When Poetry Sings And The Saber Roars - Chapter 5

Qingping Ward, Prince Rui’s residence.

The eastern courtyard was lush with flowers and trees. A blended incense burned inside the room, prepared from several rare medicinal herbs and capable of dispelling wind and cold. Wisps of smoke curled upward and drifted over the ink-wash landscape painting spread across the writing desk, making the scenery within it appear veiled in misty rain.

A richly dressed young girl sat alone beside the desk, adding the final few strokes to her painting. Several maids stood silently nearby, not daring to disturb the county princess while she worked.

Suddenly, three knocks sounded against the window.

Xie Miao raised her head with a smile, only for the face of a young man to appear outside. She stared in surprise. “Third Brother…why is it you?”

“Just how unwelcome is your third brother? Your smile disappeared the moment you saw me.”

“How could that be? I couldn’t be happier to see you.”

She spoke sincerely. Xie Miao was frail and required long periods of quiet rest every day. Her parents and elder brothers tried their best not to disturb her, unaware that the loneliness of being left by herself only made her feel more dejected.

She gave Xie Ming an obedient smile before continuing, “I was merely surprised. I thought… Did you come here because you needed something today, Third Brother?”

“Fu Li visits you every few days and practically wishes she could move her entire home here to live with you. Yet I, your biological brother, cannot visit my own sister unless I need something?”

Xie Ming turned away from the window and entered through the door. As he approached his sister, he asked, “How have you been feeling recently? Are you still coughing?”

His gaze then happened to fall upon the painting on her desk.

“Did you paint this? The physician clearly instructed you to rest more. Aren’t you tired after painting so much?”

Xie Miao smiled and handed the painting to him. “I’ve felt much better these past few days. Surely I cannot spend every hour of the day lying in bed. Third Brother, this is my painting of Chunwu Mountain. Do you think it’s beautiful?”

Xie Ming had been examining her complexion. At her final words, he froze and accepted the painting, studying it carefully for a moment.

“What mountain did you say this was?”

“Chunwu Mountain.”

“When did Chunwu Mountain begin looking like this?”

“Doesn’t Chunwu Mountain look like this?”

“Who told you that?”

“I read it in a book.”

“A book?”

“It was a travelogue written by a scholar from the previous dynasty—”

Before she could finish, Xie Ming burst into hearty laughter.

“When these scholars compose poetry or write books, they may be reliable enough on other subjects, but when describing scenery, all they care about is making their prose sound beautiful. They couldn’t care less what the actual landscape looks like. You even believed such deceptive writing?”

Xie Miao slowly lowered her head, her voice becoming much quieter. “So it doesn’t look the same…”

Xie Ming nodded. “Last year, Eldest Brother and I left the capital on official business and passed by Chunwu Mountain. We deliberately stayed for two days to admire the scenery, so I remember its terrain very clearly.”

He then added, “Still, She Jia, your painting is truly beautiful. Even if it does not depict Chunwu Mountain, it resembles an immortal’s hidden abode. If such a mountain genuinely existed in this world, I would certainly travel there to see it.”

His final sentence was clearly intended to praise Xie Miao’s skill.

She merely forced a faint smile. Raising her eyes, she gazed out the window, past the countless branches filling the courtyard, until her attention finally settled on the boundless sky beyond the walls.

Xie Ming was not particularly observant and failed to notice the wistfulness in his sister’s eyes.

“What are you looking at?”

“I…Fu Li and I agreed to meet at two this afternoon. I don’t know why, but she still hasn’t arrived.”

“She probably won’t be able to come today.”

“Why?” Xie Miao did not quite believe him. Fu Li had always kept her promises and had never gone back on anything she agreed to do.

However, Xie Ming’s next words made her spring from her chair, her heart lurching violently.

“She shot someone in Hexing Ward. Uncle Ling happened to return to the capital and personally witnessed her attack. I imagine she’s being scolded right now—hey, She Jia, don’t worry. Uncle Ling is her own father. At worst, he’ll reprimand her a little. What else could he possibly do to her?”

Seeing that something was wrong with his sister’s expression, Xie Ming hurriedly helped her sit again and comforted her gently.

If her illness relapsed right before his eyes, their mother would probably confine him to his quarters for at least half a month.

Xie Miao obediently returned to her seat, but her delicate brows remained furrowed. “Fu Li would never hurt someone without a reason. Third Brother, were you there?”

“I wasn’t, but one of my friends happened to be present and witnessed it.”

