By the time Fan Changyu returned, news of her appointment as Xiaoqi Duwei had already spread throughout the camp. Everyone who saw her said, “Congratulations, Duwei Fan!”
Fan Changyu merely nodded slightly to acknowledge these faces, both familiar and unfamiliar.
Although she had mentally prepared herself, when the day arrived, she still felt uncomfortable. With her promotion, she naturally moved to a new tent. Those who came to congratulate her far outnumbered the previous Baihu visitors, most of them being officers of General and Xiaowei rank.
Fan Changyu dared not be negligent, but the social graces required weren’t something she could master overnight. She was far from being at ease, but fortunately, the battle wasn’t over yet, and private feasts were inappropriate in the military camp. This saved her from having to host banquets for these visitors.
Faced with a chorus of congratulations, she imitated the manner of promoted military officers she had heard about from storytellers, clasping her fists and saying “Thank you” to each well-wisher.
It was only then that she realized the military camp wasn’t short of flatterers. Several unfamiliar officers were practically hailing her as a prodigy.
“I heard of Duwei Fan’s reputation back when the great dam was being built in Jizhou. Even as a commoner, she was concerned for the world, intercepting three scouts on a rainy night, allowing the rebels to be lured into the river valley, and implementing the plan to flood them!”
“The battle at Yixia Gorge where she beheaded Shi Hu was truly brilliant. Armed with just two butcher’s knives, she managed to take Shi Hu’s head! And now she’s performed another extraordinary feat, saving Lord He and killing the King of Changxin!”
The crowd exclaimed in admiration, “Truly, heroes can come from anywhere!”
Fan Changyu humbly replied, “You all flatter me. My ability to kill the King of Changxin was merely luck.”
An officer immediately interrupted her, “Duwei Fan, don’t be so modest. Even if it was luck, not everyone has such fortune!”
As others agreed, an officer with a small mustache on each corner of his mouth and chin lamented on her behalf, “By rights, beheading the King of Changxin should be the greatest merit. It was also the Duwei who led the right-wing army into the heart of the rebel forces after the vanguard was scattered. How come the court only awarded a fifth-rank official position of Duwei, with a mere three hundred taels of silver as a reward?”
Fan Changyu was slightly startled, silently noting that Xiaoqi Duwei was a fifth-rank official position.
She remembered when Xie Zheng, disguised as Xie Wu, had told her that beheading the King of Changxin should be worth a thousand taels of reward.
Yet she had only been given three hundred taels. This reward, written in the imperial edict, wasn’t something any official would dare to embezzle, so it must have been the Emperor’s decision to give her only this much when determining her reward.
For a moment, Fan Changyu couldn’t figure out the reason.
But this man’s words implied that Tang Peiyi had claimed credit for her military achievements.
With so many people present, many of whom were unfamiliar faces, the man’s words would undoubtedly lead to gossip if spread.
He Jingyuan’s warning still fresh in her mind, Fan Changyu became alert and immediately said, “The tactics for attacking Chongzhou and the troop deployments were all the hard work of Lord He and General Tang. They are the ones who truly deserve the credit. For a mere squad leader like me to be promoted five ranks at once is already a great imperial favor from His Majesty. Moreover, my experience in the military is still shallow, and I feel uneasy about holding the position of Duwei. I’ll need everyone’s support in the future.”
In the military camp, an unranked military officer in charge of fifty men should accurately be called a Squad Leader, but because there were both senior and junior Squad Leaders, people were accustomed to calling the senior Squad Leader “Squad Chief” and the junior Squad Leader “Squad Deputy.”
Fan Changyu’s words left no room for misinterpretation. The other officers had already broken into a cold sweat when that man made his ambiguous statement.
They had only come to congratulate Fan Changyu because they would be working under her from now on. If those words reached Tang Peiyi’s ears and caused him to disapprove of Fan Changyu, how could they, as subordinates, have any prospects if their immediate superior wasn’t favored by the commander?
So when they heard Fan Changyu’s modest words that also praised He and Tang, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed, “The Duwei speaks the truth. Both generals have great merit, but the Duwei is also worthy of this position!”
The matter seemed to be settled. Fan Changyu was preparing to see her guests off when an unexpected visitor arrived outside the tent.
