Xie Jing was escorted all the way to the base of Zhuque Bridge. When he turned back, the sky over Wuyi Lane was lit by the blaze into hues like dawn clouds, reminding him of that morning nine years ago when Lu Shuqing came into the world. That was the first time he felt the helplessness of being “married into the Imperial Family,” though the gears of fate had begun turning much earlier, writing the ending for every person involved.
Only after Wuyi Lane was completely sealed off did the Yulin Guards release Xie Jing, leaving him to kneel miserably on the ground. Yet there was neither grief nor tears to be seen; he only lifted his eyes toward them with a dull gaze as if his soul had already left his body.
The leader asked Wang Qi for instructions, “My Lord, shall we let him go just like this?”
Wang Qi did not look back, merely opening his umbrella with an expressionless face. “Let him be. Jinling City is vast; let us see which household dares to take him in.”
Xie Jing had no idea when he had forced himself to his feet; bracing his unsteady body, he dragged his steps forward without any sense of direction. By the time his senses partially returned, he realized Wuyi Lane was no longer in sight. His inner garment and outer cloak were both soaked through. When he turned his head, the only one silently following behind was Yi Yun, who had accompanied him to the Xie’s Mansion last night.
“…Where shall we go?” Xie Jing raised his hand to stroke Yi Yun’s mane. “Where is there left to go?”
Yi Yun gazed back at him with pure eyes before lowering her head slightly, wanting Xie Jing to climb onto her back.
During these ten years in Jinling, he had rooted himself too deeply in Prince Zhao’s Mansion. He was like someone raised in a jar of honey; everyone around him loved him so dearly—his parents, elder brother, and nephew loved him; his young children loved him; Lu Lingcong loved him; even Lady Yao and Lu Lingzhen loved him. He could avoid doing what he did not want to do and ignore the worries he did not wish to face.
Now that a clean severance was truly unavoidable, Xie Jing was jolted into realizing that a vast gulf had long lain between his own naivety and the world beyond. He had been able to follow his every whim only because someone was always there to catch him. Now that he was stripped of his identity as the Princess Consort and Young Master Xie, he found himself unable to take a single step.
Subconsciously, Xie Jing wanted to be near his children, but he could not return to Prince Zhao’s Mansion; being discarded was far more severe than being divorced. With the Xie family already engulfed in flames, where else could he go? To the Wu family? The Yao family? The Star-Plucking Tower? The Taichu Palace? Or perhaps the Imperial Prison…
The Imperial Prison!
Xie Jing’s mind raced through the names and official titles of Xie Yi’s colleagues, classmates, students, and old family friends. Who among them could get him into the prison to see his father and brother?
Sensing Xie Jing’s distraction and loss of resolve, Yi Yun galloped swiftly, carrying him toward the Qingxi area in the east of the city where the officials resided. Even if the emperor had been too unwell to attend court for days, the hour for the great houses to open their gates to visitors should have come already; yet as they hurried through the streets and alleys, not a single passerby could be seen.
He comforted himself with the thought that the torrential rain made travel difficult, but he could not ignore the stern, forbidding gates of the mansions. There were even servants peeking covertly from side doors who, upon seeing his figure, hurriedly retreated and bolted the gates shut.
Xie Jing froze for a moment, then dismounted in the middle of the street. He fell to his knees with a thud after stumbling to the steps of one particular house. “Your junior, Xie Jing, bows in salute! I beg of you, Uncle, open the door so we may speak!”
The sound of hurried footsteps clearly echoed from behind the gate, yet not even a crack was opened. He could only strike the door knockers with all his might while shouting to make his voice heard over the rain, “This junior, Xie Jing, bows in respect and humbly requests that Uncle open the gate for a brief talk!”
But a voice from inside the courtyard said, “Our own mansion can hardly protect itself; Lord Xie, please seek help elsewhere!”
Xie Jing retreated two steps on his knees and was dazed for a moment under the eaves, before turning to stumble toward another household across the street, “Your junior, Xie Jing, bows in salute! The Xie family has suffered a grave injustice; I beg you to open the door so we may speak!”
This time, the only response was the “click” of a bronze lock being fastened from within.
