Chapter Nineteen, An Old Friend

Two days passed by, and He Xuan then sent someone to urge Xiao Zuo to go to his residence to choose a few maidservants. Xiao Zuo agreed, and then changed before saying, “It is enough with Zi Wan, you two first return to the crown prince residence and resume your duties.”

Those two people naturally couldn’t wish for any more, and hurriedly bid farewells and left.

Zi Wan also changed into informal clothing. The Nan Hun ducal residence was not far from the crown prince residence, and today by coincidence, the driver’s wife gave birth to a child and returned home, so Xiao Zuo prepared to go walk over by himself.

When the two walked by a small little alleyway on the east corner of the outer main street, Xiao Zuo smelled a peculiar bloody scent. His steps gave pause, and he said with knitted brows, “This alleyway has some problems, let us hurry.” Zi Wan nodded her head, and just as she was about to turn her head back, the corner of her eyes saw there was some meandering bloodstains mixed with the thick juices of vegetables flowing out from beneath a basket of rotten vegetables in the alleyway. She let out a small gasp and pulled at the corner of Xiao Zuo’s clothes, holding her breath in and using a breathy voice to speak, “Duke, look……”

“Do not pay heed to other people’s business.” Xiao Zuo shook his head at her. All of a sudden, that basket of vegetables shook a bit, and a hand full of bloodstains reached out from within, and then, was a face of black and white lines propping up a rotten leaf. That person narrowed their eyes and took a breath, and called for help intermittently, “Save…… save me……”

Zi Wan froze, like she had seen something, and her voice even shook. She pointed at that person in a tremble, saying, “Du…… duke, it’s a Nan Liang dialect!”

It was clear Xiao Zuo heard it too. He extended his head over and looked around outside the alleyway, there wasn’t anyone, and then moved a few broken baskets piled on the side and blocked the alleyway, then made a small run over to the side of that rotten vegetable basket, and crouched down, “Don’t speak, we will take you back.”

At this time, that person already lost too much blood, and was all dizzy and a bit faint. He moved his ears and tried his best to make out Xiao Zuo’s words, and probably felt that there was no malice, then closed his eyes, and completely fainted over. Xiao Zuo picked up the outer leaves of some white cabbage and stuffed them into the basket, and placed ones that look still alright over the top, and then lifted it back to the ducal residence along with Zi Wan.

“Duke, why have you brought this back?” A small servant boy in the residence shrunk his neck and strangely looked at that worn basket. Xiao Zuo glanced at him, and fabricated a tale without changing expressions.

“I met a small beggar on the way, oh how pitiful they were, their shoulders were injured, kneeling at the corner selling vegetables with a face all black. Zi Wan got soft, and then gave him some money. Who knew that small beggar would pull on Zi Wan’s clothes and not leave, saying that his father back home had been injured by a local tyrant, and begged us to give him some money to seek treatment. Once that small fellow cried, Zi Wan could not take it anymore. Once that small beggar got money, they insisted on giving this basket of rotten white cabbage to us, really……”

“Heh, this small beggar……” That small servant sneered, Xiao Zuo saw he was still not leaving, and then instructed him, “Just when I was coming in, I saw that there wasn’t anyone at the courtyard sweeping, hurry and sweep it.”

That small servant then went off. Xiao Zuo and Zi Wan saw that there wasn’t anyone around anymore, so the two sneakily brought that basket into Xiao Zuo’s bedchambers, and placed it in the area where the bathing tub was normally placed at, separated by a partition with the front hall, where others would not casually come in either.

“This servant will go out and get a pan of hot water, and bring some medicine.” Zi Wan put that person to the side, “Duke, please change his clothes then place him to the couch.”

Xiao Zuo nodded his head, then Zi Wan went out the door. That person hung his head with his eyes down leaning on the partition, but the more Xiao Zuo looked, the more familiar he felt he was, and in the end, could not help but push back his messy hair and lifted it up. Xiao Zuo only took one glance, but felt the blood in his entire body all congeal, going so cold it made a crunching sound, and the crumbs of ice stuck out, about to break through all his blood vessels, to bleed out with a gushing sound.

