The title of this side story is part of a verse from a famous poem from the Song Dynasty, known as Partridge Sky - That Night the Jackdaws Worry, written by Xin Qiji who is a military official. On the surface, the poem is about a beautiful woman who suffered from the grief of separation and her yearning for someone. The actual underlining meaning of the poem is the poet expressing their incapability of achieving their own ideal political view. His dream was to help reunite the country under the Song Dynasty because the troops of the Jin Kingdom had invaded the country, which caused the collapse of the Song Dynasty. He was never able to achieve his dream because he had opposed an appeasement policy, which resulted him from being removed from his post. The full verse of the poem in which the title of the side story is part of, means that if one did not experience the grief of separation, then they would not believe that someone's hair could turn white as a result of the feeling of grief.
(Partridge and Jackdaw are different types of bird species.)
Also I forgot to mention a detail from the previous side story. A'Mu's name is 阿穆 which has the same pronunciation as 木, while Chaoyang's name is Feng Huang (凤凰). When you combine the two names, it would be Feng (枫) which is Xiao Feng's name (小枫). It is speculated that Li Cheng Yin's son and daughter were named after Xiao Feng.
Sorry for the slow update, but this side story is hard to translate.
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Gu Jian rode his horse to the top of the sandy hill and waited quietly.
The ink coloured sky slowly disappeared. The bright light from the east slowly covered the sky, becoming brighter and brighter, as if more and more clear water were seeping into the ink coloured sea. It was not noticeable at first, but gradually the sky became as transparent as coloured glass, turning into a deep peacock blue with a hint of purple. The ink colour was fading rapidly, even the sky in the west was turning purple, and soon after, the east sky was already bright, the sun had emerged and was emitting the first golden ray of light.
The first rays of sunlight made the dew on the grass leaves look very bright, like countless glittering crystal beads scattered in a endless green field. The horse snorted, then lowered its head to eat the grass leaves, as several grasshoppers jumped up from the grasses. This was the best season, with mountains being surrounded by green grasses, and the morning wind blowing the grasses like green waves. The star-like wildflowers were mixed into the sea of green grasses, the distant snow mountain was like a huge piece of ice, with the golden ray of sunlight outlining the mountain.
Gu Jian waited patiently, a distant sound could be heard which seemed like the sound of rain, but also seemed like the sound of the grasses being blown by the wind.
The ink coloured sky slowly disappeared. The bright light from the east slowly covered the sky, becoming brighter and brighter, as if more and more clear water were seeping into the ink coloured sea. It was not noticeable at first, but gradually the sky became as transparent as coloured glass, turning into a deep peacock blue with a hint of purple. The ink colour was fading rapidly, even the sky in the west was turning purple, and soon after, the east sky was already bright, the sun had emerged and was emitting the first golden ray of light.
The first rays of sunlight made the dew on the grass leaves look very bright, like countless glittering crystal beads scattered in a endless green field. The horse snorted, then lowered its head to eat the grass leaves, as several grasshoppers jumped up from the grasses. This was the best season, with mountains being surrounded by green grasses, and the morning wind blowing the grasses like green waves. The star-like wildflowers were mixed into the sea of green grasses, the distant snow mountain was like a huge piece of ice, with the golden ray of sunlight outlining the mountain.
Gu Jian waited patiently, a distant sound could be heard which seemed like the sound of rain, but also seemed like the sound of the grasses being blown by the wind.
After a moment, the sound was getting closer and louder. The distant sound that was at first like the distant sound of muffled thunder during the summertime, after a short period of time have passed, it was clear that the sound was the sound of horses' footsteps.
Gu Jian squinted his eyes, the sound of horses' footsteps was getting closer and clearer, the group of riders were heading towards the sun. Gradually, Gu Jian could clearly see the riders' saddles, and the stern face of the leader when they removed their helmet.
Gu Jian rode his horse there to welcome the group, the horse had rest for a long period of time so its movement was effortless, quickly arriving to welcome the group. The leader of the group was Pei Zhao, Gu Jian recognized him, but did not like this person, he asked: "Where is Wu Lang?"
