Chapter 138: Better to Err on Killing Than to Let Go

“Stable?” The Emperor was puzzled and asked, “What do you mean by stable?”

A flash of cold light crossed Zhang Rang’s eyes, and he replied coldly, “To ensure that the hearts of the subjects remain loyal to the Han, and to guard against internal and external maladies—that is what is called stability!”

“To ensure the hearts of the subjects remain loyal to the Han, and to guard against internal and external maladies?” The Emperor murmured in a low voice.

“Precisely!” Zhang Rang continued. “Anyone who touches upon these two points is endangering the foundation of the Han. They must be guarded against and suppressed beforehand. We must never harbor womanly benevolence. It is better to kill by mistake than to let anyone slip through!”

“Better to kill by mistake than to let anyone slip through?” The Emperor murmured again. “Father Zhang means to say that Luan Ziqi’s Holy Mother Cult has touched upon these two points.”

“Indeed. The Holy Mother Cult captivates the hearts of the people. In time, it will inevitably cause the masses to become disaffected and disloyal to the Han sovereign. This is the first disaster. Within the cult, they secretly raise troops and horses. Though they are currently guarding the territory for the Han, who can say they will not turn to attack the Han court ten years from now? This is the second disaster. With these two disasters, even though Luan奕 is currently loyal to the Han imperial house, what of the future? It is hard for the world to predict, and the future troubles are boundless. To ensure the eternal security of the empire, this humble servant believes that arresting him is truly a brilliant move.”

“Haha... Father Zhang flatters me too much!” The Emperor felt triumphant for a moment, then his face suddenly turned cold. “However... I cherish Luan Ziqi’s talent and cannot bear to kill him. What shall we do?”

“Why does Your Majesty hesitate? True, everyone knows Luan Ziqi has talent. Yet, in our vast Han dynasty, is Luan Ziqi the only one who has read poetry and books? To say nothing of others, among the Eight Talents of Yingchuan, aside from Luan Ziqi that divine talent, there are seven others! Talented individuals across the land are countless; one Luan Ziqi is not missed! Your Majesty need not dwell on this.”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor immediately beamed with joy. “Father Zhang’s words are reasonable. The Han indeed abounds with talented people.”

Zhang Rang submitted further advice, saying, “Take Wei Ning, who addressed Your Majesty in the grand court today, for example! He is indeed a talent. Back when he studied at the Imperial Academy, he was also a renowned scholar of his time. The Wei River Poetry Gathering was initiated by him.”

“Oh?” Emperor Ling bared his teeth and asked, “Can he lead troops?”

Lead troops? That was something Zhang Rang did not know. Whether he could or not, he had to answer first. “Of course, Wei Ning is a scion of the Hedong Wei family. How could a descendant of the Great General Wei not understand military affairs?”

“Ha, marvelous!” The Emperor clapped his hands and laughed. “Thanks to Father Zhang’s blessing, though I have lost Luan Ziqi, I have gained a talent proficient in both civil and martial arts. Thus, my heart is comforted. Considering Wei... Wei what was his name again?”

Zhang Rang reminded him, “Wei Ning, style name Zhongdao.”

“Wei Ning! Right, Wei Zhongdao! In consideration of Wei Zhongdao’s meritorious service in reporting, I shall promote him. What position would be good for him? Hmm...” The Emperor racked his brains, recalling the vacant posts reported by his agents the other day. “Ah... Appoint him as the General of the冲 (Zhongchong) Cavalry, and let him depart for Hebei immediately to assist Lu Zhi in suppressing the rebellion.”

“Ah?” Zhang Rang’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that once the Emperor made up his mind, not even eight oxen could pull him back. He could only silently pray: Wei Ning, oh Wei Ning, you must not cause this humble servant to lose face. I ask for no merits, only to avoid mistakes!

Little did he know that Wei Ning could not fight at all. Let alone warfare, back when he was studying at the Imperial Academy, his scores in archery and chariot-driving—the two subjects of archery and driving—frequently failed. Because of this, he had often been scolded by Cai Yong. Of course, Luan Ziqi had also rarely passed those two subjects since childhood, but that did not mean Luan奕 could not fight. On the contrary, while Luan Ziqi was poor at archery, he possessed superhuman talent in throwing; and though his chariot-driving was crooked and clumsy, his horsemanship was superior to others. Coupled with his extraordinary strength, he had become a peerless commanding general on the battlefield.

