Fish Meat – Chapter 155
by Little PandaThe Third Year of Zhao Wu
The Lamp Behind the Curtain, the Sword in its Case (14)
Zhen Wenjun remembered when the New Year of Zhaowu’s third year was approaching, a heavy snowfall descended upon Runing. Between the biting snow and howling wind [meaning: severe weather], all of Runing was covered in a thick blanket of snow, making travel by horse and carriage difficult, with countless people suffering injuries from falls.
Despite the terrible weather, Wei Tingxu still had to go to the Forbidden Garden, and especially couldn’t miss the morning court. Zhen Wenjun, worried that the coachman might not handle the carriage well, personally escorted Wei Tingxu.
The wind cut against their faces like knives, with snowflakes striking their faces making it almost impossible to breathe. Zhen Wenjun wrapped her mouth and nose with Wei Tingxu’s handkerchief, driving the carriage swiftly yet steadily through the blizzard, drawing many sideways glances from passersby.
“Secretary Assistant! Secretary Assistant!”
She vaguely heard someone calling behind the carriage, but the wind was too loud. Zhen Wenjun wore a fox fur hat, with the brim pulled low to block the snow, and the ear protectors down, which significantly blocked her vision. Just seeing the road ahead was difficult enough; she had no attention to spare for the voices behind her, focused only on reaching the Forbidden Garden quickly.
Zhen Wenjun didn’t stop the carriage. The horse was steadily galloping forward when suddenly the carriage shook, and its weight noticeably increased – had someone jumped onto the carriage?! She immediately stopped the horse, tied the reins to a wooden bridge post, and yanked out the person trying to climb into the carriage.
The person who had sneaked onto the carriage was a tall, slender man. Zhen Wenjun shouted, “What kind of scoundrel are you?!” [deng tu zi – classical term for a male who harasses women], pulling him into the snow with one hand, about to strike his head with the horsewhip, when Wei Tingxu said:
“Wait, Wenjun, this is the Grand Master of Ceremonies.”
“Grand Master of Ceremonies?” Zhen Wenjun knew that the current Grand Master of Ceremonies was working with Wei Tingxu on establishing the Path of Ten Thousand Directions, but even colleagues shouldn’t climb directly into someone’s carriage, especially when occupied by an unmarried woman.
As the man got up from the snow and brushed the snow off his body and face, Zhen Wenjun recognized him.
“So it’s Master Bo.” Zhen Wenjun certainly knew him; he used to spend all his time hanging around with Zhangsun Wu, frequenting unspeakable pleasure districts, which Zhen Wenjun had witnessed firsthand. Unexpectedly, in just a few years, Bo Lan had transformed himself from a wastrel son [privileged, idle young nobleman] to take a great step up, becoming Da Yu’s top diplomatic official [literally: sitting in the first chair of diplomacy]. It was said that recently, all of Mengda Khan’s daily activities and meals were this Grand Master of Ceremonies’ responsibility.
Bo Lan appeared to be only in his early thirties. His father had been the previous Grand Master of Ceremonies and after retiring due to poor health, the son inherited his father’s position. Bo Lan was promoted two ranks to directly take over his father’s position. It seemed Da Yu truly lacked talent, for someone with such qualifications to become one of the Nine Ministers and an arm and thigh minister [important official].
“Ah, don’t call me that, it makes me sound old. Sister Wenjun can call me Young Master Bo or Lord Bo.” Bo Lan cast flirtatious glances, leaving Zhen Wenjun puzzled. Wasn’t this fellow known to prefer men? Why was he acting so coquettishly toward women?
Zhen Wenjun already disliked Zhangsun Wu, and by extension, had no desire to see any of his questionable friends. For this Bo Lan to try sneaking into Wei Tingxu’s carriage in broad daylight – how could someone with such manners serve as Grand Master of Ceremonies? He would surely bring shame to Da Yu in front of foreign envoys. Though Zhen Wenjun felt utter contempt, unlike these wastrels, her upbringing taught her when to say what, so she politely said:
“Why did Young Master Bo climb into my lady’s carriage? Even in heavy snow, if others saw this, it might harm both your and my lady’s reputation.”
Bo Lan waved dismissively, scorning Zhen Wenjun’s warning: “Oh, what era are we in? It’s almost the third year of Zhaowu, the time of strict gender separation is ending. Aren’t the Emperor and Secretary Assistant encouraging Da Yu’s daughters to leave their chambers and study classics at the Imperial Academy? I’ve worked with the Secretary Assistant for a year, interacting closely daily, so why fear others’ gossip? The pure remain pure, Sister Wenjun. Surely your thinking isn’t still stuck in the Shenchu Era, believing in rigid gender separation?”
