Thousand Autumns

The soldier, upon seeing the great change in Shen Qiao’s expression, believed that he was unable to accept this news, and said so as to comfort him: “The former Emperor was never fond of Buddhist or Daoist teachings. However, now that His Majesty has ascended the throne, he has relaxed the restrictions once placed upon Buddhism and Daoism. He even renewed Buddhism’s position as the state religion. Daozhang, you should be able to walk freely throughout Chang’an city. There is no need to fear that you will be pulled away and interrogated.”

Shen Qiao smiled bitterly. Is this what they call good fortune found in miserable circumstances?

“Then why is it that His Majesty refuses to observe the mourning period for his father?”

The moment that he said this, both soldiers had completely tensed. They glanced about left and right and, once they noticed no one was paying any heed to their words, said in a low voice: “How could we possibly know something like that?! Daozhang, it would be better if you didn’t ask so many questions!”

Shen Qiao asked once more: “In that case, do you know of the current status of the Prince of Qi, Yuwen Xian[5]?”

They were some of the lowest rank of soldiers; the last known whereabouts of the Prince of Qi was indeed something that they would not be involved with knowing.

As a result, Shen Qiao no longer had anything to ask. He thanked the two men and finished his tea. Once more, he watched as the soldiers prepared for their journey to take away the wives and families of the officials who had opposed the Emperor, and bid them farewell. He then undid the reins of his horse that he had tied to a nearby fence, mounted it, and headed directly towards Chang’an.

The moment he reached the city of Chang’an, Shen Qiao no longer felt as though the city had changed as significantly as he had before. It was still quite lively, still filled with people moving about, coming and going in endless streams. It was still much more prosperous than that of the capitals of other provinces. However, the only difference was that there were more government officials in the city streets, especially in those that lead up to the palace. Some were doing inspections of the area, while others were escorting convicts. Men and women made up the convicted people; as well as young and old. It was just the same as when he had been just outside the city. Fear and anxiety filled their faces, seeming completely out of place with that of the lively city.

Shen Qiao stopped to look around. The sound of children crying amidst the troops of soldiers was unbearable for him. However, he understood very well that, even if he were able to save them, regardless of whether or not the crimes these families had been accused of was justified in any way, he had no means of helping them settle down elsewhere. In the end, there was a high chance that it would cause them to face even more serious punishments.

Moreover, it may very well lead to a greater number of people falling into the same circumstances as they have.

To save one family is not a difficult task. Not as difficult as saving all of the common people in this world.

He sighed to himself, turning away to depart.

He first went to the Adviser’s Residence[6][7][8] where Yan Wushi had stayed. But as he approached, he could see from afar that the residence had been sealed away. The gate was locked, and the courtyard was desolate. Land in the capital was extremely expensive; yet even horse carriages did not even try to pass through here. It seemed as though outsiders were afraid of being mistaken for having a connection to this place, so each and every one of them tried to distance themselves from it.

At the side of the road were, unexpectedly, some vendors selling vegetables that hung on rods over their shoulders. And there were even people buying from them. However, upon close inspection of their expressions, one could tell that they seemed rather peculiar. They did not seem like ordinary vendors; rather, they seemed like they were specially stationed here.

Had it been before, Shen Qiao certainly would have approached these people and asked them some questions personally. However, he had spent a long enough time with Yan Wushi, and, without realizing, was imperceptibly influenced by him. He now understood that one must take note of everything. And once he noticed that these people seemed out of the ordinary, he no longer decided to approach them.

Bian Yanmei[9] owned two homes within the capital. One was the government's official residence, bestowed upon him by Yuwen Yong, like that of the Adviser’s Residence. The other was a private home, known to very few, though not necessarily secret. The day that Shen Qiao had been in Chang'an, Bian Yanmei had misunderstood his and Yan Wushi's relationship, and had specially taken him to see it, even going as far as to warmly invite him in as a guest. It had left Shen Qiao in a situation that would have been humorous to someone looking on, but was really quite sad for himself.

The government’s residence and the Adviser’s residence were the same—they had both been sealed away, and the only people who stood around it were disguised as ordinary citizens, monitoring the area secretly.

The private residence, on the other hand, was still there. However, though the gates were closed, it was not locked.

