Chapter 46: The journey
Song Juguang didn't pay her any attention, only coughed softly. Unexpectedly, now, Wen Song was tactful, and hurriedly said, "This is the Great Li's Regent."
Hearing this, the nanny understood, and made obeisance once more. "So, you're Wangye."
But with merely these few words of hers, Song Juguang coughed once more. The nanny immediately fell silent, looking towards Wen Song as if seeking for help. Wen Song wasn't a fool, and in a low voice, advised her, "You're meant to say Wangjun."
The nanny, in truth, didn't understand the matter of ti. But from the time she'd entered the capital, Wen Song was the only one who acted kindly towards her, and she was willing to trust in her. So, she hurriedly corrected herself: "Wangjun, the Princess grew up in Shejin from childhood, and can't speak the language of the Great Li. So, every matter has to translated for her by this servant."
Song Juguang scoffed. "She couldn't speak it in Shejin, but did she not learn even a single word having been in the Great Li for so long?"
As Liang Jiwen tugged at the nanny's hem, she also looked at her, at a loss, her gaze searching. The nanny was somewhat hesitant, as if she didn't want to translate what Song Juguang had just said for Liang Jiwen. But she explained to her that this woman before them wasn't the Emperor, only the Regent. The two exchanged a number of words, rapid and tumbling,[1] and only then did Liang Jiwen come before Song Juguang and make obeisance, calling out "Wangjun" in a strange tone. Now, Song Juguang regretted previously having sent Wei Xiren to Luyuan; she couldn't speak Shejinese, but Wei Xiren had grown up in a place on the border of the Great Li and Shejin, and was just as well-versed in the languages of both places.
She wasn't willing to watch Liang Jiwen and this nanny say even more that she didn't understand, and she clapped her hand against the armrest, and asked, "From Shejin to the capital, even at a crawl it would only be a two month's travel. As you two left in the early autumn of the seventeenth year of Hejing, how come you've only arrived in the capital now?"
The nanny translated once more; Liang Jiwen seemed to be somewhat frightened of Song Juguang, and not only did she stammer and mumble as she spoke, her voice grew smaller and smaller. Fortunately the nanny served as translator, and only thus was Song Juguang able to understand the experiences they'd had along the way.
At the tail end of the sixteenth year of Hejing, the Cangwei army had defended the Western border; it was said that that the Great Li's State Preceptor, so powerful she was a dragon who, when its head was visible, its tail couldn't be seen, was also stationed amongst the soldiers. During the time of Emperor Tai, Song Juguang was incredibly mysterious; she'd never shown her face, and even when leading soldiers to fight, she would always wear a mask. More than that, there was no one who knew her name; what enemy state's people grew terrified at hearing was the title of the Great Li's State Preceptor.
At that time, the most capable of military officers in Shejin had just been defeated by Song Juguang, and as soon as the people of Shejin heard Song Juguang had brought soldiers to the border, they all believed that Shejin was about to face great danger, drowning in fire. Even the King of Shejin was so anxious, he couldn't carry on for even a single day.
There had been the tradition of marriage alliances between the two nations; a Shejin princess married into the Great Li, and a princess of the Great Li married into Shejin. Even currently, in the Shejin King's Rear Court, there lived the full-blooded younger sister[2] of Emperor Tai's mother. Other princesses hadn't been willing to leave their home, and naturally, Liang Jiwen hadn't been willing either. But her consort mother wasn't as favoured as the other consort mothers, and Liang Jiwen herself wasn't favoured by her Royal Father either. So, the duty of a marriage alliance had fallen to her, and even if she'd been more unwilling, she had to leave her home anyway.
The first few days since they'd left could have been counted as having passed smoothly, but as soon as they'd crossed into the Great Li's territory, misfortune had chased after Liang Jiwen no matter how how she'd tried to rid herself of it. In fact, in the past, the Great Li's control of the border hadn't been too severe; whoever was stationed somewhere would be the one with absolute power. At that time, the Cangwei army that had been guarding the Western border had withdrawn, and for a time, the common boundary came under the rule of bandits. They'd been kept in check by the Cangwei army Song Juguang had led for so long, and having gotten an opportunity, they'd razed and murdered and looted all about. Bandits didn't care if you were a princess or not; as long as you were stopped, you could only leave if you paid.
