Fish Meat – Chapter 169
by Little PandaThe Fourth Year of Zhao Wu
Double Silk Net (4)
“My lady?” Bu Jie stopped speaking when he noticed Zhen Wenjun’s face had turned pale as earth, keenly sensing her discomfort, and paused to ask.
“It’s nothing,” Zhen Wenjun shook her head and simply sat down. “Please continue.”
When Zhen Wenjun received Bu Jie’s bloodied clothes, knowing that this person who served her wholeheartedly and showed true gratitude might be dead, she was deeply saddened. But now that Bu Jie hadn’t died, having survived through his own wisdom and successfully brought back the news to her, hearing these “truths” was still difficult for her to accept.
The glass mirror was covered in moisture, making it unclear. Bu Jie was like that calm arm, wiping it clean and bright, allowing Zhen Wenjun to see herself clearly, to see everything around her clearly.
During Emperor Ming’s Zhenghong period, the Xie family was considered one of the greatest families in Dongchun Prefecture, but only in Dongchun. To the wealthy families of Runing, everywhere outside Runing was considered countryside, where mud-covered ox carts ran everywhere and everyone spoke with an uncouth accent – something they utterly looked down upon. Even the greatest families couldn’t catch the eye of these “phoenix chicks and unicorn cubs” [meaning: talented young nobles] living in the imperial city.
No matter how renowned Xie Fuchen was in Dongchun, nobody in Runing had heard of him. If it weren’t for the current emperor’s appreciation, allowing him to serve in the capital, probably no one would know or care to know who this widowed man was.
In Wang Wulang’s memory, Wei Jinghe was talkative and cheerful, achieving fame at a young age, and was considered by everyone to be a rare military talent seen only once in a hundred years.
Unlike Wei Jinghe, Xie Fuchen was a gloomy man. He was a close minister to the emperor, handling various affairs for him, but no one knew what exactly he was busy with all day. Xie Fuchen was once a military general, apparently catching the emperor’s attention through some military achievements, leading to his transfer to Runing. Beyond this bit of background, no one knew anything more about him.
Wang Wulang had once made eye contact with Xie Fuchen, and the cold aura in his eyes left him unsettled for a long time.
Wei Jinghe and Xie Fuchen were like the fierce sun and the gloomy moon respectively. Wang Wulang couldn’t understand what attracted his lady to Xie Fuchen, that she would willingly spend her life with him. If he were a woman, even if he didn’t choose Young Master Zixiu, he certainly wouldn’t have followed Xie Fuchen. One could only say a woman’s heart was truly difficult to understand.
Whether Wei Jinghe had already secretly fallen for Ah Qiong, suffering because he hadn’t had the chance to confess his admiration, he was particularly dissatisfied with this suddenly appeared country bumpkin, and it was said the two had a fierce fight.
Wei Jinghe was tall, strong, and skilled in martial arts. The two fought until their eyes were red with rage, yet surprisingly, Xie Fuchen didn’t suffer much disadvantage – one broke two ribs while the other broke his nose and fingers. Finally, Ah Qiong, enraged and embarrassed, nearly cut them both in half with two sword strikes before finally separating them.
Besides his fighting prowess, Wang Wulang had one more strong impression of Xie Fuchen. Though not particularly old, he was truly a man who kept his abilities hidden. Since his arrival in Runing, various people who had been troublesome to Emperor Ming died unusual deaths one after another. Although Wang Wulang was just a household servant of the Ruan family, many rumors reached his ears. Some said these deaths were Xie Fuchen’s doing, though Wang Wulang could hardly believe it.
Ah Qiong became pregnant one winter with Xie Fuchen’s child.
Wang Wulang remembered clearly that after autumn that year, the northwest was troubled by a group of Hu tribes. While Wei Jinghe was suppressing rebels in the south, Ah Qiong went with the Ruan family army to Suichuan in the northwest. At that time, Ah Qiong was famous, and Da Yu had no rule against women holding official positions. In fact, Ah Qiong had been granted a title and held the rank of general, leading armies in battle as a matter of course.
