Chapter - 25 (25) (2/2)
”That's strange,” the nun in white said, ”Your martial art skill is from the Snake Island. How can a person with such a noble rank deep inside the Palace have any relationship with the Shen Long Jiao [Divine Dragon Cult]?”
Wei Xiaobao was secretly amazed; he thought that this Shitai did not seem to know anything, but next time he lied to her, he must be extra careful.
The Empress Dowager said, ”I don't know anything about Shen Long Jiao. My negligible martial art skill was taught by a eunuch in the Palace.”
”Eunuch?” the nun in white said, ”How can a eunuch in the Imperial Palace have any relation with Shen Long Jiao? What's his name?”
”He is called Hai Dafu,” the Empress Dowager replied, ”He has died a long time ago.”
Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily in his heart; he mused, ”The old wh0re talks utter rubbish; if she knew that I am hiding in here, she would not dare to broadcast such a gargantuan lie.”
”Hai Dafu?” the nun in white muttered to herself, ”I have never heard of such character. Just now you attacked me with seven palm strikes in succession, the power behind your palm was dark and sinister; what kind of palm technique was that?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”According to my Shifu, it was Wudang Pai martial art; it is called … it is called the Soft Cloud Palm.”
The nun in white shook her head. ”No, it's not,” she said, ”It was the 'Transforming Bones Soft Palm'. Wudang Pai is a prestigious upright sect, how can they have such a sinister and ruthless skill like that?”
”Shitai is right,” the Empress Dowager said, ”It was what Shifu told me. I … I did not know that.” Seeing the nun in white's profound martial art skill and her extensive knowledge, the reverence in her heart grew; the way she talked was also more polite.
The nun in white asked, ”Using this kind of palm technique, how many people have you harmed?”
The Empress Dowager replied, ”I … junior has always been deep in the Palace; training martial art is only to strengthen my body, I have never injured a single person.”
”Shameless,” Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, ”Blowing your horn loudly does not need any capital.”
He heard she continued, ”Shitai, please understand, junior has always had others to protect me, in all my life I have never fought anybody. Fighting against Shitai tonight was the very first time. The martial art that junior learned has never been used the least bit.”
The nun in white smiled and said, ”Your martial art skill can be considered not bad at all.”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Junior is a frog at the bottom of a well; if I did not see Shitai's exceptional divine skill, how would I know that the world is so big?”
”Oh,” the nun in white said, ”That eunuch Hai Dafu, when did he die? Who killed him?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”He … he passed away many years ago, he died of illness because of his age.”
The nun in white said, ”Although you yourself have not done any evil, but you, Manchurian Tatars occupy our Great Ming's rivers and mountains, you have caused the death of our Great Ming's Son of Heaven. You are the first Tatar Emperor's wife, the second Tatar Emperor's mother; I can't spare you.”
The Empress Dowager was shocked; with a trembling voice she said, ”Shi … Shitai, junior did not give birth to the current Emperor. His birth mother was Empress Xiao Kang, who had died a long time ago.”
The nun in white nodded. ”So that's how it is,” she said, ”But as Shunzhi's wife, when he massacred thousands upon thousands Han people, why didn't you persuade him even for one sentence?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Shitai, please understand, the former Emperor only doted on that foxy charmer Imperial Concubine Dong'e [Donggo]; it was difficult for junior to even see the Emperor. It is truly beyond my ability to persuade him.”
The nun in white silently contemplated for a while; and then she said, ”What you said is not without reason. I won't kill you today …”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Thank you very much Shitai, for your kindness in not killing me. From now on junior will surely chant the sutra and pray to Buddha daily. That … that Buddhist scripture, would Shitai return it to me?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Junior will reverently worship Buddha, from now on, for the rest of my years, I will chant the sutra day and night.”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Shitai did not know it. This sutra was the one the late Emperor read aloud every day and evening in the past; junior do not forget old affection, I regard this sutra as the late Emperor.”
”That's not right,” the nun in white said, ”When you are chanting the sutra to worship Buddha, your heart and mind must be empty, you must not have the slightest degree of entanglement with predestined love. When you are chanting the sutra while remembering your deceased husband, what good will that bring?”
”Thank you Shitai, for giving directions,” the Empress Dowager said, ”It's just that … it's just that junior is simple-minded, I cannot break away from old entanglement.”
A mysterious gleam suddenly appeared in the nun in white's eyes; she asked, ”What exactly is the strange thing about this sutra? Tell me truthfully.”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Really … really it is junior's infatuation. Although the Late Emperor did not treat junior well, but all along I cannot forget him. Seeing this sutra every day somewhat eases up the pain of missing him.”
The nun in white sighed and said, ”Since you persist in your own wrong doings and unwilling to tell the truth, it is entirely up to you.” Her left sleeve flicked, the tip of the sleeve struck the Empress Dowager's body, the sealed acupoints immediately opened.
The Empress Dowager said, ”Thank you Shitai for showing mercy!” And she kowtowed before standing up.
The nun in white said, ”I did not show any mercy. After your 'Transforming Bones Soft Palm' hit someone, then what happen?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”That eunuch had never told me, he only said that this palm technique is very fierce, not too many people in the world can resist it.”
