Chapter 31: Admonition, there is more than one person who deserves it!

The person in the gauze tent followed Murong Fei's description, his gaze fixed on the words "startling from a dream". There was indeed a short poem here, with even the upper and lower verses slanted towards either end, as if it was written freely and without seeking to be even:

Hairpin Phoenix: Reincarnation

Raise your white hands, and pick up red and green chives.[1] Orioles chirp in the catalpa trees, and the willows are reflected in the window.

Old feelings are strangled, and thousands of ghosts are fighting. A pool of resentment has nowhere to hide.

Fall, fall, fall!

Wen Lang feels guilty, how can I bear this? Standing alone in the old pavilion, my brow furrowed.

Taian fell, Suining was wet[2]. It is still in its infancy, and the unjust title can be shed.

Yes, yes, yes!

"What does this mean?" asked the fox-faced woman.

"Dancui leek is a type of leek that is abundant in the Western Dan Kingdom. It is fresh, green, and sweet. It is included in the tribute received by the Sheng Kingdom every year. The first stanza of this poem is Concubine Chu's complaint about the suffering in the deep palace. And Tai'an Gate and Suining Gate, do they sound familiar to you, my lord?" Seeing the person in the tent motionless like a statue, Murong Fei pondered for a while and tentatively reminded him:

"Wasn't it the Emperor who launched the Suining Gate Incident and then forced the abdication? He forced the late Emperor to abdicate early, and the late Emperor threatened death in exchange for sparing Prince Yuyang's life. Princess Jialing is a legitimate princess. Even if the current Emperor had no heir, it wouldn't have been the Fourth Princess' turn. The eldest princess went through Tai'an Gate to marry a foreign prince and was later returned intact at Tai'an Gate. Therefore, Tai'an Gate must refer to the eldest princess. So, the Suining Gate incident couldn't possibly be referring to the fourth princess secretly gathering forces to emulate the current Emperor and eliminate the eldest princess in order to ascend the throne."

The fox-faced woman thought he was exaggerating, wondering if it was an excuse to save his life. She then threatened him harshly, "Stop talking nonsense, or else—"

Perhaps with this solid evidence in his heart, Murong Fei felt more confident. He cut the fox-faced woman short and said earnestly, "The Lord City Lord has great insight and will judge for himself whether I am making this up."

"Then how did you—how did you suspect these two completely unrelated people?" The fox-faced woman was clearly extremely unconvinced and asked suspiciously, "Besides, if it's fresh handwriting, how did you get it?"

"I simply felt that Lord Wen didn't care about the Fourth Princess's obvious mistake at the Eldest Princess's return banquet. Since these two don't have much of a relationship, why would Lord Wen risk implicate others by taking the blame for the Fourth Princess? So, I sent someone to follow the Fourth Princess to Zilin Palace, and overheard Concubine Chu punishing the Fourth Princess for someone else." Murong Fei stroked his beard and continued,

"Of course, I also sent someone to follow Lord Wen, but he went to the Zhaowen Pavilion at dusk. The Zhaowen Pavilion's secret room is off-limits to anyone except the successive Ministers of Rites and the Emperor and Empress. So, I sent someone to follow him inside and saw him place a small booklet under a pile of books on the bottom shelf. After Lord Wen left, I took advantage of the darkness of the night to sneak in through the window and discovered the booklet."

The fox-faced woman knew that her city lord disliked pauses at critical moments, so she quickly asked, "And then?"

"This renowned play, The Peony Pavilion, has countless revised editions in the Zhaowen Pavilion, and it certainly shouldn't be of much concern. However, my humble knowledge led me to stumble upon this popular chapter, The Awakening from a Dream, and I stumbled upon these small prints. It's a lucky blunder, I suppose."

The fox-faced woman felt that all this was a bit too logical, so she asked, "If you just stole it like that, wouldn't it alert others?"

Murong Fei said, "I copied a forgery and replaced it with the original. The crisis has just passed, and the ancestral poetry meeting is about to begin. These two people will certainly not have the time to carefully examine the authenticity of the handwriting at this time. My Lord, you can first invite Master Wen and threaten him with this thing. He has always presided over ceremonies and grand events, and he is always meticulous in his work. If you can get his help, you will gain an advantage."

