Chapter 232: Encountering a Clear Day Chapter 209: Ling Congnan's Memories

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

Ling Congnan sat before the desk, the candlelight seeming to burn into his eyes, burning out the scarlet old shadows of that day bit by bit; as he spoke and recounted, those frozen old shadows were awakened, swaying.

He studied with the princes and princesses, and lived in the palace like the other companions; on the day of the incident, he stayed with Yu'er.

The atmosphere during the day had already changed; his aunt had someone tell him that no matter what happened, he was to ignore it all, only remember to hide with Yu'er, and if necessary, Ji He would bring people to escort him and Yu'er away.

The Wuzhang Palace was surrounded by the Imperial Guard; a strange bronze man was dug up, which signified that the Son of Heaven was cursed, and the cursed Son of Heaven flew into a rage, frightening the heavens into changing color.

Snow kept falling, Yu'er kept crying, palace maids picked her up to coax her. Yet some palace maids cried softly; people came and went, news spread as densely as snowflakes, and the palace attendants struck by snowflakes on their shoulders all seemed panic-stricken and lost as if cursed.

In a daze he realized that the bronze man seemed to truly possess the power of curses, but the one it cursed was not the Son of Heaven.

It was the Wuzhang Palace, it was the Jiaofang Dian, it was his kin, his elder brother, his aunt, his father...

Through a door, those fragmented messages grew increasingly bizarre and terrifying: the Crown Prince had rebelled, the Empress had privately opened the armory, the Marquis had rebelled... The Marquis had brought the Crown Prince to kill their way to outside the palace, now blocked at the Palace Gate!

Impossible!

A voice in his heart cried out in shock: Impossible that his father and his elder brother Siyuan wanted to kill people; someone wanted to kill them!

Since he had memory, his father had always been fighting outside; he saw his father rarely, always counting until all those rebellious kings of other surnames disappeared, until finally the whole world became his uncle's surname.

He was very happy: 【Lu State is settled; Father won't need to leave home anymore, right!】

His father raised his head, expression unreadable: 【Depends on whether Heaven permits.】

He had thought that Heaven's will lay outside Jingji, in whether the four seas could be at peace, but he never expected this great change in Heaven's will to happen right within Jingji, in the nearest, firmest stretch of Divine Sky he could see when he raised his head.

Outside the black door came the mournful weeping of palace attendants; they said the Crown Prince was dead, the Marquis was also dead, both dead outside the Palace Gate.

He didn't believe it; he pushed open the black door, he ran out, he wanted to see his father, he wanted to find his aunt.

Yu'er was too young, but he was not small; he also had martial arts, he could also protect his father and aunt!

He had no mother since childhood, his father was busy with campaigns and never remarried; he grew up in the palace, his aunt was his closest kin; today the Jiaofang Dian that everyone avoided was the home he most wanted to return to in his panic.

But everywhere was too chaotic; everywhere was being purged, unrelated palace attendants fled and hid in panic; he was recognized and seized by a eunuch wanting to make a name for himself; he bit off one of that eunuch's ears, struggled free, using hands and head together, shoved the screaming eunuch into the snow-filled Cangchi, then grabbed a nearly frozen stone and smashed the head of a palace maid blocking him.

Fleeing all the way, nearly caught several times, he was injured and bled, his vision blurred, his head dizzy, feeling the whole Palace City was weeping, weeping until heaven and earth shook, and the roads were distorted.

He lost his way, tripped on an unknown small path, with a plop fell into a snow hollow; in a daze he seemed to hear another more thunderous falling sound, followed by earth-shaking dense weeping erupting.

As if some kind of sensing, he suddenly trembled with fear all over; gritting his teeth to climb up, he saw a figure pass by in a hurry, holding a palace lantern in hand.

He looked up from that lamp and saw a face he had seen before: the mother of the Fifth Prince Liu Cheng, Rui Ji.

