Chapter 24

The one who realized it before Chu Huaiyin was Meng Fushan.

Ever since the imperial decree arrived, Meng Fushan's face had gone from white to ashen. Meng Zhou had boarded the boat with the crown prince, and his whereabouts were now unknown. Outwardly, Meng Fushan had sent every servant in his residence to help search, but inwardly, he wondered when Meng Zhou had grown so close to the crown prince.

Alive, the boy had never been of one mind with him; dead, he could actually give Meng Fushan something to work with. If anything happened to Meng Zhou, the crown prince certainly would not treat the Meng Clan poorly. Once Meng Fushan thought this through, he stopped caring whether Meng Zhou lived or died.

But with Jiang Yi still alive, everything was different.

Jiang Yi refused to acknowledge him as his brother-in-law at all. Jiang Yao had died with grievances unresolved, and Meng Zhou could not be found, alive or dead. His sole bond with the Jiang Clan had been severed, leaving only a blood feud. Jiang Yi now commanded four hundred thousand troops. If he made trouble for the Meng Clan, it went without saying whose side Chu Huaiyin would take.

A chill ran down Meng Fushan's back. He could neither sit nor stand at ease and seemed to age several years. If that woman, Lady Zhou, had not been so narrow-minded and driven Jiang Yao and her son into a corner, he would not have to face this predicament now!

For the sake of the Zhou Family's wealth and influence, Meng Fushan had turned a blind eye to Lady Zhou's unreasonable behavior. Who could have known that, in the end, the Jiang Clan would rise from the dead, with two generations becoming trusted ministers of future sovereigns? The Zhou Family, by contrast, had obtained their wealth through illicit means and nearly implicated him in rebellion.

That venomous woman!

Even now, Meng Fushan did not believe he had done anything wrong. A man lived to win rank, wealth, and glory for his family, using any means necessary to achieve his ends. He only hated that he had backed the wrong horse.

And so Meng Fushan began searching actively for Meng Zhou. Every day, he made a sorrowful circuit of Qianyang Lake, aching for his son and shedding tears when his grief grew overwhelming.

What did ordinary people know of the sordid affairs inside the Meng Residence? Seeing Meng Fushan forgo court to search for his son in person, they all expressed sympathy.

"Minister Meng is desperate to find his beloved son. What parent would be any different?"

Always attentive to his reputation, Meng Fushan sensed something wrong as soon as the rumors surfaced. They were spreading too quickly; someone was almost certainly pushing them from behind the scenes. When he investigated, it turned out to be his own daughter!

The Zhou Family were determined to drive him into a dead end.

Meng Fushan bitterly regretted not throwing Meng Huaihan out of the Meng Clan along with Lady Zhou. At her young age, she knew nothing of poetry or needlework and had learned nothing but shabby tricks from Lady Zhou.

Meng Huaihan had married at the beginning of the month. It was nothing to be proud of, and she had no mother to arrange the wedding, so she had quietly moved into Wang Dafu's home with a large dowry.

Whoever had money was the master.

Wang Dafu did everything she said. When Meng Huaihan asked him to help spread rumors about a jinx, he spent a little money on the fair-weather friends he had met in brothels, and the embellished stories spread faster than anything.

At that moment, Meng Huaihan sat in the courtyard spitting out grape skins, listening to a young maid vividly describe the rumors outside and laughing until she doubled over.

Creak-

Meng Fushan pushed open the wooden gate. "Han'er."

"Father."

Meng Huaihan brushed the sunflower seed shells off her clothes and stood up, saying happily, "Have you come to take me home?" Wang Dafu might be obedient, but living here was nowhere near as comfortable as living in the grand residence of the left chancellor. Now that Meng Zhou was dead and her elder brother was away from the capital, Father must be lonely, right?

Meng Fushan unobtrusively pushed her hand away. "Are you getting used to living here? Your mother says she misses you."

The Zhou Family's involvement in rebellion was unforgivable, but Lady Zhou had already married out of the family, so she had ultimately been sentenced to exile. If Meng Fushan had not been so heartless as to divorce her to clear himself of involvement, she might have received an even lighter sentence.

Panic flashed across Meng Huaihan's face. She retreated several steps. "No, Father. I want to stay with you."

