Three days. It had been three days.
Rong Yi was leaning against the iron bars. Her eyes were hollow and dull. And her face was very much in a state of despair. She had been in this position for three days. Her mood was more depressed than ever. This made the former prison guard, now her cellmate, feel sorry for her as he asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Hmm." Rong Yi nodded with immense sadness.
Prison Guard: "Who are you waiting for?"
Rong Yi: "My friend."
Prison Guard: "You're waiting for him to visit you?"
Rong Yi: "No. I'm waiting for him to help me escape from the prison."
"......" The prison guard was speechless and decided to ignore her again. After a while, he couldn't stand the loneliness. After all, there were only two of them in this cell. If he didn't talk to her, there was no one else he could talk to. So he couldn't help but ask her again: "Tell me the truth, is there something wrong with your brain?"
Rong Yi turned to him blankly and asked, "Do I look like I have a brain problem?"
Prison Guard: "Just look in the mirror, and you'll know."
"I'd like to. But there isn't even a blade of grass in this cell. Where can I get a mirror?"
"......" He should have stopped his mouth from talking.
"Ai––" Rong Yi sighed and asked, "Have you ever felt abandoned by the whole world?"
The prison guard looked at her strangely and thought to himself: This girl isn't just crazy, but she's also literally stupidly crazy. "I've never been locked up by the world, so I've never felt that the world has abandoned me." The prison guard replied honestly.
"Fine. Simply put, it's the same feeling you had when you were arrested yesterday, magnified ten times more." Rong Yi said.
The prison guard imagined such a feeling and immediately looked at Rong Yi with an unimaginable expression. He asked her seriously, "Why haven't you gone to hell yet?"
"......I just assumed that you were so angry with me that you cursed me to go to hell?" Rong Yi looked as if her feelings had been hurt.
"You have misunderstood. What I mean is that you are too stubborn. After such a big blow, I'm surprised you still don't want to seek death," said the prison guard.
"Because I'm not even sure if I've been abandoned right now. I'll have to live to find out the truth."
"What if the truth is too much for you to bear?"
"Then I'll just go to hell."
"...... You're going to die sooner or later anyway, so you might as well die now and be reincarnated early."
When Rong Yi heard his words, she thought seriously for a moment and nodded. "You are right. But one must take responsibility for the mistakes one has made. You were imprisoned because of me, so I must live to collect your body. I can only die when you die."
The prison guard was suddenly moved by her neither fish nor fowl[1], unpleasant words. Although this girl always talked crazy, she was kind after all.
After a moment's thought, the prison guard decided to tell her everything he knew.
"Miss, I have something to tell you," said the prison guard.
Rong Yi gave him a sorrowful look and said, "You don't have to say anything right now."
"Why?" The prison guard did not understand.
Rong Yi gave him another sad look and said, "Giving your last words is a very solemn matter, and you must wait until you have only one breath left."
"......" The prison guard resisted the urge to slap her away as he squeezed the words out of his teeth, "They are not the last words of the deceased."
"Oh. Go ahead, then; I'll listen." Rong Yi's posture had stayed the same. She was still gripping the bars with both hands to look at him, with her small, palm-sized face leaning between the two bars in a 'husband-watching stone[2]' position.
The prison guard sweated a little and said, "Although these will not be my last words, what I am about to say is also very solemn. Could you behave a little more properly?"
"This is already my most proper behaviour." Rong Yi responded very sincerely.
The prison guard held his forehead and said, "I'm too flattered by your most proper behaviour; you'd better change to a more proper one."
"There is no 'more proper', only proper and improper."
"...... Can you explain what you call proper and improper behaviour to me? I'm particularly curious."
"Proper behaviour is to listen to you, and improper behaviour is not to listen to you."
"......" The prison guard thought he must have felt too lonely in the cell, so he started talking to her about meaningless, brainless things like proper and improper.
With a clear cough, the prison guard said, "I know an inside story about your imprisonment."
When Rong Yi heard his words, she slowly turned to look at him and said, "Can you stop exposing my scar? Being abandoned by your own mother and brother is not something to be talked about often."
The prison guard's head was suddenly filled with black lines as he asked, "You still stubbornly believe that the Emperor is your brother and the Empress Dowager is your mother?"
"I'm not being stubborn. I'm just accepting the fact calmly." Rong Yi replied serenely.
"......"
"It is normal that you do not believe me. After all, judging from my current situation, it is quite ridiculous. But after you understand the behaviour of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, you will be convinced of this."
The prison guard shook his head and said, "Fine, fine, whatever you say. You'll be sent to Jinling in a couple of days anyway, and it's none of my business what your real identity is."
"Sent to Jinling?" Rong Yi exclaimed, "Shouldn't I be sent to the capital? I remember the warrant saying that I was a criminal wanted by the Imperial Court."
