“Jinxia!” YangYue shouted in shock.
A cold wind blew past her neck, Jinxia’s movements slowed down. She put her hands on her neck, feeling a slippery and wet sensation. Then she looked down: her hands were full of blood.
“Go, hurry!” Sha Xiuzhu shouted at the masked man, his face displayed anger as he struggled with all his power to get away from YangYue’s grip and throw his body at Lu Yi, holding tightly to his legs. Seeing the masked man still hesitating, he shouted again: “Hurry up and go! Don’t make me feel sorry for the master!”
Having finally decided, the masked man threw the nine-knot whip at Lu Yi and cruelly said: “This man will come back to take your dog’s life!” Before finishing his words, he jumped into the water.
Lu Yi was about to run after him but his legs were hugged tightly by Sha Xiuzhu, making him unable to move at all. Only the sound of waves crashing in the water could be heard.
“Jinxia, Jinxia… Jinxia…” YangYue, who was very tense, rushed right in front of Jinxia, seeing that her entire neck was bleeding, he was too frightened to say anything properly. “You… You… how do you feel?”
Because of the wound on her neck, that Jinxia couldn’t possibly see for herself and that she could only feel through her hands, she was starting now to feel the pain. She grinned as she looked at YangYue: “I also don’t know, will I die soon?”
Lu Yi couldn’t move his legs. He looked at his cloak covered by Sha Xiuzhu’s blood, then he raised his voice calling out for YangYue, “Come here, pull Sha Xiuzhu back to prison…it’s just an outside wound, why bother about something not important?”
In this situation, YangYue did not want to listen to his command. In anger he said: “You almost killed her!”
Lu Yi coldly said: “First, she was suddenly pushed by Sha Xiuzhu into our fight to replace the masked man’s position, who was supposed to take the whip; second, I pulled back some of my strength, the wound is not so serious, it’s like being hit by a branch. Third, Sha Xiuzhu is a wounded person. With her abilities, from the time she was taken as a hostage, she should have been able to escape. Why did she not run away?”
YangYue listened to Lu Yi’s words, he was stunned and fell silent.
“If I really thought that she was their accomplice, killing her wouldn’t be a big issue.” Lu Yi’s voice began to sound uneasy, “Now the wound is only a minor one, that’s because I have been generous.”
Jinxia was stunned for a moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “You…Didn’t you think of me as their accomplice before?”
Lu Yi looked at her as if he was looking at an idiot. After a while, he looked at YangYue and impatiently said: “Quickly drag him back to prison!”
At this moment, YangYue no longer dared to go against his orders, so he walked up and held Sha Xiuzhu. The masked man had successfully escaped leaving Sha Xiuzhu to feel relieved but the wound on his leg was torned again, leaving his feet soaked with blood. He was now powerless, so he let himself be pulled by YangYue.
Lu Yi, feeling disgusted with his robe, was about to return to his room.
Jinxia, who was on the edge, finally seemed to realize… All of a sudden she understood what was happening. Feeling furious she said: “Then, you deliberately said that and so it became an excuse not to care about my life and death!”
Lu Yi stopped his movements, slightly tilted his head and with a plain face said: “We’re all officials, don’t be too straightforward, it’s not good.”
“You…” Jinxia was so upset that her neck started to hurt and she hurriedly pressed on it.
In Lu Yi’s chest a little pain slowly arose. Knowing it was because he’d abruptly withdrew some of his power, he held his pain in silence, glanced at Jinxia and briefly said: “…the success is not enough, yet the failure is more than enough.” He didn’t want to say much anymore, therefore he immediately went back to his room.
Jinxia was left alone on the deck, she bended her head while holding on to her wound. In her heart, she held a mountain of resentment; she gritted her teeth until it hurt.
***
The next day, the courier ship was sailing towards Nanjing. The sunlight shone on the deck of the ship, the crew used a large brush to try and clean the bloodstain.
A sweet fragrance filled Jinxia’s cramped foul-smelling room.
On the table, in a thick iron bowl, there were very thin, long and clear sugar shreds wrapping some fried sweet potatoes: just by seeing it, it would make people happy. Jinxia’s heart blossomed, putting in a mouthful of fried sweet potatoes that she happily ate.
“…Already said it…I want to eat this for dinner…”
Her mouth was full, therefore her speech wasn’t clear.
YangYue looked at her helplessly: “You haven’t yet finished this meal, are you already thinking about the next one?”
“Your cooking skills are good, this master really likes this.” She took another piece, joyfully looking at the shiny gold thread, then chewing it with the flavour filling her mouth.
While she was eating, someone knocked on the door.
YangYue opened the door and immediately greeted: “Father.”
When Jinxia saw Yang ChengWan, she stood up at once, her hand still holding the chopsticks, and said: “Master… have you eaten? Da Yang made sweet-smelling sweet potatoes. Master, do you want to try?”
