Fish Meat – Chapter 82
by Little PandaThe Ninth Year of Shenchu
Runing’s Winds and Clouds (Part 8)
“Actually, this matter is quite simple to solve.”
Zhen Wenjun’s single remark made all the senior strategists present widen their eyes in surprise. Lin Yue looked at her with great delight; her words were completely unexpected, yet made perfect sense to him. Li Yanyi’s headache suddenly disappeared, as she saw that Zhen Wenjun did not seem to be boasting but appeared confident.
“What wonderful plan do you have, sister? Speak quickly!” Li Yanyi urged her.
In fact, when Zhen Wenjun heard about some auspicious sign, she did not think of anything good but rather the corresponding “ominous sign.” Her mother had told her many frightening folk stories, such as the blood child with three eyes and the deep well frog with two heads… and her mother always spoke with such vivid detail that, coupled with her rich imagination, these monsters took on a clear form in her mind.
An auspicious sign is merely a group of people singing and dancing to praise virtues without much meaning, whereas an ominous sign leaves a deeper impression. Now, because of a heavy rain, the emperor has gained the people’s favor. But what if the people discover that they have misunderstood the meaning of the heavy rain, finding it not auspicious but rather very dangerous?
“Sister’s meaning is…”
“Why should we let them claim it’s an auspicious sign and simply accept it as such? We can also argue that it is an ominous sign,” Zhen Wenjun said. “They can spread rumors, and we can similarly say that a monster appeared where the heavy rain gathered. This rain is not meant to relieve the drought but rather to bring a man-eating monster. Moreover, the heavy rain at Nanya is a fact. The emperor is eager to dig through the canal to advantageously align with the natural conditions and gain public support. Unfortunately, the unrepaired riverbank has already drowned many people, and violently digging through the mountain to connect the canal has angered the mountain god. Along the way, whether it’s flooding or mudslides, all are blamed on angering the mountain god. As long as we spread the word about the water monster and mountain god, naturally, people will panic. How can the people’s hearts still lean towards the emperor? Not cursing the emperor in secret would already be considered polite.”
After all, Zhen Wenjun was young, and her words carried a touch of childishness, causing the strategists around to laugh heartily.
“What, did I say something wrong?” Zhen Wenjun asked, somewhat confused by their laughter.
“No, Sister Wenjun, you spoke very well. This is indeed a brilliant plan of using their own methods against them. This matter will be entrusted to you to handle,” Li Yanyi said.
Zhen Wenjun excitedly responded: “Yes!”
“By the way, sister, this time Xie Fuchen recruited a peerless master in the northern border. This person is terrifyingly skilled in using poison for assassination. You also have quite some research on poisons; do you have any preventive strategies?”
Zhen Wenjun indeed replied: “I do.”
“Great! This palace likes it when you say that word!”
“Wenjun is showing off in front of all the wise ones. I once made a living with my foster father by selling medicine, so I know a bit about pharmacology. One year, during a plague outbreak in Pingcang, the victims were widespread. Later, it was found that someone had deliberately poisoned to take revenge on the county magistrate. At that time, my foster father was also poisoned and nearly lost his life, but luckily he met a divine doctor. The divine doctor said that even the most deadly poison in this world cannot completely leave no trace and kill invisibly. Perhaps people cannot smell or taste it, but some insects and ants can. I know of an insect that grows in the Suidong Mountains, called the Blue Shell. This insect is not naturally blue-shelled; it usually looks like a small stinkbug, unremarkable in appearance, but as soon as poison approaches, its entire body turns blue. Your Highness only needs to send people to the shores of Yulan Lake in the Suidong Mountains to search, using poison to test and easily find them. This insect not only can detect poison but also can detoxify it. It likes to eat kitchen leftovers. As long as the Blue Shell is raised in the Huaichen Mansion or even carried personally, once poison approaches, it can be immediately identified.”
The strategists were somewhat hesitant to speak. This kind of countryside wild insect, who knows if it might carry infectious diseases, yet she wanted the eldest princess to carry it personally. This suggestion would have seemed quite fanciful in the past, but seeing Li Yanyi fully approve of Zhen Wenjun’s proposal, her gaze never leaving since Zhen Wenjun began speaking, the other strategists refrained from commenting.
Li Yanyi said: “If there weren’t still many matters in Runing requiring your planning, Wenjun, I would indeed send you to the Suidong Mountains of Pingcang. For now, just draw the appearance and characteristics of the Blue Shell, and I’ll send people to Yulan Lake to capture it.”
