Chapter 29, Brother—
Yang Liuqing's heart skipped a beat, and she almost looked towards the side room where Yan Dibai was.
Fortunately, it was quiet inside, and there was no sign of the boy breaking out of the door as she had imagined.
She whispered a reminder: "Miss, this is the capital, right under the emperor's nose."
"Hey—" The girl, who had been warming her hands by the fire, looked up blankly. Seeing the gentle yet serious gaze reflected in the firelight, she finally understood and hurriedly nodded.
"I'm sorry, I've been living in the countryside for too long and I don't know the proper etiquette."
She said okay, then rubbed her eyes sullenly: "My fiancé used to remind me to be well-mannered and polite, but I could never remember it."
Although the girl was smiling, two fine, twisted lines appeared between her brows.
Perhaps women possess a unique capacity for empathy. Yang Liuqing vaguely sensed a hint of confusion and sadness in her voice when she mentioned her handsome and intelligent fiancé.
She turned the fire up higher, hiding her increasingly moist eyes, and Qingqing didn't say anything more. She quietly rummaged through the fire and found some rice and dried vegetables.
Miss Xue, who was helping her cook porridge, kept talking. But it was all just trivial stuff, like stealing fruit today and gnawing on tree bark tomorrow, with a little bit about her fiancé whom she couldn't forget.
Miss Xue happily took the cup and drank it all in one gulp. Having said about 70-80% of what had upset her, she felt much better.
She drank three more bowls, full of gratitude: "Miss Yang, your dried vegetables are so much more fragrant than those in Jizhou. I can't even get wild vegetable roots at home. If it weren't for my fiancé's ability to help wealthy families write couplets and make lanterns, we wouldn't even be able to afford thin rice porridge."
Qingqing choked back tears, staring at the dark, murky pickled vegetables in the pot, holding her breath.
How can someone be so satisfied with the food she can't eat? Just how barren are those unseen places?
"Jizhou is far from the capital, your journey must have been very arduous, young lady."
Miss Xue nodded, then shook her head: "It's only a few hundred miles. I'm very shrewd; I didn't get lost the whole way."
Qingqing felt a tightness in her chest.
Where are Miss Yang's parents?
The fire subsided slightly. Her expression was serious, and her words were slightly offensive, but not offensive.
"My parents are here, but they've probably gone to visit relatives. Today is the winter solstice."
"That's good. Having family is the best thing." Miss Xue grinned.
Yang Liuqing smiled without saying a word, then ladled out the rest of the porridge, giving each of them a bowl. Miss Xue, not expecting the girl before her to have seen through her still being hungry, ate somewhat shyly. Yang Liuqing, holding her bowl, felt a sense of relief.
She blew on it and was about to take a sip when suddenly there was a loud thud from the side room, as if something had smashed the door.
The two looked in the same direction at the same time, and then, "Bang!" the door rang again. Less than a second later, it was kicked down with a loud crash. Startled, Miss Xue instinctively sprang to her feet, and a voice suddenly rushed in, kicking over the earthenware pot on the fire. The remaining porridge splattered onto the firewood, and foul-smelling black smoke instantly filled the room.
Qingqing, still holding her bowl, sat on the stool. Witnessing his outburst, she immediately put the bowl down. Yan Dibai's face was so dark it seemed to drip water; the anger that had been building up from being left out in the cold while listening to their idle chatter surged within him. He recalled Yang Liuqing's words from the street earlier, and the more he thought about them, the angrier he became:
"Yang Liuqing, what do you mean? You think that just because I've been lenient with you these past few days, spared your life, and now saved my life, you can presume to judge me? And you're even giving me the cold shoulder and scolding me? Believe me or not, I'll throw you into a death row cell!"
Yes, she was practically riding on his head. If he hadn't suddenly noticed that this damned maid's attitude towards him seemed to have changed—becoming dismissive and indifferent—she would still be cold, disappointed, and disgusted…
Just like my older sister back then.
Yan Di's hands trembled violently beneath his white sleeves, and the person before him even contorted in pain. He clenched his jaw, then suddenly swung his arm, knocking the bowl of porridge away, shattering the cheap celadon shards all over the floor.
Qingqing's hand was scalded by the porridge being tilted, and she felt a burning pain instantly. Then, hearing him recklessly reveal his identity, she quickly said to the bewildered Miss Xue:
"My young master suffers from hysteria, Miss Xue, please don't worry about it, and please don't spread the word!"
