Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 146

Chapter 146

When Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang returned to the city from the outskirts, Yan Shang, due to his severe injuries, leaned against her shoulder in a semi-conscious state. Mu Wanyao lifted the carriage curtain and gazed at the scene outside—

After the rain, the mud on the ground was mixed with blood;

Soldiers were silently moving corpses;

The bodies of commoners, whom no one had come to claim, were piled outside shops, frightening the shopkeepers into endless, piercing screams;

Men and women stood on the streets like walking corpses, frantically asking everyone they passed if their loved ones were still alive...

The carriage belonging to the Princess’s residence moved silently through the neighborhood, followed by the soldiers. Behind them, a man who seemed to have lost his mind chased after the carriage, shouting loudly despite being held back by others:

"Nobles! Nobles! Did you come from the west of the city? Did you see my wife? She went out yesterday morning to buy vegetables and hasn't returned yet, she hasn't returned yet!

"There were vegetables available in the east of the city, but she insisted on going to the West Market because she said it was cheaper there. It’s all my fault for scolding her the day before, saying she only ate and didn't contribute. I didn't mean it; I was just too tired from work, my boss had scolded me, so I turned around and took it out on her…

"We have been married for three years and have only one daughter. Our daughter is at home crying for milk, but her mother is gone, gone… she’s gone!"

The guards blocked the man from approaching the carriage. As he babbled incoherently, he reached a point of desperation, sitting down on the ground, wiping his eyes, and wailing bitterly.

The sound of his crying was desolate, a sorrow that could not be expressed.

Before today, who would have imagined that such a thing could happen in the city of Chang'an?

Mu Wanyao held up the curtain, looking back at the man again and again. She stared in a daze until, suddenly, a hand reached out and covered her ears. Mu Wanyao turned and saw that Yan Shang, with his deathly pale complexion, had woken up.

He lowered the curtain for her and whispered: "Don't look, don't listen anymore. It’s harder if you hear too much."

Mu Wanyao stared at him, seeing that although his eyes held unbearable sorrow, his expression remained very calm.

She suddenly asked softly: "Did you often see things like this when you were young?"

Yan Shang: "Yes. I saw it all too often."

Mu Wanyao did not speak, feeling ashamed for a moment of her own narrow-mindedness. She had pretended to be a broad-minded person, talking about wanting to understand the lives of the people. But only today, seeing this on the streets of Chang'an, was she truly touched.

She finally understood a little of what Yan Shang wanted to insist on and protect.

Mu Wanyao murmured to herself in self-reflection: "Is the human world always like this?"

Through the curtain, watching the shadows swaying outside, Yan Shang said softly: "The world is always like this. The people in power use unscrupulous means, while those who suffer remain in the dark. The powerful gamble on their future, while the commoners fight for survival.

"They have no one to rely on, and our futures are uncertain. If possible, we should naturally never lose our sense of compassion. Those who serve as officials, those who wish to be benevolent, should help these commoners."

Mu Wanyao had no response, only tightening her grip on Yan Shang’s hand.

The Emperor was the victor of this coup, but wasn't this hellish scene in Chang'an bought with the lives of ordinary people by Liu Wenji? And wasn't Liu Wenji doing this for the Emperor? After the success, would the Emperor kill Liu Wenji because he used human lives to deal with Yang Si?

No, he wouldn't.

The dead have no meaning to the Emperor; they only have meaning to their own families.

Mu Wanyao suddenly thought that as a Princess and Yan Shang as an official, given their power, perhaps there really was much they could do…

Mu Wanyao asked Yan Shang: "Is your back hurting?"

Yan Shang originally wanted to say it didn't hurt, but seeing his wife’s melancholic eyes, he nodded.

He sighed and frowned: "My entire back feels like it’s burning. I even suspect I have a fever… Yaoyao, why am I always like this..."

Mu Wanyao’s heart ached for the suffering he endured, aching that his body was always subjected to various tortures. Since he became an official, he had been burned by oil, faced imprisonment, had eye trouble, and now this, his back…

Mu Wanyao thought that after this, Yan Shang must have a good rest. He could not keep holding on like this.

Having made up her mind, Mu Wanyao said: "Yan Er-gege, don't be afraid. Our residence has exclusive imperial physicians. We will have them check your wounds when we return, and you will have a good sleep. You’ll be better when you wake up."

Yan Shang sighed: "I’m afraid that won't be possible."

—

Naturally, it was not possible.

