Chapter 206 : Xiao Shao’s Background

In the Eighth Prince fu, Xuan Li threw a letter into the flames beside him. They licked at the words on the paper and quickly turned them into a pile of ashes in an instant. Finally, the advisor behind him couldn’t help but ask, “Why did Your Highness refuse n.o.ble Consort Jiang’s intentions?”

Jiang Dan had proposed forming an alliance with Xuan Li to bring down the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, and anyone who heard her proposal would be tempted. Since Jiang Dan had put forth the idea, it clearly showed her intent. Furthermore, with Xuan Li’s cautious temperament, he ought to have heard her out, but he had directly rejected her without any hesitation, which was truly strange.

“She’s agitated now, which is why she’s losing her composure. It seems that Jiang Ruan has some handle on her, thus she wants to use me while dealing with Jinying w.a.n.gfu at the same time. But what brilliant methods could she have? Anyway, it’s not worth it for me to give her a hand.” Xuan Li looked at the dancing flames and said, “Moreover, this woman is shrewd and cunning, and is already colluding with Fifth Prince.”

The advisor followed Xuan Li’s eyes and looked at the flames, guessing that he had probably received a secret communique from the palace. For Jiang Dan to ally with Xuan Hua in such a short period of time, this really showed how frantic and anxious she was. The advisor muttered irresolutely, “Then what Your Highness is implying is . . . ?”

“She’s just a fool,” Xuan Li responded indifferently. “Of course it would be great if those two people could unite to bring down the Jinying w.a.n.gfu since the existence of Xiao Shao is always a stumbling block. One day I will have to get rid of this obstacle, but since someone wants to help me with the task, why shouldn’t I be happy?” He seemed rather amused as he said, “But if they aren’t a match for Xiao Shao, with Xiao Shao and Jiang Ruan’s temperaments, do you think they will achieve anything good?” Xuan Li continued, “Of late, Fifth Prince has become a nuisance in the imperial court, and added to that is Xuan Pei. If Fifth Prince were to disappear from this world, that would indeed be fortuitous for me.” He looked at a golden b.u.t.ton on his sleeve and said, “Anyway, I have nothing to lose, so why would I dip my hand into this unpleasant muddy water?”

“Your Highness is wise.” The advisor sighed. “When the sandpiper and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.[1] Either way, Your Highness will just get to reap all the benefits.” He thought for a while, and suddenly said, “It’s just that n.o.ble Consort Jiang was Your Highness’ person, and now that she has suddenly colluded with Fifth Prince, that means we can’t make use of her anymore. Since she is no longer of any benefit, then in future, news from the palace. . .”

[1] 鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利 (yùbàngxiāngzhēng, yúwēngdélì) – lit. when the snipe and the clam grapple with each other, the fisherman catches them both (idiom); fig. when two sides are locked in dispute, it’s often a third party that benefits.

“She was useless to begin with,” Xuan Li interrupted him, “Yuan Chuan has already arrived in the palace, so what need is there for Jiang Dan? I may as well take advantage of her one last time, and if she can help me with this, then our encounter will not have been a total waste.”

The advisor nodded. “In that case, Your Highness can await good news with peace of mind. Your Highness is indeed the best chess player. At the final stage, it is Your Highness who will bring the game to an end.”

* * *

Jiang Ruan stretched and subconsciously hugged the source of warmth in her arms. She blearily opened her eyes, only to find that her arms were still around Xiao Shao’s waist, and Xiao Shao’s peacefully sleeping face was before her.

The sunlight shone faintly through the curtain, also illuminating her chaotic mind a little bit. All at once, she remembered what had happened yesterday. She had been retelling the story of her previous life, making a clean breast of things, and in the end she had kissed Xiao Shao without knowing why. Moved by sudden emotion, Xiao Shao had taken the opportunity to carry her out of the study while she was in a daze. Perhaps the tide of emotion diluted the suffering because in the intensity of their sweaty, intimate moment, all her painful emotions were released.

