Chapter 13: Shangsi

 

Volume 2

On a warm spring day by the Taiye Pool, weeping willows swayed gently. It was the end of mid-spring, the beginning of late spring. The willow color resembled green silk ribbons—not just thousands of strands, but layer upon layer—covering the water of Taiye Pool where blue waves rippled. Countless willow catkins were blown up by the east wind, fluttering and scattering in mid-air in clusters and balls, blown by the wind onto the jade railing by Taiye Pool, and even more scattered like stars, falling onto the water.

"On the third day of the third month of the painting hall, the fluff flutters on the window screen and swallows brush the eaves. A few cups of lotus seeds to taste the cold wine, and a song of zhe branches to try on the spring clothes. The steps are better than looking in the mirror, and the door reflects the flowers at the moment..."

The melodious singing, according to the new score of the music department accompanied by silk and bamboo instruments, floated out from the water palace by Taiye Pool. This water palace was called Fangchun Terrace, half of it originally suspended over the lake, while the other half was hidden behind stacked rocks. Flower terraces were built in front of the mountain rocks, with peonies planted everywhere. Under the spring sun, thousands of peonies bloomed. Brocade curtains were set up around the flower platform, with golden bells hung to drive away birds. The sun shone on the brocade curtains and the blooming peonies like clouds and mist, brilliant and radiant.

After one song was sung, the music club played a new arrangement. A team of dancers performed in the water palace, their movements graceful, dancing only with flowers, their fluttering clothes and long sleeves like wind and snow. The dancers were adorned with jewels, their hair decorated with flickering ornaments such as bird feathers, like thousands of butterflies flying through the hall. The palace was filled with spring flowers such as peonies and tree peonies, their fragrance mixed with the scent of face powder, creating an intoxicating perfume.

At such a magnificent and prosperous spring banquet, the former crown princess, now known as "Lady Xiao" in the palace, sat behind her table, leaning on it as if somewhat distracted. When a new musician in the music club nervously played a wrong beat, she turned her head and glanced at the musician playing the sheng, frightening him into playing another wrong beat. She frowned slightly but did not reprimand the trembling musician. Instead, she simply raised the golden cup on the table, drank a glass of wine as if ruthlessly, then rose and went straight to the rear hall behind the screen.

The rear hall was hidden beside the mountain rocks. While the temple faced Taiye Pool, another row of long windows opened at the water's edge. The weather was fine today, and the long windows overlooking the waves were all propped open with sashes. The blue water reflected the light crimson window screens on the sashes—from a distance, it looked faintly like a rosy glow, or like clusters of peach blossoms blooming on the windows, reflected in the blue waves.

She rose and entered the rear hall. Her confidant, Jin Niang, thought she was going to change clothes and hurriedly followed to serve. When they reached the hall, Jin Niang heard her say, "After drinking two glasses of wine, my face is hot. Why don't we go out for a walk?"

The spring light was perfect, coinciding with the Shangsi Festival on the third day of March. The palace sang and danced by the water and set up swings with colorful ropes. The old hands in the palace were fine, but those palace maids who had just entered and were still young had no patience. They had already formed groups of three or five and started swinging. Across the powder wall, one could faintly hear laughter from within, as well as the golden bells tied to the swings, making a jingling sound as they rose and fell—very pleasant.

Lady Xiao, supported by Jin Niang, slowly passed through the temples in that area, then along the path between the flower terraces on the bank, bypassing the stacked rockeries, and passing pavilions and palaces such as Fuli Terrace, Jingsi Hall, and Ziyu Pavilion in turn. This place was already close to the Imperial Horse Prison. On the side of the canal were stacked high haystacks neatly bundled like walls—all forage for the imperial horses. Further on was outside the palace wall, so it was very secluded.

For Shangsi purification, the old customs in the palace included many entertainments such as banquets, singing, and grass fighting. Those palace maids and eunuchs didn't know where they had hidden to play. Here it was quiet. The canal water flowed out of the palace wall, and beside the canal, in front of the haystack, a pear tree bloomed as white as snow, attracting countless bees and butterflies lingering among the flowers. A gust of wind passed, and pear blossoms were blown into the water, flowing silently along with the current outside the palace wall.

For a while, the spring day was silent, only spider silk occasionally flashing in the sunlight.

Lady Xiao composed herself. "It's very good here. Take out the kite and fly it."

Jin Niang understood and took out a kite from her sleeve. The kite was very exquisitely made, its bamboo skeleton folded together like several bamboo chopsticks stacked together. When opened, it became a very large skeleton, and when the kite surface made of thin silk was stretched out, it formed a brilliant phoenix.

Jin Niang slowly released the kite into the sky on the east wind. The kite rose with the wind, and in a moment flew extremely high. From a distance, it looked like a colorful phoenix soaring in the sky. The wind blew through the bamboo whistle tied under the kite, making a clear cry like a phoenix—very melodious and moving.

While Jin Niang flew the kite, Lady Xiao saw that the pear blossoms were snow-white and lovely. Admiring them, she noticed several clumps of reeds growing beside the canal under the pear blossom tree. She broke off a reed leaf, folded it, and passed the tip of the leaf through the tail stalk, placing it in the canal water like a small boat. Swaying, floating on the canal water, it also flowed out of the palace wall along the canal.

Finding this interesting, Lady Xiao folded another reed boat. This time she ordered Jin Niang to take out the snail ink she had brought with her and wrote a poem on the folded reed boat: "Hit the yellow warbler, don't teach the branches to cry. When I cry, I wake from my dreams, unable to reach Liaoxi."

After writing, she placed the reed leaf boat with the poem written on it in the canal water again and watched the boat sway leisurely, flowing out of the palace wall along the canal, then sighed.

