The Ninth Year of Shenchu
Runing’s Winds and Clouds (Part 2)
Li Yanyi did not live within the Forbidden Garden. In the most prosperous area of southeast Runing, she had her own mansion. Zhen Wenjun supported Li Yanyi as they slowly walked into the Huaichen mansion, and after the Huben army entered as well, a family slave looked outside alertly and then closed the main door.
Inside Huaichen mansion, with painted beams, red curtains, red pillars, and carved rafters, even at deep night, as soon as Li Yanyi entered the mansion, all the servants holding gauze lamps stood on both sides to respectfully welcome the Grand Princess back to the mansion.
As soon as the door closed, Li Yanyi raised her hand to signal that she could walk by herself, and Zhen Wenjun let her go.
“Tsk.” Li Yanyi slightly stretched her muscles and bones, the wound on her waist and abdomen causing her concern. She turned her head and asked Zhen Wenjun, “Younger Sister Wenjun, in your opinion, how long will it take for my wound to heal, so it won’t obstruct my affairs?”
“Replying to Your Highness, as long as Your Highness changes the medicine on time, carefully regulates and rests quietly in bed, within seven days you will be able to move freely.”
“Seven days? Do I actually need seven days? My teacher has been locked in the imperial prison, and you still want me to recuperate quietly for seven days?”
Zhen Wenjun was directly hit by her aggressive questioning, habitually using the expression of grievance she used to deal with Wei Tingxu. Li Yanyi saw her pitiful appearance and realized it was her own question, turning back to blame Zhen Wenjun somewhat unfairly, she shook her head and said, “Seven days then seven days.”
Zhen Wenjun secretly felt she had gone somewhat overboard, the routine of showing false grievance and pretending to be obedient was used too much on Wei Tingxu, and she had unconsciously applied it to Li Yanyi as well, which was quite laughable. What made her feel even more absurd was that the Grand Princess indeed softened, probably because there was also a lady in her heart.
Li Yanyi said, “Ah Zhu.”
A maid wearing a purple robe lowered her head and stepped forward saying, “This servant is here.”
“You help Sister Wenjun tidy up the room, and then stay beside the main courtyard for convenient care of me.”
“Yes. Lady Wenjun, please follow me.”
Li Yanyi called Lin Quan and Xu Huai to go to the front hall to discuss matters. She walked halfway and thought of something, turning back to say to Zhen Wenjun, “After you put down your luggage, come find me.”
“Yes!” Zhen Wenjun replied, imitating Ah Zhu’s tone.
Li Yanyi gave her a faint smile, then immediately returned to a serious expression and left impatiently.
“Lady Wenjun, please follow this servant.”
Zhen Wenjun responded to Ah Zhu while watching Li Yanyi’s back, puzzled in her heart. Hadn’t she just vomited blood? An attack on the heart and injury to the lungs can be extremely painful, and without recuperation, there might be a threat to her life, not to mention she also has a penetrating wound. Yet she can still continue to plan matters? Seeing her calm demeanor, it didn’t seem like she was merely enduring.
Thinking of how Li Yanyi had just loudly scolded the emperor at the city gate, Zhen Wenjun sensed something unusual.
Li Yanyi was indeed lawless, not only directly calling Li Ju by name but also displaying an attitude of having the mountains and rivers in her grasp. Even if she was arrogant outside, now she was in Runing right under the eyes of the Jinwu Guard, and she was still the same?
Li Yanyi, covering her side, stepped into the front hall, and the group of people followed, closing the room door. The bright candlelight reflected on the window lattice, and after several shadows swayed, they knelt on both sides, whispering in low voices that were unclear. From afar, one could feel the solemn atmosphere inside the room.
Was the loud scolding at the city gate truly out of anger or intentionally done? Zhen Wenjun thought this matter should remain a question.
