Chapter 14#
Lin Luoyin returned under military orders, traveling by starlight, but he never expected to enter Han Lang’s bedchamber and witness such a scene. His whole being felt as if it were in a furnace, his anger difficult to quell.
He stared at Han Lang, standing but not kneeling, and said sullenly, “Did the Prince summon me to rush back without stopping just to watch this sordid affair?”
Han Lang glanced at Hua Rong, then turned his gaze to Lin Luoyin, the corners of his mouth turning up. “General Lin, the word ‘sordid’ is truly inappropriate. Even if this Prince doesn’t blame you, it will hurt Hua Rong’s feelings. Hua Rong, don’t you agree?”
As he spoke, he pinched Hua Rong’s jaw, turning him to face Lin Luoyin, forcing their eyes to meet.
Hua Rong smiled, looking at Lin Luoyin, as shameless and fearless as ever.
But there was, after all, something unbearable in that gaze.
For the thick-skinned Master Hua, who was as tough as a city wall, to feel unbearable, the reason was definitely worth pondering.
Han Lang sneered, waved his hand, and tossed Hua Rong onto the inner side of the bed, then got up to dress.
Before General Lin could speak, he said with a serious face, “No more fooling around, General Lin. The southwestern border is in crisis. Follow me to the main hall; this Prince has important matters to discuss.”
That night, General Lin led his troops west on an expedition.
After arranging everything, Han Lang sat in the main hall. The morning star was bright outside; another day had passed so tediously.
“Master, the Emperor won’t let me interrogate that person,” Liu Nian’s voice carried a complaint.
“Then don’t interrogate him,” Han Lang waved his hand, signaling Liu Nian to help him change.
“Master, he willingly followed the escapee. It’s clear he knows the assassin…” Liu Nian tied Han Lang’s official sash, his face full of defiance.
Han Lang sighed. Liu Nian’s composure and cultivation were still inferior to Liu Yun’s.
“So there’s no need to interrogate. Liu Nian, since he was willing, it’s clear that no one in the court is behind this. Then there can only be one explanation…” A fish that escaped the net.
Because of the incident at Xuanguang Hall, the Emperor temporarily moved to Yanyang Palace to rest.
The Emperor, in a bad mood, forbade anyone to disturb him. He sat alone on the steps of the dragon throne in the empty hall, as if deaf, ignoring everything.
“Shouldn’t Your Majesty be preparing for the morning court?” “Voice” reminded him softly.
The Emperor smiled bitterly. His “alone” time always seemed to include this shadow, never purely his own.
“Your Majesty was frightened last night. Do you really have to hold morning court today?” “Voice” continued.
“There is an urgent military report from the border. With the war at hand, I must hold court today to inform the world that I am fine and to stabilize the people’s hearts.” These were all principles Han Lang had taught the Emperor, which he conveyed one by one through sign language.
“Voice” caught the Emperor’s fleeting hesitation and immediately added, “Does Your Majesty still remember the question you asked me that night? In all honesty, I really feel that the Grand Tutor is not as concerned about Your Majesty’s well-being as he used to be.”
Hearing this, the Emperor’s expression turned grim. With a “slap,” he slapped “Voice” across the face and gestured angrily with both hands, “You’re just upset that you got a good beating from Han Lang!”
“Voice” lowered his eyes, his expression wooden. “I know that if Your Majesty hadn’t been willing to vouch for me, Grand Tutor Han would not have let me off so easily this time. I also admit that I hate him, but Your Majesty should also know that what I said is also the truth. If it were before, would Han Lang have been willing to let Your Majesty hold morning court the day after an assassination attempt?”
These words were like a splash of cold water, freezing the Emperor’s heart with a sudden pang.
In the silence, the Emperor’s breathing gradually became hurried, revealing his panic.
The sky gradually brightened. “Voice” lowered his eyes, gazing at the shortening shadow, and suddenly looked up. “Your Majesty, if you want a bird to live well but no longer fly, you should put it in a cage.”