The fox-masked woman exchanged glances with her city lord through the gauze curtain and asked, "So, this Qi Ling isn't the princess at all, but the illegitimate child of Concubine Chu and Lord Wen?"

"No," Murong Fei wiped the unhealed wound on his forehead with his sleeve and responded:

"If she were Lord Wen's biological daughter, Concubine Chu would never have hated the Fourth Princess so much. The only explanation is that the Fourth Princess is indeed of royal blood, but Lord Wen treats her like his own daughter because she is the daughter of his beloved. However, Concubine Chu regards her as a disgrace and dislikes her. However, in my opinion, the Fourth Princess herself is probably unaware of this."

"This is truly, extremely wonderful." The fox-faced woman's laughter, like wind chimes, filled the entire room. She smoothed the wrinkles on Murong Fei's shoulders and said, "For the ancestral worship poetry gathering, this young lady will meet with Lord Wen on behalf of the master. I hope Lord Murong can make it convenient for us."

"I thank you for not killing me, and I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Murong Fei breathed a sigh of relief, stretched his limbs and came to the ground, but he always felt that there were eyes staring at him from above. He shook his head and felt that he might have been a ghost in the underground gambling city of Shicha, where people were neither human nor ghost, for too long and could not be seen in the light.

But it doesn't matter.

He stopped to rest, and ignoring the hideous blood sore on his forehead, he straightened his hair crown and put on the human skin he had not seen for a long time. He was still the Shaoqing who was second only to the emperor in the Dali Temple.

He found a nearby post station, bought a fast horse, and rode back to his mansion.

The white-tailed sea eagle above the dense forest finally left, flew down from the eaves of the Jingguo Mansion, and landed steadily in front of the main hall door.

Chen Yu sat sideways in a private room, cup in hand, looking at the chess game on the redwood table beside him. When he heard the noise, he said without looking up, "What? Is the show starting?"

Frost descended from the White-tailed Sea Eagle and stood up, saying, "As Seventh Master expected, there is indeed something amiss between Concubine Chu and the Fourth Princess. But for some reason, Murong Fei failed his mission at the Princess's return ceremony, yet managed to escape the Shicha Underground Casino alive."

“Why—” Chen Yu took a step forward and smiled knowingly, “Of course, I have new bargaining chips. If I can cross the river, I can turn decay into magic.”

"I don't understand."

"Come, Shuangshuang, sit down," Chen Yu extended his arm, pointing to the elegant seat across from him, and said, "Recount what you heard in Zilin Palace and you'll understand the ins and outs of it."

Frost Nodded, followed his direction, and sat down, saying:

"Noble Concubine Chu has always been known for her infatuation with His Majesty. However, while this infatuation is true, it's unclear for whom. Her treatment of her own daughter cannot be described as unkind; it could even be described as vicious. Previously, because the Fourth Princess's reckless behavior during the Return Ceremony implicated this person, Noble Concubine Chu had the maids around her torture and discipline her. Those methods seemed tailor-made for the Fourth Princess, leaving her intimidated. Perhaps Noble Concubine Chu did this to her daughter as a child, leaving her with a shadow."

Shuangjiang raised her eyes and glanced at Chenyu's clear amber eyes, then hesitated and said:

"However, I am an orphan and have never experienced any family affection. I am only speaking intuitively, and I don't know if this description is an exaggeration."

Chen Yu's brows were filled with stars. He tilted his head and looked up at her: "Shuangshuang, am I not your relative?"

Am I not your relative?

These words were similar to what Qi Xin said at the Princess's residence a few hours ago:

You are each other's family.

They almost overlapped, striking Frost's eardrum. The teardrop mole beneath her brown eyes danced in the tea, matching her tightly pursed lips, as if silently pouring out a hidden imagery as enduring as the Dunhuang murals. Her lips unconsciously parted, dazed and vacant.

Looking at her dazed and confused look, Chen Yu thought she was tired from working non-stop these days, so he pinched the middle finger and thumb of his right hand, raised it in front of her, and snapped his fingers.