Ah Zhu, nearly fifty years old, is Li Yanyi’s wet nurse, having followed her from the Forbidden Garden to Huaichen mansion, always caring for Li Yanyi. Ah Zhu, with drooping eyebrows and a smile, naturally has a kind and benevolent face, leading Zhen Wenjun to the small house where she resides. The small house is not large, but it is clean, quiet, and elegant, with a candlestick, incense, and thick bedding all complete. In the corner of the room, there is a curved vase containing a stalk of green bamboo.
“Place the young lady’s luggage here, leave it to this old servant to tidy up. Quickly go to the front hall to find Your Highness, don’t delay important matters.”
Originally, she thought that coming to the Grand Princess’s mansion would involve a heap of rules, and that Li Yanyi had Ah Zhu lead her to explain where she could not go and what she could not do. Unexpectedly, Ah Zhu said nothing of the sort, only handing her a cup of ginseng tea to soothe her throat and replenish energy, urging her to immediately go find Li Yanyi.
Zhen Wenjun drank the ginseng tea in one go, thanked Ah Zhu, and immediately went to the front hall.
Under the gaze of the Huben army, she pushed open the door of the front hall, and a slight “creak” sound caused everyone in the large hall to look over. Inside the hall, there were two large rows of desks on each side, with over a hundred people present, including both men and women. Each had a serious expression and eagle-like gaze. Not knowing what they had been discussing, all were glaring at each other, and just at this moment, Zhen Wenjun entered, taking in the room’s dense malice.
Perhaps this is the fate of a spy… Zhen Wenjun wore an honest smile, attempting to dissolve the tense atmosphere.
Li Yanyi had many advisers, and these were probably not all of her strategists. Zhen Wenjun sat at a small wooden desk temporarily added in a corner, looking at the colorful vegetables, fruits, wine, and meat on the desk. Having not eaten anything since the afternoon, she was already hungry. But looking around at the untouched wine and meat of others, everyone was so engrossed in plotting strategies they seemed to ignore the food, making Zhen Wenjun feel embarrassed to eat. She focused on listening to the strategists’ conversation, trying to divert her attention.
Li Yanyi sat in the middle of the front hall as if facing court, with public opinions varying about the matter of Zuo Xu. As she listened to their words, she occasionally coughed.
The seized power of the three counties must be taken back, and everyone was planning how to impeach the governor leading the troops, Guo Ru, and punish his crimes. According to their words, this Guo Ru was a student of Xie Fuchen, also a son of Xie Fuchen’s marriage alliance with a noble family. Now Xie Fuchen was always active in the north, with mysterious whereabouts, and it was unknown which move he would make next, very likely to unite the four Hu tribes together to deal with the Grand Princess. Guo Ru must be taken down, like Li Ju dealt with Zuo Xu, focusing on details, finding crimes in all of Guo Ru’s small matters to imprison him.
Zhen Wenjun realized she had come to the right place when she discovered that these well-read scholars, with talents as vast as eight bushels, could devise a bad deed that was truly eye-opening. Kneeling there, her legs not yet numb, the room full of people had already listed thirty-five charges against Guo Ru in detail. Ten years ago, he killed eighteen war prisoners, which was considered not benevolent; he took his foster brother’s wife, which was not righteous; he did not visit his mother during the Lantern Festival but indulged with concubines, which was not filial; and he urinated beside the thousand-year-old sacred tree in the imperial family’s old place, which was not loyal… These dozens of charges, when listed, were mere gossip anecdotes, but together they were enough to impeach Guo Ru, at least to remove him from office and send him home, or at most to execute his entire clan.
Li Ju accused Zuo Xu of the crime of slandering the monarch because, twenty years ago in Pingcang, when young and frivolous, and after drinking some wine, he wrote a crooked poem that hinted at teasing the former emperor’s literary talent. The former emperor was aware of this matter at the time, but since Zuo Xu was his childhood companion, the two had a close relationship, and he did not take it to heart. Who would have known that twenty years later, Li Ju would bring up the old account? Even if Guan Xun placed the old crooked poem in front of Zuo Xu, he might not have recognized it as his own work. Similarly, Guo Ru’s urination insulted the entire Li family. If Guo Ru can go unpunished, then Zuo Xu’s slander against the monarch cannot even be mentioned. Let us see how Li Ju responds.