”Hm,” the nun in white said, ”Just now you attacked me with seven palm strikes, I did not resist it at all; I only return the palm power of those seven 'Transforming Bones Soft Palm'. Where it came from is where it would return. Since the palm power came from you, then it returned to you. This matter is your own doing, you are reaping what you have sown, you must not blame anybody else.”
The Empress Dowager could not stop her soul from flying out of her body. Naturally she knew very well the fierceness of this 'Transforming Bones Soft Palm'; when one was hit with this palm power, all the bones in one's body would turn soft, the bones would break into one cun segments [approx. 1 inch], until finally the entire body would be like silk floss, so that one could not even lift one finger. She had struck Imperial Concubine Dong'e, her sister, and Imperial Concubine Dong'e's son, Prince Rong, with this palm power. She had witnessed with her own eyes the miserable condition of these three people at the point of their death. This nun in white's martial art skill was this superb, plus the ability to return the enemy's palm power to the enemy's body was quite common in the martial art study, so her statement must not be false. This kind of person would indeed be able to return the seven palm strikes of 'Transforming Bones Soft Palm' onto her body.
When she attacked just now, for fear that her power was not fierce enough, she had exhausted her entire strength. Just one palm strike would be unendurable, much less seven palm strikes in a row? In that instant she was extremely frightened; dropping on her knees, she called out, ”Shitai, please save my life.”
The nun in white sighed and said, ”You have brought it upon yourself, you must resolve it yourself, other people are powerless.”
The Empress Dowager kowtowed and said, ”I am still hoping for Shitai's mercy, please give me direction to the bright road.”
The nun in white said, ”You conceal everything, you are unwilling to tell the truth. The bright road is right in front of your eyes, yet you are unwilling to take; who are you going to blame? Even if I have mercy in my heart, it is only for my fellow Han people. You are a Tatar Manchu woman, there is a deep enmity between you and me; by not killing you with my own hand, I have already shown you extreme mercy.” Finished speaking, she stood up.
The Empress Dowager knew the opportunity was fleeting; as soon as this person left, the several days before her own death would be unspeakably unbearable. In that split second, the sight of Imperial Concubine Dong'e and her sister's ten thousand anguish at the death's door, where they were tossing about on the bed in excruciating pain, appeared in her eyes. She could not help but shivering all over. ”Shi … Shitai,” she called out, ”I am not a Tatar, I am … I am …”
”You are what?” the nun in white asked.
The Empress Dowager said, ”I am … I am … a Han.”
”Up to this point you are still spouting nonsense,” the nun in white said, ”How can a Han fill the post of Tatar Empress?”
”I am not talking nonsense,” the Empress Dowager replied, ”The current Emperor's birth mother came from Tong Jiashi, her father Tong Tulai was from Han army banner, he was a Han.”
The nun in white said, ”She was a nobility because of giving birth to a son; I heard that she was originally an imperial concubine, not the Empress at all. She had never been an empress, it was after her son became the Emperor that she was granted the posthumous title as the Empress.”
With bowed head the Empress Dowager said, ”Yes.” Seeing the nun in white took a step to leave, she anxiously said, ”Shitai, I am really a Han; I … I hate the Tatars to the bones.”
”And why is that?” the nun in white asked.
The Empress Dowager said, ”This is a very big secret, I … I shouldn't say it, but … but …”
The nun in white said, ”Since you shouldn't say it, then don't say it.”
At this very moment the Empress Dowager was like having the fire burned her eyebrows; if she blew this matter, the rest would not matter anymore. Clenching her teeth, she said, ”I am a fake Empress Dowager, I … I am not the real Empress Dowager!”
As soon as she said that, no doubt the nun in white was shocked, but Wei Xiaobao who was hiding behind the bed was even more shocked. The nun in white slowly sank back down into the chair and asked, ”What do you mean you are a fake?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”My father and mother were harmed by the Tatars, I have mortal hatred toward the Tatars. I was forced to enter the Palace to be a palace maid, to serve the Empress. Afterwards … afterwards I impersonated the Empress.”
He heard the Empress Dowager said, ”The real Empress Dowager is a Manchu, her surname is Borjigit [bo'er ji ji te], the daughter of Horqin [ke'er qin] Beilei [royal prince]. Junior's father is surnamed Mao, he was a Han from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, a Great General of the Great Ming, Mao Wenlong. Junior's name is Mao Dongzhu [lit. eastern pearl].”
The nun in white was startled. ”You are Mao Wenlong's daughter?” she asked, ”The Mao Wenlong who guarded the Pi [lit. leather/skin/fur] Island?”
”Exactly,” the Empress Dowager replied, ”My father fought the Tatars for many years; later on he was killed by the Great Commander Yuan Chonghuan. Actually … actually it was due to the Tatars' stratagem of sowing dissension.”
”Oh,” the nun in white said, ”This is indeed a fantastic story. How can you impersonate the Empress Dowager for many years without anybody discovering it?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Junior has served the Empress for many years. I managed to learn her speech intonation, her expressions and mannerism rather well. This facial appearance of mine is also fake.” While saying that, she walked to the bedside desk and picked up an embroidered handkerchief, which she then soaked it with the water inside a golden case; and then she wiped her face rigorously. She also peeled off two pieces of human-skin-like substance from her cheeks. Her facial appearance immediately changed completely. Originally her face was round and rather plump, suddenly it turned into melon-seed shape and quite thin, her eye sockets were rather deep.
