Chapter 182 : A Matter of Life or Death
t.i.tle of the chapter: 千钧一发 (qiānjūnyīfà) – a thousand pounds hangs by a thread (idiom); imminent peril; a matter of life or death.
In the end, the Jinying w.a.n.gfu’s servants were all well-trained and scattered as soon as Jiang Ruan gave the order. The servants and maids with low martial arts skills all went into hiding, while the guards stood on guard in Xiao Shao’s study and bedroom.
Jiang Ruan sat in the main hall, surrounded by about a dozen guards, looking solemn. “Young Furen, if you are unwilling to leave, it would be best to at least find a place to hide,” Steward Lin coaxed anxiously. “Do not stay here, otherwise what can we do if those people enter?”
“Even If I hide, those people will still come to seek me out, and this will undoubtedly cause harm to innocent people. There’s no reason to squander other people’s lives. Also, since I am staying, I will be able to identify their motives much more easily: whether it’s because they are here to kill me, or if there is another reason for ambushing the Jinying w.a.n.gfu.” Jiang Ruan shook her head.
Steward Lin was helpless as he uttered, “It’s too dangerous.” Jiang Ruan had the same nature as Xiao Shao. They would not budge after making a decision, even if nine bulls pulled them. Moreover, those who valued their lives would not put themselves in such danger. Jiang Ruan showed a total disregard for life and death. This was in no way the result of a n.o.ble cause. Steward Lin had enough years of experience that he enabled him to accurately evaluate people and Jiang Ruan clearly never considered her own safety. Her methods were cruel and ruthless. She was willing to trade her own life as long as she had enough bargaining chips to reach her goal. And now, Jiang Ruan had made her decision, and there was no changing this fact. Steward Lin sighed and asked, “Young Furen, what is the rationale behind your previous orders? How can we just set the houses around the Jinying w.a.n.gfu on fire? “
“In this area, how can there just be people around so late at night? Therefore, if we do not create a disturbance, then wouldn’t we be pa.s.sively accepting an ambush attack and being killed without any resistance? These people appear courageous, but they only engage in this behaviour at night, presumably to throw dust in the eyes of others. Since they have pretended to be imperial guards, I will expose them without hesitation. If the residences on this street catch on fire, then it will undoubtedly raise an alarm among the people, and naturally a crowd will form. At this point, if someone were to shout out ‘bandits,’ then without a doubt, people will begin to suspect foul play. Murder and arson in the middle of the night are not considered trivial things. One fu may only have a few guards, but when all of the fu’s guards on this street are counted, there are many. Still, while this may not be sufficient enough to overturn the situation, it will make it close to impossible for them to silence and annihilate everyone present. Moreover, once they begin to panic at the unexpected change in the situation, they will become apprehensive and develop misgivings. At that point, we will definitely be able to find a way out of this..”
“Young Furen’s idea is good,” Steward Lin came to a realization, “But what if people ask about the fire the next day? Burning down people’s homes is bad for your karma[1].“
[1] 阴德 (yīndé) – hidden merit, good deeds to the doer’s credit in the next life or karma.
“What does the fire have to do with us?” Jiang Ruan asked. Steward Lin was astounded at how Jiang Ruan was downplaying the issue. “The impersonators are the ones creating a commotion. We, too, are victims. As for karma…” She smiled. “I’m not done living so why should I be concerned about the afterlife. Moreover, it is not us who are going to die tonight.” By the time she finished speaking, her tone had become icy and tinged with gloom.
Steward Lin composed his thoughts and asked, “What about the signal flare? I haven’t heard Young Furen mention anything about a signal flare before.”
“I’ve been keeping in contact with my biaoge in secret,” Jiang Ruan explained. “In the future, Xuan Li will begin to move against the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, so he will not let the Zhao family off either. He will think that because I have married into the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, the Zhao family will side with the Xiao family. Hence, I contacted my Eldest Biaoge to avoid any mishaps. It is inappropriate for the Jinyi Guards to go into action tonight, but this is not true for the Zhao family. Xuan Li is aware of the approximate military force of the Zhao family. The General fu is not far away. Because the troops guarding the city are readily available, using the city garrison guards to kill the bandits disguised as officials is a good idea.” Jiang Ruan looked at the cup of tea in front of her. “They intend to ambush the entire Jinying w.a.n.gfu because they a.s.sume it to be an easy target[2] at the moment, but I intend to capture them all with the help of Zhao’s military forces. I want the people that Xuan Li has sent to observe in secret to feel helpless as they watch everything that is happening before their eyes. I want them to realize that even without Xiao Shao, Jinying w.a.n.gfu is most certainly not a place where they are free to come and go as they please!”