“It seems quite lively in the Duwei’s quarters.”
This voice, as mild as a gentle breeze in March, was unmistakable.
Fan Changyu turned her head to see a page lifting the tent flap, and a man in a sky-blue Confucian robe walked in with a smile. It was Li Huai’an.
The military officers in the tent suddenly became nervous. Fan Changyu wondered if he had also come to congratulate her on her promotion, but she maintained proper etiquette and saluted, “Lord Li.”
Li Huai’an’s handsome eyebrow twitched slightly. His eyebrows were light in color, with a slight curve at the ends, making him appear even more gentle and harmless. Thus, this gesture, which might have seemed frivolous to others, remained pleasing to the eye on him.
He smiled lightly and said, “Duwei Fan is still so formal with me.”
He took a brocade box from his page behind him and said, “I heard that Duwei Fan received an imperial reward, so I prepared a small gift for the Duwei.”
Xie Wu, who was standing guard at the door like a door god, saw this scene and his eyes widened. If his gaze could become tangible, he would have burned two holes in the back of Li Huai’an’s head.
Although the Marquis was currently separated from the Duwei, Master Gong Sun had sent Xie Thirteen to Chongzhou to gather information for him, and the Marquis had immediately started dealing with the Kangcheng rebels upon his return, clearly unable to let go of the Duwei.
As for the Duwei, there was no need to mention – he had caught her staring blankly at that black iron saber several times.
What was Li Huai’an doing here, trying to curry favor? Taking advantage of the situation?
Xie Wu’s heart was in turmoil as he stared at Fan Changyu, hoping she wouldn’t accept the gift.
Fan Changyu furrowed her brow and said to Li Huai’an, “I appreciate Lord Li’s kind intentions, but private exchanges of gifts are not allowed in the military. I absolutely cannot accept this gift.”
The Baihu who had visited her earlier had come under the pretext of checking on her health, and what they brought were just inexpensive pastries and wine, which couldn’t be considered private exchanges. The military officers who came to congratulate her today weren’t foolish enough to directly give her gifts in the military camp, so they all came empty-handed. Therefore, it wasn’t difficult for Fan Changyu to refuse.
Hearing this, Li Huai’an smiled and said, “The Duwei misunderstands. This box only contains a few military treatises that I’ve annotated in my spare time.”
As he spoke, he opened the brocade box, and indeed, there were only a few half-worn military books inside, nothing else.
He discreetly tapped the bottom of the brocade box with his fingertip, his smile unchanging, “My humble gift is truly modest, making me the laughingstock. I hope the Duwei won’t mind.”
With him putting it this way, and it being just a few books, Fan Changyu truly found it hard to find a reason to refuse.
Moreover, Li Huai’an’s subtle gesture seemed to be hinting that she should accept the brocade box first.
Fan Changyu thought for a moment, feeling that if it was just a simple gift, he didn’t need to choose this moment when a group of military officers had come to congratulate her.
Her gaze swept lightly over the face of the mustachioed officer who had tried to sow discord between her and Tang Peiyi earlier, recalling what He Jingyuan had told her about Li Tafu’s faction not harming her at present. After a moment’s hesitation, she still accepted the brocade box Li Huai’an handed over, saying, “Then Changyu will respectfully comply.”
Li Huai’an’s expression seemed to relax a bit. He smiled and said, “My knowledge of military strategy is shallow. I only hope these annotated military treatises can be of help to the Duwei.”
Fan Changyu could only respond politely, “My Lord is too modest.”
After finally seeing off all the well-wishers, Fan Changyu collapsed into a chair, feeling a burning pain in her temples.
Who said the military was full of rough men? None of these people who had climbed their way up from foot soldiers to officer positions were fools.
That officer who deliberately set a trap for her, intending to drive a wedge between her and Tang Peiyi, was someone to be wary of in the future. However, such obvious thorns were easy to remove; it was the hidden ones that were worrisome.
Li Huai’an’s behavior was also inexplicably strange.
After everyone left, Fan Changyu carefully examined the box and found no hidden compartments. There were no notes tucked inside the military treatises, and the annotations on them were indeed just annotations.
