When Poetry Sings And The Saber Roars - Chapter 4

The thirty-second year of the Yongyou era, the third month of spring.

As the imperial capital, Chang’an was the most prosperous and bustling city in the realm. In Hexing Ward in the city’s eastern district, crowds thronged the streets, people streamed back and forth, and carriages and horses passed in an endless procession.

The proprietor of Jixian Bookshop was sitting inside tallying his accounts when he happened to glance up and see several figures entering. The one leading them was the youngest—a girl of only about ten, dressed from head to toe in fine silks, with a small golden bow strapped to her back. One glance was enough to tell that she came from a wealthy and distinguished family.

“Shopkeeper Wang, have you received any new books recently?”

“My goodness, Lady Ling, why have you come in person? Whatever book you want, you need only send someone to tell me. I would have it delivered to your residence, sparing you the trouble of making the journey yourself.”

The bookshop owner recognized her as a regular customer and knew her tastes well. He hurriedly took a new book from the shelf and approached her with a broad smile.

“Have a look at this copy of A Record of the Nine Mountains of Shu. It is a travelogue written by the great scholar Recluse Zhenquan during his journey through the landscapes of Shu. It was only released a few days ago, and at present, my humble shop is the only place where it is available.”

“There’s no need to go to so much trouble. I was planning to give this book to a friend. I’m going to see her later, so I can take it to her myself.”

Ling Cheng accepted the book with a bright smile and casually flipped through several pages without even asking the price. One of the attendants behind her had already paid for it.

“Do you have anything else?”

The proprietor was about to introduce another book when a sudden commotion outside reached their ears.

Ling Cheng turned curiously and looked across the street. Beneath a poplar tree, a richly dressed man had seized a beautiful young woman and was refusing to let her leave. He was even pawing at her. The woman was both furious and frightened, but she could not break free.

The surrounding townspeople had also noticed what was happening. Outraged, they wanted to step forward and uphold justice. However, when they saw the armed guards carrying sabers and swords beside the richly dressed man, their courage failed them. They could only seethe in silence.

The instant Ling Cheng understood what was happening, her expression changed. Her small brows drew together, and she gave a cold snort before handing the book to an attendant behind her and removing the golden bow from her back.

Her attendants guessed what their young mistress intended to do and immediately handed her a feathered arrow. Ling Cheng nocked it, drew the golden bow into a perfect full moon, and released.

Whoosh!

The arrow pierced the richly dressed man’s thigh, and blood immediately streamed from the wound.

“Aargh!” The man screamed in pain and collapsed, clutching his injured leg with both hands. “Who was it? Which reckless bastard dares to—”

Halfway through his outburst, his searching gaze finally found the girl standing outside the bookshop.

Fear abruptly appeared in his eyes.

Ling Cheng seemed quite pleased with the accuracy of her shot. Smiling again, she held her bow against her chest, hopped over the bookshop’s threshold, and soon arrived before him.

“Obviously, it was me! So you still remember me?”

“I remember, I remember!”

The instant he recognized the girl, the man could no longer concern himself with the pain in his leg. He forced a smile onto his face.

“How could this lowly one possibly forget Lady Ling? Y-you…what brings you…”

The scene astonished the surrounding townspeople. This girl was so young, no more than ten or eleven. How could she possess such power that this spoiled dandy was terrified of her?

“Humph! You remember me, yet you’ve forgotten what you promised before?”

Seeing the ingratiating smile squeezed onto his ugly face only made Ling Cheng angrier. She held another small arrow in her palm and pointed its tip at his chest.

This man was truly despicable. She absolutely could not let him off easily again today.

Just as she considered how best to punish him, a voice suppressing obvious anger suddenly called from the distance.

“Fu Li!”

Hearing a familiar voice call her childhood name, Ling Cheng turned around. In the distance, a large carriage had stopped at the entrance to the ward. The curtain had been raised, revealing a middle-aged man seated inside with a cold face and a stern expression.

“Father!”

Ling Cheng was overjoyed to see him. Her face lit up, and she immediately ignored the richly dressed man sitting on the ground and ran toward the carriage.

