Der Mond scheint hell über den leeren Bergen, und Blumen füllen den Himmel

Kapitel 74

Who exactly is this person?

Bi Jiuyi reported this incident as one of the four assault cases to the nearest military patrol station, but the patrol station dispatched a hundred men to conduct a thorough search of the area, yet found nothing. What happened next made Bi Jiuyi even more anxious and worried—at sunset, he discovered that Shengxiang was not in the mansion and had disappeared somewhere.

Liangyuan Garden in Kaifeng.

Liangyuan, also known as Liangyuan Garden or Rabbit Garden, is said to have been built in the early Western Han Dynasty by Liu Wu, the Prince of Liang, son of Emperor Wen of Liang. It is located in the Yuwangtai area of Kaifeng.

"Snow Clearing at Liang Garden" is one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Bianjing (Kaifeng). According to the "Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital," "King Xiao of Liang loved to build palaces and gardens for pleasure. He built the Yaohua Palace and the Rabbit Garden. In the garden was Bailing Mountain, which had a stone called 'Skin Inch Stone,' a rock called 'Falling Ape Rock,' and a rock called 'Dragon Nest.' There was also a Goose Pond, with Crane Isle and Duck Isle in the pond. The various palaces and pavilions were connected and stretched for dozens of miles. Rare fruits and exotic trees, as well as strange birds and beasts, were all there." Therefore, it was a very famous place.

By sunset, Liangyuan had been searched by military patrols several times, but to no avail. Only a few dozen men remained to guard the various entrances to Liangyuan, while the main force had already retreated.

Two figures silently scaled the wall and entered Liang Garden, arriving at Bailing Mountain in a few leaps. Bailing Mountain was strangely beautiful and rugged, and the two figures vanished without a trace after entering the mountain.

A moment later, the two climbed to the highest point of Bailing Mountain, where they could enjoy a panoramic view of the entire Liang Garden. One of them said in a chilling tone, "We've arrived."

Another person suddenly looked up. He had been watching ants moving on the ground, but upon hearing this, he looked around and asked, "Where?"

The first to speak was Rong Yin, and the one watching the ants moving house was Sheng Xiang. Rong Yin didn't answer, but a short arrow shot out from Qilongxiu and stuck in the big tree behind Sheng Xiang with a "thud." In autumn, the leaves were dry, and with this tremor, the tree was covered with fallen leaves, like a rain of leaves. Sheng Xiang pulled out the arrow, and sure enough, there was a letter stuck in it. Opening it, she saw that the handwriting inside was elegant and neat, and it read: "The Liu family courtyard is full of fragrance, ginger flowers and water garden reflect on the beams. The wild geese fly south early in the autumn wind, and the marriage is finally in the deep bridal chamber. She sits with her fingers down and her eyebrows lowered, playing the zither. Last year, she was even more ashamed to congratulate the groom. The spring breeze kills with her peach blossom face, her jade dimples and fragrance share the cool pillow."

This was clearly an erotic poem, but Rong Yin and Sheng Xiang immediately noticed the words "Liu, Jiang, alliance, marriage, Qu, go, kill, Yu." They looked up and exchanged a glance. Who was informing them? Unless they were traveling with Liu and Jiang, they would never know. If this person could inform them, why didn't they simply say that Liu, the courtesan, and Jiang, the minister, were in a marriage alliance, and that Qu Zhiliang was ordered to kill Yu Cuiwei, instead of writing an erotic poem? This person's intention was likely to get Sheng Xiang to save Yu Cuiwei, but he injured four innocent passersby to deliver the message. Was this a sign that he needed something from them? After exchanging a look, Rong Yin said in a deep voice, "Li Lingyan!"

Shengxiang nodded. No one but Li Lingyan could do such a thing. "He really is with Liu Ji."

Rong Yin was thinking about something else entirely. The marriage between Liu Ji and Jiang Chenming was strengthening this power base, and if it wasn't stopped soon, it would surely lead to a bloodbath. But why could Li Lingyan tolerate Jiang Chenming? Qu Zhiliang, one of Jiang Chenming's subordinates, was his father's killer. For over twenty years, Li Lingyan had only wanted to avenge his father. Why could he coexist with Qu Zhiliang—what was his purpose in submitting to Liu and Jiang?

As the two were still wondering, someone from Qilongxiu suddenly appeared, bowed to the two on the mountaintop from afar, and then turned and left. She didn't even bother to hide her figure, and Rong Yin recognized her at a glance as Huaiyue from Li Lingyan's "Four-Cracked Moon" style. He never expected that the person who injured someone and left the message would be such a beautiful woman. No wonder the military patrol outside couldn't catch the criminal.

Shengxiang looked at the erotic poem that Li Lingyan had written for him with interest, and after a while said in a serious tone, "Xiaoyan's ability to write poetry is extremely poor. This poem has uneven tones and no parallelism. It is just a doggerel."

Rong Yin's expression was solemn. "Qu Zhiliang wants to kill Yu Cuiwei, huh! Another chivalrous act of killing a lecherous demon. With Qu Zhiliang's reputation, status, and martial arts skills, who would dare to stop him? Who could stop him?" He rarely sneered, and the sarcasm flashed across his face. "Besides, given Yu Cuiwei's past actions, he deserves to die. Why should we save him?"

“Rongrong,” Shengxiang sighed, “Have you forgotten that Da Yu has the Puyang Blade, which can command eleven sects to do his bidding? If Qu Zhiliang really wanted to kill him, who do you think would die first?”

