Chapter 57: Ladder to Heaven
That was the day when Jian Anting's innocent and passionate youth came to an end.
From that day on, he finally realized that his father's broad back was not enough to support his world, and the family created by his mother's tenderness was actually vulnerable. He had also reached the age where he could see the world clearly.
No matter how tightly the door was closed, it was of no use. His mother's resistance to Sun Lu Shi soon turned into flattery. When he saw her, she shed tears and said she was forced to do so. But secretly, she had already put on the silver bracelet given by Sun Lu Shi and couldn't let it go.
He heard gossip from his neighbors, and even his classmates at the Imperial College seemed to be looking at him with mockery. His life had fallen into its darkest and most helpless moment.
Then, on the day when the Chang'an dam collapsed, he and Yu Guangling left the Imperial College early and met the Princess of Lingling who came down from the prince's carriage.
He still clearly remembers the county lady's appearance that day.
Amidst the heavy autumn rain, officials from the Ministry of Works laid the bricks for her to follow up the steps to the palace. The eunuchs who drove the carriage set up a sandalwood carriage bench inlaid with gilded auspicious clouds and precious stones for her.
She lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand and held up a gold-and-silver-painted sixteen-bone palace umbrella with the other. The white silk of her mourning clothes surrounded her like moonlight, and a mutton-fat jade hairpin bound her thick hair like crow feathers.
When she got off the carriage, her silver-embroidered shawl moved in the wind, brushing against the golden bells and jade tassels on the carriage. The light reflected by the gold and jade swayed slightly on her fairy-like figure. The divine light flickered, making him feel as if he was looking directly into the sunlight. His eyes burned but he was reluctant to close them.
And that man whom he hated and wanted to kill, Sun Lushi, who was so arrogant in his family and whose parents depended on him, was standing at her feet at that moment, nodding and fawning in a servile manner, but was scolded and driven away in public, and was not even qualified to lift her skirt.
It was like a ray of blinding light that suddenly pierced into his dark and gloomy life.
His fate of sinking into the mire, in a rotten and filthy world, was suddenly redeemed at this moment. He saw the unreachable dream above the nine heavens, and saw a ladder to heaven that was more concrete than fairies and goddesses.
Bai Qiandeng, the Princess of Lingling County.
She is a royal noble, favored by the court, and favored by the royal family.
It was to help his mother escape from filth, to help his father stand up straight, to make Sun Lu Shi beg for mercy, and it was the only light he could see in the abyss of despair.
——And all of this will belong to his best friend Yu Guangling.
Why? When he heard Yu's parents accidentally mention their birth date, he looked at the Lingling County Lady, who was so close yet so far away. He felt dizzy and dazed, as if something was wrong with his eyes, and warm tears welled up that covered the world.
She was shrouded in a misty brilliance, impossible to see clearly, yet she existed so clearly that she seemed within reach in his despair.
Why, he thought, why couldn't the county lady belong to someone who needed her more?
He will definitely get the county lord, no matter who stands in his way, Yu Guangling or other candidates, or the most outstanding young man in the Tang Dynasty, no one can stop him.
He must replace it.
The truth is out and everything is settled.
Jian Anting finally couldn't pretend anymore and fell to his knees in the mud.
He looked up at Qian Deng, the woman who had saved him from despair and pushed him off the clouds with her own hands.
She was once his most tender dream when he was desperate and helpless, and also the blade that mercilessly killed him when he was proud and complacent.
But in the end, he just covered his face, and with a mixture of tears and laughter, he managed to squeeze out a few words: "It was my wishful thinking... Such a despicable and filthy me actually tried to get my hands on the high and mighty goddess and fairy, and dreamed of reaching for the unattainable stars in the sky..."
"You were indeed wrong, but your mistake wasn't in your pursuit of anyone or anything, nor in your ambition to rise. Rather, your methods for achieving this were completely wrong!" Qian Deng interrupted him, asking mercilessly, "Admittedly, you're in dire straits and in desperate need of salvation, but on what basis should Yu Guangling and Zheng Junshan become your stepping stones? They, like you, are students from humble backgrounds. Yu Guangling's family background is even more difficult than yours, but even when his family suffered a great disaster, he remained down-to-earth and worked diligently. Who would have thought that he would become your victim because of your dissatisfaction with the status quo? Do you know how your best friend, whom you mercilessly killed, treated you?"
She pulled a letter from her sleeve and threw it at him fiercely. "This is the letter he never had time to give me when Shangluo took me to your house to watch a good show. We found it in the shed of Yu Guangling's family that day. Look, the reason he wrote the letter was for you!"
Jian Anting held the letter tremblingly, staring at the words "Yu Guangling" on it, but he didn't have the courage to open it.
"This letter was written at home by Yu Guangling before he entered the palace. He said in the letter that because he was taciturn and of low status, he asked me to help deliver a letter of recommendation to the Crown Prince. Recommend..." Qian Deng stared intently at Jian Anting, who was kneeling in the mud before him, and spoke slowly, enunciating each word clearly, "Recommending Jian Anting and his son. I request that the court, at this critical juncture, promote talents regardless of their background and appoint Jian Anting and his son to lead the construction of dikes and flood control."
Jian Anting's face, ashen and pale as death, showed a dazed and astonished expression. He looked up at her in disbelief, his lips moving, but he couldn't say anything.
Qian Deng's voice was cold and tinged with a sigh. "He wrote in the letter that your family has been involved in flood control for generations, but after your father was selected for the Water Department, he had no support and was reduced to a small position as a guard. He witnessed you and your son defending the dike and turning the tide, and he knew you spent sleepless nights searching for a solution, exhausting your energy. He even knew that, given his status, asking me to advise the Crown Prince was an overreach, potentially ruining his own future and even his eligibility as my husband... Yet, even as timid and introverted as he was, he still gave his all for you, risking everything and doing the most extraordinary thing in his cautious life!"
In the dead silence at the scene, Qian Deng stared at him again and said, "Turn the letter over."
He flipped the envelope woodenly and saw on the back the prince's reply to Qian Deng:
When I inspected the breached levee, I summoned Jian Taiping for a questioning session, and he impressed me with his competence. I have instructed the Ministry of Works to review Jian Taiping's records and examine his achievements since arriving in Beijing. He is undoubtedly a descendant of family-trained scholars, and I have a deep understanding of flood control. I have appointed Jian Taiping to the Ministry of Works to handle the breached levee. If he demonstrates success, he will be promoted and rewarded.
"The Crown Prince has spoken, and the court has taken it seriously. Since you and your son possess true talent and dedication, you should have embarked on a successful career. If you hadn't harbored the thought of killing Yu Guangling, and your father had been promoted to the Ministry of Works, you could have pursued your ambitions and worked for the well-being of the people of Chang'an. That Sun Lushi who bullied your family would be nothing compared to you and your son."
Qiandeng sighed, took the letter back from his pale hand, unfolded it and handed it to him.
"Unfortunately, because you were too greedy and impatient, the person who wrote this letter was ruthlessly killed by you."
The letter was written in the handwriting of his good friend Yu Guangling, which was very familiar to him.
Each character was written in neat small regular script, carefully recounting their interactions as students from humble backgrounds. They shared a bowl of hot porridge after studying all night, fought tooth and nail in school competitions, encouraged each other when bullied by powerful people, and vowed to benefit the people together while climbing high to survey the water's surface...
He finally burst into tears and knelt in the mud for a long time without being able to raise his head.
Just like the day when Qiandeng first met him, in order to plead for his father, he also knelt in the mud, burying all his pain and sorrow in a humble manner.
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