A long ebony bridge merged with the night at both ends.
On the bridge was a pavilion, beneath the pavilion a lake, and upon the lake, light.
Ming Nian walked along, extinguishing the glazed lanterns on the bridge railings one by one. Looking back from the shore, where the lamplight was, it seemed like a half moon floating up. He couldn’t help sighing at the exquisite craftsmanship. Looking quite ordinary in daylight, once the lamps were lit at night, that scenery became one of Yuan Manor’s unique attractions.
Two people in the pavilion.
One in black, one in white. The black not heavy, the white not glaring.
Precisely Yuan Cheng and Jin Yin.
A game of chess, scattered and messy—one side had already lost miserably, beyond redemption.
Jin Yin, seeing that everything to be said had been said, began collecting the pieces. “Yuan Cheng, do you know what I admire most about you?”
“I still have aspects you admire?” Yuan Cheng also returned his white pieces to the box. “I’m willing to hear the details.”
Jin Yin regarded him, his tone lacking the usual ridicule and mockery. “My terrible chess skills, played unbearably slowly—only you don’t rush me or scold me, quite seriously playing it out with me. Until I admit defeat, you don’t declare victory. Actually, this game’s outcome was decided half an hour ago.”
“A serious opponent, I naturally treat seriously. What seems a certain loss can be reversed with one piece. Rather than make grand claims, better to make people genuinely convinced. The way of chess lies not in attacking, but in encircling.” Yuan Cheng rose to fetch the wine pot, pouring two cups, one for each person.
No one in the pavilion served wine—everything done by their own hands.
Jin Yin took a sip and praised the good wine, saying, “How do you view this matter? If Mo Zi knew you and I deliberately kept her sister, would she turn against us both?” A rare visit—naturally no temple visit without reason.
Yuan Cheng looked surprised. “Where does Young Master Jin get this from? When you told me that though you’d found Mo Zi’s sister, this woman’s nature was dull and might drag Mo Zi down, asking whether you should separate the sisters, I didn’t say yes.”
Jin Yin lowered his eyes. Fine—since the chess game was over, no need to discuss chess etiquette anymore. He laughed coldly with a snort. “You didn’t say yes, you only said Mo Zi has just this one sister, and if something happened to her sister, she would definitely risk her life to save her. And if I didn’t use my brain and just pushed the person to her, if she suffered disaster in the future because of this, you’d make me bear the consequences. Yuan Cheng, how is saying this any different from saying yes?”
Yuan Cheng drank alone. “I said bear the consequences, not that I’d settle accounts with you. You’ve touched too much gold—you can’t even understand words.”
Jin Yin immediately shot back venomously: “Originally bought someone to work for me, she leaked her real name, only then did I know it was a fortunate coincidence. I sent out flower-viewing invitations precisely to see the sisters reunite, didn’t I? Your few casual words made me pretend to be stupid in front of others—do you know my Third Brother views me as no different from a profiteer? Now you want to wash your hands of it, making the responsibility mine. I should go tell her clearly, drag you down with me, and see how you still play the good person in front of her!” Confronting accounts—this fellow actually dared to wash himself completely clean.
“You are a profiteer, and I’m not a good person anyway. Moreover, even if I don’t say and you don’t say, she’ll definitely figure out clearly that at this time her sister can only be acknowledged but not claimed. It’s just that she’s very kind—not claiming makes her feel she’s not being thorough enough with her sister. You making the decision for her is actually the best thing. Don’t worry, she won’t turn against you. She’ll be angry for a moment, then it’ll pass in a blink. Her character isn’t like ordinary women—not twisted, coy, and fickle.” Yuan Cheng wasn’t shirking responsibility, just not yielding verbally.
“True. If she were that kind of woman who makes a fuss over nothing, nags endlessly, treats pin-sized matters like imperial edicts, constantly complaining and crying—I’d avoid her like the plague.” Jin Yin and Yuan Cheng, at first glance two extremes, were essentially entirely similar.
