Chapter 19 Chapter 19 I and Shenxiao were childhood sweethearts, two little ones…
Meanwhile, in the deep, ancient palace, a charming young eunuch, carrying a lantern, led a composed young gentleman along a secluded path paved with bluestone bricks.
"Young Master Wen, please come this way." The little eunuch secretly glanced at the renowned Tinglan Young Master beside him by the light of the lantern. His ink-black hair was neatly bound by a flawless jade crown, his skin was snow-white, and his eyes were dark and calm. In the dim light, his long eyelashes cast a shadow on his jade-like face.
Unlike ordinary people.
The little eunuch thought this to himself, but dared not say a word. This man was now a favorite of His Majesty, and dealing with a lowly eunuch like him was just a matter of a word.
In silence, the two stopped in front of the Gui Palace.
This is not the Hall of Diligent Governance where the emperor handled his daily affairs. Although it is magnificent and splendid, it is extremely desolate and lifeless. Even the plaque has been removed.
Wen Tinglan didn't know why the person above had suddenly summoned him here, but since he had already chosen this path, he would never regret it, even if it meant dying nine times over.
Upon arriving at the palace, the young eunuch tactfully withdrew, and Eunuch Chen, who had been waiting outside the bronze gate, greeted him with a smile, "Young Master Wen, it's late at night and the dew is heavy. The servants below are really inconsiderate; they didn't even bother to put a coat on you. Please come in with me to warm up."
After saying this, she led him to the front hall and opened the ancient wooden door in front of him with great courtesy.
Eunuch Chen had served the emperor for nearly ten years and was considered an old man in the palace. Yet now he was treating a young man who was only in his early twenties with such solemnity. Some of the eunuchs who were attending him exchanged glances and immediately understood what was going on.
Wen Tinglan, however, remained calm and composed throughout the entire process of being flattered by Wen Jie, offering only a perfunctory bow to Eunuch Chen: "Thank you for your trouble."
Little did he know, Eunuch Chen had become even more cautious about this young master Wen, feeling that he was indeed as praised by outsiders and was no ordinary person.
Inside the hall, red charcoal, more precious than gold, was burning. The shelves on both sides were filled with all sorts of strange and wonderful trinkets. Behind the tables and small desks was a sandalwood screen with a hundred treasures, but the pattern was not the common "flowers in full bloom" or "dragons and phoenixes in auspiciousness," but rather a picture of children playing.
After entering the room, Wen Tinglan didn't look around much. He only glanced at the room briefly before lowering his gaze and waiting quietly at the desk.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a majestic male voice finally came from behind the screen: "I have not yet congratulated Tinglan on passing the imperial examination five times in a row."
This person is the current emperor, Emperor Zhenyuan, Ji Heng.
Wen Tinglan said calmly, "His Majesty is preoccupied with important state affairs and need not trouble himself with such trivial matters."
A hearty laugh came from the head of the table: "Tinglan is too modest. If I don't even pay attention to talents who can achieve the fifth rank, then my Great Jin Dynasty truly has no talents. But, Tinglan, are you confident that you can achieve the sixth rank?"
After the spring imperial examination comes the palace examination, which is presided over by the emperor himself, and the sixth-ranked candidate becomes the new top scholar. The emperor's question at this moment seems to have a deeper meaning.
Wen Tinglan seemed not to understand the emperor's meaning, his tone remaining completely unchanged: "To gain it is my fortune, to lose it is my fate."
"Haha, what a fine saying, 'To gain is my fortune, to lose is my fate.' If some people could think like Tinglan, I would have far fewer worries."
Wen Tinglan wasn't curious about who the people Emperor Zhenyuan was referring to as the ones who annoyed him, and Ji Heng showed no intention of explaining. He changed the subject, "Tinglan, your talent is unparalleled in the capital. Do you know where this place is?"
The palace is filled with women, yet this place is some distance from the inner palace, and the furnishings seem to have been prepared for young children. The emperor is currently in his prime and has many children, but most of the young princes and princesses are raised by their mothers, while the adults already have their own residences or fiefdoms. It's truly perplexing.