Refusing to give up, he went to the neighbor, “Your junior, Xie Jing, bows in salute! My father and brother are imprisoned; I beg your assistance in letting me enter the Imperial Prison to see them!”
He received only a cold reply, “Xie Yi and Xie Yan have already submitted to the law. They are treasonous officials; what is there to see?”
Xie Jing kept racing along the long street, halting before the gates of every official residence, whether familiar or not. Dropping to his knees, he hammered on the doors without pause, shouting himself hoarse.
“Your junior, Xie Jing, bows in salute! I beg for your mercy, Uncle—at least allow me a single meeting!”
“Your junior, Xie Jing, bows in salute! The Yulin Guards broke into Wuyi Lane and harmed my innocent kin; I beg you, Master, find a way to speak on behalf of the Xie family!”
“Your junior, Xie Jing, bows in salute! I beg Your Lordship to send words to the palace, to allow me an audience with the Son of Heaven so I may present the facts in detail!”
“Your junior, Xie Jing, bows in salute!”
……
In the end, there was no longer even a response. Xie Jing listened with all his might, but there was nothing.
Perhaps many among them had once been rebuffed by him or met only his cold indifference. In those years of unmatched splendor and heedless excess, the seeds he had sown in ignorance were now ripening into the bitter fruit of this dead end. It was his own fault, he deserved this; but if Heaven wished to punish, then let it punish him alone! The character of his parents, brother, and sisters-in-law had always been beyond reproach; why must they suffer the cruelty of fate in his stead?
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; he should have known. Once one falls from the high clouds into the mud, this crowd that was so adept at self-preservation and sailing with the wind, would never risk the danger of association to speak up for the Xie Clan of Chen Commandery, even if they had once received favors from his father and brother.
“Your junior, Xie Jing… bows in salute…”
Before he could finish his words, someone suddenly caught Xie Jing by the elbows. His motion to bow stopped halfway as he looked up blankly. Through the hazy curtain of rain, he realized that he had unknowingly arrived before the Grand Tutor’s Mansion and had knocked upon Zhang Yan’s door.
He wiped the streaming rain from his face and called out, “…Teacher.”
Zhang Yan looked down at him. “Come inside and change your clothes first.”
But Xie Jing began to kowtow against the stone steps again and again while pleading urgently, “No, there is no need. I beg you, Teacher, help me, help the Xie family! Let me see my father and brother just once!”
Zhang Yan halted his movements and let out a deep, helpless sigh. He turned back and commanded, “Bring the carriage. We are going to the Imperial Prison.”
The servants of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion were very thorough; they had lit a charcoal brazier inside the carriage and prepared dry, warm outer robes and steaming hot tea. Xie Jing’s body was wrapped in his wet clothes, but he had no mind to care.
Zhang Yan furrowed his brows and calculated for a long while before asking, “You have already been to Wuyi Lane?”
Xie Jing nodded. Zhang Yan understood then that he already knew the fate of his mother, sister-in-law, and nephew. Although less than an hour had passed since the incident began, news of such turbulent shifts always traveled fastest in Jinling; every official on the street had likely already heard of the Xie family’s calamity.
Zhang Yan asked again, “Was it truly His Highness’s intention by depriving you of your position as Princess Consort?”
“…No,” Xie Jing said softly. “But it is the most useful thing he can do for me right now. Only by severing ties completely can Qing’er and Ning’er be kept out of this.”
Zhang Yan started to speak but hesitated. After a moment of silence, he pressed a hand onto Xie Jing’s shoulder. “Zhiwu, I know you are in mourning but now is not the time. You must not lose your composure. The Prime Minister’s Mansion collaborated with the Yulin Guards to abuse their power and slaughter women and children; by law and by reason, they no longer hold the upper hand. You must use every means possible to preserve the living. Think, how can you squeeze every bit of value out of the Iron Certificate of Immunity?”
Xie Jing stared at the charcoal fire as if in a trance. “Before I married His Highness, you told me to think twice, Teacher. I suppose even then you had foreseen that this day would come.”
Zhang Yan let out a long, haunting sigh. “Your father surely cautioned you as well to beware of the ruin of the house.”
“Was I wrong?” Xie Jing asked hoarsely as if talking to himself. “Teacher, was it I who harmed them?”