Rong Yin remained silent. Although the renowned figures saved by Yu Cuiwei were unaware that the great hero Yu was actually a notorious villain, a gentleman's word is his bond, especially since it was a vow made by eleven sects to forge the sword. How could they renege on it? If they kept their word and were driven by Yu Cuiwei, they would inevitably clash with Qu Zhiliang; if they renege, the reputation of the eleven sects would be ruined. This was truly a dilemma. Moreover, Qu Zhiliang was no longer the righteous hero he once was. He had even laid a hand on Bi Qiuhan. What were the innocent disciples of the eleven sects or Shengxiang under Qu Zhiliang's sword? "What do you plan to do?" Rong Yin asked.

“I’m planning to find a blacksmith,” Shengxiang said with a grin, “and then introduce him to you.”

A faint smile appeared in Rong Yin's deep eyes. "Okay."

The two descended from Bailing Mountain. On the way, Rongyin returned to Gushe, while Shengxiang returned to the Prime Minister's residence.

Rong Yin will set off for Junshan tomorrow to seize the troublesome Puyang Blade. Then, Sheng Xiang will find a cheap blacksmith to melt the blade down. That is Sheng Xiang's plan.

Stepping into the Prime Minister's residence, Shengxiang was startled to see Zhao Xiang standing at the door, looking at her with a gloomy expression. "Um... I'm going out... for a walk..."

Shengxiang chuckled dryly, plotting how to bypass Zhao Xiang and sneak into the mansion to escape Tiantian.

Zhao Xiang looked at him coldly, "Where did you go?"

“I’m going for a walk,” Sheng Xiang said with utmost seriousness and sincerity. “The weather is getting cooler and the ants are moving house. It might rain in a few days, so I’m taking advantage of the good weather to go for a walk.” He was definitely not lying; he did go for a walk and even saw ants moving house.

Zhao Xiang looked him up and down to make sure he was unharmed before coldly saying, "Father is waiting for you. He has something to say to you."

Saint Incense wailed, "Why does he always have something to say to me? The day before yesterday he said he was finally seeing me come back, yesterday he talked about the importance of health, what else can he say today?"

Zhao Xiang ignored him and turned to walk into his room. If it weren't for Sheng Xiang's disappearance and Zhao Pu's anxious call for him to return, he would never have gone home. Even if he had, he wouldn't have entered the garden where Zhao Pu and Sheng Xiang lived.

"Hey, Second Brother!" Shengxiang caught up and grabbed his hand. Zhao Xiang abruptly shook off his hand and shouted sternly, "What is it?"

Shengxiang smiled brightly at him, "Come with me to see Father!"

Zhao Xiang chuckled, "Ever since I left home eighteen years ago, I have no intention of seeing him again."

“Come with me to see Father!” Shengxiang’s face immediately fell, and she looked at Zhao Xiang pitifully. “You don’t know that Father is getting old lately. He has to repeat himself more than three times a day, and he can talk for more than half an hour on a single lecture. Second brother, come with me!”

Before Zhao Xiang could figure out the logic, Sheng Xiang grabbed his sleeve again and dragged him through the gate of Zhao Pu's courtyard. As they entered, she greeted Lao Hu with a smile, "Lao Hu? Feeling good lately? Hahahaha..."

With a creak, Shengxiang pulled Zhao Xiang along with one hand and pushed open Zhao Pu's door with the other. When Zhao Pu saw the two brothers come in together, he was stunned for a moment, and his old eyes immediately reddened. "Xiang'er, I have really let you down these past few years..."

“Yes, yes.” Shengxiang nodded with a smile, looking smugly at Zhao Xiang, who was already thirty-six years old, and his expression suddenly froze as he faced his elderly father’s sorrowful appearance.

"Father knows you resent my favoritism towards the youngest son, but your third brother has been frail since childhood..." Zhao Pu looked at his son whom he hadn't seen for many years, "Have you heard anything about your eldest brother? I heard he's made many contributions these past few years, is he doing well..."

Having grown accustomed to a life of guarding the frontier, Zhao Xiang was at a loss for words in the face of Zhao Pu's melancholy. He frowned deeply and said, "It's alright."

"Yes, yes, Dad misses you all very much. Whenever he scolds me, he says, 'Look at how your eldest and second brothers were when they were your age,'" Shengxiang said, fanning herself with a folding fan and adding fuel to the fire.

"Xiang'er..."

"Yes, yes, Father knows everything about you and your eldest brother. I can recite it by heart. From the first year of Qiande to the second year of Kaibao, a total of eight years, Second Brother, you were in Wuwei..."

"Xiang'er..."

"Yeah yeah……"

Half an hour later, Zhao Xiang and Sheng Xiang walked out of Zhao Pu's room together. Zhao Xiang's expression was still stiff. He did not say goodbye to Sheng Xiang and went straight to his old residence.

Saint Fragrance watched his retreating figure, stopped, and after a long while let out a soft sigh. She looked up at the glittering starry sky, vast as the sea. The world is as boundless as this starry sea; everyone carries their own secrets, their own sorrows. Right and wrong, gratitude and resentment, clear and confused, each still shines with its own light, and they do not need too much pity.

Prosperity is like death, loneliness is like snow, noise is like ice, and the world is like a dream.

Everyone walks their own path for their own reasons, whether it's joy or sorrow, right or wrong, hurting others or themselves, and they all say they have no regrets...

He cannot and will not cherish everyone's feelings, but he will feel pity when someone with a broken heart walks past him... whether it is Li Lingyan or Yu Cuiwei.

The scent of heartbreak is a familiar one to Sacred Incense.