Xia Niangniang - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

In the Capital, there was a family with the surname Wen. The Wen family was a well-off family. From generation to generation, they passed down their medicinal skills. The best doctors with perfect skills. In the Capital, their reputation was very well known. The head of the Wen family, Master Wen Wen’s medical skills were brilliant. He helped the sick people. In addition, he was modest and amiable towards others. Furthermore, he held his morality to the utmost.

In his middle age, Wen Wen had another son. Naturally he would love and adore his son with every core of his life. The youngest son was named Wen Mu Yan. To be born with fair and clear skin, agreeable with his round and bright eyes, he would laugh whenever he saw someone. Everyone in the family, without exception, would hold him carefully in the center of their palm.

Day by day, Wen Mu Yan grew bigger and bigger. His face was exquisitely soft and fair. He had a lively as well as an innocent disposition. His docile way of speaking made him very lovable. It was as if he was made of a blended honey and syrup’s child, a very sweet child. The Wen family, from the elderlies to the young ones, there was no one who didn’t love him.

In a blink of an eye, Wen Mu Yan had come to his flourishing period, the age between a child and an immature age of a youth. His eyes were limpid and clear as the crystal, it was like the magnificent water of the autumn lake. His body was donned in the best quality of silk material. A jade ornament hung from his waist. A great Young Master from a wealthy family.

One day, in the winter, the Emperor had suddenly fallen to an acute disease. The illness was very serious. The state of life or death was still unknown. The Imperial Physicians in the Palace, all of them were already at a loss of what to do. All of the courtiers had used up all of their ideas, but there was nothing that could be put to good use. Then there was a high official who suggested to them to recruit the famous doctors from the Capital to enter the Palace and help them examine the Emperor and to medically treat him. Who knows, probably, there would be a thread of hope for an opportunity to live on for the Emperor.

It was on a great snowing day, the Wen family residence entrance was being knocked on by some people. The Master of the Wen Family heard the intention of the officials who came, he had no way to decline their wish, thereupon, he agreed to go with the officials to enter the Palace. Wen Mu Yan was standing by his father’s side, he also wanted to go together. Because his father had always spoiled him with his utmost love, he had always followed his father closely, whenever his father went to examine his patients, he always brought him to tag along by his side.

Wen Wen spread and held the umbrella, Wen Mu Yan carried the medical kit. Both father and son entered the Imperial Palace on the day when the whole sky was filled with snow as far as one’s eyes could see.

The Emperor’s illness, as each day passed by, became more and more heavy. The old injuries which accumulated from many years ago had also shown their effects. Day by day, the Emperor was thinning down, his spirit had been broken as well. All the famous doctors from the Capital had known that the Emperor’s illness had hit its critical point. It had already spread to all over his body and the marrow cavity of his bones. There was no way to reverse the desperate situation anymore, however, they had no choice but to routinely do the acupuncture and decoct the medicinal herbs every day to extend the life of the Emperor.

Since the day they entered the Palace, half a month had passed.

Wen Mu Yan and his father lived together in a residence which was not too far from the Imperial Pharmacy. He was still a youth, every day he only stayed inside the room to read books, once in a while he would play in a place near the Palace.

One day, the half month which was filled with snowing finally ended. The hard to see sun finally appeared. Its brightness of golden light shone upon the soft hair-tip of the youth.

Wen Mu Yan was very delighted from the bottom of his heart. He draped a thin fur coat over his shoulder and went out the room to have a walk in the snow.

Since the weather was so dazzlingly bright, he couldn’t restrain himself from walking further. On the ground was the thick and deep snow accumulated from many days. The eaves, the benches and the steps, also had been covered by the thick snow. From faraway, each and every place in the Palace looked the same. The pathway was covered and couldn’t be seen too. Wen Mu Yan was moving and rolling about on the whole ground which was covered by the white snow. He already didn’t have any awareness about where he was actually at.

From behind, there was a door of one of the Palace room which suddenly moved by itself despite the windless weather. Making a creaking sound that passed to his ears.

Wen Mu Yan jumped in shock. He turned his body. He could see that there was a moving figure which compared to himself was slightly taller from inside the room. Most probably the figure was of a youth. A sense of curiosity rose from his heart. He treaded on the knee-length deep white snow, stepped forward to climb on a flight of steps, sticking his body in front of the door to peek inside the room.

Just a glance, he could see that it was a harmful matter.

