Chapter 6 - Imprisonment

11/24/22, 7:17 PM Qiang Jin Jiu – Chapter 6 : Imprisonment – Lianyin @ CangJi.
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Qiang Jin Jiu
QIANG JIN JIU – CHAPTER 6 :

IMPRISONMENT
Lianyin February 19, 2020
S H ARE ON
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It was a rare sunny day in Qudu the day Shen Zechuan entered Zhao
Zui Temple. White snow covered the palace tiles, with green plums mirrored
https://cangji.net/qiangjinjiu/qiangjinjiu-c6/ 1/14
11/24/22, 7:17 PM Qiang Jin Jiu – Chapter 6 : Imprisonment – Lianyin @ CangJi.NET
on vermillion walls. Sunlight shone through the eaves, casting slanting lines
P
of yin and yang1 before his feet.
He had just recovered from a bout of severe illness and was skinny to
the point of being skeletal. At fifteen years of age, his past and old dreams
were like ashes scattered clean by this biting cold north wind the moment
he opened his eyes.
Ge Qingqing went down the stairs first. He turned his head to look back
at him and said, “It’s getting late.”
Shen Zechuan supported himself against the pillar and slowly made his
way down the stairs. He was neither accustomed nor terrified to be exposed
under the sun. The childishness of youth seemed to have been pulverized
amidst that pallor of his face. Other than the fragility of illness, they could
discern nothing else from his expression.
Ji Lei was waiting at the entrance of Zhao Zui Temple with Xiaofuzi
following beside him. Raising his head to look at this ancient temple,
Xiaofuzi marveled, “What a magnificent and queer temple. It really doesn’t
seem to be the place to imprison people.”
“You don’t know its past.” Ji Lei said, “Zhao Zui Temple was originally a
place for the imperial clan to offer incense. Lord Guangcheng’s
handwritten orders were even previously offered in worship inside. In its
heyday, all the eminent monks in the world assembled here, and large-
scale intellectual discourse was all the rage for a time.”
“Why haven’t I heard any mention of it in recent years?” Xiaofuzi sized

up the temple gates. “It’s rather dilapidated. There haven’t been any repairs
done on it for a long time, have it?”
Ji Lei spent a moment composing himself and said, “It’s been twenty
years. The condemned Crown Prince instigated the Eight Great Training
Divisions of Qudu to plot a rebellion. After his troops’ defeat, he retreated
here and fought back like a cornered beast. In the end, blood splattered all
over the Buddha statue as he slit his own throat to end his life. From then
on, the former Emperor no longer set foot in his place. He stripped the
temple of its name and renamed it Zhao Zui.”
“Oh man, twenty years.” Xiaofuzi clutched his throat as if this was a
surprising thing to him. “I wasn’t even born yet! That was the time His
Excellency Ji just joined the Imperial Bodyguards, wasn’t it?”
Ji Lei did not answer him. He turned to the rear and rebuked. “Why is
he not here yet?”
Xiaofuzi was still circling around the “Zhao Zui” stone tablet. When he
was done, he asked Ji Lei, “But I’ve never heard of anyone being locked up
inside either?”
Ji Lei seemed annoyed and said, “Those imprisoned are all the
secretariat ministers involved in the case of the condemned Crown Prince.
The clans of the civil officials and military commanders involved were all
executed. Those that remained are few and far between. It has been twenty
years, who would still remember?!”
The prisoner wagon2 rolled up to them. Ge Qingqing paid his

