Chapter 122: Madam Dou

Chai Shao had been injured on the very first day the troop set out, and now he felt perfectly justified in occupying the bed that should have belonged to Yun Hao. Just like Li Er before him, he lay prone on the couch, though now a charcoal brazier sat before him. A leg of lamb was roasting over it, with large drops of grease falling onto the coals, occasionally sparking orange flames and thin wisps of smoke. Chai Shao held a knife in one hand and the lamb leg in the other, eating each layer as it roasted. The tender mutton, dipped in a bit of the yellow bean paste specially prepared by the Yun household, was an unparalleled delicacy.

"I say," Yun Hao remarked, feeling helpless against Chai Shao's shamelessness. "It was just a puncture wound on your backside from a spike. Is all this really necessary?" The other day, when Li Er had complained to him about the ferocity of the Turkic cavalry, Yun Hao had recalled the caltrops invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period. He had ordered a sample to be cast, but had forgotten to give them to Li Er. Chai Shao, being unlucky, had sat right on top of one.

"It is, absolutely necessary. I am a patient now and require care. You must bear the consequences of your mistakes; those are your own words." Chai Shao was indignant about the extra hole in his backside, a frustration he channeled into his appetite. In just two days, he had already devoured an entire fat sheep.

Yun Hao did not particularly care about the consumption of lamb; most people in the north were pastoralists, and sheep were not hard to come by. Even if the dozen or so live sheep they had brought were eaten, he could just have the men go to the manor and buy a few more.

"Brother Hao, look over there by the entrance...!" Chai Shao’s eyes were fixed intently on the doorway, as if startled by something.

Yun Hao turned his head in confusion. Logically, there should only be Chai Shao and Xin'er in the carriage; anyone else entering would have to announce themselves at the door. What had Chai Shao seen? Could there be a supernatural event?

Just as he turned, he felt a sharp tug at his waist. He instinctively reached out to grab, but failed. He turned back to glare at Chai Shao—the rascal had pulled a feint. When would he ever change his honest nature? How could he always be deceived by this guy?

Chai Shao had long noticed the cloth bag at Yun Hao’s waist, which the lad guarded like a treasure. He had even caught Yun Hao sneaking morsels from it when he wasn't looking. None of that mattered, though; the most important thing was the faint, lingering aroma that wafted from the bag. Anything Yun Hao liked to eat was bound to be good. This had become a consensus throughout the Duke of Tang’s residence, and Chai Shao had been eyeing the bag for a long time. Today, he finally got his chance and snatched it away.

Inside the bag were black, shriveled strips that emitted an alluring scent. The flavor was rich and distinct; it felt vaguely familiar, though he couldn't quite place where he had eaten it before. Chai Shao didn't hesitate to shove a piece into his mouth—anything snatched from the jaws of a wolf cub was best eaten immediately. Even if the cub howled, he wouldn't spit it out once it was in his mouth.

Upon the first bite, Chai Shao’s eyes lit up. He grabbed a handful, intending to shove it into his mouth, but then his eyes darted around, and he put the food back, spitting into the bag a few times.

Sure enough, Yun Hao charged over, claws out. He struggled to tear the bag back but failed, so he landed a fierce slap on Chai Shao’s rear. Chai Shao let out a cry of pain, but it was too late. Although Yun Hao reclaimed the bag, it was already covered in Chai Shao’s saliva.

"Pah! Pah! Pah!" Yun Hao was deeply unwilling and spat into the bag several times himself.

Chai Shao smiled faintly; everyone knew Yun Hao was a germaphobe. Under no circumstances would Yun Hao eat another person's saliva, but this rule did not apply to Chai Shao. Smiling, he took the bag back from Yun Hao, picked out a piece, wiped it on his sleeve, and popped it into his mouth to chew slowly.