This residence of Bian Yanmei’s was located in the east of the city, towards the end of a narrow lane. Nearby were a small number of properties belonging to families with literary backgrounds. There were no longer the endless stream of horses and carriages belonging to that of the high government officials, nor the clamor of merchants in the marketplace. Instead, it was a very fine and beautifully hidden area.

Shen Qiao did not push open the door. Instead, he climbed over the gates.[10] With his wugong, going over the gates could be done without a sound, and with a very graceful movement.

The home had been tidied up very neatly. The trees and plants were neatly arranged, and not a speck of dust could be seen anywhere. However, it was cold all around. Not the slightest trace of human activity could be found anywhere.

Shen Qiao walked a circle around the perimeter. He had gone into every room, but discovered nothing.

Where could Bian Yanmei be?

These past few years, the power of Huanyue Sect was united with that of the regime of Northern Zhou. Once Yuwen Yong allowed them a high position in the government and relied on them for their aid, Chang’an was essentially the headquarters of Huanyue Sect. However, Huanyue Sect was one of the more peculiar of the demonic sects. Yan Wushi had taken in only Bian Yanmei and Yu Shengyan as his disciples. The remaining influence of the sect was scattered across different locations, giving the sect a weak and uncoordinated appearance. But now, no one was left in the capital. And searching for any of them would be like searching for a needle in an ocean.

A sound suddenly came from the eastern wing. Though it was very small, it sounded like someone bumping carelessly into a desk.

It just happened to originate from the last room that Shen Qiao had yet to enter.

It seemed like the person in the room had suppressed their breathing. However, to Shen Qiao, they still made a very distinct noise as they did.

He opened the door, taking one step after another, moving towards the screen on the other side.

The sound of stifled breathing grew louder still. Shen Qiao approached the bed, stopped towards one end of it, before kneeling down and extending one hand.

A surprised shout came from under the bed. Before Shen Qiao could even come in contact with their body, a small figure crawled out the other side, running towards the exit on the other end of the room. However, they did not run very far before suddenly stopping in their tracks. Their daiya acupoint had been closed, and they would not be able to make a sound if they wanted to. Upon their expression was a look of great fear.

“Don’t be afraid,” she heard him say.

“I came here looking for an old friend, yet I didn’t expect that he and everyone in this residence had deserted it. It was for this reason that I went in to look around. Could you tell me who you are?” The image of this handsome Daoist, whose beauty repelled all dust, appeared before her eyes.

No matter how you look at him, this man could not possibly be a bad person. Her heart, which had beat wildly just then, slowly became calm.

Shen Qiao released her acupoint.

The girl was still quite young. Though dust covered her face, it could not obscure her originally fair and delicate looks. From her clothes, it seemed that she came from a wealthy family, and had been pampered since birth. The only thing was that he still did not yet know, however, was why she had come running to this place.

“Could you tell me who you are?” The little girl responded bravely.

Shen Qiao smiled. “My name is Shen Qiao. I am a daoshi from Xuandu Mountain.”

“Shen Qiao?” The little girl seemed as though she were thinking the name over. “Is it the shen from the yu shen, referring to the syrup of an elm tree in the Book of Rites? And the qiao of the name Yuan Qiaoshan, of the Lie Zi's Daoist text, Tang Wen?”

“Yes, precisely those two.” Shen Qiao was rather taken aback from the profound literary knowledge this girl possessed despite her small age. “May I ask whose daughter[11] you are, and why you are hiding in this place?”

At the end of the day, she was still very small. She could not wear a serious face for very long. Upon hearing what he said, she finally looked as if she could take a sigh of relief: “I heard my jiujiu[12] bring Shen-daozhang up before. Shen-daozhang, you weren't under orders to come looking for me, were you?”

Shen Qiao was caught off guard by her knowledge. “Who is your jiujiu? And who would order me?”

“I am Ah-yan[13][14] from the Dou family. My mother is the Princess of Xiangyang,” the little girl said.

Shen Qiao finally understood: “Then your jiujiu was the former Emperor, wasn’t he?”

Dou Yan nodded. “There are some people surveilling on behalf of my family. They wanted me to enter the palace to greet His Majesty, so I ran away here in secret. I’d planned to go looking for Bian-shu[15], but I didn't think that he wouldn't be here. And there's people looking for me on the outside just as well, so I’m too afraid to go out…”

Shen Qiao frowned. “What has happened? Your mother is the elder sister of the former Emperor, and the aunt of the crown prince. Who would dare to make things difficult for you?”