With such a major event having just occurred in Chang'an, Yan Shang had to go to the Secretariat and the Chancellery after returning to the city to explain the battle outside to the ministers; he also had to go to the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Court of the Imperial Clan to hand the Prince of Qin over to the latter; he also had to go to the Ministry of Personnel to stabilize the hearts of the officials who were currently in a state of panic.

Moreover, for his merit in protecting the Emperor, the central government would surely reward Yan Shang for his actions this time. Naturally, compared to other matters, such posthumous rewards became the least important of all.

The most important matter now was the judgment for the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin.

The Emperor did not let the officials debate the crimes of his two sons, but on the second night after Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang returned to Chang'an, they were summoned to the palace.

The fates of the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin had to be settled.

—

Yan Shang entered the palace this time accompanying Mu Wanyao, in his capacity as the Prince Consort.

They were granted an audience in the Emperor’s bedchamber.

The Emperor looked even older than the last time Mu Wanyao saw him, coughing and gasping for air after only a few sentences. Mu Wanyao had originally wanted to question the Emperor as to why he hadn't discussed this with her beforehand, leaving her alone at the Summer Villa and forcing Yan Shang to protect him… but seeing the old Emperor struggle just to breathe, Mu Wanyao sighed, not wanting to ask those useless questions anymore.

Mu Wanyao and Yan Shang, husband and wife, took their seats.

Among the legitimate members of the royal family, perhaps only the Crown Prince had yet to arrive.

The Eldest Princess Luling sat expressionlessly, as if in a daze; Princess Yuyang and her consort knelt on the ground, weeping and pleading for mercy for their third brother; the Prince of Qin also knelt, his face covered in tears, asking his father to spare him.

The most remarkable one was the Prince of Jin.

Having spent years pressed beneath his two older brothers, the Prince of Jin didn't necessarily have any rapport with them, and they didn't care for him either. But this time, the Prince of Jin suddenly found his own value—

Although he hadn't protected the Emperor as Mu Wanyao had, at least he hadn't rebelled. With his two older brothers in trouble, didn't that mean the throne could only be considered for him?

The Prince of Jin hypocritically pleaded for his two brothers. He knelt on the ground, earnest and sincere: "Father, the Crown Prince and Third Brother must have been misled; they must have been framed. Father, please forgive them, or let your son take the punishment on their behalf…"

Mu Wanyao sat on the side, gently smoothing her skirt. She looked at Yan Shang impatiently and curled her lips at him.

Yan Shang shook his head, signaling that she didn't like the Prince of Jin, but she could pretend she didn't see him; there was no need to mock him.

It was amidst the Prince of Jin’s repeated pleas, along with the genuine sobs of Princess Yuyang and the crying of the Prince of Qin, that a voice announced from outside: Liu Wenji had arrived with the Crown Prince.

The Emperor’s eyes, which had been closed, finally opened, clouded as they were, to look at the Crown Prince.

After all, he had been the Crown Prince for so many years. When he arrived, everyone fell silent.

The Crown Prince looked down at the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin kneeling and weeping below. One was begging for mercy in panic after his failure, and the other, who hadn't participated in the matter at all, was hypocritically asking the Emperor to spare his two brothers’ lives… It was too ridiculous.

The Crown Prince could not help it and let out a laugh.

The Emperor asked coldly: "What are you laughing at?"

The hall was silent; everyone looked at the Crown Prince.

The Emperor gasped for air, his eyes bulging as he shouted: "What are you laughing at?!"

Only then did the Crown Prince slowly lift his robes and kneel before the Emperor.

—

The Emperor glared at the Crown Prince with hatred, his hand on the armrest trembling with anger.

He understood the Prince of Qin’s rebellion.

The Prince of Qin was forced into it. The Emperor wanted to purge the Nanyang Jiang clan, to turn them into today’s Jinling Li clan. The Prince of Qin couldn't accept it, so naturally, he would rebel.

But why did the Crown Prince rebel?

Why did the Crown Prince cooperate with the Prince of Qin?

Had he not been good to the Crown Prince? Wasn't he paving the way for him? Everything he did… wasn't it so that the Crown Prince could have an easier time once he took the throne?

Why did the Crown Prince rebel?!

The Emperor breathed with difficulty: "Speak."

There was no sound in the hall; everyone stared at the young man kneeling straight and tall.

The Crown Prince slowly lifted his eyes, looking up at his supreme father: "What do you want me to say? It is merely a matter of who wins and who loses."

The Emperor raged: "So, do you still feel no remorse? You have disappointed me so much!"

