Fish Meat – Chapter 115
by Little PandaThe Eleventh Year of Shenchu
The Lamp Behind the Curtain, the Sword in its Case (5)
The long rainy night was finally coming to an end, with the rain stopping as the eastern sky began to lighten.
A glimmer of light appeared on the horizon, and the terrifying sounds of battle and killing that had caused such chaos finally subsided.
The people of Runing hadn’t slept all night, hiding and trembling under their beds or in secret rooms. They didn’t know what was happening, only seeing shadows moving outside their windows, blood splattered everywhere, and hearing heart-wrenching screams mixed with the sound of wind and rain that made their scalps tingle. They didn’t dare to blink, staring at doors and windows, feeling that at any moment someone might burst in to take their lives.
It wasn’t until daybreak, when the sounds of chaos had been absent for a long time, that the common people in the neighborhood dared to come out in small groups.
Everyone thought they would see corpses piled up like mountains in the streets, but the roads before them were clean, without even puddles of water.
The intersecting roads of Runing were silent, just like any ordinary morning. Countless people had walked on them, pursuing their ambitions, and when those ambitions were shattered, blood was spilled on the same ground.
These roads had witnessed many sunrises and sunsets, lives coming and going. They knew many people’s secrets but never spoke.
Last night seemed like a nightmare that had passed. The bewildered people of Runing at first thought it was an illusion brought by the heavy rain, but when they saw the overturned and broken surroundings, they realized it wasn’t an illusion. Something had indeed happened, but someone had erased it without a trace.
There was no war, no rebellion, no power struggle, and no one questioned the first female emperor in the history of Da Yu.
The seas were calm and the rivers peaceful, the country was prosperous and the people were at peace (海清河晏國泰民安, an auspicious phrase). Even the heavy rain had stopped, which was seen as a sign of divine blessing for the emperor’s wisdom.
The female emperor was to be formally enthroned today.
Some people had to die.
After repelling the elite troops of Xie Fuchen and the Yellow Earth soldiers, Wei Lun calmly ordered that all the corpses in Runing city be removed before daybreak and buried in the mass graves outside the city. The ground was to be cleaned, leaving no traces. On the other hand, Wei Lun ordered his son Wei Jing’an to quickly lead troops to pursue Xie Fuchen, wanting him captured alive or dead.
After a night of fierce battle, Wei Jing’an showed no signs of fatigue. Upon receiving his father’s order, he quickly led his personal troops out of Runing.
By this time, the rain was almost stopping, and light was breaking on the horizon. Wei Jing’an found traces of Xie Fuchen’s carriage and galloped along the road, chasing him back.
Xie Fuchen’s driver was very cunning, constantly taking detours. Several times Wei Jing’an almost lost them, but he wasn’t willing to give up. Silently praying for his elder brother’s blessing, he carefully observed the traces and finally caught up with Xie Fuchen’s carriage.
Wei Jing’an killed the carriage driver with a spear thrust and lifted the curtain to look inside. He was a bit nervous, thinking the cunning Xie Fuchen might have already escaped, leaving an empty carriage for them to chase.
Heaven still favored the Wei family; Xie Fuchen was inside.
Wei Jing’an dragged the unconscious Xie Fuchen out of the carriage, tied him up securely, and carefully guarded him all the way back to the city, directly imprisoning him in the imperial prison on charges of treason.
The remaining Xie family members were either killed or captured. If it weren’t for Hang Lie risking his life to get Ah Xun out of the city, she would have perished as well.
Hang Lie hadn’t been able to fulfill Master Xie’s request to find and kill Wei Tingxu. Although they had captured Wei Tingxu’s personal maid and tried to force a confession through torture, the maid endured all the punishments and never spoke.
“It’s also that dog traitor Alai who ruined things. Otherwise, Wei Tingxu might already be dead in our hands by now,” Ah Xun said. She had been injured while leaving the city, with her left arm bleeding profusely, the wound exposing bone. Walking behind her, Hang Lie kept vigilantly looking back, observing while saying:
“My lady, there’s no need to rush. Wei Tingxu’s head is temporarily staying on her neck. Today’s grudge will be repaid in the future. Our urgent task now is to find a safe place to settle down and regroup with Master Xie.”
Ah Xun could only give up.
She was very unwilling. The demoness who had caused her family’s destruction was within reach. If they had been just a bit closer, they could have crushed her. Ah Xun couldn’t believe they had missed such a good opportunity. She asked herself honestly, after missing this chance, when would they be able to threaten Wei Tingxu again?
Standing on the wild hillside, she looked back at Runing city. This iron-walled golden city would be occupied by evil people from today onwards. If the ancestors of the Li family knew that their family had produced such a rebellious daughter, who knows what they would think in the underworld.
