Nirvana In Fire

After the grand Crown Prince investiture ceremonies were over, the court situation was calm due to the old Emperor’s convalescence and the new heir apparent’s request for stability. In the absence of any major incidents, the sudden death of the deputy imperial censor, Fan Chengxiang drew everyone’s attention.

At first, this incident didn’t cause much of a stir because the government office’s verdict after the initial investigation was “accidentally slipped and drowned”. Even though the death of a second grade high official by drowning in his own backyard provided fodder for gossip, it wasn’t something that was too surprising. But the matter took an odd turn when Fan Chengxiang’s wife insisted that the cause of her husband’s death was suspicious, and the government office had no choice but to get the Ministry of Justice involved. Cai Quan sent a newly promoted assistant minister to investigate the matter. After this person had thoroughly checked the inner courtyard and back garden of the Fan mansion, he summoned everyone in the household, from his wife right down to the servant girl, questioning everyone who had daily contact with Fan Chengxiang. On that very day, they pronounced the case a “homicide”, and for a period of time, the whole city was in an uproar. The Ministry of Justice immediately reopened the case and followed up with a detailed investigation by the Ministry of Justice.

By the end of the 7th month, the wedding ceremonies to confer the title of Crown Princess was held as scheduled. Although several procedures like a grand banquet with singing and dancing were excluded, the fireworks display was cancelled due to Xiao Jingyan’s insistence, and the bridal welcome procession was plain and simple without any accompanying instruments to make it lively, to the common folk, as long as the majestic Phoenix (Bridal) Carriage made its round, it was already a grand sight, and the whole city turned up and made up for the lack of joy and music with the noise they made.

As Xia Jiang had rightly pointed out, the Su Residence was not on the bridal procession route. Being so far away from the noise, it seemed calm and quiet here. In actual fact, Lin Chen and Physician Yan had been in a fierce argument since two days ago. In the end, Physician Yan finally agreed, so Lin Chen prepared some sort of concoction for Mei Changsu. After drinking it, he fell fast asleep and remained so from early morning till late night, without any sign of waking up, so much so that all those in the courtyard dared not sleep. Although they didn’t all keep vigil by his bed, they were all feeling greatly anxious in their respective places.

Lin Chen didn’t sleep either, because he was enthusiastically demanding for Fei Liu to perform a dance with him. He even made a peacock tail out of poplar leaves to tie around Fei Liu’s waist. Because Su gege was fast asleep, Fei Liu couldn’t call to him for help and could only attempt to flee chaotically around the courtyard.

But that was the biggest sign of activity that night. All night till dawn, the Su Residence did not experience any assault from the outside. The ruthless words Xia Jiang had said before Fan Chengxiang that night were obviously not carried out.

Mei Changsu continued to remain asleep, way past the afternoon, way past evening. When another dawn broke, Li Gang and Zhen Ping could no longer bear it and rushed to Lin Chen’s room where they grabbed hold of the soundly sleeping Lin Chen, woke him up and questioned him.

“He’ll wake soon, he’ll wake soon. Probably around noon.” Lin Chen smiled widely, trying to soothe them.

But at noon, Mei Changsu didn’t even turn over, so Lin Chen amended the timing to later in the day, then again delayed it to night time, then the early hours of the morning…..When everyone began to imagine themselves beating him up, Fei Liu suddenly glided over and said, “Woke up!”

This time, after waking up, Mei Changsu’s condition seemed to have improved a lot. He was not so easily out of breath after walking for a longer period, and when Lin Chen bullied Fei Liu, he could even extend a hand to protect the youth, using the other to hit the former with a fan.

“You’ve no conscience. The both of you have no conscience,” grumbled Lin Chen. He sat down and stared at Mei Changsu, with Fei Liu hiding behind him. “If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have helped the both of you, neither one of you!”

Mei Changsu ignored him, turning instead to Li Gang. “Ignore him and continue with what you have to say.”

Li Gang held back his smile and looked away from Lin Chen. Straightening his expression, he said, “This person, Yuan Sen, has been with Commander Meng for the past seven to eight years. From his initial position as an attendant to his current position as a general, he has always been a faithful and trustworthy general. He was the one who drove the carriage when we were removing Nie furen from the prison, so he’s one of the few people who knows about this matter. Master Lin said that if all our opponent did was discover that the prisoner wasn’t Nie furen, then it’s clear that all they have is an informer in Sky Prison, nothing more. But since they had very clearly pointed out that Commander Meng was the one who arranged the exchange, then the news must have come from a court insider. Since they are so familiar with the situation, we can’t rule out that possibility…..”

