Chapter 484

Zhu Ba said: "Of course it's not this one, but the little dog the Princess lost years ago looks ninety percent like this one; I went through great hardship to find this one and specially brought it to present to Your Highness as a wedding gift."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, but Wen Boyuan behind him snorted coldly and said, "Preposterous!" Although Wen Boyuan also admitted the dog was very cute, he always suspected the beggars' motives were not as simple as giving a dog, and whether there was any truth to this was worth discussing.

Hu Xiaotian said: "How about this: I'll take the dog back and ask the Princess if she's willing to keep it."

Zhu Ba cupped his fists toward Hu Xiaotian and said: "Thank you for your trouble, Sir Hu!"

Hu Xiaotian heard correctly; the other party addressed him as Sir Hu rather than Eunuch Hu. Compared to the two, Sir Hu sounded more pleasant.

Zhu Ba, taking the little dog from Zhu Dalì's hands, handed it to Hu Xiaotian; as the dog was placed into Hu Xiaotian's hands, he seized the moment when no one was paying attention and stuffed a bundle of cloth into Hu Xiaotian's hands, then gave him a meaningful smile.

Hu Xiaotian immediately understood, clutching the bundle of cloth and using the dog as cover, he walked back. The little dog let out a whimper, trying to wriggle free from his palm, but its strength was too feeble; its black-bean eyes looked pleadingly at Hu Xiaotian, unaware of what fate awaited it.

Zhu Ba shouted loudly: "Brothers, clear the way, respectfully see off the Princess leaving the capital; may the Princess have a safe journey and a safe life!"

A gang of beggars hurriedly made way to both sides; Wen Boyuan and Wu Renshan also hadn't expected the matter to be resolved so easily, but of course a peaceful resolution without conflict was best, and Wu Renshan ordered the troops to continue forward.

Hu Xiaotian carried the little dog back to Princess Anping's carriage; the dog somewhat resembled a teddy bear, though it was unclear whether this breed existed in the era, its chubby appearance was utterly adorable. Perhaps because it had just arrived in an unfamiliar environment, it was obviously a little frightened.

Princess Anping lifted the carriage curtain, saw the little dog in Hu Xiaotian's arms, and exclaimed delightedly: "Xueqiu!"

Hu Xiaotian told her what had just happened; Princess Anping reached out and took the little dog, visibly moved. She had indeed kept a similar little dog when she was young. It had gotten lost once when she accompanied her mother outside the palace; that dog was named Xueqiu, and she had grieved for a long time over its loss, still never forgetting it. The dog Zhu Ba brought her was almost identical in appearance to the one she had before.

Hu Xiaotian originally thought Zhu Ba had fabricated it, but he hadn't expected it to be true, and he couldn't help marvelling at how many coincidences exist in the world. At the same time, he felt a slight appreciation for Zhu Ba, since not everyone could remember events from twelve years ago, nor could everyone repay kindness; thus, although Zhu Ba was a beggar, he understood gratitude better than most people.

The procession continued onward. Hu Xiaotian furtively unfolded the bundle of cloth Zhu Ba had given him and saw it was a hand-drawn map, detailing the route to Yongdu in detail; if it were merely a map, it would not be remarkable. Moreover, different-colored small flags marked the forces of the greenwood along the way, clearly indicating sections where greenwood folk were active. With this map one could selectively avoid certain stretches, as much as possible to prevent clashes with greenwood individuals.

Hu Xiaotian felt secretly delighted; he realized he had little acquaintance with Zhu Ba, so Zhu Ba had no reason to give him this map. Behind this must be the old beggar's doing. In fact, even now Hu Xiaotian wondered why the old beggar favored him so much, not only imparting martial arts to him but also arranging for someone to deliver this greenwood forces distribution map to him; if he ever got the chance, he would certainly ask for clarification.

The procession was soon arriving at the northern gate of the capital; crowds of onlookers lined both sides of the road, growing ever larger, yet the common folk maintained orderly conduct, keeping the central road clear, and the soldiers tasked with guarding the northern gate stood in formation before the gate to see them off.

From the crowd suddenly came a mournful voice crying: "Son!"

Others had not yet realized anything, but Hu Xiaotian felt as if struck by lightning; he abruptly turned around and saw his mother, Xu Fengyi, clad in coarse cotton clothing, braving the cold wind, pushing through the crowd desperately toward him. Xu Fengyi had just squeezed out of the crowd when a guard warrior rushed forward, shoved her to the ground, and bellowed: "Vile wretch! Dare to collide with the—" Before he could finish, someone grabbed his collar from behind; the warrior turned his head, and before he could make out the attacker's face, he saw a fist rapidly enlarging before his eyes—bang! A heavy punch smashed into his face, and it was Hu Xiaotian who had rushed to his mother's side in the first instant, pulled the eyeless warrior away, and punched him to the ground.

Seeing this scoundrel actually shove his mother right before his eyes, Hu Xiaotian could not tolerate it; he gripped the scabbard with his left hand and seized the hilt with his right, and with a clang the black-gold long sword was drawn. In his fury he intended to make the warrior's blood spill on the spot to vent his hatred.

Wen Boyuan was the first to notice the commotion here, shouting loudly: "Spare his life at the blade!" His voice thundered like an explosion in midair, and Hu Xiaotian's action likewise faltered.

