Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin Episode 14 Recap
> Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin Recap
Xiao Yuanqi entered the palace to meet the Emperor. The Emperor ordered someone to show Xiao Yuanqi the imperial edict from the former Emperor concerning the handling of the Prince of Laiyang. Xiao Yuanqi did not dare to be presumptuous in front of the Emperor and did not defend his mother. However, as a son, he still pleaded with the Emperor to show mercy and allow him to retrieve his mother's body for burial.
Seeing the Emperor's anger, Prince Changlin quickly signaled him to calm down, then reminded Xiao Yuanqi that his mother had harmed imperial concubines and endangered the imperial heirs, and her crimes were unforgivable. Imperial clan members, according to etiquette, could not lay the spirit of a guilty person to rest. If he insisted on burying his mother, he must sever ties with the imperial clan and abandon his position as a member of the imperial family.
Xiao Yuanqi did not know how to choose, so the Emperor made the decision for him. The Grand Madam of Laiyang could only be lightly buried in the outskirts, and Xiao Yuanqi's noble rank was reduced to a third-rank marquis. He was allowed to mourn for three months, which was considered a compromise for both sides. The Emperor showed extra mercy, yet Xiao Yuanqi's resentment in his heart grew stronger. Mo Zihou arrived at the Laiyang Marquisate Mansion.
Xiao Yuanqi thought he was there to kill him, but Mo Zihou said that Xiao Yuanqi's life was very precious as he was crucial to the future situation of Daliang. Xiao Yuanqi questioned what the East Sea Kingdom wanted from him. Mo Zihou, however, proudly stated that the current Xiao Yuanqi was not qualified to be treated as his equal and question his purpose.
Xiao Yuanqi remembered that Mo Zihou had commented that his martial arts had much room for improvement, so he sought guidance from Mo Zihou. The gap between Xiao Yuanqi and Mo Zihou could be described as vast as heaven and earth. With his back to Xiao Yuanqi, Mo Zihou still kicked Xiao Yuanqi flying with one kick. Mo Zihou provoked Xiao Yuanqi with words, saying that both his parents were criminals and he had no place to stand in Daliang.
His only hope was to follow Mo Zihou and diligently practice martial arts. Xiao Yuanqi, fueled by the resentment in his heart, desperately learned martial arts. Xiao Pingjing and Xun Feizhan talked about Xiao Yuanqi's changes. Xun Feizhan advised him not to think too much, saying that Xiao Yuanqi had suddenly encountered such a misfortune, and whether he could overcome it depended solely on himself.
Time would naturally smooth everything over, and he believed Xiao Yuanqi would surely emerge from the quagmire of hatred. If Xiao Yuanqi thought things through himself, he would be able to adjust his mindset. However, with Pu Yangying and Mo Zihou's instigation at this time, Xiao Yuanqi's heart had already plunged deep into an ocean of hatred. The Emperor of Daliang sent envoys to revisit East Sea.
Mo Zihou knew he would have to meet them then, so he had to leave the Laiyang Marquisate Mansion. Xiao Yuanqi, following the kinship customs of East Sea, addressed Mo Zihou as his maternal uncle. And he assured Mo Zihou that he would diligently practice martial arts. He felt what Pu Yangying said was very true; what he needed most now was strength and patience.
However, Mo Zihou, having traveled the world for many years, could naturally see that Pu Yangying's intentions were absolutely not as he claimed, and he reminded Xiao Yuanqi to understand that Pu Yangying and the two of them were not on the same path. The Cabinet sent the imperial dispatch to Prince Changlin's Mansion, which greatly surprised Xiao Tingsheng.
It turned out that the dispatch contained the list of the Northern Yan envoy delegation, and the Fifth Prince of Northern Yan, Prince Hui, was prominently listed. The accompanying guard was Tuoba Yu, the third son of Prince Hanhai of Northern Yan. As the successor of the Hanhai Sword, he was ranked fifth on the Langya List. Xiao Tingsheng knew that the Fifth Prince of Northern Yan was the legitimate son of the Northern Yan Emperor.
From this, he judged that the situation of the Northern Yan civil war was even more severe than he had estimated. Langya masters were also appearing one after another, as if someone was fanning the flames from behind. Xiao Pingzhang deeply agreed and wanted to call Xiao Pingjing to arrange tasks, but Xiao Pingjing was not in the mansion. After the East Sea affair ended, Xiao Pingjing spent all day by Lin Xi's side.
