Chapter 358: Kill (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian said: "I'm fine; I'm currently serving at the Office of Imperial Gardens, and Lord Eunuch Ji holds me in high regard, and everyone around me treats me well."

Hu Buwei nodded; hearing the words "Lord Eunuch", his heart felt as if cut by a knife—this is his only son. Long Yelin this scoundrel actually let him enter the palace to atone, which is tantamount to cutting off the incense of my Hu family; what a deep hatred and great grudge.

Hu Xiaotian said: "How is it over at the Ministry of Revenue?"

Hu Buwei said: "It's nothing more than squeezing out my last bit of value." He sees the future clearly, knowing that even if he clings to life, he will ultimately not escape death.

"You shouldn't have come here." Hu Buwei's greatest concern remains his son's situation; this visit to see them, he doesn't know what impact it will have. Bear in mind that the alleys around Water Well Lane are filled with the court's spies; tonight's events could easily be discovered by others.

Hu Xiaotian said: "It's fine; since Lord Eunuch Ji is willing to bring me here, he can settle this matter."

Hu Buwei slowly shook his head and whispered: "The only one you can truly rely on is yourself." He had many things he wanted to say to his son, but couldn't say them now. He certainly knows what kind of person Ji Feihua is; for his son to mix with such people is no different than seeking skin from a tiger.

Since entering the room, Hu Xiaotian has been attentively observing and listening to the surroundings, wary of eavesdroppers; his situation forces him to be cautious. He took a piece of charcoal from the brazier and wrote on the ground: "Has Liang Da Zhuang been here all along?"

Hu Buwei also imitated him, picking up a piece of charcoal and writing: "He came this evening to visit us. We kept him from leaving." Then he wrote again: "How? Do you suspect him?"

Hu Xiaotian wiped the writing on the ground with his hand. Then he wrote: "I am planning to prepare to escape with you and Mother."

Hu Buwei shook his head firmly and wrote: "Absolutely not! Escaping now would be seeking death!" Then he wrote: "If you go, go alone; don't worry about me and your mother."

Hu Xiaotian pressed his lips and wrote: "I have a way."

Hu Buwei wrote: "Dismiss the thought; the Emperor will not let me leave the capital alive, and that's why he hasn't killed me—because I hold the secret of Dakang's wealth; if he killed me now, he would never know it."

Hu Xiaotian's heart shuddered; only now did he realize his father was not so simple.

After Hu Buwei finished writing, he quickly erased it and wrote: "What I fear most is them using your life to threaten me; you shouldn't have come back."

Hu Xiaotian wrote: "If I were to watch you and Mother come to harm and remain indifferent, my conscience would never be at ease in this life or the next."

Father and son locked eyes, their eye rims red; Hu Buwei reached out his hand. His palm, blackened with charcoal, firmly clasped his son's.

In the courtyard, Xu Fengyi held the already brewed tea but did not enter; Liang Da Zhuang respectfully said: "Madam, why don't you go in?"

Xu Fengyi said: "Let the two elders have a good chat; then we won't need to go in and disturb them."

Liang Da Zhuang lowered his head: "Then I'll stay here to keep you company, Madam."

Xu Fengyi said: "It's hard on you to still have this thought. Speaking of which, since our Hu family met misfortune, you are the first servant to come visit us; I never expected our Hu family to still have such a loyal and devoted servant."

Liang Da Zhuang, eyes brimming with hot tears, said: "Madam, it's only that I lack the ability; I couldn't help with such a great matter befalling the Hu family."

Xu Fengyi said calmly: "It's the Hu family that has dragged you down; if not for the Emperor's grace, the Hu family would certainly have faced extermination this time. Although we have suffered misfortune, at least everyone has preserved their lives, which is a blessing amid misfortune."

Liang Da Zhuang said: "It's all thanks to the young master. If the young master hadn't sacrificed himself to enter the palace, we would probably already be dead."

Xu Fengyi sighed: "Xiaotian is brave-hearted and tender; I hope his good intentions will be rewarded. If one day the grievances of our Hu family are redressed, I also hope you will look after him well."

Liang Da Zhuang said with deep feeling: "Madam, the young master's kindness to me is as weighty as Mount Tai; as long as I have a breath left, I will go up knives' mountains and down fire seas for the young master without furrowing my brow."

The ground beneath his feet was already black; Hu Buwei changed to another spot and continued writing: "Being in the palace, every step is fraught with danger; do not engage in dealing with tigers for their skin."

Hu Xiaotian wrote: "Seeking survival in the cracks, when the snipe and clam contend, the fisherman benefits."

Hu Buwei wrote: "I will never spare the Long clan, who caused our Hu family to be cut off from heirs." His eyes revealed a hatred etched into the bone; obviously, because his son was made a eunuch and entered the palace, his hatred for the Long clan reached its peak. He has resolved to bring chaos to Dakang's realm, and as long as he has a breath left, he will inevitably cause Dakang's economy to collapse.

Hu Xiaotian wrote in front of his father: "I have not been castrated; it's all an illusion, the Hu line will not die out." After writing, he quickly erased it.

