Schnee fällt und der Wind weht

Kapitel 5

Xuanzi declined repeatedly. Fubo didn't say much, but directly put the hairpin in her hair, held her hand and wouldn't let her take it off, then held her hand tightly and saw her out the door.

One night, Fubo served the emperor in bed. In the middle of the night, a palace maid named Xuanzi rushed in to report: "The lady has suddenly suffered from angina, and the pain is unbearable. She is crying incessantly."

Xuanlian immediately put on his clothes and went to Xuanzi Palace.

The next day, Xuanzi came to Fubo to apologize, pitifully tugging at Fubo's sleeve, saying, "Sister, I really didn't mean it. Heartache isn't a big deal, I can just bear it. I only hate that the servant was so meddlesome, running to report to the King without telling me..."

Fu Bo gently pulled her down to sit, looking at her tenderly and saying, "You need to take good care of yourself when you're ill. It's only right that you ask the King to come and look after you. Your palace servants did the right thing. If they hadn't reported it, and I find out later, I would have asked the King to punish them." He then carefully took her pulse, and after a moment smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. You'll be fine after some time of recuperation. I have some medicinal herbs and tonics here; I'll have a maid deliver them to your palace later."

On another occasion, Fu Bo and Xuan Zi were serving Xuan Lian at a banquet. Fu Bo wore a new dress, made of silk fabric from the Western Regions, which Xuan Lian had bestowed upon her; it was incomparably soft and beautiful. Xuan Zi rose to pour wine for Xuan Lian, but suddenly slipped, and half a pot of amber-colored wine spilled onto Fu Bo's plain dress.

"Ah, sister, I'm so sorry..." Xuanzi's eyes widened, tears welling up in her eyes, as she wiped and wiped Fubo's body with a silk handkerchief, repeatedly saying, "Sister, please forgive me, I deserve to die! How could I be so careless? Your clothes are priceless, even if I die ten times, it wouldn't be enough to atone for my sins..."

Without leaving a trace, Fu Bo calmed Chu Meng's anger and simply smiled: "It's nothing, sister, you're too kind. The clothes are clean, it's not a matter of life and death."

Even Xi Sun couldn't stand these things and asked in bewilderment, "Miss, can you tolerate her?"

Fu Bo calmly replied, "No."

Xi Sun was even more surprised: "Then why have you been so tolerant?"

He just smiled again, and this time Fu Bo did not answer.

Seeing that Fu Bo was so accommodating to her, Xuan Zi became even more arrogant, disregarding all the women in the palace and deliberately suppressing and bullying them. Xuan Lian, on the other hand, always protected her, leading to widespread resentment in the harem. Some of the ladies even confided in Fu Bo, saying, "We used to be dissatisfied with your favored status and often opposed you. Now, seeing how arrogant Xuan Zi is, we realize how gentle and virtuous you are."

Six months later, Xuanzi became pregnant, but the baby was restless and she felt hot. The medicine she took to prevent miscarriage was ineffective. Seeing that the children of the other ladies in the harem either died in the womb or in infancy, while Fubo's son, Zitun, had grown up safely to the age of five, she wanted to inquire about Fubo's secrets to a healthy pregnancy. Because she remained wary of Fubo, fearing that Fubo might deliberately give her the wrong prescription, she didn't ask her directly. Instead, she ordered her personal maid from Fu Kingdom to bribe Xisun with a large sum of money, asking her to reveal the medicinal recipes Fubo used to raise her child.

Naturally, Xi Sun told Fu Bo everything. Fu Bo thought for a moment and said to Xi Sun, "Tell her the secret is rabbit meat."

Xi Sun then feigned mystery, pulled the maid Xuan Zi aside to a secluded spot, and whispered, "When Madam Cen was pregnant with Young Master Tun, she ate rabbit meat, drank rabbit soup, and consumed rabbit brains every day. As a result, she had a smooth delivery, both mother and child were safe, and the young master is healthy and strong. This method must not be told to anyone other than your wife, otherwise everyone could raise the young master, and there will inevitably be a struggle in the future."

