In the end, Chu Shao Yang failed to obtain any promise from Fu Xi Yan, but that did not stop him from acting. Since his identity had already been exposed, he simply dropped the disguise, resumed his true appearance, and openly moved through the city, cultivating officials and gathering information.
He carried the title of imperial envoy. Until Liu Tan Du carved the word “rebel” onto his own forehead, there was nowhere in Jiangling he could not go. Those he visited trembled in fear; those he did not visit were equally uneasy, wondering whether Emperor Jianhong had deliberately passed them over because he disapproved of them.
In short, by charging around with brute force and little finesse, Chu Shao Yang managed to stir Jiangling’s already muddy waters until no one could see the bottom.
The fifth day of the third lunar month was Qingming, but burial was inauspicious that day.
The Fu family was away from home, so tomb-sweeping and ancestral rites were out of the question. Fu Xi Yan also had lingering psychological scars about spring outings in the countryside and would rather stay home watching Fu Gui Gui herd ducks.
That afternoon, the carriage of the principal imperial envoy representing the emperor finally entered Jiangling. Liu Tan Du, who had remained silent all this time, finally emerged as well, leading Jiangling’s officials to the city gate to welcome him. Fu Fu and Fu Xuan were among those present. For once, when the two sides met, they exchanged smiles and conversation naturally, with not a trace of gloom.
Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin watched the spectacle from a nearby restaurant.
Seeing Zhang A Gu step down from the carriage, Fu Xi Yan grew nostalgic. “The last time I saw him, he was still short, and I was still fat.”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “He still hasn’t grown taller.”
Fu Xi Yan sighed. “Exactly. I’m the only one committed to self-improvement.”
Zhang A Gu represented the emperor, so everyone, Liu Tan Du included, treated him with utmost respect. Had Fu Xi Yan not known what was really going on, even he might have been fooled by the cordial host-and-guest scene and the grand welcome lining the road.
Watching the crowd escort Zhang A Gu’s carriage away, Fu Xi Yan grabbed a handful of peanuts from the plate and stuffed them into his mouth. Chewing, he said, “The real show is about to begin.”
The Fu family might have been cast as one of the leads, but how they played the role would depend on the director sent by the emperor. The Liu family was another lead and also doubled as the scriptwriter. Only when both sides stepped onto the stage together would the performance truly begin.
They did not nosily follow after them and trail the procession, though. Instead, Fu Xi Yan went home with Pei Yuan Jin.
After Pei Yuan Jin finished discussing the Dao with Lu Qing, it was Fu Xi Yan’s turn.
Searching for the elusive “one” was hardly a broad and easy road. Had he known it would be like this, he should have chosen “displaying sainthood before the masses” instead. Every time he hit a bottleneck and needed to level up, he could pull out a set of Olympiad math problems and solve them slowly in full view of everyone, basking in their worshipful, awestruck gazes. His only regret would be: I hate that I am me, because I can’t stand off to the side and admire how overwhelmingly cool I look.
To make him experience what it felt like to be driven into a dead end, Lu Qing had been beating him senseless these past few days. Mm. Pei Yuan Jin still had principles and had not personally staged a case of “domestic violence.” Even so, Fu Xi Yan had suffered plenty.
He sighed and groaned every day, but he also knew how rare it was to have a Martial King as a sparring partner. So despite being tossed around day after day, he gritted his teeth and endured.
To make matters worse, Lu Qing even tossed out a few chilly remarks. “Back then, a single sentence from you enlightened me. Why is it that when it comes to yourself, every step is so difficult? Could this be what they mean when they say a physician cannot heal himself?”
Lu Qing’s reflection was completely sincere, but to Fu Xi Yan’s ears, it was simply early-spring weather: what a wonderfully chilly breeze.
Fu Xi Yan said, “Of course I enlightened you, because I told you something you had never thought of. But all my ideas are already inside my own head, so naturally they can’t enlighten me. Which means that right now, the person who really ought to reflect on himself is you. Why can’t you return the favor and say something profound enough to make everything suddenly clear to me?”
Lu Qing froze, then withdrew into himself.
Fu Xi Yan returned victorious, but he was not happy. Even if he had defeated Lu Qing verbally, the real problem remained unresolved. Worse, as Pei Yuan Jin’s exploits in Southern Yu spread farther and farther, Fu Xi Yan’s chances of encountering genuine danger would only decrease. And if danger did come, it would probably be a life-or-death trial on the level of Mo Xiao Ran.
Seeing how dejected he was, Pei Yuan Jin handed him a book.
Fu Xi Yan accepted it blankly.
