spoiled brat

Chapter 83, Section 82: The Lost Boat (Part Two)

In his deep sorrow, he heard Yixing call out, "Lord Xu."

Xu Feng weakly raised his head: "Your Highness."

“You may not have achieved anything great over the years, but you have certainly worked hard,” Yi Xing said casually. “I’ll help you submit the letter of apology. Let’s go.”

Xu Feng was stunned: "Your Highness means—"

He Wang handed the important ledger to Yi Xing and said with a smile, "His Highness will let you go."

Really? Xu Feng stiffly thanked him, while Yi Xing flipped through the accounts without replying, waving his hand to signal him to leave. With a whoosh, the ball of flesh-like Xu Feng darted away, showing no signs of old age or serious injury.

Having served as an official for many years, Xu Feng had amassed a considerable fortune. In his haste to leave, he couldn't take everything with him, only his gold and silver.

As dawn broke, Xu Feng's most loyal servants prepared seventeen carriages, enough to make them local tyrants wherever they went.

Everyone waited for Xu Feng to leave, but he, despite his injuries, was in the backyard choosing women of all kinds, selecting nine in total. The nine girls followed behind Xu Feng, thinking to themselves that they had been reduced from being concubines of high-ranking officials to concubines of landlords, which was a step down, and their lives were miserable... Just as they were thinking this, Xu Feng's head suddenly jumped up, and blood splattered all over the wall.

Two plainclothes Imperial Guards emerged from behind the courtyard gate and casually put Xu Feng's head into the wooden box. The girls were terrified and scattered in panic.

Yi Xing tossed the account book into the box: "Search this mansion carefully, don't miss anything."

He Wang nodded.

A report was heard from outside.

"Your Highness, the total is three million taels."

Yi Xing rubbed his temples: "Take them back to the capital, bypass the Ministry of Revenue, and send them directly to the palace."

Then someone else said, "Your Highness, Lord Xu has finished packing."

Just then, a sob suddenly came from behind the curtains inside the room. He Wang glared over and asked, "Who is it?"

He rushed behind the curtains and pulled out a woman, who was the unlucky girl who had lit all the candles at the beginning. Yi Xing's arrival was so sudden that she had no chance to go out and had to stay in the room, where she heard everything she should and shouldn't have heard.

The woman trembled, sobbing, her face deathly pale as she stared at the people and account books inside the room, then at the still-dripping wooden box outside the door, crying, "I...it has nothing to do with me..."

Yi Xing disliked hearing people cry and was very noisy: "Burn the account books right here, don't leave a single one."

He Wang understood his meaning and burned the person as well. He wouldn't hesitate to kill a woman, but this girl was quite interesting: "Your Highness, she looks like the little palace maid who feeds the birds in our palace."

Yi Xing glanced at it and it did look like it. He remembered that the little palace maid had taken good care of his hawk: "Then give me a quick death."

-

Thirty li north of Yunzhou City, a group of men disappeared into the night and crept into the mountains.

It had just rained heavily, and the wind was thick with moisture, so the torches wouldn't light, and it was pitch black all around.

The only light was the moon in the sky, its light, cut off by the shadows of the trees, fell into puddles of all sizes, and was extinguished by the sound of a horse's hoof.

Unconscious Zhao Zhao clung tightly to the horse's neck, her pale face buried in its mane. She bounced with the sound of the horse's hooves. The knife wound on her arm was wrapped with cloth, but the bleeding had not completely stopped, and blood dripped down her body, leaving a trail of blood along the way.

She looked so pitiful. He couldn't bear to look any longer, so he rode ahead and said to Xiu Yi, "Master, don't let that little prostitute follow us..."

Xiu Yi glanced back and waved his hand, saying, "Stop."

The horses, which had been running all night, finally got to rest. There was a stream by the mountain road, and the guards led the horses to drink water.

Why bring the horse carrying Zhao Zhao over and point to the wound on her arm, saying, "Her wound is very deep; we need to take her back to the city to see a doctor right away"?

Xiu Yi dismounted and patted Zhao Zhao's face: "You absolutely have to come?"

Having lost too much blood, Zhao Zhao was trapped in the vast black fog. With her remaining consciousness, she trembled and said, "I have to go."

Wang Liuer is still imprisoned, her fate unknown.

Xiu Yi opened the satchel on the horse's back, took out wound medicine and bandages, and said to He Bi, "Give me the wine you didn't finish."

Why bother with a small silver pot at his waist, filled with strong liquor from Gansu? Seeing Zhao Zhao's pale face, he couldn't bear it and said, "This liquor burns the throat. Pouring it on her wound, she's a little girl and I'm afraid she can't handle it."