Seeing those characters, Hu Buwei stared at his son in disbelief; Hu Xiaotian nodded at him; Hu Buwei's expression became extremely excited. Originally he thought his son had been made a eunuch and the Hu line would end, so he had lost all hope for the future; but upon learning the truth, his joy was indescribable—he wished he could jump up and shout a few times to vent his delight.

Hu Xiaotian wrote again: "Are you willing to come with me now?"

Hu Buwei shook his head and wrote: "As long as the green hills remain, there's no worry about lacking firewood; let Father plan well, you must be careful in the palace and be sure to preserve your life." After a pause, he wrote: "Don't come again in the future." After erasing all that writing, he then called out loudly: "Son's mother, where have you been all this time?"

Xu Fengyi heard her husband's voice, then responded with a sound, picked up the teapot still warm, and walked into the room.

After Liang Da Zhuang waited for Xu Fengyi to leave, he then shook off the snow on his body; he did not follow inside, but raised his head and saw a black-clad figure standing on the roof amidst the wind and snow; the black-clad person's sharp eyes coldly glanced at Liang Da Zhuang, then tapped his toes and leapt up like a great bird, making several turns in the night sky before lunging toward the outside of the courtyard.

Ji Feihua lifted the carriage curtain, her phoenix eyes gazing outward; the black-clad coachman came up to him and bowed with clasped fists; Ji Feihua said calmly: "What do you have to say?"

The coachman whispered: "The father and son didn't speak; they must have been communicating by written notes."

Ji Feihua's lips, like blazing fire, curved into an alluring arc, her eyes bright as stars: "What a cunning pair of father and son."

The coachman said: "Sir, could there be any trouble?"

Ji Feihua, with fingers like orchids, twirled a strand of hair at her temple and let it slip down softly, then whispered: "It's good that he's shrewd; if he were a fool, the Zajia would have no interest in them."

Hu Xiaotian's figure had already appeared outside Water Well Lane; he waved to Liang Da Zhuang, who had followed him, and said: "Da Zhuang, you may go back."

Liang Da Zhuang looked somewhat reluctant, still standing in place, until he saw Hu Xiaotian enter the carriage and the carriage vanish into the wind and snow, then he turned and left.

Ji Feihua tightened her sable cloak a bit more, then turned her body slightly toward Hu Xiaotian and said softly: "How is it?"

Hu Xiaotian bowed and said: "Sir, your kindness to me is unforgettable."

Ji Feihua chuckled: "Great kindness needs no thanks; it seems the favors the Zajia have given you are nothing much."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I will engrave it forever in my heart!"

Ji Feihua replied: "To remember a benefactor's kindness for a thousand years; I don't know whether in your heart the Zajia or Quan De'an is more important."

Hu Xiaotian did not directly answer Ji Feihua's question, but cleverly replied: "In my heart, nothing is more important than my parents' safety."

Ji Feihua smiled: "As long as you obediently do work for the Zajia, your parents' safety will be under the Zajia's protection."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Commander, what do you want me to do?"

Ji Feihua laughed: "For now, there's just one thing: accompany the Zajia in drinking."

Heavy snow fell; the streets of Kangdu were deserted, but at the West Phoenix Bridgehead lights still burned. The carriage stopped; Ji Feihua leapt down first, and Hu Xiaotian followed him to beneath the bridge, where he saw an elderly couple preparing food and drink, with a small boat by the riverbank serving as their dwelling.

Hu Xiaotian felt somewhat strange, not knowing what connection this couple had with Ji Feihua, why Ji Feihua always patronized their business, even making a special trip in wind and snow.

Ji Feihua and Hu Xiaotian sat at the small table; immediately the old lady brought up steaming braised beef, white lotus root, and freshly fried small fish, crisp outside, tender inside, fragrant all around.

The cold wind swept snow continuously into the bridge's archway; Hu Xiaotian took the jade hall spring liquor the coachman brought, filled a small black bowl, Ji Feihua lifted her wine cup and, without speaking, tilted her head back and drained it in one gulp.

Hu Xiaotian also drank a bowl of liquor, merely not knowing why Ji Feihua had summoned him so late to drink.

Ji Feihua said: "This seems to be the first snow of this winter."

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "The previous days saw some salt-like particles; if we call that snow, today is truly the first."

Ji Feihua said: "Every year at the first snow, the Zajia come here to drink; this old couple knows my habit, so whenever it's the first snow of winter, no matter how late, they prepare food and drink and wait here for my patronage."

Hu Xiaotian glanced at the silently busy elderly couple and said softly: "Indeed rare; they too are kind-hearted people."

Ji Feihua said: "Many things in this world don't need to be spoken aloud; Zajia never said I would come, yet they have been preparing year after year, and Zajia has never let them down."

Hu Xiaotian filled that cup of wine for Ji Feihua; as his contact with Ji Feihua deepened, he discovered that Ji Feihua indeed had many distinctive qualities, perhaps this is what people often call personal charm. Compared to the gloomy Quan De'an, he would rather associate with the somewhat arrogant Ji Feihua. People always change unconsciously; Hu Xiaotian realized that he too had changed somewhat because of Ji Feihua. (To be continued~^~)