Zhang Yan looked at Xie Jing with a flicker of compassion. He remained silent for a long while before giving an answer that avoided the direct question: “You originally had a chance to escape this calamity.”
The Imperial Prison and the Yulin Guards did not belong to the same system, yet Xie Jing still spotted the figures of the Yulin Guards outside the main gates. He followed Zhang Yan out of the carriage. Before the soldiers could move to block them, Zhang Yan raised his hand, revealing an object within his sleeve; it was actually a rhinoceros-horn thumb ring that the emperor wore year-round.
The authority this object carried was tantamount to the Son of Heaven’s own presence; even the palace’s forbidden precincts, let alone the Imperial Prison, could not deny entry to its bearer. The Yulin Guards had been ordered only to keep the Censor-in-Chief and his son under strict guard; Prime Minister Wang had not specifically forbidden visits. Furthermore, since Grand Tutor Zhang and Princess Consort Zhao were merely two weak scholars, there was no way they could break the prisoners out. Thus, the guards had no choice but to let them enter.
Xie Jing had always known that Zhang Yan enjoyed the emperor’s trust, but he never expected this thumb ring to be in his possession. Could it be that the emperor had matters he could not attend to personally and had delegated them to Zhang Yan? However, in his current state of burning anxiety, he only wanted to see his father and brother immediately. Without pausing to think, he hurried inside.
Although Xie Yi and Xie Yan had not been tortured, because they both insisted that the Lantian Jade Seal had nothing to do with Xie Jing and claimed full responsibility for the crimes, they were already held as high-security prisoners in the deepest part of the Imperial Prison.
Zhang Yan did not follow, only advising, “Listen to your father and brother. Remember, you must not act on impulse.”
While the world outside the cells had turned upside down last night, the two men inside also seemed to have aged ten years overnight. When Xie Jing finally found them, his father was seated cross-legged, facing the brick wall with an expressionless face, his eyes dulled and clouded by the faint, wavering candlelight.
He could only sink soundlessly and weightlessly to his knees outside the iron bars.
Xie Yan was the first to notice Xie Jing’s presence. He lunged forward and seized his wrist, looking him over as if he were a stranger to ensure he was unharmed, then asked urgently, “How is the family? Was Mother and the others taken away? And what about your sister-in-law and Jun’er?!”
Xie Jing opened his mouth and closed it again; he simply could not find a way to articulate the tragedy that had befallen Wuyi Lane. In fact, it was not until he heard Xie Yan’s question that he belatedly fell into the searing agony of losing three of his closest kin in succession. He suddenly realized that the absence of his mother, sister-in-law, and nephew was not due to a trip back home or a long journey but because of death.
They had passed from this world so quickly and easily and were separated from him forever.
Receiving no answer, Xie Yan subconsciously shook his body. “…Zhiwu, speak!”
Under the shaking, Xie Jing began to tremble uncontrollably. His face was ashen, his forehead bruised, his lips tinged with a purplish hue, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably as his whole body trembled like a leaf in the wind.
Xie Yan froze for a moment, then abruptly let go and took a half-step back. He stood paralyzed on the spot without saying another word.
After a long, dead silence, Xie Jing suddenly spoke, his voice trembling as he uttered each word, “…Throughout history, those who marry into the Imperial Family have never escaped the destruction of their clan; it is only a matter of sooner or later.”
Xie Yi, who had been sitting in the corner without reaction from the beginning, finally spoke slowly upon hearing these words, “Before you married Prince Zhao, I once spoke with your mother about how we should respond if the day ever came when our clan stood on the brink of complete annihilation.”
He lifted a hand etched with deep wrinkles as though attempting to trace the outline of someone who was no longer there in the empty air, “I said that if we wished to preserve the reputation of the Xie Clan of Chen Commandery, we must die; she said that reputation was a small matter, if the lives of the whole family could be saved, what did it matter if one bore a lifetime of infamy?”
“I never expected that when the day truly came,” Xie Yi turned his face back, which was already starkly covered in old tears, “I would want to preserve her life while she wanted to preserve my honor.”
“I have always respected Lord Xie’s integrity and sincere nature.” Wang Chu’s voice rang out from the darkness. Only then did Xie Jing realize that the other party had walked up noiselessly behind him at some unknown moment.
