Chapter 60 – The Grand Finale

In the twenty-third year of Shengyuan1, the Emperor of Dazhao, Your Majesty, passed away. The chancellor, Pei Rufeng, was appointed as the regent to guide the young prince.

The stories of the Emperor and his chancellor working together for many years had become legendary among the people. With the Emperor’s passing, Pei Rufeng was overcome with grief, his hair turning white overnight.

Under the strong support of the chancellor, the young Crown Prince managed to secure his throne and placed great trust in the Pei Family.

The Pei Family had both father and ‘son’ serving in the court. As Pei Xuan’s official rank rose year by year, Pei Rufeng feigned illness and retired. The young Emperor, despite his reluctance, had no choice but to accept, thus easing a significant concern and growing closer to Pei Xuan.

Pei Xuan, with a harmonious and prosperous family, was diligent in her official duties and well-loved by the people. Such a person had little interest in power struggles.

In the year Pei Xuan was promoted to the upper third rank, the sycophant Hou Zhu submitted a memorial to impeach her. The accusations were rather amusing, claiming that Pei Xuan’s charm had caused many women in the populace to suffer heartbreak. He repeated these frivolous charges several times, ultimately accusing her of lacking personal integrity.

Coincidentally, Pei Xuan was unwell that day. The young Emperor observed the courtiers, noting that many spoke in Pei Xuan’s defense, while others watched coldly, ready to add insult to injury.

Song Zizhen rolled up his sleeves and engaged in a fierce verbal battle with Hou Zhu, turning the Golden Palace into a noisy marketplace. Eventually, it escalated to physical confrontation, much to the disgrace of all involved.

Zheng Wuji was the one who leisurely attempted to mediate the conflict.

Hou Zhu, being a military man, was overwhelmed by a group of unarmed civil officials. The fight only stopped when the Emperor, angered, threw his inkstone. Both sides grudgingly ceased their brawling.

Song Zizhen transformed into a ‘street fighter’ before the Emperor, and Hou Zhu fared no better, losing what little hair he had left in the scuffle, almost becoming bald.

The court was in an uproar while Pei Xuan was at home, coughing severely. Her frail body had caught a cold the previous year, and she had not fully recovered. Just the night before, she had stayed up late dealing with state affairs, which led to Cui Ti scolding her incessantly by her bedside.

In this illness, the true nature of people’s hearts became apparent.

Pei Xuan roughly knew what was going on-it was nothing more than her being too prominent, blocking the path of those who sought to exploit the people.

Pei Xuan’s inherent integrity and pride made her unwilling to compromise with treacherous officials, which led to her current predicament.

Cui Ti sat by the bed, wiping the fine sweat from Pei Xuan’s forehead. “Your body is your own. Even if you don’t care about yourself, you have to think of me.”

Her eyes grew moist, and her eyelids turned red. Seeing this, Pei Xuan couldn’t bear it. She raised her hand to caress Cui Ti’s face and smiled. “Then I won’t be an official anymore. I’ll stay with you day and night, how about that?”

“Not being an official? That would be wonderful.”

From the bottom of her heart, Cui Ti disliked Pei Xuan getting involved in the chaos of politics. The human heart was like fire; on the surface, everything seemed grand and beautiful, but sometimes it felt like being roasted over a flame.

Moreover, with so many court officials, all kinds of difficult and troublesome matters always seemed to land on Pei Xuan’s shoulders. Pei Xuan might have the nation in her heart, but Cui Ti only had room for her.

If Pei Xuan exhausted herself, who would make up for it?

She kept grumbling, “If only you would really listen to me.”

Having been married for many years, Pei Xuan turned sideways and smiled despite her pale face.

Seeing her smile, any anger Cui Ti had dissipated. She picked up a bowl of sweet soup and fed it to her spoon by spoon.

She hoped that the burden on Pei Xuan’s shoulders could be lifted soon so that they could leave Xijing City and enjoy a carefree life like her in-laws. But… as she watched Pei Xuan sip the soup, she let go of that unlikely dream.

“Xingguang, drink slowly.”

Pei Xuan’s lips were tinged with the color of the soup. Hearing these words, her pale face unexpectedly flushed with a hint of red.

Even after seven years of marriage, she was still so endearing. Cui Ti took the bowl of sweet soup and, hugging Pei Xuan’s neck, laughed softly.

Having fallen ill and caused a commotion in the court, Pei Xuan began to contemplate resigning from her official position. She wanted to spend her remaining years traveling with Cui Ti, admiring the beautiful landscapes of the world.

With her mind made up, she submitted her resignation to Your Majesty, startling the young Emperor, who immediately ordered the gates of Xijing City to be sealed, forbidding Pei Xuan from leaving.

