Chapter 2 Chapter 24 The Second Letter

Kukai and Tachibana Yishi strolled along the increasingly prosperous streets of Chang'an. They are going to Liu Zongyuan's residence. The new greenness of the willow leaves has sprouted warmly. Although there is still some time before the season when the loess is flying, the scenery is more full of spring. The two have long been accustomed to the lively street scene where Tang, Hu and Tubo speak one after another. The clothes of men and women walking on the road are also full of spring. From time to time, women wearing fashionable Hu clothes and Hu boots can be seen. Spring has really come.

"Kukai, it's incredible." Tachibana Yishi said while walking. "What's unbelievable?" Kukai replied. "It turns out that in a foreign land, spring can come so regularly." Yishi responded with an excited tone while looking at the surrounding scenery. "Last night when I read Mr. Abe Nakamaro's letter, I couldn't help but wipe the corners of my eyes. Mr. Nakamaro didn't know how lonely he was at that time. Now that I have left my hometown, I can deeply understand his feelings. Every spring comes on time like this, It must be able to give Master Zhong Ma Lu some relief." Yi Shi sighed deeply.

Ok. Ok. Sora nodded as he walked along the seaside. In Kukai's arms was hiding the letter that Abe Nakamaro sent to Li Bai. "But, Kukai, things are exactly as you said." "What did I say?" "It's about the terracotta warriors and demon cats unearthed in Xu Wenqiang's cotton fields." "Oh." "Didn't you say, why the other party wants to attract so much attention, just think about it carefully?" "So it was that?" "It turned out that things were really as you said—" "Yishi, this is the problem you noticed first."

"No, Kukai, it's you." "Oh." "Didn't Master Danweng say that Bailong must have done this to attract him to show up?" "It did say so." "Then, why did he bring out Master Dan Weng?" "I don't know. I probably have to ask Master Dan Weng about it." "Having said that—" "What's the matter?" "There's always something wrong with it." "Is something wrong?" "It's not right." Yishi nodded. "Kukai, can you guess the reason?" "cannot."

"Can't you?" "Although I can't speculate on the reason, I think the secret should be related to Yang Yuhuan, the imperial concubine." "What secret?" "have no idea." "You're such a straight-talking man." "Sorry." "Since last night, I have felt infinite sorrow for the imperial concubine." "Ok." "Under the order of the emperor, she was forced to leave her husband and marry a man who was as old as her father. In the end, she was ordered to die by that man. If Master Chao Heng's letter was true, she should not have died. However, she was buried alive in the The grave, although it was dug out after the fact, made me mad because of it. Where she is now, what happened to her, no one knows..."

"—" "It's really nerve-wracking." "What's wrong?" "Every spring, I seem to think about this kind of problem." Kukai and Yishi walked side by side. "Again, is this okay?" Yishi asked. "What's the matter?" Kukai asked back. "Early in the morning, I will visit Lord Liu Zongyuan's residence." "It shouldn't be too rude." "But he may still be in bed, or he may not be there at all." "makes sense." "Why did you go to him?" "Because I'm thinking about a lot of things."

"What's up?" "For example, Lord Chao Heng's letter is left at Li Xianglan's house, and the enemy may already know of the existence of this letter." "Well." "Lord Liu Zongyuan is also very cautious. Every time he goes out in disguise, he doesn't want anyone to know. This may be because there are spies inside. If so—" "If so?" "If I specifically inform Mr. Liu that I want to meet him for this or that. When I ask him to try to arrange a meeting, the spies will probably notice it before we meet." "Ok."

"So it's sometimes safer to go there without notice." "Is that right?" "Don't think too hard. In fact, I just don't want to ride in a carriage, and I just want to walk the streets freely like this. This is the truth. "Konghai continued: "Hey, Yishi, as you talk, it seems that Master Liu's mansion is in front of you. " "Oh——" Liu Zongyuan, who was focused and silent, couldn't help crying out after hearing Kukai's words. "I never expected that Mr. Chao Heng's letter would contain such a thing..." Liu Zongyuan clenched his fist and put it on the table, biting his lips tightly.

This is the room where Liu Zongyuan served as a library. On the bookshelves on all sides, various volumes are piled up like mountains, and the air in the room is full of the smell of old and new ink and books. After Liu Zongyuan let Kong Hai and Yishi enter, he heard that Kong Hai had found the letter and brought it here, this news made him extremely happy. Kukai recounted what happened last night, and repeated it to Liu Zongyuan like reading a letter to Danweng. At this moment, I finally read Bi Xinwen. "It really is a story with twists and turns—" Liu Zongyuan couldn't help but excitedly said: "For the Tang court, this is the secret of secrets. It must not be revealed to the outside world."

