Jinting Han people

In the dream, there was nothing but pain all over my body, first in my right shoulder, then my left shoulder, right arm, forehead, chest... It felt like all the wounds I had suffered since birth were throbbing. My eyes felt as heavy as lead, and I had no strength to open them.

But after the pain came confusion, the soul adrift in a desolate, dark ocean, lost and adrift. The surroundings were sometimes frighteningly hot, as if one were in flames, and sometimes so cold that one would shiver, as if one were in a frozen wasteland.

The only thing his remaining consciousness remembered was constantly asking himself, "Is your blood going to drain away like this? Is your life really going to end like this? Try a little harder, you're someone who can overcome any difficulty. As long as your head hasn't been cut off, you'll definitely be able to take control of your own destiny!"
So, I used my consciousness to try to understand my body: Where is my head? Where are my hands and feet? How am I breathing? How is my blood circulating?

Liu Xian finally felt his heart still beating. However, compared to before, his heart was now incredibly weak, as if each beat was a struggle before it stopped. Apart from that, Liu Xian couldn't feel anything else. It was as if his body consisted only of this heart; his limbs, torso, head... everything else had disappeared.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but all Liu Xian felt was a soft, floating sensation; he had absolutely no strength left in his body. He asked himself, "Am I alive? Or am I already dead? Or am I somewhere between life and death?"
In a daze, it seemed that my soul was gradually dissolving into the boundless darkness.

But in the moment when his consciousness was fading, he heard a voice that sounded just like his own say in the darkness: "Don't panic, this is just the beginning."

Upon hearing these words, his consciousness completely returned to darkness.

After what seemed like an eternity of calm, Liu Xian's consciousness returned. At this moment, he finally regained his physical senses; the blood pumping from his heart seemed to have finally found its way through his body, connecting his hands, feet, and internal organs.

This gave him some strength, and after a long period of confusion, Liu Xian found that he could open his eyes again, although it was very difficult.

In a daze, the first thing that came into view was a cluster of black dots, like countless fireflies dancing in his brain. He also experienced a persistent tinnitus that lasted for a long time before dissipating. Only then could Liu Xian see where he was.

It was late at night, and he was on a couch in a bedroom. The room was empty, the doors and windows were closed, and only a brazier was burning quietly in front of the couch. The mottled walls formed all sorts of ghostly illusions in the firelight, as if countless ghosts were moving in the dark.

Liu Xian felt his body was still cold, and his right shoulder was itchy. He instinctively wondered, what time is it? Are my family alright? How is Sima Yu? Should I go to my appointment? Thinking this, he struggled to get up, but as soon as he put his right hand to work, a sharp, piercing pain shot through his right shoulder bone. Stimulated by the excruciating pain, Liu Xian groaned and fainted again.

This time, however, his consciousness was not completely unconscious, but remained in a shallow state. He could hear some whispers floating above his head, which seemed to be several women talking in hushed tones.

A disgruntled voice said, "Hey, isn't this guy afraid of dying? His wound was just bandaged up, how did he tear it open again?"

Then a mature woman said, "Who knows? This man is a madman. He came covered in blood, it was terrifying! According to the soldiers who were chasing him, he apparently killed someone in the street and was chased for three blocks before running to our mansion."

Another delicate voice exclaimed in alarm, "Ah? Why did Your Highness take him in? And why do you want us to take care of him? Aren't you afraid something might happen?"

A mature voice said, "Huh? You don't recognize him?"

"I accompany His Highness in the inner chambers every day; how could I have ever seen any outsiders?"

"He's Liu Xian, the study companion of His Highness the Prince of Chu, and also the Crown Prince's favorite..."

"Oh, so it was him..." the delicate voice seemed to understand, and said, "Isn't he the General Who Pacifies Bandits? How did he get into this state?"

The first voice replied, "Why even think about it? His Highness the Crown Prince is imprisoned now. He's a henchman of the Crown Prince; how can he stand idly by?"

The Crown Prince has been imprisoned! Upon hearing this, Liu Xian tried to open his eyes to ask something, but it was clear that he had exhausted the strength he had accumulated during his previous slumber. He was now too weak to open his eyes and could only return to the void of the ocean, falling back into stillness.

This period of unconsciousness was exceptionally long, but in the depths of his being, it seemed as if someone was whispering and sobbing against his face, their tears falling onto his cheeks, giving him a warm, dreamlike sensation.

When he awoke again, it was daytime once more. The charcoal fire in the brazier beside him was still burning, but it was rather weak; apart from a faint red glow, only a slight heat wave proved its existence. But mostly, there was the white light from outside. The dazzling white light shone into the room through the paper window, carrying a chilling aura, seemingly dyeing the entire room white as well.

