Nirvana In Fire

As the imperial capital of Da Liang, Jinling was naturally brimming with senior officials and nobles. In order to facilitate the passage of their palanquins while at the same time avoiding the inconvenience of common people having to constantly get out of their way, the streets were built very wide. Unless it was the imperial chariot of a high ranking noble that was out and about, chaotic situations that involved servants or soldiers clearing the way were rare. A normal official’s palanquin that usually had about a dozen or more attendants accompanying it could move leisurely along the street. The capital’s residents were used to seeing them, and if they were to run into one, they were very adept at getting out of the way.

The Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, Cai Quan, came from a poor and humble background. He joined the ranks as an official by way of the imperial examinations, and began his career as a low ranking official. He had always kept a low profile and didn’t like flashy displays of power or prestige. Everyday, he came and went in a palanquin that bore only the Ministry of Justice tag, with no other sign to indicate that he was a second rank high official. Over time, however, people gradually began to recognize his pasty blue and white 4-seater palanquin, and officials who were lower ranked than him, though they had more luxurious and extravagant palanquins, learnt to give way to him.

After the investiture in the Eastern Palace, although Cai Quan was not as busy as the previous few months, work still kept him busy. He even carried case files with him into the palanquin, reviewing them on the way home.

But on this day, just as he was opening a case file in the swaying palanquin, he was violently interrupted by an arrow.

The arrow seemed to appear out of nowhere, and stuck fast to the top of the palanquin. It wasn’t followed by another, so this was clearly not an assassination attempt.

After the bodyguards of the Ministry of Justice swiftly stood to attention, ready to defend, the arrow was removed. Fastened to its shaft was a small note, which was delivered to Lord Shangshu. Cai Quan unfurled it, flattened it out and looked at it. Written on it were a few succinct words.

“Meng Zhi, the Commander General of the Imperial Guard, took advantage of his prison visit to exchange the prisoner Xia Dong and remove her from Sky Prison. This is not a false accusation. If da ren does not believe, kindly investigate it.”

Cai Quan’s eyes narrowed. After a moment’s pondering, he slowly folded the note and kept it away, then raised his voice to call out, “Go to the Sky Prison!” The blue and white palanquin turned around, heading back eastward, and arrived at Sky Prison after about a quarter of an hour. The warden on duty came out to greet him in a panic, but received only a brief command, “Open the Zhu Zihao cell in the female prison.”

The warden on duty couldn’t decipher the expression on his superior’s face and dared not say more, so he quickly ordered the jailer to retrieve the key and accompanied him in. Zhu Zihao was located slightly deep within the level housing the female prison. It was surrounded by solid walls and had only one high west facing window. That was also the only natural light source in the entire prison cell.

A woman in prison uniform was sitting on a straw strewn platform. When she heard the door open, she turned her face slightly away, the strands of her long hair covering her cheeks. Although her hair was messy and there was dirt on her face, at one glance she definitely looked like Xia Dong.

Cai Quan’s piercing gaze fixed on the female prisoner’s face, and as time went by, his pupils narrowed further and his face turned grey.

“Men! Take her to the interrogation room!” ordered the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice in a stern voice.

Two guards came forward to obey his command. One on her left, the other on her right, they dragged Gong Yu up. At this moment, although Gong Yu was aware of how bad the situation was, she was unable to resist. She could only hang her head down as she was pushed and pulled out of the prison cell towards the interrogation room and suspended from the torture rack.

Cai Quan brought a basin of cold water and splashed it fully on her face, motioning to his men to scrub it clean with a piece of cloth, very quickly revealing Gong Yu’s fair and delicate skin.

“Who are you? How did you end up in Xia Dong’s cell? Who brought you in? Where is Xia Dong?” Faced with the angry Shangshu’s rapid line of questioning, Gong Yu shut her eyes, as if she hadn’t heard them.