Pei Xuan was displeased and quarreled with the Emperor. For seven consecutive days, she claimed to be ill and refused to attend court, ignoring all attempts to persuade her.

Taking advantage of the situation, the sycophant Hou Zhu and the treacherous minister Xiang Qin hurriedly slandered her before the Emperor. The next day, Song Zizhen stormed into the Pei Family residence, unable to stop himself from shouting and cursing Hou Zhu and Xiang Qin as the true scourges of the nation.

“Xingguang, how can you not be worried! I’m worried to death for you!”

“No need to worry.”

Pei Xuan coughed twice. “Please, have a seat.”

Song Zizhen, puzzled, said, “Your health is so fragile. Why haven’t you recovered yet? Ugh, if you ask me, it’s not worth being an official! Enduring this nonsense! Ever since the Old Prime Minister and the other veteran ministers retired and returned to their hometowns, the court has changed hands. Our current Emperor…”

“Zizhen, be careful with your words,” Pei Xuan cautioned.

“Ha! I’m just venting my frustration! It’s not just me. Zheng Wuji is also fuming inside!”

He downed a cup of wine in one gulp. Just as he was about to pour a drink for his friend, he remembered Cui Ti forbidding him from encouraging Pei Xuan to drink. Awkwardly, he put the wine pot down and picked up the teapot instead, muttering, “Your Majesty is playing a waiting game! How can he let these treacherous officials run rampant without taking any action? Is this how he honors the Old Prime Minister? How he honors the Former Emperor? How he honors our years of hard study and dedication to serve the country?”

His resentment had been building up for a long time. Pei Xuan smiled as she sipped her tea, “Just wait and see.”

“See what?” Song Zizhen asked.

“See the Former Emperor’s judgment and our luck.”

If she could assist the ruler, she would. If not, she would resign, cherish her life, and spend more time with her beloved Titi.

Human destiny has its own course to follow.

This “waiting” saw the sun rise and set, and spring turn into summer.

On Lingji Mountain, a nine-zhang-high Investiture Platform was erected.

The civil officials were as joyful as if it were a festival. Song Zizhen, fully dressed in court attire, nudged Pei Xuan, “Xingguang, it’s your turn to appear!”

In the seventh year of Fengping2, the Emperor of Dazhao personally supported Pei Xuan as she ascended the Investiture Platform, receiving congratulations from the assembly and executing the two traitors, Hou Zhu and Xiang Qin, to demonstrate his wise and virtuous rule.

“Kneel—”

“Rise—”

With the winds and clouds swirling, the great responsibility rested on her shoulders. In the end, Pei Xuan did not become a carefree wanderer.

That same month and year, Cui Ti was granted a first-rank title by imperial decree, firmly binding the Pei Family to the royal court.

Pei Xuan’s life, like a shooting star, was brilliant yet brief. She served as an official for over a decade, earning the genuine respect of both the Emperor and the people. During her ten years as Chancellor, she opened canals, repaired waterways, and greatly expanded the civil service examinations, laying the foundation for five hundred years of prosperity in Dazhao’s literary fortune.

When people spoke of Chancellor Pei, they praised her in countless ways, but there was always one regret—she had a wife but no heirs.

In the seventeenth year of Fengping, during the winter, Pei Xuan, at thirty-five, requested two imperial pardons from the Emperor and sent them swiftly to Ling City.

In the twelfth lunar month, Pei Xuan passed away from her illness, and her wife followed her in death.

A thousand miles away, in Ling City, heavy snow was falling. Madam Pei woke from her dream with a start, “Xuan’er! Xuan’er?!”

The retired Old Prime Minister woke up from his dream at almost the same moment, tears streaming down his face, “My daughter, my daughter…”

Sounds came from outside the door: “Master, Madam, a letter has arrived from the gentleman!”

Madam Pei abruptly got out of bed.

A family letter, expressing gratitude for years of parental love.

Two imperial pardons, ensuring the safety of her parents for the rest of their lives.

Pei Xuan’s arrangements were meticulous. On the day of her death, the truth about her years of “childlessness” was revealed to the world.

“Xingguang lived an upright life, but in one matter, she deceived everyone…”

It was a letter of self-reproach.

It detailed her deep love for her wife over many years.

The streets and alleys of Xi Jing were filled with cries of mourning—”Chancellor Pei!”

The common people mourned her, and the court officials remembered her fondly.

Song Zizhen, with a few white hairs at his temples, knelt unceremoniously before the coffin, crying bitterly with snot and tears, “Xingguang, you deceived us so badly. You were a woman, and I used to joke every day that you couldn’t have children. Didn’t you set me up? I swear I could cry to death. You left so young. Who will Wuji and I drink with now? You’ve harmed us terribly.”

