Chapter 1404: Want to Hear the Truth?

"You flatter me, you flatter me. I am merely doing my duty by considering things for my patron." Mr. Bai remained as impassive as ever. "Fobbing off the court is one thing, but you must still make the preparations you need to make, my patron — and even step them up, lest you be caught off guard when the need truly arises…"

"This official naturally understands that." Prefect He stood up, his face beaming. "Come, let us go and meet that Eastern Depot scoundrel!"

Because it was already late autumn, the sky darkened very early and brightened very late; by the first quarter of the mao hour, heaven and earth were still shrouded in a curtain of black.

At this moment, all was utterly silent, everything submerged in a profound stillness, and nearly everyone was still fast asleep.

Qi Wang, staying at the inn, was naturally no exception. He lay heavily on the bed, deep in slumber, and his excellently bandaged wound no longer throbbed with dull pain.

However, just then, he hazily felt someone shoving him. He first pushed back reflexively and continued his deep sleep, until after being shoved for quite a while, his consciousness slowly began to clear.

The moment he was pushed awake, Qi Wang still felt a flicker of irritation, but once he saw clearly who was pushing him, that irritation vanished at once.

"Third Uncle?" he asked in surprise.

"Awake?" Liu Songping's face was as impassive as still water, betraying no emotion. "Did you sleep well?"

"…Well enough…" Because Third Uncle's expression was so stern, Qi Wang felt an oppressive pressure and shrank back involuntarily. "Does Third Uncle have some business?"

"How is the wound? Has it healed?" Liu Songping did not answer him.

"It's fine," Qi Wang replied at once.

After two days of rest, he felt his body had improved considerably and the injury was under control — at the very least, it would no longer hinder his movements. Besides, he did not want to be a burden to the others.

"I can see you've more or less recovered." Liu Songping nodded, then clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. Get ready quickly — we're leaving at once!"

"Setting out right now?" Qi Wang was somewhat puzzled. He raised his head to look out the window — it was still pitch black. "Third Uncle, the sky isn't even bright yet…"

"So what if it isn't bright? If we can leave early, we leave early!" Liu Songping cut him off impatiently. "Haven't you been fretting these past two days that we mustn't delay? What now — now that you can walk, you don't want to leave?"

"I… that's not what I meant." Qi Wang faltered briefly, then struggled to get out of bed. "Fine, I'll get up at once. Is Wei Zhongxian all right?"

"He's fine. It's you who…" Liu Songping was still frowning slightly, looking rather displeased. "How have you gotten so sloppy? I walked right up to you and you didn't notice, and I couldn't even shove you awake! If I were your enemy, you'd be dead several times over!"

Qi Wang felt somewhat embarrassed and hung his head sheepishly.

Because he had been injured earlier, he tired very easily during recovery and had slept extremely deeply; his usual keen alertness had dropped by more than half. He truly had no excuse for letting someone walk right up to him without noticing.

Hurriedly, he got dressed, then walked out of the room and into the inn's main hall.

There Qi Wang found that Liu Songping and Wei Zhongxian were indeed already waiting. Wei Zhongxian was dressed very thickly, so that his originally lean frame now looked almost bloated. Yet despite having risen so early, he showed hardly any sign of fatigue; instead, he seemed rather composed and at ease.

I absolutely cannot appear worse off than this eunuch. With that thought, Qi Wang held his head even higher and followed the two of them out.

The sky was just beginning to show the faintest light. The moment he stepped out of the inn, an icy wind hit him full in the face, biting to the bone.

This was, after all, the Northern Metropolitan Region. It had once been a flourishing area, but ever since the final years of the Wanli reign, disasters and famines had never ceased, the court's taxes had increased with each passing day, and powerful families had intensified their land grabs. As a result, more and more people were abandoning their homes to become refugees, turning many places back into desolate wilderness. And because they had set out so early, there was hardly a trace of human habitation to be seen.

In the cold wind, the half-dim sky seemed to dye heaven and earth a pale blue. The party advanced slowly along the rugged road, and Qi Wang felt the icy wind blowing ceaselessly against his face, as though needles were stabbing his skin. To shield himself a little from the cold wind, he hunched his neck slightly.

Just then, as if tripped by a stone, he stumbled underfoot and nearly fell to the ground, barely managing to steady himself.

Cursing his bad luck inwardly, he walked on a short distance further. Suddenly, he sensed something was off and halted his steps.

"What is it?" Liu Songping asked, puzzled, and stopped as well.

"Something's not right…" Qi Wang was somewhat dazed. He staggered back to the spot where he had nearly tripped, then bent down slightly.

Then, when the sparse light allowed him to see clearly what it was, a chill ran through his heart, and he kicked aside the nearby underbrush with one foot.

His strange premonition from moments ago had been confirmed — this was actually a corpse.

