Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
Su Chaoci’s Side Story: Amidst the Colorful Clouds
________________________________________
01: Difficult Situation
Outside the window, a storm was brewing. Su Chaoci rolled up his sleeves to grind ink, hesitating for a long time before finally writing the single phrase, “Hoping for your return.”
The candlelight cast shadows on his tightly furrowed brow.
Half a month later, on the night of Zhou Tan’s wedding, Zhou Yang, still smelling of alcohol, entered Su Fu through the back door and went into Su Chaoci’s study.
Zhou Yang held his liquor exceptionally well; he had drunk all night with Ren Shiming and showed little sign of intoxication. Su Chaoci looked up and saw his indifferent but reddened eyes.
“What is the origin of that woman?”
Su Chaoci closed the book in his hand and replied, “The daughter of a clean official from a scholarly family in the capital, and quite friendly with the Minister’s eldest daughter.”
Zhou Yang continued to ask, “Will she harm my brother?”
Su Chaoci shook his head: “I don’t know.”
After a pause, he added, “She’s just a young lady from a noble family. On her wedding night, she won’t cause much trouble. Since you’re back, go see him tomorrow.”
A faint, almost imperceptible cold light flickered in the young man’s eyes: “If she has ill intentions, I will kill her.”
Su Chaoci merely sighed: “She is a noble lady from an official family.”
Zhou Yang said disdainfully, “So what?”
Su Chaoci coughed, changing the subject: “It’s good that you made it back. These past few days, I haven’t been able to sleep. After all, my status is ambiguous, and on the surface, I’m not on good terms with your brother. If I went rashly, I don’t know how many of his plans I’d disrupt. But if I don’t go, I can’t rest easy... I also don’t know how his injuries are.”
Zhou Yang gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, a flicker of pain in his eyes: “I had intended to fight on the battlefield, earn some merit, and make my brother’s path easier... But traveling far with the army, news was scarce, leaving him here, I truly couldn’t rest easy. Besides, swords have no eyes, who knows, one day, I might...”
Su Chaoci rubbed his temples in thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Do you want to stay by his side?”
Zhou Yang replied without hesitation, “Of course... However, I traveled far initially because my brother was unwilling to keep family by his side. Too many ties might make things more difficult for him.”
Su Chaoci said, “I have an idea. Do you remember when Zhou Tan first returned to court from his posting and had a dispute with someone? I remember you were confined by Minister Ren, and you wore night clothes to block a knife for him, which landed on your back. Afterwards, you didn’t dare let him know, and instead came to me and Mr. Ai for treatment.”
“Yes, I remember,” Zhou Yang thought for a moment and immediately understood his meaning. “I was so foolish! This method is excellent. I already have a life-saving grace, and I’ll just ask Boss Ai to recommend me. Brother will certainly trust me.”
“But...” Su Chaoci hesitated, “Ayang, you have to think carefully. If you stay by your brother’s side in this capacity, you will miss out on opportunities in the military. Perhaps you will die at the hands of an unknown assailant, or in the shadows of a conspiracy, perhaps you will never achieve great deeds, or become a general or minister... Are you willing to accept that?”
Zhou Yang quickly retorted, “Little Minister Su, if your father could be resurrected... between him and your dream of being a prime minister, which would you choose?”
Su Chaoci opened his mouth but remained silent.
So Zhou Yang smiled: “I only have one relative left in this world. To me, he is more important than all dreams combined... I once asked my brother this question. At that time, my brother was young and greedy, saying he wanted both all this future and complete perfection. I don’t know if he can achieve it, but I am not as good as him; I must choose one of the two, without hesitation.”
He bowed, and his figure disappeared into the vast night: “Thank you.”
Su Chaoci relit the candle by his hand. The candlelight flickered erratically. Zhou Yang had left the door open, and the newly lit flame was blown out by the wind from outside.
The wind had blown for a long time, but the rain still hadn’t fallen.
________________________________________
02: Wandering in Dreams
For three consecutive days, Su Chaoci had the same strange dream.
In the dream, he sat by a window, beside him was a strange transparent glass, and sunlight streamed through it, warming his cheeks.
Voices echoed around him.
They sounded like human voices, yet not quite—raspy and rustling.
“...Sages, how should we define sages? Yuan Dao says, ‘When a sage appears, then he teaches the way of mutual generation and nurturing.’ Utmost good, utmost beauty, selfless, great, broad-minded, benefiting all under heaven—all the most exalted words can be used to describe them.”
“But I am unwilling to use words like ‘sage’ to define the ancients I revere. All people have selfish desires. The path of supreme sagacity is a perfect, imagined golden statue created by worshippers. That’s why, when I research historical figures, the first thing I do is look for flaws in historical records.”
“...”
Below him was a glistening floor, a scene so absurd he had never witnessed it before.
“With these harmless flaws, my golden statue can step down from the altar and become an ordinary person embracing all emotions, and the great ones must come from the ordinary.”
A woman, whose hair was not tied up and who wore no ordinary clothes, walked closer to him and gazed at him intently.
“Who is it?” he asked.
No one answered. The world twisted and tore, instantly returning to its original state.
The next day, when he first met Zhou Tan before the palace, he was still in a daze, not yet fully emerged from that bizarre dream.
“Little Minister Su...”
“My surname is Su, my given name is Ci, and my courtesy name is Qianling.”