“Xingguang, don’t listen to his nonsense. Song Zizhen can’t speak without being vulgar. We won’t mind him. But you, a woman, we’ve been brothers with you for years and never suspected a thing…”

Zheng Wuji wiped his tears and choked out, “Actually, it’s not that we didn’t suspect at all. Every time we had doubts, you managed to deceive us again. You, a woman, with such literary talent and drinking capacity. In the end, it’s our own blindness, our shallow vision, that we didn’t recognize the real person.”

“It’s your own blindness, don’t drag me into it,” Song Zizhen cried and wailed, “Actually, I suspected you weren’t a man long ago. What man looks like you? Before, you were the Chancellor, and no one dared to say anything. Later, when you were appointed at Lingji Mountain, even fewer people dared to mention it. When people gossiped about you, I even secretly fought with someone. Ugh!”

Recalling the past, he felt miserable: “The funniest thing is, I was eagerly waiting to become in-laws with you…”

“Miss!”

Bai Tang, dressed in mourning clothes, was also crying.

Haozhong and Raoliang were sobbing so hard that after half an hour, their bodies couldn’t take it, and they fainted.

Just in time for the day when their daughter and daughter-in-law were buried together, Old Chancellor Pei and Madam Pei hurried back from Ling City. When they saw their daughter’s tombstone, a heart-wrenching pain engulfed them, but suddenly a spiritual light seemed to soothe their hearts, and their grief dissipated instantly.

“Don’t cry anymore. Xuan’er and Titi have gone to the heavens to become immortals,” Madam Pei said, tears welling in her eyes as she and the Old Chancellor comforted each other.

The mortal world was in chaos. Pei Xuan and Cui Ti were buried together on Phoenix Mountain. On the day of their burial, the phoenix trees in front of the mountain suddenly revived in spring, bursting with life, and then just as quickly the flowers bloomed and fell.

The Emperor, witnessing this, sighed, “Even the withered trees lament our great loss of a talented minister and the deep affection between Chancellor Pei and her wife.”

The cries of the people soared to the heavens. In the Upper Realm, the immortal attendants guarding the reincarnation platform respectfully welcomed the return of the Literature Star.

A golden light shone brilliantly, and a woman ascended from the light, her long black hair flowing, her stature like jade—who else could it be but Pei Xuan?

“Greetings, Divine Lord!”

In the Heavenly Realm, regardless of gender, high-ranking immortals are addressed as “immortal lord,” and above that, they are referred to as “Divine Lord.” Having completed her eighth lifetimes of Mortal Tribulation, the Literature Star’s status had risen significantly.

Pei Xuan, now a Divine Lord, bore a sixfold resemblance to her mortal self, but her aura was incomparable.

She nodded indifferently and asked, “Where is the fairy who returned with me? Where is she?”

The immortal attendants immediately checked the golden register, puzzled, “Strange, she should have returned with you.”

Pei Xuan frowned and was about to calculate when a white light swiftly flew past the reincarnation platform. Her heart startled, “Niangzi!?”

The rabbit immortal, hearing this, twitched her ears but had more pressing matters to attend to and ignored the “beloved Divine Lord.”

“Titi!?”

How could Pei Xuan watch her leave without following?

One newly reinstated immortal pursued another, and the immortal attendants guarding the reincarnation platform, unwilling to offend either, pretended to admire the scenery.

Never mind, it’s best not to get involved in the affairs of such high-ranking beings, thought the little immortal attendant.

Meanwhile, after gaining enlightenment and becoming an immortal, Cui Ti’s first act upon entering the Upper Realm was to inquire about the whereabouts of Fairy Qingyao. Learning from the white-bearded Matchmaker God that the grass fairy was being punished in the Underwater Cave, she didn’t hesitate and charged straight in.

In the Underwater Cave, the relentless gusts and dark waters never ceased. The Pleasure Immortal, Ning Hehuan, was writhing in pain, her daily punishments making it impossible for her to enjoy any drama.

Qin Jing mocked her for finally tasting hardship but then, feeling a sudden pang of sympathy, retorted, “If you can’t take it, come closer to me.”

As a Celestial Being, Qin Jing’s immortal power was much stronger than Ning Hehuan’s, and with her protection, Ning Hehuan could suffer less.

But Ning Hehuan ignored her.

Qin Jing’s warm offer met with cold indifference, and she fumed, “Serves you right!”

Their playful bickering only added to the misery of Fairy Qingyao, who was also being punished in the Underwater Cave. This grass fairy, with middling powers, had long since lost the ability to maintain her immortal form and lay there in her original wilted state, utterly despondent.

Just as she was about to give up all hope, Cui Ti forcefully burst in!