“Han Lang is an eagle. There can be no such cage,” the Emperor shook his head, refuting with his hands.
“Then we can only break his wings!”
“If he can’t fly, then what should I do?”
“Your Majesty, have you forgotten about Han Yan?”
“I don’t like Han Yan!” the Emperor refused, his gestures rapid.
The rift between him and Han Lang was because of Hua Rong.
As long as Hua Rong was eliminated, Han Lang would still be the Grand Tutor, that single-minded Grand Tutor.
This was his calculation.
“We should go to court,” thinking of this, the Emperor finally straightened his back, his gestures becoming fluid.
“Voice” agreed meekly, following him, his gaze turning cold and stiff.
Up to this point, he had completed the task given to him by the assassin.
“If you can’t escape, then sow discord. Use Han Yan to restrain Han Lang, only then will we have a chance.”
Thinking of that person’s words, “Voice’s” eyes grew hot.
Last night, this “Voice,” this person, had finally made him understand that there was still “hope” in this world.
The hope he had long since abandoned.
The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the La Festival.
On every La Festival, Han Lang would not enter the court, nor would he concern himself with worldly affairs.
In the Rabbit Cave, he would drink clear wine alone, rain or shine.
The Rabbit Cave was not a cave, but Han Lang’s home in the suburbs of the capital.
This habit originated from the La Festival many years ago.
The wind and snow then were as wild as they were now. He remembered his curiosity, following his secretive elder brother Han Yan into the Crown Prince’s residence, and personally hearing their conspiracy to assassinate the Empress’s own young son.
The young prince was Zhou Huaijing, the child who had brightly called him “Master” and made him Grand Tutor Han.
He saved the prince, and then, incited by the Empress, officially became Han Yan’s enemy.
All the rights and wrongs, grievances and grudges that followed, all happened on that La Festival, and ended on the La Festivals of the following years.
This day was the starting point of all stories, indeed worthy of commemoration.
The door was not closed. Just as Han Lang was toasting to the past, the brocade cotton door curtain was lifted. Someone entered the room. The cold wind followed, swirling in.
“Are you here to tell me that you accept my conditions, big brother?” Han Lang looked at the porcelain cup in his hand and said slowly.
Han Yan didn’t speak, only faced Han Lang and slowly unfolded the silk in his hand.
“We are shocked to hear that the commoner Hua Rong, selling his body and relying on his looks, has bewitched the Grand Tutor of our dynasty with sinister intentions. His crime is punishable by death. A secret edict is hereby issued: on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he is to be trampled to death by the auspicious elephant.”
Han Lang was shaken. He put down his wine cup, put on his cloak and fur, and stood up.
“Are you really going to save him?” Han焉 sneered, came up to take his wine pot, and poured himself a full cup.
“Perhaps I just want to see if Hua Rong, Master Hua, will still be smiling when he knows he’s about to be trampled to death by the great white elephant tributed by the neighboring country.”
Hua Rong was indeed smiling, even though his eyes were blindfolded and his hands and feet were tied to the ground.
The military training ground served as a temporary execution ground. The cold wind was biting, and the dark clouds pressed down like lead, damp and cold.
Before them was a rare good show. The civil and military officials were silent, all waiting with bated breath.
The pure white auspicious elephant, the auspicious jade on its forehead warm and moist, was originally a symbol of good fortune, but now its eyes were blindfolded, and it was being driven to trample a person into a pulp.
The surroundings were dark. The originally docile white elephant also began to panic, curling its trunk and trumpeting for help.
The elephant keeper stepped forward, patted its left flank to soothe it, and waved his whip to urge it forward.
The white elephant exhaled. Although panicked, it no longer resisted after smelling its master’s scent and moved forward step by step.
One step, one print. The footprint was absolutely huge, enough to crush Hua Rong into a pulp.
The sky was gray. A few snowflakes began to fall, landing on Hua Rong’s neither thick nor thin eyebrows, slowly melting into water droplets, but not falling.
