Changing Swords and Fighting Ruixueliang (Part 4)
In the sixth year of Shengyuan, the last grand court meeting was held in late autumn.
Princess Shangyang of the Liang Palace requested permission to enter the court outside the Taiji Hall. Meng was dressed in court attire—the rank and file for court ladies during the reign of Emperor Ling. The garment was heavy for him, and he worked up a sweat in the cool late autumn breeze. The swelling on his right wrist had subsided, leaving only a large, horrific bruise. Beneath his wrist lay a cold, soft, rotten piece of topaz.
Probably just to make him look less like a cripple.
He waited outside the Taiji Hall with his hands hanging down, looking down at the more than a hundred stone steps, which seemed dizzying, like a bottomless abyss that seemed calm and harmless on the surface; looking inside, he saw the solemn backs of civil and military officials. After the roar of "Long live the emperor", he didn't see a single shoulder move past, as if they were sculptures. The door of the Taiji Hall that opened to the outside was a gorgeous bloody mouth.
After Meng Shizhuang was involved in the imperial court, he had developed the greatest virtue of "ignorance is bliss." Therefore, the more cautious he felt, the more he stopped himself from overthinking.
He lowered his head slightly to avoid the dazzling sunlight, and recited the sword techniques and the prescriptions given by Mr. Zhou in turn.
At this moment, a shrill voice rose from the Taiji Hall: "Send—Princess Shangyang into the hall."
Meng Shizhuang didn't hear it clearly, but she felt the lingering echo of the voice lingering in the hall for a long time.
The young eunuchs trotted one after another to deliver the message.
Meng Shizhuang had just found a special herb that Mr. Zhou had prescribed for Lao Ju's health. It was special because it grew in the Western Territory—a land west of Dayu across the Huai River. Because the Western King of the Territory had sealed off the eighteen continents of Zuodan, the amount of herb the herbalist could receive was pitifully small.
While carrying it on his back, he was thinking and worried about Lao Ju's illness.
When he saw the young eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict, his eyes were stern and his face was as calm as water, as if he were really a royal princess with the world in her heart.
When the young eunuch saw Meng Shizhuang's expression, even his breathing stopped. He bent down and invited Meng Shizhuang into the hall.
Meng Shizhuang nodded slightly and stepped in.
As he passed the towering plaque of the Taiji Hall, he was about to step inside when a suffocating pressure washed over him. He instinctively looked up. The plaque hung at an angle in front of the hall, as if anyone passing by was at risk of being struck. But since the Taiji Hall was completed during the Dayu Dynasty, no unfortunate individual had ever encountered such a fortuitous situation.
Even when Emperor Lingdi, sitting high on the dragon throne, was nearly beheaded during the grand court meeting, this plaque remained as steady as the bright moon hanging high in the sky.
Meng Shizhuang then turned her gaze back to the hall.
The court officials were meticulously disciplined; no one would be so rebellious as to turn their backs on the emperor and salute him. He couldn't fathom the attitudes of those in their formal court attire, but he could vaguely sense that he was being excluded. Emperor Xue still only revealed half of his pale face, and he coughed intermittently.
It’s hard to say what Meng Shizhuang is like.
He felt that he was stepping step by step towards an inevitable trap.
Except for him, everyone in the palace, including Bian Hongqiu and others who were far away in Prince Liang's Mansion, knew about this trap.
Meng Shizhuang met the emperor's gaze through the gently trembling tassels of Emperor Xue's crown, lifted her robe, and knelt. "Your servant... Bian Hongqiu, I wish to carry on my father's legacy, donning my armor and marching into battle, and do my utmost for Your Majesty and the Great Yu."
The Taiji Hall was silent for a long time. No one accused him of wearing the uniform of a female official of the previous dynasty with ill intentions, and no one questioned in a sarcastic tone whether he was bragging casually.
This Emperor Xue and his followers were in no mood for drama, and perhaps didn't want to waste their energy. After Emperor Xue had finished coughing comfortably, he made a few weak excuses, "Yuan Xi, you are still young. I have recalled you from the border, hoping you can live a stable life in the capital. My uncle died for the stability of Dayu's border, and I don't want anything to happen to his only bloodline."
Meng Shizhuang raised his right palm and pushed it in front of him, and was about to perform a great salute to show his loyalty. Before coming here, the words that Song Jingyan taught him were suddenly drowned out by Bian Hongqiu's voice.
Back then, in Daohai City, this untouched pink butterfly vaguely sketched out a definition of "the world" from the mouths of others. He spoke it casually, without a trace of genuine sincerity. Even someone as utterly miserable as Meng Shizhuang felt he was spouting unrealistic nonsense.
But Meng Shizhuang suddenly remembered the scene when Bian Hongqiu sent him to the carriage this morning.
The real princess put on her men's clothes again, covered with a layer of white gauze that made her true appearance vaguely visible. She bent down to tie his cloak and said to him, "Ah, thank you for taking the risk for the Liang Palace. Just do your best. Thank you for your willingness to go."
