《一世真》中英翻译 CH. 25
三次元事多，beta小天使事儿也多，日更速度真心无法保证啦，不过不会牺牲质量滴~ ^^
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Lin Chen is sitting by the bed, his pale blue robes stained purple in larges patches. He has his eyes fixed on Lin Shu ever since he stepped in, yet the other man sees no one else but Jingyan. Lin Chen heaves a soft sigh and gives up his spot to him.
Lin Shu approaches the bed rather slowly. Jingyan's eyes are tightly closed, his breathing barely perceptible. Lin Shu watches him almost obsessively, his fingers digging into the side of the bed where the bloodstains are still fresh and wet. He lifts his trembling fingers to wipe off the crimson liquid on his armor and dimly registers that his hand is as cold as the steel vest.
He has never been so afraid. Not when he first went to battle and the enemy's sword narrowly missed his chest. Not when he came so close to death himself on Cliff Mei.
Lin Shu hears himself chant repeatedly, “Jingyan, fear not, you won't die.”
Perhaps his voice has reached the unconscious person on the bed, Jingyan struggles and finally opens his eyes. Lin Shu sees his own distressed face reflected in them.
“Xiaoshu……”
In his blurry awareness, Jingyan remembers the time when Mei Changsu was dangerously ill, and he was tightly holding those frail hands, just like the person in front of him now. Those words Mei Changsu had uttered in his feverish state, words that Jingyan did not hear clearly the first time, suddenly become more and more distinct a lifetime later in his drifting consciousness.
‘Jingyan, fear not…’
But as long as he lives, as long as he still has things he cares about and things he does not want to lose, he cannot truly be unafraid.
So you have come. As long as you are here, I would never be left with no recourse, and I would never be alone on this journey.
Jingyan parts his bloodless lips bit by bit, calling softly, “Sir...Su…”
His call is not answered.
Deep fatigue and incessant pain are tugging at him from two opposite directions, keeping him from sleeping but also from waking.
He closes his eyes tiredly and continues quietly, “Sir Su...Great Granny is ill. If only Mother was here, Great Granny would have been fine...it's all because of me...”
After a long silence, he hears a low voice reply hoarsely, “It's not your fault, Jingyan, Great Granny will be fine.”
Jingyan shakes his head minutely. He cannot confide those words to anyone but Mei Changsu.
“It will be fine. Jingyan, you will also be fine,” the voice continues, cold fingers dabbing some water onto his parched lips, “I am here.”
His eyes still closed, Jingyan coughs weakly, and then rasps out each word with reluctant conviction, “Xiaoshu is not here.”
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Lin Shu has been sitting like a statue by Jingyan's bedside this entire night. When the light of dawn begins to pierce the darkness outside and droplets of frost climb up the windows, Wei Zheng enters the hut and reminds him, “Vice Commander, we have to leave.”
Lin Shu makes no move to indicate that he has heard him, his head still turned towards the bed.
“Vice Commander…!” Li Gang also urges, taking a step forward.
“He's not going to die,” the blue-robed man says casually, leaning against the door frame, “Though he lost a lot of blood, the armor protected him from the worst of the strike. He's not going to die now if he didn't die last night.”
At that, Lin Shu finally turns his head to face the man, “Who are you?”
“I'm Mei Changsu,” Lin Chen answers after pinning Lin Shu with a long stare, then adds nonchalantly, “... 's friend.”
“Thank you for saving Jingyan. I need to go back to the camp now, please take good care of him,” Lin Shu bows rather formally to Lin Chen, “One more thing, do you have any drug that could make people have diarrhea or fever?”
“I'm a physician,” Lin Chen smiles mysteriously, adding in a devilish voice, “Of course I've got tons of drugs to hurt and maim. What do you want to do with them? Knock out all of Prince Qi's men?”
“I've killed everyone who was involved in the assassination,” Lin Shu says emotionlessly, “And I won't spare anyone else with similar motivations.”
Zhanying, who has been observing on the side, jumps up in a fury and accuses, “You killed them without even questioning!? You were so eager to destroy the evidence for Prince Qi, have you even considered His Highness’feelings?”
“It was not Brother Qi's doing. Keeping those men alive would not have brought Jingyan justice anyway, only fanning the flame for whomever orchestrated this whole thing.”
Lin Shu glances at Zhanying, who says bluntly, “His Highness said that since he is in charge of the security around the hunting grounds, it would be within his responsibility to prevent something like this assassination from happening, so he would not report the incident to His Majesty,” he gives a small sneer and continues, “Vice Commander, please feel free to inform Prince Qi so that he may rest assured.”
The lingering smile disappears on Lin Chen's face and he asks, “Then what are you planning to do with the drugs?”
“If we want to hide the fact that Jingyan has been injured, we need to make all the others sick to avoid suspicion.”
Lin Chen nods and fishes out a vial from his satchel, tossing it to Lin Shu, “Wrap this powder in a pouch and place it under a rock in the upstream of the river near the hunting grounds. The soldiers would be fine from drinking the water, but the more vulnerable nobles will have the diarrhea of their lives until the end of the Hunt.”
“Thank you,” Lin Shu tucks away the vial in his coat, “Please take care of Jingyan.”
Lin Chen raises an eyebrow, “You said that already.”
