“Uncle Han, my father anticipated that you would serve nation and people, and knowing of this matter you would certainly not stand idly by. Therefore, he deliberately used you to expose Shen He’s death by poisoning—truly using loyalty and goodness to harm you,” Wang Jun placed three wine cups before the tombstone, then raised a stick of incense to her brow and murmured in prayer. “Wang Jun here apologizes on behalf of my father. May you forgive my father in the underworld…”
After saying these words, Wang Jun, kneeling before the grave with incense, bowed three more times and inserted the incense before the tomb.
When Qingyang offered her incense, she turned to look toward the bamboo shelter over ten zhang away. She saw Han Qian curled up sitting on a bamboo couch, holding a scroll and reading, seemingly completely unconcerned with matters here. She figured he must have long seen through the role Wang Wenqian played in the Jinling upheaval.
However, Qingyang had also heard people say that Han Daoxun’s transfer from Chu Province to Jinling was due to Wang Jixiong’s appreciation and recommendation. She thought Han Qian probably wouldn’t transfer his hatred of Wang Wenqian onto his father Wang Jixiong and his daughter Wang Jun, would he?
“Memorial text for my student Han Daoxun—In the sixteenth year of Tianyou, on the twenty-first day of the twelfth month, I, residing in Run Province’s Suocao Hall, heard you died miserably under torture. Shocked and grieved, I composed this memorial text bearing sorrow to express sincerity, to inform your spirit in heaven…”
Wang Jixiong tremblingly leaned on his cane staff, not letting Wang Jun support him. With a trembling, hoarse voice, he finished reading the memorial text he had written for Han Daoxun in Run Province, then burned the memorial text before the tomb.
Zhao Ting’er, Xi Ren, Han Laoshan, Feng Liao, and others accompanying Wang Jixiong up the mountain were even more worried whether Wang Jixiong’s aged and weak body could support him walking down the mountain.
After Wang Jixiong finished burning the memorial text, Han Laoshan hurriedly rushed over and supported him together with Wang Jun.
“When your father was even younger than you are now, he studied prison law in my mountain hall for two years. I consider myself his mentor, which isn’t really taking advantage of age. I think this old decrepit man has the qualifications to sit before you for a while.” Wang Jixiong tremblingly leaned on his cane staff and walked to the bamboo shelter. Regardless of whether Han Qian was willing, he had Wang Jun support him as he laboriously moved to sit on the bamboo couch in the shelter, sitting opposite Han Qian.
The bamboo shelter where Han Qian read was very narrow. Entering the shelter, there was only a simple bamboo couch with a small table placed on it, covered with scrolls and writing materials. Han Qian sat on one side of the small table, Wang Jixiong on the other.
Qingyang thought no one would probably bring a chair for her, but she was unwilling to miss hearing what Wang Jixiong and Han Qian would discuss. So she stood beside the bamboo shelter, lazily stretching her body, and said: “The scenery here is quite nice—one can observe azure waters winding around…”
Wang Jixiong raised his head to glance at Princess Qingyang but said nothing. Seeing a teapot on the table, he picked it up and poured himself a cup of cool tea. After taking a small sip, his clouded old eyes fixed on Han Qian’s face as he asked:
“Your father cared deeply about the nation and people’s livelihood, willing to ruin his own reputation and suffer dismemberment for this. Now both Liang and Chu have experienced great upheavals. The slightest carelessness means scorched earth for a thousand li and blood flowing enough to float pestles. You probably don’t truly believe that living in mourning in the mountains is about observing filial piety, do you?”
“My father’s dismemberment couldn’t break through the southern wall. Human strength has its limits, material resources have their end. Such is the way of the world. Even if Han Qian doesn’t wish to see scorched earth for a thousand li and blood flowing enough to float pestles, what can he do about it?” Han Qian placed the scroll in his hands on the table and said, “Ancient fishermen encountering troubled times couldn’t avoid sighing about the waters of Canglang. How could Han Qian avoid convention?”
