The Assassins of Baixiang Kingdom
A jar of wine became empty in the blink of an eye.
His stomach was burning like a fire. Chu Yuan poured another bowl in a rush, gritted his teeth and drank it. But he staggered a few steps forward, so he clutched the window sill with his hands for support, and continued staring aimlessly into the night.
Duan Baiyue waved to one of his cronies and whispered a few words into his ears.
The scene in front of him was a little blurry, and Chu Yuan remembered the first time he met Duan Baiyue when he was six years old. The then king of Southwest had brought his young prince to the royal city1, and Chu Yuan’s father was going to host a banquet the next day. This was not a strange thing at first, and he did not pay much attention to it. He still got up early to practice martial arts, and then went to take his lessons from the teacher. Until the sun set in the west, Sixi whispered a reminder outside, and when he looked up, he was surprised to realize that it was time to turn on the lanterns2.
After seeing Tao Rende off, Eunuch Sixi hurriedly called the servants to pass on the meal. But when he turned around, the little prince was nowhere to be seen, and he got immediately startled.
In the Imperial Garden, Chu Yuan was wandering aimlessly while thinking about what happened during the day. Unknowingly, he had walked deep into the forest. It was pitch dark all around. Not to mention the palace maids and eunuchs, there wasn’t even a lantern with him. So he frowned, turned around and wanted to go back, but he heard voices in the forest next to him.
“Your Highness, it’s time to return to the East Palace.” A high-pitched voice came, and Chu Yuan patted his forehead3, feeling a little unlucky. Just when he was thinking about changing his path, someone had already approached and said teasingly: “Tsk, isn’t this my second brother? Why are you here alone?”
Chu Yuan stopped and turned to look at him.
Prince Chu Xun held a mace in his hand, followed by four or five burly Mongolian warriors with provocative faces.
Chu Yuan had never had a good impression of his brother who was three years older than him. So after curtly saluting him, he turned around and was about to go out of the dense forest, but was blocked by Chu Xun.
“What are you trying to do?” Chu Yuan asked.
“Martial arts competition.” Chu Xun replied.
“Let’s duel some other time. I should go back now.” Chu Yuan swept away the mace in front of him and walked out quickly.
“Come back right now!” Chu Xun scolded.
Chu Yuan pretended not to hear.
“Stop him!” Chu Xun ordered.
“Yes!” The Mongolian warriors strode forward and surrounded Chu Yuan.
“Why are you running?” Chu Xun stepped forward slowly, “My father praised you for your good martial arts skills, so I wanted to ask you for advice on a few tricks. Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
Chu Yuan clenched his hands and looked at him warily.
Chu Xun pinched his chin with an arrogant expression.
At that time, all the ministers in the court were muttering that the crown prince is cruel and mischievous. But the second prince is talented and intelligent. The emperor had shown his intention to change his mind more than once. Even the empress liked the second son more. He was afraid that the master of East Palace would change its owner in these two years.
His father didn’t care for his mother, and he used to hear constant rumours about them. Naturally, Chu Xun hated this younger brother. After finally catching him alone with no one to protect him, he inevitably had other thoughts in his heart.
Chu Yuan’s left hand held the small waist tightly.
Chu Xun sneered and pushed him provocatively.
“Your Majesty, please let’s go back.” On the other side of the forest, a young boy in white was urging in a low voice. “It’s the Chu kingdom’s princes who are duelling in martial arts. Before coming here, the King asked to not cause any trouble.”
“Watching the fun is same as not causing trouble.” Duan Baiyue squatted on the ground, propping his cheeks and said, “Which one is the crown prince?”
The young man said: “The one with more people.”
“Idiot.” Duan Baiyue pouted.
The young man grimaced: “You shouldn’t say something like this carelessly.”
“You want to compete with me?” Chu Yuan continued to ask. He knew that he would definitely not be able to deal with this group of Mongolian warriors. So he could only delay them as much as he can, so that Sixi could bring his people here as soon as possible.
“I’m better than you, but I can’t beat you.” Chu Xun took two steps back and said, “They will be duelling with you.”
Duan Baiyue’s lips twitched: “Are you sure he is the crown prince?”
The young boy said: “Ah, sure.”
Duan Baiyue asked again: “Is the Emperor of Chu not afraid of subjugation?”
The young boy beside him was startled, and then cried: “Your Majesty, can I beg you to please shut up?” After all, we are all under ten years old this year, and we should have many years to live. It is not worthwhile to be beheaded.
Although the Emperor of Chu often praised Chu Yuan for his martial arts, no matter how powerful a six-year-old child was, he would never be a match for an adult, let alone a Mongolian warrior who was famous for his toughness. So when Duan Baiyue looked over again, Chu Yuan had been pushed to the ground.
For the eighteenth time, the boy in white said earnestly, “Let’s go back.”
Chu Yuan stood up and asked, “Can I go now?”
Chu Xun slapped his face: “You are usually very arrogant. Why are you afraid today?”
The Mongolian warriors twisted Chu Yuan’s hands behind his back, tied up his feet, and carried him to Chu Xun.
“I’ve hated you for a long time.” Chu Xun looked fiercely.
“But I have always admired elder brother.” Chu Yuan’s voice was calm, as if he had no emotion.
Duan Baiyue burst out laughing.
The boy in white quickly covered his mouth.
Chu Xun kicked Chu Yuan hard in the abdomen. Chu Yuan coughed twice but still didn’t speak.
The boy opened his mouth for the nineteenth time, but before he could speak this time, Duan Baiyue had already stood up and walked straight out of the forest.
“Your Majesty!” This time, not only the boy, but also the other boys beside him were startled and hurriedly followed him out.
