Qian Long laughed nervously. He pulled out a

handkerchief and wiped away the beads of sweat on his

brow. He paced the room to steady himself, then

smiled. "You show no fear at all before the Emperor.

You are indeed a man of steel," he said.

"What have I to be afraid of? I doubt if you would

dare to kill me," said Wen.

"Wouldn't dare?"

"You want to kill me because you're afraid your secret

will be revealed but as soon as you kill me, your

secret will be impossible to keep."

"Can dead men talk?"

"As soon as I die, someone will open a certain letter

and reveal the evidence to the world. Then you will be

in a real predicament."

"What letter?" Qian Long asked.

"Before we went to the palace to see you, Master Yu

wrote down every detail of the affair and sealed the

document in an envelope together with two important

pieces of evidence and left it with a friend."

"Was he afraid that something untoward might happen?"

"Of course. How could he trust you? Master Yu told his

friend that if we were both to die suddenly, he should

open the letter and do what it said, but if one of us

was still alive, not to open it under any

circumstances. Master Yu has already passed away, so I

don't think you'll dare to kill me."

Qian Long wrung his hands, anxiety written all over

his face.

"Wouldn't it be worth spending three million taels of

silver to buy that letter and the two pieces of

evidence?" Wen asked.

"The silver? I had always planned to hand it over and

then release you. Write a letter to your friend

telling him to bring the letter to me and I will

immediately pay up the money."

"Ha, ha. Once I tell you his name, you can send your

bodyguards to kill or capture him. Actually, I'm very

comfortable here. I would be happy to stay the rest of

my life. You and I have the same fate. If I die first,

you won't live much longer."

Qian Long bit his lip. "If you won't write the letter,

it is of no importance," he said after a pause. "I

will give you two days. If you persist in being

stubborn, I will have no alternative but to kill you.

No-one else will know about it and your friend will

think you're still alive. And even if I don't kill

you, I can still have your eyes gouged out, your

tongue removed, your arms cut off...Think about it

over the next two days."

He pushed open the door and walked out. His bodyguards

re-assembled around him, and Commander Li saw him out

of the Yamen.

Wen was carried back to the dungeon by the Commander's

personal guards with Zhang Zhaozhong providing an

escort. Once in the cell, one of the guards handed

Zhang a letter.

"Commander Li asked me to give you this," he said.

Zhang opened and read the letter, then left.

Wen lay on the bed thinking about his wife and

friends. He hoped none of them would be harmed if they

should attempt a rescue.

Just then, the iron door to his cell opened with a

clang and a man walked in. Wen thought it was Zhang

returning and did not open his eyes.

The man walked over to the bed. "Fourth Brother," he

said quietly.

Wen was stunned. He looked up and saw it was Chen.

"Great Helmsman!" he exclaimed, sitting up.

Chen smiled and nodded. He pulled two steel files from

his pocket, and began filing at Wen's manacles. After

a few strong strokes, a series of light scratches

appeared on the surface, but the file was ruined. The

manacles were made of a specially-cast steel brought

from the West, and an ordinary file was useless

against it.

"Great Helmsman, only the finest of swords could break

through these chains and manacles," said Wen.

Chen remembered the battle with Zhang Zhaozhong at the

Yellow River crossing and how sharp Zhang's 'Frozen

Emerald' sword had been.

"Does Zhang guard you night and day?" he asked

quickly.

"He's never more than a step from me. He only left a

short while ago."

"Good. We'll wait for him to return and steal his

sword." Chen threw the files under the bed.

"It's possible I won't be able to get out of here,"

Wen said. "The Emperor wants to silence me because

he's afraid I will reveal his secret. I had better

tell you what it is, Great Helmsman, so that no matter

if I live or die, there will be no delay."

Chen nodded.



"The night I went to the Imperial Palace with Master

Yu, Qian Long was very surprised to see us. Master Yu

said: 'A lady from the Chen family in Haining asked me

to come,' and handed him a letter. The Emperor's face

went pale as he read it, and he told me to wait

outside. The two of them then talked for about two

hours before Master Yu finally came out. On the way

back, he told me the Emperor was not a Manchu at all,

but a Chinese and also your elder brother."

