Chapter 4: Prophecy: He cannot be saved, but there are people who can save him.
Prince Jin stared at the bronze mirror for a long time.
Although the man in the mirror had gentle features, his face was pale from long illness. The autumn light shone through the small window, making his face look like a layer of cicada wing painting.
Only his pupils were pitch black, vaguely retaining their former brilliance.
"The number of the Great Derivations is fifty, the number of the Heavenly Derivations is forty-nine, and one is hidden by man. Your Highness the Prince of Jin—"
After being given a cold, knife-like look, Taoist Taixiao quickly changed his words: "I'm saying, Third Young Master Xie, everything is subject to change. Who would have thought it would be such a coincidence that the King of Jin's birth date and time are the same as yours, and the circumstances at that time made him the perfect body for his soul to return to."
The eight characters are the same...why is it the King of Jin?
Although the Prince of Jin was a prince, he was not the emperor's biological son, but a posthumous son born to Princess Xuande when she lost her husband.
He was born weak, and the emperor took pity on the loneliness of mother and son, so in order to improve his fate, he gave him the imperial surname Xiao.
The compassion for the orphans and the weak was unintentional, but it later became the key to the court struggle.
The King of Jin turned the bronze mirror upside down, felt very tired, and sat down on a round chair.
He mentioned the difficulty of his current situation: "The current emperor has no son. Ten years ago, my father—I mean, Prime Minister Xie—led a group of officials to petition the emperor to adopt a son and establish a crown prince. Because of this, the entire Censorate was dismissed, and two out of three senior officials who petitioned were fired. It took such a huge price to persuade the emperor to compromise."
"Although he agreed to adopt a son, he did not choose the Prince of Huai, who was recommended by all the ministers. Instead, he chose Xiao Cheng, the son of the princess who was born sickly and couldn't even walk properly, and named him the Prince of Jin."
He looked out the window and said, "Everyone hopes that Prince Jin will die. If Prince Jin doesn't die, the Eastern Palace will not be established."
He asked Taoist Taixiao how to transfer his soul back to his own body. Taoist Taixiao spread his hands and shook his head.
It's nothing unusual for him to be a piece of trash.
Then he patiently asked, "Where is your junior sister, Master Jiangxia, now?"
Taoist Taixiao said, "Junior sister, the old lady doesn't want to see you. She said that fate is the cause of everything and told you to fend for yourself."
Prince Jin was about to say something when he suddenly felt his blood stagnating. He covered his mouth and coughed suddenly. After a while, he calmed down and found that his palm was blood red.
A dying body, hanging on to only one breath, not knowing how many days it has left to live. How can there be any happiness, and how can one seek happiness for oneself?
Prince Jin stood up and washed the blood from his palms, then said, "I want to see Ah Ying."
After saying this, he picked up his wooden crutch, walked slowly to the door, and asked the servant boy standing by to lead the way to the stable.
Just after passing through the living courtyard, across the pavilions and ponds, Prince Jin saw Princess Xuande and several others rushing towards him.
She was accompanied by the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, the director of the Imperial Observatory, and another person wearing the official uniform of the inner palace and a fu hat, who walked and smiled.
It was Xue Huanjin, the eunuch beside the emperor.
In his previous life, Xie Xuanlan had fought with him and knew that there was another noble master behind him.
The King of Jin stopped and said to the servant boy, "Let's go another way."
Unexpectedly, the leading servant ignored the question and rushed straight to the princess, reporting in front of everyone: "His Highness has asked me to lead the way to the stables. He is in a hurry and I don't know who he is going out to look for. I dare not disobey his order, but I am afraid that something bad may happen to His Highness."
Xue Huanjin glanced at Prince Jin's legs and asked with a smile, "When did Your Highness learn to ride a horse?"
Prince Jin thought to himself that this was a bad idea.
This is the Prince Jin's Mansion, a place he is not familiar with. Not only does he not know the details of the people around him, he doesn't even understand the background and personality of Prince Jin.
I had no choice but to hold my forehead and cry out in pain.
The eldest princess looked worried: "Doctor Zhang, please take a look at my son. What's wrong with him?"
Prince Jin was helped back to his room, where he lay on a couch. Doctor Zhang examined him. Xue Huanjin, smiling, said, "I heard that a little ghost has possessed Prince Jin. Doctor Zhang shouldn't be consulted. Doctor Chen from the Imperial Observatory should be consulted. Prince Jin has a weak leg. Why is he suddenly running towards the stables?"
The Prince of Jin did not answer, remaining expressionless and silent. Xue Huanjin had no choice but to turn to Princess Xuande and said, "The Prince of Jin has died. The Imperial Medical Bureau has personally examined him, and there should be no mistake. Perhaps it was that little devil—"
The princess said angrily, "What kind of people are kept in the Imperial Medical Bureau? My Lord should know better than me. They can't even take care of the heirs of His Majesty. How can we expect them to decide whether someone lives or dies?"