Upon hearing the noise, the Mongolian warriors immediately let go of Chu Yuan, and their faces no longer had the previous fierce expression.
“Who are you?” Chu Xun was surprised at first, thinking that it was his father or his mother who was looking for him. But later he saw that they were a group of boys about the same age as himself, and he regained the arrogance of the Chu prince.
Chu Yuan rubbed his sore arm, looked up, and then hid behind Duan Baiyue.
The young boy in white said enthusiastically: “We just passed by accidentally, let’s leave now.”
Duan Baiyue glanced at the person around him who was wearing bright yellow brocade clothes and had black soft hair, neatly tied together by jade belts. But he kept his head lowered, and all he could see was the long eyelashes trembling slightly.
There seemed to be faint footsteps outside the dense forest. Duan Baiyue held his arm and asked, “Are you okay?”
Chu Yuan finally raised his head and looked at him thinking, he is taller than me, probably older than me, has a nice nose, and nice, shiny eyes.
Looking at his fair cheeks, star-like eyes, and rosy mouth, Duan Baiyue smiled and softened his tone a little: “Does your arm hurt?”
Chu Yuan was about to say it was okay, but he felt a sharp pain in the elbow he held. So he groaned, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.
“It seems to be dislocated.” Duan Baiyue raised his head and looked at Chu Xun and the Mongolian warriors.
“Impossible!” Chu Xun’s face turned pale. He just wanted to humiliate Chu Yuan for speaking out, and at most he would give him a few slaps, but he also knew that he couldn’t be cruel. If there was no visible injury, then even if he whined and complained afterwards, as long as he refused to admit it, there was nothing his father could do. It is even possible that he would revert the dirt of his doings back on him, saying that he was framed falsely. But if his hand is really dislocated… Thinking of this, Chu Xun panicked, turned around and said angrily: “What have you all done?!”
The Mongolian warriors lowered their heads and remained silent.
Cold sweat broke out on Chu Yuan’s forehead. His eyesight turned black, and he was almost unsteady on his feet.
Duan Baiyue held him in his arms and whispered in his ear: “Don’t be afraid, someone is coming.”
Chu Yuan looked into his eyes.
Duan Baiyue smiled, and lightly touched his forehead as comfort.
The boy in white was stunned. What is the young prince doing?
“Yuan’er! Oh dear!” The empress hurried over, with torches lingering behind her, “What’s the matter?”
“Greetings to Your Majesty, the Empress.” Duan Baiyue saluted and returned Chu Yuan to Sixi. “The prince’s arm seems to have been dislocated.”
“Dislocated?” The Chu emperor, who was following behind, heard this sentence. And, when he saw Chu Yuan’s pale face, he became furious, “What’s going on?”
“Emperor Father, Queen Mother.” Chu Xun knelt down and said anxiously, “I…”
“Bring the imperial doctor over here!” The empress, abandoning all etiquettes, hugged Chu Yuan and sat on the ground, letting him lean into her arms. “What’s wrong? Where is the dislocation? Can you still stand?”
The young boy in white was kneeling down on one knee with his head lowered. After hearing this, he couldn’t help but raise his eyelids and glance at him – shouldn’t he, will he be unable to stand steadily if his arm is dislocated? It doesn’t look like the little prince is that frail.
“Who exactly did it!” The Chu emperor asked angrily.
Chu Yuan leaned in his mother’s arms, glanced at Duan Baiyue, then lowered his eyes and whispered: “Just now, the eldest brother led these people and blocked my4 path, saying that he wanted me to duel these Mongolian warriors for a few moves.”
“What?” Looking at those strong men like iron towers, the empress almost fainted. She suddenly felt that her son’s whole body had been dislocated, and she didn’t know if he would be able to recover in the future. What would happen if he lay down for the rest of his life?!
Chu Yuan couldn’t bear to look at her: “Mother, I am fine.”
“Quickly stop talking.” The empress covered his mouth, “Sleep well.”
“Yes.” Duan Baiyue was also concerned. “You got kicked in the stomach, and you don’t know if there is anything wrong with the internal organs. It’s better not to move.”
“You got kicked?” The empress became more and more thunderous. This time she thought, he might not only have external injuries, but also internal injuries.
Chu Yuan glared at Duan Baiyue.
The young prince of the Southwest Mansion stuck out his tongue and looked like a scoundrel – if you don’t want to act, why bother pretending to be weak and sick? I’m here to help you.
Chu Yuan closed his eyes and ignored this person.
Duan Baiyue turned to look worried and stared straight ahead.
Emperor Chu was puzzled at first. He followed his line of sight and saw a mace behind the tree.
Blocking his younger brother in the dense forest, and bringing such a murder weapon, it doesn’t look like a nine-year-old boy’s behaviour. Looking at Chu Yuan who seemed to be unconscious, the Emperor of Chu was almost furious and ordered his guards to throw those Mongolian warriors into death row. As for Chu Xun, he was imprisoned to think about his mistakes and could not leave the East Palace for three months.
In the fourth month, the East Palace really changed its owner, and the old prince was sent to Longzhou to continue to reflect upon his mistakes. Accompanied by Sixi, Chu Yuan walked around the new residence, then sat on the table and asked, “Will people from Southwest Mansion come again?”
“People from Southwest Mansion?” Sixi said, “It’s hard to say. I’m afraid you will have to ask the Holy One5.”
“Forget it. I’m just asking casually.” Chu Yuan moved his elbows, “Don’t they like to come?”
Sixi said again: “Although people don’t come, but gifts are sent every year.”
Coincidentally, as soon as he finished speaking, a guard outside reported that among the specialties presented by the Southwest Mansion this time, one was specially presented to the prince. He had already inspected it and asked when it would be delivered.
