Jiang Xing couldnât stay outside the palace for very long. After kissing the little widow, he went to see the Second Young Lady Gu and the Third Young Master Gu. When heâd left for the Northwest, these two had only been the size of fingernails, but now they are as thick and long as his fingers. It showed how much Lin Qingyu cared for them. After that, Jiang Xing took advantage of cover of night to return to the palace.
Xiao Songzi assisted him in changing his clothes. Even Lin Qingyu praised Xiao Songzi for being tight-lipped. He considered this little eunuch useful. Thus, naturally, Jiang Xing trusted him too. âXiao Songzi.â
Xiao Songzi said, âYour Majesty?â
âGo and find Shen Huaishi for Zhen.â
Xiao Songzi was dumbstruck. It was his first time hearing His Majesty say so many words in one go. And it had none of its usual childlike tone. He sounded no different from ordinary people. Was the emperor suddenly fully recovered?
Jiang Xing smiled. âWhy, did you not understand?â
Xiao Songzi came back to his senses and hurriedly said, âThis servant shall go immediately.â
âAlso,â Though Jiang Xingâs tone was gentle, it seemed to carry a hint of warning, âZhen trusts that you wonât tell anyone aside from Master Lin of what Zhen says or does within the palace.â
Xiao Songzi gulped. âThis servant is His Majestyâs to command.â
Shen Huaishi has always been elusive. Even when tasked personally by the Emperor, Xiao Songzi still had to use a lot of effort to bring him to the palace. With only an hour left before dawn, Shen Huaishi was ordered to come to Xingqing Palace. The person who sent the message said that it was the Emperor who issued the summons. But how could His Majesty want to see him for no reason? It must be Lin Qingyu, using the name of the emperor, who summoned him.
Lin Qingyu and the son of heaven⌠Thinking of what heâd seen just now, a haze begun to cover Shen Huaishiâs eyes and he quietly clenched his hands into fists.
No wonder Lin Qingyu could so calmly face the news of General Guâs death. Long before General Gu died in battle, he and the new emperor must have already beenâŚ
Weâre sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so weâre going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xiao Songzi said, âYour Majesty, Shen Gongzi is here.â
Jiang Xing opened his eyes and said with a smile, âShen Gongzi has kept Zhen waiting.â
Shen Huaishiâs brows furrowed slightly. He had heard that the son of heavenâs soul-loss disease had taken a turn for the better. But a full recovery wasnât something achievable in a day. The emperor in front of him was not at all like someone with a mental deficiency.
Shen Huaishi was filled with misgivings. He brushed aside the lower hem of his robes and knelt down. âGreetings to His Majesty.â
Jiang Xing said to Xiao Songzi, âYou go and invite the National Teacher here.â
After Xiao Songzi left, Jiang Xing sized up Shen Huaishi and said, âShen Gongzi doesnât seem to be in a very good mood. Master Lin returned home to the Generalâs Mansion today to attend to General Guâs funeral. Shen Gongzi must have also gone to offer his condolences. Iâm a little curious, what did you see?â
Shen Huaishiâs eyes turned gloomy and he said in a hoarse voice, âThis subordinate⌠saw nothing.â
âGood.â Jiang Xing got up and walked to the window. Looking at grayish light off in the horizon, he suddenly said, âDawn? Thatâs great.â
Shen Huaishi instinctively froze. He looked up at His Majesty who was speaking and behaving strangely.
This was the last thing General Gu had said before his death and only he knew it. The emperor summoning him in the middle of the night and saying this sentence â was it a coincidence or did it have some deeper meaning?
Shen Huaishi quickly came up with an answer. This sentence though said infrequently was common enough. Besides, it was indeed dawn so there was nothing strange about the Emperor saying it.
Jiang Xing caught the hesitation on Shen Huaishiâs face, and said with a smile, âZhen asked you a question once, but you didnât answer. For some reason, I really want to know the answer today and so I called you to the palace.â
Sweat broke out on Shen Huaishiâs forehead. âThis subordinate is slow-witted. I ask that His Majesty speak clearly.â
Jiang Xing said, âHave you used the fake death drug that my wife gave you that day?â
Cold sweat broke out all over Shen Huaishiâs body. He choked out, â⌠Your Majesty?â
Jiang Xing put away his smile and presented a rare display of seriousness. âHuaishi, youâve had a difficult journey.â
Shen Huaishi was completely dumbfounded. He was originally the reticent sort but now he was so shocked that he simply lost all words. His reaction was just as Jiang Xing expected. Most people wouldnât believe in soul transfers and explaining would be troublesome. Just then, Xu Junyuan arrived and the task of explaining to Shen Huaishi fell to the National Teacher.