“Then please take a message to Mei Changsu,” Lin Shu stops in his tracks, his eyes unreadable, “Since he has dragged Jingyan onto this path, at least keep him safe.”
“Sure thing,” Lin Chen cocks his head in thought, then admits, “Actually, come to think about it, when he was around, Prince Jing was perfectly fine.”
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Just a few hours after Lin Shu left, Zhanying receives word that half of people in the camp have taken ill. Everyone from the emperor to the servants have been afflicted with a terrible diarrhea, so severe that they cannot even return to the capital. The imperial physicians are scratching their heads to find the cause, but in the end have to conclude that the excessive rain this season has washed too much mud into the river, which has caused abdominal pain. Their only recourse now is to have some medicine to alleviate the discomfort, but without any other source of clean water, they have to let the symptoms disappear on their own before going back to the capital.
“In the chaos no one would spare the energy to think about His Highness. One of the imperial physicians asked about him, and the Vice Commander said that His Highness went back to his tent last night and also fell ill, he has been resting ever since. The tent is securely guarded by our men,” reports the messenger.
Zhanying nods and asks, “Those three assassins were Prince Qi's men, what if the young Prince looks for them? Is he also ill?”
“He has a low fever, and has not asked about them. Vice Commander said that if he does ask, we shall say that they received orders to go join Prince Qi in the Qishui region.”
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It is three days later when Jingyan finally wakes up.
Lin Chen has changed into a clean set of white robes, he leans casually against the window, humming some unnamed melody with his fan tapping rhythmically against his leg.
“Awake?” He looks down at Jingyan, “I put some stimulant and pain-killer in your medicine, so you should have enough energy to ride in a carriage in a few days’time. You need a long period of rest when you get back, making palliative tonics is not my forte, so just take whatever herbs that seem expensive and useful.”
“...Why did you come?”
“You said that you'd let me borrow ‘Xiang Di Ji,’ I'm in desperate need of a travel guide to take Fei Liu on excursions.”
A mere book would not behoove the Young Master of the Langya Hall to pick it up himself. The only reason he came was to see Lin Shu's injuries from the Northern battles. He and Jingyan both cannot help but worry when it comes to the North, no matter how slight the injury might be.
“How is Xiaoshu's health?” Asks Jingyan.
Rather annoyed at having his reasons spelled out, Lin Chen glares daggers at Jingyan, yet the other man has no intention of teasing him, his eyes only full of earnest concern for Lin Shu. Lin Chen swallows a curse and sighs in surrender, “You are so absolutely dull.”
“...What happened to those assassins?”
“All dead,” Lin Chen replies, “Lin Shu killed all three of them.”
Jingyan closes his eyes for a long, silent moment.
“He was rather relentless, though I don't think there would've been a better way to deal with them than what he did,” says Lin Chen.
“...”
“Do you still think that the Lin Shu of today shouldn't have killed them?” Lin Chen asks with his eyebrows raised, “As long as he is involved in the court, you cannot expect him to never dirty his hands.”
Fingering the porcelain jade pendant from his fan, Lin Chen sighs softly, “Besides, you were not the only reason for which he did it.”
Jingyan agrees calmly, “For the sake of Brother Qi, even if he didn't kill them, I would have.”
“Though your vice general Zhanying was very upset with him, thinking that he was covering for Prince Qi and ignoring your predicament.”
"Brother Qi would never kill me, someone else wanted to plant discord between us,” Jingyan then says, frowning deeply, as if making the most difficult decision, “But if he comes again, I will not see him.”
Lin Chen hears the underlying meaning and probes, “Are you really going to use this incident to break ties with Lin Shu? You know that soon your reputation will be in tatters and your name detested by all, that’s why you are so eager to alienate yourself from him now, saving him from being sullied from your sordid dealings?”
“...”
“Have you thought about the consequences of those sacrifices you are making? The way I see it, just have him help you, after everything is settled, even if you can't stay in the capital, the two of you can just go see the world together.”
Jingyan shakes his head, “Although he has always longed for the pugilist life, the way of the nobles still suits him more. Being the Chief of the Jiangzuo Alliance at the time was little more than a strategic move, not truly his heart's desire. Plus, he still has his family…”
“Basically you don't want him to become even a little bit like Changsu,” Lin Chen cuts him off, “Xiao Jingyan, you know that Mei Changsu did not materialize out of thin air, and those devious strategies were not sent to him in a vision by the gods?”
He lowers his head and caresses the jade pendant in the shape of an intricately carved plum blossom, “Inside Mei Changsu reside the spirit and soul of Lin Shu.”
“...That doesn't sound like something the Young Master of the Langya Hall would say.”
“Do you think the reason I'm telling you all this is for your sake?” Lin Chen pushes himself from the window, advancing towards Jingyan with a somber look, punctuating his next words sharply, “Changsu asked me at the end to look after you in his absence. And I’ve kept this promise for my entire life. I thought twenty years was enough.”
When the clock dials back, everyone is alive, yet there is still no Mei Changsu.
The Young Master Lin has always been a proud man, never willing to suffer any loss in a bet. But for this promise with Mei Changsu, he has suffered a lifetime.
Jingyan tells him, “Twenty years is enough.”
“Doesn't count when you say it,” Lin Chen pauses on his way out, turning his head slightly to say, “I made this promise with Mei Changsu, it has nothing to do with you.”