Chen started in shock. "That's impossible," he said

firmly. "My brother is in Haining."

"Master Yu said that on the day the Emperor Yong

Zheng's wife gave birth to a girl, your mother by

coincidence also gave birth to a boy. Yong Zheng

ordered the Chen family's child to be brought for him

to look at, and when it was returned, it had become a

girl. The boy is now the Emperor Qian Long..."

Before he could finish, they heard the sound of

footsteps in the corridor and a guard came in.

"What is it?" asked Chen.

"Master Zhang is returning. Commander Li is unable to

detain him further and asks you to leave quickly."

"Thank you," Chen replied. His left hand shot out and

touched a Yuedao point on the guard's body. The guard

toppled to the floor without a sound, and Chen pushed

him under the bed.

"With Zhang on his way, I don't have time to give you

all the details," Wen continued. "Master Yu knew the

Emperor was Chinese and went to urge him to overthrow

the Manchus and restore China to the Chinese while

remaining as Emperor himself. Qian Long appeared moved

by the appeal, and asked Master Yu to bring evidence

before making a decision. But as soon as Master Yu

returned home, he fell ill and never recovered. His

last wish was that you should be the Great Helmsman,

and he said to me that this was a good opportunity for

us to restore the honour of the Chinese people. The

Emperor is your elder brother. If he is unwilling to

overthrow the Manchus, then everyone will support you

to take his place."

His words left Chen too stunned to speak. He thought

back to when he had first seen Qian Long by the lake

and afterwards crying before the tomb of his parents.

Could it really be that the Emperor was born of his

own mother and father?

"I understand your mother wrote down the full details

of how the Emperor Yong Zheng swapped the girl for

your brother in a letter which Master Yu gave along

with several other pieces of evidence to your teacher,

Master Yuan, to look after."

"Ah, so when the Twin Knights went to see my teacher

this summer, they were carrying these things to him on

Master Yu's orders?"

"That's right. It was so secret that not even you

could be told. All that Master Yuan knows is that they

are extremely important, but he does not know what

they are. Just before Master Yu passed away, he said

that after you became Great Helmsman, you should open

the letter and make your plans accordingly. But I

stupidly allowed myself to be captured and risked the

whole enterprise. Great Helmsman, if you can't get me

out today, you must go to the Muslim regions as

quickly as possible to see your teacher. You must not

endanger the great cause of restoration just for my

sake."

Wen was clearly relieved to have completed what he had

to say.

He was about to add something when footsteps sounded

in the corridor again. He signalled quickly with his

hand, and Chen hid under the bed. Wen then draped

himself over the side of bed with his head resting on

the floor.

Zhang entered the cell, and under the faint light of

the room's single candle, saw Wen lying half on the

floor as if dead. Shocked, he leapt forward and

touched Wen's back, but there was no reaction. He

started to lift Wen's body back onto the bed, but as

he did so, Wen leapt up and attacked him. Zhang fell

back in surprise, felt a sudden numbness in his lower

abdomen, and knew he had been hit by someone waiting

in ambush under the bed. He roared angrily,

sidestepped two paces and suppressed his breathing to

control the numbness. Chen, who was startled to see

Zhang still standing, leapt out from beneath the bed

and struck his face with his fists seven or eight

times.

If he responded, Zhang knew his control would be lost

and the paralysis in his abdomen would spread. He

retreated as Chen's foot flew up and struck another

yuedao point. This time, he could not sustain his

control. His whole body went limp and he fell to the

ground.

Chen searched him and was extremely disappointed to

find he did not have the Frozen Emerald sword with

him. He pulled a piece of paper out of Zhang's pocket

and saw under the candlelight that it was a note from

Commander Li asking Zhang to show his sword to an

important official who was waiting to see it:this must

have been the excuse Li had used to draw Zhang away.

He guessed that Zhang had been anxious to get back to

the dungeon to resume his guard duties and had left

early without the sword.

Chen continued his search of Zhang's body, and

suddenly leapt up jubilantly.

"What is it?" Wen asked. Chen held his hand up and

displayed a set of keys. He tried one on the manacles

and they opened immediately.

