Chapter 13 Jingming from the Academy, I've come to bring you medicine.
That night, the moon was bright and the stars were few, and the lanterns reflected the snow, making the Marquis's mansion exceptionally bright.
A furtive figure was moving stealthily around Chen Linjun's residence in the Xuanping Marquis's mansion.
After bypassing the side room of Chen Linjun's courtyard, the dark figure glanced around one last time to make sure no one was watching her, then quietly slipped into a room with a lit lamp.
"Jingming, I've come to bring you your medicine," Chen Liangyu called softly.
As soon as she closed the door, four eyes shot towards her—two cold and stern, two filled with pity.
Jingming lay sprawled on the couch, while Chen Linjun sat on a chair beside her, watching her sneak in like a thief with a serious expression. Jingming's pitying expression seemed to say: "Miss, you should pack your things and spend the night at the ancestral hall."
Chen Liangyu wisely lowered his head and said, "Brother, I was wrong."
Chen Linjun hooked his long leg over her and pulled a chair over to her: "Do you know why I'm so angry with you?"
Knowing she had done wrong, Chen Liangyu dared not sit down, so she stood up and replied, "I know, I shouldn't have used violence to beat others just because I was angry."
Chen Linjun tapped the edge of the bed under Jingming twice, his knuckles clattering loudly, and exclaimed, "You don't understand the point! It's fine to beat up that kind of scoundrel. You grew up in the military, so it's not a big deal if you have a few fights with someone. But you had to be so clever as to let Jingming meet with Qiu Renshan in secret. The Northern Army is about to be disbanded. If Jingming goes to meet with court officials in secret at this time, our family will be suspected of forming a faction!"
Turning to Jingming, she scolded, "She's being unreasonable, and you're doing the same thing, acting recklessly without any sense of proportion!"
Jingming looked ashamed and stood up to apologize, which aggravated the whip marks, staining his inner clothes red again.
Chen Linjun was truly enraged and did not stop him, letting Jingming, whose body had just been tortured, kneel on the couch.
"Liangyu has never returned to Yongdu and is unaware of the entanglements and constraints between Yongdu and the Northern Border. Don't you understand either? How Qiu Renshan disciplines his sons is a minor matter; the court's suspicion that the Marquis's mansion is colluding with the Northern Border to consolidate power is a major issue!"
Jingming was bent over, not daring to straighten his shoulders, or perhaps he couldn't straighten up because of the burning pain from the whip wounds.
Chen Linjun scolded him for a while, then turned back to Chen Liangyu, "Qiu Renshan seems to have no support, but in fact he has the Virtuous Consort in the palace behind him. The Virtuous Consort is the birth mother of Prince Shen. The matter of you asking the Emperor to grant you a marriage a while ago, plus today's incident, all these signs indicate that if the Emperor and the Crown Prince become suspicious and suspect that our family is supporting Prince Shen, can you explain yourself clearly?"
After explaining the gains and losses, Chen Linjun's anger subsided. "Leave the medicine and go back to sleep! Yongdu is not in the northern border region, so you need to be more careful in your words and actions. If this happens again, you will be punished according to military law!"
Chen Liangyu replied, "Yes, elder brother."
Jingming said, "Yes, young marshal!"
Chen Liangyu placed the small jade jar on the edge of Jingming's couch, slipped away, and went to the eaves to take a deep breath.
"Miss, Miss."
Chen Liangyu looked left and right but couldn't find anyone.
"Miss, I'm here." A square head poked out from under the fence, chuckling, "Is Jingming dead?"
"He's not dead."
"It's good that he's not dead."
Jinghe and Jingming were Chen Linjun's right and left arms. Jinghe was a brute with a simple mind and a strong body. He only knew how to obey orders and his only requirement for people was that they stay alive.
Chen Liangyu became increasingly suspicious. How could her elder brother have caught her and Jingming by such a coincidence? She muttered to herself, "Why did my elder brother just happen to go to that place?"
Jinghe shook his head and turned to leave: "I don't know, I didn't say that."
Chen Liangyu lightly jumped onto the bench under the corridor, grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him back: "I knew it! You're tattling on me again, Jinghe, are you looking for a beating?"
Jinghe shook his head violently, causing the flesh on both sides of his face to tremble rhythmically: "I didn't, I didn't complain. It was the young marshal who asked me where you and Jingming went."
Chen Liangyu gritted her teeth: "Can't you just say you don't know?"
Jinghe shrank her neck. "Young Marshal isn't so easy to fool. Miss, you know I'm stupid. If I lie to the Young Marshal, he'll definitely see through me. Besides, if we tell the truth, you and Jingming will be punished. If I hide it from the Young Marshal, I'll be the one who gets punished."
