Nirvana In Fire

Mei Changsu didn’t want to meet Prince Jing, because his condition did indeed take a turn for the worse upon his return to Su Residence. He was afraid that he would unconsciously utter nonsense in his delirium, so he ordered Fei Liu to prevent anyone from visiting him.

But Fei Liu couldn’t repeatedly deny all visitors, for example Meng Zhi.

The Supreme Commander of the Imperial Guard and the young bodyguard fought with each other from the foyer right up to the outside of the bedroom. Li Gang and Zhen Ping followed anxiously on their heels all throughout the fight, breaking out in cold sweat, but when they turned around, they couldn’t help feeling all knotted up. Their Chief, who was ill and delirious just yesterday, was at this present moment holding his quilt tight around him as he chuckled at the sight of the spectacular hand-to-hand combat that had swiftly reached the front of his bed, looking happy and very much alive.

Li Gang whispered, “Chief, since you’re awake, tell Fei Liu to stop!”

“It’s alright. Let them fight for a while.” Mei Changsu didn’t mind in the least. “Meng dage knows when to stop even if Fei Liu doesn’t. Anyway, he wouldn’t be able to hurt Meng dage.”

Hearing Mei Changsu come to their defense, Meng Zhi wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry, but since this person was lively enough to joke around, it meant that his illness was temporarily held at bay. Those who were keeping guard outside his bedroom relaxed and began to try to get Fei Liu’s attention.

Having to walk around this chaotic scene to get to the centre of the room, Physician Yan was panting with anger when he arrived at the bedside with a bowl of medicine. Mei Changsu hurriedly sat up and without a word, drank it clean of the medicine, after which Physician Yan took the bowl back with a scowl.

Mei Changsu asked with a smile, “Physician Yan, people say that anger will cause harm to the liver. How come you are so healthy even though you’re always so furious?”

“You still dare to ask! Because of you, boy, I will be short of breath for two months!” Physician Yan snorted and left, fuming with anger.

Mei Changsu smiled silently, then raised his voice to say, “Fei Liu, invite da shu* over!”

*big uncle – a polite term used by the young to address those elder

Fei Liu reluctantly stopped, and tilted his head at Meng Zhi. “Go over!”

Meng Zhi smiled and reached out to ruffle Fei Liu’s hair. The youth unexpectedly tolerated this gesture, causing the observing Li Gang and Zhen Ping to drop their chins. Mei Changsu smiled as he said, “Meng dage, it looks like Fei Liu doesn’t dislike you anymore. Congratulations.”

“You can still kid around. How’s your illness?” Meng Zhi strode to his bedside and looked down to examine him carefully. “Why is Fei Liu preventing people from entering? It gave me a fright…….”

“The first two days weren’t so good but I’m a lot better today. When I instructed Fei Liu at the time, I was delirious and wasn’t very clear with my instructions. I hadn’t intended to keep you away.” Mei Changsu lifted his hand to point at the chair by his headboard. “Meng dage, please have a seat.”

Meng Zhi nodded his head in understanding. “Was it Prince Jing you didn’t want to meet? Then it would have sufficed to keep the door of the secret chamber closed.”

“He might also come in through the main door, right?” Just as Mei Changsu was saying these words, Fei Liu glided over and said loudly, “Knock on door!”

“Mention Cao Cao and he arrives*.” Meng Zhi glanced at Fei Liu and smiled, then turned back, obviously waiting for the host to decide.

*Chinese equivalent of “Speak of the devil”. Cao Cao is a warlord from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Mei Changsu sat upright, and after muttering to himself for a bit, said, “Can I trouble Meng dage to receive him?”

Meng Zhi immediately stood up and walked to the secret chamber as Li Gang and Zhen Ping retreated.

Prince Jing was surprised to be so unexpectedly received by Meng Zhi. “Meng Zhi, why are you here? Didn’t I see you on duty when I entered the palace today?”

Meng Zhi smiled as he made his salutations. “I just got here. When I was at Xuanjing Bureau to release Mister Su that day, he wasn’t looking too well so I was worried. Since I had some time today, I came over to visit, and didn’t expect to meet Your Highness.”