Even though he was far from the window and couldn't see the view outside clearly, Liu Xian could roughly guess that it was the reflection of the snow, and that it must have snowed again.

However, unlike when I woke up last time, there was another person in the room this time.

An elegantly dressed woman lay on a table, seemingly taking a nap. She buried her face in her slender arms, her hair, adorned with pearl hairpins, rising and falling gently with her breath. The white light shone on her, highlighting her graceful figure and her fair, full skin, giving her a soft glow. Her purple and green double-layered dress, which had been dazzling and opulent, now seemed like frozen water.

Liu Xian felt that she was somewhat familiar, yet also somewhat unfamiliar. But he didn't have time to think too much. He had been lying on the couch for too long, and he felt stiff all over. When he tried to move slightly, a piercing pain shot through his right shoulder again, causing him to groan involuntarily.

The noise startled the woman from her dream. She looked up, revealing a sorrowful yet charming face. Seeing Liu Xian awake, she was slightly delighted. She quickly walked to the bedside and whispered to Liu Xian, "Don't move. Your wound has been bandaged. As long as you rest and relax, you will get better."

The voice sounded so familiar to Liu Xian. He looked up and met the young face of the person in the room. He was surprised to find that the person taking care of him in the room was actually Princess Yingchuan, Sima Xiuhua.

Xiu Hua noticed Liu Xian's surprise, but she didn't explain much. Instead, she went straight out to call for medical help. When she returned, in addition to the medical staff, her friend Wang Cui had also arrived.

The physician reached out to check Liu Xian's temperature and listened to his pulse for a while. He said to him, "Although your pulse is still weak, your yang energy has stabilized, so it is weak but not chaotic. As long as you take more medicine to replenish your qi and blood, you will get better. However, the most important thing is to rest quietly for a long time."

After the medical staff packed up their medical kits and left, Wang Cui rubbed her chest and sat down, hanging her fox fur coat aside. She then said to Liu Xian with a wry smile, "Huai Chong, you've really given me a fright these past few days. When you first arrived, you had a fever the whole time. Just when we thought you were getting better, you reopened your wound, keeping us running around taking care of you. You've really been a worry!"

Looking at his friend's worried eyes, Liu Xian felt a surge of gratitude and hurriedly replied, panting, "I'm so sorry to have troubled you, Hongyuan... In my panic, I didn't know where to run... Of all the houses around, yours was the closest, and I trusted you, so I came here." At first, Liu Xian's speech was a bit slow, but gradually, he felt his throat ease and his speech became more natural.

Wang Cui hurriedly asked, "What exactly happened? How did you get chased?"

Liu Xian sighed, "That's a long story..."

He said in a self-deprecating tone, "Simply put, I wanted to eliminate some variables and ensure that the political situation was still under my control. So I planned to ambush Zhao Wang's chief secretary, Sun Xiu. I didn't expect that he would be able to foresee my thoughts and even plotted to ambush me. I was too clever for my own good."

"Sun Xiu?" Wang Cui was somewhat puzzled. After pondering for a moment, he asked in return, "That night you ran to my house, and the Imperial Guards came to arrest you. I thought it was the Empress who sent people to kill you! So it was Sun Xiu who could have done it?"

Liu Xian was speechless. It seemed his friend wasn't deeply involved in politics. These days, where were the Imperial Guards who would purely obey the Empress's orders? But it was precisely because of this that Liu Xian trusted Wang Cui. He didn't want to discuss this topic further and instead asked:
"Hongyuan, forget about all that for now, just tell me, what time is it?"

"Time? It's 11:45 AM now. Are you hungry? Lunch is in half an hour." Wang Cui didn't understand Liu Xian's meaning and said with a smile, "Now that you're awake, I'll make you a bowl of meat porridge later."

Liu Xian shook his head and said, "Hongyuan, what I'm asking is, how many days have passed since I came here?"

"So that's what you were asking about." Wang Cui scratched the back of his head and recalled, "You've indeed been resting for quite a long time. Today is already the first month of the first year of Yongkang, Dingyou day."

Yongkang was the new era name that was decided half a year ago, which meant that Liu Xian stayed in the Marquis of Xiangyang's residence for a full six days.

Sure enough! Liu Xian felt dizzy; he had been unconscious for so long, and he had missed his plan with Sima Yu! He quickly asked:
"What's the situation outside? Has something major happened?"

Wang Cui looked troubled. He glanced at Xiu Hua standing to the side, then lowered his head and said to Liu Xian, "Huai Chong, the situation has indeed been very volatile these past few days. It's hard to figure out what's going on. I can't see clearly what's happening either."

"In the end what happened?"

"The Crown Prince... he has already been deposed..."

