419 Sword Immortal Arrives
The belt had been burned to ashes, and it was no longer possible to know the names written on it. Mingde Emperor sighed. "Come out."
Jin Xian, his clothes torn in places, walked in from the front door. Apart from the princes, Mingde Emperor also summoned him.
"Jin Yan, if you're released to the martial world, you will definitely be used and hunted down. If Shen Xiduo takes you, you will also blame us. Hence, we will give him to you. Jin Yan, Jin Xian, do you have any objections?" Mingde Emperor asked.
Jin Xian bowed his head. "This subject dare not."
Eunuchs of the inner court generally referred to themselves as 'this slave.' As one of the Five Grand Eunuchs and the minister in charge of the Court of State Ceremonial, Jin Xian was qualified to call himself 'this subject'.
Jin Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead and prostrated, knocking his head on the ground. His voice resounded throughout the palace hall, "This worthless commoner dare not!"
Xiao Yu snorted coldly. "Just like a slave."
"Withdraw." Mingde Emperor waved his sleeves. "We're tired. Lanyue Marquis, regarding the matter of the document of consignatories being destroyed, you find some way of spreading the news throughout Heavenly Revelations City by the end of the day."
"This brother understands," Lanyue Marquis replied.
Everyone withdrew one after another, and Jin Xian brought Jin Yan to leave the palace quickly. Nobody else said another word, and nobody stopped even a moment.
"The Eunuch of Incense is also someone in the imperial court who was quite wild in his youth. They say that he wandered the martial world when he was younger and became famous with his Snowstorm sword. After lingering in the martial world for some time, he was finally caught by Zhuo Qing Gonggong and brought back to the palace," the White Prince Xiao Chong remarked slowly to Xiao Se as he walked behind him.
Xiao Yu walked past them in a hurry, his voice full of disdain. "He merely lacked the courage. He had the ability and the power, but all he wanted to do was save a shidi who was not even from the same sect."
Xiao Se glanced at him. "That's why you and I are not on the same path."
Xiao Yu glanced at Xiao Se, then at Jin Xian, and snorted coldly. "Then, you think you and he are on the same path?"
Xiao Se frowned slightly. "Jin Xian Gonggong and I are not the same either. When it comes to the staunchness of one's heart, I'm not as good as he."
"What about you two? Now that you've exchanged a little favour for each other, you're on the same path?" Xiao Yu smirked. Then, he turned around and left without waiting for their answer.
Xiao Se and Xiao Chong avoided each other's gaze, an awkward smile on both their faces. Xiao Chong shook his head. "Maybe we share the same thoughts, but the paths we've taken are vastly different. Liu-di and I are also not the same."
Xiao Se shrugged. "Yes, we're walking on two separate paths, though occasionally, our paths intersect and we can meet and walk together for a while. After that, we still have to part ways and carry on. Er-ge, the days to come will be even tougher."
Xiao Chong frowned, his face slightly worried. "Father's health…"
"All diseases are easy to cure, but an ailment of the heart is difficult to treat." Xiao Se sighed and took his leave first. Only the White Prince was left on his own as he continued his stroll. He was strolling because he was enjoying the scenery as he walked.
Today, he cherished every sight he saw.
Over the next few days, Heavenly Revelations City remained very unstable, and many major events occurred that shocked the court and the commoners.
For instance, the Court of Judicial Review announced that the traitor, Jin Yan, had been arrested and was killed when he resisted. This was Mingde Emperor's idea. In the past few years, the Court of Judicial Review had never had an unsolved case, so he didn't want them to break their track record.
The other matter was even more shocking. An elder of three reigns and the backbone of the country, Grand Preceptor Dong Zhu presented a memorial citing that he was old and requested to return to his home to retire. Mingde Emperor returned the memorial and urged him to stay, but Dong Zhu wrote to His Majesty another three times in two days to ask for His Majesty's approval, and Mingde Emperor finally nodded his approval. It was said that on the day Dong Zhu left the city, three hundred scholars of Heavenly Revelations City stood on the city gates to bid him farewell. They watched his carriage ride into the distance as, without exception, they all wept bitterly. That day, Mingde Emperor sat alone in the Hall of Supreme Peace listening to the ringing of the bell outside the hall, and shed his own tears silently.
Few people would remember that Dong Zhu was his teacher when he was a prince. Back then, he and Langya Prince studied together in Dong Zhu's school. There were other more prominent princes, but Dong Zhu was the only one who took utmost care of him and Langya Prince.
At the same time, other little things happened too, that nobody cared about.
For instance, in the Court of State Ceremonial, an additional monk was suddenly ordained there. He was personally ordained by the Eunuch of Incense, Jin Xian, who also personally gave him his dharma name.