Only the closest people around him would refer to him by this name. Pei Zhao is a very reserved person, which is why Gu Jian always felt he was very boring. Sure enough, Pei Zhao replied in the usual way: "His Highness has entered the city."
Gu Jian was shocked and asked: "He went alone?"
Pei Zhao nodded, he is Li Cheng Yin's trusted confidant, a man of noble descent, while Gu Jian is someone that wanders in the Jianghu. Two different types of people, although they knew each other, but they would not talk much.
Gu Jian raised his eyebrows: "Why did you not stop him?"
Pei Zhao could not answer. Li Cheng Yin is a very cautious person, no matter who it is, one would be cautious in the Eastern Palace. However in the military, Li Cheng Yin becomes a person who doesn’t care about anything. The country requires that whoever lives in the Eastern Palace must lead the army. The emperor would let the crown prince be the general, but there is something different in Li Cheng Yin’s case. Before he became the crown prince, he was ordered to go to the Changzhou army, changing his family name to become a military official under the Governor of Changzhou, Wu Shu. He was walking around when he encountered an enemy army who came to invade. He didn’t escape but instead fought with all his strength until Wu Shu's army came to back him up and push back the enemy. Li Cheng Yin’s soldiers had already died by a few hundred, and he himself was injured. Wu Shu who came to rescue him was sweating cold sweat when he saw Li Cheng Yin's condition, urgently writing and submitting a memorandum to confess his own faults, because after all this is the emperor's son, so if anything happens to him, what good would come out of it?
However Li Cheng Yin was completely fine, letting the doctor pull out the arrows and wrapping the wound. Once they have reached their army tent, he stopped the envoy who was about to go to the Capital, then he threw the memorandum that was written by Wu Shu into the fire basin, the white silk fabric with ink marks was instantly turned into ashes.
"I am fine, Father is currently at the Capital which is far away from here, why make him worried?”
Wu Shu was born from the Hu [1] clan. He has a rough and straightforward personality, so court officials would often privately make fun of him by calling him a reckless man, but if he was a reckless man, how could he be in the position of a Governor? Those arrows were shot from behind, although the arrows did not injure the crucial parts of the body, it was still very dangerous. Wu Shu understood, even though there were many locusts on the battlefield, Li Cheng Yin was ambushing the enemy, the Rong Di army, who had crossed the river and was caught off guard, and because they were too close, the Rong Di army never had the opportunity to shoot the arrows, both sides were fighting in a close range. So Li Cheng Yin being shot by two arrows was a very strange matter.
Wu Shu was born from the Hu [1] clan. He has a rough and straightforward personality, so court officials would often privately make fun of him by calling him a reckless man, but if he was a reckless man, how could he be in the position of a Governor? Those arrows were shot from behind, although the arrows did not injure the crucial parts of the body, it was still very dangerous. Wu Shu understood, even though there were many locusts on the battlefield, Li Cheng Yin was ambushing the enemy, the Rong Di army, who had crossed the river and was caught off guard, and because they were too close, the Rong Di army never had the opportunity to shoot the arrows, both sides were fighting in a close range. So Li Cheng Yin being shot by two arrows was a very strange matter.
Wu Shu sighed in silence.
Li Cheng Yin have fought in wars for two years alongside Wu Shu, bravely advancing, being successful in every way, gradually gaining prestige in the army. People did not know his exact origin, they only know that he was someone of noble descent from the Capital. However he did not have the arrogance of a noble person, when he was fighting in wars, he didn’t care much about his own self. Everyone in the camp had to take turns doing tiring tasks, such as getting rid of horse dungs, carrying bags of food and repairing the ditches.... and Li Cheng Yin was no exception, he has never tried to avoid doing these tasks.
Wu Shu initially felt that dealing with his Majesty’s son would be a troublesome matter, however over the past two years, he has developed sincere respect for this person. Wu Shu attentively taught him everything from military skills to dealing with political affairs. If it wasn’t for Li Cheng Yin’s identity, Wu Shu would have regarded him as his disciple. Their relationship were like friends despite the age difference.
