Thousand Autumns

“Er-niang. Do you understand what you’re saying?” Yuwen Xian seemed as though he were doubtful of his own hearing.

Dou Yan said through sobs: “I watched him from afar. His Majesty was ill and lying down. Then biaoxiong came and he…he said…”

Upon suddenly being met with the sight of a family member, she felt her heart race to the point that she could not say everything that she wanted to.

Yuwen Xian placed his hand on her shoulder, and helped her sit down.

“There’s no need to be nervous. Take your time.”

Su Wei poured a glass of water and brought it to her.

Dou Yan regained her strength to speak after feeling the warmth of the cup in her hands: “Biaoxiong came by to examine His Majesty. But instead, he said: Why haven’t you died yet? The sooner you die, the sooner I can take the throne. For every day that you remain is another day my heart cannot rest. It wasn’t easy to get you to the point where you cannot even rise from your bed, yet you refuse to give it up! Instead, you continue to torment me more!’”

To remember every word without fail was not difficult for Dou Yan. She was a bright child from birth, having read and memorized many classics. She had even admonished Yuwen Yong for enduring such humiliation so as to carry out his hopes for the country, telling him not to treat Empress Ashina with such coldness. Yuwen Yong had been deeply fond of this niece that he had, often lamenting the fact that she had not been born a boy, for he would have raised her himself had that been the case. When Dou Yan was even younger, she had spent a few years within the palace. Even after she had returned to her own home, she still had a great amount of freedom within the palace, not like other ordinary people who would have to be thoroughly inspected before entering.

In light of the fact that she was known throughout the imperial clan for her brilliance, Yuwen Xian did not doubt the truth of Dou Yan’s words.

“He really said everything like that?” Yuwen Xian said, his expression revealing both shock and fury.

Dou Yan nodded: “At that time, His Majesty became ill, and the temper that biaoxiong had repressed for so long was slowly beginning to reveal itself. I didn’t want to meet with biaoxiong too often. So the moment that I heard him coming by, I quickly hid somewhere in the sleeping quarters, and heard what he said to His Majesty…His Majesty was furious, and said that biaoxiong was disobedient, that he was an unfilial son. He even went as far as to have someone prepare an edict that would get rid of biaoxiong’s status as prince. But biaoxiong, he turned all of His Majesty’s plans to nothing. He even…he even…”

She grasped the cup tightly, while her small face paled. It was difficult for her to hide her fear, as though she were reliving the events of that day once more. After she had hidden behind that thick curtain, she peeked out through the sliver where it ended, and saw Yuwen Yun standing at the headboard of the bed, bent down, pulling the quilt up over Yuwen Yong’s face, and then…

“He smothered His Majesty to death! Yuwen Yun smothered His Majesty to death, I saw it, I saw everything!” Dou Yan began to sob loudly without restraint.

Not a single person in the room spoke. There was only the heavy weight of their breathing, as well as Dou Yan’s crying.

Yuwen Xian’s expression was unclear. For a long time, he looked on blankly without speaking.

On the other hand, the astonishment that Su Wei felt had yet to fade. He had done his utmost to separate himself from the Imperial Court and led a peaceful life outside of the political office. No matter how Yuwen Yong tried to invite him back to the court, he was unwilling to take up any position there. It was only because his friendship with Yuwen Xian and Puliuru Jian was so deep that he had taken the risk to shelter Yuwen Xian. However, he did not think that he would hear of the treacherous schemes and internal strife that took place behind public view.

It was no surprise that the relationship shared between father and son in the imperial household was so tense. However, Yuwen Yun was already named Crown Prince. The title of Emperor would have fallen upon him sooner or later. If Yuwen Yun was still so impatient to the point that he would be driven to kill his own father, then he would just be utterly heartless as it was.

Shen Qiao asked Dou Yan: “Does Yuwen Yun want to bring you in because he knows that you heard him?”

