Chapter 15: Becoming an official
He Leyong was naturally an incredibly intelligent person; how could she not guess that, having come now, Jiang Changbai and Song Juguang had a request for her? After all, from the time her identity had been exposed and she'd been chased out of the Prince's residence, she'd lived in Mount Tongshan. Mount Tongshan was only a day's travel from the capital, but in the past six or so years, He Leyong hadn't received any news from the capital. To say nothing of the matter of, then, the matter having been brought before emperor by the imperial censor, causing Emperor Tai to be infuriated, such that even Prince Ling had been scolded heavily.
If there truly wasn't some matter, then presumably, they wouldn't have come to find her.
Jiang Changbai had always only had reverence for this teacher, and so, she hadn't thought of concealing it, and said candidly, "Laoshi, we want to invite you to enter the court as an official."
But the next moment, He Leyong's response caused Jiang Changbai to be shocked. She only saw He Leyong's original gentle face immediately become ashen, and she stood up suddenly, some fury in her tone. "Do you know why it is that I live here?"
Jiang Changbai's heart, seeing her expression change suddenly, flashed with unease. "Of course I know, it's just—"
She hadn't finished speaking when she was cut off by He Leyong. "There's no 'it's just', you aren't welcomed here."
Song Juguang stood up, her graceful brows faintly furrowed. "Laoshi, please calm down a bit."
"I said leave!" He Leyong's voice rose abruptly, and the furious fire in her eyes seemed about to burst out. "Get out!" For the most part, it was because her emotional state was excessively stirred up, but He Leyong violently began to cough before she finished speaking. Her height wasn't tall, and with the many years of hard labour and malnutrition, her person was even more withered. Her entire body, bent at the waist, trembled and shook, as if she were truly an elder with one foot in the grave.
Jiang Changbai's heart, seeing this, was filled with pain, and she sighed, and passed the bowl full of water in her hand over. "Laoshi, take care of your body."
But He Leyong wasn't appreciative in the slightest, and once she'd calmed down a bit, she firmly pushed the two towards the gate. Despite her thin, weak appearance, her strength wasn't insignificant, and Jiang Changbai, unprepared, almost stumbled.
Song Juguang reached out a hand to support her, her brows knit even more deeply. She'd only interacted with her for two years, and truly hadn't had the innate gift of studying; as a result, her feelings towards her weren't as deep as those of Jiang Changbai's.
With a creaking sound, the dilapidated wooden door was closed. The forest was incredibly silent, and the sun had set gradually. The whistle of the wind and the birds came from a distance, but the hearts of the two standing in place were only frustrated.
"Bixia, let's just leave," Song Juguang said, her arms crossed over her chest, some discontent in her tone. "Laoshi seems to be unwilling to interact with us."
Jiang Changbai's gaze only concentrated on the clouds and mist in the distance, and her frame of mind was somewhat heavy. "Then, when Laoshi dressed as a man to enter the court as an official, on being discovered, she had an ink tattoo placed on her. Afterwards, she was driven from Prince Ling's palace, and now, she's obliged to live alone in these woods. Her mind is resentful; that isn't hard to understand, either."
Song Juguang raised her hand to pat Jiang Changbai's shoulder, and attempted to console her. "But perhaps we have other options to cause the citizenry to have faith in the reformation of the keju; there's no need to cling to this."
Jiang Changbai said noncommittally, "But the past is the past, and now is now. Now, I'm the Emperor; how could I make my own, greatly respected teacher live in such a place? To say nothing of the fact that you and I were her students, and naturally know that she's talented. This sort of stunningly talented person, if she were to be left alone to wander in the mountain forest, wouldn't it also be a sort of loss to the Great Li?"
"But…" Song Juguang had only spoken halfway when she stopped. She looked at the gradually descending sun with some worry. She wasn't willing to obstruct Jiang Changbai's decision, but she felt, the day becoming gradually later, an association with the words of that old woman from just before they'd come up the mountain, and her heart was somewhat uneasy.
Jiang Changbai was silent for a while, and then said, "A Guang, I want to try again."
"Alright, then let's try again," Song Juguang said, nodding, and she raised her hand to knock on He Leyong's door. But her fingers hadn't even touched the door, when that door opened by itself first.
He Leyong still stood before the door with a stern face, her hands digging into the wooden door. "Who's the Emperor now?"
"It's me, Laoshi," Jiang Changbai said, advancing a step forward, standing between Song Juguang and He Leyong. "I want to reform the keju; there will no longer be those who cannot participate in the examinations because they're women, but I need your help."
He Leyong's eyes brightened, but her complexion was still cold, and she asked once more, "Then what of Emperor Tai?"
"I killed him." This time, it was Song Juguang's turn to talk, but she only shrugged her shoulders, not the least bit concerned. It was as if she what she were saying wasn't the previous emperor entitled to all honour, but a farming family's free-ranging duck.