She was in a daze when suddenly a person emerged from the slanted shadows beneath the palace wall not far away. The man was dressed in green clothes, as if he were a temple servant in the palace. He walked up to Lady Xiao, placed his hand on his forehead, bowed deeply and respectfully, then said, "This humble one has seen the crown princess."

Lady Xiao looked at this person calmly. She saw he was only in his thirties. Though he was a temple servant, his body was agile, and his tiger's mouth was calloused, as if he had come from the army. She nodded lightly. "It was you who delivered a letter to my palace and asked me to meet here?"

"It is by order of this humble one." The man still looked respectful and said in a low voice, "I am ranked Seventeen, and I took the liberty to make an appointment with my lady here precisely because there is important news about the crown prince that I want to tell my lady."

Lady Xiao pondered for a moment. "Is there a token?"

The man took out a letter from his robes. "This is a letter written by His Highness."

Lady Xiao signaled, and Jin Niang hurriedly stepped forward to take it, opened the letter, and handed it to Lady Xiao. Lady Xiao quickly read it at a glance—it bore Li Ni's flower seal and the commander's seal of "Generalissimo for the Counterinsurgency." The temple man said, "His Highness the Seventeenth welcomed the crown prince back to the camp safely and was overjoyed, so he tried every means to tell my lady the good news and join forces with my lady to kill the traitor Sun."

Lady Xiao smiled and nodded. "That's natural." Then she winked at Jin Niang, who took out a very delicate golden sachet from her sleeve and handed it to the temple servant. When the temple servant saw this item, he couldn't help but show a hint of joy. It turned out that this golden sachet was extremely exquisite, with a hollow outer layer but another mechanism in the middle. The semicircle inside was suspended on the mechanism—no matter how it was flipped, the spices inside would not spill out.

In the past, there was only one skilled craftsman in the palace who was good at making this item. Later this craftsman angered the late emperor for some reason and was blinded with tattoos, and this skill had been lost since then. Even the nobles in the palace rarely had this item. On this golden sachet, the character "Xiao" was cleverly embroidered with gold wire—clearly Lady Xiao's possession.

The temple man had just taken the sachet when suddenly a group of people emerged from behind the haystack. The leader was bedecked in pearls and jade, dressed luxuriously—it was Sun Jing's wife, Madam Yuan. The person supporting Madam Yuan was a noblewoman, and Lady Xiao also knew her to be Madam Yuan's sister-in-law, Yuan Xian's wife, Madam Liu.

Madam Yuan was menacing, pointing at Lady Xiao and sneering, "Seize this shameless woman!"

The attendants rushed up and grabbed Lady Xiao's arms. Jin Niang couldn't stop them, and someone even snatched the letter from her hand. The temple man remained silent, bowed to Madam Yuan, and presented the golden sachet with both hands. Madam Yuan sneered, "You are in contact with foreign enemies and colluded with the traitor Li Ni. What else is there to say now?"

It turned out that this temple servant had been secretly arranged by Madam Yuan, who had specially sent an anonymous letter to meet Lady Xiao here using cryptic language. Lady Xiao had really come to the appointment, not only reading the forged "Li Ni's letter" but also giving a golden sachet as a token. Madam Yuan was overjoyed and hurriedly appeared with Madam Liu and her people to catch Lady Xiao on the spot.

Lady Xiao looked at Jin Niang who was restrained, then at the "Li Ni's letter" and the golden sachet, and couldn't help but sigh. Seeing her like this, Madam Yuan thought she was utterly defeated and frustrated. She couldn't help but feel proud. Madam Liu hurriedly said, "The night is long and dreams are many, Madam. It's better to act quickly."

Some attendants had already brought white silk—they were planning to strangle Lady Xiao.

Seeing the white silk, Madam Yuan hesitated again, thinking that it had been easy to catch the ironclad evidence of this shameless woman colluding with Li Ni. If she went to Sun Jing to expose it in person, letting him know this fox charmer's true face, seeing him regret what he shouldn't have done—that would be satisfying. Seeing her hesitation, Madam Liu whispered again, "Madam, take advantage of the fact that the Grand Governor is out of the palace today and finish it quickly. If she was really given the opportunity to see the Grand Governor, who knows if she would deceive him with rhetoric. By then, it would be too late to regret it."

Hearing her say this, Madam Yuan wished she could bite through her silver teeth, thinking that the old fool would indeed be dizzy from this vixen's words—maybe she really could escape punishment. Better to strangle her first to relieve the hatred in her heart. She nodded at the moment.

Several palace eunuchs stepped forward and put the white silk around Lady Xiao's neck. Two more people each grabbed one end of the white silk and were about to strangle her on the spot. Seeing this, Jin Niang struggled hard, calling out "My lady!" and was so anxious that tears flowed, but she was pressed to the ground by several people—where could she break free?

At this moment, someone suddenly shouted, "Stop!" This sound was like thunder, exploding in everyone's ears. Madam Yuan and Madam Liu were even more shocked. Then someone strode over, tall and wearing narrow sleeves—it was Sun Jing.

When Madam Yuan saw him arriving in a hurry, she couldn't help but feel angry and jealous, shouting sharply, "Do you still want to protect this vixen now?" Seeing her gaffe, Madam Liu hurriedly stepped forward, whispered softly, told the whole story, and then said, "Grand Governor, now that both human and material evidence are complete, this Lady Xiao really wants to collude with Li Ni."

Sun Jing said coldly, "Aren't you just angry that Lady Xiao advised me not to exchange King Liang for Yuan Xian, so you hate Lady Xiao?"

