Chapter Seventeen Sacrifice

Qin Rao was stunned. The words she had prepared stuck in her throat, and after a long while, she could only laugh softly, "Yun Yao...you, you still think of others so much..."

She gazed at Yun Yao, as if trying to memorize his current appearance.

But after a while, she lowered her eyes, calmed herself, and said according to her original plan:

"Yun Yao, have you ever heard the saying... that this kind of thing has existed since ancient times, and even those wise and powerful emperors in history have done this kind of thing. Like Empress Wu and the Zhang brothers, Emperor Tang and Consort Yang..."

As she spoke, Qin Rao reached out and patted Yun Yao's jade-like hand, saying meaningfully, "Yun Yao, this is the only way to save your father... He depends on you."

Yun Yao suddenly stood up!

He stared in shock at the smooth-talking woman before him, hardly believing his ears. "Qin Rao, what do you mean? You want me to... no, I disagree! Besides, I think you're all crazy to even dare to set your sights on 'that lady' like this."

Qin Rao listened to the young man's reprimand without showing any emotion. Instead, she smiled slightly, leaned back in her chair calmly, and said to the young man who had stood up, "Yun Yao, the reason I dare to say such things to you today is because I've already inquired and made arrangements. No matter how transcendent 'that lady' may be, she's still human. Humans have emotions and desires, and they get lonely. Wasn't it because that Butler Cheng saw through this that he spread those rumors in private? On the surface, he said he was selecting a close new assistant, but actually..."

Yun Yao's heart was in turmoil as he listened to Qin Rao's words. He slowly sat back down, but after a moment of silence, he said firmly, "I don't care what you're planning, or if that's what they're thinking, but I won't get involved in this kind of thing."

Qin Rao laughed, her words blunt and cruel: "Yun Yao, have you forgotten that you're still mine? Since you were willing to submit to me two years ago to save your father, why can't you now? Don't forget, your father is still waiting for you to save him! If you give up now, then everything you've done these past two years will have been for nothing."

Yun Yao could no longer hold back. He glared at her with grief and anger, his eyes already broken. His voice trembled, as if each word was uttered with blood: "You...you want me to sell myself again?"

Qin Rao stopped laughing, turned her head away from the shattered boy, and sighed, "Yun Yao, go see your father. He really wants to see you. After you see him, give me a calm reply. Think it over carefully. If you can really be selected, it will be a win-win situation."

...

In the visiting room.

Not long after her last visit, Yun Yao saw her father in prison again.

However, unlike before, this time, the people outside the prison were even more haggard and broken than those inside.

Although the man in prison was down on his luck, his eyes were full of shrewdness. He recalled what Qin Rao had said during her previous visit to him, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings, including a subtle sense of smugness. He felt that he still had a fighting chance.

The man carefully examined the now-grown boy through the viewing window, admiring his unparalleled brilliance that even his haggard expression couldn't conceal.

He gazed at the boy's strikingly handsome and beautiful features, his eyebrows like distant mountains painted with light ink, their peaks slightly raised like new bamboo shoots breaking through the snow, and his bright eyes like autumn water with pupils like black jade soaked in a clear spring... This was a stunning beauty, just like his deceased wife.

The man seemed to realize for the first time that his son was indeed a gift from heaven.

He could hardly contain his excitement and picked up the phone for visiting the prison for the first time before the boy: "Ah Yao, you're finally here. Dad has been waiting for you."

The man kept recounting the hardships and suffering he endured in prison, but he didn't notice the boy's increasingly gloomy face.

Finally, as if unable to hold back any longer, Yun Yao spoke in a hoarse voice, interrupting the man. He was like a fledgling that had fallen to the ground in a storm, shivering and desperately searching for a trace of past warmth, or like a flower about to wither, exuding an aura of desolation: "Dad, I've tried so hard... but I'm so tired now... so very tired..."

The man inside the cell paused, then turned his head away guiltily, lowering his eyes, and stammered, "Then, then you should rest more, rest for a couple of days..."

As the man spoke, he glanced sideways at the boy and couldn't help but plead again, "Ah Yao, I heard from Qin Rao that you have a way that might save me. Please, I beg you, think of another way for me."

Yun Yao's hand holding the visiting phone trembled slightly. He stared at his father and asked in a hoarse voice, "Dad, do you know what Qin Rao's plan is? Do you know what she wants me to do?"

The man in the cell twitched his eyebrow. He was silent for a while, but avoided the topic and continued to cry, "Ayao, Dad knows you've had a hard time these past two years, but Dad has no choice. You're all I have left. Only you can save Dad!"

Yun Yao closed his eyes. He suddenly thought of his uncle and aunt, and how they had traveled a long way to come to him. His uncle, even with a limp, didn't want him to worry... If they were in his situation, they certainly wouldn't treat him like his father did.

But he said nothing. He nodded blankly as if he had lost all hope. He remained silent for a long time, staring at his father, until the man looked away guiltily. Only then did he whisper, "Dad, take care of yourself in prison. I'll come see you again next time."

However, before Yun Yao could stand up, the man in the cell suddenly went berserk and knelt down straight down in front of Yun Yao—in front of his own son!

Yun Yao was startled, his mind went blank for a moment, and he cried out, "Dad, what are you doing! Get up! Why are you kneeling before me? How could you kneel before me! Get up!"

The man in the cell seemed determined. No matter how terrified and pleading Yun Yao was, he wouldn't get up. Instead, he cried and said, "Ah Yao! Dad knows he's a bastard, but Dad really has no other choice! Please, this is the last time I'm begging you! The very last time! Whether it works or not, Dad promises you that he will never make things difficult for you again! Please help Dad one last time, just for the sake of all the years Dad has raised you!"

Yun Yao broke down. His heart was breaking, and he could no longer control himself. Holding the phone, tears streamed down his face. He could only choke out, "I promise your father, I promise you! Please don't kneel... please don't kneel..."

...

As the sun sets, a few lone birds and wild geese fly across the blood-red sky, their mournful cries echoing through the chaotic world.

Qin Rao leaned against the car door and waited at the prison gate. In the distance, she saw a lonely figure, like a wandering ghost, slowly walking towards her.

"Yun Yao!" She ran over quickly, but stopped abruptly when she saw the boy's eyes, which seemed to have been filled with blood and tears, and the deathly gray look in them.

Seeing Yun Yao like this, she didn't show her usual mockery and smugness. Destroying this beautiful young man was originally her goal in the game, but now she couldn't feel happy at all.

For the first time, she didn't find those cruel games she used to play fun anymore.

"Yun'er..." Qin Rao approached the boy with unusual caution, her eyes revealing a pity she herself was unaware of as she looked at Yun Yao. "Are you... are you alright?"

Yun Yao slowly raised his eyes, glancing at the woman so close to him. He spoke slowly, his voice dry and hoarse: "Qin Rao, I promise you. I will cooperate fully with you, everything... everything, I promise..." He coughed as if he couldn't bear it any longer, "If you achieve your goal... then..."

Yun Yao stared intently at Qin Rao, the gloom in his eyes melting into even colder snow water. He said, word by word, "From now on, Qin Rao, we owe each other nothing."

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Qin Rao stared blankly at the boy, and for the first time, she felt a faint pain slowly rising from the bottom of her heart.

She watched helplessly as Yun Yao waved her hand away and slowly walked away... In this blood-red twilight where a lone goose flew, Qin Rao seemed to suddenly understand something. Perhaps the most priceless thing in the world was the sincere heart of that young man.