”Ah!” the nun in white exclaimed; she was very shocked. ”Indeed your appearance is greatly different.” After hesitating for a moment, she asked, ”But impersonating the Empress was not an easy matter after all. Are you saying that even the palace maids who were very close to the Empress did not recognize you? What about your husband?”
”My husband?” the Empress Dowager said, ”The late Emperor only doted on that foxy charmer Imperial Concubine Dong'e, one person. In the last several years, he had never spent even one night in the Empress' place here. He had never given the real Empress a look, naturally he did not give the fake empress any look at all.” Her voice was filled with bitterness and pain; she also said, ”Let's not mention that I impersonated her really well, even if my look was completely different, how could he know?”
The nun in white nodded slightly; she asked, ”So those palace maids and court eunuchs who served the Empress also did not recognize you?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”As soon as junior has the Empress under my control, I had her to change all the palace maids and court eunuchs of the Ci Ning Palace with the new ones. I very seldom went out, when I occasionally had to, according the Palace's regulations, palace maids and court eunuchs would not dare to look at me directly. Even if they stole a look from a distance, how could they tell the fake from the real?”
The nun in white suddenly remembered something. ”That's not right,” she said, ”You said the Old Emperor had never paid attention to you, but … but you gave birth to the Princess.”
”That girl is not the Emperor's,” the Empress Dowager said, ”Her father was a Han; sometimes he would sneak into the Palace to see me, dressed as a palace maid. This man … not too long ago he met a misfortune … unfortunately he died of illness.”
Tao Hongying pinched Wei Xiaobao's palm; they both thought, ”There was indeed a man who dressed as a palace maid, but he did not die of illness.”
Wei Xiaobao also thought, ”No wonder the Princess is so barbarous in creating trouble, turns out she is a daughter of that fake palace maid. The Old Emperor is benevolent and gentle, his daughter cannot have that kind of manner.”
The nun in white thought, ”You suddenly got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, if the Old Emperor did not have any sexual intercourse with you, how could he not grow suspicious?” It's just that it was kind of private question, plus she left home to be a nun when she was still virgin, so she could not ask the question. She considered further, ”Since this woman has been deliberately and methodically thinking it through to impersonate the Empress, as soon as she found out that she was pregnant, she would find a way to cover it up; I need not examine her in details.” Shaking her head, she said, ”All along you have not been telling the truth.”
The Empress Dowager anxiously said, ”Senior, even in a shameful matter like that I have told you the truth, what else do I dare to conceal from you?”
The nun in white said, ”If that's the case, then you must have killed the real Empress. Your hands must be reeking with quite a bit of blood.”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Junior chants the sutras and worship Buddha; although I harbor deep hatred toward the Tatars, I do not dare to kill people carelessly. The real Empress Dowager is still alive and well.”
This statement was completely beyond the three people's, in front and behind the bed, anticipation. ”She is still alive?” the nun in white asked, ”Aren't you afraid she might reveal your secret?”
The Empress Dowager walked to the front of a big hanging rug. She pulled a woolen cord next to it, the hanging rug slowly rolled up, revealing two-leaved wardrobe door. From her bosom the Empress Dowager fished a golden key, and opened the lock of the wardrobe door. When she opened the wardrobe door, everybody could see a woman was reclining inside, her body was covered in embroidered quilt.
The nun in white softly exclaimed in shock. ”She … she is the real Empress Dowager?” she asked.
The Empress Dowager said, ”Senior, please look at her appearance,” while fetching a candle-holder and let the candlelight illuminating the woman's face.
The nun in white saw that the woman's countenance was extremely wan and sallow, there was not the least bit trace of blood on it, but her facial features were extremely similar to the fake Empress Dowager before she took off her disguise.
The woman slowly opened her eyes, but immediately closed them again. She said in a low voice, ”I won't tell you. You … you kill me quickly.”
The Empress Dowager said, ”I have never killed anybody, how can I kill you?” While saying that, she closed the wardrobe door and let down the hanging rug.
”You have her locked up in here for many years?” the nun in white asked.
”Yes,” the Empress Dowager replied.
”What do you press her to tell you?” the nun in white asked, ”It is because she firmly refused to tell you that you have kept her alive until today. As soon as she tells you, you will immediately kill her, will you not?”
”No, no,” the Empress Dowager replied, ”Junior knew that Buddhist teaching admonishes against taking life. I often fast and eat vegetarian dishes, I can't possibly harm her life.”
”Humph,” the nun in white snorted, ”You think I am a three-year-old child that doesn't understand your thought? This woman is locked up in here, she poses a danger to you at all times, you did not kill her, there must be an important scheme here. If she shouted from inside the wardrobe, won't your plot fall through and stand exposed immediately?”
”She won't dare to shout,” the Empress Dowager said, ”I told her that if this secret was leaked, I would kill the Old Emperor first; and then when the Old Emperor died, I told her I would kill the young Emperor. This Tatar woman is really loyal and devoted to those two Emperors, she won't let them receive any harm.”