“Speaking of which, she kept saying her sister was divinely beautiful—you’ve had a feast for the eyes.” Serious matters, said jokingly.
Jin Yin thought of Dou Lu’s face and began rubbing his arms again. “Don’t mention it. Where’s the divine beauty? Far inferior to Mo Zi’s beauty—her appearance is indescribably strange.”
Yuan Cheng froze. “Her sister isn’t good-looking? Mo Zi wouldn’t lie about such a matter, would she?”
“It’s not a question of good-looking or not, but whether one can look at all. I think Mo Zi treasures her own sister and can’t bear to discourage Dou Lu.” Jin Yin truly didn’t consider Dou Lu a stunning beauty. Not only not stunning, even just looking at her felt abnormal.
Yuan Cheng couldn’t quite figure it out—one said beautiful as a celestial, one said strange appearance. Whom should he believe?
“Good-looking or not, just take good care of her. Don’t let her get sick or meet with disaster—then someone will turn against you. After all, having her entrust her blood sister to someone not entirely reliable makes her heart anxious yet helplessly do so.”
“Not entirely reliable? Could you be reliable?” Jin Yin thought, mustn’t say that originally Mo Zi wanted to entrust her to this person, or he’d get too full of himself.
“The truth. Your identity is now a big problem. Some things—just because you discard them doesn’t mean they’re no longer yours. Yuling’s people have already found you. Once they’ve come once, there’ll be a second time. This time Da Qiu sends an envoy delegation—the hope of making Yuling spit out territory to be divided equally among three nations isn’t great, but giving Da Zhou and Nande sweeteners is certain. If the two nations are satisfied, Yuling will be legitimately destroyed as a nation. Anyone calling for restoration would be equivalent to treason, killed without anyone daring to speak. The last chance Yuling people can fight for themselves is before the three-nation meeting ends. And that Da Qiu hasn’t yet taken the Yuling Crown Prince’s life is also due to concerns about lacking legitimacy, fearing arousing condemnation from all under heaven. This concern will also disappear after peace talks, and then the Crown Prince will be useless. Must say, the King of Da Qiu proceeds step by step, every move excellent chess—truly quite a formidable figure. Looking at the monarchs of the three nations now, only this monarch possesses the domineering spirit of great unification.” Yuan Cheng discussed the matter objectively.
Night lamps flickered and swayed. Jin Yin’s expression was inscrutable. “According to what you say, nomadic tribes without fixed dwellings will unify Han territory, then treat Han people as livestock and slaves to buy, sell, and cook, regardless of talent or ability, uniformly designated as lowly people—this is the fate of us people?”
“I only said the King of Da Qiu has the domineering spirit to unify the world, not commented on their national policies.” Yuan Cheng looked directly at Jin Yin and smiled slightly. “So it turns out Young Master Jin isn’t so carefree either. Since that’s the case, why not return to Yuling, take charge of the overall situation, to spare Yuling’s common people from continuing to suffer Da Qiu’s devastation?”
Jin Yin laughed heartily. “If I went back, the common people would suffer my devastation. Yuling can exist or not, but if Da Qiu swallows the world, that’s another matter. Under their rule, where would we have a place to stand? However much silver we have, they’d all rob it.”
Yuan Cheng was noncommittal. “The world is vast—beyond reach of the whip. Withdraw from the Central Plains, build island nations by the sea, still can be at ease.”
“Yes, plan early and we can still escape. But doing so, we’d be selfish and self-serving types.” Men all have a thread of caring for nation and people in their souls, stronger or weaker. Stingy and petty as Jin Yin was no exception.
“There’s one more choice.” Yuan Cheng’s gaze suddenly became sharp. “Restore the nation with the identity of Yuling Prince—you yourself become the monarch to unify the world. If luck is good, in your lifetime, you could found a nation and establish a dynasty.”
Jin Yin’s smile turned solemn as he stared at Yuan Cheng for a long while. “What would you choose?”
Yuan Cheng covered his mouth with his cup. “Everything listens to heaven’s mandate, let the times create heroes.”