Chen Liangyu chuckled and gave him a light tap on the forehead: "You're quite good at protecting yourself. I don't think you're stupid at all."
Jinghe rubbed his forehead and said, "Miss, what are you saying? I'm just not very bright, but I'm not stupid."
Chen Liangyu sat down on the bench, leaned against the railing, casually draped his arm behind him, and crossed his legs. "When did you go, brother?"
"I'll follow you two one after the other."
Chen Liangyu checked the time and said, "So, it seems my elder brother didn't intend to stop me."
Jinghe said, "We didn't intend to stop him. The young marshal saw everything from upstairs, and I saw it too. Jingming threw the cup over there, and the young marshal and I went downstairs. We happened to run into that brat tumbling out."
"Then what?"
"Then the young marshal kicked that bastard, and that was it. But I saw how strong the young marshal's kick was."
No wonder there was such a big snow pit on the ground.
Chen Liangyu thought for a moment and said, "That's not right. Why didn't I see you when Jingming and I came out?"
"I was afraid you two would find out that it was me and the young marshal who leaked the secret, so I ran away first," Jinghe grinned sheepishly.
***
The back porch of Guanju Tower leads to the library of the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion. A pond was dug in front of the library, and four large water vats were placed inside the library to store water and extinguish fire.
The craftsmen who built the library must have had a fondness for demons and monsters. The structure inside the library, with its spiraling wooden frame reaching the top and divided into six levels, at first glance looks just like a pagoda in a traditional opera used to imprison demons.
It's eerie and ghostly.
The library was filled with a dazzling array of books, including many rare and unique editions, which were not open to the general public. As Xie Wenjun climbed the ladder to the narrow passage, she hooked a scroll from the forest of books into her palm. The cover was inscribed with the words "Zongheng," but when she turned the scroll over, it was completely blank, with a piece of paper folded several times falling out.
Xie Wenjun picked it up and slowly unfolded it to look at it. It was a drawing with a place that looked like the Imperial College.
"Where is this?" she asked.
Chen Liangyu took it and glanced at it; it was a map of the academy's terrain that she had previously scribbled.
“The academy,” Chen Liangyu replied.
"Which academy is this? I've never heard of it."
Although there were places in the countryside where people could learn to read and write, they were mostly insignificant private schools. A few benches were set up in a courtyard and that was it. Teachers taught casually, and students were undisciplined, attending classes only when they felt like it. The only places that could be considered proper places of study were the Imperial Academy of the court and the Hanhong Academy in Cangnan. Apart from these two places, were there any other places with such a grand academy?
“It’s a girls’ academy.” Chen Liangyu gently folded the paper along the crease and placed it in the blank book. “It hasn’t been built yet, so the princess naturally hasn’t heard of it.”
Xie Wenjun's eyes lit up when she heard "Girls' Academy." She picked up the blueprint again and examined it carefully. After silently looking at it for a while, she folded the paper and put it back in its place. Soon, her attention was drawn to the blank book. "Why is this book blank? Is it the one left by Lord He?"
Chen Liangyu leaped to a high place, bent one leg and sat against the high pavilion, an ancient book spread out on his leg, and glanced down.
The one below looked weak and frail, but she was stubborn. No matter how Chen Liangyu treated her, using the methods of training new recruits in the military camp, she could remain calm and perform to the best of her ability.
After some time, although he lacked the talent, he was still quite presentable.
Having found enjoyment in being a teacher, Chen Liangyu grew increasingly harsh and tyrannical. Perhaps driven by curiosity, she wanted to see just how much the delicate and pampered Princess Jiangning could endure. Day after day, Xie Wenjun grew increasingly exasperated, secretly seeking respite during brief moments when Chen Liangyu was away. Discovered, she finally yielded and begged for a day off.
Xie Wenjun's limbs ached, and she had to hold up a thin, blank booklet with both hands.
Chen Liangyu's lips curved slightly upwards, wanting to laugh but holding it back. First, she answered her next question, "It's the one left by my maternal grandfather." Then she explained why there were no words in the book, "It's for deception; the real scroll isn't on the paper."
"Zongheng" refers to the first three volumes of He's six-volume work. At the beginning of the first year of Xuanyuan, Chen Yuanqing used the three volumes of "Zongheng" to lead an expedition against the enemy, winning many victories and rarely suffering defeats.
Xie Wenjun rubbed her shoulders and looked up at the high pavilion. "Where is the real scroll?"
The buildings stand majestically, as if perched atop a ravine, making one feel insignificant. A clear, cool sound, like the wind, echoes from the stone rafters, reverberating through the empty valley.