Wen Mu Yan since childhood was brought up and cherished by the good care of the elder members of the family. Of course he would be an innocent and melancholic youth. He completely lacked any notion regarding the dangerous conflicts within the Palace chambers. He just thought that he had merely seen a simple out of the ordinary scene. He hardly realized how much conspiracy and scheming was contained in this calculated act. The scheming of the Monarch, since immemorial time, had been cunning without minding to do crafty things.

Without the slightest amount of awareness that he had fallen into a very dangerous situation, he turned his body and prepared to leave. However, he was too late.

The hidden place guards in black already found out about his presence. Quietly without a noise, they leaped out from their hidden place, from behind, they covered Wen Mu Yan’s mouth. They dragged him to enter the side room and threw him on the floor, then entirely closed the door.

Wen Mu Yan was pressed to kneel on the icy cold floor tile. Unable to lift his head. Even though he was still young and couldn’t understand the matter, at this very moment, he could also smell the perilous smell of this situation. Not long after, a row of troops entered the side room, lit up the furnace, the incense fragrance from the burner was burning with a crackling sound. From the top of his head, there was a cold voice of a youth: “How much have you seen?”

Wen Mu Yan’s body quivered, stating the truth as things really were: “I didn’t see anything…….”

His speech was of a child, indeed he didn’t see anything. However the him at this moment didn’t know how to explain and no matter what he said, the owner of the voice wouldn’t have believed him.

A deep voice of a woman fell to his ears, “It doesn’t matter whether or not he saw anything. This person definitely can’t be freed and sent back to his place. Simply exterminate him. Then cast away his body on the dried up well in the Cold Palace.”

One of the guards in black stepped forward: “Presently, His Majesty is seriously ill. The Imperial Palace is being guarded tightly by the Imperial Guards, one after another they make their rounds and strictly patrol around. It is easy to kill him and prevent him from divulging the secrets, but when disposing the body it would be hard to deceive the public eyes and ears. There are numerous threads in the inner Palace, If by any chance the other concubines found out about this matter, and take advantage from this, the many years hard work, wouldn’t it be destroyed in a mere moment?”

That deep voice of the lady said again: “If so, just blind his eyes then cast him away to the Cold Palace, assign someone to strictly watch him. His Majesty is already at the point of death, he could only barely live for several days. Deal with this matter carefully. After the new Emperor ascends the throne, even if someone found out about this matter, they would be unable to do anything anymore!”

That cold voice of a youth which he heard first also said: “What are you waiting for?! Act quickly!!”

After saying that, he didn’t stay for any longer, waving his sleeve, he walked out of the room.

Wen Mu Yan’s hair was grabbed tightly to make him immobile. They forced him to face upwards. The limpid as autumn waters eyes were filled with tears. His mouth repeatedly cried out with his sorrowful cries.

That woman’s voice was coldly laughing, her bright red nails were passing through the youth’s cheek. Leaving traces of deathly pale marks on that cheek, “It is too bad for these pair of beautiful eyes.”

Wen Mu Yan was tightly held. He could only look on helplessly at the coming to damage his eyes pliers with the bright red charcoal from the distance getting closer and closer. He continued to plead, his voice was both miserable and sorrowful, his whole heart was filled with despair. The severe pain that was raided on his eyes, his entire self was as if was being roasted and rolled in a burning frying pan. With each and every one of his pores, he screamed out in a horrible shriek of pain. His whole face was covered in the charcoal’s ash. The bloodshot crimson red eyes were covered by the ash to the point of being black. The flesh and blood of his pupil were turned over. The pain felt like it was tearing into his heart and lungs. The pair of sharp and beautiful eyes, from then on were blinded by the burning charcoal.

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Jue Yu faced the swaying in the wind with unpredictable movement of the tongue of the flame on the table. His voice felt as if it came from a very distance place: “After that, Wen Mu Yan was thrown into the Cold Palace, to let him live and perish by himself. Also, the one who is taking care of him, Xiao Bao, is none other than one of the Empress Dowager’s people who was assigned to watch Wen Mu Yan under the Empress Dowager’s order.”

Time was really capable of burying everything. Devouring everything. Concealing every existence and making it fade away. the former Emperor demised, the new Emperor succeeded the throne, the raising war on the borderline seven years ago, who else could remember on that very day, in that icy cold palace, there was a youth that suffered this kind of dreadful thing.

“The Empress Dowager at that time had certainly planned in detail, to erase every record regarding Wen Mu Yan entering the Palace. Since then, the Wen Family had lost any correspondence. The officials who worked at the Imperial Pharmacy also couldn’t investigate his trace. Wen Mu Yan  been dead ever since that day. Only in the Cold Palace, there was a blind concubine. If not because of Your Majesty’s by random chance of stepping into the Cold Palace, meeting the seven years watched over by Xiao Bao, Wen Mu Yan,  probably The Empress Dowager had also forgotten about this youth.”