As for Wei Ning... in reality, he was merely a delicate scholar who could lift nothing heavy. One can imagine what kind of person such a man would be upon the battlefield. Of course, that is a story for later and need not be mentioned for now.

Meanwhile, at the grand court, Cai Yong and Wang Yun knew that Luan奕 was facing a great disaster. Their hearts were in turmoil, and their throats felt as bitter as if they had swallowed coptis. Barely enduring until the end of the grand court, the two of them were frantic with anxiety. Not even taking the time to put on their shoes properly, they strode out to catch up with Yuan Wei.

“Situ, Lord Situ, please stay your steps!”

Panting heavily, the two ran up to Yuan Wei and Yuan Feng, wiped the sweat from their foreheads, and bowed deeply. “Wang Yun and Cai Yong pay respects to Lord Situ and Lord Sikong! We earnestly beg the two lords to save our son-in-law.”

Yuan Feng wore a helpless expression. “Zishir, Bojie. My foolish son Benchu is on very terms with Ziqi, and often spoke of Ziqi’s talent in the past. Upon hearing this, my son also grew quite fond of Ziqi. Three years ago, we had the fortune to meet him. Having served as officials all our lives and having seen countless people, when we saw that Ziqi possessed a grand bearing and clear eyes, we knew that though this child came from a merchant family, he was born with the backbone of a scholar. Thus, we grew increasingly fond of him and treated him with the courtesy due to a nephew. Now that our nephew is in trouble, as elders we naturally cannot stand by. Today in the grand hall, we intended to speak up to help him. However...” Pausing here, Yuan Feng stopped.

Yuan Wei continued, “However, today Your Majesty was already flying into a imperial rage, and saying more would have been useless. Moreover, this matter arose so suddenly, and Yuan feels there is something highly suspicious about it!”

“Suspicious?” Wang Yun and Cai Yong looked at each other in dismay.

“Suspicious!” Yuan Feng nodded. “The two of you have managed court affairs for a long time, and you are naturally clear on the rules of the imperial court. Then Yuan asks you both: pray tell, does a mere Director of the Tallies have the qualification to ascend the hall and debate state affairs?”

“Hmm?” Wang Yun and Cai Yong suddenly had an epiphany. The post of Director of the Tallies held by Wei Ning was merely a minor official with a rank of six hundred shi; logically, he had no qualification to attend the grand court. “Then...”

Yuan Wei said decisively, “The reason he was able to ascend the court is certainly because someone forged an imperial edict and let him in. Who in the Han court has such capability, Yuan need not spell out, I presume?”

“Furthermore, Yuan vaguely remembers that before Wei Ning stepped forward to falsely accuse Ziqi, Zhang Rang gave him a wink!” said Yuan Feng.

“Really?” asked Yuan Wei.

Yuan Feng recalled carefully for a moment. “Absolutely true!”

The two Yuan brothers discussed it. “Then why didn't elder brother mention this to Wei just now?”

“Just now, I only vaguely remembered such a thing happening. Added to the fact that I didn't connect it with Zhang Rang winking at Wei Ning, I didn't speak of it.”

“Viewed thus, it was definitely the handiwork of Zhang Rang!” Yuan Wei furrowed his brow, a look of anger on his face.

Wang Yun and Cai Yong were seized with panic. If it were merely Wei Ning alone wishing ill upon Luan Ziqi, it would still be manageable; they could seek out prominent scholars of high moral standing like Yuan Wei and Yuan Feng, unite in a joint appeal, and secure his exemption. But now, the Ten Attendants had been dragged into it, and furthermore, it was directed by Zhang Rang... “What can be done then?”

“Hard to say!” Yuan Feng shook his head.

“We must deliberate at length,” said Yuan Wei.

Cai Yong was extremely anxious. “Are we just going to sit here and watch Ziqi being taken into custody?”

Yuan Wei said earnestly, “For now, this is the only way. Matters having reached this point, we must not act rashly. The slightest misstep will not only fail to save Ziqi, but will instead harm him.”