Just as the siblings reached this point in their conversation, the maid sent by Ling Cheng finally arrived at Prince Rui’s residence.

There was no need to announce her arrival. Someone immediately guided her to County Princess Yiguang, to whom she delivered a message: Vice Director Ling had returned to the capital that day. Lady Ling and her father had been separated for a long time, and the entire family would be sharing a reunion banquet. She therefore could not keep her appointment with the county princess and hoped to be forgiven.

Xie Miao nodded without exposing the lie. Only after ordering someone to escort the maid out did she murmur, “Fu Li said nothing about what happened in Hexing Ward because she didn’t want me to worry.”

After a brief pause, she repeated what she had said earlier.

“Fu Li would never hurt someone without a reason.”

Xie Ming made a few sounds of agreement. He knew that in his sister’s eyes, Ling Cheng was absolutely perfect, so he casually went along with her.

He never expected Xie Miao’s next words to startle him.

“Third Brother, I want to see Fu Li.”

“Now? My dear sister, have you forgotten that walking only a few steps leaves you breathless?”

Xie Miao reached out and gently tugged his sleeve. “It isn’t that serious. I walked far more than a few steps in the courtyard this morning. Besides, I would naturally travel to the Ling residence by carriage. Why would I need to walk?”

Xie Ming sighed helplessly. “My agreement will accomplish nothing. Ask Mother.”

The person who doted on Xie Miao most within Prince Rui’s household was unquestionably her mother, Princess Consort Pei.

Unable to withstand her daughter’s coaxing, Princess Consort Pei ordered numerous servants and maids to escort her. She even instructed a physician to accompany them as the carriage departed for the Ling residence in Zhiren Ward.

Beneath a willow tree in the western garden of the Ling residence, Ling Cheng was reclining on a couch, leaning against a mica-inlaid pillow screen as she basked in the sunlight.

She was idly playing with a dagger. The blade was eight inches long, its scabbard set with rubies and the metal itself gleaming white as snow. It suddenly reflected several figures behind her.

Ling Cheng immediately looked back, delight spreading across her face.

“She Jia! When did you arrive?”

Before she had even finished speaking, she sprang from the couch and ran to Xie Miao. Taking both her hands, she immediately guided her over to sit down.

“I wanted to surprise you.”

Xie Miao had deliberately instructed her maids to remain silent, yet Ling Cheng had still discovered her immediately.

She asked curiously, “How did you know I was here?”

“Your coming to see me is already a surprise.”

Ling Cheng picked up the dagger she had placed on the couch and explained with a smile, “It was because of this.”

“This dagger is beautiful.” Xie Miao loved every beautiful thing in the world.

“What use is beauty? Aunt Su says it isn’t sharp enough. It’s merely an ornamental trinket—flashy but useless. It would be completely worthless in a real fight.”

Ling Cheng wore her emotions openly. She had been all smiles upon seeing Xie Miao, but now her voice became gloomy.

“Father wrote to me some time ago and said he had obtained a new dagger, one sharp enough to sever a hair and slice through iron as though it were mud. He promised to bring it back whenever he returned to the capital. I waited for such a long time, and now that he’s finally home, he refuses to give it to me.”

“Is Uncle angry because you injured someone? I’ll explain it to him later. The person you hurt must have been a villain.”

“You’re still the one who understands me best, She Jia. That man—”

Ling Cheng was about to describe the man’s crimes when her voice abruptly stopped. Something felt wrong.

“How did you learn about it? I told everyone not to tell you.”

Xie Miao smiled. “There were so many people in Hexing Ward. Word was bound to reach me eventually.”

Realization dawned on Ling Cheng. “You don’t need to worry. You know Father never strikes me. I’m not afraid of being scolded a few times.”

She continued indignantly, “Father already knows that the man I punished was a villain. Yet he still started saying things like, ‘Weapons are instruments of violence,’ and that my temperament is too unruly. He said I cannot touch another deadly weapon until I understand the proper principles. He even confiscated my bow. In my opinion, he will never give me that dagger now.”

“I simply don’t understand. What was wrong with punishing a villain?”

Xie Miao nodded in agreement.

Although she was gentle by nature and understood the torment of pain and illness better than anyone because of the chronic disease she had suffered since childhood, she possessed a clear sense of right and wrong. She disliked killing so much that even the smallest injury on another person would make her frown, but she still understood that evil had to be punished before goodness could prevail.

Uncle Ling’s criticism of Fu Li made no sense.