"While Zhou'er's life hangs in the balance, you actually spread rumors to tarnish his reputation. You have no respect for your elder brother and no inclination toward goodness. I, Meng Fushan, never had an unfilial daughter like you. Go join your mother."

Meng Huaihan had beaten, cursed, and drowned Meng Zhou, and this was the first time Meng Fushan had spoken up for him. She stared at Meng Fushan with wide eyes for a while, then abruptly sat back down and said lightly, "You're afraid Jiang Yi will come back to settle accounts with you, aren't you? Is that why you're so eager to drive all three of us out of the capital? You may be afraid, but I'm not. A married daughter is like spilled water. You have no right to control me now."

Furious, Meng Fushan swung a hand to slap her, but Meng Huaihan raised her arm and blocked him. Someone with nothing had nothing to lose. The dead could not speak, so who knew how she had treated Meng Zhou before? Her father, on the other hand, had reached the end of his official career!

Father and daughter had torn away all pretense and nearly come to blows. The little courtyard was in chaos when a booming voice suddenly cut through the clamor.

"An imperial decree has arrived!"

Holding the imperial decree, Ji Yang smiled when he saw Meng Fushan there too. "Since the left chancellor is here as well, you can receive the decree together."

"By the mandate of Heaven, the emperor decrees... Meng Huaihan has behaved perversely, harmed her elder brother, and shown contempt for the law. Her property shall hereby be confiscated, and she and her husband, Wang Dafu, shall be stripped of their official registration and banished six hundred li from the capital, never to return. Meng Fushan has failed to educate his daughter and is deficient in private virtue. He shall be confined to his home for one month to reflect on his faults. Any violation shall be regarded as defiance of the imperial decree. Respect this."

The father and daughter kneeling inside the gate looked utterly stricken. Outside, Wang Dafu, who had just returned from drinking, peered around, so drunk he looked as though he had just crawled out of a filthy ditch.

"Wang Dafu!" Ji Yang roared.

"This commoner is here! This commoner is here!"

"Set out immediately." Ji Yang pointed at the gate, where four officers were waiting.

"Uh, let this commoner pack a few things..." As long as they had money, anywhere would be the same. Thinking this naively, Wang Dafu reached out to pull Meng Huaihan along. "Come on, come on..."

"What?" Ji Yang wore a faint, ambiguous smile. "Did the two of you not understand the words 'confiscation of all property'?"

After enjoying their magically changing expressions to his satisfaction, Ji Yang curled his lips. I'm no good man. Before leaving, he gave Wang Dafu a pointed look. "When someone tried to assassinate you with poison, who saved you, and who did it? The former was Meng Zhou, the man you spread rumors about! As for the latter... Brother Wang, you'd better watch out for the person sharing your bed."

That incident had been a thorn in Wang Dafu's heart. He had suspected the Meng Clan, but he had no evidence, and Meng Huaihan had money. He had to wait on her hand and foot, so he could only let the matter drop.

Now... the coldness in Wang Dafu's eyes frightened Meng Huaihan so badly that she sank to the ground.

Ji Yang was about to return to the palace to report. He had just reached the palace gates when an Imperial Guard came galloping up from a distance. The man dismounted so hastily that he rolled on the ground before scrambling up.

Ji Yang recognized the soaking-wet Imperial Guard before him as one of the search-and-rescue men.

It had been almost ten days. Every strong swimmer in the capital had been recruited at high pay to search for the missing man, and the Imperial Guard had been deployed in shifts. The search area kept expanding. Never mind crocodiles-even the fish in Qianyang Lake had almost all been scooped out, yet there was still no sign of Meng Zhou.

Even Ji Yang felt despair on His Highness's behalf, though amid that despair he could not help wondering whether their failure to find him meant he was still alive.

He helped the man up. Seeing him gasping for breath, his heart lurched. He had a bad feeling.

"What is it?"

"Lord Ji, we seem to have f-found him!"

What did he mean, "seem to have found him"?

"Explain!"

"A man's body just floated to the surface of the lake. His original appearance is no longer recognizable, but the fabric of his clothes matches the piece His Highness the Crown Prince is holding!" The Imperial Guard spoke rapidly, then gave Commander Ji a meaningful look: I don't dare tell the crown prince.

Ji Yang had only recently become commander of the Imperial Guard, but he could guarantee that this was the most difficult task he had ever carried out in his life.

He took one step toward the palace, then abruptly turned around. "I'll go take a look first."

