Volume 1, Chapter 17: A Loyal Spirit becomes Distant and Indistinct (2/2)

General Huang then ordered someone to request the Prince of Qi’s presence. All the soldiers had strange looks on their faces. I overhead one of them ask General Huang in a low voice, “He is an official of Southern Chu, will he sincerely treat His Imperial Highness?”

In a low voice, General Huang whispered back, “At the time, we became acquainted with Jiang daren while we were in Jianye. His character is amiable, free, and easy. He cares not for a person’s ident.i.ty or status. His Imperial Highness has said he is incredibly broad-minded and open, and must not be scorned. His Imperial Highness took care of him. I believe that he will not forget this friends.h.i.+p. In addition, he is now in the hands of our army. I don’t believe he would dare do anything.”

It didn’t take long for the Prince of Qi’s carriage to arrive. General Huang had the prince carried into the house. The prince’s face was flushed red. He was in a coma. I stepped forward and checked his pulse. After muttering to myself, I said, “His Imperial Highness was. .h.i.t by a Southern Chu poisoned arrow. The formula for the poison was acquired from southern barbarians and uses the venom from vipers. If it weren’t for the Prince’s strong internal energy, st.u.r.dy build, and the prompt consumption of a generic poison antidote, he would have died long ago. Right now, the toxicity of the poison has sharpened. If we do not treat him, he will die within three days.”

Everyone was shocked. A middle-aged general coldly asked, “If that is the case, do you have a way to save him?” I looked at the man with an inquiring look. The general replied, “This general is Fan Wencheng, the general under the Prince of Qi charged with his protection.”

I smiled faintly before replying, “General should not worry. This lowly official has come at the opportune moment. As long as I use acupuncture on the Prince and prescribe a direct antidote, the Prince’s life will be saved. However, after this, the Prince will need to recuperate for half a year.”

Generals Fan and Huang both revealed cheerful looks. Under their careful gaze, I used my needles on the prince. It took two hours before I finished the complicated process of using the needles upon the acupuncture points. Afterwards, I wrote down a prescription for the antidote. The army was fully prepared and had all of the medicinal ingredients, especially as my prescription did not call for any rare ingredient. It didn’t take long for the prince’s face to return to normal after taking the medication. His sleep became calmer. Thanking me profusely, General Huang escorted me to the side chambers to rest. Seeing me, Chen Zhen asked in a low voice, “Daren, will they let us go tomorrow?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I indifferently replied. “The Prince of Qi is an intelligent man. If he does not allow us to leave, I have my ways to take his life.”

At dawn the second day, the Prince finally woke. General Huang immediately called me over to check the prince’s pulse and condition. Lying in bed, Li Xian smiled as he looked at me. After I had concluded that the poison in his body was no longer a concern and only required the consumption of medicine, Li Xian said with a smile, “To think that we would meet by chance here. Thanks to daren, this Prince’s life has been saved. Jiang daren should just simply follow me back to Great Yong.”

“Your Imperial Highness’s words are incorrect,” I lightly replied. “This lowly official is a subject of Southern Chu. How can I surrender to Great Yong? If Your Imperial Highness remembers the grace of saving your life, please feel free to kill this lowly official.”

“Do not be angry, daren,” responded Li Xian hurriedly. “How can I forget the life-saving grace? If daren is unwilling, then I will not force you.”

I became happy. I had long known that Li Xian greatly admired his older brother, the Prince of Yong. The Prince of Yong was someone who greatly emphasized emotions and friends.h.i.+ps. Under these circ.u.mstances, Li Xian would not make things difficult for me. As long as I said those words, the Prince of Qi could not show ingrat.i.tude. That is why I treated him without setting any conditions.

Seeing that my temper had cooled, Li Xian continued, “I have heard that daren is journeying to help treat a friend. I wonder if this Prince knows who this person is?”

Seeing the suspicion in Li Xian’s eyes, I indifferently answered, “Your Imperial Highness naturally knows who this person is. He is Southern Chu’s Prince of De, Zhao Jue.”

“So you are going to treat him,” said Li Xian furiously. “Preposterous! Do you think that this Prince will allow you to go treat him?”

I icily explained, “Great Yong and Southern Chu are at war. The Prince of De was ambushed and nearly a.s.sa.s.sinated while traveling. And while he lived, he was injured. Since I have treated Your Imperial Highness, then I am not worried that Your Imperial Highness will one day launch another invasion. I did not know Your Imperial Highness so dreaded the Prince of De to go as far as to allow him to die by the hands of a.s.sa.s.sins.”

Li Xian was silenced. It was some time before he spoke. “I expect that even if the Prince of De fully recovers, he will be unable to block the crack hors.e.m.e.n of my Great Yong. Fine … you can go take care of him. Tell him, I will definitely have him die by my hands.”