Liang Jiwen had, in fact, naively paid the "toll", but having been stopped countless times afterwards, she felt it was a hassle. So, depending on the people on her side being greater, they'd firmly fought against the bandits with dao and qiang. But she couldn't have imagined that those who had come from the Palace had grown accustomed to living like princes, and even if they were bodyguards, they could barely fight. Having barely managed to come to an impasse, Liang Jiwen's guards were scattered. She'd assumed that, if they went a bit further away, it would be alright, and in the end, had chanced on the rebellion. At every turn, the officials only minded their own and had no time for her, and more than that, couldn't set aside any attention to entertain her as a foreign princess. Her letter of passage[3] became scrap metal, and Liang Jiwen had had no choice but to pawn the dowry she'd brought with her in order to preserve the livelihoods of her entourage.
The chaos of war caused their journey to the capital to become even more endless; adding on the depletion of wealth just from sitting and eating, there were those who felt that she wouldn't be able to make it to the capital in this lifetime. So, those who'd left had left, and those who'd fled had fled, and in the end, only this old nanny had remained, following by Liang Jiwen's side.
They hadn't had any money on them, and they'd not been familiar with the journey; they could only ask about as they travelled. They'd travelled mountain paths, and crossed through wild forests, and they didn't have much physical ability, and so their pace had naturally slowed. They travelled the entirety of spring, and then half of summer; then, when they were finally about to arrive in the capital, the old nanny had fallen ill. At that time, Liang Jiwen's entire life was about to fall apart; because the nanny had acted as translator all the way there, she'd had a clear conscience about speaking in the Shejinese. If the nanny wasn't there, even her interactions with others would become an issue.
At this time, the disaster of before became fortune as well. Because Liang Jiwen hadn't been favoured, from childhood, servants hadn't waited on her with much diligence, and a lot of the chores she'd have to do herself. As a result, now, she could not only look after herself, she could look after the nanny as well.
In fact, the nanny was quite elderly; adding on the hardships of this journey, the fact that she had managed to make it so far could be counted as a miracle. For someone of her age to fall ill, some would lay down and not be able to get up again. But perhaps the heavens had had mercy on them; unexpectedly, in the wilderness, the nanny came back to health.
It was therefore that their journey was delayed once more. By the time they'd entered the capital, it had passed Liqiu.[4] Liang Jiwen took the last of her jewellery to pawn for money, and found an inn to live in. She remembered her Royal Father saying that a marriage alliance princess, on entering the capital, would be received by the Minister of Rites, and so had brought the letter she'd hidden the entire journey to the Minister of Rites' residence. But the Minister of Rites, like all the magistrates of before, hadn't paid them any attention; even when they came calling, they were chased away. There hadn't been much money left, and so, at an impasse, Liang Jiwen had brought the nanny along to come to the gates of the Imperial Palace to ask for an audience with the Emperor.
Song Juguang, eyes closed, sat on the chair, listening this story of Liang Jiwen's that the nanny translated, still unmoving. If it weren't for her back, as straight as a brush, someone might have assumed she'd fallen asleep. Liang Jiwen didn't say anymore, and the nanny's voice came to a halt as well. Thus, the hall fell silent, and only after a while did Song Juguang say, "You're done speaking?"
The nanny replied rapidly, "Replying to Wangjun, it's all been said."
From the time they'd entered the hall, Liang Jiwen and the nanny had been standing. The nanny had a headful of white hair, and had already been unable to stand for too long; additionally, having recently been ill, by now, she was somewhat unsteady, and when she spoke, it was faint and light.
Song Juguang, seeing this, furrowed her brows lightly, intending to wave a hand to have Wen Song bring stools for them to sit down on, but before she'd raised her hand, she set it back down, her face growing cold. "What a touching story—but how can you two prove your identities are genuine?"