What edition of a dirty little book is this? Why is it printed so huge?
Pei Yuan Jin said, “A breakthrough in one’s state of mind does not necessarily require personal experience. Insight can also come from reading.” That was why he read all year round. It was not that he especially liked books. He was simply seeking that flash of enlightenment somewhere in the sea of written words.
Fu Xi Yan closed the book and said thoughtfully, “Insight doesn’t necessarily require reading either. It could also come from blowing glass.”
“What is glass?”
“It needs to be fired at high temperatures… adding plant ash can lower the melting point of silicon dioxide…” Fu Xi Yan muttered to himself for a while, then silently picked up the book Pei Yuan Jin had given him and began reading.
But peaceful, harmonious time always passed quickly. Fu Xi Yan had only reached his sixth reading of the first line when the gatekeeper came to report that Madam Fenfang had sent someone to invite him over.
Ever since the invitation from “Yi Zhi Mei,” Fu Xi Yan had not returned to that private residence. The pleasures of the palate were important, but whenever he imagined Mo Xiao Ran’s cold gaze possibly lurking behind every exquisite dish, even the most desperate hunger lost its appetite.
This time, however, Madam Fenfang’s reason for inviting him was very difficult to refuse.
“Someone came to the residence and started causing a scene. Madam truly can’t stop them!” The young maid was so anxious that the tip of her nose had turned red, tears hanging in her eyes without quite falling.
A girl of twelve or thirteen really did make an excellent messenger for persuasion, but today was a special day, and Madam Fenfang’s private residence was a very special place. He had no choice but to be cautious. “When guests caused trouble in the past, how did Madam handle it?”
And no one was going to tell him no guest had ever caused trouble before. Idiots had not suddenly been invented today.
The maid hesitated. “In the past, people from the Merchant Alliance stepped in.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Then why not ask them this time?”
The maid glanced up at him with a faint trace of grievance, then quickly lowered her head again. “Madam gave the courtyard to Master. Since Master has not joined the Merchant Alliance, we naturally can no longer ask the Merchant Alliance to intervene.”
In other words, Madam Fenfang’s original backer was the Four-Way Merchant Alliance?
Mo Xiao Ran was the man who had killed Lord Taishi’s son. How could the Four-Way Merchant Alliance possibly have anything to do with him?
Fu Xi Yan was confused, but his curiosity about the forces behind Madam Fenfang was also stirred. If it was not Mo Xiao Ran, then who stood behind her? Someone connected to the Four-Way Merchant Alliance, Liu Tan Du? The Northern Alliance?
He was even more curious about who had lost their mind badly enough to cause trouble at a moment like this. Surely it could not be Zhang A Gu, who had only arrived in Jiangling today?
Once his curiosity was aroused, Fu Xi Yan knew he had no choice but to make this trip.
* * *
Fu Xi Yan had assumed Zhang A Gu’s arrival would make Jiangling’s already chaotic situation even more tangled. Reality, however, proved exactly the opposite. Zhang A Gu was like a sieve. With every gentle shake, fine sand slipped through, forcing the stones that had once lain buried within it to reveal themselves.
Liu Tan Du now stood upon that gently shaking sieve. The problem was that even he had not yet decided whether he was fine sand or stone.
…Even if the whole world had already decided he was a rebel, in truth, he still had not made himself ready. Unfortunately, only he and Madam Liu knew that.
The previous night, the two of them had stood outside the little Buddhist hall, gazing up at a moon that was neither full nor bright.
They had been husband and wife for many years, yet had spent very little time together, much less opened their hearts to one another. The most recent occasion had been just after Liu Tan Du learned there was more to his elder brother’s death than he had known. She had sat beside him in the corridor by the pond through a bleak night of cold rain while he drank in silence until dawn.
When he sobered up, he still had to face his life, and the reality that he had been serving the man who killed his elder brother. It was then that she proposed another road.
A road covered in thorns beneath one’s feet, but perhaps crowned in glory at the other end.
She asked him, “Have you heard of Qin Bu?”
Of course he had.
Qin Bu was a legendary figure much like Lü Buwei from Fu Xi Yan’s previous life, someone who rose from an ordinary merchant to become a regent. Compared with him, Liu Tan Du had begun from a much higher position, and his bond with Liu Huan, that precious jewel waiting to be bid on, was also much deeper.
Precisely because his starting point was higher, however, Liu Tan Du lacked the courage to stake everything on a single throw. Besides, the situation within the Northern Alliance was complicated. He had not been an old retainer of Prince Yunzhong or Prince Longnan back then. If he joined halfway through, how much of the leftovers would there really be for him to share?