“Just tell me the outcome,” said Mei Changsu as he raised his eyebrows, “You may leave out the reasoning process. I know it.”

“Yes. In the end, Yuan Sen admitted that he had told his wife about Commander Meng secretly conducting the prisoner exchange. We immediately checked out his wife. At first, we didn’t find anything peculiar, but after facing several stumbling blocks, we discovered that she is someone from the Hua nation….”

“Hua nation?” Mei Changsu’s gaze shifted. “The Hua nation again….”

“Yes. The Imperial Censor Fan who died on the day of the Crown Prince’s wedding, his favourite concubine was also a woman from the Hua nation. Although she kept her identity deeply concealed, she was eventually found out by the Ministry of Justice.”

Mei Changsu’s expression lost some of its coldness and he let out a sigh. “Prince Xuanji has been dead all these years, but up till now, we still can’t overlook her influence. After all, there is more than just one Qin Banruo from the Hua nation….”

“Actually when you think about it, the Hua nation had always been known to be soft and timid, but it’s only the men who are soft. On the contrary, their women are very much stronger and harder, which is very strange.” Lin Chen interjected, and continued, “Isn’t it strange that on this earth, extraordinary talent isn’t just born in men?”

Mei Changsu rubbed the corner of his coat between his fingers in a circular motion, saying slowly, “These two matters, though seemingly unrelated, involve women from the Hua nation, so let’s assume that they’re connected for the time being. Back then, Xia Jiang left his wife and child for Princess Xuanji, so his relationship with the Hua nation isn’t superficial. I’ve always felt all along that he’s still in the capital….”

Lin Chen said in agreement, “I think so too. The search for him outside the city is so rigorous yet there has been no wind of his whereabouts, so it is truly possible that he never left the capital, but is hiding in a location where nobody would search, for example in the imperial censor’s mansion and so on…..”

Mei Changsu glanced at him, “Who was the one who told me that he had picked up a clue leading to Xia Jiang and had sent men to investigate?”

“I’ve investigated it….it was the old bastard’s smokescreen….” said Lin Chen dully. “If I wasn’t rushing over to see you, I wouldn’t have been so foolish then. This is really humiliating ah…..”

Mei Changsu couldn’t keep from laughing and said in consolation, “Well, this isn’t considered a humiliation. At most, you have just lost some face.”

Lin Chen rolled his eyes. “Humiliation and losing face, aren’t they the same thing?”

“Are they?” Mei Changsu thought for a while. Then he nodded and said, “They seem to be the same thing.”

Fei Liu, who was sitting by his knee, couldn’t help but grin. Lin Chen stretched his hand out to pinch him, saying, “You kid, you’re enjoying watching Su gege annoy me aren’t you?

“Yes!” Though his cheek was twisted out of shape, he still proclaimed this loudly, and the person beside him suddenly burst into laughter.

“Fine, I shall not lower myself to argue with you both. Whatever face I’ve lost, I’ll take itback multiplied by a few times more.” Lin Chen raised his chin and said, “Changsu, pay attention. Xia Jiang is now mine. Whatever rathole he has hidden himself in, I’ll seek him out. You’re not to intervene or worry about it, is that clear?”

Mei Changsu knew he had good intentions. He smiled faintly, then turned his head to continue with Li Gang, “The excuse Dong jie gave for returning to Sky Prison. Cai Quan will still carry out his own investigations. Is there any news about it?”

“Yes. This Cai da ren is really very rigorous in checking the facts. He not only did a detailed investigation of Sky Prison, but even went as far as to make indirect inquiries around His Highness the Crown Prince to verify the information. Fortunately we had made some timely preparations to fill the gaps so he couldn’t find any major loopholes. In addition to that, he has limited resources, so this matter has finally been put to rest. Chief doesn’t need to worry about it anymore.”

Mei Changsu nodded his head in satisfaction. At this moment, Zhen Ping strode in, holding a tray. “Chief, will this do?”

“What’s that?” Lin Chen moved closer to have a look. On the tray was a pair of pure white jade sacrificial vases with carvings on them. Though they were delicate, they didn’t look very valuable. “What are they for?”

“Gifts,” replied Mei Changsu with a smile. Then, turning to Zhen Ping, he instructed, “This will do. Wrap it up.”

