Chapter 3: Risking Death and Surviving 7. Dongshan
After returning from hunting, the news that the emperor had recovered from his illness quickly spread throughout the world. At the same time, Liu Xiu made a reward and named Liu Liliu, the legitimate daughter of Empress Guo, as Princess Yuyang.
On the other hand, Emperor Jianwu issued an edict to summon Zhuang Guang. When he found Zhuang Guang, he was farming in Fuchun Mountain. Since the person who came to invite him brought the news of Cheng Yu's death, Zhuang Guang did not refuse this time and quickly rushed to Zhang Mausoleum.
Cheng Yu's death was handled very quietly. Zhuang Guang wanted to take his body back to Hebei for the funeral. Ten years have passed since we parted in the seventh year of Jianwu. Time has left deep marks on both Liu Xiu and me, but it seems that God has been particularly kind to Zhuang Guang. Except for his beard growing longer, he doesn't seem to have changed much.
Liu Xiu wanted to ask Zhuang Guang to stay and go back to Luoyang with us to become an official, but he was rejected again. He was determined to leave, and we could do nothing about it. Liu Xiu was not fully recovered yet, so the responsibility of hosting a banquet fell on my shoulders. I wanted to say something several times, but seeing Zhuang Guang's insightful look, I finally swallowed it back.
"I thought you should have been in that position a long time ago. I didn't expect that after ten years, you would still be there, and even make yourself so embarrassed."
He was indeed a poisonous tongue. He had restrained himself a little when Liu Xiu was around, but as soon as Liu Xiu left the table, his true colors were revealed.
I poured myself a drink without any temper, and he unceremoniously handed the empty wine cup to me, motioning me to scoop the wine. I sighed deeply, and just as my hand touched the wooden spoon in the wine cup, I was suddenly shocked by his words.
"Do you have any wishes that need to be fulfilled?"
The tone was nonchalant, as if the words he said were unimportant.
I slowly raised my head and looked at him in surprise.
"I think……"
He waved his hand slightly, grinning and showing his white teeth: "It must be your wish, not your majesty's."
"I..." I was speechless for a moment. What I wanted Zhuang Guang to do most was to ask him to stay with Liu Xiu and help him govern the country with his wisdom. I lowered my head and carefully scooped the wine in the wooden spoon into his wine cup, but my breathing gradually became rapid. I couldn't calm down and finally spilled the wine on him.
I said nothing, biting my lips and staring at my knees silently, until my eyes were sore and painful, and the melancholy and depression in my heart expanded to a level that I could no longer bear. Tears were about to fall, and I suddenly stood up from the table and kowtowed to him solemnly: "I hope Ziling will be willing to give me some advice!"
The sound of sipping wine echoed quietly in the dim room. Zhuang Guang's voice was cold and resounding: "The Art of War by Sun Tzu: First is the strategy, second is the operation, third is the attack, fourth is the military formation, fifth is the military force, sixth is the reality, seventh is the military struggle, eighth is the nine changes, ninth is the march, tenth is the terrain, eleventh is the nine terrains, twelfth is the fire attack, thirteenth is the use of spies..." He turned his head, looked at me calmly, and said word by word, "Sun Tzu said: 'Throw it into a desperate situation and then it will survive; put it in a dead end and then it will live. Only when the masses are in danger can they determine victory or defeat.' Now that you have been forced to the point where you can't retreat, you might as well try to survive!"
I didn't quite understand what he said, but what he said shocked me deeply and made my wandering heart calm down involuntarily.
"Gather a hundred of your trusted men tomorrow and I will perform a trick for you." He drank the whole bottle of wine in one gulp and chuckled mysteriously. Although I didn't quite understand his intention, all his requests were acceptable to me.
After that, he fell silent, only concentrating on drinking hour after hour. The atmosphere in the room was depressed for a while, and soon there was a rustling sound on the roof, and it turned out to be raining.
