The Deer and The Cauldron

[smurf120]

I really enjoyed the tender details of the White Nun, she doesn't seem as distant with all the descriptions. However she should know very well her true enemies to be Wu San Gui and Li Zicheng instead all the Manchus.

I would love to read Sword Stained Royal Blood - where is it?

[Anh Nam]

Thanks Foxs

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for the update foxs.

I feel bad for the Princess. She lost everyone and everything she valued and the love of her life left China with another woman and never return for her. Sigh....tragic!

[crazee]

Thanks for the update foxs.

I feel bad for the Princess. She lost everyone and everything she valued and the love of her life left China with another woman and never return for her. Sigh....tragic!

"The winner takes it all, the loser has to fall"
Sigh.... always the case.

Thanks Foxs. Yes the princess's rather pitiful and she lost a hand...imagine so elegant, noble and with only 1 hand, but her skills are superb.

[foxs]

Smurf, unfortunately, I don't know. Anh, you are welcome. Sky, Crazee, you seem to know more about that story (Sword Stained with Royal Blood), I have not read it yet, and only after reading Jin Yong's note that I search that novel in the internet. It's not in spcnet's list either; the only reference was Xaari's excerpt on Chapter 3 and 6. Perhaps nobody has ever translated it; I wonder why? I thought Jin Yong's works are very popular.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Princess said, “If it’s not a big deal, then I can tell Huangdi Gege that you sent me to get his Forty-two-chapter Sutra, to be used for chanting the sutras and pray to Buddha, to ask the Bodhisattva to bless and protect his country so that it prospers and the people at peace, and Huangdi Gege will live a long, long live.”

Wei Xiaobao was delighted. “Wonderful,” he mused, “Turns out you sent the Princess to steal the sutra.” But then he realized that his luck was not good; if he did not come with the nun in white this time, most likely the sutra will fall into his hands, but now he had no hope.

The Empress Dowager said, “You have agreed. If the Emperor came to ask me, I will deny everything. Little child babbling nonsense, which one he will believe?”

Princess Jianning said, “Aiyo, Ma, you want to renege on your words? The sutra is obviously in here.”

The Empress Dowager sneered and said, “That’s easy. I will simply toss it into the stove and have it burned.”

The Princess laughed and said, “Alright, alright. I always say that I can’t win against you. Stingy mother, if you don’t want to reward me, then so be it; why did you bully your daughter?”

“You already have everything, what reward might you want from me?” Empress Dowager asked.

“I have everything, only one thing’s lacking,” the Princess replied.

“What’s lacking?” Empress Dowager asked.

“I lack a little eunuch to accompany me playing,” the Princess said.

The Empress Dowager laughed. “Little eunuch,” she said, “There are hundreds of them in the Palace; if you are lacking one who can accompany you playing, just send for one; and you are still dissatisfied?”

“No,” the princess said, “Those little eunuchs are extremely stupid, they are not fun at all. I want the little eunuch who’s serving Huangdi Gege, Xiao Guizi …”

Wei Xiaobao’s heart was shaken, “Unexpectedly this dead girl still remembers me,” he mused, “Accompanying her playing is not an easy task. Once I am not careful, laozi will deliver my old life.”

He heard the princess continued, “I asked Huangdi Gege, he said that he had sent Xiao Guizi out of the Capital on a mission. But it’s been so long and he is not back yet. Ma, go talk to the Emperor, tell him to give Xiao Guizi to me.”

Wei Xiaobao cursed her in his heart, “Demon girl, she wants to get me. If laozi fell into your hands, if in a day I don’t have seventeen, eighteen cuts and bruises, laozi will change my surname to yours. Aiyo, what’s the Princess’ surname? Princess has the same surname as the young emperor, what’s the Emperor’s real surname? Laozi is really muddle-headed, I don’t know these things.”

The Empress Dowager said, “The Emperor sent Xiao Guizi on a mission; how did you know? What mission?”

“I actually know this one,” Princess Jianning said, “I heard the Imperial Bodyguards said that Xiao Guizi is on Mount Wutai.”

“Ah!” the Empress Dowager cried out softly, “He … he is on Mount Wutai? How come we did not see him this time?”

The Princess said, “It was only after we were back to the Palace that I heard the Imperial Bodyguards mentioning about it, but I don’t know what mission Huangdi Gege was sending him for. I heard the Imperial Bodyguards were saying that Huangdi Gege has given him another promotion.”

“Hm,” the Empress Dowager was silent for half a day. “Very well,” she said, “As soon as he is back at the Palace, I will talk to the Emperor.” She sounded indifferent, apparently she did not really mean what she said. “It’s late,” she said, “Go back and sleep.”

“Ma,” the Princess said, “I am not coming back, I want to sleep with you.”

“You are not a baby,” the Empress Dowager said, “Why don’t you want to go back to your room?”

“My room is haunted,” the Princess said, “I am scared!”

“Nonsense!” the Empress Dowager said, “What do you mean haunted?”

“Ma, really,” the Princess said, “My palace’s palace maids and eunuchs all said that a few nights ago everybody was bewitched; when they went to sleep, they slept straight to midday of the second day before they finally woke up, and everybody had a nightmare.”

“How can there be such thing?” the Empress Dowager said, “Don’t listen to the servants’ nonsense. When we are not in the Palace, the servants are scared, hence they are terribly suspicious and fearful [orig. ‘suspect the gods and suspect the ghosts’]. Quickly go back.” The Princess did not dare to say anything else; she wished her well and then withdrew.