“Ng.” Prince Jing didn’t ask more, but followed him out of the secret chamber, past the hanging screen into Mei Changsu’s bedroom. The host raised himself into a semi-reclining position and smiled in greeting, “Please forgive Su mou for being unable to receive you personally and for troubling Your Highness.”

“There’s no need to get up.” Prince Jing stepped forward hurriedly. “Is Sir feeling better?”

Mei Changsu smiled slightly. “Your Highness, please have a seat. It’s not a serious problem. Su mou just needed to rest for two days.”

Prince Jing looked carefully at Mei Changsu’s pale and wan appearance as he sat down and couldn’t help feeling guilty. He sighed as he said, “If not for having to divert the blame away from me Sir, you wouldn’t have had to endure the dangers of Xuanjing Bureau. Xia Jiang is not a compassionate and lenient person. Sir, you must have suffered greatly but are unwilling to tell us.”

Meng Zhi had a question he wasn’t able to ask earlier, and took this opportunity to ask it. “Mister Su, has the poison cleared from your body?”

Prince Jing said in alarm, “What poison?”

Mei Changsu blinked and followed suit, “What poison?”

“Don’t pretend. When I delivered Xia Dong to Sky Prison, she said that Xia Jiang forced you to take the lethal Wujin pill!”

“Oh,” Mei Changsu shook his head nonchalantly, “I wasn’t poisoned.”

“You don’t need to hide it from us. Xia Dong said she saw with her own eyes……..”

“What she saw was Xia Jiang giving me the Wujin pill, me dropping the pill on the floor, and Xia Jiang picking it up from the floor and forcing me to consume it. That’s all.” Mei Changsu smiled craftily. “I’ve really not been poisoned. If I had known that Xia Jiang had such a Wujin pill and was still tricked by him, then that would have been really foolish of me.”^

Prince Jing and Meng Zhi looked at each other, understanding his meaning. They laughed in relief, but after a while, they couldn’t help feeling some lingering fear.

“Speaking of Xia Dong, how is she now?”

“Before Xia Jiang was convicted, she was fine.” Meng Zhi sighed. “Such a pity. She had been alone for so many years. Now, she is in despair, disillusioned by her shifu’s coldheartedness. I’m afraid no one would be able to share the burden of this suffering with her.”

“We are indebted to Xia Dong,” Mei Changsu’s eyes also filled with sorrow, “We can only do our best to fix this. Xia Dong is different from Wei Zheng. Your Highness Prince Jing and Concubine Jing niang niang can try to plead leniency for her. His Majesty will think that you’re just being generous and will not suspect anything. Even if she were to be convicted in the future, it would hopefully be a light sentence.”

“This is only natural.” Prince Jing nodded as he said, “Xia Dong is Nie Feng’s widow. This time, she was only obeying her shifu’s orders. There are many reasons to plead for the Emperor’s grace. My mother and I will spare no effort to plead leniency for her, and will definitely not let her suffer severe punishment.”

“As long as His Highness is around, Xia Dong will not encounter great difficulty. Mister Su need not worry.” Meng Zhi understood better than Prince Jing the remorse Mei Changsu bore in his heart, and hurriedly tried to comfort him.^^

Prince Jing leaned forward slightly, his eyes meeting Mei Changsu’s. His tone was grave as he asked, “Mister Su, now that the dust has more or less settled, would it be possible to arrange for me to meet Wei Zheng?”

Mei Changsu was a little taken aback and hesitated for a moment before responding softly, “Even though Xia Jiang has been imprisoned, the situation has not concluded yet. It’s better to be careful during this time. Wei Zheng is very safe now so Your Highness doesn’t need to worry.”

“Is he still in the capital?”

“He’s still here.”

“Where is he?”

Mei Changsu raised his head to look at him, and shook his head. “Please forgive Su mou for not being able to inform Your Highness. If Your Highness knows where Wei Zheng is, you wouldn’t able to resist meeting him in secret, and if not careful, wouldn’t it have been a waste of effort?”