Zhuang Guang stopped drinking and looked out the window. He suddenly smiled, and he seemed a little drunk. There was a zhu placed beside the table. Liu Xiu wanted to play it for fun, but he was too weak to do so. Zhuang Guang dragged the zhu to him, put it on his legs, pressed the strings with his left hand, and hit the strings with a bamboo ruler in his right hand.
With a "hum" sound, the silk strings rang. He pursed his lips and smiled, then sang out loud while enjoying the wine: "Reeds are lush, white dew turns to frost. The so-called sweetheart is on the other side of the water. Following her upstream, the way is long and obstructed. Following her downstream, she seems to be in the center of the water.
"The rushes are desolate, the white dew has not yet dried. The so-called sweetheart is at the edge of the water. Following her upstream, the way is obstructed and steep. Following her downstream, she seems to be on an island in the water.
"Reeds are lush and green, the white dew has not yet dried. The so-called sweetheart is at the bank of the water. I follow her upstream, but the way is obstructed and to the right. I follow her downstream, but she seems to be on an island in the water."
Zhuang Guang's voice is vigorous and powerful, quite different from Liu Xiu's. When he sang "Jiang Jia" (Reeds), it was lingering and touching. I am familiar with this song. When he sang it, it seemed to be full of tenderness, as if he was whispering to his lover on the other side of the water. I couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
As soon as he finished singing, I quickly applauded and cheered to avoid embarrassment.
Zhuang Guang stared at me without blinking, and asked with a smile: "So you really understand the Book of Songs?"
The applause paused, and his words made me feel even more ashamed. I lowered my head and whispered, "No... I don't really understand."
The limited knowledge of ancient Chinese literature that I can remember is limited to the required words and phrases in Chinese language classes such as "Jiang Jia" and "Guanju".
"Even a noble man can be modest sometimes!" He laughed and plucked the strings twice with the bamboo ruler in his hand.
My heart was moved, and I couldn't help asking, "I happen to have a good poem here, can Ziling sing it?"
"Um?"
Thinking back carefully, I tried my best to imitate Liu Xiu's tone and sang two lines: "I went to the East Mountain, and never returned. I came from the east, and the drizzle was misty..." I couldn't remember the rest, so I had to stop and looked at him with a smile.
"The tune is good. The lyrics are from The Book of Songs, Binfeng, Dongshan." He plucked the strings twice without paying much attention, cleared his throat, and sang: "I went to Dongshan, and never came back. I came from the east, and the rain was misty. I said I would go home in the east, but my heart was sad in the west. I made his clothes, and he didn't want to travel with me. The insects are like insects, and they are growing in the mulberry fields. I stayed alone, and he was also under the car.
"I went to the East Mountain, and did not return. I came from the East, and it was drizzling. The fruits were scattered all over the house. The majesty of the deer was in the room, and the insects were at the door. The streets and deer farms were shining brightly as I walked at night. I should not be afraid of her, and I can cherish her.
"I went to the East Mountain, and never came back. I came from the East, and it was misty with a drizzle. The stork was calling on the ridge, and the woman was sighing in the house. I swept the tent, and my journey arrived. There was a bitter melon, cooked on chestnut wood. It has been three years since I last saw you.
"I went to the East Mountain, and I did not return. I came from the East, and it was misty with a drizzle. The oriole was flying, and its feathers were shining. The daughter was married, and her horse was magnificent. I tied her silk cord with my own hands, and it was a ninety-year ceremony. The new one was very good, but what about the old one?"
He sang it word for word, but the tune was slightly different, as if he had sung it himself. I scratched my head and said embarrassedly, "For example, I don't quite understand this song."
He suddenly laughed so hard that he fell backwards, as if he had heard a very funny joke: "You must understand, you are just pretending not to understand." The laughter stopped for a while, and he looked at me meaningfully with a smile that was so strange that it made my spine shiver, "Is this what your majesty sang for you, my dear?"
I was shocked by his mind-reading ability. My face turned red and I tried to hide my embarrassment by drinking.