“I have no personal enmity with Lord Xie outside of officialdom. The Wang Clan of Langya and the Xie Clan of Chen Commandery have shared a close family friendship since the Jin Dynasty when we lived as neighbors in Wuyi Lane. Even in this generation, were it not for the matter of succession, you and I should never have been at such odds.”
“This humble one hold the power of the Iron Certificate of Immunity in high esteem; this humble one greatly admires the prestige of the Three Dukes’ distinguished lineage. Lord Xie shares a deep bond of flesh and blood with his two sons, and as a father myself, I feel a sympathetic chord. Naturally, I cannot bear to further distress your esteemed mansion by exterminating everyone.”
“However, Imperial orders cannot be disobeyed. His Majesty has grown suspicious and wishes to move against the Xie family; the Prime Minister’s Mansion is caught in the middle and finds it difficult to please both sides,” Wang Chu said while maintaining a polite and decorous smile throughout. “Why don’t we find a middle ground? The Iron Certificate can offset the crime of one blood descendant of the Xie family—as for which one it shall be, I will leave it to the three of you to decide. How about it?”
Xie Jing remembered Wang Qi telling him to “wait and see how the Iron Certificate is put to its full use.” Only now did he realize with a start that the Prime Minister’s Mansion had planned from the very beginning that among the three remaining kin, only one would be allowed to survive this disaster.
Seeing Xie Yi and his son remain silent, Wang Chu shook his head. “Is to let whoever you want live not benevolent enough?”
He said regretfully, “Ah, could it be that the three of you wish to give this Iron Certificate to your wives or the Young Master? It is a pity; they were the ones unwilling to come here, and there is nothing I can do about it.”
Xie Jing erupted instantly before seizing Wang Chu by the collar. “The lives of over a hundred members of the Xie family rest upon the Prime Minister’s Mansion. The Prime Minister should be careful of sleepless nights, for there will be vengeful spirits seeking your life!”
Wang Chu merely found it absurd and laughable. “The person who granted this ‘Exemption from Death’ medal is already dead, yet the one who truly determines whether ‘death’ can be exempted is still alive. However remarkable the accomplishments of the dead may have been, they can never obstruct what a living person has decided to carry out.” At this point, his smile vanished, his expression turning grim and replaced by blatant mockery. “These hundred-odd lives do not rest upon the Prime Minister’s Mansion; they rest upon you, Princess Consort.”
Xie Jing froze, a needle-like pain suddenly striking his heart. Wang Chu pushed him away, smoothed the wrinkles on his lapel, and said nonchalantly, “His Majesty’s patience is even more limited than mine. The three of you had better decide quickly.”
A gust of wind swept in from the corridor, and the oil lamp mounted on the wall trembled once before going out, casting the cell into complete darkness. Far away, water droplets continued to fall onto the stone bricks, as cold and indifferent as they had been for countless years.
Xie Jing heard footsteps from behind once more. The newcomer must have been carrying a candle because he saw his father and brother’s faces illuminated again, and they were merely looking at him in silence.
That was their answer.
For Xie Yi and Xie Yan, the so-called “choice” never truly existed—whether it was a single small copper coin hidden in a dumpling during New Year’s Eve dinner or a chance to escape, Xie Jing was never an option to them; he was the only answer.
Xie Jing retreated two steps, his voice cold and trembling. “…No.”
Xie Yan merely gave a dismal smile. “You must live on.”
“No!” Xie Jing shook his head violently, unable to bear it. “Don’t! I don’t want it! I beg you, don’t give it up for me… Making me the sole survivor is worse than letting me die!”
Wang Chu sneered from the side, “Are you all losing your minds by dragging others into your nonsense? Who said what awaits the Xie family is a death sentence? Why is Princess Consort worrying about being the ‘sole survivor’? The Imperial Degree has not been finalized; do not go pinning such a massive accusation on the Prime Minister’s Mansion!”
Xie Yan did not spare him a glance. Instead, he gazed at his younger brother for a long time. “He is right. Remember, you have no hatred, and there is no vengeance waiting for you to seek. You only need to live well; live a long, full life.”
Xie Jing practically scrambled to the cell door before reaching out his arm in a desperate attempt to grab his father. “Father, let me die! Let me go serve Mother!”