The sight of the gigantic rabbit form startled both Ning Hehuan and Qin Jing. Ning Hehuan was dumbfounded, stammering, “R-r-rabbit…”

She stuttered endlessly, unable to form a coherent word, while Cui Ti, newly ascended and not recognizing anyone, grabbed the grass fairy and bolted out!

“She-she-she-she—”

Qin Jing, thoroughly disgusted, finished, “Yes! She took the grass fairy and ran!”

Ning Hehuan wore an expression of utter disbelief, as if the world was collapsing: “Harming fellow immortals—does she not fear being stripped of her immortal status?!”

“…”

Qin Jing couldn’t bear to look at Ning Hehuan’s naivety. She adjusted her sleeves and said, “You don’t understand. That’s an immortal rabbit with powerful backing. This isn’t ‘harming fellow immortals’; it’s just her nature. She’s a newly ascended rabbit from the Upper Realm, and no one’s taught her the rules. Ignorance is no blame. Besides, she’s not the one being punished here.”

The rabbit spirit had ascended to immortality, undoubtedly benefiting from the accumulated virtue of the Literature Star’s eighth lifetimes, likely achieving the status of Divine Lord.

With such protection, isn’t it only natural for the rabbit to eat grass?

Qin Jing laughed at Ning Hehuan’s innocence, no wonder she had only managed to attain the title of a Pleasure Immortal after all these years.

Ning Hehuan, rubbing her chin in thought, remarked, “With the Literature Star back in place, does that mean I’ll get out of here soon? I did save her wife, after all! I helped her!”

Her eagerness to leave this wretched place was evident, and though Qin Jing felt a twinge of displeasure, she said, “Yes, congratulations.”

“…”

The Pleasure Immortal coughed twice, “Well, I’m not in that much of a hurry to leave.”

Tsk!

Just as Qin Jing unexpectedly said something sensible, a smile played on her lips. “What if the Literature Star comes to kill me, avenging the rabbit for what I did to her in the Mortal Realm? What would you do?”

“What could I do?” Ning Hehuan felt increasingly uneasy. “She wouldn’t kill you. Since when has the Literature Star been so ruthless?”

In her heart, however, Ning Hehuan was determined to protect Qin Jing at all costs. They had been arch-enemies for so long that life in the Upper Realm would be unbearably dull without her rival.

She waved her hand dismissively. “Put your mind at ease!”

Celestial Being Qin Zhen was extremely satisfied. Walking against the fierce winds and dark waters, she leaned over and gave Ning Hehuan a kiss.

“…”

The Underwater Cave once again became a noisy place.

Meanwhile, Cui Ti, having reverted to her original form, barged into the cave and took the Qingyao Grass in her mouth. On her way back, she ran headlong into her supposedly “deceased” beloved. Her furry face betrayed no blush, so she simply turned her bunny tail towards Pei Xuan.

Her dramatic entrance had already alerted half the immortals. Pei Xuan, worried Cui Ti might suffer as a newcomer, stood gracefully by her side in a long, ethereal gown, just in time to receive the congratulations of the other immortals.

No one dared to mention the rabbit immortal’s aggressive behavior.

Qingyao Grass trembled in Cui Ti’s mouth, her sharp rabbit teeth causing pain in the grass’s immortal veins. Qingyao silently pleaded for help from the Literature Star, but Pei Xuan’s eyes were fixed solely on Cui Ti.

In that instant, Qingyao’s spirit was crushed. Her leaves withered, her state of mind deteriorated, and her cultivation regressed.

Seeing how easily Qingyao was frightened, Cui Ti spat out the unlucky grass and, having vented all her frustrations from countless lifetimes, finally found Pei Xuan more agreeable.

“Divine Lord?”

She tilted her large bunny head and smiled at Pei Xuan.

Pei Xuan, full of affection, folded her sleeves and bowed. “Congratulations to Fairy Jiaojiao on achieving the Great Dao.”

“Fairy Jiaojiao?” Cui Ti’s eyes lit up with a smile. “Why don’t you call me ‘Titi’ anymore?”

“Niangzi.”

“Why do you always have to go against me? Call me Titi, not Niangzi.”

Pei Xuan gently stroked her rabbit ears. “Titi.”

Cui Ti’s ears turned red from the touch. She couldn’t decide whether “Niangzi” or “Titi” sounded sweeter, so she grumbled and swatted Pei Xuan’s mischievous hand away. “A thousand years ago, you tricked me into thinking you were a mortal. Well done, Pei Xingguang!”

“…”

Love debts can be settled at any time. The two of them, now a pair, were so deeply affectionate that the surrounding old immortals felt their teeth ache from the sweetness.

Oh dear, the Upper Realm is going to be lively from now on!

Footnote:

• Shengyuan(晟元): The national title during the reign of the first emperor of Da Zhao.

1. Fengping(奉平): The national title during the reign of the second emperor of Da Zhao.