Zhen Wenjun readily agreed, saying “Okay,” though she felt anxious inside. She had never been to Pingcang, let alone Yulan Lake. She had only seen pictures of the Blue Shell in books given by Jiang Daochang, and while she could draw it based on those images, she remembered the book was old and tattered, and the reliability of its content was uncertain. As she spoke confidently and drew diligently, she silently prayed for Li Yanyi, hoping she would indeed be able to find it.
As the last stroke fell on the sheepskin, Zhen Wenjun set the pen aside and handed the portrait to Li Yanyi. Li Yanyi summoned scouts and instructed them to travel overnight to Pingcang to catch the insects.
“What is your view on the matter of Wei Situ, sister?” As soon as the scouts left, Li Yanyi eagerly continued to question Zhen Wenjun. Seeing her eagerness, it seemed she wanted to exhaust all her knowledge in one go. After some thought, Zhen Wenjun decided to speak truthfully:
“Replying to Your Highness, I am most proficient in medicine, next in management, and then strategy. This younger sister grew up in the wilderness, and the court struggles are indeed distant from me, having never personally participated in them. At this moment, I cannot think of a method, and I hope Your Highness will forgive my shortcomings.” She spoke very sincerely and realistically, considering that with Zhen Wenjun’s background, if she were to immediately speak eloquently and knowledgeably about the ways of power and schemes, it would surely arouse suspicion from Li Yanyi.
“That’s true, I was too impatient. You haven’t yet seen Hong Ai’s ‘colluding with the enemy and betraying the country’ letters and the final confession in blood, have you? I have some copies here for you to review. In the coming days, besides the matter of the rain, keep these copies with you, and if you discover anything, come discuss it with me promptly,” Li Yanyi specifically instructed. “Even if it’s a small discovery or a vague idea, remember to come find me.”
As the eldest princess, Li Yanyi indeed showed no airs. Especially now, as her important strategists were harmed one by one, she was eager for talent and did not care who the usable talent was, nor who she herself was. She only wanted to find the last piece of shelter within the soon-to-collapse structure.
Zhen Wenjun looked at this young and capable eldest princess. Her talent and decisiveness, when viewed across the entire Da Yu, including both men and women, could be surpassed by only a handful. Even someone as excellent as her faced moments of critical decisions and life-or-death situations. As an observer, political struggles seemed splendid, but watching from the sidelines made her anxious, and it was only after stepping forward that she felt the inherent danger.
She earnestly wished to be closer to Li Yanyi, to be used by her, and one day, to counterattack the Xie family through her power. When Li Yanyi’s urgent gaze truly fell upon her, even attaching the last hope, Zhen Wenjun felt the real pressure. What if she couldn’t complete the task of speaking nonsense? It’s easy to talk on paper, but once put into reality, various difficulties and resistances would arise, making her position awkward. Li Yanyi might not give her a second chance; even if she resolved the difficulties, what if Li Yanyi still failed in the end? Zhen Wenjun had witnessed Xie Fuchen’s means and didn’t want to praise him, but he was indeed brave and resourceful, making him very difficult to deal with. Whether Li Yanyi could finally bring Xie Fuchen down was hard to say. If Li Yanyi were completely defeated and killed, how would she, as her important strategist, survive? Even if taking a step back, assuming Li Yanyi could finally ascend the throne, it is also hard to guarantee that there won’t be a situation where, after the rabbit is dead, the dog will cook it; after the birds are gone, the bow is put away.
Zhen Wenjun has dug a big pit for herself; whether the pit contains infinite treasure and supreme power or is a bottomless abyss of death, she does not know. Only by jumping down will she find the answer.
The heavy rain indeed moved north to Runing. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and there is no curfew in Runing City. The three major night markets operate all night. Zhen Wenjun, holding an oil umbrella, came to the bustling market, thinking there would be few people at the night market under the pouring rain. Unexpectedly, as soon as she reached the market entrance, she couldn’t move. Inside the market, it was brightly lit, with countless Runing citizens holding umbrellas or wearing straw raincoats, crowded within the market. From afar, one could hear the boiling noise of the crowd. Children wearing hats woven from palm bark excitedly chased and played in the crowd, stomping forcefully on the small puddles on the ground, deliberately making water splash everywhere. The heavy rain poured onto the street vendors’ grass sheds, gathering into streams that flowed from water channels to both sides. Rows of shops with night lamps were densely packed together, making the flowing water resemble waterfalls. Zhen Wenjun found Runing’s layout very meticulous, worthy of a hundred-year-old capital, as all the flowing rainwater gathered into ditches and flowed underground, even if some puddles did not affect walking.
Zhen Wenjun walked two streets, and Lin Yue, along with three attendants following behind, were all very curious about what she was looking for.
