Jinting Han people

Chapter 125 Imperial Prison 4 (k)

On the night when King Sima Wei of Chu committed suicide and Empress Jia and her ministers were awarding their rewards, Prince Anle's son Liu Xian was imprisoned with Liu Song in the Imperial Court.

Although Sima Wei claimed before his suicide that he would give his head to Liu Xian as a credit, it was obvious that the soldiers present were not blind and would not let this credit slip away in vain, so Liu Xian was still a member of the Chu King's faction and a coup suspect.

Fortunately, with Liu Song around, Liu Xian was in a good situation. As the Prince of Shiping's tutor, Liu Xian and Liu Song, the Prince of Shiping's tutor, had a teacher-student relationship.

Even after the King of Chu died, Liu Song remained silent on the road, and neither did Liu Xian. But upon arrival at the imperial prison, Liu Xian was given a relatively clean cell and a generous meal: a plate of carp sashimi, three Hu pancakes, and a dish of pickled vegetables. This was likely Liu Song's arrangement.

However, this could not resist the sad atmosphere in the Imperial Court Prison.

The so-called Tingwei, as the name suggests, "Ting" refers to the imperial court. The Tingwei Imperial Prison was, of course, a special prison for the civil and military officials of the imperial court. However, this referred to the special nature of the prisoners. For the political prisoners housed there, the environment was no different: three cold walls, a cell door, and waiting for others to judge their fate.

This feeling is very unpleasant.

As soon as Liu Xian entered the cell, he heard a group of people crying in their respective cells. There were old people sobbing, children wailing, women scolding, and many people shouting out their injustice.

The jailers were accustomed to this. Apart from a few troublemakers who would be caught and beaten, the rest were left to vent their anger, as if these prisoners were unworthy of attention. However, this was indeed effective. No matter what kind of prisoner they were, after crying for more than half an hour, their voices became hoarse and they had no strength left. Naturally, they would stop howling, and the cell would naturally become quiet.

But it was not truly quiet. The corridors were still filled with low sobs like the sobbing of ghosts, which continued endlessly and broke people's hearts.

That night, after Liu Xian finished his meal and was tidying up the straw in his cell, ready to fall asleep, Chen Yu, the coachman imprisoned with him, could not sleep. Unable to suppress his fear, he asked Liu Xian, "Prince, do you think we will die?"

Liu Xian looked at his panicked face, smiled, and comforted him, "You haven't committed any crime, how could you die?"

But Chen Yu's words broke this consolation. He said stubbornly and fearfully: "But His Highness died in vain..."

The implication is that even Sima Wei cannot guarantee his own safety, let alone the two people who have entered the prison?
"Your Highness is Your Highness, and you are you. You can't generalize."

"But from what I heard just now, it seems that Qi Jun and Gongsun Jun are here, along with their families. Are they planning to exterminate our three clans?"

"I heard they raided the house of the King of Runan, probably intending to annihilate him."

"Then, then... Prince, aren't you afraid?"

Liu Xian remained expressionless. He lay on the haystack and chuckled, "What's the point of being afraid? Little brother, let me tell you, there are many things in this world that can be either feared or enjoyed, but fear can only lead to mistakes, and then worse."

"But sometimes, no matter what people do, it's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, and the end result is failure."

"Ha, since the outcome is the same, why not make yourself feel better?" Liu Xian turned over, rubbed his right arm, and said to the wall, "There are just as many people who die of fright from imprisonment as from beheadings. You might as well get some sleep first. Whether you live or die will be decided later."

After saying this, Liu Xian covered his eyes with his arm and fell asleep. Not long after, Chen Yu could hear his gentle snoring. The Prince of Anle's peaceful snoring comforted Chen Yu somewhat. He thought that he and the Prince of Anle had indeed done nothing wrong, and since the Prince of Anle was related to the Crown Prince, as long as he asked someone to explain things clearly, he should be able to get out...

He thought about it for a while, and in short, there was really nothing else to do except sleep, so he lay down on the haystack and fell into a deep sleep.

Of course, what Chen Yu could not have imagined was that the reason why Liu Xian was so calm was not because he was sure that nothing would happen to him in the imperial prison. On the contrary, Liu Xian was sure that Jia Mi would come to find him the next day.

Sure enough, when Liu Xian woke up and was looking at the white clouds through the window on the cold wall, he heard footsteps outside the prison door.

Then he heard a familiar voice: "Hey, isn't this Liu Xian, the hero who saved the Crown Prince a few months ago? Liu Huai Chong! Why are you in the Imperial Prison today?"

