HNYWEF -Chapter 47 Boundaries

Zhenguan Era, First Year, Eighth Month, Fourteenth Day.

There was a hint of autumn in the alley now. The sun was no longer so harsh, and the wind carried a trace of coolness.

The doors of the Zhou family smithy stood open.

The sound of hammering drifted out from inside.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

Fang Xuanling stood at the entrance and looked inside.

A figure stood before the long workbench, hammer in hand, striking a piece of iron. But something about the figure looked off—

Too short. Too thin.

It was Zhou Yi.

The child hammered with surprising skill, one strike after another, steady and unhurried. Sweat had formed on his forehead, but his posture never faltered.

Nearby, Zhou Xiong sat on a wooden bench, watching.

Just watching.

There was no expression on his face.

Fang Xuanling stood at the doorway for a while.

Then he stepped over the threshold.

Hearing the footsteps, Zhou Yi looked up.

“Uncle Fang.”

Fang Xuanling nodded.

Zhou Yi went back to hammering the iron.

Zhou Xiong remained seated, unmoving. He looked at Fang Xuanling without speaking.

Fang Xuanling walked over and stopped in front of him.

From inside his sleeve, he took out an invitation card and held it out.

“Tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival. There will be a poetry gathering.”

Zhou Xiong did not take it.

He looked at the invitation, then narrowed his eyes at Fang Xuanling.

Finally, he spoke.

Four words.

“His idea?”

Fang Xuanling shook his head.

“My idea. I thought—”

Zhou Xiong did not wait for him to finish.

He reached out and snatched the invitation away.

Both hands gripped it.

Rip.

Riiip—

A sharp tearing sound rang out.

The invitation split into two pieces.

Then he tore it again.

Four pieces.

Again.

Eight pieces.

He threw the scraps onto the floor.

“Not going!”

Two words.

Hoarse. Decisive. Leaving no room for discussion.

Fang Xuanling stood there without moving.

He looked at the scraps on the ground, then raised his head and looked at Zhou Xiong.

That face showed no emotion.

But those eyes—

Li Shimin had mentioned that look before.

Right now, they were narrowed.

Fang Xuanling opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But Zhou Xiong gave him no chance.

Zhou Xiong turned his head toward the workbench.

Zhou Yi stood there still holding the hammer, staring this way. He did not know what had happened, but he knew the invitation had been torn apart.

Zhou Xiong looked at him.

“You too. Same rule!”

Four words.

His voice was not loud.

But each word struck the ground like nails.

As though a poetry gathering were some kind of gate to the underworld.

Zhou Yi froze.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But nothing came out.

He knew his father was not warning him.

He was threatening him.

He simply stood there, gripping the hammer, looking at his father.

The room suddenly fell silent.

So silent that the wind blowing past the doorway could be heard.

Fang Xuanling stood there motionless.

He looked at Zhou Xiong, then at Zhou Yi, then back at Zhou Xiong.

He was stunned.

Before coming here, he had imagined many possibilities.

He had imagined Zhou Xiong refusing.

Imagined Zhou Xiong saying nothing.

Imagined Zhou Xiong cursing him out.

But he had never imagined this.

Never imagined Zhou Xiong tearing the invitation apart on the spot.

Never imagined him turning around and reprimanding Zhou Yi right in front of him.

Never imagined such absolute rejection.

Not the slightest room left open.

He stood there, staring at the scraps scattered across the floor.

For a long while.

Then he lifted his head and looked at Zhou Xiong.

Zhou Xiong had already turned back around.

Sitting on the bench, staring toward the doorway.

Not looking at him.

Not looking at Zhou Yi either.

Just sitting there.

He was only one step short of directly ordering Fang Xuanling to leave.

Fang Xuanling opened his mouth.

He wanted to finish what he had been trying to say.

Wanted to explain that this was not Li Shimin’s idea, but his own.

Wanted to say that Zhou Yi should see more of the world.

Wanted to say—

But in the end, he said nothing.

Because he knew there was no point.

He stood there for a breath.

Then he turned and walked outside.

When he reached the doorway, he stopped.

Without turning around.

He stood there for another breath.

Then he pushed the door open and stepped out.

The wind outside blew past, carrying autumn’s coolness.

He stood at the entrance, looking toward the far end of the alley.

For a long while.

Then he started walking forward.

After a few steps, he suddenly remembered—

That child’s eyes just now.

Zhou Yi standing before the workbench, hammer clenched in hand, looking at his father.

There had been no grievance in those eyes.

No fear.

It was something else.

Fang Xuanling could not describe it.

But he remembered it.

The alley stretched long ahead.

The wind carried the scent of autumn.

He walked slowly.

But one thought suddenly kept turning in his mind—

Did I also do something I shouldn’t have done…?