Chapter 20 A Fleeting Moment (Part Two) A cup emptied, how much remains beyond the cup...?
The stable boy spent a very peaceful and wonderful time in the courtyard.
Xu Yi was punished and sent to the ancestral hall. Before leaving, he was not told what the stable boy should do. He just slept in a special room to recover from his injuries.
It was somewhat simple, but it had everything he needed, and it was many times better than his previous residence.
No one here would insult or beat him at will, nor would there be perpetually damp and tattered quilts; he could even have a full meal every day.
It turns out that not every "servant" is so ugly.
The stable boy nibbled on his steamed bun, cautiously observing the servants in the courtyard.
In the days before him, "servant" had become a symbol, a symbol of the devil.
He had thought that being a "servant" meant endless humiliation, but after arriving at the courtyard, he realized that it wasn't like that at all. The people here would smile at him, give him food, and teach him to write.
Perhaps some people are still a bit indifferent, but it's gotten so much better, like a dream, as if the past was just a necessary suffering paid for the present happiness.
Xiaoling was the person closest to the stable boy. Ever since she discovered that the stable boy was unusually young, Xiaoling especially loved to tease him, watching him blush and stammer, unable to speak.
"What's your name?" Xiaoling asked softly, resting her chin on her hand as she watched the man eat his steamed bun in tiny bites, like a hamster cautiously peeking at the world. She poked the man's arm.
Manu shook his head: "I don't know, I can't read, and names are useless to me."
Xiaoling patted the stable boy's arm lightly, like a feather, as if she were disappointed in him.
"Then what should I call you!" Xiaoling sighed. "Never mind, the young master will name you when he comes back anyway. I'll teach you to read first."
Xiaoling picked up her chopsticks, dipped them in water, and wrote the character "Ling" on the table. She said earnestly, "Ling, this is my name."
The man stared at the somewhat complex, gradually drying characters for a long time, as if trying to etch them into his heart forever.
After promising to teach Manu to read, Xiaoling would go to Manu's room every day after finishing her shift to teach him to read.
Manu studied very hard, absorbing all knowledge like a thirsty sponge. Finally, when Xu Yi returned, he could recognize most of the simple characters.
On the day Xu Yi returned, Ma Nu was reviewing his writing. He clumsily broke off a twig and started writing and drawing on the ground.
Xu Yi approached the stable boy and blocked the sunlight. The stable boy, like an ant in the shadows, huddled weakly, watching Xu Yi step on the words he had just written.
The stable boy looked up and saw a pale, thin face.
Although he had never met the young master of the Xu family, he could tell that Xu Yi's clothes were extremely expensive. After a little thought, he realized that the person in front of him was the owner of the courtyard.
"Young...Young Master," the stable boy stammered.
Xu Yi squinted and looked down at the stable boy. The peaceful life had completely healed the child's physical wounds, leaving only the scars hidden in his heart.
Xu Yi looked at it as if it were an ant, except that he was kind enough to treat this ant as a toy, and he revealed a malicious smile:
"From today onwards, you will be my personal servant."
The horse slave was dazed.
Having lived in the Xu household for so long, he naturally understood the status of a "personal servant" among the servants, and for a moment he felt as if he had been hit by a pie.
He remembered that Xu Yi had saved his life and given him such a wonderful time. Now Xu Yi wanted him to be his personal servant. Could it be that the young master of the Xu family was really a good person?
Manu's eyes lit up, but he overlooked the fact that Xu Yi had no intention of giving him a name at all.
The stable boy didn't die; instead, he became the young master's personal servant.
When the news reached the courtyard, not only those who had bullied him in the past, but even Zheng Datou broke out in a cold sweat, unable to understand how this fool had caught the young master's eye.
After thinking it over and over, Zheng Datou couldn't sit still any longer. He bowed and scraped as he came to the small courtyard. When he finally saw Xu Yi, the first thing he saw was the stable boy grinding ink in the study in the courtyard.
Zheng Datou's heart pounded wildly. The young master actually allowed a stable boy to serve him in the study. It seemed that he was about to die today!
