Chapter 2: Devious Intrigue, Imprisonment, and the Long-Awaited Second Phoenix...

The funeral proceeded in an orderly manner. The procedures included: initial burial, reburial, setting up the bed, offering libations, bathing, dressing the deceased, eating the food, going to the capital, receiving imperial envoys to offer condolences, morning and evening mourning, guests offering condolences, relatives and friends weeping, arriving at the tomb, displaying funerary objects, lowering the coffin and weeping in order, and finally, burial…

Changsun Qingjing was stuffed into a large sack of mourning clothes. At the command of the master of ceremonies, he wailed and beat his chest, then followed his mother to pay his respects to the mourning guests. The funeral was a semi-private, semi-public social event. Amidst their grief, people discussed the newly imposed corvée labor, the magnificent dragon boats, the wide canals, and the soaring eaves of the temporary palace—a scene of earthly paradise, a display of Han official majesty.

In a vortex of sorrowful whiteness, amidst a dazzling display of life's glory and death's grief, Changsun Sheng's relatives and friends began to discuss this new era, which was about to reach its peak or descend into madness.

Among the mourners, Gao Shilian, a ninth-rank official in charge of rites, attracted whispers due to his striking good looks. He was the elder brother of the young matriarch, Lady Gao, and his father and grandfather were relatives of Emperor Gao Huan of Qi. Gossipy noblewomen began inquiring about the young and handsome uncle's marital status, while more prudent officials asked relatives of the Changsun family about his ancestral home, official position, and even powerful connections, hoping to find suitable political resources for him.

"Gao Jian, a native of Bohai, courtesy name Shilian. He became a Jinshi in the third year of the Daye era. He was a guest of Husi Zheng, the Minister of War." The busybody had already thoroughly investigated the life of this uncle.

"He is already married; she is the daughter of the Xianyu family."

“Oh, the people of the East!” “The people of Qi and Wei are different from us.” Of course, those who ostracize them only find them despicable. When promising young men cannot become part of one’s career and wealth, the magnanimous try to ignore them, while the narrow-minded even choose to destroy them.

Gao Shilian paid no heed to the whispers and sighs from those in the shadows. He silently led his weary nephew and niece to the courtyard for a short rest. But he overheard the whispers of Changsun Anye, his uncle Changsun Chi, and his other uncle Changsun Chang: "...It's just that Mother seems distracted, I'm afraid... Of course, uncles, don't worry, I will certainly take care of them..."

Gao Shilian was suspicious. His stepson, who was about the same age as his sister, was usually very indifferent to his stepmother, even though they weren't exactly at odds. It was strange that he was suddenly showing concern for his stepmother in front of the other elders.

He naturally hoped that his nephew Wuji would become the eldest son of the Changsun clan and the heir to the ancestral line. He also knew that his brother-in-law loved his clever and bright youngest son, and even on his deathbed, he abandoned the idea of ​​being buried with a Turkic golden sword, instead bequeathing the sword to his young son. The ideal heir was too young, and his maternal clan was too weak; while the actual heir, although old enough, could provide sufficient support from his maternal and familial clans, was still not entirely satisfactory.

Gao Shilian stared directly at the three powerful figures of the family. Changsun Chi and Changsun Chang bowed to Gao Shilian with open hands, while Changsun Anye's eyes darted around and avoided their gaze. It was unclear whether this was his usual disdain, a deliberate avoidance out of shame at being associated with the Gao family, or an embarrassing cover-up for his schemes being exposed.

The funeral was over, the white vortex had dissipated, and human relationships had come to a standstill. What awaited the Changsun family was twenty-seven months of deathly silence.

During the stagnant mourning period, Gao occasionally suffered from headaches, which An Ye's wife, Du, often exaggerated as being caused by missing her husband. She was slightly displeased with this so-called daughter-in-law's overstepping of her bounds. However, some people remarked that a widow's remembrance of her deceased husband seemed perfectly acceptable.

"Mother is becoming increasingly disoriented today. Should we call a doctor?" Madam Gao looked up from among a pile of account books, feeling that Madam Du had been overly attentive lately. However, she was indeed quite tired.

Recently, the mournful cries of owls have been frequently heard at night, waking Gao several times in fright. However, Changsun Qingjing and Changsun Wuji, who slept with their wet nurse, heard no unusual noises. The servants and Gao's personal maid also stated that there were no frightening sounds at night. Upon hearing this, her stepson, Changsun Anye, led several strong servants to thoroughly search every corner of the house at dusk.

