Soothing the child
Chapter 59
The young king lowered his eyes, seemingly smiling, but I felt a chill and a sharp pain in my heart. He slowly said, "I don't know the exact answer, but I know a general idea... Sister Zhao Xi, listen to what I'm saying and see if it's right before you decide whether to believe me."
I swallowed hard, unconsciously sat up straight, took out more candy from the bag, scattered it on the tatami mat, and gave him one: "Eat it while you talk, it's not that bitter."
"Thank you, sister." The young king politely put the candy in his mouth, and the "crunch crunch" sound came again. He closed his eyes and, with the sweet taste, said, "Xie Kun, General Xie, is a general of Eastern Chu... The Xie family used to be a powerful family in Eastern Chu, the most powerful one, right?"
I nodded.
If my biological father really is Xie Lian, then my elder brother, the Crown Prince, would have to become my nephew... The moment this thought popped into my head, it gave me goosebumps all over.
"Later, the Xie family rebelled and was wiped out. Only Xie Kun escaped with his troops." The young king still kept his eyes closed. "However, the Xie family controlled several salt fields in Eastern Chu. Over the years, they accumulated a vast amount of money, more than they could count. This money wasn't kept in Eastern Chu. Perhaps at that time, the Xie family realized that a family couldn't prosper forever and needed a way out. So... a long time ago, they slowly, little by little, transferred the money to Shu... ah, the former Shu."
At this point, the young king opened his eyes and looked at me. Despite being a child, he wore a helpless and bitter smile, as if he were an old man who had experienced many hardships: "Sister Zhao Xi, the Shu Kingdom is gone, completely gone. So, please don't call me the young king anymore, okay? I still haven't learned to call myself 'this king'."
I couldn't help but chuckle when I heard that, and readily agreed, "Of course, but you have to tell me your name first."
A look of bewilderment appeared on the young king's face. He tilted his head, looking as if he had almost forgotten his own name because he hadn't used it in so long. He licked his lips and slowly uttered two words: "Liu Che." After a pause, he added, "The 'Che' in 'clear'."
“Liu Che,” I read it softly, nodding, “a very nice name. Xiao Che, is it alright to call me that? The Shu Kingdom is gone, and you are no longer the ruler of the small kingdom, but Liu Che… will always be you. Please continue, where in the Shu Kingdom did the Xie family transfer the money?”
As soon as I asked the question, another one suddenly occurred to me, and I couldn't help but ask, "By the way, Xiao Che, how did you know where Xie Kun hid the money? He wouldn't be stupid enough to just tell you, would he?"
The young king… no, Liu Che lowered his head, looking no different from any other child who had suffered injustice. This made my heart clench. I was about to steel myself and say a few more words, that I didn't doubt him, when Liu Che raised his head again, his eyes glistening with tears, and choked out, "Sister Zhao Xi, it's because… when he talked about these things with my mother and mother, they never hid it from me. They… they talked about these things right in front of me…"
As soon as he finished speaking, he buried his head in his chest again, his small body trembling slightly.
At first, I didn't immediately grasp the meaning behind Liu Che's words. I only thought that Xie Kun was a fool for casually leaking such confidential information. But then, upon deeper reflection, a chill ran down my spine. I looked at Liu Che in disbelief and stammered, "Wait... Xiao Che, you mean... the child, you didn't, didn't..."
I uttered "no" twice before falling completely silent, my cheeks burning. Liu Che, who looked much younger than me, wiped his eyes and said, "It was... Sister Zhao Xi, those two... fooling around right in front of me. So I... heard a lot of what they were saying..."
For a moment, only Liu Che's sniffling could be heard in the room. I was speechless, dumbfounded, and couldn't understand what was going on.
Xie Kun...that man!
I suppressed the turmoil in my heart and tried to make my voice sound calm as I asked Liu Che, "Xiao Che, what...what did you hear? What did Xie Kun...what did he say about the Xie family's wealth?"
Liu Che lowered his head, his voice was soft but exceptionally clear, though slightly trembling: "He said that the Xie family is ultimately the one destined by Heaven, but is only temporarily shrouded in darkness. He said that his grandfather was protected by gods and Buddhas and had long ago left the Xie family with enough resources to overturn the world. If we can endure for a few more years, the Xie family will surely be able to return to Eastern Chu."
Even if I'm slow to understand, these words still sent a chill down my spine.
Suddenly I understood why my older brother wanted to conquer Western Shu first. Besides Xie Kun being a remnant of the Eastern Chu rebels, there was probably another reason that couldn't be said: the current crown prince's mother was Xie Kun's sister, and the crown prince undoubtedly had the blood of the Xie clan flowing in his veins.
If Xie Kun isn't dealt with quickly, some people will surely link the Crown Prince with the Xie family and oppose him... At that point...
