Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Pain of Losing a Son

The capital was a long way from the temporary palace. The weather was hot, and halfway along the road there was a roadside tea pavilion, where an old couple sold tea. A few watermelons were laid out on the ground as well.

Seeing the sweat streaming down his son’s face, Madam Wen hurriedly urged the carriage to stop.

“It is far too hot to travel on like this. Let us rest a while before we continue.”

“Lord Wen, once we cross the mountain ahead, we will reach the temporary palace. We can rest then.” Minister Li Jing did not dare agree, fearing some mishap might occur en route.

“So timid, Minister Li. Do you truly think this old man would dare abduct someone in broad daylight? Besides, my son is innocent to begin with. He came here only to cooperate with your investigation. I have no reason to do something so reckless.” Lord Wen’s tone was firm and unyielding.

“Since Your Lordship insists on resting, I cannot stop you. Everyone dismount and have a cup of tea before we go on.”

Worried for his son, Lord Wen hurried to help him down from the horse. “Come, rest first.”

He immediately had tea served. Li Jing was fastidious by nature and never ate at these rural roadside stalls, so he sat beneath a large tree nearby.

The old couple divided their tasks, one pouring tea and the other cutting watermelon. Whether because the tea was too hot or for some other reason, the old woman’s hands trembled as she poured, spilling a little on the table before rushing to wipe it away with a cloth.

Wen Yuan, having been cooped up in the household for so long and having traveled such a distance, was indeed exhausted and terribly parched. Seeing the tea, he could not care less and was about to lift the bowl to drink when Li Jing suddenly knocked it from his hand and hauled him up.

“Run!”

But it was already too late. Dozens of men in black swiftly surrounded them, their long blades glinting fiercely in the sunlight.

“Who are you? Do you even know who we are?” Lord Wen knew that in a situation like this, they could not show the slightest weakness; they had to suppress the enemy by force of presence alone.

The black-clad men exchanged glances, hesitated briefly, and then charged regardless.

Li Jing had some skill. Lord Wen was already old, and though he had practiced a little over the years, it was only enough for self-defense. Wen Yuan could fight at all.

Because the enemy’s origins were unclear, none of them dared to meet force with force. Li Jing and Lord Wen shielded Wen Yuan as he mounted his horse.

“Quickly, head for the temporary palace!”

Then he shouted back to the officials behind them, “I trouble you all to hold them off a little longer.”

Wen Yuan wheeled his horse to leave, but to his surprise the black-clad men showed no interest in fighting a prolonged battle. They broke through the officers blocking their path and gave chase. Li Jing and Lord Wen hurried onto their horses to intercept them. Even while hacking and slashing at one another, they still had the leisure to sneer.

“Lord Wen, you must have done many guilty deeds in your time. Otherwise why would assassins be waiting for you on the road?”

Whether from heat or rage, Lord Wen’s face turned red.

“Do not slander me! Who knows whether this is yet another attempt by His Majesty to kill me. The Emperor has long found me intolerable, but what crime has my son committed?”

“Your Lordship had better not pin this on His Majesty. You know what kind of men serve under him. If the Emperor truly wanted you dead, even ten of me would not be enough. And look at these people — they cannot even match me. Clearly this is trouble you brought upon yourself.”

The two men shouted as they fought forward. With the elite officers from the Ministry of Justice behind them, the number of black-clad assailants dwindled. Li Jing shouted, “Do not kill them all. Leave some alive, lest the Lord accuse us of framing him.”

Lord Wen was indignant, but he did not answer. The three of them turned back to fight. The temporary palace was already in sight.

As they slowed, Wen Yuan, jolted by the horse’s wild gallop, felt sick to his stomach. Just as he was about to stop and dismount, a cold arrow suddenly flew from behind.

“Yuan’er!”

Wen Yuan fell heavily from the horse, blood spurting from his mouth and splashing onto Lord Wen’s hand.

“Yuan’er, do not be afraid. Father will take you to the imperial physician at once. It will be all right. Do not be afraid!”