Meng Shizhuang didn't want to listen to his flowery words. He pushed away his hands that were still entangled in the belt of his cloak with one hand, lowered his head and gritted his teeth to tighten the belt, and replied: "I will not take the dozens of lives in the Prince Liang's Mansion lightly." Unexpectedly, when he turned around and mounted his horse, Bian Hongqiu grabbed his right wrist.
Bian Hongqiu held it very carefully, but Meng Shizhuang didn't know why he hesitated.
Just as he was about to shake her off, Bian Hongqiu looked up and said something completely unrelated: "Ah Shi, when I first met you, I naively thought I could help you. You... I, Ah Shi..." He was speechless for a long time, his expression not dull. Then, he raised his head and smiled wildly, a smile that matched his age but had never been seen before. He said to Meng Shizhuang: "Ah Shi, you are a hero to the whole world."
He stood before the magnificent gates of the Prince of Liang's mansion, as if millions of refugees were passing by begging outside. He said, "I want more than just the survival of the people of the Prince of Liang's mansion. I will open the blocked gates of the western border and help the people my father saved so long ago to rise again—as long as I can lead the Prince of Liang's mansion out of the gates of the capital."
"Yeah, do your best."
"You are a hero of the Liang Palace, and you will be a hero to the people of the world."
Meng Shizhuang finally understood the source of his previously inappropriate compassion. This prince, though delicate and weak, had always been ambitious. He believed that Song Jingyan, who had protected him since childhood, was omnipotent, and he also worshipped his distant father as a deity. If a young man could open a door even a dog could break open, he would probably think that the whole world was accessible.
So at that moment, Meng Shizhuang just twitched the corners of her lips, gently pushed him, and said sarcastically, "Yes, a hero. With all due respect, I only knew that the Monkey King showed his true form and mastered the Seventy-Two Transformations. I had no idea that the White Bone Demon, who dared not show her face, was the true immortal."
He said this without realizing that he was being satirized. He didn't think he was a hero, and certainly didn't want the compliment Bian Hongqiu was giving him. He got on the carriage, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt Bian Hongqiu was delusional. Surviving wasn't enough; he actually wanted everyone else to survive.
It seems that he is worthy of being a student taught by Mr. Liu.
Dreaming is a good skill.
Meng Shizhuang had been mocking Bian Hongqiu in his heart all the way. Now, in the Taiji Hall, there were countless heroic souls with the surname Bian, and perhaps they were glaring at this imposter - in this hall, the emperor probably couldn't count them with both hands, countless royal relatives, countless capable ministers... Only he was like the little boat drifting on the sea with Ye Xiliu.
Before he followed Song Jingyan into Beijing, hiding from the world, he'd slept in beggars' dens, been around bandits, and even picked up a pickpocket. After today, when he'd finished his work and retired, he'd be nothing more than an ordinary citizen. These powerful figures constantly talked about "the world," claiming it belonged to the people. Now, here he was, a bona fide "commoner." What did he want?
At the top, the cough of Emperor Xue overlapped with the cough of Lao Ju in his memory.
Meng Shizhuang had to admit that although Bian Hongqiu was inexplicably frivolous, he was right.
As a "commoner", he doesn't ask for much. He just wants a hero who can open the gate to the west.
Meng Shizhuang then spoke sincerely, "I dare not exaggerate. I cannot achieve the great achievements my father has accomplished. I only hope to open the gates to the Western Territory and return all eighteen continents of Zuodan to the country. I hope that food and medicinal materials can flow back to the Western Territory. I hope that wars and banditry will cease, and that there will be no more frozen corpses on the roadside."
"I ask Your Majesty to grant this wish."
Meng Shizhuang leaned down. He could feel countless eyes cast at him, but the feeling of being on edge had disappeared.
Emperor Xue did not agree outright, but he also did not hesitate to say anything polite. He said, "I need to think about it again. Jiang Zhongyi, please ask the princess to rest in the imperial study."
Meng Shizhuang obediently retreated.
He was personally escorted to the Imperial Study by Jiang Zhongyi, the eunuch most trusted by Emperor Xue. As usual, he saw the shattered remains of the Forty-Nine Celestial Palaces. The towering buildings collapsed in an instant, and the beauties who had once sung within them vanished without a trace. Meng Shizhuang, looking at her court robes, had a premonition that the Celestial Palaces would never be rebuilt, but the same might not be true for the beauties once summoned to the palace by Emperor Ling.
He sat in the imperial study for a long time. Seeing the sunlight outside hanging down from the middle of the sky, Bian Zixue was helped into the imperial study by the doctor who was lecturing on the scriptures.
Seeing Meng Shizhuang, Puyang Ci bowed perfunctorily and ordered the eunuch to bring the medicine to His Majesty.
Meng Shizhuang waited quietly for Bian Zixue to finish his medicine. She then rested her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment, then forced a smile and asked businesslike, "Yuan Xi, have you really thought about what the palace wants you to do today?"
Behind him, Puyang Ci frowned slightly, looking like he just wanted this scene to be over as soon as possible.