The Crown Prince laughed. His tone was calm: "What are you disappointed about?"

After a pause, his eyes sharpened, his tone deepened, and his voice rose: "What exactly are you disappointed about?! Have you ever loved me! Father, let us stop being so ridiculous and hypocritical, shall we?"

The Emperor fell backward, and his Chief Eunuch, Cheng An, hurriedly patted his chest to prevent the Emperor from dying of rage because of this rebellious son.

Cheng An was terrified: "Your Highness, please say a little less!"

Liu Wenji stood on the side holding his whisk, watching this farce with a half-smile.

The Prince of Qin kept his head down in silence. Princess Yuyang turned to look at the Crown Prince with a sob, and the Prince of Jin also looked at the Crown Prince in astonishment, not expecting him to be so bold.

Sitting on the side, those least involved in this farce were Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao. When the others were weeping and begging, they had no interest. Only now, with the Crown Prince like this, did they find some interest in the spectacle.

The Crown Prince ignored everyone, his eyes fixed only on the Emperor who was almost being choked to death by him: "Why should I, living well as the Crown Prince, follow my third brother to rebel? It’s clear that as long as you die, the throne is mine. Father, is that what you think?

"Because you don't give me a way to live! You want to break my wings and then let me be the Emperor! You simply don't believe I can govern the world well. You believe in the art of balancing officials, in the path of mutual restraint! You cut off my paths, letting the Yang family leave the capital step by step, letting Yang Si be far from Chang'an… You wanted to destroy everyone around me before giving me the chance to be a solitary sovereign.

"That’s the Emperor you want to be! Not me! An Emperor who loses even his most trusted and dearest people is not who I want to be! I could have endured… but if I keep enduring, I will lose all my friends, family, and brothers."

The Crown Prince closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his tone became cold:

"Have you never had brothers, never had a wife, never had children? Have you never had them at all?" What are we to you?

"If you want to be a solitary sovereign, go do it yourself; if I want to be a solitary sovereign, I will do it myself. I don't need your control, your arrangements, your paving the way. You have never discussed anything with me! You only command me, force me, and make me walk the same path as you." But today I want to tell you, Father, you cannot decide for me, making me sacrifice my brothers and my emotions! I belong to myself, and I don't need you to be the person who makes me suffer for my own good."

Everyone was stunned into silence.

There was a faint glint in Yan Shang’s eyes as he stared at the Crown Prince. Perhaps he had never looked up to the Crown Prince, and their philosophies had never been the same. But when the Crown Prince resisted all of this, it still stirred his admiration.

Mu Wanyao felt the same.

She discovered that she had never understood the Crown Prince. She often didn't understand why someone as free-spirited as Yang Si could have such a good relationship with the Crown Prince.

Why would Yang Si give his life for the Crown Prince?

What made the Crown Prince worthy?

Only now did she understand—

It turned out the Crown Prince could also resist.

The Crown Prince also possessed a fiery, fearless spirit like a youth.

That fire had been suppressed under ice for many years, and one day, the fire jumped out from under the ice, unable to bear it any longer.

—

The Emperor felt chest tightness and a headache.

He stared blankly at the kneeling Crown Prince, unable to understand what he was babbling about.

He seemed to hear Ah Nuan arguing with him in the past. She had also roared at him, also repeatedly saying "You don't understand anything."

The Emperor angrily shook his sleeves and cried out: "Nonsense, nonsense! It is you who understand nothing! You will regret this! I did it for everyone, for the sake of the whole world… This Great Wei empire, it must be like this!"

His voice became shrill, like a cry.

The Crown Prince looked up at the delirious Emperor and said slowly: "As you said, maybe I will regret it later, but if I don't resist you, I will regret it now! In the end, I am not you; I cannot be the Crown Prince you are satisfied with!

"I have failed; I am a step behind you, but I will not repent to you! I will not beg for mercy!"

The Emperor: "You—"

He stood up abruptly, his withered hand trembling as he pointed at the Crown Prince.

Suddenly, the Emperor felt a chill all over his body as he looked at everyone—

His own younger sister, the Eldest Princess, was sitting there blankly like an outsider, looking left and right, without finding her own stance;

And the Crown Prince, the Prince of Qin, Yuyang, the Prince of Jin, Danyang, and even the Ah Nuan he had loved deeply, were all looking at him.

They were all looking at him, and their eyes were all saying—

Why haven't you died yet?

Why are you not dead yet?

Everyone was waiting for him to die, and everyone hated him. Everyone was questioning him—

The Emperor stumbled, and a mouthful of hot blood sprayed from his throat, his whole body falling backward.