Miss Xue had already thought the disheveled young man before her had a strange temper. He was only wearing an undergarment and looked just like the Wang family's second simpleton, who used to cause trouble in the village and would run away and strip naked for people to see when he was in a good mood. Upon hearing Yang Liuqing's words, she nodded repeatedly:
“I understand! I understand! There are several like that in my village, and they are all wealthy households.”
...one by one, they didn't even take him seriously.
Yan Dibai choked for several breaths before glaring fiercely at Yang Liuqing: "You vile servant, spouting nonsense! I am not delirious, I am perfectly fine! That ugly girl, kneel down before me!"
Miss Xue got anxious: "I'm the village beauty! Even my fiancé praises my looks! You're the ugly one! You're crazy and your hair is a mess, how dare you call me ugly!"
"You're ugly!" he scoffed. "No wonder your fiancé doesn't want you!"
"You! You're ugly!" Unexpectedly, he had overheard her, and Miss Xue choked on her breath, clenching her fists tightly.
"You bastard!"
Seeing that Miss Xue was angry, Qingqing quickly went up and tugged at Yan Dibai's sleeve, hoping he would calm down. However, Yan Dibai showed no mercy and pushed the girl to the ground with a shove.
As luck would have it, there was a shard of porcelain there, and the impact pierced her thigh. "Ouch!" Qingqing winced in pain. Miss Xue quickly helped her up, and upon seeing her leg, exclaimed in surprise:
"It's in there!"
Yan Di rolled her eyes and paused for a moment.
Qingqing frowned, about to say it was alright, when Miss Xue took a deep breath, stood up, and pointed at Yan Dibai, scolding him:
"You madman! So what if you're a young master? Why are you bullying people like this! You impersonated the emperor, and Miss Yang stopped you to save your life! Even if you're delirious, you don't have to harm people like this!"
This completely threw everything into chaos. Qingqing was speechless, and Yan Dibai was stunned by the barrage of angry rebukes. Just as he was about to reveal his identity with a sinister air, the ungrateful country girl launched into a rapid-fire barrage of questions:
“Miss Yang, don’t swallow your anger. Isn’t this the capital? What gives him the audacity to beat people like this? I don’t know the rules of wealthy families, but I know this is wrong! My mother was a slave before, and she still ran away when she was beaten! We are human beings too!”
"Xue..." Qingqing was at a loss for how to end this situation when she heard this and her eyes widened. She was surprised that she thought that way. For a moment, she really couldn't tell who was the modern person.
She frowned, momentarily lost in thought as she stared at the bloodstains on her thigh. Miss Xue then spread her arms protectively in front of Yang Liuqing, raising her chin at the incredulous Yan Dibai:
"They say the people living near the capital are the most honest. There are the emperor's soldiers outside; if I call them, they definitely won't dare to move! Miss Yang, you should run away immediately! So what if you're a slave? The world is in such chaos, who has time to chase you!"
These words, spoken with such conviction, sent a jolt through Yang Liuqing's mind.
The initial resistance was followed by helping others at the cost of their own lives and fortunes.
Looking at Yan Dibai, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose fists were clenched, clearly furious to the extreme, she suddenly felt as if something had illuminated a part of her predicament.
"Miss Yang, run!"
"What a joke," the young man scoffed. "The soldiers are all mine. Dare to run? I'll kill your whole family."
Miss Xue spat, "You're still dreaming! Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror!"
"You!" Yan Dibai was so angry at the girl's arrogant and ignorant thinking that he laughed instead. He was about to attack her, but then he glanced at Yang Liuqing, who was lying on the ground with a dazed expression. The girl's face changed slightly, and she had obviously seen his expression. Before he could feel at ease, she indifferently looked away and slowly got up and approached the wooden door.
Yan Dibai felt as if his blood was boiling, and the thought of killing the lowly country folk first was instantly forgotten.
She wouldn't listen...
Yangliuqing, is Yangliuqing really running away?!
The usually cold and hard walls of my heart inexplicably climbed up the vines called "fear and trembling," growing rapidly in a fit of rage and tightening wildly.
How dare she! How dare she!
Yan Dibai was about to lose control of his hands. His vision went black and white in waves. In extreme pain, he slowly curled into a terrifying smile.
What about subordinates, what about loyalty?
It turns out they were all fake.
The boy shivered, suddenly feeling cold.
It's so cold... Why is it so cold?
There wasn't enough fire, so Yan Dibai suddenly glided past Miss Xue, calmly looked at Yang Liuqing, and said softly, "Use your blood to warm it up."
Miss Xue was dumbfounded. How could this madman be so much more terrifying than the village's idiots?!
Forgetting the tense atmosphere, he turned around and helped Yang Liuqing up, saying, "Your young master is possessed by an evil spirit! Let's run together!"