”What is it exactly that you wanted her to tell you?” the nun in white asked, ”She did not want to speak, why didn't you use the Emperor's life to threaten her?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”She told me that if I harmed the Emperor, she would immediately go on a hunger strike to kill herself. She does not stop eating only because I promised her I won't harm the Emperor.”
The nun in white considered this matter carefully: these two real and fake Empress Dowager, one threatens by killing herself by going on a hunger strike, the other threatens by harming the Emperor, both are afraid of the other, they are locked in a stalemate for many years; it is indeed a deadlock. It is reasonable to say that the real Empress Dowager is also a dangerous character, nothing of her should be allowed to remain, after she is killed, her corpse must be burned to ashes, so that she won't leave even half a trace. Unexpectedly she is still allowed to live in the Palace, it must be because she is still holding on to a big secret, which all along she refuses to tell. It is obvious that this secret must be very important. She asked, ”My original question to you, you keep talking about this and that, but never give me a straight answer. What exactly did you force her to tell you?”
”Yes, yes,” the Empress Dowager said, ”This big secret concerns the rise and fall of the Tatars. The Tatars' dragon flourished in Liaodong (Peninsula); they managed to occupy our Great Ming's world because their ancestors' feng shui was exceedingly good. Junior found out that on the Changbai Mountain of Liaodong Peninsula, there is a dragon vein of the Aisin Gioro
[50] Clan. By digging and breaking this dragon vein, not only we can recover the Han family's mountains and rivers, everything that the Tatars have inside the pass will be destroyed as well.”
The nun in white nodded; thinking that this story corresponds with what Tao Hongying had told her earlier. She asked, ”Where is the location of this Dragon Vein?”
”That is exactly the big secret,” the Empress Dowager replied, ”When the late Emperor died, the young Emperor was still little, he did not understand anything, while Imperial Concubine Dong'e, whom he most doted on, had already died before him; therefore, he told this big secret to the Empress, telling her to wait until the young Emperor grew up, and then she is supposed to inform him. At that time junior was the palace maid serving the Empress, I overheard the late Emperor and the Empress' conversation, but I was unable to hear the whole thing. I only want to ascertain this matter, and then assemble a group of warriors with aspiration, to go to Changbai Mountain to break the dragon vein, and then my Great Ming's world might recover.”
The nun in white said doubtfully, ”The matter of feng shui and dragon vein is vague, with nothing to support it; it is very difficult to believe. Our Great Ming lost the world because the successive dynasties' administration was bad, they treated the common people harshly, to such an extent that the government official drove the people to revolt. I understood this truth clearly only after I travelled to the four winds these past several years.”
”Yes,” the Empress Dowager said, ”Shitai understands this affair thoroughly, although it is beyond junior's reach. However, in order to recover our Great Ming's world, I would rather believe the matter of feng shui and dragon vein than not believe it at all. If we can dig the dragon vein, the worst that can happen is that we don't do the Tatars any damage. However, if this matter is effective for real, won't we be able to save the thousands upon thousands common people throughout the world from the deep water and scorching fire?”
The nun in white appeared emotionally moved; she nodded and said, ”What you said is true. Whether this matter is real or not, we cannot know it now. Even if it is useless, there won't be any harm done. We only need to make this matter known all over the world, the Tatars ruler and his ministers firmly believe in this dragon vein, their hearts would be discouraged first, and if that time we conspire to recover the nation, everybody will have an additional layer of confidence. So the thing you press the real Empress Dowager is actually this big secret?”
”Precisely,” the Empress Dowager said, ”But this s1ut understands that this matter correlate with her offspring's foundation, she would rather die than disclosing it. No matter how junior tried to swindle her gently or threaten her with force, I have exhausted everything, yet all along she would rather die than talking.”
The Empress Dowager jumped in fright; she retreated two steps back, and said in a trembling voice, ”You … you knew?”
The nun in white said, ”The big secret is hidden in this sutra. How many copies do you have in your hands?”
The Empress Dowager said, ”Shitai's magical power is remarkable, nothing escape your knowledge, junior does not dare to conceal anything. Originally I had three; the first was given by the Late Emperor to Imperial Concubine Dong'e. After she died, junior had it in here. The other two were taken from the home of the treacherous court official Oboi. But one night there was an assassin in the Palace, my chest was stabbed, and those three copies were stolen. Shitai may see it for yourself.” While saying that, she untied her outer garment, undergarment and dudou
[51], to reveal an enormous scar on the pit of her stomach.
Wei Xiaobao's heart was pounding. ”If this interrogation continues, I am afraid Shitai's suspicion will fall on me,” he mused.
He heard the nun in white said, ”I know who tried to assassinate you, but this person did not take those three copies of sutra at all.” She thought that if those three copies of sutra were taken by Tao Hongying, she could not possibly conceal it from her.
The Empress Dowager was startled. ”The assassin did not steal the sutra?” she asked, ”Then who stole those three copies of sutra? This … this is really strange.”
”You want to speak up or not, it's entirely up to you,” the nun in white said.
The Empress Dowager replied, ”Shitai hates the Tatars to the bones, you also have remarkable magical power, if this big secret can be handed over to you, the Senior can take charge of this situation and dig the Tatars' dragon vein. It is something that I always seek but fail to achieve. How can junior hide it from you? Besides, all eight copies of the sutra must be obtained before the location of the dragon vein can be found. Right now there is one copy already in Shitai's hand; even if junior have three copies, what good would that bring?”
