Having learned something important, Meng Yuan felt his life had been worthwhile.
From a mere itinerant reaper, he had risen to become a kingdom's chancellor. He had traveled across many lands, met many founding ministers, read many books, and learned many skills.
Of course, he had known plenty of women, too. Widows, in particular-Meng Yuan had known a great many of those.
Now that he had fallen into an old widow's hands, that was no great matter either.
"I am about to die. My only wish is to see the Pure Yang Dragon-Controlling Art!" Meng Yuan took a swing at the date tree, whether there were any dates to knock down or not.
"Over the years, sir, who knows how many secret manuals of internal cultivation you have collected, openly and covertly? Are you still not satisfied?" Empress Dowager Chen asked with a smile.
"I have no talent for martial arts, and it has become something of an obsession. Over the years, I have seen many gifted young men, but never another with the late emperor's peerless brilliance in his prime." Meng Yuan felt a little wistful, a little envious. "In my humble opinion, while the late emperor's natural gifts were unmatched, the Pure Yang Dragon-Controlling Art was also without equal under heaven."
"Without equal under heaven is going too far." Empress Dowager Chen raised her head, satisfaction on her face. "The internal arts practiced by my Chen Clan, the Pei Clan of Mount Xiyi, and the Bai Clan of Snow Mountain were all passed down by immortals. How could mortal martial arts compare? Our three clans simply keep out of the limelight, so outsiders know nothing of us."
The Pei Clan of Mount Xiyi, the Bai Clan of Snow Mountain? Disciples of immortals?
Meng Yuan had learned another important piece of news. He had never known that this woman actually knew the secrets of immortals he had pursued so desperately.
"The Pei Clan of Mount Xiyi and the Bai Clan of Snow Mountain? They are descendants of immortals' disciples? Your Majesty knows of them?" Meng Yuan no longer cared about the Pure Yang Dragon-Controlling Art.
Empress Dowager Chen nodded slightly. "All three of our clans descend from immortals. How could I not know? Those two clans have lived in seclusion for over a thousand years. They have few offspring and take no part in either the martial world or the imperial court, so it is only natural that outsiders know nothing of them. The Pei and Bai descendants you found are merely descendants of the ancient kingdoms' royal houses. They are not of the same branches."
Meng Yuan had asked Empress Dowager Chen before, but she had said she knew nothing. To think she had been lying!
"I beg to hear the secrets of immortals!"
Meng Yuan strode forward in excitement, looked at Empress Dowager Chen, and said, "Nearly sixty years have passed since we met in Qu County. Before I die, I ask for nothing but to hear the secrets of the immortals."
Empress Dowager Chen's expression remained indifferent. "Your ancestors belonged to none of the Eighty-One Ancient Kingdoms. You descend from savages. You are not qualified to hear them. Under heaven, no one outside our three clans is qualified to hear them."
This woman thought nothing even of Lü Yinglong, who had conquered the realm for her, let alone Meng Yuan.
"Then I am short on blessings." Unable to press further, Meng Yuan settled for his next-best choice. "Might I see the Pure Yang Dragon-Controlling Art? At least let me close my eyes in death."
Since the door would not open, Meng Yuan tried opening a window.
He was going to die anyway, so Meng Yuan piled on the requests. If the empress dowager had not been so old, and his own body so frail, he would even have dared sell himself once more.
"The Chen Clan's ancestral rules have stood for a thousand years. In Lü Yinglong's case, my late father insisted on making the decision himself. I cannot break the rules." Empress Dowager Chen still refused, but then changed tack. "Still, you and I have known each other for sixty years, sir. Even as chancellor of the previous dynasty, you never made things difficult for my Chen Clan."
Seeing her stance soften, Meng Yuan immediately said, "Please let me see it!"
Empress Dowager Chen smiled. "Most of my Chen Clan's legacy is never committed to paper, only kept in the clan head's mind. My late father passed it to my elder brother and me. My brother died young, and I have little time left myself. Now Huaixian is the only other person in the world studying this art. A few days ago, I happened to write it out from memory to pass down to our descendants."
She pondered for a moment, her thoughts unknown, but finally nodded.
As her words fell, a young woman emerged from behind the curtains, holding a thin booklet.
The young woman looked quite like Empress Dowager Chen in her youth, but the sword at her waist gave her a more martial air.
"Are you Chen Yucheng's granddaughter or great-great-granddaughter? Why have I never seen you before? What is your name?" One look at the woman told Meng Yuan she must be a martial arts expert.
Chen Yucheng was Chen Yuyin's elder brother. He had died before the uprising, leaving only two sons.
