A Clash of Gods - Chapter 35

Chapter 35 All in White
Eastward flowed the river. Far in the distance lay the splendid and grotesque mountains, surrounded by cloud and mist. The scenery was breathtaking.

The water of ten thousands of miles of the Yangtze River descended from heaven, rolling and entering the ocean. All the way west, it climbed steep mountains, cut across dangerous places, and finally became narrowly contained within its banks for being blocked by the Jilong Mountain. Infinite fascinating sceneries were hidden in dangerous peaks. The integration of mountains and rivers presented a natural and magnificent landscape.

The Zhongshan Mountain was like a dragon, and the Stone City a tiger. The capital city Jianye, near the mountains and by the river, was north to the Zhoushan Islands, the Jilong Mountain and the Xuanwu Lake, east to the Zhongshan Mountain, and west to the Stone City. The running river rolled and roared day and night endlessly.

All the way to the capital, Duan Canghai and others had made appropriate arrangements for Yang Ning in terms of food, accommodation and itinerary. They provided thorough and satisfactory service, bringing great comfort to Yang Ning as the son of the nobility.

Yang Ning didn’t talk much along the way, so other people dared not ask too much. After crossing the Yangtze River, they arrived in the capital Jianye within less than one day by accelerating their speed.

Although Yang Ning had seen the world, the grandeur of Jianye still took his breath. Its atmosphere of solemnity and reverence was what he hadn’t seen in his previous life.

The ridges and peaks looked as if gathered, like towering gates seen from the distance. The water of the Huaishui River flowed down from mountains, winding its way to the capital. Surrounded by mountains and rivers was the grand and magnificent capital Jianye, the first city of the Southern Chu State.

As the saying went, “There are thirteen inner gates and eighteen outer gates in Jianye.” That meant there were thirteen inner city gates and eighteen outer city gates in Jianye, which showed the splendor of the capital city.

Entering Jianye, Yang Ning immediately felt the magnificent atmosphere of this ancient city.

The roads in the city were criss-crossed, but extremely wide. The shops stood in great numbers and lined up along the streets. The streets were bustling with people and jammed with vehicles and horses, which was a riotous affair. Being in this capital city, people could only feel the prosperity and vigor of the empire, and would hardly think about those miserable and homeless common people.

Jianye seemed to be a fairyland of the empire. No matter who was in it, they would forget the potential crisis of the empire, and would be rubbed off by the hustle and bustle of the capital, thinking that the world was prosperous and peaceful.

The eighteen outer gates of the capital seemed to divide the Southern Chu State into two worlds. One was the world outside the city, and the other was the world inside the city. People here were dressed in fine clothes and rode on well-groomed horses, and they would greet each other with smile. The dazzling array of goods in the shops demonstrated the immense wealth of the empire, which was different from what Yang Ning had seen in the Huize county seat.

Jianye was a big city, and the imperial court stood in the middle of it. If the capital was the crown of the Southern Chu State, then the imperial court was the bright pearl mounted the crown.

People in the capital could see the brilliance of the pearl, but couldn’t feel the luxury and extravagance in the imperial court.

Yang Ning entered this magnificent ancient capital for the first time, so he looked left and right, with his eyes fully occupied. Following Duan Canghai and others, he had unconsciously wandered about the streets and lanes one after another.

“Hey, what…what is that river?” Suddenly Yang Ning saw not far from him a trickling river with a jade-like arch bridge over it, so he couldn’t help asking.

Duan Canghai and others were stunned for a while, but Qi Feng had already smiled and said, “Your Excellency, have you forgotten this river after leaving here for just over ten days? This is the Qinhuai River.”

“The Qinhuai River?”

“The Qinhuai River extends to the city, and it is bifurcated into two branches. One becomes the main stream, the Outer Qinhuai River. It flows around the city, flowing past the Zhonghua Gate, the Shuixi Gate and the Dinghuai Gate, and then enters the Yangtze River from the Sancha River,” Qi Feng showed a smiley face, explaining, “The other one is the Inner Qinhuai River. It enters the city from the East Water Pass of the Tongji Gate, and it is bifurcated into the northern and southern branches at the Huaiqing Bridge. The southern branch, flowing past the Confucius Temple and the Wende Bridge, flows out of the city at the West Water Pass of the Shuixi Gate. The northern branch starts from the Ancient Yundu River, flowing past the Inner Bridge and the Zhanggong Bridge, and finally enters the main stream through the culvert…” He pointed to the bridge, “That is the Zhanggong Bridge.”

Duan Canghai glanced at Qi Feng and said to himself, “Our master is not that smart. He will be confused when he finds things hard to understand. You have chatted for a long time, so he definitely can’t remember anything.”

Yang Ning replied “Oh.” And he didn’t say too much.

Having passed through several streets and lanes, Duan Canghai suddenly made a sound, “Eh?” They looked over, and saw that white mourning cloth was hung in front of the houses along the street ahead.

“Which lord died?” Qi Feng urged the horse to speed up immediately, wondering.

Yang Ning also saw the white mourning cloth waving in the air along the street, and asked, “Is someone dead?”

Duan Canghai thought that the earl was really outspoken and blunt, explaining, “Your Excellency, maybe a lord has passed away. In order to express condolences, citizens living on the nearby streets will hang white mourning cloths on their own initiative. An ordinary person cannot enjoy such treatment, so the one who passed away must be a lord loved and esteemed by the people.” Getting down from the horse, he said in a deep voice, “Dismount from the horses!”

These men all dismounted. Yang Ning knew that it was probably a kind of etiquette, so he also dismounted.