Li Cheng Yin have fought in wars for two years alongside Wu Shu, bravely advancing, being successful in every way, gradually gaining prestige in the army. People did not know his exact origin, they only know that he was someone of noble descent from the Capital. However he did not have the arrogance of a noble person, when he was fighting in wars, he didn’t care much about his own self. Everyone in the camp had to take turns doing tiring tasks, such as getting rid of horse dungs, carrying bags of food and repairing the ditches.... and Li Cheng Yin was no exception, he has never tried to avoid doing these tasks.
Wu Shu initially felt that dealing with his Majesty’s son would be a troublesome matter, however over the past two years, he has developed sincere respect for this person. Wu Shu attentively taught him everything from military skills to dealing with political affairs. If it wasn’t for Li Cheng Yin’s identity, Wu Shu would have regarded him as his disciple. Their relationship were like friends despite the age difference.
After spending two years in Changzhou, Li Cheng Yin accumulated enough military achievements and gradually revealed his abilities, so someone from the Capital had returned claiming that he had persuaded his Majesty to recall Li Cheng Yin back to the Capital.
Wu Shu along with his own army accompanied Li Cheng Yin until they have reached Wuding River. During the deep autumn, the riverside was full of reeds, like a land filled with snow. Wu Shu did not get off his horse, instead threw a leather wine pouch, saying: "If you are not happy in the Capital, you can return to Changzhou to drink wine with me!"
Li Cheng Yin took the wine pouch, opened it and drank one mouthful of wine. He tightened the lid of the wine pouch, placed the pouch behind the saddle, looked at Wu Shu and then cupped his hands before crossing the river. When he reached the shore, he turned around to look back, Wu Shu was still on his horse in the middle of the reeds. The reeds looked like snowflakes when it was blown by the wind, a few strands were stuck on his beard.
Wu Shu saw Li Cheng Yin go and then returned, heading back into the water, he was surprised. Li Cheng Yin was already in front of him with his horse, reaching his hand to remove the two strands of reed from his beard, then throwing it away. It was only then that Wu Shu was aware of that, he couldn't help but grin. He extended his arms, he brought Li Cheng Yin into his embrace according to the rites of the Hu clan, gently patting his back. There were many things that they both wanted to say, but there was no need to say it.
Li Cheng Yin took the wine pouch, opened it and drank one mouthful of wine. He tightened the lid of the wine pouch, placed the pouch behind the saddle, looked at Wu Shu and then cupped his hands before crossing the river. When he reached the shore, he turned around to look back, Wu Shu was still on his horse in the middle of the reeds. The reeds looked like snowflakes when it was blown by the wind, a few strands were stuck on his beard.
Wu Shu saw Li Cheng Yin go and then returned, heading back into the water, he was surprised. Li Cheng Yin was already in front of him with his horse, reaching his hand to remove the two strands of reed from his beard, then throwing it away. It was only then that Wu Shu was aware of that, he couldn't help but grin. He extended his arms, he brought Li Cheng Yin into his embrace according to the rites of the Hu clan, gently patting his back. There were many things that they both wanted to say, but there was no need to say it.
After Li Cheng Yin crossed the river, he did look back again. Wu Shu waited there until he went far away and could no longer see him again, then he turned around to go back.
That leather wine pouch was brought back to the Capital, but Li Cheng Yin was unwilling to drink from it again. This wine was made of glutinous rice mixed with mare's milk, stronger than any of the wines in the Capital. When one gets used to drinking wine that could burn knives, the Capital's wines seemed weak in comparison.
It was just that no one could've known that the parting with Wu Shu would mean parting forever. Not long after Li Cheng Yin returned to the Capital, Wu Shu was killed by his adopted son, Qi Qi Ya, who seized military power, proudly submitting a memorandum to the emperor to request that the title of Governor of Changzhou be given to him along with the title of Protectorate Governor of Yanran.
It was just that no one could've known that the parting with Wu Shu would mean parting forever. Not long after Li Cheng Yin returned to the Capital, Wu Shu was killed by his adopted son, Qi Qi Ya, who seized military power, proudly submitting a memorandum to the emperor to request that the title of Governor of Changzhou be given to him along with the title of Protectorate Governor of Yanran.
