Chapter 109 In the Subtle Flow: If you need anything, feel free to contact me. ...
[To Wanwan:]
We met when we were young, were betrothed at the age of three, and stayed together for only a few years.
I once swore that I would marry no one but you. However, I am not a man of my word, and now I must break my promise.
Since joining the Bureau of History, I have not only written history for the people of my time, but also to preserve the truth for future generations. However, if I were to abandon morality in order to survive, this would not be the conduct of a gentleman. Some who admire me, and who are saddened by my predicament, cannot uphold my principles and instead abandon me for others; this is all our fault.
I die for my principles and righteousness; I can say that I have died a worthy death.
But I only regret losing you.
If you ask me what my regret in this life is, it is that I cannot grow old with Wanwan. You have a long life ahead of you. If one day you find someone who truly loves you, then remarry. Do not remain alone.
All matters concerning the family business have been arranged. My younger brother Wenji is capable of taking over the business and managing the household. Our parents are in good health and can be entrusted to him. You can rest assured.
I have acquired a residence in Jian'an City, originally intended as a home for you and me. Now, I hereby gift this residence to you, and the land deed is hereby submitted. Wanwan may bring her parents to live with her in their old age.
There is a little silver left; half will be left to support my parents, and the other half will be for you to keep.
With this arrangement, I feel somewhat at ease.
Of all the people, the only one I can't let go of is you, and no one else.
By the time you see this book, I will have already passed away.
I only hope that Wanwan will not cause me grief.
Wanwan, my love...
Wanwan, my love...
Please forgive me...
[A tribute to his final work]
As Xinmo read to the end, Langxi sobbed in anguish.
She touched the words on the letter and the bloodstains on it, her fingertips trembling.
Xu Cai stared at the blood on the letter, his fists clenched, his mind filled with images of how he had killed his brother with a knife.
The story of Yin Jiu committing suicide was a lie; the truth was that Xu Jingyang bowed his head and was willing to be killed by him to protect his younger brother from being implicated.
In such an incident, Xu Cai, the younger brother, had no choice.
He had to prove his loyalty to the emperor and the royal family.
This proves that for him, the blood of his relatives is less important than the face of the emperor, and that he will obey Wang Situ's orders and do whatever he is told.
At the recommendation of Wang Ju'an, the youngest daughter of the Wang family, Wang Situ, who usually didn't meddle in other people's business, suggested a way out for his daughter's sake: kill his brother to put the emperor at ease.
This way, he himself wouldn't be implicated and transferred out of the Wuwei Camp.
He hesitated, wavered, and remained indecisive... but eventually he realized that no matter what choice he made, his brother Xu Jingyang would be killed.
Xu Jingyang's death was already predetermined when he stubbornly refused to change his mind and insisted on recording the Cheng family's fate in history. No emperor throughout history had ever allowed such a scandal to ruin his reputation for generations to come.
If that's the case, he can only leave himself a sliver of hope so that he can take revenge in the future.
And so, Xu Jingyang's blood became his pledge of allegiance to Zhao Yunfu.
Langxi stroked the letter, now soaked with her tears, again and again. The grief that almost strangled her heart was replaced by a loud wail that echoed throughout the courtyard.
Yu Nie couldn't bear to see her like this, and hugged her while crying, "If Brother Xu knew this in the afterlife, he would also be restless..."
Pain and hatred mingled in Lang Xi's eyes as she hissed, "The Zhao royal family, and those powerful clans... killed my husband and murdered my junior brother... I will make them all pay with their lives for this blood feud!"
Upon hearing that Langxi knew of Ahui's death, Yu Nie assumed that her letter had been delivered, but she still subconsciously turned to look at Xu Cai beside her, as if asking him how Langxi should cope with such successive blows.
Xu Cai, misinterpreting Yu Nie's questioning gaze, instead recounted the events leading up to their arrival, step by step:
“When Axi rushed back from Xuzhou, she took a shortcut and passed by the place where Ahui’s new grave was located. She saw the words on the tombstone and asked the old man guarding the grave. The old man told her in detail who was buried there.”
"When she stepped into the gate of the Wuwei Camp, she pressed me to tell her how Ahui died. I could no longer hide it, so I told her everything that had happened that day."
Even after learning that it wasn't because of her letter, but for some other reason, Yu Nie still felt extremely guilty.
She never imagined that Xu Jingyang would also be in trouble, and these two things were unfolding before her in such a cruel and straightforward way.
For a moment, she didn't even know where to comfort Langxi.