obeisances to Ji Lei and said, “Your Excellency, I’ve brought him here.”
“Send him in.” Ji Lei then said to Shen Zechuan, “After today’s farewell,
we probably won’t have the chance to meet again. The Emperor’s
magnanimity knows no bound. You must remember this with gratitude for
the rest of your life. ”
Shen Zechuan turned a deaf ear as he entered the Zhao Zui Temple.
That vermillion door with paint peeling off it moved with a loud rumble. He
stood in the middle and looked at Ji Lei. Ji Lei was displeased by his gaze
and was about to lose his temper when he saw Shen Zechuan unveiled a
smile on his cleansed face.
He’s gone mad.
Ji Lei thought subconsciously. But then he heard Shen Zechuan say,
“Your Excellency Ji.” His voice was calm. “We will meet again.”
The vermillion door shut with a “bang” and stirred up a cloud of dust.
Xiaofuzi covered his nose and coughed while stepping back repeatedly. But
then, he saw Ji Lei standing motionlessly where he was.
Ji Lei only returned to his senses after being called a few times. He
swiftly mounted the horse. With the sun shining on his back, he cussed, “…
Bah. Just my rotten luck!”
◈ ◈ ◈
Xiao Chiye was riding his horse across the street when he bumped into
Ji Lei. Reining it in, he laughed and said, “Old Ji, aren’t you on duty before
the Emperor?”
Ji Lei looked covetously at the battle steed under Xiao Chiye’s crotch
and said, “I have to take that surviving criminal into custody at the temple
today. I’m now hurrying over to the palace. Second Young Master, that’s an
excellent steed! I heard you tamed it yourself?”
“I had free time. “Xiao Chiye lashed out the horsewhip with a crack, and
the gyrfalcon in the sky swiftly swooped down onto his shoulder. He said,
“Torturing falcons3 and playing with horses are all the talents I have.”
“Once you assume your duties after the new year,4 you’ll be busy.” Ji
Lei said, “Qudu’s latest eminence! I’m not on duty tomorrow. How about a
drink together?”
Xiao Chiye said, “If the wine isn’t good, I’m not going.”
Ji Lei laughed out loud and said, “Of course it’s good wine! Who dares to
invite the Second Young Master if the wine isn’t good? I’ll call at your
residence later to invite you. Would the Hereditary Prince have the time to
have fun together with us?”
Xiao Chiye caressed his bone thumb ring5 and said, “My eldest brother,
huh? He’s not a fan of such activities. Why? It’s not prestigious enough for
you if I’m the only one going?”
Ji Lei hurriedly said, “That’s not what I said! Second Young Master, that
settles it then.”
Xiao Chiye acknowledged him and kicked the horse to leave. But just
before leaving, he seemed to recall something and asked, “How did that
surviving criminal look? Can he walk?”
“Walk, he can.” Ji Lei responded. “But not nimbly enough from the way
I see it. How many can actually survive floggings without post-injuries? He
is lucky to be able to walk.”
Xiao Chiye did not say a word more as he spurred his horse on and left.
◈ ◈ ◈
A little later, the errand-runner delivered the meals to Zhao Zui Temple.
Shen Zechuan lit the oil lamp but did not touch the food. Grabbing the oil
lamp, he walked a round along the small corridor beside the main hall.
The dust had been accumulating here for a long time. Some side rooms
in the wings had fallen into a state of dilapidation with the doors and
windows already rotten. Shen Zechuan saw several skeletons that toppled
over when the wind blew. Since he did not come across any living creature,
he returned to the main hall.
The Buddha statue had collapsed, and the incense altar was old but still
durable. The size below was just right. Shen Zechuan hung up a tattered
curtain cloth and lay down underneath with his clothes on. The cold from
the floor made his legs hurt. He endured the pain and closed his eyes to
count the hours.
Fresh snow started to fall in the latter half of the night. Shen Zechuan
listened as the night owl hooted twice. He sat up and lifted open the cloth
just in time to see Ji Gang step through the door before him.
“After you’ve eaten,” Ji Gang opened the cloth bundle.6 “Train. This
place can’t keep the wind out at night. It’s too cold. Shifu is afraid you will
fall ill if you sleep.”
Shen Zechuan looked at the roasted chicken wrapped in oil paper and
said, “One should abstain from meat when ill. Shifu, you can have it.”
Ji Gang tore up the roasted chicken for him and said, “Bullshit! This is
the time where you should eat your fill. Shifu likes to eat the rear end of the
chicken; even at home, it’s my favorite. Save it for me.”
Shen Zechuan said, “Since I’m following you, I will eat what you eat.”
Ji Gang glanced at him and laughed. He said,” Brat.”
Master and disciple split the roasted chicken among them. Ji Gang
seemed to have grown a mouthful of iron teeth as he chewed even the
chicken bones into pieces. He handed the bottle gourd to Shen Zechuan
and said, “Drink some wine if you really can’t put up with the cold. But
don’t drink too much. Just sip accordingly, just like your brother.”
They never mentioned Zhongbo, Duanzhou, or even the Chashi