She had no clue what it meant. Sighing, she asked Xie Wu, “Xiao Wu, what do you think Li Huai’an meant by hinting for me to accept these military books?”
Fan Changyu was asking about serious matters, so Xie Wu had to suppress his personal bias and help analyze, “With the change in military power in Jizhou, although the lower-ranking officers trust Old General He, now that he’s no longer in charge, they need to find a way forward under the new superiors. Just like when those Baihu came to curry favor with you earlier, Duwei. Accepting their goodwill, it’s a form of aligning and drawing support.”
He paused at this point, glanced at Fan Changyu, and then continued, “Li Huai’an… is probably trying to win you over as well.”
Fan Changyu understood, “By accepting these military books he sent, I’m now aligned with the Li family?”
Xie Wu nodded and added, “But he deliberately gave the gift in front of others, clearly wanting someone specific to know.”
Fan Changyu pondered carefully. The only one who wanted to kill her was Wei Yan, but whether she accepted the protection of Li Tafu’s faction or not, Wei Yan wouldn’t back down.
So the only one who could make Li Huai’an go to such lengths in this military camp seemed to be the eunuch who had just arrived today to deliver the imperial edict.
But the eunuch who delivered the edict was the Emperor’s man.
Could it be that the Emperor intended her harm? But why would the Emperor want to harm her? He Jingyuan hadn’t been interrogated yet, which meant her true identity wasn’t known to the court. Even if the Emperor was angry at her because of her maternal grandfather, why would he still grant her an official position?
Although this official position seemed to have been deliberately lowered.
The more Fan Changyu pondered, the more confused she became. She frustratedly ran her fingers through her hair.
In the past, she had Tao Tafu to teach her how to analyze situations. Now, with no news from Tao Tafu and He Jingyuan about to be recalled to Jizhou, she would have to figure things out on her own in the future.
Thinking of this, Fan Changyu’s gaze fell on the three hundred taels of gold displayed on a red silk tray on the table.
Each gold ingot weighed ten taels, and there were thirty ingots in total on the tray, gleaming brightly and catching the eye.
She thought for a moment and instructed Xie Wu, “Take out thirteen ingots and send them along with the allocated compensation to the families of the thirteen fallen soldiers. Take two more ingots to buy some tonics for the severely wounded soldiers. Also, find me some truly capable advisors; you can decide on their payment.”
Xie Wu nodded and said, “Duwei, you’re now a fifth-rank official. It’s proper to have a few advisors. But… isn’t the amount for the fallen soldiers too much?”
Ten taels of gold converted to about a hundred taels of silver, plus the five taels of official compensation from the court, totaling 105 taels.
Fan Changyu said, “This is what I promised the soldiers.”
The group of Baihu led by Baihu Guo could be useful to her in the future, but they couldn’t become her guards.
She still had too few people around her who were both useful and loyal enough.
She wanted to select two from the soldiers she led to become her guards.
Xie Wu was stunned by her answer but said nothing more.
As he was about to leave, Fan Changyu called him back, “Take these military books and let the soldiers read them too.”
Xie Wu was dumbfounded.
Fan Changyu said, “It’s beneficial for them to read more about military strategy.”
Realizing that Fan Changyu was letting him dispose of the books, Xie Wu was almost ecstatic. His smile nearly reached his ears, but fearing Fan Changyu would notice, he quickly composed himself and hugged the brocade box, saying, “Alright, I’ll take them down right away!”
After Xie Wu left, Fan Changyu stared at the Mo dao on the weapon rack for a while before taking out the books that Xie Zheng had annotated for her before and slowly began to read them.
Reading could make one smarter, and she needed to read more.
Li Huai’an’s gift of annotated books, whether coincidental or intentional, seemed too “coincidental” – from their first encounter on the mountain road to later helping her investigate the case files of her parents’ murder, discovering her questionable background, and then tracing He Jingyuan’s role in forging various documents for her parents.
In the Imperial Palace.
Among the jade pavilions and pearl towers, a beautiful woman in a bright red palace gown strode quickly, with sixteen palace maids with double buns following behind her with lowered heads and quick steps.
