TRT – Chapter 15 Two Men

The big fox, full of authority, let Xiao Shou step back behind him, then turned to me, speaking as if in a very good mood:

“Mingming, just now you said… which temple fair are you going to tomorrow? How about I personally accompany you?”

……

Mom, am I about to die?

This is a top-class carriage.

From the fact that the wheels didn’t make the slightest noise while turning, you could tell.

The big fox was obviously rich—if it were modern times, he’d be the type to drive a Ferrari. Which meant this carriage of his was probably the horse-drawn equivalent of a BMW.

So clearly, that phrase “clattering and rumbling” must have been invented for shoddy carriages.

Though the carriage looked plain on the outside, its interior was shockingly luxurious. Not only were the seats spacious and comfortable, but there were fruits and a warming brazier at hand. Most baffling of all, there was even a bookshelf set up on the west side…

The big fox was sitting by that bookshelf, leaning on his hand and reading.

I don’t know why, but as long as the big fox wasn’t smiling, I’d feel this inexplicable fear of him. Yet the moment he smiled, I’d get this equally inexplicable urge to bolt. This must have been some kind of instinctive sixth sense in small animals when they sense danger…

So, I curled up in the farthest corner away from him, slowly nibbling on pine nuts.

I don’t know if it was because the roads in Houming were built too well, or if the big fox’s “BMW” had too high a performance-to-price ratio, but under the gentle, steady, rhythmic swaying, I gradually drifted off into a daze…

……

“You little brat—how dare you sell me out!!” I roared, grabbing Xiao Shou by the collar in fury.

“What selling out?! I didn’t!” The traitor pulled a look of shock. “And wait—how are you even here?”

“You still dare say you didn’t! You… you’ve even recognized a thief as your father!” My hand trembled as I pointed at the big fox. He just sat there smiling wickedly at the two of us tangled together.

“Mingming, you must not be disrespectful toward the Fourth Prince.” The traitor scolded me in a low voice, immediately setting up a chastity arch for the big fox: “The Fourth Prince is a ruler renowned throughout the land, known for his virtue, humility, self-restraint, and propriety. What slanderous words has Mingming heard to speak of him like this?”

Virtuous ruler? Humble toward the wise? Self-restraint and propriety???

The corners of my mouth twitched…

That so-called “virtuous ruler” of yours—does he not have some special, twisted hobby? Like, say, on a dark windy night, knocking out a helpless girl and dragging her away with some underhanded, underworld trick?!

“What… are you saying?” The traitor looked at me in disbelief, then looked at the big fox. The latter still wore his sinister smile. “…What exactly is going on?”

“What’s going on? Exactly what I said!” I tilted my head to show the ache in my neck. “Look—still red, isn’t it?” I presented the ironclad proof of abuse with infinite grievance. “It wasn’t enough for him to kidnap me—he even detained Qingqing and Xiao Tao to threaten me. And then he was about to gift-wrap me to that King Luo or whoever… And you—who knows where the hell you were at that time!”

Xiao Shou’s face was full of pain as he massaged my neck for me. The warmth of his palm spread into the sore spot—truly loosening the tendons, moving the blood, dissolving the bruises~ It was so comfortable I squinted my eyes. As for the “traitor” matter—pfft, I’d long thrown that aside. Judging from his reaction, he probably hadn’t known anything anyway. Forget it, forget it. Even if it had all been an act, then this kid’s acting skills could win an Oscar! If I had to be deceived, at least it was by a handsome man worthy of the golden statue—what regret could I have?

So I dove headfirst into his arms, crying my eyes out while listing the big fox’s top ten crimes, almost slapping my thigh as I wailed: “Xiao Shou ah~ you have to stand up for meee…”

Xiao Shou’s face went black, then pale, then black again, flipping back and forth several times, before he finally spat out a line that made me cough blood:

“I believe… the Fourth Prince must have had no choice but to act that way.”

I—&￥%%￥—!!

I tore myself out of his arms, trembling as I jabbed a finger at his nose: “You—you tell me the truth! Why are you protecting him like this? Why?!”

And they said Oscars were corrupted by bribery these days—if even a blind fool like this could get a golden statue, no wonder!

Why was Xiao Shou defending the big fox so much? That kid had pride through the roof, came from a noble family, and usually looked down on everyone. Yet toward the big fox he was so deferential? What on earth was their relationship?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind, and my tone softened a little:

“Um… Shou’er, based on our years of life-and-death camaraderie (since when??), why don’t you be honest with big sis Mingming. Actually… you’re his illegitimate son, aren’t you? Right?”

Big fox: ……

“Mingming…” Xiao Shou’s voice was tight with suppressed fury.

“Not? Then… could it be… you had a thing with him before?”

Big fox: ……

“Mingming—!!” Xiao Shou exploded! He grabbed my arm and dragged me out into the courtyard. “You—come with me!!”

Only then did I feel it—after all, it was already deep into the night. Even though it was early summer, there was still a chill in the air.

I hugged my arms and shrank behind Xiao Shou. He was dressed just as lightly, yet he stood tall and proud in the night wind, unmoving.