Chu Yuan jumped off the table and went to the treasury in person. It was a small bright red box, and it was tied with red silk.
The empress happened to be there too, and after watching it, she joked: “Those who don’t know would think it’s a dowry sent by someone’s princess to get married to Yuan’er.”
Chu Yuan paused while untying the red satin. Who wants to marry him?
The things in the box are very miscellaneous, and they are all gadgets produced in the Southwest. There is a gun inlaid with gems, a jade paperweight, an emerald pendant, a white tiger skin, and a set of Miao clothes.
The empress smiled and said, “If the King of Southwest gave these little things, it would be a bit rude, as if he deliberately despised Da Chu. But if it were the young prince of Southwest Palace, it wouldn’t hurt. Although it is just a one-sided relationship, it is still considered a good heartful relationship.”
Chu Yuan took out the small gun and weighed it in his hands.
To be honest, it’s not very pretty. It’s gaudy, red and green, and heavy.
But no matter how unsightly it is, it would be carried with him for more than ten years.
Chu Yuan stretched out his hand to touch his waist, but wanted to smile bitterly.
From the time they met until now, why do some people’s temperaments never change at all? From pinching off his own arm to hiding and refusing to show up, he always makes the choice he thinks is best for himself without asking a question – but is that really the best?
The turbid wine became increasingly bitter. So Chu Yuan simply picked up the wine jar and drank from it directly.
Ye Jin kicked the door open, and before he had time to speak, he saw this scene and was dumbfounded.
Chu Yuan looked back at him blankly.
“Damn it.” Ye Jin gasped and stepped closer, “Which bastard made you so angry?”
Chu Yuan was extremely calm: “Why are you here?”
Shen Qianfeng tactfully closed the door outside.
“Is it that bastard Duan Baiyue?” Ye Jin looked around him. “I knew something was wrong when I received Mr. Tao’s letter. Are you hurt?”
Chu Yuan replied: “No.”
“No shit! I prepared that medicine myself and I can’t smell it myself.” Ye Jin said, “Show it!”
Chu Yuan took a step back.
“Is your leg injuired?” Ye Jin became even more frightened and angry.
Chu Yuan: “…”
Ye Jin couldn’t help but push him to sit on the edge of the bed, and rolled up his trousers.
Chu Yuan promptly explained: “I met an assassin.”
Ye Jin asked while taking off the bandage: “Duan Baiyue is so courageous that he actually sent someone to assassinate you?”
Chu Yuan choked and said, “They were from Nanyang.”
“He really wants to die.” Ye Jin took out the wound medicine from his bosom, and blew Chu Yuan’s wound. “Thinking that if we find a few Nanyang people, we won’t be able to guess who is the mastermind behind it?” How childish!
Chu Yuan was exhausted mentally and physically: “It has nothing to do with Southwest Mansion.”
Ye Jin sprinkled a bottle of medicinal powder on his leg.
Chu Yuan gasped and almost passed out from the pain.
Ye Jin re-wrapped the bandage twice, and then scolded: “You are injured and you still drink!” Are you conscious at all?
Chu Yuan said: “I feel depressed.”
Ye Jin sat next to him and said angrily: “How dare Duan Baiyue do this to you!”
Chu Yuan thought for a while, then nodded: “En.”
“Don’t be afraid.” Ye Jin continued to comfort, “I’ll beat him to death!”
Chu Yuan agreed: “Okay.”
Ye Jin clenched his fists: “I’ll castrate him before killing!”
Chu Yuan paused for a moment, then changed the subject: “Is Qianfeng outside the door?”
“Yes.” Ye Jin wiped his cold sweat for him, “He was worried that something would happen, so he came together with me. Fortunately, nothing serious happened.”
Chu Yuan smiled: “Thank you very much.”
“Lie down first,” Ye Jin said. “I’ll make some medicine for you. After you take it, you can explain why you came to the southwest alone.”
Chu Yuan agreed, closed his eyes, and concentrated on making up reasons.
“Your Majesty.” On the other end, a confidant of the Duan Mansion reported, “The Emperor’s place should be fine. Leader Shen and Lord Ye Gu have arrived, and they have brought many people with them.”
Duan Baiyue smiled: “That’s good.”
“Then does the prince want to go back?” the confidant continued to ask.
Duan Baiyue nodded, and looked at the inn again – but the windows were closed.
With Shen Qianfeng and Ye Jin here, there would be no problems on the way forward. Duan Baiyue jumped off the roof, planning to interrogate the assassins first.
The place where they temporarily settled was an empty house, which was very remote and no one would find it casually. What’s more important is that there are many storage cellars underground. No matter how loud people scream in here, it will not reach outside.
One night later, those assassins were already mangled with blood and flesh, and each of them only had one breath left.
“Your Majesty.” The confidant was worried, “I’m afraid we can’t use this option of continuing to torture like this.”
“Why?” Duan Baiyue asked.
“These people can’t even speak a word of Chinese. Even if they want to confess, they can’t open their mouths,” the confidant reminded.
“Impossible.” Duan Baiyue shook his head, “Nanyang is far away from Dachu. Moreover, after entering the country, so many people need to eat and stay in hotels. There will be at least one person in there who is responsible for communicating with the outside world. Otherwise, if such a group of people rely only on gestures to come to north, they won’t be able to complete the task they have at hand. In no time, I’m afraid they will be catch the government’s eye.”
The confidant came to a sudden realization: “My lord is right.”
“As long as they don’t die, there is no need to be lenient with them.” Duan Baiyue said. “Let them know as soon as possible that their life is not worth much.”