The maid asked skeptically, "Really? Eating some rabbit meat can help with a smooth pregnancy and delivery?"

“Of course, if you don’t believe me, go and look it up in a medical book.” Xi Sun said seriously, “Wild rabbit is the most effective medicine. Don’t ask the palace cooks for it; the rabbit meat they buy outside isn’t fresh, and it won’t do any good.”

“That’s easy,” the maid said with a smile. “Every woman in our Fu Kingdom knows how to ride and shoot. Just go out of the palace and hunt a few wild rabbits.”

Given Xuanzi's cunning, she must have consulted medical books to check the effects of rabbit meat. As for its medicinal properties, Fubo and Xisun hadn't lied to her; the medical books she could find generally stated the following: Rabbit, pungent, neutral, non-toxic, cools the blood and promotes blood circulation, relieves heat toxins in the fetus, and induces labor and facilitates delivery.

But the focus is not on the efficacy of the medicine.

Two days later, a furious roar came from Xuanzi Palace. It was clearly a roar from someone in a state of extreme madness and rage, and its sound shook the heavens.

Upon hearing this, Fu Bo turned his head and smiled slightly at Xi Sun: "He saw it."

He saw a skinned rabbit head resting peacefully on the table of his beloved woman. When she saw him enter, she smiled and rose gracefully to curtsy, then personally selected a piece of roasted rabbit leg, which was roasted to a golden brown, and offered it to his lips: "Your Majesty, please try some. I had my maid hunt it outside the palace; it's very fresh."

His stitched cleft lip throbbed with pain, as if it were about to split open again. His blood boiled, almost bursting out. He roared and shoved Xuanzi to the ground, his eyes blazing with fury.

Because of his cleft lip, rabbits became a taboo subject in the palace that no one dared to mention. Although there was no explicit rule, no one would think of eating such an animal, let alone in front of him.

Except for this ignorant and arrogant foreign woman.

Xuan Lian breathed heavily, and after a while, he regulated his breathing. He looked coldly at Xuan Zi, who was lying on the ground with her usually innocent eyes wide open in confusion, not knowing what crime she had committed. He then made his judgment on her: "Take her away and cut off her lips."

Even the most beautiful woman loses her beauty and sharp, threatening charm without lips. When the news spread, the women of the harem were practically overjoyed.

Xuan Zi was thrown into a dilapidated house. Xuan Lian spared her life, probably out of consideration for the unborn child in her womb. However, the concubines who had suffered at her hands in the past were not about to let it go. Using their talent for slander, they fabricated a vivid lie, claiming that Xuan Zi's child was conceived through an affair with a guard. Xuan Lian believed it and gave her a white silk ribbon, ordering her to commit suicide with her unborn child.

"Now, do you understand?" On a clear and beautiful morning, Fu Bo was pruning a pink peach blossom branch that he was going to put in a vase. He said to Xi Sun as if chatting casually, "Back then, I kept giving in and tolerating her, which was to indulge her, spoil her, and make her more arrogant to others, so that she would make too many enemies. Once she made a mistake, these people would attack her in droves, causing her to be doomed forever."

Everything seemed to have returned to the time before Xuanzi entered the palace. Fubo's position in the palace was as solid as a rock, unshakable by anyone, and even the Queen had to show her respect. In the eighth year after Fubo entered the palace, the Queen passed away. The palace staff all guessed that if Xuanxuan did not marry a princess from another country, he would surely make Fubo his queen. However, this was not the case. Xuanxuan neither married a princess nor bestowed a title upon Fubo.

This does not seem to indicate that Xuanxuan's affection for Fubo has diminished. He still values her as much as ever, and is extremely fond of her and Zitun. He even gives her the rights of a queen, but he has never formally made her empress, nor has he made Zitun crown prince.

Meanwhile, Fu Bo increasingly exuded the majesty of a queen, and her skills in governing people became increasingly refined. Any palace servants who were unfavorable to her met with unfortunate ends, either falling out of favor inexplicably, being banished from the palace, or even dying mysteriously. As a result, the once gossipy women suppressed their arrogance and lived in fear under Fu Bo's rule, hoping only for peace.