Sinkhole these days. Shiniang and Ji Mu were unspoken wounds both
master and disciple shared. Both of them thought they had hidden it pretty
well, but they never realized that the blood was already seeping out and
that the pain was mutual.
Shen Zechuan took a sip and handed it over to Ji Gang.
Ji Gang did not take it. He said, “I’ve quit. Shifu doesn’t drink anymore.”
Silence descended in the hall. Without the shelter of the door, the snow
fell before their very eyes, becoming the only scenery in this endless
night.
Ji Gang asked, “Why are you in a daze?”
Shen Zechuan said, “Shifu.”
“Just say it if you have something to say.”
“I’m sorry.”
After a long silence, Ji Gang said, “It’s not your fault.”
Shen Zechuan clenched his fist. He stared at the snow as if the tears
would fall if he blinked. His voice hitched as he said, “Did you go looking for
us at Chashi?”
Ji Gang slowly leaned against the incense altar, burying his body within
the shadows. It was as if he was looking for his own voice. After a long time,
he said, “I went. I found him.”
He found him.
Ji Gang found his son – all covered in arrows – in the pit of snow. He
had jumped into it and stepped across those thick piles of corpses to dig
out Ji Mu’s body.
Ji Mu was only twenty-three of age. He had just been promoted to

Squad Commander of the Duanzhou Garrison Army. His armor was new.
The day he put it on, Hua Pingting hung a protective talisman for her son in
the lock. When Ji Gang found him, he had been frozen purple along with
his other comrades.
Shen Zechuan raised his head slightly and said, “Shifu, I’m sorry.”
Ji Gang was already old. He tousled his white hair and said, “He’s the
elder brother, isn’t he? That’s what he should do. Everything that happened
is not your fault. “
The snow fell for a moment.
Ji Gang huddled over and said, “Who would have known that those
Biansha baldies would come? That he would become a soldier and charge
to the very front of the battle is something that can’t be helped. I taught
him martial arts, and with that temperament of his, you might as well kill
him than to ask him to flee. He could hardly bear to see others suffer and
dragged down. So how would he, how would he flee?”
“It’s not your fault or his. Shifu is the one to be blamed. I indulged in
excessive drinking. Your shiniang scolded me for so long, but I never quit.
When the cavalry came, I couldn’t even fight properly. At this age, I’m old
and disabled. I’ve long gone useless.”
Water dripped onto the bottle gourd. Shen Zechuan gripped it and said
nothing.
“Old and disabled.” A grinning head suddenly poked out from behind
the Buddha statue and said, “Old and disabled!”
Ji Gang sprang up like a leopard and bellowed, “Who’s there?!”
The unkempt man gradually stretched his body out and imitated Ji
Gang. “Who, who!”
When Ji Gang heard this voice clearly, he pressed Shen Zechuan down
and involuntarily blurted out in astonishment, “… Grand Mentor7 Qi!”
The man speedily shrank his head back. Kicking the Buddha statue, he
yelled, “I’m not! I’m not the Grand Mentor!”
Ji Gang ran a few steps behind the Buddha statue in pursuit. When he
saw the man about to bore his way through a hole to flee, he could not help
but pounce and grab him by the ankle. The man immediately let out a
squeal like a pig being slaughtered and shouted, “Your Highness! Your
Highness, flee quickly! “
Shen Zechuan covered his mouth and joined forces with Ji Gang to
carry him back.
“Who is this?” Shen Zechuan asked.
“You are young, so you’ve never heard of him.” Ji Gang’s voice was
unsteady as he pressed the man down and said, “Grand Mentor Qi, this is
great! You are still alive! What about His Excellency Zhou? Is His Excellency
Zhou here too?”
Grand Mentor Qi was thin and small. He could not kick them away, so
he glared at them and whispered, “He’s dead, dead! I’m dead. His Highness
is dead. Everyone is dead!”
Ji Gang said in a heavy voice, “Grand Mentor, I am Ji Gang! The