Yang ChengWan waved his hand and then sat down. He sighed helplessly as if there was something to be discussed. Jinxia picked up another piece of sweet potato, seeing the current situation, she was unsure of whether or not to continue eating. In the room, there weren’t enough chairs, therefore YangYue had to stand.
“How’s your wound?” Yang ChengWan asked.
“It’s okay, it’s starting to close.” Jinxia quickly said, “But, this Lu Yi is indeed cruel, he’s clearly showing off his strength to us.”
Yang ChengWan looked at him while furrowing his eyebrows: “…If you know that, then you should hold yourself back a little.”
“Master, why are you defending him?” Jinxia, feeling dissatisfied, promptly chewed the sweet potatoes on her chopstick.
YangYue, standing beside him, felt dissatisfied as well: “Father, you didn’t see what happened yesterday… He saw that Jinxia was falling into the fight but he had no intention of stopping.”
“Don’t mix up good and bad, if it was intentional, could Jinxia still maintain her life? It was all just to scare you. Based on your story, it meant he suddenly withdrew his inner strength, this could cause him to get hurt badly. Today, I am telling you both, you must respect Lu Daren no matter what happens, etiquette should not be forgotten, do you understand?”
Listening to Yang ChengWan’s words, Jinxia and YangYue no longer dared to say anything and could only nod their heads in agreement.
“Where did the masked man come from last night, did you figure it out?” Yang ChengWan continued to ask.
Jinxia, while chewing her food, tried to recall the details: “He’s about seven feet and two inches; Although he speaks Mandarin, I could hear his Jiangnan accent. The black robe he wore was made of ice silk thread… In truth, this man seems to be from a good reputation family, he might also have some influence. He also said to Sha Xiuzhu that if he entered the water, even if Lu Yi turned into an eight-arm Nezha deity, he wouldn’t be able to catch up to him. That means his swimming skills are extremely good.”
After hearing this, Yang ChengWan remained silent.
“Father, who do you think he is?” YangYue asked in a low voice. In the martial world of many martial arts gangs, he really could not guess who could be related to Sha Xiuzhu.
Yang ChengWan was still silent, it seemed as if he was thinking about something.
Jinxia thought: “Sha Xiuzhu is General Zeng’s subordinate, maybe the masked man is someone related to General Zeng. Since he is only in his twenties, maybe his father is friends with General Zeng.”
Yang ChengWan was again speechless.
“General Zeng is being harassed by Qiu Luan right? Could it be that General Zeng also has hatred toward Qiu Luan?” YangYue asked.
Yang ChengWan shook his head: “No, this is Qiu Luan’s act based on Yan Song’s command.”
“General Zeng offended Yan Song?” Jinxia asked with surprise.
“No, Yan Song and Zeng Xian don’t have any grudges and Zeng Xian wasn’t the person he intended to harm.”
“But, he’s clearly harming Zeng Xian,” Jinxia was confused and did not understand at all: “Master, you’re confusing us, who exactly is he trying to harm?”
“Xia Yan.”
YangYue knew this person: “He is Shoufu Daren*, the first assistant before Yan Song.”
*[Shoufu = Chief Grand Secretary, TN]
“You should understand what is the punishment for being allied with the ministers in the circle of the emperor.” Yang ChengWan slowly said: “Qiu Luan’s report was related to the alliance between Zeng Xian and Xia Yan Shoufu.”
Jinxia and YangYue were speechless, of course they understood. Allying with the ministers in the emperor’s inner circle was considered to be a taboo, because it was like implying that he was plotting a rebellion and wanted to rebel against the emperor. After being arrested for such an accusation, it was impossible to avoid death.
Xia Yan, his honorary name was Gong Jin, was born in Guixi County, Jiangnan Province. He was a scholar during the 12th year of Zhengde’s reign. During the 7th year of Jiajing’s reign, he was assigned to the Personnel Department and received a reward from Sejong. In the 10th year of Jiajing’s reign, he became Deputy Assistant of the Left of the Ministry of Rites. In the 15th year, he obtained his bachelor’s degree of Wu Yu Dian, took part in maintaining state affairs and soon after became Shoufu. In the 27th year, he was accused of conspiracy and rebellion, then he was sentenced to be beheaded in public. His wife Su Liu was exiled to Guangxi. At that time, his nephew, Kecheng, was serving in the Rites Department, while Chaoqing’s nephew’s grandson was employed as an assistant in the royal seal office: they were stripped of their status and became ordinary people.
Xia Yan was aloof, but he was brave and very talented, capable of arguing about everything, not easily subjected to injustice, always thinking about the country. His heart and mind were with the people, but eventually he was harmed by Yan Song.
After he died, arrogance and woe spread across the country.