As if following some stage script, he clasped his hands behind his back, taking the standard stance of an actor, face dark as he sank into silence for a long while, to show he was undergoing some fierce inner struggle…

I was just about to let my imagination run wild, when Xiao Shou suddenly spoke in a low, heavy tone.

“Mingming… actually… the Fourth Prince is my master.”

In that instant, my already impure mind ran off like a train, racing through words like—Master and Servant!!! Forbidden!!! SM!!! And so on, and so on…

He—he’s your master… Master, master, master, master, master… (the ancient echo resounding endlessly in Mingming’s mind).

The Fourth Prince is the master of our Xiao family. With his hands clasped behind his back, Xiao Shou slowly walked along the garden path. “I originally thought my identity would only bring you trouble, so I didn’t want to tell you. But now that the Fourth Prince has personally come to see you, there’s no point in hiding it anymore…”

A secret to hear? Nice!

The fifth law of transmigration: All secrets are plot breakthroughs!

I trailed behind him, following his steps and stomping ants along the way.

The Xiao clan had been a great family since the previous dynasty. Because our ancestor had rendered meritorious service in helping the First Emperor found the kingdom, he was granted the hereditary title of Protector General, commanding a third of the military power of Houming. The descendants of the Xiao family received martial training from childhood, generation after generation giving their lives on the battlefield, loyal and devoted to the country.

Unfortunately, during the reign of Emperor Fu of the previous dynasty, petty men slandered us, urging His Majesty to weaken our power. Later, when my father led troops to the northwest to suppress the rebellion of the Three-Bone Tribe, the spies planted by the Emperor within our army betrayed us and sided with the enemy. At the same time, reinforcements from the northeast were sent to encircle my father and slaughter him outside the frontier!

Just as the Xiao army was in dire straits, the then–Fourth Prince defied orders and secretly mobilized a hundred thousand southwest troops to rescue my father. He bore the crime of defying the imperial edict alone, kneeling for two days and two nights outside the Hall of Renhe, appealing with emotion and reason until the Emperor finally spared the Xiao family. Afterwards, he also gathered the scattered remnants of our clan’s forces and treated them kindly.

The Fourth Prince’s kindness to our Xiao family is as weighty as a mountain! My father swore a blood oath: from that moment on, the Xiao family would recognize only the Fourth Prince as our sole master, loyal for all generations, unto death.

Five years ago, Emperor Fu passed away without naming a crown prince. The princes fought for the throne. Among them, the Second and Fourth Princes were equally matched—the Second Prince held heavy troops, while the Fourth Prince had the Xiao army and the aid of his younger brother, the Sixth Prince. The Fourth Prince was widely praised for his virtue and had the people’s support. The situation originally favored us absolutely.

But no one expected that at the final decisive battle, the Sixth Prince would betray us. The Fourth Prince was caught off guard; our side suffered devastating losses and was forced into retreat after retreat. For the sake of the people, the Fourth Prince made peace with the Second Prince. In the end, that Second Prince became the new emperor—Emperor Xi.

The first thing Emperor Xi did upon ascending the throne was to exterminate the Xiao clan! The Fourth Prince, meanwhile, was sent to the remote southwest border, given a hollow title of prince with no real power… But…

Xiao Shou suddenly turned, his eyes burning into me. “This is not the end! I have found the Fourth Prince again, and after these years of recovery, our strength has returned. Soon! In five years—no, within three years! I will help the Fourth Prince reclaim the throne, avenge our Xiao family, and bring glory to our name! Minmin, didn’t you once say you believed I would achieve great deeds? Assisting the Fourth Prince—that is my great cause! That is the greatest meaning of my life! So no matter what the Fourth Prince does, he is the sole master of the Xiao family! The only one I, Xiao Shou, will ever serve! Minmin, do you understand?”

“I understand… yes, I understand. All too well.”

So basically, your Xiao family’s merit threatened the throne, so Big Fox’s dad wanted to wipe you out. Big Fox, for whatever reason, saved you at the last moment, so you became disillusioned with the old emperor and turned to Big Fox instead.

Later, when the old emperor died, Big Fox and his brothers started clawing at each other for the throne. Thanks to Fox Little Brother’s betrayal, a one-on-one fight turned into a gang battle, and Big Fox lost.

But Big Fox and his brothers are blood kin. Losing the fight wouldn’t kill him. And you Xiao people—outsiders—why did you have to get involved? See? The new emperor took the throne and immediately slaughtered your clan as a scapegoat! Meanwhile, the real culprit, Big Fox, is still alive and kicking. Now, after surviving betrayal and licking his wounds, he’s even more shameless, ready to start a rematch with the emperor. And you? You rush right back to his side! Xiao Shou, you’re basically hanging yourself like an old immortal—eager for death!

Xiao Shou, Xiao Shou! You’re the textbook case of being poisoned by feudal brainwashing about blind loyalty!

“The day before yesterday, I finally got in touch with the Fourth Prince’s men. Today, leaving Cangchun Tower, I had planned to bring you all to join him. But then I ran into this situation. I thought, there must be a reason for it. I’ll discuss matters carefully with His Highness before making a decision. Minmin, for now, just rest assured and stay here. As for your two sisters, I’ll send people to take good care of them…”

“I don’t want that! How can I rest assured, staying in the house of someone who might pack me up and sell me off at any time?

