Chapter 24: Stray Dog Child

No.

Amid the noisy clamor of gongs and drums, half the village's people were startled awake, coming back to life.

The daylight faded, yet countless torches ignited from within the village, lighting up the heavens and earth.

From afar came a continual murmur of voices; the gaunt figure slowly turned, thin lips moving, repeating only:

No.

Although I wish to abandon my lord, the Young Emperor is not someone they can kill...... He is the child of the Taizong Emperor.

Du Shanü had long understood the weight of the two characters 'Taizong'.

But hearing it now, she only felt a faint urge to laugh.

Du Shanü pressed down the crossbow mechanism, retracting the wings:

I will check one more time——

You want to kill the Young Emperor, yet you won't lift a hand yourself, and you won't let anyone else do it...... right?

What kind of killing the Young Emperor is this?

Might as well just say you're waiting for Yu Baobao to die of old age!

Du Shanü rolled about, grass clippings all over her body, her skin scratched and sore, yet she increasingly felt that the Yin Dynasty was truly a land where everyone was a hidden dragon or phoenix chick.

Yu Baobao can sleep ten out of twelve double-hours in a day, and A Chou's brains, whether cured or not, seem not very bright.

The Ouyang father and son are naturally like green tea; Leitie's recklessness is comparable to that of an old yellow ox......

As for the person before her, that is even harder to understand.

Du Shanü couldn't fathom what the person before her was thinking, so she simply asked outright:

Do you truly wish to kill?

Just as the other party had asked her earlier, both wanted to kill, so how could they end up fighting each other?

The gaunt youth's gaze fell on the crossbow in Du Shanü's hand; he did not reply immediately, merely silent for a few breaths before answering:

Want to kill.

He destroyed me.

Just six simple words, as the torches receded, the world plunged into utter turbidity.

All things are unclear to see, indistinct to discern.

The youth was shrouded in shadow, appearing cold and somewhat blurred:

He destroyed me.

I was originally an heir of the Taizong era, the adopted son of Chancellor Mei Yun; I also had a smooth path ahead, but because of his incompetence, I was summoned in the dead of night to enter the palace, becoming a 【Chinu】 who must wear a mask all day......

Hatred.

Why not hate?

Especially, after he and four others were brought before the Young Emperor and heard the Taizong Emperor say those words to him.

Taizong said——

【Xiao Ai...... to die for you is only natural.】

They were born merely to live for you.】

But how could there be a saying in this world that someone must live or die for another?

Taizong......

Taizong was wise all his life; why would this be so taken for granted?

The Young Emperor is of noble heavenly lineage, but aren't they human too?

Don't they deserve even a little room to choose?

Amidst the chaos, that blurry figure slowly reached out a hand.

Du Shanü couldn't see what the other was doing, yet she stood there dazed.

Earlier, her impression of this 'Chinu' person came entirely from the words of Ding Su Fu and A Chou......

In short, he is talented, arrogant, unfaithful, and harbors rebellious thoughts.

But now that this person has spoken these words, she feels as if something is amiss in hindsight——

Throughout history, it has been said that 'to die for one's lord' is the glory of servants.

But she is a person from a thousand years later, and naturally knows how rare this notion is.

Just as she had resolved, even if she sacrificed herself she would protect Yu Baobao......

The precondition for a proper death is her willingness to do so.

But the books don't say what to do if she is unwilling——

Du Shanü pondered, lips pressed tight, and the everlasting smile on her face finally faded away.

She held the crossbow, took a few steps forward, and approached the direction of the speaker.

They were only three or five steps apart; this time Du Shanü finally saw the other's condition, his hand braced against a nearby tree, as if steadying himself.

That figure breathed barely audibly, enduring torment.

But the earlier arrow, wasn't it only that it struck his arm?

Du Shanü reacted in an instant, then belatedly realized the other ought to have been wounded already.

The moment she realized this, the other seemed unable to support himself any longer, leaning against the trunk and slowly collapsing to the ground.

Du Shanü's steps faltered, then she hurried forward, one hand gripping the crossbow, the other reaching for the other's shoulder, preparing to pull him up......

However, in the darkness, what she first found was not his shoulder.