Liu Xian looked back and saw Jia Mi standing in front of the prison door. He was wearing a black gown with bird patterns, holding a folding fan in his hand, and covering his face with it. It was obvious that he didn't like the damp smell of the cell, but just by listening to his tone, Liu Xian knew how presumptuous the smile behind the fan was.

Although he knew that he had offended Jia Mi badly, Liu Xian actually couldn't tell where he ranked among the people Jia Mi hated.

Now, Jia Mi, clearly uncomfortable with the dreadful conditions of the cell, still came to show off in front of him, and he did so quickly. Liu Xian probably understood that even if he couldn't rank first, he would at least be in the top three.

He was secretly amused, so much so that his sorrow for Sima Wei's death was somewhat diluted, so he replied to Jia Mi seriously: "Isn't this all your credit?"

Jia Mi, however, didn't hear the irony. He squinted at Liu Xian with a smug look in his eyes, his eyes gleaming with joy, as if he wanted to etch Liu Xian's disheveled appearance, covered in dirt and grass debris, into his eyes. He said leisurely, "Right, Liu Huai Chong, you should know by now what the consequences are of opposing me, right?"

Without waiting for Liu Xian's reply, he boasted like a student who had won the imperial examination, "Not to mention the useless people like Yang Jun and Sima Liang. Sima Wei, known as the virtuous king, was simply fooled around by me. Famous generals like Wei Guan and Wen Yang would have surrendered if they had encountered our Pingyang Jia family."

"Hehe, now in the court, all the civil and military officials are from our Jia family. Within the four seas, everyone in the world has the surname Jia!"

Liu Xian smiled and said, "That's really cause for celebration."

Only then did Jia Mi realize something was amiss. He hadn't come here so early in the morning to accept Liu Xian's congratulations. What he wanted most now was to see Liu Xian's despair at finding himself in his hands.

Ever since Liu Xian looked at him with such contempt, Jia Mi had always wondered what a frightened Liu Xian would look like. Would he burst into tears? Would he kneel down and beg for mercy? The thought of that scene made Jia Mi tremble with excitement.

But what he didn't expect was that even in such a dangerous moment, Liu Xian was still the same as always and could still smile.

Jia Mi couldn't help but continue to laugh, "How can you still laugh? Do you know what's going to happen next?"

“What happens next?”

"I promised you that one day, I would gouge out your eyes, tear out your mouth, break your limbs, and make you bark in front of me like a dog!"

"Oh!" Liu Xian suddenly realized and clapped his hands on his knees, saying, "I remember you, Duke Lu, mentioned something like this!"

"Still trying to be brave in front of me, aren't you afraid?"

Liu Xian said calmly, "It would be a lie to say I'm not afraid, but I've recently become disabled. My knees and waist can't bend, so I can't ask for mercy from Duke Lu. Please forgive me." With these words, Jia Mi's face suddenly brightened like a crabapple. He noticed that although Liu Xian was always agreeing with Jia Mi, his tone didn't sound like he was speaking to a victor, but rather like he was talking to an unreasonable child, with an adult helplessly saying yes.

He clearly had absolute control, yet Liu Xian sat in his cell, one arm missing, leaning against the wall, looking up at Jia Mi from a slightly tilted angle. Yet, not only could he smile, but judging by his tone, Liu Xian seemed quite satisfied, as if, in this environment, his personality remained superior, and speaking to Jia Mi was a form of almsgiving.

When Jia Mi realized this and saw Liu Xian's smile again, his anger instantly became like a raging fire across a barren plain, and it was out of control.

In Liu Xian's view, Jia Mi's smile was arrogant and sarcastic, but what he didn't know was that in Jia Mi's eyes, his smile was ten thousand times more arrogant and sarcastic.

Jia Mi forced himself to remain as calm as Liu Xian, but his eyes narrowed like two twisted venomous snakes. He sneered, "Liu Huai Chong, I'm afraid you don't understand your situation!"

"Situation?"

"I know you're still harboring hope, thinking that since you didn't participate in the coup, you can wash your hands of Sima Wei's affairs. The court cannot punish you without guilt."

Liu Xian looked at Jia Mi with great interest, and then heard him say, "You're right, but what does it matter?"

"Many things don't matter whether there are reasons or not; it's just a pure competition for power."

"Now my aunt is the regent, the true emperor of the current Jin Dynasty. I can let you live if I want you to, and I can let you die if I want you to."

Liu Xian exclaimed in admiration, "Oh! Duke Lu is truly remarkable!"