Only when Ji Yang reached the lakeside did he realize how delicately the young man had phrased it.

Everyone knew how much importance the crown prince placed on Meng Zhou, so the moment the body was recovered, it was carried indoors, and a coroner and a batch of ice were urgently summoned.

The body was almost rotted through from soaking, its original appearance unrecognizable. Most horrifying of all, something in the water had bitten the face, leaving it pitted and mangled beyond recognition. Several chunks of flesh had also been torn from the body.

Before the incident, Ji Yang had been following Chu Huaiyin the entire time, so he could be almost certain these were the clothes Meng Zhou had worn that day.

Without much hope, he asked the coroner, "Can you tell what he originally looked like?"

The coroner shook his head. The body was too badly damaged. He measured the bones and gave a height and approximate age.

They matched Meng Zhou exactly.

Ji Yang closed his eyes briefly and asked hoarsely, "How did he die?"

He remembered the Meng Zhou who had asked him so earnestly where to buy grilled fish, the Meng Zhou who had analyzed the Mount Chongling weapons case with such clarity. Even as an onlooker, he could hardly bear it-how much worse would it be for His Highness!

The coroner examined the body carefully. Without the crown prince's instructions, he dared not use a blade. After pondering for a while, he said, "Drowning. After death, he was likely bitten by a crocodile and dragged to the bottom of the lake. Judging from the scrapes on the intact portions of the body, he was probably wedged between rocks on the lakebed, which prevented him from floating up sooner."

Wang Junyang had not been dead at the time. He had regained consciousness the instant he was thrown into the lake, but the white-robed man had tied several knots in his clothes, restricting his movements, and he had ultimately drowned. Later, he had encountered the returning crocodile, and its tugging had pulled the knots in his clothes loose one after another. Coincidentally, the bruises from Wang Junyang's beating had almost entirely disappeared because those parts had been eaten.

The coroner did not dare perform a thorough examination and thus could not discover anything amiss.

After finishing his political affairs, Chu Huaiyin passed Magnolia Pond in the garden and stopped. Hearing footsteps, Snow Spot darted beneath the lotus leaves.

Chu Huaiyin's mind went blank for a moment. As he lifted his foot, his robe swept against a potted plant beside the pond, and a kumquat tree half a person's height toppled into Magnolia Pond, sending up a ring of spray.

As the droplets fell, Chu Huaiyin saw Ji Yang approaching from the other side of Magnolia Pond, his expression grave.

Ji Yang froze when he saw Chu Huaiyin. He felt he still needed another hour to prepare what to say.

Elaborate formalities wasted time. When no outsiders were present, Chu Huaiyin had given Ji Yang special permission to get straight to the point and dispense with unnecessary words.

Thus, the instant Chu Huaiyin saw Ji Yang solemnly kneel, something emptied inside him, and he suddenly heard the sound of flowers falling throughout the garden.

Ji Yang was torn. With the body in that state, even describing it was cruel, let alone seeing it in person.

"My condolences, Your Highness. The body is badly damaged... please don't look."

Chu Huaiyin had had a premonition from the moment the crocodile appeared. Very softly, he asked, "When he passed..."

Ji Yang had known Chu Huaiyin would ask. "He drowned."

"Are you certain it's him?" Chu Huaiyin asked one last time.

Ji Yang hesitated. "Your Majesty can send his relatives to identify him."

Chu Huaiyin could no longer remember how many people had died at his hands. Corpses were commonplace, and he was accustomed to the smell of blood.

Yet faced with Meng Zhou's body, he did not dare look, as though by not looking, he could keep deceiving himself.

He ordered Meng Fushan to look. It was Meng Zhou.

He ordered the wet nurse to look. It was Meng Zhou.

He ordered Jiang Xin to look. It was still Meng Zhou.

And so Chu Huaiyin lost all hope.

Jiang Xin's eyes were swollen from crying. When the body was moved, he saw a pouch fall out of its sleeve and broke down completely. He had not recognized the body at first, but he had given that pouch to Meng Zhou. Now, he could hardly refuse to recognize him. He dug out the sodden, ruined protective talisman and stamped on it with all his might. "Liar! It wasn't a protective talisman at all, boohoo..."