The moment he said this, however, he finally realized: who else could possibly make things difficult for them, if not the current Emperor himself?

Dou Yan bit her lip, as though what she was going to say was difficult for her. Shen Qiao did not pursue the topic. Instead, he responded in a gentle voice: “It seems that everyone in this house has left some time ago. It would be no use if you waited around here. Why not return home? Your Ah-niang[16] will be there, and His Majesty would not dare—“

“No, no! I can’t go home!” Dou Yan shook her head repeatedly. “If I do, His Majesty will have me enter the palace! Ah-die and Ah-niang won’t be able to stop him! They won’t be able to protect me!”

Shen Qiao watched her speak in such a serious voice, and found that there was nothing else that he could do. Just then, when he was about to ask what she planned to do, he could hear a loud noise from outside—the sound of footsteps, one after another, following the sound of the gates of the residence being forced open.

“This is not a dangerous place; I’m sure that the residents have already left. There’s no need for you to come with me. I can inspect it on my own.”

The sound of this man’s voice was quite familiar. Shen Qiao thought for a moment, before remembering him:

Puliuru Jian[17].

Dou Yan, startled by the noise, hid behind Shen Qiao, while tugging at his sleeves: “Let’s go already!”

But seeing that Shen Qiao would not move, she used, before returning to that room from earlier, most likely to hide once more under the bed.

The very moment that Dou Yan had run away into the room, Puliuru Jian had taken one great step forward. Right then, his gaze met with Shen Qiao, who was standing within the courtyard.

Shen Qiao’s expression remained unchanged. However, Puliuru Jian was incredibly surprised.

“You…” Just as he began to speak, he immediately shut his mouth before taking a quick glance outside. He then turned back to Shen Qiao and gestured at him with one hand. In other words, he was telling Shen Qiao to stay quiet.

Shen Qiao understood, nodded, and waited for the other man to speak first.

Puiuru Jian frowned deep. His expression was difficult to read, as though he were hesitant to speak.

On the other hand, Dou Yan did not listen for any more sounds of movement. She could not help but walk out from under the bed in secret, clinging to the door as she took a peek outside. however, she had assumed that Puliuru Jian had noticed her movements, as he had unintentionally looked in her direction and took several steps forward. Dou Yan was so startled that she had nearly run off again.

“Shen-daozhang. Do you know where Bian-dafu[18] has gone?”

He had exerted great effort in suppressing the volume of his speech, and said these words quickly.

Shen Qiao naturally shook his head.

“I have received a request that I cannot carry out at present. I can only trouble Shen-daozhang to lend a hand, and to please help escort the young lady of the Dou family to the Su family residence for the time being!”

The Su family? Shen Qiao puzzled over their name.

“The home of the Duke of Meiyang!”[19]

It was right at this moment that someone began to speak from the outside: “Has Sui-guogong[20] found something? Do you need one of us to help you?"

Puliuru Jian responded loudly: “There’s no need! I’m heading out right now.”

He did not say any more. He only cupped his hands before Shen Qiao, before turning around and quickly departing.

Shen Qiao could make out the sound of faint voices from beyond the gate. After a short moment, the group of people had left, and once more closed and even locked the gates behind them.

Dou Yan poked her head out of the door, wearing an anxious expression.

Shen Qiao said to her: “They’ve left. Sui-guogong asked me to first take you to the residence of the Duke of Meiyang for the time being. What do you think?”

Dou Yan thought over this. “That works. The Duke of Meiyang gets along very well with my father. It must have been Ah-die who asked him to do this. I’ll have to trouble you again then, Shen-daozhang. Will it be difficult for you to bring me there?”

“Not at all,” Shen Qiao laughed. “It’s about as difficult as lifting a finger.”

He gently led Dou Yan over the gate walls with him, and followed the directions she gave him as well. After going around a small road, they headed in the direction of the Su family residence. Dou Yan had never seen such perfectly executed qinggong before. The entire way there, she could not help but grin from ear to ear, unable to conceal her joy. By the time that they had arrived at the Su household, she had already looked upon Shen Qiao with great reverence.