"Yes." Kukai nodded. "But is this letter genuine?" "It should be true. Since it is written in Japanese, it cannot be written by someone else." "Well……" "By the way, Master Liu, I want to ask you something—" "Mr. Kukai just ask—" "Master Chao Heng's letter, when and how did you obtain it?" "Oh, this, this..." Liu Zongyuan suddenly amplified his voice: "To be honest, I also have something to say to Mr. Kukai." Liu Zongyuan lowered the volume again and leaned out. "What's up?"

"Actually, Master Chao Heng's letter seems to be more than one." "How to say?" "It seems that there is another letter from Master Chao Heng, which is different from this one." "really?" "To bring up that matter, I have to explain what Kukai-san asked, why did this letter fall into my hands—" "Yes." Seeing Liu Zongyuan's serious face, Kukai leaned out unconsciously. Gulu—Yishi made the sound of swallowing saliva. "To be honest, this letter does not seem to have been sent to Lord Li Bai." Liu Zongyuan said in a low voice. "yes?" "Ok." "why?" "Please see the date of signing this letter." Liu Zongyuan opened the letter paper and pointed to somewhere at the end of the letter. In the autumn of the first year of Baoying's seal, "Aha—" Kukai looked at the text, and nodded as if he had realized something. "So that's how it is, that's how it is." Finally, she exclaimed happily. Itsuki, who was listening to it, looked at Kukai with dissatisfaction. "Hey, Kukai. I don't know what's going on yet." "Yishi, do you know which year is the first year of Baoying?" "The first year of Baoying?" "As Lord Chao Heng said, it was the year when Emperor Xuanzong died. Moreover, Gao Lishi also died in that year." "Emperor Suzong also died in the same year." Liu Zongyuan added. "It turns out—" In the first year of Baoying, to be precise, on April 5th of the third year of Shangyuan, Xuanzong died. That is, AD 762. Because Xuanzong died, the year name of "Shangyuan" was changed to "Baoying". Thirteen days after Xuanzong's death, Xuanzong's son Suzong also died on April 18th.Two days later, on April 20, Gao Lishi also passed away. "Also, Yishi, the recipient of Mr. Chao Heng's letter, Mr. Li Bai, also died in the same year." "This, this..." Yishi couldn't speak for a while, his mouth was open and his eyes blinked non-stop. Indeed, in November of the first year of Baoqing, Li Bai also passed away in Dangtu, Anhui. That is to say—"Anyway, Yishi, that's about it. When Lord Chao Heng wrote this letter, it was the time when Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Suzong, and Gao Lishi died one after another, but Lord Li Bai was still alive. However, before this letter was sent, Master Li Bai also passed away.As a result, this letter was kept in Master Chao Heng's hands, and he sealed it himself—" "I see. But, Kukai, listening to what you said, it seems that the deaths of Xuanzong, Suzong, Gao Lishi, and Lord Li Bai are somewhat related to each other." "I didn't say it was related." "But you didn't say no." "I think there might be." "What's the connection?" "I don't know." Kukai retracted his chin, looking at Yishi. After thinking about it thoughtfully, he tilted his head and said, "Oh, yes, I remembered." "What do you remember?" "That was indeed the second year after Emperor Xuanzong's death—" "What's the matter?" "An Lushan's subordinate Li Huaixian killed Shi Chaoyi." At this point, Yishi also understood.That's because Yishi had read the history of the Tang Dynasty before he could understand what happened. The reason why Yang Guifei was buried in Maweipo was that Anlu Mountain was the mastermind of the rebellion.This An Lushan wanted to make An Qingen, the son of the young Mrs. Duan, the crown prince, but his son An Qingxu hated him and killed him himself. Because if An Qingen became the crown prince, he would become the emperor after An Lushan died, so An Qingxu's life would be in danger. An Qingxu, who loved to drink, was later killed by his general Shi Siming; for a period of time, Shi Siming was about to retake Luoyang, but was killed by his son Shi Chaoyi; and this Shi Chaoyi was soon killed by An Lushan's subordinate Li Huaixian.In this way, the "Anshi Rebellion" that lasted nine years finally came to an end. The end is a self-destructive one. This is what happened in the second year after the death of Xuanzong, Suzong, Gao Lishi, Li Bai and others, that is, the second year of Baoying. "Hmm." Yi Shi couldn't help moaning. "Oh, this is really—" Liu Zongyuan couldn't help but sigh. "Again -" Kukai asked Liu Zongyuan: "Xuanzong Taishang Huang died, do you know the inside story?" "I don't know, I can't figure it out at all. I heard that the eunuch Li Fuguo did not allow Suzong and Xuanzong to meet each other, and Gao Lishi was also exiled to Hunan because of Li Fuguo two