"Could it be my imagination?" Gao felt a strong sense of self-doubt.

Rumors of the mistress of the Changsun household suffering from hysteria quickly spread throughout the neighborhood.

One afternoon, Changsun Qingjing was skipping and jumping in the covered corridor, holding a white goose, when she suddenly realized that she was in mourning and needed to act more composed than usual. So she casually placed the goose by the pond and walked gracefully, trying to be a dignified lady like her mother.

The sound of an older brother and sister-in-law chatting could be heard from the waterside pavilion.

“Her uncles and aunts are indeed a bunch of lunatics, it’s written down in black and white! The whole family are lunatics, there are no exceptions.” Changsun Qingjing heard his brother’s mocking voice.

“But that doesn’t mean she’s crazy! How are you going to prove her madness?” Du retorted.

"It'll be soon. She'll prove it herself." Changsun Qingjing heard his brother's mysterious, confident laughter. "Whether she's crazy or not, what evidence do you need to find? She'll jump out and hurt people herself!"

The eight-year-old girl couldn't understand who her brother and sister-in-law were talking about. She only heard her fourth brother, Wuji, say that sons in mourning for their father were forbidden from holding office, attending banquets, hunting, and even playing backgammon... No wonder the bored Anye had started gossiping with Du Shi. Her intuition told her that Anye felt no pity for the "she" who was about to go mad, only schadenfreude.

A white goose gracefully traced a turquoise line on the pond's surface. Suddenly, as if witnessing something terrifying, it began to cry out and flap its wings, struggling on the water's surface. On the vast, clear lake, the white goose battled a nonexistent evil spirit for a long time…

Lady Gao began to notice the unusual occurrences during her mourning period. She preferred quiet and would sometimes dismiss her personal maid and rest alone. Her two children were instructed by their elder brother and sister-in-law to pay their respects to their mother morning and evening, and not to disturb her.

Everything was arranged so logically and flawlessly. Yet, this tranquility was like a mirage, devoid of warmth, untouchable, and fraught with hidden danger.

One autumn afternoon, Gao woke up to find a scorpion on her pillow. By the time her maid rushed over, the scorpion had already disappeared.

Over the next few days, Gao discovered that a bleeding owl flew out of the cupboard, a long snake lurked beneath the candlesticks, and indescribable ghostly figures drifted through the corridors...

However, after the servants thoroughly searched every inch of Gao's residence, they found nothing of the mysterious object Gao had described. She wondered if she had gone mad!

From servants to children, everyone suspected that Gao was suffering from hysteria. Forced by the rumors, Gao temporarily handed over the account books of his land and houses to Du.

Changsun Anye invited his uncles and elders to the mansion, and also called his younger siblings to the main hall. They discussed his mother's condition with the doctor. The doctor sighed and suggested that his wife recuperate in another residence. He repeatedly instructed that the children be separated from their mother to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

Changsun Qingjing roughly understood what they were saying: his mother was showing signs of madness due to excessive worry, and was currently only experiencing hallucinations. If she wasn't properly cared for, she might harm those close to her. Therefore, his mother needed to leave them for a while. The child, who had already been "separated from his father by death," couldn't help but weep bitterly at the thought of being "separated from his mother" soon.

"Where is my uncle? Does he know my mother is ill?" Changsun Wuji asked hesitantly, staring at the room full of elders with the same surname. Common sense told him that his mother was ill and unable to manage the household; but intuition told him that his mother had been maliciously slandered and needed someone to protect her wholeheartedly. And he himself lacked that ability.

Faced with the joint decision of his uncles and half-brothers, the young man could only obey and had no right to object. When the siblings returned to their mother's main room, their mother was nowhere to be found. Their personal maidservant told them sadly, "Sanlang and Lady Du instructed us to first send Lady Gao to the detached courtyard in the northwest corner. Tomorrow, we will invite a monk or Taoist priest to our home to perform the 'Chilige Technique' to see if Lady Gao's mind can be restored."

In the blink of an eye, Gao went from grief to excessive worry, from delusion to mental confusion, from hysteria to madness. It seemed as if an invisible hand was plotting step by step, intending to kill Gao. Arriving at the northwest courtyard, the servants, on the orders of the eldest grandson Anye, escorted the brother and sister back; upon reaching the main gate, they learned that their brother had already confined them to their quarters.

Changsun Wuji forced himself to calm down. Everyone around him might be his half-brother's spies; his mother was under house arrest, her fate unknown; his future was in the hands of others. The situation was extremely precarious. He took his sister's hand and led her to a secluded spot. Qingjing trembled, stammering as she told her brother about the rumors she had overheard by the waterside pavilion about "her" "going mad."

