Translator:
Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor:
Nyoi-Bo Studio
Spring in Northern Qi arrived a bit late but still came. Not far outside of the capital city of Northern Qi, Shangjing, around the desolated topaz-like Xi Mountain and a few more hours of walking to the north, one would arrive amidst green and silent mountains. This mountain was not very big, but the roots of the trees on the mountain were dense and thick. The made it appear unusually primitive and silent. Layers of light and dark green colors lay on top of each other. It was very beautiful.
Like the place the Sword Hut had in the hearts of the world’s swordsmen, the mountain was, in the eyes of Northern Qi people and practitioners of Asceticism, also a lofty scared place that was not to be violated.
Walking into the quiet mountains by the craggy mountain paths, one could faintly see the place where tens and thousands of pines gathered together.
The shapes of the pine needles and roundness of the trees were all different. Some of the pine needles were soft like hanging threads of hair. Some were vigorous, hard and piercing. Others were like a narrow round tube and particularly interesting. At this moment, it was dawn. The early morning dew covered the vegetation on the mountain. Most of the dew drops fell to the floor after moistening the pine needles. Only the pine trees with dense needles would store drops of crystal dew among their branches and leaves. When it reflected the morning light, it was as beautiful as a gem.
If one’s eyes followed these dew drops into the mountain, one would see the structures of Tianyi Dao’s school doors. These buildings continued the traditional styles of the Wei Kingdom and Northern Qi, with green and black as the main colors. The black was severe, while the green brought them closer to nature. Mixed together, they stood between heaven and earth. Their might was hidden within their clear beauty.
Although the school of Tianyi Dao did not accept students as broadly as the Sword Hut, with Grandmaster Ku He here for seclusion, countless sages came forward to worship him. Of those that came, only one stayed. Even though the Imperial Advisor took very few disciples, grown disciples such as Lang Tiao had to take on disciples. After a dozen years, the people in the school gradually increased. Presently, there were over a hundred people who had spent long years in the mountain in seclusion and learning.
In the heart of these disciples, they wished to stay in the mountain in recluse for many years. They would then go out into the world to rectify and help the courts, just like the immortal in their hearts.
Back then, the Northern Qi Sage Girl Haitang Duoduo secluded herself for countless years beneath these pines. Before Haitang Duoduo left the school, she grew vegetables in a garden on the outer bounds of the green-and-black buildings. Other than eating the vegetables she grew, she sent the rest to the study hall. Even up until today, many disciples considered it an honor to have eaten food that had been personally planted by Haitang.
During this year, most of Haitang’s time had been spent in the Jiangnan in the distant Qing Kingdom along with the famous Sir Fan junior. This truth made many Northern Qi hearts feel uneasy, particularly the Tianyi Dao students in the mountains. Other than the jealousy and anger they wore on their faces, these students were also unhappy that it was difficult to see the flower-clothed girl. In the past, as long as they could see her figure, everyone’s heart would be set immediately at ease.
Not long after Haitang left, another girl moved into that garden. At the same time, she changed the vegetables in the garden into medicinal herbs.
This girl’s identity was not the average. She was the new last disciple that Ku He accepted. She took over Haitang’s position. She moved into Haitang’s garden and managed Haitang’s vegetables. She was Fan Xian’s sister.
The disciples in seclusion were shocked and did not understand why their teacher would go to the faraway South Kingdom to take on a female disciple. Furthermore, they didn’t understand why he chose Fan Xian’s sister, of all people, to be his disciple. Who was Fan Xian? He was one of the South Kingdom’s most outstanding young nobles.
However, the matter had already happened. The disciples on the mountain weren’t able to change anything, so they could only learn to accept it. After a long time, they finally adjusted to the existence of the young lady from the Fan family.
The South Kingdom and Northern Qi were old enemies. Although the two countries had existed in a state of friendship never seen before, the emotions rooted deeply in people’s hearts were difficult to remove. Thus, Fan Ruoruo’s initial days in the mountain were not smooth. Regardless of where she was, all that welcomed her were hostile gazes and secret discussions behind her back.
