Zhu Yu – Chapter 110

A pavilion built by the water caught breezes from all sides. The lush bamboo shadows filtered through the half-rolled fine bamboo blinds, casting patterns on the floor tiles inside. Specks of sunlight scattered between the flowing robes of the person engaged in a game of weiqi, making the brocade’s subtle patterns shimmer.

The cicadas’ cries were restless. On the lake surface covered with lotus leaves, a brocade carp would occasionally leap up, catching a petal of a blooming lotus in its mouth before plunging back into the water, stirring up countless ripples.

Xie Zheng’s long fingers, scarred with dark scabs, picked up a black stone and placed it on the board, instantly surrounding and capturing the opponent’s white stones.

Xie Zhong held a white stone, staring at the board for a long while. Unable to find a place to play, he finally chuckled in defeat, “The Marquis’s skill at Weiqi has improved again. I am no match.”

Sitting across from him, the man had not tied up his hair. Due to the unhealed whip marks and open sword wounds on his body, he wore only a light inner garment with a loose outer robe draped over it. His handsome face still bore traces of pallor from illness. Feeling an itch in his throat, he covered his mouth and coughed lightly twice before saying, “Practice makes perfect.”

With repeatedly splitting sword wounds and one hundred and eight lashes, Xie Zheng had to lie face down for three full days before he could get up.

When the physician came to treat his wounds, he kept shaking his head, saying repeatedly that there wasn’t a patch of intact skin left on Xie Zheng’s back. Any ordinary person would have died from the pain alone.

But Xie Zheng, perhaps due to years of battling on the battlefield, had developed a strong will. Apart from physical exhaustion, no matter how painful, he never lost consciousness.

When the physician used tweezers to carefully pull out bits of cloth deeply embedded in his wounds, Xie Zheng remained conscious. He didn’t make a sound throughout the process, but the cold sweat from enduring the pain had soaked through the bedding beneath him.

Before leaving, the physician said that with such severe injuries, Xie Zheng would likely need to lie face down for ten days to half a month before getting up. But he was able to get up on his own after only three days of recovery.

Xie Zhong thought he was in a hurry to return because of the news Gong Sun Yin had sent on the first day of his recovery – a eunuch from the palace had arrived in Kang City with rewards and an imperial edict. Gong Sun Yin had made an excuse that he was inspecting the border defenses, so the eunuch was waiting in Kang City.

He said, “Border inspections take several months at most, and at least a month. With Master Gong Sun temporarily placating the people from the palace, it wouldn’t be too late for the Marquis to return after his wounds have healed.”

Xie Zheng tossed the black stone in his hand back into the bowl, his phoenix eyes half-lowered, looking disinterested. He said, “This Marquis hasn’t taken the young Emperor’s edict seriously.”

Xie Zhong thought for a moment and asked, “Is it because of the changes in the Chong Prefecture situation?”

“With Long Xin Wang dead, breaking through Chong Prefecture is just a matter of time. But He Jing Yuan’s sudden severe injury and the court’s last-minute change of commander have likely demoralized the Ji Prefecture army, perhaps no better than the rebels within Chong City. This move, I’m not sure if it’s the young Emperor’s idea or Wei Yan’s.”

Xie Zheng asked in return, “Uncle Zhong, who do you think can take over the military power of Ji Prefecture for Wei Yan after He Jing Yuan steps down?”

Xie Zhong thought carefully and shook his head, “I’m afraid there’s no one. His son Wei Xuan is brave but lacks strategy. The military power of Ji and Chong Prefectures is a piece of fat meat that the Li and Wei factions must fight for. Wei Yan wouldn’t be foolish enough to send the impulsive and easily manipulated Wei Xuan to the Chong Prefecture battlefield. The Emperor promoted Tang Pei Yi as the chief commander. Although Tang Pei Yi was promoted by He Jing Yuan, he is a genuinely loyal minister. With the military power of Ji Prefecture in Tang Pei Yi’s hands, the Emperor should feel at ease.”

Xie Zheng said, “If Chong Prefecture falls, the military power of both Ji and Chong Prefectures will either fall to the Li faction or back into the young Emperor’s hands. If Wei Yan wants to prevent this piece of fat meat from being snatched away by others, he can only let the situation in Chong Prefecture continue to stalemate, slowly wearing them down. With Li Huai An still serving as the supervising official in Chong Prefecture, they can always find faults with the Li family.”

Xie Zhong was startled: “Does the Marquis mean that Wei Yan might deliberately create some mishap on the battlefield, as he has done before to you and He Jing Yuan, to incriminate the Li faction or Tang Pei Yi, and gradually regain control over the military power of Ji Prefecture?”

