Fish Meat – Chapter 230
by Little PandaThe Second Year of Shunde
Jointly Chasing The Lost Deer (26)
The woman before Ah Xiang was strange. She wore a water-blue shawl and an elegant white ruqun1, yet atop her head sat squarely a violet-gold crown2 only a man would wear. Her thick brows slanted up towards her temples. Beneath the spring breeze, a faint mist seemed to settle on her face, making her ink-painting-like features appear even more intense.
“So, this was all Zhen Wenjun and Wei Tingxu’s scheme?” Ah Xiang’s throat tightened, her legs about to give way beneath her; she was already swaying precariously.
Ah Liao’s eyes never left the device in her hands, its outline growing clearer by the moment. “This subordinate3 isn’t too clear on the specific process, only that they once discussed through the night how to dismantle the Yao clan from within. Tingxu said Wenjun could act as bait, to lure the enemy onto the hook. At first, Wenjun and I didn’t believe it, but unexpectedly, it actually worked.”
“Lure the enemy… onto the hook?”
“That’s right. Speaking of which, Ah Xiang, it counts as me having you sent over.” Zhen Wenjun stood before Yao Zhaoyi, steadfast and unmoving, blocking Yao Zhaoyi’s only escape route.
Behind and to Yao Zhaoyi’s left was a cliff, to her right an rock face, and directly in front stood Zhen Wenjun.
“Letting me go in Fengxian was also part of the act.” Every breath Yao Zhaoyi took felt searingly painful. The ache in the back of her head and all the truths were becoming increasingly clear.
Zhen Wenjun said: “So many from the Wei family died in the Battle of Yanxing; how could we possibly not ascertain the enemy’s identity? Even if the enemy’s true face was hard to investigate, I certainly had to know early on whether they were male or female. Yao Zhaoyi, daughter of Yao Lin, the Yao family’s dizhangzi4, skilled in archery, capable of piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces. Unfortunately, aside from that, your legwork is average, and you have no experience leading troops. After the great success at Yanxing, you were bound to relax your guard, becoming complacent and arrogant. In Fengxian, I could have killed you directly, but for the sake of a longer-term plan, I spared your life. You thought I embraced you that one time because I softened upon realizing you were female, and knowing the many past entanglements between myself and Zizhuo, your most likely next move would be to sow discord between Zizhuo and me. After all, the stratagem of sowing discord is the most enduringly effective tactic5 on the battlefield. I thought you would come yourself, but unexpectedly, you sent someone else. Fine then. Ah Xiang was better suited for counter-espionage than you.”
After hearing what Ah Liao said, Ah Xiang’s mind buzzed.
“Why? Why was I more suitable?”
Ah Liao said: “Are you perhaps shuchu6? Following Yao Zhaoyi since childhood, like a house servant?”
Ah Xiang’s face turned white.
“I heard that this time you traveled a thousand li7, fearing no danger, to follow Yao Zhaoyi to Julu. You must hold deep affection and loyalty for her.” Speaking to this point, Ah Liao raised her head, looked deeply at her, and sighed, “So young and beautiful, and so devoted. Tingxu, why do you always make me do this kind of thing. Ai…”
“You… keep talking! What does it matter if I hold deep affection and loyalty for Jiejie!”
“Having said all this, doesn’t Lady Ah Xiang understand yet? Precisely because you were never valued by the Yao family and were too eager to prove yourself to Yao Zhaoyi, you became eager for quick success and short-term gain, losing your judgment, giving us an opportunity to exploit.”
Ah Xiang had always felt she hadn’t acted rashly. A hundred days wasn’t a short time; she was slowly driving a wedge between Zhen and Wei.
But thinking carefully, this mission had indeed gone too smoothly for her. If not for the mindset of wanting to handle this important matter well for her Jiejie driving her actions, she indeed would have noticed more abnormalities.
“Then now, Zhen Wenjun has gone… has gone to…”
Ah Liao smiled, an expression that seemed to say, “You really are a fool.” “Of course. Wenjun-meimei [little sister] has held back for so long, just waiting for this day. Besides being a genius at leading troops, there’s another point you probably didn’t investigate. She’s an expert poison user. Last night, after taking the antidote, she lit a stick of First-Grade Peach Haven Incense in the tent. Those who smell Peach Haven Incense must go sample the paradise beyond the world8. Did Lady Ah Xiang sample the Peach Haven in your heart? Meanwhile, Wenjun-meimei took troops and rushed back under cover of night. By now, she should have already rendezvoused with Tingxu. The Yao clan… I’m afraid they’re in for bad luck.”