But he had not refused either.
His elder brother’s death had created an irreparable rift between him and Emperor Jianhong. Even if Liu Tan Du chose to let bygones be bygones, how much would a suspicious man like Emperor Jianhong truly believe him? The Fu family leaving Haojing and putting down roots in Hubei was proof enough.
Given his present situation, remaining still and doing nothing was the best choice.
That was why, beneath the moonlight last night, when Madam Liu asked whether he intended to defy the imperial decree, his answer had been, “My younger sister is still in the palace.”
He still had someone in Haojing he cared about.
After the usual round of greetings, bows, and returned courtesies, the unrelated officials tactfully withdrew. Zhang A Gu had come because of the marriage arrangement between the Liu and Fu families, not on official government business, so no one could reasonably linger. Whatever private overtures they wished to make could wait for another time.
Once the central figures had taken their seats, Zhang A Gu opened by bringing greetings from Noble Consort Liu. As one of Emperor Jianhong’s trusted palace attendants, his standing in the imperial palace was anything but ordinary, and he saw Noble Consort Liu more often than most.
As Liu Tan Du listened to news of his younger sister, the almost imperceptible frost in his eyes quietly thawed.
Zhang A Gu struck while the iron was hot. “Her Highness has been thinking about her nephew’s marriage and instructed this servant to bring quite a few gifts to add some splendor to Young Master Liu’s happy occasion!”
Liu Tan Du rose and saluted. “Her Highness is thoughtful.”
Zhang A Gu looked pleased. “If I remember correctly, the ninth is an auspicious day. This servant traveled day and night and has finally made it in time to drink the wedding wine.” He paused, smiling at Liu Tan Du. “This servant didn’t make the trip for nothing, did he?”
Liu Tan Du glanced at the Fu brothers sitting nearby and watching the show, then sighed softly. “There is one matter I would not dare conceal from the honorable envoy. My son has been unconscious for several months.”
Chu Shao Yang had been in the city for quite some time and had gathered plenty of information, naturally including this. Zhang A Gu had already received the report before entering Jiangling.
Zhang A Gu had considered all kinds of possible developments before coming, and this was not the worst of them. Even so, he put on an appropriately shocked and worried expression. “How did this happen?”
The two sides then did their utmost to discuss Liu Huan’s unconscious state, reaching approximately the absolute limit of what two laymen in medicine could possibly say about it.
“Do you know when Young Master Liu might wake?”
“I do not.”
“Had I known, I should have asked His Majesty to send an imperial physician along with this servant.”
“I would not dare trouble His Majesty over a family matter.”
…
When their conversation finally became impossible to continue, Zhang A Gu at last remembered to drag someone else into the group chat before the dry, lifeless topic collapsed entirely.
“What does Lord Fu think should be done?”
Fu Xuan naturally did not assume that this “Lord Fu” meant him, so he sat obediently to one side and watched his elder brother perform.
The surprise on Fu Fu’s face had not yet faded. “This is the first I have heard of it as well. I’m completely at a loss and hardly know what should be done.”
He was openly applying pressure, and Liu Tan Du naturally had to respond. He quickly said, “These past few days I have been occupied with treating my son and neglected my future in-laws. Please forgive me.”
Zhang A Gu said, “This concerns Miss Fu’s entire future. General Liu truly has been careless.”
Liu Tan Du apologized repeatedly. Fu Fu refused to follow that thread and instead asked, “Several months have passed. Has General Liu decided how he intends to handle this?”
The question struck directly at the heart.
The Fu family had only just learned the news, so failing to produce an answer immediately was perfectly understandable. But Liu Huan had been unconscious for months. Even if Liu Tan Du had been torn between choices and had resorted to plucking flower petals to decide, he should have stripped an entire garden bare by now and reached an answer.
Liu Tan Du said, “At present, all I can do is ask Lord Fu to grant us more time and postpone the wedding.”
Fu Fu frowned and was just about to speak when Zhang A Gu gave a dry cough. “I suddenly remembered that Her Highness has a few private words she asked me to convey to General Liu alone.”
Fu Fu immediately understood the implication. He rose. “I noticed the flowers blooming in the garden just now and was thinking of taking a look.” After Zhang A Gu and Liu Tan Du responded, he and Fu Xuan left the reception hall.
As soon as they were gone, Zhang A Gu frowned. “General Liu, this marriage was arranged under His Majesty’s sponsorship. Put lightly, what you have done is acting on your own authority. Put more seriously, it could be called showing no regard for your sovereign.”