The nun in white coldly said, ”Whatever scheme you have in your heart, I don't need to take the trouble to guess. Since you are the daughter of Mao Wenlong of Pi Island, you must have a deep relationship with Shen Long Jiao.”
With a trembling voice the Empress Dowager said, ”No, I … I don't. Junior … has never heard of Shen Long Jiao.”
The nun in white stared at her for a moment; and then she said, ”I am going to teach you a formula to disperse the power in your body. Every day, morning, noon and night, three times you must strike a tree according to this method. Each time nine by nine, eighty-one strikes; perhaps the sinister palm power of the 'Transforming Bones Soft Palm' in your body will be dispersed.”
The Empress Dowager was greatly delighted; she kneeled down and kowtowed again to express her gratitude. Right away the nun in white passed on the theory; she said, ”From now on, as soon as you use your internal strength trying to harm someone, the bones in your body will immediately break to pieces, then nobody can save you.”
”Yes,” the Empress Dowager replied in a low voice; she looked dejected.
Wei Xiaobao was bursting with joy; ”When I see the old wh0re hereafter, even if I do not have the Five Dragon Command, I don't need to be afraid of her.”
The nun in white brushed her sleeve to seal her consciousness acupoint; immediately the Empress Dowager's eyeballs rolled back until only the white was visible, she fell backward and fainted. ”Come out,” the nun in white said in a low voice. Wei Xiaobao and Tao Hongying came out from behind the bed.
Wei Xiaobao said, ”Shitai, this woman speaks three parts the truth, seven parts lies. You must not believe her.”
The nun in white nodded and said, ”The secret hidden in the sutra concerns not only the Tatars' dragon vein, but money and treasures as well, which she intentionally did not mention.”
”Let me look around,” Wei Xiaobao said. He pretended to look to the east and search to the west, he uncovered the beddings, and saw the copper ring on the wooden board covering the secret compartment. ”The sutra's here!” he said in a low voice.
Pulling the wooden board up, he saw the secret compartment was hiding not a few of jewels and banknotes, but there was no sutra. He sighed and said, ”No sutra! What good does these jewels for?”
”Take the jewels,” the nun in white said, ”We will need the money for the future uprising.”
Tao Hongying took all the jewels and money and put them inside an embroidered bundle, which she then handed over to the nun in white. Wei Xiaobao thought, ”This time the old wh0re is really bankrupt.” He thought further, ”How come there was no jewels or banknotes in the secret compartment last time? Ah right, last time I only had my eyes on the sutra and did not see other stuffs. What a pity, what a pity!”
The nun in white said to Tao Hongying, ”This woman impersonated the Empress Dowager, most likely she has other scheme. You hide in the Palace and make a thorough investigation. Luckily she has lost her martial art skill, there is nothing to fear.”
Tao Hongying complied. Actually, after meeting her former master only for a short time, and now they had to part, she was really reluctant to leave.
The nun in white took Wei Xiaobao leaping over the wall and returning to the inn. She took the sutra out to examine it. This copy of sutra had a yellow silk envelope, it was precisely the one Emperor Shunzhi ordered Wei Xiaobao to take to Kangxi. The nun in white opened the cover and saw on the first page four large characters 'never raise taxes' [yong bu jia fu]. She nodded and said to Wei Xiaobao, ”You said that the Tatar Emperor will 'never raise taxes', those four characters are indeed written in here.”
Wei Xiaobao called out delightedly, ”That's it, that's it! This is the big secret.”
The nun in white spread the pieces on the table. She saw some of the pieces were big some were small, some were square some were round, some were triangular in shape, some were diamond-shaped. On some of the pieces, a lot of red curvy lines were drawn; on some others, Manchurian characters were written in black ink. However, all the drawings and characters were cut, nothing was complete, the more than a hundred pieces did not match with each other, so that it was hard to put together.
Wei Xiaobao said, ”It looks like each copy of the sutra hides pieces of leather, only when all eight copies are obtained will we be able to put together a complete map.”
”I think so,” the nun in white said. She put all the pieces together back into the original two layers of sheepskin envelope, wrapped it securely in embroidered cloth, and put it into her inner pocket.
The next day the nun in white took Wei Xiaobao leaving the Capital heading west. They arrived at the graveyard on Mount Jinping in Changping County. It was where the Emperor Chongzhen was buried. In front of the tomb, wild grass was growing very thick, making the grave looked very desolate. Along the way the nun in white did not utter a single word, but now she was unable to show restraint anymore; she threw herself in front of the grave and cried out loudly.
Wei Xiaobao also kneeled down and kowtowed. Suddenly he felt that the tall grass by side was moving. Turning his head around, he saw green skirt. It was the green skirt that Wei Xiaobao thought about millions of time during the day, the green skirt that he had dreamt about thousands of time during the night. As he suddenly saw the skirt this moment, his heart jumped. He was afraid it was just a dream, hence temporarily he did not dare to look.
He heard a tender and delicate voice calling out something, and then he heard, ”Finally you are here; I … I have been waiting in here for three days.” And then she sighed and said, ”But you must not grieve too much.”