“The Empress Dowager’s scheme to exile Wen Mu Yan out of the Capital was unsuccessful, resorted to poisoning the cake and snacks to poison him to death. Perhaps afraid that Wen Mu Yan remembered that day of hostility, purposely approached Your Majesty in order to take his revenge.”

Jue Yu evoked the corner of his mouth, there was a faint bright light flashing on his pupil, “I am very curious. That day, Wen Mu Yan from that room door, what kind of circumstances had he actually seen?”

The face of the Emperor was white as frost. His lips were tightly closed. Not uttering even a word.

Jue Yu’s mouth corner raised even higher, but his smiling face was gloomy and cold, “In Your Majesty’s heart, to ascend the throne, how many shameful, rotten, messy as well as filth had been done? The things that you have done on that day, you don’t have the courage to admit them now?!”

The Emperor fell silent. After a long while, he said: “The me at that time, was also helpless with no way out.”

Jue Yu laughed loudly, “What a convenient ‘helpless with no way out’!”

The Emperor’s face turned pale. His train of thought as if turning back to that snowy day.

His lips were unable to hide his trembling, “Wen Mu Yan, he….. he saw me altering the former Emperor’s posthumous edict….”

That day, all the Imperial Guards that had been guarding the hall had been sent away with an excuse. The whole room in that hall from front to rear was absolutely empty. He used this gap to slip into that room. Opened the rosewood wooden cabinet which was situated inside that room, drew out a brocaded box.

The Former Emperor had been bedridden with a lingering disease for a long time, living from hand to mouth in a precarious state. Therefore, since long ago he had established a testamentary edict which he put in this room.

His eyes skimmed through that edict, soon after that, he spread a tough white silk paper, dipped the tip of the writing brush in the thick and black ink, imitating the handwriting of the former Emperor, he wrote down an artificial Imperial Edict to set himself as the next Emperor. Then he burnt down the original edict, using the Imperial Jade seal which he stole, on that tough white silk paper, he stamped it with the scarlet bright red seal and put it back in the brocaded box.

Everything was conducted in an unusually smooth way. It should have been flawless. Unfortunately, in the very end, when he was about to seal the brocaded box, by the door, a child had seen him doing that.

His heart was thumping wildly in a great shock. The charge for a criminal who faked an Imperial Order to seize the throne was extremely severe. The family from his mother’s side, his uncle’s family and several hundred lives all would be left without a graveyard. Under the threat of this kind of punishment, he hardened his heart. Listened to his Mother’s instruction. Ordered people to make Wen Mu Yan blind.

On that day, Wen Mu Yan was firmly pressed down on the floor. He actually never had the chance to see this youth face.

What Jue Yu had said wasn’t wrong. There were a lot of rotten secrets hidden in the corrupted Imperial Family. Wen Mu Yan merely caught a glimpse of him putting the seal on for a split second, he had to ruin this youth’s pair of eyes.

For all eternity, the fact would be buried just like that.

That tearing up the heart and splitting the lung kind of pain and the wailing shrieks were swept away by the screams of the fierce wind and the cruel snow of a faraway place. To a place that couldn’t be heard by anybody.

This youth, who had lost his eyesight, was lonely and in solitary, day after day, in the small yard in the Cold Palace, living quietly as if he had died.

Nobody knew how many tears he had shed, how many sleepless nights he had experienced, alone in his pitch black world, in the silent and still nights.

This kind of matter was already not of importance anymore.

In the Imperial Palace, Wen Mu Yan had already ceased to exist.

Now, in the Imperial Palace existed only a blind concubine. The Blind Concubine wouldn’t shed his tears. Also wouldn’t cry. He no longer had any sense nor responded. Only those blank eyes. Miserably ashen pupils. Face without any expression. Without saying a word.

He was no longer the child at that time who was carrying the carved jade, fair with jet black eyes.

The one who blinded his pair of eyes, was not other people, it was the Emperor himself.

The Emperor’s face became ghastly pale, slowly, he moved his back backward to lean on the chair.

When Rui Ze just met the Blind Concubine, he firmly believed that he must have a very nice name.

“Because the Blind Concubine is a very gentle person. For a very gentle and kind-hearted person, certainly he will have a matching name as beautiful as a jade.”

Wen Mu Yan.

Wen Mu Yan.

Mu Yan.

The Emperor continuously repeating this name in silent.

Indeed, a very beautiful name, as beautiful as a jade name.

End of The Blind Concubine chapter 25.