“Yes.” The confidant nodded, rolled up his sleeves and led the people into the cellar again. In the evening, they came to report that one person finally couldn’t stand it and admitted that he could understand Chinese.
“Bring him up.” Duan Baiyue put down the teacup in his hand.
After a while, a bloody man was dragged up. He was dying, but he could still speak because he had been given medicine.
Duan Baiyue said: “Tell me, where do you come from and why do you want to assassinate the Emperor of Chu?”
“We are the killers of the Baixiang Kingdom.” The man coughed up a mouthful of blood and said after a while, “The Baixiang Kingdom advocates martial arts, so there are many martial arts schools and killers there. A year ago, someone came to us and offered a big price to buy the life of Emperor Chu.”
Duan Baiyue sneered: “You are quite courageous to assassinate the king of the country in Chu.”
“At the beginning, we also said that this matter was just a dream, and we didn’t want to accept it.” The man said, “But then the customer increased the commission by thirty times, and said that we don’t need to enter the palace, or even enter the king’s city. Sneak into the Chu Kingdom and when the Emperor of Chu goes on patrol, they will send news so that they can take advantage of the opportunity.”
“Who is it that came to see you?” Duan Baiyue asked again.
“I don’t know.” The man said, “I only know that he is not a native of the Baixiang Kingdom. One of them looks like a rich kid from Da Chu based on his dress and conversation. He just keeps his face covered so that only his eyes can be seen.”
Duan Baiyue leaned on the back of the chair, thought for a moment, then stood up and took a palm-sized piece of paper from the next door, covering the top and bottom, and then said: “Does he have these eyes?”
The man struggled to take a look, then nodded: “Exactly.”
“Are you sure?” Duan Baiyue asked again.
“I am absolutely sure. These eyes are extremely beautiful.” The man said, “I won’t mistake them.”
Duan Baiyue stood up and sat back behind the table.
That piece of paper is a portrait of Chu Yuan. In this world, there is someone with eyes similar to his. He lives in Nanyang and has such deep hatred. You don’t have to think about it to know who it is.
The original name of the noble prince Chu Xiang was Chu Xiang6. Later, a fortune teller said that this son was born to be incompatible with water, so he changed his name. He was also the most beloved prince of the late Emperor Chu, but he was never able to take away the crown prince’s position. After Chu Yuan ascended the throne, he and Liu Jinde, the eldest son of the Liu family at that time, were demoted to common people and sent to Hainan, and they were ordered not to set foot in Chu again for life.
There has been no news for so many years, and the Liu family has fallen into disarray. Everyone in the court only thinks that the two of them are in danger. If not for this assassination, even Duan Baiyue would not think of this incident again.
Being sent to exile and still able to execute such tricks, he was quite capable. Duan Baiyue shook his head and ordered the assassin to be dragged down.
“Your Majesty”, someone outside reported. “Duan Nian is back.”
Duan Baiyue stood up and stepped forward to open the door in person.
“…” Duan Nian was about to smile when he suddenly saw a mask and was inevitably stunned.
Duan Baiyue said: “Huh?”
“My lord.” Duan Nian came back to his senses.
“Didn’t Yao’er tell you about it?” Duan Baiyue asked.
“He did.” Duan Nian said honestly, “But I suddenly saw… please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
Duan Baiyue smiled: “You have worked hard for these three years.”
“It’s not hard at all.” Duan Nian said, “The Emperor of Chu is very good to his subordinates, and the elders in the court are also good to this subordinate.” Some people even talked about matchmaking.
Duan Baiyue said: “I heard you were injured, are you okay?”
“It’s just a skin injury.” Duan Nian said, “This subordinate didn’t fulfil his duty well. Emperor Chu was also stabbed. Those assassins -“
“No need to say anything.” Duan Baiyue patted him on the shoulder, “As long as you’re fine, everything else can be taken care of.”
Duan Nian breathed a sigh of relief.
“Take a rest for two days and then come back to Southwest Mansion with me.” Duan Baiyue said.
“…Yes.” Duan Nian was puzzled, thought for a while and asked again, “Why didn’t you go to the royal city? After all, Emperor Chu is alone, and even if this group of assassins are captured, there is no guarantee that there would not be another group.”
“Leader Shen and lord Ye Gu have already come to Hongmu City, and their onward journey is expected to be safe.” Duan Baiyue said, “You are right in saying that even if this group of assassins is captured, there is no guarantee that there will be no next group. At least the people behind the scenes must be thoroughly found out, so that future troubles can be avoided.”
Duan Nian probed: “What does the prince mean?”
Duan Baiyue said: “We will go back to the Southwest Mansion and dispatch an army. I want to go to Nanyang myself.”
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As usual, if there are any mistakes or errors, please contact me and I’ll rectify it. If anyone is willing to help in translation who knows Mandarin, you are more than welcome to assist. In that case as well, please email me.
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Notes:
i’ll be using “royal city” instead of Wangcheng henceforth. ↩︎ it means the evening had arrived. ↩︎ facepalm gesture… hehe ↩︎ The original word is “wei chen” which means, this humble one. Thats how a minister addresses himself in a court or in front of royals. I dont know it sounded weird. so I just changed it to normal pronouns me, my, etc.. In the same way, Chu Yuan uses “we” instead of “I” as a royal. I have changed that as well. It just ruins the entire mood of the book and you cant understand when he using “we” and when he is using “I” while talking to DBY. ↩︎ the emperor is also called the holy one. ↩︎ The characters for “Xiang” are different. So while in pinyin the names look same, they are actually two different names. I don’t know which meaning exactly they have taken here. So let’s just assume that former name “Chu Xiang” was different than his today’s “Chu Xiang”. ↩︎
The Assassins of Baixiang Kingdom
A jar of wine became empty in the blink of an eye.
