"Are you thinking of my father, your elder brother?" Wang Jiyang slowly squatted down, looking at the Empress Dowager at eye level. A shadow fell over him, making the scars on his face appear even more terrifying.
Consort Wang braced herself on the ground, trying to back away, not daring to look at Wang Jiyang's face. "Ghost...ghost...don't come any closer..." she choked on her sobs.
Wang Jiyang's eyes were like steel knives, and he said in a chilling voice, "Do you remember how that snake came to be?"
"It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It wasn't me!" The Dowager Princess retreated desperately, her lips trembling and her heart pounding. "It wasn't me! It was Fourth Brother! It was Fourth Brother!"
"Have you forgotten where that blood-stained garment pulled from the plague corpse came from?!" Wang Jiyang suddenly stood up, blocking the light that was shining in. In the shadow, Consort Wang huddled up in a ball.
She shook her head in terror, "No, it wasn't me, it wasn't me! It was all Fourth Brother's doing, it was all Fourth Brother's doing!"
"If it's not you, what are you afraid of?" Wang Jiyang said, walking towards Wang Jize, who was so frightened that he 'whooshed' behind Zhao Shu.
He was older than Zhao Shu, and although they were about the same height, Zhao Shu herself was very thin, so he couldn't hide it. His hand holding Zhao Shu's hand trembled with nervousness.
Zhao Shu turned her hand over and took his hand, smiling at him. "Don't be afraid. Do you remember I said I would take you to find your family? They will treat you very, very well. They won't let you go hungry. They will give you food, enough to eat your fill. Do you remember?"
Wang Jize looked into Zhao Shu's eyes and nodded firmly. He had to trust A-Jun. She had told him not to be afraid of his aunt anymore. He had to trust her. She had even asked someone to buy him delicious food. He had never eaten anything so delicious in his life.
“Come on, look at him, look into his eyes. Don’t you feel scared now?” Zhao Shu pointed at Wang Jiyang and said to him. A person’s eyes are the hardest to fake. When Wang Jiyang saw Wang Jize, his pupils contracted. What he showed was not a message of danger, but surprise, heartache, and self-blame.
Wang Jize was a smart child. Although he hadn't met many people and couldn't yet distinguish between good and evil, he could tell who was in danger and who wasn't.
Just like Zhao Shu said, look at the eyes.
Wang Jiyang looked at Zhao Shu, this little princess, who had given him surprises time and time again. The conscription system was a surprise, the Xie family was a surprise, and now, not long after, he was surprised again.
“He is your brother, your elder brother. You must listen to him from now on, understand?” Zhao Shu didn’t notice the probing gaze that Wang Jiyang was casting over her; she was focused on communicating with Wang Jize.
The first step is crucial. If Wang Jize is not put on his guard, Wang Jiyang will be in big trouble in the future.
"Brother?" Wang Jize asked, looking at Zhao Shu, still not daring to come out from behind her.
“Yes, I’m your brother, here to take you home.” Wang Jiyang walked over and extended his hand to Wang Jize. “Come home with your older brother.”
No matter when or where, Zhao Shu always felt that the words "Come home with me" were the most touching. She pulled Wang Jize out and handed his hand to Wang Jiyang, saying, "Learn skills from your brother, learn them well, and become a true man."
She didn't know what words could encourage Wang Jize at this moment, but thinking that he would be going to the battlefield to fight in the future, she managed to squeeze out this sentence.
At this time, Wang Jize did not know what skill was or what it meant to be a man, but he firmly remembered Zhao Shu's words: to learn skills from his brother and then become a true man.
The two brothers clasped hands, and Wang Jize suddenly felt at ease. He turned to Zhao Shu and grinned, "Ah Jun, are you coming home with my brother too?"
Zhao Shu: "...Lord Wang, what should we do about the Dowager Princess?" Zhao Shu decided to change the subject.
Wang Jiyang pulled a dagger from his pocket, drew it from its sheath, and sunlight shone on the blade, reflecting a strong beam of light that hit the Empress Dowager's eyes.
"Ah!" She looked up in horror, then backed away, muttering repeatedly, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me, don't come looking for me."
Her mind seemed to have been shattered. Wang Jiyang sneered, slowly approached, and the dagger flew from his hand, embedding itself between the fingers of the Empress Dowager as she braced herself on the ground.
"Ah!" She jumped up in fright. At that moment, Zhao Shu saw that her eyes were not so cloudy, but only for a moment.
Wang Jiyang approached again, "Your Third Uncle has been so good to you, haven't you ever felt a pang of conscience in the dead of night?"
"Don't you know how much money you've plundered from your second sister-in-law?!" Wang Jiyang pulled out a dagger and held it to her neck.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me, it really wasn't me, it was Fourth Brother, it was Fourth Brother! I only promised Fourth Sister-in-law to 'treat' Second Brother's child well, I didn't know anything. I was already in the palace when Second Sister-in-law died, it really wasn't me, please don't kill me!" The Dowager Consort waved her hands in terror, tears streaming down her face, but her eyes were no longer so cloudy.
Zhao Shu was terrified when she saw this. It turned out to be an act. The woman had realized that she had discovered Wang Jize and was going to die anyway. In order to avoid the death penalty, she pretended to be frightened and to collapse.
She still remembered the story of Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty who pretended to be insane to seize the throne, but now the Empress Dowager was actually pretending to collapse in front of her!
"Ah!" Consort Wang screamed again. Zhao Shu looked over and saw that Wang Jiyang had pierced her hand, and bright red blood was flowing from her slender, fair hand.
"Do you remember your aunt? She was also slowly tortured to death, slice by slice, by your good fourth sister-in-law's maid, Granny Li. Do you know why? Because your fourth brother insulted your mother." Wang Jiyang spoke coldly, each word a veil of cruelty, as cold as ice a hundred feet below a glacier, causing the Dowager Consort Wang's already trembling body to shake even more, like a slender branch swaying in the wind.
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