years before his death." "Li Fuguo?" "He moved Xuanzong Taishanghuang from Xingqing Palace to Xi Nei. As a result, Taishanghuang died in the Dragon Palace." At that time, Xuanzong was seventy-eight years old. "It is said that Gao Lishi passed away on his way back to Chang'an after receiving a pardon—" "Exactly." Liu Zongyuan nodded, surprised at the erudition of this foreign monk. Two years—Gao Lishi stayed away from Emperor Xuanzong. Finally, monarchs and ministers can meet again. When Gao Lishi excitedly came to Langzhou from the exiled Wuzhou in Hunan, he received the news of Xuanzong's death. Hearing the emperor's death, he mourned, vomited blood and died. The death of Gao Lishi is recorded in this way. Gao Lishi received the bad news, looked at the northern capital, cried bitterly, vomited blood, and died here. This figure who once shared power with Xuanzong in the palace died in grief and indignation without losing his beauty. "The Biography of Gao Lishi" also has the following text: It was sent from Wushan in July and arrived in Langzhou.August is getting better.Said the left and right said: "I am seventy-nine years old, so it can be said that I have a long life. The calendar official opened the three divisions of the government, and it can be said that it is expensive. You have a long life, so what is the regret of death..." This record may really tell the story of Gao Lishi. cause of death. During Gao Lishi's exile in Wuzhou, he wrote poems to entertain himself: Celery was sold in the two capitals, but no one picked it in Wuxi. Although Yi and Xia are different, the smell will never change. "So he wrote such a poem—" Kukai said. This is Gao Lishi's poem chanting Huai Jingshi, even Kukai doesn't know this poem. While Liu Zongyuan mentioned Gao Lishi's death to the two, he remembered the poem and recited it by the way. "Although it is not high-quality, it has a simple and simple atmosphere." Liu Zongyuan said. "Again, Mr. Liu—" Kukai said to Liu Zongyuan. "What's up?" "The cause of death of Emperor Xuanzong Taishang and Emperor Suzong mentioned earlier, do you know anyone who knows about it? If possible, I would like to hear the details." "Is there really a mystery?" "I'm not sure at the moment, I'm just a little concerned." "Understood. I'll ask again to see if there is any suitable person." "I'm sorry to trouble you." "What about Lord Gao Lishi and Lord Li Bai?" "If there's a clue—" "A few acquaintances of mine are scattered here and there. I'll write to them and ask them to see if anyone knows the details." Hearing the conversation between the two silently, he sighed: "Kukai, I always I feel that this matter seems to have a deep root. Although I knew that I couldn't help, but now I feel even more helpless—" Yishi said these words dejectedly. "I don't know how deep I can go into this matter." Kukai said to Yishi, and then turned to Liu Zongyuan: "Leave this matter aside for now, Mr. Liu, can you continue?" "Say what?" "About Lord Chao Heng's letter, how did it get into your hands—" "Oh, yes, that's not over yet." "Please keep talking." "Where did you just say that?" "You said there was actually another letter." "Oh, that's exactly what—" Liu Zongyuan leaned forward again. "Actually, among my mother's relatives, there is a person close to Lord Chao Heng." Liu Zongyuan sat upright, straightened his back, and said so. His cheeks looked a little stiff. Yishi also changed his sitting posture and also straightened his back. Only Kukai's posture remained unchanged. From the very beginning, he straightened his upper body with a natural posture. It seemed to be nearly noon. "Her name is Bai Ling, and it is said that she is responsible for taking care of Mr. Chao Heng's daily chores." "You mean, Lord Chao Heng has a famous woman who is taking care of him?" "Yes, as far as I know it should be." "and then?" "Bai Ling is about ten years younger than Lord Chao Heng. In the fifth year of Dali (AD 770), when Lord Chao Heng passed away at the age of seventy, she was still by his side." "Oh." Kukai nodded urgently. "After Lord Chao Heng passed away, Bai Ling took care of his property with one hand. Except for a few relics, most of the belongings, mansion or other belongings were handed over to others." "—" "What Bai Ling left behind are all letters written by Mr. Chao Heng during his lifetime. Among them——" "Including the letter written in Japanese from Master Chao Heng to Li Bai?" Kukai asked. "Yes, but it's more than that." "how to say?" "There is more than one letter, there seems to be another one." "seem?" "My mother told me so." "Can you explain that a bit more?" "Yes, it's easier to understand in order." Liu Zongyuan leaned out again.He looked at Kong Hai and said, "After Lord Chao Heng passed away, Bai Ling stayed at my mother's