His stomach was burning like a fire. Chu Yuan poured another bowl in a rush, gritted his teeth and drank it. But he staggered a few steps forward, so he clutched the window sill with his hands for support, and continued staring aimlessly into the night.
Duan Baiyue waved to one of his cronies and whispered a few words into his ears.
The scene in front of him was a little blurry, and Chu Yuan remembered the first time he met Duan Baiyue when he was six years old. The then king of Southwest had brought his young prince to the royal city1, and Chu Yuan’s father was going to host a banquet the next day. This was not a strange thing at first, and he did not pay much attention to it. He still got up early to practice martial arts, and then went to take his lessons from the teacher. Until the sun set in the west, Sixi whispered a reminder outside, and when he looked up, he was surprised to realize that it was time to turn on the lanterns2.
After seeing Tao Rende off, Eunuch Sixi hurriedly called the servants to pass on the meal. But when he turned around, the little prince was nowhere to be seen, and he got immediately startled.
In the Imperial Garden, Chu Yuan was wandering aimlessly while thinking about what happened during the day. Unknowingly, he had walked deep into the forest. It was pitch dark all around. Not to mention the palace maids and eunuchs, there wasn’t even a lantern with him. So he frowned, turned around and wanted to go back, but he heard voices in the forest next to him.
“Your Highness, it’s time to return to the East Palace.” A high-pitched voice came, and Chu Yuan patted his forehead3, feeling a little unlucky. Just when he was thinking about changing his path, someone had already approached and said teasingly: “Tsk, isn’t this my second brother? Why are you here alone?”
Chu Yuan stopped and turned to look at him.
Prince Chu Xun held a mace in his hand, followed by four or five burly Mongolian warriors with provocative faces.
Chu Yuan had never had a good impression of his brother who was three years older than him. So after curtly saluting him, he turned around and was about to go out of the dense forest, but was blocked by Chu Xun.
“What are you trying to do?” Chu Yuan asked.
“Martial arts competition.” Chu Xun replied.
“Let’s duel some other time. I should go back now.” Chu Yuan swept away the mace in front of him and walked out quickly.
“Come back right now!” Chu Xun scolded.
Chu Yuan pretended not to hear.
“Stop him!” Chu Xun ordered.
“Yes!” The Mongolian warriors strode forward and surrounded Chu Yuan.
“Why are you running?” Chu Xun stepped forward slowly, “My father praised you for your good martial arts skills, so I wanted to ask you for advice on a few tricks. Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
Chu Yuan clenched his hands and looked at him warily.
Chu Xun pinched his chin with an arrogant expression.
At that time, all the ministers in the court were muttering that the crown prince is cruel and mischievous. But the second prince is talented and intelligent. The emperor had shown his intention to change his mind more than once. Even the empress liked the second son more. He was afraid that the master of East Palace would change its owner in these two years.
His father didn’t care for his mother, and he used to hear constant rumours about them. Naturally, Chu Xun hated this younger brother. After finally catching him alone with no one to protect him, he inevitably had other thoughts in his heart.
Chu Yuan’s left hand held the small waist tightly.
Chu Xun sneered and pushed him provocatively.
“Your Majesty, please let’s go back.” On the other side of the forest, a young boy in white was urging in a low voice. “It’s the Chu kingdom’s princes who are duelling in martial arts. Before coming here, the King asked to not cause any trouble.”
“Watching the fun is same as not causing trouble.” Duan Baiyue squatted on the ground, propping his cheeks and said, “Which one is the crown prince?”
The young man said: “The one with more people.”
“Idiot.” Duan Baiyue pouted.
The young man grimaced: “You shouldn’t say something like this carelessly.”
“You want to compete with me?” Chu Yuan continued to ask. He knew that he would definitely not be able to deal with this group of Mongolian warriors. So he could only delay them as much as he can, so that Sixi could bring his people here as soon as possible.
“I’m better than you, but I can’t beat you.” Chu Xun took two steps back and said, “They will be duelling with you.”
Duan Baiyue’s lips twitched: “Are you sure he is the crown prince?”
The young boy said: “Ah, sure.”
Duan Baiyue asked again: “Is the Emperor of Chu not afraid of subjugation?”
The young boy beside him was startled, and then cried: “Your Majesty, can I beg you to please shut up?” After all, we are all under ten years old this year, and we should have many years to live. It is not worthwhile to be beheaded.
Although the Emperor of Chu often praised Chu Yuan for his martial arts, no matter how powerful a six-year-old child was, he would never be a match for an adult, let alone a Mongolian warrior who was famous for his toughness. So when Duan Baiyue looked over again, Chu Yuan had been pushed to the ground.
For the eighteenth time, the boy in white said earnestly, “Let’s go back.”
Chu Yuan stood up and asked, “Can I go now?”
Chu Xun slapped his face: “You are usually very arrogant. Why are you afraid today?”
The Mongolian warriors twisted Chu Yuan’s hands behind his back, tied up his feet, and carried him to Chu Xun.
“I’ve hated you for a long time.” Chu Xun looked fiercely.
“But I have always admired elder brother.” Chu Yuan’s voice was calm, as if he had no emotion.
Duan Baiyue burst out laughing.
The boy in white quickly covered his mouth.
Chu Xun kicked Chu Yuan hard in the abdomen. Chu Yuan coughed twice but still didn’t speak.
The boy opened his mouth for the nineteenth time, but before he could speak this time, Duan Baiyue had already stood up and walked straight out of the forest.
“Your Majesty!” This time, not only the boy, but also the other boys beside him were startled and hurriedly followed him out.