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Li Yanyi instructed a scholar on her left, known for his excellent literary talent, to write the impeachment memorial. It had to be sharp, thorough, and insightful, leaving no room for refutation. The scholar picked up the pen and completed the writing in one go, even before the other strategists had finished speaking. He handed it to Li Yanyi, who was very satisfied and passed it around for everyone to appreciate.
When it reached Zhen Wenjun, she hurriedly put down half a melon she had unknowingly eaten, wiped her hands clean, and took the bamboo slip. Inside, she found many phrases and beautiful sentences she had never seen before. The writing was brilliant, with exquisite rhymes and sharpness, accompanied by humor. After reading it, she felt both angry and amused, truly finding it outstanding.
It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that Li Yanyi let everyone leave. Zhen Wenjun thought she wanted to rest, but instead, Li Yanyi instructed Zhen Wenjun to prepare a carriage because she intended to enter the palace.
While Zhen Wenjun guessed she should be going to see the Empress Dowager, she casually advised, “Your Highness, your injury is severe. If you continue to travel, I’m afraid it will leave a lasting illness.”
Li Yanyi shook her head, “There’s no choice. Now Li Ju is chasing me too closely, and if I rest, it may cost even more lives. Sister Wenjun, I leave my injury to you. Help me prepare several sets of medicine to stop bleeding and relieve pain, as long as it allows me to endure this period.”
Zhen Wenjun had to agree.
Li Yanyi instructed that the bleeding must be controlled, as she wanted to see the Empress Dowager and did not want to worry the old lady.
Indeed, she was going to see the Empress Dowager, and it seemed that she would not return for a while, which was just convenient for Zhen Wenjun to send a message to the Xie family.
Zhen Wenjun used the mansion’s medicine to stop her bleeding, wrapping cloth strips layer after layer, ensuring the blood would not seep through. After completing the bandaging, Li Yanyi turned and left; she had not closed her eyes for a whole day and night, yet she still did not stop.
From a distance, Zhen Wenjun glanced at Li Yanyi’s carriage, noticing that the gold beasts hanging at the four corners were peacocks, a mark of a second-rank high official’s carriage in the current dynasty, not Li Yanyi’s. With previous doubts combined, Zhen Wenjun roughly understood the Grand Princess’s intention. However, still developing, when she lacks sleep, her brain becomes extremely sluggish. Her thoughts, like dense leaves of midsummer, seemed to reveal a desired branch, but when she reached out, it disappeared.
Zhen Wenjun couldn’t bear it and went to sleep, waking up at noon the next day with severe pain from a leg cramp. After getting up and stretching, she remembered her mother’s words that a child’s leg cramps are a good sign, indicating growth. Zhen Wenjun looked at herself in the bronze mirror, wondering if she would be much taller the next time she met Wei Tingxu.
Seeing that Li Yanyi indeed hadn’t returned to the mansion, Zhen Wenjun hastily ate a bowl of soup cake with meat slices and then went to report to Ah Zhu, saying she wanted to go to the market to purchase medicine for the Grand Princess.
Ah Zhu said, “What medicine does the mansion not have, that requires the lady to make a special trip?”
Zhen Wenjun said, “There is a lot of medicine, but since Your Highness is not willing to rest, I need to use a strong formula to stabilize the injury, which requires an ingredient called stone lotus. Stone lotus is generally used by poor families as a medicinal material, so the mansion did not prepare it.”
Ah Zhu said, “Oh, I see. Lady Wenjun, since you have just arrived, you’re definitely unfamiliar with Runing. The old servant should accompany you.”
