Chapter 135
"I shall personally make a trip to the Northern Border."
...
Directorate of Ceremonial
After Eunuch Li claimed illness during the Mid-Autumn palace banquet, and King Chen became embroiled in that incident, Empress Dowager Jiang naturally didn't spare the eunuchs when she punished the palace attendants around King Chen.
His position as Seal-holding Eunuch was temporarily assumed by the Assistant Eunuch beneath him. Though Empress Dowager Jiang claimed to permit him leisure to recuperate, discerning observers could tell that Eunuch Li had offended the Empress Dowager and the Jiang Family, and would henceforth be sidelined.
The palace had always been a place where people fawned on those above and trampled those below. When he first lost power, those beneath him still feared his remaining authority and didn't dare act recklessly. But as time passed, people's true natures gradually revealed themselves.
All those young eunuchs who used to flatter him with honeyed words like "foster father" and "foster grandfather" had swiftly found new patrons. Those managing eunuchs who previously bowed and scraped, hanging on his every word, now all sought to lord it over him and throw their weight around.
Only one simple-minded young eunuch, who had always been bullied and excluded, remained in the courtyard, continuing to serve him diligently as before.
Even when teased and humiliated by other young eunuchs, this young eunuch never showed anger, simply keeping his head down and going about his tasks.
One day, as the young eunuch carried a wooden basin to the well to fetch water for laundry, Eunuch Li sat lazily under the eaves sunning himself, showing no trace of anxiety or despondence despite his fallen status.
Noticing several footprints on the young eunuch's back, knowing he must have been bullied again, Eunuch Li said: "Xiao Shunzi, everyone else in this courtyard has found other paths. Why do you remain here?"
The young eunuch called Xiao Shunzi kept scrubbing clothes with effort, bluntly replying: "If everyone leaves, there'll be no one to serve the Old Ancestor."
Eunuch Li was amused by this response, finding it rather novel: "You stay just to serve me?"
Xiao Shunzi nodded.
Eunuch Li scoffed: "An Old Ancestor without power is no Old Ancestor anymore. Only a fool like you would follow me - what future is there in that?"
Xiao Shunzi seemed unable to comprehend these complexities, stubbornly insisting: "The Old Ancestor is the Old Ancestor."
Eunuch Li laughed again at this response, his gaze growing somewhat kinder. He was about to say something when he saw Tong Que striding into the courtyard: "Eunuch Li seems quite at leisure."
Having previously pretended ignorance and been rebuffed by Tong Que, Eunuch Li now acted as if nothing had happened, rising with a chuckle to greet her: "What an honor! Miss Tong Que actually condescends to visit this humble eunuch's dilapidated courtyard."
Then he instructed the young eunuch: "Xiao Shunzi, serve tea."
Having been briefed by Wen Yu beforehand, Tong Que naturally didn't dare underestimate Eunuch Li this time: "Tea won't be necessary. I came today to convey a message from my princess to you, Eunuch."
Eunuch Li smiled, bending slightly lower: "This slave is all ears."
Since the message came from Wen Yu, his self-reference as "slave" was a subtle show of goodwill.
Tong Que said: "Eunuch Li is a veteran of this royal palace. You should understand what it means to go with the flow and act according to the times. This royal palace is no longer what it used to be, don't you agree?"
Eunuch Li remained smiling, amiable as ever: "This old slave understands Her Highness's meaning. I offer my gratitude to Her Highness here."After Tong Que left, Eunuch Li, with his hands behind his back, slowly ambled back to the hu chair under the eaves. Xiao Shunzi suddenly asked, "Is the venerable one going out on duty again?"
Eunuch Li glanced at Xiao Shunzi's honest and dull face, smiling mysteriously, "You foolish boy, sometimes you're quite sharp."
After the Mid-Autumn banquet, the Empress Dowager would turn against him, clearly aware that he knew King Chen had other schemes but had not truthfully informed her, which led to the failure of the Empress Dowager's plans during the Mid-Autumn banquet.