The Ruan family and the hu bandits were old rivals, very familiar with the habits of these troublesome barbarians, and once again, she was chosen to lead the troops into battle.
Just as the battle began, Ah Qiong discovered something was wrong – she was pregnant.
The accompanying military doctor told her that after becoming pregnant, she couldn’t ride horses, let alone fight in battles, or else the baby in her womb would be in danger.
Ah Qiong was too young and didn’t believe the military doctor’s words. Besides, how could she not fight with the hu bandits right in front of them? She continued to lead the troops against the enemy until she experienced abdominal pain and bleeding, nearly losing the child before she finally resigned herself to being obedient.
She wrote a letter back to Runing for Xie Fuchen, telling him this news.
Xie Fuchen replied swiftly, his letter filled with wild joy in every word! He promised that when she returned to Runing, they would have a grand wedding immediately, and he would never mistreat her.
Looking at Xie Fuchen’s handwritten letter, Ah Qiong’s restless and anxious heart finally found some peace.
At that time, Emperor Ming wanted her to return to the capital for some unknown reason. She didn’t depart immediately for the sake of her child’s safety, which led to rumors that the Ruan family was hiring mercenaries to establish independence and harbored rebellious intentions.
Emperor Ming seemed not to believe these rumors, even sending many supplements for Ah Qiong’s health, saying there was no rush to return to the capital. Wang Wulang, who was following Ah Qiong in the northwest at the time, thought the emperor was wise, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, Emperor Ming ordered the complete elimination of the entire Ruan family.
Overnight, the Ruan family in Runing was surrounded and captured, while Ah Qiong, pregnant in the northwest, also faced assassination attempts.
Wang Wulang risked his life to help Ah Qiong break through the assassins’ encirclement, and the two escaped together. At that time, they didn’t know what had happened, and didn’t even know that the one trying to kill her was the Li family emperor [referring to Emperor Ming] whom the Ruan family had served loyally for generations.
Without Ah Qiong needing to investigate, Emperor Ming had imprisoned the Ruan family members and threatened that if Ah Qiong didn’t return to Runing to surrender, he would execute the Ruan family. Having led armies in battle for so many years, how could she not know this was a trap meant to take her life? If she didn’t return, all her relatives would be killed; if she did return, her relatives still wouldn’t survive, and she wouldn’t be able to leave Runing alive – that would truly be the complete destruction of the Ruan family.
Moreover…
She unconsciously touched her belly.
If she didn’t have this child in her womb, she might have been able to fight her way back to Runing, drag the emperor out of his Forbidden Garden, and subject him to a thousand cuts!
“My lady, you mustn’t be rash,” Wang Wulang advised her. “Not to mention that you’re pregnant, but Runing’s fortifications are strong, and the Imperial Guard are exceptionally fierce. A direct attack would only result in pointless death.”
“I know,” Ah Qiong remained calm, though showing unprecedented anxiety. “But how can I watch helplessly as my parents and all my siblings perish at the hands of that dog emperor? For all these years, the Ruan family has served the country and people with utmost loyalty, with countless members dying on the battlefield! Yet in the end, we face the execution of the entire clan?” At this point, Ah Qiong seemed to recall something, her expression changing as she muttered to herself, “That box, that ominous object – didn’t I already return it to Changge Kingdom? Why…”
“My lady?”
Ah Qiong shook her head firmly: “No matter what, I must return to Runing once. I cannot watch them die tragically. I must think of a way.”
That year was a turning point in Ah Qiong’s life; she never imagined that she and the once-glorious Ruan family would suddenly face such a catastrophic disaster.
When Ah Qiong secretly returned to Runing in disguise, the entire Ruan family had already been beheaded. Not only had the Ruan family met a tragic end, but even distant relatives, friends, and disciples with the slightest connection to the Ruan family were all killed. The once peaceful and prosperous city of Runing had become a place stained with blood and sin.
And the emperor’s mad slaughter continued.
