CH 5

The night breeze picks up, the trees flourish with flowers, and a display of fireworks and a sea of lanterns sparkle like silvery stars in pouring rain.

As the farmost burgeoning Chang’an city beneath the sky, even as the day sinks into night, it is still extraordinarily bustling. This night, a residence in the west of the city is crowded with visitors—lavish horse carriages fill the roads with royalties and nobles. All of a sudden, most of them gather here.

Chu Mingyun scans his surroundings, his gaze falling upon the smiling Song Heng, who is welcoming guests by the gate. “Four of the Six Ministries have arrived. Half the  civil officials and half the martial officials are here. Such a man this Zhuangyuan is.” He pauses for a moment and coldly laughs. “Such daring.”

Someone who dominates the Imperial Examination has always been a figure people would rush to curry favours with. Dynasty after dynasty and generation after generation, there were even cases of people who hurry to spot and grab them in person. However, this is the first time a top scholar of the Imperial Examination hurries himself to set up a huge feast with an invitation to all. Song Heng has even invited people from both the Chu and Su Factions. For a moment, one couldn’t tell what the host is thinking, because it is just like a normal and simple celebratory party, fearless of drawing neither the suspicions of the Emperor nor the gossip of other people.

As the throng of horse-drawn carriages thin before the gates, the sound of clanging bamboos rings from inside the manor, and Song Heng starts to look around nervously. Chu Mingyun draws the curtain close and tells Qin Zhao, “Alright. The display of authority is enough. I will go ahead.”

“I will come with you,” Qin Zhao says and attempts to stand up.

Chu Mingyun turns back to cast him a gaze. “You aren’t invited to the feast;  what meaning is there for you to stand there like a pillar?”

“You did not bring weapons,” Qin Zhao says.

“Am I going there to look for a fight?” Chu Mingyun raises the fan in his hand. “This would be enough.”

Qin Zhao says nothing, but insists on standing up.

“Tch.” Chu Mingyun impatiently says, “Shidi, you have an ice-block for a face, yet why do you carry the worry of a mother all day long?”

Qin Zhao: “……”

“Since when do I need your protection?” Chu Mingyun sweeps the curtain aside and gets off the carriage.

When Chu Mingyun appears, Song Heng immediately goes to welcome him, letting out a breath of relief, saying, “I thought that His Excellency Chu was shackled by court affairs and could not show up.”

Chu Mingyun smiles. “Shouldn’t one come even if they’re busy, since it’s Lord Zhuangyuan’s invitation?”

Song Heng speaks humbly as he brings him into the residence personally. The courtyard is huge, rows and rows of seats occupied; women in vermilion dresses dance slowly to the music in the vicinity while familiar officials chatter and laugh nonstop.

Yet Song Heng’s feet take another course of direction, leading Chu Mingyun to the higher grounds of his residence. He gives Chu Mingyun a strange look and immediately explains, “Your Excellency Chu, this way please. A special seat is prepared just for you.”

All the way up, passing through the flourishing branches,a vermilion pavilion is revealed. Three sides of it face the pond and the winding waters flow southward around the perimeter of the pavilion. That footing of the land could allow one to have an overview of everyone below their eyes, yet the people below would not steal a glance there; a blissful and elegant silence.

Chu Mingyun couldn’t help but sigh in regret. “This residence of yours is furnished beautifully.”

Song Heng smiles. “How could a poor scholar like me afford such a place? It was only because a wealthy person I knew from my hometown bought this. After he failed the examination and returned home, he said it would be a pity to leave this uninhabited, thus it was gifted to me.”

Chu Mingyun nods his head in disinterest. After a few steps, he finally catches sight of someone else who is a step quicker than him and has occupied the pavilion. He feels a series of complicated feelings and glances at Song Heng, who is standing next to him.

Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu hold the same positions. During large or small feasts there would always be two seats prepared for each of them opposite each other, so neither could stand in the way of the other. Presently, one wouldn’t even know if this new Zhuangyuan of the Imperial Examination had heard of Chu Mingyun’s pursuit of Su Shiyu and wanted to earn his favour, and so purposely picked such a pavilion for them to sit together. It really is a suitable place for lovers to meet.

It is unknown whether this method to curry favours works on Chu Mingyun or not, but this gentleman of a Zhuangyuan surely has stepped on Su Shiyu’s toes.

Su Shiyu has changed out of his official’s uniform, into white robes full of scholarly elegance. Just as he turns to ask a maidservant something, one could vaguely hear words along the lines of “burning incense”. He heard the sound of approaching footsteps and turned just in time to see Chu Mingyun’s vague lift of his eyebrow. Su Shiyu greeted him with a faint smile. Chu Mingyun simply answers him before falling into the seat next to him. Song Heng converses with them for a while before taking leave with the maidservants. All of a sudden, they are the only two people left in the pavilion.

Chu Mingyun sighs from the bottom of his heart; for Song Heng, for Su Shiyu, and for himself. What a difficult night to endure.

The soft and gentle singing from the courtyard suddenly becomes clear. Both of them have nothing to say to each other, and Chu Mingyun even spreads his fan open to cover himself from the occasional glare his way. It was so completely silent that the strange, eccentric atmosphere even chased away the manservant who brought dishes and wine.

Chu Mingyun raises the wine cup and glances at the waning moon; the sigh in his chest hasn’t yet dissipated. A hand reaches out from nowhere and holds down his hand that is raising the wine cup, his long fingers and bones distinct. Chu Mingyun conveniently allows his gaze to linger on them and drift northwards. Su Shiyu shakes his head at him.

