Chapter 126: Brother Daniu is really dependable!

Dark clouds hung low, the sky light grim and dim.

The heavy rain had fallen nonstop for half a month; only today did it ease up a little, its anger subsiding.

On an open space east of Dun Cheng, several large cauldrons were set up, firewood crackling as it burned.

The porridge was thick; as the wooden spoon stirred, the rice grains tumbled in the boiling water, and the rising white steam carried the distinctive scent of grain.

The refugees lined up in a long queue, holding coarse bowls, moving forward one by one, with no one pushing or grabbing.

Beside the porridge stand stood a wooden plaque, the three characters 'Dingkou Ce' written in uneven script; two young men resembling scholars sat behind a table, holding brushes, asking each person's name, age, and native place one by one, and recording them on rough yellow paper.

The handwriting was messy, yet each stroke was written carefully.

A medicine stall had also been set up on the west side of the city.

Several doctors sat on stools, before them rows of coarse pottery bowls filled with brown decoction; the bitter taste mixed with an earthy odor, oddly making people feel reassured.

Those who were coughing, feverish, or suffering from diarrhea were all brought over to drink a bowl.

Someone who drank it grimaced at the bitterness, and the person beside them offered a bowl of clear water, with no one minding if the other was dirty.

On the street, someone shouldered a pole basket carrying coarse salt, needles and thread, and firestones, shouting as they walked.

Dun Cheng was coming back to life.

But as Zhao Daniu walked down this street, he saw nothing.

His face was smeared with mud stains and dried tear tracks; he walked very slowly, his soles seeming to stick to the ground, each step requiring great effort.

The tattered short coat he wore was still damp, clinging to his body and exuding the earthy odor of river mud.

Since Liu Er left, he had gone several days without sleep, his exhausted mind filled with mush.

Yet despite that, one matter kept turning over in his mind, making his chest feel as if gripped.

That night, that person said Liu Er was a male favorite who gained favor through looks, urging him to seduce some old man......

Liu Er, after much thought, actually went!

When he left, the sky was still dark, yet the expression in his eyes was bright and shining, like the summer sun.

Before leaving, Liu Er undid the oilcloth bundle he had been carrying in his bosom and pressed it into his hands.

The bundle was stiff and heavy, weighing down his hand.

Liu Er said:

"Brother Daniu, this is for you."

"First take care of burying our mother; the rest you can keep for yourself."

"I'm actually just a despicable actor who's been used by men; though I love money, I've thought it over and realize that in this life, aside from that bowl of rice soup, I have nowhere to spend silver......"

"Take the silver and go."

"I intend to do something great that will bring fame even to a lowly actor; if I took the silver with me and those scoundrels snatched it away, I'd die with unresolved resentment."

These past few days, those words have surged repeatedly in Zhao Daniu's heart.

He actually......

He regretted deeply.

He regretted, how could he have accepted that large bundle of gold and silver at the time?

He regretted, how could he have failed to keep Liu Er, to tell him he wasn't a despicable actor but a fine fellow willing to buy cakes for their mother and pay for her burial?

He regretted......

He regretted, how could he have not gone together with Liu Er?

He wanted to say, how could someone as skinny as a chick like Liu Er accomplish anything?

He also wanted to say, you helped bury our mother, you've done us a favor; you want to undertake a great deed, I have some strength and could lend a hand......

He wanted to say so much, so very much.

But he said nothing of it.

Because Liu Er had already left, gone quickly without looking back.

That night, the man in blue robes had a carriage hitched for Liu Er; the carriage trudged through murky water, vanished into the crowd, like a drop of water merging into a river, never to be found again.

That heavy bundle, Zhao Daniu later opened and found it to be a whole package of gold, silver, and jewels.

Even the most inconspicuous small pearl inside would be enough for an ordinary person like him to never worry about food and drink for a lifetime.

Liu Er......

Liu Er must have expended considerable effort to gather this whole bundle.

But how could he just give it away to him for nothing?

But what about Liu Er himself—what could he do?

Zhao Daniu thought and thought, his eye sockets reddening again.

He had been standing right there beside Liu Er at the time; if he had spoken up and said, 'I'll go too,' would that man in blue robes have taken him along?

He was sturdy and strong, able to bear and carry loads—surely more useful than Liu Er?

At that time, mother still lay on the cart, the wound in her throat still oozing blood......

He couldn't leave; he really couldn't leave.

Now, mother has been buried.

The yellow earth was firmly packed; he knelt before the grave and kowtowed three times, knocking his forehead until it bled, and mother could no longer hear.

So now, surely he could go help Liu Er?

Zhao Daniu walked down the main street in a daze, his feet feeling as if stepping on cotton.

He saw none of the people coming and going around him, smelled none of the steam from the porridge stall, heard none of the children's cries.

His mind held only one thought——

Now, can he finally do it?

But how can I catch up to Brother Liu?

Zhao Daniu was so lost in thought that, as he turned the corner, he almost bumped into a hitching post, staggered, and only managed to stay upright by grabbing the wall.

He lifted his head, and the pallid daylight made him squint.

Then he saw the Princess.

Not far ahead, under a locust tree that had just been straightened.

The Princess still wore her usual outfit: tight-sleeved martial attire, a short sword at her waist, her long hair bound high, standing there like a drawn sword.

The overcast light fell on her shoulder, outlining the crisp contour of her martial garb.

Beside her stood a man Zhao Daniu recognized: the green-robed scholar called Zou Liu Xiong.

The two were speaking softly, and Zhao Daniu couldn't make out their words.

He only caught a few words faintly—things like 'Zhoufu,' 'secret agents,' 'necessary measures,' and the like.

The Princess occasionally nodded, her expression indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Zhao Daniu stood at the roadside, staring blankly at all of this.

His heartbeat suddenly quickened, so fast he could barely breathe.

His palms were sweaty, his legs felt like they were filled with lead, yet also as if he were walking on clouds, light and airy.

He didn't know where he found the courage.

By the time he came to his senses, he had already rushed out.

"Princess—!"

His voice was loud and hoarse, exploding down the street as everyone around turned to look at him.

He fell to his knees with a thud, his knees striking the stone slabs, making his teeth clench from the pain, but he didn't care; he slammed his forehead to the ground, not daring to lift it:

"Princess! I am Zhao Daniu; a few nights ago, outside the city gate… the Princess brought people to save my life—I dare not forget!"

His voice trembled, but he spoke each word clearly:

"I have a brother named Liu Er; two days ago, the adult beside you summoned him away, and I… I want to find him."

"I am strong, can work, can endure any hardship. I want to go with Liu Er, lend him a hand, and have someone to look out for him on the road… I beg the Princess's permission!"

?? Brother Daniu lacks education, knowing only 'master' and 'servant,' but Brother Daniu has a sense of responsibility.