Qingqing was pulling out the porcelain shards and tearing a piece of her sleeve to bandage the wound. Yan Dibai's eyes were completely black; she immediately realized he was on the verge of losing control. She quickly said, "I'm alright, Miss Xue, please go out first!" and pushed open the door.
Miss Xue was pulled a few steps away, completely bewildered:
"Miss Yang, what are you doing?"
On a snowy day, everything was bright and dazzling. The girl who had led her out smiled and said, "Thank you, I've had an epiphany. But this has nothing to do with you. You saved me once, and I can't repay kindness with enmity and involve you."
Before Miss Xue could say anything more, Qingqing slammed the door shut. "Please find somewhere outside to take shelter from the snow!"
Before he could finish speaking, someone grabbed his neck from behind.
It's that trick again.
For some reason, she no longer wanted to suppress her anger. Enduring the pain, she crouched down and turned back. What greeted her was Yan Dibai's heavy breathing and bloodshot eyes.
This time, she didn't have as many worries and fears.
This isn't a heavily fortified palace; it's just the two of them here.
Qingqing gritted her teeth, letting him pinch her and pin her against the wall. With a snort of laughter, she suddenly raised her hand and grabbed his wrist. When Yan Dibai was clearly surprised, her eyes flashed, and she fiercely raised her leg and attacked Yan Dibai's penis.
Yan Dibai was stunned. He stared at the girl's eyes, which suddenly flashed with anger, before slowly lowering his head. The next second, his beautiful face contorted into a grotesque grimace, and he abruptly bent over.
"Yang-Liu-Qing—!" Yan Dibai practically spat out her name through gritted teeth. Qingqing put down her still-aching leg. Just as he was about to make another move, she wrapped her arms around Yan Dibai's neck, tightening her grip.
His skin felt warmer than his own, and the girl's calloused hand simply and clearly encircled him. He couldn't believe it. "You want to die?!"
Yang Liuqing immediately increased the force, her voice trembling but firm:
"I don't want to die."
Yan Dibai was furious: "You're courting death right now!"
The girl swallowed her fear and, mimicking his former self, smiled slightly.
Her eyebrows and eyes were curved, yet she was far more gentle and serene than he was.
"His Majesty promised not to kill me. Is His Majesty going back on his word? Is this the kind of emperor His Majesty is?"
The boy's lips twitched; the pain had subsided. He finally straightened up and sneered:
"The way you treat me is so bad, even a hundred thousand pardons wouldn't be enough to protect me!"
In terms of strength, she was no match. Yan Dibai aimed at her slender neck. If she didn't hold back this time, a single blow would break it.
He gathered his strength, truly intending to kill this audacious woman who dared to threaten him.
Suddenly, the hand on her neck was withdrawn.
Yan Dibai was about to retaliate when Yang Liuqing said:
"Then Your Majesty, kill them."
His indifference was perplexing. His brow twitched instantly, his anger inexplicably freezing, replaced by a hint of suspicion. Yan Dibai sneered repeatedly:
"Yang Liuqing, do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you? I've killed plenty of people—"
"There are plenty. I know."
She was still smiling. "Living is too tiring. Being able to strangle the emperor once is worth it. If I die, I die. This is purgatory. People here are not people, just two-legged sheep that those in power despise. If I keep going, this is the only ending I'll get."
Qingqing gazed into his beautifully curved phoenix eyes, and in that instant, she was moved to speak:
"Your Majesty will eventually die; no one in this world is immortal. It's just a matter of time."
Yan Dibai was stunned by the inexplicable words.
"Has Your Majesty seen how the people evaluate the current young emperor? Your Majesty often sneaks out of the palace, so you must know that. But you simply don't care. Indeed, the lives of pigs and dogs are nothing more than a dish on the table. Why should they be worth your attention?"
Yang Liuqing was very happy.
Yan Dibai's constantly changing expressions made her feel excited, but then she fell into a state of indifference again.
"If there's a fire in the side room, Your Majesty can burn me to death. If there's a knife in the kitchen, Your Majesty can chop me to death. If Your Majesty doesn't want either, then you'll have to dirty your golden hands and continue to strangle me."
Her eyes were perfectly focused, without a trace of emotion.
Yan Di's face was as white as the bottom of a pot, and he pressed his body against hers, confronting her.
Neither of them spoke; the dilapidated house was deathly silent.
For a very long time, so long that Miss Xue outside seemed to have fallen silent from the cold. Yan Dibai punched Yang Liuqing on the side of her ear, breaking the ice first.