Fortunately, she did not care about this at all. Additionally, her personality had always been cold and indifferent, so she never noticed other people’s attitudes. Thus, months passed and the disciples of Tianyi Dao found this girl had an even more indifferent attitude than them. Inevitably, they found it a little boring.
Fan Ruoruo was very happy with her learning lifestyle in Northern Qi. There were much more smiles on her face than when she was in Jingdou. However, the Northern Qi people didn’t know this. After all, they didn’t know that the young lady of the Fan family had long had the nickname of
talented ice lady
in Jingdou.
Fan Ruoruo’s joy came from her relaxed environment and intense life. Imperial Advisor Ku He only taught her some rudimentary things about the Heart of Tianyi Dao and given her a few books. He did not mind her much. At other times, she followed her second brother disciple in learning the medical arts. This was one of the reasons she had come to Northern Qi. During the day, she would use the medical knowledge she learned to treat some of the poor people at the foot of the mountain. Her days were rich and full.
The second brother disciple was Mu Peng. Ku He had given all his disciples very amusing names. Lang Tiao, Haitang, Mu Peng, and Bai Shen were all names of plants. People were like their names. Lang Tiao was just like his name. His entire body was filled with killing intention and sharpness. Haitang was stood gently and firmly through the storm. Mu Peng was a traditional Chinese herb. One could think and know what Ruoruo’s 40-year-old second brother disciple specialized in.
…
…
Fan Ruoruo raised the leaf and collected the dew on the pine leaves at the side of the courtyard. She tilted her head slightly and poured the water into a bottle. She was curious as to why the prescription would need to use dew.
She held the bottle and left through the courtyard door. She followed the stone steps up the mountain and got ready to carry out her daily learning. All along the way, she saw some young Tianyi Dao disciples. When these disciples saw the girl carrying the bottle, they all stood to the side and bowed in greeting.
For one, it was because, no matter what, she was these people’s disciple aunt. Second, after a few months, the disciples of Tianyi Dao knew that although her nature was cold, her heart was truly kind and she made no pretenses. Compared to Fan Xian, who had a warm face but treacherous heart, she was much better. Furthermore, for months without end, the young lady of the Fan manor went down to the foot of the mountain despite the hard work to treat the common people. This made her young disciples deeply respect her virtue.
Fan Ruoruo slightly nodded her head to return the greeting without any expression on her face.
When she finished climbing the many stone steps, she stood on the top of the mountain. She stopped and gazed down at the verdant and lush green woods. Suddenly, she stretched and gave a loud cry. Two spots of color rose on her cheeks from the exercise. She felt slightly excited.
Ever since her youth, she did not have sufficient natural nutrition. Although her brother had treated her for a while, there was no turn for the better at the root of the problem. While she was in Jingdou, her face was mostly deathly pale. Now, seeing the healthy red glow on her face, one could see that her body was much better after living in Northern Qi for over a year.
One’s health depended on one’s heart. The most important thing was that her mood was much more relaxed.
There is no need to participate in boring poetry conferences. I don’t need to go to the various manors to chat with the women. I don’t need to hide behind a screen to look at men like those sisters. I don’t have to do women’s crafts every day…
Fan Ruoruo stared in a daze at the mountain below the stone steps and a happy smile rose to her face.
This is the kind of life I want. Thank you, brother.
…
…
Other than practicing the way of the Heart of Tianyi Dao, they also learned about scriptures and justice. Basically, they used the curriculum Zhuang Mohan had personally created. Fan Ruoruo finished an hour of practice and came to Mu Peng’s room. She greeted him respectfully and then asked his advice on a few medical questions she was having problems with.
Mu Peng said a few things. He suddenly saw the quiet joy in the girl’s eyes and said with a slight smile,
Sir Fan junior wrote again?
Fan Ruoruo smiled and nodded her head.
Although it hasn’t arrived yet, it should be here in a few days.
Mu Peng scratched his slightly disheveled hair and smiled.
