spoiled brat

Chapter 26 25. Spring Harmony (5)

Xiao Duo listened intently, as if he himself were the one who had bravely ventured into danger and was about to turn the tide: "And then?"

The old man took another drag of his pipe and said softly, "We all thought His Highness wouldn't come back, that he'd either been captured by the barbarians or killed by Wu Huan... Every time we looked out of the city, we were afraid that His Highness would be among the heads hanging on the barbarian flagpoles... He was so young, younger than all of us..."

Xiao Duo was extremely anxious: "And then? And then?"

"And then?" The old man's tone softened. "Then the reinforcements arrived."

Zhao Zhao asked, "Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"He went to the capital to plead guilty ahead of time." The old man smiled. "He led his men by sea to infiltrate Wu Huan's city and burned all the stockpiled grain and fodder. This forced Wu Huan to send troops to fight the barbarians and seize grain and fodder in order to survive the winter. Otherwise, if his hundreds of thousands of troops mutinied, the northern cause would be over. He cannot bear this guilt!"

"What a hero! To think of such a method!" Xiao Duo clapped his hands in delight, but couldn't help but worry:

"But he burned Wu Huan's grain supplies, what can be done about that?"

The old man sighed, "Yes, there were constant calls for his execution throughout the court. Fortunately, Minister Jiang resisted to the death, which saved our prince's life..."

Xiao Duo's eyes practically overflowed with envy: "Is your prince young?"

The old man chuckled, “Our prince is seventeen this year.”

"Seventeen..." Xiao Duo counted his age on his fingers, becoming more and more anxious, his brows furrowing deeply.

"Damn it, I'm only two or three years younger than him, already fifteen, and I'm still holed up in this building. If I keep wasting my life like this, I'll be too old to be famous! How impressive will that sound?"

He was just a pimp, yet he dreamt of becoming famous and powerful, even comparing himself to princes and nobles. He was incredibly arrogant.

Zhao Zhao didn't laugh at him. Instead, she encouraged him, saying, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. You can go to the battlefield when you're fifty. You're still going strong even when you're old."

The old man waved his hand and advised, "Young man, don't think that the way our prince lives is so great... He's a pitiful child."

Xiao Duo asked in confusion, "Why?"

"Born into a high-ranking family and enjoying a life of luxury, is it without a price? While ordinary children are still studying and farming, our prince is already taking up arms and going to the battlefield. By the age of fifteen, he had already beheaded over a thousand enemies. Every time he charged into enemy territory alone, he risked his life to kill the enemy, all so as not to bring shame to our prince and princess."

"You think the north is some kind of wonderful place? A land of gold? Bullshit. Every shovel you dig in there is nothing but bones, a hellish battlefield!"

As he spoke, the old man sighed, "To be honest, I would rather my own child be idle than have him be as cold and lifeless as His Highness."

Xiao Duo smacked his lips, about to say something, when he heard the old ox pulling the cart moo.

A distant sound of horses' hooves echoed, and a cloud of yellow sand rose from the horizon, obscuring the sky and covering the sun.

The old man quickly drove the oxcart to the side of the road to make way. The sound of horses' hooves grew closer and closer. Zhao Zhao and Xiao Duo sat in the haystack of the cart shed and looked out.

A group of soldiers could be seen galloping north along the riverbank through the sandstorm. Their armor gleamed brightly in the sunlight, and the red tassels on their sword hilts and pommels were as vibrant as blood, rising and falling with the galloping of their horses.

After they had gone, the old man said in a deep voice, "There's going to be another war."

A small flame flickered in Xiao Duo's eyes, but it quickly died down. The old man asked him, "Young man, are you going to join the army?"

Xiao Duo shook his head: "No, that won't work."

"Why?" "...My family won't allow it."

"Your parents?"

"...No, it's my madam."

So he was just a lowly pimp from a humble background.

The old man gave an awkward smile, stopped talking, and continued on his way in silence.

The oxcart moved forward, the road was a bit bumpy and unstable. Zhao Zhao saw Xiao Duo's back trembling slightly as he lay on his side. She reached out her hand, wanting to soothe his fragile back and offer a few words of comfort, but in the end she withdrew her hand without saying a word.

*
Zhao Zhao slept soundly the whole way. She nestled in a haystack, where the warm smell felt just like sunshine, making her feel at ease.

When I woke up again, we were already in Yunzhou. I was awakened by Xiao Duo singing a tune:

"What talk of a true dragon descending from heaven? I find it all quite ordinary—Zhaozhao'er, wake up!"

Outside the shed, the bustling city was noisy, as lively as a pot of water about to boil. Zhao Zhao opened her eyes and looked outside, and sure enough, they had arrived in Yunzhou.

The old man walked to the back of the cart, opened the canopy, and said with a smile, "Yunzhou City is a big, chaotic place, unlike Qingyang County. If you encounter any trouble, you can ask the Dingbei Army for help. This area is my prince's fiefdom, and everyone will help out if there is any trouble."

The two men jumped off the bus with their packages, thanked the old man, and Xiao Duo took out a coin to pay the fare, but the old man waved his hand and refused.

"You sang 'The Story of Loyalty' so well, I won't charge you... If you have the chance in the future, go to the north to serve your country."

After saying that, the old man drove the oxcart away.

Xiao Duo stood there stunned for a long time until Zhao Zhao patted him on the shoulder and he came back to his senses.

"……what?"

Zhao Zhao took out the prescription that Manager Zhang had written for her from her bosom, which also included the location of the largest pharmacy in Yunzhou.

“Fuyuanfang, Jishitang”.

She had never traveled far before and didn't know which way to go.
"Xiao Duo, where is this place?"

It was almost dusk when Xiao Duo looked around and found that they were in a bustling city, with a festive atmosphere and great joy.

He counted the days on his fingers: "Zhao Zhao'er, today is February 25th, the Flower Festival."

Zhao Zhao knew he was in a playful mood, so she shook her head and said, "Xiao Duo, we can't delay, my mother is still waiting for me."

Xiao Duo couldn't persuade Zhao Zhao, so he had no choice but to follow her all the way to Fuyuanfang.

Manager Zhang said that Jishetang was the largest pharmacy in Yunzhou, and it was indeed true. A bagua-style building with mortise and tenon joints rose up on the side of the street, looking more like a temple's scripture repository than a pharmacy.

Countless customers were coming and going in front of Jishetang, making Zhaozhao and Xiaoduo seem out of place. A free apprentice noticed them and approached them, asking:
What would you two like to buy?

Zhao Zhao had only recently started learning to read and couldn't recognize the complicated names of the medicines written by Manager Zhang. Xiao Duo didn't recognize them either, so they had no choice but to hand the prescription to the apprentice.

(End of this chapter)