How could Zhen Wenjun let her go along? Ah Zhu was said to be Li Yanyi’s wet nurse, but with her sharp and insightful demeanor, who knew if she was like Lingbi, supposedly there to care for her but actually monitoring her movements? If she followed, the message would certainly not be sent out. Just as she was about to refuse, Ah Zhu continued:
“Unfortunately, Your Highness just returned to the mansion, and a pile of matters requires the old servant’s attention, so I really cannot leave. The old servant will have a young man from the mansion lead you.”
“No, no, no,” Zhen Wenjun quickly said, “I am too lazy. Once someone leads me, I don’t remember the way, even if I go two hundred times, I still get lost. I must walk by myself to get familiar. I’ll just ask if I get lost, Aunt Ah Zhu, you need not worry. Aunt, is there anything you need Wenjun to bring back?”
Ah Zhu said, “No need, no need, lady, go early and return early.”
Zhen Wenjun quickly went out. She can not only remember faces and books but also recognize roads quickly. As long as she walks past a place, she can remember it, and with left turns and right twists, she can mentally draw the entire map. She is very confident in herself and absolutely will not get lost.
Runing is indeed prosperous, at least ten times larger than Fengxi in Nanya. Zhen Wenjun, a village girl, truly entered the city, walking on the capital’s main road until her legs were sore and still not reaching the market. Along the way, she asked passersby where the pharmacy was located, and they countered by asking which pharmacy she wanted to go to.
“Could it be there are many pharmacies?”
The passerby thought she was joking: “Of course, young lady, is this your first time in Runing? Not to mention the official’s four big pharmacies, there are sixteen small pharmacies of private merchants scattered throughout the city, each specializing in different medicinal materials. It depends on what you want to buy.”
“May I ask how far the nearest one is from here?”
“Go straight along this street, at the next intersection head south, walk past two big intersections, then go west for three small intersections, then head east to the main road and continue for one li…”
The passerby spoke with enthusiasm, and Zhen Wenjun earnestly memorized the directions. After the passerby finished speaking, he asked if she remembered.
“I remember, thank you.” Zhen Wenjun thanked him and hurriedly left, leaving the passerby puzzled:
“Really, she remembered all that?”
The complex terrain and crowded streets were extremely advantageous for Zhen Wenjun. Upon first arriving at Huaichen Mansion, she did not know if Li Yanyi had time to guard against her. None of the people behind her indeed followed continuously, which would have been very obvious, but in places she couldn’t see, there was no guarantee. She needed to proceed with twists and turns so that even if someone was secretly tailing her, she could shake them off.
On the way to the pharmacy, she happened to see a postal station. This postal station was very large, with a flag at the entrance waving in the wind, visible from afar. Zhen Wenjun circled around the postal station several times, finally entering a fabric shop, buying and putting on a new garment on the spot, and exiting through a side door to slip into the postal station. To be safe, she first sent a message to Lingbi and Wei Tingxu about her arrival in Runing, then sent a message to “Mr. Jua’an.” While tying the tag, she observed her surroundings, ensuring no one noticed her, then used silver pieces to exchange outer clothing with another woman sending letters before coming out.
Having stayed long by Wei Tingxu’s side, Zhen Wenjun had already trained herself to leave no trace even if unnoticed. Being watertight is fundamental to survival.
Finally, she sent the letter out, informing the Xie family that she was already by Li Yanyi’s side. This was just the first step. Although she heard Li Yanyi’s plan to impeach Guo Ru last night, she couldn’t carelessly send it directly to the Xie family. If it were her before, she might have quickly informed the Xie family to swiftly raise her status by revealing Guo Ru’s impeachment plan, but without informing the details, she could seize the opportunity to threaten the Xie family to let her see her mother. However, now she is not eager to do so. She had just arrived by Li Yanyi’s side, and Li Yanyi already let her join late-night planning, allowing her to know all details. Even if she is Wei Tingxu’s confidant, it seems too unguarded and might be a test by Li Yanyi. If she directly sends it out, she fears she might fall into a trap.
No rush, the road ahead is long.
