CH 78

A pair of shapely, slender, pale hands pressed on his chest. Graceful fingers, smooth as jade, light as feathers, touched him so faintly, tickling his heart.

His gaze slid upwards, alighting upon tender, lovely lips. Glossy as mother of pearl and red as blood; startlingly red – seductively red. They gently met and parted and again in the shape of words, revealing glimpses of white teeth and soft tongue. A wispy medicinal fragrance enveloped him all over. 

He seemed to be in his embrace. The moment the thought passed through his head, Yiyan instantly tightened his arms around him. A brief warmth, and the pleasing scent of medicine vanished at once. He started struggling, crying out helplessly. There was a hint of blood.

He should reassure him, tell him not to be afraid, coax him to smile again. But he wasn’t able to. He was burning up inside, shivering from the heat, his heart beating like a drum. He caged him by the waist, bent down, and kissed him. Petal-like lips trembled against his, soft enough to melt his heart.

Their limbs intertwined in the struggle. Thin arms wrapped around his neck, nails digging into flesh. It was cold; it was hot. It was all the ecstasy he could possibly endure. At the same time, it was pain; it was deadly thirst. The hazy sound of breath was always by his ear; like sobbing, like begging, and like moaning…

Up until that person spoke. 

“Yiyan.”

That voice was clear and serene, carrying a faint undertone of amusement. The same as it had always been.

Yiyan’s eyes shot open!

There was no one in front of him. All he saw were wooden ceiling beams. His room was empty. There was no couch, no table, and especially no lingering trace of medicine. This wasn’t even the main courtyard, this was a room in the militia base. He’d been living here ever since the new barracks had been built.

His strung-up heart fell back into place. At once, an indescribable feeling welled up in his chest. Yiyan threw off his covers. The sweat covering his body chilled upon contact with the icy wind, but he didn’t care. He stared at his damp crotch and gritted his teeth. Why would he have such a dream?!

He tore off his soiled inner clothes, leaped off his bed, and walked over to the water basin by his door. He cupped the leftover water in his hands, heedless of its temperature, and slapped it on his face.

Ktf ralcu bo lms kjafg rffqfv qjlcoeiis vbkc ab tlr nfgs ybcfr. Dea la kjrc’a qjlcoei fcbeut! Tlsjc kjr rtjxlcu jii bnfg – ogbw mbiv, ogbw jcufg. Lf’v tjv atfrf beaijcvlrt vgfjwr obg atgff vjsr lc j gbk fnfg rlcmf atf Reb glaeji, yea atlr kjr atf olgra alwf jc jmaeji ojmf tjv jqqfjgfv. Lbk mbeiv tf vjgf ab tjnf remt vgfjwr?!

That was his lord! His savior, his entire tribe’s savior and benefactor! The one who’d taught him tactics and math, who put his militia and trust in his hands, and who treated him as family and student! He should respect and esteem him – how could he profane him so?! 

His ragged breathing echoed throughout his room. Yiyan slammed his fist against the floor. Blood splattered, but he ignored his wound, sprang up, threw on an outer robe, retrieved his bow, and rushed to the training ground.

As the militia had been given leave recently, the training ground was empty, not a single shadow to be seen. Carrying his bow, he walked up to a target. He sucked in a deep breath and raised his bow. The bowstring hummed; the arrow soared, grazed the grass target, and flew on. Another arrow, and another… every sound of the bow was a punch to the gut, a tear in his arms. Finally, the seventh arrow thudded into the bullseye!

He was completely sweat-soaked. His breath came out in white puffs, congealing in front of him like thin mist. Yiyan let his tired arms drop to his side. That wasn’t something he could dream of. But in his dreams, all he felt was unrepressed elation…

“Commander!” A scout ran hurriedly towards him, “News from Taihang Pass, Luoyang has fallen…” 

His voice cut off abruptly when Yiyan spun around and stared straight at him. His face was fearsome. Killing intent, loathing, and suffering emanated from the frozen depths of his gray-blue eyes. It was as if he’d unwittingly trespassed upon forbidden territory. The scout gaped soundlessly, his wits scared out of him, unable to squeeze another word out.

But in only an instant, all the emotion vanished from his face. “The Prince of Changsha lost?” Yiyan asked coolly.

“It’s….. it’s not that!” The scout came back to his senses and blurted, “The emperor stripped the Prince of Changsha of his official positions. Luoyang opened its gates and surrendered!”

※ 

“What? The Prince of Changsha was removed from office; Luoyang’s gates were opened?!” Having received such shocking news after only a few days of rest, Liang Feng couldn’t help rising to his feet and demanding, “When did this happen?!”

“After the End of Year Sacrifice,” Yiyan answered. “By now, the city’s been open for several days.”

“Something’s not right!” Liang Feng pondered for a moment, then said decisively, “Since it’s the Prince of Chengdu attacking Luoyang, the emperor’s likely the one who wants to see Luoyang fall the least. For the Prince of Changsha to suddenly lose power, before there’s even news of emergency in Luoyang, someone must’ve pulled strings from inside.”

