Chapter 52 Am I more muscular than your brother? ...
Lin Yuan was worried that Xiao Xun, who had jumped from such a high horse and acted as her cushion, might have suffered any other injuries besides his old wound reopening.
She asked Li Shun, whose eyebrows were drooping and who was covered in a strong scent of agarwood. He forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty is not injured."
As for the medical worker who entered the East Garden and stayed there for quite some time, it was because "the medical worker was old and had bad legs and feet, and it took him a full quarter of an hour just to get up."
"..."
Lin Yuan didn't ask any more questions.
It was obvious that Xiao Xun had told him to say it that way.
After all, even if the sky were to fall, Xiao Xun would always describe it as "the wind was too strong and a cup was knocked over."
Last year, not long after Xiao Xun ordered the arrest of Qu Yan, Lin Yuan was still living in the west side hall of Xuan Shi.
With so many palace servants and such, she heard rumors of "the Xiongnu" "invading the border," and when Xiao Xun came for his usual "morning greetings" that day, she cautiously asked him a question.
Xiao Xun said casually, "Oh, yes, recently, there have indeed been a few Xiongnu people riding horses who trampled a lot of wheat seedlings in Shuofang County. They should be taught a lesson."
She later learned that the "several" he mentioned was actually "fifty thousand".
The "horse" they rode was a "military horse" with gleaming iron hooves.
Indeed, there were quite a few wheat seedlings that had been trampled on—enough to cover tens of thousands of hectares.
As for what happened next, Qu Qingchuan's unusual activities on the border were not worth mentioning in Xiao Xun's words.
He laughed and said, "Qu Qingchuan, that playboy, felt wronged and had nowhere to vent his anger after his mother went to jail, so he gathered some people and has been shouting all day long, looking for someone to fight."
He added, "Qu Qingchuan has been my study companion since childhood. Do you think I don't know his temperament and what he's capable of?"
When Lin Yuan arrived at Lan Yue Pavilion and overheard the palace servants' gossip, she belatedly realized what had happened:
Wow, so this duel was arranged against Xiao Xun. The leader was a force of 20,000 soldiers from the border.
Isn't this treason?
This made Lin Yuan feel scared whenever she thought about it, and she even wondered if Xiao Xun was a bit dim-witted.
Or perhaps he's been a puppet for too long and has been thoroughly fooled by Qu Yang?
If she had known this would happen, should she not have drunk Qu Yan's soup in the first place?
Later, after spending a long time at Lanyue Pavilion, she heard from Qu Qingru that the Hu cavalry of Changshui Xuanqu had returned victorious, and only then did she understand.
Yes, she's just a lowly palace maid, what's the point of talking to her?
The fire in the charcoal pan had long since died out, leaving the room dimly lit.
Lin Yuan hesitated, then, remembering his inconvenience with his hands, walked to the lamp next to the table and said, "Then, I'll light the lamp for you."
He doesn't turn on the light when he has a free hand.
Lin Yuan still remembers that one day, Xiao Xun did not enter the West Side Hall for an entire day, and she was somewhat unaccustomed to it—but she realized why serving one's parents and checking on them in the morning and evening was something that could not be missed even once a day.
According to Wang Lu, His Majesty is facing a very urgent matter.
The next day, she wandered around under the corridor in front of the main hall of Xuan Shi early in the morning, and finally "bumped into" Xiao Xun in a corner.
His complexion was not good, probably because he had just returned from the political meeting. When he saw Lin Yuan, he stood there, and a smile gradually spread across his face.
Lin Yuan stepped forward, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then curiously inquired about the urgent matter that had befallen them. She wondered to herself, was it about the Xiongnu or the Qu clan?
Xiao Xun rubbed his forehead in exasperation, and Lin Yuan's heart skipped a beat.
"...Last night, I lit the lamp myself and almost burned my eyebrows."
After Xiao Xun finished speaking, he looked at Lin Yuan with a wistful expression and said, "Look, you really need to take good care of yourself. Once you're well, come back soon to serve me, light the lamps, grind the ink, and serve the tea."
The warm soup that Lin Yuan had drunk early that morning tasted salty and astringent as it went down her throat, and it no longer felt so warm.