Since you are so happy, presumably you two have a good relationship. Since it is so, why didn’t you stay in South Kingdom? Although Northern Qi is good, it is a foreign country after all.
Although Mu Peng’s status could not be compared to that old poison master in the Overwatch Council, no matter whether it was a medicinal practitioner or a major figure in poisons, it seemed that their hair was also messy and daily lives chaotic. Naturally, such a thing as looking nice was not something they noticed.
Fan Ruoruo smiled slightly and replied,
It doesn’t matter where we are. Brother once said, in one’s life, sacrifices will always have to be made to achieve one’s goal.
Mu Peng asked with astonishment,
Oh? Then what is your goal?
Saving people,
Fan Ruoruo said calmly.
It’s that simple?
Yes.
Hmm…
Mu Peng hummed for a moment.,
Medical practitioners have the heart of a parent. However, before you came to Northern Qi, you only listened for a while at the Imperial Academy of Medicine in the Southern court. How come you have such a great wish?
Brother disciple, it is not because it is a wish. Rather, it is what one wants.
Fan Ruoruo didn’t think deeper.
Brother once said, how should life be lived? First, one should make one’s heart happy… Treating and saving people makes me happy, so I chose this.
How should life be lived? Mu Peng furrowed his brows slightly and sighed. He didn’t speak anymore, but he was wondering just what kind of person Fan Xian was to be able to make Haitang lose her head.
The day had not yet entered dusk. Fan Ruoruo held the empty bottle and walked down the stone steps. She returned to her little courtyard and carefully tidied up the medicinal supplies in the garden. Then, she returned to the quiet room and began to prepare paper and brush. The decorations in the room had not been changed because she knew that, after all, this was Haitang’s old residence. For Northern Qi people, it had a different meaning.
A letter lay silently on the table. A glimmer of joy flashed through Fan Ruoruo’s eyes as she quickly opened up the letter and looked carefully at the familiar thin writing. While she read the letter, her mood changed endlessly. At times she was nervous. Other times she was happy. And, still other times at she had a faint sorrow.
The letter had come from Fan Xian. He had used a great deal of power to send his sister to Northern Qi’s Tianyi Dao school. The brother and sister were separated by a great distance. It was not easy getting messages to each other. Each truly missed the other. After Ruoruo decided to stay, Fan Xian resumed sending a letter each month.
As a child, Ruoruo had returned to Jingdou from Danzhou from a very young age. Ever since Ruoruo could read and write, Fan Xian began writing to her. Using Qing Kingdom’s developed mail route, the their letters moved between Jingdou and Danzhou through wind and rain. One letter a month without fail arrived until the fourth year of the Qing calendar, when Fan Xian entered Jingdou.
Who knew how many years they had been writing to each other? Who knew how much of the brother and sister’s feelings were held in these letters?
The letters were about gossip, trivial matters, described their respective locations and people around them, and small domestic matters. All in all, their topics were numerous. Through these letters, Fan Xian became one of his sister’s teachers and taught her about thinking. Ever since her youth, Ruoruo had been influenced by the contents of the letters. Her state of mind was different from most of the women… No, different from most of the people in this world.
She was still filial toward her parents, loved her brothers, and got on very well with the other women in the boudoir. However, there were many things different in how she thought. She had a relatively individual personality and a yearning for freedom. She never fit into any of the pigeon holes in this world, but she also refused to leave the life of this world.
It was because of this conflict that made her a self-restrained, polite, and cold-as-ice woman while she was in Jingdou. It was only later in front of Fan Xian that she dared to reveal her true heart. Thus, she went to a distant foreign country. The quiet and difficult life that many noble girls considered unusually terrifying pleased her and made her very happy.
The beginning of all of this were letters between her and Fan Xian.
…
…
Fan Ruoruo stared at the letter in a daze and let out a sigh after a long time. Her eyes were slightly wet. The fights in Qing court were very far away from her. She trusted in her father’s and brother’s abilities. Thus, she was not overly concerned about the dangers written in the letters. However, this time, Fan Xian mentioned Hongcheng.