Someone among the crowd exclaimed, “Isn’t that…Vice Director Ling?”

Another bystander asked in astonishment, “Which Vice Director Ling?”

“Do you think Vice Director is some insignificant sesame-seed office with holders everywhere? Who else in our dynasty could they possibly mean?”

Everyone present gasped. “You mean Ling Bingzhong, the military commissioner who commands four military regions?”

Ling Bingzhong’s original name was Ling Mian. When he was seven, his father, Ling Zhiyue, died fighting Xifan and sacrificed his life for the country. The reigning emperor took pity on Ling Mian as the orphaned son of a loyal martyr, bestowed upon him the name Bingzhong, and raised him within the imperial palace.

He was effectively His Majesty’s adopted son and naturally enjoyed the emperor’s profound trust. More remarkably, he truly possessed exceptional military ability and the talent of a great general.

After reaching adulthood, he campaigned in every direction on the emperor’s behalf, accumulating illustrious military achievements and rising steadily through the ranks. He now held the honorary rank of Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs while serving as military commissioner of Hexi and Longyou and concurrently overseeing Shuofang and Hedong.

He carried the seals of four military commands at his waist—something unprecedented since the dynasty’s founding.

As Ling Bingzhong’s only daughter, Lady Ling possessed a status and rank comparable to that of a county princess. No wonder the dandy had nearly lost his wits from fear upon seeing her.

Ling Cheng could not hear the crowd’s discussion. She had already climbed into the carriage and asked delightedly, “Father, when did you return to the capital? Oh, I know! The Wanshou Festival will be here soon. Did you come back to celebrate Grandfather’s birthday?”

The “Grandfather” she referred to was the reigning emperor, Xie Tai.

Ling Bingzhong had warned her repeatedly that she must not address His Majesty that way, but she had never listened. At that moment, however, he had no time to correct her, for he was angry about something else entirely.

“If I had not returned today, I would never have known that you had become this unruly. What were you doing just now?”

Her father rarely returned home, and Ling Cheng had originally been filled with joy. Who could have imagined that the moment they met, he would scold her?

She was no gentle and submissive young lady from a noble household. Whenever something displeased her, she immediately gave voice to it.

“Why are you losing your temper when you don’t even know what happened? That man was bullying the young woman just now. Was I supposed to ignore it?”

Ling Bingzhong frowned. “Young woman? What young woman?”

“One I don’t know. He grabbed her and refused to let her leave. Since I happened to see it, I couldn’t possibly stand aside and do nothing.”

“Is that truly what happened?”

“If you don’t believe me, then forget it! Why bother asking?” Ling Cheng stuck her head outside the carriage curtain and instructed the two attendants standing nearby, “Escort that young woman home. Make sure she doesn’t encounter any more danger along the way.”

She was his daughter, after all, and Ling Bingzhong understood her fairly well. Although she was proud and willful, she was at least straightforward and honest. She would not lie to deceive him.

His expression finally softened, though his tone remained stiff. “If that was the case, you should simply have sent someone to report him to the authorities. Whatever crimes he committed, the authorities would naturally deal with him. Why did you attack him yourself?”

“Father, you don’t understand. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered him. I reported him to the authorities before, and he was even locked in prison for some time. But clearly, it accomplished nothing. He was committing another crime today! In my opinion, the authorities’ punishment barely hurt him. It would be far better for me to teach him a harsh lesson so he remembers the pain.”

Ling Cheng omitted many details from her account.

Before she reported the incident, her guards had already beaten all the dandy’s guards to the ground. The dandy had not known her identity, so he had reported her instead, intending to teach her a lesson.

Once the Chang’an Commandant responsible for public security and arrests investigated their respective backgrounds, however, he discovered that although both were children of powerful families, the cherished daughter of Vice Director Ling was even more impossible to offend.

He had therefore immediately thrown the dandy into prison.

Yet the man had continued enjoying fine clothes and luxurious food while imprisoned, living as comfortably as ever. Ling Cheng knew nothing about that even now.