natal house." "I see." "Bai Ling hardly talked about Lord Chao Heng. One time, she was so excited that she talked about Lord Chao Heng for a long time to her mother who was still young at the time." "Well." "It is said that during the Anshi Rebellion, Bai Ling met Lord Chao Heng who followed Xuanzong Taishang Emperor to avoid Shu. When she mentioned this matter, she seemed to think of something, and she took out the letter that Master Chao Heng had never shown to her mother. " "Is the letter still there?" Yishi asked. "It should still be at my mother's house. From among those letters, I found this Japanese classical Chinese--" "If you have a chance, please let me read it." Yishiyu said curiously, and looked at Kukai as if asking for approval: "You want to read it too? Kukai..." "Indeed—" Kukai replied briefly. "When Bai Ling showed Master Chao Heng's letter, did the old lady read this letter?" "Yes. Bai Ling took out one by one and explained, before taking out this letter at the end. She said she didn't know what to write. "Liu Zongyuan said. "have no idea?" "There are words written on the letter, but she has no idea what it means—" "In this way, maybe Bai Ling didn't know that the words on the letter were in Japanese?" "I don't know that. But it's not completely incomprehensible. I should understand a little bit." "How does the old lady judge?" "My mother said that although Bai Ling doesn't understand, it's not that she doesn't understand at all..." "why?" "When reading this letter, Bai Ling said something." "What words?" "My mother said that she had opened the letter to read it. As you can see, it was written in Japanese. Of course she couldn't read it, but she did recognize some characters." "What words?" "For example, personal names and proper nouns such as Yang Yuhuan, Emperor Xuanzong, and Chang'an." "I see--" "My mother told me that although she can understand the people who are written in the letter, she doesn't know what it is about these people." As if recalling the situation at that time, Liu Zongyuan looked far away and continued. : "Bai Ling also said something to my mother at that time—" "You mentioned it earlier." "My mother said, that's what Bai Ling said—" Liu Zongyuan stopped talking for a while, looked at Kong Hai and Yishi, imitated his mother's expression and said: "I don't know what is written in the letter. However, there is one thing I am very clear. I know what the letter is related to..." Liu Zongyuan continued: "My mother asked Bai Ling what was the matter? In the end, Bai Ling looked at her mother—" Liu Zongyuan put his hands on himself On the lap, said in a woman's voice: "Here is the story of a certain woman that Mr. Chao Heng is only infatuated with in this life..." "Crushed woman?" "yes." "But, there is only one woman in the letter—" Yishi asked cautiously. "Yang Yuhuan—" Kukai said the name clearly. "It's Her Royal Highness," Liu Zongyuan said. "So, the only woman Mr. Chao Heng is obsessed with in this life is Concubine Yang—" Yi Shi said. "You can also say that." After Liu Zongyuan finished speaking, his lips were tightly closed. With a sound of "Hoo--", Yishi spit out the air accumulated in his chest. "I'm also a woman, so I understand this kind of thing - that's what Bai Ling said at the time." Liu Zongyuan said. "However, in the letter we have read, there is no such information revealed between the lines—" "Didn't I mention that there was another letter?" "What's the meaning?" "It is said that Bai Ling showed her mother two volumes of letters at that time." "What?" Yishi yelled. "Where's the other letter?" Kukai asked. "have no idea." "have no idea?" "yes." "How did you get this letter?" "After Bai Ling's death, her belongings were left at my mother's natal home. One of them was a letter from Mr. Chao Heng, but I couldn't find the other one." "what happened?" "It may have been lost in the chaos, or it may still remain somewhere—" "Maybe it was given to someone before Bai Ling was alive, or maybe it was disposed of—" "Dealed with it?" "Like burning to ashes—" "Burned?" "Bai Ling regards Chao Heng as her husband, but he wrote in the letter the only woman he loves deeply. I think she will probably be burned—" "Very likely." Liu Zongyuan nodded. "Maybe it was stolen—" Kukai added. "In short, it's useless for us to guess here. I will contact my mother and let her look for it again." "The old lady is still healthy." "Yes. Not as much as before, but still going out with energy." "Old man Gui Geng?" "Seven out of fifty this year." "If there is a chance, can I meet the old lady and ask her something?" "If necessary, I can arrange it at any time." "If you still can't find that letter, please arrange for me to meet the old man," Kukai said. "Oh, of course no problem." Liu Zongyuan nodded vigorously.