"I am a rustic. I fear my lowly name would sully your honored ears, Lord Meng." The woman smiled and dipped in a slight bow, then simply stood behind Empress Dowager Chen without another word.
Meng Yuan asked no further questions. He picked up the thin booklet and began reading.
"Breathe in the morning sunlight to condense vast Qi; draw the true yang of heaven and earth through the Dantian..."
"Wonderful!"
Meng Yuan read it through several times, silently committing it to memory and praising it without pause, then handed it back. "Hear the Way at dawn, and one may die content at dusk."
Despite saying this, Meng Yuan sat cross-legged and circulated his Qi according to the secret instructions.
"You are over eighty. Your Qi and Blood declined long ago, and you indulge in women. You cannot possibly practice such an incomparably fierce internal art anymore." The young woman folded her arms across her chest, utterly disdainful.
"I failed to master martial arts all my life, yet I still strode unhindered across the realm."
Meng Yuan tried for a quarter of an hour, and indeed made no progress. He opened his eyes and looked at the young woman with equal disdain. "Your Chen Clan has the Pure Yang Dragon-Controlling Art and the Great Snake Treasure Medicine, so why have I never seen your clan win the realm? Descendants of immortals, are you? What descendants of immortals would hatch such a vicious scheme as borrowing another's womb to bear a child? Usurping another's kingdom-how can a reign founded so illegitimately endure? You yellow-mouthed brat, you know only a common brute's courage, remember neither kindness nor loyalty, and have no shame. You have disgraced your ancestors!"
With the treasure secured, Meng Yuan stopped pretending and launched straight into abuse. "Without me, would your Chen Clan be where it is today?"
"Hmph!" The young woman's expression turned hideous.
Empress Dowager Chen looked little better, her face especially dark.
Neither uttered a word despite being showered with abuse. Clearly, even the Chen Clan itself found what it was about to do revolting.
"Even at death's door, sir, you insist on humiliating an old woman like me." Only after a long silence did Empress Dowager Chen sigh. "The Chen Clan has indeed declined. All Three Ancient Clans have declined. My methods are improper, but I have fulfilled my father's and brother's dying wishes all the same."
What respectable family spent its idle hours dreaming of becoming emperor?
"Ha, ha!" Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Meng Yuan laughed three times, then said solemnly, "If Your Majesty wishes to accomplish this great undertaking, there is still one crucial matter. Lend me your ear. I have a word of loyal advice. Follow my plan, and your rule will stand secure for eight hundred years!"
Empress Dowager Chen knew better than anyone the abilities of Meng Yuan, the founding statesman who had shaped their strategies. Without the slightest doubt, she really did come forward and sit before him.
"Lend me your ear," Meng Yuan said.
Suspecting nothing, Empress Dowager Chen duly leaned closer, while the young woman kept a wary hand on her sword hilt.
"Lü Yinglong once said you were like a dead pig in bed, without a trace of fun."
Meng Yuan leaned against Empress Dowager Chen's ear and blew a breath. "But Chen Yuyin, I think you still have your charms."
"What?"
Empress Dowager Chen was first bewildered, then stunned, and only then realized the man had made a fool of her. Furious, she was about to shout at him to stop, only to see her old acquaintance already rolling onto the floor, clutching his stomach with laughter. His beard quivered, and he even pointed at her with his left hand, plainly mocking her.
Meng Yuan was led away under guard. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was at the market entrance.
The commotion lasted until dawn. Many commoners gathered to watch, and a great many even cried out "worthy chancellor" and knelt to plead for Meng Yuan's life.
"Worldly affairs are as fleeting as a spring dream!" Meng Yuan sighed, lying before the Tiger-Head Guillotine.
Yang Dayong was Meng Yuan's trusted aide. Lying beside him, he heard Meng Yuan's lament and said, "Master, at a time like this, how are you still having wet dreams?"
"Dayong, you need to read more." Meng Yuan puffed at his beard.
Before long, group after group was brought up under guard: accomplices and clansmen, students and juniors, and more besides. Their cries shook the heavens.
Meng Yuan and Yang Dayong stared at each other, one pair of eyes wide, the other small.
"Dayong, are you wondering why I refused to listen to your advice and insisted on entering the palace?" Meng Yuan asked.
"No," Yang Dayong said.
"Then what are you thinking about?" Meng Yuan asked.
"I was thinking about when we were in Shu, taking our yellow dog out into the wilds together to chase those crafty hares. We were so happy then. What a pity we can never return to those days," Yang Dayong said.
"Yes. We can never return to those days." Meng Yuan sighed as well.
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