Fish Meat – Chapter 61

The Ninth Year of Shenchu

Attending a Banquet in Nanya (Part 8)

The Wang family’s three-section courtyard also has two large gardens and various reception halls. Even though countless people are pouring in, it is still possible to find a place with few people.

At this moment, Zhen Wenjun and Xie Suishan were in the stable, which was very quiet, with only the horses quietly eating grass and no other people around.

As soon as Xie Suishan arrived, he reached out to pull Zhen Wenjun’s veil, but she swayed backward to dodge his action. Xie Suishan sneered and simply put both hands behind his back:

“Father said that Sun Mingyi’s remnants were seeking revenge on the Xie family, and you and Xiao Shi were unlucky to be on Ah Xun’s carriage, and so you died. At first, I also thought it was like this: two runaway slaves dying tragically while escaping, a good thing in heaven’s eyes. Back then, I fell from the horse and got injured chasing you all, and lay in bed for more than half a month. With nothing to do, I made a four-wheeled cart to stroll around at home. One night, I couldn’t sleep and went to the courtyard to admire the moon when I saw father’s study still had the light on and heard faint voices. I quietly went over to listen for a few sentences, and guess what I heard? Just coincidentally, I heard your name. Turns out you didn’t die; you even became a spy!”

Originally, I still held a glimmer of hope, hoping Xie Suishan just recognized her sharply and only thought she hadn’t died, still considering her a Xie family runaway slave. Unexpectedly, it was not his sharp eyes but rather that he already knew the truth.

“I sent a few servants to find your bodies, searched all the roads and couldn’t find you. I knew I didn’t hear wrong; you and Xiao Shi actually faked your deaths, tore off your identities to infiltrate that demon girl Wei’s side, just to claim credit in front of my father and be written into the Xie family genealogy. How did I not see at first that you were such deeply scheming people?”

The veil had already lost its meaning, so Zhen Wenjun took it off, slowly folded it, and held it in her hand.

“I am indeed a spy sent by Xie Taihang, but do you know who is behind this plan?” Zhen Wenjun raised her chin, swept her eyes over Xie Suishan’s greasy hair and powdered face, her eyes sharp, and lowered her voice, “It’s Dongchun Xie Fuchen! It’s the current emperor! If you leaked my identity and let the whole plan turn to nothing, do you know what crime that is?! Even if it costs your entire Suichuan Xie family’s lives, I’m afraid it’s not enough!”

“Stop with these lies!” Xie Suishan shouted, “What kind of status does the emperor have? With so many generals at his disposal, why would he use you, a mere slave?! Even if he did use you, what are you doing now? I’ve already noticed you; you’ve been beside that demon girl Wei for a long time, serving her tea and water, caring for her. If you really wanted to kill her, why haven’t you taken action? You’ve long broken the alliance and breached the contract, and you think I wouldn’t know?”

Xie Suishan’s words revealed he only knew part of the truth. He didn’t know that she was already cooperating with Xie Fuchen, shifting from assassinating Wei Tingxu to gathering intelligence by her side. Even without Xie Fuchen, Zhen Wenjun wouldn’t kill Wei Tingxu; Wei Tingxu is her important leverage against the Xie family, though she didn’t expect Xie Suishan to have been observing her from the shadows.

Zhen Wenjun didn’t speak further, and seeing her guilty demeanor, Xie Suishan knew he had guessed correctly. He pointed at her and said, “Self-important slave, did you think you could escape my notice? It seems coming here today was the right choice. I wondered why my mother would suddenly want a divorce. If I hadn’t been more vigilant and infiltrated the Wang family to take a closer look, I would never have thought it was you causing trouble. From the moment you attached yourself to that Wei, you had already planned to take revenge on our Xie family, hadn’t you? Back then, if it weren’t for my father’s pity for Xiao Shi, bringing her into the house out of kindness, she wouldn’t have had the chance to seduce him and give birth to you, this bastard! I didn’t expect you to be so ungrateful and actually betray us to please the Wei family!”

Zhen Wenjun still didn’t speak, just looked at him.

After Xie Suishan spewed these words, he felt greatly relieved, clearing away the gloom of several months.

Since a large influx of refugees from Xi poured into Suichuan, his father was constantly thinking of strategies. No matter how they were incorporated, more refugees would enter, and without sufficient military force, there was no way to control the situation. The court should have dispatched people to quell the chaos, but both the Xie and Wei factions wanted their own people to come to Suichuan to earn merit, resulting in a prolonged dispute without resolution. Finally, the Xie family couldn’t hold out any longer and had to move the whole family out of Qi County.

Initially, Xie Taihang planned to seek refuge with Dongchun’s direct lineage, and Xie Suishan also hoped to soon meet the direct lineage, to have them recommend him and pave the way for his official career.

Unexpectedly, before they reached Dongchun, Xie Fuchen and the strategist Yan Ye came to find them and blocked their entire family at the border of Dongchun. Xie Suishan did not know what was said, only that Xie Fuchen was furious and harshly scolded Xie Taihang, seemingly took someone from him, and then left, even preventing them from entering Dongchun territory.

