In another part of the city, Ruan Wang was sitting at a table, in his old, age-worn hand was a cup of tea that had steam rising out of it. His eyes were lifelessly staring into nothingness, as he put the hot cup of tea toward his lips, it was as if he did not notice that it had been boiling and recently made into tea. He did not notice that the tea had caused a burn to his lips, or simply he no longer felt pain.
"Hey, the tea is hot." An old voice called out to him.
"Hmm, the tea is indeed not bad." Ruan Wang said as he took another sip. It seemed that he was used to drinking near-boiling tea.
The man sitting across from him looked at him strangely. He was the same age as his friend, but time had been kinder to him, his hair was still mostly ink black, with a few strands of gray and his eyes were full of vigor, he was a general, who had protected and served his country as any iron-blooded man would. General Li, Li Xuan, a man who held a third of the military forces in Qing Cheng.
"Why did you want to meet with me?" Ruan Wang set the cup of tea firmly on the table and asked.
"Can't I meet with an old friend." Li Xuan asked. They were once old friends, perhaps even as close as sworn brothers, but time had caused them to drift apart.
"We have not met in over two decades." Ruan Wang simply stated.
"I know, ever since she died you were unwilling to talk to me." Li Xuan said as he suddenly remembered Ruan Wang fei. That woman was bestowed to marry Ruan Wang by the late emperor, she was an ordinary looking woman, and the daughter of a concubine. At first, she was placed in a remote courtyard but as time passed one would discover that she was a young woman who was brimming with talent, it could be said that only through time would one find out what was hiding under those layers. A pity that she died so young at that fateful day on the cliff.
Yes, he had gotten the message proving her innocence, but it was too late.
"You knew what had happened, you could have told me. If you had gone to inform me, this tragedy would not have occurred." Ruan Wang said in a desolate tone. Perhaps he had been angry at himself for being too impulsive that day, perhaps he was only looking for someone to blame. He truly felt that day was quite off, nothing was going the right way that day.
"Believe me or not, I truly got the news too late." Li Xuan sighed. He too felt regret, it was as if someone had waited for the right moment to let him know everything, only for his actions to be futile in the end.
"Let's not talk about it, why did you want to see me?" Ruan Wang immediately changed the subject as soon as his eyes began to become cloudy with the oncoming tears.
"Remember Gao Hongbo?"
"The Left Prime Minister? Hasn't he already served three generations of emperors? That old man still hasn't died yet? How old is he this year?" Ruan Wang thought about this talented, but shrewd old man who had served his late imperial father, his imperial brother, and now his nephew. It could be said that his position in the court could not be shaken. Many officials of the court were his students, so many of them would call him teacher and bow to him respectfully if he were to walk by.
"He is nearing his eighties and has yet to retire. His Gao family is at the height of power, they control a large portion of the literary officials. The Grand Tutor just lost a grandson, he would most likely ask for leave from the imperial court to take care of his family's matters. This leaves me as the only one who stands to oppose him."
"Why did you call me here for?" Didn't Li Xuan see, he no longer cared about the matters of the court? They could all fight as much as they wanted, and allow the imperial court to be tainted with rivers of blood from the innocent, but this is something he would refuse to take part in.
Experiencing it once in a lifetime was already enough.
"I fear that the Left Prime Minister will make a move."
"What does this have to do with me?" Ruan Wang was starting to get annoyed, if this man wanted to talk to him about political affairs, he shouldn't have asked to meet in such an open place. Then again, this man had a simple, straightforward personality, it was already a miracle that he could think like this.
[After all, the walls had ears.]
"I know you will never forgive me, and I will not beg you for forgiveness, but I hope that on the account that we were once brothers, you would protect my family if anything would happen."
"En." Ruan Wang signed, any man would wish to keep his family and that man whom he met years ago, who once neither feared the heavens nor the earth was no different.
"Thank you." Li Xuan said, his voice quivering with emotion. He could not hope for forgiveness, he did not think that his old friend and brother would agree to his request.
They were silent for a while, it was a mutual understanding. Time could not flow backward to the time when they were brothers, and everything could not be changed with one word of forgiveness. It seemed they had once imagined what could have happened if that hadn't occurred.
But there was no what if?
There was a knocking outside of the room, followed by the voice of a waiter "Esteemed customer, your order is ready, shall I bring it in?" The waiter did not know the identity of these men and treated them as any other noble people, after all, they had changed before coming, and they looked like men of prominent noble families.
"En." Li Xuan nodded.
"Coming right away." The door opened, and a middle-aged man entered, in his hands he was holding a jar of wine. He set them on the table and left with a bow.
Li Xuan took the jar and poured it into two bowls. He placed one in front of Ruan Wang, who looked at it, but did not touch it. Li Xuan had gulped down the bowl of wine, letting a few drops escape and roll down his neck. It was probably the habits that he had in the military barracks. After all, such a bond with his brothers could not be changed so easily. Li Xuan wiped his mouth carelessly with his sleeve.
"Good wine." He said, then looked at Ruan Wang, who had not even touched his bowl of wine yet. "You're not drinking?" he asked.
Ruan Wang shook his head.
"Don't mind me."He said as he picked up the bowl of wine, and gulped it down as quickly as before "Thank you old friend." Li Xuan said with a smile.
Ruan Wang: "..."