Ink Burns

Chapter 170 So what if they're actors?

Princess Jing'an slowly closed her eyes. Only when her eyes were closed could she see Helang's face in the darkness: she missed him so much, so much that it was to the bone, so much that it clouded her mind, so much that she was confused by love.

Some people are destined to face a lifetime of hardship.

We met for only three short years, yet we will never forget each other.

Crane, oh Crane... Crane.

Everyone praised Xue Xiao for his youthful arrogance and brilliant talent, but they had long forgotten that thirty years ago, the Great Wei Dynasty also had a top scholar who was only twenty years old. Dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, with purple robes and red flowers, he swaggered through the city, his raised eyebrows and smile exuding charm, blowing away the dust and rain of Jiangnan and the weeping willows on the riverbank.

Xue Xiao? Xue Xiao is nothing! Xue Xiao has the backing of a century-old prestigious family; his studies and examinations are taken care of by the clan! He Lang's family, on the other hand, has fallen on hard times. Although he comes from a prominent family in Jiangnan, his clan is already on its last legs and can't even afford the travel expenses for his journey to the capital for the imperial examinations. He can only earn his money by selling paintings.
Helang passed the imperial examination with top honors, and everyone said, "Today's top scholar is as handsome as Pan An, absolutely gorgeous." She then pestered Xu, the eunuch beside her brother, to go to the palace to watch the excitement.

The eunuch Xu disguised her as a young eunuch and led her behind him. She huddled behind him, listening to her brother ask questions while sitting on the dragon throne.

The older brother asked, "How many people are in the family?"

He replied, "There are three people in my family: my elderly mother and mother and him."

The older brother asked, "How much income does the family make in a year?"

He replied, "Grain and rice that fill the stomach are worth a hundred taels of silver, clothes that keep you warm are worth a thousand taels of gold, and a peaceful mind and good health are priceless."

The elder brother asked, "Is it easy to go to the capital?"

He replied, "It's not easy. But fortunately, I have poetry and books as stepping stones and learning as a path. Despite countless hardships, I've persevered step by step, and fate has blessed me."

Who would regard hardship as a blessing from fate?
She peeked out from behind Eunuch Xu, just as he also bowed and looked up. Their eyes met, a blessing from fate.

After he finished kowtowing to the Emperor, the top scholar's crimson feather had somehow been blown onto the gold-plated bricks of the Qian Yuan Hall. She picked up the long crimson feather and chased after him, crying, "Top Scholar Fu! Top Scholar Fu! Your...your feather! Your feather! Your feather is gone!"

He turned around upon hearing this, and seeing that it was her, the corners of his mouth slightly opened, his voice gentle, with a hint of teasing: "I have two feet and two arms, so naturally I am born as a human being. These feathers were borrowed from the Peacock Gentleman, so it is clear that I was not born with them."

Her face flushed red from head to toe.

He seemed to have succeeded in his prank, his smile growing even wider. While laughing, he took a half step back, bowed respectfully, and clasped his hands together in a near-perfect salute to her: "It was just a student's joke. Please don't take offense, Princess."

Before she could get angry, his smile vanished, and his expression turned serious: "However, thank you for your kind words, Princess. Now that I have become the top scholar, I will surely be like a golden feather with wings, a loyal minister, a good minister, a wise minister, relieving the emperor's worries, relieving the people's difficulties, and rising straight up to the top."

She was startled.

Before she could even ask, "How did you know I was a princess?", the newly appointed top scholar had already vanished without a trace.

The story of the top scholar and the princess began like a play, beautiful and lively. But the play did not tell her that after the beautiful ending came countless difficulties. When Emperor Taizong of the Great Wei Dynasty established the new dynasty, he made it clear that "those who marry princesses shall not hold important positions." After marrying her, Helang was sent to the Court of State Ceremonial to take up a sinecure. Unless there were envoys to pay homage or to go on a foreign tour, his position as Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial was just a decoration. When others talked about his greatest achievements, they said that he "married the princess who was the son of the emperor" and was "the top scholar".

His passion and brilliance were quickly worn down. He grew increasingly thin.

He didn't want to blame her, nor did he want to blame the feelings between them, so he could only endlessly reflect on himself, blame himself, and resent himself. When people think too much, they become distorted, and a distorted person gradually becomes unlike the person he used to be.
When the Tatars invaded, the Su family fought back, suffering over a thousand casualties. He paced anxiously at home, thinking, "The Su family are just amateurs who came to military service halfway through their lives. How many military books have they read? Can they even recite the Thirty-Six Stratagems? If it were a Jiangnan gentry family that had been strategizing on sand tables since childhood, how could they have suffered eight hundred casualties while killing a thousand enemies?! We must have a better way to deal with this!"

When corrupt officials appeared in the court, embezzling more than 20,000 taels of silver, he sneered: "Emperor Taizong was of humble origin, so he was afraid that someone would seize his throne. He established a series of ironclad rules and regulations to protect the country he had worked so hard to build. If he hadn't eradicated the gentry in Jiangnan, how could these commoners have become the rulers of the court? The imperial examinations are arduous. When poor people pass the exams, it's like suddenly becoming rich after a long period of poverty. They will definitely make a fortune while in office to justify all the hardships they have endured over the years!"

If someone in the same department is promoted, he becomes even more anxious: "Another grassroots person has risen to the top. His family probably has no books, his family genealogy probably has no more than four pages. He has no foundation whatsoever, yet he climbs step by step. He has no solid foundation and is probably about to fall in mid-air!"

He blamed everything on Emperor Taizong.

Emperor Taizong's suppression of the aristocratic clans dragged him down from his lofty position back into the mud.

Emperor Taizong forbade his son-in-law from taking office, which caused him to be depressed at home, unable to put his talents to use.

How kind of him! He blamed Emperor Taizong, not her.

She did nothing wrong. Although she carried the original sin of being a princess, he naturally forgave her because of his love for her.

In just three or four years, Helang passed away amidst his endless struggles and resentment. However, she had some vague thoughts: Perhaps Emperor Taizong was really wrong? Perhaps the Jiangnan gentry, who had prospered for a century, were extraordinary people with exceptional abilities? Perhaps if they were in power, the situation would be better?
She has some natural bloodline advantages, while her brother Xu Jusheng is a benevolent ruler who is easily swayed. Why doesn't she try to take over the power and put the Jiangnan gentry, whom Helang cherishes and is proud of, back in their rightful place?

The initial idea is no longer clear.

But as she put her ideas into practice, she gradually began to experience the taste of power.

What a nice view.

So sweet.

So hot.

She was like a chess player, manipulating each piece to go where it was meant to go, to achieve her desired goal—this was even more captivating than dizzying love.

When people have power, love is merely an embellishment.

He Lang can never come back. She can use her power to have thousands of "He Langs". She can even use her power to compile her story with He Lang into a play that will be remembered for all time. Of course, in the end, the story can only end with the beautiful noble lady and the poor scholar becoming husband and wife and living happily ever after.

It's alright that Helang is dead.

She closed her eyes, and Tsururo accompanied her in the darkness.

When she opened her eyes, "He Lang" was right beside her: for example, her second husband, Zhou Xingyun, whose eyebrows and eyes were exactly the same as He Lang's. When he played the role of the top scholar on the stage and sang opera, he looked exactly like He Lang, said the same words as He Lang, and looked at her just like He Lang looked at her!