The prison guard said, "Under normal circumstances, you should be sent to the capital. But the order I received was to send you to Jinling alive."
Rong Yi lowered her eyes and thought for a long time before she said, "Thank you."
The prison guard was surprised that Rong Yi was suddenly saying such normal words and thought: Could it be that she is not crazy? Were the things she said about the Empress Dowager and the Emperor...... true if she was not?
Thinking of how he had treated her like a madman over the past few days, the prison guard felt a sudden shiver run down his spine as he hesitantly asked, "Uh... you're... you're not a narrow-minded person, are you?"
Rong Yi blinked. "No, of course not. I am a particularly open-minded person."
"That's good...... that's good......" The prison guard secretly breathed a sigh of relief and reassured himself: it was said that nobles tended to forget many things. If she really is the royal princess, she may have forgotten him as her cellmate instantly.
Rong Yi did not understand why the prison guard looked as if he had regained his old life and gave him a strange look before analysing the matter of her imprisonment in her mind.
She had initially thought that her mother was so concerned for her daughter and her brother for his sister that they had used this most extreme and effective method to recall her back to the palace. But the prison guard's words made her reject that idea.
Why did her Imperial Brother issue a wanted notice and send her to Jinling? Why was she sent to Jinling and not somewhere else?
Rong Yi was still confused after thinking about it a hundred times. Even as she was escorted to the prison carriage, she still could not make sense of the twists and turns.
Sitting in the prison carriage, Rong Yi's only consolation was that it was not open. Otherwise, she would not have had the face to walk in the jianghu[3] in the future.
When Rong Yi thought of walking in the jianghu[3], she naturally thought of Fu Chengfeng. In fact, during her time in prison, she had often thought of him, wondering why he had not come to save her. The notice of her arrest had been posted all over the city, so there was no way he didn't know about it. And with his strength, he could have gotten her out as easily as walking into his own vegetable garden. It made no sense for him not to come to her rescue.
Rong Yi suddenly remembered the words he had said the night before they parted, and a sense of foreboding once again rose in her heart.
At that moment, the prison carriage suddenly stopped, and the area became surprisingly quiet. Rong Yi looked around strangely but noticed that all the officers escorting her had started to evacuate.
"No way, they're leaving me now?" Rong Yi muttered, then she thought of something essential and hurriedly shouted at the petty officials, "As the saying goes, helping someone to the end is like sending Buddha to the west[4]. Since you are willing to let me live, please be kinder and help me to unlock my handcuffs before you go!"
This girl's attitude towards life is so optimistic that no one dares to look at her directly. This was the unanimous opinion of all the petty officials.
When Rong Yi saw that all the petty officials had finally abandoned her, she sighed emotionally. "The coldest of all is the human heart!"
What kind of strange person would do such a thing as leave a prisoner in a place with no village ahead and no inn behind[5] without even uncuffing her?
Rong Yi thought about it as she looked around for help.
At that moment, there was a sound of hoofbeats ahead. Rong Yi's eyes immediately scanned the source of the sound and saw a line of silver armour-clad cavalry riding their horses in a cloud of dust, looking extremely impressive.
Rong Yi was immediately overjoyed and shouted, "Help, help!"
The cavalry squadron heard Rong Yi's call and quickly halted in front of her.
"Your name is Rong Yi?" asked the cavalry leader.
When did she become so famous? Faced with the cavalryman's question, Rong Yi hesitated but finally decided to believe in life's 'be optimistic' motto and look on the bright side. "Yes, my name is Rong Yi. Are you here to rescue me?" Rong Yi asked.
The cavalryman said, "We have been ordered by Kaoshan Wang[6] to invite Miss to Jinling." After saying this, he threw out a cable and hooked it to the prisoner's carriage, then raised his whip and spurred his horse. The prison carriage followed the horsemen and sped out.
Rong Yi clung to the prison carriage in shock and shouted, "Thank you for letting me experience the thrill of galloping in the wind, but can I trouble you to give me a horse too? The carriage shakes so much that my insides are about to come out!"
The calvary's pace didn't slow despite Rong Yi's small protest.
Rong Yi had no choice but to give up the idea of improving her treatment. She tried to let her body resonate with the vibrating frequency of the prison carriage and then ignore everything around her as she entered a state of calm thought.
She had heard of the name Kaoshan Wang[6]. He had been made into a vassal king with a different surname and given a fiefdom in Jinling by her Imperial Brother for his success in quelling the barbarian rebellion in his earlier years.
She was very young at the time, about five or six years old. Because she was an upright, 'energetic and high-spirited child' and had a heart of 'concern for the country and its people', she often 'participated in government and political affairs' on her Imperial Brother's Dragon Throne. It was then that she heard of Kaoshan Wang[6]. Later, when she asked her mother why Jinling was given to Kaoshan Wang[6] as his fiefdom, her mother answered: "Jinling is Mom's territory, and he can only live a happy life there and not start a rebellion."