It turned out that a few days ago, Tao Zan had followed Sun Jing's order to lure Li Jun and Li Lao to cross the river, then trapped them in Xingyang. They were about to capture these two alive in exchange for Yuan Xian when, unexpectedly, Li Ni led troops down the river in a surprise attack of thousands of miles, defeating Tao Zan utterly, and Li Jun and Li Lao were also rescued by Li Ni. Sun Jing had not expected that Li Ni was so capable—traveling thousands of miles with an army and beating Tao Zan without defeat—so he immediately sent someone to Li Ni's camp to threaten Li Ni with King Liang's life.

Unexpectedly, Li Ni replied, "I am not the eldest son. If I kill my father, I will call upon the emperor to thank him." It just wasn't like Han Gaozu who openly said "share my piece of the pie."

Sun Jing immediately threw this reply to King Liang. When Li Qiao, King of Liang, saw such a reply, he was only frightened to cry bitterly, crying until he fainted, but it was useless. A few days later, Li Ni openly sent envoys to the capital, saying that after thinking it over again and again, as a son he should not be unfilial, and was willing to exchange Yuan Xian for King Liang. Sun Jing knew this was sowing discord and of course ignored it. Lady Xiao also comforted him in every possible way, saying, "That scoundrel boy—the Grand Governor must not be fooled by him. Yuan Xian is a talented man. He must not be exchanged for King Liang."

Yuan Xian's wife, Madam Liu, was worried when she learned of this. She begged Lady Yuan of Wei several times to intercede before Sun Jing, wanting to exchange Li Zhen, King of Liang, for her husband. Sun Jing had lost Jianghuai and was full of troubles—how could he listen to Madam Yuan's absurd words? When she cried and pestered, he brushed his sleeves and left. He hadn't set foot in Changqiu Palace where Madam Yuan lived for a long time.

Seeing that her husband was so ruthless, Madam Yuan believed he listened to Lady Xiao's bewitchment and even refused to save her own brother. She cried before Madam Liu, "It's really that I'm incompetent. The old fool only listens to that shameless Lady Xiao's words. What should I do?"

Madam Liu was originally a scheming woman, not to mention being from the Yuan family of Chen County—always somewhat impatient. She immediately gave Madam Yuan an idea to have people pretend to be Li Ni's agents and contact the Xiao family. If they could induce Lady Xiao to take the bait, then take the evidence of Lady Xiao colluding with Li Ni and the news—it would be impossible to refute, and they could cut the grass and remove the roots once and for all.

When Madam Yuan heard this plan, she couldn't help but be overjoyed. She patted Madam Liu's back and said, "Good sister-in-law, you are indeed a smart person. No wonder your father had to go to Hedong in person to beg for you for Xian'er."

The two women then discussed secretly again and again, made proper arrangements, and specially chose days when Sun Jing left the palace. They sent someone to pretend to be an agent and make an appointment with the Xiao family. Lady Xiao had really been deceived—not only coming to the appointment today but also handing over the golden sachet as a token. They just didn't expect that Lady Xiao was about to be strangled when Sun Jing suddenly returned to the palace, stopped everyone, and questioned Madam Liu like this.

When Madam Liu heard him say this, her eyes turned red. Seeing this, Madam Yuan sneered, "What do you mean by this? It turns out you're indiscriminate and must protect this shameless woman?"

Madam Liu knelt on the ground again and cried, "I dare not ask the Grand Governor to save my husband for personal gain, but now that Lady Xiao is colluding with Li Ni, how can the Grand Governor protect her for personal gain? Since the Grand Governor's uprising, the Yuan family of Chen County has exhausted all their possessions. Does the Grand Governor have the heart to deceive them with this?"

Sun Jing sneered and threw something from his sleeve—it was the cryptic letter planned and forged by Madam Liu to be sent to Lady Xiao's palace. It turned out that when Lady Xiao saw this letter, she did not hesitate but handed it to Sun Jing, saying, "I am in an embarrassing situation. I think Li Ni may have the intention to tempt me, but I don't know if it's true or false. I'm willing to be used as bait to lure him out."

He deliberately pretended to have business outside the palace. She came to this secluded place to keep the appointment as stated in the letter, releasing a kite as a message. In fact, Sun Jing had already taken people to hide in a quiet place, waiting for her to lure out the agents sent by Li Ni so he could catch and interrogate them.

Sun Jing had taken great pains to arrange manpower and personally waited here for the rabbit, but he didn't expect it wasn't Li Ni's agents at all, but a trap set by Madam Yuan and Madam Liu.

When Madam Liu heard Sun Jing explain this reason, it was like being struck by five thunderbolts. Her body couldn't help but soften—fortunately, the maid behind her supported her. But Sun Jing was furious and ordered someone to expel Madam Liu from the palace immediately. From then on, Madam Liu was not allowed to enter the palace privately. As for Madam Yuan, she was ashamed and angry, weeping with Sun Jing. Sun Jing didn't care. He just waved his sleeves and ordered someone to send her back to Changqiu Palace, ordering her eldest son Yuanlang to be taken from her palace so she could reflect behind closed doors without seeing her son.

He said hatefully, "I'm afraid Yuanlang will be taught badly by such stupid things you do."

Seeing that her sister-in-law was being expelled, her son was going to be taken from her palace, and Sun Jing was scolding her as a "stupid thing" in front of Lady Xiao, Madam Yuan was furious and attacked in rage. She rushed at Sun Jing, shouting, "I'll fight you, old fool!"

The attendants didn't dare let her actually hit Sun Jing and hurriedly stepped forward to restrain her, coaxing and persuading, insisting on taking her away. All along the way, they could hear her crying and scolding.

In this chaotic farce, Lady Xiao stood to one side watching coldly without half a word. When Madam Liu and Madam Yuan were all taken away, Sun Jing stepped forward and personally untied the white silk wrapped around her neck. He sighed, wanting to say something, but felt full of grievances with nothing to tell the person before him.