Xiao Shou, if your master insists on sending me away, and I refuse, will you help me, or help him?”

“Minmin, how can you be so willful?!”

“How is this willful?! Protecting myself is willful?! He’s nothing to me—and even if he were my master, he has no right to force me to do what I don’t want to do!”

“Minmin!” Xiao Shou’s face showed horror. Of course—he’d probably never heard such rebellious thoughts in his life.

“Xiao Shou, you’re a grown man. Why must you always obey others unquestioningly? He’s the master your elders chose for you, but I am the friend you chose yourself! Will you sacrifice even me for his great cause?”

“Minmin! His Highness would never ask you to do anything so dangerous! Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill!”

“Even if not now—even if I am making a fuss—let me ask you. If one day your master does want to hurt me, will you stand with me, or with him?” I tugged anxiously at his sleeve.

Big Fox is ambitious. If what Xiao Shou says is true, then all the more reason not to stay by his side. The road to the throne is paved with blood and bones. If he’s an unskilled politician, he’ll lose—and staying with him means death. If he’s a skilled politician, he’ll sacrifice the right people at the right time—and who’s to say it won’t be us? The old emperor killed the Xiao clan for their too-great merit—what makes you think once Big Fox seizes the world, he won’t butcher his hunting dogs after the rabbit is dead?

So, Xiao Shou, I beg you—don’t choose him.

“Minmin… I think you misunderstand the Fourth Prince. Though he seems cold, it’s because of his childhood… Once you spend more time with him, you’ll see his virtue…”

“Xiao Shou…” Hearing his tone, the hope in my eyes sank with my heart. Still no good, huh? …How could thoughts drilled into the mind since childhood, as natural as eating or sleeping, be overturned by my few words? There are so many transmigration novels, everyone indulging in love stories—but who remembers the thousand-year gulf of thought that really exists? We can’t understand Yue Fei or Yuan Chonghuan’s choices, but to them, those choices were the most natural thing in their world.

Return to court and face execution? March north and save countless lives? The order comes from the emperor—their master.

The people of the world. Their families and lives. Their lord through generations.

Which weighs heavier? Which lighter?

How could I be so arrogant as to put myself on that scale?

My gaze dimmed. My hand slackened, falling away. I weakly waved it off. “Forget it. Pretend I never asked…”

……

The night wind was truly cold.

Xiao Shou stood there silently for a long time.

……

After tossing me into a windowless little room, forbidding me from seeing Qingqing or Xiaotao, Big Fox went off to hold a candlelit talk with Xiao Shou—probably seizing every chance to brainwash him…

He even went the extra mile and posted a guard on me. And, of course, it had to be that same black-clad man who caught me—the one I mistook for Zhiyuan, the cold-faced handsome guy. Cold face, cold heart, cold mouth. Ask ten questions, zero answers. Ask a hundred questions, still zero. I pestered him all night to no avail.

In the end, the only thing I learned was that Big Fox called him Guard Yang.

I thought Big Fox’s promise to take me to the temple fair was just a joke. But early this morning, he had me rolled up in my quilt and thrown straight onto a carriage! Before I even opened my eyes, the whip was cracking and the horses galloping toward the market.

Brother, is this your idea of a temple fair? This is more like scrambling for train tickets during Lunar New Year rush hour!

Now this fine carriage has already entered Qiuyue City, heading toward the Tianzu Temple in the back of the city.

Big Fox closed his book, straightened his body, stretched a little, and then looked at me with interest as I gnawed on pine nuts.

“What are you looking at?” I glared at him warily, scooping the pile of hard-earned nuts closer and covering them protectively with my hand. “I… I won’t give you any! If you want to eat, shell them yourself!”

Big Fox froze.

The coachman’s rhythmic whip and Guard Yang’s steady breathing both paused at the same time.

Big Fox smiled dangerously. “What if… I insist on eating the ones you shelled?”

This bastard!!

In that instant, I quickly assessed the balance of power! In the end, I released my protective hold over the nuts and said, shamefully, “Then… then just eat them.”

Big Fox froze again. Then suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter! He laughed harder and harder, and I realized his laughter wasn’t just because of me—there was something else in it, something long suppressed…

He laughed and laughed, so much that even the guards outside peeked in to check. I worried he’d laugh himself into a fit… His pale face flushed red, veins bulging on his neck. For some reason, I suddenly felt a bit sorry for him. Hesitantly, I poured him a cup of tea and held it out…

“Here… drink some water, don’t laugh yourself sick…”

But he suddenly grabbed my wrist and yanked me into his arms. I struggled but was pinned down. Big Fox stopped laughing, studied me closely for a long time, then sighed. “Minmin, you really are a treasure.”

Then he released me—but kept hold of my wrist, pressing the base of his thumb against my pulse.

“But next time, if I hear you telling Xiao Shou anything about whose side you’ll take… I won’t let that precious little tongue of yours stay intact.”

His fingers brushed lightly over my lips.

Cold as ice!