His legs felt weak, but he still forced himself to approach Xu Yi and asked tremblingly, "Young Master, that kid is clumsy and clumsy. Are you satisfied with using him?"
Xu Yi glanced at him, and seeing Zheng Datou's darting eyes, he knew what kind of scheme he was up to.
He smiled calmly: "Although he is my personal servant, he can't get around you, can he?"
Zheng Datou was stunned. He pondered Xu Yi's words, unsure whether Xu Yi was implying that the stable boy was still under his control and could be bullied, or whether he was mocking Xu Yi for touching someone he shouldn't have.
Xu Yi had no choice but to clarify: "The way things were before will remain the same in the future."
Zheng Datou felt relieved and left with a big smile on his face.
In the study, the naive stable boy still thought his life had been changed.
Xu Yi lazily basked in the sun in the yard. He picked up a ripe grape, mashed it in his palm, and smeared his hand with sweet juice.
The purple sap emitted a sweet aroma in the air. Xu Yi stuck out his tongue and licked it, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Is grinding ink an easy task? Not necessarily. He wouldn't let the stable boy stop; he had to keep his arm suspended and turn his wrist, round and round, never stopping.
He wanted to give the stable boy the softest, most torturous knife, and then let him taste Zheng Datou's hard knife. That would be the most painful way to make him suffer, wouldn't it?
Even the most dull-witted person would notice something amiss when faced with Xu Yi's subtle daily challenges.
Manu discovered that Xu Yi always made him do repetitive and torturous work.
Whether it was grinding ink endlessly, or making him climb a tree to retrieve his kite and then keep throwing it on the tree until the stable boy was covered in bruises, they would not stop this prank.
When the stable boy was on night watch, Xu Yi always had various requests. He would ask him to bring several buckets of warm water. It couldn't be too hot or too cold. Xu Yi had to be satisfied.
Soon the stable boy will have to bring him a chamber pot to help him get up at night...
Xu Yi always had so many ways to torment people, but others thought it was because the young master valued and trusted him. They didn't say it to his face, but behind his back they complained that he was too high-profile and that the other servants had no way to survive.
Manu was isolated once again. Only Xiaoling came to teach him to read day after day, seemingly never taking the gossip to heart.
What made Ma Nu even more miserable was that every time Xu Yi went to see Xu Jianchun, he would take him along. So Xu Yi would be in the study, while Ma Nu would be whipped by Zheng Datou outside the study.
The whip was both painful and vicious, like a venomous snake, whipping him until his whole body trembled and his flesh was swollen and bloody.
Zheng Datou never slapped his cheeks or exposed skin like his hands. He wanted to tell Xu Yi, but all he got in return was:
"Really? You seem fine to me. Besides, Zheng Datou is of a higher status than you, so it's your fault for getting slapped by him."
From then on, the courtyard was no longer a paradise for stable boys, but a nightmare.
Whenever he saw Xu Yi's kind face, he couldn't help but tremble; whenever he saw Zheng Datou's whip, his body would start to ache as if in response. He fell back into a nightmare from which he could not wake up.
If he had never felt warmth, he wouldn't be in this state now, humbly pleading for even the smallest bit of kindness that Xu Yi might peek through his fingers.
Manu was more silent and listless than before, as if as long as he closed himself off and shut his heart completely, he would not feel those malicious gazes, slanderous words, repetitive torment, and unbearable whippings.
Only when Xiaoling came would a glimmer of light appear in the stable boy's eyes.
He became even more eager to learn, studied and practiced writing more diligently, listened to Xiaoling talk about her life before her father sold her, and listened to the world outside the Xu mansion.
Xiaoling became his only hope in life, the thin rope that kept him alive.
His life was confined to this square courtyard. He used to raise horses for others, and now he amuses others. Xu Yi uses him as a toy to vent his frustrations, tormenting him, belittling him, and enjoying his suffering.
Manu huddled under the dry, warm blankets, yet it felt as if he were clinging to the old, soaked quilts, so cold that he was stiff as a wooden puppet.