This resulted in a huge uproar in court. Li Cheng Yin insisted on leading the army to pacify the rebellion, however since Bohai Sea was under intense battle, the emperor still issued an imperial edict to grant Qi Qi Ya's request, while also allowing Li Cheng Yin to lead the army.
During the ninth year of Yuan Qing, Prince Jin, Li Cheng Yin was appointed as Crown Prince. The war at Bohai Sea had been settled, but Qi Qi Ya knows that there is conflict between him and the Eastern Palace, which he could not tolerate. Clenching one's teeth, he decided to raise his flag to lead the rebellion, appointing himself as the Khan, making Changzhou and Yingzhou as a khanate [2], creating policies against clans such as the Mohe [3] clan. Li Cheng Yin personally led the army in the expedition, while Pei Zhao would be assisting him.
It was only then that Pei Zhao saw Li Cheng Yin's reckless behavior in the army, he was the one who had jumped naked into the river with a group of soldiers to take a bath, he was also the one who would not be willing to follow orders. The route for the food supply was interrupted so it was difficult to have enough food. They could only eat the shells of beans and continue marching in the snowstorm. It was him who would not care whether the soldiers were cold and hungry, but it was also him who uses his own horse to carry wounded soldiers.
Under such reckless commands, the army however still succeeded in winning the war. Qi Qi Ya's army tried to escape, but was stopped by the army. Qi Qi Ya's army was surrounded by thousands of soldiers. Qi Qi Ya had already dropped his weapon to surrender, but Li Cheng Yin faintly said: "Won't accept."
Although these two words were said very lightly through his thin lips, but those words were ruthless, the people around him couldn't help but take in a deep breath. Even Pei Zhao had no choice but to persuade him to stop: "General, killing prisoners is an inauspicious thing to do...."
Li Cheng Yin said: "They are not prisoners, they could still fight.”
During the ninth year of Yuan Qing, Prince Jin, Li Cheng Yin was appointed as Crown Prince. The war at Bohai Sea had been settled, but Qi Qi Ya knows that there is conflict between him and the Eastern Palace, which he could not tolerate. Clenching one's teeth, he decided to raise his flag to lead the rebellion, appointing himself as the Khan, making Changzhou and Yingzhou as a khanate [2], creating policies against clans such as the Mohe [3] clan. Li Cheng Yin personally led the army in the expedition, while Pei Zhao would be assisting him.
It was only then that Pei Zhao saw Li Cheng Yin's reckless behavior in the army, he was the one who had jumped naked into the river with a group of soldiers to take a bath, he was also the one who would not be willing to follow orders. The route for the food supply was interrupted so it was difficult to have enough food. They could only eat the shells of beans and continue marching in the snowstorm. It was him who would not care whether the soldiers were cold and hungry, but it was also him who uses his own horse to carry wounded soldiers.
Under such reckless commands, the army however still succeeded in winning the war. Qi Qi Ya's army tried to escape, but was stopped by the army. Qi Qi Ya's army was surrounded by thousands of soldiers. Qi Qi Ya had already dropped his weapon to surrender, but Li Cheng Yin faintly said: "Won't accept."
Although these two words were said very lightly through his thin lips, but those words were ruthless, the people around him couldn't help but take in a deep breath. Even Pei Zhao had no choice but to persuade him to stop: "General, killing prisoners is an inauspicious thing to do...."
Li Cheng Yin said: "They are not prisoners, they could still fight.”
Qi Qi Ya still had the courage of a traitor, as expected once he gathered his army, he would charge again, but since his army was surrounded, there was no way of changing the outcome of the war. In the end Qi Qi Ya rode his horse to the front of his army, the distance between the two armies were still half an arrow away.
The opposing army was cautious, ordering everyone to use their spears to stab Qi Qi Ya to death, his corpse was then thrown heavily to the ground, numerous spears were thrown to confirm that he was dead. Li Cheng Yin slowly rode his horse over, suddenly he felt a cold sensation on his face, apparently it started to snow.