Liu Cheng was the one who spoke the least among the princes and princesses who studied together; because they were similar in age, he had once thought of pulling Liu Cheng along to find some fun, but whenever Rui Ji appeared, she would take Liu Cheng away, trembling and speaking softly to Liu Cheng: Even if they were not bad children, they were all noble and precious; playing and fooling around could hurt people, and could be used by others; they must not invite trouble... Have you forgotten the lesson from last time?

Rui Ji had always been timid; she appeared there that night because her brother Rui Ze was also in the palace, and Liu Cheng didn't know where he was; she sent a maidservant to look for him, but the maidservant did not return for a long time; she couldn't rest easy, so she plucked up courage and went out with a lamp.

The timid Rui Ji made the boldest move of her life; perhaps because everyone in the palace that night seemed to have gone mad, blood and corpses everywhere, senses amplified to the extreme until numb, giving her the illusion that pulling that child out of the snow was not such a serious matter.

Eunuchs were still chasing him; in a hurry, Rui Ji took him and hid in a dilapidated palace building nearby.

In the corner of that palace building curled the corpse of a young eunuch, dead for who knows how many days; Rui Ji wept before the corpse of the eunuch who had died of illness, murmuring: 【It is Heaven's will; it seems it really is Heaven's will...】

At that moment, a squad of Imperial Guard hurried past, loudly announcing: 【Ling Empress has committed suicide and been executed!】

He cried, wanting to go out; Rui Ji held him tightly, covered his mouth, and her hand was bitten by him.

Injured and losing strength, nearly fainting from grief, hatred, and fear, Rui Ji trembling changed him into the young eunuch's clothes; finally she took off his jade pendant and tied it onto that corpse.

Rui Ji left the palace lantern behind, set a great fire, and took him hiding into the night.

When day broke, facing the frightened maidservant, Rui Ji began to waver and regret.

Rui Ji seemed to never have her own opinion; she even helplessly asked the maidservant what she should do.

The maidservant suggested handing him over; Rui Ji panicked and said he would betray her.

【I won't!】 He, who had been dazed and silent for a long time, despised such an ungrateful and treacherous act, and nearly ashamed and angry, shouted loudly to prove it.

Rui Ji was stunned, turned to look at him; she shed tears, and also decided to keep him.

Rui Ji tightly held him, who wanted to escape, crying and saying fragmented words: 【When I was first sent to the Wuzhang Palace, I had no status; those people all wanted to bully me; it was the Marquis who drove them away...】

【Later I followed His Majesty out from the Wuzhang Palace; more and more people in the harem wanted to bully me and Cheng Er; it was the Empress who pitied us mother and son and allowed us to live...】

【If not for the Marquis pacifying the chaos, the various states submitting, and the world being open, my brother and I probably would never have a chance to reunite...】

【My brother is my closest kin and also my benefactor; when young, he was swept away by floodwaters while saving me, drifted outside, served as an ox and horse for others, suffered countless hardships; but he survived, and by surviving there was later... You must also survive.】

【I believe in Heaven's mandate; meeting and saving you is my Heaven's mandate. Your life should not end; living is your Heaven's mandate.】

She hid him in a box used to hold incense of heaven and earth, to evade the Imperial Guard's search; but she also agreed with him in advance that if he were still discovered, she would be powerless to protect him, and asked him to claim he was hiding here opportunistically amidst the chaos, having nothing to do with her, and that she knew nothing.

The Imperial Guard and eunuchs only came that once; probably no one thought the cautious Rui Ji would have the courage to harbor the son of a rebel.

Also because that eunuch corpse was soon identified as a child of the Ling Family; Rui Ji, with tears, told him that perhaps it couldn't hide from everyone's eyes; presumably some palace attendant, mindful of the Ling Empress's past kindness, secretly helped cover it up.

But he fell ill, unable to distinguish dream from reality, tormented endlessly by true nightmares; he trembled all over, feared light and sound, refused food, and even had violent actions harming others and himself.

Rui Ji was terrified; she used the hemp rope for bundling incense of heaven and earth to bind his hands and feet, and used hemp cloth to plug his mouth.

Rui Ji fed him the calming medicine the maidservant had begged from the Taiyi Shu for her; he couldn't swallow it, and what he forced down had no effect; he was about to be ground to pieces by grief and hatred, gradually losing his tears.