Xu Junyuan didnât expect that the son of heaven would call him here in the middle of the night just for this kind of thing. He didnât know whether to laugh or cry. He had no choice but to narrate systematically and in complete detail about how Gu Fuzhouâs soul returned to his body upon his death.
Hearing all this, Shen Huaishi was taken aback. He was completely struck dumb. This matter was simply too outrageous. But if he took it to be true, a lot of these strange things now made sense.
Like how the new emperorâs soul-loss disease suddenly improved, why Lin Qingyu reacted so casually to Gu Fuzhouâs death, how Lin Qingyu and the emperor could stand in front of Gu Fuzhouâs memorial tablet andâŚdo something like that.
Can a soul change bodies? Was there really such a bizarre thing in the world?
âOf course, there is.â Jiang Xing said, âIf you donât believe me, you can ask me some questions that only Gu Fuzhou would know the answer to.â
After being dealt with successive shocks, Shen Huaishi was a little dazed and it took a long time before he said, âBefore the siege, General Wu caught two cut-sleeve soldiersâŚâ
âAre you asking for the names of those two people? Jiang Shiyue and Lin Lan.â Saying this, Jiang Xing felt a heaviness in his heart. He made a note of asking Lin Qingyu later about the issue of compensation for the deceased soldiers.
Shen Huaishi looked more and more dazed. Based on his expression, he probably beginning to doubt whether this world was even real.
Jiang Xing said again, âHuaishi, you are the one who accompanied General Gu to the very end. Only you know what he said before he died. Can you tell me what he said?â
Shen Huaishi spoke instinctively, âThe General said he didnât want to die. He saidâŚsaid that Doctor Lin was still waiting for him.â
Jiang Xing shook his head. âYou remembered wrong. Before his death, General Gu said that he couldnât hold on any longer but he didnât want for Imperial Physician Lin to waste his life. He only hoped that Imperial Physician Lin could find someone to love again, to build a good relationship; someone he could grow old with. â This is General Guâs last wish. If Imperial Physician Lin were to truly grow old and die alone for him, he would not be able to die in peace.â Jiang Xing sighed quietly, âZhen has heard from the National Teacher that people who die with their eyes open cannot be reincarnated, they can only be reduced to wandering ghosts, unable even even to enjoy the fragrance of incense. Tsk, how truly wretched.â
Xu Junyuan suddenly realized what he was after and said with a smile, âHis Majesty is wise. I had wondered why the emperor chose not to tell the Empress Dowager the truth but confessed instead to Shen Gongzi. So that is how it is.â
Shen âhonest manâ Huaishi still couldnât wrap his head around it. âBut thatâs not what General Gu said.â
Jiang Xing smiled lightly. âBut he could have.â
Half a month later, Gu Fuzhouâs body was escorted to the capital by Shi Pei. Lin Qingyu and the people from the Ministry of Rites went out of the city to welcome them in person, receiving them with proper etiquette.
When he had set off on this expedition, he was at the head of a powerful army sent off with music of solemn fervor. It was a stirring sight. When he returned, he was nothing but a single shattered corpse, lying quietly.
Shi Pei led a group of trusted aides to escort Gu Fuzhouâs bier and coffin from the Northwest all the way to the capital. When they saw the city gate, these hot-blooded men on the battlefield burst into tears, sighed and sobbed, âGeneral, weâve finally brought you home.â
Gu Fuzhou had no father or mother and no one knows the location of his ancestral grave. In light of his meritorious service, the Empress Dowager allowed him to be buried in the imperial tomb. He was the first subject to enjoy this honor since the founding of the country.
Shi Pei handed the Qingyun Jiuzhou Spear to Lin Qingyu and he asked in a hoarse voice, âMadam, would you like to take one last look at the General?â
Lin Qingyu stared at the coffin. He hesitated for a long time and then shook his head lightly. âI wonât be disturbing the General rest anymore. Let this Qingyun Jiuzhou Spear be buried with the General so as to let him quickly be at rest.â
There was no need to cling to the past. Obstinately sticking to the wrong course would only add to troubles. Jiang Xing hoped that he could move on and he also needed to move on.
He wanted to bid farewell to Gu Fuzhou formally like heâd done before for Lu Wancheng. From now on, the only person who would accompany him was Jiang Xing.