Xue Huanjin didn't dare to respond, so he just laughed it off and talked about something else.
He said, "Prince Jin was about to leave. Could it be that he was going to accuse the Jiang family of their offense? Your Highness, don't worry about this matter. The Jiang family has ulterior motives and their crime is not small. His Majesty will definitely avenge your Highness."
Doctor Zhang's hand was a little heavy when inserting the needle, and Prince Jin frowned for a moment.
But still nothing else to say.
Doctor Zhang withdrew his needles and reported to the Princess, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin's condition remains the same as before. He has internal heat and blood stagnation in his lungs, indicating tuberculosis. He needs rest. As for the rest, I cannot say for sure whether he will live or die, let alone his spirit or soul."
There was some anger in his words, but the princess, who was so focused on Prince Jin, didn't notice. When she heard Prince Jin say he was tired, she quickly called for someone to help him get some rest.
Prince Jin stood up and when he passed by Xue Huanjin, he heard him saying goodbye to the eldest princess.
"I still have to go to the Jiang family and then return to the palace to report. I will not bother you two princes for the time being."
After saying this, he turned around, declined the farewell, and left the Prince of Jin's Mansion along the same path he came.
The King of Jin went back to his inner room without saying a word, changed his clothes and lay down quietly, as if he was fast asleep. He did not open his eyes again until everyone outside had left.
His hands fell to his sides, and his five slender and distinct fingers slowly knocked down one by one.
This was a common habit of his when he was deep in thought.
Taoist Taixiao, who was hiding behind the screen, was so frightened when he saw him like this that he kept rubbing his chest.
After all, he and Xie Xuanlan were old acquaintances. He was almost skinned alive by Xie Xuanlan in his previous life, so he had developed the ability to sense any sign of trouble.
"Who are you going to skin this time?" asked Taoist Taixiao.
The Prince of Jin looked at him, his pale lips curled upwards, but his eyes were dark and chilling: "Xue Huanjin is trying to test my attitude towards Censor Jiang. The noble master behind him has already reached out to the Prince of Jin's Mansion."
The servant in the funeral procession who witnessed him climbing out of the coffin and the servant who had just led him to the stable were probably the eyes and ears of the noble lord.
He wanted to see Cong Ying, his love was so strong that he would not hesitate to pay any price, but if the price involved her safety, he would not dare...
I dare not take another wrong step.
The nightmare from my previous life is still vivid in my mind. Whenever I think of it, I feel a cold and fishy smell of blood rising in my throat.
"That noble lady doesn't want to see me alive. From what Xue Huanjin said, she wants to frame me with ghost stories and use them to implicate everyone who gets in her way, such as the Jiang family."
Taoist Taixiao asked, "The Jiang family is in trouble, do you want to save them?"
The King of Jin replied, "If I take action, I will put her on the edge of the sword."
"Then you won't save me?"
King Jin: "Then I'd rather die."
Taoist Taixiao seemed to understand: "Uh..."
"Prince Jin cannot take action, but there are others who can."
Prince Jin looked at Taoist Taixiao, who instinctively knew it was not an easy task.
Sure enough, he said, "Master, please help me lead someone there."
＊
Xie Xuanlan received information from his spy planted in the Huben Guards that the eunuch Xue Huanjin wanted the Huben Guards to search the Jiang family.
Xie Xuanlan told his father, Prime Minister Xie, about this. Prime Minister Xie said, "Old Imperial Censor Jiang has written a letter discussing the issue of appointing a crown prince. Everyone is watching to see what will happen to the Jiang family, hoping to choose between the favorable situation for my Xie family and the unfavorable situation for your lord. Xuanlan, you might as well go and take a look, lest the Jiang family be bullied and my Xie family lose its prestige."
Xie Xuanlan said: "If father wants to be dignified, he should hide it. Besides, Jiang Jia is not a good dog. He has no sense and no strength to bite people. Why bother with him?"
Prime Minister Xie understood the elegant meaning of the music and asked, "You don't want to go, do you?"
Xie Xuanlan did not comment, but picked up the new horsewhip that the attendant had just brought to him for inspection and played with it.
I thought to myself: What if I go? I'll lose another whip.
Prime Minister Xie looked helpless and shook his head with a smile.
I could discipline this son when he was young, but now I can no longer treat him normally.
So he said, "Forget it, let the Jiang family fend for themselves."
Xie Xuanlan made an excuse to leave. When Mrs. Xie came to look for Prime Minister Xie, she saw her husband watching the chess endgame with his hands behind his back, as if he was lost in thought.
Madam Xie laughed and said, "Are you suspecting Ziguan is deliberately leaking information again?"