“Of course, it’s the entrance to the underground waterway,” Zhen Wenjun said as she searched.
Lin Yue’s eyes immediately brightened, saying, “This is easy. Miss Zhen should have asked me earlier; I know. I grew up in Runing and am familiar with every block, street, and hidden door here. There are three entrances to the underground waterway. Whether Miss Zhen wants the one in the city center or in the corners, I can lead you there.”
“It’s very good that you know. I want the one in the city center, but it should not have too many people.”
“Miss, follow me.”
Lin Yue led them through the bustling East Market and arrived at the junction of the East and West Markets. He pointed to a round stone cover at their feet and said, “Lifting this cover will allow you to reach the underground waterway.”
Zhen Wenjun asked, “Have you been to this underground waterway? How deep is the water below?”
“The waterway is about two zhang deep from the ground. If it is the dry season, it does not store water; it flows eastward into Penghai using the terrain. Now that the rainy season has arrived, I predict the water in the waterway is roughly waist-deep.”
“Waist-deep? Not enough. Wait for it to fall for two more days.” Zhen Wenjun said while observing the surroundings. Between these two markets, it was obviously not as bustling as the market center. Only ten steps away, there was a tavern with silk lanterns hanging, faintly illuminating the area but not thoroughly. There were few people, yet it wasn’t deserted. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the whole country celebrates for three days, all without curfew restrictions, making the timing just right.
Lin Yue couldn’t figure out her intention, so he approached close to Zhen Wenjun’s side and, near her ear, asked: “Why does Miss Zhen want to wait for two more days? What does it have to do with the waterway storing water?”
Zhen Wenjun, made embarrassed by his sudden closeness, felt her ears warm and uncomfortably stepped back a pace, saying: “Naturally, it’s for conveniently pretending to be ghosts and playing tricks… you’ll know when the time comes.” After speaking, Zhen Wenjun then held her umbrella and walked back, with Lin Yue closely following, even more excited:
“Pretending to be ghosts and playing tricks? How to pretend, how to play? Do you want me to dress as a ghost?”
Zhen Wenjun never liked revealing plans that hadn’t been implemented yet to others. Lin Yue, on the other hand, always loved to chase and ask, making Zhen Wenjun quite exasperated. For these two days, whenever she saw him, she would take a detour to avoid him.
The heavy rain did not disappoint her hopes and continued for three days. By the night of the third day, the lively atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival had also come to an end. Zhen Wenjun quietly brought people the previous night to investigate the water level of the underground waterway, which was already one zhang deep, with rapid water flow. Extending a lantern from the entrance to explore, the pitch-black waterway had rainwater rushing through, accompanied by the sound of “hua hua.” It wouldn’t be surprising for any monster to emerge from inside, and even if someone wanted to investigate, it would be extremely difficult to check.
“Good.” Zhen Wenjun’s face, hidden under the hat, revealed a sinister smile, “Come on, the most ferocious monster in Da Yu’s history is about to appear in the capital.”
Zhen Wenjun called the attendants and soldiers assigned to her by Li Yanyi to discuss the significant task planned for the last day of the Dragon Boat Festival, deliberately not calling Lin Yue. However, Lin Yue, upon hearing the news, came rushing by himself. Even though Zhen Wenjun hadn’t called him, he was not upset. Upon arriving, he gracefully cupped his hands and said, “I can do anything for Miss, as long as Miss asks.”
Zhen Wenjun was quite helpless with his thick skin but glanced around at the tall and strong men, then looked at the skinny Lin Yue and had a light bulb moment: “Anything is fine, right?”
“Once a word is out, even four horses can’t chase it back!”
“Good, then you just wait to die.”
“Good, then I just…” Lin Yue stopped mid-sentence, surprised, and looked up at Zhen Wenjun’s mischievous smile, “wait to die?”
The heavy rain continued to wash over Runing, almost swallowing the city. As the market, bustling for three days, was about to close, suddenly a scream came from the end of the street, breaking the festive atmosphere. Merchants, busy tidying their shops and arranging items, stopped what they were doing and looked in stunned silence towards the source of the sound.
For a while, there was no movement.
Just when they thought they heard wrong, a shrill “help” again tightened their nerves.
“Someone is shouting for help?”
“Yes, I heard it too.”
“What happened during the big festival?”
Merchants and the few customers, with lingering fear, gathered together and looked toward the dim end of the street. The silk lantern swayed under the torrential rain, its flickering light dancing on the rain-dotted street, as a figure crawled from the depths of darkness, gradually moving toward them.
