HXC Chapter27

Flying light, flying light, I press you to drink a cup of wine. I know not how lofty the blue sky stands, nor how deep the yellow earth lies. I see only the moon’s chill and the sun’s warmth, both coming to erode a person’s lifespan.

 

Sighing at the swiftness of time and the shortness of life, lamenting the boundless changes of the world, while human existence has its end.

 

He once strode through grand halls and stood in the golden palace, his nimble hands controlling the clouds, his brush and ink serving as his sword. Now, he suffers in a bitter prison, humbled like dust, unable to see the sky all day long.

 

The dark, damp prison of the Ministry of Justice was filled with the pungent smell of blood. A blood-covered prisoner, curled up in a pile of straw, wept bitterly. The vicious, menacing jailer kicked the wooden door harshly out of impatience. The sobbing diminished into a faint whimper, and before long, it faded away entirely.

 

Accustomed to such scenes, the jailer hauled the lifeless prisoner from the cell and down the long corridor, leaving behind yet another soul upon the trail of dried blood.

 

Ji Jue, who was sitting on a pile of straw, slowly raised his eyes, calmly watching the jailer walk past his cell. Through the clotted blood in his hair, he glimpsed the dead prisoner’s eyes staring wide, the eyeballs ruptured, a stark mark of excruciating agony and a torment no man could endure. In this sunless prison, many wished for death but could not get it. This was, in a way, a form of release.

 

Ji Jue had taken off his official robes. In the middle of winter, he wore only a single layer of clothing. A cold wind blew through the cracks in the wall, shattering his remaining pride.

 

The familiar jailer turned and joked with his colleague, “Like you’re the capable one. When was it ever not me cleaning up the corpses? What, if you skip it just this once, your lifespan will shorten or something…?”

 

The iron chains of the prison cell clanged and rattled. The jailer unlocked the door and placed today’s steamed bun and thin porridge in front of Ji Jue. He then stretched his neck to look behind him to confirm no one was around before squatting down and taking a note from his sleeve to slip into Ji Jue’s hand.

 

Ji Jue frowned and did not move.

 

Fearing he would be discovered, the jailer quickly whispered, “This humble one is a confidant of Lord Shen. Lord Shen ordered this humble one to inform you that what he promised you outside Fulu Lou that day will definitely be fulfilled.”

 

A brief conversation echoed in Ji Jue’s ears.

 

“Take good care of Zhen Zhen.”

 

“Naturally.”

 

Ji Jue slowly clenched the note and nodded. “Thank you for your trouble.”

 

The jailer patted his rough clothes and stood up, just as the head jailer came to patrol. He immediately put on an air of cruelty. “Lord Ji, this is not your Ji Mansion. You should be happy you have anything to eat at all. If you don’t want to eat, then starve.”

 

The head jailer scolded, “What are you doing inside? Get out quickly!”

 

The jailer scrambled out and locked the door, feeling a bit smug. “Hehe, I saw him looking at the food with disgust and just gave him a piece of my mind.”

 

The head jailer meticulously checked the cell but found nothing amiss. He shooed the jailer away. “He is a grave offender, orders from above have not yet been issued, and if anything goes awry you will be held to account. Now get lost.”

 

The sound of footsteps faded.

 

Ji Jue used the faint light to read the note the jailer had given him. It was just a single word: “Wait.”

 

—

 

Since the night he returned from Hanshan Temple, Ji Zhen had not seen Shen Yanqing again.

 

He was now under house arrest in the main courtyard, completely unaware of what was happening outside. The servants watched him like he was a criminal and refused to speak to him. Every time he got angry and overturned his meals, a new one would be brought to the table.

 

Ji Zhen had no idea what Shen Yanqing’s intentions were and couldn’t rest or eat whether it’s day or night.

 

Today was the fifteenth, and Ji An went early in the morning to try and get information from the servants. When a master falls into trouble, their attendants suffer too. The Shen family servants had never been fond of Ji An, but they had to show some respect because of the Ji family’s power. Now that the Ji family had fallen, no one paid Ji An any mind.

 

Ji An approached them, putting on a brave face. “My Young Master wants to see Lord Shen. Could you please let him know again?”

 

A servant replied haughtily, “I already told you he won’t see him. No matter how many times you ask, the answer will be the same.”

 

A kind-hearted maidservant, unable to stand their bullying, pulled Ji An aside and said, “You should go back. My lord has an important matter to attend to today. The carriage is already waiting outside the mansion. He probably won’t be back before dark.”