"He's been crippled..." Although he had already guessed the outcome, Liu Xian still found it hard to accept when he actually heard Wang Cui say it. His tone lowered, and he still pressed for an answer:
"Tell me exactly what happened.

Wang Cui then slowly introduced Liu Xian to her.

It turned out that the day after Liu Xian was ambushed, the Empress suddenly sent an order to the Eastern Palace, saying that the Emperor was unwell and might have fallen ill suddenly. Therefore, she wanted to summon the Crown Prince to the palace to prepare for the succession.

This wasn't the first time the Empress had summoned the Crown Prince to the palace, but Sima Yu, to ensure his own safety, had always ignored it, remaining steadfastly seated in the Eastern Palace regardless of the Empress's orders. This time, however, the Empress issued the order in front of a large audience of hundreds. They clearly heard the edict stating that the Emperor was unwell and was considering abdication.

With a coup imminent, everyone in the Eastern Palace believed this was a signal: the Empress, knowing she had no other way out, had finally decided to relinquish power.

In this way, Sima Yu could no longer refuse to enter the palace. However, in order to prevent the empress from setting an ambush, he also made two preparations. He entered the palace himself first, and at the same time ordered Jiang Tong to inform the various imperial guards he had previously recruited that if he could not return on time, they should immediately launch a palace coup.

As he had predicted, after the Empress summoned the Crown Prince to the palace, she first forced him to drink alcohol, and then made him copy a treasonous document, which read:

"Your Majesty should take matters into your own hands; if you do not, I will take matters into your own hands. The Empress should also take matters into her own hands quickly; if she does not, I will take matters into my own hands. Together with Consort Xie, we must set a date and proceed accordingly, without hesitation or doubt, lest it lead to future troubles. We will live like animals under the three celestial bodies, and Heaven will grant us permission to eliminate this scourge, establish Daowen as King, and Jiang as the Inner Ruler. If this is accomplished, we will offer sacrifices to the Northern Lord and grant a general amnesty. This petition must be in accordance with the law."

This was a document that could lead to accusations. If Sima Yu didn't copy it, he would be arrested on the spot for filial impiety. But if he did copy it, it would be a serious crime of treason, and his mother, wives, concubines, and children would all suffer along with him.

How could Sima Yu not know how to deal with it? He pretended to be too drunk and deliberately copied the document in a mess, like a scribble. Some characters were missing, such as missing strokes or lines, and the sentences were also incomplete.

Upon seeing the document, the Empress knew that Sima Yu could not be convicted, so she immediately ordered Pan Yue, a court official, to imitate the Crown Prince's handwriting and make a new copy for him.

The two sides had now officially broken off relations, and Sima Yu naturally left immediately. The Empress, on the other hand, immediately summoned all the officials of the three provinces and showed them the so-called "Crown Prince's letter."

Those present were all supporters of the Empress Dowager; how could they not approve? The process was completed in the three provinces that very day, and an order was issued to depose the Crown Prince and arrest all of his relatives.

The news shocked the entire city of Luoyang. Firstly, the Empress's explanation was utterly absurd; almost no one could believe her evidence, while her previous decree to deceive the Crown Prince was undeniable. Secondly, given the Crown Prince's power, he certainly wouldn't sit idly by; if things escalated to direct confrontation and fratricide, what would become of him?
But what happened next was even more unexpected. After the Crown Prince returned to the Eastern Palace, he failed to gather any imperial guards, and even the Crown Prince's personal guards, who were directly under the Eastern Palace, made no move.

When Yu Chijie arrived at the Eastern Palace to deliver the imperial edict, the entire Crown Prince's faction, which had previously caused such a stir in the city, seemed to have vanished into thin air. Apart from the civil officials of the Eastern Palace, none were present. Moreover, the dozen or so princes and dozens of dukes throughout the city, upon learning of this chaotic decree, turned a blind eye and watched helplessly as the Crown Prince was isolated and without support.

According to the person involved, faced with such a terrible betrayal, Crown Prince Sima Yu showed no anger whatsoever. Instead, he seemed relieved, took off his crown prince robes, and changed into commoner's clothes. He smiled calmly, waved goodbye to the people of the Eastern Palace, and said:
"Forget it, I won't fight it anymore. I knew it would turn out this way. I'm free now, so I won't trouble everyone anymore. Let them fight it out, and I wish everyone can get what they want!"

After saying this, he hummed an unknown tune, leisurely wrote a letter of divorce and farewell to the Crown Princess, then walked out of the Chenghua Gate of the East Palace, boarded a rough ox-drawn prison cart, and was taken to Jinyong City for imprisonment.

Although it's unclear why things have developed to this point, it doesn't stop everyone from knowing that Sima Yu's death is not far off. (End of Chapter)