Xiao Xun did not ask her to light the lamp.
“The lamplight will disturb the moonlight.” He smiled and gestured to the seats next to him, “Sit.”
Lin Yuan moved from the lamp stand to the Boshan incense burner, stirred the ash of the agarwood incense, and the mist was like clouds and mountains. She sat down after a while.
Xiao Xun casually said, "The incense was sent by the Princess Consort, who said it had a calming effect. I didn't want to refuse her kind offer, so I decided to give it a try."
A crescent moon hung in the western sky, casting a dim, hazy moonlight into the house.
Their seats were very close together. Lin Yuan suddenly remembered riding on his shoulders two days ago, and a strange feeling welled up in her heart again, making her heart pound faster.
Taking advantage of the uncertainty of what was happening under the table, she quietly moved a foot away while smoothing out her clothes.
Xiao Xun didn't look at the crescent moon, but instead gazed at Lin Yuan's profile.
Bright as the moon, even more beautiful than the moon itself. Much more beautiful.
Her cheeks were sometimes tinged with light blue, sometimes with a thin layer of red, and sometimes faded to the color of white jade.
But why are you drifting further and further away?
"Ah Yuan," he called softly.
Lin Yuan turned her head to look over.
He repeated, "Tell me about your childhood."
Lin Yuan was taken aback: "Something from my childhood?"
He smiled and said, "Yes, I didn't know you when you were little, so I wanted to know. I really wanted to know."
It's strange that a prince and a commoner know each other. Lin Yuan thought.
But that didn't dampen his spirits.
"When I was little..." she leaned against the desk, propping her head up as she recalled, "it was very ordinary."
"I heard you and your brother joking around before, it was so funny," Xiao Xun said with a smile. "Did you two ever fight over honey and pastries when you were kids?"
"How could that be?" Lin Yuan said reproachfully.
She couldn't beat Lin Yu in a fight, so she mostly outsmarted him.
Once she started talking, she also became interested.
She placed the teapot on a small charcoal stove under the window to simmer. As the water gurgled, she began to talk incessantly.
"...By the way, do you know why my elder brother is called 'Yu'?"
“My father said that when my elder brother was born, the elm tree in our yard was bearing fruit. The fruit of the elm tree is called elm seed, and it looks like a string of copper coins. My father and mother hoped that when my elder brother grew up, he would be as wealthy as this elm tree.”
She couldn't help but laugh as she said this.
Xiao Xun gazed with great interest at her features, which were illuminated by the moonlight.
"It's a pity that your elder brother stays in the academy and refuses to even enter officialdom. Doesn't that disappoint your father's expectations?"
Lin Yuan shook her head: "Father said this to me when he had too much pepper wine once. After he sobered up, he said to Lin Yu, 'The elm tree is so tall and big, so naturally he hopes that you will grow up tall and strong.'"
Xiao Xun smiled too: "And what's your name?"
“As for me… When I was born,” Lin Yuan sat up straight and looked at him earnestly, “my mother was resting under an elm tree when suddenly a cry was heard, startling the sky and stopping the clouds. My father and brothers went to look and saw a hawk above it. That’s why my name is ‘Yuan’ (鸢).
Xiao Xun's eyes lit up: "This is an auspicious sign!"
Lin Yuan couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Haha, I was just kidding. You actually believed that?"
Sometimes, he really is a bit dim-witted.
Tears welled in her eyes as she laughed, her gaze shimmering. "Wasn't it based on the story of your great-grandfather?"①
Xiao Xun gently tapped her forehead and then moved closer to her.
Lin Yuan didn't notice him getting closer.
She chuckled and continued, “When I was little, I was probably quite chubby, so my nickname was ‘A Yuan’. Later, when my older brother learned to read, he thought the character ‘Yuan’ was too common. In Yonghe Lane alone, there is an old woman, two women, three children, and an old man named ‘Yuan’.”
Xiao Xun recalled the name on the secret memorial initially sent by the Prefect of the Capital, and smiled wryly, saying, "Hmm, the character 'Yuan' is still better."
Lin Yuan nodded: "Even now, my brother still teases me about how chubby I was when I was little. When I was two years old, it was the dead of winter, and he took me out to play. I got tired and insisted on being carried, but he couldn't carry me, so he dragged and pulled me, and I ended up falling into a ditch."