Shen Qiao could not help but pat her head, which was as round as a steamed bun. He then carried her and leapt over the rear gate of the Su residence.

Dou Yan whispered in a low voice as she showed him around: “Once you walk past this courtyard, the second room will be the study. I’ve been here with my Ah-die before. The Duke of Meiyang is usually around here in the day…”

With Shen Qiao’s talent, slipping into the Su household was an unbelievably easy job. Su Wei was reading in his study, just as she said he was. The sight of an adult and a child pushing the door open from the outside had startled him so much that he nearly called out for help.

Luckily, he was able to recognize Shen Qiao and Dou Yan. He restrained himself from calling out, before returning to a normal tone of voice as he addressed them: “Shen-daozhang? Dou-erniang?”

Dou Yan slipped out of Shen Qiao’s arms and spoke in a clear, crisp voice: “Shibo[21], please do not be surprised! Ah-yan did not come here with any cruel intent!”

Su Wei quickly stood to open the door and inspect the area outside. After seeing that there was no one spying on them, he closed the door once more, before turning around to speak to them: “Why have you come here? Ah-yan, I heard that the Dou family has now been surrounded by people from His Majesty. They have been looking for you.”

“Yes. It’s because I made so much trouble for my mother and father,” Ah-yan said, dejectedly. “His Majesty was afraid that they would send me away into hiding, and is now keeping his eye on our family. I can’t go back, not for now at least. I can only ask Shibo for his protection.”

“We were at the Bian residence when we happened to run into the Duke of Sui,” Shen Qiao said. “It was he who had us come here to look for Su-xiangong.”

Su Wei sighed. “All right, then. The two of you, come with me for now.”

He did not inquire further about any details. It seemed that he already had some knowledge of what had taken place. Only Shen Qiao found everything completely beyond his expectations after entering Chang’an, and could only take things as they go, not knowing much else.

Su Wei straightened, and pushed in the bookshelf. Behind it was a secret hallway. He took the two of them down there, before reaching a bedroom at the end.

The bedroom was not completely isolated from daylight, however. The window from the outside was obscured by the shade of trees, allowing sunlight to faintly shine through. Had it been summer, it would have been a wonderful place to hide from the sun and heat. At the same time, it was quite good at hiding people from view, making it very difficult for their pursuers to follow their tracks.

A single person stood by the window with their back towards them. His hands were crossed behind him. Seeing Su Wei open the door, he turned around and, upon catching sight of Dou Yan, could not help but say, surprised: “Er-niang?”

From the expression on Dou Yan’s face, it was clear that she was very familiar with this man. The moment that she saw him, she could not help but exclaim aloud and burst into tears: “Wu-jiujiu[22]! It was biaoxiong[23] who killed Xiandi-jiujiu[24]!”

The moment that these words left her mouth, the expressions of everyone present revealed complete and utter surprise.

(Temporary T/N): Just in case if you are like me and are really, really bad at keeping up, this is who is in the room right now:

Shen Qiao (our boy!)Su Wei: The Duke of Meiyang, met Shen Qiao at the birthday banquet way back when (Chapter 20’s? Episode 6?), and worked in the Imperial Court under Yuwen Yong. A real dude!Ah-yan: Her mother is Yuwen Yong’s elder sister. She herself grows up to be the first Empress of the Tang Dynasty. Yuwen Yong is dead; his son, Yuwen Yun, is a wasteful Emperor and has taken the throne. I’m quite sure he wants to take care of, some way or another, everyone who has connections to his father, or opposes his rule.Yuwen Xian: Ah-yan’s fifth uncle, and brother of Yuwen Yong (I can’t remember if they’re half-brothers or distantly related). He is a well-renowned military general. Yan Wushi had tried to convince Yuwen Yong to select Yuwen Xian as his successor instead of Yuwen Yong’s son, Yuwen Yun the Crown Prince, because the Crown Prince fucking sucks.He’s in a tight spot because I’m pretty sure Yuwen Yun wants him dead.Puliuru Jian: He isn’t in the room right now, but he’s fucked! Sorta. Since one of his daughters is married to Yuwen Yun, he’s actually probably fine, but this doesn’t mean that he supports Yuwen Yun’s rule. But because he is so capable, Yuwen Yun is very, very suspicious of him.