Wen Tinglan seemed unaware as well, his sword-like eyebrows furrowing slightly. He tucked his hands into his sleeves and gave a slight bow: "Tinglan is foolish and hopes Your Majesty can enlighten me."
Upon hearing his reply, the person behind the screen remained silent for a long time before sighing, "It's normal that Tinglan doesn't know. This place was the Shenxiao Palace, bestowed upon the daughter of the late Crown Prince, my niece who died young, by the late Emperor when he was still alive."
"And Tinglan must be familiar with Princess Shenxiao." This was not a question, but a certainty.
Princess Shenxiao, Ji Yu. The only daughter of the late Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and the most beloved granddaughter of the late Emperor, a precious jewel in the world, yet she died on the night of the Eastern Palace Incident thirteen years ago.
On that day, the late emperor fell seriously ill and, before his death, summoned the late crown prince Ji Jin to the palace to attend to him. However, the late crown prince harbored resentment because of the late emperor's previous act of deposing him, and conspired with the guards of Yujing to force the emperor to abdicate and usurp the throne.
That night, the guards surrounded the palace. Fortunately, the late emperor had already entrusted the Imperial Seal to the late empress for safekeeping. The late empress led the imperial guards in a stubborn resistance until Prince Xin, Ji Heng, who was supposed to be transferred to Lingnan, received the news on the way. He resolutely returned to the capital with only five hundred light cavalry and led troops to Jinshu. A bloody battle was launched in Yujing, and the deposed crown prince was finally executed on the spot.
However, the late emperor was already at his last gasp, and after this incident, he passed away completely. The Great Jin Dynasty could not be without a ruler for even a day, and after three consecutive days of remonstrance from the ministers, the late empress finally issued an edict, passing the throne to Prince Xin, Ji Heng.
As for the deposed crown prince, although he committed the heinous crime of treason, he was still buried in the imperial mausoleum because he was of royal blood, and his wife and daughters were not prosecuted.
However… on the night of the Eastern Palace Incident, as the source of the storm, the Crown Prince's residence was naturally also affected. When everything calmed down, only charred bones remained in the residence. Among these ruins, the skeleton of a young child must have been the Shenxiao Princess, who had received much favor in her life.
The recollection abruptly ended there. Faced with the oppressive words from the person above, Wen Tinglan finally revealed his first expression of the night—a fleeting smile like a night-blooming cereus. "Shenxiao and I grew up together, innocent and carefree."
"That's it. I've heard that Tinglan and Shenxiao were once engaged. If Shenxiao were still alive, you two would surely have become a perfect couple."
Wen Tinglan's expression had faded again, as if the smile just now was an illusion. "It was just a joke from my mother. Now that she is gone, and besides, the princess was still a child when she left. Tinglan dared not take it seriously."
"Oh?" Hearing his thoughts, Ji Heng said with amusement, "What if Shenxiao were still in this world?"
Wen Tinglan suddenly raised her head: "The remains of Princess Shenxiao have been placed in the imperial mausoleum. I wonder what Your Majesty means by this?"
"I recently heard by chance that traces of the Hengbo Sword have appeared in the Jiangnan region, and the wielder is a girl of seventeen or eighteen. As you and I both know, the Hengbo Sword once belonged to the late Crown Princess Jiang Yingxue. Jiang Yingxue was killed by me personally leading men in front of the Golden Palace on the night of the Eastern Palace Incident, in order to help the late Crown Prince achieve his goals. And I remember clearly that the sword she used at that time was not the Hengbo Sword from the Mountain and Water Twin Blades."
"Tinglan, guess who Jiang Yingxue entrusted the sword to?" He changed the subject, finally revealing his true intentions: "Since she could entrust the sword to this person, why not entrust her orphan to him?"
Upon hearing this, a heavy silence immediately filled the entire hall; you could hear a pin drop.
After a long silence, just when the emperor thought Wen Tinglan would not speak again, he finally stared at the figure behind the screen, which was not visible, and said word by word: "Shenxiao has passed away. Your Majesty, please accept this loss with compassion."
"Hahahaha, I am relieved to hear Tinglan's words. Princess Shenxiao has naturally returned to heaven. If any villains dare to cause trouble in the name of the princess, I believe that Tinglan will deal with it for Shenxiao before I even have to take action."