Imperial Bodyguards Vice Commander, Ji Gang!”
Still badly shaken, Grand Mentor Qi hesitantly raised his neck to look at
Ji Gang’s face. He said, “You’re not Ji Gang. You’re an evil spirit!”
Ji Gang said sorrowfully, “Grand Mentor! In the twenty-third year of

Yongyi,8 I escorted you into the capital. This was where His Royal
Highness the Crown Prince met and welcomed you. Have you forgotten
this too?”
Grand Mentor Qi’s eyes glistened as he raved madly. “They killed the
Crown Prince… Your Highness!” He sobbed and said, “Ji Gang, Your
Excellency Ji! Take His Highness away! The Eastern Palace has become
the target of public censure. What crime has His Highness committed?!”
Ji Gang dejectedly released his hands and said, “Grand Mentor… In the
twenty-ninth year, Ji Lei sold himself to the enemy. I’ve already been
kicked out of Qudu. In these twenty years, I’ve been reduced to a mere
fugitive of the martial fraternity. I have also gone on to take a wife and
fathered a child in Duanzhou of Zhongbo.”
Grand Mentor Qi stared at him blankly and said, “… His Highness is

gone, but the Imperial Grandson is still around! Take him away. You, take
him away!”
Ji Gang could not help but close his eyes and said, “In the thirtieth year
of Yongyi, the Crown Prince slit his own throat and committed suicide in
this place. No one from the Eastern Palace returned alive.”
Grand Mentor Qi leaned back and muttered. “That’s right, that’s right…”
He sobbed like a child. “How did it come to this?”
This night had made Ji Gang mentally and physically exhausted. He

said, “After the parting of drifting clouds, ten years have gone like flowing
water.9 Who would expect that when we meet again in this life, it would be
under such circumstances?”
Grand Mentor Qi turned his body to hide his face and said, “Did they
lock you up too? Let them lock! Let them kill all the literati in this world.”
Ji Gang said, “My disciple is shouldering the blame for his father.”
Grand Mentor Qi said, “Shouldering the blame for his father… That’s
great. Who’s his father? He couldn’t have angered His Majesty too, could
he?”
Ji Gang sighed and said, “Last year, Shen Wei’s troops were defeated…”
He did not expect Grand Mentor Qi to turn his head suddenly upon
hearing the words “Shen Wei” and crawled on all fours towards Shen
Zechuan. He asked, “This, is Shen Wei’s son?”
Ji Gang had a sense of foreboding and was about to act when Grand
Mentor Qi beat him to it and pounced. Making a grab for Shen Zechuan
with his wizened fingers, he said savagely, “Shen Wei! Shen Wei killed His
Highness!”
Sharp-eyed and agile, Shen Zechuan had already grasped Grand

Mentor Qi by his wrists. Right after this, Ji Gang grabbed hold of Grand
Mentor Qi and said, “Grand Mentor! Do you want my disciple to die today
for the same reason the Imperial Grandson did? No matter what crimes
Shen Wei committed, it has nothing to do with my disciple!”
Grand Mentor Qi gasped heavily and spoke in a trembling voice. “Since

he’s Shen Wei’s son, Shen Wei’s son…”
“He was Shen Wei’s son when he was born.” Ji Gang held Grand Mentor
Qi down and suddenly kowtowed. He continued, “But he later became Ji
Gang’s son. If I utter a single word of falsehood tonight, then I’ll die a
terrible death! Grand Mentor, are you going to kill my son?”
P/S: For those who missed it last chapter, the character glossary has
been added! To avoid spoilers, the list will be updated as the translation of
the story progresses, e.g. when new characters are revealed or when the
characters’ titles and ranks change.