Pushan.
Also for instance, there was a deserted old house in the backyard of the Red Prince Residence, where a pale-skinned doctor pushed open the door, and squinted his eyes against the dazzling sunlight.
In the Autumn House.
The young genius doctor fell asleep, slumped over the table. The table was surrounded by balls of paper that had been written on, then crumpled up and discarded. Mu Chunfeng pushed open the door and walked in. He picked up one of the balls of paper, smoothed it open and read its contents. But, he shook his head and said in a low voice, "My Autumn House contains the rarest and most precious medicinal herbs under Heaven. Yet, you still can't find the correct prescription with them?"
Hua Jin was startled awake by Mu Chunfeng's voice. She rubbed her eyes and said, "I'm useless. Looks like the great name of the Medicine King Valley is going to be ruined at my hands."
"Why is it like this?" Mu Chunfeng said with a frown. "The Emperor is obviously not suffering from a serious illness!"
"Someone is poisoning him." Hua Jin sighed. "The imperial palace is heavily guarded, so it wouldn't be a deadly poison that would cause instant haemorrhage in the throat. However, it’s a drug that slowly wears away at the Emperor's energy and is all pervasive. Adding on Mingde Emperor's weakened condition, his life is constantly at risk. I have saved the Emperor's life eleven times, but this time…"
"We must kill the poisoner." Mu Chunfeng frowned.
"This time, I must prescribe the correct medicine!" Hua Jin ignored Mu Chunfeng's words, picked up the brush again, and started scribbling.
Yong'an Prince Residence.
Lei Wujie sighed heavily. "Xiao Se, we've survived another major event. Can we enjoy some peace and quiet for a while now?"
Ye Ruoyi laughed. "Probably? This time, none of us succeeded, and each side suffered heavy losses. It's time we all had a good rest."
Xiao Se sat at the doorway, looking up at the sky. He spoke faintly at nobody in particular, "This storm over Heavenly Revelations City has never really stopped."
Outside Heavenly Revelations City.
The man in grey robes finally arrived.
He came on foot from a city in the west, almost at the border. Along the way, he saw the mountains and rivers, saw the world, but he was not delayed at all. Within an incredibly short time, he had arrived at the walls of this city.
What's more, he maintained a leisurely state and didn't look like he was travelling at all. He looked like he had just stepped out of his house for a stroll and accidentally walked into Heavenly Revelations City.
He looked rather inconspicuous in his grey robe, his expression calm, and the only thing striking about him was the sword at his waist. Indeed, it was a little longer than average.
He walked up to the walls of Heavenly Revelations City and raised his head.
There were two words written on the plaque - Heavenly Revelations.
He was very familiar with this city. Once upon a time, he lived here for a very long time. At the time, he even thought that he would live here for the rest of his life.
He sighed.
The long sword was unsheathed.
As far as the world knew, this was the first time this sword was unsheathed.
The famous sword, Nine Songs, the sword of the Solitary Sword Immortal.
He took a flying leap.
The long sword swung.
The plaque with the words "Heavenly Revelations" was instantly split in half!
*
Note about personal pronouns:
Although the fourth arc of the novel involved the imperial court, very little of it actually took place in court or involved court officials. Hence, these terms don't really appear that often when compared to novels that are more heavy on court politics so the translation is more literal than usual.
臣 chén (this subject)
Used in place of I/me by officials of the imperial court when addressing the emperor. In this chapter, Jin Xian used it when speaking to Mingde Emperor. Interestingly, this is the first time in the whole novel Jin Xian is shown speaking to the emperor. He doesn't use this pronoun when speaking to anyone else.
奴才 nú cai (this slave)
Used in place of I/me by low-level officials and servants, especially when addressing the emperor or members of the imperial family. By right, all eunuchs would use this pronoun but very few eunuchs appear in the story apart from the Five Grand Eunuchs and they're special. In previous chapters, when Jin Xuan spoke to the emperor, he used his own name in place of I/me. He did this also when speaking to State Preceptor Qi Tianchen.
草民 cǎo mín (this worthless commoner)
Used in place of I/me by commoners when addressing court officials. Can also be used as a noun to refer to commoners. Jin Yan used this when speaking to Mingde Emperor after he was handed over to Jin Xian. In the previous chapter, he used this (guilty) subject. Otherwise, he would normally use 'this slave'. The implication is that he has been dismissed from his position.
臣弟 chén dì (lit. this subject and younger brother)
This was previously explained and only the second time Lanyue Marquis used it in the novel. Translated as "this brother" to simplify it.
References: Chinese honorifics - Wikipedia