Hongcheng…
Fan Ruoruo wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes. The face of the gentle heir rose in her mind. He was going to war in the West. Would he get hurt? Would he come back?
King Jing’s manor and the Fan manor were old friends. Ruoruo had also grown up with Li Hongcheng. She knew that although the other party had lofty aspirations, he was a rarely seen good person in terms of nature. Throwing aside the romantic anecdotes on the pleasure boats, he was truly infatuated with her. This time, Hongcheng personally asked to leave the capital to leave behind the fight between the princes in Jingdou. She knew that it was also a kind of self-exile after she had hurt him.
It was impossible for Fan Ruoruo to accept Hongcheng. Her clever heart, which had been influenced by Fan Xian, was now, even more than Fan Xian himself, unable to accept the attitude the world had toward men and women.
Was this not an absurd and amusing thing?
Even if there were not those romantic accounts on the pleasure boats, even if Hongcheng was a perfect person, Fan Ruoruo would still not be able to accept living her entire life with that man, just like a story Fan Xian had once written in a letter.
That was all very good, but… I just don’t like it.
…
…
What story has he written now to make you cry?
A lazy and clear voice came from the doorway of the room.
That brother of yours is indeed very vile in some respects.
Fan Ruoruo raised her head to see Haitang standing in the doorway wearing a thin, flowered outfit. She quickly stood up and said,
So, it was sister disciple who brought the letter over. I had thought it was someone Sir Wang sent.
Haitang’s hands were stuffed in her clothes. She walked in with dragging feet.
Wang Qinian won’t be coming back, didn’t Fan Xian say? The person in the capital now is Deng Zi Yue. You should have met him before.
Fan Ruoruo nodded.
Haitang smiled slightly and said,
I am truly very curious about the contents of this letter since it could make the usually calm you cry.
Fan Ruoruo’s fingers squeezed the letter. She lowered her head.
Sister disciple, don’t tease me. Brother is just as chatty as he always was.
Haitang sighed and said,
I have experienced that deeply.
Fan Ruoruo tilted her head slightly and asked with confusion,
Were you not in the capital? Why have you returned to the mountain?
Haitang had not returned just to help Fan Xian deliver a letter to his sister. She gazed at Fan Ruoruo and said,
Teacher received a letter from second brother disciple and believes you can leave the mountain. I am here to accompany you to the capital.
Go to the capital?
Fan Ruoruo asked with uncertainty.
But, there is still much I haven’t learned.
Someone wants to see you, so they asked me to bring you over,
Haitang said.
If you like life on the mountain, then you can come back when the time comes.
Do you not also like life in the mountain?
Fan Ruoruo smiled and asked.
I haven’t dared to change this room. I’ve kept it like this. When we come back, we can live together.
Hearing these words, Haitang sank into silence. After a long time, she sighed and said helplessly,
Even if I wanted to come back, it’s not a matter of a year or two.
Fan Ruoruo knew that Haitang had been doing something in secret for a long time with Fan Xian. At first, with Fan Xian acting as a bridge in the middle, she and Haitang’s relationship had always been very good and they spoke casually. However, every time she thought about her sister-in-law Lin Wan’er far away in Qing Kingdom, Ruoruo always purposely maintained some distance between herself and Haitang. Perhaps they were just some womanly worries.
She suddenly thought of the words from earlier and asked curiously,
In the capital, who wants to see me?
His Majesty.
A glimmer of a smile rose to the corners of Haitang’s lips. She thought to herself that the Emperor’s thoughts were just as difficult to fathom as Fan Xian’s.
Inside the capital, which was not far from the mountain where the Tianyi Dao school was established, in that complicated, unique, and beautiful black-and-green Royal Palace, the Northern Qi Emperor was lying on a low couch. His large feet were covered with socks and with hot air passing through. However, his body was slanted in the arms of a beautiful woman.
The rather young Emperor sighed mournfully and asked the beautiful woman behind him,
Lili, I still don’t understand. Tell me, what exactly did we do last summer?