Cai Quan observed the subtle changes in the young girl’s facial expression and quickly made his judgment. In the end, he didn’t rush to resort to torture, but ordered someone to first bring him the list of names of people who had visited the Sky Prison’s female prison in the past two months. At a glance, Meng Zhi’s name leapt out at him.

Very few Xuanjing envoys had personal friendships and Xia Dong was a widow. Since her imprisonment, other than the people under imperial or ministerial orders to interrogate her, basically nobody else came to see her, and there were even fewer after the return from Jiu’an Mountain. Among them was Meng Zhi, about whom he had been tipped off. He came the most frequently, making him the prime suspect.

Cai Quan had always regarded Meng Zhi as a loyal and straightforward subject, so this made him very angry. He took a step forward, grabbed Gong Yu by her hair, raising her face up to his, his eyes shooting into her like daggers. In the face of such a brutally intense gaze, those without strength of will would be terrified.

But Gong Yu’s eyes still remained closed, her fine long eyelashes casting a shadow on her cheeks, with no sign of trembling.

One of the principals who had accompanied him in suddenly said, “Da ren, I recognize her. She was a female musician with the former Miaoyin Hall, named Gong Yu.”

“Miaoyin Hall?” Cai Quan frowned. He had never involved himself in such activities, but he was aware that Miaoyin Hall had once been raided by the former official Zhu Yue on the pretext of looking for bandits, so he was momentarily confused.

Miaoyin Hall was raided by Zhu Yue. Zhu Yue was Prince Yu’s man. Prince Yu and Xuanjing Bureau conspired to frame Prince Jing then later plotted treason. But the Xuanjing envoy, Xia Dong was rescued and replaced with a former musician from Miaoyin Hall….

Faced with such complicated relationships, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, who was once well-known for his detailed analysis to create order out of complexity, found his brains somewhat inadequate.

“Da ren…..” said the principal beside him in a low voice, after seeing him silent for so long.

Cai Quan’s face sank. “Don’t stand there idle. Try to make this woman open her eyes and have her look at the torture instruments in this room. If she has something to say, best say it soon so that she won’t inconvenience us.”

“Yes.”

Cai Quan then turned again to gaze darkly at Gong Yu before slowly turning around to sit at the table behind him. He closed his eyes, deep in thought, ignoring everyone else in the interrogation room.

Although the unfortunate event of Gong Yu’s discovery happened very quickly and unexpectedly, it was fortunate that Meng Zhi had planted an informer in the Sky Prison, just in case. As soon as Cai Quan brought her into the interrogation room, the informer immediately sent news.

As it happened, Meng Zhi was off duty and resting at home when he received the news. His first reaction upon receiving the news of Gong Yu’s exposure was to change into his casual clothes and make a beeline for the Su Residence, but after he had rushed into the rear courtyard, he suddenly worried about Mei Changsu’s current physical condition and immediately stopped in his tracks.

“Commander Meng,” Li Gang greeted him, “You look bothered. What has happened?”

“Where are General Nie and Nie furen?”

“They’re in the southern courtyard.”

Meng Zhi turned in that direction. As soon as he entered the courtyard gate, he noticed Xia Dong and Nie Feng sitting shoulder to shoulder on a bench, holding each other’s hands tightly, smiling at each other. It was a very warm and pleasant atmosphere.

“I really don’t want to disturb the both of you,” said the Commander General of the Imperial Guard with a sigh, “but I can’t withhold this bad news.”

“What happened?” Xia Dong stood up immediately. “Did something happen in Sky Prison?”

“Nie furen is really sharp,” Meng Zhi wiped his face and said in a worried tone, “Gong Yu was discovered by Cai Shangshu when he was making his rounds of the Sky Prison. She’s currently being interrogated.”

“When? Was it today?”

These questions were asked rapidly, but not by Xia Dong. They came from the eastern corner of the wall. Although the voice was soft and light, and very gentle, it caused Meng Zhi to jump in shock.