 

Ji An thanked her profusely and hurried back to the room to whisper to Ji Zhen, “Lord Shen is about to leave the mansion…”

 

Ji Zhen nervously clenched his fingers. When the maidservant came in to clean the room, he said to her, “I want to eat some milk curd.”

 

Two days ago, Shen Yanqing had someone send a small dish of it, which Ji Zhen had completely thrown on the floor.

 

The maidservant was happy to hear that Ji Zhen was willing to eat and nodded quickly. “There’s still some left in the small kitchen. This servant will go get it right away.”

 

As soon as she got to the courtyard, she ran into a servant who was reporting on Ji Zhen’s daily life. She waved to him and said, “The Young Madam is willing to eat now…”

 

The servant nodded and hurried out of the courtyard to report to Shen Yanqing.

 

A steady stream of dishes, all of Ji Zhen’s favorites, was brought to the table, but he had no appetite at all. The milk curd he had longed for was sweet and greasy in his mouth, making him want to retch. He only took a small bite before he couldn’t touch it again. He picked at some vegetarian dishes and forced himself to swallow them, then drank most of a pot of tea to wash down the greasiness before waving his hand for the dishes to be taken away.

 

The floor heating was too hot, as if it were frying a person.

 

When Ji Zhen had first entered the Shen Mansion, he had asked Shen Yanqing more than once to install floor heating in the courtyard, but his requests were all denied. Now that he no longer asked for it, Shen Yanqing had it installed anyway.

 

When the silver charcoal burned, he felt chilled; when the floor heating rose, he felt overheated. It was just like him and Shen Yanqing—they had never been in harmony.

 

His eyes hurt from crying so much, and there was no one who would truly feel for Ji Zhen’s tears. He hadn’t cried for an entire day and night. But at the thought of Shen Yanqing, his nose once again became uncooperative and felt warm. He felt embarrassed and could only hang his head, secretly wiping his eyes with his sleeve, pretending he wasn’t sad.

 

The most urgent task now was to leave the Shen Mansion and meet with Jiang Yunyu.

 

The dilapidated temple Ji Jue mentioned in his letter was an old clay Guanyin temple left over from the previous dynasty, located in a remote part of the capital. It had once been very popular, but a new temple was later built in the city center with a Bodhisattva made of jade, which drew pilgrims away. The clay Guanyin temple gradually declined until no one came to worship there anymore. The world had always been like this; even when seeking divine blessings, people liked to follow what’s popular.

 

Ji Zhen and Jiang Yunyu had discovered this dilapidated temple by chance. When they were young, they treated the temple as their playground, drinking alcohol and eating meat in front of the Bodhisattva. At that time, Ji Zhen was still a student at the Imperial Academy. He even climbed onto a high platform to be at the same height as the Bodhisattva and whispered in the Guanyin statue’s ear, asking for a good reputation for himself.

 

Looking back now, these were all acts of disrespect to the gods. Ji Zhen no longer dared to be so reckless.

 

Around late sunset, the sky was a blaze of colorful clouds, and the day was nearing its end.

 

Ji An found a thick white coat for Ji Zhen to wear and glanced at the dozing servants outside. “Young Master, it’s almost time.”

 

Ji Zhen took a deep breath. “Ji An, let’s go together.”

 

“It would be too inconvenient for the Young Master to take me along. I’ll find a place to hide, and we can meet again another day.” Ji An tied a sturdy knot in the cloak’s sash. “It’s windy outside, Young Master. Please be careful on your way.”

 

Ji Zhen’s throat tightened. He nodded heavily.

 

The master and servant walked out of the main room together. Assuming Ji Zhen was about to cause a scene as he had the past two days, the servants sluggishly rose to intervene.

 

But then, something unexpected happened. Ji Zhen aimed a sharpened stick he had hidden in his sleeve at his own throat and said in a trembling voice, “Everyone get out of the way.”

 

The servants were taken aback and hurried forward, but Ji Zhen pressed the sharp point to his own skin and stepped back. Ji An shouted, “You were ordered to watch over my Young Master. If he dies here, no one will be able to escape the blame. Hurry up and let him go!”

 

Seeing the situation, the courtyard guards split up, one went to summon Mother Shen, the head of the household, while the other rushed out to inform Shen Yanqing.

 

As the standoff in the main courtyard continued, Mother Shen arrived in a hurry.