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than the site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
Remembering her mother's words and combining them with what Kaoshan Wang[6] was doing, Rong Yi suddenly thought: could it be that Kaoshan Wang[6] wanted to rebel?
But she had played with the jade seal since she was a child, and the seal on the wanted notice would not be false; the person who put her on the notice was indeed her Imperial Brother.
But why would her Imperial Brother order local officials to escort her to Jinling instead of the capital?
This didn't make sense!
If those petty officials had been ordered by her Imperial Brother to send her to Jinling, why had they abandoned her halfway? And just as her escort left her, the Kaoshan Wang[6]'s cavalry suddenly appeared to 'invite' her to Jinling. It was too much of a coincidence.
It must be intentional if too many coincidences exist in the same event.
The fact that the petty officials did not openly complete the handover with the cavalry meant that this act was kept from the public. Rong Yi immediately concluded that her Imperial Brother had never given the order to escort her to Jinling.
Then, there was only one explanation—Kaoshan Wang[6] had conspired with a local official to take her life.
But she still had no idea why her Imperial Brother had put her name on the wanted list.
In the meantime, the petty officials who had escorted Rong Yi had returned to the local government office to report on their mission.
"Reporting to Daren[7], the prisoner has been taken away halfway."
The county magistrate immediately shot up at the words and barked, "How dare they! Someone, pass on this county's order to pursue the criminal Rong Yi with all your might!"
"Yes, Daren[7]!"
After the petty officer who had come to report left, the County Magistrate immediately dropped his angry expression, turned to the screen and asked respectfully, "Is Yu Gongzi[8] satisfied with this humble official's performance?"
At that moment, a young scholar stepped out from behind the screen, the same person Fu Chengfeng and Rong Yi had seen at Liu Yidao's wooden hut. "It doesn't matter if I'm satisfied. It still depends on Kaoshan Wang[6]'s satisfaction." Yu Gongzi[8] said.
County Magistrate: "I'm counting on you to put in a good word for this humble official before Kaoshan Wang[6]."
Yu Gongzi[8]: "Very well."
County Magistrate: "This humble official has one more thing to report. When Rong Yi was captured, we found a note signed 'Fu Chengfeng' in her pouch. Do you think... "
"No need." Yu Gongzi[8] immediately interrupted, "That person shouldn't be touched right now."
"But that person is probably Rong Yi's accomplice. When news of Rong Yi's capture reaches him, he won't leave it at that. We might as well strike first." The County Magistrate argued.
Yu Gongzi[8] glared at him coldly. "Do you think you can catch him with your skills? Don't do anything stupid without my orders!" With that, he left with a flick of his sleeve[9].
The County Magistrate's face turned ashen. As soon as he led Yu Gongzi[8] out of the local government office gate, he immediately shouted, "Men, arrest the suspect Fu Chengfeng and bring him to justice immediately!"
Bailiffs: "Yes, Daren[7]!"
After all the bailiffs had left, the County Magistrate sneered and said to himself: "After I capture Fu Chengfeng, Kaoshan Wang[6] will know who is really useful to him."
*
When the petty official appeared, Fu Chengfeng was basking in the sun outside a mausoleum at the foot of Ten Mile Slope. He knew nothing of what had happened in the city. He had been trapped inside the tombstone mechanism for five days.
Looking up at the clear blue vast sky, Fu Chengfeng smiled mockingly. To fall down twice in the same place, even he would despise himself.
"How unfortunate. I should have brought Yi-er with me." Fu Chengfeng sighed. Even though she was a half-full jar[10], she was still better than him, a broken jar.
If he hadn't found her sound asleep when he woke up and couldn't bear to wake her, he certainly wouldn't have gone out alone to find out the news.
After buying her breakfast, he saw that she was still asleep, so he decided to make a trip to Moon Manor. When he arrived at the manor's gate, he saw a man in black climbing out over the wall with a large sack in his arms, so he chased after him, and as he did so, he unconsciously chased him here. The man in black escaped from the tombstone mechanism like driving a light cart on a familiar road[11], but he was left here to guard the graves of the lonely ghosts.
He should have been half-starved after being there for five days, but he was full of spirit. This was because someone came every day to bring him food.
He remembered that the person who brought the food was the maid who served the young scholar in the wooden hut.
There was no need to guess who had led him here. Apart from Liu Yidao, who else had much better qinggongq[12] skill than him?
Five days was enough for Fu Chengfeng to figure out the whole story. The enemy had trapped him here but served him three large meals daily. The target was clearly not him.
If it wasn't him, then it was her.
Such a clumsy ploy to lure the tiger out of the mountains[13], yet he didn't even see it coming.
