HomeCrane NotesChapter 135: Evening Light on Cornus (Part 6)

Chapter 135: Evening Light on Cornus (Part 6)

He truly listened to Yang Wan’s words.

Initially, it was a guilty person’s shame toward their victim, seeking Yang Wan’s guidance to dissolve his feelings of guilt.

But Yang Wan had never disciplined Deng Ying. She never rejected the ‘shame’ he handed over to her, and instead gently ‘bound’ the hand he extended himself, allowing him to sit calmly and talk with her.

She understood Deng Ying well enough to never pierce through his old-fashioned refinement with the radiance of humanism. By Yang Wan’s side, Deng Ying still possessed a soul as smooth as fine jade, flawless as his era – identical to what Yang Wan would find six hundred years later when brushing away the dust of time.

“Words once spoken cannot be broken.”

“Yes.”

Yang Wan lowered her head to look at Deng Ying’s hands resting on his knees.

“Give me your hand.”

“Hmm?”

“Give me your hand, let’s make a pinky promise.”

Deng Ying rose and lifted his hand toward Yang Wan. His sleeve fell back, revealing wrists bound by shackles. Yang Wan used one hand to support his hand from below, while her other hand gently hooked his finger.

“Do you remember what I said to you at Nanhaizi?”

Deng Ying nodded, “I remember. You said you would come find me, and when we next met, I should speak properly with you.”

Yang Wan smiled and tugged gently at Deng Ying’s finger. “Deng Ying, this time, I will still come find you. Only next time when I see you, it will be my turn to speak properly with you.”

After she finished speaking, she took Deng Ying’s hand. “Come, let me take you over.”

Qi Huaiyang gestured for the guards to come forward and take Deng Ying away. Yang Wan compliantly released his hand.

Yang Lun glanced at Deng Ying, then turned to Yang Wan and said, “Do you have anything else to say? There’s still some time.”

Yang Wan shook her head, “No more. You can take him away now. I’ll follow behind and see you out through Donghua Gate.”

Hearing her words, Qi Huaiyang didn’t delay further and gave the order to proceed.

Yang Wan walked alongside Yang Lun behind Deng Ying. The hard snow powder on the ground was gradually packed down by those walking ahead, making a gritty sound when stepped on. Deng Ying didn’t turn back to look at Yang Wan again. The wind picked up snow powder at the city gate, swept past his body, and struck Yang Wan’s face. Yang Wan turned aside, suppressing the urge to cough in her throat.

Yang Lun turned to look at her and said softly, “Have you been ill recently?”

Yang Wan nodded, “A little.”

Yang Lun turned back and raised his voice slightly, “Don’t worry about him anymore. Take care of yourself and His Highness.”

“I know.”

By then, they had reached Donghua Gate. Deng Ying was led into the prisoner cart. Yang Lun gestured for Yang Wan to wait behind the gate while he went forward to speak briefly with Qi Huaiyang. As the Ministry of Justice group departed, Yang Lun returned to Yang Wan and said, “From today until the Three Departments’ joint trial ends, you cannot see him again.”

Yang Wan nodded.

“However,” Yang Lun paused and continued, “The Ministry of Justice is different from the Imperial Prison. They allow family members from outside to send some clothes and food. He might not accept what I sent him. But he wouldn’t dare refuse what you send. If you have anything you want to give him, just tell someone to come to the Cabinet duty room and tell me. I’ll buy it outside and give it to him.”

Yang Wan smiled, “Brother.”

“What?”

Yang Wan looked up, “You don’t seem to blame me anymore.”

Yang Lun started, unconsciously swallowing before scolding lightly, “Can I control you?”

He turned his back after speaking, and after a long while said, “Live however you want. If Deng Ying can get out this time, I’ll give you money to buy a house outside. Live far away from me. Don’t let your sisters-in-law get upset seeing you.”

“We have a house.”

“A house?”

Yang Lun turned around, “You call that a house? Haven’t you seen how it was wrecked by the students from Chu Mountain and Lake Peaceful academies?”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s wrecked. Deng Ying is a builder after all.”

“What builder?”

Yang Lun’s voice shot up, “What do you know? He built the Imperial City! In our great Ming’s hundred years, there were only two people like him and Zhang Zhanchun. You want him to fix roofs with you?”

Seeing Yang Lun’s reddened neck, Yang Wan couldn’t help but laugh. She lowered her eyes and said, “I’m sorry, brother. It’s my fault. I won’t let him fix it. I’ll do it myself.”

Hearing her apology, Yang Lun felt somewhat awkward. He patted the back of his head, and walked a few steps forward with his hands behind his back, saying as he walked, “I still don’t understand what would be best for you two.”

Yang Wan walked closer to Yang Lun and called out, “Brother.”

Yang Lun pinched his fingers, neither responding nor turning around.

Yang Wan changed the subject, “When will the Cabinet draft the new edict?”

Yang Lun coughed once, “Minister Bai and I have already drafted it. It will be issued after the Cabinet’s deliberation.”

He turned around after speaking and looked down at Yang Wan, agreeing, “There’s one thing you can prepare for.”

Yang Wan nodded, responding directly without waiting for Yang Lun’s explanation, “I’m already preparing.”

At this point, both fell silent.

The cold wind gusted in through the city gate, making the shadows of withered trees dance wildly under the sun. Yang Wan pulled her clothes tighter, “Brother, I’m a bit worried.”

Yang Lun asked, “What are you worried about?”

