HXC Chapter71

After the rain the sky cleared, and the carriage passed through the spring scenery to the city gates, where the military officials let them in by imperial decree.

 

Ten days had passed since the great fire, and in three more days, the new emperor would ascend the throne. Ji Jue, who had been staying in Jinzhou, was summoned back to the capital.

 

After the intense upheaval, the capital’s situation had not yet stabilized and hushed whispers could still be heard on the streets.

 

“Don’t move.”

 

Ji Jue lowered the curtain and looked at Ji Zhen beside him, who was glaring with a resentful expression. It turned out he didn’t want Ji An to take the pastry from his palm.

 

It took great effort to coax Ji Zhen back to the capital. They tried everything from the delicious pastries from Ziyun Lou and Fulu Lou, the bustling sights of the city, the graceful melodies from Yingluo Pavilion… yet Ji Zhen remained unmoved. It was only when Ji Jue said he was going to find Shen Yanqing that he opened his watery eyes and nodded expectantly.

 

“Young Master, your hands are all dirty.”

 

Ji Zhen hid the pastry behind his back. “I’m saving it for Shen Yanqing. No one is allowed to take it.” His eyes then turned sad. “He’s been locked up. I don’t want him to starve…”

 

Ji Jue looked at the foolish, dazed Ji Zhen, who was still only thinking of Shen Yanqing. He said softly, “Ji An, let him be.”

 

Hearing this, Ji Zhen gave Ji Jue a happy smile. Although he had forgotten most people and events, he still relied on Ji Jue. He opened his palm and offered the deformed pastry to his elder brother.

 

Ji Jue didn’t mind and took a bite.

 

The carriage stopped in front of the Ji Mansion. Jiang Yunyu was already waiting there and he eagerly lifted the curtain to look inside. “Ji Zhen?”

 

Ji Zhen, however, squinted and hunched his shoulders from the bright light with a blank expression.

 

When he got out of the carriage, Ji Zhen hid behind Ji Jue and timidly eyeing Jiang Yunyu.

 

Seeing Ji Zhen like this, Jiang Yunyu took a few deep breaths before asking, “Ji Zhen, do you not remember me? I’m Jiang Yunyu, your… your close friend since childhood.”

 

Ji Zhen just stared at him without a word.

 

Ji Jue said, “Let’s go home first.”

 

For some reason, when Ji Zhen heard the word “home,” he suddenly widened his eyes in horror and his face turned pale. He then mumbled, “They also wanted to go home…”

 

The tragedy of that night had caused an indelible harm to Ji Zhen. Even in his madness, he instinctively felt fear.

 

Ji Jue soothed Ji Zhen and led him into the mansion.

 

The Ji family’s home had been re-cleaned in the last few days but many of the items inside were missing. Ji Zhen was settled in the courtyard where he lived before he was married. He seemed to recognize the place and walked around and looked at everything. He raised his hand to touch a piece of calligraphy on the wall and the pink luster on his fair wrist shimmered.

 

Jiang Yunyu said with heartache, “What did Divine Physician Sai say?”

 

“One sedative dose a day. There is nothing else he can do either. Unless he’s hit with a major shock, I’m afraid…” Ji Jue replied. “I will search for famous physicians to treat Zhen Zhen.”

 

Jiang Yunyu lowered his voice. “The people we sent out to search have no news. If Shen Yanqing escaped, why hasn’t he shown up yet?”

 

As if sensing something, Ji Zhen turned to stare at them. Their conversation came to an abrupt halt and they dared not discuss it further.

 

Jiang Yunyu had to go to the palace for an audience with the emperor so he didn’t stay long.

 

He half-crouched in front of Ji Zhen who was sitting on the wooden stool. “I’ll come see you again tomorrow. Try to remember me, alright?”

 

Ji Zhen twisted his fingers and did not answer. It was only after Jiang Yunyu had walked a few steps away that he unconsciously blurted out a few words: “The Young Marquis?”

 

Jiang Yunyu was overjoyed. “You remember me?”

 

But Ji Zhen was still in a daze. Jiang Yunyu wasn’t discouraged either. “No rush. Take your time. Brother Ji Jue and I will definitely find a way to cure you.”