Upon hearing the noise, the Mongolian warriors immediately let go of Chu Yuan, and their faces no longer had the previous fierce expression.
“Who are you?” Chu Xun was surprised at first, thinking that it was his father or his mother who was looking for him. But later he saw that they were a group of boys about the same age as himself, and he regained the arrogance of the Chu prince.
Chu Yuan rubbed his sore arm, looked up, and then hid behind Duan Baiyue.
The young boy in white said enthusiastically: “We just passed by accidentally, let’s leave now.”
Duan Baiyue glanced at the person around him who was wearing bright yellow brocade clothes and had black soft hair, neatly tied together by jade belts. But he kept his head lowered, and all he could see was the long eyelashes trembling slightly.
There seemed to be faint footsteps outside the dense forest. Duan Baiyue held his arm and asked, “Are you okay?”
Chu Yuan finally raised his head and looked at him thinking, he is taller than me, probably older than me, has a nice nose, and nice, shiny eyes.
Looking at his fair cheeks, star-like eyes, and rosy mouth, Duan Baiyue smiled and softened his tone a little: “Does your arm hurt?”
Chu Yuan was about to say it was okay, but he felt a sharp pain in the elbow he held. So he groaned, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.
“It seems to be dislocated.” Duan Baiyue raised his head and looked at Chu Xun and the Mongolian warriors.
“Impossible!” Chu Xun’s face turned pale. He just wanted to humiliate Chu Yuan for speaking out, and at most he would give him a few slaps, but he also knew that he couldn’t be cruel. If there was no visible injury, then even if he whined and complained afterwards, as long as he refused to admit it, there was nothing his father could do. It is even possible that he would revert the dirt of his doings back on him, saying that he was framed falsely. But if his hand is really dislocated… Thinking of this, Chu Xun panicked, turned around and said angrily: “What have you all done?!”
The Mongolian warriors lowered their heads and remained silent.
Cold sweat broke out on Chu Yuan’s forehead. His eyesight turned black, and he was almost unsteady on his feet.
Duan Baiyue held him in his arms and whispered in his ear: “Don’t be afraid, someone is coming.”
Chu Yuan looked into his eyes.
Duan Baiyue smiled, and lightly touched his forehead as comfort.
The boy in white was stunned. What is the young prince doing?
“Yuan’er! Oh dear!” The empress hurried over, with torches lingering behind her, “What’s the matter?”
“Greetings to Your Majesty, the Empress.” Duan Baiyue saluted and returned Chu Yuan to Sixi. “The prince’s arm seems to have been dislocated.”
“Dislocated?” The Chu emperor, who was following behind, heard this sentence. And, when he saw Chu Yuan’s pale face, he became furious, “What’s going on?”
“Emperor Father, Queen Mother.” Chu Xun knelt down and said anxiously, “I…”
“Bring the imperial doctor over here!” The empress, abandoning all etiquettes, hugged Chu Yuan and sat on the ground, letting him lean into her arms. “What’s wrong? Where is the dislocation? Can you still stand?”
The young boy in white was kneeling down on one knee with his head lowered. After hearing this, he couldn’t help but raise his eyelids and glance at him – shouldn’t he, will he be unable to stand steadily if his arm is dislocated? It doesn’t look like the little prince is that frail.
“Who exactly did it!” The Chu emperor asked angrily.
Chu Yuan leaned in his mother’s arms, glanced at Duan Baiyue, then lowered his eyes and whispered: “Just now, the eldest brother led these people and blocked my4 path, saying that he wanted me to duel these Mongolian warriors for a few moves.”
“What?” Looking at those strong men like iron towers, the empress almost fainted. She suddenly felt that her son’s whole body had been dislocated, and she didn’t know if he would be able to recover in the future. What would happen if he lay down for the rest of his life?!
Chu Yuan couldn’t bear to look at her: “Mother, I am fine.”
“Quickly stop talking.” The empress covered his mouth, “Sleep well.”
“Yes.” Duan Baiyue was also concerned. “You got kicked in the stomach, and you don’t know if there is anything wrong with the internal organs. It’s better not to move.”
“You got kicked?” The empress became more and more thunderous. This time she thought, he might not only have external injuries, but also internal injuries.
Chu Yuan glared at Duan Baiyue.
The young prince of the Southwest Mansion stuck out his tongue and looked like a scoundrel – if you don’t want to act, why bother pretending to be weak and sick? I’m here to help you.
Chu Yuan closed his eyes and ignored this person.
Duan Baiyue turned to look worried and stared straight ahead.
Emperor Chu was puzzled at first. He followed his line of sight and saw a mace behind the tree.
Blocking his younger brother in the dense forest, and bringing such a murder weapon, it doesn’t look like a nine-year-old boy’s behaviour. Looking at Chu Yuan who seemed to be unconscious, the Emperor of Chu was almost furious and ordered his guards to throw those Mongolian warriors into death row. As for Chu Xun, he was imprisoned to think about his mistakes and could not leave the East Palace for three months.
In the fourth month, the East Palace really changed its owner, and the old prince was sent to Longzhou to continue to reflect upon his mistakes. Accompanied by Sixi, Chu Yuan walked around the new residence, then sat on the table and asked, “Will people from Southwest Mansion come again?”
“People from Southwest Mansion?” Sixi said, “It’s hard to say. I’m afraid you will have to ask the Holy One5.”
“Forget it. I’m just asking casually.” Chu Yuan moved his elbows, “Don’t they like to come?”
Sixi said again: “Although people don’t come, but gifts are sent every year.”
Coincidentally, as soon as he finished speaking, a guard outside reported that among the specialties presented by the Southwest Mansion this time, one was specially presented to the prince. He had already inspected it and asked when it would be delivered.
