Chapter 114: The Past
Lingxi Palace.
Empress Dowager Jiang lit an incense stick, closed her eyes and bowed three times before the Buddha, then inserted it into the incense burner. Eunuch Li, who had been waiting respectfully nearby, hurriedly handed her a handkerchief to wipe her hands.
After taking it, Empress Dowager Jiang lowered her gaze and wiped her well-maintained hands, asking, "Did she really agree?"
Eunuch Li flattered with a smile, "She agreed. When this old slave explained the external reasons for His Majesty not holding a selection of consorts for years, that Liang woman became so elated by the praise that she stopped refusing."
Empress Dowager Jiang let out a cold snort from her nose, "The special honor I've bestowed upon her is indeed substantial."
Eunuch Li bowed his head in agreement, "Naturally."
Yet a lingering dissatisfaction remained in Empress Dowager Jiang's heart. Gazing at the Buddha statue, she said, "If it weren't for His Majesty..."
She didn't finish the sentence. In the Buddhist hall where incense smoke drifted, Empress Dowager Jiang's eyes carried a cold intensity as she changed the subject, "That Fang from the Imperial Hospital, though he may not know much about His Majesty's affairs, to avoid complications, there's no need to spare this traitor's life."
With that Fang in the Imperial Hospital, Wen Yu essentially had eyes there.
Eunuch Li naturally understood the stakes. He nodded respectfully, "This old slave understands and will handle this matter properly."
The Empress Dowager knelt on the prayer cushion, closed her eyes and began rotating her bodhi beads, speaking no more. Eunuch Li tactfully bowed and withdrew.
As he left Lingxi Palace, an elderly palace maid from the Empress Dowager's entourage made to escort him a few steps. Eunuch Li quickly declined, "How could I trouble you, elder sister? Her Majesty cannot be left unattended."
After exchanging some flattering pleasantries, Eunuch Li finally left Lingxi Palace's main gate with two accompanying young eunuchs.
One young eunuch, recalling their earlier experience at Zhaohua Palace, couldn't help but voice indignation, "That palace maid serving the Liang woman is utterly rude and uncouth. Our venerable ancestor shouldn't have considered that Liang woman's position or shown goodwill toward Zhaohua Palace..."
In the long palace corridor where no one else was present, Eunuch Li shed the last trace of false courtesy from his face. Beneath his heavily wrinkled eyelids, his eyes narrowed to slits yet shone with sharp intensity, completely devoid of his usual foolish arrogance and flattery. He coldly rebuked, "What do you understand? In this royal palace drama, the leading roles belong to those two in Lingxi Palace and Zhaohua Palace. We servants, unlike the ministers in the royal court, can only survive in the cracks."
"When the one in Zhaohua Palace realizes the Mid-Autumn palace banquet isn't so easy to manage, I'll be marked in her books too. This palace has always tolerated vulgar fools, but never those shrewd people who take sides. Before the final act concludes, who knows which role will emerge victorious?"He glanced sideways at the two young eunuchs, warning, "If you want to live long, put away that cleverness that gets people killed.""
The two young eunuchs felt chills run down their spines and hurriedly expressed gratitude, addressing him repeatedly as "venerable ancestor."
Pingzhou.
Tan Yi's return to Liang territory with minimal supplies, accompanied only by elite troops from the army, arrived in Pingzhou two days ahead of schedule.
After meeting with Chen Wei and Li Yao, he relayed Wen Yu's recent situation in Chen as instructed by Wen Yu. However, neither man's expression relaxed, clearly aware of the true circumstances in the Chen royal court and that things wouldn't proceed as smoothly as described.But he understood that Wen Yu must have instructed him to say this.
Chen Wei sighed, "The princess went to Southern Chen for our sake, for the sake of Great Liang. From now on in Chen territory, she will have to rely entirely on herself. We... can only make the Chen Kingdom think twice and not dare to mistreat the princess by reclaiming Great Liang's lost territories as quickly as possible."
Li Yao, whose hair and beard had turned completely white in just a few months, stood leaning on his cane with his back to them, gazing out the window. He remained silent throughout Tan Yi and Chen Wei's conversation.