 

Ji Zhen played with the jade stone on his wrist. After Jiang Yunyu left, he suddenly said to Ji An, “Go to the small kitchen and tell them that Shen Yanqing is coming back for dinner after his shift. Tell them to stew the black chicken soup with Chinese Angelica.”

 

Ji An looked at Ji Jue helplessly.

 

Ji Jue said softly, “Zhen Zhen, Shen Yanqing is on duty tonight. You and Gege will have dinner together.”

 

Ji Zhen was lucid at times and confused at others. At this moment, he seemed to recognize Ji Jue a little and slowly nodded in agreement. But after a while, he couldn’t help but ask, “Then when will Shen Yanqing come back?”

 

It was a simple question yet Ji Jue found it difficult to answer.

 

“Soon.”

 

—

 

“He’s awake! He’s awake!” A young man on a fishing boat shouted, drawing his father’s attention. “Lord Shen is awake.”

 

The fishermen on the boat gathered around. Shen Yanqing was lying on a haystack, he had been changed into plain cloth. His dark hair was disheveled. As if disturbed, he slowly opened his eyes.

 

All he saw, however, was pitch black.

 

A fisherman called out as the fishing boat swayed on the water, “Lord Shen?”

 

Shen Yanqing closed and opened his eyes again. The darkness faded and there was a faint light but his once clear eyes now appeared empty with only blurry shadows.

 

“I…” As soon as he spoke, he felt an extraordinary stinging pain in his throat.

 

“Lord Shen, have some water.”

 

A fisherman handed him an earthenware bowl. Shen Yanqing followed the direction of the bowl’s rim and quickly drank a few sips of the sweet water. He then endured the knife-like pain and hoarsely asked, “Where is this place?”

 

The fishermen spoke over each other and Shen Yanqing listened carefully while piecing together his movements from the past few days.

 

The memory before he fainted flooded back.

 

The chaos of that night was beyond words. He threw himself into the sea of fire, then found a bedroll, soaked it in a stone trough and covered himself with it to find a way out. Thick smoke billowed everywhere. He endured the high temperatures and escaped with the soldiers and rushed into a small path where the flames were relatively weaker.

 

Behind the path was a slope of unknown depth but at that time, in order to survive he had no other choice.

 

Shen Yanqing was cautious and careful, but he still lost his footing and fell, then rolled down the slope. The back of his head hit a rock, and by the time he woke up, he was already on the fishing boat.

 

At dawn, seven or eight fishermen who were driving to the water’s edge found many unconscious soldiers on the road. A young man recognized Shen Yanqing.

 

Shen Yanqing’s hard work in treating the plague in Jinzhou was well known at the time. Even though his reputation was now in decline, the people of Jinzhou couldn’t bear to see him die either. After their donkey cart had gone two miles, they turned back, lifted the unconscious Shen Yanqing onto the cart, and took him with them on the fishing boat.

 

The barefoot physician on the boat used a simple herbal remedy to treat the wound on the back of Shen Yanqing’s head and applied ointment to the areas where his skin had been burned. Now that he was awake, the others said, “My Lord, the fishing boat will dock on the other side in a month. You should flee then. We won’t report your whereabouts to the imperial court.”

 

Shen Yanqing pondered for a moment. “Thank you all for saving me, but I have important matters to attend to. I’ll have to trouble you to take me back the way we came.”

 

The fishermen looked at each other and then one of them replied hesitantly, “My Lord, the boat has been out for two days already. It doesn’t make sense to turn back midway…”

 

As soon as he said this, the others quickly agreed.

 

Shen Yanqing was silent for a while. He recalled that it was now spring and in previous years, the imperial court would have issued a fishing ban by this time. These fishermen must have secretly gone out to sea to fish during this chaotic time. Since they had already risked breaking the law by sailing, they were naturally unwilling to go back.

 

Even though he was anxious to return, he had to restrain himself and ask, “Roughly when can we return?”

 

“The round trip will take more than two months.”

 

Shen Yanqing sighed softly and gave a slight nod.

 

He had burns of varying degrees on his calves and back. The barefoot physician changed the herbal ointment for him and asked, “Lord Shen, is there anything else that’s bothering you?”

 

“My eyes are a bit blurry.”