Support the Author!
If you like this story, consider supporting the author!
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GLOSSARY : Characters GLOSSARY : Places
Footnotes
1. The concept of Yin and Yang represents opposing forces such as life
(yang) and death (yin), male (yang) and female (yin), light (yang) and
darkness (yin), etc. Here, it simply refers to strips of alternating shadow
and light on the ground. 
2.
囚车 literally a prison/prisoner wagon used to transport criminals over a

long distance. 
3. 熬鹰 literally torturing falcons, it’s one of the ways to train them by not
allowing it to sleep and torture it to exhaustion to wear down its wild
nature. 
4. 年后 Refers to the lunar/Chinese new year 
5.
Ornamental thumb ring which is often made from jade, but in this case,
it’s made of bone. It’s also typically worn by archers in ancient times to
protect the right thumb when drawing a bowstring. 
6.
包袱, a cloth bundle. In the old days, people traveled around with their
clothes and possessions bundled up with a piece of cloth. The bundle
was then worn across the shoulders and carried around. It also works for
carrying food around. 
7. 太傅 Grand Mentor, or Grand Tutor, was usually in charge of tutoring the

Crown Prince. 
8. This is the name of an era during which a specific Emperor reigned. 
9. 浮云一别后，流水十年间 A line from the Tang poem, A Greeting on the

Huai River to my Old Friends from Liangchuan 《淮上喜会梁州故人》
by Wei Yingwu (韦应物) 
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Synopsis
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11/24/22, 7:17 PM Qiang Jin Jiu – Chapter 6 : Imprisonment – Lianyin @ CangJi.

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Qiang Jin Jiu

QIANG JIN JIU – CHAPTER 6 :

“Why haven’t I heard any mention of it in recent years?” Xiaofuzi sized

The prisoner wagon2 rolled up to them. Ge Qingqing paid his

He’s gone mad.

Ji Lei thought subconsciously. But then he heard Shen Zechuan say,

Ji Gang glanced at him and laughed. He said,” Brat.”

They never mentioned Zhongbo, Duanzhou, or even the Chashi

Shen Zechuan took a sip and handed it over to Ji Gang.

Ji Gang asked, “Why are you in a daze?”

Shen Zechuan said, “Shifu.”

“Just say it if you have something to say.”

After a long silence, Ji Gang said, “It’s not your fault.”

Ji Mu was only twenty-three of age. He had just been promoted to

The snow fell for a moment.

Ji Gang sprang up like a leopard and bellowed, “Who’s there?!”

“Who is this?” Shen Zechuan asked.

Ji Gang said in a heavy voice, “Grand Mentor, I am Ji Gang! The

Ji Gang said sorrowfully, “Grand Mentor! In the twenty-third year of

Grand Mentor Qi stared at him blankly and said, “… His Highness is

This night had made Ji Gang mentally and physically exhausted. He

Sharp-eyed and agile, Shen Zechuan had already grasped Grand

Grand Mentor Qi gasped heavily and spoke in a trembling voice. “Since

GLOSSARY : Characters GLOSSARY : Places

囚车 literally a prison/prisoner wagon used to transport criminals over a

4. 年后 Refers to the lunar/Chinese new year 

7. 太傅 Grand Mentor, or Grand Tutor, was usually in charge of tutoring the

8. This is the name of an era during which a specific Emperor reigned. 

9. 浮云一别后，流水十年间 A line from the Tang poem, A Greeting on the

 TAGS : # BL # QJJ # Tang Jiuqing

◈ NC Edits Status: 2/129

→ Advanced & Locked Chapters

→ Send in Proof of Purchase

→ Tang Jiuqing Carrd @t97.carrd.co

Copyright © 2019-2022 CangJi.Net @Lianyin. All rights reserved.

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