”Yes, yes,” he said, ”You have been waiting for me for three days, thank you very much, thank you very much. I … as soon as I heard your voice, I am not grieving anymore.” While saying that, he stood up, and in a glance saw that it was indeed the lovely countenance of that green-clothed girl, whose gracefulness was beyond compare; only her gentle and soft expression suddenly turned into astonishment, and then turned into anger.
Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, ”I also miss you very much …” Before he could finish, there was a sharp pain on his lower abdomen, his body flew more than a zhang backward and he fell heavily on the ground; because he was kicked by the girl.
He saw the girl raised her willow-leaf saber and hacked it down on his head. Hastily Wei Xiaobao rolled away, 'whack!' the saber struck the ground. Before the girl could chop again, the nun in white shouted, ”Stop!”
”Wah!” the girl broke in cry, she dropped her saber off and threw herself into the nun in white's bosom, while crying, ”This evil man, he … he always bullies me. Shifu, quickly kill him for me.”
Wei Xiaobao was startled, delighted, but also embarrassed; he mused, ”Turns out she is Shitai's disciple. Those two sentences she spoke a moment ago were not directed to me.” Sullenly he sat down slowly, thinking, ”Things have come this far, I can only try my best to be a good person. It would be best if I could swindle Shitai, invoking her great mercy so that she would make the decision to join her with me as my wife.”
Thereupon he stepped forward, bowing deeply toward the girl with cupped fist and said, ”Xiaoren has unintentionally offended Miss. I am asking for Miss to show magnanimity by not hold it against me. If Miss wants to hit me, please go ahead and do it; I only hope Miss would spare Xiaoren's life.”
The girl was hugging the nun in white with both hands; without turning around, she kicked backward, her heel hit Wei Xiaobao's lower jaw. ”Ah!” Wei Xiaobao cried out and was thrown backward. Groaning and moaning, temporarily he was unable to get up.
The nun in white said, ”Ah Ke, how can you disregarding propriety and kicking someone you just met two times?” The tone of her voice carried a reprimanding meaning.
As soon as Wei Xiaobao heard her, he was ecstatic. ”Turns out your name is Ah Ke [jade-like stone]. Finally I know it,” he thought.
He had accompanied the nun in white for many days that he knew she like people being respectful, serious and modest. In her presence, the more he suffered some losses, the more beneficial it was for him. Hastily he said, ”Shitai, Miss' two kicks are well-deserved; it was I who was in the wrong, no wonder Miss is very angry. Even if she kicks me a thousand times, ten thousand times, it is really Xiaoren that deserves to die.” He crawled up with both hands cradling his lower jaw, the pain made his tears flowed down. This time he was not pretending, the kick was really not light.
Sobbing and sniffling, Ah Ke said, ”Shifu, this little monk really deserve to die, he … he bullied me.”
”How did he bully you?” the nun in white asked.
Ah Ke blushed. ”He … he has bullied me many … many, many times,” she said.
”Shitai,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”In short, it was I who was muddle-headed, plus my martial art is lacking. That day Miss went to play at the Shaolin Temple …”
”You went to Shaolin Temple?” the nun in white asked, ”How can a girl go to Shaolin Temple?”
Wei Xiaobao was delighted in his heart, ”Turns out she went to Shaolin Temple not instructed by Shitai, that's even better.” He said, ”It was not she who wanted to go, it was her Shijie who wanted to go. Miss could not disobey her, hence she had no choice but to come with her.”
”How do you know?” the nun in white asked.
Wei Xiaobao replied, ”At that time I was ordered by the Tatars' Young Emperor to be his proxy to be a monk in Shaolin Temple. I saw another Miss came to Shaolin Temple, this Miss was following behind her, apparently she did not wish to come.”
The nun in white turned her head and asked, ”Was it Ah Qi who take you there?”
”Yes,” Ah Ke replied.
”And then what happened?” the nun in white asked.
Ah Ke said, ”Those Shaolin Temple monks were very vicious; they said that their Temple's rule did not allow women to enter the Temple.”
”Yes, yes,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”That is an unacceptable rule; why can't nu shizhu [female benefactor] enter the Temple? Bodhisattva Guanyin is a woman.”
”And then what happened?” the nun in white asked.
Wei Xiaobao said, ”Miss said, since they were not allowed to enter the Temple, they would better go back. But those four Shaolin Tempe monks in charge of receiving the guests did not have any manners; they babbled nonsense and thus offended the two ladies, while their martial art skill is very disappointing.”
The nun in white asked Ah Ke, ”Did you fight with them?”
Wei Xiaobao barged in, ”It was entirely the welcoming monks' fault, I saw it with my own eyes. They stretched out their hands to push the two ladies. Shitai, just think, the two ladies have 'thousand gold' bodies, how could they let the four monks' filthy hands touching them? Naturally the two ladies moved sideways to evade; the four monks were careless, they bumped their own limbs on the mountain pavilion's pillars, inevitably they were slightly hurt.”
”Humph,” the nun in white snorted, ”Shaolin Temple's martial art is the leader in Wulin world, how could it be that bad? Ah Ke, when you made your move, which stances did you use?”
Ah Ke did not dare to conceal anything; she lowered her head and told her in a low voice. The nun in white asked, ”You two knocked down four Shaolin Temple monks?”
