Volume One: The Dragon Hidden in the Abyss, Chapter 101: Origins

Wang Chuan had truly not noticed last night.
It had been like passing by on the road and seeing a troop of ants at one’s side—he had no inclination to care which of them was stronger or weaker.
They had posed no threat to him, no murderous intent.
So naturally, he ignored them.
Not one of them was an enemy his single tactic could even meet.

But if one looks closely, even ants have their own degrees of strength.
With cultivation like Zhong Jie’s, he could face most military commanders; even Duan Changfeng might not equal him.
Yet was such a man a civil official?
A power behind the Censorate?
Wang Chuan was genuinely surprised.
Had he ignored some crucial thing last night?

“My father used to study martial arts and was quite formidable,” Zhong Yuching said when speaking of her father, full of pride.
In Wang Chuan’s presence, though, everything else seemed to pale.

“Too much!” Wang Chuan banged the table.
“With your talent and such hard effort, to make progress in statecraft and still excel in martial arts—if you had focused only on the Way of battle, your achievements would be limitless.
Old Zhong, this is your prime; turning back now would not be too late.
Come back to yourself! Since you make your own heart serve a borrowed form, why grieve in lone sorrow?
What is so good about office? There is only hardship and weariness. I care nothing for these things.
Can men like us chase fame and profit?
Splendor and riches are mere floating clouds!”

He spoke earnestly, a heartfelt warning, truly meaning to do him good.
The others were taken aback.
Could this be Prince Wang, famed under the whole realm?
What kind of person Wang Chuan truly was?
It was indeed still unexpected.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s kindness,” Zhong Jie sighed. “But… every man has his own ambition.
In those days I already understood that martial arts alone could not save a nation, so I worked hard at study and only then reached this point, fast as it came…
Not a life for a coward. Though I should face death nine times, I would not repent.”

Many years ago, young men looking at the chaos in court and the suffering of the people swore to repay the country.
They threw themselves into a grand cause—raging against corrupt sycophants and wiping out the entire current of the Chancellor’s faction.
That is how there came to be a pillar of its middle ranks.
Wang Chuan was startled; he had never imagined it came from such a reason.

If this were his own kingdom, even if that man were his father, and the Son of Heaven had fallen from virtue, he would have been replaced directly.
No such convolutions would be needed.
Was all that training not for that very hour—purifying the inner court?

“Old Zhong, your divided realm is no secret to anyone,” Wang said with regret.
“But do you truly want to be that hero who turns the tide?”

Being a hero is no easy role.
How was it so hard to understand?
Wang did not agree, though he understood his actions all the same.
Yet he did not agree at all.
How could someone abandon the martial path?
If it were someone close to him, it would send him into torment.

“Your Highness, my decision is fixed.
I have labored so many years and now intend to see it through,” Zhong Jie said.
“There is one unreasonable request, if Your Highness would grant it.”

“A small matter. Speak—if you ask, I will not refuse.”
“Your daughter and Wei’er have compatible hearts.
Let them come and go often and keep company.
Do not mind what families they come from.
I tell you, Old Zhong, today I find you a dependable man.”

“That is our honor.
My little daughter can be favored by the Princess and also by the Crown Prince.”
He said quickly.
“I wish to ask Your Highness: next time you go to court to see our Emperor, please allow me to accompany.”

“Oh, you want to see our Son of Heaven?”
Wang understood.
“With no special reason, I would not have entered the court for nothing.
I might not even have been granted a meeting.”

“That is not so.”
Wang’s companion said quickly.
“Your Majesty has been asking for you all day.
He has summoned several general administrators and urged you repeatedly.”

Wang Chuan stood up in sudden shock.
He himself looked for the ruler of Xia?
Just this? what had happened to that ruler?

In his own country even a poor-minded king would have been removed at once.
The one from Xia would usually shut himself in, neglect ministers, skip meals, and live as if trying to ascend to heaven by fasting.
What a contrast to the ruler of Tang.
One delights in lust and revelry, the other keeps pure in detachment.
Both are celebrated in these times as famous for dull incompetence.

“Fine then,” Wang said lightly. “If I go to court to meet your emperor, I’ll have you called.”
No other matter could move him.
Not a single other thing.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Zhong Jie thanked him gratefully.
There was no need; he must prepare everything, then somehow urge the Son of Heaven to pull back from the edge.
Punish the villains, restore proper order!

“Old High One, what relation do you have with Lord Chen?” Wang pointed to Chen Lingyan.
“The two young ladies seem close indeed.”

“I have known Chen Ying since childhood,” Zhong Jie said with a sigh.
“Later we even passed the same examination list together.
Those two grew up side by side.”
“The past is carried off by the wind.”

“Your closeness is still good, then—even if last night you hinted at something to each other…”
Wang thought for a moment.
“Old Zhong, I remembered a story,” he said.

“Please tell me, Your Highness,” Zhong Jie said with good humor, willing to listen.

His voice dropped lower, as if speaking only to him.
“I read this in a stray history once.
In a certain dynasty, a prefect emptied the granary and made immense profit.
By chance, at that very time the Son of Heaven toured their prefecture, and someone dared to submit an accusation.
The prefect first needed only to survive that moment.
When the emperor came to inspect, he only had to have the granaries appear full, and he could buy himself temporary safety.
So they devised a plan: they borrowed grain from local grandees and merchants, taking out promissory notes…”

“Old Zhong, what do you think of this?”

