Chapter 88.1 - Collapse (Part I) (2/2)

In the Jinying Wang fu.

Xiao Shao silently perused the letter in his hand as the pigeon on his table cooed, gu gu, gu gu.

After some time, he said, “Take my official seal, and ask General Guan to come here.”

A Jin Yi guard received the order and left. Xiao Shao stretched out his hand and tapped the letter with slender fingers, his eyes cold and detached.

Jiang Xin Zhi, Zhao Yuan Jia?

The continuous rain seemed to have cleansed the night sky over the capital city. In particular, as the rain had decreased in severity over recent days, tonight’s sky was exceedingly clear and limpid, as if, in the very next second, a luminous moon would be seen hanging from the branches of the willow tree by the lake.

The area surrounding Bo Chang reservoir was tranquil and without movement. The barely discernible raindrops fell lightly on the surface of the water, setting off shallow waves, just like the tender and intimate chat between two lovers.

Armed imperial bodyguards were patrolling the edge of the reservoir, while the people in the lower reaches of the reservoir had already entered dreamland.

Into this still and silent scene, from a distance, came the sudden sound, ‘pu tong’, as if something had dropped into the water. One of the imperial bodyguards, who was standing by the water’s edge, lifted up his sleepy eyes to say to the person next to him, “What was that sound just now?”

His companion waved his hand and said, “I don’t know, why don’t you go have a look.”

The imperial bodyguard rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he moved forwards until he reached the place where the sound had originated. He peered into the depths and exclaimed, “What’s going on?”

A faint trimmer of ripples distrubed the surface of the water. By the feeble light of the torch, it looked as if there was something there. The imperial bodyguard brought his torch closer to the surface of the water and bent over to take a better look. Suddenly, he felt something cold against his neck, but before his brain could come to any realisation, his body had already collapsed.

The new arrival dragged him to one side and swiftly peeled off his clothes and put them on before taking up the torch.

After a while, the other imperial bodyguard saw his comrade whom he had sent off to investigate the sound returning slowly.

“Why did it take you so long? What was it just now?” the imperial bodyguard asked.

The returning imperial bodyguard only shook his head and yawned.

“Be careful, if someone finds out that you dozed off while on night duty, you and I will be in trouble,” the first imperial bodyguard said unhappily.

The returning imperial bodyguard moved his torch forward lazily, so that only the faintest glimmer of light fell on his face, which thus remained indistinct.

The first imperial bodyguard carried on with his garrulous speech, when he suddenly felt that something was amiss and turned his head sharply. “Something’s not right! You are not . . .”

The sound stopped abruptly.

A dagger protruded from his abdomen. The stranger who was wearing his comrade’s clothes eyed him dispassionately.

The imperial bodyguard struggled to reach the signal flare hidden in his clothes, but before he could do so, another hand had already snatched it away.

Then, in the distance, from the darkness of the area surrounding Bo Chang reservoir, ghostly figures with dark shadows emerged, just like the strands of a big woven net, approaching the reservoir with nary a sound.

The muffled sound of close combat echoed in the darkness.

This night, someone set out in military attire, bringing with him three hundred elite troops, and lay in ambush at Bo Chang reservoir. In a one-sided massacre, with rapidly slashing knives, fresh blood flowed freely.

This night, someone slept soundly, in a warm and refined fu. The smoke from incense rose in spirals, and a good night’s rest was enjoyed.

This night, the homes of the people at Bo Chang reservoir were infiltrated by countless black shadows, and the people were moved away in the darkness.

This night, in the courtyard of a large, luxurious fu, a yellow-robed monk closed his eyes and recited Buddhist scriptures, remaining in silent meditation for the entire night.

This night, the breeze wafted gently, the raindrops were as delicate as silk thread, and the night was full of pathos. Some people had good dreams, while others remained sleepless.

Then, as morning broke on the next day, a loud sound came from the east, and startled awake the still-slumbering residents of the capital city.

The rain poured down in torrents, as if bowl after bowl of water was being upended.

With a bang, the entire dam of Bo Chang reservoir collapsed from the centre outwards, as if it were nothing but a frail partition. The stored water combined with the rain water and surged forth with a tremendous rumble, becoming a huge wave in the twinkling of an eye. In a flash, the water completely engulfed the innumerable homes of the people in the lower reaches of the reservoir.

