What an Audacious and Sly Servant! - Chapter 63

CHAPTER 63 – QIAN DENG HAD YET TO BE FOUND

Chu Xun and his shadow guards soon easily returned to the surface. However, he waited for so long, watching people coming out nonstop but there was no sign of Mei Qian Deng.

He questioned all those who returned in fury, “Where’s Mei Qian Deng?!”

All his subordinates knelt on the ground, “Crown Prince, please calm down. Crown Prince, please forgive us. All of us have yet see Little Young Master Mei.”

“Such a big, living person, fighting side by side with you all yet now you’re telling me you didn’t see? Are you all blind?!”

“At that time, the paths suddenly changed. All of us are confused and disoriented. Plus, there are evil wind in there. All the fires were extinguished by it. It was a total darkness. Many of us got separated……” Talking about it, they were still dreadful of it. That underground palace was too mysterious. If the schemer behind this wanted to kill them, maybe even Chu Xun had already been wiped out inside there.

Yet the current Chu Xun had yet to understand this matter. His mind was filled with the thought of searching for Mei Qian Deng. With a wave of his sleeve, he ordered everyone to go down the underground palace to find Mei Qian Deng. If they couldn’t find Mei Qian Deng, they don’t have to come back. He was the first person trying to go down but got pulled back by Senior Official Song who had rushed over. They could only move a small stool over. Just like that, he sat inside the warehouse at the port, waiting day by day.

Three days later, he had yet to see Mei Qian Deng’s shadow when he received a news from the capital city.

It was a big, heaven shocking news. Prince Chen had rebelled.

Written on the secret report was: The Emperor found the ‘proof’ Prince Chen colludes with the Mei family from Mei Zi River Islet. It’s Prince Chen who used Mei Zi River Islet’s special location which also had no government officials in charge of to smuggle military weapons and dynamites to the northern border in his plan to rebel. The Emperor sent soldiers to raid the Mei Zi River Islet while tightly surrounded Prince Chen’s residence. Actually the Emperor was only using Mei family to frame Prince Chen. There was no such thing as proof. It was not known how Prince Chen would actually get tricked by the Emperor to immediately rebel.

“Imperial Uncle is not someone to lose his cool like this.” Chu Xun with trembling hand passed the secret report to Senior Official Song.

Senior Official Song rubbed the wrinkles on his forehead, “Your Highness Crown Prince, it’s time we return to the capital city to trap your Imperial Uncle from both sides. Little General Di is already waiting around ten li away.”

“All of you already planned this?” The ‘all of you’ he spoke consisted of too many people.

Chu Xun had stayed on guard in this warehouse for three days. Other than staring blankly at the dark hole, he even recalled everything that had happened. Starting from his father letting him to bring Mei Qian Deng to investigate the Ru Nunnery, he slowly and carefully thought of them.

Senior Official Song didn’t say anything. Chu Xun considered him as admitting it. His Highness Crown Prince sat on the small stool for half a day. At twilight, the vapour on the river got thicker. Far away it was the smoke from kitchens and the returning birds. He stood up and went beside the river to feel the cold wind. The weather was very cold, making people’s hands and legs ice-cold. Turning his body again, he indifferently told Senior Official Song, “Let’s go then.”

Chu Xun returned to the inn to pack up his things. In these few days, they stayed at the same inn.

A letter and a yellow dragon jade pendant was surprisingly on the table which was at the middle of the room.

Chu Xun rushed over and opened the letter. He didn’t see the personal handwriting of a certain person he wanted to see. Instead, it was only a quite yellowed land deed. It was the proof the founding Emperor had a transaction with the Mei family about the Mei Zi River Islet. From now on, Mei Zi River Islet was no longer a land outside the government influence, under the heaven it was part of the imperial land again.

Chu Xun was disappointed. Just as he about to put down the land deed, he suddenly noticed there was a small, square-shaped red packet inside the letter. He instantly pulled it out and put it on his hand. It was very light. Opening it, it was a brand-new copper coin. It had ‘Favourable First Year’ at its head. The year he was born, the Emperor was very happy that he changed the era name as Shun En[1]. The back was ‘Peace Reigns under Heaven’.

Senior Official Song saw Chu Xun didn’t reappear after a long time so he peeked inside to check. He saw His Highness Crown Prince’s dazed back. Sighing, he walked inside. When he was near, he then saw an opened red paper packet and the copper coin in Chu Xun’s hand. He accidentally made a stab, “It seems like Little Deng is still concerned with you. Seeing it’s almost New Year, she even prepared red packet in advance for you.”

Later, another news was spread. Mei family had a guilty conscience. Before the government troops arrived at Mei Zi River Islet, it was a sea of fire. The great fire burned for one day and one night, turning everything into ashes. That fire even spread to Jing Yang Mountains. It was said that fire and water was completely incompatible. However, what made everyone shocked was, when the fire came in contact with that Chun Yang Spring at the Jing Yang Mountains, the flames turned into rainbow colours, unpredictable like a coloured glass. It was extremely beautiful. By the time the great fire extinguished, the Chun Yang Spring had dried up. The uneven stones at its bed had a silvery white substance spread on them. Seeing from afar it was like the first arrival of heavy snow, revealing a frigid air. Some of the government troops got curious and touched them. Their hands instantly froze, their hands stuck to the stones. Pulling desperately, they left a large piece of skin behind while the fresh blood flowed nonstop.