Throughout the entire country, anyone with the surname Ruan was executed. Even more strange was that Ah Qiong discovered the former Ruan family residence had changed ownership overnight. Watching helplessly as all traces of the Ruan family’s existence were gradually erased, Ah Qiong witnessed firsthand the power of the royal family. The emperor could actually uproot the Ruan family, which had been established in Da Yu for over eighty years, leaving no trace behind.
What pained her even more was accidentally learning a secret – that initially, Xie Fuchen hadn’t approached her because he liked her, but because he was following the emperor’s orders to get close to her, wanting to gather more intelligence about the Ruan family, monitoring them for signs of rebellion, and also wanting to obtain the legendary “Secret Scroll”.
“Secret Scroll?” Zhen Wenjun asked Bu Jie, “What is that?”
Bu Jie replied calmly: “My lady, please let me finish.”
Wang Wulang said that the Ruan family had always possessed a wooden box. Though appearing ordinary, it was actually a treasure brought by the Su Lian clan when they came north from Changge Kingdom into Da Yu. Indeed, this wooden box was a treasure that could lock away anything one wished to secure. It could only be opened with a special key from Changge Kingdom; even the sharpest weapons and highest temperatures couldn’t move it an inch.
Ah Qiong knew about this box in her family, but she never knew what was inside it, nor was she particularly interested.
The Ruan family had driven away the Hu tribes for the emperor and repeatedly achieved military merit. By the time Ah Qiong emerged as a prominent figure, they had become incredibly powerful, their reputation in Da Yu growing ever greater, arousing the emperor’s suspicion. Neither Ah Qiong nor Wang Wulang understood why the emperor was so concerned about the Ruan family’s wooden box. Once, at an elegant gathering, a high official directly addressed Lord Ruan, asking him to show everyone the Su Lian treasure. Lord Ruan laughed awkwardly, saying there was no Su Lian treasure, just some… private savings of an old man.
Everyone laughed, but Lord Ruan’s apologetic smile gradually stiffened.
At that moment, Lord Ruan knew the emperor was suspicious of the Ruan family.
“If that’s the case, daughter, take this ominous object away.”
Even though Lord Ruan said it would be useless, Ah Qiong still enthusiastically set out with the wooden box. In truth, she mostly wanted to visit her ancestral homeland, to see the Gulun Grasslands she had only heard about from her father’s generation but never visited. She wanted to see what the great Changge Kingdom actually looked like.
Wang Wulang didn’t accompany her on that ambitious journey; Ah Qiong went alone. It was said that Ah Qiong got lost on the Gulun Grasslands and couldn’t find Changge Kingdom, instead reaching the mysterious Liuhuo Kingdom. From Liuhuo Kingdom, she continued onward, plunging deep into the grasslands, before finally finding the ruins of Changge Kingdom.
“I’ve brought you back,” Ah Qiong placed the wooden box in the tomb of Changge Kingdom’s king. The city guardian knew the box’s history – this Su Lian descendant had actually returned Changge Kingdom’s secret treasure. It seemed this Su Lian descendant had some conscience after all… No, this treasure originally belonged to Changge Kingdom, to its king! She must have returned it today thinking she could exchange it for other treasures she wanted!
“No, I don’t want to exchange anything,” Ah Qiong understood the old man’s muttering. She looked around at the ruins, “If possible, I only wish to take away all the memories that belong to this place.”
When Ah Qiong returned the ominous treasure box to Changge Kingdom, the tragic extermination of the Ruan family still didn’t stop.
It turned out that when the emperor wanted to eliminate someone, he never needed concrete reasons or evidence.
For peace of mind, and for his descendants, he could massacre anyone.
Betrayed by her lover and her entire clan killed, Ah Qiong completely transformed into a blade filled with hatred.
The first person she wanted to kill was Xie Fuchen.
At that time, only Ah Qiong and Wang Wulang remained of the entire Ruan family, and their whereabouts had been discovered, at risk of falling into the Imperial Guard’s hands at any moment. Wang Wulang kept urging Ah Qiong to leave Runing, but she wouldn’t go.