"Sister Zhao Xi?" Liu Che asked softly when he saw me lost in thought, "Was there something wrong with what I said?"
I forced a smile, shook my head repeatedly, and softly comforted him, "No, Xiao Che, please continue—the 'capital' he mentioned is..."
“He always said, ‘That’s not ordinary gold and silver, it’s the dragon vein energy that has been condensed over generations!’ He also said, ‘The true treasures are invisible to mortals. They have transformed into countless forms to protect the region. Only those who bear the blood of the Xie family and have a spiritual connection can understand their call amidst the tolling of the morning bell and evening drum!’ Little Liu Che smiled, but his brows were heavy with sorrow. ‘Mother… Mother… she tried every possible way to find out from Xie Kun where it was, but Xie Kun kept repeating only two lines: ‘Sichuan has many ancient temples, and the deep mountains hide true Buddhas…’”
"What does this mean?" I couldn't help but frown.
Liu Che shook his head.
I repeated it twice more, scratched my head, and couldn't think of anything else, so I asked again, "Anything else?"
“My mother once told me she had figured something out, but she didn’t elaborate.” Little Liu Che looked at me, a knowing smile appearing on his small face. “She still believes Xie Kun’s words: once he gets that money, he will make Western Shu a truly powerful nation and make my mother the most honored woman in the world…”
I was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to comfort this child who had endured so much at such a young age. So I took out all the candy from the bag, put it on his bed, and then said seriously, "Xiao Che, would you like to come with me to see King Xinan and tell him what you told me?"
Seeing the child shrink back suddenly, I quickly added, "You don't need to tell your older brother about your mother and... well, don't worry. Your older brother, well, he's a very nice person. He asked me to bring these candies because he heard I was coming to see you."
Liu Che remained silent for a long time before finally nodding. His eyes, which appeared particularly large due to his thin face, were clear and bright, especially...clear: "Only King Xinan can decide whether or not to execute us, right?"
I patted his head and mumbled, "Big brother wouldn't kill innocent people indiscriminately."
Xiao Liu Che's legs were indeed not strong enough. He struggled to get out of bed. I reached out to help him, but the boy smiled and told me that he could do it himself. I could only wait quietly to the side and watch him move to the ground little by little, inch by inch, until he was completely "fished out of the water".
I sighed inwardly and told him that the road outside was long and we needed to find someone to help him. This time, the sensible child did not refuse.
When I called a soldier from outside to pick up Liu Che, he was almost curled up in a ball, apologizing and thanking me in a voice barely audible.
After the announcement, I met my elder brother in the main hall of the former Western Shu palace. He was surrounded by several people dressed as civil and military officials of Eastern Chu. When he saw Liu Che and me, he walked over. His gaze first fell on Liu Che, and then he looked at me: "Xiao Xi, what's wrong? Is the young king unwell?"
“Well, Your Highness,” I couldn’t very well call him “Big Brother” in front of so many officials, but I almost bit my tongue when I called him “Your Highness,” “The young king has some matters he would like to discuss with you privately.”
"Oh?" A hint of suspicion appeared on the older brother's face, but he quickly nodded, called over two soldiers, and led Liu Che and me into a room in the inner hall. I asked the soldier carrying Liu Che to put him on a chair and waited patiently.
A moment later, the older brother pushed the door open and came in. With a wave of his hand, all the soldiers retreated, leaving only the three of us in the room.
Seeing that Liu Che still looked timid, I briefly told the older brother what had just happened. The older brother's brows furrowed more and more. After I finished telling the story, he looked at Liu Che and asked, "Did you hear all of this with your own ears?"
Liu Che swallowed hard and nodded emphatically.
Heaven knows what my older brother was capable of. This child, who had been holding back and even smiling in front of me, burst into tears the moment my older brother asked him a question. He sobbed between sobs, "It's true, I'm not lying, Xie Kun really said that..."
I gasped and couldn't help but glare at the older brother. He was clearly caught off guard and stood there dumbfounded with his mouth half open.
"You scared him. He's afraid you'll kill him," I whispered to my older brother, then quickly went over to comfort the child. However, Liu Che had clearly been suppressing his emotions for a long time, and his crying was like a torrent, unstoppable even when he was hiccuping.
Helpless, the older brother stepped forward, stretched out his arms, and hugged Liu Che tightly, patting his back and laughing, "No one said you were lying, don't cry, okay?"
"I didn't, I didn't lie..." Liu Che said, hiccuping.
"No, you don't."
"Will you kill me and my mother?" The question was asked quickly and decisively, completely unaffected by the crying and hiccups, clearly indicating that it had been churning in Liu Che's mind for a long time.
The older brother sighed: "No."
"real?"
“I’m not lying,” the older brother said.
I stood by and witnessed this scene, but all I could do was twitch my lips.
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