Dou Yan nodded her head, her eyes having reddened: “At that time, I didn’t dare move while I hid. I was afraid that Yuwen Yun would notice. Only after he left did I stop hiding. He had already announced the death of His Majesty outside, so I took advantage of the chaos and quickly ran out. But I didn’t expect that Yuwen Yun noticed. He suspected that I most likely saw him kill His Majesty, so he ordered people to go to my house, saying that he wanted me to enter the palace, so that we could reminisce about old times as cousins.”

Su Wei: “Does your father, the Duke of Meiyang, know of this?”

“Biaoxiong is someone who is easily suspicious of others,” Dou Yan said. “I was afraid that if they did know, then they would most likely be unable to hide it before biaoxiong. So I didn’t dare to tell them even the slightest hint of this. Ah-die and Ah-niang only believe that I’ve run off because the news of the death of the former emperor had struck me with such grief. Biaoxiong had even terminated the nation’s period of mourning, and immediately called upon people to come to our home. I was afraid that Ah-die and Ah-niang wouldn’t be able to hold them back, so I ran away on my own. I wanted to go search for someone in the Bian residence for help, but I didn’t think that everyone there would be gone.”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Su Wei opened it and left, before returning shortly after with a bowl of hot noodles in soup.

“Ah-yan, you must be hungry. Have something to eat first before you continue speaking.”

Ah-yan was, after all, a child who was hardly ten years old, and one that was so calm and bright. She had been so hungry after skipping a number of meals, so the moment she saw the noodles in soup, she could not help but rush over to it and begin to eat without another word. The propriety that she had learned as a result of being raised in luxury had vanished into thin air, revealing instead the image of child wolfing down her meal.

The sight of it made Yuwen Xian’s chest tighten. He could not help but tell her: “Take your time, or else you’ll choke.”

“Was the former Emperor really unaware of just how heartless Yuwen Yun really was when he conferred him the title of Crown Prince?” Shen Qiao asked.

He himself had met Yuwen Yong once, and he knew that the other man was not the sort of person that would easily overlook this.

Su Wei suddenly remembered that he had yet to introduce Shen Qiao, and so he quickly said to Yuwen Xian: “Your highness, the Prince of Qi. This is Shen-daozhang of Xuandu Mountain.”

Yuwen Xian sighed: “It seems that Shen-daozhang does not know. Prior to his death, the former Emperor had disciplined the Crown Prince severely. Once, because he knew that the Crown Prince was addicted to drink, he would not allow the Eastern Palace^[25] to have even a drop of alcohol on the premises. The Crown Prince had always resented him, but could only endure it bitterly while the former Emperor was still around.”

And everything else that happened did not need to be explained. Shen Qiao had already understood it.

Yuwen Yun had suppressed emotions for too long. It was inevitable that it would take a toll on his temperament, and turn him into someone brutal and violent. But his father was in the more robust years of his life^[26]; Yuwen Yun himself did not know when he would succeed to the throne himself. In the end, he simply could not wait any longer, and decided to act upon it.

As for whether or not Yuwen Yun himself, despite being the Crown Prince, was able to secretly kill Yuwen Yong with only his own strength—this matter was not worth pursuing now. Yuwen Yong had prohibited the practice of Buddhism and Daoism, fell the country of Qi, and even prepared to go to war against Tujue. His enemies were everywhere under the sun, which meant that more and more people would be willing to cooperate with Yuwen Yun. Of them, only Empress Ashina had the most favorable position of them all, and had significantly more opportunities to act than they did.

Shen Qiao suddenly remembered Yan Wushi and his previous evaluation of Yuwen Yun, as well as his own judgement of the political affairs of Northern Zhou, and saw how each of these things had now become reality.

And then, he remembered what had happened at the small temple. His heart trembled somewhat, and he could not help but sigh deeply, before suppressing everything else.

“I heard outside the city that Yuwen Yun was preparing to reconstruct the Imperial Palace, and had even imprisoned a number of those who submitted a memorial against him?”