A voice in the void asked in confusion.
“Qianling... Why do you never tell anyone you’re called Qianling?”
He felt a bit embarrassed and muttered, “Qianling sounds like a girl’s name.”
The other person chuckled softly, calling “Qianling” in his ear.
“In the morning I bid farewell to Baidi amidst colorful clouds, returning to Jiangling in a single day... It truly sounds like your name.”
The voice moved from the dream into reality, following him like a shadow. He gradually grew accustomed to its presence, and even more surprisingly, he discovered that the other person understood him remarkably well, knowing what he was thinking without even seeing him.
After his father’s death, the Burning Candle case arose, changes occurred in Bianjing, and Zhou Tan traveled far away. For a long time, he did not hear that voice again.
Until one evening, during a nap, pages rustled in the Privy Council, and the flower-patterned window was left open. In his deep dream, he once again saw that strange woman.
This dream was much more normal than before. He was on a pleasure boat on a great river, and the woman stood beside him, gazing at the sunset in front of them.
Su Chaoci turned his head and saw her appearance clearly.
Elegant, peaceful, serene, and overly scholarly. But this depth wasn’t the literary air of someone well-read and capable of spontaneous poetry; to be precise, it was more like the meticulousness of a historian, a compiler, or an artisan.
The woman reached out and touched his face.
Su Chaoci was filled with surprise and doubt, yet for some reason, he remained motionless, allowing that calloused hand to linger on his face.
He saw the woman shed a single clear tear.
“Twenty years with books, finally seeing you before me...”
He didn’t know where this woman came from, but they quickly became confidants.
“On the third day of the third month, by the wild riverside, wandering in spirit with you. Hope to see you.”
•
The renowned Prime Minister Su did not marry until he was nearly forty.
His wife’s identity was a mystery; she was neither from an aristocratic family nor a noble one. One day, the woman suddenly appeared, and Prime Minister Su abruptly married her.
His wife disliked socializing. After their marriage, she left the capital and traveled far. After a year or two, she bore him a daughter, then completely vanished without a trace. Apart from Su Chaoci, no one knew where she came from or when she passed away.
“Qianling, I am a foolish person, but I cherish you, and I cherish this romantic era, just as you cherish me and even more so the rivers and mountains. Seeing each other twice causes sorrow; it is better to return. When your life is complete, at the moment you close your eyes... we will surely meet again in another world.”
Su Chaoci lived to be sixty-six, accomplishing everything he wanted to do. When he died, scholars throughout the realm mourned, the emperor ceased court for seven days, and the crown prince personally carried the coffin. His name went down in history.
Before closing his eyes, he recalled their first meeting on a boat on the wild river outside the city on a clear day: the sails billowed, hair flew, and the colorful clouds of dusk filled the sky. He had escaped the clamor of worldly affairs and felt a peace he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
“We will surely meet again in another world.”
—I’m coming for you.
________________________________________
03: A Letter from the Heart to Zhou Xiaobai · Part Five
To Whom It May Concern:
It is said, “A scholar dies for his bosom friend.” We met in obscurity, ascended the golden palace, floated on the sea of officialdom, crossed dragon tracks, and understood state affairs, all in our youth. Our bond as confidants runs deep, far beyond mere acquaintance, hence I speak my mind freely and lay bare my heart in this letter.
The arguments provoked by the “Flower Trimming Edict” were countless. Looking at them from beginning to end, they mostly concerned military affairs, people’s livelihoods, border defense, and tax collection. You adhered to the Confucian path but vigorously implemented Legalist policies. I and the public discussed: those who implement reforms in the world are either as hard as copper and iron, impervious to all, or like spring breeze and rain, gradually enacting change. The former perish while the latter thrive, first receiving slander and then building reputation. Everyone knows how to choose the better option, but you were different.
I, Ci, humbly state: you were exceptionally talented and virtuous in your youth, acclaimed in your hometown. When you left Gusu, your fame spread for thousands of miles, sheltering all under your umbrella, the exemplar of the world. By the time you received the imperial edict, the old disgraces had dissipated like clouds, and you ascended to the cabinet, shining so brightly! Had it not been for the flower-trimming incident, you would have served for ten thousand years. I often reflect in my dreams, picking up my pen to examine myself: could the people you helped shield the clouds? Alas! Alas! Knowing you sacrificed yourself on the path, I dared not utter a single resounding word, bringing shame upon the scholars of this era, filled with endless regret, unable to control myself.
...
Bathing in the long wind together, crossing the sea, Li Bai’s poem says, “I think of the immortal in the eastern corner of the blue sea, where the sea is cold and there are many heavenly winds.” Su Shi’s verse says, “Released into the middle stream... just then, a lone crane flew from east of the river.” Thus, I know that the immortal in the eastern corner of the blue sea, and the one who flew and called past me on that previous night, was it not you? I reside by the wild ferry crossing of the Hengjiang, picking up my pen and forgetting my words. Zi Mei met the wind on the Huai River and felt, “Should I worry about anchoring in a humble, noisy place, or being blown into the vast ocean to finally be free?” I hope you find freedom... I have no talent to dedicate, I pace in mournful thought, my heart laid bare yet without words to convey your blood, only five colors remain to mourn the boundless.
Knowing your path, like white snow, your self-melting is indeed pitiable. I wish you strength.
---The End---
Google Sites
Report abuse