"Can't stand it?" Xiu Yi sneered. He should have brought He Bi with him that day. If he had experienced the suffocation of being tightly entangled underwater by this little prostitute, he wouldn't have felt any extra sympathy.

He lifted Zhao Zhao's arm and used a dagger to cut open the clothes that were stuck together with blood, revealing a horrific knife wound that had turned white from being soaked in rainwater.

Xiu Yi withdrew his gaze and said to He Bi, "Send her away."

Just as he was about to turn around, the dying Zhao Zhao spoke, her voice barely audible. He Bi, with his sharp ears, was stunned upon hearing it: "...She's not leaving."

She has such a stubborn nature.

Xiu Yi unscrewed the wine flask and poured it onto the deep, bone-revealing wound.

The fiery hot knife pierced her flesh like a thousand needles. Zhao Zhao, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened her eyes, her whole body trembling with pain.

Xiu Yi didn't stop, and calmly said, "Bear with it."

Zhao Zhao gritted his teeth, a metallic taste filling his mouth. His vision was blurred by tears. He looked seven-tenths like Xiu Ning. In a daze, Zhao Zhao saw Xiu Ning and suddenly felt less pain.

After pouring out a bottle of wine, Xiu Yi began to apply the medicine. His gaze happened to sweep over the brand on Zhao Zhao's shoulder: prostitute... If it were a few days ago, when he saw the word "prostitute," he would only think of the vulgar and cloying smell of perfume on Zhao Zhao.

Now, when I see it again, I think of Zhao Zhao, a cornered beast struggling in a poor alley.

After the wounds were bandaged, the group continued their journey.

Xiu Yi rode alongside Zhao Zhao, looking at her face for the first time: "Why did you have to come along?"

Zhao Zhao lay sprawled on the horse's back, her pale face glistening with sweat from the pain: "I don't believe you."

"Don't believe me?"

“You’re looking for these stone households and forest households to bring down Xu Feng,” Zhao Zhao said. “They’re like a knife; when you stab them is entirely up to you.”

But Zhao Zhao couldn't wait, and Wang Liu'er, who was being tortured in prison, couldn't wait even longer.

"You think I'm just seeking fame and fortune?" "No matter how much you do to comfort the people, it's nothing more than a condescending bestowal of favors. You have no sympathy for the truly weak, only disgust." Zhao Zhao stared at the wound on her arm, saying each word slowly and deliberately, "A few hours ago, fearing capture and torture, I prepared to end my life. You watched coldly, thinking I was too cowardly to resist. You see, you don't even know what the weak are thinking, yet you dare—"

"So Wang Liuer didn't ask me for help, but instead insisted on assassinating Xu Feng. She had similar thoughts to yours," Xiu Yi said calmly. "She believed that I was using the people's hearts to manipulate power, and that I wouldn't put Xu Feng to death for a bunch of commoners."

Having been caught red-handed, Zhao Zhao retorted, "Isn't that right?"

Zhao Zhao's dislike was not well concealed, and Xiu Yi found it absurd. If she thought highly of him, Wang Liuer would not have needed to fight such a futile effort: "Why have you never considered that my bad treatment of you was simply because I disliked you?"

He was handsome, and even his sharp words were beautifully pointed. Zhao Zhao looked away unhappily: "Just because I'm a prostitute?"

Xiu Yi sneered, "Because you're adept at deceiving people with your words, your heart isn't sincere, and your feelings aren't genuine." He left those words behind.

I spurred my horse forward, too lazy to waste any more words with Zhaozhao.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, the group arrived at an unnamed valley. Rays of golden light pierced the morning mist, faintly illuminating the village within.

He glanced at the surrounding terrain and examined the map in his hand before saying to Xiu Yi, "Master, we've arrived!"

The valley between the two mountains was overgrown with weeds and tangled trees, and the hidden path was too narrow for a large group to proceed. Xiu Yi ordered everyone except Zhao Zhao to dismount and walk, using their swords to cut through the brambles and thorns, forcing their way through.

They hadn't gone far when a whooshing sound suddenly came from ahead. The horses that had retreated from the battlefield immediately reared up and neighed in alarm.

The group remained in place, adopting a defensive stance, but for a long time, not a single arrow flew in.

Although there was no danger, the people in the valley seemed hostile. Why run ahead and shout, "We've been entrusted by Shi Gang to seek justice for you!"

His voice was already loud, and his words, sandwiched between two high mountains, echoed repeatedly, lingering for a long time.

Since they were within range of an arrow, they should have been able to hear it, and any hostility or wariness should have dissipated. The group continued walking, and He Bi, with his sharp eyes, spotted a wooden arrow in the grass. He pulled it out and examined it: "Wow, these common folk have some skill; the arrows they made are actually..."