Even such days are short-lived.
My heart, riddled with wounds, finally shattered on that day.
That day, when Xu Yi returned from a long trip, he keenly sensed that Xu Yi was in a bad mood, and even his usual fake smile had disappeared.
He felt a rare sense of unease, a feeling that disaster was about to befall him.
Xu Yi looked at the terrified stable boy in front of him and felt intense malice.
He couldn't take it anymore. He was being oppressed and beaten by his parents. They wanted him to make something of himself and bring glory to the family. They were willing to do anything to make him learn the Broken Goose Blade. It was all about Broken Goose, Broken Goose, Broken Goose!
They never treated Xu Yi as a human being; he was merely a tool for Xu Jianchun to realize his ambitions, a tool for him to control Duan Yan!
He had to work from dawn till dusk for Duan Yan, he had to be covered in wounds for Duan Yan, he had to grovel for Duan Yan, everything was for Duan Yan!
How much he hated it!
He hated his mother for bringing him into this world, hated that they never loved him, hated that they never gave him a shred of warmth, hated this broken goose, hated that it was like a parasite occupying his heart!
A surge of intense anger welled up in Xu Yi's heart. He laughed painfully, half of his face feigning gentleness and the other half twisted with agony.
He ordered his servants to bring Xiaoling over. Amidst the terrified and panicked gaze of the stable boy, Xu Yi drew his Broken Goose Blade, laughing wildly while tears streamed down his face, and said:
"Why should you have this little bit of warmth? Why should you live happily without having to care about that Broken Goose Blade?! Why should I be born in this stinking Xu mansion? Why should I bear that unseen fate?!"
Xu Yi's eyes were bloodshot. He was completely insane, wanting to vent all the resentment, grievances, pain, and twisted hatred that had been building up in his heart over the years.
"Why am I Xu Yi?! Why aren't you Xu Yi?!"
"Why aren't you dead yet?! Don't you want to die? Why don't you just die?!"
Xu Yi and Ma Nu looked at each other, their eyes both filled with tears.
Finally, Xu Yi saw Xiao Ling being escorted over. He forced a cold smile through his teeth, stared hatefully at the stable boy, and slowly raised his Broken Goose Blade.
"Don't you like her a lot? Don't you see her as your salvation?"
"You should be just as desperate as me, just as unable to live and unable to die!!"
"No, no!!! Please, please, kill me, kill me!! Don't kill her—"
In that instant, the trail left by the fallen goose resembled a wild goose kissing Xiaoling's forehead.
The goose slit Xiaoling's throat and also cut off the horse slave's right ear.
He watched helplessly as Xiaoling's gentle and pretty face faded away, her head thrown to the ground like trash, blood splattering on his face. In his blood-red vision, Xiaoling seemed to say something.
But it hurts so much, it hurts so much!
The roar in Manu's ears seemed to silence the world. He stared blankly at Xiaoling's mouth as it opened and closed weakly, until it finally lost all life.
It felt like his heart had been ripped out; otherwise, why would he be in such intense pain? Was this the "heart-wrenching pain" that Xiaoling had taught him?
It turns out that all of this was neither a blessing nor heaven, but his blood-red hell.
But why, why?!
The stable boy mechanically raised his head and stared blankly at Xu Yi. This usually cruel young master was now grinning maliciously, silently venting his hatred.
Manu felt dizzy, his vision blurred, and his heart felt like it was about to stop beating. Once again, he sincerely felt that perhaps he should have died long ago.
Before Ma Nu lost consciousness, he saw the so-called Broken Goose Blade, which oppressed and parasitized Xu Yi.
Like a blood-red wild goose.
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Author's Note: I'm so happy! It's amazing that a new author like me has finally had a piece published! Thank you all for your support! [Exaggerated praise]
I've arranged for Zhou Ziheng to create a snow leopard sculpture, Huo Qin to create a lynx sculpture, and Xi Bingyi to create a squirrel sculpture. I'll show them to everyone in a few days!
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