Chapter 101 Farewell
He drank the horrible omen of death in the white jade cup, took Princess Gao's duck-cheek fur coat and calmly returned to the Changhua Palace, where he continued what he was going to do in an orderly manner.
Just as the county lady said, he sewed the cloak into the baggage and brought it into Qujiang Lake.
He personally put the green feather cloak on Princess Gao. On a spring afternoon at Qujiang Lake, in a remote and deserted place, he stood on the clean bluestone path and watched her walk across the green grass, to the shore, and on her way home.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, casting a shadow on his ethereal face, as white as ice. He watched her drifting in the water, his eyelashes never fluttering.
Fear, pain and disbelief appeared on Princess Gao's face for a moment, and then she struggled and sank.
Perhaps he had waited for this moment for too long, and he watched her dying struggle without much emotion in his heart.
Just like now, his crimes exposed, standing before the county lady and the other gentlemen of the palace, even though he knew he was facing a desperate situation, even though he knew he would soon go mad and die from the poison, he remained calm and composed. He simply bowed deeply to Qian Deng and saluted respectfully: "I bid farewell to the county lady in Penglai. From now on, the days will be warm and the moon will be cold, and the future is long. I wish the county lady peace, success, happiness and no worries."
Qian Deng took a deep breath, looked up at the clouds rolling in the sky, and replied softly, "Okay."
The guards in the palace came forward and wanted to trap him, but Cui Fufeng signaled that there was no need to do anything and asked Yan Penglai to go with him to the Dali Temple to await trial.
Just as he was leaving, he gently reached out and grasped the silver sachet she had given him, and asked softly, "Do you know why Princess Gao and her daughter hate you so much and want to kill you?"
Qiandeng's heart trembled slightly, and he turned to look at him.
His fingertips slid across the outstretched crane wings. He looked at her intently and slowly uttered an inexplicable sentence: "County Lady, do not forget Madam Qi's last words. You must... choose the person she designated for you."
Qian Deng was stunned and subconsciously asked, "Do you know who my mother is referring to?"
He shook his head, looking at her with compassion in his eyes: "No, I just thought of my mother. I think the county lady is so smart that she must know what the lady meant at that time."
A Shangsi Spring Purification Banquet started out with joy and noise, but just like her seventeenth birthday by the Qujiang Lake, it ended in a miserable way.
Qiandeng ordered people to prepare the carriage, and she personally sent Shangluo home.
Shang Nanliu waited at the door to greet his son. But both father and son knew that the court would not choose a disabled husband for the county lady. Soon, he would be removed from the list of candidates for the county lady's husband, and they would never be destined to be together again in this life.
Seeking justice for him was the last thing she could do for him.
The carriage of the Changhua Palace was moving along the street. Qiandeng couldn't control himself after all. He lifted the curtain a little to look behind.
Shangluo leaned on his father and stood at the door, staring blankly at her as she went further and further away, his palm weakly holding the silver sachet that contained the civet cat holding the fish.
Just as Shang Nanliu helped him into the door, a sedan stopped at the door, the curtain was lifted, and a charming woman in her thirties stepped out of the sedan and walked up the stairs to them.
While Shang Nanliu was still stunned, Shang Luo had already pushed his father away and fell into her arms crying.
Aunt Xuanji, who had accompanied her, choked up and said, "It's Madam Shang, who divorced Shang Biejia because of his affair with the princess... I heard that she has been practicing in a Taoist temple for the past few years."
I think she rushed back to Beijing because she knew something happened in Shangluo and was worried about her son.
Aunt Xuanji lowered the carriage curtain and asked softly, "County Lady, is it true that Young Master Shang's injury cannot be healed?"
Qian Deng shook his head and said softly, "I don't know... But, no matter what, I can't let him stay in the backyard anymore."
She was too selfish. In order to find out the real murderer of her mother, she put everyone in danger. The worst mistake was that she forgot that Shangluo was just a teenager who had no ability to protect himself.
"No matter what, I will do my best to find a way to save him. And it's better for him to go home now than to stay in the treacherous backyard of the palace..."
As they drove along, the curtains of the carriage swayed. Through the gap, she saw the main gate of the Imperial Assassination Office. Cui Fufeng was walking out of the office, his expression heavy and slightly cold.
Qian Deng's heart sank. He knocked on the carriage wall to signal it to stop, lifted the curtain and asked Cui Fufeng, "Shaoqing Cui, what's wrong?"