When Xiaohua and Wei Tingxu rushed back to the city, the great battle had already ended, with numerous soldiers silently dragging corpses from all over the city to the outskirts. The two of them searched everywhere for news of Zhen Wenjun and Lingbi, but with limited manpower, they couldn’t find any information even after searching for a long time. Wei Tingxu anxiously stood up and personally pulled aside a few soldiers to inquire. It wasn’t until the bodies had been almost completely cleaned up that she saw a familiar figure walking from afar in the misty street.
It was Zhen Wenjun.
The blood on Zhen Wenjun’s body had already dried. She was holding someone in her arms.
Wei Tingxu didn’t need to get too close to know who it was in her arms. It was Lingbi; she recognized Lingbi’s clothes.
Zhen Wenjun, who had also exhausted her strength, stumbled to Wei Tingxu. Her wet, messy hair stuck to her eyes, and her face was covered in dirt and blood stains, making her look like a wandering madwoman.
“I’m sorry…” Zhen Wenjun had persevered all the way, but when she saw Wei Tingxu, she finally couldn’t hold on any longer. Holding the cold and stiff Lingbi, she knelt before Wei Tingxu and said weakly, “I’m sorry…”
She buried her face in Lingbi’s body and wept uncontrollably.
Xiaohua heard the commotion and came over. When she saw Lingbi’s corpse, she understood why Wei Tingxu had insisted on coming back. The lady’s premonition had been so accurate.
Wei Tingxu brushed aside the messy hair on Lingbi’s face, seeing that she looked as if she were asleep, just a bit dirty. Wei Tingxu took out a handkerchief from her waist and carefully wiped away the dirt on Lingbi’s face.
“Let me see her,” Wei Tingxu finally spoke after a while. Her voice was very dry, like it was mixed with sand and blades, cutting painfully.
As she took Lingbi from Zhen Wenjun’s arms, Lingbi had no strength at all. Wei Tingxu almost fell with her, fortunately supported by Xiaohua and Zhen Wenjun from the front and back.
Wei Tingxu held Lingbi in her arms, seeming to feel something, wanting to confirm whether what was happening before her eyes was real or not.
The cold body confirmed it for her.
Lingbi had always been shy and reserved. If there was any physical contact, she would surely run away first. She hadn’t objected to being held for so long, so she wasn’t pretending. This was real.
“It’s my fault,” Wei Tingxu rested Lingbi’s chin on her shoulder, her fingers running through her hair, her eyes fixed straight ahead. “Every time I let you do dangerous things, always thinking you were the most capable, but never considering that you could get hurt too.”
Zhen Wenjun was crying like rain, constantly apologizing.
Wei Tingxu asked her what exactly had happened, and Zhen Wenjun, crying, gave a general account of the events.
“Wenjun, don’t cry anymore. This isn’t your fault. The murderers are the Xie family, Xie Fuchen, not you. Fortunately, you arrived in time to preserve Lingbi’s final dignity.”
Tears covered Zhen Wenjun’s face. She had many things she wanted to say, but in the end, she couldn’t speak.
“Alright,” Wei Tingxu supported Lingbi’s back with one hand and reached out to Zhen Wenjun’s face with the other, wiping away her tears. “Don’t say anymore. Let’s take Lingbi back first. After all this hardship, Lingbi can finally rest well.”
When they returned to the Wei Mansion, they found that it had also been attacked. Fortunately, Zhangsun Wu had arrived in time with his men and joined forces with the Wei family’s private troops to resist the enemy, saving the lives of the entire household.
Wei Tingxu’s mother and Ah Ran had been frightened. Wei Lun hadn’t returned yet, so Wei Tingxu comforted them one by one, ordered the servants to brew medicinal soups, and personally thanked Zhangsun Wu.
“Zizhuo, there’s no need for such courtesy. This is what I should do,” Zhangsun Wu said. “I heard that Ah Liao has returned, and she brought a group of female soldiers, which is quite interesting. After Her Majesty’s enthronement ceremony, I’ll come to pick you up, and we’ll go see these female soldiers together!”
Wei Tingxu forced herself to chat with him for a while. After sending everyone away, she returned to her bedroom – Lingbi’s bedroom – under Xiaohua’s escort, feeling out of place with the smell of the national celebration clinging to her. But no matter where she came from, she always managed to hit the nail on the head.
Wei Tingxu had always been an extremely rational and practical person.
Reluctantly letting go of Lingbi’s hand, watching as Lingbi was placed in an unfamiliar coffin, Zhen Wenjun was constantly holding back tears. Her mother had once said that when a person has just died, one of their souls still remains at the crown of their head and can hear the sounds around them. If friends and family cry too miserably, they won’t be able to leave in peace. Zhen Wenjun didn’t want to make Lingbi worry, but her uncontrollable tears couldn’t be held back no matter what.