Only his withered hand covered with age spots kept tightening and loosening its grip on the cane, his eyes fixed heavily on the pond of lotus flowers blooming under the scorching sun.
Before taking his leave, Tan Yi glanced at Li Yao's back and recalled Wen Yu's instructions when seeing him off. Realizing that Wen Yu's attitude toward Li Yao had softened somewhat, he was moved to say, "The princess anticipated your concerns and specifically asked me to tell you not to worry."
Wen Yu would never leave such a message for ordinary officials - this was clearly meant for Li Yao.
However, due to political disagreements and inappropriate actions that had created a rift between teacher and student, they could never be as close as before.
Li Yao continued facing the lotus pond with his back turned, not saying a word until Tan Yi had withdrawn.
Chen Wei understood the implication of Tan Yi's words. Looking at the old man standing by the window, he said, "When General Tan was returning, our urgent correspondence was still on the way. The princess didn't know then that General Xiao was still alive. I suppose the princess toward Your Excellency..."
"I need to leave Pingzhou for a while." Li Yao slowly turned around leaning on his cane. This abrupt statement left no room for discussion, sounding more like a mere notification.
Chen Wei immediately frowned: "With the war in Jinzhou and the Southern Border in chaos, why leave Pingzhou now..."
He suddenly paused mid-sentence, as if understanding something: "Are you going to look for General Xiao?"
Li Yao walked out slowly step by step with his cane, saying: "I made mistakes that brought shame upon the princess. Since this matter started with me, I should be the one to resolve it properly."
Chen Wei quickly called after him: "This requires careful planning. In Old Li's previous letter, he mentioned that General Xiao and Nephew Zhou went their separate ways. Even Nephew Zhou doesn't know General Xiao's current whereabouts. Old Li has been sending more people to search. You should wait until we receive definite news before setting out."
But Li Yao said: "The battle in Jinzhou has been stalemated for months. It would be good for me to see the situation personally."
Tongzhou.
After finishing military drills on the training ground, Xiao Li led his horse to the stream for water. He scooped up some water to splash on his sun-reddened face, washing away the summer heat.
Not far away, Tao Kui and Zheng Hu had another disagreement and were already wrestling in the shallow stream, each trying to pin the other's hands and trip the other's feet, shouting that they must settle the score this time.
Xiao Li glanced up at them, smiled, and lay back on the grass behind him, propping himself up slightly with his elbows. Listening to the stream and the noisy cicadas, he remarked: "This autumn heat truly lives up to its name."
When no one responded from behind, he glanced back and saw Song Qin sitting under a tree, absentmindedly rubbing something in his hand.
Xiao Li watched him for a while before asking: "Thinking of Sister Mudan?"
Hearing "Mudan," Song Qin finally snapped out of his reverie. He tucked the worn-edged pouch he had been rubbing back into his robe and said: "No."He possessed a face of square-cut fortitude, never having been steeped in classical learning, yet his eyes, weathered by time, always carried a scholar's refined grace. It was precisely this touch of scholarly demeanor that made even his light stubble seem not fierce but rather reminiscent of the chivalrous heroes from folklore who vanquished evil and punished villains.
Xiao Li didn't look at him, instead picking up pebbles and tossing them into the shallow stream. "These are troubled times," he said. "The Drunken Red Chamber is no place to linger. When I arranged for Godmother and the others to leave Yongzhou, I asked Sister Mudan if she wanted to go with them. She refused."
Song Qin listened in silence. After a pause of several breaths, Xiao Li continued, "She's waiting for you to give her an answer."
Song Qin chuckled as if Xiao Li had told some joke, the laugh deepening the wrinkles on his face one by one, making the wound beneath the bandages on his abdomen ache faintly. "If Mudan hears you say that..."
"You've admired each other all these years. Are you really going to keep Sister Mudan waiting without any resolution because of your late wife who passed away so long ago?"
The smile on Song Qin's face stiffened momentarily before he continued laughing. "What admiration? You must have listened to Xiao'an recite too many of those scholar-beauty tales..."
His words cut off abruptly. Hou Xiao'an had been gone for less than a year, yet they still inadvertently mentioned him in their casual banter.
Instantly, both fell silent.