The Empress Dowager sat by the table with her cheek resting on her palm. She stared blankly at the candle flame, lost in thought. After a long time, she turned her head around and saw two shadows on the wall; the shadows were dancing following the flickering candle light. She thought it was due to her dimmed vision. But when she focused her attention, she still saw two shadows; one was her own, the other shadow was right next to her own. Her shock was not a small matter; thinking that she had killed many people, she could not stop the hair on her body to stand up. Although she knew martial art, unexpectedly she did not dare to turn her head around.

After quite a while, she thought, “Ghosts do not have shadow, if it has shadow, it is not ghost.” But when she held her breath to listen, to her surprise, she did not hear the second person breathing by her side. She was so scared that her hands and feet went weak, she was unable to move a single step. Staring at two shadows on the wall, she almost fainted.

Suddenly she heard a faint breathing behind the head; she was delighted, and instantly turned her head around. She saw a nun wearing white clothes was sitting on the table opposite to her, her pair of beautiful eyes was staring at her, her appearance was delicate and pretty, but her expression was wooden; momentarily she could not tell whether this nun was a person or a ghost.

With a trembling voice the Empress Dowager said, “You … who are you? Why … why are you here?”

The nun in white did not answer. A moment later, she coldly said, “Who are you? Why are you here?”

Hearing her speaking, the Empress Dowager’s fright diminished somewhat. “This is the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace,” she said, “You … how dare you?”

The nun in white coldly said, “You’re right, this is the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace. What ‘thing’ are you? How dare you come in here?”

The Empress Dowager angrily said, “I am the Empress Dowager; a witch from what place are you?”

The nun in white reached out and placed her right hand on the Forty-two-chapter Sutra in front of the Empress Dowager, and slowly took it. “Take off your hand!” the Empress Dowager shouted. ‘Whoosh!’ she sent a strike toward her face.

The nun in white flipped her right hand and met her palm head-on. The Empress Dowager staggered, she was forced to leave her chair and stand up. “Good,” she hissed, “Turns out you are a Wulin martial art master.” Since she now know that the opponent was a human and not a ghost, her fear was gone. ‘Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!’ she sent out four palm strikes in succession.

The nun in white was still sitting on the chair; without standing up, she calmly put the sutra in her pocket first before lifting up her palm to neutralize the Empress Dowager’s four attacks one by one. Seeing her taking the sutra, the Empress Dowager was alarmed and angered at the same time. Increasing the strength of her palm, successively she sent out seven, eight more moves rapidly. The nun in white parried the attacks one by one, but all along she did not counterattack. The Empress Dowager reached down along her right leg, a short blade, glittering like frost and snow suddenly appeared in her hand.

Wei Xiaobao was watching with rapt attention; he saw the blade in the Empress Dowager’s hand was the platinum steel alloy Emei Sting with which she killed Hai Dafu the other day. With the weapon in her hand, her courage soared, she repeatedly stabbed the nun in white. A series of whooshing noise was heard, the palm hacked, the sting stabbed, the bedroom was filled with flickering white lights. Wei Xiaobao said in a low voice, “Let me get out to warn her not to harm Shitai.”

Tao Hongying pulled him down and said in a low voice, “No need!”

They saw the nun in white was still sitting steadily on the chair, the forefinger of her right hand pierced to the east and jabbed to the west, warding off the Empress Dowager’s swift and fierce attacks one by one. The Empress Dowager abruptly advanced and abruptly retreated, she abruptly leaped up and abruptly crouched down with extreme speed; the wind from her palms forced the flame of the four candles to lean backward. Suddenly the room darkened, from four candles, two went out. A few more stances later, the other two also went out.

In the darkness, the sound of palms seemed louder, intermingled with the Empress Dowager’s heavy breathing. Suddenly they heard the nun in white’s cold voice, “You are the Empress Dowager, where did you learn martial art?”

The Empress Dowager did not answer, but still doing her utmost to attack. Suddenly ‘slap, slap, slap, slap’, there were four ringing slapping noise, apparently the Empress Dowager was slapped on her face four times; followed by an ‘Ah!’ as she cried out with a voice brimming with fury mixed with panic. After this sudden burst of noise, the room went completely silent.

In the darkness, suddenly there was a spark, as the nun in white lighted the flint [orig. ‘fire booklet’] in her hand. The Empress Dowager kneeled stiffly in front of her, unmoving. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted, “The old wh0re must be killed today,” he thought.

They saw the nun in white lightly tossed the flint upward, the flame flew several chi up, her left sleeve waved, the flint was carried by the wind generated by the sleeve, it flew slowly toward the candle, unexpectedly the four candles were lighted one by one, as if an invisible hand was holding the flint. The nun in white waved her sleeve inward, a burst of attractive force sucked the flint back to her, which she received with her right hand. After gently blowing off the fire, she put the flint back into her bosom. Wei Xiaobao was dumbstruck in watching this; in his heart he was prostrating himself in admiration.

The Empress Dowager’s acupoints were sealed that she was kneeling on the floor, her face alternated between swollen-colored purple and deathly pale as she said in a low voice, “Just kill me quickly; torturing others like this is not the conduct of a martial art master.”

“That’s strange,” the nun in white said, “Your martial art skill is from the Snake Island. How can a person with such a noble rank deep inside the Palace have any relationship with the Shen Long Jiao [Divine Dragon Cult]?"

