonged siege, the Six Kingdoms began to amass their forces, seemingly preparing for a frontal assault.
Three days later, estimating that the time was right, Qu Sheng withdrew half of her troops. She created the illusion that her forces were shifting eastward, simultaneously spreading the word that she intended to reclaim the lost territories and cities one by one, starting from the east.
Once this news leaked, the blockade line was attacked the very next day. Qu Sheng ordered her soldiers not to drag out the fight. They rapidly withdrew their forces and fled toward the east.
Even as Tiansheng’s forces retreated, the Six Kingdoms continued their fierce assault, ultimately retaking Hejiang County, which Qu Sheng had previously reclaimed.
At this point, Qu Sheng withdrew her entire force eastward and genuinely began reclaiming lost territories.
After ten days of campaigning, Qu Sheng had recovered ten cities. Strangely, however, there were two cities in the middle that she did not attack. She even ordered her men to secretly leave provisions and fodder at the base of their walls.
Following this, the Six Kingdoms’ momentum in reinforcing their troops gradually weakened. Soon after, rifts seemed to appear within their alliance. The cities occupied by the Taoshan Kingdom came under attack, and before long, they were seized and carved up by the other five kingdoms.
During this time, Qu Sheng did not move a single soldier. Consequently, the Taoshan Kingdom mobilized its army and engaged in a massive brawl with the other five kingdoms…
Qu Sheng sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight3. Observing the results of her meticulously planned stratagem of sowing discord, she continued her march from east to west, reclaiming city after city.
By the time Qu Sheng had recovered half of the lost cities, the Six Kingdoms finally woke up to the fact that they had fallen for her trick. But the arrows had already been loosed; they could not be called back.
Before arriving at the frontier, Qu Sheng had already investigated the internal dynamics of the Six Kingdoms. The Taoshan Kingdom possessed the strongest military force, yet the number of cities it occupied independently was not large. To prevent the Taoshan Kingdom from dominating the division of Tiansheng’s territory, the other five kingdoms had agreed to mix their troops to garrison the cities.
This revealed to Qu Sheng that their alliance was unstable.
Qu Sheng first intentionally gave preferential treatment to the Taoshan prisoners of war. She claimed to do it secretly, but in reality, she deliberately let the prisoners from the other five kingdoms witness it. The escape of the prisoners from Hejiang County was also intentionally orchestrated by Qu Sheng.
Not all of the Taoshan prisoners were treated well; a portion of them faced punishments that were even more severe than those inflicted upon the other five kingdoms.
When these escaping prisoners reached the three isolated counties, their accounts of what had happened varied drastically.
With a continuous stream of escaping prisoners came a continuous stream of conflicting stories.
The prisoners from the five kingdoms accused the Taoshan Kingdom of secretly colluding with Tiansheng, while the Taoshan prisoners vehemently denied it. With every escape, the Taoshan Kingdom always had the fewest prisoners fleeing, making it impossible not to suspect they were putting on a show to cover up something.
Later, when the Six Kingdoms led their armies to retake the cities and rescue all the prisoners, the captives from the five kingdoms had all suffered varying degrees of severe beatings and abuse. Only the Taoshan prisoners were completely unharmed, further deepening the five kingdoms’ suspicions toward Taoshan.
Afterward, when Qu Sheng led her troops to reclaim the lost territories, she deliberately bypassed the cities occupied independently by the Taoshan Kingdom. When scouts reported that Tiansheng had delivered provisions and fodder to the troops stationed in the Taoshan-occupied cities, it solidified the five kingdoms’ suspicions, leaving the Taoshan Kingdom utterly unable to defend itself.
The five kingdoms turned violently against the Taoshan Kingdom, resulting in the carving up of its occupied cities. Suffering heavy military losses, the Taoshan Kingdom withdrew from the invasion designed to partition Tiansheng and led its army back home.
Seeing that the time was ripe, Qu Sheng immediately launched a western expedition, successfully recovering the vast majority of the lost cities.
By this time, deep winter had arrived.
The imperial court’s new winter clothing had already been delivered. Memorials regarding unresolved court matters also began making their way to the Northern Frontier. Looking over the petitions that required executive decisions, Qu Sheng stayed up late into the night reviewing and grading them, then ordered them to be expedited back to the Capital City.
The land measurement and redistribution policy carried out by Lin Xikuan and Zhai Zhong had only reached its third wave before encountering immense resistance—not least of which came from opposing feudal lords.
Qu Sheng knew that the driving force behind the feudal lords’ opposition was undoubtedly the elite noble clans and local tycoons across the country. These powerful families had pressured the lords into submitting memorials demanding the policy be halted.
But Qu Sheng’s resolve was set. She wrote back to Qu Jixian, who was holding down the fort in the Capital City, ordering him to ensure the matter was carried out steadily, ruthlessly, accurately, and swiftly.
Having finished her letter to Qu Jixian, Qu Sheng began drafting one to Lin Xizhao. Lin Xizhao had asked to come to the frontier multiple times, but Qu Sheng had refused to allow it. This place was nothing like the Capital City; if someone stood outside for a single night, they would undoubtedly be frozen to death by the next day.
Even though she had a brazier in her tent at night, she was still frequently jolted awake by the cold. This was simply no place for people who had lived their lives in a greenhouse.
If even she still needed to adapt, Lin Xizhao’s delicate body could never withstand it. If she froze and fell ill, Qu Sheng would be the one whose heart ached. Since Liu Wuxiang was not in the capital, Qu Sheng had used the excuse of putting her in charge of overseeing Qu Yu’s illness to convince Lin Xizhao not to come.
Lin Xizhao had already moved back from the Lin Residence to the Qu Residence. She visited Zhao Jiayu every day—first to play with the child, and second to keep a close eye on Qu Yu’s condition.
After finishing her replies, Qu Sheng blew the ink dry, folded the letters neatly, slid them into envelopes, and ordered them to be sent to the Capital City.
Draped in a thick heavy cloak, Qu Sheng returned to her inner tent. After a simple wash, she went straight to bed. Although the night was not yet deep, the recent state of the war was unpredictable. She would absolutely not waste any opportunity to sleep.
Qu Sheng took off her cloak and lay down fully clothed. It felt as if she hadn’t even slept for several hours before the horn of an enemy attack blared outside.
Qu Sheng rapidly donned her armor, grabbed her sword, and rushed out of the tent.
The five kingdoms had launched an offensive, their massive army encircling her vanguard camp. Not long after, scout troops arrived with an urgent report: the five kingdoms’ main forces were charging straight toward the position held by Qu Jinian and Qu Jiqin.
Furthermore, the Chemu Tribe had sent a messenger to deliver the light sword that Qu Ting had wielded on the battlefield.
The author has something to say:
Qu Sheng: “I don’t care, I just want a child with my wife.”
Liu Wuxiang: “Here, take the sword and kill me. I’ll reincarnate and become your child.”
Lin Xizhao: “…”
Jiang Huaiyuan: “No! This is getting out of hand.”
Footnotes
- The idiom tiānfāng-yètán literally translates to the 'Arabian Nights' (Tales of the Heavenly Square), but is widely used in Chinese to describe a pure fantasy, an impossible tale, or an absurdly exaggerated story.
- The Taiping Imperial Encyclopedia (Tàipíng Yùlǎn) is a massive real-world Chinese encyclopedia compiled during the Song dynasty. It contains excerpts from thousands of earlier texts, including historical anomalies, myths, and legends.
- An idiom (zuò shān guān hǔ dòu) meaning to wait for two opponents to fight and exhaust each other before making a move, much like sitting on a mountaintop to watch two tigers battle below.
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