Wen Tinglan lowered his head again: "Yes."
"It's getting late, so I won't keep Tinglan any longer. Chen Ping, see him out."
Upon entering, Eunuch Chen, who had been standing by the door with his eyes downcast and mind at ease, quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Young Master Wen, please."
After Wen Tinglan left, the person behind the screen showed no intention of leaving, sitting upright in front of a low table, playing with a longevity lock inlaid with gold and jade.
Just then, a window creaked open, and a masked man in black knelt respectfully on one knee: "Your Majesty, nothing unusual has happened to me. After leaving the palace, Young Master Wen headed back to his residence."
At this moment, another hidden guard, who had been concealed on the roof beam inside the hall, also floated down lightly. "Judging from Young Master Wen's expression, he doesn't seem to know about the emergence of the Hengbo Sword."
Ji Heng listened to their statements without saying a word. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Wen Jie is a good sword, but he is too difficult to control."
He stood up and casually tossed the longevity lock he had been playing with into a cage beside the bed. "Sometimes I really envy my short-lived elder brother, the Crown Prince. Everything he had was within his grasp, while I had to scheme and plot. However," he pushed open the door, and the eunuchs waiting in the outer hall immediately knelt down to pay their respects upon seeing His Majesty.
"In the end, it was I who sat on this throne."
Since the eldest son and his wife returned to their hometown of Zhuzhou a few years ago, the Wen family mansion has become increasingly deserted. At this moment, only the light in the old master's room is still on. Not long after Wen Tinglan returned to his Yiran Residence, a servant came and said that the old master had summoned him.
In the study, an elderly man with white hair and eyebrows but vigorous spirit was sketching a landscape painting. Wen Tinglan stepped forward and took the ink box from the maidservant beside him, silently signaling them to leave, and then quietly waited to the side.
Hearing the slight sound of the door closing, the old man turned around and saw his quiet grandson beside him. A smile appeared on his kind face: "Jie'er is here. Why didn't you say anything?"
"Grandfather rarely enjoys such a refined pursuit; how could we disturb him?"
“You,” the old man, Wen Tinglan’s grandfather, the former Grand Secretary Wen Yue, stroked his beard and sighed, “are just a little too polite.”
He put down the wolf-hair brush in his hand, washed his hands in the copper basin beside him, and invited Wen Tinglan to sit down and have some tea: "Why has His Majesty summoned you to the palace this time? Surely it's not to pre-select you as the top scholar?"
Looking at the mischievous smile on her grandfather's face, Wen Tinglan felt rather helpless: "His Majesty is testing my stance this time."
"Oh?" Wen Yue looked somewhat surprised. "Ji Heng actually dares to use members of the Wen family?"
Wen Tinglan remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "The princess is very likely to return to the capital."
Emperor Ji Heng had many brothers and many princesses, but the two of them knew perfectly well who these princesses were.
"Absolutely not!" Wen Yue, who had just been calm and composed, not even flinching when his only grandson was summoned away by the emperor late at night, suddenly stood up and said excitedly, "The Prince Xian has requested permission to return to the capital to report on his duties. His Majesty will definitely take action. The capital will not be peaceful during this period. Princess, you must not enter the capital at this time."
Wen Tinglan gently blew on the steam rising from her teacup, took a sip of tea, and then said unhurriedly, "What if Prince Ruoxian received the Princess's message first?"
The old man, who had just been frowning, was taken aback upon hearing this, and then slumped down as if all his strength had been drained away: "Princess, why are you doing this to yourself?"
Wen Tinglan continued, "The situation is still unclear. The news we received from His Majesty is that the Hengbo Sword has appeared in Jiangnan. Whether this person is the princess or whether he is coming to Yujing is still unknown."
“However,” he said, his brows furrowing, “if this person is not a princess, His Majesty should not make a move to alert him. Therefore, in Tinglan’s opinion, it is probably very close to the truth.”
“You’re right,” Wen Yue, having recovered from his shock, sat down again. “His Majesty has maintained close ties with the martial world over the years, and it’s not uncommon for him to be searching for the princess’s whereabouts.”