Jin Yin cast his gaze toward the pitch-black lake surface. “The peaceful prosperous age has passed. If Da Zhou yields to Da Qiu this time, the disaster of war will quickly rise again. The next one will be Nande, which took you in.”
A clear, resonant voice rang out from the darkness.
“Though Nande took in Master, it also depended on Master to barely survive these years. Once the old Emperor died, the Empress Dowager for her family’s private interests treated Master as a discarded piece. Now the entire court has no one seriously thinking for the people. My Master is falsely greedy but truly serves, while that Grand Tutor Wu is truly greedy and falsely serves—they cannot be compared. If Young Master Jin rises up, we are willing to follow Master to lend you assistance, restore Yuling, look to the world—why need we worry about uncivilized barbarians ruling our Han people?” The speaker had graying hair and beard—it was Li Yan.
“Elder Li, I said to postpone this matter slowly, my mind isn’t decided.” Yuan Cheng didn’t blame him for entering uninvited.
“Master’s talent should originally be used for the world. Moreover, being sworn brothers with Young Master Jin, and since Young Master Jin has the dragon lineage, why would Master not strive for him? As Young Master said, letting barbarians trample our Central Plains land truly cannot be endured!” The more Li Yan spoke, the angrier he became, stamping his feet as if Da Qiu had already invaded.
Originally just two people chatting idly, but with Li Yan running in, the atmosphere became heavy.
“Elder Li, this matter is significant—please don’t speak of it again. Young Master Jin has no heart for the throne—we really shouldn’t disturb him.” Though Yuan Cheng was stopping Li Yan, his attitude toward him was still very good, not putting on airs.
“If he has no heart for it, no matter how much is said, it won’t disturb him.” Li Yan stroked his gray beard. “Just hearing Young Master’s words, your heart still holds the common people. Since ancient times, bloodline is innate. No matter how much Young Master doesn’t want to acknowledge it, you are ultimately a descendant of Great Tang’s Li surname, carrying the blood of Emperor Taizong—how can you not have grand ambitions?”
Yuling’s founding emperor was a descendant of Great Tang’s royal Li family, who once migrated south. Da Zhou bestowed the surname Chu. Now with ages passing, few knew this.
Hearing Li Yan speak of his ancestor, Jin Yin’s expression became serious. He hated his irresponsible father and brothers, but toward Great Tang’s Emperor Taizong he dared not have half a trace of blasphemy or disrespect. Once in his youth, he had been so proud of possessing Li bloodline. But times had changed. He had already changed.
“Elder Li’s encouragement, Jin is grateful in heart. I didn’t expect that I, a fallen person, could still be remembered so much. Unfortunately, I truly have absolutely no interest in Yuling’s throne. Your Master also said, everything still depends on heaven’s mandate. If the three nations negotiate smoothly, the history of four nations will be rewritten—this is also the general trend, not something I alone can reverse. As for Da Qiu unifying the world, that’s definitely not the work of a single day. Moreover, I’m just talking. When the time comes, the first one to run out and hide from disaster might be me myself.” Laughing cheerfully, returning to Young Master Jin’s selfish appearance.
Li Yan sighed with regret, wringing his hands. “Clearly possessing true talent and real ability to govern a nation, why be buried in trifling gains? Master is like this, Young Master Jin is also like this. Losing such world-shocking excellent talent is truly the misfortune of this era!”
Having said this, he ran off. Unlike his soundless arrival, he made the wooden boards creak loudly.
“This elder is a retainer of your household?” Jin Yin, listening to the footsteps recede, asked Yuan Cheng.
“Precisely. Taking him in, I originally wanted him to advise on my own affairs. Unexpectedly, he has vigorous ambitions, loves lofty vision, discussing world situations—he’s indeed a good teacher for chaotic times, should be yielded to princes and generals who break through heaven and earth. But we two seem to lack such ambition.” Yuan Cheng smiled.
The wind gently blew away that earlier fervor and passion.