Liu Tan Du accepted the rebuke readily. “I failed to think matters through.”
Zhang A Gu said, “While I was in the capital, I heard a rumor. I wonder whether General Liu has heard it as well? Someone with malicious intent has been claiming that the Grand Marshal’s death was orchestrated by His Majesty himself.”
Liu Tan Du was silent for a moment. “And what did His Majesty say?”
Zhang A Gu said, “His Majesty and the Grand Marshal grew up together. No one could surpass the depth of their bond.”
Liu Tan Du said, “I heard the envoy’s adoptive father was Eunuch Zhang from back then?”
Zhang Yuan had also been one of Emperor Jianhong’s confidants, and their relationship had been anything but ordinary, yet he too had died just like that. From a certain angle, Zhang A Gu and Liu Tan Du’s positions were rather similar.
Zhang A Gu’s expression did not change. “Yes. But he was he, and this servant is this servant. His Majesty does not vent anger without cause. The fact that this servant has been able to come this far, does that not prove His Majesty’s discernment in judging people?”
Liu Tan Du fell silent again.
Zhang A Gu said, “Forgive this servant for speaking too much, but if General Liu truly cannot let go of the Grand Marshal’s death, why not ask the Noble Consort? She is the Grand Marshal’s family and also your family. Whatever she says will be for your good. Why not trust Her Highness just once?”
Liu Tan Du let out a long sigh. “I accept the envoy’s heartfelt counsel.”
Zhang A Gu relaxed as well. “It is best if the general can see things clearly. In this servant’s view, the marriage between the general’s family and the Fu family is truly a match made in heaven. We need not speak of distant matters. Just look at what is right before us. Fourth Young Master Fu and Young Master Pei have shaken Southern Yu with their might. Once Young Master Liu becomes the Fu family’s son-in-law, when the army marches south, would the Fu family really refuse to lend strength? If Southern Yu can be subdued, would His Majesty truly withhold rewards? By then, perhaps Northern Zhou will gain a third duke. General Liu must not let a moment of anger cost the Liu family glory for generations!”
At last, a trace of temptation appeared on Liu Tan Du’s face. “But my son remains unconscious…”
Zhang A Gu said, “Young Master Lou was once gravely wounded and unconscious as well. The Little Divine Doctor treated him, and he returned to full vigor. Before long, he will even become His Majesty’s ideal son-in-law. The Little Divine Doctor is from the jianghu, and the Fu family is half jianghu itself! If General Liu truly wishes it, why not ask the people who genuinely care?”
Liu Tan Du said, “The envoy’s words have opened my eyes. But the wedding date is close, and distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. In the envoy’s view, what should be done?”
Zhang A Gu said, “I came representing His Majesty. I can hardly make an empty gesture and return without accomplishing anything. From what I see, Lord Fu is quite satisfied with your son and does not wish the marriage to end here. Since that is the case, why not strike while the iron is hot and hold the wedding? With Fourth Young Master Fu as his brother-in-law, Young Master Liu’s recovery should only be a matter of time!”
Liu Tan Du’s heart stirred. Seeing Zhang A Gu’s sincere expression, he could tell the man truly was concerned about making the marriage happen. “Then I will trouble the envoy to mediate between us.”
Zhang A Gu smiled. “Easy enough. That was the purpose of this servant’s journey in the first place.”
When the Fu brothers returned from admiring the flowers, they found the two men chatting and laughing as though Liu Huan were not still lying unconscious in bed, with nothing but bright spring sunshine before them.
Zhang A Gu wanted to speak privately with Fu Fu, so Fu Xuan was left with Liu Tan Du.
Since Fu Xuan’s return to the Southern Border, this was the first time Liu Tan Du had spoken with him alone. Looking at each other, both no longer young, stirred countless emotions in them. Liu Tan Du in particular could not help feeling guilty when he thought of how Fu Xuan had never married or had children all these years.
“If I had known your nephew would become the Master of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror, perhaps I should never have had you practice the Heaven-Mending, Future-Opening Art.”
Fu Xuan said, “If I had not practiced the Heaven-Mending, Future-Opening Art, perhaps he would never have become the Master of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror.”
That was not an exaggeration.
Looking back over Fu Xi Yan’s experiences these past two years, joining the Brocade Guard and going to Luoyang had been the key. If he had not gone to Luoyang, he would never have passed through Peijie Town, accidentally taken the Harmonized Yang Pill, met Pei Yuan Jin, or lived the turbulent, magnificent life that followed.
