The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

“What kind of place is Ningguta? It’s a barren place where prisoners are exiled! There are bones everywhere under your feet, but you won’t see a living person for hundreds of miles! The place is bitterly cold all year round. Neither grass nor grains grow. Even rats don’t want to make a nest there, don’t talk about people! I heard that most of the people who were sent to Ningguta committed suicide before they got there! And of those who made it, only few survived a year!”

“Alas!” Ah Chou sighed softly, lamenting a few times in her heart over how unlucky she was.

The third day of the third lunar month, the 32nd year of Jiasheng Reign 

The Capital

On the third day of the third lunar month, a day to worship ancestors. On such a good day, Duan fu’s Duan Rulan wept as she sat in the carriage to Ningguta. There was no custom-made gown for the bride to wear. Fortunately, Duan Furen’s wedding dress was still there, so she  gave it to her daughter. Ah Chou also put on a new dress. Although it was still rough, it was better than before. 

Escorting Duan Rulan to Ningguta were two men of the Imperial Guards—one with a darker face and the other with a fairer face. Duan Chenghong put together ten taels of silver and gave it to the guards, repeatedly telling them to take care of his daughter along the way. 

The fair-faced guard accepted the silver and indifferently smiled at Duan Chenghong. Then he got into the carriage with the dark-faced guard, and with a flick of the whip, the carriage galloped towards the city gate.

Duan Rulan was crying in the carriage. Ah Chou was not good at coaxing others, so she silently took out a handkerchief from her bosom and stuffed it into Duan Rulan’s hand, only for her to cry even louder. The guard outside became impatient, shouting and cursing at the carriage. Duan Rulan trembled all over, then suddenly covered her mouth. Although her cries became quieter, the tears wouldn’t stop and fell like pearls with a broken thread.

While Duan Rulan was sobbing, Ah Chou opened the curtains and looked out of the window. The street was lined with many wine shops and restaurants, bright signboards, and strings of festive red lanterns—this is the prosperity that Ah Chou had never seen before. From the age of four to sixteen, twelve years in slavery, a palace wall cut her off from the world. Now, she was finally out of the palace wall, but this time, she had to go to a dreadful place where not a single blade of grass grows.

Ah Chou looked at a candied haws stand on the side of the road. The stall was filled with all kinds of candied haws, bright red wild fruits, and the unique sweetness of candied fruit. It was so tempting. It was a taste that A Chou had never tasted before.

Ah Chou looked at the pouting child picking candied haws in front of the stall, with envy in her eyes.

She stared at the child without blinking, until the carriage turned a corner and the child could no longer be seen, only then did Ah Chou lowered the curtains.

Duan Rulan was still crying, the cramped carriage was filled with her sadness and despair. The atmosphere was so melancholic that it was hard to breathe. Ah Chou thought to herself, It would take at least two months to get from the capital to Ninggu Pagoda , how would we survive this journey?

The fifth day of the fourth month, in the thirty-second year of Jiasheng

Tongliao

Ah Chou had been on the road for a month. They arrived in Tongliao during the Qingming Festival. When they left the capital, it was still spring, but when they arrived in Tongliao, the air got colder. Ah Chou found a cloak from the bag and put it on Duan Rulan, then she randomly pulled out a torn blanket and draped it over her body.

A group of people entered an inn and asked for three rooms— one for the two guards, one for Duan Rulan and one for Ah Chou. This young lady was born in a wealthy aristocratic family. She used to live in a big house since she was a child. Although her family was in decline now, the heart was still high. There was absolutely no reason to live in a room with others, let alone such a lowly maidservant as Ah Chou.