After being scolded, Xie Taihang fell ill, and even Lord Yunmeng was taken by Xie Fuchen. He was disheartened and had nowhere to go. It was his wife, Yao, who finally made the decision to return to her family in Nanya.

Imagine the mood of Xie Taihang, following his wife to her family to avoid trouble. Yao Wei already disliked him, and the Yao family looked down on this small northwestern governor. Now, Xie Taihang abandoned Suichuan and went to Nanya for refuge, unable to hold his head high in the Yao family. Xie Suishan also didn’t know if he was truly ill or pretending; after arriving at the Yao family, Xie Taihang stayed in the room and did not go out, not meeting the Yao family members.

Yesterday, his mother suddenly presented him with divorce papers, wanting to separate from him. Xie Suishan pleaded with his mother for a long time, but she did not even look at him. The matter of the Grand Princess she had long heard of, must be because of this person that caused his family to break! Xie Suishan found the Liang family young master who always flattered him and spent his money, and the Liang family had an invitation that could take him to the banquet. He really wanted to see the true face of this country-harming demon girl! More importantly, he needed to make a great achievement for his father and also for himself. This time, the Grand Princess came to Nanya to collect grain and accept visits from all sides, clearly treating herself as the emperor! Presenting her treason evidence to the emperor and helping the emperor remove this thorn in his side would surely earn him great rewards. At that time, the Yao family would also change their views.

When he first entered the Wang family’s gate, Xie Suishan was dumbfounded. There were so many Huben army guards, and the Grand Princess was cunningly hiding on a high platform, making it very difficult to even approach, let alone assassinate.

Unexpectedly, heaven favored him so much that he actually met Alai here!

“I give you two choices,” Xie Suishan said. “One is to kill the Grand Princess and the person named Wei, and I will give you a way to live. The other choice is for me to tell the person named Wei that you are a spy sent by the Xie family, letting you die at her hands. Today, someone must die, so choose.”

Zhen Wenjun’s chest slightly rose and fell as she murmured, “You are right.”

Her voice was too soft, and Xie Suishan didn’t hear clearly, so he subconsciously leaned forward: “What did you say?”

Zhen Wenjun’s arm shook, and she swept it across his throat with extreme swiftness, completely beyond Xie Suishan’s expectation. Xie Suishan only felt a coolness at his throat, realizing his neck had an extra bloody cut.

“Today, someone must die.” Zhen Wenjun held a blood-stained golden cicada knife between her fingers, “That person is you.”

Blood continuously sprayed out, and Xie Suishan’s rapidly paling face was full of astonishment. He trembled all over, both hands overlapping and pressing hard on the wound, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the gushing blood. Blood uncontrollably flowed out from under his palms and between his fingers, soaking half of his clothing into a bloody red. He wanted to open his mouth to shout, but with all his strength, he could only make a whooshing sound like the wind blowing through a valley. As he fell to the ground, Xie Suishan tried to grab Zhen Wenjun’s pants, but she quickly dodged backward, not letting him get blood on her.

Zhen Wenjun covered her face and looked around, seeing no one.

Xie Suishan soon became motionless; she squatted down to check his breath and confirmed he was indeed dead.

Upon confirming Xie Suishan’s death, Zhen Wenjun’s heart pounded violently, as if someone was frantically beating war drums within her.

The golden cicada knife had been in her hand for so many days, and she always thought the first person’s blood it would be stained with would be Wei Tingxu’s, but unexpectedly, it was Xie Suishan’s.

A living person had turned into a corpse in her hands. She had finally killed someone.

Zhen Wenjun stared at Xie Suishan, watching his blood slowly spread, forming a larger pool.

“Pa.”

A slight collision sound indicated someone was spying!

Zhen Wenjun immediately shouted, “Who!”

The songstress on the stage was still singing in a drawn-out manner. Li Yanyi sat upright in the chair, appearing to watch seriously, yet her mind was entirely occupied with thoughts of the northern front and the financial accounts calculated by the Grand Minister of Agriculture. The more she thought, the more stifled she felt. As far as she knew, Xie Fuchen had not been in the capital recently, and no one knew where he had gone. Li Yanyi dispatched several highly skilled spies to investigate thoroughly for days, finding only some traces of him in the north. Why Xie Fuchen would leave Suichuan unattended and venture to the dangerous northern front was unknown. She had spoken too quickly earlier and forgot to mention this to Zizhuo—thinking of this, Li Yanyi looked towards Wei Tingxu, wishing she could convey this through eye contact. However, Wei Tingxu, unusually, did not notice her gaze, with her attention entirely on the stage. Li Yanyi curiously looked towards the stage, noticing that everyone’s expressions around her were not good, silently observing her reaction.

On the stage, they were originally performing 《Record of Jingmen》, but at some point, the repertoire changed. A woman in splendid clothes gracefully entered with several maidservants, and after dismissing them, she met secretly in the rear garden with someone disguised as a man. The two held hands, eyes filled with tears and affection, leaning against each other under the moon. The scene shifted, and a thick curtain painted with begonia flowers shielded them, behind which the sound of a woman’s panting was heard.