Looking at her junior sister, who was in unbearable pain, she felt a thousand words stuck in her throat.
She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. Any words, any comfort, seemed utterly inadequate at that moment.
After Xu Cai finished speaking, Lang Xi hugged the urn in his arms, his crying gradually stopped, and he lowered his head as if he had fallen into a deathly silence.
Seeing her like this, Yu Nie panicked and called out to her softly, "Junior Sister..."
Before she could finish speaking, Langxi suddenly swayed and fell straight into her arms.
*
The night was warm and the moon was bright with few stars.
Yu Nie was taking care of Lang Xi, who was still asleep on the bed, in the bedroom.
After a long journey without a drop of water, coupled with excessive grief, Langxi, who was usually in good health, could not withstand such torment and shock and fainted.
Xu Cai and Huan Xun stood outside the door, occasionally peering inside through the open window.
Yesterday was the start of autumn, but the heat in the air hasn't subsided much; it's still quite hot.
In the eyes of the court officials, Huan Xun was a minister highly regarded by the emperor.
At least on the surface, that seems to be the case.
Xu Cai realized that Zhao Yunfu had overheard her earlier remarks about his past, and she immediately felt that she had made a mistake, giving him a handle to use against her. She couldn't help but feel uneasy.
But then he thought again, since Yu Nie brought him along, their relationship must be quite special. When A Hui had his accident, he had wholeheartedly helped Hongzheng Pavilion without avoiding suspicion.
With the previous incident as a precedent, his worries finally subsided when he saw Yu Nie following Huan Xun's gaze.
Huan Xun did not look at him, but when he noticed his gaze, he calmly said, "Xu Zhige need not worry. What I said today came from your mouth and entered my ears. It will not be known to outsiders."
To be honest, he knew about this old story much earlier than anyone else present.
Not only earlier than them, but also earlier than Xu Jingyang, who insisted on putting all of this into writing.
Xu Cai made a few polite remarks: "I am not worried that Lord Huan will leak the secret, but I am surprised that you, with such important matters to attend to, would still visit my brother's home."
The struggle between Huan Xun and those aristocratic families has been common knowledge since the court held a public meeting the day before yesterday.
It is not surprising that Xu Cai brought this up at this moment.
“The princess used to stay at my residence. I heard that I had something important to discuss with her, so I came to see her.” Although he spoke casually, Xu Cai sensed something unusual in his words.
He met Huan Xun several times when he was in charge of the palace gates.
Based on what he had seen and heard, he did not believe that this seemingly eloquent but actually unapproachable young tutor of the Crown Prince would be so warm-hearted.
Before he could reply, Yu Nie, who had entrusted Lang Xi to Song Ai's care, quietly closed the door and left.
She stopped in front of the two of them and asked Xu Cai, "Didn't Junior Sister go to Xuzhou to find Brother Xu? How did she suddenly find out that Brother Xu had passed away?"
When it comes to this matter, all we can say is that it was fate, and there was nothing he could do about it.
When asked, Xu Cai explained the reason:
"Axi encountered a man from the Secretariat on her way. He was a guard of the Secretariat and had met Axi once before. He was originally going back to his hometown to visit relatives. When he learned that Axi had gone to Xuzhou to find her brother, he probably took pity on her and couldn't bear to see her being kept in the dark. So he told her about her brother being imprisoned."
Upon hearing this reason, Yu Nie remained silent for a long time.
She said, "Brother Xu and Junior Brother's affairs, these two things have been too much of a blow to Junior Sister, how is she going to get over this..."
After speaking, she turned to look at Langxi, who was still lying unconscious, her eyes filled with tears.
Gazing at the tears in her eyes, Huan Xun, who was never good at comforting people, seemed unable to bear seeing her like this.
He instinctively wanted to raise his hand to wipe away her tears, to reach out and catch the falling teardrops.
His fingers, which were hanging by his side, twitched slightly. In the end, he suppressed the inexplicable restlessness in his body and calmly said, "Master Shen is a member of the Taoist sect and has a chivalrous spirit. She is not an ordinary person. In any case, I believe that she will pull herself together and get through this ordeal."
The moment their eyes met, Yu Nie sensed a coldness in the other person's eyes that was different from usual, but rather a reassuring power.
Just then, Xie Cheng strode in from outside the door.
He walked up to Huan Xun, presented him with a finely rolled-up scroll, and whispered, "My lord, a secret letter from the Commander-in-Chief."
Huan Xun took it, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Xu Cai beside him. He deftly untied the rope and unfolded the paper for a quick look.