"In the past, when Duke Zhou went on an expedition to the east, the soldiers had to separate from their newlywed wives. Three years later, they were able to take off their armor and return home. On the way home, they thought of their wives at home... This poem "Dongshan" is indeed very appropriate, and it really describes your majesty's lovesickness in those days..." He lowered his head to tune the instrument, his voice was muffled, as if he had a lot of emotion, but he didn't know where to start, "The stork is calling in the yard, and the woman is sighing in the room. I sweep the dome, and I am on my way to the expedition. There is a bitter melon, which is cooked on chestnut firewood. It has been three years since I last saw you... It has been three years since I last saw you... It is really hard to describe in a few words..."
His voice gradually faded. After a moment's silence, he struck the zither again and sang in a very straightforward way: "Since I went on an expedition to Dongshan, my wish to return home has been in vain. Now I am coming back from Dongshan, and the sky is full of drizzle and fog. I just said I would return from Dongshan, but my sorrow flew westward. I made myself a piece of homely clothes, and will never go on a military expedition again. Wild silkworms curl up on the trees, and the fields and mulberry forests are their home. I curl up in a ball to sleep under the car.
"Since I went to the East Mountain, my wish to go home has been in vain. Now I am coming back from the East Mountain, and the sky is full of drizzle and fog. Melons are growing on the vines of the magnolia tree, and the vines have climbed under the eaves. The house is damp and full of ground lice, and spiders weave webs to hang on the door. Deer tracks are left on the field, and phosphorus flashes at night. It is not terrible to have a desolate home, but the more it is, the more I miss it.
"Since I went on an expedition to the East Mountain, my wish to return home has been in vain. Now I am returning from the East Mountain, and the sky is full of drizzle and fog. The white storks are calling softly on the hill, and my wife is sighing in the house. She sweeps the house and blocks the rat holes, hoping that I will return home early. The gourds are cut in half and thrown on the firewood pile without anyone to take care of them. The old things are left idle and I don’t see them. It has been three years since then.
"Since I went on an expedition to Dongshan, my wish to go home has been in vain. Now I am returning from Dongshan, and the sky is full of drizzle and mist. Back then, the yellow oriole was flying, and its feathers were shining. That person became a bride, and personally welcomed her with a white and yellow horse. The mother tied a wedding dress for her daughter, and the wedding ceremony was complicated and full of scenes. How beautiful was the wedding back then, and how will it be when we meet again!"
With every line he sang, my heart trembled along with it. As he sang, the scene before my eyes seemed to go back to the second year of Gengshi, that heartbreaking separation, which ultimately caused the pain that Liu Xiu and I cannot get rid of today, or even for the rest of our lives.
Zhuang Guang deliberately spoke very simply. When he finished singing, I could hear sobbing faintly from outside the door. I knew it was Shannan who was waiting outside, but I didn't expect that even she would be moved by this. My heart was sore and painful for a moment, and I couldn't say a word.
Zhuang Guang put away his zither, stood up shakily, and bowed to me: "It's not that you don't understand, it's that you are embarrassed to say you understand." He shook his head and laughed self-righteously, "With a husband like you, there is no need to worry about not finding a way out in desperate situations!" After saying that, he staggered out, holding on to the wall.
I heard the footsteps going away, and I seemed to bump into Shannan at the door. We whispered a few words, and then he suddenly vomited. I knelt upright on the table, looking at the cold wine residue on the table, and couldn't help but scoop a spoonful of wine and splash it directly on my face.
It gradually became quiet outside the door. I took a deep breath and suddenly felt a burning sensation on my face. I wiped it with my hand and found that my cheeks were already full of tears without me noticing.
When I returned to the dormitory, Liu Xiu had already fallen asleep. The maid who was kneeling at the door on duty opened the door for me. I walked lightly to the bed, looked at the familiar broad figure, and suddenly sobbed uncontrollably.
There is no woman in the world who is more stupid and less romantic than me.
The generation gap of 2,000 years has caused us to miss countless opportunities to communicate. Xiu'er, do you feel tired and helpless when you are with me?