Chu Yuan jumped off the table and went to the treasury in person. It was a small bright red box, and it was tied with red silk.
The empress happened to be there too, and after watching it, she joked: “Those who don’t know would think it’s a dowry sent by someone’s princess to get married to Yuan’er.”
Chu Yuan paused while untying the red satin. Who wants to marry him?
The things in the box are very miscellaneous, and they are all gadgets produced in the Southwest. There is a gun inlaid with gems, a jade paperweight, an emerald pendant, a white tiger skin, and a set of Miao clothes.
The empress smiled and said, “If the King of Southwest gave these little things, it would be a bit rude, as if he deliberately despised Da Chu. But if it were the young prince of Southwest Palace, it wouldn’t hurt. Although it is just a one-sided relationship, it is still considered a good heartful relationship.”
Chu Yuan took out the small gun and weighed it in his hands.
To be honest, it’s not very pretty. It’s gaudy, red and green, and heavy.
But no matter how unsightly it is, it would be carried with him for more than ten years.
Chu Yuan stretched out his hand to touch his waist, but wanted to smile bitterly.
From the time they met until now, why do some people’s temperaments never change at all? From pinching off his own arm to hiding and refusing to show up, he always makes the choice he thinks is best for himself without asking a question – but is that really the best?
The turbid wine became increasingly bitter. So Chu Yuan simply picked up the wine jar and drank from it directly.
Ye Jin kicked the door open, and before he had time to speak, he saw this scene and was dumbfounded.
Chu Yuan looked back at him blankly.
“Damn it.” Ye Jin gasped and stepped closer, “Which bastard made you so angry?”
Chu Yuan was extremely calm: “Why are you here?”
Shen Qianfeng tactfully closed the door outside.
“Is it that bastard Duan Baiyue?” Ye Jin looked around him. “I knew something was wrong when I received Mr. Tao’s letter. Are you hurt?”
Chu Yuan replied: “No.”
“No shit! I prepared that medicine myself and I can’t smell it myself.” Ye Jin said, “Show it!”
Chu Yuan took a step back.
“Is your leg injuired?” Ye Jin became even more frightened and angry.
Chu Yuan: “…”
Ye Jin couldn’t help but push him to sit on the edge of the bed, and rolled up his trousers.
Chu Yuan promptly explained: “I met an assassin.”
Ye Jin asked while taking off the bandage: “Duan Baiyue is so courageous that he actually sent someone to assassinate you?”
Chu Yuan choked and said, “They were from Nanyang.”
“He really wants to die.” Ye Jin took out the wound medicine from his bosom, and blew Chu Yuan’s wound. “Thinking that if we find a few Nanyang people, we won’t be able to guess who is the mastermind behind it?” How childish!
Chu Yuan was exhausted mentally and physically: “It has nothing to do with Southwest Mansion.”
Ye Jin sprinkled a bottle of medicinal powder on his leg.
Chu Yuan gasped and almost passed out from the pain.
Ye Jin re-wrapped the bandage twice, and then scolded: “You are injured and you still drink!” Are you conscious at all?
Chu Yuan said: “I feel depressed.”
Ye Jin sat next to him and said angrily: “How dare Duan Baiyue do this to you!”
Chu Yuan thought for a while, then nodded: “En.”
“Don’t be afraid.” Ye Jin continued to comfort, “I’ll beat him to death!”
Chu Yuan agreed: “Okay.”
Ye Jin clenched his fists: “I’ll castrate him before killing!”
Chu Yuan paused for a moment, then changed the subject: “Is Qianfeng outside the door?”
“Yes.” Ye Jin wiped his cold sweat for him, “He was worried that something would happen, so he came together with me. Fortunately, nothing serious happened.”
Chu Yuan smiled: “Thank you very much.”
“Lie down first,” Ye Jin said. “I’ll make some medicine for you. After you take it, you can explain why you came to the southwest alone.”
Chu Yuan agreed, closed his eyes, and concentrated on making up reasons.
“Your Majesty.” On the other end, a confidant of the Duan Mansion reported, “The Emperor’s place should be fine. Leader Shen and Lord Ye Gu have arrived, and they have brought many people with them.”
Duan Baiyue smiled: “That’s good.”
“Then does the prince want to go back?” the confidant continued to ask.
Duan Baiyue nodded, and looked at the inn again – but the windows were closed.
With Shen Qianfeng and Ye Jin here, there would be no problems on the way forward. Duan Baiyue jumped off the roof, planning to interrogate the assassins first.
The place where they temporarily settled was an empty house, which was very remote and no one would find it casually. What’s more important is that there are many storage cellars underground. No matter how loud people scream in here, it will not reach outside.
One night later, those assassins were already mangled with blood and flesh, and each of them only had one breath left.
“Your Majesty.” The confidant was worried, “I’m afraid we can’t use this option of continuing to torture like this.”
“Why?” Duan Baiyue asked.
“These people can’t even speak a word of Chinese. Even if they want to confess, they can’t open their mouths,” the confidant reminded.
“Impossible.” Duan Baiyue shook his head, “Nanyang is far away from Dachu. Moreover, after entering the country, so many people need to eat and stay in hotels. There will be at least one person in there who is responsible for communicating with the outside world. Otherwise, if such a group of people rely only on gestures to come to north, they won’t be able to complete the task they have at hand. In no time, I’m afraid they will be catch the government’s eye.”
The confidant came to a sudden realization: “My lord is right.”
“As long as they don’t die, there is no need to be lenient with them.” Duan Baiyue said. “Let them know as soon as possible that their life is not worth much.”