And then? Jiang Ruan was slightly taken aback, feeling the pain all over her body as if she had been totally crushed. She had to say that Xiao Shao was really clever– he could master after one try what others needed several attempts to learn. Even in these matters, it was the same. Where did such a wonderful coincidence come from, it almost made her dizzy with an unfamiliar sense of bliss. It’s just that normally this person was calm and detached but for some reason his conduct in bed was extremely evil. Moreover, afterwards, the one who had been bullied in bed could not speak even a word except to look at the perpetrator coldly and struggle to admit defeat.

She propped up her chin with one hand, and carefully looked at the young man who was lying on his side. Xiao Shao’s eyelashes were long and straight, and very sharply defined under his closed eyes. The bridge of his nose was high and straight, and the lips were thin and rosy. In sleep, Xiao Shao looked very peaceful so it was hard to imagine the night-time sweat and crazed movements of such a calm and indifferent person. As long as there were those memories in her mind, she felt a little embarra.s.sed.

While she was thinking, someone pulled at her hand, and she fell into a warm embrace. Xiao Shao’s eyes were not open, but his voice was very clear, and he said with a touch of satisfaction, like a glutton[2] after a meal, “It’s still early.”

[2] 饕鬄 (tao tie) – a monster in Chinese mythology which has become symbolic of greed and gluttony.

“It’s getting late,” Jiang Ruan replied, then reacted and said, “Are you awake?”

As the corners of Xiao Shao’s lips curled up, he opened his eyes and looked at her, and said, “En.”

As long as this person was not in front of his subordinates, he showed his ‘evil’ nature behind his sincere front, and was occasionally very childish, seeming to think that playing tricks on people was great fun. In Jiang Ruan’s eyes, this kind of behaviour was very similar to Xuan Pei’s. It’s just that it was cute when Xuan Pei did these things, but it was rather weird when done by someone like Xiao Shao, who normally had a cold expression on his face.

“You . . .” Jiang Ruan pushed him, but Xiao Shao didn’t let go. He was already very strong, so as long as he employed a little skill, Jiang Ruan couldn’t do anything. At this moment, she had no choice but to lie in his arms. Recalling something, she asked, “I told you about those things yesterday, but in the end, I didn’t hear what you had to say; when do you plan to share?”

Upon thinking about her own revelation, Jiang Ruan felt very uncomfortable. Yesterday, she had been very emotional, and all the w.a.n.gfu’s servants had probably noticed when Xiao Shao carried her back to the room. What would those people think? As soon as w.a.n.gfei returned to the w.a.n.gfu, she couldn’t wait to get intimate with Master in the study in broad daylight. Would she seem too l.u.s.tful? As for Steward Lin, he would be even more suspicious – she was going to tell Xiao Shao a secret, so how did she end up talking about it on the bed?

Now that she had completely lost face, Jiang Ruan only felt that it would be more difficult to establish her authority in the eyes of the servants, and she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Xiao Shao paused momentarily and said, “Yesterday you were too impatient; I thought you wanted to do more important things.”

“More important things?” Jiang Ruan stared at him and said, “What do you consider more important?” It’s clear that this person harboured an ulterior motive. He might originally have wanted to comfort her gently, but this scoundrel took advantage of her difficulties.

Xiao Shao couldn’t help laughing again. Jiang Ruan stared at him for a while, then laughed too. She pushed Xiao Shao and said, “All right, get up first. I don’t have anything to do today, I can listen to what you want to say.” She joked, “Even if you say that you, like me, have died once, I won’t hold it against you.”

“If you want to listen, I’ll tell you.” Xiao Shao stroked her hair and said, “Get up first.”

After breakfast, Jiang Ruan and Xiao Shao went to the courtyard. The gazebo in the yard was adjacent to the pond. Its water was green and blue, and it was so clear that they could see right to the bottom. The red fish swimming around within embellished the monotony of this winter day, being exceptionally lively. Jiang Ruan was thinking about Xiao Shao’s words. On seeing that his face was no longer as relaxed as it was in the morning, even a little sad, she also realised that this matter might be something quite different, and just followed him silently.

