Chapter 91.2
Second Young Master Li wishes to capture me?” Jiang Ruan asked. “You are not fearful of adding on to your guilt and crimes?”
Li An burst into uproarious laughter. “It’s only that Eldest Jiang Miss’ luck was bad. On her way to burn touzhu incense, she was not careful, was captured by mountain bandits, and lost her innocence. She was unable to gain the blessings conferred by burning touzhu incense. What has any of that to do with someone named ‘Li’?”
The two bodyguards immediately glared at Li An with fury in their eyes. If this kind of talk were to be associated with an unmarried, cloistered young lady, her entire life would be ruined. However, both men knew very well that with such a large number of soldiers present, the situation would clearly not be as simple as seizing Jiang Ruan. It was the thought of the treatment Jiang Ruan would suffer after her capture that caused the two men to break into cold sweat.
“Mountain bandits?” Jiang Ruan smiled slightly. “Aren’t they soldiers?”
Li An paused, then narrowed his eyes and said, “Eldest Jiang Miss is exceptionally intelligent- what a pity that the outcome of this battle has already been decided. You have no other way out, so just come with me.”
Jiang Ruan shook her head. “The outcome has not yet been decided.”
“Stop fighting for nothing,” Li An warned her.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Ruan laughed lightly, and her face suddenly lit up in a joyous smile, as beautiful as a flower, which even reached her eyes. However, that smile was just as suddenly dropped, and her expression mirrored that of a still, frozen pool of water.
“Really?” She enunciated clearly, “Chi. Lei. Jun[1].”
[1] T/N: 赤 (chi) – scarlet; 雷 (lei) – thunder; 军 (jun) – army.
Li An’s eyes widened and he unconsciously took two steps back. “You . . .” His mind and emotions were experiencing a turbulent storm, she actually knew!
Chi Lei Jun was the army that the Grand Councillor fu kept externally. Even Xuan Li did not know about this private army. Ordinarily, the soldiers would disguise themselves as peasants. They were the Grand Councillor fu’s trump card, to be used as a last resort, and they only obeyed his orders. How could Jiang Ruan know this secret that even Li Dong and Li Yang had no inkling of?!
Jiang Ruan smiled faintly. “Second Young Master Li is fearful? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid because your meticulously kept secret has been uncovered?”
The Chi Lei soldiers were all stirring restlessly, watching Li An’s facial expression, knowing that what Jiang Ruan had just said to Li An represented an immense threat. Thus, without even being aware of it, their weapons were all directed at her.
“A secret that has been kept for too long is no longer a secret,” Jiang Ruan said softly, with indifference in her voice, such that Li An felt as if she was calling his attention to something. He suppressed the panic in his heart and sneered at her, “You’re babbling nonsense.”
“Didn’t Second Young Master Li act in this way today in order to redress the injustice done to the Grand Councillor fu?” Jiang Ruan’s hair was disordered, and her clothes were soiled due to her having rolled on the muddy ground. Yet, as she stood there, she exuded an unmistakable grace, with something unexpectedly akin to austere beauty.
She said, “What a pity, that from the time that you made the decision to act this way, the Grand Councillor fu never had a chance at recovery. You’ve lost.”
Li An’s heart jumped in agitation, and his unease abruptly snowballed. He wanted to command his subordinates to seize Jiang Ruan immediately in order to stop her from talking, but she swiftly said, “Privately training troops, intending to rebel, plotting a rebellion . . . all clearly criminal charges. Oh, doesn’t this sound serious?”
She continued, “Your actions today have truly confirmed the hopeless situation of the Grand Councillor fu.”
Li An stood there as if struck by a lightning bolt.
Slowly, slowly, he raised his head, and asked, as if in a fevered dream, “Those rumours, it was you who started them?”
Jiang Ruan offered him a slight smile in response.
The Grand Councillor fu had reigned supreme in the Great Jin dynasty for so many years, how could it utterly collapse due to a single lapse in responsibility regarding the reservoir? If the Emperor really did execute the Grand Councillor’s family for this, it would undoubtedly strike fear into the hearts of the court officials, and the structure of the imperial court would naturally experience upheaval.
A monarch’s worst fear is volatile public sentiment. The many factions in the imperial court all serve to check and balance one another’s influence. If the equilibrium is to be shifted, then it must be done gradually, one step at a time; it cannot be upset all at once.
Unfortunately, at this time, Li An’s inclination was to cause chaos, and he had lost his former cool-headed analysis of situations. Jiang Ruan had allowed Jiang Xin Zhi to help to spread some rumours, which had eventually reached Li An’s ears. As a result, Li An was restless.
