The Jianghu of Feng Qingcheng and Mo Xibei

Chapter 93

"Lord Tian!" In his deep thought, someone called softly from outside the window. Tian Xin recognized the voice as that of Liu Fu, a eunuch who was close to the emperor.

"What's wrong?" Tian Xin asked loudly, glancing at Murong Lianyun before whispering to the palace maid Mo'er, "Keep a close eye on her. If she goes on a rampage like today, crying and making a scene, spouting nonsense, none of us will get away with it." Her tone wasn't harsh at all, but to Mo'er, it was like a thunderclap. She knelt down with a thud, responding softly, and watched as the pair of black satin square-toed boots walked out of the hall. Only then did she collapse to the ground, feeling as if her body had fallen apart.

"What happened?" Standing outside the hall, Tian Xin frowned and asked Liu Fu. "Lord Tian, it's...it's that His Majesty is refining elixirs and needs a certain medicinal ingredient, but in the rush, there's nowhere to get it. Eunuch Cui would like to hear Lord Tian's opinion." Liu Fu raised his head slightly, smiling obsequiously.

"What kind of medicinal herbs? Why don't you ask the Imperial Pharmacy instead of me?" Tian Xin blinked, already guessing pretty much what it was. She just wouldn't say it outright.

"Of course, the Imperial Pharmacy doesn't even have this medicine." Liu Fu chuckled.

"What medicine? The Imperial Pharmacy doesn't have it?" Tian Xin raised an eyebrow, seemingly quite surprised.

“Lord Tian is very knowledgeable. Surely you must have heard of the method of refining medicine with red lead.” Liu Fu bowed, took a step closer, and whispered, “Nowadays, the powder is easy to obtain, but that… is difficult.”

"Is that so?" Tian Xin remained calm, slightly raising her head to look at the sky, as if talking to herself, "I've heard that many medicinal herbs can invigorate qi and blood circulation. Is the palace short of a few people? If not, then the whole world belongs to the king, doesn't it?"

Liu Fu was taken aback. He then smiled and replied, "Yes!"

"What is it?" Tian Xin glanced at him sideways.

“It’s nothing. There’s nothing at all.” Liu Fu agreed, took a step back, and turned to leave.

Night fell. Changyang Palace was brightly lit.

Murong Lianyun had slept for almost the entire day, and now her eyes were wide open, completely free of any sleepiness. "Tonight, no one is allowed to sleep. Everyone watch over the lamp beside them. If anyone's lamp goes out, don't blame me for being impolite," she said to all the palace maids and eunuchs. At this moment, in her bedchamber, all the palace maids and eunuchs of Changyang Palace were gathered together, each with a glass palace lamp placed in front of them.

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison, without knowing why.

Then, all was silent. Murong Lianyun remained silent, and the palace maids and eunuchs dared not make a sound. However, the silence of midnight made it easier to fall asleep, and soon some people couldn't help but close their eyes, first exhaling, then dozing off. But their minds were preoccupied with the glass palace lantern, and the slightest nod would immediately wake them up. Fortunately, they hurriedly looked up and around. Murong Lianyun's gaze was unfocused, staring at something outside the window, while the others, like themselves, hung their heads, forcing themselves to stay awake.

Everyone does this, and no one gets caught. As a result, those who are sleepy become a little bolder, and their naps gradually become longer.

With a loud "crack!", the sound suddenly rang out after midnight. Jueqing's palace maid saw that Mo'er's palace lantern suddenly shattered into two pieces, and the light went out immediately. Juezhong finally opened his eyes and found that Changyang Palace was suddenly pitch black. All the palace lanterns had gone out without warning in an instant.

"Ah!" Murong Lianyun screamed from the bed. Mo'er frantically pulled out a flint from her bosom and lit the palace lantern guarded by the maid beside her. The maids were also in a panic, but they dared not shout. After being glared at by Mo'er, they got up one by one and came over to light the lantern. A moment later, the lantern was brightly lit.