“Who is there!” The bold butcher, who sold meat, couldn’t help but grasp a knife in his hand and stood at the front of the crowd. The rest of the people hid behind him, rainwater hitting their eyes, not daring to blink, shivering as they looked toward the dark figure.
“Help me…” The figure finally crawled under the light, revealing a young gentleman struggling to crawl in the rain-soaked ground. His entire body was drenched by the rain, and his legs, bitten by something unknown, were already mangled and unable to support him. He could only claw at the ground with his hands to move forward, leaving a long trail of blood in the rain.
“You, what happened to you?” The butcher wanted to step forward but dared not. The gentleman raised his head, his face covered in blood, appearing as if something had gnawed at him, rendering him unrecognizable, frightening everyone to step back.
“Inside the underground waterway… there’s a water demon! My legs were eaten by the water demon!” the gentleman shouted hoarsely, “Save me! Help me!”
“Water demon?”
Just as the crowd was panic-stricken, a tall dark figure emerged at the end of the blood trail. The young gentleman twisted his body to look and immediately screamed:
“The water demon is coming! The water demon is eating people!”
As soon as the words fell, that dark shadow rushed rapidly toward the crowd, even the butcher was so scared that he almost dropped his pig-slaughtering knife. Everyone screamed and ran away desperately.
A gust of wind swept in, and the lanterns on both sides of the street were all knocked to the ground. The dark shadow came with great force, grabbed a young lady, and bit her. Her screams echoed above Runing City for a long time…
“That eaten young lady was me,” Zhen Wenjun said.
“Hahahaha, hahahaha.” Li Yanyi, after hearing the rumors about the water demon causing chaos in the city, laughed uncontrollably. She called Zhen Wenjun to the hall, opened a jar of hundred-year-old fine wine to drink with her, and prepared a table of fowl and beasts to reward her. “Sister Wenjun, with one move, you disturbed the entire Runing into unrest. Today, the queen mother even specially called me into the palace to ask about this matter, saying the water demon was truly scary and advised me to be careful outside. Even the Jinwu Guards assigned a batch to me. Among the people, various versions spread, saying that the water demon had three heads and six eyes, a fish head and dragon body, and would eat anyone it saw, claiming that already hundreds had died in Runing City. Some also said this water demon is a monster from Penghai, swam along the waterway to the capital, and is the Dragon King’s son, living on human flesh. Numerous rumors spread throughout Runing overnight, with everyone discussing this matter. Whatever they said about the water demon varied, but ultimately they said it was brought by the heavy rain. In a disaster year, sudden heavy rain is an ominous sign, so I took this opportunity to continue spreading rumors, saying that the dim and weak Ziwei Star couldn’t suppress the monster, leading to the water demon eating people. Surely now, the people in the capital are whispering about it, secretly poking Li Ju’s backbone.”
Zhen Wenjun was still concerned about other matters: “Did Li Ju and Xie Fuchen have anyone investigate this matter?” After all, it was her first direct confrontation with Xie Fuchen, and she was very apprehensive about him, fearing that her petty tricks might be easily resolved by him.
“Naturally, they have.” Li Yanyi had always sent spies to secretly follow Xie Fuchen, monitoring his every move. Of course, she also knew that her own whereabouts were under Xie Fuchen’s control, and avoiding the spies’ eyes and ears was a daily contest, not worth mentioning. However, the other side having an assassination expert made her more apprehensive, so every time she went out, the Huben army cleared the way, and shadow guards provided protection, “But sister’s meticulous mind makes it difficult for him to investigate. The heavy rain fell for three days, and the underground waterway’s water is both deep and rapid, making investigation very difficult. Even Xie Fuchen’s best swimmers among the Huben soldiers could not find any clues.”
“Creating something from nothing, how can one find clues?” Zhen Wenjun smiled as she looked at the roast chicken in front of her. Since Li Yanyi hadn’t moved, she also didn’t dare to eat first. The blame was on the roast chicken being too fragrant, repeatedly pulling her attention back from Li Yanyi to the roast chicken.
“Exactly this reasoning. Now in Runing City, even in broad daylight, no one dares to go out. Every household closes its doors, fearing an attack by the water demon. Li Ju and Xie Fuchen can truly reassure the people’s hearts only by killing the water demon and hanging its corpse on the city wall; otherwise, people will only feel it’s a deceitful appeasement tactic. Sister, you did well this time, I toast you a cup.”
Finally getting to drink wine, Zhen Wenjun quickly raised her cup. After drinking, she put down the cup and saw Lin Yue sitting aggrievedly beside her. She remembered how he was forced to pretend to be a water demon’s victim, the poor soul crawling and rolling in the rain for a while, and then being kicked on the back of the head by the attendant pretending to be the water demon, which pained him for several days. Thinking of Lin Yue’s unfortunate affairs, Zhen Wenjun couldn’t help but laugh.
