Jinting Han people

Chapter 108 Accident (4k)

When Liu Xian and Jiang Tong hurried back to the East Palace, it was almost the afternoon. The number of guards along the way had gradually increased. According to the time, the King of Chu should have been in the palace for two hours. If everything went well, the coup would be officially launched at the hour of Xu today, which would be when it was completely dark.

To ensure the safety of his family, Liu Xian had already instructed Ah Luo, Liu Yao, Fei Xiu, and the others not to leave their homes for the next few days, not to act rashly, and to obey all orders from the imperial court. While he hadn't explicitly stated what would happen, the implication that something major was about to happen was clear. The family had wisely stayed home, stockpiling about a month's worth of food so they could stay indoors for an extended period if anything were to happen.

Most of the other powerful families who knew about this also did the same thing, so it was visible to the naked eye that there were fewer pedestrians on the streets that day, and especially fewer carriages.

However, Liu Xian never expected that at this critical moment, Princess Yingchuan would actually come to the Eastern Palace.

Didn't Wang Cui tell his wife the truth? Didn't anyone from the Marquis of Xiangyang's residence stop them? Were the princess and the crown prince familiar with each other before? In the year between entering the Guangling Palace and moving to the Eastern Palace, the princess seemed to have only visited Sima Yi four times. Compared to her usual seven or eight-day visit to the Shiping Palace, the relationship between Sima Xiuhua and Sima Yi couldn't be described as unfamiliar.

But she came today, crying her eyes out. This was the first time Liu Xian had seen her in the four years he had been seeing her.

Sima Xiuhua wasn't a woman as breathtakingly beautiful as Lu Zhu. Charming wasn't her thing, and she didn't have the gentle, elegant, and virtuous wifely qualities of Ah Luo. If I had to sum her up, it would be simplicity. This simplicity was incredibly powerful when she smiled, and even more so when she cried.

When a woman cries in front of others, whether intentionally or not, she often stops and glances at the person in front of her. Even when her tears have dried up, she pretends to be tearful. Then she mutters something so long and difficult to understand that the listener is completely confused. Finally, she suddenly says, "You don't know how to care for a woman."

Their focus lies in the last sentence: they hope to exploit their own softness to achieve victory in love. And this victory can't be immediate. Even if someone gives in to tears right away, they'll continue to torment them, pretending they've won this victory after countless hardships. While this approach is certainly effective, it can also easily annoy people, as it comes across as too mercenary.

In comparison, Xiuhua's crying was simply crying. When she cried, it seemed as if the world was empty and she was the only one left soaking in the boundless ocean, longing for her mother like a newborn baby.

She cried loudly to Sima Yi, "Shram, Fifth Brother (Sima Wei) has changed! I went to find him, but he ignored me!"

Sima Yi looked at his aunt helplessly and said, "Fifth Uncle has something important to do today and is too busy to come!"

"He's never been too busy before!" Xiu Hua couldn't stop crying. "And my ninth brother, thirteenth brother, fifteenth brother, and sixteenth brother, none of them want to see me!"

"Shamen, is it because my father died and I got married that I am no longer a daughter of the Sima family?!"

When she said this, Xiu Hua covered her face with her sleeves, and her tears wet her sleeves, making her look even more charming.

Sima Yi couldn't stand this and repeatedly tried to comfort her, "Auntie, how could that be! No matter what, you are the daughter of the late emperor, Shamen's aunt! Not to mention the late emperor's death, even when I ascend the throne, you will still be the princess of the Great Jin!"

At this time, he saw Liu Xian and Jiang Tong coming back, and quickly exchanged glances with them, saying, "Huai Chong, aren't you familiar with my aunt? What music does she like to listen to? Play it quickly."

Liu Xian did know this, and he quickly asked the accompanying musicians to set up their music, and then quietly played the Yuefu "Love Poem" written by Zhang Hua:
"There is a beautiful lady in the north, who sits upright, playing drums and harps. She plays the strings all morning and evening, but no sound is made.

Worry comes and the knot is unresolved, I think of what I admire. The gentleman seeks the time for service, while the concubine harbors a bitter heart.

At first we were apart for three years, and now we have been together for a long time. In the past, when Ye Sheng had windows and doors, the courtyard would be shaded by itself.

The birds fly and sing, the insects sing in harmony. My heart is sad and easily grateful, and I look up and down with tears streaming down my face.

I wish to rely on the morning breeze’s wings, and to tie my belt to serve as my clothes and quilt.”

The music is like an endless stream of sorrow, which makes people's hearts as cold as snow. Although it cannot make people happy, it can make those who are crying empathize with them, and gradually condense into white drops of dew, as if the sadness is also dripping away.

This was the song Xiuhua had loved listening to while at the Prince of Shiping's mansion. Hearing it again now, and seeing Liu Xian there, her sobs finally subsided. She felt a little embarrassed in front of her brother's old subordinate. After all, she had never cried in front of Liu Xian before, even at the Prince of Shiping's mansion.