But a drop of scalding water.

Du Shanü shuddered from the burn, and before she could react, she smelled a pungent scent of blood.

"...... I hate him."

"That voice surged forth with an endless bloody stench, still mixed with a chill, yet could no longer conceal even a trace of collapse as if the heavens were tilting:"

"You, you all, how can you not understand...... I hate him!"

"Yu Yiai was loved by father and mother; from birth he possessed countless treasures."

"But what about him?"

"He was born on a lowly bed, not even knowing who his birth father was, and his birth mother hastily abandoned him in front of the Orphanage."

"What kind of place is the Orphanage?"

"It is a place where, when guests come, everything is harmonious; but when the doors are closed, one must always watch people's expressions carefully, otherwise it becomes frightening."

"In the Orphanage, the sun and moon are not the sun and moon, but the light and shadow when whip marks rise and fall."

"In the Orphanage, the sound is not sound, but a reprimand mixed with scolding."

"Those who do not stand out can only hold their bowls, like stray dogs, backs against the wall, swallowing saliva while waiting for leftovers."

"But everyone is a dog, stomachs growling with hunger—how could there be any leftovers?"

"There is none; it cannot be waited for."

"Everyone is the same, only having a name based on a number, and the chance to change one's fate is also only one."

"The pretty little dogs are picked out; the unattractive clumsy dogs are left in the Orphanage, and when they reach age, they do odd jobs for the Orphanage or go out to work as porters."

"Worse still, they may be tricked into being taken, becoming playboys for wealthy families."

"He knew."

"He knew that."

"So from childhood, he exhausted his efforts just to climb upward."

"But at that time, he only dared to think of taking advantage of the heavenly grace when Emperor Taizong granted the Orphanage permission to open a grace exam, to study a few more books."

"That way, when he grew up and went out, he could become a tutor, collecting tuition at the start of each year, carefully calculating and saving more, and by year's end he could buy two mu of good farmland..."

"For such a trivial aspiration that ordinary people would consider insignificant, in the Orphanage he wasted countless days and nights to master his studies, and thus stood out among the countless lowly peers like him..."

"One day, the doors of the Orphanage opened again, and he suddenly became the child selected by Mei Xiang."

"That day, what was he thinking?"

"He remembered."

"He remembered."

"He remembered, that day he thought——"

"Afterwards, he finally could have his own name."

"Yes, not fine clothes and jade food, not vermilion gates and jade doors."

"What he thought of was a name, a name!"

"During those years, what he wanted most was a name."

"He thought he would take Mei Xiang as his father, afterwards inherit Mei Xiang's legacy, like an ordinary person studying, taking the imperial exams, marrying, and supporting his parents..."

"He thought, he clearly thought of many, many things."

"He even pondered what kind of name he would receive."

"Since Mei Xiang attained office through the imperial examinations, he should also hope he studies well..."

"Perhaps the name 'Wen Yuan' would be good?"

"He followed Mei Xiang all the way, all the way, during which he even hesitated to take Mei Xiang's hand."

"The old man's hand was thin, wrinkled, yet steady."

"Steady, without hesitation......"

"Taking him out of the Orphanage, pushing him into another layer of the underworld."

"There, all were children practicing martial arts through combat."

"Mei Xiang did not want an adopted son; he wanted him to temper himself, to serve the Young Emperor as an official."

"He acknowledged."

"He acknowledged."

"He put away his petty little thoughts, drawing his hand back into his sleeve."

"After all, the might of Emperor Taizong is known throughout the world."

"If one could serve an emperor like Emperor Taizong, would that not be a death without regret?"

"Yes."

"He thought so."

"It's a pity that despite all those wounds and suffering, he never got to await a mighty, overbearing, outstanding and clear-eyed emperor."

"He only once, on an ordinary afternoon, followed behind Emperor Taizong together with the other four officials to a splendid pavilion and waterside terrace."

"That young boy in fine clothes, innocent and naive, knowing nothing of court affairs or military matters, only clamoring for him to come play and have fun."

"That already somewhat weary emperor of the ages only said:"

"'...... Let them die for you, is that not appropriate?'"

"?? Recently there are few people..... QAQ sigh"