Chapter 223: Dealing with the Tiger for Its Skin

The two words "burden" — Du Shanü bit down on them extremely heavily.

But, this remark was certainly not made on the spur of the moment.

Even back when she first took in that group of people, everything had already begun to show signs.

At that time there were six people in total: Chinu, Yu Yiai, A Chou, Leitie, Ouyang Yan, Ouyang An.

Among them, Yu Yiai was blind and A Chou was foolish; they are another matter altogether.

Chinu has always been of a dark disposition, liking to plan before acting; that too is another matter.

Leitie still had a wound on his foot at the time; he continually prided himself on being a craftsman, and seeing the situation turn bad, he wanted to find another way out for himself......

This could at least be counted as his reason.

Ouyang An was young; having fled from An Nan to Yongzhou, he had endured constant hardship along the way, and was as thin as a stick, appearing even smaller than his peers; even when working, he could hardly do much.

In other words, among everyone then, the one who was physically strongest and most suited to help make jelly was actually Ouyang Yan.

Yet he was short-sighted, far less clever and lively than his brother, lacking in thoughtful wisdom......

Working is the only way to earn food; this is an ironclad rule passed down for thousands of years.

Yu Yiai knew this, so despite his blindness he still helped push the millstone.

Ouyang An knew this, so he exerted all his strength, even sucking‑level effort, to help trample the acorns.

Even a dog does not despise a poor household.

No matter the circumstances, however little our feeble strength can help, as long as we act, it is surely better than doing nothing.

But if we do not act......

On the day the meal is ready, what makes certain people think they deserve a share of the broth?

Du Shanü used to be magnanimous; seeing Ouyang Yan appear to submit, she was unwilling to quibble over minor details.

But once she caught hold of a mistake......

All that can be said is that, when the food shed collapsed, all her past deeds would turn into the heavy snow pressing down and crushing everything on the shed.

Du Shanü would carefully examine each snowflake to see when it fell, and sweep away every contaminated mire.

"I heard Chinu say before that, when you all were refugees together, you once told your elder brother you didn't want to go east or north, but wanted to head to the Southern Seas?"

The surroundings fell dead silent, until Du Shanü's voice rang out again:

"Why did you do that back then?"

Tonight, too many things have happened.

Anyone who has witnessed Du Shanü's ruthless methods cannot help but tremble.

Ouyang An is no exception, but compared to his elder brother who now only knows how to lie on the ground and weep, even though he is brimming with tears and his voice shakes, he still managed to articulate exactly what he thought and felt:

"Because, because everyone knows——the Northern Border has the Northern Dynasty, and the Northern Dynasty holds the sacred relic 'Blaze Oil'; when Emperor Taizong died years ago, the Northern Dynasty marched to Taizong's Zhaoling Mausoleum, the Blaze Oil went out on its own, and those foreign peoples felt it was an ill omen, so they did not continue southward."

"But I always feel that those of a different kind must have different hearts; not going south now does not mean they will never go south in the future."

"Moreover, the Southern Dynasty has now fallen into the hands of usurping ministers who have seized the throne; they possess an illegitimate mandate of heaven and earth, and even if they later try to stabilize the Northern Dynasty by ceding territory, they will surely be jointly denounced and attacked by his old officials……In the days to come, the Central Plains homeland will likely grow ever more chaotic!"

He had already guessed back then that his elder brother taking him north, though it would distance them from their homeland and also from the control of the Southern Seas' various vassal states, would only bring them into ever more warfare.

Rather than……

Better to go down to the Southern Seas.

Although there are many vassal states and their powers are tangled and complex, as long as people join forces, there will be those who become enemies.

They could fully exploit the relationships among the various powers to carve out a path of survival for the two brothers.

Who knows; if they have the ability, they might even be able to return to An Nan someday and reclaim everything.

However, the elder brother seemed to think completely differently.

Perhaps because he had truly been worn down in An Nan over many years and had lost all spirit, the elder brother was then dead set on heading north.

But they were household slaves; when they fled they brought no gold, silver, or valuables, so how could heading north be easy?

They had no money, no dry rations, and not even anyone to guide them.

They walked for three months, yet still wandered among the hundred‑thousand mountains; fortunately, in the end they were led out of the deep mountains by officials who had rounded up refugees, only to be mixed together with the refugees coming from the Northern Border, and if they tried to flee again they would be all too conspicuous.

Ouyang An is now simply too young, and facing someone as formidable as Du Shanü, he could not conceal his thoughts at all, spilling them out like beans while he cried loudly, recounting every prior idea one by one.

Just a few words from this little bean‑sprout who barely reaches Du Shanü's waist caused the face of Ouyang Yan, kneeling on the ground, to turn pale.

This was beyond everyone's expectation, even beyond Du Shanü's expectation.

Who could have imagined that this mere ten‑year‑old child, who had hardly done anything remarkable under Du Shanü's command before—at most running errands, usually hiding in the crowd—...

... yet he could actually possess such thoughts and courage?

Now, who could still fail to see that Ouyang Yan is far inferior to his brother?

Du Shanü gazed at the bawling little brat before her, lowered her eyes to hide a flicker of surprise, and spoke again:

"You and your elder brother surely are not born of the same mother, right? Do you know that your elder brother's maternal clan has its own horse caravan in the Great Qu Yue State?"

The question came out of the blue; Ouyang An burst into tears again, unable to catch his breath, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

Yet he was indeed clever; he dared not disrespect Du Shanü, nor let her words fall to the ground:

"Yes, yes, indeed we are not of the same mother, but my elder brother has treated me extremely well; all these years I have already regarded him as...... wait, wait, what maternal clan horse caravan?"

Ouyang An had been sniffling, but after realizing this he suddenly lifted his head and looked toward his kneeling elder brother.

He took a few quick steps on his short legs to his elder brother's side, suddenly grabbed his brother's shoulders, and shouted:

"Elder brother, what horse caravan?"

"Elder brother, tell me clearly today—what is this horse caravan?"

Ouyang Yan was shaken left and right, his face ashen, yet in the end he could not utter a single word of explanation.

Du Shanü casually flicked her finger, and two old servants stepped forward to seize Ouyang An's arms, pulling him away from Ouyang Yan.

Ouyang An was small and weak, and had just finished a great bout of crying, yet somehow he found the strength to struggle so hard that the two old servants could barely hold him down.

Tear drops slid down Ouyang An's face one by one; on that tender little face no bigger than an adult's palm, it was filled entirely with despair.

He refused to leave, he also refused to just give up, and furthermore he refused......

And he couldn't believe that his own elder brother would actually commit such a foolish act.

Since ancient times, the so-called 'hiding clumsiness' means that one must reveal it at the appropriate time for others to know that you are 'hiding clumsiness'.

If one only hides and never reveals, then it becomes true clumsiness!

Moreover——

How can there be a rationale for hiding clumsiness, even hiding it from one's own people?!

From birth, he has followed behind his elder brother, yet he has never heard his brother mention that their maternal clan actually possesses such power!

How could this be?

How could this be?!

Ouyang Yan was sobbing, and Ouyang An was also sobbing.

But the latter, obviously more resolute in spirit, Ouyang An struggled while trying to take his elder brother's hand, and cried out in sorrowful weeping:

"Elder brother! Elder brother! Why don't you understand! Why don't you understand——

"To scheme with the heroic lord is no different than to scheme with a tiger for its skin!"

?? Nobody praises me; I'm so angry I just want to toss my books and quit writing o(╥﹏╥)o