Sunlight danced on the stream's surface, creating shimmering reflections. Xiao Li gazed down at the water for several long moments before speaking again. "When I urged Sister Mudan to leave Yongzhou, she told me she stays at the Drunken Red Chamber for the children sold into the establishment. She said as long as she's there, those children won't be beaten and forced into prostitution. When they've learned musical instruments, singing, tea brewing, and incense making—skills to support themselves—and saved enough as pure courtesans to buy their freedom, they can decide their own futures. It's her long-cherished wish all these years."
"But with so many business dealings between the establishment and our security agency, I don't believe Sister Mudan stays merely out of acquaintance with you, brother."
Song Qin remained silent throughout. Xiao Li pressed on, "You've mourned your wife all these years, and Sister Mudan has waited all these years. She may seem proud, but deep down she's always been troubled by her origins. That's why she can't speak first. If you truly have no feelings for her, you should make it clear to her soon. It would be better for both of you."
Song Qin reached for the gourd hanging at his waist, thumbed open the stopper despite his injury, and took a swig. The liquor's sharpness burned his throat before he finally spoke to Xiao Li about his past with his deceased wife for the first time: "Qingyuan was a girl from my hometown. That year when disaster struck our village, her aunt's family tried to sell her to a brothel. I helped her escape, but we encountered bandits on the road. To save me from being killed, Qingyuan... she was violated to death. When I found her, there wasn't a patch of unbroken skin on her body."
The memory seemed too horrifying to bear. He took another fierce gulp of wine before continuing, "I couldn't afford wedding clothes, so I used my last few coins to buy three feet of red silk to wrap her in when we bowed to heaven and earth. I promised Qingyuan I would never marry again in this lifetime."
"Mudan is a good woman," he said finally. "But I'm not the right man for her. She deserves better choices."He exhaled a breath of liquor and smiled at Xiao Li, though his eyes were slightly red. "But you're right. No matter what, I should make things clear with Mudan. All these years, I've really just been taking care of her like a younger sister."
Xiao Li remained silent. This was the first time he had heard Song Qin speak of his own past. The brothers only knew he had a deceased wife, but none knew the tragedy ran so deep.
As for his history with Mudan, Xiao Li had initially heard about it from people at the gambling house. It was said that back when Mudan had just been sold into the brothel, she was fiercely resistant, constantly attempting suicide. Song Qin, there on business for Han Tangzong, happened upon the madam having her beaten and stepped in to help.
The madam, thinking he had designs on her newly acquired cash cow, thoroughly humiliated him and even complained to Han Tangzong. After Han Tangzong spoke with Song Qin, the matter became known throughout the entire gambling house.
After that, Song Qin was rarely assigned by Han Tangzong to go to the Drunken Red Chamber, and Mudan eventually became the highly sought-after courtesan of the moment.
Yet, whenever the two met, they interacted with the tacit understanding of old friends, making it difficult for others to interject.
Xiao Li had once thought it was a mutual, unspoken understanding—that Mudan had many wealthy and powerful patrons, and Song Qin, feeling he had nothing to offer, dared not confess his feelings to her. But now, learning that a deceased wife whom Song Qin carried a lifetime of guilt over stood between them, this was no longer something an outsider like him could advise on.
The sun was gradually setting in the west. Xiao Li sat with one knee drawn up, his elbow resting on it, gazing at the distant, rolling mountains of the Southern Border. He said, "Then let's have the brothers from the escort agency cease all dealings with the Drunken Red Chamber from now on. After Zhou Sui and I escaped from Yongzhou, Pei Song's Hawk Hounds will surely not let it rest. The Xu family, after helping us leave the city, left only an empty shell of their main household in Yongzhou, with the entire clan fleeing south to avoid disaster. With this decoy, Pei Song hasn't traced the trail to the Drunken Red Chamber. But if there's any further unusual activity, it might implicate Sister Mudan and the others."
Before Song Qin could respond, Zhang Huai suddenly hurried over from the training grounds. "Prefect! The Liu family has made another move after meeting with the Pei clan's people from Tongcheng!"
Author's Note: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solutions between 2024-07-30 23:59:29 and 2024-08-02 17:59:43~
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