Nirvana In Fire

Preamble:

It’s been slightly over 3 months, and in that span of time, I’ve translated 27 chapters. Wow. At this point, there are 30 more chapters to the end. I’m not sure if that will take another 3 months or a year, or even more, since I’ll be starting work again soon…..but well, we have gotten very far! And we wouldn’t be here if not also for the work of earlier translators. Unfortunately, my Chinese hasn’t really improved, but I’ve seemed to translate a lot faster after my break, because I think I have let go of trying to be very precise with every bit of the translation, drawing more from inference and overall visual / feeling / intention the author is trying to convey. Hopefully it’s also made for a better read since it’s (hopefully) much less literal!

Faced with Prince Jing’s query, Mei Changsu didn’t immediately answer but instead turned to face the Emperor’s tent on the east side. “Didn’t Your Highness go over to pay respects to His Majesty?”

“Father Emperor is having his afternoon nap. How long could I do that?”

“So why didn’t Your Highness come in?”

“Mother clearly wanted me out of there. Why would I go back in so fast and annoy her?”

“But Your Highness, you…..would still like to know what we talked about?

“Of course.” Xiao Jingyan was getting impatient with his nonchalant manner. “Mother has not lost her self control like this for many years. I must know the reason for this.”

“Then why didn’t Your Highness eavesdrop at the tent door? Neither niang niang nor I are martial arts masters. If you were careful, we wouldn’t have noticed.”

Prince Jing stared at him, a slight scowl on his face. “I’ve never done that, much less do it to my mother.”

“Since Your Highness didn’t eavesdrop, why bother asking me now?” Mei Changsu replied coolly, “There isn’t much difference between the two. If Your Highness really wants to know what we talked about, it would be better for you to ask Concubine Jing niang niang. It’s not appropriate to ask me.”

Prince Jing was momentarily at a loss for words, and he hesitated, his eyes flickering.

“Actually…..” Mei Changsu said slowly, “In Su mou’s humble opinion, it’s enough for Your Highness to know that Concubine Jing is a good mother who would do her best for you, so why is there a need to pursue this? Everyone has something they do not wish anyone else to know. Not asking is also a form of filial piety. If you really can’t help it, then you should ask her personally. In short, I will not say anything. I seek Your Highness’s understanding.”

Prince Jing strode back and forth several times, then stopped. “Did Mother forbid you to say anything?”

“Niang niang gave no such command, but since she sent you out, she obviously didn’t intend for you to know.”

“If she didn’t intend for me to know, then why is it okay for you to know?”

Mei Changsu’s shoulders collapsed in defeat. “It looks like Your Highness really cannot bear not knowing. Then you should go and ask niang niang. I shall return to my tent first.” With these words, he clasped his hands, turned around and walked off.

Prince Jing’s anger flared momentarily, but this matter concerned his mother and had nothing to do with Mei Changsu. He hesitated for a while, but he couldn’t stop worrying so he proceeded to enter the tent.

At the time, Concubine Jing was cleaning her face with a wet towel. Other than her swollen red eyes, there were no other traces of weeping on her face. Seeing her son enter, she put down the towel and gave him a slight smile. “You’re back. Mister Su didn’t wait for you and has left.”

“Your son knows. We…..ran into each other outside…..” Xiao Jingyan walked over and helped his mother over to the seat. He pulled a cushion over for himself and sat by her knees. Looking up at her, he slowly asked, “Mother, do you really have nothing you want to tell your son?”

Concubine Jing put a hand on her son’s head, gently stroking it. She sighed deeply and said, “Jingyan, can you not ask?”

“But I have not seen Mother so sad in such a long time. Maybe if you tell me, I can do something…..”

“I understand your filial piety,” Concubine Jing smiled at him sadly, her voice still gentle and calm, but Jingyan, Mother used to have a life of her own. Many things happened before you were born that have nothing to do with you, so why must you ask?”

“Before….before I was born?” Prince Jing was dumbfounded. For every child who looked up to his mother, it was really hard to imagine her having a life of her own before he was born.

“I was sad because it had been so long ago, so long ago that I had forgotten about it and didn’t guard myself against it, so when I suddenly recalled it, it was hard to control myself,” Concubine Jing murmured vaguely, “Actually, it has nothing to do with Mister Su. It’s just that, those memories…..he just brought back those memories, that’s all…..he is a most attentive and considerate person. Even though I didn’t ask him not to, he would naturally not mention anything, so don’t keep asking him. When I am ready to explain it to you, I will definitely do so.”

