102 Love Triangle (1/2)
”No!” Meng Fuyao shook her head. ”What have others' mistakes got anything to do with you? Zhangsun Wuji, you're wise and should understand this logic. Do not punish yourself on behalf of wrongdoers.”
She released her hands suddenly and walked to the jail entrance before striking the lock with Destiny Rebellion. The lock came apart, and she pushed her way in, stopping before King De and going down on her knees. After three bows she spoke, ”The dead is greatest.[a] As for whatever gratitude and grudges that were left behind, they are now bows that I owe you. Also, I am sorry for having disturbed your corpse. There's something that I have to do, whether you like it or not.”
She stood up and moved forward to close his wide-opened mouth.
”No matter who's in the wrong, this isn't the way a father should punish a son.” Meng Fuyao reached forward with determination, closing his wide-opened eyes before placing his body down in a resting position. She then started wiping the words on the wall without hesitation.
There wasn't any cloth around, so she used her own sleeves to do so.
When done, she turned around to see Zhangsun Wuji sitting on the floor observing her. He had remained quiet throughout, like the trace of moonlight that shone through the narrow window above the jail ceiling. It was cold and cast onto the pitch black floor, it resembled a nameless tablet that could never be removed.
The unsettled accounts, love, and hate, rights, and wrongs that faded along with death were like the nameless tablet - only a blank was left.
The blood on the wall could be erased, but how could one remove the scars left in the heart?
Meng Fuyao walked over to the copper lamp on the wall and lit it up before taking a seat in front of Zhangsun Wuji and amid a pool of blood trace.
The dim light, sunset-like, flickered about in the empty and lonely cell, interweaving all past events that had occurred and could never be altered.
”A long time ago there was an emperor who got severely injured in a battle to suppress a revolt. A capable general brought him into the mountain cave to recuperate, eventually dying on his behalf at the final moment. The general was also a member of the royal family and shared the same family name as the emperor. Upon reaching safety, the emperor swore not to let royal members mistreat the general's descendants. He then adopted the general son and became his father.
”Since then the orphan was conferred with the title of a king and guarded the royal family like his own. Three generations later, also this generation, the current emperor fell ill often. The king fought bravely, stayed loyal to the nation, and was basically the emperor's arms. When they were young, they had often traveled far away to tour and have fun.
”It was springtime when both of them trekked to a mountain outside the city. The emperor stopped in a pavilion and started playing a piece on the zither while the king broke into an exciting sword dance. Halfway through they were disrupted by a lady who was passing by. Sharp-tongued, she thoroughly criticized their respective skills, causing them to pack up and go but never really forgetting about her.”
The room was hazily lit, and Zhangsun Wuji's calm expression could be seen. His mind was in a remote place, as visible from his eyes. It was as if he had been brought back to the scene from a long time ago where the breeze was blowing, and the flowers were plenty. A refined young man was playing the zither while another passionate youth was brandishing his sword under the tree. A young lady, dressed in a yellow robe and surrounded by falling petals, approached them and burst into a tirade, unknowingly stirring the affairs of the world, destabilizing the imperial family and the destinies of countless individuals, even after many, many years.
Meng Fuyao reached her hand out in silence to grab his hand while he simply let out a faint smile and gently patted her hand.
”Some time passed, and the emperor got busy with national affairs, gradually forgetting the woman from that fateful day. One time, the king dashed into the palace, informing the emperor that the lady had been found and that he was going to marry her. Having heard that she was born into a far away tribe but unwilling to snatch a brother's lover, he sent a trustworthy eunuch to her residence with a painting of a swordsman, from the previous dynasty, dancing in the snow. The emperor figured that the lady probably knew martial arts and would appreciate the painting. He had the eunuch keep his identity a secret. He only was to mention the encounter that had made him think about her often. He should also say that he had boldly gifted her such a painting in hope that she would like it.”
”She accepted it, and asked after some time if it is from the zither player or swordsman.”
”Thinking that she was asking about the content of the painting the eunuch answered, 'Swordsman.'”
”'Alright,' she smiled.”
”Pleased, the emperor released a decree to send her into the palace as a concubine. In her second year, she bore him the first and only prince. Satisfied he made her the empress.”
”During her first year as the empress, the king found his own princess, the eldest daughter of King Linjiang. Originally, leaders of the same clans were not allowed to marry, but since he was young and pampered, and was the only one she had wanted to marry, they tied the knot eventually. That time, the citizens were magnanimous and willing to let go of old ideas. To them, the pair made the perfect couple.”