Wei Xiaobao was secretly amazed; he thought that this Shitai did not seem to know anything, but next time he lied to her, he must be extra careful.

The Empress Dowager said, “I don’t know anything about Shen Long Jiao. My negligible martial art skill was taught by a eunuch in the Palace.”

“Eunuch?” the nun in white said, “How can a eunuch in the Imperial Palace have any relation with Shen Long Jiao? What’s his name?”

“He is called Hai Dafu,” the Empress Dowager replied, “He has died a long time ago.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily in his heart; he mused, “The old wh0re talks utter rubbish; if she knew that I am hiding in here, she would not dare to broadcast such a gargantuan lie.”

“Hai Dafu?” the nun in white muttered to herself, “I have never heard of such character. Just now you attacked me with seven palm strikes in succession, the power behind your palm was dark and sinister; what kind of palm technique was that?”

The Empress Dowager said, “According to my Shifu, it was Wudang Pai martial art; it is called … it is called the Soft Cloud Palm.”

The nun in white shook her head. “No, it’s not,” she said, “It was the ‘Transforming Bones Soft Palm’. Wudang Pai is a prestigious upright sect, how can they have such a sinister and ruthless skill like that?”

“Shitai is right,” the Empress Dowager said, “It was what Shifu told me. I … I did not know that.” Seeing the nun in white’s profound martial art skill and her extensive knowledge, the reverence in her heart grew; the way she talked was also more polite.

The nun in white asked, “Using this kind of palm technique, how many people have you harmed?”

The Empress Dowager replied, “I … junior has always been deep in the Palace; training martial art is only to strengthen my body, I have never injured a single person.”

“Shameless,” Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, “Blowing your horn loudly does not need any capital.”

He heard she continued, “Shitai, please understand, junior has always had others to protect me, in all my life I have never fought anybody. Fighting against Shitai tonight was the very first time. The martial art that junior learned has never been used the least bit.”

The nun in white smiled and said, “Your martial art skill can be considered not bad at all.”

The Empress Dowager said, “Junior is a frog at the bottom of a well; if I did not see Shitai’s exceptional divine skill, how would I know that the world is so big?”

“Oh,” the nun in white said, “That eunuch Hai Dafu, when did he die? Who killed him?”

The Empress Dowager said, “He … he passed away many years ago, he died of illness because of his age.”

The nun in white said, “Although you yourself have not done any evil, but you, Manchurian Tatars occupy our Great Ming’s rivers and mountains, you have caused the death of our Great Ming’s Son of Heaven. You are the first Tatar Emperor’s wife, the second Tatar Emperor’s mother; I can’t spare you.”

The Empress Dowager was shocked; with a trembling voice she said, “Shi … Shitai, junior did not give birth to the current Emperor. His birth mother was Empress Xiao Kang, who had died a long time ago.”

[aliderhamy]

I think Jin Young is trying indicte that great martial arts masters are good thinkers.

[wandering]

i think sword stained with royal blood started out good and then kinda tapered off...so to me it wasn't one of his best books...this is me judging the story from all the different tv series that have been made from it...since i have never actually read the book

anyways...thanks for the translation

[tweety365]

Thanks for the long update, foxs.

From what I heard, Sword Stained With Royal Blood is definitely one of JY's weaker novels. The protagonist, Yuan Chengzhi, has very little character development. He comes across as dull and indecisive (regarding his love life). So perhaps another Zhang Wuji. Plus, the story doesn't have a very good ending since it is about the end of the Ming dynasty. Even with a weak storyline, I still really like the 2007 tv adaptation.

[crazee]

Thanks foxs.

Wow, the princess's got mighty kungfu.....

No foxs, I had not read Sword stained with royal blood. No chance. I don't think I've seen the serial too...not that I am aware of.
Not knowing mandarin, I sometimes watch movies not knowing the original story for example there's a serial "Huang Chu Ge Ge" - I did not really watched the serial even though my daughters were crazy over it. It was later that I realised it's an adaptation of JY's story..Book and the Sword....err or something like that. or was it a copy cat thing that butterflies loved the fragrant princess.....

[smurf120]

From the TV serials, I gathered the most interesting part of Sword Stained with Royal Blood to be the backstory with Golden Snake Gentleman but as I grew up I was weirded out by the rest of the story...

 click to show spoilers

that Golden Snake's love interest seemed to have Stockholm Syndrome when he kidnapped her. Got more creepy when her younger sister grew up to look exactly like her and fall in love with brother in law (who reportedly killed her sister).

Yuen Tsing Tze was more interesting and smart as a child. Then he follows Li Zhizeng to overthrow Ming and his love life is a mess. My strongest impression is Gordon Lam and Charmaine Sze gazing at each other for 7 minute stretches in the TVB adaptation. Seriously? Then him running off with the orphaned girl because he promised his master to take care of her and dumping the princess.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for the update foxs.

The Empress is a pretty good liar. But as good as she is, I still have my money on WXB!

From what I heard, Sword Stained With Royal Blood is definitely one of JY's weaker novels. The protagonist, Yuan Chengzhi, has very little character development. He comes across as dull and indecisive (regarding his love life). So perhaps another Zhang Wuji. Plus, the story doesn't have a very good ending since it is about the end of the Ming dynasty. Even with a weak storyline, I still really like the 2007 tv adaptation.