Joy burst forth in He Leyong's chest. She only felt that the dark clouds that had accumulated in her heart for many years had dispelled in an instant, joy gradually rising, like the waves of the sea lapping against the reef. In an instant, a rush of words poured out, but when the words reached her lips, she could only say a single character of "good". It was as if even the swaying shadows of the trees were shaken by this loud cry.
Hope lit once more in Jiang Changbai's heart, and she asked, "Laoshi, then, you—"
As she spoke, He Leyong pulled the door open, making room, and invited the two in once more. "Come on in first, stop for a rest."
So, the three, master and disciples, only at this truly sat down and reminisced about the past; He Leyong, hearing about Emperor Tai's fate, only thought to raise her brows, and say, "That serves him right; doing evil for so many years, this position should have been given to someone else long ago."
Jiang Changbai, in the past, had only known that Emperor Tai had died at Song Juguang's hand, and this was the first time that she learnt about what had happened before he had died; and, while, like He Leyong, she was as pained and elated, at the same time, a chill went down her back. The sun above was clearly that of a blazing summer, but her hands and feet were somewhat icy.
"Bixia, what's wrong?" Song Juguang noticed that something wasn't right with Jiang Changbai, and she turned her head to ask.
"Nothing," Jiang Changbai said, shaking her head, and forced herself to seem calm, turning her head to look at He Leyong. "Laoshi, just now, an old woman selling tea at the foot of the mountain said it wasn't too safe on the mountain, and even hunters have met mishaps on the mountain; it would be better for you to gather your things and come down the mountain along with us; we'll rest a bit at the foot of the mountain, and wait for the daylight tomorrow to return to the capital."
But He Leyong shook her head, and chuckled. "Having lived her for so long, how could I gather my possessions in such a short time? You all go back first today, and after a few days, I'll return slowly to the capital. And you don't you need to worry about my safety, wild animals aren't as fearful as a person's heart; all these years have past, and naturally, it being a day or half a day won't matter."
"But—"
"I know who the old woman you're speaking of is; when you descend the mountain today, help me and take this to her." As she spoke, He Leyong walked over to the head of the bed, and, feeling around for a while, pulled out a silk brocade bag. This silk brocade bag had been made using coarse cloth, yet the needle strokes were incredibly fine. On its surface, the embroidered pattern was the most common one seen among the people, its meaning carrying safety and blessings, and wishing for peace for year after year.
Jiang Changbai was somewhat doubtful. "This is?"
"This is her daughter's silk brocade bag; the hunter she talked about who went into the mountain and never returned is her daughter." He Leyong drew back her smiling expression, and sighed, explaining. Since that old woman's health wasn't good, and her earnings from selling tea on the side of the road were meagre, in the past, she'd relied on her daughter's hunting to survive. That daughter was incredibly filial, and hearing a doctor say that a bear's gall could be decocted with medicinal herbs to radically cure her mother's illness, and she couldn't buy it herself, she'd taken a risk out of desperation, wanting to capture a bear and sell it.
She hadn't captured a bear, and she'd mistakenly fallen into a trap another hunter had set up, and had endured heat for who knew how many days. When He Leyong had discovered her, she'd already been on her last breaths, and, after she'd shoved the brocade bag into He Leyong's hand, she'd died without hardly saying anything.
Who said, "What a pity" wasn't clear.
By the time Jiang Changbai and Song Juguang were about to descend the mountain and leave, the heavens only had a smear of orange-yellow sunset. But, because of the shade of the trees obstructing it, the forest looked even a bit darker.
The orange-red light barely penatrated through the leaves, and the inside of the forest was dappled with light and shadow. The wind delivered the low-spirited whimpering to the treetops, shaking the leaves until they rustled. The scent of rotten wood and soil mixed together, rising from below, and, stepping without care on the dried branches, one could hear the soft sound of them breaking. A bit of worry inexplicably rose in Jiang Changbai's mind, and her hands unconsciously curled into fists, as if there was something unknown in the midst of the impenetrable darkness, watching her. The gravel received a rolling from the outside, causing Jiang Changbai's body to go askew for a moment.
"Careful," Song Juguang said, supporting her nearly the very next moment.
"It's nothing, I just can't see too clearly in the dark," Jiang Changbai said, patting the Song Juguang's hand atop her arm, wanting to tell her to relax. But Song Juguang took her hand away just after, and without waiting for Jiang Changbai to respond, her hands that had been curled up were grasped by Song Juguang.
"Come with me." When Song Juguang spoke, she tilted her head to the side with some unease. But if it were the light which had fallen on her face at this moment, Jiang Changbai could see the faint flush on her cheeks. Even though now it was summer, night in the forest cold. The nighttime wind blew from all sides, as if shapeless hands pushing one along. The low shrubbery tugged against their clothes, and a quiet, yet ear-piercing sound arose.
The surroundings were chilly, yet the hands of the two, clasped together, were warm.
"A Guang," Jiang Changbai said, looking at Song Juguang and wanting to say something, but her line of sight was easily attracted by the shadow of the tree by the side.
In the middle of that darkness, there was a pair of bright, glittering eyes.
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