At that very moment, Princess Anping's carriage also came to a halt; the carriage door opened, and the Princess actually jumped down from inside, hurrying to Xu Fengyi's side, she took hold of her arm and asked anxiously: "Lady Hu, are you all right?"

Xu Fengyi had merely acted on a sudden impulse to come see her son off; she had originally intended only to sneak a glance in the crowd, but upon seeing Hu Xiaotian about to leave the capital, she could not restrain her lingering affection and cried out, never expecting to cause such a great disturbance. Seeing Princess Anping personally dismount to come and support her, Xu Fengyi felt both flattered and a little regretful, thinking she should not have given her son so much trouble.

After hearing Wen Boyuan's cry of "Spare his life at the blade!", Hu Xiaotian did not draw his sword, but neither did he abandon his intention of revenge; he lifted his foot and kicked hard at the warrior's right ribs. Hu Xiaotian's kick showed no mercy; the warrior let out a miserable groan, and two of his ribs were broken on the spot by Hu Xiaotian's foot. In fact, the warrior did not know the intruder's identity; stopping Xu Fengyi was his duty, but he had employed overly rough means, never imagining he would touch Hu Xiaotian's reverse scale.

Wen Boyuan leapt down from his horse's back, seized Hu Xiaotian's arm in one grasp, and said: "Stop!" As the saying goes, to beat a dog you must look to its master; that warrior was his subordinate, and Hu Xiaotian's public beating amounted to slapping his face.

Hu Xiaotian coldly stared at Wen Boyuan and said: "It should be General Wen who lets go."

Wen Boyuan angrily demanded: "Why did you strike someone without cause?" While questioning Hu Xiaotian, he nevertheless released Hu Xiaotian's wrist, for he had already seen what had just transpired; although Wen Boyuan did not know Xu Fengyi, from Hu Xiaotian's recent behavior he could infer that this middle-aged woman was closely related to Hu Xiaotian, and thus it was not appropriate to continue speaking up for that subordinate.

Hu Xiaotian completely ignored Wen Boyuan, went to his mother's side, took hold of her other arm, and asked anxiously: "Mother! Are you injured?"

Xu Fengyi shook her head, looked at her son, and her eye rims suddenly reddened; she reached out and gently patted his cheek, saying: "Mother's fine, I just came to see you off." With the support of Princess Anping and Hu Xiaotian, Xu Fengyi rose to her feet.

Soon after, Wu Renshan also hurried over; upon seeing the scene before him, he understood: speaking of that warrior, he could only consider himself unlucky, for Hu Xiaotian, as a Deputy Marriage Envoy, ranked among the top three in the escort party; you shoved his mother in his presence—how could he let you off? Although Wen Boyuan was filled with rage, he also realized this was something he could only endure; anyone in his place would have acted impulsively and struck out.

Wu Renshan approached Princess Anping, bowed respectfully, and said: "This place is crowded and chaotic; for the Princess's safety, please board the carriage as soon as possible."

Princess Anping bit her cherry lips and whispered: "Lady Hu, I'm leaving."

Xu Fengyi bowed in salute; Princess Anping hastily reached out to support her, saying softly: "Please take care of your health, madam." Having spoken, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sourness in her heart, quickly turned away, and as soon as her back was turned, tears welled up—on her wedding day, not a single relative had come to see her off.

Wu Renshan walked over with a smiling squint and greeted: "I was wondering who it was—turns out it's Lady Hu."

Xu Fengyi hastily returned the salute, saying: "I pay my respects, Sir Wu."

Wu Renshan smiled and said: "Lady Hu, you're too courteous; in the past I served alongside Sir Hu in the same court, and now I am again on an envoy to Da Yong together with Eunuch Hu—indeed we have some affinity." Although he wore a smiling expression, he deliberately emphasized the two words "eunuch", clearly stabbing Lady Hu's heart.

Xu Fengyi said: "Xiaotian is young and inexperienced; I hope Sir Wu will look after him along the way."

Wu Renshan stroked his beard and laughed: "Certainly, certainly." He then turned to Hu Xiaotian and said: "Eunuch Hu, keep Lady Hu company for a while, then hurry up and catch up; don't delay the schedule."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Sir Wu, rest assured!"

The troops resumed their march; Xu Fengyi grasped Hu Xiaotian's both hands, gazing at her son, her grip tightening ever more.

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Mother, rest assured, I'll be back before long."

Xu Fengyi suddenly spread her arms and embraced her son, lowering her voice to his ear: "Son! If you ever get a chance to leave, you need not come back."

Hu Xiaotian's heart startled; could his old mother know something? He smiled: "Mother, don't overthink it."

Xu Fengyi whispered against his ear: "Mother knows everything; go your own way, the farther you go the better, don't worry about your father and mother…"

"Mother!"

Xu Fengyi released Hu Xiaotian, extended both hands and gently patted his cheeks, full of deep affection, saying: "Go on!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, stepped back two paces, suddenly knelt on the ground, and respectfully kowtowed three times to his mother; then he swung onto his horse, never glancing back at her, and galloped forward to catch up with the procession ahead.

First, I'll post the first update; Old Zhangyu is going to work. Today I decided to use the update to scrape up any remaining guaranteed monthly tickets—two updates guaranteed, fifty monthly tickets per update, deadline at seven o'clock, which means if we reach fifty tickets today we'll have three updates total, if we reach one hundred we'll have four updates, if we reach one hundred fifty… probably not possible, so Zhangyu won't indulge in idle fantasies. (To be continued~^~)