Although visibility was poor, as he drew closer he could make out that it was a very gaunt, middle-aged man, his face ashen, dressed in tatters, his expression agonized and contorted. There was no obvious wound on his body; it was impossible to tell whether he had starved or frozen to death. Only those wide-open eyes and that tormented expression spoke to Qi Wang of his life.

Meeting those eyes, already filled with the gray of death, Qi Wang felt his blood and qi churn violently within him, unbearably sickened. He could not help but retreat several steps, letting the underbrush cover the poor wretch once more.

Although the recent weather was very cold and could slow the corpse's decay, the fact that the body was still so intact meant he must have died only in the last few days — perhaps, even, he had been one of those refugees who had broken through the blockade a few days ago and fled toward Xuzhou, someone Qi Wang had even come face to face with.

If not for tripping him after death, probably no one in the whole world would ever know he had died here.

And no one would care.

An indescribable pang of bitterness surged through the young man's heart.

"Let's go. Don't delay," Liu Songping, standing beside him, urged calmly. "In times like these… heh, where aren't there dead people?"

Under Liu Songping's urging, Qi Wang raised his head slightly and looked at the road ahead. It seemed empty and bare, but… but how many nameless bones were packed along this very road?

He lifted his leg to walk, but it felt as heavy as a thousand jun, and he simply could not move it. Gazing out, all was gloomy and overcast, as if demons and monsters lurked within the shadows.

"Third Uncle, this realm… how on earth has it come to this?" After standing frozen for a moment, Qi Wang blurted out. "What must be done to bring peace back to it?"

"You ask me — how would I know…" Liu Songping gave a bitter laugh. "Go ask Eunuch Wei. After all, he once ran the state; perhaps he knows."

"Eunuch Wei!" It had been a dismissive remark from Liu Songping, but Qi Wang, his heart too choked with anguish and turmoil, actually took it seriously. He shouted toward Wei Zhongxian, who stood not far away, "This realm — how on earth has it come to this?"

This question, part inquiry and part accusation, rode the icy wind and stabbed straight at Wei Zhongxian's chest, making him step back involuntarily in the cold.

Then he raised his head, swept his gaze over the vast, bleak land, and finally sighed.

"I am at fault. It was I who failed to manage this realm properly, letting it fall to such a state. Curse me if you will — I will not talk back."

"You are at fault… everyone knows you are at fault! What I am asking now is: what is to be done? How do we return peace to this realm!" Qi Wang shouted sternly. "When you assisted the Son of Heaven, you acted perversely and ruined this realm, and now you think you can brush it all aside with one admission of fault? Don't you dare! Since you were capable of ruining this realm, you must change it back!"

"Change it back? How does one change it back?" Wei Zhongxian smiled mournfully. "Young man, I respect you as a fervent and sincere fellow. Do you want to hear a lie, or do you want to hear the truth?"

"What is the lie? And what is the truth?" Qi Wang pressed relentlessly.

"The lie? The lie is that all the crimes were committed by me, that I led a faction of treacherous scoundrels who did nothing but proper work all day and made it their mission to ruin the Great Ming realm…" A trace of mockery slowly crept into Wei Zhongxian's tone. "That the upright and honorable men at court were all thwarted by my treacherous faction and could not fulfill their ambitions, so they could only watch helplessly as the realm decayed. And therefore, as long as I am removed and the upright and honorable men run the state, the realm will be well again."

"Then what is the truth?" Qi Wang asked again.

"The truth? You truly want to hear it?" Wei Zhongxian's self-mockery grew thicker. "The truth is that even with me alone removed, the realm will go on as it always has, and the court will go on as it always has! Such is the way of the world — it cannot be mended!"

Seeing that Qi Wang did not believe him, Wei Zhongxian continued.

"Young man, do you truly think that I, alone, could have ruined the entire Great Ming realm? Was this realm so fine before I held power? The Jianzhou beyond the passes, the troubles in Xuzhou within the passes — did either of those wait for me to rise before they began wreaking havoc? And among the civil and military officials filling the court, did any of them wait for me to rise before they started taking bribes, perverting the law, and holding their posts in name only? Back then, I was merely struggling to keep things going. If you say I am at fault, I am indeed at fault — but if you say that all the accumulated ills of successive reigns should be heaped upon my shoulders, then my shoulders truly cannot bear the load… If you don't believe me, look: after I left, how many of the officials now filling the court are any better than those treacherous scoundrels of mine? Has my absence made natural disasters and man-made calamities any fewer? I, for one, think that without me around to at least prod them into doing a few things, the number of those holding their posts in name only will only grow and grow!"

Then Wei Zhongxian sighed again. "Young man, we have traveled a long way together. Although I can see you are full of resentment toward me, you have still done your utmost to escort me. So I will offer you a word of advice: the Great Ming realm… is already going downhill, like a river in its final descent."

