Chapter 14: Jade Shatters, Pearls Sink

  From afar, I saw the city of Jianye, and my heart was surging with excitement. We had finally returned! Thirty miles outside the city, the emperor led a procession of officials to welcome us back as heroes. We all dismounted our horses and paid homage to the emperor. The emperor was overjoyed and grasped the hand of Duke De, saying: "Your Majesty's merit is boundless, I have prepared a grand feast to celebrate your triumph." As I entered the city with the army, I unintentionally caught sight of someone on a small wine shop on the left side of the imperial road, staring at me intently. However, I didn't sense any malicious intent.

  After the celebratory banquet, I rushed back to my residence with Chen Yin. This time, after attacking Shu State, I received many rewards, so I had already decided to buy another house in the suburbs. Since King Deqin also promised to help me, allowing me to recuperate at home, I wouldn't have to live in the city under such strict rules. Before I returned, Xiao Shunzi had already followed Wang Hai back and had selected a house for me, paid the money, and obtained the deed. Last night, he came to the post station to see me and told me the location of the house. Chen Yin and I searched according to the map and soon found the estate. It was a small, elegant, and secluded farmhouse with pavilions and towers that had everything one could need. Xiao Shunzi had already hired several servants, who kept the place spotless from top to bottom.

  After bathing and changing, I went to the study room. Xiao Shunzi had already arranged my books inside. I picked up a book of Historical Records and started reading. At this time, Chen Jin came in and reported: "Sir, someone is outside asking to see you." I was taken aback - I had just moved here and hadn't yet registered with the Ministry of Officials, so how could anyone be visiting me?

  Chen Yin saw my confusion and explained: "When the master returned, he hired a horse-drawn carriage. After the driver left, someone asked about the master's residence." I thought to myself, "The innkeeper must have been bribed, and should be killed for it." As I thought this, I said: "Where is the note?"

  Chen Yin handed over the notice with both hands and said frankly that although Chen Yin had been obedient, he always felt that Chen Yin didn't quite look up to him. However, since he wrote a poem that drove the King of Shu to death, his attitude changed and he became very respectful towards him. He took the notice and opened it to find the three words "Liu Piao Xiang" written on it. He hastily asked: "Is that person still there?"

  Chen Yin replied, "The little ones are already waiting in the gatehouse." I hastily said, "Quickly let them come in, no, I'll personally go to welcome them." As I spoke, I hurried out and arrived at the gatehouse. There, I saw a young scholar wearing a dark-colored cloak that covered his entire body, with a black gauze hat on his head, making it impossible to see his face. However, just by looking at his figure and demeanor, I ignored the two servant girls dressed as book boys beside him, rushed over, grasped both of his hands, and exclaimed, "You've arrived! Were you watching me from upstairs today?"

  A maid coldly said: "Since the Master Scholar went to war, my young mistress has been restless in her sleep and appetite, and hasn't even gone to the painted barge. If it weren't for the Master Scholar returning today, she wouldn't have come out of the house."

  I suppressed the joy in my heart, holding onto Liu Piaoxiang's slender hand, and said: "I knew it, I knew it, you like me too."

  Liu Piaoxiang removed her bamboo hat, revealing a pale and haggard complexion. I was stunned for a moment, then stepped forward to hug her, saying: "You treat me like this, even if I were to be crushed to powder, I couldn't repay the depth of your kindness."

  Liu Piao Xiang said softly: "After you went to battle, I was restless day and night, always worrying about your safety. Today, seeing you return triumphantly, I can finally put my mind at ease. Originally, I shouldn't have come to see you, but I just wanted to ask you in person how you were doing."

  I said with gratitude: "Actually I wanted to see you, it's just that I always thought you might not want to see me."

  The maid smiled and said: "Alright, stop teasing me, I'm exhausted."

  I exchanged a smile with Liu Piaoxiang and helped her walk in. Those two maids, of course, had someone to take care of them.

  In the still of the night, I gazed at Liu Piaoxiang's languid sleeping posture, got out of bed to fetch paper and pen, and wrote with a smooth flow. At this moment, Liu Piaoxiang woke up, walked over, hugged me from behind, and smiled: "The top scholar is writing poetry again."

  I gazed at her affectionately, wrapped my arms around her slender waist, pulled her onto my lap, and let her see my new work.

  She brushed her hair back, picked up the poem, but it was a "Magpie Bridge Immortal". She whispered: "The delicate clouds are cleverly manipulated, the flying stars convey hatred, the Milky Way is vast and dark. The golden phoenix and jade dew meet once, and they surpass countless human relationships. Tender feelings are like water, good times are like dreams, and it's hard to look back on the magpie bridge road. If the two emotions were long-lasting, how could they be in the morning and evening?"