Truth and falsehood, falsehood and truth. Once a highly intelligent man has lost his ability to reason, his high degree of confusion will cause him to err and offend to an extent that an ordinary person could never achieve.
He had allowed his hidden Chi Lei soldiers to reveal themselves, disguised as mountain bandits. They were the only card he had left, and he had considered it a foolproof plan. However, in one breath, Jiang Ruan had revealed his secret.
In a moment of understanding, he realised the offence with the reservoir would not condemn them, but raising a private army, intending to rebel . . . there was no way out for the Grand Councillor fu!
The Grand Councillor fu had not been facing a criminal charge, but she had forced his hand in order to saddle them with a major criminal charge of immoral and treasonous behaviour.
She had really gone so far as to eliminate everyone in the Grand Councillor fu in one fell swoop, with no way to redeem themselves!
Such a poisonous mind, such ruthless methods!
Li An retreated a few steps, his face as pale as paper.
All his life, he had been his own master, but he had now fallen into the hands of this cloistered, young girl. How could he yield willingly!
Jiang Ruan suddenly seemed to remember something. She laughed and said, “Luo Shu Men, Yan Luo Jiao, Chi Lei Temple, Zhi Yun Shi- presumably all the Chi Lei soldiers there have already been subdued and brought under control.”
Li An’s face, which had slowly regained its colour, once again turned green. All the locations Jiang Ruan had mentioned were the hiding places of the Chi Lei soldiers. These locations were secret. Apart from the soldiers themselves and him, no one else ought to know about them. How could she know . . . her words, what other meaning did they have?
Jiang Ruan explained, “By His Majesty’s order, the Zhao family troops and the Guan family troops are assisting His Majesty to apprehend rebellious ministers.” She looked behind Li An and said, “Naturally, the elite troops of the Chi Lei army are all right here. Ruan niang is extremely honoured that you would utilise your elite troops without hesitation to capture me.”
Li An stared at her fixedly, and the look in his eyes was completely different from that earlier. A kind of crazed despair showed itself upon his face, and Jiang Ruan gently placed the last straw upon this beaten camel’s back by saying, “Second Young Master Li, you’ve lost.”
Strong emotion arose in Li An’s throat and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. He yelled at the surrounding soldiers, “I have not lost, I have not lost, seize this demoness! Kill her!”
The two bodyguards at Jiang Ruan’s side immediately flashed their swords, and there seemed to be an answering flash of light in the sky, at a distance. While the two bodyguards were momentarily arrested, Jiang Ruan whispered to one of them abruptly, “Don’t mind me, split open Li An’s clothes, use force to do it.”
Although the bodyguard could not comprehend why, he surveyed both Li An and Jiang Ruan, and saw that Jiang Ruan was not in the least fearful of Li An. On the other hand, Li An’s face was pale. Being firmly convinced of her decision, without second thought, he raised his sword and slashed it through the air towards Li An’s clothes.
The Chi Lei soldiers had initially thought this bodyguard wanted to protect Jiang Ruan, but they never imagined that he would go straight for Li An. They hurriedly rushed forward to block him, but they did not expect that the bodyguard’s target was not Li An himself. The sword qi permeated through the air and sliced open Li An’s outer robe. Li An unconsciously took a step back, but this bodyguard, who was outstanding among his peers, executed a different manoeuvre, whereupon the sword qi completely sliced through the front of Li An’s robe .
No one could have foreseen this. The Chi Lei soldiers were stupefied into silence, and had no idea if they should search for clothes to cover Li An, or turn around and handle Jiang Ruan.
However, with this scene involving Li An clearly set out for all to see, a sharp inhalation of breath could be heard amongst the crowd.
Li An was stunned for a moment, then immediately regained his senses. With one move, he covered his lower region, his heart so full of shame that he felt like dying.
“So, he’s a eunuch[2],” the bodyguard muttered. Suddenly realising that Jiang Ruan was nearby, he quickly shut his mouth.
[2] 天阉 (tian yan) – lit. ‘born eunuch’ – refers to a man whose sex organ is underdeveloped, and is likely infertile.
Li An was exceedingly fearful. Of the two secrets he had harboured his entire life, the first one had been spoken aloud by Jiang Ruan, and the second had been revealed before the eyes of the general public. These two had been his vulnerable points!
Although he was covering himself, just now, everyone had seen clearly, that organ in Li An’s lower region was nothing but a round lump. To look at it was nauseating.
Li An was both frightened and angry. When Jiang Ruan had spoken of the Chi Lei army a moment ago, his blood had been boiling because of his indignation and despair. But, now that his deepest, darkest secret had been laid bare in front of everyone, he completely panicked.