I heard JY revised the novel to make Yuan Chengzhi more indecisive. In the 1st edition, he only had eyes for one person. JY decided to change that in the revision and made him unlikeable. The story isn't the greatest but the China adaption in 2007 was a great watch and I heard pretty accurate to the book. The one from TVB in 2000 was horrible!!!

[foxs]

Ali, by the same logic, either Wei Xiaobao was not a great thinker, or he was a martial art master. Wandering, Tweety, Crazee. Smurf and Sky, no offense to you all, but I have never heard of any adaptation which follow the original 100%, i.e. the original story might not like the one you watch on tv. Well, let's just hope someone will translate the story in the future.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The nun in white nodded. “So that’s how it is,” she said, “But as Shunzhi’s wife, when he massacred thousands upon thousands Han people, why didn’t you persuade him even for one sentence?”

The Empress Dowager said, “Shitai, please understand, the former Emperor only doted on that foxy charmer Imperial Concubine Dong’e [Donggo]; it was difficult for junior to even see the Emperor. It is truly beyond my ability to persuade him.”

The nun in white silently contemplated for a while; and then she said, “What you said is not without reason. I won’t kill you today …”

The Empress Dowager said, “Thank you very much Shitai, for your kindness in not killing me. From now on junior will surely chant the sutra and pray to Buddha daily. That … that Buddhist scripture, would Shitai return it to me?”

“What do you want that copy of Forty-two-chapter Sutra for?” the nun in white asked.

The Empress Dowager said, “Junior will reverently worship Buddha, from now on, for the rest of my years, I will chant the sutra day and night.”

The nun in white said, “Forty-two-chapter Sutra is a very common scripture, no matter which temple or monastery you go, you will find at least ten or eight copies; why do you insist on having this copy?”

The Empress Dowager said, “Shitai did not know it. This sutra was the one the late Emperor read aloud every day and evening in the past; junior do not forget old affection, I regard this sutra as the late Emperor.”

“That’s not right,” the nun in white said, “When you are chanting the sutra to worship Buddha, your heart and mind must be empty, you must not have the slightest degree of entanglement with predestined love. When you are chanting the sutra while remembering your deceased husband, what good will that bring?”

“Thank you Shitai, for giving directions,” the Empress Dowager said, “It’s just that … it’s just that junior is simple-minded, I cannot break away from old entanglement.”

A mysterious gleam suddenly appeared in the nun in white’s eyes; she asked, “What exactly is the strange thing about this sutra? Tell me truthfully.”

The Empress Dowager said, “Really … really it is junior’s infatuation. Although the Late Emperor did not treat junior well, but all along I cannot forget him. Seeing this sutra every day somewhat eases up the pain of missing him.”

The nun in white sighed and said, “Since you persist in your own wrong doings and unwilling to tell the truth, it is entirely up to you.” Her left sleeve flicked, the tip of the sleeve struck the Empress Dowager’s body, the sealed acupoints immediately opened.

The Empress Dowager said, “Thank you Shitai for showing mercy!” And she kowtowed before standing up.

The nun in white said, “I did not show any mercy. After your ‘Transforming Bones Soft Palm’ hit someone, then what happen?”

The Empress Dowager said, “That eunuch had never told me, he only said that this palm technique is very fierce, not too many people in the world can resist it.”

“Hm,” the nun in white said, “Just now you attacked me with seven palm strikes, I did not resist it at all; I only return the palm power of those seven ‘Transforming Bones Soft Palm’. Where it came from is where it would return. Since the palm power came from you, then it returned to you. This matter is your own doing, you are reaping what you have sown, you must not blame anybody else.”

The Empress Dowager could not stop her soul from flying out of her body. Naturally she knew very well the fierceness of this ‘Transforming Bones Soft Palm’; when one was hit with this palm power, all the bones in one’s body would turn soft, the bones would break into one cun segments [approx. 1 inch], until finally the entire body would be like silk floss, so that one could not even lift one finger. She had struck Imperial Concubine Dong’e, her sister, and Imperial Concubine Dong’e’s son, Prince Rong, with this palm power. She had witnessed with her own eyes the miserable condition of these three people at the point of their death. This nun in white’s martial art skill was this superb, plus the ability to return the enemy’s palm power to the enemy’s body was quite common in the martial art study, so her statement must not be false. This kind of person would indeed be able to return the seven palm strikes of ‘Transforming Bones Soft Palm’ onto her body.

When she attacked just now, for fear that her power was not fierce enough, she had exhausted her entire strength. Just one palm strike would be unendurable, much less seven palm strikes in a row? In that instant she was extremely frightened; dropping on her knees, she called out, “Shitai, please save my life.”

The nun in white sighed and said, “You have brought it upon yourself, you must resolve it yourself, other people are powerless.”

The Empress Dowager kowtowed and said, “I am still hoping for Shitai’s mercy, please give me direction to the bright road.”

The nun in white said, “You conceal everything, you are unwilling to tell the truth. The bright road is right in front of your eyes, yet you are unwilling to take; who are you going to blame? Even if I have mercy in my heart, it is only for my fellow Han people. You are a Tatar Manchu woman, there is a deep enmity between you and me; by not killing you with my own hand, I have already shown you extreme mercy.” Finished speaking, she stood up.