Zhen Wenjun’s lips curved into a broad smile: “Young Master Bo speaks truly, but this carriage is really too narrow. With your tall frame, squeezing in might be uncomfortable for you.”
“Not uncomfortable at all, it’s actually quite spacious. My coachman broke his leg two days ago and can’t drive. As Grand Master of Ceremonies, I surely can’t walk to morning court.” Bo Lan turned to Wei Tingxu with a smile, “See how fated we are, Zizhuo, meeting even in this ice and snow. Please do me this favor and give me a ride, otherwise if I’m late to morning court, it wouldn’t be dignified to have my bottom beaten in the Emperor’s anger.”
Wei Tingxu smiled and nodded, allowing Bo Lan to board.
Zhen Wenjun was very displeased but couldn’t say much, only watching helplessly as Bo Lan took a big step onto the carriage and quickly ducked inside.
Bo Lan went in but Wei Tingxu stepped out. Bo Lan raised his thick eyebrows and said: “Could it be that the Secretary Assistant also believes in keeping physical distance between men and women? Finding it inconvenient to share a carriage with me?”
Wei Tingxu smiled and said: “It would be inconvenient to squeeze two people into this small carriage. The Grand Master of Ceremonies holds high rank and authority, so this humble official should respectfully yield.”
Bo Lan seemed to want to say something more, but after raising his eyebrows for a moment, he couldn’t find suitable words, so he smiled, closed his mouth, pulled the cloth curtain down, and sat inside contentedly.
“What kind of person is this?” Zhen Wenjun complained quietly.
“No need to get angry with him; there are too many senseless people. Once you enter official service, you’ll face countless Bo Lans. If you confront them directly, you might give them leverage against you. We don’t know who stands behind them; every little thing now is about paving certain paths. Once the dark paths are laid, they’re full of traps. When you step onto such a path, one careless step could cost you your life.”
Zhen Wenjun nodded seriously, appearing to agree with Wei Tingxu’s words, but actually felt quite uneasy inside. This uneasiness didn’t come from Bo Lan.
Zhen Wenjun had observed this Bo Lan before; he wasn’t a mindless person. Now his constant mentions of “gender separation” while pushing boundaries had a clear purpose – he wanted to test when Zhen Wenjun would get angry, and even if she didn’t, he could gauge the depth of their relationship from her subtle reactions.
Bo Lan himself probably wasn’t very interested in their relationship; he was likely acting on the Emperor’s orders.
Zhen Wenjun had grown tired of hearing stories from her ah mu about power struggles between rulers and ministers, how emperors tested their subjects and how ministers cleverly protected themselves. Since Li Yanyi suspected the Wei family and Wei Tingxu, it was inevitable that she would place spies around her. Bo Lan was probably just an advance scout, with more obvious and hidden attacks awaiting them in the future.
And she was about to enter official service herself, taking a big step forward in her life’s path.
After the New Year, Zhen Wenjun would report to court. As Wei Tingxu predicted, Li Yanyi arranged for Zhen Wenjun to serve by her side as a Zhuiyue Colonel, specifically responsible for the Emperor’s travel safety. This was one of the four major colonels under the Zhuiyue Army Commander, ranked as Regular Fifth Grade. This actually outranked Wei Tingxu, who was Associate Fifth Grade.
Zhen Wenjun took the Zhuiyue Colonel’s uniform and standard-issue long sword back home. Looking in the mirror while putting it on, the black fitted uniform had a curved golden moon on the back and overlapping bamboo leaf patterns on the chest. Lower-ranking ordinary Zhuiyue soldiers had silver moons on their backs and no bamboo patterns on their chests, while the Zhuiyue soldier commanders had full round moons on their backs and vivid wave patterns flowing from chest to sleeve, appearing extremely elegant and graceful.
Actually, Zhen Wenjun preferred the Commander’s attire.
For New Year, Wei Tingxu had to return to the Wei Mansion to celebrate with her father, mother, elder sister, and the whole family. Having not returned for some time, when she saw Wei Lun again, she found him with white hair, having aged considerably.
Wei Tingxu was his youngest daughter, with one elder sister and four elder brothers from the main line [legitimate lineage]. Wei Lun was approaching his seventieth year, and after being tortured in the imperial prison, he had lost the use of one leg, with his spirit growing increasingly weak.
He never rode in four-wheeled carriages or accepted others’ help, maintaining a proud and strong bearing wherever he went, but his body was declining day by day. During the New Year’s Eve family feast, he drank much wine despite his wife’s objections. While walking to the privy [outhouse], he suddenly fell and afterward could no longer stand, with the left side of his body completely numb. They called for a famous doctor to examine him, who said this was a stroke [pian ku zhi ji – traditional term for paralysis], and likely incurable.