“Jinxia!” YangYue shouted in shock.
A cold wind blew past her neck, Jinxia’s movements slowed down. She put her hands on her neck, feeling a slippery and wet sensation. Then she looked down: her hands were full of blood.
“Go, hurry!” Sha Xiuzhu shouted at the masked man, his face displayed anger as he struggled with all his power to get away from YangYue’s grip and throw his body at Lu Yi, holding tightly to his legs. Seeing the masked man still hesitating, he shouted again: “Hurry up and go! Don’t make me feel sorry for the master!”
Having finally decided, the masked man threw the nine-knot whip at Lu Yi and cruelly said: “This man will come back to take your dog’s life!” Before finishing his words, he jumped into the water.
Lu Yi was about to run after him but his legs were hugged tightly by Sha Xiuzhu, making him unable to move at all. Only the sound of waves crashing in the water could be heard.
“Jinxia, Jinxia… Jinxia…” YangYue, who was very tense, rushed right in front of Jinxia, seeing that her entire neck was bleeding, he was too frightened to say anything properly. “You… You… how do you feel?”
Because of the wound on her neck, that Jinxia couldn’t possibly see for herself and that she could only feel through her hands, she was starting now to feel the pain. She grinned as she looked at YangYue: “I also don’t know, will I die soon?”
Lu Yi couldn’t move his legs. He looked at his cloak covered by Sha Xiuzhu’s blood, then he raised his voice calling out for YangYue, “Come here, pull Sha Xiuzhu back to prison…it’s just an outside wound, why bother about something not important?”
In this situation, YangYue did not want to listen to his command. In anger he said: “You almost killed her!”
Lu Yi coldly said: “First, she was suddenly pushed by Sha Xiuzhu into our fight to replace the masked man’s position, who was supposed to take the whip; second, I pulled back some of my strength, the wound is not so serious, it’s like being hit by a branch. Third, Sha Xiuzhu is a wounded person. With her abilities, from the time she was taken as a hostage, she should have been able to escape. Why did she not run away?”
YangYue listened to Lu Yi’s words, he was stunned and fell silent.
“If I really thought that she was their accomplice, killing her wouldn’t be a big issue.” Lu Yi’s voice began to sound uneasy, “Now the wound is only a minor one, that’s because I have been generous.”
Jinxia was stunned for a moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “You…Didn’t you think of me as their accomplice before?”
Lu Yi looked at her as if he was looking at an idiot. After a while, he looked at YangYue and impatiently said: “Quickly drag him back to prison!”
At this moment, YangYue no longer dared to go against his orders, so he walked up and held Sha Xiuzhu. The masked man had successfully escaped leaving Sha Xiuzhu to feel relieved but the wound on his leg was torned again, leaving his feet soaked with blood. He was now powerless, so he let himself be pulled by YangYue.
Lu Yi, feeling disgusted with his robe, was about to return to his room.
Jinxia, who was on the edge, finally seemed to realize… All of a sudden she understood what was happening. Feeling furious she said: “Then, you deliberately said that and so it became an excuse not to care about my life and death!”
Lu Yi stopped his movements, slightly tilted his head and with a plain face said: “We’re all officials, don’t be too straightforward, it’s not good.”
“You…” Jinxia was so upset that her neck started to hurt and she hurriedly pressed on it.
In Lu Yi’s chest a little pain slowly arose. Knowing it was because he’d abruptly withdrew some of his power, he held his pain in silence, glanced at Jinxia and briefly said: “…the success is not enough, yet the failure is more than enough.” He didn’t want to say much anymore, therefore he immediately went back to his room.
Jinxia was left alone on the deck, she bended her head while holding on to her wound. In her heart, she held a mountain of resentment; she gritted her teeth until it hurt.
***
The next day, the courier ship was sailing towards Nanjing. The sunlight shone on the deck of the ship, the crew used a large brush to try and clean the bloodstain.
A sweet fragrance filled Jinxia’s cramped foul-smelling room.
On the table, in a thick iron bowl, there were very thin, long and clear sugar shreds wrapping some fried sweet potatoes: just by seeing it, it would make people happy. Jinxia’s heart blossomed, putting in a mouthful of fried sweet potatoes that she happily ate.
“…Already said it…I want to eat this for dinner…”
Her mouth was full, therefore her speech wasn’t clear.
YangYue looked at her helplessly: “You haven’t yet finished this meal, are you already thinking about the next one?”
“Your cooking skills are good, this master really likes this.” She took another piece, joyfully looking at the shiny gold thread, then chewing it with the flavour filling her mouth.
While she was eating, someone knocked on the door.
YangYue opened the door and immediately greeted: “Father.”
When Jinxia saw Yang ChengWan, she stood up at once, her hand still holding the chopsticks, and said: “Master… have you eaten? Da Yang made sweet-smelling sweet potatoes. Master, do you want to try?”