The old eunuch guarding the Imperial Study saw the woman from afar and immediately plastered a forced smile on his wrinkled face. He approached her, saying, “What wind has blown the Princess here…”
The woman’s face, as beautiful as a lotus, was cold. She pushed aside the old eunuch blocking her way with her sleeve and rebuked, “Get out of my way!”
The old eunuch cried out “Aiya” as he fell to the ground. Seeing that he couldn’t stop this ancestor, and fearing the wrath of the one inside, he could only cling to one of the woman’s legs and said in a shrill voice, “Princess, you can’t go in! His Majesty is tired and has just retired…”
As he spoke, the woman had already pushed open the doors of the Imperial Study.
The rich aroma of ambergris wafted out, causing her exquisitely made-up face to show a hint of disgust.
The old eunuch had already prostrated himself at the doorway, “Your Majesty, please quell your anger. This old slave deserves death for failing to stop the Princess…”
“Enough, withdraw,” came a young male voice from inside.
The old eunuch felt as if he had been granted a great pardon. As he bowed and retreated, he closed the doors of the study.
The Princess fearlessly looked at the person behind the dragon desk, dressed in bright yellow dragon robes, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand and looking exhausted. She coldly questioned, “You’ve arranged a marriage between me and the Marquis of Wu’an?”
The Emperor looked at the beautiful woman below the jade steps. The corners of his mouth curved up in a smile that seemed as innocent as a naive youth, but his eyes were like a venomous snake flicking its tongue in the darkness. “I’ve found a world-class hero as a husband for my Imperial Sister. Is my Imperial Sister not pleased?”
The Princess angrily said, “The Marquis of Wu’an met a commoner woman when he was in trouble and has already committed to her for life. Is Your Majesty trying to make me the villain who breaks up a loving couple?”
The Emperor said, “My Imperial Sister overthinks. She’s just a crude commoner woman. How could she compare to the pearl of our Great Yin Dynasty, my Imperial Sister? The Marquis of Wu’an has already cut ties with that woman.”
The Princess furrowed her beautiful brows and said firmly, “Impossible. The Marquis of Wu’an even asked the long-retired Tao Tafu to adopt that woman as his goddaughter so he could marry her as his principal wife. How could he have cut ties?”
The Emperor smiled, “Then my Imperial Sister truly doesn’t understand men. Can the weight of a crude commoner woman in his heart withstand the temptation of overwhelming power and the most beautiful woman in the world?”
The Princess’s face grew colder, “I cannot tolerate any deception.”
The Emperor said casually, “Don’t worry, my Imperial Sister. Once you’re married, you’ll never see that commoner woman again.”
The Princess’s face suddenly changed, “You killed her? Aren’t you afraid the Marquis of Wu’an will harbor resentment against you?”
The Emperor curved his lips slightly, “What’s strange about a general dying on the battlefield? The Marquis of Wu’an should blame and hate the rebels, shouldn’t he?”
In his early years, he had been marginalized by Wei Yan and had pretended to be foolish and timid to avoid arousing Wei Yan’s suspicion of his ambitions. Later, to win over Li Tafu, he acted docile and easily controllable in front of him. Over the past two years, he had gradually revealed his fangs.
Hearing his words, the Princess’s eyes revealed shock. She was speechless for a long time, seemingly frightened by his ruthlessness.
The Emperor looked at the woman before him, his smile benevolent and docile, just like the young emperor who used to pretend to be obedient and foolish, but his eyes were full of ambition and desire that he could no longer suppress.
He stroked the gilded dragon head on the armrest of the dragon throne, his casual tone filled with endless expectations, “Once Wei Yan falls, imperial power will return to my hands. With the Marquis of Wu’an by our side, what is there to fear from that old fox of the Li family?”
He tilted his head, smiling in an extremely good mood, “Given the Li family’s embezzlement over the years, execution of their entire clan would be justified.”
The Princess had never felt her weak and kind younger brother so unfamiliar. Goosebumps rose on her arms beneath the light gauze sleeves. She asked, “What about the Marquis of Wu’an? He commands a large army, aren’t you worried?”
The Emperor seemed about to say something, but as he looked at the Princess standing below, his smile deepened. He suddenly stopped and said, “Of course I’m not worried. After all, I have my Imperial Sister to keep an eye on him for me.”
“In this world, the person I trust the most is my Imperial Sister.”