Liu Xian smiled at her, then, in the style he had played in the palace before, took out his bamboo flute and played the song "Mulberry on the Road" for her. Listening to the melodious flute, Xiuhua seemed to have returned to the days of a few years ago, and the tears on her pretty face gradually dried.

Sima Yi then arranged for someone to bring a basin of water and asked the princess to wash her face and hands in public. After a simple wash, Xiuhua became the pure and lovely girl she used to be.

It was already dinner time, so Sima Yi simply summoned all the officials still in the Eastern Palace. Dozens of them gathered in the main hall, enjoying the music and their meal. The meal consisted of beef that the Crown Prince had personally slaughtered. The palace maids roasted the raw meat over charcoal while the freshly roasted meat, sprinkled with dogwood and pepper, was brought in. Everyone feasted with relish.

It was only at this time that Sima Yi asked the princess why she had entered the palace: "Auntie, something important happened today. How could Wang Cui let you out?"

"Big deal? What big deal?" The princess pouted, puzzled. "Many people told me that something big was going to happen today and that I shouldn't wander around, but they just wouldn't tell me what it was!"

"My husband also told me so. I asked him, and he told me that it was a world-shaking event. It's the same as if he didn't say anything! I just want to see my fifth brother, what's the big deal?"

"So when he went to meet the fifth brother, I secretly followed him!"

"But I never imagined that when I arrived at the gate, my fifth and ninth brothers wouldn't see me and refused to let me in! It broke my heart! I wandered around the city and didn't want to go home... so I came to see you, Samana!"

Everyone in the palace looked at each other in bewilderment: Wang Cui had made it quite obvious, but the princess didn't understand. Should we say she was too naive? Or too ignorant?
Sima Yi naturally changed the subject and said, "Why don't you want to go home, little aunt?"

"Is Wang Cui treating my aunt badly? Tell me if you have any grievances, and I will send someone to teach him a lesson immediately!"

The princess was about to cry again when she talked about the sad things, but when she heard these words, she quickly stopped Sima Yi and sobbed, "He...he...didn't treat me badly..."

"Impossible! I can see that my aunt was so sad when she came here, and it was definitely not just because of Uncle Wu and the others!"

"He, he is very good to me..." Xiu Hua said with his head down, "But, but he is too good to me. There are many things I can't say to him..."

"And... in the final analysis... it's actually me who doesn't like him. It's my fault..."

Alas, Liu Xian couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. He had actually long had a premonition that Wang Cui and the princess weren't a good match. After all, between husband and wife, between men and women, and even between friends, the most important relationship was equality. One couldn't be so high and mighty while the other was so humble.

Humble people often give too much but receive little in return, while arrogant people find it difficult to find spiritual comfort. Instead, they feel constrained and afraid to expose their flaws and shortcomings. This leads to the two people becoming increasingly uncomfortable with each other, ultimately ending up with only superficial harmony and a marital disharmony.

The most important thing in a normal relationship between husband and wife is adjustment and complementarity. Before they meet, they may be two incompatible pieces of wood, each with thorns and corners, but under the polishing of marriage, the equal parties will become a pair of mortise and tenon that are difficult to separate. Even the defects of themselves or the other party will become the hooks that connect them in the marriage.

But at the moment, Wang Cui and Xiu Hua obviously have not started this process yet.

Sima Yi was clearly stuck. He was only fourteen, and as the crown prince, he played with women on a daily basis, but they were all palace maids of low status, so he didn't have to put much thought into it. Faced with this situation, he couldn't say anything useful to comfort his aunt. He couldn't just go along with Xiu Hua and break up. In the end, Liu Xian had to smooth things over. He said to Wang Dun, "Chu Zhong, the princess loves to watch sword dances. I heard you're pretty good with the sword. Would you like to perform a bit in public?"

Wang Dun rolled his eyes and said bluntly, "I can sword dance, but my sword dance is only for my wife to see. I believe the princess will understand."

Like Wang Cui, Wang Dun was also a duwei of the imperial son-in-law. He had married Princess Wuyang Sima Xiuwei five years ago. According to seniority, he was Xiuhua's brother-in-law.

Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard this. Sima Yi also said to Sima Xiuhua: "Auntie, everything will be fine after a while."

"really?"

"Seriously! If my aunt is unhappy about anything, or if my uncle has something else to do, my aunt is always welcome here!"

"Alas..." Xiuhua sighed upon hearing this. She said dejectedly, "Shamen, you have changed too. You have become more manly."

"My father passed away. My fifth and ninth brothers have also changed... It seems that I am the only one who has not changed..."

"Sramana, do you think the happy days of the past will never return?"

Sima Yi couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "Auntie, how can you say that? If life were unchanging, how boring it would be! The happy days of the past may not come back, but you still have happy days in the future. As long as you are happy, isn't that enough?"