“Lord Situ speaks the truth!” Wang Yun comforted Cai Yong.

Cai Yong remained unwilling to give up. “But... we must think of some way!”

“Wait for a while first!” Having passed the peak of his panic, Wang Yun had grown much calmer.

“Just how long must we wait?” Cai Yong clenched his fists tightly, his entire body trembling.

“At the very least, we must wait until the Emperor’s anger subsides and he forgets this matter slightly. Or... wait until Ziqi arrives and see what insights he has!” Wang Yun gazed at the gates of the imperial palace. He thought to himself: Oh Ziqi, Ziqi, you should have been riding a tall steed and enjoying the glory of a triumphant return, yet who could have expected... Alas, a meritorious official rides in a prisoner's cart; such is the Han Dynasty!

Compared to the gloomy clouds blanketing Luoyang, the sky over Nanyang was clear and vast. After prolonged battles in formation, Luan Ziqi ushered in a rare period of rest and reorganization. The troops camped outside the city of Nanyang, while Luan Ziqi took every opportunity to tour the mountains and rivers. For a time, he even attempted to search everywhere for Wolong Ridge (Sleeping Dragon Ridge), hoping to pay a visit to Zhuge Kongming, who had been mythologized by later generations. Yet, after a long search, he found no trace of it. The local villagers had not even heard of Wolong Ridge, let alone Zhuge Kongming.

Luan Ziqi was quite puzzled by this. Later, he realized that Wolong Ridge was likely named after Master Wolong; at the present time, Zhuge Liang’s reputation was not yet prominent, and he was not yet the Master Wolong of later days. Since there was no Master Wolong, naturally there was no Wolong Ridge either. But since Wolong Ridge was not yet named, where in this vast sea of humanity was one to find Master Wolong?

This tongue-twister-like train of thought tangled Luan Ziqi’s own mind into a hazy fog. In short, wanting to find Zhuge Liang right now was more than just difficult; he had no choice but to give up in frustration!

The days of rest passed carefreely, with only one minor flaw: for several consecutive nights, Luan Ziqi had experienced nightmares during sleep, and the content of the dreams was always the same. He rode a warhorse galloping into the distance, eventually arriving at a familiar place. The tall courtyard walls and the green shade extending beyond the wall were sights he had gazed upon more than once—it was the old Luan family residence in Yangzhai. From afar, well outside the outer wall of the old residence, chaotic noises could be vaguely heard. What kind of noises were they? They couldn't be heard clearly, but they were very chaotic, much like a family banquet gathering on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

On the second day, he dreamed of this scene again, except that upon reaching the base of the wall, he finally heard the commotion inside the courtyard clearly. It was the sound of screams, cries, and pleas for help... Luan Ziqi grew frantic and spurred his horse toward the courtyard gate. Yet, though the gate was clearly only half a li away from him, no matter how he rode, he could never reach it!

On that day, his “dream” had startled him awake right at this juncture, and he had not seen what was actually happening inside the courtyard.

On the third day, the same dream recurred. Upon hearing the screams, his warhorse finally broke through the shackles and reached the courtyard gate. Blood... blood all over the ground, flowing like a river... the pungent stench filling the compound.

...

Until yesterday, the dreamscape finally solidified. Upon reaching the courtyard gate, he dismounted, hoisted his great hammer, and broke into the residence, only to discover that squads of government soldiers were frantically hacking and slashing at his family members. His grandfather, Luan Tao, had already died beneath a flurry of blades, pitifully slumped against the wall. His father and mother had embraced each other even in death; they had loved for a lifetime and were determined to die together. Little Cui...

“Heavens... what is happening here!” Luan Ziqi screamed miserably toward the sky, but no one paid him any heed. Brandishing his great hammer, he killed every government soldier he laid eyes on. Kill, kill, kill... revenge, revenge... In one breath, he slaughtered all the soldiers in the courtyard, then turned to search for the leader of the soldiers—the culprit who had destroyed his entire family. Searching circle after circle, he finally found the man who had made him a lonely wanderer inside his own study. Carrying his great hammer, he walked up behind the man, turned the other’s shoulder around to look, and cried out, “Wei Zhongdao?”