“Yes.” The confidant nodded, rolled up his sleeves and led the people into the cellar again. In the evening, they came to report that one person finally couldn’t stand it and admitted that he could understand Chinese.
“Bring him up.” Duan Baiyue put down the teacup in his hand.
After a while, a bloody man was dragged up. He was dying, but he could still speak because he had been given medicine.
Duan Baiyue said: “Tell me, where do you come from and why do you want to assassinate the Emperor of Chu?”
“We are the killers of the Baixiang Kingdom.” The man coughed up a mouthful of blood and said after a while, “The Baixiang Kingdom advocates martial arts, so there are many martial arts schools and killers there. A year ago, someone came to us and offered a big price to buy the life of Emperor Chu.”
Duan Baiyue sneered: “You are quite courageous to assassinate the king of the country in Chu.”
“At the beginning, we also said that this matter was just a dream, and we didn’t want to accept it.” The man said, “But then the customer increased the commission by thirty times, and said that we don’t need to enter the palace, or even enter the king’s city. Sneak into the Chu Kingdom and when the Emperor of Chu goes on patrol, they will send news so that they can take advantage of the opportunity.”
“Who is it that came to see you?” Duan Baiyue asked again.
“I don’t know.” The man said, “I only know that he is not a native of the Baixiang Kingdom. One of them looks like a rich kid from Da Chu based on his dress and conversation. He just keeps his face covered so that only his eyes can be seen.”
Duan Baiyue leaned on the back of the chair, thought for a moment, then stood up and took a palm-sized piece of paper from the next door, covering the top and bottom, and then said: “Does he have these eyes?”
The man struggled to take a look, then nodded: “Exactly.”
“Are you sure?” Duan Baiyue asked again.
“I am absolutely sure. These eyes are extremely beautiful.” The man said, “I won’t mistake them.”
Duan Baiyue stood up and sat back behind the table.
That piece of paper is a portrait of Chu Yuan. In this world, there is someone with eyes similar to his. He lives in Nanyang and has such deep hatred. You don’t have to think about it to know who it is.
The original name of the noble prince Chu Xiang was Chu Xiang6. Later, a fortune teller said that this son was born to be incompatible with water, so he changed his name. He was also the most beloved prince of the late Emperor Chu, but he was never able to take away the crown prince’s position. After Chu Yuan ascended the throne, he and Liu Jinde, the eldest son of the Liu family at that time, were demoted to common people and sent to Hainan, and they were ordered not to set foot in Chu again for life.
There has been no news for so many years, and the Liu family has fallen into disarray. Everyone in the court only thinks that the two of them are in danger. If not for this assassination, even Duan Baiyue would not think of this incident again.
Being sent to exile and still able to execute such tricks, he was quite capable. Duan Baiyue shook his head and ordered the assassin to be dragged down.
“Your Majesty”, someone outside reported. “Duan Nian is back.”
Duan Baiyue stood up and stepped forward to open the door in person.
“…” Duan Nian was about to smile when he suddenly saw a mask and was inevitably stunned.
Duan Baiyue said: “Huh?”
“My lord.” Duan Nian came back to his senses.
“Didn’t Yao’er tell you about it?” Duan Baiyue asked.
“He did.” Duan Nian said honestly, “But I suddenly saw… please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
Duan Baiyue smiled: “You have worked hard for these three years.”
“It’s not hard at all.” Duan Nian said, “The Emperor of Chu is very good to his subordinates, and the elders in the court are also good to this subordinate.” Some people even talked about matchmaking.
Duan Baiyue said: “I heard you were injured, are you okay?”
“It’s just a skin injury.” Duan Nian said, “This subordinate didn’t fulfil his duty well. Emperor Chu was also stabbed. Those assassins -“
“No need to say anything.” Duan Baiyue patted him on the shoulder, “As long as you’re fine, everything else can be taken care of.”
Duan Nian breathed a sigh of relief.
“Take a rest for two days and then come back to Southwest Mansion with me.” Duan Baiyue said.
“…Yes.” Duan Nian was puzzled, thought for a while and asked again, “Why didn’t you go to the royal city? After all, Emperor Chu is alone, and even if this group of assassins are captured, there is no guarantee that there would not be another group.”
“Leader Shen and lord Ye Gu have already come to Hongmu City, and their onward journey is expected to be safe.” Duan Baiyue said, “You are right in saying that even if this group of assassins is captured, there is no guarantee that there will be no next group. At least the people behind the scenes must be thoroughly found out, so that future troubles can be avoided.”
Duan Nian probed: “What does the prince mean?”
Duan Baiyue said: “We will go back to the Southwest Mansion and dispatch an army. I want to go to Nanyang myself.”
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As usual, if there are any mistakes or errors, please contact me and I’ll rectify it. If anyone is willing to help in translation who knows Mandarin, you are more than welcome to assist. In that case as well, please email me.
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Notes:
i’ll be using “royal city” instead of Wangcheng henceforth. ↩︎ it means the evening had arrived. ↩︎ facepalm gesture… hehe ↩︎ The original word is “wei chen” which means, this humble one. Thats how a minister addresses himself in a court or in front of royals. I dont know it sounded weird. so I just changed it to normal pronouns me, my, etc.. In the same way, Chu Yuan uses “we” instead of “I” as a royal. I have changed that as well. It just ruins the entire mood of the book and you cant understand when he using “we” and when he is using “I” while talking to DBY. ↩︎ the emperor is also called the holy one. ↩︎ The characters for “Xiang” are different. So while in pinyin the names look same, they are actually two different names. I don’t know which meaning exactly they have taken here. So let’s just assume that former name “Chu Xiang” was different than his today’s “Chu Xiang”. ↩︎