[2] 瓮中捉鳖 (wèngzhōngzhuōbiē) – to catch a turtle in a jar (idiom); to set oneself an easy target.
She spoke these words coldly, but the guards tasked with her protection, as well as Steward Lin, were secretly stunned. Inwardly, they could not help but admire her. Initially, the servants of the Jinying w.a.n.gfu debated which woman in the world could be a suitable match for Xiao Shao and after much discussion, only the daughter of the Yao family narrowly pa.s.sed as a candidate. Miss Yao was proficient in the four arts – guqin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was also incredibly smart. In terms of appearance and family background, she was the best candidate. But if Xiao Shao had actually married her, what would the current situation be? Certainly not any better than now. Miss Yao might be as wise as Jiang Ruan. Her appearance was comparable to that of Jiang Ruan. But she could never be Jinying w.a.n.gfei like Jiang Ruan. This was because a girl who grew up in a wealthy family learned to dance in long sleeves[3] but not to kill people. She was accustomed to the fu’s tactful interplay, not the vicious fighting in the dark.
[3] 长袖善舞 (chángxiùshànwǔ) – long sleeves help one dance beautifully (idiom); money and power will help you in any occupation.
Only those who have endured extreme pain and danger would be able to remain calm in the face of any murderous intent. Jiang Ruan’s heart was strong and tenacious. She did not act as though she had spent years in the courtyard of a minister’s fu, but instead had cultivated and honed her heart of stone on a road paved with blood and slashing swords.
“This servant understands and will risk his life to protect Young Furen’s,” Steward Lin declared solemnly.
“It’s not me you’re protecting,” Jiang Ruan murmured. “It is the Jinying w.a.n.gfu.”
Steward Lin’s heart was stirred and he stopped speaking.
* * *
Fire burst into the sky and burned violently in the night, waking people who were soundly asleep. Large groups of people filled the street and began to yell and run to put out the fire. At the same time, an unknown voice was heard to scream, “Come help, bandits are killing people!”
In an instant, the panic and fear contained in that voice infected everyone’s heart. People’s drowsiness faded almost simultaneously. The guards from other residences dashed out, carrying their swords. For a while, the entire street was violent, chaotic, and buzzing with noise.
Xia Qing woke up a little groggy, put on his coat and shoes, and walked out of the house. He looked at a manservant who had just rushed in and asked, “What’s going on? Why is it so noisy outside?”
“Young Master, a fire is spreading towards the fu.” The manservant replied in a hurry.
“Huh?” Xia Qing’s drowsiness vanished, and he asked anxiously, “What caused it? Are there casualties?”
“No.” The manservant rubbed his head. “We have few guards present. I don’t know what happened, but the houses on this street suddenly caught on fire. Also, this servant just heard a voice outside crying out that there are bandits. Young Master, you should stay inside and not go out. This servant is going to find out more.”
“Bandits?” Xia Qing was stupefied. “What bandits are so brazen that they would try to burn down an entire street of residences? They have gone too far!” As he was speaking, he noticed Qi Feng come out of another room with his coat. Qi Feng was clearly more awake than he was. Xia Qing said hastily, “Fourth Brother, were you awakened as well? How could there possibly be bandits here? Isn’t the imperial capital very peaceful under the Emperor’s rule? This is too dangerous!”
Qi Feng was about to speak when he suddenly stopped moving and stared at a location in the sky without blinking. Following his gaze, Xia Qing saw clearly that fireworks had unexpectedly started exploding in the southwest sky. Even though the fireworks weren’t large, the noise they made was incredibly crisp and clear, especially at night. Xia Qing was shocked and asked, “When did they start? Who is in the mood to play with fireworks at this time? What do you think is going on, Fourth Brother?” He turned around and wanted to ask Qi Feng, but he was taken aback by Qi Feng’s expression. Qi Feng’s face was pale, and his usually calm and astute eyes showed a hint of panic. “Something must have happened to her,” he said in a whisper. “I must go and find out.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around to leave, no longer paying attention to Xia Qing.