Several times on the brink of death, he always wondered if Siyuan was like this, trapped in the same curse, able to die at any moment.

Rui Ji was at a loss; she dared not call a doctor; she had no better method; she could only soothe him with what she knew.

She believed in Heaven's mandate, believed in ghosts and gods, understood Immortal Arts; she recited Taoist scriptures day by day, which was even like a premature salvation rite.

He was truly saved; the scriptures she recited were like talismans, imprinted on his body, seizing his life and breath that were about to be ground to pieces by hatred.

Like a compromise of bodily self-rescue, and like truly being cursed, he saved his life; after recovering, hatred was separated, his emotions became detached, feeling everything was outside the void, all things had their own fate, unable to be changed by human effort.

One day, ten days, a hundred days... every day he could only hear her voice, only see the swirling incense mist.

His bones were nurtured and grown by her; his temperament was influenced and guided by her.

She recited scriptures and worshipped gods with extraordinary devotion, yet gradually in his eyes, she was the immortal in this quiet chamber, merely stripped of magic power, leaving only swaying compassion.

Such days continued until Liu Cheng was established as Crown Prince; she was to become Empress.

She did not rejoice; she felt bewildered for her own future, and panic at the excitement revealed by her elder brother.

But she finally had an opportunity: using the occasion of moving palaces to send him out of the palace. She copied many boxes of Taoist scriptures; as the newly appointed Empress, she had many people she could command. She said she would send those scriptures to the Outer City West Queen Mother Temple, escorted by her confidant maidservant.

He was once again hidden by her inside a huge box; this time not to hide him in a cramped quiet chamber, but to release him into the vastness of heaven and earth.

At their last meeting, she said to him: Stay far from this cursed land, never return. Forget everything here, including her.

He solemnly agreed, made a promise, and bade her farewell with a bow.

After leaving the capital, he hid alone for many days, never thinking of going to seek Si Tui. His existence was a capital crime; he did not want to burden Si Tui's body or coerce Si Tui's soul. For his aunt and father, the greatest hope was that Si Tui would live on.

While hiding, he tried to secretly investigate Yu'er's whereabouts. He thought: just keep searching like this, until he dies silently.

Yet reality proved that both he and she had been confined too long, too naive.

His tracks were discovered by someone; at the brink of death, Si Tui's people actually found him.

He once again stepped into the bloodshed, reuniting with Si Tui who had become almost a stranger.

He could feel the torture Si Tui had endured; he subconsciously urged Si Tui to let go.

Si Tui was stunned and disappointed; he felt unbearable shame.

Humans are animals shaped by environment; during the days in the South, the curse seal left on him by the former Rui Ji began to fade.

Yet the resonance between blood relatives cannot be severed; drawing near Si Tui, he was awakened to pain; seeing Yu'er, he began to truly waver.

Thus he wanted to request her permission, to allow him to tell all these events. He was immersed in torment and bewilderment, yet unexpectedly this final letter nearly forged an irretrievable catastrophe.

"Si Tui, this is my entire experience..."

By candlelight, Ling Congnan's tears wet his face, dripping from his jaw like rain droplets under eaves.

Empress Rui stood beneath the high-hung palace lanterns in the corridor, gazing at strings of rain droplets falling.

This deep autumn rain, intermittent for seven or eight days, still had not ceased.

During these seven or eight days, under the care of top-grade wound medicine and rare tonic supplements, Rui Ze recovered very quickly.

However, few came to visit; much information was transmitted secretly.

Rui Ze read one scroll of letters after another, anxiety burning like fierce fire in his heart.

The matter of his punishment spread everywhere; recently "unknown persons" spread rumors that the Emperor intended to depose the Crown Prince... He was still Grand Minister of Agriculture, his sister was still Empress, his nephew was still supervising the state! Utterly absurd!

Yet this rumor still spread rapidly.

Rumors breed contempt; contempt brings conflict.

