[Bonus Chapter 4] The Brocade Zither (Part 1)
Xu Fengyan exposed his wound again, stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth to prevent himself from making noise while treating it, picked up the wound medicine on the table, took a breath, and pressed it to his wound. Instantly, Xu Fengyan's body trembled from the intense pain. He buried his head in the blanket, enduring the long, agonizing pain before throwing the blood-stained gauze to the ground. He tried to sit up several times but failed. Zhou Ziliang's sword had pierced deeply; if Tang Feng hadn't stopped him, he would probably be dead already. Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Jiuhua, I heard you're back."
"Mom, is there something you need...?" Han Jiuhua, afraid the madam would come in, quickly got up. Her newly bandaged wound reopened, staining the gauze with blood. Hearing Xu Fengyan's voice, the madam quickly asked, "Jiuhua, what's wrong?"
"It's alright, he caught a cold when he got home a couple of days ago, he'll be fine after a few days of rest." Hearing that Xu Fengyan was alright, the madam breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody wanted anything bad to happen to their cash cow. She told him to rest well and then left. Xu Fengyan listened to the footsteps fading into the distance until he couldn't hear them anymore, then he collapsed onto the bed. Blood was still seeping from his shoulder, but he was too weak to care. If the sword had been a few degrees off course, he wouldn't have made it back. Xu Fengyan didn't even have the strength to laugh. He buried his head in the pillow, clutching the blanket with difficulty. Because of the high fever, his thoughts were already becoming muddled.
Xu Fengyan stared dizzily at the candlelight before the dressing table, the flickering light stinging his eyes. He knew that if he didn't sleep, his wound wouldn't heal. With no one to care for him outside, and if he wasn't careful, he wouldn't be able to help that person again. Xu Fengyan often had dreams, dreams of things he dared not even think about, dreams of that person standing in the snow, dreams of holding his hand.
In the third year of Qingyun, when he was only six years old, a cold wind was blowing and the streets were full of merchants coming and going.
"Back to buy medicine for your mother again?" The old shopkeeper deftly wrapped the herbs and stuffed them into Xu Fengyan's cloth bag. Xu Fengyan grinned. "My mother gave me some pocket money, so I came to see if there were any cheap medicines." He then took out a few taels of silver from the bag and poured them onto the old shopkeeper's counter. The old shopkeeper carefully counted the silver, then seemed to remember something, rummaging around for a long time before finally taking out something. "This is some ginseng I bought on the black market a while ago. I'll trim some roots for you; take it back for your mother to drink." Xu Fengyan took the items, bowed to the shopkeeper, and ran out. On the way back, Xu Fengyan looked at the ghee sold by the roadside vendors and couldn't help but swallow. Thinking of his mother waiting for him at home, he quickened his pace.
When Xu Fengyan returned home that day, he saw a large crowd gathered around his house. An old woman was bustling about in front of the archway. Xu Fengyan squeezed through the crowd and saw several strong men carrying someone out of the house. He slowly followed, then called out, "Mother... Mother, is that you?" He ran outside, but the old woman grabbed him and covered his eyes. "Don't look! Your mother is dead!" Xu Fengyan was stunned for a moment. He was too young to understand life and death, only knowing that if they took his mother away, he would never see her again. He struggled desperately, but the madam held him even tighter. "My goodness, don't move! If you keep making a fuss, I'll ruin my business!" "No, that's all." But the madam's heart softened in the end. After all, she had watched Xu Fengyan grow up. Seeing that Xu Fengyan was exhausted from crying, she handed him a bowl of corn porridge and said, "Your mother didn't dare tell you, but I can't let you live in vain." The madam placed some jewelry in front of Xu Fengyan. "You're just a little kid, you don't even know how to sort out a person's belongings, so I've sorted them all out for you, including your mother's memorial tablet." The madam thought for a long time before muttering softly, "Your mother had a hard life. She was never allowed to enter the Xu family. You were a boy, yet you didn't gain status through your son. What a waste of a promising future. The child she risked her life to give birth to couldn't even secure a way out for her."
"The Xu residence?" Xu Fengyan was born with the surname Xu, but he never knew who his father was. His mother never mentioned it either. Whenever he asked, his mother would show sadness. Xu Fengyan kept telling himself not to think about his father. "It's the Xu residence! Prime Minister Xu... Hey! What are you doing there!" Xu Fengyan felt very sad. He didn't know why Prime Minister Xu didn't want him and his mother. If he really thought he had disgraced him, at least he should have come to see his mother. Xu Fengyan asked around and finally arrived at the Xu residence. Dressed in mourning clothes, Xu Fengyan knelt before the Xu residence, not daring to shout. He knew that trouble often came from the gates of official residences. Someone pulled him up, yelling, "You brat! What are you doing blocking our Prime Minister's way? Wearing mourning clothes is bad luck! Get out of the way!" Just as the servant was about to take Xu Fengyan away, a voice from inside the sedan chair reprimanded him, "What's all the fuss about! Wearing mourning clothes is no small matter. The dead should be respected. Bring him here!" Hearing that the Prime Minister wanted to see him, Xu Fengyan quickly ran to the front of the sedan chair and knelt down. Prime Minister Xu alighted from the sedan chair, looked down at the mourning-clad Xu Fengyan, and asked, "What grievance has the government ignored that has led you to come here?"