When the large army led by Lin Mu and Huang Bu charged out from the mountain wilds, Cao Fei only felt darkness descend before his eyes, four words rising in his heart—his final moment had arrived.
Huang Bu, riding a powerful warhorse and wielding a long spear, charged left and right, skewering countless foes. His silver armor still gleamed as he plunged into the enemy ranks; when he emerged, it had turned a dazzling crimson.
Lin Mu lightly leaped off her horse, two sabers in hand. Wherever she went, enemy limbs fell to the ground; miserable screams rose and fell one after another. Leaping back onto her horse, Lin Mu harvested two more heads, her ruthlessness no less than Huang Bu’s.
Both were young generals possessing both courage and strategy. Their experience was less than Zhen Wenjun’s, but she had no need to worry excessively about entrusting the main army to them.
Yao Zhaoyi asked, “So from the very beginning, you were all acting.”
Zhen Wenjun: “Not entirely acting. Most of what I told Ah Xiang was true. There are indeed many irreconcilable conflicts between Zizhuo and me, but we both know what matters more…” Speaking to this point, her expression darkened slightly, then she smiled. “There’s no need to say too much to you either. Yao Zhaoyi, now that you understand this, you can go peacefully on your way.”
Huang Bu charged into the square formation protecting Cao Fei and pierced Cao Fei’s shoulder with his sword. Cao Fei cried out and fell to the ground. Yao family soldiers protected him desperately, hauling him up to flee.
“Reinforcements…” Cao Fei yelled with his last strength, “Where are the reinforcements! I detached a unit just in case!”
“Reporting to the Strategist! No reinforcements! They’ve all been killed!”
As Cao Fei’s face turned pale as ashes, a spray of warm blood hit his face. It came from the man before him, who had been speaking to him just a moment ago; the next moment, the man’s head fell to the ground.
Blood splattered three chi high9.
Soldiers fell around Cao Fei, their corpses like a prison cell, trapping him within.
Ahead, Wei Tingxu on her white horse and several thousand cavalry formed a dense black mass, completely blocking his view.
Wei Tingxu took a piece of jade from her bosom. This jade was a gift she had given Xiaohua the year Xiaohua came to the Wei household. Xiaohua had worn it constantly while alive, never taking it off.
Xiaohua died at Yanxing, her body difficult to find.
After Zhen Wenjun and the others conquered Yanxing, Wei Tingxu’s wounds hadn’t fully healed. Ignoring everyone’s objections, she went into the city and searched inch by inch, turning over all the corpses. After searching for two days and nights, she finally found Xiaohua’s body.
The person who had accompanied her growth, guarded her day and night without complaint, had died just like that in a strange, foreign land. Wei Tingxu only found her months later to bury her. That helpless injury and pain were carved into her heart, impossible to erase. She had sworn an oath to Xiaohua’s jade, sworn an oath to the several thousand heroic souls of the Wei family who died at Yanxing, that she would definitely uproot the Yao clan completely.
Today was merely the first step.
Wei Tingxu gripped the jade tightly in her palm. “Xiaohua, I know you are watching, watching how I conquer vast territories10.”
Cao Fei was trampled into paste by the army, unrecognizable.
When Ah Liao finished speaking, Ah Xiang was near collapse.
She had thought the estrangement was successful, never expecting this was the enemy’s trap.
Zhen Wenjun and Wei Tingxu had quietly placed the knife in her hand, blindfolded her, and pushed her forward, making her use the knife in her hand to pierce the Yao clan’s chest.
Ah Xiang laughed maniacally, then sobbed wretchedly: “Jiejie! It’s my incompetence! I’ve failed you, failed the Yao clan! I have no face to see you again… The kindness you showed me can only be repaid in the next life!” Finished speaking, she drew her dagger—the same one that had failed to pierce Zhen Wenjun’s throat—and slit her own throat.
Instantly, hot blood spurted wildly. Ah Qin rushed up in time to open an umbrella, shielding Ah Liao completely behind it, preventing even a speck of foul blood from touching her. Ah Zheng, who had been guarding nearby, also thought to shield Ah Liao but was half a beat slower than Ah Qin. Seeing Ah Liao looking quite comfortable in Ah Qin’s embrace, she didn’t approach further.
“A pity, truly such a pity.”
Seeing Ah Xiang lying on the ground, her large eyes wide open, Ah Liao lamented endlessly.
Ah Qin took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. “It is indeed a pity when a beauty’s fragrance fades and her jade shatters, but if fine flowers never withered, they wouldn’t be so precious in full bloom.”
Ah Qin’s single sentence stopped Ah Liao’s crying.