Like a thunderclap, the news of Bo Chang reservoir’s collapse spread through the capital in an instant. The deluge of rainwater had not only inundated the lower reaches, even other areas which were slightly lower in elevation were also affected.

When the news reached her, Jiang Ruan was in her residence eating furong steamed cake.

In the end, she had not eaten the previous evening’s steamed cake. This morning, although the cake was somewhat cold, when paired with hot tea, it had a special flavour.

When Jiang Xin Zhi returned, his clothes were completely soaked. He changed into a set of dry clothes and immediately went to visit Jiang Ruan even though his hair was still wet. Upon entering the courtyard and noticing what she was doing, he said, “Why are you eating cold food? You’d better take care, your stomach will be cold[5].”

[5] T/N: In Chinese medicine, eating too much ‘cold food’ (not necessarily cold in terms of temperature, but in terms of Chinese medicine, food that cools down your body (‘yin’ food) e.g. lemon, cheese, green tea) can lead to various illnesses and problems.

Jiang Ruan gave him a smile. “It’s nothing.”

Jiang Xin Zhi sat down opposite her and smiled as he said, “Everything has been settled. The people have all been moved to Dongpo mountain, and since it is much higher ground, there should be no issues.”

Jiang Ruan nodded, then noticed Jiang Xin Zhi hesitating slightly, so she asked, “What has happened?”

Since Jiang Xin Zhi kept nothing from her, he said, “Last night, when I was with Biaoge, the General also arrived. He didn’t question me about mobilising the troops for private reasons, and even brought some people to help me.” He frowned and continued, “Those people did not seem to be from the army. They were very competent in handling corpses, as if they specialised in killing.” Realising that he should not be speaking of such bloody business in front of Jiang Ruan, he said, “Ah Ruan, you don’t have to concern yourself with this.”

“Since Guan Liang Han helped you, he must have his reasons. Since he didn’t take the initiative to question you, you don’t have to worry about it.” Jiang Ruan did not understand Guan Liang Han’s intentions, but there were more important matters to handle at present.

“Dage, when it’s convenient, find some trustworthy people and ask them to spread this in the marketplace.” Jiang Ruan handed the note in her hand to Jiang Xin Zhi.

Jiang Xin Zhi took the note with some misgivings. When he read its contents, he was dumbfounded. He thought for a while before asking, “Ah Ruan, what did the Li family do to you?”

He had initially assumed that Jiang Ruan was undertaking this series of events solely to help the Zhao family. Going one step further, it would be to curtail Xuan Li’s power and influence and cause him to lose vitality in a short period of time. However, judging from the current situation, it seemed that all of Jiang Ruan’s barbs were aimed at the Grand Councillor fu. The more he thought about it, the more apprehensive he became, and he was appalled. On further thought though, the Grand Councillor fu must have done something to Jiang Ruan, otherwise, why would she harbour such deep hatred?

Ever since his return to the fu, he had asked about Jiang Ruan’s circumstances, but everyone in the Jiang fu kept silent on the topic. The servants were not clear about quite a few situations so there was basically no point in asking them about Jiang Ruan.

Jiang Ruan said, indifferently, “Li Yang is a philanderer and had indecent intentions towards me, so I castrated him, and now the Li family hates me to the core. If he lives, he will sooner or later become my enemy. Either he dies or I die. If I don’t eliminate the entire family, there’s no way for me to be at ease.” She spoke lightly, playing down the situation, but Jiang Xin Zhi’s thoughts and emotions were in a tumult when he heard her words. His first reaction was extreme astonishment, then he clenched his fists tightly and spat out, “Intolerable bully!”

He thrust the note into his gown and said, “Leave this to me.” Looking at her, he continued, “Ah Ruan, if only dage had returned earlier, you would not have had to suffer such humiliation.”

Jiang Ruan smiled faintly and said, “It’s nothing.”

It wasn’t the humiliation that was dreadful, it was the not being self-aware even after humiliation, never having the opportunity to make a change in one’s fortunes, and thus living one’s life to the end in utter misery. Just like her previous life.

Jiang Xin Zhi strode out of the door.