Zhong Jie stood stunned for a long while after the question.
So even their secret consultation had been heard.
And could such a man as Wang truly be trusted?
That kind of “one-hearted seeker of the Way” who ignores worldly affairs.
And this story, as an example, was rather suggestive.
The others stared blankly, not knowing what was happening, and when Zhong Jie moved no longer, his wife called him.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s reminder.
I understand,” he nodded gravely.

The lands of two regions are naturally full of danger, yet this is also a fine chance to crush the Chancellor’s party.
A man of true righteousness, one who acts for country and people—was that not why he learned martial arts in the first place?
Yet now, if he wants to receive the imperial audience, he still needs help from others.

“Old Zhong, keep your measure; we should go now.”
Wang rose to take his leave.
“In broad daylight, what cannot be spoken in the sun?
A crowd packed in this secret chamber for so long—isn’t it stifling?”

Wang smiled.
If he delayed, he’d surely suffocate everyone in that hidden room.
“Let us play with Xu Wei on another day.”

“Your Highness, I will see you out,” Chen Lingyan said, walking with him and asking to go along.

“Uncle Zhong is someone I have always respected,” Chen Lingyan said to him.
“He taught me martial arts from childhood.
For a person to hold fast to the right path is difficult.
That Your Highness can help him is excellent.”

“Ah? And your father?”
Wang asked.

“After he married, his rise was swift like green clouds at dawn.
He is now among the top ten men in the Prime Minister’s faction.
His father-in-law—your grandfather—is the third figure in that same faction, serving as Grand Preceptor, Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Hall, a post of immense rank, known throughout court and realm as Deputy Prime Minister.”

“My father has his own reason for this as well.”
Chen Lingyan started, then turned toward him quickly.
“Your Highness, you are not one who devotes himself to cultivation?
How can you know court affairs in such detail?”

“It is no secret,” Wang replied casually.
“I came for the birthday greeting—your people in Xia are probably waiting for someone to mock me.”

“His Majesty has not had a birthday ceremony for years,” Chen Lingyan said.
“In the Outer Court they only sent gifts before, and so did your Jin kingdom.”

“But this year he invited me,” Wang said.

“That is because Your Highness is said to be the reincarnation of a sage,” Chen Lingyan asked seriously.
“Still, why would someone like you come here?
What is it you truly seek to do?”

“You are too sensitive,” Wang smiled. “You are not like your father at all.
Your father must have had the same suspicion, but he has never asked me, nor even tested me.
That is what is most frightening.
A gentleman is like the wind; he need not creep about in concealment.
But today you can ask me outright, so I will tell you…”

Chen Lingyan came to take from him an answer, not sure if it was what she wanted, and somehow felt tense.
Just then Wang turned toward the doorway as they walked out of the Zhong estate.
Someone came running quickly, hurrying toward him.

“Pay respects, Your Highness. At last we have found you.
Our Emperor has long wished to see you and invites you to the palace for discourse.”
The steward from court said, out of breath.

At that moment Zhong Jie also hurried out and adjusted his attire.
So that was how it had been arranged.
Wang paused a moment as if nothing had touched him.

“The discussion can wait.
Tell the Emperor that I wandered through the heavens and met a sage who taught me;
in a few days, I will return and then exchange thoughts with His Majesty.”

“Eh…”
That excuse seemed hardly convincing.
The whole man stood there, perfectly sound.
Wang simply wanted to stay a few more days, to spend them with Xu Wei.
When he gave that reason to the ruler of Xia, he happened to be believed.
Perhaps only he would believe it.

He then waited in eager longing for the next day he would see Wang again and wished that day might come quickly.

“If His Majesty goes on like this, problems will arise.
Have some elixirs prepared—I will entrust them to him with ingredients like snow-lotus and lingzhi, and anything else suitable.
Any healer can make them in the Imperial Medical Bureau; I know exactly what to ask for.”
Every method he could think of, Wang added.

The steward thanked him gratefully.
As Zhong Jie saw him off, he kept reminding him to bring him into the palace next time.
“Your father still keeps dealings with him, does he not?”

Wang turned back with a glance as Zhong Jie left.
“I don’t know that.
Father rarely discusses official business at home, keeps no associates, and I have never seen visitors come for him.”
She nodded.
“She does not forbid me from still playing with Yuqing either.”

Soft lute sounds floated through the pavilion.
Shadows of blossoms moved, butterflies drifted through them, and one pond lay thick with dark blue blooms.
Between willow boughs, a young man lay on a bamboo mat beneath a tree, eyes half clouded with intoxication.
Four handsome maidens of about seventeen or eighteen gathered beside him, attending him with careful devotion.
The air was filled with a sweet, disorienting fragrance; from the garden, petals drifted down occasionally onto the reed mat.

The youth leaned against a small maid in a pale green, thin silk skirt, mechanically eating the purple grapes she fed him.
At the same time he held another beautiful maid in his arms, his hand unconsciously slipping beneath her garments, moving over her smooth skin and squeezing with abandon.
The maid’s face flushed crimson; under his teasing she bit down hard on her teeth, yet even so she could not hide the fervor that overtook her.

A sharp wingbeat rang out.
A bird with blue-green, flower-hued feathers skimmed across the lake, beat its wings hard, and flew upward into the sky.
Fine tiny ripples spread across the water.
Across the other side, a party had already come slowly forward; the young man hurried up to receive them.
A gentle breeze flowed, and the youth there was handsome and striking.

“Master Xu, this is the second son of the Gao family and the steward.
If you want to buy grain, let us discuss it in earnest,” said the middle-aged man who had brought them.

“Pleasure to meet you,” said Xu Qing with a light smile.
“I have heard of you for a long time.”