Xia Qing called out to him, “Where are you going, Fourth Brother? There are bandits outside!”
“Shut up!” Qi Feng admonished in a low voice. “Stay here and don’t go anywhere; don’t cause me any trouble!” Then he dashed out of the courtyard and his figure vanished into the night.
* * *
Jiang Ruan entered the main hall and listened to the guards who came in from time to time to report on what was going on outside. In fact, as the fire grew in strength, perhaps because it was unexpected, a large number of people were alarmed. The people outside were frantic, struggling between life and death, and as such they simply stopped pretending to be imperial guards and rushed in. Because all of Jinying w.a.n.gfu’s guards were highly skilled in martial arts, they did not allow those people to gain an advantage. However, they were outnumbered and the enemy was advancing fiercely, so it was unknown if they would be able to hold out for much longer.
Of course, Steward Lin was anxious as well. The Jinying w.a.n.gfu had stood like an iron wall in the capital for so many years, but now he realized that those people dared not touch the Jinying w.a.n.gfu only because of Xiao Shao’s presence. Now that Xiao Shao was gone, this Jinying w.a.n.gfu resembled a shack whose shingles had been removed. The ancestors’ glory was gradually fading, and what people were afraid of were the Jinyi Guards and Xiao Shao, not the Jinying w.a.n.gfu. However, the future mistress of w.a.n.gfu, was making a valiant effort to defend it. Seeing Jiang Ruan’s indifferent and calm appearance, Steward Lin’s restless heart gradually calmed down.
“Young Furen, they have broken into the residence!” a few guards rushed in to report.
“Make every effort to stop them. Kill them straight away. Count it as one if you kill one. If you kill two people, you make a profit of one.” Jiang Ruan spoke slowly “I’m in charge of this place. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility!”
Her voice always had a way of putting people at ease, as though she had a firm grasp about the vulnerability and motivation of the human heart. For example, her words at this time roused the guards’ protective instincts. A woman could face death without fear. Therefore, how could they, as members of the w.a.n.gfu, cower in the face of a hungry wolf? Unconsciously, she had become the Jinying w.a.n.gfu’s backbone. It seemed as if there was nothing to worry about as long as she was present.
Actually, Jiang Ruan was not as calm as she appeared. Even if the General fu wasn’t far away, these were Xuan Li’s death warriors[4]; they would never be merciful. A lot remained unknown if those death warriors made it to her courtyard before Zhao Yi and his troops arrived. But, no matter what she was thinking in her heart, nothing could be gleaned from her facial expression. One of life’s most frightening features was the ability to expose one’s vulnerability. Thus, even the slightest shift in her expression would have a huge impact on the servants of the Jinying w.a.n.gfu.
[4] 死士 (sǐshì) – warriors who are not afraid of death, mostly those from Jianghu, due to wealth/glory, to repay kindness, or for the sake of the royal family.
There was tension in the air as time pa.s.sed by slowly, and every moment seemed extremely long and unbearable. Then, when the tea had not yet cooled, she heard the guards outside yelling that the enemy forces had entered the courtyard.
Jiang Ruan smiled slightly.
The place was well-lit, but in an instant, people carrying torches surrounded the courtyard so tightly that not a drop could pa.s.s through. These people were all dressed in the official uniforms of the imperial guards. At first glance, they appeared to be officers out on errands, but the murderous look in their eyes indicated their real intent.
At once, this became a one-sided situation.
For a short period of time after those people finished surrounding the courtyard, they did not immediately act. Then, the leader stepped forward. Today’s events did not go according to plan. When he accepted this task, his master had warned him that whenever one encountered Jiang Ruan, something unexpected was bound to happen. He didn’t take it seriously at first; she was just a woman, and the most she could do was to rely on the power of men. But once they arrived outside the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, they found out that this wasn’t the case, and the sudden change of events nearly got them into a lot of trouble.