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After leaving the postal station to find a pharmacy, Zhen Wenjun bought the necessary medicines and was walking back when a carriage sped down the road from behind her. Many pedestrians, hearing the noise, hurriedly stepped aside, but a child holding a string of candy tottered out, trying to cross the street to find her mother.
“Move aside, move aside!” As the carriage was about to hit the child, everyone was shocked. The child’s mother turned and saw the scene, wanting to save her child, but it was already too late. The coachman forcefully pulled the reins, the horse’s hooves raised high, about to stomp on the cotton-like child when Zhen Wenjun grabbed the child and dodged to the side.
“Whose child is not being watched! Looking for death?” The coachman’s hand was pulled to a bloodied mark, and he cursed angrily.
The child in her arms cried loudly, and her mother immediately ran up to thank Zhen Wenjun. Zhen Wenjun patted the child’s head to comfort her and turned to see the coachman dressed in luxurious clothing, with gilded beast heads hanging from the four corners of the carriage, indicating that the person inside was either rich or noble. The reproach she intended to voice reached her throat but was swallowed back. This was Runing, where one wrong move could offend three nobles at once. Newly arrived with a special identity, she truly didn’t want to cause trouble and had to swallow it back. The child’s mother, also perceptive, held the child and kept apologizing.
The coachman, having no time to delay, wanted to set off again immediately. Zhen Wenjun remembered the horse-taming technique taught by Bu Jie, turned her back, and secretly whistled. The horse, startled, suddenly shook, and the coachman, already leaning forward, lost his balance and fell to the ground with the shake.
“What happened… oh dear!” The coachman, having hurt his backside, stretched his back for a long time before standing up. Zhen Wenjun and the child watched the coachman’s awkward appearance and secretly laughed, while the surrounding onlookers also struggled to hold back their laughter.
“Ah Si.” From inside the carriage, two fingers lifted the curtain, revealing a half-gloomy face. The man sitting in the carriage was nearly sixty, with temples and beard already grizzled, but his deep, unfathomable eyes showed no sign of aging. His face, matching his deep voice, bore an innate commanding and unassailable seriousness. After lifting the curtain, his gaze purposefully turned toward Zhen Wenjun’s direction, seemingly following the whistle sound to identify who had teased his coachman. Zhen Wenjun’s gaze hadn’t retracted in time and was caught directly.
This person slightly squinted his eyes, and Zhen Wenjun became nervous, as if he had already seen through her, knowing who was behind the prank.
“Ah Si.” Just as Zhen Wenjun hurriedly reached for her waist to draw the Golden Cicada Knife, the man impatiently withdrew his gaze, “Get up, don’t delay matters. I still need to deliver something.”
“Yes! Yes!” The coachman, ignoring his pain, immediately mounted the carriage and left.
Zhen Wenjun watched the carriage disappear into the distance, breathed a sigh of relief, and released the child in her arms, who then cried, “My candy, my candy was crushed by you!”
Zhen Wenjun lifted her foot to see that the sole of her shoe was stuck with candy already crushed into mush. No wonder she had felt something poking her foot earlier.
The child’s mother wanted to take the trouble-causing child away, but Zhen Wenjun ran to buy a handful of candy and caught up to give it to her. The child broke into a smile from tears, and Zhen Wenjun advised, “Don’t eat it all at once, or it might spoil your teeth.”
“Thank you, sister!”
“Go on.” Zhen Wenjun patted her round head.
Carrying the medicines, Zhen Wenjun walked towards Huaichen Mansion. On both sides of the road were many new and strange things. She lingered for a long time, buying many interesting small trinkets, thinking to give them to Wei Tingxu and Lingbi as gifts the next time they meet.
When she was two streets away from returning to the mansion, she slowed her steps and slightly turned her head to cautiously look back.
From the previous intersection, someone had been following her. Judging by the sounds, this follower was actually sitting in a carriage. Could it be…
With her peripheral vision, Zhen Wenjun saw the gilded beast ornament. It was indeed the master and servant from the carriage earlier!
Could they be seeking revenge? Just for such a small matter?