On the surface, this was because he was serving under King Chen, caught between Empress Dowager Jiang and King Chen, not daring to offend either master, hence resorting to such a poor strategy.
But delving deeper, whether it was the Empress Dowager or King Chen, the true target of that scheme was Wen Yu.
By not participating in the events of the Mid-Autumn palace banquet that night, he had actually left himself a way out with Wen Yu.
Now, though he had lost favor with both the Empress Dowager and King Chen, compared to the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards who had assisted King Chen that night and had his entire residence confiscated, his current temporary cold treatment was truly insignificant.
Soon, Empress Dowager Jiang would also understand that he had managed the court and the inner palace for so many years and had firmly secured his position as the seal-holder for good reason. Those below who dreamed of replacing him and rising to the top overnight would eventually cause trouble.
He sat back in the hu chair, rocking leisurely, and spoke in a didactic tone, "In this palace, to live long, one must keep their eyes sharp. Those who must not be offended, even if it costs you a layer of skin, must never be offended. Otherwise... no matter how many heads you have, they won't be enough to be chopped off."
When the news of Southern Chen appointing Wen Yu as the regent princess reached Liang territory, the autumn chill in Pingzhou had deepened.
Fan Yuan, still recovering from his injuries, and Xin and Yi provinces, besieged by the Pei Army for a long time, were in critical condition. Chen Wei personally went to the battlefield and finally managed to stabilize the situation for the time being.
Li Xun spread the news that Southern Chen revered Wen Yu as their leader and King Chen had demoted himself to being the consort of Great Liang. This immediately steadied the previously unsettled morale within the Liang Camp, and the public criticism of the Liang Camp weakened significantly. The morale of the Liang Army soared, and everything finally took a turn for the better.
A few days later, Wen Yu arrived at Hundred Blades Pass with the 20,000 troops newly allocated by Southern Chen. Li Xun led a group to the city gate to welcome her.
The autumn wind carried yellow sand that stung the eyes. From afar, he saw Wen Yu being helped out of the carriage, and his eyes involuntarily welled up. Fearing he might break down in tears on the spot, he quickly bowed and saluted, "Marshal Fan has not yet recovered from his injuries and cannot endure the strain of travel. Lord Chen has gone to Xinzhou to supervise the battle. I, Li Xun, am here to welcome the princess back to Liang!"
The officials and generals of Pingzhou behind him also bowed and saluted in unison, "We welcome the princess back to Liang!"
Wen Yu stepped down from the carriage and personally went forward to help Li Xun up. Seeing that he could not hold back his reddened eyes and tearful expression, and the officials behind him were also full of sorrow, she thought of her mentor's death and the many upheavals in Liang territory over the past month. Her heart ached deeply, and her eyes reddened as well. In a hoarse voice, she asked, "I heard that the remains of my teacher and General Yuchi have been recovered from Pei Song?"
Outside the city tower of Hundred Blades Pass, withered brown birch leaves were swept up by the wind, falling to the ground like funeral paper on the blue bricks of Pingzhou's Memorial Hall.
The coffins of Li Yao and Yuchi Ba were placed side by side in the center of the memorial hall, their dark wood adorned with white silk and funeral flowers.Li Xun led Wen Yu into the memorial hall, his voice choked with sorrow: "After Lord Wen and Old General Yuchi... fell in battle at Wayaobao, Pei Song, enraged by the loss of nearly ten thousand troops under his command, hung their bodies on the fortress walls for several days to boost morale and intimidate our Liang forces who had retreated to Mount Tai'a. When the Pei Army continued southward, they used the corpses as bait to lure us into battle. General Tan Yi, provoked into pursuit, narrowly escaped an ambush with his life. With Xinzhou in crisis, Lord Chen personally intervened and fought a bitter struggle. Only after Young Master Zhou mobilized the students of White Deer Cave Academy to write condemnations against Pei Song were we able to reclaim the bodies of Lord Wen and the old general..."