Prime Minister Xie said, "He was in a bad mood and nearly killed me."
Madam Xie stepped forward and asked, "Why is this?"
"It's probably about the Jiang family."
Prime Minister Xie said, "He went to the Jiang family yesterday and met the fourth daughter of the Jiang family. Perhaps he was not satisfied with her."
Mrs. Xie also sighed after hearing this: "The conditions proposed by Old Censor Jiang..."
"Never mind, let's just wait and see."
Prime Minister Xie swept the messy chessboard with a flick of his sleeve and ordered the servant to start a new chessboard. He took Madam Xie's hand and said, "Let's not talk about him anymore. Madam, please give us some pointers so that we don't let that brat get away with it again next time."
Xie Xuanlan resigned from the job of helping the Jiang family out of trouble, but turned around and led his men to patrol the streets. When he passed by Prince Jin's Mansion, he happened to see Taoist Taixiao sneaking out from the low wall.
Taoist Taixiao's eyes lit up when he saw him: "Thank you, Third Young Master, we're old acquaintances!"
Xie Xuanlan didn't bother to pay attention to him and continued to ride his horse forward. However, Taoist Taixiao jumped off the wall and stretched out his arms to block Xie Xuanlan's horse.
Xie Xuanlan glared at him coldly: "Tahong once kicked a pig that blocked his way away. Do you want to try it too?"
"Speaking of pigs, I think of you, Third Young Master."
Seeing Xie Xuanlan pull out his Yanzhi knife and about to chop him, Taoist Taixiao quickly waved his hand: "What I mean is, I remembered the Third Young Master and told you a fortune. Do you want to listen?" Xie Xuanlan said: "Get lost."
Taoist Taixiao: "It's free—"
Before he could finish his words, the Yanzhi knife cut across his head, splitting his scarf in half.
Taoist Taixiao turned and ran, shouting as he ran: "Only cowards and lunatics don't believe in fate! You look down on me now, but one day you will kneel down and beg me for mercy!"
Xie Xuanlan's teeth itched, and he ordered the accompanying golden armor Fengchen guards: "Whoever catches him first will be whipped thirty times and rewarded with a jar of Xinlingchun."
Dozens of golden-armored cavalrymen heard the sound and started chasing after him. The Taoist Taixiao turned around and went into the alley.
The alley was narrow and the horses had difficulty moving forward, but Xie Xuanlan was still the one riding away, his red robe fluttering. There were several times when he was about to grab Taoist Taixiao by the scruff of the neck, but he mysteriously dodged it, as if he had eyes on his back and his feet were greased.
After passing through three or two alleys, Taoist Taixiao disappeared around the corner. Xie Xuanlan reined in his horse and found that he had arrived at the gate of Jiang's mansion.
Xie Xuanlan was slightly stunned.
He always thought that the fraudulent Taoist priest was the King of Jin's man, so why was he leading him to the gate of the Jiang family now?
Is the Prince of Jin's Mansion related to the Jiang family? Does the Prince of Jin want to see the Master, or does he not want to see the Master?
Prince Jin's behavior in the past two days was so abnormal that Xie Xuanlan couldn't figure it out for a while.
Forget it, it’s done now.
Xie Xuanlan heard the noise inside through the wall and rode his horse closer to the Jiang family.
Since you are here.
＊
The Huben Guards broke open the Jiang family's door, saying they wanted to search for evidence of the old censor Jiang's slander.
They brought over a child of five or six, who began to sing: "Water poured on the ground doesn't flow, officials walk in the snow. Roosters don't lay eggs, hens are so brave."
The chief guard said, "Someone reported that this sinister nursery rhyme originated from the Jiang residence."
Mrs. Cai from the eldest house does not understand state affairs, and Mrs. Zhao from the second house has no opinion of her own. At present, only Cong Ying can manage the affairs. After hearing the nursery rhyme, she frowned subconsciously.
Ah He just thought it was funny. She clung to Cong Ying's sleeve and said, "Sister, he sang it wrong. How can water spilled on the ground not flow? Roosters can't lay eggs anyway."
Cong Ying said, "I don't understand either."
In fact, she has already figured out the metaphor.
The current emperor has no son, but he has a legitimate princess. Because she has power over government affairs, she is extremely honored and is called "the noble princess" both inside and outside the court.
As the saying goes, a daughter who is married off is like spilled water. This noble lady has been married for more than ten years, but she has neither lived with her husband's family nor left the capital to accept her fief. She lives in the princess's mansion next to the imperial palace every day. It is connected to the inner palace and the forbidden garden by a flying plank, allowing her to come and go at any time. The saying "water spilled on the ground does not flow away" refers to this.