It was both because Yuwen Yun did not win popular favor, and that Shen Qiao was not an ordinary citizen, that not a single person found it inappropriate that Shen Qiao had directly called the man by his entire name, and not ‘His Majesty’.

Su Wei said: “That is a rather long story. After the death of the former Emperor, tradition states that we should observe a mourning period for a little over a month. However, His Majesty only observed it for ten days before ordering that the mourning period should come to an end. It was then that a number of people in the court advised His Majesty to comply with his filial duties. However, His Majesty said that because the Yuwen clan had descended from Xianbei people, there was no need to abide by Han traditions, and that the Emperor’s matters had no need for the nonsense of the ministers. Afterwards, those who showed any sort of opposition whatsoever would be labeled as rebellious subjects and traitors, caned, and then have their entire families banished from the capital.”

Yuwen Xian continued: “His Majesty additionally disliked how narrow the halls of the palace were, saying that it did not suit the dignified air of the Imperial family, and demanded that the palace be reconstructed. He had even constructed a garden outside the palace, and had the entire royal family go on a brief hunting break. By then, the Imperial Court had just fallen Qi and exerted quite a lot of labor and wealth to do so. The former emperor was unwilling to raise taxes on the common people, and instead took the riches of the Qi Palace delivered and prepared to have them counted and added to the National Treasury. But who would have known that His Majesty would take it and even add it to the Imperial Treasury…”

Once he said this, he even laughed bitterly: “A number of people had submitted an opposition as a result of this. Yet His Majesty had suppressed them down completely.”

Shen Qiao frowned: “To think that such a valiant man would have such an unworthy son.^[27] How unfortunate!”

All of Zhou had once prospered with each day. Could it be that it would be all for naught in the hands of this child?

Yuwen Xian shook his head. “Shen-daozhang, you practice wudao, so you may not fully understand the schemes that take place within the Imperial Court. His Majesty’s actions seem as though he were using the wealth for his own purposes, but the reality is that he was using it to get rid of dissidents—he was seeing who within the court was truly loyal to him. He naturally wanted to strike down first those who long for the former Emperor, and those who are unwilling to devote themselves heart and soul to him, so as to prevent any future trouble. His Majesty was Crown Prince for several years after all. He would be quite skilled at using such schemes as Emperor.”

Su Wei laughed coldly. “That’s true. He knows nothing about how to manage a country, yet he’s learned how to root out dissidents with such skill when he didn’t even have anyone to teach him how. He’s even made it so that His Highness the Prince of Qi had to run to my place and hide out the disaster here!”

Yuwen Xian responded with a bitter laugh.

Shen Qiao remembered how Yan Wushi once said that he would support Yuwen Xian, and quickly said: “Please excuse this poor Daoist’s direct words. There is an old saying: A just cause enjoys abundant support, as an unjust one finds little.  Yuwen Yun acts perversely, undoing the actions of the previous Emperor. He very well just might cause the efforts of the previous Emperor to be wasted and irrevocably lost. The country of Zhou’s presently good state of affairs will eventually be destroyed. Additionally, the country of Qi has only recently been merged with this country, and its foundations are not yet stable. At the same time, the country of Tujue is watching the country of Zhou as though it were watching its prey, waiting for an opportunity to take action. And Your Majesty the Prince of Qi, you have always had great prestige, and so…” ^[28]

Yuwen Xian gestured with one hand. He did not feign surprise nor apprehension. Instead, his expression betrayed a sense of melancholy: “I know what you are trying to say, Shen-daozhang. After His Majesty took the throne, he retracted the military power I had once possessed, and even had people keep a lookout over my home all hours of the day and place my family under house arrest. Let us not mention that, because of His Emperor’s kindness towards me, I have no desire to act against it in any way. Even if I were to engage in any sort of unlawful activities, wouldn’t that precisely be as His Majesty wishes? Wouldn’t he easily be able to call me a rebel and a traitor as a result?”