Prince Jing turned to look out the window, sighing softly. “I had hoped to hear from him what happened back then sooner rather than later. Sir cannot understand……”

Mei Changsu lowered his head and pursed the corners of his lips, saying, “Su mou is an outsider and naturally would not truly understand, but as eager as you are, surely it can wait awhile. Wei Zheng has not completely recovered from his injuries yet. Your Highness also needs to focus your energies on dealing with the turmoil that will inevitably ensue once court reopens. For now, it would be best to keep calm. Once Su mou feels it is a good time for the both of you to have a conversation, I would arrange it even if Your Highness does not remind me.”

Seeing Prince Jing’s melancholic expression, Meng Zhi was just about to interject in an attempt to lift the mood when Li Gang’s voice could be heard from outside. “Chief, Mu Qing from the Mu Household is here to visit.”

Mei Changsu frowned inadvertently. Even though Mu Qing was on their side, he was young and rash. It would be a bad idea for him to see Prince Jing and Meng Zhi here, but if he sent this young prince back on the pretext of his serious illness, he was afraid that Mu Qing would write to his sister spouting nonsense, causing Nihuang and Nie Duo to worry needlessly, so either way, he was in a dilemma.

Prince Jing understood why Mei Changsu was hesitating. Taking the initiative, he stood up and said, “It’s considerate of Mu Qing to come and visit. There’s no reason to avoid meeting him. I will leave with Commander Meng and visit again tomorrow.”

Mei Changsu humbly thanked him, saying, “Instead of troubling Your Highness to come here everyday, it would be better for us to meet and continue discussions in the secret chamber.”

Prince Jing smiled, his eyes shifting slightly. Then, he suddenly said, “Will Sir be fully recuperated by March^^^?”

“How can my illness drag till March? I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“If that’s the case, please take care of yourself, Sir. His Majesty has asked me to bring Sir along with me to the March Spring Hunt.”

Mei Changsu’s eyebrows leapt in surprise. “Why have I been invited to the Imperial Spring Hunt? It’s an occasion reserved for the Imperial Family.”

Prince Jing stared directly at Mei Changsu without blinking, saying slowly, “My mother would like to meet you.”

Under that gaze, Mei Changsu’s eyebrows trembled faintly for a brief moment, but other than that, there was no other change in his expression and his voice was steady as he said, “Your Highness must be joking. Even though I serve Your Highness, I am merely a commoner. Why would Concubine Jing niang niang want to meet me?”

“Mother holds you in great esteem. She has mentioned it many times to me. I hope Sir will not decline.” Prince Jing withdrew his burning gaze, nodded briefly in courtesy, turned and walked towards the secret chamber. Meng Zhi, who had been standing silently by, listening to this, immediately followed on his heels.

Just as his parting silhouette was about to disappear, Prince Jing suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to ask, “Mister Su, is Wei Zheng in the Mu Household?”

Mei Changsu was stumped for a while and couldn’t help but sigh ruefully. “Your Highness is really sharp these days. It won’t be long before Su mou is rendered useless.”

Prince Jing smiled faintly and said, “Sir must be joking. Since the Mu Household is willing to protect Wei Zheng, I’ll not worry. Please take care, sir. I’ll leave now.”

Mei Changsu sat up to see him off. After some time, he heard the faint sound of the secret chamber door closing shut, confirming that they had truly left.

“Invite young Prince Mu in.”

“Yes.” The sound of someone accepting his orders could be heard from outside the window. After approximately the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Mu Qing walked into the room, brimming with energy. Though he was still a few steps shy of the bed, he already began to speak, “Mister Su, I’ve brought you a letter!”

“Letter?”

“Yes. Jiejie sent a rider to deliver it. It was enclosed with her letters of instruction to me.” Mu Qing didn’t sit on the chair but headed directly to sit on the edge of bed. As he handed over the letter, he cocked his head and looked curiously at it. “Quickly open it. What does it say?”

Mei Changsu smiled and put the letter under his pillow saying, “My eyes are a little blurry now. I will read it when I’m more wide awake.”