Zhen Wenjun could not help but quicken her pace.
Liu Feng had been guarding outside the courtyard where Xie Fuchen resided for nearly a month, yet Xie Fuchen still had not come out.
Every day, only the small soldier delivering medicine came and went. Today, that small soldier returned again carrying big bags, stayed inside for a while, then quickly came out and drove the carriage away, seemingly to buy medicine again.
Liu Feng, ambushed in the grass fifty steps outside the courtyard, watched the small soldier with the lowered hat brim leave and could not help but ponder. Xie Fuchen secretly coming here cannot possibly mean staying indoors doing nothing. Even if he is upset about Ah Xin’s matter, it shouldn’t affect him so heavily.
Could it be that he has already discovered someone is monitoring him, so he hides indoors, not coming out?
Or could it be, he has already come out?
A sudden flash of insight struck Liu Feng’s mind. He had seen many small soldiers coming and going, becoming accustomed to it, so upon seeing them again, he naturally relaxed his vigilance. Just now, that small soldier with the lowered hat brim left driving the carriage not towards the west to the market pharmacy, but towards the east city gate!
That was Xie Fuchen in disguise; he wants to leave the city!
Liu Feng immediately withdrew and rose, dashed into the forest to find his horse, leaped onto it, and shouted loudly, quickly giving chase. The horse had barely run less than thirty steps when Liu Feng’s mind suddenly became chaotic, and he fell from the horse. The horse continued running on its own, while Liu Feng rolled on the ground, kneeled on one knee, with a knife already in his hand. In the rare thin sunlight of the northern stronghold, he clearly saw an extremely thin, hard-to-see wire between the two trees he was about to pass through. Had he not noticed and rushed through, his head might have already fallen. Looking carefully, he found that this forest was filled with such wires, clearly set up by someone long ambushed here.
Liu Feng drew his sword, feeling a murderous intent, yet he did not know where the person wanting to kill him was.
As a veteran general who has experienced many battles, it was the first time he encountered an uncertain crisis.
Zhen Wenjun was about to arrive at Huaichen Mansion, yet the carriage was still closely following her relentlessly.
She restrained her impulse to jog, continuously looking back, wanting to use her gaze to scare the other away. The coachman was entirely unmoved, driving the carriage steadily forward, seemingly completely ignoring her.
Seeing this person recklessly charging through the busy market with a fierce appearance, she knew he was not a good person. Even if he was sitting in a high official’s carriage, he must be a treacherous minister! Zhen Wenjun did not believe his official rank could be higher than that of the Grand Princess. The Grand Princess’s Mansion was just in front; if she entered now, could the carriage still follow her in?
Unexpectedly, it really followed her in.
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Zhen Wenjun was very puzzled. How could there be someone so narrow-minded and vengeful? Wasn’t it just that his horse was startled? How could he, in anger, come to the Grand Princess’s territory? Being in Runing, how could he not know who lives in Huaichen Mansion?
Anyway, having already returned to the mansion, Zhen Wenjun’s courage grew significantly. She was just about to step forward to question him when the old man in the carriage got down first. Zhen Wenjun was about to speak to him but was ultimately half a step slow.
Fortunately, she was half a step slow.
The servants of Huaichen Mansion behind her uniformly saluted and loudly said:
“Wei Situ!”
Zhen Wenjun stood stiffly in place.
She wasn’t very familiar with the title “Situ,” but when connected with the name “Wei,” it left her dumbfounded.
She looked at the old man approaching her, with his straight back, eagle-like eyes, and high nose. The more she looked, the more familiar his face seemed.
Called a treacherous minister, he truly is a treacherous minister!
“Wei Situ, you’ve finally arrived,” Li Yanyi, who had also returned to the mansion, approached from behind Zhen Wenjun, patted her shoulder, and said, “Have you already met Zizhuo’s father?”
More than just met.
Zhen Wenjun, bewildered, felt her legs go weak and actually knelt down, stammering, “Met, met the honorable Wei Minggong!”