“Shen-daozhang, there are some things you may not know about,” Su Wei said. “After the former Emperor passed away, His Majesty removed each of the restrictions once placed by the former Emperor. He even once more conferred Xueting-chanshi as a National Teacher. At His Majesty’s side is Imperial Concubine Yuan as well, who was once a disciple of Xueting-chanshi himself.”

Under the watch of the great Buddhist teacher Xueting, it would be completely impossible to attempt to assassinate Yuwen Yun. Additionally, it was clear that Yuwen Xian no longer had much of an advantage. He himself was also unwilling to cause such chaos as a result.

Dou Yan had long finished her noodles. The color returned to her face, and she was presently listening to their conversation.

Yuwen Xian saw this and laughed: “I have yet to thank Daozhang for bringing Ah-yan here.”

“It was a very simple task,” Shen Qiao said. “The Prince of Qi does not need to concern himself with it.”

“For what matters did daozhang come to Chang’an for?” Yuwen Xian asked.

“I received a task from a friend. I had wanted to send my greetings to the former Emperor. However, I did not expect that I would be a step too late,” Shen Qiao said.

“This friend that you are speaking of. Could it be Yan Wushi?” Yuwen Xian asked.

“It is,” Shen Qiao said. “Some time ago, Yan-zongzhu had been trapped within a dilemma. He had predicted that the capital would experience a sudden and great change. As a result, he said to me that if the former Emperor were to experience any sort of mishap, that I would need to search for the Prince of Qi.”

Yuwen Xian laughed bitterly: “I understand Yan Wushi’s intentions. However, he thinks much too highly of me. Now, there is not very much left of the military at my disposal, If we were to go to fight, then it would only turn into a bloodbath, and cost the lives of many innocents. What benefit would there be any longer?”

Su Wei expressed his disagreements: “But Your Highness, you were never one to sit and wait for death, were you? You’ve led troops for many years, and your prestige in the army knows no bounds. Just because you no longer have the right to lead the military in your hands, you only need to call out for them to have a decent number respond. When the time comes, you may even be able to turn things around.”

“And what can I do when Yuwen Yun threatens my family?” Yuwen Xian responded furiously. “Do you think that I can put their lives aside, while focusing my thoughts and efforts on taking the throne? If I did that, how would I be any different from Yuwen Yun? If one’s name is improperly established, then his words will be untrue.  Yuwen Yun was always the successor to the throne. Regardless of what he has done to the former Emperor, how many people even know of it? And even if I were to lead the troops to charge into the Imperial Palace, Xueting could easily have Yuwen Yun escape. And by then, they will rule as king wherever they please. The Imperial Court of Zhou will break out into internal strife, and the hard work placed in uniting the North under good circumstances will be completely dashed. All of this was pieced together with the painstaking efforts of mine and my brothers. How could I watch myself become a man guilty for indirectly leading Zhou into turmoil?”

Su Wei was silent.

Dou Yan appeared to understand all that he said. Her eyes shimmered with tears ready to fall.

Shen Qiao could not help but sigh inwardly to himself.

There were a number of people who were born naturally inclined to honesty and tenderness. It would not matter if they had killed anyone before, or even how many they had killed. Even when the world is in chaos, it was inevitable that this sort of personality would never be able to transform into someone ruthless and ambitious. Therefore, even if Yuwen Xian knew what he needed to do, he would be unable to do it.

“Wuwei^[29] ah, you have never been interested in engaging with matters regarding the Imperial Family. You saw that I was different from them, that I treated human life with more sanctity than they did—wasn’t this why our friendship was strong in the first place? Yet in the end, why is it that you are the one trying to convince me to walk the same path as they do?”

Su Wei sighed deeply, before bringing his hands together in respect: “It was I who misspoke. I must ask Your Highness not to blame me!”