The nanny composed herself, and turned her head, speaking at length in rambling words with Liang Jiwen. Having finished listening, Liang Jiwen felt about it her own clothes for a long while, and only then pulled out the fabric-wrapped letter of passage. Song Juguang took the letter of passage, wondering whether what was written atop it was in the Shejin script. Though she had great martial prowess, no one capable of being her match in marching and battle, in actuality, she wasn't a learned person. She could understand the written language of the Great Li, she had never so much as read Shejin script cursorily.
Luckily, the letter of passage had been carved bilingually. This letter of passage was quite heavy, its material seeming to be a Shejin speciality. The instant Song Juguang took it, she knew that only the royal family of Shejin could have something like this. However, she raised her head, looking at Liang Jiwen, and asked, "This thing isn't false, but who knows whether you got it by killing the true Princess of Shejin."
Liang Jiwen, having listened to the nanny's translation, grew agitated, and she was about to come over to Song Juguang and explain. But Wen Song stopped her, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn't struggle free.
"Wangjun, will you drive us away?" the nanny asked, disappointment flashing in her eyes.
"When did this regent say that?" Song Juguang asked in reply, and rose, coming to Liang Jiwen's side and putting the letter of passage back in her hand. "Just go back for now; once this regent ascertains your identity, I'll send someone to find you."
Though Liang Jiwen couldn't understand the language of the Great Li, she could hear that Song Juguang's tone had grown a bit more mild. But when she turned her head to look at the nanny, her eyes full of joy, she discovered that the nanny's face was filled with worry. Liang Jiwen didn't know what the nanny was worrying about, and assumed it was that she was too tired; she leaned closer to the nanny, smiling.
Song Juguang didn't have the inclination to pay attention to what the two of them were doing; with great strides, she headed out of the hall. But before she'd made it far, she was called to a halt by that aged voice. "Wangjun, please stay!"
She turned her head, and saw the nanny was heading towards her, while Liang Jiwen, not knowing a thing, stood in place. The nanny came a few steps closer, and knelt down, unexpectedly lowering her voice. "Wangjun, the two of us, master and servant, have already spent all the money on us by now; could you possibly lend us some?"
Yet Song Juguang, hearing this, smiled, coming forward and helping the nanny up. Waving a hand, she summoned Wen Song, and as she spoke, she fished out a few tokens, dropping them into her hand. "Take them to find the Minister of Rites; say it was this regent's orders to arrange them according to the highest standards."
"Understood!"
Jiang Changbai was still sitting in the imperial study, but she couldn't comprehend a single character on the memorial spread out before her. Only on hearing Song Juguang's footsteps did she pretend to calmly set her brush down, and leaned against the back of her chair, asking, "How was it?"
Song Juguang sat down on the low couch, muttering to herself for a moment. "She ought to be genuine. It's just that, right now, it's inadvisable to come to a conclusion; this minister believes someone ought to be sent to Shejin first, in order to fetch someone who knew the Princess from before to come identify her."
Jiang Changbai nodded, agreeing to Song Juguang's methods fully. "Travelling at a bit of a speed, they'd be able to make it back in a month; ah, you'd better choose this person. Where are they now?"
"They've left the Palace; in truth, I already instructed the Minister of Rites to arrange the rest."
"No good," Jiang Changbai said, shaking her head as she heard this, "have them brought back to the Palace to live."
Translator's notes:
[[1]: 叽里咕噜 (jili gulu), being the onomatopoeia for something that sounds like rumbling, jabbering, etc.
[2]: 同胞 (tong bao), meaning the siblings share both parents, as opposed to many imperial lineage siblings, who may only share a father, due to the various consorts and concubines an emperor may have.
[3]: 通关文牒 (tongguan wendie), translated as "passport"; they looked a little different in historical form; in historical dramas you may see "passports" that look like folded brochures. Liang Jiwen's is probably more similar to this Yuan dynasty pass, made of metal as well.
[4]: 立秋, the start of autumn.
I'm hoping Liang Jiwen (and her nanny) will have an easier time of things going forward and I'm curious how her arrival will complicate things! Thank you for translating this!
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