The cold feeling in her limbs slowly crept up her spine.
The Princess forced herself to remain calm and curved her lips, “It is my fortune that Your Majesty trusts me so much.”
The Emperor seemed extremely pleased with her change in attitude. He said, “I knew my Imperial Sister would always stand by my side. My Imperial Sister can go back and prepare for a grand wedding.”
The Princess responded “Yes,” and after a slight bow, she turned and left the Imperial Study, trailing her magnificent palace gown, just as proud and straight-backed as when she had arrived, her expression still full of disdain for others, with the sixteen palace maids following closely behind.
No one knew that the thin gauze on her back was soaked with cold sweat, hidden only by her black hair.
After returning to her palace, the Princess closed the doors and angrily smashed a floor full of porcelain.
When she was tired of smashing things, she sat down on a nearby soft couch, supporting her forehead with one hand. Her snow-white brow remained furrowed, clearly still troubled.
The head palace maid carefully offered a cup of floral tea, coaxing, “Princess, please don’t make yourself ill with anger…”
The Princess took the cup, intending to drink, but remembering the Emperor’s words, she still couldn’t control her anger and threw the cup away. The shattered porcelain flew everywhere, startling the nearby maids.
“Who does he think he is? Born of a lowly palace maid, without any maternal relatives, yet he thinks to drag me into this muddy water!”
The Princess’s beautiful face was full of anger.
She was the most beloved daughter of the late Emperor, but not his first daughter. She only became the eldest princess because the princesses before her had all died young.
Her birth mother was of noble status; she and the Emperor were not full siblings.
The Emperor had probably been relying on her maternal family’s support all these years, which was why he had been close to her.
The head palace maid had been outside the hall and didn’t know what had been discussed inside. She thought her Princess was still angry about the arranged marriage. After careful consideration, she finally advised:
“Princess, Gong Sun San Lang has been avoiding you and refuses to take office, not even setting foot in the capital. Why do you still think of him? The Marquis of Wu’an has achieved great military merits and was enfeoffed as a marquis before the age of twenty. He is truly a first-class husband…”
“Shut up!” The Princess’s face suddenly turned cold, her nails almost breaking from the force with which she gripped the wooden armrest of the soft couch.
The head palace maid was completely stunned.
The Princess seemed to realize her reaction was excessive. She lowered her fan-like eyelashes to hide the emotions that had leaked out in that moment of loss of control. She covered it with a cold laugh and said, “Do you think the Marquis of Wu’an can have a good end?”
The head palace maid’s face showed shock. Realizing it probably involved court politics, she urgently said, “The imperial edict has been issued, and the imperial messenger has already left the capital. What can be done now?”
The Grand Princess sat in silent contemplation for a moment with her eyes closed, then suddenly said, “Grind the ink for me.”
– Kang City –
A troop of soldiers halted by the riverside. The captured bandits, tied up with thick ropes, were huddled together like zongzi dumplings. Over a dozen armored guards with swords stood watch over these caught fish.
The green grass along the riverbank was lush, though having entered summer, the stems had grown a bit old. The warhorses nuzzled around with their noses, searching for tender shoots to eat.
When Gong Sun Yin received the letter brought back by the personal guard he had sent to Chong Prefecture, his entire brow furrowed.
He asked, “Did the imperial court only bestow the title of Xiao Qi Du Wei upon Miss Fan for killing the King of Chang Xin?”
Xie Thirteen nodded, “It’s true. A eunuch from the Department of Ceremonial personally went to announce the decree.”
Gong Sun Yin was puzzled, “Is the head of the King of Chang Xin worth so little?”
He waved his hand, signaling Xie Thirteen to withdraw first. Then he glanced at the man standing by the riverside with his upper body bare, currently allowing a personal guard to pour water down his entire back to clean his wounds. Walking over, he deliberately raised his voice and said, “Miss Fan is truly a heroine among women. After beheading the King of Chang Xin, she was bestowed the fifth-rank title of Xiao Qi Du Wei.”
The water trickling down Xie Zheng’s back was tinged with a faint rouge color.
Hearing Gong Sun Yin’s words, his half-lowered eyelids only lifted slightly, but he still didn’t say a word, appearing cold and uninterested.