“Worried that Her Majesty won’t want to return to Chengqian Palace.”

“Why wouldn’t she want to?” Yang Lun countered.

“With the Crown Prince ascending the throne, Her Majesty should by rights be cared for in the palace. Would she be willing to live in Banana Garden for the rest of her life?”

Yang Wan shook her head without speaking.

The year Zheng Yuejia died tragically in the Crane Residence case, Yang Lun was also fighting for his life while overseeing land clearing in the south.

Sick on the river, he didn’t know what had happened in the inner court a thousand li away.

By the time he returned, Zheng Yuejia was dead, Consort Ning was imprisoned in Banana Garden, Yang Wan had been marked with prison scars, and Deng Ying had taken all the blame for encroaching on academy lands.

Yang Lun only knew these people were protecting him, protecting the court’s hard-won land-clearing efforts in the south, but there were some extremely subtle human relationships within that the parties involved wouldn’t speak of, so he had no way of knowing.

“What exactly happened?”

Yang Wan sighed, not telling Yang Lun the hidden truth of those years, only saying, “I’m just guessing Her Majesty’s grief and resentment might run too deep.”

She then avoided this topic and asked instead, “Will the heir issue a clear edict about welcoming Her Majesty back to the palace?”

Yang Lun said, “This matter is still undecided. After all, the late emperor imprisoned Her Majesty on grounds of madness. Her Majesty’s future position needs to be discussed together with the grand ceremonies for the inner palace.”

“Alright.”

Yang Wan pressed her lips together, “After the new edict is issued, I will first go to Banana Garden to see Her Majesty.”

After speaking, she pinched her sleeve and paused. When she spoke again, her voice was considerably lower than before.

“Brother, once everything in the inner court is stable, I want to leave the palace.”

“Leave the palace?”

Yang Lun lowered his voice, “Why suddenly want to leave the palace at this time?”

Yang Wan looked up toward Donghua Gate, “I don’t like life in the inner court, nor do I want to continue being a servant of the inner court. These past few years, guarding His Highness, I’ve taken on quite a bit of blame. My health isn’t as good as before either. Living outside might help me recover some.”

She walked a few steps forward after speaking, walking in front of Yang Lun and looking up at him, “Before His Highness was young and Her Majesty wasn’t here, I really couldn’t set my mind at ease. Now His Highness is gradually growing up, and I’ve helped you check all the people taking care of him over these years. They may not all be very clever, but at least they’re good people with honest hearts. You can rest assured.”

“Yang Wan.”

“Yes?”

Yang Lun looked down at her face, “I haven’t asked about your affairs these past few years. Have you been mistreated in the palace?”

“Not really, I had Deng Ying.”

“He couldn’t even protect himself.”

“That’s true.”

Yang Wan nodded and smiled, “But we supported each other, and lived quite meaningfully.”

“I failed to protect you properly.”

Yang Lun was silent for a long while before saying these words.

“How about this – once the inner court stabilizes, brother will bring you home to rest and recover properly for a while.”

Yang Wan shook her head, “I’m not going home.”

Hearing her say this, Yang Lun couldn’t help but say anxiously, “Even if you want to be with Deng Ying, you still need to wait for him to come out safely. During this time while he’s not here, where can a young woman like you find peace if not at home?”

“Who says I can’t find peace?”

She smiled brightly at Yang Lun, “I still have Clear Wave Publishing House and Diligent Hall.”

“You…”

Clear Wave Publishing House and Diligent Hall were the two largest private publishing houses in the entire capital. Of these, Diligent Hall used to be even larger than many official publishing houses. Now they had quietly come under Yang Wan’s name. Yang Lun was stunned and couldn’t help but ask, “When did you acquire Diligent Hall?”

“After the autumn imperial examinations.”

“Where did you get the money?”

Yang Wan replied, “Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything I shouldn’t have. At the time, to prevent Diligent Hall from printing the writings of Zhou Muyi and other academy students, I bought out Diligent Hall’s printing ink. Then during this year’s spring and autumn examination markets, I did some business in front-door book sales along with several large inns from Changhe, earning quite a bit. Later, when Diligent Hall had to leave the capital because it was implicated in the academy’s ‘rebellion case’, I quietly took over their business in the capital.”

Yang Lun said, “You mentioned the ‘rebellion case’. Yang Wan, let me ask you, could Clear Wave Publishing House avoid being implicated? Who was bold enough to hide those students?”

“I hid them, but who made me the vegetable lady wife of the Eastern Depot official?”

“Fine…”

Yang Lun raised his hand to point at her, “You’re something.”

Yang Wan smiled, “Actually, I should also thank Deputy Commissioner Zhang. He let me off, otherwise, Clear Wave Publishing House would have been hard to keep, let alone acquire Diligent Hall.”

Yang Lun said, “What do you want these two publishing houses for? Do you want to be a female merchant?”

Yang Wan shook her head, “No, I want to be a scholar. Brushes, ink, books – these are the things I’m most familiar with. Looking at them makes my heart calm.”

After speaking, she gently gripped one of her wrists, “Brother, what I’ve always needed was never protection. What I need, no one can give me, so I can only give it to myself. You and Deng Ying are both scholars. Deng Ying made his vows with a literary heart, unwavering for life. You hold your brush as if a sword hangs over your heart – equally respectable. If you can do it, then I can too, just walking a different path from you.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Observe, record, and then put on a cold garment for those in cold and barren places.”

“What does that mean?”

“For those who have been wronged, cry out ‘I object.'”

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