Xu Fengyan raised his head and whispered, "Your Excellency, I've come to claim my family, but I don't know if my father will acknowledge me." Prime Minister Xu looked around, a smile playing on his lips, and patted Xu Fengyan's shoulder. "Tell me who your father is, and I'll help you find him." "I... my mother is Linglan, the top courtesan of Qin'an Lane in the brothel district. My name is Xu Fengyan, and my father is... ugh!" Before Xu Fengyan could finish speaking, Prime Minister Xu slapped him against the sedan chair. The Prime Minister, who had just been all smiles, suddenly turned cold and said sternly, "Bring him to the mansion and lock him in the back courtyard. Don't let him out without my permission!"
Several servants carried the dazed Xu Fengyan into the Xu residence. As soon as they entered the backyard, the steward glanced at the supported Xu Fengyan and began to mock him, "What? You think you can rise to power just because you have Xu family blood? Your mother couldn't do it, so you have even less chance!" Xu Fengyan had never seen anything like this before. He squatted down, wiping away his tears, and whispered in protest, "I didn't... I wanted my mother to be registered in the imperial clan; I didn't want her to die without a clear reason." The steward snorted and took a half-person-high iron cage from the woodshed, placing it in the courtyard. "Tie him up and put him in there, then cover him with a white cloth." "Up!" Xu Fengyan was thrown inside. Because the cage was too low, Xu Fengyan could only lie on the ground. The mourning clothes he wore were made of hemp and couldn't keep him warm. In the dead of winter, Xu Fengyan was shivering and his hands and feet turned purple. Just as he was about to go to sleep that night, the cage was kicked hard, making him jump. He saw a small bowl placed outside. "Eat! What bad luck! It's all because of you. We were all scolded by the master today. We keep you in the mansion, and we still have to bring you food. You eat the same food as us. You're not even as good as the big black dog at the gate. At least it barks when it sees people."
Xu Fengyan finally understood what it meant to be a dependent. He reached for the food bowl, and even though he had food to eat, he still burst into tears. He didn't understand why things had turned out this way when he had only come to find his father. The rice in the bowl was cold, and the wind made it as cold as a rock. Xu Fengyan ate while wiping away his tears, "Mother... I don't want Father anymore, please come back." His voice seemed too loud, and the cage was kicked again, scaring Xu Fengyan into silence.
Xu Fengyan had lost track of how long he'd been in the cage. Someone would bring him food at night, and the cage was covered with a white cloth, so he had no idea what was outside. He just drifted along, eating and waiting to die, day and night, until he heard a young voice. Compared to the servants and steward who had been beating and kicking him, that person's voice was like a gentle breeze. "What's that?" "Young Master, that's a new animal that just arrived." Xu Fengyan lay on the ground, too weak to get up, and could only listen quietly to their conversation. "An animal? What's the animal doing here instead of in the woodshed? Lift the white cloth off!" The person's voice was noticeably louder, probably angry. Xu Fengyan, sensitive from the constant insults and being kicked in the cage, hugged himself and began to tremble. "This... Young Master, you mustn't... you..." This was the first time Xu Fengyan had seen sunlight in so long. The boy who had lifted the white cloth wore an embroidered white robe, his hair half-tied, and a light blue jade belt around his waist. The boy looked at the steward. "You're saying this is a beast?" The steward muttered under his breath, "He...he's mistaking people for others. The master got angry..." The man instantly understood what was happening, threw the white cloth over the steward's head, and shouted, "Insolence! What he is is none of your business! He has the blood of the Xu family flowing through his veins, and who are you? Bring him out here!" Because he hadn't seen sunlight for so long, Xu Fengyan dared not open his eyes too wide, but he could clearly see the boy's face. The boy, backlit, reached out his hand towards him. "Are you alright? Go call the doctor. Father went too far this time."
Xu Fengyan knew nothing after that. When he woke up again, he saw the old doctor taking his pulse and saying to the boy beside him, "Sigh, he fainted from hunger. Also, he's probably been traumatized. We can't frighten him anymore. Children aren't fully developed; they can easily get sick from fright." Seeing that Xu Fengyan was awake, the doctor bent down and smiled at him. "You're awake?" Xu Fengyan opened his mouth but couldn't speak. The doctor continued, "Don't be afraid. I'm Xu Chang'an. No one will harm you here."
Xu Chang'an hadn't lied to him. Xu Fengyan received excellent care here, and his health improved day by day. However, Xu Fengyan couldn't see Xu Chang'an often. His sister, who was taking care of him, told him that Xu Chang'an was the eldest son of the Prime Minister's family, and his daily schedule was packed with the Four Books and Five Classics, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. His tutors were lined up across the street. Hearing this, Xu Fengyan clutched the blanket in his hands. He knew his mother would never be called "Madam" like Xu Chang'an's mother, and he himself would never be as valued by the Prime Minister as Xu Chang'an.
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