Liang Feng had lived in this era for the better part of a year now, and had more or less figured out the ins and outs of the princes’ battle royale. The cause of the current conflict began with the late emperor’s second son, Sima Zhong. From the day he’d become crown prince, there’d been rumors that he was stupid, that his intelligence was defective, that he wasn’t capable of ruling. Upon ascending the throne, Empress Jia Nanfeng and her relatives dominated court politics, meddled with palace affairs, killed bureaucrats, and killed the crown prince. Seeing that a woman was about to seize imperial power, the proud young princes of the Sima family, having armies under their command, immediately acted to depose the empress. Thus began this tumultuous war. 

But even before the war, Luoyang had already changed hands several times. Of the princes within and without Luoyang, the Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying, and the Prince of Changsha, Sima Ai, were most closely related – they were both sons of Sima Yan, half-brothers born of different mothers. The current battle over Luoyang was a contest between the two. The Prince of Hejian, Sima Yong, stood with Sima Ying. His general, Zhang Fang, fought as the vanguard for Sima Ying’s army. The two forces had trapped the Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, and the Duke of Dongying, Sima Teng, within Luoyang.

This great battle was squeezing the people inside and outside of Luoyang for resources to support six Sima descendants; any kind of mayhem was possible under such circumstances. But whether it was out of relationship or reason, there’s no way the emperor would unseat Sima Ai. No matter how stupid he was, after being usurped once by his grand-uncle Sima Lun once already, Sima Zhong should have learned by now that no one raising an army to attack Luoyang harbored good intentions. The Prince of Changsha was his only support! Moreover, in this day and age when the emperor was weak and fief-lord princes were strong, it was hard to say who was in control of Luoyang. How could the Prince of Changsha be removed from office so easily?

It must’ve been someone else who’d ousted him and imprisoned him. After all, the shortage of food and water in Luoyang endangered the lives of the nobles and aristocrats within the city. Many people were likely enraged by the Prince of Changsha’s refusal to surrender. It could be said that a miniature revolt had occurred. The Prince of Changsha had been put in chains because he’d gone against the interests of too many people.

Then again, Liang Feng didn’t really care much about court intrigue. He was more concerned with the overall situation in Luoyang. How would the soldiers who’d put their lives on the line for months under the Prince of Changsha react to his sudden incarceration? What was going on in the hearts of the enemies outside the walls, who’d taken heavy losses, and built up a deep grudge? It was all too likely that turmoil would break out in Luoyang! 

“Send people to Luoyang at once! Have them go to the Court of Attendants and bring Jiang Da back!” Liang Feng couldn’t afford delay. If Luoyang descended into lawlessness, a weakly doctor like Jiang Da had no chance of escaping on his own. Since the city was lost anyway, it shouldn’t be too difficult to rescue him under the name of the Taiyuan Wang Clan.

Yiyan nodded, “I’ll make arrangements right away.”

“Send extra people. In case there are refugees, you can bring them over through Taihang Pass.” He’d originally thought there wouldn’t be any more refugees before spring, but it looked like he’d been too naive. But that wasn’t too difficult to take care of. After the siege of Luoyang ended, Sima Teng would be returning to Bing Province. Who knew what trouble he’d stir after being shut in Luoyang for so long.

Ah, just when would it end with these Sima family idiots?! 

As he was thinking, Liang Feng suddenly caught sight of a wound on Yiyan’s left hand. He frowned and asked, “What happened to your hand?”

Not expecting that it’d be noticed, Yiyan’s breath stuttered, “I accidentally smashed it during training.”

It was obviously a self-inflicted injury from punching a wall. Liang Feng had a lot of experience. He shook his head, “I’ve given you all a New Year’s break, you should rest for a few days as well. There’ll be much to do once the holidays are over. If you’re too pent up in the barracks, come to the main residence; I’ll check on how much progress you’ve made in your calligraphy.”

Yiyan silently gritted his teeth and nodded. He couldn’t refuse such an invitation. The injuries on his knuckles started throbbing again, reining him back like a rope. It was only a dream, he shouldn’t think too much of it….. 

“Make sure to bandage those scratches up. If it becomes frostbitten, it’ll be much harder to treat.” Looking at how Yiyan mutely lowered his head, Liang Feng chuckled, “Though your task is difficult, you don’t need to push yourself too hard. Relax, Luoyang won’t stabilize anytime soon. We aren’t out of time yet.”

The residual images in his head were melted away by the fearless confidence in his reassurance like thin snow under spring sunlight. Yiyan nodded determinedly and took his leave.

Liang Feng sighed as he watched him go. He didn’t have enough useable people. If only he had a few more competent subordinates, Yiyan wouldn’t be stressed to this extent.

In this era, though, only the wealthy could afford to be literate. The so-called “humble households” weren’t truly poor either; they were just “ commoners,”in that they were small landowners who weren’t wealthy or powerful enough to be considered aristocracy. The only way to gain their allegiance was to have money and power. With how things were right now, becoming an official was sure death. But if he wasn’t an official, he’d have a hard time recruiting people. What an aggravating quandary. Perhaps he should establish a school, and raise those children orphaned by war into his own power base? 

After a few years, the first batch of low-level personnel would be ready – just in time to keep up with the militia’s expansion. Silently making plans for the future, Liang Feng took out a sheet of paper and began scribbling.

The author has something to say:

Pats the small wolfdog. Too young, never dated, his body is more honest than his head. That’s what you get for eating so much deer meat XDD