“Ah Ruan,” Xiao Shao said, “You have paid your respects to my parents’ memorial tablets.”

“Yes,” Jiang Ruan nodded, and said, “The day we got married.” On the day she married into the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, she had personally paid her respects to her in-laws in front of the memorial tablet of Late Jinying w.a.n.g and w.a.n.gfei. Now that she heard Xiao Shao mention it, she remembered the occasion.

“Actually, you have never paid your respects to them.” Xiao Shao lowered his eyes, thinking about something unknown. Slowly, he said, “There is nothing for you to pay your respects to.”

Jiang Ruan was startled, and looked at him inquisitively. The significance of these words was really thought-provoking. Did he mean that the memorial tablets in the ancestral hall were not actually those of Jinying w.a.n.g and w.a.n.gfei? Or was there some other meaning?

“Do you remember that one day you came to the w.a.n.gfu and saw me paying my respects to someone else in this place?” Xiao Shao stood with his hands behind his back, his tall and upright body showing a tinge of melancholy at this moment. “They are the ones whom you should pay your respects to.”

Jiang Ruan was startled, but then remembered that there was in fact such a day. It was when Xiao Shao kissed her while he was tipsy, and she had inadvertently seen him paying his respects to someone. She had found it truly strange because it was not the memorial day of the late Jinying w.a.n.g and w.a.n.gfei, but she couldn’t come up with any reason that made sense. But now her suspicions at the time were confirmed. As she reflected on the meaning of Xiao Shao’s words, she heard him say, “I am not Jinying w.a.n.g’s son.”

Jiang Ruan lifted her head. Xiao Shao’s jet black eyes held an indecipherable emotion as he said, “My father was the former Crown Prince Hong Xi.”

Jiang Ruan was taken aback, and then a tumultuous storm arose in her heart. Crown Prince Hong Xi, the eldest son of Empress Dowager Yi De, the elder brother of the current Emperor, the one who was supposed to be the current monarch of the Great Jin dynasty. However, after he quelled a rebellion of the kings of the bordering va.s.sal states, on the eve of opening the borders he was trampled under ten thousand horses. This man was actually Xiao Shao’s father?

Xiao Shao glanced at Jiang Ruan, then turned away. He stopped by the edge of the gazebo and began to speak slowly.

Empress Dowager Yi De had two sons and one daughter. The eldest daughter, Princess Yuan Rong, was intelligent, gentle, and appropriately magnanimous. The second son, Crown Prince Hong Xi, was also famous all over the capital from a young age. The current Emperor was the youngest child, who was thoroughly doted upon by his two older siblings, and who was also intelligent. The relationship between these three siblings had always been good. When the former Emperor was alive, he was quite fearful of the consequences of Empress Dowager Yi De’s domineering style, and even suppressed her maternal family as a result. Thus, even though Empress Dowager Yi De was decisive and swift in her actions, and her methods within the imperial court were highly capable, the biggest attack against her came from her husband. The former Emperor was afraid that Empress Dowager Yi De would monopolise power, so he constantly pampered his imperial consorts, and even deliberately promoted other princes to balance the power. This indeed blocked any possibility of extended familial relations from seizing power and authority, but after the death of the former Emperor, the original state of equilibrium was disrupted, and the Great Jin dynasty ushered in an unprecedented crisis, with a struggle for the throne between eight princes.

Crown Prince Hong Xi was the crown prince in name, but his position was not very stable, not to mention his seven exceedingly ambitious brothers; even within the imperial court, there weren’t many officials that supported him. The former Emperor left everything in shambles for Empress Dowager Yi De, yet wanted Crown Prince Hong Xi to figure out how to resolve this chaotic state of affairs.