Everyone in the hall watched helplessly as the Emperor vomited blood. Cheng An hurried forward to support the Emperor, shouting loudly for the imperial physicians, while others belatedly began to care about the Emperor.

The Emperor shook as he vomited blood in large gulps. He opened his mouth but could not speak, his eyes filled with tears, which terrified the surrounding people, almost suspecting he had suffered a stroke.

In the chaos, Liu Wenji’s eyes shone with a strange light as he stared at the Crown Prince, his expression showing a slight flicker of emotion—

The Crown Prince was his enemy.

Liu Wenji found all of the Crown Prince’s sophistry laughable.

However, there was one thing the Crown Prince said that Liu Wenji agreed with.

The Crown Prince said he wanted to resist.

Yes.

This unfair fate… should indeed be resisted!

—

The Emperor’s vomiting of blood and collapse threw the Imperial Palace into chaos.

An hour later, the Crown Prince was locked back in the Eastern Palace, waiting for the Emperor to wake up and continue the interrogation; Mu Wanyao and her husband left the palace and returned home; Liu Wenji followed the Prince of Jin.

Liu Wenji said to the Prince of Jin in a low voice: "Your Highness, last night, His Majesty spoke to several ministers, saying he wanted to select imperial concubines, or adopt one of the Mu descendants from the royal clan to be his son."

The Prince of Jin was bewildered.

Looking at this person’s appearance, Liu Wenji was surprised for a moment, not knowing if this man was truly stupid or if he had pretended to be stupid for so long that he had become truly stupid. Liu Wenji lowered his shoulders and said as directly as possible: "There might be a new prince in the palace."

Only then did the Prince of Jin understand.

He was stunned for a long time, not knowing what to feel: "The eunuch means, Father has never looked highly upon me?"

He was indignant, looking like he was crying and laughing: "Both of my older brothers are in trouble, yet he would rather have a new son, would rather adopt a collateral Mu descendant, than consider me? Does he look… that down upon me?"

Was the throne never related to him?

Why… on what grounds…

Liu Wenji bowed and smiled: "Your Highness, rest assured, I support you. I will help you by speaking well of you in front of His Majesty."

The Prince of Jin grabbed his hand and shook it excitedly: "Many thanks, Eunuch! I will never forget your kindness!"

The carriage of the Princess Danyang’s residence passed by on the main road. Liu Wenji wiped the smile off his face, and the Prince of Jin also retracted his look of immense gratitude.

—

In the carriage, Mu Wanyao said to Yan Shang: "Liu Wenji and the Prince of Jin have gotten mixed up together. Isn't this a bit ridiculous? Even if the Prince of Jin doesn't know, doesn't Liu Wenji know what the Prince of Jin did to Chunhua?

"He knows, but he doesn't care anymore."

Yan Shang did not speak.

Seeing him like this, Mu Wanyao said: "He has changed; he is not the Liu Wenji you knew. You must be careful of him in the future, careful that he doesn't sell you out."

After a long while, Yan Shang said: "I must try at least once."

Mu Wanyao sighed. She leaned gently against Yan Shang’s shoulder and stopped speaking.

The Crown Prince’s words today were like a bolt from the blue, voicing the inner thoughts of everyone. She was also pondering the Crown Prince’s words.

—

But no matter what was said in the hall today, the crime of rebellion could not be forgiven.

Three days later, the Crown Prince, under house arrest in the Eastern Palace, heard the news of the Prince of Qin’s fate: exile to Lingnan. The Prince of Qin’s wife’s entire family was executed, and his sons were also dealt with. The Nanyang Jiang clan was wiped out entirely.

The Prince of Qin was completely finished.

Next, it would be the Crown Prince’s turn.

Under the dim candlelight, the figure of an inner eunuch sent by Liu Wenji was reflected on the window, the eunuch gleefully speaking of the Prince of Qin’s end, intending to frighten the Crown Prince.

He told the Crown Prince to wait, to wait until those he cared about ended up in the same fate as the Prince of Qin.

—

After the eunuch left, the Crown Prince sat silently at the desk.

On the desk lay a sharp dagger.

A paperweight pressed down on the flipping pages of a book. The pages were covered in writing, all of which were the Crown Prince’s pleas for his own people.

Plea for the Yang clan, that their crimes were not worth death; plea to spare the Crown Princess and other concubines, to spare his children.

He used his own life to trade for their survival.