Yang ChengWan waved his hand and then sat down. He sighed helplessly as if there was something to be discussed. Jinxia picked up another piece of sweet potato, seeing the current situation, she was unsure of whether or not to continue eating. In the room, there weren’t enough chairs, therefore YangYue had to stand.
“How’s your wound?” Yang ChengWan asked.
“It’s okay, it’s starting to close.” Jinxia quickly said, “But, this Lu Yi is indeed cruel, he’s clearly showing off his strength to us.”
Yang ChengWan looked at him while furrowing his eyebrows: “…If you know that, then you should hold yourself back a little.”
“Master, why are you defending him?” Jinxia, feeling dissatisfied, promptly chewed the sweet potatoes on her chopstick.
YangYue, standing beside him, felt dissatisfied as well: “Father, you didn’t see what happened yesterday… He saw that Jinxia was falling into the fight but he had no intention of stopping.”
“Don’t mix up good and bad, if it was intentional, could Jinxia still maintain her life? It was all just to scare you. Based on your story, it meant he suddenly withdrew his inner strength, this could cause him to get hurt badly. Today, I am telling you both, you must respect Lu Daren no matter what happens, etiquette should not be forgotten, do you understand?”
Listening to Yang ChengWan’s words, Jinxia and YangYue no longer dared to say anything and could only nod their heads in agreement.
“Where did the masked man come from last night, did you figure it out?” Yang ChengWan continued to ask.
Jinxia, while chewing her food, tried to recall the details: “He’s about seven feet and two inches; Although he speaks Mandarin, I could hear his Jiangnan accent. The black robe he wore was made of ice silk thread… In truth, this man seems to be from a good reputation family, he might also have some influence. He also said to Sha Xiuzhu that if he entered the water, even if Lu Yi turned into an eight-arm Nezha deity, he wouldn’t be able to catch up to him. That means his swimming skills are extremely good.”
After hearing this, Yang ChengWan remained silent.
“Father, who do you think he is?” YangYue asked in a low voice. In the martial world of many martial arts gangs, he really could not guess who could be related to Sha Xiuzhu.
Yang ChengWan was still silent, it seemed as if he was thinking about something.
Jinxia thought: “Sha Xiuzhu is General Zeng’s subordinate, maybe the masked man is someone related to General Zeng. Since he is only in his twenties, maybe his father is friends with General Zeng.”
Yang ChengWan was again speechless.
“General Zeng is being harassed by Qiu Luan right? Could it be that General Zeng also has hatred toward Qiu Luan?” YangYue asked.
Yang ChengWan shook his head: “No, this is Qiu Luan’s act based on Yan Song’s command.”
“General Zeng offended Yan Song?” Jinxia asked with surprise.
“No, Yan Song and Zeng Xian don’t have any grudges and Zeng Xian wasn’t the person he intended to harm.”
“But, he’s clearly harming Zeng Xian,” Jinxia was confused and did not understand at all: “Master, you’re confusing us, who exactly is he trying to harm?”
“Xia Yan.”
YangYue knew this person: “He is Shoufu Daren*, the first assistant before Yan Song.”
*[Shoufu = Chief Grand Secretary, TN]
“You should understand what is the punishment for being allied with the ministers in the circle of the emperor.” Yang ChengWan slowly said: “Qiu Luan’s report was related to the alliance between Zeng Xian and Xia Yan Shoufu.”
Jinxia and YangYue were speechless, of course they understood. Allying with the ministers in the emperor’s inner circle was considered to be a taboo, because it was like implying that he was plotting a rebellion and wanted to rebel against the emperor. After being arrested for such an accusation, it was impossible to avoid death.
Xia Yan, his honorary name was Gong Jin, was born in Guixi County, Jiangnan Province. He was a scholar during the 12th year of Zhengde’s reign. During the 7th year of Jiajing’s reign, he was assigned to the Personnel Department and received a reward from Sejong. In the 10th year of Jiajing’s reign, he became Deputy Assistant of the Left of the Ministry of Rites. In the 15th year, he obtained his bachelor’s degree of Wu Yu Dian, took part in maintaining state affairs and soon after became Shoufu. In the 27th year, he was accused of conspiracy and rebellion, then he was sentenced to be beheaded in public. His wife Su Liu was exiled to Guangxi. At that time, his nephew, Kecheng, was serving in the Rites Department, while Chaoqing’s nephew’s grandson was employed as an assistant in the royal seal office: they were stripped of their status and became ordinary people.
Xia Yan was aloof, but he was brave and very talented, capable of arguing about everything, not easily subjected to injustice, always thinking about the country. His heart and mind were with the people, but eventually he was harmed by Yan Song.
After he died, arrogance and woe spread across the country.