"You really think you can fool me like this? What do I care if the people live or die? I am a tyrant!"
As expected...
Qingqing said frankly, "Your Majesty calls himself a tyrant, so he is a tyrant."
She was very honest:
"His Majesty says he dislikes my scheming nature. But there are countless people like me in the world who are scheming and eager to climb the social ladder. Does His Majesty dislike them? Even if His Majesty is tyrannical, can he kill them all?"
Yan Dibai's face had become expressionless at some point.
The girl sighed, "Living is harder than dying."
"Your Majesty, please stop arguing. Let's go back."
... ...
Yan Dibai remained silent, watching her intently as she searched for cloth and pulled open her torn coat and trousers to clean her wounds.
The bloody stain was starkly contrasted against her thin thigh, making it all the more gruesome. It was astonishing how such a frail body could hold so much blood.
Yan Dibai stood rooted to the spot, clenching his fists in resentment, yet strangely, he didn't want to break her neck. His heart pounded with a thousand and one thoughts, until finally, a warm sensation spread before his eyes, as a bowl of slightly cool porridge calmed his restless heart.
Yang Liuqing managed to bandage herself up, then limped along the wall, opened the wooden bucket that was only wrapped in burlap, and took out the contents inside.
Yan Dibai squinted.
A bowl of dried vegetable porridge.
Qingqing touched the bottom of the bowl, feeling somewhat regretful:
It's still cold...
She didn't explain anything. She simply served him the porridge, her delicate face filling his entire field of vision.
"Is Your Majesty hungry?"
He's not hungry.
Yan Dibai's Adam's apple bobbed. He didn't want it, but his stomach suddenly felt unbearably hungry. Pride kept him silent for three breaths, then he let out a cold snort, snatched the drink, and downed it in one gulp.
I regretted it a little after drinking it.
He shouldn't have kicked it if he'd known she'd left some porridge. Now he's not happy because he's not full...
The stubborn boy tossed the bowl into Qingqing's hands and turned away. This time, he didn't stare at her like he used to.
Qingqing calmly put away the bowl, her eyes relaxed.
That's a step further.
The principle of "slap first, then treat; be firm, then coax" is something I learned from Yan Dibai.
Learning from the barbarians' superior techniques to control them is useful.
But it's also thanks to him being a madman with a wildly imaginative mind.
It's just a pity about the original owner's home. I'll have to try and ask Dai Xian to deliver some things when I get back.
After tidying up the mess, she could faintly hear different sounds coming from outside. She said to the boy, who was lost in thought, his head bowed:
"Does Your Majesty not wish to go and fetch the princess? It's afternoon, and much of the snow has been cleared. The Imperial Guards are patrolling outside, so the assassins dare not make a move."
Yan Dibai's forehead twitched, and she suddenly came to her senses: "Sister..."
Yes, sister.
He immediately opened the door, as if he had forgotten the farce that had just taken place: "Let's go."
Qingqing answered, but searched for Miss Xue along the way. She couldn't find her anywhere; she had vanished. A sudden pang of guilt washed over her. Luckily, just as she was about to leave the alley, she saw a string of beautiful characters at the base of a wall:
Miss Yang, I have to go ahead, so please don't look for me.
It's surprising that Miss Xue, who comes from a rural background, has such beautiful handwriting.
She was glad she had trampled the snow.
Xuanwu Gate.
The bugle sounded. Yi Fu, who had been searching for the young emperor for about ten laps, saw a young boy and girl approaching from afar. Just as he was about to dismiss them, he suddenly looked at them closely and asked, "Where has Your Majesty gone!"
He hurriedly flew over and took off his clothes to give to Yan Dibai, who hadn't paid him any attention. "Your Majesty, Her Highness the Princess was very worried when she learned that you had encountered assassins. She personally got out of the carriage to sweep the snow and is now at the city gate. She will be reunited with Your Majesty soon!"
Yan Dibai remained silent, his gaze fixed on the high wall.
After nodding to Yi Fu, Qingqing stood quietly to the side, acting as an invisible person.
Before long, a carriage arrived, led by a lead horse.
The boy's gaze suddenly deepened.
Amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd, the carriage stopped three zhang in front of the imperial carriage. Li Mingshao dismounted and bowed. The carriage door finally opened, and a beautiful hand slowly reached out to support the maidservant below.
The boy beside her breathed heavily, and Yang Liuqing felt inexplicably nervous. The next second, the princess leaned out, her white body barely touching the ground, tears already streaming from her beautiful eyes:
"Brother—"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 00:09:39 and 23:45:04 on September 11, 2023!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 2 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
