Chapter 185

Kong Zhangyu's face was slightly pale. He moved his gaze away from the pool of blood, forced himself to remain calm, and continued: "There is no news from the mountains yet. The cavalry has already set out, searching along the Ju River, and is expected to reach Anlukou by tomorrow night. Official letters have been sent to Linju and Dangyang counties. If we are lucky, we might be able to intercept—"

"Intercept?"

The Prince of Badong snorted, and Kong Zhangyu immediately dared not make a sound.

"Intercept my ass!!! It's all a damn waste of effort!!!"

The Prince of Badong threw away the blood-stained handkerchief and shouted: "Change my clothes!"

Soon, eight people entered the room. Four maids carried new clothes, water basins, towels, incense, and other items, while four male servants—two carrying the corpse and two cleaning—moved with agility and skill, quickly cleaning everything up.

The Prince of Badong took off his clothes, washed his face, changed into a white gauze shirt, and asked: "Which group of barbarians is it exactly? Have you found out?"

Kong Zhangyu immediately said: "They said they were going to Wenyang Gorge, so it should be the Wenyang Barbarians. I have already sent a fast horse to notify Wenyang Commandery, telling them to report back as soon as they verify it. Your Highness, I'm afraid this matter cannot be covered up. Not to mention others, the Dianqian will definitely report it. Instead of waiting for them to speak, Your Highness might as well take the initiative to submit a memorial and seize the opportunity..."

"These barbarian dogs! Barbarian dogs!! Sooner or later, I will slaughter them all!!!"

The Prince of Badong grabbed a maid and pulled her behind the screen.

The other three maids did not dare to breathe loudly and exited the room without looking sideways.

Seeing this, Kong Zhangyu also wanted to retreat, but the Prince of Badong said: "You... continue... speaking..."

Kong Zhangyu felt uncomfortable all over and bowed: "Your Highness, please... please rest. This humble official will come back in a while."

The Prince of Badong laughed and scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about? What haven't you heard? Speak quickly."

Kong Zhangyu said with difficulty: "This humble official wishes to report to Your Highness alone."

The Prince of Badong patted the maid's head: "Plug your ears, don't listen. If you listen, you die."

The maid was so frightened she hurriedly plugged her ears with both hands.

The Prince of Badong looked up and closed his eyes: "... Speak."

If it were normal times, Kong Zhangyu would have advised the Prince to clear the room before speaking, but now the Prince was in a very bad mood, and he dared not disobey, so he had to comply:

"At most, Your Highness can be considered to have been lax in defense and to have had a lapse in oversight; it's nothing major. I only fear the Cheng'an and Lingzu garrisons... The Chief Clerk's office checked the military registers and records this morning; I don't know if they have already become suspicious. Xi Gongmu has also summoned the garrison commanders of the two garrisons for questioning."

"What are you afraid of? Even if Liu Yin tears the military registers to shreds, he won't be able to see anything. Xi Gongmu is a straw bag who only knows how to throw his weight around..."

Just as Kong Zhangyu was listening to the most important part, he suddenly heard the Prince of Badong go silent, and he couldn't help but feel a headache.

At this moment, a guard came to report that Wang Yang was requesting an audience. The Prince of Badong had the person brought in and then asked Kong Zhangyu:

"Have you arranged what I told you to arrange?"

"Yes. A unit commander under Zhang Heng's battalion at the Cheng'an Garrison got drunk while on night duty, neglected his duty, and caused the Southern Barbarians to break through. He has volunteered to admit his guilt."

After Kong Zhangyu finished speaking, he waited for the Prince of Badong's reply. But the Prince of Badong did not speak for a long time.

Kong Zhangyu didn't know whether to leave or stay, and he didn't dare to disturb him. Just as he was in an awkward position, the Prince of Badong said: "Go."

His voice was also a bit lighter.

"Yes!"

Kong Zhangyu hurriedly bowed and was about to exit the room when the Prince of Badong's voice rang out: "The Le family steward could not withstand the interrogation and died in prison. Tell Liu Tan."

Kong Zhangyu was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and he bowed: "Your Highness is brilliant! This humble official admires you!"

After Kong Zhangyu left, the Prince of Badong stretched his neck. The maid was shivering, still covering her ears, not daring to stand up.

The Prince of Badong swept a glance at the maid: "Did you hear everything?"

The maid kept her hands tightly pressed to her ears and shook her head frantically.

The Prince of Badong smiled: "I said beforehand, if you hear it, you die!"

The maid hurriedly knocked her head against the ground, crying and begging: "This servant didn't hear anything! Your Highness, spare my life! Your Highness, spare my life! This servant still has parents at home who rely entirely on my meager monthly wages to live. If I die, how will they live!"

The Prince of Badong ignored the maid and walked out from behind the screen. The maid hurriedly crawled out after him, knocking her head and begging the Prince of Badong repeatedly. The Prince of Badong's face, which had originally turned from "cloudy to sunny," showed a look of annoyance again. Just as he was about to call someone to drag the maid away and deal with her, Wang Yang happened to arrive. Seeing this scene, he was slightly stunned.

"Zhiyan, you've come at just the right time. I stated beforehand that to violate the taboo is to die. This woman violated the taboo, and I want to kill her. Is it not right?"

The maid knew that this might be her last chance. She crawled toward Wang Yang, knocking her head desperately: "I beg the Young Master to save my life! I beg the Young Master to save my life!"

Wang Yang looked at the Prince of Badong. The Prince of Badong frowned unhappily, his eyes showing a warning: "Zhiyan, you aren't going to be so vulgar as to plead for her, are you? I have never considered you a vulgar person; please don't disappoint me!"