"What's wrong?" The sobbing sound actually woke him up from his sleep. Liu Xiu turned over and sat up from the bed. He was so sleepy that he couldn't even open his eyelids, but his hands subconsciously reached out to embrace me. "What's wrong? What happened?"
He asked me repeatedly. I threw myself into his arms and said with a sob, "There is something I have never said to you."
"What?" He let me go, looked at me nervously, and wiped my tears carefully.
Tears are salty, but smiles are sweet from the heart. I kissed his lips, and the taste of licking with the tip of my tongue was bitter, sweet, happy, and sad: "Xiu'er, I love you... I love you, always..."
The force on my waist increased, and I was pulled into his arms. The light peck turned into a deep kiss. He kissed me very hard, as if he wanted to rub me into his bones and blood.
"I know." He panted and chuckled, his hot lips falling on my forehead, eyes, and eyebrows, "I know, always..."
My tears fell like beads from a broken string, and I could no longer control them. He wiped them away carefully, kissed my cheeks from time to time, sucked away my tears, and kept calling out in a low voice, "Foolish child, silly girl..."
After Cheng Yu died, Liu Xiu's treatment was interrupted, and he had to follow the imperial physician's prescription to strengthen his body, but the effect was obviously weaker than before. I was worried that Liu Xiu's stroke could not be cured and would leave unnecessary sequelae, so I was worried day and night, but Liu Xiu was very optimistic and often comforted me.
Liu Xiu had just recovered from a serious illness and ordered the renovation of Cai Yang's old house. On the first day of May, when the old house was renovated and Liu Xiu and his people were preparing to move back to the old house from Chuan She, a rare wonder appeared in Yingchuan County.
Ancient legends say that phoenixes live on phoenix trees. There are not many phoenix trees in Yingchuan, but it is unexpected that they actually attracted phoenixes.
When I saw the huge phoenix, which was about eight feet tall, I almost burst out laughing. Zhuang Guang spent hundreds of man-hours to create a "fake phoenix" according to his wishes. The whole structure was made of wood, covered with five-colored feathers, and pushed by wooden wheels to move. The basic principle of the whole structure was actually not much different from the wooden wheelchair I designed at the beginning, but it took more financial, material and human resources to shape the appearance.
To borrow Zhuang Guang’s words, this phoenix was simply built with money, but he doesn’t care about money, because the person who paid for it behind the scenes was not him, but my eldest brother Yin Shi.
It was naturally impossible for people to get a close look at this artificial phoenix, so whenever the phoenix appeared, Zhuang Guang would have people release all kinds of birds that had been caught in advance. It was said that at that time, the sky and the earth changed color, and thousands of birds danced around the phoenix and chirped incessantly. There were so many birds that they covered an area of one hectare of land in black.
Yingchuan County was not far from Nanyang County, and when the news reached Nanyang from Yingchuan, the legend about the Phoenix's arrival had just come to an end. Under the influence of some ignorant people, the appearance of the Phoenix was described more vividly, and everyone said it was a sign of good fortune.
Liu Xiu was also very happy after hearing this. He was a superstitious person, so he naturally believed in this auspicious sign and divine omen.
The phoenix is the red bird. When the phoenix appeared, it immediately caused a sensation in the whole Henan Province, and then envoys from all states and counties came to pay homage. Since Liu Xiu issued the land measurement order, there have been rebellions in various places, disturbing the people, and the people's hearts have been shaken. Therefore, Liu Xiu adopted a détente approach and ordered to encourage the rebellious people to report each other. As long as one of the five people reported and exposed, the crimes of the five people could be offset. As for those officials who were timid, evaded, or even deliberately indulged the rioters, they would not be held accountable for their original responsibilities and would not be held accountable for their past.
As a result, internal strife broke out among the rioters in various places, and the officials began to suppress the rebellion wholeheartedly, and the Han court was revitalized.