Cui Fufeng leaned closer to the carriage window and whispered, "While being escorted through the Imperial Astronomical Office, Yan Penglai said he was afraid he wouldn't be able to return and wanted to go in to hand over his current affairs. I sent two yamen runners with him, but he didn't run away. He simply took the files as usual and went up to the Astronomical Observatory to measure the sun's shadow."
Qiandeng subconsciously looked up at the high platform standing on the side of the Taibu Office, overlooking Chang'an.
In the reflection of the clouds in the sky, they all saw the vague figure on the stage.
The spring sunshine, which was sometimes cloudy and sometimes clear, leaked through the rolling clouds, and was filtered into bright rays of light, covering the tall Sitian Terrace.
The wind from high above blew up his green silk gown with water cloud pattern on the high platform. Even though his face could not be seen clearly, his clothes fluttered in the air and his divine light flickered. His peerless grace still struck people's hearts, making those who were looking up at him below feel dazed for a moment.
He was a crane shadow on the Penglai Fairy Island, about to be blown away by the wind.
Qian Deng felt an unspeakable sadness in his heart and immediately got off the carriage and wanted to go inside.
Cui Fufeng stopped her and said softly, "This is also good. It is the best choice for him, the county lady, and even the entire court."
Her breathing was uneven and she was confused when she heard exclamations from all around her.
The desolate crane shadow on the top of the Sitian Terrace has leaped down from the highest tower in Chang'an.
The wind whistled in the air, picking up his clothes and hair, and the stack of files in his hands, all flew into the air.
His shadow lingered in the air for a moment and then disappeared in an instant. Only the papers floating in the air were left, like clouds and snowflakes, blown away by the wind and scattered towards the streets of Chang'an.
The swirling wind blew one of the sheets in front of them, and the black words on the white paper slowly fell down.
Qiandeng raised his hand and grabbed the piece of paper, looking at the few words on it, his eyes widened in shock.
Cui Fufeng turned his gaze from the paper to her face. Seeing her expression of shock, bewilderment, and grief, he softly said, "County Lady, go back. I believe this is Yan Penglai's final gift for you... He must have prepared so many of them for a long time."
With his shattered body as evidence and the posthumous stigma as an example, when he jumped off the cliff, he washed away the humiliation suffered by Qian Deng and cleared away all the dark clouds on her way forward.
Volume 5: Tianshui Dream
Eight rivers surround Chang'an, facing each other and in different shapes.
The impact of the Fengtian disaster gradually faded, Chang'an City regained its prosperity, and the canals were once again filled with boats.
It was the end of spring and the beginning of summer, the river was full, the rippling waves reflected the weeping willows on both sides, and the green light and shadows cast hundreds of thousands of boats, creating a prosperous scene.
At the Caoqu Wharf near Jingzhao Prefecture in Guangdefang, the captains and sailors checked the cargo ropes, sails, etc., then stood respectfully at the bow with their hands hanging down, looking forward to it.
The Crown Prince is about to tour the border, which is a major event for the court. Today, relevant government offices have specially accompanied him here to inspect and prepare the baggage, so no one dares to be negligent.
Especially the leading large ships, considering that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince might come on board to inspect, even the decks were washed with water several times to ensure they were clean and tidy.
Wei Fengyang, commander of the Eastern Palace's Left Guard, personally led people aboard to check security to avoid any mishaps.
"Everyone, be careful! Your Highness the Crown Prince is treading on cheap land. This is a disaster for our ancestors!" The heads of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue led the captain and followed Wei Fengyang respectfully. While observing his expression, they gave instructions and admonishments, "Pull in that cable, so that no one will be tripped! Tie the sail tightly, don't let it come loose!"
Everyone was busy, and the captain saw a sailor wiping the side of the boat while looking down.
He scolded in a low voice: "Seriously, what are you looking at?"
The sailor hurriedly replied, "I looked... there seems to be something strange down there."
The head of the Ministry of Revenue leaned over to look down, but the lower part of the ship was shrinking inwards. He only saw that the ripples on the surface of the canal were gentle and there was nothing unusual.
"What's there?" The person in charge didn't care.
The captain was about to go forward to take a look when he heard the sound of whips and the galloping of horses on the shore. The guards who were leading the way came galloping on their horses, followed by a neat crowd of people. The prince's ceremonial procession had already arrived at the canal.