Lord Wen was about to help him up when Wen Yuan seized his hand tightly.

“Father, I am done for...”

“Do not talk nonsense. You will recover. Father will take you there now...”

“Father, listen to me for a moment.”

“Speak. Speak. Father is listening.”

“As a son of the Wen family, I have done nothing for the family... Father, do not be angry with me...”

“I am not angry. Father has never been angry with you...”

“I know His Majesty is already dissatisfied with the Wen family. Father, the ruler is supreme. Do not fight him anymore!” Overcome with emotion, Wen Yuan coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“Enough, enough...”

“Do not seek revenge for me. Father, do not keep going down the wrong path... do not go down it again...” Wen Yuan clung desperately to his father’s hand, as if trying to hold on to something, but in the end he could only let go.

“Yuan’er... Yuan’er!”

Li Jing had not expected that one day he would see Lord Wen in such a state, tears and mucus streaming down his face. The anguish of a white-haired man seeing a black-haired one buried before him moved even Li Jing somewhat. He quickly found a carriage nearby.

“Please, Your Lordship, accept your grief. Let us first take the eldest young master home.”

Since the man was already dead, there was no need to rush. Li Jing simply ordered Lord Wen to return to the manor.

Lord Wen grieved for a long while.

“Yuan’er, Father will take you home.”

With that, he tried to lift his son himself, but he was already over sixty and no longer had the strength of his youth. Li Jing came forward to help, and together they placed Wen Yuan onto the carriage.

“Many thanks, Minister Li. This kindness will surely be repaid one day.”

Li Jing nodded. “Your Lordship, whether you believe it or not, this matter today has absolutely nothing to do with His Majesty. I will find the murderer and avenge the eldest young master.”

“Yuan’er does not wish for revenge, but I would seek the truth. If so, I trouble you greatly, Sir.”

Lord Wen boarded the carriage and departed, his back bent with grief and desolation.

Li Jing rode swiftly back to the temporary palace. On the way he met Gan Sui, and the two of them went together to the main hall to see the Emperor.

Gan Sui was surprised to see Li Jing alone. “Why have you returned by yourself?”

“Something happened on the road. Let us go in and tell His Majesty together.”

The two hurried into the hall.

“What did you say? Wen Yuan is dead?” Qi Nanxing was greatly shocked. He had indeed laid hands on the matter of Second Master Wen back then, but that was because Second Master Wen had directly taken part in the plot against the Empress. He had not touched Wen Yuan at all.

“Could it be that Lord Wen arranged this himself, sacrificing the carriage to save the general?” He had personally experienced Lord Wen’s cold-bloodedness; a man who had once sent his own daughter to the execution ground in order to preserve himself was certainly capable of such a thing.

“From the way he looked, it did not seem fake. His grief was obvious. He was nothing like his usual self.” Li Jing trusted his own ability to judge people, and he was certain Lord Wen had not been acting.

“Your Majesty, we are in a very passive position now. Wen Yuan is dead, so the earlier matters are now impossible to verify. If someone means to sow discord, Lord Wen will surely lay this at Your Majesty’s feet. Should we advance our plans?”

“Wait a little longer. One assassin from today was left alive. When he wakes, perhaps we may learn something.” A man who has once died may be even more afraid of death.

Li Jing and Gan Sui dared not delay and immediately went to where the assassin was being held.

When Lord Wen returned to the manor, it was already evening. The instant he stepped out of the carriage, he saw the blazing red sunset. It was a beautiful sight, but what did it matter? It would soon be swallowed by darkness.

For the first time, he felt utterly exhausted, with no strength left to continue plotting and struggling.

The steward came forward. “Your Lordship, what did the Emperor say?”

“Send a few people to bring the eldest young master inside.”

The steward quickly ordered men forward. He thought the eldest young master might have suffered some punishment. Could it be that the eldest young master really had a hand in harming the imperial heir? But when they looked, they saw plainly that the eldest young master was already dead.

“Your Lordship, this...”

“Carry him in. Prepare the coffin.”