Frost seemed to have been started up, and suddenly raised his head and said, "Seventh Master, go ahead."

"Are you tired?" Chen Yu's gaze moved along the rim of her cup and he asked with concern, "If you feel you have explained everything clearly, go down and rest."

Frost shuddered, took a few quick breaths in and out, and said:

"I'm not tired. Were we just talking about Concubine Chu? Concubine Chu, oh yes, Concubine Chu warned the Fourth Princess because someone was implicated in the incident in the back garden wing. I remember the Fourth Princess even questioned whether this person was more important than herself and the current emperor. At the last ceremony of His Highness Jialing's return, weren't the people implicated, weren't they Princess Xiang, Princess Xiangning and Prince Yuyang, and also, the organizer, the Minister of Rites, Lord Wen?"

Chen Yu flung open a pitch-black silk folding fan, fanning it leisurely across his chest as he said, "Indeed, as to who it is, we don't need to delve into it. At the ancestral worship poetry meeting, the city lord will definitely have to meet him. Just wait and see!"

"Seventh Master," Shuangjiang lowered his head again, not wanting to look at Chenyu's expression, "Your subordinate, I still have something to report to you——"

Chen Yu actually didn't like his subordinates' hesitation, but he didn't say anything at this time. He just said casually: "It's not too late to talk now, so go ahead."

"Xiaojiu knows everything." Shuangjiang's voice became weaker and weaker, as if he was afraid that the other party would hear it.

"I thought it was something else," Chen Yu put away his folding fan, stretched out his arm and tapped her head, saying with a smile, "I didn't deliberately hide it from her. Some things, if I knew them earlier, might even be helpful in that matter."

"That's good. I was worried that it would hurt the relationship between you and her." When Shuangjiang said this, she even felt a little relieved in her heart. She didn't understand where this fleeting subtle feeling came from.

"There's really no friendship between her and me." When Shen Yu heard her call him "Xiao Jiu," his eyebrows twitched for a moment, then he stared at the fan bone nonchalantly and said coldly, "It's probably just that we're two people who share the same suffering when we're going upstream."

Frost seemed to understand, but followed Chen Yu's gaze and looked at the white-tailed sea eagle circling in the sky above the outer courtyard. It had been holding back all day on its mission today, and finally, it let out a couple of natural howls.

Frost added to herself, "It seems Rongrong likes Xiaojiu quite a bit."

But these words seemed to sink into the sea, and after a slight ripple, there was no further echo.

At the Princess's residence, Qi Xin played the redwood fish intermittently, but she couldn't calm herself down. She felt that she and her master had the same goal, but she always felt like there was a layer of veil between them, keeping them both close yet distant.

It seemed that she really couldn't blame her master for always hiding some things from her. How honest could she be?

The connection between them mainly comes from "should have been".

Both of them have experiences far beyond their family background and status, so relying on themselves may have become instinctive.

After going through so many things, they may always be able to advise others and benefit the people, but they don’t know how to let go of themselves under the Bodhi tree and in the afterglow.

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The author has something to say: ps——

I've previously considered whether this chapter's setting might make Lord Murong's reasoning seem too absurd, while our Marshal Shen's is more meticulous. But don't overlook the foreshadowing—our Xiaojiu would rather suffer damage to her reputation than conceal something important from Tiantian. Therefore, most people don't know the person inside is Tiantian. Therefore, it's only natural for anyone to infer the truth about the event to be Lord Wen.

In fact, it is just about introducing different perspectives of the characters in the book. If you have any suggestions, you can also leave them in the comment section.

Note:

[1] Xidan Kingdom is rich in leeks, which are called “Dan Cui leeks”. They are fresh, green and sweet. They are the favorites of Concubine Chu and Wen Shao. They both used them to make dumplings.

[2] I’m worried that some of you may have forgotten, so I’ll give you some directions to review. Chapter 13: Shengdu: “To the east is Tai’an Gate, to the west is Yongle Gate, to the south is Suining Gate, and to the south is Changyu Gate.”