  "Ah!" She softly exclaimed, then gazed at me with fervent eyes. I couldn't resist such temptation, and embracing her, we walked to the bed, entwined for a night. When I got up the next day, the beauty was nowhere to be seen. I thought sorrowfully, could it be that she still didn't want to marry me? But she had already stopped receiving guests, so wasn't she thinking of marrying me? Then I saw on the desk a newly written poem with fresh ink.

  "On a spring day outing, apricot blossoms fill the air, and whose young son's feet are swift on the village path. I would rather give myself away in marriage, even if abandoned by an unfeeling one, than be unable to bear the shame."

  I knelt down on the ground with gratitude and prayed: "Heaven bless me, Fei Xiang really agreed to marry me."

  What purity, what integrity, such a strange and fragrant woman like Feng Xiang, if she could marry me, it would be my good fortune. Thinking about it, Feng Xiang wouldn't be the kind of woman who likes fame, wealth, and power, nor would she like a stable life too much. When I find a way to leave Nan Chu, I'll take her on a journey around the world, let her see the beauty of the four seas, with a beautiful woman by my side, traveling the world, such days are no different from those of the immortals. Until we're both tired, we'll settle down in a picturesque place and spend our old age there, what a wonderful prospect!

  I rushed to the Ministry of Rites and learned that the Emperor had issued a decree promoting me one rank, making me a Hanlin Academician. The Emperor also agreed to let me take a leave of absence to recover from my illness at home. After completing all the paperwork, I excitedly ran to a jewelry store and browsed for half a day but didn't find any accessories that caught my eye. As someone who is used to seeing precious jewels, how could I be fond of such common objects? Later, I designed something myself and asked them to craft a gold hairpin and a gold bangle according to my design. After they saw my design drawings, they asked if they could use this style, but I refused. This was going to be a gift for Fei Yang, so how could I let them imitate it? However, I did agree to give them two other design drawings. Anyway, making money is the goal, as long as they don't leak it out, there's no problem. They were overjoyed and said that although my designs required master craftsmen to make, they would definitely not miss the deadline.

  No wonder they were so solemn, this golden hairpin of mine is not an ordinary phoenix headpin, but a real phoenix pin. The tassels hanging down from the phoenix's beak must have three grains of crystal clear and round pearls with a diameter of three fen, shining brightly like the true South Sea pearl. The golden pin, silver pearls, and green tassels are eye-catching to an unimaginable degree. What's even more astonishing is that I required each pearl to be carved by a famous craftsman into a phoenix shape, as small as a grain of rice, yet vivid and lifelike, located on the side of the pearl hole. If you don't observe carefully, it's hard to notice. The golden pin itself has a rotating ball-shaped ring at the phoenix's mouth, which can rotate freely in all directions. Such an exquisite golden hairpin is hard to come by, even with a thousand pieces of gold. If Zhao Jue hadn't secretly given me a large reward, I wouldn't have had the financial resources for this.

  As for the bangle, my design is that the main body of the bangle is made up of a dozen or so delicate gold threads wound together in a spiral manner. The gold threads are irregularly cast with small bells, and the joint is a lotus flower. Each bell also has to be carved with a pattern of lotus flowers. This is my tribute to Xiaoxiang, telling her that in my heart, she is still a lotus flower that rises from the mud without being stained.

  I was busy for most of the day, and it wasn't until evening that I triumphantly brought Chen Yin back home. As soon as we arrived at the door, however, I saw our fragrant servant girl rush up to me in tears. I was stunned, and a chill ran from the bottom of my heart. After a long time, I finally heard myself ask in a stiff voice: "What happened?"

  The maid cried out: "Miss was very happy this morning, preparing to dismiss the slaves and marry a good man. Who knew that Yan Niang sent someone to say that there were noble guests who wanted to see Miss, but Miss refused, saying that she would never see guests again from now on. However, Yan Niang said that the visitor's background was too great, and begged Miss to save her life. Miss thought that over the years, Yan Niang had taken good care of us, so it was just a matter of seeing them off and making some polite conversation, and after Miss married, she could formally refuse. Who knew... who knew... Miss went out and never came back. This evening, someone suddenly sent Miss's body back, saying that Miss died of a sudden illness..."

  When I heard this, I let out a loud cry and fell to the ground, instantly fainting. When I came to, I saw Xiao Shunzi's anxious face, and I pulled him, asking: "How could this be? How did Fang Xiang die?"