As they spoke, dark had already fallen. Though the palace was still filled with the sounds of peaceful music, outside the Eastern Palace, silence had gradually subsided. Standing on the highest platform in the Eastern Palace, one could see the twinkling lights of Luoyang, like the vast starry sky above. The pure white moonlight had already shone down, casting a silvery river across the small lake in front of the palace.

Liu Xian estimated that it should be about time.

Sure enough, a resounding horn suddenly rang out in the darkness, like waves caressing the beach, silencing all other sounds beneath the veil of darkness. The horn's sound surged, howled, and surged, like a rough north wind, laden with dust and sand, yet imbued with unwavering power and a chilling murderous aura.

When the horn finally ended, the entire Luoyang city had fallen into silence. Although all the lights were still on, everyone held their breath, at a loss. It seemed that the horn sound was still echoing in the air, but if you listened carefully, the only sound in the air was the tiny sound of floating dust.

But everything has changed.

The sound of the trumpet was the signal for the palace guards to declare martial law.

Within a quarter of an hour, a knight from the palace galloped to the Eastern Palace and announced the imperial decree directly to Sima Yi: "Yang Jun is plotting a rebellion! The King of Chu is going to punish this traitor! Martial law is in effect throughout the city! The Crown Prince is in charge of the military operations of the Eastern Palace, and the guards are forbidden to move rashly!"

After reading it, the man handed the imperial edict to Sima Yi and whispered, "I still have to pass the edict outside the city. I would like to trouble you, Prince, to take good care of yourself."

Has it finally begun? Liu Xian watched the knight walk away, feeling a sense of emotion. Although he had been responsible for many of the preparations for the coup in the early stages, he couldn't participate in the most important part of it now. This made him feel relieved, but also a little regretful.

Crown Prince Sima Yi, holding the imperial edict, said to his staff in a somewhat bored tone, "Your Majesty has asked me to take charge of the military affairs of the Eastern Palace. What do you think should be done?"

Wang Dun tried to get the matter over with. He said, "This doesn't concern us in the first place. We should just inform the commanders of the left and right guards and the four thousand guards in the palace about the citywide martial law. They must not leave without permission until it's over. That's it. What else can we do?"

Most of the other bureaucrats actually held the same opinion. In their view, although tonight's events seemed tense, it was just a matter of staying overnight in the East Palace.

But Liu Xian objected, saying, "Since the imperial edict has ordered Your Highness to take charge of the military affairs of the Eastern Palace, you must do your job well, even if it's just superficial work, so as not to give others any handle to use against you."

"At the very least, Your Highness must personally summon the palace guards of rank nine and above, explain the reasons behind the Grand Tutor's rebellion, and issue them orders, ordering them to strictly guard the palace gates, patrol back and forth, and gather intelligence to prevent any unforeseen events."

When Liu Xian said these words, he actually hadn't thought clearly about what kind of crisis the Eastern Palace would encounter. After all, according to Meng Guan's plan, the Three Yangs could not target the Eastern Palace, and among the other forces, there were indeed many people who were hostile to the prince, but at this time, it would not be a good time to attack.

But Liu Xian always felt that he had missed something, and this missed part would lead to a huge crisis.

But this couldn't convince the others. As expected, Wang Dun laughed and said, "What could possibly happen?"

Liu Xian could only analyze: "If His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu encounters setbacks in his campaign against the rebels, and chaos breaks out in the capital, and someone takes advantage of the situation, something unexpected will happen..."

However, apart from the support of Liu Qiao, the Prince's groom, most people still disagreed, including Sima Yi. Fortunately, he respected all opinions and said to Wang Dun: "It's not good to be too loose, and it's not good to be too complicated. Let me compromise."

"Chu Zhong, pick out five hundred palace guards. They must be trustworthy and have no connection to Yang Ji. Have them stand guard in front of my palace today!"

"Zhongyan, Yingyuan, go to the high platform and observe the situation to the west. If there is any movement, Yingyuan will report to me, and Zhongyan, you go find reinforcements."

"Huai Chong, don't be so nervous. Come, play another song for me and my aunt."

After that, Sima Yi sat cross-legged on the chair and asked Sima Xiuhua in a leisurely manner: "Auntie, are you sleepy? I can arrange a bed for you in advance."

Sima Xiuhua finally woke up from her dream. She had been listening to the discussions of the emperor and his ministers in the Eastern Palace in a daze, not knowing what changes had taken place in her peaceful life. But now, she knew.

It turned out to be a coup d'état. And in this coup d'état in the dark night, many famous and unknown people would die together.

Xiuhua was a little nervous and even a little scared. He asked the prince in a low voice, "Shram, will everything really be alright?"

Sima Yi smiled and said, "It's really okay."

Logically, this should be the case. However, there are so many contradictory truths in the world that people will never understand why a truth that works one moment can be replaced by another completely contradictory truth the next.

That's what happened tonight.

About a quarter of an hour later, when fire started to rise in the west of Luoyang City, the East Palace encountered its second accident.

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(End of this chapter)