Mei Changsu sat beneath a honeysuckle trellis by the east well, his pale green gown blending with its light green branches and leaves, his pale face almost the same tone as its flowers.

“Xiao Shu…..” stammered Meng Zhi, “When did you get here?”

“I’ve always been here,” replied Mei Changsu casually, before proceeding to ask again, “When was Gong Yu discovered?”

“Today, about two hours ago.”

“I can’t let Gong guniang suffer on my behalf,” said Xia Dong decisively. “Commander Meng, I must go back.”

“She’s already been discovered. What’s the point of going back only to walk right into a trap?” said Meng Zhi urgently.

“No. Dong jie must return immediately.” Mei Changsu walked over slowly, sat down on a bamboo chair and gestured to Meng Zhi and Xia Dong to approach. “Stop worrying first. I had already anticipated the possibility of Gong Yu’s discovery and have a general idea of a few ways we can respond. Fortunately only Cai Quan has discovered this, so the situation isn’t too bad yet. If the both of you do as I say, it will probably pass.”

“Alright.” Xia Dong and Meng Zhi had absolute confidence in Mei Changsu and did not doubt him in the least. They walked over to him and listened attentively, and committed his words to memory.

“This will require the both of you to make changes and improvise based on the situation, but this shouldn’t be too difficult for Dong jie.” Mei Changsu smiled and looked at Nie Feng. “It’s just that the both of you would have to part ways again, for a while.”

Nie Feng had already walked over earlier, his expression calm. His face still had a layer of white fur, and his facial features were still slightly distorted, but the cowering and twisted posture was gone. He stood erect, and his eyes were clear. After he had walked to Mei Changsu’s side, he leaned forward and gripped his hand tightly. A few thick, heavy and indistinct syllables sounded from his throat. Meng Zhi tried, but could not make out what he was saying, but Mei Changsu understood and smiled, nodding his head.

“Xiao Shu, you look quite good today. Has your illness healed then?” asked Meng Zhi happily.

He was interrupted by a lazy voice, “That’s not going to be possible, but what makes the difference is whether or not the Mongolian doctor is around.”

As he said this, Lin Chen walked over slowly from where he was leaning against the other end of the corridor, but when he caught sight of Physician Yan walking past the Moon Gate on the other side, puffing out his white whiskers and making a few “Humph!” sounds, an indignant expression on his face, he immediately ran after him, trying to explain, “Lao* Yan, don’t be angry. I didn’t mean that. I really didn’t…..”

*”old” – but usually indicating affection or familiarity, or means venerable or experienced

Mei Changsu shook his head and broke out into laughter. He stood up with Meng Zhi’s support and said to Xia Dong, “Dong jie is a woman who’s tougher than a man, so there’s nothing else I need to say. Please take care of yourself.”

“Please take very good care of yourself too.” Xia Dong stepped back and went down on her knee to wish him well, then turned back to give her husband a deep, heartfelt look, saying simply and succinctly, “Feng ge*, I’ll take my leave.”

*Ge from gege, so, Brother Feng – it’s the Chinese version of the Korean “Oppa”. Like Nihuang calls Lin Shu, Lin Shu-gege. Term of affection.

Nie Feng nodded, and made a few “Ng” sounds, his eyes following as the both of them left, turning back only when their backs had disappeared. He noticed that Mei Changsu had sat back down, frowning, deep in some thought. Nie Feng leaned forward and patted him gently on his shoulders, shaking his head at him.

“I’m just thinking randomly. It doesn’t take much energy.” Mei Changsu smiled to relieve him of his worries. “There’s something strange about this. If you all don’t let me figure it out, it would keep bothering me.”

“Waztrangaborit (What is strange about it)?” asked Nie Feng in reply.

Cai Quan is the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, a second rank high official. Even though the Sky Prison is under his jurisdiction, why would he have gone to personally inspect it for no reason?” Mei Changsu leaned back and narrowed his eyes. If everything goes smoothly for Dong jie and the rest, this…..this is a question we must ask ourselves…..”