Finally freed, Wen exercised his arms and legs as Chen

took off his cape and hat.

"Put these on and get out quickly," he said.

"What about you?"

"I'll wait here for a while. You get out."

Wen understood his meaning. "Great Helmsman, I am very

grateful for your good intentions, but we cannot do it

that way."

"Fourth Brother, you don't understand. I am in no

danger if I stay here." He told Wen about how the

Emperor and he had sworn an oath to each other.

"It is still impossible,," Wen said.

Chen frowned. "I am the Great Helmsman. All members of

the Red Flower Society must follow my orders, is that

not correct?"

"Of course."

"Fine. Then this my order. Put these on quickly and

get out. The brothers are outside waiting for you."

"This time I am forced to disobey your order," Wen

said. "I would prefer to accept whatever penalty you

decide upon."

They were deadlocked. Chen pursed his lips and then

had an idea.

"Well, we'll have to risk going out together then. Put

on his clothes," he said pointing at Zhang.

"Excellent! Why didn't you say so earlier?" Wen

exclaimed.

The two stripped Zhang of his clothes and exchanged

them for Wen's, then locked the chains and manacles

onto him. Zhang shook with rage, his eyes blood-red

with hate, but he was unable to utter a sound.

The two walked quietly through the door and along the

corridor. As they ascended a flight of stone steps, a

bright light assailed their eyes and they saw the

whole courtyard was filled with torches. Several dozen

soldiers stood with shining spear tips pointed at the

dungeon entrance. Behind them were several hundred

archers with bows drawn. Commander Li stood with his

right hand held high. Once it dropped, the spears and

arrows would be loosed, and Chen and Wen would be

dead.

Chen stepped back a pace. "How are your wounds?" he

whispered to Wen. "Can you charge through?"

"No, my leg is not up to it," Wen replied with a

rueful smile. "You go by yourself, Great Helmsman,

don't worry about me."

"All right, pretend you're Zhang and we'll see how we

do," Chen replied.

Wen pulled his cap down to his eyebrows and strode

out. Commander Li's heart sank at the sight of Zhang

and Chen together and he assumed that Zhang had

arrested him. He turned to his daughter Yuanzhi.

"Give Zhang's sword back to him and distract him so

that Chen can get away," he said.

Yuanzhi walked over with the 'Frozen Emerald' sword in

her hand and held it out to Wen, positioning herself

between the two men.

"Uncle Zhang, here is your sword," she said, giving

Chen a slight nudge with her elbow. Wen grunted and

moved to accept the sword, and suddenly under the

torch light she recognized him.

"Wen Tailai! So you're trying to escape," she cried

and thrust the sword at his chest.

Wen feinted to one side and caught the blade with his

fingers while his right hand struck out at the Solar

Yuedao points on her forehead. Frightened, Yuanzhi

tried to retreat a step, but found that with his

fingers still holding the sword, she was unable to

move an inch. She let go of the sword and tried to

slip away, but Wen struck her left shoulder and a

bone-splitting pain surged through her. She cried out

and squatted down. Looking back, Chen saw Wen was

surrounded but he continued to fight fiercely.

"Stop or the archers will shoot," Commander Li roared.

The old wounds on Wen's thigh burst open with the

sudden effort and blood poured out. He knew he did not

have the strength to break out of the circle of

soldiers.

"Great Helmsman, catch the sword and get out!" he

shouted. He tried to throw the Frozen Emerald Sword,

but with a sudden pain in his shoulder, his hand went

limp and the sword fell to the ground only a few feet

from him. He had been hit by an arrow.

Chen turned to Commander Li. "Stop shooting!" he

shouted. Li waved his hand and the archers stopped.

"Get a doctor quickly to deal with Master Wen's

wounds. I'm going," Chen said, and raced out of the

Yamen. Following Li's orders, the guards pretended to

give chase, without really obstructing him.

Once out of the Yamen, 'Leopard' Wei and Luo Bing came

up to meet him. Chen smiled bitterly and shook his

head. The eastern sky was already pale as with heavy

hearts the heroes returned home.
关键字:书剑恩仇录
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