Everyone present dared not breathe heavily, exchanging glances, unsure of where this audacious troupe came from to perform such scandalous secret history of the palace.

Li Yanyi’s expression gradually cooled, no longer sitting upright, resting her head on one hand, watching to see how far this group would take the play.

In the large courtyard, no one dared to breathe for a long time until someone suddenly shouted “Bravo,” then laughed loudly and clapped repeatedly.

Everyone cast astonished glances at that person, even those beside him quickly got up and moved away, afraid of being mistaken as accomplices by being too close.

That person cheered by himself, drank freely as the wine rolled down his neck onto his collar. Only half of the bowl of wine was drunk before he smashed the bowl aside, wiped the remaining wine from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and looked at Li Yanyi with a noticeable drunkenness.

“I don’t know if Your Highness likes this play… you have no reason not to like it, right? Isn’t this exactly your story being performed?”

This person had a face full of disheveled whiskers, beneath eyes like copper bells hung a hooked nose, and beneath the thick beard, a pair of lips turned purple from excessive drinking were faintly visible. His legs were spread very indecently as he sat on the bamboo mat, speaking to the Grand Princess quite disrespectfully. The Huben army immediately stepped forward and pinned him to the ground, as the people on the stage also gathered around, and someone in the crowd whispered:

“Isn’t this the Wu family’s young master from Lu County? It’s said he’s been missing for many days, how could he suddenly appear here?”

Young Master Wu was pressed to the ground and did not struggle, still laughing loudly and cursing:

“Li Yanyi! You, a country-destroying, people-harming, wall-climbing shameless thieving woman! Do you dare to answer my question?”

Li Yanyi lifted her eyes slightly and said, “Release him, let him speak.”

The Huben army did not hesitate at all, directly released him, and retreated to form a circle, still surrounding him.

Young Master Wu stood up and pointed at Li Yanyi on the high platform, saying:

“You studied the Confucian classics from a young age, do you understand the principle of ‘Heaven is for the ruler and covers them, Earth is for the ministers and supports them, Yang is for the husband and creates them, Yin is for the wife and assists them’? You, despising the emperor, outwardly obeying while inwardly opposing, are disloyal! Disobeying the late emperor’s will is unfilial! Indulging in palace pleasures is unchaste! Such a person, who is disloyal, unfilial, and morally perverse, what face do you have to survive in the world! In the future, what face will you have to see the late emperor in the underworld! If the great Yu falls into the hands of such a demon as you, how can great Yu not perish!”

Young Master Wu’s words were extremely venomous, each sentence striking at Li Yanyi’s face. He himself spoke with fervor and passion, but Li Yanyi did not even blink.

Li Yanyi looked at Young Master Wu as if looking at a village woman who often comes to her house to make a scene, without even changing her posture, and calmly said:

“I will answer your question before you die. The so-called loyal ministers, great scholars of clear discourse, and contemporary great Confucianists are numerous in the court; can they save this country? If they could, there would not be those starving corpses by the roadside, the disaster victims who eat their children. Can loyalty, propriety, filial piety, and chastity save the lives of the people? They cannot. What the people need, what this country needs, are just wise rulers and capable ministers, regardless of their identities.”

Young Master Wu pointed at her and shouted: “Look! The heart of a wolf has been fully revealed! Li Yanyi wants to rebel! She wants to usurp the throne!”

Li Yanyi let out a cold laugh as the large sword of the Huben army slashed at the back of his neck, as if a sharp knife cutting through tofu. The head fell to the ground, directly facing Wang Chuan who had just woken up. Upon seeing clearly that it was a human head, Wang Chuan immediately fainted again from fright.

The people from the troupe drew their weapons one after another, shouting and charging towards Li Yanyi. The Huben army and various guards stepped forward, and in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they were all completely killed.

The Wang family courtyard was filled with a thick smell of blood.

The sound of footsteps rapidly moved away on the roof, and Zhen Wenjun leaped up, wanting to climb onto the roof to chase that person. Unexpectedly, the injury on her hip, which had mostly healed, split open again due to exerting too much force at that moment. The sharp pain nearly caused her to fall to the ground, but in the blink of an eye, those footsteps had already run beyond a hundred steps.

This person possesses martial arts skills! Who could it be!

Zhen Wenjun was unsettled.

How long had this person been spying? How much had they heard? No, this person must be eliminated to silence them!

Zhen Wenjun forced herself to rise to pursue, when suddenly the sound of clashing weapons came from the rooftop.

The two people were fighting intensely, immediately drawing the attention of Li Yanyi’s guards. The Huben army moved like lightning and surrounded them, and after a cry from the rooftop, someone fell from the roof and was pinned to the ground by the Huben army’s spears and long swords.

Surrounded by the tall and strong Huben army, Zhen Wenjun couldn’t see who was captured.

She saw Lingbi standing on the rooftop, holding a soft blade; it was she who had just intervened. There was a red mark on her shoulder, with blood seeping through the thin garment. This injury didn’t seem to be from a sword or knife but rather looked like a whip mark.

LP: Is it Ah Xun?!