Lady Xiao smiled slightly, held his hand, and persuaded him softly, "Grand Governor, Madam Yuan is your wife, and she has such a good child as Yuanlang. She's from the Yuan family of Chen County. Don't attack her easily—save her some face. As for Madam Liu, today's punishment is enough. The women in the back house have shallow knowledge and personal selfishness. They're not worthy of being argued with, let alone getting angry over."

Sun Jing held her hand in return and sighed again, thinking that you are also a woman of the back house—why are you as gentle and lovely as an understanding flower, while Madam Yuan can't match even half of you? But this wasn't suitable to say, so he only took Lady Xiao's hand, dividing the flowers and willows, and returned with a smile.

---

In this great fuss, although Sun Jing ordered people to act quietly and block the news to prevent it from spreading, Madam Liu was sent back to the Yuan mansion, losing face. This frightened Old Madam Zheng Guogong, Yuan Xian's mother, who trembled with authority and personally entered the palace to apologize, only crying that she had failed to teach her son properly and no longer dared to delay Sun Jing's military and state affairs with Yuan Xian's life.

Since she entered the palace to apologize, Sun Jing naturally wanted to give this mother-in-law some face. He immediately lifted Madam Yuan's ban but still didn't send Yuanlang back to Changqiu Palace. Although Madam Yuan was unwilling, she had to swallow her anger after learning a lesson from her mother, thinking that she had suffered such a great loss from Lady Xiao's design this time. She only hated it so much her silver teeth ached.

A few days later, it coincided with the sixtieth birthday of Old Madam Zheng Guogong. The old lady borrowed the occasion of her birthday to specially set up a private banquet in the mansion and invited Sun Jing and his wife to the feast, also deliberately winning over her daughter and son-in-law.

Madam Liu endured shame and humiliation but served her mother-in-law and arranged this banquet. The old lady sighed, "You have less experience. People say you're the noble son-in-law. Now Ah Jing is not only a noble son-in-law—though he's your brother-in-law, he's also the lord that our Yuan family should serve respectfully. So being scolded a few words by him, because he's family, isn't shameful for you. You haven't seen Lady Xiao when she was crown princess—the late emperor's Imperial Consort Wu was favored and almost wanted to change the crown prince, but the crown princess said nothing, and there was much discussion between the government and opposition. When Ah Jing rose up, she gave up her face again, so that Ah Jing was willing to regard her as a treasure and linger with her every day."

Madam Liu readily agreed, "Mother-in-law, I truly know I was wrong."

The old lady sighed, "It's not that I rely on being old and selling old. You people still have less knowledge. Don't do such tricky things in the future."

As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking, a servant came in to report that Sun Jing and his wife, with their son—also the old lady's grandson Yuanlang—had already arrived outside the door. Madam Liu hurriedly ordered the middle gate to be opened, and the old lady rose, holding onto her cane and trembling to greet the general out.

Sun Jing gave his mother-in-law enough face, personally helping her to take her seat, and had court dances performed to celebrate her birthday, ordering people to present countless rare treasures as birthday gifts for the old lady. Seeing her husband like this, Madam Yuan immediately turned her anger to joy. She sat in the guest seat holding her son Yuanlang, only feeling satisfied, and only hated that her mother couldn't celebrate her birthday every day so she could have such glory.

For a while, the banquet was opened with tortoiseshell dishes, mattresses were set up with hibiscus patterns, and the children and grandchildren of the whole family surrounded the old lady. All kinds of birthday gifts were stacked like mountains, splendid all over the place. There were silk and bamboo music clubs, singing and dancing troupes, poetry juggling, and more—prosperous and rich, a first-class liveliness.

The old lady wanted to use this birthday banquet to win over her daughter and son-in-law to reconcile as before, and Sun Jing also used this birthday banquet to win over the Yuan family of Chen County. While everyone was laughing and chatting, a report suddenly came from outside the door, saying that the Seventeenth Grandson Li Ni had specially sent someone to deliver a birthday gift.

Hearing this, Sun Jing's face suddenly changed drastically. The old lady didn't seem to hear clearly and was still confused. He said sternly, "Fork them out!"

The orchestra in the courtyard was urgently playing strings, playing to a critical point when he suddenly shouted so loudly. The silk strings of the band stagnated, then stopped in panic. Someone at the banquet was joking with those around them and suddenly found the surroundings instantly quiet. They couldn't help but stop halfway through what they were saying. The courtyard was suddenly so quiet one could hear a pin drop. The Yuan family still didn't know what was happening, and many people were looking around in a daze.

The old lady finally understood the report. After a while, she suddenly stood up trembling. "Since it was the Li thief who sent the gift, this old woman is not afraid. Present it!"

Sun Jing's face was ashen, and he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Mother-in-law!" He waved his hand to stop it.

Madam Liu already felt something was wrong, but Madam Yuan was still completely unaware, only knowing that Sun Jing was losing his temper. She still held her son Yuanlang, turned her head with a blank face, and asked the servants beside her, "Who said there was a gift?"

Sun Jing's face was gray, and he didn't say a word. The servants of the Yuan family saw the old lady speaking and didn't dare delay. They immediately held a box and presented it to the table in front of the old lady. The table was originally full of fine wine and food, but these were immediately removed to make room for the box.

The old lady reached out, her fingers trembling slightly, about to open the box. Sun Jing called "Mother-in-law" again, took a step forward wanting to stop it, but the old lady seemed to have made up her mind. Her fingers forced, and she had already opened the box. After just one look, she fell backward. Everyone at the table was in an uproar, and servants rushed to support the old lady. It turned out that Yuan Xian's head was in the box, preserved with lime as if it were alive.

When Madam Yuan saw this thing, her eyes rolled in fright and she fell backward, even taking the chair with her. With a "gurgling" sound, she fell to the ground, and there was sudden chaos in the courtyard. Sun Jing's forehead burst with veins, knowing that Li Ni's move was specifically to kill the heart.

