Jinting Han people

Chapter 317 The Flames of Doomsday

When news of Sima Yu's death reached Luoyang, it was already the Dingmao day of the third month, a full nine days later than Sun Xiu had predicted.

This caused the coup plan to be delayed again and again, and many people had doubts: Had the empress changed her mind? Or had something happened to the deposed crown prince in Xuchang? But fortunately, the news of his death finally came, which relieved all the forces in Luoyang.

Then it was time for all parties to put on a show.

Upon learning of Sima Yu's death, the Empress immediately sent a memorial to the Ministry of Personnel, drafted by Pan Yue. She declared that although the deposed Crown Prince had committed a heinous crime, he was still the Emperor's own flesh and blood, and his sudden death in Xuchang filled even her with profound sorrow and grief. Therefore, she was willing to bestow upon him a grand funeral, granting him his former title of Prince of Guangling.

Then she issued an edict in the emperor's name, approving her memorial, and even went so far as to praise herself, claiming to be "deeply virtuous as a mother," which was truly laughable.

Meanwhile, on the very day the news of the deposed crown prince's death was confirmed, Sun Xiu again sent messages to all parties, confirming that the coup would be officially launched the following day, on the night of the Wuchen day of the third month of the first year of Yuan Kang. Sun Xiu would use the burning of the Ximing Gate as a signal to begin the coup.

Now, it's time for the final preparations.

After Sun Xiu sent out the message, the once bustling and chaotic city of Luoyang fell silent with an incredible speed. Various factions busied themselves with final preparations for the coup. However, nominally, they were mourning the deposed crown prince. Within half a day, Luoyang was completely covered by a vast expanse of white banners, as if spring had instantly turned into winter, and an unbelievable blizzard had struck.

Upon learning the news, Liu Xian sighed deeply. But the die was cast, and there was nothing he could do to change it. His current power in Luoyang was far too weak; since he couldn't save them, he could only fulfill his duty and seek revenge.

So he set up a memorial tablet for Sima Yu in the backyard of the general's mansion, led his staff to pay their respects, and then began to serve as his subordinate.

The task of confiscating the property was straightforward. He told Fu Chang, "Shidao, go to the Imperial Guard and select the most trustworthy unit. Tomorrow at noon, lead the troops directly to the west of the city and wait for my message at Baima Temple."

He then said to Huan Yi, "Maolun, take twenty men and go to the west of the city to investigate the Golden Valley Garden. If you find anything unusual there, report back to me immediately."

Then he said to Xi Jian, "Dao Hui, for the next two days, you will stay in the manor and keep a close eye on the situation in the city. Once the princes make their move, close the manor gates and do not let anyone in until the matter is over!"

This completes the preparations for attacking Jingu Garden. In contrast, the preparations for escape were far more detailed.

After everyone left, Liu Xian summoned Zhuge Yan and Li Sheng.

He first instructed Li Sheng:

"Binshuo, according to the plan, you will contact Sun Xiu later and say that I have no other requests. I do not want any of the spoils from the search of Jingu Garden. I only hope to be appointed as the governor of Liangzhou."

"If he doesn't agree, just say that I've already contacted His Highness Prince Qi. If he doesn't agree to my request, after the Empress Dowager's faction is destroyed, I will switch allegiance to Prince Qi and oppose him to the very end!"

After Li Sheng agreed, he then said to Zhuge Yan:
"Nan Rong, go and contact the Prince of Huainan today and tell him that I plan to leave Luoyang the day after tomorrow night. Ask him to send someone to meet me at Chenggao Pass. Remember, make sure you don't say anything wrong!"

"After the agreement is made, do not come back immediately. Go to the horse market to prepare two carriages, and then bring them back to the manor. I secretly bought two courtesans a few days ago. Tomorrow morning, have them wear masks and ride in the carriages to Dongwu."

"After you've done all this, come find me at the agreed location, understand?"

Zhuge Yan smiled and replied calmly, "Don't worry!"

After the two left, Liu Xian breathed a sigh of relief.

This was precisely the plan Liu Xian had prepared. He first pretended to deceive Sun Xiu, claiming he wanted to go to Guanzhong, but this wouldn't fool Sun Xiu. So he deliberately created a flaw, letting him discover that he was going to escape from the King of Huainan. To this end, he meticulously planned the details, even creating the illusion that he was going to take his wife eastward, striving to make the deception seem genuine.

To be honest, he was still a little uneasy.

If he were dealing with an ordinary politician, this elaborate deception would be flawless. But he was facing Sun Xiu, that incredibly clever mouse with an extremely keen nose. Sun Xiu would undoubtedly scrutinize the plan with the utmost skepticism. Could he possibly fool him?