He stiffened his body while looking at him in a daze for a moment, the lips all shook, and he clutched at the corners of his clothes in bewilderment, and called out like he was dreaming, “Zi Wan?” Zi Wan was bringing a pan of hot water into the room, and got startled into a jump by his voice that sounded like he had seen some ghost, and quickly walked over to ask, “What is it?”

Xiao Zuo caught at Zi Wan’s sleeves as he trembled, took a deep breath in, and said with a slight choking sound, “He…… he is Fu Run……”

“Young Sir Chang?” Zi Wan also froze, her hands paused, and after a short while, then placed the wash basin on the wooden rack, and took down the towel from her shoulder and soaked it in water, then crouched down and wiped the face for him, “Duke, hurry and help him change, the ground is cold, after all.”

“How could Fu Run……” Xiao Zuo muttered while taking off Chang Fu Run’s unbearably tattered outer robes and tossed it to a side. The two placed him on the couch to the side with a totter, and then Zi Wan wrapped over his few exterior injuries, fed him a bit of medicine, then sat down to speak, “It can only be like this for now, as for whether or not the young Sir Chang can wake up, we will need to see his luck.”

Xiao Zuo idly sat to the side, and when he heard this, he vacantly nodded his head, then sniffled, “Wasn’t Fu Run not in the capital at that time? How could he be reduced to this kind of situation……”

“Duke, don’t be too grieved, each person……” Zi Wan twisted the handkerchief in her hands, then covered it over Chang Fu Run’s forehead, and sighed, “Each person has their own fate.”

In the night, Xiao Zuo held out at the dining room and randomly made do, and had the small maidservant bring some diluted porridge to his room in the night, and then returned to the bedchambers again to watch over Chang Fu Run. Chang Fu Run was the son of the brother of the empress of Nan Liang, and was considered to be Xiao Zuo’s older maternal cousin. The two were close in age, and also blood relatives, so they grew up together reading poems and playing cuju, and were naturally closer than other people.

At that time Nan Liang fell to ruin, Chang Fu Run was outside travelling, but who knew in the end, he still could not escape from the Jin army’s demonic claws. Xiao Zuo sat on the chair like the bottom of his heart was burning with fire, and felt like no matter how he sat, he could not sit still. From time to time, he would have to take a peek to see if he moved or not, and after a long while, Zi Wan could not bear to watch in the end, and went over to persuade him, “It’s already this late, Duke, you should go sleep first. Zi Wan is here to watch, if there is something, Zi Wan here will call the duke up.”

Xiao Zuo was about to reject when his eyes caught Chang Fu Run’s hand moving a bit- he abruptly got up, and called out in shock and joy, “Fu Run, Fu Run!”

Chang Fu Run knitted his eyebrows. The dry and cracked lips moved a bit, Xiao Zuo then understood, and called Zi Wan to go and pour some water. With a cup of hot water down the stomach, Chang Fu Run finally opened his eyes, his throat was still a bit hoarse, but either way, he had woken up, “Your Majesty?”

Xiao Zuo did not have the time to pay heed to his address at this time, he pursed his lips, and had some feeling of unease from being so close to home, and did not know what to say for the time being, “Do you feel a bit better now?”

Chang Fu Run nodded his head, Zi Wan already quick-wittedly scooped a bit of the diluted porridge made in the kitchen, and brought it over to him, “Sir Chang, allow this servant to feed you something to fill the stomach.”

Chang Fu Run propped up against the bed with one hand and arduously sat up, Xiao Zuo found him a pillow to lean back on, while Zi Wan scooped a spoon full of porridge and blew on it, and brought it to the side of his mouth. The diluted porridge was especially made into a slightly milder egg porridge, with less oil put in, Chan Fu Run ate half a bowl of porridge, then waved his hand, “Much thanks. Your……”

“The walls have ears, Fu Run should call me Duke instead.”

Chang Fu Run froze, then bitterly laughed, and changed the form of address, “Duke, this su…… I…… know I soon cannot go on further anymore……” Chang Fu Run saw Xiao Zuo knit his eyebrows wanting to say something, and waved his hands, “This time, I escaped against death, just to tell the circumstances of Nan Liang in the present to the duke as it is, that is my wish only.”