On the anniversary of Xuanzi's death, it rained for more than ten days in a row. The palace was damp and dark, and every night a cold wind would blow, and the sound of the raindrops was eerie, as if someone was crying sadly.

Panic gripped the palace, and various tales of ghost encounters circulated among the palace servants. These stories often involved Xuanzi or other deceased women. One night, Zitun awoke from a nightmare and ran out of his palace with his mother to find Fubo. His wet nurse, who followed closely behind, stammered that he had passed by the palace where Xuanzi had committed suicide that day and had probably seen something unclean.

Hearing this, Xi Sun was also alarmed and whispered to Fu Bo, "Should we prepare some incense and candles...?"

"Shut up!" Fu Bo snapped, then turned coldly to Zi Tun's wet nurse, saying, "Was it you, or someone else, who told the young master that someone had died in that palace?"

The wet nurse was terrified and dared not answer a word, only knowing how to kowtow.

Fu Bo nodded: "Alright, you say there's a ghost, then I'll exorcise it for you." He raised his voice and ordered his men: "Take her away and beat her thirty times with sticks to drive out the ghost that's possessing her!"

The wet nurse was dragged away, crying and begging for mercy all the way, but Fu Bo ignored her. At this moment, a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, and a thunderous roar came from afar, exploding overhead. Zi Tun, who had been dumbfounded just moments before, was so frightened that he burst into tears again.

Fu Bo hugged his son tightly, looked around in the silvery lightning, and slowly said, "Look closely, I'm right here. Those demons and monsters who think they died unjustly, if you have the guts, go ahead and come after me for your lives."

No one answered. The rain continued to fall, while the thunder and lightning gradually subsided. Letting the cold rain and night wind brush his face, Fu Bo raised his head and gave a cold laugh to the heavens.

When Zitun was sixteen, Xuanlian fell seriously ill. His condition became so severe that even speaking a simple sentence became extremely difficult. Despite consultations with medical officials, they were unable to save him.

Seeing that the king was about to die and that no crown prince had been appointed, the courtiers submitted petitions requesting Xuanlian to issue an edict formally establishing his son, Tun, as crown prince. However, Xuanlian, who was still of sound mind, refused, shaking his head whenever someone made the request, without explaining why.

One night, Lady Fubo entered Xuanlian's bedchamber, dismissed the attendants, and took out a scroll of imperial edict. She showed it to Xuanlian, who was lying on his sickbed, and said softly, "Your Majesty, Fubo has asked the prime minister to draft an edict on your behalf, establishing Zitun as the crown prince. Please review it and affix your seal."

Xuanlian stared at her, and after a long while, he still firmly shook his head.

"It's alright. If Your Majesty is unable to do so, Fubo can add the seal himself." Fubo smiled as he rolled up the edict, still speaking softly, and leaned down to whisper in Xuanlian's ear, "You have no choice. Do you have a second son to inherit the throne?"

More than a decade has passed, and Xuanlian still only has one son, Zitun. The disappearance of the previous male fetuses or infants may have been due to fate, but later, Fubo, through her own will, turned that fate into destiny. Therefore, after Zitun, only a few princesses were able to grow up safely.

She looked down at Xuan Lian up close and saw that the sallow face of the man who had devoured her life's happiness, her father's killer, had turned crimson, torn apart by anger and despair, leaving him breathless, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Suddenly, Xuanlian used all his remaining strength to reach out his withered hand and tightly grip Fubo's neck, strangling her with all his might. Fubo was shocked and struggled desperately, but Xuanlian was ultimately overpowered and broke free, collapsing onto the bed in despair.

Fu Bo staggered back a few steps, clutching her neck, still shaken. Just as she was about to call someone in, she saw Xuan Lian lying on his side, looking at her with his cloudy eyes glistening with tears, looking so sorrowful.

She was taken aback for a moment, and remained standing there, staring at him in silence.