"Your older brother is four years old?"
Lin Yuan nodded, slapped the table, and said angrily, "What's even worse is that an old woman with poor eyesight ran to the house to call for help, saying that Ayu was naughty and rolled a huge snowball on the road, and then rolled into a ditch."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xun burst into laughter, his chest tightening and aching, and he let out a soft "Ai".
Just as they tasted a metallic sweetness in their throats, Lin Yuan got up and poured tea for the two of them.
The glass contains water.
Lin Yuan explained embarrassedly that she had drunk tea at night and was afraid she wouldn't be able to sleep all night.
Her gaze shifted to Xiao Xun's arm and his not-so-proper kneeling posture, and she pursed her lips.
Xiao Xun readily agreed and drank a sip of water, finding it refreshingly delicious.
After a moment, he asked, "Do you and your brother still remember what happened when you were four years old?"
“My father keeps bringing up these things and teases me from time to time. My brother is just like him. You see, he always tries to wrap me up like a ball, probably thinking of the ‘snowball’ we were when we were little.”
As Lin Yuan spoke, she refilled his cup.
As steam rose in the air, Xiao Xun snapped out of his reverie and chuckled, "Hmm, next time, wrap yourself in a white fox fur coat; it'll look more like it."
Lin Yuan glared at him with a hint of annoyance.
“Your father is a wise man,” Xiao Xun said, turning the teacup on the table with a soft sigh.
"Huh?" Lin Yuan was bewildered.
"To remember every little detail of your children's childhood so clearly, isn't that the mark of a smart person?"
Lin Yuan disagreed.
Her father wasn't very smart, and his memory wasn't very good either.
When recalling this incident, sometimes Father would say that Lin Yu took her to the market that day. Other times, Father would probably think that four years old was a bit too young, and the market was five miles away, so he would change his story and say that actually, the two of you went to Father's blacksmith shop to deliver wheat rice.
When Lin Yuan asked with concern, "Did Father get to eat his wheat porridge later?" the next time, Father changed his story, saying that Lin Yu had taken her to find her mother who was chatting with the neighbors.
“If my children had such funny stories, I would definitely remember them more clearly,” Lin Yuan said solemnly, adding, “If it were you, you would definitely do the same.”
Xiao Xun pressed his lips to the rim of the cup and couldn't help but chuckle softly: "It's enough that you remember."
"..."
A gust of wind came by, but Lin Yuan neither heard nor paid attention.
She got up and closed the side door.
The moon had long since disappeared behind the owl's tail.
“My father was clever too!” she laughed as she walked back. “He used to secretly save money for wine, putting it in a cracked earthenware jar. Then he placed the jar under the eaves where everyone could see it, and on top of it, he covered it with a layer of pebbles, saying it would be perfect for the chickens to sharpen their beaks. Clever, wasn’t he?”
Lin Yuan spoke with great enjoyment, "If this were applied to military strategy, it would be 'to use something while pretending not to use it'."
"To my mother, this was simply a cover-up. My father would never worry about raising chickens on a normal day. But my mother saw through it but didn't say anything. She was a master strategist; she pretended not to be capable."
Xiao Xun looked at her with some surprise.
"When the money in the earthenware jar was almost full, my mother put the jar away. There were two thousand coins in it. When my father came home, he found that the earthenware jar was gone. He was so anxious that he paced around in circles, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. My brother and I were worried for him. My father had an idea. He bribed me with two ounces of malt sugar and sent me to ask. My mother said that the earthenware jar had been taken by a dog. Anyway, it was broken and worthless. It's gone, so it's gone."
Half of her face was illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the window screen, revealing a mischievous glint in her eyes: "Actually, at first, Mother asked me to find where Father hid the money for buying wine. She promised that if I found it, she would buy me a pound of maltose."
Xiao Xun laughed and said, "This is a case of luring someone with profit and then alienating them from their affection."
"Mmm!" Lin Yuan smiled and nodded. "I asked my brother to go find some more, and promised to give him half a pound. Anyway, my brother doesn't like candy, so it'll all end up being mine."
