Chapter 71: Son of a Prostitute

Chinu believed......

Of course it's fake!

He tugged at the corner of his mouth, unsure whether he wanted to smile or something else; that slight arc had just risen when a wave of sharp pain tore it apart.

Thus, his brows furrowed again, his fingers dug deep into the soil, his joints turning a bluish-white.

Du Shanü no longer hesitated; she hooked her fingertips onto the sash at his chest and flung his dark outer robe open to both sides.

Inside, the pale middle garment was already soaked through with blood over half, clinging to his body.

She lifted the middle garment stuck to the wound, perhaps from pain, perhaps from helplessness; Chinu's brows knit sharply, and a scarcely audible groan escaped his throat.

That groan was extremely faint, yet it could not withstand the morning light and dew; the damp chill in the forest had not yet dissipated.

That half-breath, mingled with mountain mist, turned into smoke and vapor, sweeping over Du Shanü's brows and eyes......

After that instant, Du Shanü could only smell the 【fragrance】.

Du Shanü, inexperienced, could not grasp it, nor could she describe that wisp of fragrance.

However, if one really had to describe it in a passage, it would be——

【Fragrance of cold plum condensing snow, with a hint of icy musk.】

The plum itself is pure and clear, the musk rich; adding the character 'ice' gives a sense of cold, and 'a point' shows restraint.

Just like Chinu......

Outwardly cool and detached, yet inside hides a captivating allure.

Du Shanü felt a sudden emptiness in her heart, and her movements unconsciously grew a bit gentler.

Chinu seemed somewhat embarrassed; he closed his eyes, allowing the color to drain from his face bit by bit, leaving only that pale visage leaning against the cracked bark, still as a jade statue about to shatter.

Birds chirped in the forest, and Du Shanü finally came to her senses.

She gathered her thoughts, located the wound on Chinu's body—a deep, long gash below the ribs that showed signs of healing, but now the flesh was turned outward and blood slowly seeped out.

She took a cloth, dampened it with water from her waterskin, and gently wiped away the blood around the wound.

The icy touch on his skin made his whole body tense, his shoulder blades drawing together; he seemed to resist instinctively, yet he neither moved nor spoke.

Du Shanü focused intently, lowering her head to tend the wound, but she happened to get close; her breath brushed his bare skin, warm and itchy.

She had treated it carefully; after wiping clean, she scattered the Gold Wound Powder she had gathered from Chinu onto the wound.

Chinu shuddered all over, finally unable to hold back a muffled groan.

Du Shanü ignored him, quickly rewrapping the wound; lifting her gaze again, she saw that his already slender face had lost all color, white as paper, sweat tracing down his brow bone to hang on his lashes, about to fall.

His lips, too, had turned white from biting, a shallow tooth mark on his lower lip.

Perhaps from the pain, his ears had taken on a faint blush, visible beneath the pallor like plum blossoms on snow.

Chinu's complexion is truly excellent.

Du Shanü had known this before, but today she felt it more strongly.

Chinu's appearance is too cold, too gorgeous.

But...... it's also too competitive, too grabbing.

Du Shanü again found herself recalling Chen Weifang's earlier words.

He said, the three moles on Chinu's nose bridge, eyebrows, and cheek actually correspond to 'jealousy,' 'suitable for wife,' and 'lasciviousness.'

But in Du Shanü's eyes, those three moles are not flaws; they even enhance Chinu's beauty to a higher level.

Like a flawless jade with a slight blemish.

A perfect jade, unsullied by the mundane, naturally inspires awe.

But if there is a slight flaw, it instead stirs a desire to defile.

Defile......?

Du Shanü pondered those two words in her heart; Chinu seemed to realize something, his brows knitting as he turned away, leaving her only his pale profile.

His eyes held neither their usual cold nor depth; they were somewhat scattered, somewhat moist, with a faint gleam deep in the pupils—like pain, or something else.

"It hurts."

Chinu's lashes were also wet, clumping strand by strand; the natural upward tilt at the outer corner, usually alluring, now looked like resentment:

"It hurts."

"If I had known, I would have died in the Orphanage back then."

Even now, he still remembers the day he left the Orphanage.

That day, because a noble visitor came, the Orphanage finally had some meat dishes.

He waited in line a long time before receiving three pieces of lean meat the size of a fingernail cap.

Unlike what many think—that fatty meat is greasy and lean meat is better—those from poor backgrounds who rarely eat meat actually prefer fattier cuts.

Fatty meat is richer in aroma, its flavor lingers longer after swallowing, making it a rare treat for the teeth.

But he couldn't get any fatty meat.

Being small, he couldn't outmuscle the bigger kids, so he only got a few scraps from the soup.

The bowl's rim had a nick, which prickled his mouth.

That was his last day at the Orphanage, and yet he still had to suffer a bit of injustice.

But if he had known beforehand, that single bite would have been the only memory he'd retain for the rest of his life.

No matter what he said then, he had to lick the bowl clean.

Heaven was unfair to him, the Heavenly Father to him......

Indeed, it was unfair.

He only thought he faced a smooth road, never imagining he faced a situation growing ever more difficult to navigate.

When he could no longer endure, he also thought of seeking his birth parents.

After all, among the several ministers, there are also no shortage of those chosen from the side branches of prestigious families.

He had also thought that perhaps his family background wasn't that bad.

He was merely abandoned at the Orphanage's gate, but that's just what others say......

It's uncertain; at that time they also had their own difficulties.

Even if he didn't become some minister, if he went back to find them, his parents would surely also be willing to take him in.

Not to mention becoming some young master; even if his family circumstances were ordinary, by working hard he might still manage to live a prosperous life.

But how could Heaven possibly pity people?

It won't.

Heaven certainly won't pity people.

He painstakingly searched for clues and finally discovered that his birth mother was a prostitute in Jinling City.

Just like all the prostitutes who managed to leave their names behind.

In her youth she outshone all others; in her later years, her door could catch sparrows, meaning she could only take on more clients for less pay.

After contracting an illness, one night she never woke up; the madam wrapped her in a straw mat and buried her in the Mass Grave.

And his birth father was even more untraceable.

The madam said, when her mother was still beautiful, countless men flocked to her.

The madam said, her mother had loved many men who swore they would take her away.

The madam said, when young, her mother even gave away much of her own money to those men, hoping that after they achieved success they could take her out of her suffering.

However, not a single one of them ever really came back.

There was nothing unexpected.

There was no such thing as the 'fallen into the common folk' or 'overnight a change of fortune turns one into a dragon or tiger' storybook trope.

His mother was a prostitute.

He was born into a lowly station; he naturally belonged to the lowly register.

The only variable was that, after giving birth to him, his mother clung to life, used a hairpin to have a servant girl place him at the Orphanage's gate, which gave him a slim chance of obtaining a good register.

That was the sole proof that his mother had loved him.

Besides that, he seems to have received nothing else.

It hurts so much.

Still it hurts so much.

If only I had known, if only I had known......

Chinu still kept his eyes shut, gritting his teeth.

Du Shanü's heart was already in utter chaos.

She leaned over and gently touched Chinu's forehead; her fingertips felt a distinctly abnormal temperature, and she softly comforted him:

"Don't... if you die in the Orphanage... how would I ever meet you?"

?? Shasha: I can't describe what Chinu's scent is like...... but blah blah blah (omitted ten thousand words of endless chatter)

?? I'm completely bewitched and my spirit is overturned!!!! (blushing face)

?? Finally, to reiterate, Chinu was indeed born into a lowly station, with no accident, and there will be no reversal...... in the author's work there will be no clichés, Chinu truly only has himself.