Chapter 36
He carried me on his back as we left the Censor’s Mansion.
As we left, everyone was watching, all held back by the Second Young Master, not allowed to approach.
I knew it was because he held a long spear in his hand.
The bandit chief from Kaizhou, with eyes so cold they could kill, truly cut an intimidating figure.
Many people on the street stopped to watch us, whispering among themselves.
His back was just as it had always been-broad and warm.
I was reminded again of that wilderness where a crescent moon hung in the sky.
On the rural path, the shadows of trees flickered. He carried me along the quiet, deserted road and across the ruined bridge in the fields.
There was no wind during the day, but my tears still fell hot, soaking his shoulder.
Just as before, it felt as though there was only him.
“Chao Jianan, why are you carrying a long spear while walking on the street?”
“I just felt like bringing it.”
“…Chao Jianan, I don’t want you to die.”
“Then you shouldn’t die either. Live well.”
“…Don’t go, please?”
“No.”
“I’m begging you.”
“Brother-in-law.”
“Father.”
“Don’t call me father.”
“You used to say I was your daughter.”
“I don’t have a daughter that old.”
“Third Master.”
“Hm?”
“You’re getting old.”
“Nonsense, I’m only twenty-five, how am I old?”
“Twenty-five is already old enough to be a father.”
“I haven’t married yet.”
“Strange, why do I keep remembering how you looked back then? My father praised you for being steady, but you only seemed steady on the outside; inside, you were wildly arrogant.”
“You know that too?”
“I’m so tired. Don’t go.”
“Don’t sleep, I’ll take you to see the doctor.”
Since I was little, I’d heard the name Chao San.
He grew up eating at many families’ tables, mixing in the streets, a fierce fighter who became more and more unruly, having done many bad things.
Everyone said he was the scourge of Qingshi Town.
Later, when bandits came down from the mountains to rob and kill, it was he who led a gang of ruffians, joining with the yamen officers to drive them away.
But afterward, he was still as before, leading people every day to Guizi Lane to extort money.
Eventually, it turned into forcibly collecting tribute.
It was truly outrageous. The County Magistrate had warned him several times but eventually gave up.
Their expectations for Chao Jianan were very low-as long as he didn’t cause deaths, they let Third Master Chao do as he pleased.
My father, the County Magistrate, and the wealthy gentry of Qingshi Town were actually all smart people.
Chao Jianan was the town’s bully, but also its hero.
And today, he held a long spear and brought me to stand at the Loyal and Brave Marquis’s Mansion.
He said, “Xiao Chun, your medicine is here.”
I knew then-he truly was formidable.
I knew what kind of place Kaizhou was.
The bandit den at Heiling-he could crawl out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and also fight his way into the Marquis’s Mansion, demanding their lives with his spear.
There were so many Mansion Guards in the Marquis’s Mansion, it seemed impossible to kill them all.
I heard the wind rustling, and in his breath there was the scent of blood.
The smell of blood grew stronger and stronger, as people fell one after another.
Corpses lay everywhere, blood was everywhere.
All I could see was crimson.
He ran through the Marquis’s Mansion, eyes red with killing, kicking open door after door.
He was searching for my medicine.
I never knew that Jiang Wenlu, the Loyal and Brave Marquis, was such an ordinary old man.
He sat in the mansion, unflustered.
It was said that during the Guodao Army uprising, he was just a strategist.
After the main commander died, he took up the burden and became the backbone.
When he came to Prince Ping’s side, he handed over military power and became a strategist again.
No wonder His Majesty was unwilling to punish him.
He had rendered meritorious service, and after being ennobled, became a civil official with no real power.
But such a man slaughtered Qingshi Town, leaving us no way to survive.
He said that back then, he hadn’t wanted to kill; they disdained associating with bandits, only seeking grain.
The army was short on provisions. During the Guodao Army uprising, the scale was vast, and most were rough men; order quickly broke down.
They asked the people of Qingshi Town for grain and money, promising to repay it in the future.
Grain was such a precious thing-a rebel army of unknown origin, colluding with bandits, all with greedy eyes, still claiming they would repay later.
He blamed the people of Qingshi Town for risking their lives rather than their wealth, blamed them for not trusting bandits, terrified of the bandits’ methods. For the sake of the town and the children, the men who stepped forward dared to risk their lives.
If they dared to fight desperately, the rebels dared to kill.
Once it began, everyone threw themselves into it-fish dead, net broken, killing became inevitable.
Jiang Wenlu said the situation spiraled out of control, beyond his ability to manage.
Chao Jianan laughed, pressing the spear against him: “You say so much, but someone has to pay the price. You say you had no choice, but the ones who died were our townsfolk. That’s not fair.”
Let those with grievances seek justice, those with hatred seek revenge.
Even as the Loyal and Brave Marquis was dying, he kept asking us whether his son was still alive.
I managed to gather my strength and asked him, “Are the people of Qingshi Town still alive?”
He died with his eyes open, unable to rest in peace.