This street was not a high street, so there were not many people. They walked on the street, adding a lethargic atmosphere to it. After walking forward for a while, they suddenly saw some people pointing and talking about them at the side of the street. Duan Canghai and his men frowned. They crossed the long street, and then turned to another alley. At the end of the alley, a wider street appeared before their eyes.

“Your Excellency, this is the Pipa Street. Won’t you forget it?” Duan Canghai said, “We are home now.”

Walking down the street, Yang Ning found that the Pipa Street was not only wide and long, but also very clean. The street was neatly paved with dark slabstones. There would be a mansion with a pair of large stone lions before its door every certain distance. Dozens of stone lions were lined up on both sides of the Pipa Street, squatting in front of their mansions. They widened their eyes idly, waiting for vehicles and people walking through the street.

Yang Ning looked to both sides while walking. This long street seemed to have no end. Over ten mansions were located on this street, the owners of which were all dignitaries. The plaques of these mansions were written with “Mansion of Minister”, “Mansion of General”, or “Mansion of Marquis”. A white mourning cloth was hung from the door of each mansion.

Many mansions were guarded by soldiers. And when these guards saw them passing through the long street, they all talked about them.

Seeing this, Duan Canghai’s look became graver, and he lengthened his stride. Soon, they saw that the mansion before their eyes was decorated with white mourning cloth. And even the guards standing in front of the door were also in white mourning dresses.

Duan Canghai suddenly stood still, and the rest of them were also frightened. Duan Canghai staggered for a while, and then hurriedly stepped forward. The men followed him were also grim-faced.

These people all looked quite strange, so Yang Ning thought, “Don’t tell me that a person in your mansion died.”

Duan Canghai and his men hurried to the gate of the mansion. Seeing this, a guard standing in front of the gate rushed forward and cried, “Brother… Brother Duan, you finally come back…” Before he could finish, he was choked with sobs.

“What happened?” Duan Canghai’s face was pale, “Is the… Is the Dowager…”

Yang Ning was stunned, thinking that his premonition was fucking true. This was really a coincidence. He needed to attend a funeral the first day he entered the capital?

“No…” The guard quavered, “It’s… It’s the general…”

At this time, everyone turned pale. Duan Canghai’s expression became terrifying. He grabbed the man’s collar, screaming angrily, “Fucking bullshit. The general is fighting at the front. How can… Tell me, who is it?”

At this time, another guard came up and sobbed, “Brother Duan, it’s…it’s the general. Our general…general had passed away!”

Duan Canghai, Qi Feng and other men all looked pale. Duan Canghai took a step forward, his legs trembling, and then he collapsed. The men next to him hurriedly support him. The rims of Duan Canghai’s eyes turned red instantly, and then he gave a howl of pain. This true man actually burst into tears in an instant. Qi Feng and others also wailed bitterly and beat their breasts, as if their fathers were dead.

Yang Ning froze for a moment, guessing that the general they said might be the father of the earl.

The son just died outside, and now the father also died?

“Tell… Tell the Third Lady, our earl is back… Be quick,” Duan Canghai cried and suddenly pulled Yang Ning to his side, “Your Excellency, General… General has passed away…”

Yang Ning had never seen that general before, so he had no feeling for him at all. He was struck dumb for a while, thinking that they wouldn’t let him cry now.

He raised his head and looked at the plaque above the vermilion gate. The plaque was quite huge, written with four dancing words “Mansion of the Marquis of Honor”. The four gilded words looked rather shiny.

Someone had already entered the mansion to send the massage. Duan Canghai grabbed Yang Ning’s arm, and led him to the mansion. As soon as they came in, they found that the whole mansion was decorated with white mourning cloth, like clouds. They could hear the tearful cry from the hall in front of them. There were many people dressed in white on the two sides of hall, who seemed to be maids and footmen.

Yang Ning was a little dazed and followed Duan Canghai blankly. The people on both sides were shocked when they saw Yang Ning. Many of them also were glad to see him. They all knelt before him. Then a clear and melodious voice sounded, “Ning? Is Ning back?”

Hearing the voice, Yang Ning thought that the woman’s voice was really pleasant to ears, like small bells. Then he wondered why she also called him “Ning”. Did she know his name?

Suddenly, he saw a group of people coming to him. They all wore white mourning dresses. The person leading them was a young woman at the age of twenty-six or twenty-seven, with a charming stature and a graceful demeanor. She had a prominent nose and bright eyes, and her skin was as fair and flawless as white jade. She didn’t seem to wear makeup, but this actually revealed her pure and natural charm.

She was in white, which made her as pretty as a beauty in a portrait of a lady. She was walking towards him with graceful paces.

“Third Lady!” Duan Canghai knelt down. Qi Feng and others also dropped on their knees, with tears streaming down their faces.

The beautiful Third Lady grabbed Qi Ning’s wrist. As soon as she touched Yang Ning, Yang Ning felt that the beautiful young woman’s hands were warm and smooth, like porcelain.

“All of you must be tired,” The Third Lady’s eyes turned red, “Even if the general…general has passed away, he must be gratified if he knows that you have brought the earl home in time. Get up quickly, and don’t keep kneeling…” Speaking of this, her voice was choked. Yang Ning saw that tears welled up in her beautiful eyes and she looked like a fairy. The red mole on the inner part of her right eyebrow added more charm to her beauty.

“Third Lady. Why this happened?” Duan Canghai stood up, clenching his fists, “The war is over. General… How can the general…?”

The Third Lady said, “I will tell you later.” She looked at Yang Ning, and said, “Ning, change your clothes and follow me into the mourning hall!”