She had to find Xie Fuchen and settle everything.
“I thought my lady would kill Xie Fuchen,” As Wang Wulang recalled this past event, his yellowed eyes regained some spirit. “After all, even while pregnant, with my lady’s skills, Xie Fuchen wouldn’t have been her match. Moreover, my lady had hatred in her heart, and hatred can turn a person into a beast.”
“But she didn’t succeed,” Bu Jie knew that Xie Fuchen had lived until the Shenchu period, continuing to assist Emperor Huai, only dying after losing a political struggle.
“Correct, my lady couldn’t succeed. Because she couldn’t bring herself to hate Xie Fuchen.”
“Why? Wasn’t Xie Fuchen the emperor’s pawn, a spy sent by Emperor Ming to deceive her feelings?”
Wang Wulang shook his head: “I initially thought so too, but human hearts are unpredictable and ever-changing.”
When Ah Qiong found Xie Fuchen intending to kill him, he had just endured fifty lashes as punishment, because he had feigned illness and refused to write letters to trap Ah Qiong, which the emperor discovered and severely punished him for. Xie Fuchen had pretended to be critically ill, leaving someone disguised as him at the Xie Mansion while he secretly tried to find Ah Qiong. Unexpectedly, before he could leave the residence, Ah Qiong came to him herself.
“You can’t stay in Runing any longer, leave quickly!” Xie Fuchen tried to take her away, but she cut his arm with her Golden Cicada Knife.
“I know you hate me, it doesn’t matter. As long as you and the child in your belly can survive safely, you can hate me however you want!”
After shedding two final tears for him, Ah Qiong disappeared. Xie Fuchen, who had still been able to move, lost too much blood from Ah Qiong’s wound and fainted on the spot.
Ah Qiong was truly a genius; she led Wang Wulang out of the heavily guarded city of Runing. In the following ten-plus days, the relentless pursuit never stopped – those were the most frightening days of Wang Wulang’s life, he didn’t even dare to sleep.
Ordinary pursuers couldn’t handle Ah Qiong, but one person was different.
Wei Jinghe, ordered to capture the Ruan family rebels, advanced like an unstoppable force, “as if breaking bamboo” [meaning: with unstoppable momentum], taking only three days to find her whereabouts.
When Wei Jinghe led his troops to capture Ah Qiong, she was vomiting continuously.
“You… could it be you…” Wei Jinghe only then discovered Ah Qiong was pregnant.
Seeing his childhood friend in such a miserable state, Wei Jinghe felt terrible – moreover, how could he, as an honorable man, raise his hand against a pregnant woman?
Even though she was labeled a rebel, Wei Jinghe still settled her down, sent food and clothing, wanting to have a heart-to-heart talk, wanting to know why the Ruan family had rebelled.
“If I told you our Ruan family had no intention of rebellion, that we were wrongly accused, would you believe me?” Ah Qiong only said these words.
Wei Jinghe looked into Ah Qiong’s eyes, and after a long while said:
“I believe you.”
Wei Jinghe gained a sword wound to his abdomen, and Ruan Ah Qiong disappeared.
From then on, no one knew any news of her, even Wang Wulang became separated from her.
Where she and her unborn child went became a mystery, and a thorn in the emperor’s heart.
Wei Jinghe said she was dead, but Emperor Ming didn’t necessarily believe it.
And Wei Jinghe and Xie Fuchen became mortal enemies, the reason for which they both knew well in their hearts.
They thought everything would gradually fade with the passage of time, but Emperor Ming continued to dwell on the unfound Secret Scroll, that missing royal secret.
LP: This is too much! I hope Ah Qiong is still alive
Like mother, like daughter pair indeed.. 💔💔💔
If it’s true that the Ruan clan never intended to rebel in the first place, it’s ironic that the emperor in his paranoia has turned his loyalists against him. Also it’s truly heartbreaking for Aqiong and Alai – their beloveds approached them to use them initially. They might have changed their minds afterwards but why oh why must history repeats itself this way 💔