"Your Majesty, it's alright now. Look, the lights are all on." Mo'er approached the bedside and gently helped Murong Lianyun sit up.

"She's here, I know, she's here." Murong Lianyun opened his eyes after a long while, looking around blankly, muttering to himself.

"You're sleepy, why don't you go to sleep?" Mo'er felt a chill run down her spine, and she wanted to shiver. In fact, she didn't know why so many lights had suddenly gone out, just as she couldn't figure out whether Murong Lianyun was too frightened or mentally unstable. So, she could only use the most clumsy method: pressing Murong Lianyun's pressure points to make her fall asleep, and sending everyone away before she could say anything more she shouldn't.

That night, the lights in Changyang Palace burned until dawn. Mo'er sat by Murong Lianyun's bedside. Only by pressing Murong Lianyun's acupoints could she sleep so soundly, her brows furrowed but her face always calm. That night, Mo'er didn't close her eyes again, yet she couldn't see anything that could have startled Murong Lianyun so much.

However, after that night, many rumors began to circulate quietly in the palace.

"What happened?" In the afternoon, Tian Xin rushed over in a huff and asked as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Nothing at all. It was just that a gust of wind blew out all the palace lanterns yesterday, which frightened Her Majesty," Mo'er replied after thinking for a moment.

"Wind? Are you sure?" Tian Xin hesitated for a moment. It was indeed very windy last night, and many of the flowering trees outside were blown down. "You closed the windows, how did the wind get in?"

"Reporting to you, sir, last night, Her Majesty said she felt hot and wouldn't let us close the windows," Mo'er replied.

Volume 3, Chapter 24: Testing the Waters

Tian Xin stopped talking and was about to leave when Murong Lianyun woke up from her afternoon nap. Perhaps because she had been drinking the calming tea prescribed by the imperial physician since early morning, she seemed to be in excellent spirits. Seeing that Tian Xin was no longer hysterical, she simply told Mo'er to get dressed, and asked with slight surprise, "What brings Lord Tian here today?"

"I heard that Your Majesty is unwell, so I have come to visit you." Tian Xin had been having some headaches lately due to Murong Lianyun's fluctuating mental state. At this moment, she bowed respectfully and responded very politely, but her eyes were constantly watching, fearing that at any moment, Murong Lianyun would suddenly change her expression and do something that would embarrass everyone.

"His Majesty truly favors Lord Tian. I vaguely remember hearing that officials from outside the capital are not allowed to enter the inner palace without permission." However, Murong Lianyun said something that almost made Tian Xin choke on his own saliva.

"Your Majesty, I received my assignment from the Imperial Household Department yesterday. From now on, I'm afraid Your Majesty will see me in the palace quite often," Tian Xin replied very quickly.

"Having received a task, one must carry it out. What task has the Emperor assigned you this time?" Murong Lianyun looked at herself in the mirror. Mo'er's hands were very skillful, and the hairstyle she had created perfectly complemented her features. Through the mirror, her gaze met Tian Xin's. She didn't know if it was because the glass mirror itself looked cold, but she always felt that Tian Xin's gaze revealed a chilling coldness.

"The selection of imperial concubines is urgent. His Majesty has had few heirs in the few years since his ascension to the throne." Tian Xin didn't mince words. This incompetent emperor had only hinted at it briefly, and he immediately followed his train of thought. Before coming here, he had already heard that last night, to increase the supply of cinnabar for the elixir, a thirteen-year-old palace maid had been given the drug and sent to the emperor's bedchamber. However, somehow, she didn't survive the night and died. And since the cinnabar elixir requires many young women like this, without a selection of concubines, the harem would soon be filled only with eunuchs and the emperor.

"A talent show?" Murong Lianyun was slightly taken aback. After a long pause, he said, "Good, good! The more people there are, the more lively these days will be."

Tian Xin said nothing more and turned to leave. Originally, Tian Xin had planned to meet with Master Shao, since recommending him. The emperor's favor towards him had grown daily, and he had now been granted residence in the Xianling Palace, specifically in charge of prayer matters. This was to urge the emperor to expedite the blood-collecting and elixir-refining process. Only with his presence would the emperor's authority be truly convincing.