I bowed slightly, signaling that I would follow his orders.

Three days later, it was only after the Prince of Qi’s injury had improved was I allowed to depart. When I was getting ready to leave, he told me from his carriage, “Jiang daren, Southern Chu will sooner or later be destroyed by my hands. When the time comes, Jiang daren can come find me. This Prince will protect Jiang daren’s property and life.” I remained silent. Whether he took my silence to be in agreement or in refusal, was up to him.

After separating from the Prince of Qi, I hurried day and night before finally arriving at Xiangyang. Baiyi was acquainted with the general a.s.signed to the city gates. My entourage and I were quickly allowed to enter the city, and we rushed directly to the home that the Prince of De was staying in. When I arrived at the entrance, I heard the sound of bitter crying. I froze for a moment before I madly rushed in. All of the soldiers guarding the entrance recognized me and allowed me to pa.s.s unimpeded. When I charged into the Prince of De’s bedroom, I found Rong Yuan fallen over on the ground bawling. On the bed, Zhao Jue’s face was as pale as a sheet. Daoli stood beside the bed, his complexion filled with sorrow. Seeing my arrival, Rong Yuan lamented, his voice choking with emotion, “Suiyun, you have arrived too late.”

Losing self-control, I yelled, “Daoli, how did it come to this? How were you unable to keep him alive?”

Daoli crept to my side and reported, “Daren, this lowly one has helped medicate the Prince to good effect. Even after seven days of personally overseeing the city’s defenses, his wound did not worsen. Who knew that the King today would issue an edict las.h.i.+ng out at the Prince? After the Prince saw the edict, he was greatly angered, continuously vomiting blood. Not an hour ago, he … he pa.s.sed.”

Continuing to shed tears, Rong Yuan came forward and sobbed, “Suiyun, do not blame him. He did his best.”

I coldly asked, “Where is the edict?”

Rong Yuan sighed heavily before pointing at a nearby table. I walked over and picked up the yellow damask silk edict to take a look. My chest tightened and I felt depressed. There was a taste of sweetness in my mouth before I vomited blood. The words on the edict were frigid.

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I dropped the edict, pus.h.i.+ng aside Chiji and Daoli who had stepped forward to prop me up. Looking at the table, I noticed that there was a memorial placed upon it. I picked the paper up and unfolded it. Rong Yuan seemed to want to stop me, but ultimately decided to stand still. I lowered my head and read the doc.u.ment. Although the handwriting was neat and careful, there were traces of blood all over.

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I lowered the memorial back onto the table. Thinking of how Zhao Jue’s heart was filled with grief and he drilled into his heart, weeping blood to write this memorial, tears rained down my face like rain. I wondered, “Why was the Prince so obstinate? If he had listened to my advice, using my army to become independent, how could this have happened?”

Rong Yuan stepped forward and replied, “Before His Highness pa.s.sed, he remembered daren. He originally wished to recommend daren to defend Xiangyang, but after thinking it over, he said, ‘Suiyun is magnanimous and refined, without equal in this world. To no avail, he places his own safety before principles and is most certainly unwilling to die for this cause. Sir Rong, please pa.s.s this along to Suiyun. Tell him that one day when Southern Chu is destroyed, please consider Jue’s feelings and help ensure some of Southern Chu’s royal clansmen live.’”

I was silent for some time before softly saying, “Sir Rong, please restrain your grief. The King is not a heartless person. He will be regretful upon seeing the Prince’s memorial. The matter of Sir garrisoning Xiangyang will surely be approved. Suiyun has become disheartened and will soon resign and go on a long journey. If we are to meet again, we will speak our thoughts freely.”

After finis.h.i.+ng, I turned and left. Arriving at the entrance to the courtyard, as I was pulling aside the carriage curtains and entering, I heard in the distance earth-shattering and heaven-shaking cannon fire. There were twelve in total … signaling that the commander had died. Closing the curtains, I distantly ordered, “Leave.” The carriage began to move. After some time, I pulled back the cover of the carriage window, looking at the gloomy skies outside. For the first time, I could distinctly feel that Southern Chu … was finished.

Footnotes:

<ol><li>武林, wulin – the martial arts community</li><li>心平气和, xinpingqihe – idiom, lit. heart calm and even-tempered; calm and unstressed</li><li>不见棺材，不掉泪, bujianguancai, budiaolei – idiom, lit. to not shed tears until one sees one’s coffin; lit. refuse to admit until forced to face the grim reality</li><li>明哲保身, mingzhebaoshen – idiom, lit. a wise man looks after his own hide; to put one’s safety before matters of principle</li></ol>