The old lady was so shocked, her blood surged, and being old, she couldn't make it through that night. Medicine was useless. Madam Yuan cried to death, and Madam Liu also cried until she couldn't take care of herself. Before the old lady died, she only looked at Sun Jing. Sun Jing had no choice but to step forward. In front of the Yuan family in the room, he said loudly, "Mother-in-law, Ah Xian died for me. I will exhaust this life to treat the Yuan family well. No matter where I occupy, I will take Yuanlang as my heir. When Yuanlang grows up, he will take his cousin and marry the daughter of the Yuan family."

The old lady waited until he finished saying these words before she died with her eyes closed.

Up and down the Yuan Mansion, the birthday banquet turned into a funeral—or two funerals. The whole house cried, not to mention the proceedings.

---

It was said that Madam Yuan cried and fainted several times. When she woke up, she gritted her teeth and insisted on killing Li Qiao, King of Liang, to avenge her brother and mother. Sun Jing was willing to agree, but it was Madam Liu who wiped her tears and stepped forward, persuading Madam Yuan in a soft voice, and said to Sun Jing, "Grand Governor, now we must not ruin the Grand Governor's great affairs for our Yuan family's own personal grudge. But my mother was angered by Li Ni today, and it's necessary for the father of that thief Li, wearing hemp and mourning, to kneel before my mother's spirit to repent and atone for his sins."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone in the hall was indignant, all saying yes. Sun Jing also knew he would have to appease Madam Yuan today, so he immediately sent someone to the palace prison to extract King Liang.

It was said that King Liang Li Qiao ate three steamed buns for dinner. It was said that because Madam Yuan celebrated her birthday today, Lady Yuan of Wei specially ordered the palace people to give life cakes and other things to cultivate virtue and accumulate blessings for her mother, and also gave a full meal to all the sinners in prison. It was rare to have such fine meat in prison. King Liang hadn't seen meat for a long time—it was inevitable he would gobble it up. Eating in a hurry, when he finished eating and drank half a bowl of cold water, he felt chest tightness and shortness of breath, very uncomfortable. He was weak and sick all year round. He used to have his own good doctors to carefully recuperate. Since Sun Jing's rebellion, he was imprisoned in this prison that didn't see daylight. He couldn't take care of hunger and fullness every day—where could he take care of anything else?

He waited for a moment, only to feel unbearably short of breath, his heartbeat almost bursting from the chamber, his limbs cold, his eyes black. At this time, suddenly several fierce and vicious strong men broke into the prison. As soon as they saw him, they were like eagles catching chicks, wrapping him in plain hemp robes and putting mourning clothes and various things on him.

He trembled, but the jailer at the head shouted, "Your son Li Ni killed the Duke of Zheng. He angered the old lady of the Duke of Zheng to death. You go to the old lady's spirit and honestly kneel down to repent and atone for your sins!"

King Liang only listened to the first half of the sentence and was already frightened. Then hearing that the old lady of the Duke of Zheng had died in anger—who was Sun Jing's mother-in-law—he was afraid that Sun Jing would humiliate him and cut him a thousand times. He was already unwell with chest tightness and shortness of breath, his whole body trembling. He fainted in fright.

It was said that although Madam Yuan listened to Madam Liu's persuasion, she was anxious, crying, thinking about it again, crying again, thinking that before her mother died, she still couldn't rest assured and wanted to plan for herself, forcing Sun Jing to make a statement to take Yuanlang as his heir. Pitying parents' hearts throughout the world. She cried for a long time when suddenly a servant reported that King Liang had been brought in.

She immediately stopped crying, got up and went out to the mourning hall, only to see four jailers carrying King Liang in. It turned out that King Liang was so frightened he had more air intake than breathing out, dying, looking like he couldn't make it. The jailer had no choice but to carry him to the front of the Yuan Mansion mourning hall.

Seeing this situation, Madam Liu hated it so much her eyes almost bled. But Sun Jing also ordered someone to call a good doctor so that King Liang wouldn't die. Madam Yuan had a rough temperament. When she saw an enemy like King Liang, where could she bear it? Hearing that Sun Jing was going to ask for a good doctor, she immediately pounced and strangled King Liang's neck, scolding him again and again for pretending to be dead, saying today she would strangle him to death to see if he was still pretending.

Madam Liu hurriedly stepped forward to grab Madam Yuan, but who knew King Liang was already dying. Being pinched by Madam Yuan like this, he suddenly didn't struggle at all and immediately died. Madam Liu was shocked. Sun Jing had been in the army for a long time. He personally stepped forward to test King Liang's neck pulse, knowing he was indeed dead. He immediately put on a calm face and ordered someone to block the news.

Madam Yuan also ordered humiliating King Liang's body. Sun Jing waved his hand and slapped her across the face, saying, "Have you made enough trouble?" He pointed to her nose and scolded, "If it weren't for Yuan Xian's foolishness, Luoyang would be as solid as gold. How could Fu Yuan'er die! Let my general die in vain—Yuan Xian deserved to lose his head! Today, your brother died and my mother died. I originally endured it again and again, but you actually strangled Li Ni's father and ruined my great plan! Stupid as this!"

When he said she was stupid, he was almost furious.

Madam Yuan was stunned by him. She covered her hot cheeks, and after a while burst into tears. Seeing that things were really not good, Madam Liu hurriedly stepped forward to comfort her and ordered servants to send Madam Yuan to the back hall to rest. She went out for a while, then came back and reported to Sun Jing seriously, "Grand Governor, I have just counted. There are a total of twenty-six servants serving in the mourning hall, all household slaves with deeds of sale. The roster is presented here. If the Grand Governor is not at ease, afraid of leaking the news, he can kill them all."