“What about the Mei family members?” Chu Xun expressionlessly asked the scout.

The scout replied, “The whole Mei family disappeared without any traces.”

Chu Xun laughed in dismal. Sure enough, sure enough. She had planned out everything. She had never believed him.

Senior Official Song clapped Chu Xun’s shoulders and consoled him, “Little Deng is willing to do this. Your Highness doesn’t need to blame yourself. For the sake of the country, there must be someone to be sacrificed. Laofu had seen before the Splendid Sound Sect Master’s ability. The proof he had a transaction with Prince Chen, we can never find it. To let the Mei family be the scapegoat is the fastest, most effective method.”

If you want to condemn somebody, don’t worry about the pretext. The Prince Chen’s case, they couldn’t find the proof so they could only make one. The Emperor said Mei family colluded with Prince Chen. Mei family didn’t redress the injustice but admitting instead. The whole family escaped which equalled to confirming the rumours they were colluding with Prince Chen to rebel. For Prince Chen to immediately rebel, probably it was he deeply knew Old Master Mei’s conduct. They would surely bear the scapegoat status so Prince Chen didn’t have any way out at all.

At the end of the sixteenth year of Shun En, Prince Chen rebelled. A great battle with the imperial army occurred at the imperial palace gate. The Crown Prince Chu Xun led fifty thousand Anxi garrison troops to pinch attack Prince Chen’s rebel troops with Di family’s army. Prince Chen failed. After captured alive, he was confined in the Cold Palace and heavily watched. The Emperor killed all members of his faction which involved thousands of people from all ranks.

After such an upheaval, His Highness Crown Prince obtained countless praises. Everyone were saying, it was a plan made by both His Highness Crown Prince and the Emperor. When they summoned Seventh Young Master into the palace to be his study partner they had already knew Mei family was colluding with Prince Chen. Later, they consolidated at every step and finally easily caught the Imperial Uncle with bad intention. The day Crown Prince in armour rode a horse back to the capital, he became countless capital city girls’ dream partner. The ministers in the court no longer felt the Crown Prince was immature as they bowed before him, “May Emperor lives and reigns for ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years. May Crown Prince lives and reigns for thousand years, a thousand of thousand years.” They spoke in first tone, in unison and in waves.

The previous narcissist and unreasonably explode Crown Prince Chu Xun seemed to have been left inside the underground palace, sleeping eternally in the boundless darkness.

On the second year, fifteenth day of the first lunar month during the Lantern Festival.

Xiao Jing Zi hastily ran back to Ming Jue Palace and reported to Chu Xun, “Your Highness, everything had been prepared. Inviting Your Highness to come over.”

Chu Xun had a cloak draped over his shoulders. He had turned far thinner yet his face was still exceptionally beautiful. His face was slightly laden with grief. Xiao Jing Zi held a lantern as he led the way at the front. When Chu Xun reached the palace wall, he called Xiao Jing Zi to stop, “It is fine if I go alone. You go prepare.” Taking the lantern from Xiao Jing Zi’s hands, he silently climbed up the gate tower.

Tonight there was no star nor moon. It was not a seasonal Lantern Festival. In the dark sky, a signal shot streak across with a ‘xiu’ sound. In the next moment, from various areas around the capital city, numerous Kongming lanterns flew upwards. It was like a thousand moons hanging in the air. It was endlessly spectacular. People at the big streets and small alleys in the capital city halted, gotten pulled by the beautiful scene as they raised their head to watch.

At this time, there was a child’s young shouting voice, “Wah, it’s snowing! It’s snowing!”

Numerous snowflakes drifted to the ground while numerous bright lanterns flew to the sky. Chu Xun threw the small, red lantern beside his legs. Alone, he leaned on the railing with the cold wind slapping his face as if there was a sweet apple smell.

Chu Xun raised his hand and grabbed one snowflake. The snowflake quickly melted into water drop, shiny like a person’s tear. Countless memories of interacting with Mei Qian Deng played unconsciously in his mind. One moment Chu Xun would feel those memories were very long, long until it was as far as between the people on the land and the moon in the sky. In another moment, he suddenly felt they were too short, just like how fast the snowflakes drifted down from the sky.

Chu Xun breathed out a white fog.

She will never return again, isn’t she……

The waters or River Fei eternally drains towards the east. We shouldn’t have allowed such pining to ever begin. In dreams I behold you no better than I could in a painting of you. And in the dark there are cries of the flying birds that startle me.

Before spring turns everything green, the swallows losing their pair. Extended partings lead to growing insouciance dulling grief. Why must we see off with bright lanterns yet another New Year’s Eve, as we wistful remain and the distance between us keep?[2]

(The original poem was by Jiang Kui titled The Partridge Sky – A Dream on the Night of Lantern Festival with some minor changes.)

End of the first half.

[1] Literally means favourable.