Yuwen Xian placed one hand on him: “You are the man who understands me best. Others only speak of my high-ranking background and experience in the military, that I have led armies galloping into battlefields and killed countless enemies. But if I could have been the one to make the decision, I would never have joined the army from the start. I’d rather find somewhere nice, with green hills and clear waters, and bring all my family there to spend the rest of our lives growing flowers. That is truly a happy life!”

Yet now, it is as though the god of destiny were making fools of them. The great Prince of Qi, whose strength once shook all the land, could only now hide here as the situation worsened.

Yuwen Xian, upon noticing everyone’s dejected silence, took the initiative to ask Shen Qiao: “Daozhang, what plans do you have now?”

Shen Qiao thought for a moment, before responding: “I must ask if the Prince of Qi knows of Bian Yanmei’s whereabouts?”

Yuwen Xian shook his head.

“Right after the death of the former Emperor, every member of the Bian residence disappeared in the span of a night. No one knows where they’ve gone. I believe that Bian-xiong most likely knew of what would take place today, so he quickly left as soon as he could. Now that I say that, it seems that he had more foresight than I did.”

“If you do not dislike it, Shen-daozhang, you can remain at the Su residence a little longer,” Su Wei said. “You treated us, the Su family, with kindness that day. My mother thinks about you from time to time, and my younger brother has great respect for your skills and your character. A coincidence that we met today. I could bring my mother and brother out to pay their respects to you.”

Yuwen Yong was dead, and Bian Yanmei was nowhere to be found. On top of this, as much as Shen Qiao wanted to find Yan Wushi as fast as he could, he did not know where to even search. He could only slowly listen for the movements of both the Huanyue and Hehuan Sects. Many roads led to Chang’an; sooner or later, news would pass through here more quickly than it would anywhere else. For the time being, remaining here was very well the only choice that he could make.

After thinking of these things, Shen Qiao said: “Then it seems that I must trouble the Duke of Meiyang for the time being.”

Su Wei smiled: “There’s no need to treat me like a stranger. You may call me Wuwei.”

While they spoke amongst each other, a knock came at the door. When Su Wei came to open it, he saw his most trusted servant standing outside: “Langjun, there are two people at the rear gate. An adult and a child. One calls himself Yan Ying, His Highness the Prince of Qi’s assistant. He said that he has brought the young master of the Prince of Qi here, and wishes to see His Highness.”

Su Wei frowned: “How could they know that the Prince of Qi was here?”

Yuwen Xian responded: “Is it Yan Ying? He was my right-hand man in the army. Perhaps the Princess^[30] told him to bring Qilang^[31] here to be hidden away. We'll talk more after you let him in. I'll go out and take a look at them.”

Su Wei had them follow him from the hidden room behind the bookcase to the parlor.

The servant hurriedly passed on a message to him. Shortly after, a young man with a small child in his arms followed the servant from behind.

“Yan Ying! You’ve brought Qilang, haven’t you?”

The other man fell to his knees, his eyes brimming with tears: “Your Highness, you’ve worried me so!”

Yuwen Xian responded in a clear voice: “Come now, stand! Men shouldn’t cry so easily. What on earth are you doing? Stand up!”

He took the little boy from Yan Ying’s arms. The little boy placed his hands on either side of Yuwen Xian’s face, gazing at it earnestly for some time, before saying: “Ah-die, you’ve gotten thinner.”

Yuwen Xian immediately held the boy close. Some time passed before he pulled away and asked: “How did you find this place?”

“Ever since Your Highness disappeared, rumors were spread throughout the capital. Everyone was saying that man Yuwen Yun had…”

He had said this much before meeting Yuwen Xian’s eyes and reluctantly continuing: “…that the Emperor had placed you under house arrest, and that the Prince of Qi’s residence had been surrounded for several days. We were all so worried, but without your orders, we did not dare do anything. It was Wei Xu who told us to find the princess first, in case anything were to happen to the residence of the Prince of Qi. I asked her where you had gone, and she told me to take the young masters away one by one and hide them in safe areas, in case the Emperor were to fly in a rage and commit some sort of atrocity!”