Each of the eight brothers made a claim for kingship and sought to seize the position by force. Empress Dowager Yi De had no other recourse except to seek foreign aid. At that time one appeared, the Princess of South Xinjiang, Qi Man. Crown Prince Hong Xi not only possessed both ability and political integrity, he loved his nation. Also, he was born incomparably handsome and elegant. At that time, South Xinjiang had not yet been destroyed, and its strength could not be sneered at. Their princess met Crown Prince Hong Xi when she made the long journey to Great Jin, and secretly set her heart on him. Unfortunately Crown Prince Hong Xi politely declined.

The wife of Crown Prince Hong Xi was Xiang Xiao Yuan, the first female physician in the Great Jin dynasty. Although Xiang Xiao Yuan was not as beautiful as Qi Man, she had good medical skills and many novel, strange ideas. She was not born into a n.o.ble family, but was from the mountains. She had once saved a first-rank cabinet minister on the brink of death and it was said that she had performed some kind of ‘surgery’. Thus, she entered the palace and obtained the official position of a female physician. It took Crown Prince Hong Xi a lot of sleepless nights and perseverance to marry her in the end, but fortunately, he was finally able to embrace this beauty. Crown Prince Hong Xi had always steered clear of other women, and he and Xiang Xiao Yuan were genuinely in love with each other. Therefore, once Xiang Xiao Yuan arrived in the back quarters as the Crown Prince’s wife, the ‘bed servants’ were all quietly dismissed. Thus, there was no way Crown Prince Hong Xi would agree with the proposal from the South Xinjiang Princess to get rid of Xiang Xiao Yuan and marry Princess Qi Man.

It’s just that this was irrational in the eyes of Empress Dowager Yi De. While it was true that she also very much liked Xiang Xiao Yuan’s intelligence and perspective that was different from other women’s, no wise king would give up the great cause of the nation for a woman. Perhaps Crown Prince Hong Xi was indeed not a competent heir to the throne. His heart was not ruthless enough, but he was indeed a good husband and father.

Qi Man let it be known that if Crown Prince Hong Xi agreed to her proposal, South Xinjiang would lend Great Jin 100,000 soldiers to help calm the rebellion of the other princes. Crown Prince Hong Xi would not agree, but the present Emperor was different. The Emperor and Crown Prince Hong Xi had been close since childhood. The two brothers had thought the same way about everything when they were young, even the kind of women they liked. Xiang Xiao Yuan was intelligent, and different from other ladies. Crown Prince Hong Xi liked her, and so did the Emperor. However, in Xiang Xiao Yuan’s eyes, the Emperor was simply a little brother, and so he could only watch her and his older brother get married.

Perhaps because of jealousy and the unwillingness to let her go in his heart, or because he was more suitable to be an emperor than Crown Prince Hong Xi, the present Emperor promised Princess Qi Man that he would find a way to let her get Crown Prince Hong Xi first, and then have her send troops to help Great Jin. His original intention was actually just to use this as a stopgap measure because he thought it would be merely a physical relationship, and Crown Prince Hong Xi would not lose anything in the end. As long as Princess Qi Man was temporarily appeased, after the rebellion of the eight princes had been quashed, he would find a reason to kick her away.

The only variable was Xiang Xiao Yuan. In terms of emotions and feelings, Xiang Xiao Yuan was different from any woman in this world. She believed that a man could only have one woman in his life, and it was a sin to have many wives and concubines. This was an outrageous perspective to have in Great Jin, but Crown Prince Hong Xi agreed. No matter how many people pressured them at that time, Crown Prince Hong Xi’s att.i.tude remained resolute. The Emperor knew that he could not be like Crown Prince Hong Xi, and in his heart he could not help but mock them as he waited to see the look of disappointment on Xiao Yuan’s face.

It was impossible to know how many variables would be thrown up if Xiang Xiao Yuan had known about this matter, but for the sake of Great Jin, or maybe also because of the dark thoughts in the Emperor’s heart, he finally made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.