Chen Liangyu tapped his temple with his finger. "Here. Those who study He's military strategy must memorize every word and sentence. No matter who they teach, they never put it down in writing. Those scrolls circulating among the common people are all used by street swindlers to cheat and deceive."
Xie Wenjun pondered for a moment and said, "If there are no actual records, and the last person to learn the He family's military strategy dies before passing it on, wouldn't the military strategy be lost along with it?"
“There are exceptions. If a person is old and has little time left, and happens to meet a suitable successor, he will copy it and give it to him, telling him to memorize it and study it himself. But after he has memorized it, he will burn it.”
Speaking of the lost art, Chen Liangyu was indeed somewhat regretful, "The He family's military strategy originally consisted of six volumes, but the first three volumes were called 'Vertical and Horizontal Strategy,' while the last three volumes were called 'Yin-Yang Techniques,' which, along with the 'Hundred Deceptions,' have already been lost to the world."
The Great Lin Military God He Nian Gong passed away peacefully in the mountains. Of the four disciples under He Nian Gong, only Chen Yuanqing and Yan Baizhang remain.
After supporting Emperor Xuanyuan's ascension to the throne, Lin Jianshu, the Ghost-Headed Saber who possessed the three volumes of Yin and Yang, suddenly defected for unknown reasons, leading three hundred elite soldiers away and disappearing without a trace. Jiang Bojin, the Flying Arrow, went into hiding even earlier. It is rumored that he was hacked to death by a hail of blades during the Five Kings Rebellion in the Yingtong era. With no successor left, the Hundred Ghosts Path vanished.
All that remains in the world are Chen Yuanqing's "Three Volumes of Strategies" and Yan Baizhang's "The Art of Central Justice".
"That's quite a pity," Xie Wenjun said, putting the blank book back in its place. Sure enough, she saw the cover of 'Hundred Ghosts' next to it, with blank pages inside as well. "Ali, what are you studying?"
"Vertical and horizontal, upright and impartial."
She studied under her father and Uncle Yan. She learned each subject very well, but she could never quite grasp the essence of integrating them. The two fields of knowledge were like two rivers that met but were incompatible, each distinct and clear.
Perhaps her maternal grandfather, He Niangong, discovered the profound principles behind it, which is why he divided the four arts and skills among four people, each with their own expertise.
Xie Wenjun exhaled a cold breath, "Three thousand remnants repelled one hundred thousand enemy soldiers, is that all you've got?" He waved the white paper upwards.
Chen Liangyu immediately clenched the pages of the ancient book in her hand, creating several creases out of thin air.
In summer, ice is not placed in the library, and in winter, charcoal is not used, to prevent the books from becoming damp or leaking. In the depths of winter, the library is dry and cold, and the chill makes one shiver.
The air around her seemed to freeze. After a long while, she finally said, "Not entirely."
The cold whistling of arrowheads grazing the sand and gravel rang in his ears again, warm blood splattered onto his face, and the raging fire burned the life in his heart to ashes, silencing his cries of agony.
Thick smoke billowed on the horizon, spreading across the sky and engulfing everything, carrying with it a sense of despair.
The sound of striking bronze jars and ringing gongs was a clarion call of victory, but standing in the pale moonlight, she couldn't tell whether the pile of corpses at her feet belonged to the enemy or her own troops.
Almost none of the garrison troops at Dingbei City in Suzhou returned.
When the remnants retreated to Qilian Road, they had no time to collect the remains of their fallen comrades, leaving them to languish like slaughtered livestock in the city walls and alleys. By the time the military flag was raised again on the Dingbei city wall, the iron hooves of Beiyong had trampled them beyond recognition, their flesh torn apart by steel blades, and even their last shred of dignity was not preserved.
The saying "One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers" is no exaggeration!
When the war came to an end, all the cruelty, killing, and bloodshed were draped in a magnificent cloak, transforming into a series of dramatic and captivating tales.
The heroes created by war, such as Chen Liangyu, are that magnificent outer garment.
It conceals the truth of war, dispels people's fear, ignites the passion of young men, and inspires them to be fearless and eager to try again when they charge into battle with their own flesh and blood, hoping to become the next 'hero'.
"I've made my choice."
The ethereal voice pulled her back to reality from the chaotic swamp of blood. Xie Wenjun was carrying several ancient books as she descended the stairs and waiting below.
For a moment, she realized that she had accompanied Princess Jiangning to the library to choose a few books to pass the time. Considering the coldness of the library, she agreed to lend her her study.
Chen Liangyu closed the book, touched the ground with his toes, and leaped down from the height.
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