Wang Yang said in confusion: "Plead for what? Once one receives a form, one does not die until it is exhausted. People are destined to die; whether they die early or late, they die. So what is the difference between early and late? Those who struggle over whether it is earlier or later are still not enlightened!"

Upon hearing this, the maid's body went limp, as if all her strength had been drained, and she collapsed directly to the ground.

The Prince of Badong smiled and clapped his hands: "Well said! I knew you weren't a vulgar person!"

Wang Yang smiled: "The time of death is the same, but there is a difference in the method of death. Some methods are more painful, some are easier. Since I have received her kowtow, please allow me to choose a method of death for her, Your Highness."

"Choose a method of death? Interesting. Then choose!" The Prince of Badong was full of interest.

"Does Your Highness's word hold?"

"Of course. How do you want her to die?"

"Then... let her die of old age!"

The maid looked up in astonishment, tears blurring her face.

The Prince of Badong's smile disappeared, and the atmosphere instantly turned cold.

He looked at Wang Yang, his lips tightly shut, his cold eyes like knives, as if it were the precursor to an explosion of rage.

Wang Yang seemed not to notice and asked with a smile: "What does Your Highness think of the method of death I chose?"

The Prince of Badong's voice was as low as the muffled thunder before a storm: "What do you think yourself?"

"It must be good! With someone as enlightened as Your Highness, how could you not understand the principle that 'whether you die early or late, it's the same'? Otherwise, what difference would there be from ordinary vulgar people? Moreover, nothing in the world is greater than the tip of an autumn hair, and Mount Tai is small; nothing is longer-lived than a child who dies young, and Peng Zu is short-lived. You, I, and Zhuangzi are not vulgar people. Then why should we bother with vulgar people?"

Wang Yang pointed at the maid on the ground and said disdainfully: "This unenlightened one is a vulgar person; let her go!"

The Prince of Badong stared at Wang Yang for a moment, then suddenly laughed!

Then he stopped smiling and asked Wang Yang: "When you encountered the barbarians, were you afraid?"

"I was afraid! How could I not be?"

The Prince of Badong immediately said: "Since dying early or late is the same, what are you afraid of?"

Wang Yang said without hesitation: "Early or late is the same, but there is a difference in the method of death! If the barbarians let me die of old age, then I wouldn't be afraid either."

The Prince of Badong seized the point: "Didn't you say you weren't a vulgar person?"

"Although I am not a vulgar person, there are times when I 'cannot avoid being vulgar,' just as although this maid is not a beauty, there are moments when she is 'beautiful beyond compare,' isn't that so?"

The Prince of Badong remembered the previous intimacy, and his eyes moved.

Wang Yang looked into the Prince of Badong's eyes and said slowly:

"The lonely white rabbit runs east and looks west. Clothes are not as good as new, people are not as good as old. After all, she is an old acquaintance who has been serving in the Prince's residence; Your Highness is magnanimous, so why bother to kill them all?"

A certain place in the Prince of Badong's heart was suddenly touched, and he could no longer summon the intent to kill.

"Go, go, I won't hold it against you. Go find Peng Si and collect ten thousand coins; consider it a reward for you." The Prince of Badong said to the maid.

In the Prince of Badong's view, this silencing was not very necessary in the first place; she was just an ignorant maid confined to the Prince's residence. Even if she heard something, who would she dare to tell? And what qualifications did she have to guarantee her words? Furthermore, he hadn't even said any key information. The reason he wanted to silence her was because he was in a bad mood and happened to run into her, so he wanted to vent. Now, being hit by Wang Yang like this, the desire to kill naturally faded.

Wang Yang had also grasped the Prince of Badong's personality.

Since he was capricious, he could naturally turn anger into joy; since he acted without restraint, there could naturally be room for indulgence. And indulgence, in some situations, could turn into leniency. For example, when one could kill or not kill, someone who followed their heart could naturally choose not to kill.

Therefore, Wang Yang first used a playful way to resolve the Prince of Badong's mood, and then found the right time to move him with emotion. Although it was a debate of words, it echoed from beginning to end, and the ingenuity of the weight of the words was no less than a good essay. Only then could he save someone from the hands of the Prince of Badong.

Of course, Wang Yang had not yet met a person named Xiao Ziqing. If he ran into that Prince, then even if Wang Yang spoke until the heavens fell and was taken as a soulmate for life, at most he would release the person in front of Wang Yang and then silence them once Wang Yang left.

For the maid, the lucky thing was that the Prince of Badong was not Xiao Ziqing.

The maid escaped death and also received a large sum of money. She was so excited she couldn't speak, looking at Wang Yang with a face full of gratitude. She knocked her head several times to the Prince of Badong and Wang Yang, and then scrambled out of the room in a panic.

Once the maid left, the Prince of Badong smiled and asked Wang Yang: "If I had just told you that she was a newcomer who had just arrived at the Prince's residence, what would you say?"

Wang Yang smiled and said calmly: "Old acquaintances are old, yet they go through newness; newcomers are new, yet they return to being old."

The meaning is that old acquaintances also changed from newcomers, and newcomers will one day become old acquaintances.

The Prince of Badong took a breath and looked at Wang Yang, thinking: Why is it that I suddenly feel a bit reluctant to silence him...

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Note: The last poem is recorded in "Yutai Xinyong" as coming from "Four Poems on Spring Parting" by Emperor Jianwen of Liang, and in "Yiwen Leiju" as "Grievance of the Boudoir" written by Jiang Zong of the Chen Dynasty.