The snow fell silently, the world was boundless, occasionally the sound of horses neighing could be heard. Li Cheng Yin looked at Qi Qi Ya's bloody face that was slowly being covered by the snowflakes, soft that were like the reeds by the Wuding river. He grabbed the leather pouch from the back of his saddle, unscrewed the silver cap, and poured the wine onto the snow, letting it seep into the snow. It disappeared instantly, as if it was like the warm embrace he had once received from a father-like figure.
Once Li Cheng Yin had finished pouring the wine, he threw away the leather pouch and rode his horse to leave. Pei Zhao couldn't help but look back. The leather pouch had fallen into the snow, already looking very shabby and old. He recognized this thing because Li Cheng Yin would always carry it around with him. Pei Zhao did not know what he was thinking, but only felt that the Li Cheng Yin who had recklessly led the army, seemed to have disappear. Right now in front of him was the Li Cheng Yin who is the Crown Prince, reserved and steady with unpredictable thoughts. Even in the army, he seemed so lonely.
Li Cheng Yin led the army to return to the Capital. They did not cross the river yet, but suddenly he got sick. At first, he started to vomit and and then have diarrhea. Not long after, he began to vomit blood two or three days later. The military doctor felt helpless, only saying that it was caused by the unpleasant air in his body.
The opposing army was cautious, ordering everyone to use their spears to stab Qi Qi Ya to death, his corpse was then thrown heavily to the ground, numerous spears were thrown to confirm that he was dead. Li Cheng Yin slowly rode his horse over, suddenly he felt a cold sensation on his face, apparently it started to snow.
The snow fell silently, the world was boundless, occasionally the sound of horses neighing could be heard. Li Cheng Yin looked at Qi Qi Ya's bloody face that was slowly being covered by the snowflakes, soft that were like the reeds by the Wuding river. He grabbed the leather pouch from the back of his saddle, unscrewed the silver cap, and poured the wine onto the snow, letting it seep into the snow. It disappeared instantly, as if it was like the warm embrace he had once received from a father-like figure.
Once Li Cheng Yin had finished pouring the wine, he threw away the leather pouch and rode his horse to leave. Pei Zhao couldn't help but look back. The leather pouch had fallen into the snow, already looking very shabby and old. He recognized this thing because Li Cheng Yin would always carry it around with him. Pei Zhao did not know what he was thinking, but only felt that the Li Cheng Yin who had recklessly led the army, seemed to have disappear. Right now in front of him was the Li Cheng Yin who is the Crown Prince, reserved and steady with unpredictable thoughts. Even in the army, he seemed so lonely.
Li Cheng Yin led the army to return to the Capital. They did not cross the river yet, but suddenly he got sick. At first, he started to vomit and and then have diarrhea. Not long after, he began to vomit blood two or three days later. The military doctor felt helpless, only saying that it was caused by the unpleasant air in his body.
Pei Zhao sent someone to report to the emperor about this while opening a sack that was given by his father. His father had warned him to only open the sack during critical situations. When the army had won the war, Pei Zhao thought that there was no need to use the sack anymore.
It turns out there was nothing else inside besides a black pill wrapped in oil paper, which was very glossy. With a glance, he could not identify what it was.
Pei Zhao thought for a while before taking out his knife to scrape a bit of the powder from the pill, hesitantly putting it into his own mouth, a spiciness could be felt in his mouth, once it’s swallowed it caused his own body to sweat because of the spiciness.
He’s a very cautious man, waited for half a day, but there wasn’t any side effects. At this time, Li Cheng Yin had vomiting blood again before falling asleep, the doctors kept on feeding him medicine, but there was no signs of recovery. Seeing that there was no one in the tent, Pei Zhao quietly grabbed the medicine pill, pouring a cup of water from his own water pouch, lifted Li Cheng Yin up to feed him the medicine pill.
Li Cheng Yin was so sick that he was feeling dizzy, using all his strength just to open his eyes to look at him. But he did not ask anything, only swallowing the water that was fed to him..
A few days later, Li Cheng Yin finally became conscious, slowly recovering. Pei Zhao was still not at ease, using the excuse that the servants serving Li Cheng Yin were being incompetent, sending those servants to the horse shed to do dirty tasks. He switched the servants with the guards he had brought from his own household, and despite that, he must taste the food everyday before giving it to Li Cheng Yin.