Xie Zheng shook his head: “Wei Yan won’t use the same trick a third time. Besides, if we can deduce Wei Yan’s method to break the deadlock, the strategists employed by the Li family aren’t eating for nothing. They should be able to anticipate this much. Yuan Wai is the eldest imperial grandson who escaped from the Eastern Palace fire, and he has now allied with the Li Grand Tutor’s faction. Chong Prefecture is already in the Li family’s pocket. To eliminate future troubles, they might even set a trap to deliberately lure Wei Yan in.”

Xie Zheng paused at this point, his gaze growing colder inch by inch: “To definitively incriminate Wei Yan, they must incite outrage among the officials and the common people. Uncle Zhong, what do you think could shock the world?”

After pondering for a while, Xie Zhong said in horror: “That could only be Wei Yan colluding with rebels and harming loyal subjects. To make this matter big enough, the number of deaths must be significant…”

Xie Zhong dared not continue and only said, “The Li Grand Tutor shouldn’t be so bold as to…”

Xie Zheng said, “If they were only fighting for power in the court, I wouldn’t mind handing over the military power of Ji and Chong Prefectures. But if they intend to use the lives of thousands of soldiers to fabricate a great historical case for seizing power, I might as well keep the military power in my own hands.”

“After all… sooner or later, I’ll have to clash with them anyway.”

Hearing this, Xie Zhong’s face showed a hint of faint satisfaction, “The Marquis understands righteousness deeply and doesn’t tarnish the Xie family’s reputation. If the General knew in the underworld, he would be proud of the Marquis.”

Xie Zheng didn’t respond, only sat back a little, his black hair scattered over his shoulders. In the dense shade of the green bamboo, he looked at the scenery outside the waterside pavilion and said, “If only Uncle Zhong had left the capital a bit later and taken me back to Huizhou after my mother’s passing.”

Without those ten-plus years of recognizing a traitor as his father, perhaps his heart would have felt a bit better.

Thinking of the past, Xie Zhong sighed with emotion: “After the General’s death, Madam was inconsolable and her temperament changed drastically. We originally wanted to stay in the capital to maintain the Xie family’s prestige for the General after his passing. However, in her grief, Madam often blamed us for not protecting the General well enough. Every time she saw us, she would cry so bitterly that she nearly fell seriously ill. That’s why the maid by Madam’s side advised us not to stay in the capital.”

Xie Zhong lowered his head and said bitterly, “For the sake of Madam’s health, we returned to Huizhou. Who knew that soon after, we would hear that Madam had taken her own life to follow the General and that the Marquis had been taken back to Wei Yan’s mansion to be raised? We servants, of course, had no right to question the master’s decisions, so we remained in the Xie family home in Huizhou.”

Xie Zheng’s back stiffened for a moment, and he asked, “It was my mother… who sent you back to Huizhou?”

Xie Zhong hurriedly said, “Don’t blame Madam. She was heartbroken and didn’t know that I had lost an arm and broken a leg at the time, and hadn’t gone to the Jinzhou battlefield with the General. That’s why she blamed me for not protecting the General. I felt guilty too, and fearing that staying in the capital would keep reminding Madam of her sorrow, I left voluntarily.”

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes, seeming to be thinking about something, and remained silent for a long time.

In the bamboo path outside the waterside pavilion, a young servant came hurrying along. He stopped outside the pavilion, bowed, and held up a letter, saying, “Marquis, a letter from Master Gong Sun.”

Xie Zhong limped out of the pavilion, took the letter, and brought it back to hand to Xie Zheng. After opening and reading it, a fierce anger suddenly rose in Xie Zheng’s cold phoenix eyes.

Extreme anger seemed to choke something in his chest, and he couldn’t help but cover his mouth and cough lowly. His quiet voice was filled with endless coldness: “Prepare the carriage. We’re returning to Kang City.”

After waiting for many days, the eunuch who had come to Kang City to read the imperial edict finally received news of Xie Zheng’s return. He immediately led a grand procession to announce the edict and bestow rewards.

Outside the city lord’s mansion where Xie Zheng was temporarily staying, he loudly proclaimed: “The imperial edict has arrived—”

The guard at the door glanced at him and did go in to report, but the imagined scene of a group of people trembling in fear and joy did not materialize.

Gong Sun Yin was known for his good temper, and whether intentionally or not, he was always willing to use flattering words to placate people. The group around Xie Zheng had taken after their master, and each of them was too lazy even to put on an act.

The eunuch stood outside the main gate for the time it took three incense sticks to burn before someone finally came out. It wasn’t Xie Zheng, but judging by the armor, it was only a personal guard.