 

The stick had already broken the skin on Ji Zhen’s neck. Mother Shen advised, “Put that down first.”

 

“Mother.” Ji Zhen’s hand was shaking badly, and his voice was strained. “I’ve never even met my birth mother. You are the only person I have ever called that. Today, I beg you to let me leave the mansion. In the future, I will never anger you again.”

 

Mother Shen had naturally known that Shen Yanqing had been confining Ji Zhen to the main courtyard for the past few days and felt it was inappropriate. Now, hearing his words, she was somewhat moved. After a moment of thought, she said, “I will take responsibility if Yanqing asks about it.”

 

“Old Madam…”

 

Mother Shen raised a hand and said to Ji Zhen, “You may go.”

 

Ji Zhen was immensely grateful. “Thank you…” The word “mother” got stuck in his throat. His eyes reddened, and he said, “Old Madam Shen.”

 

With that, he and Ji An rushed out of the courtyard gate.

 

Not far from the mansion, a horse was tied up. Without a second thought, Ji Zhen untied the rope, leaped onto the horse, and casually tossed a silver ingot as payment.

 

He wasn’t a very good rider. He was a little scared as he looked down while holding the reins, but the thought that his elder brother had taught him how to ride gave him infinite courage. Even if he were to fall and hurt himself, he was determined to go.

 

Sitting on the horse, Ji Zhen smiled at Ji An with red eyes, then suddenly whipped the horse’s leg and galloped away.

 

Ji An chased after him for a few steps while shouting, “Young Master, you don’t have to worry about me! Don’t ever come back…”

 

Ji Zhen didn’t dare to look back. The bitter wind whipped against his cheeks, drying the hot tears on his face.

 

—

 

In front of Ziyun Lou, the streets were bustling with people.

 

A waiter handed a fresh milk curd to Shen Yanqing and boasted, “Lord Shen, you have impeccable taste. There are seven or eight places in the capital that serve milk curd, but ours at Ziyun Lou is made from fresh milk, making it undoubtedly the finest…”

 

After the Ji family’s fall, the people of the capital were all speculating whether Shen Yanqing would take the opportunity to kick out Ji Zhen, who had forced him into marriage. But it had been five or six days already, and there was still no sign of anything from the Shen Mansion. A few busybodies asked Shen Yanqing’s friend Yi Zhi about it, but Yi Zhi just played dumb and joked his way out of it.

 

More daring people tried to get information out of Shen Yanqing, but he would either smile without answering or change the subject, leaving no clues about what he was truly thinking.

 

The waiter enthusiastically escorted Shen Yanqing to the door. “Walk slowly, Lord Shen. If you need anything for your place in the future, just send someone to tell us, and this humble one will have it delivered to you.”

 

Shen Yanqing gave a slight nod. Yu He stepped forward to take the wooden box of milk curd, but Shen Yanqing moved his hand away. “No need.”

 

It was almost sunset. It was time to return to the mansion. Just as Shen Yanqing was about to step onto the horse, he heard the sound of a horse galloping in the distance.

 

Yu He said, “It’s a guard from the mansion.”

 

Shen Yanqing stood still, his hand gripping the wooden box slightly tighter.

 

“My Lord!” The guard jumped off his horse as he pant. “The Young Madam threatened to kill himself. The servants were afraid of hurting the Young Madam and didn’t dare to stop him much. The Young Madam has already left the mansion and is heading east.”

 

Shen Yanqing was silent for a few moments. He took off his token and handed it to Yu He, saying, “Take my token to the city gate and ask the commandant to be on the lookout.”

 

Yu He took the token and said yes, glancing at Shen Yanqing’s expression, he was unable to tell whether he was happy or angry.

 

Shen Yanqing then said to the guard who had reported, “You must find the Young Madam. Otherwise, I will punish you for dereliction of duty.”

 

The guard bowed and said, “The Young Madam rode a horse, and we can follow its tracks. Please don’t worry, My Lord.”

 

Only then did Shen Yanqing unhurriedly lift the curtain and get into the carriage, and placed the wooden box next to him.

 

The coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage was quickly swallowed by the bustling city.

 

Shen Yanqing let go of the wooden box, and the perfectly fine handle had, at some point, cracked.

 

The author has something to say:

Lord Shen, who bought milk curd to coax his wife (stunned): In the blink of an eye, pah! My wife just vanished, wuwuwuwuwu