Lin Chen was a quick-witted person and soon understood. Laughing heartily, he said, “This is all you’re giving the Crown Prince as a wedding gift? Never mind that it’s not valuable. It obviously didn’t take much effort, did it?”

“Jingyan is now the heir apparent. For one, he doesn’t lack for anything. For another, he wouldn’t pay any attention to it. So giving him something expensive would be a waste. This is already very good. In any case, I’m just bringing it along as a courtesy to congratulate him.”

“No wonder you dressed Fei Liu in new clothes today. You’re preparing to bring him to the Eastern Palace for a congratulatory visit, aren’t you?” Lin Chen rubbed Fei Liu’s forehead and laughed. “By now, those who are eligible to visit have more or less paid their visits. You went through the Spring Hunt rebellion with him, so if you don’t show up and give him face, it would seem deliberate. Besides, thanks to me, you no longer look like a ghost and can now go out to meet people.”

“Yes, it’s all thanks to you.” Mei Changsu cupped his hands, half jokingly, half seriously, and Lin Chen did the same in return, also half jokingly, half seriously. Looking on, Fei Liu didn’t feel anything, but Li Gang and Zhen Ping couldn’t help feeling a little sad. In order to hide the emotion on their faces, they lowered their heads and quietly withdrew to make preparations for Mei Changsu’s visit.

“By the way, now that the information leak surrounding the Sky Prison matter has been clarified, Gong Yu can finally relax. Since the prisoner exchange plan was proposed by her, after things got messy, she kept feeling guilty for adding more to your troubles. She came by to keep watch everyday when you were ill, but now that you’ve woken up, she doesn’t dare to come and see you.”

Mei Changsu frowned slightly, “Even though the plan was hers, the final decision was mine. When she returned, Nie Feng also specially went to thank her. This young lady really spends too much time on insignificant problems. Why didn’t you comfort her?”

“I’ve already tried. Since she came back, everyone in the Su Residence apart from Fei Liu also tried to comfort her, but for Gong Yu, all these words cannot compare a single word from a certain someone. Why don’t you just be pleasant and take the initiative, call her over, smile and say a few words to comfort her?”

Mei Changsu lowered his eyelids, his expression still as indifferent as before. He remained silent for a good while then asked quietly, “Lin Chen, if I don’t comfort her, what will happen to her?”

Lin Chen didn’t expect this question and looked at him blankly. “Nothing, I guess. She’ll just feel sad.”

“Since nothing will happen to her, then why bother?” Mei Changsu’s face was cold and expressionless. “I don’t have so much energy these days to take care of everyone’s sadness, so I will have to let her down.”

Lin Chen didn’t say anymore but tilted his head to stare at Mei Changsu’s face. He stared for so long that Fei Liu also tilted his head to look at Su gege with blinking eyes.

Li Gang appeared at the door and said, “Chief, the carriage is ready.”

“Ng.” Mei Changsu got up and walked out. Behind him, Lin Chen gave out a rare sigh and said, “To be honest, for a man, you’re really heartless.”

Although these words could clearly reach Mei Changsu’s ears, he acted like he didn’t hear them. He didn’t stop at all, and left without looking back. Lin Chen was left alone in the empty courtyard. He raised his head and covered his eyes with his hands, looking at the sunlight through the cracks between his fingers. After a while, when he probably felt a little bored doing this, he swung his hands and said to himself, “To see a beautiful woman in distress and not be able to help her, this is truly a sin…..a sin…..”

Afterthought:

“I don’t have so much energy these days to take care of everyone’s sadness”. This line was like a stab through my heart. Because I think given a choice, if he could, he would. But also in the drama, it was positioned as not wanting to encourage Gong Yu’s feelings for him so…I can only feel sad for her, and for him, that he feels so all stretched and at the end of his road.

BUT I’m glad this chapter was a nice one with LC and MCS interactions. The previous one on XJ was sooooo long I almost wondered if it was necessary, so translating this chapter made me quite happy.

Having said that, a part of me wishes there’s another book somewhere that tells us what MCS’s life was like after Meiling, before he entered the capital. In the drama, I always thought that while LS had become MCS, MCS never lost that part of LS that was still brimming with a love for life, and it almost always emerges when he is with LC and FL. So when MCS told LC at the end that LC should get to know LS, I actually thought that was unnecessary, because LC probably already knew the real LS in all that time.

I also like that Haiyan used this opportunity to say through LC, “Isn’t it strange that on this earth, extraordinary talent isn’t just born in men?” It’s such an obvious dig at patriarchism ha ha!