Under the envious eyes of other refugees, Ye Xiaoxian and her companions strode into the city. The small city was the sixth king’s fief, where he had done many good deeds. Under his governance, people were living better lives and the streets were bustling. Some roads were under construction. The city was prospering.
Since it was late, few people were in the streets, but the bright moonlight and candlelight from the houses lit up their road forward. Excited, Li Hongmei held Xiao Baozhu’s hand and asked her how she came here and where Xiao Baoshan was.
Xiao Baozhu was not that naive girl anymore. No matter how Li Hongmei asked, she just replied calmly, “Mom, there’s no hurry. It’s a long story. I can tell you everything after we settle down.”
After going through several streets, they arrived at the sixth king’s palace. It looked like a scaled-down version of the Imperial Palace. Biao was the sixth king’s man, so he could enter the palace freely. Since there were too many people, he decided to take only Li Chengru inside before accommodating the others. The Xiaos and the Lius were kept waiting outside.
Outside the palace, nobody dared to behave as casually as they had done elsewhere. They straightened their backs, standing in a respectful manner. Half an hour later, Biao came out with a man called Qiao Hu who would take them to have a rest.
Since they were commoners, they were not allowed to enter the palace. Qiao Hu took them to a post house and let the owner take good care of them. After Qiao Hu left, the Xiaos and the Lius were led to their rooms. They sighed with relief.
Xiao Baozhu, Li Hongmei and Ye Xiaoxian shared a room. Wong Mudan and Chen Ju got two rooms respectively. Old Mr. Xiao and Xiao Baofeng stayed together. The rooms were not big, but they were more comfortable than the previous ones.
After settling down, Li Hongmei asked, “Baozhu, now you can answer my questions, right? Where is Baoshan? How did he let the sixth king’s man take you here?”
Since it was late at night, everything was quiet around them. At last, Xiao Baozhu agreed to tell Li Hongmei everything she knew.
“My brother used to be a general,” she said as she wiped her tears.
“We know this. Just skip it.” Li Hongmei urged.
Surprised, Xiao Baozhu continued, “When the war occurred, it was my brother who led the troops to handle the enemies. Do you know about this?”
Li Hongmei shook her head and asked hurriedly, “Really? We heard that the sixth king sent a general to lead the troops, but we didn’t know it was your brother.”
“It was indeed my brother. He went to Qinghe county and defeated the enemy. He had planned to return here, but the Imperial Court sent an army to attack Baoning city and to kill him. So he went alone to persuade General Qian not to launch the attack, and prevent war from breaking out.”
Li Hongmei and Ye Xiaoxian were stunned by her words. Li Hongmei stammered, “Is, is Ba-Baoshan really that impressive?”
“Yes, he is! He’s been keeping a low profile and has never let us know of his achievements. But when he leads the troops, he is like a war hero. I was so stupid not to realize that.”
I must have been blind or I wouldn’t have taken a fancy to Scholar Wong and done so many stupid things.
“What happened then?” Ye Xiaoxian asked.
Xiao Baozhu said, “My brother said General Qian is an upright man. But if General Qian gives up attacking Baoning city, the Imperial Court will threaten him with his relatives’ lives. So my brother went to the capital to rescue them. I don’t know whether he has made it or not. He let Biao escort me here and said General Qian’s troops would arrive afterward.”
Li Hongmei looked pale with concern. “He went to save people? But there are so many soldiers in the capital. I know he’s strong, but how could he deal with so many soldiers single-handedly?”
Xiao Baozhu said, “I once asked Biao whether he thought my brother could make it. He said there was a sixty-percent chance.”
Ye Xiaoxian felt her heart suddenly sinking.
Just then, Xiao Baozhu turned to her and said, “Sister Ye, when I met my brother, I asked him if he really wanted to part from you. Although he didn’t answer, I could tell from his expression that he still loved you. He left you and his mom for unknown reasons, but he went back to Qinghe county to look for us. If he really abandoned us, why would he go back again?”
Ye Xiaoxian remained silent. She didn’t know what to think.
After a while, she asked, “Baozhu, why did you come here? You said you didn’t want to leave the Wong family.”