Before he could finish speaking, he froze. Several books were buried in the wet mud, their pages rotten, only the two characters "中庸" (the Doctrine of the Mean) on the oiled paper cover were still clearly visible: "No wonder, people value farming and reading as a family tradition, why are these perfectly good books just lying here unattended?"

Suddenly, the mist dissipated, and a dozen wooden arrows came whistling through the air, quite frightening to hear. The guards quickly used their swords to block them, and the wooden arrows all fell to the ground without anyone getting hurt.

Why get angry? Shout into the fog, "Who the hell is shooting in front of us!"

Zhao Zhao found it strange. The people in the valley were all refugees fleeing from being hunted down. They heard that someone was speaking out for them, so why didn't they come out to greet them? Why did they turn on each other with swords?
Just then, a dozen voices rang out in unison from the valley: "We have no grievances to redress!"

Everyone suspected they had misheard, but after listening carefully to the echo, they confirmed that it was indeed those six words.

He Bi was bewildered and turned to Xiu Yi: "Master, aren't they being too cautious?"

The echo was still lingering when Xiu Yi listened carefully and said, "Something's not right."

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Zhao had heard Wang Liuer and Shi Gang say that there were more than a dozen households hiding in the mountains, with at least a hundred people, including men, women, and children: "The ones who answered were all men."

Xiu Yi ordered them to continue walking inside, so why did he come up and ask, "Master, what's so strange about this?"

"You've read books, do you still remember 'The Peach Blossom Spring'?"

“Of course I remember.” He kept repeating, “To avoid the chaos of the Qin Dynasty, they never left again, and were separated from the outside world…” Suddenly, he fell silent.

A dozen or so figures emerged from the thin mist; they were the same men who had just shot arrows and shouted.

Ordinary refugees are emaciated and poorly clothed, but this group looked no different from outsiders. If it weren't for the crude weapons in their hands, one would surely mistake them for merchants and farmers who had lost their way.

Upon seeing the soldiers, they became wary and timid, gripping their weapons tightly but daring not to raise them rashly. The burly leader stepped forward and said in a gruff voice, "Soldiers, please return."

He gestured for the guards to sheath their swords, then smiled amicably: "Gentlemen, I am a member of the Prince of Ning's mansion, not a lackey of the government. I have been entrusted by Shi Gang to come and take you back to Yunzhou City to seek justice for you."

These words were spoken with heartfelt sincerity, but the burly man remained unmoved, saying in a muffled voice, "We have no grievances."

Xiu Yi asked, "Aren't you the victims who lost your families and homes in the river incident?"

"Yes," the burly man answered readily. "But our homes are ruined, and our loved ones are dead. We've finally managed to have a peaceful life, so why should we get involved in this mess? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?"

Xiu Yi's expression turned cold: "Don't you think about revenge?"

“We may be powerless and without influence, but we are not uncivilized fools. No matter where you come from, do you think you would help us for nothing?”

The burly man replied, "You're just using us as rafts, discarding us after you've had your fill, and you don't care whether we live or die in the future!"

Why did He Bi ask impatiently, "Then what do you want?"

Upon hearing this, the burly man's arrogance subsided, and he huddled together with a dozen or so other men, whispering among themselves.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Zhao's heart sank. She had thought that seeking justice for the people would be a natural thing, but judging from the way this group of people were acting, it would probably involve a long bargaining process, much like hiring a troupe to perform on stage.

After some discussion, the burly man made up his mind and shouted, "We need the state documents!"

It's understandable that he feared retaliation from local officials. Xiu Yi nodded, and He Bi replied, "Alright!"

The burly man shouted again, "I also want ten thousand taels of silver!"

It's only natural to start a new business in a foreign land. Just as He Bi was about to respond, Xiu Yi said, "No."

The burly men were stunned, and He Bi was stunned too. Ten thousand taels of silver was nothing to the Ning Prince's mansion: "Master..."

Before Xiu Yi could explain, Zhao Zhao pointed out the oddity: "More than a dozen households fled into the mountains together, so why are there only a few of you?"

The burly man looked displeased and said in a gruff voice, "What's it to you?"

That was too blunt, so Xiu Yi said calmly, "Since we're talking about terms, why don't we call the rest of you out first?"

The men were stunned and all looked at the burly man.

The burly man patted his thick chest: "Here, men are in charge. If you have anything to say, just discuss it with us."

Having said all that, yet unwilling to bring up others, something was definitely amiss.

Xiu Yi looked at He Bi: "Stop them."