The Crown Prince’s long robes draped onto the floor as he sat in the quiet. He slowly picked up the dagger. When he lowered his eyes, his finger felt a trace on the hilt.

He saw three crooked characters: Gift of Yang Si.

It was a gift from seven-year-old Yang Si, who had just learned how to make a knife.

This was the first gift in his life.

And now, Yang Si was still in prison, waiting for fate to descend.

The Crown Prince pulled at the corner of his mouth and blew out the candle.

—

In the middle of the night, the Emperor was woken up from his sleep. Cheng An called out in panic in his ear: "Your Majesty… the Crown Prince is gone, the Crown Prince is gone!"

The Emperor woke up instantly, no longer sleepy.

The palace candles were lit, and the Emperor stumbled out in his robes. Without needing to take another step, he saw the great fire raging in the direction of the Eastern Palace.

The Emperor instantly lost his voice, staring at that direction for a long time, his whole body stiff and numb.

The hurried footsteps of a eunuch approached, panting: "The Eastern Palace has sent the Crown Prince’s suicide note… Your Majesty!"

The Emperor shouted: "How could he do this?! How could he? When did I ever want him to die, when did I…"

He suddenly burst into tears: "They are all my children, all my sons… Even a tiger does not eat its cubs; how could he think I wanted to kill him… Lang'er! Lang'er!"

Holding the thick manuscript, the Emperor cried bitterly. The oil burned, and the light was as bright as day, but no one spoke.

—

The Emperor read the Crown Prince’s suicide note in a solitary room, crying as he read, unable to sleep anymore.

The hall was quiet, and there was no sound. While the Emperor was half-asleep against the manuscript on the desk, a white silk sash tightened around his neck, slowly contracting and locking from behind.

The Emperor’s throat was pulled; he woke up suddenly and caught a glimpse of the eunuch’s shadow on the wall.

He opened his mouth, and the person behind him, discovering he was awake, pulled the white silk tighter, using both hands to strangle his throat.

The Emperor’s eyes bulged, struggling with all his might, but he couldn't utter a single word. The eunuch’s figure was projected hideously and arrogantly on the wall, strangling the Emperor.

The Emperor’s face was gaunt, his eyes popping, and his vision began to blur. He lost the strength to struggle, and suddenly, he lowered his head, realizing what was happening.

He stopped struggling, but looked in the direction of the illusory Ah Nuan.

He stared blankly, looking for a long time. He thought he would be unable to let go of many things, but in reality, there seemed to be nothing he couldn't let go of.

Only, only… he reached out into the void, but he couldn't touch Ah Nuan—

This life was short, a brief glimpse of flowers in the dark. At the end of the road, looking back, he saw that rainy day, the girl sheltering from the rain under the eaves of the temple, waiting with him to listen to the play together.

The sound of iron horses was like broken bells, the rain continuous. Her profile was beautiful, and her complexion whiter than the brightest pearl he had ever seen. She watched the play intently, and his heart pounded like a drum, only able to stare at her.

What was he thinking back then? It seemed he was thinking about proposing to her later. What was the play they were listening to? It seemed it was singing—

"Sighing that life is long and bitter, sighing that the dreams of old were false.

Sighing that the light is dim and feelings fade, sighing that the beauty did not have a long life.

Sighing that he does not come, sighing that she is not there."

Life, ah, one life spent in anger to reach this day, with no one left in the world to face the sunset. Ridiculous, ridiculous, it is nothing more than this.

—

In the bedchamber of the Princess Danyang’s residence, Mu Wanyao woke up suddenly from a nightmare and sat up blankly.

In the darkness, she felt her heartbeat, then suddenly lowered her head and pushed Yan Shang awake.

Because of his back pain, Yan Shang had been sleeping on his side, not very peacefully. Mu Wanyao pushed him lightly, and he woke up, sitting up.

With the curtains hanging low, Yan Shang was still a bit sleepy: "What’s wrong?"

Mu Wanyao gripped his hand, which was covered in cold, clammy sweat. Her voice was strained: "I had a dream. I dreamt of my second brother—he said he came to pick up my father. They are leaving, and from now on, I will be the only one left in the world."

Yan Shang was stunned.

He thought Mu Wanyao was having such a dream because she was terrified all day. He took her into his arms, and just as he was about to whisper words of comfort, he heard the bells outside.

In the dead of night, the bells came from the direction of the Imperial Palace, one after another. The husband and wife listened to the tolling, and as the sound struck their hearts, Yan Shang’s expression changed.

Mu Wanyao said: "My father has passed away."