 

After examining him, the barefoot physician couldn’t determine the reason and could only guess, “It might be due to the bump on the back of your head or perhaps the thick smoke got into your eyes. Lord Shen, I’ll brew some herbs to improve your eyesight for you to drink.”

 

The implication was that it was up to Shen Yanqing’s own luck.

 

Shen Yanqing said softly, “Thank you.”

 

The fishermen settled him in the cabin and left shortly after.

 

The fishing boat bobbed up and down on the sea. It was so quiet that he could even hear the sound of the water. Shen Yanqing found it difficult to fall asleep in the extreme silence.

 

It was an act of heaven’s mercy that he was still alive. Yet, in this isolated place, where news was hard to come by, he couldn’t put his mind at ease at all.

 

How were his parents now? Had Jiang Yunyu’s march on the capital ended in success or failure? Had Ji Zhen escaped the fire safely? Did he know that he was still alive?

 

And his eyes as well—Shen Yanqing half-raised his hand and moved it in front of his face and was only able to make out a few blurry shadows.

 

What would the situation be in two months?

 

Shen Yanqing’s head was throbbing but even if he was blind, even if he was in purgatory, he would still crawl back to Ji Zhen’s side.

 

He firmly believed that Ji Zhen would be waiting for him far away.

 

—

 

Ji Zhen held out his hands while looking at the scabs.

 

His palms had been burned by the fire and scarring was inevitable. Now that new skin was growing, he couldn’t help but want to scratch. Ji An watched him constantly and if he wasn’t careful, Ji Zhen’s fingers would be on the black scabs.

 

It had been nearly half a month since they returned to the capital, yet Ji An dared not leave Ji Zhen’s side for even a moment.

 

During the day, Ji Zhen was usually quiet, but in the middle of the night, he would cry and make a fuss, asking why Shen Yanqing wasn’t home yet. Once, he even tried to sneak out the back door to look for him. If not for the strict security of the Ji Mansion, he might have actually gotten away already.

 

But for some reason, today, he started fussing about seeing Shen Yanqing right after noon. He searched all over the courtyard and even shouted for him. When he couldn’t find him, he would sit on the wooden railing by the back door in disappointment while caressing the pink jade on his wrist.

 

Ji Jue wasn’t at home so Ji An didn’t dare to be careless.

 

Just as Ji Zhen tired of his fuss and was heading back to his courtyard, there was a commotion at the back door.

 

The guards outside seemed to be arguing with someone. Ji Zhen’s curiosity was piqued and he insisted on going to see what was happening. Ji An couldn’t stop him so he had to open the back door. “Who’s causing trouble here?”

 

Outside were Shen Yanqing’s parents, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time. The two elders had secretly returned to the capital in disguise and Yu He was with them.

 

Ji An’s face turned pale. He was about to have the guards close the door but the Shen parents saw Ji Zhen first. Mother Shen wailed mournfully, “Ji Zhen, give me back my son…”

 

Ji Zhen just stood there blankly with his eyes rolling in confusion.

 

The guards stopped Mother Shen, who was crying as if her heart had been torn out. Ji An couldn’t bring himself to drive them away so he repeatedly said, “Be careful not to hurt them.”

 

He then turned back to block Ji Zhen’s view. “Young Master, let’s go back first…”

 

Ji Zhen numbly pushed Ji An’s hands away. Mother Shen’s painful pleas drilled into his ears one after another. “Give me back my son…”

 

It was as if a bolt of lightning struck his mind.

 

Mother Shen, who was crying and sitting on the ground clutching her chest, overlapped with Shen Yanqing in the sea of fire.

 

There were cries everywhere and the ground was covered with bloody corpses.

 

He opened his dry eyes and took a step forward in a panic. He said to the guards, “Get out of the way.”

 

“Young Master?”

 

Ji Zhen pushed the guards aside. As soon as he stood in front of Mother Shen, she cried and threw herself on him, asking, “Where is Yanqing, Ji Zhen? He went to the Northern Desert to find you. Why did you come back alone?”

 

Ji Zhen was pulled off balance and fell to the ground, allowing Mother Shen to hit and question him over and over again.

 

An itch stirred in his palm. When he looked down, hot tears fell onto the half-healed wound, burning straight through to his heart.

 

Separation from loved ones, meeting with those you resent, and being unable to obtain what you desire—these are the greatest sorrows of human life.