Since she learned that her husband died and her mother-in-law died suddenly, she knew that this house would have to be supported by herself. She only gave birth to two daughters, still young. Fortunately, Yuan Xian's concubine gave birth to a son, only two years old. When the time came, she would remove the mother and keep the son, bringing him to raise under her knees. What's more, before her mother-in-law died, she forced Sun Jing to promise to take Yuanlang as his heir and have Yuanlang marry into the Yuan family in the future. She could marry her daughter to Yuanlang in the future—this was something she had figured out in an instant.

Now that Lady Yuan of Wei had strangled King Liang again, Sun Jing originally had some guilt toward Madam Yuan, but at this moment it had probably offset quite a bit. She actually felt that Sun Jing was right in scolding—her sister was indeed stupid. Yuan Xian was dead, her mother-in-law was also dead. What was the benefit of killing King Liang at this moment? Two lives were exchanged for Sun Jing's promise to keep the Yuan family's wealth forever, but she almost ruined it all. For now, the only way was to block the news and prevent the outside world from knowing that King Liang was dead. Therefore, she just went out to find out how many servants there were in the hall, so she could prepare to kill and silence them.

Sun Jing couldn't help but sigh when he heard this, thinking there was still someone who understood.

He said, "Since they are household slaves, then reward them with whole corpses." After a pause, he looked at King Liang's corpse on the ground, frowned and said, "Carry him out among the corpses of the household slaves, then burn it all. Don't show half a flaw."

Madam Liu nodded.

After the death of the old lady of the Duke of Zheng, twenty-six servants were martyred—their loyalty and righteousness were amazing. It's just that in the second half of the night, twenty-seven coffins were carried out from the Yuan house. Twenty-six coffins were carried to Tielian Temple outside the city to temporarily stop the spirit. After forty-nine days, when the old lady was buried, they would be buried in the cemetery. The twenty-seventh coffin was sent by Sun Jing, pretending to be a servant of the Yuan family, and quietly carried to a secluded place outside the city where it was burned.

It was said that after the twenty-six coffins were sent to Tielian Temple, the servants who sent the coffins returned to the house. In the dead of night, several people suddenly sneaked into the temple, opened a coffin, carried the body out of it, replaced it with another corpse, then closed the coffin lid again.

These people carried the body out of the temple for about a mile, where a mule cart was parked. They put the body on the mule cart, drove at high speed, and at dawn arrived at the side of the Wei River. They changed to boats and raised the sails. In just a few hours, they entered the Jing River from the Wei River, traveling thousands of miles a day, going downstream as fast as flying swans.

However, a day and a night later, the ship had arrived in Jiazhou. Li Ni and others had long been waiting on the dock. At this time, everyone on the boat carefully carried King Liang down on a soft bed, only to see that he had died early. His body was stiff, as if he had been dead for a long time. Li Ni personally took the soft couch and sent it to the Jiazhou County Governor's Mansion, which was used as barracks. It had long been properly arranged. They immediately moved King Liang to the bed and covered him with a quilt.

Li Ni personally stayed in front of the bed until midnight, when King Liang woke up leisurely. King Liang opened his eyes, only to feel that his vision was blurred, he was in a trance, his breath unstable. After a while, he saw the blue tent roof, thinking—was this the underworld?

Li Ni had already noticed, immediately stepped forward, helped King Liang up, and called out, "Father..."

When King Liang saw him, his eyebrows were vaguely recognizable. When he looked closely, it was Li Ni! His father and son had not seen each other for many years. Under such circumstances, suddenly meeting, King Liang thought he was in the underworld. He couldn't help but feel angry, waved his hand and slapped him, scolding, "Good, you little scoundrel! It's not enough for you to die yourself—you have to kill me too!"

Li Ni was slapped like this, stunned, but smiled bitterly. King Liang gasped and scolded, "I know you will kill me sooner or later. You won't let me go even in the underworld! You killed your mother, and you still have to kill me! How could I give birth to such a rebellious son as you? It is truly a calamity in my life!"

Li Ni heard his voice gradually louder, knowing he was in good health, so he said, "Father, you are not dead. It was my idea to have someone give you medicine, pretending to be dead to rescue you from Sun Jing. You just woke up. I will call a doctor to check your pulse. This medicine is slightly toxic to stop the heart's pulse. I'm afraid you will have to recuperate."

Hearing his words, King Liang became even more angry and cursed, "It was you who wrote to Sun Jing saying that I am not the legitimate eldest son. If I kill my father, I will call upon the emperor to thank him. Why didn't you just say you wanted to share a piece of me!" Thinking of this, the more he thought about it, the more angry he became. He only hated that Li Ni had grown tall. Although he was half-kneeling in front of his bed at this moment, his skin was rough and thick. Beating him made his hands hurt.

King Liang gasped and scolded, couldn't help it, and kicked Li Ni again. Li Ni got up with this kick and went out to find a doctor. King Liang scolded for a long time and couldn't breathe for a while, so he had to lie on the pillow. When the doctor came in to take his pulse and prescribed a prescription to let him rest, King Liang cherished his life, so he stopped his attack.

By the next day, King Liang had returned to normal. Li Ni invited his two brothers. Li Jun and Li Lao had originally heard that he rescued their father but didn't believe it in every way. But when they saw it with their own eyes, they were surprised and happy, as if in a dream. The father and sons hugged their heads and cried, telling each other about their parting. Li Jun was the eldest son and had always been relied upon by King Liang. Li Lao had his favoritism. At that moment, King Liang hugged his two sons, crying for a while. Li Jun and Li Lao also knelt in front of the bed, each hugging King Liang's knees, crying in a mess, saying that when they thought they could never see their father again, they only suspected they were in a dream. They said that when their father was trapped in the capital, how worried they were, only wishing they could replace him. They cried until King Liang was heartbroken, and he praised their filial piety again and again. However, he ignored Li Ni, who stood next to them for a while, saw that they were crying endlessly and was very bored, so he turned around and went out.