While they were alone, Li Cheng Yin said: "Ah Zhao saved me again."
Pei Zhao said: “It was this subject that was too careless, it should have occurred to me that someone was unwilling to allow your Highness to return after winning the war."
Li Cheng Yin laughs: "Anyways it’s not the first time that has happened, I am neither the son of the first wife or the eldest son, so for me to be living in the Eastern Palace, it would arouse the envy of others."
Pei Zhao had held back the words that he wanted to say. Before he had strongly urged Li Cheng Yin not to lead the army himself. Losing the war would be unfavourable, but winning the war would be even worse.
He was already the crown prince who will eventually ascend the throne. The right thing to do is to make no mistakes, why put yourself in danger?
At this time, Li Cheng Yin faintly said: "You don't understand, I must take Qi Qi Ya’s life."
If someone else had went, they would have just captured Qi Qi Ya alive, giving him to the Emperor. The Emperor would exempt him from punishment, but would still confine him in the Capital as an act of surrender to the Mohe clan.
Even Pei Zhao doesn’t understand why a crown prince who has always been wise and decisive must be so reckless in this matter.
If someone else had went, they would have just captured Qi Qi Ya alive, giving him to the Emperor. The Emperor would exempt him from punishment, but would still confine him in the Capital as an act of surrender to the Mohe clan.
Even Pei Zhao doesn’t understand why a crown prince who has always been wise and decisive must be so reckless in this matter.
For example, he wanted to sneak into Western Liang. Pei Zhao had originally wanted to send someone to inquire about the King of Western Liang, but he didn’t expect that Li Cheng Yin wanted to sneak into Western Liang alone.
Pei Zhao tried to persuade him not to go alone, but Li Cheng Yin said: "Eventually I am going to marry her, can’t I take a look first?”
Those words made Pei Zhao speechless, even if he was mature and prudent, he could not stop this young man’s bold and justifiable reasoning.
Therefore, Pei Zhao could only lead the Yu Lin army to meet up with Gu Jian first. At this moment, Li Cheng Yin had already sneaked into the imperial city of Western Liang.
Western Liang is a country in the west that provides a large source of food, so many merchants would come here to do business. However this country is not as prosperous as the Central Plains, the walls of the palace were made out of sand and bricks, and white mud was used to make the place look clean, grasses were grown in the middle of the palace. Many rooms in the palace were empty, there was no bed, only a woven mat made out of sheepskin could be seen.
Li Cheng Yin had never imagined that the palace would be so simple. It was his first time acting as a thief, so he couldn’t help but take a deep breath, going through each palace room, but he was still empty handed by the morning.
Li Cheng Yin was not discouraged even though all his efforts were in vain. He was about to leave the palace, when he heard some noise, so he hid behind the wall. A few palace maids were seen carrying buckets of hot water, splashing water at each other and laughing along the way. Hearing that the palace maids were talking about the ninth princess, Li Cheng Yin immediately climbed up the roof.
No one knew that the palace maids would carry the buckets of water into one of the palace rooms, and that these palace rooms are connected together, but the roof was not connected using beams. Seeing that it was inconvenient to sneak inside from the roof, Li Cheng Yin walked around in circles until he has reached the back room, he jumped into the rear window when he noticed that no one was around. When he saw that the reed curtains were hanging down, he gently pushed the curtains to the side with the sheath of his sword. Suddenly a red cloud like object was thrown at the curtains, Li Cheng Yin thought he had been discovered, he was so shocked that he pulled the sword out of the sheath. The famous sword he was using was so sharp that it could cut through gold, anything could vanish in a flash such as this red cloud like object which was cut apart by the sword, silently falling to the ground. Li Cheng Yin’s vision was looking at a young girl’s back that was as smooth as jade, the sunlight was scattered on her back through the curtains, which coated a thin layer of golden colour onto the skin.
Notes:
[1] 胡 Hu - A general term referring to ethnic minorities.
[2] 汗国 Khanate - An area governed by a Khan, often referred to as Mongol State.
[3] 靺鞨 Mohe - An ethnic group in which the Manchu people originated from.
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