Ling Bingzhong poked her forehead, utterly helpless against his daughter. “You always have an abundance of twisted reasoning. You’ve practically done the Chang’an Commandant’s job for him. Since you’re so clever and capable, why not become the Chang’an Commandant yourself?”

Ling Cheng smiled again and tilted her head thoughtfully. “When I grow up, I would rather become a great general like you and gallop across the battlefield. But the Chang’an Commandant…no, no. That office is far too insignificant. You’ve already praised me for being clever and capable, and I always do everything better than anyone else. If you offered me the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I might consider it.”

Ling Bingzhong was nearly exasperated into laughter. “Never mind that you’re merely a little girl indulging in impossible fantasies. Even if you truly possessed authority over criminal judgments and prisons, you would still have to obey the law rather than act however you pleased. If someone wishes to harm you in the future and finds fault with your actions, you will be the one thrown into prison next time.”

Ling Cheng continued smiling mischievously. “I’m your daughter. Who would dare harm me?”

“Nonsense!”

Ling Bingzhong’s voice boomed like thunder. His right hand struck the carriage wall, making the entire vehicle shake and startling even the driver outside.

Ling Cheng could not help flinching as well. Her father’s expression had become a hundred times sterner than before.

“What nonsense are you saying? Do you believe that relying on my position gives you the right to behave however you please?”

An ordinary child might have burst into frightened tears at the sight of his fury.

Ling Cheng had only meant to act spoiled with her father and had never expected him to become so enraged. She froze briefly, but after recovering, she raised her chin defiantly instead.

“Everything I’ve done was to punish villains and eliminate evil. I’ve never relied on you to commit wrongdoing. How is that behaving however I please? Besides, I taught those villains a lesson using my own genuine abilities. It had nothing to do with you!”

Had she not uttered that last sentence, it might have ended there. Instead, it made Ling Bingzhong realize something was wrong.

“You truly are becoming increasingly impossible to discipline. Tell me—who taught you martial arts?”

The strength and accuracy of Ling Cheng’s earlier arrow had both been impressive. Someone must have taught her.

Although Ling Cheng was young, she had read countless stories about the jianghu and valued loyalty above all else.

Seeing that her father was still furious, she quickly thought, If I reveal Aunt Su’s name, won’t I only drag her into this and cause Father to scold her too?

She immediately answered, “I learned at Prince Rui’s residence.”

That was not exactly a lie.

Ling Bingzhong had grown up within the imperial palace and was closest to Prince Rui, Xie Shen.

Prince Rui had a daughter named Xie Miao, whose childhood name was She Jia. She and Ling Cheng had been born in the same year, on the same month and day. Their elders all said that this was a bond granted by heaven to their two families.

As expected, the two girls shared an extraordinary relationship. They loved playing together and were closer than biological sisters.

Unfortunately, Xie Miao had been born frail and suffered from a serious illness. The imperial physicians had examined her many times, but they could not cure her. They could only prescribe medicines to strengthen and nourish her body.

As a result, she could not go outside and roam the streets as freely as Ling Cheng. Whenever the two met, it was usually Ling Cheng who visited her at Prince Rui’s residence.

Ling Cheng understood how helpless She Jia felt, trapped behind the high walls while yearning for the vast world outside.

Sometimes, she would pester Aunt Su into accompanying her to Prince Rui’s residence and ask her to tell them stories about the jianghu. At other times, Ling Cheng would practice martial arts under Aunt Su’s guidance while She Jia watched from the side.

Even that was enough to make She Jia happy.

When Ling Bingzhong heard Ling Cheng’s answer, however, he assumed that the guards at Prince Rui’s residence had taught her martial arts. It was therefore inconvenient for him to continue expressing his anger.

After pausing, he said, “Go home and reflect on your behavior. I will speak to you again later.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I reflect?”

The carriage was already moving. Ling Cheng pursed her lips, but her father no longer paid her any attention.

She turned away and lifted the curtain again, gazing worriedly in the direction of Qingping Ward.

She had already promised She Jia yesterday that they would meet today. If she could not go, She Jia would certainly become worried and anxious.

She Jia’s body was so weak. What if her anxiety caused her illness to flare up again?