Seeing the other man still so self-righteous, Qi Wang's face instantly flushed red.

"Ai, Wang lad, why must you concern yourself with so much?" Just then, Liu Songping beside him suddenly sighed. "Such is the way of the world — just accept it! What can you or I do about the state of the realm? Just handle your own assignment well, that's enough… Come, let's go, let's go. Don't stop."

Qi Wang's face grew even hotter. "The Great Ming has already fallen to this state. If you won't care, and I won't care, then who will? Are we just to watch helplessly as the Great Ming realm perishes, and watch so many people become wandering ghosts? Look… look — how many human tragedies have we witnessed along this road? I… I cannot bear to watch any longer!"

That cry of "I can't bear to watch any longer" was so heart‑rending that Wei Zhongxian and Liu Songping, who had been about to say more, both fell silent for a moment.

"Fine, fine — a young man with some hot blood is a good thing, and there's nothing wrong with carrying the world in your heart." Wei Zhongxian suddenly turned to Liu Songping with a smile. "If everyone were as listless as you, how would we ever accomplish anything great?"

"Many thanks for your praise, gonggong. Wang'er is merely young and naive; his heart is still excellent." Liu Songping gave a slightly embarrassed laugh, then grabbed Qi Wang by the hem of his coat. "All right, Wang'er, say no more. Even if you want to save the world, it will have to wait until we return to the capital… Let's hurry on our way first. Finishing our errand early is what really matters…"

And so, coaxed and pushed along, the still somewhat dazed Qi Wang was propelled forward by Liu Songping, stumbling and staggering back onto the road.

Along this stretch of road, how many more nameless corpses would they simply pass by? He no longer wished to dwell on that question.

Perhaps because large numbers of refugees had passed through, the road grew more and more desolate. Fortunately, they had brought plenty of dry rations and ample water, so along the way they were not troubled by hunger or thirst.

However, what put the group on their guard was that, although the travelers they encountered were sparse, more and more of them had hostile expressions. Often, people would lurk by the roadside, even openly scrutinizing them without bothering to hide. Sensing this danger, they heightened their vigilance to the utmost.

Because order had broken down to varying degrees everywhere, bands of brigands and bandits had gathered all around. It was only because the two of them looked clearly formidable that they had not yet encountered any highwaymen trying to hold them up.

Still, they had no idea how long this luck would last, so they pressed on harder, fearful of any further delay. They soon entered the borders of Hua County and reached the area where Guangping Prefecture met Henan's Kaifeng Prefecture.

"Just a few more li and we'll be entering Henan, right?" Wei Zhongxian asked Liu Songping during a brief roadside rest.

"Yes, gonggong." Liu Songping nodded. "Ahead lies Kaifeng Prefecture. We'll make a detour through Henan before heading to Fengyang Prefecture — that way we can pass through as little of Zhao Jin's territory as possible."

"We're getting farther and farther from the capital… can't even stay in Zhili anymore." Wei Zhongxian raised his head and looked at the sky, as if lost in thought. "It looks like rain. Shall we find a place to rest first?"

Liu Songping also looked up at the sky. The weather was overcast and gloomy; it really did seem about to rain, and the wind was strong.

"Fine, let's find a place to rest first." Liu Songping agreed.

He then carefully scanned the surroundings. After making sure no one suspicious was following them, he looked ahead and spotted what seemed to be a crude shack in the distance.

Travelers were extremely sparse here — it could be counted as desolate wilderness. Apart from that spot, there might be no place to rest for several li beyond.

"Both of you, follow me." He looked back at the two behind him, then led the way toward the shack.

When they reached it, he discovered that the shack had long been abandoned. Weeds grew everywhere, and it leaned so crookedly it was barely standing — he had no idea whether it could shelter them from the coming rain.

No one here is better than having someone here. Liu Songping thought to himself.

"Let's rest here for now…" Liu Songping helped Wei Zhongxian into the shack. "Once the rain stops, we'll set off again, get to Henan Prefecture early, and find an inn to rest properly."

"Let's do that." Wei Zhongxian nodded and walked straight into the shack to sit down.

After settling Wei Zhongxian, Liu Songping's gaze fell on Qi Wang, who had been following behind them in silence the whole time.

Ever since that outburst of temper on the road, Qi Wang had barely spoken these past few days. He simply followed behind them in a daze, as if his soul had left him. Liu Songping knew his heart was in too much pain, so he had refrained from provoking him further. But letting this go on indefinitely wouldn't do, so he decided to use this rare rest stop to console his nephew.

"Wang'er, are you still angry with Third Uncle? Do you blame your uncle for being too cold‑hearted?" Liu Songping walked over to Qi Wang, who was sitting outside the shack.

Qi Wang did not answer; he merely gazed around as if lost in thought.

"Enough — is that any way to treat your uncle?" Growing somewhat annoyed, Liu Songping gave Qi Wang a shove.