Ah Qin caressed Ah Liao’s face, glanced back at Ah Xiang, and said, “Now, this is her most beautiful moment.”
With Cao Fei dead in battle and the General also killed, the Yao family army was thrown into chaos by the sudden attack, utterly routed11. The position Yao Zhaoyi had chosen was excellent; initially, it was to clearly observe the enemy’s movements and be able to fell a foe with a single arrow. Now, she could still see the whole picture clearly—how her soldiers were being cut down, slaughtered, clear at a glance.
And her own life hung by a thread, to be decided in the blink of an eye.
Zhen Wenjun’s left shoulder floated slightly upward—this was her signal to attack.
There were only two steps between them. With Zhen Wenjun’s skill, perhaps not even a blink was needed to close that distance.
Yao Zhaoyi stood unsteadily, one hand braced against the cliff wall.
The mountain rocks in the south weren’t just hard stone; damp in spring, one could scrape off a handful of green moss mixed with soil.
In the instant Zhen Wenjun attacked swift as lightning, Yao Zhaoyi threw the moss in her hand towards her eyes.
Though her vision was blurred, Zhen Wenjun didn’t retreat but attacked even more fiercely. Her hand struck out, hitting the cliff wall instead. Yao Zhaoyi leaped up, stepped on Zhen Wenjun’s shoulder, used it as a springboard, and lightly tapped the cliff wall again—in just two moves, she had widened the distance from Zhen Wenjun.
Zhen Wenjun, tall with long arms, grabbed for her foot.
Yao Zhaoyi’s heart leaped, feeling as if her very soul was being dragged down by Zhen Wenjun. Fortunately, Zhen Wenjun failed.
Just barely missed.
Yao Zhaoyi fell back to the ground from the air, rolled, and without a single look back, immediately dashed towards the nearby woods. She grew up on Nanya; the Yao family owned a vast, dense mountain forest. As children, she and Ah Xiang often played in the mountains. All her qinggong was learned among the treetops. As long as she reached the trees, even with one leg impaired, she still had the confidence to use her arm strength to move freely through the forest and shake off Zhen Wenjun.
Life and death decided in an instant, Yao Zhaoyi not only had no time to look back, she didn’t even dare to blink. Leaves and branches scraped her face and body; all she could hear in the world was her own ragged breathing.
She didn’t want to die, couldn’t die. Even though she was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, every time she swung from one branch to another, flew from one tree to another, she felt she would die from exhaustion the next moment. But every time she heard the sound of Zhen Wenjun’s relentless pursuit behind her, her heart pounded wildly.
Immense fear sustained her, forcing her to keep struggling. Each leap was as agonizing as shedding a layer of skin.
The Xiangyue Sheng, just twenty steps ahead!
“Young Lady!”
Yao Zhaoyi was about to reach the secret location where Cao Fei had placed the Xiangyue Sheng. When she was still over ten steps away, she saw the Xiangyue Sheng was already off the ground, with two blood-covered Yao family members aboard. They saw Yao Zhaoyi too and shouted to her.
Nearby, the din of battle erupted; the Zhen-Wei main army had discovered this place and was about to charge over.
Yao Zhaoyi swung twice using branches and flung herself into the Xiangyue Sheng.
This Xiangyue Sheng was a replica made by Ah Liao, much smaller, capable of lifting at most four people; space was extremely limited. Yao Zhaoyi had just stood up, panting, with others supporting her, when suddenly a hand grabbed her sleeve, tilting the entire Xiangyue Sheng to one side.
“Don’t even think of escaping!” It was still that lingering ghost12, Zhen Wenjun!
A soldier slashed Yao Zhaoyi’s sleeve with a knife. Zhen Wenjun cried out and fell back to the ground. Fortunately, the Xiangyue Sheng hadn’t risen too high yet; Zhen Wenjun adjusted her posture in time, otherwise she would have suffered a nasty fall.
Huang Bu led soldiers in pursuit to this spot. Just as he was about to shout “Loose arrows!”, he suddenly saw Zhen Wenjun wave her hand behind her back, signaling him not to shoot. The command on Huang Bu’s lips remained unspoken, and he looked at Zhen Wenjun, puzzled.
Only when the Xiangyue Sheng flew higher and higher, out of sight, did Huang Bu ask Zhen Wenjun doubtfully, “General, what was that about…?”
Zhen Wenjun said: “I’ll tell you later. This person cannot die yet.”
Zhen Wenjun’s voice had barely faded when, with a tremendous boom, the Xiangyue Sheng’s balloon actually exploded. The basket below plummeted rapidly.
Everyone was shocked; Zhen Wenjun was utterly dumbstruck.
“What happened!”