Liu Xian was somewhat unsure. Looking back on his seventy years of life, this was probably the most nerve-wracking moment of his life. It involved not only him but also his wife; he planned to take A'Luo with him when he left Luoyang.

Back in his bedroom, his wife, A'luo, was embroidering. Seeing his tense expression, she couldn't help but ask:
"What's wrong, Biji? Has something serious happened?"

Liu Xian looked around to make sure no one was nearby before speaking to his wife:
"A'Luo, go pack some things now. In the evening, dress up as a maid, quietly go out through the side door, walk east to Jianchun Street, there is a carriage waiting for you at the intersection. Just get in, the carriage will take you to the Marquis of Xiangyang's residence."

"The Marquis of Xiangyang's residence?" A'Luo was still in the dark and unaware of what was about to happen. She looked at Liu Xian suspiciously and asked, "What am I going there for?"

"Don't ask!" Liu Xian said seriously, "You will rest there tonight. Tomorrow morning, another carriage will come to the back gate of the Marquis's residence to pick you up and take you out of the city. This is my arrangement. Don't ask where you are going, just get in the carriage. When you arrive, wait for me there. I will meet you around midnight."

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Aro sensed the implication of leaving.

She was somewhat incredulous and couldn't help but ask, "Has the situation gotten that bad?"

Seeing Liu Xian remain silent, he asked again, "Can we come back?"

Liu Xian comforted her, saying, "We won't be gone for long. As long as we manage to get out, I promise you, we'll be back in less than a year."

"What about the uncles and other relatives in the family?"

"It's not against the rules for me to only take you out. In Luoyang, with the Duke of Lingzhou and the others taking care of things, our relatives will be fine."

"Is that so?" A'Luo was silent for a moment, but she still keenly realized that this matter was unprecedented. She asked Liu Xian again, "Biji, did you say goodbye to the master?"

"Me? My lord?" Liu Xian was somewhat bewildered. The matter of fleeing was of great importance, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better. What was the point of telling Liu Xun? He might even be scolded for not valuing his family's lives.

A'Luo insisted, "Piji, you should go and say goodbye to your father. No matter what, you are his son. Such a big matter requires your knowledge; it's your responsibility." Responsibility? Hearing this word, Liu Xian was speechless. Of all the roles he played in life, the only one he hadn't played well was his father's son. But Liu Xian didn't regret it; after all, it was his father who had wronged him first.

But now that A'Luo has pointed this out, Liu Xian can't deny it. After all, if he follows suit and does the same thing just because the other person is wrong, wouldn't that make him seem like the same kind of person as him?
After weighing the options in his mind, Liu Xian agreed and said, "Alright, I'll go see him now."

As mentioned before, the residence of the General Who Pacifies Bandits and the residence of the Duke of Anle were very close. After walking for about fifteen minutes, Liu Xian returned home to pay his respects to his father.

After knocking twice, he opened the curtain and saw Liu Xun leaning against the large couch in the bedroom, reading. This was quite unusual. At this time of day, shouldn't he be fast asleep? Now, Liu Xun was casually dressed, half-sitting, half-lying against the edge of the couch, his hair loose and untied, and his face more wrinkled. Combined with the book in his hands, he looked quite like a renowned scholar cultivating his reputation at home.

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Liu Xun was surprised to see Liu Xian. He put down his commentary on Zhuangzi and carefully examined Liu Xian from head to toe, asking, "I heard you were injured outside. Are you almost fully recovered?"

Liu Xian stood before him with his hands at his sides and replied briefly, "It's nothing serious."

Seeing this, Liu Xun didn't offer him a seat, and continued, "You came to see me because of something?"

Liu Xian wanted to press further about what happened last time, but then decided against it and, following his wife's instructions, said, "The political situation in the court has been unstable lately, so I plan to go out with A'Luo. I came here specifically to say goodbye to you, my lord."

Liu Xun was startled upon hearing this. How could he not know the political implications? He immediately sat up straight. But after meeting Liu Xian's serious gaze, his mood gradually calmed down, and he said calmly, "I understand. Take care of yourself and come back soon."

This was unexpected for Liu Xian. He thought his father would get angry at him directly, but he didn't expect such a calm reaction.

This inexplicably aroused Liu Xian's urge to confide, as if he wanted to prove something. After hesitating for a moment, he said to Liu Xun:

"Sir, do you remember our last conversation?"

"Hmm? I remember, what's wrong?"

Faced with his father's absent-minded reply, Liu Xian straightened up, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and then gritted his teeth and promised:

"The next time you see me, I'll prove to you... that I have the ability!"