Only then did Qi Wang start as if waking from a dream, jerking like a startled horse and staring at Liu Songping.

"What, awake now?" Liu Songping frowned. "That moping, wronged‑little‑wife look of yours just irritates me!"

"Uncle, I'm not angry with you. I'm… I just can't figure things out in my heart!" Qi Wang's lips quivered, and finally he let out a long breath. "Just let me think it over alone for a few more days. Once I work through it, I'll be fine. I really don't blame you!"

"Can't figure things out? What can't you figure out?" Liu Songping still looked dismissive.

"In the capital, I watched life get worse day by day and thought that was real hardship. I believed that even if the realm fell into chaos, it would at worst be just a little worse than my own hard life…" Qi Wang's face twisted slightly with pain. "Who would have thought that the moment I stepped out, I'd find the realm already seething like a boiling cauldron, seething with unrest. Not only is there no peace to speak of — even a hard life is beyond reach. This… this is truly a living hell! And so… so for the sake of finding a way to survive, so many people cast aside all shame and morality, preferring to run off and join the bandits! This Great Ming… where exactly did Great Ming go wrong? How could it let the realm fall to such a state? Ever since the Great Ancestor founded the dynasty and the Chengzu pacified the realm through the Jingnan Campaign, Great Ming has bestowed its blessings upon the land for two hundred years. How can the rivers and mountains be set right again? I… I just can't figure these things out…"

Liu Songping listened to Qi Wang's words in complete silence.

"If we can't find a way to save the nation, what good will it do even if we go back? What good will it do even if we eliminate Wei Zhongxian? Great Ming's realm will still be tottering on the brink, in danger of collapse at any moment! I… my ancestors served the Son of Heaven of Great Ming for so many years — how can I just stand by and watch?" Qi Wang's expression grew more and more agitated. "So Third Uncle, my heart is truly burning with anxiety!"

"And what use is burning with anxiety?" Liu Songping lowered his head and sighed. "The court ministers, the scholars of the realm — so many people are searching for a way to save Great Ming. So many learned men have failed to find one. What can you do? Besides, even if you found one, what then? Uncle isn't trying to pour cold water on you, but your position is low and your words carry little weight — what can you really do for Great Ming? Better to just do your own duty well…"

Pain made Qi Wang's face twitch faintly again, but he clearly disagreed entirely with Liu Songping's words. He only held back from arguing further because the other man was his elder.

Seeing his nephew like this, Liu Songping suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

Wasn't I exactly the same back then?

Uncle… back then, Uncle was just as full of hot blood as you are. But what in this world can be accomplished by hot blood alone? In the end, after all the twists and turns, no one was saved, and the only one who suffered was myself, wasn't it?

He wanted to say this, but in the end the words did not leave his mouth. The hot blood of youth can only cool slowly through one's own experience. No matter what others say, it is useless — it can only have the opposite effect.

Just then, the wind grew stronger and stronger, whipping the nearby thickets of grass into violent shaking. Even the dilapidated shack creaked and groaned.

"It's about to rain, isn't it? Looks like it'll be quite a storm!" Liu Songping raised his head again to look at the sky, then took hold of Qi Wang's hand. "All right, stop standing out here in the wind. No matter how troubled you are, you can't let yourself freeze half to death outside, can you?"

"All right." Qi Wang nodded gently.

At that moment, they both felt the ground seem to tremble faintly.

Before they could react, a rumbling "clatter‑clatter, clatter‑clatter" suddenly reached their ears.

The booming sound was dense and rhythmic, as if… as if a group of riders were heading this way.

In this kind of weather, a group of people riding hard on the road? Qi Wang and Liu Songping exchanged a glance; both sensed something was wrong.

"Let's go back inside the shack and rest for a bit." Liu Songping was the first to react. He turned and walked back toward the shack.

At that moment, Wei Zhongxian was resting on a small wooden stump inside the shack. He had even taken off his boots and was rubbing his feet. He was getting on in years, and any long journey left him utterly exhausted. Although Liu Songping had looked after him fairly well along the way, conditions were still somewhat rough, so whenever there was a chance to rest, he set aside any concern for appearances.

Seeing the somewhat startled look on Liu Songping's face, Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but laugh.

"What, do you find this old servant quite ridiculous?"

"Gonggong, this humble one wouldn't dare!" Liu Songping hurriedly waved his hands in denial.

"It's nothing, don't be alarmed. This old servant has fallen to such a state — it truly is ridiculous, so what harm is there in a laugh?" Wei Zhongxian waved his hand. "But, strange to say, by all rights, having fallen to this point, this old servant ought to be weeping all day long. Yet somehow I don't feel much sorrow at all. I'm not lying to you — this old servant truly feels as if a great weight has been lifted from my whole body, as if I've cast off a heavy burden…"