Though Concubine Jing and Mei Changsu didn’t discuss it, they both had a tacit understanding and adopted the same method of deflecting Prince Jing. The earlier scene had now become Concubine Jing’s secret rather than Mei Changsu’s without Prince Jing’s realization. Out of concern and love for his mother, even though he was still filled with doubt, he had to suppress his questions and stop asking them.

Although he was not convinced, he had turned this over many times in his head, considering all possibilities, but in the end, he still had no choice but to lower his head and whisper, “Then please take care of yourself Mother. Your son will take his leave.”

Concubine Jing nodded her head silently, not detaining him. After her son left the tent, she removed an ointment from within her sleeve, looked at the mirror and applied it on her eyes, but even as she wiped, she couldn’t help the tears from falling.

In this way, the meeting was swiftly concluded, with no great waves or mishaps, but the outcome was a little strange. At least that was how Lie Zhanying felt. Two people who went out together came back separately, one after the other, one nonchalant, the other frowning, deep in thought. One could say that they had become estranged. Though they still greeted each other everyday and spoke as usual, they suddenly seemed to have drifted apart, not sharing a meal or conversation for quite a while. Instead, Prince Huai, who loved reading, regularly visited Mei Changsu to borrow his books and had more frequent contact with him.

This went on for seven to eight days, and was finally interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

“According to the guard, the man came looking for Mister Su. He should have been turned away, but a captain of the guard who happened to pass by knew that I regularly pay my respects to Mister Su, so he ordered his men to watch him while he came over to inform me.” Meng Zhi was sitting in Prince Jing’s main tent, his body encased in soft armour, obviously there for a while. “But that person refuses to say his name. Would Mister Su like to meet him?”

Mei Changsu muttered briefly to himself then said, “If it’s not too troublesome, it might be a good idea to meet him.”

“Then I’ll ask someone to bring him over.” Meng Zhi walked to the entrance to issue the order, then returned to his seat. Looking at the two men seated opposite him, he asked, “What’s wrong with Your Highness and Mister Su?”

“Eh?” The two men looked up at the same time. “What do you mean what’s wrong?”

“Did Mister Su do something….to make Your Highness angry?”

“No,” Prince Jing quickly replied, “Some other matter that has nothing to do with Mister Su.”

“Oh…..” Meng Zhi actually wanted to find out what happened during the meeting with Concubine Jing, but Mei Changsu refused to say anything and he dared not ask, but looking at Prince Jing’s demeanour, he couldn’t determine if the latter was still in the dark.

After approximately the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, two imperial guards brought in a man wearing a ragged cloak. They pushed him to the centre of the tent, bowed and left. The cloaked man fell to the floor and shuffled two steps forward on his knees, paying his respects to Mei Changsu and called out in a hoarse voice choked with emotion, “Chief….”

Mei Changsu was startled. Just as he was about to stretch out his arm to part the man’s hair, Meng Zhi had already stepped forward to lift the man’s chin up. The hair immediately parted, revealing a bruised and dirty, barely recognizable face.

“Tong Lu?” The Jiangzuo Alliance Chief’s eyes leapt in shock. “Why are you here?”

“Chief!” Tong Lu fell prostrate, bursting into tears, his voice barely audible amidst his sobs, “This….this subordinate….asks…asks for your forgiveness…..”

Mei Changsu stared at him. After a long while, he took a glass of water and placed it before the man, saying calmly, “Drink some water first, and calm down.”

Tong Lu wiped his face, then grabbed the cup of water and drank it down before saying, “Thank you Chief.”

“Tong Lu, Mister Shisan said that you have betrayed us. Do you admit to it?” Mei Changsu asked quietly.

Tong Lu sobbed violently, lying prostrate on the floor, unable to speak.

“Since you plead guilty to treason against the alliance, why did you come here? Isn’t it better to serve Prince Yu?”

“Chief….this subordinate made a mistake, but had no intention of betraying the alliance,” Tong Lu gritted his teeth, his face pale, “I left Miaoyin House because….because….”

“I know. Mister Shisan had already investigated. It’s because of a woman named Junniang, right?”