“I don’t blame you for everything you’ve done,” he said in a hoarse, indistinct voice. “I just wanted to… take you away…”

Everything you've done... Yes, all those things she's done over the years, does he really not know?

Her heart ached as if struck by something, and her nose stung with tears. The somber, irritable, and terrifying figure of the king, born of his inferiority complex, faded away, leaving only an ordinary, sorrowful man lying there. Fu Bo slowly moved closer to him, wanting to see him more clearly, but his pupils gradually dilated under her gaze. "I just wanted to... take you away..." were his last words.

Warm water droplets slid across her cold skin, and for the first time in her life, she shed tears for this man she didn't love.

After Xuanlian's death, his son Tun ascended the throne, but all state affairs were decided by Queen Dowager Fubo. Seeing that they were a widow and her son, the other states immediately became dismissive of the Chu state and even provoked it.

During the period of national mourning, an envoy came from the State of Qing, saying that King Qing had recently acquired a jade chain but had no way to untie it. Hearing that the State of Chu had many wise men, he sent his envoy to bring it to the people of Chu for help.

"Mother, I see that the jade interlocking rings are ingeniously designed, with each ring linked together, making them extremely difficult to unravel. It is clear that Prince Qing intends to use this to test and humiliate us. How should I respond?" Zitun, having no good ideas, came to discuss with his mother as usual.

Fu Bo inquired about the material and structure of the jade interlocking rings, then asked Zi Tun, "Aren't you confident you can unravel it yourself?"

Zi Tun scratched the back of his head: "If Zi Tun were to retrieve it and ponder it for some time, he would surely be able to find a way to solve it."

"Some time?" Fu Bo scoffed. "You hold the jade ring and ponder it carefully. Before long, the King of Qing's army will be able to break through Mingcheng."

Zitun blushed and said, "Please enlighten me, Mother."

Fu Bo said, "Tomorrow you will summon the envoy from Qing Kingdom to the palace with the jade ring. I have my reasons."

The following day, the envoy from the State of Qing brought a jade ring to meet with Zi Tun. Zi Tun ordered the jade ring to be brought out, showed it to his ministers, and asked, "Which minister can untie this ring?"

All the ministers held their breath and lowered their heads, not daring to respond. Zitun placed the ring on the imperial desk and raised his voice to ask again, but still no one answered. The envoy from Qing Kingdom then laughed and said, "I have often heard people say that Chu Kingdom has many wise men, but now it seems that they are nothing special."

Suddenly a voice came from behind Zitun: "This matter is too easy. It's not that the wise men of Chu Kingdom can't understand it, but that they disdain to do so."

Everyone looked intently and saw the curtain behind the king's seat drawn back, and Queen Dowager Cen slowly walked out, carrying a small iron hammer in her right hand. She walked to the imperial desk, raised her hand and smashed it, shattering the jade rings in an instant.

Then, glancing coldly at the dumbfounded envoy from the Qing Kingdom, he calmly said, "It's untied."

VI. Dongjun

The sun will rise in the east, shining on my balustrade and the Fusang tree.

I stroke my horse and drive it gently, for the night is bright and dawn has broken.

—Nine Songs: Lord of the East

Zitun loves his mother, but he doesn't like her sitting behind the curtain.

It's not that we don't admire her courage and wisdom, which are no less than those of men. Since the day she shattered the jade rings with a single blow, all the nations have been impressed and have ceased their malicious provocations. The Queen Mother continued to govern the country, making wise decisions and acting decisively. While focusing on recuperation and development, she also paid attention to strengthening military preparedness. In just six months, she eliminated all the adverse effects caused by the death of the late king, and the whole country began to show a scene of peace and prosperity once again.

But because of her domineering nature, Zitun often felt that he was merely an insignificant passerby on the throne, never truly experiencing the feeling of sitting on it. Every time he discussed politics with his ministers in court and needed to make decisions, he had to guess his mother's intentions and decide according to her wishes. If he said something that did not suit her, she would cough lightly behind the curtain. It was a very slight sound, but the serious warning in it was so clear that it terrified him, and he would hurriedly correct his mistakes.