In a flash, he put the note away and turned to Yu Nie: "My godfather has something important to ask me, and I need to return to the manor immediately to reply."
He paused briefly, then asked her again, "Tonight... are you going to stay here to take care of Master Shen?"
Yu Nie nodded: "I'm worried about leaving Junior Sister alone, so I have to stay."
She said, "If the adults have something to do, they can go back and take care of it first."
Huan Xun pondered for a moment: "Alright. If anything happens, remember to send someone to tell me."
He then summoned Lu, the attendant, and said, "You stay here to protect the princess, and you must not slack off in the slightest."
Lu Jinshi glanced at Yu Nie. Even though he was unwilling, he had to carry out the mission properly.
He bowed and replied, "Yes, sir."
Yu Nie said, "My lord, you are busy with official duties. It would be more appropriate for Attendant Lu to stay by your side. I am safe here, so there is no need to worry about me."
Huan Xun didn't go along with her this time: "You've offended those families, and it's hard to guarantee they won't try to sabotage you. After all, assassination is their specialty."
"Lu Jinshi is a bit stubborn, but his martial arts skills are quite good. With him around..."
The last sentence was about to come out of his mouth when he changed it: "It's safer for you."
Before she could relent, he immediately said, "Okay, I won't delay any longer. If you need anything, feel free to contact me anytime."
After speaking, he turned and left with Xie Cheng.
Watching his departing figure, Yu Nie wondered if the letter might mention his struggle against the aristocratic clans.
Xu Cai moved closer to her and said thoughtfully, "Huan Xun treats you very well, Qiqi. Does he like you?"
Yu Nie was taken aback and quickly said, "No, Brother Xu, you misunderstand. We only spent time together in Huaiyuan and have some acquaintance."
When she said that, Xu Cai thought she was overthinking it and was about to speak.
Song Ai stood by the window and called out to them with delight, "Princess, Xu Zhige, Daoist Shen has woken up."
＊
On the way back to Jiheng Prefecture.
Huan Xun, while pulling on the reins, took out the secret letter given to him by Yan Yue again and read it through.
Xie Cheng asked curiously, "Does the Commander agree with the plan proposed by the Lord?"
Huan Xun did not deny it.
The Gao, Wang, and Chen families wanted to send their sons to the battlefield to share in the military merits.
He might as well go with the flow, agree to their idea, and give them some benefits to try.
Once we get to the battlefield, whatever happens there is up to fate.
In this way, they can both eliminate a portion of the enemy's forces and, on the surface, relieve the emperor's burden.
Killing two birds with one stone, how wonderful!
Xie Cheng: "But won't those companies wonder why we suddenly agreed to let them interfere in the northern frontier?"
"Our godfather made a mistake in command, and we conceded some benefits in exchange for a lighter punishment. This is a reasonable and well-founded action, so how can it be said to be sudden?"
"Would the Emperor agree to your proposal?"
"Whether he agrees or not, the decision is no longer his."
Huan Xun explained the current situation to him:
"The Emperor's direct troops, in total, number just over 40,000, including the Martial Guard Battalion, the Imperial Horse Administration, and his own Feathered Guard."
"Of these 40,000 men, the Imperial Horse Administration is the strongest, followed by the Martial Guard Battalion."
"But such a small number of people are enough to guard the palace. But to deal with the gentry who have 70,000 followers is even more difficult."
"With insufficient military power and half of the court dependent on the gentry for survival, what does it matter what the emperor says?"
"Moreover, Zhao Yunfu had no reason to disagree. He was fed up with the tyranny of the aristocratic clans. In addition, the aristocratic clans would not give up until they got an absolute advantage in this incident. Zhao Yunfu was focused on the northern frontier, but at the same time he had to be careful about the actions of the Southern Yin. As long as he could shut these people up immediately, he would be happy to do so."
The deaths of a few aristocratic scions are not enough. Huan Xun pondered the larger picture: "The four great families have a considerable number of retainers, but in my opinion, there are still too many..."
As he spoke, he already had a plan in mind, which was also an important part of what he planned to tell Yan Yue in the letter.
"There are still too many people, what's wrong?" Xie Cheng waited for his next sentence.
He grinned, full of vigor and high spirits, and raised his whip, lashing it hard across the horse's rump.
His clear voice rang out, accompanied by the sound of horses' hooves: "There are too many people; we have to kill them."
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Author's note: They have abandoned me and gone elsewhere. —From Li Shangyin
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