Meng Shizhuang repeated, "Every word I say is from the bottom of my heart. Please approve it, Your Majesty."
Bian Zixue was too exhausted to continue. He nodded with half-closed eyes, "I will issue an order directing the Western Border Army to obey your orders. You don't have to worry about food and military supplies. Yuan Xi..." He slowly opened his tired eyes, his gaze far away, "Back then, I was alone in the capital, and after careful consideration, there were not many people willing to stay with me."
He looked at Meng Shizhuang as if he was revealing his heart. "It's funny, but the happiest days of my life were when I was the crown prince. My friends and teachers were all by my side, and my two fathers were in charge of the capital. I watched Dayu on the verge of revival. Yuan Xi, the emperor's uncle is like another father to me."
The emperor, who felt that half his life had been absurd, revealed his true intentions: "When I was young, I traveled every inch of Dayu's land. I accepted the Hundred Pearls Crown presented by the people of Ming Hunzhou, and I also accepted the embroidered map of rivers and mountains sent by the people of Zuodan's Eighteen Continents. On the Lantern Festival, I will not embarrass anyone, but I cannot pity anyone either."
"As long as Dayu can be unified and the people can return to peace and prosperity, I will spare no expense."
Meng Shizhuang broke out in a sweat at the sharp coldness in his words.
These straightforward words may have been the last sign of Xue Huang's relentlessness. He said, "Yuan Xi, go ahead."
Meng Shizhuang bowed and was about to leave, but she couldn't help but look back.
The emperor, clearly in his prime but sullen, dismissed even those closest to him, clutching his chest and breathing quietly. Behind him, the golden eagle, aloft in auspicious clouds, shone with undimmed brilliance, the midday light streaming in from outside, like a man whose every effort could not prevent his own fate.
At this moment, Meng Shizhuang, who had never felt that his fate was connected with the world, the court and the emperor, suddenly wanted to ask His Majesty: Your Majesty, do you know that your people are not living well?
You should know.
Otherwise, why would the ruler of the world live such a hard life? Yet, despite his exhausting efforts, working day and night, his subjects still do not live well.
How many people think that he is a king who lost his country? He couldn't even defend the country.
Meng Shizhuang couldn't understand. Leaving this city, a scene of countless shifts in power, he was still the same child, managing his own little plot of land. These touching moments meant nothing to him. He didn't need to worry about the word "world," a word so terrifying even to write about it. He was leaving the capital with his old family.
In the sixth year of the Shengyuan reign, as the first auspicious snow fell, Princess Shangyang, bearing the banner of her father, the old Prince of Liang, led his troops out of the capital. That same month, the capital witnessed a repeat of the great turmoil of the Ling Emperor's reign—the Duke of Zhenguo plotted rebellion. Though unsuccessful, the well-prepared Duke fled to the western border with his family. His Majesty fell seriously ill and remained unrecovered, with the Crown Prince acting as regent.
By the time the news reached the people in Prince Liang's Mansion who were rushing to the western border, the New Year had already arrived.
Bian Hongqiu failed to keep Meng Shizhuang, even though he asked Meng Shizhuang to stay for a few more days on the special day of New Year and not to travel around all the time, Meng Shizhuang still refused - in his eyes, he and the people in Liang Wangfu were not in a relationship where they could celebrate the New Year together.
He didn't ask for Mr. Zhou's departure from the Prince of Liang's mansion, but only requested a modest carriage, even refusing gold or silver. Now, leading his horse, he said goodbye to Bian Hongqiu and the others: "The weather is too cold for you to march, and Lao Ju's cough is getting worse. I will take him to this town to recuperate until spring."
Bian Hongqiu could hardly hide his anxiety: "Then, where are you going with Uncle Ju?"
Meng Shizhuang shook his head. "I don't know. I want to take Lao Ju south, where it's warmer. Or, when you, the hero, open up the road to the West, I'll take Lao Ju there."
Song Jingyan looked at Bian Hongqiu silently, and her mind gradually became clear.
Meng Shizhuang didn't want to say anything more, so Bian Hongqiu had to walk to the carriage and say goodbye to Lao Ju.
Lao Ju lifted the car curtain and placed his dry yet warm hand on Bian Hongqiu's head, like an elder: "See you later."
Bian Hongqiu looked at him: "Uncle Ju, will we meet again?"
He was almost obsessed with getting to the bottom of the matter.
Lao Ju glanced sideways at Meng Shizhuang, who had already jumped onto the horse, and lowered his voice, "Yes. You have found your way, but Ah Shi... Ah Shi still doesn't understand what he wants to do. You will meet again, and then I hope you will take good care of him."
Meng Shizhuang felt uncomfortable after hearing this and interrupted, "How come I don't know what I should do? I'm much more capable than this pink butterfly. I could have put you in my belt and taken you all over the world long ago."
He didn't want to listen to Lao Ju and others nagging about him anymore, so he waved his whip and nodded proudly to these people with whom he had been acquainted for several months, but he was too stingy to say "see you later" and drove away without looking back.
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