The sudden fire probably had something to do with the people in the fu; afterall, there hadn’t been any sign of one before then. But then, suddenly, the street was in flames and everyone was quickly awakened. Their ident.i.ties had been revealed, and if they returned without completing this task, they would face certain death. The unexpected fire disrupted their plans. In addition, the flare in the sky did not appear to be a fake; it should have been the signal of the Jinyi Guards. The leader’s heart shook at the thought of a force as elusive as ghosts. However, it was impossible to disobey the master’s command, and as a death warrior he was required to have the mindset of a death warrior.
As he and his men made their way into the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, they deliberately adopted a fierce stance as they battled with the guards. The intent was to gain the upperhand and control the situation by throwing the entire fu into frantic upheaval because of their fierceness. However, not a single servant or maid was seen along the way. Not including the well-trained guards, he hadn’t seen a single fl.u.s.tered man. And in the end, the ferocious fighting had not served its purpose to threaten and intimidate anyone. Furthermore, there wasn’t even a single person that they could capture to interrogate. Everyone was acting rather strangely but then they noticed a group of guards outside the main hall holding a protective stance, and knew that they had finally reached the mistress.
In fact, their people had set a trap outside early on. If Jiang Ruan tried to escape from the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, she would be relentlessly pursued and murdered before the arrival of the Jinyi Guards. They had come up with a foolproof plan, but they overlooked the fact that Jiang Ruan never considered leaving the Jinying w.a.n.gfu because she never intended to escape.
It was so stupid that the leader couldn’t believe it. Under such circ.u.mstances, the right thing to do was to protect the most important people in the fu. He heard that Xiao Shao was extremely concerned about Hong’an Junzhu, so her safety should have been the top priority. Jiang Ruan did not, however, leave the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, which was completely unforeseen.
At the moment, the guards protecting Jiang Ruan stood quietly outside the main hall, two maids stood quietly on both sides inside the main hall while fanning silver silk charcoal in the stove, and a bearded steward stood to the side, gently turning the pages of the account books. No one looked their way, and no one spoke, as if all sounds had faded. And so, these people did not witness the expected scene when they brought troops to infiltrate the courtyard.
Everything was incredibly calm; what would normally be a very ordinary, common, and warm scene, now appeared strange, so much so that it became even more bizarre.
After taking a few steps forward, the leader saw a woman in red sitting in the main hall’s most notable seat. A flaming fox fur cloak was worn over a reddish damask long coat skirt embroidered with plum flowers. The fox’s fur was smooth and shiny, glistening at night like a ball of fire. The woman’s appearance was even more beautiful. She held a small heater in her hand, her head was slightly bowed. Her long and curly eyelashes trembled gently, her limpid and bright eyes were very moving. Her skin was as white as snow, her lips rosy and her teeth white. Although he didn’t get a full view, he already felt that every move she made was beautiful. She was truly a national calamity who could confuse people’s hearts.
This scene was so lovely that no one could bear to disturb her. However, the leader composed himself and made a move, and his men approached the main hall slowly. “Hong’an Junzhu?”
The young lady in red slowly raised her head, revealing a charming and lovely face. She appeared to have just noticed the fire in the courtyard. Her expression changed slightly but quickly vanished, and a shallow smile appeared on her face. “I am.”
“I apologize, Junzhu,” the man sneered. “The time has come for your death. I will burn some paper money for you!” His expression was gloomy, but there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
It was unclear whether the fact that Xuan Li’s men shared their master’s temperament, particularly his paranoia, was intentional or not. The more composed Jiang Ruan seemed, the more nervous they became, fearing that there was some sort of conspiracy at play. They were hesitant to attack for this reason, possibly because they feared she would play a trick and because Xuan Li had warned them before leaving.
Contempt flashed in Jiang Ruan’s eyes. If she were in this man’s position, she would never be so indecisive. In life and death, the only way to win was to be ruthless. Being excessively cautious would only lead to ruin. She let out a soft sigh but said nothing.
“What do you mean by this, Junzhu?” The man started to feel uneasy. Then, he heard Jiang Ruan chuckle. “You’re too late.”
“Too late for what?” The man was stupefied and then sneered. “Are you talking about the Jinyi Guards’ arrival to rescue you?”
“Too late.” Jiang Ruan replied calmly, “The Jinyi Guards will not come. Your master won’t be able to find out anything.”
The man was startled to the point where he almost took two steps back, and all he could think was that Jiang Ruan’s eyes were so bright and filled with intimidating pressure. After he calmed down, he asked in a cold voice, “Junzhu, there’s no need to delude yourself. Why are you still so stubborn when death is near?”