However, Ling Bingzhong was still her elder, so she could not openly declare that he was wrong.

Instead, she smiled. “There must be more than one dagger in this world capable of slicing through iron as though it were mud. Tomorrow, I’ll ask Father or Eldest Brother to find another one for you.”

Ling Cheng’s eyes curved with delight, and a smile finally returned to her face.

“I also have something for you.”

She immediately took a book from inside her robes. Five large words were printed across its cover:

A Record of the Nine Mountains of Shu.

This was far from the first book Ling Cheng had given Xie Miao.

Four years ago, the elders of both families had arranged tutors to begin the girls’ formal education. When Ling Cheng discovered that Xie Miao especially enjoyed landscape travelogues, she began collecting them for her.

Whenever Xie Miao received such a book in the past, pleasure would shine in her eyes and brows, making Ling Cheng even happier.

Today, however, although Xie Miao thanked her and offered a faint smile, Ling Cheng noticed how forced it was and immediately asked, “Don’t you like this book? Why are you unhappy?”

Xie Miao initially wanted to deny that she disliked it. Then she remembered that Fu Li was the sort of person who insisted on getting to the bottom of anything that puzzled her. A perfunctory answer would never satisfy her.

She therefore recounted her conversation with Xie Ming.

“Third Brother said that wasn’t the real Chunwu Mountain… Now I don’t know how much of what I’ve read in those books was true and how much was false.”

Ling Cheng could not answer that question either.

The customs of the current dynasty were permissive, and women could freely leave their homes. Ling Cheng loved having fun, and in the years since she had become old enough to explore, she had visited nearly every corner of Chang’an.

Yet she had never seen what lay beyond the city.

After a moment’s silence, Ling Cheng suddenly seized Xie Miao’s hand.

“Then we’ll go and see everything for ourselves one day! Once we’re both grown, your illness will surely be cured. When that happens, I’ll accompany you!”

At those words, Xie Miao’s lips curved faintly. She immediately lowered her head, afraid that Ling Cheng would once again notice the emotions stirring within her.

“But you want to become a great general and fight on the battlefield. How would you have time to accompany me?”

As the descendant of a military family, Ling Cheng had been surrounded by discussions of warfare since childhood. She dreamed of becoming a great general and defender of the realm like her father, one whose military achievements would be celebrated throughout the land.

She often spoke of that ambition.

However, it was extremely rare for a woman to become an official or military commander. Although the elders smiled and encouraged her, in truth, they regarded her ambition as nothing more than childish nonsense and merely humored her.

Xie Miao alone genuinely supported her dream.

Xie Miao naturally understood how difficult that path would be. She had therefore considered the matter seriously.

Once they were a little older, before Xie Miao reached the age of fifteen, she would ask Grandfather to hold a competition in the capital. The many children of military families, including Ling Cheng, would participate and be tested on their knowledge of military strategy.

As long as Fu Li performed exceptionally well, Grandfather was a wise and enlightened ruler. Perhaps he would give her an opportunity.

Ling Cheng was also imagining their future. After considering the matter, she said, “Then I’ll accompany you across all the magnificent mountains and rivers first. I’ll go to the battlefield afterward!”

Xie Miao stared at her uncertainly. “C-can you really do that? Uncle always seems extremely busy.”

“I don’t care about that. Your affairs are more important than anything else in this world. I have to accompany you first.”

The words left Ling Cheng’s mouth without the slightest thought or hesitation.

Xie Miao knew that not a single part of them was false. Yet instead of feeling happy, several strands of sorrow arose within the depths of her heart.

Ling Cheng assumed she was worried about her illness and hurriedly told her some good news.

“There’s something else you should know. Father just told your father that he has learned of another miracle doctor. Perhaps this one will finally be able to cure your illness completely.”

“My father?”

Ling Cheng nodded. “Uncle arrived at our residence before you did.”

Had Prince Rui not come to discuss important matters with Ling Bingzhong, Ling Cheng would certainly still have been listening to her father’s lecture. How else could she be reclining so leisurely in the western garden and basking in the sunlight?

“Father had only just brought up the miracle doctor and hadn’t yet explained who it was when Uncle said they could discuss it later. Apparently, there was something even more urgent that he needed to discuss with Father first.”

Ling Cheng could not criticize Xie Miao’s father in front of her. Inwardly, however, she had long since begun complaining.

What matter in this world could possibly be more important than his own daughter?

“She Jia, why don’t we go and listen to what Uncle and Father are discussing right now?”