Ah Ke cast a glance toward Wei Xiaobao, and hatefully said, ”Five, including him.”
”You have quite a nerve, going to Shaolin Temple and beat five Shaolin Temple monks that their hands and feet were dislocated.” With eyes like lightning she looked at her up and down. Ah Ke was so frightened that her face turned even paler.
The nun in white saw the red scar across her neck. ”That blade wound, was it the Temple's martial art master who injured you?”
”No, it was not,” Ah Ke replied, ”He … he …” She looked up and shot Wei Xiaobao a glowering look; suddenly her cheeks blushed, while tears streamed down on her face. ”He … he humiliated me so much, disciple … disciple slashed my own saber across my neck, but … but I did not die.”
When she first heard about her two disciples went up Shaolin Temple to create trouble, the nun in white was furious, but seeing the scar on her neck was really long, she felt sorry for her; she asked, ”How did he humiliate you?”
”Wah!” Ah Ke cried.
Wei Xiaobao said, ”Indeed, it was me who was being greatly inappropriate, I spoke without manners, I did not act with propriety. Miss was only grabbing me, scaring me to death, telling me that she was going to dig my eyeballs, but she did not really mean it. Indeed it was me who was a coward and useless; I was scared out of my wits that with both hands I randomly hit and grab backward, and in my carelessness had touched Miss' body. Although it was unintentional, I wouldn't wonder that Miss was so angry.”
Ah Ke was so embarrassed that her beautiful face turned completely red, but her eyes was filled with resentment, anger and pain.
The nun in white asked further about the several stances Ah Ke was using when they fighting. After gaining a clear understanding, she said, ”It was unintentional, you don't need to take it seriously.” Gently patting Ah Ke's shoulder, she said in a tender voice, ”He is only a little child, and … and a eunuch too, it's not a big deal. You have already used the 'young swallow returning to the nest' to break his arms; you have punished him enough.”
Ah Ke's tears did not stop rolling down; in her heart she said, ”He is not a little child at all, he went to the brothel to do bad things.” But she did not dare to say it out loud, for fear that Shifu would investigate, and then she would know that Ah Ke had followed her older martial sister to a brothel and beat people there. Her heart was dismayed, she cried even louder.
Wei Xiaobao kneeled down on the ground, kowtowed again and again, while saying, ”Miss, you are upset, please kick me several more times to vent your anger.”
Ah Ke stomped her feet and cried, ”I simply won't!”
Wei Xiaobao raised his palm, 'whack, whack, slap, slap!' he slapped his own face several times. ”I deserve to die, I deserve to die!” he said.
The nun in white knitted her eyebrows and said, ”It can't be considered your fault in this matter. Ah Ke, we can't bully people too much.”
Sobbing and sniffling, Ah Ke said, ”It was he who bullied me, he kidnapped me and locked me up in the Temple and did not let me go.”
The nun in white was startled. ”Is that so?” she asked.
”Yes, yes,” Wei Xiaobao said, ”I know I was wrong. Because I wanted to win Miss' favor, I invited her to the Temple. I thought that since Miss has always wanted to tour the Shaolin Temple but the monks did not allow her to enter the Temple, no wonder Miss was angry. And thus … and thus gathering my courage, I invited Miss to go and play at the Bo're Hall; I also asked an old monk to accompany Miss to chat and relieve her boredom.”
”Fooling around, fooling around,” the nun in white said, ”Both children are fooling around. Which old monk?”
”It was the Head of Bo're Hall, Cheng Guan Dashi,” Wei Xiaobao replied, ”He was the one exchanging palm strikes with Shitai in Qingliang Temple.”
The nun in white nodded. ”That Dashi's martial art skill is superb,” she said. She patted Ah Ke's shoulder again and said, ”Alright, that's enough. Not only this Dashi's martial art skill is high, he is also an old man. Xiaobao asked him to accompany you, he cannot be considered ill-treating you. Let's not talk about this matter further.”
Ah Ke said in her heart, ”This little evildoer is really bad; only, there are many things that are not convenient to say, otherwise, if Shifu investigated, Shijie and I would ended up being blamed for many things.” She said, ”Shifu, you don't know, he … he …”
The nun in white no longer paid any attention to her; she was looking at Chongzhen's grave as if she was entranced. Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue at Ah Ke and made a face. Ah Ke was furious, she shot him a vicious look. Wei Xiaobao felt that although she was extremely angry, she was still unspeakably beautiful; his heart was very happy. He sat on the side, unable to take his eyes off her, admiring her features. He saw that from her head to her toe, her hair, her eyebrows, even the tip of her little finger, everything on her was extremely beautiful.
Ah Ke cast him a sidelong glance, and saw that he was staring blankly at her, she blushed, pulled the nun in white's sleeve and said, ”Shifu, he … he is looking at me.”
”Mmm,” the nun in white simply grunted. She was recalling the scene from the past, when she was at the Palace. Ah Ke's words did not enter her ears at all.
Sitting until the sun was leaning to the west, the nun in white was still unwilling to leave her father's grave. Wei Xiaobao wished that she would sit like this for ten days or half a month, as long as he could look at Ah Ke, even if he did not eat, he would not mind. Ah Ke, on the other hand, was feeling quite uncomfortable being the object of his stare. Although she did not turn her head to look at him, she knew his eyes were fixed on her. She was feeling bashful, fretful, and also furious; she thought, ”This little evil person is full of graceful words, flowery speech; I don't know what lie he told Shifu so that she always protected him. As soon as Shifu is not around, I must kill him. Even if Shifu will punish me harshly for this, I simply can't let him humiliate me like this.”