It was only his fault for being so smug in thinking that he was the one the enemy was after. He never thought that she, who appeared to be a bystander, was the central figure.
It was good that she had Qinglong to protect her, so her life would not be in danger.
The first thing he would do after breaking this d*mned tombstone mechanism was to turn Liu Yidao's broadsword into three kitchen knives and take them with him to rescue her afterwards. As long as she was still alive, he would definitely be able to find her. His reputation as the 'Breaking Sword That Reaches The End Of The World' wasn't something he had just made up.
Having had enough of the sun, Fu Chengfeng jumped up and was about to continue breaking the formation when he saw about ten petty officials standing around. "What's up?" Fu Chengfeng asked with raised eyebrows.
The bailiff replied, "We have been ordered by the County Magistrate to take you back for questioning."
Hearing these words, Fu Chengfeng stretched out his hands cooperatively and said, "Fine. I won't fight you."
The bailiff had not expected him to be so cooperative and was taken aback for a moment before ordering the bailiffs behind him to handcuff Fu Chengfeng.
Then came this scene—
A dozen or so petty officials escorted a genteel gongzi[8] on a 'parade' around a hillside full of tombstones.
"D*mn it! Why can't we get out of here?" The bailiff cursed grumpily.
Fu Chengfeng laughed. "If I could get out, would I just sleep here waiting for you to catch me?"
The bailiff glared at him coldly and continued to find his way out.
Fu Chengfeng still looked breezy and asked leisurely with a smile, "I'm idle anyway. So, can you tell me something first? What is the County Magistrate's reason for arresting me?"
The bailiff asked, "Do you know a woman called 'Rong Yi'?"
Fu Chengfeng had guessed that Rong Yi would be in trouble, but he had never thought she would be involved with the local government. At that moment, his heart sank slightly as he answered, "Yes, I know her."
The bailiff: "She has committed a serious crime of murder and is wanted by the Imperial Court. You are her accomplice, so Daren[7] is arresting you for questioning."
Fu Chengfeng's eyes instantly went cold, and his hands quickly strangled the bailiff's neck, asking, "Who did she kill?"
"Ah......" The bailiff whimpered in pain and hastily confessed, "The wanted notice only said that she had killed someone in the capital but didn't say who."
"What a load of nonsense!" Fu Chengfeng let go of his hand. His search for Rong Yi was becoming more urgent. She had been with him when she killed the first man, and it was part of a rivalry feud that the Imperial Court should not interfere with. She must have been involved in something more complicated than a rival feud.
Fu Chengfeng wished he could fly to Rong Yi right now. Looking at the tombstones around him, he was so anxious that he suddenly felt the urge to kill.
Ever since his first kill, the urge had been there from time to time, especially when he was agitated.
Fu Chengfeng tried to suppress this impulse and just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. But to his surprise, the bailiff was angered by his choking act and drew his sword on him.
This provocation, like the straw that broke the camel's back[14], awakened the most authentic blood hidden by Fu Chengfeng for a long time—those who obey me will prosper, and those who disobey me will die.
Footnotes Full List
- Chinese idiom: nondescript; inappropriate
- Also known as 'Amah Rock'. It is a naturally shaped rock located on a hilltop in southwest Sha Tin District, Hong Kong.
According to legend, the faithful wife of a fisherman climbed the hills every day, carrying her son, to watch for her husband's return, not knowing that he had drowned at sea. As a reward for her faithfulness, the Goddess of the Sea turned her into a rock so that her spirit could be united with that of her husband. - Wiki
(Legend on https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amah_Rock, pic on Hong Kong Yearbook)
Amah Rock
Image Credit | Hong Kong Yearbook - lit. rivers and lakes—people wandering from place to place and living by their wits, e.g. fortune-tellers, quack doctors, itinerant entertainers, etc., considered as a social group
- Chinese proverb: When you do a good deed, you should see it through to the end (instead of giving up halfway)
- Chinese idiom: to be stranded in the middle of nowhere
- kaoshan=backer; patron; backing, wang=King
- title of respect for superiors
- a son of nobility
- Chinese idiom: go off in a huff
- taken from a saying 满罐子不响，半罐子叮当 (mǎn guàn zǐ bù xiǎng, bàn guàn zǐ dīng dāng — a jar full of water will not make a sound, a jar half full of water will) which means that a wise person is often very modest and does not express himself too much, while the ignorant one will show off and bluff all day long.
- Chinese idiom: to do something routinely and with ease
- 'the art of lightness'. The body is trained to be 'light as a feather so that a person can run at great speed, leap high and drop down softly on the tip of the toe.
- Chinese idiom: to lure an enemy out of his territory
- Chinese idiom: the final straw
きつね's Musing
Oh, no! They have created another Chu Changge!
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Black Belly Wife