“Currently…… I hear that it is stable under Lord Liu’s rule, what of it?” Seeing Chang Fu Run sneer, Xiao Zuo froze, “How is Nan Liang?”

Chang Fu Run sighed. As though he was not willing to think of the scenery of Nan Liang right now deeply sunken into hell, he closed his eyes and paused for a long while, and just as he accumulated enough strength to rip open the bloody truth, he spoke.

“When the country fell, me and Father were residing in Mei Province. Not long after, the ruthless Liu Guang Yuan brought that bunch from the Jin army into the city. After they came, that night, they ravaged Mei Province’s Prefecture Chief Meng’s daughter, and burned the prefectural chief residence with a torch, with the fires reaching the skies and cries all throughout the night……”

“What?” Xiao Zuo was so shocked he did not hold the bowl steady, and that remaining half a bowl of diluted porridge all spilled on his robes. He couldn’t care to wipe it, and clutched at Chang Fu Run’s sleeves, while his vocal cords bore a slightly stagnate shrill tone, “Liu……”

“Not only that.” Chang Fu Run acted like he did not hear his words, “That bunch of filthy things would go around the streets all day, and if they see a fine-aged woman, they would bring them away, if there were some curious toys, if it was small, they would steal it away, but if it was big, they would smash it and burn it, the current Mei Province……” Chang Fu Run paused, his voice suddenly went quiet, carrying a bit of a despairing sigh, “Is already a living hell.”

“How could it be so?” Xiao Zuo seemed like he was still immersed in his last words and could not break free, and said like muttering in a dream, “When I was young, Lady Meng even gifted me a small plum embroidery……”

Mei Province was very close to Nan Liang’s capital, Qing Ling. Their commerce was flourishing, business was at its peak, and was famed for its plum(mei) flowers and embroidery. In the winter, the winter plums would all blossom, and a faint fragrance would drift about, the holy place where the scholars and elegant guests would praise of snows through poems. Now it was the season where the plums would bloom, but this winter, there was probably nobody interested in stepping over snow and admiring the plums.

“Your Majesty.” Chang Fu Run coughed. Zi Wan saw the handkerchief she handed him already stained with some bits of red dots, and her eyes went red, and could not help but turn over to sob quietly. Chang Fu Run did not look at her, and used the handkerchief to cover over the mouth and cough for a while again. He reached out and pulled at Xiao Zuo’s sleeves, saying, “Your Majesty, that Jin army is no better than animals, stepping over our Nan Liang’s citizens. As of now, I am already useless, but I still hope that your Majesty will bear the insults for greater accomplishments, take care your dragon body, and save Nan Liang’s commoners from the waters and fire!”

Xiao Zuo stiffly moved his eyes. He opened his mouth, yet discovered his throat could not make any sound. He felt all that was in his vision were images of tens of thousands of red plums in full bloom, those thousands of miles of bright red colour were magnificently burning and eye-piercing, like it had been grown from blood.

He lowered his eyes and faced Chang Fu Run, and actually spaced out in this instance, and recalled the scene of the two going to school together when they were young. The teacher who taught them at that year was number one in the imperial examinations for two consecutive years when they were young, and wrote a beautiful piece of literature, and was very strict in his expectations of them. Xiao Zuo remembered there was one day, the teacher assigned them homework after class, and had them write about the responsibilities in the future. Xiao Zuo was still young, and was very playful, he bit on the brush and looked at the yellow orioles singing between the shady leaves outside the window, and once he came to, Chang Fu Run already wrote a majority of it.

He got close to look, and saw Chang Fu Run used a still slightly immature handwriting to write those words popular with the people, “To continue lost bodies of knowledge for the past, to open to peace and tranquility for generation after generation[1]”. At this time, he only read it hastily without understanding it, and forgot about it after looking, instead, when the teacher wrote down a good comment on those words of Chang Fu Run’s, Xiao Zuo was even admiring him for a good few days for this.

At that time, the fragrance of the ink written down, actually seemed like it was from yesterday.