"This reminds me of the amazing snail that exists in the world.

"It is said that when it is young, it can roam the vast ocean. Although the four seas are vast, no waves can stop it. When it reaches adulthood, it will rise up with the wind and soar up to 90,000 miles. Looking up, it can almost reach the same height as the sun, and looking down, the mountains of Kyushu are all at its feet."

"Does Duke Lu know how this snail did it?"

Jia Mi was confused and frowned, "What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't this Kunpeng from Zhuangzi? What does it have to do with a snail? How can a snail be so great?"

Liu Xian laughed and said, "What if it was a snail born on Kunpeng's back? Compared to other snails, it's really amazing!"

Jia Mi was stunned at first, then flew into a rage. Liu Xian's metaphor was a stab in Jia Mi's spine. He compared the Jia family to a parasitic snail and the Jin Dynasty to Kunpeng, undoubtedly attacking Jia Mi for being useless except for his good birth.

When had Jia Mi ever been mocked like this? Liu Xian had previously dislocated his arm, and the pain had been no more than this. Because Liu Xian's metaphor was so perfect, even Jia Mi himself couldn't refute it.

Furious, Jia Mi wanted to charge in with his sword and chop Liu Xian to pieces. But remembering Liu Xian's previous fame, he hesitated. His face twisted as he moved forward and backward, his former charm gone, leaving only pure malevolence and hideousness.

Jia Mi almost gnashed his teeth and asked, "So, you are seeking your own death?"

Liu Xian shrugged and said, "Everyone wants to live. If possible, please, Duke Lu, give me a way out."

"Ha! You also want to beg for mercy?" Jia Mi laughed out loud at this indifferent reply, which made people's hair stand on end. Then he stopped abruptly and shouted angrily, "What a pity! It's too late!"

"When I came here, I planned to be a tolerant person. As long as you say a few nice words to me and kowtow to me sincerely, I will give you a chance to reform and become my lackey again."

Liu Xian raised his eyebrows and asked, "Opportunity?"

"Yes, an opportunity!" Jia Mi stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Liu Xian's injured right arm, and said, "You should have guessed that what happened in the East Palace that night was tacitly approved by my aunt."

Liu Xian understood. He had guessed then that Yang Ji's successful attack on the Eastern Palace was likely due to the Empress's involvement, and now it seemed to be true. After all, in the current court, if the Emperor was unable to handle government affairs, then according to patriarchal law, the regent power must be either the Empress or the Crown Prince. Since Empress Jia was so obsessed with power, the Crown Prince was a thorn in her side.

Jia Mi continued, "You're really good. Yang Ji has been raising elite soldiers for so long, and he even brought in a strong man from the Xue family in Hedong, yet you only managed to cripple one of your arms."

"Now that you have the Crown Prince's trust, my original plan was that if you were willing to surrender to me and give false testimony against the Crown Prince's rebellion, I might forgive you and let you go. But now it seems you are headed down a dead end."

At this point, Jia Mi suddenly clapped his hands and said, "I understand, Liu Huai Chong, you are not dreaming, asking the prince to help you at this time, right?"

He couldn't help but sneered again: "The prince is a cold-blooded man. From childhood to adulthood, everything he does is airtight. Do you think he will offend my aunt for you?"

"Just sit there for the rest of your life. I want to see who dares to offend me and get you out of here after I give you my death order."

Jia Mi was very satisfied with his words. Such oppressive words made him almost think that he had regained the initiative and made Liu Xian panic.

But as soon as he looked into Liu Xian's eyes, he was immediately overwhelmed with frustration. He only read mockery in them, which made him as sick as the smell of the cell.

Jia Mi couldn't stand it any longer. He turned sideways and prepared to leave, but after taking two steps he stopped and turned back and said, "I'll give you some fun. I'll come back to see you in a month to see if you, this stubborn person, will show your ugly side."

Then he walked away quickly.

After watching Jia Mi disappear, Liu Xian stood up and patted Chen Yu, who was standing beside him. The young man had witnessed the entire incident and was now terrified, his face pale and trembling. As soon as Liu Xian touched him, he started, tears streaming down his face. He cried, "Prince, are we doomed?"

Logically speaking, he should be dead.

Liu Xian smiled bitterly. He had originally wanted to stay out of it, but the moment he realized Empress Jia's complete victory, he knew this was probably the greatest challenge he had ever faced. But he had no choice but to avoid it, and he couldn't rely entirely on himself.

Maybe this time, he really has to believe in fate.

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(End of this chapter)