Chapter 107: Closing act

A split second after the whip snapped, the two struggling over it fell to the ground. People, who had been hiding who knew where, emerged one after the other, and before Ulan could scramble up, pressed her to the ground. How could Ulan have known her identity had been exposed? She continued struggling, shouting, "Let go!"

"Every issue has its origin; we've slighted you, and I hope Daren doesn't take offence,"Song Juguang said, standing by the railing, looked down on the two from the pavilion; but though her words were an apology, her tone wasn't the slightest bit apologetic. "In a bit, someone will take you to the Palace, and at the banquet, this regent will most certainly toast to you."

Only now did Su Ya see Song Juguang up in the pavilion, and suddenly understood that everything had been seen in its entirety by this person. She'd never met Song Juguang, and moreover, didn't know that she was the "God of Death" renowned by the Shejin people; but even so, based merely on this sentence, she could tell that Song Juguang wasn't a good person to slight.

But even if she were more unwilling to comply, she could only capitulate. After all, this wasn't Shejin, and Su Ya didn't have any means that would allow her to have a higher status than Song Juguang. She could only gaze upwards, and bow faintly towards Song Juguang.

The mahogany chair in the pavilion creaked; Liang Jiwen had long since been unable to sit in place. But the instant she suddenly rose, her hand was seized by Xie Qianbing. Liang Jiwen looked at her, not understanding, and saw Xie Qianbing, expression stern, shaking her head in her direction.

Before Liang Jiwen could say "why", Xie Qianbing, as if expecting what she was about to do, raised a finger to her lips. "Shh."

She shook her head once more.

Liang Jiwen didn't understand what Xie Qianbing meant, but she still obediently sat back in the chair. But after Xie Qianbing pressed Liang Jiwen back down into the chair, she herself stood up, and came to Song Juguang's side, shoulder to shoulder.

Liang Jiwen could only raise her head, looking at the two's figures from behind. From somewhere, the sound of cicadas rose, and suspicion rose in Liang Jiwen's mind; at this time in the summer, the blazing heat had retreated, and the cicadas ought to have disappeared along with it. But right now, they were clearly singing. It was as if this moment's sun ought not have been so bright, either.

Song Juguang and Xie Qianbing's shadows. were cut out like two ink stains by this dazzling sunlight, whose harsh beams made sun white spots appear in Liang Jiwen's field of vision. She suddenly felt somewhat dazed, as if she ought not to be here.

This sense of dizziness followed her like a shadow up to when she stepped through the doors of the Great Li's Palace. But all along, she couldn't understand, nor could she explain, but at this moment, there was a sudden increase of comprehension in her mind. The heavy mist that had encircled her for so long dispersed in an instant, and Liang Jiwen recognised that sort of sense of severance.

Of course Liang Jiwen understood that, regardless of if it were Xie Qianbing, Song Juguang, or Jiang Changbai, in their basic nature, they were all good people.

Xie Qianbing had patiently taught her to read, even though her own bookshelf was piled with an un-resolvable amount of scrolls; and she had only, at a time like this, pressed her back down into the chair because the person in the courtyard below was her older sister; though Song Juguang had always worn a cold expression, when Nanny Pei Yu had passed on, she'd taken her out of the Palace to go sit before the grave; and as Emperor, Jiang Changbai had allowed her, a foreigner, to participate in the keju, and allowed her to come and go as she wished during the day from the Rear Court, which was the greatest indulgence.

No matter what, everyone she'd met in the Great Li were good people. But in the end, something was still missing.

Song Juguang and Xie Qianbing were now irreplaceable ministers in the Great Li, and no matter where they went, they drew others' interest. And to say nothing of Jiang Changbai, the Emperor who stood above all others. But though Liang Jiwen interacted with these people day after day, and lived in the Imperial Palace day after day, she didn't hold the slightest power. That she could be so unfettered as she was now was only because she posed no threat at all to those around her.