"Was your military strategy also taught by Lin Yu?"
"Yes, my brother knows a little bit of everything. Ever since he flipped me into the ditch, he's been determined to become strong. So he sought out wandering knights and martial artists from the village who had fought against the Xiongnu before, and became their apprentices to learn swordsmanship and boxing. It really worked."
Lin Yuan spoke excitedly, a blush rising to her cheeks, "Don't let my brother's thin appearance when he's dressed fool you, he's actually—"
"Um?"
Xiao Xun was pondering her words about "wandering knights" when he heard this. He frowned, unable to bear to listen, but couldn't help asking, "Have you seen him without his clothes on?"
Lin Yuan didn't think much of it: "Sometimes he practices boxing naked."
She narrowed her eyes, recalling for a moment, "He was very strong and fit. You'll know if you've ever seen him."
After Lin Yu got into that fight when she was ten years old, she would sometimes exercise in the yard in the morning. Lin Yuan bumped into her once or twice when she got up early.
She looked sleepily at Lin Yu's strong physique and thought to herself, "He must have eaten more than just bean rice in Yanzhou; he must have eaten quite a bit of meat too."
"I don't want to know."
Xiao Xun exhaled a breath of stale air and said resolutely, "I don't want to see it either."
He gritted his teeth, his voice cold: "And he even learned manners from a young age."
“When we were little, we wore hemp clothes. When we practiced swordsmanship, they were worn out and easily torn when soaked with sweat. So we naturally had to go naked,” Lin Yuan said frankly. “What’s wrong with that? My father used to work as a blacksmith and he went naked too. The neighborhood boys would go swimming in the river naked when it was hot.”
Xiao Xun spoke with a bitter tone: "Then, why did you run away as soon as you saw me? That day at the bathhouse..."
"Ah, well... because they're different."
"What's different?"
Xiao Xun paused, then tilted his head and asked, "I practice riding and archery every day, so am I more muscular than your brother?"
Lin Yuan blushed deeply: "My brother is my brother, my father is my father, and you, you are, you are a man, a man from outside the family."
She got up and pretended to go to add water and heat the tea.
The teapot wasn't held firmly in my hand, and the lid made a series of cracking noises.
After chatting for an unknown amount of time, Lin Yuan gradually became drowsy.
Xiao Xun asked a question, and she replied with a yawn.
"When we get back to Chang'an, will you take me to meet your father and mother?"
"What are you doing seeing my father and mother?"
“Look at the kind of people who raised you, and your brother.”
"Don't scare them."
"How could this be? I really wish I could..."
His voice was as soft as a breeze.
Lin Yuan rested her chin on her hand, and unconsciously lowered her head.
Xiao Xun freed one hand, pulled open his loosely draped outer robe, and put it on her.
The moon had completely disappeared behind the house.
The bamboo and wood pieces in the charcoal brazier had long since burned to ashes, with occasional specks of ash drifting out.
He stared at the glowing embers.
If Qu Qingchuan's uprising was something he had anticipated and controlled step by step, then the appearance of the name "Xiao Yu," the orphan of the former crown prince, in the slogans and manifestos of the rebellion was a great surprise to him.
For the first time in so long, he felt that "the fire was burning his eyebrows".
"Is it really possible that Xiao Yu is still alive?"
At that time, Xiao Xun summoned a former Imperial Guard Commander.
This person served as a cavalry general in the third year of the Tian Shou era, and was ordered by the late emperor to participate in the siege of Siqi Garden. After that, he was also responsible for the inventory.
Over the course of fourteen years, those who had personally experienced the Tian Shou Three Years Case have either died, fallen ill, been demoted, or retired, and their numbers have dwindled to almost nothing.
The man cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, Xiao Yu is a traitor personally identified by the late Emperor. Regardless of whether the Xiao Yu in the hands of the Qu clan is real or fake, he should be executed.”
"Who cares if he's a traitor or a villain?"
Xiao Xun stared at the newcomer, his eyes bloodshot. "I only ask you, is it really possible that he is still alive?"
The visitor was unsure how to answer, so Xiao Xun paused for a moment and then asked another question:
"Back then, the fire at Siqi Garden burned for nearly half a month. How could we be sure he was dead at that time?"