  Xiao Shunzi said gloomily, "I brought back Liu Niang's body and examined it carefully. Liu Niang was raped and then killed by someone using internal force to shock her heart meridian. Although they tried to clean up and cover it up, the wounds on her lower body and the traces of internal force can't deceive me."

  I closed my eyes in agony. If Xiangxiang wasn't killed for keeping a vigil for me, why would it be like this? I continued to ask: "Who was it, who killed her?"

  Xiao Shunzi said: "I've already investigated, Yan Niang said that Liang Yuans people came to say that there was a noble guest who wanted to see Liu Niang, and Yan Niang thought that Liang Yuan would not make things difficult for Liu Niang. The noble guest of Da Yong dared not offend her, so she reluctantly let Liu Niang go. I've already gone to investigate Mingyue Tower, but I didn't see any noble guests. However, I caught one of their servants and interrogated him, and found out that Liu Niang was indeed harmed at Mingyue Tower. If I'm not mistaken, it's possible that Liang Yuan was the one who did it. I tried to sneak up on her, and her internal strength matches Liu Niangs injuries."

  I said with a sigh: "Liang Wan, okay, okay. Xiao Shunzi, help me go see Piaoxiang."

  I entered a small room, inside the coffin was placed a fragrant corpse. I looked at her vivid and lifelike appearance, that expression filled with anger and regret, and burst into tears. She really died, my beloved woman, the woman I wanted to marry, was killed like this.

  "Liáng Wǎn!" I loudly and painfully cried out.

  In the following days, I was numb like a walking corpse, and after burying Xiangxiang properly, I really fell ill. This illness lasted for half a year, and the root of the disease that remained in Shu recurred. Later, I started to practice qigong again to cultivate my vital energy, and gradually my body recovered, and my appearance returned to normal, but I always carried a hint of sadness with me.

  After I fell ill, I heard that Deqin Wang Zhao Ke was granted a title by the emperor and allowed to wear a sword and boots when entering the palace. It's no wonder, as Deqin Wang was already a prince and a high-ranking military commander. At this point, there was nothing left to grant him. I insisted on writing a letter, which Chen Yin delivered to Zhao Ke. Before long, Zhao Ke submitted a memorial declining the honor, saying that he was already a prince and his position was already highly respected, so there was no need for further rewards. If the emperor felt that not rewarding him would be a loss of face for the country, then please grant him more land, gold, and silk instead. The emperor was overjoyed and granted him generous rewards. After some time passed, Deqin Wang volunteered to garrison Jingzhou and Xiangyang, which the emperor happily approved.

  Deqin Wang Zhao Ke came to Jing Xiang town before, had come to see me, saw I was seriously ill, and specially instructed the hospital to treat me instead. Later, he sent medicine and supplements to Xiangyang several times. However, Xiao Shunzi said that Zhao Ke had someone pay attention to my actions, don't mind him, anyway, I'm now lying in bed every day, he won't notice the movements of others around me. As for Xiao Shunzi's whereabouts, it's not something anyone can discover now.

  There is one thing that worries me, the king originally wanted to restore his imperial title, but all the ministers advised him that since they had just pacified Shu and suffered heavy losses in military strength, it would be better to wait for a while. The king was not pleased at first, but after receiving a letter from the King of Qi, he reluctantly gave up. From then on, the king indulged in wine and women day and night, especially infatuated with a batch of female musicians brought back from Shu, accompanied by a group of literary scholars, drinking, composing poetry, and collecting famous paintings and books from Shu into the Chongwen Hall. Apart from this one thing that I somewhat appreciate, everything else is what a foolish ruler would do. He even handed over all state affairs to be handled by Prime Minister Shang Weijun, saying that with King Shu outside and Prime Minister Shang inside, he could indulge in feasting and drinking day and night. Under the king's influence, many court officials became more and more indulgent in sensual pleasures. I collected their poems and songs, which were all lewd words, truly pitiful to behold.

  In the south of Chu, such a life of intoxication and death, the great Yu was not good either. The news that King Yu wanted to establish himself reached the ears of Crown Prince Li An, who personally went to Emperor Li Yuan's face to cry and complain. Li Yuan ordered King Yu to be placed in a remote area, and for half a year, King Yu stayed in Chang'an, uneasy day and night, several times suffering from assassination attempts. Not long after I heard this news, a mysterious person visited my residence, dusty and claiming to be King Yu's guard. I received King Yu's letter, which said that he was now bearing false accusations, eight or nine out of ten related to my plan. At first, I promised to help him strategize, but this matter had nothing to do with Nan Chu. He asked me how to protect himself. I smiled wryly, thinking that King Yu was indeed good at using all his power. After some thought, I wrote a letter back to him, and for safety, I wrote a line with my left hand, without signature or date.