Over the past half month, he had been suppressing bandits everywhere, destroying all the bandit lairs around Kang City. The wounds on his back were constantly on the verge of healing before splitting open again.
Yet he hadn’t applied medicine even once.
After the personal guard once again filled a water bottle and poured it over the continuously bleeding wounds on his back, he seemed to feel it was enough and waved his hand to dismiss the guard. He then took his outer robe and put it on directly.
Gong Sun Yin watched with a furrowed brow and said, “If you keep treating your injuries like this, they’ll eventually cost you your life.”
Xie Zheng seemed too lazy to even reply. He tidied his collar and walked back, saying, “The bandit problem around Kang City has been eliminated. I have a business to attend to in Hui Prefecture. I leave this place to you.”
Looking at his sickly pale face under the sun, Gong Sun Yin wanted to curse at him directly but held back, only saying, “I heard Li Huai An annotated several volumes of military texts as a congratulatory gift for Miss Fan. My friendship with Miss Fan is somewhat better than his with her. I happen to be escorting Sui Yuan Qing to Chong Prefecture, so I won’t be staying in Kang City. I might as well bring a gift for Miss Fan too.”
Xie Zheng’s footsteps paused slightly. He said “As you wish” and continued walking without looking back.
Gong Sun Yin watched his silhouette as he mounted his horse, and finally cursed angrily, “Xie Jiu Heng! You’ve got guts! If you can let go, when you get back, throw that ugly doll in your room into the fire pit and burn it!”
The warhorse kicked up dust as it departed. The man on horseback didn’t give him any response.
The armored guards left behind were stunned for a moment before quickly following with the group of captured bandits.
Only Gong Sun Yin remained, still cursing and grumbling.
Xie Zheng only took two personal guards with him, traveling day and night to return to the Xie family home in Hui Prefecture.
His father had been stationed in the northwest years ago and had settled in Hui Prefecture. In a sense, the Xie family home in Hui Prefecture was the true ancestral home.
The Xie residence in the capital was only acquired when his father got married. Every blade of grass and every tree in that residence had been arranged according to that woman’s preferences.
The housekeeper guarding the Xie family home in Hui Prefecture was quite surprised to see Xie Zheng return in the middle of the night.
Though called a housekeeper, he was more of a family servant. They were all people who had followed his father in battle and lost an arm or a leg, unable to return to the battlefield in this lifetime.
The Xie family would support these people for life.
Xie Zheng didn’t disturb too many people. He went directly to the ancestral hall and knelt before the tablets above for an entire night.
It wasn’t until dawn the next day that the door of the ancestral hall was opened again from the outside.
A middle-aged man with a lame leg and a missing arm, but with a very martial appearance, limped into the ancestral hall. Looking at the person kneeling on the prayer mat, straight-backed like a tall cypress, he said calmly, “I heard the Marquis returned last night. Why didn’t you send someone to inform us?”
Xie Zheng said, “Uncle Zhong, I’ve come back to request punishment.”
The middle-aged man with a lame leg and missing arm showed a hint of surprise in his eyes, which quickly subsided. He asked, “How much punishment do you request?”
The Xie clan had ancestral rules. When any male of the Xie family committed a grave mistake, they had to come to the ancestral hall to request punishment.
In these seventeen years, the only time Xie Zheng had requested punishment was when he recaptured Jin Prefecture. He had retaliated in kind, as the Northern Yue people had slaughtered the Great Yin civilians, he too had ordered the slaughter of all Northern Yue people within Jin Prefecture.
The Xie clan had produced benevolent generals since ancient times. After the massacre, people only remembered his name as a killing general, no longer recalling the Xie clan’s tradition of benevolent generals.
For one who commands troops, being unable to control one’s murderous aura is a great taboo.
That one time Xie Zheng requested punishment, he asked for the heaviest family punishment in the Xie clan’s ancestral rules: one hundred and eight lashes.
Today, kneeling before the spirit tablets of the Xie ancestors, he also answered, “One hundred and eight lashes.”
This number made the middle-aged man’s eyes show surprise again. He asked, “What offense has the Marquis committed?”