When Li Ni returned to the yard where he lived, he studied ink, picked up a pen to write a letter. Just after writing it, he called Xie Chang'er and asked him to send the letter. Pei Yuan happened to walk in. Seeing this situation, he said, "Writing to Captain He again?"

"The medicine of fake death is very precious. I only heard that the Cui family has this secret medicine. I wrote to ask her for it, but I didn't expect she actually sent someone to deliver the medicine, so that I could successfully rescue my father." Li Ni said. "Shouldn't I thank someone for the friendship of giving medicine?"

Pei Yuan couldn't help but be speechless. At first, when he learned that Li Ni had come up with such a plan, Pei Yuan was very opposed, feeling it was too risky, especially the method of fake death. They had to rely on the Cui family's secret medicine. What if the captain didn't give it? Or what if she manipulated that medicine with poison? Wouldn't that be too late to regret?

Li Ni said, "I wrote to her that I wanted to use this medicine to fake my death to deceive the enemy. At most she wouldn't give it to me. She wouldn't give me poison."

Pei Yuan was so angry he couldn't speak. He really didn't understand why Li Ni dared to mess around like this, and when Captain He heard that he wanted such secret medicine, she immediately sent someone to deliver it, just messing around with him.

According to Pei Yuan, no matter what, they had to try that medicine beforehand. But he didn't know if it was because this medicine was too precious, or if Captain He was very narrow-minded—she actually sent only one dose. Pei Yuan was depressed, didn't dare try it, and didn't dare not try it. He was very unwilling but also unwilling to stop Li Ni. Finally, following Li Ni's arrangements, he arranged manpower in Western Chang'an, cooperating with Lady Xiao in the deep palace, using various methods. They made this overall plan of stealing the day, and finally rescued King Liang.

This time was thrilling, and there were indeed all kinds of surprises in the middle. For example, the original plan was to make King Liang fake his death in the palace prison and replace him there. Who knew King Liang went straight to the Yuan Mansion before the medicine had completely taken effect? Fortunately, Sun Jing witnessed him die and didn't suspect anything. Fortunately, the Yuan Mansion already had confidants—dead soldiers buried by the former crown princess Lady Xiao. This time they made a lot of effort to switch the package. It's just that with all kinds of thrills, there might have been a mistake in any ring, and the whole situation would have collapsed. But Li Ni was confident. His father was trapped in the capital. Since he led troops, Sun Jing frequently threatened his father's life. One day in the future, he was afraid Sun Jing would harm his father's life. Instead of sitting still, it was better to take risks.

This risk-taking was really like walking on spider silk, truly making people break out in cold sweat. But unexpectedly it succeeded in the end. The secret medicine sent by Captain He turned out to be genuine. King Liang woke up, safe and sound. As long as he recuperated, he could be like an ordinary person.

Speaking of which, in the backyard, after King Liang and his sons hugged their heads and cried, Li Lao wiped away his tears and suddenly remembered something. He said, "Father, Li Ni is so majestic now. He even proclaimed himself Generalissimo for the Counterinsurgency, commanding one hundred thousand Zhenxi Army. Even Pei Yuan is very respectful in front of him." He had been trapped in Xingyang and rescued by Li Ni. His biological mother was humble and very annoying in the house. Li Ni had always been looked down upon by him, but he was almost killed by Tao Zan. He and his brother relied on Li Ni to save them, losing face greatly. Every time he thought of this, he hated it. But Li Ni had a heavy army in his hands, and he had no choice. He only mentioned it when he saw King Liang this time. He was already somewhat clever and didn't mention himself. He only said, "Elder brother is the heir. It stands to reason that this Generalissimo should be elder brother. But when Li Ni saw elder brother, he was very rude and laughed at him for not being able to beat Tao Zan."

In fact, Li Ni never laughed at Li Jun at all. But Li Jun was also very uncomfortable when he thought of Li Ni, because after rescuing them, Li Ni placed them in lower rooms. Because Li Ni himself lived in lower rooms, Li Jun endured it. But Li Ni and Pei Yuan each had a room, while Li Jun needed to share a room with Li Lao. The house was very small and leaked when it rained. Li Jun decided that Li Ni was taking personal revenge because when they were in the palace, he was not very good to him. But the son born to a slave girl, born on the fifth day of May—the most ominous—when he was born and not thrown into the toilet and drowned, that was already their father's mercy. Why was he now so high and mighty, what kind of Generalissimo and military governor?

Every time he thought of this, his heart was sour. Obviously he was his father's eldest son, born to the wife, from a noble background. But now he actually had to submit to a boy born to a slave girl. He was honestly unconvinced.

Therefore, he nodded and said, "Father, yes, Li Ni did look good in war, but the title of Generalissimo for the Counterinsurgency is of great importance. Father, according to me, now that you are the only son of the late emperor, it's up to you to be the Generalissimo for the Counterinsurgency. Even Pei Xian should come see you quickly and serve you as the monarch."

King Liang waved his hand again and again. Pei Xian—he had heard about him—was the three masters of the National Dynasty. It was said that on the northwest border, when his name was mentioned, children didn't dare cry. What a fierce god he was! He didn't want to see such a killing god.

Li Jun chattered again, speaking of which he was dissatisfied with Li Ni and Pei Yuan. But Li Lao knew how to move King Liang better and said, "Father, you are not in good health and still need to recuperate. As the saying goes, fighting tiger brothers, father and son soldiers. Li Ni is too busy now. Father, why don't you order Li Ni to let me and elder brother go to the army to help him?"