Sometimes, when the opinions of her ministers greatly contradicted her own, and Zitun was speechless or unable to persuade them, she would even directly lift the curtain and step out, her eyes piercing with a cold light. With just one glance, they would fall silent, bow their heads, and obey her every command. This often reminded Zitun of that rainy night many years ago, when his mother held him tightly in her arms, facing the cold wind and rain. Although he felt safe, he couldn't help but feel fear when he met her gaze.

On his seventeenth birthday, after completing all the celebratory procedures, Zitun retreated to his study, only to find a mountain of silk scrolls piled on his desk, almost all of them imperial edicts drafted by his mother and sent to him for him to affix his seal. An inexplicable anger welled up within him, and with a flick of his wrist, he swept the scrolls to the ground. One scroll rolled to his feet, and when he unfolded it, lines of beautiful handwriting came into view.

Picking it up, I found a letter congratulating him on his birthday. The words were respectful and sincere, showing his care, and the handwriting was gentle and elegant, like a warm breeze and sunshine.

After reading it, Zitun's gaze lingered on the signature at the end of the letter: Xinyang Jun Pingyi.

He knew that Lord Xinyang was his uncle, but he had left the capital and lived in seclusion since he was a child. Few people mentioned him after his father and mother. Therefore, Lord Xinyang was still just a distant and unfamiliar figure to him.

"What kind of person is Lord Xinyang?" he asked his trusted mentor, the physician Fan Ying.

“A sage,” Fan Ying replied.

Fan Ying spared no effort in using the most beautiful words to describe Lord Xinyang, listing his deeds such as going on a mission to pray for rain, and praising him for his intelligence, wisdom, talent and virtue, as well as his benevolence and love for the people. He lived in seclusion in Youhuang Mountain, eating simple food and drinking water to help the poor. Everyone regarded him as a sage.

Zitun found it strange: "Why is such a virtuous person not valued by my father and has to leave the capital to live in seclusion? In fact, for many years, no one has mentioned him to me."

Fan Ying was immediately startled, realizing he had spoken out of turn. However, under Zi Tun's persistent questioning, he still subtly hinted that Lord Xinyang had once threatened the late king's position as crown prince, and the late king was suspicious of him, so he was not given important responsibilities.

Zitun sighed, “If he is a sage, how could he have such a presumptuous mind? I fear that my father was also alienated from Lord Xinyang because he was sown apart by villains.”

Fan Ying repeatedly agreed. Zi Tun continued to inquire about Lord Xinyang with great interest, from his virtuous conduct that was widely praised to details such as his clothing and speech. The more he listened, the more he felt that this person was noble, refined, and flawless.

He then frequently corresponded with Lord Xinyang, inquiring about his policies. Lord Xinyang's answers were insightful and greatly pleased Zitun. On one occasion, Zitun subtly mentioned the hardships his mother endured in governing and his regret at being unable to share her burdens. Lord Xinyang replied, "The Lesser Master of Fate has fulfilled his duty. Now that Zitun has come from the East, he should raise his long arrow to shoot the Heavenly Wolf."

The phrase "Let us raise our long arrows to shoot the heavenly wolf" greatly inspired Zi Tun, making him even more determined to bring him back to Mingcheng to assist him and take over the power from his mother. After autumn arrived, the Queen Dowager caught a cold and lingered for half a month without recovering. Zi Tun then used the excuse that his mother needed to rest and recuperate to suggest summoning Xin Yang Jun back to the capital to assist in governing. The Queen Dowager looked at him in surprise for a long time before decisively rejecting the idea: "No."

Despite Zi Tun's earnest pleas, the Queen Mother refused. However, this time Zi Tun was determined and mustered the courage to confront his mother: "Mother, the ruler of Chu Kingdom is Zi Tun, and Zi Tun has the right to appoint any minister."

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother, after a moment of silence, revealed a strange smile. "Very well," she said, "invite him back, and I will entrust this country to you. I look forward to seeing how you work together to build a peaceful and prosperous world."