Zhen Wenjun grabbed a horse and galloped towards the crash site, but a rushing river blocked her path.
At this moment, Wei Tingxu also arrived. The two stared at the gushing water, rare identical expressions of bewilderment on their faces.
“How could it suddenly explode?” Wei Tingxu said. “Ah Liao already researched a ready-made one for her to imitate, yet she still managed to imitate it into exploding mid-air. Truly disappointing.”
Just as Zhen Wenjun was also thinking highly of Yao Zhaoyi, Ah He and Ah Xu appeared.
Ah Qin saw Ah Liao holding a novel gadget and asked her what it was.
“This? Haven’t thought of a name yet, but it’s quite a formidable treasure. The Yao clan actually imitated my Bat Wing Outfit, so they probably weren’t far from imitating my Xiangyue Sheng. Don’t underestimate this thing because it’s small; its power is astonishing. It can track a Xiangyue Sheng. As long as a Xiangyue Sheng takes flight, release this, and it’s guaranteed to track it down and make it explode within the time it takes for one incense stick to burn!”
“That powerful?”
“Yes. I already had Ah He and Ah Xu take it to support Tingxu. Let that Yao clan have no escape even if they grew wings13, hmph hmph.”
Wei Tingxu and Zhen Wenjun said to the brightly smiling Ah He and Ah Xu, “So that was your doing just now?”
Ah He, still elated: “Yes!”
Wei Tingxu took a deep breath: “Rare for Wenjun to be fully committed and act so superbly, even pursuing relentlessly at the very end. This Ah Liao, I’m already used to her always arriving belatedly. Unexpectedly, this time we calculated everything but failed to account for her.”
Zhen Wenjun: “What do you mean ‘rare’…”
Ah He’s smile gradually stiffened: “What do you mean? Could it be you two Young Ladies didn’t want that Yao Zhaoyi dead?”
Zhen Wenjun laughed heartily: “Forget it, Zizhuo. If she’s fated to live, perhaps she fell into the water and survived. Right now, we can only depend on Heaven’s will.”
Wei Tingxu nodded: “True. For now, we can only hope fate is kind. The next part still proceeds according to plan. Before we ascertain whether Yao Zhaoyi is alive or dead.” She turned to look at Zhen Wenjun’s face, which seemed a bit chubbier14. “We still have a score to settle.”
Zhen Wenjun was incredulous: “This entire matter proceeded according to your plan from start to finish! How come you want to settle scores with me now that it’s accomplished?!”
“The plan didn’t include you genuinely enjoying the meals she cooked.”
“…That matter was indeed unexpected.” Zhen Wenjun lowered her head, cleared her throat, and lamented how worldly affairs are truly this unpredictable.
Footnotes
- 襦裙 | rúqún | A type of traditional Chinese attire consisting of a separate top (襦) and a wrap-around skirt (裙).
- 紫金冠 | zǐjīnguān | A type of ornate headdress, typically associated with high status or males in historical contexts.
- 在下 | zàixià | A humble way of referring to oneself, often used in historical or wuxia contexts.
- 嫡長子 | dízhǎngzǐ | The eldest son born to the primary wife, typically the main heir in traditional Chinese succession.
- 久盛不衰 | jiǔ shèng bù shuāi | Lit. “long prosperous, not declining”; Meaning enduringly popular or effective.
- 庶出 | shùchū | Born of a concubine or secondary wife, often implying lower status compared to those born of the primary wife (嫡出 | díchū).
- 1000 li ≈ 500 km / 300 miles.
- 世外桃源 | shìwài táoyuán | An allusion to Tao Yuanming’s fable about a hidden utopia, meaning an idyllic paradise isolated from the mundane world.
- 血濺三尺 | xuè jiàn sān chǐ | Lit. “blood splattered three chi high”; A chi (尺) is a traditional Chinese unit of length, roughly one foot.
- 封疆萬里 | fēng jiāng wàn lǐ | Lit. “enfeoff borders ten thousand li”; Meaning to rule over or expand one’s territory significantly. 萬里 (wàn lǐ) is ten thousand li, signifying a vast distance.
- 潰不成軍 | kuì bù chéng jūn | Lit. “routed, unable to form an army”; An idiom meaning completely defeated and disorganized.
- 陰魂不散 | yīn hún bù sàn | Lit. “yin soul not scattering”; An idiom describing someone or something annoyingly persistent, like a lingering ghost.
- 插翅難逃 | chā chì nán táo | Lit. “insert wings, difficult to escape”.
- 胖了一圈 | pàngle yī quān | Lit. “fatter by one circle”; Meaning noticeably chubbier or having gained weight.
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