Yuwen Xian asked: “Then the Princess had you bring Qilang out?”

“Yes. The princess said that Qilang was the youngest, and that his name had yet to be added to the family register. If something were to happen, then he would be the hardest to find. She then had me bring Qilang here specifically to see you.”

That his wife, the Princess, had considered even the very worst of circumstances, struck Yuwen Xian with sorrow. He could only hold the child in his arms more tightly.

Su Wei, however, spoke in a severe voice: “You said that it was Wei Xu who told you to do this? Did you discover anyone following you and Qilang on the way here?”

Yan Ying thought hard: “There shouldn’t have been. I was very careful…”

The moment he said this, Shen Qiao’s expression darkened as he stood.

The others could not help but glance at him: “Shen-daozhang?”

“There are troops closing in on us right now!” Shen Qiao said.

As everyone’s reactions changed fearfully, Su Wei shouted: “Hurry! Everyone into the hidden room!”

Yuwen Xian responded: “We won’t make it. The others were most likely tailing after Yan Ying, and preparing to surround the Su household. They intend to draw a net over all of us. If the Su residence doesn’t give us up, His Majesty won’t rest!”

“That bastard, Wei Xu!” Yan Ying cursed, slapping his thigh as he did. “He wanted me to search for the Princess on purpose. He knew that she would trust me and tell me where you were, so he trailed me as a result!”

As they said these things, the troops had already reached the outside of the Su house. They beat at the doors with a force that shook the heavens and weighed menacingly upon them. Even though they were in the parlor, they could hear all of it.

The head housekeeper of the Su residence appeared and said to them: “Master, it’s very bad. There are many people outside, saying that they received an order from His Majesty. They wish to apprehend the Prince of Qi. If we don’t open the doors, they said that they will force themselves in! What can we do?!”

Yuwen Xian sighed: “Luck and misfortune share the same realm; but it is misfortune that we cannot hide from. It seems that I can’t escape what fate has in store for me. Open the gates. I will go along with them; I will not allow them to harm a single member of the Su family!”

“Like hell if you’re going anywhere!” Su Wei shouted, stamping his foot. “Even if you didn’t, the Su family would not be able to escape from the crime of harboring a criminal on the premises. Why must we make such a big deal anyway? You hurry and hide first, I will deal with them myself! I don’t believe that they will dare to tear down this Su household!”

“Seems like the Duke of Meiyang does not think very much of His Majesty. He’d rather shelter a traitor of the Emperor and bring disaster to his family instead!” A cold laugh reverberated through the air. Despite its distance, they could make it out distinctly.

For those without any cultivation, like Su Wei, every word struck their chests like that of lightning striking them.

Amidst the people who had entered, there was Yuwen Qing, the man that Shen Qiao had met that time he had passed through the country of Chen. But the man speaking was not Yuwen Qing. Rather, it was someone behind him.

This man was no stranger to Shen Qiao. The moment he caught sight of Shen Qiao, his expression betrayed a sense of astonishment, before putting on a sneer: “Shen-daozhang. From one end of the world to the other, where would we be unable to meet? Why do we always run into each other wherever we go?”

“Murong Qin.” Shen Qiao said this name with a cool indifference. “I trust that Chen Gong is doing all right?”

Murong Qin laughed. “Naturally he’s doing very well. I forgot to tell you, Shen-daozhang. Because of our young lord’s great service in offering the Tai’e Sword, His Majesty has now conferred him the title of Duke of Zhao.”

T/N: Did Yuwen Yun really kill his father in history? I doubt it—remember that this is historical fiction. However, all the motives were there. And since Yuwen Yong had a weak constitution, it wouldn’t be too difficult. Coupled with knowing that Yuwen Yun had been an especially shitty guy, it really isn’t something to put past the Crown Prince.