In order to oppose the construction of the flying stack and persuade the emperor to adopt an heir, the entire Censorate once stood in the snow to make remonstrations, and several people froze to death or were frostbitten. This is the saying "Censors walking in the snow".
As for "The rooster doesn't lay eggs, but the hen is very brave", it is even more straightforward and unpleasant.
It is said that the current Emperor Fengqi has no son, but allows his daughter to usurp the power of the Eastern Palace. The noble lady is arrogant and as aggressive as a rooster.
The viciousness of this nursery rhyme not only slandered the emperor and the noble lord, but also became a basin of dirty water poured on the Jiang family.
The chief guard said, "When Censor Jiang was alive, he submitted a memorial discussing the appointment of a successor to the imperial family, and it became widely known. This nursery rhyme must be connected to your family. I have been ordered to come and gather evidence. Anyone who obstructs me will be considered an accomplice!"
Cong Ying, draped in a white linen mourning gown, stood in front of a group of black-robed guards. The cool breeze at the end of the day blew her loose robe, making her look like a lonely and flexible reed in the dark golden autumn light.
She did not back down, but instead advised the head guard, "My grandfather's body is still warm. According to national law, the arrest of a censor requires the Prime Minister's approval, and a fourth-rank official requires an imperial decree. Your abrupt behavior may become public, giving your descendants a reason to criticize you."
The chief guard scoffed, "How dare a mere woman talk about the laws of the land?"
Cong Ying lowered her eyes and said, "A mere woman... If the noble behind you heard these four words, I wonder what they would think."
The head of the guards: "How dare you raise such a charge—"
As soon as I opened my mouth, I realized I had said something wrong.
Sure enough, Cong Ying smiled softly and said, "It really is your Excellency."
The chief guard was enraged by her and drew his sword with a clang, putting it against Cong Ying's neck.
Her slender neck was so fragile that it seemed as if it would be cut by the sword light, but she did not avoid it but instead took a half step forward, leaving a blood mark on her neck in an instant.
But his tone was still gentle: "This nursery rhyme is not spread by my family. If you want to vent your anger on behalf of your master, please find the wrong person and cause trouble for your master."
The guard leader refused to listen to her words: "Sweet words and flattery, I must search you today!"
"Then step over my dead body and make this a big deal."
Cong Ying said without hesitation, "If it is indeed my family's fault, then I deserve the punishment. If my family is innocent, the great court officials will seek justice for me."
Cong Ying certainly knew that there were too many people in the court, both civil and military, waiting to find something to hold against your lord.
She sighed softly, "What a pity... I had no intention of becoming your lord's enemy."
For a moment, the guard leader was intimidated by her calm and fearless aura, but when he came to his senses, he was even more angry: "You dare to threaten me?"
In a moment of rage, the leader of the guards raised his sword towards Congying and was about to stab him. Congying subconsciously closed his eyes, but heard a crisp "ding" sound.
The sword was knocked off course and fell to the ground along with a stalk of osmanthus flower.
Congying tilted her head and looked towards the door.
The black gate was low and narrow, and people on horseback had to bend down to get in. He held a bow in his left hand and broke off another osmanthus branch from the side of the gate with his right hand. He used the branch as an arrow and aimed the bow at the leader of the guards.
The bright red osmanthus flowers were as dense as stars, blooming close to his cheek. His affectionate eyes were slightly raised, and his smile was like the brilliant autumn light.
It looks warm, but it feels as cold as ice when it blows into your bones.
"Third Young Master!"
Cong Ying knew Xie Xuanlan's archery skills and his temperament, and understood that if this osmanthus branch was shot, at best a guard leader would be killed or injured, and at worst the entire Tiger Guard would be massacred.
How will the Jiang family survive then?
Cong Ying's expression changed, and she stepped forward quickly: "Please show mercy, Third Young Master!"
Xie San looked at her, the smile in his eyes not diminishing: "Mrs. Jiang Si, you are not afraid of death yourself, but you are afraid of others' death?"
Cong Ying said, "My life and death are as insignificant as a feather. I just don't want the Third Young Master to get involved in trouble."
"What a saintly heart."
Xie San put away his sword and handed the unfired osmanthus flower to Congying with a smile. Congying hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward to take it and whispered a thank you.
But he heard him tauntingly say, "On one hand, you're taking care of your lord, and on the other hand, Fourth Lady, how can you possibly manage both?"
Cong Ying's face turned pale instantly.
It turns out he heard everything.
The author has something to say:
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Xie Xuanlan, courtesy name Ziguan, is a line from Lu Ji's "Wenfu": "Standing in the middle of the field, observing the mysteries."
Xiao Cheng, Prince of Jin, was styled Ruyu, which was derived from the Chinese character "玉如于成".
Jiang Congying's boudoir character will be discussed later, so I won't spoil it here. [Heart]
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