However, after leaving the palace, Tian Xin changed her mind. She gave an order to her attendant and hurriedly returned to her residence. "Where is Mu Feinan?" As soon as she entered the gate, Tian Xin immediately asked her trusted confidant who was waiting at the door.

"He's still in that courtyard. He hasn't left the house for the past few days, and he barely eats. He looks disheveled and really heartbroken." The confidant was Xiao Liu, the one who had followed Mu Feinan and kept watch that night and was intentionally let go.

"Hasn't she left the house at all?" Tian Xin asked, her footsteps unsteady.

"No, there are people guarding outside all day long," Xiao Liu replied.

"Hmm!" Tian Xin nodded. As she spoke, she had already arrived at the gate of the small courtyard where Mu Feinan now lived. At this time, autumn was bleak, and fallen leaves were scattered everywhere. Mu Feinan was standing alone in the courtyard, leaning against a pear tree, looking up at the sky. His jet-black hair was casually scattered behind his head, occasionally being blown by the wind. Along with his snow-white clothes, he looked haggard and ethereal, as if he could be carried away by the wind at any moment. Tian Xin stood quietly for a while. Several fallen leaves had already quietly clung to his hair and clothes, but Mu Feinan seemed lost in thought, as if he had not noticed anything.

"Brother Mu?" Tian Xin couldn't help but ask after a while, but before she could finish speaking, Mu Feinan spoke first.

"Northwest, is that you? You've come to see me? You've forgiven me?"

“Brother Mu!” Tian Xin frowned and spoke heavily. “Young Master Tian?” Mu Feinan seemed startled and turned around. In just a few days, his face had turned deathly pale. He stared at Tian Xin for a long time before smiling bitterly and saying, “In broad daylight, I knew I was crazy. I actually thought her soul had finally been moved and was willing to show itself.”

"I heard that Brother Mu has been eating little these past few days, and I was worried about him, so I came to see you." Tian Xin sighed, seemingly very regretful, and after a while, she said, "Brother Mu, if I may say something I shouldn't, Mo Xibei is an enemy, not a friend, to us. A person's identity is predetermined at birth and cannot be chosen, just like her, just like you and me. And hatred is also something we cannot choose. We are destined to settle the grudges of the previous generation in this generation. If we must hate, we can only hate that fate has played a trick on us, that we shouldn't have met people we were destined to be enemies with."

"Now that we've already encountered this, what should we do?" Mu Feinan's eyes were slightly unfocused, as if he wasn't really listening.

“A true man makes decisive decisions when necessary, and Brother Mu has already done so, so I need not say more,” Tian Xin said proudly. “Now that Mo Xibei is dead, no matter how heartbroken you are, you cannot change that. What you should do now is figure out how to make sure she did not die in vain.”

"?" Mu Feinan was startled by Tian Xin's words and perked up a bit, but looked at him with slight doubt. "Plan your great undertaking as soon as possible. When you succeed, you and I will be remembered in history as wise rulers and ministers who revived a dynasty. I think that since she loves you so much that she is willing to die at your hands, she will be happy for you if she knows in the afterlife and sees your achievements." Tian Xin smiled, and seeing Mu Feinan frown, she rolled her eyes and continued, "Besides, I have heard from Buddhist scriptures that there is cause and effect in this world. You reap what you sow. Your love is deeply rooted, but you have not reaped a good result. It is probably because there were unresolved grudges in your past life. Now, the grudges have been cleared, but the love has not ended. You cannot be together in this life, but you will surely meet again in the next life. Rather than being heartbroken like this, it is better to cultivate for the next life."

“If we start early?” Mu Feinan frowned. “You know I’ve never believed in these things.”

"You can secretly go to the temple and ask a high-ranking monk to perform a ritual to pray for her soul. If you have the intention, she will know," Tian Xin suggested.