Transmigration: Of Mysteries and Songs

In the blink of an eye, spring had gone by and summer had arrived.

The graceful Mudan flowers covered the whole of Chang’an’s main streets and small alleys. The Pink Evening Primroses were also not to be outdone while the pure white Bird Cherry flowers adorned every house. The Chinese Peony and China Pink became the most popular plant in several medical centres while the Chinese Trumpet Vine crept onto the walls of wealthy households.

Everything became peaceful once again and the misfortune that had twined around the Xuan Kingdom gradually vanished, but the Emperor’s illness didn’t alleviate due to this.

Feng Luodi faintly sensed that Situ understood the actual situation but he didn’t inform anyone. She didn’t mind. Things such as murdering and betraying the monarch and persecuting the good and loyal were things that Situ would absolutely never do. She knew that Situ was planning something in secret and the only thing she could do now was to accompany him during this period.

She had already gotten wind of Resonance’s location but obtaining it was a headache. What gave her a greater headache was that her mother was picking an auspicious date for her wedding all day long and couldn’t wait to marry her off. Her mother seemed like an entirely different person compared to when she couldn’t bear to part with her.

Seeing her mother like this, Feng Luodi’s head started to ache. She could only run to the Jiang Residence to accompany Jiang Moyin who was once again ill in bed.

As for Situ, Feng Luodi was feeling a bit shy to meet him. Although she wanted to accompany him, it didn’t mean she wanted to be together with him every single day, from morning to night. This made her increasingly guilty and uneasy.

It was the season for wisteria flowers to bloom again. The small pavilion in the Jiang Residence had long been surrounded by the lively purple and white wisteria flowers. Only a little green would peak its head out from within occasionally. One look at this bustling scenery would instantly alleviate one’s mood.

When Feng Luodi placed the book in her hand down, she noticed Jiang Moyin’s gaze settled on the wisteria flowers outside the window. She suddenly recalled that before everything had settled down and when Jiang Moyin was still the Heir’s Grand Tutor, she, Jiang Moyin, Situ, Xue Yiqi, as well as Gan Qingjia and Qi Jianqiu who always bickered, would gather together to play the zither, drink wine, taste new dishes and chat about the joyful matters of Chang’an in that small pavilion with wisteria flowers.

Without knowing it, a year had passed again and everyone had their respective fates and own paths to walk.

Qi Jianqiu and Gan Qingjia were undoubtedly the most blissful pair. Xue Yiqi was still at a loss until now while Shangguan Yan had long left Chang’an to handle the matters in the Xiaoyao Sect. Although Situ and she were engaged, it was very likely that they wouldn’t end up together.

Amongst them, the person who had always been alone was Jiang Moyin. His great undertaking wasn’t accomplished and he didn’t meet someone he fancied. He didn’t possess a healthy body and sadly didn’t have much time left on this world. The Heavens was really too cruel towards an extremely talented person like him.

When her gaze landed on Jiang Moyin’s picturesque countenance, Feng Luodi suddenly remembered what the Shadow Agents had once informed her: Jiang Moyin supports the deposed Heir while Situ supports the First Prince.

If the deposed Heir had followed Jiang Moyin’s guidance and hadn’t been blinded by his desire for power, he would have definitely become the future emperor of the Xuan Kingdom. He had a maternal clan, the Emperor’s trust, the support of the officials and Jiang Moyin guiding him. However, the affairs of the world were unpredictable and constantly changing. The deposed Heir forgot his original aspirations and ended up dying in the prison tragically.

If the deposed Heir hadn’t done all that, he would have been the First Prince’s biggest contender for the throne. If that were the case, Situ and Jiang Moyin would’ve been pitted against each other and part ways due to their different political views.

If that were to happen, who would be the final victor?

Feng Luodi didn’t know. When the Shadow Agents heard her question, they merely stared at each other blankly, not knowing what to say.

Jiang Moyin and Situ themselves also wouldn’t know, right?

“Have you fixed your wedding date yet?”

A gentle, aloof voice suddenly sounded, pulling Feng Luodi back from her thoughts.