  "Before taking, one must give; externally there are strong enemies, internally there is no worry."

  The King of Yong was indeed extremely intelligent. Later, I heard that during the banquet hosted by Emperor Yong, someone had poisoned the wine of King Li Zhi of Yong. After drinking it, Li Zhi vomited blood nonstop. If not for the medical sage Sang Shen being in Chang'an at the right time, Li Zhi would have probably died already. At that time, Emperor Yong was furious and many people were implicated, so Li An restrained himself. Not long after, I heard that Northern Han invaded the border, and Li Zhi immediately submitted a memorial requesting to go and defend against Northern Han. Indeed, he got approved, and Emperor Yong also wanted to temporarily separate the brothers to let them calm down. When I learned of this news, I smiled faintly. This was a win-win situation for me: King Yong would inevitably clash with Northern Han for several years, Crown Prince Li An would be in charge of military supplies internally and would definitely make things difficult for Li Zhi in every way. This could restrain the Great Yong Empire, making it unable to attend to its southern territories. In the future, if I were to take revenge, having King Yong as a backing would be sufficient; as long as my methods were clever, no one would intentionally come to make things difficult for me.

  When I was ill, Xiao Shunzi personally investigated and finally told me that if he wanted to kill Liang Wan, he could take advantage of the opportunity to assassinate her, but I refused. Although Liang Wan's crime is unforgivable, there is another person who killed Piaoxiang with her, and let Liang Wan be a pimp for him. To eliminate future troubles, this person's identity must be very special and is absolutely not willing to reveal by Liang Wan. I know that this woman is as beautiful as peach blossoms but poisonous like snakes and scorpions. Even if I caught her, I couldn't make her say who the murderer was. I had to put her in a situation where she would rather die than keep secrets, in order to force her to tell the truth. Therefore, it's not possible to kill her now.

  Li Ru was indeed ruthless. After Feng Xiang's death, I quietly arranged for Yan Niang to bury her and then hinted to Chen Yin to give some of Feng Xiang's savings to Li Ru, while the rest were distributed among Feng Xiang's maidservants, who were told to leave Jianye and start anew elsewhere. All this was done through secret communication with Yan Niang via Chen Yin. Yan Niang knew that Feng Xiang had found a good husband but didn't know it was me. Seeing my generosity, she was naturally delighted. After she finished handling everything, Li Ru's assassin arrived. Li Ru sent someone to monitor Yan Niang and saw that she handled things neatly, so there was no need to rush into action. Once the matter was settled, she dispatched someone to kill Yan Niang. I noticed that she didn't send anyone after Chen Yin, confirming that Feng Xiang hadn't revealed her upcoming marriage. Xiao Shunzi secretly followed Li Ru's assassin and witnessed him reporting back to Li Ru that all leads had been severed, and those maidservants of Feng Xiang had fled far away. This was a better way for Li Ru to handle things; if she had eliminated them all at once, it would have raised suspicions.

  I heard Xiaoshunzi say that here, took a deep breath, Liang Wan, you are really despicable to the extreme, no matter what your identity background is, I must make you die without a burial place.

  After some time, my illness gradually improved. One night, I set up an incense table in the backyard to worship and offer fragrance. Thinking of our two loves, I couldn't help but feel sorrowful and silently prayed: "You and I fell in love at first sight, knowing and loving each other. Who knew that heaven had unpredictable winds and clouds? You suffered hardship and died, your jade was shattered and your pearl sank, leaving no shadow or fragrance behind. If you have a spirit, help me find the true culprit and assist the villainous Liang family to be put to death together, so as to comfort your wronged soul in the underworld."

  After finishing my prayer, I picked up a brocade box from the incense table. Inside were the golden hairpin and bangles that I had originally intended to give to Fei Xiang. Seeing these items made me miss her even more, and I felt even more melancholy. In the box was also a jade ring that Fei Xiang had specifically taken out on the day she was harmed, saying it was for me. All of Fei Xiang's other jewelry, I had given to her maid, but this ring I kept for myself. This ring was originally bought by Fei Xiang herself, who liked its pale green color and translucent texture, but it was a bit too big, so she couldn't wear it and left it in her dressing box. I put the ring on my middle finger - it was a keepsake from the one I loved. In the brocade box were also two sheets of poetry. When I read to "I would have married him, even if he had no feelings for me, I couldn't be ashamed," I finally burst into tears.