Qingyang also hadn’t expected that this dog thief Han Qian would go to such great lengths to abduct her and escape from Shu, only to remain in Xuzhou observing mourning at this critical juncture.
Under the mourning observance system, three years of mourning—wouldn’t even the cucumbers and vegetables be completely cold by then?
Qingyang wished she could storm into the mourning hall, grab this dog thief Han Qian by the collar, pry open his skull, and see what he was actually thinking!
No matter how much Qingyang hated Han Qian in her heart, now that she could no longer return to Shu, she was clear in her heart that Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu’s rise and fall would directly determine her future fate.
If Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu was defeated and killed, she might be spared death due to her peerless beauty, but ultimately she would still become a plaything for men. She would no longer be the lofty Princess of Shu, nor would she be Princess Consort Tan above ten thousand people, let alone have any chance one day of becoming the Imperial Mother of Great Chu.
Could Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu maintain his current power and territory, or even go further to become the ultimate victor in Great Chu’s chaos?
In Qingyang’s mind, Han Qian was a sinister and ruthless type who excelled at risky schemes rather than open stratagems—inferior to his father Han Daoxun. But she also had to acknowledge that in the Jingxiang and princely削藩 campaigns, Han Qian’s achievements surpassed others around Yang Yuanpu.
At this time when both Liang and Chu had undergone earth-shaking upheavals with complex and urgent circumstances, people like Han Qian with quick wits who dared take risks were most needed to counsel Yang Yuanpu, to possibly seize more subtle and inconspicuous opportunities.
On the other hand, although Xuzhou was located in a corner, among the eight prefectures of Hunan it held a pivotal position.
If Xuzhou threw its full support behind Yang Yuanpu seizing the throne, Yang Yuanpu would gain an additional measure of victory.
Although she was already in Chu, whether her father would recognize her marriage to Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu and thereby support Yang Yuanpu’s struggle for the Chu throne was still unknown. Qingyang believed Han Qian could still play some role in this—at least her elder brother had considerable faith in Han Qian.
If news of Han Qian observing mourning and withdrawing from the world reached Shu, would her elder brother and Jing Qiongwen think Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu’s chances of victory were low, thereby abandoning efforts to gain their father’s agreement to support Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu?
She couldn’t let this dog thief truly observe mourning in Xuzhou for three years doing nothing!
Qingyang suppressed the resentment in her heart. After thinking through the stakes from all angles, she knew that no matter how one looked at it, Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu couldn’t do without Han Qian at this moment. If she truly went to Yueyang with Jiang Huo and Xue Ruogu without proper name or status to marry Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu, wouldn’t she be trampled underfoot by that little thief from the Marquis of Xinchang’s household for life?
But if this dog thief Han Qian didn’t come kowtow and confess his crimes to her, did she have to go persuade him to abandon mourning, prioritize national affairs, and prioritize Great Chu’s state and altars?
Thinking to this point, Qingyang felt her temples throbbing and twitching. The stifled anger in her chest couldn’t be smoothed out no matter what.
“Lord Han was perhaps truly grief-stricken over losing his father and eager to return home. I won’t hold any grudge against him either. You may all withdraw,” Qingyang said after a long while, finally swallowing the foul anger in her chest. She lazily dropped this sentence then first returned to her room to wash and rest briefly.
Jiang Huo and Xue Ruogu exchanged glances. They could both hear that Princess Qingyang’s attitude had softened. Not wanting to press too urgently, they first took their leave and returned to the eastern courtyard of the main residence.
Zhao Wuji, Guo Que, Feng Yi, Kong Xirong and others, exhausted from the journey, all went down to rest first.
Yang Zaili, Xiang Jianlong, Xi Xunqiao, and even Feng Zhang, Gao Bao and others, who couldn’t yet be counted among the most intimate direct faction, also temporarily left Longya City after seeing Han Qian.
Chen Jitang, Ji Xiyao, Zhao Qi, Lin Zongjing and others each had their own affairs in hand and couldn’t keep vigil before the mourning hall or stay by Han Qian’s side.
After Jiang Huo and Xue Ruogu saw Princess Qingyang and returned to the main residence’s eastern courtyard, only the most principal figures—Tian Cheng, Yang Qin, Gao Shao, Feng Liao, Xi Chang and others—remained, staring at each other wide-eyed.
“What did the princess say? Does she still resent my lord for inviting her to Great Chu?” Feng Liao cupped his hands toward Jiang Huo and Xue Ruogu and asked.
“The princess is able to understand Lord Han’s grief over losing his father and eagerness to return home. She hasn’t taken this matter to heart,” Jiang Huo said carefully. “But we don’t know when Lord Han will emerge somewhat from his grief.”
Although Han Qian was currently keeping his hands off affairs, Jiang Huo could guess what Feng Liao, Tian Cheng, Yang Qin and others were worried about.
They had gone through great hardships to bring Princess Qingyang back to Great Chu. At the very least they wouldn’t want to bring back an enemy.
Jiang Huo had experienced the entire process of the Jinling chaos unfolding from start to finish. When the Imperial Consort and the Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu decided to occupy Runzhou to the east, he had infiltrated back to Yueyang to rejoin Prince Tan.
He was most clear in his heart about the origins of the Jinling chaos, as well as many details about how Han Daoxun’s detention after following the edict to the meeting was related to the Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu.