Hua Rong focused his mind and listened.
Another snowflake fell. The white elephant’s front hoof lifted, held above his head.
Hua Rong heard the gasps of the officials in the audience.
Not disappointing the crowd’s expectations, the white elephant’s foot came down. Although it didn’t hit Hua Rong’s vital parts, it stepped on his right leg.
Blood spurted out. The flesh of Hua Rong’s thigh was turned outwards, almost crushed to a pulp by this one step.
Heaven and earth were turned upside down for a moment. Hua Rong gritted his teeth. Although he didn’t faint, he could no longer smile.
The snow finally began to fall heavily, whitening the world.
The blindfolded elephant sensed the abnormality under its foot, curled Hua Rong up with its trunk, and threw him high into the sky.
The whole audience exclaimed, thinking that this time he would surely meet the Buddha.
Just then, a light blue figure suddenly rushed into the training ground. The person leaped into the air and just happened to catch Hua Rong, who was about to land. It was the Funing Prince Han Lang, who had not changed into his official robes.
The Emperor said nothing, but rose abruptly from his dragon throne.
The snow soaked Han Lang completely. He put Hua Rong down, knelt on the ground, and remained silent.
But the elephant was not peaceful. It kicked out its hind leg violently, aiming a powerful blow at Han Lang’s back.
Han Lang gasped, his mind going blank for a moment.
The next moment, his hand had already shot out a cold gleam, splitting the black cloth in front of the elephant’s eyes in two and striking it down.
The white light was suddenly dazzling. At this moment, the white elephant became even more frantic. It angrily curled up the pained Han Lang and threw him out.
The Emperor opened his mouth and rushed forward a few steps, but stopped in front of the observation railing.
The railing was made of hard granite. Han Lang crashed into it head-on, and his front ribs immediately broke.
“Please, Your Majesty, have mercy and spare Hua Rong,” he said again after getting up, slowly kneeling down.
Two streams of warmth slowly flowed from his nostrils. He reached up to catch them; it was blood.
“Please, Your Majesty, have mercy and spare Hua Rong.”
This sentence was already firm and threatening.
The Emperor snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and strode away.
Three days later.
On the Emperor’s birthday, a general amnesty was granted. Han Yan was pardoned and returned to the celestial court, appointed Duke of Xining. Han Lang was confined to his home for seven days of reflection and had one year’s salary deducted.
The heavy snow fell for three days and two nights, only gradually stopping on the morning of the third day.
Han Lang showed no expression or reaction to the Emperor’s judgment. He stayed in his study all day, playing chess with Liu Nian.
“Do you remember the fish that escaped the net that I told you about?” Halfway through the chess game, Han Lang suddenly spoke, a white piece held between his fingertips.
Liu Nian immediately pricked up his ears.
“You set off now and investigate what other people from the Chu family were missed. Even if you have to dig up their ancestral graves, don’t miss a single one for me.”
“Yes,” Liu Nian nodded.
“On the way back, you have to pass through Daxi in Zhejiang, right?” After a while, Han Lang said again, squinting, his gaze unfixed.
Liu Nian nodded.
“Then go and investigate Hua Rong’s background. Confirm it, investigate it carefully.”
Liu Nian was silent, took note, and didn’t ask any more questions.
“Third, tomorrow morning, you spread the news that this Prince suddenly wants to hear a two-man comic act. Offer a high price to hire talented people from all over to perform at the Funing Prince’s Manor. Famous or not, as long as they perform well, this Prince will have a heavy reward.”
Liu Nian was stunned again and asked hesitantly, “Does Master want to… replace someone?”
Han Lang shook his head. “You just release the news, don’t ask about anything else.”
“Yes!”
Han Lang might not necessarily use the move of burning his bridges.
After all, he no longer had the time to cultivate another flawless “Voice,” but occasionally stirring up some trouble to make those who understood anxious and reveal themselves was not out of the question.