Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 26.4

Chapter 26.4
This Servant Is Liu Xiniang

Zhu Que swept a glance and smiled. He arched his hand and said, “Congratulations to my Inspection Department for adding one more agent. Now, follow me to pay respects –“

“I want to go out.” Luo Wanqing interrupted him. Zhu Que was stunned. Luo Wanqing clenched her fists, raised her eyes to look at Zhu Que, and hoarsely said, “I have some important things to do. Can you wait until I finish it before doing the next thing?”

“This ……” Zhu Que hesitated. Before he could speak, a cold voice came from the attic not far away.

“Prepare a horse and let her go.”

Luo Wanqing couldn’t determine the strength of that voice. After receiving the permission, she turned around and rushed out.

She ran to the door, rolled onto her horse, and bolted towards the Guardian Temple. The Guardian Temple was the place she had been to the most when she was in Dongdu. She had made countless wishes there. But there was never a time when she was so pious. She wished that the person called Zhang Jiuran would survive.

She drove her horse frantically to the Guardian Temple.

Late at night, the temple didn’t have many guests. She searched for Zhang Jiuran’s traces while coming to the hundred-year-old tree, the location they had agreed upon. With a glance, she found traces of freshly dug soil and quickly scooped it with her hand. Not long after, she found a solid box and a jar of wine. She took the box out, and after opening it, the dagger Jiang Shaoyan had given her lay squarely inside, and there was also a letter.

Luo Wanqing opened the letter, and by the light of the moon, she saw the clear and elegant handwriting.

“Qingqing, my sister, seeing this letter is like a meeting. If you see this letter, you must have successfully passed the examination of the Inspection Department. We don’t have a chance to meet and congratulate each other, and I can only leave wine in advance. This journey should be bumpy. I do not know how you are now. There are some things I have not said, but now I have to say it. I was the Left Envoy from the Feng Yu Pavilion. Since I was young, I have inherited the Pavilion Master’s teaching. The Pavilion Master was my benefactor. He promised to help me take revenge and tried to assassinate Xie Heng several times. To repay his favor, I have done many things against my heart. I have regretted countless times in my life. Even death couldn’t pay for what I’ve done. I wanted to assassinate Xie Heng for the last time, but I never thought I would meet you in prison. The dagger in your hand is the blade that I pulled out from my father’s abdomen. I have been investigating for years and thought the blade was Xie Clan’s. Now, I know through your words that it belongs to the Empress’s Wang Clan. My master Xiang Sizi was Wang Clan’s dead soldier, and I have seen him have a broken blade. Now, I think that the person who killed my father should be the one who saved me and raised me. Recognizing the killer as a teacher and having done evil things, how can I carry on? Therefore, I decided to leave and regain a new life. You want to borrow my identity, so I let it be. Initially, I want to save your family before leaving. But unexpectedly, the Pavilion Master discovered this matter, and I can only tell the truth. Master didn’t know that I had a change of heart. He only knew that I wanted to leave the Feng Yu Pavilion. For the sake of the master and disciple relationship, he promised to settle Luo’s family members and let me go. If you successfully killed Xie Heng, you will be unrelated to Feng Yu Pavilion. If you fail, you won’t involve your family. If you don’t want to kill Xie Heng — the person who serves your family is Qing Lu, whom I trained. I have already explained to her, and you can find an opportunity to use the power of the Inspection Department to save the Luo family. I have already done my best to fulfill my promise to you. I am not a saint, and I have my own plans. If you hate me, I will accept it. I am grateful for your help. I’m on my way to the northwest. The world is vast, so we’d meet again if we had fate. In addition, I have a brother, Zhang Yiran, named Yu’an, a scholar from Changshun 11th (*). Please take care of him on the court if you are successful in the future. The road ahead is long, so please take me as a warning. Liu Xiniang, in the future, avenge your revenge but lead a successful life. Sinner Zhang Jiuran, farewell.”

T/N : the 11th year of Changshun era.

Luo Wanqing looked at this half-true, half-false letter and felt something stuck in her throat, painful. Her eyes reddened, and her hands trembled as she wanted to curse, but she didn’t know where to start.

She lied to her. To this day, she is still lying to her. What new life? She was clearly on her way to death. What ‘Master discovered this matter, for the sake of relationship between master and disciple’ –? The Feng Yu Pavilion must learn about this matter, so Xiang Sizi wanted to hold her family hostage. Then, she used their master-disciple relationship and asked for a way out.

If Luo Wanqing heeded Xiang Sizi’s words to assassinate Xie Heng, her family would have been fine, regardless of the outcome. Even if she didn’t, Liu Xiniang arranged an inside person for her. Then, she accepted the punishment, breaking her bones and abolishing her veins, from being just an ordinary person who has lost her inner strength to becoming a complete invalid. Until the end, she didn’t want her to avenge her, didn’t explain the original reason, but also said that she went to the northwest and asked her to take care of herself. The only request was to take care of her family and —

‘In the future, avenge your revenge but lead a successful life.’

Zhang Jiuran’s life has been full of despair and hardship, yet she didn’t hate the heavens or be jealous of others. At the end of her life, she still prayed for another girl who would walk on her old path to have a successful life.

Sinner Zhang Jiuran —

Luo Wanqing looked at the letter and shed tears. She could not keep this letter. She put the letter into the box containing the dagger. While holding the box and the wine bottle, she staggered to her feet, walked into the bright hall, and lit the letter on fire. As the flames burned, she saw a person lying outside. The person appeared to be a woman dressed in rags and covered in mud.