It was like how no one would take offence to a bird whose plumage was attractive; no one would mind occasionally speaking to a princess who had long since severed ties with her state.

If she wanted to live well, she couldn't have any sort of conflict with these people.

Just like Su Ya, who had previously had such a high status that, were any servant to misspeak, they'd be beaten half to death by her. And Liang Jiwen , despite her identity as a princess, had been sent to form a marriage alliance with the Great Li at Su Ya's mere word.

But Su Ya's so-called might had come entirely from being favoured by the King of Shejin, and in the present circumstances, she could only suffer in silence. And even having suffered this humiliation from the Great Li, she still wished to remain here. This indicated that her life in Shejin wasn't even as good as this.

A sudden sense of warmth came from the back of her palm; as it turned out, the sunlight was shining on it. Liang Jiwen lowered her head, looking at the tea leaves sinking in the teacup beside her hand, and in a daze, saw that there were countless numbers of her reflection in the cup.

It seemed as if, in this moment, Liang Jiwen could clearly see her own innermost thoughts; she didn't wish to live like Su Ya. A benevolent protector was just as fragile as this teacup, and she didn't want to be like the tea leaves.

That anachronistic cicada song had stopped who knew when.

And so the banquet arrived; separated for so many days, Liang Jiwen looked at Su Ya's face once more. Her complexion was rosy, the wanness from the relay station long since having disappeared without a trace. Not the slightest mishap occurred during the banquet, as if everything had been rehearsed countless times beforehand.

Su Ya received the Lingzhi, and thanked Jiang Changbai, seated on the Dragon Throne, profusely. Liang Jiwen felt as if the scene before her was layered over her memories; she'd seemed to have seen this scenario countless times in her youth.

During the banquet, Su Ya didn't mention remaining the matter of remaining in the Great Li. If not for the profound look she had every time she looked at her, Liang Jiwen would have thought that their conversion had only been a dream.

The next morning, as usual, Liang Jiwen left the Palace. That she'd received the Emperor's permission to leave the Palace had long since ceased being a novel matter, and the guard by the doors was tired, and sat lazily in the chair, and didn't note her down in the logs as usual.

But this time, leaving the Palace, Liang Jiwen's destination was a place she'd never gone to before.

The autumn sun penetrated the muslin curtain, and Liang Jiwen's hair was plated with a layer of gold. She stared at the person before her, her fingers unconsciously curling.

"So, Dianxia has come." Smiling, Chen Xun poured tea into the cup before Liang Jiwen, her expression as placid as if showing that she'd long since expected this.

Liang Jiwen's gaze unconsciously flicked downwards, and then rose rapidly once more, looking fixedly at Chen Xun. "I don't need your help to hide anyone."

Chen Xun nodded. "I know. The banquet was yesterday, and the Envoy ought to be departing in the next couple days, and has no mind to pay attention to those two servants of yours."

As she spoke, she indicated the still-steaming cup of hot tea in front of Liang Jiwen. "Try it; it's a new type. It's probably comparable to the type in the Palace, I think."

Yet hearing Chen Xun's words, Liang Jiwen was somewhat startled, and she hurried to ask, "How do you know?"

"That, Dianxia doesn't need to worry about," Chen Xun, still smiling, said. "I also know that Dianxia came here today to ask me for money, isn't that right?"

The autumn breeze raised the curtain, and the scents of the street crept in through the slit. The force of Liang Jiwen's hand, having had her concerns laid bare, increased, but she couldn't sense her nails stabbing into her palm in the slightest. She inexplicably thought of the banquet the day before, when Su Ya, carrying the Lingzhi, had passed by her, her glance carrying hidden depths.

"Dianxia, don't be too embarrassed to admit it," Chen Xun, still placid, said. "Ah, me, I'm just someone without power or position. That I could make others willing to drink tea with me is merely because I have some wealth. I'm not a miser, either; earning money, you have to spend it as well."