The group of people didn't care about anything else and quickly walked to the side of the boat and stood in silence to welcome His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Though still a young man, the Crown Prince had been one of the most distinguished men in the dynasty since childhood, so he was naturally familiar with such situations. After a brief discussion with the various officials, he walked along the banks of the Caoqu River, surrounded by them, while discussing the details of this border patrol.
When he reached the largest ships, he casually looked around. People from the Ministry of Works came forward to ask for instructions, asking if the prince wanted to go on board and check it out in person.
Before the prince could speak, a guard standing nearby suddenly cast his gaze on the boat, a strange expression on his face, and whispered, "Princess Lingling?"
Hearing the guard suddenly utter this name, the prince subconsciously looked at him.
Seeing that the prince had noticed him, the guard shrank his head and quickly pointed to the hull, saying, "Your Highness, I see... those words are written like this..."
Wei Fengyang strode up to him, looked in the direction of his finger, and his face couldn't help but turn ugly.
Among the people who were isolated on the roadside watching the excitement, some sharp-eyed people had already seen what was written on the boat and were all in an uproar: "Is it the Princess of Lingling County?"
"Yes, that's right. It was Lingling County Lord who killed... who did she kill?"
The prince frowned, turned and walked over there, looking at the side of the ship.
Above the waterline on the side of the ship, there were a few scribbled words written in blood.
The blood had dried up, and the bottom of the characters had been washed away by the water waves, making them blurry and incomplete. However, one could still vaguely make out the six bloody words "Lingling County Lady, kill me".
Looking at these bloody words, no one dared to say a word. They felt that the bloody words were like an evil curse and were extremely terrifying.
The prince's face was filled with surprise and anger. He stared at the words without saying a word.
Everyone accompanying them was terrified, and the captain was even more shocked and panicked when he learned that blood words had been written on the hull of the ship that the prince was inspecting. He ran down the boat tremblingly, and when he looked at the words, he fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly to apologize.
Wei Fengyang shouted, "Why is there such a blood letter on your boat?"
The captain hurriedly replied, "I really don't know who is scribbling such nonsense! I've been cleaning the cabin and deck with my brothers for the past two days, and I didn't notice anyone acting recklessly outside the ship... Besides, the Princess of Lingling is the only descendant of the Prince of Changhua. The old prince and the crown prince sacrificed their lives for their country. Who in the Tang Dynasty doesn't admire them? Even if we had a thousand or ten thousand guts, we wouldn't dare to do that!"
He definitely didn't look fake, and what he said made sense. Who would write blood words on their own boat on the day of welcoming the prince?
The prince frowned and took another look at the six bloody words. He saw that the last stroke of the last word "I" was a slanting downward stroke. The bloodstain sank deeply into the water with an attitude of exerting all his strength.
He pointed to the water and whispered, "Go down and take a look."
Following the prince's order, several of the best sailors immediately took off their coats and jumped into the water along the trail of blood words to check the situation underwater.
The prince's journey would naturally not be stopped because of such a thing. He led everyone to inquire about all matters in an orderly manner according to the routine, but everyone felt his low pressure, and they were all trembling with fear and extremely cautious.
Soon, ripples appeared on the water, followed by the sound of water rushing out, and someone shouted, "Found it, right down there!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a sailor emerge from the right bank of the river. He wiped the water off his face and said urgently, "There's a body over here, stuck in the roots of a tree!"
This matter was originally unlucky, but at this time, no one dared to be negligent. They quickly swam to the right bank and dragged the body ashore.
The prince glanced at the movement on the waterfront from afar, then turned his head and ordered, "Go to the Dali Temple and ask Cui Shaoqing to come over."
Everyone in Chang'an knew that, due to the frequent incidents at the Changhua Palace, Cui Fufeng, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, had personally moved into the palace and taken direct responsibility for all matters. Although he wasn't on the list of potential husbands for the Lingling County Lady, the public already considered him one of her potential concubines.
Cui Shaoqing himself had no objection to the gambling house putting him on the list for betting, and even the Cui family and Cui Shizhong did not react much. So it was natural that the prince summoned the handsome Dali Temple Shaoqing as soon as he found out about this.
But when the guard responded and was about to leave, he heard the prince add in a slightly lowered voice, "Send another person to the Changhua Palace to tell the Princess of Lingling County as well."
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