“Yes…..” Tong Lu lowered his head in shame, “I can give up my life, but I couldn’t give up Junniang’s life, so…..so……”

“There’s no need to say more. I understand.” Mei Changsu said lightly, “You didn’t reveal everything you knew, so we guessed that you were forced to betray us, and it wasn’t voluntary. But betrayal is betrayal. There’s nothing more to say. Mister Shisan looked closely into your whereabouts but could not find you. Why did you come out and reveal yourself?”

Tong Lu touched the ground with his forehead, his previously pale face turning red. In a low voice, he said, “In the beginning, they used Junniang to threaten me, but later, they imprisoned me to threaten Junniang. One day….Junniang secretly came to look for me. That’s when I found out that they were the ones who sent Junniang….sent her….”

“Junniang was a sister disciple of Qin Banruo. We only discovered this later.”

“The way Junniang lied to me, I shouldn’t have trusted her anymore. But she said….she also wanted to cut herself away from the past, to return with me to the countryside, to live a carefree life….Chief, she was also in a helpless predicament. She’s different from Qin Banruo…..”

“I don’t want to talk about Junniang. Get to the point. Why did you come and see me?”

“Three days ago, Junniang broke me out, but as soon as we left the city, assassins overtook us and we barely escaped with our lives. However, Junniang sustained serious injuries, and that night….she….she choked….” Tong Lu’s lips trembled violently, his eyes blood red, but there were no tears. “We had originally planned to find a small village to quietly live out our days….Chief, Junniang is really different from Qin Banruo, really….”

Mei Changsu couldn’t hide the trace of pity in his eyes, but he immediately suppressed it. Keeping his voice level, he said, “An assassination is an assassination. But why did they try to assassinate you? Did you both discover some secret information? Is that why you came to look for me?”

“Yes,” Tong Lu bit his lip hard, as if the pain would help clear his head. “Prince Yu is plotting a rebellion….”

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Meng Zhi but Xiao JIngyan too leapt up. “That’s impossible. Prince Yu doesn’t have that many men. Why is he plotting a rebellion?”

“I….I don’t know very much….” Tong Lu said as he thought hard, “According to Junniang, as soon as the hunting party left the city, Prince Yu secretly went to visit Xia JIang in Sky Prison. I’m not sure what plan they hatched, but what is certain is that Prince Yu had already figured out a way to take control of the imperial guards who had stayed behind in the capital….”

“What?” Meng Zhi’s expression changed drastically. “The guards who stayed behind number approximately 7,000. It won’t be so easy to take control of them. How is he going to do that?”

“Word has it that the two deputy commanders of the imperial guard who stayed behind have already sworn loyalty to Prince Yu.”

Faced with Prince Jing’s questioning gaze, Meng Zhi was a little embarrassed. “These two deputy commanders were not the ones I trained and promoted. They were transferred over after the murder of the palace eunuchs. I really have very little hold over them. But….I believe my men will not obey orders to start a rebellion.”

“Tong Lu said that they had only taken control, not that the imperial guards have fallen completely under their control.” Mei Changsu shook his head as he said, “The imperial guards have always been well-trained and have always followed orders. Now that the capital has to respect the imperial order*, if they were separated into groups with their weapons recovered in batches, and then gathered and watched over in a central location, it would be possible to control them. After all, there is no fighting outside. Although the imperial guard may not understand their superiors’ orders, they won’t use force to resist for no reason.”

“Even if the imperial guard is disarmed, Prince Yu only has 2,000 soldiers. What could he do with them? At most cross swords with the Capital Patrol, maybe not even succeeding….”

“It’s more than that….” Tong Lu spoke urgently, “Junniang learnt from her contact that Prince Yu has strong support from Jingxi….what’s his name….Xu….Xu…”

“Xu Anmo!” Prince Jing’s eyebrows leapt up, his hand that was on the table clenched tightly into a fist.

Footnote:

*I’m not sure what this really is and it was difficult to find an explanation on google. I believe it refers to the system that was in place when the Emperor was not in the capital i.e. they had to listen to the officials / commanders left behind to manage things while the Emperor was away. If anyone finds any reference online, please do share!

Afterthought:

MCS’s interaction with Tong Lu reminds me how much heart Xiao Shuai (Junior Commander) really has for his people even as he has to be the Chief. He is such an empath!!!!