Wang Jixiong said: “Master Qu, borrowing the fisherman’s name, spoke the words ‘The sage does not cling rigidly to things but can move with the times’ and ‘When the waters of Canglang are clear, I can wash my cap strings; when the waters of Canglang are muddy, I can wash my feet’—words held as a standard by Confucian scholars. Yet Master Qu also had the theory ‘The whole world is muddy but I alone am clear; everyone is drunk but I alone am sober.’ Rather than using bright whiteness to be stained by worldly dust, Master Qu ultimately preferred to throw himself into the Xiang current and be buried in the bellies of river fish—this is what makes him an eternal Chu minister. I imagine when Daoxun underwent the wheel torture, in his heart he must have had the resolve of ‘unable to stem the wild tide, preferring to throw myself into the Xiang current’!”
Han Qian remained silent, his hands withdrawn into his robe sleeves, tightly gripping the blood letter his father had left him before execution. He didn’t know how to respond to Wang Jixiong’s words.
“I came from Run Province, traveling over mountains and crossing waters all the way. The decrees from Anning Palace and the new Emperor have already spread throughout Xuan and Gan provinces. The people, deceived by the decrees, all mistakenly believe Daoxun was a treacherous minister who harmed the nation. They don’t recognize that Daoxun’s sincerity was willing to ruin his own reputation to serve nation and people. I am approaching decaying wood. What I can do for Daoxun is merely write a memorial text to demonstrate his sincerity.” Wang Jixiong tremblingly stood up and continued: “Of course, Daoxun died under brutal torture. Wenqian was the instigator. As Wenqian’s old father, I feel ashamed in my heart!”
Having said this, Wang Jixiong didn’t wait for any reaction from Han Qian. He signaled Wang Jun to support him down the mountain. Wang Jun, with complex emotions, glanced at Han Qian. Her cherry lips moved as if to speak, but ultimately she silently helped her grandfather down the mountain.
Qingyang looked somewhat bewildered toward Jiang Huo. After Wang Jixiong said these words, he simply went down the mountain?
Wang Jixiong had the intention of persuading Han Qian to enter worldly affairs, but did he truly not care at all who would ultimately sit on that imperial throne?
Seeing Princess Qingyang’s hesitant appearance as if she wanted to speak, Han Qian bowed his hands toward her and said: “Please forgive that Han Qian has filial duties and cannot escort the Princess to Yueyang…”
Seeing Han Qian issue an order for guests to leave, Qingyang’s beautiful face turned slightly cold. But she couldn’t fathom Han Qian’s true thoughts. Not wanting to speak soft words of yielding, she could only go down the mountain first in sullen displeasure.
Qingyang discussed with Jiang Huo, planning to invite Wang Jixiong to accompany them to Yueyang the next day. But when she woke up the following day, someone came to tell her that Wang Jixiong had fallen ill during the night and was bedridden, unable to rise.
Qingyang hurried over to visit. Wang Jixiong truly appeared even more decrepit and weak than the previous day. Rushing from Run Province to Xu Province to pay respects to Han Daoxun, unable to take the relatively comfortable water route, traveling over mountains and crossing waters for nearly a month—for someone his age, this was truly an arduous ordeal that had exhausted almost all his remaining energy.
Seeing Wang Jixiong in such a weakened state, Qingyang very much doubted whether he could leave Xu Province alive.
However, Qingyang didn’t want to linger further in Xu Province. After visiting Wang Jixiong, she directly headed north from Longya City with Jiang Huo, traveling by carriage to Chenyang to change to a boat. They went downstream along the Yuan River, traveling day and night without rest toward Yueyang, hoping this way to make up for the two days wasted due to Wang Jixiong’s visit.
Qingyang’s heart was also urgent. She hoped that after reaching Yueyang, she could quickly send someone to Shu to see her father and finally establish her proper status for marrying into Great Chu, rather than remaining in the current nameless, statusless state of “elopement.”
However, when their boat passed through Dongting Lake and was about to enter Yueyang, a messenger from Xu Province caught up from behind in a fast sailing vessel. Only then did they learn that just two days after they left, Wang Jixiong had passed away from illness in Longya City. The messenger had specifically rushed to Yueyang to report the death.