The Empress Dowager knew the opportunity was fleeting; as soon as this person left, the several days before her own death would be unspeakably unbearable. In that split second, the sight of Imperial Concubine Dong’e and her sister’s ten thousand anguish at the death’s door, where they were tossing about on the bed in excruciating pain, appeared in her eyes. She could not help but shivering all over. “Shi … Shitai,” she called out, “I am not a Tatar, I am … I am …”

“You are what?” the nun in white asked.

The Empress Dowager said, “I am … I am … a Han.”

“Up to this point you are still spouting nonsense,” the nun in white said, “How can a Han fill the post of Tatar Empress?”

“I am not talking nonsense,” the Empress Dowager replied, “The current Emperor’s birth mother came from Tong Jiashi, her father Tong Tulai was from Han army banner, he was a Han.”

The nun in white said, “She was a nobility because of giving birth to a son; I heard that she was originally an imperial concubine, not the Empress at all. She had never been an empress, it was after her son became the Emperor that she was granted the posthumous title as the Empress.”

With bowed head the Empress Dowager said, “Yes.” Seeing the nun in white took a step to leave, she anxiously said, “Shitai, I am really a Han; I … I hate the Tatars to the bones.”

“And why is that?” the nun in white asked.

The Empress Dowager said, “This is a very big secret, I … I shouldn’t say it, but … but …”

The nun in white said, “Since you shouldn’t say it, then don’t say it.”

At this very moment the Empress Dowager was like having the fire burned her eyebrows; if she blew this matter, the rest would not matter anymore. Clenching her teeth, she said, “I am a fake Empress Dowager, I … I am not the real Empress Dowager!”

As soon as she said that, no doubt the nun in white was shocked, but Wei Xiaobao who was hiding behind the bed was even more shocked. The nun in white slowly sank back down into the chair and asked, “What do you mean you are a fake?”

The Empress Dowager said, “My father and mother were harmed by the Tatars, I have mortal hatred toward the Tatars. I was forced to enter the Palace to be a palace maid, to serve the Empress. Afterwards … afterwards I impersonated the Empress.”

The more Wei Xiaobao listened, the more he was amazed, he thought, “This old wh0re courage in telling lies is indeed not small, she even dares to speak this kind of ridiculous talk. Blabbering nonsense like that, the old wh0re has not even entered my White Dragon Gate, yet she has completely mastered the Zhangmenshi [emissary to the sect leader, see Chapter 20] Little White Dragon’s consummate skill in blowing his horn. I entered the Palace posing as a little eunuch, could it be that she really entered the Palace posing as the Empress Dowager?”

He heard the Empress Dowager said, “The real Empress Dowager is a Manchu, her surname is Borjigit [bo’er ji ji te], the daughter of Horqin [ke’er qin] Beilei [royal prince]. Junior’s father is surnamed Mao, he was a Han from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, a Great General of the Great Ming, Mao Wenlong. Junior’s name is Mao Dongzhu [lit. eastern pearl].”

The nun in white was startled. “You are Mao Wenlong’s daughter?” she asked, “The Mao Wenlong who guarded the Pi [lit. leather/skin/fur] Island?”

“Exactly,” the Empress Dowager replied, “My father fought the Tatars for many years; later on he was killed by the Great Commander Yuan Chonghuan. Actually … actually it was due to the Tatars’ stratagem of sowing dissension.”

“Oh,” the nun in white said, “This is indeed a fantastic story. How can you impersonate the Empress Dowager for many years without anybody discovering it?”

The Empress Dowager said, “Junior has served the Empress for many years. I managed to learn her speech intonation, her expressions and mannerism rather well. This facial appearance of mine is also fake.” While saying that, she walked to the bedside desk and picked up an embroidered handkerchief, which she then soaked it with the water inside a golden case; and then she wiped her face rigorously. She also peeled off two pieces of human-skin-like substance from her cheeks. Her facial appearance immediately changed completely. Originally her face was round and rather plump, suddenly it turned into melon-seed shape and quite thin, her eye sockets were rather deep.

“Ah!” the nun in white exclaimed; she was very shocked. “Indeed your appearance is greatly different.” After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “But impersonating the Empress was not an easy matter after all. Are you saying that even the palace maids who were very close to the Empress did not recognize you? What about your husband?”

“My husband?” the Empress Dowager said, “The late Emperor only doted on that foxy charmer Imperial Concubine Dong’e, one person. In the last several years, he had never spent even one night in the Empress’ place here. He had never given the real Empress a look, naturally he did not give the fake empress any look at all.” Her voice was filled with bitterness and pain; she also said, “Let’s not mention that I impersonated her really well, even if my look was completely different, how could he know?”

The nun in white nodded slightly; she asked, “So those palace maids and court eunuchs who served the Empress also did not recognize you?”

The Empress Dowager said, “As soon as junior has the Empress under my control, I had her to change all the palace maids and court eunuchs of the Ci Ning Palace with new ones. I very seldom went out, when I occasionally had to, according the Palace’s regulations, palace maids and court eunuchs would not dare to look at me directly. Even if they stole a look from a distance, how could they tell the fake from the real?”

The nun in white suddenly remembered something. “That’s not right,” she said, “You said the Old Emperor had never paid attention to you, but … but you gave birth to the Princess.”

“That girl is not the Emperor’s,” the Empress Dowager said, “Her father was a Han; sometimes he would sneak into the Palace to see me, dressed as a palace maid. This man … not too long ago he met a misfortune … unfortunately he died of illness.”