At that moment, Changsun Wuji understood Changsun Anye's scheme perfectly: "That's how it is. He repeatedly hinted to people that Mother was overthinking and mentally unstable, and repeatedly led people to speculate that the Gao family had been insane for generations. He also took advantage of the fact that my uncle was away from Xijing to attack my mother and me. Now Mother is under house arrest, her life hanging in the balance, and my uncles are about to accompany the imperial procession. Once her insanity is confirmed, you and I will both become the children of a madwoman, and our future will be uncertain... Anye's heart is so sinister!"

He was determined to break the deadlock, but unfortunately, he was outnumbered and outmatched. His only help was an eight-year-old girl. Changsun Qingjing knew that someone wanted to drive her mother insane, someone wanted to take away everything her father had left to her brother, and someone wanted to brand her as "mad" and then abandon her... She trembled, sobbed, and felt utterly helpless.

Wuji wiped away Qingjing's tears and revealed his plan: "I'm definitely being watched by the servants now, and they're hindering me at every turn, afraid that I'll escape. You're different. As long as you don't go near Mother's residence, no one will care where you go. Now, try to find that white hawk named 'Captain' in the garden. This is our only hope of making contact with the outside world."

Qingjing did as instructed. In everyone's eyes, she was weak and harmless. In Changsun Anye's eyes, she was someone he could dispose of at will; if she weren't the daughter of his stepmother, Gao Shi, Anye wouldn't even notice her.

The girl feigned carefree innocence, wandering aimlessly through the garden. Finding the white hawk "Captain," she casually whistled and wrapped it under her oversized mourning clothes. In the corridor, she continued to smile at everyone who, intentionally or unintentionally, became an accomplice, as if her mother had merely recovered from a minor illness. The more foolish and clumsy she pretended to be, the smoother her self-rescue plan would proceed.

She returned to her brother's side as if nothing had happened. Wuji hid the note he had already written on the "Captain" and then the harmless eldest grandson Qingjing released the "Captain" into the air.

"Look! Isn't that the young master's white hawk?" asked the child's wet nurse while the servant was trimming the trees.

The woman shook her head dismissively: "It doesn't look like it. It looks more like the one that the deceased Lord once kept."

The servant was indignant: "The magistrate's white hawk was much bigger, while the young master's seems to be underage. I vaguely remember it was a gift from a young master surnamed Li. The magistrate was quite fond of that young master when he was alive..."

"Of all the people in this household, you, poor Cuo Da, have the broadest knowledge and the best memory." The wet nurse deliberately changed the subject as Changsun Anye's personal servants hurriedly ran through the central courtyard.

The two children approached their only remaining trustworthy wet nurse, who took Changsun Qingjing's small hand and placed a note in his palm. In a secluded, unmonitored place, the two children began to send a message that their mother had managed to transmit from her place of confinement.

It was a deathly quiet afternoon.

At dusk, a fire suddenly broke out in the east courtyard of the Changsun residence, and Changsun Anye led a group of people to fight the blaze. Two children, meanwhile, were reading in the west courtyard, where the fire couldn't reach. The wet nurse took a golden knife from the knife rack and handed it to Wuji: "The emperor's rewards are stored in the treasury in the east courtyard; Sanlang would never dare to neglect them. Young master, quickly find a way to get your mother away!"

Changsun Wuji, accompanied by Changsun Qingjing, arrived at their mother's new residence. Sure enough, the guards had all rushed to put out the fire. The door was locked to prevent escape. The siblings realized that this was a meticulously planned deception by Changsun Anye, utterly absurd yet flawlessly executed. He used their father's death to tell every relative and friend about their stepmother's tragic descent into madness; he exploited the maids' desire to escape slavery, fabricating various pieces of evidence to prove their stepmother's insanity; he manipulated their younger siblings' fear of their mother's madness and their dependence on their elder brother, nearly severing the blood ties between mother and children.

The thirteen-year-old boy, with all his experience and courage, spoke the shocking truth:

"Guanyinbi, Qingjing, this is no longer our home, and the young man sitting in the main hall is no longer our brother. We must leave! From now on, I will take care of you and Mother!" The young man drew the golden knife from his waist, solemnly deciding and promising. Then, with a swift stroke, the iron chain, sparks flying, was severed in two.

He couldn't wait for the white hawk to find that one and only true friend who would come through fire to be with him!

This was the first time he had resolved to become a knife.

A note from the author: