At Her Mercy (GL) - Chapter 2

Yao Maolin’s thoughts spun in a great circle as she finally formulated how she would engage General Zhen in a profound conversation about life. But when she looked back, where was the General’s shadow? She hastily searched the crowd, only to see the splash of lotus-green gradually moving away, walking into Yijing Garden accompanied by a group of female officials.

At the Gui Lan Banquet, the Emperor’s seat was prepared, with tables for the guests arranged in eastern and western rows below. The musicians, playing silk and bamboo instruments—lutes, zithers, harps, and various forms of percussion—were seated in the south corner. Because the Emperor was present, twenty-four Imperial Guards stood solemnly nearby, adding a touch of grandeur.

The dining and wine pavilions were laden with exquisite food and wine. As the officials entered, the music swelled. After the young Emperor and Empress were seated, the clear crack of a whip signaled the start. The young Crown Prince, who had just begun his studies, sat alone on the east side, guided by an inner official. The officials performed the ritual of three prostrations and nine kowtows. After the inner official presented flowers to the Emperor and the wine cups were filled, the Gui Lan Banquet truly began.

The grand feast was filled with continuous song and dance, and equally continuous toasts and bows to the Emperor. The rules of the Gui Lan Banquet were extremely cumbersome, requiring nine kowtows and nine rounds of toasting. The precious liquor flowed down. Even the grape wine, which Liu Shao had deliberately diluted, was enough to make people dizzy. During the last round of bowing, Yao Maolin nearly collapsed, unable to lift her head back up.

Just when she managed to prop herself up, the Emperor personally bestowed wine upon the four top-ranking newcomers of the year. After the four sequentially kowtowed and praised the State of Yu for its peace, its clear rivers and stable seas, and the majesty of the Emperor, the main courses were finally served. The officials, already ravenous from being starved all evening, saw the satisfying food and their eyes began to glow with hunger.

The young Emperor was perpetually frail and had unfortunately caught a chill in the early spring, from which he still hadn’t fully recovered. After the officials toasted him, he barely touched his chopsticks, coughed repeatedly, and soon returned to the palace with the Empress, leaving the officials to chat and socialize among themselves.

Yao Maolin had no capacity for alcohol to begin with, and to be forced to drink so much before eating on an empty stomach made her severely intoxicated.

As the alcohol took hold, she began to reminisce about her past struggles and current joys. Thinking of the bitter days of studying in the schoolhouse, tears welled up in her eyes, and she also thought of the beautiful, gentle, yet “suffering” General Zhen.

Every time she thought of General Zhen, her heart ached a little more. She refused to believe that General Zhen would willingly associate with a treacherous official; she must be under duress. That treacherous fiend surnamed Wei must hold some leverage over General Zhen, forcing her compliance. Otherwise, how could the righteous General Zhen associate with a wicked person?

Yes, that must be it.

General Zhen, fear not. Wait for me to help you escape this sea of suffering.

A wave of heroic fervor surged through her, and Yao Maolin began searching eagerly for Zhen Wenjun’s figure in the crowd again. She drank many more cups while passing them back and forth. Although Attendant Liu had removed the “kick” from the Jade Grape Wine, Yao Maolin, who seldom indulged, had flushed cheeks and blurry eyes.

In late spring, a hundred flowers were in full bloom, and the Gui Lan Banquet naturally featured numerous seasonal and off-season flowers to decorate the garden. With the wine cup in her hand, Yao Maolin’s mind was fuzzy. Her feet felt heavy and unsteady as she stumbled through the flower beds. Suddenly, a flash of lotus-green caught her eye; the back figure was remarkably similar to General Zhen’s. She hurriedly pushed past the people next to her and headed toward that figure.

Pushing aside the winding purple wisteria vines, it felt as though she was traveling through a dream.

Yao Maolin staggered to a covered corridor. Colorful silk lanterns hung along the corridor, and in the small pond in the courtyard, several golden carp actively broke the reflection of the lamps on the water, happily playing.

Unlike the noisy banquet behind her, the corridor was empty. The plants in the courtyard silently intertwined, as if exchanging whispers she couldn’t hear, quietly discussing the abrupt intruder.

Yao Maolin looked around but didn’t see General Zhen. Just as she was about to resume her search, she suddenly heard a voice from the darkness:

“The Crown Prince and the noble guests are still at the feast, yet you have run off to drink alone here. You are quite bold.”

This reprimand was soft and gentle, even carrying a hint of lighthearted amusement. However, it landed on Yao Maolin’s ears like a massive stone, shattering her intoxication instantly and leaving her in a cold sweat. She didn’t even know who was speaking but instinctively bowed foolishly.

Just as she was about to offer an explanation, she heard another female voice with a hint of laughter, letting out a soft hum.

“The banquet is dull and vulgar; this place is quieter. Why, do you have the leisure to seek me out?” This voice actually responded to the previous reprimand.

Yao Maolin finally realized that in the courtyard on the other side of the small pond, one woman was seated on a stone bench in the depth of the corridor, and another was walking towards her. The reprimand and the laugh were a private conversation between them, having nothing to do with anyone else.

Yao Maolin sighed in relief and was about to leave when she suddenly found the first voice familiar. She forced herself to focus and look again. Who else could that person be but the Zhen Wenjun she had been tirelessly searching for?

Zhen Wenjun, illuminated by the night, looked bright and dignified. The woman seated facing away from Yao Maolin wore a narrow-sleeved silk tunic of jade-blue with gold embroidery and a plain white cotton skirt with eight panels, complementing Zhen Wenjun’s long dress. Although the colors and styles were different, seeing them together immediately drew attention to the unspoken, subtle harmony in the cut and hidden patterns of their clothes, as if they were made by the same hand.

The woman in the jade-blue tunic stood up and turned her face slightly. Her elegant head, moth-like eyebrows, and eyes like a deep lake were striking. Her thin lips were pursed, giving her a cold sharp edge, commanding respect without anger. When her gaze moved from afar to settle fixedly on Zhen Wenjun’s face, Yao Maolin’s heart tightened.

This woman was strangely intimidating. When she stood up, she did not clasp her hands in front of her like typical women, but held them behind her back. She was as straight as a pine yet as dazzling as a rainbow. Her bearing was extraordinary; she was definitely not an ordinary person.

Zhen Wenjun was momentarily taken aback by that look. Although her expression didn’t change much, Zhen Wenjun still deciphered some thoughts from the brief exchange. She bowed and apologized repeatedly, but the other woman was ungracious, completely ignoring her, which made the atmosphere quite awkward.

Yao Maolin felt indignant. Where did this ill-mannered woman come from? What wrong had General Zhen committed that required her to keep apologizing? She was about to step forward and uphold justice when a single address from Zhen Wenjun frightened her firmly back behind the vermillion circular column.

“I searched for you everywhere, only to find you hiding from the crowds here to drink alone and admire the moon. I had those two foxes I hunted up north made into a fur shawl for you. The wind is chilly tonight; you should wear it.” Zhen Wenjun was indeed holding a fur coat. Her tone was gentle, sincere, and completely different from the other woman’s coldness.

The exchange, clearly one of feigned scolding and one of doting affection, utterly shocked Yao Maolin.

Wasn’t General Zhen’s the treacherous official, Wei Tingxu? How could she be here?

Wait… How could an important figure like Minister Wei miss a grand banquet like the Gui Lan Feast?

Yao Maolin’s intoxication had completely vanished. Using the flickering light of the colored silk lanterns, she strained to look further. A barely discernible smile played on Wei Tingxu’s lips as she retorted:

“It’s a wonder you spent the entire evening indulging in the Gui Lan Banquet, drinking freely with colleagues, yet still remembered my well-being. If others knew that General Zhen, whom the upright officials claim can stabilize the nation with literature and seize power with martial strength, cares so much for me, this treacherous fiend who brings disaster to the nation and its people, they would surely be heartbroken and write battling manifestos all night long. Tonight, Madam is the true star of the Gui Lan Banquet. So many people outside are waiting to forge connections with Great General Zhen. If you stay here, I fear I’ll spoil your fun. If I scare off the pretty female officials, then the fault will truly be mine.”

Zhen Wenjun said calmly, “Your is joking. I only attended this Gui Lan Banquet because your present; otherwise, my old injuries are too bothersome, and I would have gone back to rest early. After so many days apart, don’t you have anything else you want to say to me?”

Wei Tingxu was sharp, but Zhen Wenjun deflected her with ease. The two exchanged a few more words in the darkness that Yao Maolin couldn’t quite catch clearly. She only saw General Zhen following close behind Minister Wei, walking together into the courtyard within the corridor.

Wei Tingxu entered the courtyard gate first. Zhen Wenjun turned back and closed the door, shutting everything outside.

Yao Maolin knew it was impolite, but her gaze still anxiously followed them.

The darkness always invites fantasy.

That courtyard was rumored to be a private retreat that Minister Wei had built for short rests within the Imperial Garden. There was no one else in all of Da Yu as unrestrained as her, daring to build an official’s private retreat within the sacred imperial grounds. The emperor of Da Yu must know, yet could do absolutely nothing about it.

Standing outside the courtyard, Yao Maolin thought she heard something, but then thought she must be mistaken. It wasn’t until a soft, faint, suppressed, and slightly trembling gasp clearly entered her ears that she suddenly realized she should have stopped long ago.

Within the silk drapes and emerald curtains she could not see, the hero she worshiped was intimately entwined with the hateful, tyrannical official, enjoying the ecstasy of lovers.

Yao Maolin’s eyes stung, and tears fell. She couldn’t stay any longer. The wine cup she had held the entire time dropped and spilled all over her. In the darkness, she fled with an angry rush.

Yao Maolin simply could not believe that her General Zhen was privately so passionately devoted to Wei Tingxu.

If this incident were put in the sixth year of Shenchu and told to the twelve-year-old servant “Alai,” who was being bullied in the Xie family of Suichuan—that you will one day become a great general and marry into the Wei family of Pingcang—she probably wouldn’t have been able to imagine it either.