Tao Hongying pinched Wei Xiaobao’s palm; they both thought, “There was indeed a man who dressed as a palace maid, but he did not die of illness.”

Wei Xiaobao also thought, “No wonder the Princess is so barbarous in creating trouble, turns out she is a b@stard daughter of that fake palace maid. The Old Emperor is benevolent and gentle, his daughter cannot have that kind of manner.”

The nun in white thought, “You suddenly got pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, if the Old Emperor did not have any sexual intercourse with you, how could he not grow suspicious?” It’s just that it was kind of private question, plus she left home to be a nun when she was still virgin, so she could not ask the question. She considered further, “Since this woman has been deliberately and methodically thinking it through to impersonate the Empress, as soon as she found out that she was pregnant, she would find a way to cover it up; I need not examine her in details.” Shaking her head, she said, “All along you have not been telling the truth.”

The Empress Dowager anxiously said, “Senior, even in a shameful matter like that I have told you the truth, what else do I dare to conceal from you?”

The nun in white said, “If that’s the case, then you must have killed the real Empress. Your hands must be reeking with quite a bit of blood.”

The Empress Dowager said, “Junior chants the sutras and worship Buddha; although I harbor deep hatred toward the Tatars, I do not dare to kill people carelessly. The real Empress Dowager is still alive and well.”

This statement was completely beyond the three people’s, in front and behind the bed, anticipation. “She is still alive?” the nun in white asked, “Aren’t you afraid she might reveal your secret?”

The Empress Dowager walked to the front of a big hanging rug. She pulled a woolen cord next to it, the hanging rug slowly rolled up, revealing two-leaved wardrobe door. From her bosom the Empress Dowager fished a golden key, and opened the lock of the wardrobe door. When she opened the wardrobe door, everybody could see a woman was reclining inside, her body was covered in embroidered quilt.

The nun in white softly exclaimed in shock. “She … she is the real Empress Dowager?” she asked.

The Empress Dowager said, “Senior, please look at her appearance,” while fetching a candle-holder and let the candlelight illuminating the woman’s face.

[Gubrak]

The real Empress Dowager ...?

Thanks Foxs

[Anh Nam]

Thanks Foxs

[crazee]

Wow.... the dangers and horrors in the ancient world.
Imagine if one is the empress.....it's worst than torture.
I suppose with the threats of worst then death.....imagine works eating your brain....eeeek . I suppose nowadays, we have surgeons to operate and remove them if it happens but the thought of it makes my hair stands...

Thanks Foxs, wonder if one day, some director will really show graphic scenes of those horrors...."shiver " ...it'll be Mature audience....err by the way with all the violence, it's already R21.

[foxs]

Anh, you are welcome. Gubrak, Crazee, I found it hard to believe. Just think: how old was the Princess? About 14-15, right? And she was born after this woman impersonated the Empress Dowager; i.e. the real Empress was locked up for at least 14-15 years, still alive, without anybody ever found out? She still had to eat, to pee, etc. How in the world you keep things like that 'secret' for so long? But then again, it was the Imperial Palace, anything could happen. Plus ... it is a fiction.

-------------------------------------------------------
The nun in white saw that the woman’s countenance was extremely wan and sallow, there was not the least bit trace of blood on it, but her facial features were extremely similar to the fake Empress Dowager before she took off her disguise.

The woman slowly opened her eyes, but immediately closed them again. She said in a low voice, “I won’t tell you. You … you kill me quickly.”

The Empress Dowager said, “I have never killed anybody, how can I kill you?” While saying that, she closed the wardrobe door and let down the hanging rug.

“You have her locked up in here for many years?” the nun in white asked.

“Yes,” the Empress Dowager replied.

“What do you press her to tell you?” the nun in white asked, “It is because she firmly refused to tell you that you have kept her alive until today. As soon as she tells you, you will immediately kill her, will you not?”

“No, no,” the Empress Dowager replied, “Junior knew that Buddhist teaching admonishes against taking life. I often fast and eat vegetarian dishes, I can’t possibly harm her life.”

“Humph,” the nun in white snorted, “You think I am a three-year-old child that doesn’t understand your thought? This woman is locked up in here, she poses a danger to you at all times, you did not kill her, there must be an important scheme here. If she shouted from inside the wardrobe, won’t your plot fall through and stand exposed immediately?”

“She won’t dare to shout,” the Empress Dowager said, “I told her that if this secret was leaked, I would kill the Old Emperor first; and then when the Old Emperor died, I told her I would kill the young Emperor. This Tatar woman is really loyal and devoted to those two Emperors, she won’t let them receive any harm.”

“What is it exactly that you wanted her to tell you?” the nun in white asked, “She did not want to speak, why didn’t you use the Emperor’s life to threaten her?”

The Empress Dowager said, “She told me that if I harmed the Emperor, she would immediately go on a hunger strike to kill herself. She does not stop eating only because I promised her I won’t harm the Emperor.”

The nun in white considered this matter carefully: these two real and fake Empress Dowager, one threatens by killing herself by going on a hunger strike, the other threatens by harming the Emperor, both are afraid of the other, they are locked in a stalemate for many years; it is indeed a deadlock. It is reasonable to say that the real Empress Dowager is also a dangerous character, nothing of her should be allowed to remain, after she is killed, her corpse must be burned to ashes, so that she won’t leave even half a trace. Unexpectedly she is still allowed to live in the Palace, it must be because she is still holding on to a big secret, which all along she refuses to tell. It is obvious that this secret must be very important. She asked, “My original question to you, you keep talking about this and that, but never give me a straight answer. What exactly did you force her to tell you?”