After saying that, he walked out without looking at Liu Xun's reaction. His aunt Fei Xiu tried to persuade him to stay and have a family meal together before he left, but he politely declined.

At this moment, scenes of childhood conflicts with his father flooded his mind, the resentment and bitterness from those times vividly replaying before him. Actually, many of these things were trivial matters, making Liu Xian feel somewhat childish. He then thought:
Perhaps it is because she has never received her father's love and recognition that she has been gritting her teeth and persevering to this day.

Not wanting others to see his loss of composure, Liu Xian wandered around outside the mansion for half a day. He estimated that by dusk, his emotions had completely calmed down before returning to the General of the Suppression of Bandits' mansion.

By this time, most of his staff had already left, and A'Luo had also quietly departed as planned, leaving the mansion very quiet. As night deepened, he found himself unusually unable to sleep, something he had never experienced even on the battlefield. Tossing and turning, he finally put on his clothes and went outside, sitting in the pavilion and gazing at the sky.

The bright moon hung in the sky, gradually becoming rounder. As it was late spring, the weather was slightly cool but not cold, and Liu Xian felt a sense of clarity and tranquility with each breath.

The moonlight was pure and flawless, soft yet not bright. Liu Xian gazed at the ripples gently spreading across the pond beside him, listening to the sounds of breathing both inside and outside Luoyang City, and couldn't help but think: This is probably the last night of this peaceful era.

He knew why he was uneasy: in the years to come, even rivers of blood would not be enough to describe the cruelty of the world.

So he went to the kitchen and took a pot of yellow wine, poured the wine into the pond, and silently mourned: May the dead and the wronged souls who are about to die rest in peace.

Only then did his mood calm down, and he was able to rest peacefully on his bed.

The next morning, just after Chenshi (7-9 AM), someone suddenly came to visit Liu Xian.

It turned out to be Meng Ping, the son of Meng Guan. It was just past dawn. In the morning light, he was dressed in military uniform with a sword at his waist. He looked very capable and was no longer the naive recruit he had first met in the north two years ago.

The discord between Meng Guan and Liu Xian didn't affect him at all. On the contrary, he was now rubbing his hands together excitedly and said, "My lord, it's been a long time! How have you been lately? I heard from the magistrate that today is the day to capture the demon queen!"

It turned out that Meng Ping had heard from Meng Guan that he was going to go with Liu Xian to capture Jia Mi that day, and he was very excited. Meng Ping then volunteered to his father to participate in this important matter of eliminating a scourge for the country and benefiting the people. Meng Guan originally wanted to refuse on the grounds of safety concerns, but Meng Ping persisted, so he had no choice but to agree and let him be responsible for contacting Liu Xian.

Seeing Meng Ping's eager look, Liu Xian chuckled and said, "Although it's about doing something big, it might not be a big event. Don't have too high hopes."

Having said that, he didn't linger. After gathering his guards, he spurred his horse out of the mansion and headed straight for the White Horse Temple in the east of the city with Meng Ping. Huan Yi, Sun Xi, and a thousand guards were waiting there, and at the same time, three hundred soldiers from the Shanggu Camp, which Meng Guan had brought, also arrived.

The large gathering of soldiers drew much discussion from passersby, but did not cause a major disturbance. After all, the imperial guards of Luoyang were mobilized very frequently; a mobilization of a thousand men, while not small, occurred once or twice a month. They thought: perhaps it was one of the imperial guard units conducting drills in the west of the city.

Upon seeing Liu Xian's arrival, Meng Guan didn't say much. After briefly counting the number of people, the fully armed soldiers began to move and headed northwest.

Since it wasn't the agreed time yet, they didn't head straight for Jingu Garden. Instead, they waited and rested after arriving at the source of the canal in Jingu Garden.

Time passed like flowing water at our feet, and the sun slowly moved from east to west. As the crimson of the sunset was gradually tinged with inky black, and the sky slowly descended into a somber veil, in the midst of silence, the promised firelight shone from the east.

No one knew how high the pile of firewood Sun Xiu had set, but even from several miles away, Liu Xian could clearly see that as the blazing fire rose, the weathered outline of Luoyang City appeared, as if everything was about to be burned into darkness.

He turned his head and met Meng Guan's gaze. The two nodded and simultaneously ordered their subordinates, "Let's go!"

The armored soldiers lit torches and held them high above their heads. Accompanied by the clanging of armor like a flood breaking through a dam, and the earth trembling slightly, a fire dragon was summoned, circling in the night sky and approaching Golden Valley Garden step by step.

(End of this chapter)