Not just panicked, but felt terrified. He could not understand why that bodyguard beside Jiang Ruan had suddenly sliced open his clothes. Only Li Dong and Xuan Li knew about his condition, thus it was not possible that anyone else would know! Very slowly, he turned his gaze upon Jiang Ruan.
Jiang Ruan was smiling faintly at him.
In her previous life, she had heard Xuan Li say that Li An had been born with a disease, an unmentionable illness. It was because Xuan Li knew Li An’s secret that Li An had been ‘loyal’ to him.
If not, after all, in the Grand Councillor fu, why had Li Yang been Li Dong’s favourite despite his proclivity to dally with prostitutes? Li An was highly intelligent, yet Li Dong had never had a close relationship with him, only treating him with an abundance of courtesy.
If not, when Li Yang had been castrated, why had Li Dong been so furious? Because Li An was a born eunuch, and because Li Yang had been rendered useless, the Grand Councillor fu had no successor.
Jiang Ruan said softly, “Second Young Master Li, when a secret has been kept for too long, it is no longer a secret.”
Li An felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to his head, and his entire body seemed to be frozen. Out of the blue, he lifted his head and uttered a heartbreaking wail that was so mournful that many of those present could not bear to hear it. He looked up, his eyes full of crazed bloodlust, and shouted, “Demoness, I’m going to kill you!”
On hearing his words, the Chi Lei soldiers behind him charged towards Jiang Ruan. Since he had already issued a kill order, they would obey. The two bodyguards beside Jiang Ruan made a supreme effort to stop the soldiers. Jiang Ruan’s eyes turned severe. They could hear the pounding of horses’ hooves in the distance echoing in the valleys. At the front, was a tall man riding a big horse, behind him, a majestic army, not smaller in number than the Chi Lei soldiers.
All of a sudden, Jiang Ruan yelled, “Li An, your Grand Councillor fu has raised a private army and intends to revolt. Now, you are killing people in order to keep your secret safe, harming my family aligned with the imperial court!” Her voice rang out clearly and resounded through the valley. “Even if I have to die, I won’t die in your hands!” Having said this, without warning, she turned and leaped off Xue Yi cliff.
“Miss!” Bai Zhi cried out in alarm, on the verge of fainting.
Lu Zhu’s eyes grew large. Then, the swish of arrows broke through the air and a large number of soldiers and horses charged pell-mell into the midst of the Chi Lei soldiers and engaged them in combat.
However, the leading horsemen headed straight for the cliff edge.
Zhao Yuan Feng swiftly dismounted and grabbed one of the bodyguards by the collar, yelling, “Where is the young lady?”
The bodyguard shook his head and said, angrily, “She’s jumped off the cliff.”
Behind him, Zhao Yi’s entire body went rigid. Guan Liang Han frowned and said, “What? How is that possible?”
Jiang Ruan’s mind was so crafty, how could she jump off the cliff just like that?
Li An had been standing, rooted to the spot. Uncaring of the soldiers who had seized hold of him, he broke out into uncontrollable laughter and said, “Retribution! Retribution! That demoness deserved to die long ago! Retribution!”
Guan Liang Han kicked him and said, “Shut your mouth.” He looked towards Xiao Shao, who was coming up behind them, and asked, “What do we do?”
Xiao Shao was clad entirely in black brocade, and his features were exceptionally cold. He looked at the edge of the precipice, unfathomable emotion in his eyes. Just as he turned his head, Bai Zhi pulled at his sleeve and sobbed out, “Save my young miss! I beg of you, save my young miss!”
Without letting go of his sleeve, she dropped to her knees and kowtowed repeatedly, until her entire forehead was bloody. Zhao Yi wanted to stop her, but Xiao Shao pulled his sleeve free. As Bai Zhi had been gripping it tightly, the force caused a brilliantly gleaming item to fall out of his sleeve. It was a bright jade die lian hua[3] pendant, with the butterfly resting on a magnolia flower. The workmanship was so exquisite that the butterfly was vivid and lifelike, and the pendant was inlaid with a first-rate emerald green opal. At one glance, one could tell that this was a valuable item.
[3] 蝶恋花 (die lian hua) – lit. 蝶 = butterfly, 恋 = love (romantic); 花 = flower. This is the title of a Tang dynasty song/ poem, original title 鹊踏枝 (que ta zhi, ‘magpie treading on a branch’). It seems to have inspired a design of jewellery featuring a butterfly resting on a flower. To the Chinese, the butterfly is a symbol of young love (as the butterfly flits from flower to flower in search of love). Together with a magnolia flower, which symbolises female beauty, the pendant may thus be seen as symbolising a young man’s quest for love.
After it fell out, the item rolled right in front of Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi looked at it, startled, and asked, “Why do you have my young miss’ pendant?”