Howeverz Xie Yi spoke calmly. “…Child, how could you be the sole survivor?”
“Aside from you, your father and brother have no other attachments in this world. But you still have Qing’er and Ning’ning. What would they do without you?”
Xie Jing’s vision blurred instantly.
He had already lost his own mother. Were his children to follow the same path and lose their mother as well?
Xie Yi smiled at him gently. “We shall go to the underworld to reunite first. When you live out your natural life and pass away a hundred years from now, there will be someone there to receive you… When you were small and went to Jinling for the New Year, you lost your way and sat at the front gate crying loudly. Do you still remember?”
Xie Jing shook the iron bars frantically, the chains letting out a piercing noise, yet Xie Yi remained kneeling upright in his place, motionless.
“It seems the choice has been made?” Wang Chu clapped his hands and turned to the newcomer. “Then, Your Highness…”
The fifth person present spoke, “His Majesty heard that Xie Zhiwu broke into the Imperial Prison and specifically ordered me to clear out the bystanders, so as to facilitate the Prime Minister’s thorough investigation of this case.”
Xie Jing turned back in horror to see the man holding the lamp and looking down at him; it was none other than Lu Lingcong.
The lamplight brought his features into sharp focus. Upon seeing him, Xie Yan’s expression changed instantly, and he began to curse loudly, “Your Highness still has the face to show up here? You have endured ‘humiliation’ and heavy burdens all these years; you truly played your part with painstaking effort!”
Lu Lingcong let out a nonchalant sneer. “Why shouldn’t I have the face to come? Prince Zhao’s Mansion has not mistreated him for a single day in ten years. The children he has borne are an heir and a commandery princess, both held above ten thousand others. Which of food, clothing, rare treasures, gold, or silver have I ever failed to provide him?”
Xie Yan spat, “Why would he have bothered to marry you if he wanted to enjoy wealth and rank? How much grievance has he endured? How much bitterness has he tasted, ruining his own future only to now pay with the lives of his entire clan! He has not committed any of the ‘seven grounds for divorce’ and has treated you with a heart of utter devotion. Your Highness! Now you betray him, rebel against him, and abandon him! When has the Xie Clan of Chen Commandery ever owed you a single thing? What is my mother, who was over sixty years of age, guilty of? And what grudge or resentment do you hold against my wrongly killed wife and son?!”
Upon hearing the end, Lu Lingcong’s expression faltered, but he masked that fleeting lapse in an instant, saying coldly, “Lord Xie, if you wish to pin all the blame on me, suit yourself. You may vent your anger as you please but let me tell you plainly: the Xie family falling to such a state today is merely Xie Zhiwu’s own doing, he has no one else to blame!”
Wang Chu watched with great interest for a while before finally speaking, “Your Highness, it is getting late. Why bother lingering?”
Lu Lingcong said no more. He reached out, hooked his arm under Xie Jing’s ribs, lifted him off the ground, and dragged him toward the exit with long strides. Xie Jing struggled violently, exerting every ounce of strength to catch one last glimpse of his father and brother, but he could not turn his head; in his peripheral vision, there was only Wang Chu standing at the end of the corridor, his features hidden in the shadows.
As they passed through the deep, silent courtroom; since Wang Chu had led the Yulin Guards to take over, the original bailiffs of the Imperial Prison had all been temporarily dismissed. There was no one on guard for these short twenty paces; no one could see them clearly, and no one knew what they were saying either.
Xie Jing’s nape was half-gripped, half-clamped by Lu Lingcong’s hand. The sensation was like two extremes colliding—his palm, damp with sweat and burning hot, and the shocking, jade-like coldness of his skin.
It was the jade disc he had pressed into Lu Lingcong’s hand before leaving the Prince’s Mansion last night.
As Lu Lingcong pressed forward without hesitation, carrying Xie Jing farther and farther away from his father and brother, the hand that held the jade disc shifted to restrain Xie Jing’s neck. Right beside his ear, he asked in a rushed yet very soft, low voice, “What did you say, sweetheart? What are you trying to say?”
Xie Jing no longer had the strength to make a sound; Lu Lingcong could only try to discern his lip movements. He saw Xie Jing clutching his shoulders tightly, murmuring in utter despair: “…Do not leave me all alone.”