Hearing this, King Liang said, "We all almost lost our lives. Now it's not easy to meet. Your father is reluctant to let you go to war. I heard that fighting is dangerous. Going into battle—that's no joke."

Li Jun winked at Li Lao, and Li Lao understood. So he said, "How can the commander fight in battle? It's Li Ni—when he fights, he will stay safe and secure behind. He will never go into battle himself."

This was opening his eyes and telling lies. Li Ni had personally risked arrows and rushed into Tao Zan's formation to rescue him and Li Jun. But they just pretended not to know.

Li Jun said, "Father, my brother and I also want to share the burden for Li Ni. We will never fight in battle, and there will never be any danger."

At the moment, they said some deceitful nonsense, saying they would practice and personally lead troops to protect King Liang in the future.

King Liang was pestered by them. These two sons had always been beloved by him, so he couldn't bear to be entangled by them and agreed immediately.

In the evening, King Liang took advantage of Li Ni's visit to the twilight province to mention this. But Li Ni was silent for a moment and said, "The two brothers are not suitable to lead troops."

King Liang didn't like him in the first place. Hearing this, he was immediately furious and kicked Li Ni again, kicking him out of the room.

Li Ni walked out of King Liang's house, patted the shoe prints on his legs, thinking that his father was the most confused. His ears were soft, and he was picked up by his two brothers as soon as he came. If this went on for a long time, there would be trouble. Better to tell them not to be on the front lines of the army, so as not to disturb the morale.

Therefore, after two more days, seeing that King Liang was recuperating as usual and even looked somewhat healthier than before, Li Ni said that he was going to fight with Sun Jing here. For safety's sake, he sent a team to escort King Liang along with Li Jun and Li Lao to Caizhou.

Pei Yuan's brother Pei Zhan was originally the governor of Caizhou and was now raising grain and supplies for the Zhenxi Army in Caizhou. Caizhou was a land of fish and rice, very fertile. Sun Jing had always been unable to reach it—very safe. When King Liang arrived in Caizhou, he saw that Pei Zhan had prepared a high-rise house for his father and sons, even a garden, with servants to serve them. It was much more comfortable than in Jiazhou, and he was happy to be free.

---

It was said that A'Ying sent Li Ni the fake death medicine and was suspended day and night. Taozi joked several times, saying, "The imperial grandson wants to fake his death to bluff—why didn't he bluff others but bluffed the captain first?" She also said, "According to me, he shouldn't be given the medicine of fake death. How precious that medicine is, how difficult it is to refine. It's truly a difficult thing to find. He wrote to ask for it, and you actually gave it to him, Captain. Tell me—even if you want to give it, you have to mix it with some coptis so he can suffer a lot."

A'Ying listened to what Taozi said, even saying she wanted to mix some coptis, but just smiled slightly and didn't answer. Only when Li Ni sent Xie Chang'er to deliver a secret letter did she breathe a sigh of relief. She didn't have time to read the letter and looked Xie Chang'er up and down. She saw he was dusty and worn from travel but in high spirits, so she asked, "Is Your Highness well?"

Xie Chang'er saluted with his hands clasped and said, "Thank you Captain for asking. Seventeenth Lord is very well."

She hesitated slightly, then asked, "Is His Highness King Liang well?"

Xie Chang'er hesitated for a moment. The rescue of King Liang was very confidential. Few people in the Zhenxi Army knew about it. But seeing her calm expression, Seventeenth Lord must have written to inform her long ago. So he said, "His Highness King Liang is also very well. Since he escaped danger, he has been healthier."

A'Ying nodded, knowing he had worked hard all the way. She ordered Taozi to accompany Xie Chang'er down to eat some food. Then she opened the letter casually. She saw Li Ni in the letter was polite throughout, finally making it clear to her that he had asked for the medicine of fake death originally to save his father King Liang. Now King Liang had escaped safely, so he was very grateful. The letter was full of words of thanks, but at the end, a few casual words were written, saying, "The moonlight was very good last night. I suddenly remembered that the clear pool of the Taiqing Palace was so good—also suitable for playing with the moon." Writing this, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, because a drop of ink dripped onto the letter. He had obviously stopped the pen here for a moment, then wrote "hope." After these two words, there seemed to be infinite unfinished meaning, but it also came to an abrupt end.

Seeing this, the corners of her lips curled slightly, thinking that this person was really—obviously talking on paper, wanting to say a couple of private words, but afraid she wouldn't understand. So he wrote the word "hope" again, insisting that she reply to him. How could this letter be replied to? It was truly narrow and naughty. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel slight warmth in her cheeks. When she looked up, she saw a tree of peach blossoms outside the window, blooming like clouds, reflecting a crimson in her eyes. This was the time when spring was bright and at its peak.

Xie Chang'er rode a fast horse and ran hundreds of miles to bring back her reply. When Li Ni opened it and looked, he saw she was also polite in the letter, saying that she guessed that if the imperial grandson asked for such medicine, it would be of great use. Now that he had rescued King Liang, congratulations to Your Highness that his worries had been eliminated. At the end of the writing, she also had some casual words, saying, "The peach blossoms outside the window are scorching, but unfortunately I can't enjoy them together. Picking a few petals of flowers to give away." There were indeed a few peach blossom petals in the letter, but they had been dried by the wind for so many days on the way and had long been dried as thin as cicada wings. It's just that although the petals were dried, their color was crimson. He carefully held a piece in his hand, only to feel a faint fragrance at the tip of his nose. It turned out the petals were full of rouge. He suddenly understood, couldn't help but hold the petals, smiled for a moment, then carefully put those petals away one by one.

Since then, although the two were immersed in war, they occasionally sent letters by wild geese. But in their busy leisure, there were one or two casual words in the letters, telling each other their hearts.

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