“Then I’ll read it for you, Sir!” Mu Qing’s eyes immediately brightened.

Mei Changsu didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. Fortunately, Fei Liu glided over just at this moment. He pointed his finger at the chair and said, “You, sit here!”

“I don’t want to!” Mu Qing raised his chin, “I will sit on the bed. I like to sit on the bed. Mister Su isn’t bothered, so why are you?”

“Alright,” Mei Changsu hurriedly interjected to curb an argument between the two youths, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “Prince Mu, would you like to exchange a few moves with our Fei Liu?”

“Wa, can…can I?”

“I don’t see why not.” Mei Changsu turned his head, saying to Fei Liu, “Fei Liu, go and have a hand-to-hand combat with this xiao gege*. Remember, you have to be as careful with him as you were when fighting Hua meimei**.

*young older brother

**younger sister Hua. Probably some random girl Fei Liu had a hand-to-hand combat with before or maybe she was referenced somewhere else I fail to recall!

Fei Liu’s expression immediately stiffened, but he couldn’t disobey Su gege’s instructions, so he could only turn around and head out to the garden. Mu Qing followed behind, looking very pleased, and soon the sounds of the fight could be heard from outside.

Mei Changsu reached under the pillow for the letter and tore it open. As expected, both of them were beseeching him again to let Nie Duo enter the capital. He immediately shook his head and sighed. LIfting his quilt, he got off the bed. Li Gang, who was standing at the door, immediately walked over to support him while draping some clothes over him. “Chief, what would you like to do?”

“Write a letter in reply.”

“Chief, why don’t you dictate from your bed? This subordinate will write on your behalf.”

Mei Changsu shook his head. “Nie Duo recognizes my handwriting. If someone else writes on my behalf, their imagination will run even wilder.”

Li Gang dared not disobey. He supported him to the writing desk, quickly ground the ink stone and spread out writing paper. The content didn’t bear much thought as he only needed to sternly reprimand the two of them^^^^. However, he was worried that the weakness of his (writing) strokes would cause them to worry, so writing it took a lot of effort. By the time he finished writing the letter, his forehead was covered in perspiration. Li Gang helped him back to the bed first, then returned to the desk to carefully fold the letter up and put it in its envelope. Bringing it back to the bedside, he said softly, “Chief, shall I invite Prince Mu back in?”

Mei Changsu looked out the window. As he listened to the sounds of the fight still going on outside, he didn’t know why but he suddenly remembered the days of his youth from what seemed like a lifetime ago. He couldn’t help his thoughts, and after a good while, he said with great melancholy, “I’m going to sleep first. When Mu Qing returns after the fight, just hand him this reply and ask him to send it back. There’s no need to see me again.”

Li Gang agreed and supported Mei Changsu to lie down. His gaze swept the room, but all he could see were those pale lips. His heart constricted and a lump pressed painfully down on the pit of his stomach. He quickly looked down to take control of his emotions, before finally making his way slowly back to the doorway.

Footnotes:

^In the TV series, the Poison of the Bitter Flame burnt away the Wujin Pill poison from MCS’s body, but this chapter seems to imply (to me) that MCS exchanged the pill for another more innocuous one. Whether he made that up just to assure MZ & XJY, I’m not sure, but if so, I guess we’ll find out in later chapters!!

^^This seems to me to imply that XJY was heartless with little empathy! But perhaps MCS bears more guilt because he had known her personally through Nie Feng, so he had closer personal ties, whereas to XJY, Xia Dong was just someone from Xuanjing Bureau. Or maybe like with Xiao Jingrui, he felt guilty having had no choice but to engineer this.

^^^technically, “March” is not a Chinese month, but I’m using this for ease of translation. It’s literally translated as “the third month”

^^^^I wonder who the 2 people he was referring to were. I can’t imagine he would scold Nihuang so I don’t think she’s one of them! Plus, he mentions that Nie Duo would recognize his handwriting….Nihuang would have too, no? Yet she wasn’t mentioned.