Although Anning Palace was the chief culprit in brutally harming Han Daoxun, the Imperial Consort and Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu conspired with Chuzhou, completely disregarding that Han Daoxun was already detained at the time. They even recruited Han Daoming and Han Daochang and were determined to issue the denunciation proclamation first—undoubtedly a key factor in prompting Anning Palace to act ruthlessly against Han Daoxun.
This matter was not only a difficult knot for the Han clan internally to get past, but would also be a barrier within Prince Tan’s faction.
Perhaps if Han Daoxun’s death hadn’t been so tragic, this problem wouldn’t be so serious. But when news of Han Daoxun’s brutal death by being torn apart by five chariots reached Qiuhu Mountain, Jiang Huo could still remember how pale Han Daoming and Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu’s faces had turned.
So this barrier, Jiang Huo believed, not only lay across Han Qian’s heart and across the hearts of Xuzhou’s officials, but also lingered in the hearts of the Imperial Consort, Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu, as well as Han Daoming, Han Daochang, and even Zheng Hui and others, unable to be dispelled.
When Han Qian said he would remain in Xuzhou observing mourning, Jiang Huo suspected that besides grief over his father’s tragic death, Han Qian was probably stuck on this matter.
No matter what, the Imperial Consort was Prince Tan’s mother. If Prince Tan ascended the throne one day, the Imperial Consort would be the Empress Dowager—moreover an Empress Dowager supported by the Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu and other powerful ministers with real authority.
Han Daoxun’s tragic death made everything incomparably complicated. Jiang Huo felt bitter in his heart but could only have a headache over this, secretly feeling he had no plan to implement. He wondered whether he should first send someone back to Yueyang to report, to see if Shen Yang, Zheng Hui and others had any clever method to persuade Han Qian to abandon mourning and give up the idea of remaining in Xuzhou observing mourning.
“Uncle Han,” Feng Liao saw Han Laoshan, who had aged considerably from this ordeal, passing by. He waved him over and asked, “In the blood letter the old lord left for my lord, he mentioned an old matter of Chuzhou. What exactly was it about? Do you know, Uncle Han?”
Jiang Huo, Xue Ruogu, as well as Tian Cheng, Yang Qin, and Gao Shao all looked over with concern.
Before Han Daoxun’s execution, he had broken his finger to leave this blood letter. Before deciding to commit suicide, Zhao Kuo had gone to great lengths to deliver it to Xuzhou. On one hand it was the truest portrayal of Han Daoxun’s state of mind before execution, on the other hand it was the final words Han Daoxun left for Han Qian. But they didn’t know what old matter Han Daoxun had suffered in Chuzhou years ago that accumulated depression for many years, such that before the brutal punishment of being torn apart by five chariots, he had a fearless calmness that saw through life and death.
“Old Fan is dead, and Zhao Kuo died by dashing against a rock. If this old matter isn’t mentioned again, I’m afraid no one will be able to remember it,” Han Laoshan said mournfully. “It goes back to when the master was serving as investigation officer in Chuzhou in his early years. Chuzhou was besieged by enemies. The master was outside the city at the time and had to hide in a humble peasant household to avoid being searched by enemy soldiers. The master had shown kindness to this peasant couple in earlier years. The peasant couple remembered the master’s kindness and wanted to take this opportunity to treat him well, but their home truly had no surplus grain, so they cooked their child for food. The master was iron-faced and impartial in those years. After learning of this matter and returning to the city, he had Fan Xicheng go back to arrest this peasant couple and bring them to the yamen for questioning. But when Fan Xicheng arrived, the peasant couple had already hanged themselves at home. I never imagined this matter would have stuck in the master’s heart for so many years, that even before suffering cruel torture he would only dwell on this matter…”
Jiang Huo, Xue Ruogu, Tian Cheng, Yang Qin, Feng Liao, Gao Shao and the others were all shocked. Yet their hearts inexplicably felt even more desolate. They looked at each other speechlessly…
……
……
When he learned in the Shu capital that his father had died brutally under cruel punishment, Han Qian’s heart besides being full of grief and hatred also held a terror of being unable to escape fate that threatened to devour and destroy his entire rationality and emotions, causing his temperament to temporarily become obsessive and ruthless.
At this moment, his heart was full of desolation, and those other obsessive emotions had also been diluted and were not so intense.
Kong Xirong and others took turns keeping watch outside the mourning hall. Han Qian knelt and sat before the coffin. The thirty-one characters of the blood letter seemed carved word by word into his heart:
“The old matter of Chuzhou, accumulated depression for many years. With chariot execution imminent, this life flashes before my eyes. I truly feel life and death are small matters. My son must not dwell on this…”
Han Qian asked himself: Before his execution, did father truly view death as a release after being powerless to struggle and despairing of the world?
At this time Han Laoshan came in to discuss matters like selecting the gravesite and burial.
Han Qian said: “My father’s lifelong wish was for the realm to be at peace, for the common people to live and work in contentment. Let’s select the burial site at the southern foothills of Longya Mountain, so father can watch the Yuan River remain eternally green…”
“…” Han Laoshan was most afraid Han Qian would also become excessively grief-stricken and develop illness from accumulated depression. Seeing him concerned with burial matters, he thought even if there was something to divert his thoughts it would be good. So climbing up this bamboo pole, he said, “I think the geomancer we found may not have very high skills. Young master, you should personally make the trip to select the burial site for the old lord yourself.”
Han Qian also wanted to find things to divert his mind, lest he sink too deep into this desolate emotion and be unable to extricate himself. He nodded in agreement to personally go to the southern foothills of Longya Mountain to reselect the grave site.