The warm sunlight fell on Jiang Moyin’s light eyebrows. Under the faint radiance, his skin complexion appeared extremely pale.

Feng Luodi wanted to cry but she’d endured it and just smiled elegantly.

“Why is everyone asking me this question? This is something that won’t be happening any time soon, so let’s talk about it when the time comes.”

If there’s a future, that is… Feng Luodi inwardly added.

But Jiang Moyin seemed to have understood the undertone in her words. His gaze swept across Feng Luodi who was sitting with her back facing the sunlight and he smiled lightly. “Could it be that you still have misgivings?”

Feng Luodi shook her head.

From his angle, it looked as if Feng Luodi was sitting under the wisteria flowers and she looked just like the last time he’d seen her when they were in the small pavilion outside the city and when she’d played that ‘Blue-Flower Porcelain’ piece in Moonglade. After a moment of silence, he added, “Since that person is Situ, I’m also relieved.”

It’s Situ, a person he can trust. He’s glad that his good friend can accompany the woman he loves when he’s not around anymore.

He would never have the chance to verbalise the love he’d deeply concealed in his heart.

He’d wanted to be willful once, and to have no regrets before he passes away, he’d wanted to take this woman into his arms and tell her that he’d developed feelings for her even earlier than Situ. They were feelings that could gush out anytime and anywhere.

But he couldn’t. He was unwilling to see the woman before him caught in a difficult situation. He couldn’t bear to. He couldn’t bear to see the woman he loves suffer in the least.

Since that person is Situ, he can rest assured. These were words that came from the bottom of his heart and, at the same time, words that made his heart ache.

It was unclear whether Feng Luodi had understood the connotation in his words. She looked down slightly and no longer spoke nor did she fiddled with the bamboo slips[1] in her hand.

The fragrance of the wisteria flowers outside the window wafted into the room with the cool breeze. The sweet scent that suffused the whole room concealed all emotions.

When dusk fell, Lu Bo sent Feng Luodi out of the residence. He was about to say something but hesitated. He didn’t want to see his Young Master suffer, so he wanted to say something at first, but similarly he didn’t wish to place Feng Luodi in a difficult spot.

When Feng Luodi abruptly turned her head back, she happened to take in Lu Bo’s expression. A faint glint flickered across her eyes but she didn’t say anything.

When she returned to the Feng Residence, Scarlet saw Feng Luodi take out a sewing kit and asked in puzzlement, “Miss, are you embroidering a sachet or handkerchief for someone?”

Then, a mischievous look flashed across her eyes. She was certain that it was for Situ.

However, Feng Luodi gently smiled and shook her head. She placed the sewing kit down and raised her head to look at Scarlet, asking softly, “Scarlet, do you still remember the first time I’ve embroidered a handkerchief and what I’ve sewed on it?”

“Of course I remember.” Scarlet nodded confidently as she continued tidying up the dried flower petals.

“Miss, you normally wouldn’t touch the needle and thread because you wanted to play the zither and cherished your hands very much but you still personally embroidered a handkerchief that has green bamboo patterns on it and sent it to Gentleman Jiang. You even said that you wanted to revere your Elder Brother and inscribed both of your names on it.”

Feng Luodi was lost in thought and only squeezed out a pained smile after some time.

“It has been hard on you. You even remembered these small details.”

Scarlet’s head was lowered as she arranged the flower petals, so she didn’t notice the sorrow in the recesses of Feng Luodi’s eyes.

Deserts of the North. The Northern Army’s Camp.

The Eighth Prince’s mood had been rather gloomy lately.

He’d rushed to the barren deserts of the North from the abundant and prosperous Chang’an in order to investigate the mistakes made by the few generals in the Northern Army. Once he was done, he could return to Chang’an to report his findings. At that time, he would be able to suppress Situ, the main power behind the First Prince, and those in his faction. At the same time, he could also gain the Emperor’s trust. In other words, he would get the best of both worlds, so he should naturally strive to complete this task to the best of his ability.

However, when he thought about the treatment he’d suffered since arriving at the deserts of the North, the Eighth Prince’s face immediately darkened.

He did want to ferret out the generals’ mistakes, but he came to realise that they hadn’t made any mistakes only after he got here.

