The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 34 – Part 11

He Biweng still hesitated. Zhao Min cried out, “Master He, you are a good man, not a lecher like your shixiong.¹ Quick, take your shixiong prisoner! When my father promotes you to a high office, there will be rich rewards besides.” The Twin Xuanming Elders possessed extraordinary martial arts, yet because they thirsted for rank and riches, they had cast aside the dignity of first-rank masters to serve in a prince's mansion as hired blades. He Biweng had long known his shixiong to be lustful and lecherous, and Zhao Min's words carried seven or eight parts of belief. The promise of promotion stirred his heart as well, and for a moment he could neither resolve to act nor to forbear.

Lu Zhangke’s face went ashen. He said in a trembling voice, “Shidi,² if you want promotion and fortune, come and take me.”

He Biweng sighed. “Shige,³ let us go.” He walked side by side with Lu Zhangke, and the two of them strode away together.

The Twin Xuanming Elders awed the capital, and the warriors of the Prince of Ruyang’s mansion revered them as though they were gods. Who would dare stand in their way? The Prince of Ruyang shouted order after order, but the warriors merely made a show of clamour and pretence, yelling loudly while doing nothing. Before long the Twin Xuanming Elders turned their backs and went swaggering down the mountain.

The Prince of Ruyang said, “Minmin, since you are wounded, come back with me at once and be treated.” Zhao Min pointed at Zhang Wuji. “This Young Master Zhang saw Lu Zhangke bullying me. He saw an injustice in the road and lent a hand. Brother failed to grasp the situation and called him some sort of rebel and traitor. Father, I have a matter of great importance to attend to with Young Master Zhang. When it is accomplished, I will come with him and kowtow to you together.”

The Prince of Ruyang heard in her words the implication that she meant to give herself in marriage to this man. His son had said this fellow was the Order Leader of the Ming Order, and he himself had left the capital and marched south to muster troops against the Ming rebels of the Huai-Si and Yu-E regions. How could he let his daughter go off with such a man? He asked, “Your brother says this man is the Order Leader of the demonic cult. Is that true?”

Zhao Min said, “Brother loves to jest. Father, look at how young he is. How could he be the head of a rebellion?”

The Prince of Ruyang studied Zhang Wuji. He saw a youth of no more than twenty-two or twenty-three, his face haggard from his wounds, the vigour and spirit gone from his bearing, looking less than ever like the commander of a host of hundreds of thousands. But he knew his daughter well: she was cunning and resourceful. Even if this man were not the Order Leader, he was likely an important figure among the demonic cult. He could not let him go. He said, “Take him to the city and question him thoroughly. If he proves not to be of the demonic cult, I shall see him rewarded.” In speaking thus he had already given thought to his daughter’s face, sparing her the embarrassment of defying him before so many witnesses.

Four warriors accepted the order and drew near. Zhao Min wept. “Father, do you truly mean to drive your daughter to death?” She pressed the dagger half an inch into her chest, and blood at once soaked through her robe. The Prince of Ruyang cried in alarm, “Minmin, do not be foolish!” Zhao Min wept on. “Father, your daughter is unfilial. I have already married Young Master Zhang in secret. Let your daughter go. Otherwise I will die before you this instant.” The Prince of Ruyang tugged at his own beard with his left hand, cold sweat beading his forehead. In the command of armies and the breaking of enemies he was a man who decided in a breath, yet faced with this awkward business of his beloved daughter, he found himself at a loss.

Wang Baobao said, “Sister, both you and Young Master Zhang are wounded. Come back to the mansion with Father for the time being, and let the famous physicians tend you. Then Father can preside over the marriage. Father gains a fine son-in-law, and I gain a heroic brother-in-law. Is that not well?” His words were smoothly turned, but Zhao Min knew them for a delaying tactic. Once Zhang Wuji fell into their hands, what life would he have? He would be put to death within the hour. She said, “Father, where the hen marries, there she stays; where the dog marries, there she stays.⁴ Dead or alive, I follow Young Master Zhang. There are but two roads before you. If you would spare your daughter’s life, let the matter rest. If you would have your daughter die, it would cost you no more effort than to blow away a speck of dust.”

The Prince of Ruyang said in anger, “Minmin, you had best think carefully. If you follow this rebel, you are no longer my daughter from this day forth.”

Zhao Min’s heart twisted a hundred turns. She could not bear to part with her father and brother. She thought of the love and tenderness they had always shown her, and it was as though a blade cut at her heart. Yet if she hesitated even a little, Zhang Wuji’s life was lost at once. She must save her beloved first and seek her father and brother’s forgiveness afterwards. She said, “Father, Brother, this is all Minmin’s fault. You… you forgive me.” The Prince of Ruyang saw that his daughter’s resolve would not turn. He deeply regretted having spoilt her too much all these years, letting her roam the jianghu⁵ as she pleased, until she had come to this. He knew her well: willful since childhood, and pressed too hard she would certainly stab her own chest and die. He let out a long sigh, tears streaming down his face, and said in a choked voice, “Minmin, take good care of yourself. Father is going… you… you take care in everything.”

Zhao Min nodded, not daring to look at her father a moment longer.

The Prince of Ruyang turned and walked slowly down the mountain. His attendants led over his horse, but he seemed not to hear or see them and did not mount. After a hundred feet or so he suddenly turned back and said, “Minmin, is your wound serious? Have you any money on you?” Zhao Min nodded through her tears. The Prince of Ruyang said to his attendants, “Give my two horses to the High Princess.” The guards accepted the order and led the horses to Zhao Min’s side, then accompanied the Prince of Ruyang down the mountain. The six Tibetan monks who had been struck down lay crumpled on the ground, unable to rise. The remaining monks paired off, two supporting one each, and followed behind.

Before long the party had vanished entirely, and only Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min were left.

Footnotes

1. 师兄 – shīxiōng. Male senior fellow disciple. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Xiōng means older brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 师弟 – shīdì. Male junior fellow disciple. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Dì means younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 师哥 – shīgē. Colloquial form of shixiong (师兄), a male senior fellow disciple of the same shimen. Shī means teacher. Gē means elder brother. ↩

4. A Chinese proverb meaning a wife follows her husband wherever fate takes them, as inseparable as a hen following a hen or a dog following a dog. ↩

5. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