“Cry,” Wei Tingxu knew what she was thinking. “But remember why you’re crying today. Those who have cried painfully will become stronger.”
When she learned of her mother’s death, she felt a heart-wrenching pain. Lingbi’s departure made her understand that no matter how reluctant, one must let go.
She had originally wanted to bury the arm guard Lingbi had left behind with her, but after thinking about it, she decided to keep it.
If it disappeared too, where would she find traces of Lingbi’s existence in this world years later?
She wanted to carry the iron arm guard with her as she moved forward, walking under sunny skies, traversing mountains and lakes, becoming Lingbi’s eyes, seeing the wider world on her behalf.
Lingbi was gone, but more things were waiting for them ahead.
Li Yanyi had just ascended the throne and hadn’t even slept soundly before summoning Wei Lun and others to the Imperial Palace for discussion. She said that after the recent great battle, the people’s livelihood was in decline, the Yellow Earth rebels were still causing trouble in the country, and the Hu barbarian remnants were eyeing the borders covetously. However, after successive wars in Da Yu, the national treasury was empty and there were no troops available. The most urgent matter now was to develop agriculture and restore the economy.
Li Yanyi had never received education as an heir apparent, without crown prince tutors surrounding her. Everything depended on Zuo Xu’s teachings and her own extraction of governing strategies from various ancient classics and canons.
There was a time when she loved doing two things most. One was to attend various qingtan (清談, philosophical discussions), listening to the debates of great qingtan masters. Before she was sixteen, she was quite addicted to it, forgetting to eat and sleep, lingering without return each time. But after the spread of Furong Powder, the scholars who had taken Furong Powder became increasingly unrestrained. The increasingly bizarre things in the qingtan made Li Yanyi more and more disgusted. There were fewer and fewer sages, and more and more frauds pretending to be sages, yet the pomp only increased. After that, Li Yanyi stopped going and instead held her own elegant gatherings.
Elegant gatherings were the other thing she loved to do. She and Ah Xin had also met at an elegant gathering, but that’s a story for another time.
She invited many truly famous scholars of the time to participate in the elegant gatherings, as well as many famous talented women. Each gathering had a theme, whether it was painting and calligraphy or composing poetry. Discussing the successes and failures of previous dynasties’ politics and financial trends were her favorite topics. At these gatherings, she won over many famous figures, laying a stable foundation for her ascension to the throne today.
However, while it’s easy to talk about governance strategies, actually implementing them encounters many obstacles that are difficult to anticipate in theory.
Li Yanyi discussed with her ministers until late at night before returning to Huaichan Mansion. The new palace in the Forbidden Garden had not yet been completed, and Li Yanyi didn’t want to live in Li Ju’s old residence, preferring to continue living in Huaichan Mansion until the construction was finished before moving.
She had already slept once in the carriage and returned to the mansion with a body full of fatigue, only to see Ah Xin standing in the courtyard, looking up at something.
“Why are you up?” Li Yanyi immediately went forward. “You’re covered in wounds and should be resting in bed. How can you come out to catch the wind? Quickly, come back with me.”
Li Yanyi supported her shoulder and saw Ah Xin shake her head without speaking, but Li Yanyi knew what she wanted to say.
“Xie Fuchen has already been imprisoned in the imperial prison. The Xie family, except for those who escaped, have all been arrested and will be executed on a chosen day.”
Ah Xin’s lips moved slightly, and she knelt down:
“I, Ah Xin of the Xie family, am willing to face punishment along with my family lord. I beg Your Majesty to grant this wish.”
“What if I don’t grant it?”
“Then Ah Xin can only end her own life.”
Li Yanyi sighed: “You and I both know this day would eventually come. It’s just that today, I am the victor. Otherwise, Xie Fuchen would treat me the same way, as well as the Wei family, the Zhangsun family, the Lin family, and the Zuo family. Ah Xin, I said I would protect you, not allowing anyone to point fingers at our relationship. I want to make you my empress, to share this vast empire with me.”
Ah Xin still said the same thing: “Please, Your Majesty, grant my wish.”
Li Yanyi clenched her jaws so tight they ached, and repeated: “I do not allow it! Come! Take Ah Xin back! Guard her strictly!”
“Yes!” The guards who had been standing by came forward to lift Ah Xin, but Li Yanyi angrily said: “Who told you to touch her!”
The guards looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
“Your Majesty, don’t trouble them. They are only being loyal to you, what wrong have they done? Your Majesty just wants to imprison me.” She raised her arms, putting them together. “Just tie me up. Or does Your Majesty want me to do it myself?”
Seeing Ah Xin like this, a surge of pent-up frustration rose in Li Yanyi’s chest. The fatigue of many days combined to take effect, and she felt the world spinning. She then fainted.
Still cant believe she’s dead………… Everytime i read wlw, my fav charac dies