On the imperial court lately, voices of dispute never ceased. Liu Cheng sat at the head, his crown with hanging pearls concealing his expression, making him truly "joy and anger not shown on his face," yet this did not bring the awe ministers ought to have.

Countless affairs needed his decisions; his maternal uncle was recently recuperating and did not appear, and among his subordinates there were also mutual tests. He made judgments from those chaotic voices, yet upon reaching the court he always faced countless opposing opinions — these people either differed in schools of thought, or sought personal gain, or were instigated by someone... seemingly opposing him at every turn!

Amid the clamor of voices, Liu Cheng finally could endure no more, suddenly shouting: "Do all ministers insist on opposing the Solitary One!"

He had accumulated too much anger, exhausted all his courage to shout these words; beneath the pearl adornment his face flushed red, his head buzzing.

Several officials hurriedly said "This minister dares not," "How would this old minister dare," yet laughably none compromised or yielded. Liu Cheng looked at the crowd, only to see many ministers unmoved; some seemed to sigh helplessly, and princes exchanged glances, as if weighing, as if mocking.

Liu Cheng felt endless shame and helplessness; in a trance he closed his eyes, imagining a figure in witchcraft attire standing behind him, and a moment of peace arose.

Yet a phantom is only a phantom; that shadow would only stand guard high behind Sixth Brother.

Outside the hall winds and clouds flowed; the figure in witchcraft attire went to Jianzhang Palace.

Also accompanying was Jiang Fu, dragged out the door by Shaowei.

Before leaving, Jiang Fu was still grumbling: "You youngsters stirring up wind and rain is fine, but why must you drag this master who cannot see the light out to walk about... be careful you ruin this master's reputation in his twilight years."

Shaowei, holding an umbrella for her, had no idea what late-life or early-life reputation she had to preserve; she just rolled her eyes, but then this person seemed to think of something, and turned to say with a smiling face: "Yet it's also no harm; this master has acted in countless dramas in this life, what's one or two more? A little ghost invites; if this master doesn't drink this toast, wouldn't it be courting death?"

Upon arriving at Jianzhang Palace, hearing Quan Wa laughingly mention that Jianzhang Palace people had recently brewed many delicious fruit wines, Shaowei only then realized that the so-called "toast" in Jiang Fu's mouth was not figurative; those words of sudden attitude change were originally the wine insect in his belly speaking for him.

Outside Danghu Hall, Advice Daifu Shaoyan and others, not granted audience by the Emperor, waited on the steps, unwilling to leave for a long time. Seeing that witchcraft-attired girl approach, Shaoyan's spirits lifted, and he silently held out the bamboo slip memorial in his arms a bit further.

Yet that girl did not look sideways, never once paying him heed. Shaoyan was secretly anxious — why not draw it out to examine? That look of curiosity toward all things, that boyish obstinacy, should have continued!

Recently disputes on the court have been incessant; fundamentally no one listens to him speak. He argues but cannot out-argue those people, so he can only maintain silence together with his colleague Zhuang Yuanzhi — speaking of this colleague, he truly has changed temperament greatly; since returning to the capital he has been overly law-abiding, daily listening to disputes from all sides. He has watched this person's mouth want to move several times, yet each time pressed back down by some unknown force. He suspects this person suffered much hardship in the South, yet sees he has grown much flesh.

His colleague has lost his former sharpness; this honest man can only stake it all. Shaoyan's figure swayed, as if dizzy from standing long, and the memorial slipped from his hand.

Shaowei looked at the memorial fallen at her feet, then glanced at this familiar-looking Advice Daifu being supported by a eunuch, and so picked up the memorial casually and read it twice.

At the same moment, inside the hall the Emperor was reviewing another scroll of memorial; its content requested the exact opposite of Shaoyan's memorial, and this memorial was precisely a secret memorial from Zhuang Yuanzhi, who in Shaoyan's eyes had grown flesh but no longer opened his mouth.

Guo Shi watched the Emperor reviewing the secret memorial of unknown content, and watched that Heavenly Mechanism and his master being summoned into the hall.

?? Good night everyone~

? See you tomorrow.