HNYWEF -Chapter 13 A Lesson

Li Shimin had just stepped through the gates of the Qin Prince’s residence in Chang’an when Cheng Yaojin hurried over.

“Your Highness! You went to see him?”

Li Shimin nodded.

Cheng Yaojin glanced behind him, then at his face. The smile on his own face slowly disappeared.

“What happened?”

Li Shimin said nothing.

Cheng Yaojin turned to Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling gave a slight shake of his head.

Cheng Yaojin looked at Changsun Wuji next.

Changsun Wuji’s expression looked unpleasant, but he stood straight and didn’t avoid his gaze.

Cheng Yaojin scratched his head.

“So what the hell happened?”

Fang Xuanling said softly, “Wuji asked him a few questions. That person… didn’t answer.”

Cheng Yaojin froze.

“What’d you ask?”

Fang Xuanling glanced at Changsun Wuji but stayed silent.

Changsun Wuji spoke up himself.

“I asked whether he knew what kind of person the Qin Prince was. Asked what his attitude was toward—”

Cheng Yaojin’s eyes widened.

“Say that again?”

Changsun Wuji frowned.

“I asked whether he knew what kind of person the Qin Prince—”

“The hell is wrong with you?!”

That roar stunned everyone in the courtyard into silence.

Changsun Wuji stood there blankly, not even reacting before Cheng Yaojin’s second shout crashed down on him.

“You asked him if he knows what kind of person the Qin Prince is? When he met the Qin Prince, where the hell were you? You probably didn’t even know where you were sitting around drinking tea! And you asked about his attitude? What the hell does his attitude have to do with you?!”

Changsun Wuji’s face flushed red.

“Cheng Zhijie! You—”

“Shut your damn mouth!”

Cheng Yaojin stepped forward aggressively, his face redder than Changsun Wuji’s now, spit flying straight at him.

“Do you even know who he is? Huh? Do you know how many people he’s saved? Do you know—”

He stopped abruptly, chest heaving.

“You don’t know shit!”

Changsun Wuji unconsciously took a step back, then seemed to realize he shouldn’t have, and forced himself to stop.

“Cheng Zhijie, calm down—”

“Calm down my ass!”

Cheng Yaojin’s voice grew even louder, shaking leaves from the trees in the courtyard.

“I’m telling you right now—if you’re standing here talking today, you should thank him for it! He saved my life! He saved Second Brother Qin’s life! Half the brothers from Wagang Stronghold owe their lives to him!”

His voice suddenly dropped, low and rough, like the words were being forced out through clenched teeth.

“But no one could save his wife…”

Changsun Wuji froze.

The courtyard fell silent.

Cheng Yaojin stood there, chest still rising and falling.

He stared at Changsun Wuji and said, word by word:

“Do you know how his wife died?”

Changsun Wuji said nothing.

Cheng Yaojin glared at him, his eyes suddenly reddening.

“You don’t know. You don’t know anything! All you know is that the Qin Prince owes him a life, but you don’t know how that debt came to be!”

He took a step back and pointed at Changsun Wuji’s nose.

“I’m telling you—he saved the Qin Prince because he was righteous. If he hadn’t saved him, that would’ve been perfectly justified too! Why should he have saved him? Huh? Why should he?”

Changsun Wuji opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Cheng Yaojin didn’t look at him again.

He turned around and dropped heavily onto the stone steps, lowering his head without another word.

The courtyard was deathly quiet.

No one spoke.

After a while, footsteps sounded from the entrance.

Qin Qiong walked in.

He glanced at Cheng Yaojin sitting on the ground, then at Li Shimin standing there, then at Changsun Wuji, whose face had gone pale.

He didn’t ask what had happened.

He walked over to Cheng Yaojin and stopped beside him.

Cheng Yaojin looked up at him.

“Second Brother.”

Qin Qiong said nothing.

He simply patted Cheng Yaojin on the shoulder.

Then he turned to Changsun Wuji and spoke.

“Fuji, you went to see him today?”

Changsun Wuji nodded.

Qin Qiong asked, “What did you say?”

Changsun Wuji hesitated, then repeated those words once more.

After listening, Qin Qiong was silent for a moment.

Then he said one sentence.

“You earned that scolding through your own ability.”

Changsun Wuji froze.

He looked at Qin Qiong, then at Cheng Yaojin, then at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin stood there without speaking.

From beginning to end, he never said a single word.

Qin Qiong didn’t speak again either.

He bent down and pulled Cheng Yaojin up from the ground.

Cheng Yaojin stood, dusted the dirt off his backside.

He glanced at Changsun Wuji. He didn’t curse again, but his expression was anything but friendly.

Then Cheng Yaojin turned and left.

After taking two steps, he stopped again.

He turned back and looked at Changsun Wuji.

“Remember this. His name is Zhou Xiong.”

With that, he strode away.

Changsun Wuji remained standing there for a long time.

Then he looked toward Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling had his head lowered, lost in thought.

He looked toward Qin Qiong.

Qin Qiong stood there, gaze heavy.

Finally, he looked at Li Shimin.

But Li Shimin had already turned and walked inside.

From beginning to end, he never once looked at Changsun Wuji, nor did he say a single word in his defense.

That scolding really was something he had brought upon himself.

Cheng Yaojin wasn’t wrong.

Qin Qiong wasn’t wrong either.

And Li Shimin not stopping it… wasn’t wrong either.

Changsun Wuji stood there motionless for a long while.

Then he turned and walked out.

Fang Xuanling watched his departing figure and softly asked Qin Qiong, “Where’s he going?”

Qin Qiong shook his head.

“No idea.”

After a pause, he added:

“But after today, this is a day he’ll remember.”