And the reason he had joined the Brocade Guard in the first place traced back to Fu Xuan’s contest with Chu Guang for the position of Commander of the Yulin Guard. If Fu Xuan had not practiced the Heaven-Mending, Future-Opening Art, he would never have reached the Vajra Stage and would naturally have lost the qualifications to compete.
That was how the circumstances of a life worked. Cause and effect linked together ring by ring, and not a single one could be missing.
Liu Tan Du did not know the details, but hearing Fu Xuan say this gave him some comfort.
Fu Xuan went straight to the point. “Whose son is Liu Huan?”
With the Heaven-Mending, Future-Opening Art between them, it was difficult to conceal Liu Huan’s true origins. Liu Tan Du was silent for a moment before saying, “He is a descendant of General Niu. Speaking of which, General Niu had deep ties with the Count Yongfeng household. If he knew the descendants of the two families were joining together, I imagine he would be pleased.”
Fu Xuan looked at him for a long while before saying, “If that is truly the case, I suppose he would be.”
He and Liu Tan Du had not seen each other for more than a decade, so naturally they could not be as close as they once were. But a person’s habits were difficult to change. For example, whenever Liu Tan Du lied, his heels would rub restlessly from side to side against the ground.
* * *
The cold wind whipped the military banners with a sharp flutter. Soldiers were drilling beneath them while several centurions stood together, watching the men move in perfect unison with gratified smiles on their faces.
None of them were young anymore. In another few years, perhaps they would lay down their armor and return to civilian life. But before leaving, to see the old count’s grandson return to the Southern Border and command an army once more made everything worthwhile to them.
Perhaps the Fu family could not restore its former prestige and wrest military authority back from the Liu family in the short term, but the Liu family had once started from nothing too. The Fu family’s roots ran deeper, so naturally its hopes were greater.
Just then, a bell suddenly rang from the watch post. The centurions did not dare delay and immediately climbed the city wall to look into the distance. Dust was rolling across the horizon, as though a large number of horses were approaching.
The centurions exchanged glances.
Their position was not on the front line. If Southern Yu had crossed the river, it would first have encountered the other garrisons, and beacon smoke would already have risen in warning. Anyone able to approach on horseback like this had to be one of their own.
Sure enough, as the riders drew nearer, their uniforms came into view. They were indeed dressed in the standard attire of the Southern Border army.
The man at their head was none other than General of Martial Proclamation Huo Yuan.
Huo Yuan raised a command pennant high. “By order of the General of Agile Cavalry, this garrison is to be taken over!”
* * *
The cold wind at the garrison could not reach Jiangling city.
At that moment, Jiangling was warm beneath the sun with a gentle breeze and a faint fragrance of flowers in the air. At least, that had been true before Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin entered Madam Fenfang’s private residence.
When he pushed open the door, the beautiful garden from the other day had been reduced to a complete mess. A young woman stood among the flowers, expressionlessly ravaging the plants around her.
Madam Fenfang and the maids stood about a zhang away, watching her helplessly.
Farther off stood a monk with a gloomy, unlucky-looking face. He wore a plain monastic robe, and on closer inspection, faint stains dotted the fabric.
Without knowing what had happened, anyone looking at the scene would assume the furious young woman was the culprit and the monk was an innocent passerby who had somehow been dragged into the trouble.
“Amitabha.”
The monk turned, bowed to Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin, then asked with astonishing rudeness, “How do the two benefactors think today’s matter should be settled?”
Before coming, Fu Xi Yan had already heard from the young maid that the monk and the girl were together. The girl threw the tantrum while the monk stood ready to support her. The two worked together perfectly.
So he asked in return, “That depends on how much you intend to compensate us.”
The monk said, “A monk does not eat pungent foods, yet your establishment cooked them. Naturally, the fault lies with your establishment.”
The “pungent foods” he meant were not meat, but scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Fu Xi Yan had only learned from the young maid that such a rule existed.
Madam Fenfang knew the taboo and had not added any of those three ingredients to the monk’s food. The monk, however, had failed to resist temptation, sneaked some of the girl’s meal, and after eating it, still blamed the establishment.
As for why the girl was making such a scene, that made even less sense.
She believed that because her meal had been stolen and eaten, she had suffered a loss. Madam Fenfang offered to replace it, but the girl complained that the replacement would not be the original serving.
In short…
The two of them had very obviously come here today looking for trouble.
Fu Xi Yan therefore had no choice but to stop being reasonable too.
“Wrong, wrong. Our establishment clearly serves pungent foods, yet you, a monk who refuses to eat them, insisted on coming in anyway. Isn’t the real problem that you don’t know what’s good for you?”