“But,” he gazed at the dark night sky outside the window, his weathered eyes reflecting the flickering candlelight, “the fire that burned down the Crown Prince’s residence and killed dozens of people back then still couldn’t burn away His Majesty’s suspicions.”
Wen Tinglan couldn't help but recall that great fire. Because the Crown Prince and the Wen family had always been on good terms, the Crown Prince chose a house adjacent to the Wen family when he left the palace to build his own residence.
On the night of the coup at the Eastern Palace, he, then only seven or eight years old, sensed the tense and solemn atmosphere throughout the entire household. Feeling uneasy, he immediately ran to his father's study to ask him something, but at the study door, he heard the sound of porcelain shattering and his grandfather's voice, which seemed to have drained all his life force: "His Highness has ordered that no one should act rashly before he leaves the palace. Are you trying to get His Highness accused of treason?"
He didn't listen to what was said after that, only knowing that something had happened at the Crown Prince's residence. He then tried to climb over the low wall connecting the two houses.
However, just as he climbed over the wall of the Crown Prince's residence, he was embraced by a pair of warm arms. He turned around and saw his father, whose forehead was still bleeding profusely.
He instinctively tried to kick off his father's restraints, but was pushed upwards by a force. When he sat steadily on the wall, looking puzzled, he saw his father smile at him: "Go ahead."
After saying that, his father turned and left. At that moment, he suddenly felt that his father's originally imposing and resolute back now seemed somewhat lost and helpless.
The commotion of his landing immediately attracted the attention of Uncle Liu, the steward of the Crown Prince's residence. Uncle Liu came out to see what was happening, and when he saw it was him, he first breathed a sigh of relief, but then his expression immediately changed: "Young Master, why are you here at this time? You must go back now."
He pursed his lips and said, "I need to see the princess. I have something to tell her."
Uncle Liu sighed: "The princess is in the madam's room now. Let her and the madam stay a little longer."
"Is the princess leaving? Where is she going?" He no longer maintained his mature demeanor and asked anxiously.
Uncle Liu patted his head and smiled without saying a word. But the sadness in that smile was impossible to hide.
He seemed to be infected by this sadness as well, and his tone became much lower: "And what about you? What will you do?"
Uncle Liu continued with a laugh, "We've all prepared ourselves for this." After saying that, he ignored his struggles and put him back on the wall. "Go back and get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, all of this will be over."
However, the Wen family had no night that day, only a different kind of day illuminated by the firelight.
The fire at the Crown Prince's residence burned for an entire night, and from then on, Wen Jie never saw the little girl who taught him to climb over walls and crawl through dog holes again.
Pulling her thoughts away from her memories, Wen Tinglan's frosty brows and eyes also showed a hint of weariness: "No matter what the princess thinks, I will have Chang Sheng guard the city gate in the next few days and try to stop them."
Looking at his slightly haggard face, Wen Yue felt a pang of heartache for his grandson: "You've had a tough time all these years."
Wen Tinglan said sadly, "But the Crown Prince's former subordinates have dwindled to this point, and they can't even protect the princess's identity."
Wen Yue was more insightful than him: "If Shenxiao's death can give his old subordinates a chance to breathe, it might as well be protecting the princess."
Yujing was not located by the river, and Hengbo, having traveled by water from Changzhou to the Central Plains, had to switch to land travel. However, she couldn't ride a horse, and couldn't simply walk to Yujing like that. Fortunately, a local security escort agency needed to escort a group of merchants to Yujing.
The caravan leader, seeing that she was a little girl and mute, agreed to take her along after she paid two taels of silver.
At this moment, Hengbo sat in a carriage with the women of the caravan. In addition to her, there was an old woman, a woman, and a girl of about ten years old in the carriage.
The little girl called the woman "Mother," but both mother and daughter called the old woman "Grandma." To Hengbo's surprise, the old woman was also mute, just like her.
The woman was talkative. One of her relatives had passed the imperial examination and become a tribute student. Her family was planning to do some business in Yujing, so they could help each other out.