By the end of his account, he had repeatedly choked back sobs, wiping tears with his sleeve.
Wen Yu stared at the massive "Dian" character adorning the coffin, feeling as if molten lead were being poured into her chest—a heavy, dragging pain that made her entire torso ache.
Her eyes stung dryly, the skin around them flushed crimson as if bleeding, yet not a single tear could fall from their parched agony.
Apart from the day she first received the tragic news, when tears had streamed down her face in overwhelming grief, her eyes had since become too pained and desiccated to shed any moisture. Only the dull, gut-wrenching anguish remained—a torment that carved through her heart like a blunt knife, shredding the raw flesh of her memories until the initial unbearable pain faded into numbness.
Or perhaps, in Southern Chen, she had always been too occupied—embroiled in power struggles with the Empress Dowager and the Jiang Family, wrestling authority from the court, and rebuilding strength to return to Liang and exact revenge on Pei Song. There had never been enough time to succumb to hysterical mourning.
Now, standing in this mourning hall draped with white banners, the tightly wound nerves around her constricted heart screamed through every fiber of her being, carrying a pain her body could no longer bear.
Amid this overwhelming agony, memories of the old man teaching her statecraft and political strategy surfaced vividly—sometimes earnest discussions lasting deep into the night, other times stubborn debates where neither would yield.
Teacher and student shared the same obstinacy, the same unyielding resolve.
On the day she departed through the pass for Southern Chen, as her carriage rounded the broad curve of the official road beyond the city gates, she had lifted the curtain and glimpsed the aged figure leaning on a cane atop the watchtower.
When Tan Yi returned from accompanying the bridal procession, she had considered entrusting him with a message for the old man, but ultimately held her tongue.
Who could have known that fleeting glance toward the homeland’s watchtower from her moving carriage would be their final meeting?
The sharp, screaming pain in her chest had already reached its limit, yet it continued to mount, as if something were tearing through that knot of flesh, struggling to break free.
Perhaps it was hatred, or perhaps regret, now bitter on her tongue.
An attendant offered three incense sticks to Wen Yu, but she did not accept them. In a hoarse voice, she said, "My teacher and the old general deserve my kneeling."
A ruler does not kneel before subjects, but she knelt for her mentor—for the unyielding loyalty that had breathed one last breath into Great Liang’s survival.
The unceasing wind clanged the iron horses under the eaves and scattered funeral paper across the courtyard like swirling snow.
Wen Yu knelt on the rush cushion before the altar, remaining there for a long time.
After Li Xun led the officials and servants away, she still knelt—unable to weep, unable to vow any grand promises of revenge.
Only when the sun sank behind the western hills and her knees grew numb and aching did she whisper, "Teacher, there is still much in the Zhenhe Political Essentials you taught Yu that I do not understand."An autumn wind swept through the courtyard, leaving only the rustling of trees beyond the walls as the sole echo between heaven and earth.
Wen Yu remained silent, finally lowering her head as a choked sound—hoarse and agonized—escaped her throat.
Li Xun saw Wen Yu again that evening.
She still wore the same plain silk robes from her daytime arrival in Pingzhou. Weariness lingered in her expression, though she seemed either unaware of it or long accustomed to the fatigue.
This meeting with Pingzhou’s officials was primarily to gain a more detailed understanding of the current situation and various administrative affairs.
Learning that Northern Wei was mired in a bitter war and had yet to respond to their letter of apology, Wen Yu contemplated briefly before stating: “To defeat Bandit Pei, the Northern and Southern Borders must unite as one. I was the one who facilitated the alliance between Chen and Wei in the past, yet Wei Qishan’s twenty-thousand troops in the Southern Border were betrayed and slaughtered by Bandit Dou from behind. The Wei clan will never easily set aside this grievance. I will personally go to the Northern Border to apologize to the Wei family and renew discussions for a grand alliance.”
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