“This is the credit of everyone’s united effort; I only moved my mouth a little,” Zhen Wenjun raised her cup to the others in the hall, respectfully saying, “Wenjun is a junior, and in these past days, I have offended everyone by shouting and ordering around. This cup is self-punishment.”
Zhen Wenjun slowly finished a small cup of wine in several sips. After the previous embarrassment of singing while drunk, she gained a deeper understanding of her drinking capacity and vowed that, regardless of her mood, she must drink slowly in the future; her face must still be preserved.
Li Yanyi was very satisfied with her: “I did not expect that, despite being so young, sister does not arrogantly take credit; truly rare.”
“Your Highness, born noble yet courteous to the wise and modest, that is what makes Wenjun admire.” Zhen Wenjun originally wanted to compliment Li Yanyi a bit, but after speaking, she felt the term “courteous to the wise” was somewhat inappropriate, as if she were praising herself as capable.
Li Yanyi did not think in this direction at all and continued drinking several cups cheerfully. However, worry soon reappeared on her brow: “Here we are, freely drinking wine and eating meat, yet Wei Situ is suffering in the imperial prison. A few days ago, I submitted documents requesting permission to visit the prison, and yesterday I finally saw Wei Situ. He was emaciated and covered in injuries. He told me to respond calmly and that, if necessary, I could sacrifice him to protect the bigger situation… How can I sacrifice him? Wei Situ has followed me for many years, with a loyalty and faithfulness no one can match; this palace absolutely cannot let him bear such a crime and die wrongfully. Sister, have you seen the blood letter and the letters?”
“Your Highness, I was just about to ask you about this matter.” While Zhen Wenjun was pretending to be a water demon to frighten people, she was also analyzing the blood letter and letters through the night. The blood letter actually had no real meaning, merely being directed to frame someone, but the “colluding with the enemy and betraying the country” letters, however, contained clues worth careful consideration. She was now curious about one thing and invited Li Yanyi to a small room in the hall. Only when they were alone did she speak:
“The letters hidden inside the Hong residence, alleging collusion with the enemy, are our forgery, correct?”
Li Yanyi frankly admitted: “Correct.”
“These letters are from Wei Tingxu’s hand?”
When Zhen Wenjun asked this, Li Yanyi laughed: “Correct, these letters indeed are from Zizhuo’s hand. You and Zizhuo are truly heart-to-heart connected.”
Zhen Wenjun shook her head and smiled, “Her still being heart-to-heart connected with Young Master Zhangsun is more wonderful. Your Highness, these few letters have actually already paved a retreat path for us; rescuing Wei Situ is not a difficult matter.”
Li Yanyi was startled: “How do you explain this?”
“It was previously mentioned that Xie Fuchen has already stationed tens of thousands of troops in the north. Is there evidence of this matter?”
“Zizhuo only mentioned it in the letter and did not send back concrete evidence.”
“In this way… actually, there is no need for concrete evidence. Tens of thousands of people are not a small number, and wanting to completely avoid detection is not easy. Even if these soldiers are scattered and ambushed in nearby villages, intentionally probing is not impossible. Just…”
“Just what?”
Zhen Wenjun looked troubled: “The retreat path Wei Tingxu laid down is a final method where jade and stone are both burned, even dragging down Xie Fuchen requires sacrificing Wei Situ’s life. There is no guarantee that Li Ju wouldn’t discard Xie Fuchen as a chess piece to remove Wei Situ.”
Upon hearing this, Li Yanyi found it hard to believe.
Not to mention Li Yanyi, even Zhen Wenjun, who interpreted Wei Tingxu’s intention, was quite surprised. She was surprised not only by Wei Tingxu’s deep planning and foresight but also by her own ruthlessness, being able to use even her own father as a chess piece to checkmate an enemy general — she clearly had already anticipated Xie Fuchen’s strategy and the current situation, yet did not alert Wei Situ? If Wei Situ knew, Li Yanyi could not possibly be unaware. Yes, once a secret is known by many, it is no longer a secret.
So she was not wrong in her thinking; this is a poison needle that Wei Tingxu had hidden long ago, capable of killing the emperor with one deadly stab.
Once, Zhen Wenjun had the illusion that she understood Wei Tingxu, at least a small part. But after arriving in Runing and seeing with her own eyes how she was always in the midst of a hurricane and how she controlled the direction of the winds within, Zhen Wenjun only then realized her own naivety.
She never truly understood Wei Tingxu as a person.
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