"Not bad, kid. You actually have beef to eat." Chai Shao was shocked by Yun Hao’s boldness. Everyone knew that killing a draft ox was a grave crime. The authorities might not care if you killed a person, but if you slaughtered an ox, you would definitely be in huge trouble. In the Great Sui Dynasty, oxen were the only key protected animals, with a status comparable to that of the giant panda in later ages.

"Didn't you eat it too!" Yun Hao rolled his eyes, regretting that he didn't have a thick glob of phlegm in his throat to spit out.

"Where did it come from? The government keeps records of every draft ox on the manors; don't let them get anything on you. If Gao Junya and Wang Wei use this to pin you down, even the Duke’s residence will find it hard to speak up for you. After all, you don't hold an official position yet." Chai Shao set aside his playful demeanor, fearing that Yun Hao had invited a disaster out of youthful gluttony.

If anything happened to Yun Hao, the Duke’s residence would help regardless, but Chai Shao understood that the Li family needed to lie low now. They absolutely must not jump out and provoke the two hounds the Sage had leashed in Jinyang.

"Don't worry, it's not a registered draft ox."

"Then where did it come from?" Chai Shao was even more puzzled.

"From the Turks! Remember A Huinan, the one who tried to steal a bride? He was the one trafficking cattle and horses to sell in Jinyang. He was beaten to death by Xuanba, and the horses were taken by the Duke’s residence. I was slow, so I only managed to snag a few cows. You know, cattle from the grasslands aren't used for plowing. I picked out the strong ones to pull the carts, and the remaining two were slaughtered and made into jerky. That’s what you’re eating!"

"Ouch! You sneak attack...!"

Yun Hao jumped up and attacked Chai Shao’s backside again. Chai Shao did not yield, pinning Yun Hao down and tickling his armpits. Xin'er watched the young man bullying her master and didn't know whether to help or not, standing to the side with her hands on her hips, completely at a loss.

Beef jerky was something Yun Hao would have given Chai Shao anyway, even without such underhanded tactics. The "stealing" was just a joke; he simply hadn't expected Chai Shao’s nose to be so sharp and his hands so fast.

After a bout of playful squabbling, both were exhausted. Yun Hao leaned against the bed, while Chai Shao lay on it, catching his breath.

"What is the actual relationship between that Princess and our Madame? They are so close. Does that mean the Prince of Beiping and the Duke are also close friends?" Yun Hao asked curiously. He had to figure this out; Luo Yi, the Prince of Beiping, was a warlord holding regional military power. The land of Yan and Zhao had always been known for its heroic and generous souls, and the saying "all the world's elite soldiers come from Zhao" meant no one dared underestimate this Prince of Beiping.

The Yun family was currently just a small pendant on the leg of the Duke of Tang’s residence; their glory and wealth were tied to the Li family. To live well in this chaotic world, he couldn't let Li Yuan make any wrong moves.

"Speaking of our Madame, she is a true heroine. You don't know this, but her ancestors were powerful figures dating back to the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties. Her father, Dou Yi, served as the Governor of Dingzhou in the Sui Dynasty and was enfeoffed as the Duke of Shenwu. Her mother was the Princess of Xiangyang, the sister of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou. It is said that when she was born, her hair hung past her neck, and by age three, it was as long as her body. She was deeply cherished by her uncle, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, and was thus raised in the imperial palace." Chai Shao looked left and right, then lowered his voice as if he were a thief. "When the Sage was about to usurp the throne, the Madame once threw herself onto the bed, saying, 'I hate that I am not a man; otherwise, I could save my uncle’s clan from danger.' The Princess of Xiangyang was terrified and covered her mouth, saying, 'Do not speak such nonsense, or you will destroy our entire clan!'"

"Really? I couldn't tell!" Yun Hao was astonished. He hadn't expected Lady Dou to be such a resolute woman. It seemed Chai Shao truly treated him as a friend to share such a secret.

"There's even more intense stuff," Chai Shao added, looking like a sly fox.

"There's more...!"