Su Shiyu takes the wine cup from his hand and opens the cover of the incense burner sitting at the corner of the desk before pouring the wine into it. The incense burner is extinguished immediately before another wave of intense fragrance rises again and spreads out.

Chu Mingyun has already clapped his fan shut, propping his chin on it as he watches him. After the fragrance fills the air, he understands and immediately holds his breath to pay attention to his surroundings.

Su Shiyu sits down quietly. After he finishes drinking the water in his cup, his gaze falls upon Chu Mingyun before he finally speaks: “Why did His Excellency Chu come unarmed today?”

“Song Heng emphasized that security on these grounds is strong and dense, so there is no need to bring weapons to ruin the festive mood.” Chu Mingyun gives a half-smile. “Additionally, didn’t I displease a great many people by bringing a sword to the palace’s feast last time?”

“Rare of you to comply with the rules for once, yet you have entrusted it to the wrong cause.” Su Shiyu laughs lightly.

Chu Mingyun twists the jade-white cup in his hand. “A high grade incense, a high grade wine; once both of them seeps into the body, they’d form a high grade knockout drug. Your Excellency Su, why don’t you guess whether this Zhuangyuan Gentleman is working for the third faction aside from you and me, or is he overestimating himself and wants to be the third person in power?” As he finishes speaking, before he could wait for a response, he throws the cup onto the ground. The jade-white cup shatters from the force.

A dull ring comes from the stone step beneath their feet, responding with a shattering sound, before they plummet down along with it.

Both of them got to their feet a second before the ground collapsed beneath them. The stone platforms then close themselves above their heads and seal themselves tight. Within the blink of an eye, they have already touched the ground. The air is filled with the scent of decay and darkness greets their eyes. Chu Mingyun cants his head slightly in the direction of a soft rustling sound. “Your Excellency Su…… Still alive?”

What comes in response is a flicker of light, steadily spreading open into a sheet of brightness. Su Shiyu surveys his surroundings as he speaks with a guarded voice: “I have not gone to such a weak state. I’m grateful for your concern.”

Chu Mingyun comes forth to hold his hand and raise the light in it higher. Su Shiyu furrows his brows and glares but he does not struggle from his grip in the end. The place they are in has three smooth stone walls and one with bars of iron, without even a door. Through those bars, one could vaguely tell that the outside is a very long and deep tunnel.

“No wonder the pond is situated on high grounds. Beneath it is a prison.” Su Shiyu pauses for a while. “Could Your Excellency Chu release his hand now?”

Chu Mingyun releases his hand. “Why did you bring a firelighter to a feast?”

“I’d forgotten to take it out after returning home yesterday, but this is the last one; it won’t hold for long.” Su Shiyu looks at him. “Only, if Your Excellency Chu discovered a mechanism, why initiate it on purpose?”

“He dared organize such a glaring Feast at Hongmen1, would you think he would let us go without a scratch?” Chu Mingyun slowly says, “Why not see what he’s prepared for us instead?”

Su Shiyu declines to comment. His gaze falls upon the iron bars in front of him. “That sword of yours has a reputation for cleaving iron like dirt. Such a pity that I don’t have the fate to see it today.”

Chu Mingyun reaches out to hold the iron bars. He takes a step back to fish out the fan from his sleeve, smiling indifferently and says, “Keep the mockery for the time being; this serves the same purpose.” After he finishes, he tightens the grip on the fan and in one fell swoop swipe it across the bars sending a spray of sparks flying. Following the sound of a powerful and loud grating of metal on rocks, a hole the height of a man bursts open, shattering the bars as they fall to the ground with a resounding clatter.

“Regardless of the circumstances, you and I best join hands to step out of this place.” Su Shiyu follows him out of the prison cell.

“Oh?” Chu Mingyun turns around upon hearing those words. With a flourish of his arm, he slaps the fan close and tips Su Shiyu’s chin up with it.leaning in close, his smile and eyes are ice-cold. “These words of yours…… are they an invitation or a beg for mercy?”

“Join hands”—these words are hilarious. Even if he is here alone, it is nothing he couldn’t handle. Additionally, with how proper and mannerly Su Shiyu is, no matter how one looks at it, he would only be a burden. If he died here, then Chu Mingyun would benefit from it and lose nothing. He could not fathom the need to join hands.

Su Shiyu gives a low little laugh. He raises his hand to hold the fan and looks at him.

This is the first time Chu Mingyun looks at his rival up close—long, slender and narrow fingers, a dark pattern of clouds on his white scholarly robes. His eyes travel along Su Shiyu’s arm to his shoulder, to the exposure of a fair neck and the curve of dark-coloured lips with a touch of a smile, eyebrows looking like they came out of a picture illustrated in the warming glow of light, and a gaze that gives off a cold expression.

There is truly nothing to lose to have rumours of being cut-sleeve spread throughout the city with a person like this.

“Pa!” A sound.

Inch by inch, the fan breaks in Su Shiyu’s hands. As he withdraws, the smile at the corner of his lips deepens. “You understand my words.”

Chu Mingyun’s gaze flickers, and slowly a laugh sounds from his lips. He raises his hand to light the fan on the firelight before tossing it away with force.

The paper fan turns into a bundle of fire as it dives into the pitch black tunnel, spinning as it lights up the lamps lining the walls before it finally hits the other end of the stone wall. The soft sound of its fall ensues as it turns into ash on the ground, yet the tunnel is already lit brightly.

He raises his hand, a three parts smile sitting between his brows. “Your Excellency Su, this way please.”

[1] 鸿门宴 (lit. Feast at Hongmen) referring to a banquet that is used to kill its guest.