"Your Majesty is wise. It is a jade crown."
"A jade crown?" Xiao Xun clenched his fists, his knuckles tapping on the table. "Just because of a jade crown?"
"Your Majesty, after that great fire, all the more than one hundred people inside were burned to a crisp, turning to ash at the slightest touch, making it impossible to distinguish who was who. On the day the Imperial Guards were ordered by the late Emperor to deal with everyone in Siqi Garden, I, along with many others, saw the Imperial Grandson, and he was wearing that very jade crown."
“The carving on it is a dragon-tiger. The dragon is a son of the dragon. I remember it very clearly because… I thought to myself at the time, what does it matter if he is a son of the dragon? What does it matter if he is a grandson of the dragon? He is going to die.”
"The imperial grandson charged out with a sword in hand. Just as the Crown Princess was leading her guards in a desperate resistance."
"The Crown Princess ordered the Imperial Grandson to be escorted back to the main hall. I overheard her calling out to the Imperial Grandson, and it sounded vaguely like... it was..."
What is it?
“It’s ‘Go back, Yu’er.’”
The memory is so vivid that the hands of this former Imperial Guard cavalryman, clasped in a fist salute, tremble uncontrollably.
"The sounds of fighting were too loud; even though I was close, I could only see their lips moving. Later, I heard the Crown Princess say, 'How can the Crown Prince's bloodline die by another's sword?'"
"Yes, Your Highness, he's still too young. His sword isn't even sharpened yet; going out would be tantamount to suicide. That dragon-tiger jade crown was found in the main hall. Near the hall entrance, there was also a jade pendant carved with a bull, a gift from the emperor, which probably fell off during the struggle. And that sword, only two feet long. Yes, a child's sword."
"The Crown Princess knew that the Crown Prince had committed suicide. The guards and servants in Siqi Garden were now reduced to a mere hundred men. How could they possibly withstand the Hu cavalry of Changshui Xuanqu, the Imperial Guards, and the endless stream of Southern troops? That day, we pointed our swords at the Crown Princess, but no one dared to actually strike. Her last words to the Imperial Guards and Southern soldiers were: 'Shouldn't your swords be pointed at the Huns, the enemy?' She said, 'The Crown Prince's men, the men of Siqi Garden, will not surrender, they will not die by your swords.'"
"She committed suicide with the sword in her hand. Behind her, a fire had already been set on fire."
The weather was dry, and the fire spread very quickly.
The fire started in the palace rooms made of nanmu and apricot wood, then spread to the main hall, side halls, rear hall, and corridors.
Then there are pavilions, gardens, mountains and forests, and ponds.
Finally, those who witnessed the fire said, "The sky was burning. The water was burning too."
The Crown Princess fell to the ground.
Her longsword and her armor were ablaze.
Someone heard her say that her last words were, "The sky is dark and gloomy."
Some people say that she meant it was getting dark.
The sky she saw was gloomy and filled with black smoke. And as she spoke, blood kept gushing from her mouth.
Siqi Garden had been completely surrounded by the Hu cavalry of Changshui Xuanqu since the Crown Prince surrendered and went alone to Weiyang Palace to accept his punishment.
Not even a bird can fly out.
The case files, even after the fire, included an inventory of the remains of birds and beasts within a fifty-mile radius of the Siqi Garden and surrounding forests:
168 geese, 65 eagles, 16 bears, 3 tigers, 6 leopards, 69 monkeys, 8 elephants, 5 rhinoceroses, 6 camels, 340 horses, 460 pigs...
"Your Majesty, Xiao Yu could not have escaped; he could not possibly still be alive."
"Because the one who handled that case was Grand Marshal and General Qu Yang."
"It was Grand Marshal Qu who forced the late Crown Prince to abandon his armor and weapons, suffer defeat without a fight, and commit suicide to atone for his sins!"
-----------------------
A note from the author:
① From the Records of the Grand Historian, "Annals of Emperor Gaozu": His ancestor, Liu Ao, once rested by the bank of a large marsh and dreamed of encountering a god. At that time, there was thunder and lightning, and darkness. Taigong went to look and saw a dragon above her. Afterwards, she became pregnant and gave birth to Emperor Gaozu.
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