Although Wang Jixiong’s dying wish was to be buried in Xu Province, Han Qian insisted on sending a boat to transport Wang Jixiong’s coffin and his granddaughter Wang Jun to Yueyang to await Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu’s disposition.
Only after Wang Jun’s bitter pleading did Han Qian allow Wang Jixiong to lie in state in Xu Province for three days according to local custom before departing. Calculating the days, the coffin transport ship should depart from Xu Province today, but the speed would be slower, possibly taking several more days to reach Yueyang City.
* * *
Qingyang didn’t care about Wang Jixiong’s death from illness, nor did she feel Wang Jixiong’s death had any substantive impact on Great Chu’s current situation. But when she entered Yueyang City with Jiang Huo, another truly bad piece of news awaited her.
Besides Li Zhigao leading troops to garrison Shao Province to guard against the two rebel armies cowering in Yong Province who might make unusual moves, and besides Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu leading troops in Run Province united with Chu Province forces, important figures from Prince Tan’sMansion faction had almost all gathered in Yueyang City.
Besides Shen Yang, Zheng Hui, Chai Jian, Zhang Ping, Gao Chengyuan, Guo Liang, Zhou Yuan, Li Chong and others, Han Daoming and Han Daochang also hadn’t lingered too long in Run Province. When Chu Province vanguard forces were about to cross the river, under Zheng Chang’s strong advocacy, they borrowed fishing boats dispatched by the Zheng clan from Huang Province as cover and traveled upstream in disguise to escort the Dowager Consort Wang Chan’er, Young Princess Consort Li Yao, and others.
Almost the day after Han Qian returned to Xu Province, they also successfully arrived in Yueyang and joined Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu.
Additionally, Huang Province Prefect and Zheng clan patriarch Zheng Yu, who was also the father of Imperial Guard Army Commander Zheng Xingxuan, had this time led other prominent clan scholars and officials from Huang Province to Yueyang to pay respects to Prince Tan and await appointments.
Indeed, the Dowager Consort Wang Chan’er and Young Princess Consort Li Yao arriving in Yueyang under the escort of Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Han Daoming, Han Daochang and others was absolutely not good news for Princess Qingyang.
It was just that Jiang Huo had left Jinling and returned to Yueyang relatively early. While in Xu Province, he hadn’t known the news that the Imperial Dowager Consort had already left Run Province, so he had no way to warn Princess Qingyang in advance.
After they entered the city, they were directly arranged into a remote courtyard at some distance from the Regional Commander’sMansion official residence. They didn’t even get to see Yang Yuanpu’s face.
Qingyang’s heart and lungs nearly burst with anger. She grabbed Jiang Huo, who was about to take his leave, her beautiful eyes sternly staring at him as she demanded:
“Tell me—did Han Qian already anticipate this situation in Yueyang, which is why he’s hiding in Xu Province and refusing to come out?”
“How could Jiang Huo guess Official Han’s thoughts?” Jiang Huo couldn’t help but sigh deeply. Secretly sighing that Han Qian might have had such speculation, but what Han Qian was truly thinking in his heart, he ultimately couldn’t see through. Facing Princess Qingyang’s interrogation, he didn’t know how to answer. He only said: “Jiang Huo has returned to Yueyang. His Highness has other assignments. Someone else will be assigned to look after the Princess’s daily needs. If the Princess has any requirements, just give instructions at that time.”
“Can I really command the people His Highness sends?” Qingyang couldn’t help but ask dejectedly.
Jiang Huo smiled bitterly. Having just returned to Yueyang City without yet understanding the situation clearly, he thought that if His Highness sent people to attend to Princess Qingyang, the problem wouldn’t be too serious. But if the Dowager Consort, wary that Princess Qingyang and Han Qian had already secretly allied, insisted on sending her people to monitor Princess Qingyang and even indefinitely delayed her marriage to His Highness, the situation would truly be quite grim for Princess Qingyang.
However, when even His Highness had no way to defy the Dowager Consort’s will, he had even less ability to do anything about it.