“Yes, yes,” the Empress Dowager said, “This big secret concerns the rise and fall of the Tatars. The Tatars’ dragon flourished in Liaodong (Peninsula); they managed to occupy our Great Ming’s world because their ancestors’ feng shui was exceedingly good. Junior found out that on the Changbai Mountain of Liaodong Peninsula, there is a dragon vein of the Aisin Gioro[4] Clan. By digging and breaking this dragon vein, not only we can recover the Han family’s mountains and rivers, everything that the Tatars have inside the pass will be destroyed as well.”

The nun in white nodded; thinking that this story corresponds with what Tao Hongying had told her earlier. She asked, “Where is the location of this Dragon Vein?”

“That is exactly the big secret,” the Empress Dowager replied, “When the late Emperor died, the young Emperor was still little, he did not understand anything, while Imperial Concubine Dong’e, whom he most doted on, had already died before him; therefore, he told this big secret to the Empress, telling her to wait until the young Emperor grew up, and then she is supposed to inform him. At that time junior was the palace maid serving the Empress, I overheard the late Emperor and the Empress’ conversation, but I was unable to hear the whole thing. I only want to ascertain this matter, and then assemble a group of warriors with aspiration, to go to Changbai Mountain to break the dragon vein, and then my Great Ming’s world might recover.”

The nun in white said doubtfully, “The matter of feng shui and dragon vein is vague, with nothing to support it; it is very difficult to believe. Our Great Ming lost the world because the successive dynasties’ administration was bad, they treated the common people harshly, to such an extent that the government official drove the people to revolt. I understood this truth clearly only after I travelled to the four winds these past several years.”

“Yes,” the Empress Dowager said, “Shitai understands this affair thoroughly, although it is beyond junior’s reach. However, in order to recover our Great Ming’s world, I would rather believe the matter of feng shui and dragon vein than not believe it at all. If we can dig the dragon vein, the worst that can happen is that we don’t do the Tatars any damage. However, if this matter is effective for real, won’t we be able to save the thousands upon thousands common people throughout the world from the deep water and scorching fire?”

The nun in white appeared emotionally moved; she nodded and said, “What you said is true. Whether this matter is real or not, we cannot know it now. Even if it is useless, there won’t be any harm done. We only need to make this matter known all over the world, the Tatars ruler and his ministers firmly believe in this dragon vein, their hearts would be discouraged first, and if that time we conspire to recover the nation, everybody will have an additional layer of confidence. So the thing you press the real Empress Dowager is actually this big secret?”

“Precisely,” the Empress Dowager said, “But this s1ut understands that this matter correlate with her offspring’s foundation, she would rather die than disclosing it. No matter how junior tried to swindle her gently or threaten her with force, I have exhausted everything, yet all along she would rather die than talking.”

The nun in white took out the Forty-two-chapter Sutra from her bosom and said, “You must ask her, where are the other copies of this sutra?”

The Empress Dowager jumped in fright; she retreated two steps back, and said in a trembling voice, “You … you knew?”

The nun in white said, “The big secret is hidden in this sutra. How many copies do you have in your hands?”

The Empress Dowager said, “Shitai’s magical power is remarkable, nothing escape your knowledge, junior does not dare to conceal anything. Originally I had three; the first was given by the Late Emperor to Imperial Concubine Dong’e. After she died, junior had it in here. The other two were taken from the home of the treacherous court official Oboi. But one night there was an assassin in the Palace, my chest was stabbed, and those three copies were stolen. Shitai may see it for yourself.” While saying that, she untied her outer garment, undergarment and dudou[5], to reveal an enormous scar on the pit of her stomach.

Wei Xiaobao’s heart was pounding. “If this interrogation continues, I am afraid Shitai’s suspicion will fall on me,” he mused.

He heard the nun in white said, “I know who tried to assassinate you, but this person did not take those three copies of sutra at all.” She thought that if those three copies of sutra were taken by Tao Hongying, she could not possibly conceal it from her.

The Empress Dowager was startled. “The assassin did not steal the sutra?” she asked, “Then who stole those three copies of sutra? This … this is really strange.”

“You want to speak up or not, it’s entirely up to you,” the nun in white said.

The Empress Dowager replied, “Shitai hates the Tatars to the bones, you also have remarkable magical power, if this big secret can be handed over to you, the Senior can take charge of this situation and dig the Tatars’ dragon vein. It is something that I always seek but fail to achieve. How can junior hide it from you? Besides, all eight copies of the sutra must be obtained before the location of the dragon vein can be found. Right now there is one copy already in Shitai’s hand; even if junior have three copies, what good would that bring?”

The nun in white coldly said, “Whatever scheme you have in your heart, I don’t need to take the trouble to guess. Since you are the daughter of Mao Wenlong of Pi Island, you must have a deep relationship with Shen Long Jiao.”

With a trembling voice the Empress Dowager said, “No, I … I don’t. Junior … has never heard of Shen Long Jiao.”

The nun in white stared at her for a moment; and then she said, “I am going to teach you a formula to disperse the power in your body. Every day, morning, noon and night, three times you must strike a tree according to this method. Each time nine by nine, eighty-one strikes; perhaps the sinister palm power of the ‘Transforming Bones Soft Palm’ in your body will be dispersed.”