But the stormy waves of peril had already risen in the mind of Liang Jiwen, sitting across from her. After all, this concept had only begun to form, and she couldn't help but ask, "How did you know? What all do you know?"

"What do all do I know? I know far more than Dianxia can imagine. But if Dianxia wishes to know, you'll have to pay a price." Chen Xun set down her teacup, a seriousness rising in her gaze.

"I have nothing I can give you." Hearing this, Liang Jiwen's expression lost some vitality. She knew merchants valued money, and, wanting to learn something from Chen Xun, she didn't know how much she'd have to pay. But she had a pitiably small amount of money; in a month, she could only receive a small amount, and it was all spent by her who knew where.

Hearing Liang Jiwen say this, Chen Xun laughed as if she had heard some sort of joke. Her fox-like eyes narrowed, but a merchant's astuteness flashed in them. She picked up some tea leaves from the table, and said, "Do I look like I'm lacking wealth? This amount of tea leaves cost two thousand liang of silver."

Liang Jiwen, who had just been about to use the tea to hide her own anxiety, shocked by these words of Chen Xun's, nearly choked. She lowered her head, looking at the tea in her hand in disbelief. Two thousand liang—you had to understand; in a month, she couldn't even receive two thousand liang from the Palace.

If, at this moment, the one sitting across from her were Bi Yushuang, she'd most certainly say something to alleviate her shock. But at the moment, the one before her was Chen Xun, a shrewd merchant she'd only met twice. Liang Jiwen could only maintain her calm, raising her head to look directly at Chen Xun. "Then, what do you want?"

"I only want a single promise from Dianxia." Chen Xun set her hand back on the table, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the tabletop.

"Are you not worried that I won't have the ability to deliver in the future?"

"I am a bit," Chen Xun said, smiling faintly, her fingers tapping unceasingly against the table, "but isn't that doing business? The greater the risk, the greater the reward. More than that, someone told me before that Dianxia's future is unimaginable."

"Who?" Emotions rose in Liang Jiwen's gaze, and she wanted, urgently, to know the answer.

But this time, Chen Xun shook her head, like an aged street diviner, feigning enigma. "The mysteries of the heavens cannot be revealed."

Without waiting for Liang Jiwen to keep asking, Chen Xun took out a stack of banknotes from a box off to the side. "This is two hundred thousand liang of silver, and my sincerity towards Dianxia. As long as Dianxia nods, I won't ask for it back, either. This amount is enough for you to recruit soldiers and buy horses at the Great Li and Shejin's border, and assemble a force.

"But the ramifications of this matter are profound, and I hope Dianxia will consider carefully before asking. I'll only say this—sometimes, many matters can only be done personally by oneself."

Liang Jiwen hadn't yet come out of the daze of the two thousand liang tea leaves from just before when she saw Chen Xun take out this thick stack of banknotes. It was as if her head had been struck and was ringing. Still somewhat not daring to believe it, she said, "Two hundred thousand liang, to buy a single promise?"

Chen Xun nodded. "To buy a single promise."

"You're not worried I'll renege when the time comes?"

"You won't."

Liang Jiwen was about to extend her hand, but Chen Xun pulled the banknotes back just as she was about to touch them.

"There's another bit of news which Dianxia would most definitely be interested in hearing."

Elsewhere, in the imperial study, Jiang Changbai had just received Sheng Yunxing's memorial, which the Shejin Envoy, Su Ya, had found someone to write for her. At the end, the red seal which Su Ya had stamped it with was still slightly shiny.

Jiang Changbai's gaze swept roughly over it, yet her expression grew more and more suspicious.

"She doesn't want to return?"

"Responding to Bixia," Sheng Yunxing said, "that is the case."

Su Ya had begged Sheng Yunxing to allow her to remain, but the case of an envoy not returning to their state was a first since the time of the Founding Emperor until now. Sheng Yunxing, unsure of what to do, had brought it to Jiang Changbai.

Just then, Song Juguang strode into the hall. "Bixia, the pretender confessed!"

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