More than two hours later, the sky was gradually turning dark. The nun in white heaved a long sigh, stood up, and said, ”Let's go.”
That night the three of them lodged in a peasant family home. Wei Xiaobao knew that the nun in white love cleanliness, so before dinner he rubbed and washed the two women's bowls and chopsticks in hot water, he also wiped the stools, the dinner table where those two women would be sitting, until there was not a speck of dust on it. He also wiped the bed and swept the floor, making sure that wherever the two women sit or sleep on would be immaculate. He had always been lazy; hence in all his life he had never strained himself working as hard as that.
The nun in white nodded in secret; she thought, ”This child is hardworking. Having him during our travel will be much more convenient.” Before she turned fifteen, she had always lived deep in the Palace; since childhood she was accustomed to have palace maids and court eunuchs taking care of her. After having the misfortune of her country changed its master, she wandered destitute in Jianghu; the daily food and drink was completely different.
Wei Xiaobao was accustomed to be a eunuch, plus he did not spare any effort to get what his heart desired, he went as far as making her enjoying the happiness of the former days when she was still a princess in the Palace. The nun in white had left home and devoted herself to religious practice, she did not care about the luxury of the past, yet how one spends one's childhood will be imprinted in one's heart and mind, and will forever stay and can never be erased. She was not looking to be a princess, but Wei Xiaobao was treating her like a princess; she was touched and was delighted.
After dinner, the nun in white asked Ah Qi's whereabouts. Ah Ke said, ”I have not seen Shijie since that day when we were separated outside the Shaolin Temple; perhaps … perhaps she was killed by him.” While saying that she cast a sidelong glance toward Wei Xiaobao.
”How can there be such thing?” Wei Xiaobao busily replied, ”I saw Miss Ah Qi was with Mongolian Prince Galdan, and several lamas, and an army commander under Wu Sangui's command.”
As soon as the nun in white heard Wu Sangui's name, her expression looked very angry. ”Why did Ah Qi hang around with people we have no relation with?” she angrily asked.
Wei Xiaobao said, ”When those people arrived at the Shaolin Temple, probably they came across Miss Ah Qi by accident. Shitai, if you want to find her, let me come with you, I am sure she will be very easy to find.”
”Why is that?” the nun in white asked.
Wei Xiaobao replied, ”I still remember the appearance of those Mongolians, Lamas, and military officers from Yunnan. We only need to find one, the rest will be easy to deal with.”
”Very well,” the nun in white said, ”In that case you'll come with me, we'll look for her together.”
Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. ”Thank you very much Shitai,” he said.
The nun in white was puzzled, ”You are helping me to do this matter, I should be thanking you, why did you thank me instead?” she asked.
Wei Xiaobao said, ”Nothing delights me more than to be with Shitai every day; it would be best if I could be by Shitai's side forever. If I cannot, then being with Shitai one more day means happiness for one more day.”
”Is that right?” the nun in white asked. Although she had received Ah Qi and Ah Ke, two girls to be her disciples, usually she treated her disciples coldly. The two girls revered her very much, they had never dared to tell her what's in their hearts; how could they act like Wei Xiaobao with his graceful words and flowery speech, sweet mouth and honeyed tongue? Although her personality was strict and cold, those words were really pleasing to her ears; she could not stop a smile from appearing on the corners of her mouth.
Ah Ke said, ”Shifu, he … he does not …” She was fully aware that Wei Xiaobao's enthusiasm to help them find her Shijie was just a ruse to be with her. Those 'Nothing delights me more than to be with Shitai every day; it would be best if I could be by Shitai's side forever' and so on was actually the real desire of his innermost being, only the word 'Shitai' should be changed to 'Ah Ke'.
The nun in white stared at her, ”Why not?” she asked, ”How do you know the content of other people's heart? I have often told you before, in Jianghu, the people's hearts are sinister and deceitful, their words cannot be trusted. But this child has followed me for many days, there was no pretense in him, I know he can be trusted. He is only a little child, how can you lump him together with those Jianghu men?”
Ah Ke did not dare to say anything anymore, she bowed her head and mumbled, ”Yes.”
Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he said in his heart, ”Ah Ke, my good wife, naturally your husband stands out from the masses, how can you lump him together with those Jianghu men? Just listen to your Shifu, I guarantee you won't suffer any losses. The worst that can happen to you is that you will be given in marriage to me. Do you think I will be willing to part with you and don't want you anymore? Just set your hundred and twenty heart at ease.”
Book note: the Emperor's child is a reference to the Emperor's daughter, it usually refers to the Princess. In the 'Nine Songs, Madame Xiang' of the Songs of Chu [ancient book of poems, c. 500 BC]: 'The Emperor's child fell north of the islet'. The Emperor's child here was the Emperor Yao's daughter. In the poem 'Escorting the Golden City Princess to the Western Foreign Land', Ma Huaisu wrote: 'Where is the Emperor's child now? She is engaged to be married in a strange land.'