The Empress Dowager was greatly delighted; she kneeled down and kowtowed again to express her gratitude. Right away the nun in white passed on the theory; she said, “From now on, as soon as you use your internal strength trying to harm someone, the bones in your body will immediately break to pieces, then nobody can save you.”

“Yes,” the Empress Dowager replied in a low voice; she looked dejected.

Wei Xiaobao was bursting with joy; “When I see the old wh0re hereafter, even if I do not have the Five Dragon Command, I don’t need to be afraid of her.”

The nun in white brushed her sleeve to seal her consciousness acupoint; immediately the ed’s eyeballs rolled back until only the white was visible, she fell backward and fainted. “Come out,” the nun in white said in a low voice. Wei Xiaobao and Tao Hongying came out from behind the bed.

Wei Xiaobao said, “Shitai, this woman speaks three parts the truth, seven parts lies. You must not believe her.”

The nun in white nodded and said, “The secret hidden in the sutra concerns not only the Tatars’ dragon vein, but money and treasures as well, which she intentionally did not mention.”

“Let me look around,” Wei Xiaobao said. He pretended to look to the east and search to the west, he uncovered the beddings, and saw the copper ring on the wooden board covering the secret compartment. “The sutra’s here!” he said in a low voice.

Pulling the wooden board up, he saw the secret compartment was hiding not a few of jewels and banknotes, but there was no sutra. He sighed and said, “No sutra! What good does these jewels for?”

“Take the jewels,” the nun in white said, “We will need the money for the future uprising.”

Tao Hongying took all the jewels and money and put them inside an embroidered bundle, which she then handed over to the nun in white. Wei Xiaobao thought, “This time the old wh0re is really bankrupt.” He thought further, “How come there was no jewels or banknotes in the secret compartment last time? Ah right, last time I only had my eyes on the sutra and did not see other stuffs. What a pity, what a pity!”

The nun in white said to Tao Hongying, “This woman impersonated the Empress Dowager, most likely she has other scheme. You hide in the Palace and make a thorough investigation. Luckily she has lost her martial art skill, there is nothing to fear.”

Tao Hongying complied. Actually, after meeting her former master only for a short time, and now they had to part, she was really reluctant to leave.

The nun in white took Wei Xiaobao leaping over the wall and returning to the inn. She took the sutra out to examine it. This copy of sutra had a yellow silk envelope, it was precisely the one Emperor Shunzhi ordered Wei Xiaobao to take to Kangxi. The nun in white opened the cover and saw on the first page four large characters ‘never raise taxes’ [yong bu jia fu]. She nodded and said to Wei Xiaobao, “You said that the Tatar Emperor will ‘never raise taxes’, those four characters are indeed written in here.”

She flipped the book page by page. The Forty-two-chapter Sutra was a very short scripture, each chapter only has several lines, but the characters were very big, so that each chapter filled one or sometimes two pages. She knew this scripture like the back of her hand; after reading every word from top to bottom one time through, she did not find anything different from the one she was already familiar with. Holding it near the candlelight, she did not see any writing between the lines. After pondering over it for a long time, she noticed that the inside was only several dozen pages, but the front and back covers were actually a lot thicker than the inside. Suddenly she remembered how Yuan Chengzhi obtained the ‘Golden Serpent Manual’ in the past. Immediately she use fresh water to moisten the outer skin of the cover, and gently peeled it off. She saw the inside was actually two layers of sheepskin, sewed together on all four sides with silk yarn. When she disassembled the silk thread, she saw more than a hundred cut pieces of extremely thin sheepskin.

Wei Xiaobao called out delightedly, “That’s it, that’s it! This is the big secret.”

The nun in white spread the pieces on the table. She saw some of the pieces were big some were small, some were square some were round, some were triangular in shape, some were diamond-shaped. On some of the pieces, a lot of red curvy lines were drawn; on some others, Manchurian characters were written in black ink. However, all the drawings and characters were cut, nothing was complete, the more than a hundred pieces did not match with each other, so that it was hard to put together.

Wei Xiaobao said, “It looks like each copy of the sutra hides pieces of leather, only when all eight copies are obtained will we be able to put together a complete map.”

“I think so,” the nun in white said. She put all the pieces together back into the original two layers of sheepskin envelope, wrapped it securely in embroidered cloth, and put it into her inner pocket.

-------------------------------------------------------
[4] Orig. Aixin Jueluo, Manchu: Golden Clan, the surname of the Qing Emperors.

[5] Dudou is an undergarment covering chest and abdomen.

[wandering]

thanks foxs

[smurf120]

Thanks Foxs! All these Buddhist people are still tied to the love of their past - the old emperor and the white nun. Again, I question whether people are truly religious in JY universe.

[wandering]

lol...if ppl were truly religious in JY universe..most of the subplots would be gone.

[crazee]

Thanks Foxs, for the update.

Yes, the religious seems to be still attached to the mortal world.
It seem to be the case for every major religion.... however, as in any proper religion, the poor and helpless people are the ones that require their care...spiritually or physically.
I suppose it's interlinked.....

JY's novels are superb as his plots always borders between reality and fantasy.
Too much reality the story will be dull and to much fantasy it becomes more of tsui hark's directed movies...heh heh heh.

I don't know about others, but it precisely these traits that I enjoy JY's novels.... The heriones are beautiful, the hero handsome and have mighty kung fu ( XB's comment )..or skills and their perseverence and patience .....