He suddenly received a message from Langya Pavilion, learning that Tuoba Yu, the successor of the Hanhai Sword, was about to enter Daliang. However, he didn't care much, after all, he had already seen Mo Zihou, the greatest master in the world, and the fifth rank could hardly surprise him anymore.
Lin Xi felt that martial arts masters were naturally intertwined with the imperial court, and if Langya Pavilion only wanted to answer questions about jianghu affairs, it would be difficult to cleanly separate itself. Pu Yangying also learned that Prince Hui of Northern Yan and Tuoba Yu were about to arrive in Daliang, and similarly concluded that Northern Yan was very anxious. He called Duan Tongzhou back to the capital to await orders.
The Emperor was happily practicing archery with the Crown Prince, having a good time. Xun Baishui, however, requested an audience in the imperial court. Seeing the full spring beauty of the garden, the Emperor felt joyous and reluctant to leave, so he called Xun Baishui to meet him in the imperial harem. Xun Baishui brought up the matter of the Northern Yan envoy delegation.
Because the Fifth Prince of Northern Yan had been elevated to Prince Hui, they wanted the Crown Prince to also participate in the peace talks with Northern Yan to gain experience. But the Emperor refused, citing the Crown Prince's young age, instead ordering Prince Changlin's heir, Xiao Pingzhang, to receive them on his behalf. The Cabinet sent the final conditions for the peace talks and alliance between Yan and Liang to Prince Changlin's Mansion.
Xiao Tingsheng was not very satisfied with them. Xiao Pingzhang reminded him that the current opportunity was rare and should not be missed, and he could freely express what he wanted. People from the seven major horse farms outside the pass would return inside the pass once a year to deliver New Year's gifts. However, they were all secretly in contact with Pu Yangying.
Pu Yangying felt that the capital's direction was uncertain and told them to wait secretly for now. The next day, in the imperial court, Xun Baishui was relatively satisfied with Northern Yan's conditions for troop withdrawal and marriage alliance, but Prince Changlin Xiao Tingsheng spoke out, feeling they were inappropriate. Xiao Pingzhang explained to Xun Baishui that the southern ridge of Chenwu Mountain actually had a very gentle slope, offering no strategic defenses.
Therefore, Northern Yan's troops were already in the northern ridge and had not actually withdrawn. The Emperor knew Northern Yan merely wanted a marriage alliance, so he said an additional condition could be added. Xiao Pingzhang opportunely proposed that Daliang's warhorses were not robust and could only rely on private horse farms to import horses for military supplies.
Therefore, he intended to demand five hundred excellent breeding horses from Northern Yan and establish a government-run horse farm in Lanzhou, to be managed by the Changlin Army. Xun Baishui had strong objections to the warhorses being managed by the Changlin Army. The Emperor, however, directly gave his final approval on the matter. Pu Yangying learned of this matter and found Xun Baishui, feigning a discussion about astrology.
He claimed that the 'general star' was too bright and its light infringed upon the 'Emperor star'. In reality, he was using the opportunity to imply to Xun Baishui that Prince Changlin's achievements overshadowed the Emperor, and he would usurp the throne sooner or later. Xun Baishui believed him and hastily asked Pu Yangying for a solution. Pu Yangying took the opportunity to invite Xun Baishui for a secret talk on another day.
The brothers Xiao Pingzhang and Xiao Pingjing, by checking records, discovered secret dealings between the Cabinet and the seven major horse farms outside the pass. Only then did they realize that the Cabinet had been, through the buying and selling of warhorses, either fabricating information or falsely reporting numbers, and taking the opportunity to line their own pockets.
However, it was Daliang's rule that military officials do not participate in investigations, so Xiao Pingzhang told Xiao Pingjing not to act rashly. Prince Changlin's Mansion must restrain themselves and not leave room for gossip. Seeing that he was not allowed to investigate under the name of Prince Changlin's Mansion, Xiao Pingjing decided to secretly investigate under his own jianghu identity. Xun Baishui indeed secretly met with Pu Yangying.
Pu Yangying, using the stability of the Crown Prince's future situation as a pretext, hinted to Xun Baishui to act privately to prevent the demand for excellent horses from Northern Yan. He suggested pretending that the contents of the peace talks had been leaked, allowing people from the seven major horse farms to use the reason that their business had been exposed to obstruct the Northern Yan envoy delegation.
Xun Baishui worried about renewed conflict between Northern Yan and Daliang, but Pu Yangying assured him that Northern Yan was currently preoccupied with its own affairs and could not possibly become an enemy of Daliang.