With that, he lifted a foot to go inside, but in his dazed state he struck the threshold and staggered. The steward hurried forward.

“Your Lordship, please restrain your grief...”

“It cannot be restrained anymore... My son is gone... gone... gone... It is all gone...” With that, he brushed away the steward’s hand and stumbled inward.

That very night, Lord Wen fell ill. Heatstroke combined with sudden fury caused him to burn with fever until he was half dead and unconscious. Funeral arrangements for the eldest young master had to be made, and someone had to stay by the master’s sickbed. In an instant, the Lord Wen household descended into chaos.

Yet the mistress of the house did not concern herself with any of these worldly affairs. She remained in the little Buddhist chapel, calmly striking the wooden fish and reciting sutras, wholly detached from mortal concerns, in hopes of attaining enlightenment and immortality.

The chief steward was so busy he scarcely knew which way his feet pointed. Blisters had broken out all over his mouth, and after a sleepless night he finally managed to set up the mourning hall. Before a month had passed, white mourning banners again hung from Lord Wen’s residence.

Most people in the capital had already heard of what happened the previous day. Privately, many guessed that now that the eldest young master was dead, the Emperor must have discovered something. In the end, Lord Wen had perhaps saved the imperial consort by sacrificing his own son.

When a man is selfish for long enough, then even if he treasures someone, others will still think he would without hesitation abandon all else for his own sake.

Lord Wen’s fever was fierce. It surged and ebbed repeatedly until, at the very end of the hour of the snake, he finally woke in a daze. In a trembling voice he asked, “What time is it? Why does it seem so bright?”

The servant attending him hurried to answer, “It is already the end of the hour of the snake.”

Then the servant moved forward to help him and was startled by what he saw: in the space of one night, Lord Wen’s hair had turned white.

Noticing the servant’s pause, Lord Wen narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”

“Forgive me, Your Lordship... this servant was only...”

Only then did Lord Wen inadvertently catch sight of the standing mirror on the right. “Oh. My hair has gone white. I am old. I am old...” He no longer looked at the mirror. “Help me dress.”

The servant hastened to help him change clothes.

With his eyes closed, Lord Wen asked, “How are the preparations for Yuan’er’s affairs?”

“The chief steward is handling everything personally. All matters are being carried out according to procedure, and the mourning hall is already set up.”

“He is a talented man.”

“And the madam?”

“The madam is chanting scriptures in the ancestral hall, praying for the young master’s soul to be released.”

“At a time like this, she will not even come out. This family is truly finished.”

“Your Lordship...”

“Enough. Help me to the mourning hall.”

The servant supported him. Freshly risen from serious illness, every step he took was stiff, even trembling.

There were many old retainers in the household, and no matter how Lord Wen behaved outside, he had always been generous to the servants at home. Seeing him in such a state, many of them felt deeply saddened.

Step by step, Lord Wen made his way to the mourning hall. Wen Yuan had already been laid in his coffin. He entered the hall with some effort, breathing a little raggedly, and a faint metallic sweetness rose in his throat. He forced it down, released the servant’s support, and walked to the coffin.

He simply stared at the coffin, circling it slowly as he muttered, “Since you were old enough to understand, you said you would never enter official life. I indulged you. You said merchants were all profit-driven and unwilling to make connections, so I indulged that too. Every day you merely stayed at home and studied. Whenever disaster struck, you even secretly donated clothing and supplies. Truly, your greatest misfortune was having me for a father, a man steeped in every evil under heaven... Child, it was all Father’s fault... Why did they not simply take my life instead...”

As he spoke, the pain became unbearable. He choked on his own words and could not stop coughing, and when he finally wiped at the corner of his mouth, there was blood.

The steward hurried over with water so Lord Wen could rinse his mouth.

“Your Lordship, do not be like this. The eldest young master’s spirit in heaven would not be able to rest easy!”

“It is all meaningless now. Meaningless!”

“Your Lordship, the Minister of Justice has come again outside...” a boy servant said, gasping as he ran in.

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