The guard, showing no fear of the eunuch, said, “The Marquis suffered some minor injuries while suppressing bandits a few days ago and is not able to come to the gate to welcome you, sir. Please move to the front hall.”

The eunuch’s face immediately darkened.

The young eunuch beside him, never having experienced such cold treatment outside the palace, immediately pointed at the guard and shouted, “You…”

The eunuch stretched out a hand to stop the young eunuch. They were in Kang City, not in the palace, and he could still distinguish between benefits and drawbacks. He only looked at the guard with a fake smile and said, “The Marquis is worth his weight in gold, of course, he can’t risk any mishap. I’ll go to the front hall to read the edict. Please lead the way, young general.”

The guard didn’t give the eunuch any more attention and said, “Please follow me, sir.”

The eunuch and his entourage then entered the gate and headed towards the front hall.

The sun outside was scorching, but the layout of this front hall had been cleverly designed by the craftsmen. As soon as one entered, a cool breeze swept in, the sudden change from hot to cold making the eunuch’s heart inexplicably skip a beat.

He looked up towards the high seat and saw a young man in a black robe embroidered with dark gold and red patterns, sitting half-reclined against the couch back with poor posture. His face was like cold jade, his eyes like a chilly pond.

Sitting there without armor, he truly looked like a noble young master nurtured by a centuries-old family.

The eunuch steadied himself and called out loudly, “Wu An Marquis, receive the edict—”

The person sitting above didn’t move, and even the deputy generals standing on either side of the steps kept their eyes straight ahead.

The eunuch’s sense of unease grew stronger, but he didn’t dare offend Xie Zheng at this moment. He only put on a smile and said, “Marquis, please quickly receive the edict. These are all rewards from His Majesty for you. Once you receive this edict, this old servant can go back and report my task complete.”

Xie Zheng half-raised his phoenix eyes and finally spoke slowly: “If you don’t read this imperial edict, you can still say the edict wasn’t announced when you return to the capital. But if you read it and I don’t accept it, do you know what that means?”

The eunuch was frightened by Xie Zheng’s outrageous words. He pointed at him, both shocked and angry, and said, “Defying the imperial edict? Wu… Wu An Marquis, do you want to rebel too?”

As soon as these words were spoken, armored soldiers who had somehow gathered outside the door suddenly poured in, surrounding the eunuch and his entourage.

Seeing this situation, the eunuch’s legs went weak. His face, covered in powder, turned deathly pale. He shouted with false bravery, “Do you want to rebel?”

Xie Zheng drew the sword from the deputy general at his side and walked down from the high seat step by step. His black robe trailed on the steps, seeming to be weighed down by heavy bloodshed and resentment.

The eunuch’s legs gave way completely, and he collapsed to the ground.

Xie Zheng stopped three steps away from him, tapping the eunuch’s face lightly with the cold sword tip. His phoenix eyes were half-lowered, his tone lazy yet uncharacteristically good-natured:

“The Xie family has been loyal ministers to the Great Yin for a hundred years. My father died tragically on the Jinzhou battlefield seventeen years ago, earning the name of a lifelong hero. I don’t want to tarnish his reputation, so I’m still willing to be a good minister for now. Go back and deliver a message to the little Emperor.”

“If he’s tired of sitting on that throne, this Marquis doesn’t mind finding someone to replace him.”

“Seventeen years ago, Wei Yan could put him on the dragon throne. Today, this Marquis can also pull him down.”

The eunuch was greatly shocked. He pointed at Xie Zheng, trembling, and shouted in extreme anger and fear: “You… Xie family! Traitorous rebels!”

“Ah—”

The next moment, the eunuch’s scream echoed throughout the city lord’s mansion.

Xie Zheng had sliced off one of his ears with a single sword stroke.

The eunuch covered his ear with one hand, screaming continuously. Blood kept flowing from between his fingers, instantly staining a large patch of his sleeve red.

He looked at the bloody ear lying on the ground, wailing as if he was about to faint.

The young eunuch supporting him was shaking like a sieve, staring blankly at the ear on the ground, unaware of the foul smell coming from his crotch.

Xie Zheng tossed the sword to the personal guard who had come up, straightened up lazily, and looked with disgust at the room full of wailing people. His thin lips uttered a sentence: “Get lost and deliver the message.”

Only then did the eunuch, supported by the young eunuchs, crawl and stumble towards the door.

The personal guard watched the eunuch and his group’s retreating figures and said to Xie Zheng with some concern: “Marquis, aren’t you afraid that His Majesty…”

Xie Zheng also looked at the eunuch’s sorry figure, his gaze lazy yet ice-cold: “This Marquis indeed intends to depose the Emperor.”