Seeing that Hengbo was a lonely and helpless girl, she felt sorry for her and kindly offered her daughter and Hengbo some pastries to eat together.
Hengbo was overwhelmed by this unexpected kindness from a stranger and sat there awkwardly like a pitiful little chick.
The same kind-faced old woman gestured to her and said, "It will take at least ten days to get to Yujing, young lady, so don't be shy. You can call her Aunt Chen, and me Grandma Green. As for this little girl, her name is Er Gou."
The little girl seemed to understand sign language. When Granny Green mentioned her, she secretly rolled her eyes but didn't dare to argue.
Although they had reached Zhongzhou, Yujing was located in the northernmost part of Zhongzhou, and this group was on a business trip, with several large boxes of medicinal herbs pulled behind their carriage. It was impossible for them to travel day and night, and they would have to find shelter from the rain along the way to prevent the herbs from getting wet. Therefore, Granny Green's estimate of ten days or so was actually a conservative estimate.
Thinking of this, Hengbo felt a little more at ease, and within a few days she became familiar with the people in the carriage, especially the girl named Er Gou. The reason was that Er Gou discovered the sword Hengbo was carrying, and she happened to have a dream of traveling the world with a sword and punishing evil along the way...
After getting to know Er Gou better, Heng Bo learned that she was actually fourteen years old this year (by Chinese reckoning).
Seeing the disbelief in Hengbo's eyes, Ergou said angrily, "What kind of look is that? You look like you've just come of age."
What puzzled Hengbo was that ordinary people would usually give way to martial artists, but the people in the carriage acted as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Only Er Gou was surprised for a while, while Aunt Chen and Granny Lü did not change their expressions at all. Er Gou was actually just trying to learn swordsmanship from her.
However, Aunt Shen and Granny Lü's sincerity made Hengbo realize that he was overthinking things. Perhaps they had been merchants for many years and had seen many people in the martial arts world, so they were used to it.
As the group swayed back and forth in the carriage, in a desolate and bleak mansion in Yujing, Hei Feng, with a bitter expression, was silently tidying up the wildly growing weeds in the courtyard. In a cleared area, a rocking chair made of rosewood was placed, and on it, a dashing young man in a snow-blue cloud satin robe was idly playing with a strand of black hair twirling between his fingers.
In the afternoon sunlight, he squinted his pair of bright, languid eyes, looking as lazy as a thoroughly content raccoon.
Hei Feng grew angrier and angrier as he watched this scene. He really didn't understand why the young master would choose such a dilapidated place instead of the plenty of houses in Yujing City that he could buy and live in. Did his pavilion really lack such a little bit of money?
Moreover, that's not all; he also had to lie down and act all high and mighty in front of others while they were working. Those who praise "Brother Shen is truly a gentleman" every day should see what kind of person their young master really is in private.
"Black Wind, I heard you cursing me." The person on the recliner didn't even bother to lift their head, and suddenly said this with their back to him.
As for Black Wind, who was being denounced... Black Wind ignored him and even rolled his eyes.
"You've worked hard these past few days. Once Granny Green arrives in a few days, we can both relax a bit."
Granny Green has been taking care of Shen Guitang since he was a child. She is extremely skilled in pharmacology and is also known as Green Robe because she always wears green clothes. She is one of the four guardians along with Black Wind, White Cloud, and Red Rouge.
Black Wind was not pleased by his words. The relationship between the four protectors was quite ordinary, and Granny Green acted entirely according to her mood. He was afraid that he might offend her one day and be poisoned to death the next.
Besides, doesn't Granny Green have a mission on this trip?
A deep voice drifted from afar: "Judging by the days, it's about time to take action."
A note from the author:
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Let me explain the subtle exchange between the Emperor and Wen Tinglan. The Emperor doesn't actually care whether Hengbo is alive or not, but Ji Yu must be dead, because Ji Yu's identity is the biggest threat to him. So, he's using Hengbo as leverage to force Wen Tinglan to admit that Ji Yu is dead. As for why Wen Tinglan is the target, I won't spoil it here.
PS: The 5000-word bonus chapter for reaching 20 favorites has been delivered. Merry Christmas to all my little angels!
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