Chapter 119.1

«The Marquis manor was in chaos. The faces of the imperial officials and soldiers’ did not reveal any respect. Instead, it was filled with a tinge of malevolence. They rushed towards a particular place. Yu Xiang followed behind them and as soon as she passed a pavilion, she saw a Dragon Scale Guard coming out of her elder brother’s study. He was holding an inconspicuous box and shouted loudly, “The guilty official, Yu Pin Yan, has conspired with the Western Barbarians to usurp the throne. Now, the evidence is conclusive! Someone come and arrest everyone!”

«Colluding with the Western barbarian to usurp the throne? Hold on, what’s going on here? Elder Brother was clearly shot and fell into the river by the barbarians. Furthermore, it was unknown whether he was dead or alive, so how did he become a guilty subject? And where did they find the evidence? He who wants to beat his dog will easily find a stick![1]

«Yu Xiang leapt forward and wanted to snatch the wooden box away. When her fingers touched the Dragon Scale Guards, everything in front of her instantly turned into smoke and dissipated into the air. The fog fluttered in the wind, scattered and condensing into another residence, the glorious Crown Prince’s residence.

«The manor was similarly in chaos. Many of the Dragon Scale Guards surrounded the Crown Prince’s study. A short while later, the Crown Prince came out with a grim look on his face. Two Dragon Scale Guards holding their swords and halberds against his back. It was followed by another man, Ao Ping, the Deputy Commander of the Dragon Scale Guards, her elder brother’s most competent subordinate. He was holding a dragon robe and announced in a loud voice, “The Crown Prince has made his own dragon robe in secret and intends to commit an insurrection. He will be taken to the Heavenly Prison for trial!”

«A group of Dragon Scale Guards swarmed up and took all the people in the manor away.

Yu Xiang stood there while gaping dumbfoundedly at the scene. She felt her hands and feet go cold and her soul disintegrating. She desperately told herself that it was merely a dream, yet fear wrapped itself around her heart until it completely consumed her. »

“Ho…” A dark breath escaped from her throat. Yu Xiang fought to wake up from her dream, which woke Tao Hong and Liu Lu as well.

“What’s wrong, Young Miss? Did you have another nightmare?” It was as if the two of them were confronting a mortal enemy.[2]

“I dreamt that the Marquis’ manor was raided. The charge was collusion with the Western barbarians to plot against the dynasty and usurp the throne. There was a dragon robe hidden in the Crown Prince’s manor. Moreover, many Dragon Scale Guards were making arrests. I’m afraid that even the cats and dogs would not be spared.”

Liu Lu did not wait for her to finish before covering her mouth. She lowered her voice and asked, “Young Miss, what should we do then? Turn around and go back?”

“No, we can’t go back!” Yu Xiang yanked her palm away and refused without hesitation. Her elder brother was waiting for her not far away. She could not put his life and death at risk.

“What about the Marquis’ and the Crown Prince’s manor? Let the imperial officials and soldiers raid them?” Liu Lu’s complexion was pale as she inquired. Tao Hong was already terrified, shivering as she gathered the blanket closer. In just a month and a half, she felt that the sky had collapsed.

“Write a letter and buy a fast horse for the Grand Monk, Xing Ye, to send it back.”

“The Marquis manor is fine since you can just send a letter to the Old Madam. How about for the Crown Prince? You can’t just say that you had a dream, can you? The Imperial family member is always paranoid. Even if this is over, there is no guarantee that you will not be treated as a demon!” Tao Hong said worriedly.

Tao Hong jumped out of bed and searched for her baoguo,[3] but was dismayed to find that they had no ink and paper. It was the middle of the night, so there was nowhere to buy it and it was not a good idea to bother anyone else.

There was a broom in a corner of the room. Yu Xiang broke the stems off the broom and used a candle to burn them to make dark charcoal. Then, she tore her innerwear and laid it flat on the table. As she wrote, she explained, “My dream is sinful, but Master Ku Hai’s dreams are warnings from Heaven. Don’t forget, he is a divine monk of the Han Dynasty, and his offhanded Buddhism verses can bring countless people to their knees. This matter is urgent, so I will borrow his name for a while. When this matter is over, I will kneel before the temple and beg for his forgiveness.”

It was not that Yu Xiang hadn’t thought of using words with hidden intentions to suggest that the Crown Prince should be more vigilant. However, ‘what lowly people think counts for little’[4] and she was afraid that the Crown Prince would not listen to her. Furthermore, she had seen Ao Ping involved in the matter in her dream. Ao Ping was well regarded by the Crown Prince and Emperor Cheng Kang. If she did not reveal Ao Ping’s true nature, even if she was able to avoid this calamity, the unsuspecting Crown Prince would still fall into his trap. Therefore, there must be no ambiguity in the letter and she must make it clear and unambiguous.

“Do you intend to use Master Ku Hai’s name? That’s indeed a good idea.” Liu Lu let out a huge sigh of relief.

Yu Xiang burned the branches while writing, and within half an hour she had written three letters. She then rolled them into thin strips and hid them in the seams of the baoguo. As the Crown Prince’s manor was filled with people that could leak the news, she was afraid that the letters would be intercepted halfway by someone. Moreover, as the Old Madam had cut all contact with her, she was afraid that she would burn the letters without reading them. Thus, she had to ask the Great Monk to pass all three letters to Shen Yuan Qi to deliver them on her behalf.

In her letter to Shen Yuan Qi, she had made up the excuse for him already. It would definitely not reveal it was her dream in front of the Crown Prince. With Shen Yuan Qi’s assistance, the Marquis manor should be able to avoid this disaster.

Early in the morning, Yu Xiang asked Liu Lu to buy a fast horse and passed the baoguo to the shortest monk to take back to the capital. On the other hand, she was duty-bound to set off into the uncharted Kuoshui Forest without hesitation.

　　—————–

[1] 欲加之罪何患无辞(yùjiāzhīzuì, héhuànwúcí)- He who wants to beat his dog will easily find a stick./If you want to punish someone, you can always find excuses to do so.

[2] 如临大敌(rú lín dà dí)- It is like confronting a mortal enemy/ Be on one’s guard for all possible dangers. It means that a situation that is not very urgent is taken very seriously

[3] 包裹(bāoguǒ)- wrapped up into a bag. It refers to a package wrapped in cloth. The cloth used for wrapping the package is a four-sided piece of cloth in which something is placed in the middle. It is wrapped up and knotted at the opposite corner, and then the other two opposite corners are wrapped and knotted again.

[4] 人微言轻 (rén wēi yán qīng):idiom: in one’s humble position, one’s word does not carry much weight.; the words of the lowly carry little weight.; when a man is in a low position, his words are of little effect. This basically means that words spoken by people of lowly status like her have no credibility