The wet nurse nearly cried herself into a faint. Fortunately, Li Wenle privately told her that the body was not Meng Zhou's. Something about the lower abdomen did not look right to him; Meng Zhou should have left the capital. The wet nurse asked him to confirm it over and over, and Li Wenle nodded firmly. Whether he was truly certain or merely comforting his mother was unknown.

The wet nurse wiped her tears and told the officer, "It's him."

Both the Meng Clan and the Jiang Clan hung up white mourning silk. Jiang Xin and Meng Fushan argued fiercely over which household should host the mourning hall.

In the end, Chu Huaiyin made the decision and bestowed a residence on Meng Zhou.

He had wanted to do this long ago. How could he have overlooked Kitten Meng's aggrieved expression whenever he did not want to return to the Meng Clan and had no choice but to lodge at the general's residence? But Chu Huaiyin also could not help wanting to coax the kitten into Prince Huai's Residence, where he could keep him in sight at all times. His hesitation had kept him from bringing it up.

In truth, setting up the mourning hall at Prince Huai's Residence would not have been out of the question, but Chu Huaiyin had no standing to do so.

Meng Zhou's journey had gone fairly smoothly.

Except that, traveling alone, he had little sense of how to pace the journey and often missed the inns. Even when there was an inn, he was dressed so shabbily that he looked unable to afford a steamed bun. The waiter would point carelessly and impatiently. "Sir, the shared sleeping platform in the stable?"

Meng Zhou said, "No, I want a room."

So far, he had spent three nights in the mountains.

On those first three occasions, he had encountered nothing much, aside from a strange old man with tangled hair who insisted on thrusting a book at him-a medical book.

Did he look particularly gifted in medicine?

Meng Zhou did not think so.

"Why?"

The old man bristled and glared. "Why so many questions? Just take it!"

Meng Zhou pulled a face. "But I can't understand it."

"Ignorant brat! Can't you read? Then deliver it to the emperor for me." The old man was remarkably casual. "Who's emperor now?"

Meng Zhou told him Emperor Tianyuan's title, then said with a hint of pride, "The next one will be Chu Huaiyin. Do you know Chu Huaiyin? The current crown prince, accomplished in civil governance and military affairs, handsome and distinguished..."

"Never heard of him." Annoyed that Meng Zhou talked even more than he did, the old man interrupted. "The court issued an edict inviting physicians throughout the realm to share medical texts. The court would buy them and distribute them widely. They would even commission historians to write biographies, recording the contributors in the histories and extending benefits to their descendants."

Being recorded in the official histories sounded impressive.

The old man switched which leg he had crossed. "This old man is tired from traveling and doesn't want to go to the capital. Take it there for me."

In the early years of the dynasty, disease had run rampant. Emperor Taizong, pitying the common people, had introduced this policy, and it had proved highly effective.

But a hundred years had passed, and that policy had long since become a thing of the past.

Meng Zhou opened his mouth in disbelief. Had this man been living in some secluded utopia?

Before he could say anything, the old man rose swiftly and took his pulse. "Hey, you're pregnant. The fetus isn't very stable. Been doing a lot of traveling lately, have you?"

Then he withdrew his hand and strolled away. "I won't charge you for the consultation. Consider it your delivery fee."

Meng Zhou panicked. "What will happen?"

"Nothing will happen. Just stop traveling." The old man kept walking as he spoke, and Meng Zhou called him back.

"I haven't yet asked your esteemed name."

"Divine Doctor." The voice grew more distant.

"Which divine doctor?"

"Just Divine Doctor!" He sounded somewhat exasperated.

A sudden downpour struck. Meng Zhou's carriage leaked a little, and after hesitating between pressing on and getting soaked, he chose the former.

Getting sick from the rain would have worse consequences.

The mountain road was rough, and the heavy rain shrouded the night. Meng Zhou searched wide-eyed for a cave and finally spotted a fire.

It was a ruined temple!

Another carriage was parked outside the temple. Meng Zhou could not tell whether the people inside were villains or travelers. As he hesitated, someone inside apparently heard the noise and came out to look.

He came face-to-face with Meng Zhou.

Both were startled.

Meng Zhou blurted out, "Guan Jiasheng?"

The moment he spoke, wariness flashed through the other man's eyes. Rather than delight at meeting an acquaintance far from home, he abruptly drew the sword at his waist, pointing its cold gleam straight at Meng Zhou. "Who are you?"