Xie Zheng looked at the tablet in the center of the ancestral hall, Xie Lin Shan’s tablet, and said, “Uncle Zhong will know in due course.”
Xie Zhong had also been a battlefield veteran and was particularly sensitive to the smell of blood. The blood stains on Xie Zheng’s robe, wet from his reopened wounds, were especially obvious.
He hesitated and said, “The Marquis seems to have quite serious injuries.”
Xie Zheng only answered, “It’s nothing.”
Xie Zhong then took the python skin whip hanging on the wall nearby. After silently looking at Xie Zheng for two breaths, he asked, “Shall we begin?”
Xie Zheng gave a subdued “Mm” in response.
“Our ancestors were truly illustrious, their deeds recorded in Yin’s history. They taught their sons and grandsons, all based on righteous methods.”
Along with the recitation of the ancestral precepts came a heavy lash across Xie Zheng’s back.
Xie Zheng’s body trembled, his back as taut as a steel plate. His hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into fists to keep from falling forward.
But the clothing on his back was directly torn open by that lash, and a red, swollen welt, almost bleeding, rose on his skin.
The Xie family’s rule was that during punishment, the ancestral precepts were recited with each lash, to let the punished person know why they were being punished, and also to engrave the precepts into their bones.
“Looking up to interpret these teachings, further promoting auspiciousness. To all descendants, listen to my instructive chapters.”
“Crack!”
Another heavy lash came down, the welt overlapping with the wound on his back that had split open countless times. Blood and flesh splattered. Xie Zheng’s lips turned white with pain, cold sweat rolled down his temples like pearls, and the veins on his clenched fists bulged, but he still didn’t make a sound.
The Xie clan’s ancestral precepts fell with each lash of the whip. Xie Zheng’s entire back was crisscrossed with welts, already soaked in blood beyond recognition. Sweat hung from his eyelids, but he still kept his eyes open, staring unblinkingly at Xie Lin Shan’s tablet above the ancestral hall.
By the ninety-eighth lash, the blood flowing from his back had soaked through his robe, even pooling on the floor tiles.
He could no longer kneel steadily and his whole body began to fall forward. Shadows swam before his eyes, and he could barely see the tablets in the ancestral hall.
Xie Zhong’s arm was already sore, and the python skin whip in his hand was covered in blood.
He was the punisher for this generation of the Xie clan. No matter how reluctant he felt, he couldn’t go easy during punishment.
Only this time, he said, “Marquis, let’s stop here.”
Xie Zheng lay prostrate on the ground. The wooden doll tucked in his bosom fell out. His palm was already bleeding from clenching it so tightly in pain. When he picked up the doll, the palm-sized wooden figure was also stained with blood. He slowly moved his eyelids and asked, “How many lashes are left?”
Xie Zhong answered, “Ten lashes.”
Xie Zheng then used one hand to support himself on the ground, clutching the wooden doll with the other and slowly knelt up again. He straightened his back, covered in bloody marks, and said, “Continue.”
A flash of reluctance passed through Xie Zhong’s eyes, but he still recited the ancestral precepts loudly and swung the whip down hard.
Blood spattered on the floor tiles below, blooming like grotesque flowers.
Ten lashes, neither too many nor too few. When it was finished, Xie Zheng’s entire body was covered in blood. His fingertips had almost embedded into the wooden doll from gripping it too tightly. He hung his head, barely able to keep his eyes open.
Fearing that his injuries were too severe and might lead to complications, Xie Zhong hurriedly walked out of the ancestral hall to call someone to fetch a doctor.
Xie Zheng knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. His back had become almost numb from the pain.
After a while, when he had regained some strength, he forced open his eyelids that felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Looking at Xie Lin Shan’s tablet, he kowtowed once and said in a hoarse voice, “Your child has been unfilial.”
He had grown a person in his heart. He had carved out his entire heart, yet he still couldn’t bear to let go.
At first, constant battles and killing could temporarily numb his nerves, but later, even the pain of repeatedly reopening wounds couldn’t suppress his longing to see her.
Though his whole body was convulsing with pain, he just couldn’t wake up.
Or perhaps, he was already awake.
He just wanted to see her.
The longing made every bone in his body ache.
After enduring this punishment of one hundred and eight lashes, he could go find her.