Xiao Baozhu sighed deeply. Then, she told her story slowly.
Learning what her daughter had experienced, Li Hongmei couldn’t help cursing. “This bastard not only treated you badly but also left you in danger! I won’t feel sorry for him, even though his wife and baby died. He got what he deserved!”
Ye Xiaoxian comforted, “Baozhu, now that you’ve got that off your chest, we should try to enjoy our time together. You’re still young, so you have time to look for someone that loves you. I believe a man is waiting for you in the future.”
Xiao Baozhu said, “The thought of Scholar Wong still frightens me. I just want to be with my mom.”
Li Hongmei wanted to change the topic, so she mentioned Li Chengru. “Baozhu, you’ve seen Mr. Li – I mean the Seventh King – right? I have to tell you how funny he is.”
She told her all about Li Chengru, including how he had saved them and how he had caused everyone to laugh outside the city. Xiao Baozhu quickly cheered up.
“Mom, it’s your fortune to meet him. This must be the result of doing good deeds.”
“Hahaha, you’re right.”
…
Inside the sixth king’s palace.
Cordially, Li Chengyi asked Li Chengru to have a seat, and they were served food and wine. Since they were half-brothers, they were not that familiar with each other, but nor did they bear each other any ill will. Li Chengyi had offended the state preceptor, and was almost assassinated for the transgression. Without Xiao Baoshan’s help, he might have been killed. After that, the Emperor was persuaded to send Li Chengyi to Baoning city.
Li Chengru had once heard about this from other people. He had been a carefree man growing up with the fourth king. But unlike the fourth king, he was careless and restless. He disliked politics and detested party-related strife, for which reason he didn’t become the target for treacherous people. In other words, no one took him seriously.
Li Chengyi gazed at his disheveled brother and asked, “Why did you come here? Did you miss me?”
Li Chengru said, “Oh, please don’t make fun of me.”
“You don’t miss me?” Li Chengyi went on joking.
“All right, I miss you,” Li Chengru said.
Li Chengyi gave him a bright smile. “If so, why don’t you live here for several days before you return to the capital?”
“It’s better not to go back there. It’s so boring.” Li Chengru said.
Li Chengyi became slightly serious. “Brother, do you know our father has passed away?”
“Really? When?” Li Chengru was stunned.
“I’ve just received this message, but it’s too late for me to go back now. Our third brother has come to the throne.”
Li Chengru didn’t care who the new Emperor was. He had no interest in power. So he said directly, “You’d better stay here. Don’t forget that you dispatched the troops without permission. If you go back, someone will have you killed.”
Li Chengyi smiled. He told Li Chengru how Xiao Baoshan had persuaded him to dispatch the troops and how he had gone to the capital to save Qian Qi’s relatives. In the end, he empathized. “I believe Xiao Baoshan is not a traitor.”
Li Chengru thought for a while and concluded: the sixth brother was the fourth brother’s close friend, so he must be a good person. Likewise, it could be concluded that the third brother wasn’t a good person. He looked like a fool with a permanent poker face.
Li Chengru said, “I’m coming with Xiao Baoshan’s relatives. We’ve been looking after each other all this way.”
“Oh? How did you look after them?” Li Chengyi was amused. His brother didn’t seem like the type who knew how to take care of other people.
Li Chengru replied, “I saved them from bandits.”
“What else?” Li Chengyi asked.
“I shared my carriage with them and bought roast lambs for them to eat.” In front of his fourth brother, Li Chengru was just like a child waiting for a parent’s praise.
Li Chengyi said, “I am sorry to say I can’t give them special treatment. They have to rely on themselves.”
Li Chengru said disdainfully, “Of course they will rely on themselves. They are as strong and stubborn as weeds and can survive anywhere they go.”
“Weeds?”
“I mean they are … resilient.”
Li Chengyi burst into laughter. “Don’t worry. Now that they are Xiao Baoshan’s relatives, I can make a good tribe out of them.”
“What kind of good tribe?” Li Chengru asked.
“You seem to care a lot about them. Do you like them?”
“It’s not that. I have taken care of them this far. I would hate for anything to happen to them now,” Li Chengru muttered. At the same time, he thought of Ye Xiaoxian.