For the master of the house to be struck with such a stubborn illness during New Year cast a shadow over the entire Wei Mansion.
Wei Jing’an, upon receiving the news, immediately rushed back to Runing, whipping the horse to go faster [at full speed]. Seeing his elderly father paralyzed in bed with his illness-ravaged body, Wei Jing’an broke down crying, berating himself as an unfilial son for letting his father remain in the capital while he hid in the borderlands without concern.
Wei Lun grasped Wei Jing’an’s hand; though he was emaciated [extremely thin] and could barely move, his mind was still clear.
He had Wei Jing’an call Wei Tingxu in as well, and the three spoke in the room about unknown matters for an hour and a half. Wei Jing’an emerged looking deeply troubled. When he looked at Wei Tingxu again, his changed state of mind made him barely recognize his own sister.
“This matter…” Wei Jing’an carefully looked around, only speaking after confirming no one else was present, “Who else knows?”
“My personal maid Xiaohua.”
“Only Xiaohua? Not even Mother and our other siblings know?”
“Such secrets are best known by as few people as possible.”
“If Father hadn’t fallen seriously ill, how long were you planning to keep this from me?”
Wei Tingxu remained silent, forcing a slight smile.
“This is no small matter. Even the slightest carelessness could bring disaster to the entire family. We must plan this carefully and thoroughly.”
The two went to an inner room, closed the door, and no one was allowed to enter.
Zhen Wenjun returned to help but couldn’t find Wei Tingxu. Hearing from the servants that she was in discussion with the Second Young Master, Zhen Wenjun left the Wei Mansion and went to a grain and oil shop in He Tong District.
This grain and oil shop was her designated meeting point with Bu Jie, where all the information he gathered would be sent.
Bu Jie had left the Wei Mansion for nearly three years. When Wei Tingxu had casually asked about it, Zhen Wenjun said Bu Jie’s elderly mother had passed away and he had many matters to handle in his hometown. Court officials whose parents died needed to observe three years of mourning, so she couldn’t rush Bu Jie. He would return after handling his family matters. Later, Wei Tingxu became too busy with other matters and stopped asking about Bu Jie.
Zhen Wenjun would occasionally visit the grain and oil shop to buy rice, flour, and oil, while secretly collecting Bu Jie’s messages. However, for these three years, Bu Jie’s letters contained nothing except his current location.
It seemed the investigation wasn’t going smoothly.
Zhen Wenjun wasn’t impatient, after all, she already knew the dark bird pattern came from the Changge Kingdom, and she might know more about her mother’s background than Bu Jie did. Unfortunately, she couldn’t contact Bu Jie, whose whereabouts were mysterious, and could only receive one-way messages from him.
With no valuable news coming back, Zhen Wenjun’s visits to the grain shop became just a habit, content just knowing Bu Jie’s location.
She expected to receive another thin piece of bark with just a place name marked on it, but unexpectedly, the shop assistant very carefully brought out a large scroll for her.
Zhen Wenjun’s eyes lit up and her heart raced. After confirming no one was around, she tucked the scroll into her wide sleeve and departed through the snow.
She didn’t return to the Wei Mansion, but instead found a tavern and requested a private room. After bolting the door and checking for anything unusual inside and outside, she took the bamboo scroll from its cloth bag and unrolled it, reading it quickly with both eagerness and anxiety.
Part of the information Bu Jie found confirmed what she already knew – her mother was indeed Ruan family’s Ah Qiong, a descendant of the Su Lan lineage from Changge Kingdom; but another part completely exceeded her imagination.
She had always known her mother’s background was extraordinary, but hadn’t imagined it would be so outstanding.
Ruan family’s Ah Qiong was Da Yu’s greatest military general during the Zhenghong period, once leading 6,000 elite troops to decisively defeat 30,000 Chongjin cavalry. Vigorous as the bright sun, with an aura that could swallow mountains and rivers [meaning: overwhelming presence], she single-handedly recaptured thousands of li of Da Yu’s border cities. She led a lone force deep into enemy territory to take the head of the Chongjin leader, establishing unprecedented military achievements.
She was Da Yu’s first female official, and also the first woman to receive a noble title.
Her bravery surpassed all armies, with unmatched divine valor. The barbarian raiders called her the “Female Asura”, and their forces would collapse in panic just hearing the war drums of her army.
Yet such a legendary figure, known to every household, completely vanished overnight.
Vanished from historical records, vanished from the lips of the common people.
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