“I wondered what on earth you were going to do, but now I understand.” Her smile was as pretty as a flower. It was breathtakingly beautiful in the firelight, but her voice was shockingly icy. “You can’t take my life or test the Jinyi Guards’ strength tonight. Of course, you also can’t walk out of the w.a.n.gfu’s gate, let alone have the chance to survive. So, as I stated,” she shook her head, “it is too late.”
The more she repeated it, the more nervous he became, as if she had grasped his weak point. He couldn’t help but be affected by what she said, and he wasn’t as sure as he had been before. Just as he raised his hand halfway to signal his subordinates to move, he heard a piercing sound but before he could turn around, he saw an arrow protruding from his chest. He was shot by an arrow that seemed to have come out of nowhere.
Outside the courtyard of the Jinying w.a.n.gfu, on the roof, dark figures started to appear one after the other. While they were hiding in the dark, people outside shouted, “Rampant and lawless bandits, Zhao Yi, on garrison duty in the imperial capital, has arrived. Immediately, give up all resistance and submit!”
Everyone was caught off guard. As the leader slowly fell over, Jiang Ruan’s voice came to his ears, seemingly from a great distance yet oddly close at the same time, with an inexplicable irony. “May you have a safe journey to the underworld.”
As soon as the leader died, his subordinates were in complete disarray, but they couldn’t do anything about it. For a brief moment, they were engaged in combat with the city garrison guards brought by Zhao Yi. Jiang Ruan stood up from her seat. The people on the roof were all shadow guards familiar with Jin Er and she had stalled for time by engaging with the leader. The guards were hiding in the shadows, giving these people the impression that Jinyi Guards were as elusive as ghosts to suppress their spirits. At that moment, she could see clearly that all of these people were truly death warriors. Now, realizing that their leader was dead and that they would die if they returned with an unfinished mission, the only option was to fight to the bitter end. However, although Zhao Yi had arrived, victory was not guaranteed. Moreover, at this point in time, help was too slow in coming[5]. Except, who else was there to come to their rescue.
[5] 远水解不了近渴 (yuǎn shuǐjiě bùliǎo jìn kě) – distant water cannot quench the present thirst or the aid is too slow in coming to be of any help.
She pondered countermeasures intently without noticing that several death warriors were approaching her. Steward Lin was giving instructions to the shadow guards as Jiang Ruan walked alone to the entrance of the courtyard. Suddenly both Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao let out a shocked cry, and with a kick Tian Zhu leapt up to deflect a knife heading towards Jiang Ruan. As Jiang Ruan turned around, Tian Zhu grabbed her hand and spoke hurriedly, “Go to the house now, Miss. It is too chaotic here.”
Jiang Ruan nodded. With Zhao Yi’s arrival, her presence would be an unnecessary burden to them all. She followed Tian Zhu and ran to the house with her maid. Unexpectedly, when they were only halfway there, Tian Zhu was caught by approaching death warriors. As more and more death warriors surrounded her, she became a living target. No one could save her while the shadow guards were entangled with the death warriors who had gone mad. Jiang Ruan looked over at Lian Qiao and the others, turned around, and ran the other way. If she stayed, they would also be caught.
Just as she was running to a corridor in the courtyard, someone grabbed her ankle. Jiang Ruan looked down and saw that a death warrior, who was severely injured, had regained consciousness and grabbed Jiang Ruan with all his strength. The man was so strong that she couldn’t break free. When another death warrior saw this, he raised his sword to stab Jiang Ruan without even stopping to think. Jiang Ruan couldn’t move, so she stood rooted to the spot and watched the glint of the sword fall towards her head. She was about to die right there.
When Qi Feng, who had run straight to the Jinying w.a.n.gfu in search of Jiang Ruan, witnessed this horrible scene unfolding, he let out a heartbreaking howl, “Jiang Ruan!”
The sadness and immense grief in that voice could drown people in an instant. However, before Jiang Ruan could react, a dark figure leapt forward and gathered her in his arms, shielding her from the sword’s dangerous glint.
A familiar crisp fragrance came from the cold embrace. For a moment, Jiang Ruan was dumbstruck. Under the moonlight, the man uttered two words in an icy tone, “Courting death!”