The soldiers revered them and the commoners believed in them. They didn’t occupy the lands, didn’t accept bribes, didn’t bully women nor abuse the martial law. Their reputation was stellar.

The Eighth Prince couldn’t take it lying down. As long as he could find a minuscule problem, he would be able to make a big issue out of it and the Emperor would then remove their power. However, after so many days, he still couldn’t find any issues at all.

It was too risky to fabricate groundless rumours. After all, he understood that the Emperor only wanted to snatch away Situ’s military power and not let him lose his prestige. He didn’t want to destroy the Northern Army. Destroying the Northern Army would be tantamount to destroying the Xuan Kingdom.

Even though he’d enquired the commoners and soldiers about the mistakes of these three generals, he couldn’t find out anything. Thus, he could only question the three generals in person.

However, just thinking about this made him fume with anger and he absolutely loathed them. His interaction with the three generals was basically…

Yunzhong Pass. Inside General of the Left, Zhang Xin’s tent.

“Haha, Zuo Lang, you have improved again. Come come, let me teach you a few more moves.”

Zuo Lang instantly replied, “There’s no need. When is General returning to the deserts of the North?”

“But, I am the General,” answered Zhang Xin.

In the end, Zuo Lang turned his face away and ignored him.

The Eighth Prince was given the cold shoulder at one side by the two from beginning to end.

Yan Men Province. General of the Right, Cheng Shifei’s tent.

“General Cheng, I have something to report.”

“Speak.”

Half an hour later, that Deputy General walked out.

The Eighth Prince saw that Cheng Shifei was free and hastily stepped forward to speak but another Deputy General walked in.

“General Cheng, there’s a matter that requires your immediate attention.”

“Speak.”

Another half an hour passed and that Deputy General finally left.

Yet, before the Eighth Prince could speak again, a few soldiers suddenly rushed in with a soldier, who was in a sorry state.

“General, this lad actually committed a crime. You must punish him according to military law.”

“What crime did he commit?”

Another half an hour went by again, and the few soldiers finally marched out as they shoved the person who had committed a crime.

Cheng Shifei looked at the Eighth Prince with an apologetic smile and said, “Your Highness, sorry to keep you waiting, there are simply too many things to handle at the camp.”

“No problem. Continue with your work. We’ll speak again when you’re free some other time.”

Following this, issues appeared one after another in front of Cheng Shifei. His world was a stark contrast to that of the idle Zhang Xin.

Yu Yang Province. Inside the tent of the former general, Gao Ming.

“General Gao?”

The Eighth Prince looked at the person who’d dozed off as soon as he sat down. He secretly rejoiced in his heart. At long last, he’d caught this person making a mistake. To think that in broad daylight, while the army was diligently training, the general was sound asleep instead.

Gao Ming only woke up after being called a few times. He rubbed his eyes and stared dazedly at the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince had no choice but to repeat his words once more, but before he could finish, Gao Ming fell asleep again.

This sequence continued for a while until the Eighth Prince couldn’t take it anymore. He was flushed with anger and decided to file a complaint against Gao Ming then and there with this as the reason.

But then, a few deputy generals excitedly walked in while escorting a black-dressed man, who didn’t look like someone from the central plains. The soldiers then told Gao Ming, “Hey, General, the moment you went into action, these people fell into the trap again. Haha, we caught a few spies again. General, the plan you’ve devised of not sleeping at night while pretending to be suffering from insomnia to hoodwink the enemy is truly too effective!”

The Eighth Prince was rendered speechless. It seemed that he couldn’t use this as a reason to impeach Gao Ming anymore.

By the time the Eighth Prince was no longer able to endure the torment he was going through in the deserts of the North, he was notified by his spy in Chang’an that the Emperor was seriously ill and debilitating with age. He was also informed that the Emperor seemed to have the intention to confer the First Prince as the Heir. Upon hearing this, the Eighth Prince no longer hesitated and he immediately left the deserts of the North, rushing back to Chang’an at lightning speed.

1. They were used for writing, especially when paper hadn’t been invented yet. Multiple bamboo slips would make up a scroll.