On the whole, although Liu Xiu finally adopted a conciliatory attitude towards the land measurement order, his powerful and cruel punishment methods, combined with the rectification within the court, the Secretariat's marginalization of the three officials, the monarch's power over the court officials, and the power in his hands, the reform promoted by Liu Xiu finally brought a new atmosphere to the internal structure of the court.
"I have thought about it. The little princess' name will be Liu Shou, which means longevity. I hope Your Majesty will live a long and happy life."
Liu Xiu didn't care much. He always agreed with me on the names of his children and didn't have any big opinions. But this time, Zhuang Guang put forward his unique opinion: "Why not change it to a homonymous character?"
"Oh. What do you think, Ziling?" Liu Xiu was very happy that Zhuang Guang was willing to stay in Caiyang for half a month. His tone of voice always added a bit of flattery to this arrogant and proud classmate.
However, I know clearly that Zhuang Guang has his own ideas and will never change his decision because of others' wishes. He will eventually choose to leave and will never follow Liu Xiu back to Luoyang, where there is intrigue in the government.
“How about this word?” Zhuang Guang wrote on a piece of silk and presented it to the audience with a smile. It turned out to be the word “绶”.
The ribbon is a symbol of power and status, just like a seal. It is hard for a layman like Zhuang Guang to come up with such a wonderful word. Liu Xiu was delighted, but I sighed in my heart.
Sure enough, after Liu Xiu agreed, Zhuang Guang stood up and resigned. This abrupt decision made Liu Xiu a little difficult to accept, so I had to come forward to help: "It is better to transport Mr. Cheng's coffin back to Hebei as soon as possible. It will be a great honor for Lao Ziling along the way."
After all, he is not one of our generation and cannot be kept by force. Liu Xiu seemed to understand this. Although he was unwilling, he was powerless.
On the day Zhuang Guang passed away, I went to see him off on the emperor's order. I kept crying until Cheng Yu's hearse left Caiyang.
Not only did Cheng Yu die unjustly, but even his grievances could not be redressed. It's not that the enemy cannot be found, but the target is too big, and even if we find him in a short time, we can't avenge him. I hate my own incompetence, and I can only respond to this old man who saved my husband and me with tears of guilt.
"Go back." Zhuang Guang got in the car with a look of determination in his eyes. Bystanders are always more clear-headed than those of us in charge. "Just be careful not to let the desperate dog take action."
I bowed and thanked him sincerely: "Thank you for your help. Now the people of Henan are united, and there are no fewer people supporting me than Empress Guo. This is all thanks to you."
He stroked his beard and nodded, without any humility: "One day, when I am in a high position, I will never forget my old friend."
I was grateful in my heart and promised: "I will never forget the kindness of an old friend!"
He sneered, raised his whip and shouted, "Goodbye, no need to see you off!"
I bowed again to the back of the car that was passing by. Suddenly, something was thrown towards me in a parabola in the air. Before I could react, Shanan jumped into the air with agility and caught it in her hands.
She then showed me the item. It turned out to be a half-new silk scarf, which looked like an old household item. The dyed color had long faded. The scarf was tied with a knot and there was something wrapped inside. When I opened it, I saw a wooden figurine, about a foot tall, with a scarf on his head, a bronze sword hanging from his waist, and fluttering clothes. He looked extremely graceful and heroic.
The carving marks on this wooden figurine are very old, and the surface is smooth, as if it has been touched frequently. Although the facial features of the figurine cannot be compared with the appearance of a real person, the posture and dress are extremely lifelike.
Just as I was amazed, in the midst of the world, a resounding song was carried by the scorching hot wind and spread across the empty fields: "The rushes are lush, the white dew turns to frost. The so-called sweetheart is on the other side of the water. Following it upstream, the way is long and obstructed. Following it downstream, it seems to be in the center of the water. The rushes are desolate, the white dew has not yet dried. The so-called sweetheart is at the edge of the water..."
The song was touching, but it eventually died down, and disappeared into the horizon along with the dust raised by the wheel tracks.
